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.

Twenty Four

May couldn't breathe. It felt like with every breath she managed to take in that she would take water with it or smoke. No matter how much she focused on her breathing, no matter how she knew that the air around her was completely fine and safe, it felt like it wasn't. Three days, twelve hours and thirteen minutes had passed since the facility had been attacked, since Skye and those other kids were taken from here. She hadn't been able to take in a real breath since.

Helplessness was not an emotion May found herself feeling often, if at all, but even the rare instances in the past didn't feel like this. May bent over slightly, fingers to her temple as she tried to stave off the pressure building in her forehead, the burning of her eyes from tears she refused to shed now because it would do nothing for her. It would do nothing for Skye.

She'd been sitting at this desk since the early hours of the morning, watching over Stark's monitor to see if the teleporter would make a move and so far he hadn't. If they couldn't trace him, they couldn't get the only lead they had that would lead her back to her daughter. With shining brown eyes she lifted her head to look at the monitor, trying and failing to will it to give her something, to tell her where her daughter was, to bring her daughter back to her.

Once upon a time when she had been with Andrew, she had considered having kids of her own. They talked about it and though she was worried, she felt confident that they would do a good job and make it work. And then Bahrain happened and she could never fully recover. She couldn't save the girl before. But she would save the girl she had now. No matter what it takes.

"How long have you been sitting here?"

May didn't turn around to look at the owner of the voice. It wasn't surprising to her that Coulson had come in here to check the monitor, to check on her. Months ago, she had seldom seen him as she hid behind her office space and cubicle, content more or less to remain there. And then she found herself on an undercover mission with him where they were married and had a foster now along with three other adopted kids. They saw each other everyday then, shared their days with each other, talked all the time about anything, everything. It had been reminiscent of their old days, the two of them as best friends, constantly having each other's backs and being comfortable with one another because they knew each other. Knew each other better than anyone else knew them.

"Not long," May finally answered, but she wouldn't face him.

They hadn't fully spoken about what happened, focused on trying to find her and going through all their resources, all their contacts, trying to find some way to get Skye back. Now things were quiet though. A conversation now couldn't be avoided. But the question came in as to who would start it. What could they possibly say to each other about the situation? All the holes were being looked into or covered, there was nothing else they could do right now, no matter how much it killed them both.

Coulson moved forward and took the empty seat behind her and then she chanced a look at him. His suit was on the messier side, she wasn't sure he had changed out of his original suit the way she hadn't gotten out of her own since the attack. The bags under his eyes had become more pronounced since the last time she saw him and that wasn't at all surprising. Her own weren't in very good condition either since neither of them could get enough rest.

Their fears and anxieties either keeping them awake through the night, or waking them up through nightmares of their daughter being tortured or killed. Whoever had her, they hoped that she wasn't being hurt, but they knew that was a long shot. It was more than likely that Skye was being subjected to awful experiments, her cries of pain haunted their nights.

"We're going to find her, Melinda," Coulson said after a few moments of silence.

May turned her gaze away from him. She wasn't giving up, not by a long shot, but God was she terrified that they wouldn't. The thought of not being able to find Skye, the thought that she was out there hurting or possibly dead broke her heart. All she wanted was to get Skye back here, to tell her how much she loved her, to protect her from all the monsters in the world, to keep her safe. And she failed. She didn't keep her safe and now she was gone.

"We will," Coulson told her then when she said nothing.

May kept her eyes forward. "I hope you're right."

She felt Coulson's hand grab her own, she didn't flinch or pull away from the contact. Silently, his thumb ran over the back of her hand as he considered what else he could say to assuage her fears. However, no words left him. After all, he could barely ease his own fears and anxieties over the situations and despite almost always being ready words, for once he found himself without any. So instead, he merely sat there with her and held her hand in his own, just being there. A reminder that they were not facing this alone, that they were together on this.

"Skye's smart, so very smart," Coulson said with a watery smile. "We've both been teaching her things as she's been teaching us. Natasha had given her lessons, I know she's okay out there. I bet any money she's trying to escape and get back to us first."

May barely fought off a smile at that, "That sounds like her. She'd just appear with that shit eating grin wondering what was taking us so long… you remember when she got caught in that underground race?"

