So I haven't written fanfiction in about a year or so, but I've been lurking around the fandom for a couple of months now reading every FitzSimmons story I can get my hands on, and watching "Purpose in the Machine" somehow managed to break me out of my long writing slump. This is my first AOS fanfic, so go easy on me! I'm not exactly a literary prowess, but I'm a huge grammar natzi and a sucker for good vocabulary so that does come in handy lol.

First of all, just wanted to put out there a trigger warning for PTSD, since that will be the primary focus of this story. Also, I can't really promise fast updates since the reason I stopped writing in the first place was because of how busy college has been keeping me. So don't be surprised if I don't update for weeks or months on end. All and all, I hope you'll enjoy the story, which I'm expecting to be at least 3-4 chapters at the shortest!

As soon as Jemma fell asleep in the containment bed, Fitz settled himself on the floor and wearily rested his head against the polytechnic wall. That night, Fitz slept peacefully for the first time in months. The amount of time that Jemma had been stuck on that far-away planet put Fitz in a state that he hadn't descended into since their days at the Academy- nights composed of countless hours whittling away in the lab, testing one hypothesis after another, never stopping to rest unless it was absolutely necessary. During those times, it wasn't an unusual occurrence for Jemma or one of his classmates to find him passed out on his work bench with his folders full of blueprints and data printouts acting as a pillow. Even during Fitz's time on the Quinjet, the other agents occasionally stumbled upon his new "bedroom" after he spent late nights working in the lab.

In those days, the victories of his accomplishments were entirely short-lived; getting a good grade (which happened almost all the time for FitzSimmons) ceased to be a surprising, joyful event and even when Fitz completed an assignment for Coulson, there was always another one to be completed and there was no time to rest.

But this was most certainly not the case for Simmons's disappearance. For Fitz, the outcome was either life or death. For the brilliant yet somewhat-damaged engineer, it was either he would have his best friend back coupled with the possibility of building a future together or that he would have to live the rest of his life without her. And that was an outcome that Fitz couldn't bear to think about, for fear that his heart would crumble into a million pieces if the latter had happened and the outcome had matched the words written on the scroll: "Death."

If only his fellow agents knew his ulterior motive for attempting to aggravate the monolith into liquefying again besides using it as a trigger for the outpouring of his pent-up anger and grief. Fitz had almost let out a bitter laugh when Hunter had exclaimed "You could've gotten yourself killed!" but it was a risk Fitz was willing to take if it meant he ended up in the same place as Jemma.

All that adrenaline and energy usage had suddenly made Fitz extremely tired without him even knowing, and the sleep debt he had incurred over the months propelled him to crash into a heavy, dreamless sleep. No more horrifying nightmares about Jemma being trapped in the stone or about her dying some painful, gruesome death on another planet. She was here, sleeping near him. She was safe.

Finally, he had brought Jemma home.

There was only one emotion that constantly plagued Simmons's mind while she was trapped on the alien planet: fear. It took on too many forms for her to count in her smart, but now-traumatized brain. The fear of being stuck on the planet forever, fear of being caught by the beast on its relentless journey to taste human flesh, fear of collapsing and slowly dying of hunger and dehydration, fear of something bad happening to the people she cared about the most while she was gone... the list would have gone on forever.

Her worst fear, though she couldn't always get herself to admit it, was never seeing Fitz again. She knew how badly he had coped with her leaving SHIELD to become a mole embedded inside of Hydra. And after she had finally admitted she returned his feelings for her...she couldn't imagine what turmoil her disappearance had put him through.

She had never really realized the true meaning of "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" until the monolith had captured her and transported her there. Fitz had been such a constant in her life that she had never imagined a time where he would potentially be gone forever. Every time she went to sleep, she half-expected him to be there in the morning, waking her up with some ramble about the new Dr. Who episode that aired last night or surprising her with tea and biscuits after a hard day of work. But alas, despite her strongest wishes and hopes, he was never there, only appearing sporadically as a ghost in her dreams.

She knew deep down inside that she loved Fitz, but it didn't become absolutely clear to her until he had pulled her through the portal just before the monolith was destroyed. She figured Fitz would go to great lengths to save her, but the fact that he risked his life by going into the portal after her still amazed her.

But she couldn't articulate those feelings. Not yet, anyway. Especially when her whole sense of being was trapped in a nightmare.

It was more like a flashback, really, her constantly running away from that hideous beast that wouldn't leave her alone. It all seemed too familiar now, like she was still stuck in that blue-lit hell. She could still hear the pounding of heavy feet behind her as she ran for her life across the desolate, sandy terrain. She could feel her lungs running out of air, her chest aching painfully as she zigzagged back and forth before hiding behind a thin, tall rock. She sighed in relief as her back slid down the rock, her legs practically giving out from underneath her. Her heart and breathing rates had finally started to stabilize when the beast came out of nowhere and lunged at her.

"No!"

Jemma gasped and choked back a scream as she was jolted out of her sleep, and she immediately whipped out a sharpened piece of metal that she had hidden underneath the pillow when no one was looking. It took at least ten seconds for her vision to clear and for her to realize she wasn't on the planet anymore. However, despite this realization, the fear held its grip around her heart like a vice and her trembling hand still clutched the homemade spike tightly as she observed her surroundings.

The containment chamber itself was dark, but some light from outside was shining in through the window, creating a small lamp on the floor. She used this light to frantically look for something familiar, something to reassure her that she was home, but all she saw were sterile surfaces and an empty room with no homey touches. She was on the verge of having a full-blown panic attack until she saw Fitz sleeping on the floor.

Her frenzied mind couldn't send out the signals to make her smile, but a rush of relief and fondness flooded her senses. She could tell Fitz had changed a bit from the little time she had spent going in and out of shock, but she still noticed little details that were the same, like how he always slept with his mouth half-open and how his hair was still as curly as it had been since the last time she saw him, when he had asked her out to dinner.

Going out to dinner. That's something I haven't thought about it a while.

Still trembling a bit from the nightmare, she gingerly released her weapon and got out of her bed, lowering herself down to the floor and laying her head gently on Fitz's thigh. Catching his familiar scent of copper and musk-scented cotton, she let out a shaky breath that she had been holding in for far too long. To make sure that he was actually here and wasn't a part of a homesick-induced hallucination, she placed her hand in front of her face and gently squeezed his thigh. When she felt flesh and bone underneath her hand, it immediately stopped trembling.

This isn't a dream. You're home, Simmons. You're safe now and whatever was out there before can't hurt you again.

That's what she imagined Fitz would say if he was awake right now. And in her heart, she knew that his comforting words would be accurate. However, she could never make herself believe it; not anytime soon, anyway.

Because it was still out there, whimpering for her flesh, jumping at the chance to continue the chase at whatever cost.

You don't know that for sure. Wherever it is now, it's still out to get me. And it won't stop until it gets what it wants.

Six month on the run had taught her that very valuable lesson.

But Fitz is here. He'll keep me safe. Because he loves me.

And those words lingered in her mind as she drifted into yet another fitful, ephemeral sleep.

Please review if you would like to do so, and thanks for reading! :)