I'm so sorry for the long wait for this chapter. I really wanted to get this chapter written because the next chapter exciting things are going to happen! Just wait! It's going to be crazy! Anyway thank you for all the support! This week has been crazy for me, I had an allergic reaction to something and ended up in A&E with a blue swollen tongue (it's still blue a week later) and had tonsillitis so not been great... i'm back on track now though and will be updating Battle Scars next and then an exciting chapter for this! Please keep with it because great things are coming!
Skye said goodbye to FitzSimmons and began walking to the entrance but just before she reached the door she heard someone calling her name. Skye turned to see Ms Hill standing in the doorway of her office, beckoning her over. Ignoring the stares of other students Skye slouched over to her and entered the office.
"Please sit" Ms Hill said gesturing to the chair in front of her desk.
Skye slung her backpack onto the floor and flopped into the seat, she wasn't really in the mood to talk.
To her surprise a deep voice spoke to her "How are you doing Skye?"
Skye looked up to see Mr Fury sitting in the seat next to Ms Hill. Anger swelled inside her, he was the one that allowed her parents to go on the mission, for Phil to get hurt.
"Fine" she replied, bitterly.
Fury raised an eyebrow but let the comment go, "I just wanted you to know that scientists are working around the clock to try to help Coulson."
"And? Have they found a way to fix him?" Skye asked.
Fury sighed "not yet but I promise that we are doing all we can, he's always been one of my best agents."
Skye scoffed "Yeah sure you are"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ms Hill questioned.
Skye shrugged "nothing"
Fury coughed and she turned her attention back to him "Look, Skye I know that you probably blame SHIELD for what happened and that you're going through a lot right now. I've been off the radar at the moment leaving Ms Hill in charge and I need to leave again soon. There are leads that we are following which may extinguish Hydra for good. I wanted to let you know that you don't have to worry about them anymore, you're safe and protected. Leave the searching to us ok?"
Skye wanted to defend herself, say that she hadn't been meddling or anything but somehow she felt as though Fury knew exactly what she had been up to the past few days and it made her uneasy.
Fury gave her a knowing look before continuing "Focus on your school work and keep your friends close." Skye nodded.
"Can you give this to Coulson please? It's just a card, all the staff have signed it" Ms Hill said, holding out an envelope to Skye.
Skye took it and smiled before leaving. The walk to the hospital was lonely but she relished in the silence, allowing the events of the past few days spin around her mind. It reminded her of the times when she would walk back to foster homes extremely slowly so she wouldn't have to deal with them for longer than necessary. This time she wanted to escape having to see Phil's face, cold and unmoving and May's heartbreak.
May had texted her asking if she was okay and Skye had replied that she was fine which was a lie but May didn't have to know that. She needed May but she didn't want to burden her. Everything seemed to be piling up lately, without any outlet. She felt like she was walking on the edge of a knife. Before she could do things without thinking about who she hurt in the process but now she had May and Phil which meant her life meant more now…
But she had to stay strong. No one could know how much she hurt inside. She was used to it, wasn't she? Skye shivered and decided to pick up the pace, the sooner she was at the hospital the less time she could spend in her own mind. She wanted to leave school because of Ward and Raina but stay because of Trip and Fitzsimmons. She needed May and Phil but at the same time she was scared to hurt or disappoint them and, finally, she would like to re connect with Lincoln but was she really the best thing for him? She was damaged just as much as he was. And with her biological mother and potential sister… it was all too much.
'I will wait until Phil's better, once he is then I can search for my sister and meet my birth mom. Until then it stays a secret' Skye swore to herself.
When Skye entered Phil's room she saw a tired Melinda May sitting on a chair next to his bedside. May's face seemed to light up as soon as she walked in.
"How was school?" she asked.
Skye forced herself to smile "good. Still no change?"
May shook her head, sadly "not yet but Bobbi remains hopeful"
"Oh uh Ms Hill gave us this. It's just a card from the teachers…"
May let out a watery smile "that's nice of them" she replied displaying the card on his bedside table beside a few bouquets of flowers and chocolates.
