Hello everyone!
Well, I'm back in the Fitzsimmons fandom with this little (not so little) thing I just wrote in one go. I literally never wrote that much in so little time, so here are 14k words of my crazy take on the episode 4722 hours. I do hope this has never been done before, as I am new to the fandom and certainly haven't read much fanfics yet!
This chapter is focused on Jemma's POV in Maveth. The second will focus on Fitz's POV on Earth.
I hope you'll enjoy this! as always, I have certainly made a lot of mistakes since English is not my first language, and I apologize about that. x
"Dinner."
Jemma sighed. "Fast approaching, yes. And we'll eat it, I'm sure."
"Yeah, no, no, no." Fitz' breath caught, his eyes falling at his feet. "But me and you- Maybe we could eat somewhere else, somewhere nice."
Fitz didn't exactly take her by surprise, yet she still felt her hands shake slightly as soon as the words passed his lips. When she looked up, he was staring at her with that look, that look she knew but too well. That look that had brought them here in the first place, that look that had broken her heart at the bottom of the ocean and the one making her stomach clench with something she wasn't ready to talk about just yet.
"Oh."
She pursed her lips to prevent herself from laughing as he all but stumbled on the thing he was leaning against, nervous and uncoordinated. He'd gotten so much better in the last few weeks, and she couldn't help but smile proudly everytime she thought about how far he'd come. No amount of regrets and past mistakes would ever tarnish the admiration she had for this man.
"Uh, well, you.. you should come find me when you're finished here and I'll… start working on options to run by you… for that." Fitz managed, voice slightly shaky with both excitation and nervousness.
Jemma bit the inside of her cheek. Of course he remembered how much she liked to organize things, and he'd never take the decision without her. Her heart clenched in a familiar yet comfortable way as he walked away, a smile slowly spreading on her face. Maybe tonight was the night, she told herself. Maybe they would finally talk about that thing they liked to avoid thinking about, both of them too afraid to lose one another if they did. It had been over a month (seven weeks, two days and eleven hour, a traitorous voice sang at the back of her head), and they'd just gotten used to looking at each other in the eyes again. Maybe tonight was the night, she repeated herself.
Walking around the place to wrap things up, Jemma's eyes fell on the glass case surrounding the monolith. As soon as she saw the opened door, she sighed.
"Ugh. What an idiot." she mumbled to herself, raising her hands to close it.
It took her a couple of seconds to realize what was happening when she fell, a cry escaping her lips as she stumbled to find purchase on the floor. The black goo of the stone wrapped itself around her middle section, cold and unforgiving, and it took all but a handful of seconds for her to be swallowed entirely by it. Dark surrounded her as she choked on her own saliva, unable to breathe, and the warm yet dry sensation of a hot summer night soon hit her skin as she fell on her side in the sand. For a scientist, Jemma was not proud to admit that it took her painfully long seconds to realize that something was awfully wrong as she pushed herself on her arms, looking at her surroundings. Then, just as quickly when she realized that the portal was closing, she ran towards it as fast as she could.
"No, Fitz!" she screamed as it closed in front of her very eyes, fingers digging in the sand almost painfully. "Help, no!"
But there was no trace of the portal, the monolith or even of Fitz. Out of habit, Jemma reached out to take her phone out of her back pocket and immediately unlocked it.
GPS SATELLITES NOT FOUND.
Jemma blinked once, then twice. "Where the hell am I?"
0 Hours.
Without losing sight of the place where the portal had appeared, Jemma spotted a hill not far from the place she'd arrived. As much as she wanted to stay right where she was, her view of the planet was completely hidden by this amount of sand in front of her. There was no way she could assess the situation without climbing there, at least to get an idea of the terrain around her. Without further thinking, she started running towards it, climbing the rocky ground quickly. She fell once, grunting as her knee hit the sand, leaving a dirty trace on her pants. When she was finally on top, the wind howling around her, it took her a couple of seconds to take in whatever she was she was looking at.
"No" she whispered. "That's not possible."
In front of her, two moons hung high in the blueish sky, revealing a barren land scattered with rocks and other stones.
6 hours.
"Everything will be fine" Jemma repeated for what felt like the hundredth time. "Proper protocol for agent lost in the field. Remain in position, wait for extraction."
She paced around the place where the portal had appeared, now completely erased by sand and other dusty rocks. She felt hot, and slightly nauseous, but it wasn't any different from her early mornings since a few weeks. Grabbing her phone again, she hit the recording button and raised it to her mouth.
"This is Doctor Jemma Simmons, updating the file on the monolith Fitz and I have been studying. I now know that it is an alternating matter-transportation device, portal. Quite remarkable, really. I've been transported to an unknown planet in a different solar system."
She took a deep breath, wincing slightly at the way it felt so different from Earth's oxygen. It felt like those rainy days in England, when the air felt heavy and wet as it sliced through her lungs when she was just a kid.
"Air is breathable, oxygenated" she kept going, looking down at her feet before taking a few jumps. "Gravity seems to be slightly stronger… or i'm very tired."
She swallowed past the lump on her throat. If only it was just that , she thought bitterly to herself. She jumped again, just to make sure, and to shut up the voice at the back of her mind.
"No, I think it's the gravity." She turned around, looking around her. "The terrain is barren, desert-like."
She snapped a few pictures, thinking about Fitz's face when he'd see the two moons.
"Although" she kept going, "conditions seem favorable for terrestrial organisms, there's no immediate sign of life nro any noticeable vegetation or water."
Then, to herself more than anything else, she nodded.
"It will open again. Fitz will find a way. After all, we're going for dinner."
13 hours.
She didn't know how long she'd been sitting with her legs crossed, but she did know that it had been 13 hours since the portal had dropped her on this strange planet. She kept on throwing rocks in front of her, watching the way they rolled in the sand with barely concealed boredom. Eventually, she grabbed her phone again, opening her camera roll.
"What is it you always say?" she asked softly, looking at the picture of Fitz she'd taken a couple of months before the incident. "If you can't solve a problem, sleep on it."
She then took off her blazer, wincing at the soreness she could already feel in her shoulders. The fall from the portal hadn't been kind, and her already tired and changing body would remind itself to her soon enough with those bruises. Then, she arranged herself on her side, barely concealing a groan of discomfort as she laid on the barren and uncomfortable soil, holding her phone close.
"Goodnight, Fitz." she whispered before closing her eyes.
"Come on" Fitz said, the teasing smile she loved so much stretching his lips as he looked at her from above his bottle of beer. "I know you kissed him. I saw the way you looked at him!"
"I did no such thing!" Jemma huffed around her own bottle, gaze falling on her knees.
They were seated on her bed, at the playground. She remembered this night, how could she not?
"At least Milton was a tiny bit intelligent" Fitz kept going, ignoring the way she'd blushed. "But Larry?" he scoffed.
"You never liked Larry"
"Of course I never liked Larry! He was an ass."
"He was not!" Jemma interjected, throwing her hands in the air. "You never liked any of my boyfriends."
Silence immediately followed her accusation, and Jemma looked up just in time to see Fitz bend his head in shame.
"Oh" she whispered.
How couldn't she notice before? He'd truly never liked any of her boyfriends. And now, she knew why. Ever since she came back from her undercover mission at Hydra, they didn't talk about what he'd told her at the bottom of the ocean. Stupidly maybe, Jemma had assumed that Fitz's feelings were new, but she had never once considered the possibility that maybe, he'd looked at her as more than a friend since the Academy.
"How… how long?" she asked, almost shily.
"I don't know what you're talking about" Fitz tried, quite miserably.
"How long have you… felt this way? For me?"
She thought he would ignore her question, eyes still avoiding hers as he played with the rim of his bottle. The air around them was heavier now, and she took a few calming breaths to calm her racing heart.
"Since the Academy" he finally admitted. "Since the first time you outsmarted me."
It felt like a punch in the stomach, to hear this coming from his mouth. She'd never once suspected, before the ocean. Maybe she was a little naive, but she'd always thought that he considered her a sister at most, just like she considered him her best friend. She'd never really thought about it before the pod and the incident, but she wasn't ready to admit that she had too started to look at him a little differently since she'd came back from her undercover mission. It wasn't pity, and it wasn't mercy either, but she had forced herself not to think about it too deeply. It was enough to feel the butterfly fluttering in her chest as he smiled at her from across the lab, proud of his progress as he slowly but surely fell back into his old patterns.
