Hey babes! Happy Valentine's Day! I am forever alone, as per usual, and I don't have anything to do just yet this morning, so I thought I'd post the new chapter for you. It's not necessarily romantic, but I didn't think you guys would mind too much. :)

Enjoy!

As the days come and go, Skye does what she can to avoid Grant. Well, she doesn't actively avoid being in the same room as him as the days pass, but she also isn't jumping at the chance to see him or be alone with him.

She's still nervous about being around him, not sure if he has an ulterior motive for wanting to be let out, or if he really is just here for her and the baby. She could probably ask him and find out, but where's the guarantee that he'd tell her the truth if he had another reason for wanting to be let out? What's to stop him from lying completely again to gain the upper hand in all of this? Who's to say that he's not pulling some elaborate ruse? She knows that he's started talking to someone, Coulson made sure that she knew about it. But is it even going to help him? Is he too far gone for any kind of professional help? Are she and their baby really going to be safe?

Light fluttering in her stomach pulls her out of her head and she glances down. She runs a hand over her bump. "You alright in there, kiddo?" She sighs and leans her head back against the top of the couch, her eyes fluttering closed.

"Skye?" The soft whisper comes from beside her and she cracks an open to find Ward standing a few feet from the edge of the couch, his brows furrowed in her direction.

She doesn't jump when she sees him, surprisingly. "Ward. Hi."

"Hi. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. It's uh, it's why I whispered. I didn't want to wake you up if you were sleeping. But uh, if you're tired, maybe I could help you back to your room so you can sleep? Your feet are starting to get more sore now, right?"

She furrows her brows at the comment about her sore feet. "Uh, yeah, they are." She shakes her head. "But I'm fine. I was just relaxing."

She sees him deflate. "Right. Of course."

She knows that he knows about Trip and Fitz being the first people she'll call for something when she needs help. But it doesn't stop him from trying to be there for her. She can see it every time they're in the same room, how he hesitates in reaching out to steady her when she gets a little woozy. Or how he watches her longingly when she gets up to go do something else. Or just now when he offered to help her back to her room.

He wants to help her, to take care of her, she knows that, she can see it. She's just not ready to let him in completely. Not again. Not after what happened. She's still trying to heal from that.

But maybe, maybe it wouldn't really hurt anything to have him help her a little. Just a little.

Glancing over, she finds Ward aimlessly wandering the room, obviously unsure of what to do or where to go.

"Hey, Ward?"

His eyes immediately find her again and she can see the little glimmer of hope shining there. "Yeah?"

"Could you uh, could you get me a glass of water from the kitchen? I'm kind of too exhausted to get it myself right now." She knows she doesn't have to justify the request to him, that he'll do just about anything to get back in her good graces.

"Yeah, no problem. Do you want any ice in it or anything?"

She shakes her head. "No, thanks. Just the water."

"Right." He nods once and then turns into the kitchenette. He returns a few seconds later with a cold glass of water for her, handing it directly to her.

She takes the water and gives him a tiny smile. "Thanks."

"Do you need anything else while I'm here?" he asks.

"No, I'm fine. But uh, but I'll let you know." She almost doesn't add that at the end, not wanting to get his hopes up too high.

"Okay. I uh, I guess I'll see you around, then."

"Yeah." She gives him a tight smile before letting it fall once he's left the room.

She honestly doesn't know how much more she can take of being around him, and seeing him looking so innocent. Or, at least, trying to look innocent. Because he is in no way innocent, not by a long shot.

.

.

.

"Coulson? Are you busy?"

The man in question looks up from the file in front of him, giving Skye a small smile when he sees her. "Not at the moment, no. What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute."

"Of course. Have a seat." He gestures to one of the chairs in front of his desk as he closes the file and sets it off to the side.

Skye moves further into the office, being sure to close the door behind her, and sits down in one of the chairs, rubbing her hands down over her jeans before caressing her small bump.

"How are you feeling?" Coulson asks, gesturing to her stomach.

She cracks a smile. "Better than some women. Just tired a lot. I uh, I actually wanted to talk to you about something. Normally I'd go to Trip or Fitz, but they'll just tell me what they think I want to hear, or not really give me an answer to my question. So I figured I'd come to you."

He breathes in deeply and sits up a little straighter. "I'll do my best to help you. So what's your question?"

"Um, well, I have an ultrasound coming up, and I'm hoping to find out the sex of the baby at this one because I couldn't at the last one. And now that Ward's around, I'm just...I'm trying to decide if I should actually let him be there or not. What do you think I should do?"

