Ellie wasn't exactly enthusiastic about eating porridge while everyone around her was digging into the best food she had ever laid eyes on, but she knew that Jemma was right. Even though she'd been rehydrated and Jemma had given her a plethora of vitamins, she still needed to be cautious about what she put into her body, at least for a few days.

They were all sitting in the common area of Agent Coulson's plane. Ellie had been alarmed to see that many of the glass panes surrounding the conference room had been peppered with bullet holes. She'd been even more shocked to learn that the bullets had come from the Hub itself when S.H.I.E.L.D. had been suspicious of the team's allegiance. But according to Leo, the plane was actually in a much better state than it had been the day before. A cleaning crew had apparently gotten rid of most of the broken glass that had littered the floor and the sofas.

Sometime in between Leo's story about their adventure involving a man capable of jumping between dimensions (she'd needed to hear that one again) and Skye convincing Jemma to retell her experience of shooting Sitwell in the chest (Ellie was so proud), Agent Coulson left to receive a phone call. The rest of them finished eating and sat back in contentment before Skye stood up and headed over the bar.

"Guess what time it is," she smiled as she pulled out a bottle of amber liquid and began setting up a row of glasses on the counter.

"Skye, are really sure this is the right time to-" Jemma began.

"Ah, ah, ah, Simmons," Skye shook her finger at her. "There will be none of that now. Today has been the longest day in, like, forever, so everyone is going to have a drink. We've all earned it."

"But-"

"She's right," a quiet voice spoke up. They all turned in surprise to look at Agent May, who had been sitting with them in relative silence while they'd been eating. She raised her eyebrows and stood up, walking over to the counter. "Well, if you guys aren't gonna have one, I will."

Leo and Jemma looked at each other. "I mean, you said yourself that it's important to unwind in the field from time to time, right, Simmons?" Leo reasoned, giving her a playful smile.

Jemma rolled her eyes, but stood up with him to join Skye and Agent May at the bar. "But are we technically even in the field anymore? Aren't we just struggling to survive at this point?"

"Basically," Agent Coulson replied as he strode into the room. "Skye. Make me an Old Fashioned, would you?"

Skye looked mildly shocked that her boss was asking for a drink, but she recovered her surprise as she got out a tumbler. "Well, I'm not sure we have any cherries, but I think…I can improvise a little bit," she said, grabbing another bottle from underneath the counter. "So what are we celebrating, A.C.?" she asked as she poured the alcohol.

Agent Coulson unbuttoned his suit jacket and sat down on one of the stools. "Oh, you know, the usual. The Academies have all been disbanded, but we managed to lock down all the tech and send the kids home," he said, resting his arm on the counter. "We haven't heard from any of the other bases besides the Sandbox yet. Oh, and I saved the best for last." He smirked at the drink Skye placed in front of him, obviously amused by the small lemon wedge she had placed over the side. He picked the tumbler up and brought it to his lips. "S.H.I.E.L.D. has been labeled a terrorist organization," he said before draining the glass.

"What?" Jemma and Fitz cried at the same time.

"Yay," Skye said sarcastically as she filled up the shot glasses in front of her.

"But, sir, what does that even mean?" Jemma asked.

"I don't know, Simmons," Agent Coulson shook his head. "It means S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer has any jurisdiction, I guess. It's gonna be pretty rough for a while." He sighed. "There is one good thing to come out of this, though." There was a sad smile on his face as he traced his finger around the rim of the glass.

"Really? Because…I don't see it," Skye chuckled, setting out the small glasses for the team to take.

Agent Coulson turned his head. "We got Ellie back." As all of them looked at her, Ellie felt a blush on her cheeks. "That's something to celebrate." He paused before standing up. "All right, you guys can have your fun tonight, but tomorrow morning it's back to work. May, get the Bus's flight systems back online ASAP. We gotta get this plane up and running again. FitzSimmons, I want the cargo ramp fixed by the end of the day. Skye, I'm putting you back on base assessment and comms." He turned to Ellie. "Now, Ellie…I wouldn't normally approve of giving alcohol to minors, but considering our current circumstances, I think I'll let it slide just this once."

"Absolutely not," Jemma protested. "There is no way-"

Ellie held up her hands. "Hang on. Let's just time out here for a second. First of all. Jemma," she said, giving her sister a stern look. "I can handle one drink. It's not going to kill me." Jemma had her mouth open to argue further, but Ellie wasn't finished. "And second of all," she paused, turning to Agent Coulson. "Sir…how old do you think I am?"

Agent Coulson opened and closed his mouth, slightly baffled, and glanced at the other members of the team for help. "Uh…s…seven…no? Eighteen?" he guessed.

Ellie heard Leo and Jemma snickering behind her. When she looked around, she saw that Agent May also had a smirk on her face, but that Skye seemed to agree with Coulson. "Bloody hell, I do need a drink," Ellie muttered before reaching over and downing one of the shots, ignoring the protesting shouts around her. She fought to keep her face straight as the whiskey burned down her throat. "I'm twenty-two," she informed Agent Coulson, setting the glass back down on the counter and trying not to laugh at his shocked expression.

She turned around. "Now, Skye, where is the music? I mean, I know the world is crashing down around us and all, but honestly, I expected more from you."

Skye's expression remained unchanged, but she slowly reached into her back pocket and pulled out what looked like an iPod. "Ellie…I've been waiting months for someone to finally ask."

As Skye set up the music and Leo convinced Jemma to cautiously take one of the shots, Ellie noticed Agent Coulson quietly slipping out of the room. She followed him into the cargo hold.

"Sir?" He turned around as she reached the bottom of the staircase. "I'm sorry, but I was wondering if I could talk to you for a moment?"

