Hi Guys! Another update! I am trying my best to update as much as possible but I've been extremely busy. Today was my first full day off in the last three weeks and even then I had my pets to clean and Uni work to do. But I am getting my head around my new busy schedule and am writing more. Thank you so much for your continued support it means the world to me! Special thanks to MalirBly who continues to give me confidence! Please keep leaving reviews and if you have any suggestions or anything you wanna see then let me know! I defiantly have an exciting next few chapters planned...


As soon as Skye opened the door May rushed forward enveloping the girl in a big hug.

"Mom I'm so sorry. I just needed space" Skye sobbed into her shoulder "I just… I need him back"

"Hey, it's okay. Everyone processes things in their own way. How about we go home and rest and we'll talk tomorrow okay?" May pulled away, walking over to Coulson and planting a tender kiss on his cheek. She moved to one side whilst Skye did the same and then the pair left, hand in hand.

When May opened the door to the house it seemed empty, devoid of life and energy. Whist her parents had been gone, Skye had tried her hardest to keep the house tidy but May could still spot the abandoned Uno game lying on the floor in the living room, and the unwashed plates and cutlery in the kitchen. It felt like she had been away from her home for ages but now she was back it didn't feel the same. Even Arthur running up to greet her couldn't evoke a smile on her face.

Skye kept quiet as she saw a range of emotions flicker across her May's face. She didn't know what to do… yes, she had always been good with people and knowing how to help them but this was different, she had limited experience with family. May moved over and touched the new addition hanging in the living room.

"I saw it whilst we were shopping, I wanted to surprise you. Thought we needed more photo's around of us three as an actual family" Skye said.

May's eye's glistened as she subconsciously reached out to touch Coulson's face. That particular photo had been taken after Skye had been officially adopted. Skye stood in between the couple, all of whom sported wide smiles and teary eyes.

May turned to Skye reaching out to stroke her hair "I love it, thank you"

May seemed to be seeing Skye for the first time and frowned "wait, did you get your ears pierced?"

Skye blushed "yeah… Bobbi and Hunter said I could, is that ok?"

May smiled "Yeah they look great, we'll have to get you some different earrings for when they heal. Now it's time for bed, we need to rest."

Skye nodded and decided that now was a better time than ever, "Oh and Bobbi may have gotten me some hamsters… and Hunter got me a bike and taught me how to ride it!"

Skye watched as May slowly digested the information "well, I will have to have a word with the pair, honestly getting you these things without our permission..." seeing the nervous look on Skye's face May smiled "but you deserve a treat. I'm glad you had fun whilst we were gone"

Skye nodded, awkwardly loitering before hugging May one last time and running up to her room. Even though she didn't feel like it, Skye took a shower and got ready for bed. Her mind was numb, and her eyes felt dry from holding back tears constantly.

May came to check on Skye just before she went to sleep.

"Goodnight" she said awkwardly before closing the door.

Without Phil, everything seemed strange. Coulson would usually be the one to assure Skye that everything would be alright, he would come and say goodnight whilst May kept her distance, only opening up when she needed to but now May was playing both mom and dad and it was weird. She seemed just as lost as Skye felt right now. Even thought she was sick with worry, guilt kept swirling around and gnawing at her insides. She never had a proper conversation with May and Phil about her biological parents. Up until a few days ago there had been a mutual understanding that Phil was her dad and Cal was a work in progress. She knew Phil wouldn't mind if she had wanted to visit Cal regularly, not that she did. But when it came to her biological mother… hadn't she always wanted to meet her? Most of Skye's questions about her birth and background had already been answered but actually seeing and hearing her mother was something she couldn't pass up. She just didn't want to hurt her real parents in the process. Everything was so complicated, she needed to talk it through with someone but she couldn't talk to May, she was already dealing with so much. And finding out she has a sister… a real sister. If only she could find her…

After about an hour Skye decided to give up on sleep. Even with Arthur in her arms her bedroom seemed too big and too lonely and it was making her stomach do flips. She needed someone… she needed May. Quietly, she walked through the dark empty house, stopping before May's bedroom. Slowly, Skye opened the door and crept in.

"Mom?" she whispered.

"Skye? What's the matter?" May asked flicking on the lamp and sitting up.

Skye shuffled awkwardly on her feet "I'm sorry, I just… I couldn't sleep…"

May's eyes were slightly red and Skye wondered if she had been crying. It was rare for May to break down and this made Skye feel like she was invading her privacy, she had never seen May cry.

May pulled up the blankets "come here".

