A/N: I'm back! Sorry that I took so long, I was avoiding S3 as much as possible and I had assignments and exams, both of which are now all finished.
This isn't as long as I wanted it to be, but I thought I'd save the big thing at the end for the next chapter. There will be at least two more after that (reunion and Avengers guest appearances), then I'll finish with the epilogue and this fic will be done!
Thank you to jellybean96, Oricke and the guest who reviewed my last chapter!
Guest - No, it's not a flashback. I'm compacting the timeline of the fic so it all runs together, but writing chapters months apart makes it a little harder to keep he consistency going. Hope you think it works! :)
Enjoy! :)
Skye took her time folding the pink sleeveless blouse, sighing before she placed it in her suitcase. Grant had suggested to her a couple of days ago that it was probably best for them to leave; get back in touch with their favourite S.H.I.E.L.D. team, find somewhere to settle down, etcetera. His list was long and the points interwove with one another. One of the primary ones was so they could get on with having that baby.
Skye smiled at that last thought, remembering the joy in Grant's eyes as he spoke of the qualities he wanted for their house.
"Now I wonder what that smile is for." Jiaying's voice pulled her out of her reverie. The older woman was standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame, an eyebrow raised as she smiled softly at her daughter.
Skye grinned, lowering her gaze back down to her suitcase. "One of the things Grant was talking about once we leave this place was finally having a baby." She looked back up to see her mother more horrified than delighted.
"Skye, having an Inhuman child outside of Afterlife is very dangerous, especially now!" she exclaimed, pushing off the doorframe and into the room.
"What?" Skye straightened up, a bemused expression pinching her brow. "What are you on about? It's not like they'll have abilities when they're born."
"But you do!" Jiaying insisted, moving even closer. "And they'll target any child of yours to get to you."
"So I'll hide my powers!" Skye threw up her hands in exasperation and disbelief. "It's not like I'm trying to be a superhero!"
"What's going on?" Grant asked as he walked in, bringing the argument between the women to a halt. He glanced suspiciously at Jiaying.
"Jiaying doesn't want us to leave." Skye answered, running a hand down her face. Her use of her mother's name instead of 'mom' caused the Inhuman leader to flinch.
"Well, that's understandable." Grant said calmly. Both mother and daughter looked at him with surprise; however Jiaying was hopeful while Skye looked hurt. "But it's not her decision." He finished, and the expressions on the women's faces did complete one-eighties. Jiaying looked angry, and Skye beamed.
"May I remind you of the dangers that await any of us once we set foot outside of Afterlife?!" Jiaying took a threatening step towards Grant, causing him to tense. "And a baby has no protection!"
"He or she will have her parents!" Grant snapped back.
"And S.H.I.E.L.D." Skye added. Her mother whirled around to face her, her anger growing.
"S.H.I.E.L.D.?!" she asked in a dangerously low tone, her voice so quiet, Skye almost missed it. "They will not want to keep you safe. They won't keep your child safe. They'll take him or her away and put them in an orphanage where you'll never find them; just like they did with our family."
"Let me make this very clear." Skye advanced on her mother, her tone and stance highly aggressive. "Hydra took me from you and Dad, and it was S.H.I.E.L.D. who put me somewhere where no one else would ever find me, even if that included you." Her voice softened, trying to get through to Jiaying. "Not even Nick Fury knew. Or Alexander Pierce. And they were the highest level S.H.I.E.L.D. officers in the world. I was safe."
"It won't just be the director who'll know, though, will it?" Jiaying replied, her voice flat.
"It'll be his team." Grant answered her just as Skye opened her mouth. He moved closer to the pair, careful steps adding silence to his approach.
Jiaying just looked at Skye, her face blank.
"Well, this seems rather awkward." Cal jovially announced from the doorway. Jiaying was the only one to jump in surprise, Grant hiding his own.
"Can you get Gordon?" Skye asked hurriedly, wanting to avoid an awkward silence.
Cal blinked. "Why? Are you going somewhere?" At once, Jiaying opened her mouth, leaping at the opportunity to gather Cal to her side of the argument, but Skye cut her off.
