Their little star

Melinda

The scream echoing through the BUS has Melinda out of the pilot chair and running down the corridor towards the living area. As she gets closer to her destination, it becomes clear that she isn't the only one to have been woken up. Jemma has placed herself between Skye's bunk door and the males on the team. When the biochemist sees her coming towards them, she nods her head towards the door.

"She won't answer me."

Jemma simply explains and takes a step to the side, allowing Melinda full access towards the door. Knocking softly, she hears a weak reply of enter and she pulls the door open enough for her to enter. The moment she's in the small bunk, she closes the door behind her.

As her eye's lands on Skye, they soften as she moves towards the bed. Skye have pushed herself towards the wall, making room for Melinda on the bed. A spot she takes and within seconds, it was like Melinda have been thrown back into time, to when Skye had been younger and ended up in her bed after a nightmare.

The now grown-up version is clinging to her in the same way and Melinda lets her right-hand comb through the hair. After they had left Maria's base, she had gotten a message from Victoria. Both she and Gwen had notice that Skye was holding back, that she was acting as if everything was fine before they left, but they couldn't get anything out of her. Something that didn't surprise Melinda, but she had also seen it since they returned to the BUS.

The fact that she is listening to Jemma about staying in either her bed or the couch and not move about to much is saying a lot for the active girl. And now having her screaming in the early mornings, it worries her.

"Skye, is everything alright?"

"Yes... no..."

Her reply was muffled, since she refuses to move from her position.

"I know you don't like to talk about this thing, but Skye. I need to know something, because you are not only worrying me, but your aunt and Gwen too. They could tell something was wrong and now you wake up screaming."

Melinda explains, moving ever so slightly so she can look down at the young woman, at the same time she is trying not to scare her.

"It's just. With everything that happened and me ending up stack in a hospital... my nightmares are back and they..."

"They are as bad as when you were younger?"

"Well, you pointed out the fact that I woke up screaming."

Hearing the sarcasm in Skye's voice, Melinda smiles. There her daughter is, pulling Skye closer to her for one more hug.

"Seeing that you managed to wake everyone up, I have a strong feeling that Jemma will have done some tea, would that help?"

"If I had been younger, I would have gone for some hot coco. But yeah, tea would be very good."

Melinda shakes her head at the comment but slowly moves away from Skye, who refuses to move to make things easier. Once free from her girl, Melinda takes in a deep breath before leaving the bunk, happy to see that the rest of the team have moved, only to find them all in the kitchen. Her guess also confirmed when she sees Jemma taking out two more cups.

"How is she doing?"

"She will recover. Just a nightmare."

"Oh, I should have thought about that! I mean, going through something like that, being shoot and close to death, of course she would end up with nightmares. I would be more worried if she didn't."

The worry coming from Jemma is making the rest of the group worry to, which makes Melinda walk over to the younger woman, taking the two cups from her hand before she drops them.

"It happens, she will be fine. She just needs time, just like the rest of us."

She tells them, her eyes turning towards Coulson, Ward and Fitz. Coulson and Fitz nod their heads in understanding and Ward takes it all as his time to leave, knowing it's early in the morning he would probably start training earlier than normal. Turning back to the task at hand, she pours the hot water in the cups before starting to look for the tea bags.

"Well, since we are all up this early, we can take the time and get a good start."

Coulson speaks up and from the corner of her eye, Melinda can see how Jemma is nodding her head. Ever since Italy, they have been devoted to one thing and one thing only. Finding where Ian Quin had disappeared. When they were dealing with Skye's health, the man had managed to slip through S.H.I.E.L.D.'s fingers somehow.

"Right away."

Fitz comments and as he moves Jemma follows him, leaving her alone with Coulson. Feeling his eyes on her, Melinda turns around, lifting an eyebrow as a question.

"Is she going to be alright?"

"All she needs is some time to herself. And if she needs anything, it's me or Simmons who will help her."

Melinda informs him and seeing how he lowers his head; she understands that he is still thinking about the conversation they had in New Mexico. Knowing him, he wants to make everything right but with they way Skye is reacting to him, now isn't the time. Grabbing the two cups, she walks past him.

"You should follow your own advice."

She informs him, her attention locked on the bunk door as she walks. Knocking carefully on the door, it opens enough for her to enter. Handing Skye one of the cups, she closes the door.

"The team now thinks you have nightmares about what happen when you were shoot. Just so you know."

She informs her and Skye nods her head, taking a sip of the warm drink, letting out a sigh in the progress.

"Yeah, I guess that's the best option, would be too much to inform them about everything else."

She says, leaning towards Melinda once she sits down beside her.

"I yelled at Coulson when you and the others were at the academy."

She wasn't planning on telling Skye this, but it just slipped out and with the look her daughter is giving her, she can tell that Skye wasn't prepared for it either.

"Can I ask why you are going to keep that part from me?"

"I yelled at him for scaring you when we were at the HUB."

"Why? You know what, never mind that. Thank you."

The hug from Skye makes her smile, she could hear the confusion as to why she would have done something like that and then her realising she did it because it's something a mother is supposed to do. Hugging her back, Melinda then rises.

"You make sure to rest, don't over do yourself. I'm going to make sure everything else is going as it should out there."

She orders and Skye smile, taking another sip of her tea before pulling up her blanket higher, showing her laptop. Shaking her head, Melinda decides it's no use to comment about it, she knows fully well Skye wouldn't be trying to sleep for a long time.