A/N- This is Skye's section, and it is by far the longest one. Partially inspired by shortylego.

Skye decided something needed to be done in regards to her best friend. So while Simmons slept, (and thank God she was doing that for once) Skye made plans.

"AC, I have a proposition." She found him in the kitchen, eating a bowl of cereal. Spinning a chair around, she sat down beside him, leaning over the back of the chair. "I want to take a day trip with Simmons."

"I agree."

"Now, I know you won't- wait, what?"

Coulson swallowed his cereal before answering. "I think it would be good for her to get out of the bunker. She's been cooped up here for far too long."

Skye was amazed at how relaxed he was being about the whole thing. "So you'll let us go? Just like that?"

He gave her a sideways look and a smile. "Well, just like that and with May tagging along."

Skye's face fell. It wasn't that she didn't like May, it's just that what she had in mind wasn't really May's style. "But we're going to the mall. May won't want to shop with us."

"She doesn't have to. May can watch the perimeter, no direct supervision needed."

Her sigh was probably a bit overdramatic, but she didn't want Coulson to know she agreed with him. "Fine, I guess that will work." She pushed out of her chair to leave, but Coulson held up his hand.

"Don't wake her up. You two can leave after she's gotten a proper amount of sleep."

He didn't look at her, but Skye knew he had care in his eyes. She smiled. "Sure thing, AC."

A few hours later she was dressed and waiting by the door for Simmons. May was already waiting in the car to drive them.

"Simmons, hurry up!"

"I'm just not sure this is a good idea." The scientist skidded around the corner, pulling her arms through her jacket. "I don't want to miss anything."

"If something happens, Coulson and Trip promised they'd call." She gave her friend the best sly smile she had. "Besides, this isn't like a normal shopping trip. I've got something very special in mind."

The entire ride there, Simmons continued to guess what they could be doing. "A makeover?" Skye shook her head again and laughed at Simmons' frustration. May parked the car and turned to the back seat.

"We meet in the food court in exactly two hours. If you see something suspicious, you call me right away, understood?" The two girls nodded. "Good." May gave a small smile. "Have fun."

As they walked into the mall, Skye asked, "So is this what it feels like to be a typical teenage girl? Getting dropped off by your mom at the mall?"

Simmons shrugged while looking up at the building in front of them. "I don't know. I was always too busy studying or doing homework to go to the mall. Plus, by my teenage years I was already pursuing my first degree at university."

Skye blinked. "Right, super genius. Almost forgot."

"Not a super genius, per say. Though Fitz would argue that he is…" Her voice grew quiet, and she stared down at her hands. When she opened her mouth to speak, Skye quickly cut her off. This was a mission that involved a lot of tact. A mix of fun, distraction, and remembrance

"Come on." She grabbed Simmons' hand. "Before the surprise, we have some actual shopping to do."

Fun was first on the list. Skye made Simmons try on a ridiculous pair of high heels (at least six inches). The poor girl didn't have a clue how to walk in them.

"These hardly seem practical," she stated as she teetered.

"They aren't meant to be practical. They're meant to be eye-catching."

"Well I'll most certainly be eye-catching twisting my ankle and falling to the floor," Simmons countered in a huff as she attempted a shaky step forward. Skye called it off after a few steps, considering Simmons' ankle twisting prophecy nearly came true and forced Skye to catch her friend.

"Your turn," Simmons informed her as she slipped the shoes off, a mischievous smile on her face.

Skye smiled in return. "Why, Jemma, is that a challenge?"

"Yes." Standing up from the floor, Simmons scanned the shelves for the perfect pair of shoes. "These."

Sky didn't even try to hold back her laugh as she looked down at the shoes Simmons had selected. "Bright red kiki boots?"

"Go on."

They were awful. The ends pinched her toes and the boot itself made her entire leg sweat after just a few seconds. Walking around, it felt like she would snap the heel and lose her balance for sure. But it was all worth it to hear Simmons laugh again.

Having accomplished distraction and fun, Skye decided they were ready for the next phase of the mission. After Simmons finished buying a pair of desperately needed flats, they walked out of the shoe store, turning left.

"Where to next? Accessories?" Simmons asked.

