A/N: I love you all, just thank you, thank you, thank you so much. Okay in this chapter there is an important item, but I don't think my description gave it justice, so if you want to see what it looks like you can look up Antique Edwardian Crescent Moon and Star Locket. (On google images it's the first one on the left). Oh! Next chapter we get a look at May's back story, *whoop whoop*
Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.
Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.
Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.
Chapter Thirteen
Once May and Coulson returned, the team was able to tell them what was going on in more detail than the message they sent earlier. Ward was working with Agent Weaver trying to find the missing cadets while Skye and Fitz-Simmons were at the BUS. From their they could do some digging and figure out what was going on. They discovered Ian Quinn had been buying their products.
Skye was able to trace the rare parts back the cadets had used and found Ian behind it all. Skye almost immediately noticed the tension Coulson and May were giving off, but she didn't have a chance to ask what was wrong, especially since it seemed they were avoiding her. Not to mention everyone's attention was on the mission. Once they had a game plan, Skye was going to confront Coulson and May since neither of them had really said much to her. After Fitz-Simmons left the command center, Skye took a chance.
"What's up with you guys," Skye asked, "Ever since you got back from who knows where, you won't even look at me. And I know things have been heavy right now, but did I do something wrong?"
Coulson shook his head, "No."
"I did," May said still not looking at Skye, "I've been keeping something from you."
"What are you talking about," Skye asked her mom, clearly confused.
"Your mom and I went down to Mexico City to talk to somebody, somebody who knows where you came from," Coulson replied and looked at May.
"We found out what happened, with the document and the agent who left you at the orphanage," May said looking at Skye for the first time since they arrived.
"Tell me," Skye said softly, "Please."
May took a deep breath, "The woman who dropped you off was agent Avery. The agent we talked to was Avery's partner, Richard Lumley. Their team got a call from a senior agent in the Hunan Province..."
May told Skye everything she and Coulson had learned from the massacre of the village to the 0-8-4 status. As the story went on, tears began to swim in Skye's eyes until they fell down her cheeks. May left the part about knowing who was behind the massacres out, especially when she saw the tears fall down her face. Skye covered her mouth as a sob threatened to escape her lips. She never expected this to be the story she had been looking for.
"I'm so sorry Skye," May said when she was done.
This was her fault, all those agents, the villagers, losing Skye. All of it, everything that had happened was on her hands. Skye didn't say anything, instead she let the tears fall trying to wrap her head around what happened. May wrapped her arms around Skye's shaking shoulders and Skye wrapped her arms around May's waist trying to hold back the sobs in her throat.
Fitz-Simmons said over the comms something big was happening on campus. They needed to move. May didn't want to leave Skye, she thought about taking Skye with her to the cockpit, but before she could suggest it Skye took off.
"I'll watch her," Coulson said and followed Skye.
May went to the cockpit to pilot the plane they were in for a bumpy ride. After the dilemma with Donnie and the ice storm was dealt with, Skye and May took a walk around campus together. It was a mostly silent walk, but neither of them minded. The only thing that mattered was that they were still together. After everything that had happened over the years, they were together again.
The truth shattered Skye's world, but she was okay with that because all the years of thinking she never had a family when in reality she always had one. One that had been looking for her while the other had been looking out for her. May and Skye visited the wall of valor and Skye instantly found Agent L. Avery and traced over the letters. May held onto Skye's free hand tightly, Skye gripped it back.
"Mom," Skye whispered, "I love you, I hope you know that."
May always felt her heart flutter when Skye called her mom, but this time was different. This time it made her joy double. May loved her so much that it hurt. Hearing Skye say she loved her too made May so happy.
"I love you so much," May said softly, she looked at her daughter, "I promise you Skye, no matter what I always have and I always will love you and be there for you."
Skye looked away from the wall and smiled at her mom, "I'm counting on that."
May smiled happily at her daughter, they would both be able to move forward and be happy.
Skye woke up early the next morning, she had just finished stretching when May came down for their usual Tai Chi session. Instead of her usual joking and tired mood, Skye was focused and quiet. Throughout the session, May would help Skye with her stance and movements and Skye would fix them after a try or two. When the other's came down, May went up to do some other work while Skye trained with Ward.
She was silent and incredibly focused. Ward was surprised, even Fitz-Simmons were shocked when they hadn't heard Skye complain or crack one of her quips. They knew May and Coulson had told Skye something, but they didn't know what it was. All they knew now was that Skye had taken it hard. As soon as training was over, Skye went up to her bunk and began to look for Quinn. She wanted to find this guy and take him down as quickly as possible.
All afternoon, Skye stayed in her bunk making all kinds of programs to help with her search for Quinn. Hopefully they would lead to something. The next few days Skye did the same thing, Tai Chi with May, training with Ward and hiding in her bunk doing work.
"Is Skye okay," Ward asked.
He and Fitz-Simmons were in the kitchen grabbing some lunch. Coulson was in his office, May was with Skye in her bunk helping to look for any sign of Quinn. So far no luck.
Simmons shrugged, "I'm not sure, I asked her about it and she said she was fine. That she just wanted to find Quinn and catch him."
"It's got to be more than that," Fitz said making himself a sandwich.
