Fractured Glass

by caffeinenut

What if season 3 had gone a bit differently? What if Coulson and Daisy had been at odds with each other? What if Ward had seen the error of his ways and was trying to change? What if Lash had just been poorly misunderstood? What if Hive had possessed another person? My take on season 3.

1. The ATCU Attack

Fractured Glass

Part 1: The ATCU Attack

Author's note: I began writing this almost a year ago, when I was re-watching the series. I never really liked how the writers dealt with some aspects of season 3, though it overall was a great season. I also didn't like how off the rails they sent Ward, thought the Hive storyline was awesome. I also thought his redemption storyline is season 4 was weak. So I took the liberty of re-writing season 3 to what I had wished. I have 3 parts planned, and I apologize in advance if they don't come out fast enough for everyone. I do have the whole story planned out, but since I'm a bit of a perfectionist, it might be several weeks to months for the other two parts. Part 1 starts with the ATCU. Part 2 will add in Lash. Part 3 will add in Hive. I also made Skye/Daisy unsure of which name to use, so sometimes she is Skye and sometimes Daisy. I tried to make the name usage dependent upon who she was with and the person's perspective of each scene.

AOSAOSAOS

May was gone. Gone. As in not present. As in left. As in being somewhere else.

May was gone.

And Skye was alone. Sure, she was surrounded by lots of people. She was surrounded by friends, or people who might be friends. But she still felt alone, because the one person on base she was able to really talk to was gone.

All because of her.

And no one knew where May was.

Skye had called her a several times. No answer. She had even left a voice mail, apologizing again and asking May if she was okay. No response.

It had been three weeks now, and she gave up trying. What was the point? Clearly May didn't want to talk to her. Clearly May didn't want to be around her. Clearly May blamed her, was angry with her. Disappointed in her. Maybe even hated her. So it was time to cut her losses. She knew that. She was used to that, having had people leave her her whole life.

But it still hurt when they left and she had to pretend everything was okay.

Skye knew she was close to crying. Or losing it. May was gone. Coulson barely spoke to her now. Simmons was missing and Fitz was buried in research trying to figure out what happened to her. Mack avoided her. Hunter was holed up with Bobbi in the medical bay, and it wasn't like she was really close to either of them anyway. She had no one to talk to to keep her from falling apart She needed off the base before she erupted. At least, if she was away and fell apart, she wouldn't have to explain anything or deal with the pity or the disgust.

That's why she volunteered to go food shopping. She asked everyone to leave her a list of what they wanted and then she'd run out and get everything. Coulson had asked her if she was feeling up to it. Really, she had almost died only three weeks ago. But she felt fine. Or she told him she felt fine. Really, she felt terrible. Not physically, but emotionally. And she knew she might fall apart very soon, and didn't want to be anywhere near the base in case she did.

So she told Coulson she was fine. Even made some stupid joke and acted her heart out just to be able to leave. Good thing she had had so much practice acting and pretending her whole life. Good thing Coulson barely even looked at her these days. Coulson bought it hook line and sinker.

And now here she was, out at a Shop Rite, grabbing food for the team.

She hated food shopping.

As she came around the curve, going from the aisle with baked goods to the aisle with chips she saw him. He had just come around the other side. They both happened to look and see each other the same time. They both stopped dead in their tracks, not sure what to do. How to react.

"Well, this is awkward," Skye said to him. "What are the odds?"

Ward smiled at her, glad she wasn't going to make a scene or pummel him. She would be within her rights to do so, after what he had done. But he was glad all the same that she didn't. In fact, she seemed downright friendly.

"Almost like out of one of those rom-com movies you love so much," he joked back.

She gave him a disgusted look. "Simmons likes those. Not me."

"Sure, sure," he laughed, dark eyes dancing. "That's why you were always watching them with her."

"I plead the fifth on that one," she replied, smiling back at him.

He gestured to her cart, filled almost completely to the top. "That's a lot, even for a bottomless pit like you."

"Haha," she said sardonically. "It's the team's food. I offered to come."

"You? You hate food shopping," Ward reminded her.

Skye shrugged, looking away, afraid to meet his eyes. If she did, she knew he'd be able to tell something was wrong. Despite all that had happened, he did know her. "I know. But I just had to get out of there for a while. I needed...I don't know. I needed a break or something. Some alone time. Or maybe just a place that didn't remind me of stuff. I don't know."

Ward stared at her for a moment. He took in her appearance, concerned. She looked like she'd lost some weight since he'd last seen her a few weeks ago. Her skin was super pale and she had dark circles under her eyes. She clearly hadn't been eating or sleeping much. But there was more. There was a weariness, a sadness, in her eyes. It hadn't been there before that he could remember. Ever. She had always been so upbeat and optimistic. So full of fire. It was as if the fire that had made her Skye had gone out and just a shell was standing in front of him. Truthfully, it scared him a little.

"Are you okay?" he asked carefully, trying not to piss her off or scare her away.

Skye's head shot up and she was about to tell him to shut up or screw off, when she really looked at him. He wasn't asking to try to find information. He was asking out of concern. It was written all over his face. True, his face didn't give anything away, or anything a normal person who barely knew him could pick up on. But Skye knew Grant Ward. She knew him inside and out. Knew him probably better than anyone else. The same way he knew her. It was both scary and exciting to know someone that well. And she could tell that he was worried and concerned for her. And so she decided to respond with the truth in kind.

"Not really." She looked down at her hand and began picking at her cuticles.

"Care to elaborate?" Ward asked gently, ducking his head to try to catch her eyes again.

"Not here," Skye almost whispered. "Too many people."

Ward nodded in understanding. "How about we finish shopping and then go grab some take out and sit in the park and talk?" he suggested.

Skye thought about it. Thought about how the others would react to her having lunch and a personal conversation with Grant Ward. They would be angry. They would be incredulous. They would think she was crazy. They would think it was a bad idea. They would hate her.

She realized she didn't care. She needed this. She wanted this.

"Sure," she replied, looking back up. "Deli or Chinese?"

AOSAOS

They were sitting at a picnic bench in a park. Ward had found a secluded spot, hidden behind some trees, so they wouldn't be seen. Not that he thought they would be. But being hidden helped put his mind at ease. If any of Skye's teammates saw them it would be the end of his life. But that thought didn't bother him nearly as much as the idea of what they might do to her if they caught her with him. Label her as compromised. Lock her up. Interrogate her. That thought scared him more than his own life being forfeit.

After Shop Rite, she had followed him to a Chinese take out that he recommended near this park. She had waited in her car while he ran in to get the food he had ordered as they drove over. Less that ten minutes later they were on their way to this park. This extremely large and wooded park. He hoped the size as well as the trees would keep them from being spotted.

Ward observed Skye as she picked at her food. She wasn't really eating any of it, just moving it around to make it look like she was eating. From what he remembered, that was a classic sign that something big was bothering her, since she normally ate almost everything in sight. If it was keeping her from eating, in his experience that meant it was very bad.

"May left," she said, surprising him. That was not what he had expected at all.

"She left?" he questioned, making sure he heard her right. When she nodded once, he continued. "Why? Did she and Coulson have another argument?"

Skye shook her head. "Not her and Coulson. Me. She left because of me."

Ward put his hand on hers, stopping her from moving around her food, trying to get her attention. When she looked up at him he said, "I highly doubt that. I doubt that there is anyone she cares about more than you. Even Coulson. I'm pretty sure there isn't anything you could do to make her walk away from you."

Skye huffed. "You don't know what I said. What I did. I don't want to be around me right now, either."

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked gently, still holding her hand.

"It's kinda a long story and I'm not sure I have enough time before I have to be back," Skye said softly.

"Okay. Then how about you tell me what you can in the time that we have right now," Ward prodded, hoping to get her to open up and talk about some of what was upsetting her. He hated seeing her so down and defeated. This was not his normal Skye and it almost scared him. Even when confronted with him after his betrayal, there had been fire in her eyes. She had shot him, in anger. But now, it almost looked as if she was devoid of any emotion, any feeling. Just a shell.

Skye took a deep breath and said, "Well, I met my mother."

"Really? How'd that go?" Ward asked, excited for her.

"She turned out to be a crazy woman who started a war with SHIELD and then tried to kill me when I wouldn't fall into line with her. So, not well, I guess."

"Oh, Skye, I'm so sorry," Ward said, genuinely hurting for her. He knew that her father wasn't exactly Mr. Wonderful either, having met the man himself and seeing the type of person he was and the damage he did. "I'm sorry your parents weren't what you were hoping for."

Skye smirked a little. "I should have known better. But, my father actually turned out to be not so bad. He ended up helping Coulson and the others rescue me from my mother and stop her plan to kill anyone who wasn't Inhuman. He actually was the one to kill her so that I was saved. So, he turned out to be not so bad in the end. But the only way to keep him from a containment facility was to memory wipe him. So now I can't even try to salvage a relationship with him because he has no idea who I am."

"Skye..." Ward said, not really sure what to say to her. How do you comfort someone who's lifelong search had ended this way?

"It sucks. But I did find out my real name. And birthday. So I at least have that."

"Well, don't leave me hanging," Ward prompted.

"Daisy Johnson. July second. I was born in China. And, get this, I was born a different year than I thought. So I'm actually a whole year older. That's totally messed up."

They were silent for a while, and Ward was happy to see her actually take a few bites of her food. And a few bites of his, too, he noted.

"So should I call you Daisy?" he asked.

Skye shrugged. "Not sure. I've thought about using it, now that I know it. But I'm not sure. Everyone knows me as Skye. I chose Skye. And when I think about Daisy Johnson, I'm not sure it is me. Or if it is even a good idea to use it. I mean, look where I came from. Look who gave me that name. Not exactly stellar genealogy there. Maybe I should just be who I want to be, instead of what they gave me."

She paused for a moment and looked over at a rustling in the woods. Seeing a chipmunk come out, Skye immediately thought of Cal and his becoming a veterinarian. She loved animals, too. She grabbed a piece of carrot and tossed it at the chipmunk. The little guy went over to it, sniffed it and picked it up. She watched as he stuffed it in his cheek pouch and then took off back into the underbrush.

Ward watched her, fascinated. So different, yet so much the same. He remembered her feeding the animals when they were still a team and had eaten outside before. She had always loved animals, had always talked about wanting a home where she could get multiple pets. She had never really had any growing up, going between orphanage and foster homes. She wanted pets of her very own.

When it was clear she wasn't going to say anything else on the matter, Ward pressed a little. "You know, they gave you genetics and a name. That doesn't make you who you are, who you became. Your life experiences did that. And yeah, it sounds like a lot of them sucked. But you had some good ones, too. That makes you you, no matter if you're called Skye or Daisy Johnson. Those experiences are what you carry and what shape you."

"Where you always this philosophical?" Skye only half kidded. "I don't remember this side of you."

Ward shrugged. "Guess you're not the only one who's changed over the last year. Having others come in and out of your life, feeling like you can't really count on anyone...well, you of all people know how that feels."

Skye nodded in understanding and frowned. "I'm sorry about Agent 33. Kara. I didn't really know her. But you seemed to care about her and want to help her. So she must have been worth trying to help."

"And torture Bobbi Morse for?" Ward stated pointedly.

Skye rolled her eyes. "You know that I don't like any of that. I don't agree with it. But maybe I can understand it a little better now. And why you followed Garrett so blindly."

"I don't ever what to hear that you understand torture. Coming from you, that just makes me sick to my stomach. You should never be exposed to that at all. If Coulson is even thinking..." Ward said quickly, becoming visibly upset with the idea.

Skye quickly shook her head. "No. I just mean that I don't see everything so black and white anymore. And I can understand caring about someone, wanting to help someone so much that it hurts your relationships with others. That you can hurt and betray those closest to you, say and do awful things."

"May?" he guessed.

"Yeah," Skye croaked out. "I said some awful things. I fought her. Physically. I hurt her."

"I bet she was fine. And kicked your ass for it."

Skye shook her head. "No. I won that fight." She held up her hands and wiggled her fingers. "Powers, remember? I used them on her. Sent her flying, knocked her unconscious." Skye's eyes immediately welled up, just thinking of that day, that moment. "I really hurt her," she finished with a whisper. "And not just in the physical sense. I think the emotional...it was worse for both of us. I'm not sure it is something we can come back from. And anyway, she left and won't talk to me, so I'm not even sure that we can try."

As she spoke, the tears started to fall, and they just would not stop. "I chose my biological mother over her. I chose someone who ended up being an evil, manipulating person over the one who trained me, took care of me, looked out for me. The one who loved me. She was my real mother and I just threw that away."

Ward put an arm around Skye, trying to give her some comfort in all this. "I know you Skye. I know that as soon as you realized how wrong you were, how wrong your mother was, that you apologized to May. And I know May and I'm sure she didn't hold it against you and forgave you as soon as it happened."

"She said so. But as soon as Coulson was out of surgery and she had spoken with him, she disappeared. She left. And I tried calling and texting. But she hasn't responded. So, really, did she forgive me? I doubt it. I don't forgive me either. I was so horrible and hateful to her. I threw it all in her face...my biological mother, her mission to Bahrain..." She trailed off, crying too hard to continue.

"Maybe she just needed time?" Ward suggested rather lamely. "I know that sounds lame..."

"Or she can't even look at me," Skye said dejectedly, wiping her nose on Ward's shirt. "I was horrible..."

"Hey," Ward said sternly, grabbing her chin and gently turning her to face him. There were still tears falling and he wiped them away softly. "You are not horrible. You can never be horrible. You made a mistake. One that everyone else should have been able to see and accept, since you've been searching for your parents for your whole life. Why wouldn't you want to see them as your loving parents who want to take care of you? Yes, it blinded you to the truth, but it seems that you accepted your mistake and tried to fix it in the end. That's not horrible. That's learning and growing. That's human, Skye." He pulled her in to his chest, hugging her to him. "It sounds like this was a long, involved story, and I'm only getting bits and pieces. But I know you, and I know you did the right thing in the end. That makes you a good person Skye. And I wish you had someone other than me to help you get through this."

"Why? You seem to be doing pretty well," Skye joked, snaking her arms around his back.

"But I can't be there for you all the time. Not physically, for everything you need. And I really don't think Coulson and the others would...accept this."

"Grant Ward, did you just proposition me?" Skye deadpanned, looking at him with a surprised look.

"What...no...that wasn't...I didn't mean..." he stammered, not sure how to fix this, fear spread all across his face. And a deep red blush.

Skye suddenly lost the shocked look and tried very hard not to laugh in his face. "Sorry, but your face...priceless. I knew what you meant. I just wanted to see if I could still make you blush after all this time."

"Still a pain in my ass," he quipped back. Changing the subject, he asked, "Coulson got hurt too? Surgery?" Ward questioned.

"Yeah, Mack chopped off his hand."

"What?" Ward practically screeched.

"It was to save his life. Again, all tied back to my mother and her war. So, it's not enough that he's angry with me for May leaving. He's angry with me for losing his hand, too. So, it hasn't exactly been pleasant for me these last few weeks. Hence my trip for food. I needed to get out of the base for a while. Really, no one seems to want me there right now. Not Coulson. Mack doesn't trust me because I switched sides, and because I have powers. Bobbi and Hunter don't really talk to anyone right now. She's still recovering..."

"What about Fitz and Simmons?" Ward asked, not believing for a second that those two would turn their backs on Skye. But then again, he never would have guessed Coulson would and that May would leave her.

"Fitz is okay," Skye said, smiling at the thought of him, and how he really was the only one she had back on base, even if he was preoccupied. "We chat sometimes. But he's too busy trying to find Jemma. She got sucked into a rock."

"What?"

AOSAOS

At first they agreed to only meet out in semi-public. Parks mostly. Places that they were unlikely to be followed to or where they wouldn't be recognized. He actually took her to the zoo one afternoon. It was sweet and fun, and he bought her a stuffed otter because those cute little guys were her favorites. It was almost a date. It was almost as if they were dating. If they could date, that was. If they could just be Skye and Grant, instead of the SHIELD agent and the Hydra agent.

But they, one day while strolling through a park, hand in hand, Skye suddenly pulled him behind a tree and pressed a finger to his lips, indicating that he should keep quiet. He nodded his head in understanding. She pointed around the tree towards the path they had just been on. He watched, pressed up against her, concealed as best they could behind a big oak tree, as two men passed by. It took a moment, but he recognized the shorter, white man as the British guy, Hunter, working with Coulson. The other, the tall black man that he figured to be Mack from what Skye had previously told him.

They appeared to be deep in a conversation, Hunter waving his arms around animatedly, the tall black guy, probably Mack, nodding and saying something here and there. Once they were past, Skye let out a breath that Ward hadn't even know she was keeping in.

"That was close. And unexpected," he said quietly.

Skye nodded. "Hunter and Mack. I didn't think anyone else had left the base today. If they had seen us..." Skye met his eyes. "They can't know. Especially Hunter. He and Bobbi...well, he wants to kill you for what you did. If he knew I was with you...if he had seen you...this is getting dangerous."

Ward's heart dropped. Was she saying she wanted to end this. "Are you saying...you want to stop?"

Skye shook her head. "No. I like seeing you. I'm just saying we need to rethink where we meet up. Maybe public places aren't so good. I don't know..."

Ward nodded, understanding. He didn't want to call this quits either. Whatever was going on between the two of them, he liked it. He liked spending time with her. He thought he may actually love her. Ending it would kill him. But what to do? "I have a place here in DC," he said softly. "Actually, it's in Rosslyn,Virginia. It's not...no one knows about it. I promise. We can meet there? Or is that too much too soon?"

Skye thought about it for a minute. He was offering his one safe place to her, even knowing who she worked for. At any second she could turn on him, give that information to Coulson and they could come kill him. And yet he was trusting her with that information. And she trusted him. There was no way she'd give up that information, no matter who was asking.

"I think that might be for the best right now," Skye told him. "I think we were lucky today. We might not be next time. If you don't mind me invading your personal space..."

Ward smiled at her. "I think you invaded some weeks ago," he joked, leaning down and kissing her softly.

AOSAOS

"So, how's your beau?" Hunter asked casually as he and Mack caught up to Skye in the hallway outside the lab.

"My what?" Skye asked back quickly, a moment of fear running through her body, terrified that she and Grant had been seen and found out earlier.

"You're beau," Hunter said again, wagging his eyebrows comically.

"You know, boyfriend, fellow, lover," Mack started listing, a slight teasing in his tone, smile on his face.

"What are you talking about?" Skye tried to cover up.

"Oh come on Tremors," Mack said. "You can't think that we're all that naive. Spending lots of time off base. Alone. Coming back with secret smiles and in a happy mood. Not talking about what you're doing when you come back. You're meeting someone on the outside. Lincoln perhaps?"

Skye was super thankful that they suspected Lincoln as her reason for leaving the base alone, and not who she really was meeting. However, allowing them to even think she was seeing someone was too dangerous. One encounter with Lincoln and the whole thing would be blown wide open, and then she'd also be in trouble for lying to everyone about a pretend relationship.

"Nope, sorry to disappoint," she said back in her open and friendly voice. "Nothing going on on that front. Lincoln is just a friend. Who I haven't heard from in a few weeks."

"Really?" Hunter asked, disappointed. "I really thought I was on to something there." He leaned down and looked at Skye seriously. "Can you at least lie about it, please? See, I had a bet going with Bobbi, and I really don't want her to win this one. What say you? Take a hit for me and I'll owe you?"

"Dude, I know now," Mack said, smacking Hunter gently in the arm. "You can't lie to your ex-wife now, because that will mean I have to when she asks me for the truth." Mack shuddered. "She'll use that look and it will all be over."

"Oh, the bloody look works on you too?" Hunter asked. "I'm glad it's not just me, mate."

"Guys, do I, uh, have to be here for this conversation?" Skye asked, backing away. "I brought back some reading material for Bobbi, so if you don't mind," she cut off, gesturing toward the medical area, "I'm just gonna go and give it to her."

As Hunter and Mack watched Skye walk away, Hunter said softly to his friend, "I still think she's hiding something off base."

"Maybe. But there's nothing we can do about it until she decides to talk," Mack reminded Hunter.

AOSAOS

They had decided that texting her an address was too risky. So Grant had written it down and had Skye memorize it. Then they had destroyed the piece of paper it was on. Skye did point out to him that it was probably useless, since she'd need to use some kind of GPS to find the place, thereby putting his address into her browser history anyway, but he told her which metro line to take and which stop to get off at.

As she got off the metro, she realized that even though Grant had told her which line and which stop, she had no idea how to get to his place from the station.

"So this was stupid. I'm gonna have to GPS his address anyway so I know where to go from here," Skye mumbled to herself.

"No you're not," a voice said from in front of her. Skye looked up in recognition and smiled at Grant.

"I thought I was going to have to use GPS to find your place and then have a record of it in the browser history. Or just walk around aimlessly until some poor stranger takes pity on me and buys me a cup of coffee and gives me directions?"

Grant laughed. "I already thought of that, which is why I am here, meeting you, to show you the way."

"Oh," Skye said sheepishly. "Your way seems easier. And less likely to attract unwanted attention." She sidled up to him and stood on her tip toes to reach up and give him a kiss. It was short and sweet. Neither of them were ready for anything more out in public.

They walked only a few blocks up from the metro station and made a left. Two more blocks and Grant stopped in front of a three-story end unit town home, with a one car garage. It had a small flight of stairs leading up to the front door on the second level. Grant gestured for her to go first, so she climbed the stairs and waited patiently for him to unlock the front door. He let her in first, and she got her first glimpse of what a home owned by Grant Ward would look like.

It was very open, walls very neutral. But decorated with an eclectic style of artwork and furniture. In the living room, a TV was mounted on a wall above a fireplace. Another wall was completely covered by floor to ceiling bookshelves filled with books. The kitchen was open to both the dining room and living room, separated by counters and a bar top. Very updated and very neat and clean. The neatness was definitely her Grant.

"Upstairs there are two bedrooms and an office," he said, coming up behind her to take her coat. As he put it in the front coat closet he continued to describe his place. "Down on the bottom level is the garage and a large bonus space that I use for a gym. I also have a pool table down there and a bar area for entertaining. Not that I entertain or anything...it all came with the town home when I bought it."

"Well, we will definitely make use of that pool table," Skye said innocently, and at Grant's look of embarrassment, face turning red, she realized how he had taken what she had said. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Grant. I meant for playing pool. I'm pretty good, if you remember."

"Oh, yeah, okay," he said, having trouble making words, his mind still on what she had said about using the pool table. He would be lying if thoughts like that hadn't crossed his mind. But he would never tell her than, never risk whatever this is that they had started by talking about things that they might not be ready for or that might never happen. Instead, he moved to the kitchen to fix them lunch, saying, "Make yourself comfortable in the living room. Channel surf or something. I'll make us some sandwiches."

Skye tried very hard not to laugh at his reaction. She didn't want to hurt his feelings or make him think that screwing on the pool table was out of the realm of possibility. It wasn't. Just maybe not this visit, or in the near future. But if he played his cards right...

