For Her Boys

It took a bit of navigating, maybe I was turning myself around on purpose was a thought that crossed my mind, but I finally reached the area where Sitwell intended to meet me. It was an office that could only be reached by displaying my badge to a glass door and walking down a long empty hallway. Literally the only sound was that of my footsteps as I made my way over, thankful I was now in my sneakers instead of the clacking heels. Because this place was sending a chill up my spine and I wanted to have every advantage I could no matter how small.

I was struck by the door though when I reached it. Every door in this place was glass. Sure it was glass with a giant obstructing map on it to hide the screens inside, but it was still the concept of openness- that no one was hiding anything. But this door… this door was solid oak painted black. A gold 934, the number I was looking for, was bolted to it and stuck out like a sore thumb against the darkness. But it was just a door- there were no windows for this room at all in the hallway, no way I could peek inside before announcing my presence. No way for anyone to know I was in there. It was so different from the rest of the Hub it kind of scared me.

Skye and Jemma knew where this was. I had told them the number. If they needed to they could run to Coulson or May and storm the place for me. But of course that wouldn't be necessary because everything was going to be just fine. I was going to have a nice talk with Sitwell, learn some things, and then go about the rest of my life hopefully never seeing him in this capacity again. I reached for the doorknob, but I naturally froze at the thought of actually learning who I was.

But then I remembered the real reason I was here. I needed to get that information for Skye and Jemma so they didn't do anything stupid. I needed to make sure Fitz and Ward were alright, because according to my wrist that was my job. Those were my boys and I wasn't about to let anyone pull a fast one on them if I could help it. So I pushed past all my personal demons in one fell swoop and pictured Fitz and Ward back on the Bus with a smile on their face to give me the courage to push that door open.

It was a pretty standard conference room- back rug, white walls, a large table that looked to seat up to twelve or so, and a larger television screen on one of the walls with the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo emblazoned on it. Completely normal and somehow that was not what I had been expecting at all. Sitwell was on the end opposite the door, sitting completely casual with a drink in his hand. At the sight of me he rose with a large smile on his face. I didn't move an inch from the door.

"Agent Crawford," he greeted. "I was starting to wonder if you were going to come."

"I almost didn't," I admitted, doing my best to keep my features completely schooled. I needed to pretend I was May right now. Treat this how she would treat it. Don't give him an inch or a clue as to what I was thinking. "It was very much a spur of the moment decision. Plus, this place is quite hard to find."

"Well, I'm glad you did come. I think I can be a huge help to you. Come in and have a seat," he gestured to the various chairs at the table. I locked onto the one closest to me, sitting in it as efficiently and quietly as I could with the door shutting itself behind me. I needed to appear comfortable but still be capable of bolting at any moment without him expecting. "Can I get you something to drink? I don't know if you've had Scotch yet, so I managed to grab-"

"No thank you," I cut him off while trying to be polite. "Just some water please." Water I had no intention to drink, but I still needed to play it cool. I needed confirmation on whether he was shady or if my head was just playing cruel tricks on me because of the situation.

"Of course. I'd expect nothing else from an Agent on the job." He went over to a table and poured a glass. "I'm also sorry for having this meeting so far out of the way, but I wanted to make sure it was out of Fury's prying eyes. God knows Hand would do just about anything to force herself into his inner circles." He placed the glass in front of me, still smiling like we were old friends. "The problem is, Fury is the only one in his inner circle. He just tricks the rest of us into thinking we are."

I had to probe this, but managed to keep my voice neutral as I did so. "Speaking against Fury doesn't seem like something an S.H.I.E.L.D. operative would do, Agent Sitwell. Aren't we supposed to trust in whatever he's doing in the big office of his on the Triskelion?"

He took a seat next to me, still appearing completely comfortable about this whole affair- like we were just having another in a long history of conversations. I didn't like it in the slightest. "I'm not speaking against him. I also think it's the job of an Agent to be aware of possible weak points… even within their own agency. Otherwise we won't notice the weaknesses that could take us down one day until it's too late." He took a sip of his Scotch before putting his empty glass down. "But enough of these politics. You're here for something more personal."

