Meet the Team

After his dramatic reveal, which was still awesome especially because it left Ward with his jaw on the floor, Coulson had announced himself to be a more walk-and-talk guy then an office type. I instantly fell in beside him as we navigated the hallways of the building, allowing me to see more in a few moments then I had my entire visit here. I was just taking it all in as we arrived at a set of glass doors with wide eyes, which Coulson seemed to notice and smile at.

Ward had tagged behind us at a distance and was a lot more… questioning. Though I suppose it wasn't his fault he was literally the only one out of the loop at the moment- whether he knew it or not. "Director Fury faked you death to motivate the Avengers," he finally seemed to catch up with the program and recover. I couldn't help but send him a 'duh' look.

"Well, the death of a common ally is a particularly effective team builder," Hill informed us. I knew that was the official story, but there was something else to it. No one would tell me what it is, but I knew something else was going on beneath the surface here. It was part of the reason they thought I might be important.

"Say 'cheese'," a disembodies female voice said as we were all briefly scanned, badges flashing on the screen next to the doors. I got a little tense only to let out a sigh of relief when mine flashed by without issue and the door became unlocked. I looked at Hill out of the corner of my eye, but she refused to acknowledge me.

"Plus, it wasn't that much of a stretch," Coulson continued as we stepped in to where dozens of Agents were running about every which way. "I stopped breathing for about forty seconds."

"Wow," I spoke up unconsciously, earning all eyes on me. Something about that just made my heart skip a beat. "I'm sorry. That just sounds… intense. I'm glad you're still with us… sir," I added sincerely. I realized I was being too emotional, for some reason, and sought to recover. "I've heard a lot of good things." He gave me a brief pat on the shoulder and a smile, but Hill merely rolled her eyes.

"Don't let him- eight seconds. It gets longer every time you tell it," she lectured him.

"Yeah, well, you get shanked by the Asgardian Mussolini, you can tell it your way." He gave my shoulder one last squeeze before he kept walking, eyes still on me. "I was looking at the big white light and it felt like a lot longer than eight seconds is all I'm saying." I went to agree with him as we pinned badges to our shirts, but Ward chose this moment of connection to cut in of course. The jerk.

"Do they know?" he asked. "The Avengers. That Fury played them?" Well, I suppose it was a fair question. Still, he needed to learn to work on his timing.

"They're not Level Seven," Hill answered simply as we started walking again.

"I got out of the I.C.U. and Fury stuck me in a grass shack in Tahiti." At those words, I instantly stopped in my tracks, hand going to my mouth. No way. There was absolutely no way I could have known that. I had thought it was just some stupid thing. My eyes went to my arm and I was half-tempted to roll it up and stare at the words again just to check. But before I could do anything Hill roughly gave a tug of my arm, trying to get me to catch up before either noticed my delay. I pulled my reeling self together and gave her a significant look to which she gave the briefest of nods. Tahiti was important and my knowing about it meant something huge.

"I wished someone might have mentioned that so I could play it cool," I whispered to Hill as we entered a room filled with computers and a screen broadcasting something Coulson and Ward were watching. "That might have been important information."

"There was no need to tell you," she countered, not intimidated by me in the slightest. "It's not relevant to the mission at hand."

"What is Tahiti really?" I questioned harshly. She wasn't doing this to me. If I was supposed to whatever my job was I needed to understand what I remembered. Because there was a reason I had picked that detail to remember. "Because with how you reacted I doubt now it's just a recovery vacation-"

"Agent Coulson has requisitioned a mobile command unit," Hill addressed the room, now completely ignoring me, "to which the two of you have been assigned." I had to keep myself from saying anything else-having enough decorum to know this wasn't the time and place. But I gave her a look that showed her I wasn't giving up that easily. I was getting to the bottom of this no matter what she did.

Coulson grabbed two white classified folders from a desk. "Rising Tide is trying to draw us out. I think it's time they succeeded."

"You want me to cross them off?" Ward asked bluntly. Whoa. Somebody really needed to take a chill pill… like as soon as possible. He seemed to notice how I was staring at him in shock, but he returned his attention to Coulson.

Coulson seemed to be in the same boat I was though, looking a bit put off by Mr. Spy Man's offer. "Wow. No. I want to use them to get to him," he informed us, nodding towards the man cradling a woman on screen after jumping out of a building. Hill had showed me the footage yesterday, said it was what finally made Coulson put everything together… I think she had called him a Gifted? "This man's world it about to get very weird. He's gonna' need some help."

