Panic!
Day 1
Skye drummed up her courage and headed to breakfast at her usual time. Trip was cool. Maybe the others will be too. But Skye didn't usually lie to herself for long. That particular lie was just to get herself out of bed. Once up, she faced reality. She knew it would be bad but decided it was best to get it over with. However, the morning didn't go the way she'd planned.
The first surprise was finding Jemma seated at the breakfast table. She usually grabbed something quick and ate in her lab while staring into a microscope or looking at test results. But there she was, sitting slumped at the table, just staring at and dragging her spoon slowly through a bowl of oatmeal. She looked incredibly tired.
Skye stopped short, not sure how she should act. To give herself time to think, she went to the refrigerator, got out some eggs and started scrambling them. She also toasted bread and poured herself a cup of coffee. Once her breakfast was ready, she took a deep breath and headed to the seat opposite Jemma determined to get the worst over with.
The last time they'd seen each other, Jemma had been angry with her. Skye's first instinct was to get defensive but now, seeing Jemma look so defeated, Skye decided to give her a break and act like everything was normal. "Long night?" Skye asked as she sat down. She made sure not to use a peppy tone because that would just irritate her.
Jemma looked up blearily, her spoon momentarily still. "Oh. Good morning, Skye," she said in a flat tone. She returned to poking her food.
Skye took a deep breath. "Look, Jemma. I know I didn't tell you about Grant and me but…" Her voice trailed off at Jemma's furrowed brow, almost like she didn't know what Skye was talking about. At Jemma's continued silence and blank look, Skye's spidey sense started tingling. "What's wrong?"
Jemma still didn't speak but fortunately Fitz wandered in, sitting down next to his science partner. "Eat, Jemma," he said gently. She nodded and started taking small bites. "She's been up all night in the Covid ward," he told Skye. "Agent 33 seems to be getting better but Ward took a turn for the worse."
Skye's fork clattered to her plate, scrambled eggs flying everywhere. She stared at Fitz, her brain struggling to process what he just said. "What do you mean, worse?"
Fitz shrugged, frowning. "All I know is that they had to put him on a respirator. She's really worried, aren't you, Jemma?" He nudged her shoulder.
Jemma looked up from her bowl, appearing to really see Skye for the first time that morning, her expression still somewhat blank. The food she'd been eating seemed to have given her some energy, at least enough to hold a conversation. "Yes, I'm worried. The whole team is worried. Agent Ward appears to be in the Cluster 6 category of the virus which is by far the most severe. He's experiencing both gastrointestinal and respiratory distress in addition to the symptoms Agent 33 has."
"What kind of symptoms does she have?" Skye was starting to get worried. This wasn't supposed to be a big deal, not for someone as young and fit as Grant.
"She's been exhibiting headache, loss of smell, cough, fever, hoarseness, chest pain, and fatigue," Jemma told her. "Those symptoms aren't fun but at least they're not as serious. She might even be able to leave intensive care fairly soon."
Those symptoms sounded pretty bad to Skye and they were the "not as serious" ones? "Fitz said you had to put Grant on a respirator."
Jemma nodded, taking another bite of her oatmeal. "He was in need of respiratory support. I initially put him on oxygen but he kept needing more and more of it. When it became clear that wasn't working, we made the decision to put him on a ventilator. The machine is doing his breathing for him while we wait."
"Wait for what?" Skye was no longer eating, her appetite completed vanished. Nothing could happen to Grant, could it? He's so strong! Memories of Grant flashed before her eyes: him rescuing her from the compound in Malta, fighting a Supersoldier in the desert, watching him lift weights in the gym. How can some stupid virus do this to him?
"For him to heal," Jemma explained, her words bringing Skye's attention back to the present. The fog of Jemma's fatigue seemed to lift even further, allowing her to notice Skye's increasing distress. "Don't worry, Skye. He's not aware of what's happening. We had to give him a strong sedative and some paralytic agents in order for this to work. Since he can't eat, we also have him on a temporary feeding tube and my team is constantly monitoring his heart and lung functions."
