Chapter 30
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: THANK YOU SO SO MUCH. Sorry for the Clift hanger hope this chapter explains a lot of the questions you have in regards to Skye.
"SKYE." Ward yells worried, catching her before she hits the ground.
"What happened?' Clint asks as he and Natasha run towards Ward who is helping Skye into the lab.
"SIMMONS." Ward yells worried as he helps Skye over to the chair.
"I'm okay." Skye assures Clint, Ward, Natasha, Coulson, Fitz and Simmons "That just took a bit more out of me than I was expecting. But I'm okay." She assures everyone.
"What took a bit more? What did you do?" Coulson asks moving from Melinda's side to his daughters.
"I found out how I saved Mom." She admits "Simmons you said that the electrical activity in my brain is high, right?" She asks her friend.
"Extremely so." Simmons answers.
"Somehow that's how I know things, I'm still not clear on the how of that yet." Skye explains it being clear that she is having a slight difficulty with speaking "But how I brought Mom back I know." She adds.
"Explain everything to me." Simmons tells her friend "I might be able to help you get your strength back." She says pulling a chair over and sitting across from her friend.
"Whatever the Clairvoyant did when I was a baby increased the electrical activity in my brain, I still don't know what he did, but I know that why I can do these things." Skye admits pausing before she explains more.
"Skye maybe you should rest, explain all of this later." Coulson tells his daughter because it is clear that she is struggling.
"No." Skye answers "This is important." She answers, "When Mom stopped breathing all I knew was that I couldn't let her die and so somehow, I'm still a bit fuzzy on the how, I pushed some of the excess electrical activity I have in my brain into her, kind of like a supercharged defibrillator, it got her heart beating and brain functioning again and I'm still doing it. The excess electrical activity I have in me that I gave to her is keeping her heart beating, keeping her brain and organs functioning, but I don't know why her injuries aren't getting worse, or why her organs aren't being damaged." Skye tells her "Finding out more is too hard at the moment." Skye answers as her eyes drift open and shut.
"That's good Skye, it helped a lot." Simmons tells her friend as everyone else looks at Skye with a worried look "But there is something I need to know, something important. Why is it affecting you so much?"
"Because I need the excess electrical activity." Skye explains screwing her eyes closed then opening them again, it looking almost like she is trying to get rid of blurriness. "Whatever was done to me, changed me and my body, but my brain adapted but now I've given a huge amount of the electrical energy that I have to Mom, I'm feeding it to her to keep her alive, and while I do that it makes me weaker because even though my current level of electrical activity are normal, even high for a human its low for me, which is making me week." Skye explains.
"Will you be alright?" Coulson asks worried.
"Yeah, in three hours I will stop allowing Mom to feed of my electrical activity because I can't give her any more than that. Once I stop my levels will start to rise again and in forty eight hours I will be fine." Skye assures her father, "I need to rest." She comments and Ward and Clint rush to her side to help her over to the table she was laying on earlier.
"Wake me when we get to where we're going, it's important." Skye tells everyone before once more passing out.
"She's fine, or as fine as she can be." Simmons assures everyone as, as soon as Skye passed out she checked her over.
"Did what she say make sense to you?" Natasha asks interested.
"Yes, and I think I know why Agent May's injuries aren't getting worse." Simmons comments.
"How?" Clint asks.
"Skye's power seems to be electrically base like she said what she did is similar to a defibrillator except a lot more effective." Fitz begins to explains "We can't be sure but it is possible that along with using this electrical energy to keep Agent May's heat beating Skye has put an electrical field around the injuries which is why Agent May isn't bleeding out or getting worse, but we don't know how to test it and even if we could it could affect what Skye is doing." Fitz explains.
"Will the doctors at S.H.I.E.L.D be able to tell that?" Clint asks because he knows that if they can it will lead to questions that they won't answer.
"No, they wouldn't even think to test for something like that until after they treat all of Agent May's injuries by which time what Skye has done would have worn off." Simmons explains.
"And if Skye stops whatever she is doing before Agent May's injuries are treated?" Ward asks asking the question that everyone is thinking but does not want to ask.
