Skye was fairly certain…actually, almost completely certain that she didn't do as well as she should have on her test…but her excuse for not studying had been completely worth it. Thanks to Jemma's new nickname for her, she suddenly had inspiration for what she wanted her special gift to be to her to symbolize that they were partners, since Skye still hadn't given her something personal. She had looked for the drawings of the pieces she had done the day before in class, but they were missing from her notebook when she went. She wasn't sure where she could have put them, but Skye thought she had worked brilliantly without them, allowing her to create something even better.
Her gift to Jemma was created out of shaped sea glass that Jemma had given her, which Skye had shaved down herself in the wee hours of the morning. She had strung it together with string similar to that that Jemma had used on her own necklace and taken an especially large piece and had shaped it into something special. The necklace was complete and Skye felt absolutely sure Jemma would love it. She took some tools with her, including a rock pick and some sandpaper and a knife to adjust the necklace to Jemma's preferred length and to soften any edges that she may have missed if the mermaid found any.
It was a quick pedal to the beach, and although Skye was late, she walked leisurely, enjoying the view and everything about today. She was tired, and didn't think she would be able to run, but she was very excited to show Jemma what she had made. She still hadn't been able to find her sketchbook…actually, a few others had been missing. Her room had been a mess when she got back from the diner and Skye figured her mother had probably messed around in it.
She was halfway to the stone wall when she felt her pocket vibrate and when Skye pulled it out she was only half surprised to see her mother calling…she had sort of avoided her the other morning.
"Hey mom."
"Hi honey, can you pick up a shift tonight?"
"Ugh…" Skye rolled her eyes, "Mom, no I can't, I told you I have plans…"
"Alright, alright, I just thought I would ask you first. "
"Yeah, I know mom, thanks…"
"Oh, by the way, that boy showed up last night asking for you while you were at work. He said you let him borrow some stuff he was just returning. I forgot to give it to you this morning, I hope you didn't need anything for class."
"Oh no mom, I had everythi—wait, what boy, mom?"
"Oh the tall one…dark hair…uhm…Ward."
"Ward was at our house?! What did he have?!" She stopped walking, heart speeding up and suddenly it felt like she couldn't breathe.
"I don't know dear, I didn't open them…" There was a pause and Skye listened as it sounded like her mother was walking and picking something up, "Sketchbooks honey. Oh look, these are very good…this girl is very pretty."
Shit. Fuck, shit, shit, damnit!
"I've got to go mom, sorry, bye!" Skye hung up quickly and shoved her phone back into her pocket and started walking again, this time at a quicker pace. That would explain her sketchbooks missing. Ward had somehow gotten her sketchbooks…but when? Skye suddenly remembered him bumping into her during class…he had been awfully nosey…more so than usual. If he had seen the sketches and recognized Jemma's face—
"Shit…that mother fucker."
Jemma was showing up early, as usual. There really was no set time today, since Skye could possibly be late, but Jemma wanted to be there if she wasn't so she still headed out at her regular time, ignoring Bobbi's protests. Her swim to shore was quite pleasant, actually, Fitz and his pod had been in the area and Jemma had played with them for a few minutes before moving on.
It was almost like the day was too nice, but Jemma hadn't seemed to notice. The only thing she was really paying attention to were her thoughts about her human partner, so she was completely unaware of her surroundings. Normally she was careful, but now she was already very close to shore, inside the rock walls and the grotto, so she didn't feel any particular need to watch out.
At least not until her tail got stuck.
It wasn't like something solid had landed on it, to Jemma it felt more like something wrapped around it, but when she twisted her body to take a look, there was nothing there. While her tail was still stuck in place, she managed to bend in a way that she could reach her it. Her hands ran over it, looking for anything unusual, but what she came across instead was the same feeling on her wrist. And then there was something on her face.
Jemma didn't see it until it was too late, but there were imprints on her skin where clear fishing wire was pressing against it, and Jemma realized with quite a bit of panic that she was tangled in a net she couldn't see.
All rationality left her as she mindlessly struggled, attempting to get away but only tangling her limbs further until she was a complete mess, every part of her body was wound up tightly. It had been impossible for her to escape a threat she couldn't see, and a cry of distress almost escaped her lungs when her head surfaced, but she had at least a little logic left. Nets didn't just appear, humans had to set them. The thought that Skye had done this didn't even register in her mind, she immediately assumed it was someone else. It had to be. She needed to stay quiet, unless she wanted to attract the attention of someone she was one hundred percent certain she did not want to attract the attention of.
Heart pounding in her chest, Jemma tried to hold back the screams and cries for help she wanted to emit, she wanted to call for Skye until she got here and fixed this. What if someone else got here first? The thought haunted her, and caused her to struggle a little more, which resulted in her left arm getting pinned to her chest.
Jemma watched the rock wall desperately, and when she did see a familiar bag tossed over, she didn't hesitate.
"Skye!" She screeched, splashing around now as much as possible to get her attention. She was terrified and she just wanted to get out of this death trap, she didn't want to end up dead or in a cage. "Skye, help me!"
That hadn't been what Skye wanted to hear from the other side of the wall, and all of a sudden everything she had been thinking about clicked into place. He had. The bastard had. She didn't know how, but he had. She didn't think she had ever climbed the tall rocks so fast and she practically fell into the sand on the other side in her rush.
"Jemma?!"
She scrambled out of the sand, grabbing her bag and looking to the shore. She saw the mermaid thrashing about in the water just beyond, causing a huge commotion and she shot off down the beach in a panic. Her lungs burned and it felt like her chest might explode.
"Jemma, what happened?!"
Her bag was off and in the sand at the edge of the water, shoes with it, and suddenly Skye was splashing in the water as she rushed in, not even caring for a second. She couldn't afford to. Thank goodness she wasn't so far out that Skye had to swim to her because she wouldn't have been able to, but she would have tried anyway and they would have both been in a mess.
"Stop moving! Stop moving, it's alright…let me see!" She was wading out as fast she could manage, which wasn't fast enough despite how quickly she wanted to be there.
