Night couldn't come fast enough, and when it did, Skye still had to wait. The park didn't close till eight and she figured the staff didn't all leave till around nine or ten. She barely was able to make herself wait for an extra hour when her mother came home in their truck to go to bed. She didn't sleep till eleven thirty and by the time Skye finally snuck out of the house with her bag full of supplies, she was so anxious for having to wait to rescue Jemma for so long that she was shaking.
She had only just managed to put the truck into drive before she placed her hands on the steering wheel, willing them to stop shaking so she could make it. It was a weeknight, so there wasn't much traffic and it was late so when she passed the pier the carnival area was already closed and there wasn't much else to do. The bars of course were still open, but there weren't many of them.
By the time she shut the lights off and pulled around to the 'staff' section of the parking lot for the marine world, it was a little past midnight. There were only a few cars remaining there and they were all scattered. Not enough people to notice her.
Skye slipped out of the truck, putting the hood of her sweatshirt up and securing her backpack before she shut the door, leaving it unlocked. If they needed to have a quick getaway, she didn't have time to fumble around for the keys. She had printed a cheap ass map online, and pulled it out of her pocket now, unfolding it and looking at it with a flashlight as she moved towards the perimeter, tall wooden fence of the park. She would need to find an opening, but before she could look, she heard sounds from the other side of the fence.
The brunette leapt behind a bush, shutting her flashlight off and listened as one of the gates opened and a janitor came out with his huge cart of cleaning supplies. He left it there, propping the door open as he took the large trash bag off and meandered towards the large trash disposal, whistling as he did so. Skye took her chance and slipped out of the bushes when he was halfway to the garbage, slipping through the gate and into the actual park. She sprinted a few yards away, finding another hiding place before she felt comfortable enough to pull up the flashlight and look at the map again. She couldn't really see any of the attraction signs with most of the lights in the place off, but she figured by the dolphin signs everywhere that she was in the 'dolphin discovery cove'. She and Ward had gone by that to get to the research lab and she looked for its place on the map.
Skye felt she had a fair grasp of the area now, and put the map away and shut the flashlight off. Her heart was pounding, and although she knew she was close to Jemma, she just didn't know where she was and it frustrated her beyond belief. She had to find her, and soon, before anyone noticed the truck. It was so quiet that except for the occasional splash, all Skye could hear was her heart and the blood pounding in her ears. She needed to listen to know if anyone was coming though, and so she strained to do it in the silence.
As quickly as she could, and as quietly as she could, Skye made her way towards the research building, periodically hiding when she heard a strange noise she didn't recognize. So far none of the sounds had been people, but still, she needed to play it safe if she was going to make it to Jemma.
It took her longer than she would have liked and a broken window, before she found herself actually inside the research building, flashlight on and snooping through the hallway. It wasn't a large building, but the inside was much more confusing than she remembered. Despite this, she found herself in a room with a couple small tv screens that were still on, all with night vision and showing up around the park. One in the corner in particular caught her eye. It was of a tank, surrounded by white tall fencing. Obviously they didn't want anyone seeing inside.
Skye looked closer and had to stop herself from gasping and crying out when she saw a flash of a very familiar shaped tail. She didn't need to see the colors to know that it belonged to Jemma, and suddenly she was over at the wall, looking up the charts to see which tank it was and in which area so she could make her way there on the map. It didn't take her long. Jemma was being held in the back of the park, probably because Garrett didn't want anyone seeing her yet. Well…no one was going to be seeing her ever, because Skye was going to get her out of there.
She was over at the control stand, popping all of the tapes from the security feeds, which is what she assumed all the TVs were, and shoved them into her bag, taking out something large from it to make room. A gallon of gasoline. Oh yes…she had a plan.
She started here, emptying some and doing her best to leave a small trail all the way through the building, stopping when she reached another door and after opening it up, did gasp. Pictures of Jemma were on the walls, some blurry but some clear. It felt like a knife in her heart to see her partner with such a terrified and pained expression on her face. The thing around her neck…the net over her. Skye had to keep herself from setting fire to it right then.