Instead of sitting on the couch, Skye perused the bookshelves in the living room, taking in Grant's reading material. She had known he liked to read. He had done enough of it back when he was on the team and they were still living on the bus. But she had had no idea how much he had collected, or how wide ranging his topics were. There were classics, historical fiction, biographies, sci-fi, crime dramas, military books, and on the bottom two rows of one bookshelf, several books on psychology, trauma, and family dysfunction.

"They helped," Grant said, scaring her into standing up quickly and looking guilty. He gestured to the section of books she was looking at. He had come into the living room silently. He placed the sandwiches on the coffee table and continued his explanation. "It's not like I could go to a therapist and tell them what happened. So, those books, they helped me understand and deal with what happened to me. How I was treated. Why I did the things I did. And they're helping me cope and learn to do better. To change myself."

Skye walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a brief hug. When she pulled away, she looked into his eyes, and saw a little fear, mixed with hope. She understood. "I think they really have helped. You are different. Some of you is the same, like when you are attentive and listening, or blush when I make a sexual reference..." There he blushed again, and Skye smiled. "But you seem much more open than you used to be. Less stiff and robotic. And definitely more willing to have fun. The old you would never have taken me to the zoo, or to the playground to swing."

"Is it a good change?" he asked, and Skye could hear the fear and hope that was reflected in his eyes.

"Oh yes. Definitely a good thing," she smiled at him, then stood on her tip toes to kiss him softly on the lips. Sometimes she liked their height difference, but in moments like this, she found it annoying. She made a mental note to start wearing boots with higher heels. "I hope your sandwich making skills haven't been affected with this new change. I haven't had a decent sandwich in almost two years."

"That is a tragedy," Grant deadpanned. Then, before Skye to walk away and take a seat to eat, he grabbed her face and kissed her back, a bit longer and with a bit more passion. She responded in kind, sliding her hands up his neck and into his hair.

He pulled away first and pressed his forehead into hers. "Are we starting something here?" he whispered his question.

"Starting?" she whispered back. "I thought we had already started something six weeks ago."

As they ate, they watched a documentary about the robber barons of the US. It wasn't something that Skye would normally have chosen or watched herself, but Grant really was a history buff. And the way this documentary was produced and directed made it more of a story, rather than just regurgitating facts, making it more readily enjoyable and easy for Skye to follow. She found herself getting sucked in to the lives of Vanderbilt, Carnegie, and Rockefeller.

"I never realized history could be so interesting," Skye commented as the program went to a commercial. "If school had presented the information like this, or let me go out and find this on my own, I probably would have tried harder and not dropped out in 10th grade."

"I doubt I ever learned anything useful in school, either," Grant admitted. "Most of what I know of history I found out myself by watching shows like this or reading. Talking to people. Information is useless if you don't find it yourself or aren't interested in the subject matter. It's also helpful to get different viewpoints, and that's not something schools generally offer."

"Is that why you read so many books to try to help yourself get better? Trying to see it from different perspectives?"

Grant nodded.

Skye was quiet for a bit, but couldn't seem to sit still. Grant had learned back when they were all on the Bus together that this was a sure sign that Skye wanted to ask a question but was unsure if she should due to not knowing how it would be received.

"Just ask it, Skye," Grant pushed. "I promise I'll try to answer."

"No, it's nothing bad, or personal or anything...I guess I was just wondering if you thought there might be anything in those books that could help me, too?" Skye forced out, clearly uncomfortable and maybe a little afraid to ask.

Grant got up and went over to his bookshelf. He took a moment to locate a specific book and removed it from the shelf. He came back to the couch and handed it to Skye. "This one. It deals with how to cope and heal from toxic childhood. I think you might find it informative, for both of our stories. Take it, and take your time reading it."

Grant watched Skye smile, clearly relieved that he wasn't going to press or force her to talk about anything. She flipped through the book quickly. "Yeah, okay. Thanks. It might take a while to get through this, with work and all...but I'll get it back as soon as I can. Thank you."

"No rush, Skye. Take your time to get the full benefit of it, okay?" he said gently, reaching out and squeezing her hand. "If you have any questions or anything you want to talk about, just ask. I'm not going to judge you on anything. I just want to help."

Skye leaned into him, her way of telling him how much she appreciated this, and him. They were silent for a while after that, once again becoming engrossed in the documentary on TV.

AOSAOS

Meeting up at Grant's place actually turned out to be the best thing they could have done. It was away from prying eyes, from cameras, from accidental observation. Grant was always prepared to make her a well thought out sandwich. And when they weren't in the mood, he had amassed a large number of take out and delivery menus. And Netflix had become their new best friend. Skye didn't have to plan her away time so meticulously so that it only fell on days no one else was leaving so there was no chance of being caught. Neither had realized that they hadn't actually been relaxed all those times they had met up before. Both too worried about being seen and caught by the people they were hiding this from to really focus on the other. But now, secluded away in Grant's town home, they could just be Grant and Skye. Two people slowly getting to know each other again and possibly falling in love.

Skye could not believe how much of his past Grant was telling her. He had become an open book, willing to share pretty much everything that had happened to him. He had told her about his family, the abuse, both physical and emotional, from his parents and older brother. About how afraid and angry it had made him. About how it had made him feel powerless and worthless. And how that made him easy prey for Garrett, who turned out to be worse that his parents and brother combined.

"I was nothing, when Garrett got to me. I had no sense of self, no self-esteem, no feeling of belonging. It made it easy for him to manipulate me. And he knew it," Grant told her one afternoon as they relaxed on the couch, her feet in his lap. He gently rubbed them to keep his hands busy as he spoke.

"I'm sorry," Skye said sympathetically. "And I'm sorry you had no idea how screwed up that was, that you had nothing good to compare it to, to tell you that it was wrong and supremely bad."

"Yeah, that's the worst part. My family made me nothing, left me hollow and hopeless. And then Garrett comes in and fills me up with being this...this monster, this super spy and agent...and I had no idea how wrong it was." Grant took a minute, rubbing his eyes, and Skye knew he was trying to push away tears, though she made no comment about it. She just waited for him to be ready to talk again. Or change the subject. Whatever he needed. "Living in the system couldn't have been much better," Grant finally said.

Skye shrugged. "It was rough at times. For me, the worst part was not knowing anything about why I was there. That, and being bounced around so much. Now, I know why, and it doesn't seem so bad, now. But back then, I just thought there was something wrong with me, that I was either bad or unlovable or something."

"Definitely not unlovable," Grant reassured her, smiling. "Or a bad person. I'm sorry no one took the time to make sure you had the support you needed to get rid of those thoughts."

"Oh, they sent me to shrinks all the time," Skye admitted, smiling slyly. "But I was very good at talking around everything. Or lying. So I never got the help I needed then. Now, I look back and realize how stupid I was. One of those therapists probably could have helped me. I guess I just didn't understand, or thought I didn't deserve help or something. That I had caused everything that happened to me. So I didn't talk about it because I was afraid they would tell me it was my fault."

"You didn't deserve anything that happened to you, any more than I did," Grant told her. He reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her to him. Skye went willingly, adjusting herself on the couch so she was snuggled up to him, his arm around her shoulders. "Did anything happen to you in the orphanage, or any of those foster homes?"

Skye new immediately what Grant was asking. She wasn't sure she wanted to talk about it, but since Grant had been sharing some of his darker times, she felt she owed him a bit of her past. "A little. Not at the orphanage. As far as that place went, the only problem was that there was too many kids and not enough adults to make sure every kid got enough attention. But a few of my foster homes...well...I did have some physical injuries. And some emotional ones."

Grant hugged her close. "I'm sorry," he said, knowing there wasn't much he could say to make it okay for her. He wished she had never had to go through all this, but he couldn't change the past just by wishing.

"The bruises and broken bones didn't even bother me. They still don't. It was the psychological stuff that really got to me. Being told I wasn't worth much, that no one loved me, that I would never amount to anything...that hurt much worse. Because I had no way to prove otherwise...I had been dumped at the orphanage so I always thought that if my parents didn't even want me, then no one would, so what all these people were saying was true."

"Not true," Grant reassured her adamantly. "You just hadn't found the right people yet."

"Oh, I know that now. It's still hard, sometimes, to make that voice in my head go away. But it's there less. Or was..." Skye trailed off.

"Until everyone found out about your powers?" Grant prodded.

Skye nodded against him. "Yeah. It just made all the insecurities about my place come out. And when only Fitz seemed to accept it all, it just made me think that maybe I'd been wrong, you know? And now, with May leaving and not even talking to me about it. And how Coulson's been acting...I was always a bit wary of May and how it would turn out between us. But Coulson? I never thought I'd ever be questioning our relationship and whether or not he cared about me."

Grant nodded his understanding. "I always thought Garrett was the only one who cared about me. That I had found my place in the world by his side. Same as you and Coulson. But, what I've come to realize is that Garrett was only using me to further his own agenda. He didn't care about me, except when it helped him. Coulson's different, though. I do know he truly cares about you. He once admitted to me that he thinks of you as his daughter. Whatever is in his head right how is affecting how he treats you. But it isn't you. It's him. One day he'll wake up and start apologizing profusely. And then let you get away with everything again, like he used to."

"I didn't get away with everything," Skye argued.

Grant smirked. "Yes you did. You've always been Coulson's favorite. May's too, if you can believe it."

Skye reached up to tickle him, ending the serious conversation. She'd had enough of that today. "I didn't get away with everything," she reiterated, making him understand that if he didn't agree with her, albeit jokingly, she wouldn't stop the tickling.

"Okay, okay, you got into as much trouble with Coulson as the rest of us," Grant told her.

Skye immediately stopped tickling him and smiled broadly. "You betcha." She checked her watch to know how much time she still had before she was due back at base. "I still have a few hours before I have to leave. Wanna play a few rounds of Battleship?"

Grant chuckled. "You mean lose? Yeah, my ego can take a beating. I'll go get the game."

AOSAOS

"Have you seen Skye...I mean Daisy?" Hunter asked, coming into Bobbi's quarters without knocking. Bobbi looked up from the book she was reading and shook her head. She returned her attention to the book, not saying a word. "She told me she would run a search for Ward using some computer program to track supplies he'd most likely buy and widespread video surveillance..." Hunter broke off, seeing Bobbi wasn't even remotely interested. "Hey, Bob? You okay?" he asked softly, moving over to her bed so he could take a seat next to her.

"I'm fine, Hunter," Bobbi replied back evenly, not even looking up from her book.

"Then look at me please?" Hunter pleaded. "So we can have a real conversation?"

Bobbi huffed and put down the book she had been reading. "Why? So I can listen to you spout off about how you're going to go after Ward as soon as anyone has a lead? While I'm stuck here in this bed, in this room, and can't do a damn thing to help?"

"Bob..."

"No, it's fine. I get it. I'm injured and I need to recuperate and then build myself back up again."Bobbi pushed her blonde hair back off her face and scrunched up her nose a bit, trying not to get upset or bitter. "It would just be nice if you at least waited until I was better so I could either go with you, or so that I wouldn't worry or feel guilty about it anymore."

"Guilty? What do you have to feel so bloody guilty about? I'm the one who let my pride get in the way so I wasn't paying attention and let you get kidnapped. I'm the one who didn't get there in time," Hunter said softly, taking on all the blame. Again.

"Hunter," Bobbi said gently, trying to soothe him. "It wasn't your fault. And you saved me, remember? You have nothing to feel guilty about."

"That was probably the scariest moment of my life. Or series of moments. I was so afraid I was going to lose you, love. I need to get Ward so that it can never happen again."

"I understand. I just wish I could help. But I'm stuck in here with nothing to do and no way to do anything."

"Well, the doctors say that you can probably be up and about in a few days, if your next round of tests goes well. And then you can start moving around more, rehabbing more, and joining in more activities," Hunter said encouragingly, leaning over and kissing her briefly on the lips. "It's a start, and you better believe I'm gonna bloody be there by your side every day."

"Until you go off to put a bullet in Ward," Bobbi pointed out.

"Gotta bloody find the bastard first," Hunter reminded her. "Which brings me back to my original question...have you seen Daisy? I can't find her anywhere on base."

"That's because she's not on base," Bobbi told him. "She came by a little while ago and asked if I needed anything from the outside world. Seems she was taking the afternoon and getting out of here for a while."

"Did she say if she'd started that program for me to try to find Ward?"

Bobbi shook her head. "She didn't say anything about Ward. I also didn't ask, so I don't know. And I don't know when she'll be back. I got the impression she was going to be gone for several hours and wouldn't be back until tonight."

"Did she say where she was going?" Hunter questioned. "Maybe she got a lead and is checking it out?"

"By herself?" Bobbi said incredulously. "Daisy's smarter than that. She knows better than to take on Ward herself. No, I think she just needed some time to herself away from everyone. I mean, you've seen the looks people keep giving her. Hell, you give her the looks, too. Even I do, sometimes, I admit. Must be hard for her to be around it all, all day, every day."

"What looks? I don't look at her any differently since she decided to change her name," Hunter said indignantly, pretending to not understand what Bobbi was implying.

"Hunter," Bobbi said exasperated. "I'm not talking about her name change. Coulson seems to be the only one having a problem remembering that. I'm talking about the other thing...her having powers and how she left us for a while and joined the Inhumans who turned out to be not so nice people."

"Hey, I don't think all those Inhumans turned out to be bad people. I don't think Daisy is a bad person for wanting to know her family. And I don't look at her any different because of how it all went down," Hunter argued adamantly.

"Yes you do. We all do. Looks of fear, or looks of anger. Sometimes even disgust or hate. We all do it," Bobbi admitted, being one of the only few to be able to accept and voice that knowledge. "I get why she needs some alone time. I'm so sick of all the looks of pity everyone gives me."

"Did she tell you where she was going?"

"No. And I didn't pry and ask. I just told her that I would appreciate some new reading material, particularly some entertainment magazines, and some good chocolate bars. She said she'd bring me back some things."

Hunter lay down next to Bobbi, deciding to take a break from the Ward hunt and spend some time with his ex wife. "Do you get the feeling that Daisy is hiding something?"

"Hmm why do you say that?" Bobbi asked, leaning in and snuggling up to Hunter.

Hunter accepted his ex-wife's snuggling and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, laying his head on hers. "She doesn't hang around with us anymore. She doesn't play video games with us, or watch movies anymore. She goes off base a lot now, alone. This is what? The fourth time in less than two weeks? What could she possibly be doing with all that time alone out there?"

"You think she has a secret?"

"Don't you?"

"Maybe she's meeting up with other Inhumans from Afterlife and is trying to recruit them? That's not exactly something she could do on base. Or with a backup team of SHIELD agents with guns. They wouldn't trust her or her motives if she brought anyone else. Have you asked Coulson if he knows what she is doing?" Bobbi suggested, trying to think logically and steer Hunter into safe territory.

Hunter shook his head. "No. It's not like the guy has been approachable lately, either. What with losing his hand, and then losing May...the man's become a fortress, totally impenetrable and unable to have a conversation with."

"I'm sure whatever Daisy is doing out in the real world is nothing big or dangerous. She's smart, she knows the score," Bobbi said, trying to be the voice of reason and sanity with her ex-husband. Sometimes, it was a very hard thing to do. When Hunter got something like this into his head, he was like a dog with a bone...all ahead, not stopping him. No matter how invasive or ridiculous his theory or ideas were. Bobbi had learned that it was sometimes better to stop him bluntly as soon as possible, instead of being understanding and letting him talk it out. However, it was beginning to look like she'd gotten to this too late this time.

"But going off on her own so much? I first thought she was seeing someone behind our backs. That Lincoln bloke. I asked her about it, and she denied it. But maybe she was lying? Or, do you think she's seeing someone else? Someone she doesn't want us to meet or know about? Or doesn't want them to know what she does?"

"Well, if she is seeing someone, it won't last very long. They can't know what she does. It's too risky. So it won't turn into anything serious and we don't have to worry about it," Bobbi reminded him. "And if it really is Lincoln, it might be him that doesn't want to be open about it, since he isn't at all comfortable with SHIELD after everything that happened."

"I still vote Lincoln. I don't think Daisy has any qualms about lying to me on this subject. And do you remember the google eyes she gave him before?" Hunter pressed, not willing to give up his theory.

"Look, Daisy's an adult. Whatever she is doing out there, alone, with or without a guy, I'm sure she knows what she's doing. If she isn't talking about it, it's because she's not ready to, or doesn't want to. I'm sure it's nothing bad or dangerous," Bobbi tried to end the conversation before Hunter brought up more theories.

"Or it's because she knows it's bad or goes against regulations and she doesn't want to be caught," Hunter said ominously.

AOSOAS

"I want a pet," Skye said from behind her book. Grant looked up from his book and turned his head to look at her. Her face was still hidden behind her book as she lay on the couch, head propped up on one arm rest, feet in his lap at the other end.

"A pet?" he questioned, not sure he heard her correctly.

"Yes," Skye confirmed, putting her book down on her lap. "I've never had one before and I think I would like one. It might help me feel better. I'm reading this book," she raised it briefly, and then put it back down, "and in it the main character has a pet that is like great comfort therapy for her. I was thinking maybe I need something like that in my life. I've never had it."

"Hmm," Grant commented back. "I can understand that. I had a dog once..." He trailed off, thoughts of Buddy making him sad and angry at the same time.

"You did?" Skye asked, never having heard him talk about this before. "When? Were you a kid?"

"Teenager. Garrett left me with a dog, when he left me in the woods for those few years. Buddy."

"What happened to Buddy?"

"Garrett shot him to teach me a lesson," Grant said softly.

Skye could hear the deep pain in his voice and got angry with herself for bringing this up. "Hey, Grant," she said softly, getting up off the couch and then sitting back right next to him. "I'm sorry I brought this up. If it's too hard for you...we don't have to get a pet, okay?"

"No, no. It's okay. I just...not a dog. I don't think I could..."

"That's okay. I don't think we're in a position to be able to take care of a dog right now anyway. I was thinking more like a fish."

"A fish?" Grant questioned,making a face. "Really?"

"Yeah. I was thinking one of those bright Betta fish. Single pet. Smaller aquarium. I read somewhere that they have big personalities and can actually recognize faces and voices. That might be cool." Skye grinned, speaking faster as she got more excited about the idea. "And probably hard for us to screw up, too. I'd have to keep it here though. I'm not sure it would do well on base. Or if Coulson would even let me have one."

Grant thought it over for a moment. "Sure. Wanna go get one now?" He was so happy to see the wide smile that nearly split Skye's face. The first real smile she'd shown since before he had betrayed them and their lives had all went to hell in a hand basket. A true, genuine, Skye smile. He knew then he'd finally started making the right decisions, including getting a pet with her.

And that is how Grant Ward found himself inside a PetSmart, pushing a shopping cart, as his girlfriend loaded it up with the necessities for a single, solitary fish. One single, solitary, spoiled fish, he amended, as Skye added almost every kind of food there was for Betta fish into the cart. And several decorations, plants, and even what looked like a tiny mirror. Once they had everything they new they needed, Skye led him over to the display of Betta fish so they could choose one. He had had no idea how many different kinds there were, as well as how colorful they could be. But, true to the nature of his girlfriend, she pushed all the pretty, big, bright ones in front aside and reached back to pull out a cup with at small, dark, and skinny one.

At his questioning look she said, "These others are all going to get sold. This one," she said, putting the fish in front of his face, "well, she probably won't. Because she's not so bright and flashy. So she'll sit here, waiting...not getting chosen...I kinda know what that is like, and it sucks."

Grant put his arm around Skye. "You get whichever one you want. I understand. And I bet, as soon as you give this one some good care, she'll be bright and happy and flashy too." He paused and then looked harder at the fish. "How do you know it's a female? What, did you study on the way over here? You become a fish expert now?"

Skye smirked. "Says so on the cup," she said, pointing to the label.

AOSAOS

On the planned seventh visit to Grant's place, he had asked if she could arrange her time away from the base to be dinnertime. Skye told him she didn't think that would be a problem, and arranged for a Friday night off. She didn't tell him she wasn't due back until Saturday at 2pm when she called to confirm their plans. Skye knew where she was in this relationship, but she wasn't sure where Grant was yet. They hadn't had "the talk" yet, and Skye did not want to presume anything. This way, if he wanted her to stay, she could. And if it wasn't something he wanted, then she wouldn't look foolish. But she packed a bag with a few things she would need, the shampoo and body wash he loved to smell. A toothbrush. Clean clothes for the next day. A box of condoms just in case.

She was hoping to sneak out, not wanting to explain to anyone why she had an overnight bag with her. No one knew she was taking the night off except Coulson and she had just informed him she was going to hang at a hotel with a pool for the evening. She just needed some alone time. He had nodded, as if he understood, and didn't ask too many questions. But the others? She knew if she was caught it would be a game of 20 questions, and she was so not ready for that.

No such luck. As she rounded a corner, almost to the exit, she ran into Hunter. Great. Why couldn't it have at least been Bobbi. She wouldn't have pressed Skye. But Hunter? The man lived for drama and soap opera life. She often wondered who was the strong, stoic man, and who was the gossipy little woman in their relationship.

"Goin' somewhere?" he asked casually, nodding his head in the direction of her overnight bag.

Skye nodded once. "Yeah. A night away, alone, with my thoughts," she said quickly, trying to go around him. No such luck, again, when Hunter reached out and stopped her with a hand on her arm.

"Where? And with whom? Is Bobbi going? Is this a girls night out? Because I'm not okay with that. Bobbi's been pushing to get out of here for a while, but she isn't ready yet, and I don't want to have to..."

"Geez, no, Hunter. I am going alone. To sit by a heated pool and read a trashy novel, okay?" Skye shot back, trying to shake him off.

"Again, alone? You've been going off base a lot lately. You meeting someone secret? You can tell me," Hunter grinned at her lasciviously, hoping she would divulge some dirty secret tryst. So she decided to give him what he wanted.

"Yep, you got me. Hunter, I'm meeting Grant Ward for some hot, dirty, secret sex in a tawdry motel outside of town," Skye deadpanned.

She watched as Hunter's face turned a dark red in embarrassment and horror. "Well, if you didn't want to bloody tell me the truth all you had to do was tell me to mind my own bloody business. No need to lie and work me up. Thanks for putting THAT image in my head! Bloody hell," he cried, walking away, shaking his head.

Skye had learned early on in life that sometimes the truth worked best because it could be so unbelievable. She smirked after him, then turned and left the base, laughing to herself about how easy it was to wind up Hunter.

Skye never took a company vehicle to her meetings with Grant, not now that they met at his town home, or before when they had met in public. SHIELD vehicles were tracked, and there was no way she wanted anyone to know what was going on. So in the past two and a half months she had gotten well acquainted with DC's metro system. She even had a hidden metro card that she used just for trips to meet him, paid for by Grant, not SHIELD, so it couldn't be tracked. She went into the nearest station and hopped her line. She never went directly to where they were meeting, especially now that it was his home. She usually just rode around for about an hour, just in case she had a tail. She didn't think Coulson was putting one on her, but she wasn't sure. She hadn't been able to make anyone, but the point was that they shouldn't be made. So she was cautious each and every time. She'd wait and ride around until she found the perfect moment to blend into a huge crowd and make her way out and to another station, where she'd jump on the metro again and finally make her way to Grant. Today was no exception.

