AN: Hi guys! Here is Chapter 7! I was a bit disappointed with the lack of reviews for the last chapter. I really have high hopes for this story but if you guys do not want to read it, then I will stop posting. If I don't get more reviews for this story then I just may have to delete this story. Please REVIEW! I really want to continue this story.
Skye woke to the sunlight streaming through her bunk window. She smiled and stretched her arms.
WHACK!
"OW!" Grant yelled as he was slapped awake, sitting up in bed looking for a possible intruder. He looked down at Skye who was smiling sheepishly at him.
"Sorry, I was just stretching and kinda slapped you in the face. Did it hurt?" Skye asked, feeling guilty about waking her boyfriend up that way.
"Nah. Just surprised me." Came the reply. Grant threw the covers off and placed his feet on the floor, back facing Skye. Suddenly, he felt two petite arms wrap around his waist and soft hair caressing his back.
"Thanks for being there for me last night." Skye said softly into his back.
Grant smiled and turned his head and placed a kiss on the top of Skye's head. "I'll always be there for you Skye. I promise." Skye smiled into his shoulder.
45 minutes later, they, along with Fitzsimmons were seated at the breakfast bar eating Simmons' delicious breakfast casserole.
"Damn Simmons, this is awesome!" Grant said as he continued shoveling food in his mouth.
"Seriously Jem. This is heavenly." Fitz said, matching pace with Grant.
"Aww, thanks guys! It's actually my grandmother's recipe. She taught me just about everything I know about cooking. My mother wasn't the best in the kitchen. Cooking was always my dad's job. But every time Nana would come over, he would refuse to cook because he practically worshipped my grandmother's cooking." Simmons said smiling at the two boys as they nearly choked on their food.
"That's so sweet. I'm not much into cooking, but I love baking. At St. Agnes, Sister McKenna and I would always bake together whenever the rest of the kids were out doing something else. She and I baked everything from pies to cakes, cookies, brownies, and I swear she makes the best chocolate chip pancakes ever. Every Sunday, after church the nuns would take the younger kids to the park to play. All the kids 10 and over would hang back out at the orphanage. Usually it wasn't more than 5-6 kids so that's when Sister McKenna would make us those pancakes." Skye said.
"Oooooh…I love chocolate chip pancakes. Will you make them for us someday?" Fitz asked, cheese dripping out of his mouth.
"Gross Fitz…and no I won't. Sister McKenna has her own secret recipe that she won't share with anyone. But I'm sure I can make some chocolate chip pancakes that are similar to that. About a month before Coulson and Grant kidnapped me, I went back to visit her at the orphanage and she made them. I managed to eat enough to be able to recreate them close enough to what she does." Skye said, smiling at the fond memory.
"You guys seem really close." Simmons said as she watched her friend smile.
"Yeah…she's the only mother figure I really ever had. Well, I guess she's more like a grandmother now. She'll be 65 in a week. I remember her first birthday we celebrated together after she came to St. Agnes. She turned 50 and me and another girl decided to bake her a cake. This was before she taught me how to bake by the way. We managed to get everything together but as we were mixing the melted chocolate with the batter, the batter curled and looked really unappealing. We just thought that it worked out in the oven so we put it into the pan and baked it. When Sister McKenna actually tried it, she nearly puked. That's when she told us that we had scrambled the eggs when we added in the chocolate." Skye said, looking sheepish at her mistake.
Fitz, Simmons, and Grant looked at her for a moment before bursting out laughing.
"Oh that poor lady." Simmons said after several moments of laughing.
"Seriously Skye, you didn't think that something was remotely wrong with the batter before you put it in the oven?" Fitz asked, amusement in his voice.
"No," Skye said defensively. "I was a child at that time. It was my first time baking so I didn't think anything of it. Guess I was wrong."
"Well, I mean it's the thought that counts right?" Grant asked, trying to help out his very embarrassed girlfriend.
