A/N: Only Melinda and Skye in this chapter, a bit of a filler chapter. See you soon agents!

And PSA for my reviewers, thank you all for criscisms and praise. Expect some responses in your PM's over the next couple days. Since I stopped replying to them in chapter posts, I'm going to start reply to them via PMs for all stories. Some old reviews will get some replies while all future reviews will get a response. Okay that's all.

Summary: Agents Melinda May and Phil Coulson are put on a new assignment to look after an object of unknown origin, an 0-8-4. The only catch is this 0-8-4 is a person. A fourteen year old girl who's spent her life in the foster system is now in more danger than ever. A man beast is hunting her and SHIELD has to make sure that it doesn't get close to her. AU, MCU characters will be used.

Chapter Seven

Friday September 2

Skye stared out at the passing scenery with the side of her head pressed against the cool window. Her first night and morning at the Mayson's had gone without an incident.

Neither Melinda nor Phil had been mean to her in any way which Skye wanted to believe was a good sign. She didn't' put much hope in that though. Mr Hyde had been good for a month before he snapped.

Skye shuddered silently. This morning Skye was supposed to go to the mall with Phil and Melinda, but Phil had been pulled away by work. It was last minute and unavoidable judging by how the phone call had gone. Even though Skye had only half the conversation to follow she could tell that it was a battle Phil couldn't win no matter how hard he was fighting.

So the plan had changed. It would only be Melinda and Skye for the day which slightly unnerved Skye. While Phil had been almost overwhelmingly open with Skye, Melinda had kept a good distance from the girl despite her efforts. Melinda's expressions didn't change much making it more difficult for Skye to get a read on the older woman.

All Skye could really gage about the woman was that she wasn't much of a talker and she was definitely scary. It made Skye wonder if Melinda would be the first to turn out to be something she wasn't.

"So," Melinda said, she turned down the radio, "I was thinking we head to the mall first then head to the grocery store."

Skye nodded, "Sounds good."

An awkward silence followed. Melinda really wasn't good at keeping conversation going. She really hated how Phil could just talk and talk with people as if he had known them for years. It was irritating at the most, but amusing at the least. Melinda decided she would try something.

"I'm not very good at this, Phil is much better at this than I am," Melinda admitted, "He always was."

Skye looked at Melinda and though she didn't say anything, Melinda knew it was a prompt for her to continue.

Melinda continued, "We don't know you. And you don't know us. Phil tends to pour himself out right away while I reveal nothing. I'm not asking for you to tell me everything or to trust us yet, but I'm asking for a chance."

"A chance," Skye questioned unsurely.

Melinda nodded, keeping her eyes on the road she said, "Yes. A chance for us to know you and for you to know us."

Skye didn't answer right away. Instead she thought over what Melinda was asking of her, trying to find the hidden meaning behind it. What was Melinda trying to gain from this? Was there something that Skye couldn't see?

Melinda and Phil were nice to her. That didn't mean she wanted to get close to them though. For all she knew, she could be leaving them tomorrow. Except in the back of Skye's mind she wanted to give them a chance. She was tired of never getting to know people, but more tired of knowing people and leaving them forever.

"I think I could do that," Skye said in a voice just louder than a whisper, "Tell me something about yourself. Maybe we could trade off?"

Melinda nodded, she liked that idea, "Let's see. I will eat anything covered in chocolate."

Skye thought for a moment before saying, "I love whipped cream."

"I can't stand fog horns."

"I'm not a fan of balloons."

"I'd choose flats over heels any day."

"Big sweatshirts are really comfortable."

"Figure skating was a pastime of mine."

"I like to find star constellations."

The two of them went back and forth with various things about themselves until Melinda pulled into the mall parking lot. Neither had said anything to personal or revealing, but enough for them both to have scratched the surface.

Melinda found that Skye was a bit fun to be around. The teenaged girl could be, for lack of a better word, dorky when she wanted to be and Melinda wished she acted that way more. It was sweet.

The two of them walked into the entrance and Skye immediately felt overwhelmed. She had been to the mall maybe twice in all her life, each time had ended in disaster. There were also a lot of people here. It was Friday, but most people wouldn't come to the mall during the morning. Melinda noticed Skye tense beside her, wondering why she did.

