I found this while doing some spring cleaning on my computer. I've only seen the first season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and I wrote it halfway through the season (before Ward's true colors were revealed). Thus, it takes place fairly early on in the first season. I hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I don't own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The mission was not going well.
Ward and Simmons were supposed to be undercover, getting information and sneaking through the hostile territory without being seen. The first part worked. The second part didn't.
"Ward!" Simmons shrieked. "Duck!" Immediately, Ward dropped to the floor. A knife embedded itself in the wall where his head had been a moment earlier.
"Thanks," Ward gasped. Simmons managed a weak grin.
"Any time," she replied. Abruptly, she fired the Night-Night gun, hitting a man behind her. Ward raised an appreciative eyebrow.
"Not bad," he offered. Simmons shrugged.
"Fitz failed his field assessment, not me," she replied, firing again. "I'm not great, but I can fire a gun."
"Can you shoot while running?" Ward asked. Simmons frowned.
"I've never tried it before," she replied. Ward smirked.
"Now's the time to start." He began sprinting, Simmons racing behind him. She was a halfway decent shot while running, which was fairly impressive for a Sci-Ops graduate. Ward was starting to think they'd be able to make their way out.
Then another huge swarm of guards came around the corner in front of them.
"Go left!" Ward shouted. Simmons took a left without hesitation. "When we get to the door to the stairwell, we're going through," he added. Simmons nodded bravely. The door got closer and closer. Ward was half a step ahead of Simmons, ready to pull the door open. He got there and threw the door open with one yank. Ward raced inside, waiting for Simmons. She tried to mimic him, but something stopped her.
That something was the hand of a guard gripping her left arm.
"Come on, Simmons!" Ward demanded. He grabbed her too, pulling. Simmons whimpered slightly when she was pulled too tight. Both sides continued their game of tug-of-war until Simmons suddenly gave a little. Ward watched as her face went white and she screamed. The guard let go of her in shock, and Ward was able to slam the door shut.
Simmons was gasping in pain, cradling her left arm. Ward could instantly tell what had happened to it. The shoulder was out of place and her arm was dangling as if it weren't an opposable limb. She had dislocated her shoulder.
"Simmons," Ward stated firmly, grabbing her uninjured arm to make her focus. "I'm going to reset your shoulder, okay? Count of three." Simmons nodded, tears in her eyes from the pain. "One, two-" Ward suddenly popped Simmons' shoulder back into place. She barely cried out, only letting out a pained squeak.
"That wasn't on three," she protested. Ward grinned wryly.
"Oldest trick in the book," he replied. "Now give me your scarf."
"What?"
"Your scarf," Ward repeated, starting to take it off from around Simmons' neck. "I'm going to use it to make a sling. You shouldn't use your arm until we get someone else to look at it more."
"Alright," Simmons replied, still sounding a little dazed. She didn't fight Ward as he bent her arm and used her scarf to immobilize it. Ward pulled off his tie and used it to bind Simmons' arm to her chest.
"Do you think you can run?" Ward asked. Simmons nodded. "Then let's go!" Ward began sprinting down the stairs. Simmons followed close behind, still holding the Night-Night gun in her right hand. They were only on the third floor, so Ward and Simmons managed to get to the bottom of the stairs before any guards reached them. Ward hotwired the nearest car, and off they went, ducking when gunshots shattered the back windshield.
"We'll get May to look at your arm when we get back to the Bus," Ward told Simmons, noticing how pale her face was. She nodded weakly, wincing as the car went over a pothole and her arm was jostled. Ward tried to drive more carefully.
The BUS came into view quickly, Ward speeding towards it while really hoping he wasn't being followed. He was fairly certain he wasn't, but he could never know for sure. Once he and Simmons were safely on board, he would have May take off.
"Simmons!" Fitz cried, racing out of the lab once Ward stopped the car. "Are you alright?"
"She's got a dislocated shoulder," Ward told Fitz, taking Simmons onto the plane. Fitz's eyes went wide. "Before you start fussing over her, go get May to take off. We need to get off the ground as soon as possible."
"Go, Fitz," Simmons added, fixing Fitz with a stern look when he didn't move. "I'll be fine."
