Chapter Three:

The next two days – spent learning everything she could about her soulmate, heart, mind, and body – passed far too quickly for Jemma's liking, and it wasn't long before she found herself at the base. It was evening when she came back with Loki – a tactical decision on Jemma's part. She knew that the team would be in the lounge, relaxing together off the clock, and that meant she could catch them all at the same time and only have to go through the explanation and possible argument once.

Walking together on silent feet towards the doorway of the lounge, holding hands all the while, Jemma smiled hesitantly at Loki and slipped her hand from his, leaving him out of sight around the corner as she went into the room.

She was surprised by the first thing that her eyes were drawn to – Thor; he was still here. After two days, she'd really expected him to have flown off to be by Jane's side for a little while, and learning what she recently had about soulmates, she wouldn't have blamed him in the least bit for it… but then again, this was his brother being put in the line of fire, and he'd want to be here to help.

For the briefest of moments their eyes locked, the nervousness in their gazes betraying them both during that second, before Jemma caught herself and looked away. Swallowing her nerves, or at least attempting to, she stretched a tight smile onto her face when Skye waved her over to an empty space by her on the couch.

"We're playing Scrabble," Skye announced. "And I'm actually winning this time!"

"Only because you just now showed up, Jemma!" Fitz pointed out with a smile. When Jemma didn't move towards the seat Skye had offered her, he asked, "Aren't you going to come play?"

"Actually…" Jemma felt herself start to stutter and then took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down before she said, "I have some news that I want to talk to you all about."

Shifting in his seat, Coulson – he looked so very comfortable in this moment; they all did, and Jemma hated knowing that it was going to end – said, "We're listening."

Jemma turned her attention momentarily to Thor, asking, "What exactly did you tell them?"

"Exactly what I said I would – that you were safe on Asgard and would return today. Nothing more, nothing less."

"What's wrong, Jemma?" Fitz asked, watching his friend carefully. "You're upset."

"No, just nervous," Jemma corrected.

"Did something unexpected happen on Asgard?" May asked warily.

"No, I was perfectly safe and perfectly happy; being on Asgard was the best trips I've ever taken."

"Please tell me you're not considering moving off-world," May muttered.

Jemma saw an opening there, saying, "I'm not sure; we haven't really decided what we're going to do yet."

Fitz caught the one important word in that sentence, repeating, "'We'?"

"I, uh, what Thor didn't tell you is why I stayed on Asgard a little longer." Jemma couldn't help the hesitant smile that crossed her face as she admitted, "I found my soulmate."

"On Asgard?!" Bobbi spoke up, sounding and looking just as surprised as everyone else now did.

Jemma nodded, half-forcing her smile to stay in place as Coulson asked, "Who is he?"

For a long moment, Jemma just looked at him, focused on Coulson's face and the way he was looking at her – curious, pleased, and, yes, slightly concerned, but without a trace of any of the suspicion that she was sure was imminent – like they were friends. She wanted to memorize that look, but she knew that her window of opportunity for letting the cat out of the bag was quickly disappearing, so she stepped backwards until she was just inside the doorway and reached a hand out for the man still out of sight of the others on the opposite side of the wall.

Searching her eyes and wincing at the worry that she couldn't disguise from him, Loki took a deep breath and clasped her hand, stepping obediently into the doorway beside Jemma. Instantly Jemma swept her gaze across the faces of her team members, trying to catch all of their first thoughts, those split-second, honest, what-their-guts-told-them-to-feel emotions that were there and gone, but she couldn't register every one of them. She sensed more than saw May, Hunter, and Bobbi all drawing the guns that they kept on their persons, Skye yelped, Fitz paled with wide-eyed horror, and Coulson… Coulson just froze.

"Please try to understand," Jemma whispered directly to him.

All of the people in this room save for herself and Thor hated Loki with a burning passion, and yet it was Coulson that Jemma was truly worried for – not just that he would do something to Loki, but that something might happen to him.

"He's going to pass out," Skye said suddenly, her concerned voice breaking the silence and stillness in the room.

And she wasn't talking about Coulson, Jemma realized, head whipping around towards the person that Skye had just leapt up to help. Jemma didn't even think about it before she let go of Loki's hand and dashed to Fitz's other side and helped Skye maneuver him onto the couch. Lowering his head carefully onto the arm of the couch, Jemma realized that he was already unconscious and swore quietly under her breath as she settled onto her knees on the floor at his side.

"No, no, no," Jemma muttered, tapping Fitz's cheek a little roughly to try and rouse him. "Come on, Fitz, don't do this; I need you to wake up. Everything is fine, but I need you to snap out of it." She turned her head towards Skye, who was hovering over her shoulder, and ordered a little sharply, "I need cold water and a straw, now, please."

Skye obediently darted off, and it was only once the younger woman was gone that Jemma caught sight of Loki's face. He looked confused and the slightest bit afraid, but his eyes were narrowed a little on Fitz in a way that Jemma didn't like. He was pouting with jealousy, she realized as Skye skidded back into the room and handed her the water, a reminder that for the first time in their short relationship, Loki was going to have to come later.