Coulson nodded, his eyes sparkled, "And she called us in. She trusted us to get her out of there. We'll always get her out of tight spots, that's what parents do."

"Yeah," May agreed with a soft look. A chuckle left her. "You ever thought we'd be here?"

"No," Coulson answered honestly. His blue eyes met her brown ones as he continued, "I never thought this would be a scenario we'd end up in. But I'm glad to be here, that you and I… that we're in this together."

May gave him a genuine smile, "Me too."

It was the truth. They were together, supporting each other and when the time came, they would get Skye out of wherever she was and bring her home together. There wasn't anyone else in the world she would rather face this with and she knew that Coulson felt the same. For now, for this flicker in time, that was enough the both of them. To know they weren't alone in facing this and that they would find a way to bring their daughter home.

"Try again, this time slow and like a… like a caress," said Jiaying beside her with a nurturing tone that Skye didn't particularly like.

Having spent most of her life surrounded by harsher words, it was odd for a tone to be this… caring. Not that May and Coulson used her harsh words or cold tones with her, it was just different. A better difference than this was in her opinion, but regardless they weren't here yet and she had a role to play. Her best guess at the passing of time was that she had been maybe four days and in her time here in Afterlife, a name she didn't particularly care for either, but found the meaning behind it amusing was spent doing few things.

First they had been getting looked at by their healers slash trainers. When Jiaying first arrived to talk to her, the man behind her with brown eyes was a doctor and his name was Cal. He checked her over for injuries and then they set up an acupuncture session which hadn't been keen on, but went along with it. He was a nice man, a little eager and skittish, but he seemed genuinely sweet which she liked. Though he did his best to explain the change she had gone through, a lot of it went over her head. The most she understood was thousands of years of evolution happened to her body in a matter of minutes and her body hadn't been able to properly adjust to it in the rigid environment and the needles were meant to help with that.

Since the session, she could admit she felt more attuned to her abilities, feeling the vibrations more acutely, but not as scattered or frightening as before. A swarm of bees ready to burst had been her way of describing the feeling and while that feeling was still there, it was definitely more settled. Jiaying had taken it upon herself to help Skye use her powers and Skye was very agreeable with it. Mostly because she gained more control, she could bust her friends out of here or at the very least cause a large enough earthquake that would get on SHIELDs radar.

Jiaying had taken her on a walk this morning and even let her tap into the mountain, Skye had thought about trying to push further, but her fear staved her off for now. She needed to get more control first, then she could try later. However right now she was making music with water and glasses placed in front of her. Hand outstretched, she concentrated on the specific glasses she wanted, moving her hand through the air to make the noise she wanted. It wasn't that hard, but she definitely was struggling.

Though she was very grateful for the time she spent doing something similar with Fitzsimmons when they were allowed to visit her and Lincoln. Skye remembered how Simmons had set up wind chimes and wanted her to make them shake, to make noise. At first Skye thought it was an odd choice since they required wind, something she didn't have the ability to work with, but she tried it and made music. Similar principle.

Sadness filled her at the thought of her friends, she wondered if they even knew she was gone, if they were okay. That brought her thoughts to Lincoln and Elena, how they were out here and she hadn't been allowed to see them while they were transitioning too. That upset her and she had been ready to argue it, the only thing that kept her silent was Raina explaining the process more. How it was important they work through some of this on their own, without distraction, and then they would be reunited. It didn't reassure her in the least, but she had a part to play, so she would go along with it until she couldn't anymore.

Having her thoughts distracted, she pushed too hard with her ability and all the glasses exploded. Water spilled all over and glass pieces scattered to the ground. Skye jerked back and a bit fearfully glanced at Jiaying. So far the woman had been nice to her, but she wasn't convinced that it was real or more than an act. Skye remembered the foster parents who started out so nice that she actually believed they cared only for her to do something wrong, like break a vase because she was running in the house, and they hurt her. Jiaying let out a sweet laugh and her smile was real. The scars on her face seemed to add to the rawness of that expression, she wasn't quite sure why, but it did.

"Your gift is quite destructive, but look at the music you can make," Jiaying said to her, still grinning kindly and even excitedly. "That was amazing."

Skye didn't look at her, just stared at the broken glasses.

