We're finally here... the end of another story! I am definitely liking the multi-chapter fanfics and I'm happy that I've decided to try out my hand at one more before progressing onto my first ever AoS full-length fic! More on that later, for now, Thank You to all my readers Hofherrp, trekhead, austexfan, byLunaA and before I forget (again!) to my 2 guest reviewers Ace and Garretlover, apologies for not saying thanks earlier! I didn't realize I had to moderate the reviews before they showed up here! Time for the last chapter, its a long one and is set at the very end of 1x15 "Yes, Men" when Coulson & Skye have their talk and because we want to keep it personal and private, there is no May spying on the conversation from her secret phone-line okay? ^_^

Disclaimer: I do not own anything!

Skye was still in the med-pod being checked up on by Simmons who insisted that she stay there for another day at the very least; in spite of having healed well enough and getting plenty rest, she knew better than to argue with her doctor. After all, it wasn't everyday that Skye got shot and nearly died only to be healed by some miracle drug that her team had recovered for her. There was only one thing she had been told, this cure was what had brought Coulson back to life and on learning that, she now was aware of the fact that the two of them were linked in another way. Sighing deeply to herself, the young hacker lay back on the pillow, closing her eyes as she waited for Simmons to make her rounds for the night; from what little information she'd managed to learn... Lady Sif was here, on the Bus along with another Asgardian, Lorelei. Using her skills to help the team was all she had managed to do and while it had been enough to keep her distracted then, there was nothing holding her thoughts back anymore. Everything from the last few weeks came crashing back to her... the visit to the S.H.I.E.L.D. academy which had led to her finding out more of the truth about her past from Coulson, tracking Ian Quinn to an express train in Italy with the rest of the team resulted in her following him to his mansion where she had been shot and ever since then, all she could remember was flashes of memories as the events of that incident continued to come back to her in bits and pieces; lying in a coma and then finding herself awake by some miracle was supposed to have helped keep her mind off other things... like the fact that Coulson had only visited her once ever since she had been in here, not counting the first night he had spent watching over her, something Fitz had mentioned when he happened to be coming to visit her.

Coulson. The feelings were still there, not leaving her heart nor her mind anytime soon and yet she had stayed true to her decision; each time she thought she had an opportunity to say something, Skye immediately sealed her lips. She was done trying. There was nothing to be done about it anymore and she was going to do her best to accept this fact. All these thoughts were interrupted when she heard FitzSimmons walk in and Skye couldn't help but jump up when she saw Fitz with a black eye grumbling about something to Simmons.

"Lorelei." Was all Simmons said to Skye as she tried to hide her grin. Folding her arms across her chest, Skye watched as Fitz took out his cell phone and began checking his bruise all the while listening to Simmons trying to make him feel better.

"I'm not saying you were weak." She started to say, "I'm saying all men are weak." Referring to the fact that even Ward had been enchanted by Lorelei, Simmons thought it would work on Fitz but to no avail.

Just then, Skye noticed that they weren't alone. Fitz turned around and Simmons glanced up to see that Coulson was standing at the entrance.

"Sir, I understand why you had to punch me. I forgive you." Fitz said solemnly to his boss.

"Can I get a moment alone with Skye please?" Coulson politely requested instead of saying anything else. He had come to talk to her about something important, everyone could see that.

"Yeah..." Fitz nodded as he and Simmons walked out quietly, Skye watched as he turned to close the door of her room and immediately felt a change in the air between them. This was serious.

She sat down on the bed, trying to appear normal around him like she had been all this while, tucking her left leg under her right one. As he walked over to stand across her, Skye observed the look he had; it was one she had seen before. He seemed unsure of how to say what he had come for.

"I know that face and something gives me the feeling I should be sitting down for this."

Coulson sighed before replying, "I've been looking for a way to tell you this, looking around for some answers, something to help... explain..." The words weren't coming out right, how was he supposed to reveal to her what he knew? "But I don't have any." He finally admitted.

Skye was confused now. She had no idea what she was expecting but seeing Coulson like the way he was in front of her at this very moment, she resisted the urge to reach out and hold his hand... again. She waited, knowing there was more.