Skye was starting to feel desperate. Paralytic agents? Feeding tube? This sounds bad. "How long will he need to be on the ventilator?"
"It's too early to tell. We're hoping that if his body doesn't have to work so hard to breathe, it can start healing itself more quickly." Her head drooped, as if it was suddenly too heavy to keep holding up.
"Jemma, you need to go to bed," Fitz told her authoritatively, pulling gently on her elbow to help her up.
She nodded, evidently recognizing common sense when she heard it. "We're doing all we can, Skye," she said over her shoulder as she walked out the door, leaning heavily on Fitz.
The silence in the room after FitzSimmons left felt deadly. Skye stared stupidly at the wall, oblivious to everything else. This can't be happening! This is not the way things were supposed to go! Grant was supposed to be just a little ill, sick enough that he had to come to the base for treatment but not bad enough that his health was in danger! She didn't even know what to do. She could feel the sobs building in her chest, so she put her hand over her mouth to contain them. Tears poured down her face and, despite her best efforts, the sobs shook her small frame.
Suddenly, a strong arm came around her. Skye didn't even look to see who it was, she just turned into the firm shoulder and let it all out. The person's other arm came around her, pulling her into an embrace. Skye's body shook with the strength of her sobs. Is everyone I love going to leave me? Grant can't die! We just found our way back to each other!
"It's going to be OK, Superstar," a deep, rumbling voice said.
Only Mack called her Superstar, so this had to be him. She pulled back a little just to check, her sobs subsiding a little. "How do you know?" she whispered.
"I just do. You have to have faith."
Skye pulled back even further, swiping at her eyes with her napkin and trying to focus on Mack's face. His expression was one of deep sympathy and gentleness. "How do you know what I'm crying about?"
He snorted. "Come on, Superstar, you didn't just ask me that," he said smiling slightly, inviting her to smile with him. "This place is a hotbed of gossip and the news that you're dating Ward spread like wildfire."
Skye took the opportunity to blow her nose, getting up to throw the napkin away and then returning to her seat. She used the time to try and get a hold of herself. "And you're OK with that?" she asked just as if there hadn't been a pause.
Mack shrugged. "Ward seems to inspire some pretty strong negative feelings around here but there are always two sides to every story. I understand he's done some good work for us lately and is working with the Avengers now. Add in your feelings for him and the dude clearly can't be all bad."
"He's really a great guy, he's just had some bad things happen to him and made some poor decisions.! If people just give him a chance to explain…" Skye said, her voice passionate in his defense but then she remembered that Grant might not get the chance to tell everyone his side of the story. He might leave her alone to do it. Her eyes filled with tears again.
"Hey, he'll get the chance! He's not going down like this. From what I've heard about the guy, he's a fighter."
"I hope so," she whispered, struggling not to break down again. Although she rarely talked about it, Skye was no stranger to major illnesses hitting those around her. She saw sickness – big and small – all the time in the orphanage. There were always the usual bugs going around: colds, flu, strep, ear infections, even the occasional chicken pox for children who'd never been vaccinated. But she also saw some of the more serious diseases, like whooping cough, scarlet fever, and once even Kawasaki Disease. Most of the kids survived but a few didn't.
Mack walked her back to her room, making sure she was OK. Skye appreciated the kind gesture but just wanted him to go. She needed to be by herself to think. Once alone, the only thing she could think of to do was to write Grant an email. She knew he wouldn't be able to read it now of course but, if all went well, one day he would.