He gave her a smile. "Sure, Ellie. Look, I'm sorry about-"

"Oh, don't worry about it, sir," she said dismissively. "Everyone always thinks I'm younger than I am, probably because I look like I'm perpetually twelve years old."

"Still-"

"That's…actually not why I wanted to talk to you, sir." Ellie wrung her hands in front of her, not really sure why she was so nervous.

"Is…everything okay?" Agent Coulson asked, a worried look on his face.

Her eyes widened. "Oh, yes. Yes, everything's fine. I'm sorry, it's just…" She struggled to find the words she wanted to say. "I don't…really know…"

His face relaxed as he seemed to realize what was bothering her. "Ellie, you're more than welcome to stay with us. We'd love to have you as part of the team. I'm sorry. I should have made that clear earlier. We would never leave you hanging out to dry."

Ellie shook her head. "Thank you, sir, from the bottom of my heart. Really, I cannot tell you how grateful I am that you took the time to come and rescue me. I owe you my life, sir." He looked like he was about to interrupt her, but she powered on. "And I sincerely appreciate the offer, but…I think that I actually need a break…from S.H.I.E.L.D…for now." She was surprised that those words had come out of her mouth, but as soon as she said them, she realized that it was true. She wasn't sure where she fit in the broken Division she'd so recently been sworn into. If S.H.I.E.L.D. really had been labeled a terrorist organization, and if HYDRA had been able to infiltrate the system so heavily, then did she really want to be a part of that?

Agent Coulson looked at her with sadness in his eyes, but he seemed to understand what she meant. "You want to go home?" he asked quietly.

"No, I don't think so," she answered honestly. She knew she would have to contact her parents eventually, and a brief holiday back to England actually didn't sound like a terrible idea. But something told her that if she ran away now, it would be a lot harder for her to integrate herself back into the world later. "I'm actually not sure what I want to do," she shrugged, looking away so he wouldn't see how hard she was trying not to cry.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Agent Coulson smiling at her. "Ellie, you've got a gift. You can literally do whatever you want to do. You're one of the only people in the world that has been making strides in astrobiology. Do you have any idea how cool that is? You have the ability to help us understand more about all that stuff out…there," he pointed in the general direction of the sky. "It's huge, Ellie."

"But, sir, all of my research was based solely at the Academy. Now it's been disbanded and Jemma told me that Professor Martell is…dead," she took a shaky breath. That had been a rather painful discovery. "And where would I even go? Who would even want me? The entire world thinks I'm a terrorist now, that we're all terrorists."

"Look, don't…" He held up his hand to stop her, laughing a little. "Don't worry about that, okay, Ellie? I think that after what you've been through, you've earned a get-out-of-jail-free card."

"But I still-"

"If you could do anything you'd like," he interrupted her, his eyes glinting as he gave her a small smile. "If you could work anywhere at all…where would it be?"

Ellie hesitated, pondering the question. Her mind was drawing a blank.

"You'd want to work in a lab, right?" Agent Coulson said, helping her out.

She nodded slowly. "Well, yes, I suppose that would be preferable."

"A lab not fuelled by evil, of course."

"Of course," she replied, smiling a little herself.

Agent Coulson nodded. "Tell you what. Let me make a few phone calls. I think I know just the place for you."


"All right, do you have everything?" Simmons asked for probably the tenth time.

Ellie sighed, but she was smiling. "Yes, Jemma. You made sure I have all the vitamins I'd need to last me until I'm thirty, I have the satphone Agent Coulson gave me, I know how to contact the Bus in case of an emergency, and I've never touched Mum and Dad's emergency fund, so I've got money as well."

"Oh, you shouldn't have to worry about that, El," Fitz assured her. "You'll be in good hands. Agent Coulson knows these people, and he says you'll be taken care of until you recover and get back on your feet."

Ellie winced. "Oh, I wish Agent Coulson hadn't set them up for disappointment. What if they don't like me?"

Skye was about to dismiss that crazy idea, but Fitz beat her to it. "You're joking, right, Ellie?" he asked incredulously. "They're going to love you. God, I'm so jealous of you right now."

She laughed. "Leo, you can come with me if you'd like. So could you, Jemma. I'm sure they'd take you in as well. You two are going to be in very high demand soon."

Fitz shook his head. "Sorry, El. That would be…bloody amazing, but we have to stay and pick up the pieces here. You're lucky you're getting out while you can. You just graduated, not to mention…" he trailed off, apparently uncomfortable with bringing up the torture Ellie had gone through. He cleared his throat. "Well anyways, you won't have to go through the system. Agent Coulson's made sure of it."

"I just wish you weren't leaving us so soon," Simmons said quietly, a pained expression on her face. "I mean, you're only just recovering. Maybe you could wait a little while longer-"

"Jemma, I appreciate your concern," Ellie interrupted. "And you've been nothing but wonderful helping me recover." She paused. "But I can't stay here. It's just not…the right place for me. Not right now, at least." She stepped closer to her sister. "You'll stay in touch, though, right? I mean, I know everything's going to be pretty chaotic for a little while, but you know where I'll be." Ellie looked down at her hands. "Well, you don't have to, I suppose, but I just thought-"

To Skye's absolute happiness, Simmons cut her off by giving her a hug. "Of course we'll stay in touch, Ellie," she said quietly before pulling away. "Even though I'm afraid it might not happen until we get this whole HYDRA thing sorted out."

Ellie nodded, the anxiety written clearly on her face. "Yes, of course. Now, you all are going to be careful, right?" Simmons rolled her eyes playfully. "I mean…" Ellie corrected herself, obviously realizing that being a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent at all right now was going to be a dangerous thing. "Just please don't do anything stupid like try to take on HYDRA alone or anything. They're not to be underestimated."

