Free Falling

Okay. Okay. Okay. Nothing to freak out about. Absolutely nothing. Just take a breath in and out before repeating for the rest of time. Don't lose your head. Keep calm, Ashleigh. Get a grip. It's not like you just experienced the most intense memory of your life and turned feral on your best friend only to be followed by falling from the sky in a plane that was sabotaged by a presumed demon.

Oh. Wait.

That was happening.

And call me ridiculous, but my first instinct wasn't to go strap in as Coulson urged us to do, leading Simmons towards the exit for the lab. Instead I went bolting for the cockpit in record time, skipping steps and lurching around corners. I was going in the direction we were falling which seemed to really increase my speed as well, though it meant I had to drag my shoes in some areas to keep from falling flat on my face and stopping my momentum.

But I had a goal in mind, and when it was protecting the people I cared about there was nothing that could stop me.

I reached the cockpit just a few beats after May did with Ward and Skye. "Ward, you certified?" she asked as she moved into her seat.

"Move!" I commanded, shoving past him to take the seat next to her. I buckled myself in as he just stared, turning to May and pulling all the knowledge I had gained from sitting up here with her to the front of my mind. "Okay… it looks like the engine-driven generators are also dead." I reported, trying to sound confident as my mind looked over all the controls and tried not to be distracted by the flashing or whirring of any of them. I turned to Skye and Ward. "Get farther back in the Bus where it's safer. If we hit you won't stand a chance in here."

They both just stayed frozen as I turned back. "Crawford, are you sure-?"

"Now."

If May was surprised I was there, she didn't waste any time saying so. "Switch batteries to maintain flight controls." She nodded up and I looked at the dials, remembering her flipping them when we landed before. I used that to follow her orders, turning all three so they lines were now upright. "The rest will be needed to keep the cage shielded." She was in deep concentration now, and I glanced back to see Skye and Ward had thankfully taken my advice. All that was ahead of us to me was blackness, but soon was able to recognize and identify shapes amongst them.

"Flaps ten," she barked, and I located the lever I recognized from flight manuals and pulled it to the number she had specified. It was a good thing she talked to herself when she did these things, or I wouldn't know what half this stuff was. I was merely a fake pilot after all. "Lower landing gear." That one I knew and did instantly, concentrating on how close the ground was getting. My stomach was threatening to upheave, but I forced my nerves to coat themselves in steel. Everything started to rock and shake, Cheesetauri bouncing in his ball, but I kept my hands gripped to the armrest. "There's a decent-sized field up ahead, but it's going to be rough."

"Of course it is," I nodded, expecting nothing else.

"Vertical landing's out."

"I don't even know what that is." We started clipping trees as she leveled us out, causing the rattling to intensify to the degree I was literally being thrown in and out of the seat time and time again with chattering teeth. May kept a firm hand though and I observed as this field came into view.

"Coming in a little hot."

"Really? I couldn't tell." There was no doubt sarcasm was my defense mechanism as I braced myself, wrapping my arms around one of the rests and burying my head in them. The Bus hit the ground and came to a super abrupt stop, throwing me forward despite my grip. I let out a cry of alarm as I was nearly ripped from my seat, but thankfully the belt held despite sending pain through my chest.

Then it was all over as things settled in a very tense silence of darkness; May flicking a few last levers to make our touching down official. I unfurled myself from the seat and rose to very shaky legs with a deep breath that I was still alive. I let out a laugh of relief, adrenaline peaking in my system before the inevitable crash. "Not so bad for the pretend pilot if I do say so myself."

May just shot me a look as she rose herself, going to the cabinet and tossing me a flashlight before taking one herself. She started for the door, but turned back for a moment- look surprising me that it held a softness despite being as severe as ever. "No. Not bad at all."

And then we were out the door, but I'm pretty sure I couldn't have been happier if she had just pulled me in for a hug. She was proud of me. I had finally done something right in the eyes of the one and only Agent May. My charging into situations with no regard for myself had finally done something other than injure me… and it felt pretty awesome.

But there was no time as we joined the others in the living area- everyone present except Fitz strangely enough. Coulson looked us all over and began to distribute some short-wave radios to each of us. "Our ear comms are usually relayed through the plane, so here's some hardware."

"Did the girl do this to us, sir?" Ward questioned.

"She absolutely did not," I made clear, a little more defensive than perhaps I needed to be. "She's probably just as badly shaken as the rest of us right now. Now has anyone seen-?"

"We now believe miss Hutchins is the victim here," Coulson explained calmly. "Our theories about her powers have been disproved."

"By who?" Skye asked.

There was a beat before Simmons spoke up. "I saw a ghost." All eyes were now on her, the skeptic admitting to the supernatural. "I… I know how it sounds, but a man attacked me, and then he disappeared."

"Did you get a good look at him?" May asked.

"He dematerialized!" Simmons shouted as an answer, clearly freaking out a bit at the situation. This whole thing just put me on edge. It was very eerie and made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end- the idea of something roaming this ship and trying to hurt us. How were we supposed to beat something like this?

And Fitz was somewhere alone in all this.

"Where's-?"

I got cut off though. "May, run your systems checks," Coulson ordered, trying to keep our minds on the mission at hand. "Is the cage still shielded?"

"Most of the power is dedicated to it," she answered.

"The cage might be the one thing protecting her now," he stated, a clear fact. Whatever was on the Bus wanted her for some crazy reason. Seemed hell-bent on doing whatever it took. But some things just weren't adding up. Why was this happening to Hannah and how did the particle accelerator fit into all this? Because it was too big of a red flag to just be coincidence.

"We'll inform her," Ward nodded.

There was a moment of silence, so I decided to try again, getting a little bit desperate. "We should really find- "

"Sir, can it be me to talk to Hannah?" Skye requested, cutting between Ward and Coulson. "Her life has been turned upside down, and we stuck her in a nightmare box."

Nobody seemed to be leaping to her aid, so I had her back like she would mine. "Skye is right, sir. We have done nothing to ease the torment she's going through. In fact, we probably have just made it whole lot worse."

"She thinks she's being punished," Skye continued, bolstered by my comment. "Can I please be the one to deliver the good news?"