"So... The drug; the one that saved us both..." He started to say and when he saw Skye give him a slight nod as if to urge him on, "When we found it, I discovered something else. Its source." Pausing only for a second, he continued, "It was... alien."

For a split second Skye wasn't sure she heard him correctly. "A... alien." She repeated, "As in... unfamiliar?" The worry in her voice was obvious to both of them as she heard it shake.

"No." That was all Coulson could say to her. He knew that this was a lot to take in and she was definitely shocked to hear what he was telling her.

"Wow." Skye didn't know how else to react; this was big. Bigger than anything she could have expected to learn. About herself.

"The minute I learned what it was, I tried to keep them from injecting you with it but I was too late." He exclaimed, "I'm sorry Skye..." Coulson truly meant every word he said to her and yet was slightly taken aback when he noticed Skye looking at him, gently shaking her head.

"You were trying to save my life." She told him, "You did save my life." Who cared about where the drug came from? She was still here and alive... because of him.

"I was desperate to. And so I subjected you to unknown ramifications or side-effects!" He hadn't expected Skye to react to this news so calmly, he himself felt shaken up over the discovery of that alien at the Guest House.

"I'm sorry to say this... sir, but, so what?" Skye hadn't really ever called him 'sir' because with them it had always been 'A.C' and yet she knew that at this point, she had to reassure him that whatever the side-effects were, the main thing was that they both were safe. "We are alive. And you've had that stuff in you for... uh... some time now and you're okay right?" He stared at her, listening to what she was saying, "Plus you're not sprouting a pointy tail or anything so... bonus there." She added the last comment of hers hoping it would be light enough to settle the mood around them.

"I know nothing fazes you but this should faze you!" Coulson was still puzzled by Skye's demeanor. "We are completely in the dark on this!" How could she not realize how serious this was?

"That's where we live." Skye knew that this revelation was affecting him a lot more than it was her, "I'm an 0-8-4, who knows what the hell that means?" After learning about her status, this was just another thing of unknown variables she didn't know anything about. "At least we're in the dark together." That had to mean something to him as well.

"Yes." Coulson knew they both were together in this. "But not for long," He had made him his mind already about what their next step was going to be, "To hell with any protocols or any code I used to be bound by, we have a long list of questions we need answers for and we are going after them ourselves." He was determined to see this to the end, no matter what the consequences would be.

"Well if the team is up for it..." She started to say but was cut off mid-sentence.

"No. No, listen to me." He closed the distance between them as he stood mere inches away from her, "I trust them but we need to protect them from this." It was imperative that Skye realized how crucial this mission was. "Fury went to dangerous lengths to keep this under wraps... lied to me, lied to S.H.I.E.L.D. This is a powerful secret. A secret men died for; until we know why, we can't share this with anyone. For their safety and ours."

Skye nodded her head, she believed his words and knew they were true. "Got it." This was going to be their secret from now on. "So what will it be A.C? What do we go after first?"

"The person responsible for this." He answered, pointing to her stomach where the remenants of her injury remained. "I'm going to make him pay."

Knowing that this meant they were going to go after Ian Quinn, Skye was more aware of the fact that as of this moment, everything was personal for her and for Coulson. She had seen him angry before, but this was different; he meant every word of taking revenge against the man who had shot her and for a second, Skye let herself believe that there was more to his reasoning than just what it was on the surface - hurting one of his team members meant they would be hurt as well. It was a brief flicker that vanished as quickly as it entered her mind, but was surprised when she saw him sit down beside her on the bed.

A minute or two passed between them in silence as Skye quietly watched Coulson calm himself before looking towards her. The change was almost a blink-and-miss thing, but she caught on fast. She knew now that the man sitting there was her old A.C once again. Something else was on his mind and she wondered if she should ask for details.

"You never cease to amaze me, you know that?" His soft voice surprised her as she heard those words and widened her eyes, wondering where this was coming from.

"Wha...?" Skye began to speak and was interrupted once again, but this time she felt his finger touch her lips slightly and saw him shake her head.

