Chapter 4Summary:Natasha is back with the Avengers, hunting Hydra and all that. She misses her fiancée, but other than that it's going well. And things can never stay that way for too long, right?
Skye misses her fiancée too, but being in Afterlife with Lincoln, and even her parents, she finds herself more relaxed than she's been in months.
Bobbi feels stuck. She made the wrong decision with Gonzales, but what if she's making a wrong decision again? Secrets are uncovered, and she has to decide where they end.
Or, our girls are healing but also still Going Through It™
Notes:Hi! I'm back! And I bring the new chapter of the SWK series!
Its only been 3 months. Perfectly acceptable. For real though, I'm sorry for the continuous delay. Uni kicked my ass to the moon and back and I just didn't write anything for most of those three months. But now we're back. I have free time again, and it's being used.
Quick timeline note before we start: this whole chapter takes place in 4 days. Insanity, yes, but that's s2 for you. Important things this chapter, or at least all lot being set up so next chapter can hit the fan.
That's all for now, please enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter TextIt was routine work by now. Cleaning her guns went automatic, almost grounding. Natasha supposed that it was part of the job, as she checked over her widow bites and the rest of her gear, Clint doing the same next to her. He was usually in the cockpit flying them home, but Tony had taken over after Clint's bow had gotten a nasty hit from a bullet, and the archer wanted to check it over for himself.
She nudged him with her shoulder, and raised a silent eyebrow when he looked at her. You good?
He shrugged, and put the bow next to him, before softly shaking his head. Natasha felt for him. This bow had been one of his favourites. She hoped Tony could fix it for him, if he wasn't too busy working on his big secret thing. They all knew there was something, but he wouldn't say what. Natasha figured that as long as it wouldn't end up trying to kill them, it was fine.
She put away her guns, and pulled out her phone. She knew beforehand she wouldn't have a message from Skye, but she couldn't help checking. Love worked like that, she supposed. She suppressed a sigh and put her phone back too, leaning back in her seat and folding her hands in her lap.
It was Clint's turn to nudge her. She looked at him, met his eyes. They were kind, and the corner of his mouth lifted in a tiny smile. She's fine, I'm sure.
Natasha just nodded. She knew that, rationally, she knew that. But she would really like to hear it from Skye herself.
Tony interrupted her moment of peace, announcing the touchdown. He was quick and proper, and before she knew it, Natasha was walking out of the quinjet behind her team.
It had been an easy raid, without complications. Well, except for Clint's bow. But they hadn't even needed the Other Guy, and that said something. Outside the quinjet, Maria was waiting for them. Retired from SHIELD, and now working for Tony in reality meant that she was the designated person to handle the mess that was the Avengers. Natasha felt for her old friend, but she was glad they could keep in touch like this.
Steve, always the professional, immediately went over to their handler. "Mission completed, ma'am," he said in his captain-voice. Natasha briefly caught Maria's amused gaze.
Maria returned her eyes to Steve. "Good job, team. I've already taken a look at the data you sent me, but I'm afraid there's nothing on it that will lead us to further bases." She waved away their indignant replies. "I know, I know. Tony can let Jarvis take another look at it, since I don't have full access. But otherwise we need to wait until we get some more intel from our sources."
Natasha barely repressed a chuckle as everyone pretended to not know that Maria's sources were Coulson and Skye. And then she frowned. With Skye gone, there wouldn't be much more intel coming. And she had no idea if Coulson was already aware that Skye had left.
Maybe he thought she was missing? Bobbi hadn't contacted her yet, although Natasha figured that her friend would only do so if she was worried herself, and even then…
As Maria continued to talk about something else she'd gotten out of the data that she would read later anyway, and the team started moving into the tower, Natasha leaned over to Clint. "Things are gonna go to shit soon," she mumbled, just loud enough for him to hear. It was just a feeling, but those were mostly right.
He shot her a look. "Here or at SHIELD?" Natasha merely shrugged, and he nodded thoughtfully. "I'll get some things in order, just in case," he said back in the same soft tone.
Clint could be a joker and a prankster, but when it mattered she knew he had her back. And now Skye's too.
"Hey Red!" Tony started conversationally, letting himself fall to the back of the group, and both spies turned their heads to him. "Care for revenge?" the billionaire asked with a challenging grin.
Natasha rolled her eyes. "Tony, please just accept that you can't outdrink a Russian spy. Your liver doesn't like this shit."
Tony rolled his eyes. "But I do." His eyes were twinkling with mischief. "And if Skye asked what you've been up to, you can't really think to tell her that you were too scared to outdrink me?"
Natasha narrowed her eyes, knowing he was pushing her to accept. But it was his liver, and she would enjoy telling Skye about drunk Tony. He made good blackmail. So, she let a slightly predatory smile slide over her face. "You're so on."
