Hello my lovelies! Once again, I apologize for the long wait again. Please forgive me, and instead take a club to the imp that likes to reside in my brain and distract me.

This will be the FINAL chapter in the sequel. It's been a good long run, and I'm so thankful for all those who have supported this, as well as my other fics. As a person who's not really confident about their writing, seeing your reviews and comments makes me feel so wonderful and motivated. Thank you all for supporting me, and encouraging me to do more.


Crack

Skye's eyes widened a little more, and she sluggishly pulled herself into an upright position. She could have sworn that someone had just been slammed against the door to Hydra's dungeons. Was that scuffling too? Was someone coming for her?

"That, or I'm starting to hallucinate," Skye bitterly thought as she shifted over to lean against the wall, cradling her broken arm, silently cursing the scientists who had experimented on her as a child.

Skye had no idea how long she had been in the stupid base; it could have been anywhere from a few days to even a week. She didn't even know where it was exactly; Ward could have moved her after he drugged her for all she knew. The only thing she did know was why she was an 084.

Turned out, it was her blood of all things. She'd been strapped in a chair as Raina took her blood, and listened in awe as she told Garrett that it had healing properties. It could heal any ailment or injury, from a small cut to even cancer. However, it could only work in others, and not with her. She'd found this out the hard way after Garrett ordered some idiot named Kaminsky to beat her with the Berzerker staff to see how it worked. She'd been thrown back into the cell with a broken arm, a long slash on her arm, and bruises all over her body.

Last night, she'd heard the guards outside her door mentioning something about Garrett planning on 'draining' her to heal himself. Skye had learned during her sessions with Raina the flower psycho that the more serious the injury, the more of her blood was needed. Garrett must be really sick to need all of her blood. And all of her blood meant none left for herself.

"Skye!"

She felt her body freeze, and slowly looked over in the direction of the noise. Coulson was shoving a key into the lock on her door with May pressed to the bars and Trip standing back a bit for them. The door swung open with a click, and the two senior agents tumbled inside, pulling her into a hug.

The tears came suddenly, and in torrents. "I d-d-d-didn't think you guys would come," she bawled on Coulson's shoulder. "It was so long…I thought t-t-that Garrett was right, that you guys didn't c-c-c-c-care about me."

"Shh, it's okay," May soothed, smoothing her tangled hair. Her eyes were red-rimmed and there were tear-stains on her face. Coulson looked exactly the same way. "You're okay, Skye. We came for you, and we always will. You're going to be alright."

"I really wanted my family to find me," Skye sniffled, wiping her eyes with her good arm. "And now my parents are here and…."

She stopped abruptly. The faces of her parental figures looked shocked and surprised and even a bit….happy. "Are you okay?"

"How…" Coulson began, but Trip cleared his throat. "We need to talk to you later, Skye. As soon as we get out of this hell-hole."

Trip nodded. "We need to make sure FitzSimmons have Ward with them first."

"NO!" shrieked Skye as May helped her up. "He's with Garrett. He's Hydra. He's the reason I ended up here."

"And he's also the reason that we're here," May replied as they walked out the door. The two goons who had been at the door were now unconscious. "He called us and told us what Garrett wanted to do to you. Ward said he needed to get you out, so that you were safe. That they'd already hurt you enough."


"Come on!" Jemma's head whipped from side to side as she and Fitz followed close behind Grant through the halls of the Hydra base. "We need to get out of here!"

"We're almost there," Grant answered as he led the scientists around another corner. After they'd met up with him, they'd shut down half the base, destroyed Raina's lab (along with the girl herself) in an explosion, and had just opened the gates to the airfield, where the Bus was waiting for them. Hopefully, Coulson, May, and Trip were already there with Skye. He hadn't been allowed to see since he had brought her to Garrett, but he knew that she needed serious medical based on some of the sounds he'd heard.

"We're almost there," Grant said, a surge of relief pushing through his veins as the door leading out into the airfield. Jemma squeaked behind him, but Grant could on focus on the door. They were almost safe. He was so close to freedom, so close to-

"Going somewhere?"

Grant slowed into a stop, a chill running down his spine. Slowly, he turned around and saw Garrett holding Fitz and Jemma in a headlock, a feat helped by his cybernetic enhancements. A gun was pressed against Jemma's temple while the biochemist tried not to whimper.

"Let them go." Grant's voice was low and angry as he looked at the monster who he had once regarded as a hero.

Garrett only shook his head and tightened his grip. "Sorry son," he sneered as Fitz began to gasp. "But did you really think that I would let you get away with this? Ward, I saved your ass all those years ago when your family left you to rot, and this is how you repay me? I'm disappointed, son. I really am."