Skye quickly snatched one of the chocolates and popped it in her mouth. May shot her a disapproving look and she shrugged "Phil won't mind. Besides he's not eating them now is he"
Despite herself, May let out a small laugh. That laugh quickly diminished, however "oh Skye I'm so sorry. Phil and I swore we would make this Christmas extra special as I know you've never properly celebrated before and we've already fallen at the first hurdle. Before we get home tonight we'll buy you an advent calendar a really nice one ok?"
Skye bit her lip "you don't have to. I've never had one before and I don't really need one to be honest. I have you guys and that's all I need"
May shook her head "We'll do this properly. I'm sure Phil will wake up soon and then we can decorate the house together. Oh that reminds me, I had an email about your end of term tests, your revising right?"
Skye nodded thinking that now was the best time to bring up her weekend plans "I was actually planning on revising with FitzSimmons on Sunday if that's ok? But if you would rather me be here then I understand."
May shook her head "No we need to continue on, we can't just mope around. That's a great idea. I was going to do some school work and lesson planning anyway and if anything changes I will let you know."
Skye and May stayed for another three hours until Bobbi sent them home. Keeping to her promise, May bought Skye an advent calendar on the way back and Skye couldn't help enjoying the bittersweet experience. Skye spent the night in May's room but May didn't seem to mind. Neither of them could bare a night full of nightmares and worries alone. Whenever Skye had a nightmare May would gently wake the girl and stayed by her side until she drifted off to sleep again and although Skye felt like a baby, she had never experienced such love before and it made her heart want to explode.
All of Saturday morning was spent sparring and working out. May taught Skye some new defensive moves and both women enjoyed the needed release. They then visited Coulson for a couple of hours before making a rushed dinner and having an early night, Skye huddled beside May.
Sunday was the day Skye had been waiting for. May dropped her off around Fitz's house at 10am and walked Skye to the door. When the door opened a smiling lady answered and introduced herself to the visitors. Skye immediately felt welcomed and safe and was more than happy to bid May a goodbye before Ms Fitz showed her through to the garage. FitzSimmons were already inside, revision papers scattered on the floor and involved in an intense discussion about DNA. Skye coughed and the pair looked up at her, grinning.
"Have you got all the stuff?" Fitz asked as soon as his mum had left.
Skye nodded and sat down on a beanbag next to them. Looking around she had to admit that she hadn't pictured Fitz's garage to be like this. The walls were brick with a gray floor but the several windows made it seem spacious. A work bench was installed around three of the walls with a large island in the middle, whilst the furthest end contained a TV and beanbags where she was sitting now. All the work space seemed cluttered with different objects, most moving whist others were half complete.
"Wow nice space" Skye marvelled.
Fitz grinned "Yeah, it's not much but it's a great space for my inventions. I would show you them all but I don't want them to break or be moved, they are all in precise places and-"
"Ok, ok I get it. I'm a clutz jeez" Skye interrupted, opening her backpack and placing a thick packet of documents in the middle of the group "this is what I got from my moms house. I printed off everything I could find that seemed important and the rest is what I found in her drawers. And at the bottom is Coulson's medical files, I uh managed to hack the hospital for these"
Jemma immediately picked up the packet and started looking through them. Her eyes darted from left to right as she neatly separated sheets into different piles. After a couple of minutes she discarded one of the piles and picked up the other.
"This is all of your mums medical files. It was lucky she kept them. From what I can understand she was injected with a specific serum which healed her damaged cells and tissue. Her condition was… let's just say she was dying. This is a miracle" Simmons marvelled.
"Will it cure Coulson?" Skye asked.
Jemma picked up Coulson's medical files and flicked through them "If it does what it says it will then yes. Coulson has little damage compared to what your mother had, which means it should work better but…"
"What?"
"We need to think of the side effects… we don't know how it will affect Coulson's health long term or if it will actually work. After the treatment there is no follow ups or documentation on how your mum recovered…"
"But she's alive! That's all the proof we need"
Simmons sighed but dropped the subject "Another problem we have is that half of these ingredients are medical grade. And the rest of them I've never heard before."
"What about the hospital? Would they have some of the chemicals stored there?"
"I guess…"
"Then that's where we'll go" Skye decided.
"But Skye don't you think this is a bit risky" Fitz said.