"I didn't know" Jemma finally said. "Fitz, I…"
"It's alright, Jem" he said, showing her a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I didn't want you to know, anyway."
He moved to get up, putting the bottle on her nightstand to get out of the bed -she sometimes forgot that his left hand wasn't fully functional again, and even less when he was nervous- when she stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
"Jemma" he started, defeated.
But before he could say anything else, she pushed her lips against his.
22 hours.
Jemma awoke with a gasp, jumping on her feet. She ignored the way her lips still tingled at the memory, and cursed at her brain for betraying her. She'd pushed back this memory to the deepest corner of her mind for a reason.
"How long are the nights on this planet?" she asked, defeated.
She went back to the top of the hill she'd climbed a little earlier, noticing that one of the moons had moved.
"There has to be a sunrise eventually." she reasoned.
71 hours.
"Where is the sun?!" Jemma yelled, feeling tears well up in her eyes. "What did you do to it? I want the sun! I want it!"
She couldn't hold back her sobs anymore, putting her head in her hands as she let herself go, kneeling on the dusty land as she sniffled.
"I want to go home." she whined, feeling nausea overcome her.
79 hours.
"The average person can survive up to three weeks without food" she reasoned, talking to her phone again. If she'd spend more time than she should have staring at the picture of Fitz she had on her phone gallery, no one would ever know. "but only 100 hours without water."
She ripped her shirt off, using one of the strands to hold back her hair and one to cover her neck. Her lips were already cracking, her throat dry and she could feel her skin hitch due to the sandy land. Her nausea had long passed, thankfully, but it didn't reassure her one bit. She'd eventually have to think about that thing she kept pushing back to the corner of her mind, but first she had to find something to drink. And eat, preferably.
"I'm sorry Fitz" she said as she passed her makeshift bag around her shoulders, "I can't wait here any longer." She took off her necklace, the one she liked to wear since the academy, and put it on one of the stones forming an arrow pointing at the place she was about to explore "but if you do show up while I'm away, you'll know where to find me."
81 hours.
"Is it going to be an expensive place?" she asked herself, picturing Fitz as she placed a few other stones in a makeshift statue, knowing that Fitz would recognize her handiwork. "Have you already picked it? Should I wear a dress, or would that be weird? Oh please, don't pull out the chair for me."
She ignored the way her stomach clenched with hunger, waves of nausea making her knees wobbly for a while.
"Or do, if that's what you want."
She sneaked out a look at her phone again, caressing the screen.
87 hours.
"What if we run out of things to talk about, for the first time ever? Of course that's when it would happen" Jemma kept going "that would be terrible."
On the next step, her foot caught on a stone, and she screamed as she fell, landing on her side. Panic caught her all of a sudden as she pressed a steady hand to her stomach.
99 hours.
Her tired arms barely held her body as she crawled on yet another sandy hill, hoping to find water at its top. She'd been walking for hours now, and hunger and nausea had let place to tiredness and despair. Jemma wasn't sure she could go on any longer, and when the thought terrified her, it also brought her a certain peace of mind.
"Just… get to the top…" she whispered as an encouragement to herself. "Water…"
Finally, she was able to hoist herself to the top, and she took a look at the other side. In front of her, what looked like a wave of sand was heading straight towards her. She barely had time to take cover before it all went black.
"Jemma" Fitz breathed as he pulled back, eyes wide and panicked.
She was back at the Playground with Fitz. Her lips were still slightly wet from Fitz's mouth, the way he'd parted his lips around a gasp as she'd kissed him, tongue hot and demanding. The kiss had left them both breathless, until Fitz had pulled back as if he'd been burned.
"What are you doing?"
"Kissing you" Jemma replied immediately, feeling hot all over.
"Jemma-"
"Fitz" Jemma whined, fingers twisting in the fabric of Fitz's sleep shirt. "please, I need… I need you."
Somehow, even though they both knew it was a very bad idea, they soon found themselves on their sides, limbs tangled as they kissed until their heads spinned. Jemma's shirt was pushed up, Fitz's hands massaging her breasts. She'd been in what served as pjs, which consisted of a shirt and loose sweatpants, and she thanked all heavens that Fitz wore similarly the same thing. Jemma had a leg thrown around Fitz's hips, and they rocked together like teenagers.
"Jemma" Fitz whined, breaking their kiss to suckle on her neck. "God, Jemma, we should… we should stop."
Jemma shook her head, letting out an obscene moan when he shifted just enough for his lips to find her nipple. "Don't stop, Fitz. Please, don't stop."
Her entire body was on fire, and she didn't remember being so wet and sensitive with anyone else ever. Each drag of Fitz's hardening length around her core felt like heaven even through their sweatpants, and the wetness of his mouth around her nipples as he sucked at them made her arch.
"Fitz, more" she whispered, letting go of his hair as he nibbled at her breast to slide it between their bodies, and into Fitz's pants.
"Jemma" he gasped, letting go of her right nipple to look up at her. "Are you sure-"
He was cut by her firm hand as she started stroking him, her eyes never leaving his face. Under the intensity of her gaze, he couldn't help but close his eyes, muffling his cries in Jemma's shoulder as his hips moved in rhythm with her hand.
"We shouldn't do this" Jemma whispered around a moan when Fitz finally found enough strength to caress her breasts again. "Oh, God."
Ignoring her the way she'd ignored him earlier, Fitz slid a hand down her pants and inside of her underwear, fingers finding her clit immediately. The little bundle of nerve was wet and swollen, as were the lips of her labia, and he muffled another moan against Jemma's skin. With a movement of her hips, she allowed him to slide two of his fingers in her, and they moaned in unisson.
"God, Jemma" Fitz said, head spinning with want as she clenched around him. "I want you so bad."
"Want you too" she rasped as their gaze met again.
Their mouth clashed in a messy kiss, full of tongue and teeth. It was Jemma who let go of Fitz's cock first to push his sweatpants and boxer briefs down his legs, just enough to take out his dick. Wordlessly, he did the same with her sweatpants and underwear and she pulled back just long enough to wriggle out of them. She should have felt a lot more shy as his adoring gaze took her in from head to toes, but there was nothing but pure want in both their eyes. On a silent but common decision, Fitz rolled on his back as Jemma straddled him, her chore immediately finding his hard member as she rolled her hips against him once, then twice.
"Jemma, please" Fitz asked in a broken voice, blue pupils almost entirely swallowed by the black of his desire.
What was the point of waiting? Reaching out between their bodies, she positioned herself above Fitz and slid down steadily.
"Oh god, Fitz" she whispered immediately.
He felt so good inside of her, like he'd always belonged there. And with the way his face twisted in pleasure, she was sure he felt it, too.
"Condom" he finally rasped as he bottomed out, Jemma rolling her hips slowly as she got used to the size of another person inside of her. it had been so long.
"No need" Jemma said, clenching around him. "Want you."
Somehow, they both knew it wasn't a good enough reason for them to keep were responsible adults, both of them, with a serious position in a super secret agency. But they did. Fitz's head nearly knocked against the headboard as he threw his head back, moaning shamelessly as she finally started to ride him. His grip on Jemma's hips was firm but gentle at the same time, and Jemma gently brought one of his one good hand to her breast.
"I've seen the way you look at them" she rasped, acting way more confidently that she felt inside.
He might have been blushing, but he was already so red she couldn't tell. Inside of her, she could sworn she'd felt his dick twitch, though. Without a word, he started massaging her breast firmly, her nipples hardening under his clever fingers. It was almost obscene, the way they were still partially dressed, the hem of her shirt covering half of his hand as she moved. Against her ass, she could feel his own sweatpants barely pushed out of the way, and his own white shirt clung to his skin as he ran hot.
"You're so beautiful Jemma" he whispered, clenching his teeth. "So gorgeous, it's almost unreal."
