Jewel could never understand why Grant was so generous in letting the team know where one of their safe houses were. Maybe he was really intent on giving himself a clean slate that he was willing to give anything they provided. Still, Jewel didn't like it as they walked around their former home. Jewel went into the nursery room that was empty but still painted pink which made Jewel's heart crush and fall from her chest. She didn't want to admit it but she understood now why the Black Widow's had to be sterilized as their final lesson.
She swallowed hard as she turned back around and walked through to see that they each paired off to sleep tonight; Fitz with Hunter and Coulson with Peterson. It made sense as to why Coulson would be paired off with a cyborg. She slowly made her way over to Grant as he was busy with a tablet. She thought he was looking for ways to scan for Skye but when she peeked over his shoulder, she saw he was looking at the monitor at their home in Italy. Jewel leaned in and checked the history of their home as she noticed the live feed was dark.
"What's happening over there?" Jewel asked, "Did something go wrong? Why is our system dark?"
"Baby…" Grant looked over his shoulder, "It's 1:30 in the morning in Italy, they're both sleeping"
"How is Jasmine's sleep schedule?" Jewel asked.
"Seems to be doing well" Grant tapped a couple of buttons, "Muna is keeping the temp at 68 degrees, classic in the books. She gets fussy but Muna calms her down within the hour"
"Does she miss us?" Jewel questioned.
"Of course, she does" Grant tapped the monitor to show the screen of their daughter sleeping peacefully in her crib, "We're her parents, she can't wait for us to come home"
Jewel swallowed, "I miss her, Grant, I didn't think that it would hurt this much to be away from her"
"I know" Grant sighed, "I miss her as well"
Grant got up, turned to Jewel and wrapped his arms around her tightly and kissed the top of her head. Jewel tried to hide her tears as she wished she could hold their baby and even soothe a late night tantrum. She missed her so much that she even wished that she could change one of Jasmine's diapers right now.
"First time away, huh?" Peterson came in, "I remember my first time. My wife and I thought it would be a great getaway to go to Washington DC for a week. I can't even tell you what we did on that trip because the whole time we were away, all we talked about was Ace. We promised to never go anywhere without him after that trip"
Jewel sighed as she turned to Grant who gave a little nod as he turned away. She turned back to Mike as she sat opposite of the man.
"I can't wait to go back" Jewel said, "It feels almost like I'm betraying her for staying away this long"
Peterson shrugged, "It'll go away after a while, hopefully you'll be back with her soon. How old is she?"
"She just turned one and a half" Grant hesitated with his glass, "I'm sorry, but can you drink?"
"Not as much as I used to, makes the circuits run slow" Peterson told him, "But I'll have one"
"Make mine a generous amount, will you?" Hunter came into the room, "Had a very rough day"
Jewel cracked a smile before she looked past him, "Where's Fitz?"
"Taking a shower" Hunter said, "Or just hiding in the bathroom for a good while"
"How is he?" Grant asked.
Hunter paused from taking his first sip out of his drink and stared at Grant Ward. Grant leaned back on the counter as he waited for Hunter's answer. He knew clearly that the young man doesn't like him very much but he hoped that he had told Hunter something, something that might give Grant some hope that he and Fitz would be friends again. He felt like Fitz was his brother and hearing him plead for him to not listen to Garrett still haunts him. He was hoping putting Coulson back on the pedestal would make things right with him and Fitz.
"Still hates you, mate" Hunter sighed, "Whatever feelings you hoped he had… it's gone"
Grant nodded, "I should've expected as much"
"Look, if it were me instead of him, things would've been differently" Hunter said, "I would've put a bloody bullet in your head"
"I believe you would" Grant agreed, "And I also think that's what Fitz wants to do as well"
"He does, he just doesn't have the heart for it" Hunter explained, "He's still soft if you know what I mean"
"I don't think he'll ever forgive you" Jewel looked over her shoulder, "I'm sorry, baby"
"I didn't expect much" Grant sighed, "I was just hoping that I will make things right with him"
A slamming of a door echoed down the hallway as each person knew who it was at the other end. Everyone paused for a bit to let that moment of anger process in each and every one of them. From looking down the hallway, Mike, Hunter and Jewel slowly turned and looked at Grant as Fitz' reaction. His face was neutral but Jewel could see in his eyes that he was hurt from it.
"Maybe you two could find some sort of compromise?" Hunter suggested, "A shot in the leg, maybe?"
"Are you always looking to crack jokes?" Mike asked.
"It was just for a bit of fun" Hunter waved out his arms, "But it's okay, not a lot of people really get my humor. My ex-wife told m-"
"Oh, for the love of God" Jewel rolled her eyes, "We all know who it is! Just say Bobbi!"
"He can't" Coulson came out, "He's afraid she will appear after saying her name three times"
"And in this case, you don't want that to happen" Hunter pointed out, "Being on the run from a rogue band of Hufflepuffs and all"
"Yeah, that is a fair point," Coulson shrugged.
"So what's the plan now, boss?" Grant asked.
Coulson tried not to show any emotion behind the nickname that was so commonly used with Ward. He glanced down the hallway and wondered if he should call Fitz for a meeting but he had heard the conversation that led to the sudden slam of the door. Coulson knew that Fitz was probably still listening through the door so he decided to go on without him.
"We're going to have to split up into two teams," Coulson said.
"For what?" Jewel questioned.
"One is to keep the new SHIELD distracted" Coulson said, "And the other is to convince Skye to come back"
"You think we have enough bodies to do that?" Hunter asked, "I've seen their base, there's a lot of members that are in that division"
"Yes, more than likely they are all the agents that declined my offer to join my SHIELD" Coulson shrugged, "I probably should take that seriously but I don't. They all thought I shouldn't be director, let's hope there's does better"
Grant placed another cup of whiskey on the empty seat at the island as Coulson sighed and took his seat. Each man took this time to take a long sip from their drink as Jewel couldn't help but laugh on the inside at this unintentional bonding.
"So who's in what group?" Mike asked.
"Believe it or not, we're all wanted by the new SHIELD so anyone could be in that candidate. Ward for being the main apprentice during the fall of SHIELD and they believe I didn't handle you correctly" Coulson explained, "Peterson for being a valuable asset, as well as Hunter, who has seen the location of their base and is a liability now that he's out in the open. Which leaves, Fitz and Hansen as deserters"
Jewel picked up her head, "I'm a deserter?"
"You abandoned your post and left with the enemy" Coulson said, "The new SHIELD takes that very hard. They too believed that you should've been behind bars for being associated with Ward. They thought of you as being too risky after being allowed to have your child when I knew it was Ward's. They wanted me to have made the call to force you to abort"
"And deny my decision!?" Jewel let out, "Which one said it? I'll put a bullet in their head for that!"
"Jewel-"
"No, Grant, no!" Jewel turned and waved him off, "They think they have a say in everyone's endeavors, both personal and professional. I can't even believe that May and Simmons would join them"
"Because they agree with either part or all of what was said" Coulson sighed, "I let them down and I didn't even know it"
Jewel breathed out loudly as she tried to control her feelings, fuming from anger at what she just heard.
"We'll take down this new SHIELD and place you back on as Director" Jewel vowed.
"Right… and how are you expecting to do that?" Hunter asked.
"Because we have someone here who has done it before" Jewel turned and looked at Grant.
He hesitated, "That was with Hydra, babe, I don't know nearly half of what Garrett did to orchestrate that attack"
"Just take Hydra out of the picture, mate" Hunter said, "It's no different from what they did to any sort of organization"
Grant looked to Jewel who gave him a firm nod as he said, "Then let's do it"