Leo and Jemma were in the lab, looking over the data from Happy on the holo-table.
"There's nothing," Leo grumbled. "What was the point of even going there?"
"We had to take a look, just in case," Jemma pointed out, touching his arm for a heartbeat and smiling reassuringly at him.
She'd been giving out small gestures like that all night, a touch on the arm, bumping shoulders, a warm smile, trying to comfort him and he knew she was dancing along the line that had been drawn for the both of them between their working relationship and their romantic one. It was so much more complicated now and it drove him crazy trying to decide what would push them over it.
He knew she was probably having just as hard a time as him, perhaps even more so because Jemma had always been one to stick to what was appropriate and within the rules others had set for her.
It wasn't as if these tiny gestures were anything new, they'd always been a part of their relationship but now a touch on the arm could mean more than what it had meant before, could be misinterpreted as intimate in a moment when intimacy wasn't suitable.
She thought he wasn't worried but he was, he loved every part of their relationship and wouldn't want to sacrifice any of it.
"We need to be more careful," he warned, moving away a little even though he didn't want to. "This is only a trial period, we need to show Coulson we can be responsible."
"You're absolutely right," she informed him, obviously relieved by his understanding of their situation.
"But it isn't as if we never touched before-" he began, shuffling closer.
"No, you're right Fitz," she interrupted. "We need to follow the rules to the letter, show everyone we can make this work." She agreed, shuffling away and maintaining the space between them and he regretted having said anything.
"So what are the rules exactly?" He asked, turning over a 3D image of a seat. Nothing.
She scoffed as she enlarged part of the hole which had been blasted into the side of the train. "Hell if I know, Coulson hasn't had time to write any up."
"So...?" he wondered.
"We're... umm... winging it. On our own, using our discretion." she informed him uncertainly.
"Ah," he replied, equally uncertain and they were silent.
"I can't believe the way that other agent was talking about Donnie," Leo muttered after a period of futile searching of the hologram. "There isn't anything here," he relinquished. "We'll just have to see what we get from talking with Mackenzie and David's parents."
Jemma gazed at her watch, "We'll be in Boston in a couple hours to meet with Mackenzie's family," she announced wearily.
"Do you want to go take a nap?" he offered.
"Are you alright?" she asked in place of an answer, eyes filled with concern as they scanned his face.
He shrugged. "I'm fine," he assured her, he was worried about Donnie but he was also concerned for Jemma. He didn't want her staying up because of him.
"Well I'm not," she told him as they shut down the holo-table. "I don't think I could sleep when we have nothing to go on and Skye is..." she clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide.
"What, what's wrong with Skye?" Leo demanded anxiously but she shook her head.
"It's a... er... personal... problem. She-" she started to say.
"Never mind," Leo stopped her. "I don't want to know about Skye's lady problems."
"Right... ummm... so..." she stumbled on her words. "We're off for now, what would you like to do?"
Leo wondered briefly what Skye's lady problem was. Then he decided it really wasn't any of his business. If she trusted Jemma with her secret he wasn't going to push an answer out of her, poor Jemma had trouble keeping secrets as it was.
He raised his eyebrows at her, grinning. "I think I know what we've both wanted to do-" he began.
"Oh are you thinking what I think your thinking," she chirped, returning his grin and hopping around a little.
"I think so," he chuckled. She was so cute when she got excited.
"But... well I mean on the Bus?" she worried. "Is there enough room?"
"Jemma they're made for searching buildings and the Bus is practically a flying house," he reminded her, tilting his head to the side. "C'mon, I know you want to-"
"It's not the most responsible use of them-" she pointed out.
"Of course it is, we need to practice using them for when we actually need them don't we?" he objected and he knew by the way the smile returned to her face, lighting it with glee, that he'd got her. She was in.
/-/-/
"Watch the corner, watch the corner!" Leo exclaimed, gazing at her monitor over her shoulder.
