Chapter 25: (Skye) She's Imperfect, But She Tries
Author's Notes: I don't want to alarm anyone but there's a lot of adorableness within.

An hour later the party was in full swing and a slightly buzzed Skye sat on the arm of the sofa taking video of her little one making flower crowns with her boyfriend and grandpa.

Alice glanced up at Skye with a toothy grin, making Skye smile.

Her tiny bean was perfect and too adorable for words. She made the pain Skye struggled with every single day worth it. And as blessed as Skye was to be her mom, on days like today it was hard to forget the trauma she'd endured on the road to getting there. Her birthday deserved to be celebrated because her birth was a miracle, but it was also a painful, yearly reminder of the worst day of Skye's life.

A phantom pain shot through her middle at the memory. Skye absent-mindedly placed a hand over the scar her father had gifted her with when he'd cut her open and ripped her child away from her.

Skye forced her eyes shut as the sound of her own screams filled her ears.

No. Not now. Not today.

She needed to keep it together for her kid. She could fall apart later-in private.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, she slowly opened her eyes and focused her attentions on her mini-me.

Alice was now twirling to show off her flower crown and babbling for her grandpa to make more tea.

Skye wasn't sure which was cuter: her kid going around ordering grown men to sit down for tea time or mini-Natasha loyally trailing behind her like he was her royal guard.

Dimitri 'Dimka' Romanova-Barton was three months younger than Alice, already brooding and quiet, and worshipped the ground one Alice Linn Ward walked on. He adored Alice and did everything she told him to, like a good, loyal soldier. The only person he seemed to love more was his mother. If he wasn't trailing behind his girlfriend it was because he was glued to his mother's lap.

Sometimes, when she watched them together, and she saw how much Dimitri loved his adoptive mother, Skye began to doubt her own decision to keep Alice. Being separated from her would have literally killed Skye and she was grateful every single day that Fitzsimmons had made sure they weren't, but it didn't stop her from dwelling on her own shortcomings. Because at the end of the day, it didn't matter how much Skye loved her or how much more she wanted to give her, the truth was Alice deserved a better life than the one Skye was currently capable of giving her.

"I love you, mama!" Alice cried as she threw herself around Skye, taking her by surprise.

"I love you too, baby girl." Skye hugged her back tightly, burying her face in her curls.

It was selfish, but Skye loved her too much to let her go. And she'd tried, hard, to stay away from her at first, but the moment she held her in her arms for the first time she knew she'd never let her go again.

Alice pulled away with a giggle and kissed Skye's cheek before skipping over to Hunter.

"Uncle Lance! Come!" She held her hand out for him to take. "Time for tea!"

Hunter took her hand as he moved to his knees and met her eyes with a crooked smile. "Oy, I'll have tea, but I'm not putting on a dress," he teased, motioning to Trip who was wearing a tutu. Not that Trip seemed to mind: Alice served cookies with her teas and he was already on his fourth.

Alice stared back at her godfather with a smirk. "Okay, but you have to wear a crown," she ordered before skipping away, her giggles filling the room.

"Tiny terrorist," he growled as he chased after her. She squealed loudly when he caught her and began tickling her.

"Get him, Dimka!" She yelled, squirming to get away.

Dimitri, nerf archer set in hand, began hitting Hunter with fake, foam arrows.

Hunter, never one to shy away from dramatics, fell to the floor, clutching his imaginary wounds while screaming for someone to avenge his death.

Skye collapsed against a couch cushion, laughing so hard her side began to hurt.

"Looks like someone's having a good time."

Skye felt him approach before he spoke, but it didn't stop her heart from skipping a beat.

She turned to meet his eyes, failing to control the racing of her heart. "It's her birthday, of course she is."

"I meant you."

Skye couldn't help but blush.

"You came."

"I promised I would."

"I thought maybe I scared you away," she teased.

"Oh, you terrify me," he admitted with a smile. "But I'm kind of into it."

Skye snorted and rolled her eyes. He was such an idiot.

"I come bearing gifts," he offered, holding up a wrapped box and a gift bag. "Where should I put them?"

Skye ignored the butterflies in her stomach as she took them. "You really didn't have to get her anything. Your presence is more than enough. She's low-maintenance like that."

"I know," he shrugged, "but she deserves it."

Why was he like this? Adorable and wonderful and hot?

Her defenses were already weak, and it didn't help that she could feel how much he loved her and the kid.

The truth was she knew she loved him, she'd never stopped loving him, and she didn't just love the memory of him. She loved him now. The man who was willing to take responsibility for his actions and was working hard on doing and being better and who, despite having no reason to, genuinely loved her kid.

