A/N: Hey guys! I know it's been a long time since the last update, but this will be the last one for this story. We've reached the end. But you've got about three thousand words to read before that point, so go ahead and enjoy the final installment of The Corrupted Shield!
"Of course!" Jemma said. "How could I be so stupid! You've been through a lot."
"I'll go tell everyone you're okay." Skye said. She looked between them with a knowing expression. "I'll try to keep them away for a while."
"You don't have to -."
Their half-hearted protests were ignored as Skye ran up the stairs, leaving the best friends alone in the basement. Jemma would never have said anything, but she was glad to be alone with him. She had missed him terribly.
"Should we move somewhere more comfortable?" she asked.
"The lab?" he suggested.
"Perfect."
They walked there, and Fitz felt a sense of belonging radiate from his core once the doors closed behind him. It was as it always had been: clean, organized, and inviting to those who were intellectually curious. He looked around, and when his eyes reached Jemma's desk he saw her seated behind it, ready for him to do whatever he wanted. She looked so perfect over there. Everything looked perfect. He was aware of how euphoric he seemed, but he embraced it. He'd missed this place. He'd missed his life.
"Welcome home." Jemma said after a few moments of silence. "Do you remember everything?"
"Yes." He said immediately. And he meant it. As far as the lab was concerned, he remembered absolutely everything about it and his adventures and experiments with Jemma. Other things were still slightly buried, but it seemed like if he focused on one, he was fine. Hopefully he would be able to recover everything normally soon. Maybe after a good night's sleep.
"Good." She said. She reached under her desk and pulled out a dvd box. "I know how we can relax." She said.
Fitz was already moving to under his own desk, and he brought up a deck of cards. She smiled, and he knew she finally believed he was back.
"Doctor Who and War." Jemma said.
"I've missed this stuff." He said.
"I can't believe we haven't done it in so long."
Fitz laughed. "We used to do it every weekend!"
"Can you believe what nerds we were then?" she asked. He stared at her, and her fake judgment faded into laughter.
"That's what I thought." He said. "Now get over here. I'm not moving for a while."
Skye managed to keep the others away from Fitz and Simmons for a little over two hours, in which the scientists played a full game of War (which can take ages), watched two episodes of Doctor Who, talked briefly, and finally, fell asleep.
Skye walked into the lab to see a TV on (she'd never seen one in here before, only the more technical projectors), which immediately caught her attention. Then she noticed the two people sitting by Fitz's desk, laying over it. Her first reaction was concern. Had something happened to them? They were very still. She rushed over and inspected them closely, and then sighed when she realized they were asleep. She could hear them breathing in, slow and deep, and noticed with a trace of amusement that their hands were just touching, as if they had been holding each other before falling asleep.
"Are they in here?" Hunter asked, walking in.
His voice was loud, and evidently carried well enough to startle Fitz awake. His hand jerked as he sat up, which brought Simmons back to alertness as well. Fitz looked around with wide eyes, tense. Jemma just sat up, blinking and smiling at the rest of the team. Fitz recognized them and relaxed as well.
Hunter stopped walking. "I guess you are in here." He said, a bit softer.
"Way to wake them up." Bobbi said, nudging him with her shoulder as she walked past. "We just wanted to come see how you're doing." She said. She looked at Fitz. "We really missed you."
"Yes, we did." Coulson said as he strode in. He assessed everyone, and once Trip, Mack, and May had entered, he nodded. "It's good to finally have the whole team together again."
"I say it's time for a celebration." Skye said. "Who's up for dinner and drinks?"
Fitz nodded. "That sounds like a great idea."
May grinned. "I'll get us up in the air."
The whole team stayed out for hours that first night, toasting to the return of normalcy – probably a bit more than they should have, but it was a celebration. They were shocked by how many drinks Fitz could take, but he called it a perk of being made into a super soldier, and happily showed Hunter exactly what that meant when challenged. He had fun, and really felt like nothing had changed. He only didn't enjoy it when basically everyone else was falling asleep, their energy spent and minds tired, and his body refused to shut down. He was too energetic. So he sat there and thought, and then only managed to lightly doze.
The next day Fitz felt better. He'd finally gotten some real sleep, once he was back at the base with Jemma. He was happy to find that even in that little bit of sleep, his memory restoration had continued. And Jemma put it to the test that afternoon, when they were in the lab again.
