A/N: Thanks again to Corn12 for the kind words. I really, really do appreciate them. They definitely inspire me.

And to the kind Guest reader, I thank you for the review and all the lovely things you wrote. I am very grateful and very touched.

The support is very humbling and it means a lot. I hope the both of you enjoy this chapter :)

Chapter Twenty-One:

"She's acting like everything will go back to normal." Coulson confided in May after having spoken to Skye.

It had been days since she packet all her gear up and left her sister in order to protect everyone else.

But she didn't seem to want to allow herself to show just how much she was being affected by it.

"That's what she does." May nodded. "Does she know we're putting her on The Index?"

"Yeah. She does seem to be getting control of her powers."

"That's good, but we barely understand them…...other than they're strong."

"Catastrophically so." May quipped.

"Protocol is anyone on The Index undergoes a full psych eval and threat assessment."

"We need to bring in someone from outside." Coulson nodded.

"Someone we can trust." May was in agreement.

"I know who I'd call…...if it weren't a thing."

"Andrew?" May scoffed. "It's not a thing. He might say no." She perked up a little bit. "But if I do call, I want him to talk to Selena as well."

"That goes without saying." Coulson wasn't going to argue. He saw the child's change in behavior. It was concerning to say the least. Especially when she had willingly gone to see Ward.

"Skye told me how she reacted to her moving to The Bus, and it wasn't pretty. It was by no means, normal. I'd like him to dive deeper into that."

"Selena?" There was a knock at the girl's bunk, but she didn't bother answering.

She was still exhausted from the fuss she had kicked up when Skye left and it took hours after that for her to finally calm down.

It was so bad, Jemma nearly sedated her.

She hadn't moved since she woke up from her deep slumber and she didn't want to.

She was just too sad. Maybe if she pretended to still be asleep, whoever it was would go away and leave her alone.

But door opened, and May entered the room, sitting down next to her. She knew, because she felt the mattress sink.

"I know you're awake." Was what she said in greeting. "There's no use in pretending to be asleep."

"I am asleep, can't you tell?"

May had to bite back a smile at the sarcastic comment, and tapped her shoulder. "Sit up, I have something to tell you."

"No, thank you."

Now, May wasn't one to negotiate with anyone. Especially not a child, but she knew that Selena wasn't feeling exactly herself and she wanted to at least make her feel a little better. "If you don't sit up, you won't see the little surprise that I brought."

"What kind of surprise?" Selena's curiosity piqued.

"I'm not going to tell you. You're going to have to see for yourself."

"Okay." The eleven year old sat up and threw the covers off, revealing that she was wearing one of her sister's sweaters and clutching her stuffed Captain America. "What is it?"

"You have to listen first."

"Hmmph."

"You haven't been feeling well, lately, have you?"

"No." Selena shook her head, wondering where on earth this was going.

"Coulson and I noticed." May continued. "And we think that you should speak to someone who could help you."

There it was. They wanted her to talk to a shrink.

"No." She shook her head. "I don't like shrinks."

Selena bet whoever it was, was outside, waiting to come in.

"I think you're going to like this one."

"Nuh uh…..can I have my surprise now? I listened."

"No." May shook her head. "You have to agree talk."

"Is it worth it?"

"I think so."

"Okay…..fine."

May nodded and stood up, opening the door for a tall man to come in, carrying a tray of something that was covered.

"Hi, Selena." He smiled. "I'm Dr. Garner. You can call me Andrew."

"Hi." Selena eyed him warily, before looking at May expectantly.

"Here." May uncovered the tray and passed her a bowl full of strawberry ice cream.

"Yay!" Selena grinned, momentarily forgetting what she was upset about. "Thank you!"

"This is a one time deal." May pointed a stern finger at her, before exiting the room. "Don't make it a habit and don't make a mess."

All Selena did in response was shove a spoonful of the delicious treat in her mouth.

Once the door closed, awkward silence filled the air.

