AN: Hi guys! Here is Chapter 10 for you all! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter as well as the tad bit of Fitzsimmons and Philinda moments. Also, this chapter will have a short time skip. I am so sorry for the delay but I have been extremely busy and I really wanted to make this chapter good for you all. Please REVIEW! Thanks! :)

It had been over a week since Sister McKenna's death and since then, Skye had regressed into a former shell of herself. She stopped making as many jokes, stopped smiling and being her sarcastic self and her behavior was worrying the entire team. Yesterday, Skye and Simmons were in the lab when Fitz came in excited about his latest creation. He was so excited he fell over the stool sitting at the table, slipped as he was trying to get up, and even pulled Simmons down with him when she tried to help him up. Skye let out a quiet laugh before leaving the lab. After she had left, Simmons let silent tears fall.

"Fitz, I hate seeing her like this. She's almost broken. On any other day, she would have been on the floor laughing so hard she wouldn't be able to breathe. But now, she…I…" Simmons broke off, looking at Fitz with a helpless gaze.

"She's going to be fine Simmons. She just needs some time. She saw the closest mother figure she had get killed and then crushed by a building. She's not going to bounce back to her bubbly self in a week. It's going to take some time and we'll give her as much as she needs." Fitz said confidently, pulling his partner into a gentle hug.

"You're right. And she actually laughed today. She's been so depressed and upset lately. She stopped talking and everything recently. But Fitz she finally laughed!" Simmons squealed happily.

"I saw! I'm sure we'll have our sister back with us soon enough!" Fitz said smiling.

"Now about why I was excited, I was thinking that we enhance the propulsions in the new grenade design…." Fitz began talking animatedly about his latest creation while Simmons smiled at his enthusiasm.

Up in the lounge, Ward was 'reading' a book while Skye was typing away on her laptop, trying to find out anything she could about who attacked Sister McKenna. She had been working non-stop the past week and it was beginning to take a toll on her. Her eyes were constantly bloodshot with dark circles present under them. Her complexion had changed from her vibrant olive tone to a pale white. Her humor had shrunk and he hated that. He missed his funny, bubbly, and passionate rookie. He wanted to hear her laugh all the time, smile at the smallest things, and spontaneously sing all throughout the Bus.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by an inhuman growl. He turned to see Skye looking like she wanted to throttle the life out of her computer.

"Why can't I find anything? How can someone cover their tracks so well? I have tried every single program in existence for facial recognition, to try and see if there was anyone near the orphanage from the footage of the nearby traffic cameras. I also looked up anything and everything on the other four hackers that could hack into my encryption and came up completely empty-handed. Why can't I find anything? I have to find something!" Skye was beginning to get hysterical and Grant immediately grabbed her shoulders and turned her to look at him.

"Skye…" he said softly. "…look at me." She turned to look at him with tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"I feel like I'm betraying her by not finding out who did this." She whispered brokenly before letting her floodgates open and began sobbing into his chest. He just held her tighter and slowly rocked her back and forth.

Some time later, after Skye had cried out any tears she had left, she raised her head from Grant's chest and looked at the large wet spot her tears had made.

"Sorry about your shirt." She said sheepishly.

Grant smiled softly. "I don't care about the shirt. I care about you Skye. I'm here for you for whatever you need. But before anything else, you need to know that what happened with Sister McKenna was not your fault. It was whoever attacked her and theirs alone. And Skye, whoever they are, they are probably pretty skilled hackers. But they are not the best as you. All you need is some time. After a while, you'll probably…no definitely come up with a way to track them. Not only that, but Sister McKenna would not feel betrayed by this. I actually think that this would hurt her. She would be hurt by the fact that you have been neglecting to take care of yourself. Do you think she would want you to spend all night crying? Or not eating and not being yourself? How do you think Sister McKenna would feel if she saw you like this?" Grant asked, trying to make her see sense.

Skye was overwhelmed with guilt. She had been so absorbed in trying to find Sister McKenna's assailants that she hadn't been taking care of herself. She wasn't eating, was barely sleeping being constantly plagued with nightmares, and she didn't even think about how it was affecting her team, how it was affecting Grant! Tears welled up in her eyes at the thought of hurting him. She looked into his deep brown eyes and placed a kiss on his lips.

