Author's note: Hello my lovelies, here is the next chapter! It's taken me a little longer, but it is also longer!
Thank you so much to the amazing response I have received for this story!
May landed the BUS and barely rushed through her checks before darting out of the cockpit so she could exit with Skye. She followed them all out, making sure to keep a good eye on where her daughter was, but unfortunately didn't need to help with anything-Coulson and Jemma had everything covered.
"She was shot twice in the abdomen at close range almost two hours ago," Coulson informed the nurses and doctors as they all entered the hospital, pushing Skye quickly and safely down the halls.
"She's tachycardic, hypotensive, and lost a significant amount of blood. We had to lower her core body temperature in order to transport her here." Jemma added, telling the doctors exactly what they needed to know.
"It's probably what kept her alive this long," One of them replied. "We'll do everything we can."
They had gotten too far away for May to hear, so she entered the waiting room, where Fitz and Ward had already been seated.
May stood with her back to everybody as she looked out the window, a stoic expression on her face.
"I'm here; that's unacceptable. I need to speak to Director Fury immediately, please," Coulson continued with his attempts at getting in touch with Fury. May wasn't entirely sure why, though.
"Why didn't I stop her? I could have," Fitz murmured solemnly. It hadn't even occurred to May that anybody could have stopped Skye from going into that place, but she knew that Fitz wasn't to blame at all- oh, no. She knew only too well who exactly was to blame.
"As if you could stop Skye doing anything she's set her mind to," Simmons reminded him, level-headed for the moment.
"I shouldn't have let her go after Quinn by herself," Fitz continued with a small shake of his head. "What was I thinking?"
"It's not your fault," Ward started, half-glancing, half-glaring at Coulson's back. "She shouldn't have been there." He paused for a moment, "I'm her S.O. It's on me."
May almost rolled her eyes at how everybody was so easily taking the blame upon themselves. Some had small truth to it, but none of them were actually the cause of this whole situation. She stepped forward, turning to face them fully so she could get their attention. "The one to blame is the man who shot her, Ian Quinn; he's responsible." She informed them firmly, no chance of negotiation in her voice.
"Yes; the message is that I have an agent dying, and there are questions only Fury can answer," Coulson muttered in the background. He hung up and caught May's attention when he nearly slammed his phone down- he couldn't get Fury on the phone, but now she had a slight idea as to why he wanted him.
She knew she could go back to the BUS and call Fury on her secure line, but that meant leaving Skye- something she couldn't do, even for only a few minutes. Instead, she just watched him walk off.
May finally sat down on one of the unoccupied couches, thinking over everything she knew about Skye. She knew she liked computers and was well trained in hacking. She was named Mary-Sue Poots at the orphanage and changed her name when she was old enough- for which May didn't blame her. She loved superheroes, even though she wouldn't directly admit it, because at least once a week she'd make a reference. She had learnt to carry only the essentials and over the years had accumulated a small supply of personal objects. She had treated her baby belongings with such care when she received them, and they were currently the only things in her bunk that was always neat and secure.
As soon as the doctor walked into the room, May was standing up, fully focused and ready for the news.
"How is she?" Coulson asked after a new moments; his voice was soft and hadn't been used in a while.
"Not good," The doctor informed him shortly before expanding. "The shots perforated her stomach and penetrated the large and small intestines. We resected what we could, but… there's just been too much damage."
"So what's next?" Coulson asked without hesitation.
"We can keep her comfortable, but you'll need to make a decision whether or not you want to keep her on life support."
May fought to control her breathing. However, she forgot to keep her expression clear and could feel the tears threatening to come.
"You're saying there's nothing to be done?" Coulson asked, confirming all of their suspicions about what the doctor was telling them.
"I'm saying that you need to call her family; get them here as soon as possible."
"We're her family," Coulson said, his voice at the breaking point.
"In that case, I'm very sorry."
May listened to the words, but the sadness and despair momentarily disappeared as she was filled with pure hatred and anger. She barely glanced at the lost and hopeless faces of her team as she marched out of the medical facility; she was going to fix this, one way or another.
"Finally," Quinn said with a cocky tone as May barged into the room. "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten…" His words were cut short as May swung one arm around and smashed his face into the metal table he was currently handcuffed to. She did not hesitate to pull the chair from him and throw it across the room.
