Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Skye!”

“No,” she whispered. “Trip, don’t do it! Trip!”

She shot up, tangled in the sheets and trashing around her. “Please no, I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

Strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her close. She knew those arms. “Tasha?”

Natasha hummed in her ear, breath ghosting over her neck, and she shivered. “You need to breathe, lyubov moya, just breathe,” Natasha whispered. Skye took in a shuddering breath, only now realising how her lungs were aching for it. She gulped in another breath, and another, and-

“Take it easy, dorogaya, take it easy. I’m here. We’re safe. Easy breaths.” Natasha pulled her into her chest, and Skye relaxed into her. She took a deep breath, like Natasha, and later May, had taught her, and held it for a few seconds, before releasing the air again. She repeated this a couple of times, while Natasha held her and murmured soft encouragements, until she felt better.

She tilted her head to look at Natasha. “Did I hurt you?” Natasha shook her head and looked around her bunk. The bottle of water on her nightstand had shaken to the floor, and she leaned over to pick it up before handing it to Skye. “A very light kick in the shins,” she whispered with a smile, “But I think I’ve had worse.”

Skye smiled. “I’m still sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Natasha assured her.

Skye pulled out of Natasha’s embrace to properly lie down. She was exhausted, and it didn’t help that she saw Trips form crumble -or almost worse, Natasha’s – every time she closed her eyes. May’s training was tiring, and the week since San Juan she had not relented even the slightest. And Skye was struggling, because every day she could feel the control she was fighting so hard for slipping further. And one of these days she was going to explode.

Natasha watched her until she lay still, before taking the sheets from the foot of the bed and dragging them up and over them. She snuggled into Skye’s arms, and Skye smiled, pulling her closer. Freaking Black Widow liked being the little spoon, who would’ve thought.

“You know, I’ve been thinking,” Natasha whispered, her head tucked under Skye’s chin. Skye hummed. “About…?”

“Control,” Natasha replied, and Skye sighed. If one more person started about controlling her emotions she would punch them. Natasha chuckled. “I know, but that’s not what I meant. I was thinking about calling Bruce, and ask him about control.”

Skye actually paused at that. Bruce’s Hulk-problem mostly consisted of control too. Controlling your emotions. And while it was mostly anger in Bruce’s case, Skye supposed they shared a relatively similar problem. “Huh,” she said. “That might actually be a good idea.”

Natasha nodded, her head bumping gently into Skye’s chin. “I have those sometimes,” she said very seriously. “I think he’ll advice meditation to begin with. I remember him doing that a lot. Calm music. And maybe in your case punch a bag every day for thirty minutes to get it out of your system. He can’t do that, because then he’d turn, but he always said he’d like the option.”

Slowly, Skye nodded. “I think I’d like that. Thank you.”

“Of course,” Natasha said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Now sleep. You’ll need it for your training with May.”

“I like training with you better,” Skye grumbled. “You don’t keep bugging me to try and rip your head off.” Natasha chuckled. “You like training with me? I must be doing something wrong then. But we can train together sometime soon if you want.”

Skye hugged her closer. “Would love that,” she replied, her voice soft and tired. Natasha wrapped an arm around her waist. “Sladkikh snov, moya lyubov,” she whispered, and before Skye knew it, she was drifting off again.

So, apparently Lady Sif was back on earth. Skye groaned and rolled her neck, and she had to hurry to keep up with Bobbi’s long strides. Bobbi gave her a look. “May hit you that hard?”

Skye harrumphed. “My entire body hurts and because I keep screaming myself awake at night it doesn’t really gets to rest.” She sighed. “It’s just... I’m just tired.”

Bobbi placed a comforting hand around her shoulder. “You’re doing amazing. I’m pretty sure we’re entitled to a vacation soon anyway.”

They entered the hospital and Bobbi turned to talk to one of the cleaners in a language Skye really didn’t follow. “Didn’t know you spoke Portuguese,” she said questioningly once Bobbi re-joined her.

Bobbi shrugged. “Not fluently, which is why I asked for someone who speaks English.” She eyed Skye curiously. “Has Nat taught you some Russian yet?”

“Of course.” Skye smiled. “I think it’s very hot, being fluent in another language.” Bobbi raised an eyebrow. “Are you flirting with me?”

Skye laughed. “Not necessarily, but let me know when it’s working.”

Their moment was interrupted by a woman appearing behind the sign in desk, and they returned to their mission.

“Where can I find the storages?” Bobbi asked the kind woman behind the desk. Skye nervously shifted on her feet as the woman explained how to get there.

Bobbi turned back to her. “Ready to go?” Skye nodded and took after Bobbi. They hurried through the halls until Bobbi stopped outside one of the doors. In here, she gestured. Skye nodded, hand on her gun as they opened the door.

Inside, a blue man stood with their back towards them. Even if he hadn’t been blue, his clothes were the same as on the footage Skye had found, so there was no doubt that this was their guy. Except that the blue colour really unnerved Skye.

Having heard them, he turned around, and clicked a device on his chest, and the blue faded to a Caucasian skin tone. He noticed Bobbi grabbing her batons. “You don’t want to fight me,” he started.

Bobbi shrugged, her voice surprisingly steady for what had to be her first alien encounter, not counting Sif herself. “We just want to ask some questions.”

The man obviously did not share that sentiment, as his next move was to lunge forward. Bobbi dodged and hit him with one of her batons. He merely looked annoyed, and lashed out again. Skye felt frozen to the ground as Bobbi hit him again, and he picked her up and flung her across the room.

“Bobbi!” she called out, but there was no response. She pulled her ICER at the man. And then everything started to shake. Her gun trembled, falling apart in her hands. She swallowed thickly as the alien gave her a searching look. Then one of the closets next to her shook so hard it fell. On top of her. Because seriously, could this day get any better?

He made a sound that she would name a chuckle, and jumped over the closet and out the room. She took a deep breath, and the shaking stopped. A look at Bobbi taught her that her friend was still, unmoving, though she seemed to be breathing.

She tried to move from underneath the closet, but it was too heavy to lift. Except, what if she didn’t... lift it. Natasha said she had control. So she did. She put her hands underneath the closet and closed her eyes. The humming that she felt around her now concentrated to her arms and then to her hands and then out of her hands. The pressure lessened, and she opened her eyes to see the closet moving.

Out of shock, she faltered in whatever she was doing to make this happen, and the closet dropped an inch before she managed to get it up again. She quickly crawled from underneath it and rolled away, the closet falling down to the floor with a loud clanging noise. She didn’t spare it a second thought as she crawled her way towards Bobbi.

“Bobbi, hey. You gotta wake up. We have a blue alien to track. Bobbi?” She gently clapped Bobbi’s cheek, and the blonde groaned and blinked open her eyes. “Wha...?”

“He threw you in a wall,” Skye explained with a small smile. “Come on. We need to check back in.”

“Your nose,” Bobbi croaked. “Nat’s going to kill me.”

Skye reached for her nose and pulled her hand away bloody. Huh. “He threw a closet on me,” she said. It wasn’t even a complete lie. “I feel fine. And given your own state, she won’t be too mad.”

She helped Bobbi sit, and then stand up. A bit fuzzy still, the taller woman wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and together they made their way out of the building.

///

“Skye, what is causing this?”

Panic grabbed her throat. She just had to breathe. But her lungs weren’t working, and everything was shaking, and that alien was going to kill her...

“I am,” she gritted out, because she’d rather they kill her and they live than that she’d kill them by bringing down the base on top of them. Except that wasn’t what happened. Because the moment Blue Guy made a move to attack her, May stepped in front of her, facing him.

“Not on my watch,” she said, her tone low and icy. And Skye gulped in a breath. May moved backwards until she was holding Skye’s leather jacket. “Breathe,” she whispered. Yeah, Skye had figured that out herself. The only problem were her lungs.

Sif said something, and she couldn’t even properly hear it over the screaming in her head and the vacuum in her lungs, but it all boiled down to her being a monster, and she clenched her fist because she wasn’t a monster, she hadn’t asked for any of this... and then all the windows in the room shattered, glass raining down on them.

Skye let out a whimper, and May chose this moment to yank her out of the room and away. To one of the holding cells, Skye realised. But whether to keep her in or the aliens out, she didn’t know.

Any option would do.

Coulson stepped up to keep the aliens from following, yelling for Fitz to get Bambino, and then May was pulling her past the lab, where Simmons was looking at her like she was a monster, and she heard herself apologising, but the base still shook in its foundations, and Jemma looked scared.

And then Natasha and Clint were running at them. Natasha, her Tasha. Clint took one look at the situation, gave her an encouraging nod and moved to help Coulson. And Nat followed her and May down into the room, sitting down with her as May closed the wall behind them.

Skye looked at her fiancée. She could see her talking, but it wasn’t coming through. It was like there was a wall between them. Panic made its way up her body, her breath catching in her throat, she could feel herself losing control. “I can’t,” she whispered, or she thought she did because her voice didn’t sound like her. “I can’t.”

Natasha hit her in the face, and she startled back into herself a bit. “You can. I know you can. Like Clint said. Just breathe.”

Skye shook her head. “I’m trying!” But what if Jemma was right? She could see May looking around them as dust fell from the ceiling and the wall in front of them flickered. She was doing that. She was putting them all in danger, and not just because she was shaking the base. If she wasn’t like this, they wouldn’t have to put themselves in danger to keep the aliens from getting to her. Jemma was absolutely right. She was wrong.

Suddenly Sif’s sword pierced through the wall, the entire thing shaking under the pressure of the foreign metal. Natasha chanced a look over her shoulder. “She won’t get through,” she said, though whether to convince Skye or herself remained to be seen. She looked at Skye. “I promise she won’t get you. The only thing you have to do is breathe.”

Skye nodded, she was trying. Then Sif tore the wall open, and Natasha swirled around, in a fighting stance along with May. But all Skye could see was the Asgardian and her big sword, coming for her. For the monster. In a last moment of control she seized forward and grabbed the gun she knew Natasha kept in the waistband of her jeans at all times. She pointed it at herself and shot. The last thing she heard before everything went black was Natasha screaming her name.

Bobbi’s mind was spinning as she swept the glass in the common room with Mack, Hunter and Simmons. So Skye did have powers. And quite… destructive ones at that. She’d suspected, of course. With the way Skye had been acting since San Juan, and how Fitz and Natasha refused to leave her out of sight for longer than 5 minutes after they gave her blood the all-clear.

She had hoped the girl would tell her. They had become quite close the past few months. But then again, she got why Skye hadn’t told her. Why she hadn’t told anyone. With the way everyone was acting… it was probably for the better.

She thought about Gonzales for a moment, and what he would have done. And she didn’t like the conclusion she came to. He would lock her up, and not in a quarantine. If she’d even be allowed to... No, Surely he wouldn’t go that far. Bobbi shook herself out of her drifting thoughts just in time to notice Fitz walking in.

The engineer was trying to catch Jemma’s eye, but the girl seemed intent on ignoring him. Fitz fidgeted with his hands. “So you’re still mad,” he mumbled.

Jemma looked up. “You lied to me, Fitz!” It sounded sad, and frustrated, and Bobbi was pretty sure the girl didn’t really know what or how to feel right now. But her response hit a wrong nerve with Fitz, who looked up with a hint of ice in his gaze. “Well that makes us even then.”

The comment hit hard and Jemma quickly looked away. “She should’ve told us,” Jemma eventually said. Fitz chuckled, a sarcastic and bitter thing. “What, so you could lock her up and study her? You talked about containing Raina. About eradicating this threat. And you’re mad she didn’t tell you?”

It was what Bobbi had assumed why Skye hadn’t told them. Obviously, Fitz, and probably Nat and Clint too, shared this sentiment. Jemma clearly didn’t. “This is different! Skye is my friend, I would never do that to her.” Fitz shrugged. “Maybe you should have made that clearer.”

He looked around the room, catching all of their eyes. Bobbi noticed Mack and Jemma looking away, while Hunter looked uncomfortable under Fitz’s intense gaze. When it crossed hers, Bobbi held it unwaveringly. She was done with backing down on her morals and her friends. When he spoke next, he was still holding Bobbi’s gaze, and his voice was steadier and clearer than it had been in a long time. “We’re her family. We’re supposed to protect her.”

And then Mack spoke up. “No, Fitz,” he started with a grave look on his otherwise open and kind face. “We’re the ones that need protection from her.”

Before Bobbi could open her mouth to cuss him out on... whatever this bullshit was, a sound from the doorway had them all looking up. And there stood Skye. Her eyes were sad, and she looked so broken, as she heard how the people she trusted gave up on her. And then her gaze hardened, and she backed away, before running of towards the hangar.

Bobbi felt a feeling of... it was almost panic clawing it’s way up her throat. She didn’t want Skye to think she agreed with this. Because she didn’t. So, in that moment, she made a decision. She whirled around and slapped Mack across the face. He looked surprised, and a bit guilty, but Bobbi knew that guilt was more at the fact that Skye had overheard him than at what he said, so she couldn’t care less.

“What the hell, Mack! Skye is part of your team. A friend. Family. Fitz is right; we should be offering her support. That girl is terrified because she changed, and all you do is hate her for it. It’s not like she chose this. She is terrified out of her mind, and the last thing she needs is to also be terrified of you. This isn’t you Mack. Get your head out of your ass and realise that.” She threw the broom away and walked to the door. “I’m done, Mack. With all of it,” she called over her shoulder, not caring who heard. She was done. 

She needed to find Skye. Or Nat. Preferably both. She made her way to the hangar, trying to rationalise where the girl could have gone. Meanwhile, she pulled out her phone and dialled Nat’s number. There was no one in the hangar but her – and maybe Skye – so she started talking the moment it was picked up. “Where are you?”

“Gym. I’m looking for Skye. She slipped out and I can’t fucking find her and I don’t think she should be alone right now. So if you find her...”

Natasha sounded slightly panicked to those who knew her, and Bobbi hated that that panic was justified. “She went to the hangar, I’m looking for her too. She had a duffel bag. And she may have overheard Mack saying they needed protection from her.”

Natasha sucked in a breath on the other side of the phone, and Bobbi hummed . “I smacked him across the face. I’m done, Nat. It’s over for me. I’m with Skye, and I need her to know, but I need to bloody find her first.” It was silent for a while, and Bobbi walked slowly around the hangar. You’d think there weren’t many options here, but the hangar was massive, and full of dark and lonely spots, and it also had multiple doors leading elsewhere.

“He said exactly what she didn’t need to hear,” Natasha’s voice suddenly piped up in her ear. “She thinks she is a danger to us. So she’ll go somewhere she can’t hurt us. Something that will contain her powers, maybe.”

Bobbi halted in front of the BUS. “The interrogation room,” she realised, before lowering the ramp and hurrying onto the plane. Natasha sucked in another breath. “I’m on my way.”

The line went dead, but Bobbi paid it no attention as she practically ran up the stairs to the interrogation room. Build to withstand Asgardians, surely it could hold Skye’s powers. Or so the girl must think. She skidded to a halt outside of the room, and banged on the door. “Skye? Skye!”

There sounded a muffled cry through the door, and Bobbi realised in a flash that she must think that Bobbi had come here to... she didn’t know what exactly. But the girl was terrified and she wasn’t helping.

“Skye,” she tried again, fighting to control her voice, “I’m not here to hurt you. I won’t try to get in if you don’t want to. If it makes you feel safer, Natasha is on her way now, and Clint is probably too.”

She paused and leaned her head against the door. She couldn’t hear much through these damned walls, and she had no idea what Skye was doing, or if she was okay. But at least she knew she was there. “I hit Mack. He’s an idiot, and he doesn’t know what he’s saying. Or maybe he does, which makes him a bigger idiot, and also an asshole.”

She scratched the back of her neck. “I know you heard Mack, Skye, but I hope you heard Fitz too. He... he said that we're your family. And we fucked that up massively. He didn’t say it like that, but that’s what it boiled down to. Because as your family, we should have supported you. We should have let you known that no matter what happened, infection or not... alien or not, you were family and should have supported you.”

Behind her, Bobbi heard to sets of footsteps approaching, but she didn’t move away from where she was leaning her head against the door. “Skye, I’m sorry if I made you feel like you’re a danger to us. I don’t believe you are. I want you- no I need you to know that you have my support. No matter what. I’m... I’m done Skye. That guilt thing? I fixed it. And for a large part because I met this young agent who despite everything believes in the good in people, who believed in me despite me making the worst decisions ever, who showed me how to trust again.”

She looked up, and caught Natasha’s serious gaze. She thought she saw a hint of pride and encouragement in there, but it was always hard to get a read on her friend. She turned back to the door. “I still think you’re a rock star, Skye. Even if you now have the power to literally rock the world. “

There was a tense moment of silence, and then the door opened and Skye barrelled into Bobbi, who had to take two steps back to keep them from falling over. The plane was now asking ever so slightly, and Bobbi marvelled briefly over the fact that the room had indeed contained Skye’s powers, before shaking the thought and wrapping her arms around the younger woman. “I’ve got you, Skye. I’m here,” she whispered.

Skye looked up with tearstained cheeks and red eyes, and Bobbi thought she saw the lingering terror and panic in her eyes that only followed after heavy panic attacks. She glanced aside to Natasha, who quickly stepped forward and took Skye from her embrace. “Hey, lyubov moya. Please don’t run away again, this place is a lot bigger than you’d think,” she said in a joking tone. Skye gave a rueful smile. “Sorry, Tasha. Just... need to keep you safe. And I didn’t think you’d let me go.”

Natasha softly flicked her nose. “If you need this room to feel safe, because you know it will keep us safe, then of course you can come here. I just want to know where you run off too. If you want, I can move my stuff here too. Or Bobbi can. Even Clint.”

Clint hummed affirmatively in the background, and Bobbi nodded. Of course she would. Skye gave them a teary look, but Bobbi swore she could see a glimmer of hope there too. Clint took a tiny step towards her. “Can I hug you?” Skye nodded carefully, and stepped out Nat’s arms and into Clint’s.

He pulled her close and tucked her head under his chin. “I’m going to talk with Mack. See if I can make him see some sense. You have Fitz and us three on your side regardless, and I think Hunter too, though you might need to smack him over the head sometimes. That guy is not subtle. Simmons... needs to figure out what she feels, but I’m sure she’ll turn around. And May and Coulson have your back too. It’s going to be okay. And if its not, you’ll have us to fall back on. I promise you will always be welcome at my home. And I’m definitely still hosting your wedding,” he added, a teasing lilt to his otherwise soft and calm voice.

Skye nodded against his chest and smiled. “Thanks, birdie.” Clint gave her a last squeeze before releasing her. “Let’s get you set up inside.”

Skye leaned against the wall, cross-legged on the bed. Her cards were pretty okay, but... She looked at Natasha across from her, comfortably hanging back in a chair opposite from her, and then at the table with the cards and their bets. She looked at Natasha again, and then tossed some chips on the pile. “Raise with fifty.”

Natasha gave an unimpressed nod and threw in some chips. Damn, why was she playing this with a superspy again? Clint rolled his eyes at their antics and added a final card. Huh. She had four of a kind now. Her eyes flitted up to find Natasha already staring at her, leaning forward, weighing her reaction. She raised one eyebrow, a trick she’d perfected under May’s teaching. Natasha huffed, and took a look at her own cards. After a few seconds, she relaxed back into her chair. “All in.”

Clint gasped, the drama queen. Skye shook her head, but quickly focussed back on her hand. She had a very good hand, one of the highest possible. The chances of Nat having higher were small to none, but she looked so sure. She tilted her head, staring her fiancée straight in her eyes. Was she bluffing? There was a slight glint of amusement in Nat’s eyes, a glimmer that Skye hoped she’d always find there, but there was nothing that told her if she was bluffing or not. Except, that something she couldn’t put her finger on…

“All in,” she echoed. Clint looked between them. “The tension here is making me uncomfortable. But hey, what can you do. Showdown, girls. Nat, you first.” Natasha placed her cards on the table, and Skye almost laughed. Her hand was terrible. Three of a kind, and the rest was loose cards. Natasha looked at her, a smile playing around her lips. Clint actually snorted and looked expectedly at Skye. “Come on, Shaky. Show us your hand.”

