Title: Decode
Chapter 10: Grant
Author: snarkysweetness
Rating: R
Pairing: Skye/Ward with the new S.H.I.E.L.D. team & a few other ships
Summary: Ward's mission had been simple: infiltrate Coulson's team and report back to Hydra. He never intended to fall in love any more than Skye expected that the guys in suits would become her family. Torn apart by Ward's betrayal, Ward struggles with his loyalties and desires to keep Skye safe while Skye pays the price for their indiscretions. When Hydra discovers Skye's origins, her life is placed in danger once more but she carries a secret that may cement Ward's loyalty to Hydra for good.
Warnings: Super heavy on the angst, mild sexual content in some chapters, language, & violence.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Notes: Tony and Skye would not stop sassing one another. I may have to write a fic where it's just them with lots of sass.

Images flashed through his vision.

Skye screaming.

Blood.

Coulson and May pulling her off of him.

Then for the longest time, nothing.

He woke to the sound of beeping and when he tried to lift his hand he was unable to; handcuffs kept him hostage in his bed. His eyes met Skye's tear-filled face and then he was gone again.

This time he dreamt.

Of her. Of their child. Of the life they could have had had he been stronger, better, less susceptible to brainwashing.

"I don't care! I'm not leaving him!" Skye was screaming when he came to again. He felt stronger but the drugs running through his system have him feeling groggy, ready for more sleep.

"You need to sleep, Skye, this isn't healthy for you or the baby. You've already had enough scares, he isn't worth this."

"Don't talk to me about what he's worth, Jemma!"

"He doesn't get a pass because he saved your life, Skye!"

"No one said he does, Jemma, but she wants to be here with him, just let it be," Leo interjected. "Besides, a baby needs its father, this may be the only time they get to spend together."

"I'm getting May," Jemma warned.

"Good, get her, see if I care."

He was too exhausted to stay awake to see how that went.

When he finally had the strength to open his eyes he woke to find Skye clutching his hand while she sat curled up at his side, fast asleep. He smiled and pressed his lips to the top of her head before wrapping his fingers around hers.

"I love you," he whispered before closing his eyes.

"You need to spend the night in your own room, sweetheart," Grant whispered as he stroked her hair. May had allowed him one free hand when Skye was with him but only because she sat in the corner of the room, silent, with a gun and a look that told him she would love nothing more than to have a reason to use it.

He deserved that. Hell, he didn't know why Skye didn't hate him; maybe it was pregnancy making her unable to see through him. But then there was Leo, he was on his side. Grant didn't have the heart to tell him that his hero was a monster; he didn't think he could handle the look on his face. It would be like kicking a puppy and Grant could never hurt something so innocent on purpose.

"No, they're letting you out of here tomorrow which means you'll be in the Fridge. I'm spending every moment here with you until then."

He wasn't looking forward to leaving her but this needed to happen. He was going to pay for things he'd done. He just wished he didn't have to see that sad look on her face. He'd nearly died; but this was worse.

John had of course hit an artery. It was a miracle he was still alive. He had Fitzsimmons to thank; Leo for forcing Jemma to let him transfuse some of his universal blood into Grant to help with the blood loss. Then Skye had forced Jemma to keep him alive until they could get to a real hospital. Once he pulled through after surgery S.H.I.E.L.D. had taken him prisoner to recover at one of their new bases. They hadn't told him anything else but he'd picked up on a few things.

Stark was rebuilding S.H.I.E.L.D. using Stark Industries' new private security division as a cover. Fury was alive but had handed the reigns over to Hill for the time being while he worked on a personal mission and Romanoff was now Command.

With those two in charge he would be lucky to see the inside of a prison cell.

"I don't think Mama Bear over there is going to let that happen," Grant whispered, motioning towards May. Once he was well enough to go without drugs May had forced Skye to leave him for half the day to get back to work but they all knew it was to keep her away from him. Grant couldn't say he blamed her.

Skye glanced over her shoulder as May's lip twitched. She turned back to him and kissed him defiantly. "Too bad."