Fitz scurried off. Ward gave Simmons an appraising look. "You've got him well trained," he remarked, only half teasing. Simmons laughed, then hissed in a sharp breath when that made her shoulder move. "Sorry," Ward added. Simmons shot him a wan smile.
"You saved me from that place. I should be thanking you."
"You did pretty well on your own," Ward replied. "With a little more training, you might be a decent field agent."
"What praise," Simmons replied sarcastically. Ward chuckled. Simmons grinned slightly, but the expression was clearly strained. Ward placed a hand on her uninjured shoulder.
"Do you want something for the pain?" he asked, leading her up the stairs and into the main room. The plane began to rise, making Simmons stumble slightly. Ward caught her before she fell and led her to the chair. Fitz found them there a few minutes later, followed by May.
"Dislocated shoulder?" she asked Simmons, who nodded. "Come with me. I think we have a sling somewhere."
Simmons followed May, leaving Ward and Fitz alone. "What happened?" Fitz asked, looking up at Ward.
"She was trying to get away, the security didn't want her to," Ward replied stiffly. Fitz swallowed hard before leaving quickly. To Ward's surprise, he didn't follow May and Simmons, but instead went back down to the lab. Ward watched him go for a moment, then sighed and walked over to Coulson's office.
He'd have to get the debriefing over eventually.
"Oh!" Simmons gasped as May unwrapped Ward's makeshift sling. It was decent, May had to admit. It had held Simmons' arm in place and kept her shoulder from getting any worse. But a real sling would be better, and May was pretty sure she knew where one was.
"Is this your first dislocated shoulder?" May asked Simmons, trying to distract her from the pain. Simmons nodded, her eyes still clouded and a hundred miles away. "I don't remember my first dislocated shoulder. It must have been back when I first started at the Academy," May offered. Simmons focused on her.
"Did you always fight the way you do now?" she asked curiously. "You're amazing, of course, but is it raw talent or hard work, or a mix?"
"Definitely a mix," May replied, trying to find the sling. She didn't offer anything else. Simmons didn't push. "And what about your smarts?" May asked, finding the sling in the bottom of the pole. "Talent or hard work?"
"A mix as well." Simmons didn't add anything either, and May let it be. If she didn't want to talk about it, May wouldn't make her. That was Coulson's job, to push and pry without making it seem as though he was pushing and prying. May would leave Simmons alone.
"Here." May gently put Simmons' arm in the sling, wrapping it around her chest and pinning it there. "Is it too tight?" May asked, looking over it. Simmons shook her head. "You sure?"
"I'm sure," Simmons replied. "Thank you, Agent May."
"You should take some of these," May offered, holding out a bottle of painkillers. "Keep them in your room until you're better. You'll need them."
"Thank you," Simmons replied quietly. She and May stepped out of the room. May was expecting Fitz to be right there, but to her surprise, he was no where to be seen. From the look on Simmons' face, it was a shock to her as well.
"You should get some rest," May told Simmons, pushing aside the thought of Fitz's strange behavior. "You shouldn't use your shoulder or your left arm at all, if possible. You don't want to make it worse."
"Alright," Simmons agreed quietly, still seeming confused about Fitz's location. "Thank you, Agent May."
"I was glad to help," May replied, slightly surprised at how much she meant it. "Now go rest."
"I will," Simmons replied, walking off to her bunk as if in a daze. Working on a hunch, May went downstairs once Simmons was settled, checking in the lab. Sure enough, Fitz was in there, working on some sort of test.
"Fitz!" May called. Fitz jumped and looked up at her. "I think Simmons is looking for you."
"I'm working," Fitz replied, looking back down to what he was doing. May frowned. That wasn't the response she had been expecting. But it wasn't her place to interfere, so she didn't, going back up to the cockpit. This new business with Fitz and Simmons was strange, but it wouldn't stop her from doing her job.
But it was unnerving, May admitted to herself as she got settled in the pilot's seat. Fitz and Simmons were so close they sometimes seemed to be one person. May could count on one hand the amount of times she had even seen them annoyed at each other, much less angry and avoiding each other. Not that Simmons appeared to be angry, not yet. But if Fitz persisted in avoiding her, May had no doubt that Simmons would become angry at him before too long. She wasn't one to deal with anyone bullshit, even Fitz's. She wouldn't let him get away with it for too long. May liked that about her.
