Begin Again

Day three

"How are you coping?"

I'm not. "All right, I suppose."

"You don't look like it." Skye offered her a small smile.

"I was never that good at lying." Hollow. The polar opposite of who she normally was.

"I know. But it'll be okay, I promise."

"And if it's not?"

"It has to be."

~*~

At least she only had one day left to wait.

One more day until she could see him again, even if it was through a sheet of glass.

And then maybe she would be able to breathe again, because she would be able to see him breathe and it would all somehow be alright again.

One more day, she told herself. You can hold on that long. He needs you to.

~*~

The world had fallen apart in the space of a few days. Maybe it was longer, as Hydra had been embedded in S.H.I.E.L.D for a while, but everything had collapsed around them and now they were running.

They had to keep running, even if their lungs were bursting and their legs were aching and their hearts were breaking.

They were nowhere near the finish line yet.

And maybe they would never be, but they had to hang on to that little glimmer of hope that kept them running because they had a reason.

Coulson's reason was that he had given his life for S.H.I.E.L.D and he refused to be an agent of nothing because his life had to mean something.

May, well, her reason was buried deep beneath an exterior of rage and revenge and no one knew what it was, only that she was clinging to it like a lifeline.

Triplett had been betrayed by the man he felt he owed his life too. That really hurt.

Skye was also betrayed, by her mentor but also by the man she had fallen in live with. Some cuts run deep, and she was going to end up with scars. And revenge is the best medicine.

And Simmons? The only reason she was fighting was because that's what Fitz would want, for her not to curl up in a ball and cry until she had not tears left but to keep running, keep fighting, because he would have been doing that too.

And the race wasn't lost yet, but it was nowhere near won either.

Just keep running.

Not from the past, but to the future, because the grass is always greener on the other side. Eventually.