ΑΝ.1: Hello there. As always many thanks to MegaDiary123 for being the awesome Beta they are. A slightly bigger chapter for you all for this special day (another AN with more explanation will follow at the end). Until then...

All rights go to Marvel

Skye's POV

"Come in"

I opened the door to Coulson's office and peeked inside as he lifted his head from the papers in front of him and gazed in my direction. "If this is a bad time I can come back later" I told him.

"No, no it's okay" he replied, shuffled the papers in his hands and then placed them in a drawer. "What can I do for you agent Skye?"

I smiled inside with the small victory of him calling me by my name. Well, at least calling me partially by my name. True, we would spend a lot of hours contained in the same airplane, so it would be really awkward if he called me 'Agent' all the time. But despite my logic telling me that it was for pure convenience, it brightened, even a little, my really bad day. "Since you debriefed me on the way here, and since I am guessing that we don't have any new missions at the moment, would it be okay with you if I spend the night at a friend's? I know we are flying to New York at the moment. I have been undercover for many months and haven't had the chance to let them know of what was going on…" I had started rambling without even realising it. "And since I will be living here from now on I thought it would be nice to give them a heads up so they don't worry. I can always stay here if you want me to or I can–"

I stopped talking when I heard Coulson laughing. A really large smile was plastered on his face and he stood up, walked around his office and came to a stop in front of me. He placed his hand on my good shoulder and patted me a couple of times.

"That's completely fine by me. I understand that you haven't really seen anyone and after all, Simmons has informed me that you are in light duty for the next week as well. As long as you don't do anything to strenuous I don't see why you would have to stay here and not only for a day. So, when we reach New York feel free to meet with whoever you want. I don't need to remind you that everything we do here is classified. I will call you as soon as we have a new mission. Just keep your phone on you the whole time, will you?" And with a nod he turned around and walked back towards his office.

His behaviour towards me was so different from how it was ever since we met that I had to shake my head to get out of the trance that I found myself in. "Sir" I called and he turned around to face me.

I took a deep breath and walked up to him. "I know that we didn't start off in the best way possible and I can only apologise if my actions have created mistrust between us". There was no better time to tackle this subject than the present. "If it is okay with you, I would like to start over" I genuinely said and tilted the corners of my mouth ever so slightly.

He smiled back. "I know we did. This is partially my fault as well, I have to admit"

"Oh please sir, you don't have to–" I started but didn't get to continue.

"Let me finish" he interrupted as he raised his palm. "I was wrong to judge you so early on. We did meet in a very unconventional way but it doesn't excuse my behaviour towards you. Starting over would be something that I would like to do as well. After all, Maria Hill guaranteed for you and her word means a lot to me. So tell you what will happen. Unless you betray it, starting from now, you have my trust and I would hate for you to break it. After all, I got a second chance. Seems only fair I extend the same opportunity to others" and with that he extended his hand for me to shake, which I did without even thinking about it.

My mind was stuck on how he spoke about his second chance, talking about it as if it was nothing. "For what it's worth, I am really sorry for what happened before the Battle of New York" I felt like I owed him an apology.

As he had no idea about the true intentions of my apology he was quick to dismiss it. "It's not your fault. The only one to blame is Loki" he said as he retreated back to his desk. "I will let you know if we get a new assignment, until then enjoy yourself in New York"

I took that as my cue to leave and I did just that. I could feel a combination of very unpleasant feelings, that I had locked away long ago, start spreading through my chest. I laid my head back on the wall and closed my eyes as I took a few deep breaths to compose myself. If Jemma saw me like that she would ask questions and I wanted to get off this plane as soon as possible.

It took me a couple of minutes before I found the courage to let Jemma know I was going to go away for at least one night. My classic mask took its place on my face as I straightened my back and headed to the lab. In my emotional turmoil I forgot to check my vibrational mind map for anyone else other than Jemma. Otherwise I would have noticed the cockpit door being open and May watching as I gathered myself and then walking away.

I had called ahead, so as soon as we landed there was a car waiting for me to take me to my destination.

I had already unpacked anything that I needed from the van and had placed them in my living quarters. I knew that I wasn't spending the night and I didn't want to leave anything too personal or of value in the Bus, but was also aware that I had clothes and anything I wanted in the place that I was heading to. So I only packed a bag with my laptop, the hula girl and anything else I deemed necessary, as well as the case which had my gauntlets stored inside. After all, you never know what could happen.

I made sure to lock my bunk before I left. I had already played around with the security system which locked my door and added a few parameters to gaining access. I didn't want to have anyone, *cough* Ward *cough*, looking around my stuff.

Jemma wasn't too pleased when I told her I was going, she thought that we would have some time to catch up before our next mission. But after I told her that we would be basically living together she couldn't argue. And after all we only had Fitz's bunk in between ours, so it was not like she was on the other side of the Bus. Like that would be some great distance, but whatever.

My thoughts were interrupted by the car slowing down and I peeked outside the window.

Jesus, I mentally sighed. Don't these people have anything better to do?

