Hello! Just a little something I wrote after watching that scene in 1x06 where Fitz says Jemma dragged him into the field. That got me imagining how the actual thing happened, so I wrote my version of it. Also, I had a lot of help from my friend Be ( lovegkp on Twitter). Hope you enjoy!
Primarily, Fitz thought Simmons was only late. However, that wasn't natural for her, to begin with; he was sure something was wrong with his lab partner after the repair of one of their D.W.A.R.F. drones took him almost two hours, and she still hadn't arrived.
This part deserves a bit of explanation. The day before, Fitz had just finished building in a new functionality in one of the drones, Bashful. When he tried to run a test, he noticed an unseen problem in the drone's control, which was too late, since it occurred to him two seconds after Bashful vigorously hit the glass walls of the lab. During the time he had to wait for Jemma to arrive, as he didn't want to start the work by himself, he fixed Bashful's control management and the physical consequences of the impact in its structure.
A few seconds after he thinks about going outside to look for her, a breathless Jemma storms into the lab, holding a white briefcase with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s black logo printed on its cover.
"Where were you?" Fitz fails trying to hide his relief.
"You are not going to believe this," she answers between deep breaths.
Jemma locks the lab door using her pass code, and looks around as if she's afraid that someone might be watching them, which is ridiculous seeing that there's absolutely no one around, and even if there was, they wouldn't be able to hear a single word.
"What happened?" he gets impertinent.
When she finally stops wandering neurotically, her face lightens up with a shiny smile as she looks at him.
"Why are you so frantic?"
Jemma walks toward him and, in a mysterious tone, asks such an obvious question that Fitz instantly acknowledges something bigger is going on.
"Do you remember agent Coulson?"
"Yes, of course" He answers, clueless. "How could I possibly forget about such a tragic loss for S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
Jemma smirks. Fitz is getting seriously impatient, almost to the point where he just wants to yell at her to tell him whatever it is already.
"What I'm about to tell you is level 7."
"Level seven?" His jaw drops. "What could you add since we already know how he died? I mean, how he was harshly stabbed with a Chitauri scepter…"
Jemma looks around yet again, which still is completely unnecessary, unless she's afraid the lab rats would reach clearance level 7.
"He's alive."
Fitz's eyes widen like they're about to jump out of his face and he gasps.
"Wait a second," he asks for what he needs to process the information. "You're telling me Phil Coulson didn't die before the Battle of New York?"
"His first name is agent", she jokes, but Fitz is too surprised to laugh. They've met agent Coulson a few times before the battle. That had been enough for them to notice what a great guy he was. "I just talked to him!"
"You saw him? Why— what were you doing up there?" Fitz starts babbling without stopping to take a breath. "Are the Avengers aware of that?"
"No." Jemma can barely contain her smile.
"We're on a higher clearance level than the Avengers?! That is bloody unbelievable!"
"Want to know who told me that?" She waits, but Fitz doesn't try to guess, probably because he's too astonished to deal with her constant enthusiasm. "Agent Hill herself."
"Are you joking?" It's a rhetorical question. She definitely isn't joking about anything, although the news is so overwhelming she barely believes it herself. "I haven't seen her personally, not even once!"
"There's more." Jemma opens the briefcase and finds a photo.
"What, you also had a cup of tea with Natasha Romanoff?" Finally he lets out his sarcasm.
Jemma ignores the comment—even though it would've been pretty nice to meet Romanoff—and holds the picture in front of her so Fitz can take a look.
"Agent Coulson wants us to join his new team."
"His new what? When— how?" Fitz kind of starts freaking out and points at the picture. "And how does this plane fit into this story?"
"I present you the Airborne Mobile Command Station, also known as the Bus." Jemma gestures around the picture, smiling like she's telling him the funniest internal joke ever. He doesn't get it. "This incredible plane is where the team will work and live. Including us, in case you're willing to join, which I hope you are."
"Live? In a plane? You mean, while it's actually flying?"
"Of course, Fitz! Why would someone live in a plane if it's collecting dust in the airbase?"
"Well, I have no idea, shouldn't you enlighten me? What are we both supposed to do on this team?"
"The same work we do here, except we wouldn't be stuck in a lab anymore." Seeing the indecision in his expression, Jemma adds, in that voice that makes it harder for him to refuse anything she asks: "Oh, Fitz, It's the most perfect opportunity for us to see the world!"
For a brief moment, he stops the inquiry. He glances at her, then at the picture of the airplane, and finally sets eyes on the ground between their feet.
"Don't give me that face. What is it, Leo?"
"Nothing," he murmurs, clearly bothered. "I just hadn't realized you were so eager to explore the world.
"Don't get me wrong." Jemma says, even though she knows it's pointless. Other people may misunderstand her sometimes, but Fitz doesn't, ever. He's merely being stubborn, and starting an argument isn't going to help much. "What I'm trying to say is, I think we'd be fools to pass this one up, but…" She hesitates, looking down. "If you're not coming with me, I'm not going either."
It's not like Fitz ever thought that Jemma would go without him, but hearing it coming out of her mouth softens him. Also, there's the evident fact that she wants to take the offer. She wants it bad. He could see it in her eyes. Hell, anyone could see it; they're glowing and not just because she just came out of a level 7 briefing. He knows her well enough to be certain she'd love to travel the globe, despite the part where she lives in an airplane. A beautiful, high-tech Boeing aircraft.
"I have more questions."
"I'm sure you do. Ask away!" Jemma gets even more excited as Fitz shows tiny signs that he's starting to actually consider the idea.
