Hey guys! I'm the friend who is uploading today and I don't really know how this works so I apologise profusely if I get anything wrong. I have read this and edited it and everything and I really enjoyed it so I hope that you do too. Also, if you think that this has been edited better than the other chapters tell Libby because it means I read everything in advance and that would be fab. Have a great day and enjoy your new chapter!
- L/G x
Jemma was a few days into her hospital bed rest, which had its ups and downs. She got to catch up on her favourite programmes and watch a lot of movies, but she did miss her lab and being able to walk around the facility.
At least you're not in quarantine, she told herself. At least you get to see your friends.
Another perk of being in bed 24/7 was that Fitz came to see her a lot. Half of his waking hours would usually be spent in her hospital room, and no one had the heart to tell him otherwise because he hadn't been this happy since before the bottom of the ocean.
The day after she had woken up, Fitz came in armed with a laptop and a bowl of popcorn. He was a little nervous, but he managed to push his anxiety to the side.
"Hey, Jem. I thought- um- maybe we could watch Doctor Who today? We haven't really done it in a while, and I guess I kinda miss it. We don't have to though."
She smiled brightly and pushed herself up into a sitting position, shuffling over to one side of the bed. "No, no, I'd love to. It's been too long. And I see you brought snacks."
He opened the laptop screen and began typing away. "Well, you shouldn't really be eating solids until you're fully stable. But it's just popped corn kernels, so where's the harm in that? Anyway, it's nice to break the rules once in a while." The excited grin that appeared on his face made Jemma laugh- only he'd get excited about breaking a little rule like that.
Once he'd gotten Doctor Who up, he eyed the space she'd made and raised an eyebrow, looking at her then back at the empty spot, silently asking for permission. In response, she nodded slightly and a small smile appeared on her face. She looked completely normal, but Fitz knew that something inside of her was different. If only she exhibited any slight change, maybe Fitz would have something to work with.
Before he started the programme, he turned to Jemma. "So, you're alright? No abnormal changes or-"
"I'm fine, honestly," she said. "I don't feel any different."
"Okay, that's good." After earning a look from her, he added, "No, really, that's good. Remember, don't go answering any questions until you're ready. Don't let anyone-"
She sighed in exasperation. "Don't let anyone pressure me into talking about something that I'm not comfortable with yet. Yes, Fitz, I know." She bit her lip nervously. "But I don't have anything to talk about; I don't remember anything. Nothing at all."
"Really?"
"Really," Jemma confirmed, "I remember being in a room with you and the stone, then I remember waking up in this bed. It's like when you're little, and you fall asleep on the couch and magically wake up in bed the next morning."
"Oh," he spoke quietly, his eyes staring off into the distance. After a moment or two, he seemed to snap out of his daze. "Well, are we going to watch the greatest show on Earth or what?"
Skye woke at around one in the morning, an irrational feeling of fear hanging over her like a storm cloud. She was in her room, at the playground, and there was nothing to he scared of.
Right?
She pushed her comforter off her legs, noticing how her skin felt feverish. Strands of her now short hair stuck to her temples with sweat. Her body tingled all over, and she could hear a buzzing in her ear.
What was going on?
Skye swung her legs out of bed, and before she even knew it she was heading towards Coulson's office.
Unsurprisingly, he was awake, at his desk with a steaming cup of coffee in front of him. His tie was off, and the top buttons of his shirt undone.
"Skye, what's-"
"Is it just me or do you feel completely and utterly terrified?"
Coulson regarded her with a confused look, almost like he understood yet hadn't quite put his finger on what she meant. "No, but now you say that I do feel kinda on edge."
Concern etched itself on the young girl's face. "We need to wake the others. Something's wrong."
Fitz was already awake, having woken up from a strange dream he'd been having. May was awake also, silently sitting in the cockpit of the bus. Bobbi had snuck into Hunter's room, which didn't shock Skye all that much, but made her raise an eyebrow at the pair, and Mack, Lincoln, Clint and Natasha were in their respective rooms.