May sighed as she settled in, ready to pilot the plane until she was called for. Fitz and Simmons' problem didn't include her, and hopefully, she wouldn't feel its effects. Unless she did, it wasn't her problem.
"Simmons?" Coulson asked, knocking on her door. "Agent Simmons? May I have a word?"
"Of course, sir." The door to Simmons' bunk opened, revealing her behind it. She was wearing a sling and she looked exhausted. Coulson felt bad for keeping her from resting, but he had to talk to her about the mission with Ward.
"What's the problem, sir?" Simmons asked, trying to hide a yawn and doing a fairly terrible job of it. Coulson gestured for her to sit down.
"I need you to look at a few things that you and Ward recovered," Coulson told her. "After you've had some rest, of course. You and Fitz will be working together on it." At this point, saying that was basically a formality; Fitz and Simmons always worked together. Coulson wasn't even sure why he continued to make the distinction.
"Of course, sir," Simmons replied, nodding. "Unless that will disturb what Fitz is working on now?" Coulson frowned a bit.
"Fitz isn't working on anything for me currently," he replied. Simmons' face fell slightly.
"Oh."
"You know, I figured Fitz would be with you," Coulson added. Simmons smiled tightly.
"He must be busy," she replied. Coulson nodded. He wasn't sure why Fitz would be busy, but that was the only explanation.
"Well, do you think you'll be well enough tomorrow to look over the data?" Coulson asked Simmons in an attempt to change the subject. Talking about Fitz seemed to be making Simmons upset for a reason Coulson couldn't quite understand.
"Oh, I think so," Simmons replied. She looked a bit distracted. Coulson decided she had to be tired and stepped out of her room.
"Good. I'll see you tomorrow, then." Simmons nodded and went back over to her bed. Coulson closed her door.
"Why is Fitz busy?" he whispered to himself as he walked away. He abruptly changed direction to go down to the lab. Whatever Fitz was doing, Coulson wanted to know why it was more important than Simmons. He couldn't imagine what it could be, which meant the research had to be very important and very time-sensitive.
In the lab, Fitz was bent over a microscope, examining something. "What're you doing?" Coulson asked nonchalantly. Fitz looked up immediately, surprise on his face.
"Oh. Hello, sir. I just have to finish looking at this sample. It'll fall apart if I don't stabilize it soon."
Well, that explained why Fitz hadn't rushed up to Simmons. Coulson was sure he'd go up to her after. "That's fine," Coulson told Fitz with a nod. "When you're done, you should go see Simmons. She's in her room."
"Oh." Fitz's body language screamed reluctance. Coulson revised his assessment of the situation. Maybe there was more than he thought originally. "She's probably sleeping. I shouldn't disturb her."
"Did something happen between you two?" Coulson asked, frowning. Fitz shook his head furiously.
"No, nothing. Of course not. I just wouldn't want to wake her up after a long day."
"Sure." Coulson didn't believe one word of what Fitz was saying. "She's going to come down and work with you tomorrow, so you can just pop in tonight if she's awake and then work with her tomorrow."
"Great," Fitz replied. He wasn't very good at faking enthusiasm. Coulson frowned as he walked away. It was almost uncomfortable for Fitz and Simmons to be angry with each other. Or not angry, perhaps; they didn't seem angry. Simmons did, a little, but not Fitz. He seemed to be feelings something else, something Coulson couldn't name. Coulson couldn't quite place what was going on, but he knew he didn't like it. His science team was so close they were commonly referred to by one name. He didn't want something coming between them.
"Sir?" Coulson jumped and turned around to see May behind him. "Were you talking to Fitz?"
"Yeah," Coulson replied, frowning slightly. "Is there something up with him?"
"He didn't visit Simmons," May replied. It was a testament to the friendship between the two scientists that May didn't need to say anything more.
"Why?" Coulson asked. May shrugged.
"I don't know. But it's making me uncomfortable." Coulson knew it had to be really unnerving May for her to say anything, which meant it was bad. He agreed; it was. Having Fitz and Simmons avoiding each other was strange and rather disconcerting. Coulson disliked it.
"It's not our place to interfere," Coulson replied. May nodded. This was Fitz and Simmons' problem, and they had to deal with it themselves.
"Hey, Fitz?" Skye knocked on the door to the lab as she entered. "What's up?"
