Disclaimer: I do not have any rights to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Summary: AU starting 2x10. Coulson, not Tripp, is in the Temple with Skye. After the change, Coulson and Skye get closer as they try to figure out who they are within SHIELD and as people. First in the Metamorphosis series.

Rating: T for language, violence, and sexual references

Couples: Skye/Coulson, Bobbi/Hunter

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As Coulson came down the stairs to see Whitehall facing away from him, gun pointed at Skye's father. Without hesitating, he shot the Hydra leader through the heart. As the German crumpled to the ground, the doctor turned a furious gaze toward Coulson.

"What did you do?!" The exclaimation was startling in it's intensity.

"You're welcome?"

Coulson wasn't sure why he was surprised that the man wasn't making sense, so far he had no reason to expect him to be stable. Before he could say anything else, gunfire erupted down the hall. He turned his head and gun in that direction. From the corner of his eye, he saw the doctor coming quickly toward him. He swiveled around, but the man was already too close for a shot so he tried to deflect the fist coming at his face. His arm swept the punch to the side; however, the force sent him sprawling backward to the ground. The doctor was lunging for him. Before he could roll away, there was a shout from behind the doctor.

"Stop!" It was Skye. Both men froze where they were.

Skye strode around the doctor giving him a wide berth and keeping a gun on him every second. She stopped next to Coulson. "You okay, AC?" she asked inclining her head in his direction.

"Fine. You?" He got back on his feet.

He could see the side of her mouth turn up in a smirk. "I'm good. I see Whitehall's down. Now we just have to deal with Raina."

"Ward?"

The smile grew. "I shot him. He was at a bad angle and I was in a hurry, so the bullets went in the side of his chest. But even if he manages to survive, he's not doing anymore damage today."

Coulson nodded. "What do you want to do with Daddy?"

Skye's face grew serious. "You're the Director?"

"True, but he's your family. And at this point, you've spent the most time with him." Coulson knew what he wanted to do, he wanted to lock the bastard away so that he could never come after Skye again. He trusted Skye more than anyone besides May though, and he wanted her to make her own decisions as they concerned her life and family.

"Daisy," Cal spoke up. He saw both agents realize what he had just revealed. "Please..."

Skye stopped him. "No. My name is Skye. It's the name I chose for myself and it's the only name I want."

"But your mother..."

"Don't bring her into this. This is about you right now. With Director Coulson's permission, you can leave now and never get involved with SHIELD, Hydra, or aliens again. If you try to follow us or stop us or if I find out you've killed more people, I'll kill you without a moment's thought. Director?"

Again Coulson nodded. He added, "You have ten seconds, Doctor. If you're going, do it now."

Cal had a look that was both sad and angry as he turned and walked down the hallway. The other two remained quiet as left.

When he was gone, Skye spoke, "I'm sorry. I wanted to kill him now, but I couldn't...not without giving him another chance." She sounded mostly calm, yet there was a tiny tremor that told Coulson that she wanted to cry.

He put his arm around her gently. "You did good. And sometimes when you give people a second chance, they live up to it and beyond." He saw her smile faintly. He hoped that she knew he was talking about her.

Knowing that there was still work to be done, he let go of her. "Where do you think Raina went?"

"The moment she found out that Hydra had the obelisk and the city had been found, she wanted them to take her. If the drill has already broken through..."

"...she'll be down there," finished Coulson. They started running down the stairs. "Tripp and FitzSimmons should have finished placing explosives down there by now. They'll bring the whole place down. But we don't know have comms right now, so we can't know for sure. I'll have to go down after her to make damn sure she doesn't succeed."

"I'm coming too."

"Skye," he warned, using what she called his 'Director' voice.

"AC," she replied. "Raina said the obelisk revealed what was inside. We know she's obsessed with Gifteds. She wants to be one, that's why she's here. If she's right and it gives her powers before we get there, you're going to need back up."

They had reached the drill room by this time. The obelisk had been removed from its case and a rope was hanging down the shaft in the floor. Coulson grabbed the rope and said, "Alright, let's go."

