Chapter 7
This chapter is a bit more Parker and Simmons as we learn more about their past. Let me know what you think.
Fitz and Trip quickly carried the stunned agent across the pool area towards the room they were staying in. Simmons had already taken her place inside the room pacing back and forth trying to get her emotions in check. Once Parker was sat down on the bed, Trip left the room so he could catch up with Hill and Coulson. They were going to go after Ward who still had Skye with him.
This just left Fitz in the room with Simmons and a stunned Parker. He wasn't sure what to do exactly. Simmons and Parker seemed to be closer then himself and his former roommate.
"I'm just going to go wait in the other room. Let me know when Andrew is okay." Fitz tells Simmons who is now sitting in a chair across from the bed.
"I will, Fitz."
"Will you be okay?"
"I think so. It's just different now that he's back."
"I know." Fitz agrees. "I'll go now. Just let me know when."
Simmons watches as Fitz leaves the room. Waiting for Parker to wake up was next. And she wasn't sure how she was going to handle it when he did.
7AOS7
About twenty minutes passed until Simmons saw Parker begin to wake up. She could tell he was in pain still for the dislocated shoulder he had.
"Hmmm Jemma." Parker said mumbling waking up.
"Hey you." She replied getting up out of the chair and meeting him by the side of the bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Like crap. My arm is in pain."
Simmons grabs her bag off the table and brings it over to the bed. She knew that Parker's shoulder would have to be popped back in place.
"We'll have to take your shirt off so I can make sure your arm is placed back in the socket correctly. Can you do that?" She told him.
Parker tried his best to get his shirt off but struggled completely to do so. He was getting frustrated with the black shirt.
"Just cut the shirt off Jem. I can't get it." He answers. "Careful with dad's dog tags though."
"Are you sure?" She asks grabbing a small pair of scissors to cut his shirt.
"Yeah. Too much pain the other way. This should be easier."
Simmons does what she is told and cuts the shirt off of Parker's upper body. Followed by then popping his shoulder back in place. The agent winces a bit and then holds his shoulder for a bit waiting for the pain to go away for a bit. Simmons walked over to her bag and decided that she would wrapped it up in a sling after getting one of his button up plaid shirts back on him. When the pain is gone for a bit, Parker lays himself back down and pats the right side of the bed, telling Jemma to lay down next to him. Both closed their eyes for a bit knowing they needed a break from everything. Jemma felt like it was when they were at the academy all over again.
7AOS7
The academy 2004
Andrew Parker was a typical southern California boy. He obsessed over sports and excelled in school too. After the death of his father, he felt like all he had were his love of the San Diego Padres and Chargers to keep him company. He pushed every one of his friends away that he had before he left for the academy. Somehow his only friends were his sports heroes of Jake Peavy and Drew Brees that played for the Padres and Chargers respectively.
His aunt was the one that helped him get into the academy, being only a few years older than himself, Maria Hill was set to finish up her training to become an official S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Maria was his mother's half-sister. His grandfather had remarried about ten years before he was born and Maria ended up being born six years before him. His mother seemed to be happy she finally had a sister since she had just had her younger brother for a sibling. No matter the twenty two year difference.
Andrew's parents met about a year and a half after Maria was born. They met at a coffee shop that his mother, Sara, had been working at. Daniel Parker had been listed in the military at the time for little over a year. They eventually got together, getting married and when Maria was five, they announced that Sara was pregnant.
Since Daniel was from California, they moved back to San Diego after the birth of Andrew. Leaving Sara's family in the D.C. area. After living there for a bit, Daniel was deployed to Iraq for the war in 2002. He left his only son in charge of making sure his mom was going to be okay. Andrew was only fifteen at the time when last saw his father. Sure they would talk on the phone for a bit, Daniel always telling Andrew to keep studying hard, and Andrew always telling him about his day and how Jake Peavy pitched that week for the Padres.
Andrew eventually got accepted to the academy thanks to his aunt Maria. He wasn't sure if he should leave his mother alone in San Diego but in his last phone call to his father, Andrew was told by Daniel it would be okay and that he would be coming home soon.
Although that didn't seem to be the homecoming Andrew was hoping for. Two months before he would leave for the academy, Daniel was killed in action, about a month after he said it was going to okay. The boy was devastated for the loss of his father. He began to push away his friends and somehow only kept his sports heroes close.
By the time he made it to the academy, Andrew found it hard to leave his mother. But Sara promised to visit when she could and said that Maria would always be close by. He eventually learned that he would have a roommate, a very shy boy but very smart genius level engineer. Leo Fitz would become his only friend at the academy until later throughout the years.
