She'd been tied to a wall inside a small privately owned warehouse, wearing a dress that seemed to be made of burlap, with a flower chain threaded into her hair, wrists and ankles sliced up like someone had gotten a bit too knife happy on her. She was hardly conscious, but she lifted her head and managed to lazily look around her, seemingly unsurprised to see the blood dripping from her wrists to the floor, forming a crimson puddle at her feet.
"Oh, hey guys, can you untie me or something?" She sounded far too calm, and if any of them had to guess, they'd say she had to be in shock. Ward and May glanced around any sign of their potential murderer, but he didn't seem to have stuck around.
"Where-?"
"Gone." She let out an unsteady breath of air and tried to tug against her ropes.
Ward pulled out a pocket knife to cut her down, but she flinched backwards into the wall and he instantly realised his mistake, slipping it back into his pockets and trying to untie them the old fashioned way. May came to her other side and began working on the rope around her middle, trying to be as gentle as possible on the shivering girl.
"Oh Skye, what happened?" Jemma asked, as she tried to put pressure on her wounded wrists, and Skye just gave her a dull smile.
"Later. When I'm not so sleepy,"
Jemma's eyes widened as Skye's eyelids slid shut, and she and Fitz were quick to bind he wrists and ankles with hastily done bandages. Coulson finally pushed himself out of his pit of self blame and anger, and called out to her.
"Skye, you need to stay awake. Open your eyes, Skye. Now." He was almost shouting at her, and her eyes snapped open so she could glare at him, her ropes releasing her, and she fell against Ward's chest, May on her other side trying to hold her steady.
"Jeez, Coulson." She grumbled, but she seemed to have realised that he was right because she had begun trying to keep her eyelids open. She pushed herself away from Ward though, as the very real possibility of her dying seemed to hit her, and she reached out a very white, very weak hand, and tried to pull Jemma towards her. The biochemist wasted no time giving her her complete attention, and trying to offer up a reassuring smile.
"All's going to be well, Skye. Really." She said nervously, trying to keep the fear from her eyes, the bus mere metres away now. She didn't expect Skye's smile to brighten, and her weak arm to wrap around her.
"I wanna walk with Jemma," She pouted as she felt resistance from Ward, "Lemme walk with her." Skye tried again to tighten her grip on the other girl, but her hands had gone numb, probably from blood loss, and she glanced behind her at the area she'd been tied and left to die, trying with squinting eyes to guess exactly how much blood had been drained from her body. It looked like a lot. Huh. Turning her gaze back in front of her, she noticed May and Coulson boarding the Bus, May obviously rushing off to start the engine or whatever the hell got planes in the air, she was too worn out to consider it really, and Coulson was in the lab, pulling out medical supplies and…a blood bag? Yes, yes good idea. Four for you Coulson, you go AC. She faltered a bit as she realised her thoughts were wondering from what she had wanted to do in what could very well be her last moments, and she turned her eyes back to Jemma. God, she was breath taking. She had to admit that if Jemma was the last thing she saw, she'd die happy.
Fitz gave Ward a frown, both of them knowing well enough that if Skye let go of Ward and only had Jemma for support, she'd collapse. "Er, wha' about sharin', Skye?" He suggested, and Skye gave him a raised eyebrow in return.
"But I need to tell her something and I don't want you guys to hear," She insisted, giving Ward another futile push. Damn, that guy was firmer than a fricken wall. Or maybe she was just losing all of her strength and slowly dying. Nope, don't think like that. "I need to,"
"We're not going anywhere, so if you've got something to say Rookie, you may as well say it." Ward seemed to rethink what he said though, because he added with a grimace, "As long as its not a dirty joke." She'd developed a habit of telling them whenever they were in danger, he supposed she was trying to lighten the mood but it usually just made him cringe.
