Hey guys :) So here's the next chapter. Sorry it took a while, but its a bit longer than the others so hopefully it'll make up for it. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read and/or review, it helps a lot! Anyways, again, this chapter didn't turn out exactly how I'd planned 'cos it was taking too long and I just kinda wanted to get it out there. So some of the things I'd had planned will come around next chapter, so please stay tuned!

Chapter three)

Overall, Skye didn't end up spending as long as she'd hoped for in the shower. Although she could've easily spent the whole afternoon under the scalding water, she had things to do. Seeing Coulson earlier had only confirmed her suspicions that he was keeping something from her, something big.

Nevertheless, she took her time washing her hair, getting changed, grabbing a small bite of breakfast before making her way downstairs to the lab. She didn't see Coulson on her way, supposedly he was back in his office, researching into whatever had been troubling him for the past week, or doing some other important Director stuff. She grabbed her laptop on the way; if Coulson was distracted it would be a good opportunity for her to look into what he was working on lately. Maybe if she could get into the Bus's communication logs she could at least see who and what he was talking about.

She walked into the lab, and was immediately met with Simmons's startled yell of "Skye, don't move!" Skye froze, just as a huge bang sounded and a small projectile hurtled past her and embedded itself deep into the chest of a manikin a few feet away from where she was standing. She jumped back, swearing loudly, and turned to glare at the two scientists as they emerged from behind a clear, plastic screen.

"If you guys don't want me in here you could-you know- just tell me. No need to kill me," she accused angrily.

"Sorry, Skye," Simmons said as her and Fitz rushed past to check on the manikin. "But this wouldn't have killed you. Quite fascinating really, it uses small pin of ionized metal to release an electromotive force emanating from the contact site which renders the victim into a temporary state of-"

"Sounds great, Gem, but next time could ya give me a warning before I'm impaled on sight? Maybe put up a sign on the door or something?"

Simmons gives her a small smile before turning to Fitz, who's extracted a pretty lethal looking needle from the dummy and is examining its tip with safety gloves. "What do you think Fitz? Did ionizing the metal affect the flight path at all?"

Fitz grunts, not taking his eyes off his work. "Doesn't appear so, but we should try increasing the centripetal force in the barrel to make it rotate through the air more." He moves behind the screen without a backward glance and starts furiously typing away at the monitor.

Simmons sighs. "Fitz, it hit the target dead on. It doesn't need any more-"

"And I still don't think we should be designing an electromotive gun. The night-night bullets do exactly the same thing and I don't see the point in designing another disarming weapon. SHIELD needs weapons to kill, not to make the enemy drop their bloody gun."

Skye found herself wishing she had walked in a few minutes later, just so she didn't have to see the look of shock on Simmons's face. She came to Gemma's help.

"Fitz," Skye started, "you shouldn't-"

He rounded on her. "What? You're honestly saying that you wouldn't shoot to kill if Ward came around that corner right now?" She wasn't used to the look of anger on Fitz's face. "Oh that's right, you had the chance, and you didn't take it."

Skye inhaled sharply, a mixture of pain and anger rendering her speechless. The events three months ago had become a sort of taboo on the Bus. If you didn't talk about it, you could pretend it didn't happen, as best as you could. It had taken time, but they had all gotten used to the absence of the man that had been such an integral part of their team. There were still times though when Skye's mind was left reeling, when she woke up screaming and shaking after nightmares of Ward killing Coulson and May, or Fitzsimmons and Trip. Those were the times when she threw herself into her work, either spending hours on her laptop or kicking the hell out of a punching bag, desperately trying to lose herself in the monotonous comfort of routine.

Surprisingly, it was usually May who broke her out of these moods, gently but firmly pushing her away from the computer screen or training area, bandaging her hands when they bled from the continuous exercise or simply encouraging her to eat or sleep more.

And now, again, Skye found it was May who came to her rescue.

"Well, this argument couldn't have come at a better time," her voice rang out through the lab. Fitz, startled, took an unsteady step backward, blinking quickly as if waking up, and looked towards the door, where the senior agent was standing watching the scene play out in front of her. "Coulson wants us in the lounge," she added. "You might want to leave the gun behind."

