A/N: Hi, guys. I don't have a lot of explanations for why I've been so quiet on here lately. It's mostly just one explanation. I miss my gorgeous girl more than I can ever possibly explain, and that's led to a lot of sadness, insomnia, and a lack of inspiration or desire to write. I'm working on things with my therapist and spending time with those who knew her and loved her too, but just talking about her can make me cry. Grief sucks, and I feel like I'm trying to justify not needing to grieve ("She passed away in August. It's nearly November. Get your shit together.") even though I know that's wrong. She was truly one of the best things in my life and she is gone.

But here's this. Nearly 4000 words of a chapter that started out in a humorous vein and then, per usual, got dark and sad. Happiness and hilarity next chapter, I promise. And new chapters of nearly everything else in a soon-ish fashion.

Also, I'm looking for someone to read and offer comments and criticism on a fic I'm working on that I haven't shared or published anywhere yet, as I want to get more of it done, but I'd like to know if the early parts will resonate with people. If you think that someone might be you, please let me know.

Thanks as always to everyone who reads/reviews/follows/favorites. You flatter me and encourage me with all of your support.

Enjoy!

"Hello, love. What are you doing right now?"

"Right now? I'm in the middle of shelving a new shipment of books on Jewish mysticism. And also watching Wanda try to give Trip tips on how to pick up women. Which is like watching a duck tell an elephant how to do elephant stuff. Why?"

"Do you have plans for tonight?"

"Jemma, this is all very mysterious. You want to clue me in?"

Jemma sighed. "It's trivia night."

"It's who now?"

"Trivia night. My coworkers and I generally go out once a week to a trivia night at a local… eatery-slash-bowling alley. And Elias, Rothschild, and McNally aren't able to come tonight… I was wondering if you and your friends would like to join us."

"Trivia with people who all have about eight degrees each? I can't think of anything I'd rather do less."

"Come now, Skye. Most people only have two degrees…"

"That's one and a half more than I have."

"… and the questions aren't all academic. It's trivia in a bar, for God's sake. Last week there was a question about… some movie man none of us had ever heard of. Fitz, what was that man's name?" Jemma asked, her voice lessening in volume as she turned to her coworker. Skye heard a muffled response and then Jemma's voice returned, full strength. "Paul Blart. Is that a thing?"

"Yes, Jemma," Skye said, resisting the urge to laugh. "It's most definitely a thing."

"Oh. Well. Are you interested?"

"Let me ask the seductress and her pupil," Skye said. She lowered her phone. "Hey, guys – my adorable girlfriend wants us to come to a trivia night with her coworkers."

Wanda looked at Trip. "What does this mean?"

"It means we go sit in a bar and watch smart people answer questions," Trip replied.

"Oh." Wanda still looked confused.

"If you guys don't come I'll have to bring my parents," Skye said. "And I love them, but…"

"It's not like I have plans," Trip said.

"I am planning on watching new episode of 'Bones,'" Wanda said.

"You could DVR it," Skye said.

"What?"

"Never mind. Should I just tell her…?"

"We'll go," Trip said. "I'll DVR 'Bones' for Wanda."

"Thank you. I owe you one."

"Just have your dad make some of those pumpkin cheesecake bars and we'll be good," Trip said. "At least, I'll be good. Wanda, what do you want out of this?"

Wanda tilted her head and thought about this. "Make for me a friendship bracelet."

"What? Where the hell did that come from?" Skye asked. "You know what, never mind. Sure. I'll make you a bracelet."

She raised the phone. "Jemma? Apparently we're in."

"Is this okay for you? I mean, being in a restaurant?"

Skye smiled. Jemma was holding her elbow as they maneuvered through the crowded bar/bowling alley, heading for the back room where trivia night was held. Arthur trotted along on the opposite side, Skye holding his lead. "Just because I can't eat doesn't mean I don't like being around others, or smelling food, or maybe sometimes even being really terrible and eating something."

She whispered the last two words, but the speed with which Jemma's head whipped around suggested that she had yelled them. "What?"

"Easy there," Skye said with a laugh. "I can still taste things. I can put them in my mouth and chew them. Mostly I just spit them out, but things like smoothies I sometimes let go into my stomach and then just suck out with a drainage tube. I like the feeling of swallowing things."

"How long have we been going out?"

"Um… four months?"

"And how long was it going to take you to tell me this?"

"Um… until right now?" Skye was confused. "Is this not okay?"

"No – it's wonderful! I would have let you eat a cupcake the other day!" Jemma said. "You know, when it was Trip's birthday."

"Cupcakes are a little much on the stomach," Skye said. "Besides, you're my cupcake."

"Ugh, Skye," Jemma said, but she grinned.

