Author's Note: 300 reviews, THANK YOU. I would give you a double update as a thank you but I actually have to work this week and am lucky to be giving you a single update.

I've rewritten this chapter two or three time and I think I finally got it right but be kind in your reviews please.

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Chapter 35 – Solid Ground

Emptying her stomach content into the Bus' only toilet for the third day in a row Skye wondered how she had hidden her pregnancy from the team for so long. She had suspected she was pregnant since Switzerland, she'd felt horrible, constantly tired and certain things had been missed. However when the team had stopped in Copenhagen for the first time, a week before they arrived in Rome, Skye had realized her clothes were tighter across her chest, in fact Skye was surprised that Simmons hadn't noticed back then but Skye herself didn't know for sure until her talk with Simmons in Rome. The team had left Rome almost a week ago and Skye was still gathering the courage to tell Coulson the truth, some of it at least.

Cleaning herself up Skye exited the bathroom only to come face to face with Simmons.

The biochemist did not look amused as she took in Skye's appearance, "Lab. Now."

"I'm fine, Simmons, just leave me alone," Skye groaned.

"Lab. Now. Or I tell Coulson," Simmons snapped.

"You wouldn't dare," Skye growled.

"Watch me," Simmons warned, then her face softened, "I just want to check you're both okay, that's all."

"We're fine," Skye snapped, looking around to see if any other member of the team was close enough to hear them, luckily May was in the cockpit, Coulson was in his office, Trip was in the cargo hold and Fitz wasn't in sight.

Simmons sighed, "Skye you're pushing twelve weeks, I just want to make sure everything's going smoothly."

Skye didn't dare correct Simmons' timeline, she rubbed a hand along her stomach, worry now etched on the hacker's face, "You don't think anything's wrong do you?"

Simmons' gaze softened even more, "No, Skye, I just want to be sure. You want to make sure your baby's okay, don't you?" When Skye nodded weakly Simmons gave her a weak smile, "Then let's go to the lab and check everything's okay then."

Skye nodded weakly again and allowed Simmons to lead her to the lab.

In the lab Simmons ran her tests but Skye absolutely refused to let her to an ultrasound.

"Don't you want to see your baby, Skye?" Simmons asked, "It doesn't hurt and it won't take long."

Skye shook her head, "We're in a glass room Simmons, the team might see. It's one thing to see me being poked and prodded by you, that I could explain, but it's another thing entirely having an ultrasound."

Simmons sighed and looked at the hacker seated on the table, "You can't hide it forever, Skye. You're going to start showing soon and then what are you going to do?"

"One of the girls at the orphanage managed to hide hers from the nuns for almost seven months," Skye shrugged, "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." Jumping off the table she stumbled as the world around her began to spin.

Simmons moved quickly, helping the hack back onto the table and pressed a bottle of water into her hand, "Drink," Simmons instructed, "It's the altitude, and it's just dizzy spells for now but by five months you shouldn't be flying at all." Helping the hacker to her feet Simmons sighed, "If you haven't told Coulson by then, or her hasn't figured it out, I will tell him."

Skye stood outside Coulson's office for a full ten minutes before gathering the courage to knock, even then it took all of her courage not to run back to her bunk and lock the door.

Coulson's voice came through the door, "Come on in, Skye." From his tone Skye knew she had no choice but to enter the office.

Skye gave a weak smile as she entered the office and took a seat opposite Coulson, "how'd you know it was me?"
"Something's been going on between you and Simmons this week," Coulson sighed, "I figured it was one of you coming to tell me what's going on. It was a higher probability that it was you or Simmons coming to talk to me then someone else on the Bus. So I took a stab in the dark that it was you."

Skye looked doubtful, "You looked at the camera feed, didn't you?"

Coulson smiled, "You were standing there for a while, everything okay?"

Skye nodded, "With me and Simmons? Yeah. We're working it out."

Now it was Coulson's turn to look doubtful, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Skye did want to talk about it, she desperately wanted to tell Coulson she was pregnant, to talk to someone other Simmons but she knew that if she told him today she would tell him everything, including Ward. So instead she gave Coulson a smile, "Not today A.C."

Coulson raised an eyebrow but didn't push the matter, "So if you're not here to talk about Simmons, what are you here to talk about?"

Skye shifted in her seat before looking at Coulson, "I had an idea."

"Dangerous," Coulson smiled, when Skye returned the smile he continued, "But let's hear it anyway."

Skye sighed, "We need to stop running A.C. We've visited as least fourteen countries in the last three months and we're still in the same position we were in when we started."

"We're not running from anything, Skye."
"But we're not running to anything either A.C.," Skye replied, "Instead of telling these governments we can still help we should be showing them."

Coulson actually looked interested, "And how do you propose we do that?"
"Base ourselves somewhere, one of Fury's secret bases, I don't know," Skye shrugged, "Then we do what we do best."

Coulson lent forward, "And what's that?"

"I hack, find people who need our help. Trip, May and you go in and actually help them. While FitzSimmons do their science thing," Skye replied, leaning on Coulson's desk, "If we start showing the world that we can help maybe they will start letting us."

Coulson remained silent, hopefully thinking over Skye's proposal. The silence gave Skye some time to think. After her talk with Simmons Skye knew that both her and her child were safer on the ground and if she wasn't willing to tell Coulson the truth yet she had to find another way to get herself on solid ground again. Skye felt horrible lying to Coulson but being on the ground would give Ward a chance to catch up with them and Skye could find him they could talk and she could finally find out where they stood.

Coulson had remained silent for almost a full minute and Skye began to back pedal rapidly, "I mean it's just an idea, we don't have to…"

"No," Coulson interrupted, "It's a good idea. I'm just annoyed I didn't think of it myself."

"You can't think of everything," Skye smiled, "That's why you have the rest of us, so you don't have to."

Coulson returned the hacker's smile, "How soon can you find us a suitable base?"

Skye pulled a USB out of her pocket and slid it across Coulson's desk, "I made a short list before I came in. I thought you might want the final say."

Coulson picked up the device and nodded, "I'll take a look."

Skye stood up, "I'll leave you to it then."

"Thanks for the idea," Coulson replied.

Opening the office door, Skye turned back to Coulson, "Anytime, A.C. Anytime."

Before she left Coulson called after her, "I'm here when you're ready to talk."

Skye just nodded and left the office. Quickly heading back to her bunk, Skye closed and locked her door behind her. Laying on her bed she placed a hand on her still flat stomach, "Next step is telling the team about you and then convincing your father to come home," Skye gave a small smile at the thought, "I've just haven't decided which is the easiest job yet."