"Ward's here?!"

Fitz's harsh voice rang through the room. Seated on one of the coaches, Skye shifted even closer to Gemma, who had noticeably flinched at the anger in Fitz's voice, and placed a comforting arm around her shoulders. She looked up, taking in May's stoic face. Her and Coulson were doing a good job at hiding their expressions, she supposed they'd had enough time to thoroughly prepare for any reactions that the team could have. Fitz was simply living up to their expectations.

To find out that the man that had betrayed them all was back in their lives again, currently sitting in their interrogation cell, had hit them all hard. The only outward sign Trip had shown were his fingers slowly curling into fists. Simmons had shrunk, her eyes glazing over slightly as she lost herself in memories. Skye was left to comfort her, pushing aside her own shock as she desperately focused on her friend.

Fitz paced around the room, hands clenching his hair. "You've bought him back to the very place where he dropped me and Simmons into the ocean? Of course you did, he was always one of your favorites, another one of those people you thought you could 'fix.' This obviously wasn't a very thorough job, was it?" He gestured to the small scar on his temple, the only physical reminder of what had transpired three months ago.

Coulson still looked relatively impassive. "Every situation has been considered. The safety of the team is my ultimate priority, but Ward's doctors have thought that his recovery has been adequate for him to be integrated back into a familiar environment."

"Why not put him in a watertight container and drop him to the bottom of the ocean, see if that's familiar enough for him."

Coulson's jaw clenched, the only sign that Fitz's words were affecting him. "Every precaution has been taken. Ward seems to have shown genuine repentance for what he has done, and I'm not in the business of denying him a chance of redemption." His eyes find Skye's. "It wouldn't be the first time we gave someone a second chance."

Fitz rounds on him. "This isn't some teenage boyfriend drama. This is Ward. You're bringing a killer back into our lives, or are you too bloody caught up in your new found Director status to realise that?"

"Enough!" Coulson shouted. He took a breath. "I understand your concern, Fitz. Out of everyone you have the most right to feel concerned. But I am still your boss and it's up to me to make these decisions. Ward's changed. I understand if you don't see that but I'm asking you to respect it." He turned towards where Simmons and Skye were sitting shell-shocked on the couch. "If you want to see Ward, he's in the interrogation room until we can find a more suitable location. May will oversee any and all interactions." And with a final nod, he turned and walked towards his office.

There was a ringing silence after he left, in which everyone tried to comprehend this new change. The only sound was Fitz's deep breaths, and even that disappeared when Fitz moved, quickly making his way out of the room. Simmons made to follow him, until Skye put a gentle hand on her shoulder and said "let him go, Gem. He needs time to get a grip on things. We all do."

Ward sat at the plain metal table. He didn't fidget or complain. During his time in his cell silence had been his only constant companion, so in a way being alone again gave him a sense of relief and comfort in this otherwise unconventional day.

He was expecting someone, but still it surprised him that it was Fitz that came to see him first.

Fitz burst into the room, slamming the door open. His breaths were fast and panicked, his hair sticking up unruly. Seeing the young scientist again made guilt twist at Ward's heart but at the same time sent a surge of relief through his had been told numerous times that despite his injures, he was fine. But it was something Ward needed to see with his own eyes. He was alright. He wasn't dead. Out of the corner of his eye he saw May slip in silently behind Fitz.

"Fitz-" Ward started.

And Fitz- Fitz, who swooned at the sight of blood, who had once had a lengthy argument with Ward about the merits of violence when intellect could be used so much more efficiently- Fitz strode crossed the room and punched him across the face. Red crackled across his vision as his nose flared up in pain. When he could see again, Fitz was still standing in front of him, wearing a look of shock that Ward was sure was mirrored on his own face. It would've almost been a funny situation if it wasn't for the anger and pain in the scientists eyes.

"Fitz," Ward struggled out again.

"If you ever hurt Gemma again, I'll kill you, I swear to God. You coward." Then he turned his back and went out the door, pushing past May on the way.

Blood streamed down into Ward's mouth. He wiped it away with the back of his hand. "You didn't stop him," he says quietly to May.

She lifts one eyebrow. "Neither did you," she replies simply.