"I think it's related if you say Fury's not telling me everything," I couldn't help but remind him before he continued.

"He's not," Sitwell agreed. "Only he and Hill know all the details really. But I happened to be just getting off a case, Level Eight, when the folder came across my desk. Hill's a very busy woman and she was looking for someone to run the leadership position of the various scientists and such she had on the case and only give her the important details- typical S.H.I.E.L.D. hierarchy really. Then she'd decide what was worthy of the Director's time which usually isn't a lot.

"I don't usually take cases like those, very boring and don't get to do that much. Plus they can be tedious and go on for years depending on how deep the question being answered is. Coulson's lucky he had Thor come down to explain that hammer or he might still be working on it." He let out a chuckle and I did the same, but clearly a beat too late. "Anyway, but then I saw what it was- a mysterious girl shows up in Fury's office with nothing but an impossible name and a tattoo. It was too good to pass up. So while you've been running around these past few months with your team, I've been trying to put your life together."

"I suppose I should thank you for your time and effort?" I questioned.

"You're welcome," he smiled as if I had been genuine. "It's funny though, because at the moment I honestly believe that I know more about you than you do yourself." He laughed at the apparent humor of that, but I didn't see if as funny and wouldn't have joined in even if I did.

"I seriously doubt that, Agent Sitwell. You know more about who I was maybe. I am very much aware of who I am right now."

If he didn't care for my comment, he didn't show it in the slightest. He might be as good at this game as I was, probably even better. "Coulson must adore having someone like you on his team. Completely confident and in control… a perfect fake Agent." He took a drink and went to pour himself another. "But it must be true considering I heard he knows the truth and you're still kept around as a member of this mobile team of his. He really does get all the cool toys as Fury's favorite." He walked back to his seat again. "But you must have really impressed him in a short amount of time, so congrats to you on that." He held the glass aloft as if for a toast.

I didn't take the bait. I wouldn't take the bait. I wasn't going to act friendly no matter how hard he tried to make is seem casual. I was here for two reasons and I needed him to get one over with so we could get to the second before Skye got tired of waiting with Jemma. And did something incredibly stupid.

"So what did you learn then? Let's get on with it."

"Right to the point… another point in your favor." He downed the glass and set it down, readying himself to tell what he must have thought was a thrilling tale. "The way I approached the situation once they brought me in is that there were two huge questions that formed a circle of one feeding into the other. The first is who 'were' you. The second was who send you. The first place it seemed logical to look was at your sudden appearance in the Director's office." God, he was going to take the long way to make himself look smart. Shoot me now.

I just leaned back with crossed arms, refusing to be dragged in like Fitz or Skye would have been if they were here. He'd have them on the edge of their seat by now. "Let's review the facts, Agent Crawford. You suddenly appear in that office while cutting out every camera and microphone in there- Fury even gave us video from the personal ones he doesn't have. Everything goes black for about a minute and a half. We also looked at the cameras in the hallway by his secretary and the outside of the building. It turns out they were still up and running. They also weren't tampered with in the slightest by whoever got you in there." He smiled, hesitating.

"So you know how I got in the room then?" I asked, realizing my mistake. I was letting him pull me in, make me curious. I was losing the upper hand and desperately needed to get it back. I tried to school my features again.

He realized it too, the bastard looked so smug. "No. We don't. Because you don't come from the hallway or the window, Agent Crawford. You are just… there when the camera cuts back in. The secretary didn't even hear anything. Almost like you were transported in- something which seems to be science fiction at this point but is close to the only logical explanation. So this lead into the who question. We at S.H.I.E.L.D. have the most complicated and sophisticated camera technology not even close to on the market yet. But now we have some pretty big evidence of a group well ahead of us, especially is we consider you might have been 'beamed' into that office like an episode of Star Trek. They managed to get around us far too easily for anyone's liking. And you were associated with them in some way for it to be you." He started playing with the glass, tracing his finger around the rim and making a low noise. "We explored a few known options, but none of them seemed even close to possible."

