Disclaimer: There is a medical procedure in this chapter! I do not claim to be a medical professional but I did the best I could with looking things up on the internet! If I got something wrong, I am sorry and, I assure you, I will do my best to fix it! Thank you for your patience and understanding!

Fitz and Skye didn't return until early the next morning. The mission had been a bit tough. One of the escaped criminals from the Fridge had built a plasma ray large enough to take all of New England off the map for good. It had taken a few hours, while under fire, to dismantle and collect everything alien or Hydra-made from it. The pair was in rough shape but alive.

Fitz made his way to Jemma's hospital room first, to let her know that he was safe and sound. He opened the door but found an empty, pristinely made bed with a hospital gown neatly folded on top. Fitz stood frozen in the doorway. Where was she? Had something happened that they had to move her to a different room? As he panicked in his head, he heard someone come up behind him.

"Good-Morning, Fitz."

Fitz whipped around to see Jemma smiling at him. She was dressed in a sweater and jeans. Her hair was tied back. She held a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other. She looked so much like her old self, Fitz felt like he could weep. He smirked and shook his head in disbelief.

"Good-Morning yourself." he said, still stunned.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"I knew it. I died." he teased.

Jemma giggled and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, Fitz." she said in fake exasperation.

Fitz nodded and shrugged.

"See, there's more proof. You're acting like yourself again. That's it, I took a bullet in the brain and now I'm in my own little heaven." he sighed with an exaggerated sigh.

She snorted and shook her head.

"Well then, it won't hurt when I do this." she said before flicking him in the forehead.

Fitz winced and rubbed the spot.

"Ouch! Now was that really necessa-"

He was cut off by her lips suddenly pressed to his. He smiled against them and kissed back, looping an arm around her waist and pulling her in a bit closer. She reached up and draped her arms around his neck before breaking the kiss and smiling up at him.

"All better?" she asked.

He nodded and rested his head forehead on hers, gazing into her eyes.

"You always know just what to do, Dr. Simmons." he cooed softly.

Jemma smiled softly and put her hands on his shoulders. She started running her hands down his arms when she saw him wince. She pulled away and looked at him with concern.

"You're injured?' she asked.

He grimaced and nodded.

"Bullet grazed my shoulder. Not very bad, mostly superficial I think. Doesn't hurt unless I move." he said, turning to show her the wound.

She looked over it quickly and then grabbed his hand.

"Come on, let me have a look." she said as she led him into the hospital room.

She sat him down in the chair and tried to peel away the fabric of his shirt to get a better look. She shook here head.

"Here, let me take your shirt off." she said as she reached for the bottom hem.

Fitz allowed her to remove it, flinching when he had to lift his arms to remove the sleeves. Once the fabric was out of the way, Simmons inspected the injury closely, biting her lip at the sight of it.

"Well, it's a great deal more than super-…hang on, I've got this…superficial?"

Fitz smiled and nodded before frowning.

"What, you think I need stitches?" he asked, trying to turn his head to get a look.

Jemma nodded slowly.

"Well, you will…after we get the bullet out."

Fitz paled a bit.

"Bullet? There's a bullet in my arm?" he asked in a panicky voice.

Simmons nodded.

"Sit tight. I'll go get one of the other doctors. My hands aren't…um, stable? No, that's not quite right um…oh, it doesn't matter, I'll be right back!" she said as she went off.

Fitz tried hard to breath steadily, knowing that an increase in heart rate and blood flow would not help the situation any. He closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing in and out slowly. After an eternity, Simmons brought one of the other doctors and a big medical bag in. The man came and looked at Fitz's shoulder.

"Okay, Dr. Simmons, lets clean this up a bit."

Jemma handed the man some Hydrogen peroxide and gauze and watched as he gently cleaned the excess blood from around the entry wound.

"Debakey forceps, and get a tray, some gauze and a suture ready."

Simmons did as she was told, handing him the forceps and preparing the needle and surgical thread.

"This will probably hurt a bit, Fitz. Just try not to move around too much." the doctor requested.

"Look away, Fitz." Jemma suggested, knowing his disdain for blood.

Fitz did as he was told, biting his lip and screwing his eyes shut as the man started digging for the projectile. It took a few moments before the man carefully extracted the metallic object and placed it on the tray Simmons held for him. The doctor cleaned the wound again and then started sewing it up.

"Well, Fitz, I think you're going to get to keep the arm." the doctor joked as he trimmed the last of the three stitches.

Fitz opened his eyes and looked at his arm before smiling at the doctor.

"That's it? That wasn't so bad.' he said in surprise.

Jemma rolled her eyes and patted Fitz's back.

"That's because you always make a big deal out of it in your head." she said as she ruffled his hair playfully.

~*#*~

"Those two look well on their way to back to normal."

Skye turned to see Coulson looking at the same thing she had been looking at. Fitz and Simmons back in the lab, working together again. Things were a little bumpier because Simmons had to keep pausing to pull the right word out of her head, but Fitz was amazingly patient with it. Skye gave a small smile.

"Yeah. It's almost like nothing ever happened to them." she said, a bit of sadness in her voice.

Because she knew that it wasn't true. Something major had happened. Simmons might get better, maybe she would even recover completely, but she would never be the same. Skye might have been the only one besides Fitz who could tell though. There was something missing. An inherent Simmons-ness that wasn't present in her anymore. Skye sighed.

"I could have killed him. Everything that's happened to them…I could have stopped it." she said sadly.

Coulson shook his head.

"That's not true, Skye. Even if you had let him die that day, Garrett would just have had someone else cross off Fitz-Simmons. And the other guy would have put a bullet between their eyes. True, what he did was…unforgivable. But they both survived and Simmons is getting better." he encouraged.