The pair sat on the floor of the lab with their backs pressed against the glass door and their bodies pressed together as close as they could be and still allow manoeuvrability. They were taking a break, no reason to avoid contact while they were playing around.
"Mind your own drone," she teased, easily making the turn. "I can handle them as well as you you know."
"I don't know about that," he objected playfully. "I tend to steer them more than you do."
"Only because you hog them all to yourself," she giggled as they watched Sleepy and Grumpy zoom down the hall from their screens.
On Jemma's screen Sleepy spiraled up the stairs ahead of Grumpy.
"Are you sure it doesn't have anything to do with the fact that you're busy sticking your nose into whatever strange, slimy or corpsey thing we find?" he challenged and she nudged him, laughing.
"Maybe a little," she admitted.
"Uh huh," he mused, quickly kissing her cheek and filling her up with joy.
"First to the kitchen decides which popcorn we make," she declared, changing Sleepy's course.
"Oh that's fair," he complained, not really upset by her head start.
"Simmons?" Skye called softly, entering the lab hesitantly. "I think I'm ready for- oh hey Fitz. What are you two doing?"
"Racing to the kitchen," Fitz mumbled, attention on Grumpy but Jemma had began to steer Sleepy back towards them and he gazed at her questioningly, seeming a little disappointed.
"Sorry but... I think Skye needs..." she fumbled.
"Oh," he understood, turning Grumpy around. "I'll just slip out then..."
"You told him?" Skye gasped, slightly alarmed.
"No, no," Jemma assured her. "I didn't I just..."
"She only said you had a lady problem," Leo defended before turning pink. "Or... er... that it was private. She said it was private." he corrected, embarrassed.
The relief on Skye's face was as obvious as a stop sign should be and Jemma wondered why she was so worried about the others finding out about her. She must know they wouldn't treat her any different right?
Leo darted out in search of the drones and Skye took a seat at one of the desks where she'd been keeping her laptop. It remained closed as she tugged down her sleeve and stared at her lap apprehensively.
"I'm sorry you have to lie like that," She apologized once Leo had left. "I know you don't like it... and especially to Fitz-"
"It's your body," Jemma told her. "Your secret. I have no right to tell anyone until you're ready."
"Thanks," Skye smiled slightly but she still looked nervous.
"Have you used your powers since we last spoke?" Jemma inquired coolly, smiling encouragingly at her friend like this was no big deal.
It wasn't exactly no big deal... She didn't care if Skye grew a second head as long as it wasn't hurting her however if these new powers were harming her in any way Jemma needed to get to the bottom of it and fix the problem. She would never let anything bad happen to anyone, especially someone she cared about.
"No," Skye updated her, attempting to match her calm. "They freak me out to be honest. I don't want to use them."
"OK, well we won't have time for that today anyway," Jemma let her know as she prepared to draw a blood sample. "But I might ask for you to try them out later- if you're comfortable with that- just to see if there are any adverse effects of you using them on your health."
"Like what?" Skye worried, pulling at her sleeve again.
Poor Skye, she looked so frightened. Why had Jemma said that?
Because it was the truth. She didn't know what was happening to her friend, a few weeks ago she didn't even believe in psychic abilities like telekinesis. Who knew the effects Skye's powers could have on her?
She didn't want her to be afraid though so she tried to reassure her.
"You're probably fine," she soothed. "Like I said when you told me about it the first time, if you used these abilities as an infant and they didn't hurt you back then they probably won't now."
"Probably," Skye echoed, tugging on her other sleeve. "Do you think they'll send me to the Sandbox?" she asked unhappily.
"There is no Sandbox anymore," Jemma told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "And whatever we have now... you aren't going there. You're staying with us, there are plenty of people with powers who are Shield agents... look at the Avengers. We like people with powers. And people without them," she added awkwardly. "Shield likes everyone... except bad guys... and..."
"They sent Donnie to the Sandbox," Skye reminded her bleakly.
"You aren't Donnie," Jemma informed her matter-of-factly, needle ready. "I need you to pull up your sleeve please," she instructed gently.
