Chapter 9: Parting Clouds To Blue Skye's

Grant's POV- Status: S.H.I.E.L.D SUV. Whereabouts: "on route"

Grant looked into the review mirror, relieved Skye seemed to have finally given into sleep. Her head rested on her shoulder, her mouth slightly open. She was reluctant to leave him in any way. Even saying goodbye to the team; the moment he disappeared to put their bags in the car, she started to panic. Skye wouldn't even leave his arms to give the team a proper hug goodbye, only happy with leaning out of his arms and wrapping her arms around their neck, pulling them to her.

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Grant pulled up out the front of his safe house. This was one of his most secluded safe houses he owned; which was saying something, considering he had more than one in each country. This house, however, was ridiculously modern. It had five bedrooms, two upstairs, two down stairs, with one of the downstairs rooms converted into a gym; two bathrooms one on each level. The entire back wall that faced the private beach was bullet proof glass; all the better for protecting Skye.

Skye didn't even stir when he pulled up. Quietly, he got their bags out of the car, not wanting to disturb her. Skye needed the sleep; she kept being woken throughout the night by nightmares. Now she was avoiding sleep… or at least trying to.

Skye's POV

Her eyes flew open and she jerked forward only to be stopped by the straps on her car seat. She looked around wildly, panicking. It felt so real! I couldn't get to him! He was right there, I couldn't reach him! That bad man was taking me away! Her breath got caught in her lungs, and she struggled to breathe properly. "Grant!" She croaked out, looking into the front seat. No Grant! Now she was really scared. What if he took me while I was asleep? The panic bubbled up and she started trembling. "Grant?" She whimpered, looking out the window. She couldn't see him and tears welled up in her eyes, streaming down her cheeks.

Grant's POV

Grant found Skye in her car seat, awake, tear tracks marking her cheeks. He swiftly pulled her door open, unbuckling her and lifting her out so he could hold her close.

"You're ok, baby, I'm right here." He told her, trying to sooth her as she whimpered quietly into the side of his neck. "Shh, baby." He said, softly rubbing her back as he walked into the house thought the garage. He took a seat on the couch in the lounge. "Do you want to tell me what it was about?" He asked tentatively, smoothing her curls down as she whimpered.

Skye trembled, looking up at him through wet lashes. "The HYDRA man's there." She said, voice shaking with fear, eyes still shining with tears. "But I can't get to you, he grabs me. He's taking me away!" She cried out hysterically, clutching his shirt with tight fists.

His heart clenched painfully as more tears just cascaded down her little cheeks. "Skye, I won't ever let anyone take you away or hurt you. You're safe, ok? I promise." He vowed, wiping her tears away with him thumb. He hated it when she cried.

"But that bad man was going to take me away!" Skye insisted, tightening her grip on his shirt turning her knuckles white.

Little did Skye realise that HYDRA's agent had no intention of taking her anywhere, just killing her if he didn't get the 0-8-4. Grant suppressed a shiver at the thought of how close to a world without her he had come.

He decided to be somewhat honest with her. "Skye, that man wasn't going to take you away." He avoided why and continued. "He wanted what was in the briefcase that you minded for me in the closet. He wanted to swap." He tried to explain it in simple terms so Skye could comprehend what he was saying.

"He wanted to swap me?" Skye asked disbelievingly, frowning at him. She wasn't convinced. "For a briefcase?"

Skye was more confused, he could see it in her eyes. "That's right baby, he wanted to swap you for the briefcase." He told her, unsure if he was saying too much but he wanted her to understand.

"What was in it?" Skye asked, hesitantly, like she wasn't sure she was allowed to ask.

Grant wasn't sure how or if he should explain what it was that had nearly cost Skye her life. "It was something he couldn't get a hold of, baby. That's why we had to keep it away from him." He told her simply.

"So he wouldn't be bad with it?" Skye asked, trying hard to understand.

He nodded, noticing Skye loosen her grip on him ever so slightly. "That's right baby, so he wouldn't do bad things with it." Skye nodded, yawning widely. "Is that why you don't want to sleep?" He asked. He thought it was the nightmares but he wasn't totally sure; perhaps she didn't feel safe on The Bus anymore after it had been invaded. Skye nodded confirmation to the nightmares.

"How about you close your eyes for a while?" He suggested. Skye got a panicked look and redoubled her grip on his shirt, he added quickly. "I'll stay with you so you know that you're safe." That seemed to be ok. Skye nuzzled further into his chest and closed her eyes.

Once Skye's breathing evened out he pulled out his phone. Coulson wanted him to check in once they arrived. Coulson answered him on the second ring. "Just checking in, sir. We've arrived safely." He informed his boss.

