Chapter 3
While the rain is falling

Skye soon realized that it was hard to return to her normal routine. She woke up every morning at eight, and it always took her a few seconds to realize that she didn't have to walk Peggy anymore. She would lay back down, but never manage to fall asleep again.

Because she woke up so early these days, it gave her a lot more free time. Apart from some other dog sitting jobs, which were all for only a few hours at a time, she had not much to do. She had asked Coulson if she could work more hours a day, and thankfully he had said yes to that. She now started two hours earlier.

She never thought that taking care of someone's dog for a week could change her life so much. She had never spent so much time with one dog, so she was also fully unprepared for the consequences. To fill the emptiness Peggy had left, she spent more time than ever with Hunter, holding him until he started to squirm out of her hold.

Jemma hadn't contacted her again after the last text message, and Skye almost called her one day, but decided that would be a bit weird. She and Jemma had nothing in common, and to just call her up out of the blue would be wrong. Besides, she didn't even know what to say to her.

"Good morning." She said to May while opening the door.

"Morning, Skye." May said smiling lightly. "You're early today." She said glancing at the clock on the wall.

"Yeah, couldn't sleep." Skye told her. "I brought coffee." She held up the two cups.

"You're a star."

"I know I am." Skye replied smirking. She handed one of the cups to May and placed hers on the counter. May thanked her and Skye turned to where she knew Hunter would be.

"He's still asleep." May said as if she could read Skye's mind.

"Oh." Sky tried to sound unaffected, but deep down she was a bit disappointed.

"We got some new guinea pigs this morning." May tried to cheer her up a bit.

It worked, Skye couldn't help but smile. "Where are they?"

The dark haired woman pointed towards the back of the store and Skye almost ran to the storage there. She always got excited when the new animals arrived. It was like getting a new toy she could play with for the first time. She soon located the box where the guinea pigs were in, and she carefully lifted the lid.

Her eyes landed on four brown, and two black ones, still young. They were all huddled together in a corner, either for warmth or because they were scared, she didn't know.

She let her hand down inside the box, and one of the brown ones tentatively stepped forwards and sniffed her hand. For a second it looked like everything was going okay, until suddenly he opened his tiny mouth and bit down hard on her thumb.

Skye yelped and quickly pulled her arm back up. "Ouch." She hissed.

"You okay back there?" Came May's voice.

"One of them bit me." Skye replied, holding her hand up so she could see her finger.

It was bleeding profusely, and hurt like hell. "I'll be right back."

She went over to the small kitchen and carefully washed her hand under cold water. It stung, but at least now she could get a good look at the bite marks that were now visible in her thumb. They were fairly deep, and already new blood started to well up.

She walked back to the counter, where Bobbi already had the first aid kit out.

"Let me see the damage." May said, and Skye could swear she saw some compassion in her eyes.

She held her thumb up and pouted, "It hurts."

Without speaking, May got a band-aid and put it on Skye's finger, careful not to hurt her.

"There. Next time you should be more careful."

"Thanks." Skye mumbled.

It still hurt, but for some reason it felt a little better than before she had it taken care of. Maybe it was May's almost motherly tone and softness of her movements when she had held Skye's hand.

Just like Coulson, May felt like family to her. Even though the woman looked barely older than her, Skye had always felt more of a maternal love for her. May didn't have any children of her own, so the little love she let occasionally shine through, went straight to her little make shift family at the pet store. Skye looked up to her, mostly because she respected her, but also because she had been a tiny bit scared of her when they had first met. Even though she would never admit that out loud to anyone.

She took a sip from her coffee, and she and May fell into a comfortable silence. It wasn't until the bell above the front door rang, signalling the arrival of a customer. Skye didn't lift her head and kept playing the game on her phone.

"Good morning, can I help you with something?" She heard May say.

What she heard next made her head shoot up so fast she almost fell out of her chair.

"Hello, yes actually. I was looking for these dog treats. My dog really loves them but I've ran out yesterday."

Skye would recognize that voice anywhere. Jemma.

When she looked up, it was indeed Jemma standing in the middle of the store, still holding up the empty bag of dog treats she had taken with her to show which ones she meant. The woman hadn't spotted Skye yet, but Skye was about to change that.

"Hey." She said, trying to sound as casual as possible.

Jemma's head turned towards her, and her eyes widened comically. "Skye?"

"Yup." Skye grinned.

"You know her?" May asked.

"Yeah, remember Peggy? The dog I told you about?"

Suddenly it dawned on May, and she smirked slyly but didn't say anything, she just nodded.

