Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

SHIELD's Little Surprise

Chapter 12 – The Last Straw

This is a fanfic based upon the incredible television series, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. This is the 15th and final in a series of stories that takes place not long after the Season 2 finale. These stories are meant to be fun, sweet, thought-provoking and heart-warming. They may or may not contain scenes of corporal discipline (spanking), often of a fictional minor child. This is not a 'condonement' of spanking children in any way, and any such scene will be depicted in a very loving, non-abusive manner. If this may still be a trigger for you, I encourage you not to read this series.

Every character referred to is directly from the show/Marvel Universe, and I hold NO claim to the characters or the plotlines of the show that many of my stories are based on. I *highly* recommend watching the first two seasons of episodes before reading these stories, as many references to events in the episodes will be made, and therefore, better understood. WARNING: These stories will contain spoilers from the show, up until Season 3. (Minus what happened to Jemma Simmons on Maveth, because I refused to accept that! ;) ) If it has been awhile, I would recommend re-watching Season 2, Episode 17 "Melinda", and the story of May in Bahrain. Enjoy!

Continued from Chapter 11 – The Sneakiest Little Agent

...

The next month passes mostly peacefully around the SHIELD base. January sees the team traveling to both Prague and Ecuador to greet new Inhumans, and fortunately two new powered allies are made. (Skye was taken sight-seeing by an agent during the actual 'Welcome' each time, to keep her out of harm's way.) The team-family also begins a new tradition for little Skye. They hang a large world map on the wall of a now empty bedroom in the base. Then, at each new location they visit they snap a photo of Skye with something iconic, and pin it to the board in the corresponding country. The idea of this is two-fold… Skye can look at the map and proudly recall all the places she has been, and they are getting Skye primed to this bedroom, as it will eventually be her own.

As they enter February, the only disruption to their life of research and surveillance occurs when Agents Jefferson and Piper, thus far unknown to Ward, go on an undercover mission to scope out a few of his henchmen. They pretend to be on a date, much to Piper's distaste, and go out to a diner that the men apparently regularly frequent.

After verifying the suspects' appearances, (one Irish male with red hair and a full beard, the other man young and muscular with black hair and bushy eyebrows), Piper and Jefferson sit in a booth three tables away. The top button of both of their shirts is a high-definition spy cam, allowing them to not have to stare at the men. Coulson can even zoom in and take snapshots during the video feed, which he does as he watches carefully from base. Piper manages to plant a tiny comm underneath the table when she approaches and surreptitiously asks if she may borrow their bottle of ketchup. They wave her away impatiently, but her goal has been achieved. They can now pick up on the men's conversation.

"Anyway… the Director wants us to take our time, focus on the weakest link. He's keeping watch and gathering supplies," the Irish man says quietly.

"So, what are we supposed to do?" asks a quiet gruff voice through the comm.

"Lay low. Try to track and follow. Establish patterns, if possible. Look for more opportunities to come into resources. He says that for a while there, when SHIELD was government-sanctioned, they had almost endless financial backing. He's got to come up with it all on his own now."

Piper shoots Jefferson a look as she slyly reaches out and takes his hand, trying to maintain their cover as they listen.

"Right then… so we already blackmailed Senator Ros…"

"Oy!" The red head warns in a hiss, glancing around. "We don't talk specifics in public, rookie. We'll voice suggestions back at headquarters."

Jefferson shoots an eager look at Piper, but she quickly glosses over this by smiling a sappy grin at him and reaching over to stroke his cheek. She knows that Jefferson just thought the same exact thing she did… should they follow the suspects in the hopes of learning the location of this Hydra base? She gives him a miniscule shake of the head as she utters the code phrase, "so dear… what's next?"

Back at base, Coulson picks up on the code. If those specific words are ever spoken while on this mission, it means that his agents need further instruction. Phil considers it for a moment, then… "do not follow. Repeat, do not follow."

Jefferson sighs quietly in frustration, then masks it by taking a sip of his root beer.

Piper takes the opportunity of a lull in conversation between the men to make 'undercover small talk'. "So… I noticed that Lindsey Stirling is coming to the Pacific Amphitheatre in January. I'd love to go. What do you think, honey?"

Jefferson gives her a look that clearly says, 'who the hell is Lindsey Stirling?' but then catches on. "Oh… sounds good. Should we ask the Jones' if they want to join us?"

Piper just stops herself from rolling her eyes… referencing the most generic names to discuss while undercover is actually considered a giveaway. He may as well as said 'the Smith's'. Amateur. "Sure. Aaliyah would love it, I bet."

The two men say nothing more important while they finish their meals. Piper is disappointed by the lack of useful information shared, but Jefferson still stays alert as the men pay their bill. Piper steals a french fry off of Jefferson's plate as the men walk out, but once they are clear of the door, Jefferson quickly switches off his comm and whispers, "we've got to follow".

Piper blinks at him. "What? No. You heard the director..."

"But when will we get another opportunity like this?!" Jefferson counters. "They didn't make us. This is our chance… find out where their 'secret lair' is, and maybe even mount an offensive!"

"No," Piper says firmly. "The Director said not to follow, so, we don't follow. Period. Let's head back to base."

Jefferson sighs again dejectedly, and stands as Piper goes to pay the bill. The two exit the restaurant into the crisp night air and suddenly hear an Irish accent nearby, followed by the revving of a motorcycle. Jefferson gives Piper one fleeting look before he takes off, running to the side alley.

Adrenaline increasing immediately, Piper calls out to stop him, but is ignored. Hissing obscenities under her breath, she makes an angry statement into the comm then pulls an Icer from her back pocket and hurries to the entrance of the alley. She is almost flattened by a motorcycle that flies out at that moment, and turns to see Jefferson running after a second one, firing his Icer in broad view.

"Stop!" Piper yells at him, pissed at every aspect of this situation. She runs to intercept him before he gets too far into the main street, and knocks him none too gently back into the alley.

"What the hell, Jefferson?! You're a moron," she hisses, now forcefully leading him a longer but much more unpopulated route to their waiting SUV…

...

In seemingly no time at all the two agents are back at base and standing at attention in front of a very displeased Coulson.

"I gave very clear orders," the director states firmly. "What part of 'do not follow' did you not understand?"

Jefferson inhales angrily. "If we didn't attempt to follow, then we got absolutely no useful intel! This was supposed to be a recon assignment. What was the point?!"

Coulson looks incensed, a vein visibly pulsing in his temple. "The point? That's none of your concern, actually. You do not, and will never know every 'point' or detail of every mission. We compartmentalize for a reason, so that if one person is compromised, the entire mission isn't. Your job, your only job, is to follow orders. And you failed miserably tonight."

Phil can see Jefferson's teeth grinding. He goes on. "You know what you succeeded at? You were made. Ward knows our entire main team, and maybe other standby agents. We need people in pursuit of him to gather intel whom he doesn't recognize… whom he will not make. Do you have any idea how difficult that is?"

Coulson notices the agent balling his hands into fists, though the man does have the sense to avert his gaze. Phil shakes his head. "You are level 5. We thought that maybe, maybe with Piper as your lead on this assignment, that you might be ready for field work. But instead we find th…"

Suddenly, Coulson's door bursts open and a small brunette blur darts in. "Daddy, daddy! Guess what I can…"

"Skye… not now," the now further agitated father warns, pointing back to the door.

The little girl glances curiously around the room, immediately picking up on the tension. It doesn't overpower her excitement or pride, however. "But Daddy, Aunt Bobbi taught me how to…"

"Oh my God," Jefferson mutters with great disdain. He runs his hand over his face as he thinks to himself, 'this stupid kid. This is like amateur hour…'

"Out, Skye, right now!" Coulson scolds, with an angry expression that Skye is completely inexperienced with.

Immediately feeling guilty at the hurt that alights in the child's eyes, Phil watches with a heavy heart as Skye scowls, eyes filling with tears, then turns and stomps out of the room. He takes a deep breath and turns back to the matter at hand.

"You are out of the field. You'll report to Agent May in Command for a new assignment," Coulson exclaims with finality. "Screw up like this once more and you will be demoted and transferred. And I suggest that you think long and hard about what it means to be a SHIELD agent. Now get out."

Jefferson immediately turns and walks out, still furious both with the Director, whom he feels is being secretive solely out of tyranny, and with himself for screwing up his chances of finally becoming a field agent.

Coulson runs a hand down his face and sighs heavily, his thoughts already turning from his obnoxiously rogue agent to how he's going to cheer up a certain youngster… and teach her about timing…

…

Anger fueling his steps, Jefferson stalks quickly to Command to seek out May. "Reporting for a new assignment, ma'am," he says with resignation.

May looks at him disapprovingly, then sighs with a shake of her head. This only happens when someone has messed up big-time. She chooses to reinforce whatever lesson Coulson is trying to impart by giving the impertinent young man some tedious grunt work.

"Great," she mutters sarcastically. Turning on her heels with the unspoken expectation that Jefferson will follow, May leads the way to the hanger. "We've had a new shipment of supplies come in. You will open every crate, check the number and quality of the equipment inside, and make note of it here." Unceremoniously she thrusts the inventory clipboard into his stomach. "You will then move every crate to its designated area. Without the use of a forklift." May ignores the man's groan as she swipes the keys from the nearby machine. "Hope you're strong… or creative," she adds in a mutter as she walks away.

