She found Skye that night in the lounge, a strange look on her face and went to talk to her.
"Hey" She called out, trying not to startle her.
"Hey" Skye mumbled.
"How are you doing?" Kayla asked, getting straight to the point.
"How do you…" Skye trailed off, indicating to her first kill.
"Cope? It's tough…and it stays with you. You have to accept the fact that someone is dead because of you…and then you can start to move on" Kayla explained.
"Does it get easier?" Skye inquired.
"No…but then a lot of things don't" Kayla announced.
"I've…I've missed you" Skye admitted.
"I never left" Kayla replied.
"And I'm not going to" Kayla stated, putting a hand of Skye's shoulder.
Skye quickly moved her own hand over Kayla's, as she let a tear drop down her cheek.
The next day the whole team was given a day off, so Kayla sparred, went to the lab and ate. There wasn't really much else to do. She could go to the lounge, but she didn't really want to be around anyone else at the moment. She put on her IPod and put on her sad songs playlists and closed her eyes.
(A/N: Song is Breathe Me by Sia)
Help, I have done it again
I have been here many times before
As she listened to the words of the song, her thoughts drifted to the man locked up in Vault D. It reminded her of how Ward must feel to be alone again, locked in that cell.
Hurt myself again today
Her mind then drifted to the self-harm scars on his wrists, and the permanent red mark in his hairline.
And the worst part is there's no one else to blame
Ward had said it himself, he had his own free will. He wasn't brainwashed, he had a choice.
Be my friend
He had no one. Maybe that's why his eyes always lit up every time he saw her.
Hold me, wrap me up
Is that what Ward wanted? Someone to comfort him? Even to just have some human contact?
Unfold me
I am small and needy
And he was. He acted like the big tough guy, but she knew deep down he thought he was weak.
Warm me up
And breathe me
She couldn't. Could understand him. Couldn't help him.
Ouch, I have lost myself again
Lost myself and I am nowhere to be found,
Did Ward even know who he was? Did he understand the decisions he had made?
Yeah, I think that I might break
Was he close to breaking? Or was he already broken?
Lost myself again and I feel unsafe
He had so many different personalities. The lost little boy, who was abused by his family. The good little soldier that Garrett created. And the man that Kayla missed.
Be my friend
Hold me, wrap me up
Unfold me
I am small and needy
Warm me up
And breathe me
Did he need Kayla's help? Did he even deserve it?
"Don't remember Coulson asking you to do extra research on this thing" Trip accused Skye, when the whole team were in the control room.
May and Coulson were at a party trying to gain a painting that had the same symbols on as Garrett had been drawing before they died, and Skye was looking into it more than she should have.
"I'm being industrious" Skye retorted.
"Or are you digging into a top-secret mission to find out about the parts they're not telling us?" Trip questioned.
"I'm a good, helpful soldier" Skye smiled, sweetly, making Kayla laugh.
"Well, I happen to appreciate your instinct to be thorough. I myself prefer a pint and a good nap, but, then, I'm the lazy type" Hunter interjected.
"Lazy is not the first word that comes to mind" Skye told him.
"Dangerous? I understand. But truly, it should be "lazy." I just hide it well" Hunter added.
"Think that's what drove away the ex-wife?" Skye suggested, as Kayla could see that even though Hunter hid it well, he was still hurt by what had happened.
"See, now you're bringing it back up" Mack sighed.
"Ha ha, and no. It didn't work out because interspecies relationships are hard. I was a human, whereas she was a demonic hell-beast" Hunter explained.
"He doesn't like her" Mack clarified.
"You don't say" Tripp exclaimed.
"She's pure evil" Hunter insisted.
"Hey, at least you got away from your ex. The guy Kayla went out with is now the psycho living in our basement" Skye announced.
"If you want to get technical he's more of a sociopath than a psychopath but hey, some of us stayed on at school and took psychology" Kayla retorted.
"My talent was wasted there" Skye told her, making Kayla laugh.
"You know, I wish I could relate, but all my exes are awesome" Mack claimed.
"Is that right? I seem to remember an entire year where you had to pretend you liked Quinoa" Hunter suggested.
"Yeah. That was a dark time" Mack mumbled.
"Fitz, go join them. They're bonding. You'll be left out" Simmons insisted in Fitz's head.
Kayla saw Fitz leave the room a few moments later and went to follow him.
"Hey Fitz, wait up" Kayla called out.
"You and Skye seem to be…um…" Fitz trailed off.
"Getting better? Yeah, I think so" Kayla smiled.
"That's good" Fitz exclaimed.
"Yeah, you must be sick of me always hanging around with you" Kayla joked.
"No! It's nice to have…a friend" Fitz replied.
"Fitz, we're all your friends. The others…well there just taking a bit longer to understand the new you" Kayla explained.
A while later a device that was planted on the bus started the plane's self destruct. This meant they didn't have long before the Bus would blow up. Fitz informed the others on what to do, while he and Hunter went to stop the device in its tracks. They managed to stop it just in time, saving the day. When Kayla was walking past the labs that night, she saw Mack, Hunter and Fitz, all with a drink in their hands, raising a toast. Kayla couldn't help but grin when she saw a smile on Fitz's face and for the first time in a while allowed herself to think that things would get better.
Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! So it looks like things between the team might be getting better...for now. I'm really not sure where that whole song paragraph came from, I think I put that in after the finale from my Ward playlist and it just happened, haha. Bit disappointed that I got no reviews last chapter, they give me life, so please remember to review:)