Hey guys! Here's the new chapter! It was pretty difficult for me to write, mainly because I literally have no idea how legal things or justice things work, so sorry if it makes no sense (I get all my info from Law and Order: SVU and I know that's not a reliable source :P ).

If you guys want to start submitting prompts for the one-shot collection, you can do that here or over on my tumblr page! Thanks for reading and as always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own xx


Skye wasn't really sure what happened after that. She remembered someone getting close to her but she couldn't focus on anything other than the dead body in front of her. He was dead. She didn't like him and he had kidnapped her, but he didn't deserve to be dead.

He was dead and his blood was on her and it was starting to get cold. She was shivering and her throat was starting to hurt so she stopped screaming.

She felt like she wasn't there inside of her body. It felt like she was seeing everything in a daze and she didn't know what was happening. There were voices and movement going on around her and she couldn't focus on anything.

The person closest to her was saying something but she couldn't hear what it was, everything sounded muted and distorted. She saw a hand reach towards her and that kind of snapped her out of her daze. She flinched back and looked at the person whose hand was extended towards her. It was one of the people in black. She didn't think that she liked them very much. They were dangerous.

He said something else but she didn't hear him. She saw him sigh and reach forward, but this time he didn't stop when she flinched back, he just grabbed her gently and lifted her up. She tried to scream again but her throat was raw so nothing really came out, but that didn't stop her from kicking and hitting at the guy. It didn't seem to have any effect on him.

Suddenly it was bright out and she was squinting in the sunlight and when her eyes adjusted, she felt herself being placed on an uncomfortable cot in an ambulance. A woman in a uniform reached for her and she jerked away and whimpered. Why wouldn't anyone leave her alone?

She saw a different hand reach for her and flinched again. She recognized the ring that decorated this hand though. She looked up and into May's worried face. Phil was standing right beside her looking relieved and nervous. She knew that she should be happy, ecstatic that she was back with her family, but she just felt empty. She didn't know what was going on.

May went to put her hand on Skye's arm but she involuntarily jerked away. May changed directions and placed it on the cot beside her instead. "Skye, you need to let the nice paramedic look over you. She's going to make sure that you're alright okay? She's very nice and won't hurt you, I promise."

Skye listened to what May was saying and it took her a couple of seconds to understand. She had to let the lady look over her. She was nice. She wouldn't hurt her. May promised, and May never broke her promises.

She didn't say anything, but when the paramedic reached for her again, she forced herself to sit still and let her check her over. She didn't like it. She didn't want a stranger's hands all over her, but May said that she needed to do it so that they would know that she was okay so she allowed it.

She knew she should say something. She should tell them how much she had missed them and that she was happy that they had found her, but her voice wasn't working. Whenever she went to say something, it felt like she was being strangled. Words were clawing their way up her throat and if she let them out, she didn't know what would happen. It was safer to just stay silent. Words can hurt. They hurt people and they make bad things happen and they make everything worse and it was better to just be quiet.

She still felt detached from herself but it was getting better. She was now aware of everything going on around her but it didn't make her feel any more like herself.

The paramedic finished what she was doing and she heard her tell May and Phil that she was fine. She didn't feel fine.

Another woman, this one in a police officer uniform, walked over and smiled. She tilted her head and stared at her. Who was she?

The lady said something to her but she had stopped listening once the paramedic said that she was done. She stared blankly at the lady before the older woman turned to May and Phil and said something else. May nodded and turned back to her. She leaned forward and Skye focused on her, "Skye? Officer Anderson needs a quick statement from you okay? Then we can take you home."

Home. She wanted to go home. She focused on the officer and tried to listen to what she said, "Hello Skye. We just need you to confirm or deny that the man inside, Calvin Zabo, was the man who kidnapped and restrained you."

She focused on the words that were being spoken to her. She knew that if she answered she could go home, but she couldn't make her voice work.

The officer lady smiled gently at her, "Okay, if it was him who took you, nod your head, if it was someone else, shake your head."

Skye nodded at her and the lady thanked her before turning to May and Phil again. She started talking again but Skye ignored her. She answered the question. She could go home now.