"What are you doing here? If you don't mind me asking." Jemma added the last part quickly, completely missing the exchange of looks between Skye and May.

"I work here." Skye said simply.

"Oh," Jemma said, "I didn't know that."

Skye smiled, "That's okay. I've only known you for two weeks, I don't expect you to know everything about me." While she said it, she realized it sounded like a bit of an odd thing to say to the woman who's dog she took care of for a week, so she quickly added, "So, I heard you were looking for those dog treats? I happen to know we sell those."

"Let me guess, you were the one that gave them to Peggy in the first place." Jemma tried to sound serious, "She is completely addicted to them and won't eat her old treats anymore, thank you very much." She flailed her hands around, trying to act angry.

Skye laughed out loud, and even May cracked a smile at the girls theatrics.

"Guilty," Skye said, still laughing, "I needed something to make her like me."

"Well that definitely worked." Jemma said, smiling back. "But now I need more of them."

"Right, follow me." Skye said, falling back into business mode. She walked over to the rack with dog food and pointed them out to Jemma.

The woman got two bags and followed Skye back to the register.

"So uh, how's Peggy doing?" Skye asked.

"She is doing great. Besides her need for those treats." Jemma joked.

"Yeah yeah, I completely take responsibility for that."

Jemma handed her the right amount of money, and May put her purchase in a plastic bag with the shops logo on the front. She handed it to Jemma while Skye was still waiting for the receipt to print. When it did, she gave it to the woman, trying to ignore the way their fingers brushed ever so slightly. It made her blush non the less.

"I also had a question for you," Jemma said, looking at her watch, "but I need to get back to work now. Can I call you tonight instead?"

"Yeah sure."

"Great." Jemma smiled, "Talk to you later."

With that, the woman left the store, closing the door behind her. Skye kept looking at the door for several seconds after Jemma had disappeared through it. When she finally tore her eyes away, she noticed May was looking at her.

"What?" She asked.

"So that was the girl you talked about." The woman said with a smirk. "She's nice. Good job with that one, Skye."

"Oh shut up." Skye breathed, cheeks flushing again.

May only shot her another look, but Skye saw the small smile playing on the woman's lips.

She didn't know why, but it made her feel better that May seemed to approve of Jemma. It was totally ridiculous to think they would ever be more than friends, but if it ever happened, she now knew that May was on her side. That thought made her smile.

Jemma opened her front door and stepped inside. She was exhausted. The day at work seemed to keep dragging on and her feet and back ached. She was glad to finally be home. She greeted Peggy and even the dog seemed to be relieved she was home.

She dropped her purse on the kitchen table and let herself fall into the couch. She sighed and closed her eyes for a minute, rubbing her temples. She let her thoughts wander back to the only good thing that day, Skye.

When she had walked into that pet store, she had never thought she would walk into Skye there, but she was happy she had. Jemma knew it was ridiculous to look forward to seeing the girl who was still practically a stranger, but she couldn't stop her heart from leaping when she laid eyes on the brown haired woman on her lunch break.

For some reason, Jemma felt like she had known Skye for two years, instead of two weeks. The other girl made her feel things she hadn't felt in a very long time, and to be honest it scared her a little bit. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt Peggy's head under her fingers.

"I need to ask you something." She said, opening her eyes and sitting up. Peggy took this as an invitation to jump on her lap. Jemma rubbed her long ears between her fingers.

"I was thinking of asking Skye to take care of you every month when I leave. Would you like that?"

Peggy didn't give any sign of hearing her, instead she yawned and settled down deeper into Jemma's lap. Jemma let her hand run over the soft fur on her back and Peggy let out a content sigh.

"I think you would like that. You seem quite fond of her." Jemma continued talking, "You have good judgement, she is very nice."

She fell silent after that, letting her hands run over Peggy's body for a while longer. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep, and Jemma too felt like closing her eyes for a while. She shifted so that she was now able to lie down and let her head rest on the armrest. With Peggy still on her lap, she relaxed into the soft couch.

When she woke up again, Peggy was no longer lying on top of her. Her eyes scanned the room and Peggy had moved to her own bed. Jemma sat up, winching when she felt the kink in her neck. She stretched her arms and then let them fall to her sides.

They collided with something hard, and she turned her head, surprised. In the small space between the couch pillows, a small black square was visible. When she wrapped her fingers around it and pulled it up, she noticed it was most likely a laptop charger. Which was odd, she knew hers was in her bedroom.

For a moment she sat there, puzzled, before it clicked. It must be Skye's charger. Jemma wondered if the woman had missed it, and for a second she felt guilty for not finding it earlier. Then she remember her promise to Skye that she would call her later that evening, and she made a mental note to mention the charger.

