I don't own Agents of SHIELD and never will. No copyright infringement intended.
One of the first things Ward noticed after taking down Whitehall and rejoining the team (with Skye's biological father in tow) was the tension between Fitz and Jemma. He looked back and forth between the two as they pointedly ignored each other and felt his heart sink. What had he done? He knew he had fucked up badly – something he was trying to fix – but maybe it was worse than he thought. He pulled Trip and Bobbi aside for a quick conversation. "What's going on between FitzSimmons?" the worried Ward asked.
Trip raised an eyebrow. "You caught on pretty quickly then. Something just broke between them after the pod incident and now they're pretty much avoiding each other. Mack got involved, and now he and Simmons are fighting so it's probably best not to get involved."
Ward sighed. "Fuck, this is my fault." He hated himself even more for doing this to Fitz and Jemma and added it to the long list of actions he needed to redeem himself for.
"It is but you can fix it just like you want to with everything else. You and Skye's father managed to bring down Whitehall for good," Bobbi pointed out.
"I'll figure something out but I need to apologize first because this isn't going to work otherwise." The therapist Coulson set him up with him was helping but he still had a shitload of issues to work through. This was one roadblock they all needed to move past so they could be a family again. He looked up at Bobbi. "I'm sorry for threatening you on the bus. They were fake explosives – I never wanted to hurt anybody – but that's still no excuse for scaring you, Bobbi."
She smiled at him. "You're forgiven. Now go talk to the others," Bobbi encouraged. And he did exactly that after apologizing to Trip.
After Skye forgave him (which was something Ward never expected to happen and he was speechless for a few minutes afterwards), he went to May next because he needed to save FitzSimmons for last.
"You can make up for it with your actions, something you've already started by infiltrating Hydra. That's how I'll forgive you," May explained.
Ward wasn't surprised. "That's exactly what I plan to do."
"Good. Now stop stalling and go talk to FitzSimmons," May ordered.
He barked out a laugh. "Nice job not beating around the bush. I'll talk to you later." And then he hurried to the lab to find FitzSimmons. Ward wasn't shocked to find them working but he still did a double take when they made every effort to avoid bumping into each other or hold a conversation. "Hey, guys," he murmured softly.
Both heard him and their heads snapped up. "Do you need anything?" Jemma politely wondered.
Ward shook his head. "I just need to talk to you both."
Fitz looked down at his desk. "We are rather busy but I suppose I can take a small … break." He sat down in the chair and waited for Ward to begin speaking.
"I know that I fucked up badly and that it's just an excuse to say I was only trying to save you from Garrett but I never wanted to hurt you. It's my fault Fitz was hurt this badly and I'm so fucking sorry. And I'm not angry with you for turning down the oxygen in my cell because you deserved to get revenge. I won't blame you if you hate me for the rest of our lives because I'll deserve it but please don't be angry with each other." Damn it, now he was crying.
Ward set off Jemma and she sniffled. "How can I not have compassion for someone who was kidnapped and abused by a psychopath for fifteen years? I'm not heartless. Ward, I'll forgive you eventually and our problems have nothing – okay, partially – to do with you so don't worry about it. We'll work through them on our own." She leaned up and quickly hugged him.
Fitz snorted. "Yeah, okay. And as angry as I was, Ward, that doesn't make it right for me to do what I did so I guess we're even. Forgive me?"
"You have nothing to apologize for but of course." And then the two men hugged each other. Jemma rolled her eyes at the display of emotion and went back to her experiment.
Ward felt much better – lighter – after talking to them before returning to his room for the night. As per usual, nightmares overwhelmed him and he gave up on sleeping around three in the morning. He wandered in the kitchen, careful not to set off his new tracking bracelet (something Coulson insisted on and he didn't complain about) and made some coffee. He had to help fix Fitz and Jemma but he didn't know how. When Skye walked in around five, he grabbed a cup for her.
"You're giving me coffee as an apology?" she teased.
