'Fitz, what on earth happened?' Jemma demanded, once May had left the lab. She pulled back from his embrace and touched his cheek gently, realising how damp it was.
Fitz dragged his sleeve across his eyes impatiently and took a few calming breaths.
'She made me a patch a transceiver in under six minutes.'
'Fitz, you can do that in your sleep.'
'While listening to audio. Of you. Recorded from my hospital room after my brain injury.'
'Oh, Fitz.'
Jemma turned away from him, leaning on a bench. Her mind began to spin with a thousand questions. How did May even access that audio? What exactly did Fitz hear? What was he thinking now? Did he think she was weak? Was he angry? Was he disappointed?
'I had no idea, Jemma,' Fitz said to the back of her head, hands gesturing wildly even though she was looking. 'I didn't know. I mean, I knew you stayed by my side and didn't want to leave, Daisy told me. But I didn't know you were...'
'Having nightmares?' Jemma finally turned around to face him, her expression defensive. 'You shoved the oxygen into my hands and before I knew it, you were- we were-' She took a breath, then proceeded to speak so fast that she made herself breathless again. 'And then you were there, lying so still on the bed. And I didn't know if you would wake up. I mean, I hoped you would. And even then...and to think if you hadn't given me the oxygen-'
'-I couldn't have lived with myself.' Fitz finished the sentence for her. 'Jemma, Jemma, look at me.'
She obeyed, finding that her own vision was now obscured by unshed tears.
'Jemma,' Fitz said gently, taking her face in his hands. 'It's okay. We're okay now. Though I wish you would have told me.'
'How could I, Fitz? You were still recovering - I couldn't possibly burden you with something as trivial as a few bad dreams.'
'It's not trivial, Jemma!' Fitz was suddenly angry, though he wasn't sure why. 'It's not trivial, not when they're making you scream like THAT.' He gestured angrily at the headphones he'd thrown on the bench.
Jemma didn't say anything. She hadn't heard the recordings from the hospital room, even though she'd insisted that they were collected, saved and filed.
'You can talk to me Jemma.' The anger had completely dissipated, as suddenly as it had appeared, and Fitz's voice was softer now. 'Always.'
Jemma took a step forward and gazed up into the blue eyes that she loved so much. 'I know.' She raised herself up on her toes and brushed his lips gently, then pulled away.
'I'd better go see what May has in mind for me.' She began to walk towards the door, but Fitz caught her arm.
'Jemma,' he said seriously. 'As much as I am furious with May, she's right, Jemma. She might have something similar planned for you, and you need to do the exercise. I would never want- I mean, if anything happened to me -'
'I know, Fitz.' She gave him a small smile, and slipped out of his grasp and away down the corridor.