"There's something you need to do." Jemma said, bending over and rummaging through her bag.
"What's that?" Fitz asked.
She straightened up and held out her cell phone. "Call your mother. She hasn't heard from you in a few weeks. I think it's time you talked to her again."
Fitz realized she was right and took it from her, suddenly nervous. "What should I tell her?"
Jemma shook her head lightly. "That's up to you."
He swallowed and nodded, dialing the number. It rang only twice before it picked up, and a woman's voice asked "Hello? Jemma?"
"No, mum, it's me." He said.
"Oh, Leo! How are you dear? I haven't heard from you!"
"Yeah." He said. "Sorry about that."
"You sound different. Is something wrong? Is everyone alright? Did something happen?"
He looked at Jemma, who gave him an understanding smile and walked out of the lab, giving him privacy. "Everyone's fine. But it's kind of a long story."
He told her what had happened, with some details strategically left out. There was no reason to upset the woman more than he had to. He told her everything she needed to know: that he had been chosen for an experiment that hadn't gone exactly as they'd thought, and there'd been a little confusion, but everything was back to normal. Mostly. So it wasn't the most accurate story, but Fitz knew it was the most his mother could take. She would fall apart if she knew everything, even knowing he was safe now.
"Mum, I have to go now." He said.
He heard her sigh. "If you must. But please, keep in touch."
"I promise I will." He said softly. "Love you."
"Love you too."
And he hung up the phone, walking out of the lab and handing it back to Jemma. "Thank you." He said, his voice a bit more sensitive than he would have liked.
"No problem." She replied.
Time seemed to pass relatively quickly from that point on. Within a week Fitz's memory was back to normal. The only thing that hadn't changed was his body. After two weeks feeling like a giant in his lab, he talked to Jemma about it.
"I want to try to get my old body back." He said when it was just the two of them. Things had settled down immensely, so they were left alone as often as they used to be.
"I was wondering when you were going to bring that up."
"It's supposed to wear off at some point, but I don't know when that is. It could be tomorrow or it could take another two months. Doc wasn't sure exactly how long his serum would last."
"So you want to start looking for a cure." She verified.
He nodded. "Yeah."
"I'm going to need to take your blood." She said.
"Whatever you need." He said.
Jemma nodded and walked over to grab the necessary materials. "I'll be as quick as possible." She said as she prepared to draw blood. She tied a band around his arm and made him lean his head back, and in no time at all was finished. "Did I hurt you?" she asked.
Fitz looked up. "I didn't even know you were done."
She smiled, and he almost said what was on his mind, but at the last second managed to control himself. "Now we analyze this and compare it to the samples we have on file, and then we can try to restore it to what it used to be."
He felt better just knowing that Jemma was working on it. She wouldn't stop searching for an answer unless she absolutely had to. And if they did it together, he was sure they could find the answer. So he followed her as she put some of the sample under the microscope and uploaded the image to the computer. Fitz walked to the interface and manipulated it so he could see both of his samples at the same time.
"They don't seem that different." Jemma said after inspecting them. She was right. As far as he could tell, the samples weren't different at all. But that was to the naked eye. Jemma pulled up the statistical analyses. "I'll run some tests." She said.
They ran basic tests, and then some longer, more specific ones, and came to one conclusion: the serum hadn't added anything to his system. At least, nothing that was still there. When it had been given to him, the growth factor had bonded with his own cells. It enhanced their function and made them perform twice as well as they normally would. So the only way to reverse the effect was to add a serum that made the cells perform less.
"We can do that." Fitz said.
"Fitz, I'm scared." Jemma said. "It's too dangerous."
He knew why she was concerned. It didn't seem smart to intentionally damage the cells of the body. "But if anyone can do it, it's you." He said.
She looked like she didn't like it, but she nodded, at least agreeing to try.
He patted her hand. "Look, if you're that worried we won't use it. But let's see if we can even make something. Maybe we'll stumble onto a better solution along the way!"
That soothed her. So they proceeded, building an antidote. They informed Coulson of their progress, and he voiced the same concerns as Jemma but ultimately left it to Fitz. But it turned out they didn't have to worry about using the potentially dangerous antidote. It took two weeks to perfect, and in that time, Fitz began to notice a change in himself. He was getting tired faster, and more easily. His vision would randomly turn spotty, and his legs would shake spontaneously. He hid this from Jemma of course. If she found out, there would be no way she would agree to give him their antidote.
