Chapter 17
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AN: Thank you to all who have added to alerts, read, reviewed or any combination of the three. It means a lot to me.
AN2 SPOILERS FROM 1X13:
OMG OMG. That episode was incredible and Evil at the same time I loved the May/Coulson stuff because you really saw how much they care about each other. Skye better be okay. And I HATE THE OLYMPICS, Stupid Olympics making the wait for new shows be even longer. I CAN'T WAIT A MONTH TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED. Anyway if you have seen the ep say your thoughts in your review.
END OF SPOILERS
"Skye talk to me." Maria says once she's at Skye's side.
"Maria, what's wrong?" Director Fury asks through the coms.
"She just collapsed." Maria reports as she rolls Skye onto her back as she does Skye's jacket opens and she is able to see her injuries "How far is medivac?" She asks Fury.
"About five minutes from the roof. How bad is she?" Fury asks worried.
"I don't know if she has five minutes." Hill thinks but doesn't voice that thought instead she says "She was holding her left arm so I'm assuming that's hurt, but that's not why she collapsed." Hill reports as she unbuttons Skye's top to have a closer look at her injuries "She has quite a few cuts on her stomach and torso, some look worse than others. She also still has glass penetrating into her skin. I think she collapsed due to blood lost." Maria say as she picks up Skye being as careful as possible.
"The medivac has blood on hand, make sure they give her A positive instead of just O." Fury tells Hill.
"You know her blood type sir?" Hill asks surprised.
"When she was taken as a baby I memorised all of her medical information. Just in case we needed it when we found her." Fury explains.
"Oh." Hill responds not sure what else to say as she climbs up to the roof with Skye in her arms. "How far away is the medivac?" May asks as she reaches the roof.
"Three minute. How is she?" Fury asks.
"Hanging in there." Hill reports, "She must have gotten these injuries when she escaped which means she has been running around trying to stay hidden for over two hours with these injuries. She must have been in so much pain." Hill comments as she move's Skye's hair out of her face, "She looks a lot like Melinda, but I can see Coulson in her features to." She comments.
"She looked a lot like Melinda when she was a baby." Fury comments thinking of the baby girl he used to hold.
"Melinda never told me." Hill tells Fury "All the time she was training me she never told me that she had a daughter." Hill comments, she was surprised to learn about Skye because in all the years she has known Coulson and Melinda the years she had Melinda as her SO she never knew that she had a daughter.
"You were the last person that Melinda was a SO to before she left the Field work. Before Bahrain before May was taken, Melinda was different. Loosing May broke her, her and Coulson. I know neither of them stoped looking but they didn't talk about it. I think it hurt them too much." Fury explains as he knows for a fact that up until now May and Coulson had only told two other agents their history, making those two agents the only two apart from the very few who were around at the time and the current team to know the completely truth about their past, not the rumours that are around S.H.I.E.L.D, but the actual truth. The only ones to know that they have a daughter together.
"May? I thought her name was Skye?" Hill asks confused.
"That's the name she goes by now but her birth name is May Philippa Coulson." Fury explains.
"Medevac's here." Hill informs Fury.
"Good. Get her out of there. I'll see you in a couple of hours." Fury informs Hill.
"You're coming Sir?" Hill asks surprised.
"Yes. I want to see Coulson and Melinda." He explains.
"Are you going to tell them about Skye's injuries?" Hill asks interested as she helps the medical team get Skye into the helicopter.
"I have to." Fury tells her.
Ever since Hill left the video conference to go get Skye, Coulson, May, FitzSimmons and Ward have been waiting to hear something from her or Director Fury as to how Skye is.
Finally forty minutes after Agent Hill ended her part of the video call another transmitter comes through.
"It's Director Fury." Simmons says as the call connects.
"She's has been safely extracted." Fury says without any greetings.
"Can we talk to her?" Coulson asks.
"Not at the moment." Fury tells him.
"Why not?" Coulson asks.
"According to Maria Skye has collapsed. The reason for the collapse isn't entirely sure but the medivac team are treating her and Dr. Streiten is standing by at Commander Hill's field base to take over when they arrive there within the next half an hour." Fury explains.