Skye placed her cards one by one the table. Four of a kind. She’d won the entire pot. Clint cheered as she smirked at her fiancée. “Got ya.” Natasha gave her a nod. “That you did. How did you know I was bluffing?” Skye shrugged. “Just… something. I don’t know. I just knew it was awful.” Natasha grumbled something, but her eyes shone with pride and love as Skye high-fived a whooping Clint.

Then the door opened, and their moment was interrupted as May came in. She raised an eyebrow at the chips and cards in front of her, but didn’t comment on it. “Can I have a moment with Skye? In private?” she asked instead. Both Avengers looked at Skye, who rolled her eyes and nodded. Clint grabbed the poker case and shoved everything inside. Natasha took their empty glasses and together they left the room. “Can you bring me a sandwich?” Skye called after them. There was no response, but she was pretty sure they’d heard it. May shook her head and closed the door.

Skye gestured for her to sit down in the chair Natasha had vacated. “It’s fun,” she explained, a bit defensively. “And it’s good lie-detector training with Nat. I think I’ve figured out Clint’s tells by now.”

May granted her the tiniest smile. “Good. We can play sometime too. But I have something different I wanted to talk about with you first.”

Skye leaned back against the wall. “Hit me.”

“You need to do a psych eval.”

May seemed to hold her breath for her reaction, and Skye closed her eyes for a moment. “May, I’m doing fine. I don’t need a shrink,” she replied, not opening her eyes. She heard May sigh. “It’s protocol, you-“

“I’m being put on the index,” Skye realised, her eyes opening to look at her SO. She’d discussed it with Natasha and Clint, who both were on the index too. It really was a very long list of people who qualified for the Index. May nodded, but didn’t respond with words. Skye thought for a moment. “It won’t help if I mention that I'm an agent as well as enhanced, will it?”

Another shake of the head. Skye sighed. “I don’t like shrinks.” Blame an entire childhood in the system for that. May huffed. “I know you don’t. But you’ll like this one.”

“How come?” Skye asked, intrigued at the weird tone in May’s voice.

“Because I was married to him.”

///

“What was the wedding like?” Skye asked eagerly. “Like, small, or did May go totally bridezilla? She can be intense,” she explained, when Garner gave her an unimpressed look. She just knew that Natasha was rolling her eyes in the corner of the room, but sue her. It was her psych eval to fuck with.

He smiled. “That’s-“

“Classified?” Skye finished for him, one eyebrow raised. “Tell me, did you have actual conversations?”

Garner’s smile didn’t fade. “How long will you keep deflecting?” Skye sighed. “And we hit the psycho babble.”

“Just a description of what I see,” he said calmly.

“I don’t like shrink descriptions,” Skye countered. He gave her a look that was incredibly similar to May’s when she was being annoying about training, and she huffed. “Well I see something you have in common.”

He chuckled, then leaned forward. “Why did you shoot yourself?”

Skye sucked in a breath. She was suddenly much more aware of her fiancée sitting in the corner, very obviously not reading the Avenger reports in her lap. She’d wanted Natasha to be there, insisted on it even, but suddenly she wasn’t so sure anymore. “I’m not suicidal,” she stated in a small voice. “I just needed to protect the team. It was… It was just an ICER.”

“Did you know it was an ICER?” he asked, his voice soft but determined. She looked at her hands. “I needed to keep the team safe,” she repeated. She almost felt Natasha suck in a deep breath. Garner chanced a look her fiancée’s way before turning back to her, but she avoided both their gazes.

She hadn’t known, not for sure anyway. But she hadn’t been in control, and she knew that this was the only way it would have stopped. And she would do everything, including shoot herself with a real gun, if it meant not endangering her team, her family, even more. She looked up at Garner, challenging him to say something.

“A true agent,” he mused. “Except you might not be anymore.” Skye refused to look away. She knew what could happen. He leaned back. “We got eloped.” Not a subtle topic-switch, but she’d take it. “In Vegas?” she asked, remembering her own ‘wedding’. He shook his head with a smile. “No, although Melinda does like Vegas.”

Skye looked at Natasha, who was fighting the emotions on her face. “Vegas is fun,” she said. Slowly, a smile settled on Natasha’s face, though her eyes remained slightly unfocussed, and she nodded in agreement. Garner looked between them. “I feel like I’m missing something here.”

Natasha cocked her head, and at Skye’s nod, she turned to the shrink. “We got married there, for a mission, a good two years ago.” Both his eyebrows raised to his hairline. Skye grinned and held up her hand with the ring. “Plan on doing it again soon, for real. But please, keep it out of the eval,” she added. “The list of people in the know is short, and we’d like to keep it that way."

He nodded, ever so slowly, obviously trying to catch up on the fact that his client and the Black Widow were engaged. He physically shook himself. “Alright, of course. Ehm…” He scratched his chin. “It’s good to see you have a safety net, at least.” Skye nodded, and he copied the movement, regaining himself. He thought for a moment, then turned to face her. “What would you do if that safety net fell away?”

She took a moment to think about the question. “I’d do much the same, I think. I’d just be a lot more tired, and a lot more… scared.”

“Scared?” Garner asked. “Does losing control make you feel scared? Or something else?”

She looked at her hands again. “Losing control. It’s… terrifying.”

///

Natasha waited impatiently for the coffee to finish brewing. Why couldn’t this place just have Stark’s high-speed coffee machines? Her phone ringed in her pocket, and she pulled it out with a frown. Bobbi. A low-level operative entered the room, but she chased him away with a look, before answering it. “Yes, Morse?”

“Romanoff. Just called to check in.”

Natasha gave the coffee machine a dirty look. “The coffee is as slow as ever, Skye is with Clint, and no word on your ex-husband yet.” What a mess their lives were.

“He didn’t run, Nat.” Bobbi’s voice sounded as tired as she herself felt. “I know, Bob. Best shot? Mack took him.”

“He wouldn’t… unless Hunter found out. But why wouldn’t he go to me?”

The frustration was palpable, even over the phone. Natasha sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe because you two never were good at talking?”

“Probably.” A sigh. “I just wish we were more like you and Skye sometimes.”

“What? An ex-assassin with trust issues and an apparently-not-orphan with earthquake powers?” She scoffed. “Believe me, you don’t want to be us right now.”

“You’re right, sorry.”

Natasha shook her head, frustrated at herself. She’d been feeling everything and nothing since she realised that Skye hadn’t known it was an ICER she’d shot herself with. It was… messy. “It’s okay. I’m… I think we all need a vacation.”

“We do. Hey, Nat? Can you do me a favour?” Natasha hummed as the coffee was finally done, and she picked up the pot to pour three mugs. “What do you need?”

“Can you find out if Mack really took Hunter? If he did, I know where they are.”

Natasha put back the pot. “I’ll get on it. Maybe Skye would like to do something else than poker for a while. We’ll figure it out,” she promised.

“Okay, thank you. I’ll talk to you later then?”

“Absolutely. We’ll talk later.” Bobbi hung up, and Natasha put her phone back in her pocket, before picking up the three mugs and making her way back to the BUS. And then the base started shaking. It took her less than two seconds to realise what the cause was. Or rather, who.

She put down the mugs and ran the rest of the way, vaguely noticing May and Garner on her heels, with Fitz and Simmons mere seconds behind them. She ran up the stairs, ignoring May’s cursing, and barged into the room.

Skye was staring at Clint with bleary, panicky eyes, and he had one hand on her shoulder, softly pressing down. “Skye, you need to stop this. I know you can do it.”

Natasha felt people moving to brush past her, but she stopped them. “She needs to do this herself,” she hissed in May’s direction when the woman threw her an angry glance. It hurt her too, but Skye needed to do this without a sedative.

The shaking subsided, until it stopped completely, and Natasha felt her body relax. Skye closed her eyes, only to open them and meet her gaze. “You felt it in the base?” she asked in a small voice. Natasha nodded, finally letting the rest pass to enter the room. “Almost spilled the coffee,” she said in an as light tone as she could muster. “But you stopped it yourself. That’s good.”

Skye nodded, but her eyes betrayed her guilt and fear, and Natasha’s heart broke a little. Garner took a deep breath. “I need everybody out.” Clint stood up with a final squeeze of Skye’s arm and moved to the door. “Where did you put the coffee?” he asked. Natasha rolled her eyes. “Just outside the common room. Please don’t drink all of it.”

He grinned and walked out, ushering the scientists out of the plane on his way. May nodded towards Skye, something that Natasha interpreted as a proud nod, and left too, closing the door behind her. Garner didn’t try to make her leave, so Natasha sat down on the bed, next to Skye. She nudged her gently, and with a humph, Skye sat up straighter, crossed her legs and closed her eyes. Garner took up a chair and sat down, watching them with open curiosity.

Natasha craned her neck so she could check Skye’s heartbeat on her watch, but made sure to not touch her. It was decreasing, slowly, but steadily. When it had reached a relatively steady 68 beats per minute, she scraped her throat. “Under 70.”

Skye opened her eyes, a proud smile on her face. “I feel better.”

Garner’s chair creaked as he shifted in his seat. “How do you do that?”

“Regulating your breathing makes you heartrate drop,” Skye explained. “May started teaching me the basics after SHIELD fell, and Nat contacted Bruce for some tips.”

“Bruce Banner?” Garner asked. “You asked the Hulk for tips? Do you think your powers are linked to anger?”

Skye shrugged. “Any emotions, is my current guess. I have trouble controlling it when I’m stressing, or upset, or angry. Or like, really scared. So it’s not precisely the same, but still. The breathing works, makes me feel calmer. I get to shove all bad thoughts into little boxes and duct tape them shut.”

He raised an eyebrow. “That’s the part that Melinda taught you, isn’t it? Compartmentalisation. A trick they teach all agents. Can’t have feelings bothering you during a mission.” Skye gave him a curious look. “I get the feeling you don’t like the method.”

“That method is the reason for my job,” he deadpanned. “And it doesn’t really work. Because you’re not working through your feelings. You’re shoving them aside, only for them to come back when you’re asleep. Or maybe, when you’re already unstable because you’re upset or scared.”

Skye shrugged, suddenly tired and done. “May told me that I can use those feelings when I needed them. On my own terms. We started practicing controlling emotions before San Juan, doc. I know the risks, but I also know the benefits.”

“Sarcasm.”

Skye raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“Sarcasm,” Garner repeated. “You use sarcasm as a defence mechanism. To deflect.”

Skye shrugged once again. “I use Nat as a physical defence mechanism, but it doesn’t work that way with feelings.” Natasha elbowed her in the ribs, and she huffed. Garner nodded. “And humour. Much the same. Deflection, avoidance.”

“Of what, exactly?” Skye asked tiredly. Garner’s eyes flashed towards Natasha’s, and in a flash she realised what he was doing. He was drawing her out. “You’re avoiding the truth. Tell me,” he added before she could interrupt. “What were you dreaming about?”

Skye gave him a stubborn look, but didn’t reply. Garner cocked his head. “You changed, Skye. You have to face it at some point. You have powers, quite destructive powers, and you need to control them, but right now, you can’t. You changed, and you have to face it, or you’ll never sleep again.”

Natasha didn’t have to touch Skye to know her whole body was tensing up. “I dreamt I was looking through the scope of my rifle. And then suddenly I was on the other side. And someone was holding a gun to my head.”

“Someone in particular?” Garner asked, leaning forward.

“A SHIELD agent. But I can never see his face,” Skye said, and her voice turned bitter. “The feeling of going from agent to ‘enhanced’. From being respected, and a co-worker and a friend, to being a danger, and a monster.”

The room shook. Garner looked around him, and then back at Skye, who was still looking bitter and tired and frustrated, but also sad. “Skye, I think you need to take a deep breath.”

Natasha took Skye’s wrist and checked her watch. 78 bpm. Not low, but not very high either. The shaking persisted, as Skye frowned at herself. “I’m not… this isn’t me?” And suddenly it clicked for Natasha. “It’s not. The plane is taking off.”

Natasha never ever wanted to see Skye collapse like that, never again. Also, her future father-in-law really was a psycho. Luckily, they’d been able to re-contain the escaped Index people without too much trouble, but it had done a number on Skye to seem those people being ‘handled’, purely because of what they were. Hence, the shaking, and then the collapsing. And now her Skye was lying in bed, pale and small with gauntlets around her arms and wrists to prevent her from hurting herself more. She cursed herself that she hadn’t noticed earlier. Then again, Skye herself hadn’t even noticed it.

The door opened, and Bobbi slid through the door. “Still asleep?”

Natasha nodded, and gestured her closer. Bobbi obediently entered the room, closing the door behind her. She brushed a hand through Skye’s hair. It was funny how no one had fought her on watching Skye until she woke up. She thought that everyone kind of knew about them, yet no one had approached either of them about it. Although it had to be said, with Skye suddenly having powers and Natasha being an Avenger, no one really approached them to begin with.

Bobbi took a seat. “Clint told me that Mack took Hunter.”

“And now?”

“I’ll need to update Coulson about… well, everything, I suppose. Might not be here for long anymore.”

“If he sends you away, he’s an idiot,” a soft voice remarked from the bed. Both women’s heads swirled to Skye, who was blinking herself awake. She tried to come up, but groaned in pain when she put pressure on her arms. Natasha quickly helped her up, as Skye finally noticed the gauntlets.

And the bruises that were visible underneath them. “What did I do?” she asked as she lifted her hands to properly look at them and winced.

Natasha exchanged a look with Bobbi. “Simmons ran some tests. It seems like you haven’t been stopping your powers, but rather you’ve directed them inwards.”

“Meaning?” Skye asked, her voice monotone. Bobbi picked up. “Your powers damaged your arms. There’s hairline fractures from your fingers to your clavicles. The fact you remained functioning for so long… Perhaps the healing agent in your blood. We’re not sure, since we don’t quite understand your DNA at the moment. But this is… not good.”

Skye carefully dropped her arms and leaned her head back against the wall. “The gauntlets?”

“They’re to support your arms in healing, keeping them stable without hindering your movements too much, though I suggest taking it easy for a while. They also work to help suppress your powers, so you won’t hurt yourself any further,” Bobbi explained.

“Suppress?” Skye asked tiredly. “That tracks.” She closed her eyes. “Did I hurt anyone else?”

“Just yourself,” Natasha replied gently. Skye took a shuddering breath and nodded. “Good. That’s… something.”

Bobbi snorted, she couldn’t help herself. “I don’t think the bar has ever been this low.” And Natasha and Skye exchanged a look, and a tired smile, and they had to agree.

“You're gonna want to pack a bag.”

Skye threw some more clothes into her duffel, under the watchful eye of her fiancée. “Natasha,” she said, her hands stilling in their movements. “Please stop burning holes in the back of my head.”

Natasha looked away with a mumbled apology, and Skye quickly finished packing her bag, zipping it close before she turned around. “Tasha?” Her fiancée looked back at her, and Skye hated it. She saw the fight in her eyes, but they both knew it was no use fighting this. They’d both felt it coming anyway, especially after Garner’s psych eval. That didn’t make it any easier. 

Skye opened her arms for a hug, and Natasha quickly closed the distance, embracing her tightly in return. “I hate this,” the Avenger mumbled. Skye hummed. “Me too. But hey, you get to go on a Hydra-hunt with the big guys. The most exciting thing I’ll be doing is the crossword.”

The joke fell flat, and Natasha couldn’t even find it in herself to respond. “Please just text. Like, at least once every day. Me or Clint. And Bobbi, because she will worry too.” Skye nodded, her chin bumping against Natasha’s shoulder, but neither woman cared. “I’ll text every day,” she promised. “And you text as often as you can. Or call. I’d like to see the other guys again.”

Natasha huffed. “I can promise you, after one call you’ll be done with them. And I will be stuck with them. Without you. I don't want to.” Skye tutted and pulled back. “You can do this. Besides, you’ll have Clint with you. You can prank Tony together again. Meanwhile, I’ll be planning our wedding.”

A small smile took over Natasha’s face. “I’d expect nothing less.”

Skye stepped away, and moved to her duffel, but Natasha’s hand around her wrist stopped her, and she turned back with a questioning look. Natasha looked down at her hands, and then up into her eyes. “I love you,” she said simply. “No matter what happens. I love you.”

“I love you too,” Skye replied, and she pressed a kiss to Natasha’s lips. She leaned their foreheads together for a few heartbeats, and then she gently extracted her hand from Natasha’s grip, grabbed her duffel and left the room. Natasha stayed behind, watching her leave, with the feel of Skye’s hand in hers slowly fading away.

///

Natasha walked through the base without a clear direction, but somehow she wasn’t surprised when she found herself suddenly in the doorway of the gym. She shrugged and walked over to the punching bags. Might as well get some exercise. She wrapped her hands and got settled in a comfortable routine.

It shouldn’t have surprised her that it was Clint who came looking for her. She’d heard him come in about fifteen minutes into her session, but he was being kind and just let her punch for a while longer, leaning against the doorway to watch her. Eventually, his silence started to bug her, so she stopped, stilled the bag, and turned around.

“What do you want?” It sounded harsh, harsher than she’d intended, but in her defence, her fiancée had just left for god knew how long and the last time they got separated Skye had gotten kidnapped, so she really wasn’t feeling the vibe.

Clint didn’t seem to hold it against her, and just raised a cup with... something? “Found this in the fridge with your name on it. That woman knows you better than you know yourself. Figured I’d stop by to give it to you.”

Ah, one of Skye’s post-workout shakes. It seemed Skye had known she’d end up here before she herself did. She softened.

Clint smiled and pushed himself off the doorway, calmly making his way over and offering her the shake. Natasha took it with a tiny nod of thanks and took a sip. It was as good as usual. “How do you do it?” she asked out of the blue, her voice deceptively neutral. Clint eyed her curiously for a moment, but then he seemed to catch on.

“It’s different for us. Laura knows that SHIELD is something I need. And she knows you have my back, which makes it a lot easier for her to let me go. But it’s getting harder, I’m not gonna lie. With two, and a third on the way...”

“Speaking of the third, you better name that one after me,” Natasha told him. Clint grinned at her, but it faded into something smaller and softer. “I think, that after a while, it just gets normal. The not knowing if you’ll get home. The constant worry of not making it back. It doesn’t mean it’s easy for me to go, or for her to let me go, but kind of ignoring the feeling will get easier over time.” He rubbed his chin and chuckled. “I always had you. You know what I have to go back to, and you always made sure I could. That we both could.”

Natasha took his hand and squeezed it. Then she sighed. “Skye has no one to watch her back right now, though. And she can take care of herself, but... I just wish someone were there with her. Not even necessarily me, but just so she wouldn’t be alone.”

Clint’s hand squeezed hers back. “I know. Like I said, it never gets easy, but it might get easier.” He released her hand and poked her side. “And you’ll call so often that she’ll be glad when you hang up, you’ll see!” Natasha chuckled and swatted his shoulder. She took another sip of her shake.

A knock from the doorway had them both looking up. Natasha raised an eyebrow when she saw Bobbi standing there. “Not yet fired?”

Bobbi grimaced. “Coulson is disappointed, which felt worse than if he had yelled at me. But my plan is a go, so I’ll be heading out this evening. I just wanted to say goodbye to Skye, which I just did, and to you guys. You’re leaving soon too I heard?”

With a sigh, Natasha stepped away from Clint. “Yeah, we’re on Hydra hunting duty.”

Clint rolled his eyes. “You say that like it’s the most terrible thing Coulson could have us do. I, personally, am looking forward to shooting some squid bastards.”

