Hello lovelies! Thank you for the beautiful reviews and here, right on time (!) is the next chapter!

Enjoy!

"Skye is in foster care."

They were barely into the car when the words left Phil's lips. He watched his wife's face to gauge her reaction, noting the concerned expression that formed in her features.

"She flipped out on me today after recess. She's been so quiet and sweet and suddenly she was yelling and ripping things. After I got her to calm down, I had her draw a picture of her family and she drew herself and Natasha and said that she didn't have parents except foster parents and that she didn't want to draw them." Phil ran a hand through his hair and waited for Melinda to say something.

"That explains so much," Melinda said finally. "How the two girls look so different, have different last names, why Natasha was held back, why they don't socialize..."

The two adults exchanged a look.

It was so obvious.

"Foster care." Phil murmured. "Foster care."

Skye's sweet face entered his mind, her shy smile and beautiful dark eyes.

The little girl, for whatever reason, had been removed from her birth parents.

Phillip Coulson had one problem as a kindergarten teacher: he sometimes became too attached to students. And Skye had grabbed his heart the moment she had looked up at him with those large eyes.

Skye was a foster kid.

Was she loved? Was she happy? Was anyone tucking her in at night and kissing her forehead? Was anyone telling her she was important and beautiful? Was she safe? Phil didn't know much about the foster care system but he did know it sometimes let kids slip through the cracks.

"Hey."

Phil looked up as Melinda grabbed his hand.

"You're worrying about her." Melinda gave him a half smile, her dark eyes staring straight into him.

"And you complain that I read your mind."

"Phil, your face is an open book. Anybody could read it." May squeezed his hand ever so slightly, but to him the touch meant a lot. God he loved her so much.

"I'm worried too," Melinda admitted. "Something wasn't right with them today. It wasn't as obvious as throwing a tantrum for Natasha but I could tell."

"We'll get through to them." Phil's optimism kicked in and he felt more comfortable with that rush of hope.

"Your optimism is ridiculous sometimes," Melinda murmured but didn't let go of his hand.

"We get to see Nat and Skye every single day. We have a chance to make such a big difference in their lives," Phil told her, kissing her cheek. "I love you."

He said it because he could, because he wanted to, because part of him was worried but when he was with Melinda, he felt like they could accomplish anything.

They were like an awesome secret agent duo. And their next undercover mission was Find-Out-More-About-Skye-And-Natasha.

When they drove home, Phil made sure to put his secret agent sunglasses on.

Sometimes, Natasha would remember when she first moved into John and Becky's house and thought that they were going to be a good family. They had seemed kind and had told her that they had been considering fostering kids for awhile and that she was their first. They told her that she was their little princess and that they were going to take care of her and be her family. She had been told that enough times to know that what they said probably wasn't true but even though she hated herself for it, she couldn't help but hope.

She had been wrong to hope.

The first few days had been great, she was something new for her foster parents to show off and they seemed to really like her. They introduced her to all of John's coworkers and posted pictures of her on their social media. She didn't mind that they were treating her like a little doll, at least they were being nice. After the novelty wore off, Becky started to lose interest in her and John would yell at her for the littlest things. That hadn't been fun but it was bearable. She knew how to take care of herself and she could handle loud foster parents.

As time passed, it seemed like Becky forgot that she was even there and John's yelling got worse. Now he would scream threats at her and yell really mean things. She could deal with him telling her that she wasn't wanted, that no one else liked her enough to keep her so he was stuck with her, because they were just words and even though those words hurt, they were far better than the alternative.

It had gotten a little worse after Skye moved in. He started pushing her and would sometimes grab her too hard but it wasn't too bad. Nat could usually intervene on Skye's behalf and keep her sister out of harm's way and that was good enough for her. John usually lost interest in them before things got too physical so she and Skye were just trying to get by day after day.

Recently, things had been getting worse. Garrett would come home from work angry and stressed and he would take it out on her and Skye. That's why when they heard the front door open, Natasha quickly got up from her bed, firmly shut her door, and made her way back over to Skye. She tried to get Skye to focus back on her letters but they heard John calling their names from downstairs.

It wouldn't do them any good to ignore him so she grabbed onto Skye's hand and led her out out the door. Skye's fingers were wrapped tightly around her hand and she whispered, "I don't want to go down there."

Natasha paused and tried to give her sister a reassuring look, "It'll be alright, besides, I'm kinda hungry. Aren't you?"

Skye nodded and straightened up before pushing Nat towards the stairs. They both paused at what they saw.

Becky was laughing and John was smiling and those two things seemed so out of place in this house that Natasha wasn't really sure what was going on.

