A/N: I'M SO SORRY

SO VERY SORRY

Get ready for some apologetic excuses. Ahem. Okay, here we go.
I am so very sorry that it has been ALMOST A BLOODY MONTH since I updated this fic. The thing is, I just got a new job, and I was meant to be working 16 hours a week, and have instead been working 36 hours a week. The hours I haven't been working, I've been either sleeping or doing the daily chores necessary to live. I REALLY SORRY.

ANYWAY
This is the last chapter...(WHAT? OMG. LAST CHAPTER? OH NO!)...the last chapter of this portion of the fic. The fic will be continued very soon (as in less that a bloody month omg) in another fic. This just seemed like a good place to end this one. I'd like to thank everyone who has stuck with it, all of you guys on twitter and tumblr, and my friends I've made through writing this (Stacy I'm talking to you!). I love you all.

ON WITH THE CHAPTER!

Skye was going home.

She was going back to be with Mommy and Daddy.

She was ecstatic. Happier than she had ever felt in her entire life.

And then she was worried.

First they were telling Skye she was going home, and she was so, so happy, but then Clint mentioned something about Hunter going away and Bobbi got all quiet, and even though Nat was pretending to be all happy and excited, Bobbi's quiet was distracting. Bobbi didn't say much in the car. It was unnerving.

Bobbi was driving, so Skye couldn't see her face.

"Bobbi, are you happy?" Skye asked the back of her head from the backseat.

Natasha and Hunter were sat to Skye's side and both turned to her at the question. Nat put a hand on her knee.

"Of course Bobbi's happy." Nat said. "She's just as excited as we are that you can come home."

"I am." Bobbi said. Her voice sounded quiet. Far away.

Skye frowned. "Are you sure? Don't lie."

"Don't worry about me." Bobbi said.

After that Natasha and Clint took over the conversation in the car, engaging Skye in discussions of packing her things and sleeping in her own bed. Bobbi didn't speak for the rest of the car ride, and it didn't escape Skye's notice that Lance's eyes seemed to flick over to his wife every few minutes.

Sometimes they underestimated her. Skye didn't mind, it meant she could be a spy without any of her sisters even noticing.

When they got back to Bobbi and Hunter's borrowed house, Skye found herself being ushered away to pack her things up with Clint and Natasha, while Hunter and Bobbi talked in the kitchen. Skye didn't know what they were talking about, but with the news of Hunter going back to England, it didn't take a genius to guess.

Skye wanted to hug Bobbi. She had wanted to go with them, to make sure that they were both okay, but Clint had said she was better leaving them to it.

"Come on, kid." Clint said, taking Skye's hand and leading her away from the closed door of the kitchen. "You and Nat start with the things in here, I'll go upstairs and get your stuff from up there."

"Kay." Skye muttered.

Skye trusted Clint, but it didn't take away from the fact that she still worried about Bobbi and Hunter. It was a strange mix of emotions going on in her mind. The elation she felt at knowing that sooner rather than later she was going to be cuddled up with her mommy and daddy was making everything feel fuzzy and giddy, but then she heard the rumble of Hunter speaking in the kitchen and a clear wave of anxiety sliced through her.

"Are they okay?" She looked at the kitchen door. "I don't think Bobbi wants Hunter to leave."

Natasha sat down on the floor next to her. She put an arm around Skye's shoulders. Skye leaned into her. She rubbed her cheek on the soft fabric of Nat's hoodie. It smelled like Clint.

"Bobbi's going to miss him." Nat said. "But he'll be home soon."

"With Jemma?"

"Hopefully." Nat muttered. "Fingers crossed."

Skye crossed them on both hands and held her fingers up to Nat's face. Her sister chuckled and pretended to bite her hands.

"Stop!" Skye squealed.

"But you're just so yummy." Natasha said, tickling her sides. She gave up her torture and instead hugged Skye close. "I love you."

Skye smiled. She wrapped one arm around Natasha's neck and threaded the fingers of the other hand through her sister's ponytail.

"Will you love me forever?"

Nat pouted. "What kind of question is that?"

Skye shrugged and looked at the carpet. Natasha's hair tickled the tips of her fingers. "I wanna know."

"Look at me."

Skye did.

Nat put a hand on her chin. "I'll love you forever. No matter what, Skye."

"Are you sure?"

"Very."

"Good." Skye decided. She smiled. "I'll love you forever, too. And that's a long time."

"Yeah. It'll be the best forever we'll ever have."

…

As soon as they got into the house, Lance took Bobbi by the hand and led her into the kitchen. She tried to pull away from him, to follow her sisters into the living room, but the attempt was feeble and half-hearted at best. Lance squeezed her hand as he pulled her into the room. He closed the door behind them.

"What's up, love?" Lance asked quietly, and as if triggered by some gentle tone in his voice, Bobbi burst into tears.

She covered her mouth with her hand and let out a chocked sob, eyes widening at the surprise she felt at herself for reacting in such a way. Lance looked terrified, stood frozen for a moment, and then wrapped her up in his arms and held her head to his shoulder.

"Please don't cry, please, Bob." He murmured to her, pressing his nose into her hair. "Please." His voice caught and Bobbi felt his throat move as he swallowed. "Don't cry, 'cause you know whenever you cry, that's me gone, too." Hunter chuckled but Bobbi could tell it was forced.