Skye moved over to the bed and clambered in. She had been living with May and Phil for months now and despite wanting to get closer to them she still felt like there were boundaries. Doubts crept into her mind, everyone close to her ended up hurt, Phil had been hurt because of her. But she desperately needed contact with someone, she was fed up of living with her own dark thoughts.

Skye had never been this personal with anyone before and wasn't entirely sure what to do. May seemed to sense this and moved onto her side so her face was facing the girl.

"Want to talk about why you can't sleep?" May asked.

Skye sighed "my mind can't switch off"

"He will get better you know. You were right, Phil is strong and nothing can stop him from leaving us. But we also need to be prepared if things do go wrong, if they do nothing will change, you will always be my daughter"

Skye felt her eyes sting, tears threatening before "thank you, for everything. Everything's happened so fast, I feel like I still barely know both of you but there's no doubt in my mind that you're my parents. It's never felt like this in homes before"

Skye shifted in the bed rolling onto her side to face May but as she did so her pyjama top rode up above her belly button and May spotted the long-whitened scars which lined the girls stomach. Skye noticed and quickly pulled down her top. She knew May had seen some of her scars before, most were impossible to hide. Besides, they had to wear shorts in PE and Skye had been in the hospital several times but she hadn't seen all of them nor did the woman know how she got them.

May seemed to school her features again before moving her eyes back up to meet Skye's "You know, if you ever want to talk to us about anything you can"

Skye nodded "I know and I'm grateful, I am but it's all in the past now"

May gave Skye a disbelieving look "nothing ever stays in the past. I have nightmares and I know you do too. I also know you've been through your file and changed things and that most of the stuff that's happened isn't even documented, but it's ok if you would prefer to keep it private. I just want you to know that you can talk about it to me." May let out a sarcastic laugh "that's one thing we've never been good at, Phil and I. Talking. I know I keep saying this but when he get's back to us we are going to start over. No more SHIELD missions, not at least until you go to the academy, if you go. Hydra shouldn't be bothering us anymore and with all of us around I'm pretty sure your safe. We can have a normal life, well as normal as it can be. We all deserve that"

Skye hummed in agreement, battling with how to word what she wanted to say. She sighed "The scars on my stomach, I got them when I was about six maybe seven. I was living with this family the Richardsons. The mother was okay she forced me to call her mom in public but otherwise than that I was mostly her charity case. The father clearly didn't want me around and neither did their son. The dad uh he used to lock me in the small cupboard in the basement during the night and only let me out when I had school or they needed me. If I screamed or cried or just basically breathed too loudly he used to beat me. I was always too noisy or too stupid but the funny thing was I thought I deserved it. They used to make me say 'I love you' every night and eventually I thought I did. They manipulated me all the time." Skye paused to take a shaky breath "it wasn't the worst home I'd been in and I wanted to please them so I tried so hard to do what they said. One night my foster dad drank too much and his son blamed me for something I didn't even do and he lost it, completely. He grabbed a knife and told me he was going to cut the devil out of me. He plunged the knife into my stomach and sliced, it wasn't too deep just enough to pierce the skin but not enough for me to bleed out. But it hurt so bad and there was a red shiny line. I remember passing out and when I woke up the house was empty. The family had packed up and ran in the night. I was on my own there for about three days until someone found me. Apparently I had survived on leftover rotten food from the fridge and was just wondering around the house in pain and confused. I don't remember much of that though just mostly the fear. I suppose I knew that each home was temporary. It made it easier knowing that they weren't actually my parents and in the end I became kinda numb to it. I never got used to it but I learnt to accept that was how life was going to be for me, until you came along and saved me. But there's still a voice in my mind that's telling me not to get comfortable. Every time I get settled I have to leave, I've been in longer foster homes than this one and I know I'm now technically adopted but what if you both get hurt or you realise I was a mistake or I do something really really bad like I always do when I get too comfortable. I always test how far I can push people's boundaries and then it ends up being too far."

May had listened in silence, devastation and concern flickering behind her eyes. The fact that she had stated that 'it wasn't the worst home' broke her heart but at the same time she had never heard Skye speak about past homes like that before and it was refreshing. "I promise that no matter what you do or what happens you are stuck with us. Quite frankly I don't want a goody two shoes as a daughter. What you've been through, no one deserves that ever. I know that right now it just seems like the world is giving you put down after put down but in the end it will make you stronger. You have an advantage than most people your age, you have experience. But just promise me one thing okay? I know you had to build walls when you were little, learn to adapt and survive but you don't need to do that anymore, you can enjoy yourself and be a teenager. Phil and I have let you go through too much since you started living with us, we should have done more and we will but from now you are just our girl and I want you to act like it."

