Skye pumped her fist in the air as she checked her stopwatch. "Yes! Five fifty!"
"You're under six minutes?" Jemma asked, turning away from her computer with a smile.
"Finally. This system is a bitch," she answered, slapping the screen. "The security is layered and contains an impressive failsafe protocol. Trip something and you have a problem that usually involves starting over."
"Hey now – hands off the hardware," Patrick protested, though it was clear he was teasing her. "What did she ever do to you?"
"Besides take up my entire day?" Skye rolled her eyes and raised her hands. "Fine, hands off your precious hardware."
Flexing his bicep, he wiggled his brows suggestively and said, "If you want hardware…"
Skye snorted with laughter. "Stop. Just no."
He grinned playfully and walked back over to the workstation he'd set up with Fitz. Skye couldn't help smiling when she realized they had Planet of the Apes playing as they worked.
"See, I knew you could do it," Jemma told her. "Do you think you'll actually go in tonight?"
She shrugged. "Grant seems to think Dr. Synes is going to jump at the chance to set up an appointment with his contact." When she saw how Jemma was looking at her, she asked, "What?"
"Oh, nothing." Jemma busied herself with straightening up the area where Skye had been working.
"Nothing?" Skye crossed her arms as she looked at her friend. "Just spit it out."
"It's just that you're spending a lot of time with Agent Ward," Jemma said quietly, glancing sideways at Patrick and Fitz as if to make sure they weren't paying attention. "And you talk about him a lot."
It wasn't the first time Jemma had dropped less than subtle hints about Skye's feelings for Grant, and as usual Skye chose to deflect because she just wasn't ready to go there yet. "We've been working together a lot. It's not like we're hanging out after hours."
She hadn't mentioned going for a drink with Grant the night before. Jemma was perceptive and since she knew their history, Skye didn't want to give her friend any more reasons to continue prodding for answers on a topic she was still mostly avoiding.
Jemma didn't look like she believed her, but she let it drop. "So, how do you suppose he knows a dominatrix? Was it an undercover case? Or do you think he… you know."
Skye raised a brow. "What?"
"You know…" Jemma prompted. "I mean, does that seem like something he's into?"
"Why are you asking me?" Lowering her voice, she continued, "We slept together once and it wasn't like that, anyway. It was…" she paused, beginning to regret bringing it up.
It was beautiful, and it was something she'd been trying to put behind her for months – ten, to be exact. She'd even thought she was successful for a while. But she couldn't say that to Jemma because if she did, she'd never hear the end of the topic. Jemma was curious enough about the enigmatic specialist and Skye's feelings for him. Skye definitely didn't want to encourage her.
Jemma let the subject of Agent Ward drop once again, but Skye knew it was only temporary as she turned her attention back to the security system. Working for another hour brought her time down to five minutes and thirty seconds, and Skye was feeling very pleased with herself by the time Grant came by the lab to let her know the food had arrived.
"Five thirty," she told him smugly, holding up the stopwatch. "I've been throwing down with that system all damn day, so I feel very accomplished right now."
He nodded in approval as he smiled at her. "I never doubted you. I knew you were the best person for this assignment."
"Do we know if we're going in yet?" she asked as she gathered her purse and jacket from Jemma's workstation.
Turning back to him, she tried not to let her eyes wander his tall, lean frame. Grant was dressed more casually now in dark jeans and a white T-shirt, and she looked away quickly. She didn't want to notice how his T-shirt always molded to his biceps and drew attention to the spot where it tucked just above his belt buckle.
"We should know within the hour," he replied.
He was leaning against her workstation, his dark eyes following her movements closely in that way that always sent awareness shooting through her veins. It was something she was used to, this low level buzz of excitement that hummed to life whenever he was near. But getting used to it didn't make it any easier to ignore.
"We'll be working late," Jemma said as she joined them. "I want to know the moment you're back."
"Jemma, you don't have to work late because I'm going into the field," Skye told her. "I'll be fine."
"Oh, we have a lot of work anyway," Jemma explained, waving a hand at her pristine workstation. She paused and cleared her throat. "Well, I might not look busy, but appearances can be very deceiving."
Grant's lips twitched at that, and Skye pursed her lips to keep from laughing. Instead she stepped forward and hugged her friend. "You are really not subtle, but I still love you."
Jemma hugged her tightly before releasing her and fixing Grant with a stern gaze. "I expect you to take care of her."
"Understood, Dr. Simmons," he answered formally.
Patrick and Fitz joined them and Fitz held out something in his hand. "Here. I want you to have this for luck."
Skye smiled as she took the small, wooden monkey from him. Carved by a street artist, Skye had given it to Fitz as a good luck present before he passed his boards for his last doctorate. "You realize I'm just going upstairs to eat dinner, right? We might not even go tonight."
"Still, the luck can never start too early. We'll wait here for you," Fitz insisted.
Patrick squeezed her hand and said, "Come see me before you leave, okay?"
She nodded and then followed Grant upstairs to a conference room that had been taken over by SHIELD specialists.
The entire team was there, including Natasha, Ali, Tripp, Quartermain and Mathis. There were also a few new faces, and Skye bit her lip, suddenly feeling shy about being part of a team including the likes of the Black Widow. They were already seated at the large conference table, passing bags of food amid a buzz of at least half a dozen conversations, but Skye hung back when Grant crossed to the table.