"I'm so sorry Grant. I was so focused on getting these guys that I didn't even think about how my behavior might be affecting you guys." She said guiltily.

"Please don't apologize Skye. It's not your fault. I just want you to be okay. I know that right now, you are far from okay but I'm here for you; every step of the way."

Skye's heart swelled at that. "Promise?"

"I promise. You are not getting away from me that easily." Grant said, pulling her into a passionate kiss.

It had been two weeks since then and Skye had practically blossomed back into herself. As she started getting her spunk back, she told the team that she was going to honor Sister McKenna's memory happily, not by crying her eyes out every night.

Since then, the team's mood had also brightened. Just yesterday, Coulson saw proof of that with his own eyes.

Flashback

Coulson had left his office to grab a snack from the kitchen when her heard screams and shouting. Automatically thinking the worst, he grabbed an ICER from his jacket pocket and swiftly made his way to the kitchen. The sight in front of him was truly mind-boggling.

The four youngest members of the team were literally covered head to toe in flour. And, his kitchen; his beautiful and pristine kitchen was covered in flour too.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" Coulson boomed, making the younger agents, minus Ward, jump.

Skye and Simmons immediately began fidgeting, Fitz was twirling his fingers, and Ward just stood there with his poker face.

"Well…. someone say something! Why are you guys covered in flour and more importantly…why is my kitchen a complete mess? Coulson practically yelled.

Simmons decided to speak up before their CO got too angry.

"Well sir, you see, the thing is, Skye and I were talking about pie and how there were different way to make the crust, with flour, graham crackers…"

Coulson interrupted her babbling.

"Simmons, I don't need the entire story. Cut to the chase."

Skye picked up here. "You see AC, we were just talking and then Fitz came in and began digging around for his pretzels and he knocked over the pack of flour that was on the counter."

Fitz's turn. "No, tell him the truth Skye! I simply asked what they were talking about and they said 'stuff'. I just wanted a bit more detail and when I didn't leave them alone, Skye threw flour at my head."

"Did not!" came the indignant reply.

"Yes you did!" Ward jumped in. "Somehow, Fitz ducked your flour bomb and it hit me as I was coming around the corner."

Coulson watched as his team of highly skilled agents turned into a bunch of kids arguing over whose fault it was.

"ENOUGH! I don't care who started it or who did what. CLEAN. IT. UP." He said, staring hardly at each agent.

"Of course sir."

"Right away."

"Yes sir."

"You got it AC."

Coulson nodded once before entering the kitchen, careful to keep his suit clean, grabbed a chocolate chip muffin from the pantry, and left.

The four agents looked at each other for a few moments before bursting out laughing.

As Coulson went up the stairs to his office, he couldn't help but smile as he heard his team roar with laughter. His team was going to be just fine.

End of flashback

Coulson was mad. No, that was an understatement. Coulson was PISSED! After everything that had happened with Sister McKenna's death, funeral (that only Skye and Ward had attended), and trying to find her assailant, Director Fury wanted his team to go investigate a new lead concerning Centipede. Coulson had requested for some additional time to continue looking for who was behind Sister McKenna's murder, but Director Fury was adamant. Apparently, since he and his team discovered Centipede (more like Skye discovered them), he wants them to take over the investigation. And after Hong Kong and the whole incident with Chan, Director Fury made it top priority to take down the explosive organization. (Pun intended :) ) Coulson agreed that Centipede needed to be taken down but he didn't feel right abandoning their current investigation and leaving Skye wondering who killed Sister McKenna.

He ended his video conference with Director Fury and began to make is way down the stairs towards the lounge where he believed Skye would be. As he entered the lounge, he saw Skye sitting in the lounge alone, tying away on her laptop. Maybe the universe was on his side today after all. Taking a deep breath, he moved towards her. 'Please don't let her be too angry about this.' He thought anxiously.

"Skye, you have a minute?" Coulson asked tentatively.

Skye looked up at him and smiled. "Course AC. What's up?"

Coulson sat on the edge of the coffee table in front of Skye and rubbed his hands together before speaking.

"I was just on a conference call with Director Fury. He…well…we…" Coulson stammered out, not knowing how to continue.