"That's good, Ward. How does Skye like your new accommodations?" Coulson asked, sounding curious as he fished for information openly about their whereabouts. Grant hadn't revealed their exact location in case of any compromises.

"Skye hasn't had the chance to look around yet, she slept until we got here, and when we arrived she had a nightmare. I got her calmed down, she's back asleep now." He said quietly into the phone.

Coulson was quiet for a moment. "Once she relaxes and realises she's safe again, her nightmares should calm down." He tried to sound reassuring, but some of his anxieties bled through into his voice as it wavered uncertainly.

Grant sighed. He knew they wouldn't just go away. They'd fade and become less frequent. He knew all about nightmares and just thinking about it made him uneasy. He didn't like the idea of Skye experiencing that torment. "I know, sir. I just wish she didn't have them at all." He stated heavily.

"I know Ward, I do too. Unfortunately all we can do is be there for her if she does" Coulson said, sounding tired.

"I just hope they ease up soon. Skye's exhausted." He exhale noisily and looked down at Skye, who finally looked relaxed for the first time in days.

"We can only hope, Ward. We'll check-in in a couple of day to keep you informed." Coulson assured him, hanging up.

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Skye didn't nap very long. After only another half an hour, her eyes started fluttering.

"Hey, baby. How was your nap? No nightmare?" He asked her softly.

Skye shook her head and sat up. "Where are we?" She asked, looking around with wide eyes.

Grant smiled. Skye was obviously feeling a bit better. She was back to her curious self. "We're at my house by the beach." He answered.

She was sitting on his knee now. "Can I look?" She asked shyly.

Grant chuckled. "You can look wherever you want. But if you want to go outside I need to come with you. I don't want you out there alone, ok?"

"Not safe out there?" Skye asked worriedly, looking towards the backdoor shrinking back against him.

He rubbed her arms comfortingly while internally cursing his carelessness; of course she'd think that. "Nothing like that baby, your safe here. I need to keep an eye on you around the ocean." He explained.

"Ocean?" Skye asked, frowning at him obviously confused.

Has she never heard of the ocean? He thought, and then shook his head at himself. Of course Skye hasn't heard of the ocean, she's three. He remembered feeling like an idiot. "The water, baby. I'll show you after you've had a look around the house." He offered.

Skye smiled. "O'tay." She slid off his knee and hurried off.

Skye's POV

Skye looked around the kitchen first. I can't see over this bench either. She thought, a little sadly at how small she was. Skipping down the hallway, she saw five more doors. Two led off to big rooms, each with a big bed. The other three a bathroom, laundry and another had a collection of funny looking stuff. She closed each door, uninterested.

As Skye walked back through the lounge, a set of stairs caught her eye. She wandered over and peered up. It's very high. She bit her lip nervously. I can see right through it, it's floating! She was amazed and scared at the same time. Looking around for Grant, she realised that she'd have to go up by herself, as she couldn't see him. She wasn't brave enough to walk up, so she crawled, only peeking to see where to put her hands and knees. Up the top, she found three more doors.

The first bedroom was big and boring. It had a big bed like the ones down stairs. Along the wall opposite the door that led to the bathroom was a cupboard that went all the way to the ceiling. Either side of the bed were white tables that each had a blue lamp on them and there was a big window but the curtains were closed.

The other room was obviously Grant's it had a big bed in the middle of the room, white bedside tables and lamps like all the other rooms except there was a white book case filled with books and an armchair near the window that lead outside. She liked Grant's room, it didn't look like his bunk on The Bus- it had a bit more mess to it. There were books everywhere and cloths flung over the chair. Skye felt safe in here. It smells like him. She smiled, and decided to go find Grant now she was done exploring so she could see what this ocean was.

Grant's POV

While Skye explored, he made a shopping list, needing fresh meat, veggies, fruit and snacks for Skye. Not to mention jam. God, my life isn't worth living if I deprived her of her favourite addiction. He thought with a grimaced at what he'd have to endure.

He heard little feet approaching and looked up to see Skye bounce into the kitchen at full speed, curls flying behind her with a smile on her face. God, I've missed seeing her smile. He thought. After the attack on The Bus, Skye'd been terrified and withdrawn, but now she was beaming with excitement, and her smile was infectious.

"All done exploring? How about I show you the ocean? Then we'll head for the grocery store" He asked, and got an excited nod.

Grant walked out of the kitchen towards the glass panel doors, sliding it open and closing it behind Skye, the sun hit their faces as they walked outside.

Skye squinted up at him, shielding her eyes from the blazing sun. "It's hot." She complained.

Grant suddenly remembered that unlike him, who was used to all the traveling and endured a wide variety of climates, Skye wasn't and she certainly wasn't dressed for this climate. She was still in her favourite lavender legging and a dress Simmons had insisted on buying her, with her Iron Man hoodie and favourite red gumboots.

