Hi, babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya! Glad to know you're all worried about Grant too. This one we get a little insight into how Skye's feeling about all of this. And a certain milestone that's a little bittersweet.

Enjoy!

Staring after Ward's retreating form, Skye can't help the massive sinking feeling she gets in her gut. She doesn't like this. At all. They're keeping something from her. And she knows that Ward wouldn't keep anything from her if he had a choice, not now. So something is obviously going on. Someone has to know something.

"Trip!" she shouts, knowing he's not very far away despite not actually being in the room. "Trip!"

A few seconds later, Trip barrels into the room, breathing heavy. "Skye? Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

"I'm fine," she assures him quickly, despite the fact that she's presently worried out of her mind for the father of her baby. "Do you know about any missions going on that Ward's a part of?"

Trip shakes his head. "Sorry, I don't. He's really on a mission?"

She sighs heavily. "I don't know. That's why I was asking. Coulson said he's having Ward do something for him, but he wouldn't tell me what it is. And I'm kind of worried."

"It's probably nothing."

She bites her lip between her teeth. "Yeah, maybe. Do you know where Fitz is?"

"In the lab like usual."

"Great, thanks."

She hurries from the room as best she can in her current condition and moves through the hallways in the direction of the lab. If anyone would know where Ward is going, then Fitz might, considering how much time the two have been spending together. She really is glad that those two seem to be getting their friendship back on track, she always thought they were adorable. She was a little surprised that Fitz gave in so quickly to letting Ward be around him alone, though. She had expected more resistance from the engineer.

"Fitz!" she calls out as she enters the lab, approaching where her friend stands at one of the many tables working on a project. "Fitz."

The man in question turns from his project and gives her a small smile. "Skye. How are you? You feeling okay?"

"I'm fine, Fitz. Do you know where Ward went? He left with Coulson a few minutes ago but neither of them said where they were going and I'm kind of starting to freak out because he told me he'd be here for me and the baby and I don't—"

"Um, you're rambling."

"What? Oh, uh, sorry." She takes a few deep breaths to try and calm her heart rate. "Do you know where Ward went?"

He shakes his head. "No. I don't."

"Damn it. I was really counting on you knowing where he is. You two are always hanging out together so I thought you'd know."

He blinks a few times, glancing at the project in front of him. "I didn't even know he'd gone."

She sighs, her head hanging slightly. "That's fine. I guess...I guess I'll just have to wait for him to come back and ask him where he was. Hopefully, he won't be gone for too long."

"Yeah, hopefully. And hopefully...whatever...whatever he's doing...it isn't dangerous."

"I hope so too, Fitz." She stands up a little straighter when the gears start turning in her head. "Wait. Coulson said something when he was talking about letting Ward out of Vault D, that he'd have to prove himself, or something like that. And Ward...he said a couple of times that he'd do whatever he needed to do to be here for me and the baby and...oh gosh."

"What? What is it?"

She shakes her head. "I don't know for sure. But I have a bad feeling I'm not going to like whatever it is. I'll see you later, Fitz, okay?"

He nods. "Okay."

She squeezes his arm before leaving the lab and going back to the lounge where she knows her laptop is still on the couch.

Once she gets there, she immediately sits down and pulls her laptop close to her, opening the lid and quickly getting through SHIELD's mainframe. It's not as difficult as it once was, considering she's actually a part of SHIELD now, but there are still some sections she doesn't have access to. Unless she hacks her way in.

Quickly breaking through the barriers that would keep anyone else out, she finds the section containing all the active missions and begins searching through them, looking for anything that'll match what she knows about the mission. Which is pretty much nothing, she realizes, causing her to frown.

All she knows is that Ward is going on a mission. She doesn't know where it is, what he's doing, how long he'll be gone, or even if anyone else is with him.

To make matters worse, she doesn't find a single active mission that could possibly be what Ward is doing. Despite not knowing anything about the mission, she knows his skill set, what he's capable of. All the currently active missions won't utilize his skills at all, or they don't seem like they'd be challenging enough for someone of his caliber.

Slamming the lid shut, she curses under her breath, tears stinging at her eyes. She just wants to know where he is. Is that really too much to ask? She doesn't think it is.

All she wants is to know that when her son is born he's still going to have a father. She's never wanted to be a single mother, that's never been the dream.

Then again, being a pregnant fugitive from the law whose baby-daddy is also a fugitive with ties to a terrorist organization is not how she'd imagined her life going either. But here she is.

.

.

.

