Note- This is set a year from the ending of Season 2. It is not canon compliant with any of the comics. There will be some spoilers for Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Ch. 2

Coulson didn't even notice her approach, an unforgivable lapse on his part. He was sitting at his desk, squinting at his laptop, staring at expense reports. Sending someone to "Tahiti" was a lot more expensive than anyone would guess. With Fitzsimmons as the head of research and development, expenditures had skyrocketed in the past year.

It always comes down to money, doesn't it, Coulson thought ruefully. Without any government funding, S.H.I.E.L.D. was limping along on hidden reserves and bank accounts that Fury had squirreled away over the years. Hellcarriers weren't cheap. Operatives didn't work for free.

Coulson still believed in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s mission, even if the rest of the world was against them. He wouldn't give up the names of the enhanced individuals on his staff, no matter how many times the U.S. government pressured him, threatened him. Skye and her team were safe. They were all a family. And you don't turn your back on family.

But, loyalty had cost them. Declared a rogue institution, a terrorist organization, they were hiding out once again, operating in the shadows. All the good will that had been created when S.H.I.E.L.D. participated in the takedown of Ultron had long since dissipated.

And, Ward spending a year as the head of Hydra didn't help any. He had spent the last twelve months making their lives a living hell, opposing them at every turn, blaming them for Agent 33's death. He knew their operating procedures inside and out and it was all they could do to keep one step ahead of them.

Someone cleared their throat and Coulson looked up, embarrassed that he'd been caught unawares.

"If I were an assassin, you'd be dead right now," May said, cocking her head to the side and giving Coulson a slight smile.

"May, if you were an assassin, . . . . we'd all be dead." He sighed. "Are you here to tell me this is a bad idea, too?"

"Someone beat me to the punch?"

"Skye."

May flashed him another smile. "Well, she's not wrong."

"I know. I know. But the alternative was . . ."

"Letting him die," she supplied.

They'd found Ward over a month ago while sweeping a Hydra base. He was lying on the ground, bleeding out, his throat slit by his second-in-command who wanted Ward's position for himself. The irony was not lost on Coulson, the betrayer ending up being betrayed himself.

"I was tempted, more than I'd care to admit." To this day, he didn't know what caused him to call in the medics. If he just had waited a few more minutes, the decision would have been out of his hands. "And after we patched him up, stabilized him, we couldn't just incarcerate him. We tried that before. If he ever got out . . ." Coulson shuddered. "I can't go through another year like last year. None of us can. We won't make it. Sending him to Tahiti seemed like the only viable option."

"There's no guarantee that it'll work long term," she pointed out.

"It's been a year and Cal's fine," he countered.

"He volunteered for it. He doesn't want to remember what he did."

"Well, let's hope the same holds true for Ward," he said.

"Do the others know?"

"Yes . . . they all had the same reaction." Coulson winced when he remembered the look of betrayal on Fitz's face.

"How did Bobbi take it?"

He blew out a long breath. "Honestly, better than I thought she would. She's a trooper. She believes in the mission."

"She's also a torture victim. She has nightmares. Simmons had to prescribe her sleeping pills. And now you're forcing her to work with him," she said.

"I'm running out of good options, May. We're all stretched thin. We're all making compromises."

May crossed her arms in front of her and shook her head. "You might not like where your compromises take you."

Coulson gave her a sad smile. "Probably not."

Author's Note- Thanks for the encouraging reviews! I may have another chapter or so to add to this story.