Skye and Fitz went in on the ground floor while the others went in through the roof. They broke in through a service entrance and started making their way through the building. Skye was on high alert, keeping her Icer raised and checking every corner before letting Fitz continue on. Once they were a ways into the building, Skye turned to Fitz.

"Alright, let's send out the Retrievers." she suggested.

Fitz nodded and pulled the case out of his bag. He set it down on the ground and pushed the release. One by one the little yellow spheres shot up into the air and darted off in different directions. Fitz pulled out his monitor pad and scanned through the various video feeds. After a moment, he pointed off down a hallway to the right.

"There, that one looks like it's on the trail of something." he said as he started packing his tech up.

Skye nodded and went ahead of him down the hall. Fitz followed closely after her watching the feed for any sign of Simmons. They walked in silence, following the path that the Retriever was showing them. After a while, Skye spoke up.

"I'm sorry I hid Ward from you, Fitz. I know how much that hurt you." she said softly.

Fitz gave a deep sigh.

"I can see why you did it. Really, I can. However,…I trusted him, you know. I thought that he was my friend right up to the point where he pressed the release on the pod. That feeling of being fooled…being deceived and betrayed by someone you trust….someone you care about….I never wanted to feel that way again. So, when I saw you had been hiding something from me…I got scared. Those terrible feelings rushed back and I couldn't think."

Skye looked back at Fitz apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Fitz. I didn't realize."

Fitz shrugged.

"I'm fine now. Like I said, I understand." he said, giving a reassuring smile.

Skye smiled back and nodded.

"I'm glad you think of me as a friend and not just part of your team. I consider that an honor, really. You're a great guy, Fitz."

Fitz felt a little blush come to his cheeks.

"Yeah, well, you're pretty amazing yourself, Skye. Not every person would let someone experiment on them and erase their memories, even if they were friends. I really appreciate it." he replied.

Skye shrugged.

"Hey, the kids have to stick together. You. Me. Simmons. We all started this at the same time. You guys had never been in the field and I was a free-lance hacker turned consultant. I plan on following this with you guys until the end." she explained.

Fitz smiled widely.

"Sounds like a plan." he concurred.

"Now let's get Simmons back so we can do that, yeah?' Skye said as they continued on.

~*#*~

"You understand what you have to do?" Hector asked as he tied Jemma's arms behind the chair.

Jemma nodded.

"Play the victim. Let them rescue me. Get Fitz alone and end him." she repeated.

Hector smiled and nodded.

"That's a good girl." he said as he tightened his knots.

He came around, squatted down in front of Jemma, and put his hands on the arms of the chair.

"I won't be too far a way. I'll help you if you get into trouble, but I think you can handle this. You've picked up on this pretty well over the past few days." he encouraged her.

She smiled down at him, that sexy twinkle in her eye.

"I've had an excellent teacher." she purred.

Hector chuckled and shook his head. He leaned forward and kissed her deeply. She responded, closing her eyes and moaning softly. He cupped the back of her head with one hand and slid the other one up her thigh. She growled in frustration, breaking the kiss and pouting at him.

"That's not really fair, tying me up like this and doing something like that." she whined.

Hector smiled mischievously.

"Your fault for looking at me like that." he replied, giving her leg a small pinch before pulling away.

He picked an assault rifle up off the table and loaded it before shouldering it and picking up and holstering his pistol. Finally, he grabbed a small knife and walked over to Jemma. With a wicked smile, he lifted her skirt and, slowly, tucked the knife into a sheath on her upper thigh. She bit her lip, resisting the urge to moan and glared at him.

"Really not fair." she scolded.

Hector chuckled.

"Down girl. Remember, we have a job to do." he said, patting her shoulder.

He bent down and gave her one last kiss before going to leave.

"Let's get this over with." he said with a disgruntled sigh.

He popped his knuckled and looked at Jemma apologetically.

"Gotta make this convincing." he said, pulling his fist back

~*#*~

The Retriever led Fitz and Skye down to the basement of the building. Skye tightened her grin on her Icer.

"Alright, Fitz, no telling what's down here. Stay right on my 6, okay?" she whispered.

Fitz nodded and drew closer to her. The pair made their way down the stairs. It was pitch black, so Skye pulled out a flashlight and held it out with her gun. They made their way around, systematically checking rooms for any sign of the biochemist. Both agents jumped when they heard what sounded like a muffled yell. They ran to where the noise had come from. Skye threw the door open and shined her flashlight at something in the middle of the room. A battered, bruised Simmons squinted against the glare of the light.

"Oh my God." Skye murmured,

She quickly looked for the light switch and turned it on. Fitz felt his stomach knot when he saw Simmons. She sat in a chair, her hands tied behind her back. Blood came from the corners of her gagged mouth and her temple and bruises were forming on her tearstained cheeks. Fitz quickly ran and started untying her.

"It's alright, Jemma. We're here. We're going to get you out of here." he said comfortingly.

Once her hands were free, Simmons tore the gag from her mouth and threw her arms around Fitz.

"Oh Fitz!" she sobbed.

Fitz wrapped his arms around her and cupped the back of her head, shushing her gently.

