Warning: I was bored. Don't read this if you don't want to tear up. I had to hug my puppy after writing this.

-Illusinia

—-

"Grant! Breakfast time!"

It had become a common sound- the rapid scrambling across the floor that signalled Grant's approach. What had been almost depressing had become a noise she treasured. It meant she wasn't alone.

A second later, the brown and white lab came barreling into the room, slipping a bit on the floor as he tried to stop. He slammed into the closest cabinate as a result, but it barely fazed the two year old. Almost immediately, he righted himself and half dove for his food bowl.

Skye chuckled sadly as she watched the commotion, standing from beside the dog's bowl to lean against the counter. It wasn't the same as having Grant Ward with her, but Grant the dog helped keep some of the shadows at bay. Especially on the days when the memories struck hardest.

Tears pressed at the edges of her eyes as the memories stirred and for the first time in what felt like forever, she let them come.

—-

This wasn't supposed to happen. Things weren't supposed to go this far sideways. He wasn't supposed to get hurt protecting her. He wasn't supposed to be the good guy, even if she'd suspected he was for the past year. And she wasn't supposed to be trapped, alone, in a half collapsed building with him bleeding in her lap.

"Skye…" Ward's voice was weaker than it should have been, his normal strength gone. It sent a cold bolt of fear through her chest. "Skye…" One of his hands flew around blindly, reaching for her.

She didn't hesitate to take his hand, squeezing it gently even as her other hand remained over the bloody hole in his chest. The piece of rod iron had missed his heart, but it didn't take a genius to realize his lung was pierced. "Don't talk. Just don't."

"But-" Ward's words were cut off by a wet cough that rumbled through his chest followed by a horrible gasping noise that made Skye want to cover her ears and hum to block it out. To block everything out. She was a mature agent now though, so she resisted the urge and just squeezed his hand tighter.

"Ward, you've gotta hold still," begged Skye quietly, her hand pressing just a little tighter over his wound. "You've gotta hold still until the team gets here. Simmons will patch you up."

Something that might have been a laugh fell from Ward's throat, though it was dry and devolved rapidly into another harsh coughing fit. "I'm not going to make it out Skye."

"Yes, you will," insisted Skye, her hand tightening further on his. "They'll be here any minute."

"I'm sorry, Skye," stated Ward, ignoring her words completely. His hand pulled hers over to his lips, brushing a kiss against her knuckles. "I'm sorry you have to be here." Another harsh cough rumbled through his chest, his breathing becoming harsher by the second. "I wanted to protect you. Never thought you'd have to see this."

"It's nothing I haven't seen before, Ward," stated Skye, tears springing to her eyes as fear began to settle in her chest. She'd known he was following her; every now and then, she'd caught sight of him. Small signs he'd been around like a well placed shot that happened to save her or a shadow that disappeared around a corner, leaving only unconscious bad guys behind.

"Skye," whispered Ward, his eyes pulling slowly open. It was sluggish, another sign he was fading. Skye tried to ignore it. Where was the team? Where was Simmons? They needed Simmons there. "Skye, please. Stay."

"I'm not going anywhere, Ward," assured Skye gently, tears spilling over gently. "I'm going to stay here until the team comes. Then we'll get you out of here."

She had to believe that was going to be the case. Even when she'd hated him, she hadn't been able to imagine losing him. Just the thought had made her chest tight. And now, she felt like she could barely breathe.

Ward's fingers tightened slightly around her's as his breath rattled in his chest. It was becoming harder and harder for him to breathe; she could hear it with every passing second. His eyes slid shut again momentarily, his hand curled around her own pressing it to his lips. "I wish I could have made it up to you. Everything I did…"

"You'll get the chance, Ward," stated Skye quietly, tears freely falling now. She was losing him. He was slipping away beneath her hands and there was nothing she could do to help him. Nothing she could do to save him.

"Skye," murmured Ward, his voice wavering in and out. "I love you, Skye. Love you. Never- never wanted to hurt you."

"Ward," whispered Skye, her grip on his hand tightening. She tried to pull her hand away from his to stroke his hair. He wouldn't release her though, just kept her hand against his cheek. She didn't fight him on it.

"Wanted to protect you from darkness," continued Ward, delirium clearly beginning to set in. "You saved me from darkness. Wanted to do the same for you."

"You did save me, Ward," assured Skye softly, her throat tightening as another wet cough cut through his body. Blood dotted his lips, beginning to trickle from the corner of his mouth a little. "You saved me like you wanted to."

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Ward's lips as his eyes slid slightly open. His head shifted to kiss her had again, the motion so weak Skye could barely feel it. He didn't speak again, another harsh cough cutting through his chest, complete with more blood. But this time, his breath didn't even out. It wheezed in a way that terrified Skye. Ward's eyes never left her face though, even when his breathing slowed to a stop.

It felt like days before the team broke through the walls. Days where she was just sitting there with Ward's lifeless body, his head still in her lap and his chocolate eyes still staring up at her. Simmons told her later it was an hour at most she'd spent down there, probably less. But no matter how often she told herself that, the image of Ward's lifeless eyes staring up at her wouldn't leave her mind.

She still couldn't remember much from when the team showed up. Vaguely, she recalled someone lifting Ward's dead body out of her lap. A hand on her arm guiding her to her feet. But she couldn't take her eyes off Ward. Not when someone helped her out of the half collapsed building or when she was half lifted into a van. Not until she as led away to medical when they were safely back at the Playground.