She giggled in remembrance and shook her head, not noticing that her head lulled a bit to the side seconds later, and damn he was glad that they were in the lab now, lowering her onto the bench as Coulson carefully attached the blood bag via a needle into her arm, and Jemma started to properly treat her ankles.
"No joke," She mused, and then frowned. "Can you do my wrist first so I can tell you?"
Jemma thought she was just a little bit delirious, but decided to humour her, getting back on her feet and taking the wrist that had been offered to her, wincing in horror at the cuts beneath the bandage. They looked worse in the bright light of the lab.
"These must have hurt quite a lot," She murmured, looking at Skye sympathetically, Fitz handing her the suture kit.
"Yeah, you look a right bloody mess," Fitz agreed, and was met with a scowl from both girls because that is definitely not the right thing to say. He raised his hands in surrender, blushing in embarrassment, and came to stand by the still very broody Coulson.
"I wanted to say," Skye's eyes were glued to Jemma's, obviously not reassured of her life by the bloodbag and sutures, and a million different ways to phrase what she is thinking shot through her mind, before she gave up and blundered it instead. YOLO or whatever. "You look really, really hot in your lab coat." Nope, that wasn't quite what she had wanted to say, and she hated that her instincts were to hide it when she felt strong emotions towards someone.
Fitz choked on air and Coulson cleared his throat uncomfortably, Ward just pretending he hadn't heard a thing. He was good like that. Jemma, however, was gaping at her.
"Sorry, I'm not altogether sure that I heard you correctly," She said after a moment, her cheeks flushed red and her voice breaking half way through the sentence. Surely Skye hadn't just told her she was attractive. Then again, perhaps Skye knew of her feelings and was trying to make her happy in what she thought was the end. How utterly Skye of her.
"I think you did. I said you were hot. But that wasn't what I was going to-ouch!" Skye seemed to be regaining a touch of colour, but still looked exhausted, and Jemma had been focused on that rather than remembering the numbing Agent for her second wrist, a stupid mistake really.
"I'm so sorry," She gasped, Fitz stifling a chuckle with his fist as Jemma fumbled for the small glass bottle and a needle, feeling very silly.
"S'okay, just hurt." Skye pouted, and Jemma forced herself not to look at the hacker's face so as not to be distracted again. Skye was not on the same page though. "Anyway, I was going to tell you that I love you, only it was meant to come out sweet or something instead of all pervy and-"
"You are AWFULLY talkative for someone in your condition!" Jemma's voice came out high pitched and uncomfortable, and Coulson sighed and gave Ward the signal to leave, after all Skye was in good hands and things were only going to get even awkwarder. Fitz followed their lead, winking at Jemma on his way out, not at all subtley.
"Didn't wanna leave without getting it out in the open," Skye shrugged, and then winced at the pain shrugging caused her. "You haven't said anything. Pretty sure this is the part where you say it back." She'd obviously come to the edge of conciousnous now, if the tone of her voice was anything to go by. Jemma tied off the last suture on her left wrist, and gave Skye a tentative smile.
"I'll say it back if you stand by what you've said in the morning. Which I rather doubt you will." She told her, pecking her on the cheek and dropping down to the girl's ankles, removing the bandages to properly stitch them up, and Skye laid back on the bench, sighing.
"This is not what I thought of when I imagined you between my legs." She half mumbled, almost asleep now. She wasn't conscious long enough to see Jemma jump at that, turn bright red, and hit her head in her haste to move to a more respectful distance.
When she woke up, she felt like death. Her wrists and ankles ached, her chest ached, and the light shining in through the curtain was most certainly not welcome. Groaning, she forced her eyes open to take in her surroundings. On the bright side, she wasn't dead, but she was in so much pain that she couldn't sit up, let alone cover the plane window in her bunk.
"Oh, wonderful, you're awake," Jemma smiled from beside her, and she couldn't help her usual reaction to Jemma's smiles, a rather bright one of her own.