Grant, I'm sitting here in my room just around the corner from where you are and I couldn't be madder at you if I tried. This wasn't how your reintroduction to the team was supposed to go! We should've had time to explain to them how things were for you with Garrett and what you've been doing to change and make amends. Instead, you're lying in a hospital bed on a ventilator and I'm left holding the bag! I can't even talk with you. Trip and Mack have been great but you're the one I'm supposed to be able to tell when I'm upset. I feel helpless, just like I did back in my orphanage days when the little kids got sick. But now it's worse because it's you, the man I love! I don't know what's going to happen. Even Jemma seems worried which is terrible considering how mad at you she is. Grant, if you're reading this, then you're fine. I just want you to know how hard it was for me while you were sick. I don't know if I could handle it if you left me again!
Skye sent the email, hoping against hope that one day he'd be able to read it. Then, at a loss for something to do, she took a shower. She spent the rest of her day hovering around the Covid room, desperately trying to get a peek to see what was happening, and wandering forlornly around the base. People kept out of her way but, even in her stupor, she could see the unfriendly glances many of her colleagues sent her way. She glared back at each and every one of them but, internally, she sighed. This isn't supposed to be happening!
Day 2
Following a restless night with little true sleep, Skye woke up early. Today's lie to get her out of bed was that Grant was going to be better. All she needed to do was talk to one of Jemma's team to hear the good news. Contrary to her usual habit of not lying to herself for long, she allowed this illusion to last past her workout time (there was no one in the gym, so she was free to exercise without an appointment) and shower. The good news lie bubble burst as she walked to the kitchen to get breakfast, the dread in her stomach increasing with each step.
Jemma wasn't in the kitchen but Fitz was. His expression didn't give much away and, based on the crumbs on his plate, he clearly had eaten as much as he normally did. But Skye could almost feel the bad news emanating from him.
She sat across from him with a thunk and took a deep breath. "What's…" Her voice sounded weak and scratchy, practically indecipherable. Skye cleared her throat so that the words could come out better and tried again. "What's happening with Grant and Kara?"
Fitz took a sip of coffee, then put his cup down carefully. "The good news is that Agen….I mean, Kara….is doing much better. She's been moved out of intensive care and into another room. She's been asking if you can talk with her. I think she's kind of lonely."
Skye nodded. It would be good to talk with someone she didn't have to worry about disapproving of her relationship with Grant. Plus, she was interested to hear what Kara had been doing since being captured by Hydra. "I'd like that. But is it safe?"
"She still could be contagious but we've set up a computer in her room so people can talk with her. Just let me know when you want to do that and I'll send you the link."
"OK." She watched Fitz closely, noticing that his focus was on his coffee cup, a scratch on the table, really anywhere but her. She could feel the anxiety build in her stomach but knew that knowing was better than not knowing. "Fitz." Skye waited until he met her eyes, willing herself not to start crying again. "What's going on with Grant?" When Fitz paused, she felt faint. "Is he dead?" she asked in a small voice.
"No, he's still alive. But he's worse than he was yesterday."
Skye let that sink in and found she couldn't imagine it. She took another deep breath to steady herself, remembering without wanting to how Grant was the one who first taught her to breathe tactically. "What do you mean worse? Yesterday he was on a ventilator! What more can happen?"
"One of the weird things about Covid19 is that other parts of the body are affected, not just the respiratory system. That's what's happening to Ward. He got a clot in his left hand last night and all his fingers are turning black and blue. Jemma's concerned she might have to amputate his hand below the wrist. He also has what's called 'Covid toes' which means that his toes are swollen and bruised for no apparent reason."
While neither of these things were life-threatening, it felt like the virus was taking away pieces of him, a little bit at a time. Grant would hate this. For the first time, Skye was grateful that he was in a medication-induced sleep, that he was unaware of what was happening to him. Memories of how strong he was, the way he used his hands to handle weapons and throw punches, washed over her. She sensed Fitz's stillness almost like he'd spoken and looked up to find him watching her.
His expression was filled with sorrow. "I'm sorry, Skye. I've been mad at Ward but he doesn't deserve this."
Skye bit her lip in an effort not to lash out at Fitz. She understood that he was trying to be kind but she just didn't have the bandwidth to handle his conflicted feelings right now. "He never did," she said as softly as she could (but not as softly as she'd wanted), quickly standing up from her chair and leaving the room.