She went about the room, ripping all the pages down in a rushing rage stacking them in the center of the room. She tossed the cameras in too, and anything else she could find, even going so far as to take the two computer modems and smash them into the pile as well. She then poured the remainder of the gas on it. A fire would be a good distraction for anyone who was still left in the park. It would draw everyone to it to put it out but with all of the important things here in the center, it would be too late.
Skye didn't even think twice. She raced back down the hall and pulled a set of matches out of her pocket and lit it up, laying it down on the gasoline trail. It immediately lit up, fire shooting off in either direction down the hall to both rooms. The artist turned arsonist quickly pulled herself back through the window, watching as she ran as the research building began to light up. It didn't take long, and she heard a few yells as she slinked off in the dark. She didn't have a whole lot of time now, but she knew where she was going.
It didn't take her long to get to the back, and she could see the fire that she created blazing from her, bigger than she could have hoped for. The whole building seemed to be going up.
"Good…" She mumbled and looked for a way around the fence, when she found a door. It was locked by a padlock, but Skye hadn't brought anything to break that.
"Shit…" She looked around frantically, shining her light around and it took her a few minutes before she found a tall red box on the side of a building nearby. In case of fire it read. How ironic. Skye used her elbow to break the glass and she took the red and silver axe out of its casing and sprinted back to the tall white fence. She hadn't noticed before, but was sickened now to see it read, "New Attraction: Coming Soon!"
"Like hell there will be," She huffed and with all her might, brought the axe down on the lock and it snapped off, taking some of the door with it. She pried open the gate without hesitation and went inside. The tank was small and it made Skye grit her teeth to know that, as she rounded the corner, Jemma would be in this awful, blue, rough, shitty tank. She dropped her bag, racing around to the glass, glad to see that the tank had built in lights.
She flung herself at the glass, palms both spread out wide against it as she banged on it, a horrified, but relieved expression on her face to see Jemma in the back corner, unharmed, as far as she could tell.
"Jemma?!" Skye didn't know if she could hear her through the glass, but she was here now and she was going to get her out. Everything was going to work out and she was going to be alright…she just had to hurry.
Jemma couldn't hear anything through the thick glass, and her face was hidden in her arms as her tail hid most of the rest of her colorful, bruised body from view. There were vibrations, though, hours after everything had finally gone quiet. They were in quick succession, little waves shooting through the glass and the water, just enough for Jemma to feel it.
Jemma looked up, expecting one of her tormentors, but the face she saw there set her heart on fire with hope. Skye. Skye had managed to figure everything out and come for her. Jemma shouldn't have doubted her, of course Skye would come. There was a small smile on her face, despite the grimace it took to move, and she threw herself at the wall, painfully crashing into it yet again. She was even more desperate to get out now, and she only paused to put her hands up against the invisible wall, matching up to where Skye's were.
Jemma wanted to actually feel her hands, so instead of just floating there staring at her, Jemma charged again, smashing into the invisible barrier with as much force as she could manage.
Skye was relieved to see her but when Jemma flung herself at the glass, it scared her and Skye almost had to back up, but she kept her hands in place. She could see all the bruises on her now and for a second, she couldn't contain herself. Her face twisted into an awful expression of anger, hands almost balling into fists before Jemma decided to launch herself at the glass again.
This time Skye did back up. She waved her arms over her head, shaking her head in the process.
"No! Jemma, stop!" She didn't want to shout, she still didn't know if Jemma could hear her, but she had to get her to stop. She couldn't let her keep hurting herself. She could see from her shoulder that she had already tried this, and tried it for a while. Skye didn't think she had ever seen such a deep color bruising. It was even more important that she get her to stop now.