"Yeah! And now I can make an awesome chocolate cake without even thinking about it. After that first incident, Sister McKenna made it a top priority that I learn the 'true magic of baking'." Skye stated fondly, forming air quotes around the last four words.
The four friends continued their breakfast for another few minutes before Coulson came down the stairs and entered the kitchen area.
"Mission briefing in five." He stated before making his way over to the coffee maker, grabbing his Captain America mug on the way.
Five minutes later, the team was gathered around the holocom going over a new mission.
"We have a lead on Centipede." Coulson stated, pulling up some images and documents. "HQ had facial recognition running ever since Hong Kong trying to look for the girl in the flower dress that had found Scorch and the one that also paid Mr. Lydon to hack into out encrypted data stream. We found out that her name is Raina and she is a scientist working with Centipede to try and replicate the serum that was created to make super soldiers."
May took it from there. "We've managed to track her location to an abandoned office building in Wisconsin. Using the new tech that Fitzsimmons has developed, we were able to get the heat signature readings from the building, confirming that there are indeed Centipede soldiers there."
"So how do we proceed sir?" Grant asked.
"HQ is sending over a strike team to assist us. Ward, you will be positioned on top of a nearby building with the Night-Night rifle. Any clear shot at a Centipede soldier, you take it. May and I will enter through the front of the building, the strike team will break up into two teams, one will enter from the back and one will enter from the roof. Fitzsimmons, you will be monitoring communications from here. Skye, you will be in the van on site and will be leading us through the building. Make sure you have the blueprints for the right building. Any questions?" Coulson asked as he finally finished.
"Good. We touch down in five hours." Coulson said, making his way out of the command center, May following him.
Five hours later, the team got ready to enter the building. They had met up with the strike team at the base and made their way from there. Ward was currently positioned on top of a nearby building, May and Coulson were entering the building along with the strike team, and Skye was in the van.
10 minutes later, an explosion from the top floor shook the van Skye was siting in.
"Coulson, May, are you guys okay?" Skye asked frantically.
"Yeah…we're okay. We managed to get out. We were able to get into their lab but just then, one of the soldiers went boom. My guess is that he overdosed on the serum." Coulson said, coughing as he and May made their way out.
"Did you get Raina?" Ward's voice came through the coms.
"No, she got out before we could get to her." Coulson responded.
Just then, they heard the chop chop of a helicopter flying overhead.
"Have a visual on Raina." Ward said, aiming his gun towards her.
Before Coulson could respond, the chopper began firing at the roof where Ward was positioned and at the van where Skye was working.
"Take cover!" Coulson yelled as he shoved May behind a car and crouched down next to her.
"Ward, Skye you okay?" May yelled into the coms.
"Ugh…I'm good. Managed to take cover. Hit my head but other than that I'm fine." came Ward's reply.
"Skye, Skye come on answer me!" Coulson screamed into the coms.
"Sir, her vitals are dropping. She definitely is unconscious." Simmons voice poured over the coms.
"Ward, meet back by the van." May commanded as she and Coulson made their way to the van.
Coulson and May got to the van and opened the door to see Skye unconscious on the floor, blood covering her side.
"Skye…" Coulson said as he made his way into the van and lifted her shirt to see the wound. He looked at the injury and sighed in relief. "Just a graze. She probably hit her head on something, knocking her out."
"Simmons can check her out when we get back." May said, just as the door to the van opened.
"SKYE?!" came the panicked voice of Ward.
"Calm down Ward, it's just a flesh wound. She'll be fine. She probably hit her head on something. We'll have Simmons check her out when we get back to the Bus." Coulson said, trying to calm the young man.
Ward visibly relaxed and gently placed Skye's head in his lap as May started driving back towards the Bus.
Back on the Bus, Fitz and Simmons were pacing the lab, anxious to see Skye for themselves. Simmons constantly monitored Skye's vitals via her tracking bracelet while they waited for the rest of the team to return.
Moments later, the sound of doors opening and closing got their attention. Ward entered the lab, an unconscious Skye in his arms.
