Finally a new chapter. Sorry for the wait, I have been busy with family and work, and also writing my other 2 stories. This chapter is a lot of set up, and relationship building; necessary for the coming chapters. I promise more action and drama is to come. More angst and some fluff as well. Please note that this is not a Ward friendly story as I am following canon from Season 1. I am also not going to be completely in character with any of them as I am exploring a further family type dynamic between all the characters.


Skye wandered through the halls searching for the shooting range. She had asked an agent who had sent her in the wrong direction and now she was close to being late. She rounded a corner and sighed in relief. May was down further in the corridor. She hustled and came up behind her new SO. Which obviously was a stupid thing to do, since she was currently standing with May's arm around her throat and a gun pointed at her head. She surmised this was going to be her first lesson.

May stepped back, letting go of Skye and lowered her weapon. "That was stupid Skye. Never, ever come up behind someone like when they have a weapon in their hand unless you intend to take them out. Got it?"

Skye grinned and saluted. "Aye, aye captain." The grin disappeared quickly as Skye watched the disapproval flicker across her superior's face. "Sorry. I meant copy that."

May shook her head a bit, and then handed the gun to Skye. "You will learn this gun inside and out. You will learn how to load the gun, and how to shoot with it. With both hands. First step. Over there on that table are more rounds. First unload it and then reload it. Now Skye."

Skye moved to the table holding the gun. She looked at it and back to May. May shook her head. "Ward taught you the basics, didn't he?"

Skye nodded. "Shooting. He always handed me the gun."

Melinda May sighed. Ward wasn't training the girl to be an agent. Why would he, that might have backfired on him. Actually it did anyway, seeing how resourceful Skye was, but now she needed to be trained correctly. She would have to start from the beginning. She held her hand out. Skye obliged, giving her back the weapon.

"Watch and learn. I'm going to do it two times. Then you will do it." She unloaded the weapon slowly the first time and sped up the second. She handed the gun to Skye. "You're turn."

Skye did as she had seen May do. May watching as she had her do it over and over. Load, unload. Finally May told her to stop. She led her over to the targets, putting on ear protectors.

Skye shot at the target. She missed three completely, got two on the paper but not the target and one in the shoulder. She frowned. She sucked. She looked at May who was standing a few feet away with her arms crossed.

"How many times did Ward teach you to shoot or let you practice?"

"Um maybe four."

"Okay." Melinda took out her own gun and motioned for Skye to move. "First. Watch my body Skye. Pay no attention to the targets." She shot off her rounds slowly. Skye watched.

"Now stand here and shoot."

"I need to reload..."

Skye was cut off. "No. Just practice standing. Get comfortable with your stance and your balance. And feel the weapon in your hand. Shoot but with no bullets. I'll correct you if you need it."

Skye did as she said. As she was pretending to shoot, May walked around her. May reached out and repositioned her until Skye actually did feel more comfortable in her stance.

"Now relax. Feel the weight of the gun. Squeeze the trigger Skye, don't pull it." Practice again."

So she did. She did what May asked till her arms felt like they were going to fall off. It was when they started shaking a bit that May stopped her.

"Okay. That's enough for today. Good. You did good. Every day you will practice loading and unloading 20 times. Then you will do this. Until I feel you are ready to shoot at the target. Muscle memory Skye. That's all this is."

Skye nodded putting the gun and ammo away.

"Follow me."

Skye did as she was told. May wandered into a room that resembled a classroom. Shelves lined the walls with hundreds of books, the were three desks with computers and a few chairs around the room. There was also a sofa. May walked to one of the desks and picked up a book. A large book. She gave it to Skye. 'History of Shield' it said.

"I already studied this May, on the computer. I took a..." May stopped her with a wave of her hand.

"Book is more detailed. Plus I trust nothing you did with Ward. You are starting over." She handed Skye a notebook as well. "This computer has a lot of Shield classes downloaded. Find 'History of Shield'. In the notebook is a detailed outline to follow daily. Follow it. On the computer is the other class you will take now. Shield Weapons. There is also an outline for that class in your notebook. Follow that too. I will administer the tests when due. Any questions?" Skye shook her head.

