Author's Note: So sorry this took so long to upload! This second part of The Father's Return is the beginning of a dangerous journey for them all, and all is not well for May. Hope you enjoy it, review, favourite and follow! :D
Disclaimer: I don't own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Her head pounded like someone had thwacked her with a sledge-hammer, a high-pitched ringing noise settling inside her ears. Her jaw ached as she opened her mouth to let out a long sigh. Pain like this was almost unbearable to contain, in fact she felt numbness take over her whole body, until she was taken lightly by the arms and dragged across the cold, dusty floor. The hands that held her were strong but gentle as she drooped her head backwards in exhaustion. She couldn't find the energy to open her eyes to see the person above her, and the dread that festered inside of her grew and grew as she was lowered to the ground. All was dark and cold around her, the grime on the floor coating the back of her hands as she lay motionless.
Suddenly there was a bright light the flashed over her eyelids, making her flinch at the strain it caused. Giving almost all the effort she had left, she slowly opened her eyes, only enough to see the light shining down on her face. A warm body moved closer to her side, an arm carefully wrapping around her back and holding her up. She heard a muffled voice becoming clearer over the high-pitched ringing in her ears.
"Come on, open your eyes. That's it," spoke a soft voice, a hand placed on her cheek.
"Wake up, come back to me May." Just then she opened her eyes a little more and focused enough to figure out who held her in their arms. She smiled, her jaw aching.
"You're late." She laughed lightly then croaked, coughing up hot liquid that she spat into the dust beside her. It wasn't till she looked down that she saw a puddle of blood, deep red staring right back at her. It wasn't just the blood she saw that she'd thrown up either; following the way she'd been dragged across the room, she saw a trail of smudged gore that stopped just underneath her leg. Then it all came flooding back to her; the bar, the attack, the pain, that crunch…
She shifted backwards as she stared at her broken shin, her hands shaking with fear and disbelief.
"It's alright May," Coulson held her closer in his arms, "Just stay calm and listen to my voice."
She wouldn't speak, she couldn't speak. The gore and action had built up and up until now and she found herself finding it hard to breathe.
"May, look at me, look at me," he said clearly and raised her chin. She looked up at him, tears shining over the brown irises in her eyes that had brought him comfort, anger and affection. She trembled and lifted her arm off the dusty ground, and placed her hand on his.
"That's it, I'm here now and it's alright. Breath in and out again." He calmed her down until she closed her eyes and rested her weary body against his. He stroked her head; she looked strangely peaceful yet disturbed at the same time, and he felt so much fear, sadness and care inside. Had he gone with her she might have come away untouched; well, a little less damaged that she'd come to be.
"Coulson," Jemma said through her ear piece, "Have you found her?"
"Yeah she fine, but she'll need serious medical attention," he replied observing her injuries and watching her curl up to him.
"Right, I can see you two on the map," she replied pointing out the two small dots on the hand-held tracker, "I'm on my way." Jemma picked up her rucksack and left the plane, leaving Skye to scan over the CCTV footage from the diner.
Jemma entered the old building, the door squeaking on its rusty hinges as she pushed it open. Cringing, she quietly walked in and down a dusty hallway. Her every step echoed slightly and she winced at the deadly silence.
Should've stuck to the flats, she thought as she walked on in her brown heeled boots. Coming to a door or the right she found that a flight of stairs descended steeply below.
"Ok," she sighed and made her way down into the dark. Using the hand-held tracker in her hand, she followed the many hallways towards the two dots that represented Agent May and Coulson. They were very close, she thought.
There was a high-pitched beep from the tracker and she stopped just outside a tall metal door. The handle hung limp as if it had been ripped partly off, and the dust that layered itself upon the door made her cough. Inside she could hear whispering and then a silence.
"Jemma, is that you?" she heard Coulson whisper and she tip-toed in.
"Yes, I'm-" She stopped short when she saw May lying on the ground next to Coulson; the blood that had smudged along the ground shimmered slightly from the sun-rays that leaked through the window. She saw May's leg. She gulped, feeling sick and worried that she'd have to deal with this alone. She doubted herself, now Fitz wasn't there.
"Right then," she attempted a smile, "Let's see what we're dealing with." Jemma knelt beside May as Coulson shuffled round to rest May's head on his thighs. Jemma held up May's hand and checked her pulse. She looked up at May who was watching her fellow agent intently.
"Your pulse is quiet fast, probably because of the stress and pain you must be feeling. Am I correct?" Jemma watched as May nodded her head in agreement. Jemma sighed and patted May's hand gently.
"Now, I'm just going to inspect the leg injury." Jemma crawled on her knees around May's body to get a closer look at the wound, not taking a second thought about the state of her trousers. Dragging her rucksack along with her, she stopped and looked down on the open wound. She shivered discreetly, trying not to show her nerves. Taking out a pair of white latex gloves from her bag, she carefully began to peel back the damp material from the open wound. It made her feel dreadful and she frowned in concentration. A lot of the blood had dried so the cotton had stuck to the skin, making it harder for her to detach. May grimaced and held onto Coulson's hand.
