Out on the Beach, in the Wreck
Surveying the small kitchen area with a contented sigh, Skye inhaled the delicious aromas wafting from the pan Ward presided over. Her arms tightened around his waist, and she pressed her face into the centre of his broad back, smiling as he placed his free hand over hers, which sat clasped around his middle.
"They smell so good," she enthused, watching with obvious delight as he lifted out the two pale, golden pancakes from the griddle, and set them down onto the already sizeable pile on a nearby platter. She almost purred with content as Ward turned off the burner and moved to face her, instantly pulling her into his arms. He pressed a kiss into her hair and rubbed her back gently, and Skye took a moment just to breathe him in, to ground and centre herself and take the comfort she so desperately needed.
"You okay?" Ward asked, gazing down at her as she lifted her eyes to his face, and she managed a genuine smile as she nodded.
"We're all okay," she allowed, casting a glance over to where Fitz and Simmons lay entwined in their bed, still snoring, and still blissfully unaware that they were in such a compromising position. "That's all that matters right now, and the rest... I guess we'll figure out together."
His fingertips caressed the curve of her cheekbone, and she leant into his touch, giggling softly as Fitz let out a deafening snore. Just like that, the moment was broken.
"And you were worried we'd wake them up," Skye scoffed, grinning as she thought about Ward's earlier warning whilst the pair had sneaked off to the shower together.
"Well, that you'd wake them up," he corrected, chuckling as she swatted at his chest and her smile faded against his lips when he kissed her soundly.
"You know, I'm pretty sure we could have just had sex in our bed," she replied, her voice little more than a whisper, and her smile broadening as she recalled their hurried tryst in the rather cramped shower. "That shower curtain was kind of gross."
Ward returned her smile, the tip of his nose brushing hers as he appeared set to kiss her once again. "Well, there's always the bathroom counter next time."
"I like the sound of that," she cocked her head, suddenly whimpering as his mouth claimed hers, until the sound of an impossibly loud and obnoxious snort pulled them apart.
"Should we wake them?" Ward inquired, shooting a glance towards the still occupied bed, where Fitz and Simmons lay in a tangle of limbs that couldn't possibly have been described as comfortable.
Skye paused a moment, peering over her shoulder at the scientists and allowing a smirk to overtake her features as she noted how slumber allowed them to become so easily tactile. Simmons' leg was looped over Fitz's body, her head resting on his shoulder, and one of Fitz's arms curled almost protectively around Jemma. The other was flung over his head, and would undoubtedly be numb when he eventually awoke.
"Nah, they look so peaceful. Let's leave them a while longer," Skye decided, reaching for the syrup bottle that stood at the side of the stove top, "besides... More pancakes for me!"
Ward chuckled, grabbing his own plate and following Skye to the lounge, where she perched on the edge of the sofa in order to devour her breakfast, completely negating to stop for a knife and fork. Ward pulled a face but said nothing as he seated himself opposite his girlfriend, who was sucking on her fingers with her eyes half closed.
"I guess you're feeling better this morning?" Ward half quipped and yet managed still to inquire with a degree of concern present in his tone.
"Mm-hmm," Skye mumbled, grinning as his patented expression of disdain gave way to obvious affection. "I slept good, for like... the first time in ages, and... that shower was super stress relieving."
She held his gaze pointedly, her tongue tracing her top lip as she licked away a smear of syrup.
Ward's smile flourished into an entirely smug grin, and he dragged his gaze over her, whilst the brief recollection of their early morning encounter coloured his cheeks. Skye giggled and the sound made his heart swell with happiness; whatever danger they may face, whatever the uncertainties that clouded all of their futures, she was beside him, and as clichéd and ridiculous as it sounded, he was certain they could conquer the odds - together. It was, he was sure, how it was always meant to be.
"I'll make coffee," Skye stated, standing up and pausing to press a syrupy kiss against his lips. "And then I guess we really should wake up the Sleeping Beauties over there."
"I think it's probably best you do that. They wake up with me standing over them, and..." Ward trailed off, raising an eyebrow to convey his point. Skye rolled her eyes, kissing him one last time before she stood up and made her way over to the kitchen.
"I've got a better idea," she said quietly, her face a pantomime of innocence as she 'accidentally' let the plate clatter into the sink with undue force. Almost immediately Fitz and Simmons launched themselves into a semi-sitting position, their eyes half opened and their faces contorted in horror, as they first took in their rather telling embrace, and then their alien surroundings.