But on the day they were supposed to use the antidote, all those little things became bigger. He walked into the lab, ready to return to his old body, and two steps through the door his legs gave out beneath him. And this time they actually gave out. He fell with a barely suppressed grunt, and his vision and hearing faded for a moment. The next thing he was aware of was Jemma kneeling down next to him, feeling his pulse and lifting his eyelid.
"Fitz?" she asked. "Fitz, what's going on?"
"The serum." He managed. He felt incredibly weak. It felt like his muscles were disappearing, all the strength he had been given and more fading away. "It's wearing off."
"But why is it effecting you like this?" she asked. "I thought it wearing off was a good thing!"
"Me too." He said with a weak laugh. "Guess it's not."
She looked torn, but Fitz couldn't focus on that. He was stuck thinking of how he could prevent himself from dying. That might have been a bit dramatic, but he thought it was appropriate. He felt like more than his muscles were detaching. He felt like he was losing himself a little bit.
"Call Fury." He said.
Jemma started and ran out of the lab, screaming for Coulson. Fitz faded in and out of consciousness, but after some amount of time (feeling barely strong enough to stay conscious), he heard Fury's voice.
"It's the only way to save him right now." He said.
"But can he survive it in this state?" That was Jemma's voice, extremely worried.
"He's a survivor." Coulson said.
"Fitz, if you can hear me, you have to fight this." Jemma said. "It's going to hurt, but it'll help you."
He tried to say he could hear her, but didn't have the energy, and then tried to nod and hoped she understood his barely perceptible head movement. Then he felt two needles pressed into him, injected into each arm. And the fire he had felt so long ago burned through him once more.
But this time it didn't burn so badly. It definitely hurt, and he was jolted enough to yell in pain and open his eyes. But it also felt… almost good. His muscles, which had been stretching away as he weakened, reattached. His vision cleared, and he felt surety flow back into his limbs. In a few minutes the fire died away, and Fitz realized he was flat on his back on the floor, his head propped up by a cushion.
"How do you feel?" Coulson asked.
"Fine." Fitz said. He sat up quickly to demonstrate this, and once he was upright Jemma practically fell on him.
"I thought you were going to die!" she said. He realized she was crying, and patted her back.
"I'm alright." He said.
"You didn't really react when it went into you. Not as much as I thought you would anyway." Fury said.
"I don't know why it affected me like that." Fitz said.
Jemma got ahold of herself and separated from him, sniffling and still looking upset, but slowly calming. He hated seeing her so upset. She stood and faced away while she tried to compose herself.
"Were there any warning signs of this?" Coulson asked.
"Actually, yes." Fitz reluctantly told them everything, earning a light shove from behind from Jemma.
"How could you not tell me that?" she exclaimed.
"I wanted to use our antidote." He said sheepishly. "I didn't know it was wearing off by itself."
He stood all the way up and inspected himself. He seemed just the same as before, if slightly less muscular. "So I'm still a super soldier." He said. "How did you have the serum?"
Fury shifted his weight. "When we cleared the HYDRA facility, we found a few doses in the lab. Thought they might come in useful someday, so I stored them. It's just lucky that I was in the area when Coulson called. Yesterday I was in Miami."
"Thank you." Fitz said.
"Why did your body start shutting down?" Coulson asked.
"The body can withstand rapid growth, but not decay." Jemma said, turning around. Her face was clear now. "When the serum was first administered, his heart got an extra dose, so it could beat strongly enough to flush the serum throughout his system. Now that it's wearing off, his body doesn't know how to respond, so it starts to shut down, to try to preserve itself."
"It's the fatal flaw to the serum." Fury told them. "Cap is fine because his serum is permanent. But the one Fitz was exposed to isn't stable. It made the body dependent on it, so when it starts to lose effect, the body starts to shut down."
Fitz sighed. "So there's no way to fix it."
"I'll have my best people work on it." Fury said. "But I'm afraid you're stuck like that for the foreseeable future. We'll just give you another dose when it starts to wear off, and then we can make a more informed decision."
"Meaning what?" Jemma asked.
"Meaning we only have enough for one or two more treatments." Coulson said. "So if we don't have a cure by then, we might have to consider a more permanent solution."
"Making this my natural body." Fitz said.
"There's a way. But like I said, I'll have my best people work on it. So try to relax." Fury said.
