A/N: Thanks to everyone who reads/reviews/follows/favorites!

In the next chapter: Lincoln makes it back to base (or does he?), Skye learns more about the baby, more FitzSimmons cuteness, and trouble comes knocking at the Playground.

Enjoy!

Skye blinked up at the ceiling. It was more of a fuzzy blur. She could feel her pulse in her ears. Her mouth was dry and she felt strangely disconnected, almost as though she was floating in the quarantine chamber.

Mama.

Skye turned her head, seeing only Andrew, still sitting on the uncomfortable chair outside the chamber. She was pretty sure he wasn't the one who had just said "Mama," and she was also pretty sure that he'd asked her a question and was still waiting for an answer.

"Skye?" Andrew stood and moved towards the glass wall.

Mama?

"I don't understand," Skye said.

"I asked if the blood pressure medication was making you nauseous."

"Why would you call me that?"

A kick radiated up Skye's belly under her hand. 'Cause that's what you are.

"Call you what, Skye?" Andrew sounded worried.

"I'm not that yet," Skye protested, rubbing her casted fingers in slow circles on her belly. She was feeling even more floaty and insubstantial, and she desperately needed something to keep her grounded. "I won't be that for a few more months at least."

"Skye. Can you hear me?"

"Of course I can hear you," Skye replied, looking over at him irritably.

"Okay. Who are you talking to?"

"I don't know her name yet," Skye replied grumpily. "She won't tell me."

She couldn't understand why Andrew looked so upset. He looked around the lab in a quick series of glances, seemingly seeking someone. Then he took a few steps away from the chamber.

Mama.

"I'm listening," Skye said. Pain shot up her leg to her hip and her lower back and she winced and stretched, trying to get away from it.

Lying down had become too problematic. Skye put her hand to her belly and carefully sat upright.

It was the wrong choice. The room spun around her and she lost feeling below her shoulders, her entire body now floating somewhere in space. Andrew was gone from view, but she was too disconnected to care.

The kicking got stronger, radiating up against her palm. A terrifying thought arced across Skye's brain. "It didn't… I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Something like a giggle bubbled up to her ears. No. Can't hurt me. I'm –

"Skye?" Andrew was back.

She looked up. Simmons and Coulson were standing with him just outside the chamber.

"What?"

"Are you all right?"

"I feel like I'm made of cotton candy and my brain's probably not attached to my mouth at this point. I feel floaty and silly and… thirsty," Skye said, realizing what the last sensation bothering her was.

"Okay," Simmons said. "I'll see if I can get you something to drink."

"Water. Ice water," Skye said, her eyes lighting up. "Ooh! And lemonade. Or apple juice."

Simmons nodded. "All right. I'll find those for you, shall I?"

She stepped away. Coulson and Andrew exchanged a look. Coulson spoke first. "Skye, who are you talking to?"

"Right now?" She looked at him like he was crazy. "You."

"Okay," Coulson said. "Now, who were you talking to earlier?"

"Simmons," she said. "Did… something else happen? Did I have a stroke or something?"

"No," Andrew answered. "But you were talking to someone."

"Who was it?" Skye looked at Coulson.

He shrugged. "I wasn't here."

Skye thought about this. She had been alone in the room for quite some time. Simmons and Andrew were the only two people she'd seen in the last few hours. The three of them – Simmons, Andrew, and Coulson – were the only ones she'd seen since she woke up. "I don't know who it was," she said.

Andrew and Coulson shared another glance.

"You seemed to know them," Andrew said, his voice still steady and professional. "But you didn't know their name."

Somewhere in the fuzzy cotton wool pile that was her brain, Skye found two synapses that could connect. "I don't know her name," she said. "She won't tell me. Maybe she doesn't know."

"Who, Skye?" Coulson asked, stepping a bit closer to the glass.

Two more synapses got there. "You think I'm crazy."

"I think… I'd like some more explanations for things," Coulson offered.

"No! You think I'm crazy!"

"Skye, calm down," Coulson said, putting his hands up.

"Just because I can hear her and you can't!"

"Who, Skye? Who can you hear?"

Skye stood up and nearly all of her body regretted it. She was held up by sheer rage and frustration as she took steps towards the glass wall separating her from the two men. She focused on them, on moving towards them, so much so that she didn't realize things around her were shaking.

"Skye, take a breath," Andrew counseled. "Slow down and tell us."

Skye clenched her fists as best she could with the casts. The monitors around her began to beep a warning, and some part of her saw Simmons dart back over, carrying two go-cups with lids.

"What are you doing?" Simmons demanded of the two men.

"I can hear her! Why is that so bad?" Skye put her hands to her head. "I just… I can't… why would you want to take that away?"

"We don't want to take it away," Coulson said carefully. "We just want to know who you're talking to."

"She's right here!"

"Show us," Andrew suggested.