"Maybe. Is it working?"
"It just might be but ask me later once I've fully woken up." Skye yawned and then sat down next to him, surprising Ward.
He sighed and started playing with a napkin left on the table. "It's my fault FitzSimmons are like this and I need to help but I can't figure anything out. Locking them in a closet is just stupid". The guilt welled up again and he tried not to let it pull him back down to rock bottom because he couldn't live like that anymore.
She placed her hand on top of his. "Don't let yourself drown in angst. You are not a monster, Grant Ward, and they know that. Fitz and Jemma have hit a rough patch and they might have to work through it themselves but you can interfere if you want. The rest of us are too scared to try because they'll bite our heads off."
Ward laughed. "Thanks for the advice. I'll figure something out and I'll let you know when I do." They weren't left alone for very long because the rest of the team soon joined them and he averted his eyes upon noticing Fitz and Jemma sit as far away from each other as possible.
Bobbi leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Don't."
"Don't what?" He stared at her in confusion.
"Think whatever you're thinking," chimed in Lance before leering at his ex-wife.
She rolled her eyes at him and then leaned back over to him. "Your jealousy is showing. Keep that up and we won't fuck in a government vehicle again," Bobbi warned.
He shut up immediately. "Sorry."
"You are aware that Skye and I are like right here and can hear you, right?" Ward cracked up at the looks on both their faces and then went back to eating his cereal.
"I'm going to help Mack today so you don't need to worry about me going missing, Jemma." Fitz stood up and headed to the sink to wash his bowl.
Ward felt a pang of guilt again but pushed it down. "I don't care what you do, Fitz. I don't need your help today," Jemma shot back.
"They need to stop this," Mack muttered under his breath. He knew he was partially at fault for at least one issue between Fitz and Jemma, which was something he needed to apologize for, but the two desperately needed to work out their problems. It was creating tension amongst the whole group.
"That's what's Ward plans to do from what I've heard. Good luck!" Trip smiled at him and then left the kitchen to go play a video game. He wanted nothing to do with this in case it blew up in all their faces.
Ward sighed and decided that his first step was to talk to Fitz by himself. An amused May crossed her eyes and grinned at him. "You need to get used to this."
"I'm going to need to talk to you later so come up to the office when you're done," Coulson told Ward.
"Will do, sir." He should be dreading it but he looked forward to the weekly conversations the director required of him now. It was part of his probation as an agent and he was up for anything to prove his worth.
After getting sidetracked by Skye, he may his way towards the garage and Ward's mouth dropped open when he walked in on Fitz and Mack making out. He cleared his throat and they sprung apart faster than he expected them to. "So how long has this been going on for?"
Fitz started stuttering – more out of fear than anything – so Mack took over for him. "We haven't been together that long – just a few weeks. It's new, which is why we haven't told anyone else. We were doing a pretty good job of hiding it – better than Bobbi and Hunter, anyway – until now." He scratched his neck and waited for Ward's response.
He turned to face Fitz. "You happy?"
Fitz nodded. "Yes."
"Then I'm good with it. But Mack, if you hurt him? This is hypocritical of me since I hurt him but make no mistake because I will kick your ass."
Mack started laughing so hard he began choking. "Good to know, man, but I don't plan on hurting him. Just know that I'll kick your ass if you hurt Fitz again."
They eyed each other for a few seconds before Ward nodded his approval. "Good enough for me. We need to talk later, Fitz, but I'll let you get back to wanting to fuck in a government car."
Fitz sputtered. "We were not!" he protested.
"Whatever you say, Fitz." With a smile on his face, Ward walked away and decided to head up to Coulson's office for their conversation. He quickly opened and closed it upon seeing Coulson and May fucking against the wall. "Why does this keep happening to me?" he moaned.
Skye stepped in front of him. "You going in or what?"
He shook his head. "You don't want to go in there." She needed to be saved from the images swirling in his brain.
"Why?"