It didn't take long for them to stumble upon the edge. As opposed to most of Jemma's exes, Fitz actually cared about her own release as he used his free hand to rub at her clit gently, gathering her wetness to circle the little bundle of nerve just the way she liked. She was the first to come, clenching around him as she let out a soft cry, and he followed soon after. She had the presence of mind to be a little panicked as she felt him come inside of her, but the look on his eyes as he let go was enough to make her forget as she bent over and kiss him senseless.
Later on, when she rolled over and put on her sweatpants in silence, she rubbed her fingers through the drying come on her inner thigh when he wasn't looking. Fitz had grabbed his beer after getting dressed, swallowing the rest of it in one go, before turning around to face her.
"We.. We shouldn't have done that" he said quickly, avoiding her gaze. "I don't… I can't do that."
He didn't need to say more, because Jemma's heart was already breaking in two. She looked at her lap, and when she looked up again, he was gone.
101 hours.
Jemma woke up with a mouth full of sand. The storm had it her with its full force, and she didn't have the strength to fight it.
"Fitz" she rasped, "Oh, Fitz."
In front of her, a few meters away, was a very small lake. She clumsily ran towards it, falling a few times as she went, before letting herself lay on the ground right next to the water source. She didn't even think twice about the state of the water and all the diseases it could contain, plunging her hands in it as she brought it to her mouth. She let out a few chuckles as she drank, disgusted by the taste but oh so grateful at the same time, before rolling on her back and laughing until her laugh turned into full sobs.
109 hours.
Jemma had gotten undressed quickly, the sand in her clothes hitching as she stared at the water and realized she could actually take a bath for the first time since she'd arrived on this planet. The first sensation of the lukewarm water on her feet felt like heaven, and soon she was submerged almost entirely, giggling as she let herself float.
Until something caught her foot.
Jemma yelled as she was pulled at the bottom of the lake, kicking and screaming to get off as she finally caught a sight of the creature wrapped around her leg. Finally, she was able to get out of the water just enough to grab the first thing she found to cut it off, grunting as the creature tried to fight back. Eventually, breathless, she was able to run away and stare at the white slimy thing she'd cut off her body.
111 hours.
Grimacing, Jemma brought the fish (was it technically a fish? she couldn't, and didn't want to know) to her mouth with a sigh. As soon as her teeth digged into its gelatinous flesh, she bit back another wave of nausea and forced herself to swallow it all, coughing around her mouthful.
492 hours.
"It's been three weeks, Fitz" she murmured, looking down at the phone. Her fingers were trembling with exhaustion, and she curled around herself a little more. "If I don't find something… if I don't eat, I won't make it. Unfortunately the only source of food also thinks I'm food."
She had time to make a weapon, in the three weeks she'd spent around the lake. It wasn't much, but it was enough to cut pieces of the thing that lived in the water, if she ever managed to caught it. Grabbing it firmly and ignoring the way her hand trembled, Jemma stepped foot into the water.
"You want me?" she yelled. "Here I am! It's dinnertime, come and get it!"
She had barely spoken the words before she was pulled by the leg again, the creature's teeth digging into her flesh painfully as she fell into the water. This time, however, she was prepared. When she got out of the water, it was with the dead creature firmly in hand.
"You're dinner, biatch!" she screamed, jumping in victory. "Whoo!"
After making a fire (she was pretty proud of herself on this one, and she may have cried a little, too), she ate a little more whatever-that-creature-was-fish. Admittedly, it tasted a little better cooked.
"You'd be so proud of me, Fitz" she said to her phone, "I killed the monster plant, then I made a fire, cooked him and ate him. And then I burped, really loud" she laughed, a little hysterically. "I wish you could've been here."
She caught herself, looking around.
"Actually" she said a little more softly, "No I don't. I wouldn't wish that on anyone."
She fell silent for a little while, listening to the sound of the wind around her, and the soft movement of the water crashing against the shore of the lake.
"Everyone always said we could read each other's minds, Fitz. So I really need you to read mine, right now. I'm alive" she chuckled, "but I'm terribly alone and afraid. So I really need you to come get me, OK? I know you won't give up. So I won't, either."
Jemma swallowed back a sob.
"I need you to come get us , Fitz."
Her hand curled against her stomach, the slight bump there growing more and more every passing day.
752 hours.
She'd eaten most of the fish, now. It wasn't so bad, once you got over the initial slimy feeling.
"You'll notice I'm giving less updates to conserve battery power" Jemma told her phone, turning on the recording. "I've been on this stupid planet for a month now, and I lost my way to the entry point. I need to find-"
She was cut by a weird resonating sound she'd never heard before, made by the wooden sticks jutting out of the floor a few meters away from the lake. Grabbing her makeshift weapon, she got up to investigate the source of the noise with care, one small step after the other. It turned out that the noise was created by the wind rustling through the wooden sticks, making them hit one another, and she sighed. But just as she turned around to go back to the water, the floor gave up from under her feet. She couldn't help but let out a scream as she fell, her back hitting a pile of sand in the hole she'd fallen. She had the presence of mind to curl around herself as she lay on her back, feeling herself slip into unconsciousness rapidly.
761 hours.
When Jemma woke up, it was to the sound of a fire crackling not far from her. As soon as she opened her eyes though, fighting the resounding headache she could already feel forming behind her eyes, she realized that something had changed. Sitting up as fast as she could with her aching back and vertigo, Jemma looked around her. She'd been put in a cage, the thick wooden bars unmoving as she pushed against them, panting heavily. At her feet, two bowls had been disposed, one with water and one with what resembled food. It wasn't in Jemma's initial habits to be careful with everything, but this planet had had its fair share of surprises and she wasn't ready to let her guard down that fast. Sniffling the bowls, she hesitated as her stomach rumbled loudly.
But just as she was starting to get tempted by the food, she saw a figure move not far from the cage.
"Who are you?" she asked immediately, taking a few steps back. "What do you want?"
She curled herself against the corner of the cage, her belly hidden from the mysterious creature's view.
It stayed silent, and eventually left.
783 hours.
Jemma had been alone for hours now. Her bladder was painfully full, courtesy of the water she'd drank before falling into that mess. Her swollen belly only added to the uncomfortable pressure, but she was too wary to pee, afraid that the creature would come back as soon as she was in a vulnerable position. Just as she was starting to weight her possibilities -she felt like her bladder was going to explode; she heard the creature come back.
From where it stood, it looked suspiciously like a man. Jemma could see the side of his face, obscured by a thick beard as he looked at her.
"You're still here" the man said, dubfound.
"Of course I'm still here!" Jemma replied, holding back a snarl. "Let me out of here!"
She got up, approaching the side of the cage. "Let me out of here, now!"
But the man had turned around, and he soon disappeared towards where he'd come from. This time, Jemma didn't hide her sobs, letting go of the pressure for a little while. As soon as her cheeks were dry of any tears, she found the darkest corner of the cage to relieve herself, holding back a groan of satisfaction once the pressure in her bladder was gone. Exhaustion and soreness completely erased any shame she could have felt at the idea of pissing like a dog in a cage, and she eventually laid back on her side a little further away, facing the place she knew the man would come back through.
824 hours.
Jemma had tried to keep a physical activity as soon as possible when she'd arrived on the planet. Its different gravity had caused her muscles to be sore more than once, and she knew she would have to defend herself if anything happened to her. Which was why she was currently doing pull ups in the cage, groaning with each pull on her shaky arms. Her belly wasn't that heavy yet, but she could definitely feel the difference with every movement.
Soon though, the man was back.
"Welcome back" she sassed, letting go of the bars to fall back on her feet. "How was your day?"
When he didn't reply, she sighed.
"My name is Jemma Simmons. Dr Jemma Simmons. I'm from Earth, and I came here through a portal. And since you speak English, I suspect you might have, as well."
The man came a little closer, and this time Jemma was able to take a proper look at him. He was from Earth, there was no doubt, and he looked… extremely worn out. She kept a safe distance between herself and the cage, noting the wooden bar in his hand as he stared at her.
"If you let me out" Jemma said, softly. "I can help you. We can help each other."
She let out a scream when the man hit her with the stick in the shoulder, making her step back. By reflex, she curled around herself and raised her hands to protect her middle section, looking at him as he put another bowl of food in front of her.
