(The first part's dialogue is from one of the scenes, so at first it will be like the regular scene but then it will change. Just to let you all know. )
   "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes."

   Skye did nothing but glare back, her eyes hard and cold. She noticed his messy hair and unkept beard and the overall stark contrast of what her S.O. on the bus was like.

   He didn't exist anymore. The man that she loved was nothing but a ghost that hid the real Grant Ward from her eyes.

   "I told Coulson weeks ago that I was willing to speak to you-- to give you intelligence," Grant said, his brow furrowed in what looked like concern. "Why now? Something bad happen?"

   "Carl Creel," she responded, ignoring his last few questions, "Garret reported him dead. Turns out he's alive. Do you have any information on that?" Her hands were placed on her lap, stiff and tense, staring at him with stubborn defiance she always had, Grant remembered. Some things were left unbroken.

   "How have you been?" Grant asked her instead. He couldn't help it.

   Every day being locked up in that vault left more than enough time for him to think about all he's ruined. He lost a family. Most importantly, he lost Skye. All he wanted to do was talk to her. Go back to the old days on the bus where she didn't look at him with so much hatred.

   But he knew he made a mistake when in a flash she was out of the chair and walking quick-paced towards the stairs.

   "The name sounds familiar," he called out desperately. She stopped abruptly. Slowly she turned and approached the barrier, her tablet held out so he could see the man's face.

   Carefully he approached Skye, his eyes never leaving hers until he turned to study the tablet screen. He leaned in far enough so that the barrier lit up in warning, so he stepped back. He looked at Skye again and saw her staring down at his right arm.

   Grant knew what she was looking at. The scars of his lowest state haunted him there. She didn't seem to expect them.

   "Coulson didn't tell you?" He asked her. She only stared back, her lips pursed.

"I went through a... rough stretch," Grant said slowly. "First pair of pants the gave me had a button on the back...They took that away. But if you fold a piece of paper just right, it gets sharp."

Skye said nothing, holding her cold posture.

"When they took that away, I started running at the walls," he finished. Grant ran a finger along he right side of his face to show her.

"You should've run faster," she said back. She didn't yell, she was perfectly calm. At least that was all she was showing. But she wasn't the only one hiding behind an emotionless wall. The comment cut through Grant like a knife though he knew he deserved it. But he let himself look as if it passed by harmlessly.

"I'm through all that," he insisted. "When I came out of sedation, I was clear headed, accepting... of who I am, what I've done, and why."

"Your arms tell a different story," he observed. I see May's training you. She's got you favoring your left side first 'cause you're right-handed. Smart."

"I'm gonna say this once," she cut him off, more venom in her voice then before. "I'm not gonna believe a word that comes out of your mouth.

But if a single word is about anything other than the question that I'm asking, I walk." She finished the threat.

"Okay," he raised up his hands slight as if in surrender and took a few slow steps back.

"Creel was a boxer, nicknamed the crusher," he started. He gave her all he knew, not a single lie coming out of his mouth. By he time he finished she looked bored.

"Well that was fun but pointless. We've already figured that stuff out. So if you don't know where to find him then--" she began to walk away.

"Wait," Grant called out for one last attempt. She stopped yet again, waiting for more intel. He explained the hydra frequencies and how they worked.

   "It's true. And so will be every word I say to you for the rest of my life. I'm not asking for forgiveness," he watched her turn to look back at him, "I just want to help you."

   "You're a bit too late for that," she replied bitterly.

   "Skye, if I could go back, I would change everything I did wrong. But I can't," he insisted, almost like a plea.

   "I think we all wish that, Ward," her words spitting fire at him. "Besides, you helped more than enough."

   "I didn't want to hurt you! Any of you!" His voice rose slightly. He was closer to the barrier, yet no buzzing sound came from the invisible wall yet.

   "But you did!" She yelled back, ignoring the burning in her eyes. She walked forward swiftly so that they were only a foot or so away. "You hurt everyone and most of all you hurt me. How do you think I can recover from that?"

   "I made sure you all made it out alive."

   "Barely," she grit her teeth. "Look what happen to Fitz when you dumped them into the bottom of the ocean-" And that was Grant's breaking point.