"How badly is she hurt?" Melinda asks worried.
"Unclear." Fury tells her "But she is was doing okay last time I heard from Maria which was as they were getting onto the medivac." He explains. "I will get Maria to get you an update as soon as possible." He tells the agents.
"Did she collapse due to injuries or exhaustion?" Coulson asks needing answers, putting aside his personal feelings about Dr Streiten and him being the one to treat his daughter after discovering the part he played in his resurrection, because he is the best doctor that S.H.I.E.L.D has and he only wants the best for his daughter.
"Like I said unclear. Phil I will tell Maria to call you as soon as she knows anything." Fury says before ending the video conference.
"She's safe." Fitz comments glad for small miracles.
"But hurt." Simmons adds.
"Are we going as fast as we can?" Coulson ask May.
"Of course." May responds. "But it's still going to be around six to six and a half hours." Melinda says wishing that there was a way to make the plane faster.
"Sir, there's another video call coming through." Simmons tells Coulson.
"Answer it." Coulson tells her and Agent Hill appears on the Screen.
"Maria, how is she?" Melinda asks worried.
"She's stable. She has some pretty bad cuts on her torso and stomach as well as some small slivers of glass sticking into her." She explains.
"That would be from jumping out the window." Ward comments.
"What?" Maria asks confused.
"She said to get away from Quinn and the Soldiers she jumped out a first floor window." Coulson explains.
"That defiantly explains the glass then." Maria comments "The medical team are giving her a blood transfusion because it's not exactly clear how much blood she has lost in the last few hours. One we are back at the base Dr Streiten will do a full assessment, remove the glass and treat the wounds." Maria explains.
"Is she hurt anywhere else?" Melinda asks concerned.
"She was holding her left arm when I got to her at the building that she was hiding at so I believe that she hurt her arm but we won't know anymore until we get back to base." Maria explains. "At the moment she's completely stable. That's the best news there could be given the circumstances." Maria tells her fellow Agents, her friends.
"Stay with her until we get there, please Maria." May requests.
"Yes Ma'am." Maria replies even though she outranks May.
"Let us know if anything changes." Coulson says and Maria nods and ends the video conference.
"Doesn't Commander Hill outrank you?" Ward asks May confused as to why Commander Hill called May ma'am.
"I was her S.O." May says before leaving the room.
"Thank you for everything you have all done." Coulson tells the team "Skye safe, but we still need to find Quinn. Work every lead you have." Coulson says before leaving the room.
After leaving the Lab May goes to her bunk where she just sits down on her bed and tries to figure out what she is feeling. She has been attempting to do that for several minutes when there is nock on her door.
"Can I come in?" Coulson asks and May nods in replies so Coulson walks over and sits down on the bed.
"I'm sorry." May tells Coulson a few minutes later.
"You have nothing to be sorry for." Coulson tells her.
"Yes I do." May tells him "I've been falling apart, while you've had to keep it together. I've been blaming you, putting everything on you and that's not fair." May tells him.
"I've been blaming myself too." Coulson tells her. "I let her go."
"We both did." May corrects.
"I forced you too." Coulson reminds her "I said things that we're out of line to get you to agree. It's my fault that she went to that warehouse, it's my fault that she was kidnapped and how hurt she is that's on me too." Coulson reveals to May.
Without a word May reaches out and grabs Coulson's hand, "It's on both of us, not just you, and I'm sorry if I've made it seem like it was just your fault." May tells Coulson and the pair drift back in silence, both of them knowing better than trying to talk the other out of their guilt because there is nothing that can be said to stop either of them feeling guilty.
As soon as Commander Hill got back to her base with Skye Dr Streiten took hurried in and rushed her to a treatment room.
"How is she?" Maria asks Dr Streiten once he comes back a few hours later.
"Completely stable, she should wake within the next few hours." Streiten tells her "She is a remarkably strong young woman."
"What do you mean?" Agent Hill asks Curious.
"Her left arm was broken approximately fifteen hours ago, I assume that occurred when she was taken, but then one part of the broken bone was broken again two hours before I started treating her injuries." Dr Streiten explains.
