Chapter 27
Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Everything belongs to their rightful owners and I am not making any profit from this.
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: Okay sorry that this is later than usual but I was finishing chapter 34 and lost track of time. Hope you enjoy and thanks to every single one of you who read this story.
After staying at the airfield for twenty four hours instead of just twelve the team head back into the air and they head to Australia, because they realise that after the incident at the party and with the hostile planes they need some time away from Europe.
They have been in the air for three days since they returned and so far it has been without incident. Like normal the team is spread throughout the plane. Coulson, Melinda, Clint and Natasha are up in Coulson's office while the younger agents are down in the lab.
"We should do a check In with Stark soon, we haven't seen him since the party and I'm pretty sure that by now Fury would have gotten word about what happened over Switzerland. We've got to let them know that we are alright." Clint comments.
"We'll look into where he's meant to be in the next couple of days and figure something out." Coulson answers.
"You know Skye and FitzSimmons are working on a plan to get you guys back together." Clint says like it is the most normal thing ever "Give me two." He tells Natasha who is dealer in the poker game they are currently playing.
"Excuse me?" Melinda asks surprised.
"They're what?" Coulson asks shocked.
"Trying to get you back together. Ward knows about it but he wanted to make it very clear that he wasn't involved." Clint explains.
"How do you know?" Coulson asks still shocked about the fact that his daughter and two of his agents are trying to get him and Melinda back together.
"They wanted my help." Clint explains.
"Did you know about this?" Melinda asks Natasha.
"Not until Clint told me." Natasha answers.
"What did you say?" Coulson asks Clint.
"That we should give you two time to figure out what everyone who knows you have known for years, but I did tell Skye that if you haven't figured it out on your own in two months then I would help her so that's how long you've got to tell her." Clint informs his friends.
"We've been trying to come up with a way to tell her but it's hard I mean how to do you tell your adult daughter who you're just getting to know that her parents are back together?" Coulson asks his friends.
"Hey Skye you're Mom and I are back together, knock before you enter my room." Natasha suggests causing Clint to burst out laughing.
"I don't think so Tasha." Coulson tells her, "I think we need a more delicate way of telling her."
"Why? That seems like a good way to me." Clint comments.
"Only you two would think that." Melinda comments, "We need to think up the right way to tell her." Melinda informs them.
"You could just try telling me truth." Skye says from the doorway causing all four of the people in the office to look at her, none of them having realised that she was there, "You know for the four best Agents that S.H.I.E.L.D has you really don't do a great job when it comes to noticing your surroundings." She comments.
"Come on Clint, let's give them a minute." Natasha says standing up and pulling Clint up as she does.
"Don't be too hard on them ребенок." Natasha says quietly to Skye as she walks past.
"How Long?" Skye asks her parents.
"We kissed when you were taken and we heard from Dr. Streiten that you were okay, and then the next day we talked and decided that we wanted to give it another shot." Coulson explains. "What are you thinking?"
"I don't know." Skye admits honestly "So it's only been what? Not quite a month?" She asks.
"Yeah." Melinda answers "Are you mad?" She asks her daughter.
"Yes." Skye answers.
"But I thought you wanted us back together." Coulson says confused.
"I do." Skye answers "I'm not mad that you guys are back together, I'm actually really happy about that. I'm mad that you didn't tell me and that Clint and Natasha knew before me." Skye explains "I get that they are your best friends and I know it's selfish but I would have liked to be the first to know." Skye explains.
"We didn't know if we could even work Skye, we didn't want to tell you until we were sure that it could." Coulson explains.
"I need some time to think. I'll talk to you later." Skye says before leaving her Dad's office.
After leaving her father's office Skye heads down to the cargo bay to sit in the back of the car because what she really wants at the moment is some time alone. When she opens the door to the back of the car, she is surprised to see Clint sitting in there.
"How did you know I'd come down here?" Skye asks surprised.
"I figured after you talked to your parents what you would want is to be alone, and here is where you come to be alone." Clint explains.
"if you knew I wanted to be alone then why are you waiting for me?" Skye asks.
"Because that's not what you want, not really." Clint answers "What you want is for someone to care enough to come even if it doesn't seem like you want them to, to make sure you are okay." Clint explains.
"How did you know?" Skye asks surprised getting in the car.
"Because for a long time I wanted the same thing." Clint answers.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Skye asks curious "When I asked you if you would help get them back together why didn't you tell me?"
"Because it wasn't my place." Clint answers "Just like it isn't my place to tell them anything you tell me."