Grant shifted uncomfortably. The PDA made him nervous when May or Coulson were around. They were like two overprotective parents and Skye was their impressionable young daughter with the bad boyfriend. Skye seemed to sense his discomfort so she kissed him again, longer this time, as if daring May to say something.

"I think that's how you got pregnant, girl."

Skye pulled away and Trip stood in the doorway, smirking. He didn't outright trust Grant, but he was cool about it. She smirked and gave a shrug as Grant wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer. "Actually, I think there was a wall involve-"

"Skye," Grant hissed, shaking his head.

Trip laughed. "Well, I hate to cut this visit short, but A.C. wants me to take that one to interrogation."

"For what? He isn't supposed to meet with Hill until tomorrow."

Grant sighed. Skye was getting into overprotective mother mode. He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Skye, it's fine-"

"No, it's not. You're recovering."

"I'm fine."

"Well, I'm coming with you."

"No, you're not," Trip interjected. "Boss's orders."

Skye huffed and glanced towards May who shrugged with a small smirk. "Better get used to being apart."

He supposed May meant well but the look on Skye's face was painful to witness. She stood and stormed out of the room. He sighed, wishing he could go after her. He held out his arm so Trip could cuff him before letting him lead him out of the room.

May followed as they made their way down the hallway to an interrogation room. Skye was there, arms crossed, glaring at Coulson and…Grant blinked. Holy shit.

"So, this is the guy who knocked up your baby girl, huh Phil?"

Coulson shot Grant a glare.

"According to her."

Tony Stark, the Tony Stark, looked him over before shaking his head. "She can do better."

"She will," Coulson replied confidently.

Skye un-crossed her arms with a roll of her eyes. "I'm standing right here."

"Yeah, so? You can do better," Tony informed her as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Plus, there's the whole murder-traitor thing going on-"

"I'm sorry; I don't remember asking for your opinion, Tony." Her voice was stern but after a moment a smile tugged at her lips.

Tony gave her a wink before ruffling her hair. "Sorry, kiddo, but the moment Phil here decided to claim you as his little girl, I became your favorite uncle."

Grant glanced at Trip who shook his head, as if he was used to this. He hadn't expected working for Stark meant the boss was around to harass S.H.I.E.L.D. agents but Coulson was tight with the Avengers, so he shouldn't be surprised. And Stark was well known for his snark, he probably enjoyed having Coulson's sassy young protégé around.

He momentarily wondered who would win in a sass-off and mentally kicked himself. Skye, the answer was Skye. It would always be Skye.

"No, that would be Clint," she replied, holding her hand at shoulder level. "And then Steve," she lowered it a few inches. "Then Bruce." Lower. "And then you're at the bottom," she illustrated by putting her hand as low as it would go.

"So…not Thor?"

"He's too dreamy for me to want to think of as a pseudo-uncle."

"I'm hurt. You don't think I'm dreamy?"

"Not everything is about you."

He bopped her on the nose and she scrunched it up. "It is, actually. And it was all about you for a while, so it's really past time for it to be all about me again," he replied before clapping Grant on the back. "And you…I do not want to be you. But, I'm a sucker for a good love story, so I've ordered them not to kill you. Though…I can't guarantee that The Cavalry won't torture you, I still can't seem to get that one to recognize me as the boss. Plus, she sees this one as her baby, so…sorry."

Grant recognized the underlying threat but he still had to fight a smile. "Thanks…sir."

"And don't worry; Thor's totally taken, so you don't have to worry about him getting his Asgardian hands on her, for now." Stark gave him a wink and moved to give Skye a half hug.

He gave Trip a pat on the back. "Don't forget dinner this weekend, Steve's got all kinds of stories to tell you about Gabe."

Trip smirked. "Yes, sir."

"Send Pepper my love," Skye called as Coulson led Stark down the hall.

"Or you could come to dinner, as long as you're not busy giving birth."

Skye rolled her eyes. She wasn't due to give birth for weeks. She leaned up and pressed her lips to Grant's cheek before moving her lips to his ear. "Don't worry; May won't torture you without my permission. She'd never put me through that."

"Oh, great, so I just have to hope I don't piss you off."

She smirked. "Now you're getting it."