Selena stopped eating for a minute and put the bowl down, hugging her Captain America close to her chest, full of regret by how easily she had agree to this impromptu session.

"You like Captain America?" Andrew smiled warmly.

Selena managed to nod. "But Black Widow's cooler…...she's my friend."

"Oh really?" Andrew inquired as if he didn't know, but really, May told him that if he really couldn't get her to talk, just mentioning her favorite superhero would get her to open up, even if it was just a little bit. "What's she like?"

"She's nice to me."

"You must really like her."

"I do."

That's a nice sweater you have on. It didn't come in your size?" He joked, nodding towards the very large item of clothing that was practically sliding off Selena's shoulder.

"It's not mine."

"Who's is it?"

"My sister's."

"I heard that you didn't have a very good reaction to her leaving. Is that true?'

"Yes."

"Why is that?"

"Cause I didn't want her to leave." Selena spoke as if it was obvious, making Andrew chuckle.

"Silly me." He smiled. "Why didn't you want her to leave?"

"Cause she's my sister." Selena knew that was a stupid answer.

But Andrew remained patient. "How did it make you feel when she told you she was leaving?"

"Scared."

Now they were getting somewhere. "Why were you scared? She's going to come back, and for the time being, you're surrounded by people that love you."

"Every time I'm not with her, something happens." Selena admitted.

"Like what?"

Selena was beginning to open up and this was a crucial period to get answers.

"Like in Cuba." It was obvious that this wasn't a good memory, Andrew could see the child tensing up.

"What happened in Cuba?"

"I got dropped out of a plane." Selena squeezed Captain America as tightly as she could, unwilling to relive the experience.

"Ward you don't have to do this! Look at me! Ward!"

"Are we really gonna die?"

"I like to think of the First Law of Thermodynamics, that no energy in the universe is created….none is destroyed."

"That must've been scary." Andrew acknowledged. "Can you tell me how you felt?"

"Trapped."

There was water all around them. On every side. No where to go. No escape.

"And…..scared." She added, closing her eyes. "But then Fitz-Simmons found a way out."

"The glass, Fitz. The glass."

"If we could use the defibrillator as an ignition source…."

"….And build a compressed explosive to ignite the seal, and the outside pressure will blow the window in!"

She didn't want this! But it was too late. She was experiencing everything all over again.

Andrew had expected this. It was completely normal and it helped on the road to recovery. It was her brain's way of coming to terms with what happened.

"The window….."

"What about the window?"

"We blew it in…..that's how we got out..…and the oxygen tank…..there were only two breaths of air." Tear pooled in the corner of Selena's eyes. "And Fitz….."

"What happened to Fitz?"

"Hold on tight. It should be enough to get you two up the ninety feet or so."

"But what about you?"

"We're not discussing it, okay? You two are taking it, end of story. I couldn't live if you didn't."

"I'm not gonna let you do this for me. You take it. I'll be okay."

"No!"

"He gave me and Jemma the two breaths of oxygen. He saved us."

"No, no, no. Fitz, please?"

"NO!"

"NO!"

Selena's eyes shot open as she looked around the room and remembered where she was.

She didn't even remembering shutting her eyes.

"That was a scary experience. Would you say that it changed the way you see water?"

"Yes."

"I was told that you used to love playing in the water, now you won't go near any large body of water, is that true?"

"Yes." Selena admitted. "Trip tried to teach me how to swim before it happened."

"Trip sounds like a good friend. Coulson told me that you two were close." Andrew tossed in, to see if she would grab the bait. "Almost as close as you and Skye."

"He was my best friend in the whole world." Selena smiled just thinking about him, even though her heart was hurt by his absence.

"Come on, girl. What's with the kicked puppy look?"

"Do you have to go? You can stay here with me and we can bake a big chocolate cake."

"I would love nothing more than to do that with you, but I have to do my job. We help people, remember?"

"…..Yeah."

"Yeah. Sometimes when we help people, we have to leave the base as go to them. I'm coming back, Curly Sue."

