A/N: I got to working on this a little late, and my muse was slightly beaten down by what more the writers of the show could potentially think up to ruin it even more. I've put a little more insight into what Skye went through under Simmons' ministrations, and Grant gives some life changing advice.

Thank you to changingdestiny40 and annavale23 for your reviews! :)

Kara pulled the sedan over into a rural petrol station, and both her and Grant got out of the vehicle immediately. Grant moved to fill up the tank, while Kara drifted inside, looking for cheap snacks. Skye made a dramatic, slow display of getting out of the car then stretched in a starfish shape.

"What are you doing?"

Skye spun around until she faced Grant, wincing as a muscle twinged. "Stretching. I would've thought that you could figure that much out. I've been sitting in that seat for hours."

Grant looked away for a moment as he shifted his feet. "How are you feeling? I should've asked earlier."

"Better." She replied, crossing her arms and leaning on them on the roof of the car. "Sleeping helped, but…my muscles still burn if I move them quickly or too much."

His gaze bore into hers, trying to gauge what she was thinking.

"What?" she asked.

"Were your muscles burning before you came to us?" he asked gently, uneasy about broaching the topic.

Skye was silent for a moment. "Yeah, they were." she whispered. "What…Simmons did to me was, um…" she took a deep breath. "It set my blood on fire. At least, that's what it felt like."

Grant was sure that his face was covered in horrified shock, and it took him several seconds to get it under control. "You…you didn't mention burning when you found us."

Skye looked away, scared of saying something that could send him away, but knowing that he deserved to know is what prompted her to answer him. "It had been a week since the – since Simmons, and it had died down from what it originally was. Any nightmare or dream that revolves around that reignites the pain." She shrugged as though it was nothing important. "It feels like I've been injected again."

"Injected?" Grant repeated. When Skye froze, he hurriedly tried to find something else to talk about. "So the pain, that's why you hold your head?"

"I didn't realise that was so noticeable." She murmured to herself.

"Skye?" he asked, brows pinched in confusion and concern.

"Nothing." She replied, shrugging it off. "Are you done?" she nodded towards the nozzle.

"Nearly." He said, still worried. Deciding that the tank was full enough, he pulled the nozzle out of the tank and placed it back on its hook. "Kara, you can pay for it now!" he called to the woman in the shop. He received a thumbs up in return.

Walking around the car, Grant approached Skye slowly. "Skye, I know I've said this before, and I think you know that I was telling the truth then as well. But we won't judge you for what someone else thinks of you."

"But I'm a monster!" she insisted, her expression pained.

"For a long time, you thought I was a monster. It's just a perspective, that's all. And it definitely does not make it fact."