"She'll die." Simmons answers "What Skye has done has brought her time, but she has taken three bullets and has already stopped breathing once, there is still good chance that she won't survive this." Simmons answers looking at Ward and not Coulson, Natasha or Clint because she doesn't want to see their reactions.
"How long to we reach the base?" Natasha asks Clint fighting to keep her voice steady.
"About an hour and that's at top speed." Clint answers.
"So that gives the S.H.I.E.L.D doctors two hours to fix Linda before Skye stops what she is doing." Natasha realises. "Is that enough time?" She asks looking at FItzSimmons.
"I don't know, it might be." Simmons answers and the whole room drifts into silence.
"Why do you go make sure Stark isn't destroying everything upstairs?" Clint suggests to FitzSimmons and Ward, a couple of minutes later, giving them a look then shotting a look at Coulson who hasn't said a single thing since before Skye passed out, to try and get them to see he thinks Coulson needs a minute.
"Of course Sir." Ward says understanding what he is really asking so he puts an arm around Fitz and Simmons and leads them out of the lab leaving Natasha, Clint and Coulson standing over Skye and Melinda.
After exchanging a look with each other Natasha and Clint walk over to Coulson, and Natasha grabs one of his hands while Clint grabs his other shoulder. None of them say anything the three friends, the family, just stands together watching over the two woman that they all love.
Thee three broken Agents stand together in silence until Clint leaves because he has to land the plane.
"I'll wake Skye." Natasha says being the first to speak a word since Ward left with FitzSimmons. "Skye, ребенок, wake up." Natasha says shaking Skye's shoulder, the only reason she is actually waking her instead of letting her get the rest that she clearly needs is because Skye says it was important to wake her up.
"тетя Наташа?" Skye asks confuse as she opens her eyes getting the Russian right for the first time.
"You said to wake you up." Natasha tells the girl.
"Where are we?" Skye asks as she slowly sits up.
"Clint is landing us at Agent Hill's base." Natasha answers.
"Right, good." Skye answers and attempts to get off the table but once more almost falls so Natasha has to grab her.
"Are you going to be alright to walk?" Natasha asks worried.
"Yeah, just stay close." Skye requests as the door to the Lab opens and FitzSimmons, Ward, Tony and Pepper walk in.
"Hey, Electro-Girl is awake." Stark comments and Natasha is in front of him in seconds "That will be the last time you make that joke why we are at a S.H.I.E.L.D facility, otherwise I will make what the Hulk did to Loki seem like child's play, do I make myself clear?" Natasha asks Stark.
"Perfectly." Stark responds Natasha's threat clearly bothering him.
"We're landed. A medical team is on its way." Clint announces through the coms systems.
Wanting to be out of everyone's way Skye walks over to Stark because surprisingly he is the person who is in the place the most out of the way, "No name, I'm not a hero." Skye tells him quietly, not loud enough for anyone else to hear.
"What have we got?" The S.H.I.E.L.D medical team ask as they run up the ramp.
"Three GSW's, she was stable in the field but her condition has gone downhill during the last hour, she has received a blood transfusion." Simmons explains using the cover they came up with as she has spent the last hour going over it in her head so she wouldn't screw up.
"Agent?" One of the Medical officers ask.
"Melinda May, A 078624." Natasha answers and the office nods, Her Coulson, Clint and Melinda having memorised each other's ID numbers years ago.
"Okay, we've got it from here." One of the medical officers tell Simmons as Natasha pulls Coulson back from Melinda's side as it was clear that he didn't want to move, "Call Doctor Streiten and get him to meet us in the OR." The medical officers say as they move Melinda off the table and onto the bed.
"Where can we wait for news?" Simmons asks as they take Melinda through the Cargo bay.
"Medical waiting room one, but we can only tell information to her selected emergency contacts." The Officer tells her.
"That's fine, all four of them are here." Natasha answers knowing that, unless she has changed it, Melinda's first emergency contact is Coulson, then her and Clint, then Maria and she doesn't have anyone else listed.
