Previously: Fitz has been acting strange since they found him miraculously healed at a Hydra compound. He's kissed Simmons twice, but they haven't had a chance to talk lately.
Chapter Nineteen
Simmons was in a rather paranoid state.
She didn't like the fact that Skye's father was on the BUS. He had kidnapped and deceived Skye, and god knew how much of the rest of his story was the truth. It made her uneasy to think that he was her teammate, for however short of a time. She saw him as a good man and had trusted him.
Then there was also the other person who'd kidnapped Skye, but he'd been residing on the BUS for some time now, at least a few days. Jemma was getting used to having Ward around, sort of. About as much as you could get used to someone who had thrown you off a plane.
She often thought about how ironic it was that he'd once saved her from jumping out of one, too. But Ward was someone she was willing to put up if he was deemed helpful, though it didn't mean she'd have to put up with him from very close.
Then of course there was the fact that Skye may decide to sacrifice herself to an alien species that she knew, honestly, nothing about. In actuality, Skye had already made the decision. Now it was just a matter of finding the facts and determining it to be true.
Lastly, there was Fitz.
There was awkwardness between them now that far passed the strange behavior Fitz had been exhibiting when he'd first returned. The last time they had spoken about a relationship they were interrupted by the horrific screams brought on by Skye's nightmare, and while they managed to get that sorted, they never picked the conversation back up. So now, though it may not help their troubles, Jemma decided she could not leave him hanging any longer. After all, it was the one problem that she could at least have some semblance of control over.
Walking into the lab, Simmons saw Fitz muttering to himself and prancing around the holo-table excitedly as he worked on-
"Particle Dissembler," he informed her as she walked in. "It's should help us determine what the Terrigen Crystals actual purpose is. Decide if Wolfe's telling the truth."
"That's brilliant, Fitz," Simmons told him half-heartedly.
He was busy. He was making something to help Skye. Maybe she shouldn't do this now…
Simmons began to walk out the way she came.
"Where are you going?" he asked, and she spun around guiltily.
"What do you mean?"
The fake smile plastered on her face was near painful.
"I mean you just walked into the lab and now you're leaving. What'd you do that for? Did you need something?"
"I, um… there was just something I wanted to discuss with you. But I can see your busy, I'll just come back later-"
"No," Fitz said, eager and concerned as he set down his tools and rushed to her side. "What did you want to say?"
It took her a moment before she could get the words out. His face held far more excitement than she had pictured earlier while she practiced telling him.
"I wanted to talk about us," she told him sheepishly. "Or possibly, more accurately… lack thereof."
Fitz small smile of hope faded somewhat. "Oh."
"Though obviously just romantically! Of course there's still an 'us'. We're still Fitzsimmons," she assured him lightheartedly, but his emotion did not reflect hers. To be honest, Jemma wasn't sure what he was thinking. She cleared her throat and continued. "Look, Fitz, it's not that I haven't thought about it. I have. And it's been a really hard thought process but I just don't think now is the best time to start a relationship." She sighed. "I mean it's perhaps possible in the future, but you seemed to want a clear answer, so I thought it best to give you one."
She expected him to look dejected. Run away. She would surely do that. It wasn't easy being rejected.
Instead, his smile returned.
"Oh, come on Jemma. When is it ever going to be a good time to start a relationship around here?" Fitz took her hands in his, beginning to rub his thumbs over the top of them. "We're constantly being attacked by various obstacles. How's right now different from any other?"
Jemma scoffed. "Perhaps because the government organization we used to work for was completely shut down and labeled a terrorist organization just a couple weeks ago, and more currently, our best friend is lined up to take place in a near preposterous alien sacrifice!"
"Ah, right," he said in a manner that almost seemed like he'd actually forgotten. "I mean, I know. I just don't see things improving anytime soon," he tried to reason with her. "Things are always going to be complicated."
"Then maybe it will never be the right time to start something. With anyone."
