A/n: Sorry it's been a bit for an update! Life got in the way.
Refresher: After Skye asked Ward to cut off mark and he refused, they ended up sharing a sweet giddy moment that turned into a kiss.

~
Chapter Seven
A Tree is Known by Its Fruit

This looked bad. God, it looked so bad.

Ward was grateful for the calm girl laying next to where he sat, that she finally seemed to be in some state of reprieve and her mind almost blissfully empty.

But he also wished she would have taken the time to turn off the cameras. Because Skye laying next to the Hydra prisoner on a cot in his cell could only be taken in a bad light.

Skye'd collected herself well enough after their kiss to take a moment and close the barrier. She needed a defense to Coulson that she wasn't going so far off his orders as to put the team in jeopardy. Thing was, she'd kept herself inside.

Ward knew the man wouldn't like that almost as much.

Not only was it proving that she trusted Grant, it proved that she accepted him. And with how the team saw Ward and how Skye had been acting these past months, it would only be an assurance to them of her failing state of mind.

But the smile and lack of concern on her face made Ward's own worries disappear, and he merely sat on the cot, watching her with intrigue.

After closing the barrier, she'd come back over to the cot, throwing herself backwards so she landed comfortably on the pillow. Well, Ward happened to know that particular pillow was about as comfortable as cardboard, but the way she snuggled cozily into it and closed her eyes with a pleasant smile on her face made him believe she felt differently, or was at least too elated to notice.

He sat near her shoes, at the foot of the bed.

It was just a kiss. It was just a kiss. It was just a kiss.

He had to repeat the mantra in his mind, because he couldn't allow himself to think it was anything more. It wasn't reinstating him to have a role in Skye's life. It wasn't an authentic commitment to trust. And, despite the way she was sprawled on the bed, they'd done nothing passed locking lips.

This fact was particularly important if someone decided to check the feed from the vault right about now.

He didn't really know what she was even doing. Laying there, her eyes shut with a peaceful grin on her face. It pleased him to know the event that preceded and most likely caused the reaction was him, but at the same time, he was infinitely curious as to how one gesture could cause such a response in a person with such advanced stages of depression.

"Skye-"

"Shh, you'll ruin the moment," she mumbled sweetly, the smile unwavering on her face as she shifted her shoulders into the sheets.

"I know. That's why I waited for a few moments to pass before I said anything. You have been laying there a while," he told her.

Well, that was true, she had to admit.

But could he really blame her? It was the first sense of reprieve she'd felt in so long. Too damn long and she wanted to savor it. Though nothing lasted forever of course, but with any luck, she still wouldn't feel awful when she picked herself up from the bed.

So she did.

She sighed from her now upright position on the cot. "You're right," she said impishly, lifting her eyebrows. "As usual. I should listen to you more often. Maybe do that other thing more often, too…" she hinted, feeling forward and possibly foolish in her blissful state.

Skye was aware Grant Ward didn't have many outward reactions. He held them guarded, trained as he was. She was too now, but the girl would let herself show when she wanted. Not him. You had to search for expressions he would attempt to hide, and usually he'd do a pretty good job.

But she saw the glint of excitement in his eyes at that particular prospect, only making her tingle with happiness more.

"This is a bad idea," he said ruefully, shaking his head.

"What is?"

"Us being..." he started, and she raised an eyebrow. Us was a strong word at this point in time. He amended. "You being in here with me. The cameras being on." He paused. "You so much as talking to me."

"Probably," Skye agreed. "My good judgement is taking a vacation for the time being. Give me a moment to feel good before I get all responsible again."

Ward appraised her warmly. "It is nice to seeing you like this," he admitted.

She lifted the right side of her mouth to quirk a half-smile. "It's nice to feel like this. All thanks to you."

Ward looked away. Was he being… coy? That was different for him. "I'm glad my kissing abilities helped you."

Skye's eyes drifted to the side. "It wasn't that, really… that was sort of my thank you."

