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November 30th
Skye just stared at Grant, trying to comprehend the news that he had just dropped onto her.
“A mission? Now ?”
Grant’s lips drew into a tight line and he nodded, “Yeah, unfortunately.” he answered softly, reaching out to take his wife’s hand and started to draw tiny, soothing circles into the palm. “Coulson wishes it could happen some other way, but it involves some Hydra goons that worked under Garrett. He believed that it’s best that I’m the one to go. I… I might not be back until after Christmas, though.”
“A whole month?” Skye’s shoulders sagged. “Then it’s an infiltration mission, then, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.” Grant sighed. “I’m to act like I’ve been in SHIELD custody for these past few years and that I’m trying to get back into that sect. I don’t think they know about Malick and what happened with Hive. They’ve been smuggling Inhumans, so I have to do this carefully. I can’t have them doubt my fake loyalty.”
Grant had been back with SHIELD ever since Hive had finally crawled right out of him and he had come back to life powered. Even 3 years later, Coulson still liked to test his loyalty in ways that made Skye’s skin crawl. Grant had proven himself time and time again, so she wasn’t sure what left there was to prove to the Director.
The two of them had hit it off pretty quickly right after Hive’s destruction. Skye still thought that it was pity towards him after realizing all that Grant had been through. After she had finally come to understand him. They had dated for two years before Grant had finally popped the question. And almost a year after they had gotten married, Skye was now heavily pregnant with their twin sons.
“If it’s Christmas you’re worried about, you-”
Skye shook her head, “No, it’s not that, Grant.” she stated. “I’m 7 months pregnant with your twin children. Just because their due date happens to be at the end of January doesn’t mean that they’ll actually come then. What if you’re gone and I go into labor?”
Grant nodded slowly, “I’ve talked about that with Coulson. He said he would pull me out and have me come back if anything happens.” he answered. “I’m not leaving you completely alone. Yes, it’s little to no contact, but I’ll try my best to contact you when I can. That sect still has to think that I’m Hydra. It wouldn’t go well for me if they see me contacting and flirting with a heavily pregnant SHIELD agent.”
“Grant, this… This is just not a good time, you know.” Skye continued, trying to fight back building tears. Damn hormones. “Plus, I don’t want to be all alone at Christmas when I’m seven months pregnant with your twin sons.”
“I’ve already talked to both Fitzsimmons and Trip.” he began. “Someone’s gonna check up on you almost every day. Hell, we still live in a SHIELD base, Skye. It’s not like you’re off all alone by yourself. Someone will always be right around the corner.” He brought her hand to his mouth and pressed his lips to her skin, “And I’ll be back before you know it. I promise.” He looked at her, a dirty light growing in his eyes, “And then I’ll give you all the filthy sex you could ever ask for.”
Skye pulled away from him and rolled her eyes, “Not when I’m the size of a fucking whale, Grant.” she stated. She gestured down to her giant belly. Even at seven months, she was huge. Well, it didn’t help that she was carrying Grant Ward’s offspring. He probably came out of the womb weighing ten pounds. “That’s not sexy.”
Grant chuckled and smiled, leaning down to kiss her, his 5 o’clock shadow prickling her lips. “I’ll find a way to make it sexy.” he practically purred into her ear. “I can promise you that.” He pulled away from her, “I’ll find a way to make it up to you, Skye, I promise. But, unfortunately, this mission’s important. I have to leave within the next hour.”
Skye’s shoulders sagged, knowing that there was no way to get Grant out of this. If Coulson said he had to do something, then Grant had to do something. She let out a sigh as Grant wrapped his arms around her and drew her close. His lips pressed against the top of her head.
“I love you, Skye. I’ll be back as soon as I possibly can.” he whispered. “Even if that won’t be for a month or so.”
“I love you, too, Grant. Just please… Be careful.”
