Matter of Importance

Spoilers: Season 2 promo

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Phil Coulson looked up when the door to his office opened, he found May standing in the doorway with an unreadable expression. She stepped aside to reveal Skye, the younger agent had a cut on her temple and several scratches on her face. He rose as the two moved into the office, May shutting the door behind herself.

"What happened with the transport?" He moved over to Skye and touched her arm, looking towards May. "Ward?"

The Calvary shook her head, "HYDRA, Ward is in custody again. We planned for everything but what actually happened, no one anticipated our prisoner saving our agents and remaining with them despite HYDRA offering him freedom. More impressive was he wasn't restrained the whole time or needed a weapon aimed at him."

"What am I missing?"

"When I arrived, Ward was sitting beside Skye and Grady like he was one of the agents transporting a prisoner instead of actually being the prisoner." May mere shrugged, "didn't fight anyone but HYDRA. I'm sure Skye's report will explain more once she submits it."

Skye looked at them both, "I came to just as Ward was about ready to take out the last HYDRA agent. I told him to stop and on a hunch, threw him my ICER. He ICEd the HYDRA agent before helping to pull Grady and Matthews from the overturned vehicle, making sure they were alive."

"You threw him your ICER?" May looked at Skye in surprise, "do you know how many ways that could have ended, none of them good."

Before Skye could speak, Coulson put up a hand. "Why did you throw him your ICER, what hunch did you have?"

"He didn't run from us and he could have, he could have taken out those agents after they rescued him and got him far away. Instead he stayed, he defended us and when I told him to stop he listened so I knew he wouldn't use it against us." She shrugged, "besides, you and I both know I'm the only one he really cares for so he wouldn't have left me bleeding and injured, exposed to HYDRA in any fashion."

Coulson and May shared a look, Skye knew they were agreeing that she was right. Skye was the only person Ward ever responded to during interrogation. Even when he was on the floor, bleeding and beaten he would stay silent unless it was her there to ask questions. She'd forgotten how often Coulson would show up with some profile or another, telling her she needed to go down to the interrogation level because she was the only one who could.

"Obviously we can't transport him and the fact HYDRA knew where he was says we have a mole somewhere." May looked at Skye, "do you think that Ward would be willing to go through photos of all our agents to see if he recognizes anyone from HYDRA under Garrett?"

Skye shrugged, "if he isn't, I'll imply that not identifying the agent puts my life at risk. That'll have him agreeing in under about ten seconds."

The sound of the cell door opened and Ward looked up from the small pallet on the floor. He found Skye with a book in her hands and nodded to the guard as he looked at her questioning. The new rotation of guards were unfamiliar with Skye's regular interrogation visits and most likely saw a girl instead of an agent.

"Just scream if he tries anything."

She just smiled, "I'm the only one safe around him, I'd be more worried about yourself." With that she proceeded to the table as the door shut. "We need your help and before your ego inflates due to that request, it's because we have a HYDRA mole somewhere."

Standing up, Ward made his way over to the table and sat down in the chair. "What do you need from me?"

"Uh, wow." Skye sat down and put her arms on the book, "I thought it'd take a while to convince you to help."

"A mole means you're in danger, so are Fitzsimmons and after everything I did they don't deserve to be put in danger again." He shook his head, "it was supposed to float and instead I nearly killed them." Finally meeting her eyes, he nodded to the book. "Is that for me to read or is there something else you need me to do?"

Skye pushed the book towards him, "the images are numbered so only we know their identities. I need you to go through the images of all our agents, see if you recognize anyone from HYDRA or if they worked closely with Garrett. I don't care if you just saw them talking once, mark the page." She placed a red felt pen beside the book. "I'll be back in an hour with your lunch, you should be done by then."

"I thought I wasn't allowed to be left alone with anything?"

"I said the same thing and apparently Coulson and May are under the assumption that you aren't going to do anything like the others will. You didn't run when you could have and you defended those who have been holding you prisoner. You've earned a few privileges the others haven't."

The guard on rotation when Skye returned with a tray stopped her. He looked at the tras and snared at the food on the plastic, most likely because it wasn't prison food but a fresh sandwich and soup. She merely gave him a look as if questioning his problem.

"Feeding the prisoner a little better these days huh?"

"Excuse me?"

The man smirked, "the visits, the items being brought to him and now this. I'd say you're treating him a bit more like a guest, what's next…conjugal visits?"

"Open the door now!" With a clipped voice, Skye looked at the door and ignored the guard as he opened the door. Before she could enter he put a hand on her arm, "let me go or I won't be responsible for what happens."

The guard chuckled, "after you get done with him, come see me Sweetheart and we'll make a party of it."