"Skye! Don't you want to eat anything?"
"Later," she called over her shoulder. She suddenly felt like she couldn't breathe, that she had to get out of that room or die trying. Out in the hall, she calmed down a little and leaned against the wall contemplating her day. Hovering around the Covid ward was out. Although they'd been nice about it yesterday, she could tell that her presence there irritated the medical staff and that was the last thing she wanted to do. They needed to keep all of their focus on Grant. Skye rolled her neck, trying to push out the tension, wondering what else she could do to fill the time. Kara! Grant would want me to talk with Kara.
The call couldn't have been easier to set up. One moment Skye was clicking on the link, the next moment she was looking at Kara's wan face resting against her pillow. When she saw Skye, she smiled faintly. "Thanks for calling."
"Of course! I know how boring it can get around here, so I figured you might want to talk."
Kara nodded and the two of them exchanged a few pleasantries for a few minutes, punctuated by Kara's coughs. "How are you, really?" Skye asked.
"I'm OK. In some ways, this feels like a really bad flu. I have a fever and not much of an appetite. I also feel like a truck ran over me and, of course, I have this stupid cough. You have no idea how annoying it is." Right after she said that, she went into a coughing fit.
Skye waited until it was over, then said with a smile, "I guess you just had to prove your point."
Kara laughed slightly, then coughed weakly. "Please, don't make me laugh. It hurts." She paused to catch her breath. "But the really weird part is that I also have a lot of pain in my ribs, back and abdomen, almost like I was beaten up in the fight with those Hydra morons. But I wasn't. Grant got into it more with them than I did because my guy was taken down pretty easily."
"I've been reading up on Covid, at least what we know, and it sounds like the pain you're experiencing is part of the illness for some people."
"So I've been told," Kara said dryly. She shifted, wincing as she did so. "I feel guilty, Skye. Apparently, the more you've been exposed to the disease, the worse you're going to get it. And I let Grant take on more of those Hydra guys. If only I'd joined in the fight after I tied up my guy, maybe he wouldn't be in such bad shape. But I didn't. I thought he had it and would enjoy the fight." She looked down. "We didn't know they were infected."
"Kara, hey," Skye said, trying to get her to look at her. When she did, Skye continued, "There's no way you could've known. It'd be nice if all infected people had a C on their foreheads or something but they don't. And Grant wouldn't want you to feel guilty. You know him. He probably was enjoying the fight and, even if he wasn't, he wouldn't want you to be sicker than you already are."
Kara looked away again. "I know. But I also know that women tend to have it better than men do and I can't let him always be looking out for me." She faced Skye again. "I have to look out for him too. He's my partner."
Skye smiled, glad that Kara felt so strongly about Grant. He deserved all the advocates he could get. Besides, it would make what she needed to say next so much easier. "Well, if you feel that way, maybe you'd consider donating some of your convalescent plasma. I hear that's been helpful in some cases."
Kara smiled back at her, somewhat smugly. "Already done."
Back in her room, Skye emailed Grant: I talked with Kara for the first time. We kind of communicated when you two were brought in but today was the first time we actually talked. I can see why you like being her partner so much. She really cares about you but not in the same way I do of course. I have to admit I used to jealous of her. I mean, she got to live with you and train with you every day just like I used to. I miss that. And I didn't know her intentions. For all I knew, she'd fallen for your dubious charms and was angling for her own ship name with you, KaWard or something stupid like that. But I'm sure everyone will agree that SkyeWard (our ship name) is vastly superior to any others, so I decided not to be jealous after all. Besides, I really like her. And if her convalescent plasma is what brings you back to me, I'll love her forever. Please hurry up and get well!