///
"No." There was no room for argument in Skye's voice, as she shook her head to emphasise herself. "No, I'm not doing it."
Her morning had been nice and easy. Lincoln had laid out a row of small stones, and she had to move one of them. She couldn't just focus on the feeling of 'stone', but she really had to focus on each stone separately. She'd shattered a few, but Lincoln had just patiently put down a new one and let her try again.
She'd gotten the hang of it eventually.
And now, here she was, with her mother - the idea still weirded her out, but was growing concerningly comfortable - debating this absurd thing. "I'm not having dinner with Cal. He's a monster. He almost killed Coulson, at least two times!" Why was she even defending herself?
Jiaying just patiently looked at her, as if she knew Skye was going to fold. Skye sighed. "Is this some weird lesson?" she asked, half suspicious, half tired.
With a shake of her head, Jiaying finally spoke. "It's personal. A debt I owe your father." She slowly reached out to brush Skye's arm. "He was good once, you know. He made a promise out of love, and that promise destroyed him. But now you're here, and he fulfilled his promise."
Skye hummed. "And that means all should be forgiven?"
"No, not at all," Jiaying answered quickly. "But he never gave up on you. And maybe that earns him a second chance. Or at least this dinner. If you don't want to, you'll never have to see him again after this," her mother added, and Skye couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that.
When her mother didn't say anything else, Skye relaxed her brow, and thought for a moment. For the umpteenth time she wished she could call Nat and just… tell her. Ask her. She had no idea how to handle suddenly having a family, by blood that was. She didn't think Nat would know either, but talking with her fiancée did always settle her mind in a way nothing else could.
And maybe she'd know what to say to the tiny part of Skye that longed to just have dinner with her parents - both her parents. The part that just wanted to pretend at normalcy; a normal mom and dad, and being a normal daughter.
She inwardly scoffed. Natasha would never begrudge her that. In fact, she would probably just smile softly as Skye laid out her dilemma, because she knew just as well as Skye did that she'd end up agreeing. Skye's eyes found Jaiying's. "One dinner," she said. "And then we'll see."
Cal was waiting for them, his suit brushed down by his own hands, and a bouquet of flowers in his hand. Daisies. For her.
He grinned as his daughter and wife approached. His eyes sparkled, but with joy rather than mania, and Skye could so easily see him picking her up from school, baking cake with her, getting ice cream from the shop at the corner… She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat and forced her feet to keep moving.
"I wanted it to be perfect," he started when they were close enough. "But this is just as well." He offered her the flowers. "These are for you," he said softly. "I know my actions have hurt you both, and I want to thank you, both of you, for giving me this chance."
Skye smiled genuinely and accepted the flowers. They smelled wonderful. "I learned who my mother was. She's taught me things," she said softly with a look at Jiaying, who looked back with pride and love in her eyes. "I've never had that before, but you made that possible."
His grin softened into a proud smile. "That's all I ever wanted for you."
She didn't know what to say to that, so she just nodded, her throat too tight to really speak, and moved to the table. Cal, no, her father quickly stepped forward to pull out her chair. He did the same for her mother, and then took their plates to put out the food.
"Cal," her mother started. "Skye doesn't know when her birthday is."
He looked up, joy apparent on his face. "But I do. July 2nd, 1988. It was a warm night, and the moon was beautiful. Your mother actually cleaned before she woke me up," he said with a small laugh. "I went out to borrow the only car in the village, but I didn't speak Chinese, and he didn't speak English, so it was a terrible mess."
Skye laughed, and then paused. "Wait, 1988?" she questioned. At her father's affirming hum, she made a quick calculation. "I'm 26?" Both her parents nodded, and Skye reached for her glass to take a long sip. "Damn. That's… That's so weird. To 26?" she asked, raising her glass.
Her parents exchanged an amused look, and clinked their glasses to hers. "To 26," her mother echoed, and her father just hummed again.
With a smile, Cal sat down and continued his story, and Skye couldn't help but be amused by his enthusiasm. "So, it took a while until we got the car-thing figured out, but then… Did I mention it was the year of the dragon? Anyway, we went to the hospital, and…"
As he went on to recall the - indeed very messy, but also very sweet - story of her birth, Skye took a small bite of her food, letting her eyes roam over her parents. Cal's sparkling eyes and wide gestures, and Jiaying's softer looks and loving smiles. It felt like everything Skye had never had, and it was all she could do to bask in it.
Lincoln had happily agreed to play waiter tonight, and he didn't regret it for a minute. He knew Skye had been nervous, apprehensive even, for this dinner, but all he saw right now were her sparkling eyes and her happy smile.