A moment later Coulson returned and unlocked the interrogation room with another a word. He nodded in Trip's direction and Trip led Grant inside. Skye followed but Coulson stopped her at the door.

"I just want to talk to him," he promised. Skye frowned. "Skye, I'm not your-I'm not May. I promise, there won't be a hair on his head touched. He'll be completely unharmed."

She huffed, unhappy, but nodded. Phil pressed a kiss to the top of her head as May appeared and place a hand on Skye's shoulder

"Come on, baby girl, there are pancakes in the kitchens." Skye smiled and leaned into May who wrapped an arm around her.

"Save some for me," Coulson asked. May nodded and Skye watched with a smile as her parental figures quickly and awkwardly kissed good-bye.

Grant closed his eyes with a small sigh. Skye was going to be fine without him. She finally had the family she'd always longed for and their baby was going to be loved.

"You really love her, don't you," Trip asked.

"Yes, I do," he answered before opening his eyes. "Both of them."

Trip handcuffed him to his chair. "I'll make sure they're safe. She's a good kid, reminds me of my little sister."

"Thanks, Trip."

"Not doing it for you."

"I know."

Coulson entered the room, commanding all of the attention.

"All yours, boss."

Trip left the room and then it was just him and Coulson and shit, Grant had never been terrified of Coulson until this moment. He calmly took a seat and watched him silently for a long minute.

"Sir-"

Coulson held up a finger to silence him.

"She deserves better. In fact, I don't think there's a universe where you'd ever be good enough for her."

"I know that-"

"But for some reason, she wants to be with you, despite everything, and I love her enough to not fight her on her decisions. She's a grown woman and I can't tell her what to do."

"But?" Grant knew there was a 'but' coming.

"I would happily live the rest of my days having her hate me for putting two in the back of your skull if it meant she and that child were free of you. Don't make me have a reason to do that, Ward. That girl may not be mine by blood but her and the rest of the kids on that team are ours, mine and May's, and I would kill for any one of them, you understand that?"

Grant nodded. He knew that six months ago, he would have been someone Coulson would have killed for, but now he would forever be the enemy and he was okay with that. Skye deserved to have someone love her that much.

"Now, I won't kill you, mostly because it would upset May; she wants that honor herself. But, Skye's her favorite, which is why you're still alive."

"And you, sir? Why am I still alive?"

Coulson's lip twitched.

"You killed thirteen men, including the man who was like a father to you to keep her safe. I think that means there may be some hope left for you. And I refuse to give up on anyone, even someone like you, if there's even a chance at allowing you to redeem yourself."

"I'm not sure I know where to begin, sir."

Grant wanted to make things right. He knew leading S.H.I.E.L.D. to HYDRA and giving them all of the information he knew was a start. And serving whatever sentence they gave him would be the next but it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough for him. Until Skye, the team, finding a real family he'd never understood how truly evil John was. He was like a father to him and he was dying and Grant had just wanted to keep him alive. He'd managed to keep his hands clean, aside from the work he had to do as a spy, but killing Hand had tipped the scales. He needed to pay for that and he wasn't sure there was a punishment that would every satisfy him, that would ever make him feel worthy of the girl who would sit on the outside waiting for him.

"But you're willing? To make up for things?"

Grant nodded. "I'll do anything, sir. I want to pay for my crimes. I want to…I want to be the kind of man my daughter can be proud of and I know that will never happen but I still want to try. She and Skye deserve that much."

Coulson studied him and Grant eventually broke under his gaze. He glanced down for a long moment before meeting Coulson's eyes. "There's red in my ledger sir, I'd like to wipe it out."

For the first time in his life he had people he loved and for some reason, some of them loved him back. He had a real chance to be happy and he didn't want to fuck that up. He'd been so many things; 'Kid', 'Ward', 'Agent', but for the first time he had a chance to be 'Grant' and that was because of Skye.

Coulson smirked. "Good. He's all yours, Director," he called before standing.

Hill entered the room followed by Romanoff and armed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Grant shot Coulson a terrified stare. He wasn't supposed to be tried until tomorrow. He wasn't ready to die and he was sure this was what this was; his execution.

"Hello, Agent Ward. I have a proposition for you."