Author's note-I've gotten more than a few requests for a little Ward, so here it is.

Ch. 4

The next day, I was sitting in the lounge, eyes closed, listening to Daft Punk, legs propped up on the table. All of a sudden, my legs were kicked off the table. "What the h . . ." I started to shout as I ripped out my earbuds. Ward was looking down at me, arms crossed.

"Come on, newbie. No more goofing off. It's time for weapons training," he said as he turned to leave.

"We've already trained on the night-night guns. I think I'm actually pretty good on those."

Ward smiled that smile of his. The one that doesn't reach his eyes. The one that make me feel like I'm three years old and he can't believe he's stuck baby-sitting me. "The night-night gun isn't a weapon. It's a device. There may come a time when all you have to protect yourself is an actual gun. That shoots actual bullets. At actual people. And you can't freeze up. And you can't hesitate. You have to be able to pull the trigger in a split second. It may be the only thing saving you or someone on your team. So, meet me in the SUV. We're leaving in five minutes."

"Leaving in five minutes?" I asked.

"I'm not doing live weapons training onboard an aircraft. Fury will kill us if this plane gets shot full of holes. I've booked time at a nearby gun range. Get going," he said as he turned to leave.

We didn't talk much on the ride to the range. Things seem to seesaw with Ward. He'd open up and I'd see a bit of crack in the tough exterior that he'd built up and then I'd turn around and the walls would all be up again and he'd act as the put-upon S.O. dealing with a lowly recruit.

Once we had arrived at the facility and he had checked us in, he led me to the range. "We're going to start on a Glock. It's one of the most popular handguns. It's lightweight and used throughout law enforcement, so if you happen to have to pick up a gun to use for defense, statistically it will be a Glock."

He went through the proper care and handling of the gun, how to make sure it was unloaded, etc. Then, he pointed me to the firing range. "Alright, what I want you to do is make sure that you focus your shots on either the torso or head. Try to keep your shots close together."

"Can't I just shoot an arm or a leg? You know, just wound them?" I asked.

Anger flared in his eyes and he clenched his teeth. "Skye, there is no such thing as shooting to wound someone. You point a gun at someone and fire it, you are trying to kill them. The best marksman in the world can't guarantee that they are only going to wound someone. What makes you think you can? I've seen people bleed out from a leg wound. Die before the ambulance could make it there. Don't kid yourself. You handle a weapon like this, you are trying to end a person's life."

He must have seen something in my face, because his expression softened. "Look, Skye, we're doing this so that you can protect yourself and those on your team. S.H.I.E.L.D. has some pretty big enemies. I . . . we don't want you to get hurt." With that, he looked down for a second. When he looked up, he smiled. "Okay, so let's get started."

As I pointed the gun at the target, he said, "Wait a minute." He came up behind me and placed his hands over mine, steadying them. "Try to focus. Concentrate on where you want to hit," he said in my ear.

I would have had an easier time focusing without his hot breath on my neck. I was acutely aware of him. I fired, but it went wide, not even hitting the target. He took his hands off of mine and stepped back. "Try again," he said. This time, I hit the target. In the leg.

The rest of the afternoon was spent practicing with different caliber guns. Some were definitely easier than others. By the end of our session, I was able to hit the target successfully, more often than not, although my shots were definitely not neatly grouped together like Ward's.

At the end, Ward gave me an encouraging smile. "Look, you did good. You're in data communications, not operations. No one expects you to turn into Black Widow overnight. You've shown a lot of progress just in this one session. I'll make sure to book time at gun ranges whenever we can to help improve your skills. It's going to be a bit rough, I know, this ad hoc type of academy training, but I know you'll do well."

"I have to," I said tightly, remembering Coulson's warning. He wouldn't be able to protect me if I washed out of this training.

"We'd better head back," he said and I nodded and followed him out.

0000

Once back aboard, I went towards my miniroom, ready to dive into the on-line portion of my training. May came suddenly around a corner, surprising me.

"Sorry, I didn't see you there," I said after I gave a start.

"But I saw you. I saw the way you looked at Agent Ward when you got back from weapons training. Skye, do you know S.H.I.E.L.D.'s policy on fraternization?"

"Uh, no," I said, not liking where this was going.

"If two people on the same mission become romantically involved, one person has to be reassigned. Immediately," she said, matter-of-factly.

"So, if Ward and I got involved, one of us would have to leave?" I asked, my voice rising.

"That's not the worst of it," she said.

"What is?" I asked.

"Since Ward is acting as your S.O., he has command authority over you. Any relationship between you two would result in his immediate firing and the loss of his pension. His career would be over," she said acidly.

"I . . . understand," I said, finding it hard to look at her.

"I hope that you do, Skye. I really hope that you do."

Author's Note- Hope you liked it! I usually don't update this quickly, but your reviews have been beyond encouraging.