Chapter 29
Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Everything belongs to their rightful owners and I am not making any profit from this.
AN: Thank you to all who have added to alerts, read, reviewed or any combination of the three. It means a lot to me.
AN2: Thank you so much for everyone who reads this story. There are more notes at the bottom so read them one you finish this chapter.
After they leave the Bus, Stark, Clint, Coulson, Melinda, Natasha and Ward through trees for about fifteen minutes.
"Time to fan out. Good luck." Clint says and He and Coulson continue to go straight while Melinda and Natasha goes off to the left and Ward and Stark go to the right. Coulson and Clint watch Melinda and Natasha as they go.
"You ready for this?" Clint ask his friend once Melinda and Natasha are no longer in sight.
"I'm ready for this to be over." Coulson responds and the pair kneel down at the edge of the trees because they have to wait five minutes before they do anything because that is what they agreed on.
"Well hopefully within an hour it will be." Clint tells Coulson as that is the estimated completion time for the mission.
"Hopefully."
After splitting away from the others Natasha and Melinda head to where they know they will be able to enter the basement.
"Time?" Natasha asks Melinda.
"Two minutes, thirty seconds." Melinda answers "I see one outside guard and no sign of any others, you?"
"The same. It doesn't look like there are any more outside." Natasha tells her "Inside is another matter." She reminds Melinda.
For the next two minutes and thirty seconds they wait silently "Now." Melinda tells Natasha who throws her widow's bite at the one guard.
Once the guard is incapacitated Melinda and Natasha run past him and into the basement entrance. As soon as they enter they find two guards waiting for them which they take down before they can ever react.
"You know you could have just brought a gun with you." Natasha tells Melinda who picked up the gun that one of the guards dropped.
"There was no point, I knew I could take one." Melinda tells her friend.
"Only you." Natasha tells her friend "I'd say they knew we were coming." Natasha comments spotting the six guards that are walking down the other end of the hallway.
"It's fitting, when have we ever done things the easy way?" Melinda ask and the two friends attack and manage to incapacitate the guards.
Once the guards are dealt with they continue to move through the basement, "Agent May." A familiar voice says.
"Mike?" Melinda asks shocked.
"You know this guy?" Natasha asks her friend surprised when Mike walks out of the shadows clearly badly burnt with a metal leg.
"Yeah." Melinda tells her friend "Mike what happened to you? We thought you died." Melinda tells him.
"I wish I did." Mike tells Melinda, "I wish I wasn't this." He tells her.
"Where's Quinn? We're here to stop him." Melinda tells him.
"I know, and my orders are to stop you." Mike reveals.
"You've got the eye tec, the failsafe." Melinda realises.
"I'm sorry." Mike responds. "If there was any other way, I would but there's not. I'm sorry." He tells her.
"I know." Melinda tells him. "And I'm sorry for what we have to do." Melinda tells him.
Without another word from either side Mike attacks. Natasha and Melinda were both expecting it so they manage to avoid it and Natasha manages to get in a shot with her Widow Bites, but it only slows him down for a second. Even though it's two against one Mike has the advantage due to his strength but Melinda and Natasha don't let that faze them and they manage to put a pretty good fight. They just keep fighting. More than once it seems like one of them is going to go down but the other steps in and prevents it from happening. They are busy fighting that they don't notice a figure at the end of the hallway who throws something down that renders all three of them unconscious.
A few minutes later Melinda and Natasha wake up in a different part of the basement but they think that no time has passed.
"Tasha?" Melinda asks when she realises that she is no longer mid fight, looking at the person who is hanging from the roof next to her "What's going on?"
"No idea." Natasha responds clearly also just woken up "But let's get out of here." She says using the device on her bracelet to cut through Melinda's ropes then her own.
"Huh, you really shouldn't be awake yet." Quinn comments surprised walking in the door just as Natasha gets herself free.
"Yeah well, you should do you're research. We always do what we shouldn't." Natasha tells Quinn.
"I know." Quinn tells her drawing a gun, but before he can say anymore both Natasha and Melinda attack, knocking him unconscious before he has a chance to do anything, but just as they do they hear four gun shots, Melinda goes down and Natasha feels a pain in her side.
