Night Changes

Leo was bored. It was a slow day and he just wanted to go home. The problem was that today was a Wednesday, which meant that he would be stuck in the library alone. Ugh! That would be so frustrating. He loved working with Skye. She could make things fun and he felt connected to her. They sometimes spoke the same language - not like it was with Jemma though. But today, he was going to be alone in the library.

The last bell rang and Leo packed his bag. He would do Spanish homework first, then social science and maybe computers. That way he could do science with Skye. He went through his mental checklist. Lao Lao and Lao Ye would arrive tomorrow. Then shopping on Saturday. Thanksgiving next week. And after that he would finally start with the online courses and individual project. He was looking forward to it.

Leo walked into the library and went to his usual seat. That was when he noticed something. Thomas Ward was sitting near his desk. He was crying and rubbing his arm which was bruised. Leo recognized the bruises. It was the one thing he remembered clearly from his childhood. The bruises he would get after his father lifted him by the arm and threw him into the attic. Leo shook himself out of those thoughts. That man was not his father. That title belonged to Phil Coulson.

Thomas must have noticed his gaze because he was walking towards him. “You can’t tell anyone,” Thomas said. He sounded scared. Like Leo used to be. “They will take me away from Grant.”

“Did he do that?” Leo asked. After all, Grant Ward had almost strangled him.
“No. Grant would never. He is the only person in that place who loves me. Mom and Dad just ignore me while they hit him and Christian. And Christian hates me.”
“Did he do that?” Leo asked again. He didn’t know Christian but he knew that Bobbi and her friends didn’t like him.
Thomas ignored his question. “Don’t tell anyone,” he said and then left him alone.

Leo could feel his breath quicken. He couldn’t be here. He rushed out to the ground, pulling his phone out of his bag. He called his da. The call was answered almost immediately.

“Leo. Monkey. Is everything okay? Do you need me to pick you up?”

“Yeah, da. Come soon please,” Leo said. He could hear his heartbeat. His palms were sweaty. He needed his da.

“Hey buddy. Can you tell me your full name?”
“Leo Fitz May-Coulson.”
“That’s right. Where are you?”
“School.”
“Where in school, monkey?”
“Grounds.”
“What is today’s date?”
“November 15th.”
“That’s right. I am so proud of you. Leo, I will give the phone to Tasha now. Okay. We’ll be there soon, monkey. Just hang on.”

He must have handed the phone immediately because Tasha was talking to him then. She told about her day. He listened to her. He wasn't alone. His da and big sis would be here and then he’ll go home and no one would be able to hurt him again.

Skye had started to look forward to these therapy sessions. Talking to Dr. Morgan was so much better than talking to that other doctor. She didn’t even remember his name. Had he even told her? Skye didn’t think so.

“What are you thinking there, Skye?” Dr. Morgan asked her.

“About the last time I talked to a doctor. He told me I was overreacting. And everyone made fun of me. I told Piper, Jemma and Trip but they didn’t make fun of me. Jemma even asked if there was something she could do to help in case I was not feeling fine.” She had also told Maria, who had bumped their fists together and told her that she was always there to listen.

“That was nice of her. What did you tell her?”

“About the breathing exercise mom taught me.” Skye grinned as Dr. Morgan raised her eyebrows at ‘mom’. “I called her and she kissed me and hugged me. She even cried a bit.”

“I am very happy for you, Skye.”

“She is awesome. You know she told me that if her parents make me feel uncomfortable, she would ask them to leave. Just like that.”

“Are you still nervous about their visit, Skye?”

“A little bit,” Skye confessed. “They can’t be bad coz mom’s awesome. And she said her mom was in CIA. That’s so cool. And Bobbi, Tasha and Leo like them. But I don’t know. What if they don’t like me?”

“Did you mention this to Melinda?”

“Yes. She said they already love me and they can’t wait to meet me. How can they love me when they haven’t even met me?”

“Of course they can. You are their granddaughter, Skye. Remember what we talked about?”

Skye did remember. She was lovable and she didn’t have to do anything to deserve someone’s love. She was starting to believe it a bit. Specially since Phil and her mom told her that they loved her almost all the time. And her siblings did too.

“How is your thumb?” Dr. Morgan asked. Skye liked this about her too. She didn’t push something. She let Skye ponder about it. This can be as fast or as slow as you need it to be.