Bobbi chuckled, and Natasha couldn’t help her own smile. She threw back the last of her shake, and shook her muscles out. Her best friend gave her a short glance, but apparently decided she was fine enough because he smiled. “Alright folks. I’m going to see if Mel has something for me to do. See you around, ladies.” And with a lazy wave over his shoulder he walked out of the gym. Natasha watched him leave, then glanced at Bobbi. “You good?”

Bobbi shook her head with a bitter smile. “I’m about to betray some people I trust, people I care about. I know it’s the right thing to do, but that doesn’t mean it feels good.” She sighed, her shoulders slumping, making her look tired and done. Natasha felt for her. “The good thing isn’t always easy to do.”

She moved to the door, motioning for Bobbi to follow. As they walked through the base, Natasha considered the situation. “What exactly is your plan?”

“I go to the base, help Hunter escape, hope he doesn’t shoot me, and then we’ll see.” Bobbi shrugged. Natasha hummed. “And what if Mack ratted you out?”

“I don’t think Mack took my ‘I’m done’ very serious. As far as I know he still thinks I’m loyal, maybe just a bit compromised.” Bobbi shrugged again. “And if he did tell... at least Hunter will believe me. I just have to triple spy the shit out of this.”

Natasha chuckled. “Well, you are good at that.” She noticed Bobbi cringe a bit, and placed a hand on her friend’s arm. “I meant that as a genuine compliment. You’re easily in the top of SHIELD. You were before the fall, and you still are now.” She nudged Bobbi’s shoulder. “Just keep in mind the wedding you’re invited to, and you’ll see that you’ll be perfectly fine.”

Bobbi laughed, genuinely laughed at that. “You’re seriously still wedding planning?”

“Of course,” Natasha said incredulously. “When Skye is back, and you’ve fixed your shit, and Hydra has lost a few more heads, I am marrying that woman, and you’re going to be there. Period.”

Suddenly, Bobbi stopped and turned to face her. “Thank you,” she said seriously. Natasha nodded, understanding that this was for more than just this conversation. “Of course. Gotta look out for each other right?”

“I just can’t figure out this last part!”

Natasha laughed at the frustration in Skye’s voice. On the other side of the line, Skye huffed. “Don’t laugh at me! I'm serious, it’s annoying!”

She couldn’t help it, she laughed again. “I’m sorry, I just think it’s funny you can hack Tony’s AI, but you can’t finish the crossword,” she said between laughs. Skye huffed again, and Natasha relented. “I’m really sorry. I’ll text you Tony’s number, then he can help you.” The elevator she was standing in came to a stop, and the doors opened. 

“You better,” Skye muttered indignantly. Natasha rolled her eyes, but the smile didn’t leave her face. “Anyway,” she said loudly, walking out of the elevator and into the room, drawing the attention of the other Avengers who were busy working away their breakfast. “Do you want to say hi to the boys?”

Clint raised his hand in a wave Skye most definitely couldn’t see through the phone call, but Tony yelled loud enough to make up for it. “Skyenet! How are you doing?”

“Was that Tony? Put me on speaker, will you?” Skye asked excitedly. Natasha obeyed, placing the phone on the table so they could all hear her, and then moved to fix her own breakfast and a cup of coffee.

“Stark! How are you liking your new security updates?” Skye asked, her voice now teasing. Tony spluttered, but his eyes were shining. “My security was fine until you waltzed through it like a tank, you brat!”

“I’m going to assume that was a ‘thank you’, so no problem!” Natasha chuckled. “Be nice, Skye. Clint put Fitz’s glitter bomb in his suit yesterday.”

“Is his hair shiny?”

“It is.”

“Wonderful! You gotta send me a photo.”  Skye sounded positively elated at the prospect of blackmail, and Tony groaned and hid his head in his hands. “It was so mean,” he said, his voice muffled. Skye just laughed at him, before taking a deep breath. “Now that I got you all on the line anyway, had some things I meant to say. Thor, I met your friend, she’s a real feisty one. If you see her again, can you tell her I’m doing wonderful? She’ll know what it’s about.”

Thor frowned, his fork-full of eggs halting halfway to his mouth. “My friend? Have you met the lady Sif?”

“We did,” Cint muttered. "Packs one hell of a punch, that one.” Thor’s frown deepened, but he nodded. “I'll pass along the message, of course, lady Skye.”

“That would be great, thanks! Bruce, I still need to thank you for the yoga exercises. And the other eh… well, let’s just call all of it exercises.” Skye chuckled at herself. “I feel better since I started doing them. Less… like I’m about to explode.”

Bruce smiled warmly at the phone, and Natasha got the feeling he was genuinely happy to be helping someone again, like he used to do in his doctor days. “It’s good to hear that. If you need any help, or just want to talk about it, or anything… Just let me know.”

When Skye responded, Natasha just knew she was smiling too. “Sure thing, doc! Oh, and I’ve been practicing some breathing exercises, maybe you can use those too! Ask Nat about them later, it’s hard to explain over the phone.” 

Bruce looked at Natasha, and she nodded. She’d tell him later, of course. “Thanks, Skye,” the doctor said gratefully.

“Alright, think I got everything? Oh, wait, Captain Rogers?”

Steve raised an amused eyebrow at Natasha, who rolled her eyes in response. “Skye, he went AWOL and broke about fifty speed limits to get me to Zurich in time. I think you can call him Steve.”

“Oh.” Skye seemed to need a second to process that, and Natasha realised she had probably never told her how exactly she got to Zurich. It just… hadn’t come up? “Ehm, alright? Steve?”

“Yes, Skye?” he replied, that same amused look in his eyes.

“Right, apparently I'm somewhere you have been before? It’s by this massive lake. My handler got all excited that you were here, just thought it was funny to share.”

Natasha shifted on her feet. They all sort of unofficially knew Coulson was alive, because none of them were idiots, and there were only so many people Fury would have trusted to rebuild SHIELD. Although rebuilding SHIELD seemed to be a popular hobby these days.

Steve smiled. “I think I remember that place. Lovely cabin. It had this cool high-tech laser grid, right?”

Clint almost spit out his coffee. “He send you to the Retreat?!” he exclaimed after swallowing, trying not to cough. Natasha’s eyes darkened as she absentmindedly patted him on the back. Bruce’s smile was fading into a frown. “I spend some time there too, though I don’t remember all of it.”

“That’s so cool!” Skye exclaimed, then suddenly she fell silent, when she realised what that implicated. “Ah. Fuck.”

Meanwhile, Natasha felt her blood boiling. Putting Skye in a safehouse was one thing. And she knew that Coulson had done it as much for the team’s safety as for Skye’s own safety, but the Retreat? Oh, he was so dead when she saw him again.

Tony was looking concerned, and Thor was mostly confused, but Natasha saw Clint’s and Bruce’s eyes simmer with poorly-contained anger, and Steve had his jaw set in the way that meant he deeply disapproved. Which was not a good sign for Coulson’s long term well-being either.

There were some vague noises from the other side of the line, and then a deep sigh. “Well, at least I can’t damage the pretty lake.” Skye chuckled at her own joke, but fell silent when no one else laughed. “Nat?”

Natasha hummed. “Yeah?”

“Don’t kill him, please.” Natasha just hummed again.

“I mean it, don’t.”

“I won’t kill him,” Natasha said reluctantly. I can still threaten him. Skye seemed happy enough with her answer. “Anyways. Work talk.” She scraped her throat, not at all subtle in her subject change. “Tony, I'm going to send you some coordinates of places you guys need to check out. Strucker’s base is a work in progress, I’ll send you what I got on that so far. Sounds good?”

Tony looked nervously between Natasha and the phone, seemingly not sure if they were allowed to change the subject. Natasha gave him a reluctant nod; she’d talk with Skye later, in private. “Yeah, sure, just send me what you got, and we’ll go from there. I think I have better reception here anyways,” he tried to joke, before standing up to fill his mug with more coffee and taking a sip.

“You have better everything there,” Skye complained, going along. “Fresh fruit, good coffee, a soft mattress, my fiancée-“

Tony choked on his coffee, Bruce, Steve and Thor looked at her in shock, and Clint just grinned at all of their reactions. Natasha facepalmed as Skye went on, oblivious.

"- I don’t even have chocolate! And only one kind of tea, and Nat said I couldn’t drink too much coffee, so… Tony, are you alright?” Skye interrupted herself when Tony kept coughing.

Red-faced and not at all alright, he nodded, even though Skye couldn’t see that. “Sure,” he croaked between coughs.

"Fiancée?” Steve asked, somewhere between shocked, happy, and… disappointed? Natasha winced slightly.

“Oh, shit! I thought Nat would have told you by now?” Skye asked, a hint of panic in her voice. Natasha quickly stepped in. “I was going to, but… just hadn’t yet. So, surprise?"

She took a sip of her own coffee. "Hey, fun news!" she said sarcastically. "We’re getting married. No idea when or where or how, it’s still a work in progress. You’re all invited, by the way,” she added, soft smile on her face by the end, and Steve’s smile turned more genuine. “I am happy for you two,” he said sincerely.

“A joyous union!” Thor exclaimed, deciding that excitement was the appropriate reaction for this. Bruce echoed the sentiment, and Tony finally had recovered enough to get out more than one word. “Yeah, congrats ladies.” He smiled. “Remember when you said she wasn’t your girlfriend?”

All the genuine happiness seemed to have set Skye at ease. “Yeah, well, she really wasn’t then. But now she is going to be my wife!” Natasha tried to hide her blush behind her own coffee mug, but all the other Avengers had seen it, and where grinning at her. “Although, technically, we-“

“Skye!” Natasha interrupted her loudly, already knowing where this was going from the smug tone her fiancée had put on. Clint would never talk to her again if he ever found out though. “I am very kindly asking you to not finish that sentence.”

Skye hummed, and Natasha could practically hear the beaming smile in her voice. “Alright, I won’t. But you better make your Russian pancakes the next time we stay at your place.”

Natasha completely ignored the curious - and slightly teasing - looks from the boys. “Deal,” she agreed easily. Skye hummed happily. “Deal. Now, as much as I am loving this phone call, I need to go, get some work done. Oh, and I’m trying to turn my glass of water into a tiny whirlpool. If I succeed, I’ll make sure to send a video.”

“Alright, sounds very cool. Can’t wait to see it,” Natasha replied excitedly, and Clint nodded his agreement. “Will you call me tomorrow?”

“I’m calling Bobbi tomorrow, so you’ll have to get through the day with just a text,” Skye said, sounding slightly apologetic. Natasha gasped. “Are you dumping me for Bobbi?”

“Six-feet blonde gorgeous amazon warrior? No, why would I?”

Tony looked up. “She single?” Natasha shot him a dirty look, and Skye’s laugh echoed through the phone. “Don’t even think about it Stark, she’d eat you alive.” Tony shrugged. “Worth a try,” he mumbled.

“It was good to talk to you guys. Be nice to each other, and make sure to send photos of the pranks. I’ll see you all at the wedding.”

The Avenger all said their goodbyes, and Natasha picked up the phone and put it off speaker. “Skye?” she asked, putting down her mug and walking away from the kitchen for some more privacy.

"Private?" Skye asked, her voice immediately sounding much less excited.

Natasha hummed.

"I’m okay, Nat. I promise. It's... I don’t like it, but if he thinks it's necessary... It's a shitmove, and you can yell at him. Please do, because I never could. But it's okay, for now."

Natasha closed her eyes momentarily, and took a deep breath. “If you’re sure.” Another deep breath. “As long as you know-“

“I do.” Skye sounded actually tired now, and Natasha got the feeling this was tougher on her than she was letting on. For the umpteenth time, Natasha wished she was with Skye, helping her through all of this, instead of being sent all over the globe to hunt nazis.

"I love you,” Skye spoke softly. “I love you and I miss you and I wish you were here, but it's going to be fine, becaus I can control these powers, and you can take the guys and shoot nazis. And if you see Ward I swear to God please kill him for all our sakes.”

Natasha smiled. That was her fiancée. “I love you too. And I miss you too. And the next time I see you, I’m dragging you off for that wedding.”

“Sounds fantastic. I can’t wait.”

“Neither can I.” Natasha sighed. “I’ll see you again soon, lyubov' moya.”

“In a minute?”

“Always.”

Chapter Text

Bobbi slipped into an empty conference room, pulling out her phone and quickly searching for a number. She pressed on the call button, hoping it would be picked up fast. She needed to be quick, to not draw attention. A click, and then a voice.

“Hi, Bobbi! How are you? Better than me probably, it’s boring here.”

Bobbi couldn’t help a small smile, but the reason she was calling was enough to quickly wipe it away. “Hey, you. Listen, I don’t have much time.”

A beat of silence, then, “That doesn’t sound like a happy call.”

“It’s not.” Bobbi took a deep breath, and glanced outside the room, but there wasn’t anyone around. “Hunter escaped. I’m going back to base to take in May, Coulson and Fitzsimmons, or, well…”

“That’s what they think,” Skye finished for her. “So you’re still good then?”

Bobbi sighed. “Yeah, I'm still good. Anyway, Coulson is ready for them. If, and I don’t think it will, but if they succeed in taking over, you need to leave wherever you are.”

“Noted. I’ll see if there’s a way out of here that doesn’t trigger any alarms.”

“That’s probably for the best,” Bobbi agreed. She sighed. “I’m so sorry Skye.”

“Don’t be.”

Really, it was almost frustrating how willing Skye was to forgive her. “I’m part of the reason you’re wherever the fuck you are, Skye. And for that I'm sorry.”

Skye seemed to take a moment to think. “You did not give me powers, nor did you turn on me in the aftermath. You’re trying to fix it, and thus you are forgiven, for you haven’t done anything wrong yet. Not to me, at least. Coulson probably isn’t happy with you right now, but then again, I know about six people who aren’t happy with Coulson, so apparently he can go suck it.”

Bobbi chuckled as her heart warmed at Skye’s words. “Thank you,” she simply said, because what else was there to say? She looked into the hallway again, still empty, but she’d already been away too long. “Listen, I gotta go. If something else happens I’ll try to let you know.”

“Of course, and thank you too.” Skye sounded so sincere, and Bobbi felt her heart warm. She hadn’t fucked up everything in her life. It felt good. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

“See ya soon, Bob,” came the cheery answer, and then she hung up. Bobbi stared at her phone for a minute, wondering how on earth Skye was remaining so positive, so good, through all the insane shit she’d been through. With a shake of her head, she forced herself back into her double agent mode. Or rather, triple agent mode, but Gonzales didn’t know that. She put her phone back, straightened her shoulders and stepped back into the hallway. She had work to do.

Skye was just chilling on the couch. Just… another crossword puzzle. Her laptop was running an intensive search, but she couldn’t do anything to make it go faster, so here she was, trying to finish yet another crossword. Maybe she could try a sudoku some time. That sounded fun.

A zapping sound from outside pulled her attention away from her puzzle however, and she felt every muscle in her body freeze. With quick and fluid movements, she placed her puzzle next to her on the couch, got up and moved towards the panel in the wall.

It showed no breeches in any security; no one setting off the laser grid, no one passing the perimeter. Yet she knew, instinctively knew, something was wrong. She could feel it. There was something, someone perhaps, out there. She grabbed her ICER from the table, and walked to the door. Her feet didn’t make a sound; Natasha had trained her better than that. Natasha also had forced her to watch one too many horror movies, and her heart was beating in her throat.

With her ICER in one hand, she unlocked the door with the other and then slowly and quietly opened the door. It was dark outside, and quiet and empty. Skye let it wash over her, the sounds of the forest, the lake a bit out. An owl in the distance and the wind in the trees. Nothing human, no one there. She lowered her gun. Bloody paranoia driving her-

“Hello Skye.”

Her gun was back up faster than she could think, and suddenly it pointed right at a man’s head. The man cocked his head. “I’m Gordon.” He nodded towards the gun. “Mind lowering that?”

Skye shook her head. “No thanks. How the hell do you know who I am?” She chose to ignore the fact that he had no eyes right now.

The man, Gordon as he called himself, sighed. “That is a rather long story. Please, may I come in?” When Skye made no move to step aside or lower the gun, he added, “I’m not going to hurt you. Though I suppose I’m not the first one who told you that. But you can trust me. I’m like you, Skye.”

“Cursed?” Skye asked, curious despite herself.

“Gifted,” Gordon corrected. “I can explain, if you just…” he gestured vaguely with his hand. Skye looked him over once more. No eyes, but he seemed to see her just as clearly as anyone else, and he’d managed to get here without tripping any alarm, and he still hadn’t made a move to hurt her, while he so clearly could have. She sighed inwardly. Natasha would have her head for this.

She lowered the gun and stepped aside. He smiled and walked past her into the cabin. Skye threw one last suspicious look outside and then closed the door and followed him. Gordon was in the middle of the living room, hovering by the couch. He pointed at it. “May I sit?”

Before Skye had decided whether to tell him to fuck off or go sit, he’d plopped himself down. She couldn’t help but slightly stare at him. “I wish you wouldn’t stare,” Gordon said from his place on the couch. He shifted. “This couch is very uncomfortable. Do you sleep on this thing?”

She startled out of her stupor. “Sorry. For the staring. And the couch?” She sighed. “Would you like a glass of water? I’d offer coffee, but it tastes awful coming from this machine.”

Gordon laughed. “No thank you, Skye.”

She crossed her arms defensively and leaned against the table. “Yeah, about that. How do you know my name again? Can you read my mind?”

With a shake of his head, Gordon shifted again and threw one arm over the back of the couch. “I can see that you’re afraid. There’s no reason to be. Like I said, I’m like you.”

“You can see?” Skye asked, a bit unbelieving.

“Maybe not like you do.” Gordon shrugged. “Different perspectives can be wonderful. But really, just try to relax.”

Skye laughed. “When I relax, things start shaking.”

“Fascinating,” Gordon breathed. Skye’s eyes widened at that. That reaction was certainly new. Just as she opened her mouth to say something like that, Gordon beat her to it. “I’m guessing SHIELD doesn’t think so?”

With a sad smile, Skye shook her head, and Gordon sighed. “See, and this is where we are different. I had years to prepare. And I still freaked out, by the way. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for you. With zero idea of what was going to happen…” He trailed off, seemingly lost in thought for a moment. Then he levelled her with a look. Or well, a look… “I had someone to guide me. The first thing she did after the mist was hug me. Tell me honestly, Skye, what was the first thing SHIELD did to you?”

Skye’s mind flashed with the feeling of Natasha’s hugs, Fitz’s reassuring nods, Bobbi’s and Clint’s words of comfort, Garner’s steady advice. And then to Jemma’s disgust, and Mack’s yelling. SHIELD had… well, she was here, wasn’t she? In the Hulk’s old cabin. She opened her mouth to answer, but nothing came out. It was an answer in and of itself.

Gordon nodded in understanding, and leaned forward on the couch. “Your powers… what are they like?”

“Destructive,” Skye immediately replied.

He shook his head, and Skye strangely felt like she’d given him the wrong answer. Instead of commenting on it, he asked another question. “And what does it feel like?”

That Skye had to think about. “It’s a lot,” she started. “It’s this sort of humming, like I’m shaking inside my skin. Like a thousand bees trapped inside of me. And it never stops.”

Gordon looked at her, and something told Skye that if he’d still had eyes, they would have been shining. “You seem to have the ability to tap into the vibrations around you,” he told her, and he almost sounded in awe. “Everything in the world vibrates, on the smallest scale, and you… you can feel it. Influence it. Magnificent,” he breathed in wonder.

Feeling a bit… she didn’t really know how she felt, but it definitely wasn’t comfortable. He seemed oblivious to it, or at least fine with ignoring it. “Your… friends, as you call them. They want you to restrain your powers, don’t they?”

“I cause harm,” Skye simply said. “To them, or to myself. Like I said, it never stops. And I don’t know how to control it.”

“Our gifts come with a price, but control can be taught.” Gordon seemed to think for a moment. “When you are ready, I’ll take you to a place where that is possible.”

