16: THE DAYS TO COME
"Phil…Phil…PHIL!"
Coulson snapped back to reality as he sat at his desk, looking up and seeing May staring down at him, her arms folded.
"Sorry."
"What's wrong with you? You were miles way." May frowned.
"I've just…I've had a lot of my mind lately." Coulson said.
"We all have. You look exhausted." May commented.
"That's what happens when you don't sleep."
"Phil, now's not the time for joking around." May said sternly.
"These are dark days, May. Now's the perfect time for joking around." Coulson said.
"We have no leads and you're just sitting around staring into space." May stated.
"I want this over with as much as anyone, but we have nothing to go on. Nothing. What else can I do?" Coulson asked.
"Get up and find something. When did the best course of action become sitting and waiting? That's not what S.H.I.E.L.D. is about." May argued.
"Well maybe my S.H.I.E.L.D. is!" Coulson exclaimed, standing up from his chair.
"…What happened to you? Ever since this all started you've been taking stupid risks, putting everyone in danger -"
"-You have a problem with S.H.I.E.L.D., Melinda?" Coulson asked argumentatively.
"With S.H.I.E.L.D.? No. With the Director? Let's not get into it." May retaliated, storming out. Coulson watched her go with a sigh.
…
Fitz lay on a bed in the medical bay as Jemma and Lincoln stood over him.
"Are you sure you don't want any more anaesthetic?" Jemma asked, concerned.
"I've had plenty, Jemma. It was the perfect amount last time, it will be again." Fitz said reassuringly.
"Okay, just like last time. A few shocks to continue your body's adjustment to the effects Jemma and Mack's implant will hopefully have." Lincoln said and Fitz nodded.
"What the bloody hell are you doing?" Lance asked as he appeared next to the group.
"What does it look like?" Lincoln asked.
"A cheap 'Frankenstein' remake." Lance smirked.
"We're stimulating Fitz." Jemma answered.
"Blimey, sounds like a different kind of cheap movie now."
"I thought you were here to be with Bobbi?" Fitz wondered.
"She's sleeping. Didn't want to bother her." Lance said.
"So you thought you'd bother us instead?" Jemma questioned.
"It's okay, Jemma." Fitz said.
"I'm sorry; I just don't want any unnecessary disturbances to the treatment." Jemma said.
"How is Bobbi, anyhow?" Lincoln asked.
"Getting better, thanks." Lance smiled.
"We need to do this before the medication wears off." Jemma noted and Lincoln nodded, holding his hand over Fitz's chest.
"Okay. Ready?" Lincoln asked. Fitz nodded.
Carefully, Lincoln steadied his hand before a tiny bolt left his fingertip and entered Fitz's body, causing him to jolt slightly.
"You okay?" Jemma asked Fitz. He gave her a cheeky grin, making her laugh.
"Okay, just a few more." Lincoln said, repeating the process an additional four times.
"IT'S ALIVE! IT'S ALIVE!" Lance chuckled.
"Hunter?" Jemma asked.
"Yeah?"
"Leave before I throw my shoe at you."
"Understandable."
As Lance walked off, Lincoln helped Fitz sit up.
"That should do for now; don't want to overdo it. We'll repeat it in a few hours." Lincoln added.
"No problem. Thanks." Fitz smiled as Jemma helped him back into his wheelchair.
"Anytime. Well, anytime at regular intervals." Lincoln smirked as he headed out.
"All okay?" Jemma asked.
"Yeah, all good." Fitz smiled.
"The fact that your body is coping so well to the stimulation is a positive sign. You have a great body." Jemma smiled. Fitz's eyes widened and so did Jemma's.
"I didn't mean, I was just, I-"
"-Yeah, of course. I know." Fitz nodded.
Silence.
"…Well, I better get back to work." Fitz said eventually.
"Of course. Good day, Dr Fitz." Jemma smiled.
"Good day, Dr Simmons."
Fitz began to roll out of the room, then stopped and turned back. His heart started pounding and his palms quickly got clammy.
"…Jemma?"
She turned and smiled at him, "Yes?"
"I, um…I was thinking that…that we, uh…doesn't matter." Fitz sighed.
"Oh, are you sure?"
"Yeah, it can wait. I'll leave you to it." Fitz smiled as he exited the room, leaving Jemma confused.
…
"Andrew."
