Hello! As always, thank you so much to MegaDiary123 for helping out with the corrections for this chapter. Thank you all for the comments and welcome to all the new readers! I think I have found a somewhat schedule, and will try to update once every 2 weeks. So, until then... enjoy :)

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Coulson's POV

It had been days since Skye was taken out of the S.H.I.E.L.D. hospital to an undisclosed location that I didn't have access to. May and Simmons were with her, and the updates I was getting were few and scarce.

I was at least very happy to hear that Skye had woken up and that her recovery seemed to be going according to plan. I was left 3 agents short, without counting Ward who had already been taken away for disciplinary action because of what happened during our encounter with the Asgardian artefact.

I let out a breath, and let my head rest in my hands. Things were not going great.

The team was spread out, we were forced to take a break, and my attempts to hunt down Quinn had been shut down by the Director himself. What is going on?, was my main thought for the past 5 days.

The only silver lining in this whole situation was the forced break that the team had to take. It was closing in on Christmas either way, so some time to recuperate would not hurt anyone. This time would also allow me some freedom to seek out Quinn. Because even if I couldn't find him, I felt that seeking him out would answer some of my questions.

Skye was working very closely with Fury and Hill for them to not want to seek the man out, which probably meant there was something larger going on. Something I could not pinpoint and it was driving me nuts. 'Cause it didn't make sense based on everything I knew so far for Hill to say no. And usually, when things didn't add up or didn't make sense, it meant that they were covering up for something. And Skye was the one that had made me start to question my 'trust the system' mentality.

I wanted so badly to ask May for help, but I had a feeling that she wouldn't approve or would report me. After all, from what I had witnessed in the Bus, she was very close to the girl. And if her being with Skye wherever she was, was any indication, then she was in on whatever they were trying to hide or cover up.

But I could still try to get some information out of her.

I heard the phone ring a couple of times before she picked up. "Hi Phil", and if the sound of her voice didn't calm me, I would be lying.

"Hey there, Melinda. How are you? How are things going on your end?" I heard her sigh on the other end of the phone.

"Things are going. Overall good, with some bumps, but Skye is showing signs of improvement. She's eager to get back in the field".

I could sense, regardless of the unknown distance, that something was bothering her. "You know you can talk to me, right?" I asked her.

She let out a breath. "Not about this Phil, I'm sorry. Orders comes from above", and that was enough for me to understand that my suspicions were not very far off. "I wish I could tell you", she added soon after and I truly believed her.

"That's okay", I tried not to sound hurt. I understood, but that didn't mean that I liked it. "I did want to see how you were, of course, but I meant to also ask you. The Director said that while you should be back with us in… less than a couple of weeks now, I still haven't really been updated on what will happen with Ward. But Hill sent over some agents' files for me to review for a potential addition to the team…" I let the sentence fade out. I wanted to see how she would complete it.

"I don't really know anything about that", she said, and I trusted her enough to believe that this was true. "What kind of agents has she recommended?"

"It hasn't really been a specific category. All of them know a bit of everything. Specialists, mainly, but with skills in other sections as well. One that seemed to stand out to me more than the rest is one Barbara Morse. It also says here that you scouted her, so I wanted to ask your opinion on her".

I heard her chuckle. "Well, what I can tell you for sure, is that if you call her Barbara, she will want to punch you in the face. But other than that, she's good. Really good. Does anything specific bother you? I hadn't really been very active before I joined the current group, so I can try to answer any questions you might have, but I don't know how much help I can be".

It was very easy, sometimes, to forget that May had been inactive as a specialist for about 4 years. Man, she made me feel old sometimes. I felt more rusted over than she did. True, I was in Communications, but still.

"Nah, it's nothing in particular. She has a stellar file. I was just confused 'cause she also seems to be able to pilot and has a degree in Biology and that made me wonder how long you and Simmons would be gone". I could at least try to fish for as much information as I could.

There was a small pause at her end. And while I couldn't see her, I could imagine her eyes darting on the side as she contemplated her answer. "Things are going according to plan. I don't see why Simmons or myself should stay here for longer. The team could benefit from someone as varied as her. If I'm out, she or Skye can pilot, and if something happens to Simmons, maybe she can help Fitz figure something out. It's always good to have people who can help in other aspects, like Skye with her hacking" she ended up saying.

"That's good to hear. Thank you Melinda, I really appreciate your opinion. Say hi to Skye and Simmons from me", I said before hanging up.

