A/N: This took much longer than expected, but I have a good excuse. First, Junior year is a bitch (excuse my language). I thought people were exaggerating when they said it was the hardest year, but nope. It sucks. Then, to make it better I got a "concussion" and needed to stay away from technology. SOO my laptop was away and I could not update any of my stories which is why they are all so late. *Sigh*

BUT I am back, for the most part. I need to post this note on all my stories, but updates are going to be slower because school is important. When I find time to write, I write, but whether or not things get posted is the issue. I'll do my best to post every two or three weeks, but nothing really sooner. Anyway, hope you enjoy and stick around.

Summary:Skye has a secret, one that no one else can ever know. As a child, people wanted to exploit her genius. As a teen, they took advantage of her mind. For two years, Skye had been free but, when she gets on Shield's radar, she has to tread carefully or else they might learn her secret and history will repeat itself.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.


Chapter Nine

Coulson slammed his hand in the wooden wall in his office, anger and rage burning inside him. Coulson knew what it felt like to be helpless, it was a feeling he despised more than anything else in the world. Watching a teammate, the youngest of the group
and at times who seemed the most like a child, was in pain. Although he couldn't hear exactly what Derek and Skye were saying, he had a pretty good idea of what was going on.

It wasn't until Skye collapsed, unconscious, that Coulson and the others fought with everything they had. They needed to get to Skye, now before it was too late. It had been pure luck that Skye still had the hackers bracelet, allowing them track her down.
Otherwise, Coulson feared they would have lost her forever. May studied her friend, her brow creased ever so slightly to show her concern.

Coulson wasn't usually one to show his emotions, sure it wasn't too hard to tell what he was feeling however it definitely wasn't easy. He had control over his emotions. Whenever he reacted suddenly, it caused May to worry that something was incredibly
wrong.

"Coulson," May said in a calm voice, "We'll find Skye."

Coulson didn't look at May, "What if we don't? What if we're too late?"

May replied, her tone never changing, "Then we'll start from scratch and continue to look for her until we're told otherwise."

This time, Coulson turned to look at May. Skye was important to him in a way he hadn't realized until he saw Derek and his men take her away, possibly forever. It had always been hard for Coulson to keep his job professional. He constantly made bonds
with people which turned to attachments and lead to him caring for them and wanting to protect them with everything he had. Skye was no different.

In many aspects, Coulson saw her and Fitzsimmons as his children, Ward was more of a nephew or friend's child and May was his partner. When he found Skye, he could tell she put up a good front. One that looked passive, nonchalant, a little naive and unconcerned.
It was in her eyes that he knew it was an act. Being an Agent, Coulson had seems lot of dark things that were burned into his memory. The most haunting memories he had weren't the ones covered in blood, weren't the ones running for his life.

They were always of someone's eyes.

The eyes of May when she first looked at him after Bahrain. The look in Fury's eye when he nearly died after Loki stabbed him. The eyes of Hill when she almost missed the cable on a mission in Moscow. The eyes of the little boy who was caught in the crossfire
of a gun fight. Skye's brown eyes were haunted, scarred, there was an untold fear and terror in her eyes that Coulson hadn't been able to place before. Whatever had happened to her, was something carved deep inside her.

Coulson nodded his head at May, but offered no verbal reply.

Ward's voice filled the silence over the comm. "They're up ahead, stopped on the cliff edge."

"Don't lose sight of them, let's move out," May said and quickly left Coulson's office, Coulson not far behind.

Ward had stayed in the cockpit while May had gone to check on Coulson leaving the specialist to focus on tracking Skye's every move when they suddenly stopped on the radar. This would give them an opportunity to grab Skye and get out of there before things
got to heated. Ward set the Bus down in it's spot away from what he assumed would be Derek and his men.

The helicopter from before had just landed on the edge of the cliff next to raven black Gulfstream G550 jet plane. The specialist raced out of the cockpit to the cargo hold where he met May and Coulson. Originally, May wasn't going to join the fight and
had planned to be their getaway pilot, however something changed her mind. If Ward hadn't known better, he would have thought May was doing it for Skye. It was a possibility, but how likely was the question.

Ward didn't care though, as long as they got Skye back, he would be okay. The plan was easy enough to follow, sneak up on them, find Skye, grab her and go. There wasn't time for anything else. The Bus was a ways away from the helicopter and jet which
worked to their advantage, they wouldn't be seen until it was too late. Without delay, Ward, May and Coulson made their way over to the cliff in Lola.

