Title: Decode
Chapter 11: Skye
Author: snarkysweetness
Rating: R
Pairing: Skye/Ward with the new S.H.I.E.L.D. team [coughs: some Avengers] & 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: Here, enjoy some pain.

"Ward, step away from my baby girl now and I promise I'll kill you before Agent May has a chance to get her hands on you."

Was he serious right now?

"He's dying! We need to get him to a hospital, now!"

To A.C.'s credit it only took him three seconds to call for medical back-up and rush to her. He pulled her away from Grant but she threw herself back on him. "Give me your jacket!" She screamed. "Now!" He threw it down and she pressed it against the gunshot to his shoulder, the one that bled the most. She wasn't a doctor but she knew this much blood loss meant the bullet had hit an artery. He was dying. She was going to lose him.

"Skye, we need to get him on the bus, there's a hospital in the city, but you have to let him go."

Skye shook her head furiously, ignoring her trembling hands as she continued to apply pressure, to try to stop the bleeding. Two pairs of hands ripped her off of him and she began screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Shut up, you flipping the fuck out isn't going to help him."

May. If she was here that meant… "Who's flying the plane?" She rushed ahead the agent carrying Grant to the bus, followed by A.C. and May.

"Trip."

"Oh my God, Skye!" Jemma jumped when she saw her but Skye didn't have time for chit chat.

"You need to save him," she pleaded, grasping Jemma's arm.

"Who-oh God." Jemma's face went white as she saw Grant.

The agents deposited him in the medical pod and Skye took his hand desperately. "Now, Jemma!"

She shook her head. "No, I can't-"

"I don't care how you feel about him; I need you to save him!"

"I can't, Skye, he's lost too much blood-"

"Give him a transfusion; just keep him alive until we get him to the hospital!"

"I don't have blood lying around, Skye!"

"Take mine." Skye glanced back in relief as Leo appeared. "My blood type's o-negative."

"Fitz, I can't in good conscience give him your blood, it's not considered a universal donor blood any-"

"THIS IS AN EMERGENCY, JEMMA!" As if to make his point Fitz reached for a scalpel and Jemma immediately screamed for him to stop.

"FINE! I'll need an IV and for everyone but Fitz to clear out!"

"I'm not leaving him!"

Jemma turned to her, red in the face. "GET OUT SKYE!"

May grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out. The pod door slammed shut and Skye watched in terror as Fitz connected Grant to the respirator and then allowed Jemma to stick him with an IV needle. She turned her head, unable to stand the sight of anymore blood. Her stomach felt sour.

"You need to sit-"

"I'm fine!"

"You've been held captive for days, you're not fine."

"He took care of me, May."

"Think of the baby."

Well, if May was going to guilt her into things.

"I need to make sure he's okay-"

"You can do that from the couch."

Skye looked up at May through her tear-filled eyes. "When it was me, he didn't leave my side."

May took Skye's face in her hands and settled her gaze on her. "When you were shot, he wasn't six months pregnant. I think he'll understand. You've been through a trauma, your body's still recovering, and you're under a lot of stress. Trust me, Skye, you need to sit down and collect yourself."

Skye took one final look before nodding, allowing May to lead her to the common area. She took a seat and burst into tears. The entire past week all came crashing down and it was too much. May took her in her arms and Skye buried her face in her shirt and sobbed loudly. Another pair of arms wrapped around her and Skye knew it was A.C.

The three of them sat huddled together until Trip announced they were landing on the hospital's helipad. Skye shot up but May took hold of her. "I know you want to rush after him, Skye, but the doctors are going to have to take him."

Skye nodded and let them take him to surgery. She wanted to follow, to pace the hospital hallways and waiting rooms, but the moment he was in the hands of the people who could save him, her body gave up on her.

She woke up hours later in a hospital room.

"What happened?" She whispered her throat dry. A.C. let go of her hand and handed her a glass of water which she took eagerly. Her arm hurt like a bitch and she looked down to find an IV drip in it.

"Doctors said you were exhausted. You fainted and then got some much needed rest."

Skye groaned. Great, she'd fainted. She was never going to live that down. Grant was going to make fun of her for- "Grant! How is he?"

"He pulled through surgery but they need to see how he does overnight."

"I want to see him."

"You will. Once the doctors say you and the baby are okay to go, we're going to get you as much food as you can stomach, getting you as shower, and then some more sleep. And then you can see him."

Skye shook her head. "No, I need to be with him. He shouldn't be alone-"

"Fitz is with him. He knew you wouldn't want him to by himself."

"It should be me, if he wakes up-"

Phil looked at her with sympathy in his eyes and took her had. "Skye, it'll be a miracle if he wakes up. You need to be prepared for that."

Skye shook her head as tears filled her eyes. "No, he has to wake up."

"He lost a lot of blood, his injuries aren't as severe as yours were, but they're close. He took a beating before he was shot-"

"Garrett. It was Garrett. He wouldn't tell me but I could see it, he used him as his punching bag, dad, for years," she whispered, not noticing her slip. "First it was his dad and then his brother and then Garrett and I don't think he even realizes it, it's just something he's used to. I'm glad Garrett's dead."

A.C. watched her, stunned.

"What? He deserved-"

"No, that's not-" He shook his head before leaning forward to press a kiss to Skye's forehead. "John Garrett was a sick man and the world is a better place without him in it. And…I know you want him to wake up but don't get your hopes up, okay?"

Skye refused to give up on him. "I need to see him, please, just for a minute I need to see that he's alive, please." She moved a hand to her bump and gave A.C. the pouty lip. "We'll both feel better after." She was playing him and they both knew it.

"Fine, but then we're eating waffles and bacon and whatever else isn't making you sick this week. And Skye, I love you, but you really need that shower."