"It's alright, love. I'm here." he murmured.

"Simmons, what happened to you? Why did they beat you up, I thought you were brainwashed?" Skye questioned.

Jemma turned toward Skye and nodded.

"I-I was but…I started to remember and….when I started questioning him, Hector…Hector…."

Simmons couldn't finish. She broke into sobs and buried her face in Fitz's shoulder. Fitz hugged her tightly while he and Skye shared a look of horror.

"Well, you're safe now, Jemma. We're going to get you out of here." he said as he gently stroked her hair.

Just then, the sound of a door slamming resonated through the hall. All three jumped in surprise and looked at the door warily. Simmons started trembling.

"Oh, God, he's coming!" she cried in fear.

Skye put her Icer away and drew her pistol. She cocked it and went to the door.

"Fitz, stay here with Simmons, I'm going to go take care of this guy." she said, an angry edge in her voice.

Fitz nodded and watched as she ducked out into the hall. She guided Simmons back to the chair.

"Come on, sit back down for a minute. I'll take care of your injuries." he said as he hefted his bag off his shoulder.

He set it on the ground and crouched down to dig through it, his back to Simmons. A smile spread on Jemma's face. Slowly, quietly, she got up from the chair. She reached under her skirt and carefully unsheathed the knife. She advanced on Fitz as he searched through his bag for the first aid kit.

"Oh, I found some water if you're thirsty." Fitz said as he turned around, holding a bottle of water in his hand.

He turned just in time to see Simmons raise her knife, ready to strike. Fitz quickly jumped out of the way as the blade came down. He stood and stumbled backwards, looking at Simmons in shock. Then it clicked.

"You didn't remember. You've been playing us." he whispered.

Jemma chuckled and shook her head.

"You've always been so gullible, Fitz. I knew you would never suspect me if I was hurt." she said condescendingly.

Fitz clenched his fists.

"You let yourself get pummeled just to trick me?" he asked in disbelief.

Jemma shrugged and played with her knife in her hands.

"Had to make it convincing." she reasoned.

Fitz ground his teeth in anger as tears stung his eyes.

"What has that bastard done to you, Jemma? This isn't you."

Jemma rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Ugh, enough already!" she muttered before lunging at him with her knife.

Fitz moved out of the way but she slashed at him and caught him in the arm. He winced in pain but didn't have time to linger as Simmons came at him again. Fitz struggled, internally and externally. He couldn't dodge Simmons forever. But, he didn't want to hurt her either. If only he'd thought to grab an Icer. After Simmons caught him in the shoulder, he saw his opportunity. As she pulled her arm back, Fitz grabbed it tightly. He pulled her close and wrestled the knife away from her. She struggled against him but Fitz was st4rong, if only by a little.

"Stop this now, Jemma! I don't want to hurt you!" he pleaded.

He let go of her and held the knife at her. Simmons stayed at bay and glared at him.

"Then leave me alone1 I'm happy here, why do you keep trying to take me away?!" she demanded.

"Because I love you, goddammit!" Fitz screamed.

Simmons looked at him in disbelief.

"What?" she asked incredulously.

"I love you , Jemma." he said softly.

He glanced at the bruises on Simmons' face. Pain. Pain was a trigger. But Simmons had clearly been hurt pretty badly and she was still brainwashed. Then an idea struck him.

"And I'm going to help you remember that." he said sincerely.

He took the knife and drove it into his abdomen. Simmons looked on in shock as he doubled over and fell to the ground. Despite herself, she rushed over to him. When she saw the blood, pain shot through her chest. Tears stung her eyes.

"F-Fitz." she whispered.

Memories flashed through her head. Meeting Fitz at the academy. Their bitter rivalry. The chemistry project. Their growing friendship. Sci-Ops with him. Convincing Fitz to join Coulson's team. Meeting Skye. All of the fun and hurt they had gone through. The way their lives had been turned upside-down by Hydra. Garret and Ward's betrayals. Being with Fitz at the bottom of the ocean. Waking up from the coma. Tears streamed down her face.

"Fitz!" she gasped as she knelt down beside him.

She pulled his head into her lap and looked down at him.

"Hang in there, Fitz." she whispered, stroking his face gently.

Fitz winced in pain before smiling up at her softly.

"Are you really back this time?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

She nodded, her tears splashing onto his face.

"Yes, I am. I'm so sorry, Fitz." she whispered softly.

Fitz reached up and cupped her cheek, leaving little traces of blood.

"I know. That's why I never gave up." he whispered.

Simmons choked back a sob and kissed his face over and over.

"Hang on. I'm going to make this right." she whispered against his forehead.

She looked up and started yelling for help but Fitz was already slipping. He struggled to stay awake, but he was losing too much blood. The last thing he knew as the world faded to black was Jemma, stroking his cheek and murmuring to him.

"Don't leave me, Fitz. I need you."

I hoe you all had a Merry Christmas! Just one more chapter and this particular story is finished! (yay and boo at the same time!) If you have any suggestions for the next story and/or one-shot, please leave it in the reviews or PM me! Thank you all for reading!