"What the bloody hell was that?" Fitz demanded, clawing at the bed covers as he and Simmons desperately sprang apart, and both of their faces turned a bright shade of red.
"What the bloody hell was what?" Skye asked innocently, her faux English accent immediately bringing a scowl to Simmons' features.
"Ugh, that hasn't improved," Simmons muttered, yawning loudly as she shuffled to the edge of the bed and swung her legs over the side.
"I can make more pancakes?" Ward offered, beginning to rise from the couch, only to be prevented by a swift shake of Fitz's head. Instead, the Scot jabbed a single finger in Skye's direction and scowled at her.
"Coffee," he barked, rubbing at his eyes with balled fists and sighing in irritation. It could never be said that Fitz was a morning person, which was just one more way in which he and Simmons seemed to compliment each other, given that the biochemist was capable of being articulate and sunny within ten minutes of waking - a feat that Skye herself was dumbfounded by.
Chuckling, Skye wordlessly filled up the coffee pot and began to hum as she watched the two scientists exchange glances, their cheeks mildly coloured by the embarrassment they still harboured at having been witnessed in such an emotionally compromising position.
Simmons rummaged through her bag, stuffing clean underwear under her arm as inconspicuously as possible as she hugged a pair of jeans and sweater to her chest.
"Did you want to..." she glanced over at Fitz, directing her gaze to the bathroom.
"Uh... No... I... You can uh... You can go first," Fitz managed through a smile, although the gesture was strained, and he watched Simmons' previously unreadable expression descend into something that resembled hurt.
"Fine. Thank you. I'll make sure not to use up all the hot water," she said curtly, smiling at Ward and Skye before she hurried towards the bathroom. The door closed with a quiet click, and immediately Skye rounded on the remaining scientist, her hand planted on her hip to display her displeasure.
"Okay, you two need to figure this out, cos this is... like... painful to watch."
"Oh, shush. You're a fine one to talk," Fitz dismissed her comments with a huff, sitting down on the couch opposite Ward. He leant his elbows on his knees, scrubbing his face with both palms as he released a hearty sigh.
"Ward and I..." Skye began indignantly, only to be met with a dry scoff from Fitz, who shook his head at her.
"Not you and Ward," Fitz retorted, reaching for the coffee mug that Skye placed down in front of him, "you and that bloody USB stick."
Skye's mouth dropped open but she made no move to protest, sensing that whatever Fitz was about to say next was more than likely correct.
"You've been hanging onto that thing for hours now and don't think I haven't seen you staring at it and... fondling it..." Fitz accused, his eyes narrowed as he peered across the room at his outraged friend.
"I have not been..." Skye began, only to have her protests abruptly cut off by Fitz waving his hand.
"Fondling," he reiterated, "as if that will change whatever's on there. We need to know, Skye, and it's time to stop pussyfooting around. Coulson has gone all 'here's Johnny' and we need to know exactly how bad that is, so plug the bloody thing into your laptop and have at it."
"Fine," she replied evenly, her head tilted back in an act of defiance. "Soon as I've made coffee, I'll dig out my laptop."
"I'll finish up with the coffee," Ward offered, watching as she visibly started at his sudden presence behind her.
"Fitz is right," he said gently, his hand sliding around her waist in a comforting gesture. "We need to know, Skye."
Sighing heavily and with obvious trepidation, Skye moved unwillingly towards their bed, kneeling down to pull her bag out from underneath the ageing wooden structure. Hoisting out her laptop, she sat cross legged on the bed, digging the USB stick out of her jeans pocket before she slipped it into the port with a shaking hand.
"You know," Fitz said quietly, drawing both Ward and Skye's attention, "my old granny used to say..."
At Skye's glare, he quickly added, "Nobody cares what my granny had to say. Senile old bat. What's on the USB?"
Sighing heavily, Skye tapped at the keyboard for several moments, during which Ward and Fitz obliged her with a patient silence. The latter sipped at his coffee, whilst the former busied himself with tidying the kitchen area, whilst simultaneously shooting sly glances at Skye in order to check on her apparent mood. Her expression remained impassive, and Grant gathered that she was merely sifting through the useless material in favour of finding anything of a more incriminating nature.
Finally, after what must have been minutes of consistent silence, Skye's mouth dropped open, her eyes widened a fraction, and a strangled gasp escaped her lips.
