A/N: I love the relationship between Skye, Coulson, and Lola. And was I the only one who cried a little when Ward and Deathlok shot up Lola? Also I was watching Iron Man 3 earlier today, and remembered how Tony is frequently referred to as "The Mechanic". I imagined Skye would use that codename to her advantage, and it went from there.

Skye sat in the office chair, spinning around in lazy circles, as Simmons spoke to her about some biological substance that they had found on their last op. Skye tried to be attentive and responsive in the conversation, but it was hard for her to understand half of what Simmons said.

"And - I'm sorry, Skye, I know what I'm saying probably doesn't even sound like English to you," Simmons trailed off, apologetic, and Skye whirled around to face her.

"No, no, don't worry! I'm just sorry I can't be a real help to you." Skye said, and Simmons offered her a quick smile.

"I know that you've been spending a lot more time with me just because of Fitz, and I appreciate that, but you don't have to sit in the lab all the time. I'm okay, really. Especially now that Fitz is on the mend." Simmons promised her, and Skye offered her a sheepish smile.

"I care about you, Jemma," Skye told her softly, standing. Simmons' smile widened and she set down her instrument to move toward Skye and give her a hug.

"Thank you, Skye," Simmons told her. "I'm okay here in the lab." Skye nodded and gave her hand a squeeze before leaving the room.

Lately, Simmons had been spending a lot of her time working in the lab on the Bus. She told Skye one evening that it didn't feel right working in a brand new place without Fitz with her, so she rarely used the fully functional lab in the Playground.

Lola and the Mini-Bus were still resting on the loading bay dock as well, and Skye still slipped into the SUV when she needed some of her own "me-time". As she walked between the vehicles, she gave a sad look toward Lola.

Busy trying to build up SHIELD 2.0 and weed out Hydra operatives, Coulson hadn't yet had the time to repair his second-most prized collectible. Lola sat, now with a small layer of dust, still riddled with bullet holes and broken glass. Skye reached out and carefully touched the passenger side door. She felt guilty. It was Coulson's one-man rescue mission for her that put Lola in this condition, and as usual, Coulson wouldn't allow any of the SHIELD mechanics to go anywhere near her.

"We'll get you fixed up, old girl," Skye promised the car, giving it a gentle pat before walking out of the Bus, heading toward the hall that led to their offices.

That was another thing. Skye had her very own office now - more than just the back of her van. A real office with a door, a desk, and bookshelves. Hers were sparse, nothing like Coulson's, which he had set up to resemble the office he had on the plane. Her hula girl was still there, though, propped up on a shelf just behind her head.

Skye let out a heavy sigh as she sat down in her chair, tapping the keyboard to bring up her desktop screen. She stared at it for a moment, Lola's broken glass still in her mind. Coulson didn't have time to work on her, but Skye had loads of free time... a vague idea forming in her head, Skye stood up and quickly headed toward May's office.

She knocked on the door before she opened it, something she had learned to do very early on.

"Yes, Skye?" May asked as pleasantly as May could sound. Skye shut the door behind her when she entered, and May raised her eyebrow slightly. Knowing that this was not going be a quick question-and-answer discussion, she pulled away from her computer and turned to face Skye fully as the younger woman sat down in one of the chairs across from her.

"I have a question about Lola." Skye said, and May's eyebrow raised higher.

"Coulson's car? What about it?"

"Where did he get it? I mean, I remember him telling me that she had been a gift from Fury. Something like a" Skye lowered her voice, "'welcome back from the dead, sorry I brought you back to life against your wishes, oh, and caused you extreme mental and physical pain' kind of gift."

"You aren't resentful toward Director Fury at all, are you?" May mused, and Skye folded her arms across her chest and scoffed. "You're right," May continued, "Fury did give the car to Coulson. You know how Phil likes his collectibles."

Skye's mouth twitched into a frown, but she quickly hid it. How come May gets to call him Phil?

"If you're wondering where Fury got it, I can't answer that. Maria Hill probably could." May told her, and Skye perked up.

"Hill? How can I get into contact with her?" She asked, and May looked amused again.

