Ward boarded the bus beside Garrett, still seething. This was something more than the usual Berserker rage.

"Why did you take the gloves off?" Garrett's voice snapped him to attention.

"I wanted to be stronger," Ward said coldly. "You never know when someone might issue a kill order on me."

"Oh, god," Garrett rolled his eyes. "We've been over this. The girl was never going to let you die, and you know it."

"I didn't," Ward said. "I didn't know that. You took a major chance."

"There was no chance," Garrett said, making his way into the lab room. Ward followed, still fighting to control the rage pulsing through him. "I knew she wouldn't let you die. Just like I knew you wouldn't let her die."

"Sir?"

"You won't do what needs to be done, Ward," Garrett said softly, but his words twisted through Ward like a knife. "Not when it comes to the girl."

"I have done everything you asked since the day we met. I have sacrificed and I have trained and I have bled for you. I have done what needs to be done," Ward snarled. "I have done it over and over again, so don't you dare"—

Garrett gasped suddenly, and clutched his side. "Grant"—

He hadn't called him that in years.

Garrett staggered, and fear shot through Ward.

"John"—

He fell, and Ward caught him in his arms, all the rage erased suddenly by fear. "John"—

He lifted Garrett, shouting for someone to help, and they carried him to the lab.

Raina looked up as they came in, and then a slow smile dawned across her face as if she had just figured something out.

"Get out of here," Ward snarled, grabbing Garrett's med kit. When Raina didn't move, he grabbed her shoulder roughly and nearly threw her into the grasp of one of Garrett's soldiers. "I said get her out of here! All of you!"

When they were gone, Ward bent over Garrett and began hooking up the stabilizing agent to Garrett's metal cyborg plate. "This will stabilize you for now," Ward said. "John? Do you hear me?"

Garrett's hand closed over Ward's, and Ward was astounded to feel how fragile the man's grip felt. "I hear you," he said feebly, and Ward felt his whole body go cold at how weak his mentor's voice sounded.

Ward helped him to sit up, his arms him. "John?" he asked softly, after Garrett had coughed hoarsely, his whole body shaking, and then, finally, sat up straighter. "How do you feel?"

"Better," Garrett said shortly.

"It hasn't happened this badly in a while," Ward said, stepping back and looking down at Garrett, his forehead creased in worry.

"Yes it has." The words were spoken quietly, but they hit Ward like a punch in the gut. "The centipede serum is the only thing keeping me alive, but I don't have long. My organs are failing." Garrett said the words as if it were nothing, but Ward saw the fear in his eyes.

It was a fear he recognized.

We survive, me and Garrett.

That's what we do.

We survive together.

And the thought that there could be a world without John Garrett sent waves of panic coursing through him.

"Raina needs to hurry," Ward said curtly.

"Now do you understand, Ward? Why I needed to have that hard drive decrypted so quickly?" Garrett said, sitting up.

Ward helped him to his feet. "Of course, sir. And I'm"—

"Sorry?" Garrett barked out a laugh. "Of course you are. Apologies always come late with you, don't they?"

Ward rubbed his forehead, flinching inwardly at the words. "I shouldn't have doubted your reasons, sir."

"I was never going to let you die, and you know that," Garrett said fiercely, and Ward avoided his gaze, hating himself for that little whisper of doubt still nagging at the back of his mind. "Next time you could at least give me the courtesy of a little trust before you jump down my throat about the orders I give."

"Of course, sir," Ward said.

Garrett slapped his shoulder, and then bent over slightly, taking a long breath. Worry obliterated everything else in Ward's mind once again.

"You should rest, sir," Ward said gently, placing a hand on Garrett's shoulder. "And you shouldn't get close to any kind of combat or action until we've fixed this. When was the last time you had one of these attacks?"

Garrett looked up at him sharply, and it was a long moment before he answered, "The last time I had to… exert myself," he said. "So right before you left to get the hard drive."

Ward felt the guilt hit him like a physical force. He had needed to take a beating to make his cover believable; he had asked Garrett to hit him, as he always asked. Whether he had asked because it made him stronger or because it was relief, he never really questioned, but now the knowledge tore at him. He had been selfish. So selfish.

He had forced Garrett to give him his cover and it had made Garrett weaker.

And for that, Ward would never forgive himself.

"You should get some rest," Ward said softly, wishing it could convey the depth of the regret he felt. "I can take care of things for now."

Garrett nodded and placed a hand on his arm. "I trust you, kid."

Ward helped Garrett to the bunk that had been his during his time on the bus, and on his way back to the lab to find Raina, he passed by Skye's old bunk. On the shelf was one of the few possessions Skye had brought with her—a small doll in a hula skirt.

Ward felt the small smile twist his lips involuntarily, and then he stopped himself.

He needed to focus, and that meant he needed to be everything Garrett needed. And being everything Garrett needed meant leaving behind the memories of Skye. Of his team.

It meant, as it always did with Garrett, leaving everything behind and focusing on what he needed to do.

We're survivors, no matter what.

So I will do it. I'll do anything, for him.

What needs to be done.