Get Skye safe was the only thought playing through Melinda's mind as she ran, towing the younger agent behind her. Skye never should have come. She wasn't a field agent, and now she was in danger. This isn't Bahrain, Melinda reminded herself. She wasn't about to lose another girl.
She heard shouting coming from behind them, and she ran faster. Cursing her feet for making noise, she pushed onwards until she heard a breathy voice behind her. "May, slow down," Skye said in between pants. They were at the last corner. Melinda stopped, turned around, and faced the empty hallway with her icer in hand.
"Go!" she ordered.
Skye took off towards the hole in the wall as Melinda backed up steadily to it, watching the other girl from her peripheral vision awkwardly trying to lift herself up. Melinda put the icer back in its holster and ran to help Skye. The other agent had her upper body outside, but she was struggling to bring the rest of her up. Without thinking about how awkward this would be under any other circumstance, Melinda pressed on Skye's bottom, pushing her outside.
With Skye safe, Melinda squeezed her arms through the hole and lifted herself out. Her knees harshly scraped the jagged ground, ripping holes in her pants, but she couldn't worry about that now. "Come on," she said, once again grabbing Skye's hand and dragging the other agent onto the bus.
"Shut the door!" she screamed at Fitz, who quickly obliged. Melinda ran to the cockpit and sat at the controls. Flipping a few switches, she got the plane into the air. She set the coordinates for the Hub and set the vehicle on autopilot. Her brain was much too frazzled to deal with flying right now.
When she heard the footsteps behind her, she was expecting it to be Coulson, but as she turned, she was surprised to see Skye standing in the doorway, holding bandages. "Let me look at your knee," she said.
Melinda nodded her permission, and the other agent sat beside her. Skye squeezed out an antibacterial cream onto her hand and gently rubbed it into Melinda's left knee. It stung, but the contact was strangely comforting. A subtle chill ran down her spine as the other agent gently rubbed back and forth.
When Skye began to push the fabric away in order to clear space for the bandages, goosebumps trailed up Melinda's arms, and she was thankful that she was wearing long sleeves. She was also confused. No one's touch had ever felt quite so... she wasn't sure how to describe it. Pleasant? Comforting? Somewhere in between? Melinda closed her eyes as Skye gently wrapped the bandages around each of her knees.
"Alright, you should be good," Skye said when she was done. There was something different about her voice. The normally confident girl sounded insecure. Melinda leaned over and pulled her into a hug, letting all her emotions escape into the embrace. All her fear of losing Skye and confused feelings were released, and Melinda's world felt safe.
For just a moment, it felt like Bahrain had never happened. She felt whole again, like there wasn't a Katya-shaped hole in her heart. The world seemed to stop turning as the plane flew over it. Melinda drew a shaky breath. Skye was okay. She hadn't lost her.
When she pulled back, Skye's face was bright red. Melinda blushed as well, suddenly unsure of herself and if she had overstepped her bounds. "Er, th-thanks," she stammered.
"R-right," Skye stuttered. "I should probably train with Ward."
Melinda watched the other agent's back as she left, wondering just what it was she had gotten herself into.