"We'll be fine, El," Fitz said. "Don't you worry about us. You just concentrate on getting better, yeah? And showing everybody how damn brilliant you are?"

Ellie smiled, even though Skye could tell she was probably still going to worry about them. "Okay, Leo."

"Yeah, all right, come here," he said, pulling her into a hug for a few seconds. "Now don't have too much fun, though," he smirked as he stepped away. "And maybe you could find it in you to mention me once in a while?"

"Oh, Fitz!" Simmons groaned. "Must you?"

"It was just a suggestion," Fitz said defensively. "It's not like I'm asking her to brag about me or anything. Just to maybe get my name in his head is all."

Ellie laughed. "I'll see what I can do, Leo. But chances are I probably will never even see him in person, let alone talk to him directly."

"Well, it was worth a shot," Fitz shrugged before sighing. "All right, El, you be careful now. Remember what I said about the whole science being dangerous thing? That still applies." He turned to Simmons. "We should probably go check on the Bus repairs. Coulson's gonna want a report soon."

Simmons nodded, even though she didn't look like she really wanted to leave. "You're right." She gave Ellie another hug. "Bye, sis. Please be careful. And don't hesitate to contact us if you need us."

"I won't, Jemma," Ellie said softly. Simmons nodded again before heading back to the Bus with Fitz. Fitz gave Ellie a small wave as they walked away, and even though Simmons didn't turn back around, Skye had noticed her eyes glistening with tears.

Skye was glad that Simmons and her sister had seemed to move past some of their differences. They were still a little hesitant around one another, like they didn't quite know how to act like sisters, but Skye could tell that Simmons was trying. It was a shame that Ellie was leaving just as she and her sister had started to repair their relationship, but Skye knew that Ellie would be safer where she was going. She needed time to recover, physically and mentally, from whatever hell HYDRA had put her through. And that just wouldn't have been possible at S.H.I.E.L.D. right now.

After FitzSimmons disappeared through the hangar doors, Ellie turned to Skye. "Skye, are you busy at the moment?" Skye looked at her in confusion. "I mean, you don't have any pressing matters to attend to or anything right now, do you?"

Skye shook her head. "No. Well, I mean, I'm working on making a list of all the S.H.I.E.L.D. bases we believe to be ours, but it can wait a few more minutes. Why? Did you want to talk about something or…?" She trailed off, unsure of whether or not she was ready for whatever Ellie was going to ask her. Skye knew that Ellie didn't really want to talk about what had happened to her, but she also knew that keeping something traumatic inside for too long could be unhealthy. Skye wasn't certain if she was the right person for Ellie to talk to, but she steeled herself, ready to do anything she could to help her.

Ellie looked around at the relatively empty hallway and moved over to the wall, gesturing for Skye to follow her. "It's about your accident," she said in a lowered voice.

Skye was baffled. "Ellie, what are you talking about?" Just as the words were out of her mouth, something clicked in her head. "Oh! Do you mean when I twisted my ankle back in Denver?"

"No, Skye," Ellie was shaking her head. "I'm talking about the accident you went through before we ever even met."

Skye froze. She hadn't really told Simmons not to tell anyone, and it wasn't a huge secret that she'd been shot in the stomach by Ian Quinn, but there was something in Ellie's eyes that made Skye nervous. "I don't-"

"Look," Ellie glanced around again. "I don't know exactly what happened to you, and I don't need to know if you don't want to tell me. Believe me, I'm just glad you're all right. But Skye…" she paused, looking hesitant. "Have you noticed anything…strange…about yourself since your…recovery?"

Skye had no idea how to respond. "Uh…I'm not sure I-"

"I mean have you noticed any…troubling…side effects or anything? From the drug that they gave you?"

Skye tried to make sure that her face didn't betray her alarm. She just had to play it cool. She was about to say something to dismiss Ellie's questions, but Ellie seemed to read Skye's apprehension.

"It's all right, Skye. I know about the GH-325. You can tell me."

Skye's mouth hung open in shock. "But how do you-"

"I created the GH-325," Ellie murmured, tears welling up in her eyes. Skye swayed and reached a hand out to steady herself on the wall behind her.

"What? How-how is that even possible?" Skye stammered, but then it hit her. "That's why HYDRA took you," she whispered, the pieces falling into place. "That's why they tortured you." She looked up to see Ellie crying. "They wanted you to make more."

"Skye, I'm so sorry, I had no idea. I developed the drug, yes, but I never would have allowed it to be used on you or on anyone else. We hadn't even begun to think about human trials when I was there. Please, Skye, please believe me."

"Ellie…" Skye said firmly, shaking her head in astonishment and blinking back her own tears. "You saved my life."

She was still sobbing. "But Skye, what if-"

"And Coulson's."

Ellie's hysterics stopped immediately as she stared at Skye. "What?" she breathed.

Skye couldn't believe that she didn't know. "Ellie, are you serious? They gave him that drug after he got stabbed in the heart. He actually died, Ellie. That drug is the only reason why he survived after the Battle of New York."

"But…that's not possible," Ellie whispered. "We didn't start developing the final version of the drug until…days after the Battle. That's when I got brought onto the project. All the earlier prototypes that my superior officers had been working on had failed. God, we didn't even start giving it to the rats for at least a month afterwards. If someone gave it to Agent Coulson without earlier trials…they could've killed him!"

"He was already dead, Ellie," Skye replied quietly.

"But-"

"You saved his life. And mine." Skye couldn't keep a few tears from spilling over. "I…I don't even know what to say. I…we…owe you everything."

