Jemma had always prided herself on her knowledge. It was what she relied on, what allowed her to function. Now, she wished she didn't know so much. That she didn't rely on it so heavily. Or that her brain would shut off, stop whirling around possibilities and statics. She couldn't stop pacing the waiting room either, her fingers twirling the ring on her left hand.
"Jemma, please, sit down for a bit." Leo's voice broke the strained silence that had fallen over the team.
"Bloody hell!" She snapped at him, "He barely had a heart beat! He wasn't breathing! He was shot mul-"Jemma couldn't finish the sentence as she let the sobs that eluded her finally come. Leo pulled her down onto the chair besides him, his arms wrapped around her.
'I know Jems. I know, but Ward is strong, he'll be ok." Leo reassured her, though they all knew Ward was in tight spot.
For the next hour, Jemma let the team fuss over her. Someone pressed a hot cup of tea in her hands, and she was grateful for the hot liquid. Leo was rubbing her left hand. It hand gone numb during her pacing and the awkward position she held it. Coulson fussed over her till she ate, Skye helped her wash up and change into a familiar sweat shirt that belonged to Grant. May's silence was helpful, and the few words that she had spoken calmed Jemma down. Her brain was shutting off, the information circling out. Sleep wasn't an option, though the rest of the team was winding down, it was almost two in the morning after all.
"Coulson, just sleep already. There's no use in all of us being exhausted." She said to her boss, who kept nodding off just to jerk himself awake.
The next few hours she spent twisting her ring over and over again, lost in old memories.
"I love you." His words came out of no where, shocking her into dropping her cup of fresh tea.
"W-what?" Jemma questioned, her voice just above a whisper. He took a step closer.
"I love you." Ward confirmed. "I love you when you drink your tea with that little look of yours. When your reading a book, total blank face, till you read something and grin like a fool. And I love when you get excited over something science related. And I suck at stuff like this, I suck at being happy, And stop grinning like that Jemma! Your not helping. The point is," He said taking her chin in his rough hands, "I love you." Her response was swallowed up by his lips sealing against hers.
Someone nudges her shoulder, and Jemma blinks a few times before adjusting to being awake. She didn't realize she fell asleep. Her mind jumps to Grant. How long was she asleep? What was his status? A billion questions demand to be answered.
"He's out of surgery, we're getting him settled in the ICU right now. The bullet wounds didn't cause as much harm as we expected. But the blunt force trauma he suffered, paired with the time with out oxygen, it doesn't look promising. Brain function could be compromised. He's in a medically sedated coma till his brain function is as it should be." The doctor's words were a lot to take in, but she knew what it meant. It meant that even if he woke up, Grant could be very different.
It was another hour till she could see him. When the reached his little section separated by curtains, it was hard to control herself from rushing to him. It was hard to keep the whimper from escaping her lips when she saw him. There was a nasty bruise on the right side of his jaw, and an equally brutal gash at the top of his for head. He looked so broken, her Grant who had always been strong. He was hooked up to many so many machines, the wires all tangled up around him. Jemma took a seat in the chair besides him. She took his rough hand in her own. "Hey." She whispered. "You're going to be alright. You have to be alright."
"Please, Grant." Jemma was close to crying again.
She closed her eyes instead. Grant needed her to be strong. The tables were turning, their positions were switched.