This Love Doesn't Run
Disclaimer:
As always, I own nothing!
Rating:
T (just to be safe)
Genre:
Romance/Drama
Pairing:
Coulsye
[BACKGROUND] Pierce/Hunnicut
Lyrics Used:
Ellie Goulding "Beating Heart"
Author's Note:
So, this idea came to me the other night while watching M*A*S*H* (the episode "Mr & Mrs Who?") and wondered how things might play out if Skye contracted Korean Hemorrhagic Fever. I thought about making this idea into it's own crossover fic, but, I didn't know how far I'd be able to take it and I honestly couldn't come up with any other one-shot Coulsye ideas for this story. So, here we are. I hope y'all enjoy it.
Also, on an unrelated note, I'm currently up to my eyeballs in planning 2 (yes, that's right, I said 2) weddings. Not only am I getting married, but, one of my bridesmaids is getting married just 3 months before I do. (hehe … See what I did, there? ;) ) So, I'm a wee little busy with all that so my writing may have to take a backseat for a while. Especially considering that I'm also job hunting on top of all that. Though – cross your fingers – I MAY have finally scored a job. It's by no means a done-deal, yet. But, things certainly look promising!
I Wanna Hear Your Beating Heart
I can't face this now everything has changed | I just wanna be by your side | Here's hoping we collide | Here's hoping we collide | Here's hoping we collide
"AC, listen to me …" Skye argued. She was tired of this argument. After their latest mission in The Middle of Nowhere, Korea, Skye was beginning to feel sick, all right. Sick and tired of her older lover, Phil Coulson, telling her she was sick and tired. "I'm fine!" The young hacktivist-turned-S.H.I.E.L.D.-agent insisted for what had to be the billionth time.
"Skye, you even said so, yourself …" Phil argued, surprisingly patiently. "You haven't even been able to go to the bathroom in two days! That can't be a good thing." He reasoned, logically. "Look …" He began, hoping to find a compromise that could satisfy both his concern and her need to prove him wrong. "Just let me have a friend of mine – who just so happens to be a doctor – check you out … If he says your fine, I'll drop it." He offered, almost desperately. "You won't hear another peep from me about it."
The young agent had to admit. She'd never really had anyone to care about her the way that Phil did until she joined S.H.I.E.L.D. At least not that she'd known about. It was nice knowing that he cared enough about her to worry as much as he did. And, he did say that he would drop it if the doctor said everything was fine. So, really, it was a win-win situation. Because, deep down, she knew he was right. She hadn't even been able to pee in two days. Deep down, she knew something wasn't right. She just didn't want to admit it. This way, she could have someone put a name to it, give her some medicine, and everything would be back to normal. "Okay, fine." She finally acquiesced. "You have a deal." She added, grinning ever so slightly at the triumphant look on her lover's face. "But!" She interjected. "If your doctor friend says everything's fine, you are not allowed to say another word about it!" She insisted. "Got it?"
"Got it." Coulson confirmed, pulling Skye in for a quick kiss on the forehead before taking off to call his 'doctor-friend'.
M*A*S*H*M*A*S*H*M*A*S*H*M*A*S*H*M*A*S*H*M*A*S*H*M*A*S*H*M*A*S*H*M*A*S*H*M*A*S*H*M*A*S*H*M*A*S*H*M*A*S*H*M*A*S*H*M*A*S*H*
"Pierce-Hunnicut Residence. Benjamin Franklin Pierce-Hunnicut. How might we be able to service you, this fine afternoon?" Benjamin Franklin 'Hawkeye' Pierce-Hunnicut greeted, picking up his ringing telephone, grinning like the Cheshire Cat at the playful smack he received to the back of the head from his husband, BJ Pierce-Hunnicut.
"It's me." Phil replied, grinning at the playful innuendo coming from the other end of the line. Phil had learned, a while back, that BJ and Hawkeye had been involved in his resurrection. After making peace with all that had been done to him against his will, Phil had actually found himself forging a friendship with the two S.H.I.E.L.D. surgeons.
"Why, Agent Coulson, as I live and breathe!" Hawkeye teased, playfully. "To what might I owe this horror?"
Chuckling lightly, Phil replied "Well, it's great to hear your voice, too." The senior S.H.I.E.L.D. agent never missed a beat. However, he soon sobered up enough to get down to brass tacks. "But, I do have a favor to ask of you."
