Whoo! It's been a year since I uploaded Anchor! And this is a great chapter to upload on the anniversary, since it has something in it that 've been waiting since around chapter four to write!

Enjoy this chapter, and please tell me what you thought!

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: CHOICE AND CHANGE

Grant

"I feel so… domestic." Skye comments as she pushes the trolley cart around the place, with me chucking things in ever so often. It's supply run time again: Peterson's in the car, since he's a little noticeable, and Kara's scoping around the net in the internet café, since she didn't want to come shopping: ever since I made her apologise, she's been a little sulky.

"It's so weird, you know?" She continues. "You and me, just shopping together like we're ordinary people."

"It is weird." I agree. A small part of my mind wonders if this is how life could have been if I'd met Skye in a world without SHIELD. If we'd spend our days doing ordinary things like this.

"I want some chips." Skye announces, and I'm already shaking my head no. She pouts. "Aw, why not?"

"They're not really necessary, are they?" I point out, throwing a few canned foods in the cart.

"And they are?" Skye argues, a mischievous glint to her eyes.

"We have a camping stove thing." I say. "And canned food lasts longer than your junk food. Plus, if I buy you chips, I'll have to buy Kara something too."

"Can't you just buy them and… I'll eat them before we get back to Kara?" Skye blinks up at me, stepping closer. "The others will never have to know." She whispers.

"You and your junk food." I roll my eyes. Still, I end up giving in and allowing her one bag of chips. She smirks at me as I toss a Hello Kitty stuffed toy into the cart before going to check out.

"What? Kara likes them." I defend myself. Skye keeps smirking.

"You really care about her, then." She comments as we leave the shop. I nod. Skye's already moving to scoff her chips down before we reach Kara.

"Kara's come a long way since Puerto Rico." I tell her. "She's pretty independent now, considering the state Whitehall left her in."

"Was that difficult for you?" She glances at me. "Having to build her back up again?"

"It… was eye opening." I say slowly. "To see how reliant Kara had become on Whitehall. It reminded me of…"

"You and Garrett." Skye supplies. I nod.

"When you used to speak about how loyal you were to him… it was creepy to hear." Skye admits. "I still don't understand how you could give it all up for him."

"It was just what I was used to." I shrug. "Now I see that Garrett manipulated me, but I still wouldn't change my decision in that juvie hall. I'd still go with him."

"Why?" She asks me.

"It was, and is, the best choice I could have made in those circumstances. Otherwise, I would have been locked up for years, and when I finally emerged, I'd be a grown man with no clue about what's going on. It was frightening when I came out of the woods after five years and had no idea what was going on; I'd hate to have that feeling after more years." I answer her simply. "Now you answer me something. Why did you choose me to run to before?"

Skye freezes mid-bite.

"I.. why are you asking me that?"

"I want to know." I shrug. "I know what you said then, but I want you to tell me again."

"You were my only choice." She repeats what she said before. "And…" She hesitates. "I thought, since I was a freak now, that you'd accept me."

"Because I'm a freak?" A slight smile is on my lips.

"Well, yeah." She shrugs. "You have to admit, you're pretty freaky."

"Maybe." I keep smiling.

We sit down opposite Kara in the café, and she smiles at us, sipping on a can of coke.

"I got you something." I tell her, chucking the stuffed toy over at her. Kara squeals and grabs it, looking elated.

"Thanks, Grant!" She hugs it to her chest, and Skye smirks again, this time at Kara's reaction. She keeps hugging the toy to her with one arm as the other continues searching.

"To be honest, I've been trying to focus on HYDRA." Kara admits as her eyes peruse the screen in front of her. "Seeing if there's any mention of them in the news. Plus, it took me forever to get online." She rolls her eyes. "But so far, there's been no new news on HYDRA, so I think that's good. So they're not coming after us without finesse."

"So they'll sneak up on us? Reassuring, Kara." Skye rolls her eyes. You'd never know that these two were fighting the other day.

"I didn't think about it that way." Kara bites on her lower lip. "Oh."

