Suspicious was the only way to describe Ward's behavior- and it was making Skye nervous. She could understand his discomfort with being benched. Still wasn't exactly a word she could ever ascribe to Ward, or any specialist for that matter. May was the only one of them who seemed to be comfortable with long periods of inactivity, which was probably a side effect from working a desk job for so many years.

It wasn't surprising that Ward didn't want to hold still, even though his ribs were busted up in multiple places and his shoulder was in a sling. He never liked to be told to sit aside, like his own health and well being didn't matter. What he'd told her about his life as a kid probably had something to do with that.

Regardless of the reason though, the fact that Ward kept sneaking out of the base was suspicious. He'd done it every day now since Coulson told Simmons that she wasn't allowed to hold Ward hostage in medical. And every time he came back, he offered no explanation for his disappearance. He claimed to be going out for a walk, but he always disappeared from sight a block from the base and it was making Skye uneasy. She didn't think he'd betray them again, but she hadn't seen the first betrayal coming either.

Her attempts at patience finally wore out when he disappeared for a third day in a row and came back limping slightly. Whatever he was doing, it obviously didn't qualify as 'resting'. The look Simmons shot her when Skye practically forced him into medical to get his ankle checked confirmed Skye's suspicion whatever Ward was doing wasn't 'just a walk'. And she was going to figure out what it was.

"Couldn't you just ask him, Skye?" asked Trip from the other seat in the van, shifting slightly in what was probably impatience. Again, clearly specialists weren't meant to hold still.

"Tried that, he won't tell me," replied Skye, her eyes locked on the doors to the base. Ward had left every day for the last three days at this time and she doubted a sprained ankle would stop him. Simmons had been forced to let him go against her objections, so Skye knew there was no one holding him in place. "It's suspicious, Trip. Last time he came back with a sprained ankle. There's no way he's 'just going for a walk'."

"Not arguing," agreed Trip calmly, thumping his head against the back head rest. "But do we really have to do this old school? I thought they invented tracers for a reason."

"The man was a specialist and a damn good one," countered Skye, shooting Trip a look. "He'll know if I tag him."

Sighing unhappily, Trip leaned his seat back and settled in, closing his eyes. "Well, then wake me when he shows up. Until then, I'm gonna nap like I was planning to, today."

"You mean until May woke you," teased Skye, smirking a bit.

One of Trip's eyes popped open to glare at Skye. "First, that's none of your business. Second, how did you know?"

"You guys aren't subtle," replied Skye simply. "Though you can cool down, AC doesn't know."

"If you know, he knows," countered Trip with a groan, rubbing his eyes. "Pretty sure Coulson's been an agent for longer than you have."

Skye shrugged a bit, straightening at the sight of the front door to the base opening. "Except when he doesn't want to see something, like evidence you and May are sleeping together." Nodding towards the entrance, she leaned forward and wrapped her fingers around the ignition keys for the van. "There's Ward."

Sure enough, Ward stepped out into the street, limping slightly as he exited. He wasn't using the crutch Simmons had nearly thrown at his head when he left, but Skye couldn't say she was surprised. Ward made it pretty clear he didn't think he needed any help. For a second, he glanced up and down the street before heading towards the corner at the end of the block.

The key beneath Skye's fingers turned slightly, but she hesitated to actually turn the vehicle on. Ward disappeared around the corner and out of sight of the external cameras every day, but that didn't mean he wasn't traveling on foot wherever he was going. She'd only pulled out the van on the off-chance he hopped into a cab or some other vehicle. Sure enough, at the end of the street, he hailed a cab and climbed inside.

Skye brought the engine roaring to life as soon as he was inside the cab, making note of it's number painted across the side. She couldn't move the car until Ward was en route, not without risking his notice. If he spotted them, he might change his route and then they'd never figure out where he was going. He was a former agent after all- shaking a tail wouldn't be hard for him and Skye wasn't good enough to keep tailing him if he caught her.

"Hey, easy on the engine Skye," chastised Trip wearily. "I don't want Mack coming down on us for wrecking one of the car's engines."

"Yeah, yeah," dismissed Skye as she quickly pulled the car onto the street, eyes scanning for signs of the taxi. "I'll ease up on the gas once I find Ward's taxi."

"You mean the one right in front of us?" asked Trip, pointing to a yellow cab maybe fifteen feet in front of them and bearing the same number as the cab Ward had jumped into. "You might want to back off. He is a trained operative who's probably more than capable of spotting when he's being followed."

"Right," sighed Skye, easing up on the gas and allowing the taxi to pull ahead until they were maybe thirty feet in front of them. She could still see the cab, but it was far enough back for the car to blend in with the rest of traffic. Well, as well as any car from the SHIELD garage could blend in. It wasn't like Ward didn't know what all the car's looked like. Then again, if Skye seriously thought Ward was doing something wrong, she would have rented a car. She was suspicious of him, but not convinced he was going to hang them out to dry again. Well, not yet anyway.