"Are you saying that however she managed to escape Quinn that she did it with a broken arm?" Hill asks impressed.
"That's exactly what I am saying." Streiten tells her "But it's not just that. Most of her stomach and torso had cuts from glass, it must have been very, very painful. Most of the cuts are only little and will heal on their own but there are two that required stitches and one that if it didn't have a piece of glass sticking in it would have caused her to bleed out very quickly, she was incredibly lucky." Dr Streiten explains.
"Guess she's as strong as her parents." Hill comments as she looks through the window into the room that Skye is laying in.
"Tec division managed to remove that bracelet that Quinn put on her without incident so that's no longer a problem." Streiten tells Hill.
"Good." Hill says, "Did you know Melinda and Phil when they were married?" Hill asks curious several minutes later.
"Yes." Streiten answers "I actually delivered their girl." He says looking at Skye. He was shocked when the Director informed him of what happened and he discovered that he had to save the life of the girl he helped to bring into the world.
"Really?" Hill asks surprised.
"Yes, both Melinda and Phil were suspended at the time but they had come in for a meeting with Director Fury. It was two weeks before her due date and Melinda had been ignoring contractions, but then her water broke during the meeting. May, Skye, was born in an S.H.I.E.L.D conference room." Streiten explains.
"S.H.I.E.L.D from the start." Hill comments with a small smile "What were Melinda and Phil like when they were married? How'd they act?" She asks curious.
"The same as they do now." Streiten asks curious.
"Really?" Hill asks surprised.
"Really. Melinda and Phil are professionals, they don't let their relationship affect the job, and you should know that." He reminds her.
"I do, but these are also the same people I have known not to say a single word to each other for twelve weeks, despite the fact that they were working out of the same office; then one day go back to how things were before showing no sign that something was ever wrong." Hill comments.
"That was the longest they had ever done that for." Streiten says after a small laugh "I better go update them."
"Yeah you should." Hill says walking over to the door into Skye's room.
"You're going to sit with her?" Streiten asks surprised.
"I promised Melinda I would." She says entering the room.
May and Coulson are still sitting in May's bunk when Streiten calls.
"Coulson, May there's a call for you, it's Dr Streiten." Ward tells them through the Coms system.
"We'll take it in the Command Centre." Coulson says as he gets up May right behind him. "Doc how is she?" Coulson asks concerned as soon as they enter the Command Centre.
"She is completely stable and will wake within the next few hours." Streiten tells him.
"How bad are her injuries?" May asks concerned.
"She has more than a few cuts on her torso, stomach and legs. Most of them are minor, but two did require stiches and a small repair to where a piece of glass was lodged into an artery was also required. I fixed all of those injuries and she will make a full recovery" Streiten explains. "The injury that will take the longest time to heal will be her left arm."
"What happened to her arm?" Coulson asks worried.
"She has broken it in two places. One break of her Radius occurred approximately when she was taken and a second break to the lower radius occurred around the time when she was escaping from Quinn." Streiten explains.
"Skye said that she escaped from Quinn by swinging on a pipe and jumping over the Centipede soldiers. Are you saying she did that with a broken arm?" May asks shocked and also extremely impressed.
"Yes, and that is likely what caused the second break." Streiten explains.
Coulson and May exchange a look both of them both shocked and extremely proud of what Skye did.
"How long will she have to be in a cast for?" Coulson asks.
"Approximately 8 weeks." Streiten replies.
"Anything else?" May asks.
"No, Maria is currently with her and she should wake shorty." He tells the worried parents.
"Thank you." Coulson says.
"Yes, thank you Dr Streiten." May tells him.
Streiten nods and says "I'm glad you got your girl back after all these years." Before ending the video call.
After Streiten ends the video call neither May nor Coulson know what to say because they are both feeling so many different things, relief that their daughter is okay, guilt because she was hurt, pride because of what she managed to do and so many other things.
Without a word Coulson pulls May into a hug that seems like it will never end. For more than ten minutes they just stand in the Command Centre holding each other neither needing to say what they are feeling because they already know. When the finally do break apart a little Coulson realises that May has a tear running down her cheek so he reaches over and gently wipes it away.