"What's wrong," Jiaying asked when she didn't say anything.

"Nothing," Skye whispered softly. However when she glanced at Jiaying, she could reassurance in her gaze and she wanted to speak. "It just… Aside from the fact you won't let me see my friends, it's… it's nice here. Though that could be Stockholm syndrome, but whatever with that. Just, it's almost homey here and that usually doesn't work out. Only once."

"Where is this coming from," Jiaying questioned softly.

Skye met her gaze and spoke hesitantly, "No matter where I've ended up, it never lasts. Something always happened that caused me to be sent away. And these glasses, it just reminded me of when I was at this foster home once and I broke a vase. A big mess and boy were they mad."

Jiaying's expression turned angry, "They sent you back for that?"

"It never works out, something always happens," Skye admitted, her gaze looking out the window. Though when she brought her gaze back to Jiaying, she added. "Even got the news on my birthday once, which isn't real because I don't actually know my birthday. But Phil and Melinda said I could pick any day, multiple days if I wanted." Skye sniffed at that and felt her eyes burning. "And you took me from them, the closest thing I've ever had to a real home, to parents and you took me."

Jiaying didn't say anything right away, but Skye noticed a twitch on her face. She took a moment before speaking carefully, "You were being held in boxes, you and your friends. When we learned that SHIELD had some of our own people there, children of ours, we knew we needed to act. To bring you each home, to give you a safe place, a home. Where you would never be abandoned or turned on."

Skye folded her arms over chest, "See you say that, but I know you aren't being completely straight with me. You've been nice to me, treating me well and teaching me, but there's some deeper reason. Will you give me an answer? Or will it just be more vague things that help no one."

"July 2nd," Jiaying said softly, her eyes shining with unshed tears taking Skye by surprise. "You were born on July 2nd…" She looked away for a moment, collecting herself. "Um, it was a hot summer night and for some reason, I decided to clean the whole house before I woke your father."

Skye blinked, stunned by the revelations and unable to do more than just stand there. A part of her, a small part of her suspected or at least hoped that maybe, maybe the reason Jiaying was at her side so much wasn't just because she was trying to help her, but because she was something to her. For all her life, Skye had wondered about her birth parents, who they were, what they did, where they were, what happened to them, who she looked like more. As she studied Jiaying's face, it was obvious to see she looked more like her.

"Your father, he ran to get the uh neighbors to borrow their car, but, he didn't speak any Chinese, so it," Jiaying let out a small wet laugh and some stray tears on her cheeks. "It was a mess."

Skye swallowed, her own tears falling. "It's you. It's really, really you?"

Jiaying nodded slowly, "It's me."

"The manbeast," Skye whispered softly, "The one who SHIELD said was following me, almost hunting."

Jiaying met her gaze, "He's not a beast, just very strong and aggressive. That was your father, Cal. I can't, I can't tell you the full circumstances surrounding how you were taken, but uh, know these scars on my face litter my whole body… He put me back together after someone had captured me and in our absence, you were taken."

"You were looking for me," Skye questioned, her eyes burning again. "All this time?"

"Yes. We searched for years and years, trying to find you and when we finally seemed to get close, SHIELD moved you," Jiaying explained, sorrow and anger in voice. "Then we lost track of you until of our own managed to get inside the facility and determined you and others were there."

Skye didn't say anything to that.

"When I saw you, when I knew you were there, we had to get you out of there. So you wouldn't be hurt again, so we could finally bring you home," Jiaying said brokenly.

That was all Skye had ever wanted from her birth parents, for them to be looking for her, for them to have loved her and would bring her home. Not hesitating, she closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around Jiaying's waist, holding her tightly. Jiaying didn't hesitate to return the hug, wrapping her arms tightly around Skye and leaning down slightly to kiss the top of her head. Skye shut her eyes, she couldn't deny the happiness that rushed through her veins at learning that her mom and dad were not only alive, but they had been looking for her, trying to find her and bring her back home to them. As an orphan it was all she had ever wanted.

And then some guilt hit her hard as she thought of May and Coulson, she believed them as her mom and dad, called them by those titles before because it was true and how she viewed them. For the first time since her arrival, she felt some hesitance to cause as much trouble as she originally intended, to get in contact with them. What would happen when they got here? Would they imprison her birth mother and father? Would she never be able to see them again? Her arms tightened around Jiaying, she couldn't let that happen.