"Let me guess. He ordered you to stop looking for Sister McKenna's attackers and gave us a new mission?" Skye asked knowingly. Coulson looked up in shock.

"How did you know?" Coulson asked, surprise evident on his face.

Skye laughed lightly. "Coulson, it's been weeks since her death. I knew that sooner or later we would have to get back on track with other missions. Honestly, I'm surprised that we were able to look into it for so long."

"And you're not angry?"

"Of course not. I want to find out who killed Sister McKenna but we're getting nowhere with what we have. Maybe looking back at this some time later will shed some light on something new. And I know that there are other important world-saving missions that we should be working on too. So what is our new mission?"

"Centipede. Which reminds me…debrief in five in the Command Center. Can you grab Ward and Fitzsimmons? I'll get May from the cockpit." Skye nodded and made her way down towards the lab where Fitzsimmons and Ward were testing out new weapons.

Five minutes later, everyone was situated in the Command Center and Coulson was going over new intel about Centipede.

"Similar to before, we had facial recognition running 24/7 and managed to get a hit on Raina." Coulson stated, pressing a few buttons on the holotable and pulling up a map.

"Canada? Why there?" Fitz asked curiously as he saw the map.

"Isolation. The northern Canadian mountain range is bleak and abandoned. Also quite dangerous. More than likely, their base is underground, making detection harder." Coulson countered.

"So we just storm their base? Will we have back-up or is it just us going in?" Ward asked, his specialist nature already coming out.

"We can't exactly storm their base as we have no idea where it is. But facial recognition images show Raina leaving the base every two-three days and going to a hotel up in Yellowknife near the Great Slave Lake. We park the Bus at a secure S.H.I.E.L.D. facility in the Northwest Territories and go by car. We follow Raina to the base and then with a proper strike team, we take it down." Coulson stated firmly.

The rest of the team nodded in agreement, excitement buzzing in the air.

"Get some rest. We land in 7 hours." Coulson said before leaving the Command Center.

Six and a half hours later, the team was once again gathered in the Command Center going over the final details of the plan.

"Skye and Ward, you two will check into the Explorer Hotel. Book a room and Skye, I want complete access to all of the hotel's cameras as well as any nearby traffic cameras." Skye and Ward nodded.

"Fitzsimmons, you will hold the fort down here. The Bus will be on COMPLETE lockdown. You will not leave unless Agents May, Ward, or myself tell you to open the Bus. Is that understood?" Coulson asked sternly.

Fitzsimmons nodded yet looked confused. Simmons decided to speak up. "Um…sir, why do we need to have the Bus on complete lockdown at a secure S.H.I.E.L.D. facility? I'm sure that the Canadian base is more than secure."

"I know that. And I'm sure that the base is extremely secure. But, with everything that's been going on, I'll feel much better if you two are safe in the plane without the three of us around. Okay?" Coulson asked.

Fitzsimmons still looked skeptical but nodded in agreement.

"May and I will be in the hotel restaurant. Skye, as soon as you see Raina, let us know and we will follow. Keep an eye on the car she is in. I do not want her out of sight. We need to find her before she takes anymore innocent people and turns them into her Centipede robots. Is that clear?"

The rest of the team nodded in confirmation.

"Good."

"Wheels down in 10. Buckle in." May stated, leaving the Command Center and making her way towards the cockpit.

Fifteen minutes later, May, Coulson, Ward, and Skye were finishing up any last minute preparations and were getting ready to leave. Ward and Skye piled into the SUV and Ward backed out of the cargo hold. Ten minutes later, May and Coulson go into Lola and Coulson brought the roof of the convertible up before also pulling out of the cargo hold. He gave the signal and Fitzsimmons closed the ramp and put the Bus on lockdown before turning on everyone's comms.

"Can everyone hear me?" came Fitz's voice over the comms.

Four voices answered affirmatively and he continued speaking.

"Okay, listen carefully. I put a cloaking device on both of the vehicles. What that will do is it will basically make the car invisible."

"How did you manage to do that?" Ward asked, clearly impressed.

"Science. Anyways, that will prevent Raina from seeing you as you follow her. Along with that, if you will look in the glove compartments of each vehicle, you will find two ICERS that have been specifically modified to take out the Centipede soldiers in case any should show up." May and Skye opened the glove compartments of their respective vehicles and pulled out the two ICERS located there.