"We've been on the tail of this group, actually-"

"Ah, Centipede." I nodded. "They do seem like they could be a good candidate based on the tech we've been able to get from them so far. But we haven't seen anything even close to that level to say for sure since the only data we have is from your team's interaction. So it was time to change back to question one… the lab found out who your biological parents were within days of your joining the team."

"Seriously?!" I didn't even care anymore as I leaned forward, hands on the table. He was too good and had dragged me in. We both knew it so there was no use pretending I was Agent May. My heart was all over the place at his words and made it impossible to deny that I wanted to know. Faces flashed through my mind rapidly, generic possibilities and jobs and place. If they missed me. What my life had once been. And somehow I went from caring less to needing to have the answers- all through a simple statement I think I had given up on hearing. "Who-who are they?"

"The first is serving time in prison right now." Okay then. Not exactly fairytale. "And the second is a still Missing Person since the 80's." That didn't sound like a good combination. That didn't sound good at all. I was right. It was awful. It was worse than awful actually. God, what kind of kid was I growing up? How was I going to tell the others this? "The catch is they were both identified as male."

I think my jaw dropped, though I couldn't tell with my brain completely derailing off any semblance of tracks. I'm pretty sure it even fell out of my head. "I… I'm… how… confused. I'm very confused because you… you made it a point to say biological. Right? Because then that makes no sense. Less than no sense actually," I sputtered.

He clearly enjoyed my reaction, letting me reel for a bit longer before stepping back in. "We're well aware. But that was pretty much my reaction when they showed me that it was how every run of this sample of your blood came up. There was no denying it. So we took a second one." The other cup Fury took at the Slingshot. I knew it. "And this one gave us two completely different people… both of them female. Same thing every time we tried."

Now I was beyond lost. "So what the hell is that supposed to mean?" I demanded, starting to dislike his playing around with me again. "What did your geniuses down in the lab figure out?"

"Their best guess is that you somehow have a device implanted that constantly switches the blood cells in your body. It didn't show on any of the scans we did when you first arrived." Well, I wasn't aware of those and was sufficiently creeped out. This place apparently didn't understand the concept of consent. "The only way we'd be able to identify it, if it does exist, is opening you up and looking for it."

"Over my dead body," I made clear, putting extra venom in my voice. I felt like enough of a lab rat sometimes on the Bus. I wasn't letting poking around my insides for something than might not even exist be anywhere on the horizon. I would smash that glass over his head and run to Coulson if he so much as tried to touch me at this point I was so passionate. It was best to end this now. "So you know nothing, in conclusion."

"Well, I don't know about that," he disagreed, seeing how tense I was and backing off a bit. "Because the trick your blood is capable of again contributes to the whole technology beyond our five year estimates and it made me come to a very interesting conclusion in my final report. We shouldn't be focusing on who sent you as much as from when they sent you." I was starting to get creeped out now, shiver going up my spine. "Maybe the reason Ashleigh Crawford doesn't exist right now is because you really don't."

"What-what exactly are you trying to say, Agent Sitwell?"

"I'm saying, Agent Crawford, that maybe you came to us from another time altogether with a message of the most importance to change the world you actually come from." He looked down at my covered wrist which I instantly pulled to my chest. "We have no clue of how far, but it is my strong suspicion that you came to us from the future. The very first time traveler."

Jesus Christ. He believed it. I could tell he did. "That's- that is completely ridiculous." I didn't- I couldn't believe it. Because then I was completely wrong about having a purpose. Then I was just screwing time left and right all over the place. A freak of nature. "It's not even close to possible. It makes no sense. Why the hell would someone send me back to join Coulson's team? And why would they wipe my memory so I had no clue how to change things?"

"They're all valid questions and Fury said close to the same thing. Despite the fact that he deals with the God of Thunder and a World War II war hero. This is apparently too far for his mind to go. In fact, he closed the entire investigation then and there with no intentions of moving forward. By all his considerations the whole affair with you is taken care of. You're where you need to be and that's all he cares about."