He was cleaning away the empty plates with a wink in Skye's direction, when he heard Jiaying gently clear her throat. "So, Skye. You've gotten to know us a bit, and this place. I'd love to get to know you too." Cal hummed in agreement, and Lincoln noticed Skye shifting in her chair nervously. He caught her eyes and sent her a reassuring smile.
You've got this, he tried to communicate.
Skye smiled softly. "Yeah, I… I can tell you about myself. What do you want to know?"
"Everything," Cal said excitedly, and Skye chuckled.
"Sure." She tapped her fingers against her thigh. "Well, I… I was bumped around in the foster system," she eventually started after taking a moment to think. "I learned to hack once I escaped, and I was everywhere and nowhere for a while. I ended up in Las Vegas, where I ehm… I met someone there." She blushed slightly, and Cal grinned, while Jiaying sported a softer smile.
With a look between her parents, she took a deep breath, and then she lifted her arm to pull the ring from under her shirt. "She was on a mission there," she said softly, spinning the ring between her fingers. Her eyes were no longer on her parents, and had gotten a faraway look. "And she… she took me by surprise. I went back to New York, where she worked most of the time, and we met up again. And then we went on dates, and those became more."
"After the battle of New York she sort of asked me to be her girlfriend, and I said yes," Skye continued with a smile that disappeared quickly. "Not long after, I joined SHIELD. And then I was everywhere, doing something good. Except SHIELD turned out to be Hydra, and then we were fighting Hydra. That was…" She chuckled, shaking her head. "That was a year ago."
It was silent for a while, everyone processing their thoughts. Lincoln slowly moved to serve the desert. Cal's look had softened during his daughter's story, and he kept his voice low as he asked, "What happened then?"
Skye looked up, almost as if she'd forgotten they were still there. "Well, Hydra did," she said eventually. "And then Coulson started seeing maps to the Kree temple in his head and then things happened and I went through the mist and I got powers and I ended up here." She laughed. "Somewhere in between she proposed to me. It was not romantic, at all, but it was perfect."
"Is she like you?" Jiaying asked softly. "Like us?"
"She's not an Inhuman," Skye said, although it felt strangely like an admittance, "but she's enhanced. She kind of knows what it's like, and she's never treated me differently because of it."
Humming, Jiaying took a bite of her desert. "Just be careful. One mistake is all they need to start treating you differently."
Something flashed through Skye's eyes, but it was gone before either Cal or Jiaying noticed. Lincoln fought back a frown. "She wouldn't do that," Skye said with conviction, and from what Skye had told him so far about her fiancée, he agreed. But Jiaying just shrugged, and continued eating.
Cal looked between his daughter and wife, and cleared his throat. He turned to his daughter. "So, Daisy. You said you were a hacker? How did you end up with computers? I know nothing about them, so forgive me if-" He went on about computers, and after a few minutes, Skye was smiling again, and explaining to him what she did and all the mischief she got into, but Lincoln could see she was more guarded.
He double checked they were set, and slipped out. He had to find Gordon.
Skye stood up from the dinner table. "I had fun tonight," she said sincerely. She picked up the flowers her father had given her, and slid her thumb across the stems, trying to ground herself in the movement. Her head was spinning, mostly from good things, but she still felt conflicted.
Her mother smiled softly at her. "So did I."
Cal stood up instead of saying something, and slowly reached out for her hand, ready for her to snap it back. Skye didn't, and he took it, gently bringing it up to press a kiss against her knuckles. "The best day of my life," he said sincerely, his eyes shining. Skye swallowed thickly, and just nodded. He let go of her hand, and she quickly turned and walked out of the room.
Lincoln was outside, waiting for her. His brow furrowed when he saw her slightly frantic look, but she shook her head. He nodded, and lead her to her-
No. Why were they not going to her room?
"Lincoln?" she asked, but he just smiled at her from over his shoulder, continuing, and she followed him with a frown. She was so not up for anything other than sleep right now, and if-
Lincoln knocked on a door, and to her surprise, it was Gordon that opened. He was in chino's and a comfy sweater, and looked like he'd been expecting them. Without a word, his face turned to Skye, and he threw something at her. Her years training with Natasha and May were the only reason she caught it. She looked at it, and her eyebrows shot to her hairline. "What-"
"Ten minutes, Lincoln stays close," Gordon interrupted her, and then he smiled. "Starting now," he added before closing the door.
Skye looked at Lincoln, who grinned. "You…" she started, and he just laughed.
"Don't waste your time," he said, the grin still sparkling in his eyes. With a wet chuckle, she turned her phone on, and immediately went to her contacts. She saw she had a lot of messages and missed calls waiting for her, but she didn't care what May or Coulson or even Bobbi wanted of her right now. She picked the right contact, and pressed call.