"OK," she complied, rolling it back. "Thanks Simmons," she said, smiling gratefully at Jemma. "You're being really cool about this whole thing. It's really helping me not freak out completely."
"You have nothing to freak out about," Jemma answered comfortingly. "You're fine. Be ready for a slight pinch," she warned her before she injected the needle.
/-/-/
January 21 2014
Agent Adams removed the needle from Donnie's arm as she finished with the blood sample.
"Is that the last one?" Donnie asked, because he was feeling a little dizzy from all the blood they'd taken out of him.
"For now," he told him, smiling in the friendly but sterilized, professional manner Donnie had began to become accustomed to.
"What do you need them for?" He wondered, watching him store them in a cooler next to several other samples. They were all numbered and his was 15-12-9-22-5 C, which if you replaced the numbers with their corresponding letter in the alphabet (1 equals A) spelled Olive, the first name of his supervisor. The C probably meant there were at least two others like him she was in charge of, however he'd never met them.
He'd been in isolation ever since he'd been brought there from the academy (which he was certain he'd been expelled from) but they'd telling him it was only temporary and he'd have more or less free run of the Sand Box, at least the special asset section, soon enough.
Special asset was Shield's way of describing people with powers, people like Donnie. At least he was still part of Shield.
He'd really wanted to be an engineer though. Creating and building new things gave him far more pleasure than his powers ever did. Especially since he was usually hooked up to no less than two machines when he was using them which he'd rather be opening up to look inside.
And they'd been ignoring his questions, avoiding them like agent Adams was now.
"Am I ever going back to the academy?" Donnie tried again and the man shook his head sympathetically.
"Mr. Gill," he began placing a hand on his shoulder. Donnie wasn't really all that comforted by his touch but he let him because at least he'd gotten him to answer something. "You know you did something very, very wrong don't you?"
Why was he speaking as if Donnie was eight years old? Like he'd dropped all his mother's makeup into the toilet to make a potion.
"Yes sir," he replied, trying his best to sound like an adult.
"You need to show us we can trust you first," he explained. "Then we'll see."
"You mean I could go back?" Donnie chirped, failing at sounding grown up.
"Maybe," agent Adams said carefully. He chuckled. "With your powers would you go to Sci-tech or Operations?" He joked... At least Donnie thought it was a joke.
"Sci-tech," he told him without hesitation. He missed tinkering.
It wasn't the only thing he missed, wasn't the only thing which life without seemed slow and unbearable.
"Can I go to the funeral?" He requested, encouraged by the agent's current accommodation to his inquiries.
"Oh..." Now agent Adams seemed uncomfortable. "I'm sorry Mr. Gill but... We can't let you leave the facility."
"OK," Donnie mumbled disappointedly.
He wasn't going to do anything bad. He wasn't going to start a super storm or try to escape or anything like that, he just wanted to say good bye. Though the thought of having to look Seth's mother and father in the eyes when he was responsible for the death of their son was daunting to say the least. Did they know it was his fault? Did they hate him?
Perhaps it was better for him to remain where he was. That didn't mean he was OK with not being able to say good bye though. It didn't mean he'd had any sort of closure.
It didn't mean he wasn't completely on his own now. Just him and himself against the world.
/-/-/
May 15 2014
Never in her life had Simmons felt this kind of aching loneliness. It wasn't like anything she'd ever experienced. It wasn't the longing for something mysterious and foreign, something that was out there but you hadn't found yet. It was an infinite, empty void that had been left by what was once there but had been torn out of her.
Fitz was right in front of her, no more than a foot away, his limp, cold hand in her own, but he wasn't there. Not really. He might never be there again and she didn't know if she could handle that.
She knew he'd meant it when he said he couldn't live if she didn't but she'd meant it too when she'd said she felt the same way.
She would though, of course she would, but she didn't think the void would ever be filled. It was too vast, too vacant.