He squinted his eyes, brow furrowed with puzzlement. She sighed and continued.

"You touched this," she admitted, feeling as if she were confessing as she pointed to the Hydra symbol. "You put your hand right over it like it wasn't even there. Like it didn't matter."

"That's because it doesn't," he assured her, hoping she could finally take those words in and believe them as a fact.

Ward hadn't even noticed the scar. He noticed he was touching her, because the thought was both so exciting and forbidden that it had taken up most of the capacity of his mind. Even if there hadn't been so much going on in his head, her scar didn't matter.

He'd been a specialist and no matter the situation, he was trained to pick out the important details. No matter how filled his mind was, he was supposed to notice anything and everything that meant something. The fact that he didn't notice that was substantial. It meant that the mark didn't mean anything. Not to him.

"Maybe," she conceded halfway. "It shouldn't… it doesn't make me a bad person. It doesn't make me their property," she declared, feeling a small amount of nausea stir in her stomach at the statements; like her mind was still fighting her that it wasn't the truth. But she knew it was. She just needed to listen to logic, not what her self-abusing psyche had been trying to drill into her thoughts. "But it does point me out in certain situations."

Ward nodded. "It draws attention."

"Right," she agreed. "There's obviously a story behind it and people will be curious. Whether they're government officials or Hydra on the prowl for SHIELD agents, if the wrong people see it I'm in trouble. I could get the team in trouble."

What she'd just said was a legitimate complaint, an actual woe.

That relieved Ward immensely.

He wasn't thrilled that Skye was saying something he couldn't deny or couldn't assure her it wouldn't affect her that way, but she was seeing clearly. She was seeing her situation for what it was and not the deluded catastrophe she'd made it out to be.

"All that means is you'll have to be more careful from now on," he said.

"I know. It just sucks."

"Yeah. I know the feeling," he agreed, giving her a small smile. She appeared taken aback, almost. She lost her new glow as her gaze shifted to her feet.

"I'm sorry they moved you here," she said, and he hated the hurt that returned to her voice. "I had no idea until I tried to come see you today..."

"That's not your fault Skye," he told her, and her eyes snapped up to his.

"I should have checked up on you. Instead it just caused me to run into Payne, anyway."

Ward stiffened.

That man was here?

"Which I guess was a good thing," she continued, seeming unaware of the change in Ward. It hadn't been outwardly noticeable, he supposed.

"Was it?" he growled, angry that she'd had to face that vermin again.

Skye noticed the rage in his voice and felt her tone morph with concern, wanting to reassure him. "Hey, it's ok. I can handle-"

Skye was about to finish that sentence with "myself". Something she'd been so desperately trying to prove to everyone since the moment she'd even become a field agent. But her behaviors as of late had clearly told them otherwise, and she wouldn't blame anyone for being wary of her. She never gave them an inch, even when they were merely trying to help her. She'd even sacrificed field work, something she'd worked so hard to be able to accomplish, just to avoid therapy.

Skye had never been averse to therapists in the past. It was a good thing, maybe awkward, but good to let your feelings have release when something traumatic happened to you.

And while she still excelled as well as was possible during missions, Skye would have a hard time arguing that she could handle herself in any situation when it was clear as day that she'd been losing a battle waging on in her own mind.

But she could now.

Still, she opted to start a new sentence. "I talked to him and he gave me information… about the drug they gave me. I have no idea what it does really, but the way he explained it made it seem like it pretty much would boost paranoia and anger levels up to the max. Plus… it lasts a while."

When she glanced up at Ward, he looked as though he was bracing himself for something. His fists were balled up, and he was staring hard enough at the wall across the room she thought it might spontaneously combust.

"Ward?" she prompted.