"I'm in," I said instantly, earning a smile from Coulson that filled me with just a hint of pride.

"I figured you would be, Agent Crawford." He opened the first folder. "Agent Hill showed me her detailed assessment of your last couple missions. Not bad for five years. Combat and espionage could be better for sure, but the people skills tell me you want to help people in any way you can."

I shrugged, but honestly this time I swear. "It's all I seem to know how to do." I looked at the picture of the man on the screen. "I'm willing to do whatever you need me to so I can help him… and you." I seemed to have won him over, judging by the way he looked as if we had just sealed a very good deal. I was in.

"I'm sorry," Ward cut in, feeling a need to once again break up our bonding moment. "She may be meant for this, but I was trained from day one as a specialist. I go in alone. I get it done. Defusing a nuclear bomb… I'm your guy." I couldn't help but roll my eyes and drop into one of the nearby seats. "A welcoming committee?" he questioned with a glance over at me before inhaling sharply. "Not my speed."

Should I be offended? I feel like I should be offended by that. I gave a look at another Agent in the room pointing at Ward while he continued to speak with Coulson with an eye roll. The man nearly shrugged back at me, but the woman next to him gave me a nod of confirmation. "Thank you!" I mouthed, happy I wasn't the only one who saw what a piece of work this guy was. I get the whole lone wolf mentality he seemed to be working, but we're on the same team man. You don't need to take cheap shots. We would be having words later I assure you.

My attention was drawn away from the speech I was planning to give Ward on the meaning of teamwork when a darker skinned man in a coat entered the room. "Team's approved," he told Coulson, giving me the briefest of glances. "Physicals are all fine." Ah, another hoop Hill must have had to jump through for me. Obviously this guy wasn't a fan of lying about his job if one went by the look he had given me. "Fitz-Simmons is not cleared for combat. I'm told that won't be an issue." Coulson nodded in agreement. Must be our tech person then I figured. "Agent Crawford should be just fine for what is required of her." I sensed a little bile in his voice, but luckily no one else seemed to so maybe it was just me. "Agent Ward here… he's almost too fit."

I couldn't help but snort at that, earning the attention of the room. "Sorry. It's just obvious who your choice for Man Crush Monday-"

"That's an issue," Ward cut in, blatantly ignoring me at this point. He was clearly still not feeling the whole… team thing. "That should be an issue. Maybe I can't join the team."

"God, you are both dismissed," Hill grumbled at the two of us. I knew better than to argue so I headed straight for the door, followed by Ward after he failed to get a few more words in. We proceeded in silence the way we came, but I had learned pretty quickly I wasn't good at keeping my mouth shut.

"I get it," I began. "You're not a 'team' guy. But there's still just having proper manners when someone else is speaking. It's just called being respectful of others. I mean you learn that one in kindergarten."

"It's hard to show that when I do not in fact respect you."

"Excuse me?!"

"I know exactly what kind of Agent you are. You rank high only in people skills? You obviously don't take this seriously," he nodded at my clothes. "You just go in and run your mouth while the rest of us have to do the hard work that puts lives and the world on the line. We answer the threats. You answer Fury's phone calls."

I could tell the punch didn't hurt him in the slightest. I didn't even throw it properly and barely nicked him on the chin. There was a bit of a height difference after all. And I realized after the fact I probably shouldn't have done that- alienate one of my team members right out the gate in anger. But it felt really good, except for the throbbing knuckle I now cradled against my chest. "You know nothing about me and what I do. You don't get to judge me," I nearly spat. He at least had the decency to look shocked for the briefest of moments before slipping back into his cold expression. "Stay the hell out of my way until you learn some manners." With that, I proceeded to storm off in dignity, only to have it cut down a bit when I realized I had nowhere to go but back to my jail cell. But he didn't know that! So ha!

XXX

Hill actually dropped me off herself that afternoon, spending the whole car ride reminding me not to tell anyone about my situation. We had thrown together a bag for me with some clothes I had approved and a bunch of doctored photos that made it look like I had some sort of history. I was merely there to observe and see if I learned anything about what I was meant to do along the way. And I was not to throw another punch at Grant Ward no matter how much he deserved it. I don't know how she knew about our altercation, but I honestly wasn't surprised.