"That a non-corporeal madman is hunting her?" Ward reminded her.

I punched him in the arm. "Not helping, Ward."

"Again, I think it'd be better coming from anyone else, really," Skye continued as though Ward had just made her point abundantly clear. I couldn't help but agree with her. But Coulson was hesitating which wasn't a good sign. And Skye knew it. "And I'll take Ashleigh with me. Keep her by my side just like you told me to- follow orders. She'll babysit me and make sure I don't say or do anything you'd consider inappropriate." She turned to me then, eyes pleading.

I took the bait, stepping forward and accepting my place on this Bus. "I'll keep an eye on her, sir. There's no one I'm happier to babysit for."

My confirmation seemed to make up his mind as he nodded. "All right. Stick together and don't let each other out of sigh. Radio at the first sign of anything and then run to us."

"Of course."

"Absolutely."

He turned to the rest of the group. "I'll head upstairs, activate the emergency transceiver, and radio HQ. Ward, take a firearm. Escort Fitz-Simmons downstairs, assess the damage, get us up and running."

"Except we don't have Fitz," I stated the obvious. Everyone looked around as if just realizing this. "Wait? Come on! Seriously? No one else noticed that Lee wasn't here and accounted for?" Their looks very clearly gave their answer and I felt a flash of anger within me. Fitz was invaluable to this team and he deserved better than the sad lot in front of me right now. I wanted to just walk away from them and go find him myself, but I had my orders. Skye needed me by her side.

I walked up to Ward and poked him right in the chest. "Last I saw him he was in the maintenance hallways messing around." I gave Simmons a look. "Thanks for that by the way. I know you set me up he could scare… the profanity out of me." Yeah, that seemed like the easiest way of putting it.

"It was just harmless fun."

"It really wasn't," was all I offered to the contrary, hard edge to my voice. But then I got back on topic, putting a hand to my head. "But we're wasting time. Ward and you need to go find him and then fix this." I turned my head back to Ward and crossed my arms. "And he'd better be okay or you're going to have to answer to me. And believe me, you won't want to mess with me at that point." I pointed at my own chest before going back to him. "Got it?"

"I believe you made your point clear," Ward answered correctly, hint of a smile on his face. Apparently I wasn't as scary to him as I had been a bit ago. I kind of missed the power I had once held.

"Okay then." I turned back to Skye and gestured for her to follow me. "Come on. Let's go." She fell into step next to me, the two of us making our way towards the Cage. I took a light lead, shining my flashlight down corridors and walking with as quiet a footfall as I could manage in my sneakers. I was almost trying to keep myself from even breathing too loud. I didn't want to risk triggering this ghost by any means, especially when we were the group with absolutely no chance of holding him off. Two barely trained people and a mouse. Fear us, ghost. Fear us.

"Thanks for having my back with Coulson," she whispered finally after a few moments of silence.

"You've earned a chance Skye. Plus, I've accepted my lot in life is to keep you out of trouble. And I think you're right on this one. You might know exactly the right words that have been eluding the rest of us."

"I appreciate the vote of confidence." We walked a few more steps before she spoke again. "But also, wow. That was… something back there."

"Nothing he wouldn't do for me."

"Oh, I know. But that was on a whole other level. I don't think I've ever seen you quite like that before."

I rolled my eyes. "Come on, Skye. I've stood up to Ward more times than I can count at this point."

"Ashleigh…"

I sighed, knowing she was right judging by the feelings I had felt flaring up within me. My heart was constantly clenched and I knew it would be until I saw him again. Though I doubted he wanted to see me after what had just happened. But we could cross that bridge when we came to it. "Back there was… it was a girl trying to make sure she doesn't lose the most important thing to her." And it was true. It was scary as hell to admit aloud, but there was no way I could deny it at this point. I was in things deep. I don't know how I would even function without Fitz at my side. And Ward wasn't going to let that happen. I had to believe that.

I also needed to focus on the task at hand rather than talking about my personal issues with Skye, who was looking at me with a very sad and worried expression. The longer we were away from the others gave this ghost more time to find us and harm us. Plus, it was more time that Hannah was languishing over the hell she was currently living in. "We can talk about all this later. Right now we need to get to Hannah."

I rounded the last corner. I gestured for Skye to head over to the door and take the lead as she desired. "Remember, we can't open it though."

She nodded, taking the few steps to close the gap to the door. Her head turned back to me though. "I'm positive that when they find him… his first question is going to be where you are and if you're okay. Because it isn't one-sided." With that, she refocused her attentions and gently knocked on the door to the Cage. "Hannah?"

I swung to lean against the wall across from her, crossing my arms and simply supervising. Skye had earned this chance and I wasn't going to rob her of it. "Who's there?" as shaky voice asked.

"My name's Skye. We haven't met yet." She paused, glancing at me. "Ashleigh's here with me too."

"I am," I spoke up. "We're both here for you Hannah."

There was a pause before Hannah spoke again. "We crashed, didn't we?" Skye slid to the floor so her back was against the door for support, looking to me as if for me to answer. I merely nodded my heads towards the door, trust completely in her abilities. She had the biggest heart of anyone I knew after all.

Hannah seemed to take our awkward pause of a silence as an affirmative. "Are you all hurt? I'm so sorry." She sounded like she was about to cry right now.

And Skye jumped, going for it with me there to support her, voice becoming extremely gentle like whenever I was hurt. "No. No, no, no. We're okay. Whatever's happening, it's not your fault. We were wrong." She looked to me and I smiled in confirmation for her to keep going. "But you need to stay in that room so you're safe. Something… bad is out here."

"Demons." Sure seemed like it to the both of us, but we knew we couldn't say it.

Skye shrugged. "I don't know what it is."

There was another hesitation. "Do you believe in God?"

And where I would have come to a screeching halt Skye coasted over with a gentle ease. "Honestly? Not really." It may not have been the best answer for Hannah, but it was probably more comforting than my stating that I hadn't gotten around to considering it yet. At least she had an answer.

"Well, I do. And I know that he's punishing me, and I deserve it."