"I'm not so sure about that." Ellie had stopped crying, but her face still looked anxious. She stepped closer. "Skye, are you sure you haven't noticed anything…off…since you were given the drug?"

"No, Ellie, I swear. I'm fine. I'm better than fine, actually. So is Coulson." Skye wasn't entirely sure about that last part, and Ellie didn't seem convinced either, but she nodded.

"All right, well if you start to notice anything, I mean even anything small, Skye, please be sure to tell Jemma. She'll be able to help you, or get word to me, and we'll try to figure it out."

"Ellie, everything's gonna be-"

"And you should also be…careful as well."

The way Ellie was looking at her made Skye think that she wasn't just talking about taking it easy for a while. "What do you mean?" she asked cautiously.

Ellie briefly glanced up at the ceiling and grabbed onto Skye's hand, dragging her outside of the hangar doors. The distant rumble of the plane engines nearly drowned out Ellie's voice as she leaned in closer. "I didn't want to risk saying anything in case anyone was listening. There are probably ears everywhere."

Now Ellie was scaring her. "Risk saying what?"

"The drug is gone, Skye, as well as its source and all of my research. It was destroyed along with the Guest House. But that doesn't mean that HYDRA won't stop at nothing to get it."

Skye was confused. This wasn't exactly news. "Ellie, I don't-"

"There's only one remaining source of the GH-325, Skye." She paused. "Well, two, I suppose. Its last remains are-"

"In my blood," Skye finished, remembering how FitzSimmons had wanted to send her blood samples to HQ to study the drug further. "And Coulson's," she realized, a new kind of fear settling into the pit of her stomach.

"Exactly," Ellie said. "So I would just…advise you to keep its identity between you and the team. At least for now. If anything happened to you or Agent Coulson, I would never be able to live with myself."

"I don't think that'll be a problem, Ellie," Skye assured her, smiling. "We were keeping it in-house anyways."

Ellie closed her eyes in relief. "Oh. Good. Yes, well, you should still-"

"Wait," Skye held up a hand, her mind racing. "If you created the drug, then you know…where it came from."

Ellie looked pained. "Yes, Skye. Well, sort of. I mean…that's why I was so nervous when I'd heard you'd been administered the drug. I mean, studying extra-terrestrial DNA is one thing, but combining it with human DNA, despite its medical possibilities, is an entirely different matter."

Skye's eyes widened. "So it was alien then? You mean you actually saw it?"

She hesitated before nodding.

"Ellie, this is huge!" Skye didn't even know where to begin. "I mean…did you…do you…where did it come from? What kind of alien was it? Did you-"

Ellie was shaking her head. "Skye, you forget that in the midst of my research, I was also a student at the Academy. I wasn't even a legitimate S.H.I.E.L.D. agent yet. I wasn't told where the extra-terrestrial came from, or anything about it for that matter. All I was told was that its blood had been used as part of a research project in exploring new methods of cell regeneration. My professor and I used the earlier versions to develop the GH-325. Its implications are…astounding, Skye. I mean, you said yourself that Agent Coulson died and the drug was able to repair his damaged heart tissue. Can you even imagine what this could do for the medical world? Cancer research would explode, not to mention-" She stopped, seeming to realize that she was getting off-track. "But anyways, that's not something that we should be focusing on right now. Maybe in the future, if you wanted, of course, you could help us restart the project. But with HYDRA still out there, I'd feel much better knowing that you and Agent Coulson were safe."

"Safe isn't exactly part of the job description, Ellie."

"I know, but just…try to be careful? Please?"

Skye laughed. "Okay, Ellie." She grew serious when she saw how worried Ellie was. "I promise. But the same goes for you, all right?"

Ellie nodded, looking relieved. Her eyes traveled to somewhere over Skye's shoulder. "Agent Coulson," she said with a smile.

Skye turned around to see Coulson approaching them with another man. "Ellie, I'd like you to meet Agent Shaw." Ellie stepped forward to shake Shaw's hand. "He's going to be in charge of making sure you arrive safely. He's a good agent. You can trust him."

"Pleasure to meet you, sir," Ellie said respectfully, but Skye could tell that she was a bit wary to be leaving with someone unfamiliar, especially considering the last time she'd been left alone with a superior officer, he'd turned out to be HYDRA.

Coulson turned to Shaw. "Ellie's safety is your top priority. I'll be expecting a full report upon your return. And if I find out that you're HYDRA, or that you put her in danger, or that for any reason at all she didn't arrive exactly when she was supposed to, I will find you, shoot you in the kneecaps, and drop you in Garrett's cell at the Fridge, where you'll have to listen to him tell the same stories over and over again for the rest of your sad existence."

Shaw didn't even blink. "Understood, Agent Coulson."

Coulson nodded before facing Ellie again. "Now, you have everything you need, right?"

She smiled at him. "Yes, sir. And thank you again for everything you've done for me. I really can't tell you how much I sincerely appreciate it."

"Anytime, Ellie. We're just glad you're safe." He glanced at Shaw. "She's all yours, Agent Shaw. Have a safe flight." As he turned to walk away, he looked at Skye. "Skye, meet me in the control room in ten. We've got a lot of work to do."

He waited for her silent agreement before heading back inside the building.

Skye sighed, turning to Ellie to give her another hug. "I'm really gonna miss you, Ellie."

"I'll miss you, too, Skye. When this is all over, we'll definitely have to have a girls' night. You, me, and Jemma. And maybe even Agent May."

Skye snorted. "Not sure about the Cavalry joining us, but other than that, sounds like a plan."

