Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya! I'm really glad you guys are enjoying this so far. Makes me pretty happy.

Enjoy!

A few days pass and while she woke up somewhat nauseous that morning, she hasn't actually gotten sick yet, so she takes that as a plus.

She's thankfully able to not be sick long enough to get some type of food in her. Any of her normal breakfast options are no-go's, though, as apparently, her baby would rather have boring oatmeal.

She sighs. "Guess this is my life, now. Well, at least, until you get here," she says, glancing down at her stomach. "Can't you just let me eat what I want to eat?"

Letting out another sigh, she drops her spoon into the bowl and pushes it away from her, the smell of the oatmeal starting to make her stomach churn.

"Now I can't even eat oatmeal? Are you kidding me right now?"

"Everything alright in here?"

She looks over her shoulder to find Coulson in the doorway to the lounge, a tablet in one hand as he watches her with furrowed brows.

She nods and pulls her lips in tight. "Yeah, everything's fine. Just uh...just getting over a stomach bug. Trying to eat but it's hard to keep anything down."

"Ah, right. Well, I hope you feel better soon."

"Thanks, Coulson."

He smiles at her before looking back down at his tablet as he continues down the hallway toward his office most likely.

The corners of her lips fall when she thinks about the man's possible reaction to her pregnancy. Her mind then wanders to the rest of the members of the team and how they'll all react, what they'll think of her for sleeping with the enemy. Though, in her defense, she didn't know he was the enemy until after the fact. But they probably won't care about that. They'll just see what they want to see.

Maybe she's not giving them enough credit, though. They're the only real family she has, that she's ever had, maybe she's just assuming the worst because she's always been dealt the crappiest hand in life.

"No," she says to herself. "I have to give them all the benefit of the doubt. Right?"

She sighs again and glances down at her stomach. "Might as well start off with one and see how it goes. Then I can decide when and how to tell the others." She nods, trying to reassure herself. "Yeah, that's good. Okay." She takes a deep breath. "Let's do this."

Sliding off the stool, she makes her way out of the lounge and down the hallway toward the staircase leading to her boss' office.

As she gets closer, her heartbeat picks up and her stomach churns a little more. There really is no backing out of this. She has to tell him. She has to tell all of them eventually. Unless she runs. She can always run and not come back and that way no one has to know. But they'll all come looking for her, she knows they will. And she doesn't doubt that they'll find her eventually. Though, she could probably take measures to delay them in actually finding her.

Before she knows it, she reaches Coulson's office, standing in front of the closed door.

Breathing in deeply, she lifts a hand and wraps softly on the wood. She waits a few seconds and then knocks again after not getting a response.

"Who is it?"

"It's Skye," she says back. "I need...could I talk to you for a moment?"

"Come on in."

Pushing the door open, she steps inside the office and closes the door, biting her lip between her teeth as she thinks of the best way to come clean. Her stomach churns once more and she fights to keep it together. She cannot lose it before she even has a chance to tell him.

"So," Coulson speaks up, folding his hands together and resting them on top of his desk, "to what do I owe this visit to my office? Are you feeling any better from when I saw you a few minutes ago?"

"Um, a little. I uh, I actually have something that I need to talk to you about."

He nods. "Okay."

She takes a deep breath in, closing her eyes and holding tightly to her own hands as she prepares herself. "I'm pregnant," she says, figuring it best to just rip the band-aid off instead of trying to beat around the bush. "That's the real reason I've been so off lately." She pauses. "And Ward's the father."

Not hearing a single sound in response to her confession, she cracks open one eye to see Coulson staring silently ahead, his lips pursed together tightly. She opens her other eye and nearly cries at the look of disappointment that's clear on his face.

"Oh, I see," he says, shifting in his chair and breathing in deeply. "And when did you two..."

"At the Providence base," she tells him quickly before he can try to finish his sentence. "We were alone, finally having a drink together and talking, and then we were kissing, and I guess you can figure out what happened next."

He nods. "Right. So you're about a month along, at the least."

She nods. "Yeah, I think so."

"Well, I hope you know that you two will be very comfortable here; if you still want to stay that is. I would completely understand if you wanted to leave and try to find a better life for you and your...baby. To try and have a normal life."

She shakes her head. "No. I want...I want to stay here. This is my home. I feel safe with you guys."

He gives her a small smile. "I'm glad to hear that. I'll do my best to make sure that feeling stays."

"Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me. And I appreciate you coming to me with this."

"I trust you," she says to him. "You're kinda like the dad I always wish I'd had growing up."

"Well, if it had been up to me, I would have been," he tells her with a small smile. "I would have done a great job at raising you."

She smiles back. "I'm sure you would have." She's quiet for a moment before shifting on her feet. "Um, well, thanks, then. I'll see you later." She turns around and heads for the door when his voice stops her.

"Do you want to tell Ward?"

She hangs her head and sighs, slowly turning around. "I don't know," she admits. "I just...after everything that happened...I don't know if I can really face him. Not yet, at least. I mean, I know that I'm the only one he'll talk to, but I don't think I can do it just yet."

Coulson nods. "I understand. I won't force you to do anything you don't want to do. I just hope that we'll still be able to get what we need from him if you decide not to speak with him. And I want you to know that I'm here for you, okay? Whatever you need, you just ask."

"Thanks."

Without another word, she makes her way out of the office and down the hallway toward her own room. She lets out a relieved breath, glad that the older man wasn't angry or upset. At least, not outwardly angry or upset. She's sure that she saw disappoint on his face and that makes the tears come back to her eyes. The last thing she ever wanted to do is disappoint him.

Falling down onto her bed once she's in her room, she raises her shirt and places both of her hands flat on her stomach.

"One down, kiddo," she says on a sigh. "I just told Coulson about you. It went a lot better than I thought it would. I was pretty sure he was going to scream or yell when I told him who your father is. He isn't exactly anyone's favorite person at the moment. But no matter what happens, you've always got me, okay? I'm never going to let anything happen to you. I'm your mom, it's my job to protect you. So that's what I'm going to do, alright?"

Letting out a small sigh, she reaches out for her tablet, unlocking it and going into her bookshelf. She opens up the first book she downloaded and begins reading through its contents until her exhaustion gets the better of her.

As she falls asleep, thought after thought about her baby and its future race through her head. Is everything going to be okay? Can she really do this? Should she really raise her baby at SHIELD? Who's going to help and support her? Should even tell Ward that she's pregnant? What good will it do? Will he corrupt the child if she lets him be near him or her? Can she really protect her child? Is she even going to be a good mom?

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!