"You're going to eat me!" she yelled, keeping her distances. "Is that what this is all about? You fatten me up and then leave me to the slaughter!"
The man got back up. "Not a bad idea." he rasped, taking a few steps back.
Jemma didn't have much time to think. Throwing a glance at the plate, she looked up at the man once again. She had an idea.
851 hours.
Letting out a loud groan of pain, Jemma curled on herself on the floor of the cage. She'd been screaming for the past five minutes, and soon she heard the man's quick footstep approach.
"You poisoned me" she groaned as he approached the cage, eyes wide. "Why would you do that? What thread could I possibly be to you?"
Fortunately for her, the man acted fast. Opening the cage, he stepped inside to kneel beside her, hands outstretched. Jemma didn't waste a single second, grabbing the now empty plate to hit him on the side of the face, and ran. She still felt a little shaky as she got out of the hole using the rope the man had probably used to get down there, knowing he was not far behind.
"Get back here!" the man yelled at her.
Jemma doubled her efforts, getting up on shaky legs as soon as she was out on the sandy planet again. She ran away, with no destination in mind as she tried to get away from her kidnapper. She could see him coming closer each passing seconds, her pace slowed down by her lack of proper food and her pregnancy. But just as she tried to take a turn after a big rock, she fell on her knees, ripping her jeans as rock sliced through her skin and blood gushed out of it. She bit back a scream of pain. Behind her, she heard the man approach, looming over her as she turned around fully to face him.
"Kill me if you want" she spat, fighting back tears. "But I'm not going to be your prisoner."
The man raised his sword, and Jemma closed her eyes as he planted it right next to her injured leg.
"You're bleeding" he said, grabbing the piece of cloth from around her neck.
"What do you care?" Jemma bit back.
"It smells blood."
As soon as he applied the fabric against her throbbing leg, Jemma tried to kick her legs.
"Get away from me! Don't touch me!"
But the man wasn't listening to her anymore. The wind rustled around them, and he got up, looking around with wide eyes. "It's coming" he said, "we have to go."
Using the distraction, Jemma tried to rush away. The man was quicker than her though, as he grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her up.
"We have to go, now!"
"No!" Jemma screamed. "Stop pulling me, I'm not going with you!"
Her leg was throbbing with pain as he pulled her towards the cave, hands firm against her. There was no way he couldn't feel the hardness of her swollen stomach, yet he was relentless.
"Get in, now" the man said as soon as he was near the hole she'd pulled herself from. "Come on!"
This time, the whispers of the wind grew stronger in Jemma ears and she stopped fighting, letting herself down the hole with a scream of pain.
"Move!" the man groaned, sliding in right after her.
As soon as they were both in, he pulled the top of the makeshift door he'd made, sand sliding through the crack as he went down the ladder quickly.
"What do you think is out there?" Jemma asked as he stood in front of her, staring at the door that he was still holding firmly.
"Death" was all he replied.
Jemma rolled her eyes. She was still panting from her run, she felt a little bit nauseous and her leg was killing her.
"The only thing out there is a sandstorm. It's a desert planet, in case you hadn't noticed."
"It affects the planet" the man replied, "that's how you know it's coming. Or the planet affects it, either way, it's evil. This whole Godforsaken planet is evil."
Jemma couldn't help but stare back at him. He was tall, taller than her and taller than Fitz. His clothes looked old, and she wondered for a moment how much time he'd spent there.
"Planets cannot be evil" she bit back. "Everything that happened was a natural, climate-related phenomenon. Planets have ecosystems with definable patterns and rules that can be understood after enough-"
She was cut by the man again. "This planet does not have rules. It has moods."
With a gulp, Jemma looked down at the machete in the man's hand as he gestured at her. Taking a step back, she raised her hands in front of her belly.
"Perhaps it's you who has moods." she said, cautious.
Looking down at his hands as if he was now realizing what he was waving around, the man turned to put the machete down, letting Jemma look around as he moved away. From under what looked like a table, the man took out a first aid kit.
"We need to sew that up" he said, moving closer to her. "And maybe your mouth, too, while I'm at it."
"I'm perfectly capable of tending to my own wounds." Jemma replied, taking the first kit from his hands.
Without grace, the man pushed her against the chair behind her.
"Why would I trust you, anyway?" Jemma asked again. "You locked me in a cage, stabbed me with a spear, threatened to eat me…"
She pulled off the cloth from her wound, gritting her teeth as she did so. Blood was gushing out of the cut, and she took a deep breath.
"That was your idea" the man remarked, standing in front of her. "Besides, that's before I knew you were real, that the evil hadn't gotten to you or to me."
Jemma sighed. "Next time you have doubts about whether someone is real, ask them to hit you."
He kept looking at her up and down, gaze lingering on her belly. She could feel his hesitation, the question at the tip of his tongue, but he didn't say anything.
"I'll keep that in mind."
Heavy silence fell between the two of them before Jemma sighed, defeated.
"Do you have a name?" she asked, as politely as she could.
"Will."
She nodded. He was still staring, and she could feel herself grow annoyed. Had this man never seen women before?
"You wouldn't happen to have any alcohol, would you, Will?"
He huffed in response. "Yeah, i'll run down the drugstore and get it for you."
If he thought irony would calm her down, he was sorely mistaken.
"Would you, please? If it's not too much trouble" she sassed back.
This time, Will smiled faintly. Turning her attention back on her leg, Jemma took a deep breath as she pushed the needle inside of her skin, sewing the wound close with a slight whimper.
853 hours.
"You're a doctor"
After stitching her wound, Jemma was shakingly rinsing the wound with water. It was only after she'd finished that Will broke the respectful silence that had been instilled between them.
"Not a medical doctor, but yes. I have PhDs in biology and chemistry" Jemma replied, voice slightly shaky. "But I have more than my fair share of emergency work in the field."
Her leg was numb with pain, her entire body was aching because of her escape, and she was starting to feel nauseous again. Will handed her a cloth that looked clean, and she covered her wound with it delicately.
"You?" she asked, throwing him a glance from the corner of her eye.
"Not very sciency."
"Hmm."
She glanced at the camping bed at the corner of the cave, and the pile of books and other supplies she could see from her standing point.
"You certainly came here prepared. Wish I'd had time to pack, but my trip was rather unexpected."
Will nodded. "You came here alone?"
"Yes, I'm alone." she pushed a hand against her stomach. "As alone as I can be, anyway."
Will opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him.
"Are you?"
He was wise enough to recognize her change of subject.
"You're the first person I've seen in a long time" he said instead.
"How long have you been here?"
Will shrugged. "I don't know. My watch broke quickly and it's hard to keep track of days without a sun."
They stared at each other, still a little wary.
"What year is it?" Will asked finally.
Jemma kept her eyes locked in Will's as she replied. "2015."
Immediately, she recognized the signs of inner panic when Will took a deep breath, looking at the place around him. Without a word, he disappeared behind a thick curtain, and Jemma got up to follow him. She didn't know what to expect when she arrived on the other side, but it certainly wasn't what she saw. Will was standing in front of an astronaut suit, deposited on top of other various supplies. The American flag in the background clashed almost comically with the walls of the cave, and she took a deep breath.
"You're an astronaut" she whispered.
Will grabbed the helmet.
"If NASA sent you" Jemma kept going, "they must know how to bring you back, right? This equipment is ancient. I know NASA has funding issues, but you'd think they'd upgrade for a mission like this."
From his corner of the cave, Will scoffed.
"It was new at the time." he simply replied.
It took Jemma awfully long seconds to realize what he must have meant by this remark.
"What year did you come here?" she asked, a little breathless.
"2001."
His reply felt like a punch in the face. Legs slightly wobbly, Jemma found support on the wall beside her.
"My God" she breathed, "You've been here 14 years."
Will finally stopped staring at the helmet, turning around to face her. "Like I said. It's hard to keep track. You'll see."
Jemma swallowed the bile in her throat, forcing herself to follow Will as he went back to the main 'room'.
855 hours.
She'd let Will grab her phone, wandering around the cave while he stared at it seated on the bed.
