Author's Note:

Don't expect a chapter everyday, it just so happens that this is the third day in the row I am posting, lol.

I would like to thank everybody who has faved and followed this story so far, you are all amazing and I can't thank you enough.

I am going to give a shout out to everybody who has reviewed the first or second chapter already: Subject 666; Nan119; grossly-sweet; rebeccaskyeward12; Guest; BeifongSisters; Tamara; Guest; icecold5.

May inhaled a large amount of oxygen as she gasped; the shock of the cold water over her face and body had surprised her. She noted instantly that her wrists were tied up above her and she was hanging; she also noted that her feet were not tied. Her body swung back and forth slightly as she continued to catch her breath, looking around to get her bearings and work out where she was.

"Get your bearings, Sweetheart, get your bearings, there you go, there you go," Russo said in a patronisingly sweet tone. Her breathing turned angrier as she looked at him. "I realise you're confused, but I'm here to help." He assured her.

She narrowed her eyes slightly before glancing up at her bound wrists. "You see, I make sure Cybertech products move across Italy without incident and they make sure I'm well taken care of." He paused, "And they'll take care of you, too; all you have to do is tell me where Agents Coulson and Ward are," he informed her simply, almost hopeful that she was going to answer him. "That's it," he added after a few moments of silence.

May's glare was deep, but she lightened it and offered a subtle laugh of amusement.

"Why're you smiling?" he asked.

"You called me 'Sweetheart'," May replied, the smile still on her face- she momentarily ignored everything else he had said.

"Fine, have it your way," Russo said as he removed his glasses, all hope on his face replaced with boredom and annoyance. "Just remember: your boss asked to be part of this op, and I warned him against it. So if you're looking for somebody to blame, look towards him." He told her before stabbing her just below the left shoulder.

May grunted in pain as the knife when in; it wasn't a deadly wound- they were obviously planning on torturing her for information. They wouldn't kill her- not yet. She looked up at him and smiled.

"That's just what I needed." She informed him. How could he be so stupid?

Russo turned away and started addressing the other individuals in the room and May used that small distraction to pull herself up, pull the knife out and cut the restraints in one swift movement. She landed on her feet, ready to fight. Her hand swung up as she cut him before turning and attacking the closest other individual in the room. She grabbed his arm and stabbed him in the chest, killing him instantly. Without any rest, she turned to face off with the other man; she grabbed his arm, using his own gun to shoot a third man before also killing him.

May turned quickly as she heard the engine of a car starting up, and she instantly stood up to go after the only one that got away. "Russo." She tracked him back as fast as she could go, and it wasn't long before she realised exactly where he was going.

As she watched him walk onto the BUS, she ran to stop him before he attacked anybody, throwing the knife he had stabbed her with, she killed him instantly. She looked at Coulson and Ward.

"Wheels up in five." She told them both with a glare on her face-she hated combat.

"You okay? You weren't on the train when it disappeared?" Ward asked as he bent down to check on Russo; he was still focused on the mission.

"May, Russo was… explain yourself, please," Coulson half demanded as May attempted to walk past.

She spun around and glared at him. "The train didn't disappear- Russo sold us out." She informed them both, although focusing her attention on Coulson. "Get the plane ready, I need a shower," she ordered before walking off. Not only did she need a shower, but she needed to patch herself up, too.

"You're hurt, let me stitch you up." Ward said as he followed her.

"I said to get the plane ready," May replied in a strained voice as she walked away from him. There was no time to waste; they had three untrained agents on the train and they needed to get to them, fast, before anything bad happened.

After her quick shower, she got the BUS in the air, en route before deciding to tend to her wounds. She removed the bandage she had set on it and pulled out the stitches- it was still bleeding.

"Let me help," Coulson offered as he walked in, and she knew he wouldn't accept 'no' for an answer. He opened a cupboard and pulled two things out. "You know, we have this stuff for a reason." He reminded her as he waved the vial.

May allowed him to guide her away from the stitches and hoisted herself up onto the side so he could have easier access to her wound. She moved her hair out of the way.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. found the train- turns out it switched tracks shortly after we got off," he informed her before pausing while he applied the cream to her wound carefully. "The grenade must have released some kind of toxin, made us believe no time had passed."

"Yeah, I saw you guys frozen on the field," May said as she looked up. She offered a small breath, which could have been translated as a small laugh. "You looked ridiculous."

"It wasn't supposed to be a combat op," Coulson told her.

She didn't react instantly; he wasn't apologising for pulling her into another combat op, but the kids, even after she warned him against it

"They'll be fine," she assured him. "They can handle themselves."

"I got it, gently." Coulson said as he placed a clean bandage on her wound and moved her t-shirt back to the right place.

"Thank you."