“I’ll be as careful as I can being around old Hydra teammates.” He smirked and knelt down, his eyes coming level with her big, round stomach. He placed his hands on each side of her stomach, “And I won’t miss your births, you two.” he whispered. “Daddy will be back as soon as he can. I promise you that.”
Skye’s eyes still watered as she looked down at Grant. The twins weren’t even born yet and he loved them with every fiber of his being. She remembered the pure panic she felt when the words identical twins left the doctor’s lips and how Grant just shrugged it off with a joke, saying that it wasn’t the weirdest thing to happen to him. But, she knew that Grant was hiding fear of the unknown. Fear of becoming a father. She knew that Grant feared that he would just end up being a shitty father since he had never had a positive father figure in his life. But, this moment told her differently.
Grant rose to his feet and pressed another kiss to Skye’s lips. He pulled away, “I’ve got to get going, baby.” he stated. “The base is overseas and it’s not like I can magically teleport there or anything.”
Skye sighed, “Fine. Be careful. Try to call when you can. I don’t want to forget what that handsome face looks like.” She smiled as he blushed. Her eyes flickered down to the tattooed ring on his left ring finger. A permanent reminder of their marriage. Not just because Grant couldn’t wear traditional metal rings due to his powers.
He smiled at her and nodded softly.
“I’ll try.”
(December 20th)
“So, what’s your Christmas plans?”
Skye blinked, looking at Grant’s grizzled face on the screen of her laptop, “So, you’re not gonna be home in time?”
He shook his head, “No, unfortunately not. Coulson’s thinking by New Year’s if we’re lucky. I want to at least be home by my birthday.” he explained. “But, I’ll make it up to you. I’ve been in contact with Fitz, he’s bought all your presents from me for me. So, you’ll have something from me.”
“Coulson really doesn’t have any plans considering he’s Jewish, remember? But, Simmons has taken it upon herself to do something, what that might be, I don’t want to even know. So, I guess I’m doing whatever Simmons comes up with.”
Grant laughed, “Honestly, I’m kind of glad that I’m not there to see it. It was almost a disaster last year. And not just because Fitz cooked the turkey too long and it exploded on us.” He laughed again, “How’s the twins?”
Skye pushed the laptop back so her massive stomach was in frame. She was almost now 8 months, so, truly, they could come at any time and that worried her with Grant being gone. “Whichever one keeps kicking my kidney is definitely the one that’s gonna take after you. Can’t keep still for five minutes. Haven’t been sleeping well. Honestly, I’m sick and tired of being pregnant. I can’t believe I let you knock me up, Ward.”
“Hey, at least we were already married. Just surprised that you weren’t pregnant before now.”
“You’re the horny one, not me.” She rolled her eyes. “But, at least you’re okay. I don’t want to keep you too long, Grant. Just in case someone gets too suspicious about you being gone too long.”
“I’m fine for now. They think I’m up doing exercises or something.”
“Grant, I don’t want you to risk yourself just because you want to talk a little longer.” Skye said, her voice starting to become hollow. “If you need to go, go.”
“Skye, I might not be able to call again until after Christmas. This sect is making a move tomorrow to a SHIELD base. I have to follow them to ensure the information that I feed back to Coulson is correct. I can’t let any SHIELD agents die just because I held back on my work. I couldn’t ever forgive myself if that happens.”
“Grant, I will be okay if you can’t call until next week. I’ll be fine.” Skye said softly, staring into his golden brown eyes. “You-” She was cut off as a sharp pain lanced through her lower abdomen.
“Skye?” Concern laced his voice.
She brought a hand to the swell of her stomach, “I’m fine. Probably just them moving around again.” she replied. But, was it just them moving around?
“Skye, if you’re worried about it, please go see Simmons or something. I don’t want something going around this close to term.”
“Fine. I’ll ask her about it later. It could just be Braxton-Hicks contractions. I’ve had them before.”
Grant raised a quizzical eyebrow, “Skye, just please be careful.” he stated quietly. “Like I said, I don’t want anything going wrong now.”