“It’s good. I didn’t even know that there could be so much exercises for a thumb.” Dr. Morgan chuckled. Skye paused for a bit. Do it. “Phil never comes into my room,” she said. “And he makes sure that he is never alone with me.”

Dr. Morgan nodded. “How does that make you feel, Skye?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t really notice it earlier. I was just happy that he wouldn’t…” Skye didn’t know how to finish the sentence. “Phil is nice and goofy. He tells stories and when he reads to me, he does all the voices. And I know he won’t hurt me but…”

“Do you want to talk about what scares you, Skye?”

Skye shivered. No, she never wanted to do that. No. She had told Miss Green and she had told Mrs. Cooper. They hadn’t believed her, just like Mr. Cooper had said would happen. I believe you. So does Phil. But what if they didn’t. What if they didn’t want her anymore? Mr. Cooper had said it was all her fault. But Dr. Morgan told her that it wasn’t her fault. Skye shivered again and folded her arms, trying to keep herself warm. She knew what made her feel warm. “I want my mom,” she whispered. She didn’t look at Dr. Morgan but she heard footsteps to the door and then two sets of footsteps returning back. Her mom was there and she was holding Skye. Skye let the warm hands pull her into a tight embrace. She rested her head on her mom’s heart. Warm and safe.

“Skye,” Dr. Morgan was speaking. Skye looked at her, shifting in her mom’s embrace. “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to. But I want you to know that this is a safe space. You don’t have to be worried here.”

“No one believes me,” Skye whispered. The arms around her tightened and both women told her that they believed her, that they would always believe her. “He said no one would believe me. Miss Green and Mrs. Cooper didn’t believe me. The other doctor, he said I was making false stories. And Sister Margaret scolded me.”

Melinda took a deep breath and counted to ten in all the languages she knew. She would not lose it. Not here. Not when her daughter needed her to be calm. She would have her own freak out later with Phil. Right now, she had to be strong for her daughter.

Dr. Morgan assured Skye that those people had been wrong. Melinda added her own assent to that. She assured Skye that she would believe her. Skye was shivering in her arms, tears flowing down her cheeks. She had asked for her, Melinda remembered. Skye had asked for her when things got difficult. She is asking for her mom. Melinda tightened her arms around Skye. She would not let her go.

Skye began to talk slowly. She told them how Cooper had walked into her room one night. She had woken up to him touching her. She had felt weird but he threatened to hurt her. She had told his wife but the woman hadn’t believed her. Skye had been grounded for lying and then that bastard had burned her with his cigarette. The night incidents increased. The man went from touching to - Skye had been unable to finish but they hardly needed her to.

“I kept telling him to stop. I kept telling him that it hurt. He wouldn’t listen. I told him to stop. I told him to stop. I TOLD HIM TO STOP.”

“What he did was not on you, Skye. It was wrong. You didn’t deserve that. I am sorry you had to go through that,” Dr. Morgan said.

Skye turned a bit to look at her and Melinda touched their foreheads together. “He was wrong and he will never touch you again. I promise you that.” Melinda would kill him before he got anywhere near her family. “You have been so brave today.”

“That’s right, you have been. I am very sorry that you had to carry this burden alone all this while. But you don’t have to anymore. I am here to support you and so is your family.”

“I want to forget it. I want to forget it, mama. Please make me forget it,” Skye begged her.
“That is not how this works, Skye,” she whispered softly.
“But there are some ways, we can try to help you with the memories.”

Melinda listened as Dr. Morgan taught Skye some grounding techniques, also taking part in the conversation. Tai chi could help Skye, the same way it helped Melinda. She was happy to do it in the evenings if that is what Skye preferred. Dr. Morgan also encouraged Skye to journal and sketch, when the memories got too much. They also talked about the importance of a support system. Dr. Morgan explained that Skye didn’t have to share things with others to gain their support. She was in control of who knew what. Melinda didn’t know how much of that Skye really absorbed.

When they left the clinic, Melinda was overwhelmed. She had earlier received a message from Phil informing her of Leo’s discovery about the Wards. He had made a report with Catherine. She had sent a text informing him of the likeliness that they would be late. Skye was holding her like her life depended on it. Melinda had no intention of driving under these circumstances. She called for a cab and waited with her daughter.

