Okay, so while "Yes Men" was a great episode, there was one gaping mistake by the writers, which I know was noticed by a lot of people and not only me. For all intents and purposes, Ward was raped. And did anyone think to ask if he was okay? No. He got punched in the face and he APOLOGIZED.

So in this chapter I'm channeling my anger at the callousness of the SHIELD writers and made this little conversation between Ward and Skye. This is partly because I like Skyeward, but mostly because I think she would be the most understanding about it all.

Grant Ward shot upright in bed, panting and covered in sweat. The bunk was completely dark. He tried to swallow the thick, fuzzy sleep from his throat, to no avail. The sheets clung to his skin where they were tangled around his legs.

After catching his breath, Ward lay back down and closed his eyes. But as soon as he did, instead of his stuffy bunk, he was back in that dimmed Vegas hotel room. Her hot breath on his neck, her sweat rubbing onto his chest as their skin pressed together, her hands tugging his hair…

He opened his eyes again and threw off the covers, getting out of bed. His alarm clock read 4:45 in the morning. Early enough to be awake, he thought. He picked up something to read from his nightstand and quietly opened the door to his bunk.

The cool, circulating air of the open common area was a relief. It made him feel more awake. He went to the kitchen and dug out a pitcher of iced tea, pouring himself a glass. Coffee would have been a better choice to keep him awake, but the last thing he wanted was something hot. A glass of ice-cold scotch was tempting, but he wasn't dumb enough to drink in the morning.

Ward turned on a lamp as far from the bunks as possible. He sat down with his book and began reading.

He wasn't keeping track of time, but it must've been five or ten minutes later when he heard another bunk door slide open and someone shuffle towards the common area. He looked up to see a bleary-eyed Skye in her pajamas and a fleece sweater zipped almost to her neck. Her hair was coming loose from its braid.

"Ward?" she said huskily. "What're you doing up?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

Skye rubbed her eyes and got a bottle of water from the fridge. "I heard someone moving around out here. And I'm thirsty." She carefully sat down a couple feet from Ward, wincing as she did so. She put a hand on her stomach. "Damn."

Ward furrowed his eyebrows. "Are you okay?"

"Are you?" she asked. "It's freezing in here and you're sweating. Please don't tell me you're working out in the middle of the night."

"You're cold because your body's healing. And no," he added. "I wasn't working out." He pulled his sticky t-shirt away from his chest and fanned himself, but it did little to alleviate the heat still prickling across his skin. He tried to keep reading, figuring Skye would want to go back to sleep. He glanced up when he didn't hear her move; she was studying him carefully.

"Nightmare?" she asked. The grogginess was disappearing from her voice. Ward found himself unable to break eye contact; he noticed her eyes were really dark brown in this light. But her question caused him to think unwillingly of his time under Lorelei's spell. Her voice ringing through his mind, her lips against his own…

He took a shuddering breath. Blood pounded in his ears.

Skye could tell something was wrong, but she wasn't surprised. She hadn't been given all the details, but it had only been a week since Ward was under Lorelei's spell. Even though he was strong, anyone would have bad dreams for a while after going through that. He delayed breaking eye contact with her and didn't respond to her question. But then, Ward never did much unnecessary talking.

Without thinking, Skye reached for his arm but stopped when his muscles involuntarily clenched. She glanced at his face, and back at his tense hand, inches from her own outstretched fingers. "Oh god," she realized. He purposefully relaxed his fist, and she withdrew her hand.

After a pause, she asked cautiously, "Ward, when Lorelei had you under her spell, did she… make you sleep with her?"

Ward felt frustration rise in his chest, but he swallowed it down. He almost didn't reply. "Yes. But she didn't make me do it; I wanted it."

"Then I suppose you also wanted to throw May through a pane of glass? And lock me and Simmons in the medical pod?" He was silent, so she continued, "She invaded your head and made you do all sorts of stuff you wouldn't have otherwise. Forcing someone into sex with mind control – that's just sick."

"It wasn't rape, Skye." Ward leaned forward, looking her in the eye. He was careful not to stay calm and keep his voice quiet – the last thing either of them needed was an argument. "And it wasn't mind control. I'm not diminishing her actions. But what she did…was influence my motivation. My decisions were still my own."

Skye sat back, thinking. "Okay. Maybe that's how to felt at the time. But what about now?" She scooted closer to him and reached out again. "I'm not going to hurt you. Just trust me okay?"

He nodded. She slowly pressed her hand against his chest, starting with her fingertips and then to her palm. He took a deep breath. His heartbeat was strong, hot, and fast. Too fast.

She looked him in the eyes. "You can tell me. Or not. But I really don't think you're fine."

He stared at her hand, an intensity written in his features that she's glimpsed only a couple times before. He removed her hand from his heart. Her palm rested on his knee, with his fingers covering hers gently. His eyes were focused downward.

"I'm not," he admitted. "I feel guilty. I betrayed my team and slept with the enemy. And I wanted to. I – I liked it."

Her eyes continued to probe him. He felt her fingers gently rub his wrist.

"I liked it. And now, it disgusts me." Ward felt like his insides were twisting.

Skye gripped his hand properly. "I get it. It's because she used you and violated your right to your own body. It's…confusing…because she used manipulation instead of force."

Ward was very aware of Skye's hand against his skin. His insides were still twisting. "You get it?" he asked thickly.

"I grew up with orphans and foster kids. I've seen a lot of scars that I can never, ever un-see." Skye let go of his hand to take a drink of water. "I can't make you feel better. But you shouldn't feel responsible for what happened, because you're a man or a badass or whatever reason. Be disgusted with her."

Ward had no words to reply to that. He nodded to show that he understood. The room seemed a little cooler than it had several minutes ago.

Skye gave a huge yawn.

"Go back to bed, Skye."

"Right." She got up. "Can't evade sleep forever."

Ward didn't go back to bed that night. And for the next many nights, he slept little and uneasily. But when he awoke from nightmares, he was no longer ashamed, but frightened. And gradually, night after night, the fear dwindled until it was gone too.

I hope you guys liked this.

Look guys, the majority of sexual assault victims are probably women and girls. However, it's male victims who really get the shortest end of the stick here. Societal expectations make assaulted boys feel ashamed and emasculated and responsible, and men are assumed to be willing to do anything to get some. The fact is they're just as easily scarred from nonconsensual sexual experiences as women.

While I get the reasoning that Ward wouldn't have been traumatized because he thought he desired it, the manipulation would at the least leave him with confused feelings and anxiety. What you read here is my take on how, if the writers weren't being stupid, those emotions would have manifested themselves in Ward.

-Reyna S