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Back upstairs, Cal found Agent 33 struggling to get Grant Ward out of the building. He told her to put down the injured man so he could check his wounds. Ward had already passed out so he could hardly protest. Skye's bullets had done quite a bit of damage, but the doctor was able to stop the bleeding. Then he picked up the former Hydra agent bridal style, ignoring the woman's protests.

They had just cleared the edge of the theatre's property when the earthquake began. He smiled, believing that his Daisy was finding her destiny after all. It would only be a matter of time before she would come back to him.

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Agents May, Morse, and Hunter met up in the center of the theatre. All the Hydra agents were dead or fleeing.

"Where's Coulson?"

"Did anyone ever find Skye?"

The questions were voiced by Bobbi and Hunter simultaneously. May shook her head. "I don't know the answer to either of those."

"You don't think..." Bobbi started but didn't continue.

"That they went down into the city, even though it's rigged to blow?" May had already been thinking it before Bobbi began.

"Well that would be bloody stupid," stated Hunter. "Which means that's probably what happened."

"So what do we do now?" asked Bobbi looking to the senior agent.

"We follow the plan. We rendezvous with the others at the bus. That's what Coulson would want. Maybe they're in the city. Maybe Ward took Skye and Coulson followed. Either way, without comms, he's planning for us to follow the plan."

"Let's go then," urged Hunter. "Those explosives will be going off soon and this theatre will probably start to collapse."

May nodded. She hoped Phil and Skye weren't doing anything stupid.

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The underground alien city was not at all like Skye had pictured it. The floor had some carvings, but the walls were stark.

They had brought glow sticks down with them and as they rounded a corner Mack suddenly appeared in front of them. He was standing still and did not seem to register their presence.

"Mack?" asked Skye. She had no idea why he was down in the city. When he didn't react, she turned to look at Coulson. The Director was tense, as if he was waiting for Mack to attack. "AC?"

"He went down first. We pulled him back up and he attacked. FitzSimmons think the city took him over to protect itself. We'll get him on our way out."

"Okay."

Within a minute they found themselves at the door to the temple. Coulson used his hand to signal Skye to go in first. When she rounded the corner she saw Raina standing near a stone pedstal and holding the obelisk.

The other woman smiled almost sweetly. "I knew you would come. I've been waiting. We can find out together what we'll become."

"I'm not here for that. I'm taking you and the obelisk out of here. Now."

Still smiling Raina said, "I'm sorry, Skye, but I'm not running from my destiny." At that moment, a shot rang out near Skye's ear. Raina stood still for a few seconds, blood beginning to leak out of her forehead. Then she fell. Skye let out the breath she was holding, thinking it was over. But as Raina fell, the obelisk left her hand of its own accord. It floated through the air and came to rest on the pedestal.

"AC, what do we do?" asked Skye frantically. She could feel the earth begin to move. The doors to the temple shifting closed.

The fear was evident on Coulson's face as he struggled to decide what to do. He didn't know how to stop the obelisk; but if the plan had gone well, the explosive charges were about to go off. Deciding that they should get Mack and get out, he grabbed Skye's hand to pull her along. Unfortunately, at that point the doors had become to narrow for them to get out.

"I'm so sorry, Skye," he said, his voice revealing deep pain. "I shouldn't have brought you here." He pulled her into a hug, burying his face in her hair. "This is all because of me. If I hadn't been resurrected..."

She pulled back from his shoulder, then leaned into his face and cut him off with a kiss. It was sweet and loving and over too quickly. But she had to say this before the end, "This is not your fault. Fury brought you back and if he hadn't I never would have found my family. I wouldn't know May, Fitz, Simmons, Tripp, and the others. Without you believing in me, I would still be an ignorant hacktivist with no idea of the good I could really do. I need you in my life." There were tears in her eyes as she finished.

Between the kiss and Skye's words, Coulson was caught in a whirlpool of emotions. He said the first words that came to mind. "I love you."

"I love you too, AC."

They shared a sad smile.

During their exchange, the obelisk had revealed the crystals inside and begun to glow. Their feet began to tingle and they looked down. To their horror, they were being covered in something hard and dark. It looked like what happed to the people who were deemed unworthy.

As the dark substance crept higher, Coulson thought of Skye's kiss and hoped the end would be painless for both of them. The last thing he was aware of before the darkness took him was the sound of explosions beyond the stone walls.