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The idea for this next one came from Ealasaid Una. The original prompt was: Skye is sick and doesn't want the team to know because she thought they wouldn't care. Well, it started that way but I started to lean more on the 'care' part and came out with this instead. Sorry, Ealasaid Una. Hope you like it anyway. Happy reading Everyone!

Disclaimer : I wish I could own the 1st SkyeWard Interrogation scene. But I don't stand a chance of owning anything related to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Summary : Ward tries his best to not care for Skye. Hah! Like that's possible!

xox

"You heard that?"

Ward nodded in response to his superior's question. Both men exchange a silent look that spoke volumes. They had both been betrayed by a girl who they had given their trust to. Hearing her soft sobs and the clinching of the metallic bracelet from the office, they both knew the traitor had surrendered her freedom in exchange for the need to find the truth about her parents. About herself.

Despite his telling Skye off earlier and refusing to join her when she was called to Coulson's office, the Supervising Officer had given in to his own curiosity and, much as he hated to admit; concern. Quietly he had stood outside the lead agent's office and listened to the reason of Skye's adamant need to stay in S.H.I.E.L.D.

After Coulson's departure, Ward had remained leaning by the door hearing her heart wrenching sobs. A mixture of feelings went through him as he recalled their conversations and time spent together. He was besides himself when the van that contained SKye and FitzSimmons had been over turned. He was open enough to share the story about his brothers. He tried to rationalize her reasons but her betrayal was too treacherous to ignore.

He will not care if she is hurt.

He will not care about sharing past experiences anymore.

He will not care.

xox

Ward had just stepped off the spiral staircase when he heard a door being slammed. Looking up, he saw Skye standing by the SUV staring straight at him. She had the same look as she did earlier just before she barreled her way to hug Simmons in the lounge. He had seen the tears of relief flowing down the hacker's features as she hugged and cried in the bio-chemist's arms. He heard her pleading the other girl to not leave her in between sobs.

He knew how much Skye had wanted to be a part of a family. To fit in, she had said. The team had accepted her and he had given his word that they wouldn't turn their back on her.

Deep down he had wanted that hug from his Rookie too. He had jumped off the Bus to safe Simmons. He too deserved a hug. But he reminded himself that he wouldn't care. She had betrayed him. He didn't want anything that she would offer.

In the dim lighting of the loading bay,he saw her sniffed and placed the back of her hand against her nose. No way he was going to let a little tear lessen his distrust towards her.

Skye chose that moment to barrel towards him. Ward cursed himself for opening his arms as she got nearer. He condemned himself for wanting to hold her and to tell her that he won't ever leave her. He double cursed himself for missing his Rookie.

"What the hell...?" hecursed out loud when she pushed past him to run to the back of the lab.

Against his judgement, he followed her. She had entered the wash room and in her haste had left the door ajar. He saw her bent over the sink and had turned on the faucet. He was shocked to see the swirling water turned red. Pushing his way into the little cubicle, he startled Skye when he grabbed a handful of her hair and turned her face towards him.

Blood was dripping from her nose. She gave him a fierce frown as she jerked away from him. Washing the blood off, Skye pinched her nose as she lean forward over the sink.

Losing all resentment towards his Rookie, he grabbed some paper towels and handed them to her. She accepted them and didn't jerk away when he gently gathered her hair and held it away from her face. They stood together in the small cubicle as he silently assisted her until the bleeding stopped.

'You alright?" He whispered as he handed her a towel to wipe her face.

"Yeah. Thanks."

"What happened?"

"Don't worry about it. It happened a few times before." She shrugged it off lightly.

"Does Simmons know?"

"Yup. She knows. So does Coulson." She turned to push him. "Do you mind?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why? Will you be nicer to me if I had told you I have nose bleed from time to time?"

"Just answer the damn question, Skye." he ordered dangerously. How she always managed to swing his mood from good to bad within two seconds was beyond him.

Skye tilted her head as she looked up at him. "Usually happens when you were off the clock."

He stopped her when she tried to push past him again.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Anyway you want it to be." she returned.

Placing her hand on his firm abs, she tried to push him away. He stood firm in not letting her out.

"What is wrong with you?"

"Excuse me?" Skye gasped. "What is wrong with me? Look, I followed everything you told me to do. Followed every protocol there is ever invented. Even let myself be tagged like some stray dog. Get all my movements monitored. My key swipe. My online activities. Probably you even know how much junk food I consumed from my cholesterol readings! I've been made to skip and jump at your command and you ask what is wrong with me?"

"This conversation has nothing to do with all that." He snarled.

