Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya.

This one's pretty heavy, I think, so you may want to prepare yourself for what's to come. But hey, not everything can be all rainbows and butterflies all the time.

Enjoy!


Making her way back towards the dining room table, a cup of herbal tea in her hands, Skye sits back down in front of her laptop and takes a sip of the tea before setting it down next to her. Her eyes focus back on the screen in front of her as she scrolls down the open page and taps a few keys on the keyboard.

Her phone going off next to her on the table pulls her attention to it briefly. She picks up the device and glances at the caller ID to see Grant's name and photo showing on the screen before holding it up to her ear, continuing to click away at her laptop.

"Hey, babe," she says with a smile. "Did you get the list of things I sent you? You never texted me back after I sent it. Also just wait until you get home and see the ridiculously cute design I came up with for the nursery. It's got elephants everywhere and it's probably the cutest thing ever in the history of the world; I think you're really going to love it when you see it."

"And I'm sure it looks absolutely amazing. Though, to be honest, I've never seen the appeal of elephants. They aren't really that cute."

Skye blanches as her hand stills on the mouse to her computer. "Who is this?" she asks, fearing she already knows the answer to her own question.

The person on the other end laughs darkly and sends a chill down her spine. "What? Don't recognize the voice of your baby's favorite uncle? I'm actually a little offended. How come I didn't get the memo, huh? You know I'll make an amazing uncle, Skye. I'll teach the little rugrat everything I know."

"Joey," she states. "You stay the hell away from me and my baby."

"Aww, Skye, don't be like that."

"Why are you calling me? What do you want?"

"Just to teach Grant a little lesson. Nobody turns their back on Hydra for anything. Not even for some little tramp who's just trying to manipulate him and take him away from his family."

She furrows her brows and ignores his comment about family. "What do you mean you're going to teach him a lesson?"

"That's a really nice car you have him driving, by the way. What's the mileage like on that thing?"

Pulling the phone away from her ear, Skye ends the call and quickly goes into her contact list, finding Grant's number and clicking on it. She holds the phone to her ear as she stands from her seat and moves towards the window, pulling the curtain back more to look outside at the street in front of the house.

"Come on, come on," she mutters to herself. "Answer your damn phone, already."

After a few rings she finally hears his voice. "Hello?"

"Grant." She breathes out in relief, turning slightly away from the window. "Oh thank goodness."

"Skye? Is everything okay?"

"Where are you?" she asks him.

"Turning onto our street right now. Why? What's wrong?"

"I just got a call from Joey," she tells him. "But I thought it was you because that's what my caller ID said. He said something about teaching you a lesson. He knows about the baby and I think he also knows you're planning on leaving Hydra permanently. Just please hurry up and get back here so I can stop worrying."

"I just pulled into the driveway. I'll be right inside."

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you too."

Pulling the phone down from her ear, Skye holds it tightly in her hands and looks back out the window, letting out a relieved sigh when she sees Grant stepping out of the car.

Moving to the front door, she pulls it open and steps out onto the porch, one hand resting on her barely there bump as she slides her phone into her back pocket. Max sidles right up against her legs, letting out a few small yips when he sees Grant.

"I got worried," she tells her boyfriend.

"Hey, that's perfectly okay," he says as he makes his way across the sidewalk towards the house. "I'm really sorry that Joey freaked you out like that. I should have known that he'd try and do something when he found out about the baby but I was really hoping that he wo—"

A loud engine drawing closer cuts Grant off and pulls his and Skye's attention towards the street to see an all black motorcycle race up to the sidewalk, skidding to a halt at the curb right in front of them.

The driver, wearing an all-black helmet with a blacked out visor, pulls a hand gun out of his inside jacket pocket, aims it, pulls the trigger twice, and then speeds away as fast as he arrived.

Skye jumps and screams when she hears the gunshots go off, watching in horror as Grant looks at her with wide eyes before sinking down to the cement below him, one hand pressing tightly to the wound in his abdomen.

