Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya! This one...this one you get to meet Rose Ward and I'm really happy for you guys to see how I've written her. Obviously, we never met her on the show so we don't know what she was like, so I did my own thing with her. Hope you like her.

Enjoy!

Pulling Adian's hands away yet again from the quinjet controls in front of them, Skye hands him one of his previously discarded toys, hoping it'll keep him distracted for at least a little while longer.

The last thing they need is the plane going down because a baby got ahold of the controls.

With Adian successfully distracted by the colorful toy, she chances a glance over at Grant sitting in the pilot seat. His jaw is hard as he stares straight through the window in front of them, his knuckles turning white from how tightly he's gripping the steering sticks.

She knows he's been antsy the last few days, in preparation of seeing his sister again after spending so long apart. It's hard for her to imagine how he must be feeling, seeing as she's an only child; at least, that's what she's always assumed. For all she knows, she could be one of many siblings that would go to the ends of the earth for each other.

She likes to think she would have thrived in a big family, considering she's been on her own practically her entire life. The closest she ever came to a family was when she joined the Rising Tide. And then SHIELD became her mismatched little family. And now she actually has a family, her son. Hers and Grant's son.

"You okay?" she asks the man next to her, her brows furrowing together when he doesn't respond immediately.

"Grant."

He jumps a little in his seat and she has to fight back a laugh. It's not every day that someone can startle the great Grant Ward. "Hmm?"

"I asked if you're okay."

"Oh." He lets out a breath and hits the autopilot button, turning his seat to face her fully and leaning back. "Honestly? I don't know. There's a part of my brain that keeps telling me this is a bad idea, that it won't turn out well. I've only told Lisa about this...but it always sounds like Garrett."

She sees him swallow thickly at the mention of his deceased SO. She knows how much the older man meant to Grant, but she'd be wrong if she said she wasn't glad the man is dead. He put Grant through hell and manipulated him for his own twisted reasons.

"Hey, you don't have to talk to me about this if you don't want to," she assures him. "I'm always here to listen, but I don't want you to feel obligated to tell me anything you don't feel comfortable talking to me about."

He shakes his head, sitting up a little in his seat. "No, I want to. I trust you, Skye."

"I…" She opens and closes her mouth a few times, trying to find the words. Can she say that she trusts him completely again? She doesn't hate him anymore, she knows that, and she trusts that he'll do anything to protect her and their son. But does she trust him completely without any hesitation in other aspects?

"It's okay," he says, cutting off her inner thoughts. "You don't need to say anything. I know it's going to take time to earn your trust again. But I want to do it. I want to earn your trust again."

She gives him a small smile. "Then I'll just say that you're definitely on the right path to earning it again."

He smiles back. "Good."

Adian's babbling pulls them out of their serious conversation to see him smiling wide at them, waving his toy in the air.

"Hey, bud," Grant says, his entire demeanor changing when he focuses on the boy. "What do you have there?"

"Could you take him for a minute?" she asks, shifting Adian in her lap. "I think we're almost there and I just want to make sure that I actually packed everything we'll need for him."

He nods, immediately taking Adian into his arms. "Not a problem," he says. "It's never too early to start flying lessons."

She shakes her head with a smile, watching as Grant settles Adian in his lap and begins explaining the different controls to him.

As she stands up and makes her way into the back of the plane, she smiles to herself at how soft Grant gets when he's around Adian. The complete opposite of the man she first met.

If his sister can't see how much he's changed, then she doesn't know what they're going to do.

.

.

.

Breathing in deeply, he flexes his fingers a few times, itching for something to hold onto to help his anxiety at seeing his sister again.

They'd left Max back on the base, figuring it best to not bring the still rowdy puppy with them on such a serious, emotionally charged occasion.

He would have loved to be holding Adian at a moment like this, but the little boy is currently napping in his mom's arms. He'd been fed and burped on their way to the house and fell asleep right after.

"Take however long you need," Skye says from beside him as they stand on the front sidewalk outside the house. "We know she's home, so take some time to relax before we see her."

He nods. "I know. It's just...I can't believe this is actually happening."

"Neither can I," she tells him. "I mean, I'm actually going to meet someone from your family. From how you've always talked about them, I really never thought this day would come."

"Believe me, I never planned on it happening either." He takes a deep breath. "But it's happening now. And if she's still how I remember her always being, then I think you're really going to like her." He looks down at his son. "I just hope she likes Adian too."

"I'm sure she will," she tells him. "Adian's way too precious."

He nods. "I guess we should probably get up there then, huh?"

"Whenever you're ready."

He squares his shoulders and takes another deep breath, letting it out slowly as he stares at the modest-looking two-story house in front of him. He slowly moves forward on the sidewalk, hearing Skye's shoes hitting against the pavement as she follows behind him, obviously allowing him to take the lead with all of this. He just doesn't know if he wants to have the lead. So many things could go wrong and he's not sure if he's prepared to deal with all of them.

Reaching the front door, he takes one more deep breath before knocking, taking a small step back once he does. He glances over at Skye who gives him a small, reassuring smile before he focuses back on the door.

His palms start to sweat the longer he has to wait, but eventually, the door is pulled open and he sucks in a sharp breath at the tall, raven-haired woman standing on the other side. She still looks so much like the young woman that left home without a second thought all those years ago, but she's also grown up a lot.

He does his best to give her a smile. "Hey, Rosie."

"Grant? Is that really you? You look so…different."

He huffs out a laugh, his smile turning genuine. "Well, it has been a while since we've seen each other."

"I know, but...wow. Come here." She pulls him into a hug, essentially pulling him into the house. He tenses for a moment, surprised that she's actually hugging him. Willingly. But then he relaxes and wraps his arms around her, breathing in her scent and relishing in the fact that he's actually with his sister again. He never thought this day would happen. Not in a million years.

"What are you doing here?" she asks him when they pull out of the hug. She closes the front door, casting a quick glance at Skye and Adian as they step inside the house.

"I decided to come and see you."

"You certainly took your time doing so. I mean, I knew it would take a little bit of time, Thomas made sure I knew about you going to juvie and then somehow disappearing in broad daylight once he and I reconnected. He was pretty upset about the whole thing. What was that about? How did you just disappear like that?"

He rubs at the back of his neck, his chest tightening at the thought of his former SO. "It's kind of a long story."

"Which you can tell me later," she says. "I guess I should just be glad that you're actually here right now. And with a beautiful woman and baby in tow, no less."

He nods. "Right. Uh, Rose, this is my son Adian Leo. And this is Skye, she's his mom."

"Wow." She steps closer to Skye and peers down at Adian, a smile on her face. "Oh, he's so beautiful." She looks up at him, her smile turning reminiscent. "I remember when you were born and he looks just like you did."

He can't help the smile that grows on his lips at the compliment. "Everyone keeps saying that."

"Because it's true, Grant," Skye tells him. "I mean, I haven't seen any pictures of you as a baby, but I'm pretty sure this is exactly what you looked like."

"Oh, it is," Rose says. "I'm Rose, by the way. I'm not sure how much Grant has told you about me."

"Enough to know that you're going to be an awesome aunt."

Rose beams. "I'm an aunt." She spins to him with slightly wide eyes. "You're a dad."

He chuckles. "I know. I'm still getting used to it."

"Being a parent is pretty wild, huh?"

His brows furrow as he looks at his sister, really taking in her appearance. "How do you know?" he asks her. It's not accusatory or laced with any kind of venom, he could never be like that with Rose. Not by a long shot.

She just smiles at him. "We've got a lot to catch up on, baby brother."

So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Until next time,
Jellybean96 out!