A/N: I don't own Agents of SHIELD...if I did it would already be renewed for Season 2 and beyond!

Chapter 10

The bus was unnaturally silent, and the silence bothered Ward. A few days ago he would have revealed in the silence, but ever since the appearance of 'mini' Skye, the bus was constantly filled with the sounds of a child, and complete silence was rare, and more than a little disconcerting. Finding no sign of the team or Skye in the common room or kitchen area, Ward ventured down to the lab, wondering if there had been a breakthrough (since mini Skye was banned from the lab, in order to prevent any more accidental interactions between her and the 084). However, when Ward entered the lab it was clear that there was certainly no science being performed.

"Ward, what are you doing here!" Fitz yelped when he caught sight of the specialist, his face contorting into a look of shock and embarrassment. Skye and Simmons smiled up at Ward from their seats on the floor if the lab.

"I think the better question is what the heck are you doing" Ward replied as he took in the bizarre scene in front of him.

"Haven't you ever been to a tea party before, Agent Ward?" Simmons asked impishly.

Ward shook his head as he surveyed their 'tea party.' A tea-pot and cups were set up in front of Simmons, Fitz, and Skye, as well as plates with the remains of sandwiches and cookies. Two extra places were also set in front of the Captain America bear and a baby doll that Simmons must have purchased for Skye on their shopping trip.

"No I've never been to a tea party. I didn't realize they had such an 'elaborate' dress code" he smirked, taking in the ridiculous outfits the trio was wearing.

"Of course you hafta dress up for a tea party!" Skye insisted, "you hafta pretend to be someone else!"

Ward nodded sagely. "Oh, I did not no that. Well then, who are you?"

Skye smiled brightly. "Princess Skye" she giggled, as she twirled around, showing off a blue party dress, decorated with black lace trim around the hem and waist. Obviously bought during the shopping trip, although Ward couldn't fathom why Simmons would have thought a fancy dress was a necessity. The same could have been said about the sparkly tiara that Skye was wearing on her head.

"Princess of what country?" he asked, going along with the game.

Skye giggled. "I'm not the princess of a country. I'm the princess of the Moon!"

"Oh I see. Are you a princess too, Agent Simmons," Ward teased, watching the scientist blush in mild embarrassment.

"No, she's the Duchess of York." Skye answered for the scientist.

"Where'd you find the ball gown?" Ward asked. Simmons was wearing a floor length green dress, complete with elbow length white gloves. She, however, did not have on a tiara.

"Apparently we have quite a few 'costumes' in the wardrobe on board. I suppose they are in case we needed undercover outfits."

"And what exactly are you supposed to be?" Ward turned to Fitz.

Simmons and Skye had obviously gotten into the fancy 'princess' tea party mindset, but Fitz's outfit didn't fit at all. He was wearing jeans and a leather vest and a cowboy hat, with green pipe cleaners sticking out of the top of the hat. Almost like tiny antennas.

"Well, if you must know I'm a space cowboy."

Ward could barely contain his mirth. "What the heck is a space cowboy?"

"A space cowboy travels all over outer space, but instead of herding cattle they herd meteors" Skye informed him.

This time Ward couldn't contain his laughter, while Fitz reddened in embarrassment.

"Would you like to play too? We can find a costume for you" Skye offered, effectively ending Ward's laughter, while Fitz smirked at the specialist.

"Um, no that's alright," Ward hedged, "I was actually looking for Simmons. Coulson has a project for her."

"Oh dear! Why didn't you say so sooner? I've got change out of these outfit. Do you think you two can you to handle watching Skye for a bit?" Simmons asked the two men as she pulled off her gloves and slipped out of her high heels, anxious about making Coulson wait any longer.

"I guess not," Ward said as Simmons rushed out of the lab, leaving Fitz and Ward alone with the little Skye. "What would you like to do now?" Ward asked the little girl, hoping she'd come up with something much less humiliating than a tea party.

In the end it was Ward who devised their next activity after searching the lab for something to occupy the little girl (who was completely bored with dress up, and anything else that Fitz suggested), and discovering a case of tennis balls (which had no obvious purpose in the lab), and some nylon fabric. Fitz and Skye watched, fascinated, as Ward cut the fabric, grabbed a needle and thread and proceeded to sew the nylon fabric into the tennis ball, and then sewed around the edge of the fabric, making it into a tube.

"What is it?" Skye asked excitedly as she examined the finished product.

"It's called a Foxtail," Ward told her proudly. "My younger brother and I used to make them all the time." He couldn't help but remember the reason he'd had so much practice making them was because his older brother had taken great pleasure in destroying their toys whenever he had the change, but Ward banished those dark memories and focused on Skye and the wonder on her face as she held the toy.

"What does it do?"

Ward led Skye and Fitz out into the cargo bay so that he could demonstrate. "Well you hold on to the tennis ball and throw it to the other person. Depending on how they catch it they get points. You get the most points if you catch the tennis ball, and the least if you catch the very tip of the tail."

"Cool!" Skye exclaimed. "Let me try!"

Ward gently threw the tennis ball at Skye and she caught it in the middle of the nylon tail. Giggling she turned around and threw it at Fitz. Well, attempted to throw it. Her aim wasn't that good and Fitz ended up diving to the side in order to catch the end of the tail, much to Skye's amusement. Fitz retaliated by throwing it back to Skye, but sending it over her head so that she had to jump in order to reach the Foxtail.

And so the game continued, with Ward and Fitz doing their best to throw the toy directly to Skye, and then diving to attempt to catch her wild tosses, resulting in lots of giggles from the little girl. Eventually the trio became sillier and sillier, with the boys purposely missing the Foxtail, or jumping for it in a ridiculous fashion for Skye's amusement, while the little girl became more and more hyper with each throw, until finally Skye decided to forgo the 'traditional' way of throwing the toy and instead gripped the tail of the Foxtail and swung it around and around before launching it into the air. The guys watched in horror as the Foxtail sailed high up into the air towards the catwalk above the cargo bay, before slamming right into an unsuspecting Agent May.

TBC.

A/N:

Here is a link to see Skye's blue 'dress' at:

Amazon dot com /DressForLess-Organza-Mid-riff-Flower-KC1225WT-6/dp/B00JS9OOB0/ref=sr_1_12?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1399264844&sr=1-12

Also Foxtails are a product Klutz, but there are directions out there if you want to make your own.

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