"NO!" Grant roared furiously. "You didn't save me, you condemned me. I was no more than a puppet to you for fifteen goddamn years, but no more! I'm done with you making me do these things. I will not be controlled by you ever again. And I refuse to let you hurt the people I care about. If you want to kill them, then you'll have to get through me first."

"Is that so?" A maniacal smile slid across Garrett's face as he shifted the gun from Jemma toward Grant. "Well then, goodbye Wa-"

A sharp buzz made the lights flicker, and Garrett collapsed to the ground, dropping his gun to clutch his metal side in agony. Fitz and Jemma scrambled away, and Grant could see an EMP like the one they'd had in South Ossetia clutched in Fitz's hand. "It's not his turn to die!" the engineer spat angrily.

Swallowing, Grant walked over to where Garrett had fallen, and kicked the gun to the side. He drew his own firearm.

"Ward," Garrett rasped. "Think about this. Killing me…it won't make them forgive you. They'll never forgive you. Doing this won't get back on Coulson's team of goody-goodies. If you really want to redeem yourself, then you'd turn me and yourself in, son."

Buddy. Coulson. Skye. Trip's partner. The faces flashed across his mind.

"I don't care about redemption," he confessed. "All I want to do is protect the people who I care about. The people who are my family."

With that, he pulled the trigger, and the bullet imbedded itself into Garrett's skull. He fell back, dead.

Grant gasped as Jemma suddenly threw her arms around him in a hug. "Thank you," she whispered into the fabric of his leather jacket.

"I should have just walked away," Grant whispered hollowly. "Killing a man while he was down, it's wrong. I'm no better than him."

"He was evil," Fitz replied, his face a mix of determination and understanding. "He needed to be stopped. He was going to kill you, and us. You saved us, Ward. You made the right call."

"Now let's get out of here!" Jemma added, tugging Grant's arm toward the exit door.


They ran out onto the airfield just as the other group burst out of another door. Grant's heart jumped up to his throat when he saw Skye cradled limply in May's arms. As soon as they climbed up the cargo gate and closed it, May laid her daughter down on the lab table while Simmons began to get supplies out. "Stay with her," she murmured to Coulson, kissing him before taking off up the spiral staircase to the cockpit.

Coulson nodded, and he and Grant retreated off to the side while Jemma nad Fitz began to work on patching up Skye's wounds. "Is she okay?" Grant asked nervously.

"Passed out in the halls," sighed Coulson. "Might have been dehydration, exhaustion, but she just collapsed before we got out the door. What were they doing to her down there?"

"They wouldn't let me see her." He looked away in shame. "I had no idea what was going on until…."

His voice cracked when he thought about what he'd done. "Garrett tried to kill FitzSimmons," he blurted out. "And I…I…"

"You killed him?" Grant nodded.

Coulson pressed his lips together. "It's always a tough call, but when the people you care about are in danger, you'll do almost anything."

"Yeah," Grant mumbled, still feeling awkward.

"Thank you, Grant." Coulson looked over at him. "Thank you for saving Skye."

He nodded. "I'm sorry for what I did-"

"But in the end, you saved her," Coulson interrupted, turning toward him. "And because of that, I'm wiping your slate clean. You're welcome to join the team again…if you want to."

For the first time, Grant was completely accepting with the idea of being on a team. When you went in solo, you had no one to watch your back. But with a team, you had someone watching out for you. You had acceptance. You had a family. "I'd like that, sir."

"Good," Coulson smiled before going completely serious. 'But I'm keeping my eye on you and my daughter. If you ever do anything to hurt her again in anyway, then you're going to have to worry about me, Melinda, FitzSimmons, Trip, and the Avengers, because we will make your life hell. Understood?"

Grant gulped. "Understood, sir."

Coulson chuckled. "I'm glad you're back, Ward."

The specialist looked at his feet, blushing. "Me too, sir," he replied. "Me too."


She felt warm and comfortable. Her arm felt secure and hurt less than it had been. But that beeping was annoying her. Skye blinked her eyes open and sighed at the sight of the familiar white walls. Her broken arm was now in a cast, and there was an IV drip attached to her arm. The low rumble of the Bus's engines told them they were in the air, which meant…she was safe!

There was something warm and heavy clasped around her hand that wasn't peeking out of a cast. Ward was sitting in a chair by her bed, holding her hand and staring off into space.

"Hey, Robo-Agent," Skye croaked, her throat feeling incredibly dry.

