Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya!

Enjoy!

"Nice to see you guys back here in one piece," Skye says when she sees May and Coulson entering the briefing room of the Bus, Adian sitting comfortably on her hip as she turns toward them. "Glad everything went as well as it did, only a few minor scrapes along the way. Also, May, I feel like I should tell you that Adian completely recognized your voice over comms."

The woman raises a brow. "He did?"

Skye nods. "Mm-hmm. I had him with me in here and since the comms were running through the system, he heard you talking. He kept whining and reaching for the table, probably trying to get to you. Just like he is now," she says, trying to keep her son from falling out of her arms as he reaches out toward his grandmother. "Take him, please."

May doesn't hesitate in stepping forward and taking Adian, holding the boy in her arms and smiling brightly at him, a smile that she saves just for him. "Hello, Adian. Did you miss me while I was gone?"

Adian grins and grabs at her nose, muttering, "Nananana," over and over.

"Oh, yeah, he kept doing that too," Skye informs her. "I don't think it's an actual word yet, but he kept saying it while reaching for the table, essentially for you. I think you've been dubbed 'Nana' unintentionally."

"That's fine with me," May tells her, her eyes never leaving Adian. "I don't mind. Am I Nana?" she asks the boy, gently bouncing him. "Is that who I am now?"

Adian continues to smile, giggling when May tickles his side. Coulson steps up beside them and joins in on the tickling, making the boy's giggles resonate even louder through the room.

Skye watches the scene in front of her with a smile on her face, still not quite believing that her life is like this now. Sure, most of the people around the base are still on the fence about Grant walking around as freely as he does, but at least the people that really matter to her seem to be okay with her son being around. She knows Coulson is still having a hard time dealing with it all, and Grant being out most of all, but he doesn't seem to be too bothered by Adian, which she's especially happy with. She's always thought of Coulson as a father figure and she honestly doesn't know what she would have done had he not been okay with Adian in the end.

"So did you guys get the painting?" she asks after a moment, pulling their attention away from Adian.

"We did," Coulson tells her with a small smile. "We also picked up something else. Well, someone else."

Her brows furrow. "Really? Who?"

"We're not sure who she is. We've put her in one of the interrogation rooms for now and have Hunter and Mack keeping an eye on her. But she'd been impersonating May during the mission, so it's possible she may have been working for Hydra to get the painting. May managed to knock her out and we figured we'd bring her in, see what she knows."

"Oh, good idea," she says with a nod. "I'd also like to have some words with her. Fitz and Hunter found a virus in the Bus' system which is why it went all haywire. Adian freaked out. She terrified my son, I'd like to know why she put that virus there in the first place."

"We'll get to the bottom of it," Coulson assures her. "In the meantime, let's work on getting back to the base."

She nods. "Right. And I'm assuming you want me to run those symbols on the back of the painting through my software, see if anything actually pops up?"

"That would be preferable, yes."

"Great. I'll get it scanned and started running while we're on our way back." She takes Adian from May's arms, noticing her baby rubbing at his eyes and letting out a small yawn, a clear sign that he's getting tired. "Hopefully, we'll get something by the time we reach the base again. This little guy also needs a nap, so I should probably get that taken care of."

She gives them both a smile as she turns and makes her way to the bunk she'd occupied while they were always mobile and slips inside, pulling the door closed tightly behind her.

"I know this is an unusual place, baby," she says to Adian as she settles herself on the bed. "But it's naptime for you, and I know you're getting tired, so please go to sleep, okay?" She leans back against the wall as she adjusts her shirt so she can feed Adian before his nap, hoping with everything that he'll fall asleep quickly.

.

.

.

Bouncing Adian lightly on her hip as she steps down into the large hangar of the SHIELD base from the ramp of the quinjet, Skye smiles when she sees Max approaching, barking softly as he jumps at her feet.

"Hey, Max," she says, stooping down to run her fingers through the dog's fur. "Did you miss us? I made sure to bring your best friend back." She adjusts her hold on Adian, allowing the two to refamiliarize themselves with each other, the Shepherd sniffing and licking at Adian's face while the little boy giggles.

"You're back."

She lifts her head, blowing some of the hair out of her face and gives Grant a tiny smile. "Yeah. We just got in."

"How'd it go?" he asks, stooping down to say hi to his son, running his hand over the top of the boy's head.

"Good. They got the painting, and they managed to get an operative they think was working for Hydra because she was impersonating May."

"How was she doing that?"

"I don't know. Coulson and May weren't saying much about it. She's still unconscious so they put her in containment and are waiting for her to wake up so they can talk to her."

He nods. "Hmm. I'll talk to Coulson then, see if I can help somehow."

"That's a good idea. I'm sure he'd appreciate that, especially since this one was a bit more personal to both him and May. I've got some other stuff to work on so would you mind taking Adian for a bit so I can focus?"

"Yeah, of course." He immediately takes Adian into his arms and they both stand.

"Great. He's already eaten and had a nap on the ride back here so he should be okay for a little while." She steps forward to kiss Adian's head, running a hand over his hair as she does so. "You be good for your dad, baby. I'll see you in a little bit." She flashes Grant a quick smile before gathering up the rest of her things and making her way further into the base. Her smile grows a little bit when she hears Grant's low voice talking excitedly to their son. She still doesn't know if she's used to this yet. But she can't honestly say that she hates it.

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Until next time,
Jellybean96 out!