"My orders weren't to hurt her, but oh well, I'm sure I'll be forgiven. Luckily I can't say the same for you." Rania says walking towards Natasha but before she can do anymore Natasha has picked up the gun that Quinn attempted to use and fired back killing her with a head shot.
"Melinda!" Natasha says racing to her friends' side.
"No need to be so worried, she's a bad shot." Melinda assures her friend though it is clear that she is having difficulty speaking.
"Yeah I see that." Natasha comments knowing that it's not true as Rania has shot Melinda once in the stomach, once in the lower chest and once in the shoulder.
"I've survived worse." Melinda assures her friend.
"You've got to stay with me Linda, okay. Stay with me." Natasha tells her friend as she rips Quinn's shirt and begins to hold pressure on the wounds.
"COULSON, CLINT GET DOWN HERE NOW!" Natasha Yells as loud as she can hoping that they hear her.
"Just, hold on Linda, keep fighting, just like we always do." Natasha tells her friend as Melinda's eyes drift closed.
After leaving the plane Skye flew Lola in the direction that she knows the team is went in. She knows that if she was asked how she knew she would never be able to explain it all she knows is that something has happened to her mother.
"Do you even know how to fly this thing?" Simmons asks Skye clearly afraid as she flies them through the trees narrowly missing them.
"I've watched Dad." Skye responds.
"So that's a no then." Simmons realises clutching the side of the car as she comes to the realisation that Skye driving with one hand in plaster probably isn't helping matters, "Explain it again, how do you know something's happened to your mother?" Simmons asks her friend.
"I can't, I just know." Skye explains "It's kind of like when I'm hacking something and I just know what to do. I just know that something's happened to her, I don't know what or how I know, I just do." Skye explains.
"What the hell are you doing?" Stark asks shocked flying next to the car.
"Something's happened to Mom." Skye responds.
"How do you know? None of us are on Coms." Stark tells her.
"I can't explain it, I just know." Skye says as she lands the car outside the front of the place and runs inside, Simmons and Stark right behind her.
"Skye what are you doing here?" Ward asks confused.
"Where's my Mom?" Skye asks him.
"What?" He asks Confused. "You can't be here." He tells her.
"Agh! You're no help." Skye tells him. "Please work." She says to herself as she closes her eyes and focuses on that knowing feeling she has and hopes it will somehow tell her what she needs to know. "Downstairs." She realises and she runs downstairs, Simmons and Stark right behind her.
Skye follows that knowing feeling that she has and it leads her to a room in the basement "MOM." She yells as she runs in and sees Natasha on one side of her mother and her Dad on the other, both of them trying to slow the bleeding. As soon as she runs in Clint grabs hold of her stopping her from going to her mother's side.
"Move." Simmons tells Coulson as she kneels down next to her "What happened?" She asks Natasha knowing that because Natasha was partnered with Melinda she would know.
"She was shot by a woman in a flower dress, never did get a name" Natasha answers "What are you doing here?" She asks.
"Skye knew something had happened." Simmons answers.
"Simmons? Is she going to be okay?" Coulson asks.
"I need equipment." Simmons tells him.
"She's stopped breathing." Natasha realises and she and Simmons get started on CPR.
"NO." Skye says managing to somehow break free of Clint's hold on her. "No, no. Mom come on!" Skye says as tears begin to roll down her face. "You're not allowed to die, come on." Skye tells her and Natasha and Simmons continue to do CPR.
"There's not enough blood to circulate." Simmons realises stopping the CPR.
"NO MELINDA NO." Coulson yells "DON'T DO THIS TO ME, COME ON MEL." He yells his voice more broken than anyone in the room has ever heard it.
"Phil, Skye." Clint says kneeling down next to his best friend and Niece, his voice barely above and whisper and sounding like every syllable is causing her pain.
"No I told you, no." Skye says "She can't die. MOM COME ON PLEASE." She begs.
"Skye." Clint tells her it being perfectly clear that he is doing his best to keep his voice steady.
"NO." Skye repeats " . ." She tells her mother and she places her plastered hand on her mother's chest and everyone sees what looks like a beam of blue-white light go from Skye to Melinda.
