A/N: Hello people! The show was back, briefly, and I'm back. I'm posting a sequel to 4 hours, this is part of my little Agents of Shield Universe so... If you haven't read my other stories, I highly recommend you to do it, starting with "Protective" you can find all of them in my profile, they are really short, you know you want to read them... Go! Hahaha. I'm posting this stories separately but remember that they all belong to the same continuity. If you follow me you'll get updates when I post new stories... just if you're interested. No pressure :).

This one, as I said before is a sequel to 4 hours and is set before the last episode, so I think it's spoilers free if you have not seen "Yes, man". Please enjoy!

ps: Are you as excited as I am because of what Lorelai said? I'm writing a sequel to this story already! Hahaaha

I don't own any of this characters, sadly.

BEFORE SHE WAKES UP

There was something off with Agent Coulson, again… There he was, staring at Skye and looking lost in his own thoughts, like if they had done something wrong by saving her life. Ward looked back at her. She almost died; she suffered, she was in pain, right before his helpless, unuseful self. Simmons injected the serum while his rookie was fighting not to die. Agent Tripplet was right, she was a fighter, and there was no way to explain how did she even survive long enough for them to get the GH235. He glared back at his superior, what was in the serum? What did he know?

"You're not still blaming Agent Coulson, are you?" May's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"I… He saved her life. No matter what, even going against protocol"

"You all did it. Going down there"

"The only thing that matters is that Skye is alive, and recovering"

"You wonder why Agent Coulson looks upset" May concluded

"You know? I mean, you seem to know him so well"

Melinda frowned "You don't have to take this attitude against him" She changed the subject

"Do you think she'll be awake soon?" He changed the subject too.

"I hope so. Once you get used to that girl, she's kind of contagious" she half smiled.

"She is, right?" Ward smiled too, but his eyes were fixed on Skye, and his expression a little different from May's. There was more to it than just being happy for getting his rookie back. She was recovering her colors, no longer pale and covered in blood, and he was just so eager to hear her voice, get back to training, spend more time together… He frowned.

"What?" May asked, making Grant look at her. He forgot for a moment that she was standing next to him and… their situation. Right now he was fighting to ignore what his heart was screaming out loud, that would be just calling for trouble, more trouble. He stood in silence for a few seconds, trying to say something, but he was saved by Coulson when he opened the door.

"She looks better" May spoke again, focusing her attention on Phil

"She does" The agent said, still with a concerned expression on his face "I want Fitzsimons to monitor her every minute. Let me know if she wakes up or… if something unusual happens. It want blood tests, but we'll keep this quiet" He started walking but Ward stopped him by taking his arm.

"Why did you say that?" Grant asked sounding a little more aggressive than he wanted to.

"Agent Ward" Phil said and looked at the hand grasping his arm. Grant pulled it back and then he continued, "We gave her an unknown substance. We should keep monitoring her in case there's a reaction. We don't know the side effects for some drug we found" He tried to keep a steady voice, but the other agents couldn't help but notice that he sounded worried, even sad. "I'm going now… if that's fine with you" He walked away.

Melinda and Grant looked at each other.

"No…Grant!" She said when he followed their superior, but didn't stop him. He was obviously still angry at Coulson, and about the whole situation. Since Skye got shot she just confirmed how much she affected him. She knew it, but he wouldn't accept it, less do something about it.

"Sir!" Grant said with authority. Making the man stop and turn to face him.

"Is there a problem, Agent Ward?"

"I don't know, you tell me"

"I think I'll have to remind you that I'm your superior, agent Ward. I don't like your tone. I know that you think that, somehow, I'm responsible for what happened to Skye"

"Yeah, I should have known that May was going to tell you that too"

"So, is this about May then?"

"No"

There was an awkward silence between them. If not for his respect for authority, Grant would have punched his superior by now.

"Come to my office. Now" Coulson raised is tone. Now he was pissed too. "Ward"

"Yes, sir" He followed him.

When they were in Coulson's office, the superior agent shut de door closed. "What is your problem?"

"With all do respect, sir. I'll ask you again. You. Tell. Me. There's something wrong with the serum, isn't it?" He saw how Coulson's expression faded. The guy was genuinely worried about something.