Her hands stretched out and found Jemma in the water, "Calm down, I'm right here, Jemma. I've got you…calm down," She was trying to see what had happened but it was difficult. It wasn't until she felt thin strands on Jemma's skin that she could even tell there was something there holding her down.
"A net?! I'm going to kill him!"
Skye's blood was boiling. Ward knew. She didn't know how, but he knew and he was trying to catch Jemma. It couldn't be anyone else…it had to be him. There was no doubt in her mind and Skye wrapped her arms around the mermaid to get her to hold still and listen.
"Don't move, Jemma. I'm going to get you out! I'll be right back. You'll just get tangled if you move more…" She gave her a reassuring squeeze before doing her best to rush back to the shore, where, soaking wet, she grabbed for her bag and pulled out the knife. She didn't even want to think about what the situation would be like if she hadn't ended up finishing Jemma's necklace and bringing this today.
She was back in the water in a second and at Jemma's side the next.
"You can't move, alright? I don't want to hurt you on accident…" She couldn't really see the net so she had to feel and she did her best, cutting at it where she could see it and trying to avoid hurting Jemma at the same time. She needed to hurry though…she didn't know when or if Ward would be coming back.
Jemma's chest was still heaving, though the tight net that still bound most of her body didn't allow much room for hyperventilation. It was better now that Skye was here, she could fix it. Incomprehensible words sputtered out of Jemma's mouth as she leaned into Skye, shutting her eyes tightly and trying to ignore the way the cold blade accidentally touched her skin sometimes, but Skye was very careful and managed not to cut her.
"I don't know what happened, I couldn't see it in the water, and then my tail got stuck and I tried to get away but I-" Jemma's rambling was cut off by her own need to take a breath, and it was a desperate attempt to suck in as much oxygen as possible before she started hyperventilating again. She knew she was panicking, but even with Skye here it was hard to calm down.
"It's okay, it's okay…" Skye just kept saying it over and over because she didn't know what else to say. She was terrified for Jemma and she was fuming and trying to concentrate all at once. She worked diligently, and finally, she felt that she had most of the net cut away, and she quickly reached and pulled it all off, slinging what was left of the main part of the net up into the sand so that they could see it and neither of them get tangled into it again.
Once Jemma was free, Skye tossed the knife onto the shore too and quickly grabbed the mermaid up into her arms and held her tightly, one hand on the back of her head and another on the small of her back, just standing there in the water with her. "I've got you…It's okay. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."
This was her fault. Bobbi had warned her and neither of them had listened. If only Skye had been more careful…she shouldn't have drawn so many pictures of Jemma…she shouldn't have let her come onto land where she could have run into him. Skye was almost hyperventilating herself, which wasn't good for trying to calm the other girl down. She kissed her face, hoping it would help, but she just held her there in the water. She tried not to let the fact that she was up to her chest bother her…Jemma was scared more. Jemma needed her more than Skye was afraid.
Jemma sniffled, and she was sure that if she was a human she would have been crying at this point. Humans cried when they were scared, right?
It didn't matter, Jemma just clung to Skye and held her clothes tightly in her fists, never wanting to let go. It didn't even register to her that Skye was actually in the water with her, she was just too horrified to notice any of it, really.
"I'm scared." Jemma whispered weakly, clutching Skye and hiding her face in the dip between Skye's shoulder and neck. Clearly, someone had known exactly where to put a net to catch her. They'd had to know, one, that she existed, and two, where to find her. There was only one person other than Skye that might know these things. It was Ward, and that sent a horrified shiver up her spine. He must have figured it out somehow because she'd stupidly wandered away at the pier and run into him. Maybe he followed them back here at some point.
"I know…y-you're out now. It's okay…shit, I mean it's not really okay obviously, but you're safe now. I've got you," Skye held onto Jemma tighter and kissed the top of her head. She wanted to hold her forever and keep whispering calming and soothing words into her ear but Skye was scanning the rock walls, eyes darting from one to the other and then back to Jemma, only to start the process over again the next couple of seconds.
She didn't know when Ward was coming back, and she needed Jemma gone by then…long gone, so the possibility of Ward even seeing her was beyond negative a thousand. She was almost shaking with rage, but that wasn't going to help. The important thing was, she had gotten here first and now Jemma was out of the net. She just needed her to get a little more together before she had to tell her to leave. She hated that she was scared and Skye hated that it was all her fault. She had led him here…she had let this happen.
"I've got you…" She repeated and rubbed her back, trying to stimulate her to breathe more evenly, "Jemma…you need to breathe. I've got you right now. You need to focus…" She whispered and kissed her cheek. "I know you're scared…I'm so sorry. This is my fault…Ward must have followed me…my sketchbook went missing yesterday but I thought I just misplaced it…I-I didn't know he took it. Goddamnit, I'm sorry."
Jemma let Skye's words finally calm her down, and her breathing slowly began to even out, though her grip on her partner didn't loosen. It wasn't Skye's fault, and if it was, it was largely Jemma's, too, but she didn't have the words to explain this at the moment and instead just remained silent.
Eventually, the only noises Jemma could hear was both of their breathing and the faint sound of Skye's heartbeat, since her ear was still pressed against Skye's neck. The logical part of her brain was telling her that the both of them needed to get out of here, but she couldn't force herself to let go.
Everything was going to change. Ward knew she existed, and if he really was the horrible person he's proved himself to be- and if his father owned an aquarium theme park- he probably wouldn't give up. Their secret was out now, at least to him.
If the pod found out, they would pack up and leave in an instant, and Jemma would either be banished from the pod for exposing them or she'd have to leave with them and probably never see Skye again. Things were taking a turn for the worse, just like Bobbi had warned.
Skye let Jemma hold her as long as she thought her nerves could take before she knew she needed to get Jemma away. She couldn't even begin to process everything that this meant; she didn't want to think about it. Her only priority was keeping her safe.
She squeezed the mermaid tightly, turning her head one more time and planting a long kiss on the top of her head, which she sighed heavily into before pulling away and loosening her grip on the mermaid.
"Jemma…" her grip didn't loosen and it made this even harder for her.