Intrigued, Hawkeye quirked an eyebrow, as he replied "Yeah, sure, Phil." Pulling the phone away from his ear, he continued speaking into the receiver. "Hold on a sec. Beej's here, I'm putting you on speaker." He added, adjusting the settings on the phone so that his husband could hear what their friend was saying.
"All right, Phil, shoot." BJ called out so that Phil would know it was okay to continue with his reason for calling.
"Well, it's about Skye." Both doctors were immediately on alert when Phil announced that he was calling on behalf of the young agent that had stolen his heart. "We recently completed a mission in Korea and she's not been feeling quite herself. She's been feeling weak and fatigued and she's also had trouble getting urine to pass."
"How long has this been going on?" Hawkeye questioned, already seeing the gears turning in his husband's head.
"Two days." BJ and Hawkeye shared a worried look at Phil's response.
"Is it just me or have we heard this number, before?" Hawkeye questioned.
"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" BJ asked as he shared a knowing look with his husband.
"Will somebody please clue me in, here?" Phil asked, growing ever so slightly frustrated at being left out of the loop.
"Look, Phil." BJ interjected. "Hawk and I have an idea as to what might be going on with Skye." The former M*A*S*H surgeon admitted, carefully.
"But, we'd like to come take a look at Skye, first, before we make any diagnosis." Hawkeye added, before anyone got ahead of themselves.
"Hm. Doctors that still make house-calls. Now, I really have seen it all." Phil quipped, cracking a joke to lessen his discomfort. Truth be told, he'd become worried sick when BJ and Hawkeye started tap dancing around the issue. Deep down, he was seriously hoping to be proven wrong.
"Don't go spreading the word." Hawkeye quipped. He wasn't an idiot. He could hear the concern in the veteran S.H.I.E.L.D. agent's voice. But, he knew what the man was doing. And, he couldn't blame the man. If Beej was staring Hemorrhagic Fever in the face, I'd be worried sick, too. He thought to himself. "This is just a personal favor to you, Phil."
"Yeah, I guess we kinda owe you one, after New York." BJ quipped before realizing the implications of what he'd just said. Shit. He thought to himself.
"Is that 'never speaking of it, again'?" Phil questioned, seriously.
"We'll see you, soon, Phil." Hawkeye interjected, calmly, hoping to put the fire out before it got out of control.
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The Next Day
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"Who are you?" Skye questioned, curiously, as BJ and Hawkeye entered The Bus's EMP unit.
"Skye, I'd like you to meet Drs. Benjamin Franklin and BJ Pierce-Hunnicut." Coulson interjected, introducing his friends. "They're the doctor-friends of mine, I told you about. They're here to take a look at you."
Turning from the man she loved to the doctors that had just entered the room, Skye eyed them, curiously. "So, you're the reinforcements Phil called in to settle our little debate."
"'Debate'?" BJ questioned, curiously, shifting his gaze back and forth between Phil and Skye.
"Phil thinks I'm sick and I know I'm fine." Skye replied, grinning mischievously at Phil.
"Well, let's put an end to this issue once and for all, shall we?" Hawkeye asked, snapping on a pair of rubber gloves. "First, I'm just gonna draw some blood for your friend, Agent Simmons, to examine for us while I continue on with my physical examination. Any questions?"
"Just one." Skye replied, with a mischievous smirk on her face. "When can we get this show on the road?"
"Well, what's the verdict?" BJ questioned, watching Jemma analyze the blood sample they'd taken from Skye during her examination. He'd never hoped to be wrong, more in his life, than he did, right now.
"Well, I can honestly say that this is rare first for me." Jemma declared, straightening her posture from bending over the microscope before she turned to face the physician. "I've never seen this, before, and I honestly can't identify it. There's a combination of an antigen I've never seen before alongside the RNA of a virus I've never encountered before."
"Let me take a look at that." Hawkeye declared, taking Jemma's place at the microscope. One look through the microscope told him everything he didn't want to know. "Damn it." He cursed quietly. Looking back over to his husband, he added "It's exactly what we were afraid of." He spoke, reluctantly, gaining a terrified and confused glance from Jemma.
"Well?!" Jemma interjected, desperate for answers. "What is it?! What were you afraid of?!"
"Jemma, I promise you." BJ replied, gently, hoping to placate the desperate biochemist. "Hawk and I will answer all of everyone's questions, in due time." He elaborated, carefully. "But, first, I just wanna get everyone together so that we can answer everyone's questions all at once and make sure everybody's on the same page."