Almost 2 hours after she left the base she arrived at his townhouse and let herself in. He had given her a key the first time they met here. He didn't greet her, which was a bit strange. He was always waiting in the living room or kitchen for her. She dropped her overnight bag and walked around, looking for him. He wasn't downstairs. Her next step was to go up the stairs, and make her way to his bedroom. Once inside, she could faintly hear the sounds of a shower running. Bathroom. That's where he was. Skye stepped over to the mostly closed door and said, "Grant, it's just me."

"Almost done. Just make yourself at home," he called back to her.

They didn't do take out that night. Grant was cooking. This was why he had asked her for dinner. Shrimp linguine with a butter garlic sauce. Skye thought she had died and went to heaven. She had missed his cooking. They usually met during lunch time or early afternoon. This was the first real dinner they had enjoyed together. Over dinner, he mentioned the bag she had tried to hide behind the curtains. Yeah, she should have known she couldn't pull one over on a fellow spy. So she came clean about how long exactly she had free from the base.

"So, you want to stay?" Grant asked, not giving anything away.

"Uh, if it's okay with you..." Skye said, not reading him.

Grant smiled at her. "Of course. I was actually kinda hoping you would soon."

Skye grinned back. "I think we're on the same page in this."

Grant nodded back. "Definitely. Wine, a dessert, and a good movie tonight."

They ended up drinking two bottles of wine, smearing each other playfully with chocolate cake, and not bothering with a movie. They decided trying to clean each other of chocolate cake was a better idea. Which led to an even better idea in the bedroom. And he had been prepared too, so Skye leaving her bag downstairs in the living room was not an issue.

AOSAOS

A beam of light came through the crack in the shades, landing right across the side of Grant Ward's face. The light disturbed his eye, heated up his skin, waking him up much earlier than he had planned. At first he was a bit disoriented. Why was he sleeping on this side of his bed? Why was is face smushed into dark hair? Very soft and nicely scented hair. Why was there a body pressed up against his? Why was his left arm numb? He leaned up and over a bit and it all came crashing back into his mind.

Skye. She was asleep in his bed. On what is normally the side he sleeps on. Back pressed up against him. Her soft breath hitting the arm he had underneath her. He reached over with his other arm and pulled some of her dark hair off her cheek and off her face, to get a better look. Yeah, that was Skye, still asleep with him in his bed.

Last night had really happened.

Grant looked over her at the alarm clock he had on the end table on her side. It read 6:43am. Later than he usually woke up. And he figured probably later than Skye was used to as well. However, since neither had anything they had to do that morning, he decided to take advantage and sleep in.

He lay back very carefully, making sure not to disturb Skye. There was another reason he planned to stay in bed for a while, despite his normal morning routine. He knew Skye hadn't been sleeping well for a long time now. He did not want to wake her up if she was sleeping peacefully. And truthfully, the thought of just lying quietly with her in his arms was very appealing. So, he snuggled up to her back and sighed contentedly. Soon, he was asleep again himself.

The next thing Grant knew, someone was elbowing him in the nose. "Ouch," he said, grabbing his throbbing nose. "What the hell..."

"Oh, Grant, sorry!" Skye cried, turning to him. "I woke up and I wasn't in my bed so I kinda freaked for a second and sat up too quickly. Are you okay? Here, let me look. It's not bleeding is it?"

Grant took his hand away from his nose and looked down at it quickly. No blood. "Nah, I think I'm okay. You didn't hit it that hard. Just startled me awake. It's okay." He looked over to her to reassure her, and was met with Skye wearing a worried glance. And nothing else. The blankets had slipped down and evidence of what happened last night was front and center. He couldn't look away. She really was beautiful.

Skye caught his eye roaming and then realized she had nothing covering her top. She gave him a dirty look and pulled a sheet up to cover her. "Perv," she joked at him. "Here I am, worried I broke your nose, and all you can do is stare at my naked chest."

"Well, you know, it was at my eye level..." His eyes danced in amusement. "And it is such a gorgeous chest."

Before Skye could form a good comeback, her stomach growled loudly. She turned red in embarrassment, while Grant chuckled.

"Someone seems hungry," he said, leaning in to peck her lips gently. "We might need to feed that monster stomach before we do any other activity this morning."

"You offering to cook?" she asked, batting her eyes playfully.

Ward smiled. "Sure, what'll it be?"

"Hmm...lobster mac and cheese?" she asked hopefully.

"How about scrambled eggs and toast?" he suggested instead.

"Sure," she replied, watching him climb out of bed and pull on some plaid pajama bottoms, then make make his way towards the bedroom door, Skye called out before he reached it. "Don't forget, make sure the eggs..."

"Are browned and a little crusty." Ward turned back and smiled at her. "I remember." With that, he left the room and headed downstairs to the kitchen, leaving Skye to scrounge around for something to wear.

AOSAOS

Skye joined Grant in the kitchen, wearing one of his t-shirts and a pair of his boxers. Grant smirked at her look, checking her over. "So we've reached the clothes stealing milestone in this relationship?"

Skye shrugged. "Left my overnight bag out in the living room. I needed something to wear." She took a seat on one of the counter bar stools, watching him cook. "Besides, I used to steal your clothes back before. You should just expect it now."

Grant chuckled. "True. Do you still have my SHIELD Academy t-shirt? The dark gray one?"

Skye nodded. "Yeah. And your black SHIELD sweatshirt. And your red one."

"What did you do? Raid my bunk after I was arrested?"

"Hey, I'm not that insensitive!" Skye replied, indignant. "I stole those things before you were discovered as a Hydra agent, I'll have you know."

Grant laughed. "Do you plan to give them back?"

"No. I like them. They're mine now." Skye jumped off the stool and went around the counter into the kitchen with him. She could tell he was almost done cooking, so she reached up into one of the cabinets and pulled out two plates and two mugs. She left them for him near the stove, then returned to her stool.

"I know I probably have no right to ask...but do you know what Coulson and SHIELD did with all my stuff that was in my bunk? Some of that stuff was kinda...personal and sentimental and..."

"I have it," Skye said quickly, cutting him off. "I went in there and took it all. I have it somewhere safe. I'll get it for you next time, if you want."

"You took my stuff and kept it? You didn't burn it?" he asked incredulously, handing her a plate with eggs and setting a mug of coffee down for her.

Skye nodded. "It just felt...like something I had to do, you know? I was so angry and hurt, but I still cared, you know? And it just didn't feel right to let anyone else go through your things. So I snuck in and boxed it all up one night before anyone else could. And I stashed it somewhere safe."

Grant couldn't believe it. Even after all that he'd done to her, she still cared back then to keep his things safe and private. He was touched, and knew he was with the right person. He sat next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Thanks," he said, trying not to let too much emotion show. "That means a lot to me."

They ate then in companionable silence, both lost in their thoughts.

Grant broke the silence. "So, I've been waiting for you to bring this up for a while now, but since you haven't...have you decided which name you want to use? I just want to make sure that I'm calling you what you want, not just what I remember or is convenient."

Skye shrugged. "I guess. I've been using Daisy Johnson. I mean, it is my birth name. And I feel like I owe my father for saving my life. It's the name he wanted me to have, so I think I should at least use it. Plus, Skye wasn't exactly working well for me. Skye was the one who nobody wanted. The one who no one wanted to be with or who pushed them away. So, maybe I should just become someone different and maybe it will be better."

Grant thought for a moment and then replied, "Not to try to influence you at all, but I wanted to be with Skye. I know it may not have seemed that way, but you made me so conflicted back then. But if you want to change that to Daisy, then you are Daisy. I would just like to know because I've been calling you Skye and you haven't corrected me. Not once. I've been calling you by the wrong name."

"But Skye is who you like. You just said..."

"No, you're the person I fell in love with. Not a name. You, the person. That person doesn't change if your name does. Yes, I said I wanted to be with Skye. Because that was your name back then. Your name now is Daisy. I'll still be here if you want me to call you..." Grant trailed off at the look of confusion on her face. "What? What did I say?"

Skye looked at him, a little shocked. "You're in love with me?"

Grant smirked. "Yeah, well, I thought that part was obvious."

Skye gave him a shy smile. "No...I don't know...sometimes you need to really hit me over the head with things like this for me to see it and believe it."

Grant took her head in his hands, making sure their eyes met. "I love you. Skye or Daisy, it is you. I love you. Believe that."

Tears started to well up in Skye's eyes. She leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his body, pressing her head into his chest. It was a bit awkward, them sitting on bar stools, but it worked. "I love you, too," she whispered into his chest. "I always have." He heard it, though, and wrapped his arms around her to hold her close, stroking her hair.

"Changing your name doesn't make you a different person," he reassured her.

"What if I cut my hair?" she joked.

"Nope, still you," he said back.

A few moments later, Skye let go and pulled away. She turned back to her plate to finish her breakfast. Grant watched her for another moment, just to make sure she was okay. When she asked for more, he was convinced that she was okay with her decision. As he was getting her more eggs, she said to him, "Your name doesn't define you either, you know. Just because your last name is Ward doesn't mean you are anything like your father or your brother."

"Hmm...but I did do some terrible things. I betrayed people. Killed people," he said sadly.

"Yes, but you did it because you were convinced you were helping the person who you thought loved and cared for you. I may not have killed anyone, but I certainly betrayed people for the same reason. If you expect people to forgive me, then they need be able to forgive you, too. And if you expect me to forgive myself, well then...you need to take your own advice."

"Still doesn't make it right," Grant said softly, sadly.

"No," Skye said, shaking her head. "It doesn't. And it doesn't excuse it. What it does do is give you a reason to want and hopefully earn forgiveness and redemption." She leaned back in towards Grant, trying to capture his eyes. "I forgive you for what you did. I believe that you can turn it all around and be that good man I always thought you were. You're making progress right now, just talking it out with me."

"Do you really think I could get that forgiveness from the others?" Grant asked, a bit of hope seeping into his voice, despite trying to keep it out.

Skye shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not sure they are even able to forgive me right now. It will be a long road with most of them. And they also have to be open to seeing it from your perspective as well as looking into themselves and their faults. Nothing is black and white anymore."

"I want you to know, I forgave you for shooting me last year almost as soon as it happened," Grant said earnestly, taking Skye's hands and giving them a squeeze. "It really made me look at what I had done to you, that you would have that much anger and hate towards me...I'm so sorry I did that to you. I thought what I had done was right, and it just never occurred to me that I was taking it too far, pushing too much, or..."

"I didn't hate you. I never hated you," Skye cut him off.

"You didn't?" he asked, almost not believing it.

"No. I was angry at first, but it quickly morphed into hurt. I was hurt beyond anything I had ever felt. Because my best friend turned out to be a traitor and had killed people. Friends." She stared into his eyes so he could see the truth in hers. "Because the man I had fallen in love with turned out to be a traitor. I was heartbroken."

"I wish there was something I could say or do...I know that I can never make up for that, never make that go away," Grant apologized softly, reaching up and wiping the tears from her eyes that had begun to form at her previous statement.

Skye smiled. "I think the fact that we are both able to acknowledge this and talk about it and work through it together is enough." She kissed him gently on the lips. "And this is probably a conversation we should have had before last night, huh?"

Grant laughed. "Maybe. But I don't think not having this conversation first diminished anything last night."

"No. Last night was great," Skye confirmed with a cheeky smile. "Definitely want many repeats."

Grant laughed louder this time. "I'm sure we can arrange that. But seriously...Skye or Daisy, you'll still be you. I just want to call you by the name you want to use."

Skye thought about it for a moment and then said, "I want to be Skye with you. Daisy just seems wrong. And, if I'm honest with myself, I'm not sure it is right for me."

"They why use it at all?" Grant questioned.

"I don't know, really," Skye shrugged. "Except maybe because somewhere along the way I got the feeling everyone expected it of me. Like, 'Hey, you found your name, so now you're gonna use it, right?' I'm just not sure it is me. I chose Skye because it felt right. Daisy just feels...not exactly wrong, but uncomfortable. Like I'm playing a role, a character, in someone else's life. Like I'm wearing someone else's shoes and they match my dress, but they're too small or something."

"Okaaaaayyyyy," Grant said after a moment, trying to make sense of what she had just said. "I'm not sure I understand all that, but if you want to be Skye, then that is what I'll call you. And if you ever want to change that in the future, I'll go along with that as well."

AOSAOS

Daisy was lounging on one of the couches in the common room, reading a book, when Mack walked in. He had thought the room was empty, the better to play video games, and was very surprised to find Daisy there. She wasn't one to spend a lot of time lately in the common areas of the base, preferring the solitude of her quarters.

"Hey, Tremors," Mack greeted friendly. "What brings you out into the common room?"

Daisy looked up over her book at him and made a face. "You know my room is right next to Bobbi's, right? We share a wall."

"Ah, enough said," Mack said knowingly. He grabbed some water from the refrigerator and then moved over to Daisy. He tapped her legs so she'd swing them off the couch, giving him a seat. He then offered her one of the bottles of water. "Kinda sucks, having that thrown in your face, doesn't it?"

"Having what thrown in my face?" Daisy asked, folding the page down in her book to mark her place. She then uncapped the water and took a sip, thanking Mack with a nod.

"You know," Mack said, suddenly turning red. "Having someone to...well..."

"Oh," Daisy said, pretending to just be catching on. "You're talking about sex, right?"

Mack rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Well, um, is there any way to get out of this conversation now?"

Daisy shrugged. "You brought it up."

"And desperately wishing I hadn't," Mack admitted. "I was just trying to embarrass Hunter and Bobbi. Not myself."

Daisy let out a soft, short laugh. "I'm here because they are loud. Not because I am jealous. Not everyone lives the monk life like you."

"Okay, that is way too much information for me," Mack said, turning red again. "I don't even what to know what you are implying. Though Hunter will be thrilled to know that you're..." He stopped talking when he saw Daisy's displeased face. "You know what? Never mind. I don't want to dig my own grave."

"Why does Hunter care about my sex life anyway?" Daisy asked, staring Mack down.

Mack shrugged. "It's Hunter? Does he need a reason to be annoying or nosy? Anyway, I don't want to know about what you do when...well..."

Daisy shrugged again. "If you don't want to know, don't bring it up," she suggested.

"Change of subject," Mack stated, trying to move away from the current topic. "Wanna play a game?"

"Sure, why not. Got nothing better to do."

"Gee, thanks," Mack said, getting up and going to the cabinet that held all their board games. He perused through, and pulled out one of his childhood favorites. "How about Battleship?"

"Not that one," Daisy said automatically. "I don't play that one anymore."

"Why? Lost too many times?" Mack taunted. "C'mon, let's see how well you strategically think."

"No, Mack. I don't play that one. You can pick another. Any other. But I won't play that game again."

"Oh come on Tremors. What are you? Afraid?"

Daisy got up from the couch, grabbed her book, and started to leave. "No thanks." As she reached the door to the common room, she almost ran over Fitz in her haste to leave. She stopped for a second to apologize. When Fitz, noticed her upset face, and Mack's clueless one, asked her if she wanted to stick around and play a game with them, hoping to find out what had just happened and help is friends fix it.

"Not anymore. I'll see you later," Daisy said as politely as she could and left the common room, hoping that Hunter and Bobbi had finally given it a rest so that she could have some peace and quiet by herself.

After Daisy had left, Fitz turned to Mack and asked, "What happened to her right now?"

Mack held up the Battleship game. "All I did was ask her if she wanted to play this."

Fitz made a face, instantly understanding what had happened. "Yeah, Daisy doesn't play that game anymore. Ever. It's a sore spot for her."

"Battleship is a sore spot? How?" Mack asked, disbelieving.

Fitz sat down on the couch that Daisy had just vacated and said softly, "She used to play all the time. With Ward. Since he...well...she refuses to play anymore."

Mack's face fell. "I had no idea. And I just made fun of her for it...I should go and apologize," he said, realizing he had hurt his partner's feelings.

"I wouldn't," Fitz quickly replied. "Talking about it will probably make it worse. Just don't bring it up again. And maybe hide that game. I have no idea how it got in there. I made sure not to include it on the list of games."

"I brought it from my parents' home last time I went to visit," Mack admitted. "I didn't know. I'll keep it in my room and return it to my parents next time I have leave to go see them." Mack pulled out another game. "How about we see if Hunter and Bobbi are up for a game of Monopoly? Maybe Daisy too?"

Fitz nodded. "Okay. I'll set up while you go put that" he pointed to Battleship "away, and get the others."

Mack started to walk out of the common room, then stopped to question Fitz. "When she played this game. You said it was with Ward, right?" Fitz nodded and then Mack continued, "Did she ever win? Is that why it's so touchy?"

"She won every time," Fitz told the other man. "And she didn't cheat and he wasn't letting her win. We never could explain it. He'd utterly destroy everyone else, May included. But he just couldn't beat her." Fitz frowned, then looked up from the Monopoly game he'd been arranging. "I think the game just reminds her too much of how it all used to be, and what he did, and it hurts. I don't like to think about it much, either."

Mack nodded. Though he didn't know Ward personally, he knew that he had been one of SHIELD's best field agents, best planners, best strategists. He wasn't sure how Daisy could have continuously beat the man, but he was sure Fitz was telling him the truth. And he also believed that a betrayal of a friend could really hurt. He'd see it, felt it, in action himself. He made a mental note to not mention it again, then left to go hide Battleship before asking her, and Bobbi and Hunter, if they wanted to join him and Fitz for Monopoly.

AOSAOS

"Have you heard of the ATCU?" Skye asked Grant over the chicken parmesan he had made for dinner that night.

Grant shook his head. "Yeah, I head about it on the news earlier. Something about being a government sanctioned task force to capture aliens or something?"

"Not just aliens," Skye said dully. "They're after Inhumans too."

"You?" Grant asked, trying to conceal his worry.

Skye shrugged. "I don't know if they know about me yet. But I'm sure it won't be long before they get more information on us and then learn about my powers. So yeah, I'll probably end up on their hit list."

"What does Coulson say about them," Grant asked carefully, knowing sometimes it is okay to bring up Coulson and other times it isn't. And there's no rhyme or reason to why each time.

Skye shrugged and returned to her chicken. After taking a few bites, she answered Grant as best she could. "I don't know. He's cautious. But I don't think he thinks they're evil. Apparently they found some dead Inhumans and their director thought we were killing them, while we thought they had captured them. Turns out it was neither of us."

"What makes you say that?" Grant asked.

"I haven't even gotten to that crazy part yet...there's a third player, probably Inhuman, who is hunting other Inhumans. And he looks like a blue Hulk with dreadlocks. Crazy, right? Mack, Lincoln, and I encountered him at the hospital where Lincoln worked. Scary. He can walk through walls and survived me and Lincoln unleashing on him at the same time. In fact, he acted like we were an annoyance, didn't even leave a mark."

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" Grant asked concerned, eyeing her over to make sure there wasn't anything apparent.

"Just some bumps and bruises. Nothing big. But I'm not sure what to make of this new guy. We heard him ask where the Inhuman was. So he knew Lincoln was working at that hospital. But he didn't know about me being there."

"And now you're on his radar, too. Skye this sounds very dangerous," Grant started slowly. "Are you sure you should be out in the field now, with this thing hunting you?"

Skye shrugged again and moved her remaining food around on her plate, a tell that Grant knew meant she was about to avoid the question and change the topic. And he would let her. One thing he'd learned about Skye, if she didn't want to talk about something she wouldn't, even if pressed. However, if it was bothering her enough, she would eventually let it out. She just didn't like to be pressured into it. Grant knew that either later tonight, or tomorrow, she would in all likelihood, bring this topic up herself and and talk it out with him. She just needed some time to process it on her own first. It was something he understood, and even did himself.

AOSAOS

"You want another night away from base?" Coulson questioned Daisy as she stood before him in his office, request for her away time in his hand. Sure, her request was a hand written note, but still, it was a request that had been left on his desk a few hours ago. She hadn't even come and asked him in person this time. Coulson was beginning to think something was going on with his resident hacker turned agent, but he wasn't sure how to bring it up. Daisy had been so closed off the last few months that he wasn't sure how to reach her anymore, wasn't sure the old methods would work and get her to open up to him.

"Yes," she answered back, not giving him any details in her words, voice, or body position. She was acting like it was just another request, like asking for the the next food run to include Lucky Charms and cheddar cheese.

"I've looked at all my back logs on this. You've been going off base a lot lately in the past months. At least once a week. Most weeks it was more. And for the last several weeks it's been overnights like this one." Coulson gestured for her to sit in one of the chairs on the other side of his desk. Once she did, he came out from behind his desk and sat in the other one, to try to make this informal and less threatening. "Can you talk to me? Tell me why?"

Daisy shook her head. "My business. It's not SHIELD related."

Coulson peered at her, trying to read her, and getting nothing. He sighed before speaking again. "It's just, now with the ATCU and that Inhuman you and Mack encountered, I'm not sure you being out there by yourself is a good idea."

"I'll be fine," Daisy tried to reassure him. "I'm not going anywhere they would even think to find me. I just need some time away from everyone."

"You say that all the time, Daisy. I'm not sure I understand where this is coming from," Coulson tried a different tactic.

"So you're saying I can't go?" Daisy asked bluntly.

Coulson sighed again. This was not going well at all. "Daisy, I'm just worried about you. You are spending too much time alone, off base. I'm worried something is going to happen to you. Or that you're hiding something not good."

"I'm not," Daisy informed him. "But I'd rather be off on my own than sitting around here, where everyone looks at me like I don't belong, or with looks of fear. I just need to get away from it."

"And you can't do that here? Where it's safe?"

Daisy shook her head. "No."

Coulson frowned, but knew that she wasn't going to give anything away. "Okay, as long as you keep your phone on and check in tonight and tomorrow morning."

"Thanks, DC," Daisy said, smiling for the first time during this conversation. If Coulson was honest with himself, it was the first time he'd seen her smile in a while. Months. Just before Daisy got to the door, he called out, "If something's wrong, or you were in trouble, you'd tell me? Right?"

Daisy stopped and turned around. "Of course." Then she left quickly, without waiting for anything else from him.

And Coulson just knew she was lying, and that there was nothing he could do about it at the moment.

AOSAOS

Skye entered Grant's town house, smile on her face. He looked up from the couch where he was reading a book, as soon as he heard her enter the apartment. Big smile. Something he hadn't seen her have on her face in a long time. Even bigger than when he had agreed to let her get more fish, bringing their current total up to four. Something really good must have happened.

"You're smiling like the Cheshire cat," he commented, reaching out for her. "Wanna let me in on the secret?"

Skye practically jumped on him, all bouncing energy and happy smiles. "We got Simmons back!"

"From that rock she was sucked into?"

"Kinda," Skye explained. "It was actually a portal to another planet. Fitz found a way to open it back up, finally, and he went through and brought her back home. It was really very romantic and sweet. Crossing the universe for the love of your life...that's really awesome."

Grant chuckled. "I'm glad she's back. I'm glad that makes you so happy."