Almost as if she sensed Skye's sudden reticence to join the group, Natasha pushed out the chair next to her at the conference table. "How's it going with the system?"
Skye sat down and smiled at the other woman. "Five minutes, thirty seconds."
Natasha nodded approvingly. "You know that's the best time anyone's ever recorded for cracking a system that complicated, right? I admit I doubted that you'd be able to break six, and especially not by tonight, but Ward had faith in you."
Skye struggled to contain the giddy feeling that came with words of praise from someone like Natasha. She was definitely having a fangirl moment, one she was trying to hide. "Computers have always been easy for me." She noticed Quartermain watching them, but she ignored him as Grant slid a couple of bags over to her.
When she stood up, Natasha raised a brow. "Not sticking around?"
"I'll be back, but I have AC's dinner," she answered, holding up the bags. "He's been a workaholic lately. Sometimes I think the only time he takes a break is when I'm there."
"I'll let you know if we get the call," Grant told her. "If we're going in tonight, we'll have the mission brief in about an hour and we'll hit the facility around nine to take advantage of the shift change preparations that start between nine and ten."
Nodding, Skye left and went down the hall to Coulson's office, listening to make sure he was alone before entering without knocking. "Dinner time – Grant ordered a chicken sandwich for you."
Coulson looked tired as he stood and stretched. He'd loosened his tie and rolled up his sleeves, and his desk was covered with the usual mess of papers that he always seemed to be sifting through lately. "How's your time on the security system?" he asked as he began gathering the papers he'd been perusing and shifting them to his top desk drawer.
"Five minutes thirty," she replied, waiting for him to finish his task before passing one of the bags over to him and unpacking her own meal. "I mean, did you really doubt I could do it?"
"No. You broke into SHIELD when you were eighteen years old using a laptop and mostly self-taught hacking methods," he said. "If there's one thing I've never doubted, it's your skill with computers."
"I feel a 'but' coming," Skye noted as she bit into a fry.
He joined her on the other side of his desk, choosing the chair next to her and lining his food up beside hers. He took a bite of his sandwich; after a moment, he continued. "I want you to promise me that you will follow the mission protocol to the letter and follow whatever orders you're given exactly as they're given to you. Ward is one of the best, and I trust him to get you safely in and out, but you can't hesitate if he gives you an order – even if it's one you don't agree with."
She nodded. "I know. And I want you to know that I'm taking this seriously. I don't want to let you down." She didn't want to let Grant down either, and it was alarming how quickly his good opinion had become so important to her. "Do you want me to call you when we're back?"
"I'll be here," he told her. "And May – did you know she considered volunteering for the op? But considering the other team members in play, I think she knew it would be overkill."
Skye felt a tightening in her throat, and she swallowed hard. "I guess the line forms behind Jemma." When he shot her a questioning look, she said, "Jemma, Fitz and Patrick are pretending to work late tonight, but they're really just going to be waiting around for me to get back."
"I know that things are difficult with Quartermain back here," he told her quietly. "Maybe it's not much, but I want you to know I'm proud of what you've accomplished. We might be an odd little family, but I do think of you as family, Skye."
She knew he did; she'd known it since her university days, when he would call or drop by to check on her and make sure she had what she needed. He'd paid for her meal plan out of his own pocket, even though he tried to pass it off as part of her scholarship. He'd taken her shopping for warmer clothes before winter set in. More than that, he'd always listened to her.
He could have easily arrested her after the hacking incident, but instead he'd helped her. And instead of washing his hands of her once he got the charges dropped, he took her for dinner at a local diner and actually listened to her story. He'd told her then that if she was willing to do her part, he was willing to help her.
She might be an orphan, but Grant was right at the bar. She had people who cared about her. Jemma and Fitz, Coulson and May – they wouldn't hesitate to put themselves on the line for her, and she'd return the favor. Slowly but surely, Grant was being added to that circle as well. She knew he was taking a risk on her with this mission, one that could affect his own career if she screwed up.
"I know," she finally replied. "I know they say blood is thicker than water, but sometimes I think the family ties you build can be stronger than the ones you're born with. You're the best family I could have chosen."
"We're having a moment – May will be sorry she missed this," he said, passing her a ketchup pack.
She laughed, knowing full well that May wouldn't be sorry at all. Although she and the specialist known as The Cavalry had gotten off to a rocky start, with the latter not inclined to trust a smart mouth hacker, they'd long ago reached an understanding. Initially Coulson was the string that connected them, but eventually they found other common ground. Now Skye considered her as much family as Coulson, and she felt pretty sure May returned the sentiment even though she wasn't given to the emotional bonding that Coulson often initiated.
Skye's phone beeped, and she pulled it from her pocket to check the messages. "It looks like we're a go. Is it weird that I'm both excited and nervous?"
"No. Remind me to tell you about my first field op some time," he answered, looking over at her. "You'll be fine, Skye. Just follow orders. Besides, I told Ward that if he brings you back in less than perfect condition, he'll be riding a desk in Alaska for the next two years."