"You okay," Melinda asked as they walked.

Skye nodded unsure, "Yeah. Uh, just haven't been to the mall in awhile. I forgot how big this place is."

"When was the last time you came to the the mall," Melinda questioned curiously.

Skye tilted her head to the side, "I think three years ago. Maybe four. I'm not exactly sure."

Melinda wasn't sure how to reply to that. Even though Melinda hadn't been to a mall in years, she figured that someone at Skye's age would live at the mall. Then again Skye wasn't exactly a typical teenage girl.

"Alright, how about we start with clothes," Melinda offered, she gestured to Macy's ahead of them, "We can start getting some generic stuff and if you see a store that catches your eye we can there."

Skye was tempted to argue that she didn't need any new clothes, but decided against it. Not only did she need new clothes, but Melinda was intimidating.

"Okay," Skye said flexing it was the safest answer.

Skye followed Melinda to Macy's, the first place they checked was the teens section. Melinda had made a mental list of the clothes that Skye would need: jeans, pajamas, short and long sleeved shirts, jackets, shoes, a dress or two, maybe some skirts though Melinda didn't think that would he her style.

Inwardly Melinda sighed. So much for only getting the essentials and school supplies. Skye needed practically one of everything in this store and the other stores. The poor girl only had a backpack of clothes, those clothes didn't even fit her right. The thought was starting to piss Melinda off.

Was it really that difficult to give her clothes that fit? Was it really that hard to bring her to the store and have her try on some sizes? Melinda and Skye went around to the pants section.

Skye had only chosen two pairs, despite Melinda telling her that she could get more. The teen was too nervous to actually pick out the jeans she wanted because she didn't want Melinda to spend money on her.

Melinda wasn't having it. In the end, Melinda had ended up pointing to jeans and asking if Skye likes them or not. Skye either nodded yes or no. With the jeans picked out in three different sizes, they traveled to the dressing rooms where Skye tried on each pair. At first Skye wasn't sure how to tell whether or not the jeans fit her right.

Were they supposed to be big on her or tight? Skye was too embarrassed to ask Melinda though. What kind of teenager didn't know how tell if jeans fit them? Luckily Skye didn't have to ask.

"Let me see them on you," Melinda said, "I want to make sure they look okay."

Skye walked out with the first pair of blue jeans. Her body language practically screamed uncertain and uncomfortable.

"How do they feel," Melinda asked as Skye stood in front of her, "Loose? Tight? Long? Short?"

Skye hesitated, "Loose."

Melinda studied her in the jeans, "What size is that?"

"A medium I think," Skye answered unsurely.

"Try on the petite one," Melinda instructed.

Skye went in the dressing room, grabbed the blue jeans with petite on the tag and slipped them on. They felt nice. The jeans didn't squeeze her thighs and they didn't go past her feet like her previous ones. There were also no holes. Skye stepped out of the dressing room.

Melinda nodded in approval, "Those look good."

"They feel good," Skye added with a small smile.

"Looks like we found your size," Melinda said a pleased look on her face, "Let's go find some more in that size."

Skye nodded in response.

In the end, Skye ended up with seven new pairs of jeans. Three blue jeans, one dark blue while the other two were light blue. She got one pair of salmon colored jeans, two pairs of black jeans and one pair of white jeans. Even though Skye protested the white, saying that she would get them dirty after wearing them once, Melinda told her about bleach.

After putting all the jeans in a cart, Melinda brought Skye over to the jean shorts section. It was the beginning of September so the weather was still a bit on the warmer side.

The only problem was Skye really did not want to try them on. She didn't even want to look at the jean shorts. Melinda wanted to ask why Skye didn't want to look at the shorts, but she decided against it not wanting to upset the younger girl any further.

In the short time she had been with Melinda, the woman knew that Skye wasn't very opinionated. Or if she was, she definitely didn't show it. However Skye was very clear about the shorts. With this in mind. Melinda let it go and they moved on to getting her some new shirts.

