Dedicated to RuthFL. Thanks for the comments!
#
Fallon carefully considered all of the information that had been set before him...including the yawn he was desperately trying to suppress. "Master Xiānzhī," he asked Esposito, "is the stone in any immediate danger?"
"Not that I can see," Esposito replied.
"Then I think we should all get at least a couple of hours of rest," declared Fallon. "Those who can, at any rate..."
"What about Doc?" asked Ryan.
The question confused Simmons. "What about him?" she asked.
Ryan ignored Simmons and directed his thoughts to his fellow Guardians. "If we're going to get his stone, it might be nice to not have to worry about the carrier being dead weight."
Lanie immediately understood where Ryan's thoughts were heading. "You want to...?"
"We haven't had the option before now," Ryan shrugged. "If it works it gives us one less thing to worry about."
"Can you heal him if it doesn't work?" Fallon asked Lanie. Lanie nodded, so Fallon turned to Simmons. "Doc has a locker over there. He keeps dry towels and a change of clothes for emergencies. The code is 1814."
Fallon's instructions did nothing to alleviate Simmons' confusion. "Why are you telling me this?"
"You'll see," Fallon called back to Simmons as he and his wife left the lab.
Simmons frowned and stomped her foot in frustration. She turned around in time to watch Ryan snap Henry's neck. The scientist's face drained of what little color it had. "Did you just...?"
"Just...wait," Ryan replied. He turned to Lanie. "How long, do you think?"
"No more than ten minutes," Lanie agreed casually. "I'll take over if it doesn't happen by then."
"If *what* doesn't happen?!" Simmons exclaimed, her confusion giving way to blatant outrage. "What in God's name are you insane people do.." Simmons' anger trailed off as Henry's body vanished before her eyes. "What just happened?"
Lanie put an arm around Simmons' shoulders and gently steered her toward Henry's locker. "You think Master Mùshī killed Doc, don't you?"
That may have been the last question Simmons expected to hear. "Didn't he?"
Lanie shook her head. "It's going to take a lot more than a snapped neck to do that."
"If it ever happens at all," agreed Ryan.
"So...where did he go? What happened to him?" asked Simmons.
Lanie opened Henry's locker, pressing the sweats and towels into the hands of the still-bewildered Simmons. "He'll be outside. Having a...late night swim. The rest you'll need to ask him yourself."
#
Simmons' departure left the room far from empty. Thor looked down into the sleeping face of his beloved, gently taking her hand before turning to the woman who was holding Jane's other hand. "How is she?"
"Physically, she's fine," Ward replied.
"Her mind, though..." Skye's voice trailed off with frustration as she tried to find the words to explain. "It feels a little bit like herding cats."
Thor's eyes widened as Ward tried to suppress a chuckle. "Herding *cats*?!" asked Thor.
It was then that Skye remembered who she was talking to. "Sorry. Old Earth expression. The stone has given Doctor Foster the ability to see all of space, all at once."
Thor squeezed Jane's hand a little tighter as he tried to contemplate what that would feel like. "Extraordinary...t'would be enough to drive a being mad..."
"That's not the problem," Skye sighed with frustration. "The *problem* is that I can't convince Jane to get out of the damn pool..." When Thor gave her another puzzled look, Skye corrected herself. "Sorry...I've been trying to convince Doctor Foster to return to us since she came into the lab. But she's so excited about exploring every single inch of space..."
Thor finally smiled, his expression showing a familiar amusement. "That does sound like Jane..."
Ward noticed the expression that crossed Thor's face as he spoke, then looked at his own soulmate. "Skye, do you think..."
"That is an *excellent* idea," Skye agreed, cutting Ward off with a warm smile. She then turned to look up at Thor. "If I connected your mind with Jane's, do you think you could convince her to come back?"
Thor nodded eagerly. "What do you need me to do?"
#
Simmons stood on the shore, looking up at the stars with barely restrained frustration. "This is ridiculous," she chastised herself. "Why in God's name am I he..." She gasped as the silhouette of a man broke through the still waters in front of her. The man thrashed about, gasping for air...and Simmons decided to finally trust the Guardian's odd directions. "DOC!" she called out to the man in the river.
Henry got his bearings quickly, focusing on the voice that had called out to him. "AGENT SIMMONS!" he called back.
Simmons found herself unable to reconcile her current conversation with her last mental picture of the man who was now swimming in her direction. "ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?" she asked Henry.
"I'm fine!" Henry exclaimed, now close enough to Simmons to not have to yell quite as loudly in the agent's direction. "But I would be very grateful to you if you wouldn't mind putting down those towels and sweat clothes and turning your back for a moment..."
Simmons blushed, turning on her heels after fulfilling Henry's request. "Of course..." She agreed.
"Thank you," said Henry. He dried off as quickly as he dared and pulled on his sweatpants. "You may turn around now, Agent Simmons. Again, thank you." Simmons opened her mouth to speak, then closed it quickly when she realized she didn't know where to begin. Henry decided to help out the young doctor by steering the conversation in the right direction. "How much do you know, Agent Simmons?"