Deep in concentration as she carefully turns up a Bunsen burner and leans over a flask of some viscous blue liquid, Jemma's attention is suddenly pulled as she hears sniffles from the lab doors. "Ohhh," she mutters sadly, turning the burner off and removing her safety goggles.

"Ohhh darling," she coos, as she moves through the doorway and kneels down to little-girl height. "What's the matter?"

Skye rubs her eyes and hiccoughs, clearly distraught. She has a habit of always seeking Jemma out when she's upset, and the scientist is always happy to comfort the youngster.

"D… Daddy yelled at me a-and s-sent me awayyy," Skye whines, then begins sobbing anew.

"He did?" Jemma asks softly, masking her surprise at this. She scoops up the little girl and heads to the nearby rec room. Nodding to Bobbi who is drinking a water bottle fresh from the fridge, she sits on the couch and cuddles Skye close. "There, there, little one."

Bobbi, covered in sweat from a recent practice bout with Mack, approaches with a concerned look and kneels by the couch now. "Hey munchkin… what's going on? What's with the waterworks?" she asks, brushing damp hair out of the girl's sorrowful eyes.

After only sniffles in response, Jemma answers for Skye. "Apparently, the director shouted at her," she explains quietly.

Bobbi blinks in surprise. She can't recall a single time since Skye has been de-aged that her adoptive father has raised his voice toward her. "Really? What happened?"

Skye resurfaces from Jemma's neck to look morosely up at Bobbi. "I-I wanted to show Daddy what you teached me...

"Taught you," Morse corrects automatically, with a small smile.

"… that I can do a summer-salt! But he yelled at me that 'not now' and to get out." The despair in her voice is evident at having been denied the chance to show her father a newfound skill.

Morse frowns, thinking that very unlike the doting father. She figures that there must be more to the story. "Hmm… what was he doing when you tried to show him, honey?" Bobbi asks, gently wiping a few tears off the little girl's cheeks.

Skye cuddles closer into Jemma and rubs her eyes with her little fists. "He-he was talkin' to Jefferson. I think he was mad."

Jemma grimaces slightly and shares a look with Bobbi. It's no secret amongst the core group of agents that Jefferson has been getting dangerously close to Coulson's last nerve lately. The two ladies understand completely now.

"Ohh Skye… then I think that maybe you just picked a bad time to pop in on your father. I'm sure he wasn't angry at you, little one," Simmons tries to reassure her.

Skye doesn't look convinced. She fidgets a bit, large pout still firmly in place.

Jemma bites back a smile. She remembers how proud and excited the youngster momentarily was. "Did you say that you learned a new trick, darling?"

"Uh-huh. Aunt Bobbi teached… taught me."

Both woman smile now.

"That's wonderful!" Jemma exclaims. "Well, I would like to see it! Maybe it will be good to practice a bit more too, for when your daddy does have time to see it. Will you show me what you learned?"

….

Ten minutes later, Director Coulson makes his way through the base searching for his daughter. He's been feeling quite guilty about how he snapped at her, but had to write up a formal report on Agent Jefferson's misconduct before he did anything else. The director has about had it with that young man.

As he approaches the training room he hears applause and a childish giggle that warms his heart considerably. He stands momentarily in the doorway with his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face.

Amidst the praise of her latest forward roll, Skye hops up and takes a bow. In turning to take another, she spots Coulson.

"Daddy!" she exclaims happily, then runs about 3 steps toward him. She then seems to remember and skids to a halt, looking somewhat nervous.

Phil feels a twinge of guilt in his heart again as he sees her anxious look. He moves forward to meet the little girl and kneels down in front of her.

"Skye…" he begins softly, lifting her chin with a finger. "I want to tell you that… I'm sorry, sweetie. I didn't mean to bark at you like that. You caught me at a bad time, sweetheart. I wasn't in a good mood and was a bit mad at someone else, and I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

Skye looks carefully into her father's eyes, and is happy to no longer see any anger there.

Coulson smiles kindly, then thinks of something he must address. "Skye… did you knock on my office door before you came in?"

Sniffling quietly, the tiny girl shakes her head.

A glance is shared between Director and agents, who understand further now.

"That's right," says Phil patiently. "Well sweetie… I know that you know that interrupting people isn't polite. If you had knocked, it might have helped you not get into trouble. Right?"

Skye pouts as she starts absently playing with the hem of her shirt. "Uh-huh. But… I didn't wanna wait. I wanted to show you right now," she explains with a dramatic sigh.

Coulson nods. "I understand that, Angel Eyes. But I was busy; I wasn't available right then. But I am available now." With a smile, the father pulls his beloved daughter into a warm hug. Then he stands and moves back. "So… what do you have to show me?"

Skye's sadness immediately disappears, and Coulson is treated to about half a dozen uncoordinated somersaults by a happy, proud little girl.

...

It turns out that Jefferson is not very creative, much to his own disadvantage. He hasn't come up with a single clever idea to move the crates, aside from emptying each one, one item at a time until it is light enough to push across the floor. Then each heavy item must be carried or dragged across. After an entire shift of working on this, he has only gotten through two of the 24 crates that must be inventoried and moved.

He finally completes his hours for the day and re-enters the base. He is dirty, covered in sweat, tired and hungry. Thus, he is in an altogether alarming mood when a certain little girl, lacking in both tact and good timing, crosses his path.

Skye was walking into the base from the garage, where Fitz and Mack had been changing the oil on the SUV and had let her help. Skye looks particularly cute, her hair in a ponytail, a 'Frozen' bandana wrapped around her head, and smudges of oil on her hands, arm and cheek. She was feeling pretty proud of herself for having helped work on a car.

Thus, she is conversely in such a good mood that she forgets that she doesn't like Jefferson very much.

"Hi," she greets him, as she falls into step beside him. Both were heading for the dining room.

"Hi," he grunts her way, wiping his forehead with his sleeve.

"I just helped change oil!" she announces proudly.

Jefferson rolls his eyes, wondering for perhaps the 34th time why he has to put up with this crap in a secret agent organization. "That's awesome. I just moved sh… stuff around for 8 hours for no damn reason."

Skye blinks. "Why?" she asks curiously, thinking that a weird thing to do.

Jefferson scoffs and chooses to ignore her, hoping that she'll go away.

"Is it because you got in trouble?" she asks sympathetically. She can relate, after all. "Why was Daddy so mad at you?"

Something snaps. Jefferson comes to an abrupt stop. "You want to know why, kid? Because your 'Daddy' is a tyrant."

Skye blinks again. She doesn't like how Jefferson is talking to her, but curiosity wins out, as per usual. "What's that?"

Jefferson leans down, much too close for Skye's comfort. "It means, that your father is an oppressive control freak. He thinks he rules the world and everyone else had better just fall in line."

Skye makes a face and takes a step back. "You smell really bad," she informs him, helpfully.

"You know what?" Jefferson starts. He grabs Skye by the arm and pulls her into the closest room, which happens to be a small workshop that is rarely used. The startled little girl whines a bit as he squeezes her arm too hard. Jefferson shuts the door and gets into Skye's face again.

"Your 'father' isn't only a tyrant, you know. Your 'mommy' is even worse. She's the Cavalry. She has murdered hundreds of people… you know that? She even killed a little girl, just like you. She's a monster."

Struggling against the tight grip on her arm now, Skye begins to cry. "Nooo… no, she didn't. She's not!"

"Yes, she is. She kills people all the time. She.."

"NOOO!" Skye screams, in true distress as she is trapped with this mean, angry man. "Let me go! HELP!"

The door suddenly flies open to reveal a concerned-looking Mack. Having tidied up from the oil change in the garage he had been on his way back in when he heard the shouts. The tall, strong agent takes one look at what is gghasoing on, punches Jefferson square in the jaw and scoops up Skye. "Are you okay, princess?" he asks gently, noting her hysterical crying. He looks her over briefly and sees a red mark on her arm.

Seeing red himself, he glances around quickly. He sees Marcy, a newish doctor who has taken a great liking to Skye, peer out of the lab, no doubt drawn by the child's cries. He waves her over and passes Skye off to her. "Hey, will you check her over, please? And then treat her to a Popsicle? If anyone objects, tell them to bring it up with me later." Marcy nods, a bit confused and more concerned than ever.

"Okay, stay with Marcy, princess. It'll be okay. I'll come have a Popsicle with you real soon, all right?" Mack kisses the top of her head, then heads straight back to the workshop.

Mack physically drags Jefferson from the workshop by the front of his shirt, down the hall and into the training room. Unfortunately for Jefferson, Bobbi was having a training session with Piper at the moment.

"Clear the ring," Mack shouts.

"Excuse m…" Bobbi starts to reply tersely, then takes in the scene before her. She and Piper immediately scoot off the mat just in time for Mack to propel Jefferson onto it.

"Hey, man," Jefferson starts to protest…

"You wanna manhandle someone, you idiot?" Mack asks ferociously. "C'mon, try it with me!"

Jefferson steps back and looks Mack over. "Hey, I'd hardly call you 'my size'…"

Mack looks even angrier than ever. "Then maybe you'll know how it felt to Skye."

Bobbi's eyes go wide. "To Skye?! Wait, wha…"

But she is left to her bewilderment as Jefferson stupidly rushes forward and aims a punch at Mack's head. This move is easily blocked and is reciprocated by a hard punch to the stomach. Mack follows this with an elbow to the head, and then a kick to the groin. He even goes so far as to kick the spineless man when he collapses.

