6:06pm- June 26, 1989-Afterlife- Hunan Province, China

In a swirl of blue light, the trio landed in Jiaying's study in Afterlife. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Jiaying yanked herself free of Cal's arms, sobs shaking her shoulders. Cal attempted to draw his wife back into his arms, wanting to provide her some level of comfort, only for her to turn away from him.

"Don't touch me!"

Jiaying snarled, anger replacing the look of devastation on her face. Gordon stood in the corner silently, simply observing the couple. He felt a small sense of glee at the growing distance between the husband and wife. Jiaying was special, the leader of the Inhumans, she deserved better than a mere human. Turning his focus to Jiaying herself, he studied her as she paced back and forth. In the six months since her rebirth, he had seen her grow stronger, more resilient. The scars across her face no longer stood out quite so much, and she was able to get through the day without needing to rest now. He knew that the loss of her child haunted her, but she had never faltered in her defense of their people. She was their strength, their protector, and their guide. Now it was time for him to be there for her.

While Gordon contemplated his thoughts, Cal tried pleading with his wife.

"Please my darling! It will be all right. We'll get her back, you'll see. We will be a family again! The three of us."

A vase crashed against the wall over Cal's head.

"No Cal, we won't! We have no idea where she is! We have no idea who has her! We don't even know if she is alive! And it's all your fault!"

Anger lit Jiaying's features, twisting it into a mask that Cal did not recognize.

"If you hadn't left her alone, we would still have her! If you hadn't lost control with that Avery woman, we would have answers! Because of you we lost her!"

"I had to come after you, to save you from that monster. I thought that she would be safe…"

A cynical laugh cut off Cal's pleading. Hatred now shone from Jiaying's eyes, and Gordon watched this new development eagerly.

"Save me? I didn't need you to save me. You are nothing but a mere human: ungifted and weak. You should have let the warriors come for me and stayed at home with Daisy, where you belonged!"

With a sneer, Jiaying turned away from Cal, her arms banded round her torso as if holding herself together. Gordon made his way to her side, ignoring the human who was fighting to compose himself. Gently reaching out, he touched her shoulder, pressing a handkerchief into her hand when she turned toward him. It is while he is comforting the woman he sees as a mother figure that the human regains his power of speech.

"Get away from her!"

Cal snarls, attempting to throw Gordon away from Jiaying. But Gordon does not move beyond a small turn towards Cal. When this fails to get the desired response, Cal responds by throwing a desperate punch at the taller man. Gordon dodges the punch, putting himself more firmly between the irate Cal and Jiaying. With a roar of frustration, Cal launches himself at Gordon once more, only for the teleporter to catch him mid-lunge and restrain him. Cal thrashed violently, but his struggles were in vain. It was as Jiaying had said; Compared to the Inhuman male, he was weak.

"Enough!"

Her tears finally dried, Jiaying stood tall before the pair of squabbling males. Her eyes were lit with a fire that Gordon had not seen since she had begun her courtship with the human doctor. No longer was she the good, gentle wife but now she was once more, the fierce leader that he knew so well.

"I'm sorry Cal, but I cannot do this anymore. Daisy is gone. We must accept that. My duty now is to my people. Unfortunately, as a human, there is no place for you here. You can take a few days to say your goodbyes, but it is time for you to return to your world."

With these final cold words, Jiaying walked from the room, leaving a shocked Cal behind. Once the door closed, Gordon released his prisoner, swiftly crossing the room to follow Jiaying's out the door. As he turned to leave, he glanced back at the broken man that had crumpled to the floor. He felt a small amount of pity for Cal, but more than anything, he was filled with a sense of happiness. Jiaying was back.

5:47am- June 26, 1989- Victoria's Cover Apartment

Felix leaned against a wall, watching as Victoria picked her way through the mess that was her cover apartment. They had arrived only minutes after a security team from SHIELD, finding the place torn apart. All the drawers had been ripped open and dumped, the cabinets emptied, and the furniture overturned. The forensic team had left about fifteen minutes before, leaving the two friends to deal with the mess. They had managed to recover the tape from the security camera inside the front door, and a few clear fingerprints, so hopefully, who ever had done this would be caught soon.

