Hey guys! Sorry for not uploading yesterday, I usually do Sundays, but I woke up at midday and didn't get much done. So it's going to be Sundays/Mondays, because I'm on holiday tomorrow and won't be back until Monday. Don't worry, I'm getting my friend to upload it for me, so you'll get a chapter. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's not the best, I'll admit, but still. Leave a review if you want, and I'm open to any suggestions.
Stay cool -L x
Hunter was making his way to see Bobbi when he heard shouts erupt in the lab. Alarmed, he broke into a jog, his heart beating faster against his ribcage. He burst into the lab, only to find Skye and Fitz with their backs towards him, crouching over something on the floor.
"What's going on-" Hunter stopped when he saw that they were leaning over Jemma, "Bloody hell! Is she alive?" He ran over to them, and noticed that Skye's eyes were watery.
"She's got a pulse and she's breathing," Skye panted, "but she's freezing. We need to get her medical attention."
Fitz remained silent, staring speechless at Jemma's unmoving body. His hand gripped one of hers tightly.
"Skye, go get Coulson and the others. I'll carry Simmons, and Fitz run ahead and set everything up," Hunter ordered. He carefully put an arm under her legs, and the other under shoulders, then lifted her up. She was shockingly light, despite her usual small frame.
Skye ran out of the lab and down the corridor, where as Fitz lingered next to Jemma.
"You be careful with her," he said, and dashed off, earning an eye roll from Hunter. With Jemma in his arms, he ran after Fitz.
Coulson was going over plans with Natasha and Clint when Skye ran into the room, heaving and a sheen of sweat on her forehead.
"It's-the rock- Simmons-she's," Skye could barely string a sentence together.
"Time. Breathe, Skye," Coulson grabbed her shoulders, keeping her still.
She inhaled. "Simmons. Here. Alive."
"Oh my god," Coulson stuttered, "Where is she?"
"Medical, with Hunter and Fitz. She's breathing and has a pulse, but her body temperature is too low."
"Right," he turns to the two assassins behind him, "debriefing is over, you have the morning off."
They ran to medical, leaving behind a very confused Natasha and Clint. When they got there, Jemma was in the hyperbaric chamber.
"Is she injured?" Coulson half shouted.
"No," Fitz replied, still focused on working the settings, "but this thing has temperature control, so it's quicker if we put her in here."
Coulson ambled over, putting one hand on the glass separating him from the biochemist.
"Will she be alright?"
Bobbi was standing next to Hunter, maybe a little closer than usual. "We hope so," she folded her arms across her chest.
Fitz exhaled. "Right, her temperature is going back up. She looks a bit... um... malnourished. We'll need to put fluids in her when she's stable enough to be moved to a bed."
May came in at that point, and crossed the room to stand next to the chamber. She put the heel of her hand on her forehead, a grimace passing over her face. "She's just a kid."
Coulson put his hand on her shoulder. "But she's back. Can one of you explain what happened?"
Fitz, Skye and Hunter shared glances with each other, until Fitz audibly swallowed and recalled what had happened. "One minute she wasn't there, and the next the stone was rippling and she was lying on the floor in front of it. Hunter then came in, and he carried her here. I thought it was best to put her in the chamber because it's the safest place," he shrugged, resembling a lost puppy.
Coulson looked around at everyone, who had equally confused faces. "Well, we've got Simmons back at least. Fitz, Skye, stay here and keep her monitored. Bobbi you can help them, seeing as you're just next door. Everyone else can get back to what they were doing." With one last glance back at unconscious Jemma, he turned to leave, May on his heels. Fitz pulled up a chair and sat down, right next to the chamber.
"You don't have to stay here if you don't want to, guys," he looked up sheepishly.
Skye scoffed and mimicked Fitz's movements by pulling up a chair. "One of my best friends returned from the unknown. I'm staying right here."
Hunter and Bobbi looked at each other and shrugged, both just sitting on the ground where they'd just stood.
"Simmons has her little family watching over her," grinned Skye, tipping her head back in glee.