"Don't worry about that, Kara." I tell her. "Anyway, is there any mention of SHIELD?"

"Well, that Morse woman's still making speeches in the news." Kara informs us. "About how SHIELD isn't a terrorist organisation and such. Crap like usual."

"Bobbi's not talking crap!" Skye retorts. "She's a nice person, Kara, and she's saying what SHIELD's really all about, okay?"

I sense a tension between Skye and Kara, and I step in quickly to make sure that it doesn't escalate further.

"Girls, how about we calm down?" I suggest hastily. "We all have different opinions, so why don't we all keep them to ourselves?"

"This Morse woman is full of it, though!" Kara refuses to let the matter drop. "Like everyone in SHIELD is. It's no longer the organisation it was: it's a place where Coulson can play pick and choose with people's lives."

"Coulson is a good man!" Skye argues. "You don't know him like I do."

"A good man, is he? Then why did you run from him, huh?" Kara laughs. "Face it, Skye: your precious SHIELD is corrupt to the core, and you can't stand that."

"That's enough, Kara." I say in a quiet yet firm voice. "Leave your opinions alone, and let Skye believe what she wants."

Kara huffs, but she lets the matter die. Still the hostility is rich in the air, and I've got to monitor it. I can't have Skye and Kara fighting over every little thing. We'll all be driven apart if this continues.

I nudge Skye, giving her a pointed look before glancing at Kara, my meaning clear: make friends with her. Skye sighs, and I wonder when I become the one she was closer with over Kara.

"So Kara, why do you like Hello Kitty?" She attempts to make pleasant conversation. Kara barely glances up over the computer screen before I kick her underneath the table.

"I bought a hair tie with the cat on." Kara answers eventually. "When Grant and I were first running, when he was shot." She shoots Skye a glare. "So I got attached."

"Oh." The conversation has dried up quickly.

"Girls, I think the cabin's almost done." I try to make small talk. Reluctantly, I allowed Peterson to help me, even though it pained me to allow another man to touch my cabin: that thing was the only thing I've ever really created on my own, and it kind of feels like I'm betraying myself by allowing someone else to touch it.

"We've only got the roof left, really." When I'm met with no response, I try again. "So Peterson thinks we can use a tarpaulin to cover the gap for now, so tonight we can actually sleep in a cabin. Isn't that great?"

"Sure." Kara says distractedly. I frown: I was expecting her to be the most enthused about the cabin being finished, since she's the one who keeps complaining about being 'tent people'.

"It'll still be cold." I continue in my fruitless efforts. "And it's going to be a little weird to start with, and maybe a little cramped, but we'll probably extend it out again."

"So we're staying here." Skye states.

"For the time being, yes. I know it's dangerous sticking to one place for so long, but I don't think we have a choice. You need to practise your powers, and here is perfect for that. SHIELD and HYDRA are more likely to find us in the cities, and at least here we'll be able to fight without causing much civilian damage." I say. I've thought this through a lot, since it goes against my every nature to stick in a place like this for so long. You can take the man out of SHIELD, but you can't take the SHIELD out of a man, it seems. I'm a specialist through and through.

"SHIELD isn't a threat, Grant." Skye says quietly.

"You weren't saying that when we fought our way to safety back at the HYDRA base." My words are a low challenge. I'm not asking Skye to pick sides, but I can't have her being indecisive. If she wants to be loyal to SHIELD, that's fine, as long as she also knows that she can't just sell us out over it, because I'm sure Kara would try to kill her if she did that.

"They still aren't a threat." Skye persists. "They just don't understand, that's all."

"Skye, if you want to believe that, you can. But don't sit there and tell me that they 'don't understand'." I growl. "Because you haven't seen what SHIELD does to people. I have, I've experienced it. They – yes, your Coulson – have tortured people for information. They locked me in a dark cell for months without human stimuli, and then still expected me to retain my sanity? Asking to talk to you was my only chance at maybe remembering who I was before they locked me down there, something I told them many a time. But they didn't listen, so don't tell me that they don't understand, okay? Because if you'd been a threat, they would have treated you the same way now that you have powers."

