Happy day - we have a chapter for you!

I hope you all had an excellent Thanksgiving if you celebrate that and a spectacular week regardless of whether you do or not.

This is one of my favorite chapters so I'm really excited to share it with you all. I think it'll address some of the things you've been hoping to have addressed. Of course, if there is one theme of this story, it would be that everything and everyone is a work in progress.

When Skye opened the door to the room she shared with Natasha, she found her sister lying on the bed staring at the ceiling. She was so still that for a second, Skye thought she might be asleep but then she saw Natasha's hands clench into fists at her sides.

"Nattie?"

Skye stepped into the room slowly, strangely nervous. Her thumb seemed to find her lips without her permission.

Natasha didn't move an inch and Skye was suddenly really scared.

Her sister never ignored her.

Never.

"Nattie?" She inched forward, blinking rapidly. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

Natasha's green eyes were glued to the ceiling; she didn't even look at Skye as she asked, "Why aren't you with Mrs. May and Mr. Coulson?"

That confused Skye. "Mrs. May asked if I could check on you..."

"Mrs. May," Natasha huffed and Skye saw her eyes flash angrily. "Well why don't you go tell her that I don't need to be checked on." Her voice held an edge that Skye had never heard Natasha use with her before.

"I... I don't want to go tell her that," Skye faltered slightly, thumb fully in her mouth as tears pressed against the backs of her eyelids.

She didn't know what to do.

Natasha still wasn't looking at her and Skye suddenly couldn't hold in her dismay over her sister's apparent anger with her.

She burst into tears, "Nattie, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you mad. I'm really sorry."

Instantly, Natasha's gaze broke from the ceiling and she was beside her in an instant, pulling her close. Skye clung to her sister desperately, trying to catch her breath around the overwhelming worry that pressed against her lungs.

"It's not your fault, I'm not upset with you, you didn't do anything," Natasha was murmuring in her ear but Skye couldn't help thinking that maybe her sister was actually lying to her because something was wrong, so wrong, and she could feel it.

"You were mad at me," Skye mumbled through her tears. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

She didn't really know what was going on except that Natasha was upset, had been upset for awhile, and it was probably because she had done something wrong. Skye couldn't lose Nattie - she just couldn't. She had to make it better and maybe apologizing would help...

"Skye!" Natasha was trying to get her attention. "Skye, look at me. Look at me."

Sniffling, Skye raised her tear streaked face to meet Natasha's gaze.

To her surprise, Natasha was crying too.

"I'm not mad at you, I'm not. Nothing is your fault. It's my fault. It's my fault."

"Why... Why are you crying?" Skye hiccuped, brow furrowing with confusion.

Natasha just shook her head and to Skye's horror, her sister's tears only increased to the point that she was almost sobbing.

"Nattie... What's wrong?" Skye wrung her hands in the air, unable to handle her distress at her sister's tears. "Nattie..."

But Natasha didn't stop crying, instead, her older sister physically turned away from her to hide her face in her knees as she curled up in a ball.

Fear stabbed through her chest and she desperately rushed to do everything that Natasha would do to make her feel better when she was sad. She attached herself to her sister's side, hugged her tightly, and patted her on the back softly. "It'll be okay," She offered the words, trying to hide her uncertainty.

Could things really be okay if Nattie was crying so hard?

"I love you," Skye tried to stroke Natasha's hair with her good hand. "I love you, Nattie."

It took a bit, but finally Natasha uncurled slightly and hugged Skye back with all she had.

Phil couldn't help but think the house was beginning to feel slightly like an emotional warzone.

Melinda was sitting stiffly in an armchair, pretending to read a book, while Natasha and Skye played some distance away. Natasha's expression was simultaneously stone hard and fragile as glass and Skye seemed to be absorbing her sister's tension and expressing it in the form of fidgeting. The little girl could barely stay still for a second, her hands fluttering around without purpose as she pushed toy gears together in a disorganized fashion.

That in itself was heartbreaking because Phil had watched Skye play with those toys just a day ago and she barely even seemed like the same child. The Skye from yesterday was calm, concentrated, and happy. This Skye was frazzled, scared, disjointed...

Phil leaned against the counter heavily, trying to decide what his next move should be.

Because obviously he had to do something. Everybody was falling apart at the seams and he couldn't just pretend like he didn't see it.

"Natasha and Skye," he called lightly. The two girls turned toward him immediately, staring at him like deer caught in headlights. "Would either of you like to draw with me? Just if you want, you don't have to."

They both relaxed slightly at his request and he was slightly surprised when Skye turned to Natasha to confer. Before today, the smaller girl had been becoming more independent in her actions; it seemed they were taking some steps back.

Not steps back, Phil reminded himself, trying to stay positive. Just... steps in a new direction.