Ward and Fitz stood side by side, each nursing a mug of fresh coffee as they watched Skye's expression closely. She sat hunkered down over the laptop screen, her legs crossed and her fingers toying with the ends of her hair as she used her free hand to scroll through the sensitive documents and emails they had managed to steal. Her hand suddenly flying to her mouth, she sat back and shook her head.
"No. No... he can't," she stammered.
"Skye?" Ward began, placing down his coffee mug before he crossed the room and sat down beside her. Skye simply shook her head, her hands covering her mouth, and her eyes wide with fresh tears. He turned the computer around, reading hurriedly as Fitz joined him and bent his head to read over the Specialist's shoulder.
"Oh my God..." Fitz hissed in evident disbelief, his expression paling as he glanced first at Skye, and then up at Ward. "He wouldn't... He couldn't do that to Skye... He... No. I... It can't be true."
Ward and Fitz only managed to exchange the briefest of glances before Simmons stumbled back into the lounge, a towel wrapped around her damp hair and her folded pyjamas clutched in her arms.
"Is there a hairdryer..." she began, falling silent as she noted the similar looks of devastation spread across her friends faces. "What happened? Have they found us?"
Her voice was fraught with so much unmasked fear at the prospect that Ward managed to flash her a small, reassuring smile before he shook his head.
"No. Coulson's emails," Fitz explained, hooking a thumb in the direction of the screen, which held Skye's attention as though it contained that night's winning lottery numbers.
"What do they say?" Jemma inquired hesitantly, not entirely certain that she wanted to know the answer to the question she posed. It was clear from the slump of Grant's shoulders and the grim set of his lips that there was no good news to be heralded, and the way in which Skye's chin quivered as though she were biting back tears with some force did nothing to assuage Jemma's worries.
"Come on, out with it," Jemma encouraged when nobody uttered so much as a squeak, "it can't be as bad as all that, surely."
Hugging her knees to her chest, Skye's lip trembled as she haphazardly brushed a tear from her cheek with the back of her hand.
"The woman we found in the forest... she talked about a camp, she said it was where they'd taken her son," she paused to take in a steadying breath as she added, "it's real... it's part of a military installation in Virginia. Coulson's working with the president. They're testing out the cure."
Simmons shook her head, as if not quite believing what she was hearing. "But... No. That can't be right, the cure's still experimental, we don't even know if it will work yet, it's not ready for clinical trials."
Skye's lips set into a line of grim determination as she turned the laptop around so Jemma could read the reams of data and view the subject photographs that had been contained in some of the emails.
"It's killing them..." Simmons gasped, her hand fluttering to her mouth. Her brow furrowed as she read on, and she glanced up sharply at her three friends as she struggled to take in the words before her. "No... This can't be right, this... this talks of a mass... a mass..."
"Sterilisation project," Skye finished off, brushing away further tears, although this time of anger. "Well, I guess it deals with their 'Inhuman problem'."
"We'd be wiped out within a generation," Ward stated, his tone cold as his fury seeped into his words. He rested a hand on Skye's shoulder, his grip gentle and yet reassuring, and she reached up to brush her fingers against his in a gesture of quiet solidarity. Whilst FitzSimmons were undoubtedly aghast at what Coulson had not only sanctioned but apparently adopted an active role in, only Skye and Grant could truly understand how it felt to be victimised in such a manner; effectively, to become the subjects of an ethnic cleansing that would see to it that their DNA died with them.
"What about Molly?" Fitz demanded, suddenly springing to life as he reached for the mousepad and began scrolling through the opened files, "any word on her or her boyfriend?"
"Nothing that mentions either of them directly, but I'm willing to bet we'd find them both at Coulson's little Inhuman Summer camp," Skye replied bitterly, closing her eyes as she pushed the laptop away, and Simmons instead took up residence in front of it.
"Do we know what they were going to do once Ward..." Simmons swallowed hard, shooting a glance at Grant, "well, once you were out of the way. What about Skye? He can't have thought she'd go along with it all?"
"Her name's on a reserve list," Ward explained patiently, sitting down beside Skye, who almost instantly shuffled closer to be nearer to him. "If he couldn't get her on side, he... he..."
His jaw clenched, and Skye closed her eyes momentarily as he pressed a kiss against her temple.
"A quick trip to the vets, and then TAHITI," Skye finished, trying not to let her utter heartbreak tear down the last vestiges of control she was managing to hold on to. "I guess my powers make me too useful to throw out with the rest of the Inhuman trash."
