Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“I want to join SHIELD.”

Coulson glances up, startled by Skye’s sudden appearance. “What?”

Skye is sixteen and impatient with everything. Especially visitation, and even though she has her driver’s license he still takes her every time, because she asks him to. Because she’s his daughter and he loves her.

She leans one hip against the wall, folding her arms and scowling. “I said, I want to join SHIELD.”

“I heard you the first time.” Coulson shifts. “It just seems sudden, that’s all.”

“No, cause I’ve been thinking about this for a while.”

“Okay.” He pushes his chair back, gestures to the desk. “Talk to me.”

Skye comes across and perches on the edge of the desk, crossing her ankles. “I want to protect myself.”

Coulson raises one eyebrow. “You’ve been taking self-defense and martial arts classes for four years.”

“Yeah, and I want to learn more.” She swings her legs, heels tapping against the desk. “To help other people, too.”

He gazes at her bright eyes, determined expression, and knows there will be very little he can do to stop her.

“You joined right out of high school,” Skye continues. “And Mom said they take people as young as sixteen.”

“That’s true.” He hums, choosing his words carefully. “Big picture- I need to know you’ve thought this through.”

“I have.” She shifts. “Look, I know it’s gonna be a ton of hard work, all that-”

“You’d have to leave,” he says. “Live at the Academy while you train. Everything would change.”

“Maybe I need a change.” She lifts her chin. “I want to go into Operations.”

Coulson holds her gaze. “They have the most aggressive program. The highest fail rate.”

“I can do it. I know I can.”

They come up with a compromise.

She’ll train at home till she’s eighteen and legally free of the Johnsons forever. Then, SHIELD Academy.

They take a weekend to empty the spare room and lay down mats, bring in other equipment. Coulson makes arrangements with Fury to let Skye practice her marksmanship at a nearby SHIELD facility once a week.

And then he gets to watch, all but glowing with pride, as his daughter gets stronger. More confident.

~~~

Visitation has become an intricate game. A tense game with terrifying consequences, but one Skye knows how to play well.

She’s created a “Daisy” persona which so far the Johnsons have accepted unquestioningly. Sullen, sulky, and not at all inclined to talk. She even keeps it up while they walk her out to the car, until her dad drives away.

She used to handle these visits by dissociating. Now, she counts the minutes and nods along to whatever the Johnsons say.

Which works well until they ask her a question. Even those, she’s learned to take in stride, giving them half-truths and outright lies.

“Look like you’re putting on some muscle,” Cal remarks one afternoon.

Skye shrugs, studying her chipped yellow nail polish.

“What are you up to these days, anyway?” he asks lightly.

“Boxing.” More like martial arts and hand-to-hand combat.

“New hobby?” Jiaying hums. “Or are you training for something in particular?”

“Nah.” Definitely. Training so that if you ever try to touch me again, I can kick your ass.

“That’s nice.”

“I’ll have to start looking for a trainer in Milwaukee,” Cal says. “So that you can keep working at it next year.”

This is another part of the game. The Johnsons assume that when Skye turns eighteen, things are going to change. Because the court’s rulings only last till July second, two-thousand-six.

They’ve got this idea in their heads that when that day comes, she’s gonna pack her bags and come live with them.

Skye almost wishes she could see their faces on that day. See the moment they realize she isn’t coming; when they finally put the pieces together and figure out that sweet little Daisy Johnson was never real, was a well-crafted ruse, that she’s Skye Coulson and always has been.

Chapter Text

“So, first day at the Academy.”

Skye glances at her dad.

“Excited?” He smiles.

She looks back at the building towering above her. “Hell yeah.”

“Big thing for you.” Coulson shifts. “For anyone, really.”

“Yeah.” She shoves her hands in her pockets.

“Operations is the hardest division to get into. Easiest to wash out of.”

“Trying to scare me out of this?” Skye glares.

“No.” He meets her gaze. “I just want to make sure you understand what you’re getting into.”

“Mom didn’t wash out. Neither will I.” She shakes her hair back. “And if I do, I’ll just transfer to Communications. Put those computer skills to good use.”

“I believe in you.”

She smiles slightly. “Thank you.”

“Now.” Her dad comes around in front of her, taking her hands. “I’m just a phone call away. If you need me for any reason-”

“I’ll call.” She tightens her grip on his hands. “Promise.”

“And don’t forget your therapy appointments.”

“Yes, sir.” She smiles.

Coulson hesitates for a minute, and pulls her into a hug. “I love you,” he murmurs.

Skye leans into his embrace, just a few seconds longer. “Love you, Dad.”

~~~

She easily tests into the third year classes, like they’d planned.

Skye ignores any suspicious whispers. She’s earned her place in this group. Deserves it as much as anyone else here.

And the first few days are exhilarating. She easily beats her opponents from her own class, manages to hold her own against the boy from the next class up- May trained her well.

But by the end of the first week, she’s starting to get lonely. It’s the longest she’s been away from her parents since they got her back. Until now, she’d never been away from Coulson for more than a few hours.

Her roommate is absolutely no help. Not that Skye sees her much- Kara tends to spend most of her free time studying, or in the gym. And phone calls to her parents can only do so much.

So, Skye goes to the common room.

It’s quiet, this late at night. She curls up in the corner of a couch with a book and tries to concentrate, but reading about Harry Potter and his friends only makes her realize all over again how alone she is.

“Good book?”

She glances up at the dark-haired young man standing over her. “Uh- yeah.” She shifts. “I guess.”

“Never got around to reading those.”

“Maybe you should. It’s a fun series.”

He smiles, offering his hand. “Grant Ward.”

“Skye Fraser.” She closes the book and shakes his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

He pulls a chair over and sits down. “So, um… you’re new here?”

“Yeah.” Skye pulls her legs up under her. “My parents are agents, so.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, uh- nobody you’d know.” Skye shifts. “What about you?”

“Huh?”

“How did you get roped into this?”

He looks uncomfortable. “Uh… I was recruited.”

Skye nods. “Cool.”

Ward clears his throat. “Enjoying class?”

“The lectures on SHIELD history, yeah. Though a lot of it is just review.”

“Really? I almost fell asleep, like, three times.”

“Could be worse.” She shrugs. “We could be in Sci-Tech.”

“Guess that’s true.”

They sit in silence for a while. Skye reads the back jacket of her book, over and over again. She thinks she knows the words off by heart when Ward finally speaks.

“You want to grab a drink or something?”

Skye starts. “I’m actually eighteen, so…”

“Oh.” He glances down. “We could do something else.”

She’s tired, and she tends to get very blunt when she is. “Why do you care?”

He doesn’t look at her for a minute. “You looked lonely,” he says at last. “I just thought, maybe, you could use some company.”

Skye glances at her watch, and straightens, dropping her book into her backpack. “It’s a hot cocoa kind of night, care to join me?”

Ward smiles. “I’d love to.”

~~~

“Today, we have some special guests. A few seasoned agents have come in to talk to you all about field missions and what to expect.” The instructor shifts. “Please welcome Agents John Garrett, Melinda May, and Julia Rowe.”

The class applauds, and Skye straightens. She’d known May was coming, but not Agent Rowe.

The three take their seats at the front of the auditorium. Skye notices May’s quick look, and smiles slightly.

“You’ll have a chance to personally speak to each of our guests after the lecture. Now, make sure you’re taking notes.” The instructor gestures, and Garrett takes the floor.

Afterwards, Skye doesn’t bother waiting to talk to her mom. She and May have already made plans, gotten approval, to get out later and spend some time together. Instead she stands in Agent Rowe’s line, clutching her notebook.

She has no idea what she’s planning to say.

How do you thank someone for saving you from your kidnappers?

Finally Skye reaches the front of the line.

“Hi.” Agent Rowe smiles. “Pleasure to meet you, Ms…?”

“Fraser.” Skye shakes her hand. She’s trembling, but manages to smile. “I just wanted to thank you.”

Rowe raises her eyebrows. “For what?” she asks.

Skye glances down. “You’re… one of my role models. You inspired me to join SHIELD and help people.”

“Me?” The woman chuckles a little. “I’m just a field agent.”

“You, um… you probably don’t remember, but you saved me once. When I was a kid.”

Agent Rowe tilts her head. “Ms. Fraser… your first name wouldn’t happen to be Skye, would it?”

She smiles, nods. She thinks she’s starting to tear up.

“You’re Phil’s daughter.”

“Yeah.” Skye swipes at her eyes. “You saved me, and I never got the chance to thank you.” Her voice breaks.

To Skye’s surprise, Rowe pulls her into a hug. “I’ve been praying for you,” she murmurs. “I didn’t hear anything else after we brought you home, but I always hoped you were okay.”

“Thank you.” Skye is crying now. “Thank you for bringing me home.”

Rowe lets go, smiling while wiping her own damp eyes. “I’m glad you’re safe, and I look forward to seeing where SHIELD takes you. Maybe we’ll even work together some day.”

She glances down, smiling softly. “I’d like that.”

The older woman squeezes her hand again. “It was good to see you again.”

“You too.”

~~~

Stargazing is such a cheesy date idea that Skye never thought she’d actually do it.

But here, with Grant, she can’t imagine anything more perfect. Can’t imagine being happier.

“Pity it’s cloudy,” he murmurs.

“Mm.” She snuggles closer.

“So, uh… we really need to talk about the elephant in the room.”

She groans. “You had to go and ruin a perfect date?”

“Skye.” He rolls half over, propping his head up with his arm. “We can’t avoid it forever.”

She curls closer. “Sucks that I’m not graduating for another year.”

“Even if you were, we’d never get assigned together.”

“Yeah.” She scoffs.

Grant throws his arm over her waist, tracing his hand lightly down her side. “We always knew it was gonna end sooner or later.”

Skye closes her eyes. “I wish it could’ve been later,” she murmurs. “A lot later.”

“Me too.” He’s quiet for a minute. “Maybe we can get together every once in a while. It doesn’t have to end completely.”

“I guess.” She sighs, curling into him. “I’m gonna miss you.”

Chapter Text

Skye rises through the ranks quickly.

When chaos descends on New York, she’s made Level Six. And when they tell her that her father is dead, she drives to a lonely beach and screams till her throat is raw.

She doesn’t know what to do with this emptiness inside her. How to live without the man who loved her unfailingly, unconditionally. Who left his job to raise her (my job is to be your dad, Skye) and who had spent every day for six years coaching her through panic attacks and dissociative episodes and the particular kind of hell the Johnsons had put her through, and eventually trained her to join SHIELD.

He’s gone, he’s never going to come back, and she doesn’t know how to live with that.

And then she’s placed undercover in the Rising Tide. So deep undercover that her SHIELD records are wiped, on the off chance that one of the organization’s many brilliant hackers decides to go poking around.

Not that it matters. Her backstory is perfectly crafted. And no one looks twice at Skye, the girl with no family and no place to belong, the girl who grew up shuffled around the foster system unwanted and unloved.

It’s an easier way of living.

~~~

Three months after her father is reported killed in action, Skye does something she never thought she would.

She hacks SHIELD for real.

For all the organization's insistence on protocol and procedure, her job is literally to go off-book when necessary. And sure, this isn’t necessary, but she argues to herself that she has to know. She needs to know how Coulson died. What was so secretive and hush-hush that Fury couldn’t even give May his body to bury.

Several minutes later her world has been reduced to two words on her laptop screen from a file in a SHIELD computer bank somewhere.

In Recovery.

She can’t breathe. She can’t breathe.

It should say Deceased. It would have killed her to read it but this is worse. This is so much better and so much worse at the same time because her dad is alive, he’s alive somewhere and Fury lied to them-

Skye fumbles for her phone- the one that SHIELD doesn’t track- and punches in May’s number. Waits, gaze still locked on the screen, while it rings.

May answers with a short, annoyed, “Yes?”

“Mom.” Skye loses her breath again for a second. “Mom, I- I need-”

“Skye?” Her tone instantly shifts into concern. “Where are you? What’s wrong?”

“I need to talk to you,” she manages. “Please.”

There’s a pause, and then May speaks again, quieter. “I’m here, hon. Talk to me.”

“In person.” She traces the shape of the letters. In Recovery. “It’s- I need to talk to you in person, please.”

“I can’t just-” A sigh. “Okay. Okay, I can get time off.”

“I’ll text you an address to meet. I’m- I’m in L.A.”

Another pause. “Skye, is something wrong?”

“No.” Something’s right.

~~~

May’s been waiting for twenty minutes, sipping a cup of quickly cooling tea, when finally Skye slips into the booth opposite her.

The first thing that May notices is how Skye’s shaking. Vibrating with what must be barely-contained emotion. May pushes away the teacup and leans across the table to lay her hands on her daughter’s.

“Talk to me.”

Skye doesn’t meet her gaze. “Okay, so first of all, I broke protocol.”

May’s flash of panic must show in her face, because Skye quickly adds, “SHIELD doesn’t know, and they’re not going to find out.”