Skye snuggled up to him, reaching over him to grab the remote control to turn on the TV. "I'm glad she's back, too. Even though she seems pretty traumatized and sick. But Fitz and I will fix that." She flicked through the channels, not really paying any attention.

"Hey, just so you know," Grant said softly, leaning down to her ear, "If you were sucked into a rock to another planet, I'd definitely cross the universe to bring you back home."

Skye hugged him tightly. "Me too. I don't care what I'd have to do."

They watched TV like that for a while, Skye having settled on a documentary about otters. Grant watched her more than the documentary, sensing something was bothering her. Or off about her. He wasn't sure what it was at first, but he knew she wasn't okay. Then, after third time she rubbed her forehead and squeezed her temples, it clicked.

"You have a headache?" he asked softly. "Do you want some Advil?"

"Yeah," Skye admitted softly. "My head is still killing me three days later."

Grant got up and retrieved the Advil from the bathroom, stopping in the kitchen to grab her a bottle of water, before returning to her on the couch. He handed her the Advil and uncapped the water as she put the pills into her mouth. He gave her the bottle and watched her swallow about half of it to take the pills. She still needed lots of water to swallow pills. Some things never change.

"Three days later? What happened three days ago to give you such a long headache?" Grant asked quietly, hoping keeping the volume down would help her.

Skye hesitated just a fraction of a second before answering, but Grant picked up on it. Whatever it was, she was either afraid to tell him, or reluctant to talk about.

"Getting Jemma back...well, the rock vibrated at a frequency that really hurt my brain. And I had to hold it open for Fitz to get back, so, ouch," she said finishing up sheepishly.

"You could have really been hurt, Skye. Was there no other way to keep the portal open?" Grant asked, concerned.

Skye shook her head and immediately regretted the action. "No," she said softly. "The equipment was too old and when we tried the first time, it broke and we didn't have the right equipment to fix it right away. But I could do it with my powers so I did it. I know it wasn't ideal, but it was for Jemma."

Grant hugged her gently and kissed the top of her head. "She's lucky to have a friend like you."

Skye shrugged. "I guess. She's different now, though, very withdrawn. Whatever happened to her, whatever she saw, she's not talking about it to anyone. I don't even think she's told Fitz anything."

"She will. She has you guys, and once she feels safe, she'll open up. That's human nature. She's probably on guard because she had to be wherever she was. Now she's back and she just has learn that she's safe. She'll get there soon. She knows you guys and that you all love her."

AOSAOS

Mack knocked on the closed door and waited patiently for the person inside to let him in. He only had to wait a few minutes before the door was nearly ripped off the hinges by his irate partner.

"What, Coulson!" she practically screamed. Then Daisy must have registered who it was and said softly, "Sorry, Mack. I wasn't expecting you."

"I gathered that," he said, amused. "Sorry to disappoint. I was just coming to see if you were okay after what happened."

"Yeah, fine," Daisy replied automatically.

"You sure? Because the way you answered that door just now makes me think you're lying," Mack pushed.

Daisy sighed. "Not really. But I will be. I'm just so angry and shocked right now. But I'll deal with it."

"You know," Mack said, stepping closer to his partner, "I would not have let them take you, you know. Even if Coulson were to order it. I wouldn't let it happen."

"Uh huh, I know," Daisy replied, looking away from him and trying to push him away.

"I mean it," he said, coming even closer and forcing her to look at him. "I mean it," he said again, enunciating each word. "I would never let the ATCU get their hands on you. I hope you believe that."

"You might not have a choice," Daisy said softly.

Mack shook his head. "No. Like I said, even if it was an order, I'd never allow it. You're my partner and it's my job to keep you safe. And even more than that," Mack said firmly, making sure she kept looking at him, "You're my friend. And it's my job to keep my friends safe."

"Okay," Daisy agreed, hoping he was telling the truth. A small part of her still didn't believe him, but he did sound so sincere it was so hard not to take him at his word. However, it wasn't long ago that he wanted nothing to do with her, or the Inhumans, or anything alien. Or even SHIELD. So, really, could she trust what he was saying? She wanted to, desperately, but couldn't fully trust it.

"Okay then," Mack said back, smiling at her. "I'll let you get back to whatever it is you were doing...unless you wanna come play some video games with me?"

Daisy shook her head negatively. "Sorry, I'm headed out right now. Rain check?"

"Going off base again?" Mack questioned.

"Taking a little me time," Daisy confirmed.

"Is that safe? With what the ATCU just tried to do?" Mack was suddenly concerned. Why wasn't his partner worried about her safety.

"Coulson said it was fine. I'll stay under the radar. Besides, I had this planned before the ATCU tried to take me into custody. I'm not delaying. I'll just be careful," Daisy informed him.

"Planned trip away? I really am beginning to think Hunter is right and you're seeing someone off base," Mack only half-joked.

Daisy shrugged. "Think whatever you want. I'll see you in a few days." With that, Daisy gently pushed him out of the doorway so she could close her door.

Mack stared at the shut door for a few moments, trying to figure out what was going on with his partner and what to do about it. He wasn't too happy about her going off base and risking her safety. Once upon a time, he would have thought handing her over to the ATCU would have been the right thing to do. Then he got to know her, had to work with her, and now he couldn't picture doing his job without her at his side. Maybe not all the Inhuman/alien crap he was forced to deal with was all bad. He frowned, then turned and slowly walked away, not sure how to deal with his partner or who to go to for help.

AOSAOS

"I can't believe him!" Skye shouted as she came barging into the town house. "How could he? Seriously? How the hell could he do that?" She slammed the door so hard the artwork on the walls rattled.

Grant came out of the kitchen, spoon in hand, to see if there was anything he could do to calm her down. But no, Skye was in full worked up mode, and he knew the best way for her to deal with this was to vent it all out before they could have a conversation at all. So he let her go, just listening.

"I mean, I understand not wanting to be in the shadows anymore. Not wanting to be accused of being the bad organization. Of wanting friends and other organizations to ally with. Of not wanting to fight other organizations instead of the people who really deserve it, like Hydra, but seriously? The ATCU? And to offer up some of our own people? To offer up Lincoln? And himself? And maybe even me at some point? I just don't...I don't understand. The ATCU is hunting Inhumans. I'm Inhuman. Why would Coulson then want to work with them? Why would he be so confused as to why I don't? I'm Inhuman and they are hunting and capturing my friends. They nearly had Lincoln, and when he got away, they were prepared to take me. Only later I found out that Coulson told them where Mack and I were meeting Lincoln so they could get him! And I was going to be their consolation prize once he got away. Coulson talked them out of that plan, but for how long? I don't know. I don't know why they are capturing Inhumans. I don't know what they want with us. But I don't trust them at all. And Coulson's making me work with them and I hate it. And I'm so angry with him for all this. And he acts like he doesn't understand why. Or that I don't understand how the world works. My opinion used to matter to him. He used to at least listen. I'm not saying he always has to follow what I want or recommend. But he used to at least listen to me! Does he really still hate me that much after what happened with my parents and Afterlife and May and the ship and losing his hand? He must really hate me!"

She stood there, heaving, in the middle of the living room, finally out of steam. And then just started to cry, deep, gut-wrenching sobs. Grant dropped the spoon and hurried over to her, pulling her into his arms, rocking her gently. He didn't say anything, because, what could he say, really, that would make everything okay after what she had just said. So he just held her for what seemed like forever. Or until the smoke alarm went off.

"Oh crap!," Grant said, pulling away and racing to the kitchen. Skye followed him at a slower pace, peering around the counter.

Grant pulled open the oven and a plume of black smoke came out. He immediately opened the window and began to try to air the place out, waving his arms in an attempt to usher the smoke out. Skye tried to make out what was in the oven, but it was so black and lost that she had no idea. So she just laughed.

"Oh, so me burning dinner is funny?" Grant asked, no hurt or anger in his voice.

Skye shrugged, wiping the tears off her cheeks. "No, and I know I'm at least partly to blame..."

"Partly?" Grant questioned.

"So I'll compromise and let you choose the take out option tonight."

Grant shrugged, glad now that the alarm had stopped and most of the smoke had left. "That's real big of you. At least this cheered you up a bit."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about what happened..." Skye started to apologize uncomfortably, making sure to avoid eye contact with Grant.

"Hey," he said softly, causing her to look up into his deep brown eyes. "No apologies necessary for your feelings, okay?" He reached out and put a hand on her cheek. "You're clearly upset, angry, hurt, and a whole mess of others. That's okay. We can talk about it if you want. You can cry and scream and throw things too, if needed. I'm here to help however you need me. As long as you throw things away from the fish tanks. I've gotten pretty attached to the little guys."

Skye smiled. "I knew it!" she shouted. "I knew you'd fall in love with them and enjoy them. They're good company, aren't they?"

Grant shrugged. "Yeah, you were right. It's kinda nice to have something to talk to, even if they don't talk back. It seems too quiet now, when you're gone. I think maybe we should get some more, you know...ones I pick out this time?"

Skye hugged him and said, "Deal. I think I can manage to work on a few more tanks, if it makes you happy to have some more."

An hour later they were enjoying Chinese food and beer, completely losing interest in the sitcom playing on the TV as Skye and Grant discussed what had made her so upset earlier.

"Do you really think you're in danger of being captured by the ATCU, even though they are working with SHIELD?" Grant questioned.

Skye nodded. "Yeah, I do. They really don't like Inhumans. I'm Inhuman, so I am one of their targets. I don't like working with them. I don't like how they look at me. I don't like how they tried to capture Lincoln. Lincoln is the epitome of how to control your powers. He's so zen and in control he makes me want to smack him sometimes! So why would they need to take him in? They claim he was a danger, but I think the world is more in danger of another Tsunami wiping people out than Lincoln taking them out."

"If you're really that worried, maybe..." Grant trailed off.

"Maybe what?"

Grant took a deep breath, not sure how to bring this up, or even if he should. For the past few months, all she had been talking about was how hard it was at SHIELD, having gotten worse the last few weeks because of the ATCU. "Maybe you should resign from SHIELD. Leave."

Grant expected her to yell. To scoff. To call him crazy or stupid. He expected any response other than the one he got.

"I've actually been thinking about that for a while myself," she stated calmly. "I'm not sure I'm there yet, but maybe soon."

"Is that why you keep 'leaving' your things here?" Grant smirked knowingly.

Skye shrugged, suddenly a little nervous. "I figured you wouldn't mind."

"I don't," Grant assured her. "I actually like the idea of your stuff being here. Of you being here. But, until you make a decision, I have something that might help you, if you're ever in a position where you are threatened." Grant got up and went into the bedroom, returning after a few minutes. He handed her a small device about the size of a large pill. "It's a tracker. Hit this end," he pointed to the dark blue side, "and it will send a signal to my cell phone. I'll be able to come get you. Or help you. Whatever you need."

AOSAOS

"So when are we going to storm that facility and let all those Inhumans out?" Skye jumped right in, walking through Coulson's office door, crashing his secret meeting. His secret meeting in which everyone but her was invited. She looked around at everyone, as they all fell silent upon her intrusion. Fitz looked at her sympathetically, and she silently sent him a thank you for telling her about this meeting. Jemma, standing next to Fitz, wouldn't meet here eyes, staring at some fixed point on the floor. Hunter and Bobbi were standing next to each other near the window, both staring at her with something like pity on their faces. Mack just frowned and seemed to step back, not wanting to be involved in this.

And Coulson, from behind his desk, looked annoyed. Or angry. It was pretty much how he always looked at her now. But today, Skye didn't care.

"Daisy, this is a classified meeting..." he started, but she cut him off.

"One everyone but me was invited to. Hmm, I wonder why," she said sarcastically.

"Daisy..." he started again, but again she cut him off.

"Save it, Coulson. I get it. You don't trust me, you don't think I have anything important to contribute to this. Or you just don't want to hear my opinion on this. Fine. Just do me the courtesy of at least giving me a heads up before you turn me over to the Dragon Lady so I at least have a chance to resist, okay?"

"Daisy, we'd never do that," Fitz said, appalled at the thought.

"You'd never do that," Skye clarified, turning to Fitz. "I'm not sure about the others."

"I really can't believe you just said that," Coulson spat at her. "After everything we've all been through, do you really think we'd turn you over to the ATCU?"

Skye looked back at Coulson and shrugged. "You did the few friends I had from Afterlife. They can control their powers even better than I can, and yet you gave them up like they were criminals who couldn't control themselves. They'd even have Lincoln if I hadn't of interfered. So, the way I see it is that it is only a matter of time before you hand me over to them."

"Daisy..."

"So, are we going to go rescue all those Inhumans or not?" she questioned bluntly.

"It's complicated..." Coulson replied, not sure what to say to make this better.

"It's complicated?" Skye shot back. "No, it isn't. The ATCU is rounding up Inhumans, whether they did something or not, and putting them into stasis without a choice. Just because they are Inhuman. Sounds like some other group of people we all studied from history. And of course, there were those who ignored it and let it all happen back then as well."

"Did you just compare the ATCU to Nazis? Us to Nazi sympathizers?" Coulson said incredulously.

Skye shrugged. "If the swastika fits."

Coulson swallowed loudly, but everyone else remained silent. You could hear a pin drop in the room it was so quiet. Coulson and Skye stared each other down before Coulson blinked first and spoke.

"I think you should remove yourself from this office before we both say things we'll regret," he said coldly, quietly.

"No problem," Skye shot back, turning away from him and storming out of his office, knowing everyone was staring at her. Right now, she didn't care.

AOSAOS

Skye intentionally picked that fight with Coulson. She knew that if she seemed angry enough, upset enough, riled up enough, then everyone would leave her alone. And she'd have time to talk to Grant on the phone. She really needed him, especially now after what she had seen at the ATCU facility, but she also knew that Coulson wouldn't let her off base right now. So, she only had the option of a phone call, but that was risky with the chance of being overheard. Or monitored.

So she had picked that fight so that she could storm off. And she knew the others would avoid her for a while, both to give her time to cool off as well as to avoid becoming targets of her anger as well. And that would give her time to talk to Grant.

She planned on being all brave and strong and angry, but as soon as she heard his voice on the other side, she began to cry. She couldn't get any words out.

"Skye? Skye? Can you at least tell me if you're safe?" Grant asked concerned, trying to get through her tears.

"Yeah," Skye managed to sob out. "I'm in my quarters, alone."

"Okay, take your time. I'm not going anywhere," Grant assured her.

After a few minutes of open crying, Skye calmed down and was ready to talk. "We saw the ATCU facility today," she said slowly. "It was...horrible. Actually, we weren't supposed to see it at all. Me, Mack, and Hunter. Only Coulson was invited. But we made our way there in secret and used one of Fitz's cloaking dwarfs to see inside the facility. Grant, it was horrible. What they're doing...I just wanted to throw up. They're putting all those Inhumans they capture into these stasis pods. Unconscious. They don't know what's happening to them. Like dogs in a pound. No, this is worse. At least the dogs are conscious and are taken care of..." Skye trailed off, feeling the tears coming again.

"And Coulson saw this?" Grant asked.

"Yes," Skye sniffed. "And he didn't do anything about it!"

"Skye..." Grant tried to get a word in, but she was off again.

"I know that some Inhumans probably aren't going to be good people. I'm not blind to that possibility and that they would need to be locked up to prevent them from hurting people. But how do you know who they are on sight? I mean, why aren't these Inhumans being given a choice about this? A chance to learn control before being pronounced as a danger? All these new Inhumans...they didn't choose this! It was my fault when I knocked that ship and those terrigen crystals into the ocean! I caused all of this! All I want to do is try to make it right by finding these new Inhumans and giving them a chance to learn about their powers! Instead, they're being rounded up and put into stasis, like they're not even...even... well, human, but I guess they aren't...but they're not even being treated like they are people! And it's all my fault and all I want to do is make it right! I thought Coulson understood that, why he let me start my Inhuman program, but really, I guess he thinks we're all a danger to society, too. Letting me have my team was a way for him to get more Inhumans under his control and therefore easier to capture if needed. I guess it's only a matter of time before he turns me over to the Dragon Lady and her soldiers."

There was sudden quiet on the phone, and Grant realized Skye had run out of steam. Or breath. He took the opportunity to try to reassure her.

"Skye, you know what happened to these new Inhumans isn't your fault, right? You didn't set out to intentionally activate their genes. It was an accident. From what you told me, you were trying to prevent this very thing from happening," Grant tried to get her to see.

"That doesn't matter. It's still a result of my actions. I caused it, so it's my fault," Skye replied tearfully.

"It's not your fault. If you hadn't of been put in that position, then it never would have happened. Maybe you bear some responsibility, but not any of the fault. That's all on what your mother did and on the two SHIELDS not being able to put aside their differences and work together," Grant pointed out calmly. "And by trying to help these new Inhumans, you are taking responsibility. But there isn't any blame."

"But I blame me," Skye said. "I sent that plane with all those crystals into the ocean."

"Did you know they were going to break and leak into the ocean life?" Grant asked.

"No."

"Then it is not your fault. If they hadn't of broken, would the fish have absorbed any terrigen?"

"No," Skye replied again.

"In fact, Coulson would have had the plane pulled out of the ocean with everything intact, right? It is not your fault the crystals broke. Did you have any other options other than to push that plane into the ocean?"

"I don't know...I maybe could have fought her harder, or..."

"Skye, she was going to kill you," Grant said, leaving no room for argument. "I think you did the best you could with what you had to work with. I'm sorry this has now happened, but you didn't cause it. They did. You were only trying to stop it. And you did. From what I understand, it would have been a lot worse if they had set that stuff loose the way they wanted to. At least this way no human gets killed coming into contact with contaminated sea life. And now you are only trying to help those who were turned without a choice. Like you."

There was a long pause, in which Skye tried to get her emotions under control. "It's just hard to accept," she finally said to Grant.

"I know," he said sympathetically. "It was really hard for me to accept I wasn't at fault for all the things that I did, that happened, while I was under Garrett's control. The things that I did after, well, that's all on me. But while I was still under his thumb...though I bear some responsibility, it wasn't my fault. I was manipulated and controlled, same as your mother did to you. They are at fault. We are just responsible for helping to clean up the mess and trying to make things better."

"I'm not sure the others see it that way," Skye pointed out.

"I know. That's what makes it so hard. But they are hurt and angry and want someone to blame. You're there, so they blame you. Or me. I get it. I'm sorry you are having to find this all out. I wish I could just take it all away, but I can't."

"Sometimes, I really do think they blame me and are scared of me enough to turn me over to the ATCU," Skye admitted quietly.

"I don't know, Skye. That's hard to see. But, if you're afraid that might be a possibility, then maybe you should really think about what we talked about a few weeks ago," Grant said calmly. "I know you really don't like the idea of leaving SHIELD, but if your life is in danger being there..."

"I know. I just...this is the first family I have ever really had. It's hard to think about leaving...hard to think that they'd be willing to turn me over to the Dragon Lady."

"It might not have to be permanent," Grant suggested. "Maybe just until a solution to this current problem can be worked out."

Skye nodded a moment, then realized he couldn't see her. "Maybe," she said softly into the phone. "I really don't want to lose them. But they also look at me...different. Ever since I got my powers. They think they're hiding it now, but I can still see it in their eyes sometimes. They're afraid of me. Or don't think I'm okay or something. It's gotten worse lately. And then there are times, like a few weeks ago, where Mack stepped in front of me to try to protect me from the ATCU. I mean, why would he do that if he didn't care, or didn't want them to hurt me? But then, I catch him looking at me, and it's like I'm back to when I got my powers and everyone was scared of me. Or thought I was a freak who needed to be locked up. Or even better, that I had a disease and needed to be cured. And then I'm back to thinking it's only a matter of time before they hand me over."

"I can't make this choice for you," Grant said to her. "All I can offer is a place to stay if you decide to leave. And a promise that I don't think of you any differently. And I never will."

"Thanks," Skye said sincerely. "I really needed to hear something like that right now."

AOSAOS

A few hours later, and Skye heard a knock on her door. After her call to Grant, she felt a bit better and was even able to do a little reading. She had picked up the book Grant had lent her about complex PTSD. It was actually proving to be quite insightful and she was really glad he had offered it to her. Now she could see how he had become much more grounded and understanding of everything he had been through and done. And why he was so understanding and accepting of her and her issues.

When she heard the knock, Skye quickly stashed the book under her pillow before telling the person they could enter. The last thing she wanted anyone to find out was what she was doing and who had given her the book. It was best to keep it all hidden.

Coulson, the last person she expected to see, came into her quarters. He smiled softly at her and indicated he wanted to sit with her. Skye nodded, sitting up and crossing her legs under her. Coulson shut the door and sat on the end of her bed, both staring at the closed door instead of each other.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay, after our...talk...in my office," Coulson started gently.

Before he could say anything else, Skye blurted out, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said the things I did. I don't think I really meant them."

Coulson nodded. "I didn't think you did. I'm just not sure why you would say them."

Skye shrugged. "I guess because I was angry and frustrated. And hurt. And I don't know how to say that or express that without...getting angry and frustrated.

And I'm scared of the ATCU," she rushed out before she could think.

Coulson nodded as if he understood, yet answered as if he didn't. "There's nothing to be scared of, Daisy. They aren't going to hurt you. I promise. They just want to keep people safe."

"Yeah, safe from anyone who isn't like them," Skye shot back, again feeling her hurt and anger rising.

"I think that's a bit uncalled for," Coulson said softly. "They're just trying to stop dangerous people, same as us."

Skye shook her head. He really didn't get it. Or her. "I guess," she said, defeated. "And I guess as long as I'm with SHIELD I'm going to have to work with them?"

"Yes," Coulson replied. "But I wouldn't have them anywhere near you if I didn't think they and Roz could be trusted, Daisy. I hope you believe that."

"I don't," Skye said bluntly. Seeing Coulson start to get annoyed and cutting him off before he could say anything she said, "But it's not my call, I know."

"Maybe this will help smooth things over. Roz sent over some of her

men. There's been a sighting of a powered person and she asked that you go with her agents to check it out. And talk. She's giving you the chance to talk this person in first, before they put them into stasis. Maybe this a way to meet each other halfway."

Skye shrugged, not at all convinced. "So when do Mack and I leave?"

"Just you."

Skye blanched at Coulson's response. Her alone with ATCU agents. Not exactly a safe and friendly situation. "Why?"

"Because they don't trust us any more than we trust them," he replied. "They are afraid that you and Mack together will give them the slip or help this powered person escape, like you did Lincoln."

"Or this is a great way to get me alone so they can try to capture me with you guys not knowing," Skye said under her breath. But Coulson heard.

"That's now what this is about, Daisy," he said, annoyed. "Look, do I have to order you to go on this mission? Because I will."

Skye just shut her eyes and shook her head.

"Good. Because I really didn't want to have to do that. You leave in an hour." With that, Coulson left her room, closing the door behind him.

This was going nowhere. Coulson just refused to see what she saw. Or just didn't care. Either way, Skye knew she would not be leaving the base without the tracker Grant had given her. Just in case.