Jemma sat down heavily on the end of the bed, her damp towel clutched to her chest as she stared straight ahead, her mind a turmoil of regret and despair. She'd thought at one time that they were a family, and she'd come to have great affection for their leader and the paternal presence he had at first offered to the young agents. To think of him initiating and carrying out such insidious acts was almost too much to contemplate.
"I need to get some air," Skye barked, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and standing up decisively. She felt her control over her powers teetering over a dangerous precipice, and the more angry and hurt she grew as the seconds mounted, the stronger the vibrations that coursed through her skin.
"Lock the door, keep a look out... we won't be gone long," Ward directed the two scientists, not even questioning if Skye wanted company, but joining her at her side in an instant.
His back was already turned when FitzSimmons both began to vigorously nod, their attentions affixed concernedly on Skye's retreating form. The door of the cabin slammed behind the woman and Ward winced as the walls themselves rattled, before quickening his pace as he worked to catch her up. When he finally broke out onto the front porch, Skye was nowhere to be seen, but the ground was trembling ever so slightly underfoot. Deciding that the lake would perhaps be the place she was most likely to head towards, Grant stepped off the porch and ploughed into the trees, wearing his worry for Skye clearly in his expression.
After several minutes that seemed to drag on into an impossible eternity, Ward reached the edge of the lake, where he spotted Skye standing on the wooden jetty that jutted out into the water. Her arms encircled her body and he could tell from the look of sheer concentration on her face that she was working hard to contain her powers - to push them back under the surface of her skin, where she could best control them.
"Skye," Ward called out, approaching her quickly with his arms open. She came to him willingly and with a soft sob escaping her, and when Grant pulled her into his chest, his fingers brushing the back of her hand, he noted the bruises beginning to mottle the skin on her hands and wrists.
"Don't do that, baby," he murmured softly, kissing the crown of her head, "let it out. It's safe here."
Her eyes remained fixed on the rippling water, and she sighed, "They'll be looking for us by now... tracking any unusual seismic activity."
"It's a lake, Skye. A few little tremors isn't going to make anybody pay attention. Besides, we've got Coulson's entire science division back in that damn cabin."
Lifting her wrists up for inspection, he bent his head and kissed her skin, frowning at the bruises that had already appeared.
"Let go..." he reiterated, pulling her towards the edge of the jetty, where she immediately crouched down and peered out across the water. Closing her eyes for a moment, she knelt on the edge and dipped her hands into the water, the cold slightly soothing against her aching limbs. Releasing a slow breath, she slid her hands under the surface, and almost immediately the ground beneath Ward's feet began to shake, and circles rippled out across the lake, sending tiny waves crashing against the banks.
"How could he do this to us?" Skye demanded, her eyes sliding closed as the water began to burble and flow with increased ferocity, "to me?"
"I can't answer those questions," Ward replied, his tone measured and soothing, just as he knew Skye needed it to be for the moment. His own anger was festering beneath the surface, and although he knew that it was hardly healthy - had had a half dozen therapists tell him as much - Grant was an expert at compartmentalising, and it was that skill that had allowed him to learn to control his own destructive abilities so quickly. Unlike Skye, who had a tendency to simply suppress her emotions whilst they warred inside her, which could wreak devastating effects on her body when her powers came into play, Ward could simply snuff them out without so much as a second thought; it was something that Garrett had spent years teaching him, and perhaps the only thing the man had done that Ward had come to appreciate over time. It was that level of control that had allowed him to embrace his Inhumanity and the abilities it had bestowed on him, and finally become a part of the Secret Warriors initiative. To think that everything they had worked so hard for had gone up in smoke without them even realising was enough to ignite Ward's temper and frustration and a hundred other negative emotions, but one simple deep breath was all it took for him to clear that slate, and to press on with whatever needed to be done next.
Jamming his hands into his pockets, Ward narrowed his eyes as he watched the surface of the water begin to calm once again.
"We'll leave in the morning," he stated definitely, catching the slightly surprised expression on Skye's face. He smiled faintly as he offered, "That's what you were going to say next; that we need to find the camp."
"Am I that predictable?" she allowed a brief flicker of a smile to cross her lips.
"Only to me," he assuaged her, winking at her before she turned back to survey the lake. "We'll rest up tonight, come up with something that resembles a plan, then leave before dawn."