I wanted to say something, but forced myself to hold my tongue as Skye disagreed as fiercely as I would have. "No. No you don't. No one does." She seemed to have forgotten I was even here now, mind somewhere else completely. "I had a few nuns around me growing up, and they would talk like that, scaring kids with stories of God's wrath." I sometimes forgot how awful Skye's childhood must have been with how bright she was, but this served as a strong reminder of how much sadness and loneliness she had been subject to. I was just glad we had her now.

"The only words that stuck with me were something Sister McKenna said from the Bible, I think. She said 'God is love.' It's simple and it's a little sappy, but that's the version I like. God is love… the thing that holds us together." She considered this a moment as her two audience members did the same. That seemed like the kind of thing I would want to believe in myself. Because I had no clue what His idea for me had been when all this happened, but I would like to imagine it had been a positive need to have these people in my life and be in theirs.

"And if that's true, I don't think he would punish you for making a mistake. I think he'd forgive a mistake."

"And I'd like to believe the same thing," I added, voice almost choking around the words with emotion I hadn't expected to have. Here I was supposed to be the one teaching Skye things, but she was the one constantly teaching me.

"So do I," Hannah admitted from the other side of the door, making just a hint of a smile appear on my face in relief. Coulson had called her broken, but maybe we could help her put things back together. Because she deserved a life after all this- a great one free of stress and worry.

"I'll stand guard now," May emerged from the shadows, making me jump just a touch. "Coulson needs help with the emergency transceiver."

Skye just stared up with her and I started to worry if this was the moment she blew up. It had been coming for a while now, but I had hoped the two would have time to calm down before going another round. "I would rather stay here for a while..."

"It needs to be done, not discussed," May commanded with a very hard edge to her voice. "That's an order." Clearly, May was getting tired of all this as well.

I felt a need to alleviate this and took a step forward. "Skye." She turned to me. "I'll stay here with May. You go help Coulson. He needs you."

She seemed to accept this more easily, though she still wasn't happy in the slightest. "I'll be nearby if you need me, okay?" she said to the door. "Plus, Ashleigh's still here. She'll do anything to keep you safe." She then rose, facing off with May. "Try not to hurt her any more than you already have, Agent May." And with that she strode away, leaving myself and May alone.

I knew May pretty well at this point, her personality at least. I knew when to say things and when to keep quiet and this was certainly one of the quiet times. Plus, she didn't need me to help her through anything emotional. It was clear she was in control of how she felt.

But I cared about her enough I was willing to throw that all out the window to say what she needed to hear. "Skye… I know you don't need me to say this… I do… but Skye is wrong. You are trying to protect everyone on this Bus in any way you can, protect everyone. I see that and I understand that. And you make the tough choices the rest of us quite frankly are scared to make. You are a great Agent, Agent May."

She was silent for the longest of moments, not looking at me. "You're right. I don't need to hear that." I had figured as much. Way to go, Crawford. Just when you were starting to earn some credit for yourself. "But thank you," she added an unbearable minute later, alleviating some of my anxiety about my words. They may not have landed home, but at least they had registered on her radar.

"You're welcome." I then stared at the floor. We were waiting for something, but I wasn't quite sure what or how to handle it if something did come about. I wanted to do more than just let May handle it, but I got the feeling that might be our winning tactic.

"They found Fitz. He was just fine." I looked up towards her and felt my face flush just a bit at the look on hers. My heart was still clenched, but it lessened quite bit at the news at I let out a breath it seemed like I had been holding for forever. Lee was fine. I would see him again when all this was over and fix everything.

But then I was stuck with the fact that there was only one reason she would bring this up and we both knew it.

"You know," I stated simply. She merely nodded. "Probably knew before I did actually."

"It was pretty hard to miss." We fell into silence as I reflected upon her words, wondering who else on this Bus knew. But I forced my mind to return to the mission, the eerie silence and the fact we were just basically waiting to be attacked.

"What exactly should we-?"

The radio in both our hands sprung to life then. There were shouts and cries coming from Simmons along with Fitz sounding just as freaked out. I couldn't pick out one voice from the other, but both were clearly a bit frantic at the situation. At one point Fitz-Simmons turned into solely Fitz who was calmer but not slower. It seemed like whatever we were waiting for had finally decided to show up.

"Fitz and I were locked in and he attacked Ward- "

"He tried choking Simmons with a wrench but then vanished- "

"Barely even saw him- "

"Was phasing in and out- "

"Ward's unconscious- "

May started down the hallway in what should be their general direction, myself behind her as I knew she clearly desired from the fact she hadn't looked at me. If she had, that would have meant she wanted me to go first. See, I was starting to get the hang of speaking May. "Talk to me," she spoke into her radio. "What's happening?" Where were Coulson and Skye? Still up in his office?

"May, he's disappearing," Fitz's voice came through. "He's passing between worlds. It seems a little of him is returning every times he appears."

I held down the button on my own radio as we entered the living area, the place illuminated in brief bursts by a single flashing light. "But why is he after us? What the hell does he want?"

"Because he can't get to Hannah in there," Simmons answered quickly, a little calmer in presenting fact. "She's safe. If we wait it out, maybe he'll disappear fully."

May threw a hand out and we came to a stop, Cheesetauri letting out squeaks of alarm next to me. Her mind seemed to be going a million miles an hour. "Follow me no matter what," she whispered so low I barely heard it. "We need to get back to Hannah."

I nodded, freezing when I heard the creak behind me. He was here. My blood went cold. The room darkened and we remained completely frozen, May clearly figuring out what our next move is.

When the lights came up I could literally feel his breath on my neck as Cheesetauri continued squeaking in alarm. He was right behind us, but May's grip had shifted to my wrist. She was clutching it tight, keeping me rooted right where I was with her. I wanted to run, boy did I want to run. But I knew I wouldn't stand a chance alone. May was my best chance and so I forced every instinct back from my head. I didn't move a muscle, even to breathe.

It was a good thing I trusted May with my life, because right now it was in her hands.

The second seemed like minutes before the lights went dark again. I heard a grunt but by then I had my head forced down by the hand once at my wrist and was being shoved towards the couches. I ducked silently behind one, heart beating so fast I was sure he could hear it. May was right beside me an instant later, hand instantly finding my back again. I swear she could see in the dark.