She banged on the glass, trying to get Jemma's attention, using one hand to point to her eyes, telling Jemma to watch her while her other hand was up on the glass again. She needed to think of a way to get her out, now that she was actually here and had found her. She hadn't thought that far ahead in her plan.
When Jemma did give up, it wasn't because she'd seen Skye's signal, it was because she couldn't continue. She was completely drained of energy and she sunk down to the bottom of the tank, leaning against the barrier and finally watching Skye like she asked.
Jemma's clenched fist weakly fell against the wall, and she had the most pained expression on her face. She was begging Skye to get her out of here, even though she wasn't sure it was possible.
"I'm getting you out. I'm getting you out." Skye repeated it over and over again like a mantra, finally tearing her eyes away from Jemma and looking around for an access point to get in or get her out or anything really, but she didn't dare leave the glass to where Jemma couldn't see her. She needed a plan and she kicked the glass angrily even though she knew that wasn't going to work.
It was then that her eyes fell on the axe again…and slowly her eyes widened. She turned back to look inside, banging on the glass to get Jemma's attention.
"You need to back up!" Skye shouted, and then started using hand motions, trying to wave Jemma away. She settled for pointing towards the back of the tank over and over again, "Back Up!" After repeating the process Jemma finally seemed to understand and Skye knelt over and hoisted the axe up. She took one last look at Jemma to make sure that she was far enough back for what she was about to try and do, and then she brought the axe back, and with all of the force she could muster, slammed the blade against the glass. It didn't even crack.
She was so angry that she did it again, and again, and again, and when it still didn't look like it was going to break, Skye turned it around, and swung the thick part at it like a hammer and suddenly a long crack shot up the glass wall and left a circle of smaller cracks around where she had been repeatedly hitting it.
"Fuck yes…good!" She brought it back again, even though her arms were sore, and she slammed it against the glass, which made it crack more. One more time. One more time. It looked about ready to break, so Skye put the axe down and picked up the book bag, fastening it around her shoulders before she took the weapon back up again. Finally, Skye was panting by this point, but she lifted the axe over her shoulder one more time, looking to Jemma to make sure that she was ready, she brought the axe down on the glass with the most force she had yet, in one last ditch effort to break it. It didn't…at least not immediately.
Skye cursed at it again, throwing the axe down when it didn't break and she slammed her fists angrily against it, and then suddenly the wall gave way and the glass shattered. The brunette shrieked and threw her arms up over her face, the force of the water and the glass hitting her and knocking her down into the ground as all the water suddenly started to pour out at once. Some of the shards cut her skin, but she managed to keep her hands up and her eyes shut and held her breath until the water slowly stopped flowing over her.
Skye shook herself off and wiped the water from her face, trying to sit up and push herself up to stand without cutting her hands on the glass.
"Jemma?! Jemma, Jemma are you alright?!"
Jemma had rushed out of the tank with the water, and she'd been thrown out with the hundreds of gallons of water to lay flat on the concrete, still shaking like a leaf and curling in on herself, though trying not to move. Unlike Skye, she couldn't just stand up and get away from the glass, she was lying in it. They both had matching cuts all over their bodies.
Skye's question remained unanswered. Jemma wanted to tell her that she was fine and that she was so glad Skye had come, but all that came out was a groan. The one thing that had been nice about the tank was the weightlessness of being underwater, and now that that privilege was gone, her broken body protested as its own weight made the pain of her injuries worse.
Her muscles remained stiff and frozen, unable and unwilling to move after all those hours curled up in a defensive position, no matter how much she wanted to throw herself at Skye now instead of that damned clear wall.
Fuck the glass. When Skye laid eyes on her she shot up, pushing off the ground quickly and stumbling a little before she made it over to the mermaid, dropping down to her knees next to her and wincing at the pain she got for it. She didn't notice too long though because she was already reaching into her backpack front zipper and pulling out the two vials.
