Chapter 13: Morning Snugglies And Guarded Castles Part 2
Grant's POV- Whereabouts: "The beach house"
With Marco's famous snags eaten, they headed back to the beach. Skye was building something; not a sand castle, he was pleased to see. For the moment she seemed to understand that this place was safe and he wasn't going to let anything happen to her.
Skye's POV
Robot. Grant. She reminded herself, was reading a book as she looked over to check he was still there. Seeing he was still close, she decided to walk up the beach to collect stuff for her rocket ship. Fitzy loved rocket ships and maybe if she built one, they'd come eat breakfast with her. She found a smooth rock that would make a great rocket window. She took it back and put it in place, straightening up she caught sight of a shell out the corner of her eye. It looks like an ice cream cone. She thought happily.
Grant's POV
Glancing up from his book to check on Skye, he noticed she wasn't playing with her bucket and shovel, but looking at something in the sand. She returned to whatever she was building.
Suddenly he heard her scream. He had his gun, but seeing nobody he left it in place and ran to see what have frightened her. Skye was sitting on her knees in the sand holding her right index finger, tears streaming down her cheeks. "What happened baby? Let me look." He said, crouching down in the sand next to her so he could look at her finger. Skye reluctantly held her finger out for him to inspect. Her little finger had a half-centimetre gash in it, and was bleeding quite a bit.
"The shell…bit me" she explained with a sniffle, chin trembling.
He translated that to mean, the crab had obviously got a good hold of her little finger when defending its home. "Baby, could you hold your finger up above your heart for me so it'll stop bleeding." She did as she was told and her cut starting to stop bleeding.
He brushed her hair back behind her ear. "Skye, you know how on The Bus there are somethings that you can't touch because you might get hurt? Well, there are things at the beach that you can't touch too." He explained gently.
"I only wanted to put him on my rocket ship." She sniffled, still holding her finger up, which had stopped bleeding now.
"Oh baby, I'm sure he'd love your rocket but he's got a home. His shell is his home, and when you picked it up…he got scared and defended it." He told her, rubbing her arm a little to comfort her.
"B-but I wasn't going to hurt him!" Skye said horrified.
"I know, baby, but he doesn't. You're a lot bigger than he is, he got scared you were gunna take him from his home." He explained.
"I don't wanna take him from his home!" Skye cried hysterically. "I don't wanna take him." She repeated, sobbing now.
Me and my big mouth. He scolded himself as he picked up a panic-stricken Skye, holding her close while being mindful of her finger. "I know, baby, its ok." He assured her.
"I don't wanna take him from his home." Skye wailed, sobbing into his chest.
"I know, Skye. He's fine now. You both still have your homes and nobody's taking them away." He told her soothingly, running his fingers through her tangled hair; it had relaxed her in the bath maybe it would work now. Skye calmed down and stopped crying after a few minutes.
She seemed calmer. "How about we take care of that finger?" He suggested. "We can come back to the beach tomorrow if you want." He said, standing up with her.
"B-but my wocket. How will Fitzy come to breakfast?" She whined tiredly, eyelids drooping. She tended to revert back to baby talk when she was scared or tired. Her upset little voice was starting to worry him.
He sighed, walking back to their stuff. "Baby, I know you miss Fitz. We'll talk to him soon." He assured her. He'd have to somehow get Coulson to get the team on the phone for a check-in.
"And Jemma? How soon?" She probed, her watery eyes meeting his.
"Soon baby." He really didn't want to give her false hope of talking to Fitzsimmons and not being able to pull it off. "Your rocket will be fine. You build it high enough that it shouldn't get washed away." He said.
"Could we take a picture to show Fitzy?" she asked.
"Sure, I'll take one as we head in." He agreed.
He grabbed his book, the towels and Skye's clothes under one arm, and carried Skye in the other. He opted to leave the umbrella and Skye's bucket and shovel knowing they'd be safe and headed inside to tend Skye's finger; but not before juggling everything so he could take a picture of her rocket.
He was going to clean up her finger then put her down for a nap; she normally made it through the day without one, but these past couple of nights, she hadn't had a full night sleep.
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He sat her on the bathroom counter to clean her finger.
"Ouchy." She cried, trying to pull her finger away from the peroxide.
"Just a little more, baby. I'm nearly done." He encouraged. She nodded miserably, letting him clean up the dry blood and dressing her finger.
He put the first aid kit back under the sink. "All done, baby. Ready for a nap?" He asked. Skye didn't argue with him, which meant she was more tired than she was letting on. He carried her back into her room, and she hadn't gone in for a swim after lunch so he didn't bother making her change; she looked too tired to even lift her arms let alone change her clothes.
He tucked Skye under her blankets and found her Iron Man toy for her. "Close your eyes, baby." He encouraged, softly kissing her head. He watched her eyes close as he left the room. Heading for the bathroom, he'd have a shower while she slept then perhaps he'd read some more of his book.
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He heard Skye's soft foot-steps, and looked up to see her looking around with tousled hair, rubbing her eyes. She hadn't slept that long, he noticed, glancing at his watch. Only an hour. She clumsily climbed onto the couch next to him. She didn't say anything, just crawled onto his lap. He just moved his book over her head, holding her and kept reading; she slumped forward against his chest and closed her eyes falling back asleep.
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Skye didn't wake again till around 4:35pm when he was on his last few pages. She didn't move, however, just stayed where she was while he finished his book. Pulling it down he noticed how relaxed she seemed; getting some sleep had obviously helped. Skye still didn't move but her eyes met his and she cracked a small smile; he could sit here all day with Skye like this and just pretend the outside world didn't exist.
Notes- Thanks EmmaJMcGhee for your beta-ing tips and tweaks :)