"Good." May picked up a DVD. She handed that to Skye as well. "This program will teach you Spanish. It has daily lessons. You will do that as well." She looked at Skye expectantly.

"Roger that."

May nodded. She had just a hint of a smile on her lips. "Okay then. Start now. Break for lunch at one. Back to this and then see me at three."

"Copy that."

With that May turned and left the room. Skye sighed. She walked to the desk dropping the book and notebook onto it. She sat in the chair and turned on the computer. She opened the notebook, and started reading the outlines. She sighed, reached for the huge book and opened it.

May passed Coulson on the way back to her office. He stopped her. "How's training with Skye going?"

She looked at him. He had a smile on his face. "Well enough for the first day. She's doing everything I tell her to."

"Of course she is Melinda. She thinks the world of you. She wants to be just like you."

Melinda shook her head. "That is not a good idea. I'm too damaged. But I will make sure she can protect herself." Melinda moved to go past him.

"You are far too hard on yourself Mel."

She stared at him with a blank expression. "She's strong Phil. I'll make sure she's stronger." She turned and continued down the hallway to her office. He watched her go in then turned down the corridor she had come from. He looked in the window of the door he knew Skye was in. She was bent over the desk with her head in a large book and diligently taking notes. He smiled at her serious expression and hoped that she would be as good for Melinda as he knew Melinda would be for her. He left and continued on his way to visit with Fitz and Simmons.

A little while later, after Coulson had left, Jemma was sitting by the bedside watching Fitz. Melinda made her way in carrying a tray of food. She set it on the bedside table and smiled at Jemma. "You need to eat."

Jemma shook her head. "I'm not hungry just now. But thank you."

Melinda touched Jemma's shoulder. "I know. But you need to eat and sleep Jemma. Getting sick, you yourself will be of no help to him. You know that. Eat now. Later on you will need to sleep. "One of us will always stay in the room when you sleep Jemma."

Jemma looked at May. She was tired. She knew May was right. If she didn't take care of herself, she would be of no use to Fitz. She nodded. 'I'll try to eat some of it. I'll sleep later. I promise."

Melinda nodded. She patted her shoulder. "Let me know if there is any change in him, or if I can do anything else for you."

Jemma nodded. "Thank you." She watched May leave with a bit of a smile on her face. She was so glad they were all here together.

Skye stretched as she got up. It was almost one and she was starving. She made her way to the kitchen. No one else was there. She poked her head into the fridge. She found nothing. She opened the freezer and saw no quick microwavable stuff. She closed that and wandered over to the cabinets. She was contemplating making a can of soup when she heard someone enter the room. She turned to find her SO staring at her. Skye sighed and went back to her search for something edible. She was not good in the kitchen but there was a great possibility that Melinda May was even worse than her. She was actually hoping to see Coulson standing there so she could talk him into making her something.

"Nothing huh?"

Skye looked over. She shook her head. 'I was hoping you were AC."

"Well he made Jemma and himself lunch." She looked annoyed.

"Not you? Why not?"

"Got here too late."

Skye held up a can of tomato soup. "Can you make grilled cheese?"

"Can you?"

Skye smirked. "Only if you like them burnt."

"Okay. Open the soup. I'll give grilled cheese a go." Melinda looked like she was charging into battle. Skye smiled sadly. They were pathetic.

"I'm gonna try to be around when AC makes dinner tonight." Skye said. Melinda shook her head in agreement.

Ten minutes later they both sat at the table eating their lunch. Melinda was proud she only had to scrape a little black off her sandwich and Skye was glad Melinda gave her the best one. Hey, the soup was hot too. Melinda had grabbed some grapes as well and shared them with Skye. They sat mostly in silence with Skye only answering a few questions Melinda asked about her studies. Melinda finished first, putting her dishes in the sink, saying something about inventory of supplies, and she left the kitchen.