"Technology must have hit warp speed after I left" Will remarked after a while, eyes never leaving the device in his hands.
Jemma smiled. "Yeah, it's hard to keep up sometimes. If it wasn't for Fitz, I'd be lost."
"Fitz?"
It was such a simple question, yet Jemma felt her heart begin to race at the mere mention of his name.
"My best friend" she replied. "He loves tech."
Unconsciously, she rubbed a hand on her stomach. If Will noticed, he didn't say a single thing.
"Hey" Jemma said, grabbing what looked like a map. "Is this a map of the area?"
"Only the areas we were able to explore." Will replied.
"What's this, the no fly zone?"
Immediately, Will turned around, wary. "Off limits. Only bad things happen there." Then, turning his attention back to the phone, he asked. "How much memory you have on this thing?"
"120 gigabytes."
"Hundred and- 120 gigabytes in this little thing?" Will asked, blown away.
He stayed silent for a little while, and Jemma bit the inside of her lip. She knew how strange and a little overwhelming it must have felt, and she had no idea what to say to him.
"Fourteen years" Will said again, thoughtful.
In his hands, the device was still turn on, and Jemma sighed.
"I'm sorry, but I need to conserve the battery. Fitz engineered it to last a long time, but it's draining. So unless you have some way to generate power... "
"NASA sent us here with all the power we could ever use" Will replied, mentioning at the equipment in front of him with his chin. "Except it's all solar. And in case you haven't noticed, there's not much sunshine."
They talked about the cave for a little bit after that, Jemma snooping around to make sure no other unpleasant surprises were waiting for her. It wasn't that she didn't trust Will, exactly, but she didn't know him yet. Eventually, her legs and swollen ankles reminded themselves to her and she came back to sit on the chair she'd used earlier, rolling her neck with a groan.
"Hey, you hungry?" Will asked, sounding a little shy all of a sudden.
With a smile, the first she'd seen on his face, he gave her the food he was holding. It tasted a little different from what she'd eaten so far, but it wasn't that bad after a few bites.
"You said your whole team came through the portal" Jemma asked when Will sat down to eat as well. "How long were you supposed to be here?"
"They said they could have us back within a year. But there was always a possibility it would be a one way trip." He pushed a little more food into his mouth, before continuing. "NASA was always curious about the monolith. Budgets for space exploration had vanished, so some small group on the inside convinced everyone it was the affordable future of space exploration."
He stopped, looking at her.
"If you're not with NASA, how.. how did you get into the monolith? Especially since…"
He gestured at her middle section, and she grimaced.
"It's not with NASA anymore. It's with SHIELD. They've had it for quite some time, I'm not sure how or why."
Will frowned. "That's real? SHIELD?"
Jemma nodded. "It was. I was recruited right out of the academy."
"I was a test pilot for the air force, recruited by NASA. Now here I am."
"Here we are" Jamma emphasized. "At least you volunteered."
Will snorted.
"Yeah. I've never been able to resist doing something when I'm told the odds are impossible. When NASA wanted volunteers, I was first in line, and the first one through the portal."
He told her about the other three astronauts, scientists, just like her. He told her about the terrain, the samples he'd taken, the studies they'd made of the stars. He told her about "it", the fairytale monster he thought made people crazy as it got inside everyone's head, scoffing at her laugh.
"And if there is no it ?" Jemma asked, finally.
"You still think I'm making all this up?"
Jemma sighed, avoiding his gaze. She knew he was convinced of it, she could see it in his eyes. Yet she was a scientist, and she was trained to study facts and science, not scary stories.
"You have no idea what's going on here" Will spit out, throwing his plate away.
She looked at him go, culpability tightening her stomach. She'd been here for a little over a month now, and she hadn't moved much. WIll had been on this planet for 14 whole years, and he was obviously afraid of something. Facts or not. Getting up, she followed after him. He was sitting in front of his NASA gear, throwing a tennis ball against the walls of the cave, and looked up at her when she opened the curtain. Without a word, Jemma sat down beside him, wincing a little as her swollen belly made it difficult for her to sit cross legged on the floor.
"I didn't mean to imply…" she started, stopping before she could make things worse. Will only nodded, and Jemma sighed. "Perhaps it's best if we start over, since we're going to be working together."
Will smiled. "Working together? On what?"
"On getting home!"
Will shook his head. "There's no getting home. The sooner you accept that, the better."
"I will not accept that" Jemma said firmly. "there's always hope."
"Not on this planet."
"Then that's how we'll work together. I'll be the voice of hope, you'll be the voice of doom. We'll keep each other in check. Deal?"
She outstretched her hand in front of his face, looking at the way he stared at it before looking up at her eyes. Finally, he took his hand and shook it slightly. She could see the dubious look in his eyes, just as she could see that he clearly didn't know how to breach the pregnancy subject when he was dying to do so.
"See" Jemma remarked, " it's working already."
"No it's not" Will whispered.
Jemma rolled her eyes, hard.
"Will" she said, firmly. "I'm not giving birth on this planet. We're getting home."
1490 hours.
"Ice cold beer" Will said, a little dreamily.
"Ugh" Jemma replied, scrunching her nose. "It's not like I could have any right now. Truffle fries, though…"
Will shook his head. "Steak, medium rare. And another ice-cold beer."
Jemma swallowed around her mouthful. After a few weeks, the taste had faded into something quite enjoyable, really. Will raised his glass with a smile, and she cheered with him.
"Wine" Jemma whispered. "Oh, I'd kill for a glass of wine, when I couldn't even drink it at the moment."
Will grimaced. He'd finally gotten around the fact that she was, obviously, very pregnant. He hadn't asked who the father was, or anything specific about the pregnancy, but Jemma knew that his lips burned with questions sometimes. He was careful around her, but never condescending, which she appreciated. Sometimes, he made sure that she got a little bit more to eat than he did, too.
"What do you miss that's not food?" Jemma asked, looking at Will.
"Well, the sun, without a doubt. You?"
She stayed silent for a long time, realizing that she could cry right now and then. There was a lot of things that she missed, a lot more than she could even express. She missed basic hygiene, for starter. It became more and more difficult with her pregnancy to pee in a bucket, which was humiliating enough as it was. She was nearing her 4th month now, which meant that she no longer felt nauseous at any time of the day, but she felt extremely tired and her back ached more and more. Will was a treasure though, often helping with a quick massage down the small of her back after he'd find her seated on her bed in the middle of the night once, tears streaming down her face as she tried to relieve some of the pressure. But most of all, she missed Fitz. She missed him so much her heart felt like it was physically breaking at times, whenever she thought about him or looked down at her belly.
Without a word, Jemma got up, picking her Iphone that she'd left on Will's makeshift desk. In silence, feeling Will's eyes on her as she did, she turned it on and moved her chair to come sit by Will's side. Then, she found the video she was looking for, and showed it to him.
"OK Jemma, get ready to make a wish, and we will blow out the candle for you" Coulson's voice said through the screen, as the camera moved and showed the playground and all her friends. Coulson put a TARDIS cake on the table, in front of a very excited Daisy, as they all exclaimed "Happy Birthday Jemma!". Then, finally, the camera turned around to show Fitz holding the phone, and Jemma felt her heart race. "Happy birthday Jemma"Fitz said, a beautiful smile spreading on his face. "It's not the same without you here. Say hi to your parents for me, and I'll see you soon."
"That's Fitz" she finally said, voice tight. "That's Fitz."
Will smiled, a little sadly. "Yeah, I figured. You talk about him a lot. His name is like your favorite word. I mean… that's a little bit more than a best friend."
Jemma shook her head. "Oh. We're inseparable. Well, we were."
She straightened up, turning off her phone.
"Anyone in your life?" she asked then, trying to change the subject.
Will looked down at his hands with a frown. "I always thought there'd be time for that later."
Silence hung heavy after that, and Jemma sighed. "I think I'm going to turn in for the night. Thanks for dinner."
She moved to get up, but Will grabbed her arm before she could.
"Is… Is Fitz the father?" he asked.
Jemma felt her face fall. "I... "
"I'm not asking… it's not simple curiosity, Jemma" Will kept going. "The way you say his name… I know that look. Did you leave in good terms?"