"Come on. Your friends are staring at us, and Trip and Wanda look like they need me over there to provide emotional support."

"You know that's not true. Trip is one of the most easy-going people I know," Jemma said. "He does well anywhere."

"Okay, fine, that's true. But Wanda has the look on her face that she gets when she's about ready to forget English, and unless we're going to be playing trivia in Romanian… I think we'd better take our seats."

They rounded the corner to the section where Jemma's coworkers and Skye's friends were sitting. A young man with an eager expression and curly hair bounded over to them. "Hi, Jemma," he said.

Jemma's face broadened into a grin. "Fitz! Fitz, I'm so glad you're here."

"I'm here every trivia night."

"I know, but this is the first time Skye's been able to join us," Jemma said. "Fitz, this is Skye, my girlfriend. Skye, this is Fitz, my best friend."

"It's nice to meet you," Fitz said. He gave Skye an up-and-down look.

"Yeah, I look pretty normal for a robot," Skye said. "Just a bag full of tubes and pumps and an adorable dog."

Fitz looked down. "Well, he is quite adorable," he said.

He led Jemma to a seat and then, somewhat belatedly, found one for Skye, sandwiching her in between Jemma on her left and Wanda on her right. Then he went around the table, introducing the other members of the trivia team.

"This is Maria Hill, the director of our lab… Bobbi Morse, from biochem… Mack's from mechanical engineering, and Dr. Banner works in genetics."

"I'm Skye," Skye said, feeling only a little out of place. "I… uh… I work at a New Age bookstore."

The others at the table smiled at her, perhaps only a little patronizingly.

"Oh! And these are my friends, Trip and Wanda. Trip is a chef at a Japanese restaurant downtown, and Wanda works with me at the bookstore," Skye hurried to add. "She's our resident psychic."

The tall, broad-shouldered man – Mack – at the end of the table let out a snort. "You know that's not a real thing, right?"

Wanda's gaze sharpened.

"Yeah, I wouldn't push her on this one," Skye said.

"I would prefer that we disagree to agree," Wanda said to Mack.

Skye resisted the urge to put her head in her hands. Trivia night was going great.

It continued to go well as the actual trivia got started. The host was a man in his twenties in a black T-shirt and black-framed glasses; he introduced himself to the crowd as "DJ MoldyCheese." He handed out the wireless response pads and went around greeting each of the teams. He broke into a huge smile as he approached the group of scientists and their hangers-on.

"Hey, guys! It's so great to see you!" he said. "Team Egghead's back together!"

Then he caught sight of Trip, Wanda, and Skye. "Um… hello."

"Alan, this is my girlfriend Skye, and her friends Trip and Wanda," Jemma said.

"Alan?" Skye whispered.

"Well, you didn't think his given name was DJ MoldyCheese, did you?"

"World's a weird place."

"Awesome," Alan said. "So, you guys scientists too?"

"No," Mack spoke up from his end of the table. "They're a Japanese chef, a psychic, and a… what is it you do again, Skye?"

God, she wanted to punch him. "I'm a purveyor of spirituality materials."

Alan stared at her. "So you sell crystals and stupid shit?"

Yep. That's exactly what I do, Alan.

"If I'm lucky. Some days I just hang out in the kids' book section and cuddle with the stuffed dragons," Skye said, trying to keep from seething with rage.

"Yeah, whatever," Alan said. "Hey, uh, you got something…"

He waved his hand in the direction of Skye's collar, clearly indicating the loop of curly tubing spiraling upwards.

"Oh, that? Yeah, I know that's there," Skye said. "It's, you know, keeping me alive."

Alan rolled his eyes and headed out.

Wanda pinched Skye's elbow. "Am nevoie pentru a obține departe de aceste idioti."

"Yeah, me too," Skye muttered. She and Wanda had been friends for nearly ten years, and some Romanian phrases stuck in her head. I need to get away from these idiots tended to be one Wanda used in bars; Skye was unsurprised to hear it.

"Let's go to the outside," Wanda said quietly.

"Good idea," Skye replied.

They stood. Trip looked up from his lemonade. "Got a hot date?"

"We're going for a walk," Skye said. "Keep an eye on Arthur, okay?"

Trip nodded.

Jemma, hearing Skye's voice, turned. "Are you all right?"

"Yep," Skye said. "Just… need to turn off a pump. And Wanda needs to use the ladies' room."

They hurriedly left from the table just as DJ MoldyCheese announced the first category: "Geography."

"This sucks," Skye said once they were outside. The night air felt good against her face, but it did nothing for her spinning head and her clenched stomach.

"We are not like them," Wanda said softly.

"Trip always says everyone's smart in their own ways," Skye pointed out.