After Skye finished, she did both her and Melinda's dishes then went back to the room to study and read more. She had finished history and was onto the weapons class. Which was actually not that bad. She wanted to do well. She wanted to prove to Melinda she was serious. She wanted to be a proper agent. She wanted to be like Melinda May.

A little before three in the afternoon, Skye made her way to her SO's office. She knocked on the door and waited to be invited in.

"Come in Skye."

Skye entered the room. "How'd you know it was me?" Melinda just raised her eyebrows.

"How is your studying going?"

"Good. I just need to finish one assignment for the day."

"Good. You can do it while you sit with Fitz. Jemma needs to get some sleep and I promised her one of us would stay with him. I will bring you dinner and then later on relieve you. You okay with that?"

"Copy that." Skye paused for a beat before continuing. "Do you think he will be okay? That he will wake up? Cause he really needs to wake up. It's so sad to see him just laying there."

Melinda nodded. "He'll wake up. Just now though we all need to take care of Simmons."

Skye nodded. She felt so helpless. And so mad. "I hate him."

Melinda looked at her curiously.

"Ward. For what he did to Fitz. To Leo. What he tried to do to them both. What he did to us. I hate him May."

Melinda took in her student's demeanor. Skye's emotions flickered across her face. Melinda needed to remember that she too had been thru hell and back. Maybe she needed to back off training her so hard.

"Skye. Maybe we can take some time off tomorrow. Just do Tai chi and you could..."

"Could what May? Sit around and think about what happened. Sulk? Cause that would probably drive me nuts. No I want this. I want you to push me, be hard on me. Give me so much to do and make me so tired that I have no time to think about ways to kill Ward. Or to make hydra pay. Or think about what we lost. Please."

Melinda nodded. "Copy that." Her lips turned upward into one of her almost smiles. Skye smiled back.

"I'll grab my work and head to the med wing."

"Good. I will bring whatever Coulson makes for dinner around six." Skye nodded to her, and slipped out of the room. She stopped for her book and notebook. On her way, she stopped off at her room and also grabbed her laptop. She made her way to the med wing. Stopping outside Fitz's room she looked in. Jemma was sitting in the chair talking to Fitz. Skye cleared her throat and entered the room.

"Here for official duty." She smirked at Jemma.

Jemma looked up and smiled. "Really Skye, you don't have to. I can just nap here for a bit."

"Jemma Simmons! You need to sleep. You need to let us help you."

"Oh Skye. I don' t know if I can sleep."

"Well try. Hey take something if you need to. Come on Jem. You need to sleep. Being dead on your feet will not help him. Especially when he wakes up." Skye could see Jemma was still hesitant. "Jemma. I promise I'll stay here. One of us will stay here. If he wakes up - we'll get you right away. Trust me."

"Oh, I do Skye. I really do."

"Then go. Please."

Jemma looked at Fitz and back to Skye. She walked over to the door. "Please get me if anything changes. Anything at all." Skye nodded. Jemma left. Skye walked over to the chair by the bed and sat down. She placed her computer bag on the floor and her notebook on the table. She opened the history book and started reading. She read out loud.

Melinda found her slouching in the chair holding Fitz's hand and talking to him. She pushed the door open with her foot, carrying a tray of heaping food. The smell made its way to Skye and she sat up with wide eyes staring at Melinda. Melinda set the tray on the table.

"Ooooo. What is it. It smells so good." Skye almost sang.

Melinda smiled. "I kind of talked Phil into making a nice meal. I used a lot of guilt. Chicken marsala, scalloped red potatoes, vegetable bake, salad. Oh, and cheese biscuits." As she talked, Skye found her mouth watering. And as if to confirm her need for food, her stomach growled. It must of smelt the food too. She giggled.

Melinda sat on the edge of Fitz's bed and rolled the table with the tray of food between her and Skye. She and Skye dug in. Skye took a bite of the chicken and sighed in contentment.

"Oh this is amazing." She stabbed a potato and shoved that in her mouth next. They both stayed quiet, just relishing in the pleasure of eating edible tasty food for once.

After they finished, Melinda rolled the table to the side. "So did you get all the work done?"