It's silent for a moment, and Skye stares at me with wide eyes. Kara's fingers continue to fly over the keyboard.

"I've found something." Kara announces suddenly. Skye and I turn to look at her – somehow, I know that our discussion over SHIELD is far from over.

"What?" I clear my throat, focusing on Kara. She spins the laptop around to show an image of Skye's face.

"Morse just released this speech and article." Kara says grimly. "They're saying that Skye's a threat to herself, and if you see her, you need to call SHIELD."

"A threat to myself?" Skye stares at her now. "What?"

"Morse says that you're an agent of SHIELD who's been swayed by her recent circumstances, and that you desperately need SHIELD help." Kara explains. "So the public need to turn you in, but not approach you since you're a little unstable. I presume that's about your powers."

"The hunt for you has begun." I say grimly. Kara slurps on the rest of her coke.

"There goes our peaceful times. Yay." She says sarcastically.

Back at the cabin, we all sit inside it for the first time. But it's not cause for celebration, not with that article. We sit in grim silence, in a circle, all staring at each other.

"What does this mean?" Peterson is the first to speak, his voice gruff.

"If anyone who's seen that article sees me, they'll report me to SHIELD." Skye says tiredly. "And SHIELD will come get me, and index me, and outcast me because of my powers."

"Simple. You don't leave here." Kara says. "If you stay in the cabin, the risk is minimized."

"SHIELD will up the search for me too." I point out. "So we're fucked, basically."

"Then I'll be the one to go out." She decides bravely. "I'll camouflage the scar even more, and since I look like May, they can't me since people would see May and call her in."

"Eventually, they'll find us." I can't believe that this is happening. We're going to have to run again – but how am I meant to protect three people this time? Kara and I barely survived, and that was just the two of us.

"Stop being such a defeatist." Kara slaps my arm. "There's got to be a way out."

"There isn't." I tell her. "In SHIELD's eyes, we're the bad guys."

"Then we hit stores further afield. Come on Grant, this isn't the end for us!" Kara's the only one remaining positive now. The rest of us – we're already done. SHIELD or HYDRA: we're basically already theirs. What's the point in fighting them anymore? I've tried running before, and all that got me was four bullets to the chest. When I ran with Kara, we were nearly taken at least three times. I can't see the point in continuing on with this anymore. Why don't we just surrender to SHIELD? At least they'll be kinder than HYDRA, who would probably brainwash me into being their solider.

"We can't give up now!" Kara stares at us all with disbelief. "Mike?"

"I go where Skye goes, Kara. If she chooses SHIELD, I go with her." Mike tells Kara gently.

"Skye?" Kara turns to her.

"SHIELD will find me wherever I go." Skye shakes her head. "But I don't want to go back. So, let's make a plan. We can't give up now."

Kara grins.

"Alright! So, in order to get supplies: that's easy, we'll just drive further away. And what if you put out a secondary notice, declaring that you've been sighted in a different country? That would distract SHIELD for a while, and it wouldn't endanger them or discredit them." Kara thinks on her feet.

"I can do that." Skye nods. "We'll have to drive to a different internet café though."

It occurs to me that we got lazy in this time. If Garrett was here, he'd slap me over the head for it. But since he's not, I've got to motivate myself. I shake myself off, and push my defeatist thoughts to one side. I don't want to go back to Vault D, so I'll do anything to keep myself from there.

"There's always cutting your hair, or dyeing it." I suggest, joining to conversation. "That would through people off the scent."

Skye grabs at her hair possessively.

"But… I don't want to!" She whines. "I like my long hair!"

"Skye, we all have to sacrifice things." I remind her. Skye's fingers refuse to leave her hair.

"…Maybe. Let me think about it." She says reluctantly.

Then a noise shatters our positivity. We all stiffen as a small knock hits on the door, and slowly we all turn to stare.

"Aw, shit." Mike mutters.