"Then what? My betrayal?" she stood on tip toes. "I have already apologized to you. Five times! You know I had no intention of blowing it out of proportion. All I want was to get to the truth. My truth!"

"When I asked what was wrong with you," he leaned down until they were almost nose to nose. "I was referring to your frequent nose bleed, damn it!"

"Why the hell do you care?" she challenged.

"How am I supposed to protect you if I do not know what I'm up against?" He grasped her elbows and closed the already minute distance between them.

"Ooops! Silly me. That's your job. To protect." her eyes blazed when she added. "But why would you want to protect someone that you can punished?"

"Why would you think I want to punish you?" His grip lessen.

"Isn't that's what you do? Eliminated the enemy. Get rid of the threat. Terminate the source. Eradicate the evil that causes mayhem, hurt and pain. Protect the people around you. Protect you own mighty ass." she tilted her head. "I'm the enemy remember?"

He released her yet his eyes bored into hers.

"I know how ballistic it gets to be betrayed by a so-called friend. And wish that I wasn't so stupid to easily trust someone." she gave him a pursed smile. "I know how you are feeling right now. I get it." she raised her hand and counted off her fingers. "One. If we are done being friends? Fine. Two? If you think that I'm here for selfish reasons? I'm fine with that too. If you want to stop being my Supervising Officer? Bingo! That's three fines in a row!

"But we are a team. Unless you can work out a way for us not to communicate yet get the job done, we have no choice but to work together."

She squeezed past him but he grasped her wrist before she could take more than three steps.

"How about a truce?" he offered quietly.

At her silence, he squeezed her hand.

"You are right. We are a team. Much as I prefer to work alone, that's not an option anymore." Ward stepped close to her and added, "You have to understand that though you are not the enemy, I'm still hurt and wary of you. But as your Supervising Officer, on or off the clock," he added rank into his voice, "I know how valuable you are to the team. You need us as much as we need you. So, truce?"

She remained silent.

"Skye?"

"This means I get to do 10 pull-ups instead of 20?" Skye, as always, used humor to defuse a tense situation.

His sigh parted her hair at the top of her head. She could hear the resignation in his voice.

"Tell me about the nose bleeds and why you didn't tell me. Then we'll negotiate."

"Jemma said it's my sensitivity to the change in weather and altitude. Nothing serious."

"And?"

"I guessed you wouldn't care." she shrugged.

"In that case you, get to do 25 pull-ups." he told her after a short contemplation.

"25? That's... Hey! That's 5 more! What kind of a freaking negotiation is that?" Skye burst as he walked away.

"You guessed wrong, you pay the penalty."

xox

Ward opened the door of the SUV and was shocked to find the occupant staring back at him.

"What is it Ward?"

"Nothing Sir," Ward stammered as Agent Coulson adjusted the reclined seat. "I was looking for Skye."

"Have you tried her bunk?"

"She is more here than there so, I figured.." he shrugged.

"Looking to thank her?" the lead agent smirked.

"Thank her?"

"Yours and Fitz's extraction." Coulson clued him.

"I thought May..."

"She just drove the bus. Your Rookie went over my head and hacked into Level 8 to get the plan, which was non-existant actually. Then of course she got the team involved in the rescue." Coulson frown and groaned. "She girl is running circles around me."

"She makes me go hot and cold." Ward mumbled."What are you going to do about her?"

"What do you think I am doing sitting in here for?"

"Hiding?"

"Thinking, Agent Ward." Coulson corrected his specialist.

"Right." Ward made a move to close the door. "I'll leave you alone."

"Hang on." Coulson took a moment before continuing. "I have just told her about what I found on her. Well, more of the S.H.I.E.L.D agent that dropped her at the orphanage. But there is more than just that."

"Good?"

Coulson shook his head. "I'll show you the file later. In the meantime, if she ask..."

"It's classified." Ward sighed. "I know."

"It is hard not to care, isn't it?"

Ward's shoulders droop in defeat as he sighed.

Coulson smirked, "Close the door."

xox

Skye stared out into the darkness as the Bus flew across the night sky. Not seeing anything. Not even her own reflection in the window pane. Her finger lightly tapping on the hula doll as she rested her head on her folded arm.

"Hey."

Skye turned her head towards the door. She heard the light knocking more than she heard Ward's greeting.

"Sup?" she straightened from the window to see him leaning against the frame.

"You ok?"

"Yup."

"You want a sandwich? I'm making one."

"No."

"Beat me in Battleship, again?" he offered.

"Nope."

"A few rounds with the punching bag?"

She shook her head.

"You want to talk?"

Silence.

"Skye?"

"What's it like to have a mother?"