—-

Her memory focused a little at that point. She remembered Simmons' probing and screaming at the scientist for some slight. It might have been something she said, but Skye couldn't honestly remember. She just remembered screaming at Simmons for something. Then her memory went fuzzy again. She might have lost consciousness. There might have been a sedative involved.

Time blurred for a while after that. It seemed like Ward's face was an ever-haunting element in her mind. The others had tried to talk with her- that part she could remember. Namely because it ended with her seeking solitude for a while after and almost always involved her screaming at someone. They couldn't understand her pain or the sadness that haunted her. To them, Ward was a traitor who'd deserved what he got. For her though, it was unbelievably complicated.

She'd moved out of the Playground after that. It wasn't that she was splitting with S.H.I.E.L.D.; she wouldn't do that, even after what she'd seen. But she couldn't do the field work anymore, at least not for the time being. Sitting with Ward as he died had left her feeling helpless and overwhelmed. It was a feeling she wouldn't be able to take again for a while. It's how she'd ended up living on her own. It was how she ended up with Grant.—-

The grocery was annoyingly far from her apartment; at least, it was when it rained. It wasn't really raining so much as drizzling, but she wasn't inclined to note the difference either. She'd just finished running some data for Coulson; even if she wasn't living on the Playground, she was still the best hacker they knew and Coulson had done everything in his power to make sure she had a full set-up in her apartment. She could had the NSA from her couch. It was fantastic.

Well, when she didn't run out of coffee it was. Running out of coffee meant a grocery run, because there was no way she was going the night without coffee and sleep just didn't appeal to her tonight. The nightmares had been too frequent for her to feel like sleeping.

Pausing under an awning, Skye tried to shake off some of the water and idly wondered if she should wait to see if it passed (it felt like the drizzle was on and off every five minutes) or if she should just run home. It wasn't like she'd melt from a little water, after all. But she didn't really want to get wet either. Being wet kinda sucked.

It was in that moment of pondering that she'd heard it- a faint whimper and something crashing in the alley way. She froze, eyes locked on the alley's opening as she listened for any sign of what might be slinking around the alley this late at night. More than anything, it was probably a mugger. When a second whimper followed the first though, this tailed by a metallic scratching like an animal pawing at a can, Skye carefully peered around the corner and into the darkness.

She could just make out the dog, rail thin and soaking wet. Its fur was muddy and the poor thing looked like it was starving. It couldn't be very old, half a year at most. The dog couldn't even reach the top of the can.

Skye didn't think twice before digging some beef jerky out of her shopping bag and tearing open the package. Down the alley, the dog froze in its pursuit to knock over the can, head snapping towards her wearily. She could see the shadows in it's eyes, even from as far away as she was. It was the same shadowed look she'd seen in Ward's eyes a few times and Skye's heart almost broke at the sight.

Pulling out a handful of the dried meat, Skye slowly stepped into the alley, crouching down so she was more on the puppy's level and holding out the treat. "Hey buddy, it's alright. You want some jerky?"

Wearily, the dog backpedaled a step, eying her with the marked distrust of an animal who'd been screwed over before. She could see the way it's eyes locked onto the beef though, ears dropping like it thought she'd pull the treat away. Skye just patiently knelt with the meat in her hands for a moment before shuffling a little further forward and laying the treat down between them before retreating back a bit.

The dog's eyes never left her as it slowly slinked forward wearily, quickly snatching up the treat and retreating back a bit. Skye smiled slightly, pulling off another chunk and tossing it between them again. And again, the dog carefully darted forward to snatch up the treat.

But this time, the dog didn't retreat backwards again. It stayed a few feet from her, eying the jerky back in her hand hungrily. So again, she pulled out a chunk and held it out.

Wearily, the puppy approached, though this time without as much trepidation. She could see trust slowly creeping into the animal's eyes as it took the promised treat from her hand, comping down on the dried meat happily. Without thought, Skye continued feeding pieces of jerky to the puppy, who continued to take them happily.

"You look lost buddy," remarked Skye, her voice cracking a bit as she watched the puppy. It was clearly abandoned, just like she'd been. Just like Ward had been. It was just like them. "What do you think, want to come home with me? You could get out of the rain."

The dog just took the next piece of jerky, licking her hand a little once it had scarfed down the morsel. Skye chuckled softly, hand turning over so the puppy could sniff her open palm. It's tongue darted across her fingers, licking the taste of jerky from her hand. Skye offered it another piece. "I'm guessing that's a yes, huh?"

Again, the dog scarfed down the bit, but this time, instead of offering another piece, Skye reached carefully out like she was going to pet the puppy. It flinched a little, but didn't back away as Skye's fingers brushed against its back. After a second, it even curled closer against her fingers. For a few minutes, Skye knelt there in the rain, petting the puppy's fur and ignoring the pelting rain. When it turned to nudge her hand for more food, Skye fished out another piece of the jerky and held it out to the puppy. Immediately, it took the food, this time even going so far as the yip happily.

"C'mon buddy, let's get inside," murmured Skye softly, standing slowly. The puppy whined a little, but when Skye moved a little bit away and held out another piece of jerky, the puppy figured out it needed to follow her.

—

Grant's bark snapped Skye out of her thoughts, her attention returning to the dog sitting in front of her. His tail wagged cheerily, tongue lolling out contently as he stared up at her hopefully. And Skye knew what he wanted- he wanted outside.

For a moment, Skye hesitated as she considered what she had to do that day. The thoughts were dismissed just as quickly, her had grabbing Grant's leash. There was nothing she needed to do today that couldn't be done later. A walk couldn't hurt.

Who knew, maybe with Grant along, she could even bring herself to stop by the graveyard and visit Ward.