"Mel…" Coulson begins to say as he looks down into Melinda's eyes having no idea of what he is planning on saying but feeling like he should say something, or maybe he shouldn't he realises, maybe he should let his actions speak. Using the same hand he used to wipe away her tear minutes earlier Coulson lifts Melinda's chin up and leans in to meet her lips with his.
To Coulson's surprise Melinda doesn't pull away from the kiss but instead depends it as he wraps his arms around her. For a couple of minutes the pair share the first passionate, loving kiss that they have shared in many years.
When they finally do break apart it is clear that neither of them know what to say or how to start the conversation that they both know they need to have after a kiss like that.
"I, um, should, go check the coordinates." May says stuttering with her words when neither of them have said anything several minutes after they broke apart.
"Right, and I should check in with the team." Coulson says.
"Right." May says and they both leave the Command Centre from opposite doors neither sure of what to make of what just happened.
A few of hours after Dr Streiten finished working on Skye she wakes. And when she does it takes her a minute to realise where she is.
"Hi Skye." Hill says to her when she notices that the girl has awoken.
"Where am I?" Skye asks confused.
"You're at my Field office, in the medical bay. It's been a few hours since the old store." Hill explains.
"Where are my parents?" Skye asks as she was hoping that they would be the first people she would see when she woke.
"They're on their way." Hill tells her "I talked to Melinda not that long ago and they're only a couple of hours away." Hill explains.
"Why are you here?" Skye asks, then realises that that must have sounded rude "I'm sorry I didn't mean to be rude but you said that your one of the Assistant Directors of S.H.I.E.L.D. I just didn't expect that someone in your position would be sitting by my bedside waiting to I woke up." Skye quickly explains.
"It's alright." Hill assure Skye "I promised your mother that I wouldn't leave you until she got here." Hill explains.
"Oh." Skye says not really sure how to respond to that. "I guess you must know my parents pretty well then." Skye comments feeling like she must for her to have made that promise to her mother.
"Yeah I do." Hill tells her "Your father and I have worked more than a few missions together and your mother was my S.O." She explains "And I consider them both friends." She adds.
"Really?" Skye asks surprised.
"Really." Hill confirms.
"Are they okay?" Skye asks concerned.
"You were taken, kept prisoner and badly hurt and you're worried about them?" Hill asks surprised.
"Of course." Skye answers "They already lost me once and Cou-Dad." She corrects wanting to get into the habit of calling May and Coulson, Mom and Dad "Dad said that Mom wouldn't be able to handle loosing me again so I just need to know that they are ago." Skye explains.
"They've been worried." Hill answers. "Quinn has made it to the top of S.H.I.E.L.D's most wanted list and the majority of S.H.I.E.L.D has been trying to find you. From what I saw and heard all they cared about was getting you back." Hill explains.
"Did you get Quinn?" Skye asks curious.
"Were working on it." Hill tells her "The entire city has been locked down so he won't be able to leave, it's only a matter of time." Hill explains.
"Good." Skye says "So does everyone in S.H.I.E.L.D know who I am now?" Skye asks curious.
"No." Hill answers "Your team, Me, Director Fury and Dr Streiten are the only ones who know." Hill explains.
"So the majority of S.H.I.E.L.D was looking for me and they had no idea why?" Skye asks surprised
"They knew that a very, very important Consultant had been taken and that it was of the highest priority that she was found." Hill explains.
"Why? Why was I given highest priority?" Skye asks confused.
"Let me explain something to you." Hill says moving her chair so that she is looking right at Skye "It is rare for S.H.I.E.L.D agents to have meaningful relationships, very rare, and it's even rarer for S.H.I.E.L.D agents to have kids, your parents are the exception to that, and so are you. Your parents are very well liked in S.H.I.E.L.D and they have achieved amazing things both together and apart but the most amazing thing is their relationship. Even with everything that has happened between them they still have a working partnership that most agents dream of someday having. Melinda and Phil are S.H.I.E.L.D, they are everything that a good S.H.I.E.L.D agent should one day hope to be. You are their daughter, if someone hurts you then they hurt your parents, and if you hurt Melinda May or Phil Coulson then you hurt S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinn taking you doesn't just make him an enemy of you and your parents but of S.H.I.E.L.D itself. You may not be an agent yet, you may choose never to be, but whether you do or not doesn't matter because you were born apart of S.H.I.E.L.D Skye, and you always will be and we don't allow people to hurt one of our own." Hill explains.
