Hey babes! Back again with a new one for you! A couple of new characters to the story in this one. As well as a little bit of a heart-to-heart between Grant and Skye.

Enjoy!

Making his way out of the gym after his workout and then talking with Coulson, Grant lets out a heavy breath, lugging his belongings in his gym bag on one shoulder. He still doesn't feel comfortable enough around everyone to leave his things alone in a locker. He knows that a good amount of the people there aren't quite petty enough to mess with his gym things, but it helps him sleep a little better having all of his things away from where other people can easily get to them. That's not really anything new, though. But it's been heightened since he came back.

Pausing when he reaches the lounge, he smiles at the sight before him; Skye and Adian lying on the couch together, her cell phone raised in front of them as they make faces. Well, Skye's the one making faces while Adian stares blankly at the screen as he tries to reach out for it.

"What's going on in here?" he asks casually, hoping he doesn't startle them too badly as he drops his gym bag just inside the doorway.

Skye looks over at him and smiles, setting her phone down to adjust her hold on Adian. "Look who it is, baby," she says to their son, shifting him so he's standing on her chest. "It's daddy."

His smile grows wider when he sees Adian grin widely at him. "Hey, bud." He reaches out and pulls his son into his arms, bouncing him a little to make the boy giggle. "Were you having fun with mom?"

"We were just taking some pictures to send to Rose," Skye tells him from the couch, pulling herself up so she's sitting more against the arm instead of lying down. "You wanna join us for one?"

He nods. "Of course." He hands Adian back to Skye, settling the boy in her lap before moving around to stand behind them. He leans down so his face is beside Skye's, smiling into the camera she holds up in front of them.

"Smile for Auntie Rose," Skye says to Adian as she gently tickles the boy.

He takes a small step back after Skye takes the photo, not wanting her to get uncomfortable with how close he's standing. He easily scoops Adian into his arms, playfully tossing the boy into the air before catching him again.

"What have you been up to today?" Skye asks him as she types on her phone.

"Not a lot," he tells her honestly. "Just working out mostly. Coulson came by asking for information, though."

"What about?"

"Hydra, obviously. Mostly tactical stuff for the upcoming mission. He wanted to make sure I could still be of help in that aspect."

"And were you?"

He nods. "Yeah, I think so. I told him everything I could. Part of me wishes that I could be there as back up for the others. I might be able to help."

"I know. There's a part of me that wishes I could be there to help too. But we both agreed that I need to stay out of the field for as long as possible since I'm still nursing Adian most of the time and that you easing your way back into fieldwork is the best option for right now."

He sighs. "You're right, I know. I just...I know I can be good for more than just information. I know I've been doing a lot of recon missions lately, but we both know that I'm good for more than that."

"Yes, and Coulson does too. But I don't think any of us want to risk you being recognized by Hydra and then outed again. You almost didn't make it back to us last time, I can't go through that again." She turns her head away, her hair falling into his view and blocking her face from him.

He frowns at her words, his mind flashing back to the way she looked when he came out of his coma, how she hovered while he was recovering and always made sure he was okay.

"Hey," he says softly, moving to sit next to her and getting her to look at him, "I'm fine, Skye. And I'm not going anywhere."

"You can't know that," she tells him, looking up at him. "Anything can happen when you're on a mission, they're unpredictable. You know that as well as I do."

He nods. "True. But you should know by now that I'm always going to do whatever I can to make sure that I come back to you and Adian. Alright?"

She lets out a shaky breath. "Yeah, okay. I just...I guess all of this stuff with Hydra has me more shaken up than I originally thought."

"I get it. We just have to take it one day at a time, okay? We'll get through it all together and make this world just a little bit safer for our son."

She gives him a small smile. "You're right. Okay." She breathes in deeply. "I think I can do that, definitely."

"Good, I'm glad." He looks back to the boy in his arms. "Are you happy about that, too, bud? Are you happy that mom is going to try and take things easy and one day at a time?" He laughs quietly when Adian simply gurgles and grabs at the stubble on his chin. "There's nothing there for you to grab at, bud. Sorry."

He pulls Adian away from his face enough to blow raspberries on the boy's belly, making him giggle loudly and curl his little body in on itself.

He hears the quiet snap of the camera on Skye's phone, most likely taking more pictures to send to Rose, as well as to keep for herself.

"Oh, hey. Who are you lot?"

Turning toward the entryway to the lounge as he settles Adian back in his arms, Grant's brows furrow a little at the unfamiliar man standing there. "Uh, I'm Grant. Who are you?"

"Lance Hunter. But just call me Hunter."

"This is Skye, and Adian," he says, gesturing to the only other two in the room. "Are you a new SHIELD recruit? I didn't know Coulson was bringing on more people."

Hunter shakes his head. "No. I'm not SHIELD. I'm more of what you'd call...an independent contractor."