The light flickered back again and I heard him swing through thin air with a grunt, shocked at how quickly we had vanished. May shoved my back and I creeped along keeping low to the ground as she guided me towards the Briefing Room. Cheesetauri had thankfully seemed to sense the tension of the moment and had quieted, preventing our position from being given away. I could almost cry in relief at that, but there was no time.

The man whose profile I could see started to tear apart a table looking for us but we were already through the Briefing Room and now running for the hallway. I let my adrenaline spike again and went as fast as humanly possible toward the Cage. We only had a few moments before he caught up to us.

May pushed past me to get there first, typing in the code to open the door. My eyes widened as I realized what she was doing. "Simmons said- "

"We don't have time," was her whisper back as she threw the door open. Hannah barely let out a cry as May grabbed her and started leading her down the hallway. I was right behind them, glancing over my shoulder as I swear I heard him coming judging from the boots and a clanging sound. A wrench. He was carrying a wrench. Fitz-Simmons had mentioned that.

We took one of the emergency exits as quickly and quietly as we could, Hannah having the good sense not to speak until we had practically run through the entire clearing and were approaching the trees surrounding it. "What are you going to do?"

"Fix the problem," she answered simply without slowing her stride.

"May, that's not an answer or an option," I made clear, keeping up with them. I didn't want to believe what it sounded like she was doing, but it was pretty hard to ignore. "May, please don't tell me you plan on just leaving her out here to whatever the hell that is? Because that is the type of person the others believe you are, but I know better."

She wasn't slowing. "Ashleigh?" Hannah asked, clearly scared. I gave her a reassuring look which obviously didn't help because she was still being dragged to parts unknown.

"May," I tried to grab even a bit of her focus because I needed her to answer me. I needed to know for sure. "May. May."

We were running through trees now and I could tell she was purposefully not answering. So I answered for her with everything I knew about her, voice rising though still a whisper as I came up next to her. "And I know you're used to doing this alone, but you're not. I have your back. And I trust that you have a plan to save everyone's skin. I trust you. But now I need you to trust me, trust us, and let me in on what's happening so I can cover you as your fellow Agent. And so Hannah can help us rather than think we may be leaving her to a demon."

"I need her as bait," May said finally, barn coming up in front of us about five hundred yards away.

Hannah was crying now. "Well, that's comforting."

"Hannah, it's okay," I tried to reassure her. "Everything's going to be alright. You are in the best hands you could be in right now." I put a hand on her back, gently rubbing it. She calmed down a touch, but not much. "Simmons said if we would have waited he would eventually vanish."

"We don't have that kind of time," May answered. "We need to draw him away from the Bus before he hurts any of them. If I had the option to send you back so you could join them I would."

She was making the tough choice yet again- putting herself at risk of this monster to save everyone. "I wouldn't go," I shot back. "We're finishing this together."

Hannah agreed, summoning bravery I don't think she knew she possessed. "We will. This needs to end. This needs to end before anyone else gets hurt." I knew she'd be on her team if she understood.

"Alright then. We all work together. Hannah draws him out and then two tasks, two of us. I keep her safe and you take him out."

"Agreed."

We stepped into the barn then, knowing he couldn't be too far behind us. May finally released her but I kept my hand on her back. She turned to stare at May, still clearly rattled but tears having stopped. "Then what will you do? To… to take him out?"

"Whatever it takes." And with that, she started for the shadows for the element of surprise. "This will be over soon, miss Hutchins. As soon as he's here, hide and I'll do the rest."

"Okay," she managed.

She then directed her voice towards me. "Do what you have to do, Agent Crawford. And be careful. He's gone after you before."

"Something tells me you won't let him get a hand on me." For the first time, I felt like she was speaking to me as a colleague. But I didn't have any time to let the feeling wash over me, merely banking it in my head for later. I nodded, keeping a hand on Hannah as we stood in the moonlight, now just waiting for the man to arrive. She was shaking but holding firm, playing her part.

Cheesetauri started squeaking, cluing me in that it was time. Sure enough, the air seemed to grow colder and then in a swirl of black smoke a man appeared as he strode towards us. I recognized him immediately with a gasp and Hannah did the same.

"Tobias," she muttered, shocked. "Is that you?"

He didn't get to answer because May came running in from the side and sent him flying into the nearest beam with a cry. I pulled Hannah back and behind me, getting us to a corner as quickly and efficiently as possible. He would come after her if something happened to May and I needed to be ready on the slim chance it did. Remember everything I had been taught. Use protection to my advantage.

It was hard to see what was happening as he and May traded blows. She seemed to be getting some good hits in, but then he started cheating. She held him but he teleported away from her. "Behind you!" I shouted as he appeared again. She turned and tried to deliver a blow, but he was gone again. "Come on, May," I whispered. "Come on." He reappeared and she was in perfect position to throw him over her shoulder, but he was gone again.

He reappeared before my eyes could process, delivering a wrench to May's leg that sent her to the ground. "May!" I shouted. She tried to get up, but was struggling as he towered over her. I wanted to run and help her up, but held firm to my part as Tobias turned towards us.

I took a defensive stance, trying to slow him a bit by throwing the radio I still held in my hands at him. Unfortunately, it went right through him without causing any damage. "Oh, so now we're going to do something," he nearly spat at me, taking me out of the moment briefly. But I pushed away my thoughts and crouched.

He neared and I made my move, charging forward and attempting to kick him in the jaw. He phased right before I connected and reappeared behind me, reaching for a cowering Hannah. I ran at him and threw both my feet out, sending him into a wall as Hannah scrambled out of the corner. Unfortunately, I was not May and landed hard on my back- letting out a cry.

Hannah helped me to my feet as Tobias shook himself free of the wood, feet sliding against the mulch as I tried to get up, both of us backing up together as he stepped towards us. I glanced behind us as let out a sigh of relief when I noticed May had vanished from her spot on the floor. Tobias charged the two of us and I pushed Hannah out of the way, taking it full force and getting a solid hit to the face as he plowed me right into a column and knocked the wind out of me.