Officer Anderson was talking to her but she was only half listening, she was mostly focused on Skye. May's heart ached as she studied her little girl. The blank look in her eyes was like a punch to her stomach and all she wanted to do was wrap the little girl up in a hug but she knew that Skye still needed some space.

She was still trying to recover from everything that had happened. When they had arrived on scene, the officers had forced them to stay outside by the car while most of them went into the house. She thought that those minutes of unknown silence were going to be the worst part but she was wrong. So wrong.

There had been four gunshots and three police officers had had to restrain her and Phil from rushing into the house. There was distant screaming coming from inside the house and May could feel her heart breaking and tears running down her face as she listened to it.

Then she had seen a tall man carrying a kicking Skye out of the house with blood on her clothes and her heart had literally stopped. She couldn't catch her breath and the police officer holding her back couldn't stop her from rushing to the ambulance that Skye was set in. She was desperate to see if she was alright and to hold her, but when she leaned in to hug the little girl, Skye had flinched back. That had hurt. It had hurt a lot, but she had shaken it off and focused solely on Skye. She looked her over and couldn't find any injuries, but she needed the paramedic to check and make sure.

Officer Anderson put a hand on her arm and pulled her back to the present. May focused on her and listened as the officer's voice lowered as she told them what happened. May checked to make sure that Skye couldn't hear but that didn't seem to be a problem because the little girl appeared to be staring off into space. Her heart clenched at the sight.

Officer Anderson had told them what went on in the house and was now telling them what would be happening in the future, "The case is pretty much closed. Now that Skye identified Calvin Zabo as her kidnapper, we don't have to continue investigating. Usually we would need Skye to issue a more formal statement, but I don't think the judge will push her for it. It's a relatively simple case and you should be able to take her home now."

She nodded and Phil said, "Okay, thank you."

"Just doing my job sir. I'll have an officer bring Natasha and Trip back to your house in your car. Let me know when you're ready to leave and I'll drop you off at your house."

The officer nodded at them and then walked away. She glanced at Phil before taking a deep breath and turning back to Skye. She was still staring blankly ahead of her except now her eyelids were drooping. Her adrenaline must have started to wear off.

She moved closer but made sure not to touch Skye, she didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable or nervous. She wanted Skye to feel like she was in control here.

"You feeling sleepy?"

The little girl didn't say anything but she started to sway a little.

Phil stepped closer, to catch her if she fell, but May put a hand on his arm. He looked at her and then back at Skye before saying, "Why don't you lie down sweetie? It's okay to take a nap."

She watched as Skye fought to stay awake but eventually she slowly laid down on the cot and closed her eyes. She saw her breathing deepen and her whole body relaxed.

She felt Phil wrap and arm around her and she turned and hugged him tightly, "I thought…"

She felt him place a kiss on the top of her head, "I know."

She pressed her face against his chest. "The gunshots…" Her voice cracked against her own will.

"I know. Me too."

They stood there for a couple of minutes, finding solace in each other, before she let out a deep breath, "Let's go home."

He nodded and leaned into the ambulance to gently pick Skye up. He held her close and she went and found Officer Anderson to tell her that they were ready to leave.

They both sat in the backseat and Phil made sure that Skye was in a comfortable position before Officer Anderson drove off.

She knew that the paramedic had a said that Skye was fine, but she needed to see for herself. She gently grabbed Skye's arm and inspected it, then she did the same with her other arm, and then both of her legs. It hadn't escaped her attention that Skye was wearing a different set of clothes, but when she carefully pulled up Skye's shirt to exam her belly and waist, she didn't see any bruises or marks even though her clothes were stained with blood.

After completing her inspection and feeling content with the results, she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Skye's forehead. She could finally breathe again.

Officer Anderson pulled up to their house and they thanked her before getting out of the car and walking to their front door. She unlocked it and followed Phil up to Skye's room. She watched as he set her down on her bed and pulled her sheets over her tiny body. She grabbed the desk chair and pulled it up close to the bed and sat on it. She wasn't going to take her eyes off of Skye until she woke up. She didn't know if she would ever feel comfortable leaving Skye alone again.

