THIS IS THE THIRD TIME IV'E HAD TO RE UPLOAD THIS BECAUSE IM A NOOB. I've been on this website for a while now and I still don't understand it. Ridiculous.

This chapter is longer and it was more difficult, but don't worry I'VE STARTED CHAPTER 3. Ah, yes, I'm winning at life. Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time, it's great to hear your lovely thoughts about something that probably isn't even that good but oh well. SO THANK YOU AND ENJOY THIS CHAPTER :)

-L x

"Barton, Romanoff, it's nice to see you," Coulson beamed at the new arrivals. He could see the corners of May's lips curving upwards in his peripheral vision.

"It's nice to see you alive, Coulson," Natasha smirked, "Tahiti get boring in the end?"

"It's kind of a long story. Come, I'll show you around."

The four entered the facility, where it was time for a game of catch up.

"I heard you were back in the field, May," the archer recalled, "Honestly, I thought it was one of those rumors the junior agents like to spread around."

"You can take the girl out of the field, but you can't take the field out of the girl," she quipped back, "and initially I was only meant to be the pilot."

Coulson looked over to Natasha and Clint. "Our team went through some... rough patches. There was a HYDRA agent, one has brain damage, another turned out to be inhuman, I lost my hand," he lifted his arm up a bit, "and we currently have someone, um... Stuck in an alien artifact."

The looks he got in return were shock ridden. Only then, when he put it like that, did he realise how much shit his team had gone through.

"Shit, Coulson," Clint winced.

"They're good kids though- well beside the HYDRA agent. Don't mention him, by the way, it's a sensitive subject."

"Who was it?" Natasha asked.

He sighed, long and deep. "Grant Ward, specialist. Two of our team were in a med pod, and he dropped them straight into the ocean from the plane. Like I said, left one of them with brain damage."

A disgusted look crossed over Natasha's features. "I've never liked Ward. Word spread that he was getting up to my standards-"

"Not even close," May cut in.

By the time they'd caught up on each other's lives, the quartet had made it to Fitz's lab. Mack was currently with him, but it looked like he had given up on making conversation a while ago.

May opened the doors and the four walked in, raising Mack's attention, but not Fitz's.

"I didn't know Strike Team: Delta were coming here. It's good to see you're not Hydra scum," Mack pushed himself off the lab top and made his way over to them.

The mention of Strike Team: Delta made Fitz lift his head, his lips parting a little in shock when he realised who he was looking at.

"This is Leo Fitz, one of the scientists that was on my team," Coulson introduced, praying that neither of them mentioned his missing half. Or his brain damage.

Fitz gave them a nod of acknowledgement and carried on with whatever he was doing.

"It's good to see you're not Hydra scum either, Mack. Who else ex-S.H.I.E.L.D do we have here?" Natasha retorted.

"We have Bobbi Morse, and you've probably heard the name Lance Hunter."

"Jemma Simmons," Fitz muttered.

Natasha and Clint sent Coulson wary looks, and he shook his head slightly as a warning.

Coulson went to clap his hands together, but realised he only had one, so he cleared his throat. "Well, let's find Bobbi and Skye. I hope your work is going well, Fitz."

"Thank you, sir."

May left after that to check on the security, so it was just Coulson, Natasha and Clint.

"Jemma Simmons is the one who's currently missing. No one understands what happened, we've got it on tape and everything," Coulson explained once out of earshot, "I take it you've heard of Fitzsimmons?"

"Hasn't everyone?" Clint rubbed his chin, as if he was in deep thought, "engineering and biochem, right?"

"You got it. Those were the two that Ward dropped out of the plane. Bastard."

Natasha shook her head, her red curls bouncing on her shoulders. "You think you know people."

Bobbi sat cross legged on her hospital bed- she'd gotten so used to it she claimed it as her own now- and fiddled with the ends of her hair. She wore her favourite Star Wars tee and a pair of black leggings.

"I had my last operation a week ago," she huffed, "I don't know why they still have to keep me here."

Skye raised an eyebrow. "You were subjected to torture and then shot in the chest. They're gonna keep you in until they're sure you can run a mile without breaking a sweat."

Hunter shifted in the chair he'd brought in from outside, adjusting his slouch. "Also, you have a history of letting on that you're better than you actually are. But I think that's a S.H.I.E.L.D Agent trait."

"You should've seen me after Ian Quinn shot me twice in the stomach," Skye recalled, a little unpleasantly, "Simmons wouldn't even let me leave the hospital bed. I'd stick my legs over the side and bam- there she was, ordering me to stay put."

"You were shot by Ian Quinn?"

She nodded, a bit arrogantly. But before she could say anything she was, somewhat rudely, interrupted.

"It wasn't pleasant. That was one of the scariest moments I've ever experienced- and I've been stabbed by an Asgardian then brought back to life," Coulson was at the door, smiling at the trio, "We have new arrivals. Hunter, Skye, I'd like you to meet Agents Barton and Romanoff. Bobbi, I believe you already know them."