“What did you do?” May demands. She’s almost scared to find out.

“I- I hacked Dad’s file.”

May loses her breath for a second, wanting to ask why, needing to know what she found-

“I just wanted to know why- how he died.” Skye doesn’t look up, pushing her phone across the table.

A quick glance at the screen. May had only intended to take one glance.

Status: In Recovery.

Phil’s alive.

He’s alive out there somewhere and Fury lied to them- he looked her in the eyes and he lied to her. After everything he did for them, the years he spent as their friend, helping them get Skye back-

“I’m gonna kill Fury,” May grinds out.

Skye’s gaze is just as hard and determined. “I’d help you.”

“But you need to get back to work.” May pushes the phone back across the table. “If anything goes wrong, I’ll take the fall. You shouldn’t get into trouble over this.”

“I told you, they won’t find out.” Skye slips out of the booth, pausing to grip May’s shoulder. “Find Dad.”

Chapter Text

“I’ll take this mission on one condition.” May scowls at Fury. “I want Skye on the team.”

“Agent Fraser is on assignment.”

“Either I get Skye, or you don’t get me.”

~~~

Coulson leans on the edge of the table, glancing at the three members of the team. “We’ll be landing in LA in two minutes, where we’ll be picking up another member of the team.” He flicks the tablet screen, throwing a picture up onto the monitor. “This is Agent Skye Fraser. Ever since the Battle of New York, she’s been undercover in the Rising Tide, feeding SHIELD information.”

He notices the microscopic change in Ward’s expression, but chooses to ignore it. The two were at the Academy at the same time; it’s likely they know each other.

“Recently, she’s been investigating a lab in Los Angeles.” He taps another button. “The Rising Tide released this video a few days ago. Agent Fraser has been tracking this man, known as ‘the Hooded Hero’, and is going to help us bring him in.”

He flicks the screen again, deactivating the monitor. “That will be all for now. Dismissed.”

Coulson takes the tablet with him to the cockpit. May ignores him, which isn’t surprising.

“I want you to meet Skye when we land,” he says as he sits down in the other chair. “Bring her up to my office to-”

“She knows.” May glances over at him briefly.

He pauses. “Okay. I’ll meet her, then.”

“Good.” She shoots him another glance. “Buckle up.”

A minute later, he’s waiting at the top of the ramp as they lower it. Skye’s standing on the tarmac, wearing civilian clothes with a backpack slung over her shoulder. She grins as she comes up the ramp.

“Agent Fraser.” Coulson’s practically beaming.

“Agent Coulson.” She stops in front of him, clasping her hands behind her. “Long time no see.”

“Same to you.” He turns and starts for the situation room, gesturing. “Welcome aboard.”

“Thank you, sir.”

He pauses. “I’m sure you have questions for me.”

“I do, but that can wait.” She tugs her backpack higher. “Right now, we’ve got work to do.”

His heart swells with pride. “One of SHIELD’s finest, eh?”

“This is really not the time.” She’s blushing.

The rest of the team is waiting in the situation room. Coulson stands by the table, gesturing. “Agent Fraser, meet Agents Fitz, Simmons, and-”

“Ward.” She sets her backpack down, flashing him a smile. “Nice to see you again.”

“Pleasure’s all mine, Agent Fraser.” Ward smiles slightly.

Coulson glances between them. “You two know each other?”

“We trained together at the Academy.” Skye raises her eyebrows. “Looks like we got assigned together after all, huh?”

“Sure did.”

Coulson gestures to the table. “Why don’t you tell us what you know?”

Skye pulls her laptop out of her backpack and flips it open, starts typing. After a second a photo pops up on the screen.

“Meet Mike Peterson,” she says. “Thirty-five, divorced, with a ten-year-old son, Ace. Formerly a factory worker, but he was let go after being injured in a workplace accident. That was several months ago.” She shifts. “Now, he has superpowers.”

“Do you have any information on the explosion at the lab?” Ward asks.

“I had a shotgun mic pointed at it before the blast. My equipment isn’t good enough to filter out the background noise, but with the kind of tech you have here-”

“Yeah. Yeah, we could clear it up,” Fitz says.

“Good.” Coulson shifts. “May, take Fitz and Simmons to investigate the lab. Fraser, go ahead and upload your files to our system.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Ward, familiarize yourself with the Cage. We’ll want to have everything ready for when we bring Mr. Peterson in.”

~~~

When it’s over, and Mike Peterson is safely in SHIELD custody, Coulson finds Skye in the lab, packing her things.

He leans against the wall. “Going so soon?”

She glances up. “I have a cover to maintain. Not all of us get the luxury of running ourselves.”

“That’s true.” Coulson shifts. “But, I spoke to the Director. He owes me a favor, said I could bring you on as a member of the team.”

“Really?” She raises her eyebrows. “What about my mission?”

“Well, you’ve been ‘hacking’ SHIELD for the Rising Tide, right?”

“I wouldn’t call it hacking, exactly.” She turns around, leaning on the table. “My handler feeds me quote unquote sensitive information, I spill it. Every once in a while I hack in to put on a show. Your point is…?”

“Tell them you got inside.” He shrugs. “You could keep giving them the occasional data drop if necessary, but I think I’m right to assume that it’s not unheard-of for people to vanish from time to time.”

“That’s fair.” Skye glances down. “What’ll you tell your team?”

“We needed your skills. It’s as simple as that.” Coulson hesitates for a second before taking her hands. “Look. You’re free to turn this down, keep working your own angle. But I think we’re about to be going on a crazy ride, and I want you on it with me.”

She smiles slightly. “Going soft in your old age?”

“Like I haven’t had a soft spot for you since the day I met you.”

Skye chuckles, dropping her head. After a second she meets his gaze. “I’d be more than glad to join your team. Sir.”

“Welcome aboard.”

She giggles softly, leaning her forehead against his.

Chapter Text

They find Fitz and Simmons crouching behind a car, looking vaguely panicked.

“Sir, Skye went in.” Fitz points at the big house.

“We tried to stop her.” Simmons wrings her hands.

“She’s doing her job. She’ll be all right.”

Coulson’s only worried because it’s Skye. He knows she’s a capable agent- more than capable- but he’s never quite managed to get rid of that little voice in his head that’s always fretting over her.

Then, they can’t raise her on comms. Then, blood on Quinn’s hand. The little voice of anxiety morphs into a screaming fear and in one fluid motion, Coulson wrenches the man up and around, shoving a gun under his chin.

“Where’s Skye?” he demands.

Quinn smiles. “You know, Agent Coulson, she’s a lot tougher than she looks. Took three of my best men to subdue her- well, till the first shot.”

Blood turns to ice and Coulson hits Quinn across the face, hard. Ward slams the man against the table as Coulson spins.

“Search the house. Find her.” He’s already starting for the back hall. “Now!”

This, says a more rational part of him, is why SHIELD has protocols about relationships and families. Protocols you chose to ignore.

He pushes through a door near the lowest level of the house and she’s there. Lying on the floor in a pool of blood- her blood-

He’s already on his knees, lifting Skye carefully in his arms. Brown eyes blink hazily at him, and her lips move in an inaudible whisper.

“I’m here,” he says, barely knowing what he’s saying as he takes it in. Assesses. “I’m here, Skye, just hang on.”

Her shirt is soaked with blood, too much blood- his fingers find the bullet wounds, one in her shoulder and the other in her stomach and he yells for help, as loud as he can manage.

Skye’s fingers tangle weakly in the leg of his trousers, and her lips move again.

“Hold on,” Coulson says, cupping her face. “Just hold on, baby girl, it’s gonna be okay.”

She’s still breathing, just barely conscious when they put her into the hyperbaric chamber. He clings to that knowledge as they rush her out of the house.

She’s alive. She’s alive and breathing.

~~~

Coulson stays by the pod throughout the flight to the medical facility in Sweden, even as he calls Fury over and over, trying to get through to him, to get the answers he needs.

Skye’s still conscious, her gaze locked with his and her jaw set. He can only imagine how much pain she’s in right now, and he’s always been proud of his daughter but he still can’t believe how strong she is.

Between failed calls, he talks to her, even knowing she can’t hear him through the pod.

“It’s gonna be okay, baby.” He chokes down a sob. “We’re gonna get you to the facility, and they’re gonna take care of you, you’ll be all right.”

You have to be all right.

He’s probably imagining the trust in her eyes, but he certainly isn’t imagining the pain-cast haze.

But still; if she’s conscious enough to know anything, she knows he’s here. Watching over her.

They’re only a few minutes out when her breathing gets shallow and her eyes roll back. Simmons is there in an instant, working at the controls, saying something about bringing her core temperature down and should keep her stable long enough to get her there and Coulson keeps his palm pressed against the glass and his gaze on his daughter’s face and he prays, the only prayer he can remember from his childhood.

Ave Maria… gratia plena… Dominus tecum… Benedicta tu in mulieribus… et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus…

“Wheels down in two!” May calls over the comms, sounding as tense and worried as he’s ever heard her.

And Skye lies unresponsive, barely breathing, in the pod.

Sancta Maria… Mater Dei… ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc… et in hora mortis nostrae…

The ramp lowers almost before the plane has stopped moving, and May’s there at his side, they’re pushing the chamber down the ramp and across the tarmac and into the facility, and Coulson keeps praying, frantic and terrified.

Ave Maria… gratia plena… Dominus tecum… Benedicta tu in mulieribus…

The medical team takes Skye away and they close the doors and Coulson just stands there, staring after his daughter.

Et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus…

May’s hand wraps around his wrist.

Sancta Maria… Mater Dei…

Coulson hasn’t been a religious man in a long, long time. Not since his father died and his mother stopped taking him to church except for holidays.

Ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc…

He just wants his little girl to live.

Et in hora mortis nostrae…

This cannot be how she dies.

~~~

Ward has spent years carefully crafting his persona.

Aloof. Collected. Rare moments of anger or humor or friendliness.

He relies on those years of self-training now, facing John Garrett again.

Ward knows that Garrett is the true face of the Clairvoyant. And now he’s trying to come up with a way to tell Coulson without being accused of working with him. Because he hasn’t worked directly for Garrett in years. He’s not even actively a part of Hydra, but there lie dangerous waters.

But Garrett ordered Quinn to try to kill Skye. She still might die and if that happens Ward knows exactly what he’ll do, consequences be damned.

Trigger finger.

All his earliest training, before SHIELD, was based around attachments. Specifically, avoiding them. If Garrett knew…

If Skye dies, then John Garrett will go right along with her.

So Ward keeps up his friendly, easy persona. Cracks jokes, smiles, falls into the easy routine of banter with his former S.O. No one would ever guess that anything’s wrong.

Under it all is a seething sea of anger.

So when Skye’s stable, recovering, and they breathe a collective sigh of relief, Ward puts aside his vengeance for a second.

Garrett can live a little while longer.

Chapter Text

With Skye in recovery, May knows it’s time to be honest.

They don’t keep secrets from each other, her and Phil. They made that promise a long time ago, and May’s broken it now. Too many times to count.

It’s time to come clean.

She slips into his office, closing the door behind her. He barely glances up from his tablet. May takes a quick look at the screen- showing the feed from Skye’s med pod, her daughter sleeping peacefully, recovering at last.

“Is it helping?” she murmurs, sitting on the edge of the desk.

He sighs, mouth twisting. “Some.” He glances up. “What’s up?”

May twists her wedding ring. “I’ve been keeping something from you for months, and I…”

Coulson’s hands wrap around hers. “Talk to me, Mel.”

The use of the nickname makes her breath catch. “I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I should have been honest with you from the beginning.”

“You’re worrying me.”

“You think you recruited me for your team, but that’s not the truth.” She pauses. “Fury did.”

Silence.

“When he gave you this plane, your own team, he assigned me to- to watch you.” She hates the sound of the words. “To report any strange behavior, anything out of the ordinary. Because I was the person who knew you the best.”

Because you shared my bed every night for six years. Because we’ve been partners since ‘98, since Skye came into our lives.

“You knew?” She expected to hear betrayal, but Coulson’s tone is broken. Defeated. “What they did to me?”

“Not everything.”

“And you didn’t tell me.”

“I was ordered not to.” May’s hand hovers over his. “I can’t tell you how much I wanted to.”

Coulson doesn’t look at her, doesn’t say anything. His expression is blank.

She can only take the silence for a few minutes.

“Say something.” She clenches her fists. “Please, Phil.”

“What do you want me to say?” His voice is toneless.

“I don’t know.” Tears prick her eyes and she doesn’t know why; she doesn’t cry, she doesn’t get emotional- “Yell at me- get angry, you have every right to be-”

“I’m not.” Coulson’s voice is still empty. “I should be, but I’m not.”

“I hated the sound of the assignment, but I didn’t have a choice, Phil, and I-”

“You wanted to protect me.”

A tear slides down her cheek. “Yes.”