"She's breathing." Natasha says shocked a second later, thirty seconds after Melinda stopped breathing.
"That's not possible, she's lost almost all of her blood volume." Simmons says shocked and then checking and seeing that Natasha right Melinda's heart is beating and she is breathing but she still has all of her wounds.
"Skye?" Coulson asks his daughter shocked.
"She'll be okay if you can get her help within the next four hours, I can't keep it up for longer than that." Skye tells Simmons having no idea how she knows what she is saying "Sleep time." She says before collapsing.
"SKYE!" Coulson yells concerned.
"She's fine, she just collapsed." Clint assures Coulson after checking Skye. "What the hell just happened?" he asks completely shocked
"I think we would all like to know that." Stark comments sounding just as shocked.
"It's going to have to wait until we get back to the bus. They need to get back there." Coulson says looking between his daughter and the woman he loves.
"I can take Melinda and Simmons back in seconds." Stark offers.
"Do it." Coulson tells him.
"You're cars outside, Skye left the keys in it." Simmons tells Coulson.
"I'll take Skye back in her." Coulson comments.
"Everything is secure upstairs." Ward says not realising what he is walking into "What happened?" Ward asks noticing Melinda and Skye on the ground and everyone in the room looking like they have been crying and completely shocked.
"Not now Ward." Coulson tells him.
"We take Quinn with us, everyone else can be held until we can get a S.H.I.E.L.D team out here." Clint orders stepping into the role of leader to keep from falling apart, "Ward take Quinn to the bus." He orders.
"Agent Ward." Clint repeats because the specialist hasn't looked away from Skye. "We think she will be okay but we need to get her back to the bus to know for sure. We need you to secure Quinn, that's what you can do to help her." Clint tells the younger agent.
"Yes sir." Ward comments as Stark carefully picks up Melinda.
"Be careful Stark." Coulson tells him and he nods in responds.
"Hold on to my arm and don't let go." Stark tells Simmons
"Oh, Baby Girl, what did you do?" Coulson asks picking up Skye as Stark flies out of the room.
"You got her?" Natasha asks.
"Yeah, I've got her." Coulson responds as he notices the blood on Natasha's shirt that didn't come from Melinda. "You got hit." He realises.
"It's nothing." Natasha assures him and Clint who is looking at her worriedly "I'm sorry Phil. We had just taken down Quinn when she fired, neither of us could react."
"It's not your fault Tash." Coulson assures his friend "Melinda wouldn't want you to blame yourself, and neither do I." He tells her and the three friends, Skye in Coulson's arms, leave the basement.
Half an hour later everyone is on the bus and Clint has gotten them in the air. Skye and Melinda are laying on the tables while Natasha is sitting on one of the benches being stitched up by Clint as she refused to let Simmons treat her because she didn't want to take Simmons's focus away from Skye and Melinda who need her more.
"Simmons what do you know?" Coulson asks from his position standing between Melinda and Skye.
"Agent May shouldn't be alive Sir, but somehow her brain is still functioning, her heart is still beating, she is breathing and her organs aren't receiving any more damage. It is almost like just her injuries are frozen and the rest of her is acting though its fine and having no problem doing so." Simmons explains.
"How's that possible?" Ward asks confused.
"I don't know. I've never seen or read anything like it. I don't even know what could have caused it." Simmons explains "Whatever Skye did is keeping Agent May alive." She explains.
"What about Skye?" Why did she collapse?" Coulson asks concerned.
"Skye's is fine." Simmons assures the worried father "I check all her vitals and they are perfect, and because I wanted to be sure everything was fine I ran a scan on her brain which is very interesting." Simmons reveals.
"What do you mean?" Natasha asks jumping down from the counter she is sitting on because Clint has finished stitching her up.
"The electrical activity In Skye's brain is off the charts." Fitz explains.
"How is that possible?" Clint asks.
"It shouldn't be." Stark comments "If a person's electrical activity in their brain is too high then it should kill them, it would be like getting struck by lightning constantly." He explains.
"So how is Skye okay?" Coulson asks. "And do you think that is how she brought Melinda back?" he ask.
