Chapter 12
The safe house they had agreed to meet had been an hour’s drive, which meant they had to leave by two to be in time to pick the kids. Melinda immediately set an alarm on her phone. She looked around the building surreptitiously. No one bothered to look at them twice. She and Phil made their way to the second floor and knocked. The door was opened by Izzy. Great! The entire band was together, Melinda thought as she entered the apartment. Or not. Garret and Sitwell were not there. Instead a young girl, not older than twenty-five, stood behind Maria. Melinda knew her, of course she did. She had known Peggy Carter for a long time. This was her great-niece, Sharon Carter.
“Fury didn’t tell me because he wanted to be sure my rookie wasn’t going to double cross us,” Maria told them. Melinda rolled her eyes. A Carter would never work for the other side. Wait. “We think Garret and Sitwell have changed loyalties.” Melinda’s eyes widened. That didn’t sound so good.
“This is an unofficial mission,” Phil said. “You are Sharon are the official faces. You will be pretending like you are working on a routine case.”
“Yes,” Maria said. “None of you are officially a part of this. And it will stay that way. Phil, Melinda, you two are not going into the field.” Good. Melinda had no intention of returning to the field.
“Will you be telling Skye about her mother?” Vic asked. Melinda shared a look with Phil. They had talked about this with Dr. Morgan, who had strongly suggested to tell Skye. Dr. Morgan had assisted them in the past when kids were involved in some op. She had their trust and her office had state-of-the-art security system. That was why she had been their first choice to help their kids.
The discussion moved to the op. There were a few points that needed to be covered. The first was the missing social worker, Karen Wilson. The second was the runaway fosters, Robinsons. The third was the other social worker, Rebecca Green. Tasks were assigned. They were all to activate their informants. Phil had a trustworthy source in Chicago and he had to get information on the Robinsons. Izzy’s source in the NYPD was to help with Green’s accident. Maria and Sharon were to investigate Catherine.
As Melinda drove them to the middle school, her thoughts stayed on what was coming. Skye had been through so much recently and now, Melinda was going to break her heart. The poor girl deserved better. Melinda knew Skye deserved the truth but she wanted to protect her; wanted to keep her safe. Phil squeezed the hand he was still holding and Melinda squeezed it back. They would get through this together.
The kids knew something was wrong almost immediately. They had taken Melinda’s car which was big enough for all of them. Bobbi and Natasha climbed in to the back while Skye and Leo took the middle seats. They talked about their day and other things but Melinda could feel that she and Phil weren’t really doing a good job at hiding things. Phil distracted the kids, asking them questions about their classes and telling them some stories of his own.
Natasha had an appointment with Dr. Morgan. So, Melinda drove her there. Natasha had come a long way since the day she had walked into their house. She still had the anger but she had learned how to control it. Melinda was so proud of her.
Melinda thought about how they would break the news to Skye. The biggest question was whether or not they tell her about the ongoing investigation. Melinda didn’t want to and Dr. Morgan had left it to their discretion. Phil, however, thought that this would count as lying by omission. They were still in the process of building trust with her and neither of them wanted to lie to her. But they had the right to protect her. Melinda wished she could get someone’s opinion on this. There weren’t really a lot of people who would understand. She could call her mother but no. Skye was her child, her and Phil’s, and they were going to make a decision themselves.
At the end, it didn’t matter. They sat down with Skye in the family room, while the other three were in the backyard. They had asked Skye if she had wanted to know about her biological parents. Her eyes had hardened and her breathing quickened. “I read my file, stole it from Sister Margaret’s office. There is nothing in it.”
“You stole it?” Phil asked.
Skye looked at him and while Melinda couldn’t see her face, Phil’s expression told her it was thunderous. “No one would tell me anything,” Skye explained. “It doesn’t matter now. I know they didn’t want me. That’s why they left me there.”
Melinda’s heart broke for this girl. She was so confident that she was unwanted. “Skye,” Melinda spoke as gently as she could. Skye looked at her with unshed tears in her eyes. “We have a little more information than that.” Her eyes widened with hope. Melinda hated herself for having to destroy the light in her eyes. “Do you remember Fury?”
“Your ex-boss,” Skye said.
“Yes,” Phil said this time. “He wants us to help Maria with an op. When we made the report against Saint Agnes, he noticed a few things that were wrong. One of them was the information in your file.”
“You need to understand, Skye, that this information is confidential. You can talk about this with us; with Bobbi, Tasha and Leo, if you choose to and with Dr. Morgan. You can also talk to Maria, Izzy and Vic. But not with Catherine or anyone else.”
Skye was looking skeptical now and also a little confused. She scooted a little closer to Melinda and Melinda gladly wrapped her in an embrace. “What is it?” Skye whispered.
“You were found by a good Samaritan in an abandoned house when you were a baby,” Phil said. Melinda could see the heartbreak in his eyes. She wished she could take it away. “There was a woman in the house too. She had passed away. She was your mother.”
Melinda felt Skye rock against her with the force of what she had just learned. She tightened her arm around Skye, hoping to ground her. “How?” Skye asked. Phil hesitated. The woman had been tortured but that was not the cause of her death. The cause was unknown, as Phil told Skye. They weren’t lying, Melinda defended in her mind. The cause of death was unknown. The investigation was buried somewhere. “And my dad?” Skye asked. Tears were flowing down her face and she was shivering against Melinda.
