Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya. This one doesn't necessarily move the actual plot along in any way, it's more just kind of a sweet little bonding moment here between certain characters.

Enjoy!

Hectic is definitely one way to describe what's been happening over the last few days with missions not going as planned, people dying and getting kidnapped, and everything ending up in disarray.

And on top of that, Adian was especially cranky which meant he would hardly sleep which meant Skye hardly slept either. Grant tried to help in whatever way he could, usually by offering to feed their son a bottle at night so she could keep sleeping. But knowing that her baby was suffering for whatever reason made it harder for her to relax and sleep at any point.

She's beyond exhausted during the days as well, with Grant constantly helping out Coulson by giving whatever information he has on Hydra, and her trying to decipher the random symbols that Garrett had apparently drawn before he died, while also trying to deal with an off and on again fussy baby. It's all starting to become too much.

She sighs as she continues to rock Adian in her arms, gently bouncing him up and down as she rubs at his back. "Come on, baby," she says, trying to keep the desperation out of her voice and the tears from falling down her face. "Can you just go to sleep, please? I know you're cranky, but please, just go to sleep. Momma's got a lot of work to do and so I really need you to go to sleep. Even just for a few hours. Please."

She fights back her own tears as she watches her baby continue to fuss, rubbing at his cheeks and ears, his little face scrunched up and pinker than usual. All she wants is to take away whatever's making him fuss. She just wants to help him.

"Everything okay in here?"

She spins on her heel to find Mack entering the lounge, wiping his hands off on a grimy cloth. She gives him an exhausted smile. "Mack, hey. How are you?"

"I'm good," he tells her with a small smile and nod. Mack had been a bit of a saving grace when he first arrived at the base. He introduced himself as just another SHIELD mechanic, but they got off to a quick and easy friendship. Thankfully, Grant was able to come to a quick friendship with the man too, seeing as Mack wasn't hurt personally by Grant being revealed to be a part of Hydra. He had just shrugged it off, saying that people make mistakes and that as long as Grant's trying to be better, it didn't matter to him. And it helps that Adian finds Mack so intriguing for whatever reason she doesn't quite understand.

"Somebody doesn't sound too happy right now."

She sighs and adjusts her hold on her son. "I know, I know. I don't know what's going on, either. I've tried everything but he doesn't need to be changed, he won't eat, there's no rashes or other injuries. I feel like I'm losing my mind."

"Where's Grant?"

"Helping Coulson." She continues bouncing Adian while rocking from side to side. "He's trying really hard to help in whatever way he can, to make up for everything, and I don't want to disrupt them right now, but I seriously think I might go crazy if I can't figure out what's going on with my own kid."

She glances down at the fussing baby in her arms, his cries having gone down to just whimpers, his eyes closing tightly while his hands continue rubbing at his face.

She runs a hand over his head and frowns. "I'm sorry, baby, I know you're miserable right now. Mama doesn't know what to do."

"I thought I heard my grandson in here."

Skye looks up and gives May a small smile as the older woman steps further into the room. "Hey. Was he bothering anyone?"

May shakes her head with a small, rare smile she saves for Adian. "No, he wasn't bothering anyone. And if he was, none of them were brave enough to say anything. They know who his parents are."

"And who his grandmother is. The little guy has a pretty tough family so I don't think anyone's gonna say anything bad about him anytime soon."

"They better not," May says, reaching out to take Adian into her arms without asking.

Skye doesn't mind in the slightest, of course, needing a small break from trying to calm her son down. "I don't know what's wrong," she tells the other woman. "He's been cranky on and off and I can't figure out what's going on with him."

She watches as May cradles Adian securely in her arms, keeping him from moving around too much, and whispers quietly to him as she rocks him gently back and forth. She sighs as she falls down onto the couch, continuing to watch the scene unfold.

"How is it that you're so good at getting him to calm down?" Skye asks with disbelief as she notices Adian's cries lessening until they're no longer there. "I'm his mother," she says, tears starting to form in her eyes. "I'm his mother and I can't even figure out what's wrong with him. I thought...I thought I had it all figured out by now."

"You're never going to have it all figured out," May tells her. "There's always going to be something new that throws you for a loop once you think you've mastered it all. There's nothing wrong with getting a little worked up and overwhelmed. It's natural."

"Well, it doesn't feel very natural. It feels like I'm a failure."

"You're not a failure," May assures her before focusing back on Adian who is starting to fuss again. "Tell your mom she's not a failure, Adian. She's just overwhelmed."

She fights back her tears as she tries to let her body relax into the couch, leaning her head against the back and closing her eyes. She breathes in deeply a few times, trying desperately to get herself under control. She cannot lose herself right now, she needs to get herself together so she can help her son and figure out what's going on. She just wants to help him.

"That's a good boy. I bet you're feeling a lot better now."

Lifting her head at hearing May's voice, she glances behind her to see the older woman still holding Adian, one of her hands up by his mouth as she smiles at him.

"May? What are you...what are you doing?"

"He's teething," May explains simply, gently rocking Adian. "Massaging the gums can help relieve the pressure for a little while to make him less grumpy."

"Wait, he's just teething? I didn't...how could I have not known that?"

"Don't be too hard on yourself. It could have been any number of things, and it just happened to be because he's teething."

Skye frowns. "Still. I'm his mother, I'm basically biologically tuned into him, I should have known what was going on. In the midst of everything else that we have going on, how on earth did I think I was going to be able to do this?"

"You can't do this to yourself, Skye," May tells her, continuing to gently rock Adian. "I know it seems hard right now, but it will get better. You just have to tough it out. We're all here for you."

She sighs, running her hands through her hair. "I know. I just...I have so much going on right now. And I'm still trying to decipher those weird symbols that Coulson gave me but I'm not having very much luck."

"Why don't I take Adian off your hands for a bit," May suggests. "It'll give you some time to work and I'll bring him back in a few hours or when he starts getting hungry again."

"May...you don't…"

"I want to," she tells her. "So no objections. Now get working."

She nods. "Okay. Have fun, baby," she says to her son, giving him a small smile and blowing him a kiss. "Mommy will see you in a few hours."

She waits for May and then Mack to leave before she pulls her laptop back in front of her and continues working on her task from Coulson. She has a couple of hours to do however much she can of everything she has to do. She can do this. She can totally do this.

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!