= Christmas, London =

Jemma had snuck into their flat. She'd been so quiet and she just happened to know where all the squeaky parts of the floor, so it was easy for her to avoid. She didn't sleep much, just enough to say that she slept.

The morning had come far too quickly and she was up making breakfast for everyone. She'd even brought home gifts for Skye and Michael, nothing special...but she knew that they'd love them. It would make them really feel like it was Christmas. She kept glancing at the clock, it felt like it was so late, but she knew that it was really early...they'd be up soon enough.

"Skye, where'd you find some place open on Chris-"

Jemma looked up to see Michael come to a full stop and just stared at her. She offered a small smile. It was really good to see him, to be back. She didn't have to worry so much about offending anyone or overstepping bounds or just doing something incorrectly. This was home. Michael and Skye, they were her home. "Happy Christmas, Michael…"

"Jemma...when did you-I thought you were-"

He was obviously confused and she hadn't helped any of that by not telling them that she WAS coming home early. She'd snuck in, but all she wanted to do now was celebrate Christmas with her family and acclimate to being home. "I came home early," she said and hoped that he didn't ask for an explanation. After all, Jemma had been preparing breakfast. "I hope you don't mind."

"Of course I don't mind!" Michael said and was immediately hugging her. It was a tight hug and she clung to him for a moment, missing this...missing him. "Happy Christmas, Jems."

"JEMMA!" Skye screeched and was immediately joining in the hug. "I was just having a dream that you were here for Christmas and here you are!"

"Maybe you have special powers," Michael teased.

They separated and Jemma just smiled at them both. "I'm just glad that I made it back for Christmas morning...now...breakfast...tea...sitting...and then we'll have presents."

"Wait, when comes the part where you tell us why you're home early?" Skye questioned quickly. "I thought you really thought that Duke of Andals-"

"Not ANDALS," Michael corrected quickly. "She went to Scotland...not Westeros…"

"It's Atholl," Jemma said with an amused smile. "He was...a very nice person...but he has ties there…"

"What kind of ties? I mean, we all have baggage," Skye pushed.

"Can't we just get through breakfast?" Jemma asked, not loving Skye's line of questioning. She moved into the kitchen and started to plate breakfast while putting the kettle on. "It's Christmas, Skye...we don't need to gossip-"

"But you're back an entire WEEK early…"

"So?"

"So, there's something you're not telling us."

"Perhaps," Jemma mumbled. She couldn't lie to them. She let out a frustrated sigh as she set their plates out before returning to get hers. "He's engaged...he was betrothed before he got married the first time...and the person he's engaged to...Lady Sìleas...she's quite jealous."

"Of you and the duke?"

"There's no me and the duke," Jemma countered. "She was jealous of my friendship...that relationship with the duke...and with his daughter. I can't help it that I get along with people and that Leo and I had something to talk about."

"Wait...is the duke...Leo?" Michael asked.

Crap.

Setting her plate down, she joined them and knew that she was going to have to get this out now so that they weren't harassing her for the remainder of the day about it. "Yes," she confided.

"What did you two talk about?" Skye asked in between bites. Her tone was more conversational rather than interrogative now.

"Science."

"Seriously, this duke knows science?" Skye questioned in shock.

"What do you think that dukes major in, Skye?" Michael teased, but was half serious.

"Leo's just a normal person...who ended up having to take on the title of duke…" Jemma explained. "He's an engineer."

"Wow...I don't know why I figured that they'd teach him something like conquering the world...or how to piss off England...or something like that…" Skye rambled. "I mean, I would think that in this part of the world that everyone would also have to take a serious minor in proper tea."

Jemma just stared at Skye for a long moment. "Are you quite done?"

"What?"

"He lives in Scotland, Skye...it's not like he's some viking...you do remember what year this is, right?" Michael cut in.

"What? I didn't say that he needed to know blacksmithing and cutting throats or something…"

"It's nothing," Jemma said. "I just hated leaving his daughter, Andra...she and I bonded...and I felt bad leaving her behind early…"

"I take it she hates the soon to be mother?" Skye asked.

"Well, Lady Sìleas...isn't exactly...social when it comes to children...and I think she expects things to be a certain way, but doesn't feel like she needs to make the social efforts in order to make them happen," Jemma explained. She shrugged. "It doesn't matter now, like I said, I'm home…"

"I've been looking for new jobs, I might have found something," Skye offered to change the subject.

"Actually, I was thinking about possibly looking at the university to see if there was perhaps something I could do in the biochem field where I could finish with my degrees as well," Jemma announced.

"Go, Jems!" Michael enthused and held his fist out to her. Jemma replied with a fist bump a moment later. "That sounds like a solid plan...weren't you like almost done with your masters?"

"I actually had already completed all of my master's work...and I just needed to finish my thesis for my PhD… I just...it's something that I think is important...something that I've missed…"

"Then you should do it," Skye said.

"Well, I have to look into it, of course…"

"If you want something, Jemma," Skye pointed out. "You always find a way to make it happen. You'll make this happen… We're going to have a great new year...and it's going to all work out...you'll see. We're Simmons."

And they were.

A united front.

"You're right," Jemma conceded. "We're Simmons and we're going to make the new year ours…" She held up her teacup, "Happy Christmas and New Year to us."

TBC...