So this is it folks! It's kind of a short chapter, just to wrap things up. I'll be posting my next Bahrain story soon...ish. I'm leaving for college later this week (aaaaaah!), so hopefully I'll be able to post it before then!

As always, enjoy, and don't forget to review! :)

Skye approached the sofa where May was laying with her eyes shut. Skye bit her lip to hold back tears; she had never seen her S.O. looking so small or vulnerable. Skye knelt down next to the couch and gently took May's hand in her own.

May opened her eyes and gave Skye a faint smile. "Hey," she murmured.

"Hi," Skye replied softly. "Are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" May asked as tears filled her eyes. "You almost died, Skye! I thought I'd lost you."

"I know" Skye whispered tearfully resting her head on May's shoulder.

"Does Coulson know?" May asked fearfully. "About what I did to Katya...what I did to you?"

"Yes, but -"

"Then why are you here?" May asked, her voice nearly inaudible. "I can't believe you even want to be near me after everything I've done. Clearly Coulson doesn't!"

"Of course I want to be near you!" Skye replied incredulously. "Why wouldn't I?...you've done nothing wrong."

"I killed a child, Skye!" May snapped angrily, and Skye lifted her head from May's shoulder. "And I nearly killed you! I'm a monster."

May bowed her head in shame as Skye gaped at her. "You're not a monster, May. How could you even think that?" She squeezed May's hand empathetically. "You made a tough call, and saved countless innocent lives. You're a hero."

May just shook her head. She didn't believe Skye...the girl was lying to her, she had to be.

Skye frowned at May's stubbornness. She grasped both of May's hands tightly in her own. "Look at me," she commanded. May slowly lifted her eyes to meet Skye's. "It's thanks to you that we're all alive. You made the right call to save Jena, because you've taught me well enough to save myself."

May looked at Skye in confusion and disbelief. "You don't think I'm a monster?" she asked softly.

Skye gave her a gentle smile. "You're not a monster, May. You're a mother...to all of us." Her eyes filled with tears as she saw May shut her eyes tightly, holding onto the moment. "Mothers protect people, May. They love and protect, and make sacrifices."

May smiled at Skye, a soft, genuine smile. "Thank you," she whispered. "I'm really going to miss you, Skye."

Skye dropped May's hands in surprise. "What?" she cried. "Where are you going?"

"I'm retiring...for good, this time." May gently brushed a strand of Skye's hair out of her face. "As you just said, you know how to save yourself...you don't need me."

Skye shook her head fervently and was about to argue, when a male voice cut her off. "She may not need you, Melinda, but I do."

"Coulson," May murmured as he approached the sofa and knelt down next to her. She looked away, afraid of him, of what he might think of her after learning the truth about Bahrain. And for nearly getting Skye killed...Coulson loved Skye like a daughter, and he would never forgive her for endangering her. She braced herself for his condemnation.

"I am so sorry, Mel" he apologized, his eyes begging her for forgiveness. "I never should've sent you in there. Please don't leave us."

May finally looked into his eyes, and didn't see a single trace of anger or disgust for what she had done in Bahrain. His eyes only held concern, sorrow, and something deeper and more personal that she didn't quite understand, but knew she wanted to.

May looked at the two people kneeling before her, two of the people she loved most in the world, and something deep inside her gave in.

"Okay."