A.N: I wrote this little one shot based on a GIF I saw from the Agents of Shield: Uprising promo that aired a couple weeks ago and the new stills that were released today for the next episode. Anyway, in the promo, there's this one clip of Ward standing in a hallway with a dark haired girl by his side and an explosion goes off behind them. It's super duper quick and it may not even be Skye, but I'm thinking it is. Mostly, because May wouldn't run for cover if there is an explosion and also because I don't actually see May and Ward going into the field together very much for the remainder of the season. We'll see though. I wanted to explore Ward and Skye's friendship a little bit more now that we know for a fact that Ward does have feelings for his rookie. And they're some pretty strong feelings if Lorelei recognized them. As always, I hope you enjoy. I got some flames in some of my earlier Skyeward fics recently from an anonymous reader... not sure why they're reading Skyeward fanfic if they clearly don't like the pairing. But to each his own. If you think this sucks, go on and tell me how you think I can make it better. But don't sit there and type hate about a pairing that you don't ship. Guess what, it took less than two seconds to delete your note from my email but it took you at least two minutes to read the damn story. And those are two minutes that you are never getting back. *end rant* Sorry about that... anyway... yeah... read... review... let me know what you think... I love hearing from all the lovely readers on here who have something *nice* to say. Enjoy! =]
By Your Side
"When do we start?"
All eyes turned to the younger girl currently standing among the higher level SHIELD agents in the room.
"No." Phil Coulson frowned with a determined shake of his head.
"AC…" Skye tried but quickly closed her mouth when she caught his glare.
"You are sitting this one out, Skye." Coulson stated. "Until you are fully recovered, you will not be participating in any mission."
Skye rolled her eyes before turning toward her Supervising Officer. "Tell him that I'm ready!"
Grant Ward stood with his arms crossed and lowered his gaze to the ground.
"Grant!" she said through clenched teeth making him snap his head up. "Tell him that I am ready for this. You know that I am…"
"Maybe you should listen to Coulson… Sitting this one out might not be a bad thing…" he tried.
"I can't believe this!" Skye crossed her arms angrily. "I wasn't even here for a week and you sent me on a mission… I get shot once-"
"Twice!" Ward interjected.
"I get shot twice," she continued as if she hadn't been interrupted. "And suddenly I'm demoted?"
"In order to be demoted, you'd have to be a real agent, dear." Victoria Hand spoke up for the first time since the outburst.
Skye, Ward and Coulson glared in her direction.
"With all due respect, ma'am…." A new voice spoke up.
All eyes turned to Antoine Triplett.
"Permission to speak freely, ma'am?"
She waved for him to continue.
"Skye is as much an agent as any of us were when we were Level 1…" he started. "I think the kid deserves an opportunity to show us her skills. We've been told she's training under one of SHIELD's best agents… let's see her prove it."
Skye smiled broadly at Triplett while Ward narrowed his eyes at him from behind her.
Victoria Hand sighed with frustration. "Fine…. Agent Coulson, let the girl go on this mission. If you don't feel comfortable sending her in alone, send her with Trip-"
"I'll go with her." Ward spoke up before she could finish her sentence. "I'm her Supervising Officer. I should be the one to go in with her."
"Very well then… but if something goes wrong, it's on you, Agent Ward."
"Thanks…" Skye turned toward him with a smile when everyone else had left. She frowned when she saw his serious expression.
"I still don't think you're ready for this kind of mission…"
"Gee, Ward… thanks for the vote of confidence."
"It has nothing to do with confidence, Skye…" Ward said placing his hands on his hips. "You just woke up from a coma. You've only been training for a few days… you're still sore." She tried to protest but he continued speaking above her. "You've tried hiding it from me but I can still see it…"
"You never said anything." She mumbled.
"Because I admired your dedication." Ward said with a soft smile. "If I'd known you'd be volunteering for the first mission we got since you woke up, I would have benched you."
She scoffed.
"Don't make me get Simmons."