Finally, Natasha and Skye got up and headed toward the kitchen table. Skye was clinging to Natasha's hand, both girls strangely quiet and stoic as they climbed onto the chairs. Closer up, Phil could see that Natasha's eyes were red and puffy, a clear sign that she had been crying.

His heart went out to her but he made sure not to change his expression as he grabbed paper and coloring supplies.

Skye immediately reached for a blue marker, drawing it aimlessly across her piece of paper, lines crossing and meeting in a chaotic jumble.

Natasha just tapped her red marker, still capped, against the table lightly.

Taking a deep breath, Phil reached for a colored pencil and got to work. It only took a couple minutes for Skye to become interested in his drawing.

"What are you drawing?" Skye leaned forward slightly, squinting at his paper.

"I am drawing what makes me happy," he explained. Across the table, he saw Natasha's eyes flash with slight interest although the older girl's expression didn't change.

"What makes you happy?" Skye looked at his drawing curiously. "Is that me?"

He lifted the sheet up so they could see it better. "Yep, that's you, Natasha, and Melinda. You all make me happy."

Natasha shifted slightly in her chair and he could tell that she was glancing at the drawing of herself.

Skye spun her own drawing under her finger.

"What makes you happy?" Phil asked.

Skye bit her lip, dark eyes glued to the twirling sheet. "Nattie makes me happy." Her lips pursed slightly. "You and Mrs. May make me happy too," she added, giving him a small smile that almost made his heart melt right out of his chest.

Beside her, Natasha stiffened and the sudden flash of fear that crossed her face caught Phil's attention.

Oh.

Oh.

He wasn't even surprised when Natasha suddenly stood up, "Let's go, Skye. I want to do something else."

Skye, looking slightly lost, followed Natasha closely. Across the room, Mel raised her eyebrows at him.

Phil waited until Natasha and Skye had disappeared upstairs before moving to sit on the arm of May's chair.

"Why do you look so happy?" she stared at him as though he were crazy.

"When did Natasha first get upset?" Phil asked her.

She crossed her arms. "Besides the general distrust she has? I guess... sometime around the doctor appointment."

"Skye hugged you," he reminded her, remembering himself the way that Mel's face had softened as the little girl had sought comfort from her. It had been a good moment. Or at least he had thought so. "Skye hugged you and Natasha pulled her away. And that's when all this started."

May's eyes widened with understanding, "Natasha's afraid we're taking Skye away from her."

It took May almost all of her considerable patience to wait for a moment to talk to Natasha alone. The two girls were glued together and it didn't escape her attention that both of them looked absolutely miserable.

It was becoming more and more clear that Natasha was approaching some sort of breaking point; May was just impressed it had taken this long. Skye had gone through several meltdowns since joining them but Natasha... Natasha seemed to just be holding it all in.

May knew firsthand that while it could seem like a great solution, it was not going to serve the little girl well in the long-term. Desperately, she tried to think of how she herself had learned how to let others in but couldn't think of anything particularly enlightening. The truth was, at some point she just had to let Phil in because she couldn't keep going on her own anymore. And Phil had always been there for her, asking her the questions she didn't want to answer, ready to catch the mess that she was once she admitted it.

Now Melinda wanted to try her best to be that person for Natasha.

Skye had just disappeared into the bathroom and Natasha was still sitting at the dining table after dinner, Phil was in the kitchen... The moment had presented itself.

"Natasha."

The girl's head snapped up, green eyes instantly fixed on her. The expression of surprise was quickly replaced by a glare.

"I've noticed you're upset." Natasha opened her mouth to protest but May knew she had to keep going. "And I think that maybe you feel like we... I am taking Skye away from you?"

Natasha stared down at the table and it was silent for almost an entire minute.

Then, finally, the girl murmured something.

"What?" May leaned forward, trying to catch Natasha's words.

"I made Skye cry," Natasha raised her voice very slightly. "I... I made her cry." Her face, usually so composed, crumpled. "I made her cry." The girl took a deep shaky breath, as though trying to steady her soul. Her hands curled into fists, one banging suddenly against the table. "I made Skye cry!" Her face was suddenly wild with rage. "I was mean to her!"

It took a moment for May to decipher where the anger was directed but when she figured it out, it felt as though all the air had been stolen from her lungs.

Among everything else, Natasha was mad at herself.

Across the room, Skye ventured out of the bathroom and was smoothly intercepted by Phil. The two sat down on the couch; out of earshot but within eyesight. Thank you Phil.

"I'm supposed to keep Skye safe," Natasha's fist landed on the table again, bringing May's attention back to her. Those green eyes were focused on something Melinda couldn't see. "I'm supposed to keep her safe. I'm supposed to make it all better. But I..." I can't. May could hear the silent cry behind the words spoken, could see the internal war raging within the girl as she fought with both the idea of Skye loving other people and Skye possibly needing other people.