"Jemma," She said it more firmly this time and as gently as possible, tried to push the mermaid back off of her just a little bit, "You need to leave. You need to get out of here…" Skye was shaking some as she said the words. If Jemma left, she didn't know if she could ever come back. It certainly wasn't safe enough but Skye didn't know if she could take not seeing her again. Really, she had just found her, they had just settled things…they were supposed to be together forever now. That's how this worked. At least that's how it was supposed to work.
"You need to be safe, Jemma, you need to go," Skye managed to grab Jemma's hands and hold them so that they weren't wrapped around her anymore. She was getting more and more anxious and she had a bad feeling bubbling up in the pit of her stomach and she really didn't want to find out what it was.
"You have to be gone before Ward gets back!"
Skye's voice had progressively become more and more urgent and a painful feeling in Jemma's chest blossomed with each of her statements. Skye was right about her needing to leave, but it was still hard. It was uncertain when they would see each other and it only made the black hole of Jemma's fear grow even wider.
"I'll be back- I promise." Jemma nearly choked on the words and she threw herself at Skye one last time, wrapping her arms around her neck and pressing their mouths together eagerly. Jemma refused to think this would be their last kiss, but she wanted it to last until they saw each other again, whenever that might be.
Before Skye could say anything and Jemma could change her mind, she sunk straight down into the water and immediately went for her go to hiding place behind the rock, carefully trying to foresee any other nets, if there were any.
Once she got to the rock, Jemma resurfaced once more just to check and watch Skye leave safely, but she didn't see what she wanted to see. Her eyes caught sight of a tall, dark haired figure and Jemma was forced to slip behind the rock and out of his view. She was hoping, praying, that nothing happened to Skye.
"I see you let the catch of the day slip away!"
Skye whirled around, head snapping up to look as Ward landed on her side of the rock wall. He was inside the grotto and the brunette suddenly felt defensive. He was practically invading her home. He had already invaded her home. He had set a trap for Jemma, but still, she had to somehow play it off. He couldn't know everything, there was no way.
"I don't know what you're tal-"
"Can it, Johnson! We both know why you've been coming here every day," Ward snapped and it made Skye jump. He had that tone. He was angry, and things didn't normally go well for her at all when he was angry.
"You sure did draw a lot of pictures of your gal for someone who doesn't want her messed with. You should have known better, Skye. You can't keep treasures like this all to yourself. They need to be shared."
Just the way he said it made her skin crawl, her hands tightening into fists as she moved up more onto the shore and out of the water.
"Back the fuck off, Ward! Just leave us alone," Skye was ready to stand her ground. She knew she wouldn't be able to do it very well, especially if he meant it, and from the look he had, he did. Still, she wasn't going to give up. She was going to stop him if she could. She had to whatever she could to keep Jemma safe…to keep her partner safe.
"No, see, it's a little too late for that now, Johnson. I thought something was up with you when you brought your weird little friend to the pier. I knew she was different, and the way you stormed off…well.." He did this thing with his eyebrow that made Skye want to rip it off, "When I saw your necklace, and that center piece for it…I figured you had something you didn't want to share. So I stole your sketchbook, and low and behold, there was a mermaid with the same exact face as your new friend. She's awfully cute by the wa-"
"You shut your mouth, Ward!"
"Or what? Or what, Skye? Are you going to hit me?" he was laughing and it made her shake with rage. She wanted to hit him. She would get at least one good lick in before he beat her senseless, she knew that much. By that time Jemma would be long gone and there would be nothing he could do about it.
"I'll fucking try," Skye took a step forward and stepped on something hard in the sand. Her eyes shot down and went wide when she saw her knife. Apparently Ward saw it too because by the time Skye was down trying to pick it up she felt a sharp pain in her temple and suddenly her face was down in the sand. She could already feel the bruise starting to color the side of her face and her head was spinning.
"Now, I saw that mermaid go into the water, so she can't be far off, not if you're still here," Ward had the knife in his hand and he was meandering down to the shoreline while Skye was still on the ground.
"Hey! Mermaid, your friend is in trouble. Why don't you come out and see if you can't help her, huh?" He shouted towards the water, looking over to where he had set the net, eyeing it closely.
"You leave her alone!" Skye yelled spitting out sand and picking herself up. When she looked, Ward had what was left of his net in one hand and the knife in the other, heading towards the rock where she knew Jemma waited for her every day. If she was still here he could get her again, and Skye wasn't going to take that chance.
"Don't you touch her!"
Ward turned around just as Skye was on him, hands grabbing his shirt to shove him back into the rock. Her hands grasped his shirt tightly, and she shoved. He went a little easier than expected, because his look of determination faded very quickly to confusion and then mild horror.
Skye didn't have time to wonder why and so she pulled and slammed him into the rock again and he was too shocked to do anything about it. After the third time, he seemed to regain some sense, and when he went to run away, he slid in the wet sand and fell, unable to catch himself as Skye almost went with him. His head hit a rock and Skye watched carefully for a moment, wondering if he might spring up, but when he didn't she took a step back.
Her adrenaline spike was starting to fade and all of a sudden, something didn't seem right. She was dizzy, and there was another sharp, more distinct pain coming from her stomach now and when she looked down, she discovered why. She didn't have a lot of time to really register because as her adrenaline went, so did she.
Suddenly she was on her knees in the wet sand, gasping next to Ward, her knife up to the hilt in her lower abdomen. When Ward had turned, it had been out, and Skye had run right into it. She hadn't even noticed she had been so focused on getting him away…she should have paid more attention. She knew not to take it out, but still, she wasn't exactly sure what to do and she was down in the sand before she could react, almost shrieking as she fell back and the wound was jostled.
"Skye!" Jemma did shriek, and she raced away from the rock and back towards the sand, dragging herself up onto shore even if Ward could get up any second. The second things had gone awry, Jemma had been listening in, and she'd almost revealed herself when Ward called out to her, but she'd managed to stay hidden until now. She couldn't hide or run away when Skye was still here, dying the sand red.
"Skye," Jemma whined when she finally reached her. Her eyes wandered first over the girl's pained expression, and they fell down and got stuck on the knife jammed into her body.