She gripped his jacket and tried desperately to calm herself down, gasping every time another wave of sobs tried to overcome her. "I-I…" she shook her head, frustrated. "I don't, um, I don't even know w-why I'm crying." Bobbi said.

Hunter wiped her cheeks with his thumb and kissed her nose. His eyes shone. "It's alright. Everything's alright." He whispered.

Bobbi could hear Natasha talking to Skye, the tones of their voices carrying through but with no words to be recognised. She thought of her baby sisters being able to hear her crying and pressed a hand harder to her mouth. She was the eldest. Bobbi was the big sister, she needed to be strong, not just for Nat and Skye, although they were extremely important, but Bobbi had Jemma to consider, too. Jemma needed Bobbi to be reliable and tough maybe even more than Nat and Skye, because Jemma didn't have the amazing mom and dad they had.

"I'm sorry." Bobbi told Hunter.

He shook his head and wiped at her damp cheeks again. "Never be sorry." He said. "Not for feeling."

"The kids need me to be the one who wipes away their tears." She rubbed her nose against Lance's stubble. "Not the other way around."

"The kids need you to be there." He cupped her chin. "But they need to know it's alright to get upset, to feel things. Bob, you don't need to be hard all the time. You're the strongest person I know, and I love you so fucking much for that, but baby," Lance kissed her forehead, "Bobo," He smirked and she smacked him, "sometimes you just need to let it all out or you'll combust."

Bobbi let herself be rocked by her husband, resting her head on his shoulder and basking in his comfort. Lance pressed kisses to her hair and rubbed her back as her tears subsided and her brain began to organise her thoughts. She was happy, genuinely happy for Skye to be able to go home, and she was excited for Hunter to bring Jemma back to them, but the thought of him leaving make her stomach turn.

"I'm really going to miss you." She told him.

"Me, too. It's been a long time since we've spent a night apart." He smiled. "Three weeks married and we're turning into those people."

"What people?" She wiped her eyes.

Hunter shrugged playfully. "You know the type, so co-dependant that they can't even go to the loo separately."

Bobbi grimaced but smirked when Lance placed a wet smacking kiss to her cheek. "I don't think we'll ever be that close."

"What about that night when you got drunk with Izzy and-,"

"Okay, point taken." Bobbi cut him off, blushing. "Not one of my finest moments."

Lance put his hands on her shoulders and looked intently at her. "I'll be back with our Jem before you know it." He said earnestly. "And you'll have Nat and Skye to see to while I'm gone. I know you're usually just used to keeping me in check-,"

"And it's a big job." She teased.

He rolled his eyes. "But in the mean time you can keep yourself busy with Skye."

Bobbi nodded, and smiled. The thought of her baby sister being reunited with their parents tugged warmly in her chest. "Somehow I think Skye will be more preoccupied with mom and dad."

Hunter laughed and pulled Bobbi back into a hug. "You know," He said quietly, lips against her temple, "if I can get my mum to agree to it, to let Jemma come over here with me, she could be ours." He paused. "She would be ours."

"You've been more of a father to her than her own dad." Bobbi agreed. "Hunter, you have to bring her home. I need to know she's safe."

"I will." Hunter said assuredly. "I'll bring Jemma home."

Hunter paused, pressing his lips to Bobbi's neck and nuzzling her ear. His grip on her tightened fractionally and he blew out a warm breath that tickled her ear and made her want to squirm in his arms. Bobbi kissed his jaw.

"Tony called me." He said suddenly, and Bobbi pulled back to look him in the eye.

"Yeah?"

"Mm." Lance blinked slowly, eyes darting to the fridge where a set of alphabet and number magnets that didn't belong to them had been haphazardly placed to make the room look 'lived-in'. Someone, he suspected Bobbi, had spelled out the word 'Teacup' and encased it in a heart of other multi-coloured letters. He looked back to her. "He called before we went to pick up Skye from school."

Bobbi waited for him to continue, but Lance instead began playing with the hood strings of her sweater. "Hunter." She pressed, and he nodded.

"What if…?" He trailed off, sighing and rubbing one eye with the back of his hand.

She rubbed his arm and he smiled a little.

"What if…," Lance continued, "what if we had a house of our own? A place we could have to ourselves, and," He looked at the fridge, "we could put photographs up of our holidays on the fridge, and decorate a room for Jemma any way she wanted? We could have a swing in the garden, and maybe you could get a desk, you know, one with all those little drawers where you can keep all kinds of pens and pencils?"

Bobbi smiled. "That sounds wonderful."

"Yeah." Lance kissed her. "What if we could have that?"

"What if?"

"What if?" Lance repeated.

Bobbi imagined what if. She saw her desk, where she could draw pictures to go on the walls of Jemma's bedroom, and she saw the little girl playing with her baby sister outside on swings. Bobbi thought about picking out paint for the living room, and bickering over the merits of hardwood floors versus carpet with Lance. He would let her get her way, of course, but the squabbling between them was more a show of love than anything else.

It sounded perfect. It sounded wonderful. It sounded like being home.

"It would be amazing." She told Lance in a whisper. "One day we'll have that."

Hunter bit his lip. It was an action Bobbi saw frequently reflected in her younger sister's expression, but for Lance, it was a rare sight.

"What?" She asked.

