Chapter 2
Star Trek/Agents of Shield
Paring: Skye/Trip and a few others
The first time he saw Daisy Johnson she had been a step away from deaths door, just about to knock. Trip remembered it all very clearly. People from her crew hovered around her, afraid to breathe too hard just in case it might push her over that little threshold. His unite stumbled onto her very desperate crew utterly by chance. For their sake he had been rather glad his ship had been passing that part of the Quadrant when it had or they might not have made it. They clamored onto his ship, dragging that cryco tube with them like it held the keys to all their lives. The Captain seemed a man that was usually composed but it had been slipping when he and his bloodied crew explained how their away team had been ambushed, incapacitated, and totally stranded on a pod running on almost no power. They managed to get into the air in hopes of limping their way back to their ship with their precious cargo.
The first thing that had struck him was Ward since that was the only face he had seen on other occasions. They had gone on missions before and he always thought the Romulan was a lot more Vulcan than anything else with his emotionless edifice. When he looked at that girl there was desperation in his eyes, pure terror like the world would come to a horrific end if she died. That spoke for her more than anything since it would take a very special person to get under that man's skin.
Trip's crew helped them escape a rather tight situation with the Cardassians and they managed to keep the crews and their nearly dead crew member alive. He learned the story of what she did, who she faced down, and he began to understand why Ward was twitchy and passed by the med bay every five minutes. Every story he heard made it clear why the Captain acted like the free worlds might fall if she did not pull through; understood why the much acclaimed First Officer most people called the 'Cavalry', who had Vulcan blood running somewhere in her family tree had such emotion in her eyes every time she looked at the weak figure on the bed.
The second time he set eyes on her, she was walking on her own power. The wind from a shuttle whipped around her, blowing her hair into her face no matter how many times she pushed it back, so much so that it was obvious part of the time she was walking blind and hoping the ground would not betray her. It was then that he realized just how beautiful she was. Part of him had realized it before but it was something not at the forefront of his mind when she was grey and had machines breathing for her. Johnson was gorgeous when she looked alive! Exotic in a non-alien way. Her eye sparkled like black diamonds, or something poetic like that. That smile of hers could light up a city. Looking at her felt like looking at a game changer, looking at someone infinitely better than what most people might credit her with.
Getting to know her had been an adventure. Being her friend was better than fun. Falling for her had been as natural as breathing. Over time he had gotten to know her very well, learned her like he did anyone. Being an agent in the Federation meant learning people, so he had always been a quick study. He learned the difference between Daisy and Skye rather quickly and the differences were a stab to the chest every time he noticed them. Skye had lost a lot of her fire and she gained a whole lot of self loathing. Hearing her say how great her recovery was going never put him at ease.
Skye was far from fine. There was nothing big, no monumental tells she exhibited to let him know, it was the little things. The devil was in the details. He saw it every time she intentionally put her right knee down, pressing it and her weight onto a bench or a sofa. She never flinched, just eased herself down the rest of the way, punishing herself with that little bit of pain he knew she felt from that deep residual scar. She always fidgeted with that knee so he knew it still bothered her. It was the little ways she tortured herself each day that let him know she was not as recovered as she wanted them to believe.
The dreams were really rather expected considering what she went through. He could only guess at most of it but he had a decent grasp on the kind of horrors she must have seen and been through. In truth, if she slept peacefully he might have been more worried.
No one outside the BUS thought they could save her even after they managed to capture her alive. They believed they could bring back the girl they all knew and loved. It was sheer force of will that did it. They willed it hard enough, at least that was what he decided. They held on tight enough that it held her together. Trip was relatively new to the BUS family but he felt the bonds, saw the proof of their strength. In a weird, very different and good way, the BUS was like the Borg; intensely strong and unstoppable together.