Skye laughed. "Yeah, as good as I look covered in blood I think I'm done sporting this style."

He smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of her head as he stood.

"I'll let the nurse know you're awake."

"Thanks da-A.C." Skye blinked. What the hell?

A.C. smirked as he paused in the doorway.

"You know…you can call me 'dad' if you want. I always wanted children but Melinda wouldn't have any of it. Said the job came first and she was right. Of course, it took our marriage falling apart for me to see that, but you…well, I think if we'd had a daughter she'd be exactly like you." And he left without another word and for the first time in days Skye burst into tears out of happiness.

It took a lot of strong-arming to get Skye away from Grant. The moment she saw him, clinging to life, the way she had months earlier, she never wanted to leave his side. But when Mama Bear May wanted something, she got it.

Trip took a turn babysitting Grant, which made it better, but Skye still wasn't happy about leaving him.

"So…the two of you were married, huh? What was that like?" Skye asked between shoving bacon covered pancakes into her face. She'd be sampling some real Cuban cuisine later, but right now she needed her familiar comfort food and lots of it. Garrett hadn't been concerned about keeping her alive and Grant had a cover to keep.

A.C. had an arm around May and he sighed as she glanced over at him with one of her deadly looks.

"I um-"

"It was hard," May said, meeting Skye's eyes. "This job isn't for people with complications. We recruit orphans, people from broken homes, those who are loners for a reason. You don't form attachments and it makes things easier. But we were young and stupid so we got married anyway. Then the job happened. We both saw and did things that tore us apart. There are some things love can't fix, Skye."

She knew May was trying to give her a lesson here about Grant but her heart broke. Sure, they weren't her actual parents but…shit, they were her parents. She wanted them to be happy.

"But you guys stayed friends, that's good," she said, shoving more food into her face. Her stomach was going to ache later but it would be worth it. She avoided the topic that they'd clearly gotten back together because she wanted to get more out of them. She knew the moment she brought it up May would clam up.

"In this business, you stick with the people you trust," A.C. said and then they exchanged another one of those 'we're totally banging looks' and Skye had enough.

"Oh, come on, do you think I'm stupid? How long have you two been back together? I demand details. I've been through hell, I deserve some happy news."

May glared at Skye but the corners of her mouth were twitching and Skye smirked.

"Oh, come on, I won't tell. Besides, you both love me," she teased with a smile.

"We've missed that smile," A.C. commented and she shrugged. She could tell him to enjoy it while it lasted but she didn't want to ruin the mood.

Instead she waved her fork in front of his face. "Hey, enough with the sentimental dad crap, old man, I need a good love story to steal. My kid doesn't need to hear mine, so get to it."

Skye was surprised when May was the one to spill the beans.

"Well, it ended one night in Bahrain…"

The story of how they came back together was pretty simple, actually. They'd been slowly making their way back for months but when she'd been taken…well, apparently they'd needed comfort and Skye didn't want details. It was bad enough the father of her child and her not-quite-adoptive mother had fondued, she didn't need to hear about mom and dad getting it on.

But their whole story?

Fucking heartbreaking.

Skye thought she and Grant's was tragic but this was worse. May still wouldn't go into details about what had happened in Bahrain but it was bad enough for her to lose herself, to be unmade, and it had ruined most of her relationships. Of course, her mother and A.C. had stuck with her, getting her through it, and in the end they'd found a way to remain best friends, which was sweet.

And it was so clear to her they'd never stopped loving each other. She'd totally caught on months ago but figured they'd get together when they worked it out. She was glad they'd come back together, everyone deserved a little bit of happiness, especially in this business. She'd never understood the whole 'we don't do love thing'. Skye thought it was foolish to risk your life every day and not actually live it.

Skye glanced down where the baby was playing soccer in her uterus and released Grant's hand so she could place both hands over it. She smiled, wondering if the baby was happy grandma and grandpa had gotten their shit together.

"Maybe you'll get to be in their second wedding," Skye whispered, rubbing her baby bump. The baby gave her a sharp kick before calming down. Skye winced. As much as she enjoyed being able to keep her little monkey safe she was going to like having her be out in the world. Her bladder would appreciate it.

Skye sat back in her chair and stared at Grant. He looked terrible. Too pale, too many things plugged into him, and if she was being honest he looked dead. It was…terrible. But he also looked more peaceful than she'd ever seen him. He always looked tense and given what she knew now, it was to be expected. The only time she'd ever seen him look happy had been the night she'd woken during her recovery period to find him asleep with her hands in his and when she'd kissed him in the janitor's closet.

She moved a hand over his cheek sadly. He looked peaceful now, but that was probably the drugs. She wondered if he was dreaming. No, if he was dreaming he'd be able to wake up. She wanted him to wake up. The waiting was torture. She knew he needed time to heal but she just needed to know he'd come back to her.

Skye leaned forward and pressed her lips to his while clutching his hand. "Wake up, Grant. We need you. I refuse to lose you like this; we've been through too much." She wished he wasn't handcuffed. It was stupid, where was he going to go? She kissed his knuckle with a sigh. Maybe if he felt the baby kicking it would help jog something in him, she'd have to give A.C. the sad eyes when he returned.

She closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest. Even though they'd forced her to spend her nights at the hotel while one of the team members stayed with Grant she hadn't been sleeping. When she closed her eyes she saw him dying in her arms and she couldn't handle the stress. She'd just lie there tossing and turning and crying and what good was that doing her?

Skye began to drift off, ignoring the tears in her eyes, when she felt movement in her hand. She shot up to find Grant's eyes on hers. He blinked and then was gone again but he'd woken up, he'd-

She jumped off the bed and yelled for a doctor with tears in her eyes.

He was going to be okay.