Facing Your Past [Book 1]: A Grant Ward FanFic.

Chapter 2 - A Real Team

0-8-4

"Skye? The girls not qualified to be a Shield Agent." Ward argued. Whilst Agents Lee, Ward, Coulson and May were discussing Coulson's choice of bringing Skye onto the team.

"Exactly, she's still working with the Rising Tide. Who's to say she's not reporting on us and waiting to betray us." Taylor added.

"Agreed," Coulson defended, "That's why I've invited her on as a consultant. Shield do it all the time. Technically, Stark's a consultant."

"And as Taylor said, technically Skye's a member of the Rising Tide. She hacked our RSA implementation-"

"Twice," Phil cut off. "From a laptop. Imagine what she can do with our resources."

"I am. That's exactly what I'm imagining during this frown. You brought me on for risk assessment. She's a risk. She doesn't think like us." Ward told him.

"Exactly." Phil replied.

"We have two kids on this Bus who aren't cleared for combat, your adding a third?" May pointed out.

"At least Fitz-Simmons are trained Shield scientists. But Skye?" Taylor started.

"You said this was a select team. Assembled to work new cases, to protect people. I don't see how letting some hacker tag along-" Ward added.

"I'm looking." Interrupted Coulson. "For an objection that I haven't already anticipated. I'm calling this. But your frown will be on record." He assured the team.

"We've been called in to investigate an 0-8-4. We all know what that means." Ward continued.

"Yes, we do. It means, we don't know what that means." Coulson agreed as he walked away to talk to Fitz-Simmons and Skye. May went to the cockpit, leaving Ward and Lee alone in the control room, sighing to themselves.

"Do you remember our first mission?" Taylor breaks the silence. A smile grows on her partner's face at the memory. She shakes his head, chuckling to himself.

"God, that feels like forever ago." He confesses. He smile grows as his face changes in realisation. "What happened in Madagascar, that was..."

"Just for the mission, yeah." She quickly interjects. He nods at this. "We were undercover." A cloud of tension falls between them. "It was fun though." She laughs. Ward just looks down, trying to hide his wide smile.

"Yeah." He breathes. Taylor shifts her weight before stepping away from her S.O.

"Right, I guess we better greet the newbie." She sighs once again walking over to the Bus Kids.

"Officially, it's an airborne mobile command station. But we call it the Bus. We find it best to use shorthand when in the field. But everything has to be just so, you know, because of the danger." Fitz rambled to Skye.

"Yeah, I've been up here before, but I didn't see much, because of the bag Agent Ward put over my head." Skye explained.

"Yes, so sorry about that." Simmons apologised.

"You are?" Taylor commented walking past.

"Water?" Jemma offered Skye. She took it and shrugged.

"Wheels up in two. Lock it or lose it." May's voice came over the intercom.

"What does that mean?" Skye asked.

"No backing out now." Simmons replied excitedly. "Let's find a bunk for our guest."

"Oh, oh, yeah, there's only one left and it's right next to mine." Fitz added just as excited as Simmons if not more.

"And Ward's, so have fun." Taylor sarcastically informed Skye. Fitz showed Skye to her small bunk then realised that he was in the way.