"I'm going to fix this..." Jemma cried. Her entire body was shaking, and she wanted to help, but she didn't know what to do. All she knew was that there was a knife buried in her partner. They were supposed to be together forever, they'd only just made this promise recently, and Jemma wasn't going to break it.
"You're going to be alright, okay?" Jemma said, though she was uncertain. She knew nothing about the way a human would react to this sort of trauma, and the only thing she could imagine would help with the pain would be to take out the knife. She wrapped both hands around it and whispered words of comfort before she smoothly slid it out. Horrified, Jemma tossed the bloodied knife into the sand and cupped Skye's cheeks, hoping to get a reaction out of her. Anything.
Skye called out loudly again when the knife slid out and in her dizzying state she almost couldn't realize what had happened. Her breathing quickened and her eyes got wider. Jemma would be sure to notice the stain on her shirt suddenly getting bigger and Skye was shaking her head.
"O-oh my god…Jemma," She managed to get one hand onto where her wound was and she let out a hiss as she tried to put pressure on it and only ended up yelling and getting her hand soaked in her own blood instead. She didn't have the strength to do it. Everything was getting faint.
"I…I love you…b-but you sh-shouldn't have done th-that…" She breathed, letting her head fall back into the sand and grab at one of Jemma's hands and squeezed it as tight as she could, which wasn't very tight.
"Y-you're not sup…" She couldn't finish right away having to pause to take a breath and gather her scrambled thoughts, "N-not supposed to…ta-take it out…" She didn't think she could keep explaining. It was already too hard for her to keep her eyes open, but she knew if she closed them she wasn't sure if she would be able to open them again…ever.
There was no calling 911…she had soaked her phone beyond the point of no return by diving in after Jemma. She knew it wouldn't work, because after she had fallen in the first time it had been broken for a week. She was going to die here. She was going to bleed out in the sand and leave Jemma all alone and Skye couldn't believe how insanely stupid she was. This was all her fault.
No amount of pressure was going to help her…it would only slow it down, and Skye needed to act while she was still lucid. Her bloodied hand dipped very slowly into her pocket and pulled out the necklace she had made. All the colors of the sea glass in it matched the colors of Jemma's scales and hanging as the main pendant in the center, was a very carefully carved starfish.
"I-I made…I made th-this for you…"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Jemma repeated over and over again. She couldn't believe she'd just messed everything up so horribly. She'd only been trying to help, but clearly by the quickly enlarging pool of blood she'd done a piss poor job.
Jemma choked down a loud sob when she saw the necklace, and she realized that Skye had just said she loved her for the first time. She made this beautiful symbol of their partnership, and here she was, about to die right in front of her. Skye didn't deserve this.
"I love it, and I love you." Jemma cried, and as she gripped Skye's hand tightly with the necklace between their two palms, Jemma was surprised to feel actual tears running down her cheeks. Maybe she was more human than she thought, and Skye was more like a mermaid than she had originally believed.
Skye. A mermaid. Skye was a member of the pod, which meant she was just as entitled to their medicines as any of the rest of them.
"Hold on, everything's going to be alright soon." Jemma promised. Clearing her throat, Jemma switched away from English like she had when she'd first shown Skye her language, and she strained her voice belting out a call above water that would reach all the way to the caves. She said one of their own was fatally wounded, and it wasn't a lie.
Skye smiled weakly, glad to see that Jemma liked the necklace, although she couldn't really be sure if it was because she really did, or if she just liked it because she was dying. Skye knew it was because she did genuinely like it, but the other thought kept creeping up…probably because it was true.
She winced a little as the loud sound pierced her ears, but it wasn't altogether unpleasant. It just sounded like a whale… a very loud whale, and Skye had always liked to listen to Jemma talk in her actual language. It was much more beautiful sounding than English was…and any other human language for that matter.
"O-Oh good…I-I was…beginning to w-worry a lit-little bit…" Skye cracked a half smile and almost laughed, except it turned into a cough, which just made her abdomen hurt more and caused her to groan loudly. She was just trying to make Jemma feel better and she was probably doing a shitty job. Not much could really cheer a person up if their life partner was dying right in front of them, practically in their arms. She grabbed Jemma's hand tighter suddenly and her breathing grew more ragged than it already was.
Jemma was a blur, and she didn't want her to be. She wanted to see her face, to keep looking at it until she couldn't anymore, which seemed to be approaching very quickly.
"I-I'm sorry…I'm s-sorry…" She shouldn't have agreed to this. She knew when she had decided to accept this and be Jemma's partner that she would somehow fall short. How could she not? And now it was happening and Jemma was going to be left alone forever instead of with her forever.
"I d-do rea…r-r…" She couldn't get it out. She had to get it out.
"l-love you…" Her breathing staggered again, worse than before, and her grip around Jemma's hand loosened. Skye found she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore. She was just so tired. Curling up with Jemma and taking a nap sounded wonderful, especially since she had been awake all night making her necklace.
"Skye, no. No." Jemma squeezed Skye's hand tighter, hoping desperately that she would feel Skye squeeze back again. The amount of sand that Skye's blood had seeped into had quickly increased, and there wasn't a thing Jemma could do about it.
"Just a few more minutes, Skye, please." Jemma begged, running the fingers of her free hand through Skye's hair. It felt like Jemma had been stabbed herself when Skye's eyes fell shut, and she had to move her fingers down to Skye's pulse point just to be sure she was still alive. She was. There was still time.
"Jemma! What is hap-" the second Jemma heard a voice that was not her own, Skye's, or Ward's, Jemma head whirled around to face the ocean, and unsurprisingly, the heads of May and the shaman, her partner Coulson.
"Please, you have to help us, Skye's hurt." Jemma begged, gripping Skye's hand, which was rapidly decreasing in temperature. Despite Coulson's seemingly kind and willing face, May was still stony and expressionless.
"A human? You want us to use our medicine on a human?" It was like May couldn't believe what she'd said, like it was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard. This wasn't a joke to Jemma, though, and whether or not she could convince May determined Skye's life.