Ward nodded, "I agree. In practice, she's quiet, driven. I don't know what Coulson and May told her, but whatever it was... it had quite the effect."
Simmons sighed, "I hope she's okay. Maybe we should do something for her."
"Like what Simmons," Fitz asked, "We don't even know what's wrong."
"Maybe not, but we should do something nice for her," Simmons said.
Ward hummed it over, "It's not a bad idea, we could do something to cheer her up."
"Cheer who up," May asked as she walked in.
Simmons smiled, "Excellent timing Agent May."
"We want to do something for Skye," Fitz explained, "We know she's been kind of down lately and we want to cheer her up."
May had noticed a shift in Skye's mood. Skye was more distant and focused on the task at hand instead of her usual sporadic way of doing things. It wasn't completely noticeable, Skye would still crack a few jokes when she was around the others. However she was still a little distant. May asked Skye about it and she talked to May about what was going on with her. How she wanted, no how she needed to find Quinn and stop him before he hurt anyone else. Not to long ago she had been helping or really trying to help Skye search in her bunk.
I just want to find this guy and end this. I can't focus on anything else until he's captured.
"What are you planning," May asked the younger agents.
Ward pursed his lips, "That's the thing, we have no idea what to do for her."
"Maybe we could get her a pet," Fitz suggested.
"We cannot bring an animal onto this plane," Ward told the scientists.
Fitz raised his arms in surrender, "It was just a suggestion. Animals, kittens and puppies specifically, make most people more relaxed and happier."
"We are not getting her a pet," Simmons stated, "However maybe we could get her something nice. A present from all of us?"
"What would you get her," May asked liking the idea.
Simmons shrugged, "I'm not sure, but I have a few ideas."
The four of them spent the next half hour talking about things they could do to cheer Skye up. After much deliberation they found the perfect gift for Skye and decided tomorrow night they would cheer Skye up. Fitz-Simmons returned to the lab to draw up some blueprints for what they wanted to build while Ward went to get the supplies. The BUS had stopped to get refueled, but they would end up staying until the next day.
May went to her bunk and pulled out an old brown box with the word 'memories' engraved in Mandarin on the top. She opened the box and searched through its compartments and other items looking for something specific. Something she had been waiting to give Skye for years. It was a small black velvet box and inside was something May had cherished for years. Before she would wear it everyday, but after she lost Skye, she kept it in a safe place. This way she would never lose it. At ten in the evening, May went to Skye's bunk the box in her hand.
"Skye," May called softly.
Skye focused on her laptop and said, "Yeah, I'm in here. You can come in."
"Am I interrupting," May asked as she opened Skye's door.
The young woman shook her head, "Nope, I was about to close up shop anyway. What's up?"
May closed Skye's door behind her and said, "There is something I wanted to give you."
Skye's eyes lit up, "Really," she asked curiously, "What is it?"
May took a seat on Skye's bed and held the small box out to Skye, "This is something your father had given me, before you were born."
Skye didn't know anything about her father except something must have happened to him. When Skye first brought it up, she could tell her mom was tense and uncomfortable about the topic. So she dropped it and planned to ask on a different day, or when her mom was ready. Skye took the box from her mom and opened it to see a necklace.
Resting on the white plush inside the box was a gold locket, it's coating slightly worn down with age with a moon and star on it. Closer to the center was a grey crystal with five thin prongs and five thick ones to resemble a star. Closer to the edge of the locket was a crescent moon with six grey crystals resembling the one in the center. Skye let her index and middle fingers hover over the moon when she noticed one crystal was missing.
May said, "Your father had given it to me about two weeks before I found out I was pregnant."
Skye swallowed thickly and said, "It's really pretty. Was there a reason he chose it?"
May chuckled, "He had a fascination with the stars and the moon... he loved the sky."
Skye breathed a laugh, "Must run in the family I guess."
May grinned, "Yeah, it does- Skye, do you want to know about him? If you do, all you have to do is say so."
Skye did want to know, but she was worried about her mom, "You don't have to tell me if it's too hard."
"I can handle it," May said, "You deserve to know who your father was."
"Did you love him," Skye asked bringing her gaze away from the necklace, "Did you two love each other?"
May smiled softly, "I'm not sure... I did love him, but I don't think I was ever in love with him. It was the same for him to, we loved each other, but we weren't in love."
Skye looked back at the locket and lifted it from the box and let it rest in the palm of her hand. Carefully she opened the locket to see what was inside. There were two pictures. On the left was a picture of a baby sleeping, Skye assumed it was her consider she could see on the hat she was wearing said 'Daisy.' On the right, a picture of May, Coulson which was not surprising to Skye and a man she didn't know.
It was her father. He had brown hair and eyes and light tan skin. She gasped slightly, this was the first time she had ever seen him.
"He was always smiling," May said sadly, "Your father was a such a dork who always found a way to make people happy."
"Can I ask," Skye started slowly, "How you guys met and what happened between you two?"
May nodded, "It was the summer of 1986…"
Penny for your thoughts? *Holds a bag of pennies*
Teaser
"You, Phillip goody two shoes Coulson are giving me permission to break protocol?"
"Did you guys ever meet up?"
"No, it's no trouble. I insist you let me buy your tea."
"Your father was a good man Skye."