Leo and Jemma walked along the deck after the whales departed, enjoying each other's company.
"You were excellent as heartbroken Sally," he praised warmly and she grinned at him.
"I thought you were an excellent Pac-Man," she replied and they giggled.
There was a track on the second level of the deck, for joggers, and the pair strolled around it, gazing up at the stars.
Jemma's face lit up brighter than the moonlight as she pointed out familiar constellations and he had an incredible urge to kiss her.
Why not? They were alone except for the sky, it was the middle of the night. No one was watching them.
"Jemma," he called, giving her a quick peck when she looked his way. "You're it!" He laughed before running down the track.
"Leo come back here!" she exclaimed but she was laughing too, probably one of his favorite sounds in the world, and she chased after him.
They zig zagged playfully on and off the path and the grass in the middle, calling out teasingly to each other.
Soon she caught him and he let her pull him towards her and cover him with kisses. "I'm it, I'm it," he giggled, not really wanting her to stop.
"I know," she told him, kissing him again on the mouth and making his head spin. "I like this part though."
"Yeah me too," he agreed, touching their foreheads together and grinning.
What a wonderful night it was, he didn't even mind that he was starting to get cold but Jemma must have noticed the goosebumps that formed on his skin because she pulled off his sweater and handed it back to him.
"We should go back down anyway," she informed him.
"Yeah I guess," he agreed reluctantly, putting it back on. It was warm and it smelled like her. He wondered how long that would last, hopefully a while.
They climbed down the stairs together and stopped in front of her room.
"Are you going to be OK?" She worried, scanning his face.
"I'm feeling much better now," he assured her because he was. She had a way of making him happy however scared or sad he was, like honey soothing a sore throat.
He gazed around to be sure they were alone before kissing her softly once more that night.
"Goodnight," he whispered.
"Sweet dreams," she wished him in a hushed voice, staring at him with shining eyes and a small smile that made his insides squirm delightedly.
She touched his cheek then disappeared into her room and he dazedly returned to his.
The lamp was on when he slipped in and May was awake, reading a book.
"Late night stroll?" She inquired, taking him in. "I'm guessing that isn't your hair on your sweater, it's kinda long."
He flushed and averted his eyes. She seemed unimpressed, disappointed even.
"Fitz you do understand why we are undercover don't you?" She scolded. "This isn't a vacation."
"I know," he mumbled.
"What happened then?" She asked, setting down her book.
He played with a lose piece of thread at the bottom of his sweater unhappily. "I had a nightmare," he said quietly. "About Ward, when he... dropped us. And I went up for air, just for some fresh air and Jemma followed me- not that I'm blaming her," he added swiftly. "I take full responsibility for what happened. I didn't try to to pretend I didn't know who she was, I was so scared and... and hurt and confused. She was cheering me up, that's all. I'm sorry, I..." He couldn't think of a way to apologize, a way to make May understand that neither of them had meant for the meeting to happen, it simply had. He'd needed Jemma and somehow she'd known that so they'd found themselves together. It didn't excuse them putting the mission in jeapardy but it wasn't a purposeful violation of the rules.
May wasn't revealing anything in her expression and he waited anxiously for her response.
"Is this the first time you've dreamt about this?" She asked and he nodded.
Her face softened. "Are you OK?"
"I am now," he informed her, relieved she wasn't furious with him.
"Good. Go back to sleep then," she instructed.
"That's it?" He blurted out, shocked she wasn't going to lecture him or tell him how disappointed she was.
"That's it. Just don't do it again," she ordered.
"I won't," he vowed, climbing back into his bunk.
"I have a trick, to keep away the nightmares if you need one." She offered.
"You have nightmares?" He gasped.
"Everyone has nightmares," she told him simply.
Oh. That made sense, May was strong but her heart wasn't made of stone, even she must have gotten scared sometimes.
"What's the trick?" He inquired, hanging his head over the side of the bunk so that he was looking at her upside down.
The corner of her mouth tugged up slightly and he realized he must have looked a little silly poking his head out like he was. He would have tried to turn his neck so he was the right way up but he was afraid of tumbling off his bed.
"You have to keep telling yourself 'Please don't dream tonight, please don't dream tonight.' Keep doing that until you fall asleep." She explained.
"That seems a simple enough," he commented. "And that works for you?"
"Sometimes," she shrugged. "It usually helps. Now get some sleep, it's our shift in the morning."
"Alright," he agreed. "Thanks May, Sleep well."
"You too Fitz," she answered, turning off the light.
He tucked her trick into the back of his mind to try another time because he was certain the nightmares were over for tonight.
He was right, he dreamt instead of Jemma. They were swimming with the whales, having an adventure. It made little sense, for starters all four of them could breath underwater (something none of them could do in the real world being mammals and all) but it was a sweet, happy dream and he slept soundly that night.
/-/-/
Jemma felt like happy static was sparking back and forth between her toes and the tips of her hair as she quietly shut the door behind her, closing her eyes for a moment to remember the warm feel of Leo's kiss on her lips.
When she opened them she noticed the light was on beside Skye's bunk.
Her friend was sitting cross legged on her bed with a dollar bill and a paper cup in front of her. She seemed upset about something and jumped when Jemma entered.