It took all of one ring, and then a breathless, "Skye?"
Tears stung in her eyes, and she had to take a deep breath before she could answer. She noticed Lincoln nodding towards one of the paths leading to a viewpoint just outside the village, and started walking down it. He followed at a respectful distance.
"Hey Natasha," she whispered, her voice not feeling up to more right now.
"Boze moi, Skye. Hey, how are you? Are you safe? Okay? Talk to me, darling."
Skye chuckled. "I'm good. I'm so good. I miss you, but I'm safe, and I'm okay." She looked back at Lincoln briefly. "I don't have long. I have no clue where I am, but it's a good place. They're really helping me. Lincoln is teaching me control, and he got me some phone minutes somehow. I'm better, Nat. I'm getting better."
She could practically hear her fiancées smile in her voice. "I'm so happy to hear that, lyubov moya. And I miss you too of course." She paused for a moment, and then so soft Skye almost missed it, "Please tell me you're okay again."
A tear rolled down Skye's cheek. "I'm okay," she repeated. "I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm okay."
"Okay," Natasha said, and Skye could swear she heard her voice waver. "I'm okay too. Did another raid this morning actually. Birdie's bow broke, so he's a bit sad, but that was all. The boys are all good, though the tin can is being more annoying than usual. Don't know what he's up to, but if it tries to kill us, I'll kill him."
Skye laughed. "Sounds like you're having a wonderful time."
"Oh, without a doubt. And you, have you made any whirlpools yet?"
"Something like that," Skye said with a chuckle. "I made music with glasses, and I pushed pebbles, and I caused an avalanche." She paused, and Natasha waited patiently for her to gather her thoughts. Skye chanced another look at Lincoln, who was busy staring at the stars that slowly appeared above their heads. "I had dinner with my parents tonight," she said.
"Parents? Plural?" Natasha asked, surprise colouring her voice. "You mean your sort of psycho dad and your we-thought-she-was-dead mother?"
Skye snorted, drawing Lincoln's attention for a moment before he looked up again. "If you say it like that, it sounds very weird. Believe me, it was weirder."
"But?" Natasha prodded gently, sounding somewhere between knowing and curious.
With a deep breath, Skye spoke. "It was nice, too. Cal was… sweet. Making weird jokes, and he told some awkward baby stories. And my mother… She was smiling, Nat. She was there, and we were all together, and she was smiling." She decided to leave out the part where her mother didn't quite seem to approve of Natasha. It didn't matter right now.
"Sounds like you had a great night, love. I'm happy to hear that," Natasha simply replied
Skye was stunned in momentary surprised silence, and Natasha chuckled softly. "I believe I once told you that I stopped being surprised by things a long time ago. And I can hear in your voice how conflicted you sound, but let me tell you," she continued, her voice growing more serious. "You're allowed to be happy, Skye. Even if you're happy about having dinner with your parents when they're less than ideal people. Feeling conflicted about it doesn't make you a bad person, it just makes you human."
Skye didn't say anything for a moment, and then she hung her head, the tension in her body lessening ever so slightly as she accepted her fiancée's words. "I don't know why I keep being surprised at the way you know and settle my mind," she said. "But you always do."
"That's… I… You fucking romantic," Natasha mumbled, and Skye laughed. She absolutely loved making her future wife blush, even if she couldn't actually see it. It was just funny to see the usually stoic spy flustered. But,
"It's true, darling." Behind her, Lincoln cleared his throat. She looked at him, and he returned an apologetic look. She nodded. "Listen," she started, focussing back on her call. "My ten minutes are up, and I've gotta go. If anyone asks, tell them I'm safe. Tell the boys I miss to behave, and Birdie to stop whining."
"Of course, and I will," Natasha promised. "I love you, and I'll see you soon. In a minute, right?"
Skye laughed. "Yeah, in a minute. Love you too." She ended the call, and turned to meet Lincoln's eyes, which shimmered in the fading light. "Thank you," she said, trying to put all the gratitude she could into those two words.
His eyes crinkled as he smiled. "Happy to help." Then, he sent her another mischievous smile. "Now let's get back before Gordo gets mad at me. And tomorrow we're rising early to see if you can freeze water!"
Skye paused. "I'm sorry, what?"
Lincoln didn't reply, just turned around and walked back. Skye hurried after him. "Lincoln, wait! I can do that? Lincoln? Lincoln!"
///
It made sense for them to do it. Out of the team, she and Hunter had the least reason to hate him. That didn't mean that Bobbi did not absolutely despise the man sitting across the quinjet from her. Everything Skye had told her about this man would be enough to set anyone on edge. Add to that Fitz's stutter, which was improving every day, but still a horrible reminder of what this man had done, and it was taking all Bobbi's self control to not shoot him right here and now.