"Stay with Phil, I'll help Skye." Natasha tells Clint as he walks over to her after climbing down the stairs.
"He's barely hanging on." Clint says to Natasha.
"I know." Natasha says quietly back before she walks over to Skye to help her walk without making it look like that is what she is doing and Clint walks over to Coulson.
Ten minutes later, Coulson, Skye, Natasha, Clint, Ward, FitzSimmons, Tony and Pepper are in the waiting room all of them silent when Director Fury bursts in Commander Hill right behind him.
"What the hell is going on?" He asks and Natasha and Clint both stand up. "What has been going on? Coulson I want answers." Fury demands but Coulson doesn't look away from the door that leads to the OR, the door that he been staring at since they got to the waiting room.
"Sir, Melinda has been shot." Clint says walking over to the Director as he and Natasha purposely get in a position so that they are between the Director and Coulson and Skye, "I will explain everything to you Sir, but not here." He tells him using a final tone of voice so that it is clear that he will not budge.
"Hallway, now." Fury orders Clint and both he and Hill exit the room Clint exchanging a nod with Natasha before leaving.
Once Clint leaves the room with Fury and Hill Natasha sits back down next to Skye.
"What the hell has been going on Barton?" Fury asks Clint once they are out of the hallway.
"Forget that for a minute Sir, how bad is Melinda hurt?" Maria asks worried about her friend because she knows she must be badly hurt for Coulson to be acting how he is.
"She took three slugs Ma'am." Clint answers "One to the stomach, one to the chest and one to the shoulder. She was stable in the field but her condition has gotten worse in the last hour." Clint lies.
"How did she get shot?" Fury asks a hint of worry clear, even though most people wouldn't have been able to tell Clint cant.
"Stark managed to get a copy of an email that Quinn's lawyer received and he and Skye decrypted it and from what the email said we believe that Quinn and the Clairvoyant wanted to somehow control Melinda, oh that reminds me Quinn is locked in the integration room on the plane." He remembers "The email was traced and it lead to a house in Italy. Melinda, Natasha, Coulson, Stark, Ward and I went in and Melinda was shot, Stark took Melinda back to the plane and Simmons was able to stabilise her." Clint explains. "Oh the house in Italy has a lot of prisoners detained." He adds.
"Coordinates?" Fury asks.
"Um, here." Clint answers pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket because he remember writing them down.
"We'll send a team to Italy, and guards to get Quinn." Fury comments.
"Good Sir." Clint answers "Do not let Quinn escape again, and once there is word on Melinda, Natasha and I will interrogate him." Clint says leaving no room for argument, then he heads back into the waiting room and takes his seat next to Coulson. Maria who followed Clint back in sits down next to Natasha.
"Um, does anyone want anything to drink or to eat?" Simmons asks a few minutes later feeling the need to do something.
"How about we just go and get a few choices for everyone." Ward suggests when no one has answered and Simmons nods.
"Where are the vending machines in this place?" Simmons asks once they leave the waiting room, "This is S.H.I.E.L.D there are meant to be vending machines everywhere." She comments.
"Simmons." Ward says.
"Where are they?" Simmons asks almost becoming hysterical.
"Hey, don't do this." Ward says putting his hands on her shoulder "Don't fall apart now Jemma, just keep it together." He tells her.
"I couldn't do anything." She tells her.
"You did everything." Ward tells her
"No, Skye did." She says quietly.
"Jemma, you helped you came up with the idea to give May blood to help her you've been monitoring her and helped her in the field. You've gone above and beyond today, you should be proud of that." Ward tells the girl that has become like a little sister to him and surprising both himself and Simmons Ward puts his arms around her and hugs her.
Half an hour later Director Fury joined the group waiting for Melinda without a word.
"Phil, you need to drink." Clint says picking up a one of the bottle of water that Simmons and Ward brought, "You to Kid." He tells Skye and Skye reaches over and picks up a bottle
"Phil, drink." Clint repeats.
Coulson accepts the bottle of water but doesn't say a word, he just continues to stare at the door that Melinda was taken through.
"Has there been any updates?" Fury asks Hill quietly.
