The team gathered in a small room containing only a high tech control panel and a chair that had a bunch of wiring around it. Koenig stands in front of the skeptical team with a smile on his face.

"All right. I'm just gonna need you guys to answer a few questions. A few psychoanalytic, non-sequitur questions."

"A lie detector?",Coulson assumed.

"The lie detector, Agent Coulson."

Ward tried his best to hide his worriedness.

"This baby measures Galvanic skin responses, oxygen consumption, micro-expressions, biofeedback, brain waves, pupil dilation voice biometrics-", this made him excited for some reason, "96 variables in all. Fury designed this himself. He wanted a lie detector Romanoff couldn't beat."

"Did she?",Ward said as casually as possible.

Koenig scoffed.

"Like Fury would tell."

"Okay. The sooner we get this done the sooner we can get to work.",Coulson said, "So who wants to go first?"

There was a long pause as each member waited for someone else to volunteer. Coulson took it upon himself to elect someone.

"No one?", he asked, "Ok. Fitz you go first."

"Uggh. I swear its always me.", he said under his breath.

Everyone lightened up and gave Fitz a pat on the back on their way out of the room.

Fitz:

"Ok Agent Fitz, what is your full name."

"Leopold Allister Fitz."

"Eye color?"

"Blue."

"Have you ever been married?"

"No."

"Please list your immediate family."

"Just me and my mum."

"What is the difference between an egg and a rock."

"Well, that's absurd. The difference are innumerable. If you want I can start listing them, but then we'd be here all day."

"Have you ever had any contact with Alexander Pierce."

"Nope."

"You wash up on a deserted island alone. Sitting on the sand is a box. What is in that box?"

"How big is the box?"

"Just, say the first answer that comes into your mind. What's in that box?"

His face straightened as the answer entered his mind.

"Simmons."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer exists. The Agency has been labeled a terrorist organization. So, why are you here"

"That's easy. We have to stick together. Keep the people we trust close by. No one else really."

Koenig did a few finishing taps on the control panel and looked back up at Fitz.

"Alright Agent Fitz. Good job. I'll go get your lanyard."

Simmons:

"Alright. What is your full name?"

"Jemma Catherine Simmons."

"What is the color of your eyes"

"Hazel? I really don't know."

"Have you ever been married."

"No."

"Please list your immediate family."

"My mum, my dad, and my little sister."

"What is the difference between an egg and a rock."

"Well, that's absurd. The difference are innumerable. If you want I can start listing them, but then we'd be here all day."

"Fitz said the exact same thing."

"Well they call us 'Fitzsimmons' for a reason."

"Cute. Ok… um. Have you ever had any contact with Alexander Pierce."

"No."

"You wash up on a deserted island alone. Sitting on the sand is a box. What is in that box?"

"That's a hard one. Let me think. The Tardis."

"Oh you're a Who fan? Did you see that Christmas ep-"

"La la la la.",she said to stop him from talking, "I haven't had time to watch any. Skye and Ward hogged the best TV on the Bus for the Walking Dead."

"Alright. But it was awesome.", he turned the page in the giant binder to read the next question.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer exists. The Agency has been labeled a terrorist organization. So, why are you here"

"Honestly, I'm not entirely sure."

He looked down at the panel to check for any irregularities, but there were none.

Trip:

"Please list your full name."

"My name is Antoine Gabriel Triplet."

"Eye color."

"Brown."

"Have you ever been married?"

"No."

"Please list your immediate family."

"Just my mom and I. Dad bolted."

"So you're not gonna mention your grandfather?"

"It's not something I advertise. Didn't want to be treated any different because I'm a legacy."

"If I was the grandson of a Howling Command, I'd have that tattooed on my chest."

"How'd you know that anyway."

"I had my suspicions when I heard your name. Read your file."

"Ah."

"What is the difference between an egg and a rock?"

"Eggs are fragile. Rocks are hard."

"You wash up on a deserted island alone. Sitting on the sand is a box. What is in that box?"

"A sat phone. So I can call someone to get me off that island."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer exists. The Agency has been labeled a terrorist organization. So, why are you here"

"My grandfather fought Hydra back in the day. The good guys won then. We'll do it again."

"Cool. Trip, you lanyard will be ready shortly."

May:

"We're gonna start with some easy questions to establish a baseline. Can I have your full name?"

"Melinda Qiaolian May."

"Eye color?"

"Brown."

"Have you ever been married?"

"No."

Koenig looked surprised.

"You and Coulson never… tied the knot?"

"No, we were 23 when we found out we were having a kid. We thought we were gonna do it sometime after she was born. But our feelings changed after everything happened."

"So are you gonna do it now that you're back together?"

"We've talked about it. I certainly want to. But right now doesn't seem like the right time."

"There's never gonna be a 'right time'."

"What does this have to do with the test?"

"Sorry, I haven't had any human contact in like three years.", May nodded. "Ok please list your immediate family."

"Two parents, no siblings. And Phil and Skye."

"What's the difference between an egg and a rock?"

"Edible, not."

"Have you had any contact with Alexander Pierce."

"I've met him. We shook hands."

"You wash up on a deserted island alone. Sitting on the sand is a box. What's in that box?"

"Machete."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer exists. The Agency has been labeled a terrorist organization. So, why are you here"

"Phil and Skye are here. I stick with them."