"I did what I said," she whispered to him, her voice soft and wispy because she'd been crying. "I didn't leave you. So please..." she begged, letting out a sob as more tears fell down her cheeks and rolled off the bottom of her face. "Please don't leave me all alone here."
/-/-/
January 14 2014
Seth was dead. They had stopped trying to revive him, his heart was not going to start beating again.
He thought Simmons had known what she was doing, shouting out orders authoritatively and doing her job without flinching, doing what needed to be done like she had when he'd been frozen. They'd saved him so why couldn't they save Seth?
No, that wasn't fair, it wasn't Simmons' fault it was his. He was so stupid, so reckless. What the hell had he been thinking? How could this be happening?
He wasn't sure what he was saying, he was barely aware of Skye touching his back in a feeble attempt at comfort. All he could think was 'no'.
'No, please don't leave me all alone here.'
He was alone though, his only friend was dead and it was his fault. Fitz tried to apologize, tried to say something but it was stupid. Everything he said was so damn pointless and Donnie told him severely to stop.
There was no one left to care about him anymore and the ice which had gripped his heart in a frozen loneliness returned.
Which was why he thought, at first, that he was imagining it when the window grew cold and he saw frost form from his finger tips.
/-/-/
Fitz woke up.
He opened his eyes and when they finally focused on her face and his mouth formed a tiny smile she knew. She knew that he was still Fitz.
Whatever else there was, whatever problems he would face or however much the world was falling apart around them, he was there with her again.
The void filled with an entire universe complete with stars and planets and nebulas which glowed red from excited hydrogen atoms and worlds with squiggly little life-forms of varying intelligence.
He squeezed her hand and she laughed in relief as his smile widened and his eyes locked onto her, filled with unmistakable recognition before she leaned forward to kiss his face, every inch of it because she loved all of it. All of him.
/-/-/
It was eight in the morning when they arrived at the Malikov's house. Jemma, Leo and Trip were going to interview Mackenzie's family while the rest of the team flew to Kansas City to interview David's.
"I can't believe Kenzi would..." Mrs. Malikov shook her head, eyes wide with horror when they told her the news.
They sat in the living room, the team had been offered hot beverages however all three had turned them down. It was nice with a big grey sofa Jemma was sharing with Leo and Trip and two grey armchairs which the Malikovs sat on, appearing extraordinarily distressed.
"When did she begin to exhibit her... abilities?" Trip asked and Jemma was fine with letting him do the talking.
Her friend was good with people, he was charming and easygoing and people tended to trust him.
"She must have been around eleven," Mr. Malikov answered, looking to his wife who nodded.
"She was very sick as a child," Mrs. Malikov explained. "We didn't know what to do, no one could tell us what was wrong with her. Then one day we met Dr. Dennis and she started her on a new drug... it was a trial for patients with the same unclassified condition as Kenzi and it worked, she was better."
"But then she started getting into trouble," Mr. Malikov went on. "She'd start fires. Everywhere, the school bathroom, at home, in the woods and we-"
"We didn't understand," Mrs. Malikov told them. "We thought she was doing it on purpose. Her psychologist said she had pyromania. We didn't know what to do. She kept saying she wasn't doing it but we didn't believe her. I still... I still wished we had just believed her. Maybe if we had it wouldn't have driven such a wedge between us. She was so angry that we wouldn't listen but we were only trying to help her."
"And then when she was seventeen Shield agents came to our door and told us she had powers," Mr. Malikov continued. "They told us she didn't know what she was doing, she didn't know it was her doing it. We had never believed her though and I don't think she ever forgave us." He let out a shaky breath and fell silent.
"They took her away, and we let them because we didn't know what else to do," Mrs. Malikov said quietly. "She was furious and we tried to visit, to send letters but she wouldn't talk to us. And then a few years later Shield fell and she ran away and we've been so worried about her... but we never thought she'd... our Kenzi wouldn't hurt anyone. She's probably just scared... and now she's out there all alone..."
Mrs. Malikov wiped her eyes and her husband handed her a tissue before taking one himself.
"We'll find your daughter," Trip assured them.