FitzSimmons managed to work their magic on the nanotech in her blood, rendering it useless. It was removed slowly from her blood and her brain, healing her in increments until it was all done. What had been left to fix was what it did to her mind. After her connection was cut she was so confused, questioning them in that typical Borg jargon that had all the personality of a nineteenth century computer, which had been so jarring to hear. He had been hoping, the way all of them had, that the minute she was unplugged she would be normal. Instead, once they explained her rescue she demanded to be returned screaming an unsettling "We are Borg" along with resisting her restraints. They were forced to put her into a containment section in the brig. It was all the collective 'we' and calling herself a drone for some time, resisting all their help, looking at them as if she never knew them. It had been anything but an instant fix even after her body began to fight back against the unnatural Borg modifications and she slowly got color back in her skin, she was anything but Daisy. She went so far as to insist she had no designation, until one day she was Skye.
She had not been the woman he fell in love with and it hurt on every possible level to watch her, see her out of her mind like that. It hurt to see her as Borg and it hurt to see her coming down off that mind control. There had always been so much personality wrapped up in that girl that couldn't help spilling over, but the Borg did not have individuality so neither had she. It took time and a hell of a lot of persistence, but she began to remember them, began to come back into herself. The royal 'we' faded away but she stopped being Daisy and started being Skye. Whatever happened, she no longer believed in herself or who she had been.
"I'm not Daisy anymore, Trip." She told him quietly one day, "It's hard to explain, but she's not here anymore. I'm a different person... but you make me think... I can be someone, so I want to be Skye, someone that's not tied to the ground just because I can shake it. Being in the air is the only time things stop buzzing and stop hurting." His heart might have broken a little more when he heard that.
He knew the Borg felt no pain so he imagined it had been peaceful in that regard. They had no pain, no regrets, not loss, no individuality, none of the things that plagued her now. Following orders, Simmons said, was like a high that infected their brains. First is was assimilation and then it was unity and dopamine. It was frightening on a lot of levels, especially during the time Skye was so desperate to return. He understood though, she was in pain and she wanted it to stop. They literally changed her brain, hurt her in unimaginable ways and forced her to love them for it.
It hardly seemed fair that she had to suffer so much. It already seemed she had more than her share of it just since he had known her. He was more than slightly determined that one day he would make things right, or as good as he could get them for her. Whatever a happily ever after looked like to her, he wanted her to have it. Some day she would be happy again, it was that simple.
"C'mon, girl!" He grinned, holding out his hand, "Live a little!"
Skye smirked at him, slapping their palms together and letting him drag her down the ramp and onto the rich black ground. "Just because our scanners say its safe doesn't mean it is, you know. There could be crazy stuff out here just waiting to eat us. Killer plants or something."
"Hey, I never did like Kale, so I think it's only right if plants don't try and eat me. Luck is on our side thanks to me."
She arched a brow and cocked her head to the side. "There was absolutely zero logic in that sentence so I'm not sure how you think that makes you lucky. It just proves you have no Vulcan blood anywhere in your body, unlike May."
"It makes sense if you think hard enough on it, girl, don't question it! Just go with it!" Trip swept her up, wrestling her into a workable piggyback position despite her laughing insistence that he stop. She was herself today, for the most part, just more subdued and less snarky.
"Weirdo!" Her arms were draped over his shoulders and around his chest, her cheek pressed against the back of his head affectionately.
"Only in the best possible way!" He grinned, a spring in his step. It might not be perfect but he liked keeping her off the ground in hopes that it helped her in some small way.
"Right, right, sure! Your genius is in your insanity."
"All the best people are crazy! Keeps life interesting." And she laughed at him, or with him, either way. "Elena and Mack are coming out here too, by the way, so it's not that crazy."
"That's not really saying much. A vote of confidence would be if Phil and May were coming out, or Fitz and Simmons." Skye countered lightly.
"Hey! We resent that!" Elena yelled from some distance behind, her earth born accent somehow intact even after all the travels, strolling hand in hand with Mack like a couple teenagers.
