A.N. Another random drabble. Enjoy!

XX

Skye's hands are shaking.

Jemma can see it from across the holo-table. She's not sure anyone else on the team has noticed, but Jemma typically makes a point to notice pretty much everything that happens with her girlfriend's body.

She's not exactly concerned by the slight tremble of her girlfriend's fingers, more the reason behind it, because when they woke up together two hours ago, everything had been just fine.

Now Skye looks like she's seen a ghost.

Skye glances up and notices Jemma's eyes trained on her hands, making her squeeze them both so they rest in tense fists at her sides, and she doesn't look away when Jemma's eyes meet hers. She stares at Jemma, silently almost begging her for something. If only Jemma knew what it was that she needed.

"Skye?" Coulson questions, jarring both girls from their staring contest.

Skye glances his way, looking troubled and more than a little haunted, and Jemma finds herself only half-listening as Skye goes over everything she's learned about the latest super-powered stranger that they have to find before the bad guys get their hands on him.

Ten minutes later, they're headed to Arizona and Coulson dismisses them to get a few hours rest before they land and spring into action.

Ward seems to realize that trying to get Skye to do anything other than stare at her hands is completely useless and dismisses her from any pre-mission training that they may do in favor of letting Jemma do her thing to try to get Skye to snap out of it.

Jemma trails after Skye as she heads to the lounge and then takes a surprising turn towards the bar. She reaches behind and grabs a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass, pouring herself a drink that sloshes over the side a little, which seems to frustrate her further, making her bang the bottle back onto the bar a little harder than she intends. She squeezes her hand again, shaking it out before she lifts the shot to her lips and tilts it back quickly.

Jemma makes her way over then. Seeing Skye drinking before a mission makes her worry, and she frowns when Skye flinches the moment she touches her. "Sweetheart, are you alright?"

Skye nods distractedly, shooting what Jemma thinks is supposed to be a reassuring smile at her, but really it only makes her worry more.

"Are you sure?"

Skye sighs, pulling from Jemma's loose embrace and she heads for her bunk. "I'm fine."

Alarm bells are blaring inside Jemma's head. She's never seen Skye act this way and it's scaring the hell out of her. She watches as Skye's shoulders slump a little once they're safely closed away in Jemma's bunk. Jemma takes a seat on the bed as Skye begins to pace the floor absently, looking restless and deep in thought.

"Skye?" Jemma questions softly.

The girl in question glances up, her eyes hazy with what looks like fear, making her look suddenly very young. "Hmm?"

"What's wrong?" Jemma decides to keep it simple and get straight to the point.

Skye shakes her head, suddenly finding herself getting irritated at the way Jemma won't stop pestering her, when all she really wants is to be alone to process her current situation.

"Skye, just talk to me," Jemma tells her softly. "Please."

"I just hate Phoenix, okay?" Skye finally snaps, whirling on Jemma in an instant, her eyes scared and hands balled into fists again, like she's preparing to fight something.

Jemma's first instinct is to leave. That maybe what Skye needs at the moment is to be alone to sort out her issue. But then she realizes that Skye is scared of something, even if she won't share what that is, and she's clearly acting out because of it. So she decides to shut her mouth and stay right where she is.

Skye seems to have been watching her out of the corner of her eye and visibly relaxes when Jemma settles further onto the bed, picking up a book from the side table. It takes about twenty minutes, but then Skye settles down on to the bed next to her.

XX

Skye is staring into her mug of coffee like it holds all the answers to life's big questions, her fingers fidgeting with a sugar packet, possibly to hide the way her hands tremble every time she thinks about where she's ended up after all this time.

They're in Phoenix, looking for Aaron White, who supposedly frequents this particular diner, but all she can think about is the last time she was in this very place, and she fleetingly wonders what the hell the odds are that she ended up in this very diner after all these years.

Her eyes cut to the other side of the restaurant, the non-smoking side and eyes one particular booth, her mind conjuring up images to fill the empty seats, one little boy, a little girl, and two parents.

A warm hand slides over hers and the moment Jemma's skin touches hers, it's like a little dark spot on her heart disappears, and that's all it takes to remember how far she's come, and how she has people now that truly care about her. Her gaze lifts from their joined hands to Jemma's eyes, watching her lovingly and she suddenly feels like such an asshole for being such a bitch all day.

"Jem…"

Jemma seems to notice the change in Skye immediately, as her smile warms and eyes twinkle in the morning light.

Before Skye can say another word, the little bell over the door tinkles and suddenly Skye can't breathe.

The man that enters the diner doesn't so much as even look their way, so he's totally unaware that his presence has practically paralyzed Skye.

Jemma notices. She notices the way Skye's body tenses, the way she trembles so badly that the table starts to vibrate, the way her breath catches in her throat and her eyes are suddenly haunted and staring at someone.

Jemma turns to get a look at whoever entered the diner and caused her girlfriend to practically turn catatonic. She sees a normal looking middle-aged man standing at the counter ordering and she's confused, wondering why this man would cause such a reaction in Skye.