"Actually, it's time for the surprise." Skye smiled while glancing at Simmons, but she was nervous. Her surprise could either go very, very well or very, very not well. "Here," she declared as she pulled Simmons to a stop beside her.

The store was colorful and bright. A few children ran around, along with a couple of adults, but for the most part the store was empty.

"Build-a-Bear Workshop?" Simmons questioned.

"Where best friends are made." Skye looked over at Simmons, but the scientist was still looking at the store in confusion. "I just figured you could make something for Fitz. You know, I was doing some research, and they have a monkey you can make."

"A monkey?" Simmons turned to her with a smile. "Fitz would love that." It was the first time that someone had mentioned Fitz and Simmons hadn't shut down or broken into tears. It made Skye feel hopeful.

"He would."

Simmons nodded and pushed up her sleeves. "Let's do it."

The worker who helped them was named Christy. Skye liked Christy for one very important reason: she didn't ask too many questions. She did not question why two full grown women were making a stuffed animal on a Tuesday morning with no kids in sight, or why one of those women looked like she might cry at any moment.

They were stuffing the monkey when Christy pulled out a little red heart. "The heart is a very important part to your new friend. Your job is to take the heart and make a wish on it, so that your friend can have lots of dreams and wishes himself."

Skye didn't ask what Simmons wished for on that heart, but by her determined expression, it wasn't hard to guess.

"And I have the perfect name for him," Simmons declared as she sat down at the computer.

"Einstein?" Skye guessed.

"No," Simmons said as she turned to face Skye, speaking in that tone she used whenever she was trying to impress people. "Einstein is such an overused name."

Skye cocked an eyebrow at her. Simmons held her gaze for a few brief moments before turning back to the screen. "Plus I already have stuffed animal name Einstein."

"And there it is." Simmons shrugged as her fingers began to fly over the keyboard. "So what are you naming him?" The list of scientists Skye knew was slim, but she did manage to come up with another clever name to amuse Simmons. "How about Darwin?"

As Simmons laughed, she shook her head. "Tesla. He was an engineer, and he was clever. Very clever. He was always Fitz's favorite scientist. Did you know that he actually improved upon Edison's electrical circuit? And he-"

"I'm going to go look at clothes," Skye said quickly. She loved Simmons, but damn, the girl could babble about science far beyond what Skye could understand. While Simmons finished making Tesla's birth certificate, she browsed through the clothing.

The Captain America and Iron Man costumes were tempting choices to buy, especially when she thought of how excited Coulson would be at seeing the old red, white, and blue. Maybe some other time she would bring him. It was when she saw the Thor costume that she paused. The memory of Fitz's excitement at the thought of meeting the Asgardian came back to her at full force. It'd been so long since she'd seen him happy, and she cringed at how much she'd been avoiding thinking of him lately. Skye had never been good with illness or injuries or anything of that sort. Kids at the orphanage were always isolated to avoid a pandemic, and she'd grown accustomed to not seeing them. But she couldn't avoid Fitz.

Two. That was the number of times she'd dropped by his room since they'd arrived at the base. And both times she'd left quickly. It was difficult for her to process that the body lying there was Fitz, her over-excitable friend. So she didn't try to process it. Instead, she focused on Simmons.

Simmons who, for the first time in days, was smiling (albeit watery) and talking about Fitz without crying. It was good.

Skye continued to browse through the clothes, looking for something suitable for a monkey named Tesla. Simmons joined her, and together they found a little sweater and jeans for him to wear.

"Thank you for this, Skye," Simmons said as they walked out of the store. It was almost time to meet May at the food court. "I'm sure Fitz will love him."

"Of course he will." Skye rubbed her hands together nervously. "Listen, about me not being there..."

"It's perfectly understandable, Skye. It's natural to be uncomfortable in situations like this." Her smile was genuine, and Skye couldn't help but marvel at it.

"You're incredible, for doing all you've done. I don't know how-"

"Yes, well, someone's got to do it, haven't they?" Her smile turned into a tight grin, and Skye placed a hand on Simmons' shoulder.

"But not alone. I may not know a whole lot about these things, but I'm here if you need to vent or shop or watch funny cat videos online."

The hug was unexpected, but it was nice.

"Thank you. I'm glad you came aboard, Skye."

"Me too."

Thoughts?

-princessmelia