"MACK!" Bobbi yells, rushing forward and trying to put a stop to the fight. Mack is able to get one more kick in before she gets in his face and brings him back to Earth.

"Mack, he's down, he's down. It's over," she insists, carefully. She waits for Mack's eyes to focus on her, then gestures to the moaning man on the ground, who is bleeding from the lip.

Mack turns and paces, Bobbi jogging to keep up with him.

"Mack… what did you mean about Skye? What happened? Is she okay?"

Mack takes a couple deep breaths and relates what he had found when he opened the workshop door. Bobbi flushes with anger, grits her teeth, and steps over to Jefferson to land a kick in his stomach too. That done, she mutters obscenities to herself as she stalks over to her gym bag. She rummages around in its depths violently until she finds what she's looking for. She covertly passes something off to Piper with a quiet, "do me a favor?" When Piper nods, Bobbi states angrily, in Jefferson's direction, "We need to go check on our niece."

Mack and Bobbi leave the room. Piper heaves a huge sigh, sticks something in her pocket, then grabs a towel and a bottle of MadaCide and tosses them on the floor. Jefferson stares at her through a swollen eye.

"What? Clean up your blood. I'm not touching that." Then, as an afterthought, she adds, "you know, I keep wondering when you're going to stop being such a dumbass. It seems that the answer is 'never', dude. Never gonna stop." She watches as the agent painstakingly mops up his blood from the floor. "Not feeling very talkative, huh? First smart thing you've done in ages."

She then follows him to the biohazard container, and as soon as he drops the bloody towel inside it, she whips a pair of handcuffs out of her pocket and quickly locks his right wrist to a weight rack.

"Piper… what the f…"

"Sorry, not sorry, dude. I actually listen to my superiors," she shrugs. She turns to leave, but then stops and glances back at him. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you this, genius, but… you done messed with the wrong people's kid."

...

Meanwhile…

By the time Marcy has done a full check and ascertained that Skye has no more than the beginnings of a hand-shaped bruise on her upper arm, the youngster has calmed down quite a bit. This changes however when Marcy leads her to the dining room for her treat, and they meet Agent May there preparing a salad.

Recognizing her daughter's footsteps, May smiles. Continuing to cut up tomatoes, she says, "hello bǎo bèi. Did you help Uncle Mack and Fitz with…" she turns to see her tear-streaked little girl standing 10 feet away, clinging to the hand of Dr. Navarro.

Melinda drops the knife and is kneeling in front of her nervous-looking daughter in a flash. "Skye? Did something happen?" She peers up at Marcy. "Is she hurt?" she asks, turning Skye carefully.

"She's all right," Marcy assures the mother. "I checked her thoroughly… just a bruise on her arm." She points it out to May. "She's such a strong, brave girl," the doctor praises kindly.

"But how did…"

"Mommy," Skye whispers, in a scared voice. "Are… are you th-the Cav-ary? D-did you hurt… a little girl?"

Nothing, nothing on Earth could have prepared May for this question. Her heartrate increases dramatically. A strange buzzing fills her ears. Her skin seems to tingle and heat up. She freezes, absolutely stunned, just staring at Skye for several long moments.

Finally, she swallows hard and finds her voice. "Wh… who… wh-where did you, did you hear that, Skye?" she asks in a trembling voice.

"J-Jefferson," Skye whispers.

May's mind reels. That bastard. He went and told a five year-old a horrific tale about her mother… one that happens to be her mother's most haunting, most traumatic memory. Why? What could he hope to gain…

Suddenly, Melinda puts two and two together. Jefferson told Skye about Bahrain. Skye has a bruise on her arm. Surely, he didn't…

"Skye… Skye, honey… did Jefferson hurt you?" May asks, trying to control her mounting anger. "Did he… is that where you got this bruise from? Did he touch you? Did he hurt..."

Overwhelmed even more by her mother's response, Skye begins to cry again.

"Okay, you know what, Agent May?" Marcy says softly. "I think that little miss Skye is feeling sad, and that her little monkey friend might help her to feel better," she suggests respectfully but pointedly for the mother, who evidently needs a chance to clear her head. The doctor looks back down to Skye and gently pats her hand. "What is his name again, mija?"

Skye tears her nervous gaze away from her mother to glance up at Marcy. "Trip," she whispers, sniffling.

"Ah sí, es cierto, I forgot! Trip. Yes… maybe, Mama, you wouldn't mind getting Trip for little Skye here, while I fix her a treat for being so brave?" the woman encourages.

Deeply troubled by the anxious look that Skye is still giving her, May nods slowly. "O-of course. I'll be right back, bǎo bèi. With Trip."

Now alternating between feeling fully numb with shock and overwhelmed with rage, May forces herself to get up and head to her room. She barely makes it there before she falls to her knees and bursts into sobs herself. The memory of Bahrain is one that she always keeps shoved far down in the deepest, darkest recesses of her mind. She banished it long ago. And to now have it delivered right back to her by her own innocent, scared daughter, completely out of the blue…

The thought of Skye waiting nervously for her back in the dining room helps May to pull herself together again. She was afraid that this conversation might have to happen someday, somehow. Someday happens to be now, and Melinda will just have to get through it.

May moves to the bathroom and washes her face, then returns and gathers Trip up from the bed. She squeezes the stuffed monkey to her, taking comfort in the scent of Skye's lavender-vanilla shampoo.

On her way back to the dining room, May alerts Coulson via comms. Before he can respond however, she spots him standing outside the dining room. Mack seems to be explaining things to him and Bobbi.

"Hold that thought," she demands. She takes Trip inside to Skye, who is finishing up a grape Popsicle and is covered in the sticky, purple juice. The mom hands Marcy some wipes and quietly says, "*Before* she touches Trip, please." She gives her permission for Skye to watch an episode of Dora the Explorer with Dr. Navarro, then rejoins the group in the hall.

As requested, Mack had waited. When May arrives, he explains exactly what had happened, from the cries he had heard upon entering from the garage, to beating the stuffing out of Jefferson.

"But…" Coulson interjects, extremely upset. "This doesn't explain anything. Why the hell was he in a deserted workshop with her? Why was he squeezing her arm?"

Mack sighs and shrugs. "I don't know. Only Skye and Jefferson know that, sir."

May swallows hard, as she has some idea to this. "I… it sounds like Jefferson decided to give Skye some information about me. Because she… she asked…"

May trails off, unable to finish.

Coulson, becoming more concerned than ever, stares at Melinda for a moment, then… "hey, can you two give us a minute?"

Mack and Bobbi nod, and head into the rec room to join Skye in watching her show.

"Mel?" Coulson tries cautiously…

But May is fighting down her emotions again. "You know… just ask Skye. Talk to her, okay?"

...

Once Coulson finally hears the entire ordeal from Skye, the Director is livid beyond belief. He cannot believe that anyone, much less an agent, could stoop so low. He has filled out two sets of paperwork, to have them ready yes, but also to force himself to work on something practical to calm down a bit.

At last, he feels prepared to deal with this issue. Bobbi escorts Jefferson to Coulson's office when summoned. After they knock and enter, Phil is curious to see that Jefferson's nose is somehow bleeding. In response to the questioning look she receives, Bobbi simply shrugs and says, "He tripped!"

Phil sighs and shakes his head, then turns his attention back to Jefferson. He tosses a box of tissues his way. Then he gets right to the point.

"Why? Why, Jefferson? What possessed you to take my daughter into a private space alone with you, hold her against her will, physically hurt her, and tell her inappropriate stories?"

"Hold up… Director," Jefferson begins, catching himself just in time to curb the disrespect in his voice. "Sir, I swear… I did not 'hurt' her."

"The bruise on her arm says otherwise," Coulson states simply, trying to keep his temper in check.

Jefferson sighs and tries again. "I just… I had had a really bad day, sir, and she came up and started bugging me, saying some offensive things, I might add…"

"Offensive things," the father repeats incredulously. "Like what, exactly?"

"Well… she brought up you yelling at me in your office and told me that I… smelled bad."

Coulson's eyebrows nearly hit the roof. "Oh… that's offensive? Because I'll tell you, you do. You smell awful."

"Maybe because Agent May set me some impossible manual labor that took all day! Will probably take another three weeks! I was on my way to eat and clean up when she started pestering me."

Phil suddenly feels like he's dealing with two five year-olds, rather than his little girl and a grown agent of SHIELD. "Wow. So anyway… you getting chewed out in my office. I do rather wish that Skye had never witnessed that, and I've talked to her about interrupting from now on. However, the only person you get to be mad at for that instance, is you. You screwed up. You chose to go against orders. There are and always will be consequences for that."

Jefferson folds his arms across his chest, then seems to remember himself and drops them again. Phil wonders whatever possessed him to recruit this sorry excuse for an agent.

"So," Phil continues, "Skye, a five year-old, approached you and wasn't… as polite as you would have liked. Then what happened?" Coulson really wants to know how closely Jefferson's version of what happened next matches Skye's.

Jefferson shifts uncomfortably… a sign of a crappy spy. "Well… she just, wouldn't let up, and I wanted to be left alone. So, I thought I would just… scare her a bit."

Phil seethes inside at a grown man needing to frighten a small child for any reason. "I see. And how did you attempt that?"

"I… I just pulled her into the closest room, kind of got in her face and… told her to leave me alone."

