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Author's Note: I felt really flattered when hogwartswonderland (love the name by the way) and two guests asked me to continue this. I had a few ideas and I couldn't turn down a 'pretty, pretty please', so here we are. I hope you enjoy :) 'Cause I've never been good at living up to expectation.
...
Skye stands in front of Jemma's door. Why is she so worried? If there is anyone at SHEILD that she trusts with personal matters, it's Jemma. She'll understand, that's why she came looking for Jemma in the first place, right? She stares at the door for a moment, before hesitantly knocking.
Skye hears footsteps stir on the other side, before the door opens. "Hi," the biochemist greets. She smiles, which helps to ease away the tension in Skye's body.
"Umm, hey," Skye responds, she pauses. "Can I—can I come in?"
Jemma seems a little surprised by the request, realizing that this more than a quick 'hello'. She nods and takes a step back before opening the door wider.
"Is there something that you need?" Jemma asks as closes the door behind Skye.
"Yeah," Skye turns to her. "I need some advice," she says as she unconsciously fiddles with her hands.
"Anything you need." Jemma places a hand at her friend's shoulder. Skye takes a deep breath. She knows what she came here for, knows exactly what she needs to say, but she's still having a hard time producing the right words.
Skye swallows hard. "I told Leanne about her father yesterday." Jemma attempt to hind her surprise is ineffective, which is just about the reaction that Skye expected.
She speaks after the initial shock passes over her, "Oh—Okay. What did you say?"
Skye shrugs. "I told her the truth. I told her the good things about him, but I also talked about his betrayal. She didn't taking too horribly, maybe because she doesn't really understand. And—and she asked if she can ever see him. I told her that she could someday. After four years, I—I think that we should...see him." She can feel her voice break a little at the end, and she can definitely hear it too.
Jemma's first reaction is to hug Skye. As soon as her arms wrap around Skye's, she buries her face into Jemma's hair. It's hard for Skye not to cry, but she tries to hold it back, she's already shed enough tears over Grant Ward. Jemma grips her tighter at the sound of a light sob.
"Do you want to see him again?" Jemma asks after a moment.
Skye shakes her head. "Not really," Skye says against Jemma's shoulder. "But—but Leanne deserves know who he is. I already contacted to warden, we're visiting him next week. I just don't know what to do or what to say when I see him again." Skye consisted asking May or Coulson for help, since they would know what to do, but they wouldn't be able to comfort her like Jemma can.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I can't really help you. All I can say is stay strong when you see him, no matter the outcome," Jemma replies as she pulls out of the hug to give Skye a small smile for reassurance. "Did the warden say anything about him?"
"She did," Skye confirms. She wipes her watering eyes. "She said that he hasn't gotten into any fights, and has respected her and the staff. He's been working hard for redemption, but it just seems too good to be true."
Jemma pauses before hesitantly asking, "Do you think it's true?"
Skye shrugs. "I—I don't know, but I kind of hope so for Leanne's sake. The warden said that they are currently revaluation his sentence. He's been charges with two known counts of second degree murder, both for Agents Koenig and Hand. But the thing is that what he did it under Garrett influence, who practically brainwashed him. Ward also when through a psyche evaluation and they said that possible borderline personality disorder played a factor," Skye explains. "And combined with his good behavior, it's been challenging from them to decide a sentence time.
"I just don't know what I think of him anymore. He was part of our team, I—I loved him but then he just threw everything we could have had away. But now people are telling me that he has changed. I don't know him anymore, I can't differentiate the real him from the lie anymore. I have to find out for myself..."
...
Skye and Leanne listen to the 'Frozen' soundtrack on their way to the prison, with some bad karaoke thrown in for good measures. It's a weird soundtrack to listen to considering that they are going to prison to visit Skye's murderer ex something whom accidently knocked her up and doesn't know about it. If anything they should be listening to something more depressing like 'On My Own' from Les Miserable or 'I Am Damaged' from Heathers: The Musical, and not 'Do You Want to Build a Snowman' (but every time 'Love is an Open Door' comes on, Skye instantly skips to the next song).
Skye turns the volume all the way down as they near the front gates. They are stopped at the blocked road before Skye rolls down her window.
One of the guards approaches the car. "Please state you name, and reason for visiting," the guard says firmly as he looks at his tablet.
"Skye no-last-name with my daughter Leanne Ward," she slips SHIELD badge from her pocket, and flashes it to the guard. "From SHIELD and have come to visit prisoner Grant Ward." The guard glances down at the table before signaling the other guard to raise the barrier.