"Not like them," Wanda repeated. "They are the smart that is to matter."

"You're smart that way too," Skye said. "You have a college degree."

Wanda shook her head. "And you have almost one. They still do not believe we can be equals."

She drew her shawl a little closer around her body and smiled at Skye. "We are not to need fancy degrees to be good people. To work hard. To be friends. To care about others."

"At least you finished."

Wanda leaned in and cupped Skye's cheek in her hand. "Your reasons for not finishing are valid and they saved your life. That is more important than to finish."

Skye nodded reluctantly. She'd been two years into her degree in library sciences when violent spasms of acid reflux had caused two ulcers – one in her stomach and one in her esophagus. They'd hurt like hell, but she'd tried to work through them; she wasn't a quitter. She willfully ignored the fact that she was vomiting blood and getting blood out of her g-tube, directly from her stomach, and never mentioned a word of it to her parents.

They'd found out, though, when she passed out from severe anemia, dangerously low blood pressure, and a rapid heartbeat. Arthur had followed through with his training and alerted the paramedics and Melinda and Phil. Skye was admitted to the university hospital nearly immediately and had surgery less than an hour later to repair a blockage between her stomach and her small intestine and to stop the bleeding from the ulcers. Her ensuing hospital stay had been a little more than a month. In that time Phil and Melinda packed up her dorm room and brought everything home; her father had gone to the dean's office and un-enrolled her.

She hadn't gone back.

"I didn't tell Jemma that," Skye whispered. "I don't want her to think I'm stupid."

"She does not need to know," Wanda said. "You will tell her if it is the right thing."

Her phone let out the little chirpy noise that signaled a text. She pulled it from her pocket. "Trip says we are to come back in."

"Ugh, do we have to? I mean, they've probably moved on from geography to Polish thermodynamics," Skye groaned.

Wanda grinned at her. "He says 'next category is Disney films.'"

Skye found she was grinning right back at Wanda. Her two best friends had spent a great deal of time with her both in the hospital and at her home afterwards, and they'd watched a lot of Disney movies. Since then the tradition had only continued. "We're going to rock this."

DJ MoldyCheese gave them a dirty look when they reappeared, but Wanda and Skye slid into their seats next to Trip with light hearts.

"Disney, huh?" Skye asked.

Trip nodded.

"As you all know – well, as most of you know – the second round is traditionally our speed round. Questions will appear on your response pads; your goal is to answer as many of them as you can in five minutes. Type in your answers and you will immediately receive either a green check mark to signal a correct response, or a red 'x' symbolizing an incorrect response, and you will also see the correct answer. Each question is worth ten points. Additionally, the team with the most correctly answered questions at the end of the speed round will receive a special bonus for our final round. Teams on your mark… set… go!"

"First question," Bobbi said, reading from the response pad in front of her. "In The Sword and the Stone, what does Merlin call the greatest force on earth?"

"Love," Trip said.

Everyone at the table swiveled to look at him.

Mack shook his head. "No, it's gotta be strength, right? Or magic."

"Put magic," Fitz said.

Trip rolled his eyes.

Bobbi typed something and frowned. "It says 'love.'"

Again, everyone swiveled to look at Trip. He shrugged. "Not my problem if you geniuses can't listen."

"Um, next question," Bobbi said. "Which of Captain Hook's hands was a hook?"

"His left," Wanda said.

The table went quiet.

"Put it in," Mack said grudgingly.

Bobbi hesitantly typed in "left" and looked up a moment later. "That's correct."

As it turned out, Skye, Trip, and Wanda could answer every question Bobbi read off the pad.

"When does Mary Poppins say she'll leave the Banks' home?"

"When the wind changes."

"What is the motto for the Rescue Aid Society in The Rescuers?"

"We never fail to do what is right."

"How many eggs does Gaston eat for breakfast?"

"Five dozen."

"When Pinocchio is transformed into a real boy, what is different about his hands?"

"He now has five fingers instead of four."

"In 1940 Disney released two full-length animated features. Name them."

"Fantasia and Pinocchio."

"Is Mulan right- or left-handed?"

"Left."

"What is the Court of Miracles?"

"The Gypsy hideout in Hunchback of Notre Dame."

"Name the six members of Big Hero Six."

"Hiro Hamada, Baymax, Wasabi, Go-Go, Honey Lemon, Fred."

"What event in Frozen was the very first to happen to a Disney princess?"

"Elsa was crowned queen."

By the end of the speed round, Team Egghead had answered forty-two questions. DJ MoldyCheese had the grace to look astonished when he brought up the results. "Um, wow," he said. "Now leading the scoreboards – Team Egghead! You receive four hundred and twenty points, and you are now the team to beat. We'll take a short break before our third and final round."