"Put her on the table." Simmons said, immediately going into doctor mode.
Ward gently placed Skye on the blanket-covered table and moved out of the way so that Simmons could examine Skye. A few minutes later, Simmons breathed a sigh of relief.
"Will she be okay?" Grant asked worriedly.
"She will be just fine. The bullet simply grazed her. My guess is that she was sitting when she was hit and when she fell, she tore her wound open a bit more, hence the excess bleeding. She hit her head when she fell so that's why she was unconscious when you guys found her in the car. But a few days of TLC and she will be as good as new. That and six stiches." Simmons said happily.
Grant nearly collapsed in relief. He sat down in a chair next to Skye and rested his forehead on her arm. "God Rookie, you scared the crap out of me." He said, placing a kiss on her forehead.
"You look cute when you're worried."
"Skye! You're awake! How are you feeling? Does anything hurt?" Grant started asking.
"Calm down Turbo. My head hurts a bit and my side feels like its being pinched constantly but other than that, I'm good. Are you okay?" Skye asked as she slowly got up, Grant supporting her upper body.
"I'm fine. But I'm serious; don't ever scare me like that again." Grant said sternly.
"I won't." Skye said, grinning up at him before pulling him down into a passionate kiss.
"Now help me off this table. My butt is freezing."
Instead of helping her off, he picked her up in his arms and carefully took her up the stairs towards her bunk. Skye wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled her face into his chest.
"I love you." She whispered, placing a soft kiss on the skin between his neck and shoulder.
Grant smiled widely at her declaration. He kissed the top of her head before responding. "I love you too."
The couple entered the lounge area and after several hugs, promises, and threats (May mostly), they made their way towards their bunk.
A week later, Skye was all but completely recovered from her little injury and was already back to her normal self.
Coulson had come into the lab where the four youngsters were and told them that they were stopping in L.A. for refueling and restocking. Skye immediately came up with a plan in her head and headed up to Coulson's office.
"Hey AC. Can I come in?" Skye asked.
"Sure thing Skye. What's up?" He asked, leaning back in his chair.
"Um…I was wondering if I could leave the Bus for a few hours when we land in L.A. I want to visit someone in town and it's their birthday so I really want to surprise them."
"I don't see the harm in that. Just don't go alone. I assume you will be taking Ward with you?" He asked in a knowing manner.
"Yup! I want him to meet Sister McKenna too. What time are we landing?" Skye asked.
"Probably in about 3 hours."
"Ooh, I better hurry. Thanks AC." Skye said as she raced out of his room and down towards the kitchen.
Fitzsimmons were talking about new additions to the Night-Night Gun when they heard the clanking of pots and pans coming from the kitchen. They head over to see what was going on when they find Skye making something in the kitchen. Flour, sugar, eggs, chocolate chips, and several other baking products took up almost all of the space on the countertops.
"Um…Skye…what are you doing?" Fitz asked slowly, suspicious of Skye in the kitchen.
Skye looked up from where she was mixing batter in a bowl and smiled.
"AC said that we're stopping in L.A. and I asked him if I could go see Sister McKenna at the orphanage and he said yes! It's her birthday today so I'm making her favorite chocolate cake and white chocolate and raspberry cookies." Skye said as she poured the batter into a pan and placed it into the preheated oven.
Simmons walked in and noticed a chocolate batter in another bowl.
"What's this Skye? You already put in the cake so what's this chocolate mix?"
Skye smiled mischievously. "That, my dearest Jemma, is a surprise. It's for the team but I'm on a time crunch right now so I'll make them for you all tomorrow. That okay?"
"Of course! Do you need any help with the cookies?"
"Can I lick the bowl?" Fitz asked from the side.
"Nope. Rule number one; never leave a drop of batter in the bowl. Bake every little drop." Skye said over her shoulder as she began rolling the cookies out, silently showing Jemma how to do it as well. Fitz shrugged his shoulders before sitting down at the breakfast bar and watched to two girls make cookies.