"You may proceed." Skye nods before rolling up the window and continuing down the newly cleared path.
Skye drives the SHEILD issues SUV into the parking lot and pulls into one of many open spots. "You can unbuckle." Skye says to Leanne once the car is in park.
Leanne presses the red part of the clips and the belt slides back into place. She opens to the door and slips out of her boaster seat and onto the pavement, with her turquoise skirt swishing from side to side in the spring breeze. Skye closes her car door and locks it with a click of a button.
Skye slips the keys into her pocket. "Let's go," she says as she takes her daughter's hand. "Remember that your father has done some bad thing, so don't set your hopes too high."
"I know mommy." She stares up at Skye with the same doe eyes she has. "But can he be good again?"
Skye tears away gaze away from Leanne, not wanting to see her face when she says, "I don't know sweetheart, but if he works hard, he might be able to be a part of our lives." There is this part at the back of Skye's mind that is still holding onto hope that Ward has truly changed, but of course, she'll have to see for herself before she jumps to any conclusions.
...
They are lead into a room lit by one large window and that contains tables and sets of chairs opposite to each other. It's just them in the room, plus a single guard standing in the corner. Skye and Leanne walk to the closest table. Skye grabs another chair from one of the other tables and they sit beside each other.
Skye and Leanne wait quietly, listening to nothing more than the clocking ticking off the wall. Skye has her sweaty hands laced together on the table, her thumbs clashing and circling each other as a way to distract herself. She's calling to her training, trying to plan what to say, what move to make. After all this time, she has no idea how he will react and no idea what will happen.
At the sound of the door opening she is pulled out of her thoughts. Skye looks up, meeting Ward's gaze. She takes a deep breath, remembering what Jemma told her. Leanne lets out a little gasp that Skye can just hear. Maybe Ward is just how Leanne envisioned her father to look like, maybe he don't look anything like she thought. But one thing's for certain, he hasn't changed much since the last time Skye saw him, with the only exceptions being that his hair is a little shorter and there is stubble that highlights his chin. He looks to be in the same physical condition he was in Vault D. He probably had only push ups to keep him company during his time here.
He stares at her, a sea of emotions seemed to be crashed like a wave over him; surprise, confusion, intrigue, regret, maybe something more. "Skye..." Ward's voice is barely audible. He looks like he wants to reach out to her, but is stopping himself from doing so.
"Ward," she replies in a sharp tone of hostility. Ward is escorted to the table, and sits across from Skye and Leanne. After sitting Ward down, the second guard leaves to stand at the other side of the door.
"Long time, no see, huh?" he asks, attempting to lighten unease mood that hangs over the room.
Skye crosses her arms and shrugs. "Yeah, I guess."
There is a moment where only the ticking clock fills the room. It almost felt like a western standoff, no one daring to make the next move. Well, that is until Ward asks, "So how have you been?"
"Fine," Skye deadpans. It's just her luck isn't it? Twenty seconds in and it's already awkward as Hell. Great start to the 'meet the father' huh?
"Umm, who is this?" Ward asks, as he redirects his gaze towards the young, brown eyes, dark haired girl sitting beside Skye.
Skye slips her hand under the table and grips Leanne's hand tightly. "This is my daughter Leanne," Skye introduces.
"Umm, wow. Congratulations." Ward lets out a timid smile. "She has your eyes." There is this look of regret that he fails to hide. It's like he's looking at the life that he could have had if he didn't betray them. And in a way, it is.
There is a long pause before Skye musters up the strength to finally say, "She's your too." Ward's eyes meets Skye's again, which shows a mixture of both parts shocked yet curious.
He is almost too stunned to say anything, as there's this long pause where Skye anxiously waits for a vocal reaction. But he manages to chock out in disbelief, "She's—she's my daughter? But we only had se...Did this happen just before my...my betrayal?"
Skye nods, she swallows thickly. "I found I was pregnant just a few weeks after we took down Cybertech. When you were in Vault D I wasn't noticeably pregnant. And Leanne Hope Ward just turned four a few days ago."
Ward freezes at the name. "You—you gave her my last name?"
"I can't ignore that you were a part of my life and that's you're her father. Plus I didn't have a last name of my own to give her." She looks down at her—their daughter. "Do you want to say anything Leanne?"
Leanne sits up a little straighter and looks at her father. "Hi," she peps shyly.
"Umm, hi, it's nice to meet you Leanne," Ward says with a genuine smile. "Can you tell me a little about yourself?"