Melinda told Skye to pick whatever she wanted after assuring the girl for what felt like the hundredth time that it was okay for her to choose. Melinda liked to think of herself as a very patient person. Yet she hated to repeat herself. She said it once already and that should be enough. It wasn't enough for Skye. Had it ever been enough for Skye?

Skye had a thing for shirts with images or writing on them. One long sleeve shirt that was red-ish covered had in white writing on the front, "allergic to mornings".

Another shirt that Melinda found amusing was a cream colored t-shirt with a black and white image of palm trees and a sunset printed on the front. Underneath it, the letters in gold, read "chase the sunset".

Melinda's next favorite shirt had been the blue shirt with the Captain America shield on front. Phil would love that one for sure. For the next hour and a half, Melinda and Skye had picked out clothing.

Throughout that time Skye had relaxed enough to start talking more filling the once awkward silences. Melinda quickly learned that Skye could talk about just about anything that caught her eye with a smile on her face.

When they made it to the register however, Skye's smile faded at the sight of the amount of money all this costs. Melinda didn't bat an eye. She was using Phil's money since he insisted that they buy Skye everything. Melinda was actually glad he had said so. The girl really needed this.

Even though Melinda remembered reading about how foster parents weren't supposed to buy their foster children a lot of items, she figured there shouldn't be much harm. Besides, Skye didn't have a lot to begin with. Melinda made a mental note that they needed to get Skye a suitcase so she could use that to pack her clothes instead of a school bag.

Though Melinda was frugal when it came to buying things and she may not consider herself cheap, but she hardly spent more than necessary. The amount money she was spending on any other day would have given her pause, but it was necessary for Skye. The girl hardly had anything and that was unacceptable to the agent.

"I'm sorry," Skye mumbled not looking at Melinda.

Melinda looked down at Skye with a frown, "Why? You haven't done anything."

Skye refused to look at her, the floor was more interesting anyway, "I've cost you more money."

"So," Melinda asked as she handed the card to the lady at the register.

Skye looked up at Melinda with a confused look. What did Melinda mean by that? That it didn't matter that Skye costs them money? Was it a trick question?

"So," Skye asked dumbstruck looking at Melinda.

Melinda nodded, "So I spent 300 hundred dollars on clothes. You needed them. Phil and I are going to buy you whatever it is you need. That's our job. Not just to watch over you, but to take care of you."

Skye shifted from foot to foot.

Melinda frowned at the teen, "How often are you told you should be so grateful for what you have?"

Skye's eyebrows rose, before she schooled her features into a more passive expression. She tried to anyway. Her expression was still surprised and a bit sad.

"Skye," Melinda said, prompting the teen to answer.

"Almost every day," Skye admitted her frown deepening.

Melinda nodded in understanding, "Clint had heard that phrase for most of his life. While it's good to be thankful for what you have because someone else may not, that doesn't mean you have to settle for the least. What they have given you Skye is not enough. Were they all hand me downs?"

"I-I," Skye started, but backtracked, "Yes... They are."

"I figured as much," Melinda commented a bit sourly, "Now you don't have to worry about those clothes anymore unless you want to keep them."

Skye really didn't want to keep them, "Not really."

"Then you don't have to," Melinda told her, "You should have clothes that at least fit you."

Skye didn't say anything in response. Instead, she helped Melinda with the bags of her new clothes. The thought seemed odd to her. She had new clothes.

"Thank you," Skye said as they walked out of the store, "I don't mean to seem ungrateful. I know you don't have to buy me stuff. I-I guess it's just weird that you want to buy me stuff, no one else ever does."

Melinda wanted to tell Skye to get used to it, but she couldn't. Once again Melinda was reminded that there was no telling how long Skye would be with them. Whether it be days, weeks or months. Melinda was also questioning herself on why she cared so much. This girl wouldn't be here long. Hell, Melinda planned to leave in sixteen days. Yet now the idea seemed unlikely.

It wasn't hard for Melinda to tell that Skye had abandonment issues because no one ever stayed with her for long. Could Melinda honestly be able to just walk away? Basically abandoning the teen like everyone else had? No. The answer was no despite how much Melinda wanted to deny it.