"You aren't just going to hack your way in?" She teased, and Skye did frown this time.

"I've got standards." She retorted, adding under her breath, "now." May gave her a questioning look.

"Why do you want to know so much about the car?" She asked, and Skye shifted in her seat.

"Well, since Coulson has been so busy lately, and Lola's just sitting there all beat up, I figured I could get her fixed up for him." She said quietly, speaking quickly, and May looked surprised.

"You do realize there is one SHIELD mechanic that Coulson trusts with Lola - if it's not himself working on her. And that mechanic is busy trying to help rebuild our task force vehicles." May informed her, and Skye frowned, disappointed.

"Well... can I at least call Hill, figure something out?" Skye asked, and when May narrowed her eyes slightly, Skye sighed and rushed, "I just want to do something for him. And I feel like this could be a huge thing. I mean, you've seen him."

May sighed, nodding with agreement. Coulson didn't join in on the team's game nights anymore, not even when they played Call of Duty. He didn't always eat meals with them either, and when he did, he hardly ever smiled. Any smirk on his face is superficial; more for the benefit of them than actual amusement or happiness on his part.

"It would make him pretty happy to see his car fixed up. It might give him hope that SHIELD is still fixable, too." May admitted, and she pulled out her cell phone. "I'm sending you her contact information now. I'll warn you that she's head of security now at Stark Enterprises. You have to be discreet - "

"As in Tony Stark?!" Skye exclaimed with wide eyes, and May gave her a look. Skye bit her lip and slouched down into her seat. "Discretion. My middle name." She said, and May barked out a laugh.

"If you can even get her to talk with you in the first place, I'll be impressed." May told her, turning her chair back toward her computer. "If by chance, she does agree to speak with you, do not mention Coulson's name. She knows that he's alive, obviously, but no one else does. She knows Phil even better than I do - if there's another person out there that he trusts with his car, she'll be able to tell you."

Skye nodded, thanking May and slipping out of the room. Knowing 'Phil' even better than May does? I didn't think anyone could know Coulson more than May. Skye refused to acknowledge that it was jealousy she was feeling.

... ... ...

Turns out, it didn't take much to keep hold of Maria's attention. She recognized Skye from Coulson's 'rag tag team of misfits', and perked up at the mention of 'Lola the car'.

"Ah, Lola. Does he still do that thing where he runs his hand along the fender when he walks past?" Maria asked, amusement lacing her voice, and Skye laughed and nodded.

"Yeah! I'm like, 'Do the two of you want to be alone?'" They shared a laugh, and Skye asked her if she knew where Fury had gotten the car.

"Oh, yeah," Maria replied, "it's sort of a 'passage of the flag' from Director to Director. It was built back when SHIELD was first formed, and given as a gift to the first Director. It went from there."

"Wow. Seriously a SHIELD original, then." Skye said, impressed, and Maria laughed.

"Don't tell me you're into the collectables thing too?"

"No," Skye told her, "Just Lola." And maybe Coulson.

"Well, I know Howard Stark designed the thing. Unfortunately, he's dead. And the one man Phil trusts to work on the car - "

"Busy," Skye interrupted, "Yeah. I know." She let out a frustrated breath of air. There was silence over the phone, until Skye said, "Wait a minute. Stark."

"No." Maria said immediately, sounding both very amused and a little terrified. "I hope Phil doesn't know that you even considered that thought. He and Stark's relationship is infamous. No way he'd let that guy touch his car."

"Well, what he doesn't know won't hurt him, right?" Skye said cheekily, and there was a moment of silence.

"Does Phil know that you're calling me about fixing up his car?" Maria asked her, and Skye huffed. Phil.

"No, he doesn't." Skye told her. "It's supposed to be a surprise."

"I'm surprised that you have the gumption to attempt this." Maria sounded a little impressed.

"He trusts me."

"Really." Maria sounded like she didn't believe her. "He won't after he's found out Stark messed with his favorite toy."

"I figure Stark is the only one left who is able to fix it without screwing anything else up." Skye pointed out. "The VTOL system is powered by the same sort of stuff his suits are, is it not? Besides, doesn't he have a thing for classics, too? I think he'll take good care of it. I won't let him do otherwise."