"She saved my life. I was caught in a net-" Jemma's eyes wandered over to Ward lying in the sand several meters away, and if Skye hadn't needed her so much, Jemma was apt to kill him in that moment. It would be so easy. She just had to pick up the knife Ward had used to almost kill her and slide it across his throat, and that would be it...
Jemma let the dark thought pass and looked back to May, who still seemed unconvinced that saving Skye would be worth their use of supplies. She had to convince her, and there was really only one way...
"Skye is my partner. You have to save her." Jemma only let go of Skye's hand to hold up the bloodied necklace, and she used the other to fun her fingers along the one around Skye's neck. May looked dumbstruck. Surely this had never happened to them before, it wasn't something she knew how to handle, and honestly, neither did Jemma. May didn't say anything, and Jemma didn't know if that was worse or better. While Jemma's heart continued beating wildly, and Skye's weakly, Coulson whispered something into his own partner's ear, and May's face softened. She gave a tiny nod directly to Coulson, who then held up a tiny vial of light blue, almost glowing liquid before tossing it up on the sand.
"It seems Aphrodite has not been kind to you, child." Coulson said sympathetically before disappearing under the surface and swimming away. May stayed behind as Jemma scrambled for the medicine for Skye, and she knew it couldn't be good.
"There will be a vote to determine your fate. Do not come back to the caves unless you are sent for." She said firmly, her mouth a tight line. Jemma nodded, just grateful for what she could get, and then May was gone as well.
"Skye, you're going to be okay!" Jemma promised, pulling Skye's shirt up away from the wound and quickly uncapping the vial. Jemma just had to empty it onto Skye's wound, and she watched gratefully as it seemed to soak into the deep cut and pull her skin closed with it, sealing the injury and only leaving behind a small, raised line on her stomach.
"I love you so much, it's all going to be alright." Jemma cried, pressing her forehead against Skye's stomach. There was still one more thing she had to do, though. She looked from the knife to Ward in longing, but she couldn't. She wasn't like him.
Jemma had to get Skye out of here, and after putting on her beautiful starfish necklace, which ended up fitting perfectly, Jemma dragged Skye to the ocean's edge, apologizing profusely before dragging her into the water and holding her close.
It took near two hours for Jemma to swim around the island with Skye in her arms before she found another relatively safe shore. It was smaller, but concealed by even larger boulders that would take quite a bit of climbing to get over.
"See, I promised you you'd be okay." Jemma grunted as she dragged Skye's unconscious form up onto land, suddenly getting a sense of deja vu from the very first time she'd seen Skye. Jemma was exhausted from having carried her this far and from the emotional trauma of the day, so once Skye was far enough onto shore, Jemma curled into her body, wrapping her tail protectively around her partner's legs and resting her hand on the new scar on her abdomen. So maybe they would both get that nap, and neither of them had to die for it.
Jemma didn't know what to think as she laid there silently. She might be banished from her pod forever, but she couldn't think about that right now. She just needed to be grateful that Skye was alive, so she let herself fall asleep.
Skye laid there for a long time, unconscious and steadily breathing. Her breaths grew deeper and her pulse grew stronger and if was getting well on towards dark before everything suddenly seemed to jolt into action. When Skye's body shot up, she was in a panic. The last she remembered, Ward was trying to get Jemma and that panic she felt flooded her again and she gasped loudly, almost starting to hyperventilate.
"J-Jemma?!" The mermaid was still curled around her and seeing her asleep, Skye quickly assumed the worst. She shook her, not caring to be gentle, "Jemma? Jemma are you alright?!"
She hadn't looked around, didn't realize that they were somewhere completely new. The fear from before was real and she needed to make sure the mermaid was safe.
Jemma's eyes flashed open with the sudden jolt, and she blinked away sleep a few times before everything finally registered. Skye was talking to her. Skye had to he alive to talk to her
"Skye," Jemma gasped, practically flinging herself at her. She wrapped her arms around her partner's neck and held her tightly, only parting to cup Skye's cheeks and pepper kisses all over her face.
"You're alright." Jemma cried. Even though she saw Skye heal, she had still been worried. It was relieving to actually have Skye conscious.
Skye wasn't sure why Jemma seemed so relieved and she opened her mouth to say something, to push the mermaid away because she needed to leave and get to safety, when she felt a ghost of a pain. Her eyes darted down to her ripped and blood soaked shirt and suddenly her breathing started to quicken even more. She had been dying. She had been passed out, bleeding out onto the sand, Jemma crying over her. She had apologized so much. She had had so much to say and not nearly enough of it came out.
Her eyes landed on Jemma's neck, where the necklace she had given her hung securely. The sight of it made her calm down. The blood on it had been washed away, and slowly, Skye took a breath and then latched onto Jemma, holding her tightly.
"Jemma, I'm so sorry!" She held her tightly and buried her face in the mermaid's neck, suddenly starting to cry, grasping tightly onto her now that the shock of everything was setting in.
She was still so worried about Jemma still being here. Anything could happen. Ward could come back. Ward could come back with more people, more nets, more things that were worse than that. "Jemma...y-you can't..." She was shaking her head but she really didn't want Jemma to leave.
"It's ok, Skye, we're safe." Jemma whispered, though that wasn't entirely the truth. Sure, they were on a different beach and pretty well blocked off from the rest of the island, but it was only so big and if Ward really wanted to find them, he probably could. They were alright for now, though, and Jemma had to make sure Skye knew that.
Skye was still crying onto Jemma's shoulder, and Jemma wrapped her arms around the girl and began rubbing circles into her back, trying to comfort her. She'd almost died, and Jemma definitely thought it was better to have her here crying than not at all.
Somehow, Jemma had almost come to accept the dangerous situation she was in. Like Skye was trying to point out, she couldn't exactly stay out in the open, but she wasn't allowed back near the caves until the entire pod came to a decision, and something as big as this could take days. It seemed as if she wasn't going to be able to go to deeper waters for safety, so she only hoped that the rocks would protect them.
