AN: Hey y'all. Look who is back! More notes from me in the end, but for now as always many thanks to MegaDiary123 for being my forever Beta. Hope you enjoy the chapter.

All rights go to Marvel

Skye's POV

The following day wasn't any better than the day before. Actually, no. That would be a lie. It was slightly better. Melinda had come and her presence helped a lot. Especially since I had to deal once again with Tony and his denial.

Thankfully Nat and Clint had brought her up to speed about what happened, and I was very grateful for not having to explain everything again. The meeting that Nick and Maria had with the others in the morning didn't require my presence, but May went to help clear some things out. She was one of the only people who knew everything about everything, after all.

"Can I please have my laptop", I said to Jemma as I was perched up on the bed. She had opted out of gathering, wanting to stay with me. But I'm not sure that was the best idea, despite how much I loved her.

"No" she replied sternly, going over the documents and the charts for the nth time. "And don't even attempt to ask to get up". She wasn't even looking at me, her attention at the various monitors.

"I'm genuinely— aw!" I exclaimed as she poked gently at my sore side with the end of her pen. Her tired gaze turned to me as if she was asking, "You were saying?"

I wanted to laugh with her antics but stifled it. It would only hurt more if I did. "I was just saying I was feeling better. I know better than to say I'm good", I eventually got out. I still had some issues moving around, and getting to sit up was not something I would be able to do on my own, at least for the next couple of days. But the drugs helped a lot. My hands were folded in my lap, the fingers constantly moving around with excess energy that I didn't really have. A quiet filled the room and I did not like it.

Not in the least.

I could feel the vibrations start to build up, and I tried pushing them down. The last thing I needed right now was to reopen my stitches like the day before. "I just need to do something" I said. My voice was quiet, sounding more like an inner thought than an actual phrase I intended to get out.

There was still so much to do. I had to find the Clairvoyant, try to track down Quinn, see how Ward was connected with the problems within S.H.I.E.L.D., go through all of his connections and agents he has worked with and try to see who else is dirty, with the whole leak issue I had to think if I could also bring the rest of the Avengers in the know, ther—

My thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of Jemma's hand in mine. I had to blink a handful of times before I managed to get my breath in order, that I hadn't even realised had sped up.

"There you are", she said with a kind smile. She sat on the end of the bed, her hand never leaving mine. "I know it's a lot going on right now, and I know you want to help and do something. But sometimes, the best thing you can do is take a break, and just be". She smiled again, a sad smile. "You need to take care of yourself for once and not worry about what the rest of the world is doing, okay? Please, Skye. I need you to be okay".

I found myself calming in her presence, her touch grounding me a lot. My thoughts were not running as wild as before. Focusing on her seemed to do the trick. "I can try", was all I could give at the moment.

The smile never left her face, and I could see her shoulders relaxing a bit more, almost as if some pressure was lifted off her chest. "That's all I can ask for". She bent and kissed the crown of my head. "Now, tell me something else. Talk to me about Pepper. She seems to know a lot more about me than I do of her".

I actually felt a smile form on my face just at the thought of her. "I mean… there's so much"

She got out of the bed, and pushed the chair that was placed next to my bed even closer as she took a seat. "We have the whole day".

"How was it?" I dared to ask when Natasha, Clint, and Melinda came to my room all together at some point in the afternoon. With them present, it was one of the only ways to get Jemma to get some rest.

"Fury and Hill left, and Tony refuses to talk to anyone" Natasha summed it up pretty quickly. That alone gave me a pretty good idea how the whole conversation went.

I sighed. After what happened the day before, I was hoping that Tony would get some rest and think things through, but who was I kidding? I don't think I was expecting that to actually be. He was Tony Stark after all, the king of stubbornness. "How are the others?"

"Everyone is pretty rilled up, some more than others". It was Clint's turn. "Spirits are very heated right now, and emotions are high. Mainly towards Fury, not you" he supplied trying to make me feel better, even when we both knew it was in vain. "Why did you not tell us sooner?"

