Skye's hands were shaking. She had shot Donnie Gill in the heart. Watched his blood splatter as he fell over the railing and into the ocean. All without her heartrate increasing over sixty-one beats per minute. That was then. Now, her hands were shaking uncontrollably. The kid was controlled, brainwashed. It wasn't fair! She had no right to do what she did! But she did it. Because she was ordered to. That makes everything fine, right? I did what I was told. Except it wasn't fine. Anything that was fine wouldn't have her hands trembling, her heart thumping, tears staining her cheeks. She didn't know what to do. May and Coulson had practically just congratulated her and walked off. She needed a release. She tied her hair back into a ponytail and pulled on her favorite dark red hoodie and a pair of black sweatpants. She opened her desk drawer and grabbed her wraps, securing them tightly around her hands and wrists before heading to the gym, hands clenched in her hoodie's pockets. It was late. One-thirty in the morning late and it was silent throughout the entire base.
When she entered the gym, she walked past everything and headed to the heavy bags. She was releasing frustration, not training. So she adjusted her weight and punched.
"A gifted that refuses HYDRA is a threat. And threats are taken care of quickly."
Jab, jab, cross.
"That's the difference between S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA."
Jab, jab, cross.
"And that's why HYDRA will win, because while a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent is considering right and wrong, HYDRA's already taken the shot."
She hadn't considered right and wrong. She had just fired the shot as ordered. Did that mean she was like HYDRA? Finally, she collapsed against the bag, sobbing silently. It had been so easy to pull the trigger. So damn easy. Just a squeeze to end Donnie's life. She needed someone to talk to. And as much as she hated it, that person was located in Vault D. She grabbed a water from the mini fridge in the gym before heading toward the vault, sipping throughout the walk. As she neared, she held her breath. This was her chance to turn back. She didn't have to go in there. But she needed to. As much as she hated it, she needed his help. Hopefully he'll give it. She stilled her heartbeat and remained still until she was sure there was no sign of any emotion on her face. She extended a hand to grasp the doorknob but froze when she heard voices.
"You shot May?" followed by laughter. Ward.
"It was an ICER! And it isn't that funny," complained another person. "In fact, she's got me on inventory duty almost every day." Hunter.
"If anything it's, uh, hysterical actually," chuckled another person. Was that Fitz?
Skye opened the door slightly as Hunter spoke up. "I'm on inventory, mate! It's not-"
"Wait," she heard Ward say quietly. "Skye's here."
She froze. It still alarmed her that Ward could hear footsteps even when he was in the middle of laughing with two others. And she was still weirded out by the fact that he could tell who each pair of footsteps belonged to. When did it get so silent? She descended the staircase to see Hunter and Fitz standing up, turned to face her. Ward was looking away, staring at the ceiling to purposefully avoid her gaze. A pang of hurt welled in her chest. Is he mad at me? She pushed it down. What did it matter?
"I have a lovely explanation for all this," Hunter began. She didn't want to hear it.
"Save it, I'm not gonna tell Coulson."
Hunter examined her stone cold expression before nudging Fitz. "Let's get out of here before we're dragged at gunpoint to the Director, yeah?"
Fitz nodded and they scurried upstairs.
Skye was staring at Ward, who was resting with his eyes closed. On his side. Facing away from her.
"Ward." She was speaking in a measured tone.
No response.
"Ward." Her voice grew slightly harsh.
She immediately regretted it when his body faintly trembled. No, no, no. This is not how this is supposed to go.
He spoke, his voice ice cold. "What Hydra base do you need intel on?"
She stared at his back, contemplating how she should proceed. He was upset, that much was for sure. First, for some stupid reason, she felt she needed to find out why he was frustrated, and then she could tell him about her problems.
"Why are you angry?" she whispered, staring at the floor.
She wasn't sure if he heard her, but then she remembered it was Grant Ward she was talking to. He was one of the best specialists that had ever worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. He whirled on her instantly, not bothering to hide the pure hurt in his voice or appearance. His forehead creased and his body quaked as he seethed. "I seem to remember you blaming your brother. Or was it your parents? Man, I can't keep up. You know what? My bad. I slipped. Talked to you like a normal person." Skye recoiled at his words. He was mocking her.
Several seconds of silence passed as she tried to come up with a response. If she was recoiling before, she was reeling after what was said next. His scream was ear-piercing, filled with desperation and pain. "And I'm a monster now! Wasn't bad enough that I was branded a Nazi traitor. Really Skye? A monster?! Is that what I am to you?!"
She watched, mind playing catch up, as he slammed the back of his skull repeatedly against a wall. He was far too broken, that much she realized. Something in him was threatening to snap. And she knew that it was partly her fault. And she felt a horrible, gut-wrenching sensation erupt throughout her entire body as a wave of sadness washed over her. In her highly emotional state, she chose her next words very poorly.
"Ward, I need your help, I need you to listen, please I-"
A vein on his now bloody forehead popped out. She hadn't thought it was possible, but his next roar grew louder, seemingly echoing throughout the entire base. She wouldn't be surprised if the entire team came running.
"You need me to listen? Why should I? I needed you to listen, Skye! All those times I tried and you spat in my face. I…I needed you! I needed the one person I thought I could count on to at least listen! And you, you, you…just said to run faster."
He burst into uncontrollable sobs as he collapsed on the ground in front of her, head hanging low. Skye stared in shock, her breathing growing labored. Did I really do this? She tried to reason with herself. Ward's a specialist. He's supposed to be in complete control of himself. His sobbing increased in volume, bouncing across the walls in the room. I did. I did this. Coulson burst through the door, equipped with an ICER and Captain America pj's, followed by May and Trip.
"What the hell is going on? Skye are you hurt?" shouted Coulson, eyes sweeping the room before resting on Ward. He froze beside Skye, dropping his arm uselessly by his side. "My God."
The team gathered around the jail cell located in Vault D, staring at the man inside without speaking or moving. His cries reverberated throughout the room.
Grant Douglas Ward had finally snapped.
AN: I'm a little nervous about this chapter. I'm not quite sure I'm satisfied with it, so please let me know what you think. I tried to show a conflicting attitude in Skye because I do not like how most of the characters are so heartless in season two.