Fitz nodded, looking at Jemma. She was the best person he knew for this task. He knew that, if anyone could find a way to reverse the effects of the serum successfully, it was her. And he knew she would work on it, for him. But now he realized he wasn't in a rush. He would have his original body back someday – his lean, awkward, but familiar body. But for now he was content in this stronger, broader one. He was growing more comfortable with it every day. And knowing that he physically couldn't have his old body back now helped him value the stronger one. Jemma liked his old body, but surely she didn't mind this one.
"We'll figure it out." She said. "We never did test that antidote."
"I think we've done enough experiments today." Fitz said. "You were right; that antidote is too risky. We'll find another way."
They thanked Coulson and Fury and left the two men in the lab, walking to Jemma's room. Fitz noticed she was unusually quiet, and once they were inside he sat down next to her on the bed.
"I'm sorry." Fitz said. He looked ahead. "It was stupid and selfish of me to not tell you about the warning signs. I didn't mean to put you through that."
He waited for her to say something, to be angry with him, but she didn't say anything. He looked at her when he didn't hear anything and saw her lip trembling, her eyes about to spill over with tears. Immediately he gathered her in his arms, one hand on her back and one supporting her head. "Shh." He said softly. "It's okay."
"I thought I lost you again." She sobbed. "And then, once you had the serum in you, you were screaming. I hated seeing you in pain."
Fitz thought that was nothing compared to what the serum had felt like the first time. "It wasn't that bad." He said. "It was easier the second time."
She sniffled. "But I almost lost you."
He tightened his embrace. "You'll never lose me." He said. His voice was low, and he felt his own eyes tear up. "Jemma, I have to tell you something, and I want you to let me finish. I know we never really talked about what we said in the ocean, but you need to know -."
He couldn't speak anymore, because suddenly her lips were on his and they were kissing. She separated just enough to speak, one hand on his chest and clutching his shirt. "I love you." She said, her lips brushing against his.
Fitz kissed her back, not believing this was happening and at the same time not believing it hadn't happened before. "I should have told you sooner." He whispered between kisses. "I've been crazy about you for years."
She cupped his jaw, and he was lost in it for a moment, his brain overwhelmed in the surge of emotion rising up in him. Her skin was so soft, and she kissed him with such gentleness it amazed him. He tried to convey just how much he cared for her into his touches and kisses, and when he was completely out of breath he reluctantly pulled away.
"Can you forgive me?" he asked.
She was breathing heavier than usual too, but she smiled. "I already have. Just don't be stupid again!"
He grinned. "That's why we make a great team. I try to be heroic and you tell me I'm stupid before fixing everything."
She pretended to hit him on the arm, and then traced her hand down it, slowly, as she regained her breath. Their giddiness was gone now. "I could get used to this body, if you want me to." She said. "I like you now just as much as I liked you then."
"I think I can deal with it." He said. "Until we find a cure, of course. Which we will."
"But that could be a few months from now."
"I know." He said. He kissed her lightly on the mouth. "So we should take it one day at a time."
She leaned on him as she had for years, resting her head on his shoulder in an innocent, endearing way. But there was an intimacy there now that hadn't been there before. Maybe some good had come of all this, Fitz thought as he reached for her hand. He'd finally kissed the love of his life, and she'd told him she loved him.
Maybe he looked slightly different now, but nothing had changed. Leopold Fitz was the same man he had been a few months prior. But now he knew how important his life was to him. How important S.H.I.E.L.D. was to him. How important Jemma was to him.
He wasn't about to let that go.
So as he sat there with Jemma, a mixture of things old and new, he smiled.
A/N: There you have it. The final words to this story.
I had a surprising number of requests to keep Fitz in his super soldier body, so I had to do it. I have to admit, I enjoy him getting to experience a change like that too, so I know where you're coming from. So someday he'll get his old body back, but for now... well, you know.
And I know I didn't touch on Archie and Doc again. I figured Fitz would want to forget about all of that, and Coulson and Fury would deal with it. I really wanted to show Fitz and Simmons' relationship, so that took priority.
I also want to thank all of my readers, reviewers, followers, and favoriters(?) for their support, which truly motivated me to write my best for this story. I also want to give a special thanks to FitzCapauchin, who gave me the idea for this fanfic. I never thought it would be this big a project, but it's been a great ride. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. Thank you again.
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