AN: Thanks for the reviews and the motivation! I'm really glad you guys love the chapters that I question what the heck I'm writing! I hope this one works out as well.
NOTE: Please be aware of Agent Coulson (AC= TaintedP) versus Director Coulson (DC= show). If I say "other" then I am talking about the show character. I'm doing my best to not go into the perspectives of the show characters anytime both are present.
Previously: Skye and Ward are stuck in an alternate universe. Ward was falling into a depression, his despair consuming him as he thought about his teammates and how they were dead. With his lack of sleep, his emotional turmoil, and getting the crap beat out of him as he was told what a worthless traitor he was, he left all of his defenses down. Shockingly, a figure walks into his vault with a glowing red pendant. He's surprised to see Skye standing before him and alive, but realizes quickly that she is barely holding it together. Right as he tries to reassure her that she's safe, Director Coulson walks in and pulls a fighting Skye away, explaining to Ward that he doesn't know if Ward is the cause of the girls current broken state.
Chapter 56 Tainted Reflection
"No!" Skye screamed as Hunter and Trip held her down on the med bench.
"Where the bloody hell is the tranq?" Hunter asked, doing his best to hold the fighting girl without hurting her.
Mission clad Skye stood a few feet away with Fitz, unsure of how to handle seeing a version of herself that was so…broken.
"Skye, it's ok. We aren't going to hurt you," Coulson tried again after crouching down to her level. It was to no avail as the girl continued to struggle against them, her body showing all of the signs of a full-blown panic attack.
Mack ran in with the tranquilizer in his hand, quickly passing it off to the biochemist.
Skye began to increase her effort at setting herself free once the yellow vial at the end of the tranq came into view. "No, please! I'll be good! I swear I'll be good! I'm sorry!" she begged.
"It's ok, Skye," Director Coulson tried to reassure as he caught her looking intently at his tie once again.
"No!" She disagreed. "Grant! AC!" she called out, her cracked voice echoing off of the walls.
It broke Coulson's heart hearing the fear and desperation, while he was more than surprised at the first person she called out to. The Director shared a look with his second in command who shrugged; the pilot had no answers to give.
The analyst got really quiet as the needle came closer, a whimper escaping with a whispered promise, "Please, I'll be good."
Just as Simmons was about to give her the dose, another crackling sound was heard.
"Let her go!" Agent Coulson shouted, holding an automatic rifle along side May. The group looked up, shock evident on their faces at the appearance of the two people who hadn't been standing there mere seconds ago. The new comers had everyone's attentions except for the restrained analyst whose eyes hadn't left the needle. "Now!" Agent Coulson added when they failed to move.
The team shifted their gaze to the Coulson who was right by their side. The Director nodded to his group and Skye immediately rolled off of the table before scampering to a corner and away from everyone, her knees quickly finding their way to her chest in an attempt to disappear.
The newly arrived leader lowered his weapon before rushing to the trembling analyst. May covered his back, her gun still pointed up at the team, pissed off at the state that they found the young hacker in.
"Skye, its me," Coulson tried gently as he crouched down in front her while remaining conscience of giving her space. She didn't even glance up. He shared a short worried look with May who was doing a quick assessment of their analyst through her peripheral view, her focus still on the group in front of her.
The pilot could easily admit that it was uncanny to see a replica of herself, but her stare didn't linger long. She continued to assess the threat of the group before her, the members sharing random glances between one another, obviously unsure of how to react. It didn't slip past May that the other Skye was all dressed in gear… the hard stare she had to her.
Agent Coulson returned his attention to the young girl. "I even have the cool tie," he stated quietly, as if it were a secret, but the analyst didn't budge, her small trembling body causing an ache in the agent's chest as she tried to push further into the wall, her continued whispers of, "I'll be good," and "I'm sorry," repeated between the quiet sobs. AC felt so helpless, unable to relieve any of her fears.
May and the 'others' watched the entire interaction, still trying to wrap their heads around having doubles of Coulson, May, and Skye.
"I think I have another theory to add to your list for Koenig copies," May heard the Englishman mumble to Agent Triplett, disregarding how everyone else's attention was drawn to the scared girl hiding behind the bench with a yellow tie wearing Coulson trying to calmly approach her.
She didn't know who Koenig was but caught Trip's silent response, his shoulders tensing at the words before he turned his stare to the man beside him. "Read the room man!" Trip quietly replied, slight annoyance in his tone.
Ignoring the two, "Did an Agent Ward come here, like we did?" May asked, tone straight to the point.
"Yes, we have him locked up," Director Coulson replied.
AC scooted back a bit before standing up as he didn't want to tower over Skye. He then placed his hand on May's gun, encouraging her to lower it. The cavalry was hesitant but did as he asked.
"We need him," Agent Coulson stated, matter-of-factly. "He's part of my team."
"Well in this universe, he's a psycho," the other Skye quickly shot back, bitterness dripping from her words.