"No Sir." Hill responds.
"How you doing?" Natasha asks Skye quietly making sure that she didn't ask loud enough for Hill to have heard.
"Getting weaker." Skye admits.
"Skye if you can't keep giving your energy then don't, your Mom wouldn't want you to keep saving her if it means hurting yourself." Natasha say, knowing without a doubt that it is what Melinda would want, her voice so quiet that Skye can only just hear it.
"I've got to." Skye tells Natasha "I've got to give her the best chance I can, I'll be okay." Skye tells her Aunt, "But If I lose consciousness again, just say I feel asleep." Skye requests.
"Are you sure you will be okay?" Natasha ask worried.
"Positive." Skye answers.
Looking away from Skye Natasha looks over Skye's and Coulson's head to Clint who she shares a worried look with.
Half an hour later Skye has once again loss consciousness but because no one is speaking and doing very little moving the only people who have noticed are Natasha and Clint. As soon as Natasha noticed that Skye had once again passed out she checks to make sure she is still breathing and that heart is beating.
Even though according to Skye there Is still another hour before Skye has to stop giving Melinda her excess electronic activity Natasha can't help but wonder if Skye can handle another hour of whatever it is that she is actually doing and whether she really will be okay once she stops.
Another half an hour passes and those who know what Skye did are all too aware that soon the help that the doctors are unknowingly getting from Skye will stop, which means it will be up to them to keep Melinda alive.
Ever since Skye passed out back on the bus Coulson hasn't said a word to anyone. All his thoughts are on Melinda and Skye. He gets now how Melinda must have felt when Clint and Natasha told her that he had died because for thirty seconds he felt that to and honestly he doesn't know how she coped with that feeling for days, he doesn't know if he will be able to cope if she doesn't make it.
Realistically he knows that even with the help that Skye has given that the chances of survival after three gunshots aren't high, but he also knows that no one is stronger than Melinda and that if anyone can make It through this it would be her, but at the same time he can't help but think of what the cost will be.
Even if it was only thirty seconds, she died, and he knows better than anyone what that does to you. He just hopes that if she does make it through then she doesn't have that hollow feeling in her stomach that he had.
For thirty years Melinda May has been his one content, the one person who he could always count on, his best friend, his partner, his everything, "I need you Mel, just hold on please." Coulson thinks to himself.
Looking away from the door for the first time he looks down at Skye who has her eyes closed. "Skye." He says worried.
"She's fine, she just fell asleep." Natasha answers in her normal tone of voice, "She warned me that she would lose consciousness again. I don't know how much longer she can keep giving her energy to Melinda." Natasha tells Coulson in a whisper, Coulson nods and puts his arm around Skye and goes back to staring at the door, his thoughts on what everything that has happened in the past few hour's means for Skye.
The next hour passes and the team become all too aware that the Doctors are now on their own and they hope that what Skye did brought the doctors enough time so that they can fix all of Melinda's injuries.
"Is this a good thing or a bad thing that it is taking so long?" Fitz asks Simmons interested.
"Hard to say." Simmons responds. "It could mean either."
"She has to be okay, right? She's Melinda May, The Cavalry, she can't die." Fitz says quietly.
"She's human Fitz, just like the rest of us." Ward tells him. "She can die."
"She already has once today." Tony comments.
"Stop it all of you." Pepper tells the three men in a quiet angry whisper. "We've got to think positive, she's still in surgery. She's fighting, she's still got a chance." She tells them "Stop talking like that." She says and she receives three nods in response.
Just like they have for the previous two and a half hours the next twenty minutes pass in silence, until the door that leads to the operating room opens and Doctor Streiten walks
"Skye wake up." Coulson tells his daughter, shaking her awake as everyone wanting stands up.
"Dad?" She asks confused.
"Phil." Doctor Streiten greats as he walks over to Coulson.
"Doc." Coulson greats "How is she?" He asks barely able to get the question out, not being able to tell from Doctor Streiten facial expressions whether the surgery went well or not, whether Melinda is alive or dead.
PLEASE REVIEW
PLEASE REVIEW
PLEASE REVIEW