May could imagine the weight of the world nestled on those small shoulders as she looked at the way Natasha was hunched over the table. Nobody could handle that crushing pressure of perfectly being everything for someone else, especially not a nine-year-old.

"Natasha," May kept her voice low and soft. "Nobody is going to take Skye away from you. Not even your mistakes can make Skye not love you. That's... that's what family is." She paused, switching tactics. "Don't you think Skye might be the most loving person ever?"

Natasha nodded slightly, watching her from behind the strands of red hair that were covering her face.

"Do you think that maybe, in that big heart of hers, Skye has room for you, all of you, and maybe a couple other people... like Mr. Coulson and I?"

The girl's face darkened, "I want her to only love me." Her voice was close to a growl but May could hear the pain behind it. "Only me."

Natasha's words were harsh, protective, angry... but her eyes were full of something very different.

Fear. Natasha was afraid. Afraid of losing the only person she thought cared about her.

"Natasha... Skye is not the only person who loves you."

Natasha became very still.

"Mr. Coulson and I, we care about you too, just like we care about Skye. Even if you get upset and shout at us, we won't throw you out. We will never hit you, we will never put you in the closet, we will never lock food away and make you go hungry... We will never do that to Skye and we will never do that to you because we love Skye and we love you."

Natasha was silently crying, tears sliding down her face. Very slowly, May reached across the table and found her clenched fist. "And maybe..." she said quietly. "Maybe we can help you learn how to love yourself too." She gently, carefully, uncurled the girl's hand from its angry position and held it.

A rush of warmth spread through her as Natasha squeezed her hand slightly. "I know you don't think you're worth being loved, but you are, Natasha. You are."

"I made Skye cry." Natasha suddenly pulled away slightly, her expression saturated with anguish.

May was quiet, sensing that there was more, some way this all connected. She had a feeling that if she waited, it would come out.

She was right.

"J-John would make Skye cry."

May fought not to visibly react as her veins suddenly burned with pure fury and disgust for the man that had been the girls' former foster parent. She felt sick at the very thought of Natasha comparing herself to that monster.

"You are nothing like John Garrett, Natasha. Nothing."

Natasha wouldn't look at her, just clung to her hand.

"Natasha, look at me." She couldn't keep the urgency out her voice and it seemed to work because Natasha finally raised her head and she could see the hollow look on the girl's face. "Love, you are nothing like John Garrett. Do you hear me?"

She couldn't breath, couldn't stand Natasha thinking those things about herself.

"Natasha, do you hear what I'm saying?"

Slowly, the redhead nodded.

"Do I sound like I'm lying about this?"

A soft head shake.

"You are wonderful, kind, thoughtful, sensitive, and so so loving," Melinda leaned forward. "You're a determined girl who would do anything for her sister. That's who you are. I know it, Mr. Coulson knows it, and Skye knows it."

Tears were trickling down Natasha's face but the girl didn't pull her hand away to wipe them away.

"You said that you were mean to Skye - what did Skye do after that?"

Natasha sniffled but didn't say anything.

"Can I guess?" May pressed forward. "Because I think I know what Skye did. She probably wanted a huge hug from you to make her feel better. Am I right?"

The look on Natasha's face told her that she was.

"She wanted a hug from you because you make her feel safe." May knew she was being intense but she just couldn't have Natasha thinking that she was like Garrett, not even for a second. "You are an amazing sister, Natasha."

God, if she had five minutes with that man...

May took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. "Natasha, you deserve to be safe and happy too. Your job in life isn't just to take care of Skye. I know that will always be a part of you, and I'm not going to try to take that away, but I want you to have a chance to be a kid too, to have fun, explore the world... In order to do that, you have to let Mr. Coulson and I help take care of Skye and take care of you. We will never take Skye away from you, we just want to help both of you. Do you... do you think that maybe we could try that?"

Natasha sniffed, looking small and vulnerable in her chair, and Melinda was suddenly struck by just how many very serious things they had talked about. She felt completely overwhelmed. No doubt Natasha would need some time to process what they had talked about - a lot of it would probably need to be repeated in the future.

"Would you like to think about it?" May offered, giving the girl an out.

"Yeah." Natasha finally pulled her hand away, wrapping her arms around her body. "I... I need to go see if Skye's okay."

As she watched the girl walk quickly away, May knew that they would have some variation of this conversation many many more times.

She didn't mind a bit.

As many times as it takes, May silently promised Natasha. That's how many times I will tell you that you are loved.

*sniffs*

I hope you enjoyed - let me know what you think!

Until the next chapter,

~silverliningineachcloud