"Gotta say nerds. You've really outdone yourselves this time." Ward said teasingly.

Simmons scoffed over the comms. "I'll have you know Agent Ward, us nerds are the reason you manage to make it back from your missions in one piece. What would you do without the EMP propulsion rifle, or the HR2 grenade or …."

"Simmons, Fitz, and Ward; you three can continue your never ending Scientist vs. Specialist debate later." Coulson cut in, effectively stopping Simmons rant.

"AC's right. We're at the hotel. We'll check in and then come back on." Skye said as she and Ward turned off their comms.

At the hotel, Ward and Skye walked up to the desk like a normal couple and booked a room on the 5th floor, high enough to stall in case of an attack and low enough to escape from (basically jump out a window according to Skye).

They entered the room and Skye immediately went to work. Opening up her laptop bag and duffel, she pulled out her laptop, various wires and other devices, and worked on getting access to the hotel's and nearby cameras. Ward opened his duffel and pulled out his precious weapons. He began inspecting all of his guns, knives, and other weapons to make sure that they were ready to use at a moment's notice. Skye found it adorable at how much he loves his weapons, kind of how much she loves her computer.

In just a few minutes, Skye had managed to get access to all of the hotel's cameras and any nearby ones in order to get a visual on Raina. Turning the comms back on, they checked in with everyone.

"Guys, we're checked in and I have access to all cameras. AC, May; your turn." Skye said to everyone.

Coulson and May left Lola and walked towards the hotel's restaurant. They sat in a booth towards the back corner of the restaurant, allowing them to see who comes in and out as well being able to see who enters the hotel lobby.

Thirty minutes had passed before Skye's voice came over, saying that she spotted Raina.

"Coulson, May, Raina has just entered the hotel lobby and is making her way towards the restaurant."

"Copy that." Coulson said as he watched Raina enter the restaurant and make her way towards the side of the restaurant opposite of May and Coulson.

"Okay, now listen up. Coulson, I placed a small round device in your pocket before you left. Pull it out. It is a microphone that allows us to hear exactly what she is saying to whoever there. You have to plant that at least within 10 meters of her in order for us to hear her clearly." Coulson pulled out the microphone from his pocket and handed it to May.

May got up under the pretense to go to the bathroom and made sure to cover her face as she walked behind Raina's table. She dropped the device so discreetly that an untrained eye wouldn't have even seen her move. She quickly entered the bathroom and emerged a few minutes later. She made her way back to the table and she and Coulson quietly got up and left. The two made their way back to Lola and pulled away from the hotel and parked in another parking lot across from the hotel, allowing them to see the hotel's front entrance.

Fitz spoke over the comms. "Ok…I have audio. I'm going to patch it through to you guys." A moment later, the four agents could hear Raina speaking through their comms.

"How do you feel? Tired, drained? We've been working on modifications of the serum to try and decrease the adverse effects it has on the host's body. Our last volunteer was close to combusting but miraculously calmed down at the last minute." said Raina.

"She's talking about Mike. She brainwashed him and if it hadn't been for you all then he would have exploded just like the others." Skye said, thoroughly pissed at Raina for making Mike seem like another one of her little lab rats. Ward squeezed her hand and it sent a warm feeling all throughout Skye's body.

"I feel great. I've never felt this good before. I feel stronger, and so much more alive than I've ever felt. Whatever serum you gave me, it works." Another voice said admiringly.

Skye's blood ran cold. Ward froze. Coulson and May stared at each other in shock inside Lola, same with Fitzsimmons on the Bus.

Skye's voice echoed like a cannon as she broke the silence moments later.

"Miles….?"

AN: How'd you guys like it? Sorry about the cliffhanger but I promise I will try not to make the next update take as long as this one. I have been extremely busy with college applications, scholarship essays and schoolwork in general. I barely get enough sleep and I honestly don't have a lot of downtime on my hands anymore. I am so sorry for those of you that like my story and had to wait forever. I will try my best to update as quickly as I can. I want to give you guys nice long chapters so that also takes more time too. Thanks again and sorry! But please REVIEW, REVIEW, AND REVIEW! :)