Ward looked up and over at her. "Skye?" he whispered, his face filling with concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"I am so sorry," he apologized, looking at her with eyes full of sorrow and regret. "I shouldn't have done this. It's all my fault. I don't know why I did it, it was so wrong. If I had known Garrett as going to do this, I wouldn't have done it. I shouldn't have done it period. I should have just killed him sooner. God, I'm so sorry Skye."

"May said you called them to get me out, and that you wanted to be left behind," Skye felt realization dawn on her. "You betrayed that slimeball for me? To get me to safety?"

"I actually ended up killing him after he tried to do in FitzSimmons," he admitted guiltily.

"But you still went against that psychopath because…you care about me."

"I do, Skye," Grant held her hand a little tighter. "I care about you a lot."

Skye smiled. Maybe she wasn't wrong about liking Ward after all. "Me too, Grant."

She was about to say more when she saw May and Coulson appear in the doorway. May was holding a thick file in her arms. Both looked a little shaken and appeared to have crying again. Ward noticed them and paled, his hand slipped out of Skye's as he stood up abruptly.

"I'll leave you guys alone," he mumbled as he hastily exited the room.

"Are you feeling better?" May asked softly as she and Coulson came over and sat on the edge of her bed. "We were so worried when you passed out in the hallway."

"Oh, I'm fine," Skye waved her casted arm jokingly. "Seriously though, I'll live. It's all good."

A silence settled over the room until Coulson cleared his throat. "We need to talk to you about something you said to us earlier, Skye. About us being your….."

"Oh," Skye felt her heart flood with the familiar feeling of disappointment and rejection that she'd grown up with in the foster system. "Is this about me calling you two my parents? Because I'm sorry if it made you uncomfortable, but it's just…I can't explain it. To me, you're like the parents I always wanted but never had. Even when I screwed up, you still kept me around, and I got to learn from my mistakes. If I ever find my real parents though, I would want them to be just like you."

May's hands flew over her mouth, and Coulson looked awestruck. They looked as though they were going to start crying again.

May slid the file into Skye's lap. "Ward found this in the Hydra base. It had your name on it. We added some stuff to it that we already had. This seems like the best way we can think of to explain this to you."

"Thanks," Skye smiled and started to flip through the folder. On top were recent items, like SHIELD medical reports and notes from Raina the flower nut and her psycho experiments. But there was a large time gap after her first SHIELD medical report and the item following it. The date of the next item was over twenty-four years ago, with a Hydra logo at the top of the page and a picture of a baby her with bunch of medical jargon next to it. Skye frowned and turned over the next page, where she found a copy of a birth certificate. Her birth certificate.

Name: Amelia Margaret

Mother: Melinda Qiaolian May-Coulson

Father: Phillip James Coulson

"Oh my god," Skye whispered, her trembling hand covering her mouth. She looked up at the two people sitting on the edge of her bed who had taken her in and given her purpose. The people responsible for her existence. For the first time in forever, she could see all the similarities between them and herself. She really was their daughter.

"Amy?" Her father moved closer and took her free hand. Her mother scooted closed, laying her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you earlier-"

"It was my fault," May admitted, cutting him off. "I was scared, and I held him back from telling you because of that. Ever since that horrible night when we woke up and found you gone from your room, I blamed myself for not keeping you safe. I was afraid to tell you because I thought you'd think that we didn't want you. But for every day that's passed since we lost you, all I've ever wanted is to have my baby back. To be the family we were meant to be."

"Can you forgive us?" Coulson asked. "Can you forgive us for not telling you? For everything?"

Skye gazed up at her parents and smiled. "Of course," she whispered, tears leaking from her eyes. "You're my parents, and just knowing that you wanted me…"

Skye began to cry then. May moved forward and wrapped her arms around her daughter, sobbing. Coulson joined them and tears fell down his cheeks too.

"Mom, Dad," Skye choked out. "I have a mom and dad."

"Yes, Amy," May laughed, kissing the top of her head. "You do, baby."

"Thank you for finding me," Skye sobbed. "You found me, and I love you guys so much."

"We love you too, baby girl," Coulson said, smiling at his daughter.

The family was finally reunited. It had taken over twenty four years, but they now had each other again.

Because for the first time in forever,

For the first time in forever,

I know my parents are Coulson and May!


I hope that was a satisfying ending for you all. I'm not going to lie, I cried a bit while I wrote Skye's speech to Coulson and May before she knew they were her parents. If the show had only gone one season (which it thankfully hasn't, LESS THAN A MONTH Y'ALL!), then this is how I would have wanted it to end.

Once again, thank you guys for everything, and be sure to leave a final review to tell me how this went.