"Where did you go?" She asked, a slight quiver in her voice.
"Just for a walk," she told her, sitting down on the bed in front of her and the items. "Are you alright Skye? You look a little pale."
Skye swallowed and gazed up at her. "I need you to stay calm when I tell you this OK?" She demanded. "I am this close to losing it," she held up her thumb and finger less than an inch apart, "so I need you not freak out on me."
"I can do that," she agreed gently. "No freaking out for me, or you either." she giggled, trying to lighten her friend's expression.
"Simmons... I'm... I'm a...," she closed her eyes and took a breath. "I'm an 084."
Jemma frowned. "You're a what? Skye if this is some sort of metaphor I'm not-"
The cup floated into the air, level with her nose.
"Wha- How are you?" She fumbled, the pitch of her voice raising. "You're doing that?"
"Yeah," Skye whispered.
Jemma ran her hand through the air over and under the cup. "But, b-but... That's not possible." She exhaled disbelievingly. "There's no such thing as... what do you mean you're an 084?! Skye what..."
"That's freaking out!" Skye complained, sounding on edge. "Simmons you can't flip out on me, then I'm going to flip out too and-"
"What do you mean you're an 084?" Jemma interjected, trying to calm herself.
Skye wasn't an object of unknown origins, she was Skye. This wasn't making any sense.
"Shield found me. They found me in a village in the Hunan province of China." She told her slowly. "Everyone in the village had been killed, except me. They were protecting me. The Shield agents who found me knew I wasn't human and they brought me with them to the US..."
Jemma listened in stunned silence as Skye told her story, believing it because of her unwavering trust in her teammate.
"And now this," she finished, gesturing unhappily to the cup which had fallen back onto the bed with a soft thud. "What the hell am I?"
"Oh Skye," Simmons breathed, pulling her into a hug. It seemed tonight she was going to be Jemma the teddy bear, hugging people in need, but she was alright with that. "You're exactly what you've always been, you're our friend."
Skye let out a breath of relief and wrapped her arms around her. "Thank you." She said quietly. "I needed to hear that." She moved away, wiping her eyes. "You really don't care?" She wondered.
"Well," Jemma began, not wanting to be inaccurate. "I am concerned of course. Why are these powers suddenly appearing? I'll need to take a few blood and tissue samples when we get back, run a few tests, make sure you're alright but you say perhaps you were displaying these abilities as a baby? You've been fine all these years, I see no reason for that to change. Especially if you were born that way... You'll just need to let me know if you feel a little off. Maybe avoid using your powers until we get back and I can have a proper look at what's going on, just to be on the safe side..."
Skye took her hand, stopping her nervous ramblings. "Thank you," she repeated. "Maybe go easy on the blood samples though," she chuckled. "You almost drained me dry last time with all that poking."
"I'm sure I didn't take enough blood for that," Jemma started to say before she realized Skye was kidding. "We'll take care of you," she promised, trying to push down her apprehension. If Skye had natural superpowers she'd probably be perfectly fine. It was how her body was designed to be, nothing like the dangerous effects of the the serum from the centipede project.
"Maybe don't say anything to the others yet," Skye cautioned. "Until we get back at least."
"You want me, Jemma Simmons, to keep a secret?" she asked incredulously.
"Ummm, yeah..." She answered. "I mean c'mon Simmons, you keep secrets all the time right? Like... I mean if you were captured by the enemy you wouldn't spill would you?"
"That's not the same at all, I mean... Well," Jemma pondered, "technically an 084 is a Shield secret... So I can just use my Shield training..."
"Which is?" Skye inquired raising an eyebrow.
"Tell the enemy nothing!" Jemma declared.
"You needed training for that?" Skye teased and Jemma scrunched her nose at her.
"OK," Skye giggled, "pretend I'm one of our teammates, say Trip." Her voice deepened slightly. "So Simmons, see any strange things lately?"
"Skye is not telekinetic!" She said quickly. "Oh... no that was very bad. That did not go well did it?"
Skye was shaking with laughter. "Good thing we aren't supposed to talk to anyone until the trip is over," she managed after a few seconds. "Do you want to try that again?"
"Yes please," Jemma blushed, but she was glad her friend had cheered up.
They practiced for another half hour until they were both giggling so much they couldn't speak in full sentences then decided to go to sleep.
"Goodnight Skye," Jemma wished her, snuggling under her blanket.
"Goodnight Simmons," Skye replied.
Jemma fell asleep feeling wonderful. Good things happened when you cheered people up, it made you happier too.
She dreamt that night of being underwater but she wasn't afraid. Leo was there and so were the whales and all of them were friends. Together they met a dragonfish and a whale shark and a giant squid which didn't even try to eat them. It was a wonderful adventure.
/-/-/
Thank you for all the likes, reviews, follows and reads! You are all objects of unknown awesomeness.
The Fringe reference is May's advice to avoid nightmares. It is a trick Walter teaches Peter when he is having nightmares (perfectly reasonable when you've been abducted).
So Skye has super powers. It is part of this universe of stories I am writing and I figured now was as good a time as any to introduce them. Not sure how much they will feature in the story but they will probably come up later.
Also for everyone missing Triplett and Coulson they had the first shift watching the drones and will likely show up soon. Not to worry!