But she couldn't. Because Coulson had made a deal with Grant fucking Ward, and if she killed him now, they wouldn't get their intel on List and Strucker.
If all this wasn't bad enough, part of the plan also involved the man who'd been her superior undercover, and who had taken cyanide while she was interrogating him. Brainwashed as he was now, he stared calmly at the wall opposite him.
Safe to say, Bobbi was a bit tense. The only redeeming factor was Hunter's steady presence in the cockpit. And she supposed that Kara wasn't so bad, eyeing her with curiosity underneath a layer of indifference.
She wondered what Skye would think of this, then she silently chuckled. Skye would've shot the man instantly. Bobbi doubted even Coulson could have stopped her. Ward's speech from before they got onto his quinjet to fiery hell would have done little to sway her.
Coulson threw a look back into the cockpit, eyes lingering on Bobbi's stiff form. "We're five minutes out. Prepare for touchdown." Without replying, Bobbi clenched her fists, her eyes remaining steadily boring into Ward's. He was staring straight back, with a smirk on his face that made Bobbi's skin crawl. He opened his mouth, but Bobbi deliberately moved her hand a bit towards the gun strapped to her thigh, and he closed it with the tiniest shrug. Bobbi's eyes flitted to Kara, but the former Hydra agent was more focussed on her old boss than on her.
The jet shook slightly as it descended and touched down. Bobbi stood up, but didn't move otherwise until Hunter and Coulson had emerged from the cockpit. Without saying a word, Hunter stood next to her, tapping her hand three times. Bobbi didn't move, too aware of Ward's eyes trained on her.
He raised one eyebrow. "You know, for this to work, you're gonna have to trust me," he remarked casually.
"And what if I don't?" Bobbi asked.
Ward shrugged. "I have no need to hurt you, I already told you."
Bobbi shook her head, but didn't dignify him with another answer. Coulson watched between them. "Are you two done?" When neither of them responded he continued. "Good, then we can do this. Everyone remembers the plan, and I hope for all of your sakes you're sticking to it. That goes for all of you," he said, holding everyone's gaze. Bobbi met it without hesitation. She was making up for her mistakes. She'd do as he said, even if it meant working with that slimy Hydra bastard. She could always kill him afterwards.
Coulson couldn't hear her thoughts, and seemed satisfied with her silence, because he opened the ramp of the quinjet. "All right, let's get this show on the road."
///
Bobbi held the ice pack against her cheek with one hand, and was holding Hunter's hand with the other. He occasionally hissed as Jemma stabbed the needle through his thigh, but didn't move otherwise.
Heavy steps announced Coulson's arrival. "What's the damage?" he asked once he stood in front of them.
Without looking up from her needlework, Jemma answered him. "Bobbi will be fine after a good night's rest, with maybe a painkiller. Hunter has to stay off duty for three days at the least."
Coulson nodded slowly. "And Agent 33?"
"Her name is Kara Palamas," Bobbi interrupted before Jemma could answer. He gave her a look, and she shrugged. "That's her name, we'd do well to use it."
Coulson continued to look at her, and Bobbi continued to meet his gaze, until Hunter let out a soft groan and she turned back to him. Jemma tied up her stitch and leaned back in her chair. "Palamas has a concussion and should be fine in a day or two. She was awake for a few moments an hour ago but fell back asleep quick enough. She just needs some time to process, I think."
"Is that your medical opinion?" Coulson pushed with a frown.
Jemma looked at him. "My medical opinion is that we all need a little time to process, sir, but we don't have much time to spare."
Bobbi almost chuckled. Almost. Coulson really didn't. Instead he turned around and walked out. Before he could leave, Bobbi called after him. "Did you at least get what you need for your Theta Protocol, sir?"
He paused in the doorway and turned around. "Sorry?"
She gave him her most innocent look. "It's just, with Ward missing again, Bakshi back with Hydra and spilling everything he's come to learn about us, and Hunter shot, I hope that it was at least worth it."
For a minute he did nothing but stare at her, and Bobbi held his gaze every second. She was vaguely aware of Hunter and Jemma watching the staring contest like a tennis match, but she wasn't backing down an inch on this. He'd been the one keeping secrets, let him be the one to explain this. He could dig his own way out of his grave.
Then suddenly he blinked, and gave her a smile. "Why don't you call Maria and find out? I'm sure she'd love to catch up."
And with that he turned and walked out. Bobbi kept her gaze on the doorway, her mind racing to figure out what he could possibly mean with that. Maria? How was the retired deputy of SHIELD involved with this? Maria was working with…
Bobbi mentally face-palmed when the realisation set in. The Avengers.