Bobbi and Hunter had been sent on sandwich break duty. It was now midday, and no one could ignore the rumbling of tummies. The excitement had left everyone feeling rather drained.
Bobbi looked through the cupboards for anything to put on a sandwich. After an unlucky rummage, she signed. "Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches it is then. We could almost be back in kindergarten!"
Hunter turned towards her, shaking his head. "It's jam and nursery."
"Whatever, Prince Charles."
The two made a stack of sandwiches in relative silence, only pausing occasionally for a little bit of banter. Once a mighty pile of pb&js had been made, they brought it in to Skye and Fitz, who hadn't moved an inch. But their faces lit up as if it was Christmas, and they ate while chatting. The mood had lightened considerable once they all had full stomachs, and everything seemed relatively normal until you registered that Simmons was in a hyperbaric chamber unconscious.
Fitz stood up, brushing his hands on his trousers and letting the crumbs fall to his feet.
"Her temperature has been stable for a while now. I think it's safe to move her. She has no obvious injuries or things that should be concerning," he places a hand over the glass, "I'll run some tests once she's out. You know, blood and DNA tests."
Fitz opened the chamber, and Hunter came to carry her to a hospital bed. Once she was settled- Skye had insisted that they made her as comfortable as possible- and hooked up to an IV unit, Fitz brought out the equipment to run the tests.
Bobbi chewed her lip. "So, she's stable now?"
"We think," the Scot mumbled.
"Okay, I'm going to go to the training rooms. But we take turns watching her, alright?"
After a series of nods, and Hunter saying he'll accompany her, she left. Skye and Fitz worked in silence for a while, until Skye stopped to look at Jemma.
"She doesn't look different, does she?"
He shook his head. "She looks the exact same as she did when she disappeared. Same clothes and everything," he drew some blood from her, wincing a little as he did so, "I'll take these to the lab."
Skye gave him a weak, but hopeful, smile. "I'll take the first watch."
Just as he started to leave, Skye spoke up. "She couldn't have done it without you. Remember that, okay?"
He nodded.
Natasha didn't know Jemma.
She knew she was British and a brilliant scientist, but other than that? Not much.
However, the compulsion to visit the younger woman was eating away at her. It's the least she could do, after all.
Which is how she found herself sitting opposite Skye, an unconscious Jemma between them. They chatted softly, as if Jemma was asleep and they didn't want to wake her. Skye told Natasha all about Simmons- quirks, habits, memories.
"She gets along with pretty much everyone so long as they're decent people," Skye disclosed, "but she's protective over the people she loves. Although, it's not always obvious when she's being protective and it comes across as something entirely different sometimes. I think she just wants to do her best though, like everyone."
Natasha nodded thoughtfully. "She seems like a trustworthy person. You don't get many of those in this business."
"Oh, I could trust Simmons with my life- so long as I let her do secret scientific experiments."
The red head pursued her lips, her fingers slightly tapping the arm of the chair. It was a classic spy look, one that showed no emotion and didn't provoke anything. "She sounds like Clint, to be honest. I've known him for years, and he's always wanted to do what's best, even if it's sacrificing himself to save a load of people. Thinking about that, I think Rogers did that once too."
Skye's eyes lit up. "Simmons jumped out of the bus without a parachute on when she was infected with a Chitauri virus. They thought they couldn't find an anti-serum, but one of them started to work just as she jumped. Ward parachuted out after her, actually."
"Well, from what I've heard about her, she could easily be an Avenger. Her field skills may need to be brushed upon though."
Before Skye could reply, Fitz walked in with worry etched on his face. His hands, holding a tablet tightly, shook slightly, and he looked like he was trying his best to keep calm.
"Um, Skye, can I talk to you outside for a bit?" His voice trembled.
Natasha stood up, her red curls bouncing. "Don't worry, I'll go and find Bobbi," with a quick smile towards the two, she left.
Fitz exhaled loudly, and handed the tablet to Skye. The tablet showed a normal DNA strand, then next to it, one of her own DNA strands.