She had the blue one in her hand first and set the other one aside. If it could heal her knife wound then it could surely heal this bruising. Skye leaned over and had Jemma up in her arms in the next moment, cradling her and kissing the top of her head. She wanted to hold her here and now, but she could already hear sirens in the distance coming to take care of the fire she had set.
"Jemma, you need to drink this. It'll help you. We don't have a lot of time…" She reached around the mermaid and opened the small vial and held it to her lips, making sure the mermaid was ready before she poured it into her mouth. She made sure Jemma swallowed it and Skye looked to her shoulder and around her neck, still gritting her teeth at the dark colors she saw there, but soon sighed heavily in relief as she saw them start to fade.
Skye picked up the next vial and shoved it into her pocket. She needed to get Jemma off this glass. She shoved her arms under her and in a feat of strength she was amazed to possess, lifted the mermaid up in her arms bridal style and quickly carried her to the other side of the fenced in area, away from the glass and closer to the door before she had to lay her down gently back onto the concrete. She kept her in her arms though and pulled out the second vial and opened it for her.
"Now this one, Jems…c'mon…" She handed it to her and then held her close, rubbing her arms and running a soft, worried and bloodied hand along her tail to get her to calm down as much as she could before changing to have legs. Skye had a bag full of clothes ready for her and then they could get out of here.
Jemma downed the potion easily, just trying to do whatever Skye told her. Skye knew what was happening and Jemma trusted her partner to get her out of this mess. Skye's hand on her tail initially startled her and she wanted to flinch, but when it felt good instead of sickening Jemma melted into it.
"Skye..." Jemma whispered, her voice raspy from all the yelling and screaming she'd been doing. She didn't know what to say. There were so many things to say. She wanted to tell Skye all about it and cry and thank her and tell her she loved her, but she couldn't come up with any words. Sedatives were still freely flowing through Jemma's veins and it had been a miracle that she'd been able to muster up the strength to crash into that glass wall. She was completely drained now, though, and she just wanted to shut her eyes and sleep.
Jemma felt a familiar tingle in her tail and soon she had legs again, and she was grateful. There was a dark thought in her mind, for a moment she wished she was never a mermaid. She wished she'd been a human so she could have met Skye the normal way and not had to deal with all of this. It didn't matter for long, what-ifs weren't important now. Jemma wasn't even conscious enough to be embarrassed about her sudden nudity, she just wanted to leave.
Skye didn't even care. She had no time to be embarrassed either because she was already reaching in her bag and pulling out a spare shirt, which she promptly pulled over Jemma's head with little help from the mermaid. Soon she had shorts on too and that was enough. She zipped the book bag and put it back on her shoulders and then performed her miracle again, picking Jemma up bridal style.
"Hold around my neck and don't let go. We're getting out of here…" Skye didn't have any time left to see if Jemma's legs worked enough to walk and honestly it didn't look like she could muster up enough energy to do it herself.
With adrenaline pumping through her veins again, Skye carried her out of the 'new exhibit' fence and out into the park. The smoke from the fire was high and so were the flames. The sirens were close now and Skye knew that the fire department would be coming to put it out soon. They needed to go.
She was less careful this time, less cautious and much more in a hurry. She didn't have time to slink and hide about, she had to get Jemma away. Luckily everyone was now preoccupied with her little blazing distraction and Skye somehow managed to carry Jemma all the way out of the park back through the side gate in the fence she had used to get in.
"It's going to be okay. I've got you, we're almost there…we're almost there…you're ok…" She was gasping it because she was carrying Jemma and half running and out of breath by the time she reached the truck. Thankful that she had left it unlocked, she hoisted Jemma up into the passenger seat and made sure to buckle her up before she shut the door and was racing to the other side. She threw the bag in the floorboard and scrambled for the keys in her pocket.
A sigh of relief from Skye filled the cabin of the vehicle when she cranked the car. She left the lights off, but gave her the gas so she could get up and go and was already down the road when two fire trucks passed them and pulled into the parking lot for the park.