Skye stood up abruptly "I don't care! This is Coulson that we're talking about we have to do something! After everything he's done for us we can't just abandon him. We will get those ingredients and make the cure and then save his life"
"One more thing" Simmons muttered weakly "Your mother took the medicine when she was pregnant with you. It's possible that your blood may still have traces of the drug. If we use your blood there's a higher chance it will work"
Skye gulped "do it"
"Are you sure?" Simmons asked "I'm not a doctor, yet or qualified in anything. We're all still in school. I can't guarantee I will get it right, I've never done anything like this before"
Skye held Simmons hand "I trust you"
Simmons nodded but couldn't wipe the worry from her face.
"Well we don't have any of the equipment we need here so we will have to take that at the hospital too" Fitz chipped in, breaking the intense gaze between the two girls.
"Give me ten minutes to do more research and compile a list of things we need" Simmons said.
When Simmons was finished, Fitz's mom was more than happy to let the children go out for a 'walk'. Luckily, the hospital was only a thirty minute walk away and the time passed quickly as the three laughed and joked all the way. Skye loved how she could just forget her worries when she was with her friends.
When they were outside the hospital Skye stopped them "I don't want you guys to get into trouble, give me the list and I'll get them"
"No Skye we're in this together" Fitz replied.
"I agree, I'm actually quite excited to see if we can do this, even though it could potentially be dangerous" Jemma added.
"We will do this together, but your part is the sciency. The stealing part is mine, trust me it'll be easy" Skye urged.
FitzSimmons sighed but let her go knowing there was no way to change the determined girls mind. They watched as Skye strolled into the hospital her face set and ready. She knew her way around the hospital by now and knew that all the medicines they needed would be in the storage cupboard, the main one the pharmacy uses. The list was only short, Simmons had some ingredients already and the ones they didn't even know how to get they ignored, hoping Skye's blood would make up for it. They all knew it was a gamble but they couldn't give up, nothing could make it worse. Skye swiftly made her way to the cupboard and hacked the key pad with ease. After a quick search she found the things they needed and stuffed it into her backpack.
"So we're stealing now?"
Skye jumped and turned to see a smug Deke standing in the door way, "Don't do that!" she hissed "it's creepy"
"Oh yeah because stealing's so much better" Deke retorted.
Skye rolled her eyes "how did you even know I was here?"
"I saw you come into the hospital and followed you"
Skye stared at him "As I said creepy. What's your deal with this place anyhow? Why are you here?"
Deke shrugged "Why are you stealing?"
"Touché" She replied.
Skye threw her backpack back onto her shoulders and tried to leave but Deke put a hand on her shoulder "Just so you know, I'm not gonna grass on you or anything. I know about your dad, his conditions still not changed then?"
Skye narrowed her eyes at the boy, how did he know about Coulson? Deke seemed to understand what the look meant and raised his hands in a surrender "I swear, I hear things. I was just trying to… you know, ask if you were okay?"
Skye let out a small laugh "I'm fine. Not that you would care anyway"
"How do you know?" Deke retorted.
"well we literally run into each other, you annoy me and steal my watch and now we're what? friends?" Skye replied.
At this Deke seemed to shrug awkwardly "Well, I thought we were"
Skye sighed and bit her tongue. Deke frustrated her like no one she had ever met before but there was a part of her which felt sorry for him. He was always hanging around the hospital with no family or friends in sight and it made her unnerved. "I know nothing about you and you know nothing about me. You always turn up without warning. Anyway I need to go, if you're still here I'll see you later" she said, leaving quickly. Skye sprinted until she reached the road outside the hospital, stopping in front of the science twins.
"You did it!" Simmons said.
At the same time, Fitz said "that was quick!"
"Who are these people?"
Both FitzSimmons and Skye's heads turned to see Deke standing in the doorway, a curious look on his face as he looked the pair up and down. Skye rolled her eyes and waved her hand dismissively "Deke, FitzSimmons. FitzSimmons Deke. Now we need to go so I'll see you around"
Skye tried to drag Fitz and Jemma away but they seemed fixed to the spot.
"Deke? As in Deke Shaw?" Jemma questioned, eyes focused in on the boy.
Deke smiled smugly and stood taller "Yep, you've heard of me?"