There was something about her answer that I couldn't exactly name. Not everyone would be able to tell, but I knew her for way too long. I would like to say I detected a… uncertainty in her answer. Almost like she was measuring what she said.

I couldn't help but notice that she didn't mention Ward at all. Did she know something about how long his punishment would be or if he'd even return to the team? That should have to go through me. But maybe it was wishful thinking on her part, after all she was very upset on Skye's end when the whole Flashback episode happened because of him.

There was something I was missing there, but once again, I didn't know exactly what. Not that it really mattered. If she wanted to tell me she would, and I couldn't begin to start mistrusting Mel. In my line of work, I had a lot of people that I had to trust with my life, but with her it was different.

I felt the edges of my mouth rise thinking back to all of our missions together. Back from when I met her, to when we were working together when Romanoff came in the organisation. Our missions with her…

What was…

There…

Why do I feel like there is something I am missing? I thought. I was, for a moment, so sure that there was something else. Something that came after Romanoff, something else that bonded us. But it was all blurry. No, blurry wouldn't be the right word.

There was nothing.

Nothing that would excuse that longing and simultaneously happiness that I felt in my heart. There was pain there too, emotional pain. I felt it at the part where Loki's spear had pierced through my heart and when I looked down, I found myself rubbing that part unconsciously. I had to blink a handful of times and force my hand away from the spot.

Clearing my throat, I stood up from my desk and moved towards the closet in the room. I put in the code that only I knew, to open it up, and as soon as the clicking sound of the lock coming undone was heard, I pushed the doors open, staring at the photo of Quinn that I had pinned.

The now-empty closet filed with locations, maps, photos, and connections between everything. Quinn and Centipede were somehow connected and I was going to find out how.

May's POV

I looked at my screen after the talk I had with Phil. It wasn't the first time that we talked about what had been going on, but this one seemed different from the rest.

I shook my head. If it was something, I was sure that he would come to me. After all, I thought and I looked up to where Skye was sitting on the balcony with Simmons just talking, there are other things to focus on right now.

I felt a presence coming from behind and standing a few feet on the side. "Tell me you are not here to tell me you and Captain need to leave on a mission", I said without even looking.

"Of course not" Natasha said and moved a bit closer to me. "I just finished talking with Fury, a conference call we had with Bruce involved. We should be able to leave tomorrow, if that's what Skye wants".

I nodded at that. Not really letting the two girls out of my sight, always standing guard. A hand was placed on my shoulder, and I was force to look away from the two of them and focus back on my current company. An eyebrow was raised in a silent question.

"She's not going to disappear you know" Natasha nodded towards the balcony and I turned towards it as well. Simmons must have said something funny 'cause Skye was trying to hold in her laughter and failing miserably, while the doctor was playfully hitting her on the shoulder.

"She's here, she's alive, and she's safe. You need to stop worrying as much" Clint said from my other side as he jumped down from one of the vents he had disappeared to.

I scoffed. "As if you don't worry just as much, mister 'I watch better from above'. Don't think I don't know about your daily and nightly excursions on the vents. I'm going to tell Pepper, and she will put security measures on the vents and you'll die one of those days".

I heard the heels before I heard the voice. "Oh, I have already done that", Pepper joined us from the side. "I just make sure that J.A.R.V.I.S. shuts everything down as soon as Clint here starts roaming above. I'd hate for the alarm systems to be turned on in the middle of the night, wouldn't you agree?"

After spending a few days with her on the time off we had some weeks back, and the time I was spending with her now, I could understand how Skye formed the relationship she had with her, and I was growing very fond of the woman. "What is this?" I asked as soon as I noticed the four of them exchanging a small glance, however subtle it was. I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes at the realisation. "I don't need an intervention".

"Of course you don't", Natasha was quick to reply. The slight sarcasm in her voice had me turn towards her once more. I glared at her and she didn't miss the meaning behind it. Do you really wanna go there?

"Look", Pepper was quick to intervene. "We can all agree that we want what is best for Skye, at least, correct?", she said with the voice she used with Stark, what Skye called her 'mom' voice. "And we want her safe and healthy, right?", she added when no-one replied. Only when we all had nodded did she continue. "And she is all of that here. This is the most secure building in the world, or at least that's what Tony claims. If not, it's at least in the top 3. We have J.A.R.V.I.S. on constant alert, the doors are sealed at night and they are reinforced with bulletproof glass. Should anything happen, 9-1-1 is on speed dial, as well as 5 different security teams and I'm pretty sure Skye has added Director Fury's personal number on the list. Skye is the most protected she can be right now", her voice was never lifting too high in case the duo at the balcony heard us.

