Saving Grant Ward

Chapter Thirty-Five

A/N: Just a heads up, since the TV show already had a lot of the dialogue, I'm going to be focusing more on the parts that take place off-camera. There will still be some quotes from the TV show, especially before "Turn, Turn, Turn", but I'll still be creating new scenes and new dialogue to keep it interesting 😄

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I hardly registered what Coulson was saying, I was just so relieved to have him back. I was a complete mess, tears streaming down my face, but I didn't care. This time they were happy tears, and I didn't care about anything but Phil.

"How?" I asked, chocking out the word. I was still hugging him, and I didn't pull back as I continued. "I watched you die Phil. How is this possible?"

"Director Fury faked my death to motivate the Avengers. I stopped breathing for forty seconds, but I woke up in ICU and then spent the next month recovering in Tahiti."

"How could you not tell me?" I asked, my hands curling into fists. I still didn't pull back from our hug though. "I cried for weeks. If it hadn't been for May, I never would've left my room again."

"I know. I'm sorry. I just got back from Tahiti, my first task was assembling this team. You were on your way to the academy when I put everyone together."

"I forgive you. I'm just glad you're back." I pulled him in tighter, then let go. "I was in shock when I saw you, so I'm not sure if I imagined this, but did you say I was a level seven?"

"I did."

"What? Sir!" protested Grant, joining our conversation, "She was a level five before now!"

"I know. But knowledge of me still being alive requires level seven clearance."

"Sir, FitzSimmons are still level fives."

"Yes, and now Samantha's a level seven."

Grant did not look happy, but Coulson was our Superior Officer, so he couldn't say anything. My smile grew even bigger as he stormed off back upstairs.

"Thank you so much for that," I said to Coulson.

"You're welcome. Now, why don't you come meet the newest addition to our team while I have someone deliver her things." I looked around and noticed a girl about my age with long brown hair for the first time. I was so excited to see Coulson I hadn't noticed anything else.

"Oh, shoot, I'm sorry," I said, addressing her, "I should've noticed you earlier. My name's Samantha."

"It's okay, getting to see the frustration on Agent Ward's face more than made up for it," she said, shaking my outstretched hand, "My name's Skye."

"Nice to meet you Skye. And good to know that I have someone on board who can appreciate my tormenting Grant. How long have you been at SHIELD?" I asked.

"Officially? About ten minutes."

I grinned. "That's awesome. Did you just finish with your SO then?"

"What?"

"Supervising Officer. You know, like your mentor for a while after the academy?"

"No, actually, I never went to the academy."

"You didn't?"

"No. These guys found me on a mission. I was with Rising Tide."

My jaw dropped open and I looked at Skye in horror. "Rising Tide? Please tell me you're kidding!"

"Nope, not kidding. And not feeling as optimistic about being welcomed into SHIELD anymore."

"I'm sorry," I said, shaking my head and trying to return my expression to normal, "I didn't mean to be so rude. I was just caught a little off guard. The Rising Tide has almost gotten me killed a couple times, so I'll admit I'm a little biased, but I trust Coulson. If he trusts you, I do too. Can we start over?"