[1] Take the Shot | Leo Fitz

5

"This could have been a traumatic experience for Dr Hall. He may not be the same when you find him so Ramos will talk him down. We don't want Ward's personality setting him off," Coulson's voice warned the two specialists as they hid their inflatable raft behind a bush.

"Yes, because Nina has such a sunny disposition," Ward groaned as his words resulted in the aforementioned agent driving her elbow into his ribs, he childishly stuck his tongue at her as the two made their way up the beach, "my people skills are the least of our problems if Skye can't get us in."

"Have some faith in her, Grant. You're her SO yet I trust her more than you do," Nina sighed as they walked.

"Why do you trust her anyway? It took months to get you to trust me again after-"

"I would think very carefully of the consequences of finishing that sentence!" Nina sharply cut him off with a dark glare. Ward gulped and nodded, understanding that pissing her off was not in his best interest.

"What do you see in her that I don't?" Ward brought the focus back to the topic at hand and watched the tension visibly leave Nina's body.

"It's her eyes. When I look at them, I know exactly what she wants. She's looking for a family. Dr Hall is someone FitzSimmons look up to, that's why she's risking her life. I trust her because I can read her like a book," Nina's speech came to an end when they reached a sign that said DO NOT CROSS LETHAL RADIATION. She picked up a couple of rocks and threw them into the grid, watching them flash yellow and disintegrate before their eyes.

"Next patrol's any minute now," Ward took a deep breath and gave his best friend a worried look.

"Skye's offline. Repeat, we've lost audio and vitals," May's voice came over the comms and Ward let out an annoyed groan.

"Like a book, you say," Ward shot at his partner. Nina just shrugged not at all intimidated by his tone or believing that Skye would turn on them.

"I never said I read the whole thing."

"Abort is not an option, but if she's compromising-"

"She's still you're only way in to get to Dr Hall," Coulson joined the conversation. Nina had to resist the urge to swat at her ear, she hated wearing earpieces and undercover work gave her the luxury of never having to.

"And we're their only way out," Ward followed up their boss. Nina was going to say something until they heard a man's voice behind them, closing in fast.

"Beach is all clear. Let's move up the ridge," Nina didn't hesitate as she dashed behind a large bush, dragging Ward along with her, to find cover as the man and his fellow guards started walking towards them.

The guards reached the top of the ridge where Ward and Nina were hiding, only a few feet out of their reach. Nina gave Ward the plan using hand gestures and once the agent nodded, they both fell into action. Nina stepped out from the bush, immediately attacking the guard closest to them as he rose his gun at her. She forced the gun away from her body and punched him, knocking the guard to the floor and sending her heel into his face; drawing blood and knocking him out. Ward was working on taking out his first guard when Nina finished with hers and she had only a second to dodge an attack from the last guard. She used his momentum and grabbed his arm, twisting it and sending him toppling down the ridge. When he lay unmoving at the bottom, the two agents straightened out.

"I love watching you fight," Ward said, a little breathless as he looked at the bodies surrounding them.

"You love watching me do a lot of things," the teasing in Nina's voice didn't go unnoticed by Ward, who watched her intrigued. The two of them had never had anything romantic and except for that one night when they were both single and too drunk to know better, they'd never crossed the boundaries of being 'best friends'. Ward always wondered if they should, but Nina only saw him as a friend and he didn't understand emotions well enough to know if he cared about her like a sister or something more.