She raised a brow, wondering if he was joking. "Nice – no pressure or anything." When she saw him eyeing her vanilla milkshake, she smiled. "You have order envy right now, don't you?"
He passed her a paper cup from his desk, and she carefully poured part of the thick shake into the cup before passing it back to him. In perfect sync, they both dipped their fries and took a bite.
"It really shouldn't be, but it is good," he admitted.
After they finished their meal, Skye went down to let Jemma, Fitz and Patrick know the mission was on for that night. They were all upbeat, but she could sense the underlying worry responsible for keeping them there well past their normal working hours.
After arriving at the facility, the two teams split up. While Bravo team was ready to employ a distraction if it became necessary, Grant and Natasha stayed with Skye. Entry into the facility went off without a hitch as Skye bested her earlier time by fifteen seconds. She figured the adrenaline gave her an edge she didn't have when practicing in the lab.
Ward had calculated the guards' movements with military precision. They were more relaxed when prepping for the shift change, with longer periods between rounds than usual. Once she'd accessed the security on site, Skye had been able to perform a hack that looped the security feed of the grounds and building just long enough for them to get inside and up to Synes' office. Once inside she allowed the cameras to go back to normal transmission except for the one in the office, which she kept on a loop. Upon exiting, she would loop the feed again, and no one would ever know they'd been there.
Skye was now at Synes' computer transferring all the files related to the Chitauri artifact, which Grant and Natasha had found in the adjoining lab. The swap had been made, and he was now waiting for her while Natasha kept an eye on movements within the building via the security feed.
Skye's brows drew together as she found a locked file labeled Weapons Research. "Since when does SynesTek do weapons research?"
"They don't," Grant told her. "They don't have any military contracts for weapons. It's all technology based research."
"Okay, well, I think they're branching out," she said slowly as she ran an algorithm to unlock the file. In less than a minute she was in, and she began scanning the document. "Grant, you need to see this. The Chitauri artifact isn't the only thing they're experimenting with."
She felt Grant's breath against her ear as he leaned down to view the information on the screen. "What the hell is an obelisk?"
"No idea, but it sounds like bad news. According to this, it petrifies all living test subjects – they've got photos." She shuddered as she pulled up a photo of a group of petrified mice in a cage. "Have you seen anything like this before?"
He shook his head. "No."
"I think the research is in the beginning stages," she remarked as she continued scanning the notes. "I don't understand all the scientific mumbo jumbo, but it doesn't sound like they know what causes the artifact to activate the petrification process. But they are looking into ways to weaponize it, and that sounds like a very, very bad idea to me. I mean, it has to be alien tech, right?"
"Probably," Grant agreed. "Any idea where we might find it?"
Skye was busy going through Synes' financial records. "He set aside millions for weapons research about a month ago, and if this wire transfer I'm looking at is for that artifact, it also cost him millions. You didn't see anything with an obelisk shape in the lab?"
"No." Grant straightened up and rounded the desk. "Get the financial information on that wire transfer."
Skye did as he asked and then watched as he began a methodical search of the office. He was running his hands over one of the interior walls when he paused. A moment later, a panel slid out and revealed what had to be the artifact in question. It was encased in glass, but Skye felt the hair along her arms rise up. She could feel the energy emanating from the silver obelisk from across the room.
"Damn it." Grant motioned for Natasha to join him, and the two studied the glass case. "Ideas?"
"Skye, is there any internal security for this office?" Natasha asked.
"I've already cut the internal security," Skye explained. "It was wired to the computer and the lab door. Other than the cameras which I've looped, there is nothing else."
"Not exactly true," Grant said. "There's a pressure sensitive plate underneath the obelisk, and I have no doubt guards will come running if we remove it. But if it's not tied into the main computer system then we don't really have time to figure it out."
Skye looked at her watch and realized they had less than five minutes to get out and make their egress window while the shift change was happening. She could see Grant and Natasha making those same calculations.
Natasha was looking at Ward now, and a sort of understanding passed between them. "We can't leave behind alien tech like this – not if it's as dangerous as it sounds and they're actually trying to weaponize it."
Grant looked over at Skye, and their eyes met for a brief moment. He seemed conflicted – about what she wasn't sure, but she assumed he was trying to figure out the best way to remove the obelisk.
"Do you think breaking the glass will set off an alarm?" Natasha asked him as she walked around the case to view it from the other side.
"I think it's the pressure plate we have to worry about," he stated. He seemed resigned as he turned his attention back to Skye. "New plan. Once we take this artifact off the plate, we're going to have company."
Skye swallowed hard and resisted the urge to look at the wall of windows behind her. "We're going to take the back door."
He nodded. "We need to be ready to move the second we have this artifact secured. Are you finished on your end?"
Skye checked the progress of her download, noting it was now complete. She detached the external hard drive from Synes' computer and erased records of what she'd accessed. "Do you want me to delete the research they've done on the obelisk?" When he nodded, she systematically brought up any folders referencing the artifact and deleted them before erasing her trail once again. "Done."
Natasha passed a small, metal case over to Grant. "I'm going to get into position. Two minutes." She walked quickly from the room, and Skye took a moment to appreciate that she could look totally calm despite their current situation. Even Grant was tense, so Skye knew there was probably a good reason for her to feel nervous.
Grant hit the button on his comm device. "Alpha team to Bravo."