There was a new light in the blonde's eyes, and a smile quickly spread across her face.

"You bet I do! I haven't seen you two in ages!" She got up and, as quickly as she could, engulfed the red head in a hug. She gave one to the man too, but not for quite as long.

Meanwhile, Hunter sat there in utter shock- they were Avengers, after all- and Skye had donned a very confused look. The two looked vaguely familiar to her, but she couldn't quite pin point where from.

The other woman laughed. "Bobbi Morse, what have you gotten yourself into now? Please tell me you haven't been taking bullets for people again."

The man squinted his eyes at her. "She almost definitely has. I thought after Paris you'd stop doing that? You said you would!"

Bobbi tilted her head to the side, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well, I'm alive, aren't I?"

"Barely," Hunter added.

"I'm sorry to interrupt this- this," Coulson gestured to the three agents, waving his arms around, "Whatever this is. But Barton and Romanoff have to be debriefed."

The red head winked at Bobbi. "Don't worry, I'll be back for a proper catch up."

Once they'd left, Hunter turned on Bobbi, a mix of shock and incredulity on his face. "You never said you were friends with Avengers!"

"It never came up," she shrugged.

A realisation passed over Skye, and she looked slightly horrified with herself. "Oh," she breathed, "that's why they looked familiar." Once she had regained herself, she asked, "Black Widow and Hawkeye?"

Bobbi nodded, while Hunter just shook his head.

"What, have you been living in the back of a van for the past three years?"

Skye opened her mouth to retort, but then she realised that that was precisely what she had been doing. "Actually- yes. And it was a really nice van."

Later on in the day, somewhere around seven in the evening, everyone had grouped together. Pizza had been bought, and there was a calm demeanor in the room, something that hadn't been evident in the passing weeks. Skye and Mack shared a pleasing look when they saw that Fitz was finally eating. It looked like a normal scene; Bobbi, Natasha and Clint chatted animatedly between them; Hunter stayed a little further back, keeping his eyes trained on Bobbi; Mack and Fitz discussed something quietly with May and Coulson; Lincoln and Skye sat in comfortable silence next to each other. Of course, there was a Jemma shaped hole missing in their gathering, and the absence of her soft accent and warm smile was greatly missed.

There was a noise that sounded like a glass being chinked, and the conversation immediately died out, everyone turning their heads to focus on Coulson.

"Wow, that didn't take as long as I expected," he remarked, then quickly gained his thoughts again, "so, as you all know, we have new guests. This is a big step in rebuilding S.H.I.E.L.D, and we should take this as a sign that we are heading in the right direction. Once we get Simmons back, we'll start doing what we do best- saving the world."

And he sounded so hopeful that he almost convinced everyone that they would be able to recover her.

Almost.

The next morning, Skye found herself standing just outside the lab, watching Fitz fumble around with a newfound energy, which she took as a good sign. She couldn't say how long she'd been standing there, and it wasn't until a velvety voice spoke from behind her that she realised time had passed.

"He's determined."

Skye turned around and found herself looking straight at Agent Romanoff. Feeling a little overwhelmed, a small laugh escaped her lips.

"Yeah, that's Fitz. Most determined one here- well, aside from Simmons."

The red head came to stand next her. "Natasha, by the way. It's Skye, right?"

"That's me. Some people call me Quake, but that seems to be more of a pet name," she stole a split second glance at Natasha, whom was looking at Fitz with curiosity, "I know he may seem like he's unapproachable and reclusive, but he's one of the best people I know. He's just... Simmons is his everything, and he just wants her back. We all do."

Natasha raised an eyebrow elegantly. "Are they-?"

"Dating?" Skye cut in, "Honestly, I don't know. All I know is that they both have feelings for each other. And they're perfect together."

A smile appeared on Natasha's face. "I never spoke or even saw them when S.H.I.E.L.D was still standing. Obviously, operations and sciences don't mix. You still knew who they were though."

Part of Skye would have loved to see them before they went into the field. But, then again, she loved them for who they are now, and she felt like she didn't need to know what they were like before.

"So," Skye starts, in the mood for striking up a conversation, "are you from the academy like the others?"

She let out a low chuckle. "No, no. Clint and I are both special cases. We didn't go to the academy."

"Oh, me neither. They picked me up off the streets- literally. It's weird to think that not so long ago I was in the back of a van, working with The Rising Tide against S.H.I.E.L.D."

Natasha smiled at her, then looked to the ground, smirking a little. "I should probably go and train with Clint, but it was good talking to you."

Just as she turned to leave, Skye replied, "it was good talking to you too," then turned her attention back to the engineer, who was working furiously now.

Skye decided to sit in the lab, in her usual position on one of the countertops. She was only there for a short while before Fitz broke the silence.

As soon as he shouted out, she spun around to face the rock. It's surface rippled, but it didn't collapse into liquid like usual. Fitz stood still in shock, the device in his hand crashing to the floor.

Simmons lay unmoving at the base of the rock.