He let his teeth slide away from his lip, but they left tiny little indentations in their wake.

"Tony's looking to get rid of the house." Lance said quietly. Bobbi found her eyes drawn to the abused lower lip, but at his words, her gaze flashed up to his eyes. There was no mirth there, only sincerity. "Bob, he wants us to have the house."

She blinked. "This house?"

Hunter nodded. "He wants to give us the house."

Bobbi's brain seemed to shut down. "Oh." She said, and stumbled back to sit down in one of the chairs by the table.

Lance followed her quickly and crouched down in front of her "I know it's a lot really quickly, and I told him outright that we can't just take it off him for nothing, but I really think we should think about this, Bob." He said quickly. "It's a nice size, it's in a nice area, we're close you're your mum and dad. It's…." He trailed off, and Bobbi finished for him.

"Perfect."

Hunter smiled sheepishly and shrugged, putting both hands on her knees. "Perfect."

"Perfect things don't happen to us." Bobbi pointed out. She thought of all the crap she had been through as a child, the tumultuous teenage years, and even the more recent drama with Skye. "It's too good to be true."

"Or maybe it's just our turn for things to go our way?"

Bobbi covered his hands with her own and laced their fingers together. He was warm, the heat of his fingers seeping through the fabric of her jeans.

"Maybe." She murmured. Bobbi looked at Lance, holding his gaze solidly. "Do you want this, Teacup?"

He swallowed. "I want only to be with you, Bobo. That and to keep Jemma safe and happy. I want my girls with me, and that's all I want. All I need." Hunter squeezed her fingers. "We could live in a ditch, under a bit of tarp, and I'd be happy as long as I had you."

She kissed him, harder than she'd first intended, and held him close with a hand on the back of his head. "I love you."

"I love you." He kissed her again. "I love you so much, Bobbi."

Bobbi scratched his scalp. "We can be happy no mater where we go, but…" she imagined the swings and the desk and the carpets and looked back into the loving eyes of her husband, "I want to make this our home."

Hunter grinned.

"I want to bring up our children here." Bobbi continued. "I want to be happy, here. With you, and Jemma, and our family."

"I'll get a job." Hunter said, and then kissed her again. "I'll come home with Jem, and I'll get a job, and we can start paying Tony." He smiled. "Our house. Ours."

"Home." Bobbi corrected. "Our home."

Lance huffed out a laugh. "Home. We're home."

…

Nat was helping Skye put the pile of books in the living room, back into one of the crates, when the kitchen door opened. Skye looked around in time to see Hunter kissing Bobbi's head and then jogging up the stairs. Her eldest sister took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"Hey, Skye. This looks like a cool book." Nat said to her, but Skye's attention stayed on Bobbi.

When she opened her eyes, she smiled at Skye and walked over to sit on the couch by her. Bobbi's eyes were red. She gave Skye another little smile, but even the elation Skye was feeling at knowing she could go home was dampened by Bobbi's expression. It was a hard one to figure out. A little part of Skye thought that maybe Bobbi was happy, but she had the look like she might burst into tears at any given moment.

"You're sad." Skye said, stepping past Natasha and climbing up on the couch with Bobbi.

"No, no." Bobbi smiled. "I'm happy. I'm so happy I get to take you home to Mom and Dad."

Skye shuffled onto her knees and reached out to hold Bobbi's face between her hands. "Don't lie."

"I'm not." Bobbi said. She glanced to Nat. "I'm happy. Honestly."

"But you look like you might cry." Skye said, turning Bobbi's face from side to side for further inspection.

Bobbi chuckled. "Skye, I'm fine. Promise."

Natasha sat down on her other side and as Skye let her hands fall from her sister's cheeks, Nat laid her head on her shoulder. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." Bobbi sighed. She tugged Skye closer and the three sisters sat cuddling on the couch. "Maybe I am a little sad about Lance leaving, but I promise I'm happy about you going home, Skye. I'm happy about lots of things."

Skye nodded. "I'm happy, too." She held Bobbi's hand. The rings on her left hand were sometimes cool to the touch, but today they were as warm as Bobbi's skin. Skye wondered if Lance had been holding her hand. She looked up at Bobbi. "How long until I can go home?"

"Not long." Bobbi stroked her hair and Skye leaned into her hand. When she closed her eyes she could almost pretend it was Mommy. A strong feeling in her chest panged and she suddenly thought she might cry. Bobbi spoke, and Skye managed to hold it together. "We're just waiting on a call from Fury."

"I like Nick Fury. He was nice."

"He was." Bobbi agreed.

"He had a cool eye patch. Like a pirate. Or a spy with an eye patch."

"And when he calls, we can take you home."

Skye rested her chin on Bobbi's arm. Natasha reached over and stroked the skin peeking out from the top of her cast.

"You're coming home, too, right?" Skye asked, looking up at her sister.

Bobbi closed her eyes. She didn't say anything for little while, and Skye would have questioned her again, but Natasha was frowning at her older sister and Skye found herself watching the two of them, curiously.

Nat lifted her head from Bobbi's shoulder. "Are you not coming home?" She said quietly.

Bobbi didn't open her eyes, but her mouth twitched and the hand stroking Skye's hair, stopped.

"Are you going with Hunter?" Nat asked.