"I'm busy," Fitz replied curtly. Skye raised an eyebrow.
"Whoa, sorry," she replied, holding her hands up in a gesture of surrender. "I just kinda figured you'd be with Simmons."
"Why does everyone assume that?" Fitz demanded. "We're not attached at the hip, you know."
"You kinda are," Skye replied with a grin. Fitz didn't seem to find it amusing.
"Well, here's proof we're not. I have work to do, excuse me."
"Whoa, Fitz!" Skye sank down in one of the chairs, arching an eyebrow. "What's with Mr. Grumpy-pants?"
"Skye, please. I have work to do." Fitz turned away, studiously not looking at Skye. She didn't allow it.
"Fitz, something's up. Tell me what's wrong."
"Nothing is wrong, Skye!" Fitz snapped, turning around with a furious look on his face. "Now, would you leave me alone?"
Skye took a step backwards. "Okay, fine," she relented, seeing that Fitz's mood was not one to be crossed. "I'm gonna go check on Simmons."
Fitz's back went stiff. Skye waited for more of a reaction, but nothing happened. With a sigh, she left the lab, going upstairs. If she couldn't get a reaction out of Fitz, she'd try to get one out of Simmons.
Ward, May, and Coulson had all told her about the weirdness that had been happening between Fitz and Simmons since the mission. They were all refraining from interfering (at least too much), but Skye didn't have the same morals as the rest of the team, apparently, as she had absolutely no problem with interfering.
Simmons was asleep when Skye hacked into the cameras to check, so that part of Skye's plan was scrapped pretty quickly. Still, if she couldn't interfere with Fitz and Simmons directly, maybe she convince one of the others to help her out. The best choice would probably be Coulson; Skye could spin it like something he'd have to take care of as their leader, and then he'd feel duty-bound to do something. Skye didn't think she could get anything past May, and this didn't seem to be a thing Ward would involve himself in. Coulson it was.
"Coulson, have you noticed that Fitz is being super weird?" Skye asked as she strolled nonchalantly into Coulson's office. Coulson frowned.
"I have," he replied. "Has he still not gone to visit Simmons?"
"No," Skye replied. "And I don't like it. Something's up."
"Skye," Coulson sighed, turning to give Skye a look. "I'm not interfering."
"Come on, Coulson!" Skye protested. "We need to do something!"
"Whatever Fitz's problem is, he can handle it by himself," Coulson replied firmly. "We're not getting involved. That goes for you too, Skye. Don't mess with them."
"You're no fun," Skye muttered, leaving Coulson's office. As she approached the living area, she saw Fitz knock on Simmons' door and immediately ducked out of sight.
It seemed interfering wasn't necessary after all.
Simmons woke slowly, the pain from her shoulder slowly becoming more and more apparent the longer she tried to resist getting up. Finally, she opened her eyes and reached for the bottle of painkillers.
"Here," a voice said softly. Simmons jumped when she noticed Fitz, holding the bottle of painkillers out for her. "And here's some water too," he added, extending his other hand. Simmons accepted both the water and the pills, a little confused.
"What are you doing in here?" she asked, taking two of the painkillers. Fitz shifted.
"You were out in the field."
"Astute observation," Simmons replied dryly. She really wasn't in the mood to watch Fitz dance around a topic.
"And you got injured," Fitz added. Simmons nodded. "And it wasn't serious, but it could have been. You never should have gone out into the field. We never should have joined this mission."
"Fitz, I wasn't badly hurt," Simmons replied reassuringly. Honestly, she was just glad Fitz was talking to her again. "And I had Agent Ward out there to protect me."
"But what if you had been hurt seriously?" Fitz half-shouted. "What if you had died? You could have died!"
"Fitz," Simmons began, but Fitz cut her off.
"What if you ended up in a coma as well?" he yelled. Simmons went silent. Fitz was breathing hard, but he didn't say anything else.
"As well?" Simmons finally asked quietly. Fitz sighed.
"I had a friend, back at Sci-Ops. Remember Vanessa? She was a physicist."
"I remember her," Simmons replied. Fitz tugged at the collar of his shirt nervously.
"She graduated two years before us and went out on a field mission. She got hurt and she's been in a coma ever since. The doctors aren't sure if she's ever going to wake up."