Skye:

"What is your first name", Koenig asks.

"Skye."

"And what is your last name."

"I guess technically it's Coulson, but I haven't officially changed it."

"Eye color?"

"Brown."

"Have you ever been married?"

"No."

"Please list your immediate family."

Skye suddenly had a big smile on her face.

"A mom and a dad."

"Woah your dopamine levels just went up. Are you ok?"

"Yeah it's just… I've never had an answer to that question before. It feels good."

"Aw. ok next question: What is the difference between an egg and a rock."

"Eggs are delicious, rocks are gross."

"Have you ever had any contact with Alexander Pierce."

"No."

"You wash up on a deserted island alone. Sitting on the sand is a box. What's in that box?"

"I want to say my laptop, fully charged. But I don't want to seem subversive with the Rising Tide and all-"

"You're overthinking it."

"The laptop would be stupid anyway, there's no wifi. So I guess a phone?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer exists. The Agency has been labeled a terrorist organization. So, why are you here"

"It's the only home I've ever known and there are people here I really care about."

"Congratulations Agent Skye, let's go get you a lanyard."

She walks out of the room to find Ward waiting in the hallway.

"Got my backstage pass.", she said holding up her new lanyard.

"Piece of cake?"

"If you don't mind talking about yourself.", she puts the lanyard over her neck, "So you'll hate it. Have fun."

She started to walk away.

"Hey, how about you give me some good luck?"

"What happened to 'two broken ribs'"

"I'm feeling better?"

"Nice try. Go take the test. I'll be in my room."

Ward:

"What is your full name?"

"My name is Grant Douglas Ward."

"Please list your immediate family."

"Two parents, a sister, two brothers. Don't have contact with any of them."

Koenig looks at his baseline and sees that is not normal.

"Boy, your baseline's getting a lot of spikes. Are you in pain?"

He takes in a sharp breath and makes a face.

"Yeah, only when I breath. Two broken ribs."

"Okay well try not to move it may affect the results. What is the difference between an egg and a rock?"

"Eggs are food. Rock's a weapon."

"Have you ever heard of Project Insight?"

"No."

"Ever made contact with Alexander Pierce?"

"No."

"You wash up on a deserted island alone. Sitting on the sand is a box. What's in that box?"

"It would depend on the island, where it is, how big, what's the terrain? Is there fresh water?"

"Just say the first thing the comes into your head."

"A pistol."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer exists. The agency has been labeled a terrorist organization. So, why are you here?"

"I'm an agent. It's my duty."

Koenig looks down at the screen and sees that all of Ward's vitals are irregular.

"I need you to give that to me again."

"It's my duty."

Koenig reaches to his right and reveals to Ward that he has a gun. Ward's face falls a bit.

"Agent Ward. Are you associated with Hydra?"

"Yes.", it was the only answer that wouldn't set off the detector, "We all are. They've infiltrated the highest levels of our organization."

Koenig wasn't buying it. He cocked the gun and pointed it directly at Ward's face.

"Like you mean it. Are you Hydra?"

"I am loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D., to Agent Coulson and to my team."

The readings didn't change.

"Do you have another agenda here?"

Ward tightened his hands and couldn't find anything to say.

"Agent Ward, why are you really here?"

He thought about every possible answer. But there was one that he knew would work.

"Skye."

And it was true. He was there because of Skye. Garrett needed her to decrypt the hard drive. But aside from that he really came back just to be with her.

"I came back for her. I love her."

The readings on the screen turn bright green revealing that he is telling the truth. Koenig uncocks the gun and faces it away from Ward.

"Cool."

"So Agent Koenig, are we free to go?", Coulson said has he walked into Koenig's office.

"Yes, sir. All of your agents passed the polygraph."

"Anything I should be concerned about?"

"Not really. I had a little scruffle with Agent Ward though."

"Really?"

"I asked him if he was loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D. and when he said yes the charts just went off."

"Then why does he have a lanyard."

"Because when I asked him why he was here he said, 'for skye.'. And he said that he loves her."

"And the readings for that-?"

"100%"

Coulson sighed in relief.

"Good. He'd be stupid to come back here if he was Hydra. Skye's mom is Melinda May for god's sake."

"Speaking of Agent May are you guys gonna… you know… tie the knot soon?"

"Koenig what the hell."

"I know- just answer the question."

Coulson sat back in his chair and thought about it.

"Um.. yah. I don't see why not. But… I don't know, right now doesn't seem like the right time."

"Funny. She said the exact same thing."

"You got her to talk to you about this?"

"She was in a lie detector and I had the questions.", Koenig said as casually, "Besides, I miss human interaction. I need juice!"

"Ok, I think you've got enough 'juice'", Coulson said with air quotes around the word 'juice'.

Koenig got up from his chair and stood in front of Coulson.

"You're right.", he started walking away but he stopped and turned around. "Also sir, there's never a 'right time.'", this time he actually made it out of the door.

The door shut and Coulson sat there alone with his thoughts.

There's never a 'right time'.

Should I?

This wouldn't be something I'd normally do.

But then again that hasn't stopped me from doing anything recently.

I love her.

We're in love.

I want this.

Forever.

This chapter was really different but really fun. I love giving the characters more backstory: like how May and Coulson were young when they had Skye.

Questions, comments and suggestions are encouraged! Thanks for reading:)