"Why?" Agent Coulson asked impatiently. "Because he followed Garrett?" The leader shook his head, not willing to waste anymore time comparing the two Ward's. Not while the youngest member of his team was cowered in the corner in a state of terror. "He's not your Ward. He's ours and we need him," he stated again, the scared girl to his left leaving him unsympathetic.
Director Coulson looked at Trip and Hunter, before turning his attention to the newcomers. "You sure you can trust him?"
"I trust him with my life," Agent Coulson stated, not missing a beat. "He's more than proven himself." He watched the confusion on the other Skye's face, before she hid it behind her mask that she had seemed to perfect…nothing like their Skye and yet she looked so different than the warm Skye he had originally pulled onto the team.
Maybe they were both broken.
Less than a minute passed by before Trip and Hunter walked in with a shirtless Ward, his upper body covered in bruises and cuts, his hands cuffed behind him. AC clenched his fists at the sight but he kept his mouth shut. He knew the specialist's main priority would be getting Skye out of the facility flashbacks that she was no doubt seeing right now; only once that happened would he then deal with the defeated demeanor of the younger agent.
As soon as Ward caught the slight yellow in the tie, his eyes shot up to meet the worried ones. "Oh thank god! You guys are ok," he softly exclaimed, surprised and happy to see his team alive. Grant swallowed the lump in his throat before quietly asking, "Where's Skye?" the vulnerability clearly seen and heard.
Coulson gave him a sad smile before looking down to the curled analyst mostly hidden behind a bench. "Get the cuffs off," he ordered, to which the Director agreed with a nod.
As soon as the cuffs were released, Ward limped to the hacker, not bothering with even acknowledging the other team. He choked on his own breath as he saw how much worse her panic had gotten, how much more her body shook with silent sobs. Grant took a second to allow himself to observe her state, trying to figure out his best approach.
The specialist wished he could take it all away; pull her into his arms and just make it all stop as she had begged on more than one occasion, but he knew that he couldn't do that. She was in the stages of panic where reality was obscured. Him wrapping his arms around her might lead to even more stress on his rookie…Stress that he would be causing.
There had been one other time that he had seen her this far gone. Simmons had dejectedly asked if she should get something to calm the young hacker down after the many failed attempts of comforting her. As soon as the needle had made it within her sight, Skye had turned her gaze to him, a look of utter betrayal etched in her eyes as she had apologized in between sobs, thinking that she had done something wrong by his standards and that he was the one asking for her to get the shot.
Ward had immediately called off the meds, unable to see her broken gaze turned towards him.
He mentally shook the memory away, pushing aside his emotions and focusing on the girl before him and what she needed. "Hey Rookie," he softly greeted before gingerly sitting down in front of the analyst, having to resist wincing at the pain from the broken ribs.
She didn't reply and he wasn't surprised.
Slowly reaching one hand out, he lightly placed his fingers on her drawn up knee, keeping the touch small and simple. Skye immediately flinched, a whimper making its way out at the intrusion into her space.
Ward had to resist pulling his hand back. He hated himself for taking away control from her. For taking away her right to not have anyone touch her, but she responded the way that he wanted when her gaze drifted to his hand, her eyes focused for the first time.
Lowering his head so that she could see while ignoring the pain that the movement caused to his beaten body, Ward slowly tapped his nose as he softly reassured her, "It's ok. I'm not going to hurt you."
He watched her tear filled eyes move from his finger that remained on his nose, to finally, meeting his gaze. "Can I hold you?" he whispered.
Instead of her normal response of accepting the offer and pushing herself to acknowledge who he was, Ward watched as the young woman's eyes grew in fear before she attempted to draw herself farther back…away from him.
Oh crap, Grant thought to himself at her response, the feelings of uselessness crawling their way to the front. Do something! He heard his mind shout in an annoyed tone; but he didn't know what to do.
Turning his head, he shared a glance with Coulson and May, who both looked just as lost.
They were counting on him to fix this.
Useless, he heard the voice that was not his own, but he did his best to ignore it.
Ward nervously turned his attention back to Skye only to have the analyst staring straight at him, watching him with a perceptiveness that was not there mere seconds before. He was surprised but didn't react.
She was trying. She was trying so hard to figure it out and he couldn't help the swell of pride at the girl that pushed past all of her fears and boundaries, clinging desperately to some form of normalcy.
Grant very slowly turned the hand that was lightly touching her knee to face palm up. The movement caught her attention; her eyes focused.
Don't do it!, her own thoughts screamed at her. There are TWO Coulson's! They screwed up with the drugs, just like the last time they had two Coulson's in one room! She had to swallow the bile down at what that had meant for her. Skye's eyes remained fixated on Ward's hand as she contemplated ignoring the voice of reason. But it made sense. They had in fact messed up at the facility after drugging her and two of him had walked in. Once the scarier Coulson had realized what she was seeing, he had turned his anger of the screw up on her.
The facts still stood that she currently had a puncture site and had been drugged. On top of that, there were two Coulson's. Her mind felt hazy, muddled. Don't be stupid! The agent in her scolded while her panicked mind held on to the yellow she could have sworn she had seen.