An hour later and she was gearing up with eight members of the ATCU, Mack, Hunter, and Bobbi standing in the doorway, watching. No one said anything. She could feel their eyes on her, all of them, even the ATCU agents. She pretended she didn't know or care.

"This is wrong," she heard Mack mumble to Hunter and Bobbi.

"Coulson's orders," Bobbi said back, just as quietly. But Skye heard them. She was pretty sure she and the ATCU agents closest were supposed to hear this.

"She shouldn't be going out alone with them. At the least, I should be there. Best is with you two as well. Someone has to watch her back," Mack said. "I'm not sure why Coulson isn't letting us. It's like he's not hearing us."

"Welcome the the last seven months of my life," Skye snapped at them. "Glad you finally caught up."

"Daisy..." Bobbi tried in her 'it'll be okay, can't we all just get along' tone. The one that usually made Skye want to punch her.

She stood up after strapping on a few guns to zip up her leather jacket. She glanced over at the ATCU agents and then stepped over to her fellow SHIELD agents. Speaking softly so they wouldn't be overheard she said, "Look, it's okay. I get it. Don't worry about me. I have backup and an extraction plan if needed, okay?"

"Who? What?" Hunter asked quickly. "We're all here and none of us are bloody included in this op."

Skye shook her head. "Classified for me to know only." With that, she gently pushed Hunter and Mack aside and strode out of the tactical room, not even waiting for the ATCU agents. The other SHIELD agents stared after her, trying to piece together what she had said and what she had planned.

AOSAOS

Skye's back was on fire. She wasn't sure exactly how many times she was hit, but she knew that there were multiple bullets there. Luckily, her powers had stopped most of them, having instinctively brought them to play as soon as she felt the first sting. But she had not been able to stop all of them.

So now here she was, in a dark back alley somewhere, probably bleeding out from multiple gunshot wounds, and all she could do was laugh. Which caused her back to hurt more. And so she laughed more, tears streaming down her face. She had known this would happen. Well, not known known, but had suspected. She had pretty much told Coulson this exact scenario when she tried to argue against going with the ATCU by herself. But he had insisted she was wrong and wouldn't even talk about it.

"Yeah, well who's wrong now," she said to herself sadly, not even enough energy to be angry.

She held her phone in her hand, but had yet to dial a number. Yes, she knew she was bleeding badly, knew her time was limited. And yet she hesitated to make a call. Because, really, after this, who was she able to call? She couldn't call any of her team. They'd just take her back to base, and then it would be her word against the ATCU over what had happened. And she would also be putting herself back into their hands. Well, Coulson's hands, but basically the same thing now. And forget calling Coulson himself, refer to previous reasoning, she thought to herself.

There was really only one other person she could call. But should she? Could she? Was it really a good idea? She knew he would help her, but was it worth the risk to expose him and their relationship?

What choice did she have?

Wait! What if they were monitoring her phone? Maybe she was being a bit paranoid. But maybe not. If she called Grant, then they would all know, and would all come down on them in this alley and he'd probably be killed. No way was she going to allow that to happen.

Skye put her phone away and reached deep into her bra. She pulled out the small tracker device Grant had given her a few months ago. She stared at it for a moment, thinking about why he had given it to her. To call him for help if this very scenario that was playing out were to happen. Feeling herself becoming a little dizzy...blood loss she realized quickly...she tapped the dark blue end and put the device back into her bra, awaiting his arrival.

AOSAOS

Grant Ward drove through the streets at near breakneck speed.

He had been lounging around on the couch, thinking about Skye, missing her, even fantasizing a bit, half asleep, when he heard the alert on his phone go off with a loud, ear-piercing beep. He knew what that beep was for. He shot up off the couch and grabbed his phone from the kitchen counter, unlocking it and quickly pulling up his tracker program. Yes, her tracker had gone off. Not good. Not good at all.

Panicking slightly, Grant grabbed a jacket from the back of one of the arm chairs, located his car keys, and took off out the town house into the garage, making sure the door locked behind him. He knew she would never set that tracker off unless it was a real emergency situation. Unless someone had tried to hurt her. He had only a little time, he knew, before someone probably would go looking for her. He jumped into his SUV and turned his phone on once again. The dot that signified Skye hadn't moved. Okay, so she was staying in one place. That was both good and bad, as he saw it. Good in that it would be easier for him to get to her. Bad in that it would be easier for others to find her as well. Also bad in that she knew this, and still wasn't moving around. That meant she was hurt. Probably badly. Grant knew he had to hurry.

So race through the streets he did.

He came to a stop at a corner near a deli. The tracker was showing this location. He jumped out of the car practically before he put it into park, looking around for her. He knew Skye wouldn't go into the deli and risk being seen, so she had to be around outside somewhere. The tracker was accurate to about 100 feet. As he scanned around, he saw a dark alley to the left of the deli. Yes, he thought, that's the exact type of place she would go into to hide. He raced into the dark alley, back towards the chain fence. He looked around frantically, too afraid to call out and maybe give them away. But it was too dark to see well. He didn't see anyone. He didn't see her.

He was about to call out, people listening be damned, when he heard something strike the ground at his feet. A rock. He picked it up and turned around, trying to figure out where it had come from. A second rock came out from his left. He turned fully and peered into the dark by a large dumpster. When the third almost beaned him in the head, he knew. It was Skye, and she was just as scared about calling out to him. He jogged over to that dark corner, dropping to his knees painfully when he saw her.

"Glad it only took three rocks. Not sure I could lift my arm to throw a fourth," she joked.

"C'mon," Grant said softly, "Let's get you up and out of here."

"M'not sure I can walk," Skye said, slurring her words, worrying him more than he was willing to admit.

Gently prying her away from the wall, he place one arm under her knees, and the other around her back. Wet. That arm felt wet. Really wet. Pushing that thought aside, he lifted her up against his chest, standing up himself. He heard her whimper in pain and felt bad. But Grant knew no other way to do this, despite the pain it might cause. Carefully, but quickly, he made his was back to his car, keeping a constant look out for anyone who might cause them harm. He lay Skye in the backseat. As soon as she was inside, he saw how pale and bloody she was. This was bad. Very bad. If possible, she looked worse than that time they had found her in Ian Quinn's basement after that man had shot her twice. No wonder she had activated the tracker. He leaned in and gently kissed her forehead. "It's gonna be okay, Skye. I promise."

Closing the backdoor gently, so as not to jar, her, Grant debated on whether he should take her to a hospital over treating her himself. But the internal debate only lasted a moment. Taking her to a hospital could quite possibly, put her in even more danger. She would not be hidden. At least he could hide her, if not fully treat her. But he could remove bullets and dress wounds. And give her a safe place to sleep and recover.

Jumping behind the wheel, Grant sped off to his home. A few blocks into the ride, he called back to her, "Skye? You still with me here?"

"Mmhm," Skye replied, voice low and shaky. "Hurts."

"Yeah, I'll bet," Grant said back with sympathy. "Looks like you've been shot a few times."

"ATCU's finest," she snarked.

Okay, Grant thought, she's being sarcastic. She's going to be okay. To her he said, "Mission gone south? Friendly fire?"

Skye snorted loudly, then whimpered. "Ow. Friendly fire my ass."

"They targeted you on purpose?" he demanded, immediately picking up on her meaning. He felt his anger rising. He looked at her through the rear view mirror and saw her nod. His blood began to boil. This was exactly what they both had been afraid of. He was going to make them pay. Even Coulson. Especially Coulson. He hit a pothole in the road and heard her cry out at the bump. "Sorry! Sorry!" he said back to her, realizing how much pain that must have caused her. "I'll be more careful. I just want to get you home as fast as I can."

AOSAOS

"Okay, let's go over this again," Agent Bobbi Morse said as if she were talking to a child. "Daisy used her powers on your team? Why?"

The tactical agent from the ATCU shrugged. "I don't know why. One minute we were investigating the reports in that abandoned warehouse. The next she had turned to us and...blasted...us across the room! I hit the wall and I blacked out. I came to, maybe a few minutes later, and she was gone."

"But that doesn't make any sense," Bobbi said back. "Daisy wouldn't just use her powers on you, unless you were an imminent threat to her."

"I'm telling you, ma'am, exactly what happened." The ATCU agent sighed deeply. "We didn't do anything. She just turned on us. You really can't trust these Inhumans at all"

Director Phil Coulson stood in his office, watching the video feed from the interrogation room as Bobbi questioned each ATCU agent involved. The story was the same each time. Daisy used her powers on them without provocation. All eight men had said the same thing. There were no holes in the stories, no places to pick apart. No sweating, fumbling, sputtering. Nothing to attack. Noting to refute what they were all saying.

And Daisy was missing. She hadn't checked it. Hadn't answered her phone the twenty six times he had called. A quick survey from his team had shown she hadn't contacted any of them. She was MIA. Or AWOL.

As horrible as Coulson was starting to feel, he realized these ATCU agents might be telling the truth. If they had attacked first, why hadn't Daisy called him to tell him? Why had she run away and gone dark? He knew she was having a hard time working with the ATCU, and thing had just gotten worse between them because of their gel matrix containment pods. She had been fighting with him again about their alliance, trying to get him to sever ties with Rosalind and her people. He had shut her down, of course. He was the boss, after all, and while he did value his people's opinions, he was the final say. He also felt that she was too compromised, too emotional on this to make a rational decision. To look at all the facts objectively. As he and Rosalind had tried to get her to see, not every Inhuman want to do good. Some Inhumans were a threat, even if their intentions were to do good.

Obviously that was true, since now she had crossed to the other side and attacked allies.

Rosalind was there with him, watching the interrogations as well. He turned to her, his eyes questioning. "Do you believe them?"

"Of course I do," she nodded. "Why would they lie? I trust my people, Phil. And let's be honest here..." Her voice took on a hard edge. "It wasn't as if Agent Johnson wanted us around. She hated us."

Mack shook his head. "She was scared of you. She was scared you'd come after her. You already tried it once. What did you expect? This is exactly why I wanted to be out there with her. To protect her from this happening."

"So you think she preemptively attacked my agents to keep them from attacking her? You think you being there would have stopped her?" Rosalind accused.

"That's not what I am saying," Mack responded politely.

"Well then, what are you implying Agent Mackenzie?" Rosalind asked.

"He's saying that your agents are all bloody lying wankers," Hunter chimed in, anger on display. "He's saying they attacked first and she defended herself."

Rosalind opened her arms, sweeping them around. "Where's the evidence of that?" she asked. "Where's Agent Johnson to tell her side of the story? All my agents are accounted for. All their bullets are accounted for. Not a single one missing. They all say the same thing happened. And the one person who could refute all that is MIA. So you tell me what really happened."

"I think we should all wait until FitzSimmons return from the warehouse with any evidence of what happened," Coulson tried to calm everyone down, "Before making any kinds of judgments."

"So you agree with your agents that you think mine are lying?" Rosalind asked Coulson.

Coulson shook his head. "Not what I am saying at all. I'm just saying that physical evidence is as important as verbal evidence."

"Your scientists are not going to find anything because there is nothing to find," Rosalind countered. "Let my agents go and we'll go find Agent Johnson and bring her in. It's what we do, Phil."

Before Coulson could reply, Bobbi entered his office. He looked at her, silently asking a question. She shook her head. Nothing. She was given nothing. She had found no little thread to pull in any of her interrogations. Everything so far seemed to corroborate the ATCU agents. It was looking more and more like Daisy had attacked those agents and gone AWOL. He didn't want to believe it. He still hoped it wasn't true. He hoped that FitzSimmons would bring something back to prove her innocence.

"It's been almost 8 hours," Coulson said softly. "We're never going to find her unless she wants us to. She's better at living off the grid and hiding her tracks than anyone else I know."

"What about that Inhuman she's friends with, that she helped run away. The one who shoots electricity?" Rosalind asked.

Mack shook his head. "None of us have his number. I think Daisy has it, but she never confirmed that or shared it, as far as I know."

"I called him," Fitz said quietly, coming into Coulson's office not making eye contact with anyone. Simmons was right behind him,.

"You have Lincoln's phone number?" Coulson asked.

Fitz nodded. "Yeah. Daisy gave it to me in case of an emergency. Or in case..." Fitz trailed off, everyone knowing exactly what he was implying. "Anyway, he has no idea where she is. She hasn't contacted him. And I don't think he was lying. His concern seemed too genuine to be faked."

"What have have you got?" Coulson asked them, hope laced in his voice.

But before Fitz and Simmons could answer, someone came barging into Coulson's office, making a beeline for Rosalind Price. Before anyone could stop it from happening, or even process it, Agent Melinda May had Price up against the wall, hand around her neck, anger in her eyes. She was ready to kill.

"Start talking. NOW," she demanded. "What did you and your agents do to my girl?"

Rosalind couldn't answer, even if she wanted to. May was choking off her oxygen. Her two agents at the door saw and came in, guns raised, ready to take out May if needed.

"May, let her go. We're trying to get to the bottom of this, and we won't get any answers if you choke her out," Coulson stepped in, trying to reason with his very irate agent.

May squeezed just a little tighter, maintaining eye contact with Rosalind, just to send her a message. Then she let go and watched as Price slumped against the wall, coughing and rubbing her throat.

"Took you long enough to get here," Coulson snapped at her.

"I was in Hawaii." She walked away from Rosalind and came closer to Coulson and the rest of his team gathered around the desk. "By the way, you owe me $8,000." When they all look confused, May elaborated. "That's how much I had to bribe General Talbot and the Air Force to get me here. Flying commercial would have taken too long."

"Noted," Coulson said, smiling. "I'll even throw in a fruit basket."

"Now tell me exactly what happened to Skye."

"Daisy," Mack corrected.

May looked at him confused for a second, then seemed to make the connection herself. "Okay, so tell me exactly what happened," she demanded again.

"We're not sure," Coulson started, putting up a hand when Rosalind started to interrupt. "We really don't know. I sent her out with some of Price's ATCU agents. They are claiming she used her powers on them and ran off before they could apprehend her."

May scoffed. "Not a chance."

"Excuse me, but all eight of my agents are saying the same thing. Are you calling them all liars?" Price interjected.

May turned to face her. "Yes," she replied, leaving no room for argument on her position. May turned back to Coulson. "She hasn't checked in at all?" When he shook his head she nodded. "Okay, maybe she can't. Where did this happen? I want to go look. She might have left me a clue."

Coulson motioned to Fitz and Simmons. "They just got back from the warehouse this happened in. They were just about to give their report when you came barging in."

May turned to the scientists. "Well?"

Fitz and Simmons looked at each other dejectedly. "Nothing, Sir. Nothing. No bullets. No blood. No messages from Daisy. Just a big load of Nothing."

"So, wait? Are we really saying that Daisy turned on all of us? Just hurt those guys for no reason?" Hunter asked, looking at all of them one by one. "That just doesn't sound like her."

"I still can't believe that," Fitz replied.

"She's an Inhuman," Rosalind pointed out. "Now that more and more are appearing, maybe she feels she doesn't need you for protection. Or for friendship. Maybe she just wants to be with her own kind."

"I just wish she'd call either way," Coulson said in response, checking his cell phone again. Still nothing. He dialed her number again. Again, it rang and rang until voicemail. Twenty seven times now.

AOSAOS

She answered. This time it did not ring into voicemail. She did not say anything, but he could hear breathing on the other end. Maybe she was waiting for him to make the first move, to speak first so she would know where his mind was at. He decided to put the call on speaker, to let the others listen in, in hope that they might catch something he didn't.

"Daisy, are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

"I would have thought after twenty seven tries you would have realized she doesn't want to talk to you," a male voice said on the other end.

A male voice he recognized. That all in the room, with the exception of Rosalind Price, recognized.

"And who are you?" Rosalind asked.

"Grant Ward," Coulson replied angrily.

"Trying to piece together why I have her phone? I'll give you a little help, since I only have a few minutes before you can trace our location. I know Fitz has gotten much better at that. She contacted me. She doesn't trust you, Coulson. You sent her on a mission, alone, with people who hate who she is just because she is different. What did you think was gonna happen?"

"Why did she prove them right by attacking them?" Coulson asked, glancing toward Fitz as he frantically tried to pinpoint Ward's location.

Grant laughed sardonically. "I pulled nine bullets out of her that beg to differ."

"They SHOT her NINE times?" May chimed in, anger boiling up.

"All my agents' bullets were accounted for," Rosalind replied. "They didn't shoot her."

"I suggest you count them again. Or maybe I'll just send these nine over and Fitz and Simmons can match weapons, yes?" Grant goaded.

"It must have been after she attacked first," Rosalind reasoned.

"Kinda hard for agents to shoot when they're unconscious," Grant pointed out. "Oh and by the way, one last piece of info before I hang up. I pulled all nine bullets out of her back." Then he hung up.

The agents were stunned. Nine bullets? Where had those bullets come from, if not from the ATCU agents who had been with Daisy. Someone was lying. Normally, Coulson would not have hesitated to declare Grant Ward a liar. But something wasn't adding up. And Ward had no reason to lie on this one. The truth benefited him more than a lie this time. He glanced at Fitz, who looked up from the computer and shook his head, a frown on his face. He'd not had enough time to trace the location of Daisy's cell phone. He had no idea where she and Ward were.

"Ward? She called Ward? Even after what he did to me?" Bobbi asked, voice wavering. She sat down heavily into a chair, pale and shaky. Hunter immediately came over to her and grabbed her hand, squeezing hard.

"She did say she had backup and an extraction plan. Guess we now know who it was," Mack said quietly, feeling hurt that his partner had called a traitorous bastard instead of him.

"Wait!" Jemma cried out. "Call back! He didn't even tell us if she's alive!"

"Oh, she is," May said softly. "If she were dead, he would have rubbed that information in." She then turned her eyes to Rosalind Price, her stare pinning the other woman in place. "Start talking," she demanded in her steely don't mess with me voice. "And the truth this time."

Rosalind Price took stock of everyone in the room. All eyes were on her, none welcoming or inviting. They all were suspicious and several were downright hostile. Especially Agent May's. And surprisingly, the scientist Fitz. She quickly assessed that the situation was no longer hers to control. The truth was really the only thing that would work here, but if she could spin it, it might still work out for her.

"Okay, yes, my agents shot at her. They told me it was self defense, that Agent Johnson brought her hands up and used her power first."

"But that doesn't make sense," Mack replied. "Tremors doesn't even like to use her powers on the bad guys without trying other methods first. To attack with them first...that just isn't like her. She'll only use her powers if she's attacked first."

"And Ward said she was shot in the back. So she wasn't even facing your agents when they fired," May added.

"She used her powers and then turned and ran. That's why my agents shot her in the back," Price offered.

"But your agents said she knocked them all out with her powers. If they were unconscious, then how did they fire on her as she ran away?" Bobbi added. "Something isn't adding up here."

"Look," Price said, getting a bit angry and defensive. "Maybe she attacked, some got knocked out and the others fired, so then she attacked again, hitting the rest. None of us were there. Only Agent Johnson and my agents. And my agents say she attacked first. Period. She is the enemy in this situation."

"That still doesn't explain why you first told us your agents accounted for all their bullets and none were fired! And now you're telling us they fired some after she attacked? Make up your mind! And stop lying!" Coulson demanded angrily. "Someone is lying here, and I don't think it is Daisy or Ward."

"And why is there no evidence at the warehouse?" Jemma piped up. "I mean, if there was a shoot out, where's the bullet casings? The blood? The damage? Unless..." she trailed off and May finished her sentence.

"Unless they gave you the wrong warehouse to search." Her eyes never left Rosalind Price. "Can I choke her out now?"

AOSAOS

Grant Ward tossed Skye's cell phone onto the table beside the bed as soon as he had ended the call. He looked over to the body lying on the bed. She was still sleeping. She had been for the past several hours, had fallen asleep on the ride home from the alley where he had found her. It was a good thing too, since removing those bullets would probably have been very painful if she had been awake. Only four had been deep enough to cause severe bleeding and some muscle damage. The rest hadn't penetrated her back very far at all. He guessed that her powers had stopped them from doing too much damage.

Ward gently placed a hand on her head and stroked her hair. He could feel the anger returning, bubbling up. He really needed to go punch something, but he was afraid to leave her alone, even in the same place. He was afraid that she'd suddenly take a turn for the worse and he'd lose her permanently.

She stirred a little under his hand and then slurred out, "Did you say nine bullets?"

"Yeah," he whispered to her softly. "It's okay though, not too much damage. I stopped all the bleeding and patched you up. You'll probably need sleep and lots of rest for a few days, to recover from the blood loss and shock. No problem. You can stay here as long as you want."

"There were only eight agents with me. And I know I stopped a lot more than what hit me," she said sadly, realization of what had happened falling into place.

"It looks like you were right. You were their target," Ward said, still whispering softly.

"It was a cross off," she stated bluntly. "The ATCU wanted me dead."

"Seems to be. And since you didn't die or return to base, they have concocted some story claiming you attacked first," Ward informed her. "Which you and I know is false."

"Is that why you answered my phone? To tell Coul...to tell the others what happened?"

Ward didn't miss her stumbling over Coulson's name. There was something there, something she wasn't ready to face or talk about yet. He let it go, instead choosing to focus on getting her better. There would be plenty of time to talk about everything, since she'd probably be here with him for several days recuperating.

"Yeah. And to let them know you were at least alive." He leaned over, trying to see her face. "You hungry? Or still too tired and want more sleep?"

"I am tired, but I probably need to eat a little something. Maybe just some crackers or something?"

Grant nodded. "How about some chicken soup with those crackers? I have some homemade," he enticed.

Skye smiled at him. "You know I can't say no to your chicken soup."

AOSAOS

After the disastrous phone call with Ward, Coulson had Rosalind Price escorted from the base. He wasn't sure, after everything that had been revealed, if he could still trust her. He wanted to. There was something about her that drew him to her. He wanted her to be above board and worthy of their trust. But he couldn't have her there when they were discussing private internal matters. Like the fact that Daisy was willingly with Grant Ward. So he had agents lead her out of the base so he and his team could talk openly about the situation. But make no mistake about it, he was planning on having her back, if only to interrogate her more about what her team had allegedly done to his agent.

"Ward said she doesn't trust me. Why would he say that? Why wouldn't she trust me?" Coulson said distantly.

"Why the HELL would she anymore!" Fitz yelled out at him, no longer caring about keeping quiet or keeping the peace. It was time everyone, especially Coulson, learned the truth.

"Fitz," Jemma whispered to him, grabbing his arm to try to get his attention and get him to calm down. "Now's not the time..."

"No, Jemma, I want to hear what he has to say," Coulson said, eyes clouding up with anger. "What do you know, Fitz?"