"Just trust me on this." Ward gently grabbed her shoulders and turned her around. She pestered him the entire way to the lab about what he saw but he refused to tell her.
"Is it about Coulson and May?" Skye needled.
"I'm not telling you! I need to bleach my brain. What I saw will cause war flashbacks."
She giggled. "Did you just make a joke? And if you walked in on Coulson and May having sex, don't worry because you're not alone. Jemma and I caught them three days on the Bus."
"I don't want to talk about it, Skye." He sighed in relief when he opened the door and saw Jemma sitting on a chair and staring into space.
She looked up when she heard the door slam shut. "Do you need my help with anything? Is there a new mission?"
Ward bit his lip when he saw how tired Jemma looked. "No. Have you been sleeping, Simmons?"
She frowned at the question but went ahead and lied anyway. "Yes."
"Jemma," he warned.
"Fine, I can't sleep because I can't stop thinking about the moment before we fell, before Fitz sacrificed himself for me. It's my fault he's brain damaged." The emotions she had tried to bury for months came rushing back in one fell swoop, her face crumpled, and she started sobbing.
Neither Ward nor Skye could stand seeing Jemma that way so they rushed to her side and started hugging the biochemist. "It's my fault, Jemma, not yours. Don't blame yourself. I know I already apologized but I am so fucking sorry you can't even imagine."
"And now he hates me," she told them, her chest heaving.
Skye started rubbing her back. "Fitz doesn't hate you, Jem. He's floundering exactly like you are but he's just lashing out externally while you internalized everything. That's all this is. And Grant is on your side, and he wants to try."
He gave her a look. "I'm on both their sides," Ward mouthed.
"Just go with it," she mouthed back.
"He loves you, Jemma. You're his best friend and that is something that will never change. We'll figure out what's keeping you apart and fix it, I promise." He let the guilt flow through him instead of shoving it down again because he deserved this.
After calming Jemma down, Skye and Ward left the lab and ran into her biological father (once he stopped trying to kill them, Coulson let him move into the base, something they were all worried would come back to bite them soon). "You two look busy," he observed. "Are you up to something?"
"We're not up to anything," Ward told him. He was a little much sometimes and it was best not to involve the Inhuman in their plans.
"You're lying. Are you trying to defile my baby girl?"
Skye glared at him. "I cannot believe you right now. One, I was defiled a long time ago and two, we are not together. How many times do we have to tell you this?"
Skye's biological father gestured at Ward. "Do we have to have a talk about your intentions with my baby again?"
Already having been through this conversation multiple times with both the alien and Coulson, he couldn't do this again and decided to head it off at the pass. "No, I got the gist."
"Good. Now tell me what you're up to," the doctor ordered.
Skye and Ward exchanged a look, shrugged, and decided to tell him. "So Ward's trying his best to fix Fitz and Jemma now. It's his mission."
"Can I help?"
"No." Ward shot him down immediately because he didn't need the man's help at all.
"Please?" he pleaded.
"No. And you can't say no to me, can you?" Skye tried, trying to look innocent. It usually worked but didn't this time since her biological father had something to focus on now.
"Come on! A friendship needs repaired and I know exactly what to do." He genuinely wanted to help.
"It's not happening," Ward replied, rubbing his forehead.
"Love!" the doctor shouted.
"We got it but still not happening." Skye hid her amusement so she wouldn't encourage him further.
"Friendship! It is the heart of the matter and they need to in tip top shape so they don't screw anything up. Reconciliation is extremely important." He looked up at them hopefully.
Ward couldn't stand it anymore. "Fine, you can help," he reluctantly conceded.
"Can we lock them in a closet so they can hash out their issues? That always works on human TV shows."
"That isn't happening, sorry." Skye smiled at him when he looked sad at her refusal.
Now that the doctor was in on the plan, hopefully nothing would get fucked up.
Later, Ward made sure Fitz was alone before he approached him. "Do you miss Jemma?"