Andrew looked up from his desk and smiled at May standing before him.
"Melinda, hi."
"You never told me you were back on board." May said.
"Well, you only just picked me up. Did you need something?" Andrew asked.
"I wouldn't mind if you took a walk so I could take your notes on Coulson." May said sternly. Andrew sighed.
"Melinda, we've been over this time and time again."
"He's losing it, Andrew."
"You need to support him."
"He's getting worse. This case is getting to him. Maya Anderson shattered his trust and his spirit and now he's making too many close calls and taking stupid risks. The way he's going…the way he is…I don't know if he's fit to be Director." May admitted.
"Those are some harsh words." Andrew noted.
"They're words of concern and care. Concern for the team and for Phil. Believe me, I don't like thinking of him like this." May said.
"I think you and Phil need to be the ones having this talk." Andrew suggested.
"It's not just me thinking it. Quite a few of the team are. Mack's very much on my side; Lance was until Coulson buttered him up and let him take on The Martyr case, which ended in disaster." May explained.
"I think you're making this into a bigger thing than it is. Don't start a civil war, Melinda." Andrew warned.
"I'm not. It's not war or mutiny, its friendship. The threat Rage poses isn't going to just fade away. Think about it. Think about the days to come. There are going to be dark days ahead of all of us; Coulson's already broken and another setback will shatter him completely." May said passionately. Andrew stared at her and smiled.
"What?" May asked.
"This passion you have. It's why I fell in love with you."
"…This isn't about us, Andrew."
"In a way I think it is. You shouldn't be going to the team or to me over this, you need to talk to Phil. Both of you need to stop shutting each other out." Andrew observed.
"Why's that?"
"Because if we hadn't have done the same, we'd still be married."
Andrew's words silenced May.
"If you're so worried about how cracked and fragile S.H.I.E.L.D. is, why are you so determined to take a cause of action that will destroy it completely?" Andrew asked.
May said nothing more.
…
Lincoln smiled as he walked into the training room and saw Daisy skilfully cracking sheet after sheet of glass with her powers.
"I'm glad you've got your powers so under control. Else I'd be strongly against you training like that." Lincoln smirked, causing Daisy to turn around and smile at him.
"I could the same about you shooting bolts of electricity into my friend's spinal cord." Daisy teased.
"Fitz is taking the stimulation really well. All signs are positive so far." Lincoln explained.
"Good." Daisy nodded happily before returning to her training, cracking another sheet of glass in the opposite end of the room with the swoop of her hand.
"I've never seen you do this before." Lincoln noted.
"I've been trying to think of news ways I can use my powers; new skills and new moves that might be able to inflict some serious damage on Rage." Daisy explained.
"Me too. I've been practicing trying to compress a large amount of electrical energy into small objects to make them explode. That way I could make a grenade out of anything. Eventually I could scale it up so maybe I could just make Rage explode and save the day." Lincoln said.
"That's a really cool idea." Daisy nodded.
"It would be until we found out Rage has powers similar to mine and conducts electricity as part of its DNA structure, meaning it probably wouldn't have any effect on it." Lincoln sighed.
"Well, you can still stick to the grenade idea. In the days to come we'll need something amazing if we wanna stop Rage for good. I should go talk to Coulson about setting up a more suitable area for more intense experimentation." Daisy said.
"I'd give it a while; May and Mack are on their way to speak to him." Lincoln explained.
"How come?"
"They're worried about his ability to be Director." Lincoln revealed.
"…He's in a bad place, but he'll get over it. What do you think?" Daisy asked.
"I…I have my doubts. Lots of us do. As long as his actions don't endanger you or take you from me, I'm good." Lincoln smiled, moving a strand of Daisy's hair out of her eye and kissing her passionately.
"…Maybe teamwork is the way to do it. A combination of powers?" Daisy suggested as they broke apart.
"What?"
"Maybe we can find a way to use our powers together, with Joey too? Or just me and you; if we could make our powers interact with each other somehow?" Daisy speculated.
"You mean like a…static…quake?" Lincoln suggested.
"Why not?"
"…I guess we could experiment with the idea. Though, right now…I have a very different idea of how I'd like to interact with you." Lincoln whispered suggestively, pulling Daisy close and kissing her neck.