"Thank you," Mrs. Malikov whispered.
"Don't let her hurt anyone else," Mr. Malikov pleaded.
"We'll do our best," he replied honestly and the couple nodded.
/-/-/
"So are you going to stop her if she tries to hurt anyone this time?" Donnie demanded quietly as he and Dave approached the bank, a few paces behind Kenzi.
"Are you?" Dave challenged and Donnie looked away.
He wished Dave could just be on his side for once but he was either too afraid to challenge Kenzi on this or he agreed with her. He was really hoping for the first one.
They entered the bank and Donnie froze the doors shut so no one could leave and glazed over the button under the desk which set off the silent alarm as Kenzi threatened the tellers with her flames and Dave with his frightening spinning. Donnie wondered how he could do that without getting dizzy.
"If any of you try anything stupid we'll burn the whole place to the ground with you trapped inside it," Kenzi warned fiercely. "Blizzard, make sure you smash everyone's cell phones."
'Of course,' he thought sarcastically. 'Because I'm the engineer so I'm in charge of their gadgets. It isn't as if I suggested we build one to break us in without scaring all these people half to death and destroying their property.'
For once though, he was glad she'd called him Blizzard, he wouldn't have wanted her using his real name. Not that he wouldn't be identified on the video which was being recorded of them, as they had probably been on the train.
'We're taking down Shield,' he reminded himself as he crushed a woman's phone under his foot. 'The higher ups will protect us and we need to make sure that the organization doesn't imprison people with powers anymore.'
Still did their plans really need to be so sloppy? If they didn't have the transport and resources their leaders provided they would have been caught by now for sure. The fake ID's and credit cards with someone else's name hid them between robberies even if everyone knew their faces but they could have worn masks.
A man behind Donnie leapt up and tried to attack Kenzi but she pressed her hand against his chest and he stopped in his tracks, eyes wide and beads of sweat forming on his skin.
She gave him a small push and he collapsed to the floor shaking and turning red, drenched in his own sweat and gasping in breaths.
"What did you do to him?" Donnie shouted, rushing over to try to help.
"He attacked me," Kenzi defended, unfazed. "We need to go, do you have the money Whirlwind?"
"I do..." he answered, staring at the man on the floor who had started to convulse.
He was having a seizure, Donnie realized, because he was overheating. He gazed intently at Dave, begging him to do something.
It was too late though, the convulsions stopped and the man lay still. Donnie searched for a pulse but found none.
"We don't have time for this," Kenzi snapped impatiently.
"You killed him!" Donnie shouted but another man burst in through the iced over door, cracking through Donnie's work.
"What's taking so long?" he growled.
He was bigger than all of them, older and strong because he had once been part of project centipede. Donnie knew his face and his name, Legs because of his origins. He didn't know his real name but that didn't really seem all that important when he was glaring down on you.
"Get moving," he ordered and they all rushed to obey.
Donnie wondered what was going to happen to him once this was all over. He wondered too if, in the grand scheme of the universe, what happened to him really mattered.
/-/-/
Thanks for all the likes, follows, reviews and reads :) you are all super awesome!
The Fringe reference is 15 12 9 22 5 which spells Olive. Alternate Olivia uses it as code to hide messages in her notes when she is spying on our universe. Our Olivia discovers it because she thinks the same way as she does.
Dr. Dennis is named after Bo Dennis from Lost Girl, Kenzi's best buddy.
I am doing the dates of the flashbacks by when the episode aired, I am not sure if there was a set timeline in the show so I figured that would be easiest.
Agent Adams is named after Bryan Adams because he was playing on the radio when I wrote him haha.
I have my laptop so I am a bit type happy right now. I don't need to fight with my tablet which insists on changing Jemma to He! or Jeff all the time. Oh autocorrect what even?
David comes from Kansas City Missouri because according to marvel wiki Whirlwind does.
Also now that I'm rereading it the whole Legs the centipede soldier thing sounds kinda familiar so let me know if it has been done before.