As soon as they release her from the pressure chamber and declare her to be fine after checking her vitals, she's off and running down the corridor. She pushes the heavy metal door open and slips inside his room, her breath catching at the sight of him.
She stops when she's next to his bed, scanning the equipment that surrounds him. His heartbeat is so slow, and he's so still, not at all like the Fitz she knows. She spots in the corner of the room and pulls it up to his side, pulling his hand into hers and clasping it tight.
Please wake up Fitz, she whispers as tears start to blur her vision. He's her best friend, her partner, she couldn't loose him. He saved her life, more tears come at the thought.
She watches him sleep until her own eyes grow heavy and she falls asleep in the chair, her head on his bed next to their hands still intertwined.
Jemma drifts back into consciousness slowly and the first thing she notices is that her neck is sore from her current position. She lifts her head slightly and opens her eyes, wincing at the sunlight invading the room. Fitz.
Her eyes move towards Fitz who is awake and looking down at her. She immediately pushes herself upright into her chair, a flood of relief washing. "Fitz you're awake!" she grins as she reaches for his hand once more, a smile breaking out on her face. He's okay, we're okay.
"Uh, yes," Fitz replies glancing around the room and at the medical equipment settled around him. "Where are we?"
Jemma glances around the room at his question, while plain, it's quite obvious in its purpose. "I'm not sure exactly, but a new S.H.I.E.L.D. base would be my best guess."
Fitz nods, not quite looking her in the eye. She knows there's something on his mind, but doesn't want to pry, fearing what he'll bring up, the something more lingering between them now. Fitz is silent for another moment, tracing the pattern on his blanket with his free hand before he stops, tentatively looking at her out of the corner of his eye as he asks, "And who are you?"
Her heart stops at Fitz's question and she immediately removes her hand from his, pulling it back into the safety of her lap. No.
"You don't know who I am?" she asks him, biting her tongue to stop tears from forming in her eyes, focus.
"No," he shakes his head, "I'm sorry."
She stares at him, momentarily stunned for a second, Fitz, her Fitz, didn't remember her. "Right," she says, standing up and pushing the chair away from the bed. "I'm going to get the doctor and tell her you're awake." She half-runs to the hallway not waiting for a response. As soon as the door closes behind her, she leans her back against it, needing a moment.
Oxygen deprivation. Retrograde Amnesia. Remember from those psychology classes….how much doesn't he remember? The tears start to fall from her face as she recalls the Fitz of four days ago, telling her he cared for her as more than a friend and shoving the oxygen mask into her hands before he set off the defibrillator. If she had insisted that he take the mask, would he be okay now? Would she be the one with amnesia instead? Fitz doesn't deserve not to remember all that he is, all the things he's done in the past couple of months…If she had never insisted that they sign up for Coulson's team, he wouldn't be in the room behind her right now, unable to remember who she is.
It's my fault, the tears come harder at the realization that she could've prevented this, she could have protected her sweet, brave, Fitz. She may not have been able to protect him before, but she will from now on, I promise. Jemma wipes her tears away and takes off down the hall in search for the doctor.
A/N: As a neuro major I know oxygen deprivation wouldn't lead to this (extreme) amount of amnesia, but go with it, okay?
First time writing for AoS, let me know how it is.
(I plan on continuing this, just fyi)