"This isn't your fault." Jemma whispered, holding Skye close. All of this was an accident, and if they were to lay blame, they'd have to split it equally. Jemma was the one who kept coming back and pushed to go on land, so it was just as much her fault as Skye's for having the sketchbook. If it hadn't been for Jemma, Ward wouldn't have had any reason to steal the sketchbooks, and even if he had he wouldn't have recognized her.
It took the crying girl a while for her to stop but when she did, she kept her face nuzzled into Jemma's neck and her arms around her. Jemma would only know she had stopped sobbing because her breathing returned to an even rhythm and she was composed enough to kiss the mermaid's neck gently. It still felt like her fault, even though Jemma had said it wasn't. She was the one who was supposed to be looking out for her and she had done a shitty job, case and point. Ward had found out and almost caught Jemma. Yeah, she was doing a swell job.
When she did move away, it was only to look down at herself, taking a hesitant hand and running it over the bloodied spot where the knife had been, feeling only a long, thin, upraised scar. She remembered how quickly Jemma's wounds had healed when magic was applied...so that must have been the case now. If she was healed...then that must mean either Jemma had gone back to get the potion, which she didn't remember Jemma leaving her, and seriously doubted she would have, or, "Did you call for your pod, Jemma...? I remember hearing your singing sounds...what happened?"
"They know, Skye, they all know." Jemma wished she had good news for Skye, but she just didn't have it. It was bad enough that Ward had tried to capture her, but now she had to tell Skye that she had nowhere that was actually safe for her to take refuge.
"It was their duty to heal you, but I'm not to return to the pod until they've decided my fate." Jemma didn't sugarcoat it, she couldn't, not now. It was best that they both knew everything during such a dangerous situation.
"What?!"
The artist was sent into another panic and if it hadn't been for Jemma still holding her and her tail still over her legs she would have shot up and began to pace.
"They can't just do that! W-Ward is still out there. He could come back for you! It's not safe for you to stay here. Jemma, they have to let you go back!" Skye couldn't believe they were putting Jemma out like this. She was in danger, she needed their help. Skye almost thought she would be better off dead if they had let Jemma go back with them to get away from Ward and whatever crazy shit he was planning.
"Th-they can't just do that..." She couldn't understand how she was supposed to keep Jemma safe. As she looked around she noticed the rock walls were higher and when she looked back it looked more like a decently high cliff face with vegetation hanging over it. This wasn't their normal place. She had no idea if people came here or not. She couldn't just let Jemma stay on land, Ward could get her and Skye had clearly demonstrated she wasn't the best at defense. She couldn't send her into the ocean alone either. There were still sharks to worry about. There was no good medium, no safe place.
It was definitely her fault. She had drawn Jemma, she had lead him here, she had provided him the clues. She should have kept away when Bobbi came to warn her of the dangers. They were all happening at once it seemed. She was so worked up all over again that she was shaking.
"You should have just left Jemma! I told you to run, so you could be safe and n-now...now you can't. They've got to let you back!" She was upset and she was yelling, and with good reason. It had been a traumatic and stressful day and Skye was snapping. She couldn't even do the one job she was supposed to do. "You should have swam home, Jemma!" If she had, then maybe she just wouldn't be allowed back, which wouldn't have been an issue because Skye knew she would have died anyway. But at least she would be safe and out of Ward's reach...now neither of them had anywhere to go. Skye couldn't just go home either. Ward would probably be waiting for her...
"I couldn't just let you die!" Jemma snapped right back, pulling away from Skye slightly. She didn't understand how Skye could be so single minded. She was willing to give up everything for Jemma, but she wouldn't let her do the same.
"We'll figure something out." Jemma said quietly, shaking her head. There had to be a solution, it couldn't all just end here. She couldn't force herself to look up from the sand, Skye's biting tone struck her silent.
Skye was silent as well, still fuming, but it didn't take long for her inner fire to die down again. Sighing heavily, she shifted back towards Jemma, wanting her contact back and softly reaching for her hand so she had at least something.
"I'm sorry, Jems..." She waited till she saw the mermaid relax a little more before she came all the way back into her, wrapping her arms around her and holding her close.
"Thank you, Jemma...I'm sorry I yelled...I just..." She sighed again and gave her a kiss on the cheek instead, "You're right. It'll all work out. Thank you for saving me...again. I meant what I said before. I love you..I just want you to be safe..."
"I love you too, that's why I had to save you." Jemma snuggled into Skye's side, fitting against her where she belonged. It was still rapidly getting dark, and Jemma knew she couldn't go back into the ocean now, especially since there were no caves for shelter. Skye probably couldn't go home, Ward would easily find her there, so it seemed as though their only option was to stay here tonight and hope they were safe.
"I really do love the necklace." Jemma pointed out when it got too quiet. She reached up to her neck and careful turned the starfish over in her fingertips, smiling happily. Jemma always found the good in everything, and despite the terrible things that were happening, she and Skye were still partners.
Skye chuckled lightly and smiled, leaning over against the mermaid to snuggle down. She touched a hand to her own necklace before moving her hand to the real thing, rubbing down Jemma's scales affectionately. "I'm glad you like it...I spent all night on it," she leaned down and kissed the mermaid's cheek a couple of times, "I made it with all of the sea glass you brought me. When I sculpt, I use metal sometimes, but I really like using rocks...so the sea glass was perfect. I sanded it down too so there shouldn't be any sharp edges on the starfish." Skye sighed with a small smile, "I like my new nickname by the way...how did starfish come about?"
She was chilly as it got darker, still damp and the wind was starting to pick up and Skye shivered lightly against Jemma, subconsciously moving closer and nuzzling into her more.
Jemma giggled at the memory of taking Skye into the water only yesterday, though after everything that had happened since then made it seem like longer. "Well, you see, when I brought you to meet Fitz you were clinging to me exactly like a starfish." Jemma chuckled. "And if you think about it, humans do kind of look like starfish to us, with all your limbs." She joked, resting a hand on Skye's thigh and squeezing lightly to emphasize her point.
"I guess we do!" Skye laughed, nodding and smiling wide, wiggling her toes in the sand. Jemma's nickname for was clever, and she loved it already. Her nickname for Jemma was only a shorter version of her name, but she liked the way that she smiled when she said it. The wind quickly reminded her that she was getting colder though, and when Jemma gave her thigh a squeeze she felt a little surge of warmth.