"And that meant no intention of telling me any of this since it didn't matter," I quickly figured out. Sitwell nodded and I don't think he understood that I almost agreed with Fury. It didn't matter to me anymore, despite my little relapse during this conversation. There were so many things and people now that needed my full attention. Whatever happened had happened and there was nothing to be done about it. I needed to focus and right now that meant finding out what was happening to my boys. But there was one little last thing I needed from this. "Why does he care so much about me? It would be so much easier to toss me over for experiments and threat assessment like you mentioned rather than trust I'm actually here to help Coulson. I know he's the supposed Golden Goose-"

"Oh, he's more than that," Sitwell corrected me as he adjusted his glasses. "Fury did a lot more for Coulson than send him to Tahiti to recover and drop an amnesiac on his team. Some say it was the guilt. Some say Coulson to him was just that good. Either way, don't mistake Fury leaving you alone for a trust or faith in you. You are a means to an end. And if that end is somehow protecting Coulson, even at the expense of your life, than he will consider this whole affair worth it."

I could tell the response he wanted from me, so it was a real shame I didn't have it. "Thank you for making it clear the Director and I are on the same page, Agent Sitwell." I rose, trying to give the illusion I was done before carefully changing topics. "Now if you'll excuse me I have to go see how the mission is going with Fitz and Ward."

"You're trying to convince yourself that this is all alright- the secrets and the hierarchy. The way S.H.I.E.L.D. runs itself and the decisions they make about what to tell you. I wonder if you'd be rallying so hard around Fury and his contemporaries if you knew the truth about this mission."

"What truth about this mission?"

He rose now, coming over to stand in front of me. He was completely serious and some instinct told me everything he was about to say was the truth. "Once Agents Fitz and Ward disable the device as ordered, there will be an assault on the compound consisting of ground troops and aerial assault. They will be surrounded on all sides with no intention of extraction until the dust has settled."

Oh my God. Skye was right. I could barely hold the bile as I tried to put it all together. "They're just going to leave them to be attacked by their own people and if they make it out they get the handshakes and medals? Otherwise, they-"I couldn't say it.

"Die," he finished for me. I slid back into my seat, hands going to my mouth. "I mean the one is just a Level Five after all."

"Don't you dare!" I pointed at him. "He is twice the Agent half of the Level Eights are. Numbers don't mean everything- people do. This is sick."

"Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Crawford." I needed to get out of here now. I had to get to Skye and Jemma so we could fix this. I glanced at my arm with the tattoo. I was going to protect them no matter what happened. "That's why I have a proposal for you. Fury may be done with your case, but I think there are so many questions we could answer if we look closer. I will apply for you to transfer to a unit of mine where I have a group of people willing to help." He was looking me right in the eye now. "Then you can get the answers they're so desperate to hide from you. Show them that treating you the way they have, a device for Coulson, isn't alright in the slightest."

The offer wasn't tempting at all. It might have been at another time, but right now I had somewhere I desperately needed to be. He had made the mistake of making my true mission all too clear to me before making the offer. I only had one goal now and running away with him wasn't going to accomplish that. "I'm sorry, but right now I need to do my job and go save my team." I flashed the tattoo and started for the door. "Thank you for everything, Agent Sitwell. I hope we see each other again soon," I lied through my teeth.

"I hope so too," he responded, his clearly not being a lie.

I didn't respond, already out the door and retracing my steps at a run. I had to tell Jemma and Skye. Then I needed to find Coulson. There was no way he could have known about this. He wouldn't have let Hand do it if he did. I needed to get to him so we could get that Bus up in the air as soon as possible. We only had a few hours to pull this off, and there was no other option than to pull this off.

I found them right where I left them, skidding to a stop on my sneakers and literally sliding in front of them. Skye rolled her eyes. "It's about time, you…"They took in my crazed demeanor and both were instantly on their feet, concerned. "What's wrong?"

"What did you learn?" Simmons asked.

"There's no extraction team," I informed them breathlessly. They both looked at each other in complete shock before locking back onto me. "They're sending in all these troops when they're done with no plan of getting them out until after they blow the place sky high… if they're alive."

Simmons's hands went to her mouth. She looked ready to cry. "Fitz…"

"I knew it," Skye cursed. Her eyes locked on mine. "What's the plan, Ashleigh?" she asked, clearly looking for any sort of orders. May had put me in charge and now I needed to get everything moving. I needed to be the one with a plan. Let's hope I didn't screw this up because lives were literally at stake right now. My mind ran in circles for a minute, ideas and plans branching and being mentally scratched off. "Ashleigh?!" Skye snapped me out of it. "What do we do?" she asked again, voice cracking in fear.

