A/N: Hi! I hope you've been enjoying this little adventure! Our scientists have a brief, 2-sentence sciencey convo in this one. Please know that everything science is 100% pulled directly from journals I found online, and I don't know what any of it means or if I personally should have any opinion on the subject matter, since I frankly don't understand it. So if you are scientifically minded and anything in any of these stories particularly enrages or excites you... know that I may as well be speaking another language for all that I understand.
Please leave reviews, if you're so inclined! They help me improve and give me an idea of what you're wanting to read more of!
"I can't believe it."
"Me neither."
"What was that stuff?"
"I have no idea."
Fitz and Simmons were standing on opposite sides of Skye's bed, looking down at the young agent. She was sleeping, having awoken briefly for the first time since her injury just a few hours previously. It was the first chance the scientists had really had to themselves since Fitz and the rest of the team had returned the day before with the GH-325. Simmons had been absorbed in Skye's recovery and Fitz had been in debrief, and then both had slept well into that morning, exhaustion and stress finally catching up with them.
"I helped Coulson look for it, but all the information we got was what you saw on the label," Fitz offered. "It was in a biohazard room, if that helps."
"... I'm going to assume you two completely ignored safety precautions?"
"We were on a timer, Jemma, the place was about to blow. Obviously we ignored safety precautions. And it's a good thing we did, too," Fitz said, indignant. "Since she was coding when I rushed in."
"Well, I suppose since it's been over 24 hours and neither of you show any signs of being ill, it's okay. Plus, if you're contaminated, we're all contaminated at this point, so... Not much to do," Simmons reluctantly conceded.
"I'm not contaminated," Fitz said, shaking his head. "You bio-brians are always convinced the next world pandemic is just around the corner," he joked, reviving a teasing nickname from their Academy days.
Simmons gasped audibly, faking shock and smiled, lightly punching him on the arm as the pair left Skye's room and closed the door, allowing her to continue her sleep. "Well, excuse me for wanting to keep the team healthy! We do live on a plane together, you know. Very confined spaces, no natural ventilation. If one of us gets sick, the whole lot of us is going down with them."
Fitz nodded in agreement as the pair entered the lab. They were silent for several minutes, both working on their own projects and checking on tests they had set up to run over the last several days. Fitz glanced at Simmons every few minutes, narrowing his eyes as he caught her forehead wrinkled in deep thought several times.
After a few minutes, Fitz sighed loudly. "Okay, fine," he declared, dropping one of his instruments on the lab table, the noise drawing Simmons' attention.
He stood and rolled up one of his sleeves, walking over to Simmons' desk and sitting in a nearby chair. He extended his arm to her, palm up, and made a fist.
"Oh, thank you, Fitz!" Simmons said, immediately abandoning her work and rushing to join him, pulling out instruments from her desk drawers.
"Just do this quickly," he said through clinched teeth, averting his eyes as Simmons made quick work of assembling some test tubes and a needle.
"Of course!" his partner said brightly, smiling a little too eagerly for his liking at the prospect of taking his blood. "You know, I was wondering what you thought of that article in the Science Journal this week about neuroimmunology."
"I thought it was fascinating, but the author's logic was flawed when she started to discuss the interactions between-"
"Between immune cells and the central nervous system, I agree," Simmons finished for him.
The two went back and forth for another minute about the article, then Simmons surprised Fitz by saying "All done!"
He looked down at his arm, where she was removing the needle and making quick work of bandaging him up. "Up you go!" She said, gently lifting his arm up slightly to help slow the bleeding.
"Wow, you're getting better and better at distracting me," Fitz admitted, impressed. "I didn't even feel the needle that time."
"Glad to hear it!" Simmons said, beaming. Even though both scientists each had their own forte, Simmons privately considered it a victory every time she was able to get Fitz to not express dislike at the "gross" work she often had to do.
Simmons hurriedly starting to run tests and analyze his blood, hurrying around the room at a dizzying pace as Fitz remained seated, watching her. He couldn't help but smile at his friend's enthusiasm. "You know, you keep running around like that, people are going to think you're the one with the unknown chemical running through their blood," he joked.
"Well, are you really surprised?" Simmons asked, staring down at a sheet of paper printing out results from her first test. "I want to make sure you're in prime condition. Well, I'd like everyone to be, really. Things are starting to go wrong very quickly around here, and the last thing we need is for anyone to be anything less that 100%."
"Mmm-hmm," Fitz hummed suspiciously, rising to follow closely behind her. "You're just excited because the next time Skye wakes up, you'll get to take a sample of her blood."
Simmons looked up from her paper, smiling broadly. "I know! Can you imagine?! I'll get to test a completely unknown substance - whether it be chemical or biological, who knows! It may even be alien, for all we know!"
Fitz paled for a moment at that, "Yeah, well, I hope not. We don't have the greatest track record with alien-borne bio, do we?"
Simmons' smile dimmed for only a moment, but then bounced back, "Well, that's not what this is, I'm certain! The Chitauri virus was just that - a virus. This, so far, seems to be some sort of medical miracle! And we know it's not a virus since it was used to rehabilitate Coulson and he's been fine all this time."
"Okay, fine," Fitz admitted, brightening at her reasoning. "I'll admit, I am intrigued to see Skye's results."
Simmons snorted, surprising him. "You say that like you don't detest blood work."
"Well, you're not wrong," Fitz agreed, plopping back into his chair next to her lab station, propping up his feet against the edge of her desk. "But I'll admit that my curiosity over GH-325 has overshadowed my dislike of all things bloody and gross."
"Says the robot," Simmons teased, tossing his Academy nickname back at him.
"Hey!" Fitz said in protest, both at the name and at her gently pushing his feet off her desk.
"So, Doc, what's the verdict?" He asked, recognizing Simmons' concentration face as she read the results of the rest of his blood work on the screen.
"All clear!" She proclaimed, smiling and turning to him. "And your cholesterol is even lower than it was last time you let me test your blood, so well done!"
Fitz blushed, slightly embarrassed. "Yes, well, it's not like there's an abundance of fast food on the Bus for me to indulge in, now is there?"
"Well, I'm just glad to know you're fine. And not infected by anything in that biohazard room. Can you imagine," Simmons reflected, sitting down. "Not knowing what infected you or how to help? That would be awful!" She said, staring off at a distant point, getting lost in her thoughts.
Fitz stared at her, flashes of her crying as they tested the Chitauri antiserum running through his mind. "Yeah, awful," he echoed.
"Anyway," he says quickly, eager to snap out of it, "How about you go run Coulson's blood?"
"Why?" Simmons asked, carefully filing away her findings. "I just tested you, and you're fine."
"Yeah, but Simmons..." He said, leaning forward and dropping his voice. "He doesn't know that. And don't you want another sample of blood with the GH formula?"
Simmons' eyes shot up, instantly meeting his. "Yes!" She exclaimed, standing quickly and grinning. "Excellent point, Doctor Fitz!"