Only he wasn't,

And he didn't.

"He made me get back in the water."

"Did it help?"

"Some." Selena shrugged. "I still can't swim, though." She joked humorlessly.

"I'm gonna put you in the water, okay? May is right there and the water isn't deep like the ocean. We're just going to swim for a little bit and as soon as you tell us you want to come out, we will. But you have to try, okay?"

"O-Okay."

Selena trusted him. He wasn't Ward. He was helping her. He wanted her to get better.

She would get better.

"But then….."

"But then, what?"

"Oh, come on, girl."

"There she is!"

"Stay here. Do not move. I don't care what happens."

"Trip—"

"—No, Selena! I'm serious! I can't help Skye, if you're in danger! Just stay here! I'll be back in a second."

"Okay. I'll stay. I promise."

"He never did come back….that was the last time I saw him. He saved Skye."

"Trip was in fragments!"

It was at that point, that Selena remembered her ice cream and took another spoonful of the dessert that was now melting.

Her hand trembled as she brought the spoon to her mouth, but Andrew didn't comment on it. He didn't want her to feel self-conscious.

"Is it possible that you're feeling guilty for what happened to both Fitz and Trip?"

"If I wasn't with Fitz-Simmons, Fitz wouldn't have to struggle." Selena nodded. "And if I didn't follow Skye down into the Garrison, Trip may have had more time to save her."

"But none of that was your fault. You're a child. There's no need to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders."

Child or not. She was dangerous. Trip would still be alive if it wasn't for her and Fitz wouldn't be the way he is now.

She did this.

"I don't wanna talk about that anymore." Selena shrugged.

"Okay. We don't have to talk any more about that today." Andrew agreed. "Let's go back to when you said that any time you and Skye are apart, something bad happens."

"Something bad always happens when we're not together."

"And that's why you wanted to stay with her?"

"Yeah."

"Because you don't want to lose her, too."

Selena just nodded and laid back down.

Andrew took that as a signal that she was done for the day and respected it. She had spoken a lot more than he had originally anticipated.

"You did well, today." He praised. "I'll see you soon, okay? It was nice meeting you."

Selena nodded and curled up into herself, trying her best to keep the memories she had buried in the back of her mind where they belonged.

"Single or double." May asked Andrew.

The two were in the kitchen, planning to share a drink after a long, long day.

"Seriously?"

"If I were to ask you what's going on, you wouldn't tell me, right?"

"I told Skye we eloped."

"Ah, a little gossip won you some points." May smirked as she poured the drinks.

"I appreciate you giving me permission to disclose details when necessary."

"Mmhmm."

"She thinks the world of you. They both do."

"Well, I taught her how to fire an automatic, of course she likes me." May shook her head fondly. "Though, I'm not so sure about Selena."

"From what I understand, she doesn't trust very easily. She seems to trust you, though." Andrew pointed out. "She's comfortable enough to give you a hard time, not many people are."

"She'd risk her neck for a sweet treat." May almost laughed before sobering up. "How did it go?"

"A lot of baggage." Andrew took a swig of his drink. "I think she's suffering from anxiety and a load of trauma. We talked about a lot today and I get the feeling that that isn't all. Keep an eye on her."

"Of course." May nodded dutifully.

"Seeing anyone?" Andrew asked after a long period of awkward silence.

All he got in return was a scoff.

"All work and no play."

"When I multitask. I make mistakes."

"Sounds like there's a story there."

"I saw a frame at your desk. Girlfriend pics?" May changed the subject. "Aren't you a little old for that?"

"Well." Andrew laughed. "You tell me about your mistakes, and I'll tell you about it."

"I don't care that much."

"You look good."

"You hungry?" May asked after they shared a loving look. "I can fix you something."

"I'm not that hungry."

"Hi." Coulson leaned against the door frame of Selena's bunk.

Since her session with Dr. Garner, she hadn't bothered to say a word, much less leave her bunk.