Skye let out a watery smile "okay" she whispered, "Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"We will save Phil"

May smiled "I know"

May wrapped her arm around her daughter and kissed her on the head "goodnight Skye Daisy-May Coulson"

"Goodnight mom"


Sleeping next to Skye seemed to help May sleep better. The atmosphere was calm and peaceful and something about watching the child sleep made her tranquil. May shuffled and peered at her bedside clock which read 6:30am. It was unusual for May to sleep later than 5am, the morning workouts drilled into her brain but she decided that her and Skye deserved a lie in. May breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Bobbi had texted her at about 12pm reading: 'Hey May, everything's fine. I'm going to go home now as I'm teaching at the school tomorrow but Phil's doctors said you could stay with him from 8am if you want to. I've also talked to Fury and he's arranged more cover for you and says if Skye doesn't want to come into school today then that's fine too. He is trying everything he can on his end to help Phil. If you need Hunter or me then just let us know, goodnight'

May sent a quick text back before turning again to face her daughter. Skye looked so peaceful, her chocolate brown hair sticking out in odd angles whilst her face was scrunched up in a cute little smile whilst her body was tangled around the blankets. Skye must have sensed she was being watched as she slowly blinked awake and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Morning sleepyhead" May greeted.

Skye took a moment to realise where she was and then she flushed red with embarrassment "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come I'm not a baby"

May tutted "Skye stop. I needed the company and besides I've seen worse"

Despite herself Skye laughed giving May a soft hit on the arm. After the laughter died down May sat up "I'm going to go to the hospital to be with Phil this morning, Mack is covering my class. You can either come to the hospital with me or go to school. It's completely your choice and either way I'm fine with it"

Skye groaned and buried her head in the pillow "I thought it was a bad dream"

May sighed and placed her hand on the girls shoulder "He will get better we just need time"

Skye sighed and sat up "I think I want to go to school. That way I can keep myself distracted and besides if my grades drop any more I think I'm gonna be kicked out"

"You've had a lot going on and less than stable education growing up. After things settle down we will sort out what help we can put into place okay?"

Skye groaned but nodded "if anything happens at the hospital you will let me know straight away right?"

"Of course, now we need to get ready if you want to get to school on time"

Skye pulled her coat tighter around herself as she walked up to the school doors. Her ankle felt a lot better now and after her painkiller this morning she could barely feel the pain. As she opened the doors, she realised she was fifteen minutes early, much later than when she usually arrived at the school with her parents. She quickly made her way to her locker, keeping her head down as she weaved in and out of the swarm of students. She could feel some of their stares and her hands tightened around the straps of her back pack. She swiftly punched in her locker combo and switched her coat for her text books. As she moved her History text book she saw a couple of notes crumpled underneath. She debated leaving them there and walking away but curiosity got the better of her and she opened them up.

'I hope some day we can meet' – NM

Skye shuddered and fought the urge to run away. The rest of the notes were just the usual insults so Skye screwed them up and threw them in the trash. Suddenly she saw a swirl of brown hair come sprinting up to her and felt herself being pulled into a tight embrace.

"Skye! I heard what happened and I'm so sorry. I hope your okay. Mr C will get better, he has too!" Jemma said into Skye's ear.

Skye hugged the girl tightly back before nodding to Fitz and Trip who were loitering behind.

"Yeah Mr C's a rock he'll pull through" Trip added.

Skye smiled at her friends and she felt a tiny bit of pressure around her chest lift. "Thanks guys it means a lot"

Skye suddenly noticed that the hallways were different. Instead of the usual drab posters which littered the school walls, cheery decorations were now on display. white sparkling snow flakes hung from the ceiling and tinsel and bells were hung on the walls. Skye had never seen anything so pretty. "What's going on?" She asked gesturing to the vast variety of colourful decorations.

Fitz looked at her like she was crazy "It's December the first? The first day of advent which means it's nearly Christmas!"

Skye's eyes widened "oh, it's December already?"

Jemma wrapped her arm around Skye's shoulders and shot Fitz a poignant look "Skye's had other things to worry about lately. Besides Christmas is still a long way off. We need to worry about our Christmas tests first!"

This time Skye let out a small squeak "Tests?!"

"Guys! Chill. Everything's gonna be fine. The week before we break up for Christmas we have out class tests then the week after we have our parent teacher conferences where they give us our report cards and talk about how we're doing." Trip explained.