"I was hoping to have time to say goodbye, and leave tomorrow." She said, moving back to continue packing her suitcase. "But that's obviously not going to work, so now would be better."
"But why are you going?" he strode into the room, hurt and confusion rife on his face. "Don't you like it here?"
"I do. But I can't live my life here. Not cut off from almost everything I've ever known."
"You knew us, once." He now looked defeated.
"I don't remember that. Plus," she continued, as heartbreak bloomed on her parents' faces. "I can't stay knowing what I know about the world. And I have more than one way to do something about it. Having a family, away from here, won't stop me. Or Grant." She glanced at him, the love of her life smiling gently in return. "We're going. And if you respect me at all, you won't try to stop us."
The inbox binged, and Fitz glanced up from a prototype of his latest idea. Straightening up, he took quick strides over to the computer and opened the new message. Immediately, he started buzzing with excitement.
"Jemma! Come here!" He raced around the benches in the lab, drawing close to a startled Simmons.
"What is it? Did you get the prototype working?" she asked, placing the test tube she was holding over a flame back in its slot in the rack. She cut the gas to the Bunsen burner and removed her safety glasses before turning to face him.
"No, no, nothing like that. Skye's coming back!" Fitz's face was alight with joy, and Simmons found his enthusiasm contagious.
"Oh Fitz, that's wonderful!" she exclaimed, her own eyes lighting up. Then she soured a little. "Does that mean that Ward is coming back as well?"
"Yes." He frowned at her. "He helped her get all the intel, blow up Hydra bases and virtually led to the weapons Garrett stole from the Fridge."
"I suppose." She mumbled, turning back to her work, but not actually doing anything.
"Jemma, you have to get over the fact that the guy who chose Garrett is gone." Fitz snapped, thoroughly annoyed. "This attitude is only going to drive Skye away." Angry, he marched away, leaving Simmons alone in the lab.
Taking a deep breath, Simmons looked over at Fitz's main computer, the message from Skye still clearly on the screen. Glancing around, she made her way over to it, passing three shelved aisles to reach it.
'Hey Fitz!' the message read. 'Grant and I are coming back to S.H.I.E.L.D., though it won't be for long. We're planning on settling in suburbia (don't know where yet) and starting a family. Don't worry, we won't be too far from the team! We have tons to tell you, especially about progress on my lifelong search. Say hi to everyone for us! Love you :) Skye.'
"Progress?" She murmured, her hand reaching up to tug at her bottom lip while she thought. "Oh!"
"Hey, Jemma," Bobbi strode into the lab, looking a mixture of delight and weariness. "Skye and Ward are nearly here, you wanna come meet them?"
"Oh, yes, sure." Simmons made her way to the door and continued along the corridor, Bobbi by her side. She snuck a sideways look at the specialist as they neared the hangar door. "You're not happy about Ward being here either, are you?"
"I don't trust him, that's for sure." Bobbi replied. "Not exactly in the habit of just forgiving and forgetting, especially when it comes to Hydra."
Simmons nodded, chewing on her lip nervously. Bobbi noticed, however, and stopped her at the juncture of the corridors, the hangar door a few meters away, and open. Simmons could see most of the team gathered, standing a little way away from the door to the outside world. Fitz looked like he was the only one who wasn't dreading Ward's return.
"Jemma." Bobbi said, her tone firm. "What is it?"
Simmons opened her mouth to answer, then shut it again.
"Jemma–"
"It's not for me to say." Simmons cut her off. "It was a private message that I shouldn't have read."
"What's it about?"
"Bobbi, please don't pressure me on this!" Simmons raised her voice a little. The echo appeared to reach to the group gathered in the hangar, because Coulson, May, Mack and Hunter all turned around. Fitz merely glanced over. Refocusing on the specialist in front of her, Simmons interrupted her again, this time before she could say a word. "We should get there before Skye and Ward do." Pushing past, Simmons hurried towards the rest of the team.
A/N: What did you think? If you have any questions or opinions, please leave a review! :)