A/N: Hey guys! Wow I didn't realize I was gone for so long. So sorry! I hope you guys are still with me with this story despite the usual delays.

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Chapter 14:

Ward

I gave her a couple of hours to be on her own. She needed space and I could understand how much of a burden it was to have to deal with all of this. At around eleven, I decided to look for her. If she was still in the building, I needed to talk to her. But if she left, then I had no choice but to wait until she returned.

But I had a feeling she was still here. I climbed up the stairs that led to the roof top and opened the door. At first, I didn't see her. But when I looked around, I found her sitting against the wall.

"Skye?" I called her. She didn't look at me. She kept her gaze on her shoes so I went forward. I crouched down beside her and saw the dried tears on her cheeks. The area around her eyes was also puffy.

It was a huge risk, but I decided to act on instinct. My hand gently touched her left arm, which caught her attention. I looked directly into her eyes.

"Why don't we go inside?"

She looked so tired of everything. I felt sorry for her, but I knew she wouldn't want to be treated like a pity case.

It took a few seconds before she nodded at me and I went to pull her up. We walked back to the door and I let her go first. Once we were on the same floor as my apartment, we made our way towards the room.

She immediately went for the bathroom without saying a word. I sighed and sat on the couch. I really wanted to help her, but I wasn't sure how I could.

Minutes later, the door opened and Skye came out, holding a face towel. She closed the door and went to sit on the side of the bed. I waited for her to talk. I didn't want to force her to open up, but I could feel she needed to voice out whatever she's feeling and thinking.

"I guess this means you won't try to kill me anymore?" She asked, with a tone that sounded both bitter and accusing.

I felt the corner of my mouth twitch into a small sad smile. There was no right answer to that so I remained silent. I heard her sigh and saw her palms wipe her face tiredly.

"I don't know what to do," she whispered. I still kept my silence.

"You're right," she told me quietly. "There's a big chance the guy who's after me is my father."

She paused again before continuing. "And I don't know what to do." She stood up and moved to sit on the edge of the bed that was facing me.

"What did Coulson say?" I asked.

"They want me to come and hide with them somewhere but I don't want to. It would put the team in danger."

"How did Coulson feel about that?"

"He's not exactly thrilled about it. May gave me a compromise."

"Which is?"

"To hide on my own but keep contact with them, which looks like my best option right now."

I nodded. "So what's your plan?"

Her shoulders slumped. "I don't know. I have no idea what this guy wants with me, but he seems persistent on finding me. And from experience, I don't think he'll stop until he gets what he wants."

"I just," she continued. "don't want to think that he wants to bring me to some place. Some place where I supposedly belong. And I don't want to come with him."

"You won't."

"Ward, it's not exactly that simple. This isn't just some invitation I can turn down."

"I know that."

"Then how am I supposed to go about this? The last time people tried to hide me, a village got massacred. I can't have that on my hands again."

"I understand."

Silence ensued between us.

"Will you help me?" She asked in a voice that was barely audible.

I looked at her. "I told you, I would do anything to help you if you let me."

She looked down again. "But why? Why are you so willing to help me? Especially after what happened between–" She seemed to hesitate before completing her thought. "What happened between the team and you."

"Because if I had the slightest chance to change how things ended, I would take it." I admitted. "Following Garrett, doing whatever he asks me, killing people–none of it mattered to me. And joining the team with an agenda was the same thing. But the effect of having certain people around me? That was entirely different. And I couldn't stop it from changing me. Hell, I wasn't even aware of how much I've grown close with the team. It may have been just a mission at the start, but I realized that I long surpassed the required relationship that I came to establish. It became more than a mission. I eventually learned to care, to have my team's back, to protect them, to loosen up. But I wasn't supposed to because I knew I wouldn't be able to do anything about it once it was there. I wanted it to stop so that it wouldn't affect you all much but it didn't. And later, I found myself wanting to come out with the truth but I couldn't. I owed Garrett so much that I didn't question his orders. I followed every command, even if it would hurt and possibly endanger all of you. My actions took its toll on me eventually and I started to question why it was so hard to control the emotions this time."

"Why do you feel like you owe Garrett so much? What did he do for you?"

"He rescued me. I was a teenager who was facing prison for burning up my house where my older brother was. Garrett came and pulled me out of there. He asked me to join him, and I did. I had been with him through the years."

"But?" She inquired. "Judging from the look on your face, I don't think he really rescued you."

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Maybe not." I admitted. "He left me in the forest with my dog for months. He said he'd return to see if I'd survive on my own. After that, he recruited me to Hydra where everything started."

"When we got to Providence, you were with Garrett, right?"

"Yeah," I answered. It seemed so long ago.

"The blood and bruises, that was his work, wasn't it?"

"Yeah."

"And I'm guessing that wasn't the first time he did that to you?"

"No," I replied.

"Then how come you stayed with him?"

"I guess I still let myself believe that I owed him my life. That's why I let him control it. But the effect of sending me to the team was something neither of us could control."

"Why?"

"Because of the emotional attachment, I guess."

"So…the team did manage to break the robot after all?"

I smiled. "I guess so." I felt my smile disappear. "It was just my fault for making all the wrong decisions."

"Look," she called. "This thing or these things going on around us are beyond complicated. Your terrorist organization just destroyed the one thing that was protecting every human being. Now, there's nothing and no one except a few people left that can still rebuild the shield of the people. That's just one part. Now here comes my alien dad hunting me down, which may also lead to another destruction of some sort. He's capable of that, as we both know." She glanced at me. "What I'm saying is, there aren't many people I can go to about all this, and technically, you're not supposed to be included in that list."

I sighed. Maybe she was saying all these because she was going to tell me finally that she was going to hide on her own.

"But," she began. "I'm not entirely against an agreement."

I frowned in confusion. "What are you saying?"

"I haven't forgiven you yet, Ward." She reminded me. "But you said you wanted the chance to change things. I don't trust you and I could be fooled again, but right now you have a chance to do what you want. Betray me or help me, that is not my call anymore. I can do this on my own so I don't really care which choice you pick. But if you really want to stop making the wrong ones, you'll know what to pick."

She stood up and tossed me the key to the boxes earlier. I caught it smoothly before eyeing her expectantly.

"So, what would it be?" She asked me.

In other cases, I would've gladly stayed away from her. So she could forget about me and move on with her life. I hurt her so much and it was only fitting to keep my distance. I had too much darkness inside me and yet here we were. She didn't need me, truth to be told. I knew she had survived going through countless storms and she had come out of each of those stronger and braver. Nothing could stop Skye. That was one of the things I truly did admire about her…She kept going and going, working hard with a goal in mind. She was always so driven, and yet, when she needed it, she wasn't afraid to ask for help.

And now she was asking for mine. I let out a breath and I felt the corners of my mouths twitch into a small smile.

"I don't think I'd be able to say no." I said gladly but also truthfully, before adding, "Skye."

"Good," she replied. "We got work to do, robot."

She then turned around and went to grab her bag. With her back turned, I let a smile form on my lips.

A/N: Well what do you know? Our babies managed to stick to each other after all! Hahaha! :) More are coming in a few. Leave a review, my dears. xx