AN: Hi guys! It's been a while ^^' Here comes the next chapter. Not a lot of things happening, but I think it was necessary after the last chapter. As always, many thanks to MegaDiary123 for being a great Beta. See you all soon! Thank you all for the support :) Until next time...

All rights go to Marvel

Natasha's POV

I heard the *whoosh* from the apartment door opening and closing. I didn't move from where I was sitting in the living room of the floor that Tony had provided Clint and me. My head was in my hands and I was bending over the living room table. I felt the sofa next to me sink but Clint made no move to touch me. He knew better than that.

"She's asleep" he broke the silence. "Wanted to stay up, but the sedative that Jemma gave her kicked in pretty quickly" he simply informed me and then sat back as he waited.

And waited until I had managed to sort of short out my thoughts and make the headache subside ever so slightly. The breath that I let out was all the indication he needed before he had me in his arms. "I thought we were past the lies" I confessed as he drew patterns on my back. I let my head fall on his shoulder. Even after all those years, trying to show feelings and explain what I felt, was a bit hard at times.

"I know" he simply replied. I could feel his frown. "And I don't think she has told us the whole story yet" and it was clear that this was hitting him just as hard. "Who would blame her, though? What, with how Stark reacted?" I felt the muscles on the back of my neck tense just at the mention of him and his hand moved there to try and release the tension. "Okay, no talking about him" he added quickly, yet quietly.

"Pepper was the only reason why I didn't punch him," I said.

I felt him nod. "Can't say, I didn't enjoy her smacking and the earful that followed. I'm sure that this was just a small sample of her dismay. She still hasn't left Skye's side and I doubt she will be doing so anytime soon. She and Jemma won't be leaving that room for a while, I believe".

His fingers soothing the muscles on my neck were making wonders and I let myself sink further on him. This was not even close to the end and I had to admit that I was kind of dreading what would follow. An idea came to my head, followed by more frustrating thoughts and I felt the headache coming back full-force.

"Hey, hey. None of that" Clint interrupted my riding thoughts quickly. "What's going on in that head of yours?"

I sighed. "We need to call May" I let out. "Skye might not have mentioned her…"

"But she definitely knows" Clint finished for me and I nodded in agreement.

"And I think it would be good having her over. Skye would definitely appreciate it and the fact that Stark's scared of her will only help". God knows that Skye could use a few good people at her side now, both because she was healing and… well, and because of everything else.

Clint could see that my mind was drifting off. "What's wrong?" He gently pressed once more, able to tell me overthinking about stuff.

I shook my head, having an 'it's nothing' on the tip of my tongue when he pointedly looked at me and lifted an eyebrow. I sighed instead and took a moment to gather my thoughts as they were all over the place. It seemed like the pattern for the evening. "I am just… I have this feeling that this wasn't the end of it, you know?" I let my eyes travel to the door of the floor we were staying.

He let out a breath and though his fingers stopped momentarily, he resumed his caresses. "I know what you mean. There is more. More what, I don't know yet. But I am planning on finding out", the steel in his voice didn't leave any room for argument, but I was having it.

Turning to face him, I basically moved a bit further away, lifted myself from where I had lied down to make sure that my eyes conveyed the importance of my words. "You won't press" the steel in my voice battled his own. "I think she thinks she's protecting us. I am pretty certain of it" I added. "The years that she disappeared after the Academy in fear of hurting us because of her powers are enough of an indication. I think that mindset never really left her, and that might be why she hid what she hid until just now"

"I know", he agreed quickly. "I never said anything about pressing her". And I couldn't say that I didn't agree with his trail of thought. Because none of us was really over with what Fury and Maria did. Because they might have answered a few things, but until everyone had cooled down properly, we couldn't really get the answers we wanted and so we agreed to meet up again first thing in the morning to continue with where we left off. Which, not surprisingly, was not too long after Jemma had escorted Skye back to her room.

"You wanna take the first shift, or should I?" He got up and stretched. I tilted my head to the side, fainting ignorance. "Like you wouldn't spend the whole night making sure Skye was okay", he said with a 'we both know it, don't even try to deny it' vibe following his words. It didn't matter that we were in one of the safest buildings in the world. Not when it came to Skye.

"I'll go first," I said following his lead. "Try and get some rest, we have a long night ahead of us". I leaned and gently pressed my lips on his. His hands found their way around me as he pressed me closer to his body.

When I tried to move away he leaned down and kissed me once more. When he leaned back, our eyes met and I could see the complexity of his emotions right behind his eyes. "It will be okay" he emphasised.

I nodded ever so slightly and let my head rest of his chest just for one moment. "It better be"

May's POV

Knowing that Skye was okay and actually seeing her were two completely different things. And while I wanted to see her as soon as possible, there was a pressing matter at hand.