"This is something he needs to do alone." Bobbi said. She opened her eyes but kept them downcast enough that Skye could almost believe they were still shut.

"Then where are you going?" Nat asked.

Skye sat up. "You're going somewhere?" She questioned Bobbi, and her sister held up both hands.

"Stop it, both of you." She said.

"You can't leave me." Skye said, the feeling in her chest returning with full force. She felt her lip quivering. "No. You're not allowed to leave."

"You're not." Nat agreed.

Bobbi rolled her eyes. "I'm not leaving you." She told Skye. "Either of you." She eyed Nat.

Skye hugged Bobbi, and reached her casted arm out to hold Nat's hand. "Good." She murmured against Bobbi's shoulder, relishing in the relief. "Good."

"But-," Nat began, and Bobbi cut her off.

"Later." She said, and even though Skye didn't know what that meant, apparently Natasha did, because her sister nodded and closed her mouth. She continued to frown, though.

Skye didn't have much opportunity to dwell on the cryptic actions of her sisters, however, because at that moment, Bobbi stood and pulled Skye off the couch with her, taking her hand.

"Come on, the quicker you get your stuff packed the better." Bobbi said, leading Skye over to where books and toys lay on the rug ready to be packed back into boxes.

She glanced at Nat, and her sister smiled brightly at her. That made Skye feel a little better, and she happily helped Bobbi place the Barbies in the box without suffocating them and crushing them with books. Somewhere above them in the upper floor of the house, there was a thud, followed by the distinctive sound of Hunter laughing hysterically.

Skye paused in her packing, and looked between Bobbi and Nat, both of whom were simultaneously rolling their eyes.

"What happened?" Bobbi called.

The sound of Hunter laughing continued.

"I'm fine." Clint called back.

"You sure?" Nat shouted. She sounded concerned but she was smirking at Skye and Bobbi. "Did you hurt yourself?"

There was a pause. "Not exactly."

Natasha breathed through her nose. "What did you do?"

Hunter came thudding down the stairs, grinning as he rushed into the living room. "The dipshit thought he could do a backflip off the bloody bed!" He howled, holding his side and leaning against the wall.

Skye didn't know whether to be concerned for Clint or amused at his misfortune, but found herself giggling anyway when both sisters joined in with Hunter's hysterics. Natasha slapped a hand over her mouth as she laughed, and Hunter collapsed down onto the couch.

Bobbi was shaking her head and wiping away tears by the time Clint emerged from the stairs, red-faced and looking a little sheepish. He scratched the back of his head looked around the room. Natasha seemed to quell her laughter into a bright grin, and she smacked Hunter's chest, quieting him, also. Bobbi pressed her lips together.

"Are you okay?" Skye asked Clint, apparently a little more concerned for him than the others.

He smiled gratefully at her. "I'm fine, kid. Just misjudged my landing."

"Or how close the wall was." Hunter added.

Clint glared at him. "You said there was 'more than enough room'." He faked an English accent.

Lance blew out a breath. "I'm not the ex-circus performer here! Don't blame me!"

Skye cocked her head at Clint. "You were in the circus?"

He shrugged. "Another story, for another day."

Nat stood and wrapped both arms around Clint's neck. She pecked his lips. "But seriously, are you okay?" She looked him over. "Did you hurt yourself?"

"I'm fine." Clint said, then shared a quick glance with Hunter. "Your wall, however…"

Bobbi sighed, but when Skye looked over to her, she was smiling. "What did you do, Clinton?"

"My shoe, may or may not have created a small abrasion in your plastering."

Skye scrunched up her nose. "Huh?"

Hunter stretched out his leg to kick Clint's ankle. "His foot went through the bloody wall. Left a nice big hole."

"Clint!" Nat smacked his shoulder.

"I'll fix it." He defended. "It'll be fine."

"Is your foot okay?" Skye asked, scooting over the floor to inspect it. One shoe had little flecks of white paint and dust around the toe.

"I'm fine, honestly." Clint smiled at her and crouched down to give Skye a hug. She attached herself around him so he had no other choice than to lift her up when he stood. Clint kissed her cheek. "Thanks for being the only one concerned for my welfare, Skye." He eyed the others in the room with a faked contempt.

Skye smiled and cuddled into him. Whether it was the knowledge that she would soon be going home, or just the fact that she was getting more and more tired the further on the evening went, Skye was feeling particularly clingy and she was pleased when Clint hugged her tightly and showed no signs he was going to put her down anytime soon.

Clint looked over to Bobbi. "I promise I'll fix the hole." He said.

"And I'll help." Skye added. "I helped Daddy paint the fence, you know. I'm a good helper."

"You are," Bobbi agreed, "but it's Clint's abilities I'm not confident in."

"Hey." Clint whined, and Nat laughed from her place next to him. "I can fix a hole in a wall. Right, Nat?"

"Sure." Nat said, smirking at her sister.

He grimaced. "You could sound more confident about that, Tash."

"Sorry. Sure."

Clint huffed. "Now that just sounded sarcastic."

Natasha kissed his cheek. "I love you. I don't care about your ability to fix a hole."

"Me, too." Skye said, copying Nat and kissing Clint's cheek.

Hunter jumped off the couch. "Me, too!" He grabbed Clint's face and smacked a kiss on his forehead. Skye squealed as Hunter grabbed her out of Clint's arms and flung her over his shoulder. "Come on, trouble. We're going to get the rest of your stuff from upstairs."

