Ward's Salvation

Chapter 1: Coming Forward

Ward POV

"Cross off the team and bring the girl to me." John walks towards me as he's changing. "Once we're done with her we can rid you of your weakness. And by we, I mean you. That won't be a problem will it?" John searches my eyes as he asks and smiles at the answer he sees.

I've had years of experience. Inside I'm stiff with shock. He wants me to kill her? "Of course not," I answer with confidence. I look at John square in the eye and nod, letting him know that I understand.

"Great. You got your story straight?"

"Yeah, we just need to make it believable." I put my drink down and face John, ready for what's to come. The first punch comes and I use it to calm himself. My skin is crawling but I can't think about that now. After about 6 punches I black it out and focus on what I'm about to do.

I don't have trouble finding Providence with Skye's coordinates. I take a deep breath and make my way into the base. Once the door opens, I spot Skye waiting to see me in.

She looks beautiful. I smile for the first time since last seeing her.  I joke with her about the directions she gave me.

She smiles back and starts to joke with me but as soon as she can see me up close, she stops and worries. With a gentle hand, she inspects my face. I marvel at her touch. "Are you ok?" She looks worried.

I try to pretend it's nothing. "It's just a scratch." I begin to take my bag off and as I do, I flinch. Goddamn you, John, you did a number on my ribs.

"Here, let me help you with that. Come on. Let's get you to Simmons." Skye looks at me and gives me a small, shy smile and adds, "Then maybe we can get that drink."

I can't help but smile back. I can't resist her sweet face. "Deal." I follow her as she leads me to Simmons.

The team gathers as Simmons looks me over. I hate being on display. But I have a mission and this will be part of it.

I try to focus on Simmons as she is going on and on about my cuts and bruises. Fitz is walking around me, making me dizzy and Skye is talking about me looking like a "badass" if my cuts scar. I contain my smile because Coulson wants a rundown and he doesn't look amused.

So, I give Coulson my practiced version of things. I get to the part of shooting John and I don't hesitate. Coulson seems to believe me and gives everyone instructions.

I try to stay as close to Skye as possible. Who knows how long I'll have with her. I don't want to think about what the next couple of days will look like. She was going to find out and I want to push that out as far as I can but John gave me 24 hours.

Coulson wants to split up the team. He doesn't think it's a good idea but it may be easier that way. That is until Eric Koenig shows us the lie detector.

Fuck. Time to move up the timeline.