Fitz shook off Jemma and marched up to Coulson,anger and tears coming off him like a tsunami. "I know you were bloody pissed when you lost your arm. Angry at everything. I know you were bloody pissed when May left without a word. Again, angry at everything. I know you blamed Daisy for all of that. For losing your arm because of the Inhumans she worked with and befriended at Afterlife. Her parents, too. I know you blamed Daisy for May leaving, even more than she blamed herself. But here's the truth...Mack cut off your arm to safe your life. Daisy had nothing to do with it. We were always going to be in that position, whether Daisy was helping them or not. May leaving wasn't Daisy's fault. It was May's choice to do that. But you needed someone to blame. Someone to be angry at. So you took it all out on Daisy for the past several months. And she took it, probably even felt she deserved it all. Because no one does self flagellation as well as Daisy does. But the truth is that she doesn't deserve any of it. None of it was her fault. And then, to top it all off, you force her to work with people who would rather shoot her just because she has a genetic difference from them! Just because she could do something bad at some point, instead of looking at all the good she was currently doing and had done! People she doesn't trust and is scared of. And the few times she tried to talk to you about it, you blow her off put up that wall about how you're the boss and she should stow her opinions." Fitz shook his head, disgusted. "No wonder she called Ward."

"And she told you all this?" Coulson questioned.

Fitz shook his head. "She didn't have to. It's been written all over her face and in her actions for months. You're just either too blind or too smitten with the new girl to see it." Fitz swallowed hard. "Or you really just don't care."

"How dare you," Coulson said dangerously. "How dare you say that I don't care about Daisy. I understand you're angry, but that is just...just...not true at all."

"Did she really blame herself for me leaving for so long?" May asked, letting her emotions leak out. Fitz nodded. "Why?" May asked, forcing back tears.

"Because she says she said some not nice things to you. That she fought you and hurt you. I think she thinks that you were angry at her and just didn't want to be around her anymore. You know how she gets when any of us have a disagreement."

"She's not why I left. None of what happened between the two of us is why I left."

"I know. But you didn't help the situation any by not letting her know that and not returning her calls. She felt abandoned, and when she tried to get some kind of comfort or assurance from Coulson he just...well, it wasn't there. From pretty much any of us. Even me, since I was so focused on finding Jemma."

"Fitz...what is is that you aren't telling us?" Coulson prodded quietly, almost afraid of where Fitz was trying to lead them.

Fitz made a face. "I promised I wouldn't say anything. I promised."

"Fitz, just by saying something...you're trying to show us a path to make the connection ourselves. We might not have that time," Coulson continued. "What exactly is going on with Daisy?"

Fitz took a deep breath. "I guess it doesn't matter now, anyway, if I tell you. You already kinda know." Fitz took another deep breath and decided to just focus on Coulson, and forget everyone and everything outside of him. The others, their thoughts and expressions didn't matter right now. They would later, but by that point he figured he'd be packing his bags, having been sacked by Coulson for keeping this big a secret for so long.

"A few weeks after...after the fight on the ship. After May had already left and you...well, you were not recovering as well as you thought...anyway, on one of her supply runs to the market, Daisy ran into Ward. Totally random, came down the opposite sides of the same aisle. They had a conversation and then went out for lunch and had a longer conversation. And then kept meeting up."

"Wait, she had a conversation with that psychopath? She didn't just kill him? And then kept meeting up with him?" Hunter asked incredulously.

"Just after I left?" May asked calmly. "Fitz, that was seven months ago. You mean to tell us she and Ward have been meeting in secret that whole time? And you didn't say anything?"

Fitz nodded. "Yeah, I didn't say anything. Partly because I was too preoccupied with finding Jemma. But mostly because I didn't care that much. She was different when she came back from those meetings, so I just let it go. She was...calmer I guess. Or almost happy. Or something. I don't know exactly. But I think meeting with him was helping her somehow deal with what was going on. So I just let it go."

"Fitz," Coulson started disapprovingly, but Jemma jumped in cutting him off.

"Oh Fitz, how could you? After what he did to you and me? Not to mention Bobbi? How could you not tell anyone what Daisy was doing? How could you not protect her? You know he's just using her, manipulating her, to try to get to us. Or to hurt her in the end."

Fitz shook his head. "I don't think so, Jemma. I don't think he's going to do anything to hurt her. I don't think he's using her or manipulating her. Say what you want about Ward. Call him a traitor, a murderer, a psychopath. You're probably right. But the one thing that has been consistent is that he has done everything he could to NOT hurt Daisy. Sometimes it didn't work out that way, or seem that way at first. However, she's still alive and with us because of him. He's not about to hurt her. She's probably the only person he truly cares about."

"Then why do you thing Tremors is doing this?" Mack asked, jumping in.

Fitz stared him down. "I'm not sure. She and I really didn't have any late night girl talk sleepovers about this you know."

"How did you find out?" Coulson asked. "I wouldn't think she'd just come out and tell you."

Fitz turned his attention back to Coulson. "Actually, that's almost exactly what happened. She left her cell in the lab one day. It started to vibrate with a message. I picked it up and accidentally turned it on. Saw she had a message from a guy named Ted. So I brought her phone to her and told her Ted was texting. And it just came out of her mouth that Ted was actually Ward. I don't think she meant to tell me. But it happened and then we talked it out and I promised not to say a word as long as she kept this away from the base and everyone else. Like I said, she seemed better and happier after her visits with Ward. I wasn't about to take that away from her after everything she had been through."

"Oh bloody hell! I'm an idiot!" Hunter shouted out. "Bloody stupid idiot!" He got up from his place at Bobbi's side and began to pace, grabbing head and messing up his hair. "She bloody told me, and I thought she was bloody kidding!"

"Hunter, though there are many things on which you are an idiot, care to elaborate on this one?" Bobbi pushed.

"She bloody told me to my face," Hunter stated, stopping in front of Coulson. "She was headed out somewhere with an overnight bag and I was annoying her, trying to get her to tell me where she was going. I was nagging and nagging. So she told me she was going to meet Ward for...well, I'm not going to repeat what she said so I don't corrupt virgin ears," he said, indicating Fitz and Simmons. "But I thought she was pissed at me for annoying her and so I thought she was BLOODY TRYING TO GET RID OF ME! NOT TELLING ME THE TRUTH!"

"I think that's probably what you were supposed to think," May replied, trying not to laugh. She'd taught that girl well. Sometimes the truth worked better that a lie.

"This was almost four months ago!" Hunter continued to rant and rail. "How many times has she been away overnight since then? Lots, right? And each time with HIM! How could she do that? She knew what he did to Bobbi. She knew how much we needed to catch him. She knew how much I wanted to make him pay for what he did to Bobbi. She knew where he was all this time and said nothing. She's been protecting him this whole time!" He finally quieted down and turned to Coulson. "We gotta go find them and take him in. Or put a bullet into him. Right between the eyes."

"Yeah, because that's EXACTLY what we need to do to get Daisy back," Fitz said, shaking his head.

"But I still don't get it. Why Ward? Why did she go to him, instead of one of us?" Mack asked.

"Because he was there, after her first choice left," Coulson said softly, staring pointedly at May. "Because she knows him. Knows what he is and what he's done. He's also the epitome of gray areas. If anyone could help her untangle the jumbles in her thoughts and feelings it was him."

Fitz shook his head. "No, I don't think it was just because May left. I think she still would have struck up a conversation that day in the market, and then continued to meet him, even if May had been here. As hard as this may be for you to hear, Ward is her go to person when she can't handle things. It's always been that way. They forged that connection way back when we were all on the Bus together. I don't know if it was because of process of elimination, Coulson and May together and Jemma and I together, so it just left them together, or if it was some known or unknown knowledge of shared childhood trauma, or just some kind of weird chemical thing...but they joined up. Connected way back then. And I guess the connection is still there."

"But she shot him in Puerto Rico," Bobbi stated, confused. "She shot him and left him there, remember. She tried to kill him."

Fitz smiled sadly. "Shot him, yeah. But tried to kill him? No. It may have even been an unconscious decision on her part. I mean...look at the two people who trained her. Ward himself, and May. Do you really think he'd be walking around if she really had wanted to kill him?"

May shook her head. "No, she'd have fired a head shot. One bullet and done. But she gave him an easily survivable injury." She trailed off, thinking to herself, trying to get thing straight in her head. "It makes sense, I think. She didn't come to me after...after Donnie Gill. I assumed she talked to someone else. That was her first cross off, her first kill. I'm sure it messed her mind up a bit, and I kept waiting but she never came. After a few days, she seemed okay and over it, so I let it go, figuring she had maybe spoken to you," she said, indicating Coulson, "or Trip. Or even Hunter."

"No, she didn't come to me," Coulson stated. "I wasn't around much then, remember? So I assumed she went to you."

"She didn't with any of you...," Fitz said softly.

"She sneaked down into Vault D and talked it out with Ward," May finished for him.

Fitz nodded. "I don't know for sure, since I didn't even know he was here at that point, but that would be my guess, yes." Fitz sighed deeply, slumping his shoulders in equal parts defeat and exhaustion. "We're not going to solve this right now. There's nothing we can do at the moment. So I'm gonna go work on another project." And with that, Fitz left Coulson's office, hoping the others would just leave him and the situation alone for a few days.

No such luck.

Jemma followed Fitz from Coulson's office to the lab, not sure what to say or do. How could Fitz have kept such a big secret from them all? How could he have kept his mouth shut about Daisy not only running into Ward, but continuing to see him, carry on as if they were dating? How could Fitz not say anything? How could he not do anything to protect their friend?

"Fitz," Jemma said softly, once they were in the lab alone. "Fitz, what the hell is going on? I know I was missing for several months, and I wasn't here to talk to. But how do you not tell anyone what Daisy was doing? How do you not stop her? How do you not..."

"Because!" Fitz whirled around and shouted at her. "Because I didn't! Because Ward isn't a danger to her! Because I couldn't be there for her because I was too busy trying to find you! Because everything is falling apart here! Because she blamed herself and had no one to go to! Because Coulson's being a deaf idiot! Because everyone is picking sides and changing, and she..." He sighed and stopped shouting, staring at the ground instead.

"Fitz," Jemma tried again, moving towards him, hand outstretched.

"Look," Fitz said, stepping back before turning is gaze upwards to face her again. "I don't know everything that is going on between them. I just know that when she would come back from spending time with Ward, Daisy was almost happy again. It would only last a few hours, maybe a day, before something here would send her spiraling down again and she'd be sad again. Until she spent time with Ward. I wasn't going to take that away from her, that small bit of happiness. That's something we all need. I'm just glad she found it."

"Happiness?" Jemma scoffed.

"It might be hard to believe, but yes," Fitz replied.

"How could it be happiness with Ward? He's a psychopath! He has to be manipulating her! There's no way...she's cried too much over him. She knows he's evil!"

"I don't know! Okay! I don't know what happened! I don't know why she suddenly thinks differently! All I know is that she's happy with him, okay? I don't know what changed! I don't know if it was her or him! Maybe both!"

"You should have said something, done something to stop it!" Jemma yelled back.

"Really? And what could I have done? Tell me!" Fitz yelled back, throwing up his hands.

"You could have talked to her, made her see reason! Or if not, then you should have told Coulson! Fitz, you let her walk right into his web of lies and manipulations! You didn't do a damn thing to protect her from him!"

"Protect her? From Ward? She doesn't need protection from Ward! She needs protection from everyone else! From Coulson and Price and the ATCU! Honestly, I'm glad she's with Ward! At least I know she's with someone who will stop at nothing to keep her safe!"

"Oh, Fitz," Jemma said sadly, shaking her head in disbelief. "You can't really believe that, can you? He's only going to hurt her again, tie her up in knots and throw her away."

"You're wrong, Jemma."

"I know you really want to believe what you're saying and thinking. I know you, Fitz. I know how you always want to see the good in people, to trust, to look for explanations. You're a lot like Daisy in that. But with Ward, I'm afraid the only explanation is that he's a psychopath who will hurt her."

"But he could have done something, hurt her, plenty of times is the last seven months. He hasn't . And he just rescued her. I'm telling you, things have changed. I don't think he's the same guy anymore. I think the real Ward has come out."

"The real Ward? The real Ward is the one who dropped us to the bottom of the ocean! The real Ward is the one who kidnapped Daisy! Twice! Who tried to kill us all! Who captured and tortured Bobbi! That's the real Ward!"

"Stop it, both of you!" Coulson shouted at them from the doorway. The scientists' shouting match had brought him, and everyone else, to the entry into the lab, watching the scene play out in front of them. "I don't care what either of you think about this right now! What we have to do is try to find Daisy and get her away from Ward."

"I think that's a really bad idea," Fitz informed Coulson. "And I want no part in that."

"But, Turbo," Mack tried to speak, but Fitz talked right over him.

"How would you manage that anyway? You have no idea where they are. They may not even be in DC right now."

"I'm betting they are here," Coulson replied evenly. "Ward got to her too fast to be far away. And if he really does care about her, like you say, he would have taken her somewhere close by to treat her quickly. No, they're here in DC. Just need to figure out where."

"Okay, say you're right," Fitz allowed. "What do you propose to do? Kill Ward in front of her. 'Cause, that will definitely help your cause and have Daisy running back into your arms," he ended sarcastically.

"Better angry, but safe with us, than in danger with that psychopath," Jemma jumped in.

"But she won't be safe here!" Fitz practically screamed. "That's what I've been trying to tell you! She won't be safe as long as SHIELD is best friends with the ATCU. She's much safer with Ward, who will do anything to protect her. Especially from us."

"But it's Ward," Hunter said angrily from the doorway, an arm protectively around Bobbi. "How could she even think...after everything...I mean, he's...he's killed people. Friends. He tortured Bobbi. How could she even talk to him, let alone spend time with him? I don't get it. I thought she hated him too?"

"She doesn't," Fitz replied. "And I'm not sure she ever did. "She said she did. Acted like it. But I don't think she ever really felt hatred. Anger, betrayal, hurt, yes. But never hatred. I think she just put on a show for us, so that we didn't think there was something wrong with her, or question her and her feelings." At everyone's stunned looks, Fitz continued, "Daisy isn't really that hard to read. You just have to know what to look for."

AOSAOS

When Ward came back into the bedroom, he saw that Skye was still lying down, fiddling with the blankets. "Hey," he said softly, getting her attention. "You think you can sit up to eat this?" He held up the plate with her eggs and toast.

Skye looked up at him and nodded. "I might need a little help getting up, but I can probably sit up."

Ward placed the food down on the end table and then sat on the bed next to her. He gently placed his hands on her sides and guided her up. He watched her face for any signs of pain or discomfort. She did wince a few times, but nothing overly painful. He managed to get her into a sitting position, back gently resting against several pillows.

"If those pillows are too much pressure, let me know. I can try something else to help you sit up," he said to her.

Skye shook her head. "No, it's okay. They're pretty soft. If I don't lean back too much I don't feel anything." She shifted a bit and then pointed to the plate to indicate she was ready. He gave it to her, placing it on a pillow on her lap. He watched her eat a few bites, satisfied she was going to be okay to eat, and went to get up when her small voice stopped him. "Nine times? Really? You're not exaggerating?"

"'Fraid not," he said softly, staying put next to her. "But only four really got you. The others were very superficial."

Skye nodded, not meeting his eyes. "My powers, probably."

Ward nodded. "Yeah, I figured. Self defense. Lucky you have these powers."

Skye snorted. "I was only in that position because I HAVE these powers. I was a target because of them." She shook her head sadly. "What I wouldn't give to get rid of them. To go back in time and never go down into those tunnels."

"But they are a part of you," Ward pointed out.

"Only because I was stupid trying to prove something to Coulson," Skye argued back. "Maybe if I had just waited, or just let it all be, or accepted everything, instead of always trying to prove myself or my loyalty, prove that I'm worth keeping around, then I wouldn't have these powers and Trip would still be alive."

"Skye," Grant, started softly, not sure how to address this. "What happened to Trip isn't your fault. From what I gathered, he thought he was saving you."

"Yeah, but if I hadn't gone into those tunnels, then he never would have come looking for me to save me. I would have been safe above already!"

Grant gently put an arm around her shoulders, making sure not to put any pressure on her wounds. "It is not your fault that Trip died. Carrying that around with you is going to eat you up. He made a choice. You didn't make him do anything."

"But if I hadn't of been there..." Skye kept trying to justify.

"There's no guarantee he wouldn't have been killed another way. And he would have hated himself if he hadn't of gone down there to try to rescue you. Those were his choices. Not yours. You didn't do anything to cause them."

"It's just so hard to accept," Skye said tearfully. "I miss him so much, and all I keep seeing when I think about him is his rock husk crumbling..." She broke off and buried her head in Grant's neck, trying to stop the sobs coming up.

"You and he became close after I...left, huh?" Grant asked softly, trying to hide the little bit of jealousy that was starting to surface.

Skye nodded against him. "He became my best friend. I think I was even closer to him than I was with May. Or even Fitz and Simmons. I could tell him anything and he would never look at me strangely or judge or anything. And he listened so well, gave good advice. And understood about you and what I was feeling. I sometimes wonder what would have happened had he still been alive and my powers came out. Everyone was afraid of me. Except Fitz, actually. But if Trip were still here...he'd have stood up for me and not let the others treat me as they did. He wouldn't have been afraid at all. He'd probably have thought it was all cool."

"Trip was one of the best of us," Grant added. "I know he would have never made you feel bad about yourself because of your powers. I wish he was still alive, if only to help you feel better and have another person in your corner. But, still, it is not your fault that any of this happened."

"You say Trip made a choice to follow me in there...but what about my choice? I made a choice to go down in into the temple. Trip has to own up to his choice, but not me?"

"I didn't say that. Only that your choice did not cause his choice..."

"How can you say that? He made his choice because I made mine!"

"Yes. But choice is free will. He could have chosen something else," Grant tried to get her to see, remaining calm in the face of her anger. "That's what this all is. What life is. Just a bunch of random choices we make. But the point is that we can make a choice. A or B. Left or right. Up or down. We take everything that happened, is happening, and weight the options and then make a choice. It wasn't as if just because you chose to go down into the temple that Trip went. He weighed what was going on and made the choice himself. He didn't have to go. You didn't force him to make that choice. Nobody did."

Skye got very quiet after that. At first, Grant thought he had angered her even more. But then he felt the tears soaking through his shirt, and then he realized that she was just sad. And maybe he had gotten through to her, just a little, getting her to ease up on the guilt plaguing her. After a few minutes he heard her voice, muffled and quiet.

"I hate it when you're right."

Grant chuckled. "I know how much you like to be right. But I've had a lot of time to think on this very subject. I made all those choices. There's no one else at fault but me for the things I did."

"Garrett..." Skye started, pulling away to look at him.

"Yes," he said, cutting her off. "He did manipulate me into thinking he was the only person who mattered, was the only person who would ever and could ever care about me. But after he died and I was locked up? I made all those choices. There was no one manipulating me, no proverbial gun to my head. I used to wonder, after it all happened, when I was in that cell, what it would have been like if I had come clean to Coulson before it all happened. I'd like to think he, you, everyone, would have given me a second chance and let me help you bring down Hydra. But I chose not to do that, and what happened after to me is all on me. Just like I chose to kidnap Morse for Kara. I thought that what we did, confronting and torturing Morse, would help Kara deal with what happened to her. To help her, I don't know, get better somehow by dealing out a world of hurt to the person responsible for her hurt. But all it did in the end was get her killed and make me realize what I had become."

"What?" Skye asked, almost afraid to know.

"Garrett. I had become my worst nightmare. So I decided then and there to stop. Give it all up and change. Be better. And that is why you found me in the supermarket trying to be a normal person. And why I have all those psychology books in my living room."

"You know, you and I aren't that different," Skye said slowly, taking his hands in hers. "I know you don't believe that, but it is true. You blindly followed Garrett, thinking you always had to prove your loyalty and yourself to him. I do the same thing with Coulson. I was trying to prove my loyalty to him over my father when I went down into the temple. I was trying to prove to Coulson that he was more important, that I was choosing him, by finishing what he started there. Just like I attacked May at Afterlife...I was trying to prove to my mother that I was choosing her over SHIELD. Why do we always have to prove loyalty? Why isn't just being there enough for us? Or for them?"

Grant shook his head. "Screwed up childhoods and abandonment issues? We're always trying to prove to people that we are good an willing to do things for them and that they should keep us around?"

Skye huffed. "Yeah, sounds about right."

AOSAOS

Skye stared at her cell phone, debating whether she should call Coulson and her team yet. She wasn't sure she was ready. She wasn't sure she wanted to. She wasn't sure they would understand and she wasn't sure she could make them. And while there were many things she wasn't sure about, there was one that she was definitely sure about. She was as sure as she had ever been that she wasn't going to give up whatever it was that she and Grant Ward had become to each other. And she wasn't sure Coulson and her team would let it continue.

"Just call already," Grant prodded.

"What if they trace it?" she asked quietly. "I don't want them to find you."

Grant shrugged. "You know how long you can talk for. I trust you to stay under that time and not give me away."

"What if they don't believe me?"

"I don't believe that. And I don't think you do either."

"What if they yell at me?"

"You can always hang up."

"What if..."

"You're running out of reasons not to call. I think you should do it, because I think they all still care about you and love you. Even if you just tell them you're alive and getting better. You don't have to go into any detail or talk about things you don't want to talk about." Grant sat down next to Skye and put his arm around her. "And I also know you. I know you want to hear Coulson's voice. So call. If it goes badly, hang up. If not, maybe you can call again."

Nodding slowly, Skye ran though the contacts on her phone and pulled up Coulson's number. Yet she held back from pressing send. One more thing was weighing on her mind. "What if they will only talk to me if I leave here?"

Grant heard the unspoken fear and question in her voice. She really meant, what if they won't talk to her unless she leaves him or gives him up? She was afraid they would make her choose. "I don't know. All I know is that I won't make you choose. You and I can't control what they do. It is something you may have to consider at some point. But we won't know unless you call."

Skye took a deep breath and pressed send.

AOSOAS

A beeping interrupted his argument with May and Rosalind Price. It was the same old argument the three of them had been having for the past few days, ever since Daisy was shot at by the ATCU and ended up with Grand Ward. Rosalind still vehemently claimed it must have been self defense on the part of her agents. May arguing that self defense did not mean that many bullets and shooting in the back. Coulson would chime in every now and then trying to get the two women to stop and listen to each other and talk, but it wasn't working. As much as Coulson wanted a distraction from the ongoing verbal thrashing, he wasn't sure he wanted to talk to anyone, and briefly considered letting it ring into voicemail, but he took a moment to glace at the caller ID in case it was Mack and Hunter checking in from their surveillance of a possible Hydra base.

It wasn't Mack or Hunter. It was Daisy.

He grabbed the phone and quickly accepted the call before it went to voicemail or before she got tired of waiting and hung up.

"Skye," he worriedly breathed into the phone. "Are you okay?"

He was vaguely aware that May had stopped berating Rosalind mid sentence and had come over to his desk at warp speed as soon as he had said the young agent's name. She bent over next to him, placing her ear as close to his phone as she could get in order to hear her agent as well. He noticed Rosalind just stare at them, confused.

"Coulson?" he heard her say softly on the other end. He heard the tears in her voice.

"Yes, I'm here. So's May," he replied as calmly as he could.

"May's there?" she squeaked out.

Coulson angled the phone away from his hear so that May could speak into it.

"Yes, I'm here, Skye...sorry...Daisy," May said in her soft, motherly voice that she only used for Skye, and occasionally Simmons. "Are you okay? Has Ward hurt you?"

