Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for you! And it's the one that most, if not all, of you have been waiting for. It's probably not going to go as most of you hope it will, but I will not apologize for all the angst. It needs to happen. Especially with where these two are at in their 'relationship'.

So brace yourselves.

And enjoy.

Pacing the length of his cell over and over, he tilts his head back to stare up at the too familiar ceiling. Saying he's bored would be a massive understatement. He's been in situations before where he's had no form of a way to entertain himself, but he always managed just fine.

But the fact that he knows that everyone he cares about is above him living out their lives as normal, that's what really does him in. He can't stand not knowing what they're doing, how they are, how much better off they are without him. He knows they're all better off without him. He's done too much damage. He doesn't blame them for hating him. But they don't understand the situation he was in. It's not like it was an easy choice for him. He couldn't just let John die.

A quiet buzzing pulls him out of his thoughts and he turns to face the opaque screen separating him from the rest of the world. At least, separating him from the doorway to the rest of the world.

Seconds later, the barrier goes clear and his breath catches in his throat when he sees her standing in front of him. He opens and closes his mouth a few times, unsure of what exactly to say to her. He never thought he'd see her again. He had hope, but not much of it.

"Coulson said you wanted to talk."

He swallows and nods. "Yeah. I'm not sure how much time has passed since I told him I wanted to talk. But I know it's been a while. What took so long? Are you okay?" His eyes rack down her body, doing a mental examination, taking note of everything, making sure she's okay.

His eyes stop when he reaches her midsection and his breath catches in his throat again. No. It can't be. He might not have noticed it if he hadn't been trained to notice everything around him. It's not very noticeable, but it's there.

"Guess the cat's out of the bag, then," he hears her say. "I'm pregnant, Ward. And it's yours, obviously."

He tears his eyes away from her stomach, its rounded shape enhanced by the tight fitting shirt she's wearing, and looks her in the eyes. He shakes his head and takes a small step back. "No. You're lying. You're just...you're trying to trick me, to use this as leverage when I already said I'd tell you what you want to know. So why are you trying to trick me?" he asks, his voice rising as he moves closer to the barrier. It glows as he gets his face as close to hers as he can. "Why are you lying to me?" he asks through gritted teeth. "This isn't funny."

Silence fills the space around them and he watches her reaction. Nothing. Her face is stone as she stares back at him, though there's a slight tick to her jaw.

A minute later, she spins on her heel and leaves the room, her heels hitting hard against the staircase. The slamming of the door echoes down into his cell and his jaw clenches.

"Damn it!"

He turns and races toward the back wall, slamming his fist into the structure out of frustration. His breathing is heavy as he steps back from the wall. He doesn't have to look at his hand to know he did serious damage. He's seen and inflicted enough injuries to know that he's going to need to get it fixed soon before there's any permanent damage.

Minutes later, a loud slamming alerts him to the door having been opened and closed again. Turning toward the barrier, he lets out a sigh of relief when he sees Skye approaching again, a small piece of paper clutched in one hand. He opens his mouth to speak but stops when he sees the daggers she's sending him with her eyes.

She taps harshly on the tablet in her hand and slides the paper through the small opening at the bottom of the barrier before leaving the room again without another word.

He reaches down to grab the paper, being careful not to jostle his injured hand any more than is necessary. Holding the paper in his uninjured hand, he examines the grainy black and white image with furrowed brows, trying his best to decipher what exactly it is.

The gears slowly start to turn in his head and his mind flashes back to when his mother was pregnant with his younger brother and brought home images similar to this to show off to anyone she could.

If Skye really was telling the truth, then she really is pregnant with his child, and the image in his hand is further proof of that. He can't make out any distinct features, but from what he remembers of his mother's ultrasound photos, this is most definitely a grainy image of a baby. His baby. His baby with Skye. His baby with Skye that he might never get to see.

There's no way she's going to let him around this child. Not after everything that he's done. He can't say he blames her. He doesn't know the first thing about how to raise a child properly. She probably thinks he'll corrupt the child before its first birthday.

No, there's no way she'll let him see his child. And with him being locked up in Vault D, there was zero chance of him ever finding out about his child if she never came down to see him like she just did. This is just another way SHIELD came up with to torture him. They knew he could withstand any kind of physical torture they threw at him, so they chose instead to mess with his head.

And now that he knows about his kid, they can use it over him, use his kid as leverage over him for whatever they need. But he already said he'd give them what they want, so why are they doing this to him?