"Let me finish... I know you need your rest and there's a lot I have to do, but there's something I wanted to say to you and it'll only take a minute." He waited for a response and actually smiled when he saw her nod her head once. "When I came in here to see you, it was only to talk about work... but... when I saw the way you reacted to all that I just told you, everything about this made me realize just how unique you are."

"A.C..." She couldn't help herself, this side of Coulson was one she didn't recognize and she already felt her heartbeats increasing, unsure of where this was going.

"Skye... you've been through hell and back in this last week, yet you choose to remain strong and brave because that is who you are. I know that a part of you must be feeling scared but you don't let that side overrule you; its one of the many reasons why I was always drawn to your brightness. You're like a light that can shine in the midst of the darkest places, you face any obstacle head on and you've never given up on anyone, not even yourself." He paused for a second there, gazing into her eyes and seeing her stunned expression, "I don't know if you know this but... I was the one who found you in Quinn's basement that day... and ever since then I haven't been able to stop blaming myself for you getting shot. If there was anything I could have done to change..."

"Don't." This time it was Skye who shushed him, not brave enough to put her finger on his lips but she knew her words were enough. "Don't blame yourself for what happened to me." She may not have known about this fact until now but a part of her had thought about the possibility that maybe she had heard him calling out to her when she was losing herself to the cold darkness, "We both know that if you had been there then Quinn could have shot you as well. And there was no stopping me when my mind is made up. Whatever happened, it was my decision. And I don't regret anything because at the end of it all, you were the one who saved me and that... that is something I'll always be thankful for."

"Fair enough... but... I know how this is going to sound; I didn't... I haven't... what I want to tell you is... it might seem like its coming from me after your shooting but its not... I just... it took me too long to realize how important you are to me and I know that if I wait any longer, I'll regret not saying it earlier." Coulson reached out to touch her hand that was on the bed with his and clasped it gently. Looking up to meet Skye's gaze, there was only a heartbeat of silence between them before he spoke again, "I love you Skye."

"Coulson..." Her voice was barely a whisper as she heard those words coming from his lips.

"I know its a lot to take in and maybe not something you were expecting to hear. From me. But... I needed... I wanted... I had to tell you how I felt because the moment I saw you in that basement, it felt like someone had killed me all over again. That was when I accepted my feelings for you which had been growing ever since... a long time. I couldn't lose you Skye... I wouldn't have been able to... I... I've loved you from the very beginning, even though I didn't realize it until later. I just wanted you to know how I felt." He had said it and now he waited, watching the young hacker, wondering if he could figure out what she would say to him.

Skye listened to Coulson without saying a word as she let the meaning of all that he had confessed to her sink in. After months of trying, after months of failing, after months of not being able to say the words to him, she had definitely not expected to hear him say those three words, eight letters to her. But he had. Twice. She was vaguely aware that she still hadn't spoken and that his gaze was on her even now. Would she say it now? Could she actually get the words out at last now that she knew he felt the same way? Was there nothing stopping her this time? It felt like ages when she finally reacted, and it was completely on an impulse; the hand that was free from his touch grabbed him by the collar as she pulled him for a kiss. Not believing the words she'd heard Skye brushed her lips against his for a second before pulling back oh-so-slightly to meet his eyes; she was barely able to register his smile before feeling his hands cupping her cheeks as he closed the distance between them again with a deeper kiss. When they broke apart for a breath of air, she rested her forehead against his, a smile on her face that reached her eyes as she finally spoke.

"I love you too A.C." After four tries, the fifth time proved to be the one that had worked out in the end. Settling into his arms as he lay on the bed with his arms around her waist, Skye and Coulson soon fell asleep together.

Fin. Reviews are always welcome! I do suppose its quite alright to give a little teaser about the fic that'll follow 'First Times' over the next few weeks, everything is almost planned out but in order to keep the suspense up all I'll reveal now is that it'll be a complete AU fic not set in the AoS world of canon episodes and scenes, obviously Coulsye pairing cause I can't seem to write anything else just yet! More details on this will come when I'm writing the next story! xD