"Andrew. Pleaseeeee." Fitz whined while Parker was trying to read his book.
It had only been a few months in at the academy and currently Leo Fitz was the only person besides his mom and aunt he let get close to him after the death of his father. Currently Andrew was reading at the top bunk of their dorm room. He had a few posters hanging on the wall next to it. His sports heroes of course were there. Jake Peavy was closest to his pillow and Drew Brees was next to it. He also had pictures of his family up there. The last picture of him and Daniel while on base. Daniel was dressed in his full uniform. He also had one of his mom up there.
Andrew looked over at Fitz carefully and then looked at the dog tags that he now wore around his neck. He really didn't want to go down to the boiler room to meet this Simmons person that Fitz had been raving about.
"Why?" He asked the engineer.
Fitz just shrugged. "It will be good for you. You can't just stay in the room during your free time. And I can't be you only friend. Don't you want to meet others?"
"You're all I need right now for a friend, Leo. That and Peavy and Brees."
Fitz pouted again. Andrew shut his book with a loud thump and looked over at him. Was Fitz this despite to get him to meet more people?
"But you don't even know them. You have to meet Simmons. They're super smart like us and have a few PHDs."
Andrew groaned again and climbed down the ladder. He knew eventually Fitz wouldn't stop asking if he said no.
"Fine. Let me change into better clothes." He says walking over to the closet.
"You should wear one of your plaid shirts. Not a t-shirt." Fitz tells him.
Andrew looks over at him again skeptically. "Are you sure you're not setting me up for something?"
"What? No. I just want you to look semi decent. Not how you roll out of bed and go to class look."
Parker shakes his head and walks to the bathroom with the clothes that Fitz suggested him. Sometimes he was generally concerned about that boy.
7AOS7
When they got to the boiler room, it wasn't as busy as Parker expected it to be. Although there was a few events that were scheduled for tonight that he and Fitz didn't normally go to. When they got down to the bar area, Leo's phone began to rang. Andrew was hoping that meant that this Simmons person canceled and they could just go back to the room.
"It's my mum, I'm going to have to go take this." Fitz told him. "Why don't you go mingle? I'll try to be back in a bit."
Parker immediately groaned in response. Leo was just going to leave him there to fend for himself. He instantly though of what his dad would tell him. This would be good for you, Andrew.
After deciding that it was going to be okay, he found himself at the bar ordering a Pepsi. After he got one I turned around to lean up against the counter and instantly found a girl alone at a table reading what looked to be the same book he was reading earlier before Leo decided to drag him down to the boiler room.
Eventually Andrew was walking towards the girl. Was he actually going to do this? Somehow he just felt close to her already.
"Hi there, I just saw you sitting here, and just wanted to say that's a really good book. I'm reading it right now." He said once he saw the girl look over at him.
Really now, Andrew. That's how you start?
"Oh hello, and you're right. It is a really good book." The girl said in a thick British accent.
Andrew immediately smiled at the girl and held out his hand that didn't hold the Pepsi in it.
"I'm Andrew." He finds himself telling her.
"Jemma."
That's a pretty name. She's actually cute too. Well at least I'm mingling like Leo told me to do.
"So what's a pretty girl like you down in the boiler room by yourself doing?"
Andrew saw Jemma blush after he said that. She closed the book and looked at him with a smile.
"I'm supposed to be meeting a friend but they seem to be late. So it looks that you'll have to be my company tonight." She answers laughing a bit.
With a wide grin on his face, Andrew takes a seat in front of Jemma.
"My roommate brought me down here saying I need to get out and stuff, meet people, but his mom called so he left me and told me to mingle."
Jemma chuckles a bit at the comment.
"Why is that?"
"It's a long story. You probably don't want to hear about it."
"I have time, if you want to tell me."
"Aright." He says.
7AOS7
After a while of talking, Andrew found it extremely comfortable telling Jemma everything about himself. Almost like when he first met Leo. She was a good listener and only asked questions when he was done. The future agent learned that they shared a lot of things in common, both being smart and wanting to be the best in the class. It was almost nine by the time they were getting done talking. Andrew totally forgot about Leo as he never came back from talking to his mom.
"Do you want to get out of here?" Jemma asked him. "We can go back up to my dorm."
Andrew smiled and stood up reaching out a hand for Jemma to take. She took his hand and grabbed her book so she could lead him out of the boiler room.
They walked through the court yard still holding hands making jokes with each other, completely comfortable with each other.
When they got to Jemma's building they took the elevator up to the top floor. While in it she kissed him without thinking and he kissed her back.
"What was that?" He asked pulling back.