Skye's fingers squeezed around hers and Natasha knew her little sister was just as confused as she was. The two adults were sitting at the table, both looking relaxed with drinks in hand.

"Come on girls, let's celebrate this as a family!" John's deep voice boomed. Natasha almost choked at the word 'family'. Since when had John ever treated them like family?

She saw the flash of hope that flickered across Skye's face and she violently hated John for giving her hope that things would be different when she knew he would only end up hurting them. Natasha had been through that cycle far too many times.

"Say something," Becky nudged Natasha, picking up Skye and placing her onto her lap. Natasha had to use every ounce of her self control not to grab Skye back. She wanted to scream, watching Becky cradle the little girl in her lap, like she cared. Skye's dark eyes were blank and she let Becky hug her and kiss her cheek without any reaction. Natasha felt the sudden urge to throw up, watching her baby sister being treated like a doll.

"What are you gawking at?" John startled her out of her thoughts and she tore her gaze away from Skye to look at the large man.

"What are we celebrating?" Natasha found her voice.

"My promotion!" John raised his glass. "Your dad is the newest captain at the station!"

Now she really could throw up. John Garrett was not her father. They were not her family. Her only family was Skye, nobody else.

"Congratulations." Natasha could barely muster any fake enthusiasm for him. Luckily, John didn't seem to notice. Instead he pulled out his wallet and took out a couple bills.

"Here kiddos. Don't spend it all on candy." He handed Skye a twenty, before turning and handing one to Natasha. She stared at it for a second before taking it. She didn't want a single cent of his money... but she could spend it on Skye so she wasn't going to refuse.

"Thank you," Skye said obediently, glancing at Natasha, dark eyes confused. Natasha echoed the thank you somewhat more reluctantly.

"Now why don't we have dinner, what do you say?" John sounded almost jolly.

Becky finally put Skye down so that she could head into the kitchen and Natasha had her arm around the little girl in matter of seconds with Skye pressing up against her. With Skye in her arms, Natasha felt a lot better about the situation. They could actually eat a nice dinner, they had some extra money, and maybe things would be a little better for awhile.

At least, one could hope.

Skye spent the night in Natasha's bed, curled up against her sister. John and Becky were acting different. It seemed nice but it still kinda made her nervous.

John had been happy all night and they had all eaten dinner together. Skye had even been allowed second helpings and dessert. It was one of the first nights she had gone to bed full. And John had given them money. Twenty dollars was a lot. Skye had given it to Natasha as soon as possible, trusting she would know better what to do with it.

Everything last night seemed good but Skye didn't trust it. She wanted to but only one person had ever stayed with her no matter what she did, not caring if she cried, or wet the bed, or got sick, and that person was Natasha. So Skye would trust her before anything else. And Natasha had told her to be careful and not to get too excited.

Waking up, tummy feeling satisfactorily full instead of empty, Skye smiled slightly and snuggled up against Natasha's still sleeping form. But before she could nod off back to sleep, a strange smell caught her attention.

Bacon.

Someone was cooking breakfast downstairs.

"Nattie." Skye poked the sleeping redhead.

Skye watched as her sister let out a groan and slowly opened her eyes, "What?"

Sitting up, Skye uncertainly pointed towards the door, "I think they're making breakfast."

She watched Nattie quickly sit up and look around, "What?"

"I smell bacon, don't you?" Maybe she was just imagining the smell, she really liked bacon.

Her sister groggily rubbed her eyes and sniffed, "Yeah, I smell it."

Skye glanced from the door to her sister and back again, "Should we...go eat?"

Natasha's face scrunched up like it did when she was thinking really hard and Skye waited for her to say something, "I guess so."

They both stretched and climbed out of the bed. After helping her sister make the bed, Skye followed her out the door and down the stairs. She could hear Becky and John talking and grabbed onto the back of Nattie's shirt because John wasn't supposed to be here, he was supposed to be at work.

They stopped in the doorway that led to the kitchen and waited for their foster parents to notice them. Skye's eyes widened when she saw the stack of bacon and plate full of scrambled eggs sitting on the table. It looked yummy.

Becky was pouring John a glass of orange juice as he shoved a piece of bacon into his mouth and she was the first one to notice them, "Good morning girls, come get some breakfast."

Skye looked up so see what Natasha was going to do but her sister just surveyed the scene in front of them for a few seconds before taking a seat at the table on the opposite end from where John was sitting. Skye tried to subtly scoot her chair closer to her sister's before sitting down.

Becky breezed over and put two plates full of food in front of them and then came back to give them each a glass of orange juice. Even though Skye was sort of suspicious of her foster parents' new behavior, that wasn't going to stop her from eating as much bacon as she could.

Biting down on a piece of bacon, she made sure she chewed and swallowed before whispering to Natasha, "What are they doing?"

