A/N: This started out as a little idea, but it grew a little out of hand. Character dead, sorry.
Spoilers: AU set after 1x22 Beginning of the End.
Disclaimer: I own a lot of books, new and old, but the rights to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are not hiding among any of them.
Books, and magazines, journals and even scientific articles, that's what they brought her. And food, all kinds, even though she barely touched any of it. They were worried about her, of course, but all she was worried about was him. Days had passed and the coma still hadn't broken. She didn't know what to do. All she could do was sit there and look miserably at him while her hope slowly dwindled, diminishing more and more with each passing day. Everybody was busy, but they took time to come by and keep her company from time to time. The first few days they'd urged her to leave the room and get some rest, but that quickly stopped once they saw her determination to stay put. They had an extra bed brought in so she wouldn't have to sleep in the green, uncomfortable chair already in the room.
She didn't sleep much anyway, sitting there next to his bed, she merely dosed off once in a while. The rhythmic beat of the machines threatened to lull her away from reality and into dreamland, and whenever her overtired body screamed for sleep she would eventually give in. But her resting usually didn't last long, and wasn't very peaceful either. The nightmares lured at the entrance ready to instil their terrors in her dreams. When she woke, usually with a jerk or a jolt, she couldn't remember what had hunted her dreams, or maybe she just didn't want to. But she knew the gist of it though, the feelings still clinging to her soul for hours afterwards, even though the details eluded her. It was always the same; betrayal, discouragement, dread, fear, and death, all unequally mixed together in a witch's cauldron. It was like a tangle of serpents with multiple heads, serpents that couldn't be killed, that poked their heads out at her at impossible angles, forcing her to flee or fight an impossible battle.
Dreams were one thing she could handle not sleeping, or sleeping badly, but reality was far worse. Like Fitz, she just couldn't wake up from it.
On the seventh day she decided to read some of all the materials the others had brought in. She couldn't keep talking to a person that didn't respond, though it reportedly was said to help guide the comatose person back to their loved ones. Figuring reading something aloud would be just as good, she skipped right past the medical journals - they were too depressing - and the one book of Greek myths and mythology - had she read the word hydra she would have burst into tears or slammed her fists through the wall or something. She didn't know who would have brought it, her sleep deprived mind couldn't remember, not that it mattered anyway, they had surely meant well, in her haze she'd just accepted whatever they gave her, and added it to the pile on the table, next to her untouched food.
As she looked now at the mismatched pile of books, one particular book seemed to call out to her. It was old, a bit dusty, with strange markings on it. She opened it on a random page just to see if it was anything worth reading, and read:
"...You take the bay leaves..."
"Hmm," she said to herself "it sounds like a recipe book" and then she continued.
"...and place them near the headboard of the person's bed. Put a few drops of anis on their pillow. Carefully draw the seal of the devil on the floor beneath the bed." Then there was a picture to better illustrate the design.
She frowned. "Then again maybe not, doesn't exactly sound very edible. Sounds more like a spell book or something. What do you think?" She looked up.
No reply.
Then she turned the book around and opened it to the title page. "Let's see…, what is the title of this thing; 'Grimoire'. Hmm, I wonder who thought this would be fun to read. Should we read some more?" She asked no one in particular.
"Even if its non-science based nonsense. Maybe it could tell us how to put a spell on Ward, make him drown in his own blood."
She closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath. Then she flipped to the index and read along as her finger slid down the list of spells and incantations.
There was a bit of everything: Attraction oil, Fast luck potions, herbal inflammatory relief dressings, seven different kinds of holy water, Damnation spells, perfume water, love tonics, different blessings, and so on and so forth.
"Should we just pick one?" She looked over at Fitz. "Or maybe we should do a little experiment." For the first time in days Simmons felt a bit lively. Experiments were always fun. And this would be harmless, what else could she do to pass the time, Fitz wasn't going anywhere and neither was she. But he was going to get a scar from the head wound he'd gotten when they fell from the plane. Too bad it wasn't in the shape of a lightning bolt, or else it could have improved his Harry Potter cosplay. She thought she'd seen something about scar removal with an herbal potion. That shouldn't be too hard to try out. Now where was it, she could have sworn she'd just seen it... ahh there it was, page 925. She flipped to the page in question and read:
To remove scars from your skin you need to mix these ingredients together.
The gel from one Aloe Vera leaf
Lavender leaves
A hint of sage and thyme
3 drops of lemon juice
Dampen the area with a moist cloth and apply the mixture.
Rub it in, use counterclockwise circles.
Cover it with the cloth and recite this incantation: Tui Gratia Jovis Gratia Sit Cura
"Doesn't sound too difficult." She got up from her chair. "Don't move, I'll be right back." She said to the still figure in the bed. Then she left in search of the ingredients.
"Simmons!" Skye was the first to notice her as she entered the kitchen.
"You're out?" Trip noted surprised.
"Is everything alright? Did something happen with Fitz?" Skye asked dread creeping into her voice.
"No, no. He's fine. I mean, nothing's changed. I just need to find some stuff." Jemma said dismissively, as she searched through cupboards and drawers.
Skye and Trip both relaxed visibly, and exchanged a look that Jemma caught but didn't comment on. She knew they were surprised she was out of the room - her own little cave of despair.
"What are you looking for? Maybe we can help you find it. Right Trip?" Skye offered.
"Sure." Trip agreed.
"Okay, well I'm only missing an Aloe Vera leaf."
"What do you need that for?" Skye inquired.
"Uhmm..." Jemma didn't know what to say, how to explain her sudden interest in this nonscientific experiment in a way that made sense to them, or her for that matter. "Just an experiment."
They didn't want to push her further, her just being outside the room was progress, and they didn't want to ruin that.
