A/N Well, here we are. Chapter 3. This chapter did not seem to want to be written, so I hope it ended up alright.

Disclaimer: I do not own AoS. At all.

Coulson sighed as he ended his radio call. "Top speed's a priority, May," he informed the pilot. She ignored him.

He continued anyway. "I know you didn't want to be involved in a combat op. I apologize for that." The silence stretched on. Coulson ploughed on anyway, hoping to keep it from getting awkward. "Do you have anything to say before I go check on the unknown object fueled by evil that's sitting in our cargo hold?"

May reached up and flipped a switch on the Bus's controls without ever acknowledging Coulson's presence. "Good talk," he sighed, giving in and deciding to leave her in peace.

He headed downstairs, stopping to speak with the Peruvian soldiers they were housing for the time being.

They looked up when Coulson entered the room, straightening and nodding to him respectfully. One of them stood up and reached over to clasp his hand. "Thanks for the extraction."

Coulson nodded in reply. "No problem. I'm just happy we could help."

"We lost a lot of men, though," Camilla added sadly.

Coulson winced internally. The loss of life in any op was a tragedy. To lose so many in what should have been a relatively low-risk operation was even worse. Secretly, he was still incredibly relieved that his own team was mostly unscathed.

"We'll make sure the rest of you are safe," he assured his old friend. He knew from experience that there wasn't much he could do to ease the pain of losing your soldiers. She just needed to focus on the ones that were still there.

"Are we safe, though," Camilla asked, looking through the transparent wall to where the 0-8-4 was sitting, "with that thing here? There's-" She broke off suddenly, a frown rapidly forming on her face.

Coulson looked over to see what was bothering her, and barely managed to hold back a chuckle. Skye had emerged from wherever she had been hiding during their eventful return and take-off. She was perched on a stool in the lab, watching with interest as Fitz-Simmons worked.

Coulson smiled fondly at the scene. He was quite happy with how the two scientists had become attached to the little girl, and how Skye seemed to be so comfortable around them. His smile dimmed slightly with worry as Ward entered the lab. The younger man didn't seem to notice the child in the room, going straight to the Scottish engineer and speaking with him.

Before Coulson could truly begin to worry about the situation, Camilla drew his attention back to their conversation. "Phillip?" she spoke up, her voice uncertain. "Why is there a child on your plane?"

"She's mine," he replied simply. It was true. Although he realized what that statement implied, Camilla didn't need to know the details.

"Her mother approves of you bringing her into your work?" Camilla asked in surprise.

Coulson sighed. While it hadn't been the most tactful question, he couldn't blame her for being surprised. Skye's situation was unique. "Her mother has been out of the picture for years now," he responded calmly, keeping carefully to the truth, "so I don't have many options other than keeping her with me, wherever that may be."

Camilla winced slightly at bringing up what would be taken as such a sensitive subject. One of her men broke in, obviously trying to help his commanding officer out of her faux pas. "There any place to get a drink on this plane?"

Coulson nodded, gladly taking the change of subject. "Yeah, upstairs. I think you'll find it satisfactory."

Before the soldier could reply, they heard the sound of yelling coming from the lab. Coulson looked over to see Fitz and Ward in the middle of a heated argument, Simmons joining in every few sentences and nodding at Fitz.

Coulson turned back to Camilla, a bit embarrassed to have his team caught fighting in front of their visitors. Camilla just motioned for her men to head upstairs, politely ignoring his bickering agents. "I still expect a tour," she informed him with a smile.

"I know you do," he replied calmly. Once she'd followed her men out, Coulson turned to take in the situation in the lab. He frowned, deeply displeased with what he saw. Ward and Fitz-Simmons were in the middle of a rather intense argument, glaring at each other and yelling.

Poor Skye looked a few seconds away from a panic attack, shaking and trying to stay unnoticed by the others. Her eyes kept darting to the door, but unfortunately, the angry adults were blocking the only exit. The only way out was right between Ward and Fitz, which Skye clearly wasn't willing to risk.