"You two go talk to May," I decided, making it up as I went. "We need her to get the Bus ready to go as soon as possible so we can get to them." They both nodded. "Be honest with her about how we found out. We did nothing wrong and have nothing to hide. He told me without even asking."

"And what are you going to do?" Jemma asked.

"I'm going to find Coulson. I can't believe he'd let this happen. I really can't."

"He's with Hand," Skye informed me. "We saw him walk back over that way after checking in on us. He was shocked we were just sitting there really."

"Great. Because I have a couple of things I'd like to say to Victoria Hand." Jemma was still clearly reeling, so I pulled her in for a hug. "It's going to be alright." I looked at Skye. "We're going to get the both of them out of there. I promise."

"You shouldn't make promises like that," Simmons chastised me. "You don't know what-"

"I do," I cut her off, a ferocity in my voice. "I'm going to whatever it takes to get our boys back. Hand has no clue who she was messing with by hiding this." I pulled away, straightening my clothes out and whirling in the direction of where we had been before. "Now let's go." I started off my way as I heard them take off back towards the plane, people literally moving out of my way as I scanned my badge and entered the room where the Operation was displayed on the large screens. Coulson and Hand were both facing them next to one another, making my hands clench. He couldn't know. I wouldn't believe that.

"Agent Hand!" I shouted, causing literally the whole room to turn as I went right up to her. "You have some nerve!"

"Coulson, please restrain your pet Agent," she glanced over at my leader.

"Crawford, what-"

"There's no extraction plan for Fitz and Ward," I didn't let him finish. Judging by the look that crossed his face, I could rest easy in knowing I wasn't wrong about him. He was still the Coulson I knew he was. "Agent Sitwell asked for a private meeting and he told me quite blank, sir. They will not remove them until after they've taken the base… if they're still alive. It's a suicide mission they weren't aware of."

Coulson looked to Hand. "Is that true?"

Hand merely glared at me. "He had no business telling you that." She looked over at one the men in the room. "Remove her from this room. She's not qualified to be here."

He started to move my way, but I pointed a threatening finger at him. "You're not going to lay a finger on me or I will see to it that Fury is told you got in the way of orders and have him deal with you himself!" He backed down at my fury and I locked back onto my original target. "I may not be any level or even a real Agent, but you are under orders to include me and that is my team you sent in there."

"Are you done, Crawford, because I have a very important mission to get back to? Level Eight clearance only."

She didn't scare me anymore. Not now. And I wanted to make that clear. "You may act all tough and Level Eight, but you have a family. You might have someone who loves you. You have people. Those six are literally the only ones I have because I can't remember anyone else and it looks like I never will. You don't get to try to cut that down by a third just because they're Level Fives and Sevens and thus expendable. Then have the audacity to demand that I leave after lying to all of us about it! You should be ashamed of yourself, Agent Hand. No wonder Fury doesn't care for you as much as the rest of his inner circle with how you conduct yourself! No one, and I mean no one is going to destroy the only people I have as long as I have something to say about it!"

I felt a hand on my shoulder before I could continue and turned to see it was Coulson. Somewhere during my rant he had moved next to me. I instantly got his meaning and nodded for him to proceed. He turned to Hand, that lack of expression created by distrust coming over his face. "I'm Level Eight," he began, keeping calmer than me but with the same intensity. "I'm entitled to any and all information regarding the welfare of my team." He just stared at her but she didn't stop staring right back. "You should have told me."

"It looks like I didn't have to with you attack dog here Coulson, but honestly would it have changed anything at all if you knew?" Oh, she was not acting like she had the moral high ground. If Coulson wasn't here I would have laid into her right then and there, but he squeezed my shoulder as if sensing that. "You yourself have designed dozens of operations like this, remember? You know how this works."

"With an extraction plan," we both said at the same time, voices full of distrust and anger towards this red-haired, thick lipstick wearing… bitch.