“Because you love me.”

She closes her eyes, feeling another tear fall. “You know that I do.”

It burns her, how completely she loves Phil Coulson. She should not feel like this; this all in, whole heart kind of- of adoration, almost.

Coulson sighs, twists towards her. “I’m not angry. I- I understand why you had to do it.”

“I know you can’t trust me again-”

“I can’t help trusting you.”

His words catch her off guard, and May’s breath stops for a second.

“I’ve never been able to.” He looks up, meeting her gaze.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I should have told you the second I knew.”

“No.” Coulson takes her hand, thumb brushing lightly over her knuckles. “You did what you had to do, I don’t blame you.”

“You should.”

He just shakes his head.

~~~

When the Clairvoyant situation is over- an agent in custody, his orders decidedly defied- Ward goes to Coulson’s office.

Why the hell not? He’s got nothing else to lose.

He sits down opposite his superior officer- his team’s leader, the man who gave him a chance to become better- and knows what he’s about to do. How much he’s risking.

But if he doesn’t tell the truth, if they don’t get Garrett, he’s a dead man.

“I have a confession to make,” Ward says, sealing his fate.

Coulson straightens.

“Thomas Nash was not the Clairvoyant.”

Coulson goes still, his expression sobering. “How do you know?”

Ward hesitates for the space of two breaths, a handful of heartbeats. “Because I know who he really is.”

It’s a defiance of every instinct, every order. He’s chosen to follow his heart against all his training and it doesn’t come easy but he has to get the truth out into the open.

“He isn’t clairvoyant. He can’t read minds.” Ward counts three beats of his heart. “He is a high-ranking SHIELD agent, using his clearance level to simulate supernatural powers.”

Coulson’s deathly serious expression is appropriate for the situation, Ward supposes. The older man shifts, leaning forward ever slightly.

“His name?” he asks.

Ward closes his eyes, takes a breath. Two.

“John Garrett.”

The change in Coulson’s mood is perceptible. “How do you know?”

One heartbeat. “He recruited me for SHIELD. And for his own unit.”

For Hydra, his mind supplies, but the H-word is something he’s not ready to say. Not ready to admit, despite knowing that it’s big and needs to be dealt with.

Coulson shifts. “How long, exactly, have you had this information?”

His tone is icy, and Ward hears the unspoken question, loud and clear.

Could you have kept my daughter from being shot?

“A long time.” A breath. “I didn’t know Quinn was working for him, sir. If I had-”

Two heartbeats. Three.

“Do you have proof?” Coulson asks, quiet. Deadly.

“I was ordered to kill Nash. To make it appear as though he’d gotten under my skin and I’d impulsively shot him.” He takes out his phone and sets it on the desk. “I have the transmission record here, sir. Only I can access it.”

Skye could hack it, he thinks, as he pulls a notepad and pen across the desk and writes down the authorization codes.

Coulson takes the phone and the pad and gazes at them for a minute. “How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

“You don’t.” Ward meets his gaze. “I don’t have any other proof to offer.” One heartbeat. “You have every reason not to trust me, but I swear, I am telling you the truth.”

The man stares at him, inscrutable. Ward counts fifty heartbeats before Coulson speaks.

“Why now?”

“I defied orders.” He doesn’t flinch; his training does not let him betray any weakness. Not anymore. “Garrett is a very… dangerous man. He doesn’t like to be disobeyed.”

Six breaths. Coulson’s gaze drills into him.

“You’re afraid of what he’ll do to you,” he says at last.

Ward’s gaze flicks to the desk, and he nods once.

Chapter Text

When Garrett’s distress call rings over the speakers, Ward shoots Coulson a desperate glance.

“Sir, please,” he says. “I know you can’t trust me-”

Skye looks confused. Ward can’t relax- the danger is getting closer.

“You’re right,” Coulson says quietly. “So trust me. Get him to implicate himself. Give me hard evidence, and I will act on it.”

Hard evidence. Ward nods.

Even if what it takes is provoking Garrett to kill him, it’ll be worth it.

Minutes later, Garrett stalks into the situation room. “Can I ask the obvious question?” he says loudly. “What the hell?”

“We don’t know,” Coulson says. “We don’t even know where our plane is headed.”

Ward shifts, keeping his gaze fixed on his former S.O. Noting exactly where he’s got weapons stashed.

“I saw your trajectory, you’re being tractor-beamed straight to the Hub,” Garrett says. “Those drones were launched outta there, for sure.”

“Victoria Hand,” Coulson mutters.

Keeping him off-track, Ward thinks. Not letting him suspect we know.

“Hand?” Fitz says. “It can’t be.”

“Can’t be what now?” Garrett asks, voice cold.

Skye inhales sharply, turning to look at Coulson. “The Clairvoyant.”

“Thought Janus capped that guy.”

“I don’t believe the man he killed was the Clairvoyant. I think Nash was an unwitting decoy meant to end our investigation,” Coulson says.

C’mon, John. Ward stares him directly in the eyes. Game’s up.

“Lotta trouble to go through for a red herring, don’t you think?” Garrett says dryly.

“Because the Clairvoyant is a SHIELD agent,” Coulson says, and Ward’s hand twitches slightly towards his gun. “Using high-level clearance to stay ahead of us, make it seem like she’s got psychic abilities.”

For a second Ward’s afraid Coulson doesn’t believe him, after all, but he notices the way the man’s gaze hasn’t strayed from Garrett once.

“She?” Garrett tilts his head. “You think Victoria Hand’s the Clairvoyant?”

Coulson shrugs.

Garrett plays it so well that if he didn’t know, Ward would never suspect. “Doesn’t make a lot of sense,” he says. “I was stationed with Vic in Lisbon. She’s a hard-ass and a buzzkill at parties, I grant you, but you really think she’s capable of that?”

“Can we ever really know what anyone is capable of?” Ward asks, glaring hard.

“If she is, why reveal herself now? I mean, if she’s been hiding in plain sight all this time-”

“Guys,” Skye says.

Ward turns to look at the screen, the radio chatter being decrypted into a phrase that makes his stomach turn.

No. Not now.

OUT OF THE SHADOWS, INTO THE LIGHT

Letter by letter the rest comes through, and Ward’s despair mounts. Coulson will know- he’ll put two and two together, it’s not that hard- and he’ll never believe him.

“Well, I’ll be,” Garrett mutters.

HYDRA

Oh, god no.

Coulson manages to get him aside for a second while Garrett’s distracted with something or other that Skye’s doing.

“Anything else you want to tell me, Agent?”

Ward glances at the screen, still displaying that word- his damnation- and nods. “Plenty, sir.”

“I need to know where your loyalties lie.” Coulson’s eyes are flinty. “Or you will not walk off this plane.”

Ward hesitates for a second. Unclips his holster and holds it out.

Coulson meets his gaze as he takes the weapon, turning it over.

“You might need this,” he says after a few seconds, handing it back.

“I need your trust more.” Ward shifts, wishing there were something else he could do, some more decisive gesture he could make.

“You have it.”

~~~

Coulson has doubts about sending Ward and Skye off together, knowing what he does about Ward’s allegiances. But Skye is more than capable of taking care of herself- with or without a backpack full of explosives and a pistol strapped to her hip.

So he focuses on poking the bear.

Finally Garrett slips, and Coulson has the excuse he’s been waiting for to pull out his gun and shoot the man in the knee.

Garrett sucks in a breath, grinning up at Coulson. “Suppose it was too good to last.”

The doors burst open, and Coulson spins around. “Agent Garrett is the Clairvoyant,” he says. “Take him into custody.”

Garrett’s grin is taking on a feral tilt. “I know Sitwell was in charge of filling your ranks, so at least some of you know what to do, boys.”

Shots ring out and Coulson grits his teeth. Sitwell, too?

“Hail Hydra,” Garrett hisses, and the remaining agents salute, chanting the words.

“Hail Hydra! Hail Hydra!”

Garrett staggers to his feet. “How long have you known?” he asks, tilting his head.

Coulson glares back, doesn’t answer.

“You put on a good act, I’ll give you that much. But you’re too soft.” Garrett leans heavily on the back of a chair. “Could’ve let Vic shoot me down, no muss, no fuss.”

Coulson eyes May. Even injured she’s still a force to be reckoned with- then again, there are four men with assault rifles, and she’ll never get to them without a distraction.

Keep him talking.

“I had a different end in mind for you, actually,” Coulson says. “Something more personal.”

“Grant’s idea? He told you, didn’t he.”

“He knows where his loyalties lie.”

“Always knew he had weaknesses.” Garrett shrugs one shoulder. “Tried to train it out of him.”

“Trust isn’t a weakness. Unless you’re referring to the trust he put in you. Which you manipulated.”

“Oh, I don’t deny he was a loyal agent. For a while, at least. Lately…” He tsks. “I knew he was becoming a problem when he didn’t kill Nash like I’d ordered. Thought maybe he’d gone soft. I had no idea it was this bad.”

“Ward is a good man. One who isn’t going to be your pawn any longer.”

“Right. Because he’ll be dead.” Garrett gestures. “Let ‘em have it- but shoot that one in the kneecaps,” he says, indicating Fitz.

The room goes dark, and Coulson senses rather than hears May move. An explosion rocks the room as the emergency lights come on.

Coulson doesn’t hesitate a second longer, going for Garrett with the first implement he can grab- a heavy wrench.

Behind him he can hear the sounds of May handling the rest of the agents. When Fitz tosses him a thunderstick, he drops flat and presses the button, watching Garrett’s expression go from triumphant to shocked in the instant before the shockwave knocks the man off his feet.

Agents storm the room and Coulson scrambles up, turning to face Hand as Simmons dashes past him.

“I’m not Hydra,” he says, hoping against all hope-

“We heard,” Hand says. “Everything.”

The adrenaline is ebbing quickly, and Coulson’s shoulders slump. “Who is?” he asks. “How deep does it go?”

Her downcast expression is the only answer he needs.

~~~

“I’ll find Garrett the smallest, darkest cell in the Ice Box,” Hand says.

Ward, aching and exhausted, glances at Coulson. “I’d like to turn the key on that cell myself.” He hesitates. “If you don’t mind, sir.”

Coulson shifts, giving him a close look. “Can I trust you?” he asks quietly.

Ward holds his superior officer’s gaze. “Now and always.”

After a second, Coulson turns to Hand. “Agent Ward was formerly a Hydra agent,” he says. “But he turned on Garrett before he knew Hydra was becoming active again.”

She gives Ward a long, searching look, and he stays still under her scrutiny. He hardly dares to hope he passes muster; with luck, they might not shoot him right away.

“And do you trust him?” she asks at last, directing the question to Coulson.

“Not completely. Not yet.”

Ward understands. It’s better than he’d expected.

“But this would be an opportunity to prove where his loyalties truly lie,” Coulson continues.

Finally, Hand nods.

On the jet, Ward sits across from his former mentor and doesn’t quail at the hate in his eyes.

Garrett picked his side a long time ago.

“You know what I’m thinking, Agent Garrett?” Hand says in a musing tone. “I’m thinking the Ice Box is a little too comfortable for you.” She pauses. “Maybe we should put you a little deeper underground.”

Ward allows the barest hint of a smirk to creep onto his face. The only place you can really trust a man is six feet under, eh, John?

“What do you think, Agent Ward?” she asks, glancing at him. “Care to prove your loyalties?”

Ward stands, pulling out his gun. He can feel Hand’s gaze on him, knows her hand is hovering over her own firearm, ready to draw and shoot if he makes one wrong move.

He raises his gun, pacing forwards to place the cold barrel directly against Garrett’s forehead. The fury and venom in the man’s eyes might give a lesser man pause; Ward’s spent years with his moods.

It’s the most satisfying bullet he’s ever fired.

Chapter Text

Six months into life at the Playground, things are going-

Well, Skye would say things were going well, all things considered.

Coulson, director of SHIELD, putting the agency back together, attempting to rebuild it the right way. Hand had let Coulson head up the organization, but stayed on to help lead and shape the new SHIELD. It was her intel that led them to the Iliad, to Gonzales’ team. More agents.

Fitz, developing new tech daily, and Simmons, who’d taken time off to visit her parents and didn’t come back. May, working harder than almost anyone else; Trip, his usual optimistic self, keeping everyone’s spirits up.

Skye, one of their best agents left, trying to put herself back together in the aftermath of her life crumbling around her. And Ward, still monitored but trusted.

Skye tries to avoid talking to him. Finding out about Hydra was a shock and she doesn’t know how to feel about him being in it so long without telling her. To his credit, Ward’s been respecting her space. She catches him looking at her, now and then, but he hasn’t tried to start a conversation since she screamed at him to leave her alone in a fit of anger shortly after they moved into the base.

So yeah. She’d say things are going well.

~~~

Skye stares at Coulson. “Really? Raina?”

“How the hell did she escape?” May growls.