Her Jeep pulled to a stop in front of an extremely large plane that was currently being loaded with all sorts of things as people headed up its cargo hold ramp- boxes of weapons, science equipment, supplies and furniture, and even vehicles. Everything we could possibly need. I even noticed Grant Ward making his way over, black bag under his arm. "I mean it," Hill emphasized. "Play nice."

I gave her my best winning smile. "Of course Mom. Thanks for the ride." I climbed out of the car, but paused before taking off to get a last good luck at Hill. "Thanks for everything really. I'd-I'd have been lost without you," I said sincerely. She didn't quite seem to know how to handle my sentiments and merely gave me a nod. Okay, I decided I was never doing sappy again. With that, I slammed the door and took off at a run to catch up to Ward as he made his way up the ramp.

"Someone looks like they're in a good mood," I told him as I caught up, thumping him on the back. "Smile. This is going to be fun." I didn't think it was possible, but he somehow became even sulkier.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" a voice shouted from the top. "Watch it!" We arrived to see a man and a woman with a huge amount of suitcases and luggage between them. The one who spoke, a curly-haired gentleman with a sweater and tie, was grabbing something away from the woman, a very pretty girl in a pink blouse and jeans. "That's the night-night gun."

"Well, it's on my stuff and it doesn't work," she retorted in a way that made it immediately clear these two knew each other very well. She also had a very pleasant English accent that only endeared me to her further. Ward just let out a sigh as they continued, clearly still not in the mood for team spirit. "And there's no way we're calling it the night-night gun."

They started to carry some of the bags into what appeared to be a lab behind a set of open glass doors. I instantly moved to help them, grabbing what I could and following. "The bullets work," he bickered back and I realized he had some sort of accent as well. Though his seemed to be more… Scottish. "Nonlethal, heavy stopping power, break up under the subcutaneous tissue-"

"Oh, with a dose of only .1 microliters of Dendrotoxin." She set about storing her bags away, attention completely on her companions as I stood there awkwardly in the doorway. I went to say something, but she just kept going. "I'm not Hermione. I can't create instant paralysis with that. You should have run the specs by me before building the molds."

"The bullets are hollow," he argued before she had finished, and soon the two were talking over one another in a way that it was impossible to tell what was going on. But they both came to a stop as a loud thud sounded from behind me. I turned to see Agent Ward had dropped his bag in exasperation.

"Fitz-Simmons?" he asked, looking for which one of them had been mentioned earlier. They both stared at the two of us for a brief moment as if they had just noticed us for the first time. I felt completely uncomfortable at their scrutiny, but just stood in place.

"Fitz," she said finally, gesturing to the guy.

"Simmons," he followed, gesturing to her. Oh. That made sense. They certainly seemed so symbiotic they could be one person, so I could see how they often got lumped together. "I'm engineering. She's biochem." There was then a pause as I looked around the technology of this lab feeling very much out of place. But then I went red when I realized the silence was because they were both staring at me.

"Agent Crawford," I offered hastily, shifting the bags. "Ashleigh actually. Is there somewhere I could put these for you?" Simmons was quick to take them from me with a blinding smile and place them in a corner.

"Aren't you the sweetest? Thank you so much!" I realized Fitz was still looking at me, so I offered him a small wave as I stood there a little out of my element. I then proceeded to feel like a complete idiot until I noticed him smirk and give a little wave back to me. Okay. I could do this. Play nice.

"Agent Ward?" he then questioned behind me, turning his attention to our sullen observer. Ward nodded and produced a little black box from his coat pocket. Did he just keep everything in there? Was it infinitely deep?

"Coulson said I'd need my comm receiver encoded," he held it out for Fitz to grab. He proceeded to carry it over to one of the benches while Simmons worked at another, glancing up at me.

"You can come in," she said kindly.

I quickly realized how awkward I must have looked and made my way to her side. "I'm sorry. All of this is a little out of my element. I just don't want to break anything on the two of you. You should have seen the damage I did to a toaster just last week." I was surprised they both laughed at that, clear and in sync. I wasn't used to anyone actually laughing at my jokes honestly and it felt pretty good.

"Don't know if you've worked with that model before," Ward cut in back on topic. Leave it to him to spoil my good mood. "It's," Fitz proceeded to hit the black device with a hammer repeatedly, "brand new."