"They'll be looking for the quin jet. It's only a matter of time before they manage to enable the tracking device again," Skye said worriedly, chewing on her bottom lip as she contemplated the journey ahead of them.
"Then I guess we're road tripping," Ward replied easily, his smile at the prospect almost delighted - no doubt as he realised that his penchant for grand theft auto was poised upon being satisfied.
"I don't even know where to start with this, Grant," Skye breathed, and suddenly she both looked and sounded so genuinely tired that Ward's heart ached for her. Silently, he stooped down so that he was crouching on the jetty behind her, and he gripped her elbows as he gently but firmly pulled her arms from the water. Although still shocked and evidently afraid, she seemed to have regained control of herself, and Ward was eager to gather her back into his arms, where she belonged.
Her hands were wet against the fabric of his black Henley, but Ward couldn't find it within himself to care. He stroked the back of her head with one hand and used the other to pin her to his body, where she stayed willingly, her head propped on his shoulder.
Finally, he recalled her statement, and replied, "We're not in this alone. We have two of the smartest people in the entire world in our corner. We'll find a way to set this right."
"Don't let them hear you say that... there'll be no living with them," Skye chuckled, pressing her face into the crook of his neck and inhaling the scent of his skin with a sudden sense of comfort overcoming her.
She felt a rumble of laughter against her palms, and he kissed her temple before he replied, "I'm pretty sure they both already know that."
"Let's stay out here a while... give them some time alone," Skye began, smoothing her palms over Ward's chest and tilting her head imploringly as she met his gaze.
"Skye... don't meddle," he warned, "they'll figure it out sooner or later. And... maybe right now isn't the best time to be starting something."
Skye leant back in his arms and regarded him with amusement.
"Oh, really?!" She grinned, snuggling back into his arms as he rolled his eyes at her inference and their own somewhat tangled history.
"Let me put it another way..." Ward bent his head and whispered in her ear, "we have to share a room with them."
Giggling, Skye shot back, "Only for tonight. Tomorrow, we hit the road."
Ward smiled as he watched some of the tension that held Skye's back ramrod straight begin to ebb away, and her shoulders relaxed somewhat. He reached out and brushed a stray tendril of hair away from her eyes with one hand, whilst he placed the other on her hip so that his arm encompassed her. The sigh she breathed was barely there, but Ward detected it nonetheless, and he leaned down to kiss away the remainder of her anxiety and fear.
"You know I've always got your six, right?" Skye suddenly inquired, craning her neck in order to peer up at Grant, who smoothed his palm across the apple of her cheek in response without a second thought.
"Baby, you've got nothing to prove to me," he replied, bending to brush the tip of his nose against hers. Skye's eyelids fluttered closed and she murmured her contentment at the gesture.
"It's true though," she persisted, eyelids flickering open, her wide pupils focusing on his features, "whatever happens here... Whatever we choose to do, or whatever Coulson throws at us, we stick together... Protect each other."
Ward held her gaze, letting his hand slide up the back of her neck as he drew her closer, pressing their foreheads together.
"I promise you, Skye, wherever you go, I go," he vowed, tilting his head and kissing her tenderly, his lips lingering over hers. "I love you... and I'll always fight for you."
She smiled at the admission, her fingers curling around the back of his neck to keep him drawn to her.
"Fight with me instead?" she asked, releasing a long held breath as he gathered her closer.
"Maybe a little of both?" he suggested as he brushed a kiss against her neck, and she felt his lips curl against her skin.
"I guess we should get back inside before Fitz and Simmons hyperventilate," Skye said, chuckling as she added, "or maybe we should stay outside until Fitz hyperventilates and Simmons is forced to give him the kiss of life."
Laughing in response, Ward began to guide Skye back along the jetty and to the bank of the lake, which had finally begun to calm again following Skye's below the surface expression of her power.
They strolled through the small expanse of trees, heading back towards the cabin, and Skye couldn't help but note the far away, almost wistful expression on his face. His hand clutched in hers, she squeezed his fingers to draw his attention.
"What're you thinking about?"
Ward shook his head, sighing through an almost smile as he replied sadly, "Last time I was here, I had nothing. I was just a scared kid that nobody wanted."
"And now?" Skye asked, although the way his eyes ran slowly over her face hinted at his response.
"Now?" he repeated, his smile awestruck as he gazed down at the woman beside him, "Now I have everything."
But, of course, what he really meant was, 'I have you'.