Feeling no small amount of anger, Coulson hurried into the lab to rescue her. "Hey, enough!" he called to his unruly agents. All three adults froze at being caught by their boss. Skye slipped off of the stool, nearly falling over in her haste to escape the tension in the room. She ran to Coulson, taking the path that forced her to pass Fitz rather than Ward, and wrapped her arms around his leg.

Coulson could feel Skye shaking as she buried her face in his hip. He softened, carding his fingers lightly through the girl's hair. "Hey, it's alright," he soothed, reaching down to pick her up. She buried her face in his shoulder, still trembling.

Coulson pressed a quick kiss to Skye's hair before turning to look angrily at his agents, who were starting to look sheepish. "It's bad enough that you were fighting in front of our guests, but in front of Skye? Did any of you even consider how much you were scaring her?"

Fitz-Simmons looked deeply ashamed of themselves. They'd both become quite attached to the little girl, and clearly felt bad about forgetting she was in the room. Ward was staring at the ground, refusing to look anyone in the eye.

"Now," Coulson continued, shifting Skye on his hip, "you three need to come to some sort of understanding. Ward, you speak six languages. Simmons, you have two PhDs in fields I can't pronounce. And Fitz, you are a rocket scientist. Work it out."

With that, he left his chastised team and carried his little girl upstairs. "Are you okay?" he asked her once they'd reached the den.

She nodded rather unconvincingly, refusing to meet his eyes. He sighed, taking in the soldiers who were watching them curiously from the bar. He turned and headed for Skye's bunk. He closed the door behind him and sat down on her bed, arranging Skye in his lap.

"I'm sorry they scared you, sweetheart," he told her softly, rubbing her back in comfort. "They shouldn't have been yelling at each other like that, especially in front of you. But none of them would ever hurt you, Skye. You don't have to be afraid of anyone on this plane." He needed her to understand that, needed her to know that she was safe.

Skye nodded timidly, still refusing to look up. Coulson sighed softly before putting two fingers under the little girl's chin and gently coaxing her head up.

Skye was frozen, clearly at a loss for what to do. He doubted she had much experience with someone caring enough to ask about her feelings, let alone encouraging her to talk about them. Coulson quickly pushed those thoughts aside before the anger they caused him could show on his face. He knew she wouldn't understand that he wasn't angry at her, and it would only scare her more.

He smiled at her instead, keeping his expression gentle and caring. "Hey," he murmured, pressing a light kiss to her forehead, "it's okay, Skye. You're safe here. I told you, taking care of you is my job now. And I take my jobs very seriously. You can trust me, Skye. I promise."

"Okay," Skye agreed softly. Coulson could tell that she was far from convinced, and was only agreeing because she knew he wanted her to. But she was starting to relax a bit in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder. She may not trust that he wasn't going to leave her, but at least she seemed to know that he wouldn't hurt her. It was good enough for now.

Coulson pulled her into his chest and held her, rubbing her back gently. They sat like that for a while, Skye seeming neither completely comfortable nor particularly frightened to be in his arms, before Coulson pressed a quick kiss to her hair and leaned back to look at her.

"You alright?" he asked softly. Skye nodded slowly. It was only slightly more convincing than the first time. He capitulated with a sigh. "Okay. I'll be in my office with Camilla. Feel free to come get me if you need me."

Skye nodded, but Coulson knew she was simply placating him. "I'll be okay," she assured him. "I'll find something to do."

"Yeah," Coulson sighed, glancing around the small bunk. His eyes fell on the bags of toys that he had bought her the day before. They appeared untouched, sitting in the corner of the room. As far as Coulson could tell, the clothes had been put away, but she was still refusing to indulge in the "unneeded" extra items.

"You could open some of your new things," he offered, shifting her onto the bed beside him so that he could reach over and pick up the bag closer to him. He pulled out the stuffed dog he'd caught her admiring at the store and handed it to her. "They're not much fun in the packaging."

