The Wrong Side of Heaven Chapter 4: If I Didn't Have You, an agents of s.h.i.e.l.d. fanfic

The Wrong Side of Heaven

Disclaimer:
Y'all know the drill, by now.

Rating:
M

Genre:
Romance/Hurt/Comfort

Pairing:
Coulsye

Lyrics Used:
Thompson Square "If I Didn't Have You"

This Life Would Kill Me If I Didn't Have You

"Where is he?!" Skye demanded as she, Fitz, and Ward entered the lab area.

"We got a hit on a young woman's cellphone camera." Jemma explained, pulling up the footage she'd found. "The video was shot three days ago-the day Agent Coulson was taken-" She began to elaborate when a very frustrated hacker cut her off.

"And, we're just finding it now?!" Skye snapped, furious that it had taken them three days to find the video that would lead them to Coulson.

"Her phone was encrypted." Jemma explained, remaining calm under the hacker's intense scrutiny. "We couldn't get the video until she uploaded it to YouTube with a warning to everyone to be on the lookout for a creepy man with black hair in the area of Leon, Kansas."

"He kept Coulson in the country?" Skye questioned, puzzled why Loki wouldn't have gone to more trouble to hide Coulson from them.

"It's an extremely rural area." Ward interjected. Taking the puzzled looks he was surrounded by as a cue to elaborate, he added "My S.O. has a cousin that lives there." He explained, shrugging. "It's virtually all farmland with no neighbors around for miles. It's the perfect place to hide Coulson."

"No one to hear you scream..." Skye added, as an afterthought, shuddering as she recalled her nightmare.

"Exactly." Ward replied, causing the rest of the team to shudder ever-so-slightly.

"Anyway..." Jemma replied, somewhat awkwardly. "Once she uploaded the video to YouTube, we were able to track the signal, used facial recognition software to positively identify both Loki and Agent Coulson, and used geographical markings to locate the abandoned warehouse that Loki's keeping Agent Coulson hostage in."

"How did this girl know where Coulson would be?" Skye asked, brows furrowed in confusion.

"She stated, in the video's description, that she didn't have a good feeling about the guy she saw. So, she decided to follow him." Jemma replied, relaying everything she'd found to the rest of her team. "She got far enough to film Loki taking Agent Coulson into the building before getting spooked and making a run for it."

"Damn." Skye commented, impressed by the young woman's actions. "Sounds like she oughtta be on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s payroll."

"I've already programmed the coordinates into the navigation system." May interjected. "We'll have to land at McConnell Air Force Base-S.H.I.E.L.D. has a no-questions-asked policy with them. We'll have to drive from there." She added. "All tolled, we should be there within the hour." She added, stoically.

"Let's do it." Skye replied, determined to do whatever it took to get her AC back. Looking around the room as May left, she knew the rest of the team was just as motivated as she was.

One Hour Later

Pulling up outside the abandoned warehouse featured in the YouTube video, Skye couldn't escape the creepy vibes it gave off. "Got creepy?" She asked, as she May and Ward exited the SUV. Before they approached the building, Ward stopped them.

"If anybody gets into any trouble, Fitzsimmons made these." He explained, passing each of them a pistol bearing a vague resemblance to the Night-Night Pistols. "They said they're filled with an extremely deadly neuro-toxin. Should take Loki down in a matter of seconds."

Examining the pistol in her hands, Skye pondered the implications. "Sounds good to me." The voice which escaped her lips chilled every one of her teammates to the core as they took off on their mission to find their leader.

Upon entering the building, it didn't take them long to locate the psychotic god that had taken Coulson in the first place. "Well...well...well..." Loki taunted, pacing back and forth in front of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. "I was beginning to wonder when you'd all show up."

Drawing her weapon, Skye was in no mood to play. "Where's Coulson?!" She demanded, fiercely.

"Still so feisty, I see..." Loki taunted, advancing on Skye only to swiftly dodge two shots fired at him from May and Ward.