"Bullshit," Coulson calls his bluff. "You could have easily told her that in the hallway. What did you really say to her?"

Jefferson purses his lips shut and nonchalantly shrugs.

Now Coulson understand what this man really is. "Huh. Well, Skye suddenly knows the phrase, 'the Cavalry', and some details from Bahrain. She's also a bit afraid of her mother. Know anything about any of that?"

Phil can see the pathetic man swallow hard before shrugging again. He also catches a glimpse of a smirk in hearing that Skye seems afraid of May.

At this, Coulson's eyes burn with a fury few have ever witnessed. Reaching his decision, he declares, "Okay, that's it. You are not a reasonable choice for this team, this base, and I would even say, SHIELD. So, you have two options, Jefferson. Either you sincerely apologize to both Skye and May, accept a transfer along with a demotion to level 2 and return to mentorship under an S.O. again, or I give you a Dishonorable Discharge, effective immediately. So? What's it going to be?"

An icy glare meets Coulson's as Jefferson strikes the nail in his coffin. "I'm done," he states bitterly, pulling out his badge and slamming it down on Coulson's desk.

Pleased with this outcome as he is now painstakingly convinced that this man has no business being a SHIELD agent whatsoever, Coulson hands Jefferson the completed packet of papers. "Well then, here it is. Normally I would have you thoroughly debriefed, but frankly, I want you out of my sight. So here it is: you are not to speak of nor write about SHIELD, any of its agents, missions, classified information, operations, facilities or resources at all, ever, to anyone, for the rest of your life. Should you divulge any information that compromises any aspect of SHIELD and its operations, you will be court-martialed and never see the light of day again. If you understand all of this, sign here… and here… good."

Coulson flips a page and goes on. "Agent Mackenzie will now escort you to your locker to collect your things and retrieve your weapon. Once you set foot outside this facility, you will never be allowed to enter it again. Passwords and locks will be changed, and your clearance will be stripped. If you understand all of this, sign here."

Jefferson hastily scratches out his name.

"Good. Then our business here is concluded. And I can honestly say that I hope never to see or hear of you again." Coulson presses a button on his desk, and Mack enters the room immediately. He glares furiously at Jefferson, and crosses his arms with a menacing look.

Jefferson just sighs and walks out, closely followed by Mack, who is also sorely tempted to make Jefferson 'trip', as well…

...

Before bedtime that night, May and Skye have a difficult heart-to-heart. To answer Skye's question about 'the Cavalry', May is as honest as it is appropriate to be. She informs the little girl that the term is usually granted to someone who provides a rescue in an emergency… someone who goes in as a last-resort to 'save the day'. Melinda must focus on this solely as a definition of the phrase, as it makes her ill to allow herself to be referred to in that way, in this circumstance. This is not made easy, as Skye proceeds to ask, "so… you saved the day?"

Coulson comes to the rescue this time. "She sure did, sweetie. She absolutely did."

Phil knows how Melinda feels about what went down in Bahrain. He really wishes that she would cut herself some slack. From the sound of it, Melinda had had no choice; she did what had to be done, and saved dozens of agents in the process. While she never will, he will always respect her for it.

May excuses herself to take a quick shower, in the hopes that Coulson will tackle the other question as well. He doesn't disappoint.

"Daddy… did Mommy hurt a little girl?" Skye asks carefully, quite afraid of the answer.

Phil thinks hard about how to answer this. He reaches out and strokes his baby girl's hair, and decides to ask, "well sweetie… you know Mommy really well. You see how much she loves you and cares about you. Do you think that she could hurt a little girl?"

Skye glances toward the bathroom, then turns back and shakes her head, dark hair flying. "Well… I mean, unless she spanked her, maybe."

Coulson chokes, and laughs. He gives Skye a playful tickle, as he thinks about her question some more. "Skye honey… I'm going to tell you something that not many people know about, about what happened with your mommy."

Skye looks up, wide-eyed.

Again, Phil chooses his words carefully. "It may have seemed like a little girl got hurt… but the truth? The truth is that the girl was actually *an alien*."

Skye gasps, always the good listener.

"It's true. This girl was an alien, and she had special powers. Now, some people, like Captain America and Thor, they have special powers and they use them to help people. But some people… people like this alien girl, she was using her powers to hurt people. She hurt a lot of people very badly."

He pauses here to make sure that his daughter is following effectively. She seems to be deep in thought.

"So, if someone was brave enough to stand up and stop someone who is hurting lots of people? I would call that person a hero. Wouldn't you?" Coulson adds, knowing that Melinda will hate him for saying this.

Skye looks completely in awe. "Yeahhh. Wow. That's what Mommy did?"

"Yes, Angel Eyes," Coulson responds at once, unconcerned about how May will take this. It's the truth of what happened, and he won't have Skye afraid of her mother just because Melinda understands the experience wrong herself.

"She's a hero, huh Daddy? Just like Thor n Tasha?"

"Yep," he agrees, thrilled that Skye seems fully recovered from the unpleasant events of earlier. That reminds him. "You know what else, sweetie? There are lots of kinds of bravery. And I want to tell you that you too were very brave today."

Skye blinks. "I was?"

"Oh yeah," replies the proud father, putting an arm around his child. "You were stuck in a room with a grown-up being mean to you, and you yelled for help. That takes courage… and I am very, very proud of you, sweetie."

Skye thinks about this for a minute. "I-I tried to get away from him, Daddy, but I couldn't. He was too strong." The youngster sounds disappointed in herself for this.

"Of course he was, Skye. He was a grown-up, who should never have touched you at all. You'll get stronger as you get bigger… trust me."

"But… but Mommy would have just kicked his butt, huh? I wanna be strong like her, and kick butt too!" Skye emphasizes this by throwing a couple punches in the air.

Coulson chuckles, and tickles the little girl again. "Sweetie… let's leave the butt-kicking to Mommy for now, okay? She likes to protect all of us in that way, and she does not want you fighting like that… unless you need to defend yourself, which she will keep teaching you to do. For now though… you were very brave and did everything right today, okay?"

Skye basks in the praise from her father and nods with a big grin. "Uh-huh. I'm gonna be a hero someday!" she declares, and promptly does a lop-sided somersault on her bed.

Coulson laughs and nods, scooping up the little girl and sliding her into her bed as May re-enters the room with her hair up in a towel. "You can be anything you set your mind to, Skye." He knows this from experience, and shares a soft smile with May about it.

As the parents tuck their daughter into bed, Coulson takes her tiny hands in his and says quietly, "Skye… I don't want you to worry about Jefferson now. He doesn't work here anymore, okay? You'll never have to see him again."

If only they knew how wrong he was…

A mere two weeks later…

On his way to Command, Director Coulson hears signs of a training session going on. He pauses by the doorway and smiles subtly as he watches May guide a small group of agents through a complicated series of defensive moves.

"So… that's something you can do if the attacker is coming at you from the front. Now… how can you modify this if you're being attacked from behind?" May asks, pacing in front of the cadets.

Coulson smiles. He loves how May encourages cadets to think… to work through problems, rather than holding their hands. The ability to think on one's feet and react immediately in a crisis is vital to any field agent.

He waits for the session to end a couple minutes later, then steps into the training room.

"So… any potential in this lot?"

"We'll see," May responds with a non-committal shrug.

The two top agents head out together for Command.

"Have you seen Skye's new gymnastics skills?" Phil asks with a grin. "She's quite proud."

"Oh yeah," May replies with a smirk. "Every chance she gets, she's rolling around. Really tired herself out today. I put on a Mandarin language-learning video for the two of us after lunch and she barely lasted a minute before she passed out on the couch."

As they near the rec room May waves Coulson over and gestures to said couch. Sure enough, the youngster is splayed out on her back under a light blanket, with Trip resting against the top of her head.

Coulson chuckles and carefully moves Trip to Skye's left arm. She remains fast asleep as he tucks the blanket around her unnecessarily and gently strokes her cheek.

He returns to May and nods. "Yeah, she certainly wore herself out, didn't she?"

May just smiles and leads the way to Command.

When they get there, Coulson sighs and stretches. "You know, Mel… I think that we are way, way overdo for a vacation."

May blinks, and stares at Coulson.

"What?" he asks defensively. "I may be the job, but I could use a break, too. You know, maybe once every five years or so."

May scoffs at that. "Well, it's been at least that, hasn't it?"

Phil nods, leaning down on his elbows on the holotable. "Yeah. So, I've been thinking. I seem to remember you mentioning that you'd like some time away. Something about relaxing, swimming, taking walks. So… what do you think about the two of us taking Skye camping?" he suggests, looking carefully at his right-hand woman for her reaction.

"Seriously?"

Phil shrugs. "Sure. Take a few days, maybe a week. Go somewhere beautiful… maybe Colorado or Oregon. Get the poor kid out into some nature for a change."

Phil watches Melinda's features soften. "That… sounds wonderful," she admits. "So when do you…"

Suddenly, red lights start to flash within the base… warning lights in each room, each hallway, on every screen and every tablet.

"Perimeter breach," Coulson shouts into his comm, a moment after the alarm signaling just that starts to blare.

Jemma dashes across the hall from the lab. "What? Where… how?" she asks in distress.