He held me pinned against it, hand pushing into my chest with a brutal amount of force. I tried to wriggle free, but it was when I saw his other hand go for the hamster ball that I let out a cry and made my move. I threw my fingers into his eyes as hard as I could, kicking him in the shin with my leg at the same time. It was enough to make him cry in pain and back away from me, hand over his eyes. But he recovered a lot faster than I did unfortunately.

I slid to the floor as he rose the wrench, unable to move quickly enough. Cheesetauri was frantic next to me now, but still safe for the moment. But May tackled him the moment he swung, wrench connecting with the wood rather than my head. The two of them continued to tussle as she swept his legs out from under him and delivered a firm punch to the stomach. Hannah was tucked away again thankfully and went to move towards me. I held my hand out though and tried to force myself to my feet to get back over to her. If only my body felt like cooperating. I was definitely not a Field Agent yet with the limited beating I could take.

May and Tobias were sent hurtling through one of the wooden gates, both twisting atop one another to gain the upper hand. She managed to knock the wrench out of his hand which was a major win for us. I was crawling over to Hannah now, hands and knees getting covered with dirt and grime as I kept an eye on the action. I managed to reach Hannah just as Tobias teleported again, now towering over us as I tucked her behind me. She was screaming, especially as he hefted me to my feet and held me above him by my shirt. He threw his fist back, readying to probably knock me out cold. I just stared right at him, not letting him see how afraid I was. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

Luckily, we were both sent to the ground a moment later. May had knocked the ladder loose and sent him tumbling to the ground just in time. He let out a groan as I pushed away from him, adrenaline allowing me to get to my feet without my back screaming in too much protest for the moment. I grabbed Hannah's hand and we ran to May in the center of the barn, her pulling the two of us into an unexpected hug. Like super unexpected.

"It's okay," she comforted Hannah, softness returning again. "It's okay." He was getting to his feet but it didn't scare me as much. We had the upper hand for the moment, the two of us standing firm and knowing we could hurt him. I don't know how much longer I could do this for, but I got the feeling he couldn't last more than a round. So I'd just have to pull for my body to hold onto two myself.

He seemed determined to get her though, like he wasn't ever going to stop no matter what happened. What had him so determined to hurt Hannah? They had worked together. They seemed like they had been friends. "Tell him we won't hurt you," May requested of Hannah.

And then it clicked. May had figured it out. He was trying to get her away from us just like we had been keeping him away from her. He was trying to save her from us.

I had done nothing in the car. I didn't help her. I just sat there and even kept Skye from going out there. I had been part of the problem.

Hannah caught up too, bright as she was, stepping slightly in front of us. I didn't like it, but I trusted her and allowed it. "Tobias, wait. Ashleigh… May… they're my friends."

He stopped, staring at her as if into her soul. "Hannah."

"You have to stop," she continued. "Please."

"Listen," May shot straight with him. "We believe you're trapped between two worlds… this world…"

"And hell," he answered for her, his experiences clear on his face. This had been awful for him as well clearly as he fell to his knees almost with the weight of what had happened. "I'm being dragged to hell for what I did."

Hannah took another step forward and May had to grab my wrist to keep me from following. "What did you do?" she asked, voice trembling.

"Just loosen a few bolts and then you'd visit," he said in way of answer. I felt my breath stop. "It was the best part of my say." He was teary himself now as he looked into Hannah's eyes- forgetting we were even here. "I… I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt."

"Oh no," Hannah gasped, the weight of it hitting her. "Tobias. How could you?"

"I killed them. I know." He was baring his soul to her now. "And even worse, everyone started blaming you. I tr… I tried to stop them."

Hannah was crying again as the moonlight illuminated the tears coming down her cheeks. "But you hurt more people. You hurt Ashleigh and Agent May."

"I was trying to protect you from them, trying to atone for my sin." He looked down and then back up. "Hannah, please, maybe if you forgive me, I won't go to hell." He sounded do desperate it nearly broke my heart. But then I was reminded of how he had almost broken my back and it faded just a touch. Not enough to stop hoping that she said yes and gave him some peace though.

"Only God can forgive you," she answered.

"And he won't," May stepped forward.

I took the few steps as well. "May!"

"You can't undo what's been done," she continued, ignoring me. "That will be with you forever. But trying to hold on to this life, clinging to the person you thought you could be, that's hell." She stepped towards him, casting her shadow over him completely.

I kept my spot but spoke. "And, Tobias, what you're doing… it's only making things harder for Hannah to move on. You can't keep doing this to her. I'm so sorry this happened to you, but she still has her life to live. And you… you need to let her live it." I took a deep breath, tears pricking my eyes at what I had to say next. "I'm sorry Tobias but you missed your chance."

May's attention was drawn behind him and I looked to see an orange globe in the distance. "They're coming," I deduced, half relieved and half afraid. Ward was going to put a bullet through Tobias the moment he saw him.

"Tobias, you need to let go before our people come and make you do it," May addressed him once again. "Let the girl go, Tobias," she said, words that obviously carried weight by the way she said them. They had a history behind them. Tobias turned to Hannah and reached his hand out and in show of bravery I don't know if I possessed myself, she took it in hers. And he stared into her eyes one last time.

"We'll take care of her. She's going to live a great life," I vowed, tears flowing now despite myself.

I heard footsteps behind us and the sound of a gun being cocked. They were here. "Let her go," May repeated. Tobias closed his eyes and the three of us watched as he faded into smoke one last time, Hannah's hand falling through the air to her side. The moment hung there, the three of us just staring as our teammates hung behind us.

"It's over," I broke the silence, relief clear in my voice. "We did it." I saw Skye out of the corner of my vision, making her way towards Hannah.

But Hannah surprised up by whirling around, pulling the two of us into a tight embrace. May and I both hugged her back, the three of us just sharing our relief that we were all safe and the grief of what had ultimately been the cause of this. We had all did our part. She had been the bait. May had fought him back. I had made sure Tobias didn't lay a hand on her. "We make quite the team," I muttered, voice muffled by the hug. The three of us were now a group forged by fire, standing united as our own little team.