   "IT WAS SUPPOSED TO FLOAT!" Grant screamed at her, finally losing his temper. Skye suddenly went quiet as she watched him sit tiredly, all energy drained from him, and put his face in his hands.

   "The modules are designed to float. At least that's what I've been told. Garrett wanted me to put a bullet in their skulls. I couldn't do it to them," He looked back up at her, and his eyes looked more broken than she's ever seen them.

   "I wanted to fight my weakness. Do what Garrett had always told me and have no attachments. But I couldn't hurt them like I did with Buddy."

   Skye had a thousand questions ringing through her head. What weakness? Who the hell was Buddy?

   "So when they went into the module I did what I had to do. And I gave them a chance to get out 'cause I knew they would. But I didn't think they would sink."

   "What do you mean by 'weakness'?" Skye asked, trying not to show how she felt. Her mask was beginning to slip, but barely.

   "When Garrett took me in, he told me that I should never get attached, to anyone or anything," Grant quoted the words bitterly looking at Skye with enough regret to fill everyone in the base.

   "Then he got me into S.H.I.E.L.D. and I did what I was told. I didn't say anything to anyone. I made sure not to get fond over anybody that I worked with.

   I was fine until all of you came along. For once in my life I felt happy. I felt something I never thought I could feel. And I burned it all to the ground. All because I wanted to stop being weak."

   One thing kept bothering Skye. The way he worded it all- he wasn't lying, he appeared genuine, but when he said when Garrett took me in, an alarm seem to go off in her head. "Ward... when did Garrett take you in?" Skye asked. How could Garrett have known him before S.H.I.E.L.D.?

   "When I was fifteen," He answered simply. There was no sadness in his voice. It was almost as if being brought in by a hydra agent at such a young age was a normality to him.

   "Fifteen..." Skye whispered. She gave him an expressionless look, unable of what to say or do.

   She hated him. She knew she did. Bu could his actions be understood when he was taken in and trained to be a killer at fifteen years old?

   She knew why Garrett did it too. It was easy to mold and manipulate kids, especially ones who have experienced serious traumas in their home. Having a killing machine by his side to get everything done when need be sounded like Garrett.

Wordlessly she turned and left, ignoring Grant's call out to her. Instead of turning back she switched the screen to an opaque color, leaving Grant to his own thoughts.

•••

"Did you know?" Skye marched into Coulson's office, seeing multiple heads turn in her direction. She didn't care who was there or what they saw.

"No," Coulson replied quietly, staring at the live footage of Ward.

"Fifteen Coulson. He was fifteen years old. It's just... does that in any way seem right to you?" Coulson shook his head in response.

"I didn't know that he knew," a familiar voice came form the doorway. Fitz was leaning against the frame, tracing the wood absentmindedly and staring at the floor.

"Knew what, Fitz?" May finally spoke up. She was standing behind Coulson, looking at the screen uncertainly.

"That he knew the modules could float. I though he...uh...didn't care whether we...we..." he went silent for a second, snapped his fingers and muttered something that sounded like 'yeah, that's right'. He looked up at them and said "Lived or not. Whether we...lived or not."

He looked at the wall, his startlingly blue eyes fixed on the screen, and whispered, "I...wished he was lying. But how could he know....that?" He instinctively grabbed his shoulder, looking more upset than he had before, and trembled ever so slightly.

"Coulson, I know we all know this, but he needs psychological help," Skye looked at Fitz worriedly before returning her stare at Grant, who was now pacing around the cold stone floor.

"Skye, I don't know if he deserves-"

"I can't get it out of my head, Coulson. Fifteen years old? Any of us could have fell for Garrett's trap."

   "Skye's right, sir," Fitz mentioned quietly, earning an approving look from Skye.

"But-"

"He was just a kid. I have no idea how he managed to deal with that scumbag for that much time.

Not giving him the help he needs makes me feel like we're the bad guys. And that's not what we stand for and you know it."

Skye stood her ground, the director and his agent in a standoff before he finally knew she wasn't going to back down.

He heaved out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "I'll look into it," he finally answered, giving Skye and Fitz and exhausted look. "This better be worth my time, you two."