"Grant!" Skye screams as she rushes down the porch steps to his side, kneeling down next to him on the cement, Max right there with her, his tiny wet nose pushing against Grant's arm as he lets out bark after bark. "No!"

Skye immediately pulls Grant's head up into her lap and holds him close, pressing one hand to his wound. "Somebody do something! Please!" she shouts at her neighbors all standing around before looking back down at her boyfriend, feeling the blood from his body already beginning to seep through her fingers.

She rubs her other hand along his slowly paling face, caressing his cheek gently as she speaks softly to him, "Grant, honey, stay with me, okay? Stay with me just a little bit longer. Don't you dare leave me to raise your kid alone, you hear me?"

"Skye…" Grant chokes out.

"I'm right here," she tells him. "I'm right here, Grant, I'm not going anywhere."

"I love you," he rasps. "So much. Baby too."

"I love you too," she says through the tears falling down her cheeks. "And so will this baby once it gets here. So don't you dare think about making this child grow up without their daddy. Because that is not going to happen. Do you understand me? I'm not letting you get out of this so easily."

Hearing the loud piercing sirens of an ambulance approaching, Skye lifts her head to see the bright and fast flashing of the lights coming around the corner. Then she sees the ambulance coming towards them and lets out a shaky breath.

The ambulance pulls up right next to the edge of the sidewalk and the paramedics jump out of the back, quickly moving towards her.

"What happened?" one of them asks her, kneeling down next to her, already beginning to check over Grant and his injury.

"He was shot," she explains through her tears. "In the stomach."

"Okay." He turns his head over his shoulder. "GSW to the abdomen. Let's get that gurney over here."

A gurney appears next to them and Skye has to actively tell herself to let the medics take him, she doesn't want to let him go. She watches as they wheel him over to the ambulance and lift him inside the back of it.

"Ma'am."

Skye turns her head to see two people walking towards her, a tall, dark-skinned man and a tall, blonde woman, both dressed very professionally.

"I'm Detective Alphonso Mackenzie," the man tells her. "This is my partner, Detective Barbara Morse," he says, gesturing to the woman next to him.

"Skye Coulson," she tells them her name, looking past them at the ambulance.

"Okay, Skye," Detective Morse speaks up, "can you tell us what happened?"

"My boyfriend was just shot," she says, trying to fight another onslaught of tears. "Look, can I go, please?"

"We just need to ask you a few questions," Detective Mackenzie says to her.

"Can it wait?" she asks. "I need to be with my boyfriend. Please."

"It'll only take a minute," Morse tells her.

"Miss, if you're going to come with us we need to get going," one of the paramedics leans in and interrupts.

Skye looks to the two detectives. "Please."

Morse sighs and nods. "Fine. Go. We'll get in contact with you later."

"Thank you," Skye breathes out. "Carol," she says to her friend. "Can you keep an eye on Max for me until I get back, please?"

The woman steps forward. "Of course." She bends down and picks up the puppy, holding him securely in her arms. Max squirms in her arms and lets out a few yips in Skye's direction as he tries to get down.

"Thank you," Skye says with a grateful smile. "All his stuff is in the dining room, call me if you need something." She turns and quickly makes her way towards the ambulance, climbing up inside the back of it and sitting down on one of the benches along the side. She reaches out to grab one of Grant's hands and holds it tightly in both of hers, lifting it to press a kiss to his palm.

"I love you so much," she whispers through her tears. "Please don't leave me."


Pulling her cell phone out of her pocket, Skye unlocks it with shaky hands and goes into her contact list. Scrolling down, she taps on the name she wants and then holds the device up to her ear, waiting impatiently as it rings for the person on the other end to pick up.

"Hello?" she finally hears the familiar voice.

"Mommy?" she chokes out, through her tears.

"Skye? Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"I'm uh, Grant's...he was...and I'm..."