Skye smiled at him, “I’m fine, Grant. I promise. Now, get back to work before someone gets suspicious of your absence and finds you talking to me.”
He rolled his eyes, “Fine. I’ll call you again when I have the chance.” he answered. “Love you.”
She stuck her tongue out at him, “Love you, too.”
(December 24th, 9 AM)
Skye lounged on the couch of the common room, watching as Simmons walked in, carrying two steaming cups of tea. She smiled as the Brit came towards her and sat down next to her on the couch, carefully handing her one of the cups of tea. “Thanks.” she said, making sure that the hot liquid didn’t splash onto her swollen belly.
“How’s the two Ward gremlins?” Simmons asked. “Any more pain since the other day?”
Skye shrugged, taking a sip of the steaming tea, “I had another Braxton-Hicks this morning. But, it was nothing. Only lasted a couple of seconds.” she explained nonchalantly. “Feeling fine. Other than the fact that I feel like a miserable, swollen whale and ready for this shit to be over with.”
Simmons stifled a laugh, “Well, you haven’t shown any signs of being near labor yet, Skye.” she stated. “So, don’t get your hopes up. And I know that you’re wanting them to wait until Ward’s back.”
“My feet hurt. My back hurts. I can’t go an hour without having to piss.” She threw her head back and moaned, “Pregnancy is hell, especially when you’re pregnant with Grant Ward 2.0 and 3.0”
“Skye, just because they’re both boys and identical doesn’t mean they’ll look just like Ward.”
Skye shot Simmons a dirty look, “Really, Jemma?” she asked. “It’s his genetics over mine and I’m sure they’re a hundred times more dominant. Plus, we’re both part alien. I’m just surprised that they’re not coming out with tentacles since Hive is what made Grant Inhuman.”
“As far as I and your other doctors can tell, they look as normal as two pure Inhumans can be.” Simmons explained, sitting her tea aside on the coffee table in front of them. She stood to her feet, “Don’t worry about it. They’ll be fine.” She looked towards the big screen TV in the room, “Let’s take your mind off of things. It’s just us for the day because Fitz is busy with a project and Mack’s with Elena. No celebrating is being done tomorrow. How about we find some bad Christmas movies to watch?”
Skye lifted her head up and raised an eyebrow, placing the cup of tea besides Simmons’ cup, “Like Hallmark bad?”
Simmons smiled and nodded, “Exactly.”
“Do it. Grant won’t watch that kind of stuff with me. It’s got to be pure action because his flame-fueled brain won’t let him sit still for 5 minutes straight.” Skye waived a dismissive hand. “The only time I can watch bad romance movies is with you.”
Skye watched as Simmons rolled her eyes and went over to pick up the remote for the TV. The scientist came and sat back down and opened Netflix to find the worst Christmas movie possible. Skye didn’t really pay attention, though, as Simmons chose something about a writer or whatever. Her mind drifted to Grant, hoping that he would be okay. He hadn’t called in four days and that really started to worry her. Even though he had told her that it could be a while since the Hydra sect was about to make their next move, she still worried.
They got about thirty minutes into the overly-bad movie before her attention drew elsewhere. Her stomach fell as she felt a gentle pop and something wet trickle down her legs. “Uh, Jem?”
Simmons tore her eyes away from the screen, “Uh, what?”
“What does your water breaking feel like?”
Simmons suddenly shot up, spinning around to look at the Inhuman, “Y-You sure?” she stammered, looking to see that the fabric of Skye’s sweatpants were indeed wet. “Oh.”
Skye grimaced, “Yeah.”
“Uh…” She turned the movie off. “I-I’ll call your doctor and let Coulson know. You’ll need to go to the infirmary room they set up for you. You know, the one with the inhibitors.”
“Yeah, in case I cause an earthquake giving birth.” Skye slowly stood to her feet as Simmons held onto her arm. “Of course.”
“You okay?”