Ahead, the cab switched lanes, jumping into a right turn lane. Skye followed suit a moment later, turning right seconds after the cab did. The cab pulled onto the freeway after that, heading towards the edge of the city.

"Where the hell are they going?" asked Trip aloud as Skye turned onto the freeway to follow them. They were heading away from the main city and into the surrounding suburban areas. Even Skye had to admit it was weird, but then again, what better place for a clandestine meeting than the suburbs? It was kind of cliché, but not unheard of.

"No clue, but I'm following them," stated Skye firmly as she carefully remained far enough back to not draw attention. Wouldn't do them any good if they were spotted following him.

It was maybe ten minutes later that the taxi pulled off the freeway and onto the main streets again. It also put them just on the edge of the suburbs rather than in them, which confused Skye even more. What would Ward have to do out here? They were edging into the wooded and undeveloped areas around the city; there wasn't exactly a lot out there.

When the Taxi turned onto a narrow road heading into a wooded area, Skye was even more confused. Seriously, where were they going? There was literally nothing out this way.

"Where the hell is he going?" wondered Trip, leaning forward in his seat as Skye slowed down and turned onto the road. She could see the taillights of the cab disappearing around a turn in the road as it sloped upward slightly. "Seriously, what could be out here?"

"No clue," stated Skye, brow furrowing as she started down the road. They needed a bit of distance now, just to make sure Ward didn't spot them. There wasn't exactly anywhere to hide at this point. "Did you see a sign or anything when we turned up the road? I was watching the cab, not road signs."

"I was watching the cab too," admitted Trip, glancing sideways at her. "Maybe there's a sign ahead?"

"I seriously am starting to feel like this is a trap," muttered Skye as the turns in the road became sharper. She could see hints of chain-link fencing through the trees now, but still nothing to tell her what this place was. "I mean, what would Ward come all the way out here for unless he was meeting someone in secret?"

"No clue," muttered Trip, shaking his head a bit. "It's Ward though, so who knows. Remember the dog show at Thanksgiving?"

"True," admitted Skye with a sigh. Ahead, a building began to peek out through the woods, immediately catching her attention. The cab, which had disappeared from sight almost seven minutes earlier when they turned onto the road, appeared suddenly heading straight for them. Skye carefully pulled aside as the taxi passed, noting the back seat was now empty. "Whatever this place is though, it's where Ward was heading. He's not in the taxi anymore."

"Can't be too far ahead," muttered Trip, as Skye pulled back onto the road and made one more turn.

Then the road ahead of them opened up suddenly, breaking through the trees into a dirt turn around. A large building sat in the middle of the space, single story and with a very large, fenced off area to either side. There was no sign indicating what the building was used for though and no one walking around that might tell them precisely what the facility was used for.

"What do you think this place is?" wondered Trip aloud as Skye pulled the car around to where several other vehicles were parked.

She parked in a sheltered spot, just in case there was some kind of weird meeting going on, flipped off the engine. "No clue, but we can't find out in here."

"You think we're going to run into trouble?" asked Trip even as he checked his belt where he had a knife tucked away.

"No clue," muttered Skye as she removed her gun from her hip. May had taught her enough at this point that she was confident she could disarm someone and take their gun if there was trouble. Something about this place wasn't screaming 'evil headquarters' though. "You going in armed?"

"With a knife," confirmed Trip. "Don't want to scare any civilians if this isn't some bad guy get-together."

"Probably smart," agreed Skye, pushing open her door. Immediately, the sound of barking met her ears. Dog barking. A lot of dog barking at that.

"Are those dogs?" asked Trip in disbelief as he came around the front of the van to stand beside Skye.

"Yeah," confirmed Skye, shaking her head a little. "I don't think you're gonna need that knife."

"You're telling me," muttered Trip, tossing the blade back into the van and shutting the door. Skye locked it without a second thought and they made their way towards the closest door.

Of course, they skittered around the edge of the area, just to make sure they weren't seen. Not that Skye really thought this was some kind of clandestine meeting at this point- now she was just curious. Curious about what Ward could be doing in the middle of nowhere that involved dogs.

Pushing open the closest door slowly, Skye stuck her head inside the building cautiously. They still weren't sure what to expect and, until she knew for sure this wasn't some kind of evil base, she was going to take precautions. Not that she really thought any place that involved dogs and Grant Ward was likely to be an evil base. That just wasn't how Ward was. He loved dogs too much to put them in any kind of danger.

"Can I help you?"

A voice startled Skye, causing her to jump in the air and crash the rest of the way through the door. Trip half fell in behind her, jumping forward to grab the door so it didn't pop back and hit her. There was shuffling for a second before a pair of comfortable looking black shoes came into view.