Skye just shrugged, sliding off the bed to set the toy down next to the second bag.

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Coulson sighed again as he stood up. He ruffled Skye's hair, making her duck her head and look up and him curiously. "Have you had lunch yet?" he asked her, moving his hand from her hair to rest lightly on her shoulders. As he spoke, he gently steered her out into the hall.

"Yeah," she assured the man. "Simmons gave me a sandwich and one of those shakes before you guys left."

"Good," Coulson replied, but Skye couldn't help but think he looked faintly guilty for some reason. "Have you eaten anything since then?"

"No." Skye was confused. Why would she have eaten again already? Dinner wasn't until seven, or at least, it had been every other day. Did they eat at three on Wednesdays? She didn't think so.

Coulson nodded, seeming to notice her confusion, smiled sadly at her and guided her into the kitchen. He rummaged through the pantry for a moment before handing her what looked like a big granola bar. Skye looked at it suspiciously. The wrapper was plain silver, not giving away any clues.

"It's a high protein, high fat food supplement bar," Coulson explained. "It'll help your body get up to a healthy weight. You need to gain some weight, these'll help."

Skye shrugged, opening the wrapper. She took a bite of it and shrugged. It tasted pretty good, but man, it was huge. She looked up at Coulson with a raised brow. "I think I've eaten more since I met you than I have in a week normally."

Skye was about to take another bite when Coulson suddenly knelt down in front of her and pulled her into a hug. She blinked in surprise, her face suddenly hidden in the man's shoulder. He petted her hair a bit before leaning back and looking her in the eye. "You will always have food here," he told her sternly.

Skye would be scared of his tone if it weren't for the pain in his eyes. Skye could tell that Coulson wasn't mad at her. She nodded. Coulson seemed determined that she would never be hungry. It was weird. Hunger was an everyday part of her life, had been for as long as she could remember.

Coulson smiled at her and petted her hair a few more times before standing up and heading to his office.

Skye could only finish about half of the food bar, so she wrapped the rest back in the wrapper and stowed it in her bunk. You never knew when you would need a food stash. After that, she headed to the den, staying out of sight.

She stayed in the shadows, watching the adults in the room. She could see some of the visiting soldiers, playing cards and drinking at the bar. Ward was sitting on the couch, reading. Skye bit her lip, watching the dark haired man.

He scared her. There was no doubt about that. He was rough and mean, and she could tell that he didn't like her, just like she'd been able to tell that Sister Margaret had since she was really little. Well, Skye didn't get the feeling that Ward hated her like Sister Margaret did, but he still made her nervous.

He'd grabbed her arm like he was going to be beat her. Many nuns and foster parents had done the same thing, but Ward hadn't actually done anything. Coulson had stopped him. So did that mean Ward wasn't allowed to hurt her?

Skye wasn't stupid, she knew that none of the adults she lived with had really been allowed to hurt her, but nobody had cared enough to stop them. Coulson had stopped Ward, though. And Ward hadn't tried again. She'd seen him watching her, glaring like she'd stolen his pudding, but she hadn't let on that she had. Then Coulson had pulled him aside for a while, and Ward hadn't done it again. He'd just nodded and avoided her.

Coulson told her she didn't have to be afraid of the others. She wasn't afraid of Fitz or Simmons. They were nice, even if they tended to talk to fast and use big words that Skye didn't understand. Coulson didn't give her time to even think of being afraid of him. By the time she'd realized she'd been caught hacking and should be scared of the man who'd taken her away from her van, he was carrying her around and there was no point in it.

May was scary. She was quiet and angry like the meaner nuns. Skye kind of compared her to Sister Margaret, but she didn't think that was fair. May hadn't been mean to her, just quiet.

Ward had been mean, but not nearly as mean as other people. So, maybe she should believe Coulson. There was only one way to find out if it was safe to be around him or not.