The thought of having to put up with Jemma every time she'd remind him of this lost opportunity in case they declined it has a huge weight on his decision. The two scientists take seats near the lab bench, and they go through some other pictures of the inside of the plane while talking.
"Why weren't I briefed along with you?" He suddenly asks, because the question was disturbing him since she arrived.
"Trust me, don't be mad about not meeting agent Hill. I felt like she was staring at my soul." The answer is clearly not enough for him, who keeps staring at her, waiting for more. "She told me that it would be better if I talked to you first." Jemma decides not to mention that agent Hill added an observation based on their psychological profiles, saying it would be impossible to have a typical briefing with the both of them together, since they usually start discussing everything in a way that outsiders can't understand a word. "If you accept, you'll be briefed too, and we're having field assessments—"
"How in hell would we—"
"Let me finish!" Jemma cuts him off. "The field assessments are just a formality. Coulson already knows we won't pass, unlike the other two field agents."
"Did they tell you who those two happen to be?"
Jemma frowns. She hates saying it as much as she hates hearing it, which happens frequently given their line of work:
"That's classified. Yet!" She quickly adds. "We'll obviously find out on Friday."
The two of them spend probably more time than they should talking about the subject of the team. From what Jemma says, agent Coulson is putting together a hand-picked group of agents, that he will head in missions related to people with super powers and "that kind of cool stuff" (her words). She's practically bouncing on her chair, so fascinated she looks like a kid who has never been out of her house and is getting the chance to go outside. The last time she was this thrilled was… Perhaps a few hours ago when she found out agent Coulson isn't dead. Her reaction must have been priceless, he thinks.
Whilst watching Jemma speaking non-stop about everything related to Coulson and the Bus, Fitz can't help but wonder something. Is she really not even a bit worried, or is she managing to hide it successfully? Everything can't be as wonderful as the look on her face makes it seem. Jemma was right—it is, indeed, an once-in-a-lifetime type of thing. But working with field agents in those missions is dangerous. She's always been way more adventurous than him (something he'd never admit), which explains why she doesn't mention the downsides involved in the task even once. There was a lot more concerning this job besides simply going from their usual lab to a mobile one. Eventually, they were going to have to go into the field for some reason, and the pure thought of that kind of makes Fitz cringe (another thing he'd never admit). They're used to being handed the work and hardly ever doing something on location. They're not the kind of people who fight the bad guys; actually, they're more like the ones who'd certainly run away as fast as they can.
All of a sudden, Fitz notices Jemma glaring at him insistently. Her expression is a mix of excitement with a bit of concern. He realizes she can grasp the tone of his thoughts, although she doesn't know exactly what they are. They've known each other for so long, barely looking at his face is enough for Jemma to be sure that he's mentally listing all the pros and cons of the opportunity they were given. He's regularly the one who sees the downsides first.
At the same time, Jemma is clearly so hopeful, he just isn't able to ruin that.
"Wow, this plane is amazing", he says, grabbing one of the pictures on the table. "It even has a mini-bar!"
"I know, right?" Her smile widens again. "So, are you in? I mean, are we in?"
He frowns, a little bit reluctant. The idea of living in a plane with other agents, he has to admit, isn't the most pleasing. The idea of doing this with Jemma, on the other hand, is quite mind-changing. So, instead of giving her a final word, he tries to stall a bit.
"If you could get S.H.I.E.L.D. to let me have a trained, brave monkey, that would be very helpful, to be honest." He says, in order to annoy her, and it works, but she just rolls her eyes. "Do we have any time to think?"
"The team will leave on Friday. You have less than two days to decide, so make it quick."
For a moment, they just look at each other, until Fitz breaks it and stares at the ground.
"So…" He starts, but she doesn't let him finish.
"Please, Fitz, consider the offer wholeheartedly!" She begs. "There are going to be field agents who will protect us. No need to be afraid."
"I am not afraid", he guarantees. "I'm purely acknowledging all the facts, while you seem to be about to start packing."
She grins. Bloody hell, how could Fitz possibly say no to that?!
"I promise I will think about it, Jem. Now let's get to work, we don't get the luxury to spend the entire day making trip plans."
The next day, a Thursday, Jemma decides not to bring up the subject that's all over her mind, in order to give Fitz some space to make his decision. He obviously finds it weird, but doesn't dare to say a word involving agent Coulson or a certain airplane. However, after lunch, Fitz says he's going to the restroom, but doesn't return for some time. Jemma waits, glassy-eyed. What could he possibly be doing in the restroom this long?
Her timing is perfect. After what must be more than an hour, when she opens the lab door and walks on the hallway to try and find her partner, she sees him coming in her direction. He's holding what looks like two cardboard boxes, one inside another.
"I'm afraid to ask you what the hell you were doing", she says, walking toward him. "Where were you for the past hour? And what are those boxes for?"
Fitz smiles. That's it. His smile is enough to make Jemma almost sure of what just happened. She definitely wasn't expecting that, though.
"I was just briefed. By agent Maria Hill. For God's sakes, Jemma, you were right. Her look scared the hell out of me. She started with all that Battle of New York talk, the strange stuff the world is seeing, the alien invasion and all that—"
"Wait," Jemma raises her hand and interrupts him, or he'll keep detailing everything agent Hill said for the next half hour. "Does this mean…"
Fitz takes one of the cardboard boxes and hands it to Jemma. With a grin on his face, he says:
"Shall we start packing?"
This is the first time I've ever tried writing fanfiction in English, which isn't my first language, so thank you so much for reading! :)