Hey babes! Thanks for being patient! Back with a new chapter for ya! You get a little more insight into what Skye's going through with this one.

Enjoy!

It's been just over a week since Grant left and Skye is trying as hard as she can to not lose her mind. She knows that Trip is doing whatever he can to keep her busy without actually telling her that's what he's doing. He'll give her small tasks to do now and then, telling her it's for a mission he's currently preparing for. She knows that it's never the truth, but she appreciates his efforts to help her so she doesn't call him out on it.

Fitz also tries to keep her busy in his own way, asking her for help on various projects he's working on. Though, part of her thinks it's because he still doesn't have complete function of his hand and needs an extra set. Not that she minds helping him out. She enjoys spending time with the engineer.

She's busy working on one of Trip's latest 'projects' when Coulson finds her in the lounge. She wasn't expecting to see him, hasn't really had a conversation with him the past week that lasted longer than a quick greeting or update about something.

"Skye."

She looks up at him and fights the urge to beg him for any information on Grant. She knows he won't tell her anything. "Coulson. What can I help you with?"

"I actually came to tell you that Ward's coming back to the base."

She sits up straighter at the news, she knows her face is lighting up at the thought of being able to see him again and have him feel their baby kick. "He is? Really?"

Coulson nods once. "Yes."

Her brows furrow at his sharp response and the way he's avoiding eye contact with her. "Wait, what's going on? What aren't you telling me?"

"Skye, there's nothing to wor—"

"Coulson, don't you dare tell me there's nothing to worry about." She closes her laptop and sets it off to the side, pulling herself up to her feet and standing directly in front of him, one hand resting underneath her baby bump. "What the hell is going on?" she asks through gritted teeth.

Coulson takes a deep, shaky breath. "There was...an incident."

Her breath catches involuntarily. "What kind of incident? What were you having him do?"

"I sent him undercover into Hydra…"

Her eyes go wide. "You what? What the hell, Coulson? He was trying to get out of that life, trying to be better, for our son. And you sent him back inside? What were you thinking?"

"We needed someone to get on the inside, someone they wouldn't question so easily. He was willing to get inside for us."

"Probably because he didn't want to be locked back up in Vault D if he didn't," she bites. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure," he admits. "All I know is that something obviously went wrong inside because he arrived at the rendezvous point earlier than planned. The team that was waiting there is bringing him in, but they haven't said why he showed up early. Apparently, he was injured pretty badly when they saw him and then he passed out."

Her heart drops instantly, her stomach churning and not because of the baby. This cannot be happening, he has to be okay. He has to. He has to be okay so that he can feel their son kick and see him being born and actually help her raise him.

"Where is he?" she demands immediately. "When is he getting to the base? I need to see him."

"You can't."

"What do you mean I can't?"

"As soon as he arrives, he's being taken straight to the med bay to fix whatever injuries he may have sustained. Once the doctor says that he's up to it, you can see him. But for now, you need to wait."

"You want me to wait? Are you serious?"

"Yes, I'm serious, Skye. He's going to be in surgery, you won't be able to see him yet. Promise me you'll wait in here until someone comes to get you."

She stays quiet, running her hand over her stomach, trying to calm the rapid thumping inside her belly. She hates this.

"Skye, I need you to promise me that you'll wait here."

She shakes her head, her eyes watering and her heart beating fast. "I don't...I don't know if I can…"

"It's best for the both of you if you just hang on until he's done. I can go find Trip or Fitz to wait with you if that'll be better."

She slowly nods her head, not completely registering the older man's hands on her shoulders or when he leaves the room in a hurry. Everything is wrong. None of this should have happened.

She doesn't fully register the multiple hands on her until everything around her starts to come back into focus, the couch cushion beneath her again.

Blinking a few times to clear away any remaining tears, she finds both Trip and Fitz kneeling in front of her, their eyebrows furrowed in deep concern.

"Skye? Skye, can you hear me? Skye."

"Wh-what?"

"Hey," Trip says, "are you with me, girl?"

"Grant…"

"He's not here," Trip tells her with a small shake of his head. "Coulson came to get us, said you might want some company while you wait. Think you're up for a couple of friendly faces?"

She licks her lips. "Um, I think so."

"Good, because we weren't going anywhere. Right, Fitz?"

"Uh, um, y-yeah. Not going anywhere."

Both men settle themselves on either side of Skye, Trip taking the prerogative to wrap his arm around Skye's shoulders in a comforting manner.

"We've got you, alright? We've got you."

"He needs to be okay," she mutters, her eyes fixating on the carpet in front of her. "He needs to be here for the baby. He told me he'd be here for us, and now he might not be."

"Whoa, hey, you can't think like that," Trip says. "You gotta think positive, alright? Think you can try and do that?"

She nods without really thinking about it, knowing that he won't let up unless she grants him some kind of acknowledgment that she heard him.