It was my turn to laugh now as Ward stared in disbelief. The look on his face was pretty priceless. He gave me a glare, but I merely covered my mouth with my hands because I couldn't get it to stop. Fitz was looking pretty surprised to have drawn that kind of reaction, but quickly seemed to be basking in it as I had. Simmons meanwhile addressed Ward. "He'll repurpose the I.D.I.S. chip," she reassured him.

Fitz nodded. "Don't need the external receiver for the inner-ear comms anymore."

"So, uh, how does it…"

Simmons cut him off by sticking what looked to be a cotton swab into his mouth. "Embedded sensorineural silicone matched to your DNA. It's very posh." She then stepped over back by me and held up another one. I instantly obliged and allowed her to swipe my mouth as well. "So, are you two excited to be coming on our journey of mystery?"

"Absolutely," I responded with enthusiasm. "This is going to be the best. Especially meeting everybody who gets to be part of this with me- seems like we're going to be quite the fun group." I made sure to make eye contact with both Fitz and Simmons there. It was clear they had their very tight friendship, but I definitely could use some friends after my past couple of weeks. "Right, Ward?" I shot over my shoulder. He strangely and rudely enough decided not to answer me. Rude.

At that moment as red car pulled up the ramp and Coulson climbed out. "One of Coulson's old S.H.I.E.L.D. collectibles," Fitz explained from right next to me, making me jump. "Sorry. Flamethrowers, world's first GPS- he's mad for that."

A worker came up to admire his car, but for the first time I saw Coulson muster a serious look as he walked past. "Don't touch Lola," he threatened, removing the sunglasses from his face and clicking the remote so she beeped. He managed to pull it off though.

"And he calls it a girl's name."

"Nothing wrong with a girl's name," I made clear as Coulson nodded for Ward and me to follow him. "I have one after all and I'd like to think I'm pretty cool." I thumped him once hard on the back, nearly sending the poor guy sprawling to the ground. I flashed him an apologetic smile as I started up the winding metal staircase after the boys. "Catch you two later!"

"Oh, I like her a lot, Fitz!" I heard from Simmons as I emerged in what must be the living area of the plane. I saw the two talking with an older Asian woman in dress very similar to Hill's. Coming up to them I could see from her expression she seemed to be just as no nonsense as well.

"Wheels are up in five," she told the two, eyes drifting to me as I came up behind them. "We may have a hit on one of Rising Tide's routing points." She nodded towards me. "Agent Crawford, I was hoping you would accompany me in the cockpit. I read about your flying exploits in Abu Dhabi and want to see what you have to offer."

Oh no. It looked like Hill had told a lie a little too big. I also had been planning by sticking by Coulson on the ride out, picking his brain a bit to see if I could figure anything out or know for sure if he recognized me like I did him. But both Ward and Coulson were now staring at me and I couldn't just start crying right there. I forced a proud smile on my face. Stick to the mission. I could do this. I'd just… make something up about how the plane wasn't compatible or something. "Of course…"

"Melinda May," she told me before turning with the intention that I follow.

"Abu Dhabi?" Ward questioned suspiciously.

"Yes," I said perhaps a bit too quickly. "Pilot had a heart attack and someone had to land," I lied through my teeth, keeping my smile firmly on my face. "He's okay though. Just gave me a heart attack." Coulson was just watching me with interest, but Ward still seemed in disbelief as he stared me down. I jerked my thumb over my shoulder. "I get a feeling she's not the type to be kept waiting, so I'm going to go. See you guys later."

Agent May already had her headphones on and was flicking all sorts of buttons and switches when I paused at the doorway. "Sit," she ordered, gesturing to the copilot's seat.

"I'm actually not very good with all the buttons and things, so it's probably best I-"

"Sit." I knew better than to pick a battle and perched in the seat just as I was told. "I'm not going to beat around the bush, okay? I'm the contact Agent Hill told you about."

So she wasn't actually expecting me to know how to fly this thing? I let out a sigh of relief. "Great. Because I was so worried-"

"You come to me with anything up here where we're not overheard and I will report it back to Fury. You don't speak anything else to anyone."

"Hill gave me the whole song and dance already," I reminded her. "At the moment I will need a mission for me to Abu Dhabi in which my pilot had a heart attack and I landed the plane myself." May gave me a look. "They asked for the story! I gave them one! But I don't trust Ward not to snoop around." She didn't say anything, just turned back to her work. I let the silence sit for a minute before needing to speak up. "I will. I'm here to help… somehow…" Her attention as distracted by some voices on the headphones.