Skye waved to Clint and her sisters as Hunter carried her upstairs. They waved back, all grinning, and Skye giggled to herself, giddy with how much she loved her family. Even as Hunter turned the corner and her view of them disappeared, Skye continued to let the warm feeling of family wash over her. Hunter pulled her back into his arms properly as they entered the bedroom she had slept in, and held her secure.

"We're a funny old bunch, aren't we?" He said, tickling her side a little.

Skye giggled and nodded. She noted the distinctly foot-shaped hole in the bottom of the wall opposite the bed and couldn't help but smirk.

"It's a good family to be dragged into, isn't it?" Lance smiled. "I think we landed on our feet getting a place in this family."

"It's the best family ever." Skye agreed. She let her cast-arm rest against Hunter's chest and looked down at the drawing there. The family were happy, just like Skye's real family. "We'll be all together soon." She looked up at Lance. "Won't we?"

He nodded. "We will be."

"Good." She smiled.

"Yeah." Hunter walked over to the bed and sat down on it with Skye in his lap. "Listen, littlun, I need to have a quick chat with you."

Skye's heart sank. "Am I in trouble?"

Hunter's face fell. "No, darlin', no, no, course not."

"Oh. It's just usually when grown ups say they 'want a chat' or something, it means something bad."

"This isn't bad." Lance said. "I need a favour from you."

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure how long I'm going to be gone for." He said. "It shouldn't be more than a week if all goes to plan, but…"

Skye took his hand. "Not much goes to plan?"

"Exactly. And the thing is, Bobbi needs someone to keep an eye on her. When I'm gone, I mean. Bobbi sometimes thinks she needs to be hard as nails, but I know her better than anyone. Sometimes she just needs a cuddle."

"I can do that." Skye smiled. "I can give her hugs."

Hunter mussed her hair. "I know, treasure. That's why I'm asking you to be head Bobbi-watcher."

Skye squared her shoulders. "I can do that." She said confidently. Keeping a close eye on her sisters was something she was doing already, keeping an even closer one on Bobbi seemed like more of a privilege that a chore. "I'll make sure she's okay, Hunter. I promise."

Lance saluted her. "Agent Skye, I trust you completely with this mission. You do this, and I'll be off doing one of my own." He passed Skye her blanket from the other side of the bed. "We better get all your stuff in the car, then, Agent Skye."

Agent Skye was brave and strong, like Bobbi and Natasha. Agent Skye could do anything. She thought that even though Hunter liked to play the villain when they played spies, Agent Hunter was really a good guy. Agent Skye thought that she would always like Agent Hunter to be on her team.

"Hunter?" Skye asked.

He hummed. "Mm?"

"Is your mission to bring Jemma back here with you?"

Lance sighed and smiled. He flopped back on the bed and closed his eyes. "It's a mission I can't fail, Skye." He said quietly.

Skye climbed off his lap and moved to sit up by his head on the bed. "What happens if you fail?"

"I lose my baby." He whispered.

She petted his hair like Mommy did when she was upset or tired. Hunter opened his eyes and smiled up at her. Skye hoped she was being comforting. "Is Jemma your baby?"

"She is." He said.

"She's your sister."

Hunter sighed. "She's more than that. It's hard to explain."

"No it isn't." Skye said. "I don't think it is."

"No?"

She shrugged. "Are you her daddy?"

Lance closed his eyes again. "I'm her big brother…I was the one who took care of her, the one who fed her, and clothed her, and kept her clean and happy."

"That sounds like a daddy to me." Skye commented. Her hand stilled on Hunter's head. "That's what my daddy does."

Hunter sat up. "It's complicated."

Skye hopped off the bed and picked up a bag of clothes waiting to be taken down stairs. She smiled at Hunter, and it took no imagination whatsoever to picture him as somebody's daddy. "Hunter?" She said. "I don't think it's complicated. I just think you're a different kind of daddy. A brother-daddy."

He smirked and quirked an eyebrow at her. "And that's not complicated?"

"Nope." Skye smiled. "It just proves how much you love Jemma." She didn't know Jemma, had no frame of reference for her relationship with Lance other than Lance's descriptions, but Skye didn't need anything else. You didn't need eyes to see how much he loved Jemma. "I hope you bring Jemma home."

"I think you two will be fast friends."

"Roger that, Agent Hunter." Skye said.

He gave her another salute. "Over and out, Agent Skye."

…

After her little breakdown in the hall, Shannon had been quiet. Nicky had taken her to his office, but she had felt a little embarrassed by her outburst and had instead decided to keep herself to herself and let him continue with whatever work he was doing. He tried to initiate conversation every ten minutes or so, but crying had taken it out of her and she couldn't really be bothered to make the effort.

Their meeting was meant to have taken place over an hour before, but apparently he had some pressing work to complete, and really, Shannon didn't mind huddling in the corner of Nick's office and reading some of the books he had there. It was nice just to have some different reading material from the worn books at the orphanage, and she relished in the quiet. Back at St Agnes', one was hard pressed to find even a corner of the place to get some peace.