She just sat on her bed and stared off into space.

"Why don't you and I, take a ride?"

Selena shook her head before looking down at her lap. She didn't feel like going anywhere.

"Alright." Coulson rubbed his hands together, before moving towards her. "Come on." He lifted her up before grabbing her bag and leaving the room.

Selena didn't protest, she just rested her head on his shoulder and relaxed. She always felt safest in his arms, so she didn't really care where he was going, just so long as she didn't have to walk there.

"You're going to be okay." He spoke softly, careful not to jostle her. "Everything is gonna be fine. I promise. Skye is coming, too."

"Skye's coming?" Selena perked up slightly, pushing herself up to look at him. "Where is she?"

"We're going to meet her now."

"Oh goodie." The child yawned, a clear sign that she was exhausted and rested her head back on his shoulder, falling asleep.

Coulson was so relieved when her body finally released all the tension she had been holding in. But he was sorry he couldn't take this away from her sooner.

"It's one of Fury's old retreats." Coulson explained to Skye as they entered an empty cabin. "Haven't been here in years."

It was a cozy little place. Much like a small little home away from home.

"Fury's not the kind of guy who has a cabin just to relax. What is this place?"

"It's a safe house." Coulson admitted. "For people with powers. Rogers even spent a few weeks here after he defrosted."

'Okay, but who's it supposed to keep safe? The people with powers or everyone else?"

"Both. Skye, I'm afraid I have to pull you from active duty."

"I get it." Skye nodded. "I do. I just didn't think that you'd lock me up like a werewolf during a full moon."

"You're not alone here."

"Feels pretty isolated to me."

"There's a direct video link to the base, and May will keep dropping by every couple of days." Coulson listed. "And you have Selena, she's a lot of fun." He rubbed the child's back.

Selena had been asleep since before they even got a chance to board the quinjet. She definitely hadn't been sleeping well since her and her sister's separation and her lack of rest finally caught up with her.

Which was another reason why he brought them both to the safe house.

They need to relax and mellow out.

"What am I supposed to do? Go fishing?"

"Well, if you do go outside, be careful. There's a laser fence around the perimeter."

Of course there was, why wouldn't there be?

"Look, this is a safe place. You can relax here. You can use this time to get a handle on your abilities."

"Yeah, cause that's worked great so far," Skye rolled her eyes.

Every time she took one step forward, she took two steps back.

"Well, maybe it's time we give you a hand with that." He walked away from her and motioned to a case that was resting on the table. "Simmons has been working around the clock on these. She assures me they'll cut the recovery time in half."

Skye looked inside the case and found a pair of interesting looking gloves.

"How do they work?"

"The internal wiring emits a surge of electricity to inhibit your powers."

"So these take away my powers?"

"More like decreases their magnitude to keep you from hurting yourself. Like I said, we want you to heal."

"Seems like a no-brainer."

"It's a personal call."

"What do you mean? Are there side effects?"

"A few." Coulson nodded. "Simmons can go over them with you later."

"Are these gloves really my best option?"

"I can't answer that question for you, Skye."

"Stop." Skye really had had enough. She was fed up with the compartmentalization and the objectivity. She just wanted a straight answer that would help her. "Stop being this S.H.I.E.L.D. guy for just one second, okay? Please? We've been through way too much together. I just need you to be my friend right now. What would you do if you were me?"

"I don't know." Coulson admitted. "These are uncharted waters, but if anybody can find a way through them, it's you."

"Cause I'm the red corvette." She called back to the very odd, yet heartwarming conversation they had had on the flight over.

"Because you're one of the few people I know I can trust." He spoke sincerely. "What do you say, we wake the Cookie Monster up and make some dinner?"

"Is everything okay?"

"I'm afraid I have to get back." Coulson sighed. He had just gotten off the phone with Mack and he hadn't received good news.

"I get it." Skye nodded. "Didn't expect you to stay and roast marshmallows."