Skye looked down the hall, trying to judge how quickly she could get to Coulson or Fitz-Simmons if Ward got mad at her. Coulson was close enough to hear if she yelled, Skye decided. So, she took a deep breath, and walked toward him.

She edged up to the couch he was sitting on, keeping just out of arm's reach. "What are you reading?" she asked.

Ward looked up at her. He seemed surprised that she was talking to him. "Matterhorn," his voice was a bit uncertain, and the fact that he was nervous too gave Skye enough courage to come close enough to peer at the thick book he was holding.

"What's it about?" she asked.

Ward blinked and looked down at the book for a second before he answered. "The Vietnam War."

Skye nodded even though she didn't know what that meant. She thought Miles had complained about it a few times, but she'd been so busy learning reading and writing and computers that she'd never bothered asking him to explain. "Is it good?" she asked curiously.

Ward stared at her for a moment before huffing a laugh. "Honestly, so for its pretty boring."

Puzzled, Skye cocked her head to the side. "Then why are you reading it?"

Ward smiled at her. He still seemed nervous, but now he was starting to look happy, too. "Because my SO told me I should."

"SO?" Skye asked curiously. It was surprisingly nice to talk to Ward. He wasn't being mean like before, and actually seemed to be enjoying talking to her.

"Supervising Officer," Ward explained. He closed his book and set it down on the coffee table. Skye took a few steps back when he leaned forward, but he didn't even look like he was going to hurt her, so she moved out from her cover behind the arm of the couch and stood a bit more in front of him. "The agent who trained me. When a rookie agent starts working, they are assigned a more experienced agent to train them and keep an eye on them."

"Rookie?" Skye asked at the unfamiliar word.

"New agent, a beginner," Ward explained. He was being oddly patient with Skye's questions.

"So an SO is like a mentor?" Skye clarified. That's what Miles had called himself, her mentor.

"Yeah, exactly," Ward praised her lightly. He was actually smiling at her now, and seemed a lot friendlier while he was teaching her about SHIELD.

"People who know more teaching people who can do more," Skye added thoughtfully, repeating something Peter, one of the hackers who'd taught her, had said a lot. "Working together like pieces solving a puzzle."

Ward looked surprised for a moment before he smiled at her. "Yeah, I guess so."

Suddenly, Ward went still. Skye blinked in surprise at the change, instinctively taking a step back. "Skye," Ward began, and the calm note of his voice reassured her a bit, "pick up that bottle and come over to me, please."

Skye looked at him nervously for a moment. "Skye," Ward prompted again, his voice oddly gentle, "it's okay, just come over to me."

Skye grabbed the bottle that Ward had asked for, clutching it tightly in an attempt to stop her hands from shaking. She handed it to Ward quickly. Before she could move away again, Ward gently grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him.

When the soldiers attacked, Skye dove behind the couch and hid her face in the upholstery. The sounds of fighting were very familiar to her, and she could feel the panic starting to make it hard to breathe. She wrapped her arms around herself and pressed her face harder to the couch, trying desperately to fight off the memories of angry foster parents and yelling nuns.

Skye screamed as she was yanked unceremoniously out of her hiding place. She whimpered as she was hoisted up into the air, a harsh arm digging in just under her ribs and making it even harder to draw breath. Ward stopped glaring at the soldier holding him hostage to give Skye a worried look when he saw her.

Skye was shaking and gasping for air as the Peruvian soldier carried her down to the cargo bay. Fitz-Simmons were already tied to the ramp, along with May, who was unconscious. Ward was forced down and tied up next to Fitz quickly. Skye clearly wasn't considered nearly as much of a threat, as she was set down between Simmons and May with surprising gentleness.

Despite his apparent soft spot for her, the soldier grabbed her wrist when she tried to reach into her pocket for her inhaler and pulled her arms behind her back. Skye was starting to panic, black spots appearing in her vision.

"Wait, don't!" Simmons yelled from beside her. "She has asthma, she needs her inhaler!"