"I'm not sure exactly." She said only to get him to kiss her again.
He picked her up unexpectedly bridal style and she squealed a brief second giving him another kiss. Andrew felt like he was on top of the world like he didn't have anything to worry about. He felt comfortable being with Jemma.
"What room?" He asked.
"Twelve."
With that he found her room and put her down in front of it as she pulled her room key out of her pocket. She opened the door to reveal a one bed room.
"Come in with me?" she asked.
Andrew didn't have to be asked twice. He found her hand and let Jemma lead him in shutting the door behind them.
7AOS7
A few days later
Andrew was still in bed and it was reaching the noon hour. He was happy he didn't have class early in the morning. He still felt like he was still walking on air from the other night he spent with Jemma. The future agent wanted to just lay there for a while but that only lasted till his phone rang.
"Hello." He said after grabbing his phone and not even looking who it was.
"Parker, can you meet Simmons and me for lunch?" An excited Leo Fitz said on the line.
No, how about no. "Yeah Fitz, I'll be there. Where at?"
"Just in the café down the street by the dorm."
"Okay of course. I'll be there in ten." He says and then hangs up before Fitz can get another line in.
7AOS7
When Andrew got to the café, he found Fitz sitting at the table by himself. He was nursing a green tea, one of his usual drinks and a Panini. Across from him was another meal that he assumed was Simmons'.
"Get stood up?" Andrew asks him laughing a bit taking the seat next to him.
Fitz looked at him and raised his eyebrow. "Simmons is in the bathroom."
"Thought you got left."
"Who got left?" A voice questioned behind Andrew.
The future agent immediately froze and didn't say anything. He knew the voice behind him. When he finally turned around he saw the girl he met a few days ago in the boiler room.
"Jemma?"
"Andrew?"
"Wait you both know each other?" Fitz finally said confused.
Both Andrew and Jemma didn't say anything. Simmons just took a seat across from Fitz and kept looking over at Parker.
"So you're the Parker that Fitz kept mentioning to me." She said.
"And your Simmons." He tells her.
Fitz raised his hands in frustration. "So you two know each other or not?"
Both Parker and Simmons looked at Fitz.
"We met in the boiler room the other night." "We kind of hooked up."
Fitz gave them a look like he was going to pass out. The engineer did not expect that to come out of their mouths.
7AOS7
2007
Jemma Simmons was studying hard for the upcoming test. She knew she had to get a decent grade in order to keep her spot in the advanced class she was taking. The scientist could master Chemlab and Neurobiology but for some reason she was having trouble mastering the History of S.H.I.E.L.D, it seemed not to be easy for her.
Knock knock.
Jemma looked up to see one of her best friends at the door. Andrew Parker looked like he had just got done running throughout the courtyard like he normally did in the morning and after dinner.
"Hey, Leo told me you might need some help studying." He said standing against the door frame.
She smiled and lifted up her history papers. Andrew was a lot better at her in the subject. He had one of the highest marks in their class.
The future agent walked over to the scientist's bed and took a seat next to her. He knew that she liked to study alone before having him quiz her.
"You look kind of tense. You probably should take a break soon." Andrew told her.
"I need to finish this though, the test is in two days."
"Well here, let me at least give you a neck massage so you can stop being so tense."
Andrew chuckled a little bit as she moved to sit in front of him. Jemma always seemed to like when he did that for her. Their feelings though for each other seemed to be coming back. They just didn't seem to know it about each other except Fitz could figure it out easily.
After a bit, Parker's mind soaring. His feelings for Jemma had been brought up once again most recently when she decided to surprise him for his birthday with a small party in the boiler room a couple months ago. They had just tried to be friends since their one night hook up.
"Drew."
"Andrew."
Jemma snapped her fingers in front of him after turning around to get his attention.
Andrew rubbed his eyes and then ran his hand through his hair. He didn't say anything and it was concerning Jemma.
"What are you thinking about?" Jemma knew after Andrew stopped there was something wrong.
Andrew didn't say anything but instead leaned into kiss her. Jemma was shocked for a brief second but kissed him back. She wasn't expecting for him to have feelings once again like she did.
"Maybe you should take a break from studying." Andrew whispered against her lips.
"Maybe I should." Jemma said kissing him again.
7AOS7
2010
Andrew rushed down the stairs of the operations building. He had gotten a text from Fitz saying that he needed to meet him and Jemma in their lab. All three of them had moved on within three years at the sci-tech academy. Now Andrew was trying to get field agent experience and FitzSimmons were in a lab working.