"No idea," Coulson admits, dashing to the holotable and quickly starting to activate some of the base's strongest defenses. A low rumble can be heard as the base goes into lockdown. He gives May and Jemma a horrified look though, and says, "uhhh… I didn't do that." Before Jemma can pointlessly ask who did, the Director touches his comm and calls, "perimeter breach! Lockdown protocol enacted by intruder." Hard banging can be heard in the distance… clearly several agents have been trapped by the lockdown. The Director turns back to May. "I'll work on the doors. Get Skye to safety, now."

"On it," is May's immediate reply. She dashes back into the rec room where Skye is groggily waking up from her nap due to the blaring of the alarm. "Skye…" she begins, rushing over to coax the little girl up.

"M-Mommy?" Skye whines sleepily. "W-what's happening?"

May hugs Skye to her, working hard to fight back the panic that is threatening to consume her at the thought of her daughter in danger. She quickly considers whether she can get Skye to lil Lola. The team had utilized Stark's security tech to program lil Lola's auto-recall feature months ago. If Melinda could get Skye to the sparkly little blue car, she could send Skye up the ceiling of the large garage. The car would enact cloaking to become invisible and sound-proofed, fly to just below the roof, and stay there until the danger had passed.

Suddenly hearing shouting and running footsteps approach, May tucks Skye into her and ducks below the couch. "Shhh," she coos, listening carefully. She knows now that lil Lola is out of the question. Luckily there is a closer solution.

The footsteps that hopefully belong to a fellow agent pass. Melinda waits until the coast is clear, then peeks around the couch. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she silently stands and crosses the room to the nearest fortified safe room hidden in the wall.

Once there, she quickly whispers, "listen bǎo bèi. There is someone here at the base who is not supposed to be here. We don't know who it is, so I need you to hide." She sets Skye down, presses her hand to the hidden panel, then guides the little girl inside. "Do NOT leave this saferoom for any reason, Skye. Not until we sound the all-clear. Do you understand?"

Tears are quickly welling up in Skye's eyes, as the child realizes that this isn't practice. "But…"

There is a sudden explosion from somewhere further in the base, and Melinda's heart jumps into her throat.

"No. Not for *any* reason. You stay here, quiet and hidden, no matter what. Do you understand me, bǎo bèi?" May shakes a finger at her daughter, meaning to show the little one just how serious she is.

Suddenly fighting can be heard not far off. Skye's stares into May's eyes for a moment, tears starting to spill down her cheeks. "Y-yes Ma'am," she whispers, her voice shaking a bit.

"Good girl," May praises quietly. Sensing her baby's fear she decides to change tactics slightly. "Show me that you can be a good agent and follow orders." Melinda gives a slight smile at this, and leans in to place a quick kiss on Skye's forehead. She then strokes the little girl's cheek, and whispers, "我爱你 (I love you)".

"我爱你,"Skye responds in kind, with a hiccough.

A gunshot rings out from just down the hall, followed closely by several more. It is a mother with a heavy heart who hears a scared sob stifled as she closes the reinforced, secret door on the saferoom.

May has just made it to the dining area across the room and grabbed up a cooking knife when she hears shouting and footsteps approaching from down the hall. Cursing under her breath, she quickly dashes to just inside the doorway and holds the knife at the ready.

"Find her," hisses a man's voice. "He wants her unharmed. Kill the rest, if you have to."

May closes her eyes, feeling her heartrate quickening. She takes several deep breaths, squashing down all traces of panic while allowing her adrenaline to increase, to her advantage.

Through the doorway appears a gun, held by steady hands. Knowing not who they belong to, other than 'the enemy', Melinda aims her knife low and plunges it into the thigh of the would-be assailant. The man cries out and she recognizes the voice. Spinning around, May comes face-to-face with…

"Jefferson?!" She stares at him as he staggers into the room in immense pain. "What the hell?"

With the knife still imbedded deeply in the ex-SHIELD agent's thigh, May is now unarmed. This realization slams into her as another figure appears in the doorway… someone even less welcome than the last.

"Oh… hi, May. I see you've uh… met my latest recruit."

An anger like nothing May has ever experienced surfaces as she stares into the face of her, nay, SHIELD's, greatest enemy. Grant Ward is inching into the room, with a gun aimed right at her face.

"I gotta say… when he said he had been part of your team, I expected more. I can see why you chucked him out. Bit useless, I guess," he admits, giving the moaning man an apathetic kick in the opposite leg. "Well… not entirely useless. He was able to update us on a lot of your latest security measures. I suppose that was handy," Ward taunts with a grin, gesturing around.

Swallowing down her fury, May attempts to remain calm and in control as she plans her next move. She has been stealthily inching back toward the knife block on the counter, but with a loud blast, Ward fires a warning shot that misses her right ear by about an inch and crashes into the brick backsplash. He proceeds to shake his head condescendingly at her, then calmly says, "oh no. You're not going to fight me. Not this time."

While she had tensed at the gunshot, May relaxes slightly at his typical cocky, overconfident attitude. It usually tends to be his downfall in the end. She refuses to banter and just gives him a raised eyebrow.

Ward snaps a finger behind him with his non gun-wielding hand, and a moment later another figure appears in the doorway. It's Coulson. Coulson, with a gash above his left eye that has left an unnerving trail of blood down the side of his face. Coulson, followed by an unknown crony of Grant Ward's, forcing him forward with a shotgun pressed into his back.

May tenses again and suddenly tastes a metallic flavor. She has bitten the inside of her cheek hard enough to draw blood. This link to life quickly snaps her back into a calm control that has only evolved over decades of practice.

The man with the shotgun propels Coulson toward May with a shove. During his stumble toward her, Phil questions May with his eyes. She gives a slight nod of her head toward the far rec room wall, and Coulson understands the wordless communication at once. Skye is safely hidden nearby.

Coulson then masks this exchange by scoffing at Jefferson, who fortunately in within line of sight of the saferoom. "Really, Jefferson? You are such a cliché. What a disappointment." At this moment, Jefferson loses consciousness, from the pain and blood loss.

Turning back to his former agent turned nemesis, Coulson says warily, "So, what do you want this time, Ward?"

Ward chuckles humorlessly, waving his gun around. "Oh Coulson. Don't you know me yet, after these past few years…"

"Oh, you've made it clear that we've never known you, Ward. I don't think I've ever met anyone with so many faces before. So, what is it this time? You want revenge? You want back on the team?" May scoffs at this. "You want to take over the world with your evil octopus organization, what?"

Ward seethes for a moment before masking it. He then shakes his head with mock disappointment. "Wow, and here I thought you were good at reading people. I want what I've always wanted, Coulson."

Coulson waits a long moment as Grant stares at him. Then he glances at May with a shrug. Then he checks his watch. Finally he guesses, "a… pony?"

Ward clicks the safety off on his gun. "Skye, Coulson. I want Skye."

May visibly bristles at this. "Go to hell."

"Not gonna happen, Ward. You wasted time, money and… 'resources' on this fruitless endeavor," the Director informs him, nodding toward the limp form of Jefferson.

Ward turns his gun back on Coulson now. "I. Want. To. See. Skye," he repeats through clenched teeth.

Coulson steps forward with courage, more than willing to die to keep Skye safe. "You will never, ever see Skye again," he states matter-of-factly.

Grant's eyes turn to Coulson and he raises his eyebrows. "Oh… really?" Without a moment's hesitation, Ward changes his aim to May's chest and pulls the trigger on his gun.

"AHHH…" Melinda can't help but cry out at the immediate searing pain. She had only had time to turn about an inch, succeeding in taking the bullet in her left shoulder rather than her heart.

"NO!" Phil shouts, hurrying to catch May as she sinks to the ground.

The director of Hydra quickly turns his gun on Coulson instead. "You want to be next?! Where is Skye?"…

From her position in the soundproof saferoom, Skye nonetheless sees everything on the security camera panel. She screams into her hands at the gunshot, horrified to see her mother fall to the ground. As soon as Ward's aim moves onto her father, Skye decides to disobey all orders. Despite her tremendous fear, she pushes her small hand to the panel and clicks the green button to open the door.

Skye steps out from the little room, her entire body trembling in fright. May, laying sideways on the floor with her right hand pressed to her shoulder, is the first to notice the little girl. Her eyes go wide and she shakes her head frantically.

But little Skye can't take this. For whatever reason, this strange man wants her, and will hurt her parents to get her. Through a shaking voice, the little girl manages to say, "I… I'm here. D-don't hurt my mommy and daddy!"

Ward, his gun still trained on Coulson, stares at the child in confusion. He studies her small features intently before glancing back at Phil and noting the horrified look on the SHIELD director's face. His eyebrows raise once again and he peers back at the child. "Skye?!"

Tears still streaming down her face, Skye nods quickly. "Yes! I'n here, okay? L-leave them alone!" she shouts bravely.

Ward shrugs, then lifts his hands as if in acquiescence. Skye immediately starts to run over, heading toward her fallen mother.

"Skye, no!" Coulson shouts. But he must watch helplessly as Ward snatches up Skye as she tries to run past, catching her with an arm around her waist and scooping her up effortlessly.

As Coulson's heart sinks Grant Ward begins to laugh… a deranged, eerie laugh that echoes off the walls like a haunting chant. He waves his gun in the air nonchalantly before addressing Coulson again. "Sooo," he begins with another chuckle. "So, this is why I'll never see… You know, Phil… I know you always felt like a 'daddy' to Skye, but this…" Phil cringes inwardly when Ward points toward Skye with the gun still in his hand. "I don't know how you did this, but… it's going a bit far, don't you think?"