Skye's stomach sunk, even if Phil was better enough to go to the parent teacher conference, her parents would just realise how bad she was in school. She was stupid and the amount of times she had skipped or argued with a teacher they were bound to be disappointed.

Jemma must have seen Skye's face drop as she quickly pulled her along to Bobbi's class "Let's go to class, we shouldn't think about things like this yet"

"But you were just saying how you've already started studying- Ouch!" Fitz stopped bending down to rub his toe which Jemma had just stamped on.

"Come on the bells just gone" Jemma urged pushing the group forward, Skye following her mood now incredibly worse.

They group sat in their usual seats and Bobbi walked in. Skye could see she was tired but she still smiled around at the class. Despite Skye being reunited with May again she did miss Bobbi and Hunter looking after her. She needed to make sure May let her get them a great present for Christmas.

Communications class passed quickly. Bobbi made them note down their feelings and then let them talk in small groups for a little while until the bell signalled their next class. On her way out Bobbi stopped her. "How are you?" she asked.

Skye shrugged and let out a small smile "I'm fine, everything kind of happened suddenly but I really appreciate what you done for me over the last week"

Bobbi smiled back "It was nice having someone to take care of, other than Hunter. I know May's really distracted right now but if you need a lift to the hospital after school let Hunter know and he'll be able to drop you"

"Thanks but I told May I would walk, it's only about a fifteen minute walk from here and besides I could do with some alone time" Skye replied before saying goodbye.

Her next lesson was computer science and Skye let her mind become consumed in the intense coding their teacher had set them. They even had a small pop quiz at the end and Skye was pleased to see she had achieved an A, one of the top of the class. Jemma seemed to be a bit put out after seeing her A- but congratulated Skye nonetheless.

Next was Biology where this time Jemma and Fitz both received an A+ in their pop quiz whilst Skye barely scraped a C. Trip showed off his B and made jokes about how the quiz was unfair anyway which cheered Skye up slightly. It seemed as though every class was getting harder and demanding more and more work on the run up to the Christmas exams. Every teacher reminded them how they were nearing the tests and it made Skye annoyed and anxious.

"I'll have to spend all weekend doing homework now!" Skye groaned as she tossed the leftover biology sheets into her backpack.

"Well at least it will be good practice" Jemma replied but Skye couldn't help disagreeing.

The next few lessons flew by. Skye was having trouble concentrating and her brain ached but her friends made sure she was never lost or left too far behind and for this she was grateful. The next thing she knew it was lunch. Skye had debated telling her friends about Deke and the visit to her mother but decided that she wanted to keep it private for now.

"How about we sit in the cafeteria today?" Trip proposed.

The three of them seemed to be looking at Skye to decide. 'They must think I can't handle it, that I'm too scared to be near Ward or the rest of the school' she thought.

"The cafeteria's fine" Skye replied, determinedly following the flow of students down the corridor.

The four teens sat down at a table in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where Ward and his gang were 'hanging out'.

"I hate winter" Skye complained. At the others curious looks she added "It's too cold to go outside so everyone crowds inside."

"Well at least we got our own table" Trip tried to lighten the mood.

Skye groaned "Damn, with everything going on I totally forgot to pack a lunch. Phil usually does it for me." Skye tried to ignore the immediate sympathetic looks and declined the sudden offerings of food, "It's fine I'm not hungry"

"You need to eat something, here have my apple or cookies" Jemma offered.

Skye slammed hands down on the table "I said it's fine! Stop treating me like an injured puppy!" she yelled in frustration. Instantly, the nearby tables turned to stare and whisper but Skye was too busy focusing on the table and trying to remain calm.

The mood around the table became tense and Skye felt guilty "I'm sorry guys, I guess I'm just a bit on edge you know? I really am sorry"

"It's cool" Fitz replied whilst Jemma and Trip nodded in agreement.

The subject of food was suddenly dropped and instead they started to discuss the upcoming winter festival and ball which Skye started to tune out. She was too busy watching the other side of the hall where Ward was sitting. She still didn't know how to deal with him but was glad he'd stayed away from her so far.

"Who's that?" Skye asked gesturing to Wards table.

Trip's face darkened "Yeah I noticed that Ward seemed to have created a new little gang. The girl he's with is his new girlfriend, Kara. She's in my French class, a bit shy at first but can be kinda crazy. Then the ripped guy is Carl Kreel. He's in the year above, same year as Ward and plays football with him. Then there's Ian Quinn I don't really know what he's doing hanging out with them to be honest. He's a rich snob like Ward but isn't athletic, more brainy than he acts. There's rumour's he's now dating Raina but not sure if that's true I've always just seen her hanging around with Aida."