Victoria stared at the wreck of her apartment. She hadn't lost anything too valuable, given that she only really lived here on paper. She and Izzy used this place to store emergency supplies and to keep SHIELD from knowing where they truly lived. Both women were rather paranoid about their privacy and didn't want SHIELD knowing all aspects of their lives. Of course, those that they were close to—such as their partners, immediate superiors, and close friends—knew where they truly lived.

Judging by the state of the apartment, whoever had done this had been searching for something. With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Victoria thought of the flash drive from Linda. If the people who had broken in here were the same ones who had killed Linda and the other agents, then it was likely that she was now in their sights.

"You don't think this is random, do you Vic?"

Felix's voice broke into her train of thought, his eyes watching her shrewdly. Victoria bit her lip for a moment, considering. She had been going to tell Felix everything earlier, in her kitchen, but now she wasn't so sure. They would both be safer if the information stayed between her and Linda. With her mind made up, she decided to tell him at least a partial truth.

"No Fee, I don't. If this was a thief, then why didn't they take anything? Plus, there are certainly easier buildings to break into. Whoever did this was looking for something. Maybe SHIELD files or maybe just information on Izzy and I. But this was definitely a targeted attack. And that means that someone from SHIELD leaked our personnel files."

Felix knew that she had a point. To get into the building you needed to be buzzed in by the desk attendant, have a key to operate the elevator, as well as a separate key for the apartments themselves. The building housed agents from several agencies, not to mention security conscious business executives. He was pretty sure that the US Marshals had at least one witness hidden away here as well. With a sigh, he knew that whatever came next would not be enjoyable for him.

"So what do you want to do now?"

At Victoria's confused look, Felix snorted.

"Come on Vic. You expect me to believe that you don't have at least three different contingencies running through your head right now? I know you."

"I think that it is time to take that transfer that Carter has been offering. Weapons division has an opening that she's been after me to take for a few months now."

Dusting off her hands, Victoria gathered up that last of the salvageable items before walking toward the door. Felix just gaped at her in shock before hurrying after her. He caught up to her at the elevators, unable to believe what he had just heard.

"You…you're running away? What the hell, Vic? You never run away from a fight. Especially when someone is targeting you and yours. What aren't you telling me?"

Dropping her head, Victoria stared at the floor in front of her. Felix was right. She had never run from anything before. But this time was different. After looking at the destruction that had been done to her apartment, she couldn't help but think about all the information that Linda had left for her. The information about all those who had already died trying to protect this secret. She wouldn't be the next one on that list. She couldn't be. If she died, then that little girl would grow up being bounced around the foster system, feeling unloved and unwanted. She had taken a vow to protect others, and by god, she was going to uphold that vow.

"There's… a little girl. A baby really. At an orphanage in New York. A friend asked me to look into her background, see if I could figure out where she came from. There wasn't anything but…"

"But you want her."

Felix was watching her carefully. She knew that she couldn't tell him the truth about everything, but she wanted to stick as close to it as possible. Shrugging, she looked away from his probing gaze.

"I guess so. I didn't realize it until I walked into that apartment and saw it all torn up. All I kept thinking was, 'What if Izzy had been here? What if Skye had?' And after what happened to Linda…"

Victoria paused, her mind flashing back to the bloody scene of the parking garage, and the photos of the dead agents from the file. The break-in had just cemented the reality of this whole mess for her. And maybe it was time to move on. After all, with Izzy gone, it wasn't as if she had anything tying her to The Hill. Sure, there was Felix, but he was due for a transfer soon too. Especially since Jeanne was incredibly unhappy living in the Midwest.

"….it just feels right."

Stepping onto the elevator, she pressed the button for the lobby, feeling as though a weight had lifted from her shoulders, now that she had a clear plan. Felix stepped in beside her, a pensive look on his face. He hadn't known that Victoria had ever wanted kids. She had always been so dedicated to her job, to the agency. It was one of the things that caused Izzy to accept the move to Europe. Still, there was just something about this whole situation that felt off. Like there was something that she wasn't telling him. But he knew that if he pestered her about it, she would just deny it, and shut him out. With a sigh, he realized that there was only one thing that he could do.

"Well then, I'm happy for you Vic. And I'm here for you, whatever you need. So when do I get to meet my new niece?"

7:17am- June 26, 1989- St. Agnes Orphanage- New York City, New York

A time zone away from where she was being discussed, the baby that Linda Avery had named Skye sighed in her sleep, not knowing that her entire future was about to change.