His heart in his throat, Phil's blood boils as he watches a madman holding his daughter hostage. He tries to keep his voice strong and steady as he replies, "we didn't do this. It just… happened. Ward… she's just a child. Let her go."

Grant takes another look at the tears on Skye's face, then says, "mmm… no. I don't think so."

At this, Skye begins struggling, wriggling around and trying to kick Ward. The two parents can see an annoyed look on Grant's face as he adjusts to hold Skye more firmly. "Settle down, kid. I'd hate for my hand to… slip," he taunts.

Agent May, trying hard to avoid vomiting or losing consciousness, painstakingly pushes herself up to sitting. "Skye," she says in a strained voice, "stay still. Don't fight him."

Skye ceases struggling at this, but continues to cry hard in fear. Reaching out toward Coulson and May, the little girl cries out the most heart-wrenching words that the fierce duo has ever heard…

"Mommy… Daddy… help me!"

Coulson chokes back his intense emotional pain, trying to suppress the rising panic he feels. Melinda's heart leaps into her throat and she feels a burning that precedes tears, but she forces it down to stay focused on the desperate task at hand. She cannot allow anyone to harm her daughter… especially not Grant Ward.

Suddenly several doors burst open in the hall, Fitz having overridden the security system hack at last. The rest of the team runs into the room, guns drawn and aimed at Ward. His eyes quickly scan the area and he realizes that he is effectively surrounded. He knows however that he is completely immune so long as he has the child in his arms. SHIELD agents are so weak in that way.

He brings his gun slowly up to rest the end of the barrel against Skye's temple.

Bobbi feels a desperate rage rise within her as her eyes fall upon the scene, upon Grant Ward using a tiny child… *their* tiny child… as a shield. To her left she hears Mack hiss an angry, "no!" while to her right she hears Hunter whisper, "Jesus Christ…". Jemma simply lets out an anguished sob.

Eyes still scanning the circle of agents with their guns drawn, Ward 'tsks' and shakes his head. "Well now, this won't do. How about everyone drops his or her weapons and kicks them toward me, and I *won't* shoot this precious little girl in the head?"

It only takes about three seconds for everyone to fulfill this order. Shooting Ward is impossible now. He could turn and the bullet could hit Skye. A bullet could go right through him and hit the little girl. His finger could squeeze the trigger of his own gun as a reflex to being shot. It's clear that no one is going to take any chances while Skye's life is at risk.

Once this is done, Ward chuckles again. "Ahhh, you sheep. Little did you know…" He adjusts his grasp of Skye once again and flips open the chamber on his gun for all to see. "I was actually out of bullets. Thank goodness I have all these now to choose from." And before anyone else can react, he bends down and grabs up a fresh gun from the small pile at his feet. "So now, if anyone in here takes a bullet, it will be one of your faults."

As nearly everyone curses under their breath, Skye squirms again helplessly. This brings Ward's attention back to the little girl. "Of course… you don't need to get hurt, sweetie," he states in a disgustingly sweet voice. "Maybe I should take you from here, and raise you up right. Raise you with proper morals, like strength, courage, resourcefulness and self-preservation. What do you say? Can you say, 'hail Hydra'?"

"Nooo!" Skye cries, squirming again. "Let me go!"

Grant's expression turns to frustration as he sighs heavily. He jostles Skye harshly in order to strengthen his hold on her again.

With tears glistening down two trails on Skye's terrified face, the little girl looks pleadingly at May and Coulson and whispers, "Daddy… Mommy… please". She reaches out a hand toward them and sobs, begging for their help.

A heartbroken May struggles hard to stand up, though the pain and blood loss she's experiencing is making her light-headed and nauseous. The movement catches Ward's eye, and his features immediately harden once again.

"You know… I came here to put you all down. To end you, and SHIELD, once and for all. The only one I was interested in saving was Skye. Now I find that… that Skye is gone, too."

Skye looks around, confused and bewildered at these words as Ward just shakes his head again. His gaze then suddenly bores into Melinda's. "She's your 'daughter', huh? You love her?"

May swallows hard as she looks straight into Skye's eyes. "She is my daughter, yes… and I love her more than life itself." Skye reaches out more desperately at this, and May tries to give her little girl a reassuring smile. Then her gaze turns back to Grant. "Ward, don't do this. You can have me instead. Just let…"

But Grant cuts her off. "Well… an eye for an eye, May. You stole Kara, the love of my life, from me. It's only fitting then that I do the same to you."

With that, he sets Skye down. For one hopeful moment, it seems that he is giving up the child as his hostage. However, the distraught little girl manages to run only two steps toward Coulson and May when Ward raises the gun in his hand. Without a moment's hesitation, he shoots the child in the back.

"NOOO!"

Screams, gasps and cries ring out from all sides. As if in slow motion, Skye's tiny body falls forward to the ground, completely lifeless. May collapses again as her heart feels like it is literally torn in two.

Shock fills the air at this horrendous, unspeakable act. No one, not even Ward, seems to know quite where to go from here.

Suddenly, a slight figure flies toward Ward from behind.

"Jemma… NO!" scream several voices at once.

Ward turns just in time to catch Jemma Simmons and pull her in close to him. His arm wraps around her neck from behind, pinning her very effectively into place against him. Fitz can be seen out of the corner of Ward's eye, practically dancing in place in panic, not knowing what to do. Grant's features change once again as he seems to quickly formulate a new plan. "Ah… seems you just volunteered to be my new hostage," he purrs in Jemma's ear.

Simmons tries to tug Ward's arm away from her throat with one hand, but otherwise doesn't struggle. In a strained voice she manages to reply, "it doesn't matter. You're finished anyway."

With that, Jemma uses her other hand to slap Ward's thigh hard. The evil ex-agent actually laughs derisively at her pathetic attempt to fight him, but then he shuts up rather abruptly. A whirring sound fills the air and Ward's grip on Simmons slackens. Jemma shoves herself away from him, coughing, and turns to see his look of utter shock as he realizes what has happened. Simmons had had a splinter bomb clutched in her hand that he hadn't noticed… and it is now firmly lodged into his leg, which is disintegrating before their eyes.

Eyes wide, Ward only has time to hiss out an enraged, "you!" before he turns completely to ash.

Still pale and breathless, but with a determined look of triumph, Simmons nods. "I promised that I would kill you."(02x06)

A ringing silence fills the air for only a second, then the look of triumph on several agents' faces vanishes as Jemma turns and flies to the prone body of the little girl on the ground. Everyone rushes forward as well, and sounds of grief are mixed with utter horror at what Grant has done.

On pure instinct alone, completely pushing aside her anger and despair, Jemma immediately goes into doctor mode. "Give me room!" she barks, pushing hair out of Skye's face. The little girl is lifeless on her stomach, her head turned to one side. Jemma checks desperately for a pulse and her eyes open wide. Then her brows furrow in confusion as she looks down at the child's back. She had seen where Ward had shot her, knew exactly where the bullet should have lodged… but there is no blood. Simmons carefully pulls Skye's shirt up and runs a gentle hand over her back. The youngster doesn't have a mark on her.

Everyone watches all of this with bated breath, the looks of confusion on their faces slowly turning to looks of hope.

Finally Jemma lets out a strangled yell, somewhere between a laugh and a cry of hysteria. "Skye… she's-she's all right! She's asleep!"

Everyone stares in disbelief. Mack, who is closest to the pile of ash, turns and walks over to Ward's fallen gun on the ground. He picks it up and examines it, then comprehension dawns across his features. He turns as Fitz runs over and takes it from him.

With a huge sigh of relief and understanding, Fitz announces, "it-it's not a gun. It's just an Icer! We disguised it to look like a real gun to fool the enemy."

Hunter bursts out laughing and hurries over. He slaps Fitz on the back. "You genius!" he exclaims, then throws his arms around the engineer and hugs him fiercely.

Morse, unable to restrain her emotions anymore, takes one last look at Skye before she walks away to the edge of the room and promptly bursts into tears. She buries her face in her hands, sobbing out all of the fear and pain of the last few minutes. Mack and Hunter both move quickly to comfort and reassure her.

Coulson remains standing right where he is, his jaw dropped, seemingly unable to move or speak, or even think.

Slightly behind him, Agent May is dealing with emotions she has no idea how to handle. The always stoic agent remains fallen, ignoring her own pain, staring at Skye's tiny, still body on the ground.

May can't get the image out of her mind of Skye's hand reaching out to her. It had reminded her horribly of a time so long ago that another little girl had reached out for her, asking her to take her hand. What had happened so many years ago in Bahrain had haunted her ever since, and left her believing that she would never love again, would never heal and would never forgive herself. (2x17) It dawns on May now, so clearly that she can't believe she never realized it before, that this whole situation is not only a second chance to right wrongs from Skye's past. This is Melinda's second chance as well.

May had desperately wanted a family. She had wanted children more than anything. She had wanted to be a mother… to have a child to teach, to love and to protect. She had put those feelings, that longing, far aside after she was forced to take little Katya's life and end her reign of terror. But she realizes now that she hadn't obliterated those feelings completely. They have returned in full force, into an insurmountable love for the little girl who came into her life as an adult only a few years ago.