It made her shiver even more though and she gently placed her hand over Jemma's and held it lightly. "One good thing I guess...we get another night together. What do you think about that, hm?" She had almost died today, so Skye could think of worse ways to be spending a night than on the beach with her partner.
"That is definitely a good thing." Jemma grinned, running her hand up and down Skye's thigh when she saw how much she liked it. Even though they didn't have the blankets and the hot chocolate, it would still be nice and they could keep each other warm.
Jemma eased herself onto her side, and was pleased when Skye did the same. Skye received a quick, playful peck on the nose before Jemma wriggled closer and kissed her soundly.
Skye practically hummed a contented noise into Jemma's lips and she leaned in for more when the mermaid broke away, recapturing her lips and kissing her again. It grew almost desperate, and one of Skye's hands was on the back of Jemma's head, tangled in her hair and pulling her closer while the other one slid to rest at her waist between her scales and skin.
Jemma had almost been captured and taken away from her today. She had almost died and left Jemma alone today. Both of them were still in danger. Jemma could be banished from the pod or be welcomed back and they could migrate. Any number of things could happen, and Skye couldn't bear the thought of not having Jemma for another minute. She wanted as much of her as she could get, right now, in this very moment. She wanted the mermaid to overload her senses. She wanted to forget that everything had the potential to fall apart, for just a little while. They were both here and they had the night together, and the artist was going to make sure that they enjoyed it as much as they could. Who knew if they would get another one. Everything was so uncertain now.
They had to break for air, and Skye had been kissing so forcefully she was sure at least her own lips were swollen, but she wasn't satisfied. By the time Jemma had caught her breath, Skye had unknowingly shifted a little more to face her, hand still tangled in her hair and holding her head.
"I love you, Jemma..." Skye pressed herself against the mermaid again, her lips were claiming Jemma's once again. She had made her the necklace, pouring as much love and creativity into its design as she could manage, as Jemma had done hers by giving her one of her scales...and Skye knew that Jemma knew she loved her. That's what the necklaces meant...but still, she had a strong desire to show her how much she loved her. She needed to show her another way, to make it extra clear. A human way.
Skye's hand had slid all the way down to where Jemma's thighs would have been, rubbing her hand along the scales there, trying to make her feel as nice as possible. A particularly cold breeze ran up over the shoreline making Skye shiver more and press herself further into the mermaid she was still lip locked with. It caused her to bite down on the mermaid's lip on accident and Skye pulled away suddenly, face red and heated."I-I'm sorry...I didn't..." She certainly hadn't meant to bite her, or get carried away like she had. The hand in her hair lowered to Jemma's shoulder but the one on her scales kept a firm grip there, not wanting to fully surrender just yet. She had surprised herself and probably Jemma too, but she would have been lying to say she hadn't enjoyed it. Even now, her body was warm and against the wind this felt good.
Jemma had been surprised and a tiny bit confused when Skye had bit her lip, but it didn't last long. The strange feeling that had passed over her in that moment hadn't been bad, but it was intense and new. Like most other things Skye introduced to her, it was something she wanted to explore. Skye wouldn't have done it if it wasn't normal.
"You need to stop..." Jemma breathed as she leaned in for another kiss. She let it linger before she pulled away again and stared into Skye's eyes. "...apologizing." She finished with a grin, going in for a kiss yet again. Lucky for Skye, Jemma was a fast learner and she lightly bit Skye's bottom lip, pretty sure that she was doing the right thing by both the feeling in her body and the way Skye reacted.
At the bite, a small, pleased moan bubbled up from Skye's throat and past her lips, which had parted in surprise at it being returned. It made her face go red, and she was about to apologize again, but then she remembered what Jemma had just said. She kissed her hard instead, to keep herself quiet and a tingle of warmth made its way down her spine.
Skye's hand against Jemma's tail kept its grip and started moving again, rubbing down along it as far as Skye could reach before bringing it back up and repeating the process. Jemma's scales normally felt cold to her unless they had been laying in the sun for a while, but now Skye could feel them heating up on their own.
She decided to bite again. It was more gentle this time and less of a surprise, but it still made the mermaid's lips part and before Skye could think twice about it, she was lacing her tongue over Jemma's lip to sooth down the bite before it slipped into her mouth. Skye let her tongue rub and move against hers, hoping the girl would learn fast again and figure out what to do. Less than appropriate thoughts were starting to slip their way into Skye's mind and linger, and if her previous moan had been any indication, heating herself up like this was starting to have side effects. Her hand on Jemma's shoulder slid down, Skye forcing it to stay on Jemma's arm, holding onto her almost desperately. It wanted to wander and she wanted to let it but she wasn't sure how to even begin starting to explain her thoughts to the mermaid. She doubted they did anything like this at all, since they didn't kiss. Skye still wasn't an expert on mermaids and not even an expert on Jemma.
Her thought process had lasted so long, she had somehow found herself straddling the mermaid, one hand having moved to Jemma's face to hold it while they still kissed. Her face was probably a safer place than where Skye wanted to let it go, but it didn't make much difference because the artist was pressing herself against the mermaid in such a way that their chests were touching. It made her breathing start to stagger like before when they had been on the other beach and Skye was too unfocused to register it to worry if Jemma would think something was wrong.
Jemma had a feeling she'd been missing out on quite a bit with their chaste little kisses, but it seemed as if Skye had been taking it slow for her up until this point. The strange thing was that if Jemma had never met Skye, in no world would she have had the desire to do something like this, she wouldn't even think about it, but with Skye, it was all she wanted to do. Skye's mouth was warm and so were the hands on Jemma's scales and face, and it made her shiver in delight. A sound Jemma didn't even recognize as her own slipped out while Skye's tongue moved against hers.
Jemma was learning quickly, and she knew that it did matter where she put her hands, so she brought them up to Skye's waist and gripped tightly. Her thumb ended up slipping through the hole in Skye's shirt and running over the new scar there. Skye had almost died today. Jemma had almost lost her, after such a short time together. This had to last.
