A/N: Not much to say here this time, so I'll just get on with it!

She demanded, "Let the baby go. And my team." Ward was surprised at her strong will at gunpoint, and missed his chance to talk before one of the men beat him to it.

"Okay, we'll make a deal." They were all taken aback, but knew too much to let it show. Skye, stony faced, replied curtly,

"What do you want?" The men smirked, again, before pointing to her and saying simply,

"You." Skye's face contorted, her stomach lurched. She stared at him, terrified.

Chapter 11

But she turned to Ward with the baby, met his begging eyes, and knew there was no other way round. But he knew her too well and cut her off as she began to talk.

"Take me." They all turned to him, looking incredulous but Skye- stubborn as ever- gave him a stern look and said forcefully, "No. Grant, think." However, he replied quickly,

"Exactly, Skye. Think. I can fight, survive by myself, help myself." His worried, widened eyes begged her but she wasn't about to let him go.

"Exactly. You're much more valuable to S.H.I.E.L.D than I am. "

"But-"

"No, it's better you're on the outside- it will give us all a better chance." Ward stared at his feet, at a loss and still cradling the baby, as Coulson stepped forward.

"Skye, you don't need to do this to prove yourself. Just, please, step back and let me handle it." His voice was strained, holding back his urge to shout- he was so desperate. But Skye was adamant.

"No. They're going to take one of us and better it be me than a qualified, strong agent if it does go south."

"Skye..." Ward tried again, but trailed off, lost in his imagination. What would he become if she didn't make it alive? But as he began to talk again, he looked up at her and her eyes halted him in his tracks. The look in them was a mix of her dangerous anger she had showed in the cage, where he had yielded, and the intense yet caring stare she gave just less than an hour ago in the plane. He knew then, she wouldn't give in.

"We'll be back. I promise." He said sternly, and then pulled her quickly into a kiss before she went and did something else to wreck him further. They parted and Skye looked over him for one last time and stared into his pleading eyes before stepping forward and slipping her hands through the cuffs.

They marched her away from the team, and back to the barn. Ward was devastated, pulled away from the site by force, and guided to the BUS as if dreaming. He knew it was nothing he could control but it only made him feel more helpless. He went to Coulson before his emotions got the best of him. He knocked on the polished wooden door and waited to be invited in, then closed it behind him and stood, marvelling at all the artefacts around the room before re focusing and speaking.

"Sir. We need Skye back." He had not thought of what exactly he would say, and for a moment he tried to gather his thoughts. Coulson interjected,

"I am well aware of that Ward, but we must wait a few days until their security around her drops. And they didn't seem to know much about their guns, one of them wasn't even holding it right. She'll be safe for now- I promise we'll get her as soon as we can. You're not the only one who wants Skye back." He smiled ruefully at this before lightening the tone of his voice. "In the meantime, we need to get this child to the hub. Fitzsimmons will take care of it until we can drop it off, then we'll come back here- by that time they'll be more relaxed." He sighed and signalled for Ward to leave after this.

As he walked the route back to his bunk, his words did little to comfort Ward. Of course, the senior agent was right but that wasn't what he wanted to focus on.

The next few days were, arguably, the worst he had experienced. Although he was comfortable and warm- not to mention safe, emotionally he was at his lowest since the incident with his younger brother.

A/N: Thanks for reading- sorry it was short! I'll be back when I can :) Review and comment please! Any suggestions for improvements or where I should take it next?