Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya!

Enjoy!


Falling down onto the couch in the lounge area, Skye lets out a heavy sigh. She pulls her tablet into her lap and taps on the screen, bringing it back to life as she leans into the cushion behind her, trying her best to get comfortable and relieve some of the tension in her shoulders.

She logs into the tablet before opening up a few different apps and begins browsing the Internet aimlessly, not really having a purpose to it, just needing something to distract her for the time being.

She knows she has to give him some time to think about her offer for the two of them to get away, but she really hopes he doesn't take too long. She doesn't want him to be alone for too much longer, afraid of where his thoughts might turn. She was worried enough before, but now...now she's definitely way more worried about what he might do if she leaves him alone for too long with his thoughts.

She knows he's been having a hard time, but she also thought he was getting better, that being around a few people that were kind to him was helping him. Obviously she was wrong. Obviously he's not as happy as she was hoping he'd be. She just hopes he's not too far gone and that she can still find some way to help him.

"Hey, what are you up to over here?"

Skye lifts her head from her tablet and smiles at the man standing in front of her. "Hey, Mack."

"Hey. So what's up?" He takes up the seat next to her on the couch, leaning back into the cushion and letting out a breath as he rests his arms on the back of the couch. "What's on your mind?"

She shrugs. "Not much. Just...dealing with some things."

"Grant Ward related things?"

"How'd you know?" she asks, smiling sheepishly.

He laughs quietly. "Please, Skye, it's not that hard to notice. You care about him, a lot. Elena tells me that you've been extra focused on helping him deal with his abilities."

"I work closely with all the Inhumans we bring in."

He nods. "True. But apparently you take an even closer approach with him and spend more time with him than you do the others."

She shrugs, shifting a little in her seat. "His situation is delicate. He was already on edge when he showed up here, even before his abilities came to light."

"And now?" Mack prods.

She sighs. "Now...he's still on edge. Something's been going on with him recently and it has him all weird and closed off. More than he was before all of this. I haven't been able to get him to train with his powers in almost two weeks. Or even leave his room. Fitz has been trying too, but it's no use, he won't budge."

"Have you tried talking to him?"

"That's where I just was a few minutes ago," she tells him. "He kept saying how he doesn't want to be here, not that I blame him with how most of the people here have been treating him. So I told him we can leave if that's what he wants. I know it'd be a lot, leaving the Inhuman team on your shoulders, especially considering you're not one, but Grant's safety is the most important thing to me right now."

Mack gives her a small smile. "It's fine. You do what you need to do. We'll all be fine here. We may miss you, but we'll be fine. I'm sure Elena and I can handle things."

She smiles back. "Don't go talking like I'm leaving just yet. I'm still waiting for Grant to make a decision on if he really does want to leave or not. I told him to come find me when he decides."

"And how long do you think that'll be?"

"I don't know. Could be any minute. Could be a few hours. There's really no telling."

"Well I hope he comes to a decision soon."

She lets out a breath. "So do I."

There's a beat of silence before a small beeping starts emitting from Skye's tablet.

"I have to go," she says immediately after looking at the app that pops up on her screen, showing Grant's current location in the base, as well as his vital signs that are way higher than they should be.

"Why? What's going on?"

She shakes her head as she stands from her seat. "I don't know. Just that something's wrong with Grant and I need to make sure it isn't too bad."

Mack nods. "Go find him. I'll put your tablet away for you and handle training. You just worry about Grant."

She smiles at him. "Thanks, Mack." She turns around and bolts from the room, quickly making her way down the hall in the direction of where her tablet said that Grant is. She just hopes she's not too late to stop whatever's happening. Grant's been through enough already, she just wants make sure that he's safe and okay and not in any real danger.

Skidding to a stop, her heart sinks at finding Grant and Lincoln standing in the middle of the hallway, the latter spitting cruel insults at the former, who is breathing heavily with his head down, his eyes shut and his fists clenched tightly at his sides.

"Lincoln!" she shouts as she rushes closer to the scene. She looks back and forth between Grant and Lincoln. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Nothing," Lincoln sneers, his eyes never leaving Grant's shaking form. "Just reminding this guy where he belongs."

"That's not for you to decide," she snaps at him. "And I'm a little confused as to what made you think that it was your right to do so. As far as I'm concerned, Grant has done absolu-"

"No. No, no. I can't. I don't want to. Stop it. Please."

Whirling around to look at Grant, she watches as he breathes heavier and his fists clench tighter, his closed eyes directed at the ground. His jaw hardens a second later.

She takes a slow step toward him. "Grant? Grant, can you hear me?"

She watches as he hesitates for a moment before a loud scream escapes from him, causing her to jump back.

In the next moment, he turns and is running off down the hallway, stumbling a little on his feet.