Daisy huffed on the other end. "No. He's being the perfect gentleman. Too perfect actually. It's kinda annoying."

May smiled and let out a little laugh. Well, at least her humor was still intact. "Okay, you ready to tell us where you are? Or to come home?"

"Depends on who's there with you and how much trouble I'm in," Daisy replied.

"Daisy," Coulson said, moving the phone back to him. "I can put you on speaker so that both May and I can talk and hear you. Is that okay?"

"Again, depends on who else is there with you," Daisy restated.

"It's just me and May and Rosalind Price," Coulson said.

The line went dead. She had hung up.

AOSAOS

May had never wanted to hit Coulson as much as she did in that moment. Was he seriously that blind? Or that easily manipulated? Had she been wrong all along?

"Did she just hang up on us?" he asked, a surprised look on his face.

If May hadn't been so angry at him, she might have laughed at his flustered, uncomprehending look. But right now, all she wanted to do was hit him until his brain returned to normal.

"Yes," May responded. "And if you have to ask why, Phil, then you are in more trouble with this than I thought." And with that, May left, shooting daggers at Price as she walked by the woman and left Coulson's office.

"Why did you and Agent May call her Skye?" Price asked from where she was standing, not sure if she should approach Coulson or not.

"Huh?" Coulson asked, looking up and away from his cell phone still in his hand. "What did you ask?"

"You called her Skye when you answered the phone. And May called her Skye when she first came back, and then again just now, before correcting it to Daisy," Rosalind pointed out.

"Oh, that. I'm having a hard time remembering that she's using her birth name now. Sometimes I slip up and call her Skye, which is the name she was going by when we first crossed paths and she joined my team. May left on her extended leave before Daisy made the decision, so she didn't know until she got back."

"Has she always needed to use an alias?" Price questioned.

Coulson shook his head, knowing what she was implying. "It wasn't like that. She wasn't raised by her parents. She was...taken... when she was a baby. She only just recently found her parents. She never knew what her name was. So she started calling herself Skye at some point in her life." Coulson didn't want to tell Rosalind too much. It wasn't that he was worried Rosalind would do anything with the information, so much as he was pretty sure Daisy wouldn't want her to know anything about her past.

AOSAOS

Once the tears came, they just didn't stop. More and more flowed down her cheeks as she began to shake. She was there. Still there. Even after all of this. Even after what Grant had told them. She was still there. In Coulson's office. And he had been willing to let her hear their conversation. How could he? How could Coulson still be working with Rosalind Price and the ATCU?

She was only slightly aware of Grant dropping down on to the couch next to her and wrapping her up in his arms, rocking her gently in an effort to try to calm her down. It wasn't working. She could feel herself almost hyperventilating.

The couch began to shake. Then the coffee table. Then the chair next to them. Then the whole living room. Crap, if Skye didn't calm down soon the whole place would suffer from an earthquake. Maybe not just his town home. And if that happened, there is no way that both Coulson and the ATCU wouldn't know exactly where they were.

"Skye," he said, trying to get her attention. "Skye, look at me. Look at me sweetheart," he said, the term just falling out of his mouth. "You need to dial back your powers a bit before this whole place shakes apart and gives us away."

He must have gotten through because he felt her start to take deep breaths to try to calm herself down. It was slowly working. Her cell phone kept ringing. Both ignored it. They knew who it was, and neither wanted to speak to him at the moment, too concerned with getting Skye to calm down and stop shaking everything around her. He threaded his fingers through her hair, gently stroking, whispering softly to her that he wasn't going anywhere and that he would help her work this all out. Eventually, he felt her go limp and relax into his arms. The shaking stopped. So had the cell phone, at some point, Grant noticed.

When he felt that she was finally calm enough to talk, Grant asked, "Do you want to tell me what he said to make you hang up like that? It seemed to be going okay."

Skye swallowed hard. She put her feet up on the couch, bent at the knee, and wrapped her arms around her legs. She lay her head on her knees and said tearfully. "She was there. There in the office."

"Who? May? It sounded like you and May were talking," Grant said, confused.

"No, I don't mean May. The Dragon Lady," Skye replied, sniffing. "Why is she there? Why are they still working with her? After what happened? After what you told them?" Skye turned her head and buried it between her knees. "I guess they don't care enough about me to want the truth."

Suddenly, her cell phone was ringing again. "Please, just shut it off!" she yelled. "Just make it stop ringing!"

Ward watched as Skye just fell apart, crying uncontrollably into her knees. Loud, gut-wrenching sobs left her throat, getting louder and louder. Skye couldn't seem to get herself under control. The furniture in the living room began shaking again, even more violently than before. Ward was afraid Skye was losing control and something bad was going to happen in addition to lighting a sign to tell SHIELD and the ATCU exactly where they were.

Grant picked it up and was about to silence it to see if that helped, when he saw the caller ID. "It's May. Not Coulson." He hoped that would snap her out of it, but she just seemed to shake more and more. He didn't think she was hearing him, or even knew where she was. Now, books were falling off his shelves and a vase had danced off a side table, crashing to the floor. Tiny glass shards were everywhere, and the flowers he had recently bought her lay in a puddle among the glass. He was worried that the fish tanks would be next, and that would really upset Skye. She loved those fish.

He made a quick decision and answered the phone. "May, she's shaking everything and not calming down," he said into the phone, panicked, asking the agent for help. "Oh god, why are her arms suddenly bruising up? Out of nowhere?"

"You need to get her attention focused on you and fast," May stated back, jumping in quickly. "She's internalizing her powers, turning them onto herself to keep from hurting you or anyone else around you. Also as an attempt to control them. You need to get her to calm down and stop before she starts breaking her own bones," May explained, calmer than she felt. "The last two times this had happened did not end well. One ended with Daisy using an ICER on herself, and the other with her passing out after fracturing herself 75 times."

Grant dropped the phone, scared. She was just getting worse and worse. He heard a crack and then Skye whimpered. He grabbed her face, forcing her to look at him. "Skye? Skye, it's me. Hey, look, see me. Skye? You're safe here, okay, but I really need you to calm down and stop hurting yourself, okay? And May's on the phone. She's worried. Can you come back to us? Please?"

Slowly, the buzzing in Skye's body started to subside. Something was getting through to her brain. A voice. Hands. She knew both. They belonged to the same person. She blinked a few times, trying to get a face to come into focus. Grant. She was with Grant. There, his face, he looked scared. Or worried. Or panicked. Yes, panicked. And was he crying?

Things started to make sense again. She was upset, and lost control of her powers. That's why the room was shaking. Why her arms hurt so bad. She needed to stop. She could feel herself hyperventilating. She needed to stop. She forced herself to try to take slow, deep breaths, like May had taught her. It helped. She felt herself relax, just a tiny bit. She did it again. Slowly, she brought the shaking under control and then to a stop. She was calm again. She looked around. She was in Grant's town home She was in a safe place and no one was here to hurt her. It was just her and Grant.

She looked at Grant again. He seemed less panicked now, since she had stopped her powers. He looked relieved even. "Hey, hey," he said. "It's over now, okay? I'm here. And May's on the phone. Are you okay?"

Skye nodded slowly. "May's on the phone?" she croaked out.

"Yes, she called this time. Do you want to talk to her?"

Skye looked up at him, tears again running down her face. She had a look on her face equal parts hopeful and fearful. He could tell she really wanted to talk to May but was afraid to.

"May," he said calmly into the phone after picking it back up.

"Did it stop? Is she okay?" May demanded to know, voice laced with worry and fear.

"Yeah, it stopped. Though I think she may have fractured her arm. I heard a crack." He paused and took a deep breath. "She's calmer now...She wants to talk to you, to tell you what happened. She's just scared she won't be believed or that you already made up your mind about it and her."

"Will she take the phone and talk to me?" May asked softly, taking in what Ward had said and really just wanting to help Daisy, too.

Grant sat on the couch again and held the phone out to Skye. He watched as she looked at it a moment, then looked at him. He nodded once, still holding out the phone. Carefully, as if she were afraid it would bite her, Skye took her phone from him and placed it at her ear.

"May?" she asked quietly into the phone.

"Yes, I'm here. I left Coulson's office. I'm in my quarters, by myself, door closed. There are no listening devices and no tracers on this call. I'm here as long as you want to talk, okay?"

"Okay," Skye whispered. "And it is really just you and me now?"

"Yes," May assured her softly. "I'm not even going to talk about Ward and what is going on between you two right now, okay. I just want to know if you are okay. We can talk about whatever you want to talk about right now." When Skye stayed silent, May decided she needed to start first. "Since you're not going to talk yet, I will. I am so sorry I ever gave you the impression that I hated you and didn't want to be around you. It's the exact opposite. You are not the reason I left. I handled that all wrong and I'm sorry, Daisy. I should have told you, or at least answered you when you called me."

"Why didn't you talk to me?"

"Honestly? I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to leave if I saw you before. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to leave you."

"Why did you want to leave then, if it wasn't because of me?"

"I wasn't sure if I still wanted to be a part of SHIELD. Or what SHIELD had become. Fractured, infighting. It wasn't what I pictured the new SHIELD. I had to see if I could be someone outside of Agent Melinda May. But I realized something while I was gone. I hadn't stayed with SHIELD because I believed in SHIELD. I had stayed for Coulson. And for you. So I came back because it was where I belonged. So, I didn't leave because of you. But I most certainly came back because of you. I missed you."

Skye started to sob on the other end. "I missed you too. So much it hurt so bad. I thought it was all because of me. I thought you hated me and...it hurt so bad."

"I'm so sorry, sweetie. Please, I hope you can believe me. And believe me when I say that I know you are not at fault here. For anything. I am convinced the ATCU fired at you first. It was a cross off. I'm sure of it. And I am not sitting idly by while this is all going on. I promise you." May took a deep breath. "Is your arm okay? Ward said he thought he heard it crack."

"It hurts," Skye sniffled into the phone. "Like the other time."

"I know you probably don't want to come here for medical treatment. I could get Simmons and we can come to you? Or meet somewhere? Just to set that arm. And to check your back to make sure Ward's field medic experience is up to par. Then you can go where you want. We won't keep you."

"I don't...I'm not...what if...I can't..." Skye couldn't form a sentence. She wasn't sure what to do. She knew she needed medical help, but she was terrified that May would force her back to the base and would hurt Grant. She also didn't want to give away Grant's home, the one place they were both safe. She looked over at Grant, pleading with him to make this call.

"It's up to you, Skye. You're the one who's hurt." When she didn't answer, just stared at the phone, he took it from her. "May? Can you and Simmons meet us in Farragut Park by the fountain? One hour?"

"Yes. I'll go get her now. And Ward...thanks for taking care of her and helping her. If you end up hurting her..."

"You'll torture me every day until I have gray hair and die of old age. I know."

AOSAOS

May barreled into Coulson's office, not caring who might be in there with him and what they were talking about. She only had sixty minutes to get Simmons, get anything they might need to treat Skye...Daisy, and then get to Farragut Park in downtown DC. That didn't leave much time, but she knew she had to use a few minutes to say something to Coulson.

Rosalind Price was still there. Mack, Hunter, Bobbi, Fitz, and Simmons had also joined them. And they were now all having a heated conversation. May didn't care. She stormed through the door, slamming it open.

"I'm taking Simmons. We're going to go meet Skye...I mean Daisy and Ward so that Simmons can check her over after everything that happened. You are not to follow us or have us followed. No tracking. Nothing. This is simple. Simmons and I meet them, treat her injuries, and then leave. If she wants to come back, we'll bring her with us. If not, we're not forcing her to come. We're going to let her leave on her own or with Ward if that's what she prefers."

They all started to speak at once. Yelling, arguing, almost getting physical. May grabbed a heavy book off of Coulson's desk and threw it at the small window in his office. It went through, shattering the glass. Everyone immediately shut up and looked to her.

"This is not up for debate. This is how it is being done. I just spoke with them both. We have a lot of work to do to repair the trust that was broken. I am not chancing anything."

"We have a lot to repair...trust...what about what Ward did to Bobbi?" Hunter demanded. "You were there! You saw it all!"

"I know. And I haven't forgotten. But if we don't play this slowly and carefully, we will lose Daisy and I don't think we'll be able to get her back. So, Simmons," she said, turning to the biochemist. "Go to the lab and start getting supplies together to treat gunshot wounds. Also, the type of injuries she had when we were at the school in Wisconsin with all those other gifteds and Andrew."

Simmons's eyes grew wide. Good, May thought, she understood.

"Okay, I'll go now. I can be ready in five minutes?"

"I'll meet you in the garage."

"Mel, what's going on?" Coulson questioned. "Why aren't you taking a tactical team to go put down Ward and bring Daisy home? What did Ward do to cause Daisy to hurt herself that way again?"

May shook her head. Okay, she was going to need more than a few minutes. She calculated quickly the fastest route to Farragut Park in her head, allowing for traffic and lights. She'd be cutting it close. But she could spare a few more minutes, if only to solidify the 'no following' clause she had just laid out.

"Look, Ward didn't do anything. Daisy..." May stopped. She realized this was part of a much longer conversation, one she most certainly did not have time for at the moment, but would have to return to at some point. "We are doing this my way. No tracers. No following me and Simmons. I'm not going to risk losing her."

"I'm definitely not comfortable with this," Rosalind Price spoke up. "You have plans to meet with two known fugitives, one of them being a psychopathic murderer, and the other is a dangerous Inhuman who attacked my agents. How can you not let anyone follow you or back you up? All you have is one little scientist?"

May turned to Price and eyed her over a bit. "I don't need back up. If I'm wrong, I can take Ward. He can't beat me. But it won't come to that."

"How can you be sure?" Price questioned.

"Because I'm better than he is," May answered matter of fact. "But I won't have to fight him."

"How can you be sure that you won't have to fight him?" Price asked.

"Because Ward won't attack me or Simmons. He won't make Daisy choose." May turned away and stared to leave. When she was at the doorway to Coulson's office she threw her parting remark over her shoulder. "And neither will I."

AOSAOS

Simmons was waiting for her at one of the SUV's in the garage. She held up the keys for May. "Got what I needed loaded up. Ready to go?"

"Just one more thing," May said, slipping under the SUV. She pulled out a pocketknife and pried off the tracking box from beneath the vehicle. She slid back out and threw it across the garage into a garbage can. "Now we can go."

Simmons looked at her dumbfounded. "You just removed the tracker. Are you allowed to do that?"

"Probably not," May said, opening the backseat door and throwing a black backpack inside. After closing it, she opened the driver side door. "But I don't care. I promised Daisy no tails or trackers. I intend to keep that promise."

"But what if this is a trap on Ward's part..." Simmons was cut off abruptly by May.

"It's not," the older agent said brusquely. "I heard over the phone and then talked to them. This is real. Now get in."

As May drove through the streets, a little faster than she probably should, she kept glancing over at Simmons. The younger woman seemed a little apprehensive and fidgety. May could understand a bit. This was Grant Ward they were going to meet after all. The same man who dropped her and Fitz into an ocean with probably no hope of rescue. The same man who had tortured Bobbi Morse and had set up an elaborate trap to kill Hunter, forcing Bobbi to take the brunt and almost die. The same man who had betrayed them all some time ago for a superior officer who was crazy.

And yet, through that all, one thing remained constant. He cared about Skye. Daisy. Daisy now, May thought. She was going to need some time to get used to that. She knew she slipped up a few times earlier, using the wrong name. That aside, Ward had seemed very worried about the young woman, even sounding panicked himself on the phone when Skye/Daisy was having trouble controlling her powers. He seemed almost horrified by the consequences of hurting herself to keep her power contained.

"Ward's not going to hurt us, Simmons. I'm sure of it," she tried to reassure her traveling companion.

"I'm sorry, May, but I just can't be as certain as you in this."

May nodded. "I know. But if you had heard the...terror...in his voice when he was asking what was going on. He was scared."

"Of Daisy?"

"No. Of what was happening. I guess she hadn't told him about when she loses control and the power turns inward. He was completely panicked at the sight of her arms bruising up like that." May glanced over at Simmons as they came to a red light. "He wasn't faking. He was really concerned. I don't think he's going to do anything to us because I don't think he's going to risk hurting Skye. Daisy. I think he truly wants us to help her. He's the one who made the meeting. Not her."

They were silent the rest of the ride over to Farragut Park. May quickly parked the SUV and and after grabbing her backpack, she helped Simmons by carrying one of the two bags of medical supplies over to the fountain. May looked around, searching for either Ward or Daisy. There were a few people around the fountain, but neither were the two they were meeting. A few seconds later, her cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her jacket pocket and saw "Skye" on the caller ID. She answered.

"Skye...I mean, Daisy?" she asked.

"Ward," Ward's voice answered. "Sorry, had to make sure you weren't followed. Or lying. Walk northwest from the fountain along the paved path for about a quarter mile toward the pond. I'll meet you by the large willow tree." He abruptly hung up.

May placed her phone back into her jacket pocket and reached down to pick up one of the bags again. "Let's move. Ward will meet us up the path a bit."

Simmons nodded her understanding and followed May, carrying the second and less heavy of the two bags. They'd only been walking about fifteen minutes when Ward stepped out of the strand of trees onto the path ahead of them. He waited for them to reach him before ducking back into the trees and leading them over to a large willow tree with branches that nearly touched the ground. He ducked under the branches and held them up for the women. May and Simmons shared a glance and then ducked under the branches, May in the lead. Once through, they saw a picnic bench under the tree near the trunk. Daisy was sitting on the picnic bench,

May dropped the medical bag she was carrying and rushed over to Skye. Simmons started to follow, but jumped when she felt Ward grab her wrist.

"Don't touch me!" she angrily yelled at him,wrenching her arm away.

Ward immediately put his hands up to show he wasn't threatening her. "I'm sorry," he apologized quietly. "But they just need a minute together, okay?"

Jemma stared at him, eyes narrowed in anger and hate. "I guess. Don't touch me again."

"My mistake. I apologize. It won't happen again," Ward said sincerely. He then turned from her to watch the other two women.

Skye stood to meet May, tears in her eyes. Before she could say anything, May grabbed her gently and pulled her into a hug. She had one arm gently around her back, the other on the back of the younger woman's head, stroking her hair softly.

"I'm sorry, Mom," May heard Daisy say softly. May closed her eyes, forcing back her own tears.

"It's okay, honey. None of this is your fault, okay?" May tried to reassure her. She pulled back a bit, gently taking Daisy's face into her hands. "We're here to help now. How bad?"

Skye lifted up her arms so May could see the bruising. She heard Simmons gasp from several feet away, near Grant. She knew her arms looked bad. Probably worse than they had back in Wisconsin. "It hurts," she mumbled tearfully.

"I'm sure it does," Simmons said, not exactly sharply, but not exactly gently either. She glanced at Ward briefly before coming over to have a better look. "Definitely badly bruised. Maybe fractured. And the swelling on the right arm makes me think you might have actually broken something." She took Daisy by the shoulders and gently pushed her down on to the picnic bench. "I have a new scanner that I brought," she said, much more softly this time. "I'll run it over your arms and it will show an image on my tablet of your bones. Let's see how much damage we're dealing with, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Daisy agreed softly, wiping her eyes with her left hand. She placed her right arm on the table to keep it as flat and steady as she could while Jemma ran a scanner over it. She scanned the lower arm, then moved up toward the shoulder, making sure she was going slowly enough to get a good reading. She then had Daisy repeat with her left arm.

While Simmons was scanning Daisy, May dropped her backpack next to the other two women and walked over to Ward. She had many questions, but wasn't sure how detailed the answers would be. Or how forthcoming Ward would be in answering any questions. May watched him for a moment, noticing his eyes flick to her briefly to make sure she wasn't a threat before returning to Daisy.

"What was going on when this happened?" May asked, making sure not to accuse him of anything. She knew that would get her nowhere, and to be honest, she was pretty sure that Ward had had nothing to do with Daisy losing control of her powers.

Ward frowned and his eyes flicking to her again before once again returning watching Simmons examine Skye. "It started when she called Coulson. I think hearing that Price was in the room started it all. It was brief, just some bad shaking. She calmed. Then her phone rang and it just...happened. I can't really describe it, May. She was completely...I've never seen her like that...it was a complete meltdown. I've never seen anyone have that bad of a reaction, and that's saying something coming from what I've been through and seen."

May closed her eyes briefly and huffed. This was bad. "PTSD?" she asked softly, knowing Ward would know exactly what she was asking.

Ward shook his head. "Yeah, probably. But this seemed even more than just one incident. I think whatever it is has been building for months. Her reaction wasn't just because of Price or because of being shot by the ATCU. This...this is from months of...something."

"You're certain?" May questioned.

Ward nodded. "Yeah. Things she's said over the last seven months. Things she's done. This goes back. The other night, with the ATCU, this is just the tip. Or the end that broke everything. She's been...spiraling...for a while now."

May nodded in understanding. "I should never have left. I would have caught this."

"Maybe not. She's really good at hiding things she doesn't want to talk about."

May shook her head. "Fitz saw it. I'm angry that no one else did. And I'm angry at myself for leaving. If I hadn't, then maybe she wouldn't be in this situation."

"You don't know that, May. I honestly think that we'd still be here. Maybe you could have kept the ATCU from hurting her, whacked Coulson upside the head before now, but I still think that she'd have crashed like she did. Just over something else."

"But I would have been there," May pointed out adamantly. "I might have been able to stop it from happening. Or at the very least, been there for her."

Ward just shrugged. "Well, I was there. I am here. And I'm telling you, you would not have been able to stop this. It's not just about the ATCU. It's..." Ward trailed off, not sure how much he should give away of his own suspicions.

"It's what, Ward?" May pressed.

Ward sighed. He wasn't sure how Skye would feel about all her personal feelings being aired out, but it was May. If there was one person whom Skye would be okay with knowing all of this, it would be May. Of that, Ward was certain. "It goes back to when she got her powers. Not only does she still blame herself for Trip's death, she still feels like everyone is afraid of her. Or even hates her. Because of her powers. She told me that only Fitz was unafraid of her after she changed. She's spent the last year just waiting for all of you to turn on her. And then you left seven months ago and things just went downhill from there between her and Coulson. In her mind, Coulson did turn on her, and not a single one of you stopped it."

May looked at him in disbelief. "What are you talking about?"

"Skye said that when you first found out about her powers, you put her down into the cell where I was kept and locked her in..."

"I was in there with her. I thought it was the best place to keep her while I tried to get her to get her powers under control. A Kree warrior and an Asgardian warrior were both trying to kill her. Did she tell you that part?" May defended.

Ward shook his head. "No, she left that part out. Is that when she ICED herself?"

May nodded. "Lady Sif found us and broke in. Daisy shot herself with my icer to make her powers stop to keep everyone safe. But I brought her down to that cell because I thought it was the safest place on base, that it would take them longer to find us there and break in."

"Does she know that? All she felt was that you were trying to lock her up."

"I just assumed she understood," May said quietly, glancing back to the younger agent. Simmons had stopped scanning Daisy's arms and was now carefully reading the images they had generated on her tablet.