"She's right", Clint chimed in. "You, standing guard at all times is not gonna help her. You need to rest. You can take a break" he offered and placed his hand in turn, on my other shoulder.

I sighed deeply, and for the first time I felt the exhaustion slip in. No, I looked back out. There's no way I am letting her out of my sight.

"Look, while I appreciate all of your concerns, I am doing okay", I took a step letting the others know to drop their hands. "Really. There are others that are still dealing with things", I pointedly looked at Pepper. Turning around, I went to one of the sofas looking outside and sat there. There were some faint murmurs from where the three of them were, but I didn't pay them any mind.

Not too long after, there was a dip on the cushion next to me. And I didn't need to look to see who it was.

Natasha and I sat quietly, just looking outside at the slowly darkening sky. Simmons just acquired another blanket that she made sure to throw over Skye's shoulders to warm her up. "I don't want to talk about it" I said after what must have been the 15 minute mark. Natasha was thinking too loud and it was distracting.

She said nothing at that. Just continued to sit there.

"Did Skye ever tell you how we found her?", she eventually broke the silence after another handful of minutes.

I turned my eyes towards her and saw a somber expression on her face. I shook my head.

"We had been chatting for a while. A few months through an encrypted message channel she created. Of course she wouldn't say where she was, just that she was 'fine'. Fine my ass", she started. "I thought I was getting closer to getting her to tell me her location, but Fury sent me undercover here, to keep an eye on Tony and his troubling behaviour. You see, his security measures had gone up and we couldn't get quite the same access as we used to". I chuckled. I knew some part of that story from Skye but she hadn't said a lot about her time before we met. "I got in, and then we went to Monaco".

"It was all over the news", I said. A guy had walked in the race track, started cutting cars the middle with something that looked like Stark's technology on his chest. "Stark managed to take him down".

She nodded, her eyes going a bit darker. "That's what the media showed". I was taken by surprise by the, dare I say, venom in her tone. "For the first time after about five and a half years I saw Skye. I watched from the Hôtel as she jumped in the racetrack, and started fighting against Whiplash. The realisation that it was her came not too long before she was thrown to the surrounding wall. Falling on the racetrack like a sack, not getting back up". Natasha's whole body was tense, her eyes staying the balcony. "The moment I found her again, I thought I lost her", she let a heavy, shuddering breath out.

"Then, after she was brought in, Clint became her S.O. He trained her, for a good year. She was training and she was safe. I had to leave for another undercover mission in Russia, I can't even remember what it was for. In the middle of it, I get a call from Clint. 'Skye has been compromised', he said", I scoffed. "I felt my heart stop in my chest", her gaze turned on me and I saw the tears gathered but not spilled. "I know a thing or two about feeling guilty for not being there, however out or in your control that could have been"

I felt my breath catch in my throat. The understanding I saw reflected at her hurt.

"You couldn't have predicted what would happen. What happened is not on you. She is a very capable agent, who knows the risks she's taking when she does. Can she be reckless sometimes? Yes. But that's not on you either. I, honestly, blame Clint for that", she said and paused. We both knew that he was listening in, but he didn't do anything. "That guilt, it's selfish. It comes from a place where you want to punish yourself because you cannot punish those responsible. But Skye doesn't need that. She wouldn't want you to feel guilty. She would just want you to be there because she loves you".

She reached over with her hand and intertwined her fingers with mine, giving me a tight squeeze never breaking the eye contact. "She's okay, she is alive and you can rest. You don't need to be standing as a silent guardian. You need to rest" she gently prompted.

I looked up towards the vents, where Clint was hiding away and saw him nod slightly. "You both are hypocrites" I said with a wet taint on my chuckle. "But I see you", I lowered my eyes back at Natasha. "I just don't know if I can come to terms with it yet".

"That's okay", she smiled at me. "In our line of work, things get precarious often, and with Skye there seems to be a pattern of her getting herself into trouble more so than others. It's like wherever she goes, danger follows. So, you need to get used to it, 'cause you cannot always be there to protect her, no matter how much you want to".

I let Natasha side hug me as we watched the sun set beyond the two girls. And for the first time in the past week, I felt a bit more relaxed.