Roughly whipping her head to the side, Skye shoots Lincoln a hard glare. "I'll deal with you later." She stares at him a second longer, the other Inhuman staring down the hall with a look of confusion on his face. Turning and rushing off after Grant down the hall, she calls out to him as she goes, begging for him to stop and just listen to her.

Her heart starts to sink even further into her stomach when she catches sight of the flames flickering against his body, growing bigger with each passing second, hitting hard against the brick walls and leaving scorch marks with each slap.

She watches with a rapidly beating heart and heavy breathing as Grant continues to stumble through the hallway, nearly tripping over his own feet with each step he takes.

Her breath catches when he collapses against one of the walls, the flames around him continuing to grow and flicker until they completely engulf him in their red and orange hues.

"Grant!" she calls out, moving quickly toward him. "Grant!"

He whips around toward her and she takes a small step back on instinct. There's rage burning in his glazed over eyes, a slight growl under his breath as he tilts his head. A sneer makes its way past his teeth and she glances out of the corner of her eye, seeing others slowly starting to crowd around them, more than likely out of curiosity as to what's happening. She can hear them whispering to each other, watching the scene intently as it unfolds.

"Stay back," she says to them all, glancing around quickly. "Stay back or I swear I'll bring this roof down on all of us."

She focuses her attention back on Grant, or, what she hopes is still Grant, slowly moving closer, keeping her hands where he can see them, just in case.

His entire body moves back and she stops. She waits a beat before slowly moving forward again, her eyes fixed on his. "Grant, I know you're in there. This isn't you. I know you won't hurt me. I trust you, remember? I trust you with my life."

His head tilts and she sees the rage flicker briefly in his eyes. A small hint of a smile graces her lips.

She takes the final few steps forward, getting as close to him as she possibly can and slowly reaches a hand out, resting it on his arm and letting out a small breath of relief when she remains uninjured. She gives him a small smile. "I know you're in there, Grant. And I know that you're stronger than this, you can fight it. You just have to believe in yourself. Just like I believe in you."

It feels like the longest minutes of her life before she sees the rage in his eyes slowly start to disappear, the flames surrounding his body getting smaller before dying out completely, being absorbed back into his skin.

She moves with him as he sinks to his knees, his entire body falling toward hers.

Wrapping her arms around him, she pulls him as close as she can, her heart breaking when he collapses into her lap and wraps his own arms tightly around her, a sob escaping past his lips as he buries his face in her shirt.

Her eyes start to blur from the forming tears. She cards her fingers through his hair, gently massaging his scalp as his body continues to shake. She lowers her head next to his ear, whispering what she hopes to be comforting words of encouragement that will help calm him.

"Help me," he whimpers, his body shaking as he tries to keep himself under control.

Skye vigorously nods her head against his. "Of course. We can get away," she tells him quietly. "My offer from before, it's still there. We can get away from here for a while, however long you need. If you want that."

He nods. "Please."

"Okay. Come on, then." She shifts them on the floor and drapes one of his arms over her shoulders, helping him up off the floor. It's easier this time, since he's awake and not unconscious.

They make their way down the hall as quickly as possible, in the direction of Grant's bunk, ignoring the surrounding agents that are still staring and whispering.

Once they reach the room, Skye helps him inside and watches as he steps away from her and immediately collapses onto his bed.

Figuring it best not to bother him for the time being, she grabs a spare duffel bag from the closet and begins placing Grant's clothes and other items inside the bag, even though he doesn't have that much stuff with him. He never had much with him to begin with back on the Bus, but now it's even less than it used to be. All he really has is clothing, nothing personal at all. It makes her a little sad, knowing that he doesn't have anything sentimental at all from his years of life to keep with him. She was an orphan her entire life but even she has a few things she holds near and dear to her.

Once the bag is packed, she sets it aside for later and glances over at the bed to see Grant lying asleep on his stomach, his brows furrowed deeply and one fist clenched tightly against the blanket. There's a slight glimmer against his skin, and it doesn't take her long to realize that it's the heat from the fire inside his body, not quite escaping past, but just barely bubbling under the surface.

Her heart breaks at the sight, that even in his sleep he's on edge.

Making a decision, she moves toward the bed and climbs on top of the covers, carefully curling herself up next to Grant. She rests one hand over his fist, feeling his muscles loosen under her touch. He doesn't wake, but she can see the uneasiness lessen over his body at just the simple touch of her hand on his, the glimmer she saw starting to lessen as well.

Scooting her body closer to his, she laces their fingers together and holds his hand closer to her, letting her eyes slowly close as she drifts off into sleep.


So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

On a scale of 1-10, how hard was it for you to read all of what was happening to Grant. 'Cause it was hard for me and I'm the one who wrote it all out.

Until next time,
Jellybean96 out!