"Home free…no one is following us. It's going to be okay," Skye opted to drive with one hand and she reached out with her free one and grabbed for one of Jemma's hands.
Jemma was trying to be okay, she wanted to be alright like Skye said, but in her drugged haze and inexperience with the inside of cars, she struggled against the restraint of the seat belt. She wanted it off, and she wanted it off now.
It didn't matter that Skye was trying to drive them away from what had actually been the problem, the only thing that mattered to Jemma at that moment was when she was captured. That moving without swimming or walking sensation was strange and new to her, and in Jemma's mind the truck and the boat felt the same. It didn't matter that the seatbelt was meant for safety, to Jemma it just felt like more restraints.
"Get- get it off!" She whined, trying to yank the seatbelt off her chest and waist, pulling her hand away from Skye's to contribute to the fight that was going on in her head. No matter how much she squirmed, she couldn't get out of it, and her heart rate was spiking.
"Okay, okay! I'm sorry," Skye leaned over, trying to keep them steady on the road and swatted Jemma's' hands away with her own before she pushed the red button that let the seat belt loose. She knew this was all suddenly new, not to mention whatever hell she had experienced at the hands of Ward and Garrett and whoever else. Skye knew it was a lot to take in and not all of it she wanted to take in. She was doing her best to get her away and get her back home to her people and keep her safe.
"I'm sorry…it was just for safety. I didn't know…It's okay…" Skye repeated, keeping her eyes on the road for the most part, but stealing quick glances at the girl beside her. She left her hand there between them, in case Jemma decided to grab it. She didn't want to touch her and send her into an accidental frenzy if she didn't want to be touched. Skye imagined she probably didn't. She could only imagine how they had poked and prodded at her and it made her angry all over again, but she couldn't focus on that right now, she just needed to drive and to get them to her house to lay low for a little while and let Jemma rest before she took her out into the ocean and asked her to swim all night to leave the island.
Once the seatbelt was gone, it was like a switch had flipped inside of her, and Jemma was calm. Her breathing evened out and her heart stopped thumping out of her chest. Jemma even reached for Skye's hand, slowly lacing their fingers together and squeezing as tightly as possible, which wasn't very much.
"Thank you...thank you..." Jemma suddenly broke down sobbing while Skye drove. Maybe the potion gave her more human qualities than just legs, or maybe she had them herself being connected to Skye, but either way there were tears streaming down her face, and her body jumped a little bit every few seconds.
"Skye, they were awful, they...they did horrible things." Jemma practically choked on her own tears. She was starting to gain little pieces of herself back, and she was starting to sound normal again, but it was obvious she was very deeply affected by what happened.
"I know…I know and I'm so sorry," Skye assured her over and over again, never letting go of her hand now that Jemma was holding it. She gave it gentle, reassuring squeezes and Skye didn't think she had ever been so relieved to see her house.
"We're going to rest at my house for a little while alright? Until you feel better," Skye figured keeping her informed on what was going on was probably going to help her process everything. She pulled up into the driveway and turned the car off.
"Give me just a second," She gave Jemma's hand one more squeeze before she unbuckled herself and got out of the car. She rushed over to the passenger side and opened it, helping the mermaid to get out.
"We need to be quiet when we go in. My mom is asleep," She warned and kissed the top of Jemma's head, scooping her up and not even letting her walk even though she had the legs for it. Maneuvering her into the house wasn't all that hard and Skye managed to kick the house door shut quietly before she hoisted the girl up the stairs and didn't put her down till they were in her room and Jemma was on the bed.
"You can relax now. You're safe. I'm not going anywhere…" She shut and locked her door and then quickly crawled up onto the bed and pulled Jemma close into her arms, but not too tight just yet in case she panicked like she had in the car.
"I've got you…I love you so much…" She cupped her cheeks first and gave her a gentle kiss before wrapping them back around her and holding her close, gently rubbing her arms.