A lot of the books Nicky had in his office were for the little kids, filled with more pictures than words, and so Shannon was finding herself ploughing through them at quite a pace. She replaced one book that had featured a little girl going to visit her father in Africa, and took down the next one on the shelf. It wasn't like the others. This book was more like the ones in the orphanage, with an abused spine and torn front cover. It wasn't a picture book either, and when Shannon turned it over to read the blurb, she found the story to be one that was not unfamiliar to her.

"That used to belong to Maria." Nicky said, and Shannon looked over to where he was still sat at his desk. He smiled at her and pointed to the book with his pen. "She loved that book. Left it here with a bunch of others when she went into the marines."

Shannon looked back down at the back cover. "There's a scary story here for everyone." She read aloud. "I know this book." She told Nick. "My aunt had it. I used to be scared because it had a creepy face on the cover, but she used to tell me it was just a picture and it couldn't hurt me."

"Well, she was right." Nicky said, going back to his work. "Although, Maria was obsessed with that kind of stuff so she was all for pictures coming to life. Scary Stories to tell in the Dark, indeed."

"I've got plenty of scary stories that don't have ghosts and stuff in them."

Nick frowned. "What was that?"

Shannon shook her head. "Nothing. Doesn't matter." The cover was torn straight though the creepy face. "I'm not scared anymore." Shannon felt the need to clarify.

"That's good." Nicky said. "Maybe when you see Maria again, you guys can read it together."

The tear in the cover suddenly seemed very important, and Shannon ran her fingers over the ridge it had caused in the paperback. The face lined up, and instead of the feeling of fear and dread the image had dredged up in her when she was small, she felt only fondness at the thought of Maria reading to her. The thought alone was enough to make Shannon blush.

"Do you really think Maria will want to come and see me?" She asked. "You can tell her she doesn't have to."

Nicky looked up and his face softened. "I think she wants to."

"But why?"

"There are lots of reasons why." He said. "You can ask her when you see her." Nicky stood from his desk. "Now listen, kid, I need to make a call. I'll be five minutes, will you be okay?"

Shannon nodded, eyes already back on the book. She gently opened the cover. "Sure."

Nicky left, closing his office door behind him. Shannon didn't look up, instead she was enthralled by the words on the first page of the book, words that weren't originally meant to be there, words that someone had felt the needs to write in a bold black script.

'If you find this book, no matter where you find it, please return to Maria Hill.'

"Okay." Shannon murmured to herself, tucking the book under her sweater. "I can do that."

…

Fury didn't have to wait long for Bobbi to pick up. His paperwork was all done, everything had been approved that needed to be approved, and after only one ring, Bobbi had answered his call.

"Hey." Fury said, as soon as she answered. "Everything's in order. Get that kid home."

There was a pause on the line.

"Yes, Sir." Bobbi said.

"Good." Fury smiled. "I'll call your parents, let them know. And Bobbi, if you ever need anything else, just give me a call."

"I will do, sir. Thank you so much." The woman sounded so sincere that Nick worried he might also begin to soften up.

"I have to go." He told her. "I don't like how emotional this is getting."

Bobbi laughed. "Sure thing. Thanks again, Mr Fury."

"Goodbye, Mrs Morse-Coulson."

"It's 'Hunter.' Mrs Hunter. Or it will be."

"Goodbye, Mrs Hunter." Fury found himself chuckling when he put the phone down. Whether it was with amusement at Bobbi, or simply because he was a little giddy with the knowledge that he was sending little Skye back to her parents, he couldn't say. And it didn't matter.

When Phil Coulson answered his phone, Fury didn't need to spend time on any pleasantries.

"Your little girl is coming home. I can have her adoption finalised within the month. Congratulations."

"I…what…she, Skye, she-," Phil stuttered.

"She'll never be taken from you again." Fury assured. "Have a good night, Mr Coulson, give my best to your wife."

Fury hung up after that. He was done. He had a little girl going back home, one more child with a loving family. It was what made his job worthwhile. One more smile, one more hug, one more happy family.

"Nicky?"

He turned to see Shannon poking her head out of his office. One more kid who needed a break.

"What's up?"

She held her arms to her chest and shifted form foot to foot. "You can say 'no'," she said, cocking her head to the side and looking far younger than her almost twelve years, "but I was just wondering if maybe, you could maybe, only if you wanted to, you could call Maria and ask her if she maybe wanted to come and see me."

The glistening hope in her eyes could have broken his heart ten times over. Nick slung an arm over her shoulder and steered her back into his office. "I'm sure I could do that."

"Yeah?" She rose up onto her tiptoes.

"Yeah." He patted her head, feeling a little disconcerted when he realised just how much the little girl had grown over the past few months. He sat down at his desk and directed her to the set in front. "How about this? I'll call and you get that book out of your shirt?"

Shannon looked down, cheeks a burning red. "I wanted to give it back to her."

"And you can. But you can do that without stealing. Okay?" Fury smiled when she looked up. "You're a foster system army brat. Don't give into the stereotype."

The girl giggled. "Yes, Sir!" She stood to attention.

"Alright." Fury dialled the memorised number he had for Maria and handed the phone over to Shannon.

She took it but gaped at him. "What do I say?"

"Be yourself. Tell Maria you'd like to see her again." Fury smiled.

Shannon frowned. "But what if she doesn't want to see me?"

"Kid, if she doesn't want to see you again, I will eat my eye patch."

