Chapter 3
Ward couldn’t believe how hyper one child could become. Yesterday had been like a horror story. Having eaten his weight in chocolate Fitz had ran around like a lunatic for the rest of the day, upsetting the other kids before crashing at 8 o’clock. The other two had taken ages to settle so it had meant very little sleep for him or Skye. He had left her sleeping peacefully in the bed with Phil still sleeping. Just because he was awake early, it didn’t mean she should be. He had moved downstairs and begun to tidy up and prepare for the kids waking. Setting up the coffee machine he moved towards the living room where toys were covering practically every surface. Knowing that he would regret it later if he didn’t tidy up now, he began to move the toys into the boxes stacked in the living room.
Once the room was tidied he looked around trying to find any other jobs that needed doing before the kids got up. His eyes fell on the Wii that Skye had bought for the kids. While it was quiet it seemed like a good time to do it. That was how Skye found him. He had plugged everything in and was now sat playing on the machine.
“I was just setting it up.” He began to explain as she stood smiling at him.
“I got it for all of us. Besides I thought you might like to play on it as well. It’s something else I can kick your ass at.” She grinned at him.
“Thank you for letting me sleep in.”
“No problem. I thought you deserved it. The coffee should be ready by now. Kids still asleep?”
She nodded as she headed for the kitchen. He paused the game with some regret, before heading into the kitchen where she had poured a cup of coffee for him. He was beginning to look forward to these times, when it was just him and Skye. It was a time of quiet and peace before the children burst into it like a rocket. They hadn’t been taking care of them that long and Ward was ready for them to return to their adult selves. He had never thought about looking after children before and he had just now realised how much work it was. He was glad Skye knew what she was doing.
A quiet knock at the door had him leaving the kitchen. It was only 8 in the morning, who would be knocking at this time?
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Skye had woken up, finding herself alone in the bed. Glancing at the clock she saw it was just before 8. Leaving Phil sleeping peacefully she had snuck downstairs to find Ward while it was still quiet.
She couldn’t help but smile as she remembered how she had found him. She knew he would love the games. She wanted him to be able to have fun, plus it was something that all the kids can do together. The knock at the door had her frowning. They weren’t expecting anybody. She wouldn’t be sitting here in PJs if they were. She could hear Ward talking to who ever was at the door. Hearing the door shut she looked up to find Ward leading in a man who looked vaguely familiar.
“Skye this is Dr Bruce Banner. He is part of Fury’s help and is here to try and find out what is happening with the rest of the team. Bruce, this is Skye.”
Bruce Banner? This was the Hulk? He seemed so nice and normal. Also Ward was talking about him as if he knew him. When did he meet the Hulk? Skye smiled at the man and shook his hand. Before she could say anything a sudden cry came from the child radio on the counter. Apparently Phil had woken up, which meant that the others would be up soon. Waving for Ward to sit down Skye headed upstairs to pick up the baby. It gave her a chance to escape and put on some clothes. She wasn’t bothered by Ward seeing her in her tank top and shorts but was less comfortable with others seeing her in it.
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Having got all the kids up and dressed Skye came down to find out why Bruce had been sent to them. As the kids were eating she was informed that Bruce was to help out with the kids for a while, enabling Skye and Ward to have an occasional break from the kids. He was also helping to find out what actually happened to the team. This would start with some blood tests, but first they needed to get them to sit still.
While Bruce went to go get his equipment Skye took the opportunity to ask Ward something that had been on her mind since the arrival of the help.
“Have you met him before? Bruce, I mean.”
“Yeah. Coulson put me in touch with him after the incident with the Asgardian staff. Bruce has experience with anger management. Coulson thought it might help for me to talk to someone who knew what I was going through.”
Skye reached out and squeezed his hand. She knew it had been tough on him after the incident but she had never realised how bad it had been for him. She wished she had been able to help more.
It had been decided the easiest way to take the samples of blood was to let them watch a movie before taking them one at a time, with Skye sitting with them while the sample was taken.
Surprisingly it had all gone well and was done with a minimum amount of crying. Ward had now been dragged into playing on the Wii with them all. They had teamed up with the boys on one team and the girls on the other. Skye watched with amusement. The girls were currently beating the boys at Mario Party. There were lots of accusations of cheating from both teams, but both appeared to be having a ball. It was adorable to watch. She loved her team dearly but seeing them as kids had made her love them even more. Ward was clearly enjoying the game. Watching him be carefree was a fantastic sight. She wished she had her phone so she could record it for future reference. He was now bouncing Phil while playing the game, making the little boy gurgle in delight.
“He’s very good with the kids isn’t he?” Bruce noted from his seat beside her.
“He doesn’t think he is but yeah.”
“It’s nice to actually see him interact with the team. He was afraid that he had ruined the relationships for ever after his outbursts.”
“What? We knew he wasn’t himself.”
“I know. So does he. But he has never had any relationships that are like this. He is afraid to lose them. He was especially concerned about what he yelled at you. He felt like he had broken the relationship between you.”
“I knew he wasn’t himself. I never blamed him.”
“I know that. So does he, but he knew he had hurt you before with something. He didn’t want to hurt you again.”
“It did a bit but I don’t hold it against him.”
The giggling had increased from the children causing her to glance over at them. The game had been abandoned with all of the children pilling on top of Ward. Everyone was laughing and a tickle game had begun. Skye grinned as she watched Bruce pull out of his phone and take photos of the group.
“This definitely needs documenting.” Bruce smirked.
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