When Skye was administered the cure, her condition quickly stabilized. Albeit her blood pressure was low, her vitals functioned normally, her breathing was steady, and a bit of color returned to her skin. This satisfied Dr. Simmons, which put the team a little more at ease. However, Skye did not wake up.

After that she was rarely left alone. Simmons would frequently be monitoring her unchanging condition, taking the same meticulous notes daily and triple-checking the equipment, much to the doctors' annoyance. She was adamant on keeping an eye on her injured friend, however, and they had no choice but to respect her Level 5 superiority. She eventually concluded that Skye was still unconscious due to mild brain damage from her time in the chamber, but was healing.

Agent Ward spent exactly an hour sitting next to Skye's bed each day after his workouts, when he was sore to his bones and had sweated out half the electrolytes in his body. He always arrived between two and four o'clock in the afternoon, depending on how long it took him to get tired. Occasionally he sat and read for a while. He always put the book down, though, before long. Very often he was there at the same time that Simmons was. Even though she tended to talk out her nerves, Ward never spoke. His eyes never left Skye's face. And he always laid his hand over her wrist, gently rubbing the back of her hand, near the end of his visits.

Coulson sometimes spent hours standing outside Skye's room. He watched her through the window with his unending gaze. This was usually when he couldn't sleep at night, and paid her an impromptu visit. The SHIELD personnel hesitated to let him inside the facility the first time, but let him in after a glance at his badge. A few times, he went inside during the day, leaned against the wall or sat on the edge of her bed, and talked to her. He told her stories she might have liked to hear. Skye always did like to talk. He figured that the social stimulus may help her out of the coma. It was strange to be in a room with Skye and have the room be silent; which is why Coulson usually avoided going inside, preferring to stand outside and watch her.

Fitz spent most of his time working in the lab to keep himself busy, and persistently dragged Jemma with him to keep her busy as well. They both needed the distraction of their work. He, however, knew better than anyone of Skye's pleasure in company. So he visited when no one else was with her. Either when Ward was still hitting his punching bag or reading, and Coulson was elsewhere, he'd set Jemma to work on a project that he knew would keep her engaged and occupied and as content as possible, and pay a visit to Skye. Of all her visitors, he was the most positive and the most talkative. He would bring gadget components of his unfinished projects and explain to her their purposes, and the problems he was having getting them right. On late-evening visits her brought books and read aloud to her, like a brother reading a bedtime story to his ill kid sister. One morning he brought speakers and an iPod full of Skye's favorite jazz music.

A vase of fresh gerbera daisies was always on her bedside table. Agent May had put them there. When they began to wilt she turned up and replaced them. The first bouquet was composed of orange and red flowers. The second were yellow and pink. May walked into Skye's room every evening at five-thirty on the dot, and made sure the vase was full of water and the flowers weren't brown. It had been twelve days since Skye received her cure and stabilized, and Jemma was checking on her status. Agent May unceremoniously walked through the door with a bouquet in her hands. The stems had been trimmed diagonally and were all similar lengths. She walked to the bedside table and pulled the wilting daisies out of their vase and replaced them with the green and white ones she had. She stood for a moment and asked when Skye would wake up. When Simmons replied that it should be any day, May straightened a corner of the blankets and walked out of the ward again.

Three days later the daisies were still vibrant and fresh. Ward was taking his unofficial late afternoon shift with All Quiet on the Western Front in his lap. Fitz's iPod dock was playing quietly in the background. So settled was he in this tense routine that he almost didn't notice a very faint rustling noise. He glanced up; no one was at the door, and Skye was still. He went back to reading, and then heard it again, this time certain he'd seen Skye's fingers twitch. He set the book aside and scooted closer to the bed. Her head moved an inch, readjusting its position on her pillow. At this point Ward grabbed her hand with both of his own. Her fingers curled around his.

"Skye? Skye, can you hear me?" He gently rubbed her wrist as he watched her face. After several tense moments, Skye breathed one long, deep breath, and fluttered open her eyes.

"Simmons!" he shouted urgently. "Simmons, get over here!" Skye blinked at him and opened her mouth as if trying to speak, but gave up.

Simmons rushed into the hospital room in a panic. "What? What's happened? Has something gone wrong? Is she alri – " She stopped dead in her tracks. "Oh my god," she breathed. "You're awake." Skye gave her a look that was almost a smile. Jemma walked quickly towards the equipment, grabbing Skye's medical clipboard as she went. "I need to check your vitals. Are you feeling okay? Does it hurt anywhere?"

Skye tried to speak again, but grimaced instead. Ward told her, "Don't strain yourself. You've been out for almost two weeks." She nodded her head once, as though saying yes, sir.

"And for God's sakes Ward, do not scare me like that." Simmons pointed at him with her pen. "I thought she'd gone into cardiac arrest or something."

"Bastard shot me." Ward and Jemma both looked at Skye. Her voice was thin and raspy. "Where's Quinn? Hang on – is that Frank Sinatra?"

Jemma smiled. "That was Fitz's idea." Skye smiled back.

Ward carefully let go of Skye's hand and stood. "I'm going to tell the others you're awake."

Simmons said, "Tell them one at a time, alright? I don't want more than two people in here at a time, including myself."

He nodded. As he walked away, he heard Skye ask hoarsely who'd left the gerbera daisies and how they knew she liked them.