Skye clenched and unclenched her fists. Nobody had used his name since the day he had been apprehended, but just talking about him made her angry.

"I guess you're right. But that doesn't mean I forgive him. I will never forgive him." she said bitterly.

She turned to Coulson.

"I want to make him hurt. May's already had her turn at him. She broke his larynx and put three nails in his foot. I want to up that ten fold." she said through her teeth.

Coulson put his hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes.

"I know you're upset. Don't think I don't want to see you do whatever you want to that son-of-a-bitch. But you need to keep your cool. If Fitz-Simmons finds out that he's here, just a few feet down, there's no telling how they will react. Simmons especially." he cautioned.

Skye took a deep breath and sighed.

"You're right. That would destroy them." she agreed.

She looked at the pair of scientists and shook her head.

"But the second he's not useful anymore, those two get avenged." she said darkly.

~*#*~

Fitz watched Simmons carefully all through the day, waiting for cues that she needed help. He was right there whenever she needed a pair of steady hands or couldn't find the right word. He tried his best not to baby her, but he couldn't help it. He hated to see her struggle and get frustrated with herself. Finally, the day was done and it was time to relax.

"Skye managed to download all of Doctor Who with the Second Doctor for us. Now we just need the Fourth and the Eleventh and we will collectively own every episode of Doctor Who ever made." Fitz reported as he and Simmons headed off to supper together.

Simmons bit her lip and clapped her hands together in excitement.

"Oh, excellent!" she said happily.

Fitz reached over and grabbed her hand, entwining his fingers with hers. She looked over at him, blushing slightly.

"Fitz, are you sure it's okay to do that?" she asked quietly.

Fitz shrugged.

"There's no rule that says two agents can't hold hands." he said innocently.

Jemma rolled her eyes but gave his hand a little squeeze. Truthfully, she didn't care much if anyone knew that she and Fitz were…well, not dating exactly….and calling themselves an "item" just sounded juvenile…well, whatever the term was, she couldn't see it being a problem. They worked best when they were together anyway.

But, when they rounded the corner and bumped right into Coulson, Simmons was quick to let got of Fitz's hand. Much as she thought it wouldn't be a problem, she didn't want to find out if it was. She smiled at the director.

"Good-Evening, Director Coulson." she tried to say casually.

Coulson smiled at Fitz-Simmons, not fooled for a second. He knew what had transpired between them but he didn't let on. He nodded at Simmons.

"Evening, Simmons. I was actually just on the way to get the two of you. I need everyone in the briefing room A.S.A.P."

Fitz-Simmons exchanged looks of confusion and surprise. Fitz looked at Coulson curiously.

"Sir, you're not planning on sending her out on a mission, are you?" he asked incredulously.

Coulson nodded.

"I am. She doesn't have to leave the Bus once we arrive but I need as many eyes and ears for this mission as I can get and she has some of the best." He confirmed.

Simmons swallowed nervously but nodded.

"I'll do my best, sir." she said apprehensively.

Coulson put a hand on her shoulder and looked at her with a reassuring smile.

"I wouldn't put you out there if I wasn't sure you could handle it, Simmons. Like I said, you don't even have to leave the Bus.' he assured her.

Jemma gave a smile and a small nod. Coulson patted her shoulder and went on his way.

"I've got to track down a few more people. See you both in the briefing room." he said as he left.

Fitz looked at Simmons nervously.

"Are you sure you're up to this?" he asked.

The last time she had been in the Bus…she hadn't been in it for long. Fitz didn't want the experience to bring back bad memories. But, after a quick look to make sure no one would see, Jemma gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and smiled at him.

"I'll be fine, Fitz. He just wants me to help keep a look out for something." she reiterated.

Fitz smiled and grabbed her hand again.

"Alright then, back to work." he said, giving her hand a little squeeze.

With that, the two headed off to be briefed.

~*#*~

"This is going to be a simple exchange. I just want to make sure it goes off without a hitch. This guy is a double agent but he was allied with Hydra first. I don't entirely trust him. That's why I want all eyes open from start to finish." Coulson instructed.

He pointed to a satellite image of a rooftop on the holotable.

"The quinjet will be parked here. I want the Bus circling the perimeter no more than a half mile out. Skye, May, and Bobbie, You guys are going to be our ground team. Fitz-Simmons, Tripp, Hunter, and I will be the Bus team. The rest of you were given your own individual stations earlier today. Nobody breaks formation until I give the word, understood?"

There was a chorus of agreement and Coulson nodded.

"Alright then. Wheels up in ten. Everyone stay safe." he instructed.

Skye came over to Simmons, smiling but clearly worried.

"Your first mission back with us. You nervous?" she asked.

Simmons smiled and shook her head.

"Coulson knows what he's doing." she said confidently.

Skye gave a little chuckle and shook her head.

"Alright. Let it never be said that Jemma Simmons ever backed down." she said, giving her friend a pat on the back before going with Bobbie and May to the quinjet.

Fitz held his hand out to Jemma.

"Ready?' he asked with a smile.

Jemma nodded and took his hand, allowing him to lead her to the hanger. She felt a wave of apprehension as she came up to the Bus. She squeezed Fitz's hand and he squeezed back. Everything was going to be okay. Fitz was here. Coulson was here. Nothing was going to happen to her this time.

Well, I finished this a heck of a lot faster than I thought I would O_O It kind of wrote itself, this chapter. Next chapter will, of course, detail the mission. I might have included it in this one except I have plans for it *evil grin* Please follow, favorite, review! Still accpeting prompts (probably will be forever :P ) so if you like what you see or you don't see what you like, PM me or prompt in the reviews! As always, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!