Soon, desperate for more contact, Jemma's hands, which had been slightly chilled from the wind, slipped under Skye's shirt completely to hold her waist firmly, and the warmth she felt there made Jemma's spine tingle. Her thumb contrasted from their kiss as she continued to gently slide it across the raised line.
Skye's lips broke away and hissed at the cold contact of Jemma's hands at first and it made her skin tingle and goosebumps pop up over her body. She briefly wondered if Jemma even knew what goosebumps were or if mermaids got them. She had half a mind to find out.
When she went back in for another kiss, she didn't go for Jemma's lips, instead, sinking her head down to the crook of the mermaid's neck and planting a series of kisses there instead. She found herself wanting to move, and it was in a way that she knew she would probably have to explain, so she resisted again...which was getting harder at this point. Jemma seemed to absolutely be enjoying herself, if Skye found her hands on her waist was any indication. She also wouldn't mind if they slid up a bit too, but that made her face get redder and she was glad Jemma couldn't see it while she kissed her neck. Trying to explain human urges wasn't going to be easy.
Jemma gasped in surprise and delight, there was yet another thing she hadn't discovered yet. She tilted her head to the side slightly to allow Skye more room, and her hands began to wander a bit. One of the hands on Skye's waist, still under her shirt, slid across her skin until it was on her back and pulling Skye down against her firmly. The other moved to a different place entirely, choosing to return to Skye's thigh. Jemma could feel the little goosebumps under her palm and fingertips, but their meaning was unknown. Her hand moved up and down on Skye's thigh the way Skye's had on her tail, and she liked the heat the friction there created.
"Oh my god..."
Jemma needed to stop. They both needed to stop before Skye decided to teach the mermaid more about humans than she was probably ready for. Doing said task was going to be a lot harder than just thinking it though, because the artist really really liked what Jemma was doing.
Her skin was hot and her face was red and Jemma rubbing her thigh wasn't helping at all. She stopped her own hand on the mermaid's tail and brought it to her shoulder, moving her other hand to the other. Now she just had to pull herself away. Skye let herself kiss Jemma's neck a few more times before she tried, failing, and ended up kissing her way to her jawline and back to her lips. Yes, this was going to be very hard indeed.
"Jemma..." She kissed her hard, but not as hard as she wanted, "we need..." She did it again, grip tightening on her shoulders, "to stop..." Her hips actually rolled forward a little bit before Skye finally got a grip and pulled herself back, even against Jemma's hand that was trying to pull her closer.
Her face was red, but in the dark the mermaid probably couldn't see it, and her breathing was heavy and irregular. She was definitely disappointed but she didn't want to be stupid. Everything the mermaid had been doing was wonderful and she definitely wanted more of it, but if she got more of it she was going to have to explain a whole lot of things she didn't know how to explain to someone who didn't already know what was happening.
"Is something wrong?" Jemma asked curiously. She was slightly concerned about Skye's sudden stop. As far as she could tell, they'd both been enjoying themselves very much. The lingering feeling of Skye's mouth against hers hadn't faded away yet, and Jemma's hands still remained on Skye's skin.
It was concerning that Skye had completely stopped like that, seemingly for no apparent reason. Maybe Jemma missed something. She still wasn't completely educated in human ways, so it was possible that this was a completely normal thing to do.
"No...no not at all," Skye shook her head, trying to even her breathing up again but she could still feel the tingle if her skin where Jemma's hands were. Her lips were a little swollen and she wanted more. She wanted Jemma's lips back on hers all night long but even though they were partners, she felt too shy to ask for it.
She could tell the mermaid was still waiting for something so Skye sighed, "Nothing is wrong, I promise. Humans are just...complicated." She decided on and breathed lightly, loosening her grip on Jemma's shoulders and slowly wrapped them around her neck, hugging her gently. "Please don't make me explain, I don't think I can...the best I can do is it's too much of a good thing. I really like it...so it's not that I don't. Don't worry."
"Yes, you are complicated." Jemma couldn't even be disappointed, she just let out a small laugh. She was sure it was something Skye would explain to her eventually, she just had to be patient. It was probably something a little harder to explain to her, especially when they were both so tired.
Jemma couldn't believe it was still the same day, it didn't feel like she'd almost been captured and Skye was stabbed earlier that day. They both deserved quite a bit of rest, and it would be good to get it now before anything else happened. Who knew when they would be able to safely spend the night with each other again.
"We should probably get to sleep." Jemma pointed out. Despite their long nap after getting here, Jemma was still tired, and she could tell just by looking at Skye's face that she was too. "Come here," Jemma said softly, patting the sand next to her.
Skye chuckled, relieved, and slid off of Jemma's lap, surprised that she had even ended up there in the first place, and sat next to her. It didn't take her long to snuggle in and lean over to kiss her on the cheek.
"That's a very good idea...I'm so tired," she rested her head on the mermaid's shoulder and grabbed her hand, holding it tightly and close to her. "Dead tired..." She gave a wide grin and quickly apologized when Jemma made an upset sound, "I'm sorry, that was a terrible joke!" She kissed her on the lips this time, careful not to let herself start anything. She knew she had yelled earlier when she woke up, upset that Jemma wasn't safe, and she still wasn't, but Skye was glad that she was still here and that they were together.
"Thank you for staying, Jemma...I know I got you into trouble with your pod but...I can't..." She couldn't explain how glad she was that Jemma hadn't left...hadn't left her alone on the beach, even though Skye had told her to go and do just that.
"I always come back, remember?" Jemma kissed the top of Skye's head and wrapped her arms around her, pulling her close. They'd need each other right now, not just for the cold, but for comfort. Neither of them knew what would be out there waiting for them the next day, whether in the ocean or on land.
"Thank you, too, Skye. I don't know what I would do without you." Jemma told her. Skye wasn't just her best friend, she was everything. Jemma was so glad she decided to stick around despite everything that had happened. It was inconvenient and it put Skye in unnecessary danger, but she stayed, and Jemma loved her even more for it.
"I love you, now go to sleep." She whispered with a smile.