"It wasn't enough that they physically hurt you, they just had to attack your mind too," he said through gritted teeth. He scoffed, before adding spitefully, "I don't know why I'm surprised. It's just the sort of thing Hydra would do. As long as someone gets the job done, there really aren't parameters to how far you can go. Sick bastards-"

"Hey," she cut him off before he could get any more riled up, placing a hand on his shoulder. It actually surprised her that he'd ranted that far already. "It's ok."

He glared incredulously at that.

No. It was not ok. What they did to Skye was not ok. Him working for them was not ok.

He'd known that, somewhere in a hidden crevice of his mind even as Garrett had kept him working for the organization. So while Ward would have followed that man anywhere because of the debt he'd felt needed to be paid to his SO and personal savior, he'd convinced himself that Hydra was not the institution it had once been. That Skye had been wrong when she'd told him he was a Nazi for being with them.

But she'd been right.

"You've been off the rails, beating yourself up for months, and you just think it's ok?"

"It's ok because it made me talk to you. The drug allowed me to give you a chance, and maybe you didn't deserve it. But now I can see that you needed it."

He looked lost. "What are you talking about?"

"Apparently the way to lose the influence of the drug is to connect with an anchor. And I think… I guess it was you," she explained.

He just blinked.

"Because I never felt angry with you… not like with the others. Not unprovoked. You're the only person I wanted to talk to and I hated it when Coulson made us separate. I don't know how it works, but it let me talk to you. Not interrogate you. The drug let me give you a chance and I found someone underneath that I feel… has worth."

Ward wasn't really sure how to respond.

Skye was thinking of it as a good thing. But if what she was saying was true... what if the drug just made her think she liked Ward? What if she really wouldn't have seen any worth in him at all?

She didn't seem to realize this. All she saw it as was an opportunity.

"How about you come upstairs?" asked Skye, near out of the blue.

"What?" Ward shook his head. "You're delusional if you think Coulson would be ok with that."

Skye scowled, and Grant couldn't blame her. The wording of his statement was innocent, but rude to her predicament. Still, her response was flippant enough.

"I don't think he'd be ok with it, of course. Not right away. But we could show them that you're ok. That you can be an asset…"

"What makes you so sure, Skye? We've been in controlled circumstances. What makes you think I'm not playing you?"

She gestured in front of herself. "That right there, for one. If you were playing me, I really doubt you'd bring it to my attention. And controlled circumstances? Ward, I left the barrier wide open. You didn't so much as make a move for it."

Somewhat valid points, but still arguable. And Ward wasn't so sure. This could be what they'd done to her. If there was some drug inside of her affecting her judgement, the last thing he wanted to do was compromise it more so Coulson and the team thought less of her. And letting a Hydra traitor come hang out in the lounge? That would definitely qualify.

He didn't want to tell her this though. Not when she was feeling so free. He didn't want to make her think she was still under their influence or that she was still owned by Hydra or even the trivial mark on her neck.

"Skye, they won't accept me and you know that. After what I did to FitzSimmons… to all of you. It would be foolish and reckless," he told her, specifically trying to use words that would trigger a response of avoidance with her recent training.

Her frown deepening, she picked herself up off the bed fiercely.

"But it's not fair!" she exclaimed. "Maybe I'll just show someone this tape. They have to be able to see!"

"Don't show anyone the video Skye," he urged. "It would just make it seem like you're trying to prove a point."

"Well, I am," she said shortly. Arms crossed as she tapped her foot, not hiding her irritation in the slightest.

Ward contemplated that a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent was offering to free him. Literally asking him to walk openly about the base. This wasn't like when Skye had left the barrier open during her break down, as that wasn't an actual leave to go. Plus, for all intents and purposes that he could see, she was lucid now.

But his gut still told him it would be wrong.

How far he had come from a few months ago, before this whole ordeal happened and before they had even tried to give him to his brother, where everyday he would pull on his wrist. Stretch it out little by little so that when opportunity struck, he would be able to become free of the handcuffs.

Skye changed everything.

She changed it when Coulson made Ward her charge at the time they moved him. Then when she'd been hurt and damaged, it changed even more.