Ward leans against a chair, folding his arms. “Garrett had other agents. She was involved in the Centipede project, it makes sense that they would’ve broken her out.”

“However she got out, we now have bigger fish to fry.” Coulson taps the tablet screen. “She gave us a way to track Creel.”

After the briefing, Ward follows Skye down the hall. “Can I talk to you?”

She stops, closing her eyes and blowing out a breath. “Sure.”

“I’ve been reaching out to some of my Hydra contacts. Apparently Raina has information about your parents.”

In hindsight, she definitely should’ve known which parents Raina was referring to.

She chuckles, thinking about the briefing they just left. “What about them?”

Ward glances around, takes a step closer. “It’s about your father,” he says quietly.

Skye freezes. “My… father?”

“Look, I don’t know the whole story. My contact told me Raina gave him a message to get to me. Said to say that your father’s alive and he’s trying to find you.”

Skye can’t breathe. The words echo in her mind- Cal’s alive and trying to find me- Her vision’s blurring and her head is spinning and oh god, she hasn’t had a panic attack in years-

“Skye? Skye!”

She wrenches her hands out of Ward’s grip, stumbles back against the wall. Breathe- you’re safe, okay- he can’t find you-

“What’s wrong?” He sounds worried.

She claws at her throat. Panic attack, idiot-

A smaller, slimmer pair of hands touches hers. “I’ve got you,” May murmurs.

Skye’s hands seize on her mom’s. May starts down the hallway, pulling Skye along gently. “You’re safe, Skye,” she murmurs. “Hear me? You are okay.”

“I’m sorry,” Ward says. “I- I didn’t-”

“Give us space,” May snaps.

Skye shakes her head. “T-tell her-” she gasps out, flinging a look at Ward.

“My contacts in Hydra say Skye’s father is looking for her,” he says.

Skye doesn’t speak Chinese, but she knows swearing when she hears it. May holds her tightly.

“He won’t find you,” she says, right in Skye’s ear. “He won’t. We won’t let it happen again.”

When the panic attack is over, May leaves Skye on a couch in the common room to take a nap. Ward comes and sits on the floor beside her, and for once, Skye doesn’t want to push him away.

“I’m sorry,” he says after a minute.

Skye stares at the ceiling. “’s not your fault. You didn’t know.”

Ward leans his head on the arm of the couch. “Doesn’t make me feel better.” He glances over his shoulder at her. “If it would help to talk about it, I’m here.”

Knowing what she does about his family, she knows he’d actually understand. That sort of makes it worse.

“He… kidnapped me.” She rolls a ping-pong ball between her palms, focusing on the feel of the smooth plastic. “I was seven, and… he smashed my window and took me out of my bedroom.”

Ward doesn’t say anything, just reaching up and resting his hand on her shoulder. She hesitates for a minute, finally giving in to her softer feelings and laying her head on his hand. He rubs his thumb lightly against her cheek and for a second, Skye’s able to pretend they’re back in the Academy, relaxing after a long, hard day of training.

“I’m really sorry,” Ward says after a long time. “If it helps at all, I… understand what you’re going through.”

She sighs deeply. “I know.”

~~~

“Skye needs to come with us,” Ward says, and she catches the look in his eyes. There’s something there, something not quite right- is he being threatened? and she hesitates for only a few seconds before going to him. Letting him take her out.

It’s not right. His hand is shaking as he grasps hers and she’s only seen him scared a few times-

Raina ushers her into the back room of the theater in Puerto Rico, and Skye freezes.

Cal is staring at her, a slight smile on his face, and all her nightmares are crashing down on her.

“Hello, Daisy,” he says. “It’s good to see you again.”

He steps closer, and she backs up against the door, pressing her sweaty palms against the smooth wood. Her heartbeat is too fast and she’s shaking and she feels like she’s gonna throw up.

“I’ve missed you,” Cal murmurs.

Skye just stares.

Remember your training.

She has to stay alert. In control of her mind and body. If she has a panic attack or shuts down now then she’s putting herself in danger.

“Look how much you’ve grown.” He smiles wider. “God, you’re so beautiful.”

Instinct says to stay quiet; the mental voices that sound like her parents and her therapist insist she speaks up.

“Don’t talk to me.” Her voice comes out stronger than she’d expected.

Cal stops short, staring at her. “Daisy-”

“That’s not my name.” She’s shaking all over- she’s talked back to him twice now.

“You don’t mean that.” He takes a step closer, and it takes all of her willpower to keep from flinching. “They kept you away from me for a long time, Daisy, but I’m here now. Nobody’s ever going to take you away from me again.”

She takes a short, quick breath. “My name is Skye.” Stand your ground. “And I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“You don’t mean that.” Cal shakes his head. “They filled your head with lies, they made you hate us. But your mother and I are going to take care of you now, Daisy. I’m going to take you home.”

She fights against the waves of terror. “I said, I’m not going with you.”

He just smiles, and her stomach flips over. “You’ll change your mind. You’re finally going to receive your gift. Your birthright.”

She’s slowly realizing that she won’t get through to him, and she slides down to the floor, curling tightly into herself. If only she could be certain of knocking him out in one hit-

Cal sits beside her, and Skye slides a few feet away. If he tries to touch her, she can at least break some bones-

But he doesn’t. He just sits there, humming “Daisy Bell”, the way he did every night for five years when he put her to bed, and her stomach turns over.

She forces herself to think of a different song, the song her dad sang to her. You are my sunshine, my only sunshine- she won’t have a panic attack now, she can’t-

Chapter Text

“Skye!”

She lifts her head, blinking, and sees Ward dropping to his knees in front of her.

“Grant.” The word slips out, a breathless whisper.

“I’m so sorry.” He shifts, working at the ropes. “I didn’t know this was going to happen, I swear-”

A sob catches in her throat. She can’t look at him.

“I’ll get you out of here, away from him.” His hand brushes against hers. “I promise.”

“You did this,” she whispers.

Ward pauses, looking away. “You’re right. It’s my fault. Will you let me try to fix it?”

She lets him grasp her wrists, pull her up out of the chair. She doesn’t have it in her to pull away from his touch or lean in or react at all; she’s going numb inside, shutting down to get away from the fear and the pain.

“C’mon.” Ward wraps his arm around her waist. “I’ll get you back to Coulson.”

They’re halfway down the hall when she hears the yelling.

“You took my Daisy away from me!”

Fear flashes through her, burning away the beginnings of the dissociative episode. Skye pulls away from Ward, grabbing his gun as she starts running. Cal’s standing over Coulson, hitting him, and she doesn’t hesitate.

Her aim is impeccable. In an instant, without stopping to think, Skye raises the gun and shoots Cal in the shoulder.

He stumbles back. Skye nearly drops the gun in shock, and Ward takes it and slams the butt into Cal’s head.

Oh my god. I shot him.

“Skye,” Coulson coughs.

She drops to the floor beside him, hands fisting in his jacket. “Dad,” she chokes out. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay.” He pulls her in. “I’m here.”

“I- I have to- I need-”

“Hey.” He tightens his arms. “You’re okay.”

“I need to fix this.” She glances over her shoulder.

Ward’s blocking the door, and he meets her gaze. “You don’t have anything to fix.”

~~~

Skye spends the next few days in a daze.

She knows the facts of what happened; knows they found Mack unconscious outside the main chamber of the temple, that the Obelisk disappeared along with Raina, that something happened to her down there and her DNA has been changed (Terrigenesis, whispers a voice that sounds like Jiaying). That Cal is locked up somewhere and she’ll never have to see him again.

But the panic hasn’t gone away.

She spends all her time oscillating between fear that makes her whole body shake, and irritability that turns to anger at the slightest provocation, and exhaustion so deep that she just cries and cries.

It’s almost a week later when she finally agrees to see Andrew Garner.

Agrees being a very loose term. Her emotional turmoil is impacting her work to the point that Coulson practically threatened to bench her unless she talked to the therapist.

It’s an irritable day. She sits on the couch, trying not to glare at him. Garner stares back, impassive, fingering a file in his lap.

“So, Skye.”

“Don’t bother.” She glances away. “You’ve read my file, so you know I’ve done this before.”

“Four therapists in seven years.” He shifts. “Impressive.”

“No, it was stupid.” She scowls. “Because the first three sucked, and made things worse.”

“But the fourth was better?”

“Look.” Skye rubs her hands together. “I don’t want to relive my trauma again, any more than you need to hear about it. I’ve been through this before.” She glances up. “Why don’t we skip to the part where you tell me to try another anxiety medication- because the first three worked so well- and to leave SHIELD.”

“Without fully assessing your situation-”

“I know how this works, and I’m gonna tell you right now that I won’t quit. This is the only place I’m safe.” She’s starting to feel a little less numb. “And yeah, my trauma is a huge issue right now, but until recently I was managing it. I know coping strategies, grounding techniques, I’m fine.”

Garner raises his eyebrows. “You seem pretty determined not to let me speak.”

“You did get the part where I’ve been through this multiple times, right?” She sighs, slouching. “Look, I’m just- I’m tired, okay? I was dealing with things fine, it wasn’t affecting my daily life anymore, and then I had a crappy break. I just want to get past it and get better.”

“And I’m here to try and help you do that. But I can’t unless you let me.”

Skye rubs her hand over her face, staring at the ceiling for a minute.

“I wish I could forget,” she says at last. “About the Johnsons, about the years of therapy, all of it. I wish I could start over, I wish- there was a version of this where they never found me and I got to have a normal childhood.”

“But you didn’t. This is real life, Skye.”

“Wow.” She scoffs. “Way to make me feel better.”

“You and I both know that’s not why I’m here.” Garner shifts. “My job is to help you learn to live with this, not to make you forget.”

Skye drops her head for a minute. “I know.”

“So.” He shuffles the papers in his lap. “Why don’t you tell me about the last few weeks.”

Skye meets his gaze, finally nodding.

How hard can it be?

Chapter Text

Skye’s alone one day, about a week later, when she hears a strange electrical zapping, accompanied by a flash of blue light. Before she has time to react, someone grabs her and her stomach flips over as she’s pulled into blackness.

She collapses as the person lets go of her. Her head spins, and for a few seconds she can’t see where she is.

“Gordon?” a woman says.

Skye knows that voice.

Her blood runs cold.

“Right where you suspected she’d be,” a man answers.

Skye pushes herself upright. She’s in a dimly lit, unfurnished room, and Jiaying is smiling down at her.

“Daisy,” she says softly. “Welcome home.”

Skye’s head is spinning and she can’t think straight. It’s a nightmare on top of five or six other nightmares and she’s shaking all over- she can’t think-

“Oh, my darling.” Jiaying kneels, gathers Skye into her arms. “It’s all right, you’re safe now. Mama’s here.”

Skye’s stomach flips and she vomits directly into Jiaying’s lap. The woman strokes her hair.

“It’s all right, Daisy. You’re safe.”

I’m not safe. I’m not safe. Her throat burns, and she clamps her arms around herself, trying to stop the spasms. Mental fog swirls, offering her dissociation- a way out, a refuge from the fear…

She welcomes it gladly.

~~~

She’s sitting on something soft.

Skye blinks. Her head is buzzing and she thinks she might be dizzy.

Right. She dissociated.

On purpose.

Her brain and body shut down to protect her (because they can’t hurt you if you’re not there while it’s happening). She’s supposed to recenter herself- get your mind back in your body, Coulson might say- but she’s not sure she wants to.

If she comes back then she has to see Jiaying again. Has to open herself up to being hurt.

A little voice in her head that sounds like May whispers insistently, says you don’t get to check out of this.

Skye wills herself to feel the texture of the fabric under her fingers- something embroidered. She wiggles her toes inside her shoes, tilts her head from side to side. Registers each body part one at a time- toes, feet, legs… fingers, hands, arms, she rolls her shoulders, tilts her head again.

Her whole body aches, and she expects her mouth to still taste awful but someone must’ve given her water to rinse with. Suddenly Skye’s senses are on high alert as she realizes she doesn’t know where she is, doesn’t have a clear idea of how much time has passed or what else could’ve been done to her. What else she could’ve done while moving on autopilot.

She opens her eyes and glances around quickly, assessing the room.

There’s furniture in this room, Oriental she thinks. She’s alone. She doesn’t feel sick and nothing hurts that didn’t before.

Slowly Skye stretches, stands up. She walks quickly around the room, checking the door and the windows but they’re locked. There’s nothing, no way out. She can’t even tell where she is- it’s dark outside and she can’t see any familiar landmarks.

She’d half hoped she was in Milwaukee, because even though seeing that place again would’ve brought back terrible memories, given her a few flashbacks and panic attacks, at least she would’ve been able to find her way home. Here- she has nothing.

After a while she flops down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. The all-too-familiar buzz of anxiety grows stronger by the minute, and Skye knows she needs to block it out. Make it stop.

Control. What can I control?

She’s alone, in a strange place. Her parents don’t know where she are and Jiaying is here and she has no way out, no way to-

“Okay,” Skye says under her breath. “Hey. Hey. I’m okay. I’m gonna figure this out.”

What can I control?

She gets up and starts pacing slowly, taking deliberate deep breaths. There’s really very little that she can control, but she has to stay present to be able to do even that little bit.

“Okay.” She closes her eyes for a second. “Okay, Skye, here’s what you’re gonna do. You are gonna quit freaking out, you are not gonna let your trauma define you, and you are definitely not gonna do any more dissociating. Okay?”

Skye blows out a breath.

“I am gonna get through this,” she whispers, dropping her chin on her chest. “Be strong like my parents taught me to be.”