"Oh, Fitz," Simmons sighed softly. She hadn't known Vanessa very well, but what she did remember of the girl was that she and Fitz were good friends. The discovery of her fate put a lot of things into focus for Simmons.
"Is that why you don't like it when I go out into the field?" Simmons asked, sitting up. Fitz buried his face in his hands.
"Even when you're not hurt, you could be," he told Simmons, his voice muffled by his hands. "And this time you were hurt. What if, next time, you get badly hurt? What if you hit your head, or you break your neck, or-"
"Fitz, I could hit my head by slipping in the lab," Simmons interrupted. "I could break my neck falling down the stairs. You can't put me in a bubble to keep me from getting hurt."
"But going out on a mission is just tempting fate," Fitz retorted, looking up. "You're a lot less likely to get shot on the BUS than out on a mission you're not qualified for."
"I passed my field assessment!" Simmons shot back. "And you didn't, but you still go out in the field!"
"Only when I have to!" Fitz half-shouted. "I don't jump for the opportunity, like you jumped to get this assignment-"
"We were going to be stagnant at the Academy otherwise!" Simmons snapped. "What was I supposed to do, pass up the opportunity of a lifetime?"
"I don't want you getting hurt!"
"I don't want you getting hurt either!"
"At least I don't seek it out!"
"At least I'm not a coward!"
Fitz flinched as if Simmons had struck him. Simmons leaned back, sighing.
"I didn't mean that," she murmured. "I'm sorry."
"I should leave," Fitz murmured, standing. "I... See you around."
"Fitz, wait!" Simmons cried, grabbing Fitz's arm before he could leave the room. "Fitz, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that, I was just angry. But I want to help out with the team. Sometimes, that means field missions." Fitz pulled his arm out of Simmons' grip.
"I understand," he murmured. Simmons watched as he turned and left, closing the door behind him.
She had screwed up, and she had to find a way to make it right.
Fitz was futilely trying to continue with an experiment when the doors to the lab slid open. He assumed it was another member of the team, trying to interfere as Skye had done, and thus ignored whoever came in.
"I talked to Agent Coulson," Simmons said quietly. Fitz whirled around to find that it had been she who entered the lab, not meeting Fitz's eye, her arm still held in a sling.
"About what?" Fitz replied, crossing the room to pull out a chair for Simmons.
"About going out into the field," Simmons replied, sitting down. "I'm not going out until my shoulder is fully healed, no matter how important the mission. And I'm not going out into the field unless it's absolutely necessary. I told Coulson I don't feel comfortable going out in the field too much, since I'm not very well qualified for it, and he accepted it."
"But that's not true," Fitz replied, frowning with confusion.
"You're not comfortable with it, so I'm not comfortable with it," Simmons replied simply. "I also talked to Agent May, and she said she would help to train me when we have time, so I can be more prepared in case I do have to go into the field. She's willing to help train you as well. I assume Coulson would be too. Ward's probably busy with Skye, but if you ask, he might give you a few pointers."
"Simmons..." Fitz murmured. Simmons looked down.
"If you don't want to train, you don't have to. I just thought it was a good idea."
"It's brilliant," Fitz replied emphatically. "You're brilliant, Jemma."
"So are you, Leo," Simmons replied, bumping her uninjured shoulder against Fitz's. "Now, what are you working on?"
"I've started to analyze the data you and Ward collected..." Fitz began, bringing Simmons over to the data. For the next few hours, they worked together with their usual efficiency, Simmons' immobile arm barely a setback as Fitz effortlessly compensated for it. By the time Coulson came down to check on their progress a few hours later, they had analyzed most of the data and were going through the other information that had been collected while the last of the data ran through the algorithm Fitz had created for it.
"I see you two are working together again," Coulson remarked. Fitz looked down, embarrassed. "It's nice to see you two have stopped fighting. It was making everyone on the BUS feel uncomfortable."
"And you didn't even need me to interfere," Skye added, leaning in the doorway. Coulson rolled his eyes.
"Have you two got anything for me?" Coulson asked Fitz and Simmons. Immediately, they began telling Coulson about their findings, their voices overlapping as usual. Skye giggled as she watched them.
"Back to normal," she muttered. Fitz couldn't help but smile as well.
They were back to normal, and Fitz was glad of it.