"Leave her the hell alone!" May barked.

"I believe this is the point where you Midgardians would say...'Make me'..." Loki taunted before all hell broke loose. Watching May flying backward into a concrete wall, Ward sprang into action, firing shot after shot at the god only have each and every single one before an inhumanly strong hand closed around his throat, shoving him up against the wall.

"I am so over this shit!" Skye spat, angrily, as she crept around to position herself behind the god before jumping onto his shoulders locking her grip around his neck. "This is for Phil, you sick, twisted, fuck..." She hissed in his ear before pressing the gun in her hand into his temple, pulling the trigger until she'd emptied the vial, turning the god's skin the deepest shade of navy blue any of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had ever seen before dropping to the floor in a lifeless slump, causing Skye to come crashing down with him.

Slowly rising to his feet, Ward reached down to help Skye up. "You okay?" He grunted, heaving her to her feet.

"Search the entire place!" Skye barked, ignoring her bruised coccyx, as she brushed herself off. "FIND HIM!"

The rest of the team knew nothing more needed to be said as they all took off in separate directions. Hang in there, AC...Skye thought to herself as she set off in search of the man she loved. I'm comin' for ya...

After everything that had happened, Phil's hope of rescue had begun to wane. He was trapped here in this god-forsaken hell in the middle of nowhere. And every time he thought he was being rescued, he'd only been beaten down and raped repeatedly. And, just when all seemed lost the door to his cell crashed open. But, Phil Coulson just didn't have it in him to care. He knew what was coming and had just silently accepted it.

"AC..." Skye breathed, shakily, laying her eyes on the form of Phil Coulson curled into a tight fetal position.

"No..." Phil whimpered, pathetically, as his beloved hacker raced to his side. "Not her...Please...Anyone else..." He begged, quietly. "Just...not her...not again..."

The desperate whimpers coming from her AC shattered everything the hacker had. Reaching out to him, she couldn't help feeling slightly hurt when he jerked away from the touch. Though, deep down, she knew it was just a by-product of everything he'd been through. She knew better than to take his response to her touch personally. Instead, she leaned over him to whisper to him gently. "It's okay, Phil..." She whispered, keeping her voice firm and warm enough to drive her sincerity home-to prove to him that it was really her and that there was no danger. "It's me...Skye..." She added, gently. "I'm here to take you home..."

As much as every instinct in his mind wanted to scream at him not to believe her, something in the voice that whispered so tenderly into his ear was different from the other Skye. The one that had raped him and broken him and violated him in ways that no human being should ever be violated. That difference gave him one last shred of hope which he clung to, desperately, as he shifted on his cot to look up into the soft doe eyes of the woman standing over him. The honest relief written within their depths made Phil wonder if she'd been telling the truth. Could it really be her? He wondered, hopefully. Could she really be here to save me from this hell? "Skye?" He whimpered, shakily. "Is it..." He breathed, his breath and heart rate racing with hope as he rose from the cot, standing in front of the woman he loved, as he gingerly reached out to her, caressing her cheek. "Is it really you?"

Catching the hand on her cheek Skye smiled, reflexively at the contact. "Yeah..." She replied, eyes slipping closed as she savored the moment. "Yeah, it's me..." She replied, opening her eyes as she slowly and carefully drew him into her arms. "I'm here...You're safe, now..."

The moment Skye drew him into her arms, something changed for Phil. For the first time since he'd been taken, he felt safe. Protected. He finally felt as though nothing could ever touch him again. With this sudden realization, the senior agent dropped every last one of his defenses as he collapsed into the embrace, burying his face in the crook of her neck as he silently cried through everything that had been done to him over the last seventy-three hours.

The growing moist spot on her shirt didn't bother Skye in the slightest. She had succeeded. She finally had her AC back, in her arms, where he belonged. Where she could protect him. And, help him start to heal. Tightening her grip on the man that she loved, Skye whispered, gently while rubbing his back in what she hoped would be a soothing manner. "It's okay...That's it...Just let it go...Let it out..."