Over the next few days, she tries her hardest not to let herself be driven mad out of worry and not knowing where her baby's father is. But she can't help it. She can't help but spend her time worrying about him.

She's also been actively avoiding Coulson since the man returned from wherever he took Ward, knowing that he probably won't tell her anything. She knows she won't be able to look at him without being reminded that she has no idea where Ward is or what he's up to.

When she's not eating or using the bathroom, which is a lot, she's either on the couch in the lounge or in her bed, distracting herself with her laptop in whatever way she can.

It's only been a day and a half since Ward left to wherever Coulson sent him, and all she's done is create random codes on her laptop that were meant for SHIELD but she doesn't even know if they'll actually work. She's just going through the motions, not really paying attention to what she's creating. The only thing on her mind is Ward, and if he's okay.

Letting out a sigh, she drops a hand to her stomach, rubbing over the bump soothingly. "I miss your dad, kiddo. I can't even deny it at this point. I don't even care who knows. I don't care if he knows. I miss him. Or at least, I miss the thought of having him here to help me with you when you get here. I really don't want to have to raise you alone. I need your dad back."

A small thump against her palm makes her jump in her seat and then freeze, her breath hitching sharply. Another thump pulls her back to the moment. "Did you just…?"

Fresh tears form in her eyes and she tries to fight them back but can't. They fall down her cheeks, staining her shirt little by little.

"Skye? You okay in here?"

She looks up from her stomach to see Trip slowly approaching her, his brows furrowed in concern. "The baby…" she gets out through her tears.

"Is the baby okay?"

She shakes her head. "He kicked."

"That's a good thing, right?"

A sob breaks through, the tears continuing to fall heavily. "Grant's not here. And the baby kicked. He told...he told me he picked out a name. But he...he left before he told me. And I...I don't know where he is. He should be...be here. And he's not. He should be here, Trip."

Her cries grow when she feels Trip's arms circle around her, wishing in the back of her head that it was Grant's arms around her instead.

"What...what if something happens? And he can't...can't be here? What am I going to do, Trip? He was so...so excited to be a dad."

"Whoa whoa whoa, hey, relax for a minute, girl. Take deep breaths. In and out, alright?"

She nods her head, doing her best to slow her breathing and get her crying under control so she's not a sobbing mess anymore. She wipes at her face, getting rid of the remaining tears.

"Feeling better?" Trip asks her.

"A little."

"Okay, good."

"I'm sorry," she mutters, looking down and fiddling with the hem of her t-shirt.

"What for?"

"For being such a mess right now. You shouldn't have to deal with this. You didn't ask for any of this."

"Hey, I'm your friend, and I'm here for whatever you need. That's how friendship works, girl. Get used to it."

She gives him a small smile. "I just...I wish Grant was here right now. He'd be so excited to feel the baby move, I know he would. But he's off on some probably dangerous mission because he feels like he needs to prove himself to everyone."

"Are you saying he doesn't?"

"He shouldn't have to go on dangerous missions to prove himself," she says. "There should be other ways."

"We don't know if the mission is dangerous. It could just be a recon mission."

"Please, Trip, this is Coulson we're talking about. He may have let Grant out of Vault D for me and the baby, and made him talk to a professional, but he still doesn't trust him completely. I'm not saying that I trust Grant completely either, but I'm not going to make him go on a potentially life-threatening mission when he has a kid on the way. That's just beyond cruel. And Coulson won't tell me if he's okay or not, so I'm really, really freaking out about the whole thing. As you witnessed when you came in."

"I'm sure he's fine with whatever mission he's doing. Ward knows how to handle himself."

She sighs. "I know he does, Trip. I guess it's more of an irrational fear than anything else."

"No, hey, there's nothing irrational about wanting the father of your baby to come back safely. Just try not to keep everything all bottled up inside, okay?"

She smiles and nods. "I promise I'll do my best."

"Good. Now, I have a few things I need to go and take care of, but I hate to leave you alone if you're still feeling upset."

"I'll be fine. You go and do what you need to do."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Now go. I'll call you if I need anything."

"Alright." He presses a friendly kiss to the side of her head before standing from the couch and making his way back out of the lounge.

Leaning back into the couch, she runs both hands down over her stomach, letting out a breath as her body relaxes.

"It's just you and me right now, kiddo," she says. "We've both got to stay strong, okay? Hopefully, your dad will come back soon." A small thump pounds on her palm and she bites her lower lip between her teeth, trying to stop the onslaught of tears threatening to spill over.

"I know, baby, I miss him too."

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!