A/N: Jemma's little speech to Abby to help her manage her powers made me think of the FitzSimmons conversation in the pod in season 1, so this just grew from that.
Spoilers: For episode 5x03 A Life Spent.
Disclaimer: No one owns the Universe or the space between the stars, and seeing that the rights to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. exist somewhere in there, I can't very well own it now, can I.
By now they had been separated so many times that another journey without each other shouldn't have surprised her. It didn't anymore, but it still hurt. Maybe the Universe really was out to get them? What had they ever done to the Universe anyway?
She had to believe that Fitz was out there somewhere, still fighting, not giving up. He had done it before - worked the problem, found a way - he could do it again. If getting her back from space one time was impossible - yet he had done it - the second time had to be a piece of cake, right?
She knew he had been working on it, he had gotten a message to them, a no-nonsense postcard; 'Working on it – Fitz' no reason to spend precious time writing a novel, when you could write a concise note that got your meaning across. "Better for everyone that he isn't here." She had told the others, hoping beyond hope that she was right.
Still a small doubt, a hint of uncertainty couldn't help but creep into the back of her mind. What if he had failed? What if the Earth had been thorn to bits while he was still working on it? He was all alone down there, everybody else was up here, there were no one left to help him, to pick up the pieces, and support his course. Maybe he had given up, moved on, lived his life and then died an old man. The possibilities were endless.
She took comfort in science and the fact that if he was gone his energy was still floating around somewhere in the Universe. And maybe if the Universe ever decided not to plot against them they could meet again; in another place, another time, another state. Their energies would always gravitate towards each other, she was certain of that much.
No matter what happened to her in this godforsaken place Fitz was never far from her thoughts, which was why she had told Abby about space and particles and stars. The poor girl needed something to cling to, to get through her transformation and out on the other side, where she would be able to control her powers. And knowledge and science - which seemed to be nearly extinct in this time - was as good a place to start as any.
Her mind had fluttered to the time they had been trapped in the med pod under the sea. The association was straightforward, she was still trapped, though this was a much larger vessel and the circumstances were a bit different. Anyhow the First Law of Thermodynamics still seemed to apply. Nothing is created or destroyed, even with changes, everything just is. We're all made up of the same stuff, tiny particles and space, our bodies are like the night sky; a field of stars. And Abby's unique ability let her control her own little corner of the Universe, her own stars and space. All she had to do was visualize it, imagine how she was in control of the matter that belonged to her, her stars in the infinite space of the Universe.
It worked! For a tiny moment optimism returned, until it was once again ripped away from both of them. Jemma told Abby to remember the feeling; that brief instant where Abby had become one with everything. And as she did so she realized she needed to do the same. Granted she couldn't control space - like Abby - or time - tough that would have been a neat trick just about now. But she needed to remember that whatever the distance and however terrified she was that Fitz might be dead or that she herself might die here, neither of them ever seeing each other again, she should remind herself that they would live on as something else. Dead wasn't final, new life would rise in one form or another, hopefully a good one, and the space between them might seem infinite right now, but really, they would always be part of that infinity together.
A/N: I haven't written anything for any of my fandoms for 3 months, so I'm a bit rusty, I hope this was ok :) and I got it up on Iain's birthday :) Happy New Year to all!