I was really happy that the windows of the car were tinted at the moment. If not, I was sure that there would be so many photographs of me in the morning papers and all over the internet.

We eventually managed to pass the reporters with the help of the building's security and we parked on the underground parking. The driver was quick to exit the vehicle and came around to open the door for me. As soon as I was out he went to the trunk and was about to pick up my bags.

"That's okay, I will take it from here" I said and he didn't argue. So with the bag thrown over my good shoulder and the case in my hand I made my way to the elevator.

"Welcome back Ms. Skye" a very familiar English accent filled the air.

"It's nice to be back Jar" I smiled at the camera of the metal box that I was in as we ascended. "And seriously now, 'Ms. Skye'? I haven't heard you calling me that since the very first time I started working for Tony. Did he change your programming while I was away?"

"A lot have happened from the last time you were here and since Mr. Stark relocated himself here" the A.I. replied. "My protocols have been renewed. As you were not here when that happened, I am referencing how I called you when you first arrived here"

That's right. Both Tony and Pepper had gone through quite the ordeal not long after I left. And I could do nothing but watch the development in the news as the Malibu mansion exploded. I gulped, wondering in what stated I would find the two of them. Tony had PTSD after the Chitauri Invasion but as he and Pepper spend more of their time in the mansion while I stayed in the Avengers Tower, I couldn't help anyhow.

I shook my head to get back to the present. "Well, guessing that I still have the access that I did I am going to over-ride that protocols of yours. Over-ride Sierra-27-Quebec-03. How about you call me just Skye unless there are any guests or unfamiliar faces?"

"As you wish, Skye" he said as we reached my floor.

"Where is Pepper?" I asked as I put the black case on my bed and let the bag fall off my shoulder.

"Ms. Potts is in the common room waiting for your arrival. Shall I take you to her?", he questioned when I stepped back into the elevator.

"That would be great, thank you"

I wait patiently for the few seconds to pass before we reach the desired floor with the sofas and the bar. As soon as the doors opened I saw the smiling face of Pepper. I couldn't help but mimic the expression as I stepped out and walked over to greet her. She noticed my sling and was careful enough not to go anywhere near my right side as she hugged me tightly.

"It's so good to see you" she said as she stepped back and pointed at the couch for us to sit on.

"It's good to see you too, I've missed talking to you. I'm sorry that I wasn't in touch after everything that happened. How are you doing?" I immediately replied as we took our respective seats close to one another.

"You have nothing to apologise for" she brushed me off. "You had said that you had to go dark for an undetermined period of time, it's not like you disappeared off the face of the earth. You had mentioned though that Maria would be in contact with you, so I asked her to let you know that we were fine so that you wouldn't worry. Did she not tell you?", her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

I giggled at her expression. "She did tell me. But I will always worry if I can't see the situation for myself, you know that. I can't help but care and having only heard that you were fine and whatever the news showed was not nearly enough for my liking…" I grabbed her hand and squeezed, her blue eyes locking with mine. "I know it must have been hard and I am sorry that I was not here for you before. But, even for a few days, I am here now. And I've been there, still am to be honest. So I understand and I am going to tell you what you said to me all those years ago. I am here if you need anything, okay? No matter the time. And it doesn't matter if I am on a mission, if you need anything you will call me and I will get back to you as soon as possible, you hear me?"

I saw a couple of tears gathering at the edges of her eyes as she squeezed back my hand. She took a staggering breath, raised her other hand to brush off the water from her eyes and cleared her throat. "What about you? How are you doing and what on earth happened to your arm? I swear, I can't leave you alone for a few months and you go around injuring yourself" she exclaiming madly. Only it was a fake kind of mad as her expression told me another story.

And, well… if she wanted to change the subject because she didn't want to talk about what happened I couldn't argue.

"It's a long story but the end result was that I got shot but becau–"

"Oh my God! You got shot? What happened? Are you okay" Pepper didn't let me finish.

I just smiled at her and squeezed her hand once more to make sure she was listening to me. "As I was saying…" I trailed off and she mouthed 'sorry' before letting me continue. "There was this man we had to take down, alive. But there was a third party that tried to kill him and I pushed him away so that he would survive for sure. I didn't have my gauntlets on and the other agents don't know of my powers, so I made a thin protection layer that prevented the bullet from actually piercing me and I got away with just some bruises". I brought the collar of my t-shirt down and showed the blue and black patch of skin to her. "See, I am fine. It could have been much worse than this"

I stopped talking and I could see Pepper looking at the bruises and her taking in all the information that she just heard. She absentmindedly nodded and then something seemed to click in her head. "Wait, did you say you didn't have your gauntlets? Can you use your powers without them now? Doesn't it hurt your arms?"

"Not really" I send a small vibration through our linked hands and she sharply looked down at them, before lifting her head so her attention was back on me. "If I use them in a small extent I don't need them"

Her eyes never left mine during my explanation. She seemed to search something in them and it felt like something that I hadn't come across since the last time that I saw her or my sister. It felt like she could see right through my happy mask and into my soul. "You didn't answer my initial question though" she started quietly and I knew that what I felt was as real as it gets. "How are you doing?"