"Confirmed. Taking off now." She flipped a few more things and the plane roared to life under us, making me clutch the seat a little tighter. "I'd buckle up." I did as instructed, for some reason instinctually squeezing my eyes shut tight for a few minutes as the plane left the bunker and took off smoothly into the sky. I'm pretty sure I left nail marks in the cushions of the armrest. Only when I felt us leveling out did I dare open them and even then I felt myself go pale as my entire stomach pitched. This was not good at all.

"I think I just remembered something." She glanced over at me. "I'm pretty sure I'm not a heights person," I informed her before clicking off my seatbelt and rushing unprofessionally for the bathroom.

XXX

So the trick was I couldn't look out any windows, I discovered once I calmed myself. As long as I didn't look at the sky I stood a chance of convincing myself I was still on the ground. Safely, happily perched on the ground.

I spent my time instead at the bunks, setting up shop in a tall one across from Ward. He'd just thrown his bag on his bed and walked off, but I'd decided to try to make things homier. I set my fake pictures on the wall, trying not to think about the fact I actually had no clue who I was. I had no clue who my family was really either. All I had were some actors pretending they cared about me for the flash of a camera. It was honestly a little pathetic.

I heard the cry of pain and dismounted my bunk to see Fitz had hit his head a few down. "Need me to get some ice for that?" I asked politely as I made my way over. "Though it may take me a while to find the fridge honestly."

"No," he responded. "I'm just a little worried that's something I can come to expect every morning. I'm not used to such a low ceiling."

"You'll adapt," I offered, but I could see he was having a few larger doubts that he wasn't comfortable voicing to the absolute stranger he had met that day. Figure that. "I know I have absolute faith in you, Fitz," I tried sincerely reassuring him. "You can do this. We all can." Once again the way he was looking at me made me feel like a complete and utter dork. Obviously he didn't need the crap I was spouting off. "Where's Simmons?"

"In the lab getting everything ready for when we land. Coulson said… your special talent is reading people, right?" Spectacular. He seemed a little defensive and must think I'm some sort of busybody getting all up in his personal business. Way to make a first impression, Ashleigh.

"Supposedly," I shrugged. "I honestly don't think I have much of a superpower at all. I'll leave that kind of stuff to Thor or Iron Man."

"Actually, we're going to need it." I turned around to see Coulson approaching us. "Ward and I are going to intercept whoever is sending out these Rising Tide messages. Since you're our resident people person I think it best you come with us. May is taking Fitz-Simmons to get some readings of an apartment building that the incident occurred at."

Time with Ward? That was a big no from me. "Yes, is it at all possible I could go with Team Science? Because Ward and I-"

"I'm aware of your altercation," Coulson cut in with a smirk. Like I said I knew I really liked this guy. We seemed to be on the same wavelength. "I'm not about to let personal matters get in the way of the task at hand." I had just argued against the orders of my team commander and he seemed to realize it too. I really needed to shape up, especially when it came to Coulson who I actually liked. "And here I just thought you'd want to spend some quality time together," he added, somehow letting me know he wasn't taking my insubordination too seriously and releasing a weight from my chest.

The man clearly also knew what he was doing. "You won me over, Coulson," I smiled. "I'll be right by your side the moment this things lands. Promise." Coulson accepted this with his smirk still firmly in place and started back the way he came, leaving me to let out a groan at the thought of being trapped in a car with Ward.

"Altercation?" I heard Fitz question from his bunk.

"He pissed me off. I punched him in the face and told him to learn some manners."

"Alright then," he responded after a beat. "Remind me to never get on your bad side then."

"I doubt I would ever throw one at you," I told him honestly as I started back for my bunk to hide until we landed. "My people reading skills tell me that you're not a complete and utter asshole." I hopped into my bunk and sprawled out, choosing to look at the silver lining- time with Coulson. Maybe I could finally get a straight answer on whether he knows me or not.

"The fridge is just down the hall in the kitchen. You can't miss it."

I stuck my head out and gave him a smile. "Thanks," I shot his way, watching him finish and head back for the lab. I then ducked my head back into my bunk and sighed. I would prefer to follow him- maybe learn more about the dynamic duo of Fitz-Simmons or go tell May about how I was positive I had to know Coulson. But I had no plans on emerging and risking seeing any sort of window. This plane was practically full of them! Major design flaw.