Skye frowned. “Where control is possible?” What was he talking about? Could she actually manage this? Also, “What kind of place?”

With a warm smile, Gordon stood up from the couch. “A place with people like us. Yes, there are more. It’s a place where we can be who we were meant to be, where we don’t have to be afraid of ourselves. We can help you there.” He made his way to the door, and Skye made half a move to come after him, but his next words stopped her. “You’re not ready yet, but I’ll be there to get you when you are.”

Perhaps Skye should have asked how or when or why, but instead she found herself merely nodding, and then he opened the door, stepped out, and closed it behind him. There were the sounds of footsteps fading away, then the same zapping sound that had announced his arrival, and then it was quiet again. She moved to the door, opened it, and found nothing but the darkness of the night waiting for her outside.

She closed the door with a sigh and locked it, before making her way back to the living room and sitting down on the couch. She pulled out her phone, hesitated for a moment, and then just pulled up Nat’s contact and called. It didn’t take long for her fiancée to pick up. Never did. She almost smiled.

“Hello, lyubov moya . Everything alright?”

How could someone’s voice settle her mind like that? She shook herself. “Hi, Nat. Yeah, I’m fine,” she answered, though her voice definitely betrayed her not being quite fine.

Natasha obviously picked up on that. “Yeah, no, you’re not. You also said you would call Bobbi instead of me today, and while I’m not complaining, you do have to tell me what’s up.”

“I had a visitor. Just now.” Skye waited for a lecture on not letting strangers in or something, but Natasha just patiently waited for her to explain. “He was like me. He didn’t have eyes, but he could see me, or at least he could see in some way. I’m also pretty sure he teleported here.” She sighed and leaned her head back. “There’s more people like me, Nat. He said there’s a place where they can teach me how to control this.”

She knew she didn't have to explain what she meant with that. She also hadn't realised how wistful she'd sounded until Natasha spoke. “You want to go there.” It wasn’t even a question. Skye answered anyway.

“Yeah.” She was silent for a moment. “If I can learn how to control this… the vibrations and the shaking, maybe I can just be myself again. Without worrying about hurting you when I have a nightmare, or without doing breathing exercises every time I’m slightly frustrated because I might bring down the base. I could just… be.”

Natasha just hummed, a sign that she was still listening. Skye felt emboldened, and continued. “I did actually call Bobbi yesterday. They might come after me, and I can’t have that. Gordon, the guy that was here said I wasn’t yet ready and that he would come pick me up when I was, but I was basically ready to go when he was done. I just wanted to call you beforehand, really.” 

“Sounds like he had a good sales pitch,” Natasha said, and Skye heard the smile in her voice.

“You… you don’t think I’m an idiot then? For believing him? And for wanting to go?” Skye asked hesitantly.

Natasha scoffed. “Of course not. I trust your judgement in people, and if you want to go, why would I stop you?” Before Skye could answer, Natasha continued. “ Skye, in a perfect world I’d want you to come here to the Avengers Tower so we could figure this out together. But the world is far from perfect and I don’t know how to help you. And it kills me that I don’t, and I’d give a lot to change that, but I can’t. So if this Gordon says he can help you, and you believe him, then yes. Go with him. Find your peace, and your control. And know that I will love you wherever you are, whatever you are. Because I love who you are.” 

Skye was so not brushing tears from her eyes. Not at all. “I love you so fucking much,” she breathed, not trusting her voice to actually speak. Natasha hummed. “I love you too, dorogaya. Now go and try to see if this Gordon guy can find you again.”

“I might need to go dark,” Skye warned, though she figured Natasha would have picked up on that. “And don’t tell Bobbi or Coulson unless it’s really necessary. If they don’t know where I’m heading, then they can’t tell anyone.”

“Sweetie, you don’t even know where you’re going,” Natasha said with an audible grin. “And sure, just text me whenever you can, and I’ll do the same. Oh, and please send Tony everything you’ve got on those bases before you go. He’ll appreciate that.”

“Will do,” Skye promised. “See you in a minute?”

Natasha chuckled at what by now was an old inside joke between them. “Of course, love. Always.”

Skye smiled, feeling more settled than she had in weeks, and disconnected the call. She pulled up her laptop, quickly sending everything she had to Tony as requested, and logged out. Then she hacked into the camera grid around the cabin to make sure both Gordon's visit and her departure were properly covered, before deleting any trace of herself. She turned off the laptop and closed the lid. She briefly debated on what to do with the thing, and then a thought entered her mind. 

With a thoughtful frown, she put it on the ground and raised her arm. She felt for the vibrations under her skin, and tried to direct them towards her hands, and then outwards. The laptop shook, and cracks appeared across the case. She increased the force, a feeling of glee rising within her. The laptop cracked in two, and she stopped. They would need to put in a lot of effort to get anything out of that, if it was possible at all.

She turned away, going over a list of what to bring. Most of her personal stuff was either at Nat’s apartment, in Nat’s possession, or back in her bunk at the base. She had no idea if she’d need clothes. After thinking it over for a bit, she decided to just shove the gauntlets Jemma had made for her in a duffel bag, along with a set of clothes, grabbed her phone, and made sure she still had her ring. She made a final round of the cabin and then she stepped out and closed the door. 

It was very dark outside, far from any polluting light source as she was. She could see the stars shining in the sky as she looked up. A beautiful night to run away. Her phone hummed in her back pocket, and she quickly checked it. A text from Bobbi. 

Some agents are coming for you. Can’t stop them. You need to go

Huh. Bobbi must have had more trouble holding the ship afloat than she’d thought. She shrugged; it was whatever. She debated on sending something back, but it was probably better if they didn't know that she’d left, so she put her phone back. Then she took off at a brisk pace away from the lake, her duffle bag slung over her shoulder. She thought about how to let Gordon know she was ready, but before she’d gotten very far, she heard the zapping sound from earlier. 

She halted and turned towards the source of the sound, smiling when Gordon appeared from between the trees. “Long time no see,” she said as a way of greeting.

He stopped in front of her. “You were more ready than I thought.”

Skye nodded. “Yeah, well, you gave a good pitch. Just… needed to call someone,” she said, basically repeating what she'd said to Nat. She shook herself. “So, how are we going to get out of here?” 

As he stepped closer, Skye could see a smile appear on his face. “Take my hand?” he asked, offering his. Skye took the final step towards him and took his hand. It was warm, a hand that was used to hard work, and Skye felt a surge of trust for this man. So when he looked at her and asked if she was ready, she nodded.

With a grin, he pulled her down, and then the world turned blue around her. She closed her eyes, and let herself be teleported away. 

Bobbi subtly pulled her phone out, sent a quick message and then casually slid it back in her pocket. To anyone it would have looked completely normal. Not that anyone was really paying attention to her; everyone was busy preparing for the raid. On the Playground. Where Coulson would now be readying his agents to give them a less-than-cold welcome. 

“Agent Morse!” Bobbi looked up, and quickly stood when Robert Gonzales approached her. “Are you ready, agent?” he asked, not unkindly. 

With an inwardly scoff, she nodded. Yeah, she was ready. Just… not for what he was expecting her to do. She so wanted to just go to sleep and wake up to find this was all a bizarre dream. But then her thoughts went to Skye, scared and far away and alone, and imagined what Gonzales would have done to her, and her mouth set in a determined line. She was so ready. 

He nodded thoughtfully. “The quinjet is ready. Good luck, agent Morse.” 

“I won’t need luck,” she said confidently. It was true. It was all planned. Gonzales just smiled, and turned away. Bobbi pushed herself off her spot against the wall, and walked to the upper deck. 

Mack was waiting for her, and together they boarded the quinjet. They didn’t talk; Bobbi didn’t feel like it, and Mack seemed busy mentally preparing himself for what she supposed would be hurtful for him to do. Well, a good thing he wouldn’t get to do it. 

The - silent - flight didn’t take too long, and before she knew it, she was touching down in the Playground’s hangar. She turned the engine off, and turned to Mack. “Ready?” she asked. He gave her a tense smile and a grave nod, and then they stood up and marched off the quinjet, where Coulson was waiting for them. 

“Agents Morse, Mackenzie,” he greeted them formally. “Any luck with finding Hunter?” 

Right, because her ex was still missing. Add it to the list of things she needed to fix. “No sign of him anywhere, sir,” she said truthfully. “But I suppose he will find us when he wants to.” 

Coulson tipped his head. “No doubt. And I’ll have a word with him when he does. Thank you for trying anyway,” he added. “Please, rest a bit. Debriefing can wait.” And with one of his classic soft smiles, he turned on his heel and walked away. Once he was out of earshot, Mack turned to her. “So, are we good to go?” 

Bobbi took a deep breath, but didn’t look at him. “Yeah, we’re good to go.” He gave her another tight smile, and moved in the direction of the servers. Bobbi watched him go, feeling her gut churn in guilt. He was still her friend, but this was simply a choice she couldn’t support him in. But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt what she was going to do. 

Abruptly, she cut off that thought, forcing herself into mission mode, and made her way towards the labs. She needed May and Simmons. 

///

“What’s your status?” Bobbi asked hastily, pressing her earpiece while she hurried down the halls. 

It took a beat for the answer to piece to croak to life. “Gonzales and Weaver have been rendered unconscious and imprisoned, as have most of the agents. Some surrendered themselves. How are you?”

As usual, May’s stoic professionality managed to settle Bobbi’s racing heart a bit. “Well enough. Calderon managed to get a hit in; I couldn’t surprise him. Apparently he’s been expecting me to turn. But Woods just dragged his unconscious body to a nearby cell, so we’re good.” She hesitated for a second. “What happened to Mack?” 

“The server exploded, just as you two had planned,” May answered, her voice carefully blank. Bobbi almost tripped over her own feet. “What-” 

“Fitz has a headache, and Mack was hit by some shards of plastic when he tried to pull Fitz away,” the older agent continued, not giving her a chance to truly panic. “Both will be fine, although Fitz is grumpy and Mack seemed deeply upset by your… change of mind,” May finished diplomatically. 

Bobbi sighed, closing her eyes and willing her anger and her guilt away at the same time. She’d made her choices. The lab came into view. “As to be expected. I’ll go check on Simmons in the lab, see if anyone needs help after all the smoke we blew through the base.” 

May confirmed her, and she pulled her phone back. The lab doors swished open before her, and she noticed Simmons helping someone clean their eyes out by a small tap. She quickly disinfected her hands and walked up next to her. “Right. Where can I help?”

///

Bobbi sat down in a chair she’d brought, outside of the cell. Robert Gonzales watched her with alert eyes. Bobbi looked down the hall, to the cells where Calderon, Weaver, and a handful of other agents sat. May was already back in the common room, after deeming it impossible for today to get anything out of then without... more drastic measures. But Bobbi wasn’t ready to give up yet.

Gonzales continued to watch her. “So, agent Morse. To what do I owe the pleasure of a traitor’s presence?”

Asshole. Bobbi refused to flinch under his silently angry face. “You know why,” she simply said. “But I have some additional questions.” She crossed her legs and leaned back in her chair. “Why come after Coulson?”

“Why do you think?” Gonzales countered, looking at her like she was stupid. Bobbi just raised an eyebrow. “He was unstable, a danger.”

She leaned forward. “A danger to who? Society? Civilians? He’s still Phil Coulson, he’d do anything to keep the people safe, including sacrificing his own.” She pretended to think. “A danger to his crew then? But they all chose to be here, to risk their lives. Besides, why would you care about them?”

Gonzales’s eyes flashed, and Bobbi knew she was driving him in a corner. “That leaves him being a danger to you. To your ‘Real SHIELD’. Or is there something I’ve missed?”

He huffed. “Just the fact that it was your real SHIELD until about two weeks ago, agent Morse. Or were you one of Coulson’s spies from the beginning?”

Bobbi couldn’t help but laugh, and he looked so offended at being laughed at, it almost became funnier. She shook her head. “I stayed with you, on the Iliad. And I’ve never regretted that choice. But I do regret following you into your new SHIELD, instead of Coulson into his. No, he’s not perfect, and he sometimes makes mistakes. But by God, is he trying to protect the people and you... what? Try to get rid of Coulson? A potential ally, someone who is out there doing what SHIELD is supposed to do.”

“Should I remind you that agent Hartley died under Coulson’s ‘tries’?” Gonzales said, his voice soft but his eyes challenging.

Bobbi narrowed her eyes. “Don’t you dare. Izzy died fighting Hydra, the way any agent should wish to go in SHIELD. Protecting the people. Meanwhile, there’s agents on Coulson’s side that fucking died trying to get some resources. Resources that we had in abundance, and that we only used to hunt allies. So don’t you fucking dare to bring Izzy into this.”

With a deep breath, Gonzales closed his eyes. “It was Skye, wasn’t it? The one that made you decide to betray us.”

She simply watched him for a moment, as he opened his eyes, the anger gone and just... tiredness remaining. He was an old man for an agent, Bobbi realised, and maybe he should have given up fighting years ago. “Tell me, Robert, what would you have done with her? And don’t offend me by trying to lie, cause I’ll know it,” she warned.

It was silent for a few heartbeats. Then, “I would have locked her up.” He shifted, trying to get more comfortable, a challenge on the hard beds of the cells. “I would have let Weaver investigate her, and if she’d lost control, I would have taken her down.” His look turned challenging again, but it didn’t hold the power it did earlier. “I would have protected my agents.”

Slowly, Bobbi nodded. She uncrossed her legs. “Then I know I’ve made the right decision,” she told him while getting up. She picked up the chair and turned back to face him one last time. “You’re an idiot, Robert. When you’re ready to realise that, please let us know where your fucking jets are, so we can take Hydra down for good.”

She turned on her heel and walked away. He called after her. “An idiot I may be, you’re the traitor here. At least I don’t run from my mistakes.”

She continued walking, not sparing Calderon a second of her attention as he sneered at her and spat at her feet, nor Weaver, who just stared coldly as she passed.

He was wrong, she knew that. She wasn’t running from her mistakes any longer. It was exactly why she’d gone to Coulson when she had decided she could no longer be loyal to Gonzales. She’d admitted her mistake, and was now living to rectify it.

She barely managed a nod to the guard at the end of the hall, before she walked back to the common room, dumped the chair and beelined for the kitchen cabinet where she knew Natasha had left a bottle of vodka. The rest of the team’s eyes bore into her back as she unscrewed the cap and took a swig, swallowing without a flinch.

Fucking asshole. Bringing Izzy into it. And Skye. And he’d just admitted that he’d have killed her if he thought it necessary. She took another swig. Still no one spoke.

An agent knocked on the door, and Bobbi turned to look at him. He almost stepped back, and Bobbi forced herself to soften her gaze. “What?”

He swallowed, but stepped into the room anyway. “Whatever you told him worked. Gonzales just told the guard the location of the jets.”

Bobbi felt too wrung out to feel victorious, so she just nodded. She turned away, and took a third swig. Fuck, Nat really knew the good stuff. Coulson seemed to realise she wasn’t going to hold this conversation and stepped in. “I’ll walk with you.” He stood up and walked the agent out of the room.

When they were gone, the team turned back to look at Bobbi, who was busy avoiding their gazes and drinking more vodka. “What did you tell him?” May asked eventually.

“That he was an idiot,” Bobbi deadpanned. The bottle was about half empty by now. “But only after he called me a traitor and threw Izzy’s death in my face.” She was accepting that this bottle was gonna be finished tonight. Stepping back, she grabbed the cap of the bottle, not that she’d need it. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to punch something.”

And with the eyes of May and Fitzsimmons burning holes in the back of her head, she walked out of the room. 

///

She was working up a sweat, her fists hitting the bag over and over again in a steady rhythm she could dream. Gonzales was an idiot, Coulson didn’t quite trust her, Skye was missing, Natasha and Clint were gone, Mack wouldn’t look at her, and Hunter… even when he eventually resurfaced, she doubted he’d want anything to do with her ever again. And she couldn’t even blame him.

Distracted by her thoughts, she only barely dodged the bag as it swung back, and she quickly reached out to halt it. She had to take a deep breath. She needed to focus, or she would break down, and she really didn’t want to do that right now. Not when everyone was looking at her, and talking the moment she passed them.

A gentle clearing of a throat stopped her from starting a new round. She looked over her shoulder, internally sighing when she saw one of Coulson’s agents waiting for her. “Yes?” she asked, not feeling nearly as nice as she was forcing herself to sound.

“Agent Gonzales requested a word with you,” he said, almost apologetically. He must have seen her tense too, because he quickly continued. “He said you were right, but that you would want to hear what he has to say.”

Bobbi really didn’t want to do this. She took another deep breath, grabbed the half empty bottle of vodka she’d abandoned earlier, and took a swig. Then she nodded. “I’ll talk to him. Tell him I’ll be there in five.”

The agent nodded and turned to do exactly that, and Bobbi quickly grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat off her face. She walked over to the shower room, freshened up as fast as she could, and then decided to just get this over with. The bottle of alcohol went with her. She walked quickly through the halls, if only so that she didn’t have time to talk herself out of this before she’d arrived at Gonzales’ cell door.

He was patiently waiting for her, and Bobbi crossed her arms when she turned to him, but didn’t speak. He didn’t seem to care. “I’ve done as you said,” he started. Bobbi just raised an eyebrow at him. “And now I want to ask you to look into something for me.”

Before Bobbi could ask why she would do that for him, he raised his hand. “I know. But you want to know why we went after Coulson, right?”

Reluctantly, Bobbi tipped her head. Gonzales gave her a small smile. He reached for his cane, and placed his thumb on the side of the handle. A small compartment opened, and out of it he took a USB, which he placed on the floor and shoved her way. “Look into the file named ‘Theta Protocol’. And then ask Agent May about it. Then you’ll see why we had to… interfere.”

Bobbi looked at the USB, about a foot away from the invisible wall. She stepped towards the panel, opened a compartment. Then she bent down to pick up the USB, forcing her hand not to shake as she twisted it between her fingers. She stepped back towards the panel and closed the compartment. “Why don’t you tell me what it’s about right now?” she asked, more to just… say at least something.

He chuckled, though it was without any humour, and shook his head. “Because we don’t know what it is, Agent Morse. And that is exactly what makes us afraid.”

That… wasn’t good. She pocketed the USB, the fingers of her other hand tightening around the neck of the bottle. She fought the urge to take a swig. “I’ll look into it,” she simply said. He nodded, seemingly satisfied enough with that. She turned around, barely keeping herself from looking back at him. She made to walk out of the hall, and then thought better of it. She turned on her heel, and walked to Mack’s cell.

Mack didn’t look at her, and didn’t say anything either. Bobbi felt the guilt pull on her insides, and sighed. “I know you’re mad. But I had to do this. It was… it was the only right thing to do. She is family, Mack.” She shook her head, suddenly overwhelmed by the urge to cry. Maybe she shouldn’t have drank so much.

“I was family too, Bobbi,” Mack’s heavy voice interrupted her meltdown.

Bobbi leaned her head against the artificial wall, not caring. “You were. You are. But fuck, you shouldn’t have made me choose.” She looked back up, and Mack was finally looking at her, but he looked so hurt that she almost wished he hadn’t. And then he nodded. Once, shortly. But it was a nod all the same. Not forgiveness, though Bobbi was unsure if she needed that from him, but it was something akin to acceptance.

He broke their eye contact, and lay down on his bed. “If you see Hunter, tell him I’m sorry I hurt him,” he said in his characteristic soft voice. Bobbi chuckled.

“That makes two of us.” She sighed. “But yeah, I’ll tell him.” She pushed herself away from the wall, and turned to walk out. He didn’t make any sign that he’d noticed, so she just left him to himself, and walked out. 

She thought about going to bed, but the USB burned in her pocket. She took another swig of the bottle of vodka, frowning when she found it almost empty. Maybe coffee would be better for this?

///

Bobbi was drumming her fingers against the desk absentmindedly, completely lost in the information on the screen. She lifted one hand to click around a bit, her other hand speeding up to keep the rhythm of a country song Hunter used to hum in the early days of their marriage. It comforted her. 