"Wait, you can't!" Quinn shouted in sheer fear as he attempted to cower away from her, his nose already bleeding.
May knelt down, one hand gasping his shirt tightly so she could hold him still. "Why? 'Cause you're defenseless, like she was?" she asked rhetorically, leaving no chance for a reply as her fist came down and connected, hard, with his face. Again, and again, and again, and again. She could easily continue this all night long.
"May! May!" Coulson shouted, his voice stopping her mid-swing as she turned and glared at him; why would he stop her? She saw Ward hovering behind him. "Outside, now," he requested, although she knew it wasn't truly a request-he had to stop her.
May threw Quinn down to the ground as hard as she possibly could at that angle before standing up and storming past Coulson and Ward to Coulson's office. She knew that he was following her and instantly spoke, her voice hard, rough, and void of any other emotion apart from pure anger and hate.
"He deserves to die, not her!" She tried to once again control her breathing, but was failing; she was too riled up right now. She knew that if she let the anger go, she might actually break down.
"Agreed," Coulson said, but she knew he wouldn't stop there. "But right now, Quinn doesn't matter; only Skye does, and I need you to pilot the plane."
"You heard what the doctor said," May replied forcefully. What was he playing at?
"She said there was nothing more they could do for her, but there are doctors who brought me back from the dead," He reminded her. "If they can do that, I'm betting they can save Skye."
May looked over his shoulder, at Ward, before looking back at Coulson; she knew what he was implying and knew the consequences of what he wanted to do. But she didn't care. She would do anything right now to save Skye.
May was doing as she was asked- she was piloting the plane. She knew it was a long-shot that they would actually be able to save Skye, and that, in attempting, they would be breaking a lot of S.H.I.E.L.D. rules, but she couldn't find it in her to care. If there was even a chance that they could save Skye, then she would break every rule in the book. She heard the cockpit door open and for a split second presumed it was Coulson, but his footsteps didn't match; it was Ward. She felt a wave of sadness hit her; it used to only be Coulson who entered this place, and even then, it wasn't for very long. Nobody else even dared. After telling Skye, though, she had gotten used to not knowing exactly who was entering when the door opened until they spoke or Skye sat down- but now Ward decided he could come in? She may have to put a stop to it. Especially after he sat down- then again, she couldn't blame him for entering; he did occasionally pilot the plane.
"Hurt much?" he asked, indicating her hand.
"I'm fine," May replied shortly, not wanting to converse with anybody.
"Coulson told me how long he was dead," Ward commented; she didn't react, and he looked over at her. "But you already knew that, didn't you?" He asked rhetorically, because they both knew the answer. "I saw Skye in the pod, machines filtering her blood and breathing for her," he spoke softly, slowly, and almost distantly. "I'm not sure I'd make this play-" he continued, and May finally turned to face him, shock on her features. She was already hating where this conversation was going, almost hating him for saying the words. "-fly halfway around the word hoping for a second miracle." He shook his head.
"If Coulson thinks there's a one-in-a-million chance to save Skye, to save any of us, he'd take it," May commented calmly as she turned back to looking at the view. "People like us, we need people like him." She paused for a split second, barely enough to get a breath before counteracting his opinion. "So, yeah, it makes sense. A lot more sense than the alternative."
"You mean giving up," Ward stated, though it was almost phrased like a question.
"Or killing the man responsible," she added.
"I did like seeing you go after Quinn," Ward admitted before adding, "You don't open the blinds like that very often."
May didn't have chance to respond, as their radio went off and interrupted their conversation, "S.H.I.E.L.D. 616, this is tower Michael Tango. You are in violation of S.H.I.E.L.D. directive 1297. Respond immediately."
May looked at Ward questioningly, wondering exactly what they were in trouble for. "Disobeying a direct order," he answered her silent question and she rolled her eyes in annoyance. "We didn't hand Quinn over for interrogation," he added.
"Great," May muttered, not amused. They did not have time to deal with all of this crap! If she could, she would continue flying and ignore them- but that wouldn't stop them.
"This is S.H.I.E.L.D. 616, how do we proceed?" May asked into the radio, her tone more bored than anything.
"Prepare to be boarded and relinquish command."
May and Ward shared a worried, shocked look.
That seemed a tad overboard.