The soldier holding Skye hesitated, clearly concerned for the wheezing child he was manhandling. "Where is it?" he asked, obviously unwilling to let go of the girl.

"It should be in her pocket, right Skye?" Simmons asked desperately.

Skye nodded shakily.

The man reached into Skye's pocket and pulled out her inhaler. He hesitated for a moment before releasing her arms and handing it to her. She quickly put it to her mouth and took a puff, sighing in relief when she felt her lungs begin to loosen. She leaned her head back against the wall as the soldier tied her up with the others.

When the soldiers moved away from them, she could see Fitz-Simmons looking at her worriedly, Ward glaring at the wall, and May still slumped over on the ground. "Are you alright, Skye?" Simmons asked, and Fitz nodded along.

Skye nodded. "Yeah." she mostly had her breath back, so her voice was steady.

After that, Skye mostly tuned out the adults conversations as she tried to wiggle out of the ropes. She paused for a moment when Fitz said something about Kung-Fu, but shook her head and kept going.

She'd just managed to half way free one of her hands when May woke up.
"I told you never to call me that," the woman groaned as she sat up. Skye was kind of uncomfortable being so close to the agent, but tried to force the feeling down as May looked at the others over Skye's head.

Skye gave a few more tugs and finally managed to pull her hand completely free of the rope. She winced at the burn the rough rope had left on her wrists, rubbing at it softly behind her back.

"Skye?" May asked, causing Skye to jump in surprise. "Are you alright?" The rest of the team was looking at her in concern.

"I'm good," Skye promised with a grin, moving her arms out in front of her and giving them a thumbs-up. She couldn't hold back a giggle at the looks of shock on the adults' faces. She pushed herself up to her knees and crawled behind May to untie her.

As soon as she was free, May took care of the guards while Skye worked on getting the others untied. "How did you get out?" Ward asked as Skye untied him and Simmons was freeing Fitz.

Skye shrugged, forgetting that she was behind him and he couldn't see her. "I'm small," she replied simply. "Makes it easier to get in and out of things." She finished undoing the knot keeping the dark haired man to the ramp and scooted away from him and got to her feet.

Ward stood up and regarded her quietly for a moment before nodding. "Good job, squirt," he praised, reaching over to ruffle her hair. She ducked out of the way and went over to the scientists, Ward right behind her.

Ward stood with Fitz-Simmons, planning their next move. Skye was glad to see that they were being nicer to each other, but they still didn't seem very good at actually doing things yet. She leaned against a wall a little way away, watching them talk. For an enemy invasion, it really was pretty boring at the moment.

Skye jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see May standing beside her. The woman nodded to her silently before heading over to one of the cars. Skye hesitated for a few moments before following behind her. The little girl watched curiously as the woman opened the driver's door and started doing something to the controls. After a moment, the SUV turned on, and the engine revved loudly.

Fitz-Simmons and Ward jumped and looked up at the sound, looking startled. "You guys talk a lot," May commented calmly, making Skye giggle. May got into the car and drove straight through the glass doors to the lab.

Skye helped Ward find the ropes and harnesses, but otherwise stayed out of the way as the adults prepared to start their plan. She knew that her part was to find a place to hide while the others were getting rid of the soldiers.

Now that they were actually working together, things seemed to be going pretty well. Soon enough, they were all safely buckled into harnesses and attached to the plane. Skye curled up in an out of the way corner and buried her face in her arms as the DWARF activated the 0-8-4 and blew a giant hole in the side of the BUS.

Skye tried to ignore the yells and screams, repeating a prayer that one of the nicer nuns had taught her, hoping that it would keep the team safe. Suddenly, Skye let out a yell as she was yanked out of her safe place for the second time that day and held up by an enemy soldier.

Skye twisted and yelled, trying to get out of the man's grip. He growled and pulled her closer, getting enough leverage to undo the buckles on her harness and yank in off.