"I… I don't know. We…" He made a pause and avoided Ward's eyes "We don't know where it comes from" He looked back at the specialist "We just know that it worked. But she would have died" His voice sounded almost broken. "I don't even know if that was the right thing to do. You know about what happened to me, what they did to me"

Grant swallowed. "I think that Skye will decide about that when she wakes up"

"Yeah. Just like it was her decision to join us, to become an agent, and to go after Quinn with Fitz" Phil sat on the corner of his desk.

"What are you implying, sir?"

"Well… She's not very good at making decisions. But they were her decisions, and we have to respect that. I still don't understand how her mind works, but I'm proud of her. She has such a strong will, and she's brave. One day… she'll make a great agent"

"But…" He couldn't find the right words to argue with his boss. Coulson was right. May was right. Skye decided to go after Quinn, and that was not a very good decision, but it was the right one. She would do it again. But there was the other thing… whatever happened between her and Phil when they were at the Academy. Something had changed since that day. "What did you tell her?… about her past" He finally asked.

"Do you want to know that?"

"She was going to tell me before the mission in Italy"

"Then let her tell you. I'm sure she will"

Ward's jaw clenched. He was desperate. Now he was sure that the effect of the berserker staff was still present. Every time he was mad, the rage burned in his chest in a very horrible, painful way. For some reason, every episode was Skye-related, which was another good reason not to-

"Agent Ward!" Coulson said in a louder tone "You there?"

"Yeah. I think you're right. She'll tell me. I have to go" He spoke in a darker voice, trying to calm himself.

"Grant"

The agent was ready to leave but stood in his place when he heard his name.

"This was never about May. This is about Skye. All. Am I right?"

"What?" Ward frowned, genuinely confused.

"You know. And you know the real reason why you're with May. She's not a little girl; she knows what she's doing. But you need to-"

"We already talked about it. May and me… It has nothing… to do with… Skye. Sir, sorry, but this is personal"

"I'm sorry. You can go now. Are we good?"

"Yes sir" He nodded and finally got out of the room even more confused. What did Coulson mean? Why did Skye have anything to do with his… thing with May, Why was Coulson asking? He knew what he was doing too. Without even realizing it, he found himself in front of Skye's pod. She looked so much better and that made him feel better. No rage, no questions. He walked in and sat next to her. It was like she was just sleeping and about to stark wrecking havoc in his life again.

"You better wake up soon, rookie. You owe me like 500 push-ups… and a conversation" He smiled and squeezed her hand in his. It was warm again. He stared at her for minutes, her steady breathing, so peaceful. In an impulse, he kissed the back of her hand. That was the exact moment when he realized what Coulson meant. He opened his eyes; there it was… he wanted to kiss her.

"This is a bad idea" He muttered with a sad smile "Man, I would be happy just by hearing your voice. Is that too stupid? I would… tell you. I should…" He swallowed. It was a really bad idea. All he could bring to Skye's life was more danger; even he could hurt her. May was safe. What they had was great, no feelings, and no complications. He leaned forward a little. She was so young and beautiful, she deserved a lot better. He sighed, but decided to surrender to a last moment of weakness.

His lips barely touched hers. I was a slight contact, but still so powerful. He closed his eyes and didn't move for a few seconds. "Just wake up, ok?" He whispered. Then he left. He had to prepare to act like everything was normal, to smile for her and move on.

Skye, on the other hand… didn't open her eyes, which was not easy. Trying not to move was even harder. But when he was gone her smile said everything. She moved her hand to touch her own lips, but a loud voice pulled her back from her joyful state.

"You were awake the whole time!... you little-"

"Simmons!... please, have a little consideration" Skye opened her eyes, the bright light was uncomfortable and she finally felt the pain in her whole body.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah… I want to…"

"You want to nothing!... stop kissing people and pretending to be unconscious. I have to take blood samples, make tests… I was so worried about you, and you wouldn't even tell me you were awake!"

Skye giggled, she was starting to feel so tired. She didn't hear half of the things that her friend was saying. "Do you have a mirror?"

"A what? A mirror?... Skye!" She rolled her eyes, but there was a hint of a smile in her face. Skye fell asleep quickly, but her expression was so adorable, still smiling. She would let her rest a little more and tell the good news to the rest of the team, and then try to find a mirror.

Please leave your feedback, I would love to read what you have to say in this awful, rainy day... Also, remember that English is not my native language, please forgive me if i made your eyes bleed.