Skye followed the shoes up, finding herself blinking up at a red-headed woman in what looked like scrubs. "Um, hey?"

Chuckling slightly, scrubs-woman offered her hand to Skye. "The front door is down the other street."

"Sorry," apologized Trip, giving the woman a brilliant smile as Skye climbed to her feet. "We were following our friend here. He forgot his wallet at our house and, well, he wasn't answering his phone. I think it might be dead. Anyway, he came up this way, so..."

"Oh, are you friends of Grant's?" asked the woman, immediately perking up. "Sorry for that. Ever since we moved our entrance, a lot of people still end up coming up this way. I don't think the shelter owner remembered to move the sign." Tilting her head a bit, she offered her hand. "I'm Kayla, by the way."

"Skye," introduced Skye as she brushed at the fur that had ended up on the clothes when she fell through the door.

"Antoine," greeted Trip with a grin, reaching out to shake Kayla's hand. "Good to meet you."

"You guys too," confirmed Kayla, eying Skye with a smile. "Grant told us about you guys." She paused for a second then, her smile turning knowing. "Well, he mostly told us about Skye. Though I think that was to stop some of the other volunteers from hitting on him. Poor guy gets so flustered sometimes."

"Yeah, that happens sometimes," confirmed Skye, a blush creeping over her cheeks. "Um, so where is he exactly?"

"Outside with a gaggle of dogs, where else?" asked Kayla with a chuckle. "I swear, he can be so awkward with people, but throw him in with a bunch of dogs and he's right at home."

Motioning for Skye and Trip to follow her, she started down the hallway. "Come on, I'll show you to our play area. Grant probably wants to introduce you to everyone."

"Introduce us?" asked Skye, glancing nervously at Trip as the other agent began to nudge her down the hallway. "How many other volunteers are out there?"

"None," replied Kayla with a shrug. "When Grant's around, there's not much need for the other volunteers to help. He manages to play with any dogs we put out there without leaving anyone out. Though, he didn't seem like he was walking great today, so I may need to rectify that."

"Yeah, that's probably his sprained ankle," confirmed Trip. "J- er, his doctor Jemma told him to stay off it."

Snorting slightly, Kayla pulled open a door halfway down the hall and motioned them both inside the small mud room. "I thought he was lying when he said he was alright yesterday."

"What happened anyway?" asked Skye curiously as she stepped over a pair of muddy boots. "He wouldn't tell us."

"Bruno happened," replied Kayla with a sigh as she pulled open another door and stepped outside. The sound of barking intensified as Skye followed her outside. Almost immediately, Skye was struck by the sight of Ward sitting on the ground surrounded by dogs. Literally, there had to be seven dogs out there and they were all gathered around Ward. "See the big hound out there with the black splotches and tan fur?" Sure enough, there was a big hound that was leaning over Ward's shoulder and licking his face intermittently. Of course, Ward laughed and reached back to pet the dog each time in happened, which only encouraged the large animal.

"Yeah," confirmed Skye as Trip stepped out behind her, leaning around her to look at the aforementioned dog.

"That's Bruno," explained Kayla, gesturing to the dog calmly. "Well, he decided to jump on Grant yesterday when he wasn't looking and that little lab," she pointed to a small golden lab pup that was currently curled into Grant's lap and enjoying a great deal of attention from the former specialist, "Goldie was under foot. Well, Grant, being the dog lover he is, twisted his body around so he hit the ground next to where Goldie was when he started falling."

"And in the process he twisted his ankle," finished Trip with a nod. "That would explain it."

"Mhm," hummed Kayla with a shake of her head. "I swear that man would do anything for a dog. We asked him to come out for our adoption day just to help with the dogs and we had a record number of adoptions. He couldn't talk to the people at all, but he kept the dogs so happy and optimistic that most of them were adopted that day."

"That sounds like Grant," confirmed Skye with a soft smile, watching as one of the smaller dogs jumped into his lap and began licking his face happily. "Is it alright if we go out there?"

"Go ahead," assured Kayla, gesturing for them to step into the play area. "Just don't be surprised if some of the dogs jump on you. They're all friendly but some are a little more enthusiastic than others."

"We'll keep it in mind," assured Trip as Skye stepped out into the play area and headed for Ward. He was completely absorbed in the dogs surrounding him and didn't seem to noticed her presence at first. Not that that lasted long- she wasn't even halfway across the play area when his head snapped up towards her.

His eyes went wide and immediately he tried to scramble to his feet. Unfortunately, his sprained ankle chose that moment to give out, causing him to pitch forward. He crashed to the ground with an oomph, dogs scattering momentarily in the confusion.

Skye was across the rest of the yard in seconds, kneeling beside Ward as the dogs quickly moved back in to poke and paw at the down man in concern. "W-Grant? You alright?"

