Leo Fitz stumbled backward as the lights in the isolation chamber exploded, staring at Skye, now kneeling on the floor, her hands over her ears, rocking back and forth as she cried. He took a half step forward before he froze, hesitant. He watched for a few minutes until she lowered her hand to the floor wincing as she cut it on some of the fallen glass. Unsure of what else to do, Fitz hurried out of the room.

Five minutes later, he was pacing the lab, trying to think of how to best deal with what he'd just learned: That Skye had, somehow, caused the cave in in the underground city…that there was something different about her…that she had been changed on a cellular level…that, when her stress level increased, things shook, lights exploded…seismic activity…that's what it was…

Thinking back, he'd remembered thinking that the ground was shaking as Mack had been yelling at Fitz the day before…but he had dismissed that as his own nervousness at the tense situation playing out before of him. But Skye, in reaction to the same situation, may have been showing her powers as her stress level rose.

He put a hand to his forehead and looked back at the results on the screen in front of him. He was still trying to understand what was happening, but at the moment he had a decision to make. The results would be recorded soon…but he could fix that…but should he? Shouldn't the others know about this?

No, he thought with a resolve that surprised him a little. Not right now. Things were still too tense, tempers were still too high. Simmons was grieving the loss of Trip and lashing out. It was understandable, he supposed, given all that had happened. Trip was dead. Raina had been fundamentally changed in ways that no one understood. She'd heard Simmons talking to May and Coulson earlier, saying that she wasn't sure if it wouldn't be better to put Raina down before she could change other people…assuming it worked that way…which it might…there wasn't enough information to either prove or disprove that hypothesis…

But this was Skye. Maybe Simmons would react differently with a friend…but there was no guarantee of that either. Grief could lead people to do strange things, react in strange ways…and if Simmons learned that Skye had caused the cave in, she might well blame her for Trip's death.

Then there was Mack. Fitz trusted Mack with his life. He'd had to these past few months. Mack was the only one who had understood him for the longest time. And he understood why Mack was on edge right now, having been taken over by…something. He knew what that felt like, to not be able to control your own body. It had been his reality since he woke up from his coma. And placing blame was a part of coping, he supposed. But it was who Mack was blaming that concerned Fitz.

He blamed Coulson and Skye. And, while Fitz didn't like the number of secrets they had kept from the team since they'd started trying to rebuild SHIELD, he knew that if Mack found out about this, it might further add to his distrust of them, Skye in particular. And who knew how he might react to this on top of everything else.

Fitz felt fairly certain that May and Coulson would react in a calmer manner, but he knew they wouldn't keep it secret. And then there were the unknowns of Bobbi and Hunter. Fitz didn't know enough about them to begin to guess at how they might react, particularly in the aftermath of the loss of one of their own.

He walked over to the computer and started typing as fast as his hands would allow him to, altering the results. It's only temporary, he told himself. As soon as things calmed down and you and Skye have figured out what this means, then you can tell the others. Until then, this is for the best.

It took a few minutes, a little longer than it probably would have before his coma, but he managed to complete the change. As far as anyone else was concerned, Skye was still Skye. Nothing unusual, nothing abnormal…she was the same.

And as far as Fitz was concerned, that was true. Sure she was different on a cellular level, but it was still Skye. She hadn't changed where it mattered - her heart, mind and spirit. And that was enough for him. Besides, Skye was obviously scared and needed a friend right now.

He straightened and did a mental check to make sure he'd covered his tracks here. Satisfied he walked to the cabinet to get some bandages for Skye's hand, so he'd have a reason to be here if anyone asked him. He then started back to the isolation chamber.

He paused in the doorway as he saw that Simmons and May were there, looking to Skye who was now on her feet. He squared his shoulders and stepped in, walking toward them, overhearing May asking "What happened?" with a tone of concern and Skye looking toward the cut on her hand.

"It's my fault," Fitz said as he reached them. "I broke one of the lights while I was in there checking the monitors. You know me, clumsy…Anyway, I went to get bandages and her results. She's normal."

He could feel the tension leave the room and hear May and Simmons let out sighs of relief, but his eyes were on Skye who was looking at him, her eyes full of relief and confusion. He gave her a small smile, hoping to make up for his earlier reaction.

A moment later, after Simmons and May had left, he stepped inside, sitting her down on the bed and kneeling to bandage her hand.

"What…what did you just do?" she asked as he pulled out a bandage.

"I switched your blood results with your old samples," he said quietly.

"The new ones are different?"

"Drastically," he said with a small nod, starting to bandage her hand. "But until everyone calms down, I don't think we should tell anybody. What with the way Simmons is acting…" he trailed off and looked up at her. "For now we should just keep this between us…Keep you safe until we figure it out, yeah?"

Skye, who had been largely quiet throughout the exchange, slid off the bed and wrapped her arms around him. "It's all my fault," she said, her voice tense and full of fear. He held her, letting her know he was there. "You're right," she continued. "There's something very wrong with me."

"No," Fitz said, feeling her gripping him tightly, as though she was afraid she might turn into the monster she now believed herself to be if she let go. "You're just different now. You're just different now, and there's nothing wrong with that." And he meant it. He knew what that was like. He'd lived through it. He was different now from who he was before his coma. Accepting it was the hardest part, but he got there. Skye would too. He'd make sure of that.