Trip and Skye both looked back, shooting the couple an amused look. They all needed a little fun in their lives. The planet they were gathering samples from was safe, a well known stopping point for gathering zinc, iridium, phosphate, and whatever else the science crew wanted. It was something to do with the double moons, no sun, pink and orange trees, and a host of others elements. All the strange stuff you could not come by one earth soil. Trip never paid much attention to that aspect of daily ship life. He was all about gadgets and technology, computers, weapons, and security.
"Fitz and Simmons are coming out here, just not for fun. SO we technically meet your specifications." Mack interjected once they were closer, that deep voice rumbling up like everything he said was absolute law even though you'd never find a more gentle giant out there; unless there was a threat to the team, then all bets were off.
No one commented on Trip carrying Daisy. Everyone was a bit more careful about teasing her, trying very hard to stay in the safe zones when they were with her. They tried not to be different with her but it was a challenge not to behave with more care considering how short a time she had been lucid and out of containment. Mack had been only too willing to forget the whole thing but Skye still got that far away gleam, reliving Mack's near miss at her hand. Mack was far from stupid and he knew how damaged she still was, so he used those kid gloves on his enormous hands and tried not to make anything hard on her. Yo Yo acted like nothing happened but there was undeniable distance.
Elena had been part of Daisy's team, a fellow Inhuman, turned in the same incident as Daisy, but after Daisy was captured it nearly cost her everything. In trying to save her previous S.O. as well as get Mack away from a deadly confrontation with the Borg and Daisy, Elena tipped her hand in front of more than just the BUS. People found out she was Inhuman and nearly separated her from the team.
The Federation was skittish after the incident with the Winter Soldier; aka Captain Barns, Khan, Bucky, James, Super Soldier, and a host of other names; one of the first known Inhumans and a former slave to the Cardassians. Even with the Winter Soldier back in cryo, people were still nervous of even a hint of Inhumans. Supposedly they were not supposed to exist outside the previously long lost ship 'S.S. Avenger'. Captain America, Tony Stark, and a few other legends of bygone were free and awake now, but that did little to stall any of the panic. No one even fully understood why the ship had the Winter Soldier aboard it to start with let alone why Admiral Pierce woke such a dangerous man from the history books, though there was a great deal of speculation. It mattered very little now.
Either way, Coulson and Mace stood on their heads to keep her with the BUS. It helped that Admiral Fury liked Captain Coulson and Fleet Captain Mace. They might have all been split up otherwise. No one but Coulson had trusted Mace in the beginning but he pulled through when they needed him, when Skye and Elena needed him, so that made him alright in Trip's book.
Things were a lot more complicated than they once were. It was starting to balance out, equal out.
Today was suppose to be fun though, which meant keeping Skye fully distracted so the minute they arrived at the lake, with perfectly safe levels of everything, he checked before hand, he took a running leap with Skye still on his back. The water was clean, translucently white, allowing a person to see all the way down. It was not drinking water, had no ability to quench thirst but was safe anyway, for reasons only the science team could explain and actually understand. Once they surfaced she was quick to smack him in the arm and push him right back under the surface for a minute. It was only when something started to spark that he remembered they still had their comms on.
Trip and Skye ripped off the short range comm device and tossed them onto a rock to dry. Another thing this water had made it rough on a comm link. The ones they usually took on missions would not have had any trouble with the water at all, but those were unfortunately not the durable ones. Should have thought of that sooner.
Mack stared down at them, shaking his head slowly like a parent watching children break some common house item. Elena just grinned, arms crossed, and hip cocked like she expected no less from the two of them. They looked good together. A broad, big man with a lithe panther, caramel and chocolate, it just mixed well. He and Skye were not quite as visually striking for their complementary differences, if he was taller and bulkier they might be, but he always thought they looked pretty damn fine together anyway.
"What are we going to do with you two?" Elena dropped down on the bank to bask in the bright, bright light of the two moons.
"Don't expect me to carry anyone back just because you slosh when you walk." Mack looked a little smug as he took his comm off as well as his boots, set them aside before lowering himself down to dangle his feet in the water.
