Hey all! This is the second to last chapter of this story, but don't worry, I'm working on the next one right now! :) As always enjoy, and don't forget to review!

"No!" she screamed, her voice echoing in the hallway "Skye!"

When she received no reply, she sank down to the floor, her body racked with sobs. What was I thinking leaving her there? How did she make me believe that she could save herself? Oh, Skye.

May wept for the young woman who she had grown to love over the past few months. She stayed on the ground, curling up into a ball. Her heart was completely, irreparably broken. There was no way she could go to the Bus and face Coulson. She was never going back into the field again.

May soon felt arms gently wrap around her and pull her close. She heard a familiar female voice saying "It's okay, May. Look, I'm okay."

May gasped as she realized that her rookie was still alive. She stared into Skye's bruised face, looking into her dark eyes. She slowly lifted her hand and ran her fingers along Skye's cheek, as if making sure she was real. Skye gave her a small smile, saying "See? I told you that you could trust me".

May broke down in tears again, shaking and sobbing. "My fault" she gasped. "All my fault".

"No it's not." Skye told her firmly, wrapping her arms around her trembling mentor. "C'mon, May. Let's get you back to the Bus."

Skye half-carried her S.O. back to the Bus. When they finally made it onboard the plane, Tripp and Coulson ran up to them. Tripp took May's weight from Skye, letting the older agent lean on him for support.

"Skye! Jena, the little girl, has been absolutely hysterical about you...she thinks you died" Tripp said anxiously. "Go see her, okay? Fitzsimmons are with her now." Skye nodded, and placed a gentle kiss on May's forehead. As she left the room, she shot a glare at Coulson. We'll discuss this later.

Coulson watched the young woman leave the room before turning his gaze on his silent best friend. "May, I'm s-" he broke off as he looked into her eyes for the first time. Her blank stare into the distance immediately took him back to when he'd found her holding Katya's body in Bahrain.

"Oh, god", he breathed, taking a step towards her. "Melinda?"

He reached out to touch her arm, but the second he made contact with her, she collapsed. Tripp shouted with surprise as he lost his grip on her. Coulson immediately knelt down next to her, cradling her head in his lap, and gently stroking her hair.

"Get Fitzsimmons!" he ordered Tripp. "Now!"

Tripp sprinted towards the lab as Coulson whispered reassuringly into May's ear. "It's going to be okay, Melinda, I promise. I'm so, so sorry for bringing you here. You are so brave, Mel. And Skye is really brave too...you've done such a good job training her." Coulson continued talking to her, saying whatever popped into his head until Fitzsimmons arrived.

Simmons immediately knelt down and began taking her pulse. She gasped as she felt how quickly and erratically May's heart was beating. "Fitz, hand me the sedative!" she cried. "If May doesn't calm down, she could give herself a seizure!"

Fitz passed over the syringe he had brought. "Sir, hold her still!" Simmons commanded as she moved the needle towards May's arm.

Coulson did as he was told, holding May tightly so she couldn't injure herself or anyone else. Her body instantly relaxed as Simmons injected her with the sedative, and she drifted into a deep sleep.

Coulson picked her up and carried her over to a sofa, softly setting her down on her back. Simmons gently checked May over for any injuries. When she was finished, she stepped back and looked over at Coulson. "She doesn't seem to have any physically injuries" the young scientist reported. "Any trauma she is suffering is all mental."

Coulson nodded grimly, guilt and concern etched into the lines on his face. "Thanks, Simmons" he said quietly "I can watch over her for now."

"No" Simmons replied, and Coulson looked at her in surprise. "Go talk to Skye and find out what happened. Fitz and I will stay with May."

Sighing, Coulson reluctantly nodded and pressed a gentle kiss to May's forehead before leaving the room to look for Skye.

He found her in the spare bunk, playing Uno with the little girl they had rescued. Skye was smiling as the child clapped in delight when she laid down her last card. "Good job, Jena!" Skye praised. "You beat me again!"

Coulson knocked softly on Skye's doorframe. His youngest agent looked up at him, and he could immediately see the anger in her eyes.

"Can we, um, talk?" he asked her nervously.

Skye nodded curtly, and turned back to the little girl, giving her a hug. "I'm gonna go talk to my boss for a bit, okay?" she told the child. "My friend Tripp is going to come play with you instead."

Jena nodded and began picking the cards up and putting them into a neat pile.

Skye stood and walked past Coulson without looking at him. She quickly walked to Coulson's office, and when he entered behind her, she slammed the door behind him.

She spun around, anger evident in her eyes. "What the hell were you thinking?" Skye yelled. "I thought the whole reason you wanted her on the Bus was to 'fix' her, to bring back the real May! I wouldn't blame her if she never speaks to you again!"

Coulson bowed his head, ashamed. "I know, Skye. I never should've brought her back here. But we had a mission! We had to save that powered girl."

"She wasn't powered, Coulson!" Skye shouted. "It was a trap! Did it ever cross your mind that the family of the girl May killed might want revenge?!"

"I-what?" Coulson asked, bewildered. "When did May...oh." Realization dawned on his face as he finally understood why May had been so traumatized after Bahrain, "The girl didn't die in the crossfire" Coulson murmured to himself. Poor Mel.

"Wait, you didn't know?" Skye asked, her expression softening. "I thought she would've at least told you."

Coulson shook his head. "She never talked about what happened to anyone. I had no idea." The two agents were silent for a long moment before Coulson asked, "So what happened? Did someone try to kill May?"

"No", Skye replied softly. "They tried to kill me." Coulson's eyes widened at Skye's words. The brunette continued: "They made May choose between saving me and saving Jena. I told her to save Jena, so she did. After she left the room, I fought the two men. I was able to take down the one holding me, and managed to shoot the other one before he could shoot me."

Skye shuddered at the memory before continuing. "I found May curled up in a ball outside the room. She'd heard the gunshot and assumed that I'd been killed."

"I can't believe they did that to her...to any of you" Coulson whispered shakily. "I'm so sorry, Skye." He walked over to Skye and pulled her into a tight hug. He heard her gasp in pain, and Coulson immediately pulled back.

"Are you hurt?" he asked worriedly, realizing that Simmons had never checked Skye for injuries.

"I'm fine" Skye replied with a small smile. "A few bruised ribs...nothing major."

Coulson was about to argue, when he heard a small knock at the door. Fitz poked his head in. "May is, um, awake." he announced with difficulty. "She's a-asking for you Sk-Skye."

Skye quickly moved toward the door. "Okay, I'll go stay with her" she said.

"Me too" Coulson added, but Skye shook her head. "Give her some space, A.C." she told him gently. "If she's up for it, I'll text you to come by."

"Okay," Coulson agreed sadly. "Give her my best."

"I will."