Jemma was putting the finishing touches of her makeup on when she heard the tell-tale noise of furniture crashing and things falling on the floor. She sighed.

"Fitz, what is it this time?" she yelled out of the bathroom.

"Damnit, the socks I brought are not matching and forgot my phone charger." Jemma managed to suppress a comment about his messy ways. "This is becoming very inconvenient." he grumbled. Was this a hint that he wanted to move in together? As much as she loved him and adored waking up next to him most mornings, she wasn't sure if she was ready to permanently share a space with him. On most days, his room looked like it was wrecked by a tornado.

"I have to run back to my room to pick up a couple of things. Again. I'll see you in the lab." he opened the door and came face to face with Agent May. His face turned bright pink instantly, Jemma noticed amused. Even after everyone on base put two and two together, Fitz remained uncomfortable with what he perceived as sneaking around.

May was not amused, however. Her inscrutable face looked even more serious than the baseline, if that was at all possible.

"May, what's wrong?" Jemma asked alarmed.

"May's tone of voice was serious "Coulson wants to see you."

"What happened?" they asked in unison.

"Daisy left last night." she replied.

"Daisy – what? Without saying goodbye?" Fitz looked hurt. He had been trying to get through to Daisy, and thought that they were making progress. One more thing he's going to beat himself up about.

They entered Coulson's office. The director was clearly in a foul mood; Jemma estimated about two days before he would show up in the lab asking for a new hand. "Sit down." They took their seats on the sofa quietly.

"I wanted to talk to you, because I have decided to step down." Coulson said.

"Are you leaving SHIELD, sir?" Fitz asked, clearly alarmed.

"No, I'm going to stay on. I have unfinished business. But the agency needs new leadership to rebuild and regain the trust of the public. We cannot stay in the shadows forever." Coulson had a hard time meeting their eyes. "Look, what I want to say is that things will be different. There will be more rules and protocols in place. In fact, General Talbot is preparing them as we speak."

"Oh, then they are sure to be sensible ones…" quipped Fitz sarcastically. New protocols, Jemma thought, I don't like where this is headed.

"Look, it has to be done. I have made some questionable choices…" he said "We all have, sir." Fitz interrupted. "Nevertheless, this also affects the two of you. Technically, you are colleagues and under fraternization policy rules..." Coulson left the implications hanging with a pointed look.

"What do you mean exactly, sir?" Jemma asked. Alarm bells were ringing in her head. "They are going to spit us up. Fitz and I – they want to split us up?"

"I've made General Talbot aware of your, hmm, situation and yes, his first suggestion was to split you up. They are planning to build a new science facility, like a new Sandbox, and he thought one of you could take point on it." Coulson looked at them.

"That's insane…" They talked over each other. "We have many projects together…" Coulson held up his hand.

"Look, I explained it to the General in no uncertain terms that he will likely lose both of you if they decide to do that. Luckily, he knows your value to the agency, and is willing to make an exception. He agreed that you can formally request co-habitation."

Jemma and Fitz looked at each other uncertainly and she detected just a hint of panic in his eyes. He doesn't want to, or does he? How can we have this conversation in front of Coulson and May? It's like discussing sex with your parents, yuck..

"Unless that's not something you want…" Coulson sounded less sure now.

"No, I mean yes, we just…" Fitz stuttered and flapped his hands, a clear sign of distress. "We just haven't talked about it, sir." Jemma finished for him. "Where would we move, anyways?"

"You could get one of the larger rooms on base to start with. But eventually, you could move off base, once the SHIELD is legitimate again." Coulson replied.

"Hmm, we…" they muttered.

"Well, I'll be stepping down in three days. Why don't you take the next two days off and think? The new arrangements could be difficult. And remember, this is your lives. You have gone above and beyond, and god knows you have taken more hits than what you have signed up for. And I'm sorry that I didn't hold up my end of the bargain and protect you better. SHIELD needs you, of course, but remember, you don't owe us anything anymore and it is also OK to walk away, if that's what you want." he said now warmly.

"But we never" "thought" "we don't" "leave our friends" they looked at each other.

"Maybe you should think about it." Coulson said again. "One more thing – I've signed your field assessment and cleared you for field duty. You have both become formidable agents. It has been an honour working with you." May silently nodded his agreement.

"Thank you, sir." Jemma felt a lump in her throat. It was the end of an era.

"Now go, get out. And we don't want to see you back here until Thursday." he said with mock seriousness. "It's an order."

"Yes, sir." They both turned to leave. Fitz looked back from the doorway. "Can we borrow Lola?"

"Now, I may be stepping down, but I am still at my full mental capacity. So, no. Nobody touches Lola. Take a pool car, Fitz." Coulson grinned.