Jemma sat on the floor of the bathroom, shivering and sobbing, clad in her bathrobe. She kept her composure during the day mostly, but in the safety of her room, all the stress, panic and tension caught up with her and she couldn't keep back the tears. At least she wasn't unravelling in front of her colleagues.

She heard soft knocking on the door. "Jemma?" she heard Fitz's concerned voice. He slowly opened the door, sat next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. During their long years of friendship, Fitz had witnessed her falling apart like this already a few times. She knew she could trust him. It was safe letting her guard down with him. His familiar smell and touch felt like an antidote to the storm raging inside her.

"I cannot get warm." she shivered.

Fitz wrapped his arms tighter around her. "You are in shock." he said.

"We killed May. And the power went out – and I thought we lost her. She laid there dead – I was thinking it's all my fault." she said sobbing. Their shared guilt about Lash had brought her much closer with May in the past year. They searched for him together, she helped Jemma with her combat skills. Jemma always admired her calm presence, her steely resolve and her no-nonsense attitude, but she had become more than an esteemed colleague. She was her mentor, her friend. She was like a mother to all of them.

"It's OK. May is OK. You saved her, Jemma." Fitz said in a soothing voice. He was on the line earlier when Jemma and Radcliffe talked to Coulson.

Jemma shook her head. "No, it was not OK. I did something reckless. And losing May like that? If Radcliffe didn't have this battery – actually do you know about that battery?" she looked at Fitz questioning. He had been spending a lot of time with Radcliffe lately, and the Framework's progress was amazing, but still she couldn't shake the feeling they were keeping something from her.

"He may have mentioned it – I'm not sure. You know he talks my ear off all the time." Fitz shrugged then scooped her up. "Come on – let's get you into bed. Let's warm you up." He helped her up, led her to the bed. He tucked her in under the blanket like a child. "You know what's really good for warming up? Sharing body heat." he smiled suggestively then undressed to his boxers and slid under the blanket next to her, wrapping his whole body around hers. It was a heavenly feeling to be warm, to be safe in a cocoon that could not be touched by the troubles of the outside world. He held her for a long time quietly, until finally she felt the shivering stop and her body relax.

"Thank you." she said quietly.

"For what?" he asked and gently kissed her hair. "I like warming you up."

For being here, for being you, for knowing exactly what I need even when I don't know myself, she thought. "For that too. You are definitely the most excellent source of body heat." she remarked smiling.

She turned around, now facing him, looking long in his eyes and their lips met in a slow and tender kiss. Then she flicked her tongue inside his mouth, caressing the tip of his tongue, tasting, discovering. He kissed her back passionately, the salty echoes of her tears filling their lips. She felt her nipples harden through the thin fabric of her nightgown scraping against his bare chest.

His hands moved up and down her back stroking, kneading her muscles gently from neck down to her butt. She felt the tension being replaced by warmth, and she almost purred under his touch. Fitz then pulled the nightgown over her head, freeing her breasts, and started to cover them with kisses, tracing gentle circles around her nipples. She gasped when his hands travelled down to her underwear and he caressed lightly her outer lips through the sheer, silky material. She felt herself become incredibly wet under the tantalizing, feather-light touch which made her ache for more contact. Her hands were playing with his chest, caressing his nipples, feeling his steady heartbeat. She raised her hips slightly to get more contact and he pulled off her knickers covering her mound with his palm, just keeping it under delicious pressure for a moment. The heat radiating from his hand engulfed her lower body. She closed her eyes. With his fingers he gently teased her opening, feeling the wetness, then slowly inserted a finger, then a second and he absorbed her moans as they kept kissing. He pulled out his finger and started tracing slow soft circles around her clitoris. The tender touch was getting her more and more wound up, until she couldn't take it anymore and she thrusted her hips towards him trying to increase the friction. He understood her wordless demand, pressed his fingers harder letting her climax wash over her finally. Her moans sounded almost like sobs.