A gentle cough from the doorway startled her, and her head whipped too fast around to see who was there. She hissed at the sudden sting in her neck, and then widened her eyes in surprise when she saw May leaning against the doorpost. “Shouldn’t you be asleep?” the older agent asked, not unkindly. 

Bobbi shrugged, and the woman moved closer as she turned back to her screen. “What are you doing that can’t wait until the morning?” May prodded when Bobbi made no further effort to reply. 

With a hum, Bobbi turned her head again to look at May. She could tell her, she supposed. If she already knew, then it wouldn’t be so bad. If she didn’t know, well… Bobbi supposed at least they could share the heavy feeling that was now weighing her down. A win for her anyway. So she gestured wildly at the screen. “Gonzales gave me a USB. He said his reason for going after Coulson was on it, and he wanted me to check it out. And…” She sighed heavily. “I can’t even fault him.” 

She caught May’s blank, but ever so slightly curious gaze. “What does Theta Protocol mean to you?”

And there, the tiniest bit of confusion that flashed through her eyes before it was buried beneath her mask of blankness. “Are you still spying on Coulson? Cause that’s what I’m hearing,” May deflected, and really, Bobbi would be offended at the attempt to fool her if it didn’t scare her what it meant. 

“You don’t know it,” she sighed. Her hands had stopped drumming altogether as she leaned her elbows on the table to bury her head in them. Her voice was muffled by her hands as she muttered a single curse. “Fuck.” 

There was a soft scraping sound and then May was sitting next to her. “I don’t,” she admitted. “So show me.” 

Bobbi managed to raise her head from her hands, a pained look on her face she didn’t bother to hide. “Just click through the files, and make your own conclusions, please. I don’t… I can’t fucking do this anymore.” 

The look May gave her wasn’t pitying, though it looked vaguely like sympathy, before the agent settled her attention on the screen, and the information on it. It offered Bobbi a brief moment to reflect on her past week, and she wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing. 

No one was looking at her, outside of Coulson’s original team. And even there… Fitz talked to her, as did May. Coulson gave her orders as usual, and a few of his agents went on with her as they had done before. But most of them regarded her with apprehension and suspicion, as if she could shoot them at any minute, Jemma amongst them. Gonzales’ agents, regardless of whether they were in a cell, looked at her with anger blazing in their eyes. 

It was her job to gain someone’s trust, and then betray them, but that was never meant to include her team, her family. And yet she had betrayed the trust of everyone she had ever cared about, most of them within the last two weeks or so. So yeah, that was… she was just really, really tired. 

A soft tap on her arm pulled her from her misery. She looked at May. “What-” 

“Go to bed. Call Skye, or Nat, or try calling Hunter again,” May interrupted her. “I’m going to see if I can find anything about this on the servers. If not…” She sighed and shook her head. “We’ll talk about it in the morning. But you need to get some sleep.” 

Bobbi snorted, because if she didn’t laugh she was going to cry, and that was a low she wasn’t ready to reach just yet. “I don’t think I’ll sleep much, but sure, I’ll give it a try.” She stood up, and gestured vaguely towards the laptop, the USB still plugged in. “Do with that whatever you want.” And with those words she walked out of the room, a slight stumble in her otherwise sure and long strides, the only hint that she’d maybe had too much to drink, that she was tired, that she was completely done with this entire mess. 

Her bed didn’t look inviting when she finally reached her bunk, but it was better than roaming around the base again, or punching until her knuckles bled, so she changed into her sleepwear and fell down on the mattress. She pulled her phone from her discarded pants, and went over to her contacts. Her finger hovered over Hunter’s contact, then over Nat’s, and then her eyes caught the little numbers at the top of screen, and she sighed. She wasn’t calling anyone at 2.26 am. She wasn’t that desperate. 

She switched her phone off, shoved it under her pillow, and pulled the blankets over her head. Maybe sleep was a good idea. Before long, the dark overtook her, and she was out like a light. 

Chapter Text

Skye hummed to herself as she felt the world pull at her consciousness. She’d slept long, and well, and it felt great. She hadn’t slept this… peacefully in a while, even with Nat by her side. Always scared that things would start shaking and she couldn’t control it. 

Speaking of, why was nothing shaking? 

She opened her eyes, trying to blink herself awake. She tried to move, tried to sit up, but her limbs felt heavy, and they wouldn’t move, and suddenly she felt a panic creeping up. A soft but steady hand on her arm stopped her in her movements - or, attempts to her movements. She rolled her head to the side, vaguely wondering why her head would move, but her limbs wouldn’t. 

Gordon was there, his face focussed on hers, and she thought that if he had eyes, they would have been holding hers with an understanding kindness. “It’s okay. You’re safe.” 

“What-” She shook her head when her voice croaked, and tried again. “Why can’t I move?” Gordon opened his mouth to answer, but she still felt a hint of panic, and didn’t let him answer. “And how long have I been here? Where is here ?” 

He raised a hand to stop any more questions. “Take it easy. You’ve been resting for a full day, and these-” 

“These needles are helping your body adjust to your powers, something it hadn’t really done when you got here,” a new voice interrupted. “That’s why you were out for so long.” 

Skye looked up to the source of the new voice. It was a young guy with blonde spiky hair and happy blue eyes. He looked like an overexcited puppy, for all the excited rambling he was doing. Reminded her of Fitz. 

She shook her head to get rid of the sudden feeling of homesickness, and looked back at Gordon. “Who is this?” 

The man smiled at her. “He’s your transitioner. Don’t worry; he’s smarter than he looks.” 

Skye’s apparent transitioner mumbled something akin to ‘how would you know’, but Gordon ignored him as he stood up and collected his coat. “I have to go now, but I promise you that you’re good now. I’ll come by to check up on you soon.” 

“I would wave,” Skye said drily, “but I can’t move my hands.” Gordon laughed again, and grinned at the puppy as he brushed past. “She’s all bark and no bite, Sparky, but I wouldn’t test it out if I were you.” 

And with that he was gone. It was awkward for a moment, with the guy shifting on his feet, unsure whether he could talk, and Skye unable to do much but lift her head to look at him. She rolled her eyes. “Alright, transitioner. How about you tell me your name, and we’ll go from there?” 

He almost jumped, but quickly recovered, and pulled Gordon’s chair closer. “Yeah, of course. Sorry, very rude of me. My name is Lincoln, and I’m the one who’s going to help you adjust after the transition.”

Skye nodded; that was about what she’d expected a transitioner would do. Suddenly a thought popped into her head. “I don’t suppose I can borrow your phone for a quick call?” 

He shook his head, an apologetic smile on his face. “No phones allowed, I’m afraid. Don’t worry, yours is in Gordon’s possession until you decide to go back.” His smile turned a little more certain when she merely nodded. “How about I get these needles out, and then you can get dressed and I can show you around?” 

“That sounds wonderful,” Skye answered truthfully. She’d try to get a message to Nat later. First, clothes and a walk. Sounded awesome. 

Skye was fastening her necklace with her engagement ring when Lincoln gently knocked on her open door. She turned to him, frowning as she finally managed to get it clipped, and then she smiled. He eyed the ring briefly, but didn’t ask, instead smiling at her. “Ready to go?” 

She grabbed her jacket from the back of the chair, and nodded. “Yeah, let’s do this.” 

Instead of leading her out of the room like she’d expected, he walked into the room, past her, and stopped before the windows. He gestured her closer. “You asked where we are. Well, I couldn't tell you if I wanted to, because no one but Gordon knows, but the official name is Lai Shi. We-” he paused, moving to open the windows, “call it Afterlife.” 

The windows opened, and Skye gasped. Snowy mountains, green valleys; far away from anything resembling the civilised world. It was beautiful. She turned towards Lincoln, her eyes filled with wonder. He just smiled in understanding, and let her gaze back at the stunning view for a few moments longer. Then he gently nudged her with his elbow. “Come, I’ll show you the rest.” 

Bobbi strode into the briefing room. Her head was pounding, and all the noise and bright lights were doing nothing to diminish her massive hangover, but she’d be damned if she’d let anyone notice. Fitzsimmons just stood there quietly, waiting, but May threw her a look when she stepped next to her, and Bobbi sighed inwardly. Anyone except for May, because why did she think she could fool May? 

Coulson entered the room, all frantic energy, and Bobbi had to suppress a wince when he started talking slightly too loud. “Alright, Skye has failed to check in for two days, and hasn’t responded to our attempts at contact, so I’ve sent some agents over to check on her, but there was no one there. They are on their way home with the cameras from the cabin, but someone has messed with them, so they might not be of any use.” 

He caught their gaze, one by one. “Has anyone here heard anything from her in the past two days?” 

Bobbi felt the pounding increase as Coulson held her gaze for longer. “I haven’t heard from her since I told her that there was a team of Gonzales’ agents on their way to the cabin. Speaking of which, she never responded to that.” 

“And where is that team now, agent Morse?” he asked, something in his voice that Bobbi couldn’t quite pin down, but made her flinch nevertheless. “I have no idea, sir,” she replied. “We’d need to ask Gonzales or Calderon.” 

He narrowed his eyes. “I’m leaving that to you then, since you know them best.” He turned to Fitzsimmons. “I’d like you two to take a look at the cameras when they arrive. We need to get a look at that footage.” And with that, he turned and walked out. 

The scientists exchanged a look, and then quietly followed him out, both of them avoiding Bobbi’s gaze. Once she was alone with May, she let out a deep breath and groaned. The older agent gave her a comforting pat on the arm, and moved to walk away as well, but then she paused. “Gonzales was right, by the way. There is something there. This… Theta Protocol. I found something, and I don’t think it’s harmful, but still. We’ll need to do something about it.” 

Bobbi nodded slowly. “Alright. Ehm. I’ll just-” 

She was interrupted by Fitz practically skipping back into the room. “Hunter is back,” was all he said, and then he was stepping aside, because Bobbi’s legs were moving out of their own accord. She completely missed the amused look Fitz and May exchanged, as she made for her… something. A something that she needed to know she didn’t fuck up completely. 

She rounded the corner of the hall leading towards the hangar, and there he was. He was talking with Coulson in low tones, but he fell silent when his eyes caught onto her. Coulson followed his gaze, and his eyes softened as the director seemed to realise that she was not really holding up. He gave her an almost imperceptible nod, said one last thing to Hunter and walked away. Bobbi walked closer. 

Hunter raised an eyebrow as she approached. “You look like shit,” he said. 

Bobbi chuckled. She stopped in front of him. Her eyes flitted over his face, looking for any sign that he was mad at her, but found none. Her eyes lingered on the fading bruises on his neck where Mack had choked him into unconsciousness, and she felt her hands start to shake. “I’m so sorry, Hunter,” she whispered, afraid her voice would crack if she spoke any louder. “I’m so sorry for lying to you. There’s no excuse, but I hope you can forgive me.” 

He raised an eyebrow. “You’re so stupid, did you know that?” he said, but his voice was kind, and Bobbi felt a sob threatening to escape her. She quickly looked away, but gentle fingers on her cheek pulled her back. “I forgive you, Bob.” 

She swallowed, refusing to break down right here and now. She’d never quite been immune to his kindness. She just took his hand, and held it for a moment, as her headache faded into something more manageable. “Thank you,” she said softly, still not quite trusting her own voice. “I need to… I need to interrogate Calderon again. But I think we need to talk after that.” 

“I think we do,” he said, matching her soft tone. “You go on. I’m not going anywhere.” 

“Promise?” she asked him, even though she had no right to do that. 

But he just grinned at her. “I just told Coulson I’d accept his job offer, so yeah. I’m not going anywhere for a while.” She smiled at him, and he returned it easily. Then he winked, and the moment broke, but it was okay. 

She chuckled as she pulled away. “I’ll see you around, stranger,” she said over her shoulder as she started walking towards the cells, feeling lighter than she had in days. So she hadn’t fucked up everything then. 

Now only if they could find Skye, everything would be alright. 

The next day, Skye woke up from another night of good sleep. Seriously, either the mattresses here were the best she’d ever had, or the fact that her powers had - according to Lincoln - finally settled made that much more of a difference. 

She had just finished tying up her boots when a gentle knock on the door had her looking up. She felt her powers prickle slightly, and frowned. Experimentally, she raised a hand towards the door, and sent out the smallest wave of vibrations she could. The person on the other side of the door yelped, and she quickly hurried to open the door. 

When she opened it, she couldn’t help but laugh. Lincoln was standing there, one hand still slightly raised, probably because he was trying to knock again, but his back was against the opposite wall, and his eyes were wide with shock, though he still didn’t look scared. And wasn’t that refreshing. 

Slowly, her transitioner lowered his hand, and his wide-eyed expression gave way to a twinkling in his eyes she was coming to learn belonged to his mischievous side. She raised an eyebrow at him, and he grinned. “Today is going to be so much fun.” 

With a roll of her eyes, she walked past him. “Breakfast first.” 

After they’d finished breakfast - Lincoln had explained that Inhumans generally had a higher metabolism, so that explained why she’d been so hungry all the time - they made their way to yet another viewing point. This one was close to a temple, and from it radiated a sense of peace that Skye hadn’t sensed in a long time. It didn’t stop her from asking any and all questions she could come up with, as they sat in front of the view. 

Suddenly, after a while of comfortable silence, Lincoln scrambled to his feet. He turned towards her, and offered his hand to help her up. “Do you want to see my powers?” 

Skye took his hand, and nodded, her curiosity winning it from any reservations she might have. He smiled at her. “Keep holding my hand.” When she raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him, he chuckled and shook his head. “I’ve seen the ring, and I’m not flirting with you. Just…” He trailed off. 

His grip on her hand tightened ever so slightly, but before she could ask him any question, a soft prickling feeling made its way through her hand, up her arm, and then it spread through her entire body. A tickling sensation, and she immediately knew that it was some sort of electricity. A smile broke out on her face, and he grinned in return. 

And then her feet left the ground. She looked down, her mouth falling open in wonder as the air between her feet and the ground flickered with tiny lightning bolts. That was so cool. He beamed as he started walking around her, still holding her hand, and she turned in a circle while floating in the air. Then he gently lowered her until her feet hit the solid of the earth. “So?” 

“That is so fucking cool!” she said honestly, and his eyes shone in excitement. 

“See?” he asked, teasingly. “Our gifts can be cool!” Her smile disappeared, but before she could argue against him, he raised his hand. “I can control a form of static electricity. You think I never caused a power-out or even a fire in the beginning? It's all about control. And once you can control it, it'll be magnificent!” 

With a huff, Skye pulled her hand back and sat back down. “I thought I had control, but it turned out I was just breaking my own arms to keep it in.” 

He looked down on her, and then sat down with a sigh of his own. “I kind of figured that was the cause of the fractures in your arms. Is that what the gauntlets were for? To protect you from yourself?” he added, and slightly bitterness to his voice that surprised her. 

“A… friend made it,” she said. “To try to keep the damage to my arms to a minimum. Didn't really wear them though.” 

He nodded. “Good thing you didn't. They would have doubled your recovery time here. It's too much based on human biology rather than Inhuman biology.” Skye just shrugged. She had kind of figured that. 

They were silent for a while again, though it was a more somber silence now. Then Lincoln gently nudged her. “I've shown you mine, now show me yours,” he said in that teasing voice of his. His eyes were still warm and kind, and Skye couldn't help but chuckle. 

“Sure, Sparky. But I don't think you want me to test it on you. What do you want me to shake?” 

He gave her a thoughtful look. “I don't think you just shake things. This morning, you managed to… reach me, without moving the door. How?”

Skye frowned. She had, hadn't she? “I felt someone outside the door,” she said slowly, “and I just tried to move that.” 

“Did you also feel the door?” he asked curiously. Skye nodded, and he cocked his head. “Did it feel different? How did you move me, but not the door?” 

Skye thought about it. “You feel… sparkly. I think it's the electricity. The door is more solid? Like, it would be harder to move, but it's still pliable. It's weird to explain.” 

“I think you're explaining it excellently,” he encouraged her. Skye offered him a small smile. 

“As for your other question,” she continued, "I just did. I focussed on you, and then pushed out vibrations.” 

He gave her a long look. “You didn't just push out vibrations. Those would have hit the door, no matter what you were focussing on. You actively moved my vibrations.” 

There was wonder in his voice, but Skye didn't get it. “So? What's that mean?” 

He got up, excitement all over his face. “I think you can manipulate all vibrations, however you want.” At Skye’s raised eyebrow, he rolled his eyes. “Come on, that's so cool! It means that theoretically, you can freeze watermarked wood burn, crack rocks, and make the air really cold. Everything is made of vibrations! If you can really control them, you could basically control everything. Do you know how immense that is?” 

The words took a moment to settle. She slowly stood up, the realisations of the possibilities slowly sinking in. And with them, the risks. “All the more important I figure out how to control this then,” she stated. 

He rolled his eyes again, and mumbled something about being a buzzkill, but didn't comment out loud. Instead he bent over and picked up a small stone that he handed to her. “Feel it,” he commended. 

Unimpressed, and half sure this was going to be a disaster, she took the stone, and closed her eyes, focussing on the little stone. The buzzing under her skin settled, the faint vibrations of everything around faded away. Even Lincoln's electricity faded to a soft hum in her bones as she took in the solid vibrations of the stone. 

And then it suddenly got loud, and she almost dropped the stone in shock. Her eyes shot open, and she gasped at the overwhelming feeling of something . Lincoln was by her side in an instant. “What happened, are you okay?” 

“It's so loud,” she whispered, half of her in awe, and the other half wincing at the onslaught of vibrations coming from the mountains in front of her. 

“The stone?” he asked, somewhat surprised, and she quickly shook her head, not responding except for a shaking finger pointing at the mountains before them. His eyes lit up. “You can feel the mountain?” 

She nodded, and as the sense of the stone settled in her bones, her wonder took over her uneasiness. “I can't practically hear it. I don't know how, but I can.” 

“Remarkable,” a new voice from behind them spoke up. 

Startled, Skye dropped the stone and whirled around. Without a focus point, everything came rushing back in, and she briefly winced. Lincoln noticed, and subtly touched her arm, a small rush of electricity running through her. She focussed on that, and the vibrations slowly settled again. She tapped his arm in thanks. 

Finally, she was properly able to take in the woman that had interrupted them. And when she did, her heart stopped again, but for an entirely different reason. 

Her own eyes stared back at her, and the way she had her head just slightly tilted… It was like looking in a mirror. 

“The way you tilt your head. It's just like…” Cal’s words rang through her mind. Could it really be… 

The woman seemed oblivious to her crisis, and nodded towards Lincoln. “I see you're figuring it out,” she said with a small smile. 

“I think we did!” he said excitedly. Then he turned to Skye. “Want to show her?” 

Skye forced herself to turn away from the woman and look at Lincoln. “Show what? What do you want me to do?” 

“Can you move the mountain?” the woman asked curiously. Skye resisted the urge to tilt her head. “I can try,” she just said, and she avoided both of their eyes as she turned towards the mountains. 

She raised her hand, and tried to get back to that vibration she felt before. It was easier this time, and less overwhelming as she let it take over the other things she could feel. Once she had a firm… grip on the vibrations, she hummed. “Are you sure that this is safe? I don't know…” 

Her voice trailed off, and the woman stepped up next to her. “There's no one out here for miles, and I don't think you can hurt the mountain itself, so yes. It's safe.” 

Her mouth pulled in a determined line, and she pulled on the vibrations. She moved them, or tried to. And then a rumbling could be heard in the distance. 

Her arm dropped to her side and her eyes widened in shock. The rumbling increased, and a curtain of snow started rolling down the mountain. 

On her right side, Lincoln actually whooped. “You made an avalanche!” he called out. His enthusiasm and almost pride made it impossible for Skye not to smile. She’d done that. She'd moved a fucking mountain. That was kind of cool. 