Grant, who was on a date with the heavy bag downstairs for the past three hours, was finally coming back upstairs when he smelled the delicious scent of chocolate baking. He entered the kitchen and saw Skye and Jemma making something and what looked like a cake in the oven. He walked over to where Fitz was and sat down next to him.
"What's going on?" he asked the trio.
"Baking a cake and cookies for Sister McKenna's birthday. Coulson said that I could go visit her when we land in L.A. Will you come with me? I really want you to meet her." Skye said, eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Of course. I kinda wanna meet her myself. And maybe eat some of those pancakes too." Grant said grinning at her. Skye glared at him and threw an empty measuring cup at his head.
"If you tell Sister McKenna that you came to meet her just for her food then I will hurt you. She is the sweetest person on the planet and has a soft spot for anyone that loves food. But over the years, I've seen so many people be all sweet and nice to her just so they can try her food. They take advantage of her kindness and I don't like that at all." Skye said, passionately defending her mother figure.
"I didn't mean it like that babe. I was just kidding. I promise I won't say anything like that to her." Grant said, making his way over to her and wrapping his arms around her.
"Eww…you smell like a gym locker. Take a shower or you won't be meeting her at all." Skye said, placing a quick kiss on his lips before shoving him away. Grant chuckled and made his way out of the kitchen and towards the bathroom.
Three hours later, the plane touched down at a secure S.H.I.E.L.D. base in Los Angeles. Fitzsimmons and Coulson left to restock on their supplies, May stayed on the plane to run diagnostics and reboot while they were still grounded, and Skye and Grant left to go to the orphanage.
Grant made his way over to the SUV and started it up. Skye made her way down the stairs with two containers, one with the chocolate cake, and one with the cookies. She got into the passenger seat and Grant pulled the car out of the cargo bay.
During the twenty-minute drive to the orphanage, Skye couldn't contain her excitement. She hadn't been able to visit Sister McKenna for her last birthday as she was in Texas with Miles but she was going to make this one the most memorable birthday Sister McKenna had ever had. Grant smiled at the sight of the excited and childish Skye sitting next to him. He was happy that she was excited to see Sister McKenna. He realized that she was probably the one that helped Skye through all of her abusive foster homes. The main reason he wanted to meet her was so that he could thank her for taking care of Skye and helping her become this amazing person that he was completely in love with.
After what seemed like forever, they finally arrived at the orphanage and Skye jumped out of the SUV, excitement bubbling off of her. She grabbed Grant's hand and dragged him up the stairs to the door.
"It's Sunday so everyone is probably out right now. Usually after church, Sister McKenna would come back here while the other nuns would take the kids to the park. Last I checked all of the kids were younger so it should just be Sister McKenna here." Skye stated as she opened the door and entered.
The silence was surprising.
"That's weird. Usually there's soft music playing or something on the TV. Sister McKenna hates complete silence. Maybe she's working in her office. Come on. But first let's put this in the kitchen." Skye said, gesturing to the baked treats.
After putting the cake and cookies on the kitchen table, the two made their way upstairs towards the office. They stopped outside her door and Skye knocked twice.
"Sister McKenna, are you in there? It's me Skye." Skye said. She waited a moment before going to open the door. Grant's secret agent senses were tingling, telling him that something was off about his whole thing. He shrugged it off, thinking he was just being paranoid.
Skye opened the door and walked in. Grant waited outside, not wanting to intrude on their privacy. He looked around the hallway and was looking at the paintings when a shrill scream echoed throughout the hallway.
Grant ran into Sister McKenna's office and called for Skye.
"Back here. HURRY!" came a reply from the back of the office. He made his way back there and what he saw made his stomach drop.
Sister McKenna lay on the floor, blood pooling around her from a long knife that was stabbed into her abdomen and came out her back. Skye had turned her and placed her head in her lap, sobbing as she held Sister McKenna.