"You wanted to see me?" May stated as she tried not to rush into Fitzsimmons' lab. They had called her and she had all but run there. If they called her, then they probably needed something to do with Skye.
"I just got off the phone with the trauma centre in Bethesda," Jemma started instantly, not wasting any time, just like May. "Dr. Steriten's gone off the grid."
"So we'll find a different doctor there who operated on Coulson," May replied; this didn't seem as urgent as she had predicted.
"That's the thing, actually," Fitz started.
"Coulson was never treated there," Jemma continued, looking from Fitz to May.
"You're not making sense," May admitted, looking at her.
"None of this makes sense- listen: the doctors, the operating room number, none of them exist. None of them are part of S.H.I.E.L.D." Jemma informed her.
May stared at her for a moment, the words sinking in; the document must have been faked- a fake location, fake doctors. They were on a wild goose chase to find something that did not exist. But Coulson was alive, so there must be a way.
But how- and where- would they find it?
"Quinn shot Skye for nothing," May said with utter disgust in her voice. "The place we were going, the doctors who treated you- they don't exist."
"Or maybe they exist somewhere else," Coulson suggested, hopefully. "This is S.H.I.E.L.D.; there are always secrets."
"That's my fear, Sir," Jemma admitted, speaking up. "You file is filled with secret experimental drugs, unknown surgical procedures we've never even heard of." The young scientist let out a small sigh, "Frankly, Fitz and I only understand about 70% of what's in here."
"Even if we do find where they treated you and we were able to replicate the procedure, there's the other obvious question," May spoke, not wanting to finish the question.
"Which is?"
"Whether we should." Jemma said quickly, throwing the words out. "What you experienced, Sir, if this file is even partially accurate."
"No one's suggesting that we subject Skye to everything I went though, but if there's something in here- a drug, a treatment that can save her- we need to find it." Coulson informed her before ordering, "Figure it out."
"Yes, Sir," Jemma submitted before quickly retreating back to her lab.
"You disagree?" Coulson asked as he turned to face May.
"No," she said honestly. "I think we need to do everything humanly possible to save Skye." She wanted to stop there, but needed to make sure her judgement wasn't completely compromised. She needed to speak her concerns. "But we need to acknowledge that doing so might give the Clairvoyant exactly what he wants."
"It's a risk we have to take," he replied. May was worried about all of the repercussions, but didn't speak them-she wanted to do this and help Skye more than anything. She made her way to Skye and waited for Fitzsimmons to finish their conversation about a drug before approaching the glass and watching her daughter for a while; she made sure she wasn't in the camera.
"The Guest House is not a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility," Coulson briefed quickly as everybody was strapping out. "We don't know who or what's in there. "Be prepared for potential resistance."
"No contact from inside?" Garrett asked.
"I've tried every known channel, no response," May replied.
"Place could be abandoned," Ward suggested.
"Let's hope not," Coulson responded. "We need the people inside to work on Skye."
"Simmons is prepping Skye to move at a moment's notice, Sir," Fitz informed them as he entered with a backpack on his back.
"Trip can help; he's had med-tech training."
"Good," Coulson nodded. "We do our jobs right and this will all go peacefully."
"What if they don't want to help us?" Ward asked.
"I'll say 'pretty please'," Garrett said as he loaded and held up his gun.
"We need the doctors alive and the place intact," Coulson reminded them, but it was obviously directed at Garrett. "If it does go sideways, Fitz, I need you down there to determine what Simmons can use to help Skye; and then we take it." He paused. "Let's move."
May watched as they walked out; any other time she would have stopped this whole operation or would have gone with them. But she wanted them to succeed, and she wasn't prepared to leave the BUS-she wanted to be close enough to Skye to protect her. Although it was very hard to protect her when she was dying. But she knew that if she went down into the facility, she may change her mind; she knew about the drug and knew of its side effects. She was still debating if it was the right thing to do: to save Skye but potentially make her crazy- would that be living?
May paced around, keeping an eye on the comms and progress- she wanted to know what was happening and when. She also had Skye on the screen so she could keep an eye on her. She wanted to make sure everything ran smoothly and there were no hiccups. There was an unusual amount of silence over the comms, and it couldn't have taken them that long. "Coulson, do you read me?" she asked simply. After a few minutes of no reply, she tried again- her patience was wearing thin, but she tried a third time; nothing.