"Looks like Wards been recruiting" Skye noted.

Fitz nodded "It doesn't look good"

The bell rung cutting off the end of their conversation and the group started walking towards drama. Skye felt Trip move up beside her, leaning down to whisper in her ear. "You don't have to worry about them. I won't let them do anything okay?"

Skye smiled and felt her heart swell. Initially, she had liked hanging around with Jemma and Fitz, even though the two of them were tight she never felt left out. Then Lincoln joined and it became more balanced, two and two. Therefore, when Trip started to hang out with them Skye was reluctant to let him in. For once she had a good group of friends and she was worried that this sporty jock would come in and tear it all apart but boy had she been wrong. Trip had truly stuck with her and despite all of the chaos Skye had brought into his life, he never once complained or judged, he was just ready to fight for her.

"Thank you" she replied, feeling a lot lighter than she had a couple minutes ago.

Drama began okay. They were asked to find a space and act through different scenario's in mime. Skye tried to maintain a serious expression but Fitz pretending to be a monkey had made her full-on belly laugh and the teacher frown and tell her off. Then came the bad part.

"Okay class, now I want you to play out this scenario. Imagine you have left home and been away on a journey. After a couple of years you return to your childhood home and bedroom. How will you feel returning to the place where you grew up? Were there toys? Mime walking into the rooms, maybe you pick up a teddy. You have five minutes to do this" Mrs Williams announced.

Skye groaned internally, what childhood home? She had too many to count! Stupid teachers and stupid work. She saw Jemma's sympathetic look and shrugged it off. Raina, however, seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Skye as she suddenly laughed and moved closer to her.

"It must suck not having a home to think of. Imagine not being welcomed anywhere because no one wants you." She sneered.

Aida let out a laugh and many students nearby smirked.

Fitz nervously shuffled closer to Skye muttering "ignore them".

In that moment it was incredibly hard to do that. She desperately wanted to release all her pent-up worry and anger on Raina. Flashes of her previous fight flashed through her mind, the last time she had done that she had been arrested…

Knowing she had to be better Skye managed to keep her mind from Raina's constant comments, focusing on her friends instead. May didn't deserve to have to deal with her getting into trouble again. When the bell signalled the end of class, Skye made her way out to the front of the school with Trip and FitzSimmons. Trip left for soccer practice leaving Skye with the perfect opportunity. Quickly, she pulled Fitz and Jemma into a nearby empty classroom making sure to close the door.

"Guys I need your help" she began.

Immediately the science twins nodded, attention focused on what Skye had to say. Skye had wanted to keep everything private but she knew she could trust them, she had to in order to save Phil.

"I need to save Mr C, there has to be a way. They saved my mother so I thought we could do a similar thing for Coulson. I… uh I went to my mom's house, my biological one and downloaded all the files I could find. There has to be something there but I haven't had a chance to look over it all yet so I thought that, once I do if I send it to you guys, you could see if there's anything there which could help him?" Skye took a deep breath "You are the smartest people I know and I know you've already done so much for me and I understand if this-"

"Of course we'll help, won't we Fitz?" Simmons interrupted.

"Definitely" Fitz replied.

Skye smiled "thanks guys. I would appreciate it if you could also keep all of this private for now. I don't want to hurt May".

The pair nodded "We will also need Mr C's files so we know his specific injuries and how he needs to be helped" Jemma said.

"Okay, I'll try my best" Skye replied.

Fitz blushed "Uh… perhaps you both could come around to my house Sunday? Obviously you don't have to if you don't want to, especially if you want to stay with Coulson, Skye, I understand. But my mum has been asking to meet you and I thought we could study for the tests and run this on the side. I have a garage where I have all my tech stuff and Jemma could bring over some lab stuff and set it all up in there. Don't worry no one ever goes in there but me".

Skye smiled gratefully, "Thank you, I'll ask May but I'm sure she won't mind." She frowned "I feel like I'm just getting in the way anyway."

Jemma shot her a sympathetic look and pulled her into a hug "Of course you're not. Ms May is probably just trying to process everything, she was there wasn't she, when it happened? She probably blames herself."

Skye nodded "Yeah I know, I just wish there was more I could do."

"You're doing everything you can, and we'll help, I'm sure we will find something on Sunday" Fitz replied.

Skye stood taller, determination written on her face "Yeah you're right. We have to find something"