Having been responsible for Katya's death had resulted in an excruciating pain that May thought she may never recover from. And she most likely would not have, had they lost Skye tonight. But the pain and the fear and subsequent relief and joy that she has just experienced shows her that she has been recovering all along. The little girl who once could move mountains had made a huge crack in Melinda's personal walls and allowed love back in. She has conquered the impossible. And while it is excruciating to feel so deeply because she almost lost the one she loves, it is also a reminder that it is so, so worth it.

Shuttering over a sob, May slowly drags herself over to where Jemma is still examining Skye. She slowly, carefully moves her bloody hand forward and takes Skye's tiny hand in hers. Tears spill down her face as she silently thanks whatever divine power exists for this lingering miracle. Simmons watches from inches away with tears sliding down her own face as May gently strokes Skye's cheek, reassuring herself with the warmth and color she finds there.

Finally Coulson moves forward and kneels by Skye as well, to consult with Jemma. "Will she… will she be all right?" he asks hoarsely. The other agents gather around again to hear the response.

Jemma sniffles, brushing tears away. "Well… this is a more highly concentrated Dendrotoxin formula… and it was never tested on children, of course. We should get her to a hospital."

Fitz nods and walks out right away to make arrangements for both Skye and May.

"Until then, we should just monitor her vitals and make sure she's comfortable." Jemma adds, stroking the little girl's hair gently. She looks up and meets Coulson's eyes. "But… there's no reason to think that she won't be perfectly all right, once she wakes up."

A collective sigh of relief and hope runs through the agents still remaining in the room. Mack, surreptitiously swiping away a tear, moves forward to pick Skye up. Bobbi puts a hand on his arm, having finally gained control of her emotions. Mack smiles at her. "I'll get her settled into the med bay. It'll be okay, Barbara." Bobbi nods, also swiping a few last tears away, and forces a smile.

Coulson kneels down and gently strokes Skye's cheek, then looks carefully at May. "What about you?"

Melinda nods with a shrug. "I'll be fine. I've had worse," she reminds everyone. "I'll go to the hospital with Skye."

Coulson smiles and nods, glad he doesn't have to fight her getting treatment this time… even if it's only because she wants to be by Skye's side. Mack scoops little Skye up as gently as he can, cuddling her limp body close. He rocks Skye and coos to her softly… until he catches Hunter smirking. Mack rolls his eyes and mutters, "even with the little one in my arms, I can still pummel you." Looking slightly sheepish and very much like he doesn't care to test that theory, Hunter clears his throat and turns away. He leads the way out, opening doors for Mack.

Coulson lingers a moment to share a deep, meaningful gaze with May. Finally, Phil clears his throat and says softly, "I'll have the med bay prepped for you." Melinda nods gratefully, but also hears the unspoken, "so get your ass there asap." She sighs heavily, and in a move that surprises Bobbi, Jemma and Phil, she pushes herself to standing and nods to Phil. "Gimme a hand." The Director gently helps his right-hand woman follow their sleeping daughter out.

Finally, only Morse and Simmons remain in the room. Simmons has moved over to the fallen Jefferson and is now examining him. Bobbi approaches quietly and places a hand on Jemma's back.

"He's gone. May hit the femoral artery. There's nothing we can do."

Bobbi nods. She wishes that she could drum up some grief over this, but frankly the man had made his own bed, so to speak. And, Morse's emotions are already so overwrought anyway.

Upon hearing a heavy sigh from the young woman beside her, Bobbi takes Jemma's hand and turns her to look into her eyes. With a shaking voice, she whispers, "Jemma… what you did… you could have been killed… again. He could have killed you."

Jemma's lower lip trembles as she glances back at the small pile of ash that is all that finally remains of the monster, Grant Ward. She takes a shaky breath, then looks back down at where Skye had been laying. Her features soften, then she gives a little shrug, as if to say that it would have been worth it.

Bobbi shakes her head and continues. "We almost lost Skye tonight. Perhaps May, too. And the thought that we could have lost you as well…" Morse pauses as her voice breaks, and swallows hard, another lone tear rolling down her face. "Jemma… once we get Skye settled, and we get you examined to make sure your neck is okay… you and I are going to discuss the danger that you put yourself in tonight, and I promise that you will not sit comfortably for a week."

Whereas hearing this promise just a few hours ago would have sent shivers down Simmons' spine, Jemma now simply lets out a weary laugh. "Yes, ma'am," she responds, a look of admiration and gratitude behind her eyes. "I understand. Thank you… for caring," she adds, and throws her arms around Morse in a tight hug.

….

An hour later, Skye is settled into a medical facility to finish peacefully sleeping off the Dendrotoxin in her system. May has had the bullet removed, her wound cleaned and stitched and has undergone a blood transfusion. All throughout this, she refused to leave her daughters side. The medical facility accommodates this by setting May up in a bed right next to the youngster.

This bed is close enough for May to hold her daughter's hand, which she does even as an IV is inserted into her arm to deliver antibiotics. May spends most of the night watching the little girl's chest slowly rise and fall, finding comfort in the even breathing.

Coulson stays the night with both of his 'ladies' as well, reading stories to Skye and encouraging May to actually get some sleep. Most of the time though, he just holds Skye's other hand in his while his mind reels.

He realizes now that Fury was right. Raising a 6… no, wait, 5 year-old child in a SHIELD base came hand in hand with tremendous, relentless danger. It couldn't go on. It was their fault… his fault… that this happened, that the adorable little cherub lying unconscious next to him had almost been killed. He, his organization and everyone involved with it walked around with huge targets on their backs. Coulson now spent the quiet moments considering, once again, the alternatives available that would minimize this risk.

In the meantime, Jemma has been examined for any injuries to her neck. As soon as the young scientist/doctor is cleared, she checks in on Skye and finds a bandaged-up May there telling the sleeping child a story. Simmons smiles at the scene, and gives May and Coulson a nod. When the story is finished, Jemma feels a gentle hand on her shoulder and gives a start. Bobbi had appeared silently behind her… how long she had been there is a mystery. With a kind but heavy expression, Bobbi gestures toward the door. Jemma nods her quiet acceptance, plants a soft kiss on Skye's forehead, then allows Morse to lead her out to the Zephyr. There Bobbi does indeed follow up on her promise. The S.O. puts every ounce of her care into Jemma's punishment for her recklessness. The young scientist accepts the tough love both graciously and gratefully.

Ten minutes later, Morse is cuddling Jemma on her lap just like she would Skye. The two women cry together, releasing all of the fear and pain they had experienced over the previous 24 hours. Simmons' emotional floodgates are opened wide, and she allows herself to be comforted.

...

Bobbi's promise comes true… a week later, when Skye is back to her normal, energetic and inquisitive little self, Jemma still feels a bit of a dull ache every time she sits down. Although it is uncomfortable, Jemma wouldn't change a thing. The ache is a reminder that she protected her family, and that she is loved and cared for.

A sentiment that surprisingly, little Skye seems to understand as well. Four days after the awful incident, after Skye has been back to her usual, exuberant self for over 24 hours, she receives a very similar 'discussion' from her mother. May makes it extremely clear that Skye's decision to disobey orders and leave the saferoom without permission was unacceptable. Skye accepts the fair punishment without fuss… she had expected it, really… and remains very careful with her mother's injured arm. And while unpleasant, once it is over and May is holding her daughter close, kissing away tears and whispering to her just how much she loves her and how she doesn't ever want to see her hurt, even little Skye can appreciate the lesson learned and how much she is loved.

That evening at dinner, both Skye and Jemma flinch slightly when sitting down. Jemma blushes but gives Skye a wink and she quietly brings over pillows for the two of them to sit on. The two exchange a sympathetic look and end up giggling together. May, who is helping Coulson dish up dinner, notices but chooses not to object. She simply bites back her chuckle and lets the two wayward young ladies think that they are being sneaky.

After Skye is put to bed that night, Coulson leads a meeting of the team. He starts by apologizing, profusely, to everyone. The Director reveals a level of humility that some agents have never seen. He expresses a feeling of failure. Jefferson had defected right under his nose. Their security measures had failed, allowing Ward and his henchmen in. Two good agents were lost in the battle.

Every agent can feel the weight of the world of their leader's shoulders as he accepts full responsibility for the events of several days ago. They can also sense the very real pain and grief of a father who had nearly lost his child. Thus, it doesn't come as a huge surprise when Phil finally announces that some changes will be taking place.

"Effective immediately, I am stepping down as Director of SHIELD." This announcement, however, is naturally met with dropped jaws, gasps and wide eyes. "So long as my daughter lives here, her life is at risk, and her presence naturally causes a distraction and further burden on all agents. So, Agent May and I have decided that it is time to leave the field and live a slightly more 'civilian' life with Skye."

All the other agents exchange looks. Before they can object or launch into a million questions, Coulson continues. "We have decided that we will focus on rebuilding and running the SHIELD Academy that Hydra attacked. There we can go back to recruiting the greatest minds and the best talent to the organization, and training them up right. We can do this while living in a secure safehouse, in the… suburbs." His slight cringe is lost on no one. "While not entirely risk-free, we believe this will be a much safer environment for Skye to grow up in, and we can still benefit the organization through teaching roles."

Phil Coulson pauses for a moment, then smiles around knowingly at his core team. "We will be counting on each of you to visit the Academy frequently between missions to share your knowledge, experience and expertise with cadets. And of course… to remain integral parts of Skye's life and family."

This seems to pacify the team to a certain extent. Truthfully, they had theorized that something like this might happen. May and Coulson are extremely protective of Skye, as every agent is, and thus it comes as little surprise that after the terribly close call the parents were prepared to take drastic measures to better ensure the child's safety.