"You guys need to get in there!" Agent Antoine Tripplett cut in, bursting through the lab doors. "Now!" He barked, face and voice all business.
"What's going on?" Hawkeye questioned, worriedly.
"It's Skye!" Tripp barked. "She collapsed! She's awake, but, she's real weak. She can't even stand on her own…"
The two doctors and the biochemist all shared terrified and worried glances before snapping into action, taking off at a collective dead run toward Skye's EMP pod.
"How long have you been feeling like this?" Hawkeye questioned, while examining the hacktivist.
"Just a few minutes." Skye replied, weakly and reluctantly. The time had come – the time she knew would come and just didn't want to admit it. She could no longer deny it. Something was very definitely wrong. "Came on out of nowhere."
"Well, this just confirms what we were afraid of." BJ muttered, turning back to the rest of the group. "Hawk and I were looking over the results from Skye's blood sample and – much to our surprise – we appear to be dealing with a disease that neither of us has encountered since the Korean War."
"You mean the Korean Conflict?" Jemma corrected, timidly.
"Call it what you will, it was a damn war!" Hawkeye hissed, before returning to the matter at hand. "But, as Beej was saying, we appear to be dealing with a surprisingly rare disease that we haven't seen in years."
"Well, what is it?" Leo questioned, dying for answers.
"It's a disease known as Korean Hemorrhagic Fever." BJ explained, slipping into an inevitably clinical voice. "And, from what we can see … Skye appears to be in Phase Two." He elaborated. "Her blood vessels have severely weakened – that's why you collapsed and are having trouble standing on your own." He added, turning to Skye, feeling as though he'd previously been speaking about her as if she wasn't even in the room. "Her kidneys have shut down, as well." BJ added, turning to face the rest of the worried group, before turning back to Skye. "So, in the meantime, no liquids for you."
Before Skye could object to the treatment method, Coulson voiced his own concern. "So, what's our next play?" He asked, the concern evident in his voice.
"Well, during Phase Two, all we can really do is eliminate liquids-" Hawkeye replied, carefully. Sensing Coulson's impending objection, the veteran physician cut him off at the pass. "However!" He interjected, carefully, effectively silencing the senior S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. "Once she hits Phase Three, and her kidneys get back to work, she'll be losing sodium, potassium chloride, and everything but her socks by the pound. But, in a way, we're fortunate."
"How is any of that 'fortunate'?!" Fitz cried, frustratedly.
"Because, that's when we can begin our treatment." BJ interjected, calmly. "Once your kidneys get back to work, we can give you an isotonic IV saline solution which will help replace the sodium and everything else you'll be losing." He added, focusing his attention on the patient before him.
"What else can we do for her?" Coulson questioned, his voice and countenance unreadable.
"Unfortunately, the rest is up to Skye." Hawkeye replied, somewhat regretfully. "Phase Three can also be characterized by nausea, delirium – even coma-"
"Ya know, you're really not makin' me feel any better, over here." Skye interjected, weakly, terrified of the coming attractions.
"Are there any other 'phases' we need to know about?" Phil asked, his voice cold and terse, to the point that it gave everyone around him – Skye included – chills.
"No." BJ replied, simply, unsure of how to proceed with the increasingly angry and frustrated S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.
"If she manages to come out of the other side of Phase Three, that'll be the end of it." Hawkeye added, carefully.
"Whaddo you mean 'if'?" Tripplett questioned, folding his arms across his chest, crossly.
Sighing heavily, Hawkeye shared a look with his husband before speaking again. "Listen, you guys … I can't lie to you – any of you – but … Phil, especially …" He added, drawing a steadying breath for courage. "So, I'm not gonna sugar-coat it … Ten to twenty percent of people who contract this disease are gonna die."
A dense, heavy, silence hung in the air as everyone took in all that the doctors were telling them. They stood a ten to twenty percent chance of losing their beloved rebel hacktivist-turned-S.H.I.E.L.D.-agent. All eyes landed on Phil as everyone watched his reaction with bated breath. Coulson seemed more utterly lost than any of them knew to be possible. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the senior agent made a hasty retreat. He didn't know what he was doing or where he was going. He just knew he had to get out of there.
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"Phil." Hawkeye spoke, gently, knowing better than to sneak up on the veteran S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Watching the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent slowly drop his fists from attacking the punching bag before him and turn to face him, Hawkeye had never seen one single man look so visibly lost and broken. Though, he had to admit that he could relate. If it were BJ in that bed, he didn't know what he'd do. All he could do, at the moment, was helplessly wish that there were more he could do for the young woman.
