I know it took me a really long time to update. Just experienced the worst case of writer's block this past few weeks, but I got my rhythm back, so the next chapter shouldn't take long.
I still don't own them.
Fitzsimmons has already searched at least 6 houses and still didn't see a sign of Coulson, so they decided to head back to where they last saw Ward fighting Centipede soldiers, since their comm. wasn't working in the desert, most likely because of jamming device Centipede used. Fitz was going to fix that as soon as they get back to the lab.
"Wait, Fitz look at this." Simmons pointed to another abandoned house. He saw it once they went inside, what seemed like a hyperbaric chamber, or what used to be one. "It looks like it has been here for weeks."
"It's still functional but why would they need a hyperbaric chamber?" Fitz looked at Simmons for a few seconds, before they looked around the room.
"I don't know, but you have to take a look at this." Fitz moved to Simmons' side and saw a folder.
"Read this part." Simmons looked at him alarmingly. He read, 'soldier transport', and another part caught his eye.
"Coulson, P. J. , May, M. , Ward. G. , Fitz, L. , Simmons, J., Skye. Why are our names on here?" Fitz asked Jemma worriedly.
"Do you think they've been monitoring us?" He asked her, clearly nervous.
"We can't be sure, but we'll need to take these with us back to the bus." Simmons gathered the folder, and other papers that seemed to contain information, and placed them inside her bag.
"Fitzsimmons! May and Skye found Coulson, come on." Ward came running into the room.
"Thank goodness. Are you alright Ward?" Simmons saw the gash in his right arm.
"I'm fine." Ward just held his wound, and gave her a reassuring look. He motioned for them to go outside, and they made their way to the house where Coulson should be held.
"What was that?" Fitz asked nervously.
"Those were gunshots. We have to go!" Ward started running, quickly followed by Fitzsimmons.
"Wait! Why are we running towards the sound of the gunshots? Are you bloody mad?" Fitz yelled.
"Because that's where Coulson, Skye and May are." Ward just said to him.
May noticed Raina's movement a few seconds too late. Her hand immediately reached for the night-night gun in Skye's hand, and shot Raina as the girl was about to shoot. 2 shots rang out. One from Raina's gun, and one from the night-night gun that May took from Skye. Raina dropped to the floor again, but something else was wrong. May placed her hand on her chest, and saw blood. Coulson and Skye's eyes widened and May just stared at them blankly, her mouth agape, then dropped to the floor. Coulson got over his shock, and immediately went to her side and covered her wound.
"No...no! Simmons!" Coulson screamed for Jemma. The desperation in his voice, clear.
"Oh no!" Simmons, Ward and Fitz took in the scene before them, and Simmons quickly went to the agent's side.
"Skye, you need to keep May conscious okay?" Jemma said, noticing the fluttering of May's eyes. May is having a hard time keeping her eyes open.
"Okay." Skye could feel the tears forming in her eyes. They already lost Agent Richards, they just got Coulson back. They can't lose May.
"Fitz, hand me the kit." Simmons doing her best to administer first aid to the agent, while keeping her own emotions at bay.
"May, please just squeeze my hand. You're going to be okay." Skye could clearly see May's struggle, and she couldn't bear to see the pain May is in.
"I'm not going to be okay..." May said, she wasn't giving up. She wanted to live, but she knew that Simmons can only do so much, she was facing that harsh reality.
"Yes you are." Skye said, her voice broken.
"Skye's right Mel, you're not allowed to leave us." Coulson said firmly. But pain still laced his tone.
"I'm sorry." May let a tear slip from her eye.
"No, don't say that." Coulson cupped her face.
"I promised you I would always have your back...it seems like I won't be able to anymore." Her breathing becoming quicker and more urgent. Every breath caused her pain, like she hasn't experienced before.
"No, you're going to be fine." Coulson said, with tears streaming down his face.
"Phil please..." May looked at him sadly, and he just nodded, and looked straight in her eyes. May started coughing up blood.
"Thank you for being alive, letting me be with you again even for a short while, and for showing me the ring. I need you to know that I never stopped loving you." May told him quietly with a small smile.
"I can't let you go May." Coulson said, as more tears fell down on his face. May put her free hand on his face and wiped his cheek lovingly, before May's eyes fluttered closed. And Simmons continued working more urgently, doing her best to stabilize May, but something else was wrong.
"Melinda, no. No! Open your eyes for me, please. Just open your eyes." Coulson cupped her cheek, but she didn't respond.
"I can't feel a pulse." Simmons said suddenly. And got the defibrillator from her medical kit. She attached it to May and started.
"Charging, clear." Nothing.
"Charging, clear." After a few more, Simmons stopped and turned the defibrillator off. She looked at all of them sadly and said:
"I'm sorry." Simmons could feel Fitz's hand on her shoulder, and at the corner of her eye, Ward was holding onto a crying Skye.