"Yeah" Fitz chipped in "you're the guy that has that YouTube channel aren't you? Posting up music and silly little gadgets you've invented"
"They aren't sill or little!" Deke argued "I've made some brilliant devices especially with my limited resources I'll have you know!"
Fitz snorted "sure and I'm Einstein" he mocked.
Skye ignored Fitz's comments and turned to Deke "You have a YouTube channel and what post up random stuff?"
Deke shrugged "They are original artistic inventions! Anyway, I've seen the video's people have posted about you, there's a lot of hate site's about them but I didn't say anything."
Skye raised an eyebrow "Sure. Anyway, we do really need to get going so…" Skye sighed and quickly grabbed Deke's phone before he could protest and typed in her number. "There's my number so next time you don't have to stalk me"
Deke grinned "Cool, I'll see you around"
As soon as they got back to Fitz's garage, Jemma set to work extracting Skye's blood, a bit sloppily, and starting to combine different ingredients. Fitz assured them that his mother wouldn't be interrupting them and set about using his numerous amount of machine's to quicken the process. Skye sat helplessly watching as the pair rushed around, much like they did in science, talking in their own language. She felt a surge of gratefulness at the pair, they nearly as determined as she was to help Coulson and it meant the world to her. However, in the back of her mind she wondered if she should turn the paperwork she has into SHIELD. If the drug really could save lives then shouldn't she tell someone? But maybe SHIELD already knew, or they would misuse it…
"Skye!"
Skye snapped back to attention and saw Jemma standing in front of her, a vial of blue liquid in front of her face.
Skye grinned and jumped up "It's done?"
"Yep, but again we don't know the side affects and we couldn't understand some of the science or obtain all the ingredients so it's not perfect" Jemma replied.
"It'll do" Skye said "thanks so much. It's getting late anyway, shall I ask May to pick me up and if you two could come along and see Coulson?"
"I'll ask my mum" Fitz said, running to the kitchen.
Jemma nodded "if your going to give him the drug, I want to be there."
May was more than happy to let FitzSimmons visit Coulson, he was their teacher after all. She also told Fitz's mom that she would take them all out for dinner after and drop them back off before nine, it allowed her to distract herself and she did miss having her hands full of chattering children at the school all day.
Whilst May was happy for the company, Skye was nervous. Her mind kept racing over what they had to do. Would there be side affects? Would it make Coulson worse? She trusted her friends but even they could only do so much…
Skye decided that she had no choice, she had to try. So when the group arrived at the small hospital room they waited until May went in search of Bobbi before getting to work.
"Pass me that syringe Fitz" Jemma ordered.
Fitz did as he was told "where are you going to inject it?"
Jemma bit her lip nervously "Uh the upper arm?"
"Or you could feed it into his IV?" Fitz suggested.
Jemma nodded "Normally you would be able to but Jiaying's files said that they injected her in the upper arm… what do you think Skye, he's your dad?"
Skye shrugged "I don't know! Just do it" she replied, hastily watching the door.
Jemma closed her eyes and took the plunge. As soon as the drug had entered his system the machines blared and Bobbi came running in. Her eyes darted from the empty vile in Jemma's hands to the guilty but panicked look infiltrating Skye's face.
"What did you do?" Bobbi hissed, rushing over to Coulson's side and trying to lower his heart rate.
"I'm sorry, we were just trying to help…" Skye stammered, eye's prickling with tears as she watched Coulson's body thrash around uncontrollably in the bed.
After a minute the beeping slowed and Coulson's heart rate steadied. His hands twitched whilst his face relaxed into a peaceful sleep. Bobbi on the other hand, was red with rage. Before she could question the guilty party any further May entered breathing heavily.
"What happened, I heard there was a commotion?" May panted.
Bobbi cleared her throat "Uh, Coulson had a mini seizure but don't worry everything's fine now. In fact…" Bobbi's eyes narrowed in confusion as she examined Coulson's stats in depth.
Skye watched in silence as Bobbi ran a few tests, lifting up his bandages and examining the open wound beneath before listening to his heart and lungs.
Eventually Bobbi straightened up and let out a small smile "I can't believe I'm saying this but it seems as though his body is healing itself. It's a miracle but Coulson's getting better"