Tripp's voice came across the comms. "Alpha team go."
"We're going to be coming in hot," Grant said, glancing at the timer he'd set on his watch. "Back door exit in one forty-five, Widow is running cleanup. We may need assistance."
"Understood," Tripp replied. "En route to egress."
Skye joined Grant next to the glass case as she tried to swallow the nerves erupting inside her. Between the weird energy the artifact was giving off and knowing she was going to have to jump for it in less than two minutes, her earlier excitement over the mission had been thoroughly squashed.
"The notes mentioned the scientists were using a robotic glove to handle the obelisk," Grant said, his focus squarely on the glass case. "Check his desk."
Skye searched the desk quickly and found the glove in question. "I can use the glove while you…"
"No," he said flatly, his expression grim. "Give it to me. I want you to use the laser to cut the glass open and get the case ready. Under no circumstances do you touch this, do you understand?"
She bit back the argument on the tip of her tongue as she passed him the glove, recalling what Coulson had said earlier. "Yes."
"If anything happens to me, you go straight to Natasha's location. You can't hesitate, Skye," he told her, dark eyes holding hers. "Assuming we get this out of the building, you continue to egress with the case no matter what happens. If I tell you to go, you go."
She nodded, trying to still the slight tremor she noticed in her hands. "I understand. Can you feel it?"
"Feel what?" he asked, handing her the laser.
Skye gripped the laser tightly and tilted her head towards the obelisk. "That. I can feel it, like… I don't know. Some kind of energy."
Grant looked worried for a moment. "Skye you need to focus."
"Okay." Knowing they were running out of time, she quickly used the laser to cut the top of the glass. Then she held the case open as Grant reached in and removed the obelisk.
The alarm was instantaneous, and Skye quickly closed the case and took the glove from Grant, stuffing it into the small bag looped over her shoulder. Grant was already at the window. He used a sonic device to shatter the glass, attached the cord to the heavy door leading to the lab and before Skye even had a chance to look down, he lifted her against him and they were freefalling.
Skye squeezed her eyes shut and turned her face against his shoulder, surprised by how quickly they were on the ground. And then they were on the move. Skye held onto the case and stayed behind Grant as they rounded the first corner. Two guards were there, but Grant took them down easily before they could even aim their guns.
It was when they rounded the second corner that they ran into trouble. Skye stopped abruptly upon seeing the six guards coming at them, but Grant didn't hesitate to engage. He disarmed two and took down a third. A shot was fired, but since Grant never slowed down, she didn't think he was hit.
Before she could continue on to the egress point as he'd instructed her to do, she felt a hand on her arm. Reacting instinctively, she turned and swung the case, hitting the guard across the head in a move that sent him crashing to the ground. She tried to move around him but he grabbed her leg, pulling her down as well.
The case hit the ground with her and popped open, sending the obelisk rolling out onto the ground towards Skye and the guard. When it touched her hand it lit up with an orange glow that made them both pause. That energy was pulling at her again; as the guard reached for the obelisk, she grabbed it and hit him across the head with it.
What happened next was horrifying. The side of his face turned to stone, and the man fell away from her, screaming and clutching at his face. She scooted backwards to get away from him, the glowing obelisk still in her hand. Grabbing the case, she dropped the artifact inside and then held up her hand, frantic as she checked for signs of her own skin turning to stone.
"Skye!"
She looked up as Grant ran towards her, grabbing her hand to check for signs of injury.
She shook her head, breathing heavily as she said, "I'm okay." She looked over at the guard, noting he was still now. Skye didn't know if he was unconscious or dead, and the idea that she might have accidentally killed him made her feel sick.
However, she knew they didn't have time for that because more guards were coming. As they went around the last corner on their way to the gate, they encountered two more armed men. When one raised his gun, Grant shoved her against the side of the building. Two shots were fired in quick succession and she felt Grant's body jerk against her before he turned and engaged both men.
Then Quartermain, Natasha and Ricky were there. Quartermain grabbed Skye's arm and pulled her towards Natasha. "Get her out of here."
Skye ran when Natasha told her to. They encountered two more guards at the gate, but they were no match for Natasha, who took them out in a blur of movement. She pulled Skye through the gate and across the road to the van waiting for them.
Tripp slid the door open and Skye climbed in next to Ali. She caught a glimpse of Natasha as she slipped back through the gate before Tripp slammed the door and the van was on the move.
"Are you hurt?" Tripp asked her.
Skye released her death grip on the metal case and raised her hand up, once more checking for signs that she was going to be turned to stone. Her skin looked the same as before. She didn't understand it, but the obelisk hadn't affected her in the same way that it had the guard.
"No," she said, her voice cracking slightly. She allowed Tripp to help her out of the vest, realizing that he was checking her for injuries as he did so.
He ran practiced hands over her arms and then her ribs. "No pain anywhere?"
She shook her head.
"Tripp, there's blood on the vest," Ali said, casting a concerned glance in Skye's direction before returning to her inspection of the vest Skye had been wearing.
"It's not mine," Skye whispered, taking a deep breath to quell the nausea that still threatened. "I think Grant was hit."
"Was he down?" Tripp asked. When she shook her head again, he said, "Okay then, he's probably fine, Skye. They'll be right behind us."