Weirdly, it was all it took for Jemma to start crying. She hadn't let go like this since she'd been in the cage, and as much as she felt ridiculous when Will opened his arms and let her cry against his shoulder, it felt too good to stop. She let go of all the pain, regrets, crushed hopes and dreams about this pregnancy at once, comforted by Will's arms and his careful fingers in her hair.
"Fitz doesn't know" she finally said once her tears were dry, her face still tucked against Will's neck.
They both smelled awful, sweat and dust clinging to their clothes, but for the first time in forever, it felt real. And it was precisely what Jemma needed at this moment.
"You ran away?" Will assumed.
"What? No! I just… It was a one night thing" she explained.
Will hummed.
"No it wasn't, Jemma" he said softly. "I barely know you, but I know everything about him. I see the way you look at his picture sometimes, and I see the way you soften when you talk about him."
Jemma bit back another sob, closing her eyes to avoid any treacherous tears. "I love him" she said, finally. "I love him, and I know he loves me. He sacrificed himself for me, a few years ago, and I couldn't face him after that. It took us so long to get back to the way we were before, and then... "
"The night in question happened."
She nodded against his collarbone, taking a deep breath as she straightened up and sat back on her chair again.
"We were going to dinner" she said, looking at Will. "that night, when I was… when I arrived here. We were categorizing evidence, and he asked me to dinner. After that night, it took us a long time to get back to normal, and when I found out I was pregnant… I didn't know what to do. I figured I could tell him that night, and we'd figure out together."
"But you didn't get to do that" Will finished. "I'm sorry."
Jemma tried to smile, although she doubted it did any good.
"Yeah" she whispered. "We were stupid, and now... " she looked down at her belly, defeated. "I feel guilty for putting a baby through all of this, I feel guilty for acting foolishly and I feel guilty for not telling Fitz before…"
"You couldn't know, Jemma" Will interjected, grabbing her hand. "You couldn't know."
Jemma smiled bitterly. "Yes, I couldn't. But now here I am, on a deserted planet with a fetus approximating the size of a large orange, with no idea how I'm gonna get out of here or if I'm ever gonna get out of here. What if I have to give birth here, Will? How will a baby survive on this planet?"
"Hey, hey" Will stopped her, grabbing her face between his large palms. "I'm the voice of doom, remember? You're the voice of hope, Jemma. We'll find a way."
Later, as she rolled on her bed, Jemma grabbed her phone to look at Fitz's photo once more before falling asleep.
"Goodnight, Fitz." she whispered. Then, shyly, she put a protective hand around her middle. "Goodnight, baby."
3010 hours.
"Damnit Fitz, what are we missing?" Jemma exclaimed, getting up in fury. "If there's a way in, there has to be a way out."
"Everything OK?" Will asked, not looking away from the astronaut helmet he was currently using as a mirror.
He knew better than to interfere with Jemma's mood swings, especially lately. He knew she had troubles sleeping, and her back was hurting more and more. She was nearing the 6th months of her pregnancy now, and each passing day was a painful reminder to the both of them that they had to find a solution, and fast.
"No, it's not OK. I've been going over and over this research for over two months and I'm still not closer to an answer. This baby's sitting on my bladder, and I feel like I'm going crazy here." Jemma replied, taking a few deep breaths.
"Well, why don't we go outside, go for a little walk?" Will asked.
"I want to go to the no-fly zone" Jemma declared, turning around to face him.
Will sighed. "We've been over this a hundred times, you're not going out there. That's a bad place."
"The answer might be there" she argued. "I'm tired of sitting around and waiting!"
Will got up, hitting the table in front of him with his fist.
"Nothing is out there except for death!" he said, walking towards her in quick strides. "I told you, that's where they all went right before-"
"It's a coincidence!" Jemma screamed right back. "There could be something there, Will."
"You" Will said slowly, pointing a finger at her "are not going. We made a deal to keep each other in check. You're pregnant, Jemma. You're not going out there."
Jemma huffed, feeling herself grow more annoyed by the second.
"In check doesn't mean you get to keep me as your prisoner. Me being pregnant has nothing to do with my capacity to investigate the terrain. I'm a scientist, Will, not some stay at home housewife."
She stormed past him, grabbing the map as she went.
"Where are you going?"
"Obviously, nowhere."Jemma replied, leaving the room.
Jemma had actually forgotten how warm and heavy the air was outside of the cave. Walking around, she collected a few stones and plants, feeling her anger diminish as she worked on the ground.
"He means well, Jemma" she reminded herself. "You should make him dinner tonight. Yes. That seems like a good idea. Then, you should stop talking to yourself."
When she straightened up though, pushing her firsts against the small of her back with a groan, her eyes fell on something shiny ahead of her. Without thinking, she started walking towards it, and soon discovered that the moon was reflecting against a sword, planted right in the sandy ground. As soon as she took it out, wind rustled around her, and she realized that there were a few other things in the ground by her feet. In minutes, she'd dig up a few treasures, including a miniature telescope.
"The stars" she whispered. "Fitz, that's the answer!"
She let out a giddy laugh, barely paying attention to her surroundings. When she heard it, through, her entire body froze. Behind her, a sand storm was fast approaching, and she got up as fast as she could, climbing up the hill towards the cave. She wasn't fast enough to get to the top, and lost her footing with a pained groan, rolling down the hill on the other side. She pushed her hands against her belly once she stilled, praying for the first time of her life that the fall hadn't hurt her child. Why hadn't she listened to Will? Getting on her feet again, she spared a glance at the floor and felt her heart drop when she realized that she was standing on a pile of bones.
"Oh" she moaned in pain, trying to escape the wind as it ruffled her hair, making it hard for her to look around.
Which was when she saw it. In front of her, in the sandstorm, stood a black figure in clothes that looked torn apart by both time and claws. She barely had time to look at it before she felt her entire body shake with fear like she'd never experienced before, the mere sight of the creature making her breathless. It took her a few seconds, but she started running again, as fast as her body allower her. She found shelter behind a big rock, where she used damp sand to stop the bleeding on her forehead with a wince. Then, as soon as she could, she started running again.
"Open the door!" Jemma screamed as she saw will stand by the door of the cave, binoculars in hand.
Thankfully for her, Will didn't ask many questions as he opened the door and slid in right after her, barely escaping the sand storm. As soon as she was safe and sound, Jemma fell on the nearest chair, exhausted.
"You were right, Will" she panted, "I saw it, whatever it is. Something was out there."
"Where did you see it?" Will pressed automatically, kneeling by her side. "Where were you?"
"Out by some junkyard. We weren't the first ones here, it was a masquerade-"
"Jemma" Will cut her, fingers digging in her knees. "That's near the no-fly zone. I told you never to go there, you could've been killed, or worse!"
Jemma blinked up at him.
"You knew about that place? All those bones, proof of others and you didn't tell me?"
Will sighed. "Yes. Because I knew you'd wanna see it, and it's better that you didn't. That thing… has been killing everyone that's come through for centuries."
"How long have people known about the monolith?" Jemma pressed, ignoring him. "And why keep sending people when there's no way back? It's as if they're being sacrificed!"
Will moved away, sitting on the edge of his bed as he put his head in his hands.
"I'd prefer not to join them. So from now on, will you just please stay put?"
Jemma smiled. "That doesn't matter anymore." she pulled the miniature telescope out of her bag. "Cause I know how to get us home."
It had been a pretty stressful day at the playground the first time she'd noticed. She was feeling tired, antsy and most of all nauseous, and had been for the past week and a half. She'd put this on the stress of the situation, the agitation on the base and the situation with Fitz, but now she couldn't fool herself anymore. She'd been waking up nauseous for the past two days, her middle section felt weirdly firm when she pressed her hand against it and she was way too late in her period to ignore the warning signs.
Which was why she'd decided to buy a handful pregnancy test, not trusting the computer system for private results. The last thing she needed was for Fitz to stumble upon a blood test, whether she was pregnant or not. Which had found her seated in her private bathroom attached to the room she was given, anxiously waiting for the three minutes to be up and the tests to hopefully come back negative.