XXX

I was true to my word and met up with Coulson and Ward the moment I was sure we were flat on the ground. Ward grabbed one of our cars, I asked but Lola was out of the question, and we started down the streets following where Rising Tide was broadcasting from. I had graciously allowed Coulson shotgun and was perched in the center of the backseat, leaning towards them.

"So I checked out the file when we were in the air," Coulson struck up a conversation. "What you did in Abu Dhabi was quite impressive."

Wow. Hill worked fast. "Thank you, sir. That means a lot. To me it's all just a big blur. I can hardly remember a single detail honestly."

"Just the choice to land in the water rather than risk any civilians. It was very Captain America." I could instantly tell he felt that was the highest compliment he could offer and tried not to let the guilt eat through me that it was over a big fat lie. I forced a smile, but it definitely was.

"He's an inspiration for sure," I lied again. I barely knew anything about Captain America other than some cliff notes on the Battle of New York. Hill apparently thought it would be wise for my actions to mirror his though, and now I had to follow-up with this knowledge I was expected to have of him. So I would have to add researching Cap to my to-do list. My growing to-do list.

"I met him, you know," Coulson continued. "I was there when they unfroze him. He's just what you'd expect." He sobered for a minute, and I instantly hated that expression on his face. "Too bad he thinks-"

"We're here," Ward joined the conversation. "It's coming from the van right there." He poured over some of the monitors this car was cluttered with. "Heat signature is showing only one person inside."

"Grab-and-go," Coulson told him, earning a nod from Ward as he slipped his sunglasses on and schooled his expression to get ready. "Nothing excessive though. We just want to talk to them. We'll have the upper hand back on the Bus." The two started to climb out and I went to follow, but Coulson held my door closed. "I don't want them to see you right now. I want you to be a fresh face in the interrogation room when we need you-especially is they make it difficult."

I nodded and gestured for the two of them to get going with a thumbs-up before leaning back in my seat panicking just a bit. Coulson expected me to work an interrogation room. He expected me to be able to get information out of someone… if the two of them failed. I was the pinch hitter. The fake spy was the pinch hitter for getting the information we absolutely needed. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself, truly wishing I had gone with Team Science. They wouldn't expect anything of me, plus May would have my back… maybe. I wasn't positive on her yet.

All I knew right now is the Maria Hill had perhaps talked me up too much and I was going to pay the price for it.

XXX

It was an awkward car ride back. Coulson drove our car, allowing me to get shotgun, while Ward piloted the van we were apparently just taking. "He was a little rougher then I would have liked," Coulson confided in me. "But we know he's going to have to grow into this side of things." The rest of the car ride was spent in a comfortable silence as I could tell he was focused and not in the mood for my badgering.

They led her; I guessed it was her from the outfit, with a bag over her head to a room in the back of "the Bus" that from the peek I got was lined with hexagons along the wall. "Wait here," he instructed me quietly. "But stay close and keep an ear out." He hit a button on the wall and followed Ward in, closing the door behind him.

"You guys are making a big mistake," a female voice came through a speaker next to the button. I slid down the opposite wall, camping out to listen while praying I wouldn't have to go in there.

"You don't look that big," Ward responded, making me roll my eyes. Asshole. The poor girl was probably terrified and he was being all big and dominating.

I quickly learned she was not terrified. Her name was Skye and she was playing it cool as if this had been her plan all along to get on the plane. I could even tell she was bluffing, but I had to give her points for courage. She even threw some of the secret things S.H.I.E.L.D. hid from everyone back in their faces- I kind of found myself rooting for her just the tiniest bit. Ward seemed to play the intimidating angle, surprise, while Coulson was trying to be more gentle and polite. I didn't know which one would win her over, but I was hoping one would. Because I was quite comfortable out here- on the hard cold floor of this hallway.

Then she threw out the word Centipede and everything grew a bit more serious, at least for my team's two guys. It was something they hadn't heard of, and even I had enough sense to know that was scary. Ward got more pressing, called her a pseudo-anarchist hacker, and accused her of being a groupie. Skye retorted with calling him the T-1000 though so I felt she ultimately won the day. Maybe I should join her team- she seemed to be winning after all.