Ward stepped into her bunk and sat on the floor. Resting his back against her bed, he slouched lower to rest the back of his head on her mattress.

"A mother or a mom?"

"There is a difference?" Skye curled her body as she lay across the width of her bed. A pillow tucked in her arms.

"Anyone can be a mother. But it takes a special person to be a mom."

"What did you have?"

"Both. My mother is my mother. My Grampsy is my mom."

"I don't understand."

"My mother was, there." his hands gestured a house. "Sure, there's loads of money and tonnes of food. But she wasn't there for us. She's busy with her work and anytime that she had, she'll spend it with my stepfather. So, no being there after we come home from school. No showing up at parents teachers meeting or graduations. No soups and cool cloths when we were sick. Not caring when my elder brother picked on me and Joey. No nothing."

"Grampsy. She was there for everything, for all the ups and downs." he turned his head towards her with a smile. "Every big or little event or thing our mother was not there for, we'll find her behind us. We had someone to come home to. Someone to talk to and someone who listens. Sounds like we were coddled? Truth was, Grampsy gave us freedom to do what we want to do. But reigned us in whenever we go astray and gave us hell.

"Sure it sucks when we want to play but made to do homework and chores first. Or having to sit through her lecture on the importance of education whenever our grades slipped. Or," he pointed a finger at her. "Promise not to laugh."

"Ok."

"Getting phone calls when we were out too late on a school night and," he grimaced. "On dates."

"Seriously?" Skye laughed out loud.

"You promised!" he slapped her hand playfully.

"That must have been embarrassing!"

"Understatement." he chuckled. "But like I said she was there for us every step of the way. Her love and care for us, was just amazing. Not that we didn't have our fair share of mischiefs and mistakes, but she's there to keep us straight. She never let us down be it in sickness or in health."

"Wow. Who would have thought the Robot is capable of saying something so beautiful. How sweet Agent Ward."

"Shut up." He reached out and tickled her ribs. It has been a long time since he heard her laugh so openly with him.

"Was she staying with you in that house you mentioned?" she asked after managing to push his hand away.

"No. After a certain incident, she took Joey and me to stay with her on her farm. Frank stayed with our mother."

"Do you visit her often?"

"As much as I could, when she was alive. She died a couple of years back." he gave her a sad smile. "I was away on a black ops mission when it happened."

"I'm sorry." She squeezed his shoulder. He laid his hand over hers and squeezed lightly.

"Skye?"

"Yes."

"Why did you hacked into levels that you are not supposed to go into."

"You know about that huh?"

"Why did you do it?"

"Will a wrong answer end me with 40 sit-ups?" she crunched her nose.

"Being a smart mouth will end you with lots more than that."

"I care about you." at his surprise expression, she added quickly, "All of you."

He smirked and stood up.

"That means 40 sit-ups or what?" Skye sat up.

"That means 30 sit-ups and I make you a sandwich."

"Yes!" she grabbed his hand that he offered and was pulled out of the bed.

"Hey, Ward?"

"Yup." he answered as he walked towards the kitchenette not realizing that she was still standing in front of her bunk.

"Why are you being nice to me?"

"You saved my life. And Fitz."

"So you think you owe me? Is that it? That's why you are being nice to me?"

"Oh God! Here we go again." Ward rolled his eyes, turned and walked back to her. "Can't you not think like that?"

"Why not?" her defiance was accompanied by an arched brow.

"Listen here you infuriating little imp!" he hissed as he towered over her. "I am not being nice because I owe you. I am being nice because you deserve to be treated nicely. I don't want to be enemies with you. I want to be your friend. I want..."

"World peace."

"Yes! What? No!" he blinked at her as she made a vee sign with her fingers.

"You don't want world peace?"

"SKYE!"

The agitated specialist was completely at a lost as what he wanted to say. With a growl he tugged her hand towards the kitchenette. "Sandwich now!"

"Are you always this grouchy?"

"Only after I met this one particularly annoying hacker." He mumbled.

"Poor you." Skye patted his hand. "Am I your friend?"

"Yes." he sighed exaggeratedly in resignation.

"May I ask a question?"

"What?"

"If I let you win at BattleShip, think you could tell the SO in you to bring it down to 15 sit-ups?"

"Don't push it, Rookie."

xox

"Oww!"

"Come on Skye, it doesn't look that bad."

"I am not a guy. So I don't have to mask my pain in front of a good looking man." she winced when he touched her shoulder again. "Ouch! That hurts!'

"Sorry." he said before his voice drop lower to add, "I could kiss it to make it better."

"Please don't get me wrong when I say this, because I expect a repeat performance. But," Skye jabbed her finger on his chest. "Your mind-blowing kisses was what lead to this in the first place."