"Fitz," she handed him back the tablet, "why are you showing me my own DNA?"
He shoved it into her hands again. "Skye, that's not yours."
She looked at the screen, then at Jemma.
"It's hers."
"So, what you're saying is that Simmons now has Skye's DNA?" Coulson asked incredulously.
Fitz grumbled frustratingly. "No, Simmons has DNA like Skye. As in inhuman."
"Lincoln may be the best person to go to right now, I can go and ask him?" Skye input.
"Thank you, Skye. Fitz, we can't do anything until she wakes up. So, for now, we wait until then before making any plans," the older man rubbed his hand over the shadow on his jaw. It was going to be a long few days.
No one was surprised when Hunter came sprinting in, not at all out of breath. Everyone seems to be running everywhere these days.
"Sleeping beauty's awake," he announced.
The tablet hit the floor with a loud crash and Fitz was out the door before anyone could even register what Hunter had said.
Jemma woke with a pounding headache and a feeling that her body weighed a thousand tons. She expected to wake up to blindingly bright lights, but was pleasantly surprised when the lighting was dimmed. Still, it didn't stop the shouting that ringed in her ears.
Turning her head to the side, her eyes met with a blonde woman's. It took her a few moments to realise it was Bobbi.
"Bobbi?"
She smiled and gently pushed Jemma's hair away from her forehead. "Hey, Simmons. You're home."
Jemma propped herself up on her elbows, her arms shaking a little. "Why is everyone shouting?" She spoke in a quiet voice, everything coming out as a murmur.
"No one's shouting, it's silent apart from us two."
Blinking groggily, she looked around. "Home?"
"Yeah, home."
"Then where's Fitz?"
A small smile spread across Bobbi's face. Of course she'd ask that. "Hunter's gone to get him, don't worry."
"Are you sure no one's shouting?" She could definitively hear shouts in her ears.
"Positive. Why?"
"I can hear people shouting. Like, six or seven people at once, it's making my head hurt."
Bobbi's eyebrows knitted in concern. What was Jemma hearing that she wasn't? Her concern for the other woman spiked, and her head filled with questions.
"Jemma," Fitz breathed, slightly out of breath and very taken aback at the sight before him. He stood in the doorway, one hand on the doorframe and the other on the back of his head.
"Fitz," a smile tugged on her lips, and she pushed her aching body into an upright position, ignoring the way her muscles screamed in protest. It felt like he had crossed the space between them in a matter of seconds, and had enveloped her in a bear hug. She had immediately responded, only to find that a shiver went down her spine, accompanied with a warmth slowly spread from her gut and her vision blurring like someone had smeared vaseline over her eyes.
She felt firm hands on each side of her face, and some distance voices, but apart from that it was all blur and emotions.
Relief.
Relief.
Relief.
The word repeated in her head as if it was telling her something. It's just that the word went as quickly as it came, and before she could begin to comprehend what had happened her eyesight came back and she was staring at Fitz.
"Jemma, what's wrong?"
Bobbi had left the room, so it was just the two of them.
"N-nothing, I'm fine," she rolled her eyes, "well, you know, I hurt all over and I feel exhausted, but I'm fine."
His thumb gently brushed across her cheek bone, and a lump formed in her throat. "You don't have to talk about it, okay? Don't let Coulson or May or anyone push you into talking about it if you don't want to," he stumbled over his words a bit, but nothing brought her more comfort than to hear is soft voice.
She doesn't really remember leaning in, however she was sure it was her who made the first move. There was something in the way that his mouth molded into hers, something that made her feel foreign emotions. It was rare for her to feel everything and nothing at once. And while it was confusing and scary and new, she wasn't really surprised that she was feeling that way.
Jemma pulled away, after what felt like an eternity, but was only a few seconds. Her face was still close to Fitz; it was close enough for his breath to stir her hair and for his heartbeat to be visible at his throat.
"We still need to go on that date," she said, simply.
"Yeah, we do."