~~~

When she can’t keep her eyes open any longer, Skye pulls the blanket off the bed and tucks herself into the corner of the room, behind the couch. When she wakes up, there’s sunlight filtering through the thin curtains.

She uncurls, groaning. Her whole body aches, and she groans some more for good measure as she gets up and throws the blanket back on the bed.

“Shoulda listened to you, Mom.” She rolls her eyes. “Always warned me not to sleep on the floor.”

There’s a knock on the door, and Skye whirls around, tensing. Not ready to face Jiaying again, she could never be ready-

The door opens to reveal a young man with light hair and a scruffy beard. He sets a tray down on the table, nudging the door closed with his foot.

“Hi,” he says with a warm smile. “You must be Daisy.”

“My name is Skye.”

He pauses. “Skye. I’m Lincoln.” He takes a step closer. “Your mother asked me to teach you about our people, to help… prepare you for what’s going to happen.”

Skye wraps her arms tight around herself. “What?”

Lincoln gestures to the tray. “Why don’t I tell you over breakfast?”

She eyes him suspiciously. He holds her gaze, smiling slightly. “I promise I’m not here to hurt you.”

After a while she pulls a cushion over and sits down at the low table. He sits opposite her and nudges the tray closer.

“Try the strawberries,” he says. “We grow them right here.”

She picks one out of the bowl, squinting at it. Lincoln pops one in his mouth, grins at her.

Skye takes a cautious bite. “So,” she says after a second. “Where’s here?”

“We don’t know, exactly. It’s completely hidden from the rest of the world, for our protection. The name is Chinese, I think. Lai Shi. It doesn’t translate exactly, so we call it Afterlife.”

She freezes with a second strawberry halfway to her mouth, the memory of Jiaying’s stories suddenly fresh in her mind “What?”

“This place was created as a safe haven for people like us.”

Dread pools in her stomach. “Like us?”

“Inhumans.”

“Someday, Daisy, we’ll go to my home. It’s a beautiful place, called Afterlife. Oh, darling, you’ll love it there… The people who live there are called Inhumans. One day, you’ll become one of us. You’ll receive your Gift, and it will be beautiful.”

“Skye?”

Dishes clatter on the floor as she pushes away from the table, scrambling back till she hits the end of the bed. She wraps her arms tight around herself. Her heartbeat is thudding so hard she can hear it and she can’t breathe-

“Hey, are you okay?” Lincoln kneels, reaching towards her.

She presses back against the bedframe. “Don’t touch me,” she gasps.

“Okay.” He holds up his hands. “I’m not gonna hurt you.”

It takes a massive effort but Skye wrenches free and starts walking herself through a grounding technique.

“Okay,” she breathes. “Okay, just- just breathe-”

“Are you having a panic attack?” Lincoln asks gently.

Skye takes a few slow, deep breaths in through her mouth. She nods.

“Crap. I- I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

She drops her head on her knees. My shirt is blue and I am okay, she thinks. My pants are soft and I can breathe. The carpet is red and I am okay.

Slow, deep breaths. Count to ten and back again. My name is Skye and I can breathe, my hair is brown and I am okay.

A thick blanket of exhaustion settles over her and she slumps as the tension washes out of her body.

“Hey,” Lincoln says. “Are you okay?”

Hot tears trickle down her face. Skye shakes her head.

“Can I help you?”

She should know better than to trust him but she holds out her hand. His fingers are calloused, gentle.

“I’m sorry,” Skye whispers after a minute.

“What for?”

“Knocked over the table.”

He chuckles softly. “That doesn’t matter, I can get it cleaned up in no time. Besides, I’m the one who should be apologizing. I… did something to trigger you, right?”

She pulls into herself again, nodding.

“Can you tell me what it was?” He brushes his thumb over the back of her hand lightly. “So I don’t do it again.”

It’s hard to get the words out but she does it. “Afterlife. Inhumans. J-Jiaying, she- she used to tell me stories-” She chokes.

“Oh.”

“Please.” Adrenaline jolts through her body, and she straightens. “Please, you’ve gotta help me get out, I- I can’t be here.”

“Why not?” His expression is compassionate, but he sounds confused.

“I was kidnapped-” She chokes again.

“Oh- Gordon? I’m sure he didn’t mean-”

She shakes her head hard. “When I was a kid. Jiaying, she- they took me from my parents-”

“She said she was your mother.”

Skye whines in frustration. “She is, it’s complicated, just- I can’t be here.”

“…I’m sorry,” he says at last. “I don’t think I can help.”

She pulls her hand free and turns away, closing her eyes. “Then leave me alone.”

Lincoln sits there for a long time, silent, before finally moving away. Skye listens to the clatter of dishes as he cleans up the tray, the creak of the door opening, the lock clicking shut.

She’s alone. Crushingly, terribly alone.

I want my dad.

~~~

Jiaying comes to her room the next day and explains quietly, gently. Words Skye heard as a child, in bedtime stories and during visitation.

Inhuman. Terrigenesis. Birthright, inheritance, Gift.

“I understand that this may seem sudden,” she says when she’s done. “But I’ve tried to prepare you for this, your whole life. And tomorrow you’ll finally receive your Gift.”

Skye knows better than to talk back, she does.

But who would she be if she didn’t stand up for herself?

“I don’t want that.” Skye finally looks up, meeting Jiaying’s gaze defiantly. “I want you to send me home. Now.”

“Daisy-”

“No!” She stands so quickly that the chair topples over. Anger, white-hot and intense, is burning through her body. “My name is Skye, and I’m not your little girl, and I’m not gonna do whatever crazy ceremony or whatever you want to put me through.”

“I understand that this is a lot to take in, but you have to accept reality-”

“No, you’re the one that can’t accept reality.” She grits her teeth. “You still think I’m your perfect daughter, that I- I love you? How much clearer could it be that I don’t?”

She’s screaming now, anger far outweighing the terror ingrained in her.

“I’m not your Daisy! You kidnapped me, twice now, and you tried to force me to be someone I’m not. I’m never going to be your daughter.” She wraps her arms tight around herself to suppress the shaking.

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” Jiaying says at last. “But one day, you’ll understand.” She stands and takes a handkerchief out of her pocket. “I had hoped to do this properly. That perhaps your father would be here when you went through the Mist.”

“I shot him.” Skye knows she doesn’t have any chance of stopping this, that she’s gone way too far, but defiance is necessary. “He tried to kill my dad and I shot him.”

Jiaying stops short for a second, staring.

“I’d do it again.” Skye takes shaky breaths, glaring. “Get it? I don’t regret it and I would do it again. I would shoot you if I had a gun right now.”

She’d always been too scared to express any of her true emotions before, and all the vitriol comes spilling out.

“I hate you. You took me away from my home and my parents. I spent half my childhood terrified of you and it took me years of therapy to feel safe leaving my dad ever again and that’s on you. I hate you and I never want to see you again. I want to go home and I want you out of my life, and if you make me go through this crazy ritual then I’m gonna kill you. I’ll find a way, I swear I will, no matter what it takes.”

Jiaying’s expression contorts, and she bites her lip. “I’m sorry you feel that way.” She unwraps the handkerchief. “I’ll still love you, no matter what you think. Because you’re my daughter.”

Skye catches a glimpse of a blue crystal before it shatters on the floor. The mist hits her and her throat closes up, fear taking over as black stone crawls over her skin, encasing her in a crust.

Her heart is pounding faster and faster and her body is buzzing and shaking and fear, visceral and all-consuming, scalds through her.

She breaks free with an immense shockwave, exploding out from her core. She collapses to the floor, her whole body shaking as though there’s a swarm of bees trapped under her skin.

Arms around her, gathering her in. She flinches back.

“Daisy, my love.” Jiaying’s voice is sickly sweet. “You have a wonderful Gift.”

Skye lashes out on instinct, and Jiaying’s flung back against the wall. The pain in her head goes from aching to splitting, and the world goes black.

~~~

“I’m sorry.”

Skye stares at the ceiling, determined to ignore Lincoln. The acupuncture needles keep her immobile, and the pulses of electricity make her skin crawl.

“I’m trying to help you, Skye. You know that, right?”

She glares over from where she’s laying on the bed. “If you wanted to help me then you’d get me out of here.”

Lincoln is quiet for a few minutes. “I heard you yelling.”

Skye closes her eyes.

“I didn’t know- that it was like that.” He touches her shoulder lightly, briefly. “For what it’s worth, I’m- I’m sorry you had to experience Terrigenesis like that.”

He keeps apologizing as though he could fix it. Make it right somehow. It’s not helping at all and Skye’s near crying.

Lincoln sighs. “Look, at least- let us teach you how to control your Gift.”

She tries to tune him out. She just wants to go home to her parents, her friends, her family.

~~~

In the middle of the night, two weeks later, Lincoln and Gordon come to her room.

“I still think this is a bad idea,” the eyeless man mutters.

Skye rolls out of bed. “What’s a bad idea?”

“I told him,” Lincoln says. “And… he overheard a couple of your screaming matches with Jiaying.”

“I’m going to take you home.” Gordon shifts.

Skye freezes. “I thought you said-”

“I didn’t know what had happened to you.” He tilts his head. “Lincoln can explain more, once you’re away from here.”

She shoots him a glance as she reaches for her jacket. “You’re coming with me?”

Lincoln shoves his hands in his pockets, glancing down. “You need help managing your Gift. Look, I know you don’t have any reason to trust me, but I just want to help you.”

“We need to hurry,” Gordon says, glancing over his shoulder.

“Okay.” Skye steps closer. “Let’s go.”

A few seconds later she’s reeling away from Gordon, her head spinning. She glances around at the familiar walls of her room in the base. Gordon’s gone in another flash, leaving her and Lincoln alone.

“Wait,” he says as Skye starts for the door. “I need to explain first.”

She glares over her shoulder. “What is there to explain?”

“Our people have been a closely guarded secret for decades. Centuries, even. You can’t tell anyone about- Afterlife.”

“My parents are gonna want to know where I’ve been.”

“I’ll help you tell them.” He steps closer. “Please, try to understand. I’m putting everything on the line to help you.”

Skye raises her eyebrows.

“I’m not trying to manipulate you, I’m just- trying to explain.” He glances down for a second before meeting her gaze. “Please, Skye.”

“Okay,” she says after a minute. “Okay.”

“Thank you.” He gestures. “I’m sorry. I won’t try to stop you again.”

Skye can hear footsteps- they must’ve found a way to track him- and she flings the door open and runs straight into Coulson’s arms.

“Skye?” His arm wraps around her ribs automatically.

“Dad.” She clings to him, taking short, choking breaths. “Dad.”

“I’ve got you.” He wraps one arm around her ribs. “Are you okay? There was another energy surge in your room, we tried to track it-”

“I’m-” She tries to say okay but she can’t do it.

“Who are you?” Ward demands, pushing past into Skye’s room.

She turns quickly. “Don’t hurt him, he’s- Lincoln got me out.”

Coulson keeps his arm around her as he steps closer. “Out of where?”

Skye meets Lincoln’s gaze for a second. “Jiaying,” she says, her voice breaking. “She- she had me kidnapped, Lincoln tried to help me.”

Coulson gives her a quick glance. “We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

She twists into him, closing her eyes. “Yeah.”

Chapter Text

In Coulson’s office, alone with her parents, Skye still doesn’t feel safe. She drops down on the couch, and they sit beside her.

“You’re okay?” Coulson asks, smoothing her hair back.

Skye takes a shuddering breath, and the dam finally breaks. She sobs, and Coulson gathers her into his arms. May rubs her back.

“We’ve got you, honey. Just let it out,” she murmurs.

“I was so scared,” she sobs. “I-it was- it was Jiaying, she-”

Coulson tightens his arms. “You’re safe now,” he murmurs after a second.

She shakes her head. “’m not. S-she can get to me- any time.”

They don’t say anything, but they both draw closer to her. Skye burrows deeper into her parents’ embrace, wishing that they could protect her. Keep her safe.

Except she’ll never be safe again, and things have happened to her that they can’t fix.

Finally she straightens, drying her eyes and taking shaky breaths.

“’m okay now.”

“We’ll do everything we can to protect you,” May says, squeezing her hand. “Promise.”

Skye grimaces. “There’s not a whole lot we can do about Gordon.”

“Gordon?”

“The teleporting guy.” She shifts. “Look, um… there’s a lot to explain, but I promised Lincoln I wouldn’t say anything about it without him here.”

Coulson shifts from comforting to on guard in an instant. “Is he threatening you?”

“No. No, he’s helping me.” She shifts. “He risked everything to get me out of there, the least I can do is… is let him be discreet about where we were.”

“But if they take you again-”

“Put a tracker on me.” She glances between them. “Like you did with Raina. That way, if anything happens-”

“We can find you.” May nods. “That would work, right, Phil?”

He squeezes Skye’s hand. “Okay.”