Fitz looked truly upset by her saying that. "No no no, you don't mean that, Jemma! You don't really want to be alone your whole life, do you?"
She shifted her stance awkwardly. Fitz was still holding on to her hands and she was only too aware of the heat from his fingers. "Well… if the right person at the right time never comes along, I don't think I'd absolutely mind it terribly… but no, I suppose I don't want to be alone. Who does?"
"No one! Certainly not me." He cocked his head sideways, still smiling. "So that works out perfect."
"What does?" she asked.
"That the right person at the right time is standing right in front of you."
And then he kissed her. Again. Only this time Simmons was so used to the sudden lip locks, she wasn't too stunned to pull away right as it happened. Though it was still a completely unexpected attack.
"Fitz! What on earth are you doing? I've literally just finished telling you it wasn't the right time."
"You just need persuasion!" Fitz insisted.
Simmons took two large steps away from him. "Persua… Are you being serious, Fitz? This is the third time you've done this, and I'm obviously not getting persuaded, as you put it. The first time: yes it was wonderful and I accepted it though now I really wish I didn't because it's clearly given you the wrong idea. So let me be clear with you now: I. Don't. Want. This."
God, this was the most awkward experience of Jemma's life. And with Fitz, no less! She really wished he had just taken what she said at first and gone somewhere to curl up and mourn his hopes. She never expected him to react like this. What would it be like to work with him later…
But it wasn't until his smile turned harsh, and he took deliberate steps towards her to the point that she'd backed into the holo-table, that she realized something was terribly wrong.
She realized something had been wrong for quite a long time.
"You can stop lying to yourself, Simmons," he told her in a low tone. "I already know you do."
Fitz wasn't doing anything but staring now, he was just very close to her. Close enough that his breath moved the loose strands of hair that had fallen out of Jemma's bun as they wavered in front of her face, and she looked passed the pieces to search his eyes. He seemed to be waiting for her to make the next move. In case he didn't like what it was, as she assumed he wouldn't, her hands searched for some semblance of a weapon behind her back.
"Something wrong here?" Triplett asked, walking into the lab with crossed arms. Fitz spun around quickly, running a hand through his hair stressfully as he stepped away. Jemma let go of a breath she'd been holding as her hands braced the table.
"Everything's fine, if you didn't have to come interrupting," snapped Fitz. "Why don't you ever just mind your own business, Agent Triplett?"
"Whoa," said Trip, holding out his hands to pacify the angry Scot. "Didn't mean to cause an upset. I just came down here to tell you guys that Coulson and them were heading back, and they found the alien crystals Wolfe was talking about. So I guess he's legit."
Simmons could barely process what Triplett was saying. Her mind was still reeling, still in shock. She had felt threatened by her best friend, or had she been overthinking it?
No. He was definitely posing a threat to her.
"Well, thank you for the information," said Fitz in a tone that indicated he didn't really feel any gratitude at all. "Now if you could just get out of our lab, that would be fantastic. So go on, shoo."
Triplett squinted his eyes in puzzlement. "You sure everything's alright…?"
"Yeah, of course it is."
"No," said Jemma firmly, moving gingerly away from Fitz and decidedly more near the field agent. "Fitz has been acting strangely. I… I don't know what it is but… we need to run some tests. He's different."
"What?" Fitz squeaked. "No I'm not. Simmons, stop making stuff up."
"I'm not!" she insisted, turning back to Trip. "He's been different since we found him in Costa Rica, but lately it's been more prominent."
Trip's eyebrows scrunched up, scrutinizing. "What happened?"
"Nothing!" protested Fitz.
"Fitz has just been very… insistent about a relationship between us. Romantically."
The field agent's eyes widened as he rounded on the engineer. "What the hell, man? What have you been doing?"
Triplett towered over him, but Fitz looked up brazenly. Just another action that was decidedly un-Fitzly. Simmons ran to separate the two men and forced herself between them with her hands.