But she meant what she'd said to him. She wasn't sure she trusted him, not yet. Skye could survive another heartbreak, but it was her baby's heart she was worried about. She wasn't ready to risk it, not until she was sure he could really handle this. It was one thing to be there for the good times and the fun and it was another thing to suffer through the sleep deprivation and constant worry and taking care of them when they were sick or having nightmares.

It was going to be hard, but she needed to take this slow, for Alice. Because what Skye wanted didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was what her kid needed.

"Oy," Skye muttered with a shake of her head. The gift table was already overflowing, so she had to carefully get Ward's gifts in there like she was playing Tetris. There were enough gifts here to open a damn store.

"So, you weren't kidding when you said I didn't need to get her anything?"

Skye snorted. "The sad part is half of these are from Hunter." He spoiled her on the regular, but when it came to birthdays and holidays he went the extra mile.

Grant cringed. "Is this a bad time to tell you there were still some left in our room?"

Skye laughed until she met his eyes and realized he wasn't kidding. "He has a sickness." He was too damn much.

"I think he's trying to buy her love," Grant said seriously.

Skye shook her head with a smile. "It wouldn't be the first time he had to pay for a woman's affections."

This got him to crack a smile.

"Hey, Ward," Trip interrupted, clapping Grant hard enough on the back to send him jolting forward. "Did you have sex with my girl here and then buy her an engagement ring?"

Grant went white as a sheet as Skye's palms went damp.

She'd suspected the ring she found tucked in one of his drawers had been meant for her, but she'd done her best to forget about it. She'd thrown it into a box with the rest of his things and locked them away. Out of sight, out of mind. Until earlier today when Hunter had gleefully announced that Ward had bought Skye an engagement ring and oh yeah, had Skye found it because Ward was shitting himself searching for it.

Skye was in no mood to watch her friends torture poor Grant. Yes, she wanted to know what in the hell he'd been thinking but if she was being honest with herself, she knew she would have said 'yes', so who was the real idiot here?

"Leave him alone," Skye ordered.

"You know?" Grant whispered, about to pass out.

Skye wrinkled her nose before shrugging in embarrassment. "Yes?"

"That explains…Trip, I'm going to murder your boyfriend," he said slowly, shooting a glare in Hunter's direction.

Hunter wasn't threatened. In fact, he began cackling loudly from his place on the floor, looking like an idiot as he rolled around in his flower crown with tears in his eyes.

"Ward, you're supposed to date a girl before you propose," her dad offered, glancing up from his cup of tea with a shit-eating grin on his face.

Skye was going to kill them all. What if they teased him so much he had a breakdown or something? What would she do then?

A loud snort filled the air.

"Says the man who proposed to me because I was pregnant," her mother said, giving her ex-husband a 'look'.

"But we dated for years before you ran off and married someone else, Melinda! And the first time I proposed it was romantic!" He yelled indignantly, earning him a grin from his ex-wife.

"Ignore them Ward," her mom said with a smile as she glanced over at him. "Just take my daughter out on a few dates before you whip it out."

Grant swayed in place, close to passing out from embarrassment.

"The ring?" He asked dumbly, and her mom gave him a 'look' before glancing down at the always present bulge in his jeans with a shrug.

"Sure, we'll go with that."

Now Skye was the one ready to pass out.

"Is 'pregnant' when a mommy has a baby in her tummy?" Alice asked inquisitively, staring up at Skye.

Skye panicked, not ready for this conversation.

"Yes, it is, angel," her dad answered, saving Skye from trying to awkwardly think of a suitable answer.

"Oh, okay," Alice said, seemingly satisfied with his answer. But then, a moment later: "Papa? How come lăolao was pregnant with mama when you not married to her?"

Skye leaned down and ruffled Alice's curls with a nervous smile. "Baby, now isn't the time for this conversation."

"But I confused. I thought a baby comes when a mommy and daddy or mommy and mommy or daddy and daddy are in a love and want to have a baby. I no understand how lăolao and papa were in love and had you, but other grandpa is your daddy too, because lăolao no like my other grandpa."

Skye needed tequila; all of the tequila.

"Because, baby girl, I did love your other grandpa but then I found out he was a bad, bad man and grandpa Phil adopted your mommy because he loved her so much." Melinda offered, showing far more composure than Skye expected from her. She was sure that on this inside Melinda wanted to track down her ex and kill him (not that this was different than any other day).

Alice thought about it for a moment before 'hmphing'. "So, like Auntie Nat and Uncle Clint adopted Dimka?"