“Mama?” Skye spoke, her voice soft.
“Yes baby.”
“Does Phil hate me?”
Where the hell had that come from? “No. No. Skye, he loves you. He loves you so much.”
“He never comes inside my room.”
“He thought that was something you would prefer.”
“I don’t want him to feel like I don’t like him. Coz I do.”
“He knows that honey.”
“I wanna go home.”

Melinda nodded. She helped Skye into the cab and sat next her, intertwining their hands. She kept her breathing steady. She needed to be steady for Skye. The ride ended soon thankfully. They were finally home.

The scene inside the house wasn’t much better. Everyone was sitting around the dining table, doing their own work, but there was tension in everyone’s movements. Melinda walked towards them; her arm wrapped around her youngest daughter. They had everyone’s attention and she could see the others get worried. Bobbi and Tasha were out of their seats and Skye gladly accepted their embrace.

“Whatever it is, Skye, you have us. Okay?” Bobbi said.
“You aren’t alone,” Tasha added on.
“Do you want to talk about it. Or do you want to do something to distract you?” Leo asked, joining the embrace.

“I have to do my homework,” Skye said. It was quite obvious that homework was the last thing she wanted to do.
“You only have to do English and French,” Leo said. “We don’t have science or social science tomorrow. Neither computers.”

Melinda stepped in closer. “You don’t have to go to school tomorrow, Skye. Not if you don’t want to.” She deserved an opportunity to deal with all the big emotions she was experiencing right now. Melinda saw her shoulders slump down in relief.

“How about a warm shower, angel eyes?” Phil asked. “I have ordered pizza for all of us. We still have sometime before it gets here.”

Skye hesitated. “I don’t wanna be alone.” Natasha offered to wait outside the bathroom and Bobbi joined in. They took Skye’s bag and led her upstairs, flanking her on either sides. Melinda looked at them. She wanted to go with them but she also wanted to talk to her son. She chose to do the latter.

“I am so proud of you,” she told him, pulling him into her embrace. Phil had told her that Leo had been worked up when he had called but he did seem fine at the moment. Melinda held him. She wanted to keep all of them safe. She needed to keep them safe.

“Mum. Will Skye be alright?” Leo asked.

“It will take some time, honey. She will need us to be there for her. But yes, eventually she will be fine,” Melinda assured him. Leo nodded. He packed his stuff and took it upstairs to his room. Melinda watched him go and then turned to look at the man whose company she desperately craved. They wouldn’t have time to draw comfort from each other. Not today. Their kids needed them. But they had a moment right now.

Melinda didn’t know who moved first but they were locked in an embrace within seconds. She clung to him, sobbing in his chest. He held her, releasing a few tears of his own. He wasn’t stupid. He had a fair idea what had transpired. “She asked if you hated her,” Melinda told him. He pulled back and looked at her, confused. Melinda told him about Skye’s thoughts.

“Do you think I should talk to her?” he asked.

“Maybe tomorrow,” Melinda suggested. “Can you take a leave tomorrow? Someone needs to talk to mama and baba, before they come home tomorrow. I was going to do it but I need to stay with Skye.”

“Yeah. I can do that. I will drop the others to the school and come back. I can spend the day with you and Skye. And then, I can go talk to Lian and William. Are we having them over for dinner tomorrow?”

Melinda pulled away from him, wiping her tears away. “No. Let’s postpone the dinner to Friday. Hopefully things will improve a bit.”

Phil nodded. His hands were clenched. “Are we killing that bastard?”
“Phil…”
“You want to. We can figure out a way to do that without leaving any evidence. I am sure Maria or even Fury would cover for us.”

It was tempting. That bastard had dared to hurt their daughter. He deserved to die. But Melinda wanted information. “Dr. Morgan will be filing a report. She already talked to Skye about it. I want to run a background check.”

“We can’t do that alone. Not anymore,” Phil pointed out.
“I know. Maria would help us. No questions asked.”

Maria would. They both knew that. If there was one person, they both trusted to protect their kids, it was her. She was a registered foster and they had made arrangements that in case something happened to them, she would take their kids.

“She’ll figure it out,” Phil said.
“She already knows, Phil. She has met Skye enough times to notice that.”
“I’ll call her tomorrow.”

The doorbell rang. Pizza was here. Footsteps down the stairs, the kids would be here. Melinda took a deep breath. They would be fine, she told herself.