She saw Phil walk up with the chair that belonged to the desk in their room and set it on the other side of the bed. They both sat there and watched Skye sleep for a couple of minutes before they heard the front door slam open and two sets of feet run up the stairs. She looked over to the door and saw Natasha and Trip run up and halt when they reached the doorway. They looked in and Trip looked like he was about to say something before May quickly got up and shushed them. She led them down the hall so that they could talk without waking Skye up.

Natasha was still looking at Skye's doorway when she said, "Mom is she okay?"

"She will be."

Trip gave her a look, "What happened?"

She took a deep breath and hurriedly told them what had happened. She told them about Skye's father not letting her go, the policeman who had gotten shot but had luckily been wearing Kevlar so he was alright, how Calvin Zabo had been shot and had died in front of Skye. Her two kids listen raptly and when she finished, they didn't say anything.

She put a hand on each of their shoulders, "Listen guys, she's been through a lot and I don't want to overwhelm her when she wakes up, so I think it would be best if you guys waited to see her until after we've talked to her."

Natasha was about to protest but May gently squeezed her shoulder, "I know you don't want to wait but I think it would be best for Skye."

Natasha and Trip looked at each other before both of them nodded. "Thanks guys, I know this has been hard on you both."

Trip shook his head, "Not as hard as it was on Skye. I wish we could erase all of this from her memory."

May leaned in and kissed his forehead and said, "Me too sweetie."

She then leaned in and kissed Natasha's forehead before saying, "You guys have both been troopers, and I know that we can help her get-" She instantly stopped when she heard a scream come from Skye's room. Natasha and Trip looked like they wanted to go investigate, but she gave them a look and they stayed where they were before she ran into Skye's room.


Skye's own, hoarse, scream woke her up. She was happy that it did.

She had been dreaming of when Crazy Cal had been lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood. In her dream, he had reached towards her like he had before and mumbled something before closing his eyes. This time though, instead of sitting still, she found herself crawling closer to his body. She leaned in close to his face and when she was about to lean back, his eyes flew open and the hand that had been reaching for her had shot up and tightly grabbed her arm. She screamed in her dream, and apparently she had in real life, because she woke herself up.

She shot up and scrambled back until she hit her head on her headboard. She grabbed the back of her head and looked around.

She was back in her room. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep on the uncomfortable cot in the ambulance. She looked to her right and jerked back when she saw someone sitting in a chair beside her. For a second she could swear that it was Crazy Cal, but then she looked closer and saw that it was just Phil.

He gave her a gentle smile and said, "It's okay sweetie. You're home and you're safe."

She heard footsteps getting closer and turned to the door as soon as May ran in. The older woman stopped when she saw Skye. She glanced at Phil before smiling at her and slowly walking closer.

May stopped when she got to the left side of her bed. She sat down on a chair and leaned forward a little, "Hey baby, how're you feeling?"

Skye didn't say anything. She was telling herself that it was because her throat was still a little sore, but if she was being honest with herself, it was partially because she didn't know what to say and partially because she couldn't get the words to come out of her throat.

Her silence didn't seem to faze May or Phil. She saw May's fingers twitch towards her but the older woman stopped herself, "We were so scared Skye. God, we were so afraid that we wouldn't get there-" She stopped talking when Skye held her hands up.

She couldn't…she couldn't hear this. She didn't mean to make May scared. She didn't think that May could get scared. She, on the other hand, got scared all the time. Saying that she was afraid didn't seem to encompass everything that she was feeling. She was afraid and angry, she felt restless and tired at the same time. She had so much going on inside of her that she couldn't even tell what each emotion was.

She felt everything bubbling up inside her though. Everything was accumulating and she had been so frightened that she would never be able to see her family again and she still didn't feel safe even though she was with her mom and dad and that made her feel even worse.

She couldn't stop the tears, just like she couldn't stop the frustrated scream that escaped from her. It hurt when it broke free, but it made her feel better so she screamed again. She grabbed the sheets in front of her and screamed one more time, tears were streaming down her face and her throat was raw and aching, but it helped release some of the restlessness inside of her. She took a deep breath and looked back to May.

The older woman didn't seem like she was mad at her for being so loud, she just looked concerned and sympathetic. She looked like she was going to cry and that made Skye feel guilty. When she glanced at Phil, he had the same look on his face.