The darkness of the night and the fact that it was a new moon meant the only light for them to see would be from the air transportation. Luckily, the Bus's light had all been turned off when they landed. Coulson stopped the car behind a large rock that
would cover them and keep their getaway car hidden. The three agents climbed out of the vehicle.

"Agent Ward," Coulson said, "You and May will take out anyone in our way while I go after Skye. Do it quickly and quietly."

Ward and May nodded in understanding, cross off the enemy without delay and be discreet. This would be easy for May and Ward considering they were trained to do assignments such as this. Ward briefly studied the area. There were four armed guards posted
next to the stairs of the jet plane while two were standing next to the helicopter. He would go to the helicopter, he could take out the two guards within fifteen seconds.

Sending May to take out the weaker threat would have been an insult. Derek stepped out of the helicopter first, it took every bit of control Ward had not to break out into a run and attack him for what he did to Skye. May was about to say something, but
stopped when she spotted Skye. A man who they hadn't seen before wearing blue jeans and a grey-shirt stepped out of the helicopter, Skye unconscious in his arms.

"Skye," Coulson whispered.

Ward and May stared at Skye limp in the unknown man's arms. The sight sent a pang of worry and fear through Coulson. All Ward could feel in that moment was angry, if anything happened to Skye he would never forgive himself for not doing enough to help
her.

"Let's bring her home," Coulson said after a beat of silence, his eyes focused on the unconscious girl.

May and Ward left wordlessly to handle the few 'guards' who were around. Ward moved quickly through the darkness, none of the guards were able to spot him which sent off a warning siren in his mind. Either he was better at sneaking around than he thought
or these guards knew he was there and simply weren't doing anything about it. Whether or not that was a good thing or a bad thing was yet to be seen.

By the time he made it to the helicopter, avoiding the headlights and the guards view, Skye had disappeared inside the plane with the man carrying her. Ward moved under the helicopter on his hands and knees, behind the guards. He pulled out the ICER Fitz
had modified for him and fired. The guards fell to the ground with thuds. Quickly, he pulled the unconscious guards under the helicopter and jumped up, firing at whoever was in the helicopter. A pilot and three more guards.

This worried Ward, hadn't there been at least a dozen guards that went to the helicopter. Some were unaccounted for, they must have already been on the jet. Ward turned around to find May fighting off the four guards. Two lunged for her, but she dodged
their wild attacks with little effort. Even though May wanted to avoid combat, she couldn't deny the fact that she did miss fighting.

Fighting was as easy as breathing for May, all she needed to do was let her body do the work while her mind simply watched. When one guard tried to attack, she would use their momentum against them. The first guard tried to attack her from behind, she
blinked and bent forward as she pulled the guard over her shoulder, effectively flipping him onto the ground. The man gasped in pain and surprise.

May liked to think she had sixth sense when it came to fighting. She knew the guard behind her was about to swing, at the last second she lowered herself onto the dusty floor. In one swift motion, she swung her leg around knocking the second and third
guards to the ground, momentarily stunning them. This gave her a chance to deal with the fourth guard who had thought to bring out his own gun. Using a basic technique, she took the gun out of his hand. It would have been easy for her to fire, but
something from her past forced her not to pull the trigger.

Big brown eyes stared at her. There was something dark and sinister in them, but Melinda could see the confusion and pain in them as well. The darkness surrounded the pain in the girl's eyes. She didn't know, she couldn't know.

May forced the thoughts from her mind. She settled for hitting his temple with the butt of the gun. She briefly saw Coulson move past her before returning her focus on the remaining two guards.

Coulson entered the jet plane, the inside was open without any seats inside. Only windows lined up on both sides and a door which would lead to the other half of the plane. Coulson raised his ICER and went through the door where he spotted Skye lying
on a bed and the unknown man wearing a grey t-shirt looking down her.

"Get away from her," Coulson ordered, his eyes burning with fury.

The grey shirted man looked at Coulson, his eyes reminded Coulson of a cloudy day.

"You're SHIELD right," the man asked, a brown eyebrow raised.

Coulson answered, "Yes and if you want to get out of here, I suggest you back away from her."

The man smiled, flashing his white teeth, "She's not your concern Mr Coulson."

Coulson was ready with a reply, but the slight cold pressure he felt on the back of his head stopped him. A gun was pressed against him, one wrong move and he would no doubt die where he stood.

"He's right you know," the cynical voice said, "Mary is not one of your own and belongs to us. Lower your gun."

Coulson did as Derek said even though he wished he hadn't. Without warning and in the blink of an eye, the grey shirted man had punched Coulson in the stomach causing him to hunch over. He felt something strong hit his back, a foot maybe. The next thing
Coulson knew, he was lying on the ground at the two men's feet.