"Sister, it's me Skye. Please open your eyes." Skye pleaded as tears kept poring down her face. Sister McKenna eyes fluttered and slowly, she opened her eyes and saw Skye.
"Skye…my dear, you have grown so much." Came the hoarse reply.
"Don't worry Sister. You'll be okay. Grant we need to take her to the hospital." She said frantically. Grant pulled out his phone to call 911 but Sister McKenna stopped him.
"No…Skye my child, my time has come. I'm ready to meet my Lord. But you need to go. Some people came a-and they wanted to-to know where you were. They got into my computer and took all the information in it. I tried to stop them but couldn't. You have to stay safe okay?" Sister McKenna said, coughing up blood as she finished. She locked eyes with Grant. "I know you love her. Promise me you will keep her safe."
"I promise. I won't let anything happen to her." Grant stated firmly, tears pricking at his eyes.
"Sister…please…don't leave me." Skye begged brokenly.
Sister McKenna smiled softly up at her.
"I will always be with you Skye. Never forget that. Always remember…God is Love." Sister McKenna said, her eyes closing as she breathed her last.
"Sister McKenna, Sister…no no no…Sister, wake up. Please wake up. This isn't funny. Look, I made you your favorite chocolate cake and everything. We were supposed to spend your birthday together. I know you're mad at me for missing your birthday last year but I'm here now. I'm sorry I wasn't here last year. Please don't punish me for that. Please, please, please wake up. Please wake up!" Skye begged desperately, heart-wrenching sobs shaking her body. Grant looked at the sight in front of him, his heart breaking.
"Skye…" He whispered trying to comfort the distraught girl.
"No!" Skye yanked her arm away. "She promised that she would always be there for me. She can't just leave me like this. She has to wake up." Skye shrieked, shaking Sister McKenna's shoulders, begging her to wake up, to open her eyes.
Grant couldn't take the pain in Skye's voice anymore and pulled her to his chest, trying to calm her down. She sobbed into his chest, her hands still clutching the nun's cold hand. "Please come back to me." She whispered over and over. Grant held Skye tightly to his chest, rubbing circles in her back, whispering comforting words in her ear, but it did nothing to ease her pain. Just then, Grant felt the floor beneath him shake and tremble. "Earthquake" he thought in horror.
"Skye, we need to take cover. Earthquake." Grant said, trying to get Skye to move.
"No! I can't leave her like this Grant." Skye said, clutching Sister McKenna tighter to her.
Grant took her face in his hands and forced her to look into his eyes.
"Baby, look at me. This is a massive earthquake and if we don't take cover right now, then this whole building will come down on top of us." He softened his tone. "Sister McKenna wouldn't want you to endanger your life like this." He watched as tears welled up in her eyes for what seemed like the millionth time and she gave a slight nod. Grant quickly grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the office, down the stairs and out the front door. Skye managed to catch a glimpse of the kitchen on their way out and let out a sob when she saw the cake and cookies sitting on the countertop. The two emerged from the building and ran into front yard, away from any falling debris. Seconds later, the orphanage shook again and this time, part of the roof caved in. Skye let out a scream as piece by piece, the building collapsed.
Grant looked at the ruins of the St. Agnes orphanage in shock. He pulled a kicking and screaming Skye towards the car and away from the building, preventing her from running back into the building. Once inside the car, Skye finally collapsed in her seat and curled up into a ball, tears silently streaming down her face.
Grant looked on, his heart clenching in pain at the sight of the broken girl in front if him. He pulled out his phone and pressed two on his speed dial.
"Sir, we have a problem, a big one. Get to St. Agnes as fast as you can."
AN: You guys like it? Thought the fluff in the beginning might lighten up the mood after last chapter. I promise it will continue to get better. Once again, PLEASE REVIEW! I can't read your minds so the only way for me to know whether or not you guys like it is if you REVIEW! Please do as they motivate me to write.
Also, I do not own Sister McKenna. She is mentioned in 'Repairs' when Skye is talking to Hannah Hutchins through the door to the Cage.