I had to take a moment.

I was expecting them to be less… I guess "direct" would be a good way to describe it. That it was going to take them a few days at least before they eventually asked me what they wanted.

"I can't say that it didn't cross my mind, more than once", I admitted. "And I really wanted to, trust me". A humourless laugh escaped my lips as I eased my head further on my pillow, and looked at the white ceiling. "It was so hard not telling you, guys. Especially you two".

Silence filled the room.

"Why didn't you?"

It didn't matter who the question came from, it still rang in my head like the tune of the ring bell that we had in the apartment that the three of them and May raised me in. I realised in the end, that it didn't really matter if I had told them or not. Because, they are family. And in the end, even if the world went to shit, I would still have them.

They would protect me, just as much as I would protect them. And it was the people that I trusted with my whole heart.

At this moment I realised, thinking back to all the secrecy that Fury was forcing upon everybody that this is what he was missing. The trust, and the sense of belonging and acceptance. He threw my trust out of the window by keeping secrets, and I was not going to let that happen with the people I had left.

Not for something like this. It wasn't worth it to me. And Fury could be as angry as he wants after this.

"It's not important why I didn't tell you. The fact that I didn't is all that matters. And I am very sorry for that" I said genuinely.

"There's more I need to tell you". My head fell back down, and I looked at the three of them, their attention rapt on me. "Not here" I looked at May, and begged her with my eyes to understand. "It's not… it's very busy". I could still see the hesitation on my sibling's faces, which hurt but was warranted. They still didn't understand and May wasn't catching on either. So I grabbed Clint's hand with mine as I continued speaking, putting pressure and releasing it in a specific pattern, to make him understand. "I might just need some time off. Jemma has been on my case to take a break, and I think it's about time. Someplace more quiet, with some time to recuperate".

It did take me doing the pattern a few times before he caught on the four letter word I was forming. I could tell the moment realisation shined on his face.

"I know it's a lot, and it's not how you were thinking of showing it. And I will still need to work on looking for Quinn and the others, and still do work, but I'd like to take some time off when I'm allowed to leave this bed" I told him.

He, in turn, squeezed once and nodded. "Don't worry about it. After all, by the time you can actually get up without our help, it's gonna be close to the holidays" he reached over and roughed my already messy hair.

I pushed him on the shoulder and tried not to laugh. I looked over and saw that the questions that May and Natasha still had. "I will explain everything in due time" I promised. "Do you trust me?" I asked Nat.

"Of course" she replied without hesitation.

Jemma's POV

I barely got any sleep. And when I did, I felt like it was fruitless. I still woke up tired. But despite how much I didn't want to, I forced myself to get up at 5 in the morning. If my memory served me right, and my thinking was correct then I should be right on time.

So, I got ready, or at least as ready as I could ever get for what I was about to do and took the elevator, asking J.A.R.V.I.S. to take me to the proper floor.

The moment the doors opened, and my arrival was made known, May stopped her gentle movements and turned towards me. "Simmons… was there something you wanted?" Agent Romanoff who was right beside her also eased her motions and came to a stop.

I wasn't expecting the extra company, but I came determined. I was doing this for Skye.

"Will you teach me?"

AN.2: Okay so, first of all, thank you all for your ever-lasting patience while I was away. Thanks to anyone still reading or just picking this fic up. I have been getting a number of notifications from you all. Your comments have helped a lot to take the time I needed and to also want me to get back into the story. I don't know how often I will be updating, but I am at a point where I can start working on it again, so please bear with my weird timetable.

I ended up deleting the precious chapter because it was easier to replace it like that and for you all to get a new notification, but I have really appreciated all the comments and the support, you guys are awesome! And I am making sure to post both here and in AO3 so they people can use whichever platform they prefer.

Also, I haven't really written anything since the last time I posted here, so it might be a while until I shake all the dust off of my writing. But, again, thank you all for the understanding and the support you have shown. Until next time :)