He didn't know this was going to happen when he and Skye slept together. He didn't know that she would end up pregnant. Sure, in the far recesses of his mind he knew it could be a possibility, he's not a complete idiot. He just assumed Skye was covered on that front because he certainly didn't plan for any protection on his end. He's an idiot for just assuming. John taught him better than to assume things are going to work out. He was taught to plan for everything. But this time he didn't.

And now he's going to be a father and will never get to see his kid because everyone hates him for what he did and will never forgive him. No matter how much he regrets ruining everything they all had, it's not enough for any of them to change their minds. He's never going to get the chance to be a dad.

Even if he did have the chance, it's not like he'd even know what to do. He never exactly had a model for 'dad of the year' growing up. He just doesn't want his child to grow up thinking their own father never loved them. He's sure he'd love his child, especially if they took mainly after Skye. He sees a little girl that's the spitting image of her, right down to the big brown eyes and the feisty attitude. He knows without a doubt that he'd love that child. But they'll never know the love of a father.

He knows Skye will have the whole team behind her, to love and help care for their child, but it's not the same as that of the love of a father. That kind of love can't be manufactured. Or so he thinks. He's never actually felt the love of a father either.

But if there's one thing that he knows, it's that he could love his child so much that they would never doubt for a second that he'd do anything and everything for them.

He needs to see his kid. He needs to talk to someone. He needs to tell someone.

"Anyone," he mutters under his breath. "Need to talk to someone."

Glancing around, he tries to figure out how to contact someone, to have someone come down so he can talk to them. That's when he notices the stack of metal food trays sitting just inside the barrier to his cell.

How long has been in his cell?

A small aching slowly works its way up his arm and he looks down at his hand to see it wrapped and splinted.

When did that happen? And who did it? Surely it can't have been Simmons. She hates his guts and would have rather killed him than fixed up his hand.

Hearing the door opening, he twists toward the barrier and waits for something, anything to happen. The barrier never goes clear, but a tray of food is slid through the small compartment at the bottom.

"I want to speak to Coulson," he says as soon as the slot opens. "As soon as possible. Please."

There's a moment of hesitation and then the slot closes, leaving him alone with his thoughts once again.

He sighs, setting aside the ultrasound photo he'd been holding onto as he moves toward the tray. He figures he needs to eat something. Judging by the trays stacked up, it's been a while since he's had what resembles a decent meal.

He sits back on his bed and stares at the ultrasound photo as he eats, thinking of all the possible ways his child could turn out. He would prefer anything except for the child being anything like him. Everyone would be better off that way, including his child.

"I'll tell you," he speaks up sometime later, knowing that Coulson's standing on the other side of the barrier. Since the agent who brought him his food left he's made sure to stay as aware of his surroundings as possible, to not get lost in his own head again.

He heard the door open, the echo of the man's shoes against the stairs, the slight buzzing as the barrier changed, even the rubbing of fabric as the man shifted on his feet. SHIELD always said he was one of their best for a reason.

"Tell me what?" he hears Coulson ask.

"Everything. I'll tell you everything you want to know."

"And why would you do that?"

He chooses that moment to look up at the man who used to consider him a friend. "Skye's pregnant," he says. "She's having my child and I want to be there for the both of them in whatever way that I can. But I can't do that if I'm locked up in here."

He watches as Coulson processes through his unspoken request. Well, it was spoken, just not in so many exact words.

"I'll have to take some time to think about it," Coulson tells him and his heart sinks a little. "This is a delicate situation and needs to be dealt with accordingly. I'll come back when I've come to a decision."

He swallows thickly and nods. "Okay. I understand."

He watches as Coulson stands there for another moment, just watching him, before turning and leaving the room.

The barrier goes opaque and he sighs, falling back onto his bed.

Picking up the ultrasound photo once again, he stares at it as he lies down against his pillow, thoughts of his child and the woman carrying said child running through his head.

What he wouldn't give to just see the both of them, to hold them in his arms and promise them so many things that he never thought he'd ever get to promise. He just wants to protect them and keep them safe.

He has a feeling Skye's going to keep the baby, otherwise, she wouldn't have told him in the first place. And he knows she'll have the rest of the team behind her, they love her.

The one thing he's unsure of is where exactly he fits into the picture. If he does get let out, will she accept him into her and their child's life? Or will he just have to stand by on the sidelines and watch as she raises their child without him, becoming a vague memory in their child's mind?

For right now, it's just a waiting game. And he hates waiting.

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!