In the past, Phil had always hated feeling this vulnerable...This exposed. But, here...in the arms of his beloved hacker...somehow, it all seemed okay. He didn't care about how vulnerable he felt because he knew he could always count on her to be there to catch him if he fell. And, he knew he would fall...Just like he knew she would always catch him.

"Come here..." Ward spoke in a hushed tone, waving May over to where he stood, unable to resist the small smile as he watched Skye and Coulson's reunion.

"Did you find him?" The pilot asked, only to be silenced with Ward's index finger pressed to his lips.

"Yeah..." The specialist replied, still smiling softly, before he gestured to their hacker and their leader. "Yeah, come here...You gotta see this..."

Turning to see what Grant was so anxious for her to see, Melinda May felt her heart melt in her chest. He needs this...She thought to herself. "Think we oughtta go in there?" She asked, quietly.

Shrugging lightly, Grant replied "Yeah, probly..." He replied, reluctantly. Exchanging glances, the pilot and the specialist cleared their throats awkwardly as they entered the room. "Sorry to interrupt..." Ward offered, awkwardly.

"You're not interrupting..." Skye replied, lightly, wiping the tears from her eyes as she and Phil both composed themselves.

"Agent Ward..." Phil replied, acknowledging his operative. "Agent May..."

"It's good to see you, again, Phil..." Melinda replied, the ghost of a relieved smile on her face.

"Ditto." Ward replied, smiling as well.

Finally, Phil couldn't hold back, any longer. He had to voice the question weighing on his mind. "What about Loki?" He asked, timidly, terrified of the answer.

"He won't be bothering you, again." The dark otne in Skye's voice as she spoke gave Phil chills. "Or anyone else, for that matter." She added, just as darkly, with a murderous smirk on her face.

"Is he...?" Phil asked, cautiously, too afraid to complete the thought.

"I killed him." The rest of the group was relieved to hear their hacker's voice return to normal as she focused on Phil.

The senior agent couldn't believe what his hacker had done for him. Not only had she come to save him, but, she'd also killed his attacker. Even after everything he'd been through, he couldn't escape the feeling of pride at her accomplishment.

The moment was broken when Skye, Ward, and May all heard Simmons' voice over their comms. "As much as I hate interrupt this touching Kodak moment..." She began, uncharacteristically sarcastically. "Agent Fitz and I would greatly appreciate it if you could share Agent Coulson with the rest of us..."

Phil couldn't escape the feeling that he'd missed something as the trio of operatives around him shared a laugh. A laugh which immediately put him on edge. "What's so funny?" He asked, frightened of the answer.

Picking up on the tension in Phil's voice, Skye gently took his hand in hers as she rested her free one on his chest before she spoke. "It's nothing..." She replied, dismissively. "Simmons is just anxious for us to get you back on The Bus."

"She's not wrong." Ward smiled. "We really should be getting back..." The rest of the group was inclined to agree with the specialist. Phil, for his part, would have committed murder for a hot shower. The newly reunited S.H.I.E.L.D. team all turned to take their leave, with Skye and Phil bringing up the rear-Phil clinging to Skye a little more than usual. But, if the hacker picked up on it, she didn't seem to mind as she offered him a warm smile and a reassuring squeeze of the hand. He wasn't an idiot. He knew he had a long road ahead of him. But, with his beloved hacker by his side, he knew he would find a way to be okay.

Author's Note:
Yay! Coulson's back and Loki's dead! All is right with the world. Lol Anyway, hope y'all like this chapter. First five reviewers get a sneak peek of coming attractions.

~Skye Coulson

Thank GOD we got AC back. I was seriously gonna lose it if I had to keep worrying about him much longer. I just hope he can make it through this! I've seen what's to come...It ain't gonna be pretty...Stay tuned. You guys gotta see this!

~Skye