When they arrived back at the Triskelion and parked in the Operations bay, Coulson and May were both waiting outside for them.
"What the hell happened?" Coulson demanded as he helped Skye out of the van. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm okay," Skye said. Then the nausea she'd been holding in check returned with a vengeance, and she turned away as she lost the contents of her stomach. May passed her a napkin and she wiped her mouth. "There was a second artifact – a dangerous one. We couldn't leave it there."
Coulson took the metal case that Tripp passed over to him. "What is it?"
"Don't touch it," Skye warned him. "One of the guards… he…" she broke off and looked down at her hands again. She wondered how long she'd continue checking to make sure she wasn't having a delayed reaction to the artifact. She kept expecting to see a change, but there was none.
"He what?" May asked, watching Skye closely.
"He tried to take the case from me and when I hit him with it, it opened and the artifact came out. We were struggling and…" she paused again. "It touched the side of his face. His skin turned to stone, and it was… I don't know. Spreading?" Should she try to explain what had really happened? Grant had seen her holding the artifact; that self-preservation instinct that had kept her safe after she ran away from the orphanage was telling her to keep that part quiet, at least until she talked to him.
"He was petrified?" Coulson asked incredulously.
"I don't know. I guess. It was fast and then we were running again, and there were more guards with guns… I think Grant was shot protecting me," she said suddenly.
"They're on their way in, Skye, so I think he's fine," Coulson told her as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Let's get you inside."
Jemma, Fitz and Patrick were waiting in the conference room where the team had planned to debrief after the mission. The second Jemma saw Skye, she rushed forward. "What happened?"
Skye hugged Jemma tightly. "I'm fine. Maybe a little bruised but fine." She released her and hugged Fitz and Patrick in turn. Digging into her pocket, she pulled out the little carved monkey and held it out to Fitz. "You have no idea how much I needed that luck tonight."
Jemma herded her onto a chair and reached for one of the first aid kits on the table. "Your face is bruised."
"That's what happens when you get shoved into the side of a building," Skye said. She meant it as a joke, but if her companions' faces were anything to go by, it fell flat. "It's Grant I'm worried about. He put himself between me and two guys with guns, and there was blood on my vest. I think he might have been shot." She tilted her face up, allowing Jemma to clean and then apply a salve to her abrasions.
"There," Jemma said, tilting Skye's head this way and that as she checked for evidence of more injuries. "The salve has a numbing agent in it."
Skye looked at her watch, wondering how far behind them the other team was, when Natasha, Ricky, Grant and Quartermain entered the room. She stood quickly but only managed a few steps before Grant had crossed the room to her.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his concern written clearly on his face. He grabbed her hands and just as she had earlier, he inspected them carefully for any signs of petrification. Seeing none, he ran his hands over her arms and then tilted her face up to get a look at the minor abrasions on her cheek.
"I'm fine," she assured him. "You're the one who stepped in front of a bullet, Grant. There was blood on my vest." She could see it now – a rip in the sleeve of his shirt near his shoulder.
When she reached up and traced the edges of the torn material, he grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "I'm fine, Skye. It's just a flesh wound."
Maybe that was true, but it was a flesh wound he'd sustained taking a bullet meant for her. "Jemma, can you…"
But Jemma was already herding Grant into a chair near her medical supplies. "Sit," she ordered. "And remove your shirt, please."
Grant seemed a little bemused by the scientist's sudden bossiness, but he didn't argue with her. He pulled his T-shirt over his head and allowed the younger woman to clean and dress the wound before prodding gently at his ribs.
"You have some bruising here," Jemma informed him, her tone sympathetic.
"I'm aware," he replied with an uncharacteristically dry humor as he smiled at Jemma. "This is nothing really. Give me a couple of hot and cold packs, and I'll be fine in a day – two, tops."
He grabbed a bag he'd left in the conference room and pulled on a fresh T-shirt as Jemma turned her attention to the other team members. After assessing that no further medical care was needed, she packed up her supplies.
Jemma, Fitz and Patrick left before the debriefing and Skye remained silent as the team gave Coulson a breakdown of the mission, only adding information when specifically asked for it. She waited for the petrified guard to come up, wondering how Grant would explain what he'd seen, but Coulson didn't ask for further details.
But when they were done, he asked her to come to his office. Closing the door carefully behind him, he sat beside her on the small sofa against the wall. "Skye, I need you to tell me again what happened with the guard."
Fear swept through her. She could tell he knew more than he'd said earlier. "You've heard of this artifact before, haven't you?"
Coulson sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. "When we rooted out the remaining Hydra cells in the late eighties and early nineties, there was talk of an artifact they were searching for called the Obelisk – or at least, that's what Hydra agents were calling it. They referred to it as a weapon – people who touched it were petrified while still alive, sometimes very slowly. The original Obelisk was recovered by the SSR in the forties, along with documentation of human trials. Most people who came into contact with the Obelisk died horrible deaths, but they documented one or two cases where a person survived contact with the artifact. They were forced to abandon it when they retreated, and that artifact has been locked up in a SHIELD vault for decades."
"Someone stole it?" she guessed, thinking that's how it had ended up on the black market.