"Only what I saw," replied Simmons.
Henry mouthed a silent 'ah' at the comment. "And what did you see?"
"You...you collapsed," Simmons replied tentatively. "Yesterday after everyone left for Asgard. When they got back, you woke up spouting a loop of star chart coordinates for a planet on the other side of the galaxy...and then an hour ago I watched Master Mùshī snap your neck."
Henry mouthed a second silent 'ah' as the pieces fell into place. "That would explain why I woke up where I woke up, then..."
"Not to me!" insisted Simmons. "I saw one of these...Guardians *murder* you! And then they gave me some cryptic line about you disappearing into thin air to take a 'late-night' swim, and then I find you out here..."
"Gemma," Henry said softly, hoping that using the younger woman's first name would shock her out of her growing panic, "I *did* die when Master Mùshī snapped my neck. You weren't wrong about that."
All of the bluster was blown out of Simmons' argument. "You *died*?" Henry nodded. "Then how are you..."
"How am I alive now?" asked Henry. Simmons nodded. "This isn't the first time this has happened."
"It *isn't*?!" exclaimed Simmons.
Henry shook his head. "Gemma...I'm 236 years old."
Simmons gasped, shocked speechless as the evidence finally clicked into place. "You're *immortal*?! How?!"
Henry smiled just slightly as he gazed up at the stars over their heads. "You're familiar with the concept of 'the flip'?"
"The activation of the gene that gives a Guardian their abilities?" asked Simmons. "Is...that what happened to you?"
Henry nodded. "I suppose you could call me the 'elder statesman' of that little group."
It was then that Simmons connected the passcode on Henry's locker to the story that she was just starting to understand. "And 1814 is..."
"The year of my 'first' death," Henry declared.
Simmons blankly nodded, the concluded explanation doing little to calm the torrent of raging emotions within her. "Wow," she mouthed quietly, settling on astonishment for the moment.
Henry had no trouble recognizing his companion's inner conflict. "This isn't just about me being 'older than I look', is it, Agent Simmons?"
Simmons opened her mouth to protest, then finally closed it and sighed. "I know I should be used to...all of this by now," she admitted. "I was a part of SHIELD. I've met Asgardians... but to be here, surrounded by all of this..."
"It is a bit...overwhelming, I suppose," Henry agreed. "It was for me."
The idea surprised Simmons. "Really? Even with..." Henry nodded. "So what changed? Time?"
Henry shook his head. "Answers," he replied.
"Answers?" Repeated Simmons, unsure of where the older man's thoughts were headed.
Henry nodded again. "I've been a doctor all of my adult life. Always trying to help people, always looking for the answer as to why I was the way I was...but it was only when I came here that I found those answers."
It became Simmons' turn to stare up at the stars. The idea of having such a question hanging over her head for two centuries..."I think I would have gone mad," she sighed.
"I almost did," Henry agreed. "Several times."
Henry's honesty caught Simmons' attention. "So how did you..."
"I took life day by day," replied Henry. "Moment by moment. You'd be surprised how quickly that makes time pass."
#
The first thing that surprised Thor was how...corporeal he felt. Even though he couldn't see or feel his body and knew, beyond all doubt, that his body was not in this realm...Thor still felt like *himself*.
The second thing that surprised Thor was the all-consuming sense that he had of Jane's presence. Space didn't feel empty, or vast, or cold. Space, somehow, now felt like *her*. Jane? he thought tentatively, unsure of how to communicate with his beloved in her current state of being.
A wave of warmth washed over Thor. Thor...Jane's affectionate thought echoed through the Asgardian's being. Isn't this incredible...
Thor felt his being smile at Jane's enthusiasm. Aye...his own mind-voice trailed off as he let himself absorb the experience.
Finally, though, the purpose of why Thor was there could no longer be ignored. Jane...I need you to come back to the warehouse with us.
Us? asked Jane.
Confusion hung in the airless void for the briefest of moments before dissipating just as quickly. I brought Thor here for you, Skye chimed in, since you weren't listening to *me*...
We have found the next stone, Thor explained.
Jane's agreement could be felt almost immediately. On Xandar.
Aye. Jane, I have not been to this realm...
I have, Jane declared.
Thor found himself momentarily unnerved by the peace-filled confidence of his beloved. And that is why we need you, he told her. We will not be able to retrieve the stone without your help.
Jane sighed into the connection between the three beings. All right, she relented. Let's go.
#
Ward squinted and blinked, forcing his eyes to adjust as quickly as possible to the brightness of his new surroundings. He slowly pushed himself up until he was on his hands and knees...then jumped to a standing, defensive posture when he recognized the two people who were in the white, padded room with him. "Well, we all know why you're here," Ward told one of the men before turning to his 'new' companion. "But why the hell are *you* here?"
"Just call me Jiminy Cricket," Christian replied with a sneer. The two brothers circled each other like gladiators preparing to duel to the death. "I had to come and see this for myself...Grant Ward: 'superhero'."