"Right. Well, welcome, then."

"Thanks, mate. How long have you been with SHIELD?" Hunter asks as he steps into the kitchenette and pulls open the door to the fridge.

"Too long, sometimes," Grant replies instantly. "It's been my life for a very long time. But ever since this little guy came into the picture" - He smiles at his son and runs a hand over his head - "my life has been all about him and SHIELD is just a job to me now."

"And what about you, love?" Hunter asks, gesturing to Skye with the bottle of beer now in his hand.

"Last year," she tells him. "It's an...interesting story, but SHIELD is my home now and very important to me. At least, that handsome little guy over there is."

"So you two are together, then?"

"No, we're not," Skye answers without hesitation and it hurts him a little at how quickly she answered, his heart sinking. He knows they aren't together, he wasn't going to say that they were, but he's a little upset with how she didn't even hesitate to deny it. "We uh, we were together for a night and I got pregnant with Adian."

"Right. Well, good thing you're not together. All relationships do is mess you up. A lot. Don't ever get married, mate," Hunter says, looking right at him. "All she'll ever do is criticize you and nag you constantly and you'll never have a minute of peace."

"I take it you're married, then?" Skye asks.

"Was. I was married. To the she-beast from hell." He takes a long swig from his beer. "So what do you two have riding on this little war we're waging?"

"A lot," Grant replies, looking down at the floor and holding Adian a little closer.

"He has a complicated past with Hydra," Skye explains to the other man. "We both have a lot riding on this, and we just want to see them taken down."

Hunter grins. "Then you're in luck. Coulson has me on this mission coming up and I don't intend to fail."

"You better not," Grant says, looking up at him. "Everyone here has a lot riding on this mission, and this war against Hydra, so you do what you can to make sure everything goes according to plan."

Hunter holds his hands up and takes a few steps back. "Easy there, mate. It's not my first rodeo. Besides, I'm not going alone. Got my two best sidekicks with me as my backup and we always-"

"How many times do I have to tell you that we're not your sidekicks?"

"Once more, apparently," Hunter tells the woman entering the room. "Come on, Izzy, we both know I'm the face of our little party."

The woman rolls her eyes. "Think whatever you want, as long as it keeps you quiet and from screwing everything up."

Hunter opens and closes his mouth a few times before grumbling under his breath and returning his attention to his beer.

The woman laughs quietly before turning to look at them. A kind, polite smile pulls at her lips. "I'm Agent Hartley."

Grant's eyes go wide with recognition. "You're Isabelle Hartley. Wow."

She smirks. "I take it you've heard of me, then."

He nods. "Once or twice."

She chuckles. "Right. Well, it's nice to meet you both, and that handsome little guy," she says with a small smile and nod to Adian. "But unfortunately, I have a mission to prepare for. As does that idiot."

"Oi!"

She joins Hunter in the kitchenette and grabs the collar of his shirt, pulling him out of the room despite his very vocal protests of being manhandled.

"Never thought I'd see the day that you went into fanboy mode."

His brows furrow and he looks over at Skye. "What?"

She watches him with an amused smile. "You totally just fanboyed over that Agent. It was very sweet, but I was hoping for a little more."

"She isn't just some agent, Skye. She's a legend. Right up there with Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton."

"If she's as cool as them, then why wasn't she made an Avenger?"

He shrugs. "I don't know. I think she's always preferred to work in the dark, though, a lot of undercover ops and rarely having her face seen."

"Hmm. Makes sense, I guess." She takes a deep breath and stands from the couch, adjusting her clothes and grabbing her phone and tablet. "Can you keep an eye on him for a bit?" she asks. "I need to go find Mack and talk to him about something before I forget."

He nods, shifting Adian in his arms. "Yeah, of course. Are there bottles clean if he gets hungry?"

"Yeah." She moves closer to them and presses quick kisses all over Adian's face, making the baby giggle. "I love you, baby. I'll see you later. Be good for your dad." She gives Grant a quick smile before making her way out of the room, leaving him and Adian alone with each other.

He turns Adian a little, looking his son directly in the eyes. "What do you want to do, bud? The choice is yours. Maybe we can go teach Max some more tricks? What do you think about that? Want to help me train Max some more?"

Adian gurgles, shoving his tiny fist as far into his mouth as he can get it, his eyes shining up at his dad.

Grant smiles and presses a kiss to Adian's temple before leaving the lounge to go to his room where he keeps Max when he doesn't want the puppy getting out and causing havoc around the base. He still needs to be trained some more before he can roam around the base freely. And even then, it'll probably be pretty rare that he's allowed to just wander around.

They occupy their time training Max before it's time for Adian's nap, the boy showing signs of being tired as soon as he starts fussing and yawning. So Grant gives him a quick bottle and then settles him down for the afternoon. He really loves being a dad. Becoming a dad saved him. In more ways than one.

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!