Enhancement

[14] The Cocoon

He woke in an instant. Grant looked around and saw light coming in from the windows of the plane. He searched for what woke him, it was Skye. She stood in her doorway staring at him amusingly. Grant stared back at her sharply as he wondered why she was staring at him. Then he looked to where her gaze was and saw Lily sleeping peacefully on the other end of the couch. Grant stood up quietly trying not to wake her as he walked over to Skye. "I could tell Coulson about this" she said with slight amusement, Grant frowned at her and shook his head as he glanced back at Lily. Grant then peered behind Skye at the clock, it was almost seven o'clock and May would be up at any moment.

      Grant put his hands on Skye's shoulders, "What do you want to know" Grant asked honestly, knowing that information was the only bargaining chip he had that Skye wanted. Skye smiled and then walked over to the couch where Lily was and patted the seat next to her. At first Ward had been confused but then walked over. "May will be up at any moment, best remove any evidence" she said with a small grin. Grant looked down at Lily and caught on to what Skye was implying. He bent his knees and effortlessly lifted Lily off of the couch. Grant shuffled into Lily's confining room and gently laid her on her bed. As Grant placed her down Skye peered through the doorway and caught a glimpse of a wide scar peeking out of the back of her shirt. Grant pulled the blanket back over Lily and walked out of Lily's room.

Skye was already seated on the couch with her legs crossed. Grant took a seat at the couch on the other side of Skye. Grant glared at her. He was shocked that he had let his student blackmail him, he never actually thought that Skye would respond like this. Well, he had taught her to use any means to get information, and Lily just had to be that means. Skye didn't wait for Grant to ask her what she wanted to know she already had her question, "How did she get the scar?" Skye asked in a whisper. Grant rolled his eyes irritated that Skye had asked that question first. "I thought you wanted to ask about my past how am I supposed to know how she got a scar?" he responded defensively, trying to stop her from getting an answer to that question. Skye cocked her head to the side and chuckled at Grant's defensiveness, "No I asked about you and Lily's past. And you're bad at lying to me Ward" she said with a grin.

       Grant let out a sigh knowing that he had to spill in order to keep Lily on the Bus and out of the Cocoon, as it is she's going to be questioned and indexed when they arrive. Skye still sat there with her eyebrow raised ready for some answers. "Well the scar was from...my brother, Christian. My older brother used to beat up me and my younger brother. Until I met Lily the only person I had to talk to was my little brother Thomas." Grant began not realizing how much private information he was giving Skye, but she didn't mind, she was a good listener. "When I got to grade ten, I met Lily. She was tough and kind, and she stood up for me when I got bullied in school. And then she found out about my family life, and tried to protect us. It worked for a while until Christian caught on and beat her in front of our house." For a moment Grant was getting choked up, Lily had always been a weakness for him.

       Grant stopped talking and realized that he had just vented one of the worst memories of his life. He stood up and walked away from Skye and the new private information that she possessed. Skye still sat there stunned by how much Ward opened up to her, she could feel tears forming in her eyes. But she now had a new question, if Lily risked that much to protect Grant, why did it seem like she was afraid of him. Skye shook her head puzzled. But she turned around when she heard a door open, Lily stood in the doorway with a grim expression. She stormed up to Skye and lifted her from the couch. Lily was angry, her face said it all. But then her expression softened slightly as she let Skye fall back onto the couch with a thud, "You should have never asked him that, and you had no right to know" she scowled in a harsh whisper. Skye stood from the couch and was about an inch away from Lily, "I asked, he answered" Skye retorted. Lily just shook her head, she was ready to start yelling at Skye, but May stepped out into the hallway.