As she pulled away, Ellie turned to Shaw, who'd been standing politely off to the side. "Are you ready to go, Agent Simmons?"

Ellie hesitated before nodding and giving him a smile. "Yes, sir, of course. Lead the way."

Skye watched them head towards one of the smaller planes, praying that everything would go smoothly. Ellie had been through enough suffering to last a lifetime. She deserved to be somewhere where she didn't have to constantly look over her shoulder, with people who appreciated her brilliance and wanted to use her research for good instead of evil.

She sighed as they disappeared from view and headed towards the control room, ready to help Coulson salvage as much of S.H.I.E.L.D. as possible. If Ellie could find the strength to move forward after everything she'd been through, so could they.


Ellie looked around in amazement as she was led through the atrium. The woman in front of her glanced over her shoulder. "Sorry about the mess. We're kind of going through some renovations right now, and we've been processing in a few other former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, so it's been a little hectic."

Ellie didn't mind at all.

When Agent Coulson had told her where she was going, Ellie had expected to have to go through about a hundred different checkpoints, not only because of her history with S.H.I.E.L.D. but also because the people she would be working with were still unaware of his survival. She hadn't originally understood why Agent Coulson had wanted to keep his survival a secret, but she trusted him enough to respect his wishes.

She'd boarded the plane with Agent Shaw under the expectation that she would have a long few days ahead of her. Ellie had been a little nervous (maybe more than a little nervous) about being accompanied by someone she didn't know, especially after what had happened with Sitwell. But Agent Shaw was as polite as ever, if a bit on the quiet side. She originally sat with him in silence on the plane, but Ellie had never been very good at staying quiet for too long. It took a few botched attempts, but after a while, they fell into a nice conversation, and when she made the shocking discovery that he actually specialized in deep undercover operations, she managed to convince him to tell a few of his stories. His retelling of a time when Jemma had removed an intel-containing capsule from his nasal cavity after a mission in Siberia, as well as when Jemma had terrified the man by telling him not to breathe as she did so, had Ellie in stitches she was laughing so much.

The flight itself had been rather uneventful, and they arrived without any problems. Agent Shaw had encouraged her to sleep for the last few hours of the trip, and even though she hadn't been very tired, she'd managed to get some rest. When they landed, she braced herself, expecting to have to go through intense briefing, perhaps even interrogation, before she would be even allowed inside the building.

What Ellie had never expected was for Agent Shaw to escort her straight to the door, where she was met by the CEO of the company herself.

Ellie tried not to appear too star struck as they raced to catch one of the lifts.

"Now, I don't want you to be nervous," she told Ellie, pressing the button for the top floor and swiping her security card. "We're very excited about you joining us here. I mean, your work has been…very impressive, and you came highly recommended from Agent Martin over at the Division. When he told me about you, I thought…you know, you are what this company needs. Especially right now with all the crazy that's been happening." She paused, an apologetic smile on her face. "But the big guy can be a little…shy…around new people."

In the back of Ellie's mind, she distantly wondered if "shy" was the appropriate word to describe him, at least from what she'd heard. But the forefront of her mind was mostly filled with alarm. "You mean we're going to see him?" Ellie asked, and inwardly cringed at how high her voice sounded. "Right now?"

"Don't worry," she was reassured. "It'll be fine. Just be yourself. And whatever you do, don't let him intimidate you."

Ellie surreptitiously ran her fingers through her hair and briefly looked down at her attire as they rode up the lift. Miraculously enough, Agent Coulson had found her trunks in the deep recesses of the closet in Sitwell's office, and reasoned that he'd probably been prevented from getting rid of the evidence by his untimely death. She was still too thin for her clothes to fit properly, but she was glad to be wearing her own clean things again. And even though she'd had the presence of mind to dress somewhat professionally, she wasn't sure she would've chosen this particular outfit for this particular meeting.

Ellie took a deep breath as the lift reached the top of the building and they stepped out into a huge office.

"There he is. Working hard, as usual."

The man in front of them was leaning back in his chair, resting his feet up on the desk. "I am working hard. I'm working very hard," he muttered with his eyes closed. "You see this?" He pointed to his head. "I'm thinking, this is a very important part of the process, I'm just getting in the-"

He opened his eyes and stopped talking abruptly as his gaze fell on Ellie. "Sorry, sweetheart," he said as he swung his legs off the desk and walked over to one of the many machines that littered the office. "Day care's on the third floor." He took a pen from behind his ear and started fiddling with one of the parts. "Ms. Potts, would you be a doll and show her downstairs? You've always been better with kids anyways."

"Tony," she replied with an overly enthusiastic smile. "This is the girl I was telling you about. Remember? Remember that conversation we had?" Her smile didn't falter, but her eyes seemed to harden a little. "Like, less than an hour ago?"

Tony Stark tapped the pen on his lips, looking deep in thought. "You know, yeah, there's something in there. Oh!" He turned to face them. "That's right. You know what I remember? I remember telling you I didn't need another assistant. The last one turned out to be a spider, Pepper."

"Doctor Simmons," Pepper ignored him, "will be joining us here effective immediately."

"I don't remember approving of this decision-"

"It wasn't your decision to make-"

"Well, it kind of was-"

"Because, after all, I am the CEO-"

"A position that I gave you, by the way-"

"Yes, you did," Pepper said loudly, still smiling. Tony's arguments faded. "Because somewhere deep down inside you trust my judgment. And I think…she'll be great here."

