AN: As always I want to thank my Beta MegaDiary123 for correcting this chapter. I won't keep you long for the story. I just want to say that I got this review from a Guest who asked me not to stop this story. First of, thank you very much. Also, I find it very annoying when stories that I like stop in the middle of the plot with no explanation and I will try my best to finish this story for all of you who support it. Thank you for reading and feel free to PM or review.

All rights go to Marvel

Skye's POV

When I came into consciousness I found it very difficult to open my eyes. It was like my eyelashes were made out of lead. Breathing wasn't an easier task either. I slowly started making notice of the space around me. There was something under my nose and there was a beeping sound somewhere to my right. I tried to remember what happened, how I got there or even where I was, but everything was foggy.

Without meaning to, I started panicking. The beeping sound began to speed up rapidly, in accordance to the quick and shallow breaths that I was taking. I felt a hand grip my own and I wanted to flinch at the touch but felt too weak to do so. With great difficulty, I started opening my eyes, letting a bright white light hit my irises. I had to close and open my eyes a lot of times before I adjusted enough to the lighting of the room to be able to fully open them and keep them like that.

I looked around the unknown room. Nothing, absolutely nothing looked familiar and that made my panic only grow even further. My uneasiness lead me to take even shallower breaths, making a hissing sound.

Something squeezed my left hand and only then I remembered that someone was gripping it. I turned my head and was met with a red-head with wide eyes studying my face. I could see her lips moving, as if forming words but the sound seemed to escape my ears.

It took some time, but I started registering some sounds in the form of words and the soft voice of the woman seemed to calm me down a bit. But then there was another hand on my right shoulder and my head snapped to the direction of whoever was touching it. I didn't know where I found the energy, but I somehow managed to move slightly away from the Asian woman's hand.

"Why don't you leave this to me, May?" I turned once more and looked at the red-headed. She seemed to like my reaction and she smiled at me, though I never returned the gesture.

"I'll be right outside if you need me" the Asian woman, May, said and left the two of us alone.

"Hey, sweetie, can you hear me?", I nodded ever so slightly, but it was enough for her to understand. I felt more pressure in my hand, in her try to calm me down. "It's okay, you're safe. Everything is all right" the smile never leaving her face. "Try to match your breaths with mine, it will help you calm down" I heard her say after she figured that I was still upset. After several tries, the beeping sound was slowed down in a steady pattern. "That's it, you're okay" she said once more to reassure me.

"Can you tell me your name, sweetie?"

I took some time to answer before a name came through the fog in my mind. "Skye" I said, and my voice came hoarse. I tried to understand how come and this happened, but couldn't think of a particular reason why that would be.

"Hey Skye, my name is Natasha. You can call me Nat to Tasha if you want" she moved her seat even closer to my head. She seemed nice. "Now, can you tell me what you remember?"

What I remembered? Now that was a good question. I looked at her and searched her face as if that would give me some answers, any answers at all. But there was nothing. I blinked several times, my eyes moving from one place to another never focusing anywhere in particular as I tried to search in my mind for some clue as to what had happened. Or who I was, for that matter. Apart from my name every memory that I was getting close to catching seemed to slip right through my finger.

My mind was blank and couldn't remember a thing. I was coming up, completely, empty.

My eyes snapped open and I sat up on my bed. My chest was moving rapidly because of my uneven breaths. I moved my hand to wipe away the sweat that I knew had formed in my forehead. My hand briefly brushing at the scar on my left eyebrow. Finding myself unable to calm down, I knew that sleep wouldn't find me again anytime soon.

I opened my computer and checked the time. It was only 3 a.m.

I couldn't call Nat and I was sure not to gonna call any of the others, not yet at least. It was too soon, and I needed answers. I looked at the sleeping form curled up on the bed across from me. With a heavy sigh, I quietly changed into my workout clothes, picked up a bag and my water bottle and headed to the gym always careful not to wake Simmons up my bumping anywhere on my way out.

It was the fourth night in a row that I have had that nightmare. And I knew from experience that I would have it every day for another week, the least. The same happened every year, only for the last four years I had Natasha there with me. But since I was training to be an agent now, I didn't have that luxury.

My thoughts kept going on and on and I lost track of time. Tai Chi didn't seem to work that morning and I needed to let out some steam. So, the boxing bag that was in front of me had taken all of my anger and frustration.

I heard the door of the gym open and close. I didn't pay any attention to it until I heard it being locked. "Ward, leave. I'm not gonna say that a second time" my eyes never leaving the bag. I really didn't have the energy to deal with him and my state of mind wasn't the best one either. I didn't hear the steps when they closed in and only felt the presence of someone next to me when a hand landed on my shoulder.

It was pure reflex when I spun around, shoved the hand off me and made a move to kick Ward on the chest. However, before I knew what happened, I was pinned down, my head hitting the hard floor making me blink several times trying to understand what had just occurred.