"Can't argue with that." Daisy smiled, pulling Lincoln's shirt off over his head and kissing him as he backed up against the wall with a seductive smile.
…
Fitz rolled into the lab and was surprised to see Jemma sat at a desk working hard.
"I thought you were stationed in the med bay this week?" Fitz asked.
"I am, but I've got some compounds to mix and there's no better place to do that than here." Jemma smiled.
"I see." Fitz said, moving over to some blueprints.
"Is everything alright? You seemed a little odd earlier, like you were gonna ask me something." Jemma wondered. A nervousness entered Fitz once again.
"Oh, yeah, I…I was just being stupid. You know how I can be." Fitz chuckled.
"That's all it is?"
"Yeah, of course. I'm fine."
"Okay." Jemma nodded, returning to her work. Fitz sighed, briefly putting his head in his hands and facing her.
"Basically, I was gonna ask if…well, I…look, ever since my injury – hell, probably even before then – I felt like things might have been changing with me. And with you. With us." Fitz mumbled. Jemma sat up in her seat, nervously looking at him.
"Oh." She whispered.
"I mean, maybe it's just me but I've been sensing a -"
"-shift? In our dynamic?" Jemma finished and Fitz nodded.
"Yeah."
"…It's not just you." Jemma said with a nervous smile.
"Oh. Right."
"Seeing Rage hurt you…both times…it put things in perspective and made me…re-evaluate aspects of my life." Jemma explained.
"Yeah…me too." Fitz stuttered with anxiety.
Both were at a loss for words.
"…Sorry, I'm not good at this kind of thing." Fitz chuckled in embarrassment.
"…Well, I uh…maybe we could try -"
"-How about…I promise you something?" Fitz suggested.
"Oh, um…okay." Jemma said, confused.
"I don't know what the days to come hold for me or us but…I want to be positive about things, especially because your my best friend in the world and I never want that to change. Maybe I can just promise you…that if the implant works…I'll take you out for dinner. Somewhere…nice." Fitz said nervously, unable to look Jemma in the eye.
"You mean, l-like a, um…"
"Like a date. Yeah." Fitz confirmed.
Jemma smiled slightly.
"I mean, you know, if that's something you'd like to…do. With me." Fitz added nervously.
"…I really would." Jemma blushed. Fitz looked her in the eye for the first time in minutes.
"Really?" He asked hopefully.
"Really." She grinned.
"…Well, uh…good. Okay." Fitz nodded.
"But on one condition." Jemma said.
"Name it." Fitz said.
"If the implant works, you ask me out to dinner. If the implant doesn't work…" Jemma began.
"…Yeah?"
"…you ask me out to dinner anyway." Jemma smiled. Fitz's face lit up.
"I'd be very, very okay with that arrangement." Fitz smiled.
"Me too." Jemma blushed.
…
Coulson stared at May and Mack in turn, deep in thought.
"Andrew helped me see that I should come directly to you with our concerns." May said.
"It's nothing but a sign of respect, Coulson." Mack added.
"…I understand." Coulson nodded.
"…You're not angry?" Mack asked.
"At you? No. At myself? Of course. Bobbi's in the medical bay because of me. Joey's still recovering from severe injuries because of me. Fitz is in a wheelchair because of me. HQ is destroyed because I underestimated Maya Anderson and Rage. All of this is on me; how could anyone not doubt my ability? Honestly, I should be surprised I didn't have a conversation like this sooner." Coulson explained.
"Phil -"
"-This is my responsibility. I accept that. I won't let anyone else get hurt in this battle. Which is why I need you to with me." Coulson said.
"Meaning?" May asked.
"From now on, until Rage is stopped, I'm making it a rule that I don't make a decision without consulting both of you." Coulson decreed.
"Seriously?" Mack questioned.
"Seriously. To make sure I don't lose my way again. I've let too many good people get hurt. That stops with you two. I'm sorry I ever put you in a position where you have to doubt my leadership. Dismissed." Coulson said. Mack nodded and gave a tiny smile.
"Very good, sir." He said and headed out.
"May, I know how hard this must have been for you to admit. I appreciate it. And I'm sorry. Thank you." Coulson said meaningfully, holding out his hand for May to shake.
After a moment, May pushed Coulson's hand away and hugged him.
"Can't remember the last time this happened." Coulson commented.
"And if you tell anyone, I'll make sure you never will."