The other members of the team stood and milled around the table; some went off to order drinks or food. Jemma moved down until she was next to Skye, and kissed her on the cheek. "Hi."

"Hi," Skye answered flatly.

"You saved us, you know," Jemma said. "Bobbi and Mack are terrible at geography."

"Well, you're welcome."

"Skye. What have I done to upset you?"

Skye hesitated. "It's just… you invite me and Trip and Wanda along like we're just three stand-ins for your missing teammates. Like you don't expect us to answer any questions – we're just placeholders."

"You're not…"

Skye cut her off. "Your friends denigrate our jobs and you say nothing. They make us feel like we're lesser people because we don't have all sorts of fancy degrees, and you can't even stick up for us!"

"That's not…"

"Wanda and Trip both have degrees. Did you know that? Wanda has a dual degree in Eastern religious studies and women's studies, and she didn't speak English fluently until she was fifteen. Trip graduated from culinary school, and he's working towards opening his own restaurant someday. Did you know that?" Skye's voice rose.

"No," Jemma said in a small voice.

"And did you know that I have half of a degree because I nearly died at the start of my junior year? I spent a month in the hospital and yeah, maybe part of me was afraid to go back, but the other part of me wanted to stay out of school because the first thing I saw when I woke up from surgery was my mother's face, and she looked absolutely broken. I'd seen it before and I vowed then I would never do anything to make her look that way again. And if that meant not going back, that was what I had to do."

She was breathing hard, her voice a near-yell, and she found she was on her feet. "I just…"

Arthur pushed at her legs and she felt like sobbing. "It's okay, buddy," she said, her voice wobbly. "I'm just… upset. Not sick."

Jemma sat, shell-shocked.

"I'm going to go," Skye said. "I'm sure someone can give you a ride home. I'll go with Trip and Wanda."

She grabbed Arthur's lead and turned away.

"Skye," Jemma said, her voice a near-whisper.

"Jemma, I just can't talk to you any more tonight," Skye said. "I'm sorry."

She pushed away from the table, looking for Trip and Wanda. She didn't look back.

Wanda held Skye while she cried, and rocked her back and forth. Trip sat on the other end of the couch and drank a Gatorade he'd found in the fridge, patting Skye's foot. Arthur somehow wedged himself into Skye's lap.

"I've felt… not good enough before," Skye whispered. "All the time, almost. But tonight…"

She shook her head.

"It will pass," Wanda said.

"You don't know that," Skye said.

Wanda gave her a patient smile. "Don't I?"

"Not according to that Mack guy," Trip said.

Wanda leaned over and smacked him. "Didn't see that coming, did you?"

She turned back to Skye. "It will pass. This is love, and nothing is easy, or makes sense. But this one… this one is to last."

"Don't try to fix it tonight," Trip suggested. "And you're not going to be alone - Wanda'll stay in your room and I can sleep here on the couch."

Skye nodded. She was suddenly exhausted, and she wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed and forget about all of the personal care stuff she still had to do – tube feed to make up and run through, supplemented with water, IV meds that needed to infuse. But it wasn't an option.

"Unhook yourself and put pajamas on," Wanda said. "I will make up food and water; I know how. You will have to do meds, though."

Skye turned to look at her, surprised.

"We have been friends now for very long time," Wanda said, rolling her eyes. "When will you two realize I am not kidding about my gifts?"

Skye smiled as she unplugged her tube feed and stood up. Halfway to the bathroom, a sobering thought hit her.

"Hey," she said, not turning around. "We just had our first fight, didn't we?"

There was silence for a bit, silence that threatened to crush her back and force her to her knees.

"Yeah," Trip said eventually, his voice low and gentle. "Yeah, girl, you did."

She didn't cry then, or when she brushed her teeth. She didn't cry when Wanda rolled in her tube feed, or while she hooked herself up to her IV meds. She didn't cry when Arthur snuggled up next to her, and Wanda snuggled up next to Arthur.

She waited until her friend and her dog were both asleep, and then, nearly silently, began to sob.

Skye wasn't sure how long she'd been crying, but eventually she was aware of strong arms lifting her out of bed, rolling her IV pole with them, carrying her back into the living room.

"Shh, girl," Trip murmured, holding her close to him. "You don't have to have a degree to be an amazing human being, or an awesome friend, or one of the kindest, gentlest, smartest people I know. And if Jemma or her friends can't see that, it's their loss."

It didn't stop the tears, but they slowed. Skye leaned into Trip and let his breathing lull her into a doze. At some point she felt him carry her back to bed; he tucked her in and kissed her forehead, and though the night had seemed like one big attack on everything she was, in that moment she only felt love.