'This is temporary, Skye. I'll be back in a couple days. If you need anything—"

"—I'll let you know." She smiled.

"We'll figure this out." Coulson promised, giving her a much needed hug.

"I know."

"Hey, Cookie Monster." Coulson caught Selena's attention, pulling her to the opposite end of the room. "Come here, I want to show you something."

"What?"

"Turn around." He waited for her to do just that, before taking a necklace out of his pocket and fastening it around her neck.

Selena immediately looked at it. It was a dog tag.

More importantly, it was Trip's dog tag.

"How did you— where did this come from?"

"When I went to give his mother the news, she gave me this to give to you. She heard about you from stories her told her and she thought that you might like to have it."

Antoinne Triplett. Honorary Howling Commando. Was engraved on its solid gold form.

"She said that he used to wear his grandfather's dog tags all the time before he and his mother took him out to get one of his own. He hasn't worn it in years and she completely forgot about it until recently."

"Ay que chévere….." Selena whispered to herself. "Thank you. Me encanta mucho…..can I send her a letter?"

"I'm sure she would love that." Coulson smiled, glad that the gift had cheered her up somewhat. "I have to go now, be good for your sister."

"I'm always good." Selena smiled up at him and accepted his hug before he left her and her sister alone in the small cabin in the middle of nowhere. "Okay…..what do we now?"

"We aren't doing anything." Skye smirked. "You need to go to bed."

"Aww, Skye..."

"Don't 'Aww, Skye' me. You're practically falling asleep right now. Go on."

"Okay." Selena perked up when another idea popped into her head. "But only if you tuck me in."

"Deal."

"Hello, Skye. I'm Gordon." A man without eyes greeted her at the door. "May I come in?"

Skye didn't say anything, but she did let him in and allowed him to sit down.

She didn't know why, but she let him in. Hopefully, she wouldn't come to regret that.

"You…...you can see?" She asked, a little impressed by how well he was moving.

"No." He smiled. "Not the way you do, but I can see that you are afraid. You don't need to be, not with me."

Says the stranger that found her in a classified location.

"Who are you?"

"I'm like you." Gordon confessed. "And I've come here as a friend. I can't imagine how it must have felt to go through your transformation without any understanding of what to expect. I had years to prepare. And still I was horrified by what I became…...granted, I was younger."

"Give me one second." Skye rushed out of the room.

Not only did she need a minute to process what was happening, she also wanted to check on her sister.

"Selena?" She called the girl, entering the room they were sharing.

Selena was still fast asleep on the large queen sized bed, with an arm wrapped around Cap while the other hung off the side of the bed along with her legs.

Skye didn't know how this kid could sleep in such weird positions. But so she wouldn't wake up sore, she gently fixed her, so that the girl was on her back with all her limbs on the bed, before stepping out of the room.

"I wish you wouldn't stare." Gordon deadpanned.

"Uhm…."

"That…..That was a joke." He amended. "But I'm not very good at them. I don't mind that you're curious, honestly. And yes, I used to have eyes. They were blue." He waved a hand over his face. "This, was the obvious change for me, but what happened inside can be just as profound. You see, the mist changes everyone differently. The real difference between the two of us, is what happened after we went through the mist."

"What do you mean?"

"Well I knew from an early age how special I was — had a mentor, a guide of sorts. And the first thing she did after I transformed was embrace me." He smiled at the memory. "Tell me, Skye, what was the first thing that S.H.I.E.L.D. did to you?"

Skye refused to answer. She just looked down at the gloves that Simmons made for her in silence.

"What does it feel like…..your gift?"

"I don't know, uh…...it's intense." Skye admitted. "Like 1,000 bees are trapped inside of me. And I feel it all the time. It's always there. And I can't stop it."

"Why would you stop it"

"Because I destroy everything around me."

"That is simply not true. Every object in this universe gives off a vibration. Did you know that? Nothing rests, animals, people, trees…..even this ratty old couch. And you, you have the ability to tap into those vibrations. Don't you see? You could become magnificent. But something's inhibiting you, constraining your energy."