Her sister shrugged and pushed her scrambled eggs around on her plate.

John cleared his throat and Skye immediately focused on him. He liked it when she payed attention to him, he got mad when she didn't. "What're you two whispering about?"

John didn't look mad and he didn't sound mad but sometimes he pretended so Skye was grateful when Natasha spoke up, "We were just… talking about how cool it is that you're here this morning."

They hadn't been talking about that but Natasha knew how to handle things like this and Skye trusted her so she wasn't going to say anything.

Their foster dad crammed a forkful of scrambled eggs into his mouth and spoke around the food, "They're letting me come in late today. Your mother and I are going to take you to school."

Skye didn't want them to take her to school. Becky and John ruined everything and she didn't want them to ruin school for her. She liked school. She liked Mr. Coulson and that they learned a new letter every day in class, she liked that her sister was right down the hall from her, and she really liked being away from Becky and John.

When she glanced at her sister, Natasha's face was blank. Her face was usually like that when she was upset, "Okay."

Becky clapped her hands together and Skye jumped at the sudden noise, "Well, finish eating so that we can get ready to go! I'll help you pick out your outfits!"

Skye remembered that Natasha had told her not to get excited about John and Becky's behavior but she couldn't help but hope that maybe things would start to be different.

Natasha hated today and it was barely eight o'clock.

She and Skye had woken up to breakfast and while most people would love that, she didn't trust John or Becky. Whenever they were nice like this, it would only last for a couple of days until something went wrong and all of Nat's dreams of having a nice, normal family would be crushed yet again.

She had stayed silent throughout breakfast and while Becky had dressed her and Skye up. Natasha hadn't wanted to upset Becky so she had begrudgingly put on the light blue dress that she had given her. Becky had even put a stupid bow in her hair. Natasha hated bows.

Being treated like Becky's personal doll wasn't what made her angry though, what made her blood boil was how John and Becky's behavior was affecting Skye. Natasha had told her little sister not to trust how their foster parents were acting and she knew that Skye had listened to her but she could still see the raw hope in the little girl's eyes. She hated them for that.

Skye had let Becky put her into one of the skirts that she had bought the little girl when she had first moved in and a nice shirt. Natasha had instinctively moved to braid Skye's hair but Becky had brushed her aside and put Skye's hair into pigtails instead. If Becky really cared about Skye, she would know that Skye much preferred braids to pigtails.

Natasha had snuck a change of clothes for her and Skye into her backpack while Becky helped Skye tie her shoes and then they had been out the door and in the car on the way to school. Becky and John had talked the whole way to school about Garrett's new promotion while she and Skye had stayed silent.

As soon as they got out of the car, Becky had grabbed onto her hand and then Skye's hand and then proceeded to walk between them so that Natasha couldn't walk by her sister.

John glanced around, "Where are we heading?"

If they would have actually brought them to school every day like real parents, then they would know where their classrooms were, "This way."

Natasha tugged on Becky's hand, maybe a little harder than necessary, and led her foster parent's towards their classrooms. She could see that Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson were standing outside their doors like they always did and for some reason, Natasha didn't want her foster parents to meet her teacher.

Suddenly Skye spoke up, "Our rooms are right there, we can make it. Bye!"

Natasha had no idea what Skye was doing. It was extremely unusual for Skye to speak up around Becky and John and it was especially unusual for her to dismiss them like that.

Nat hoped that John and Becky wouldn't be offended or anything and watched as John patted to top of Skye's head, "Don't be dumb kid, we're going to meet your teachers."

Becky swatted at John's arm, "You're messing up her pigtails Garrett."

Becky let go of Natasha's hand to fix Skye's hair and Nat took a step to the side so that Becky wouldn't be able to hold her hand again.

They came to a stop in front of Natasha's classroom and Mrs. May gave them a small smile, "Good morning Natasha and Skye. I'm sorry, I don't-"

John cut her teacher off and Natasha watched as Mrs. May raised an eyebrow, "I'm John Garrett and this is my wife Rebecca. We're their parents."

Becky finally let go of Skye to shake Mrs. May's hand and her little sister scampered over to her side. Natasha quickly leaned down and whispered to Skye, "You're not dumb."

Skye nodded and Nat saw her little thumb make its way towards her mouth. Before it could reach its target, Natasha gently grabbed Skye's hand and held onto it.

She looked back to her foster parents and her teacher and it seemed like they had gotten introductions out of the way. Mrs. May was intensely studying Becky and John and it made Natasha feel a little uncomfortable. Her teacher seemed to know when people were lying, maybe she would be able to tell that John and Becky were lying about being nice.