He stopped on the patio. "Here baby, let's take off that jacket and how about we lose the leggings and gumboots. You're probably not going to need them." He told her as he helped her out of them. He placed them on the seat next to them with his own discarded socks and shoes. He at least was more prepared in black cargo shorts and a grey t-shirt rather than his usual black jeans and jacket combo; he hadn't thought to make sure Skye had dressed appropriately.

They headed down from the patio to the ocean, less than 100 meters away. He watched Skye closely, wanting to see her reaction. He wasn't disappointed. As soon as Skye's feet hit the sand, she scrunched up both her nose and toes.

Skye lifted her gaze from her sand covered feet to look up at him. "Feels funny." She whined, scrunching up her little nose again, reaching for him.

Grant chuckled, shaking his head, not picking her up. "You'll get used to it, baby. Look." He said, pointing to the large expanse of sea in front of them, which due to her fascination with the sand, Skye hadn't notices yet.

Skye looked over to the water, freezing, triggering Grant to go on full alert. "What's wrong, baby?" He asked, worried by her stillness. He scanned the area, seeing nothing but what you'd expect.

After a minute Skye finally answered. "It's booful." She stated in complete awe.

He sighed, relieved. "Come on, let's get closer." He said taking her little hand in his and leading her to the edge of the braking water.

Skye squealed loudly and jumped back away from the water as it touched her toes, bumping into him. "It's cold!" She said defensively.

Grant raised an eyebrow as he steadied her. "You won't even notice it once you're in for a while, it'll cool you down." He promised her. Skye gave him a sceptical look, but took a few more steps into the water.

After a few minutes Skye was playing happily in the crashing water, he sat on the sand watching her jump over each wave that broke on the shore laughing and giggling as they splashed her.

His heart stopped as he watched her. She lost her balance as a larger wave broke on the shore pushing her backwards, giving her a face full of salty water. He jumped up anxiously, hurrying to her side and scooping her to his chest as she spluttered. He used his t-shirt to wipe the water from her face.

"You're ok, baby. It happens, just try to stay in the shallow water until you get used to it, and can swim better." He tried to reassure her. Skye was eyeing the ocean wearily now, which probably couldn't hurt. He didn't want her to be afraid of it.

Grant brushed Skye's wet hair out of her face. "How about I come in with you so you don't get knocked over?" He suggested. Skye gave him a small hesitant nod. "Ah, hold on one sec, Skye." He said, putting her back on dry sand, taking his slightly damp shirt off placing his phone on it. Best thing about a private beach; I don't have to worry about my stuff getting pinched. He thought.

Picking Skye up, Grant placed her on his hip and started walking into the ocean slowly so she could get used to it. Skye's toes dipped into the water and he felt her stiffen and tighten her grip around his neck. "It's ok Skye, I've got you." He assured her. She relaxed a little, so he took a few more steps until the water was around his belly button and just covering the top of her thighs. He didn't want to go any further and risk pushing her too far if she wasn't ready.

Skye seemed ok with the water just around her legs. "Do you want to go in a little further? How about up to your belly?" He suggested, giving her a tickle to try and get her to relax a little further. Skye nodded. She seemed to be gaining her confidence back as she waved her hands around in the water and splashed a bit.

The water was fairly calm and quite warm, but it was getting late, and they still had grocery shopping to do. "Have you had enough for today, Skye?" He asked.

Skye seemed to think about it for a minute. "Can we come back tomorrow and play?" She asked tentatively.

Grant was glad Skye wanted to come back. He was unsure as to whether or not she would, but she seemed ok. "Sure we can, whenever you want." He told her making his way back to the shore. I'll have to teach her to swim. He thought. "Let's get dry and do the shopping." He said, walking back up to the items left on the sand.

Skye suddenly looked down like she hadn't noticed she was still wearing her dress. "All wet!" She stated, shaking her head and holding the hem of her wet, sandy dress in distaste.

He chuckled at her incredulous tone. "We'll have to get you some beach stuff. I'll have to remember towels too next time." He said. It totally slipped his mind to get towels, and he was usually prepared for everything. Skye must be rubbing off on me. He thought, bending down with Skye still on his hip to grab his shirt and phone.

The sun must have been hotter than he thought because they were only damp by the time they got inside. He made a mental note to add sunscreen to the list of things he needed to get. He walked with Skye through the house to the front door and grabbed their bags from where he'd left them earlier.

He headed for the second floor bathroom; it was bigger and had joint access from both master bedroom and the room Skye would be sleeping in. Walking into the bathroom he set Skye down and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around her while he decided how best to go about this.

"I'll run the shower and get it right for you, and you just yell for me when you need me to, um, turn it off." He ended uncomfortably. He'd always had Simmons to help him with this stuff. He wasn't even sure a shower was best; he just figured Skye couldn't drown in the shower.