"I am not Ward, Skye" a voice came from above me and I forced myself to focus on the face of the woman speaking. "You should really try to pay more attention to your surroundings no matter where you are or what you do".

I took the hand Hill extended my way and she helped me up. "I'm sorry, ma'am. I'll keep that in mind" I said with a straight face to my teacher.

I moved to go back to the bag her hand found again its way on my shoulder. "You should stop. You've been up here for three hours already" her words make me take a step back. "What? This is an Academy for spies, do you think that I wouldn't know what's going on with my students?" She did have a point there. Without stopping she came closer and I had to force myself not to move further back. "Plus, Melinda May was my former S.O." she whispered to my ear and giggled when she stepped away.

"What do you know?", was the question that left my mouth before I even processed what I was asking. My eyes narrowed slightly, a habit I had taken up from Natasha.

"You see, I couldn't help but recognise some of your moves in the first couples of weeks of our training sessions. They seemed so familiar and yet I couldn't quite place where I had seen them before" she was slowly moving around me and stopped dead at her tracks right on my back. "And that's when it hit me, very early in a morning when I couldn't sleep and decided to come in observation room of the gym" her eyes pointing at the one-way glass wall of the room. "And that's when I saw you Tai Chi and the all the dots connected". Though her eyes were still looking there, I had no doubt that her full attention was on me.

"I know you hold back in my class" she started moving once again. "Having been trained not only by Melinda May, but Natasha Romanoff as well? People can only wish to be so lucky as you".

I could tell that she wanted to say more, but I couldn't help but answer back. "You call that me being lucky?" I snorted.

"But no matter how much of a ready agent you think you are on the field, there are other things that you learn here as well" she continued as if I never spoke."Things like espionage and manipulation that you need to learn and you know it. Not that much of the basic hacking skills that we teach, since you're an expert already at that" she just kept getting under my skin more and more. "So, here you are, acing the other lessons by giving them your all and holding back here, so that you won't be too far ahead of the others and stand out way too much".

"What do you want?" I changed the first question that I made to her.

"I want you not to hold back" she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "And since your birthday is coming up I guess that you would need to punch something else other than a bag" she pointed to the beaten up boxing bag that would fall apart any moment now. "To try and punch someone that can fight back and stand their ground against you".

The quiet challenge hanged on the air. I thought about it for a minute. The door was closed and locked, maybe there were other teachers looking through the glass, but I couldn't care at the moment, and she was right. I was holding back and I wanted to truly find out where I was with my training, because if I had not improved and word went out about it, Nat would have my head.

And, hell, who was I to disappoint Hill if she wanted to go toe-to-toe with me?

I looked at her with my endeavour changing to complete concentration. I hadn't really used that much concentration on the class, and the abrupt change made her take a step back. Good, at least she knew I wasn't messing around. After she made it obvious that she wouldn't make the first move, I attacked.

I made a quick left jab, followed by a right kick aimed to her ribs. She swiftly grabbed my ankle, pulled me towards her and used her elbow to land a blow to my cheek. I could have blocked it but had a better idea in mind.

Once the elbow made contact with my face, I let my head fall closer to the ground. In one swift movement, and with my right leg still trapped at her ribcage, my hands touched the ground and I twisted as hard as I could. My hands were the only reason I wasn't falling to the ground and I used all the strength I could find to whirl around.

My left foot aimed for her head, but she managed to block it with her arm at the last moment. But the block didn't diminish my speed or strength and she was sent to the ground. She tried pulling me with her by keeping her hold on my ankle firm. But that only served to helping me stand on top of her. Unfortunately, this was one of the weakest positions I could be in.

Hill didn't let it go to waste and I was soon tackle to the ground. She was having me pinned down, chest on the ground and hand twisted in an unnatural way behind my back.

"Is that all you got?" She mocked me, whispering to my ear. "I was expecting more from you Skye".

"Who said that I was finished?" I managed to say through greeted teeth. She made the wrong move to loosen her grip on my hand slightly, and this was the mistake I was waiting for.

I lifted my head hard and hit her nose, making her stumbled back. I was on my feet at once. I had to get to her before she got her head back in the game. So, I run up to her, and started throwing punches and kicks. She wasn't an easy target to try and choke, so I would first have to tire her out.

We kept going like that, back and forth with both of us landing and receiving a fair amount of hits.

At one point I made a hook to her head and she ducked to dodge it. Her hands gripped my shoulders and was about to land a knee on my ribs, but I was faster. I grabbed the neck of her shirt, rolled backwards and kicked her straight to the chest and making her roll with me.

I had her pinned on the ground under me, with my fist raised ready for a blow to the head. But it never came. I was about to let my hand fall on my lap with the hand on her shirt relaxing when somehow her legs found their way around my neck, stopping every try for air to reach my lungs.

I tried getting out of her hold but couldn't find a way out. I saw black dots forming at the edges of my vision and I tapped her leg, making them unwrap. I gulped down mouthfuls of air but remained to the ground, sweat all over me.

