I'm back! I think I forgot to mention that this is set in Season 2.

Skye was floating. At least, it felt like that. Floating on a leash of pain, so that when she floated too far away, the pain would jolt her back down to the hard medical table on which she lay. Sometimes, she would try to open her eyes, force them open with all her strength. It didn't work, not really. Her eyelids might flutter briefly, but, as Simmons made sure everyone knew, this was "completely natural."

At other times, when people were holding her hands and urging her to wake up, she pretended to be asleep because she was too tired. On one occasion she had managed to twitch her fingers, alerting Coulson to her wakeful presence. Skye was torn between the pride of managing to and the anger at herself for making so much noise.

Her right arm felt amazing. Just... amazing. She didn't really understand why. It was probably something to do with the medication the were giving her. At one point, though, she was thinking about this and moved her arm and it started to hurt like there was something stuck in her arm and her stomach started to hurt so much that she ignored everything and curled up in a ball around it. It was then that Skye realised that the pain went straight into her back as well.

Skye screwed up her eyes in pain and groaned, and lots of alarms went off. That's funny, she thought, I haven't done anything wrong. She heard running footsteps and people started shouting. She wondered if they were being robbed. Somebody started pulling her, sorting her into an unfamiliar position on her back that made her cough.

"She's coughing up blood!" Simmons shouted over the noise, and began to pump at Skye's chest. Why is she doing that? My heart hasn't stopped. Skye decided that her friend was stronger than she looked. Whatever it was she was doing really hurt. It seemed to work, at least. The noise slowed down and Skye drifted off again.


Everyone ignored the tears. They came from Coulson's eyes, and Fitz's eyes, even leaked, illegally, out of Simmons'. As soon as the threat was over May had gone back to the cockpit.

Skye thought that she had been in a coma for days, but in fact she had been on the bus for under three hours. May called down to say that they would reach the medical facility in half an hour. Simmons didn't know what to do. What could she do? Skye was a fighter, but would she hold out for that long? She needed life support. Fitz had dug up an oxygen mask from a cupboard somewhere that they had given her, ignoring the large pangs they felt at seeing it.

Coulson was horrified. They had been here before. Skye, poisoned.* They'd needed a miracle drug to save her, a miracle drug that was currently buried under a mountain. All of it. She couldn't survive twice. Nobody was that lucky, not even Skye, the helpless rookie who'd turned into one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top agents. He couldn't afford to lose her.

When at last they reached the hospital, there was chaos. She was taken into the operating theatre immediately, but they could do very little except hook her up to life support. Skye wouldn't be pulled back now. Now she would just float and drift until it was time to say goodbye.


Ward sat up in bed, panting. His brothers. His parents. And always Garret, laughing and telling him what to do, and always, always Skye. Sometimes she lay on the floor, asking for help before disappearing. Sometimes she had been shot, or stabbed, or poisoned. But she always asked for help. And sometimes he would try, but when he got too close, she would die.

Most of the time he'd shout in his sleep. The first few times it happened, one of his men came running. He claimed to have been on the telephone. They just ignored him now. Ward wondered if he was mad. He knew Garret was dead. But Skye? He didn't know that. What if Garret was lying? He would have to go and kill her properly. But, Ward realised, he didn't want her to be dead. He wanted her to live a long and happy life. With... him.

That had to be wrong. He hated her. She worked for Coulson, who he hated. But did he really? After all that Coulson had done for him. They'd all done things for him. But did he owe Skye this?

Ward got up and went into the bathroom. He opened up the cabinet and pulled out the small plastic phial. Labelled GH 325. Garret had pressed it into his hand, saying that if he got into a spot of bother it would save him. Would it save Skye. He didn't want to give it to her - Garret had gone mad and, eventually, it had gotten him killed. But Skye had had some before. It had done nothing but heal her. Coulson was given some, he was fine. Maybe it had just reacted with the Centipede serum.

And if Skye was dead. Coulson was, wasn't he? It brought him back. Why not Skye? Ward got out his laptop and searched for the nearest S.H.I.E.L.D. facility. It was a couple of miles away, and that was where they would go.

Grant Ward stood up. John Garret stood up too, but Ward pushed him back down.

*In this AU, Skye was poisoned by Quinn, not shot, because the story wouldn't really work if she was shot in the same place three times.

websky- Thank you so much for being my first reviewer! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far.

That's all for reviewers, but please do let me know what you think!