Day 3
Skye went through what was apparently her new morning routine: getting up way too early after a restless sleep, working out before anyone else was in the gym, showering, then heading down to breakfast. She didn't know what her day would bring but having a routine of sorts was at least somewhat comforting. Coulson and May were leaving her alone so far, not giving her any instructions or tasks to complete. Skye was grateful because she didn't think she could concentrate on anything even if they did. But she couldn't help being somewhat resentful that neither of them had come by to talk with her since Grant and Kara arrived but, for now, she'd take what she could get.
Apparently, the team was taking turns about who was going to give Skye the daily updates because this time it was Trip in the kitchen. Skye knew that he'd been helping the medical team, so she didn't even bother with the pretense of trying to get breakfast before taking the chair across from him.
Trip smiled tiredly at her and Skye relaxed. He wouldn't be smiling if something bad had happened. "What's the news?" she asked him.
"The clot in his hand disappeared, so he'll get to keep his hand."
"Oh, thank god!" Skye paused, waiting for Trip to continue but he just sipped his coffee. "Any other news?"
He shook his head. "Other than that, no change."
Skye felt the tension shoot back up her spine. "No change? But I thought Kara gave Grant some of her precious antibody-rich blood."
"You've been reading up on this," he said smiling faintly. "She did. But if it works, we usually don't see results until after 48 hours," Trip explained calmly.
Skye just stared at him, wanting to scream. When will we get a break? She realized that she'd been counting on the plasma too much but she didn't know how much longer she could take this.
Trip's expression changed from fatigue into concern. "Girl, you look terrible. How long has it been since you've really eaten or slept?"
Skye shrugged, unwilling to answer. The truth was that she'd only gotten a few hours of good sleep since Grant came into the Playground and she'd eaten very little. Her stomach felt like it'd been in a constant state of knots and her whole body ached from tension.
Trip frowned at her non-response. "Skye, this isn't healthy. You can't go on like this and you're certainly not helping Ward in this condition. You need to eat something and then go straight back to your room for a nap. Medic's orders."
"Or what?" Skye asked, smiling to take the sting out of her words.
"Or someone might call the infamous Black Widow to go all Avenger on your ass," Natasha Romanoff said as she came into the kitchen.
Trip just grinned but Skye's mouth dropped open as she watched the Black Widow toast a piece of bread, butter it, pour some coffee, and place both in front of her. "Did someone really call you about me?" Skye asked her incredulously.
Natasha smiled in what could only be described as a fond way. "No, I'm here to check on Grant and talk to Kara. Taking care of you is just a bonus." She paused, making a gesture to the food she'd just put on the table. "Come on, eat up. Then I'll take you back to your room and tell you a bedtime story before you go to naptime. Trip's right. You're no good to anyone in this state."
"Those weren't my words!" Trip said indignantly.
"But it's what you meant, so I just said it for you," Natasha countered. She frowned at Skye. "Start eating."
Oddly enough, being given an order to eat by the Black Widow unclenched her stomach, leaving Skye feeling hungry enough to eat for the first time in days. She then meekly followed her back to her room, thinking that hearing whatever Natasha Romanoff considered a bedtime story would be too interesting to pass up. But once again, Natasha defied expectations. She made Skye get into bed, insisting she get under the covers even though she was sitting up. Natasha then sat down next to her and put her arm around her, much as Skye imagined a mother would. Skye felt both tired enough and bold enough to put her head on her shoulder and close her eyes.
"Here's my bedtime story," Natasha said in a low, soothing voice. "Grant's going to be OK. He's going to pull through this and have a story to tell your kids about how he survived a global pandemic."
"How do you know?" Skye asked sleepily.
"Because I know Grant Ward. He's too much of a fighter to go down because of some virus." Skye felt herself sinking further into sleep. The last words she heard were, "Besides, he'd never leave you again, not if he can help it."
Later, much later, when she'd woken up alone in her room after hours of sleep, Skye emailed Grant: The Black Widow came to visit you and Kara today. She seems to really care about all of us! She forced me to eat and then told me what probably counts as a Russian bedtime story so I'd fall asleep. She's nothing like I expected.