The knock comes again, and I regulate my breathing, not wanting to make a sound. Who is it? HYDRA? They wouldn't knock. SHIELD? Who knows, Coulson is a little quirky.

My hand reaches for my gun, and I motion that Mike should open the door as I climb to my feet. Skye's already got her hand extended, just in case. I aim the gun, resting my finger on the trigger as Mike creeps to the door. He glances back at us before his hand tightens on the handle. Then he opens the door, and I get ready to fight.

Mike stops still, and I frown. What's going on?

Slowly, he steps back from the door, his hand wrapped around someone's arm. A loudly protesting someone's arm, in a thick Scottish brogue.

"Hey, get your grubby mitt off me!" Leo Fitz protests. "Don't you remember me? I'm Fitz. I'm one of the good guys, Mike!"

Fitz trails off as his eyes alight on me, and fear fills his pupils. I'm frozen completely still, staring at the man who I chucked into the ocean.

"Fitz!" Skye's voice destroys the tenseness as she leaps forward, grabbing the Scot into her arms. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to find you!" He retorts. "Things are getting a little hectic back at the base after you dobbed me in for helping you – thanks for that, by the way."

"Sorry." Skye looks bashful.

"Anyway, then this guy Gonzales – you won't know him, he's part of this 'Real SHIELD' stuff – well, he says that we have to kill you! And Bobbi, she's on his side! And Mack!" Fitz continues. "So I escaped, and tracked you via the chip I put in your laptop, so we should probably get you a new one. I mean, I doubt anyone else can get it, but just to make sure, you know? Anyway, I saw you drive off into the woods back in that quaint town, so I walked here, following your tracks. I got lost about five bloody times!"

"Fitz, I'm so happy to see you." Skye bubbles.

"That's good, you see." Fitz is nervous. "See, now I'm sort of a fugitive, so I was hoping you'd let me crash with you guys a little bit?"

"Of course-" Skye starts.

"Hang on a sec." Kara interrupts. "How can we trust this SHIELD guy? He could be a double agent!"

"Fitz isn't the right guy for that, Kara." I instinctively stick up for the younger man. "I think we can trust him."

Fitz seems surprised that I'm vouching for him.

"I don't like it. He manages to track us here? It's all a little suspicious if you ask me." Kara shakes her head.

Fitz peers at her.

"Hey, you're Agent 33, right? The photostatic veil woman?" He asks, stepping forward nervously.

"Yeah, what about it?" Kara's defensive.

"I'm an engineer, and I'm sure with a little time I could help you fix that, you know." He offers, dumping the large bag he has over his shoulder on the floor. "Like, I could maybe make it work properly, so you could switch faces? I'd have to study it more."

"You… You could do that?" Kara seems tempted, but why shouldn't she? She hates looking like May.

"I think so, yeah." Fitz nods.

"And you want to stay with us? Even though Grant's here?" Skye checks. Fitz gives her a look.

"When did you start calling Ward 'Grant'?" He asks. Skye freezes.

"I go by Grant more typically now, you know." I shrug, speaking to Fitz for the first time since he cut off my oxygen in Vault D. "Ward is who I was at SHIELD, so I prefer to use my actual name now."

"…" Fitz seems lost for words, overwhelmed perhaps. I'm nervous around him my skin jumping. All of a sudden, this cabin seems too small. I want to leave it, stay out in the cold night air, but I refuse to allow that weakness to overcome me. Instead, I clench my hands into fists.

"Of course you can stay, Fitz." Skye wraps him in another hug. "Come over here, tell me about what's been happening since I left SHIELD." She pulls him to one side. Kara comes to stand next to me.

"You trust him?" She asks.

"Maybe." I allow. "I don't think he'll grass us up to SHIELD, but if he can fix your mask…"

"Then I can change how I look, and we can get supplies freely." Kara finishes my sentences. "If you'd like, I'll bond with him to keep an eye on him, since I don't think you two can be friendly. Not since you pushed him into the ocean."

"You do that." I nod. "And then we'll see if Fitz is telling the truth."