"Gentlemen, Skye's vital signs are becoming distressed," Simmons said from behind them. "I advise that whatever you're doing continues at a later point."

"Right here!" Skye yelled, and she indicated her belly with both of her casted arms.

As though those two words released all of her pent up anger and all of her strength, she found herself wobbling on her feet, the world steadily growing fuzzier around her. Things around her settled back to their places, and her arms throbbed.

"Sit down," Simmons barked through the glass.

"Thirsty," Skye said.

"Sit down," Simmons repeated sternly.

Skye sighed and wobbled back to the bed. Her body ached and she could feel her hip joints slipping out again. Somehow she managed to sit down, looking over at Simmons, Andrew, and Coulson. "God, you guys are looking at me like I kicked a puppy."

"Well, no, since you're talking to a child who's still in your belly, we're looking at you like you're nuts," Simmons snapped as she tried to struggle into her Haz-Mat suit.

"Just open the damn door," Skye said angrily. "You all know I'm fine!"

Simmons looked at her fiercely, dumped the rest of the Haz-Mat suit on the floor, then moved to the door and marched into the chamber.

For some reason Skye froze, thinking Simmons was angry enough to slap her. Instead the scientist immediately hugged Skye fiercely.

More tension sluiced from Skye's body, and she found she was crying into Simmons' shoulder.

"It's all right," Simmons whispered gently.

"I'm so sorry."

"It's all right."

"She called me mama and I knew it was wrong and I didn't want to but she sounds so nice and…"

"Shh, Skye," Simmons said. "I know she'll be just wonderful."

"Why is this so hard?" Skye whimpered.

"Because, as usual, you're doing things no one's ever done before," Simmons replied. "Lincoln said he's never heard of a fetus going through Terrigenesis. Ever. You just always have to be a trendsetter, huh?"

Skye gave a watery chuckle, her head still pressed against Simmons' shoulder.

"I know you're confused and upside down," Simmons said, "but you're actually much stronger than you think. Your vital signs are consistent with someone who's either on fire or in a coma or both, and look at you, mostly upright, and – ooh!"

"What?" Skye pulled back from the embrace.

Simmons' gaze was on her belly. "Did it…?"

Skye nodded. "She kicked."

"Oh, my." Simmons sounded completely enraptured. She leaned forward a bit, putting her palm against Skye's rounded abdomen. "Hello, darling. I'm… I'm your Aunt Jemma."

Skye loved the way that sounded, and she found tears rushing back to her eyes. "Damn hormones," she muttered.

Another kick pulsed up against Simmons' hand. "Oh, my. You're a strong little thing, aren't you?"

You love Uncle Fitz.

Simmons jerked back. "Did you hear that?" she murmured to Skye.

Skye shook her head.

"Oh. Oh, dear."

"What?" Skye asked, shifting her weight on the bed.

"I heard…" Simmons waved her hands in the air confusedly. "I can't even figure out…"

A knowing smile crossed Skye's face. "You heard her," she whispered.

"Huh," Simmons said, and then she took a few steps backwards away from Skye, an odd look on her face. She'd nearly made it to the door when she collapsed to the floor.

"Listen to your guru," Mack advised as the four men with guns led their captives into one of the lodges and then down a long flight of stairs into a fortified bunker of a basement, then further forward, into a small room. None of them had given names, so Mack had given them shorthand code names based on their outfits.

"He's not our guru," Flannel Shirt Ball Cap said.

"He is an imposter," Black Boots No Belt agreed. "He came in here and started a revolution."

"I came to help someone!" Lincoln protested.

Denim Jacket Khaki Pants shoved Lincoln to the floor. "You didn't help anyone. You ruined the Guru's message, you ruined our congregation. And now…"

"Let me guess, we'll pay," Mack said.

Zip-Up Sweatshirt rolled his eyes. "No, you'll wait. We'll bring the Guru to you."

They slammed the door, leaving Mack and Lincoln looking at each other in the cold light of the bare bulb overhead.

"I thought you said the guru was a fraud," Mack said.

"I don't actually know," Lincoln said. "I never saw him do anything guru-y, but to be honest, I'm not really sure what that would look like."

He threw his turban to the floor and quickly began taking off the rest of the ridiculous outfit. Underneath he wore a T-shirt and shorts. "I know it's not practical, but I can't stay in this costume any longer."

"What took you so long?" Mack grunted.

Lincoln tossed his red caftan into the corner. "How long is it going to take for your two backups to get in here and save us?"

Mack looked at his watch. "I'd give 'em… six more minutes. Hunter's got a high tolerance for all kinds of good things. Hopefully he'll shake off your cake roofies and sound the alarm."

Lincoln groaned and rubbed his face with his hands. "God, this is awful."

"Hey," Mack said sharply. "You don't get to feel sorry for yourself now. All of this is minor garbage compared to what's going down at the base."