~~~

When she and Lincoln are done explaining, Coulson and May stare at her for a few minutes.

“So,” Coulson says at last. “You have powers now?”

“Yeah.” She stares at her hands. “Um, I… I’d rather not-”

“Okay.” He takes her hands, pulling her closer. “Hey. Look at me.”

Skye meets his gaze.

“We’re gonna figure this out,” he says softly. “You’ll be okay.”

“Yeah.” She blows out a breath. “Um… I think I want to talk to Dr. Garner again. If therapy is still on the table.”

“Absolutely.” Coulson glances at Lincoln. “So, what’s your plan?”

“I’m here to help Skye manage her Gift.” He shifts. “Most people get used to their new abilities pretty quickly, but she was forced into this. And, truthfully…” He glances down. “I feel like it’s partially my fault.” He glances at Skye. “You told me about what Jiaying had done to you, but I didn’t listen.”

She doesn’t answer.

~~~

Sitting across from Dr. Garner again is the calmest Skye’s felt in weeks.

He shifts, gazing at her. “So, what made you change your mind?”

She grimaces. “I’m sure Coulson caught you up.”

“He did. But I’d like to hear it from you.”

“What’s there to tell?” She shrugs. “My mother had me kidnapped and forced me through something I never wanted, something I’ve associated with them since I was a kid. I had to relive a lot of my trauma, and, it sucked.”

“I can imagine.”

“Look, I… I know I was pretty rude to you last time. I guess… I’m tired of the cycle of therapists. I was just worried something would go wrong. Again.”

“I understand.” He shifts, expression softening. “But I don’t plan on quitting on you, Skye.”

She glances down. “Just because I know it’s anxiety doesn’t mean I can control it.”

“You’re very self-aware. That’s a good thing.”

“Yeah?” She scowls. “Doesn’t always feel like it.”

“As you pointed out before, you’ve built plenty of coping mechanisms and grounding techniques. Your internal support system already seems pretty robust. Emotional awareness means you’re able to identify and admit when you need help.”

“Yeah, but needing help means I have weaknesses.”

Garner shrugs. “Everybody does.”

She turns that over in her mind, nodding. “I just wish I wasn’t so…” She stops, trying to find the right words.

He waits in silence.

“Vulnerable,” she says at last, glancing up.

Garner raises his eyebrows. “Why do you say that?”

“My trauma gets triggered, and I slide five steps back. I’m supposed to be okay, to be- strong, and I can’t- I can’t-”

“It’s called post-traumatic stress disorder.” He shifts. “It affects hundreds of people. And no matter how good you get at coping with it, no matter how strong you are, triggers and flashbacks will still affect you deeply.”

She blows out a breath. “Sometimes it feels like… I’m broken. Like there’s something really wrong with me.”

“You were put through terrible things at a young age. The trauma rewired your brain, made it work differently. That doesn’t mean you’re broken.”

Her voice shakes as she asks, “So you don’t think I’m… weak?”

“Weak?” He leans forward. “I think you’re a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for.”

She glances up, meeting his gaze.

“Take our last session as an example. You know how much you can handle, you know your limits. You also know when to ask for help. That’s a strength.”

She wants to deflect, brush it off, but his words ring true.

~~~

Skye leaves the dining area early one night. The memories are overwhelming and there’s too much noise and too many people and she just needs some space.

Ward follows her, and she doesn’t try to pull away when he takes her hand, his grip loose.

“I’m here if you need to talk,” he murmurs. “Or if you need anything, really.”

She bites her lip, turns to lean her head against his chest. Ward wraps his arms around her, hands settling on her waist, pressing a quick kiss to the top of her head.

“It’s too much,” she whispers. “I- I can’t-” Her throat closes up for a second, and she closes her eyes.

He just holds her.

“Do- do you have panic attacks about the things they did?” she whispers.

He doesn’t answer right away. “Not really,” he says at last. “I didn’t really… learn to cope with it. Kind of just tried to forget it happened.”

She snorts. “I wish I could forget.”

“I could try to help with that-”

“This is not the time.”

“Sorry.”

She sighs. “I just… need some space. To have a quick panic attack and move on.”

“Okay.” He holds on to her for a second longer. “Need any help riding it out?”

She hesitates for a minute, finally nodding and letting him guide her to her room.

~~~

The next therapy session is easier to settle into.

“How are you doing today?” Garner asks, voice a quiet rumble.

Skye bites her lip, debating how much of the truth she wants to tell. Whether or not to admit how much she needs help.

“I’m okay,” she mumbles at last.

“You want to tell me how you’re really doing?” he asks gently. She glances up at him quickly. He’s staring at her, through her.

“I thought I would get better once I came home, but…” She gestures helplessly.

“You didn’t.”

Skye drops her head on her arms. “It’s like… all my life, I’ve been swimming. Riding out the waves. Sometimes I was even able to stand on the shore. But now…” She rubs her hands together. “I’m drowning, and, nobody’s there to throw me a life preserver.”

Help me. Give me something.

“What’s dragging you down, Skye?” he asks gently.

She sits there, shaking and staring at her lap. Finally she takes a deep breath and lifts her head.

“I can’t stop remembering her,” she whispers. “What she did to me. I- I know Lincoln’s here to help me, and he is, but he’s a walking reminder of what I went through.” She can’t stop now. “I’m usually good at getting over flashbacks, moving on, but this time it’s like I can’t let go.” She glances up. “How stupid is that?”

He takes a deep breath, straightening. “I don’t think it’s quite so simple this time. You’re not just recovering from something that happened in your past. You have new trauma to learn to live with, and that’s hard as all hell.”

Skye nods, dropping her head on her arms again. “Sometimes, I… I think it would be easier to just… I’m always two steps away from dissociating and it would be so easy to let go.”

“But you haven’t.” Garner shifts. “Why not?”

“Honestly?” She glances up. “I don’t know.”

“I know you’re hurting, but this is a good sign. You’re right, it would be easier to check out. Stop trying to handle this. But you’re aware and functioning, and that’s a step towards recovery.”

“I just want to get better.”

She meets his gaze, holding out her hand in a wordless plea. The therapist leans forward and takes her hand.

“That’s what I’m here to help you do.”

Throws her a lifeline.

Chapter Text

“Hey.”

Skye barely glances up, absently picking at the hem of her sleeve. “Hi.”

Ward leans on the back of the couch. “Can I sit down?”

She shrugs.

The couch dips down beside her, and after a second a hand rests on her knee. Skye bites her lip.

She’s still not sure how to feel, but she’s missed him, even if-

“How are you holding up?” he murmurs.

She should pull away. Hide it away and pretend she’s okay. She’s fine. She’s fine. She’s-

Skye makes the mistake of glancing up for a second. Ward is gazing at her with so much compassion and concern and she can’t take it. Before she knows it she’s rolling sideways into his arms, clinging to him as though she’ll never let go again.

He’s silent, smoothing her hair gently. She drops her head on his chest.

“I know what you need,” he says at last.

She snorts. “If the next words out of your mouth are ‘a make-out session’ then I’ll strangle you.”

He chuckles softly. “I was going to suggest a sparring match, but if you’d rather-”

Skye’s already shaking her head before he finishes the sentence. “I don’t wanna hurt you,” she mumbles.

“You won’t hurt me.”

“But my powers-”

“Hey.”

She looks up, meeting his gaze again.

Ward cups her face, brushing one thumb over her cheek. “I trust you.”

~~~

A half hour later, Skye feels almost normal again.

Every blow, every dodge, loosens the knot of anger and fear and pain in her chest. Slowly she starts to feel at home in her own skin again, and when they finally collapse against the wall, she’s laughing as she flops onto Ward’s chest.

He smiles down at her, brushing her hair back off her sweaty face. “Told you.”

“Shuddup.” She halfheartedly swats at his hand.

Ward chuckles. “So you’re feeling better.”

“I said shut up.”

“Make me.”

On instinct she drags his head down, kissing him quick and hard. Ward cups her face, kissing her again, and again, and again; it brings her back to an earlier time, when things were good, when it was just the two of them, alone, at the Academy and then after. Before things got complicated.

She pulls away after minutes, or hours, and gazes into his eyes. For a moment everything is perfect.

Zap, whoosh.

Skye’s hands tighten convulsively, seeking safety. Ward holds her closer.

“Who the hell are you?” he demands.

“I’m sorry,” Gordon says. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

Ward drags Skye up, shoving her half behind him. “What do you want?” he demands.

Gordon tilts his head in Skye’s direction. “Jiaying sent me to get you.”

“No.” She grips Ward’s arm. “I’m not going back.”

“She isn’t asking.”

He steps closer, and on instinct Skye flings out one hand, sending shockwaves across the room, knocking him against the wall. Ward stumbles away.

“I’m not going back,” she hisses.

“I’m not going to force you.” Gordon picks himself back up, straightening his long coat. “But she’ll never stop looking for you.”

“And I’ll never stop running away.” She glares. “Why did you help me in the first place?”

A thoughtful expression crosses his face. “Lincoln didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“About your sister.”

Skye’s breath catches. She slips her free hand into Ward’s, and he holds on tightly.

“I have a sister?” she breathes.

“You had a sister. She’s gone.” Gordon shifts. “That’s why I won’t force you to go back.”

She shakes her head quick and hard. “You’re not- wait, what do you mean gone?”

“I only met her a few times. Kora took her own life rather than live another day in that compound.”

Her pulse pounds in her head. The only thing keeping her upright is Ward’s hand gripping hers.

I had a sister. Her name was Kora.

“I came to deliver Jiaying’s message,” Gordon says. “I have an idea of what will happen when I don’t bring you back, and it won’t be pleasant.”

He vanishes, and Ward turns quickly. Skye’s shaking.

“Grant-”

“I’m here. What do you need?”

She gasps in a breath. “I need to talk to my dad.”

~~~

“Why didn’t you bring my daughter back?”

Gordon tilts his head, assessing. Jiaying’s angry- he knows that well. He has senses beyond sight, or the lack of.

“She refused to come,” he says at last.

“And you couldn’t just take her?”

He senses her powers flaring, danger drawing nearer, but he stands his ground. He’s useful to her. Jiaying can’t afford to kill him.

“She didn’t want to come,” he repeats.

“So you ignored your instructions- deliberately went against my orders- and you left Daisy with those people?”

Speaking of Kora is forbidden. He says it anyway.

“Wouldn’t you rather your daughter was alive, even if she’s not with you? You remember what happened to Kora.”

She stops pacing, shoes scuffing against the floor. “How- how dare you?”

Gordon tilts his head. He knows Jiaying wants him to be frightened. He also knows that she knows he isn’t.

After a long few minutes, she starts walking again. Back and forth across the small room, anger and other emotions emanating from her like a cloud.

“Do I still have your loyalty?” she asks at last, her tone sharp. Biting.

Gordon bows his head. “Of course.”

She’s quiet for several seconds. “Then it’s time for the other plan.”

A plan he is starting to see will spell the end for all of them; every Inhuman in this world.

He needs to warn Lincoln.

Chapter Text

As it turns out, they only have to wait a day to see her mother’s wrath.

Skye runs into Coulson’s office, nearly colliding with Trip. “What’s going on?” she demands, taking a quick look around the room. May moves closer, linking her arm around Skye’s waist. Ward leans on the desk beside Trip.

Coulson glances over his shoulder. “This just came in from the Iliad.”

She glances across at the monitor. Alarms blare as Agent Weaver, looking strained under the red emergency lights, speaks quickly.

“Director Coulson, we are under attack from an unknown number of Gifted assailants. They have killed dozens of our men. We need your help. I’m sending-”

The transmission cuts out and starts over. Skye’s throat closes up.

“Jiaying,” she manages.

“I’m afraid that’s likely.” Coulson shifts. “We’re sending all available units to assist, but we don’t have any idea what to expect.”

“I do.” Lincoln’s leaning against the wall, arms folded over his chest.

Everyone turns towards him.

“Explain,” Coulson says.

“Gordon came to see me after Jiaying sent him for Skye. Jiaying’s planning to release Terrigen into the atmosphere. To change all the Inhumans, and…” Lincoln shifts, glancing down. “To wipe out everyone else.”

Skye flinches against May.

“Obviously, we can’t let that happen,” Coulson says after a second. “Is the Iliad her first target?”

“Gordon said she’s planning to use the quinjets to distribute the crystals.”

“Okay then.” Coulson shifts. “May, Ward, Trip. Get teams together and get going. I’ll coordinate our efforts from here.”

Skye straightens, squaring her shoulders. “I want to go.”

Turns out having all eyes on you is uncomfortable. Skye lifts her chin slightly, meeting her dad’s gaze. Daring him to tell her no.

“I don’t know if that’s safe,” Coulson says.

“I’m Inhuman.” For the first time she doesn’t stumble over the word. “The Terrigen crystals can’t affect me. And with my powers, I’m our best bet against other powered people.”

May’s hand wraps around her wrist. “Skye…”

“I can do this.” She keeps her gaze fixed on Coulson’s. “I know I can.”

And besides. Maybe she’ll get the chance to take down Jiaying.

After a minute his expression softens. “Okay,” he says. “But I want you to stick with May, and I want you to tell her if you need to get out, all right?”

Skye nods. Coulson turns, leaning against the desk.

“What about you?” he says, with a pointed look at Lincoln.

Lincoln shifts. “Me?”

“Skye’s right. We need all the fighters we can get, especially powered ones.” He pauses. “So which side are you on?”

Lincoln hesitates. After a minute he glances across at Skye, and she stares right back.

“I’m with you,” Lincoln says. “Sir.”