He shook his head. "They were searching for a second Obelisk, one reported to be in the Hunan Province in China. Maybe they found it."
Her blood ran cold, and she stared down at her hands again. They were shaking, so she clenched her fingers together to still the small movement.
"Skye, I need you to tell me the truth. When Ward came in, he checked your hands like he was afraid something was wrong with you. Did you touch the artifact?"
"No," she responded automatically. Coulson didn't say anything, and the silence stretched out – one minute and then two.
Don't say anything. That inner voice that had acted as her survival guide for so many years was practically vibrating with the need for secrecy. But another voice reminded her of their earlier conversation. It reminded her that Coulson was her family and if she couldn't trust him, she couldn't trust anyone.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she nodded and whispered, "Yes."
Her hands were clenched together, and she opened her eyes when she felt his hands over hers. He was looking at them, inspecting them for damage that miraculously wasn't there.
"I could feel it," she finally continued. "I could feel the energy of the artifact as soon as I got close to it. When the case opened and it fell out, it touched my hand and it started glowing – it was orange, and there were these symbols on it. Everything was happening so fast that I just grabbed it and hit the guard with it. I didn't mean to hurt him."
"No, of course not," Coulson told her. "Skye, you were protecting yourself. And Ward made the right decision because we absolutely couldn't leave something that dangerous in the hands of someone trying to figure out how to weaponize it."
"Why didn't it hurt me like it hurt the guard?" It was the burning question that had been in the forefront of her thoughts since the moment she'd touched it and realized she wasn't suffering any ill effects.
"I don't know," he admitted. He sighed and shook his head. "Right now we're not going to tell anyone, though. Ward had a chance to say something at the debriefing, and he didn't. He's protecting you. I assume he's the only one who saw what happened?"
"Him and the guard, who's probably dead by now," she said, feeling the sting of tears threatening. "It's not a coincidence that Quartermain was in the Hunan Province, where this artifact was rumored to be, or that he smuggled me out of that same area."
"No, probably not. The mission that he was on was two-fold at the time. There were rumors of people with powers in that area, in addition to rumors of a Hydra cell looking for alien artifacts. There were also rumors of a specific 0-8-4 that Hydra was after, but we never found out exactly what they were looking for. I think now we can safely assume they were looking for the Obelisk – or one of them. God knows how many of them there actually are."
"The symbols are different from the Chitauri artifacts I've seen," Skye pointed out. "It's not Chitauri. And I've never seen the symbols before, but they seemed familiar somehow when they started glowing."
"I'm going to ask FitzSimmons to start looking into it tomorrow," Coulson advised her. "We can trust them. Meanwhile, I'm going to try to get some answers out of Quartermain. We just have to be careful how we approach this, okay?"
She nodded. "I get it." She scooted over and wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you."
"Things will be fine," he told her. "We're going to figure it out."
Ward sank into his office chair, still buzzing with adrenaline and a low level anxiety that he'd yet to shake off. He knew it was because of what had happened with Skye. It had started when he realized their mission was about to go completely to hell, and it had intensified in that moment he'd seen her pick up the Obelisk. He'd been too far away to stop her, and remnants of the terror that had shot through him were still lingering.
He had left out intel during the debriefing, something he'd never done before. He should have told Coulson what happened with the guard – that both the guard and Skye had touched the artifact. Somehow Skye had emerged from the contact unscathed, and he recalled her earlier talk of the energy she could feel from the artifact. He hadn't felt anything, but he could tell it wasn't just nerves talking by the way she'd looked at the Obelisk. She actually had felt something – he was sure of it.
They knew nothing about the Obelisk besides the fact that it was clearly dangerous. What happened with Skye was surely relevant. It would be useful information for the scientists to have when they began researching the artifact. Still, he knew he wasn't going to say anything for fear that Skye could end up being tested right alongside it. He'd been with SHIELD long enough to know that people who were different were viewed with suspicion and sometimes dealt with aggressively.
He'd never questioned the right or wrong of that before; he'd simply followed orders. But he'd be damned if he let anyone hurt Skye while trying to figure out the secrets of an alien artifact. Grant wondered when he'd crossed the lines he'd drawn with Skye. He'd been so busy drawing them he hadn't even realized when they started to overlap, rendering them virtually useless. He'd even briefly considered leaving the artifact behind as Skye's safety had been paramount. Natasha had also noticed his moment of indecision before he got himself back on track.
His door opened, and he was surprised to see Quartermain.
The older specialist closed the door behind him and crossed the room to stand before Grant's desk. His posture was rigid, lines of tension betraying that this wasn't a social visit. Grant remained seated, choosing to maintain a less aggressive stance as he waited to see why he was there.
"I have one question, and I need an honest answer from you," Quartermain finally said. "Did Skye touch the Obelisk?"
Grant raised his brows. "If she had, we'd all know it. You saw what happened to the guard." He was wary now but he didn't allow that to show as he sat back in his chair. "Have a seat."
Quartermain ignored the offer, his customary friendly drawl gone as he said, "You came in here and the first thing you did was check her hands – fucking stupid if you were trying to hide what happened. So I know she touched it, Ward. She obviously wasn't hurt. I just need to know that you're not going to tell anyone about it."