Hannah pulled away, glancing between the two of us. "Thank you… both of you. So much. I will never be able to repay you- "

"You being safe now is enough," May cut her off, and I nodded an affirmative to that. With that, May turned to head over to Coulson and Skye moved towards Hannah, eyebrows raised at what she had just seen. I smirked and glanced over towards May.

"It looks like I get to say I told you so this time." She just seemed to reflect on that a moment before pulling Hannah in for a hug herself. Classic Skye.

"Ash!" I barely turned before I was being crushed in one of the tightest hugs I had ever experienced. My best friend sighed in relief, muttering something that I couldn't make out. I wrapped my arms around him as well, settling my head into the crook of his neck where I fit perfectly. My heart finally stopped squeezing, relieved that he was finally here and okay. My world could keep on turning. "Thank God."

He shifted his hand a bit and I let out a yelp of pain at my back. Instantly, he was about three steps back and his hands were up as if trying to calm me. It was like a moment had been shattered and everything crashed back into us. He went from looking relieved to looking worried I was about to bolt for some reason. Like he shouldn't be near me. Our last meeting then came back to me, my leaving him in the hallway and taking off with such fear and anger, and I desperately shook my head. He had to know. He had to understand it hadn't been about him. I wasn't scared of him hurting me. I could never be scared of him. "No. No. Lee, I just… Tobias threw me against a column. I'm just a little sore and you hugged just a little too tight. You're fine. I wasn't- before I was- "

He closed the gap between us again, his forehead almost resting against mine. Like it was just the two of us in a protective bubble. I might have wondered if everyone was staring and what they were thinking, but my eyes were locked on his completely. He was here. He was safe. "We can worry about that later," he said so only I would hear before pulling back so we were a slight distance apart. "Because I am going to spend as long as it takes making that whole awful business up to you."

"You don't have to do that. I'm the one who went all psycho on you."

"You were scared and did nothing wrong. I'm the one who… who made you react the way you did. And it's not something I'm going to forget easily." I went to argue with him, but he shook his head. "For right now, I'm just, uh, glad that you're safe. I was… I was really worried about you. So I'm so unbelievably glad. Especially given your track record as of late."

I smiled. "May took good care of me."

"It looks to me like it went both ways," he remarked.

"Fitz!" Simmons broke the moment, causing the both of us to take a step back as he turned to his best friend. She held up the glowing ball that had led them here. "We need to call the others back. Otherwise, we'll stuck combing through the woods for them all night."

"Coming," he told her. "Sorry."

"It's fine. I'll be right here." With that he stepped away, letting Ward approach me to which I greeted him with a hard punch in the arm. "That was for getting knocked out, you idiot." I quickly followed it with a quick hug before he could respond. "Thank you for keeping your promise."

"Couldn't let you down, Crawford. That's what big brothers are for."

I then stepped past Coulson, May having already vanished, him clearly looking me over for injuries. I don't think I had any obvious ones this time though. Cheesetauri was resting happily at my side now that the excitement was over, giving a small squeak. I stood by the edge of the barn and waited as everything was tidied up and gathered, Hannah making her way over to my side.

"He's cute."

"Hmm?"

"That boy you were hugging," she smiled, her first real smile. She looked exhausted, but here she was smiling once again. "He clearly likes you a lot."

I watched Fitz help Simmons load the suitcase with the glowing orbs, the two of them chattering away to one another like there was no one else in the world. But then he glanced around for a minute, almost worried, before he noticed where I had moved to and seemed to let his shoulders fall in relief. I gave him a wave to show him I was still here and waiting and he waved back. Then he went right back to it as if he hadn't missed a beat.

I smiled, something finally clicking in my brain. "Yeah. He does."

Maybe enough to feel the same way I did.

This day had been a lesson in waiting too long. Maybe it would be for the best if I got everything out in the open and told him how I felt. There were only two answers he could give. The first might break my heart, but then I could move on and still have my best friend. The second- dare I dream for the second. I think I was starting to despite myself.

"What will you do now?" I asked Hannah, trying to stop thinking on myself and focus on the girl next to me. "I'm sure S.H.I.E.L.D. will be happy to take you wherever you want to go. You can pick somewhere grand and new. Start over."

She took a moment before shaking her head. "I actually think that after all this… I just want to go home." She must have been able to foresee my reaction, because she continued before I could speak. "I know how they treated me was wrong. But they've all been through something terrible and need help rebuilding. I owe it to them not for what they've done recently, but for all those years when they've been kind and supportive to me. And I think helping them will help me too. Tobias made a mistake and I can help them all move past it and earn their trust back. It's where I'm needed Ashleigh."

"You are a better woman than I, Miss Hutchins," I said with clear respect for the girl standing next to me. I don't think I could ever do what she was now. She was truly someone pretty remarkable.

The group wrapped up pretty quickly after that and we all hiked back to the Bus, Skye escorting Hannah off to get some rest finally. She had asked Coulson to take her home and he promised to oblige without hesitation, apologizing once again for putting her through this. She had merely shrugged him off and thanked him for his help.

I dropped Cheesetauri off in my room- the little guy had quite the day and seemed content to be home, switched my shirt out for one of my more comfortable sweaters, checked in on Hannah as she slept in Skye's bunk that she was alright, and then made my way to sit with May at the front of the Bus. My back was causing spasms something fierce now, but I feared that if I stopped I would never get back up again. But I came to a pause as I noticed someone else was already in the seat I occupied- Skye.

She was merely sitting in silence, staring out at the horizon. I instantly took a few steps back and gently closed the door so as not to disturb them. This was clearly an important moment and I wasn't going to disrupt it. I could always go up there when she was done.

So instead I made my way up to Coulson's office, almost due to wandering aimlessly. I knocked on the door as he looked up from his paperwork, smiling brightly and gesturing for me to come in.

"Sorry for bothering you. I'm just not quite ready to pump the brakes and settle in yet, but I don't quite know what to do with myself either," I admitted, sitting in the chair across from him. "It's hard to explain."

"I know the feeling well," he comforted me. "Experienced it many times myself. It's a trademark of being an Agent." I smirked at that, watching as he returned to his report. "May gave me her statement on the mission. I will need to take yours eventually as well. Unfortunately, every mention of your name will have to be changed to Agent Ward to keep our cover."

