Author's note
Some lines are taken straight from episode 6, 'F.Z.Z.T.'.
Chapter 8
It didn't work. That's all Ward could think. Two of the most brilliant minds in the country, probably even the world. And they hadn't been able to fix this. There had to be more they could do. There was no way they could just let her die.
Simmons had asked for a few moments alone with Fitz, so Skye, Coulson and he were back up in the control room.
"Agent Blake is on the line," May said coming in to the room. "He wants to know what's going on. If you won't answer, he asked for Ward."
"Sir, what are our orders?" Ward asked.
"They're unchanged," Coulson replied, as a loud beeping started sounding.
"What's that?" Skye asked, as May moved to bring up the plane diagnostics to find out.
"Someone's lowering the cargo hold ramp," May answered.
Oh god, Ward thought, realising what it meant almost instantly. She's going to jump. He stepped back from the table, looking briefly at the others, before turning and racing for the cargo hold. He didn't even bother with the stairs, vaulting over the railing to land beside Fitz, who was struggling with a parachute and the antiserum injection device, while muttering to himself.
"The antiserum worked, but she jumped!" Fitz yelled at him as Ward quickly took the parachute and device off him, running straight for the open ramp while putting the parachute on.
He dove out of the plane, finishing off attaching the parachute to himself and speared his body straight down, searching for Simmons. He could see her below him, and could only hope he reached her in time.
She's going to be okay. I will catch her. She's going to be okay. I will catch her, he repeated to himself over and over until he was almost upon her, when he spread his arms and legs to slow his descent. He reached out and grabbed her, as she wrapped her legs around his hips and grabbed hold of the parachute straps at his chest. He used the injection device to deliver the antiserum to her immediately, and then pulled the cord on the parachute to release it.
A moment later there was a pulse as the antiserum worked and Simmons' head fell against his shoulder. They slowly finished their descent, landing in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, where Ward kept a tight hold on Simmons, who was still unconscious, and trod water to keep them both afloat.
It took a couple of minutes, before she started to stir again. She gasped as she woke up, tightening her grip on his shirt with her hands and around his hips with her legs.
"Ward? What.. what happened?" she asked him, coughing a little.
"The antiserum worked," he replied.
She looked at him carefully. "You jumped out of the plane after me," she said softly.
"We heard the alarm for the cargo hold ramp lowering," he said in response. "And I just knew what you were going to do, and I couldn't let you. Even if the antiserum hadn't worked, I couldn't let you kill yourself. You matter to too many people, Jemma," he continued, using her first name for the first time.
"You saved my life," she said, still studying him closely. "Because you're one of the people I matter to?" she guessed quietly.
He looked away from her face. "You should know Fitz was getting ready to jump. He would've saved you even if I hadn't been there."
"You're avoiding my question, Agent Ward."
"Yes," he said quietly, "I'm one of the people you matter to." He couldn't look at her when he said it.
"Thank you, Grant, for saving my life," she said softly, kissing his cheek. She figured he didn't like talking about his feelings, so decided not to push him, but she couldn't not thank him.
She gave him a small smile, which he returned shyly. She was exhausted, so rested her head back against his shoulder, while he kept them afloat.
"I had a sister," he said quietly, a few minutes later. "Sometimes you remind me of her."
She raised her head to look at him again, shocked that he was telling her this. He wasn't one to share things about himself. "What was she like?" she asked quietly.
"She was beautiful," he said with a sad smile. "And smart. Not as smart as you, I don't think anyone is as smart as you really. But she was smart."
"What happened to her?" Simmons asked, hoping it wouldn't make him close off.
He looked at her for a few moments, before answering softly. "She died. When I was young."
"I'm sorry, Ward," Simmons said quietly.
"It's okay, it was a long time ago."
"You don't talk much, about yourself," Simmons said, hoping she wasn't pushing him too far. But he seemed to be more open to talking right now than she had ever seen so she supposed it was okay.
"I have a lot of unhappy things in my past," he replied. "I don't like to talk about it; to even think about it really."
"I guess I can understand that. I won't tell anyone, about your sister," she whispered. "Not unless you want them to know."
He looked at her carefully then. "I don't really mind if they know." They were quiet for a few more minutes, before he started to speak again. "Would it be alright, if maybe I thought of you like a little sister," he asked, feeling very vulnerable.
"I already think of you like a big brother sometimes," she answered, smiling at him. "With how you protect us all. And I've never had a big brother before, but I think you're a pretty good one."
He smiled at that, knowing he hadn't always been a good big brother, but knowing he would do better with Simmons if she let him. "I'll be a good big brother for you," he promised both her and himself.
They continued to speak quietly to each other, him asking her questions about the antiserum and her answering enthusiastically, which led to her work in general. He didn't understand a lot of what she told him, but he was happy to just let her talk. It kept them both awake and aware, until the rescue team arrived to fish them out of the water.
Ward and Simmons headed down the stairs from Coulson's office after he yelled at them a bit.
"So what'd you think of your first time sky diving?" Ward asked her with a smile.
"Honestly, I'd rather not think about it anymore," she groaned in reply.
"I thought what you did, was incredibly brave."
"Oh. Well. I suppose now's as good a time as any to tell you that, um, I may have misled you, earlier." Ward looked at her questioningly and folded his arms. He had a feeling he knew what this was about, but he wanted to hear her say it. "You see, when I gave you back the night night pistol, I lied. It's still an ounce off."
"I know."
"You do?"
"Of course," he replied. "After all, I'm Agent Grant Ward and I just jumped out of a plane without a parachute on and saved your life," he continued in an imitation of her and Fitz's earlier impressions of him.
"Actually, that's not quite it," she responded with a giggle. "It's a bit more nasally than that-"
He huffed at that and grabbed her quickly for a hug. "I'm so glad you're alright," he said softly.
She hugged him back. "Me too." She noticed movement behind him at the same moment he tensed and pulled away. "Oh, hello Skye," she said to the girl coming up behind Ward, who then grabbed her and pulled her into another hug.
Ward smiled, watching the two young women hug. Maybe this letting people in thing wasn't so bad, he thought.