~~~

On the Iliad, chaos reigns.

Jiaying watches with a self-satisfied smile. All is going exactly as she’d planned. Even down to the distress call, the signal that is sure to draw SHIELD in full force. She will slaughter them all, every last agent, saving Phil Coulson for last, and she will make him suffer. Make him pay for taking her daughter away.

And then she and Daisy will be a family again. Whether her daughter likes it or not.

Alisha comes in, a smirk on her face. “The humans are all accounted for.”

“Good.” Jiaying shifts. “I want all our people on deck when the SHIELD agents arrive. We’ll put them with the others, and then release the Terrigen.”

Alisha nods, goes down the stairs. Jiaying surveys her little domain.

Not long now… not long at all.

Soon she’ll have her family back together. Her world will be perfect, and they won’t need to hide anymore because the only people left will be her people.

A world made new.

Made right.

~~~

Skye wants to watch her mother’s world burn to the ground.

She wants to set it on fire herself. To light the match that will set Afterlife ablaze. Reduce it to ashes and rubble.

And if all she can get her hands on is a few of Jiaying’s stooges?

Well. She won’t hesitate to do what needs to be done.

At fourteen, after self-defense and martial arts classes, Skye Coulson was a formidable force. Skye Fraser, agent of SHIELD, is lethal.

Not that she kills. SHIELD doesn’t kill unless they have to.

They’re not finding Terrigen crystals, which shouldn’t worry her but it does, because it means they’re somewhere else. She and May are fighting four of the same person at once- which is totally unfair- when Gordon zaps in.

“Hangar deck! Hurry!” he calls, and vanishes again, taking the redhead with him.

May and Skye exchange a glance and take off running.

They make it outside just in time to see Jiaying, directing two others to load a crate into a quinjet. Skye’s running on adrenaline and anger, and she yells after the woman.

“Hey!”

Jiaying turns, gesturing for the other two to keep walking. “Daisy.”

“We’re not gonna let you leave with those crystals.”

“I think you will.” Jiaying tilts her head. “Because you are my daughter, Daisy, and you will obey me.”

She comes closer, holding out her hands- hands that hurt and drain and kill. Skye acts on pure instinct, flinging out her own hand and sending a shockwave at Jiaying. It misses, and she watches in horror as the quinjet spins off into the ocean.

Taking the case of Terrigen crystals with it.

Jiaying’s expression contorts in anger. “I have tried to be patient,” she says, quiet and deadly, “and understanding, but this is taking things too far.”

“Try it. Try it, I dare you.” Skye keeps her hands up, at the ready. She’s still struggling to control her powers and there’s a good chance she’d miss again but her mother doesn’t know that.

Jiaying’s scowl deepens. “This game you’re playing is over. It’s time to come home, Daisy.”

She gestures to someone near the door, and a gust of wind flings Skye into the air. She thuds painfully to the deck, crying out in pain as she feels two of her ribs snap. She manages to maintain enough presence of mind to quake the Inhuman, who looks as though he’s winding up to throw more air at her. He stumbles back, tripping down the stairs.

A strangled sound catches her attention, and Skye looks up to see Jiaying’s hands around May’s neck, her mom’s skin graying, the life draining out of her-

Skye’s panic and pain dissipate in an instant, replaced by perfect clarity.

She rises, the deck shaking under her feet. Jiaying spins around to face her, and May stumbles back, gasping for breath.

Skye’s face twists in a manic smile. Reckoning.

“You shouldn’t have touched my mom,” she snarls, slow and menacing.

Jiaying comes towards her with hands outstretched. Skye raises her own hands, pouring every last ounce of her strength into the shockwaves, devastating and deadly.

The deepest darkest part of her takes perverse pleasure in watching Jiaying’s body go limp as each and every one of her bones turns to dust. As blood pools around her body, flowing freely from reopened scars.

You shouldn’t have touched May.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

Death has been a long time coming for you. Monster.

Voices clamor in Skye’s ears as she collapses, arms bruising before her eyes. Her head falls back onto a steady arm, and she blinks up at Bobbi.

“She hurt my mom,” Skye mumbles, and passes out.

Chapter Text

The only indication Skye has that she’s awake is the monitor beeping steadily in her ear.

She groans, trying to sit up, and a hand settles on her shoulder. “Stay put,” Coulson’s warm voice murmurs. “You’re still recovering.”

Brain fog. Her eyes won’t open and her head feels thick and heavy.

May.

“’s Mom…” The words come out slurred, her control over her own voice lax.

“She’s okay. She’s working on cleanup.”

Cleanup… I killed someone… killed…

“J’ying.”

“I know.” His other hand moves slowly, soothingly over her hair. “She’s gone, Skye. It’s all over.”

Skye hums, turning into Coulson’s touch. She’s relieved to hear it. That Jiaying is dead.

…she should feel guilty. She killed her own mother and she didn’t even hesitate.

“How are you feeling?” Coulson asks after a minute.

Heavy. Confused. “Weird.”

“That’ll be the drugs.”

Drugs are bad. “’m not on drugs.”

He chuckles softly. “You are at the moment. You had a punctured lung, and Jemma had to do a small surgery to fix it.”

Surgery isn’t fun. Skye thinks she makes a face.

“You’re on the tail end of the anesthesia, which is why you feel so weird. You’re also getting painkillers.”

Painkillers. Good. “Yum.”

Coulson chuckles softly, kissing her forehead. “Go back to sleep, crazy girl.”

Sleeping sounds really good right now. Maybe she’ll do that.

~~~

Awareness comes back in pieces.

Pain. Ribs, arms, throbbing skull.

She turns her head, letting out a whimper. A hand tightens on her shoulder.

“…pain?”

She groans, hoping it gets the message across that yes, she’s in a lot of pain right now.

“Okay. Hang on, I’ll get Simmons.”

Grant. His hand slips off her shoulder, and she reaches after him with another whimper.

He doesn’t come back.

Where is she?

Skye manages to force her eyes open as Jemma comes in, grimacing sympathetically. “Can you give me a number for the pain?” she asks.

Skye screws up her face, trying to get her brain to control her mouth properly. “Sev’n,” she mumbles.

Jemma reaches back, and after a few seconds the pain eases. Skye relaxes against the pillows with a sigh.

“Thanks.”

“Of course.” She smiles a little. “You’ll be out of here in a week or two. For now you need to rest.”

“’ll try.”

Jemma moves away. Skye’s gaze follows her till it falls on Ward, standing in the doorway, and she smiles the best she can.

“Hi,” he murmurs, sitting down beside her and leaning on the bed. “Feeling better?”

Skye closes her eyes as he traces her hairline with gentle fingers. “Mhm.”

“Good.” He kisses her temple. After a pause he shifts a little closer, leaning against her. “I heard what happened. Do you want to talk about it?”

She sighs, turning her head towards him. And here we are again, she thinks. I’ve done the unforgivable, and he’s the only person who will ever truly understand why.

“Not really.”

“You shouldn’t feel guilty about it.”

Skye blinks, meeting his gaze. She can only hold eye contact for a few seconds before the sheer understanding overwhelms her and she looks away.

Ward keeps his voice quiet, so only she can hear. “You did the right thing, Skye.”

~~~

Dr. Garner comes to visit her two days after… everything.

Skye pushes herself up on the pillows, wincing as her sore muscles pull. “This a social visit?” she asks, once she’s settled.

He sits down, giving her a look. “I heard about the mission.”

“So this is a session.”

“Thought you might need one.”

Skye lets her head fall back. “I think I agree with you.”

Garner’s silent, gazing at her with that same compassionate expression. She knows he’s waiting for her to start.

“I killed my mother,” she says at last, picking at the edge of her cast.

“You made the best choice you could, given the circumstances.”

“Please don’t give me that crap.” Skye rolls her eyes. “I went through extensive training, I know how to take people down without killing them. And I didn’t even hesitate.”

“She tried to kill May. She was going to do worse. You made the only choice you could.”

“She was my mother.” She can’t shake that guilt and she doesn’t know why.

“Jiaying may have been your biological parent, but that doesn’t make her your mother.”

“Half of my DNA comes from her.” She stares at the ceiling. “I have her nose. Her eyes. I- I look like her.”

Garner shifts. “In my experience, nurture matters a lot more than nature. The way you were raised, not the biological markers you have.”

Tears prick her eyes. “She gave birth to me, she wanted me. At some point in her life she might have even loved me.”

“Maybe so,” he says after a second. “But do you think she cared about you in the time you knew her?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know.” Skye exhales shakily. She doesn’t know what to make of all this. “She must have, right?”

Garner doesn’t answer.

“She must have. She- they kidnapped me, and I know that was wrong- and yeah, it was traumatic as all hell- but that means they loved me, right? They wanted me.”

“Just because they wanted you doesn’t mean they loved you.”

A tear slips out of the corner of her eye, the knot in her chest easing slightly. Skye takes a deep breath.

“She wasn’t the first person I’ve taken out,” she mutters. “And I hated her. So why do I still feel so- so guilty?”

“Taking a life always takes a mental toll. Even if the person deserved it.”

“Did she?” Skye stares at the ceiling. “Deserve it.”

“What do you think?” Garner murmurs.

“I don’t know. I don’t know.”

He’s quiet for a minute. “Setting aside your personal trauma for a moment- this is not to minimize or disregard what you went through, I only want to make a point-”

She nods slightly.

“Jiaying killed multiple SHIELD agents in cold blood. She planned to release a chemical compound which would’ve killed a majority of the Earth’s population. That’s called genocide, and there is no justification for it. From all I’ve heard about Jiaying, she would’ve gone through with it if you hadn’t stopped her.”

She deserved it. She did.

“You made a hard call, but it was absolutely the right one. Don’t doubt that.”

“That’s the thing,” Skye mutters. “It wasn’t a hard call. I didn’t hesitate, I barely even thought.”

His tone is gentle, quiet. “Do you think you can tell me what was going through your head?”

She scratches at the itch just under the edge of her cast. Minutes pass as she sorts through her thoughts, and Garner just… waits.

She wonders, sometimes, how therapists get so good at this.

“She tried to kill my mom,” Skye says at last. “And I… I just. Quaked her. Like it was nothing.”

“So you saved May’s life.”

I saved my mom.

“Can you repeat that back to me?” he murmurs.

She closes her eyes. “I saved May’s life.”

“You did the right thing.”

“I… I did the right thing.”

“I know it’s hard, but I want you to keep repeating those phrases when you start to have doubts. Yes, you did a hard thing. But you saved May, and countless other people, and it was the right thing to do.”

Chapter Text

When Jemma finally lets her out of the med bay, the only thing Skye wants to do is shut herself in her room and forget anything- or anyone- else exists.

Except that she knows better. Knows that her body’s natural response is to shut down and that’s the last thing she needs right now. She needs people. Contact with other human beings to keep herself from spiraling again.

Coulson gives her boring desk work. Which is fine- desk work is good, right now. Keeps her sane.

Until Fitz comes by with a tablet and the Terrigen files.

Skye barely looks at them. She still doesn’t want to think about it; about the words Jiaying held over her head every day for months.

“So?” she says after a minute.

“There’s good news and bad news,” Fitz says.

She groans, dropping her head on her arms. “What’s the good news?”

“The heavy metals have sunk to the bottom. Meaning there’s no danger to humans.”

“And the bad news?”

Fitz doesn’t answer right away, and she looks up.

“The Terrigen is spreading,” he says at last. He taps the screen, pulling up a projection of ocean currents, starting from the location of the Iliad when the… incident occurred. “We’ve already gotten a report of someone- changing, after eating fish caught in the region.”

Changing.

Someone went through Terrigenesis, likely with absolutely no knowledge of what was happening to them. And now they’re alone and scared and-

“Were we able to get to them?” she asks, gazing at the tablet.

“Him. And… no.” Fitz sighs. “Local law enforcement shot him down.”

Skye tangles her fingers together, staring at the table.

She never wanted any part of this. The very concept of Terrigenesis had terrified her, and the fact that Jiaying wanted it for her was enough to make her hate it with every fiber of her being.

But like it or not, she’s Inhuman now. Nothing she does will change that. And out there people are going to be experiencing the same thing, going into it with even less knowledge than she had, and she knows. She has to be the one to help them.