She got up and placed the black charger on the kitchen table, next to her purse. It was time to start making dinner, and she had made it a habit to tell Peggy about her day while cooking. Peggy, knowing there was a very big chance she would drop something edible on the floor, was already sitting in the door opening, knowing full well she wasn't allowed in the kitchen while she was cooking.

While Jemma prepared her own dinner, she told Peggy about the things she had done that day. It felt good to have someone to talk to, even though she knew Peggy probably didn't understand her or could reply. But she did it anyway, every day.

Two hours later, she had eaten dinner and done the dishes and was now back on the couch, glass of red wine in her hand. She had her phone in her hand, her finger hovering over Skye's name. She didn't know why she was hesitating, and without further ado, she pressed the call button and brought the phone to her ear.

It rung a few times before the woman on the other end picked up.

"Hey." Skye said.

"Hello Skye." Jemma replied, "Is now a good time to call?"

"Yes, your timing couldn't be more perfect." Jemma could hear Skye's smile through her voice.

"Good. I wanted to call you to ask you something." She took a breath before continuing, "You might remember what I told you when you came over here for the first time. I told you that I leave a week every month for work."

"Yeah, I remember that." Skye said.

"I was wondering if you were interested in watching Peggy every month when I leave."

Skye didn't reply right away, and Jemma got a little nervous. Maybe she had estimated the situation wrong, but her worries were blown away when Skye started talking.

"Really? I would love that!"

"Really?" Jemma felt the need to ask.

"Yeah. Peggy is the sweetest dog I have ever met. It would be an honour to take care of her every month."

Jemma smiled, "I am so glad to hear that. I am sure Peggy will be happy with this agreement too."

"She better be." Skye laughed.

They talked for a while about some practical issues that need to be discussed to make this work. And it wasn't until Jemma let her eyes wander around the room and her eyes fell on the kitchen table, that she remembered to tell Skye about her charger.

"Oh, there was another thing I needed to tell you." She said.

"Not something bad I hope." Skye replied.

"Oh no, don't worry, I just wanted to let you know I found your charger today. I am sure you must have missed it."

"So that's where it went,"Skye exclaimed, "I looked for it for hours, thinking I lost it. I'm glad you found it."

"Would you like me to return it to you?" Jemma asked.

"I've already bought a new one, but thanks for the offer." She stopped talking for a moment, as if thinking about what to say next. "It's actually quite continent that there is one there now as well. Since I'm going to stay there every month now."

"You're right, I never thought of it in that way." Jemma commented.

"Look at me, already moving in." Skye joked.

Jemma's heart stopped beating for a second. It wasn't until she heard Skye's voice calling her name, sounding nervous, that she realized what the other woman had just said.

Moving in. Jemma knew that Skye only meant it in the most innocent way possible, but Jemma couldn't stop her mind from jumping to conclusions. She cleared her throat.

"Yeah, piece by piece. I better be careful." She said, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

Skye laughed, and the sound made Jemma forget about the awkward thing that just happened.

They talked for a while longer, Skye making easy conversation. But when Jemma glanced at the time, she realized she still had to walk Peggy.

"I would love to keep talking, but I have to get up early tomorrow and I still have to take Peggy out for her walk." She said.

"Of course! I'm so sorry for keeping you up." Skye quickly said.

"Don't be. I like talking to you." Jemma was happy it was a phone call, this way Skye couldn't see the blush that crept up.

"I like talking to you too, Jemma."

Both were quiet for a long moment, and it was Jemma who broke the silence.

"Okay, well, ill see you later I guess?"

"Yeah, definitely." Skye said.

"Good night, Skye."

"Night night."

Jemma hung up, her ear feeling warm after having had a phone pressed against it for so long.

She was already looking forwards to the next time she would have to leave, which was odd. Usually she didn't like to leave home, but now that she knew Skye would be here, in her house, made leaving feel a lot easier.

She took Peggy out for a quick walk, cutting it short because she knew both were tired. Getting home, Peggy walked straight to her bedroom and nestled herself in the sheets, yawning and almost falling asleep instantly.

Jemma walked around the living room, collecting her empty wine glass and quickly washing it. She didn't like to go to sleep with dishes still undone, even if it was just one glass. When she was satisfied and sure there were no other unwashed dishes, she smiled to herself and decided to get ready for bed too. She had a long day tomorrow.

A/N: All the titles are from the song Golden by Lady Antebellum.

I hope you have just as much fun reading this as I had with writing it.