A hand squeezed hers, and she gave it a confused glance before realising she was still holding Hunter's hand. "Are you with me, love?" he asked gently. Bobbi took a deep breath, and slowly pulled her hand away. She handed the ice pack back to Jemma, who took it cautiously. "What's this Theta Protocol?" Hunter pushed, still in that same tone.
Bobbi chuckled as she considered how to answer that. "I don't know, but that's what I'm going to find out. I've got a call to make, apparently." She stood up, ignoring the pressing feeling behind the back of her eyes that might be a concussion but was not something she had time to deal with now. Neither was the stinging in her cheek. "Are you going to be fine for a few moments?" she asked Hunter, because no matter how much she wanted to figure this out, she wasn't leaving him again.
But he nodded, and gave her an easy smile. "I'll live. And if not, I've got Simmons to perform CPR, right doc?" Jemma pulled a face, and Bobbi couldn't stop a small smile. Hunter was grinning as he shooed her away. "Go on, save the world or something."
Bobbi smiled back, and then hurried to her bunk. She closed the door, double checked if she'd locked it properly - all hail the soundproof walls, and then pulled out her phone. She sat down on her bed and pulled up Maria's contact. It took four rings for her old friend to pick up. One too many for Bobbi's current state. "Tell me about Theta Protocol."
There was a pause on the other side of the line, before Maria started laughing. "Hi to you too, Bobbi. Been a while. I'm good, thanks for asking! How are you?"
Bobbi hummed. "Fabulous. About to quit SHIELD. Spill."
Another pause. "Didn't he tell you?"
"Coulson?" Bobbi asked, confused. "He didn't tell anyone anything. I had to find out from Gonzales during the coup."
Maria sighed. "It wasn't supposed to be a secret. He said you were on the mission with him this morning, so you know what he found. That's now-"
"I don't know shit, Maria," Bobbi interrupted her. "I don't know what he found. I don't know why the Avengers are going to handle it now. That's what Theta is, right? The Avengers." She scoffed. "All I know is that Bakshi is back to Hydra, Ward slipped through our hands, Hunter got shot, Palamas is in our base recovering from everything, and Coulson is keeping more secrets than Fury ever did. So, please, Maria, please tell me what the fuck is going on."
"He got Ward involved?" Maria asked incredulously, too shocked to answer straight away. "Fucking hell. Yeah okay, I'll tell you. The data you retrieved, which Coulson sent to me, were the details on Strucker's Base, where Loki's scepter is located. The Avengers are going to infiltrate and retrieve the scepter. SHIELD was rebuilding, while the remnants of Hydra were still everywhere. So Coulson called me up, and asked me to be the contact between SHIELD and the Avengers, so they could help clear out the bases when SHIELD wasn't strong enough yet. Of course, we didn't know about Gonzales's Real SHIELD, otherwise we would have done this quite differently. That's the story, or at least all I know of it."
Bobbi took a moment to process that. "But why would he keep that a secret? It sounds like a solid structure. But it doesn't make sense for him to keep it a secret, and it doesn't explain why he's throwing around money like it's sand."
"Rebuilding costs money," Maria replied. "Safe houses, recruiting."
"Are you sure that is what he's doing?" Bobbi couldn't help but ask.
Maria paused, and that was enough of an answer for Bobbi. Bobbi ran a hand over her face. "I'm so tired, Ria," she said softly. "I made a choice, and it was the wrong one, and now everything is falling apart. Skye is missing, SHIELD is fighting itself and I'm not sure it's going to win, I hurt my friends, Skye's missing, I don't know if-"
"Skye's missing?" Maria interrupted, voice suspiciously devoid of any emotion.
A frown took over Bobbi's features. Why would Maria know Skye? Then she realised. "The digging for Hydra bases she was doing all the time. It was for you guys." When Maria stayed silent, Bobbi knew she was on the right track. She chuckled, but it lacked humour. "I should have guessed. I'm more and more glad she ran when she had the chance."
Maria merely hummed. They were silent on both sides for a while. Then Maria scraped her throat, and when she spoke again she sounded uncharacteristically soft. "Are you really about to quit SHIELD, Bob?"
She had to think about that. "I don't know," she answered eventually. "Gonzales wasn't the right choice to make, but he wasn't completely wrong on everything. There's a lot of things wrong about SHIELD. Everything that happened with Skye, and with Coulson keeping secrets that big…" She let her voice trail off, the message clear enough.
"Do you have any idea where Skye is?" Maria asked instead of responding to her statement. "Maybe Stark can find her, or Jarvis."
Bobbi thought about that for a second, but… "No. Gonzales had a team going after her. I told her to run, and she did. Maybe she doesn't want to be found, or maybe she is just patiently waiting for this all to blow over. But until Nat comes barging in panicking I'm not too worried about it, and I'm not doing a single thing I have not been explicitly told to do."