"I thought I was a goner." Jemma whispered, clutching Skye's clothes in her fists and pressing their bodies together, trying to get that warmth she'd so desperately needed earlier. She would never take it for granted again.
"I love you too" she cried, holding Skye as close as possible. It really had been the end for her in that tank, the mermaid had truly believed that she wouldn't have made it out alive.
If Jemma had had her tail, she would have made as much contact with Skye as possible with it, but she settled for tangling their legs together, hoping their exchange of warmth and Skye's smooth skin would keep her calm for now. It absolutely did, and Jemma found herself starting to drift off before she was willing to let herself.
"You should have known I couldn't just leave you," Skye used a familiar set of words, one Jemma said just at the beginning of the week. She stretched and reached for a spare blanket, pulling it over them since Jemma's body still felt cold and she tucked her in as best she could.
"It's alright to go to sleep. I'm not going anywhere. I promise…you just rest. I've got you," Skye kissed the top of her head several times, taking in her scent and holding her as close as she could manage now that Jemma was practically squishing them together, trying to assimilate them into one person.
Skye needed to stay awake though, so that she left in time to get Jemma back before her legs turned back into a tail. Bobbi would be waiting soon, but Jemma needed rest and Skye was going to give her as much time as she could before she had to take her away and watch her leave.
Completely unaware of Skye's plans, Jemma held onto her and slipped into sleep, truly thinking that there was some other solution and that she would be with Skye for the rest of their lifetimes, however long that may be.
A couple hours passed and Skye could feel herself dozing, but a gentle vibration from her pocket let her know it was time to take Jemma to the old fishery where she had told Bobbi to meet her earlier. The time had come, and she dreaded it. Jemma was still sleeping and she didn't have the heart to wake her up.
Skye was relieved when Jemma didn't wake up once she picked her up and carried her quietly down the stairs and back out of the house, literally the opposite of everything she had done to get them there. Once in the truck, she situated Jemma so that she was leaning against her and Skye could still hold her close while she slept. She hadn't put the seat belt back on her. She certainly didn't want Jemma to panic again.
She drove in silence, trying her best to breathe regularly, but it was starting to come in gasps sometimes before she had to force her tears back again. Not yet. She couldn't cry. Not yet.
The ride didn't last very long and the place was abandoned at night, like usual. She pulled up to a back entrance that had better access to the water and parked the truck, turning it off and turning a little more into Jemma to hold her.
She kissed the top of her head again and rubbed her arms gently, now trying to shake her awake. Skye's throat was dry and there was a knot in her stomach and she tried to keep all of her pending emotions at bay.
"Jemma…Jemma it's time to wake up," She kissed her cheeks gently before kissing her lightly on the lips. She wanted more than this, but she needed to wake up first. They had a few minutes to spare. It was still a long way off before the sun was going to come up.
Jemma's eyebrows furrowed at being woken, but when she realized she was sitting up and not at all in the same place, her eyes flashed open. Instant calm fell over her again when she realized that Skye was right here, holding onto her. She had no fear.
"What...where are we?" Jemma wasn't scared, only wondering what had happened and what they were doing. She was clueless, but her trust in Skye kept her from being worried.
"Well you're going to have a tail again soon so I needed to bring you to the water. I can't exactly explain a girl with a fish tail laying in my bed in the morning," Skye smiled and tried to laugh, but it died halfway in her throat before she gave the girl in her arms a gentle squeeze.
"I know it's dark out, but Bobbi is meeting us here and she's going to take you to the caves so you can get some more rest. Our uhm…our other places obviously aren't safe anymore s-so…this was the best one I could think of on uhm..sh-short notice…"
She couldn't help it. She couldn't stop herself, and she leaned in and kissed Jemma again, except this time it had been like their last night on the beach. Desperate, needy. She didn't want Jemma to leave and she knew that Jemma didn't want to either but she didn't have a choice. She needed to go. Everyone needed to go so that they could all be safe.