"Yeah," confirmed Ward, pushing himself up into a sitting position quickly. Red colored his cheeks, making Skye smile a bit. She would never tell him (ever) but it was adorable when he blushed. "Um, so what are you doing here?"

"Checking on you," replied Skye, shaking her head a bit as she shifted to sit on the ground across from him. "You've been acting weird the last few days and when you came back with a sprained ankle yesterday, I thought you might be in trouble."

Ward winced a bit, looking sheepish. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay," assured Skye gently. "But, you know, you could have just said you were coming up to an animal shelter to volunteer. I mean, no one is gonna judge you for that."

"I thought you'd think it was stupid," muttered Ward, turning his head towards one of the larger dogs who'd been licking at him and nudging his shoulder insistently. It legit looked kinda like a mop to Skye, but Ward appeared completely unphased. "I'm alright, Annie. Take it easy."

Shaking her head, Skye nearly jumped when a little body suddenly crashed into her lap with a happy yip. Glancing down, she found herself face to face with a small tan colored puppy with the curliest fur she'd ever seen. Said puppy blinked up at her momentarily, expectantly, before it suddenly leaned its head up and licked at her chin.

Across from Skye, Grant let out a chuckle. "That's Mabel. She's a sweetheart."

"I can tell," giggled Skye, reaching out carefully to pet the small dog. Her fur was the softest Skye had ever felt. "How old is she?"

"Almost a year we think," replied Ward with a shrug, scooting around so he was sitting beside Skye. Mabel yipped happily as he did, licking Ward's hand as soon as he'd settled beside them. "She loves being pet."

"Aw, you have a girlfriend," teased Skye gently, leaning a little towards him so Mabel could reach him better.

Ward countered by gently knocking her shoulder with his. "I already have a girlfriend. She's a beautiful former hacker who I happen to be completely in love with."

"Mm, I'm sure she shares your sentiment," assured Skye as Mabel decided to split herself between their laps. Ward didn't even think about it as he reached out and began petting Mabel, leaning his head against Skye's. "So how long have you been doing this?"

"Months," replied Ward with a bit of a shrug. "I sneak up here whenever I get a chance."

"And Coulson hasn't called you on it," countered Skye with a shake of her head. "That's impressive."

"Coulson knows," explained Ward, glancing over at Skye with a furrowed brow. "He helped me find this place."

"He did?" asked Skye in surprise, turning her head to stare at Ward with a puzzled frown. "Why?"

Ward blushed a bit, his head dropping somewhat in an attempt to hide his eyes. She knew the move- he only did that when he was embarrassed. "He thought I could use something to do, so he called me into his office and after discussing it for a bit, he helped me find this place."

"So it's like a community service thing," stated Skye with a slow nod. She could see that; Ward's track record wasn't exactly clean.

"No really," admitted Ward with a wince. "It helps with the anxiety."

Oh, well that made more sense. Ward's anxiety had started escalating around the time he returned to the team. Skye'd tried to talk with him about it a few times and had been assured multiple times that nothing was wrong. It had taken Coulson to explain to her that social anxiety was a disorder originally noted in Ward's file. It was part of why he'd slated Ward for the team originally beyond the man's skills. He had wanted Ward to get over his issues with people. This wasn't people, but Skye could see how it would help. Dogs were like a safety blanket for Ward and having them around when he was dealing with people would, in theory, make dealing with people less unnerving for him.

Nodding slowly, Skye turned her eyes down to Mabel again as her fingers traced over the puppy's soft fur. "Have you ever thought about adopting one of the dogs like Mabel?"

"The Playground isn't exactly a good place for a dog," countered Ward with a sigh, shaking his head. "Plus we go out of town a lot and I can't leave a dog alone in the base with no one to take care of it."

"Do you really think Mack would refuse to care for a puppy?" asked Skye in disbelief. "Or Coulson? They're almost always on base. And I know Simmons would agree- she likes dogs."

"I can't ask them to do that, Skye," objected Ward with a shake of his head. "Having a dog is a lot of responsibility."

Sighing, Skye dropped the argument and lent her head against Ward's shoulder. Across the park, she spotted Trip distracting some of the bigger dogs with tennis balls while the smaller ones seemed content to form a pile around her and Ward. It was therapeutic in a way: being surrounded by dogs who just wanted a bit of love and attention. They were content to just lay near them and sleep- no demands and no orders. Just balls of fluff who wanted love. It made Skye want one for herself.

And hell, maybe she'd get one. Ward was afraid to adopt a dog and become attached; after what Garrett did, that was beyond understandable. But that didn't mean Skye couldn't get a dog. And if that dog just so happened to become Ward's dog too, well, Skye doubted the man would really object. After all, she knew for a fact that he couldn't resist a dog.