That pressing matter being Coulson.

Because as soon as Skye left the medical facility with Stark, he wanted answers. Answers that I couldn't give him, not without revealing a lot of information that he couldn't know. For his shake more than anything else.

And so a bit of chaos ensued. He did not like it at all when Simmons left as well to a classified destination. He couldn't really argue when I said that she was taken to a facility that would ensure her recovery and that Simmons was her designated doctor and had to go with, but that didn't stop him from putting up a fight about learning more.

So, when Fury finally answered his phone and made a video call with him, I was more than happy to not have to deal with things. And was even happier to be able to take a couple of weeks off and go to the Tower to see Skye. Our team had gone from the 6 people we usually were, down to 3 really quickly, with Ward also being benched, and Fury more or less ordered Coulson on the time-off. Saying that the team needed to regroup and recuperate. Which, to be fair, was something that I think everyone needed.

So, after a few more heating discussions and the promise to keep him updated as much as I could about Skye's condition and how Simmons was, I was off.

I was already on my way to the Tower when Natasha called. "What happened?" I asked instead of greeting as soon as I put the phone on speaker on the car.

"A lot" came her reply, and I could hear how tired she sounded. It only made my grip on the wheel go tighter and my foot press harder on the pedal.

"Natasha", I warned, urgency leaking in that one word.

She quickly realised where my mind was heading. "No, no don't worry. Skye's okay. Well, at least as okay she can be…" she trailed off.

I gritted my teeth. "I'll be there in half an hour," I said. "I don't know what the hell happened, but as long as she is physically okay, we will deal with the rest when I get there, okay?" It might have been phrased like a question, but it was most defiantly not.

And Natasha knew it which is why she quickly hung up after that. I might not have known what had happened, but it was clear that something did happen. Natasha knew better than to beat around the bush and the fact that she did… I did not like it. Not at all.

I tried very hard not to break the speed limit, cause the last thing that I needed right now was to be even more delayed from reaching my destination. And after 27 excruciating minutes, I had the car parked and made my way to where Skye was.

"Hello, Ms. May" the A.I. greeted me as soon as I stepped in the elevator. "Shall I take you to Skye?" He asked even though the doors were already closed and I could tell that we were already moving.

Standing outside of the room where she was, I finally let myself breathe. Skye was in bed, sleeping and Simmons with Pepper had taken over the two chairs, both dozing off in different positions. I moved closer to the room, walking in silently as to not wake any of them up because I had a feeling that the other two would have been so worried for her that they probably didn't get much sleep in the last couple of days either.

I was as close as I dared to Skye and scanned her over. She looked okay, at least from the outside. I watched as her eyebrows pinched with each other, worry showing itself on her face. The edges of her mouth were tighter than a dreamless and heavy sleep would have allowed.

I sidestepped from where Simmons was holding her hand, making my way right next to her head as I let my hand come to her hair ever so gently. Her head moved about for a bit, but she soon slowly came to as I continued my caress. She blinked, heavily, trying to get her bearings as she looked around. Her eyes darting from one place to the other, not really understanding where she is, the remaining of what she was dreaming about probably still had a hold on her.

"Hey, Skye" I whispered. "You're okay, you're safe. I won't let anything happen to you"

This seemed to make her relax even further, sinking in even more to bed that seemed to engulf her. "Mel?" She asked, her voice quiet and hoarse.

I smiled and bent down to kiss her forehead. My hand then moved to her cheek. "I will be here when you wake up, okay? Try to get some sleep. I am not going anywhere" I hoped that this was enough of a reassurance for her mind not to travel to un-savouring places whilst she was out.

It might have been only a few seconds, it might have been whole minutes, but eventually, she closed her eyes and drifted off, a sigh escaping from her lips as her head pressed itself harder on my palm.

I let my eyes travel over Skye once more, checking to make sure she was alright, trying to get the image of her bleeding out in the Bus and replace it with her sleeping in front of me.

I shook my head and left the room. I stood just outside of it with my back turned to the elevator. "Explain," I said. No footsteps were heard from behind me as I felt another presence make its way towards my location and stand right next to me. I didn't need to turn and look to know who it was.

"What do you want to know?" Natasha asked as Clint fell from the vents above.

"Everything" I replied, not looking at either of them.

And so I gathered information about what had transpired from the last time we talked on the phone. It hadn't even been that long ago, but seeing that it was well into the night and I had spent the whole day arguing and talking with Coulson, it seemed that this was an important day to miss out on.

So I listened. I listened and I stood guard with Tasha and Clint. I made a mental note to pay a visit to Stark first thing in the morning.