"Really?" Skye asks surprised.
"Really." Clint answers "It's part of the whole cool Uncle thing I've got going on" He jokes which makes them both smile "Skye I know that the last few months haven't been easy for you and there may be things that you feel you can't talk to your Mom and Dad about, but you can tell me and Nat, you can always talk to us, no matter what." He explains "And unless you're in danger or hurt or it is something else that they really have to know we won't tell you parents." Clint explains "We want you to know that and for you to know that you can trust us, it might not be easy for you but you can." Clint tells her.
"Thanks, Uncle Clint." Skye says using the name that she has been calling him in her head for weeks out loud for the first time.
"Any time Kid." Clint answers. "Do you want my advice?"
"Sure." Skye says uncertainly.
"I've never seen two people who love each other as much and as truly as your parents, but I've also never meet two people as clueless about love as them either. Skye for all of the twenty years I have known them they have been in love, but have been too stubborn and too scared to admit it that they still are. They didn't keep their relationship from you to hurt you, in fact it was the opposite, they didn't want you to get hurt." Clint explains "They had just started to get to know you when they finally got in the right place again to give them a chance, but like I said it's been twenty years, they didn't even know it they could work and they didn't want to risk you getting hurt if they couldn't. Parents make mistakes Kid but they tend to make them for the right reasons. Was not telling you sooner a mistake, maybe, but they only didn't tell you so that you wouldn't get hurt if things didn't go well." Clint explains to the young woman.
"I was too hard on them wasn't I?" Skye asks.
"Maybe a little." Clint answers, "Go talk to them, I know you want to." Clint tells her.
"Yeah, maybe I will." Skye comments as she gets out of the car.
"Oh, and you really should take Nat's advice and knock before you enter." Clint advices.
"Thanks, and yuck." Skye comments before heading upstairs.
Once Skye is upstairs she spots Ward and remembers something she has been wanting to ask him for a few days. "Hey Ward." She calls
"Yeah?" he asks.
"You speak Russian right?" She asks after making sure Natasha isn't around.
"You know I do, why?" He asks confused.
"There's something I want you to teach me how to say, that's if it's okay." Skye requests.
"Sure, when do you want to start?" Ward asks curious.
"Later, I've got to go talk to my parents' first." Skye tells Ward "And Thanks." She says as she climbs the stairs.
When she gets up to the upper level the door to her father's office is open so she just walks in. When she does she sees her parents sitting next to another holding hands on the couch.
"Skye." Coulson says surprised seeing her.
"I'm sorry." Skye says simply, "I was a selfish idiot, but I get it now. For a while I have wanted you guys together and you knew that I blamed myself for your divorce so you didn't want to risk me getting hurt again if you didn't work out." Skye tells her parents "When I heard you talking to Clint and Natasha all I could think was that it's another secret that I wasn't going to be told, but it's not, you were just waiting for the right time. I'm sorry I over reacted." Skye tells her parents.
"It's okay." Melinda says standing up and walking over and hugging Skye.
"We were going to tell you Baby Girl." Coulson says getting up and walking over to Skye and Melinda, "We were just trying to figure out how to." Coulson says as he puts his arms around his daughter and the woman that he loves.
An hour later Melinda has left Coulson's office to check on things in the cockpit and Skye has gone to find Ward, leaving Coulson alone in his office. Or at least he is alone until Clint walks in and walks over to the seat across from Coulson where he puts his feet on the table.
"Get your feet of my table Clint." Coulson comments and Clint does because the only reason he did it in the first place is to annoy Coulson.
"How much do you know about how Melinda was after you died?" Clint asks interested
"For a while all I knew is that Fury came to see her a couple of days after to tell her I was hurt but alive." Coulson explains knowing that he doesn't have to be careful about what he says because Natasha filled in Clint about how exactly he is still alive after she found out "But the day before you guys got here I overhead her talking to Skye and found out that you and Natasha told her that I was dead." Coulson explains wondering why Clint is bringing it up.
"As soon as we could Tasha and I went to Mels, she said that she was waiting for a call from you." Clint explains "We told her that you had died, but she didn't believe it. She was positive that you couldn't be dead because that would be breaking your promise and you don't break promises, I'm going to want the story behind that by the way." He informs Coulson. "Nat sat her down and tried again and Mels still didn't believe her, but I guess third times a charm. Nat tried one more and she finally believe us." Clint explains then pauses to take a deep breath, "In twenty years I have never seen Mels break like that."