An appalled Fitz looked up at him in horror. "Of course I miss her but she left because she doesn't like me. I told her how I felt down there in that pod and then she left. She doesn't want to try so I'm not going to make the … effort."
Ward's mouth dropped open. "Fitz, that isn't true. This is your best friend and your only problem seems to be miscommunication. Talk to her and actually listen to what Jemma has to say. We'll be right there with you if you need our support." He couldn't believe how quickly this could have resolved if they had just talked to each other sooner.
"Communication is key. You need to work on that," the doctor advised.
Fitz looked over at him. "Your advice seems … off … at times but I suppose you're right. But I don't want to lose her permanently."
"You're not going to lose her for good. You're FitzSimmons and you may be pretty far apart right now but it doesn't need to stay this way. And God, fixing people is exhausting. I have a new appreciation for my therapist now." Ward's joke was rewarded by Fitz cracking a smile at him.
"Fine, I'll talk to her in a little while," he promised.
"Happiness will lead you to a road to everywhere," the doctor solemnly informed him.
"I have no idea what you're saying but you're very wise." Fitz patted him on the shoulder and went to go play video games with his boyfriend.
After they got sick of Fitz and Jemma putting off conversing with each other for another two weeks, Skye and Ward decided to sit the two down themselves and make them speak to one another. "We're not leaving until you two realize that you're being really stupid right now for no reason. You're best friends and now you barely even talk. We're sick of it," she angrily informed them.
"This is partially my fault and I'm going to make it up to you somehow but now is not the time for avoidance. And why am I quoting Skye's biological father right now? Anyway, you're not seeing eye to eye on a few subjects so air out your dirty laundry."
Fitz thought back on everything Ward and the others had been telling him. "Jemma, do you hate me?"
"No!" she cried out immediately. "How could you ever think that? I love you Fitz and I apologize for not loving you the way you had hoped but that is something that will never change. I won't apologize for leaving you because it was the right decision but I am sorry that you're brain damaged. But don't you ever think you're broken because that's the furthest thing from the truth." Jemma sniffled and tried to choke back tears.
"You leaving hurt me so much I hallucinated you were still here. And I felt broken for a long time but that's starting to change. Now it feels like I'm slowly repairing myself but I couldn't heal completely when our relationship was so strained. And I will never regret saving you so please stop feeling guilty for my injuries because it wasn't your fault. And stop crying," he pleaded as tears started falling down his cheeks.
"You stop crying," Jemma shot back. "I've missed you so much, Leo Fitz, and I never should have left my own insecurities and trauma play a role in breaking us apart. I'm still dealing with all of it," she admitted to him.
"And so am I. Mack's helping me but it's not the same."
"Do you have feelings for him?" she shyly asked.
He nodded. "I'm still in love with you, Jemma, but I'm not angry that you don't feel the same nor do I expect you too. I'm moving on with a great man. He shouldn't have stepped in but he only wanted to help so don't hold it against him. For me?"
"Of course I won't hold it against him, and I'm thrilled you've found someone. We both deserve to be happy. And our friendship will never be what it was before but maybe that's a good thing. Can I hug you?" Jemma felt happy – something she hadn't really experienced since SHIELD fell all those months ago.
"You don't ever have to ask me that." The happiness overtaking him made him surge forward and he swooped in for a hug.
Both burst into laughter as they continued to cry.
Ward ducked his head down but lifted it back up because of Skye lowly speaking to him. "Grant, you can cross something else off your list."
"I still feel guilty," he admitted.
"Well, yeah, I guess you are going to feel that way for a long time. Long road, baby, and this is just a stepping stone. But hey, you fixed FitzSimmons which wasn't an easy task."
"True."
And for the first time in a long time, Ward felt like maybe he didn't have to dwell in pain and despair. He could be happy.
Nobody knew what hit them the next afternoon at dinner when Fitz and Jemma talked over everybody and held a very loud conversation about their new joint experiment.