'Uh, no…..no. My, um— my friend's a scientist." Skye motioned to the gloves. "She made these to protect me."

"Or do they protect people from you?"

"No, it's not like that. My powers, I— I can't control them. And when I try to, it hurts me."

"Most gifts come with a price, but you could learn to manage it...…I apologize. I'm saying too much. This is probably not the best place to continue our conversation. You don't have the tools or the understanding that you need just yet."

"To do what?"

"To become who you were always meant to be. Without fear, without pain. We can offer that to you."

"How?"

"I'll take you to a place where you can be with people like us."

"Us? How many are there?" Skye questioned.

"You can learn about yourself, your gift. You can be safe. But only if you want to come." Gordon stood up and buttoned his coat. "When you're ready, I'll find you."

"How will you find—"

"—Trust me. I'll know."

And with that, Gordon just...…vanished.

"Hello?" Skye answered her phone as soon as it had begun to ring.

To say she was lonely, was an understatement.

And she was a little worried that she hadn't been able to contact anyone on base.

There must have been some connection issue on their end, because she checked and it didn't look like there was anything wrong in the house.

"Skye."

"May! What's happening? I couldn't connect to you guys."

"You need to get out of there. Now."

"What? Why?" Skye wasn't seeing the urgency of the situation. "What are you talking about?"

"There's a panel on the Southwest corner of the compound." May ignored her. "I'll let you bring down the laser grid fence."

'May, stop."

"You can do this, Skye. I believe in you." May gave her an unusual vote of confidence. "But you need to run. Now!" She ordered. "They're coming for you."

"Who?" Skye began speed walking to the back room, shoving a pair of shoes on Selena's feet, before roughly shaking her awake. "Who's coming for me?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D."

All the lights in the cabin shut off and if Skye wasn't completely freaking out before, she certainly was now.

"May! May!" There was no response from May, so the line must have disconnected. "Selena, get up!"

Selena's eyes shot open and she woke up just in time for Skye to haul her out of bed and pull her out the door.

"What's wrong?" She asked, desperately trying not to fall flat on her face.

She saw the searchlights from the quintets above, touching down near them and dutifully followed her sister to get away.

"Come on, move!" Skye yanked her along, running as fast as she possibly could, making sure to stay under the shelter of the trees.

"I'm moving as fast as I can!' Selena nearly tripped. "I told you, I've got smaller legs!"

Skye came to a sudden stop when she saw something unusual on a tree branch.

Big mistake.

Someone grabbed Selena from behind and covered her mouth, cocking a gun.

Skye immediately turned around and ran at the man, forcing him to fire up in the air, catching the attention of whoever else was looking for her.

Selena didn't need much help now that the gun was out of the man's hand. May had taught her how to get out of a hold like this.

She grunted and elbowed the man in the nose, stomped on his foot, and twisted out of his grip, leaving him to Skye, who managed to get him down.

But as she reached for his gun and pointed it at him, another soldier pointed his own at her, catching her by surprise.

"No!" Bobbi, who was with the soldier, screamed in warning. "Skye!"

It was enough to get the girl's attention. Skye pulled Selena behind her and held both of her hands out towards the man as he fired the shot.

And using her newfound powers, she made it so the bullet never touched her. She also managed to unintentionally blow up a tree, sending both Bobbi and the agent hurtling backwards from her mere force. A piece of sharp wooded debris flew directly into the man's shoulder, but Bobbi remained unharmed.

It seems Skye was so much more powerful than she had originally believed herself to be.

Both she and her sister watched as dozens upon dozens of trees were knocked down as a result.

She was horrified by what she had just done. All on her own.

"Gordon." She panted. "Help."

"Would you like to go home?" The man appeared next to her just seconds after she called him.

Skye nodded, pulling her sister towards herself and allowed Gordon to wrap them both up, teleporting away from the scene.

A/N: Poor Skye :( Things will get better soon!