"It's possible Sir, but I really don't know." Simmons answers. "But I believe that to prevent too many questions being asked wherever we're taking Agent May we should give her blood."
"Will that affect whatever it is that Skye is doing?" Coulson asks.
"I don't know, but I do not believe so." Simmons answers hating that she has no straight answers.
"Where did you program the course for?" Coulson asks Clint.
"Agent Hill's base, it's the closest with the kind of medical facilities we will need" Clint answers.
"How long?"
"From now about an hour and a half."
"Skye said we had four to get Melinda to help." Natasha remembers.
"Which is why we should give her blood, is anyone here the same blood type?" Simmons asks looking at Coulson, Natasha and Clint as she is positive that they would know.
"I am." Clint answers as soon as Simmons finishes the question because after twenty years and many missions he knows that without even having to think about it.
"I'll set it up." Simmons says
"Let me." Natasha says walking over to Simmons being able to tell that the young girl is barely hanging on, "Take a minute." She tells her. "You've done well today."
Simmons nods and exits the Lab, Fitz right behind her.
As Natasha sets up Clint for a blood transfusion Ward leaves the lab and Tony follows to make sure in his own way that he is okay and Pepper leaves to do the same for Tony.
Looking away from Melinda and Skye for the first time Coulson walks over to Natasha and Clint because he knows that there is a conversation that needs to happen before they get to Hill's base, "What do I tell Fury about what Skye did?" Coulson asks his family as he isn't in any state of mind to make the decision by himself at the moment.
"Nothing." Natasha answers without hesitation, "You tell him nothing. We don't know what Skye did, and we don't know how she did it but you know that S.H.I.E.L.D will want to know. It doesn't matter how she did what she did, it doesn't change anything, she is till your daughter and our Niece, and we can't let her be used as S.H.I.E.L.D's latest experiment." Natasha tells Coulson "Fury moved heaven and earth to bring you back, if he found out at a person, that Skye could do that, who knows what he would do to be able to have control of that power. We tell him nothing, we just say that Melinda wasn't in that bad off a condition but she has gotten worse." Natasha tells her friend as she connects the tubing that will take blood from Clint to Melinda.
"Clint?" Coulson asks agreeing with everything that Natasha said but wanting to hear Clint's opinion to.
"Nat's right." Clint answers "I know you trust the system and I respect that, but trusting the system on this could risk Skye. No one can know what she did, because S.H.I.E.L.D will want to use someone like her and you know it. Because of who she is maybe Fury won't want to do anything." He says stressing the maybe, "But the council won't care, they will want to know. We keep it to ourselves and we tell everyone on this plane to keep it to their selves. If Skye wants to know more about her power and what she can do then we help her, not S.H.I. , us." He tells Coulson.
"I though the same thing, but I couldn't trust myself at the moment." Coulson comments once more looking at Melinda and Skye. "She died." He says in a quiet voice.
"I know." Natasha says walking over to her friend and grabbing his hand.
"Dad?" Skye's voice says before Natasha can say anymore.
"Skye." Natasha and Coulson say racing to Skye's side, Clint would have done the same but he is currently connected to Melinda so he is unable to.
"Careful." Coulson tells her as she attempts to sit up "SIMMONS." Coulson yells.
"Ouch Dad. No yelling please, I've already got a headache." Skye tells her father.
"Sorry, are you alright?" Coulson asks concerned.
"Yeah, I'm okay. I feel week but I know that that's how it's meant to be." Skye answers.
"How do you know that?" Natasha asks.
"I don't know, I just do." Skye answers as Simmons and Fitz come back in.
"SKYE." Simmons say's racing to her friend and giving her a hug, Fitz walks over a minute later and puts his arms around both of them.
"Hey guys." She tells them. "I'm okay." She tells them.
"Simmons she says that see feels week and has a headache." Coulson tells the scientists.
"What do you mean week?" Simmons asks her friend after ending the hug.
"I'm draining, like I'm not as strong as I should be, kind of like I have the flu I guess, or maybe like I haven't slept in days." Skye explains trying to think of the best way to describe how she is feeling, "How is she?" She asks as she gets off the table and with shaky steps walks over to Melinda.