"I'll be so glad when this fake probation is over," I sighed, sick of the trouble Sitwell and Hand had put me in. "Are you mentioning how badly he got his ass kicked? Because I'm sure May mentioned that. I mean, I barely held my own in there."

He stopped writing, glancing up at me. "Has Agent May spoken to you at all?"

I shook my head. "Skye's with her now. I didn't want to interrupt their bonding time. They seemed to be making real progress. I imagine some of that is your doing."

"And yours as well," he credited me. "Now… I am not allowed to relay another Agent's report to you… so as to ensure accuracy and privacy."

Was this some kind of secret test? "I'm aware of that sir."

He nodded. "Good. So I am not able to relay to you that Agent May was nothing but complimentary of your role tonight." My eyes widened slightly, making him smirk. "Because the person she was with not only managed to create a sense of unity that made Hannah much more willing to collaborate and comfortable with the group she was with, but did exactly what she was meant to do in her combat role. Tobias never laid a hand on Hannah Hutchins even when Agent May was down because someone was displaying their greatest strength in protecting others. I also cannot tell you that she called the Agent with her just that- an Agent in every sense."

I found myself unable to speak, completely floored. Just the idea that May had said those kind of things about me… wow. It was enough to make my head spin. I had never been seeking her approval, but having it somehow meant more than I ever thought it would. I was almost tempted to run to that cockpit and just give her a huge hug. But I restrained myself, hands digging into the armrests just to be sure I was anchored where I was. I was also pretty sure I had the dorkiest grin on my face. "No, you definitely couldn't tell me that."

"Good work, Agent Ward," he said wryly, returning to his papers. I stood, having found something here I hadn't been expecting in the slightest. "You did S.H.I.E.L.D. proud today. And I'm certain that will be reflected in assignments in the future."

"I'm not above babysitting though," I made clear, crossing my arms. "Someone has to keep your crazy kids in line, sir." And with that, I headed out back for my room. I was starting to unwind a bit after that talk and my pillow seemed to be calling out to me- at least until we arrived.

I checked on Hannah again- still sleeping- and entered my own bunk by sliding the door open with a groan to be surprised by a figure on my bed. Fitz was sitting across from Cheesetauri, watching the little guy as he drank some water from his bottle. "Can I help you?"

He jumped into the air a bit, spinning to face me. He held some kind of notebook in his one hand, but hid it behind his back before he thought I could see it. "Ash, I was looking for you. But… uh when I couldn't find you I just thought I'd wait here until you… showed up." I took a seat on the bed next to him, leaning against the wall.

"I was just talking with Coulson." And then a silence settled around us. But not the normal silence that usually came with the two of us, but an awkward pressing one that kind of changed the mood of the whole room. Everything seemed to grow more tense and I quickly realized what we were both thinking about. "Lee, it was nothing. I shouldn't have- "

"It was a memory, wasn't it?" He was staring at me intently, almost haunted look in his gaze. Never able to lie to him I nodded, frowning as I thought back on some of what I had experienced when he had scared me. It had all been so… blindingly intense. "We don't have to talk about it."

I shrugged. "Not much to talk about really." I drew up into myself, tucking my chin over my knees. "There were flashes, but I couldn't tell you what any of them were. There were the words, but once again I have no clue what they mean now other than at the moment they seemed important." I thought about the last thing, shiver going down my spine. "And there… there was a man standing over me. But… but I couldn't…" I was pathetically crying now despite myself. "I couldn't tell you who he was or what he even looked like. It was a flash of clarity… but it's all gone now."

He had leaned forward during my speech, head going into his hands. "I did this to you. I'm the one who bloody did this to you."

I didn't want him beating himself up for my crazy. "Lee…"

"No, Ash," he cut me off with a bit of anger. "You didn't… it was meant to be a harmless prank. You'd get scared, but then we'd have a laugh about it later. But instead… instead I made you remember something so awful…" He almost didn't know how to verbalize it.

"Lee, you're right. It was just a joke. I'm the one who let it get out of hand by completely losing my freaking mind." See, I didn't know where the profanity had come from.

"You didn't see yourself," he spoke very slowly, almost in pain. He was doing the thing where he got very jittery in his worry now, and I put a hand on his knee to stop him. "You didn't see how scared you looked… and it was because of something I had done to you. And then you go and vanish while the Bus is being torn apart and I can't find you. I'm just left with that image of you on the floor- an image that isn't going away anytime soon I'll have you know." He seemed to shake even harder despite my efforts. "I hurt you. I hurt you and it makes me so… I hate myself for it." He looked at me again, eyes watery. "I am so sorry, Ashleigh. So bloody sorry."

I leaned towards him, making the small space between us even smaller. I needed to fix this and I needed to fix it now. My hands both clenched around one of his, squeezing it. "Lee… I forgive you." He didn't react and I felt the need to repeat it until it got through his thick, brilliant skull. "I forgive you for what happened. I don't blame you. I don't hate you. I personally see nothing you have to apologize for, but I accept it. And I forgive you." I squeezed his hand again, resting my forehead against his.

He was still for a long time, but finally let out a shuddering breath that seemed to have the weight of the world within it. "You may, but I'm not going to forgive myself for a long time."

"I'll help you with that, okay?" I made clear to him. "Whatever it takes. You are still my very best friend and that comes with all the benefits of teamwork. We're in this craziness together after all." He was silent for a minute, so I decided a change in topic was needed as I backed away. "So what are you hiding from me?"

He fumbled a little, pulling the notebook from behind his back and holding it out to me, completely back to his awkward self a bit. "This… this is the start in a long road of making things up to you. Which I may not abandon ever at this point. Just saying." I shot him a look, but he just put a hand on top of the notebook. "This is a log for your memories, since they seem to be coming back to you in some capacity. I constructed it myself."

"It's a notebook. Did you kill the tree yourself?"

"No, but I fixed it up for you," he responded, opening the book to see it had indeed been labeled with a table of contents and everything. Each page had a heading and room for writing down details and when it had occurred. It was clear he was very serious about this. I wonder how much time this had taken him. "Maybe jotting them down will help you jog some things… or get others off your mind." God, how was he not the sweetest guy ever?