Skye nodded. "Uhhuh. Everything."

Melinda looked at her student seeing the sleepiness and fatigue. "You should go relax for a while and than get to bed. I'll stay here for awhile. Coulson said he'd come by later. "

Skye was going to argue that she could stay longer but a huge yawn betrayed her. "Um, yeah I guess. I think I'll just head to my bunk, maybe play around on my computer for a little before bed." Melinda nodded at her. "So yeah, um.. goodnight. Five am tomorrow, right? "

"Yes Skye. So make sure you get enough sleep. Good night. Take the dishes along on your way please." Melinda sat in the chair Skye vacated and her attention was now on Fitz.

Skye gathered the tray and backed out the room pushing open the door. She glanced back one last time to see her SO holding Fitz's hand. She smiled. Maybe AC was right. Maybe her SO was a softie underneath all that gruff.

Five o'clock in the morning came much too soon. Skye shut off her alarm at 4:50 careful not to knock it on the floor this time. She threw on a pair of yoga pants and a loose fitting T-shirt, her socks and new Shield sneakers. She pulled her hair into a ponytail, and headed to the gym. On her way past the kitchen she grabbed a small bottle of orange juice and chugged it down as she made her way to the gym. She walked in and made her way to the mats where Melinda May was waiting for her. They greeted each other as Skye set her juice bottle down and both immediately warmed up and then went right into Tai chi. Skye followed Melinda's moves as best she could, with Melinda correcting her stance or moves when necessary. After Tai Chi, they did some stretching and then once again ran through the base doing five laps. Afterward, Skye once again was out of breath and Melinda was not. After they cooled down and stretched out, they made their way to the kitchen and ate breakfast. Then Skye grabbed a shower and went to work on her studies, since Melinda said she had other work to do. Later they ate lunch together as well, and then they did target practice. Once again in the late afternoon, Skye went to relieve Jemma to stay with Fitz until May brought her dinner. They ate together and then May dismissed her for the night. Skye did a little work on her computer checking a few things, and then she watched a show. She fell asleep by 10 pm.

Melinda and Skye followed this routine for the next few days. For Skye it was therapeutic. having a routine, having her mind and body occupied nearly every waking moment. For May, training Skye made her open up a little more to her student. Which her student seemed to love. Once in awhile during training May would allow Skye to see a glimpse of her past, to see the woman she was before Bahrain. In fact, on the fourth day, Melinda made it a reward. She told Skye whenever she did something beyond expectation or did something Melinda thought was impressive enough, she allowed Skye to ask her a personal question.

By the ninth day, she'd had answered two thus far. The first was how she met Coulson. Melinda had grinned at Skye's reaction when she had told her that she had run him over trying to get away from the upper class cadets at the academy chasing her, cause she had set off a stink bomb in their showers. Skye had laughed and laughed as she had explained that one. The second was if she really had been Natasha Rominoffs' SO. When she had answered yes, Skye's reaction face had been priceless. So much so that Melinda had laughed. A full on outright laugh. She wasn't sure if it was Skye or herself that was more startled at her laughter. But what it did was make Melinda realize that somehow, her student had wormed her way into her heart. And that revelation was terrifying to her. Because it was much easier to keep everyone at a distance. Safer and easier. But now that barrier between Skye and herself no longer existed. And there was no going back.

No, there was no going back for any of them. They needed to forge ahead. To leave the past behind. To move forward and rebuild, not just shield, but themselves. To help rebuild relationships and trust.

The routine they all established helped everyone move forward. It gave Melinda and Skye purpose. It gave them all stability and a sense of hope. It did the same for Jemma. She fell into a routine as well. Melinda and Skye making sure she ate and slept. They not only kept Fitz company but Jemma as well. Skye would drag the board games along and Melinda and Jemma would play them with her. Melinda taught both girls how to play poker. Coulson would check on everyone when he could but he was busy trying to find agents to recruit. For nine days everyone benefitted from the routines they set up.

On the ninth day, their world once again changed. Fitz woke up from his coma. A new chapter in all their lives was about to begin.