Ward had to fight his own emotions as he watched her lip tremble before she reached her shaking fingers to his palm. At nothing occurring with the small contact, she placed her entire hand in his.
Grant very slowly scooted closer before he gently reached out to the analyst, soft reassurances leaving his lips the entire time while he silently prayed that he sounded nothing like the facility Ward who twisted the comforting words if only to break her.
He immediately felt her tense at the first contact, but she didn't pull away from his loose grip.
Once he felt a slight amount of the tension ease out, the specialist gently pulled the girl towards him, her anxiety screaming at him to make it stop. Tucking her head under his chin, Ward began whispering things that they had only discussed, his arms now wrapped securely around her. Little by little, the young hacker released her clutch from herself, transferring it to him as she buried her head into his neck.
Grant could feel the warm tears on his bare skin, could feel the tremors that were traveling through the girl curled up in his arms, but he knew that he couldn't focus on that. He just kept telling himself that she was alive…that they could and would fix this, because she was alive and they had another chance. He tightened his grip, if to prove his point.
They all were alive.
As the trembling subsided, he noticed that she began to match his respirations while he continued whispering small promises.
Once she had her breathing under control, Skye finally peeked over Ward's shoulder at the two newcomers and was met with a gentle smile that was reserved for her.
The hacker's eyes immediately traveled to the tie, where they remained focused, willing it to remain the same. Once satisfied, she finally pulled away from Grant, one hand still clutched in his as she refused to fully let go. She gave the specialist's hand a tug after she stood up and did her best to ignore the people behind her. Instead, she focused her gaze onto Coulson and May.
Once Ward was up, Skye took a step closer to Coulson before reaching out and hesitantly running her fingers across the tie covered with the water loving creatures; as if testing that it was real.
Agent Coulson remained still even as his instincts wanted nothing more than to pull the analyst towards him. But she didn't look up from the tie and that quickly told him that she wasn't ready for him to push. He had to wait.
Skye shifted her weight between her legs as she bit her lip nervously before letting go of Ward's hand and reaching to the sleeve of her shirt, pushing it up for Coulson to see.
The team leaders heart broke. She had a puncture sight.
What hurt the most at the realization was that he hadn't been there to stop it.
"Oh Skye," he managed to let out before taking a step closer to the analyst. "Come here," he gently instructed. The young girl didn't hesitate in allowing the man to embrace her as she buried her head against his neck. "I gotcha. I promise. You're safe," he comforted her as she clutched to him. He heard the small sniffle and he tightened his grip.
"I want to go home," she brokenly requested against his shoulder.
"We will, I promise. FitzSimmons are working on it right now," he quietly reassured her.
"They're ok?" she whispered back, hopeful.
"Yeah, they're safe, thanks to you," he replied, his volume matching her whispered questions.
Skye acknowledged his answer with a sigh of relief before nodding.
After a silence ensued, "they're all watching, aren't they?" she asked, her voice almost holding back the groan of having to face a room full of people who had just watched her have a mental breakdown.
Coulson couldn't help but to chuckle. "Nah, May glared most of them away," he replied to which Skye peeked out from his neck to look at the said agent who innocently shrugged.
Ward sported a gentle smile on his face as he watched the interaction. He was finally able relax. They were all alive and if Skye was comfortable enough to walk up to Coulson, then she understood that they were her real team.
Skye pulled away from the agent and stepped back to Ward. Her brows knit in confusion when she allowed her eyes to roam over his chest, seeing the bruises for the first time. She couldn't help but to think how she had missed the discolorations this whole time, her fingers lightly brushing one of the bruises.
Ward placed his hand over hers. "I'm fine," she heard him assure her as her eyes traveled to his.
The specialist didn't hesitate in pulling his rookie back towards him and wrapping his arms around the analyst, to which she didn't mind in the least; she was determined to stay in contact with one of them at all times, not trusting herself to keep it together on her own.
Ward knew that she needed the contact just as much as he did. His touch to calm her fears of being left in a reality without her real team and her presence to reassure him that she was alive before he faced his nightmares.
His thoughts were cut short when she pulled back and looked up at him. "I still get brownies for breakfast right?"
Grant's automatic reply almost told her that after everything they had been through, he would get her anything that her heart desired before he caught the hesitancy in her stare.
Her stare that was focused on his reaction, trying to read him.
His mind immediately went on guard. "No," he replied. "It's ice cream that we agreed on," he continued to which she immediately relaxed.
Her reaction saddened him.
She was testing them. Again.
AN: Please feel free to review and let me know your thoughts. I disliked this chapter more and more each time I looked over it so I hope you guys enjoyed it.
Sorry there wasn't much interaction with the AU in this chapter. Its coming up.
Btw: anyone else sick of Skye having panic attacks? Maybe I'm just getting sick of writing them, but it's my fault really for putting her in these situations. Sigh…
Thank you to VivaGrazia for throwing her two scents in!