It wasn't like she'd never imagined a life with Fitz, with kids and maybe a dog, too. But it was awfully soon for this to happen, especially since Fitz and her weren't even in good terms anymore. Since that night a month and a half ago, Fitz was distant and even cold at times. Most of the agents had noticed, but no one had said anything yet. No one dared, especially when it came to Fitz. He'd started stuttering at times again, and her heart broke every time he did.
Sighing, she grabbed the three tests she'd peed on to reveal the results.
test 1 - positive
test 2 - positive
test 3 - positive
Jemma bit back a sob at the sight. She didn't know how she felt about the news, and it terrified her. One small part of her was bursting with joy at the idea of holding a part of Fitz inside of her, growing with her as days passed. Another biggert part was completely terrified, and knew it wasn't the time nor the place to have a baby. What would Fitz even say? After this night, she was half convinced he hated her. He was still struggling with his recovery, more than ever, and she was carrying his child. There was no way Fitz would ever take the news well.
With a treacherous tear rolling down her cheek, Jemma put all three tests in the bin next to the toilet as she got up and rolled inside her bed to cry.
3032 hours.
"This is where you came in" Jemma explained to Will as she crossed the map, straightening her back with a wince before bending over the desk again. "This is where I came in."
"Alright professor" Will sassed. 'I'm listening."
"The monolith creates a wormhole. A direct line from its location on Earth to a fixed location here."
Will shook his head.
"You said the portal is moving."
"It appears to be moving" Jemma corrected. "But it's the planet that's moving, rotating on its axis. The portal is fixed. Since we know the date, time and place we both arrived, we know how long it took to move from "x" to "y". If we track the stars long enough, we can determine the rate of the planet's rotation and predict when and where the portal will appear."
She stopped to take a breath, smiling at Will as she waved the microscope.
"With that thing?" Will asked, already lost.
"Not with this. With that." she pointed at the old NASA equipment dusting in the corner of the cave.
Will sighed.
"Assuming we could even fix that heap of junk, there's no way to power it."
Jemma smiled even wider. "Yes there is."
This time, she grabbed her phone to wave it at Will.
"I have enough battery left to get the data we need."
"If we use up your battery and this doesn't work" Will said slowly, walking towards her with a puzzled expression on his face. "that's the end of Fitz, and all your friends."
He put a reassuring hand against her shoulder as she looked down at the device in her hands.
"I know you've already considered it" Will kept going softly. "But that's something… that's the only piece of memory you'll ever have of him."
"I know that" Jemma bit back. "I know that. And if it doesn't work, and if I stay here on this planet, I will never have any pictures of my baby's dad that I could show them one day. I realize that, Will. But I have to try."
Later on, as she was seated right outside of the cave under the blue moon, she watched the video one last time on her phone.
"Happy birthday, Jemma, it's not the same without you here. Say hi to your parents for me, and I'll see you soon."
She hit pause, staring at Fitz's face longer than it was possibly necessary.
"Goodbye Fitz" she whispered, turning it off. "I'll see you soon."
3183 hours.
WELCOME TO PROJECT DISTANT STAR
PATHFINDER
NAV AND PL/SQ OPERATING SYSTEM
Jemma let out a happy sigh as Pathfinder's screen lit up, turning around to look at Will and jump in his arms. Will let out a slight oof as he caught her with a chuckle, before patting her back. Lately, she'd spent sleepless night up and analyzing data Will did not even comprehend half of the time, his NASA training long forgotten as she calculated numbers and equations he couldn't even read out loud. He'd made it her job to make sure she slept at least a full seven hours from time to time, fed her, and occasionally helped her with a few things.
Will had been sleeping when Jemma let out a gasp, Pathfinder shutting off entirely in front of her very eyes.
"What happened?" he asked, immediately running to her side. "Is it the baby?"
"What?" Jemma asked, puzzled. "No! it's not the baby. It's pathfinder, it died. But it's in a better place now."
Will's shoulder sagged in relief. Ever since the baby had started moving a little over two months ago, Jemma had often gasped in surprise with the movements, sometimes even painful as the little one kicked her in the ribs. It wasn't like he could do anything to prevent it, but Will was always afraid that something would go awfully wrong all of a sudden. Jemma was six months pregnant by now, but it wasn't like she was eating nearly the amount of food she needed for both her and the baby, or had a sufficient amount of sun and vitamin D to go with it. Her pregnancy went well, as far as they were both aware, but it didn't prevent him from worrying. And as much as Jemma liked to act like nothing ever scared her, he often caught her looking down at her belly with worry.
"You get anything?" he asked finally.
"We got one. There, 18 days from now."
As soon as he saw where she was pointing at, Will sighed.
"Did it have to be there? That's the no-fly zone. It's a 40 hours hike, at least. There's a canyon 30 meters wide waiting for us. It's impossible to cross, Jemma. We'll never make it. Especially in your condition."
When he looked up however, Jemma was smiling.
"Didn't you say you can't resist doing something when the odds are impossible?" she asked, arms crossed above her belly as she tilted her head in the most adorable way.
He sighed in defeat "I knew that snake would come back to bite me."
"You got two weeks, fly boy. Figure it out." she tapped his shoulder, stretching her back. "I'm gonna lay down a bit. This lady here is training to be a boxer."
Will let out a snort. "Oh so it's a girl now?"
Jemma didn't turn around as she replied.
"Yep."
3561 hours.
"So, question, professor. Why Science?" Will asked as he worked. "How'd you figure all this out? The planets, the math…"
"Scoliosis" Jemma replied with a smile.
"...okay?"
"I had scoliosis as a kid. I had a small surgery to correct it, and I was flat on my back for a few weeks, so to help combat the boredom every night, my father would wheel my bed out and talk about the stars."
"Nice job, dad."
"Hmm."
The next time he looked at her, Jemma was staring straight ahead, lost in her thoughts.
"What are you thinking about?" Will asked.
Jemma bit her bottom lip, suddenly nervous. "I'm thinking about Fitz" she admitted. "About Fitz as a dad, I mean."
She sighed, putting her hands on her belly, caressing it gently. The baby was sleeping, which was both a relief and a situation of stress nowadays. Relief because the little one was fidgeting like her father whenever she was awake, but stressful because Jemma knew she had tons of nutritional deficiencies amongst tons of other things she needed to worry about. It wasn't like this planet was the perfect place for a pregnant woman, but she just had to deal with it and push her worries at the back of her mind. She was just constantly afraid to lose this baby, too.
"I don't even know if he wanted children, you know?" she said. "I was so afraid to tell him. So afraid to lose him… I didn't even know what I wanted, initially. I didn't even know if I wanted to keep her when I found out."
Will hummed. "I obviously don't know Fitz. But from what you've told me… Jemma, the guy gave you his last breath when you were at the bottom of the Atlantic. I don't think he would have turned his back on you if you'd told him."
"But I didn't get the chance, did I" she smiled bitterly. "If this doesn't work… if this baby is born here, or if I die first… Fitz will never know he'd had a child. I suppose it's a mercy, if you think about it this way."
There was nothing Will could ever say that would ease this pain, and he knew it better than anyone. So instead, he showed her was he was working on, changing the subject of the conversation.
"So, this portal" he said "how do we know it's not just a door that swings one way?"
"I think it acts more like a valve" Jemma replied immediately, like everytime she was asked about science. "On Earth, it seemed to open randomly, but it only appeared random from our point of view."
Will frowned. "What opens it?"
Jemma pointed at the sky, smiling.
"The moons. The degree of alignment affects the portal the way our moon affects the tides, causing it to ebb and flow, pulling things in and out."
"So, the portal opens, we just jump right through, go with the flow?" Will sighed.
"It doesn't stay open very long, so in case there's no time for that... " she handed him a bottle proudly. "We send a message in a bottle! Everything Fitz needs to know to open it, keep it open, and come and get us."
Will took a gulp of water, thoughtful.
"I'm glad that thing sent you over here, and not the janitor" he pointed out.
Jemma elbowed him in the ribs. "And how exactly is this supposed to get us across the canyon? We only have one shot, and we have to leave tomorrow."
"Well. I'm gonna shoot this into the wall across the canyon, and we're gonna slide across on a rope."