May turned the screen off and strode to Simmons and Trip to keep them in the loop; she wanted them to know what was going on so that they could truly prepare Skye.
She saw them talking, and didn't care that she may have been interrupting something. "Comms are down; if I don't hear anything within the hour, I'm going after them."
A gargling noise combined with the beeping of the machine made May turn suddenly to Skye. Something was wrong. Simmons sprung into action immediately. "Skye's coding; both of you, now." She ordered as she ran into the room.
May was in there straight after her, not even putting any effort to hide her fear. "How can we help?" she asked, rushing over to Skye's side.
"I need a unit of epi."
"Got it," Trip said, injecting a syringe into Skye's thigh while Simmons started chest compressions.
May felt useless, as she stood there, unable to physically help her daughter. Thankfully, Simmons was able to stabilise her, keeping her alive- May knew that if they weren't able to find what they were looking for, she wouldn't make it.
"Weak, erratic heart rate- each time we save her, I ask myself, 'is this what Skye would want?'" Simmons spoke aloud.
May looked at her. "We didn't come this far to quit." She informed her firmly.
They were not giving up.
Suddenly the room was filled with Fitz's voice, breaking in and out, the comms slowly coming into focus. Simmons started to talk, but was distracted when Skye began coding again.
May's face filled with fear; she had to do something. "Fitz, come in, what's your status?" she asked as she ran from the room. She was faster than him; if she could get to him, maybe he had something that could help Skye. A few extra seconds could save her life.
As she passed Fitz, he informed her about the mountain about to explode, and that he had the drug. They parted ways. There was no use for them all dying here, so she had to get the BUS into the air. As soon as they were at a safe distance, she put the BUS into autopilot and ran straight back to Skye- she didn't know if she would be greeted with good or bad news.
As she stared at Skye, the drug appeared to be having a negative effect on her; everybody was talking at once, trying to be heard, trying to offer input. But all she heard was Simmons.
"Her heart beat- she's stabilising!" Relief filled her as she turned her attention to Skye, ignoring everybody else. She saw Simmons rest a hand on Skye's head, stroking her hair back.
Eventually, May turned to Coulson, relief in her face and voice. "You did it." Her expression changed to one of confusion when he looked at her, dread in his face, and she moved out of the way so he could pass. She slid closer to Garrett. "Something happen down there?"
"I'm not sure," he admitted. "One minute he was fine, next it was like he had seen a ghost."
May looked around, slightly confused as she tried to work out what he could have seen.
May made her way to Coulson's office after a short time, everything having calmed down. She stepped into the doorway.
"D'you mind?" she asked, seeking permission. He half nodded before shaking his head in amusement at her actually asking permission-she didn't do that often, but it was enough for her to walk in fully. "You did the impossible today; you saved Skye's life," she commented, a hint of awe in her voice. That changed when she sighed. "Why aren't you happy about it?" When no reply came, she continued, "They told me you were yelling to not use the drug, to not use it on Skye. Why?" she asked, needing to know the answer. Did he find something out that made him decide that the drug was too dangerous? Was there something she didn't know that would change her opinion on saving her daughter this way, too? "What made you change your mind?"
May watched as he went into a daze, looking off to the side and not actually responding to her, "Phil? Phil! ... you alright?"
He finally looked at her, "Being down there, seeing where I came from... I just got really scared that she would suffer the way that I did. But she didn't, for whatever reason; she didn't." He answered; she knew there was truth to what he said, but he was still holding something back.
May decided that it was time she was a little more truthful with him; she wanted him to know how truly grateful she was that he had contributed in saving Skye.
"There's something I should tell you."
Coulson nodded, his eyes boring into hers.
"Skye… I know who her parents are," she told him.
He nodded- she had said something similar before, "Who are they? Have you told Skye?"
"I… Skye knows, I informed her a while back... I am her mother," May informed him simply. His eyes widened and he leant forward.
"You're Skye's mother? How is that possible?" Coulson asked her.
May took a breath and decided to give him an overview of what had happened over two decades ago. But it wasn't nearly in as much detail as when she told Skye-he only needed to know the basics.
Thank you for reading, the next chapter(s) are going to be less based on the episodes.