"No, no, I honestly don't think it's his fault!" exclaimed Jemma. "It has to do with the way he was brought back. It has to. That's when the changes started. They did something to him, or perhaps there's a chemical… I don't know what it is. But if it's anyone's fault it's mine. I should have looked into this earlier."
"Nothing is wrong with me, Simmons!" shouted Fitz. "Honestly. You're not going to do any bloody tests!"
"They should have been done days ago, Fitz. This has to happen!" she exclaimed.
"No, it doesn't and it's not going to," Fitz said, striding towards the exit to the lab but Triplett stepped in his way. He reminded her of a pub door supervisor as he crossed his arms to stop Fitz leaving.
"Yes it is," Triplett said in a voice that was not meant to be argued with.
"You know, just because you're a bit larger and stronger than me does not give you the right to boss me about."
"You're right. The fact that you're acting crazy gives me the right," Trip told him.
Fitz scoffed. "I'm not acting crazy. You two are the ones acting crazy!" he exclaimed, raising an accusing finger at them.
"Whoa now, who's crazy?"
They turned to see Skye entering the room with crossed arms and skeptical curiosity etched on her face. Ward followed close behind her. Their clothes seemed to be damp in certain places, leading Simmons to believe they still had their wetsuits on underneath.
"Them!" Fitz pointed again. "They won't let me leave the lab."
"Fitz, you're not acting yourself," Simmons explained. "You may not be able to tell, but trust us, we're your friends."
"So I'm not acting like myself because I want to be with you? Is that it? It's just absurd that poor little Fitz wants to date the great Jemma Simmons?"
Simmons bit her lip. Why did he have to talk like this? Why did he have to do it with everyone here? She was half tempted to just let him leave, but she knew it wouldn't be good for him. If the symptoms were progressing, they needed to find out what was wrong right now.
"Wow," said Skye slowly. Awkwardly. "Did we come at a bad time? I think we came at a bad time. I'm just gonna, you know, back out the way I came. Guys, shall we…?"
"I ain't leaving," said Trip firmly. "Ward should stay too."
"Why?" said Skye incredulously, as if she weren't just waltzing around with the Hydra agent herself. Which, in the back of her mind, Simmons couldn't believe her friend was doing. Though there were obviously other problems taking precedent before that.
But wasn't that what got her into this situation in the first place? Pushing aside Fitz' problem? Still, if Simmons was truthful with herself, whom Skye decided to spend her time with wasn't exactly the same type of issue.
"Because I may need help getting Fitz to do whatever Simmons needs for testing him," Triplett explained.
Skye frowned, her puzzled expression directing a question at Jemma. She sighed.
"We found him in the jungle fully healed, which given what his state had been, should not have been even possible. We need to know what happened. It may be doing something to him, but I haven't even begun trying to figure out what they did, and I should have been. It's imperative we do now."
"No, you aren't," Fitz insisted yet again.
"And, as you can see, boy's proving uncooperative," said Trip.
"Bloody hell! Do you ever shut up?" Fitz snapped, and Simmons saw Skye flinch at the raised voice. Jemma may have done the same thing actually, but she was too busy deciding if he needed to be sedated to notice. "I'm fine! I'm walking, talking, perfectly healthy. In fact, I was trying to work on something productive to help Skye before everyone had to start filing in here."
"The only reason we're filing in here is because you can't get your damn head on straight!" Triplett shouted with agitation.
That seemed to be the breaking point for Fitz. He didn't say anything, though with a good enough running start he rammed into Triplett with both hands and caused the man to stumble backwards. But the field agent was trained and was back on his feet in but a moment, ready to grab at Fitz.
"Oh, bloody get off," Fitz said dismissively, waving his hands away from Trip as he stepped to the side. He seemed to realize how ridiculous the action was to stop fighting the man that was clearly bigger than him, but the fact that he'd done anything in the first place was a cause of great concern. Even if Triplett should have known better than to antagonize someone who was clearly having a brain damage problem, or otherwise.
