Dog Shows

Ward wasn't a huge TV guy; Skye had discovered this when she'd tried repeatedly to get him to sit and watch shows with the rest of the team. His snoring had drowned out most of the season premiere of Doctor Who, much to Fitz and Simmons horror. When she'd asked why, he'd given many reasons- being stuck in the woods for five years, his mother who wouldn't let him as a child, and his repeated visits out of the country for SHIELD. He just didn't do TV. Trip and Mack had managed to get him to watch sports a few times, but he generally wasn't interested. Period.

The first clue that he wasn't completely anti-TV came at Thanksgiving of all things.

The team was spending the normal family holiday together for a slew of varying, personal reasons: Skye had never had a place to go, Coulson's parents were long dead, May refused to leave Coulson alone, Fitz refused to go home in his condition, Simmons refused to leave Fitz, and Ward...well, it was complicated to say the least. Skye wasn't even sure he knew where his normal siblings were. Bobbi, Lance, and Mack had all stuck around as well, though none offered a reason. Neither had Trip.

Regardless of the reasons though, everyone had spent the day cooking together in preparation for that evening. Or trying to cook in some cases. Ward's idea to roast the bird on a spit over the burners had been nixed by Coulson quickly while Simmons and Fitz were barred from testing their new solution that would 'instantly cook' the bird. Coulson had ended up having them bake a pie while Ward supervised to make sure nothing strange ended up in the batter (though Skye suspected Ward wouldn't know what was supposed to go in a pie to begin with).

After one or two small (read- not small) fires and a few run-ins with the smoke alarms, the meal had been ready (albeit, a bit crispy in places) and everyone had settled in to eat. Skye was pretty sure she'd had less tense interrogations. Still, they all made it out without anyone killing Ward or Lance (though Lance at least deserved the one head slap that nearly sent him face-first into a piece of pie) and everyone had proceeded to begin the clean up.

Which was when Skye noticed Ward became twitchy. His eyes kept flicking up to the door out into the hall like he really wanted to escape and his focus seemed far less keen than normal. About the fourth time he nearly tripped in his rush to help clear the dishes, Skye finally stopped him outside the kitchen with three dirty platters and a bowl balanced in his arms. Mostly because if they dumped cranberry sauce on the floor, Coulson would make them mop the whole thing.

"Ward, what's up?" asked Skye curiously, raising her eyebrow as she squeezed his upper arm gently with one hand and swiped the cranberry bowl with the other.

Ward's eyes flicked to the doors again, like they did every time he passed them, before he shook his head and offered Skye a faint smile. It was tense though, not reassuring like she was pretty sure it was supposed to be. "Nothing's up, Skye."

"Really?" challenged Skye in disbelief. "Because you keep looking at the door every time you pass and you've almost tripped four times in the last seven minutes."

Taking a deep breath, Ward nodded once and turned back towards the kitchen. It was a quick motion though, his attempt to escape the conversation. Seriously, what was going on? "I promise, nothing's wrong Skye."

She let it go at that point, not really wanting to turn this into a thing in front of the others. Ward appreciated his privacy and whatever was getting to him had to be personal. Maybe he was expecting a call from his brother or sister. It would explain why he seemed so anxious. It was almost like he needed to be done with the dishes by a certain time.

Her theory about the time limit was further confirmed when his anxiety seemed to spike once they'd cleared the table. Still, he didn't bolt from the room either. Instead, he stood there waiting to be dismissed once he'd dropped his last armful of dishes onto the counter beside the sink.

Bobbi and Jemma had volunteered to wash the dishes, Skye suspected so they could have some gossip time. When the fact that Bobbi had PhD in biology had come out, Simmons nearly swooned. The two had struck up quite a friendship. Skye would have suspected more, but she'd seen the security footage of Bobbi with Lance in the car bay the one time and knew for a fact Bobbi was in contact with some guy named Clint who she seemed more than a little friendly with now.

Regardless of the reasoning though, the two women absolved everyone else of any dish duties, though May silently took up a towel and began drying dishes beside Simmons all the same. No one argued with the stone-faced woman; they just let her do what she wanted to. That was usually safest.

Skye turned towards Ward to ask what he wanted to do, but the other agent was already gone. Apparently, he'd given in to whatever was making him so edgy. She was honestly surprised he hadn't bolted before then.

Shrugging, she followed Fitz, Trip, Lance, and Mack from the room, Coulson trailing behind them. "So what should we do now?"

"Football?" suggested Mack, glancing back at Trip and Skye. "I know there's a game on."

"Ugh, sports?" asked Skye with a bit of a whine. Sports were only fun when she had her tablet. That way she could play on it while the boys watched and she still got to laugh at Mack and Trip's bad dance moves (they always did that when someone got a touch down).

"You could always find something else to do," pointed out Lance as they approached the lounge.

"Right, because there's something funnier in this base than watching Trip and Mack attempt end-zone dances that make them look like flailing birds," countered Skye, shaking her head. "I just don't like the actual game part, it's so boring."

"Hey guys, did one of you leave the TV on?" asked Trip curiously, slowing a bit as they approached the lounge. Sure enough, the TV was flickering in the lounge- she could see the light under the closed door. Huh, well that was weird. She'd turned it off herself when she'd left the room and the only other person still around who wasn't with the group was Ward.

"You think Ward is watching something?" wondered Mack, slowing with Trip. The rest of them followed suit, except for Lance who just didn't seem to care. It had proven to be a repeated problem. Ward wasn't exactly the most mentally normal of the group and every once in a while he'd still react in some way they weren't expecting. Usually triggered by Lance. And usually landing either Ward or Lance in medical.