"Let's say we do get Stark to work on the car. What are we going to tell him?" Maria lowered her voice a little, "Phil is dead, for all intents and purposes. That cannot change. Not yet." Skye realized that Maria was calling him 'Phil' because she was probably in her office, and 'Coulson' was certainly a recognizable name.

"Don't worry about that. I'm great at fake identities, remember, and it'll be all me. AC won't be involved at all. Like I said; a surprise." Skye assured her.

"AC?" Maria repeated under her breath, and Skye imagined that she was shaking her head. "Alright," Maria sighed, "I'll see what I can do. You know, you must seriously be someone important to him, for him to put Lola in such a dangerous position during an op."

"I - I just want to thank him. And I feel bad; like a part of it is my fault." Skye stammered.

"I'll talk with Pepper, set up a meeting time for you. Can I reach you at this number?" Maria asked, her suspicious tone waning.

"Yes. Thank you," Skye said sincerely.

"I make no promises." Maria told her before hanging up. Skye set the phone down on her desk and leaned back in her chair. A slow smile spread across her face, and she punched her fist in the air.

First step, taken. Now she just had to pray that Tony would agree to meet with her. Tony freaking Stark. Holy crap! She let out a little squeal.

"Beat your high score on Solitaire?" Coulson mused from the doorway, making her jump.

"How long have you been there?" She exclaimed, holding her hands to her chest. He looked amused as he entered her office, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Not long," He gave her a little smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Skye smiled back, though, because maybe if she showed him enough happiness, he'd remember how to really express his own. "I just wanted your opinion on Simmons. How's she doing?" Skye frowned slightly and leaned back into her seat, raising her eyebrow as she looked up at him.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Skye mused, and Coulson rocked on his heels, still looking comfortable as if they were talking about the recent basketball game scores.

"You're better at reading people than I am," Coulson told her honestly, "And I'm her commanding officer. She'll feel necessary to tell me that she's fine, even if she isn't." Skye sighed, relaxing and gesturing toward the chair across from her. He sat and crossed his legs, smoothing his hand down his tie.

Cool as a cucumber, that's AC.

"She's getting better. She'll be best once Fitz is up and moving around a bit. And I understand that she's uncomfortable working in the lab here, but I wish that she would get out of the Bus, more..." Skye bit her lip, looking at her boss. I wish you'd get out of your office, more. Spend time with your team, again.

"Fitz is getting better day by day," Coulson said positively, and Skye nodded in agreement.

"That's a relief. Think it'll be awkward once they're together again?" Skye smirked, and Coulson frowned.

"Hopefully not. I'm not sure I'm ... happy... with their circumstance." He admitted, and Skye sat up straight, giving him a look.

"What, you mean that they love each other?" She asked, her tone a little more biting than she intended. He frowned and glanced away, squeezing his fingers together. She knew that was a tell that he was uncomfortable.

"That's not..." He sighed. "It's not a good idea for agents who work together to be in a romantic relationship. There are too many factors. Too many distractions. Too much that could go wrong. May and Ward..."

"Ward was a Nazi. Fitz is not." Skye interrupted him, and Coulson was almost glaring at her.

"That's not the point! Being a SHIELD agent is dangerous, especially now. Worrying about your significant other in the field is the quickest way to get yourself hurt."

"But how are you going to have anything to fight for if you don't let yourself love?" Skye retorted, and Coulson opened his mouth to retort, then closed it. He seemed to deflate, but Skye knew his opinion hadn't changed. He stood, and didn't look at her as he moved toward the door.

"I'm immensely pleased that FitzSimmons seem to have finally realized what greatness they could have together. I am happy for that," Coulson told her quietly, stopping at the door and turning to look at her. "But I know what Fitz will be thinking about every time Simmons is out gathering evidence, research. I know what he'll be thinking when she gets hurt." Coulson was looking at her intensely, and Skye just stared back. "Even if it's subconsciously, it will still be there. The worry. The fear. And I wouldn't ask that for anyone." He disappeared, and Skye blinked.

What just happened?

... ... ...