1
"Phil's gone crazy. Go test him," May hissed as she came into Simmon's view. Simmons had been left in charge of guarding Trip while the others moved Skye somewhere secure. She held the Icer in her hand, very glad she hadn't had to use it. Because of the reaction it caused, she had declared to the team that it was to be used as a last resort only.
"I don't understand," Simmons said. She hated that May was still so intimidating after knowing her so long. Most of the time she wasn't afraid of May, but when May was angry, she tried to maintain a safe distance.
"Rather than lock Skye up somewhere designed to hold someone, she's still in Phil's office. He had me shackle her to his desk," May answered. The next part was the thing that shocked Jemma. "I should have known. He always takes her side."
"I'm sure the Director has his reasons," Simmons offered. May's point was a valid one. Skye was not in her right mind. She needed to be locked up. They had all agreed it was the safest course of action. Simmons had spent her life being the teacher's pet and early on she had accepted that Skye was her boss's favourite. It bugged her a little, but for May, who knew Coulson so well, it had to be a slap in the face. When she realized that May had gone quiet, she thought a change in topic might cut some of the tension.
"And Agent Koenig? Where did he go?"
May sighed before responding, "He said he needed to take care of a few things. I wasn't really listening."
Bang
"What was that?" Simmons felt her heart leap out of her chest. Metaphorically, obviously.
Bang
They turned to face the interrogation room door.
Bang
"Trip's up."
"The room will hold. Vibranium is incredibly strong," Simmons announced.
"Of course. The real issue is how much damage Trip will do to himself trying to get out."
Simmons exhaled. She hadn't considered that and now was worried that Trip would cause himself serious injury in his need to get to Skye.
2
"Come look at this," Skye called out. Coulson had been sitting on the couch across the room from her. She usually took the couch, but now that she was chained to his desk, she was forced to stay in his chair. He got up and walked behind her to see what Skye was talking about.
"It's surveillance footage from a bank in Tijuana and that," she said pointing to the screen, "is Padovano walking by just three days ago. He must live close."
"Great work Skye.," Coulson said, looking closely at her as he spoke. She was flushed, her breathing was shallow and her pupils dilated. She was sweating and Coulson noticed that she'd been typing slower and slower for the past ten minutes.
"Skye, honestly, how are you holding up?" His look was firm.
"I- Its worse than before for sure. If I can keep my mind busy its easier to ignore the ache inside but its always there. Also, everything feels amazing. Like who knew a computer could feel so bright." Her hand was out and she was petting the monitor. Coulson held back a smile. She'd been so rational for so long that he'd forgotten how out of it she could get.
"I don't know if there's any more you can do about Padavano. Maybe its time to lock you up somewhere safe." He rested his hand on her shoulder to reassure her.
"No," she whispered. "I was going to look at rental records for the area. Its only been a few months since Garrett and Ward broke him out of the fridge. It's a bit of a long shot, but its something to do."
"You can bring your laptop with you if you want to keep working," he offered. "I just think its getting to the point where you need to be locked up. You asked me to keep you from Trip."
"I know," she said, rising. Coulson could hear the chain on her leg rattle and she turned to face him. "This is just the worst. I can be useful except instead all I'm doing is thinking about him. I just want to- Sorry. You don't want to hear that."
"Skye, its going to be okay. Simmons thinks you have maybe two more hours like this and then-"
"I can't. I can't. Two hours is too much. You don't understand" She was quivering and Coulson pulled her close. She stopped shaking in his arms and Coulson realized that she was running hot. He took a half step back. "You- you were supposed to go with me today." Her voice was quiet but clear.
It was true that Coulson had planned on going on the mission with Skye himself before Trip offered. He wanted to evaluate her in the field now that she had more training but he stayed behind to work on a different lead. It was an awful thing to be relieved that someone else ended up hurt in his place, but if he had gone⦠If this had been him and Skye... What he didn't understand was why Skye was mentioning that now. Then he realized that she was petting his shoulder the way she had touched the computer a few minutes before. He reached up and grabbed her hand, stopping her.
"AC," she sighed. "So strong." She moved forward and planted her lips on his. Coulson tried to steady himself and extricate himself but pinned between Skye and the wall behind him he had very little room to maneuver. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she nipped at his lower lip. One hand slid over his shoulder and rested on his chest. A small whimper escaped her lips and Coulson couldn't help his hands moving to her hips. He knew he needed to push her away, but she was right there, smelling like heaven and responding to his touch. He slid his hands off her hips and gently pushed her back so that she was resting against the desk. His desk. Her lips were swollen and begging to be kissed.
"Skye, I'm sorry." He moved quickly to the other side of the room his back to her. He'd taken advantage of her condition and it was horrible. He felt horrible.
"I'm not," she said, her voice impossibly close. He turned and she was right there. She hit him over the head with her laptop and he felt himself drop to the floor. He sprung up but Skye was already gone out the door. He reached her in the hall and tackled her to the ground. She wiggled forward just a little, freeing one leg. Coulson tried to block the coming kick, but Skye connected soundly with his forehead and he struggled to hold on. She kicked again and he loosened his grip enough for her to shimmy forward and out of his grasp.
The hall was getting dark and Coulson could feel blood dripping down his forehead. He needed to get up and stop her. Or at least warn May that she was free. As he was blacking out he realized that the kiss had been a diversion to grab the key from his coat pocket.
3
"That's the thirteenth time he's hit his head against the door." Simmons sounded upset but May had no real answers. All she could do was nod. With just a little less than two hours to go it would only get worse. "We should do something."
"Like what? We handcuffed him to the table, he dislocated his wrist. He broke a leg off of that table to try and pry the door open. He doesn't care about the fact his head had been bleeding. You've been watching the feed," May added gesturing to the tablet in her hands. "Unless you let me Ice him there isn't anything else we can do."
"We can't use the Icer. I don't know what sort of damage that will do to him." Simmons was dejected. May felt a little bad. The girl had had a rough year and now her crush was slowly bashing in his own skull.
Still, May didn't know what to say to make this situation right. Skye or Phil would be better normally at reassuring her but they were the last people she wanted to see at the moment. She had already offered to let Simmons leave, but the girl wasn't going anywhere. Whatever happened, Simmons clearly wanted to be close by in case Trip needed assistance.
Skye came rushing around the corner, stopping dead in front of May. Of course she escaped. Her eyes were wild and her breathing was heavy.
Bang
May didn't want to turn, but she heard Simmons gasp behind her. Simmons, who still had the Icer. If Skye came at them, May would have to put her down and it was the last thing she wanted to do.
Bang
"I think he knows she's here," Simmons whispered. May only nodded. She was ready, her body tense and her eyes sharp. If Skye moved even a little, she was wired to react.
"Simmons, you know what you have to do, right?" She hated that she couldn't turn around and get a sense if Simmons was really up for shooting her friend. She should have taken the Icer back the moment she returned, but she was so angry and it didn't seem necessary until now and now was too late.
"I do," Simmons assured. She was calmer than May had been expecting.
"Skye," she said calmly, "you need to come with me." She watched, hoping, for some sort of rational action. Skye moved a step back and then lunged forward.
"Now, Simmons," May yelled as she moved to block Skye's path. The sound of the Icer rang out behind her and May felt a pain in her back. The world went black and she fell to the floor.