He tilted his head towards her, "Did that help?"

She considered it and nodded.

He reached forward and grabbed a pillow that had fallen to the floor. He set it on the bed in front of her. She gave him a questioning look.

"Hit it."

He wanted her… to hit the pillow? Maybe she wasn't hearing him right.

He pushed the pillow a little closer to her, "You can hit it if you want. I know your throat is sore and this might help you feel better. Hit it Skye."

Skye stared at the pillow for a second before weakly punching it. She looked back to Phil and he arched an eyebrow, "I know you can do better than that."

Skye looked back to the pillow and punched it harder. It did make her feel a little better. She hit it again and again and soon enough she was sobbing again and she didn't even know why, there was just so much going on inside of her. She stopped punching the pillow and sagged a little.

She stared at her hands until she heard May speak up, "We're sorry Skye. We're sorry that you went through that and we're sorry that you don't feel safe anymore. We would both do anything to go back and stop that from happening and-"

May was babbling. Skye had never heard her babble before, she was always so calm and collected.

Hearing May sound so afraid and unsure of herself made something in Skye break. She couldn't take it anymore. She abruptly stood up on her bed and May stopped talking. Before she could think about it, she took a step forward and leapt over to May. The older woman caught her, she always did, and Skye quickly wrapped herself around her. Her legs and arms tightened around May's waist and neck and she buried her face in the crook of her neck. She felt May wrap one arm around her back and one arm started combing through her hair. The familiar action comforted her.

She finally felt safe. Wrapped up in May's arms, she finally felt like she was home and everything that had happened for the past two days didn't feel like it was going to completely overwhelm her. It was still there of course, but now she was able to push it to the back of her mind by focusing on May's flowery scent and how soft her skin was.

She pressed her face closer to May's neck and took a deep breath. The tightness in her throat loosened, the knot in her tummy started to unravel, her tears slowed down.

She twisted her head a little so that only her forehead was resting against May's shoulder. She tightened her already tight hold on the older woman and whispered, "I missed you."

She felt and heard May suck in a deep breath and when she replied, her voice cracked, "I missed you too. We all did."

She pressed her face closer to May and heard her say, "I love you. I love you so much. We both do."

They sat like that for a couple of minutes, with May whispering soothing words into her ear and pressing kisses to the top of her head, and Skye felt herself slowly relax as she listened to May's steady heartbeat. She was home. She was with her family. She was safe. She kept repeating that in her mind and it helped to comfort her.

She heard Phil speak up, "It's almost dinner time sweetie. Why don't you go take a shower and I'll make your favorite? Spaghetti and meatballs."

Skye turned her head and nodded at him. He smiled at her, stood up, and made his way over to her. He stooped down and pressed a kiss to the top of her head before whispering, "I love you sweetie."

She reached up and pressed a hand against his cheek. He turned his head and kissed her palm before walking out the door.

May continued stroking her hair, "I don't know about you, but I'm pretty hungry. Let's get you cleaned up and then we can help Phil finish dinner okay?"

Skye nodded and May stood up and went to set her down but Skye clung to her. She didn't want to let go.

May just repositioned her and grabbed some pajamas from her dresser before walking down the hall and into the bathroom. She put the pajamas onto the counter and turned the water on. She went to set Skye down again but Skye refused to let go.

May started swaying gently and said, "It's shower time Skye."

Skye nodded but didn't move.

"Are you going to get down?"

She took a deep breath, loosened her hold on May, and let the older woman set her down. She took off her clothes and handed them to May, "I'm just going to throw everything away."

Skye stared at her boots and May noticed, "I'll get you some new ones."

Skye nodded and stepped into the shower. She quickly washed her hair and body. She periodically peeked through the curtains and checked to see if May was still there. She always was.

She finished her shower, turned the water off, and stepped out and into the towel May was holding open for her. She dried off and put on her pajamas. She turned around and let May comb through her hair. She felt ten times better now that she was clean and in her clothes.

Once her hair was detangled, she turned back around and looked up at May.

She leaned down to brush Skye's bangs out of her eyes, "Feel a little better?"

