Jemma walks into the Bus's brand new lab, frowning heavily to herself. Normally she'd be overjoyed to be in this lab – it had been specifically designed for Fitz and herself – but today she feels something isn't right.
Over the past week she and Fitz had been working in here, in order to become accustomed to how it worked before they had to use it in the field, and during that time they'd been working on trying to refine the dendrotoxin solution for the weapons Fitz had christened 'night night guns', which meant working with a unique cocktail of rather dangerous chemicals. And today, Jemma feels that something in the lab is not right.
She scans the room, looking for anything out of place, when she spots it, in a glass beaker across the room. Earlier that day she had been experimenting with increasing the concentration of the dendrotoxin, and instead of disposing with the solution after the experiment failed, she'd left it out – distracted by a new trigger mechanism Fitz had been explaining to her. The beaker, which earlier had been rather innocuous, was now producing a vapour clearly visible from across the room.
Jemma knows the protocol for this kind of event: evacuate lab, set isolation procedures, warn the rest of the team, and if necessary call in the biohazard squad. However, she feels reluctant to employ the protocol, scared that making such a big mistake so early on in this venture will convince Agent Coulson that she doesn't belong on this team – that she and Fitz are too inexperienced – just like she'd heard people at the Academy suggesting.
For this reason, she decides to break protocol. She rushes into the room and disposes of the beaker's contents, turning on the vents that clean the air in the lab in order to return it to normal.
What she hasn't counted on is the gas that the solution has been giving off, and soon after she has accomplished her task, the scientist is knocked unconscious by the fumes, and falls to the floor – narrowly missing hitting her head on the way down.
Luckily for Jemma, May is sitting in the Bus's control room – running some routine checks on the plane's systems. She happens to glance up at the screen showing the video feed of the lab just in time to see Jemma collapse to the ground.
She instantly sprints to the lab, having the forethought to grab one of the oxygen masks located next to the entrance just for this kind of situation, before she enters and scoops up an unconscious Jemma into her arms. She takes note of the beaker, now rendered perfectly harmless once more, before she rushes Jemma from the lab and sets her down in the corridor outside, hoping desperately that the petite scientist will soon recover consciousness.
Worried as she is about Jemma, anger starts to creep in, May knows full well that Jemma must have violated several protocols to end up in this situation, and she knows that if Jemma comes out of this unscathed, she will have to handle it.
As Jemma slowly regains consciousness, she becomes aware both that she is no longer in the lab – and that she is no longer alone – Agent May is leaning over her looking extremely concerned.
Jemma opens her eyes wider and sits up asking tentatively "wha… what happened?"
She immediately regrets asking that, when May's reply is
"Why don't you tell me?", her eyes glinting dangerously.
Jemma is still somewhat confused, but she can see that the senior agent is none too pleased, so she makes an effort to clear her head, and replies "the solution I left out earlier was, well, smoking and I disposed of it and turned on the air ventilator. After that… I don't remember"
"You don't remember because it knocked you unconscious" May replies, taking note of the shocked look on Simmons' face.
"I… that shouldn't… have happened" Simmons stammered, beginning to see clearly that May was rather angry with her.
"No, it shouldn't have" May retorted "you should have followed protocol and isolated the lab!".
At the look in Jemma's eyes, which is turning increasingly to fear, May almost feels bad about how much she is clearly intimidating the younger agent. However, she forces herself to remember the fear she had felt when she'd seen Jemma fall to the ground, and just how wrong this could have gone.
"You know the protocols Simmons, there was no reason for you to come in here. We're still in the Hub, there are teams to deal with things like this!"
Jemma hangs her head, she knows she is very much in the wrong, and can feel how furious May is with her – whether for the breach in protocol, or the risk to her life she isn't sure.
"I will have to tell Coulson about this, you're an excellent scientist, but if we can't trust you to follow protocol then you are clearly not ready for the field"
As she utters this proclamation she keeps a careful watch on Simmons's expression, in order to see how this has affected her. Truthfully she doesn't want the scientist off the team, but she wants to know the real reason for Simmons's recklessness – from the little she knows of the younger women, breaking protocol is incredibly unlike her.
She isn't disappointed when Simmons responds pleadingly 'Oh Agent May, please don't tell Agent Coulson!"
"Why did you break protocol Jemma?" May demands in reply, sure there is something behind this.
Simmons looks down at her feet and states quietly "I didn't want to be taken off the team… I thought you'd think I wasn't experienced enough"
Secretly, May had thought that of Fitz - Simmons – but seeing them at work had shown her that they were the best scientists on offer.
"Do you think this is going to make us think otherwise? Mistakes are one thing, but this blatant disregard for protocol could have got you killed!" May exclaims, frustrated that Simmons had done something so dangerous for such a silly reason. However, despite her anger, she resolves to try and handle this herself – while Simmons had acted extremely unwisely she can see why – and this team really does need the best scientists possible, for Coulson if not their missions.
Taking this into account she stares down at Simmons, who slowly raises her eyes to meet May's own. May extends her arm to Simmons, and raises the scientist to her feet.
She sighs resignedly before asking quietly "if we could handle this without Coulson having to know, would you want to?"
Simmons nods eagerly, ready to accept anything that will allow the to remain on the team,
but does not really see how this is possible, causing her to ask tentatively "How… how would we be able to?'
"Well, you must know that if I was to report this officially you would probably lose a security clearance level, and wouldn't be able to stay on the team since level fours are supposed to work with a Supervising Officer."
Simmons nods reluctantly, this is what she had feared "I know Fitz and I had to be promoted to join the team – we were only level three as Academy graduates".
May is pleased that Simmons grasps the situation, which enables her to make her next suggestion.