Lincoln shook his head. "I can't go back there."

"What the hell are you talking about? You have to go back," Mack said. "With everything going on, you're the closest thing we have to an expert on Inhumans…"

"No," Lincoln said fiercely. "I can't go back. There's nothing there for me."

"There's Skye. And a child," Mack retorted. "They both need you."

"They're both better off without me."

Mack had plenty more to say to that, but the sound of footsteps from the hallway caught his attention. "No more time for thinking. Time for action, Sparky."

"Okay, remember the plan?"

"The plan was literally three steps, Hunter. I think I've got it."

"I'm only asking because I feel like the Hulk himself was tap-dancing on my skull," Hunter said. "I'm not sure what's the weirdest part about this – the fact that we got roofied by cake, the fact that we woke up in these gowns in the RV, or the blurry blank part in my mind where I'm pretty sure you and I kissed."

"What?" Bobbi whipped around and nearly instantly regretted it. "Uggh… too fast."

She put a hand to her head. "How do you know we kissed?"

"We woke up face to face," Hunter answered. "And my mouth tastes like raspberries."

"I've never tasted like raspberries," Bobbi said. She moved the RV seat forward and started the vehicle. "And for what it's worth, neither have you."

"We have extra clothes in here?" Hunter looked around. "I don't really want to go save Mack and Sparky wearing a dress."

Bobbi let out a low-pitched chuckle. "We left our clothes in the lodge. After you rescue Lincoln and Mack, you can find them."

"Or after you hit those jokers with the RV, I might just take theirs," Hunter replied.

"You ready?" Bobbi asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Hunter said. "And I'm never eating cake again."

"It was a completely bizarre experience," Fitz related to Simmons as he handed her a navy shirt. "I saw things I still can't describe."

"Oh, Fitz," Simmons said, but she gave him a wan smile.

Fitz put his hand over hers. "Did something happen while we were gone?"

Simmons carefully folded the navy maternity top and pulled out the next item of clothing. "It talked to me."

"What? What did?"

Simmons sighed. "No, it's crazy. Forget I said anything."

Fitz turned towards Skye's bathroom. He could plainly hear the shower still running. "She's going to be done soon, but for now she's still in there."

"I know. I should have gone in there with her," Simmons said. "I don't want her to pass out."

"No, I was saying it's a good thing. Tell me what happened," Fitz said. "I won't freak out."

Simmons set down the pair of pants she'd been holding. "The baby," she whispered to Fitz.

Fitz nodded.

"The baby… talked to Skye." Simmons shook her head. "And then it talked… to me."

"What?" Fitz stood up so fast he knocked the chair over. "How's that even possible?"

"It went through Terrigenesis," Simmons said, throwing her hands up. "We're in uncharted waters."

"So it's telepathic," Fitz said. "What else?"

"I got overwhelmed and passed out. Just completely mentally fried. It was bizarre, like having an egg-beater taken to one's brain."

"Okay. Anything else?"

"What do you mean, anything else? Isn't that bizarre enough?"

Fitz gave her a smile. "Honestly? After everything that's happened throughout this extremely abbreviated and terrifying pregnancy? No."

Simmons groaned.

Fitz pulled her a bit closer and onto his lap. "Stop worrying. Things will work out."

The shower turned off, and Simmons moved to get up.

"Stop," Fitz said. "Stay here."

"I need to go…"

Fitz kissed her cheek, and she turned towards him and kissed him on the lips.

"That's what the baby said," Simmons murmured.

"What did the baby say?"

"You love Uncle Fitz."

"Well, lucky for that little scamp, you do," Fitz said.

She kissed him again.

"Are you guys making out?" Skye called through the door. "I don't care, but if so, could you maybe take a quick break? I need some help getting dressed with the IV in my foot, and… also, I don't think I can get my socks on."

Simmons smiled, her lips still against Fitz's. "Be right there, Skye," she answered.

"She's so needy," Fitz whispered.

"Makes me feel useful," Simmons murmured back.

"I could make you feel useful."

"And we'll pause it there," Simmons said, grinning. "Will you go find some food? I'm starving."

"Sandwiches?"

"Sounds lovely."

Fitz stood and straightened his sweater.

"Fitz?" Simmons turned back towards him, carrying Skye's new clothes, her casts, and the medical supplies needed to clean around the IV cannula.

"What?"

"Food for four," Simmons said. "Not just you and me, unfortunately."

"I know." He waved as he left Skye's quarters.

"Guys?" Skye called again. "Um, hello? Not that I mind you having some alone time, or whatever, but you sat me on a chair in here and told me not to get up or else, and then Fitz described what that would be and there were a lot of science-y words in there and I'm starving and I'm freezing and I'm thirsty, and…"

"So needy," Simmons said, shaking her head.