She bites her lip between her teeth as she waits for Coulson to answer. He sits behind his desk, his brows furrowed in thought. She waits impatiently for him to tell her what to do in this situation. They've slowly been working to get their relationship back on track since she told him she was pregnant. She's always looked up to and admired him, and she misses talking to him like she used to. He's the dad that she never had, that's the truth, and she wants to be able to get back to that familial relationship again.

"Well," Coulson speaks up again, drawing her out of her thoughts, "I think that you should let him be there."

Her eyes go wide. "You do?"

He nods. "Yes. I do. He's the father, and as much as I don't like what he has done in the past, I do believe that he is trying to be better, to do better. And I think one way to help him with that is by letting him be more involved. I'm not in any way trying to tell you how to handle this situation, of course, since every decision involving your child should be made by you. However, I do think you should take into consideration the fact that he is the father, and he is here. He's going to find out eventually one way or another."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Uh, thanks, for listening to me."

He gives her a small smile. "No problem. I'm here for you whatever you need."

She nods. "I know. And I appreciate it." She takes a deep breath and shifts in her seat. "Well, uh, I think I'm going to go now. But I'll see you later."

"Of course. Do you...do you need help up?" he asks hesitantly.

She smiles. "No, thanks. Thankfully I'm still able to get up and down from a seat without any help." She grips tightly to the armrests of the chair and pushes herself up to her feet. "See? I'm not helpless yet." She gives him one more small smile before turning and making her way out of the office.

Finding Trip in the lounge, she falls down next to him on the couch, tossing her feet up onto the table in front of her. "Hey."

"Hi. What's up?"

"I just talked to Coulson."

"About?"

She takes a deep breath. "I'm going to ask Ward to come to the ultrasound."

Trip shifts on the couch. "You sure about that?"

She nods. "Yeah, I think so. He's the father. He deserves to find out the sex of the baby with me instead of after."

"Alright, if that's what you want."

"It is. But uh, will you come too? I don't...I don't think I want to be alone with him just yet for an extended period of time like that. It'll be nice to have you there as a sort of buffer."

Trip smiles and wraps his arm over her shoulder. "Girl, you know I'm gonna say yes."

"Good. I'm glad. Now, as much as I would love to keep sitting on this couch because it is extremely comfortable, I should probably find Ward and tell him about the appointment before I lose my nerve."

"You want me to come with you?"

She shakes her head. "No. I should do this alone." She slowly stands from the couch and smoothes out the front of her shirt.

"Okay. Well just let me know if you need anything."

She smiles softly at him. "I will, thanks."

Exiting the room, she makes her way through the hallways of the building, searching for Ward. She doesn't know where he could be, so she checks all of the rooms he's allowed inside. It's not too difficult to deem which rooms he's allowed in. She knows Coulson wouldn't let him anywhere near their weapons or their servers or anything of major importance.

She ends up at his room last, knocking on his door and then rocking back on her heels as she waits for the door to open.

A few seconds later, the door slides open and she curses her hormones for her breath catching and her skin heating up when she sees him shirtless with water droplets coating his skin. Her mind immediately pulls her back to that fateful night that landed them in this situation in the first place, and it takes every ounce of will power she has not to jump him right then and there. She may not like what he's done, or want to be alone with him, but she knows very well what it's like to be with him intimately.

"Skye?"

She shakes her head and swallows thickly. "Sorry."

"It's fine. I just got out of the shower. What's up?"

She forces herself to look at his face, but the way his hair is still sticking up at odd ends makes her want to run her fingers through it.

"I have an ultrasound tomorrow," she tells him, staring at the center of his forehead to try and keep herself under control, "figured you might want to be there. Hopefully, we'll be finding out the sex of the baby since the last one didn't show anything."

She chances a look and watches as his eyes light up at the information, but his face remains stoic. He's holding back, probably for her benefit. It's a little weird seeing him so excited, even if he's not letting himself show it completely. But maybe it's a good thing.

He nods his head once. "Thank you for telling me. What time is it at?"

"Tomorrow morning at ten."

"Okay. I'll be there."

"Good. I uh, I guess I'll see you then."

"Yeah. But uh, can I just...why do you want me there? I mean...you haven't exactly been very welcoming to me since I got let out." He shifts on his feet.

"You have someone in your corner," she tells him, choosing not to say that it was the man who originally wanted him dead. "Well, you sort of do." She takes a deep breath. "After talking to them, I realized that you should be there. You're this baby's father," she tells him, one hand resting on her stomach. "You should find out the sex at the appointment, not hear it second hand from someone else after the fact."

"Right. Well, thanks."

She pulls her lips in tight. "No problem. I'll see you tomorrow?"

He cracks a small smile. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

She doesn't say anything in response, just turns and walks away. She needs to get away from him quickly before she does something she might regret.

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!