So, here we are. The last chapter, and my personal favourite. I hope you guys like it, and if you do, maybe leave me a review?
FOUR: Out Of Reach (Even When You're Right There)
He's still ever so slightly out of reach.
It turns out that the trauma caused by the bullets wiped out a good portion of Grant's memories. The last thing he can remember is dated around 5 years previous. I watch him through the one way glass as Coulson tells him we know about his HYDRA affiliations, and that Garrett's dead. My eyes are dry.
He doesn't remember me.
He doesn't know me.
"Skye." May taps my shoulder. "Go in."
"I don't want to." I cross my arms and start to walk away slowly.
"Bullshit." May catches up with me easily. The Oriental's woman's eyes are hard. "You sat at his bedside constantly, Skye. Go in there. Maybe you'll trigger his memories."
"Or maybe I won't!" I argue back. "May, I don't want to go through that. Seeing him, hearing his voice... and then seeing the confusion in his eyes when he sees me and has no idea who I am..." My voice threatens to crack; tears threaten to spill from my eyes as they gather at my lashes. "I can't do that to myself. Understand?"
"I understand." May says quietly as I stride away from her, my tears now flowing freely. He woke up. He finally woke up!
But the Grant Ward inside that room is not my Grant Ward. He's a man who still thinks he works for Garrett. Who still thinks he's HYDRA. Who hasn't met me yet. Who hasn't made me fall in love with him.
Coulson has Grant moved to a different location, so he can recover. I hack his report files and find out that his body is recovering nicely, but he'll never be able to run undercover missions like he used to. In fact, he'll probably never be able to be a field agent ever again.
I bury myself into my work. Together, Cal and I hunt down the Diviners and destroy the ones we find as I decide that I don't want any powers I'm apparently owed, even though Cal thinks I'm being stupid. But it's my decision. Not his. And I don't want powers. Because they can't give me the one thing I want more than anything in the world.
I stand in front of the mirror, a pair of scissors in my hands.
I cut myself bangs.
They look terrible, all messy and uneven and jagged.
Just like my heart.
Instead of fixing them, I keep them as they are. Why fix what's already broken?
After Cal and I have done our mission, I take an undercover mission for SHIELD, posing as an art teacher. Cal goes his own way, promising to keep in contact.
One night, I'm sitting in study, grading some pictures and I happen to see something out of my study window. I get to my feet and hope the window, sticking my head out of it. I crane my head up, and I glance up at the starry sky and I see the flashing glimmer of a shooting star. I close my eyes, letting the wind blow softly through my hair, probably tangling it all up.
I could really use a wish right now... I think to myself. Make me stop thinking of him.
The air is cold against my skin, and it numbs it so I don't feel anything as a tear rolls down from my eye and drops onto the ground below.
I miss you. I think to myself, and then I climb back into my study, shake my head and return to my grading.
A month goes past. I arrest the man I was undercover for, and return to SHIELD. Jemma and Fitz are together, finally, and they're thinking of getting married. I agree to be Jemma's maid of honour, and Fitz asks me to pick out the wedding rings. I agree, and try to ignore the sadness that creeps over my soul when I see the red punch bag in the bus.
Fitzsimmons's wedding arrives.
I attend alone.
"Oh, sorry." I apologise, my cheeks heating up in embarrassment as I hit into someone. I fall to the ground, and I bet my dress gets dirty.
Crap. Just what I need before the wedding.
"No, it was my fault." A hauntingly familiar voice says. I glance up, my bangs shadowing my eyes, and I see him.
Grant.
He stands tall, in a suit, his hair floppy. His eyes are dark, and mostly he is alive.
"I wasn't looking where I was going." He continues, holding out a hand. I takes me moment to realise it's to help me up. I notice that a dog sits patiently at his side. The dog looks like it's a golden Labrador, it's brown eyes kind.
I accept the hand and let him haul me to my feet. His skin against mine convinces me that this is him. Grant. My Grant.
But he's not anymore. He doesn't remember me.
"No, I was in a rush." I try to smile, fighting back my tears.
"Are you a friend of the bride?" He asks me, staring at me, frowning slightly.
"What, Jemma? Yeah." I nod, smoothing down my dress.
"I'm a friend of the groom." He explains.
"Fitz invited you?" I blurt out, unable to bite the words back. Grant's eyes blink at me.
"Oh, you know Leo too?" He smiles slightly.
"Where did you meet Leo?" Calling Fitz by his first name feels wrong, but I need to know how Grant thinks they know each other.
"Oh, we used to work together." Grant tells me. "I have to admit, I lost my memory a while back."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, I lost around 5 years." He nods. "So I actually dot remember a lot of Leo and my friendship. I'm Grant, by the way." He introduces himself suddenly.
"Skye." I force my lips to smile.
"Skye." He repeats. "I feel like I should know you." Grant frowns, and I start to panic. "Do I know you?"
"No, sorry." I lie quickly. "I must have one of those faces."
"Skye..." He murmurs again, frowning still. "You sure I don't know you?" He asks.