"What did she do?" Coulson asks not sure if he wants the answer or not.
"You know how since Bahrain she has been, well a bit self-destructive?" Clint asks trying to put it as delicately as possible.
"Of course." Coulson answer.
"This is the only time I have ever been worried that she would actually do something." Clint answers "She drunk two bottles of Scotch in about an hour before I could get rid of the rest of her Alcohol, though she still managed to find more, she took, I don't know what, she didn't eat, she didn't sleep, she destroyed half the things in her apartment, she called you some pretty interesting names and if Nat and I didn't make sure that we never left her alone I don't know what she would have done." Clint explains as in all the years he has known Melinda it was the most worried that he had ever been about her.
"Why are you telling me this?" Coulson asks his voice barely above a whisper as he can picture Melinda doing everything that Clint described, because ever since Bahrain it is what he feared she would one day do.
"Because you are the only one who can break her like that." Clint explains "All that happened in two days, but you know what stoped her downwards spiral?"
"No."
"She was destroying more of her stuff when she got to a picture of you and her holding baby Skye, and she collapsed, scared the crap out of Nat and I when she did that but she was okay in a couple of minutes." Clint says remembering how scared he was when Melinda collapsed "But more than that one she woke she was a bit more Mels again. I would have thought that seeing picture of the three of you, knowing that she had lost you both would have made things worse but it didn't, it helped her Phil because I think she realise that she still had something to try and live for and that was finding Skye, the one thing that you both wanted more than anything." Clint explains "I don't know if she knows we heard her but she promised you that she would find your daughter." He explains "My point, the reason that I'm telling you this is because you're the only person who can break Mels. There is no one else in this universe who can hurt her as much as you can, so don't. I've seen Mels break one and I never want to see that again." Clint informs him "You're my best friend, but she's my sister, hurt her again and you'll be dealing with Clint Barton the brother instead of Clint Barton the friend, am I clear?" Clint threatens, both knowing that when they refer to each other as their respective best friends their not counting Melinda and Natasha.
"Yeah, you're clear." Coulson tells him.
"Good, do you want to continue our game?" Clint asks.
"Sure, you shuffle." Coulson says handing Clint a deck of cards though as he does he can't help but think about everything Clint told him.
"So what was the promise that Mels was talking about?" Clint asks curious.
"Die together or not at all." Coulson answers without hesitation.
"Huh?" Clint asks confused.
"That's the promise we made it early on in our academy days, we knew the job was dangerous and that it was likely that we would die young so we made that promise, Die together or not at all. It's morbid and impossible but we said that they only way either of our deaths would be acceptable is if we died on the same mission." Coulson explains.
"You guys are really morbid." Clint comments.
"You're one to talk." Coulson tells him "Deal." He tells her friend.
While Clint and Coulson are in Coulson's office playing cards their partners are in the cockpit.
"Does Phil know that you haven't been sleeping?" Natasha asks her friend curious.
"If he does he hasn't said anything." Melinda comments not even questioning how Natasha knows because she's Natasha.
"You know if you were anyone else the fact that you haven't slept for two days would be concerning." Natasha tells her friend.
"Oh, yeah? How many days is concerning for me?" Melinda asks.
"Absolutely no sleep, then four, if you're getting a little sleep then a few more." Natasha answers.
"How did you come up with that?" Melinda asks curious
"It was a long thought out scientific process with Clint and Phil." Natasha explains.
"Translation, you decided over drinks one night." Melinda realises.
"Pretty much." Natasha answers and before either of them can say anymore the door opens and Sky walks in.
"Good, I was hoping you were in here. You haven't seen me." Skye says before opening the door to the supply closet which she climbs inside.
Melinda and Natasha look at each other and both wonder what the hell is going on.
"Skye you're not in danger are you?" Melinda asks.
"No." Skye answers he voice muffled through the door.
Melinda and Natasha exchange a look and both decide not to question her anymore because they've both done odder things and if Skye isn't in danger then more than likely there is no reason to worry.
Skye has been inside the closet for several minutes when the door opens and Fitz walks in.
"Have you seen Skye?" He asks.
"No." Melinda and Natasha respond.
"Why are you looking for her Agent Fitz?" Natasha asks interested.
"Because her and Simmons are hiding." Fitz answers.
"Why?" Melinda asks.
"Because they are evil." Fitz answers before leaving the cockpit.
After sharing an amused look with Melinda Natasha gets up and walks over to the closet that Skye is hiding in and opens the door and asks "What did you do?"