“We are yet to find him. We know nothing about either of them,” Melinda told her. “But one thing we are sure of is that your mother didn’t leave you at Saint Agnes.” Skye let out a loud sob, somewhere between relief and heartbreak. Melinda pulled her against herself and she buried her face in Melinda’s shoulder. Melinda held her tight and rocked her. She squeezed her eyes shut. She would not cry right now. No, this was about Skye.
“I was not left there on purpose,” Skye whispered through her sobs. “All this time, I thought I wasn’t wanted, that I didn’t belong. But I did. With her. Right?” Skye looked at Melinda in question.
“Yes baby,” Melinda said. She cupped Skye’s cheek. “And you belong here too. I want you. We all do. You are a part - a very important part - of our family.”
Skye sniffled and rubbed her eyes. She looked at Phil, then reached to him with her right hand, offering her pinky. He smiled softly and entwined his pinky with her and joined them on the couch. Skye shifted to make space for him but she had no problem in letting her feet touch his thigh. She rested her head on Melinda’s shoulder, silent tears flowing down her eyes. Melinda wished she could do something, something that eased her daughter.
Footsteps alerted them to the arrival of the other kids. Melinda shifted a little to be able to look at them. They were standing at the door, looking at them with worry. Natasha was the first to move, her anger rising. Melinda knew she was looking to hurt whoever had made Skye cry. “Do you want to tell them, Angel eyes?” Phil asked. Skye gave a small nod.
Phil filled them in, giving them the necessary warnings. Melinda watched as all her kids deflated. Leo settled on the floor, near Skye. Bobbi and Natasha pulled the bean bags closer and sat close too. “We are here, Skye,” Natasha whispered. “You are not alone.” Skye nodded. Her tears hadn’t stopped and she was still shaking slightly. Not knowing what else to do, Melinda started singing.
Baby mine, don't you cry.
Baby mine, dry your eyes.
Rest your head close to my heart,
Never to part, baby of mine.
Little one, when you play,
Pay no heed what they say.
Let your eyes sparkle and shine,
Never a tear, baby of mine.
If they knew all about you,
They'd end up loving you, too.
All those same people who scold you,
What they'd give just for the right to hold you.
From your hair down to your toes,
You're not much, goodness knows.
But, you're so precious to me,
Sweet as can be, baby of mine.
Skye had looked at her with wide, innocent eyes when she had started singing. Then she rested her head on Melinda’s chest. Her hand slipped from Phil’s grasp but her feet stayed in contact with him. Melinda sang till her breathing evened out and then a little longer.
“What happens now?” Bobbi asked.
“Now, we make sure that Skye knows we are with her,” Phil answered.
“We can help her,” Leo said.
“Of course, we can,” Natasha agreed. “We all have been where she is.”
She was right, of course, but that didn’t make it easier to hear. Melinda reached with her free hand and caressed their faces. “So proud of you guys,” she whispered and watched as all three of them straightened up a little. So proud.
The next few days were not easy but they could have been worse. Skye asked them a few more questions, wanting to know why they hadn’t told her as soon as they had found out. Melinda had no excuse to that. The information had stumped her and Phil. And then with what happened with Ward, it had been pushed to the back of their mind. “We wanted to process the news before we told you, so that we could help you process it,” Phil had told her. Skye had asked for some photograph. Unfortunately, the only photograph they had of that woman was not something Melinda wanted Skye to see. No, Skye deserved more than that.
Mostly, Skye stayed silent. She also refused to be alone. She slept with Bobbi in her room and had been doing her homework on the dining table. Leo would join her too. He had been very attentive to Skye; had told their friends that they had received some bad news over the weekend. Natasha would sit with her in silence. Phil and Melinda had taken turns to talk to Bobbi, Natasha and Leo, ensuring that they knew they weren’t alone.
The best part of the entire thing had been Skye’s closeness with Phil. Saturday morning, Skye had walked into the family room. Leo and Natasha had been playing a video game while the others had been reading a book. Skye had walked to the bookshelf and pulled out Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. She had walked back to Phil, handed him the book and sat down near him, her legs pulled up to her chest. Phil had been confused, only for a second though, and then he had started reading the story to her. It became a daily occurrence ever since. Needless to say, Phil loved this.
The case had not made much progress. The Robinsons were not in Chicago. And Karen Wilson was still in the wind. Fury had put his best guy on the job but for now, it was a waiting game. For now, Melinda focused on her children.
She was sitting in the waiting room of Dr. Morgan’s office. Skye was in the office with the doctor. Melinda flipped the page of her book and then snapped it shut. She couldn’t focus much. Her mind was on everything that had been going on around them.
The door of the inner office opened and Melinda was immediately on her feet. Dr. Morgan stepped out and gestured Melinda to join her. “Skye is asking for you,” she said. Melinda rushed into the office. Skye was on the floor, sobbing. As soon as Melinda was near her, she jumped into her arms. Melinda caught her and lowered herself onto the floor. Some papers and crayons were on the coffee table. Skye had been drawing, Melinda realized. There was a sketch - all back and grey. A tree with empty branches. It looked like a scene after a tornado had it. It was the turmoil within her heart.
Melinda tightened her hold on her daughter. No matter what tornado, she wouldn’t let go.