Her eyes widened. "You wouldn't…"
His eyes softened. "Look, I trust you… probably more than anyone I've ever trusted in my life. I wouldn't want anyone else by my side out there. But I need to know you really are ready for this. If you're not, no one would look down on you… we'd all understand... "
Skye looked up at him defiantly and gave him a small smile. "I'm ready."
"Are you sure?" he asked. "May can come with me…"
"No offense but May is not exactly talking to you." She deadpanned making him flinch. "What happened between you two while I was in a coma, anyway?"
He choked on a cough. "No-nothing."
"Whatever." She rolled her eyes. "Look, I know I can do this. I just need you to believe that I can."
"Alright then… I'll see you in the training bay…" he nodded with a smile before walking off. "You have 10 minutes to change and get your stuff, rookie."
The pair ran through the dark corridors. The place was like a maze. Ward pushed Skye to run faster. He pushed her into another hallway and backed up against the wall. She was breathing heavily from running so hard.
"I think… we… need to… work… on cardio… next…"
He chuckled. "I didn't know you were so out of shape."
"Remind me to take out anything greasy from my diet for as long as I live…" she frowned leaning forward.
Ward shook his head with a smile before touching his ear. "Fitz… we needed an exit yesterday…"
The Scottish man's came in through Ward's comm. "I'm working on it!"
"Work faster, Fitz!" Skye told him.
"Bloody hell!" Fitz mumbled.
"I rigged the lab…" Ward turned toward her. "But if I blow it up, we'll have minutes to get out. Our window is closing though."
She nodded in understanding.
"I got it!" Fitz screamed into their ears.
"Great!" Skye grinned. "Which way, Fitz?"
"That hallway where you are… keep going down. You'll run right into the exit. The fire escape will lead you to the roof. We're on our way to get you."
"Alright Ward… now's the time to-" she turned toward him to find that he was frowning at the detonator in his hand. "What is it?"
"Damn thing is broken…" Ward frowned.
"What?"
"I can't blow it from here…" he explained. "I've got to set the timer manually."
"Are you sure?"
He nodded before turning toward her and grasping her arms. "Do as Fitz said. Run fast down this hallway. You'll reach the exit and climb up to the roof. May will be there for you."
"I'm not leaving you." She argued.
"That's an order, rookie!"
"NO!" she yelled at him. "Screw your orders! I'm not your rookie right now. I'm your damn partner! And I am not… leaving… you… here."
She clenched her jaw angrily.
Ward shook his head.
"Uh… guys?" Fitz came on the comm. "We're almost there…"
Ward cursed. "What's your ETA, Fitz?"
"Two minutes."
"That's more than enough." Ward nodded.
"For what?"
"I'm going to go set the timer manually. I'll be right behind you. I promise."
"No… Ward… please…"
"We need to finish the mission." He said. "Trust me… I'll be right behind you… but I need you to get up on that roof as soon as you can…"
She nodded.
"Can you do that?" he asked.
She nodded again trying to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. "Yeah… I can do it…"
"Good…" he leaned in and kissed her forehead. "I'll see you soon."
She gave him a watery smile. "Come back to me." She whispered.
"I will." He answered before looking down the hallway from where they came and running back to the lab.
Skye watched him disappear into the dark and turned toward the dark corridor where their exit was.
"Skye?"
She heard Fitz calling her name but she couldn't bring herself to answer. She took a deep breath before directly disobeying an order and running in the same direction that Ward disappeared into. She found him in the dark crouched over the C-4 they'd planted earlier. He looked up and found her standing there.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked her angrily. "I told you to get the hell out of here."
"Funny thing about that…" she frowned. "Partners don't leave each other behind and they sure as hell don't lie to each other."
"Skye… I didn't…"
"Please don't stand there and lie again." She frowned. "I recognize a goodbye when I see one."
He frowned.
"How long do we have?" she asked.
"After I push this button?" he signaled to the C-4 on the ground. "Two minutes."
"Then we better go…"
He nodded and pushed the button. "Go go go go go go go!"
