Simple Touch,

Written by WickedSong.

Disclaimer/Note: Still don't own AoS, dammit. So this is a little earlier than I planned because I had the idea in my head and it was just a case of finding the right words, which hopefully I did. And also I had the second of my three exams today and it went really well so I felt like I could justify doing this, as opposed to studying for an extra hour or so tonight. Thank you so much for the lovely comments on the first part and I hope you enjoy the concluding part.

He wakes up, feeling fuzzy and disorientated and not quite sure where he is. From what he can tell he's on a bed and the room – at least he assumes it's a room – smells like disinfectant. A soft humming sound is coming from beside him and he turns his head closer in that direction – he likes the sound of it, that's all.

When he finally feels up to it, after what feels like hours but was probably only minutes, he opens his eyes; with difficulty at first but the more he tries the easier it gets. He can feel pain in his left shoulder, and that's when things get a little less fuzzy. He remembers the bullet hitting him, he remembers Skye trying to keep him awake and then…nothing. He had faded in and out of consciousness, but he was still here and that was all that mattered.

The humming continues and when his eyes are open – his vision still a little compromised – he can see the source of it is Skye, sitting in the chair beside the bed, looking straight at him and smiling.

"Batteries recharged?"

She's joking, like she usually does, especially with him, but he can see the relief flash in her eyes immediately.

He nods, and the pain in his shoulder shoots through him. It's not as pronounced as it was when he was bleeding out in an alleyway in New York City but it's still there and he figures it will be a while yet.

He goes to ask her a question but realises his throat is dry and scratchy, so much so that it doesn't really come out coherent at all.

Skye picks up on this and stands from the chair, crossing over to the sink at the side of the room, in what Ward can now see is a SHIELD medical facility, he can only assume is in New York itself. She returns a moment later with a glass of water and he takes it from her gratefully, saying a wordless thank you.

She nods in return.

"You've been out for about a day, by the way," she answers to his question that remained unasked. "You lost a lot of blood but they managed to-well, you're still here, right?"

She averts her gaze from him, and he feels like doing the same. He places the glass on the table beside him after a few moments of awkward silence passes between them. Giving a small cough he feels his voice return to him. "So that song you were humming," he almost cringes at how weak it still sounds to him but he continues on, "it sounded familiar."

It's a lame attempt at trying to start a conversation but it's all he can really think of. For a moment he wonders where the rest of the team are but Skye looks at him and the moment passes.

"Just one that I learned growing up," she answers. "I don't know if it has words?" She laughs to herself.

He nods. "Must just be familiar then," he muses quietly.

Before he can think about the lull in the conversation she jumps right into another topic and it's like there was no silence there before.

Don't you ever get tired of hearing your own voice?!

He winces slightly thinking that it's such a great time to remember that moment.

"May and Coulson showed up a couple of minutes after you passed out," she's telling him and so he focuses on that instead of the sharp throbbing that's persisting in his shoulder. "Hey are you okay?" she asks, obviously sensing his discomfort.

"You try being shot and then I'll ask you, how about that?"

But he doesn't particularly like the idea of her being shot.

"Fancy SHIELD digs, and a room all to yourself?" She sits back in the chair with her arms folded behind her head, letting out a contented sigh. "Sounds like a blast."

He groans, and not from the pain. "Was that supposed to be a pun?"

She shrugs in response, but smiles. Even smiling though, she looks tired.

"When was the last time you slept?" he asks, finally noting the way her eyelids keep drooping whenever she thinks he's not looking.

She shakes her head. "It doesn't matter." She smirk and adds, "Don't worry; I didn't lose any sleep over the invincible Agent Grant Ward."

He has to wonder if he's imagining her voice masking something else; something deeper.

But he doesn't ask, doesn't think it's really the time or place to do so.

She stands from the chair and goes to leave the room. "Where are you going?" he asks, looking towards the door.

"I was going to tell the others you were up. Why?"

He gives a slight cough, tries to wonder how to phrase his next words without it being odd but he can't think of anyway. All he knows is that he's tired, a little groggy and he would like her to stay. He's pretty sure he's going to pass it from whatever it is they have him on right now – something Simmons would be able to tell him about in great detail, whatever it is – but he doesn't quite know how to say that to her.

Luckily for him he doesn't have to. Ever since he met the hacker he's had this feeling that she can read him in this strange way he doesn't quite understand (maybe she's just good at reading people; and that would be a good asset for SHIELD; nothing more and nothing less to him), and this is only reinforced by the fact that she sits back down on the seat she just vacated a minute ago.

"Thank you," he finally says, and when she teases him later about his being in debt to her he'll blame it on the drugs. He means it though.

She doesn't ask what for, and she doesn't say anything to it; only tilts her head ever so slightly and smiles at him, humming her tune as he closes his eyes and slips away into sleep once more.

But not before he feels a hand on top of his and he has to admit he had forgotten, until this moment, in the haze between being awake and asleep, how comforting one simple touch can be.