"All our kids are back to normal, Melinda. Can you believe this? Life is looking up for once!" a delighted Phil said excitedly.
She hated to burst his bubble so she didn't and instead leaned over and kissed him. "We can win this war."
Trip interrupted them by throwing a piece of bread crust at an uncomfortable Ward, who had the unfortunate luck of being seated next to Coulson. "What was that for?" he complained as he launched it back.
"I wanted to aim it at Coulson and May but I didn't want to get in trouble." Trip shrugged when Ward glared at him.
"You could have hit Bobbi," he shot back.
"I would have declared war," Bobbi answered.
"She's not fucking around," Lance chimed in and he moved out of the way when his ex-wife flicked some water at him.
"Thank you for everything you've done for us." Jemma derailed the entire fight by interrupting all of them.
"We want you to recover and we're here for you every step of the way so you'll never have to be alone." Fitz stole a piece of bread off Mack's plate and began eating it.
"See? You don't have to worry because we're your family." Skye lightly tapped Ward's shoulder and tensed in anticipation for a flinch that never came. She was the only one he allowed to touch him. She didn't mention how scared and honored that made her feel because she didn't want to make him self-conscious.
"I wish I had realized that sooner and I live with my regrets every day." Damn it, he didn't want to drown in self-loathing today.
Trip saw where this was heading and forced Ward out of the dark headspace by throwing another piece of crust at him. "You should have ducked, man."
"You'll pay for this," Ward teasingly warned.
"Come at me bro!"
Skye started laughing and couldn't stop. "I cannot believe you actually just said those words out loud, Trip. What the hell?"
"I saw the opportunity and ran with it." Plus, it had the added bonus of a laughing Ward so how could he regret saying it?
"We need to have a movie night. Our family has grown since the last one and now that our lives are relatively back to normal, it's long overdue." Jemma missed spending non-mission time with all of them.
"I'm with her." Mack's support threw her but Jemma didn't let her shock show.
The look on Fitz's face worried Ward. "What are you up to?"
He tried to play innocent but no one bought it. "Nothing. What makes you think I am up to something?"
"Because we know you, Fitz." May beamed when Coulson wrapped his arm around her and they watched the chaos unfold around them.
"Kiss Skye," he ordered.
Ward balked at that. "What?"
"Why?" asked a confused Skye.
"Because you two idiots are in love and we're all sick of watching the lovesick puppy try to pretend that he's okay." Bobbi looked at them and then returned to eating.
"I have an objection to this!" That came from the doctor and they all ignored him except for Coulson.
"I cannot believe I'm agreeing with him but so do I," Coulson protested.
"Fuck your pressure. We'll kiss if and when we're ready," Skye tried but she could tell none of them bought it.
"Yeah, don't pressure us. Besides, Skye doesn't feel that way about me anymore." He was a monster; how could she ever love him?
"That's not necessarily true," she mumbled under her breath.
"Kiss!" Jemma cried and started lightly tapping her glass. The others (minus Coulson, May, and the doctor) soon joined in.
"This isn't a wedding!" Skye cried before she turned around and pulled Ward in for a kiss. "You all happy now?"
A dazed Ward smiled at the love of his life. "I am. You still care about me?"
"Of course I do," she assured him, sobering up.
"Our baby girl's all grown up, Phil," blubbered the doctor.
Coulson side-eyed the man but sighed. "Can we refrain from romance where we eat?" he asked to no avail.
Ward opened his eyes and Skye burrowed into his chest. He kissed the top of her head and ran fingers through her hair. "You're so beautiful, Skye."
"Thanks. Now cuddle me."
"As you wish," he replied.
The whole group was still broken but at least they were broken together. And Ward felt a part of himself knit back together now that Fitz and Jemma's friendship was back on track. None of them could ever be who they were before Hydra rose but they could try to heal. And they wouldn't let anyone hurt Ward again (Skye was the most overprotective of him now that she had forgiven him) if they could help it.