Day 4
Skye woke up feeling refreshed but also depressed. While eating food and getting good sleep helped, she was starting to feel like every day was Groundhog Day. When's this going to end? But at the same time, she was terrified of anything changing if the change was for the worse. She resolutely put that out of her mind, feeling that familiar pang as she remembered that it was Grant who helped her master that skill.
She dutifully went through her usual routine of exercise, shower, then to the kitchen for the daily update. As she rounded the corner, Skye stopped dead in her tracks. There was Jemma, clearly waiting for her. Skye didn't know if she should go back to her room and refuse to hear whatever Jemma needed to say or get it over with.
Jemma noted her indecision. "It's OK, Skye. You can come in. It isn't bad news."
Her feet working again, Skye headed in and sat down. "It isn't?" she asked, her eyes lighting up for the first time in days. She was disappointed and apprehensive when Jemma cringed at the note of hope in her voice.
"Well, it's not bad news but it's not really good news either. I mean, it's kind of good since I've got a new theory but it's not the good news you're hoping for."
Skye shook her head. Of all the times to engage in FitzSimmons' Speak! At least, that's what she and Grant used to call it between themselves on the Bus when the two scientists would go off with either their detailed scientific explanations or just plain mumbo-jumbo that made no sense. "Jemma, please. I have no idea what you're saying. Speak English." Then it was her turn to cringe as she realized that she'd just used a Grant-ism.
Jemma too must've remembered as she smiled faintly. "What I mean, Skye, is that there's no change in his condition. We're still waiting to see if the plasma works. Sometimes it does but sometimes it doesn't and there's no empirical evidence that it will."
"So what's the good news? You mentioned a new theory."
"Right. I've been doing a lot of research into Covid and there's this new theory that covers everything that's been happening to Agent Ward. I'll try to put this...uhh….in terms you'll understand," Jemma said delicately. Skye almost rolled her eyes at her ego but restrained herself so she could get the information she needed. "The renin-angiotensin system, or RAS for short, controls many aspects of our circulatory system, including this chemical called bradykinin. Normally it helps regulate blood pressure and it's kept in check by another chemical called an angiotensin converting enzyme, called ACE, which keeps too much of it from building up in the body. Are you following me so far?"
Skye nodded thoughtfully. "I think so. The RAS is like a football team that helps the blood flow throughout our bodies. The quarterback is bradykinin whose power trip is usually kept in line by a coach called ACE."
Jemma looked a bit dubious but continued on. "Umm…essentially that's correct although that's not how I'd describe it. Anyway, this new theory postulates that Covid prevents ACE from degrading bradykinin, making it to go crazy. Too much of it builds up in the body, causing what's known as a bradykinin storm. This storm could account for the neurological symptoms many Covid patients experience as well as symptoms like Covid toes. Since Covid is acting like an ACE inhibitor, that could be what's causing the dry cough, fatigue and increased potassium levels."
"I've heard of ACE inhibitors!" Skye interrupted. "One of the nuns at the orphanage took an ACE inhibitor drug to control her blood pressure. And she was always tired and had this cough." She looked sad for a second. "We used to make fun of her cough behind her back. She lost a lot of weight after she started taking the drug too. Is that a symptom too?"
Jemma shook her head. "Weight loss isn't a symptom but it may have been a side effect of a loss of taste and smell which are symptoms. If she no longer enjoyed eating, maybe she didn't do as much of it." She smiled slightly. "Your simile of RAS as a football team may lose relevance when you consider that the RAS has some sex-linked features that give women extra protection. It may be why they have lower mortality rate than men."
"No, that makes sense too," Skye argued, wanting to remain focused on her simile. "Women are too smart to play a violent game like football, so they have extra protection from unnecessary head injuries!"
"But women do play football," Hunter said as he came into the kitchen to get a snack. He clearly had no idea of their overall conversation, having only heard the last few sentences. "Haven't you ever heard of the Women's Football League Association?" He glanced over to see Skye's puzzled look and Jemma's dropped jaw.