~~~

“We still have a problem,” May says.

Coulson sighs, scrubbing one hand over his face. “Skye’s alive and safe and out of the medbay. Unless you’re referring to the Terrigen-”

She slides a tablet across the desk to him, showing the feed from one of the basement cells. He stares at it- at the video of Cal pacing back and forth in Vault D- and his blood boils.

“We need to work out what to do with him.”

This man kidnapped his daughter. Kept her locked in his house for four years. She’s terrified of him, of everything that he embodies to her.

Coulson knows exactly what he wants to do with Cal Johnson.

He wants to march down into that cell and strangle the life out of him with his bare hands.

May must notice, because the next thing he knows her hands are wrapped around his. She shakes her head.

“I want him gone, too.” She squeezes his hands tighter. “But that’s not the way.”

“Why not?” Coulson glares at her. “He hurt our daughter. Jiaying’s dead. Killing him- putting a permanent end to the problem-”

“No. Phil, no.” May shifts, forcing his chin up to make him look at her. “Killing Jiaying was Skye’s choice. She did it to save me. You cannot kill him in cold blood.”

“I could.” He almost hates himself for saying it. For even thinking it.

Except he knows it’s true.

May leans her forehead against his, dips in for a kiss.

“You can’t,” she whispers. “Listen to me, Phil, you can’t.”

He hears her start to say but I can and brings his hand up to cover her mouth. “No, Mel.”

She glares, and Coulson shakes his head, shifting his grip to the back of her neck.

“You said it yourself- we can’t kill him in cold blood.”

“But-”

“I’ll bring it to the board.” He nods, not looking up. “Gonzales, Weaver, Hand. Someone will have a better idea.”

“Better than what?” Skye demands.

He glances up to see her in the doorway, one hand braced against the frame.

“It’s-”

“None of your business,” May cuts in.

“Okay, yeah, maybe when I was thirteen, but I’m an adult and a SHIELD agent.” She comes across the room. “One who is perfectly capable of making Big Adult Decisions.”

May reaches for the tablet a second too late. Skye goes white.

“Honey-” Coulson starts.

“Shut up.” She stares at the screen. “Just- don’t.”

He and May exchange a glance.

Skye’s shaking, and after a minute the tablet screen cracks. Coulson gets up and moves across to her, pries it out of her hands.

“You should’ve told me,” she says, turning to glare at him.

“What good would it have done?” He drops the tablet on his desk, gripping her shoulders. “He’s locked up. Okay? He’s not getting out of there.”

“I’m not scared, Dad.” Skye scowls. “I’m pissed off.”

Not the reaction he was expecting. “What?”

“You should’ve told me.” She gestures. “He hurt me, not any of you. And he may be an asshole, but he is my father.”

“What difference would that have made?” May asks. “There’s nothing you can do-”

“I could do exactly the same thing to him that I did to her,” Skye says, low and hard. “You know I could.”

“No.” May reaches for her arm. “You can’t do that.”

Coulson almost laughs. The situation is so absurd- he and Skye both want to go in there and kill him, and May-

“But I could,” she continues. “Say the word and I’ll make it permanent, Skye, he’ll never so much as look at you again.”

“You don’t kill people,” Skye mutters.

“For you?” May’s eyes meet Coulson’s, and he sees nothing there but cold, hard determination. “I would do anything.”

“No, Mom.” Skye straightens. “You can’t do that for me. You can’t- I can’t ask that of you.”

“Which is why-” Coulson lets his hand land on her shoulder, trail down her arm- “we are gonna give the decision to the board. Let them take a vote on what to do with him.”

He meets May’s gaze, and she nods slightly.

“And if they decide to let him go?” Skye raises her chin.

“We’ll keep you safe. The whole team-”

“What’ll stop him from hurting more people? Killing again?”

“Surveillance. Round the clock-”

She turns on her heel and stalks out of the room.

Chapter Text

“I have some bad news,” Coulson says, closing the door of his office.

Skye turns to face him, perching on the windowsill. “They voted to let him go.”

He crosses to lean against the wall beside her. “I’m sorry, Skye.”

She flexes her fingers in the arm braces. “It’s okay.”

“Are you sure?” Coulson twists towards her. “Because I know it took a lot of therapy for you to be okay at all-”

Skye glances over, meeting his gaze. “I’m not scared of him anymore, Dad. “

He can only gaze at her, a little awed by her strength.

Skye clears her throat. “By the way, have you told him?”

Coulson glances at her. “Told him what?”

“About- her. That she’s dead.”

She’s always struggled to say Jiaying’s name. Coulson doesn’t blame her.

“No,” he says. “He doesn’t know yet.”

Skye lifts her chin slightly. “I want to be the one to tell him who did it.”

It’s not at all what he was expecting her to say. He shifts to face her, meeting her gaze.

“He’ll be angry,” he murmurs.

“I know Cal better than anyone.” Skye flicks her ponytail back over her shoulder. “I know he will be.”

“Won’t that make him more dangerous?”

“Maybe, but you know what else it’ll make him?” Her expression hardens. “Scared.”

He nearly takes a step back.

“I want him to know that if I ever see him again, I’m going to kill him. I want him to live the rest of his miserable life scared of me. Of what I could do to him.” She smiles, a chilling contrast to her tone. “I want him to know that I’m not his sweet little Daisy and I never was.”

~~~

The next afternoon, Coulson follows Skye down the stairs into Vault D.

The barrier is opaque, soundproof, but he knows what- or rather who- is waiting behind it. He can see in her eyes that Skye does, too.

“Ready?” he murmurs.

Skye straightens, takes a deep breath. Nods.

Coulson taps a few buttons on the tablet. Seconds later he’s facing Cal Johnson again- hopefully for one of the last times.

The man’s eyes light up at the sight of Skye, and Coulson glances at his daughter, concerned. She’s glaring back, chin lifted ever so slightly.

“Daisy,” Cal murmurs.

“No.”

“I hoped you’d come to see me-”

“No.” Skye repeats the word in that same flat tone.

Cal’s delighted expression slips. “Daisy-”

“No.”

“I just want to talk to you, Daisy-”

“No.” Skye clasps her hands in front of her. “You’re going to listen.”

For whatever reason, Cal actually goes silent.

“Jiaying’s dead,” Skye says, without even hesitating over her mother’s name. “I killed her.”

Coulson watches Cal carefully. Not that the flash of anger is small or easy to miss in any way.

Cal shakes his head. “She’s not.”

Without breaking eye contact, Skye reaches behind her, grabbing the tablet off the chair. She pulls up the pre-loaded video- the recording of what happened that day, taken from May’s body cam.

There’s a decidedly vindictive look on her face when she turns the screen towards Cal and starts the feed.

Coulson’s watched the recording a dozen times. More than a dozen.

He still flinches when he hears May’s gasps, hears his wife choking. Dying.

Skye’s voice comes over the speaker, low and menacing. “You shouldn’t have touched my mom.”

The emotion drains from Cal’s face. Coulson’s watched the video enough times to know exactly what he’s seeing- Jiaying’s body bleeding, crumbling.

The feed cuts off just before the clamor begins, before agents had rushed the deck. Skye puts the tablet down without taking her gaze away from Cal.

The man looks broken.

“You killed her,” he whispers. “Your own mother…”

A bit of that menace comes back to Skye’s smile. “I turned her bones to dust and I watched her die,” she says. “And you know what else?”

Cal glances up.

Skye steps closer, dropping her voice. “It felt good,” she whispers.

And there it is. The raw fear on Cal’s face. He stumbles a few steps back, opening and closing his mouth.

“D-Daisy-”

“You’re getting out of here in a few days,” Skye says. “We’ll be watching you. Make one wrong move…” She shrugs. “I will find you. And I will end you.”

Coulson doesn’t usually condone intimidation tactics, but he has to admit this- watching Skye stare down her kidnapper, her abuser, is incredibly satisfying.

And for what Coulson expects is the first time in Cal’s entire life of being the bigger man, being the one in control, he watches the man experience sheer unbridled terror. Watches Skye stand straight and steady. Defiant.

All the power’s on this side of the room, he thinks. You can’t hurt her anymore.

Skye glances at Coulson, nods. He taps the buttons to turn the barrier opaque and soundproof again.

“That was great,” he says, finally letting himself smile at her.

“Felt pretty good.” Skye starts up the stairs, swiping her tablet off the chair. “Watching him panic for a change.”

“I bet.” He hesitates, following her. “Did you mean it?”

“When I said it felt good to kill her?” Skye glances over her shoulder, her confident expression gone. “No.”

She leans against the door, and Coulson moves up the last couple steps to stand beside her. Takes her hand.

Skye drops her head to rest on his shoulder. “I still feel guilty. I know I probably shouldn’t but I do, and I- I think it’s going to take a long time and a lot of therapy for me to come to terms with it.”

He lets go of her hand, wrapping his arm around her instead. “I’m proud of you,” he murmurs.

Skye scoffs.

“No, Skye, I mean it.” Coulson tilts his head back, meeting her gaze. “You’ve made so much progress, and I am so proud of you for coming so far and staying so strong.”

She drops her head on his shoulder again. “Gonna make me cry,” she mumbles.

“I love you.”

“Da-ad-”

Chapter Text

SO. while i would love to be able to keep writing through to the end of canon, i simply do not have the brain power.

instead, please accept this explanation of how canon would continue, and the promise of a sequel to come.

Ward being more devoted to SHIELD than Hydra changes a lot about the canon.

Season 1: obviously Garrett’s death comes a lot earlier- also, Fitzsimmons don’t get dropped in the ocean, Hand doesn’t die, yada yada. that was gone into earlier on.

Season 2: Trip doesn’t die in the temple. I don’t have an explanation for how Mack and Raina survived but please just accept it xP Raina ends up in Afterlife and just kinda stays there. She won’t be relevant again.

Season 3: Simmons doesn’t go to Maveth (either Fitz has already asked her out, or notices that the door is broken and fixes it before the monolith goes) meaning that Malick’s entire thing with Hive doesn’t happen. probably he still dies somehow.

Since they never go to Maveth, and Ward isn’t Hydra, he doesn’t die there, and Hive doesn’t return to Earth. Which means that the rest of S3 just… doesn’t happen.

Season 4: Since Hive didn’t happen, the team doesn’t meet Radcliffe, meaning that Radcliffe doesn’t have Fitz’s help to build AIDA, meaning that the LMDs basically would not exist (or at least, not on the level that they do in canon).

Ghost Rider is still around, as well as that plotline. Again, I don’t really have an explanation for how the events of the ghost plotline worked out without AIDA, but this is a happy universe and everybody is alive.

With Victoria Hand alive and well, they have a perfect candidate to be the public face of SHIELD while allowing Coulson to continue to be the real Director. Meaning Mace isn’t a part of this storyline either.

Since AIDA doesn’t exist (on the level she does in canon at least) the Framework plotline doesn’t happen. Talbot doesn’t get shot in the head by a Daisy LMD, there is no manhunt for SHIELD, and the organization doesn’t have to go underground.

Anton Ivanov is presumably still around with his vendetta against Coulson, but without AIDA, the guy is just an average mid-level threat.

Season 5: basically all of S5 doesn’t happen. Talbot doesn’t get shot in the head, therefore isn’t mentally damaged for Hale to take advantage of, and never absorbs the Gravitonium, meaning he never cracks the world apart, meaning the SHIELD team doesn’t time travel, which means no loop. Hale would probably still attempt to use the Gravitonium device, bUT Werner Von Strucker and his photographic memory aren’t around for her to use (as he would never have been put into the memory machine back in S3).

Season 6: Izel would likely still be an issue, but I don’t really know how it would go down since Sarge doesn’t exist. Pachaqutik still would, but not in a copy of Coulson’s body. I have absolutely no idea how this plotline would play out so I’m pretending it doesn’t exist.

Season 7: The team never time-traveled in S5, so there’s no reason for the Chronicoms to want anything from them. Incidentally this also means that Kora and Sousa don’t join the team (sadness)

there is another sequel to this AU coming, but it’s a work in progress atm. it’ll go into some more detail about where the team is at the time of the series finale (you know. that incredibly satisfying final scene in S7E13) and sum up events of this AU in a way that doesn’t require reading the first two parts.