Jemma didn't understand the sudden intensity of Skye's kiss, but she didn't argue. Both of her hands rested on the sides of Skye's neck and her breath was hot against her face. Jemma suddenly hated her body when her legs began to tingle, she hated that it had to be like this between them. It wasn't fair that they had to constantly struggle for each other, but at least both of them were alright now.
"I'll see you tomorrow?" Jemma asked quietly when they parted. Somehow, despite everything that had happened, she was still innocent and naive. It hadn't even crossed her mind that there was no solution to this, that she and Skye couldn't find a safe way to be together.
Skye had to grit her teeth and bite back an instant 'yes' because she knew she wanted to see her tomorrow. She so desperately wanted to see her tomorrow, but she knew she wouldn't. She wouldn't be seeing her for a long time…if ever. The thought of never seeing Jemma again made her chest tighten suddenly and she only hoped the mermaid didn't feel her stiffen as she tried to quickly right her breathing.
"M-maybe not tomorrow…y-you know? I think you should rest tomorrow and stay away from the island while I…while I…" She had to think of something, and quickly, "While I check everything out. I sort of…uhm…set fire to their research building and destroyed all their uh…evidence of mermaids so…they're going to be pretty mad. I don't know if I'll really uhm…be able to go out and walk around without getting interrogated so…just so you're safe…maybe not tomorrow." Skye forced a smile and gave her another kiss before getting out of the car and rushing over to the passenger side. She had to stop to heave for a second, trying to keep quiet so Jemma would hear her before she opened up the door and held out her arms for Jemma to get back in.
"Since you're probably close to changing I can just carry you…is that ok?" Skye was stuttering a lot and she knew it, but she couldn't help it. It was all she could do to keep what little composure she had left. Carrying Jemma would also guarantee she didn't try to run back to the truck to try and stay with her.
"Okay." Jemma sighed and reached out, wrapping her arms around Skye's neck and letting Skye carry her, since yes, her legs were already beginning to numb. They hadn't set a time or even a place that they were supposed to meet, and with all the stuttering, Jemma was starting to get curious, but it wasn't enough to really bother her. Skye would meet up with her, she always did. And just like Skye always showed up at the beach, so would Jemma, without fail.
"I'll see you next time then." For Jemma, next time meant in a day or two. She didn't realize just how far away or nonexistent next time might be.
"Yeah, next time," Skye smiled for real then, or as real as she could make it since she wasn't really sure if there would ever be a next time, "next time, I promise."
She carried Jemma with a fair amount of ease now down the little slope and onto a thin stretch of beach. The tide was pretty high so Skye didn't have to walk far to reach the water.
Before she called to Bobbi to let her know that the literal coast was clear, she squeezed Jemma into a tight hug while she held her. She fully intended to hold her until her tail changed back…so she could touch it one more time and make Jemma happy.
She kissed Jemma again, like she had in the truck, just standing there and holding onto her, just as desperately as she kissed her. When she finally did manage to pull her lips away she only sighed.
"I love you so much, Jemma…I'm glad you picked me for this partner thing…I really, really am."
"Me too, Skye." Jemma smiled. She toyed with the starfish on her necklace with two fingers and reached up to grasp her own scale on Skye's with her other hand. She sighed contently as Skye held her close, and Jemma was definitely glad she'd rescued Skye that one night that felt like a lifetime ago. "Me too."
Sooner than Jemma wanted it to, her tail was returning. Skye's shorts ripped and Jemma gave her an apologetic smile as her tail suddenly reappeared. It was significantly heavier and Jemma knew Skye was having a little more trouble holding her up.
"I love you, Starfish, now put me down." She giggled.
Skye laughed at her nickname and smiled, pecking Jemma on the lips this time, restraining herself and not allowing to kiss her so needily again. If she did she only knew that she would take back what she had said and not let Jemma leave.