"Skye!" Fitz yelled. Skye could barely hear him over the rush of wind and the blood pounding in her ears.

"If you want the child back, you will do as we say," Skye's captor yelled at them. Skye kept struggling in his grasp, managing to land a solid kick on his leg. He groaned in pain and pushed her away, still holding her roughly by the arm. "Why you little-"

Ward grabbed him from behind pulling him away and making him lose his grip on Skye. The little girl dropped down to the ground and wrapped her arms around the bottom of the bar. She watched with wide eyes as Ward fought the soldier. She let out a muffled scream as they got to close to the hole and started getting sucked out. Ward tried to save the soldier, but his sleeve ripped in Ward's hand, and the soldier went down.

Skye could see that Ward was about to fall as well, and started looking around desperately for something that would help. A piece of paper hit her in the face and she pulled in off. She was about to chuck it away when she saw what it was. The emergency plans. She remembered Coulson telling her about these.

Skye crawled quickly to where the inflatable life raft was stowed. She reached up and pulled the cord, letting the wind catch it and pull it to where it needed to be. Plugging the hole. Ward hit the raft just as it came into place.

Skye slumped down to the ground in a boneless heap, staring blankly at the air in front of her. "Hey, squirt," a gentle voice spoke up, and Skye blink in surprise before her eyes focused on Ward, who had come to kneel in front of her. "It's okay," he assured her. "It's all over. We're safe now."

He reached out a hand, moving slowly and keeping in her line of sight, and laid it gently on her shoulder. Skye was startled, but didn't think she had enough energy to really react to the unexpected contact. "You did good, squirt," he told her, standing up and helping her to her feet. When he saw how badly her knees were shaking, he hesitated for a moment before picking her up and resting her on his hip.

Skye looked at him in surprise, not expecting Ward to do that, but not fighting it. She'd gotten kind of used to being carried around in the last few days, given how often Coulson picked her up, as well as Fitz-Simmons.

"By the way," Ward added, getting her attention back, "thanks for saving my life."

Skye nodded shyly at him. "You're welcome."

"Skye? Skye?!"

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Coulson ran to the den, feeling frantic. Camilla was safely tied up just outside the cockpit, and he could tell that whatever plan his team had enacted had been successful. But the only thought in his mind was Is Skye safe? Where is my child?

"Skye?" he called as he entered the room. "Skye?!" he called again, panicking when he didn't see her right away. Fitz turned around, and Coulson let out a sigh of relief when he saw the little girl. Ward was holding her, rubbing her back lightly as swayed in a most likely unconscious gesture to comfort the small child.

They were both looking at him as he hurried over and took the little girl from the specialist's arms. He held her to his chest as he took in the wreck that was his plane. "Is everyone alright?" he asked, glancing around at his team. He was met with nods from all sides, and could feel Skye nodding against his chest. But, given the tremors he could feel running through the child's body as he held her, he didn't quite believe that last one.

He pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head, and she clung to the front of his jacket. He sighed and hitched her up onto his hip. The sight of the rope burn around her wrists filled him with both sadness and rage, and he wanted to get it taken care of as soon as he could. He carried her toward his office, intent on the first aid kit he had stashed there, and a quiet moment to properly comfort his little girl.

When he passed Camilla, he paused to give her a bland look. "I told you they were good," he told her calmly.

She wouldn't look him in the eye. He glared at her, shifting slightly to force her to face the little girl in his arms, a child she had tried to kill. "This is Skye," he informed her coldly. "She's seven years old, and if your plan had been successful, she would be dead. Now you are going to have to live with that."

Without looking back, he carried Skye into his office, and closed the door behind him.

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At the Slingshot, Coulson was looking over Lola with a critical eye, relieved that his precious car hadn't been damaged in the brawl.

"So your car's okay?" Skye asked, coming up behind him. He looked up at her with a smile.

"Yes, she's fine. And she's not just a car, her name's Lola." Might as well start trying to instill a proper respect for his lovely Lola in his soon-to-be daughter.