Skye sent a sweeping wave at both of them and managed to get them adequately wet, which roused a good bit of laughter. It also meant Mack kicked water back and Elena got her arms wet gaining revenge. They needed those laughs, they really did. A water battle might not have been the most grown up way to go about that but it worked very well!
"Alright, Tremors!" Mack warned before dropping into the water, causing Skye to beat a retreat toward the other bank.
Trip took the opportunity to yank Elena in, much to her surprise. She was fast, but catching her worked so long as she didn't see it coming.
She sputtered to the surface with a grin and a thick accented threat, "Ah, so that's how it is? Well, I guess it's time I school you!"
Trip found himself dunked at super speed as well as having his boots stolen and hung up in a tree. "Impressive!" He congratulated.
"Trip! Help!" Skye screamed his name and he turned to watch her being hoisted up and away from her near escape and tossed right back into the middle of the lake with a colossal splash. She surfaced, water steaming down her face before she swiped it away with both hands, glaring first at a beaming Mack and then at Trip, "What kind of boyfriend doesn't help a girl out, huh?"
Trip shrugged, about to say something before he found himself dunked again. Mack and Elena exchanged a moderately complicated high-five at schooling their competition, which would have been more endearing if he had not been the one not winning. He did not so much mind not winning but those two got pretty smug when they won. Same thing happened when they played Kamakoin, those two dominated.
"Why are all of you in the water?" Jemma's bemused voice floated out to them from her place on the shore.
The two stood just to the side of the lake, science bookends, is what his grandfather would have called them. Datapads stuck under their arms per usual. Chief Science and Engineering Officers, Lieutenant Commanders FitzSimmons. They did not need a deputy or junior science officers on the ship, nor engineering with those two, even though they had several of them, and the two tended to serve together as medical officers as well. Though Simmons technically was head of that department and Fitz was was Engineering they were essentially always together in either department anyway, even after all the time it had been since they first joined the BUS, still joined at the hip the way everyone told him they had been from before day one. They had assistants but they were each other's world, they did not need anyone else. At least they were finally dating rather than pretending not to be in love. Most people no longer called them twins anyway.
"Because?" Skye dragged out the word.
Fitz chuckled, shifting a case of samples in his arm, one of his many tiny drones hovering behind, "Why am I not surprised?"
Simmons held her chin aloft in mock irritation, "Here we are, working, and they play in the water. How's that for you?"
Trip was fairly sure the wall of water sent their direction was complements of Elena but he could not say for certain. Either way, the startled cries and swift fleeing happening was entertaining. Even the flying Android dodged. The science team was behind trees fast enough they might have been the ones with super powers; or like a couple cats that suddenly found the ability to walk on water once it was bath time.
"Our samples!" Simmons protested with actual alarm, "You could have gotten them wet! Then we would have to gather them all over again and we already took the choicest batch so anything we got after they would just be of lesser quality."
"Oh, yeah, no, Jemma, don't worry about me at all! I needed a bath in alien territory anyway. It's not life I might catch a cold." Fitz mumbled from behind his respective tree.
"You wouldn't melt and it's highly unlikely you'd catch a cold, highly unlikely. Some of our samples would though. Melt, that is." The prim little British accent arose fully. Their accents always grew more dominant when they talked about science.
It was times like this when they were almost back to their old selves.
The telling chir of the comms sounded and had all their attention when First Officer, Commander May's sharp voice came over; "I need you all back on the ship. Now. We've got company."
The light mood shattered and they were all clamoring to get out of the water and gather their things. The science officers each helped drag them out of the water, careful of their samples but too polite not to help a friend. Trip did love those two even if Fitz still did not know how to return a fist-bump properly. To be fair, it was a little outdated but Trip liked outdated things.
Wet boots were reclaimed and forced on even though it was not the most pleasant thing in the world. It was a frenzy to get themselves back to the ship considering they had no idea the nature of their company. Knowing their luck it was probably nothing good. It never was. Next time maybe they could have a full afternoon of fun without getting it interrupted.