“Magnificent,” the woman whispered. Then she abruptly turned around and walked away. Skye watched her go with confusion, and turned to Lincoln. “What's up with her?” 

He frowned briefly, then shrugged, not willing to let it spoil his excitement. “Jiaying is one of the Elders, the leaders of Afterlife. She probably has a ton of things to see to.” 

With a shrug, she decided to settle for that answer. For now. But she couldn't quite shake the feeling - pun not intended - that there was something more to this Jiaying. Something to do with herself. 

Lincoln was leading her back to her room after their meal - unfortunately not the pizza he had promised, but a good meal nevertheless - when he said something that made her halt in her steps, and the hairs on the back of her neck rise. “What do you mean, ‘the other one’ ?” 

With a frown, Lincoln stopped and turned towards her. “Sorry, what?” Skye shook her head. 

“You said, ‘compared to the other one’. I thought I was the only one in quite some time to go through the mist?” she asked, but the moment he looked away and then back at her, she knew the answer. And she knew who. “Where is she?” 

Lincoln raised a hand. “Now, take it easy-” 

“You lied to me, and you shouldn’t have,” Skye interrupted him, her voice cold. “Not about this. Where. Is she?” 

“She’s one of us, Skye,” Lincoln tried, but Skye had turned away from him. Her powers itched under her skin, and she let them out carefully, feeling everything around her. Lincoln stepped back, eyes widening, when he felt the vibrations tickle through him. Her powers moved further, all through the ground, the trees, the stone, until they reached something… familiar. Skye turned in that direction,  eyes catching onto a seemingly abandoned hut. “She’s in there, isn’t she?” she asked softly. 

Lincoln very slowly reached out to place a hand on her shoulder. She let him, and he took the opportunity to try and pull her away. “Please, Skye. She’s one of our own now, and she deserves help, just like you.” 

Skye shook her head, but didn’t shake his hand off. “She kidnapped my boss, led my psycho father to me, she…” She swallowed heavily. “Trip’s dead, because she went down there,” she finished in a whisper, and Lincoln’s hand on her shoulder squeezed softly. 

“And I’m sorry that happened, but we owe it to her to protect her in this,” he said, firmly despite the underlying kindness in his voice. 

With a nod, and a deep breath, she let her powers flow away, not even entirely aware she’d been keeping the vibrations going until she did. “I have to see her,” she said, and before Lincoln could say something to dissuade her, she shrugged off his hand and marched towards the hut, calling over her shoulder as she went. “If you don’t like it, come with me.” 

She absentmindedly heard his feet hitting the ground as he hurried to catch up, as she opened the door of the hut, not bothering with knocking or anything resembling decent manners. The nuns always said she didn’t have any, so why bother. 

When the light fell into the hut, and her eyes caught onto the figure hunched at the table, her feet abruptly stopped. “Raina,” she breathed. 

The figure looked up, and Skye saw two eyes shine from under a hood. “Skye! I had a feeling we would meet again soon. And here you are.” 

“Here I am,” Skye replied. She felt Lincoln standing near her shoulder, but ignored him. Raina moved forward, a little more into the light, and took her hood off. Skye barely held her gasp as she took in the thorns covering the entirety of her skin, the different eyes, and the way they still looked at her the same. Like she knew more than you did. Skye hated it. “So,” she said, a hint of venom to her voice. “Destiny, huh?” 

Raina gave her a wry smile in return. “Apparently. I thought it would feel like freedom, but all I feel is pain and fear. They say you should fear monsters, but it hurts more to be one.” 

Skye scoffed. “You’re telling me. I’m like this because of you. I hurt, because of you. People are hurt, or dead, because of you.” 

“Spare me that nonsense,” Raina said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Kill me if you want, but stop fooling yourself. You went in there, not because of me, and neither did agent Triplett. You went in there, because it was your destiny, because you felt the same pull I did. And agent Triplett, well, he went in because of you.” 

Skye growled, and suddenly, Raina was gasping for breath. Lincoln moved to stop her, but she pushed him away with her vibrations. “Skye!” he yelled. “Stop!” 

But all she could see was Trip’s form crumbling before her eyes, and Raina watching as the mist spread with a light in her eyes. 

“Finish it, end my nightmares,” Raina challenged her, begged her almost. Skye was happy enough to comply, and stepped closer. But then… 

“Enough!” 

Skye whirled around, her hold on her powers falling away as she did, and Raina gasped for air, while Lincoln hurried past her to get to the other woman. Jiaying stood in the doorway, the fading light catching her frame, and Skye was once again struck by the fact that it was almost like looking in a mirror. Except her reflection was very, very angry. 

Immediately, Skye felt the need to defend herself. “You don’t know what she’s capable of. She killed people. Inhuman or not, she doesn’t deserve help.” 

Jiaying ignored her, and walked past her as well, crouching down before Raina, and placing a careful hand on the woman’s knee. “Raina is capable of beauty and greatness, like the rest of us. As for the killing…” She stood up and turned back towards Skye. “Haven’t you?” 

Skye stumbled back as if hit. “That’s… I…”

“She’s here for the same reason as you are. To heal, to learn control. Whatever you were, is not what you are now,” Jiaying spoke dignifiedly. Skye considered what she’d been then, and then she remembered Nat’s words.

Who you are, not what you are.

“It doesn’t matter what we were,” Skye said, her voice softer. “It matters who we were. And I can’t stay as long as she’s here.”  

Jiaying nodded. “That’s your choice, and one we will respect. But if you decide to stay, I will mentor you. I’ll guide you, and teach you everything I know. And if you don’t feel a connection worth exploring… Well, you are free to leave at any time. Just say the word and Gordon will take you wherever you want.” 

With a heavy nod, and the overwhelming feeling of just knowing , Skye took a step back. Lincoln looked quickly at Jiaying and Raina, and then got to his feet. He walked towards her, and placed a hand on her arm, gently pushing her to turn around. She let him push her away, the fight drained out of her for now. 

It wasn’t when Lincoln gently sat her on her bed, that she opened her mouth. No sound came out, however, but Lincoln seemed to understand. “Just get some rest,” he said, still kind, but there was a slight wariness to his movements that reminded her all too strongly of how Jemma and Mack had moved around her back at the base. 

She rubbed her face. “Yeah,” she said softly. “I’ll try.” 

Bobbi was feeling fresh. Sure, Skye’s continuing disappearance slightly worried her, but only slightly. Skye could take care of herself, had been able to before she’d joined SHIELD, before she’d even met Natasha. And since Arlo and Carson both, separately had declared a lack of success in getting to her, Bobbi was going to assume that Skye was away and safe. If she’d been anything else, she would have let them know, somehow. 

Besides, if Natasha had been worried about such a thing, she’d come blazing in days ago. The fact that she hadn’t done so, did a lot to alleviate any fears Bobbi held. 

Coulson didn’t have that reassurance, and he was practically vibrating with restlessness as he strode into the briefing room, May on his heels. “Morse, what do you have for me?” he demanded immediately, not bothering with greeting anyone. 

With a deep breath, and the feel of Hunter by her side - back by her side - she started. “I got the names of the team that was sent to… retrieve Skye from the Retreat. They’ve been trying to find her all this time, and haven’t been updated on the status of Real SHIELD, meaning that my cover was still intact. I texted the second in command, agent Carson, asking for an update, and made Gonzales call agent Arso, who’s in charge.” She paused momentarily. “Both agents say they haven’t found her, or any trace of her, and the team agreed to stop tracking her on Gonzales’ orders, which of course came from us. The team should be arriving here later this afternoon, and they’re keeping me updated.” 

Coulson nodded. “Have they been updated on Gonzales’ status?” 

Bobbi tipped her head. “They weren’t happy,” she said by way of an answer, “but they won’t cause any trouble.” When Coulson opened his mouth, undoubtedly to ask if they could trust her on that, she raised a hand. “Desmond Carson is a good guy, and Arso has been nothing but a good leader. They know they can’t win, so they will cooperate. I highly advise not imprisoning them, but rather recruiting them. It’s a good team.” 

“How could I ever trust them?” Coulson asked, a hint of doubt in his voice. Bobbi shrugged. 

“You give them a chance,” she said simply. He nodded again, more thoughtfully this time, and turned to Fitzsimmons, who’d been watching the exchange carefully from the other end of the table. He made a motion for them to talk, and they hurried to explain. 

“Right, so we’ve worked on r-restoring the… the-” Fitz started. 

“Footage,” Simmons finished softly for him. Fitz nodded. “Yeah, that.” He scratched his neck. “The weird t-thing is, there’s n-nothing wrong with the f-footage. The im-images we r-restored…” He trailed off, his stutter getting the better of him in his excitement. 

He gestured for Simmons to finish for him, which she did with a slightly surprised look on her face. “Right, the images are clear, and they show nothing unusual, except for Arso’s arrival, but Skye was gone by then.” 

Coulson looked between them. “There has to be something between me leaving and Arso arriving that would give us a clue, anything, as to what might have happened.” 

But Fitzsimmons were shaking their heads in sync. “There is nothing, sir,” Simmons said apologetically, and Fitz added “None of the c-cameras show anything.” 

With a deep sigh, Coulson leaned on his hands on the table. “So she just… disappeared, somewhere between my departure and Arso’s arrival, a rough four days, from inside the cabin, leaving no trace whatsoever.” No one answered him, but it wasn’t really something he needed an answer to. He took a deep breath, nodding to himself. “Alright, here’s what we do. We narrow that period down as much as we can. Fitzsimmons, go over the footage again to see if someone’s messed with it. Morse, I want you to ask Arso’s team about anything they saw at the cabin that could help us. May, you’re in charge of this.” 

May raised an eyebrow, and Bobbi caught her eyes for a brief moment. “And what are you going to do?” the older agent asked. 

He sighed again. “As much as I want it to, Skye’s case can not be our main focus. Hydra is still out there, even with Whitehall dead. Liszt and Strucker are our highest priority.” He pointed at Hunter. “You’re coming with me. We’re going to visit an old… acquaintance.” 

May’s eyes narrowed, but she refrained from speaking up, and Coulson gave a decisive nod. “I’ll expect regular updates. Dismissed.” 

When Lincoln came to wake her up the first morning, she was already waiting for him, dressed and bags packed. He frowned when he saw it. “Are you leaving?” 

Skye nodded, forcing herself to smile. “Yeah, I figured that would be best for everyone.” 

“Are you kidding?” Lincoln let out a disbelieving laugh, and walked further into her room. “I mean, if you want to leave, you can, of course. But don’t do so on my account. Or Jiaying’s, for that matter. She offered to train you, Skye. That’s…” he trailed off into another chuckle. 

Skye raised an eyebrow. “Is that unusual?” 

"Unusual?" Skye was almost starting to feel offended by how disbelieving he sounded. “She’s never trained someone since I got here, and that’s been quite some time. It’s really impressive.” 

She started tapping her fingers against her leg. “So you think I should stay? Despite the fact I almost killed Raina?” 

Lincoln looked briefly uncomfortable, but then nodded decisively. “I think you should stay. Or actually, I think you should come with me to breakfast now, and then I’ll bring you to Jiaying so you can start your training.” He walked further into the room, and offered his hand. “Is that a deal?” 

For a moment, Skye just looked at him. The overexcited puppy who was her transitioner. Bright eyed and happy Lincoln, with sparkling powers and a Trip-like cheeky sense of humour. The honesty in his voice when he said she should stay. 

She stopped tapping her fingers, holding his gaze a few seconds longer, challenging him to back out. He didn’t. 

She smiled then, and so did he as she leaned forward to shake his hand. “Deal.” 

Skye’s eyes followed Jiaying’s movements closely as the older woman filled the glasses with water. She had an idea as to what she was supposed to do, but she had no idea. Feeling a mountain and then shaking it was one thing, creating sound another. But if Jiaying thought she could do it, she supposed it didn’t hurt to try. She chose to ignore the voice in the back of her head that said she wanted to impress the other woman, because that was utter nonsense. She had nothing to prove. Least of all to-

“So,” Jiaying’s voice interrupted her thoughts. Skye shook herself, slightly embarrassed at being caught so off-guard. She was a spy, for god’s sake. But Jiaying didn’t seem to mind. “Let’s begin.” 

To Skye’s confusion, she didn’t step away from the table, but instead leaned towards the rightmost glass. “I play a note, and you hold it.” She placed a finger on the edge of the glass and circled its edge, a low and slightly out of tune note rising from the glass. 

Skye reached out, and felt for the vibration of the sound. It was fluttery, not consistent or strong, but she could… The sound increased in volume, and Jiaying stepped away from the glass, but the sound didn’t disappear. Skye felt a smile break out on her face. She was making sounds. 

“Wonderful,” Jiaying complimented. “Now see if you can transfer it to the next glass.” 

With a furrowing brow, Skye did, carefully directing the vibrations to the next glass, producing a slightly higher tone. She moved it to the next glass, even higher. Jiaying was stepping up next to her. “You’re doing very well. Can you do two glasses at the same time?” 

Skye hummed, and tried. Lincoln had explained to her that she couldn’t create vibrations, but that she could influence them. That meant that if she could expand her current soundwave, she could make more glasses sing at the same time. She closed her eyes in concentration, imagining the wave in her mind, and expanding it. 

A steady harmony made her open her eyes in shock. About five glasses were singing at the same time, and she laughed in delight. And while she laughed, her powers shifted slightly, and then the glasses shattered. She cursed, and more in a reflex than anything else did she push the shards away, so no glass could reach her or Jiaying. 

The glass on the ground shimmered in the morning light, and Skye felt that old feeling of dread rise in her chest, as she avoided Jiaying’s eyes. The soft hand on her shoulder couldn’t convince her to look up. “Skye,” the older woman said softly. “That was some very lovely music you made. We’ll drink from wooden cups at dinner, it’s okay.” 

Skye shrugged her hand off, and stepped away, rubbing her forehead. “Is it?” 

“Yeah?” Jiaying sounded confused, and Skye chuckled. 

“I dropped a glass like this at a foster family once,” she said wryly, still not meeting Jiaying’s eyes. “And I suppose after last night I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop.” 

She felt Jiaying step closer. “Raina hurt you, it makes sense you lashed out. And no harm was done.” She paused. “They sent you back because you dropped a glass?” 

“And because I tried some of their scotch, but yeah.” She chuckled, and waved away whatever Jiaying wanted to say. “It’s alright. I’m 25, and there’s still no place on earth I’ve called home for more than two years, if I even called it home at all.” She felt tears well in her eyes, and furiously blinked them away. “I tried to make my home with people, but… they never really stayed. A few did, and even they can’t be here with me now.” 

Fuck, she missed Natasha. She pushed the thought aside as more memories from her sorry childhood flooded her. “Did you know, they sent me away on my birthday once? Which is funny, cause nobody really knows when I was born.” She tried to laugh, but it came out sounding like a sob, so she just shut her mouth and waited. For what, she didn’t know. 

Again, she felt Jiaying move, but no in the direction of the table. Shards of glass clank as Jiayin brushed them off and they fell on the ground. “You’re safe here,” the older woman said. “This can be your home, and if you want it to be, I’ll make sure you always have a place here.” 

“Why?” Skye asked, and she longed for the answer. She dreaded it. 

Jiaying leaned against the table, and her powers had nothing to do with it as Skye felt her eyes burn into the back of her head. “July second,” she whispered. “You were born on July second.” 

Skye turned around, very slowly, until her eyes met Jiaying's, which had that faraway look in them that told Skye she was lost in a memory. 

“It was a warm night,” she continued. “And for some reason, I don't know why, I cleaned the entire house before I woke your father.” She chuckled, a soft sound that made Skye’s heart clench. “Cal went over to the neighbours to borrow their car, but he didn't speak any Chinese. It was a mess.” 

Skye involuntarily stepped closer. “Cal said you didn't age. It's… You're…” She couldn't finish her sentence, shaking her head. 

Jiaying looked at her, all kindness and understanding and… love. “I think deep down you knew.” 

With a sniff and a chuckle, Skye shrugged. “It felt like looking in a mirror, in some strange way,” she whispered. “But I couldn't hope. Hoping never brought me anything, y’know.” 

Her mother - her mother - reached out, stopped herself halfway. “Are you okay? I wanted to run to you immediately, but…” She shook her head, and offered Skye a soft smile. “Staying here had to be your choice. You deserved at least that.” 

Skye felt a tear roll down her cheek, and quickly brushed it away. “You were looking for me, weren't you?” Her voice sounded, hopefully, desperate. Skye didn't care. 

“For years,” Jiaying said immediately, promising almost. “Your father and I scoured the earth; we did anything, we were ruthless. But one day I woke up, and I didn't recognise who I was anymore. Your father, he… He lost himself, because couldn't admit he'd lost you. I thought I had to accept it, for both of us.” She was silent for a moment. “I came here then. I thought that if I couldn't find you, I could at least help others. But I never stopped hoping. For this. For you.” 

Skye nodded. She could understand that. She could forgive it too. But… “And now?” 

Jiaying smiled, and reached out, offering a hand that Skye took with trembling fingers. “Now I'll make it up to you. We can get to know each other. But,” she said, and her voice grew more serious, “we can't tell anyone.” 

“You want to keep this a secret?” Skye asked, surprised, a voice in the back of her head screaming at how wrong that felt. 

“For your safety, yes.” Jiaying squeezed her hand. “Our people have strict rules, and I don't want them to perceive you as a threat.” 

Skye frowned. She didn't like that. But her mother squeezed her hand again. “Let's take a walk, and I'll explain as best as I can.” 

Skye trailed after her, blinking against the sun in her eyes. They walked in silence through Afterlife. Skye barely heard Jiaying speaking with some guy named Ethan who was going backpacking in Prague. 

“He hasn't been through the mist yet,” Jiaying told her conversationally. 

Skye shook her head, not really registering it. “You don't want to tell people, because you're responsible for… dealing with me.” 

Jiaying gave her a sideways look, before leading her to the viewpoint from where she'd moved a mountain. “It's complicated. I'm responsible for the safety of a lot of people here. Favouritism undermines trust, and I've already had to pull some strings to handle your less than traditional entrance,” she added, but it was with a smile, so Skye knew she wasn't being blamed. 

Skye nodded, then cocked her head. “Is it really that big a deal, to jump the line, so to say?”

Jiaying looked away from her, and out over the valley before them. “It's happened before. There was a woman, Eva, she didn't trust my judgement, so she stole some crystals and ran. She ended up with some criminals in Bahrain.” 

With a shock, Skye realised what this story was about. Or rather, who. “She was killed, right? By a SHIELD agent,” she said softly. 

“I wish it was that simple.” Jiaying still didn't look at her. “She stole the crystals for her daughter. I'd refused Katya's transformation, saw a darkness in the girl, but Eva didn't care for my judgement. Katy was too young, and went insane. She leeched of emotions like a parasite. One touch, and you were in her control.” Jiaying turned back to her. “It should have been me to stop her, not a SHIELD agent. I failed then.” 

Skye thought about May, about how her SO still blamed herself for what happened there. About May's stoic expressions, her serious stance, her blank looks. And it suddenly made a lot more sense. She made a mental note to tell May it wasn't her fault, the moment she saw her again. She looked at Jiaying, understanding and acceptance settling inside her. “And now you're afraid people will think you broke the rules you set yourself.” 

“Our people know all too well what a mother would do for her daughter,” Jiaying said solemnly. “So yes, that's why it needs to remain a secret.” 

“I understand.” Skye took a deep breath. “I don't like it, but I understand. I won't tell anyone.” 

It was Lincoln who came to find her for dinner later that night. Jiaying had excused herself, claiming there were things she needed to handle, but Skye knew that she needed some time. They both did, so it was fine. Skye had spent her time since then just sitting there, staring out over the valley. 

She'd done some of the breathing exercises she'd practiced with Nat, liking the way the vibrations seemed to fade a bit. She also spent time thinking. About her mother, about May, about Nay, about her future. It was a lot of thinking, and Skye wished she could talk it over with someone, because that always helped her order her thoughts. 