Images of a little girl with fair skin flashed into her. A child barely ten years old stared up at her, her brown eyes alight with corruption and taint. She didn't know. She didn't understand. She was so young, she was too young. Melinda took a steady breath. Bahrain was over. She wasn't there.

Melinda focused on the teen walking beside her whose eyes were bright with wonder. It was strange to Melinda. The file of Mary Sue Poots was not very good. That everything she had experienced had been because of a harsh world yet this girl still smiled. This girl still looked around with an almost childlike innocence. Either Skye was stronger than Melinda gave her credit for or she put up one hell of a front.

Melinda answered, "You're welcome. While you stay with us Skye, if there is something you want just say so. Now if you ask for a sports car we may have to have a conversation."

It took Skye a few seconds to determine if Melinda was being serious or joking. Of course she wouldn't ask for a sports car, she could be barely ask for clothes. Not to mention, she was only fourteen.

Skye decided to smile, "Probably won't be asking for that. I think I'll stick with this."

Melinda switched gears, "Do you have a cell phone?"

"No," Skye answered honestly.

Melinda figured that, "Alright. Our next stop is the phone store. I can't get you the latest Stark phone, but maybe a Samsung or Apple."

Skye stared at Melinda incredulously. Was Melinda planning on getting her a cell phone? Skye staggered over her feet at the thought.

"Wait," Skye said still processing, "You're getting me a phone?"

Melinda glanced at Skye, "Yes. If you're out, Phil or myself need to get in touch with you."

"But a cell-cell phone," Skye said, fumbling over her words, "You already spent so much money on these clothes and-"

"Skye," Melinda interrupted stopping in the middle of the walkway.

Skye stopped with her, fear raced through her spine. She knew she should have kept her mouth shut. Foster home number three taught her it was better to remain silent or face consequences.

Melinda was going to shout at her, maybe even hit her. Skye felt every muscle in her body tense as she waited for the blows to come. This would be where Melinda would show her true self.

Melinda faced Skye and was surprised to see how tense and fearful Skye looked. Was Skye waiting for her to shout at her? Was she afraid that she would hit her? Melinda would never hit a child. Her mother and father never hit her.

Sure they had grabbed her arm or gotten close into her face, shouted at her a handful of times, but never hit her. Melinda thought it was because she never deserved a hit. Yet she wondered if maybe her parents just didn't like the idea.

"I'm sorry," Skye breathed out, "I didn't mean to talk back… it won't happen again I swear. Just p-please don't hit- don't be upset."

"I'm not upset," Melinda said.

Skye bit the inside of her bottom lip hard, her fear was doubling by the second. Was this another trick? Was Melinda keeping up appearances because they were in public? Did she mean it? No. They never meant it. No one would ever be okay with Skye. She was difficult, troublesome, not a good fit.

Skye forced herself not to cry, even though she desperately wanted to sob. Why was she so difficult? Why couldn't she just say thank you and move on? Why did she have to push? What was wrong with her?

Skye took a breath trying to steady herself. She forced all her emotions away, trying to get face under control. It worked for the most part, except for her glossy eyes.

Melinda could see Skye struggling not to unravel. Suddenly Melinda felt incredibly guilty. What had she done to cause this reaction? What or who had hurt Skye so much to react this way?

"Skye it's okay," Melinda said, her tone a cross between gentle and exasperated, "I'm not upset with you and I'm not going to hit you. Neither Phil nor myself will put our hands on you without your consent."

Skye tasted metal in her mouth.

"Look," Melinda started, "While you stay with us, you don't need to worry about anything. It is Phil and I's job to take care of you. Our job, not yours."

Skye didn't look convinced by Melinda's words. Melinda knew she hadn't sounded too convincing though. Skye slipped her hands into her jeans pockets and Melinda noticed something flash in the teen's eyes. It eerily reminded Melinda of a certain redhead who would have the same look in their eyes after a moment of 'weakness'.

"If you say so," Skye said in such a quiet voice, Melinda hadn't been sure she had said the words at all. Without another word, Melinda and Skye continued through the mall in silence.