"I'm going to get Coulson," Skye stated abruptly, striding out of the room.
Ward's gaze shifted tentatively between the door and everyone in the lab, seeming hesitant about what to do for a moment. In the end he decided to follow Skye out of the room and up the stairs.
Jemma almost wished he hadn't. Not because she didn't think Triplett couldn't handle Fitz -quite honestly, Skye could probably take down Fitz - but she didn't like it just being the three of them in there.
There was a distinct absence of sound in the lab for a moment, as Fitz glared at Trip. He obviously was blaming the man more than he was blaming her at the moment, and Jemma couldn't help but wonder if it was because he'd felt confident he could overpower her if Triplett hadn't intervened.
God, how had she not noticed this sooner?
Of course she had noticed, she just hadn't done anything about it. She should have been more proactive about the matter and not just continued on with other issues. Even as pressing as said other issues had been.
Jemma was just trying to think of some words, any words, to say that would end the dreadful silence, when all of a sudden it was ended for them, as they heard a distinct thud and grunt come from out in the hallway.
"Ward? Ward!" they heard Skye's panicked voice.
All three of those who were in the lab shared a look, just before Simmons and Triplett ran to the doors. They had to stop before they got out to avoid a collision as Skye cannoned towards them in a panic. The disheveled girl panted in the doorway, her eyes holding an undeniably large amount of fear.
"Skye, what just happened?" Simmons hurriedly asked.
"He…" she shook her head quickly, as if clearing it. "Damn it, there's no time. We've just got to move. Everybody run! Right now, get out of this room. Get off the plane!"
"Where's the threat?" asked Triplett as he reached for his gun holster.
Skye immediately began shaking her head. "No! We can't shoot him… but… Fitz! Where's the stuff you used, that electrode stuff in Florida- urg! No, we just need to get off the BUS!"
She started shoving Jemma harshly so that she stumbled through the lab doors, utterly confused. Triplett followed close behind. In fact, he passed her up to open the ramp to the cargo bay. Skye then strode out of the lab, twitching with anxiety and panic as they waited for the ramp to lower down.
"Skye, where's Ward?" Simmons asked.
Skye whipped her head around to look at her with dismay, a "deer in the headlights" feel to her stare. She shook her head in upset.
"There's nothing we can do. We can't fight him, so we just have to-"
And then the world shifted, and Jemma felt herself slammed up against the cargo bay's wall. The sudden move she perhaps could have thought was caused by turbulence.
But the plane wasn't moving.
She fell to the ground in an avalanche of items; parachutes and whatever else had been hanging in the room making the trip with her.
God it hurt… the side that she'd hit was in absolute agony. She just barely registered Triplett's legs intermingling with her own. At least, she thought they were Triplett's legs.
Though her eyes were proving decidedly difficult to open, she managed to squint just enough to see Skye's boots running over to her, clacking along the ground as she scurried.
"No, no, no. Simmons! Oh, god… Trip. Trip are you awake? Come on, Simmons, stay with me. Don't close your eyes."
Skye's concerned voice rang through as Jemma could feel the items being lifted off of her one by one. With each one came a rush of pain, but then relief, as they were no longer pressing her body into the ground.
Suddenly it stopped. There were still a menagerie of items on her, but no one was pulling them off of her anymore. Skye. Skye wasn't pulling them off anymore. It had been Skye, hadn't it?
Simmons realized her eyes had been closed for a while.
She could barely make out Skye's grunts, perhaps a whispered plea, before she blacked out completely.
A/n: And the plot picks back up! Sorry, the last few chapters have been kinda slow. This story shall come in waves I feel.
GUYS. GUYS. That episode last night? SO GOOD! Unfortunately, anything revealed in the show will not affect this story until like... 30,000 words later, as that's what I have already written. But we're obviously very AU anyhow so I hope it doesn't deter ya!
Review if you have a moment please! Thank you for the reviews so far :)