"She didn't touch it," Ward said slowly and evenly as he stood to face the older man. He'd known immediately that checking her hands was a tell, and he'd tried to cover his mistake by checking her for other injuries. Clearly that hadn't worked with Quartermain.
They stared each other down for several minutes, neither one of them backing down.
"You have a reputation for being a straight arrow – a good little soldier," Quartermain said. "But we both know how SHIELD treats people who are different. There is no reason to drag Skye into that."
The realization that Quartermain's aggression was rooted in concern hit Grant suddenly. "Like I said, she didn't touch it. It fell out of the case when they both went down, and it hit the guard in the face. The end."
Quartermain looked weary all of a sudden. "Good."
He turned to leave but paused when Grant called out to him. "If you care so much about your daughter, you could try talking to her because she thinks you don't give a shit. Then again, if that were true you wouldn't be here. You could try telling her the truth."
Quartermain ignored that and left the office, leaving Grant to think about what had just happened. Skye had been in Coulson's office for a while now, so he walked down the hall and knocked on the door.
"Come in," Coulson called out.
Grant entered and looked around but didn't see Skye. "I just wanted to check on Skye, sir. Is she okay?"
"She's fine. Jemma was going to drive her home," Coulson replied.
Jemma, not Patrick. He wondered if there was a reason for that other than maybe Skye still being freaked out by what had happened earlier. "Good."
Coulson rose and held out his hand. "Thank you for what you did earlier."
There was subtext to that statement, and Grant realized that Skye must have told him about what happened with the Obelisk. He shook his hand, and a silent understanding passed between them. Before Grant left, he said, "Quartermain came by my office – had a few questions."
Coulson nodded. "I'll be talking to him soon."
Grant decided to pack it in for the night when he returned to his office. Tomorrow would be early enough to deal with the written reports. He got his bike and was halfway home before he turned around, knowing he needed to talk to Skye before he'd be able to sleep.
Skye sat on her sofa and sipped the tea Jemma made for her before she left. She'd offered to stay, but Skye needed some time alone to process everything that had happened earlier. Jemma had understood, but she knew she'd hurt Patrick's feelings when she'd declined his offer to come home with her. He'd been uncharacteristically quiet after Grant had returned, and Skye knew they were rapidly approaching a point where they'd need to talk about their relationship.
A knock on her door startled her. Her heart rose as she wondered if it was Grant. But when she opened the door, she was surprised to see Quartermain. They stared at each other, each assessing the other, and Skye wondered how he even knew where she lived.
"Can I come in?" he finally asked.
She considered telling him no, but her curiosity won out. She stepped aside, allowing him to enter before closing the door. Skye went back to the sofa and sat, feeling a little vulnerable considering she was wearing the Captain America pajamas Fitz had given her the previous Christmas after they'd finished reading the old forties stories together.
"What are you doing here?" she asked. He was still just standing in the middle of her living room, looking around at her home, and it was making her uncomfortable. She knew she wasn't the neatest person. She wondered what it looked like through his eyes - wondered if he felt any connection at all to her.
"I want to make sure you're not going to tell anyone about what happened with the Obelisk," he told her. "Ward kept it out of the mission debrief, and I don't think he's going to say anything."
"Nothing happened with the Obelisk except that it hit that poor guard when it fell out of the case," she said, wondering if he really knew something or if he was just fishing. But why would he?
"Good. Stick to that story," he advised. "I know that you're close to Coulson and the scientists, but you need to protect yourself first."
"Except I can trust Coulson, and Jemma, and Fitz," she shot back. "I can trust Grant."
"Skye, trust is relative, and it only goes so far. You need to keep this to yourself."
She stood up so fast that she bumped the table, spilling her tea in the process. "Get out."
"Excuse me?"
"You're right – I touched the Obelisk and do you know what happened to me? Nothing. It glowed, and it had symbols that seemed familiar to me even though I've never seen them before. I could feel the energy – I know it's alien. I have no idea why the guard was hurt but I wasn't, but you do, right? You have answers that you've chosen to keep from me. You threw me away. You left me in an orphanage with a bunch of lies and fake documents and a necklace I hoped belonged to my mother but for all I know, it's another piece of the lie you planted. When I finally found you, you stuck to the lies. You refused to have anything to do with me. And then you have the nerve to come here and tell me who I can or can't trust? Get out!"
She was shaking with her outrage and anger, and all of the hurt she'd pushed down over the years was now threatening to come spilling out. She needed him to leave before that happened.
"You already told him, didn't you? Damn it, Skye," he said wearily. "Do you know what SHIELD could do to you? How they handle situations they don't understand?"
"Then explain it to me," she demanded. "Who was my mother? Was I born in the Hunan Province? Is that where you met her, when you were there? Was she… different?"
But he shook his head and started for the door.
"Oh right, leaving is what you're good at," she lashed out bitterly, feeling the tears start to slide down her cheeks, and that only made her angrier. The last thing she wanted was to show weakness in front of Clay Quartermain. "Don't come back here."
Before Quartermain reached the door, it opened and Grant was there. He looked at Skye and then at Quartermain, and then he stepped to the side. "You heard her."
Quartermain stared at Grant but didn't argue, and Grant closed the door and locked it.