Skye nodded.

"Good. Let's go to the kitchen."

May turned to walk out of the bathroom and Skye scurried after her and tightly gripped her pant leg with both hands. She felt May's hand come down and pet her head and that made her calm down a little bit.

They made their way to the kitchen, Skye practically on top of May, and she saw Phil stirring two different pots on the stovetop. May walked up to him and he grinned down at her, "Dinner's almost ready."

May pecked his cheek, "I'll set the table."

The older woman stepped away, so Skye transferred her grip from her leg to Phil's. He transferred the spoon that he was stirring with to his left hand and ran his other one over her damp hair. She kept one hand clenched tightly to his leg and raised up the other one. He set the spoon down and lifted her up and placed her on his hip. She wrapped an arm around his neck and watched May set the table behind him.

She listen to him hum a song from Tangled and it was nice even though he was off key. He moved over to the sink to strain the water from the spaghetti noodles and she heard footsteps descending the staircase. She looked over and saw Natasha and Trip approaching cautiously.

They walked into the kitchen and stood a couple of feet away from her and Phil. She stared at them and waited to see what they would do. Trip stepped forward and held something in front of him, "Here Skye. I kept them safe with me."

She reached forward and gingerly took Alice and Rapunzel away from him. She cradled the dolls to her chest. She made sure that they were okay before looking back to Trip and tugging her lips up into a half-smile. He leaned forward and ruffled her hair, "I'm happy you're back and safe."

She nodded and he grinned at her before joining May in the dining room.

She watched him leave and then turned to Natasha. They both stared at each other. She felt Phil walk back over to the stove but she didn't take her eyes off of Nattie. Was she going to say anything? Maybe she didn't feel like talking. Skye could understand that.

She watched as Natasha fidgeted from foot to foot and looked away from her. When the older girl looked back, Skye saw something she had never seen before. Natasha was crying. Tears were falling silently onto her cheeks and she didn't make a noise.

Skye wiggled around and Phil set her down. She kept her dolls in her hand and walked over to Nattie. She gave her a questioning look but her sister didn't say anything. She looked at her Rapunzel doll and smoothed out her hair before offering her to Natasha. Her dolls always helped to make her feel better, maybe they could help Nattie. Her sister looked at it for a second before taking Rapunzel from her and holding the doll against her chest. She was still crying silently.

Skye didn't know why Natasha was crying, she just knew that she didn't like seeing her upset. She wasn't sure what she could do to make it better. She thought about it for a second before taking a step forward and wrapping her arms around Nattie's waist. Hugs usually helped.

Natasha didn't move for a moment. Skye was about to pull back and pretend that that hadn't happened, but then she heard a sob escape from Natasha and felt arms wrap around her back. Natasha tugged her closer and Skye lost her footing. They ended up tumbling to the floor with Skye landing mostly on top of her sister but Natasha didn't seem to mind so Skye didn't mind either.

She leaned back a little so that she could look at Natasha's face and saw that she still had tears running down her cheeks. She lifted a hand up and wiped the tears away. Natasha gave her a wobbly smile and said, "I was so scared Skye. I missed you so much."

Natasha's words made her feel like she was going to cry but she forced herself not to because she had already cried a lot today. Instead, she reached for Natasha's hand and placed it over her chest. Whenever she was upset, it made her feel better when she could feel May or Phil's heartbeat. Maybe that would help Natasha too.

It seemed to do the trick because her tears stopped and she took a deep breath. Nattie leaned forward and kissed her forehead, "I love you."

She pressed a kiss to one cheek, "I love you," and then the other, "I love you," and then to her nose, "I love you."

Hearing that made her want to explode with happiness and break down and dissolve into a puddle of tears at the same time. Instead of doing either, she leaned forward wrapped herself tighter around Nattie.

"I love you too."


What'd you guys think? I know a lot of you were waiting for some hardcore cuddles but I couldn't see Skye initially reacting that way. I'm sorry if that's disappointing!

Leave a review and let me know what you thought! What do you think is gonna happen next? Also, who's excited for Jurassic World? Chris Pratt is such husband material and I'm ready for it to come out already :)

Thank you so much for reading! xx -Ariel