This one is Ward-centric...with a tiny bit of a plot twist near the end. Enjoy!

Ward tried to sit up, but gasped and grabbed his abdomen. He grimaced as Skye sat down heavily on his bed. He attempted to smile at her, saying "What's up?"

Skye raised her eyebrows coldly. "'What's up?' That's the best you can come up with?" Before Ward could respond, she shook her head violently. "Never mind. Forget it, we have more important things to talk about."

Ward looked into Skye's brown eyes and noticed for the first time how tired she looked. She had lost weight, and her hands were trembling. He reached out slowly and touched her hand. "Are you okay?"

Skye jerked her hand back and stood up. "Says the guy lying in the hospital bed! I'm not the one who has been shot four times in the past week! I'll be the one asking the questions, understand?"

Ward nodded, but continued to watch Skye with an expression of concern.

"So," Skye continued. "I'm going to assume you will be truthful about everything…" Ward nodded, confirming this. "Did you kill your family?"

Ward looked surprised. "Yes, I did. But you already knew that" he said carefully. "What happened, Skye?"

"Nothing" Skye said sharply. "You don't get to ask questions." She took a deep breath, and asked "How do you live with yourself?"

Ward sighed, looking at her sadly. "Unfortunately, it's not any different than living with yourself after taking another life…Or trying to," he added after a moment.

Skye blushed, recognizing his point, but glared at him and said "You're wrong. It is different…I mean, it should be, right? I…" she broke off, unable to continue. She wanted to confide what she was feeling to someone, but didn't think her team would understand, and definitely didn't want to have a sympathy session with Ward.

"Skye?" Ward asked gently. "What happened?" When she shook her head, Ward looked at her pityingly. "Okay, you don't have to tell me. But I can see that something's bothering you…maybe you've realized that we're more alike than you think. Or that if you were in my situation, you would've made the same decisions as me."

"Never," Skye hissed. "I never would've betrayed my team."

"Skye, listen to me." Ward said, and something in his voice made Skye pause. She held her tongue as he continued.

"Imagine you are a scared, weak, abused teenager. Your family, whose job is to care for you has done nothing but torment you." Ward paused, looking at Skye to make sure she was listening.

"Then, someone shows up and teaches you to protect yourself…gives you a purpose, something worth living for. And then you find out that person is dying." Ward looked at Skye with pain in his eyes.

"And in order to save them, you have to go undercover with a team of agents to find something to save him. And in the end, you have to leave them, because they are just a mission…the person who you were working for all along is the only one that really matters."

For the first time Ward broke his eye contact with Skye. "Except that's where I went wrong. Garrett wasn't the only one that mattered to me. You did too...a lot. And even though you may deny it, I think I mattered to you."

Ward hesitantly raised his gaze to look at Skye, who was trying not to cry. "And for that, I'm sorry. By letting myself get close to you, I broke both of our hearts in the end."

Skye just looked at him, shaking her head, unable to find words. "Skye?" Ward asked in a whisper. "What if you were that scared little kid? And what if it was Coulson that saved you…and was dying? Wouldn't you have done the same thing...Wouldn't you have done anything to save him?"

"Probably," Skye said with a sigh. "But if I did, I sure as hell wouldn't have looked to the people I betrayed for forgiveness, especially after I tried to kill them!" She walked to the door, and paused before opening it. "Thank you for saving May…I don't know what I would do without her."

Ward smiled at her cautiously, but Skye turned away. "As soon as Simmons gives the all clear, we're dropping you off somewhere far, far away. You'd best forget about me, Ward. I will never understand you, I will never forgive you, and I will never, ever love you."

Skye exited the room, slamming the door behind her. With a noise of anguish, Ward sunk back on his pillows. Why can't I make her understand? We're so similar…why can't she love me?

Ward was startled once again by the sound of the door opening. As Simmons entered, Ward was even more surprised to see Fitz standing close behind her, holding a small device. Ward's heartrate picked up…the last time he had been near Fitz, the young engineer had tried to kill him.

"Simmons" Ward croaked. "Thank you. I didn't deserve to be saved…and I'm sure you didn't want to help me, but thank you." Simmons ignored him as she began taking his pulse.

"Fitz," Ward said to the Scottish agent who was standing in the corner, staring at him. "I meant what I said before…I didn't want to hurt you. I'm so sorry…I –"

"Shut up." Simmons snapped at him, in a harsh tone very uncharacteristic for her. "Don't you dare speak to him!"

Ward raised his hands in surrender as Fitz took a step toward him. "It's okay, Jemma" he said softly. He looked at Ward, emotionless. "You were my friend, Ward. I tru…trusted you…even after Skye told us you were HYDRA, I didn't want to believe her. You were like my big brother, Ward. And you betrayed me…tried to kill me."

On the word brother, Ward closed his eyes. "I'm so sorry" he whispered, repeating himself over and over, just like Christian had at the well. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Tommy, I'm sorry."

Fitzsimmons shared a brief glance at the mention of the unknown Tommy, then Simmons grabbed the small device and held it up in front of Ward.

"Quiet." She commanded. "This here is a bomb…a very special type of bomb." Ward's eyes widened, and he tried to scooch away from Simmons.

"Relax, it's not for you," Simmons said, rolling her eyes. "The bomb goes onto Skye."

She pulled a small chip out of her pocket. "This is for you. It's a sensor, to tell us where you are at all times. We'll be implanting it in you tomorrow, before you leave. It is a counterpart to the bomb…how it works, is if you come within a certain distance of Skye…the bomb goes off. Skye dies."

Ward gaped at Simmons. "You're bl…bluffing." He stammered. "You'd never do something that could hurt Skye."

"And neither would you," Simmons replied. "So stay away from her, and she'll be the safest person in the world."

She turned to leave, with Fitz right behind her. "This wasn't our idea," the British agent said quietly before pulling the door shut behind her. "It was Skye's."