"You started it."

"You said to use any method to break your hold on me." Her finger that was jabbing his chest started to draw circles instead. "Besides you weren't complaining, just moaning. At least up to the point until we fell through the door and you landed on top of me."

"You're saying that if it had been an assailant, you were going to kiss him senseless?"

"If he looks anything like Thor..."

"Skye!"

"Ok, ok. Cool your jets." Skye tapped his chin. "If it had been an assailant, I definitely would not have kissed him. Do you think I'm stupid? Think of the consequences."

"Right. It could cause you your life."

"More like my ear. Arms too.

"What?"

"Think about it. If I had done anything stupid, would you just let me off easily?" she shook her finger. "No. No. No. You would have nagged..."

He caught her finger and glared at her. "A Supervising Officer do not nag his infuriating rookie, Rookie."

"Lecture then." she stood on tip toes to counter his intimidation. "Lecture my ear off for two hours while making me do my whole Rookie routine of sit-ups, pull-ups and push-ups till my arms drops off. Or increase my biceps to a size that would make The Hulk green with envy!"

"Green with envy? The Hulk? Seriously?"

"Don't you dare laugh! Oww!" she howled when she lifted her arm to smack him.

"Come here." He pulled her onto his lap as he sat on her bed. "Let me help you with that."

Ward gently lowered her shirt off her shoulder to tenderly rubbed the spot where her shoulder had met the floor earlier.

"Why did you pull that trick on me anyway? In a hotel corridor with cameras covering all angles, what were you thinking? You are lucky that May didn't come out from her opened door and kick your ass." she frowned. "Why was her door opened anyway?"

"Coulson."

"Coulson? "

Ward smirked and waggled his eyebrows, earning a gasped of realization from Skye.

"Mom and Dad? Really?"

"Your ass is the one who is going to get kicked if May hears you calling her that."

"We just have to say it quietly behind her then." she nodded at her bright idea.

"You are incorrigible Rookie." he softened the rebuke with a soft kiss on her shoulder. "Better?"

"Yes, thank you." She kissed the corner of his mouth. "So, you want to tell me why you pounced on me out there?"

"Just giving you an off the clock training on awareness. You have to be on alert at all times."

"Off the clock?" she narrowed her eyes. "Why would you want to be nice to me when you are off the clock?"

"Didn't we have this conversation about being nice before?"

"Sorry. It is just that I know that you still have issues of trusting me. What I did was unforgivable, I know. So I just can't ignore that nagging feeling of you having an ulterior motive whenever you are nice to me." Skye got off his lap to walk over to stand by the window. "Especially after what you said today."

"Skye you know how sorry I am for saying that to you."

"I know." she nodded as she hugged herself. "It was the rage talking. It wasn't you. But don't you see? That's how you really feel about me."

"You have no idea how I feel about you."

"Hate."

"Wrong Skye." He barked.

Ward prowled to and fro in front of her like a cage wolf. His fingers pushing through his hair before interlocking them on his nape. He closed his eyes and took steadying breaths before calming down. Ward really wondered how she could control his emotions like a flick of a switch.

"That chemistry Simmons mentioned is probably the best explanation there is." he came close to stand in front of her. "It is that intense feeling I have deep inside me which I have been fighting since I kidnapped you, that's causing all the rage."

"I don't understand."

He reached out and gently traced the side of her face.

"I care about you Skye. Too much. Even after your betrayal, I can't stop caring for you. I can't stop feeling the way I do about you" he cupped her face. "We are pole opposites. But there is a chemistry between us that I can't deny." he captured her lips briefly. "I won't deny it anymore."

"I care about you too." Skye wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. "So much it hurts."

"I am really sorry about what I said."

"Stop." Skye reached up to place her finger on his lips. "That's over and done."

"Does everything just roll off your back?"

"No. If it helps, I'd rage all the time, but it doesn't."

"If you ever need to talk, my shoulder is free." he murmured against the side of her neck. "And you know where I live."

"You stealing my lines now?"

"You stole my peace of mind, so that makes us even."

"Since you are keeping score," she raked her nails up his back before slowly meandering her fingers back down again. "You, Agent Grant Ward, is stealing my downtime."

"Any suggestions on how to even the score?"

"Well, since you insist on little me being alert at all times, it would be mighty nice if," she played with the buckle of his belt as she flirted in a Southern drawl. "You would kindly engage me in some unscheduled physical activity that involves me getting all untidy, messy and..."

Ripped!

"GRANT!"

"Sorry about the shirt. I'll get you a new one."

THE END

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