"Barton, Romanoff… they never have an extraction plan."

"They're freaking Avengers!" I threw my hands in the air. No offense to Fitz and Ward, but there was clearly a difference between them and the two best we had in terms of difficulty.

"Also they know that going in, Agent Hand," Coulson added, eyes narrowing. "My men were not provided with such information."

"Agent Fitz is unproven in the field, and knowing would have caused him to lose focus or courage." And that was where I lost it, pulling away from Coulson's grasp. "Plus, I wasn't sure you'd comply since your team includes an electronically tagged non-agent who is notorious for leaking secrets and a tag-along amnesiac with a tattoo."

"Agent Fitz is not a coward," I made clear, getting right up in front of her. I didn't care about defending myself but I sure as hell wasn't letting her talk about my best friend like that. "He has saved my life twice and been in more situations these past few months that required courage than you could even imagine. He is a hero. You… you didn't tell us there was no extraction because you were afraid of how we'd react and that you couldn't handle it? I don't know. It sounds like you might be the coward, Agent Hand." With that blow, which I could see went right through her, I walked back to Coulson and placed his hand back on my shoulder. He squeezed it gently. "Go ahead, sir. I'm done."

"Thanks. Now I know what the safety of a thousand men is worth. I know the importance of taking the overkill system out of play. But I also know my men and what they're worth to myself and my team. The decision to go in should have been theirs to make. The option to tell them should have been my call."

"Perhaps," Hand shrugged, still reeling a bit from my blow. "But maybe you both need to trust the system."

"Screw the system," I shook my head. "I'm going to get my boys back. It was nice to meet you, Agent Hand. I hope we never have to cross paths again, because I might not be able to restrain myself from hitting you if I do." I started for the door and let out the breath I had been holding when Coulson was right beside me without hesitation. I had done it.

"I think she might be scared of you," he commented.

"She should be," I smiled back. We picked up our pace a bit as we neared where the Bus was being held. Hopefully Skye and Jemma had done their part and we were ready to go.

"Why were you in a private meeting with Agent Sitwell?"

"He had some details about my past he wanted to discuss with me as head of the investigation." I could feel his eyes go to me. "I'll get into that later. First, let's get up in the air."

We approached the ramp, right behind May, Skye, and Jemma as they made their way up it. "You don't need a battalion for an extraction," May was saying. "Three can pull it off, four if Crawford get back to us before we're in the air."

"Five's better," Coulson spoke up, causing all of them to turn to face us. Skye was the only one who didn't seem happy, crossing her arms and frowning very specifically at Coulson.

"You're in?" she questioned. "I thought we all had to be Level Eight to discuss this."

He shook his head and passed her, May falling into step beside him. "We're not discussing anything. Now prepare for take-off. And I want that story as soon as we're in the air, Crawford."

"Will do sir!" I shouted after him, scrambling into the lab with Jemma and Skye as the cargo ramp was raised a moment later. I leaned against the metal table with a sigh, the familiar signs of the Bus taking off all around us. "We did it. We're going to make it." I looked at the two of them and smiled. "I basically told Hand to go to hell."

"You did good," Skye complimented me. "You kept us out of trouble and managed to get the information we need while putting things into action. All in all, you were an absolutely stellar Agent today worthy of the highest level. And I'm going to make sure the guys know that when we get them."

"Thanks," I waved her off.

"It's true, Ashleigh," Simmons agreed as Coulson made his way back into the lab. "But now you have to tell us what Sitwell said to you."

"I would concur with that statement. I'm curious to hear what he felt it necessary to pull you aside so secretly for," Coulson agreed, crossing his arms. Here we go. I took a deep breath and decided to word this on the fly as best I could.

"It's honestly not a lot," I began, trying not to get their hopes up. "They still don't know how I got in the office since the hallway and outside clear out, but they think I might have somehow teleported into the room."

"Like in Star Trek?" Simmons questioned.

"No clue what that is," I reminded her. "And that leads them to think I'm part of some elite group that had technology we're not even aware of- which is kind of scary. This is helped by the fact they cannot identify my biological parents. The first test came up two men, the second two women. They suspect I have some undetectable device inside me that releases blood cells from differing people, something I get the feeling they hadn't even thought of."