She was just in the middle of another breathing exercise when she felt the now almost familiar prickly vibrations of Lincoln approach behind her. 

Without opening her eyes, or giving any sign that she'd noticed him, she reached out with her powers and gave him a slight shove. He yelped in surprise, and then laughed. 

Skye couldn't help her smile. It was nice to do something with her powers that wasn't destroying things. Made it feel like it wasn't so bad after all. 

Lincoln came to stand next to her, still smiling. “Do you mind if I sit with you?” 

“Not at all,” Skye responded, eyes still closed, but she gestured for him to sit down. He did. 

“Did you have a good day?” he asked, and he even sounded like he meant it. Skye opened her eyes to meet his. She thought it over for a moment. 

She'd made music with her powers, met her mother, and they'd talked for a long time. She found out her birthday, even. “Yeah, it was a good day.” She unfolded herself, absentmindedly pulling out her ring to play with it. “I made glasses sing,” she told him, grinning a bit. “And then they shattered, but the sound just before that was pretty cool.” 

The feeling of the warmed metal settled her a bit. It also made her miss her fiancée, but she kind of did that all the time. Lincoln gently nudged her with a shoulder. “Do you miss him?” 

Skye paused. “Her. And yes, very much.” He cocked his head, inviting her to continue talking, and she did with a fond sigh. “We were with SHIELD, just hunting Hydra, and we said we would get married when we were done. But then everything with my dad happened, and then my powers, and then we were never really done.” She squared her shoulders. “When I leave here, I’m going to marry her.” 

She looked sideways at her newest friend, and he smiled warmly at her. Then he raised an eyebrow. “Are you wearing a suit or a dress?” When she just stared blankly at him, not really knowing the answer, he chuckled. “Maybe think about that. Weddings take planning, you know. It doesn’t sound like you want to do something Vegas-y with her.” 

Skye decidedly looked anywhere but at him, and despite not being a spy, he immediately caught on. “Skye, what did you do in Vegas?” he asked her, somewhere between serious and very amused. 

“Ehm,” she stared very convincingly, trying to search for a fitting lie. Then she decided that she didn’t care about keeping this a secret from him. “So, maybe I met her there and we got married because she was on a mission and we needed to keep our cover intact?” 

Lincoln started laughing, and he wouldn’t stop. When she shoved him, he just laughed harder, and she couldn’t contain her own beaming smile. “We picked out flowers this time,” she defended herself without any vigour behind it, when his laughing had finally died down a bit. “And a location. Just… not the rest.” 

They sat in comfortable silence for a while then, before he asked a more serious question. “So she doesn’t mind that you have powers?” 

Skye smiled, because what else could she do. “She keeps saying she loves who I am, not what I am. And she helped me with breathing exercises, and she supported me coming here. So, no, she’s very fine with it.” She hesitated, then decided the embarrassment was worth seeing Lincoln splutter. “She’s also expressed… interest in what a finer control of my powers could mean for our nightly activities,” she said teasingly. 

Lincoln spluttered, as predicted, and turned as red as a tomato. Skye laughed at him - hah, karma - free and happy. Yeah, that was so worth it. Lincoln just shook his head and sighed. “If I ever meet her, I can never look her in the eye,” he declared solemnly, pulling another snort from her. He sighed again, then looked at her. “So, wedding planning?” 

She looked back out over the valley in front of them. “Yeah, we still need to decide on some things.” She looked back at him. “Wanna help?” 

His eyes sparkled as he fully turned to face her. “Absolutely.” He waited for her to face him as well, before he took off. 

“So, for your vows, I think it would be funny if…” 

Chapter Text

It was routine work by now. Cleaning her guns went automatic, almost grounding. Natasha supposed that it was part of the job, as she checked over her widow bites and the rest of her gear, Clint doing the same next to her. He was usually in the cockpit flying them home, but Tony had taken over after Clint’s bow had gotten a nasty hit from a bullet, and the archer wanted to check it over for himself. 

She nudged him with her shoulder, and raised a silent eyebrow when he looked at her. You good? 

He shrugged, and put the bow next to him, before softly shaking his head. Natasha felt for him. This bow had been one of his favourites. She hoped Tony could fix it for him, if he wasn’t too busy working on his big secret thing. They all knew there was something, but he wouldn’t say what. Natasha figured that as long as it wouldn’t end up trying to kill them, it was fine. 

She put away her guns, and pulled out her phone. She knew beforehand she wouldn’t have a message from Skye, but she couldn’t help checking. Love worked like that, she supposed. She suppressed a sigh and put her phone back too, leaning back in her seat and folding her hands in her lap. 

It was Clint’s turn to nudge her. She looked at him, met his eyes. They were kind, and the corner of his mouth lifted in a tiny smile. She’s fine, I’m sure. 

Natasha just nodded. She knew that, rationally, she knew that. But she would really like to hear it from Skye herself. 

Tony interrupted her moment of peace, announcing the touchdown. He was quick and proper, and before she knew it, Natasha was walking out of the quinjet behind her team. 

It had been an easy raid, without complications. Well, except for Clint’s bow. But they hadn’t even needed the Other Guy, and that said something. Outside the quinjet, Maria was waiting for them. Retired from SHIELD, and now working for Tony in reality meant that she was the designated person to handle the mess that was the Avengers. Natasha felt for her old friend, but she was glad they could keep in touch like this. 

Steve, always the professional, immediately went over to their handler. “Mission completed, ma’am,” he said in his captain-voice. Natasha briefly caught Maria’s amused gaze. 

Maria returned her eyes to Steve. “Good job, team. I've already taken a look at the data you sent me, but I'm afraid there's nothing on it that will lead us to further bases.” She waved away their indignant replies. “I know, I know. Tony can let Jarvis take another look at it, since I don't have full access. But otherwise we need to wait until we get some more intel from our sources.” 

Natasha barely repressed a chuckle as everyone pretended to not know that Maria's sources were Coulson and Skye. And then she frowned. With Skye gone, there wouldn't be much more intel coming. And she had no idea if Coulson was already aware that Skye had left. 

Maybe he thought she was missing? Bobbi hadn't contacted her yet, although Natasha figured that her friend would only do so if she was worried herself, and even then… 

As Maria continued to talk about something else she'd gotten out of the data that she would read later anyway, and the team started moving into the tower, Natasha leaned over to Clint. “Things are gonna go to shit soon,” she mumbled, just loud enough for him to hear. It was just a feeling, but those were mostly right. 

He shot her a look. “Here or at SHIELD?” Natasha merely shrugged, and he nodded thoughtfully. “I'll get some things in order, just in case,” he said back in the same soft tone. 

Clint could be a joker and a prankster, but when it mattered she knew he had her back. And now Skye’s too. 

“Hey Red!” Tony started conversationally, letting himself fall to the back of the group, and both spies turned their heads to him. “Care for revenge?” the billionaire asked with a challenging grin. 

Natasha rolled her eyes. “Tony, please just accept that you can't outdrink a Russian spy. Your liver doesn't like this shit.” 

Tony rolled his eyes. “But I do.” His eyes were twinkling with mischief. “And if Skye asked what you've been up to, you can't really think to tell her that you were too scared to outdrink me?” 

Natasha narrowed her eyes, knowing he was pushing her to accept. But it was his liver, and she would enjoy telling Skye about drunk Tony. He made good blackmail. So, she let a slightly predatory smile slide over her face. “You're so on.” 

///

“No.” There was no room for argument in Skye’s voice, as she shook her head to emphasise herself. “No, I’m not doing it.” 

Her morning had been nice and easy. Lincoln had laid out a row of small stones, and she had to move one of them. She couldn’t just focus on the feeling of ‘stone’, but she really had to focus on each stone separately. She’d shattered a few, but Lincoln had just patiently put down a new one and let her try again. 

She’d gotten the hang of it eventually. 

And now, here she was, with her mother - the idea still weirded her out, but was growing concerningly comfortable - debating this absurd thing. “I’m not having dinner with Cal. He’s a monster. He almost killed Coulson, at least two times!” Why was she even defending herself? 

Jiaying just patiently looked at her, as if she knew Skye was going to fold. Skye sighed. “Is this some weird lesson?” she asked, half suspicious, half tired. 

With a shake of her head, Jiaying finally spoke. “It’s personal. A debt I owe your father.” She slowly reached out to brush Skye’s arm. “He was good once, you know. He made a promise out of love, and that promise destroyed him. But now you’re here, and he fulfilled his promise.” 

Skye hummed. “And that means all should be forgiven?” 

“No, not at all,” Jiaying answered quickly. “But he never gave up on you. And maybe that earns him a second chance. Or at least this dinner. If you don’t want to, you’ll never have to see him again after this,” her mother added, and Skye couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at that. 

When her mother didn’t say anything else, Skye relaxed her brow, and thought for a moment. For the umpteenth time she wished she could call Nat and just… tell her. Ask her. She had no idea how to handle suddenly having a family, by blood that was. She didn’t think Nat would know either, but talking with her fiancée did always settle her mind in a way nothing else could. 

And maybe she’d know what to say to the tiny part of Skye that longed to just have dinner with her parents - both her parents. The part that just wanted to pretend at normalcy; a normal mom and dad, and being a normal daughter. 

She inwardly scoffed. Natasha would never begrudge her that. In fact, she would probably just smile softly as Skye laid out her dilemma, because she knew just as well as Skye did that she’d end up agreeing. Skye’s eyes found Jaiying’s. “One dinner,” she said. “And then we’ll see.” 

Cal was waiting for them, his suit brushed down by his own hands, and a bouquet of flowers in his hand. Daisies. For her.  

He grinned as his daughter and wife approached. His eyes sparkled, but with joy rather than mania, and Skye could so easily see him picking her up from school, baking cake with her, getting ice cream from the shop at the corner… She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat and forced her feet to keep moving. 

“I wanted it to be perfect,” he started when they were close enough. “But this is just as well.” He offered her the flowers. “These are for you,” he said softly. “I know my actions have hurt you both, and I want to thank you, both of you, for giving me this chance.” 

Skye smiled genuinely and accepted the flowers. They smelled wonderful. “I learned who my mother was. She’s taught me things,” she said softly with a look at Jiaying, who looked back with pride and love in her eyes. “I’ve never had that before, but you made that possible.” 

His grin softened into a proud smile. “That’s all I ever wanted for you.” 

She didn’t know what to say to that, so she just nodded, her throat too tight to really speak, and moved to the table. Cal, no, her father quickly stepped forward to pull out her chair. He did the same for her mother, and then took their plates to put out the food. 

“Cal,” her mother started. “Skye doesn’t know when her birthday is.” 

He looked up, joy apparent on his face. “But I do. July 2nd, 1988. It was a warm night, and the moon was beautiful. Your mother actually cleaned before she woke me up,” he said with a small laugh. “I went out to borrow the only car in the village, but I didn’t speak Chinese, and he didn’t speak English, so it was a terrible mess.” 

Skye laughed, and then paused. “Wait, 1988?” she questioned. At her father’s affirming hum, she made a quick calculation. “I’m 26?” Both her parents nodded, and Skye reached for her glass to take a long sip. “Damn. That’s… That’s so weird. To 26?” she asked, raising her glass. 

Her parents exchanged an amused look, and clinked their glasses to hers. “To 26,” her mother echoed, and her father just hummed again. 

With a smile, Cal sat down and continued his story, and Skye couldn’t help but be amused by his enthusiasm. “So, it took a while until we got the car-thing figured out, but then… Did I mention it was the year of the dragon? Anyway, we went to the hospital, and…” 

As he went on to recall the - indeed very messy, but also very sweet - story of her birth, Skye took a small bite of her food, letting her eyes roam over her parents. Cal’s sparkling eyes and wide gestures, and Jiaying’s softer looks and loving smiles. It felt like everything Skye had never had, and it was all she could do to bask in it. 

Lincoln had happily agreed to play waiter tonight, and he didn’t regret it for a minute. He knew Skye had been nervous, apprehensive even, for this dinner, but all he saw right now were her sparkling eyes and her happy smile. 

He was cleaning away the empty plates with a wink in Skye’s direction, when he heard Jiaying gently clear her throat. “So, Skye. You’ve gotten to know us a bit, and this place. I’d love to get to know you too.” Cal hummed in agreement, and Lincoln noticed Skye shifting in her chair nervously. He caught her eyes and sent her a reassuring smile. 

You’ve got this, he tried to communicate. 

Skye smiled softly. “Yeah, I… I can tell you about myself. What do you want to know?” 

“Everything,” Cal said excitedly, and Skye chuckled. 

“Sure.” She tapped her fingers against her thigh. “Well, I… I was bumped around in the foster system,” she eventually started after taking a moment to think. “I learned to hack once I escaped, and I was everywhere and nowhere for a while. I ended up in Las Vegas, where I ehm… I met someone there.” She blushed slightly, and Cal grinned, while Jiaying sported a softer smile. 

With a look between her parents, she took a deep breath, and then she lifted her arm to pull the ring from under her shirt. “She was on a mission there,” she said softly, spinning the ring between her fingers. Her eyes were no longer on her parents, and had gotten a faraway look. “And she… she took me by surprise. I went back to New York, where she worked most of the time, and we met up again. And then we went on dates, and those became more.” 

“After the battle of New York she sort of asked me to be her girlfriend, and I said yes,” Skye continued with a smile that disappeared quickly. “Not long after, I joined SHIELD. And then I was everywhere, doing something good. Except SHIELD turned out to be Hydra, and then we were fighting Hydra. That was…” She chuckled, shaking her head. “That was a year ago.” 

It was silent for a while, everyone processing their thoughts. Lincoln slowly moved to serve the desert. Cal’s look had softened during his daughter’s story, and he kept his voice low as he asked, “What happened then?” 

Skye looked up, almost as if she’d forgotten they were still there. “Well, Hydra did,” she said eventually. “And then Coulson started seeing maps to the Kree temple in his head and then things happened and I went through the mist and I got powers and I ended up here.” She laughed. “Somewhere in between she proposed to me. It was not romantic, at all, but it was perfect.” 

“Is she like you?” Jiaying asked softly. “Like us?” 

“She’s not an Inhuman,” Skye said, although it felt strangely like an admittance, “but she’s enhanced. She kind of knows what it’s like, and she’s never treated me differently because of it.” 

Humming, Jiaying took a bite of her desert. “Just be careful. One mistake is all they need to start treating you differently.” 

Something flashed through Skye’s eyes, but it was gone before either Cal or Jiaying noticed. Lincoln fought back a frown. “She wouldn’t do that,” Skye said with conviction, and from what Skye had told him so far about her fiancée, he agreed. But Jiaying just shrugged, and continued eating. 

Cal looked between his daughter and wife, and cleared his throat. He turned to his daughter. “So, Daisy. You said you were a hacker? How did you end up with computers? I know nothing about them, so forgive me if-” He went on about computers, and after a few minutes, Skye was smiling again, and explaining to him what she did and all the mischief she got into, but Lincoln could see she was more guarded. 

He double checked they were set, and slipped out. He had to find Gordon. 

Skye stood up from the dinner table. “I had fun tonight,” she said sincerely. She picked up the flowers her father had given her, and slid her thumb across the stems, trying to ground herself in the movement. Her head was spinning, mostly from good things, but she still felt conflicted. 

Her mother smiled softly at her. “So did I.” 

Cal stood up instead of saying something, and slowly reached out for her hand, ready for her to snap it back. Skye didn’t, and he took it, gently bringing it up to press a kiss against her knuckles. “The best day of my life,” he said sincerely, his eyes shining. Skye swallowed thickly, and just nodded. He let go of her hand, and she quickly turned and walked out of the room. 

Lincoln was outside, waiting for her. His brow furrowed when he saw her slightly frantic look, but she shook her head. He nodded, and lead her to her- 

No. Why were they not going to her room? 

“Lincoln?” she asked, but he just smiled at her from over his shoulder, continuing, and she followed him with a frown. She was so not up for anything other than sleep right now, and if- 

Lincoln knocked on a door, and to her surprise, it was Gordon that opened. He was in chino’s and a comfy sweater, and looked like he’d been expecting them. Without a word, his face turned to Skye, and he threw something at her. Her years training with Natasha and May were the only reason she caught it. She looked at it, and her eyebrows shot to her hairline. “What-” 

“Ten minutes, Lincoln stays close,” Gordon interrupted her, and then he smiled. “Starting now,” he added before closing the door. 

Skye looked at Lincoln, who grinned. “You…” she started, and he just laughed. 

“Don’t waste your time,” he said, the grin still sparkling in his eyes. With a wet chuckle, she turned her phone on, and immediately went to her contacts. She saw she had a lot of messages and missed calls waiting for her, but she didn’t care what May or Coulson or even Bobbi wanted of her right now. She picked the right contact, and pressed call. 

It took all of one ring, and then a breathless, “Skye?” 

Tears stung in her eyes, and she had to take a deep breath before she could answer. She noticed Lincoln nodding towards one of the paths leading to a viewpoint just outside the village, and started walking down it. He followed at a respectful distance. 

“Hey Natasha,” she whispered, her voice not feeling up to more right now. 

“Boze moi, Skye. Hey, how are you? Are you safe? Okay? Talk to me, darling.” 

Skye chuckled. “I’m good. I’m so good. I miss you, but I’m safe, and I’m okay.” She looked back at Lincoln briefly. “I don’t have long. I have no clue where I am, but it’s a good place. They’re really helping me. Lincoln is teaching me control, and he got me some phone minutes somehow. I’m better, Nat. I’m getting better.” 

She could practically hear her fiancées smile in her voice. “I’m so happy to hear that, lyubov moya. And I miss you too of course.” She paused for a moment, and then so soft Skye almost missed it, “Please tell me you’re okay again.” 

A tear rolled down Skye’s cheek. “I’m okay,” she repeated. “I’m okay, I’m okay, I’m okay.” 

“Okay,” Natasha said, and Skye could swear she heard her voice waver. “I’m okay too. Did another raid this morning actually. Birdie’s bow broke, so he’s a bit sad, but that was all. The boys are all good, though the tin can is being more annoying than usual. Don’t know what he’s up to, but if it tries to kill us, I’ll kill him.” 

Skye laughed. “Sounds like you’re having a wonderful time.” 

“Oh, without a doubt. And you, have you made any whirlpools yet?” 

“Something like that,” Skye said with a chuckle. “I made music with glasses, and I pushed pebbles, and I caused an avalanche.” She paused, and Natasha waited patiently for her to gather her thoughts. Skye chanced another look at Lincoln, who was busy staring at the stars that slowly appeared above their heads. “I had dinner with my parents tonight,” she said. 

“Parents? Plural?” Natasha asked, surprise colouring her voice. “You mean your sort of psycho dad and your we-thought-she-was-dead mother?” 

Skye snorted, drawing Lincoln’s attention for a moment before he looked up again. “If you say it like that, it sounds very weird. Believe me, it was weirder.” 

“But?” Natasha prodded gently, sounding somewhere between knowing and curious. 

With a deep breath, Skye spoke. “It was nice, too. Cal was… sweet. Making weird jokes, and he told some awkward baby stories. And my mother… She was smiling, Nat. She was there, and we were all together, and she was smiling.” She decided to leave out the part where her mother didn’t quite seem to approve of Natasha. It didn’t matter right now. 

“Sounds like you had a great night, love. I’m happy to hear that,” Natasha simply replied 

Skye was stunned in momentary surprised silence, and Natasha chuckled softly. “I believe I once told you that I stopped being surprised by things a long time ago. And I can hear in your voice how conflicted you sound, but let me tell you,” she continued, her voice growing more serious. “You’re allowed to be happy, Skye. Even if you’re happy about having dinner with your parents when they’re less than ideal people. Feeling conflicted about it doesn’t make you a bad person, it just makes you human.” 