All these years she wanted to find her birth parents and now they were here, could she risk the chance that SHIELD would never let her near them again? Skye didn't know, she really didn't, but she knew she would have to figure something out. She missed May and Coulson, she wanted them back as much as she wanted her birth parents with her. However, how could she bring both parties together without them trying to hurt the other? No answer immediately came to her, but she would figure it out. There had to be something she could do and she knew what it was. S

he still had to get in contact with them, but maybe she could convince Jiaying to let her go to them, to explain what she knew. Maybe something could be worked out. Either way, she knew that she would get May and Coulson back to her. They were the first people to give her a true home, they gave her a life that she loved and brought in more people who she cared about and who cared about her in return. She wasn't going to give that up. It might be compromising herself a bit, but she intended to try and hope for the best.

"What happens now," Skye asked softly as she let go of Jiaying.

Jiaying considered her words, "We need to keep this between us for the time being because of a, a dark spot in our history that involves the agents you were housed with."

Skye frowned at those words, her mind went over what that could have possibly meant. "What, what happened?"

"Here in Afterlife, we select those who will go through the mist and only after extensive training and preparation, to ensure that only those deserving of their gifts will receive them. But a few years ago, one woman disagreed with our choice to not allow her daughter to go through the mist… she defied us and her daughter couldn't control the power. SHIELD agents were dispatched to take them in and both were killed," Jiaying explained, omitting plenty of details, but getting the general gist across.

Skye looked down and then back at Jiaying, "Did it… did it take place in Bahrain?"

Jiaying's eyes widened just slightly, "Yes. How did you know?"

"M- the agents who housed me. Coulson told me briefly about the mission once, that May had tried everything to save the girl inside," Skye answered softly. "That the mission broke her and she had never been the same."

"I see," Jiaying commented, her gaze mildly scrutinizing, but not of her.

Skye spoke with a faint sigh, "They didn't tell me more than that."

"It's not a story many wish to speak of," Jiaying said evenly. "And the council, they know exactly the lengths a mother will go for her child. They have not been aware of my efforts with Cal to find you. Our mission of getting you and your friends had been to stop threat of exposure, if they knew the other reasons behind it-"

"They'll think you broke those rules for me," Skye surmised, it made sense as to why it would need to be a secret. However something else was bothering her and she needed to get an answer on it too. "Where's, where's Cal?"

Jiaying replied swiftly, not phased at the change in topic. "He works in the infirmary as one of our doctors. He's the only outsider to come to Afterlife, I received special permission for him because of how he saved me. Would you like to see him?"

Skye wanted to answer yes, but hesitated. Neither May or Coulson or anyone really told her much about the thing that was hunting her, only that they called him a manbeast. Because he was in a lot of senses a monster, killed plenty of people in his hunt for her. Of course she wanted to meet him, to really meet him in the way that she knew who he was and not just the doctor who checked up on her. When she met him, he had been very nice to her and gentle, not at all like she expected a manbeast to be. Though perhaps one version was an act, she just needed to determine which one.

Skye considered her options. While she could say no and not see him again, she did want to see him and talk to him, to learn more about both her parents. Not to mention, she still needed a way to get back to her home and maybe Cal was the way to do it. After all, Jiaying said that Cal was the only outsider to ever be here because of what he did for his wife, maybe that would be enough for her to do something similar. Or if she wasn't a prisoner like they said, let her come and go as she liked.

The idea of having two homes, each with two parents who loved her sounded like the best fantasy she could have ever dreamed up at St Agnes. The real question came in on if that would even be possible for her to do, but she couldn't deny the desire growing inside of her. She told Jiaying to give Afterlife a few days, to try it and see, which she still intended to do. That gave her a few more days to work out a plan of her own, to be able to get back to her parents with SHIELD, but still keep the parents she had lost.

"I do," Skye answered with a small smile. "Maybe, we'd have a family dinner or something?"

Jiaying returned her smile, it was warm and even a bit giddy. "That sounds like a wonderful idea. I'll get the arrangements set up and we can have it tonight, if you want."

Skye nodded, "Yeah, that sounds good to me."