All she can think about is Grant, and if he's going to be okay and be able to protect and provide for their baby as he grows up.

Her mind wanders at the thought of her baby growing older and all she can picture in her mind is a miniature version of Grant, a head full of dark hair and a natural protective instinct ingrained in him from the moment he's born. She knows they're going to have their hands full with a baby, especially when they aren't able to go outside and into any towns, considering the fact that they're both still technically fugitives of the law.

That's not the kind of life she wants for her baby, but she just has to hope that things will get better eventually, that their kid will have the kind of childhood neither of his parents had.

She wants everything for her baby that she never had, including both of his parents present the entire time and a happy childhood that he'll always want to remember.

"Agent Skye?"

Her head shooting up at hearing her name, she finds one of the residents of the med bay standing in front of her, a white mask hanging around his neck and a light blue cloth cap bunched in his hands.

"What's going on?" she asks. "Is Grant back yet?"

The man nods. "He arrived a few hours ago."

Her eyes go wide. "And no one thought to tell me?"

"We tried to, Skye," Trip speaks, pulling her attention to him. "But you weren't answering us. You seemed kind of out of it, and we didn't need you worrying more than you already were, so they went ahead and took him back to the med bay."

She looks back to the doctor. "How is he? Can I see him?"

"He's fine now, he's resting after the surgery."

She lets out a heavy breath, allowing her body to relax at the news. "He's really okay?"

The man nods again. "Yes. There was some internal bleeding that we managed to stop fairly quickly. He does have a broken leg which will need to remain in a cast for a few weeks, but other than that and a few cuts and bruises, he's relatively okay."

"Oh, thank goodness."

"Also," the doctor continues, regaining her attention, "we found something on him when we were removing his clothing to operate." He reaches into the pocket of his scrubs and pulls out a small piece of what looks like photo paper, but nothing she's used to seeing. "It took us a moment to realize who the person in the photo was, but when we figured it out, we thought you'd like to have it."

She takes the photo he's holding out to her and she finally registers that it's a Polaroid photo. Glancing down at the image, it takes her a moment to recognize the person in the center of it. It's a blurred image, with a few faded red stains on the edges that she doesn't want to think about, but there's no mistaking who the person is in the photo. It's her, relaxing on the couch with her laptop and phone like always.

Her eyes water as she continues looking at the photo, realizing the photo was taken right before Grant told her he came up with a name for their baby, right before Coulson pulled him away with no explanation.

She smiles a little at the way it's off-center and at a slight angle. She had no idea he was even taking the picture of her, too distracted by her music and the work on her laptop until he approached her.

She doesn't know if she ever would have seen the photo had he not been injured, and now that she knows he's going to be okay, she can give the photo back to him and tell him how sweet she thinks it is. They're not even together and he's making her heart swell.

"Thank you," she manages to get out in a quiet voice, glancing up at the doctor. She swallows thickly. "Thank you for bringing this to me."

"No problem. And you can go back and see him any time you like. He won't be awake, though; we had to induce a coma to allow his body some extra time to start healing."

She nods. "Okay. Thank you."

The doctor gives her a tight smile before exiting the room, leaving her alone with Trip and Fitz.

"Do you want one of us to come with you?" Trip asks her.

She shakes her head. "No, thanks. I uh, I need to go by myself and see that he's actually okay. But uh, once I see that he's okay, I'll come and get you guys."

Trip nods. "Yeah, no problem. Take your time, though, alright? Don't rush it for us."

She nods. "Okay. Yeah. I uh, I guess I'll see you guys later, then." She pulls herself up off the couch, with some assistance from Fitz and Trip, and then begins making her way out of the lounge and down toward the med bay. She grips tightly to the Polaroid photo as she walks, needing something physical to hold onto while she prepares herself.

Turns out, she didn't prepare herself enough. She nearly falls to her knees, tears in her eyes, when she sees him. Throughout the short time that she's known him, she's never seen him look so weak or vulnerable. He always made sure to put on a strong front, for her and everyone else.

Hooked up to different machines with various wires, and his leg set in a cast and propped up at the end of the bed, she realizes this is how he must have felt after she got shot by Quinn. Helpless and unable to make the pain go away.

She hates that he's in this position, that Coulson made him feel like the only way to get back in their good graces is to be so near to death. At least, that's what she's assuming from how he looks and the fact that he's comatose.

Moving closer to his bed, she grabs one of his hands in hers, holding onto it tightly as she sits in the chair right behind her.

"Hey," she manages to get out through her tears. "I'm here, okay?" She glances down at her stomach and then back at Grant. "We're both here. You can wake up whenever you want. We're not going anywhere."

So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Also, I'm working on a new Skyeward fic, and I need twitter/Tumblr handles for it. If you wouldn't mind yours being featured in the story, just let me know. I need as many as I can get.

Until next time,
Jellybean96 out!