"Nothing." Skye says innocently.
"Skye." Melinda and Natasha say together both knowing that she is lying.
"So Clint may have told me the story of the prank he pulled on you were for like an hour straight you had rubber bands and paper balls and all kinds of other stuff flying around an hitting you so Simmons and I may have updated it and used it on Fitz and Ward." Skye explains.
"How exactly did you update it?" Melinda asks turning around to face her daughter, remembering the prank that she is talking about and wondering what they could have done to update it.
"Well the four of us have been spending a lot of time down in the lab lately so Simmons and I may have made it so whenever certain items are touched they get propelled up at a ninety degree angle so Ward and Fitz may have been hit in the face with a lot of different things, but it was nothing that would actually hurt them, we made sure of that." Skye quickly explains.
"Go apologise." Melinda tells her daughter trying not to laugh.
"Oh come on. I see your face you're both trying your hardest not to laugh. Plus how is this any different to the pranks that you have pulled?" Skye asks her mother.
"It's not, and you're not in trouble, but the last thing we need on this bus at the moment is a prank war, so please go apologise to Fitz and Ward." Melinda tells her daughter.
"Okay." Skye says as she walks over to the door.
"Oh Skye." Natasha says stopping her before she can exit.
"Yeah?" She asks
"Do you have video evidence of what you did?" She asks curious.
"Yeah, I'll show you later." Skye tells her before leaving.
Once she does both Natasha and Melinda let go of the laughter that they have been trying to hold it.
A few hours later, when they plane is parked at an airfield outside of Sydney, Natasha is doing a search for where Tony Stark is meant to be when she discovers that his plane with him and Pepper on board will be landing in Australia in the next few hours.
"What the hell is Stark doing in Australia?" Coulson asks when Natasha tells him not likening the coincidence that he just happens to be on his way to where they are.
"As far as I can tell Romantic getaway with Pepper." Natasha answers.
"In the same place that we just happened to come for safety?" Coulson asks.
"I admit it is odd, but we need to talk to Stark. We need to know if Fury knows anything and we need to let Fury know that we are alright after Switzerland. That could be why Stark is here, Fury could have suggested that he come here on the off chance that we are too. Fury knows us Phil, he knows that after Switzerland we would want to get as far away as possible, Australia is a good choice for that." Natasha reminds him.
"You're right Fury needs to know. I'll go, not you." Coulson tells her.
"You're not going by yourself, no way." Natasha tells her friend.
"I have to, just in case we're not alone you need to stay on the bus." Coulson tells her. "You need to protect everyone Tasha."
"You're one of the people that we know the Clairvoyant wants." Natasha reminds him "You need to stay on the bus with Melinda, Clint and Ward. I'll go alone. It's the best thing and you know it."
"I have no way to get you not to go do I?" Coulson asks.
"None." Natasha answers.
"Fine, just be careful." Coulson tells her.
"I will." Natasha assures him.
Four hours later Natasha is waiting in Tony Stark's hotel room having snuck in without being seen by any person or camera.
"I promise you Pepper, it will be great." Tony says as he walks in the room "I don't remember ordering a red haired assassin." He comments when he sees Natasha.
"Funny Stark, but I really don't have time for your jokes." Natasha tells him "Hi Pepper."
"Yeah so I've heard." He comments "What the hell happened over Switzerland?" He asks interested "Fury looked like he was about to have a breakdown the last time I saw him."
"Hostiles on our back and on our front, Melinda and Clint had to do the most insane flying they have ever done, something with what they have done in the past isn't easy to do, just to get us out of there." Natasha, "Any help you have would be great right about now, does Fury know anymore?"
"Fury, no. Me yes." Stark answers.
"What do you mean?" Natasha asks confused.
"You and Agent May weren't the only ones at that party who had ulterior motives. I managed to plant devices that would send me a blind copy of the corresponded of all the people who would most likely to contact Quinn." Stark explains
"What have you got?" Natasha asks interested
"Not much. So far a lot of it is nothing, but Quinn's lawyer did get an encrypted email this morning which I couldn't trace the location on." He explains.
"What did it say?" Natasha asks.
"Still working on it but I have managed to un encrypt some of it, but I think it's in code." Stark says pulling out his phone.
"Why what does it say?"
"The Cavalry is the key, we need to gain control of The Cavalry by whatever means necessary." Stark says showing her the email and the part he has un encrypted "Does that mean something to you?" He asks noticing that all the colour has drained from Natasha's face and she looks truly frightened.
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