"Nope."
"Well, I shouldn't keep you anymore." His face clears. "Maybe I'll see you later..." Grants dark eyes hold mine for one long, beautiful moment. "Skye."
"How come you didn't tell me he was coming?" I march into Fitz's room. Fitz stands in front of the mirror, with Coulson tying on the tie around his neck.
"Who?" Fitz asks mildly, seemingly unfazed by my attitude.
"You know who." I snap, unable to say his name.
"Oh, Grant?" Fitz raises his eyebrows at me in the mirror. "He's still my friend, Skye. Unlike you, I actually tried to get him to remember me."
"Even though he tried to kill you." I stare at him. Fitz shrugs.
"He's still my friend, Skye. But he can't actually remember our friendship, so we started again. Maybe you could try it." He suggests. I ignore him.
"What's with the dog?" I ask curiously, folding my arms across my chest. Coulson shoots me a look, his eyes asking me how I'm doing. I smile thinly at him.
"That's his dog. Goes everywhere with him. His therapist calls her his coping mechanism." For explains, adjusting his collar nervously. I feel bad, since I'm interrogating Fitz on his wedding day. But I have to find out about Grant. Especially since I stopped reading his file, in an attempt to move on. An attempt that failed.
"What's her name?" I ask, my final question before I go to check on Jemma.
Fitz grins at me through the mirror.
"Her name's Skye." He says.
So he remembers me? I wonder at the reception, when I'm sitting on my own, on my phone, in a corner. Fitz told me that Grant can't remember why he has an attachment to the name 'Skye', but he does remember a brush of brown eyes. So maybe if I hung out with him, he'd remember me!
But no! I interrupt myself. I can't do that to myself, because what if he doesn't remember? Leave it alone, Skye.
"This seat taken?" A voice asks me. I glance up from my phone to see Grant standing there, his dog - Skye - at his side.
"No." I admit reluctantly. He sits down next to me, and sighs.
"Leo seems happy." He comments.
"Yeah, Jemma makes him happy." I respond, glancing over at the happy couple. I smile wistfully.
"Are you sure I don't know you?" Grant persists. I hesitate. Do I tell him? "It's just that, my dog's called Skye," He strokes the dog's head. "Because I can't get that name out of my head. So do I know you?"
"You might of." My voice is small. "Once upon a time."
"Could I get to know you?" Grant asks tentatively. I glance up at him, noting that his hand is still on the dog, his fingers buried into the animal's fur.
"Do you want to know me?" I ask him, my voice still quiet.
"Yeah." He admits.
I sit up, and turn my body to face him, making a decision that would change my life forever.
"Hi." I smile, holding out a hand. "I'm Skye."
"Hello, Skye." He smiles back, taking my hand. With one movement, he tugs me to my feet, and tells the dog to stay put as he leads me onto the dancefloor. "I'm Grant."
2 years later.
"For god's sake, Skye!" I yell at the dog, running a hand through my hair in exasperation. "Why must you chew up every one of my shoes?"
"She's sorry." Grant smiles at me, kissing me quickly. I kiss him back, still in denial that he's mine again. After Fitzsimmons's wedding, Grant and I started hanging out, even though it was really painful for me. We started dating, and I started to fall in love with this version of Grant Ward. We moved in together 5 months ago, and I'm happy again.
"I know." I sigh. "But it still doesn't change the fact that I have no shoes."
Skye the dog drags my last shoe into her den, grinning doggishly as she does so.
"We'll buy you some more. And maybe you should put them on a higher shelf." Grant suggests.
"Maybe." I turn around, and run a hand over my eyes.
"Skye?" Grant asks me hesitantly. I glance at him.
"What?"
"Wanna get married?" He asks me, smiling nervously.
I never did get my version of Grant Ward back. He died on that day that he saved Coulson's life, never knowing how I really felt about him.
But this version of Grant Ward did. He always knew how much I loved him, and I always knew how much he loved me. I retired from SHIELD active duty after he proposed, and stared teaching computer hacking at the new SHIELD Academy. Grant kept up with his new job of being a mission advisor back at SHIELD HQ, since he couldn't actually go on missions anymore. We got married a year after he proposed, and we kept Skye around... and spent a fortune on shoes.
Fitzsimmons went on to have 3 kids, all of which we were the godparents to. Although we never had kids, that was enough for us. They also retired form field work, as taught science at the Academy.
Coulson and May dated after a night at Fitzsimmons's wedding, and later married, and adopted me as their daughter. So my name was Skye May-Coulson Ward. Three surnames when I once had none.
Cal gave his blessing towards the adoption, knowing Coulson could be there when he couldn't. Although he popped up ever so often, Cal mainly went his own way. When Whitehall was found dead, brutally mutilated, I knew we had Cal to thank.
I never get over my old Grant Ward.
But I never break over this Grant Ward.
He is always in reach. No matter where I am.
My heart is whole again.
Thanks to every one who followed, favourited and reviewed! :) I hope you liked the ending.