"That would explain all my troubles with your blood samples," Simmons realized. "Oh, it makes perfect sense if you stretch your imagination a bit. Your body is faking being from so many people it makes the data confused. I wish I could see what this device-"

"Yeah, we're not cutting me open," I warned her now. "That is something that is never happening, no matter how curious you are." I turned back to them. "And that's about it. I'm still as impossible as ever and Fury closed looking into it because he doesn't care what I am. Only that I'm here… and I kind of agree with that."

"So they have no idea what the organization is still?" Coulson probed, clearly deep in thought.

"The technology's so advanced it has them baffled." I left out Sitwell's other theory, because it was just too crazy to even get started on. "It's someone we don't have a lot on they suspect- perhaps this Centipede group we're going after."

"And you're somehow okay with this?" Skye asked. "You seem okay with the whole matter being dropped which doesn't make sense because you're right. You basically learned nothing."

"I think I am," I admitted to all of them. "I know who I am. I'm Ashleigh Crawford, a member of this team with all of you. I know I like Star Wars and Johnny Cash and am good at talking to people and seeing things in different ways. I think that's enough for me to go off of for now."

I locked eyes with each and every one of them, praying they didn't hate me for saying what I was feeling. Coulson was the first to respond. "Then that's enough for us as well. We won't look into the matter any further unless you personally request us to."

"Thank you, sir," I told him with all sincerity. "I really appreciate that."

He nodded towards me, getting ready to head out. "You did an excellent job today, Crawford. I know how hard it must have been to keep the two of them out of trouble while making the right choices yourself. And you two were very wise for listening to her." With that, he left the three of us alone as the Bus made its way to where we needed to be. Simmons fell into working on something while I merely sat back with Skye, waiting.

"When you were trying to convince us to break the rules," I began, something from earlier on my mind, "why were you so focused on me when talking about torturing Fitz? It was a little strange and didn't seem very smart for the tactic you were using."

"Uh, I think it was very smart. I knew I had Jemma convinced. I just had to get through to you by using the person you like." I could have written that off, but there was something in her tone that nagged at me.

"Yes, I like Fitz," I made clear. "He's my best friend."

"Yeah right," she rolled her eyes. "I'm not blind. I've seen the way the two of you are around one another. And the way you talk about him. Plus, I know you didn't go to such great lengths with this whole thing because of Ward no matter how friendly the two of you have been recently."

"Like best friends?"

"You like him." I snorted. "I can see it. It's there. And I for one think the two of you would make a very cute couple."

"You're delusional." She was completely wrong. I didn't look at Fitz the way he did at Simmons or Skye. He was just my best and closest friend. There was nothing else about it. I would know if there was.

"You're in denial," she countered with a nudge of my shoulders. "Which is fine. Because it's going to hit you one day and I'm going to say I told you so. You'll even name one of the kids after me for helping you put it together."

"I'm done talking to you," I decided with a roll of my eyes, deciding to go grab some lunch while we waited. "You're crazy."

"I'm not the one with two mothers and two fathers." I laughed at that before vanishing through the door, taking the stairs up to the kitchen to make myself a sandwich and make sure to feed Cheesetauri. Coulson stopped in just before we reached our destination, insisting I be there when they came up the cargo ramp.

After some fancy maneuvering from May that nearly sent me toppling to the ground, I stood next to Coulson as the cargo ramp descended. Ward and Fitz started up the ramp and I didn't even waste a beat as soon as their black clothes were within view. I took off instantly, rushing down and tackling Fitz in a hug. "I knew you'd be okay."

"You faith is always appreciated, Ash," he commented back, hugging me tight against him.

I pulled away after a moment and tuned to Ward, pulling him in for a hug as well. "Both of you." I let go and saw his split lip and bruised face. "Are you okay? Who did this to you?"

"One of the bad guys Crawford," he shrugged me off. "It's nothing. Don't even give it another thought."

The two of them were on either side of me as we reached a smiling Coulson. "Thanks for coming to get us, sir," Ward thanked him sincerely.