"I don't know what to say." Skye says quietly not sure what to make of Agent's Hill's words as she feels a tear roll down her face because.
"You don't have to say anything." Hill tells her.
Skye sits in silence for a while trying to comprehend what Hill just told her and what it means. She has been quite for more than ten minutes when there is knock on the door.
"Enter." Hill says as she draws her weapon just as a precaution.
"Sir." Hill says quickly re holstering her gun when she realises that it the Director walking in.
"Skye this is…" Hill begins to say but Skye cuts her off.
"Director Nick Fury. I recognize you from the pictures of you holding me when I was a baby." Skye comments though she also recognizes him from many other things.
"It's very nice to see you again." Director Fury tells Skye. "I thought I would just stop by to see how you are feeling." The Director tells Skye.
"I'm good Sir." Skye tells him "My arm hurts a little and so does my stomach, but it's not hurting nearly as much as it was so I'm glad about that." Skye tells him a little nervous because it is the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D she is talking to.
"I understand that you managed to escape from Quinn despite that pain, even having a broken arm." Fury comments.
"I had to Sir. I had no other option." Skye tells him.
"Well you did good." Fury tells her "I am also her to tell you that Quinn was apprehended by a S.H.I.E.L.D team about half an hour ago. He will pay for what he did to you and hopefully he can lead us to the mysterious Clairvoyant." He says.
"I'm glad Sir." Skye comments.
"Hill would you give us a minute." Fury says to Hill
"I promised Melinda I wouldn't leave." Hill tells Fury not wanting to break her promise to her S.O.
"It will just be for a couple of minutes." Fury assures Hill and Hill reluctantly leaves.
"Skye I owe you an apology." Fury tells her once Hill has left "Almost twenty five years ago when you were taken it was my call that made your case no longer active. I did that because I had no leads. The last lead I had to what could have happened to you was that of an 0-8-4 baby girl in China but after that baby and the team were killed or so I believed, your father has since informed me that that was in fact you. If I had a lead to where you were I would have investigated it, but I didn't. I'm sorry that it has taken this long for you to be back with you parents." Fury tells her.
"Thank you Sir, it means a lot." Skye says not sure about what else to say to one of the most powerful people in the world apologising to her because of something that happened when she was a baby.
Fury gives Skye a nod and then leaves the room without a word, once he does Hill comes back in.
"Good news, you parents are only an hour out." Hill tells Skye sitting down in the chair she was sitting in before.
"Why don't you get some sleep?" Hill suggest when she notices that Skye can barely keep her eyes open "That way when you wake your parents might just be here." She comments.
"Yeah, I might do that." Skye says before letting her eyes stay closed and falling asleep.
An hour later when she gets word that they have arrived Hill sneaks out of Skye's room and goes to the runway to meet Coulson, May and their team.
"Where is she?" Coulson asks Hill as soon as he sees her.
"Follow me." Hill says leading May, Coulson, Ward and Fitzsimmons.
"She was asleep when I left." Hill informs them as they reach Skye's room. "She's right in there."
"Thank you for staying with her." Melinda tells Hill.
"You don't need to thank me for that Melinda." Hill tells her "I'll leave you guys alone. I'll be looking for Director Fury if you need me, I believe he is still around here somewhere." She says before leaving the team.
"We'll wait out here." Ward says walking over and taking a seat at chairs across from Skye's room.
"Yes, no point in crowding her." Simmons says knowing what Ward is doing.
"Yeah, no point all of us going in there." Fitz says sitting down next to Simmons.
"Thank you." Coulson tells the team and he and Melinda enter the room.
Remembering that Hill said she was asleep May and Coulson enter Skye's room quietly neither of them wanting to wake her up.
Without a word they each grab a chair and sit down on opposite sides of Skye's bed glad that she is with them and safe once more.
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