When Skye returned to the infirmary, she was conscious of the weight of all the eyes that followed her entrance. "I was sent for," she announced.

This time the medics parted before her, and she sidled up to the right side of Coulson's cot, where the people weren't as close together. Some of the monitors were gone, at least. Skye suspected she may have smashed them during her last panic attack.

A weak but relieved smile lit Coulson's face as soon as he saw her – the same smile he'd given her when she'd rescued him from captivity and torture. The smile extended to those lines that wrinkled the corners of his blue eyes, and Skye did her best to force a smile in return. "A.C.," she greeted.

"Skye."

Skye did her best to ignore the medics as they checked his heart rate and his blood pressure. More importantly, she did her best to ignore her father, who was staring intently at the scene from his place at Jiaying's side.

"You're safe." It wasn't Coulson's keenest observation ever, but to be fair, he couldn't really be thinking straight.

"I'm sorry."

One medic with a stethoscope pressed over Coulson's heart shook his head at her. That wasn't the train of conversation she should be taking. Even she could see the rapid rise and fall of his chest and his shallow breaths.

Skye grabbed his right hand and squeezed it tight. "Shh. Calm down. I'm sorry for saying I'm sorry. Please, just… Shh." Coulson's breath started to slow, and Skye felt herself following suit.

"Keep talking," May prompted softly from behind her.

"Pizza," she blurted, coming up empty on non-upsetting subjects. "You know, I almost got some good Chicago-style pizza the other day, but it didn't happen. I was kind of disappointed." Skye probably could have kept babbling like that for a while, but she kind of hoped he'd pass out again soon.

He grimaced in pain at whatever the medics were doing to his left arm. Out of the corner of her eye, Skye could see various instruments and gauze coming away from the area all bloody.

Coulson did drift off for a moment but jerked awake almost instantly. "Don't fight it," Skye told him. "You should go back to sleep."

"Skye?"

"I'm still here."

His eyelids began to droop shut again in spite of his obvious efforts, and he said, "I don't want anything unsaid between us, just in case." The words came out slow and breathy, but Skye could still easily follow what he was saying.

"I don't think there is," she protested. "You know you've always been like a f…"

"The truth serum," Coulson interrupted.

"What?"

"You wanted to know about the truth serum."

When the two of them had first met, Coulson had supposedly dosed one of his own people with truth serum and let Skye question him about SHIELD. This event was the first thing that made her want to trust SHIELD, though ironically, it may have been a lie. The other SHIELD agent later claimed that he was playing along with Coulson and that SHIELD didn't have a truth serum. "At this point, I don't think it matters what happened in that interrogation room. I'm just glad that it did happen."

Nevertheless, Skye did lean forward as Coulson choked out, "The truth is that SHIELD…" His voice trailed off, and he lay still again.

Still leaning close, her ear next to his mouth, Skye's jaw dropped open. "Are you kidding me?" she asked incredulously. "You so totally did that on purpose. You just want to keep me guessing forever. I don't even believe you're really unconscious right now." She glared up at the medics. "Someone poke him with something."

They were already poking him with plenty of things, and they ignored her. Skye could have sworn she saw the ghost of a smirk flit across Agent May's face. "Skye's right, Phil. That's not funny."

It was kind of funny and very much like Coulson to tease her like this. "Come on," she pleaded. "You can't do this to me. You're the worst." When Coulson didn't move, Skye panicked again. "Oh, no, you did not hear me say that. Coulson. Please don't let that be the last thing you hear me say to you. You're not the worst. You're the best. You're… definitely unconscious right now."

"Good work, Skye. You can go now, but don't wander off too far."

"Can't I stay?" she asked May. "You are. And I promise to do anything I'm told."

"That would be a first."

"I deserve that, but I don't want to leave him."

May's mouth tightened into a thin line. "I wouldn't want anything to upset you. If you see him die right now, I'm not sure the ship would survive it."

"Let her stay," Cal rumbled from his side of the room. "My Daisy's stronger than you think." He started to approach Coulson's bed, but May met him a couple feet away. They stood just about toe-to-toe, glaring at each other until one of the exasperated medics pointed at the door.

"All three of you, out. You're crowding the operating area, and we need to work."

They obeyed reluctantly and joined Fitz and Mack in the waiting area, which was starting to fill with other men and women waiting for word on their own friends. May changed her mind about having company and marched off to unknown areas of the ship. Skye and Cal, meanwhile, squeezed into a corner of the now standing-room-only space. A few people offered up their seats, but Skye and her father waved away the offers.

Instead, Skye nestled against Cal's side as his arm slipped supportively around her shoulders. She rested her head against him and let out a deep sigh.

And then they all waited.