"Thank you," I told him sincerely, grabbing a pen that always rested in his breast pocket. "Now we should start with the one with Thor I had when we were watching things in London."

"Oh, we don't have to do it now… or together. If you don't want to talk about it- "He started to rise, but I yanked him back down.

"Of course we're doing it together." I started to write furiously on the first page about remembering fighting beside Thor. "Okay, so I meet Thor in the future. Nothing too big. Many have done it and I'm sure many will." I flipped to the second before he could even get a word in. "Can I just say that if the second one was like my original personality before the amnesia that I was a very profane human being."

"I certainly wasn't expecting words like that. Everything about you shifted in that moment it seemed. It was like you were a different person," he admitted. Okay, he was talking about it objectively with only some guilt. That was progress.

"Well, I'm me now." I started writing everything on this one as well.

"We should go back to the fact that apparently you fought alongside an Avenger… because that's pretty awesome and worth noting. Maybe Skye was right about you being some kind of superhero from the future."

"I doubt it. But then again, Skye's been on fire with her theories recently it seems." I thought of something then and looked up at him, beaming.

He almost looked uncomfortable. "What?"

I pointed the pen at him. "Skye and I get to play with the hologram table." He sputtered, clearly not having it in the slightest. "You can supervise and it can even be something you're done with." He still hadn't agreed yet so I crossed my arms and looked at him through my eyebrows. "Come on. Then we'll be square in my mind. The rest will be your mental hurdles to get through."

I knew he wasn't going to say no. He knew he wasn't going to say no. "Fine," he agreed bitterly. "But just once for a bit and when Simmons is out of the lab, okay?"

I extended my hand and he shook it, face displaying he was clearly going to regret this.

And I'm not going to lie, he probably was.

XXX

May pulled to a stop outside the house, any sign of the angry mob that had been there hours ago having vanished. Hannah took a deep breath and climbed out of the car, myself following from the passenger seat and walking around to her.

We had landed promptly and when Skye had awoken Hannah from her slumber she had only one request as we returned her to her normal life. She wanted May and I to be the ones who escorted her back. It seemed she wanted us by her side as she took the final steps out of this nightmare and resumed her normal life- our little team coming together one last time. It meant too much for either of us to refuse. Skye had sent her off the plane with a tight hug and some whispered assurances, a little disappointed that she wasn't going with but understanding nonetheless. The ride had been spent in mostly silence as Hannah took her surroundings in with a guarded expression on her face. There was no doubt she had chosen the hard road here, but she showed no desire to turn back and have us whisk her off to France or something. She was extraordinarily brave that way.

We stood for a minute facing the house before she started up the porch, myself right behind her. May had opted to remain in the car, offering a nod to Hannah as she exited. I got it though. Somehow there didn't seem to be the right words. I was struggling myself now and was glad she made the first move by pulling me in for a hug.

"Thank you again for everything," she whispered. "And thank Agent May as well for me too."

"Thank you for your help. You were practically an Agent in there yourself. As much an Agent as I am anyway." I pulled back. "I have a favor to ask though."

"Name it."

"I know you'll be just fine because you're so unbelievably strong, but don't hesitate if you need me to kick someone's ass here for you." And she laughed at that, a real genuine laugh that made her look years younger. The bags under her eyes were staring to fade and she was carrying herself a bit different now- taller. She was beginning to put herself back together and it was amazing to see. I could walk away knowing she was going to be alright.

"I will," she promised and I accepted that, giving her a last quick hug before starting down the stairs back to the car. "Ashleigh!" I turned back towards her. "I have a favor too."

"Name it," I repeated.

She smiled, hugging herself. "Ask that cute boy who hugged you out." There was a lot of meaning behind the words, thoughts of Tobias included. And I didn't even hesitate in nodding.

"I will," I promised, meaning it. I had been thinking about it a lot these last few hours and this just tipped me over the edge. I think I owed to myself at this point to at least find out where he stood before I lost my chance. I mean, he had seen the deepest and darkest parts of me and hadn't run. Instead he had stuck right by my side providing the same support he always did. Being exactly what I needed. Making me happy while I returned it right back.

And if my last memory was anything to go by I could use all the happy I could get.

With a last wave I descended towards the car, only to stop at the fact that May had vacated the driver's seat. I climbed into the vacated position without a word, adjusting the mirrors as I had been taught. She just stared straight ahead, hint of a smile on her face when I started down the street.

And that drive went down in the books as the one where I finally learned how to brake properly. It was actually a pretty simple concept… when you had the right teacher I suppose.

And then she said something to me just before we disembarked, still facing straight ahead. "I have an idea for a prank for Fitz."

"Really? I thought that would be above you," I probed

She didn't take the bait. "I would usually do this sort of thing alone, but I thought I would see if you were interested. If we do it correctly and follow my lead, he will never even know it was us."

I couldn't stop the smile if I tried. "Oh, I'm in."

XXX

And there we are. Next episode is the first part of the midseason finale, so expect a lot of excitement and craziness to be happening. I know I am. Thank you again to everyone for all the love and support for the story of Ash and Lee as they continue to grow and face challenges together. I'm looking forward to the second half of our journey twice as much as the first… and don't even get me started on Season Two.

Thank you to those who have put this story on their alert list, attempting to keep an eye on my crazy publishing schedule: Akatsuki Cherry Angel, DiDiOthers, world-of-imagination-dreams, and HinaLuv3r109.

Thank you to those who have included this story among their favorites for doing me such an honor: Akatsuki Cherry Angel, DiDiOthers, MeemZ101, world-of-imagination-dreams, and HinaLuv3r109.

And finally, thank you to my friends the reviewers. Your words are everything and the fact that you come up with something new to say each week astounds me. So thank you: iblamegreenberg, my friend eckles, XxAmyTheGreatxX, TabloidTeen, LeopardFeather, FutureOlympian, MulishaMaiden, AthenaB, NessieBooEvans, Cow-Lover2214, Richelle Manuels, Evangeline Pond, and DreamingOfThatWorld for every word you type. I look forward to our continued conversations.