As no questions or arguments are made, Coulson nods with finality. "Well then, I want you all to know… what an honor and privilege it has been, being your director these years. I'm incredibly proud of the agents… and people… you have all become. You each have risked your lives to save countless others'. You have dedicated yourselves wholly to SHIELD and to protecting those who need it. I sincerely hope that you will all stay on here and continue to do so… but if you choose not to, I will support that decision, too."

Coulson looks at Hunter, Jemma, Fitz, Bobbi and Mack in turn, a sort of fierce pride burning behind his gaze. Each agent nods their acknowledgment, though they are pained by the change and the decisions that are to come.

May nods briefly at the agents, then touches Phil's arm. The two top-level agents turn to leave when Fitz finally breaks the silence. "Sir… who is to be Director, then?"

Phil pauses and looks back. "Oh yeah, I nearly forgot. We, SHIELD, are finally returning to a former partnership, and will restructure the organization accordingly. Your new teammates will be the Avengers… and your new Director, Steve Rogers."

A bright gleam shines in his eye at being succeeded by his greatest personal hero, and the knowledge that the world's mightiest heroes, the Avengers and his own team, are finally reuniting to become Earth's last line of defense. And now, Coulson turns again and grins at May, truly ready to dedicate himself to the best cause he never imagined he always wanted: parenthood.

The End

…..

EPILOGUE

9.5 Years Later

The beautiful teenager with bright brown eyes and long shiny dark hair enters her bedroom with a smile. Her room is her sanctuary, and she pauses to look around at it. To her immediate left is a desk that holds a pile of school books, both a desktop computer and a laptop that she is constantly working on, and a personal journal hidden inside a drawer along with countless technological gadgets. To her right stands a large bookshelf filled with books, some in English, some in Mandarin, a few in Russian. She glances around the walls, on which numerous certificates are hung up boasting of her best academic achievements, along with her high school diploma, which she just earned last month. There are also trophies and medals from numerous jiu-jitsu and swimming competitions, and a bulletin board filled with pictures of her adventures from around the world. She drops her duffle bag on the floor before thinking better of it and tossing it inside her closet. She isn't about to let a telling-off by her mom ruin the wonderful mood she's in… not today.

That done, the girl happily flounces onto her bed, laying on her back and peering up at the ceiling. The ceiling is painted sky blue, with realistic-looking clouds across it. The teenager had tried telling her parents once or twice that she really had outgrown that painting, but they weren't ready to let it go, and she hadn't pressed the issue. When she is honest with herself, she knows that she would miss it too, if it is no longer there.

With a contented sigh, the girl grabs her old, battered stuffed monkey named Trip and rolls onto her side, hugging him. After a few minutes she sits up and looks out the window, checking to see if any friends are arriving yet. She sighs as no one seems to be pulling up to the house, but it's still 20 minutes until the party is starting. She allows her mind to wander.

The teen glances down at the items on her windowsill. Besides her monkey, these items are some of her most prized possessions, even if she doesn't truly understand why.

In the middle is a small hula dancer toy. The girl grins as she gives it a gentle tap and it begins to dance. She has had this toy for as long as she can remember… since she was little and spent half her time in an underground base, and the other half in an enormous airplane. Once the dancer stills again, she picks up a small, aged trinket to the right. This is a traditional Chinese charm from a necklace, with three metal coins forming a triangle. She squints at it to read the Chinese inscriptions along the edges. Her mom had explained that it would bring her good luck, and ward off evil. Given to her just after a scary encounter with a strange man nearly ten years ago, Skye has always believed in its magical ability to keep her safe.

After studying it for a minute, the teen sets it back down. She picks up a picture in a frame to the left of the hula dancer, and peers intently at it. It is a picture of her big sister, Jemma, looking slightly younger, with an arm around the shoulders of another young woman. The teenager studies the young woman carefully, running a finger lightly down the woman's long dark hair. When she came upon this photo last year, her adoptive parents explained that this was the woman she had been named after… her middle name, anyway… and she did, in fact, resemble her a great deal. They wouldn't explain what had happened to the woman named Daisy or where she is now, and the teenager had long given up trying to ask.

Just as she picks up another framed photo, one of her whole, large, wonderful family at their annual vacation at the lake, someone knocks on the teen's door. She quickly replaces the framed photo and calls out, "come in". The door opens and the girl's father walks in, followed by her mother. The teenager hops up with a smile. "Is someone here?" she asks excitedly, moving to her mirror and checking to make sure she looks all right.

Phil Coulson, Director of SHIELD, steps up behind his daughter. Glancing into the mirror with her, he says softly, "you look beautiful, Skye. And… it's not quite time yet. But it is time for something." He gently turns her around to face her mother, who is sitting on the girl's bed. Skye's smile falters as her mother beckons her over with a finger and then pats her lap.

"What?!" Skye asks in disbelief. "Aww, c'mon Mom, I'm too old for a spanking," she whines.

Melinda May shakes her head. "I disagree. And I'm your mother and what I say, goes. Come here, please."

The teenager whines again, feeling embarrassed. She turns back to her father, who's always been a bit more of a pushover. "Dad, come on… help me out here!"

But Phil sighs and shrugs his shoulders. "I learned a long time ago not to argue with your mother, sweetie. I suggest that you don't either," he advises. He pauses and plants a kiss on his daughter's forehead. "Go on. I'll see you in a few minutes," he adds with a smile, turning her back around and sending her to the bed with a pat on the back.

Skye groans softly as the door closes behind her dad. She looks pleadingly at her mother. "Oh, māma," she whines, reverting back to Mandarin as she often does when alone with her mom. "My friends will be here any minute!"

May nods. "I know, bǎo bèi. So, we'd better get this taken care of quickly," she says matter-of-factly, also in Mandarin.

With that, May takes her daughter's hand and gently guides her over her knees. Skye sighs but doesn't resist. It has been a while since she was last in this position, but she is quickly reminded of how helpless and vulnerable it makes her feel. The teen squirms slightly in protest, but Melinda just smiles and adjusts her more properly.

"You know… you are in big trouble, young lady," May states, flipping Skye's skirt up. The girl shrieks slightly, turning pink with embarrassment.

"Hey! Exactly where did these come from?" her mom asks, snapping the elastic on the pair of new, lacy black panties the girl is wearing.

Another soft groan is heard before a somewhat muffled voice responds. "Um… Aunt Bobbi," Skye admits, thinking back to her 'Girls Day Out' with her favorite aunt the day before. "We… we went shopping after our manicures and I… I sort of asked her for them."

May sighs and shakes her head, thinking she needs to have a serious chat with her fellow agent. "I see." She decides to let it go and focus on the issue at hand. "Anyway, as I was saying… you are in real trouble, Skye. I seem to remember asking you years ago to *stop growing up*. And yet every year, you insist on disobeying me, bǎo bèi."

"Sorry?" Skye can't help but giggle despite her embarrassment as her mother begins her traditional 'spanking', landing a gentle pat on her backside.

"1."

Pat.

"2."

Pat.

"3."

Skye's giggles continue as her mother 'spanks' her, until she's reached 15 pats.

"And of course, one to grow on," May adds a little strength to the final pat, making it more of a light swat.

"Hey!" Skye protests with a squirm, yet giggles again.

May smiles lovingly down at her daughter as she fixes her skirt. "That was just in case you were considering becoming a difficult teenager this year. You've been pretty good so far… I don't want that to change," she explains with a smirk, then runs her fingertips along Skye's sides.

The teenager squirms again and laughs. "It won't!" she promises, under the 'torture'. "I'll be good!" Truth be told, Skye really has very few chances to ever get into trouble. With six adults around a lot of the time, she can't get away with much, and she knows it.

Melinda chuckles. "I'm counting on it," she teases. May releases her hold, helping her daughter up. She then pulls Skye back into her lap, wrapping her arms around her. The SHIELD agent who long before intimidated and even eliminated so many smiles warmly and whispers, "I know that you may think you're becoming too grown up for stuff like this, bǎo bèi. But I'm afraid that no matter how old you become, you will always, always be my little girl."

Skye blinks. "What… I'll still be getting birthday spankings when I'm 30?!"

"So long as I can lift my hand… count on it."

The twinkle in the SHIELD Academy's Headmistress' eye and her patented smirk give her away. Skye just shakes her head and laughs.

After a comfortable moment Skye settles into her mother, whom she is now just as tall as. The teenager takes a deep breath and finds comfort in the familiar scent of jasmine that her mom likes to wear. Skye thinks briefly back to a time that she can barely remember, a time when all she ever dreamed about was this right here… a safe and happy home with a loving family to protect her and care for her. She smiles softly as May kisses her cheek and shrugs. "That's okay, I guess." Then, again reverting to her now-perfect Chinese, she adds in a whisper, "I love you, Mommy."

May's heart just about bursts. She has to swallow hard before replying back in Mandarin, "I love you too, my little bǎo bèi. Happy birthday."

The End

Thank you so much to everyone who stuck with this story over the years. And to those who waited months and even years in some cases for the next installment, I do apologize! This saga is over for now, but there will be more to come in the lil Jemma and Skye series, eventually. If this story has touched you or meant something to you, please do let me know. It warms my amateur author heart, and encourages me to write more. Thank you again, and happy reading! - SHIELDAgentMD