"We take care of our own," he offered, shaking both of their hands. "But most of the credit actually goes to Agent Crawford." They both turned back to me and I shrugged. "Don't let her modesty fool you. She managed to uncover the fact there was no extraction plan through completely legitimate means and get the entire team in gear so we could get to you in time- while terrifying Agent Hand in the process. She is the one who deserves the thanks. I merely provided a ride."

"It sounds like you're our knight in shining armor, Ash," Fitz nudged me, making me smile despite my desire to fight away any of the credit. I was just doing my job. I put an arm around him and Ward, who surprisingly let me do it.

"Anything for my boys, Lee," I smiled at the two of them. Simmons entered the hold from the lab then and I let Fitz go so he could awkwardly make his way over to her and reunite with his best friend. I let go of Ward as well, surprised to see he was actually smiling at me. He dug into his bag for a moment before dropping something into my hands.

"Sounds like you were pretty impressive back there. Thank you, Crawford." I looked down to see it was a small yellow ball with a piece that could be screwed off. "We made a pit stop at the convenience store and it made me think of you. Now the rodent can run around without anyone getting as concerned."

"This is amazing Ward!" I declared, ecstatic. I then saw Skye making her way over to reunite with Ward and gave him one last quick hug, almost to make a point to her about her theories. "I was happy to do it- especially if it meant giving Hand a piece of my mind."

He laughed before I left him with Skye, taking off for my room so I could put Cheesetauri in his ball and have him try it out. I watched him run up and down my bunk, no longer trapped by any sort of restrictions or ties that bound him. I was so wrapped up that I didn't notice Fitz until a few moments after he came in.

"Simmons told me about what Sitwell said," he let me know as he took a seat on the bed beside me. I scooped the ball into my arms and left it on my lap as Cheesetauri sniffed this way and that. "She also told me that you don't want any more tests run. I'm glad you finally let them know."

"I had to," I explained, looking down at the ball. "I've accepted myself and I want them to be able to do the same. Plus, it's clear we're not getting anywhere. Sitwell made it sound like he was just going in circles and wanted to cut me open for some concrete evidence."

"That's really all he had for you though?"

If there was anyone I trusted with the big things, it was Fitz. And lying had gotten me into nothing but trouble in the past. So I came clean on the one thing that was really bothering me. "He thinks I'm from the future. Like really believes it."

"Sitwell does?"

I nodded. "That's why the technology is so advanced and why I have the tattoo. I got sent back to fix something with this team. That's also why we can find nothing about me." I looked up at him. "I don't want to even think about that though it's so ridiculous. It's impossible. Beyond impossible really."

"Are you sure?" he probed, clearly worried about me.

"Yeah. Enough about me though. It's a waste of time really." He gave me a look. "It is. It's merely speculation. I want to hear everything, especially the moments where you showed Ward what an Agent you are. Because I'm sure you were brilliant."

"I don't know, Ash. I definitely will, but I'm pretty tired right now. I had to sleep on the ground last night and it was last then pleasant. Talking seems like so much energy right now."

I just laughed at him. "Then how about a movie with ice cream like I promised?" He nodded and I rose, the ball still under my arm as I pulled him to his feet and we started out. "I'm glad you're back, Lee. I need someone to protect me from Simmons cutting me open to find that device. I could literally see her finger itching when she found out."

"You sure you're not looking for Ward?"

"Positive. She would mow him down in an instant. Are you kidding me? You could engineer a gadget to make us invisible so we could escape."

"I'll get to work on that."

I wrapped an arm through his. "I appreciate it."

"Thank you for the box of Pop Tarts by the way. It was really nice of you and I know what a sacrifice it was."

"I figured I could spare on box if it gave you the energy to get back on here in one piece."

He fell asleep during the movie. I didn't think I had room to judge. I did have room to eat all his ice cream though.

XXX

Thank you everyone for your lovely support. Things are getting super exciting around here and I'm excited to get into some Asgardian myth next time around. Ashleigh and the Professor are going to be quite the interesting pair. It should be up next week as I've already began work on it. And how about Season Three so far. I can't help but watch the episodes without picturing Ashleigh now and I think I know exactly where she's going to be.

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