Tony held Pepper's gaze for a few moments before his eyes darted over to Ellie. She pushed down her nerves and took a confident step forward, holding out her hand. "Mr. Stark, sir, it is an absolute honor to meet you. I cannot tell you how grateful I am that you and Ms. Potts have decided to take me on." Tony simply stared at her, ignoring her hand, and Ellie quickly reached into her bag. "If you have any doubt at all about my credentials, sir, I hope that this will help alleviate some of your reservations." She pulled out the file that Skye had helped her compile from S.H.I.E.L.D. records and held it out for him to take.

He didn't even glance at the papers. "I don't like being handed things."

"Okay," Pepper said, stepping forward to take the file from Ellie's hands. "All right, Tony, be nice. I think you'll find that you and Dr. Simmons have a lot in common, actually."

"Yeah, I think that's a little reaching-" he began, and then looked down in confusion at the file that Pepper had somehow opened and placed in his hands.

"She has a PhD from Cambridge-"

"Tally ho."

"She graduated at the top of her class from SciTech-"

"Oh, you mean the, uh, the Academy of that one organization that was revealed to be run by Nazis for the last 70 years?"

"She has experience in studying Chitauri weapons and developing antibiotics from alien DNA…"

"Because messing with things from outer space has always been an awesome idea-"

"And…" Pepper paused. "She refused to give into HYDRA's demands to work for them, even when they kidnapped and tortured her. For weeks," she finished quietly.

Ellie waited with bated breath for his reaction. For a few long moments, his fingers tapped the edge of the paper. He appeared to be skimming her file, but Ellie could tell that his eyes weren't moving.

She heard Pepper take a breath. "So…I think that-"

"Yeah, I just have a, uh, few questions…" Tony interrupted her. He held the open file out in his hands and squinted. "Eleanor." He snapped the folder closed and handed it back to Pepper before turning to Ellie, his arms folded. She tried not to back away from his intense stare.

"Yes, of course, sir. What can I-"

"If you've dealt with Chitauri weapons, then you know about the problem with the quantum tunneling effect. How would you propose stabilizing it? What would be the implications of doing so?" She had her mouth open, but he didn't allow her to answer. "Alien DNA and antibiotics? You really think that's a wise combination? I mean, jeez, we only just managed to send them back home, you really wanna poke the bear?" The questions were coming so quickly out of his mouth, Ellie was having a hard time keeping up, but she managed to hold his gaze as he continued. He didn't even take a breath. "You say HYDRA tortured you? Why did they torture you? What did they want? How did they torture you? Did it hurt?"

"Tony…" Pepper admonished, but he wasn't stopping.

"What exactly is your opinion on the controversial Hydroxenodiffraction Theory? What kind of tea do you drink? 'Cause I'm assuming you do drink tea, right? I mean, are you actually physically capable of not drinking the stuff? Really, I wanna know."

"Well, maybe if you'd actually let her get a word in, Tony-"

"The world has been turned upside down," he cut her off, finally taking a breath. His voice grew quieter, but he was still staring at her with an unwavering intensity. "Your organization is in pieces, and all of your secrets have been laid out for everyone to see. S.H.I.E.L.D. was not what we thought it was. People we knew, people we trusted, betrayed us and left us to fend for ourselves. So answer me this. How can I…trust you?"

Ellie felt overwhelmed, but she stood her ground. She looked him in the eyes, prepared to stand up for herself, but she saw something in his expression that made her pause. "You can't," she said simply.

Tony blinked. "Come again?"

She exhaled slowly. "Mr. Stark, I understand your misgivings about me, as well as those of S.H.I.E.L.D. Now, I could stand here all day and tell you about how I'm a trustworthy person or that I've never kept secrets or that I didn't, knowingly or otherwise, give aid to terrorists. But none of that would make a difference. You can't trust me, nor should you. At least not yet. Trust has to be earned, and frankly, I've done nothing to earn yours."

Tony looked like he was about to interrupt her, but she pushed forward. "Sir, all I'm asking for is a chance. A chance to earn that trust. If you take me on and I don't work up to your standards, then by all means, turn me out. But I think you'll find that my qualifications are not the problem."

He looked confused. "I don't-"

"You asked about how I would propose stabilizing the quantum tunneling effect. But it's already been stabilized, hasn't it? When Dr. Selvig used iridium as a way to harness the Tesseract's power, he virtually ensured our ability to achieve heavy ion fusion using its energy. I mean, obviously and quite literally, the implications are out of this world. But thus far, nothing good has happened when we've played around with Tesseract-fuelled technology, which is why, if it were up to me, I would shut down all projects associated with its power until we know more about how to control it. It's too risky, at least right now. As for developing vaccines from extraterrestrial DNA…sir, do you even understand how groundbreaking that would be? These creatures have antibodies that we've never even seen before, and if isolating their enzymatic activity could be helpful in targeting human viruses, then I think we owe it to the world to at least explore those possibilities. Of course, there are ethical complications associated with doing so, as I've had to discover the hard way, but we're close, we are so close to understanding something truly extraordinary."

Her voice became stronger as she continued to speak. "Yes, HYDRA tortured me. They wanted me to develop a drug with the ability to regenerate blood cells, a drug I had already created, a drug that was used on people without my permission or consultation. When I refused, they subjected me to…" She hesitated for a split second and cleared her throat. "Electroshock therapy. Experimental electroshock therapy that used self-sustaining plasma taken from Chitauri weapons. Yes, it hurt, but not more than it would have hurt to live with the knowledge that I'd let them hurt anyone else."

Tony continued to stare at her, and even though she had no idea what he was thinking, she could tell that he was still on the fence about her. She powered forward. "I cannot give you my opinion on the Hydroxenodiffraction Theory, sir, because it's not something that exists, nor is hydroxenodiffraction even a word. I prefer Earl Grey, but I've made the shocking discovery quite recently that I actually do not need to drink tea in order to function. Somehow being tortured has a way of opening your eyes to earth-shattering realizations such as that one." She took a breath. "And…I prefer being called Ellie. Sir."