"Breathe, sweetie. Take a deep breath and calm down and then tell me what's going on."

Skye closes her eyes and breathes in deeply, taking a moment. Opening her eyes again she speaks into the phone, "I'm at the hospital."

"What? Is everything okay with the baby?"

Skye nods. "Yeah, mom. The baby and I are fine. It's Grant."

"What happened?"

"He was coming home from the store, he was right outside our house and somebody drove by on a motorcycle and shot him."

Melinda gasps on the other line. "Oh my goodness. How is he?"

She shakes her head. "I don't know. He's in surgery right now. I just, I just really needed to talk to someone."

"Well I'm glad you called me. Everything's going to be okay, sweetheart. Grant definitely seems like a fighter. He's not going to leave you and that baby if he can help it."

"I know. I'm just really scared, mom."

"And it's okay to be scared. It's perfectly okay. Do you have people there who can help you out?"

She nods. "Yeah. My neighbor Carol and her husband said they're always willing to help out. That's what she told me when we first moved in. I'm sure she'd be more than willing to help out as long as we need it. She's actually watching our dog right now since I'm here."

"That's good. I'm glad you have someone there."

"Me too," Skye says. "And I have all my friends from work who I'm sure would drop anything to help me and Grant."

"You make sure to tell them how grateful I am. Your father and I aren't planning on coming into town until later in your pregnancy but I wish we could get the time off from work so we could be there for you right now."

"I know. I really miss you guys."

"We miss you too, sweetheart."

"Miss Coulson?"

Lifting her head, Skye sees Detectives Mackenzie and Morse making their way towards her.

"Mom, I have to go, I'll call you later to let you know what's going on."

"Okay. I love you, baby girl."

"I love you too."

Pulling the phone down away from her ear, Skye ends the call and slides the phone back into her pocket.

"Detectives," she says with a small, polite nod to the two people standing in front of her, sitting up a little taller in her seat.

"How are you holding up?" Detective Mackenzie asks her.

"As well as can be expected," she breathes out. "All things considering."

He nods. "Right, well, how's your boyfriend doing?"

Skye shakes her head. "Don't know yet. Grant's still in surgery."

"Hang on. Do you mean Grant Ward?" Detective Morse asks. "Of Hydra? I thought he looked kind of familiar when I saw him earlier. You're actually dating him? We've been trying to nail all of those guys for years. We've only ever been able to collar some of the guys on the lower end of the totem pole for petty stuff, never anything huge."

"Yeah, well, while you reminisce about all of your 'fun times' chasing down Hydra, my boyfriend, the man I love, and father of my child, is currently fighting for his life because he was shot on the sidewalk outside of our house today."

"Mack," Detective Morse whispers to her partner, "do you wanna take charge of this? You've always been able to connect better."

Mack nods and focuses on Skye. "We're sorry," he says, stepping forward and sitting down in the chair next to her. "I don't think either of us can really imagine how hard this must be for you right now."

"It sucks," she tells him. "This wasn't supposed to happen."

"We talked to some of your neighbors but none of them were really able to tell us what happened. Most of them just heard gunshots and what sounded like a motorcycle before they went outside. Can you, by any chance, tell us what happened? It's okay if it's too difficult. Just take your time."

Skye nods and is quiet for a moment before she speaks up, "I uh, I was at home with our dog Max when I got a phone call."

"And where was Grant?" Mack asks.

"Out running some errands. We're trying to fix the place up a little and make some improvements before the baby gets here."

"How far along are you?" Morse asks her.

"A little over three months," Skye answers with a small smile, rubbing one hand over her stomach. "Completely unplanned and unexpected, but we wouldn't change what happened. Not for anything."

"Well congratulations," Mack says.

Skye gives him a half smile. "Thanks. Grant was really excited when I told him. He even promised me that he's gonna leave Hydra for good so he can be with me and the baby. That's what he's been working on. He's wanted out for a while but the baby and I were the right incentive for him to actually go through with it. We even bought ourselves a place far away from where Hydra operates, on the complete opposite side of town. And now...now he might not even be able to meet his baby."