His internal debate was interrupted.

"Jemma usually runs me a bath with bubbles and washes my hair for me." Skye told him.

"Oh well, I guess we'll do that then." He said. Running a bath, he realised he didn't have any bubble mixture, so he used some shampoo - well, a lot, actually.

Bath full he turned to Skye. "How about I wait outside, you get undressed and hop in the tub. When you're in I'll come back in and help you with your hair? You can get in the tub, right, by yourself?" He added questioningly, rubbing the back on his neck awkwardly.

Skye just gave him a look that said 'well duh' so he left and waited for her to call him.

"Robot!" Skye yelled from the bathroom a few minutes later.

Grant shouldn't be surprised by her calling him 'Robot'. He wondered sometimes if she found it easier than 'Grant'. He'd been surprised that little Skye had taken to him so fast, it was no secret he wasn't the most approachable person and he had absolutely no experience with kids. He thought for sure Skye would latch onto Coulson, him being like a father to her.

From the moment Skye was de-aged, she gravitated towards him like she was shadowing his every move. He wasn't immune to the bond they had even now with her being three. That urge to protect and keep her safe was stronger than ever. He loved her just as much as before, but now he knew some of the reasons behind all the little quirks he'd secretly fallen in love with. He'd do anything for her; whether it was protect her from HYDRA or wash the sand out of her hair.

He called back. "I'm coming in Skye." He poked his head round the door hesitantly with his eyes closed.

Skye giggled. "You can open your eye's Robot."

Grant laughed. Skye was covered completely in bubbles, well, all but her head. Nothing to worry about. He thought relieved. He knelt by the edge of the tub. "Ready for your hair to be washed?" He asked grabbing the shampoo squeezing some into his palm. He massaged it into a foamy lather, he wasn't sure how best to go about washing out Skye's long hair.

Grant suddenly remembered what his Gramsy used to do for him when he was little and hated getting water in his eyes. He grabbed the tooth brush cup and filled it with water. "Tilt your head back for me Skye." He instructed, Skye did as he asked, and he handed her a face cloth.

"But I already washed." Skye looked up at him confused.

"It's for your eyes, so we don't get soap in them while I rinse your hair, see." He folded it and placed it over her eyes, bringing her hand up to hold it in place.

Rinsing went smoothly and the conditioner had Skye happily relaxed, playing with all the bubbled while he ran his fingers through her long hair, working out the tangles. "All done, baby, can you hop out now. I'll find some cloths and put them in the spare room for you." He placed her previously discarded towel within her reach and he left the bathroom with her bag, headed for the spare room.

He placed her bag on the bed and laid out her clothes, looking for lighter items. He'd have to get her some summer cloths, soon. Australia was a hot, dry place and she'd need short sleeves here. Singlets, shorts and thongs were like a uniform here and lots of sunscreen. He mused, making a mental note to add that, alongside shampoo, conditioner and bubble bath, to his shopping list.

He picked Skye a light cotton dress. Lavender with white lace trim around the hem with short sleeves, as opposed to her legging and t-shirt combo she'd been sporting since becoming a toddler, he figured it would be a bit cooler.

Skye walked in, snuggly wrapped in a white towel.

"You dress while I have a shower, and then we'll go get food and a few other things." He told her, heading back to the bathroom.

"O'tay" Skye nodded heading for her clothes.

Grant showered quickly. He didn't like leaving her unsupervised, so he got dressed as fast as he could. He was surprised to find Skye back in the lounge, sitting on the couch fully clothed and ready to go. He was still expecting her to be in her room. He knew stairs weren't her strong suit, but she must not have had any trouble.

"Oh, Skye." He said, looking down at her bare feet. "I forgot our stuff from the patio. I'll be right back." He hurried outside, grabbing their clothes and shoes quickly returning.

He glanced at her boots. "How about we get you some summer shoes?" He suggested cautiously, knowing how attached she was to her red gumboots.

"Red ones?" Skye asked in a small voice.

"If you want." He agreed, while putting his own shoes back on. "How about we head to get them first and some beach stuff?" Skye was scrunching her little toes looking down at them worriedly; he could see the question forming. "I'll just carry you till we get them." He reassured her.

"O'tay" Skye agreed happily, lifting her arms up to him.

They headed for the car, and Grant buckled Skye in, then jumped in the front seat, buckling himself in. Starting the car, he headed for the surf stores in the centre of town. Torquay is a tourist oasis; Bells Beach is famous for its great waves, attracting surfers from all over the world. It's perfect if you want to blend in.

Notes- EmmaJMcGhee Thanks you for all your help and answering my questions. I'm certainly learning a lot :)