Skye grimaced again as another sharp pain lanced through her lower abdomen, “For now. But…” She took a deep breath to try and steady herself. “I need someone to call Grant.
Now.”
(December 24th, 8 PM)
And after 10 hours of hard, painful labor that, quite literally, shook the Earth, Skye held two healthy twin boys in her arms. Only Coulson and May were in the room. Simmons had been in the room all day with her and Fitz had made her take a break. Mack and Elena had left some time ago.
“They’re beautiful, Skye, even if they unfortunately look like their father.” Coulson stated, a smile on his face. Even after all of these years, Coulson’s contempt for the man still shone. Even if he had heard her screaming for Grant’s penis to be cut off just two hours ago.
Skye shot Coulson a dirty look, “No, that means they’ll be good looking when they grow up.” she shot back. She looked down to the two small bundles in her arms, tears still streaming down her face, “This is one hell of an early Christmas present.” she mumbled, the twins now sleeping peacefully. She knew that she would have to attempt to feed them soon; she had already made the decision to breastfeed.
May looked down at the two babies, “Did you come up with names yet?” she asked.
“No. Grant and I hadn’t decided on anything yet.” Skye replied. “We had a few ideas in mind, but I don’t want to make a decision without him. It would feel wrong. I-”
“What would feel wrong?”
Skye’s stomach fell and she looked up to see a grizzled figure standing in the doorway. “Grant?”
Grant blinked, his eyes resting onto the two bundles. “Oh, shit. I missed it.” he said, coming into the room. His beard was more rugged than it had been four days ago. But, it looked as though he had cleaned up on the way here. He was only in a tight, black t-shirt and a pair of jeans. And he must’ve really been working out in the month that he was gone.
Coulson and May looked at one another and nodded before leaving the room to let the two have their moment.
Skye smiled and nodded, “Yeah, unfortunately you did.” she said, her voice hoarse. “They were born about an hour ago. You missed the action.”
“I heard someone say something about an earthquake when I got here.” he said, scratching at the back of his head. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the two boys. He couldn’t believe it. He and Skye had made those two little miracles. Even if he couldn’t physically tell them apart. But, he could power-wise. The one in her right arm had a slightly stronger heat signature.
“Sorry. The inhibitors couldn’t keep up and they couldn’t give me anything to sedate me or anything because of them.” She tried her best to sit up, even if she was sore as hell. She saw Simmons standing in the doorway, supervising the two.
Grant walked right over to her side, staring down at the two babies. His babies. He was actually a father. “Coulson called me this morning and told me to get the hell out of there because you were in labor and he had enough information to send someone else.” he explained. “W-Wow. They’re amazing.”
“Well, they should be considering I carried them for eight fucking months and just spent 10 hours in labor with them.” Skye shot back. “I am definitely not doing this again. I think it’s time you go get a vasectomy or something. I think that’s a fair trade for my vagina ripping in two.”
Grant blinked again, “Uh, o-okay.” he stammered, still staring down at them. “Can… Can I hold them?”
“Grant, they’re your sons. You don’t have to ask to hold them. Just don’t crush them in those gorilla arms of yours. They’re only 7 pounds each.”
Simmons came in as Grant sat down in the chair that was situated right next to the bed. “Make sure to support their heads.” she said, reaching for the first. “And Skye is gonna have to attempt for their first feed soon.” She gently put one son into Grant’s arms and soon followed with the second.
“Do I get to see that?”
Skye blushed and rolled her eyes. Of course he was thinking about her boobs already. “Not if you keep talking about it.”
Grant ignored her and looked down at the babies in his arms. “Wow.” he repeated, still in shock. Skye couldn’t get over the look of pure disbelief on his face. But, she had to admit that they had gone through so much just to get to this point. They finally had their own little family.
“They look just like you.”
He looked up, “You really think so? It’s hard to tell them apart.” he stated. “Well, his heat feels a little different than his.” He motioned to the baby on his right with his chin.
“Grant, they’re identical twins.”
“But, still.”
