A/N: Hey guys! Another update :) Skye starts to open up to Grant about what happened to her back at S.H.I.E.L.D., and there's some fluff tied in as well :3

Thank you to Maddison1803, annavale23 and changingdestiny40 for your reviews! :) Keep 'em coming!

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DISCLAIMER: I only own this story.

Skye woke with a gasp and an automatic reaction of trying to scramble away. Grants arms around her waist prevented her from getting too far, but the silent, warm strength in them offered her the comfort she needed. She slowly regulated her breathing, calming her racing heart as she tried to make out Grant's face in the dim pre-dawn light, streaming through the uncovered window that bordered the ceiling.

"Grant." She hissed, keeping her voice low so as not to wake Kara and Bakshi. "Grant. Wake up." Getting no more of a response than a faint hum, Skye tried shaking him, some of her insecurities leaking through into her voice. "Grant, please. Wake up."

That finally seemed to beget a decent response. Grant shifted and his eyelids fluttered, a low groan escaping his lips. An urge came over Skye that she couldn't quite quell, and biting her bottom lip, she traced the first two fingers of her left hand over Grant's lips. His eyes opened now, and Skye's gaze flicked up quickly to meet his.

"Skye?" he asked throatily, his voice husky with the dregs of sleep. Skye thought that she found the sound much more attractive than she needed to. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I guess." She answered slowly after a beat, looking down at her hands, which were now entwined. "It's just…" she trailed off with a sigh.

"Bad dream?" he asked quietly, like he even knew what it was about. Skye nodded without meeting his gaze, instead feeling it roaming over her face, as though it were searching for answers. When several moments went by without her giving much more of an answer, he thought he'd breach the subject. "Do you want to talk about it?" Skye's gaze drifted upwards a little, and then she shook her head. Grant closed his eyes and pursed his lips, frustrated at the lack of information she was giving him to help her, but he would respect her decision. Skye's next words brought a surge of hope to his heart.

"I don't want to talk about what they…did to me. But…I don't want it to sit on my chest like some burden, either." When she didn't elaborate, he tried pushing further.

"You don't have to let it all out at once." Grant felt perhaps a bit too triumphant when she finally allowed eye contact. "Just little bits at a time. Whatever you feel like sharing, and whenever you feel comfortable."

Skye's eyes were alight with hope and gratitude, a small smile dancing on her lips. Grant's eyes flickered down to watch them momentarily. He swallowed, tamping down the desire to kiss them and focused on her face, which bespoke an ethereal beauty in the early dawn glow.

"I, um…in the car, when I woke up crying," Skye took a deep breath to calm her pulse, which was starting to race out of control again. She continued again with a quiet, almost emotional voice, as though she was reciting the experiences of someone else. "I dreamt I was in the lab at The Playground. I didn't want to be there. Simmons insisted that she needed to run tests to find out more about what I'd become, only…she'd run tests before. Taking blood samples like she did after I was injected with GH325. MRI scans. Full physical. I remember vividly her saying that she was nearly finished with 'fixing me', as she put it." This last sentence was said bitterly, and it was all Grant could do to keep himself from showing his anger. "I was so exhausted from the last several weeks of trying to control my powers, I agreed. I was so desperate. I kept hurting myself, trying to rein it in.

"Anyway, it wasn't just Simmons and Fitz in the lab, or even them and the other S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists. Foot soldiers guarded the exits, and Coulson–" Skye's voice broke off with a choked sob as she said the older man's name. She felt Grant's arms tense around her and saw the burning fury in his eyes, even as he tried to keep his face impassive. Gently, she raised her left hand to his face and placed it on his cheek, rubbing her thumb soothingly over his stubble. Patiently, Skye waited for him to relax before continuing. "Coulson was waiting in there with that…blank calmness of his. To be honest, that scared me more than Simmons."

That caught Grant's attention more than anything else. "Simmons?"