It had been two years. Two years since Hydra had been defeated, since Ward helped them at the last minute to kill his mentor, his father figure, allowing the team to regain control of Shield intel and facilities. Shield was now, once again, protecting the world from all that could possibly hurt us. It had been an uphill battle to regain control and the trust of the world but with Coulson in charge of ops and Furry still in command they had made it happen.

Coulson's team were victorious against Hydra but they were never the same after the events. They were Shield heroes, legends. 5 people had managed to do the unthinkable- defeat the enemy no one saw coming. They had never been more united but the scars of Ward's betrayal were still present and allowing anyone into their team was almost impossible. Furry had tried to add another specialist to the team but they had never managed to gain their trust and one by one they were left at the HUB, Furry trying once again to find the right fit for his most impressive team.

Ward had been detained at a secret Shield facility since his arrest on that fateful day. He had been interrogated for months as to how and why and more importantly why he made the decision to kill Garrett. Skye knew why. She had seen the look of terror in his eyes when Garret pointed the gun at her saying that she was causing his prized agent to "think too much". It had happened in a fraction of a second. She hadn't even seen Ward move and then with his bare hands he had killed Garrett- his lifeless body lying on the floor Ward starring breathlessly. Skye had moved quickly to get away from him and Ward reacted equally he had grabbed her arm and spun her around. She saw the look in his eyes. A look she recognized but she couldn't- he had hurt her too deeply. She punched him in the face and he feel to the floor just as Coulson and May burst into the room and immediately handcuffed the traitor. He couldn't rip his eyes from hers but she eventually looked away, she knew she had feelings for him but he wasn't the man she had fallen for, he was someone she didn't know at all.

It had taken Skye many months to make peace with the fact that the man she longed for didn't exist. It had been an act. She tried and tried to convince herself of that but somewhere deep inside she doubted. She secretly wished he had died in that room, somehow thinking that would make it easier to move on. The fact that he was out there, somewhere, haunted her. When she was alone in her room and it was quiet her mind always wondered to that look in his eyes right before she had punched him. That look was etched in her mind but with time the details faded and she began to heal.

Coulson had always kept up on Shield's progress with his ex-specialist, Ward had been instrumental in helping Shield regain their facilities but no matter what he did his loyalties were questioned and he had remained in a small cell for many months. A year ago, Coulson had been informed by Furry that Ward was provisionally released within the confines of the secret facility. Furry knew that no one had as much experience or knowledge of getting close to the enemy. Ward's expertise could be used by Shield to train other agents- how to identify a traitor, how to get behind enemy lines. Coulson had fought the decision at first but eventually understood the tactical strength Furry saw.

Yesterday Coulson received a message from Furry asking him to return to the HUB, he wanted him to meet with Ward. Ward wasn't aware that he would meet with his old team but Furry wanted to see the initial gut reaction from the team that he had betrayed before he made a decision as to whether or not he would send the specialist out with Coulson's team again.

They had arrived at the HUB early in the morning and were asked to meet in the Mess at noon. Skye had wandered the facilities and eventually found her way to the mess where the rest of the team was waiting. She looked around and what she saw took her breath away. A beautiful woman sat at a table across the giant room holding hands with the man who sat in front of her, she laughed at something he said. It took Skye a fraction of a second to realize that the man was him and her heart instantly tightened.