Mack places a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey, the doctors are doing everything they can to save your boyfriend."

Skye sniffles. "I know. It's just, it's really hard. I got so worried when Joey called and threatened Grant."

"His brother threatened him?" Morse asks.

Skye nods. "Yeah. He's the one who called me earlier. I looked at the caller ID and thought it was Grant because that's what it said so I just started talking. Then Joey said he was going to teach Grant a lesson."

"He's the one who shot Grant?" Mack asks her.

"I don't know, maybe. I didn't see their face. They were on a motorcycle and wore a helmet with one of those blacked out visors the whole time."

"Do you happen to know what kind of bike it was? Did you catch a partial plate number? Or maybe something to help identify the specific bike?"

Skye shakes her head. "Sorry, I don't know. It all happened really fast and I was just so focused on Grant and making sure he was okay."

Mack nods. "That's alright, we understand. Is there anything else that you can tell us? Is there someone Joey may have gotten to do this for him?"

"Honestly? It could really be anyone. He may not be the Head, but Joey has a lot of pull within Hydra. Those guys listen to him without any questions. Even though Grant was one of their own, he uh, he was gonna leave so they probably aren't too happy about that. They're probably completely pissed off about the whole thing. Nobody leaves Hydra unless they're in a body bag."

The detectives take a deep breath.

"Wow, okay," Detective Morse says.

"Skye Coulson?"

"I'm right here," Skye says, standing up and moving past the two detectives towards the doctor. "What's going on? Is Grant okay?"

The doctor nods. "He's fine."

"Oh thank goodness," Skye breathes out, her shoulders relaxing.

"It was a little touch-and-go a few times, but we managed to get him stabilized and things went well."

"Can I go see him?"

"In a moment," the doctor says. "The surgery went very well and we were able to get the bullet out, thankfully it didn't go in too deep and didn't hit any major organs either. With some time in recovery he's going to be perfectly fine."

"Thank you so much. Can I go see him now?"

The doctor nods. "Of course. I'll take you back there."

Skye nods and silently follows the doctor down the hallway towards Grant's hospital room.

When they reach the correct room, Skye stops in the doorway when she sees Grant. He's lying in a hospital bed on the other side of the room, the powder blue hospital blanket pulled up underneath of his arms.

Skye moves into the room and immediately takes up the seat next to Grant's bed, pulling the chair closer and grabbing his hand in hers. "Hey, Grant. I'm right here, babe." She turns her head to the doctor. "Do you know when he's going to wake up?"

"As soon as the anesthesia wears off," the doctor tells her. "But even then it still might take a little while."

"Okay, thanks. I'm uh, I'm just gonna sit here with him. If that's okay."

The doctor nods. "Of course it is. Just press the red button next to his bed for a nurse if you need anything at all."

"I will, thanks." She turns back to her boyfriend, wiping a few tears from her eyes.

"Skye?"

She turns her head to see the two detectives standing in the doorway.

"I answered all of your questions already," she says to them.

Detective Mackenzie nods. "We know. We just wanted to ask your boyfriend some questions, see if he can tell us anything."

"He's not awake right now," Skye tells them. "He won't be awake until sometime after the anesthesia wears off. But uh, if you give me a number I can call you when he wakes up."

"That would be great," Detective Morse says. She reaches into the inside pocket of her jacket and pulls out a card, stepping forward and handing it to Skye.

Skye takes the card and holds onto it. "I uh, I guess I'll see you guys again soon."

"Yeah." Detective Mackenzie nods as he and Detective Morse make their way out of the room.

Skye turns her attention back to her boyfriend, holding his hand tightly in hers. "Thanks for not leaving me," she says quietly. "I don't think I'd be able to do this whole parenting thing on my own. I want our baby to grow up with their daddy, so I'm really glad that you're still here. I love so much, Grant, so much."


