1
Simmons looked down at May and then at the Icer in her hand. The confusion had stopped Skye, but suddenly, she was moving forward again. Simmons took aim at Skye and Skye stopped.
"Good," she said. "I'm going to unlock the door and let you in. It's the only way you won't both wind up killing yourselves, but I need you to not hurt me while I do it." Simmons felt guilty. This wasn't the right thing to do at all, but it was the only rational solution she could think of to limit the damage. She had tried to fix them and had failed.
Skye hadn't responded but she also hadn't charged forward again. It was probably all she could hope for. Simmons half turned to the door panel, very aware of Skye behind her. She realized that she was shaking as she failed to open the door on her first try. She felt sick to her stomach as thought about how quickly this had fallen apart. If only she could have found a way to suppress the drug but it had proven quite difficult. It really was several drugs and each of them powerful. Stopping it all together had stumped Simmons. Of course, if she suppressed one part of the drug and let the other effects play out- That was it! How had she not seen it sooner. The hormones were by far the worst part since that what was what was driving them mad with lust. Pesticides had been shown to lower hormone levels and effect the androgen receptor. It would just be a matter of a mix that would knock their levels down to normal until the rest of the drug wore off.
Simmons turned quickly, taking aim and Skye fell to the ground as the Icer took effect. Hopefully, everyone would just believe that she had missed with May.
"Hey," Koenig's voice called out. He walked around the corner and stopped taking in the scene before him. "Okay then. Lets get her locked up." He gestured towards Skye and Simmons was surprised at how calm he was.
"I accidently hit May before I managed to get Skye." Simmons was apologetic.
"It okay," Koenig reassured. "Coulson is patching himself up right now. Skye got the better of him too. You take her legs. I'm thinking we put her in the interrogation room in the Playground. I was bringing him good news but I found him in the hall outside of his office half awake."
"Really, good news?" Simmons chirped as she grabbed Skye's ankles and lifted her up.
"Yes, Interpol picked up Padovano twenty minutes ago." His voice was strained from carrying Skye. "I sent them Skye's work. They're sending me what they've found in his place."
"Brilliant, because I believe I have an idea of how to counteract the drug. The original research should help."
2
"Be honest, how do you feel?" Simmons glare was sharp and Skye wanted to crawl into a hole a die. She kept her head down to avoid everyone's gaze not sure if she felt worse about Coulson, Simmons or May.
"High as a kite but not at all like I need to lick Trip's face, so better." They were all staring at her. Coulson was at the door, but the rest were around her in a circle. May turned to Coulson and nodded. He opened the door and Trip slowly stepped into the room. Skye anticipated the rush but nothing came. Whatever Simmons had done had worked because she was still tripping but at least she felt a little more in control. She watched as Trip relaxed; she figured he was finally feeling the same way. It was a relief to be almost back to normal.
"Good," Simmons said. "You two will be staying here and I'll be monitoring you until the drug has fully left your system."
"Yes, ma'am," Trip joked, but Skye couldn't help but notice how cool Simmons was in response. This was a total disaster and again she remembered how she let her guard down on the mission.
"Everyone else can go. They need their rest," Simmons ordered.
Skye sat down and let Simmons hook up the monitors. She tried to grab her friend's eye or smile, but Simmons was all business. She laid down and stared at the ceiling as she heard Simmons tend to Trip in the bed next to her own.
He was in far worse shape and after the monitor started beeping, Simmons still hovered, stitching his head and wrapping his wrist. Whatever Skye had gone through, Trip clearly had the worse of it. Simmons announced that she'd be just in the other room looking over the new data coming in from Interpol and ordered them to rest.
"Hey," she started quietly, not wanting to risk the ire of their doctor. "I'm sorry about everything."
"What? This isn't your fault. Its a mess, but that's not on you." Trip was also quiet, his voice heavy. "Its me. I was the senior officer on the ground. I'm responsible."
Skye wanted to argue back but she knew it was pointless. They'd both spend the night kicking themselves over this and it didn't matter what the other would say.
"She's just upset right now. She knows that you couldn't help it." Skye offered, trying to at least comfort her friend if he wouldn't accept her apology. He didn't answer. "You haven't exactly been shy in the past, so go in there now and talk to her."
"What?' he hissed.
"You heard me," Skye answered. "There's no time like the present to fix things. That monitor's on wheels, so wheel it in there and let her know how you feel. Unless you're afraid…"
Skye knew that he'd see through her manipulation but at the same time, a challenge was a challenge so she wasn't at all surprised when he swung himself out of the bed and headed out the door into the larger lab area.