"I think this team will need you – so I'm going to suggest that instead of a formal demotion, I instead become your SO".
May watches Simmons carefully – expecting some kind of resistance to the idea – it is incredibly unusual for a level five agent to have an SO, that kind of supervision is normally left for lower level agents.
However, the only reaction visible from Jemma is one of relief – this is so much better than being taken off the team that she hasn't yet considered the wider, less pleasant, implications of the alternative.
"Do you accept?" May asks – needing to hear a definitive answer from her soon – to - be charge before she can proceed.
"If I do, no one else finds out about today?"
"No, the only person you will answer to about this is me"
Ominous as this sounds, it is the clear best choice, so Simmons replies definitely with "I accept".
May nods, pleased that Jemma has made this choice, she'd been uneasy about the idea of Fitz Simmons being unsupervised, level five agents or not they're both still young and inexperienced. However, now she has to fulfil the most unpleasant part of being anyone's SO, and waiting isn't going to make it any better.
This in mind, she takes Simmons arm and leads her from the lab and to her own bunk, positioning Simmons in front of the bed before sitting down.
"Who was your SO at the Academy?" May asks, wanting to see what Jemma has already experienced before going any further.
Jemma looks confused, but replies "Agent Weaver, before she was promoted"
May nods, inwardly relieved for this revelation will make what she has resolved to do much easier. SOs, both at the Academy and in the field are left to decide for themselves how to handle discipline, and she knows of old that she and Agent Weaver do not differ much in this matter.
"When you were at the Academy, did Weaver ever have to discipline you Simmons?"
Jemma looks embarrassed, but all too aware that May is already not best pleased with her, replies quickly, if reluctantly.
"I… yes once. We… I mean Fitz and I wanted to test out a prototype of the night night guns we'd worked on, so we snuck onto the specialist's shooting ranges one evening. We ended up in the middle of target practice, and Fitz almost got shot. Agent Weaver… well she spanked me."
"I would have done the same" May retorted, with a pointed glance towards Simmons.
Jemma, now realising the purpose of the question, gulps loudly, suddenly finding her feet extremely interesting.
"I think you know how I'm going to handle this, do you still want to continue?"
"Yes, I… I trust you and… I deserve it" Jemma iterates, the last part falling away to a mutter.
"You do. Come here" May demands, gesturing to her lap.
Slowly, and incredibly reluctantly, Jemma moves over to May's side, and is immediately pulled over May's lap by her strong maternal hand.
May wastes no time, pulling Jemma's pants and modest black underwear down to her knees, leaving the young scientists behind without a modicum of protection. She doesn't want to hurt Jemma, but she knows how easily she could have been seriously injured earlier, and wants to provide a strong incentive for her to follow protocol in the future.
She brings her hand down hard on Jemma's upturned backside with a resounding SLAP, and begins a fierce cadence slowly turning the scientist's milky white skin, a deeper and deeper pink with each round of slaps, making it hard for Jemma to resist squirming.
The pain gets more and more intense with each round of blows, and soon Jemma can no longer cope, and instead flings her hand back to cover her burning bottom.
With a roll of her eyes May catches her hand easily and pins it to the small of Jemma's back, taking this opportunity to tilt her further forward, allowing her to start planting strong solid swats on her sit spots, interspersing them with scolding, being able to carry on going despite Jemma's cries when she considers how near Jemma came to death – using the fear she'd felt for the younger to carry on going.
"What made you think this was good idea Simmons?
SMACK, SMACK, SMACK
"PROTOCOLS, are there for a reason, they KEEP, YOU, SAFE!" May exclaims, punctuating each word with a strong swat to Jemma's behind.
"OW!... Ma'am please! It hurts so much" Jemma exclaimed, the fire in her behind becoming too much for her to bear.
"It's supposed to Jemma; I don't want you to forget this!" Despite her words though, May can see that Simmons has almost had enough, she is no longer struggling and is instead lying limply over her lap, accepting what May sees fit to deal out.
Moved to sympathy by Jemma's acceptance, May decides to finish up. She slowly diminishes the force behind the blows before ceasing altogether, placing her hand on the young scientist's behind – an action that results in a whimper from Jemma – attesting to how sore her behind is.
While she sees this, May never wants Jemma to forget how this feels, so she reaches over to her bedside table, and picks up the hairbrush that lays there.
"Ten with this and we're done"
She receives only a whimper in reply, and steeling herself for what she is about to inflict upon the young scientist, she raised the brush high before she brings it down hard on Jemma's scarlet sit spots.
SMACK SMACK SMACK SMACK SMACK SMACK SMACK SMACK SMACK SMACK SMACK
May rains down the blows quickly, determined to get this over with, extracting a loud yelp of pain from Jemma with each one.
This done, May drops the brush instantly, instead turning to soothing Jemma's burning behind with a maternal hand.
"Shush Simmons, we're done here, all is forgotten".
Jemma is finding it hard to concentrate on May's words through her sobs and the fire in her behind, but she feels an overriding sense of security, May's hand on her back make her feel safe and cared for, not to mention forgiven.
After a few minutes, Jemma manages to calm her sobs, and May helps her to carefully stand, and ease her slacks gently over her burning behind, wincing as she does so.
Simmons raises her eyes to meet those of her new SO, before saying "Tha... thank you May, thank you for caring enough to do that"
While she is proud of the young women, and glad that she'd made the choice to deal with this herself, May merely says "Don't you forget this, I don't like repeating myself" before she softens her gaze at the penitent scientist, and adds "you took that well, now go and rest"
She watches as Simmons slips from the room, still rubbing her sore behind with some sympathy. She then she sits back down on the bed, thinking to herself that while she may have a non – combat role on this new team – it could still be challenging.