While You Were Sleeping
It's a unanimous decision that somebody should be there at Skye's bedside at all times until she wakes up. (Nobody even dares to say things like if she wakes up, although all of them knows it's a possibility; because despite of her strengthening vitals, no-ones knows what effects the GH-325 could have had on her.)
Coulson takes the first shift; Grant volunteers for the second.
There's a strange serenity within the white walls of the med pod, next the beeping machine and in the harsh lights. A kind of peace he hasn't known in a while; a kind of peace that makes him want to talk.
"Hello, Skye," he starts, his voice barely above whisper, as he takes her hand. "It's kind of… stupid, isn't it? Me, sitting here, talking to you, when you can't even hear me." He pauses, his eyes flickering to her face, half expecting her to wake. "But I guess you'd find it funny. Maybe you'd mock me about it. And then come up with some silly nickname. And I'd act like it irritated me, but the truth is…" He sighs.
"The truth is, Skye, I feel lost without you, and it scares me." He caresses the soft, but entirely too cold skin of her hand. "And not just now – you constantly have me scared, and I'm not used to being scared, because…" He bows his head, his forehead touching the back of her hand.
"I think I'm in love with you and I'm terrified." Still holding her hand, he raises his head, and with his free hand, he touches her face. "And that's why I keep my distance; that's why I act like I don't care. But Skye? I can't do it anymore. I just can't."
He brings her hand to his lips, and presses a kiss against her skin.
"You have to come back to me, so I can show you how I really feel. So I can correct my mistakes." His voice breaks. "Skye, you have to give me a chance to be who I really am; a chance to be with you."