"Did he get you anywhere else?" Coulson inquired.

May scoffed. He only got her in the first place because she let him; she wasn't going to be stabbed twice.

"We need to reroute the BUS; we just got word from S.H.I.E.L.D that the train stopped suddenly in the Italian countryside." Ward informed them both as he walked in from behind them.

"What? Why?" Coulson asked.

"We'll find out soon- I'll put in the coordinates. Touchdown in ten," Ward informed them before starting to walk off.

May started to get up, wanting to get there faster than ten minutes; if they stopped, there was more danger for Skye and Fitzsimmons.

"I'll come help." But she stopped when Ward dismissed her.

"I've got it."

They got to the train in eight minutes.

It had only been stationary for fifteen minutes, but there hadn't been any sign of Skye and Fitzsimmons. Upon seeing a window, Coulson, Ward and May all ran into the train in search for their missing agents. They walked cautiously, noticing that the computers had been shot up. Within seconds of entering the room, Jemma jumped up.

"Everybody down!" she exclaimed as she began shooting randomly around the room.

"Jemma, stop!" Coulson exclaimed.

Jemma stopped immediately, looking at them, confused. She looked around and seemed completely lost and unsure about what was happening, "Where are Fitz and Skye?" she asked them, her face laced with worry.

May kept her face blank, but couldn't help but be worried. Why had Fitz and Skye left the train? And when?

Coulson, Ward and May were able to trace the tracker to a location, hoping that it led to Fitz and Skye. They found Fitz first, who had informed them that Skye had gone into the building without backup because she didn't want to let Quinn get away.

May circled the building before meeting back up with Coulson, who had Quinn. "Where's Skye?" Coulson demanded as Ward joined them, obviously having taken care of any other men.

"You know, Agent Coulson, it's dangerous to keep sending her in like that, all alone… when she means so much to you," Quinn taunted. May felt her blood boil and Coulson punching Quinn didn't help-he deserved so much more than a punch.

"Search the house! Find her! Now!" Coulson ordered.

May was the only one not to run off to search; instead, she happily pulled Quinn's arms behind his back and roughly handcuffed him- she was not letting him get away, and hopefully he would be injured further in her custody. She pushed him down and made sure he was secure when she heard Coulson shouting for Simmons.

May followed them into the basement, her blood running cold when she realised Skye was injured. Everybody's voices were muffled as she froze; Skye had been shot. May's mind wasn't working fast enough to process what was going on, she wasn't even able to hide the fear on her face. As people began to lift the girl, May made herself move, helping them. "Gentle." She murmured, not wanting her to hurt any more as she helped place her in the chamber. She used all of her force to close it, not caring that it hurt her shoulder where she had been stabbed. Skye was more important.

May listened intently to what was going on, waiting to find out what was happening. "Is it working?" she asked, losing patience quickly. She needed to know if Skye-if her daughter-was going to be okay.

May remained with Skye the entire journey, just like everybody else; she remained on the outskirts for the entire time. She didn't want to leave her side at all, but also didn't want to draw too much attention to how much she cared. As far as anybody was aware, she was the least close member of the team to Skye; they didn't know that she was technically one of the closest.

The other agents started to fizzle out, Fitzsimmons leaving first, followed by Ward. May was tempted to stay, but saw Coulson leaning in closer to Skye- she was safe right now and if she stayed, she would only draw attention to herself. Therefore, she followed Ward out of the room in time she see him punch the car-that didn't deter her from walking over to him. She wanted to punch something, too.

"It's not your fault." She informed him slowly, placing a hand on his gently, half-checking to see if he had injured it when punching the car bonnet, but eventually they ended up half-lacing their fingers.

"She never should have gone in there alone," Ward replied, not resisting her touch.

"Blaming yourself won't help her," May whispered, although she wasn't sure if she was trying to comfort Ward or herself. Ward's previous words about Skye being more determined lately were ringing in her ears.

"I'm not blaming myself," Ward mostly whispered, a strong expression on his face; he blamed Coulson. He thought that Skye was more determined because of Coulson, but in reality it was because of May-it was her fault that Skye had become more eager to prove herself. Coulson may have been giving Skye the option to go out in the field, and technically was in charge of her safety, but May was her mother, and she should have been protecting Skye. She had failed her again; it was her fault that Skye was in this situation.

May didn't trust herself to go off alone, because she couldn't predict what she would do. It appeared that Ward had no intention of moving further away from Skye, and they were both able to see her through the glass. However, she had to leave after an hour, as they were getting closer to the S.H.I.E.L.D. trauma zentrum zurich, in Switzerland and she wanted to make sure they landed as close as possible-she would do anything to keep Skye alive right now.

She was not losing her again.

Thank you for reading! Reviews are welcomed and valued :)