Skye sat down on the sofa and covered her face with her hands as she tried to stop the tears now flowing freely. She rarely cried, so when she finally let it out it was like a dam opening. When Grant sat down beside her, she turned and wrapped her arms around him as she let herself really cry for the first time in months.
"Hey, it's okay," he said quietly, pulling her close.
It was several minutes before she got herself under control. "He has a lot of nerve, I'll give him that."
"He came to talk to me earlier," Grant said, settling back against the sofa and allowing her to settle into his side. "He obviously knows something about the Obelisk, and he guessed that you'd touched it. The thing is, I think he knew it wouldn't hurt you – how, I don't know. But he's worried about that knowledge falling into SHIELD hands."
"I told Coulson," she said quietly. "I was scared to death, but he suspected I wasn't telling him everything and I just… I couldn't lie to him. He's keeping it out of the mission details, and he's going to ask Fitz and Jemma to start looking into the artifact. And I want to tell them. The more information they have, the more we can figure out what's going on."
"Is that wise?" he asked. "Look, I'll trust your judgment, but one thing I agree with Quartermain about is that the fewer people who know, the better. It's alien, Skye, and your reaction to it is abnormal. He's right that SHIELD wouldn't see that as a positive thing."
"I know, but Jemma and Fitz would never do anything to hurt me. I trust them," she replied, suddenly yawning. "God, I'm exhausted."
"You should sleep," he said. "Between the adrenaline and the emotional rollercoaster you've been on since then, you need the rest."
"Will you stay? Just until I fall asleep."
"I can stay," he answered quietly.
Skye pulled her feet onto the sofa and settled more firmly against him, He was stroking her hair now, and she felt her muscles relaxing as she felt herself letting go of the fear and tension of the night.
When Skye woke the following morning, she was alone in her bed. She had a vague recollection of Grant carrying her to the bedroom and tucking her in. She thought she remembered the feel of his lips against her forehead, but it was such a sentimental gesture that she figured she'd probably dreamed that part.
It was already past noon. Coulson had told her to take the day off, so Skye wasn't in a hurry as she made coffee and breakfast and caught up on a few episodes of TV she'd missed while working late in recent weeks.
But she was really just killing time. She took a shower around four and got dressed. She took the bus to the Triskelion, detouring past the park to feed the ducks on her way to the main building. This time she didn't go to the Communications Division or Operations. She headed to the training wing.
May was right where Skye thought she'd be – in the gym, sparring with one of other specialists. She was also clearly winning.
When she spied Skye waiting for her, she stopped the sparring match and walked over to her. "You look better today."
Skye nodded, playing with the scarf around her neck. "I feel better today." And she did. Maybe she'd needed a good cry. "I want you to teach me how to defend myself in the field."
May grabbed a bottle of water, opening it and taking a sip. "What happened last night with Ward getting winged – that wasn't your fault. Any agent would have taken that bullet for you, Skye. They knew you weren't field trained going in and that made you their responsibility."
"I know," Skye said. "Still, I'd like to learn whatever you think you can teach me."
May regarded her, her face impassive. "You took out a guard with the case you were carrying. That's not a bad start. Defending yourself is as much about reading your environment and being resourceful as it is about being a skilled fighter."
"Yeah I think that was my fear response," Skye remarked with a small smile. "But then he pulled me down with him. If not for the… the thing he came into contact with, he probably would have gotten the upper hand again."
She knew that Coulson had probably already told May about what really happened. She'd told him it was okay, and she trusted May as much as Coulson at this point. If she was ever going to figure out the puzzle pieces of her past, she was going to need all of them to help her.
May chose not to comment on that, for which Skye was actually grateful. "Tomorrow morning, six a.m. sharp."
Skye groaned. "Seriously? I was thinking more after hours."
May raised a brow, clearly not willing to budge on the time.
She sighed. "Fine. Six it is. Thanks, May."
The older woman nodded, and Skye felt a new bounce in her step as she left. There were so many things she didn't feel she could control, but she could control this. She could learn not to be a liability in the field. It was no guarantee that she'd always have the upper hand or that she'd never be in danger, but it was a start. And just like Coulson had told her years ago in that little diner, every journey began with a single step in the right direction.
A/N: Well this was a long update lol. Like 9,000 words long (yikes.) I was going to make it two chapters, but you guys have been patient so I pushed on through with the editing today to finish it all up. Again, I don't have a beta so if you see any big errors, please let me know. Editing something this long can be a challenge. I'll get back to editing Chapter 12 of Under My Skin this week. I'm going to try to update by the weekend because I'm going out of town for a couple of days, but we'll see how it goes. Hope you enjoyed the conclusion to part 3 of the series! Thanks for reading!
The next installment of this series has had a title change. The new title (and a brief summary) are below:
Maybe your head (is not where your heart is) – Part 4 of The Head and the Heart series.
Summary: Skye continues to search for answers to the questions of her past with the help of Coulson and FitzSimmons. When she has an unexpected run-in with Alanna, both women come to some profound realizations. Meanwhile, Grant is upset when he realizes that Skye broke protocol to get him out of a sticky situation he encountered in the field. As he struggles to put his feelings in perspective and clear his head, Skye starts embracing her growing feelings for the first time, leading to a difficult conversation with Patrick.
