A.N. Another one…takes place after the finale. Enjoy!
XX
"Fury pulled us out of the ocean himself," Jemma says softly. She's tucked warmly and comfortably into Skye, who's propped up on her elbow, running her free hand over Jemma's body, so incredibly thankful that she's here and she's alive.
Skye is still silent, somehow sensing that Jemma needs to get all this out before it eats her alive from the inside. She'd held off on further prodding about Fitz until they'd all gone through orientation at the new safe house/secret base that Fury led them to, but she'd kept a close watch on Jemma and her half-hearted smiles, and haunted eyes.
"I woke up in a hyperbaric chamber," Jemma says softly, inching close to the warmth of Skye's body.
Skye pulls her in close, kissing her forehead and tucking the blanket tighter around them. "Like the one that saved me?"
Jemma nods against her lips. She's silent for a moment, and then there's a sniffle.
"Oh, baby," Skye whispers, and wraps both arms around Jemma's body when she feels the silent sobs shaking her thin frame.
"What if he's not the same?" Jemma sobs. "What if…"
It breaks Skye's heart, because even though Jemma saved his life, Skye knows she will shoulder all the blame if he's never the same person he was before. She holds Jemma close for several minutes as she cries for Fitz.
"Jem, you saved his life," Skye tells her softly. "He'll be grateful."
Jemma's muffled sobs calm and she looks up at Skye through teary lashes and her expression is so hopeful that makes Skye's breathing hitch in her chest. "You really think so?"
Skye hugs her close, feeling tears soak through the front of her shirt. "I was. I know he will be too."
This seems to calm Jemma enough that her body stops trembling in Skye's arms, but Skye squeezes her tightly all the same, kissing her forehead and the dark hair pressed against her cheek, whispering to her that everything is going to be okay, and finally it's enough that Jemma falls into a fitful sleep in her arms.
XX
It's the violent shudder of Jemma's body that wakes her later, and she's disoriented at once as she looks around, trying desperately to piece together what the hell is going on and where the hell she is. Jemma jerks again next to her, a low whine escaping the back of her throat, making Skye glance down, and the bruising on the side of Jemma's face causes a flood of memories to rush back to her. Garret, Ward, Hydra, Jemma and Fitz trapped at the bottom of the ocean, The Playground. Everything that she's been through over the last few weeks begins to play on a continuous loop through her mind and she heaves a heavy sigh, knowing now she'll never sleep.
She glances down at Jemma, who's face is pinched in a deep frown even in sleep and she leans over enough to press a kiss to her temple before she slides out of bed, pulls a hoodie on, and heads for the kitchen for a glass of water. The halls are dark and the floor is cold against her bare feet, and she looks around her as she makes the short trip to the kitchen, wondering how the hell she got here when it seems like only yesterday she was just a hacker living in her van. As she rounds a corner, she notices there's a light on up ahead, and propped up against the counter is Agent Tripp.
He sees her before she can turn around and gives her a tired, tentative smile. "Hey."
"Hey." She nods politely, because while she knows he's done everything in his power to help her and the team, she knows he has a little crush on her girlfriend, and while she's never been much for staking a claim to what she feels is hers, her possessive streak for Jemma runs a mile wide and she knows she'll do anything to keep her.
"You couldn't sleep either?" he asks.
Skye shrugs, pulling the fridge open for a bottle of water, and pulls out another, just so he's aware that she's not sleeping alone. "Jemma's sort of an active sleeper."
She watches the way his face reveals nothing (like a good spy), but the movement of his adam's apple gives him away, and Skye feels (just a little) bad about it, but he needs to know that Jemma is unavailable, because while the rest of the team is well aware of what their relationship has morphed into, she's not entirely sure Agent Tripp got the memo.
She turns to exit the kitchen, hoping he won't say anything else, because she promised Coulson that her relationship with Jemma wouldn't affect the team in a negative way, and the two of them have been nothing but professional when they needed to be, but she can't promise she won't hit the newest member of the team if he gets a little too close to the one thing that means something (everything) in her life.
"Hey, Skye?" Tripp calls just as she's about to round the corner.
She takes a breath and counts to five before turning to face him again. "What's up?"
He stares down into his coffee mug for a moment before meeting her eyes. "I know how much you mean to her. And it's pretty clear that you two are really close. But don't hate me for crushing on your girl, because it's sort of impossible not to once you get to know her, ya know?" He shrugs a shoulder.
She kind of can't really believe he's choosing to have this conversation at three in the morning. She takes two steps back towards him. "I know that I can't fault you for having a crush. Mine started the moment I met her, so I understand how easy it is. But you should know that she's not just my girl, she's my girlfriend. We're together." He still doesn't quite seem to get it. "In love."
His face finally flickers in recognition, and he opens his mouth to reply, but he's cut off by a scream.
"Jemma." Skye recognizes Jemma's voice immediately and drops the bottles in her hands, turning and running full-force back to the bedroom they're sharing. She pushes the door open and flips on the light to find a wild-eyed Jemma sitting straight up in bed, panting like she's been running for her life.
Skye is completely unaware of the presence behind her in the hall when she slowly crawls back into bed towards Jemma, who visibly sags with relief the moment she sees her. Jemma throws her arms around Skye, tucking her face into her neck.
"Easy, sweetie," Skye murmurs softly, running a hand down Jemma's back, where her sweat-dampened tee shirt clings to her body.
"Skye," Jemma whimpers.
"I know, baby," Skye soothes softly, squeezing her tightly. She glances over her shoulder and notices Tripp hovering sort of awkwardly in the doorway, and she catches his eye, noticing that there's a certain level of understanding there that definitely wasn't there in the kitchen a few minutes ago.
"Tripp, can you grab her a glass of water please?" she asks, once she realizes that Jemma won't be letting go of her anytime soon.
He nods and heads back towards the kitchen.
"Easy, sweetie," Skye whispers, pulling back enough to smooth Jemma's hair away from her face. "What did you dream about?"
Jemma sucks in a shaky breath and slumps a little, as if she's only now finding herself free of the invisible tendrils of the dream she'd been caught in. "Fitz blowing that damn pod up. I couldn't pull him free! He was trapped and I couldn't breathe!" Her hands twist anxiously in Skye's shirt, like if she lets go, she'll be thrust back into the deep blue hell she just escaped.
"You're safe, Jem," Skye whispers, cradling Jemma's face gently between her palms. She leans in to press a kiss to her lips. "You both are."
Jemma releases her shirt and wraps both arms around her, letting her fingers slide under the back of Skye's tee shirt, and she slumps against her body, breathing her in. They stay like that for several long moments, until Jemma's body finally stops shuddering against hers.
Tripp clears his throat from the doorway a moment later, and that's when he finally sees their closeness, and the intimacy in the way Jemma looks at Skye when they're allowed to be themselves, and not Agents, and that's when he realizes he never stood a chance with Jemma Simmons.
Skye makes her way over and pulls the door closed as she steps into the hall.
"Thanks," she tells him as she takes the glass from him. "I've got it from here."
"Yeah," he replies, sounding resigned and sort of deflated. "Take good care of her."
Skye smiles and gives him a nod, knowing on some level that this is him putting his crush to rest. "Always."
"She's lucky to have you," he says as he takes a few steps backwards.
"I'm the lucky one," Skye replies. "Believe me."
And a few hours later, after Jemma has fallen back asleep curled into her, Skye thinks about those words and how true they are. Because even with Hydra hunting them down, mysteries from other worlds constantly throwing their lives into total disarray, and friends getting hurt, she wouldn't trade any of it for a normal life, because the girl slumbering in her arms made it all worth it.