"What am I supposed to do, Hawk?" The lost voice that spoke those seven core-shattering words could hardly be recognized as belonging to Phil Coulson. The man had always prided himself on his personal strength. But, now, here he stood … Defenseless and broken. Hawkeye's heart went out to the man.
"I know it seems like the odds are stacked against her." Hawkeye admitted, reluctantly. "But, you can't focus on the ten to twenty." He countered, hoping to give the man whatever semblance of hope he could. "She's still got an eighty to ninety percent chance of surviving … Coming out the other side of this thing, good as new." He offered, helplessly. "That's what you gotta focus on."
Sighing heavily, Phil unwrapped his hands before dropping down onto the bumper of the SUV Skye was always so fond of hiding out in whenever she needed her 'me time'. "I wish I could." He offered, numbly, before turning back to Hawkeye. "I really do."
Before Hawkeye could respond, however, Jemma came bursting into the room. "Agent Coulson! Dr. Pierce-Hunnicut!" She declared, breathlessly, after running all the way from Skye's pod to the gym. "Come quick! It's Skye! She's hit Phase Three! She's putting out urine by the gallon!" She added, quickly. Then, without waiting for any kind of response, she whirled around to run back to Skye's pod.
Sharing a look with Coulson, Hawkeye spoke, first. "Time to get to work." He offered before both men took off at a dead run.
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"Just in time, Hawk!" BJ declared as his husband and Agent Coulson burst into the pod. Noticing their worried stares directed at Skye's newly unconscious body, he elaborated. "Just came on out of nowhere, while Jemma was running to get you two." He explained.
Snapping back to the matter at hand, Hawkeye turned to Jemma. "Simmons, is it?" He asked, only to receive a silent, albeit vehement nod. "I need you to prepare the IV. Lots of it! Remember! Just a pinch of salt!"
As Jemma ran off to prepare the IV solution, Agent Melinda May took the opportunity to voice her question. "Why the low concentration of sodium?" She questioned, calmly, though – inside – she was a storm of uncertainty. "Her sodium levels have been dropping like a stone. Why not increase the dosage?!"
"She can't handle any more than what we're giving her." BJ replied, calmly. "Before Hawk and I came up with this treatment, the usual treatment had always been a five percent concentration of saline. But, it was determined that patients couldn't handle that concentration." He elaborated, understanding the pilot's questions.
"Fluids built up in their lungs." Hawkeye added, prepping Skye for the IV. "They literally drown, internally."
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12 Hours Later
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"How is she?" Coulson questioned, stretching and popping his stiff and achy joints as he woke from his resting place in his chair next to Skye's bed, watching BJ examining her.
"No sign of fluid in the lungs." BJ replied, draping his stethoscope around his neck as he turned to face Coulson. "Look, Phil … You're not doing Skye any favors running yourself into the ground, worrying about her." Resting a worried hand on Coulson's knee, he added "Go back to bunk. Get some sleep."
"How much sleep do you really think I'm gonna get, knowing she's down here … Fighting for her life." Phil replied, in the same dead voice from before.
BJ understood the feeling. If he were to be completely honest with himself, if it were Hawkeye in this position, he'd probably be in Phil's place, right now. He knew he'd never be able to sleep until he knew, for a fact that Hawkeye was okay. "I get that." He admitted, softly. "But, if you're going to take care of her … You have to take care of yourself, first."
Deep down, Phil knew BJ was right. But, he just couldn't bring himself to leave her side. He needed to be there if and when she woke up. He needed to see her through this. And, nothing was going to change that. "I know you're right." Phil finally admitted, quietly. "But, I just can't do it." He sighed, leaning back, still refusing to release his grip on the pale, lifeless, hand in his own.
Nodding silently, BJ knew a losing battle when he fought one. "All right, then." He replied, finally, replacing the clipboard on the foot of Skye's bed. "Well, I'm gonna try to catch a nap. Hawk'll be down in about an hour or so to check on her." The physician added, making his way to the door.
"G'night, BJ." Phil replied, absently, still staring at the unconscious hacktivist before him. He didn't know why he was so worried, now. Skye was a fighter – hell – she was born a fighter! She'd survivded a hell of a lot worse than this, before. For God's sake! She'd survived two point-blank gunshot wounds to the abdomen – a perforated stomach and punctured intestines! Surely, she could beat this. Right? She had to … He needed her to.