She nodded. "Good deal."

…

Phil dropped his phone onto the couch. He blinked at Melinda.

"Was that the call?" She asked quietly, rubbing both palms over her knees.

He swallowed. "Yeah." Phil croaked out. "Um, yeah. She's coming home."

Mel stood, nodding. "For real?"

"Fury says he'll have her adoption finalised by the end of the month." The words felt stale and unreal coming from him, and Phil felt the need to reiterate his point. "She's going to be ours, really ours."

Melinda practically stumbled the last few feet between them and fell into his arms. Phil caught her, but only just. His ribs ached, and his arm stung, but nothing mattered, none of it.

He kissed her hair. "Our Skye's coming home." Phil whispered. "She's coming home."

…

The car was full. Skye sat in her car seat with Mr. Snow on her lap, and her feet resting on a crate of books and a bag of clothes. The trunk was filled with Skye's toys and Hunter's suitcase, and it had taken both Clint and Lance to get it closed.

Bobbi was driving. Hunter was riding shotgun. Clint and Natasha were both in the back of the car with Skye.

Skye's tummy felt funny.

"You okay, baby sis?" Nat asked, nudging her arm with her elbow.

"I think so." Skye answered. It was a strange feeling, because it wasn't unfamiliar, but it just seemed misplaced. The tight feeling in her chest and the sickly feeling in her tummy, was one that Skye strongly associated with being nervous.

She was going home. Skye couldn't think of any reason why she should be nervous.

"Natasha?" She asked.

Her sister turned to her. "What's up?"

"I'm nervous." Skye told her in a whisper. She felt embarrassed to admit it and she didn't want Hunter or Clint to hear her, although the way Clint was singing the song from the radio at the top of his lungs suggested that he wasn't in any danger of paying her any attention at that moment.

Nat hugged her. It was a little awkward when they were both strapped in, but somehow they managed it. "What's making you nervous?" Nat asked her.

"I don't know." She rubbed her nose in Mr. Snow's fur. He still smelled like Mommy. "Is everything going to be like it was before?"

Tasha took Mr. Snow's paw and tapped it on Skye's cheek. "No."

Her stomach clenched. "No?"

"No." Nat reiterated. "Skye, it's never going to be like it was before, because now it's going to be better."

"It was already the best, how can it be better?"

"Because," Nat shrugged, smirking when Clint attempted and failed to hit a particularly high note, "this time it's going to be permanent. And no one is ever going to be able to take you away."

"Never?" Skye took Nat's hand and held her thumb in the fingers poking out from her cast.

Nat kissed her nose. "Never ever."

The sick feeling Skye's tummy didn't go away, but it became dull enough to ignore. "Maybe I'm excited now." She told her sister. "I want to see Mommy and Daddy."

Tasha grinned. "Can I just ask," she said, "when did 'Phil' become 'Daddy'? I think I missed that."

Skye shrugged. It was a hard question to answer. "I dunno." She said honestly. "It just, happened, I guess."

In the front seat, Hunter and Bobbi were holding hands, which Skye thought probably wasn't exactly safe to do while driving, but they were going pretty slow. He wasn't looking out of the window, instead, he was watching Bobbi, smiling.

"I think," Skye said, "a daddy is someone who loves you, and who takes care of you, and who makes sure you're safe and happy."

"That sounds about right." Nat nodded.

"Yeah. And for them to be a daddy, you have to love them back, and you have to trust them." She turned to Nat. "That's why he's Daddy now."

Natasha leaned her head against Skye's. "I love that you're in our family, Skye."

"I love it, too." Skye said. She caught sight of the scenery out the front window and tightened her grip on Nat's thumb as the car began to slow.

"Look, Skye." Hunter said as they pulled up. "You're home."

…

They waited in the living room until the sound of a car pulling onto the driveway had them both out of their seats.

The tears began before anyone had even opened the front door. Melinda couldn't help it. The sound of the car was enough to set her off and maybe it had something to do with the baby growing inside of her, but if she was being totally honest with herself, it was all down to the baby girl with whom she was waiting to be reunited.

Her little Skye.

Phil stood behind her with a comforting hand on her shoulder. They waited together for the door to open.

And it did. Slowly, the doorknob was turned, and the first thing Mel saw was the blonde of her eldest daughter's hair as she poked her head around the frame. Bobbi grinned, looking between her parents.

"I brought a little something for you." She said, and Mel held her breath as she pushed open the door to reveal the most gorgeous little girl she had ever seen, grinning back at her and gripping her white fluffy bear.

"Baby." Mel breathed, dropping to her knees.

Skye pushed Mr. Snow into Bobbi's arms and sprinted across the room, throwing herself at Melinda. Mel caught her baby, holding her tightly to her and not even attempting to disguise the fact that she was sobbing.

"Mommy, don't go. Don't leave me." Skye cried, tiny fingers gripping her neck and pulling at strands of her hair. The cast on her arm grazed Mel's cheek when Skye pulled back to kiss her, but she didn't care.

"Skye, oh, baby." She kissed her face all over. "I'm never letting you go. I'm so sorry. I'm never letting you go." The cut on Skye's head was still covered with a band-aid and Melinda kissed it gently. "My little girl. I love you so much."

"Mommy. Mommy, I love you." Skye whimpered. "I wanna be home."