Fitz nodded and rushed out of his office before Skye could say anything to him. But despite the scarce interaction with him she felt a surge of gratitude for her friend. Just then she knew not everyone is lost forever; in the end they can find their way back.

    She glanced at screen where Ward paced one more time before leaving the room.

•••

   Ward was assigned a therapist about a week after the whole situation occurred. Despite most of the team being apprehensive over the idea (especially May, since Dr.Garner was her ex-husband let alone helping a traitor and her ex-lover), they grudgingly agreed after finally finding out why Grant joined Hydra.

After Skye entered Vault D, descending into the plain room and approaching the head barrier that separated her from a traitor. Or someone she loves-loved, she corrects herself. Or a man who has been manipulated since he was young and defenseless.
She hated how confusing things got these days.

But Ward didn't seem to mind her sour expression from her wallowing in her own thoughts. In a way he looked content, and his eyes seemed to lit up at the sight of her.

"What?" She snapped at him slightly, noticing him looking at her.

"Thank you," He answered. He didn't elaborate further but she knew where the gratitude was coming from. He said he didn't want forgiveness, but She thought he must've appreciated the help. Then Skye immediately held a battle of self-loathing in her chest. She needed to stop trying to understand him.
Don't get attached. Tried that. Didn't work. Her conversation with Hunter rang in her head. She needed to herself to stop before it could get worse.

   She gave him a slight nod and began asking him questions, as usual.

Ward answered them quickly and gave her as much information as he could.

   Despite the attempt to turn around, walk away and get on with her usual life, she looked back one more time. She caught him staring with so much affection, as if her existence was enough for him.

   She felt something's rise up in her chest. She ignored it.

   Ward took a few steps.

   It sounds simple, of course, unless it means that they were a few steps out of the cell he was in for what felt like an eternity.

   He felt rising excitement that he kept tethered down as he was released form his bonds (despite the tension that seeped into the base) as he walked free to his own room.

   In other words, the therapy went great. Dr.Garner appeared to have become fond of him and insisted that Coulson should set the man free.

   Ever since the team went down into the so-called temple and Skye apparently underwent some sort of- well nobody really knew, Ward thought- she hasn't talked to him. Nobody told him why. In fact, the only person who visited him was his therapist.

   He slipped on a plain black shirt, black jeans and boots after throwing his prison garb away. He took his leather jacket and threw it on, bracing himself for the incoming tidal wave of hatred.

   Oddly enough, however, nobody appeared to notice him as much as he thought they would. Besides the quick uneasy glances, they seemed to be rushing around, nervous. As if they were preparing for a hurricane.

   He noticed that most of the commotion was in the lab. He entered, ignoring the stares of multiple scientists bustling around the tables. Instead he focused on what was in the far area of the room. It was the quarantined area, but instead someone was inside it from what he could tell.

The closer he got his heart sank, seeing the miserable expression of Skye. Her hair was down and as beautiful as he remembered, and despite his immediate concern for her he relieved to know she was at least alive.

   He approached cautiously, carefully. Trying not to scare her away. The last thing she probably wanted to see was him free. But he risked it anyway.

   "Skye?" he called out to her softly. She snapped her head up, at first alarmed but she appeared to try and calm herself down as quick as possible.

   "They let you go?" She asked him instead of saying hello. She didn't seem that angry at least, which seemed like a good sign. But then again, she might just have a lot on her mind. As if she read his thoughts, she looked up at him with fear in her face.

    "They think there's something wrong with me. And I think so too," her voice was shaky but she did her best to keep herself in order.

  "I doubt it. The only thing that could possibly be wrong with you is the fact you haven't thrown an insult at me right now," he gave her a sheepish smile.

   To his surprise, she laughed lightly before going quiet once more.

   "That will be for another day," she said, half-serious. "But for now, you seemed to be one of the few people who aren't scared of me."

   "How could I be?" He asked her, his voice soft and comforting.

  She backed away a bit, seemingly conscious of everything around her once more. As if life was thrown back in her face again.

   "Because I've become whatever I might be now," she looked down, staring at the boring tile floor.

   "Whatever you became doesn't change your heart, that's what matters."

   When Skye looked up, he was gone.

   Okay so I decided this will be two-parts. Thanks for reading and please like and comment :)