Ellie's heart pounded. She couldn't believe she had just talked back to Tony Stark. If he hadn't wanted to hire her before, he sure as hell wouldn't be jumping to do so now. She tried not to show any outward signs of her self-disappointment, and made sure not to break eye contact. If she wavered at all, any points she had made would be automatically invalidated. After what felt like hours, she saw the tiniest change in his expression as the right corner of his mouth curled up slightly. He finally glanced away from her and gave Pepper a small nod before turning around and heading through a door on the other side of the room.

She looked over at Pepper in confusion, and was surprised to see her grinning. "Wow. A smile and a nod. He must really like you."

Ellie was momentarily speechless. "That…" she gestured vaguely behind her to where Tony had disappeared. "That meant he…liked me?"

Pepper laughed. "Trust me, he takes a little getting used to, but you would know if he didn't like you. It's not every day that people stand up to him. Well, except for me, of course. I think you surprised him. You surprised me, too, if I'm honest. That was pretty badass."

Ellie's cheeks burned, but thankfully Pepper didn't wait for her to respond. "Come on," she said as she started heading back towards the lift. "I know you've probably had a long day, but I want to get the designs in for your lab by tomorrow morning so the crew can get started right away."

Ellie's mouth hung open. "My lab?"

Pepper smiled at her. "Yes, of course. We don't have an astrobiology division yet, Dr. Simmons. We were hoping that you could help us start one."

Ellie shook her head in astonishment. "I honestly have no idea what to say. Thank you, Ms. Potts. I hope I'll be able to work up to your expectations."

"Oh, I know you will," Pepper said as they exited the lift on the ground floor. "And please. None of this 'Ms. Potts' business. It makes me sound like that awful singing teapot from Beauty and the Beast. Feel free to just call me Pepper, okay?"

Ellie couldn't believe that she was going to be on a first-name basis with Pepper Potts, but she smiled and nodded in agreement. "Yes, of course…Pepper."

"Good. Now," she said, leading Ellie down a side corridor. "I'm taking you to our main tech lab to introduce you to one of our guys over there. He'll help you make a list of the equipment you'll need for your lab, and then we'll head up to my office where we can draw up the specs." She paused. "And I suppose we'll probably want to eat sometime, so I'll have Bambi run out and get us something. You know, I'm really craving Italian right now." She turned to look at Ellie. "What about you?"

Under normal circumstances, Ellie might have simply smiled politely. But Pepper had such an infectious personality that before she could stop herself, she groaned. "Goodness, I haven't had a proper meal in ages. Italian sounds absolutely heavenly."

Pepper laughed appreciatively. "You know, I think you and I are going to be good friends." But as they reached the sliding glass doors of the lab, Pepper stopped to face her, and Ellie could see a little sadness flash through her eyes. Great. The last thing Ellie wanted right now was to be pitied.

"Dr. Simmons…" she began, and then smiled. "Ellie. I hope you know that even though we're hiring you immediately and today we're getting everything ready for you to join us…we're not expecting you to start working right away."

Ellie opened her mouth to object, but Pepper held up a hand.

"You've been through a hell of an ordeal recently, something a lot of people wouldn't even be able to walk away from. We want you to focus on getting better first. It'll take some time for the crew to build your lab, so we'd like for you to take that time to recover."

"I appreciate your concern. Really, I do. But I can assure you that I am ready to begin without delay."

"Even so…Ellie, you just said yourself that you haven't even had a proper meal yet. That's…that's crazy. We can't expect you to jump right in when you've only just gotten away from HYDRA."

"But-"

"Look, I'm not going to stop you from working if it's something that you really want to do. You and Tony actually have a lot more in common than I thought. But I do ask that you take at least some time for yourself. All right?"

Ellie hesitated before nodding. "Well, I suppose it does make sense. I'll need a little time to find a flat, of course, and get settled in, so-"

Pepper's eyes widened. "Oh, God. No, no, no, Ellie, that's not what I meant." She took a breath. "You won't have to worry about any of that, okay? As long as you're here, we'll make sure you have everything you need." The lab doors whooshed open as they stepped inside. "We've already got a place for you to stay, and…" she glanced at her watch. "Your bodyguard should be just about ready to meet you."

Ellie was still reeling from the fact that Stark Industries was already taking care of her so well, even though she hadn't done anything to deserve it yet. She knew that Agent Coulson had called ahead (through a few backchannels, of course), but she hadn't expected such a warm welcome. And she definitely had not expected to be given a...

"Bodyguard?" she asked in surprise.

Pepper gave her a rueful smile. "We don't want to take any chances, Ellie. Agent Martin said that your security should be our priority, and I have to agree with him. If HYDRA wanted you before, they'll probably want you again. And we'd never want you to be afraid for your safety while you're with us. So you'll have round-the-clock protection from the best of our best. Now, your bodyguard is actually pretty new to our security team, but don't let that scare you. He passed all of our entrance tests with flying colors, he admirably withstood our fairly intense interrogation procedures, and our very own Happy recommended him specifically when I asked. You'll be in good hands, Ellie. But please, if you have any problems at all, don't hesitate to bring it up with me or any of the other security guards. We want you to be safe, but we also want you to be comfortable."

Ellie wasn't quite sure how she felt about having a bodyguard, but she had to admit that with HYDRA still out there, it would be nice not to have to constantly look over her shoulder. She felt her eyes prick with tears, so she tried to blink them back as she smiled at Pepper.

