Come To Me
Title: Come To Me
Author: Diane
Pairing: Grant Ward/Skye
Rating: Teen Rated
Disclaimer: I don't own a thing!
Spoilers/Warnings: This is set shortly after episode 1.15 “Yes Men”.
Summary: Bored out of her mind, Skye stared up at the ceiling of the medical pod. It was late and everyone on the Bus was most likely fast asleep. She wished she could fall asleep, too but the fact a certain someone hadn't visited her that evening like he'd done every night since she had woken up was preying on her mind, although after the events of that day she wasn't all that surprised he'd been a no-show.
Author's Notes: I started this after the episode aired and then got sidetracked. It makes no reference to what's been happening in the most recent episodes and that's probably got something to do with the fact I'm still living in denial. ;)
Bored out of her mind, Skye stared up at the ceiling of the medical pod. It was late and everyone on the Bus was most likely fast asleep. She wished she could fall asleep, too but the fact a certain someone hadn't visited her that evening like he'd done every night since she had woken up was preying on her mind, although after the events of that day she wasn't all that surprised he'd been a no-show.
Pulling back the covers, she was just about to climb out of her bed when a voice stopped her.
“And where do you think you're going?”
A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth but she managed to keep it from fully developing. “I was coming to find you,” Skye informed him.
Ward nodded as he entered the pod and took the seat nearest the door. “I, uh... I'm sorry I'm late.”
“Why are you?” she asked.
His eyes met hers briefly before he averted his gaze and stared down at the floor. “I wasn't sure you'd want to see me,” he told her.
She frowned upon hearing that. “I don't understand.”
“You know what happened, Skye. I tried to kill Ma—”
“But you didn't,” she quickly interjected.
“Only because she knew how to stop me. If it had been anyone else it could've been so different.”
“It wasn't your fault, Ward. You were under Lorelai's control.” Her heart went out to him as she watched him run his fingers through his already mussed hair and release a heavy sigh. Holding out her hand to him, she said, “C'mere.”
Ward stared at her outstretched fingers for what felt like minutes but, in reality, was probably just a few seconds before he finally stood up and moved closer to her. Taking her hand in his, he gave it a gentle squeeze as he sat down beside her on the edge of the bed.
“If you want to talk about what happened I'm here, okay.”
He immediately remembered her saying something similar to him not that long ago and he'd made the mistake of turning her down. He wasn't going to do that again. “I'm not much of a talker.”
“You're not? Wow, I would never have guessed,” the brunette teased. She felt her stomach flip at the smile that suddenly graced his handsome face.
“Smart ass.”
“I'm sorry, I couldn't resist an opening like that.”
The warmth of her hand which, he realized, he was still holding gave him the push he needed to start explaining how he was feeling. “The loss of control... I-I haven't felt that in so long and it was way beyond what happened the last time I came into contact with anything Asgardian. She'd give me a command and I'd do it... no questions asked. I felt so damn powerless.”
“You can't blame yourself for what happened, Ward. There wasn't anything you could've done to stop her magic mojo from working on you.”
He shook his head. “I should've done something.”
“Like what?” she asked, tilting her head and raising an eyebrow.
“I-I don't know,” Ward finally answered, his shoulders sagging. “I just felt so helpless and it's been a hell of a long time since I've felt that way.” He stared down at the floor, willing away the childhood memories that to this day still plagued him.
Skye tightened her fingers around his. “I wish I could help make you feel better,” she whispered. While Ward had told her a little about the situation involving his brothers, she was pretty certain he hadn't even scratched the surface and she wasn't about to push him into talking.
Cupping the side of her face with his free hand, he ran his thumb back and forth along her cheekbone. “You are helping,” he told her. Ducking his head, he rested his forehead against Skye's and looked deep into her chocolate brown eyes before closing his own and taking a moment to savor the quiet.
“You should try to get some rest,” she said, grazing her fingertips along the back of his neck.
“Yeah,” he mumbled, opening his eyes but not moving away from her. “I was, uh, thinking... would you mind if I stayed with you for a little while longer?”
“I don't mind at all,” she replied, smiling. “You'd actually be doing me a favor by keeping me company. I cannot wait until Simmons gives me the all clear and I can get out of here.”
Ward returned her smile. “Going a little stir crazy, huh?”
“Something like that.”
“How've you been feeling?” He mentally kicked himself for not asking her that question as soon as he'd arrived tonight.
“I'm feeling a lot better... stronger,” she told him.
“Good, I'm glad to hear it.”
“And I meant what I said earlier about increasing my training as soon as I'm fit enough.”
“I know you did but we're not going to go overboard, okay?”
“Fine,” she relented, lightly punching his bicep. Shifting over in her bed, she patted the space beside her.
“What?” Ward asked, frowning.
“You're exhausted and need to get some sleep. I know what you're like.”
“Is that so?”
“Uh huh. You'll either sit in that chair over there once I'm asleep and stare at the walls or you'll spend the rest of the night reading so I'm suggesting you lie down with me and we can talk or something until you pass out.”
“Or something?” he queried, his tone teasing.
“Whatever,” she mumbled, patting the space beside her again while doing her best to ignore the heat that suddenly infused her cheeks.
Removing his shoes and his belt so he would be comfortable, Ward carefully got into bed beside his rookie and lay on his side so his chest was pressed against her back. He managed to bite back his groan when she grabbed his wrist and pulled his arm across her front so that his palm was settled over her stomach.
“Relax,” Skye told him, her voice soft as she snuggled back into him.
“You're not exactly making it easy,” he murmured. The initial awkwardness at being so close to her slowly dissipated and then all he felt was a calmness he was sure he'd never felt before.
“You still awake?” Ward asked, strands of her hair tickling his cheek.
“Mm-hmm.”
“I, uh... I wanted to say thank you... you know, for helping me tonight. I didn't know if I should come and see you after everything that happened but I'm glad I did.”
Skye smiled in the semi-darkness. “I'm glad, too and you can always come to me.”
“The same goes for you, Rookie. You know that, right?”
Her hand covered the back of his and she added a little pressure before rubbing her foot along his jean-clad calf. “I do now.”
Fin