Skye raised a brow at him, and he was relieved to see her acting so relaxed. "You named a car?"

"Of course," Coulson responded, tugging her to his side. "She's important. Important things get names."

Skye just gave him a look that clearly said 'Whatever, crazy guy.' It was rather amusing on the little girl's face, and Coulson expected to see it many more times once Skye hit the teenage years.

He simply chuckled at her, and they went to join the others, who were sitting on the edge of the ramp with a cooler, getting ready to enjoy the show. Skye sat down next to Simmons as the scientist pulled a cold drink out of the cooler.

"What are you drinking?" Skye asked. Simmons froze, looking from Skye to Coulson uncertainly.

"Umm, well," she stammered, "grown up stuff, very yucky. You wouldn't-"

"You can just say beer," Skye interrupted. "I know what that is."

"Oh," Simmons said, blushing a bit. "Well, I brought you a soda," she added, pulling a can of Pepsi out of the cooler and handing it to the girl.

"Thanks," Skye replied with a smile, popping open the can and taking a drink.

"Grown up stuff?" Ward repeated with an amused smirk. "How many of those have you had?"
"Hey." Simmons frowned at him. "I'll have you know that when in the field, it's important to unwind from time to time."

"Especially when recovering from almost dying," Fitz added, ever the supportive friend.

"Which is an anomaly," Simmons added, "doesn't happen every day. Not at all."

Coulson could tell she was hoping for one of the more experienced agents to agree with her, but none of them were going to. Instead of letting her spiral, he decided to change the subject. So he posed a question to test how deeply they had bonded as a team.

"Speaking of things that don't happen evert day, whose idea was it to blow a hole in my plane?"

His agents shifted uncomfortably, along with Skye, to his surprise. "Well, sir, it was a group decision," Simmons said slowly, with a comforting glance to the little girl.

Coulson nodded, pleased with the outcome. They were standing together and taking things as a team. Well, he thought as the agents talked, Fitz plugging his nose and giving a nasally countdown that made Simmons and Skye laugh, now we're getting somewhere.

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Coulson stood calmly as Fury ranted at him. He really didn't like that Coulson had mentioned authority, judging by how he kept repeating the word in his rant.

Coulson nodded at his boss when he stood in front of him again. "Authority."

Coulson nodded. "Yes, sir."

"And that kid you found," Fury added. "She's a risk."

"She's a child," Coulson countered. "And she deserves a home and a family."

"And you really think you're the right person to give her those things?"

He nodded. "I do." His voice left no room for argument.

"Well, then," Fury sighed, reaching into his jacket pocket. "Congratulations, it's a girl." He handed Coulson a sheaf of papers.

Coulson couldn't help how his eyes widened as to read through them. They were the complete set of adoption papers for one Skye Eleanor Coulson. Skye was officially his daughter.

Coulson nodded to his boss. Fury must have really pushed these through to have them done so quickly. "Thank you, sir."

Fury snorted, but nodded back. "Yeah, yeah. Just make sure your daughter doesn't hack the Pentagon or something and start an international incident."

Coulson chuckled. "With all due respect, sir, I'm pretty sure she's good enough not to get caught."

That earned a soft chuckle from the man as he turned away. "By the way, how's Lola?"

Coulson smiled. "She's good, thanks for asking."

Once Fury was gone, Coulson frowned and tapped his com. "Yeah, we're gonna have to kill the fish tank."

A/N Well, there you go. I hope you enjoyed this installment of Child's Play. By the way, I'm not entirely sure what I want to do with the next chapter. My plan was to do a purely original chapter every other time, but I honestly don't know what that would be on this one. If you have any ideas for things you would like to see, let me know and I will take them into consideration. If nobody says anything, I guess I'll just go straight into The Asset. I'm going to have to play a lot with that story anyway. Until next time!

Read (if for some reason you decided to scroll to the bottom without doing so) and review (if you would like to have your ideas heard).