A moment of silence. "Why would Nat be panicking about Skye?"
Ah. So maybe Nat hadn't told Maria yet? Bobbi ran a hand over her face again as she realised she couldn't really talk her way out of this. In her defence, she was really fucking tired. "Yeah, you're gonna have to ask Nat herself."
"Right." Another beat of silence. "Now who's keeping secrets, huh?"
Bobbi chuckled, for real this time. She could practically hear Maria's smile, and she knew her friend wasn't mad at her or anything. "Why don't you just go back to handling your ragtag superhero squad?" she mocked.
"Hey! My ragtag superhero squad is doing good work, okay." Maria sounded positively indignant, and Bobbi couldn't suppress another chuckle. "Anyway. I do have to go. They're going out for Strucker's base soon. Raid is tomorrow morning."
"Wish them luck for me," Bobbi said. "And a bit extra for our favourite spies."
Maria hummed. "Will do. You take care, alright. Take it easy. And if you ever find yourself looking for another job, I can always use your help."
"Thanks, Ria," Bobbi said softly. "We'll talk again soon."
"See you soon, Bob."
And with that, the call ended. Bobbi put her phone away, and let herself fall back on her bed. The fucking Avengers were Theta Protocol. And Skye had been gathering intel for them.
She understood secrets. She was a spy; secrets and lies were her second nature. But it was starting to weigh her down. She closed her eyes. She was so goddamn tired.
Her phone hummed. With enormous effort Bobbi opened her eyes again. She checked her screen and saw a message from May. Fuck. She couldn't ignore that, as much as she wanted to. She opened it.
Coulson wants us in the briefing room in five. Skye just moved up the priority list.
Great. Bobbi half hoped Skye was somewhere they wouldn't find her. The girl didn't deserve to be dragged into this mess of SHIELD. Especially when Jemma was still actively researching ways to 'fix' or take down someone like her or Raina, on Coulson's orders.
She rolled herself off her bed and stood up with none of her usual grace. Before she left she forced her body to relax, her face to look calm and collected. Carefully controlled emotion. For now, she was an agent of SHIELD, and she had a job today. She could cry or debate her future later.
///
Skye was staring at a glass of fully frozen water in wide-eyed wonder. She had done that. She had frozen that water. She looked up at Lincoln, who was watching with a happy sort of pride.
They'd spent all of yesterday working on stopping water with her powers. As in, Lincoln was running a tap and Skye was supposed to halt the water flow. It took a while before she got the hang of it - the vibrations of water were very… flowy, for lack of a better word - but once she did, it was fun.
Until the pipe burst due to the build-up water pressure, but Lincoln assured her it wasn't her weighing, since he was the one who had not thought it through that well. Jiaying agreed with him, and half of his next payment at the medical centre would be for Afterlife. Gordon went out that same evening to get a replacement, and one of the more technical inhabitants of Afterlife installed it immediately.
For today, Lincoln had decided to take it a step further. "If you can stop water on this level, you should be able to stop water on a molecular level. Freeze it."
That's what he'd said. Skye hadn't thought it possible. But here she was, looking at a staring of ice that was slowly melting back into water. And she'd done that. She beamed at her newest friend. "I did it!"
"You did it!" he agreed, and he sounded just as excited as she was. Skye sagged in her chair. This was so cool. Lincoln gave her a long look, that happy smile staying plastered on his face. "Want to take a walk outside? I can answer any more question you have?"
Whenever they were not occupied with training or other important things, Skye had taken to asking him everything about the workings of Afterlife. It was so peaceful here, and the structures behind the society fascinated her. If only SHIELD could be more like this… But today Skye had other questions. "Sure! Can you tell me about when you got here?"
Lincoln laughed at her poorly hidden excitement. "I can do that," he said, before getting up from his chair and offering his hand to pull her up. She gave him a look and stood up, ignoring his hand. He rolled her eyes at her. "Alright Miss Independent. Let's go."
They walked out together, and quickly found themselves on their new favourite route through the village of Afterlife. After some prodding, Lincoln eventually got into the flow of telling about his first trip to the sanctuary, and about the first weeks with his powers. He was just in the middle of a funny story about how he kept zipping the lights on in his sleep once, when they bumped into Jiaying.
"Ah, I was looking for you Skye," her mother said. Skye frowned, because that didn't really sound good. Jiaying was also looking a bit uncomfortable. So nothing bad then, but probably something she knew Skye wouldn't like. "Walk with me for a bit?"
Skye gave Lincoln an apologetic look, but he sent her a reassuring smile. "We'll finish that story later, don't worry." And with a final wave he walked back to his cabin. Skye turned back to Jiaying, gesturing for her to lead the way.