"You're home now, sweetheart. Home now." Melinda wiped Skye's tears from her cheeks. The little girl nodded.

Her daughter kissed her again, and then reached out a hand behind Mel's shoulder. Skye still had one hand tangled in Melinda's hair when she whimpered and made a grabby gesture at Phil.

"Daddy?"

Phil dropped to the floor beside them both. "Skye." He gently held Skye's cast. "I've missed you so much."

"Daddy."

"Yes?" Phil asked, brushing the damp stands of dark hair away from their little girl's face.

"Daddy, I love you." Skye flung her arm around his neck. "Daddy, I'm gonna be here forever, right?"

"Of course." He kissed Skye. "Of course." Phil kissed Mel. "Skye, you're my daughter." He held their baby's face in his hands. "You are our daughter and we are going to be together forever."

Skye looked from him, to Melinda, and back again. "Forever's a really long time."

"Good." Mel said, and Skye cocked her head to one side in question. "Good, because I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with my babies." She pulled Skye into her lap. "Forever won't ever be long enough."

Her little girl touched her cheeks gently with the soft pads of her fingers. "If I could choose anyone to spend forever with, it would be with my family."

"Here, here." Hunter called from the group of kids by the front door.

Bobbi thumped him with Mr. Snow, but it was without malice, and he wrapped her up in a loving hug straight after. Nat and Clint stood together, arms around one another, and not for the first time, did Melinda thank all of her lucky stars that she had been blessed with such a wonderful group of people to be in her life.

"I love you." She told them. Skye's little arms tightened around her. "All of you. I love you all so much."

"Even Hunter?" Nat smirked.

Mel rolled her eyes and kissed Skye's cheek again. "Even Hunter."

…

When it was hours later, and everyone had been fed. When Skye had spent hours clinging to Daddy and even longer holding onto Mommy. Long after Mommy and Daddy had explained adoption to Skye. When Bobbi had weepily taken Hunter to the airport and then gone back to their new home, and Clint and Nat had long since gone off to bed, Skye and her parents curled up together in the master bedroom, snuggled under the duvet.

Skye's Daddy had cried when he had seen her return home. Mommy had, too, but something about seeing Daddy cry had really made Skye realise just how much she was loved. Her chest didn't feel tight anymore, it was warm and happy and perfect.

Her Daddy was fast asleep, he had been for a long time, now, and Skye was content to hold onto her Mommy's hand and watch the rise and fall of his chest. She loved him. Skye really loved her Daddy, and her Mommy, and her sisters and Clint and Hunter.

"I love you, Daddy." She whispered, and reached over to press a kiss to his nose. He scrunched it up in his sleep and Skye giggled. She moved Mr. Snow into his arms and her dad sighed contentedly.

Mommy was sleeping, too. Skye was supposed to be as well, but she was just so happy to be home, her mind wouldn't let her drift off. But she liked seeing Mommy so peaceful. She liked pressing kisses to all of Mommy's fingers, and tracing Mommy's eyebrows with her thumb. Skye watched the sleeping woman with one hand in Skye's and the other resting softly on her belly, and she thought that there couldn't possibly be a more beautiful person in the world.

"Mommy." Skye breathed. "You're my Mommy."

Skye lifted Mommy's hand off of her belly and replaced it with her own. When she pushed up Mommy's pyjama top, she could see the tiny swell where the little baby lived.

"Hello." Skye mumbled, lips against her mother's skin so that the baby could hear her. "'Member me? I'm Skye, your big sister." She waited for a response, just in case. "I was gone for a little while, but now I'm back, and I'm gonna be here forever. I'm gonna be your sister forever."

The baby didn't reply, but then, Skye didn't expect it to. It was still so small.

"When you grow up a little bit, and you get born, I think I might like to hold you." Skye whispered.

Mommy's body shifted slightly beneath her, but Skye continued to speak to the baby.

"I wonder if you'll have dark hair like me and Mommy. I'd like that." She said. "Maybe you'll be a boy, and then I'll have a brother. But don't mind if you're a girl. I don't think we can know yet." Skye felt her Mommy's hand come up to stroke the back of her hair. She kissed her belly. "Do you have a name yet?"

"Not quite yet." Mommy said in a whisper, and Skye looked up to her. "We'll have to think of some names, huh?"

"Yeah." Skye said. She gave the baby one last kiss and climbed back up the bed to settle beside Mommy. "Mommy?"

"Yes, gorgeous?"

"Are you really going to adopt me?" Skye touched Mommy's lips with her fingers and she kissed them, holding Skye's hand in hers.

"I don't need a court and a piece of paper to tell me that you are my daughter," Mommy said, "but I want to tell the world how privileged I am to have you call me your mother. I want nothing more than to adopt you, Skye."

"And then will I be 'Skye Coulson'?"

Mommy smiled. "It's a new start. A new life. Baby, you can be whoever you choose to be."

Skye cuddled close to her mother, resting her head on her chest. "I can be whoever I wanna be?"

Mommy kissed her. "Anyone."

She closed her eyes and let her thumb drift into her mouth. "I can be anyone." She mumbled. "I always kinda liked 'Daisy'."

A/N: So, yeah...last chapter. Keep your eyes peeled for the next instalment: 'I'll Keep Fighting For You Because I love Nothing More'

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