Before she put her down, Skye moved her hand and rubbed over Jemma's scales softly, watching as it made the mermaid smile. She had to remember this feeling…because she wasn't going to get to do it again, probably ever. She wasn't going to get to hold Jemma again, probably ever. And she probably never was going to get to kiss her again and hear her call her starfish.
She had held it back so much already that she couldn't now, and she started to cry and Jemma would feel her chest start to heave as she held her.
She managed to shout for Bobbi and her arms were shaking with the continued effort of holding Jemma up, but if she put her in the water too soon Jemma might try to swim away, especially now that Skye was crying, she might think something was wrong. It was…and Skye felt horrible for lying to her and she didn't want her to leave so she kept crying and mumbling that she loved Jemma over and over again.
"Skye?" Jemma knew something was wrong now, and she gripped the back of her neck firmly. "What's wrong?" Just seeing Skye cry made tears well up in Jemma's eyes, and she didn't even know why. They were both okay, Jemma didn't see a reason either of them could be crying.
"Jemma." Bobbi's familiar voice drifted into Jemma's ears and she craned her neck to see her in the water. She looked relieved and ecstatic to see her, like she would have expected after nearly being lost, but there was a sad look in Bobbi's eye, too. Jemma looked back and forth between them in confusion, but neither of them said anything.
"What is it?" Jemma's voice cracked. She was missing something, and it was starting to scare her.
Skye shook her head. She couldn't bring herself to say it and instead she quickly walked into the water towards Bobbi, shivering because it was cold, because she had to leave Jemma, and because the water still very much scared her. She managed to make waist deep fairly quickly before she let Jemma go and had to pry her hands off the back of her neck before she started to retreat back towards the sand.
At this point she was trying to stop herself from crying, but it wasn't working. She wasn't as loud now, but the heaves her chest gave her were harder and hurt more.
"Skye, wait-" Jemma reached out to grab for her, but Skye was already back on the sand and Bobbi grabbed for her hand, holding it with an unforgiving force, yet not hurting her.
"Jemma, it's time for us to go now." Bobbi tried coaxing her, gently pulling her deeper into the water. It worked at first, until Jemma's confusion wore off and she fought against it.
"Where are we supposed to meet?" Jemma asked Skye, and her heart lurched in her chest when her partner refused to make eye contact with her.
"Skye, when are we meeting?!" Jemma's voice was desperate, and Bobbi managed to pull her another few feet deeper into the ocean. "Stop that." She tried to pry away Bobbi's fingers, but Bobbi wouldn't be letting go of her any time soon.
"Skye! Please!" Jemma called out. She wasn't answering, and it felt like someone had reached into Jemma's chest and ripped her heart out with their bare hands.
"Jemma, we have to go now." Bobbi's voice wasn't mean, but it was firm. When it didn't have any effect on the smaller mermaid, Bobbi had to stop her attempt to swim back to shore with an arm around her waist.
Jemma understood now. Skye was upset because Jemma wasn't coming back, whether she liked it or not. The pod was leaving because of what she'd done. Bobbi wasn't here to keep her company, she was here to make sure Jemma didn't do anything stupid and to force her to come along.
"I'm going to come back!" Jemma shouted, still struggling against Bobbi's strong grasp. Tears were stuck on Jemma's cheeks and her heart thudded heavily, already weighed down by a deep feeling of loss. "I'm going to come back!" Jemma yelled again before they were deep enough and Bobbi pulled her under.
Somehow, miraculously, after managing to stand there the entire time with her back to the water, listening to Jemma yelling for her, Skye made it to the truck. She even managed to get in and buckle herself up and crank it and everything but the second she let her right hand down she expected it to get grabbed and held, and when it didn't, Skye cried even louder. She beat the dashboard with her hands, hitting the steering wheel a few times and setting the horn off, but she didn't care. She jerked and fought against the seat belt but it didn't relent, because it wasn't supposed to and she screamed at herself and at the world like she had the night she had scared Jemma way after their first kiss…except this was so much worse.