NOTE: I'm actually weaving together AOS, the films, and the comics. The Asgardians really do have the abilities I describe in this story. I wish I owned the characters. Sadly, I don't.

"Do you see Phillip, son of Coul?" Sif asked Heimdall, as they looked over the edge of the Rainbow Bridge in Asgard.

"Yes, he is enduring much pain as they try to repair the damage."

She sighed and lowered her eyes for a moment. "Keep me informed of his recovery. His time grows near."

...-...

"Are you okay, Skye? It's your turn," said Simmons.

Skye realized she had been staring at the stairs leading to Coulson's office and turned back to the board to see what was played, never looking at the other woman. "Yeah, I'm okay." Technically she was, but there were several things bothering her.

Coulson had spent so much time alone since his capture, and when he did spend time with them, he talked and smiled little. In contrast, he used to spend time with the team in the evenings, talking; laughing; watching something on TV; or playing a game. She missed his presence, like now, as she sat playing UpWords with Ward and Fitz-Simmons. She saw Coulson as a father-type figure, a surrogate father she never knew, and she wanted to help him somehow.

"He just needs more time," she heard Ward say in a quiet voice, the modus operandi when they discussed Coulson since his rescue. Ward said the same thing the other day before they went to the Academy, but that was before she found out a few things that the others most likely didn't know.

Her heart wasn't really in this game right now, so she didn't search too hard for a way to use her letters. However, she did see a way to use her "U." She picked it up and put it on top of the "I." Fitz-Simmons were so much better at this game than she could ever hope to be, and she had yet to beat them.

"Eleven," said Fitz, who was recording the score.

Skye nearly spoke over him, not caring about the points. "Why would S.H.I.E.L.D. tell someone Coulson died when he didn't?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted the Avengers to believe it to motivate them to fight for a common cause."

"Yes, I understand that part, but why keep up the lie that he died?"

"It's S.H.I.E.L.D. protocol. The Avengers don't know that he isn't dead. S.H.I.E.L.D. is worried how the Avengers will take the news."

"But what about someone he was in love with?"

Ward motioned them to move into the kitchen area, which put a little distance between them and Coulson's office.

She followed and continued, "Why can't he let her know he is alive?"

"It's still S.H.I.E.L.D. protocol to keep up the façade," Simmons said, drawing Skye's attention.

"That's horrible and stupid," Skye proclaimed, looking at each of them. "So Coulson sacrificed himself and lost nearly everything of his former life? The people he knew who weren't S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

Ward answered, "Technically, only Level 7s and up are supposed to know he's alive. Obviously, present company excepted."

She was beginning to understand the recordings, but that didn't mean she had to like this. "It's like he's being punished for being a hero." Looking around at the others, while they didn't say anything, she saw the sadness in their eyes.

"Was he married? Does he have children?" Simmons asked.

"No," Ward said. "But he was in love with a beautiful cellist in the Portland Symphony – second chair."

"Have you seen her?" Skye asked Ward.

"No, but he told me about her."

For whatever reason, Skye found that surprising. She wondered if she could just go ask Coulson, and he'd be as forthcoming with her. Doing this the easy way, she started to walk away.

"Are we done playing?" Fitz asked. "If we are, I won."

"Oh, Fitz..." Simmons began before Skye interrupted, not caring who won.

"I'm getting my computer. I'll be right back," Skye said with excitement.

"The cellist is obviously very good," Skye heard Simmons say.

"How do you know?" Ward asked.

"First chair is the best, most experienced cellist. Then, second chair is next."

Skye made some mental notes of this woman while she went to her cabin. When she came out, Ward and Fitz-Simmons were sitting back around the game. She joined them and booted up her laptop.

"Whose turn?" Ward said.

"Yours," Simmons replied.

Not paying attention to the game, Skye brought up a browser window and started searching to find Coulson's former girlfriend. She had her own mission now to find out about this woman. A few search refinements and she had information in two different browser windows. "Here. Her name is Ana Maximoff." Skye turned the laptop, so the others could see.

"Coulson can pick 'em," Ward said. Everyone agreed.

One window contained a newspaper article about the woman with a black and white photo, talking about her upcoming move from New York to Portland, which was dated February 13, 2012. Another window showed a color photo of the beautiful woman, who looked to be in her early thirties. Her long, wavy, dark hair was a striking contrast against the long, vibrant, scarlet dress.

Skye turned the laptop back to read the article. According to it, the woman was ten years older than she looked. "I'd like to contact this woman and get to know her."

"Leave this alone, Skye," Ward warned. "She can't know about Coulson."

"I would be the one talking to her, and I wouldn't mention anything about him."

"This just doesn't sound like a prudent plan," Fitz said and Simmons agreed. "I think you're asking for trouble. What would it accomplish anyway?"

"There may be some way to give each of them closure."

"Don't talk to her," Ward said with a stern look. "That's an order."

"All right." Skye shrugged and thought about alternative options. She had found that Po and Raina recorded their torture sessions with Coulson on the equipment he asked her to look at before handing it over to big S.H.I.E.L.D. What she didn't tell him was that she listened to what they had done to him. That he had no family, except for S.H.I.E.L.D., and the fact that he couldn't talk to the woman he loved really saddened her. She could relate in so many ways.

Then there was May. Skye was pretty sure that Coulson was in love with her. She covertly watched his behavior around May, especially after the way he became emotional when talking about how the older woman got the nickname "The Cavalry." However, Skye knew that Ward and May were having sex, and Coulson knew it too. Not much escaped the senior agent, as observant as he was. Among other things, she and Coulson had accidentally overheard a conversation between Ward and May shortly after they encountered that berserker staff. Skye saw Coulson lower sad eyes and move away, just one of several incidents substantiating her belief about Coulson's feelings.

Did May know Coulson was in love with her? It was a question Skye kept wondering. The older woman was a deep freeze. Why Ward was attracted to her was a mystery. Coulson's attraction to May, Skye could understand, as he knew the woman before the Bahrain incident when she had a warm personality.

Skye had to come up with a plan for the next part of her mission.