Chapter 37 – Close Quarters

Skye wasn't entirely sure of the new base when they first arrived, the part of it dedicated to SHIELD was impressive. An entire underground base that fit the Bus and still had room to spare, not to mention the labs that FitzSimmons practically drooled over. However the living quarters weren't as spacious. In fact Skye found herself sharing a room with Simmons, while Fitz and Trip also shared, Coulson managed to get a room all to himself and May remained on the Bus, absolutely refusing to sleep on the sofa bed in the common area. Coulson had offered to share, the glare he had received would have sent Romanoff running. It hadn't taken Skye long to bet Fitz that one day they would find May in Coulson's bunk on the Bus because it was the largest and was now unoccupied.

Sharing a room with Simmons was bad enough but still being in such close quarters with the rest of the team was getting difficult. The morning sickness was getting worse, some days lasting well into the afternoons. To hide it Skye had taken to the team she was going for a run, when she made it out of sight of the house she would be sick. Unfortunately the team was beginning to notice her constant outings, surprisingly Simmons would sometimes join her and often covered for her with the team. Simmons would tell them that the two of them were exploring the surrounding fields only to spend the next couple of minutes holding back Skye's hair as she emptied the content of her stomach into the bushes. Skye could tell that Simmons was trying to keep her mouth shut about telling the team but every so often the biochemist failed in her attempt to keep her mouth shut and Skye would storm off, still unwilling to tell the rest of the team the truth.

When she stormed off Skye didn't take the time to look where she was going, however she did notice when her surroundings began to change. Skye was no longer surrounded by rolling fields instead trees rose up around her. Skye knew that were trees and a river almost a kilometre from the base, she just didn't realize she had walked that far. The trees were beautiful, unlike any that Skye had ever seen, not that she spent a whole lot of time looking at trees. She smiled when she looked up, the blue sky peeking through the canopy of leaves. Skye was so focused on the sky above she wasn't looking at the ground on which she was walking. So she didn't see the tree root blocking her path, she stumbled over it and was surprised when someone was there to catch her. This time Skye knew exactly who it was, the only person stupid enough to be in the forest alone, so she wrapped her arms around Grant Ward.

"Nice to see you to Skye," he smiled, wrapping his own arms around her.

Skye smiled against his chest, "I've missed you Robot." Despite everything she actually had.

Ward's smile widened, probably from the nickname, "I've missed you too." Suddenly he pulled away, looking Skye up and down, "But I think it's time we talked."

Skye gave the specialist an annoyed look, "Not even a how are you going."

Ward gave her a doubtful look, "You've been sneaking away from the team in order to be sick so I doubt things are going well," he raised an eyebrow, "I'm guessing you haven't told them yet."

Skye looked guilty, "It just hasn't been the right time."

Ward gave an amused smile, which quickly disappeared, "And when precisely do you think it is going to be the right time. As someone whose lied to the team I'm telling you it gets harder the longer you do it."
Skye crossed her arms, "I hardly think hiding a pregnancy is the same as hiding an allegiance to a terrorist organization."

Ward flinched and didn't reply.

Skye threw up her arms, "What are we doing, Ward?"

Ward raised an eyebrow, "I think we're back to you calling me a Nazi."

Skye looked at him angrily, "You were a Nazi."

"You know even the Nazi's disowned HYDRA."

Skye just looked at him, "Because that makes everything so much better," She then sighed, "We're getting off topic again, Ward."

Ward shook his head, "No, Skye, we are definitely on topic. You tell me you want me to be a part of this kid's life one day and then you're calling me a Nazi another day." He sighed, "You asked me to make a choice, so I am. This kid's better off without me. It's better for everyone if I get Fury to send someone else out here. Someone who can protect both of you without being compromised."

"I'm not a weakness, Grant. This baby is not a weakness." Skye yelled, tears began to form in her eyes, "I don't want anyone else protecting me, I want you here, with me and our baby. You said in Rome that it takes two people to make a kid and given the chance it takes two to raise one. This kid needs you. I need you."

"No," Ward replied, taking a step back, "After everything I've done I don't deserve anything, I don't deserve you, I don't deserve a family and I certainly don't deserve to be happy."

Taking a step forward Skye slapped him hard, "This isn't about you. You don't deserve happiness, fine, but this kid deserves a father. This kid had done nothing wrong." The tears were flowing freely now, "I've spent my whole life wondering why my parents didn't want me, why they abandoned me. I am not going to be the one to tell this kid that their father didn't want them. This kid deserves love, they deserve the chance to be happy. I deserve the chance to be happy."

Skye couldn't hold the pain and hurt she was feeling at Ward's words in anymore, she sank to her knees and wrapping her arms around her stomach, she cried.

Author's Note: I'm just pointing this out now so that no one complains, the reason Ward and Skye keep fighting is because despite the feelings they have for each other, and the fact that she's carrying his kid, Skye can't just forget everything Ward's done. Skye's anger is going to slip through every so often, we all know she's not the time to forgive and forget. Skye says she understands but she is still going to get angry from time to time.

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