Chapter 8: Grace: A Secret Lie of the Fitz Family
Author Notes: THANK YOU ALL FOR THE FOLLOW AND READING THIS! I will try to update daily, but please be understanding if I don't do it daily. If I miss a day, I will try to make it up to you all. Please review…
AN 2: Sorry I have not updated in a little while. I am working my first full time job and work has been busy lately. I hope you enjoy this chapter because it's the start a three part chapter arch about Fitz's family. AND WARNING IT DOES TALK ABOUT SELF-HARM IN IT...
AN 3: I will not update tomorrow for two reasons. The first one is I have some family in town that I never get to see. The second is tomorrow marks the second Father's Day without my grandpa. He was the only grandpa I ever had because my mom's dad died before I was born. His death has been hitting me very hard lately. And this chapter ends on a cliffhanger, so I apologize for that my dear followers who I call friends...
This story is for charm4lifekaren: THANK YOU SO MUCH! You are the inspiration for me writing this fanfiction and you are like a sister to me. Your support writing and having you in my life means the world to me...
(I told her I wanted to write a Fitzsimmons fanfic and she gave me the idea of how they first met) and just writing on here in general!
"Oh no," Fitz thought. "They could be here anytime now because of the date on the letter was at least a month old."
The more Leo thought about things the more he panicked. The more he panicked, the more a panic attack started.
Luckily, Jemma walked in on her poor friend having the attack and got him the help he needed. As Jemma watched the doctors work she noticed an old picture that fell on the floor.
As she opened it, she saw four people in it. There was a woman who looked like his mum with beautiful red hair and a man who looked like his father with black hair. She then recognized Leo as a six year old. She noticed a teenaged girl next to him. The girl had beautiful black hair and a smile which could say anything you needed it to say.
"Cadet Simmons, you can see him," a doctor told her.
As she approached Leo, she saw a look in his eyes she had never seen before. It was a look of being lost and betrayed.
Leo showed her the letter from his parents. They talked about things that had happened with their first few months at the academy. Jemma suddenly remembered the photo she had in her hand was Leo's.
"You dropped this on the floor," Jemma said as she carefully handed the precious photo to her dear friend. "Thanks," he mumbled as he started blankly at the photo.
The friends sat in silence for what seemed like the longest time. Finally, Jemma had the courage to break it.
"Who was the girl in the photo," Jemma asked with great care.
"My sis, Grace," Leo responded with tears in his eyes. "She killed herself five years ago today."
Jemma sat there speechless with tears in her eyes. She didn't know what to do next.
"Grace was my older sister and my only sibling I had," Leo said with a lump building in his throat. "She was brilliant and thought science was fantastic, especially engineering. She taught me a lot about science. She's the reason I love engineering. One day, she can home from school and just stopped hanging out with me. My parents never noticed the deep cuts on her arm. One day she didn't come down for school. She took a bottle of sleeping pills and died. As a result, I threw myself into engineering stuff while my parents threw themselves into work even more than they did before. Grace is the reason I am here. She's why I love what I'm doing."
Jemma hugged her friend as he finally let the bottled up tears out.
After a while, they fell asleep within a loving embrace. A few hours passes by with no one getting near the pair. Since the academy hospital was off campus, it meant parents could visit along with others who were on a pre-approved list.
"Leopard Fitz, what in the bloody hell are you doing," yelled a woman in a heavy Irish ascent.
The pair jumped up as they saw a man and woman in front of Leo's bed. Jemma's heart sank hoping they were the people she recognized from the photo.
"Hello mum, hello dad," Leo mumbled avoiding eye contact with his parents.