Jemma and Andrew had been dating for three years now. A few months ago they both found out they were going to be parents. Jemma was only four months pregnant. They didn't seem following the traditional way but Andrew planned on proposing soon.
The lab wasn't far from the academy so he made it in a few minutes. When he got there he was greeted by Fitz who ran out of their lab.
"You can't go in there right now." Fitz told him holding Andrew in place.
"Leo, what is going on? You said it's urgent."
"Drew, I'm sorry."
"Is Jemma okay? What about the baby?"
"Andrew, she is alright but the baby isn't."
"Leo." Andrew said quietly.
"Jemma lost the baby, Andrew. I'm so sorry."
Andrew broke down in the engineer's arms. He wasn't expecting this to all happen. The agent let go of Fitz and went the room Jemma was moved into. She was currently sound asleep. He stayed by the door. It was hard to watch her like this. Andrew turned around to face Fitz who was standing by him.
"Thanks Leo for keeping an eye on Jemma."
"You two are my best friends. I'm just as sad. I was hoping to be Uncle Fitz."
Andrew put his hand on his shoulder and nodded. He was too hoping for that to happen as they became a family. But fortunately that would never happen.
Simmons and Parker would break up a few weeks later telling each other that they needed to get away for a while. Andrew would go back to California for a bit staying there until his aunt Maria would call him for a mission. Jemma would stay with Fitz and continue in the lab eventually deciding to join Coulson's team. Parker would only stay in contact with Fitz for a bit until a year before his six month mission to reconnect with Simmons deciding just to be friends again and go back to normal. Things just didn't remain the same between both of them though.
7AOS7
When the biochemist wakes up, she somehow finds her hand near the dog tags that hung around his neck were now over his shirt. But something was different about them from the last time she saw them. There was something shiny that hung between his father's two tags. She couldn't figure out how she missed them before.
Andrew had woken before Jemma and saw what the scientist was looking at and instantly knew he would have to explain himself.
"Jem." He finds himself saying.
"Is that a ring between your father's dog tags?" The biochemist asks calmly.
"Jemma."
"Just tell me Parker."
The scientist was getting frustrated. It had been the first time she called him Parker the whole time he was here and she only called him Parker if she was mad at him. She turned around to wipe her face so Andrew wouldn't see her crying.
"Yes."
"And it's a wedding ring isn't it?" Jemma quietly says.
"Yes." Andrew pauses. "I wasn't expecting you to find out like this, Jem."
"We're you even going to tell me? After everything that happened between us."
"Jemma, I'm sorry."
Simmons gets up out of the bed and starts pacing again back in forth in front of the bed.
"I loved you, Andrew. I didn't want to give you up."
"I did too, Jem. I didn't want us breaking up, but we knew it was for the best at the time. We both needed space and it hurt us to be near each other back then."
The biochemist didn't know what else to say to her former boyfriend, a now married man.
She thought about it for a bit, finally deciding to ask who he moved on with. Jemma realized she wasn't going to be able to get him back.
"What's her name?" She finally says.
Andrew looks over at her, pulling the necklace from over his shirt off. He pulled it over his head and held it in his hand for Jemma to take.
"If you look at it closely inside, you can see her name." He tells her.
Jemma hesitantly took the necklace from his hand. She looks at the ring closely finding the name she didn't expect to be inside.
Skye 5/25/13
Jemma wiped her face with her other hand and her mind began to race in her head.
"Does Fitz know?"
"No, as far as I know he just knows I had gotten married to someone. But he didn't know who it was exactly."
Simmons didn't know what to say. Both Fitz and Parker had kept things away from her. And Skye was keeping more secrets from the team once again.
"We kissed earlier, Parker." She realized. "And you kissed me back."
"I know."
"But you're with Skye."
"You always did things to my heart Jem. But I can't cheat on Skye again. I love her as much as I loved you back when we were at the academy."
Jemma felt like she needed to get out of there. She wanted to run into the safety of Fitz and tell him what she learned. But she knew he would first have to explain himself.
7AOS7
Coulson and Skye arrived only minutes after Simmons ran to Fitz. They both found Parker sitting at the edge of the pool with his feet dipped in, his arm still in the sling. When he saw them, Parker carefully picked himself up and walked towards a table that Trip had his stuff on.
"Drew." Skye said walking towards him as she finally saw him.
She latched on to him for a hug carefully not to hurt his arm. He held on her tight also not realizing a tear escaped. Andrew kissed her forehead and they just stood there for a bit. What they didn't see was that Fitz was comforting Simmons as they watched from the hotel room's window.
A longer chapter for this update. Please leave a review and let me know what you thought. There will eventually be more information about Parker and how he and Skye met.