So at this point in time, helping her psyche to get better, helping everyone believe she was better, was more important than anything to Ward.

But Skye's hardened eyes screamed determination, and he knew she would not be satisfied with just biding her time. Typical Skye. Just like when she'd been shot, after taking the first steps into recovery she had felt the need to be proactive. And Ward needed her to feel fulfilled.

Besides, he wouldn't mind the smile that he'd seen just a few minutes ago back.

So he'd give her something to do while she composed her thoughts. And maybe, if by some miracle she managed it… it would help him too.

"Ok, fine. But they need to come to their own conclusions."

She cocked an eyebrow. "You suggesting something?"

"Best thing you can get them to do is come talk to me." He shrugged, and she seemed to consider.

Her eyebrows shot up. "Simmons did say she'd kill you if she ever saw you again…"

"Probably not a great idea to just go hang out upstairs then. And I wasn't exactly pleased with how my conversation with Fitz went."

"Ok…" she muttered, thinking it over. "Right, ok I'll try."

"All I'm saying is you should try to talk to him," Skye panted out.

"And all I'm saying is why in the hell would I do that?" asked Trip. "You didn't talk to him for six months, and even then only when Coulson asked you to so we could get some intel. But you want me to go have a conversation for fun with the guy? Sounds like some bad voodoo to me."

"But that's why you should talk to him. I'm not asking for you guys to go on a picnic or anything-"

"Whoa whoa, did you go on a picnic with him?"

"What? No! I'm saying you shouldn't do that. Did you think I was actually suggesting?"

"It just seemed random."

"Ok… listen! So we never gave him like a real chance to explain himself-"

"Coulson went down there for three and half weeks, Skye. He just refused to talk to anyone but you."

That much was true. But like everything else Ward had done, it seemed to have a good reason behind it now. Ward had seen it as the only way to talk to her. So, putting aside what could have put him on Coulson's good graces, he withheld his information until he could talk to Skye and put her on the right track to her father.

Shame that guy turned out to be a murdering psycho, but Ward had honestly been trying to help her. Still… Skye was begining to see that anyone could have their reasons, especially in a world of aliens and brainwashing. Maybe she would be able to meet her father one day and discuss things with him. Either way, it was in Skye's best interests as well as his that he'd done it.

They'd talked a lot in their many chats before Coulson had banned her from him. She'd gotten to listen to all his excuses and reasonings, and while he might have been trained in manipulation, they'd seemed… legitimate.

A voice in the back of Skye's mind said it was that drug talking. That she'd clung to Ward because of the drug working its way into her brain to sear little traps for her psyche to fall into, while somehow making it so Ward could be the only savior to help her through it.

But she thought it through logically. It wasn't like before, when she'd rely on fear and paranoia and hate to rule her actions. She could see how Garrett had manipulated Ward into helping him, how he'd made Ward believe he owed the man something. And after being a trained killer by S.H.I.E.L.D., a government organization who'd taught him murder was perfectly acceptable under the correct circumstances, why wouldn't he fall into the snare of a mad man after he'd set down such appealing and entrapping lies?

"I know he did that," said Skye. "But maybe if you spoke to him-"

"Alright, listen girl. I'll talk to you about this. No way in hell am I agreeing to go talk to him yet, but this just ain't the best time to have a conversation."

"Why not?" she asked.

As if answering her question, Hunter came up out of nowhere, firing shot after shot at them. They ducked back into their corner.

"Ah, damn it," Trip moaned, watching the stamina numbers on his holographic vest count down at a rapid pace. The training equipment Mack and Fitz designed was pretty sweet, but it was not fun to see that happen. "That is one hundred percent on you."

"On me?" Skye asked incredulously, a smile lighting up her face. "Field agents aren't supposed to let distractions deter them."

Skye heard another shot as the helmet she was wearing vibrated, and her vest quickly ran down from one hundred to zero in a matter of seconds.