"Are you're sure you're feeling okay? You don't need me to get you anything? Maybe some water? Or something to eat? Or maybe—"

"Skye," Grant cuts her off with a soft look. "I told you I'm fine. All I need is for you to stay right here beside me while I recover."

She smiles at him. "You know there's nowhere else I'd rather be." She lifts herself out of her seat and leans over to give him a kiss. She smiles against his lips. "I love you. I'm so glad you're okay."

"Me too," he tells her. "But you didn't really think I was going to leave you that easily, did you?"

She lets out a breath as she sits back in her seat. "No, I guess not."

"Good," Grant says with a smile. "Because I told you I'm sticking around for a long time and I meant it."

"Knock knock."

Grant and Skye turn their heads towards the hospital room door to see Detectives Mackenzie and Morse standing in the doorway.

"You're here," Skye breathes out.

"Said we would be," Detective Morse tells her as she and her partner move further into the room.

"Skye, who are they?" Grant asks his girlfriend, concern and worry etched on his face.

"They're detectives, babe."

Grant sucks in a breath and stiffens. "Do you really think that having two detectives in the same room as me is such a good idea?"

She places a hand on his shoulder. "Relax, Grant, they're here to help you."

"I've been associated with Hydra my entire life, Skye. Detectives don't help me, they try to arrest me or kill me as soon as they see me."

"We're here to investigate the shooting," Morse tells him. "That's all, I promise. We just want to get the guy that did that to you." She gestures to his stomach.

"Well there won't be much investigating to do," Grant says, shifting in the bed. "I know who did it."

"Your brother?" Mack asks.

Grant nods. "More than likely it was him. He hates my guts because he found out that I want to get out of Hydra."

"Was he the one who actually shot you?" Morse asks.

"Probably. But he also could have told someone else to do it. My dad might be the head of Hydra, but Joey definitely runs things in there."

"Is there anyone in particular he would have had do this?"

"Um, maybe. I don't know, though. A lot of those guys will do anything Joey says without arguing because they're scared of him."

"Wait," Skye says. "I uh, when Joey called me he made a comment about our car. I think he might have been following you."

"Wouldn't be too surprising."

"Mr. Ward, do you—"

"It's just Grant," he says.

"Grant, do you know if your brother owns a motorcycle?"

Grant nods. "Yeah. Most of the higher ups in Hydra do. But Joey's is customized."

"Okay, can you tell me what it looks like?"

"It's just a standard black bike. But it has a large dark red Hydra symbol painted on the front of it. So people know it's him when he's coming."

"How very egotistical of him," Skye comments.

"Would he ever let anyone else drive his bike?" Morse asks.

Grant shakes his head. "No, he doesn't let anyone go near that thing."

"Alright. And do you think he'd try to come back and finish the job?"

"Possibly. Joey's always been kind of unstable. I wouldn't put it past him to try again."

"The doctor said they recovered a .45 caliber bullet from your wound with characteristics consistent with a Glock 37," Mack says. "Would Joey have access to that kind of gun?"

Grant nods. "Well yeah. Joey owns a Glock 37. He's the only one in Hydra who does. Everyone else just has regular handguns."

"That's very good news for this investigation," Mack says. "I promise you both that we'll do our best to find your brother and put him away for a very long time so he can't hurt you again."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," Grant says bitterly.

"Grant," Skye hisses.

"Hey, I'm sorry, babe. But I learned a long time ago not to trust the words of cops. So forgive me if I'm not too inclined to believe their promise."

"That's fine," Morse tells him. "You don't have to believe us. Doesn't mean we won't keep our word."

"Well I'll believe it when Joey's behind bars. So good luck. You'll definitely need it with him."


So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I told you it wasn't going to be all rainbows and butterflies, but things are okay now.

ONLY ONE MORE CHAPTER AND THEN THE EPILOGUE! AGH!

Until next time,
Jellybean96 out!