They walked in silence for a while, down the same route Skye and Lincoln had been going. Skye let her mother gather her thoughts for a while, but eventually she sighed. "What's going on?"
"Gordon is worried." Jiaying didn't look at her while she spoke. "Ethan wasn't at the agreed meet-up spot. Gordon worries that something might have happened to him."
Skye frowned. "Okay," she said slowly. "But why? He hasn't even gone through the mist yet. He's of no interest to anyone."
"He's been here, Skye," Jiaying pointed out. "That makes him interesting. You of all people should know that. Hydra, your SHIELD… They're all interested in powered people, whether the powers are already there or just a potential."
Skye hummed in silent agreement. That was unfortunately true. "Okay. So we'll have to find him. If I can get a laptop with WIFI I could try to find him for you." She looked at Jiaying, who seemed to be considering her offer, but still looked a bit… uncomfortable. "But that's not why you wanted to talk to me, is it?" When Jiaying didn't answer, Skye sighed. "So it's about Cal."
"You know he can't stay here," Jiaying started. "He's dangerous. His actions have put us in danger." She looked sideways at Daisy. "He has to leave."
Skye returned her look. "And he doesn't know that, does he? Let me guess, you told him that it's only for a while. That he can come back once things have died down." When Jiaying looked away again and said nothing, Skye knew she was right.
She sighed. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think that that's a bad idea." She shoved her hands in her pockets. "You can't just drop him. He'll get upset, and when he gets upset people get hurt."
"So you want to tell him while he's still here?" Jiaying asked incredulously. "And risk how he can get… here, with these people?"
Skye stopped short. "I don't want anyone to get hurt, and that includes the innocent bystanders of wherever you're planning to drop him."
Jiaying stopped too, and turned around to look at her. The older woman gave a small shrug. "Those people aren't my concern."
"Well they are mine." Skye pulled her mouth in a firm line. "That's kind of what being a SHIELD agent is about. Or, at least what it's supposed to be about."
Her mother shook her head again. "I don't want to hear about the people you think you're responsible for. I can't make exceptions. He's not one of us, so he has to go." Skye narrowed her eyes, but Jiaying merely shrugged again. "Sometimes as leader I have to do things I'd rather not do."
Skye turned and continued walking down a path she knew now led to a beautiful view point. She felt Jiaying's footsteps following her. "Where are you dropping him anyway? China?"
"Milwaukee," Jiaying replied softly. "That's his home. We were gonna raise you there. Cal was only in China volunteering for doctors without borders."
With a soft smile, Skye stopped at the end of the path and looked out over the valley. "You can't just leave him there. It's like leaving a puppy, except this puppy bites really fucking hard when upset."
Jiaying chuckled, though it was devoid of any humour. "So, what then? I let him stay?"
"Let me go with him."
Skye's statement was met with only silence, and after a few beats she finally turned around to face her mother. "You asked me for one dinner. One chance, really. And I…" She stopped, frustrated with herself. "I emphasise."
"After one dinner you think you know him? Understand him?" Jiaying asked disbelievingly.
"I do." Skye met her mother's gaze head on. "Because I spent my entire life searching for anything on my parents. I lied, I broke laws, I manipulated people, and I didn't even remember you. And he did remember me. He knew what he lost. So yeah, I think I do understand him."
Jiaying looked down, and Skye sighed. "Just, let me go with him. I can talk with him , soften the blow a bit. Just so I can let him know that he hasn't lost us forever. That he hasn't lost me forever, not again."
She held her mother's gaze as Jiaying looked up again, both staring at each other in a silent challenge. "Okay," Jiaying said finally. "But I'm sending Lincoln in too, to keep an eye on you."
Skye raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment on it. If she was allowed to do this with a babysitter, then she'd take it with the babysitter. Besides, Lincoln was nice. "Okay," she thus said. "Deal."
Notes:Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! Leave a comment or kudos if you're so inclined. I love reading your comments, and I will get back to you (I promise I will eventually).
So, multiple things in the works. Won't disclose what, but I dare say it's gonna be fun.
Next chapter for SWK:the raid on Strucker's Base and all that follows, and Skye and Cal's father-daughter day
Thanks again for reading! Drink some water, have a snack, and take care y'all <3
Notes:Aww adorable how they all support each other! I have very mixed feelings on this part, please let me know what you all think so I can make the next part even better
Next time they see each other they're getting married! Except Ultron is up next, and also Real SHIELD (ugh) and also Skye's lovely parents! Isn't that a joy for all?!
Up for chapter 2, all mentioned above. Its gonna be great. So much trauma. But after that… *rings wedding bells*
Series this work belongs to:← Previous Work Part 7 of The Secrets We Keep