She was there.

She saw the way Mack walked into the med-bay with great sorrowful steps, without (a noticeably absent) Fitz. She watched as Jemma's face fell, in awful slow motion as comprehension set in and the grief threatened to drown her from the inside.

The silence lasted only seconds before there was a change in that frozen, destroyed expression. Devastation stripped away her composure, making her flinch as if struck. Mack lunged forward to catch Jemma as her knees buckled. May was faster, and caught the girl up in her arms as they both landed roughly on the floor. She almost fell fully, but righted herself with Jemma still supported in her grip by digging her knees into the floor. Pain shot through her kneecaps, but it was nothing compared to the pain in Jemma's voice as she cried out her husband's name.

It was hard to believe there had been silence, as the sounds of grief became all May could hear. Jemma clutched at May's arm desperately, her fingers digging into the fabric of her jacket as if she thought by getting a tight enough grip, she could make herself stop. May knew that desperate feeling. Jemma was fully leaning on her, and sobbing as if her heart had been ripped out, and May was thankful that she'd decided to come to the med-bay in time to catch the girl.

May's pulse quickened as she drew Jemma closer to her. The girl seemed to be falling apart in her arms. She'd seen Jemma start unraveling without Fitz, but never in this bone-shattering way. It almost scared her for a second.

She put her hand to the back of Jemma's head, pulling her to her shoulder and keeping her arms tight about her. She didn't try to say anything. Nothing she could say would matter to Jemma in this moment.

Mack stood uncertainly two feet away, looking at May to ask what he should do. May gestured to the door, and he reluctantly walked out. May didn't move as she held onto Jemma, aside from the slight rocking motion she'd unconsciously started minutes before.

The girl's sobs lessened until the hitches in her breathing were fewer, and eventually stopped altogether. May wanted to feel relieved, but she knew what came after the initial tidal wave of grief was spent. She angled her head down and saw Jemma's gaze directed at the wall, closed off and distant, and rested her cheek atop her head to let her knew she wasn't as alone as she felt.


A/N: There's the Mama May moment with Jemma. These two have had a great relationship since especially season three, and I don't see a lot of stories featuring it. I wanted to fix that, since I think May is a comforting mother figure to both Jemma and Daisy. In this story, May is there for the girls after significant loss: Daisy with Lincoln, Jemma with Fitz. The final section will be the three together. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think.