The blood has dried on his face by the time Simmons comes in, but the pain's still there, a constant thumping pressure against his head. As such it was only May clearing her throat repeatedly that alerted him to Simmons's presence in the room.

"Fitz said he hit you," she says quietly, standing awkwardly by the door. "I bought you some painkillers." She places them as well as a bottle of water on the table, reluctant to get any closer that necessary to him. He reaches out for them slowly, cautious as to not startling her. Fear is practically radiating off the girl and he can feel May staring daggers at him from the corner.

He swallows the pills and takes several large gulps of the water to wash them down, realizing only then that it's the first drink he's had all day. He nods gratefully at Simmons and sets down the bottle with a small sigh. "If it's worth anything," he says hesitantly, "Hearing that you and Fitz were alive was the best thing I've heard in my life."

Simmons sucks in a breath, her eyes shining with unshed tears. She had expected an apology, maybe, something which tried to excuse or explain his actions. But the Ward in front of her seemed so different from the one prepared to kill her a few months ago that her mind was left reeling. "No," she says desperately. "You're lying. You're a liar. You're just going to betray us like you did before!" He opens his mouth to answer, but she shouts "No, NO! Don't say anything. I don't want to hear anything more!" She runs from the room before he can get another word in.

Ward slumps in his chair, feeling utterly drained. It would be a long time before he could begin to talk normally with his old team.

Skye was sitting on her bed when Coulson knocked on her door, staring intently at her laptop screen. "You haven't been to see Ward yet," he says gently.

She didn't look up at him. "Well, doing that would defeat the purpose of avoiding him so…"

"You can't avoid someone forever. Eventually you're going to have to talk to him."

She rolled her eyes. "It's a big plane, AC, a girl can try. And," she looks up at him and its only then that he sees the cold anger in her eyes. "While we're on the topic of not talking, when were you going to tell me about this?" She swivels her laptop around so he can see what she had been working on. Somehow, despite all of his attempts to keep it from her, Skye had managed to find the image threatening her and was glaring up at him with such betrayal that it made his heart clench. "What the hell is this, Coulson, and why didn't I know about it before? And don't you dare say some crap like 'you didn't know how to tell me.'"

Coulson stepped into the room, closing the door carefully behind him, and makes his way over to where she's sitting. He gently shuts her laptop screen. He's seen enough of that damn photo. He takes her hand, and is gratified when she doesn't pull away. "Listen to me, Skye. I'm sorry. I truly am. I should've told you about it, but we didn't know what it was. I wanted to know something more before I presented you with another unsolvable mystery."

"But you don't know anything."

"No, it's impossible. The entirety of SHIELD's operatives couldn't find where it came from.

"But its sick, AC! They have a picture of me sleeping! What else could they get into?" A look of horror passed over her face. "Do we have security cameras in the shower?"

"I know, believe me, I know." He gripped her hands tightly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this sooner. But I wanted to protect you and I don't know what I'm protecting you from. I'm sorry."

Skye nodded once, thoughtfully. Biting her lip, she said hesitantly. "I might know someone who could help, this is his sort of his style," she gave sort of grimace, "but you aren't gonna like it."

"Skye," he replied seriously, "if whoever this is can make sense of this, if they might know anything, I wouldn't care if it was Miles. So how can we contact him?"

Skye didn't answer.

"Its Miles, isn't it?"

She nodded again, a hint of a smile playing over her lips. He sighed. Of course it is. "I'll tell May to change course to Hong Kong. He couldn't have gotten far when we left him stranded in a foreign country with no money."

Coulson stands up and turns to leave. He's at the doorway when he stops and turns back. "Skye," he calls, "I'm not saying you should forgive Ward, but… hear him out. He hasn't had it easy. Please just… think about it."

And just before he leaves, so softly he almost didn't hear it, she said sadly "I always do."

Couldn't resist adding in some Skyward there at the end (don't worry guys, they'll be plenty of interaction there next chapter, mwah ha ha) So, please tell me what you guys thought of this chapter. Please!

I don't speak science, so all the terms that Fitzsimmons speak are random words I know from physics, so I'm truly sorry if they don't make any sense :p

Anyho, thanks again for taking the time to read!

-F