"Not bad" she said while holding a hand out for me to take. I reluctantly did so and was on my feet once more. "But once I'm pinned you should try for the finishing blow. Why did you hesitate? Out there you won't have that luxury"

"You want full 'Mortal Kombat'?" I managed to say through my panting.

"I told you I didn't want you to hold back. You holding back won't do you any good" Hill said, her teaching tone evident once more.

"Honestly? I didn't wanna hurt you" she looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Or at least try to hurt you, ok? It hasn't been the best week and I'm constantly on the verge of…" I looked back at her trying to read her look and I got nothing "…I don't know" I concluded shaking my head. A statement which was kinda true.

"I know that this Sunday is a hard day on you. Also, I've watched you beat yourself up for the last few days since morning time. I'm guessing nightmares?" The look on my face must have said enough because she explained. "Once I figured that May trained you I contacted her. She told me some stuff that I should know and in exchange I'm telling her how you've been doing here. You don't talk much to her, do you?" When I didn't reply she just shook her head. "She is just worried, and because of that she informed me about the 27th of March. So, I'm ordering you to take the rest of the week off".

I opened my mouth to object but didn't even manage to from a sound before I was cut off. "No buts. It's not pity or an option you have a saying in. It's an order, cadet Skye" her using 'cadet' caught me off guard and made her decision final. I went to grab my bag as Hill went to open the door.

She waited for me to pass her and she placed a hand on my shoulder. I brushed her hand off me and turned to look at her, not hardly just indifferent with a hint of irritation. Her sweet smile made me feel uneasy, as if exposed.

"You've worked very hard since the day you came here. Please, don't let it all go to waste because we both know you'll make a great agent and graduate earlier than usual. When I told you to rest, I meant it. It is important to let our bodies rest if we want to be physically and mentally in top shape and if you continue to tire yourself to sleep this will never happen" and just like that she left to the opposite side of where I was headed.

I was in my room soon after, my head a wild mess and with a great desire for sleep that I knew wouldn't come.

I had completely forgotten about the way I must have looked from the sparring with Hill, because when I walked in to find Simmons she gasped at me. She slowly came closer and placed a hand on a cut on my cheek and I involuntary flinched away.

Simmons' scolding face made its appearance and she all but dragged me to the bathroom we shared so that she would clean up my wounds. After deciding that she couldn't work with me being sweaty and all, she left me to take a shower and she said that she would patch me up later.

I could hear her through the door talking to Fitz and asking him to inform their teachers that she wouldn't be able to attend to today's lessons because she was feeling sick.

Wow, I thought to myself. Simmons is always following the rules, it makes her feel nice as she had mentioned more than once. She must have been really worried. I didn't even bother looking at the mirror before exiting the bathroom. I knew that I looked like shit because, honestly, I was feeling the same way.

I found Simmons on her bed, and with the first aid kit that she kept at the room open next to her. She was focusing so hard on finding whatever she was looking for that she made this really cute grimace with her face. When she turned to look at me all serious, I knew I was in trouble.

"What happened?" She started her questioning easy and I was sure that the questions would only get harder as time moved on.

"I might or might not had a sparring match without equipment against Hill? I know what you're gonna say but it was her idea" I protested before she even got the chance to reply. I sat next to her and she proceeded checking my now clean wounds.

"Why would Hill ask you to fight her? She's a full badged agent and you're just her student. And why would you spar with her so early in the morning? What happened to starting your day calmly with Tai Chi?" Her tone was a serious quiet. "Why do you have to hurt yourself?" She said, and the sound barely left her mouth, as if she was talking to herself. But I managed to catch it up.

"Tai Chi wasn't helping and I've been hitting the boxing bag for a few days now. Hill found out and thought that going against her would be better because no-one in my group is in my level yet".

"The few days that you've been having nightmares and have been avoiding me almost all day long?" Her tone made me feel ashamed, realising how hurt she was from my behaviour. "I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong, you know that, right?". Her eyes bore into mine, those brown pools full of emotion.

She made her way to my torso, which was more or less turning blue from the bruising. I could see her pleading me to go to Med Bay for a check, but I just shook my head. She was more than capable to treat my wounds and I didn't want word to get out about my injuries. "Well, a part of my problem is that my birthday is coming up".

"And I'm guessing that's a bad thing?" She asked raising an eyebrow after hearing how much hate I put in the word.

"It's not really my birthday though…" I whispered, but made sure it was loud enough for Simmons to hear. She momentarily stopped bandaging my ribs, but continued her work as if she never paused.

"Is it like your sister isn't really your sister?", this comment should have taken me by surprise but I had long learned that she was a great listener and could see beyond the context of what was told. So, I just nodded, unable to form words. "When is your birthday?" Finally, the million dollar question was asked.

"The thing is, I don't know. All I know is that I don't remember who I was before 5 years ago".