"That's hard to say." Simmons tells her friend "She's alive, but I'm a little fuzzy on the how." Simmons tells her friend "Her injuries aren't getting worse and everything is still functioning, how did you do it?" Simmons asks her friend.
"I'm not really sure." Skye admits. "I remember thinking that I didn't want her to die." Skye says attempting to remember what was going on "And then I just knew what I had to do." She answers.
"Which was what?" Coulson asks his daughter.
"Focus." Skye answers thinking back "You know how when you run you put everything you have behind going faster and just keeping going?" She ask and the others nod "I guess it was a bit like that, I put everything I had, all my strength behind the single thought of Mom being alive and staying that way and somehow I did it." She explains as she starts to sway on the spot and Natasha quickly catches her and steady's her.
"Come sit down." Natasha tells Skye leading her over to one of the chairs.
"Why did you say that you can only keep it up for four hours?" Simmons asks
"Simmons, maybe we should hold off questions for now." Coulson comments as he realises that while she may have woken up Skye really doesn't look good.
"No, it's okay." Skye tells her father "Um because that's all I have." Skye realises "I don't know what I'm doing but I know that whatever it is I'm doing is my strength, something inside me, I think maybe to do with my brain is keeping Mom alive, but I only have enough for a few hours, does that make sense?" She asks Simmons confused and uncertain about what she is saying.
"Yes it does." Simmons answers "You have astronomical levels of electrical activity in your brain, with what you just said I think that maybe, somehow you are using that excess to keep your Mother alive." Simmons explains.
"How did you know something was wrong in the first place?" Clint asks curious.
"I just knew." Skye answers "It's was like when I'm hacking and I know what to do I knew that something had happened to Mom." Skye explains.
"Has that ever happened before?" Coulson asks "You knowing something?"
"Except for when I'm hacking no." Skye answers then remembers something "Actually yes." She answers "Do you remember back in Israel before you were hurt when we were in the command centre after you briefed us on the mission and I was worried because it was dangerous?" Skye asks.
"Yeah, I remember." Coulson comments.
"I was worried that something was going to happen to you but at the time I thought that I was worried because I had just found out who you were and I didn't want to lose that, but I think that maybe I knew something was going to happen to you and that's why I was worried." Skye realises, "How could I have known that?" She asks confused.
"I don't know." Coulson tells his daughter.
"Once we get to a S.H.I.E.L.D base we can run more tests and figure out how you can do that." Simmons tells her friend.
"No." Coulson says "No one outside the bus is to know about this, that Skye brought Melinda back or any of this." Coulson tells the Scientist.
"Dad I want to know how I saved Mom, how I know things." Skye tells her father.
"Skye I understand that I do." Coulson says walking over to his daughter "If you want to figure out what this means, what you can do, then Fitz and Simmons can run tests, if that's what you want but the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D can't know about this" Coulson tells his daughter.
"Why not Sir?" Simmons asks confused "It's against protocol." She notes.
"What Skye did today is incredible and shouldn't be possible. Even amongst S.H.I.E.L.D there are people who would want to use a power like this, use Skye. No one not even Director Fury or Agent Hill can know, at least until we figure things out. It's the only way to keep you safe." Clint explains to Skye, "Do you get that?" He asks FitzSimmons and Skye.
"Yeah, I get that." Skye comments though she is now worried about what will happen if someone finds out what she has done.
"You guys will still help me right?" Skye asks FitzSImmons "Help me figure out what this is, and not tell anyone?" She asks her friends.
"Of course." Simmons says without hesitation and Fitz nods.
"I'll go have this talk with the others." Natasha says getting up and leaving the Lab.
"Is my blood helping?" Clint asks Simmons curious.
"I can't really tell." Simmons admits a few minutes later once she has examined Melinda, "The level of blood in her system has defiantly increased which will support the story that Agent May got worse during the travel than how she was in the Field." Skye informs the others.
"I'm sorry I couldn't do more." Skye tells her father.