Jemma looked at him, eyes wide.
"What, did you think I was gonna build an helicopter?"
She huffed. "Well. kinda?"
3575 hours.
The road was long, but Jemma had anticipated it. It didn't mean it wasn't hard though, her belly weighing in a way she wasn't familiar with. In the months she'd spent on the planet, Will and her hadn't done much walking around, which she now regretted. She'd always been a pretty fit person by nature, but the extra weight really took its toll on her, coupled with the climate of the planet. Thankfully, Will had taken all the luggages they'd need, and she was grateful for his silence about her current suffering. She could sense the glances he often threw her, but he knew better than to interfere.
"Eat, shower or sleep?" Jemma asked at some point, "what are you gonna do first when we get back?"
Will huffed. "Eat, please! Who are you talking to. What're you gonna do?"
Jemma hummed, pretending to think about it for a minute.
"I'm gonna eat in the shower, and fall asleep while doing so."
Will nodded. "That's very efficient. I expect nothing less."
All laughter and conversation died as soon as they arrived in front of the canyon they were supposed to cross, though.
"Uh, this can't be it" Jemma pointed out, voice weak "We made a mistake, we went the wrong way."
Will shook his head "This is the spot"
"But… you said it was 30 meters wide, there's no way we can cross that!" Jemma insisted, a little hysterically.
Will stayed silent, in loss for words. In front of them, a huge gap separated them from the other side, and the place where the portal was supposed to appear.
"It was, I swear."
Jemma started to hyperventilate. "That's more like a hundred meters! Unless there was some significant earthquake…"
"It doesn't want us to leave" Will suddenly said, looking at her.
There was no time for Jemma to answer to this, when familiar ramble made them both look up at once. Across the canyon, the portal was opening already.
"There it is! It's opening!" Jemma screamed. "There has to be a way to make that. We didn't come this far to fail!"
Will unclasped his backpack quickly. "Maybe we don't have to get there. Hand me the bottle, Jemma."
Securing it into the slingshot, he tightened the knot as much as he could, praying that the message would make the trip.
"We can fire it right into the portal" he explained as he did so "if it's not dragging any rope, it might just make it."
Jemma nodded shakingly. "Hurry. We've only got one shot."
As soon as Will fired, both of them held their breath. Jemma vaguely realized she was muttering a litany of "come on"s when Will caught her hand, his warm and sweaty palm squeezing her fingers. The seconds leading to the impact stretched like hours, and suddenly, the portal was gone again. The bottle exploded against the rock, and Jemma felt her knees give up from under her.
"No" she whispered, Will catching her just in time, preventing her fall.
The journey back to the cave was silent. Will didn't point out the tears sliding down Jemma's cheeks, and Jemma didn't point out the way Will's fists shook all the way back.
"We're never going home" Jemma said when they were finally back at the cave, staring at the fire Will had made to keep her warm. She hadn't had the heart to tell him that she wasn't shaking out of cold.
Will sighed, taking off his jacket. "Maybe this is our home now."
Jemma shook her head, fingers digging in her middle section. She hadn't felt the baby move in hours, now, either.
"This isn't a home. This is hell."
Letting go of any restraints she could have had, Jemma pushed the table against the wall of the cave, falling to her knees as it crashed in an awful metallic noise. Will was by her side in seconds, ever reassuring presence against the flat of her back as she started to cry, curling in his arms like a child.
"You were right" Jemma hiccuped between her sobs. "There's no hope on this planet."
"That's what I used to think." Will whispered, pulling back just enough to be able to catch her face between his hands. "Then you showed up. The both of you."
He pushed a firm hand against the swell of Jemma's belly, a tentative grin spreading on his face.
"There is hope, Jemma. Right there."
Jemma wiped her tears with the back of her hand, shaking her head firmly. "What kind of hope is there for a baby on this forsaken planet?"
Will sat back more comfortably on the floor, allowing Jemma to do the same. Right next to the fire, the both of them entangled, Jemma felt herself relax a little bit for the first time since the bottled had crashed against the rock.
"Back when I was sent through the portal" Will began, "I had a boyfriend. Mind you, we broke up a little before I volunteered for this mission, but… We were pretty serious, before that. Thought about starting a family, at some point."
Jemma blinked the tears out of her eyes. It was the first time in almost six months that Will had talked about himself, and his life before this planet.
"Sometimes, I think about what I could have had, if I had stayed back" Will whispered, eyes unfocused. "I cannot be your Fitz, Jemma. And you can never be my Chris. But maybe together, we can make our own little family."
4720 hours.
"Are you ready?"
"Relax" Jemma scoffed. "We're not going to miss it. I'm the one who did the maths, remember?"
She arranged herself with the astronaut helmet, puffing her hair a little before grabbing her bag. Satisfied with what she saw (and what she could do, really), she walked towards the living room, squeezing Will's hand as she walked past. It was weird, their dynamic. They weren't a couple, her heart already taken by someone she'd probably never see again, and she definitely wasn't part of the team he played for. But it felt good to have human contact again, and she loved to curl around him at night, his torso warm against her sore back as he tentatively reached out to put a hand against her belly.
She was eight months pregnant now. She tried not to think about it too much, way too afraid of the consequences if she did. Will had gathered every medical supplies he could find for the birth, and they'd built a crib with an old NASA box. Her belly was huge, she was huge, and she felt heavier than ever.
She also missed Fitz so much it hurt.
"Even if we do miss it" she said as she grabbed some water "there'll be another on in 18 years. Maybe we can take the kid for her 18th birthday, then."
Will scoffed. "Not funny."
They found the perfect spot for a sunrise, the barren land stretching towards the infinite in front of their very eyes.
"You think I'll get a tan?" Will asked as sat down, helping Jemma do the same.
"Well it's only going to last a few minutes" Jemma argued. "We're on one of the poles."
Will chuckled in response, opening his mouth to add something when he saw it. Right through Jemma's beautiful brown eyes, the reflexion of a red flare piercing through the sky.
"It's Fitz" Jemma screamed immediately, following his gaze. "He found a way, we're going home Will!"
Unable to speak, Will only followed as she got up and eagerly ran down the hill. As soon as they were on flat soil again, he grabbed her hand, helping her run towards the light. All tiredness was forgotten as they both raced towards the portal as fast as they could. They were just a few meters away from the portal, now able to see it clear as day, when they heard it. Thunder started to rumble behind them, and wind howled around them.
"Oh no, no no! Not now" Jemma begged, panic seizing her as she came to a stop.
"Jemma" Will spun her around, looking at her in the eyes. "Jemma, go, you can make it."
"No!" Jemma yelled back, pulling at his hand. "I won't leave you here! I won't move if you don't come!"
Even with the wind, Jemma could see the way Will gritted his teeth.
"God damnit, woman!"
Without wasting another second, he swiped her from her feet, carrying her bridal style as he started to run again. Jemma had pushed her face against his neck, shielding her face from the sand as best she could, and he fought the need to close his eyes as sand made it hard for him to advance clearly. The portal was so close now, only a few meters away, and just when Will thought he wouldn't make it, ams sore and body completely worn out, a man suddenly appeared right through it.
"Fitz" he whispered, recognizing the blond curls and he bridge of his nose. He'd spend enough time watching Jemma's videos and photos to recognize him anywhere. "Fitz!" he screamed, louder this time.
To his credit, Fitz didn't seem fazed by the fact that an unknown man wearing an outdated NASA outfit knew his name. Instead, he ran right straight towards him, arms outstretched as he laid eyes on the woman curled in his arms.
"Jemma" he whispered as soon as he reached them. Then, he looked up at Will. "This way, the portal!"
Fitz's grip on Will's hips was strong enough to pull him towards the portal, and Will barely had time to notice the rope attached to the scientist's waist before it all turned black.
When Will blinked his eyes open, dust was surrounding him. The first thing he did was to clench his arms, making sure that Jemma was still there. He allowed himself to relax when he realized she was safe and sound in his arms, blinking her eyes opened in confusion. Then, he was aware of two things. First, there was someone wrapped around him, and that someone was looking at him with comically wide blue eyes. Second, they were in a well, and six people he didn't know were looking back at him in horror.