"She's scared out of her mind about all of this. That doesn't help her think calmly and logically to be able to understand," Ward added.

"What else? What else hasn't she talked about with us? What else has she been hiding? Why does she think everyone, Coulson included, turned on her?"

"Because Coulson sent her away. And then wasn't very welcoming when she returned. It's hard to explain. I don't even understand it all, and I have to piece it together. It's not like Skye lays it all out in black and white. I'm not even sure she understands a lot of it either. And maybe she's projecting her own fears onto all of you and all of this is in her head. I don't know. Neither does she. But the fact remains that Coulson sent her on this mission with the ATCU and they tried to kill her."

"So, she's been carrying this around since Coulson took her to the Retreat?"

"Yes. And it's been building and building with each issue or situation after that. Like I said, the ATCU trying to kill her didn't start this. It just broke it wide open."

"And how do I know that you didn't help this along, manipulate her into thinking she had no options but you?"

"When I ran into her at the supermarket, seven months ago, I could tell then she was about to crack. Seven months ago, May. All I did was give her a safe place to go when she needed it. I let her talk with no judgments. I let her call the shots and make the rules."

"Control. You gave her control, which is something she felt she didn't have," May said, understanding.

"And someone in her corner," Ward added.

"Well, it seems as if you weren't the only one," May informed him. When he looked a bit confused, she added, "Fitz. He stood up to everyone about you and her relationship with you. He supports whatever it is. And he also yelled at Coulson for how things have gone down and how Coulson was treating her and the ATCU situation."

"I always liked Fitz. He really is a good judge of character," Ward said smiling. "Skye mentioned that Fitz knew about us, but never really said anything else other than that it wasn't a problem and that he wasn't going to tell anyone. I was always a little worried. Guess I didn't have to be."

"The others were all pretty pissed off about her being sent out alone with the ATCU agents. They all gave Coulson and Price an earful. I heard some of it. I left Hawaii as soon as Coulson called me after Daisy went missing. I just kept wishing I had never left SHIELD. There is no way in hell I would have ever let Coulson send her out alone with anyone from the ATCU. I know I wasn't here when it all started, but I can't think of any good reason, from what I have heard, to allow that. Believe me when I say I am not done with this and I will make Coulson wake up, even if I have to knock him unconscious to do that."

Ward smiled at that visual and then nodded. "You need to make her understand that. I mean, really hit her over the head with it. Trust issues and all..."

May nodded back. "I will. And thank you. I'm not sure why you did what you did...if you thought that it would get you back into our good graces or something..."

Ward cut her off, "I didn't do it for me. I did it for her. Despite what all of you may think about me and about our situation, I only did this for her. I love her, May. Always have. This wasn't about me seeking redemption. It was about Skye needing support and care. That's it."

"I believe you," May said solemnly. "This doesn't excuse or erase all that came before." She watched as Ward closed his eyes and looked to the ground, almost fearful. "But it's a start," she added softly, reaching out to him as his head snapped up, eyes wide with confusion and hope. "I think she's safest with you right now. So, thank you."

Ward was about to say something when his conversation with May was interrupted by Skye loudly telling Simmons to back off and leave it alone. Immediately, Grant moved into action, coming over to Skye and getting between her and Simmons to protect her. He could feel May right behind him, coming over as well to see what was happening.

"Skye, you okay?" Grant asked, looking at her and keeping Simmons in his peripheral vision, just in case.

"Yeah." She held up her splinted arms. "All done."

"No, not all done," Simmons argued. "I still have to check your back. According to Ward, you were shot nine times, Daisy. I need to make sure they're healing well and that they aren't infected." Simmons then gave Ward a disgusted look. "And her name's Daisy, now. She's no longer Skye."

"Are you so sure?" Ward countered back, feeling a bit of anger rise himself.

"Hey, my back is fine," Skye shot back, trying to break apart Grant and Jemma's pissing match. "Grant has done a good job."

"Daisy," Simmons said, stressing her name, "we need to make sure you're healing well."

"No, what you really mean is you need to make sure we're telling the truth about what the ATCU did," Skye bluntly stated.

"Hey," May said softly, stepping up and taking Daisy's face in her hands to turn her to make eye contact, choosing to ignore the discrepancy on what name her girl was actually using now. "I need to see exactly what that woman and her agents did so I know exactly what to do to make this right. To make Coulson see and fix this, okay?"

May did not miss Daisy's eyes darting over to Ward's, asking for his thoughts and opinions, before coming back to hers. Whatever she had seen in his eyes seemed to calm her, and Daisy nodded once. She sat straddling the bench, back to May. Before May could take a seat behind her, Ward moved to sit mirroring Daisy's position, reaching for her hands. She leaned her head into his chest instead, and May watched as Ward gently wrapped his arms around her head, holding her close. Keeping her safe.

May motioned for Simmons to come over and look over her shoulder as she gently lifted up the back of Daisy's shirt to expose her gunshot wounds. There were nine. Nine squares of gauze taped on her back. One by one, May gently peeled them back so she and Simmons could have a look. Several were already healing well. They didn't seem to be very deep. There were four, however, that seemed much deeper than any of the others. They hadn't healed much yet, but were clean with no sign of infection.

Before May could put the gauze back over the wounds, Simmons said softly, "Here, let me just put some extra antibiotic on them, okay? I have some pretty strong ointment with me, better than anything you could get over the counter. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, okay. Just do it quick," came Daisy's strained voice from where it was buried in Ward's chest.

"Okay," Simmons agreed, reaching into her bag. A few minutes later and she was covering up Daisy's wounds with some new gauze pads. Once done, she gently pulled her friend's shirt back down, partly ashamed that until that moment, she hadn't been sure whether to believe Ward about what had happened or not.

Once she felt her shirt fall back into place, Skye pulled away from Grant and slid around on the bench, so she was facing Jemma, back pressed up against Grant. It was going to be a long time before she put her back to anyone but Grant again.

"So, I got a little bit more information about the ATCU from Price and Coulson," May stated to break the uncomfortable silence. And because she wasn't ready to pack up and leave Daisy yet. And because Daisy and Ward deserved to have all the information.

"Like what? What else do we need to know?" Ward asked. "We already know they tried to kill Skye because she's Inhuman. What else is there?"

"Rosalind Price isn't calling all the shots for the ATCU. She answers to one of the President's top advisors. I get the feeling he is actually the one giving orders, despite how Price presents it. I think Gideon Malick is actually the head of the ATCU and..."

"Wait, did you say Gideon Malick?" Ward interrupted May. When she nodded, he groaned and rubbed a hand over his face. "Oh, this is bad. This is bad on so many levels right now."

"You know him?" May asked.

"Yeah, but I know him in another capacity other that the President's advisor." The three women all stared at him, waiting. He wasn't sure exactly how to say this, but they needed to know. This situation had just deepened to a level he wasn't sure they could deal with or come back from.

"Grant?" Skye all but questioned in a whisper.

"Gideon Malick is the new head of Hydra," Ward informed them softly.

"Wait, are you saying that the President's being influenced by Hydra?" Simmons asked. "And that this guy is also giving Price and the ATCU orders?"

Ward nodded. "I've met with him. He's been trying to recruit me to his new version of Hydra. But I'm not interested. His vision of Hydra...not what I'd call appealing. Or sane, really. Plus, I was never loyal or interested in Hydra."

"So I guess the big question here is does Price know Malick is Hydra?" May stated before Simmons could refute Ward about his Hydra loyalties. This was not the time or the place to have that discussion.

"Bigger question...if she does, or if you tell her, does she care?" Skye added. She shifted on the bench, wincing in pain. Grant wrapped an arm around her shoulders, helping her move around carefully so she wouldn't strain or hurt anything else. "I mean, it makes sense...capturing and locking up Inhumans...but what's his end game? What does he need the Inhumans for?"

"I think I know," Ward replied. "Malick comes from a Hydra sect who believe that this ancient...god...was stranded on some far away planet and it was their duty to find him and bring him home. Something about a space portal. Anyway, the story goes that this god was a super power being who could control others of his kind. That when he returned, he would make an army to take over the world and create a new one for Hydra. I'm guessing we're talking Inhumans here." Ward placed a hand on Skye's arm to help settle her. "It seems Malick's having the ATCU capture Inhumans and put them in stasis..."

"To build an army for this being," May finished, staring at the other three in horror. She saw their looks mirrored her own.

After a few minutes of trying to digest this knowledge, Skye turned to Grant and asked, "And why didn't you say something to me before now? Hello, I'm Inhuman and SHIELD, so did you not think that I needed this info?" She wasn't angry or hurt. She was worried that maybe they weren't on the same page after all, if he was hiding stuff from her.

"Honestly?" Grant said, a sheepish look on his face. "I didn't tell you because I thought you were dealing with enough issues at the moment. I didn't want to add to it."

"That's sweet," Skye said softly, placing a hand on his face and letting him know she wasn't mad. "But don't do that, okay. You don't have to protect me like that. I can handle things."

"Oh my god!" Simmons said loudly, snapping back into the conversation. "Space portal...super powered being...could they be talking about that thing I encountered on Maveth?"

"Huh?" Ward asked, confused.

"Remember when I said Jemma got sucked into a rock?"

"Yeah, and when you got her back you said it had taken her to...another...planet..." Grant said, catching on. He turned to Simmons. "There was something there on that planet?"

Simmons nodded. "Yes. I didn't get a good look at it. More of a presence. A feeling. But it was...evil is the best way I can describe it. Pure evil. Pure hate. Pure destruction. It scared me like nothing else ever has."

"But you came back, right? So why hasn't Hydra ever been able to bring it back before?" Ward questioned.

"Well, it was Fitz. Fitz figured out how to open the portal..." Simmons turned to Daisy. "You were there. Maybe you can explain it better?"

Skye shrugged. "Fitz figured out what that rock did. Then we broke Professor Randolph out of a jail..."

"Wait, Asgardian Randolph of the Berserker Staff?" May interrupted.

Skye nodded. "Yeah. He filled us in on exactly what that stone was and what it was supposed to do. And that some weird group of people had been sacrificing people through it for hundreds of years. Guess those were Hydra followers...spoiler alert, Hydra is much older than the Nazis...so we went to a castle in England...anyway, Fitz had it all figured out...but the equipment was too old and damaged to get the portal opened." Skye paused. She wasn't sure if she wanted to share how exactly they opened the portal. She wasn't sure how May and Jemma would take it and her powers again.

"Then how did he get it opened?" Simmons asked.

Skye took a deep breath. "Fitz started everything up...it worked for like a second. And it was so loud in my head...it gave me a migraine the size of Russia. So, all the equipment was so old that just turning it back on and trying to run power through it fried it all to hell. But Fitz understood how it was supposed to work and tried to explain it to us. As it turns out it worked on resonance and vibrations. I understood what he was trying to say, so I used my powers to open it back up..."

"How'd you do that?" May asked.

"I had that frequency burned into my skull from that migraine. So I just...reached out and found it again and opened it back up. Like a tuning fork. And Fitz, he was only supposed to send a message...but he jumped into the portal himself...and I tried so hard to hold the portal open...but it was so painful...then I blacked out.."

"But he got to me and pulled me through," Simmons finished for her. "Daisy, I had no idea you had done that."

Skye gave a small, quick smile. "Yeah, it wasn't important really. Just getting you back was all that mattered. I think at that point, Fitz and I didn't really care how, even if it meant...well, he did jump into that portal for you, you know."

"And you could have killed yourself or given yourself permanent brain damage or something," Simmons admonished her. "It wasn't worth it."

Skye shook her head. "Fitz and I think it was. And I know we would both do it again." She took a deep breath. "Jemma, I know you want to go back and see if you can bring Will back...but you can't now. You have to go back to the base and destroy everything. All the research you and Fitz have done. All the information you two have. We can't risk the ATCU or Hydra, or both, getting their hands on it. We can't risk them bringing back that thing to destroy Earth. We just can't."

"Does the ATCU woman know what happened?" Grant asked quickly. "Because if she does, it may already be too late."

Simmons shook her head. "No, I don't think Coulson's told Price about me and Maveth. He's shared info about Inhumans, but not that."

"He shouldn't be giving her info on anything," Skye said softly. But not soft enough.

"You know," Simmons said, turning to her, "You could be a little helpful, too, and less hostile yourself. I know you object to the idea of putting Inhumans into stasis until they can be helped, but there might be something to that idea in some cases..."

Skye cut Simmons off angrily. "I don't object to the stasis pods. I object to the Inhumans not being given a choice on whether they want to go into stasis or not. The ATCU just shoots them and puts them into stasis. They even tried it with me and Lincoln and we know how to control our powers..."

"Control? Is that what you call it?" Simmons pushed, pointing to Daisy's arms.

Skye's face turned to stone. "I didn't hurt anyone."

"Except yourself," Simmons said pointedly.

"Yeah. I hurt myself. I hurt myself because to me that option is preferable than the other option of lashing out and hurting countless innocents."

"But these other Inhumans don't do that. They just lash out and hurt others because they can't control their powers. And clearly you can't either, if you're hurting yourself rather than keeping your powers at bay," Simmons argued.

"And what I am saying is that these other Inhumans deserve a chance to understand all this and they deserve to make the choice for themselves on whether to get locked up or learn to use their powers. At first, they are scared. They don't know what is happening, what they are feeling. Suddenly, everything about themselves is different. And they don't know how to deal with it. They need help, not persecution and jail," Skye argued.

"But we can't trust them out there to do the right thing, to learn and work at it," Simmons said, getting to her feet.

"So you're saying you don't trust me?" Skye asked, accusation in her voice.

"Well, you did lose control and hurt yourself," Simmons shot back sharply.

"I didn't lose control. I controlled it by turning it inward. I could just have easily let it out and hurt those around me. But I didn't." Skye took a deep breath, trying with all her might to remain calm. Yelling at Jemma wasn't going to help the situation any. "I was aware of what I was doing. I knew I was turning it inward, Jemma. I chose to do that."

"But what I'm saying is that if you were to truly be not dangerous, there should never be a time where you had to make that choice."

"So what? Humans can have mental breakdowns and emotional outbursts, but Inhumans aren't allowed?"

"No, because they can hurt people."

"So can humans. Murder, rage, abuse...that's not solely the province of Inhumans." Skye stood up and followed Simmons as she began to walk away. She was not going to stop until she said all that she wanted to say. "Jemma, I knew it was happening. That's what I don't think you're understanding. I felt my power coming up and out and I chose to use it on myself rather than hurt Grant and his neighbors. I chose that because I had learned how to feel my powers and my body and how to project where I sent my power. But I'm not perfect. I can't be perfect. I can't be expected to never get upset, angry, sad, what have you, to the degree I am and still keep a lid on my powers. For me, my powers lashing out like that is no different than when you get angry and say or do something unkind to hurt the person you're mad at. It's the same thing, just expressed differently."

"Except that I don't have the ability to kill someone," Simmons replied nastily.

"Except that you do. You tried to kill Grant and hit Bakshi instead. So you lashed out when angry and killed someone. I pushed it in and hurt myself. So who's really the dangerous one here, huh?"

"Hey, that's enough," May said, finally stepping in. She had been prepared to step in early, had even almost done so, but she felt these two younger women had to hash this out a bit first. But now it seemed as if it was going to far. "Neither one of you are better or worse than the other. You just work out your issues in different ways."

"God, this is just like back when I first got my powers..." Skye said quietly, trailing off.

"Skye, hey, come on," Grant said softly, reaching out to her. "You don't mean that, not really."

She held up her splint covered arms. "What would you know about it, you weren't there," she snapped. Immediately, she felt bad for her attitude. He had only been trying to help her calm down. "Sorry. It's just...this has been really awful and I just want to leave. It's time."

"Leave?" May questioned. "So I gather you're not coming back with us, then?"

Skye shook her head. Then she looked over to Ward. "My hands are kinda tied up right now. Can you get it out of my back pocket?"

Grant came up behind her and reached into her back left pocket of her jeans. He pulled out something small and black and handed it to Skye.

"Is that what I think it is?" May asked, shaking her head.

"Yeah. I can't be a part of SHIELD while they work with people who want to hurt me and lock up my friends. So here," Skye said, handing over her badge to May, tears in her eyes. "Tell Coulson...I don't know. Just tell him I can't right now. But I'm okay."

May did not reach out to take the badge. "Daisy, we can talk about this. We can all sit down and talk this out. You don't have to leave."

"Yes, I do," Skye said sadly, a few tears falling. "It's what I want and what I need right now. Most everyone doesn't even want me there anyway. And as long as I stay, with Coulson wanting to work with the ATCU, I'm in danger. Not to mention I'll be at odds with Coulson and it will affect the team." She gestured to Simmons. "It already has."

"Is this your idea?" Simmons asked. "Or his?" She glared at Ward

"Jemma, this is my idea. My choice," Skye stated adamantly. "This is what I want to do."

"Because, you know, he's a master manipulator. He could have you believing this is your idea, when it's really what he wanted all along," Simmons went on as if Daisy hadn't even spoken.

"And this is why I am leaving," Skye said bluntly. 'You're not hearing me. None of you hear me."

"Skye," May stepped in. "If this is what you truly want, then we won't stand in your way." She came over and hugged Skye gently so as not to hurt her. After a few moments, she pulled away, taking Skye's face in her hands once again. "Just know that you can always come back, no questions asked. You can always contact us for help. Again, no questions asked. When you're ready." She picked up the backpack she had left next to the table and handed it to Skye. "Here. Coulson had me go through your quarters, trying to find any clue where you might have been or why you contacted Ward. These are the last bit of personal things you had. A few books, pictures, and some clothes." Then she took Skye's badge, sliding it into her back pocket.

Skye nodded, tears falling freely now. She had finally gotten May back, only to lose her again. This time of her own doing. But it was something that had to be done. She had to distance herself from them, from Coulson and SHIELD. Before she lost her life. Or herself.

"You guys better go, before Coulson gets tired of waiting and tries to trace you to our location," Grant said, coming up and putting an arm around Skye for support. He knew how hard this must be for her, especially with May finally back.

May turned her attention from Skye to Ward. She stared him right in the eyes, looking for something. And found it. She knew that no matter what was going on with him, whatever bad blood was between him and the rest of SHIELD, he wasn't going to leave Skye. He wasn't going to hurt her. He wasn't going to let anything happen to her. For the first time in a long time, May found herself trusting Grant Ward. In at least this one thing.

"Okay, Simmons, time to go." May picked up both medical bags this time and started to walk way, back the way they had come.

Jemma still hadn't moved. "You're not coming back with us?" she asked, truly not believing what was happening.

Skye shook her head. "I can't Jemma. Not now. Too much has happened and I don't want to be there."

"How can you...why? What's so bad that you can't come back and work it out?"

"Again with the not hearing," Skye commented, wiping the tears away.

"So you're really going to just throw us all way? Throw away almost three years of friendship and love? And family? For what?" Jemma demanded angrily. "Him?" she asked, gesturing to Ward.

"Jemma, I can't be there right now," Skye tried one more time. She hated leaving things like this. It was tearing her up inside to think that her friends thought she didn't care about them. "I was almost killed by people Coulson wants to be allies with. I won't risk my life, even for you."

"Simmons!" May called from the tree, holding it open to leave their secret meeting place. "Leave it alone. Skye needs to make her own choice in this."

Jemma glanced back at May, then turned back to Skye for one last ditch effort. "Well, when HE shows his true colors, just know that I won't be so welcoming." With that, Simmons turned on her heel and marched out under May's outstretched arm, not once glancing back to her ex-friend.

"Well, you know I'm gonna check in somehow," May called back before leaving herself.

After their departure, Skye turned into Grant and just let out more tears, taking in his comfort. It was a long time before she'd calmed down enough to leave.

AOSAOS

It was halfway through their ride back to base before Simmons said a word. And it was to yell at May. "How could you just let her go?! How could you just leave her with that monster?!"

"Forcing her to come wouldn't help the situation. It would actually do the exact opposite and cause more anger and trouble between everyone. Plus, how was I going to force her? Knock her and Ward out and carry her over my shoulder?"

"But you just left her with that psychopath!"

"Simmons!" May yelled back, losing a bit of her calm. "She wasn't going to come. Nothing we said was going to make her change her mind. She had made her mind up before this meeting. Probably weeks ago. Nothing was going to change that, short of using brute force. And that would have just made things worse in the end."

"Wait, weeks? You think she was planning to leave even before the ATCU shot her?" Simmons asked incredulously.

May nodded, watching the road, not sure how to answer Simmons. Lying wouldn't do much to help, and telling the truth would hurt. Either way, Simmons wasn't going to get the answer she wanted. "Yes. Remember, I went through her room when I got back, trying to find some clues. Her room looked normal, except for the items that meant something to her. Like her hula girl. Those were not there."

Jemma didn't respond right away, taking a moment to take that in. When she did respond, there was no more anger in her voice. Only defeat. "She's been moving her important possessions out of the base. Probably to wherever Ward lives."

"Like I said," May confirmed gently, "she's been planning this for a while."

"Well, that just confirms it. Ward's been manipulating her for months then. Because there's no way Daisy would choose to leave us on her own. No way she'd be planning this behind our backs."

May shook her head. "I don't think so, Jemma. I had a talk with Ward while you were checking her over. There's not a doubt in my mind that he's being honest in all this. He's not manipulating her, I promise you. He's changed, and I think it might be a good thing. And we need to let her do this her way. Because right now, like it or not, Ward is the only one she trusts."

Simmons was quiet again for a while before bringing up something else she had picked up on during their meeting. "He kept calling her Skye. And she didn't correct him."

"I noticed," May said.

"Why? Is she trying to be someone she's not with him to please him? Because that's not healthy and to me stinks of manipulation."

"Jemma," May said, slowly losing her patience. "For the last time, he's not manipulating her. But I do think she was trying to be someone she's not. Except it isn't for Ward. It's for all of you, for SHIELD."

"What are you saying, May?" Jemma asked, not catching on.

"I think Skye is who that girl really is. Daisy Johnson, just a role she was playing. Either because she was trying to make everyone happy or because she thought it was who everyone wanted her to do. Or both. But she's comfortable being herself with Ward and that means she's really Skye."

"So what are you going to tell Coulson?" Simmons questioned.

"The truth," May answered. "She's not ready to come back."

AOSAOS

Coulson was sitting behind his desk, going over paperwork when May marched into his office and up to his desk, followed by Simmons at a much more sedate pace, almost as if she was afraid of getting in the way of the other woman. When he didn't look up and acknowledge them right away, May threw something onto his desk. It was small, about wallet size, and black. He glanced at it quickly, then returned his eyes to the paperwork.

"You resigning again?" he asked casually.

"That's not mine," May replied back evenly.

That got Coulson's attention and he looked up at her in confusion. "If it's not yours then who's?" He turned to Simmons. "Yours?"

"Open it and find out," May challenged, "But I think you already know who it belongs to."

Coulson just stared at the badge, couldn't make his fingers pick it up. May was right, he knew who that badge belonged to before he had even questioned her. He had just hoped he was wrong.

"I lost her," he said quietly, sadly, as he rubbed a hand over his face in despair.