"We'll come by if we find any." Skye promised and Simmons retreated back into her cave with what she'd already found.
xXx
After about an hour Trip came by with an Aloe Vera leaf. "Look what I found." He said all proud of himself.
"Thank you." Simmons said as she accepted the plant.
"You'll never guess where I found it?"
"Sorry, what?" Simmons had already started cutting it in half to extract the gel and wasn't paying Trip any attention.
"Don't you wanna know where I found it?"
"Oh yeah right, sure. Where?"
"May had it. In her room."
"Really? Why would she have that?"
Trip smiled. "I asked her the exact same question. She said something about it being some kind of Chinese medicine thing."
"Umhmm." Simmons said distractedly.
Feeling a bit left out Trip said. "Okay, well.. I'll leave you to it then." And then he left.
Jemma swiftly followed the instructions and applied the mixture to Fitz's scar; feeling a little silly as she repeated the chant. Thank goodness nobody was around to hear her, her old professors would have turned in their graves. When she was done she sat back and flipped through the book, reading a spell here and a conjuration there.
"I wonder how long it should stay on." She pondered for herself. "It didn't say anything in the recipe." She flipped back to the scar removal spell. Nope. She looked at him, peacefully unaware. At least with those ingredients it shouldn't be harmful. "I'll just let it sit for a few hours, or until it gets gross." She promised him and inhaled the scent of the concoction in the same breath. It smelled wonderful, fresh. She yawned, and set the book on the table. "I'll just close my eyes of a second." She told him and rested her head on his bed beside his hand, like so many times before.
Within seconds she was fast asleep. When she woke again it was dimming twilight outside. She looked up at Fitz, confused at first to where she was. For once her sleep had been dreamless but she wasn't rested and her mind was still in a sleep haze. When it lifted she glanced at his forehead, the cloth had sagged a bit, but the fresh fragrance still hung in the air.
"Time to take that off." She said and got up from the chair, stretching her aching back on her way to the bathroom for a fresh cloth and some water. She removed the cloth and the hex ointment with the dampened cloth. Dabbing gently until all was gone. She lifted his hair, it was getting long, he almost had bangs. Where the scar should have been she found nothing, she looked again, rubbing her eyes twice, no trace of it. It was completely gone. She ran her fingers over his skin, it was smooth, the patch much smoother where it had been covered by the ointment. Almost too smooth. On just that little area it was like he had been reborn, his skin, baby soft, not marred by age or sun. It was remarkable.
She was so baffled she didn't know what to do. The others. She had to find somebody else to see this, just to make sure she wasn't going crazy. This was an incredible discovery, one that entailed further study, but later. First she needed to find someone so they could see that this stuff really worked. Maybe there was also something in the book that could help him wake up. She ran out of the room and almost straight into Coulson.
"Hey there Jemma, slow down." He steadied her as she nearly stumbled over him and herself. "Where are you going in such a hurry?"
"You have to come and see. It's amazing!" Was all she said as she speeded past him to find the rest of the team. Once she'd made everyone gather in the room. She told them about the book, the spell, and what had happened. Trip and Skye - making sense of her earlier behaviour - exchanged another knowing look, and so did May and Coulson. Nobody could see the difference, the change, or maybe they just didn't want to see it, it was right there in front of their eyes, as plain as day, they just refused to acknowledge it. Instead they forced her to take a sedative and rest. She fought them, but with four against one it was a fruitless battle. As she drifted off into sleep fractions of their whispers reached her and resounded in her head. "...we shouldn't have let it..." "...who..." "...this book..." "...she's hurting..." "...go this far..." "what if..." "...separate them..." "...won't wake up..."
xXx
She was surprised to learn she was still in the room with Fitz when she woke up. Going under she had feared they were going to remove her, put her in her own bunk. Someone must have protested. She got up, went over to Fitz and took his hand. "I'm sorry." She said. "I'm trying my best, but they won't believe me." Her eyes searched him, there was no sign of response, eventually they landed on his temple and the little light spot. And suddenly she was hit by a forceful batch of determination, if no one would believe, or help her, she just had to do it by herself. She found the book on the table. She had seen nothing in it about bringing a coma patient back to the land of the living, but there was one thing in there that had caught her attention on her first read through. It might be a far out option, but she had to try. Having exhausted modern medicine she was willing to give any- and everything a try. But she should probably hurry before someone found her awake and once again reading the spell book. They might take it away from her, or worse take her away from Fitz.
She quickly found what she had been looking for. The curled letters at the top of the page read: How to summon a crossroads demon. She tore the whole side out and stuffed it in her pocket, hurriedly closing the book so as not to give herself away. And just in time, because the door opened and May entered. "You're up." May noted scanning Simmons with her eyes.
"Yes." Simmons said anxiously awaiting May's analysis of the situation.
May didn't seem able to pinpoint what was obviously not as it should be. And Simmons was determent not to break even under May's scrutiny of a death stare. So May took a chair and sat down. "I'm going to stay for a while." She said though still suspicious of Jemma's behaviour.
Figures they were going to take turns babysitting her. Jemma thought, but then she reckoned it might not be as bad as it looked. If they were going to sit in here anyway, they might as well stay with Fitz while she prepared for her deal with this demon. Yes, as irrational as it may sound, that was what she was going to do. "Well that's great May, because I actually have something to do. Thank you." She said and then quickly left the room, and a confused May behind - that had just gone from babysitting two scientists where one was in a coma and the other was going off the deep end to only babysitting a comatose patient – which didn't really make much sense. May that had stood up when Simmons left - but not soon enough to stop the girl - sat down again with a sigh. She looked at the man in the bed and said: "You need to wake up Fitz. Simmons needs you." Then she grabbed a magazine and flipped through the pages of trash talk and gossip about the rich and famous.