"Don't." Coulson tells his daughter "Don't you dare blame yourself for this, you brought her back Skye. She had stopped breathing, we had lost her, and you brought her back to us. Don't apologise because you couldn't do more, you did everything." Coulson tells his daughter giving her a hug. "I love you Baby Girl." Coulson whispers into Skye's ear as he hugs her.
"I love you too Dad." Skye says back.
Needing a minute to himself Clint disconnects himself from Melinda and walks down to the back of the Cargo Hold where he rests his forehead against the ramp and allows a few tears to full. He has been standing there for a couple of minutes when he fees a hand on his back and he turns to see Natasha.
"I'm here." Natasha says simply because it has been clear that Clint has been trying to be strong for everyone, be the leader that the others needed and be the rock that, Phil, Skye and her have.
Clint doesn't say a word but he does allow the tears to fall more freely. Natasha also doesn't say anymore she just puts her arms around her partner's shoulders.
Twenty minutes later Clint and Natasha are still at the back of the Cargo Bay and Coulson and Skye are sitting by Melinda's side and FitzSimmons are obsessively monitoring the equipment that is monitoring Melinda. Coulson not looking away from Melinda for a second unless it's to check that Skye is okay. Skye looks out into the Cargo Bay wanting to check to make sure that Clint and Natasha are still out there when she sees Ward standing out there clearly debating whether to come in or not.
"I'll be right back." Skye tells her father then with shaky steps she gets up and walks out to Ward.
"How is she?" Ward asks when Skye exits.
"Alive, somehow." Skye answers.
"How are you?" Ward ask concerned.
"I don't know." Skye answers truthfully, "I know that I can keep her alive for another three hours but I don't know if she will be okay." She explains, "And I don't know how I know that." She tells Ward as she once again sways and almost falls over. "I need to know how I know that." She admits.
"Wow, I've got you." Ward says putting her arms around her to keep her steady "Is whatever you're doing to your Mom, doing this to you?" Ward asks concerned "Don't think, just answer." He tells her.
"Yeah." Skye answers. "It is."
"Will you be okay?" Ward asks not being able to stop himself from thinking of the possibility that to save her Mother Skye may be killing herself.
"Yes." Skye answers and Ward lets go of the breath he didn't even realise he was holding, "That's why I can only keep her alive for four hours, any longer will hurt me permanently and this thing, this power inside me won't let that happen." Skye answers "How do I know that?" She asks looking up at Ward clearly scared. "I don't know, I need to know."
"I don't know, but I have an idea." Ward tells her, wanting to do whatever he can to help because he doesn't like seeing her as scared as she looks now, "Back at the house you closed your eyes and somehow you knew where your mother was, right?" He asks.
"Yeah." Skye answers.
"How did you do that?" He asks.
"Um, I just focused on the fact that I knew she something was wrong." Skye answers remembered "I knew I knew so I focused on that, and I realised that I knew she was in the basement." Skye explains not sure if what she is saying makes any sense.
"I have an idea about something you could try, but only if you think you can handle it." Ward tells Skye neither of them realising that he still has her arms around her "I don't want you to try if it will make things worse." He tells her.
"What's your idea?" Skye asks positive that she will try it no matter what because she needs to know.
"You've been doing Tai-Chi with your mother right? For weeks now, practicing getting yourself into a state of relaxation." Ward comments.
"Yeah, what about it?" Skye asks confused.
"What if you get yourself into that state of relaxation, but then you put your focus into the thought of how you saved May." Ward suggests "It could be similar to what you did at the house." He comments
"It's worth a try." Skye admits.
"Don't try it if you don't think you are strong enough at the moment." Ward tells her as while he knows that she needs to know and he want to help her with that he doesn't want to suggest something that will hurt her more.
"I'll be okay." Skye assures and she closes her eyes and just focus on her breathing.
For several minutes Ward just watches Skye, the entire time he does he regrets suggesting it because what if she isn't strong enough at the moment? What if it's all too much for her?
"I know how I did it." Skye suddenly says before falling forward.
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AN2: So I know this chapter has similarities to episode thirteen and I think I did take some inspiration from that but I have been planning something happening to Melinda since the beginning and this fit perfectly with what else I have planned, oh and even know it doesn't help, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.