"Simmons, do something, please Simmons do something." Simmons looked at the face of their leader. She had never seen Coulson look so...broken. But there was nothing she could do... her eyes widened.
"The hyperbaric chamber!" Simmons exclaimed. Making everyone look at her.
"We need to take her to the hyperbaric chamber we found, she can still make it. Ward!" Simmons looked at Ward and he got her message.
"I got her!" Ward picked up May quickly and started running to the house where Fitzsimmons found the hyperbaric chamber. He was quickly followed by everyone else, and he gently put May in.
"Fitz, I need you to lower her temperature and increase pressurization!" Simmons yelled out orders, and continued looking at May.
"I got it!" Fitz has never typed so quickly in his life. Then he stood next to Simmons, a hand on her shoulder.
"Is it working?" Skye asked after a few seconds. Then they saw it, a puff of air coming from May's mouth.
"For now." Simmons said. Coulson let tears slip from his eyes.
"We need to take her to a medical facility and we need to do it fast. If she stays like this for too long she will have permanent brain damage." Simmons stated.
"Ward, get us in the air." Coulson ordered Ward, but his voice softer than normal.
"Yes sir." Ward quickly went to the cockpit.
"Sir, we need to take care of your wounds." Simmons said gently, knowing that Coulson might not react well, seeing that he was still standing next to the hyperbaric chamber, still in the clothes he was tortured in and his wounds still fresh.
"I'm fine." He snapped. He can't think of himself, all he could think about was May, her looking like she was in some kind of glass coffin, and he couldn't accept that.
"AC..." Skye needed to convince him.
"I'm fine! Please just..." Coulson's voice wavering.
"Sir, we can do it here, you don't have to leave her." Simmons knew what was bothering him, and immediately stepped closer.
"Okay." Coulson gave in, as long as he didn't have to leave her.
"I'm sorry Jemma." He said, as she started patching him up, looking at the marks on his side caused by the electrocutions.
"It's alright sir." Simmons said as she applied the cream that would help get rid of Coulson's injuries.
Skye walked inside the cockpit, and sat on the co-pilot's chair, like she had done so many times with May. She couldn't help the tears that fell from her eyes, and she let out a small sob. Ward looked away from the controls for a second and stared at his rookie. He could hear her muttering.
"It's my fault. It's all my fault." Skye felt tears forming in her eyes.
"Skye, it's not your fault." Ward put the plane on auto-pilot before looking at her.
"I should have noticed her. I could've stopped Raina from shooting May. She was right behind me, I should have sensed something was wrong. May was still taking care of Coulson. I had the night-night gun with me... I could've…"
"What happened to her is not your fault Skye. It's not your fault." Ward hesitated at first, but held her hand.
"Fitz...what are you doing?"
"I'm fixing the comm. system. Maybe if it were functioning properly we could've gotten there sooner, we could've prevented this from happening..." Fitz was beginning to talk frantically, and Simmons held his shoulders.
"I know." Simmons removed the comm. Fitz was fiddling with, and tried to calm him down the best she could.
"Mel...I need you to stay with me. I need you here. I can't lose you again." Phil was still down at the lab, watching over May. Just making sure she was still breathing, that she was still there.
"Sir, we'll be arriving soon." Ward entered the lab. "She'll pull through sir. She's strong."
"I know she is." Coulson said
"Agent Melinda May. She was shot near the heart, rupturing her artery, major blood loss, heart also stopped. She needs to be prepped for surgery." Simmons said to the doctors helping them get May from the lab, into the SHIELD medical facility.
"Doc. What's going to happen to her?" Coulson asked before the doctor entered the emergency room.
"The hyperbaric chamber bought her time, I don't know how much, but we have to hope she will hang on until we repair the damage, and get the bullet out. Otherwise, there is a big possibility we are going to lose her." He told Coulson frankly.
"I understand." Coulson could only nod and wait.
"Coulson, you need to eat something." Skye made her way to AC's side, and handed him coffee and a sandwhich.
"I'm fine." He shrugged.
"No you're not AC, please just eat the damn thing." Skye got irritated and handed him the sandwhich, and got up from her seat. Then he saw one of the nurses exit the operating room, and approached him.
"Agent Coulson, this was in her pocket, I assume it's something important." The nurse handed it to him.
"Yes, thank you." Coulson just looked at the ring in his palm for a few seconds, and then gripped it tightly in his hands. He let his tears fall, and sobs be heard. It echoed through the almost empty halls of the hospital. It can be heard by the team, standing at the end of the hall. All trying to be strong for their leader.
May didn't know where she was. It was somewhere warm, the sun shone on her face and everything seemed so...magical.
Hope you liked reading :) Next chapter will be up this week most probably. Reviews are always appreciated, so send them in :)