They both ran back to that same corridor they'd been standing in before. As soon as they rounded the corner, they heard an explosion. Skye covered her ears but turned and kept running toward the exit that Fitz had told them about.
She could see the red letters in the dark and slammed into the door as soon as another explosion detonated. "It's locked!"
"Move aside…" Ward instructed.
Skye moved away from the door and jumped when she heard the gunshots. Ward kicked the door open and ushered her through the doorway. She quickly climbed the fire escape to the roof and ran to the rope dangling from The Bus. Looking up, she shielded her eyes from the spotlight aimed at the roof.
"It's okay…" Ward came up behind her. "I've got you."
Skye nodded, holding on to the rope. She could feel him against her back as he held her and the rope at the same time. She didn't mention that she wasn't a fan of heights, trying desperately not to look down. She yelped when she felt the rope start to lift them into the airplane above them.
Once inside the training bay, she felt herself breathe again.
Coulson greeted them with an extended hand. Ward slipped him the file they'd taken from the lab before nodding at the older man and walking off.
Coulson turned toward Skye. "How'd it go?"
"It was definitely… an adventure…" Skye said trying to smile as she walked around him.
"Skye…" he called out to her softly.
"I heard you and Ward down there." He sighed. "You ignored a direct order from a Supervising Officer."
She turned toward him and nodded. "I did. But in my defense my Supervising Officer was being an unnecessary martyr."
Coulson cracked a smile. "I'd have done the same thing."
Skye allowed herself to smile. "Thanks, AC."
She turned to leave again when Coulson called out to her retreating figure. "He's lucky to have someone like you by his side."
Skye stopped on the bottom staircase suddenly and closed her eyes thinking back to Ward almost sacrificing himself just to save her. How many times has he risked his life to protect hers? Countless.
"I'm the lucky one, sir." She muttered before continuing up the stairs.
She was laying on her bed in her bunk staring blankly at the ceiling when a knock interrupted her thoughts.
Ward stood quietly in her doorway. She smiled.
"Hey…" she greeted. "What brings you to these parts?"
"Just wanted to check in on you…" he said leaning against the doorway. "How are you doing?"
"I'm a little sore…." She admitted. "But nothing is broken, thank God… and look…" she lifted her shirt a little for him to see. "No gunshot wounds."
He swallowed uncomfortably when he saw her small scar. Skye, noticing his change in expression, looked down and frowned before lowering her shirt. "Sorry… I forget that's there."
He shook his head. "Don't be sorry… you survived. That's all that should really matter."
She smiled softly, patting the bed beside her. He accepted her invitation and walked further into the room, climbing on the bed with her.
He folded his arms behind his head and looked up at the ceiling as she got comfortable again with him by her side.
"Did you mean what you said earlier?"
"What did I say?"
"When you said that you wouldn't want anyone else in the field by your side…?" she whispered looking up at the profile of his face. "Did you mean it?"
He looked down at her and cracked a small smile. "Of course I meant it. I trust you. More than anyone."
"More than… May?"
He took a deep breath and frowned before nodding with a tight smile. "More than May."
Skye frowned. He wouldn't trust her so much if he knew the truth about her origins.
"Skye…?" he said softly. "You okay?"
She quickly recovered and gave him a wide grin. "So you do want me as your partner? The Romanoff to your Barton?"
Ward chucked. "I wouldn't go that far, rookie."
She scoffed. "I bet you can kick Clint Barton's ass."
Ward shook his head. "Clint is a part of The Avengers… I'm just…" he shrugged.
Skye scooted closer to him and wrapped one arm over his chest. "Ward?"
He let one arm fall to his side and wrapped it around her. "It's nothing… go to sleep."
"Will you stay until I fall asleep?"
"If you want me to."
"I want you to."
"Then I'll stay."
She settled in closer to him. "Ward?"
He sighed. "Yes?"
"I wouldn't want anyone by my side out there either… not even Clint freaking Barton. I don't care that he is an Avenger, super gorgeous and amazing with a bow and arrow."
Ward chuckled. "Go to sleep, rookie."