"Women…play…American football?" Jemma asked.
"They do! Although I'd prefer they call it something else since football is a different game elsewhere in the world," Hunter said with a hint of superiority. "But yeah. The WFLA has two conferences and 32 teams overall. So they'll probably get head injuries too, just like the men!" He took his cheese and crackers and prepared to go, shaking his head in mock severity at the women. "You two need to keep up with these things!"
After he left, Skye and Jemma just sat there looking at each other in shock. Then Skye shook her head like she was getting rid of Hunter's interruption. "So OK, the RAS, bradykinin and ACE all play a role in a lot of Covid symptoms. But what about the breathing problems? Does the bradykinin theory explain them too?"
Jemma nodded. "This Covid virus is really clever! You'd have to admire it if it weren't so deadly. Covid tends to increase production of hyaluronic acid (HLA) in the lungs. HLA can absorb more than 1,000 times its weight in fluid. When it's combined with fluid that the bradykinin storm has leaked into the lungs, it forms a hydrogel which can fill the lungs and make it seem like you're breathing through Jell-O."
Skye sat still for a long moment, looking overwhelmed and slightly sick. "Jem, it's really great that you have this hypothesis that explains everything but what good does it do Grant?"
"Skye, don't you understand? If this theory is correct, it's terrific news! One of the really great parts to this theory is that, if this is really what's happening with Covid in the body, then we already have the tools to treat it! There are a number of FDA approved drugs already on the market and readily available that reduce bradykinin build-up. Vitamin D can be used to prevent bradykinin storms. And the drug Hymecromone can reduce HLA levels, stopping the hydrogels from forming in his lungs."
"So are you going to give Grant some of these drugs?"
Jemma nodded. "We already are. We've given him Vitamin D, Hymecromone for the hydrogels, and Icatibant which has been shown to reduce bradykinin signaling and blunt its effects once it's already in the body."
"But you said earlier that this is just a theory, that you have no idea if it's true or if these drugs will work."
"Yes, that's true," Jemma said slowly. "This is risky."
Skye's brow furrowed. "Why do it if it's so risky? Why not just wait to see if Kara's donated convalescent plasma works for him?"
Jemma frowned and reached over to take Skye's hand. "Because Skye," she said in the gentlest voice Skye had ever heard her use, "Agent Ward needs whatever we can give him now. I don't think we can wait."
Skye met her eyes, noting the compassion and sorrow in them. She nodded dumbly, then stumbled out of the room. She spent the rest of the day alternately crying and wandering around the base in a daze. If she got unpleasant glances, she didn't notice. She wasn't even aware of the time. All she knew was that this was the day in which Grant's fate would be determined one way or another. She kept hearing Jemma's quiet voice on repeat saying, "I don't think we can wait."
The tears coursing down her cheeks made emailing hard but, somewhat superstitiously, Skye didn't think she could finish the day unless she sent one to him. Grant, Jemma has a new theory about what Covid's doing to your body and is giving you different drugs to treat it. This has to work! Come on, my love! Come back to me! Everyone keeps saying that you're too strong and too much of a fighter to let some stupid virus take you down. Natasha said you'd never leave me if you can help it. So you have to fight, Grant! Fight with everything you have to beat this thing! I really don't know if I can bear it if you don't.
Eventually, she fell into sleep, exhausted by the stress of the day. Although she'd been trying to push away the thought all day, Skye went to bed believing that Grant might be dead in the morning.
Day 5
When Skye entered the kitchen looking like death warmed over, she was startled to see Fitz and Trip sitting at the table drinking coffee. They both smiled when they saw her.
"Jemma took Ward off the ventilator last night," Fitz informed her. "Whatever she did worked! He's now breathing on his own!"
Skye's email to Grant: You're back, thank goodness! You'd better never, ever do that to me again! You owe me big, mister, and you'd better believe I'm going to collect!