Jemma Simmons rounded the corner, walking with a purposeful stride. She peered through the glass door of the lab that had once been so familiar to her, hoping to find the person she had come here to talk to. That person happened to be none other than her best friend and former partner in science - Leo Fitz. Unsurprisingly to her, she saw him instantly.

Of course Fitz was there, working away in the lab as per usual. He seemed so focused on the task at hand - she'd hate to disturb him! Although their most recent conversation weighed heavily on her heart, she knew that it was probably best to give him some space and let him continue tinkering with whatever gadget he was currently fixated on.

She sighed. So much for that.

Just as she was about to walk away, Fitz happened to turn around and catch a glimpse of her through the glass pane. His mouth widened in surprise.

Simmons froze in place as she watched him get up from his workstation and walk over to the other side of the lab. The door slid open.

"Uh, Simmons." Fitz said, surprise evident in his tone. "Did you – did you need something?"

Simmons took a shaky breath before she spoke, thinking her words over.

"Actually, well," - she hesitated for a moment - "I came to apologize."

She looked at Fitz carefully, trying to read his reaction.

"Oh, now you want to apologize? You seemed pretty sure of yourself yesterday."

He turned his back to her and began walking back into the lab. Simmons followed behind him, not willing to let the conversation drop. She sighed.

"Wait, Fitz… just hear me out at least?"

Somewhat reluctantly, Fitz turned to face her again. They stood there looking at each other for a moment, neither saying a word.

"Well… go on then." He motioned for her to continue.

Simmons took a deep breath.

"You were right."

"What do you mean?"

"I may have… overreacted a tiny bit."

"Alright - I'm listening."

Fitz crossed his arms, looking directly at Simmons. She glanced at the ground, taking a moment to collect her thoughts before proceeding.

"What you said yesterday, well, it made me think. It's true that given recent happenings, I may seem like an entirely different person to you. But you have to understand - I'm not acting this way without reason! But the nature of what we're dealing with is something far beyond the scope of what could ever be quantified or explained by something simple such as science or medicine."

Fitz looked at her, his expression unchanged.

"And from my experiences it seems everyone who has been affected by such a," - she paused, searching for the appropriate term – "condition, has either gotten hurt through trying to manage it, or hurt other people. So naturally, I'm trying to do what's best for all of us."

Fitz looked at her and frowned.

"Is it really what's best, Simmons? Or is it just what you think is best."

The hurt in his tone was apparent. Simmons sighed.

"Look… I shouldn't have said I'm trying to fix Skye. Because truth is - she doesn't need fixing. Skye's not - broken. And neither are you."

"So what's brought on this sudden change of heart?"

"I've come to realize," Simmons said, brightness in her voice, "that change isn't necessarily a bad thing."

Her expression softened as she looked at Fitz.

"I spent all this time wanting things to go back to the way they were, instead of embracing how they've changed. Yes, you and Skye are different. But we all are now. It's inconceivable to have gone through everything we have and not be changed in some way."

"And Fitz-"

"Yes?"

Simmons sighed.

"I know things have been somewhat - rocky between us recently."

"Yeah, you could say that again."

"Fitz..."

"Point is, I know that a lot of things, including things between us, aren't how they once were. And I know that when I went off to go undercover at HYDRA, you thought I'd left because I couldn't handle being around you."

Fitz nodded.

"Sure seemed that way to me."

"But that's not it at all!" Simmons exclaimed

"Then what is it?"

Simmons took a deep breath.

"I left because I couldn't handle not being around you. Those nine days you were in a coma... those were the worst days of my life, Fitz. It seemed so wrong that I was alive and well when you were on the brink of death. And when you finally woke up, you were… different. You weren't the same Fitz I'd known since our days at the Academy and it terrified me because well, I felt like even though you were there, I'd still lost you. And I couldn't handle it. I couldn't deal with losing my best friend."

"You mean, it wasn't - it wasn't what I said to you in the pod that made you leave?"

Simmons's heart plummeted. She felt as if in that moment, the world had stopped turning. She closed her eyes. She'd been dreading this conversation. But as much as she hated it being brought up, she knew she couldn't avoid it forever.

"Well, I see the elephant in the room is finally being addressed."

Fitz looked around, confused.

"What elephant?"

"It's just a figure of speech, Fitz."

"Ah. Right. I knew that."

He nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

"Anyways, yes... your confession took me off guard. And everything was happening so fast, I didn't have time to process it all!"

Simmons began pacing around the lab, her heart pounding in her chest with every step she took.

"But since then, since that moment in the pod – there hasn't been a single day I haven't thought about it. I tried to forget at first, I really did, but I just couldn't block it out. That moment kept popping into my thoughts, haunting my memories. And I - I feel terrible that I never gave you an honest answer."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment before Fitz spoke up again.

"So what do you feel for me, Jemma?"

Simmons looked away from him, her eyes beginning to well up with tears.

"I don't - I don't know, Fitz! I'm trying to make sense of a lot right now, but -"

"But what?" he asked, expectantly.

"But at the very least… right now, my feelings for you are that of purely platonic love. Perhaps – perhaps in time they could become more but I value our friendship, I really do. And I – I was hoping that we could be friends again."

She paused, giving a moment for her words to sink in.

"Yeah, sure... friends. And see what happens from there, right?"

"Right, that's exactly it." Simmons smiled reassuringly at him.

"And Jemma –"

Fitz looked at her straight on.

"Yes?"

"You have to promise – no more secrets."

"Given the nature of our work, Fitz, I'm afraid that might not be possible."

"I mean secrets between us. I want to be able to trust you again."

The word "again" resonated in Simmons's head, stinging her slightly. They had been inseparable once. Would she ever be able to get back even a fraction of what they used to be?

"Alright," she agreed. "No more secrets."

She tentatively stepped forward, before embracing Fitz in a tight hug. Fitz hadn't been expecting it but he returned the gesture, hugging Simmons back.

"I've missed you," she said softly.

"I've missed you too, Jemma."