She pulled him closer, took his hot, pulsating cock firmly in her hands and started caressing it gently, feeling it thicken some more. She touched the head against her slick opening then spread the wetness down slowly sliding her hand up and down. She watched his eyes from up close, seeing his pupils darken. She lifted her leg letting him push inside her than wrapped their legs together. As they laid on their sides facing each other, he slowly started to rock inside her. The angle was a bit restricting, but there was a sweet intimacy to the position, allowing them to keep kissing, caressing each other. As their kisses deepened, Fitz rolled them gently so she was laying on her back. He deepened the contact and she lifted her hips wrapping her leg around his waist. He moved deeper and faster and their breaths quickened. Her fingers kneaded his shoulders as he kept pumping. She inserted a finger between them putting pressure on her clitoris that sent her over the edge again sending electric pulses around her body, releasing the tension of the day, quieting the rapid firing of images inside her brain. He watched her with an amazed smiled then a few thrusts later followed her coming with a sharp breath and soft moans. He slowly pulled out of her and rolled onto his side keeping their close embrace until Jemma finally rolled away.

"I'm finally too hot." she giggled "and feeling much, much better." She kissed him again. "So how did it go in Miami?"

"Oh, not much to say really. Just bashed in a few guys head in, built some compasses out of wine corks and saved day." Fitz joked, but she could see that he was quite pleased with himself.

"Really?"

"Well, the EMP knocked out all our electronics – so it was just pencil and paper. Totally old-school." he said, recounting the events of the day.

"Sometimes old-school is nice." Jemma remarked, thinking back to their lovemaking just a moment ago.

"Indeed. Being on field assignment with Mack and Coulson felt like good old days." he said wistfully. She knew he keenly felt the absence of the old team as they had been split up under the new direction. This reminded her of the other big development of the day.

Looking at his sated smile, she figured it was a good time to bring up another long-standing discussion. "Fitz."

"Yes?" he raised his eyebrows.

"You know, now that SHIELD is out of the shadows, we can finally look for an apartment outside." she said caressing his chest and stomach gently.

"But why? We just set this room up, right?" he asked.

Jemma sighed. "Come on, aren't you sick of living on base? Same old walls, same people. No windows. It would be more private. We would have more space."

"Space for Bridget?" his interest was piqued. He has not yet given up on the idea of getting his giant TV screen.

"If you insist on a threesome." She laughed. "We could have hardwood floors, a real bathtub, our own kitchen with a breakfast nook."

"A breakfast nook? You hardly ever eat breakfast." Fitz grimaced. He often teased her about her fat-free, gluten-free (according to him taste-free) food choices.

"Still – I like the idea. Just imagine – making pancakes…" Jemma winked at him.

"…yes, or waffles…" he nodded – predictably, he could be wooed by food.

"… on weekends. Enjoying lazy mornings." she daydreamed.

"When was the last time we had a lazy morning together, Jemma? You realize we'll hardly spend any time there?" he did have a point. They were both working insane hours. But maybe it was time to slow down and just enjoy more time together.

"Come on, don't be such a killjoy. Maybe if we'll have a proper home, we'll spend more time there." she suggested.

"I guess that's possible." He shrugged, clearly not convinced.

"So we agreed?"

"Do I have a choice?" he said. "If I say no, we'll have this argument until you wear me down, won't we?" he asked, and he was not wrong.

"Well, perseverance is one of my strengths…" she said.

"Relentlessness, I'd say." He teased.

"Po-tay-to, po-tah-to."

"You promise to make pancakes every weekend?" he asked.

"I don't know about every weekend." she frowned.

"Well, it doesn't have to be pancakes always. Waffles are good too. Or omelettes. But I want it written down – Jemma will make pancakes or waffles every weekend, enjoy a lazy morning at least once a week and Fitz will get to put Bridget on any wall of his choosing. Deal?" he smiled.

"Great – I will look at some options." she felt excited. It was time to start living their lives.