"Ow," she said through gritted teeth and huffed angrily.
"Sorry," Jemma apologised and got out a pair of scissors. She looked up at Coulson who was watching her too. He could see she was nervous, maybe even scared. But May needed her, and she was all they had. Taking a flap of the trouser leg, she started to cut carefully around the leg, being really careful not to damage the dried blood underneath. She stopped for a second and leaned in closer and then she sat up again and sighed.
"I can't cut the material all the way around without having to lift the leg off the ground, which will consequently be rather painful," Jemma said more to herself than to her friends. May looked across at her and sighed deeply.
"Hey, do what you have to do to get the job done. The sooner you get this done, the quicker we can get out of here." Jemma nodded and held the scissors in one hand whilst cupping her free hand around May's leg. She breathed in deeply and looked at the agent.
"Now, this is going to hurt but I promise you I'll do this as quickly as I can." May closed her eyes and tried to relax, her fingers interlocked with Coulson's. Jemma counted to three in her head and then lifted the broken limb. May cried out, the pain from below searing like fire.
"It's alright, you're doing brilliantly," Jemma assured her as she cut the material as quickly as she could. Coulson smiled at May to tried and comfort her, feeling the pressure of May's fingers dig into the back of his hands. Jemma snipped off the last part and peeled it away from her wound.
"It's ok now, it's over," Jemma smiled, feeling relieved that is was over herself. May sighed and bit her lip.
"It's not over though is it? How the hell am I going to get out of here?" Coulson and Jemma exchanged glances. They had thought of this but decided to jump that bridge when it came to it. Now they had, nothing came to mind that would work easily. Coulson moved backwards and lowered May's head to the ground. He stood up and bent down on his heels, placing one arm under her back and one under her legs.
"I'll carry you." Those words stuck in her mind like medicine to a wound. She suddenly felt warm inside, as if the pain in her body lifted from her as he held her strongly. Lifting her from the grimy floor she gasped as the pain in her leg burned like hell.
"Sorry," he said looking down at her. Her features softened and a smile glowed upon her face.
"Don't worry about me." He smiled back and felt like kissing her on the forehead; when the sound of heavy footfalls echoed from outside. They all seemed to stop breathing as they listened, eyes wide with anxiety. What could possibly go wrong next? Jemma slowly zipped up her rucksack and got to her feet, watching the door at the corner of her eye. All was silent.
"Jemma, we need to go now. Come over here," Coulson whispered hoarsely, taking steady steps towards the door. She nodded and walked over to him awaiting orders.
"In my inside left pocket, there's an icer. Take it. You'll need to cover us."
Jemma walked around to his left side and smiled down at May, then felt inside the blazer for the icer. It was a little awkward but it was important that she use it, as it seemed that was all the defence they'd have. Pulling out the icer, she checked the magazine and held it up in front of her.
"Ready?" he asked as they heard heavy footfalls getting closer and closer outside. Jemma tried to look brave and stood up tall, the gun in her dainty hands.
"On the count of three… one, two," Coulson held on tight to May and nodded for Jemma to open the door. Suddenly the door was ripped off its hinges and flung behind a tall man who stood in the dark. He stepped forward and Jemma's heart skipped a beat.
"Three," he said and smiled at them.
"Mike! What on earth are you doing here?" Coulson exclaimed, shocked and relieved.
"I was about to ask the same thing," he replied and stepped in. He looked down at May who starred back up at him not quite sure what was going on.
"Hello again," she smiled but her smile faded when she felt a searing pain ride up her body. She groaned and squeezed her eyes shut. Mike looked almost as worried as the other agents and stood opposite Coulson.
"I'll carry her, you and Simmons lead the way out and we'll follow," he said holding his arms out. May nodded at Coulson thinking, I'd rather have you carry me but it's an offer I'm willing to take. Coulson stepped closer to Mike and they slowly and carefully lifted May's body into Mike's arms. His metal arm was cold against her exposed leg, her blood dripping down his arm to his elbow. They all walked out into the hallway and Jemma stopped to get out the hand-held tracker. She looked at the map and pointed to the screen,
"We are currently here and I came in through this entrance," she said as Coulson peered over her shoulder.
"I came in through this side of the building," Coulson pointed on the screen to a door on the far right, "As long as we get out as quickly as possible, that's all that matters."
"So the closest entrance was the one you came in Sir, so that would be ideal."
"Great, we'd better get going then," Coulson tapped Jemma on the shoulder and turned to go right.
"We'd better alright. She's not going to last much longer," Mike said and looked down at May. She was pale, lost in an unconscious sleep. Coulson flinched as if frozen with worry, his feet sturdy on the ground as he looked at her innocent face.
"Come on then," Jemma ordered and they made their way quickly through the dark and dusty hallways trying to find their way out.