Before she can even turn back to her, Skye is up out of her seat, her hip bumping the table violently, causing it to screech loudly against the floor. Jemma stutters for a moment, unsure of what she should do, but she notices the man glance over at all the commotion and catch sight of Skye as she pushes her way out of the diner. A flicker of recognition flashes across his face before he's turning to follow her out.

Jemma jumps out of her chair so quickly that it tips over backwards, and she barely has time to throw some bills on the table before she's out the door after the other two, and by the time she makes it outside, the man has his hands on Skye and she's struggling to back away from him.

And she looks terrified.

Jemma can't even form a full thought before she's barreling forward to grasp the man's coat in both hands to push him back off of Skye. "Excuse me! Get your hands off my girlfriend!"

Skye is so shaken that the moment he releases her, her momentum throws her back on her ass in the dirt of the parking lot. Jemma barely recognizes the sound of car doors slamming over her shouting as the rest of the team has apparently decided it's time to intervene. She continues to shout at him as two strong arms wrap around her and pull her away.

Hours later she'll find that she can't remember a single word she screamed at him, but it doesn't matter.

Skye is what matters. Coulson is picking her up off the ground as May hauls a screaming Jemma away from the man, who is shouting back at all of them as Ward and Fitz try to keep him restrained.

May guides Jemma to the backseat of the SUV and she waits rather impatiently for Coulson to do the same for Skye. The moment the door shuts behind her, she feels a wave of shame wash over her. She could have blown the mission for the team and she nearly assaulted a man in the parking lot of a diner. Then Skye is sitting next to her and she collapses into Jemma's arms the moment the other door closes behind her.

Jemma is wise enough to wait until May has driven them back to the Bus to drop them off before she begins asking questions again. As she follows Skye up the ramp to the cargo hold, she notices her elbow is bleeding, so she gently guides her into the lab to clean her up. Skye is dusty and dirty and tear-stained so once she gets her elbow cleaned and bandaged, Jemma leads her to the showers.

After a quick shower, she has Skye tucked into bed and she can tell the stress of the day has worn on her, as Skye's eyes droop almost immediately.

"Skye," Jemma begins, but she doesn't say another word when the other girl sighs heavily, sitting up in bed slowly. Skye pulls her knees to her chest and wraps both arms around her legs.

"Jemma, just stop," Skye sighs again. "Please."

"I'm so sorry, Sweetheart," Jemma whispers against Skye's temple as she pulls her into her arms. "I shouldn't have pushed you so hard to talk to me."

Skye shakes her head. "He was one of my foster dads." Her hands clench again. "He sort of beat the hell out of me once."

Then Jemma realizes that Skye hasn't been balling her hands into tight fists to fight something. She's been doing it in preparation for defending herself.

She squeezes Skye's body tightly against her own as she fights against a wave of nausea. She's suddenly wishing that she had at least punched that man once. She opens her mouth to say something, but she finds that there are really no words for what she's feeling.

"It was bad, Jem," Skye whispers, her fingers picking at the cotton pants covering her knees. "Like broken bones and a lot of blood." When her voice cracks on the last word, the arms wrapped around her squeeze her even tighter. "Social services found out and he was arrested. I didn't know he was out." She swallows hard. "That's why I was so freaked out all day. They lived right around the corner from the diner and went there a lot."

"I'm so sorry, Skye." Jemma presses her lips to Skye's head and threads her fingers through her hair a few times.

Skye shrugs a shoulder. "I thought I was over it. Lots of kids went through bad stuff in the foster system. You learn to deal."

"What happened to you isn't just bad stuff, Sweetheart," Jemma murmurs. "It's awful."

Skye nods. "It was."

Jemma is quiet for a few moments, trying to process everything she's learned. "I wish I'd known. I would have killed him."

There's suddenly a knock on the bunk door, and Jemma calls out to whoever it is to come in. Coulson sticks his head in the door and gives both girls a warm smile.

"Hey." Skye tries to smile with her greeting, but it falls flat after the day she's had.

"I had no idea, Skye," Coulson says immediately, and it's clear he's pained by the events of the afternoon. "I'm so sorry."

Skye shakes her head. "Not your fault."

His smile is still a little watery as he sits gingerly on the edge of the bed next to her, reaching out to rest his hand over her arm. "We're off rotation for a week. I want you two to go away for a few days on me."

"AC, you really don't have to do that," Skye insists immediately. "I'll be fine."

"You will," he agrees, nodding, squeezing her arm gently. "And I think this will help. Please let me help."

Skye glances at Jemma, who smiles lovingly at her, and she finally nods. "Okay. Thanks."

Coulson nods his head, and he looks pleased with her. "We're landing in L.A. in an hour, and from there you can go anywhere you want."

The girls both thank him again and then he's up and out of Jemma's bunk. She slides the door shut behind him and turns to lean against the door, watching as Skye snuggles down under the blankets of the bed.

Jemma grabs a few items and moves to Skye's side to press a kiss to her forehead before she heads to the bathrooms to clean up before bed. She returns ten minutes later and finds Skye sound asleep.

As she slides into bed and wraps her arms around the girl she loves so much, she thinks about Skye's past, and while she knows that she can't do anything to change her past, she silently promises that she'll do whatever she can to make sure her future is amazing.