"Kind of, baby girl, except papa adopted your mommy because lăolao was already her mommy," Coulson offered.

"Oh, okay." She sing-songed, apparently satisfied because her attentions were now on Grant. Her entire face lit up the moment she realized he had arrived and she forgot all about her other guests.

"Mister Grant! You MUST have tea!" She cried out as she rushed over to take his hand and pull him towards her tea set.

A smile played on his lips as he did his best not to laugh. "Well, if I MUST," he said seriously as he followed her. He sat down obediently and allowed her to jump up and throw a crown on his head and wrap him up in a rainbow boa all while complimenting the imaginary tea she served him.

Skye silently took the flask her mom offered her, needing the liquid courage. Maybe Jemma was right about Alice being on the genius spectrum. This kid was way too smart, and Skye was going to die of a heart attack if she kept surprising her with inquisitions like that.

She took another drink and watched Grant interact with Alice, a longing pain filling her chest. This was how it was supposed to be, and she didn't know how to fix the mess they'd made. Or how to keep from bursting into tears.

Skye chugged the rest of the flask, needing that vacation.

Melinda wrapped her arms around Skye and pressed a kiss to her temple. "I hate him and if you say the word, I will kill him. You know he's not worthy of you and you deserve better, right?"

"Yes, mom." Skye groaned in response as she shook her head, in no mood for another lecture about why Grant Ward was the devil and she'd been an idiot to fall for him in the first place.

"But," she continued through gritted teeth, struggling to get her words out.

Skye could feel waves of her mother's hatred for Grant coming off of her, leaving Skye uncomfortable.

Melinda took a deep breath to calm herself.

"But," she repeated, "it's not too late for the two of you to fix things. She wants her father and it's not like he's as bad as some, so he at least has that going for him."

Was that a compliment? From her mother? Skye wished Grant was here to hear it. Then again, he'd probably faint, and they didn't need that tonight.

"I want you and my grandchild to be happy and for some reason you both seem to want him around so if he's what it's going to take for you and my overly-precocious granddaughter to be happy then I will learn to tolerate his presence."

Precocious didn't even begin to cover it and-Wait. Had her mother just given Grant Ward her blessing?

Skye blinked in surprise before recovering in true May fashion.

"Did that physically hurt for you to say?" She teased, knowing it had been. She could feel her own insides twisting up into a sick knot and she knew this feeling wasn't her own.

"I need more tequila," she replied, shaking the empty flask.

"I love you, mom." Skye wrapped both arms around her neck and kissed her cheek before resting her chin on her shoulder. "And while I appreciate that you love me enough to accept Ward, you don't have to worry about that tonight."

Melinda kissed the top of her head and began toying with Skye's curls. "I mean it, baby; I won't even threaten to kill him unless you tell me to."

They were making so much progress, it was amazing.

"I'm scared, mom," Skye admitted. "There's a lot for us to work through and if we get back together I need to tell him everything and I don't know how to dump something like that on him," she whispered sadly. "And what if I tell him everything and he's able to handle it and we're able to work through it all and we become a family and then," Skye didn't even want to jinx herself by saying it out loud. "I'm terrified the moment we're happy something horrible is going to happen.

I can't bear the thought of her losing him." Skye knew her father would kill him just to hurt her. "Or worse…" Could Grant handle raising Alice on his own if Skye was the one who bit it?

Her mom cupped Skye's cheek, using a thumb to wipe away a stray tear. "I understand needing to put your child first and being scared, but you can't let it keep you from living your life. Do you think I could have ever imagined losing you? We can't predict the future and worrying about the 'what-ifs' doesn't do us any good.

I hate seeing you so unhappy and I don't care what we have to do to fix it, but we're going to because you deserve happiness, Margaret."

Skye choked back a sob. "You're the best mom."

"You're pretty good yourself."

"Being a mom just really sucks sometimes," Skye admitted, hating the constant worry that came with the job.

Melinda smiled and wiped away another tear as she stared down at her fondly. "It does, but then you look at your beautiful, amazing little girl and remember that every single sacrifice and gray hair is worth it."

Great, Skye was ten seconds away from bawling at her child's birthday party. "I love you, mom."

"I love you too, baby," she whispered, pulling Skye closer to kiss her temple.

Skye rested her head on her mom's shoulder, slowly relaxing as they watched the little one play. Alice was having the time of her life showing Grant how to put his pinkie out to sip his tea and he looked like he was genuinely having a good time. It was hard not to, with the cutest kid alive giving you her undivided attention.

It didn't matter how hard all of this was, Skye would never go back and change it. Loving this little person made all the bad stuff worth it.