Skye didn’t say anything for a moment, and then she hung her head, the tension in her body lessening ever so slightly as she accepted her fiancée’s words. “I don’t know why I keep being surprised at the way you know and settle my mind,” she said. “But you always do.” 

“That’s… I… You fucking romantic,” Natasha mumbled, and Skye laughed. She absolutely loved making her future wife blush, even if she couldn’t actually see it. It was just funny to see the usually stoic spy flustered. But, 

“It’s true, darling.” Behind her, Lincoln cleared his throat. She looked at him, and he returned an apologetic look. She nodded. “Listen,” she started, focussing back on her call. “My ten minutes are up, and I’ve gotta go. If anyone asks, tell them I’m safe. Tell the boys I miss to behave, and Birdie to stop whining.” 

“Of course, and I will,” Natasha promised. “I love you, and I’ll see you soon. In a minute, right?” 

Skye laughed. “Yeah, in a minute. Love you too.” She ended the call, and turned to meet Lincoln's eyes, which shimmered in the fading light. “Thank you,” she said, trying to put all the gratitude she could into those two words. 

His eyes crinkled as he smiled. “Happy to help.” Then, he sent her another mischievous smile. “Now let's get back before Gordo gets mad at me. And tomorrow we're rising early to see if you can freeze water!” 

Skye paused. “I'm sorry, what?” 

Lincoln didn't reply, just turned around and walked back. Skye hurried after him. “Lincoln, wait! I can do that? Lincoln? Lincoln!”

/// 

It made sense for them to do it. Out of the team, she and Hunter had the least reason to hate him. That didn't mean that Bobbi did not absolutely despise the man sitting across the quinjet from her. Everything Skye had told her about this man would be enough to set anyone on edge. Add to that Fitz's stutter, which was improving every day, but still a horrible reminder of what this man had done, and it was taking all Bobbi’s self control to not shoot him right here and now. 

But she couldn't. Because Coulson had made a deal with Grant fucking Ward, and if she killed him now, they wouldn't get their intel on List and Strucker. 

If all this wasn't bad enough, part of the plan also involved the man who'd been her superior undercover, and who had taken cyanide while she was interrogating him. Brainwashed as he was now, he stared calmly at the wall opposite him. 

Safe to say, Bobbi was a bit tense. The only redeeming factor was Hunter's steady presence in the cockpit. And she supposed that Kara wasn't so bad, eyeing her with curiosity underneath a layer of indifference. 

She wondered what Skye would think of this, then she silently chuckled. Skye would've shot the man instantly. Bobbi doubted even Coulson could have stopped her. Ward's speech from before they got onto his quinjet to fiery hell would have done little to sway her. 

Coulson threw a look back into the cockpit, eyes lingering on Bobbi’s stiff form. “We’re five minutes out. Prepare for touchdown.” Without replying, Bobbi clenched her fists, her eyes remaining steadily boring into Ward’s. He was staring straight back, with a smirk on his face that made Bobbi’s skin crawl. He opened his mouth, but Bobbi deliberately moved her hand a bit towards the gun strapped to her thigh, and he closed it with the tiniest shrug. Bobbi’s eyes flitted to Kara, but the former Hydra agent was more focussed on her old boss than on her. 

The jet shook slightly as it descended and touched down. Bobbi stood up, but didn’t move otherwise until Hunter and Coulson had emerged from the cockpit. Without saying a word, Hunter stood next to her, tapping her hand three times. Bobbi didn’t move, too aware of Ward’s eyes trained on her. 

He raised one eyebrow. “You know, for this to work, you're gonna have to trust me,” he remarked casually. 

“And what if I don't?” Bobbi asked. 

Ward shrugged. “I have no need to hurt you, I already told you.” 

Bobbi shook her head, but didn't dignify him with another answer. Coulson watched between them. “Are you two done?” When neither of them responded he continued. “Good, then we can do this. Everyone remembers the plan, and I hope for all of your sakes you're sticking to it. That goes for all of you,” he said, holding everyone's gaze. Bobbi met it without hesitation. She was making up for her mistakes. She'd do as he said, even if it meant working with that slimy Hydra bastard. She could always kill him afterwards. 

Coulson couldn't hear her thoughts, and seemed satisfied with her silence, because he opened the ramp of the quinjet. “All right, let's get this show on the road.” 

///

Bobbi held the ice pack against her cheek with one hand, and was holding Hunter's hand with the other. He occasionally hissed as Jemma stabbed the needle through his thigh, but didn't move otherwise. 

Heavy steps announced Coulson's arrival. “What's the damage?” he asked once he stood in front of them. 

Without looking up from her needlework, Jemma answered him. “Bobbi will be fine after a good night's rest, with maybe a painkiller. Hunter has to stay off duty for three days at the least.” 

Coulson nodded slowly. “And Agent 33?” 

“Her name is Kara Palamas,” Bobbi interrupted before Jemma could answer. He gave her a look, and she shrugged. “That's her name, we'd do well to use it.” 

Coulson continued to look at her, and Bobbi continued to meet his gaze, until Hunter let out a soft groan and she turned back to him. Jemma tied up her stitch and leaned back in her chair. “Palamas has a concussion and should be fine in a day or two. She was awake for a few moments an hour ago but fell back asleep quick enough. She just needs some time to process, I think.” 

“Is that your medical opinion?” Coulson pushed with a frown. 

Jemma looked at him. “My medical opinion is that we all need a little time to process, sir, but we don't have much time to spare.” 

Bobbi almost chuckled. Almost. Coulson really didn't. Instead he turned around and walked out. Before he could leave, Bobbi called after him. “Did you at least get what you need for your Theta Protocol, sir?” 

He paused in the doorway and turned around. “Sorry?” 

She gave him her most innocent look. “It's just, with Ward missing again, Bakshi back with Hydra and spilling everything he's come to learn about us, and Hunter shot, I hope that it was at least worth it.” 

For a minute he did nothing but stare at her, and Bobbi held his gaze every second. She was vaguely aware of Hunter and Jemma watching the staring contest like a tennis match, but she wasn’t backing down an inch on this. He’d been the one keeping secrets, let him be the one to explain this. He could dig his own way out of his grave. 

Then suddenly he blinked, and gave her a smile. “Why don’t you call Maria and find out? I’m sure she’d love to catch up.” 

And with that he turned and walked out. Bobbi kept her gaze on the doorway, her mind racing to figure out what he could possibly mean with that. Maria? How was the retired deputy of SHIELD involved with this? Maria was working with…

Bobbi mentally face-palmed when the realisation set in. The Avengers. 

A hand squeezed hers, and she gave it a confused glance before realising she was still holding Hunter’s hand. “Are you with me, love?” he asked gently. Bobbi took a deep breath, and slowly pulled her hand away. She handed the ice pack back to Jemma, who took it cautiously. “What’s this Theta Protocol?” Hunter pushed, still in that same tone. 

Bobbi chuckled as she considered how to answer that. “I don’t know, but that’s what I’m going to find out. I’ve got a call to make, apparently.” She stood up, ignoring the pressing feeling behind the back of her eyes that might be a concussion but was not something she had time to deal with now. Neither was the stinging in her cheek. “Are you going to be fine for a few moments?” she asked Hunter, because no matter how much she wanted to figure this out, she wasn’t leaving him again. 

But he nodded, and gave her an easy smile. “I’ll live. And if not, I’ve got Simmons to perform CPR, right doc?” Jemma pulled a face, and Bobbi couldn’t stop a small smile. Hunter was grinning as he shooed her away. “Go on, save the world or something.” 

Bobbi smiled back, and then hurried to her bunk. She closed the door, double checked if she'd locked it properly - all hail the soundproof walls, and then pulled out her phone. She sat down on her bed and pulled up Maria’s contact. It took four rings for her old friend to pick up. One too many for Bobbi’s current state. “Tell me about Theta Protocol.” 

There was a pause on the other side of the line, before Maria started laughing. “Hi to you too, Bobbi. Been a while. I’m good, thanks for asking! How are you?” 

Bobbi hummed. “Fabulous. About to quit SHIELD. Spill.” 

Another pause. “Didn’t he tell you?” 

“Coulson?” Bobbi asked, confused. “He didn’t tell anyone anything. I had to find out from Gonzales during the coup.” 

Maria sighed. “It wasn’t supposed to be a secret. He said you were on the mission with him this morning, so you know what he found. That’s now-” 

“I don’t know shit, Maria,” Bobbi interrupted her. “I don’t know what he found. I don’t know why the Avengers are going to handle it now. That’s what Theta is, right? The Avengers.” She scoffed. “All I know is that Bakshi is back to Hydra, Ward slipped through our hands, Hunter got shot, Palamas is in our base recovering from everything, and Coulson is keeping more secrets than Fury ever did. So, please, Maria, please tell me what the fuck is going on.” 

“He got Ward involved?” Maria asked incredulously, too shocked to answer straight away. “Fucking hell. Yeah okay, I’ll tell you. The data you retrieved, which Coulson sent to me, were the details on Strucker’s Base, where Loki’s scepter is located. The Avengers are going to infiltrate and retrieve the scepter. SHIELD was rebuilding, while the remnants of Hydra were still everywhere. So Coulson called me up, and asked me to be the contact between SHIELD and the Avengers, so they could help clear out the bases when SHIELD wasn’t strong enough yet. Of course, we didn’t know about Gonzales’s Real SHIELD, otherwise we would have done this quite differently. That’s the story, or at least all I know of it.” 

Bobbi took a moment to process that. “But why would he keep that a secret? It sounds like a solid structure. But it doesn’t make sense for him to keep it a secret, and it doesn’t explain why he’s throwing around money like it’s sand.” 

“Rebuilding costs money,” Maria replied. “Safe houses, recruiting.” 

“Are you sure that is what he’s doing?” Bobbi couldn’t help but ask. 

Maria paused, and that was enough of an answer for Bobbi. Bobbi ran a hand over her face. “I’m so tired, Ria,” she said softly. “I made a choice, and it was the wrong one, and now everything is falling apart. Skye is missing, SHIELD is fighting itself and I’m not sure it’s going to win, I hurt my friends, Skye’s missing, I don’t know if-” 

“Skye’s missing?” Maria interrupted, voice suspiciously devoid of any emotion. 

A frown took over Bobbi’s features. Why would Maria know Skye? Then she realised. “The digging for Hydra bases she was doing all the time. It was for you guys.” When Maria stayed silent, Bobbi knew she was on the right track. She chuckled, but it lacked humour. “I should have guessed. I’m more and more glad she ran when she had the chance.” 

Maria merely hummed. They were silent on both sides for a while. Then Maria scraped her throat, and when she spoke again she sounded uncharacteristically soft. “Are you really about to quit SHIELD, Bob?” 

She had to think about that. “I don’t know,” she answered eventually. “Gonzales wasn’t the right choice to make, but he wasn’t completely wrong on everything. There’s a lot of things wrong about SHIELD. Everything that happened with Skye, and with Coulson keeping secrets that big…” She let her voice trail off, the message clear enough. 

“Do you have any idea where Skye is?” Maria asked instead of responding to her statement. “Maybe Stark can find her, or Jarvis.” 

Bobbi thought about that for a second, but… “No. Gonzales had a team going after her. I told her to run, and she did. Maybe she doesn’t want to be found, or maybe she is just patiently waiting for this all to blow over. But until Nat comes barging in panicking I’m not too worried about it, and I’m not doing a single thing I have not been explicitly told to do.” 

A moment of silence. “Why would Nat be panicking about Skye?” 

Ah. So maybe Nat hadn’t told Maria yet? Bobbi ran a hand over her face again as she realised she couldn’t really talk her way out of this. In her defence, she was really fucking tired. “Yeah, you’re gonna have to ask Nat herself.” 

“Right.” Another beat of silence. “Now who’s keeping secrets, huh?” 

Bobbi chuckled, for real this time. She could practically hear Maria’s smile, and she knew her friend wasn’t mad at her or anything. “Why don’t you just go back to handling your ragtag superhero squad?” she mocked. 

“Hey! My ragtag superhero squad is doing good work, okay.” Maria sounded positively indignant, and Bobbi couldn’t suppress another chuckle. “Anyway. I do have to go. They’re going out for Strucker’s base soon. Raid is tomorrow morning.” 

“Wish them luck for me,” Bobbi said. “And a bit extra for our favourite spies.” 

Maria hummed. “Will do. You take care, alright. Take it easy. And if you ever find yourself looking for another job, I can always use your help.” 

“Thanks, Ria,” Bobbi said softly. “We’ll talk again soon.” 

“See you soon, Bob.” 

And with that, the call ended. Bobbi put her phone away, and let herself fall back on her bed. The fucking Avengers were Theta Protocol. And Skye had been gathering intel for them. 

She understood secrets. She was a spy; secrets and lies were her second nature. But it was starting to weigh her down. She closed her eyes. She was so goddamn tired. 

Her phone hummed. With enormous effort Bobbi opened her eyes again. She checked her screen and saw a message from May. Fuck. She couldn't ignore that, as much as she wanted to. She opened it. 

Coulson wants us in the briefing room in five. Skye just moved up the priority list. 

Great. Bobbi half hoped Skye was somewhere they wouldn't find her. The girl didn't deserve to be dragged into this mess of SHIELD. Especially when Jemma was still actively researching ways to ‘fix’ or take down someone like her or Raina, on Coulson’s orders. 

She rolled herself off her bed and stood up with none of her usual grace. Before she left she forced her body to relax, her face to look calm and collected. Carefully controlled emotion. For now, she was an agent of SHIELD, and she had a job today. She could cry or debate her future later. 

/// 

Skye was staring at a glass of fully frozen water in wide-eyed wonder. She had done that. She had frozen that water. She looked up at Lincoln, who was watching with a happy sort of pride. 

They'd spent all of yesterday working on stopping water with her powers. As in, Lincoln was running a tap and Skye was supposed to halt the water flow. It took a while before she got the hang of it - the vibrations of water were very… flowy, for lack of a better word - but once she did, it was fun. 

Until the pipe burst due to the build-up water pressure, but Lincoln assured her it wasn't her weighing, since he was the one who had not thought it through that well. Jiaying agreed with him, and half of his next payment at the medical centre would be for Afterlife. Gordon went out that same evening to get a replacement, and one of the more technical inhabitants of Afterlife installed it immediately. 

For today, Lincoln had decided to take it a step further. “If you can stop water on this level, you should be able to stop water on a molecular level. Freeze it.” 

That's what he'd said. Skye hadn't thought it possible. But here she was, looking at a staring of ice that was slowly melting back into water. And she'd done that. She beamed at her newest friend. “I did it!” 

“You did it!” he agreed, and he sounded just as excited as she was. Skye sagged in her chair. This was so cool. Lincoln gave her a long look, that happy smile staying plastered on his face. “Want to take a walk outside? I can answer any more question you have?” 

Whenever they were not occupied with training or other important things, Skye had taken to asking him everything about the workings of Afterlife. It was so peaceful here, and the structures behind the society fascinated her. If only SHIELD could be more like this… But today Skye had other questions. “Sure! Can you tell me about when you got here?” 

Lincoln laughed at her poorly hidden excitement. “I can do that,” he said, before getting up from his chair and offering his hand to pull her up. She gave him a look and stood up, ignoring his hand. He rolled her eyes at her. “Alright Miss Independent. Let’s go.” 

They walked out together, and quickly found themselves on their new favourite route through the village of Afterlife. After some prodding, Lincoln eventually got into the flow of telling about his first trip to the sanctuary, and about the first weeks with his powers. He was just in the middle of a funny story about how he kept zipping the lights on in his sleep once, when they bumped into Jiaying. 

“Ah, I was looking for you Skye,” her mother said. Skye frowned, because that didn’t really sound good. Jiaying was also looking a bit uncomfortable. So nothing bad then, but probably something she knew Skye wouldn’t like. “Walk with me for a bit?” 

Skye gave Lincoln an apologetic look, but he sent her a reassuring smile. “We’ll finish that story later, don’t worry.” And with a final wave he walked back to his cabin. Skye turned back to Jiaying, gesturing for her to lead the way. 

They walked in silence for a while, down the same route Skye and Lincoln had been going. Skye let her mother gather her thoughts for a while, but eventually she sighed. “What’s going on?” 

“Gordon is worried.” Jiaying didn’t look at her while she spoke. “Ethan wasn’t at the agreed meet-up spot. Gordon worries that something might have happened to him.” 

Skye frowned. “Okay,” she said slowly. “But why? He hasn’t even gone through the mist yet. He’s of no interest to anyone.” 

“He’s been here, Skye,” Jiaying pointed out. “That makes him interesting. You of all people should know that. Hydra, your SHIELD… They’re all interested in powered people, whether the powers are already there or just a potential.” 

Skye hummed in silent agreement. That was unfortunately true. “Okay. So we’ll have to find him. If I can get a laptop with WIFI I could try to find him for you.” She looked at Jiaying, who seemed to be considering her offer, but still looked a bit… uncomfortable. “But that’s not why you wanted to talk to me, is it?” When Jiaying didn’t answer, Skye sighed. “So it’s about Cal.” 

“You know he can't stay here,” Jiaying started. “He's dangerous. His actions have put us in danger.” She looked sideways at Daisy. “He has to leave.” 

Skye returned her look. “And he doesn't know that, does he? Let me guess, you told him that it's only for a while. That he can come back once things have died down.” When Jiaying looked away again and said nothing, Skye knew she was right. 

She sighed. “I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think that that's a bad idea.” She shoved her hands in her pockets. “You can't just drop him. He'll get upset, and when he gets upset people get hurt.” 

“So you want to tell him while he's still here?” Jiaying asked incredulously. “And risk how he can get… here, with these people?” 

Skye stopped short. “I don't want anyone to get hurt, and that includes the innocent bystanders of wherever you're planning to drop him.” 

Jiaying stopped too, and turned around to look at her. The older woman gave a small shrug. “Those people aren't my concern.” 

“Well they are mine.” Skye pulled her mouth in a firm line. “That's kind of what being a SHIELD agent is about. Or, at least what it's supposed to be about.” 

Her mother shook her head again. “I don't want to hear about the people you think you're responsible for. I can't make exceptions. He's not one of us, so he has to go.” Skye narrowed her eyes, but Jiaying merely shrugged again. “Sometimes as leader I have to do things I'd rather not do.” 

Skye turned and continued walking down a path she knew now led to a beautiful view point. She felt Jiaying’s footsteps following her. “Where are you dropping him anyway? China?” 

“Milwaukee,” Jiaying replied softly. “That's his home. We were gonna raise you there. Cal was only in China volunteering for doctors without borders.” 

With a soft smile, Skye stopped at the end of the path and looked out over the valley. “You can't just leave him there. It's like leaving a puppy, except this puppy bites really fucking hard when upset.” 

Jiaying chuckled, though it was devoid of any humour. “So, what then? I let him stay?” 

“Let me go with him.” 

Skye’s statement was met with only silence, and after a few beats she finally turned around to face her mother. “You asked me for one dinner. One chance, really. And I…” She stopped, frustrated with herself. “I emphasise.” 

“After one dinner you think you know him? Understand him?” Jiaying asked disbelievingly. 

“I do.” Skye met her mother's gaze head on. “Because I spent my entire life searching for anything on my parents. I lied, I broke laws, I manipulated people, and I didn't even remember you. And he did remember me. He knew what he lost. So yeah, I think I do understand him.” 

Jiaying looked down, and Skye sighed. “Just, let me go with him. I can talk with him , soften the blow a bit. Just so I can let him know that he hasn't lost us forever. That he hasn't lost me forever, not again.” 

She held her mother’s gaze as Jiaying looked up again, both staring at each other in a silent challenge. “Okay,” Jiaying said finally. “But I’m sending Lincoln in too, to keep an eye on you.” 

Skye raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment on it. If she was allowed to do this with a babysitter, then she’d take it with the babysitter. Besides, Lincoln was nice. “Okay,” she thus said. “Deal.”