I knew I was in trouble when Coulson made him and Ward leave. I hopped up onto my feet, knowing this wasn't a good sign at all. "Is it the girl? Is she getting under your skin?" Coulson threw over his shoulder as we followed him away from the interrogation room and into the living area.

"Sir?"

"Or is it this assignment? Are you so anxious to get out of this that you'd deliberately blow an interrogation?" He came to a closet and punched in a code.

"Give me a minute alone with her," Ward requested. "You'll have your information." I really didn't like his tone of voice on this one. I didn't like it at all.

"Not necessary," I spoke without thinking. "Send me in and I'll get her to talk… willingly." What the hell was I doing? I had not just said that. I did not just create my own demise. Day one and I was already going to blow my cover.

"Crawford's right," Coulson agreed as he pulled a case from the closet. "She's an asset." Dig me my grave now.

"She is such a… wait… 'asset'?"

"We don't know anything about her. Do you appreciate how often that happens?" He opened the case to reveal what appeared to be a syringe-gun sort of hybrid. "We need what she knows." He extended it to me and I instantly didn't like where this was heading. He held up a small green vial and loaded it in. "This is QNB-T16. It's the top-shelf Martini of Sodium Pentothal derivatives, a brand –new and extremely potent truth drug," he summarized my confusion. "The effects last an hour and then there'll be a nice little nap."

"I'm-I'm not doing that. That is not the way to get her to trust us," I argued.

"We don't need her to trust us, Crawford," Ward nearly groaned. "We just need what she knows." I didn't quite believe that at all. This wasn't right. There had to be… some way around this. I wracked my brain, meeting Coulson's patient gaze. I had to prove myself in this moment. I had to keep my cover that I was this person. I had to get this information so whatever the hell Centipede was it didn't get to them and hurt them. I needed to keep them safe. I needed to do it.

I grabbed the syringe with a nod. "Ward comes in with me," I requested. "He knows the kind of questions to ask." Coulson nodded and the two of us walked back into the interrogation room, allowing me the first look at our young, brown-haired captive. "Hello. I'm Ashleigh- Agent Ashleigh technically I guess."

"What? They think bringing in another girl will make me confess everything like we're at a slumber party?"

"No. They think this," I held up the syringe device, "will do the trick. It's a truth drug- extremely potent. The effects last about an hour and we'll have all the answers to our questions." She actually looked a bit afraid, and I instantly knew what I was going to do. The type of person I claimed to be would want her to trust us. That was more important than the information. And I think I had just figured out a way to accomplish that. I was going to do things my way.

Ward didn't see it coming as I plunged it into his arm and pulled the trigger. "Hey! What the hell?!" he shouted as I pulled away.

"Nothing personal! I promise!" I vowed, dragging him over to sit in the chair across from Skye, who was looking at me in pure confusion. "You need to trust us," I told her, walking around the table to her side- trying to project the feeling that I was. "So go ahead and ask him whatever you'd like."

"I hate you so much," he grumbled, hand going to his arm and rubbing it.

"Feeling's mutual," I fired back. "Don't tell me it hurt?"

"Yes, it did hurt a little bit," he said without thinking. "But I always try and mask my pain in front of beautiful women 'cause I think it will make me seem more masculine." He realized what he had said and his eyes went wide. "My God, this stuff works fast."

Skye looked at me, but I merely shrugged and leaned against the wall behind her. "He's all yours. I just want to be here for the show."

She gave me a smile before turning back, clearly enjoying having the power of the situation. And with that smile I absolutely knew I had made the right choice. I could argue as much to Coulson when he yelled at me the second I was out that door, because I knew I was in with Skye. I was her partner in crime right now.

Maybe I could do this after all.

XXX

Author's Note: Hello all. Thank you so much for reading and enjoying this story that's been in my head for a while. I just finally decided to put typing to computer. Fitz has always been my favorite and though I love Fitzsimmons I wanted to try something different.

I just wanted to let you all know I am leaving tomorrow for a Disney Cruise (in which I will see Age of Ultron on the ship like three more times) until next Saturday and thus will not be available to update. But I didn't want to leave you without their first meeting, so here you are. The first two were really setting her up and now we get to see her with everyone. It's going to be a slow burn as Ashleigh adapts and warms up to Fitz, but aren't those the best kind ;)

Thank you so much again for your support. Enjoy, leave a review if you'd like, and I will see you all in a week.