When he heard the sound of a gunshot, he thought he was done for, but when he didn't feel any different he realized the bullet hadn't touched him. The grey shirted man had fallen to the ground, his face scrunched in pain. Coulson couldn't help but smirk
at the expression.

"Awe," Derek taunted with a twisted grin, "I didn't realize Mary had a boyfriend. How sweet is that?"

Ward felt his anger spike, "Her name is Skye!"

Although Ward had always been an aggressive fighter, he was usually very good at remaining calm and controlled during a fight. Tonight was an exception. Coulson moved, he didn't bother to check and see if the grey shirted man was dead or alive, that didn't
matter. Ward could deal with Derek while he went to Skye.

"Skye," he said slightly breathless.

She was lying on the little bed motionless, her right cheek had dried blood and Coulson saw a small daisy behind her ear. He paid no attention to that though, instead he focused on her skin which was paling and her breathing. It was shallow and faint.
He pressed a hand on her head, she was warm to the touch, a growing fever.

"Don't worry Skye," Coulson said as he brought his arms under her knees and back, "We got you. I got you."

It was odd in Ward's mind. All it took were a few words about Skye and suddenly, he had little to no control over his emotions. Without thinking, Ward swung at Derek who dodged the attack at the last second, stepping away. Ward didn't back down though,
he continued to swing, punch and kick at Derek. It was obvious to Ward that Derek was a skilled fighter, but Ward could tell he only knew military combat.

Ward was decent at military fighting styles, but he was better at martial arts, specifically Karate. He had taken a few lessons as a kid and before becoming a specialist, he trained in several martial arts classes to build his strength. The corners of
Ward's mouth twitched upwards once he found a weakness in Derek's defenses and evasive moves. The man would always step with his left foot first, this ultimately gave Ward the opening he needed.

In a swift motion, Ward kicked his right leg sharply, effectively hitting Derek's left knee. Ward could see Coulson rush past him, but his focus was on Derek. His balanced wavered, Ward wasted no time in striking his other knee causing Derek to fall to
the ground. Using as much strength as he could, Ward slammed his fist into Derek's jaw. The force of the punch was enough to knock Derek on the ground. Anger coursed through Ward's veins and he kicked Derek, hard, in the stomach causing the man to
gasp in pain and surprise.

When Coulson exited the plane, he found May standing in her spot with at least ten bodies lying around. May almost looked relieved when she saw Coulson, but she kept a straight face. However she didn't hide the concern in her eyes when she looked down
at Skye in Coulson's arms.

"She's alive, but I don't know what they did to her," Coulson said worriedly.

May replied, "Simmons will figure it out. Where's Ward?"

"Inside," Coulson answered simply, "You get him."

May nodded and went inside. May climbed the steps quickly, she spotted Ward several feet away kicking Derek against the wall.

"Agent Ward," May called to him.

Ward stopped his attacking, he looked over his shoulder at May with a dark look in his eyes. The look actually made shivers run up May's spine, she would speak with him about his emotions later on, but for now they needed to go.

"Leave him," May said sharply, "It's time to go."

"Skye," Ward asked, his eyes drawn back to Derek.

"Coulson has her, now let's go," May said in the same sharp tone.

Ward seriously considered not listening to May and continuing his attack on Derek, but he decided against this. It was time to go. Ward glared at Derek, but did not attack. Without a word, he spun on his heel and went over to May, leaving the man to lay
crumbled on the ground. May and Ward rushed out of the plane, past the unconscious guards and to the rock that Coulson had hidden Lola behind. Coulson was already in the car ready to go, Skye laying in the backseat.


Present Day


Skye would have sat up to look at Coulson, but truth be told she was too tired to do anything other than lie there on the examination table. Two years since she last faced any of the stuff she used to deal with everyday. It was strange, something that
was all too familiar yet foreign to her at the same time. None of that mattered now though, she knew Derek and his team wouldn't strike again for at least a month. That gave her a month to disappear without a trace.

"I'll leave you two," May said, she glanced at Skye before walking past Coulson and out of the lab.

Coulson walked over to Skye, "How are you feeling?"

Skye barely shrugged, "Not terrible."

"That's a good sign," Coulson commented with a simple smile.

Skye nodded, but didn't say anything else in reply. Dread washed over her, she knew Coulson and the others would ask her some questions she didn't want to answer. Would he ask her anything now? Did he know her secret? Did any of them know why Derek was
after her? Skye hoped not, she wasn't ready to tell the truth. Too many years surrounded by lies caused her to fear the truth.

Coulson spoke and Skye knew it was the beginning of a long conversation she wasn't prepared for.