Leanne thinks for a moment. "I like music and I like watching movies. Oh! And I like dogs."
Ward seems pleasantly surprised. "I like dogs too. I used to have one. He was a beautiful chocolate Labrador, his name was Buddy. " Skye's more of a cat person, so that's where the dog thing must have come from.
"I tried asking mommy for a dog, but she said 'no', because we live in a secret base and Uncle Fitz is allergic," Leanne explains.
Ward chuckles. "If Fitz is the problem, you should get a monkey. Fitz loves monkeys and he's defiantly not allergic."
"Hey!" Leanne exclaims. It's just like a light bulb suddenly turned on. "You're right!" She grabs onto Skye's arm and says, "Can we get a monkey mom?" as she shakes her arm gently.
Skye smiles as she shakes her head. "You're not getting a dog and you're certainly not getting a monkey young lady. I know your father would be a bad influence of you," she jokes.
"Whoa." Ward puts up his hands innocently. "Why are you throwing me under the bus?"
"Let's just say its a little revenge for all those push ups that you made me do when you were my Supervising Officer." Skye crosses her arms and smiles playfully.
Okay, maybe this won't be the worst thing ever. He's actually beginning to feel like the Grant Ward that she used to know; the guy that would play board games with her, not be able to understand a word of FitzSimmons' science talk and the man who, despite his cold demeanor, actually cared about them. She misses that guy.
...
"Wow, I can't believe that Coulson didn't kick you out or something." Ward laughs as Skye and Leanne continue share stories of their shenanigans.
"Well, Leanne is practically his granddaughter. He can't stay mad at her, even if she split juice in Lola," Skye says, putting her arm around Leanne.
"Hey!" she protests, slipping out from her mother's arm. "I told you that I didn't do it! Sara did it!"
Ward raises an eyebrow. "Who's Sara? Is she FitzSimmons' kid?"
"No, no, no. Fitz and Simmons have been married for like a month, they don't have a kid. Well, yet," Skye is quick to say. "Sara is Leanne's invisible friend."
Leanne shakes her head. "No mommy, Sara's real!" she protests.
"Okay, so Sara is either her invisible friend or she's a ghost that no one else can see but Leanne." She smiles before adding, "What does Sara look like sweetie?"
"Umm, she's tall and blond and wears a white dress." Leanne explains.
Ward smiles. "And she's a trouble maker, right?"
Leanne nods with big motion.
Skye laughs. "I had an invisible friend when I was little too. Don't really remember who she was, but I know that her name was Rachel and she was a fairy...I think. Or was she a mermaid? But anyways, I guess it's common in kids that don't have many other kid friends or don't have siblings." 'Siblings', Skye only catches it after it slips out of her mouth.
"Yeah, why don't I have a brother or sister mommy?" Skye sneaks a glance at Ward, who she can see has no response for the girl. She's not exactly eager to give Leanne the 'birds and the bees' talk at such a young age.
She looks back at her little girl, who still had this look of curiosity in her eyes. Skye swallows, not knowing what to say. "Umm...Leanne, why don't you stand outside? Your father and I need to talk."
"Oh okay," Leanne says standing from her seat. Skye sighs with relief, she's glad that Leanne's at the age when she can change to topic easily. "Bye dad."
"Bye." Ward pauses before sheepishly asking. "Umm...Is it alright if I can have a hug?"
Skye smiles, "I guess this whole dad thing is really rubbing off on you." She looks over to the guard that gives a nod and the turns to Leanne. "Do you want to hug your father?"
"Yes." Leanne replies enthusiastically before walking to the other end of the table. She reaches over to wrap her arms around her father. Ward takes a split second to respond before returning the hug. Skye swears that she can see a tear roll down Ward's cheek.
"Daddy, why are you crying?" Leanne asks. "Why have all the adults been crying?"
Ward freezes when he called her 'daddy', but does his best to recover quickly. "They're just happy tears. It's alright for adults to cry." He smiles.
"You aren't a bad guy like Hans dad." Leanne smiles in return.
Leanne detaches herself from the hug. "Who's Hans?" Ward raises an eyebrow.
"Hans is basically a character from a Disney princess movie called Frozen," Skye explains. "He was the quote en quote 'prince charming' that just pretended to love the main character, but ends up betraying and trying to kill her. I know, it's supposed to be a kid's movie. And that was how this who thing about visiting you started."
"Huh, okay." Ward says as he watches Leanne head for the door. "Bye Leanne."
