In the truck, Mack, Yo Yo, Enoch, Jemma and Piper awaited their fate.
The doors swung open.
"Alright" Thompson yelled as soon as the truck came to a final stop, "Everyone out"
Nobody moved.
"One, two, three-" he counted, "Damn it!" he turned to the other SSR agents, "Where'd they go?"
"I don't know, boss?" one agent answered sheepishly
"You don't know?" Thompson mocked him, "I'm the one who got shot a couple of years ago. I'm the one who should have memory problems, but I don't, do it?" he snarled
The agents kept silent
"Good" Thompson barked, "now go take them to a holding cell while I can deal with Mar- I mean, Director Carter"
In the holding cell, Jemma, Piper, Enoch, Yo Yo and Mack passed the time in discussion, as they sat on a long hard bench bolted to the wall.
"Look on the bright side" Jemma began, "we'll be able to see Peggy Carter" she winced.
"And if the Chronicoms have taken over anyone, we'll never be able to figure it out" Yo Yo frowned
"We know this much" Piper explained, "that the Chronicoms are men, so they can't take over women"
"And as far as we've seen" Mack picked up from where she finished, "they seem to favor Caucasians"
"So they're racist?" Yo Yo gave a wry smile
"It might simply be what's easiest for them to steal and use against others" Enoch supplied, "did you know that I can remove my-" he paused a moment, "skin, as it were the way one might remove a wetsuit or jumpsuit"
The team looked at him with honest horror
"I shall not do that right now" he reassured them, "but it would be one way to disguise myself"
The team remembered how Enoch had used the skin from one of the Hunter Chronicoms to go undercover as it were and save the rest of the SHIELD team.
"For now, we can assume that there aren't that many melanin heavy characters in SHIELD" Mack sighed, "and as much as I don't enjoy that, it might be for the best, for now, anyway"
Meanwhile, upstairs, Director Peggy Carter had already had an earful about the newcomers
"They were in a ship, ma'am" one agent explained
"You're telling me that they were outer space aliens?" she glared at him, "I suppose you'll say they were little green men"
"No ma'am, just human sized" the agent didn't dare joke.
Just then, another agent ran into the room, "We've got a problem in the holding cell" he blurted out.
Downstairs, Jemma lay on the floor, while Piper, Yo Yo, and Mack knelt beside her. Piper held Jemma's one hand while Mack placed a reassuring hand on her forehead.
"I'm fine" Jemma began
"And the corner over there had a spontaneously combustion of vomit?" Yo Yo shook her head
"I believe she is- as the Biblical term – with child" Enoch explained.
Everyone turned to see him, even Jemma.
"I detected a second warmth but did not wish to divulge the information as it was not pertinent to the issue, as well as, not being my place" Enoch went on.
"You could've let us know" Mack spoke not to Enoch, but to Jemma, "we're here for you, all of us"
"I know you are" Jemma smiled weakly, "but this is just morning sickness"
"If my calculations are correct, it is five hours and fifty two minutes post meridiem " Enoch finished
Meanwhile, agents had come down to check on the prisoners.
"Oh, god, not this" Jemma moaned
"Hey" Mack stood up, "She's unwell. We need a doctor, now!" he shouted
"You'll get one when you get one" one agent snapped
"I can't believe that Director Carter would let her agents talk to us like that" Yo Yo frowned
"If you don't like that, maybe you should go back to where you came from" the other agent spat out
"Not now" Mack placed a reassuring hand on Yo Yo, he turned to the agents, "Sirs, we need to get her a doctor right now" he calmed his voice down, "As you can see, she's in a lot of pain"
"Fine" the agents nodded and left. They soon returned with a portly man in a white coat
"I'm Aloysius Samberly" he smiled through the bars, "let's see what we can do" he opened the cell door using keys provided by the agents. "What can we help with today?" he benevolently looked down on Jemma
"I'm pregnant, you git" she barked. Apparently, this was more than she could handle, given the circumstances.
"Oh" Samberly looked alarmed, "I'm not that sort of doctor, you know" he backed away. "I'm sorry" and abruptly left the cell, locking it behind him
"Now what?" Piper frowned. By now, Jemma had sat up and seemed to be herself again
"It's just morning sickness" she explained, again, "and I'm fine" she glared at everyone around her, "You've never seen a pregnant woman before?"
"We had no idea" Yo Yo began, "and we're concerned about you, your health, the baby now, too"
"And you think I can't bloody well do my job because I'm carrying- " she broke off. "I'm perfectly capable of of handling things"
"When you're not spewing a puke geyser that rivals the girl in The Exorcist" Piper smirked
"We'll find a way to get through this" Mack explained, "the cell, being imprisoned, not-" he glanced at Jemma
"I know what you mean" she sighed
"Alright, let's see how's our patient" a bright voice came down the hallway. Everyone looked it that direction.
A smart looking blonde nurse stood there, a medical bag in hand, "Let's see what we can do today" she deftly opened the cell, locked it behind her, and knelt by Jemma
"I saw your photograph" Jemma looked confused, "in the archives" she read the badge on the nurse's uniform, Thompson.
"Oh yes" Nurse Thompson checked Jemma's pulse, and placed a stethoscope on Jemma's abdomen, and made some notes in a pad of paper she'd pulled from her medical bag.
"You seem to be doing fine" she smiled, "and I wouldn't worry about things"
"What can you do about getting us out of this cell" Piper spoke up, "You can see she shouldn't be here on the cold concrete floor, right?"
"Of course" the nurse nodded, "I'll- try to speak to the Director" she stood and headed for the door, "We – well, we go a ways back"
"Please" Mack implored, "we're the only family she has" he motioned towards Jemma, who now sat with the others on the hard bench, "she needs to be taken care of"
"I'll do what I can" the nurse smiled sadly, "and you can call me Violet"
"She'll return" Yo Yo reassured the others, "like you said" she meant Jemma, "she was in the archives, so she's important"
"I didn't want to tell her what I saw in the archives" Jemma sighed, "but perhaps we can change that, too, once we speak with Director Carter"