Hello faithful readers! As you've probably guessed, the first three episodes of the new season have more or less turned parts of this into mild AU. But any fan work involving a work in progress becomes AU, sooner or later. It's quite literally an ancient tradition.
Some things are happening in real life for me, so the last few chapters are going to be slow. I'm sure you'll bear with me since no one on this site is a full-time author, but this is a friendly heads-up. :-)
"Leo? Leo? Can you hear me? It's Mom!" Sharon cried, moving into his line of sight. Jemma ran into the hall, shouting for Dr. Chris, while Sharon squeezed Leo's hand. Her son was making choking sounds and looking around, confused. "Shh, darling, don't try to talk. There's a tube down your throat. You've had an accident, but you're safe." His eyes focused on his mother, and suddenly he looked terrified. He gripped her hand like it was a life preserver and started trying to move his head. What's he looking for? Sharon thought, but then she realized.
"Jemma! Come here quickly. Let Leo see that you're all right." Jemma came running and reached for his other hand, smiling down at him.
"Fitz, I'm all right. We're all right. We're at a S.H.I.E.L.D. base. You've given us such a scare . . ."
Dr. Chris was there, then, and so were the nurses. Checking vital signs, shining lights in Leo's eyes, trying to get him to focus on their fingers.
After two minutes, the excitement was over. Leo closed his eyes again and the machines stopped their racket. Sharon felt her hopes, which had ballooned up at the first sign of consciousness, plummet once more.
"What happened? What's wrong?" she demanded.
Dr. Chris explained. "Coma patients can have momentary returns to consciousness several times before they truly 'wake up,' Sharon. This was one of those. It's actually a very good sign that your son's brain may be recovering. In fact, I'm going to start doing some tests to see whether he might be able to breathe on his own."
There was only one word that mattered: recovering. He's going to live.