"Everything I told you he was, isn't he?" Garrett asked Christian, taunting Ward as he leaned against the back wall of the cell.
"And less," agreed Christian. "I mean come on, look at his so-called superpowers! Projecting a shield and reading his girlfriend's mind? Pathetic!"
Ward's confidence never wavered. "I've spent a lot of time inside that pretty little head of hers," he teased. "You'd be surprised what I learned."
"And she's spent a lot of time in that pretty little head of *yours*," Garrett countered. "And *claims" to still love you anyway."
"Tell me," added Christian, undeterred, "what does that say about *her*? I mean come on, I've lived in your head a hell of a lot longer than she has."
"So have I," Garrett agreed.
Christian tilted his head in the barest of acknowledgements to Garrett's statement. "And us? We can hardly stand to be around you! So for Skye to claim to know you *and* love you?! Well, that could only mean one of two things: either she's lying through those pretty little teeth..."
"Or she's out of her goddamned mind," declared Garrett.
Ward flinched at the barrage of insults to Skye's character. It was the first indication that Christian was getting through to his younger brother, and the elder Ward smiled, determined to pry open the crack in his brother's defenses.
A fourth person appeared in the room. He looked up at Ward with sad, innocent eyes. "I misseded you, Gwant," said Dougie. "Why'dyou go 'way?"
Ward tried to ignore the younger brother he never had. "Is *he* the best you two could come up with?" he teased Christian and Garrett.
Neither of the older men spoke. "Dey been huhting me, Gwant," Dougie pushed. "Dey do bad sings. I need hep..."
Ward let his gaze wander down to the 'helpless' younger man. Christian pounced. He tackled Ward, sending the younger brother to the ground with a thud. Ward kicked and punched at his opponent, rolling the other man around in an attempt to get the upper hand...even as the face of that older man switched from Christian to Garrett and back again.
The fight felt like it had gone on forever, but all too quickly Ward realized that the fight was one that he was incapable of winning. Christian seemed to sense when the tide of the battle had turned in his favor. "Give it up, Grant," the older brother grunted out before unleashing a vicious combination on Ward's face.
"If they can't beat me," Garrett added with a grunt, "what the hell makes you think *you* can beat me?"
"I can't," Ward agreed before taking another combination of punches. Inspiration struck shortly after Christian's last right cross. A knowing smile crossed Ward's face. "But I think I finally know how to get you out of my head..."
The room exploded in a blinding flash of light.
#
Ward gasped and woke with a start, his neck immediately protesting the sudden movement. He grunted and groaned, massaging the back of his neck as his eyes re-adjusted to his surroundings...and smiled at Skye, whose focus never seemed to shift away from Jane Foster's prone form. Ward then turned away to get up, stretch his legs and find some aspirin...
"How ya feeling?"
Ward turned toward the voice of his soulmate. "I...thought you were still in Doctor Foster's head," he told Skye.
"I am," Skye replied. "Multitasking."
"Multitasking?" Ward repeated skeptically.
"The stone," Skye shrugged.
Ward's eyebrows shot up as surprise piled on top of the skepticism. "The stone's allowing you to be in two places at once?
"Mentally, yeah," Skye replied.
Ward swallowed nervously. "So did you..."
"You were getting pretty freaked out over there," Skye explained.
That's not an answer, thought Ward. "Were you *in my head* while I was sleeping?" he asked Skye, carefully stressing most of his words.
"That's not the right question," replied Skye.
Ward sighed with increasing frustration. "What *is* the right question?"
Skye finally turned to look at her soulmate. "The right question is...am I in your head right *now*?"
Ward frowned at the idea. He checked on the link...only to discover that it was no longer there. "You're not there," he exclaimed. "How are you not..."
"I think my dad would call it your graduation," Skye teased.
Ward's brow furrowed as his frown and confusion deepened. He closed his eyes, drew in a deep breath, and checked on his own senses and sense of himself. It was then that he discovered what Skye had been trying to tell him. "The shield's up..."
Skye nodded. "And for the first time since I've know you, the darkness is gone. Completely."
"The darkness?" asked Ward.
Skye stood up and gently disentangled her hand from Jane's. "When I took that little tour of your past," she explained as she stepped away from the bed and took Ward's hands into her own, "I felt...something...messing with your head. Master Mùshī's felt it, too, but for some reason he couldn't fight it off completely..."
"They can't beat me," Ward muttered, repeating his dream.
"But 'whatever' you did while you were sleeping seems to have chased it off," Skye continued as she squeezed Ward's hands, "I can't feel it anymore."
Ward smiled as he considered Skye's words and realized that he felt better than he had felt in a long, long time. Maybe the best he had *ever* felt. "It does feel like a big weight's been lifted from my shoulders..." he admitted.
Skye noticed the change in Ward's demeanor...even though she could no longer read his thoughts. "Do I want to *know* what's going through that pretty little head of yours?" she asked warily.
Ward was already backing away from his soulmate's embrace. "Not yet," he replied. "Soon, though. I promise."