She shifted in the bed to get a better look through the window. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but Trip kept shuffling closer and closer. Good signs for sure. Then after what was the longest stare ever, he brought his hand up to the side of her face. Skye watched as Simmons leaned into his touch and figured that whatever happened next was none of her business so she laid back down and closed her eyes.
When Skye opened her eyes, she wasn't sure what time it was. She glanced over and Trip was asleep in the bed next to her. Simmons was curled into a ball in the lounge chair across the room. Skye took a deep breath. For the first time all day she felt clear-headed. The drug was out of her system and she was finally back to normal. Also, she felt hungry. The last time she had eaten was before the mission. She turned to the monitor and flipped the power switch. With only the light from the outside lab, she pulled off the wires and hopped out of bed. Quietly she creeped out of the room and down the hall towards the kitchen.
She was too wiped out to do much cooking, but she pulled an apple out of the crisper and bit into it. She bent down to dig the toaster out of one of the drawers, still not totally sure where Koenig kept everything.
"Skye?" She heard his voice and popped up. He was right there, just a little too close for comfort now that she had put the moves on him just a few hours before. She took a step back, busying herself with the toaster as a distraction.
"Hey AC," she responded. She had been aiming for casual but ended up sounding mostly strained. She'd only turned one light on when she had entered the kitchen but even in the dim light she could see that he was pretty banged up. She reached out to touch the large cut on his forehead before pulling back "Oh no. I didn't know it was that bad."
"I've looked worse." He smiled at her as he spoke. "Of course, I've looked better…" She couldn't help crack a grin.
"I'm sorry," she confessed. She meant for everything, for kicking him in the head but also the kissing, which she really didn't ever want to mention again. He nodded and it was like he knew that she meant for all of it. He seemed troubled to her but she imagined he was in a bit of pain. Beyond the cut, the area was also very bruised and just a little swollen. "Your office is probably a mess."
"I actually haven't looked, but I guess so." His voice was tired. He moved to the freezer and grabbed the ice tray. Skye felt the guilt bubble up again.
"Tomorrow, I'll clean it all up. Don't even worry about it. Its the least I can do." She was babbling, Simmons-style, but she'd made a mess of it, both figuratively and literally and since the literal mess was the easier fix, she was diving in. She ate and watched as Coulson put some ice in a towel and pressed it to his face.
"Skye," he started, "you were drugged. What happened was not your fault."
"I know," she said, cutting him off. It was a drug sure, but Skye remembered nearly everything. She certainly remembered kicking him in the face to escape his hold so she needed to fix it. "But you're hurt and I'm not so let me take care of it, okay?"
She watched him closely as he wrestled with some thought. He was not an easy person to read. Skye mostly wanted him to agree and leave. Before she had kissed him, they'd stood closer or talked quieter but now all of this felt inappropriate or intimate. She had ruined their friendship and she was sure he was thinking the same thing. Still he nodded. She was thrilled. If things were going to be awkward between them he'd find some reason to avoid her. He was dropping it and she could too. It was the one thing that went right all day.
"I'm a little particular about where things go in my office so I will have to supervise," he quipped.
"Okay then," Skye nodded. She took another bite from her apple. He moved towards her and she wanted to step back, only she was already up against the counter. He reached out and took a banana off of the counter and turned to leave the room.
"Goodnight Skye," he called out as he walked away.
"Night AC. See you tomorrow." Her voice trailed off since he was already gone. Its not that Skye was into Coulson or anything. The kiss had been all about distracting him with the only thing she had at the time. Still, Skye remembered the way he held her hips and the way his lips moved against her own. Then she remembered that he was her boss. She leaned back against the counter and sighed. Worst day ever.
3
Trip opened his eyes and was greeted by the light of day. Across from him was Simmons, asleep in a chair. She was curled up in a way that looked impossible to his eye, but somehow she seemed very relaxed. He smiled and turned, expecting to see Skye in the other bed. It was empty.
"She left last night at 12:47 am. The drug was out of her system so I saw no reason to go find her." Jemma mumbled when she was half awake and Trip turned back to see that her eyes were still closed.
"Come here," he asked. He watched her open her eyes and start to uncoil. He was surprised as she stood up and made her way to his bed. She sat on the ledge and he reached out, running his hand along her back.
"I meant what I said yesterday. I'm so angry with myself. I never wanted to give you a reason to doubt my feelings for you." His voice was quiet and he looked deeply into her eyes. He watched as she swung her legs up onto the bed and laid herself down next to him. He was amazed by how well she fit under his arm.
"I don't doubt you," she beamed and he leaned down to plant a small kiss on top of her head. Best day ever.