"G'night, Phil." The physician replied, sadly. He hated the situation just as much as Phil. He knew how important Skye was to Phil. As a doctor, he always hated situations where he could do nothing but wait and hope and pray to whatever deity may be listening that his treatments were working.
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The Next Morning
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"Well, good morning, Agent Coulson!" Hawkeye greeted, in an overly chipper voice – hoping that could break the ice and boost the agent's spirits. But, not surprisingly, he was wrong.
"Morning." Coulson grumbled. The dark bags under his eyes had begun becoming more and more visible as he stared at Skye's unconscious form in the bed before him.
"Look, I understand your need to be there for her." Hawkeye reasoned. Sensing the incoming argument, he cut Phil off at the pass. "Believe me, if it were Beej in that bed, my ass would be just as firmly planted right where yours is, right now." He argued, the fierce sincerity in his eyes mirrored in his voice. "But, the fact is that BJ was right. You've got-" However, before Hawkeye could complete the thought, both men's eyes were glued to Skye as they all heard a quiet moan coming from the bed as the aforementioned doctor joined the conversation.
"Hey, doc…" Skye groaned, slowly turning to face Hawkeye and BJ.
"Did you say something?!" BJ demanded, excitedly. "Say you said something!" He added, as they all waited on bated breath for Skye to speak, again.
"What's a girl gotta do to get somethin' to eat, around here?" The young hacktivist quipped, hoarsely, sounding ever-so-slightly like her old self. Excited smiles broke out among all the men gathered around her bed.
"She's hungry!" Hawkeye shouted, positively beside himself with excitement. "SHE'S HUNGRY!" The thought that all of their sleepless nights had been worthwhile was enough to bring them all to ecstatic tears.
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One Week Later
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Hawkeye and BJ had gone home the day after Skye had woken up – after devising an on-going treatment plan for Jemma to continue on with Skye. And, now, the young hacktivist was back on her feet with a shiny new clean bill of health. Slipping into her older lover's office, Skye pulled him over to his bunk and settled herself on his lap – draping her arms loosely around his neck – before greeting him with a light kiss on the cheek. "What was that for?" Coulson questioned, grinning curiously.
"Just for being you." Skye grinned, shaking the hair out of her face. "And, for worrying enough about me to completely disregard my wishes in favor of getting me the medical attention I refused to admit that I needed." She added, slightly more seriously.
Grinning softly, Phil replied "Anytime … You know you are the single most important thing in my life … You know that, right?" He asked, all business.
"I do." Skye replied, completely serious. "And you are the single most important thing in my life … You know that, right?" She grinned, turning his own words around on him.
"I do." Phil replied, smiling softly, before that smile fell. Sighing lightly, he knew he had to voice his feelings on Skye's battle with Korean Hemorrhagic Fever. "I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost you."
Grinning ever-so-slightly, Skye replied somewhat playfully – though the underlying meaning of her words was entirely sincere. "Well, then, Agent Coulson … I guess it's a good thing you'll never have to find out." Taking the quizzical expression on Phil's face as a cue to elaborate, she pressed onward. "I'm not going anywhere, Phil. … Like it or not … You're stuck with me. … Foreverrrrrrrrr …" She added, chuckling ever-so-slightly at the end.
Chuckling, lightly, himself, Phil replied. "I think I can live with that." Knowing that nothing more needed to be said in that moment, Phil leaned forward – closing the gap between them – and sealed his lips to hers.
Shifting to position herself so that she was seated – chest to chest – with her legs wrapped around his waist, Skye smiled as she deepened the kiss, her tongue gliding past Phil's lips, exploring his mouth. As they slipped into their usual rhythm, Skye shifted once again to lay Phil flat on his back his hands carded through her ebony locks. There, in that moment, she knew that – together – the two of them could face and best any challenge thrown their way. And, that was everything she'd ever hoped for, in her life, and oh-so-much more.
Author's Note:
Holy shitballs! I had no idea this would come out this long! Well, thus concludes my little self-inflicted challenge fic. I hope y'all enjoyed this little installment. I apologize if there may have been some technical/medical inconsistencies. I had a surprisingly tough time looking up the info I needed and could really only go off the info on the show about Korean Hemorrhagic Fever. Anywho, don't forget to drop me a review!
~Skye Coulson