"Bye dad." She waves, before opening the door and stepping into the hallway.
Once the door swings close, Ward is the first to speak, "So will I be able to see her again?"
Skye presses her lips together. Before coming here, Skye had already made up her mind about Leanne seeing her father, but she still feels a little hesitant about her verdict.
"You will." she nods. "But you'll have to work for my trust and it's not going to fall into your lap. We can start out small. We can come over every month, or every two or three weeks. We can all do arts and crafts or whatever people with white picket fences do." Skye snickers at her own joke. "Maybe we could all go to the zoo for the day. I know you're a heath nut, but we could go eat at McDonalds, get those happy meals with the toy inside."
Skye pauses before continuing. "I talked to the warden already, and she said that you haven't even stepped out of line once. She trusts you to go out for a day with supervision. This doesn't mean I forgive you yet, you have to earn your redemption before I trust you alone with Leanne. But if you hurt her or me again, I will personally find the deepest hole in Hell for you, and throw away the key, for good. Are we clear?" It's taken a lot for her to give him this opportunity. It took a long time for her to understand Garrett's impact on him and even longing for her to even think of the possibly of him redeeming himself. All those cold nights spent her crying to herself after what he did can never be reversed, but maybe he can make up for them now.
Ward nods, "Crystal clear." He laces his hands together on the table and leans slightly forward. "But explain me one thing; why do you trust me? I'm happy to get to know Leanne, but even I don't think that I deserve this after everything I put you through."
"Ward," Skye takes a breath before continuing "It was never really your fault. I understand why you did it, and I understand Garrett's influence on you. He practically brainwashed you. Leanne deserves to have someone she can look up to as a father, and you deserve a chance to know your daughter. You can have this as long as you work for it."
"I will." Ward turns his gaze towards his hands laces in his lap. He swallows. "I'm—I'm sorry," Ward says faintly.
"Sorry for what?" Skye asks, crossing her legs and her arms.
Ward takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry for this whole Hydra mess, sorry for not being there for you, for not doing right by you. I just—I'm just happy that you've been able to raise such a beautiful daughter after all the shit I put you and the team through. I'm happy that you've given me a chance to be a part of Leanne's life." Ward looks up and smiles weakly. "So...Thank you."
Skye is stuck staring at him, stunned. Ward has never been someone to talk about his feelings, or apologize for his actions. It almost seemed out of character. He has changed, and defiantly for the better.
"I'm glad we reached a settlement." Skye pushes her chair back and stands. "See you around Ward."
"Yeah, see you around." He gives a mock salute.
Skye heads for the door. She gives Ward one last long look, flashing a small smile at him before disappearing into the hallway.
Leanne leans against one of the white walls in the hallway, fiddling with the edge of her skirt. At the sound of the door opening, she smiles up at Skye.
"What did you talk about?" Leanne jumps beside her mother.
"Well, we talked about visiting again," Skye replies, reaching down to take Leanne's hand.
She asks, "When are we seeing dad again?"
"I think we'll visit in a few weeks. And maybe we can bring arts and crafts." Leanne's eyes widen. It's pretty much known thought out SHIELD how Leanne is killer (not literally) with scissors and some tape. And let's just say that there are a quiet a few of her drawing on the kitchen fridge.
"Yay!" she exclaims.
They continue to walk down the hallway, until Leanne breaks the comfortable silence, "So how did you meet dad?"
Skye pauses, it's been so long since she's thought back to the start. She racks her brain, trying to find the right way to say it. Figuring out there is no 'right way' to say, she bluntly says, "He kidnapped me."
Leanne gasps, confusion written on her face. "I thought he was a good guy when you met! What he a bad guy back then?"
Skye laughs. "Well, to be honest, back then I was more of the bad guy when we met."
"What?!" she exclaims. "Now I'm really confused!"
Skye wasn't planning on telling the 'How I Met Your Father' story until much later, but hey, why not tell it now? "So what happened was..."
Author's Note: And kids, that's the story of how I met your father. He kidnapped me after I hacked into his secret spy organization. I know it sounds a little crazy, but I assure it was love at first sight. Even though I barely saw him since he threw a bag over my head and dragged me away.
Well, anyways.
I think Ward has borderline personality disorder, you heard it here first! I thought I might just throw that out there because I hate when people misdiagnose characters and stuff. Combined with his abusive childhood, his canon suicide attempts, his ever changing loyalist and the fact that he thinks his actions are justified, I think it's a good contender. You can look the symptoms up yourself, or you can PM me for details.