"Thank you, Pepper. Really. I know I probably sound like a broken record, but you have no idea how truly grateful I am for everything you've done for me."

"It's our pleasure, Ellie. We're very happy that you've decided to join us. Like I said, I think you're just what this company needs right now." Pepper turned to face one of the technicians that approached them. "Ellie, this is Kyle. He'll help you compile a list of the tech you'll need for the lab while I head over to security. Be back in a few." She headed towards the doors. "Don't have too much fun," she called over her shoulder.

Ellie smiled nervously over at Kyle. He gave her a brief tour of the lab and after a couple minutes of showing her all of the resources Stark Industries had available for her use, Ellie started to relax a little. The opportunities she was being given here were more than she could have ever imagined. She was suddenly glad that she hadn't run away after escaping from HYDRA. If she had, she didn't think she would have had the strength or the courage to continue her work. It would probably take some time for her to completely move past what had happened to her, and she might not ever be able to completely move on. The world around her was ever changing, but maybe with the help of this new position, she could still find a way to make it a better place. In any case, it was certainly the job of a lifetime.

And from what she could tell so far, she was definitely going to like it there.

At one point, Kyle left to check on the progress of one of his projects, leaving Ellie at one of the lab benches near the doors. While she waited for Pepper to return, she continued working on the list of equipment she'd need. She started with the basics, not wanting to sound too greedy, but Kyle had assured her that it would take a lot for her to go over budget. When she felt she had made quite a substantial list, she heard the doors open behind her and the sound of footsteps approaching.

"Dr. Simmons?"

Ellie's hand froze, the pen stopping in mid-word on the page.

She knew that voice. It was the voice that had been in her head for so long, the voice she thought she'd never be able to erase from her subconscious. Hearing that voice so clearly right now was…impossible. Surely she was hearing things that weren't there. But then the same voice spoke again.

"I'm sorry. Are you Dr. Simmons? Or do you know where I can find her?"

She didn't want to turn around. She knew that if she turned around, her heart would shatter all over again. It couldn't be. It was impossible. Surely it was just someone who sounded like him. It took all of her strength to turn on her heel, and when she did, she could've sworn her heart stopped.

He immediately stepped closer to her. "It is you. Oh, good. I gotta say, it's an honor to finally meet you."

Somehow, Ellie found herself shaking his hand as he introduced himself as her bodyguard. Her vision was blurred with tears, but when she looked into his face, she could tell that even though he was smiling at her politely, he didn't seem to recognize her. Did he seriously not remember?

"Ah, crap," he grimaced, looking at her left shoulder. Despite her shock, she glanced down and looked back up at him in confusion. "You…you don't have a badge. The head of security here…he's pretty uptight when it comes to the whole badge thing."

Ellie barely registered anything he was saying, too busy searching for a sign of the person she knew in his face, any sign that he remembered her at all. Just when she was about to lose all hope, he smirked at her, a mischievous glint in his eyes. The next words out of his mouth erased her doubt, despite its impossibility.

"We'll have to go get you that badge right away. Because otherwise…you, missy, will be in big trouble."

FIN


A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to read this story. This whole experience has been absolutely mind-blowing. What started out as a little fluffy thing about the possibility of Simmons having a sister exploded into what it is right now, which is probably the craziest thing I've ever done. (By the way, I still think that Simmons is an only child.)

I know that putting original characters in fanfiction is a risky business, because not only is it hard to follow along with original characters, it's also hard to become invested in them or care about them. So really, I truly thank you for reading. Kudos to you for sticking with Ellie for so long.

Even though I know my story is a little out there, I hope that by the end, it flowed somewhat believably into Providence. I also apologize for the little cliffhanger at the end, but as we all know, the Marvel Cinematic Universe doesn't approve of tying up all loose ends. ;)

I'd like to give a big shout-out to my sister Chloe for 1) being an awesome sister, 2) being my beta reader, 3) lending her amazing voice to the soundtrack, and 4) being the original inspiration for Ellie. The character was actually originally supposed to be named Chloe, but my sister convinced me to name her something else. Which I'm so thankful for, because that way Ellie was able to become her own character. A lot of the scenes between Simmons and her sister were based loosely on things that have happened between my sister and me, but like I said, Ellie became her own character. I fell in love with writing her, and it's very bittersweet for me to say goodbye to her.

Another shout-out to Gabriella, for putting up with me and also pointing out that "From the flames of the past, we burned. Out of the ashes, we rise," is not basic conversational German. :)

I'd also like to thank Christopher, one of my awesome reviewers. His comments were so incredibly helpful, as well as encouraging, that they helped me shape the later chapters, not to mention actually make it through to the end of the story.

Below is the track listing for Part Two's soundtrack, which can be found on 8tracks (under the username msdevindanielle). These are just a collection of songs that I was inspired by while writing this. It's in some semblance of a chronological order, but most of the songs can be applied to more than one scene/character, so feel free to make your own interpretations.

1. Dead in the Water - Ellie Goulding

2. Hydra - Henry Jackman

3. Dark Days - Punch Brothers

4. Story of My Life - One Direction

5. Relax My Beloved - Alex Clare

6. Terrible Love - Birdy

7. Someone to Die For - Jimmy Gnecco featuring Brian May

8. The Fighter - Gym Class Heroes featuring Ryan Tedder

9. Hey Brother - Chloe Elizabeth

10. Pride - Syntax

11. Alive - Gabrielle Aplin

12. Atlas - Coldplay

13. Keep Your Eyes Open - Needtobreathe

14. I Believe - Christina Perri

15. Marchin On - OneRepublic

Thank you again from the bottom of my heart!

Much love,

MsDevinDanielle