"Let her go…" Ward's voice echoed in the room but his tone was violent, Skye knew that the only safe one at the moment was herself. He stood mere inches away from her, starring at the guard with a glare that could possibly make even May stumble.

"Back up now!" The guard pulled his weapon and Skye rolled her eyes.

"Ward take the tray and let me handle this asshole." She handed him the tray and he accepted it, backing up as Skye pulled her arm from the guard's hold and rotated, kicking the gun from his hand before catching it. Without further care, she held it at the guard. "Go back to your post before I give into the urge to wipe the floor with you." She put the weapon her waist band and moved into the cell, closing the door behind her.

She turned to see Ward by the table, he stared at her before crossing the two feet to take her arm. Gently his fingers moved over the part where the guard had grabbed her. "How is your arm?"

"I'm fine." She gave a short smile before moving away, he let her go instantly. "What did you find?"

As her fingers touched the sheets, she found notes not just a mark on the page corner. Flipping through the book she allowed her fingers to trace over the notes he'd given them. Small bits of conversations topics to dates and locations. Ward neared her yet kept a distance, "you have quite a huge amount of help that has had contact with Garrett. I've only identified one from his base though." He reached over and turned pages till he came to a photo. "His name is Derrick Holmes and he's lethal."

Skye nodded, "yeah I remember running into him once while training with May. She had to leave to help Coulson and told me to finish up on the bags, he stared at me the whole time before making a comment. At the time I thought it was just because he'd overheard Fitz and Hunter talking about what happened between us but now it makes sense he knew because he was one of Garrett's."

"What did he say?"

"Just commented on how stupid it was that a girl like me could even think she could turn a HYDRA agent by making him fall in love with me." She snorted and smirked, "said that those type of daydreams were why made agents lead to me dying sooner."

He said nothing but the back of his finger touched her cheek, Skye looked at him and found his eyes holding reverence like she was a miracle. She'd long ago realized that she was the only thing he really cared for, she was his miracle in darkness. After years of torture under his brother and Garrett, she'd been the only one he'd been willing to reach for because she meant something to him in ways no one else could. "He's wrong, he just doesn't know it yet."

Without another word his hand dropped and he sat at the table. Skye picked up the book and pen, "I have to get this to Coulson, let me know if the guards try anything."

"Get rid of him." He looked up at her, "the guard, if you don't I'll probably harm him."

She knew it wasn't a threat but a promise, Ward hadn't harmed or attempt to harm anyone since his incarceration. Not even when they were assaulting him, he just took whatever they did to him but if they dared to harm her or put her in danger then he became a threat. "I'm already going to talk to Coulson, what he did was tantamount to sexual harassment."

Slamming the book down on the desk of her boss, Skye met Coulson's eyes as he looked up at her. She backed up and sat down in the chairs, huffing as she crossed her arms. The man in front of her seemed to quietly wait before speaking. "What happened?"

"Guard on rotation outside Ward's cell sexually harassed me verbally." She uncrossed her arms, "Ward was about five second away from destroying the trust he has just to break the guy in half." Looking up at her boss she shrugged, "he needs reprimand and a new location or he'll end up injured, you and I both know that."

Coulson opened the book and looked at all the notes on the pages. "What's all this?"

"Any interaction between Garrett and any agent we have, at least to Ward's memory. I don't know if it was harmless like with Trip or in-depth, he wrote everything he could remember. He found our mole though."

Removing the sheet of paper from the book, Coulson sighed. "Holmes, he's a specialist with far more training than Ward and is considered lethal. He was placed on a STRIKE team before the Helicarrier went up." He looked at her, "Ward's sure its him?"

"No offense AC but Ward seemed slightly agitated when I told him that Holmes had been starring me down in the gym." She shrugged, "any threat to me has Ward on his toes and spilling his heart out."

"Fair enough, we're moving Ward to general housing under surveillance via bracelet. He'll be assigned some type of work after an evaluation. He's no longer a threat to us or our work, we can't trust him but we can give him a chance to earn the trust back."

Skye stood up, "why the change of heart?"

"If I can give an ex-KGB assassin a chance at reforming than I can give this ex-agent a chance as well." He chuckled, "this one will be an easier job though."

"Easier how?"

Coulson met her eyes, "Romanoff didn't have anything to tie her down, give her a reason to trust us. Ward has you, you're his anchor to reality and he'll do anything to protect you. That's been proven already." He rose and his voice indicated his seriousness, "his loyalties have changed. They aren't with SHIELD or HYDRA or even Garrett's cause anymore. The only loyalty he has left is to you and that's enough loyalty for me to give him a chance."

A/N: Well it's mole-hunting time plus Ward gets a chance at earning himself a placed back within SHIELD.

Next...no clue

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