"Can you do something about the sun?" her throat was painfully dry too, but she didn't want Jemma to leave the room for a glass of water, because if the blush and her unsteady hands were anything to go by, she was a nervous wreck.
"Of course, yes, right away." She jumped to her feet, and being as clumsy as she'd become whenever in Skye's presence, manages to smack into the tiny chest of drawers in the five feet between Skye's bed and the window.
She didn't bother to hide her smirk, even as Jemma turned back around to seat herself again, still as red as a tomato. Cutie.
"Thanks. I think you owe me something, by the way. I'm all sore and achy in places I didn't even know could be sore and achy, I think I've earned it." She waggled her eyebrows at her, but Jemma seemed to be too worried to get what she meant.
"Of course, Morphine-"
"I meant what we talked about last ni-wahay, we have the good stuff up here?" Her eyes widened eagerly, but Jemma gave her a sharp look, as if to say that she shouldn't be calling it 'the good stuff' and she'd definitely not be getting any of it now. then her expression changed, as though she were recalling the first half of the sentence, and she'd turned right back into a blushing stammering mess.
"Oh, you…you weren't just, a little bit…confused, then?" She asked timidly, fiddling with the buttons on her wrist cuffs, eyes moving from the cuffs to Skye's face.
"Nope. Don't keep me waiting, I know you feel the same." She pressed, and again tried to push herself up, but her shredded wrists refused to co operate and she sunk back into the mattress, annoyed. she couldn't even touch her face, make the first move, and Skye was a woman of impulse, damn it.
"You're very sure of yourself," Jemma teased, moving just a bit closer to the head of the bed, grinning as Skye was obviously struggling with being bedridden. She could only imagine the complaining she'd have to endure for the next few days, perhaps even weeks.
"You're the smartest person I know, Jem, but whenever i'm around you stutter and turn red and manage to trip over almost everything, how could I not be sure?" Skye teased back, wondering if she looked awful lying flat with bed hair and bandaged up. Maybe the sight of her like this was a huge turn off for Jemma. The thought caused her to pause, and glance worriedly at the biochemist, who caught the look and leaned in, almost nervously. Skye wondered if she'd ever kissed a girl before, but looking the way she did, she probably had.
Jemma's lips were far too soft, and it was just an innocent, gentle peck, but Skye's whole upper body tried to rise up as Jemma pulled away, to prolong the moment, and Jemma giggled as Skye opened her eyes and smiled dreamily.
"That was really good." She breathed, "Do it again."
"Skye, you're not well, you need to be resting not kissing."
"Kissing is a form of resting," She tried to argue, but she knew she had already lost.
"Kissing may be, but I think we both know what kinds of thoughts you have. It wouldn't help if I was actually encouraging something that you wouldn't be able to…" And her face was red again. Skye wondered absently if Jemma would ever be comfortable talking about these kinds of things, and determined that she would set out to make it her mission.
"You're such a prude." She smirked, 'Hey, did they find mister Psychopath?" She can see flashes in her mind of him reciting something that she thought might be a bible verse, and stringing her up on the wall, telling her she was going to be a sacrifice to God, and her telling him quite snarkily that she was no virgin so she wasn't so sure that was going to work, but things got kind of hazy after he started hacking at her wrists with a butterfly blade. The whole time she'd said her team was coming, and they had. Her heart began to swell a bit, as she realized that they had searched for her, found her, patched her up, and just generally loved her. Some in different ways than the others, but still. She had a family, now.
"Oh, yes, he's being held at the hub now. They've already started interrogating him, apparently you were his first…er, murder attempt," She noticed Jemma's avoidance of the word Victim, and she appreciated it. "He won't be hurting anybody else."
Skye found herself grinning, wide and untamed. "Awesome. I got my team, I got the girl, and I'm practically an invalid, so you'll have to feed me and give me kisses and help me troll reddit. Life is good."
Jemma beamed and tucked a lock of chocolate hair behind Skye's ear. "Yes, it is."
