Holes

Skye’s heart was beating hard enough that she could feel it. Coulson came out but Garrett did not follow. She could see on the screen that he was still chained to the table in the cage. Trip who had been sitting in a seat not far from them stood up but didn’t say anything. They had spoken to him for an hour and there was no indication that he worked for Hydra or Garrett had brainwashed him. Trip had gotten quite upset not just because he looked up to Garrett but his partner had died chasing the clairvoyant.

Ward got up too. He looked tense. For the first time since she’d known him, he looked afraid.

“Fury let me have first crack at Garrett to see if I can get him to break,” Coulson explained to all of them but his eyes focused on Skye. “But now I have to send him to the Triskelion.”

“Good riddance,” Skye said.

“I’m sorry, Ward, but you have go as well. Director’s orders.”

Skye shook her head. “AC, you can’t—you can’t send him away.”

“It’s not my decision—“

“It’s okay, Skye,” Ward interrupted.

“No—“ she said, teary eyed. She thought of when Coulson first told her what she would be searching for. She didn’t believe it at first. The stoic boy scout couldn’t be an enemy spy. Even when Coulson explained what Garrett had done, Skye had still felt betrayed. It was only when she began uncovering pieces of Ward’s past that she understood how much Garrett had manipulated him. Watching Garrett try to sell Ward out, that mistrust had faded. Ward didn’t need hatred; he needed protection. “It’s not. Garrett took advantage of you. He brainwashed you. You shouldn’t get in trouble for that.”

“It’s okay,” he repeated. “Really. I’m used to it— life not being fair, but now I have something I didn’t have before.”

“What?”

He looked around the room. “People who believe in me.”

She wasn’t convinced. “Coulson, you can’t let this happen. I thought we didn’t leave a man behind.”

“We won’t,” Coulson assured her. “I’m going too. I have Ward’s back. Life isn’t fair but I’m going to make sure that he’s treated fairly from now on. I don’t know how much Hydra is inside us. I need all of you to keep this quiet. Agent Triplett will be our guest for a little while. Fury is sending us to a secret base called Providence. He says to be careful who you trust which is why no information will ever leave this room. Understood?”

No one said anything.

“Ward, I need you to confine yourself to your quarters, it’s just standard policy—actually putting you in the cage is but that’s currently occupied.”

“No, sir,” Simmons said. “He’s not going to his room. He’s going to stay here and we’re going to watch him.”

“You all want to bend the rules?” Coulson asked.

“Absolutely,” Fitz said. He took the taller man’s arm. “Come on, Ward, sit down, let’s play a game until they arrive.”

The quinjets didn’t take that long to arrive. There were two of them. One for Garrett and one for Ward and Coulson.

Ward sat with the others but stood up when Coulson bought Garrett out in chains.

“You stupid fool,” Garrett said, his voice loud. “You ruined everything.”

Ward almost instinctively took a step back. He didn’t know how to respond. Turned out he didn’t have too. Fitz, Simmons, and Skye stood in front of him. Each of them crossed their arms.

“So you need girls and wimps to protect you now. See how far you’ve fallen from how I trained you.”

He thought he would be scared when he saw Garrett but surprised to find he wasn’t. Instead of fear, he felt anger. When he needed help the most, protection from his abuser, Garrett came along and just became another one. His team standing up for him gave him the courage to speak.

“You’re wrong. These three people are way stronger than you are John,” he said trying his best to keep the nervousness out of his voice. “They have compassion, which guess what? I just found out that it isn’t a weakness.”

“It is, kid. I loved you unconditionally. You hurt your brother, I didn’t judge.”

Ward actually laughed. “That’s not love, that’s control. This—“ he said motioning to Fitz, Simmons, and Skye, “is unconditional love. Your love meant obeying you, never questioning your orders. I probably would have killed for you. But becoming emotionally attached to good people is the reason I haven’t.”

Surprisingly Garrett didn’t reply. Instead he pushed hard against the two guards and made a threating motion to Ward. Ward didn’t move.

Instead Trip rushed up and socked Garrett hard in the jaw. It wasn’t enough to knock the older man down.

“You killed my partner. I trusted you! And you killed him! You almost got me killed. And you took advantage of him,” Trip said motioning to Ward. “You’re a monster!”

Garrett didn’t respond. He looked to Trip, then to Ward in anger. Then he let the guards take him away.

Coulson and two other guards came over to Ward. Fitz, Simmons, and Skye moved out of the way.

“It’s procedure,” he said, explaining the guards. “Cuffs are also a procedure, but for that one I said fuck it.”

Ward was surprised when Skye embraced him. “Take care of yourself,” she said as she untangled from him.

He touched the side of her face. He was glad she didn’t hate him. He was glad his team didn’t think he was a monster.

He was surprised to also get a hug from Simmons and Fitz. May stood nearby and said nothing. She had a blank face and Ward didn’t know what she was thinking.

“No matter what happens,” Skye said and Ward focused back on her. “Even if they kick you out of SHIELD or send you to prison, we’re your family. We always will be.”

He didn’t reply. Something else filled him. It had been a long time since he had felt joy.

He followed Coulson out of the bus.