Mrs. May glanced at her before smiling at her foster parents, "Well, it's nice to finally meet you. I was wondering when I would see you guys."

Her teacher sounded accusatory but John didn't seem to notice, "I work a lot so I don't always get to walk the kids to school."

Yeah, because John seemed like the kind of guy who would enjoy walking she and Skye to school. Natasha barely managed to stop herself from rolling her eyes.

Garrett put his arms around Becky's shoulders and pulled her close to his side, "Actually, I just got promoted to Captain."

Mrs. May nodded, "Wow, that seems impressive. Are you a-"

John cut her off again, "I'm a police officer."

Becky affectionately patted John's chest, "Yep, we're so proud."

Garrett pressed a kiss to the side of Becky's head and Skye squeezed Natasha's hand.

Her teacher raised an eyebrow, "That sounds very exciting, congratulations Mr. Garrett."

John smiled, "Thanks. How's my kid doing in your class? She behaving?"

Natasha knew that she wasn't a great student but she hoped that Mrs. May didn't say anything bad about her. That would make John mad.

Mrs. May smiled at her, "Natasha is a wonderful student. I'm lucky to have her in my class."

That was surprising to hear. Skye grinned up at her but Natasha didn't say anything. She wasn't really sure what to say.

John reached over and pinched her cheek and Natasha's grip on Skye's hand tightened so that she wouldn't reach up and push his hand away, "Good. Well, we better drop off the little one. See you tonight Natasha."

Becky tried to usher Skye away from her but Natasha wouldn't let go of the little girl's hand, "But…"

Her foster mom shot a flustered smile at Mrs. May before prying Natasha's hand off of Skye's, "Say goodbye you two."

Skye looked lost but quickly rushed forward and gave her a hug. Natasha leaned down so that she could whisper, "Meet me out here when they leave okay? I have clothes that we can change into."

Skye nodded and reluctantly stepped away from her before following their foster parents down the hall. Skye kept looking back at her and Natasha kept an eye on her until Mrs. May cleared her throat, "Your parents seem nice Natasha."

She kept her eyes on Skye when she answered, "Yeah."

Natasha walked into her classroom but hovered by the door. When she craned her neck, she could see that John and Becky were talking to Mr. Coulson. Skye's teacher seemed very excited to meet their foster parents and was enthusiastically waving his hands around as he talked to them. Skye looked really tense and Nat hated that she was with Becky and John by herself.

Finally, her foster parents said goodbye and Natasha could visibly see Skye relax the further Becky and John got away from her. Mr. Coulson motioned for Skye to walk into his classroom but Skye shook her head and made her way back towards her. Natasha walked out the door, not really caring that Mrs. May was asking where she was going, and met Skye halfway.

When they were close enough, Skye immediately wrapped her arms around Nat's shoulders in a tight hug, "That was weird."

Natasha nodded, "Yeah, I know."

Her little sister stepped back and clenched the fabric of her skirt in her fist, "Can I change?"

Natasha nodded and led Skye to the restroom, "Yeah."

Skye grinned, "You look real pretty in your dress Nattie."

Skye knew how much she hated dresses and it made Natasha smile a little because the little girl felt relaxed enough to tease her.

Shaking her head, she opened the bathroom door for Skye and ushered her inside. Skye was already wiggling out of her skirt before Nat locked the door.

Natasha threw a pair of jeans Skye's way and quickly took her dress off so that she could put on her own pair of jeans and a plain black shirt. She pulled the ridiculous bow out of her hair, grabbed all the clothes, and shoved them into her backpack. Skye stood in front of her and pointed to her pigtails and Nat took them out without having to be asked.

She let out a breath of relief. Out of that dumb dress and with John and Becky gone, she finally felt like herself.

Natasha looked over to Skye, who was running her fingers through her hair, "Better?"

The little girl nodded and unlocked the bathroom door. They made their way out into the hallway. They would have to remember to change back into their other clothes before they went back home.

This time, she was able to properly say goodbye to Skye.

She wrapped Skye up in a tight hug and gave her a small smile when her little sister stretched onto her tiptoes so that she could kiss her cheek.

"Bye Nattie, I'll see you later."

Nat gently pushed her towards her class, "Bye, go have fun."

Skye waved at her and skipped down the hallway towards her classroom. Natasha turned and walked towards Mrs. May. Her teacher was watching her and even though Natasha knew that her teacher was inspecting her new outfit, she didn't say anything.

At least she didn't say anything until Mrs. May's eyes surveyed her bowless hair and raised an eyebrow. Natasha didn't know why, but she felt the need to explain herself, "I hate bows."

Mrs. May just nodded and held up her hands in a placating manner, "Me too."

Let me know what you think as always! Hearing from you all is one of my favorite things!

~silverlining