"Don't care, I want to see the game," stated Lance, as he reached for the door. The flickering light disappeared seconds before Lance threw the door open and Skye could hear someone scrambling inside the room.

Sure enough, when she glanced in around Lance, Ward was sitting on the couch and trying to act nonchalant. There was a book in his hand, but it didn't take a genius to realize the book was a cover. For one thing, it was upside down and, for another, it was the bad romance novel Skye had been laughing at earlier in the day. Definitely not Ward's choice in reading material.

"Hello mate, mind if we steal the telly?" asked Lance without really asking, snatching up the remote as he did. Before Ward could respond, the Brit had flipped the TV on.

"And coming out now is Alex, the St Bernard," announced someone through the speakers, causing everyone to look towards the TV, save Ward who looked like he might be trying to hide behind his stolen book.

Skye felt her jaw drop open as a St Bernard pranced across the stage, being carefully led by its owner. She would have thought the event might have just come on or even that it had replaced another show, except the TV had been on ESPN when they'd all left for dinner. Ward couldn't seem to avoid looking at the screen either, regardless of whatever embarrassment being caught watching a dog show might cause him.

For a moment, everyone was silent. Even Lance shut his mouth for a minute in absolute shock. No one had expected Ward, of all people, to be into watching dog shows.

"Have they started the small breeds yet?" asked Coulson curiously, breaking the silence as he stepped into the room and walked over to the couch. Skye blinked hard. Well, Coulson was less surprising than Ward, actually. Still, the idea that her boss was into dog shows too (maybe) wasn't easy to swallow.

"Not yet," stated Ward, giving up all pretenses of innocence as he tossed the book aside in defeat and sat up fully on the couch. "They're about halfway through the large dogs. There's a Nova Scotia retriever, a Irish setter, and a somoyed at least that haven't been shown yet."

"Good, the little dogs are always the most fun to watch," stated Coulson simply, settling back into the couch. "They have distinctive personalities."

"All dogs have personalities," argued Ward lightly. "There was a Great Dane earlier that tried to sit down while it was being examined and almost sat on its owner."

Coulson laughed at that, settling further into the couch. "Wish I'd had the chance to see that."

"I'm DVRing it," admitted Ward, the embarrassment coming back again as he leaned forward and laced his fingers together. "You can always catch it on there."

"Why are you DVRing a dog show?" asked Lance at last, breaking through his shock apparently to begin what was bound to be a lot of mockery. Though he wouldn't exactly be able to say much in front of Coulson without insulting the director as well. "What is the honest point of that? These things are absolutely dull."

"Just like you," remarked Skye as she maneuvered passed Lance. She swiped the remote from him as she went, settling down between Coulson and Ward on the couch. "Besides, dogs are cute."

"She does have a point," remarked Mack as he ambled into the room after Skye with Fitz. He dropped wordlessly into a chair beside the couch, reaching out and tugging the engineer down into another chair beside the first. Fitz didn't stay though, opting instead to perch on the arm of the chair where Mack was sitting. Skye swore she would lock them in a closet if one of them didn't make a move soon. "Dogs are cute. I vote we watch the dog show."

"There's no voting involved if AC wants to watch it," pointed out Skye with a shrug. "Besides, you guys can catch the highlights of the game tomorrow."

"Good point," admitted Trip as he finally entered the room, leaning on the back of the couch just behind Skye. "So, Ward, how many breeds are there in this thing?"

"A little over two hundred," replied Ward, his voice distant. His attention was completely back on the show now, clearly not caring that everyone else was even there.

Carefully, Skye shifted around so she was sitting closer to Ward. It gave Trip a chance to hop over the back of the couch and settle between her and Coulson. Not that he wouldn't move when May came in- he would if only so they could sit together. Skye tried not to laugh too hard at the fact they thought they were being so subtle. Well, okay, she admittedly probably wouldn't know if it weren't for the security feeds. Then again, that was what security feeds were for.

A sound from Ward drew Skye out of her thoughts. It had sounded almost like a whimper, except deeper. A grunt maybe? Except she couldn't see any reason why Ward might have made the noise. Well, until she looked at the TV screen.

A chocolate lab was being led across the stage, head held high and executing every command perfectly. It didn't take a genius to realize the dog reminded Ward of Buddy.

Ward had told her about the dog he'd been left alone in the woods with one night, after she'd found him pacing the halls. It had been way too late for anyone to reasonably be up and Ward hadn't argued that fact. The story had nearly broken Skye's heart and had shed a lot of light on Ward's sometimes odd behavior. Particularly the POD incident. He probably hadn't even recognized the psychological connection between the two or realized that his rash attempt to save Simmons and Fitz was probably born out of the memory of what happened to Buddy. That he'd probably reacted in the first way he could come up with because he remembered so clearly what happened when he tried to save Buddy.

Without thinking about it, Skye moved closer to Ward. When his arm dropped around her shoulders and he tugged her the rest of the way against his side, she didn't protest. Physical comfort was a hard thing for him to accept at times, but he was getting better about it, particularly when it was on his terms. It had become her personal rule to just go with it when Ward did seek out physical comfort.

"All of you are really going to watch this then?" asked Lance, clear betrayal hovering in his voice. Skye glanced over at the British man, but when everyone else ignored him, he just threw his arms up into the air and headed out of the room, mumbling about whiskey.

Shaking her head, Skye settled back against Ward's side and watched as the dogs were paraded across the screen. She had to admit, they really were adorable. That didn't stop her from falling asleep halfway through the small breeds though.

When she half awoke in the empty room a few hours later, under a blanket and with Ward peacefully asleep on the couch behind her, she decided dog shows were possibly the best thing ever.