And just like that I was undone.

My smile trembled at its edges while I tried very hard to keep it on my face. It soon though disappeared as my vision blurred. There was a sort of explosion in my chest and everything that I kept inside since I first laid my eyes on Coulson spread in my heart and took over.

I closed my eyes hard, titling my head to the side and away from Pepper. This was wrong. Pepper had been through so much and she stood in front of me strong. And here was I, breaking down for something that I should have been over a long time ago. I could feel the buzzing feeling in my hands as I tried to put everything back into the small boxes that I had stored them in. I hadn't lost control in over a year and a half now and I so didn't want to break that strike.

So absorbed in my own world was I, that I didn't notice the hot tears running down my face or how Pepper had closed in. That was until gentle fingers touched my chin and moved my head so that I was facing the other woman in the room.

"I-I'm s-s-sorry" I managed to get out as her hand moved to my cheek and her thumb stroked the skin there.

"Come here" she said and it was enough for me to fall in her open arms. She gave me a few moments to calm myself down before speaking again. "What happened? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to or if it's classified though" she whispered to me.

I sniffled and thought back to the events of the last two days. The hand that seemed to have taken a hold of my heart squeezed in the memories and I physically curled up further into a ball as Pepper stroked my back. The physical touch of someone I felt so close to was helping me in more ways than any words could ever have.

"It's okay" she started repeating when I didn't answer her question. It was not that I didn't want to, it was more that I couldn't control myself enough to form the sentence that I wanted. After a while Pepper pushed my head from the crook of her neck, where I had buried it, and positioned it so that she could look at me. "I'm here, okay? You are here. Whatever it is, we will deal with. You are going to be alright" her eyes never leaving mine.

Just as I was mastering myself and the sun was starting to set, I took a deep breath and almost opened my mouth to tell Pepper what was going on. Or at least a non-classified version of it, as I had promised Hill that no-one from this group would learn of Coulson's resurrection, a thumb was heard from the elevator doors and I turned around to see what was going on. I had barely turned my head in that direction before a wave of red filled my vision and I was engulfed into a fierce hug.

I was momentarily frozen and didn't reciprocate the hug whatsoever until the other person pulled back and I found myself looking into a pair of very upset green eyes.

A pair of hands were holding my head in place as those very eyes darted between my injured shoulder and my face. "Natasha?" I asked with furrowed eyebrows, not understanding how she came here, while my voice came out more hoarse than I intended.

My sister was kneeled in front of the sofa and was looking over me with concern. I made a move to turn and look at Pepper, meaning to ask what was going on, but I didn't get the chance as my sister brought my head back opposite to hers. The concern was replaced with a very calming and caring expression as her eyes pierced mine in the same way that Pepper's had just minutes ago. "What's wrong?"

"What are you doing here?" I asked, not moving away.

"Pepper called when you said you'd come over. I was in DC wrapping up a mission so I drove here as soon as I could. She sent the boys to another of Stark's houses so that we could have a girls' night" she replied fast. "Now, tell me what's wrong" her tone gentle, yet not leaving any room for lies.

Without even thinking hard about it his name escaped my lips, "Phil".

It was Pepper's turn to speak. "I thought we were past this?", she asked.

She didn't know that I had killed him, only that he had died before the Battle of New York and I felt my throat close at that. Looking back at Nat, as she was one of the four people who knew exactly what happened, she took over and replied in my place. "This will never be something in the past for Skye". It was the truth and yet it concealed the events of that day. "But why now? Why again?" She shifted her attention back in me as she sat on the other side of me.

If I outright lied to her, especially in the state that I was in she would see right through it. She was the Black Widow after all. But despite that title of hers, she was first and foremost my sister. If there was one person who could read me like an open book, it would be her. So I had to come up with the closest excuse that I could find.

"The anniversary" I said and Natasha instantly seemed to understand me. "I was undercover so I couldn't do anything and had to bottle up everything. I guess now that I am out it just backfired and it hit me more hard that it should"

"Shit" she exclaimed quietly and gathered me in her arms. "It was a couple of weeks back, wasn't it?"

I just nodded and rested my head on her shoulder as I let myself feel safe in my sister's embrace.

The silence that filled the room was not an uncomfortable one and it filled the air for a while until Pepper broke it. "Is there anything you want us to do?"

She had moved closer and had placed herself right on my other side. Nat's arm was wrapped over my back and she was gently rubbing my good shoulder as Pepper was just holding my hand tightly. "Just stay with me?" My voice was small as I directed my question at them and at that moment I couldn't ask for anything more because when I was with them, I was at home. I was with my family.

There was a small pause which I knew was the two of them exchanging glances, as Natasha momentarily stopped her movement. And then as if it was the same person, the rubbing on my shoulder resumed and the hand gripping mine squeezed harder. "Always" came their synchronised reply.

AN.2: Today is the 1st year anniversary of this story! A very big thank you to all of you who support this story. To everyone who has favorited/followed/reviews/read this story. This wouldn't have been possible without you and we (with MegaDiary123) really appreciate all of you. Thank you all so much! Have a great day everyone!