"What's your excuse, then?" May asked, coming around the corner.

Skye felt like a kid caught shooting spit balls in school, and despite how light and smiley she'd been feeling a moment ago, she let her months of training kick in all at once. She stood up straighter.

"No excuse," she admitted. "I'd be dead."

"Damn straight," said Triplett. "And I'd have to haul your dead ass back with a bad arm you caused."

"Hey, I owned up to it being my fault. Don't go blaming your hit on me!"

Two shots out of the blue later, Hunter came sauntering out from behind the wall as he took off his helmet. Skye watched Trip's counter run to zero as well. He looked at Hunter accusingly, to which the Brit shrugged.

"Sorry, just wanted to make sure we actually won. Seemed like you guys were calling a cease fire."

"Skye's just distracted is all," May said pointedly, and her calm tone of voice made sure Skye braced herself. "An extra fifty burpees should help get you back on track."

Skye nodded solemnly and voiced her understanding, just before May walked away.

"She knows I hate those…" the hacker mumbled, and she noticed the boys looking at her expectantly. Maybe even… fearfully? She shrugged. "But I guess when you slack off that's what happens."

"What were you two chatterbrains going on about anyhow?" asked Hunter. Triplett raised an eyebrow at Skye, obviously inviting her to share the information, or not.

"Ward," Skye said simply. "I'm kind of on a mission to get everyone to talk to him."

"Everyone? Everyone in the base?"

"Yep."

"Why would I talk to him?" asked Hunter, causing Skye to take a beat.

"Ok, maybe just the people he knows…"

Triplett sighed. "Skye, the man is a trained manipulator and I swear to sweet baby Jesus Hunter if your mouth is open to bring up Bobbi I may have to deck you," Triplett finished, his sentence taking a turn when Hunter's face lit up at "trained manipulator."

The mercenary closed his gaping mouth.

"You two are a thing now, right?" asked Skye. "You probably shouldn't bring up how she's a she-devil manipulator every chance you get still."

"I wouldn't!" he protested. "Anyway, look who's talking. You're trying to get people to go have a chat with the Hydra traitor in our basement, who also happens to be a manipulator!"

She shrugged, coupled with a nod. "Touche."

They stared at her.

"You seem… different," said Hunter, before hurriedly adding, "In a good way!"

"I feel different," she admitted happily. "Finding Payne in our vault was kind of an eye opener."

Triplett's eyes went wide for just a moment, letting Skye in on the fact that he was a member of the group of people keeping that secret from her. "Oh damn..."

"Look, it's fine. I've been weird lately, and it makes sense you didn't tell me. To be honest I'm not jumping at the chance to learn any more about the situation just yet anyhow."

"Wait, who are we talking about now?" asked Hunter.

Skye gave a somewhat smug smile, seeming to annoy Hunter. "And apparently I'm not the only one out of the loop anyways." She sighed. "But this kind of awesome way I'm feeling? It's exactly why I think you guys should hear Ward out."

"I understand where you're coming from Skye. Seriously, I get it," Triplett said. "You feel like he helped you and now you want to help him back. But even if you could convince one member of the team to go down there, why should they believe a word he says after what he's done? And without knowing if what he said is true… what's the point in the first place?"

Both very good questions. Good questions to which Skye did not have answers.

Triplett continued. "All I'm saying is it's gonna be a tough sell."

Skye just sighed.

It sucked, but she wasn't going to flip out or get angry like everyone seemed to be expecting her to. She didn't even know what FitzSimmons or Coulson and May would say yet.

Unfortunately it wouldn't be much better.

A/n: Part of the reason this chapter took so long is because I'm not a big fan of it, but if you disagree let me know! The next chapter is looking better already though hehe. I think we only two chapters left, but it may be three.

Let me know what you think, and thanks for all the reviews and such so far! Happy holidays :)

And a huuuuge thanks to Shadow375 for betaing this chapter!