Simmons nodded, “Do you have names for them?” she asked. “The birth certificates have to be filled out soon and we need names.”
Skye frowned and looked to Grant, “Did you ever come up with something?” she asked. “I haven’t really thought about it lately.”
Grant smiled and nodded, “That’s all I’ve been thinking about.” he answered softly, keeping his gaze locked onto the twinsa. “I did come up with something.”
“Yeah?”
He looked down at the two, trying to decide who to give what name. He looked back up once he decided, “Baby on the right. Adian Leo Ward. Adian means ‘little fire’ and of course Leo is for Fitz.”
Simmons groaned, “God, you’re just gonna stoke Fitz’s ego with that.”
Grant rolled his eyes, “Baby on the left. Avery Thomas Ward. Avery because it’s close to Adian and Thomas for Tommy.” He looked back to Skye, “Does that work?”
Skye’s lips pulled into a smile, “Yeah. It does.”
“And how’s Adian spelled?” Simmons asked, cutting in. “Exact spelling, please.”
“A-D-I-A-N.” Grant carefully spelled out. “Happy?”
Simmons sniffed, “Yes. I’ll go fill out the certificates. You’re lucky that Skye already rewrote your record and you can have an actual life now. Your children will actually be legal citizens.” she said, walking out of the room.
“She’s in a cheerful mood.”
“Give her a break, she’s been in here with me all damn day.”
“You’re the one that just pushed two children out of your fucking vagina, Skye. You’re the one that should be in a mood.” Grant countered. “You…” He trailed off as Adian started to whine. Grant now noticed that the little boy was staring up at him with big, dark eyes.
“Skye. He’s upset.”
“Hand him over, I think that’s his ‘I want the tit’ whine.”
“How do you know?” he asked, standing ever so carefully so he could hand them back to Skye. “You said that you haven’t fed them yet.”
“Because it sounds like you when you want the very same thing from me. Oh, I can’t have sex until my vagina heals. Not for a couple of weeks.”
Grant’s face fell, “You’re kidding me.”
She smiled, “Nope.” she said, popping the ‘p’.
He flopped down into the chair once Skye had both of the twins situated into her arms. “Great. I was gone for almost a month and we can’t do anything for a couple more weeks?” He threw his head back, “Ugh.”
“Grant, I just popped your two sons out and that’s all you’re worried about?”
“There’s a reason you married me.”
Skye rolled her eyes again and looked back down to the twins, hoping that someone would come in soon to help her start to breastfeed since Adian was getting fussier by the second. Avery was, luckily, still asleep.
“I don’t think it was because of how horny you are.”
Grant sat back up, “That’s one reason.” he stated. “But, do you want me to leave you alone for now? I still have to put my weapons and stuff away. I was just lucky that I had just cleaned up when Coulson called me to get out of there.”
“Grant, you’re their father.”
“Skye, I’m sure that you’re wanting to get them fed and have a chance to sleep. I can come back to watch them once they’re fed and you’re asleep.” he explained. “You were in labor for ten hours.”
She shook her head, “No. I’m fine. It’s Christmas Eve and I actually get to spend some of it with you.” she said. “I do want some damn food, though.”
“Oh, yeah, it is Christmas Eve. I forgot. It was already Christmas where I was at and my mind went blank when Coulson called and said you were in labor.”
“I know it’s already like almost 9 PM, but we could do something. A movie, maybe?”
“Skye, rest. It’s only Christmas Eve. We can celebrate tomorrow, sweetheart. And besides, I don’t think there’s much more celebrating that we can do. You’ve already given me the best Christmas present possible.” He nodded towards the babies, Adian still being fussy.
Skye smiled and blushed, looking back down at the twins.
Grant laughed softly and stood to his feet, “Merry Christmas, Skye.” he said softly. “I’ll let you three have a moment alone for once.”
Skye took a deep breath and nodded, hearing Simmons in the distance.
“Fine. Merry Christmas, Grant.”