Once all gathered, Skye discovered that she and Coulson weren't the only ones feeling like something was wrong. Well, apart from their resident assassins.
"So you feel, just, normal?" Coulson asked.
They shrugged. "No different from how we'd normally feel after being woken up at half one in the morning."
"Sorry about that," Skye apologised.
However, while everyone else felt only slightly distressed, Skye and Fitz were the ones who'd woken up in full alarm.
Fitz clicked his fingers. "We're missing someone. Jemma. We're missing Jemma."
"Wait," Coulson stopped him before he could leave, "Skye, Lincoln, go with him." He sent a quick, knowing look to the three, and they all knew what he meant by it.
"Does he think it's Jemma that's doing this?" Skye asked, once they were out of earshot.
"It's not a long shot," replied Lincoln, "we don't know what her abilities are, and I had speculated that she was inhuman- the rock only reacts to our kind."
Jemma looked no different, asleep in her hospital bed, honey brown hair fanned across the pillow under her head. It was only when they got closer did they realise that her skin was damp and there were silent tears running from the corners of her eyes.
"It's her," Lincoln said confidently, "she's doing it."
Fitz, seemingly ignoring Lincoln, pushed the door open to Jemma's room. The noise disturbed her, and her eyes blinked open.
"What's going on?"
Fitz forced a smile onto his face, feeling the muscles in his body relax and the fear washing away. A look back to Skye confirmed that she no longer felt it either.
"Nothing, everything's fine, Jem. Are you alright?"
She wiped the back of her hand across her eyes. "It was- okay, it was just a bad dream."
Skye came over next to the other girl, resting a hand on her shoulder. "You wanna talk about it or...?"
She shook her head. "No, no, I'll tell you about it."
Lincoln sat at the end of the bed, and Fitz and Skye sat either side of Jemma. The Brit looked around for confirmation to start, and after a round of nods, she began.
"I'm awake, on a table, and everything is white. The floors, the walls, the sheets. Everything. And it's bright, enough to make you squint.
There are IVs attached to me, some of them carrying clear liquid, others blue. The scientist in me kicked in, and I tried to read the labels to see what chemicals they were, but I couldn't read the language. It wasn't even letters, just symbols. I panicked, and something started to beep. Then a man comes in and says-"
"'You're ready for the change now'," Fitz quotes, his eyes meeting Jemma's, mouth open slightly.
She regards him with a bewildered look. "Yes, but how did you...?"
"I had the same dream."
Skye looked at Lincoln, who looked like he'd had an idea for a while.
Lincoln cautiously made his way to stand next to Jemma, his hand outstretched. "Simmons, I want you to hold my hand, and think of a really good memory. The best you have. Focus on that memory and the feel of my hand, okay? Close your eyes if it helps, and we all keep quiet."
She took his hand in hers and closed her eyes, searching her mind to find a good memory. She smiled as she thought of one, but only did Fitz and Skye see that as she smiled, so did Lincoln.
They broke hands, and Jemma looked towards Lincoln, searching for answers.
Lincoln, however, raised an eyebrow at the other two in the room. "You didn't tell her in the first place, did you?"
Fitz inhaled sharply, and a guilty look passed over Skye's face.
"Tell me what?" Jemma demanded.
"Well," Fitz nervously wrung his hands together, "when you came out of the rock, we ran a few mandatory tests on you...one of those being a DNA test. It came back... Not quite the same as it was before. As in... Well... You're like Skye, like Lincoln."
"Inhuman?"
He nodded slowly, biting his lower lip nervously. Skye's eyes flicked between the other three, apprehensive about how Jemma would take it.
After perhaps the longest few seconds of their lives, Jemma finally nods. "Okay."
Skye let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding, Fitz ran a hand through his hair and Lincoln simply smiled.
"So if I'm Inhuman, what bloody thing do I do then?"
Lincoln perched on the edge of her bed, suddenly going into doctor mode. "You seem to have something like emotional manipulation. So far you can make people feel what you're feeling, but there's a strong chance that, with training, you can do a lot more than that."
Skye shifted in her seat, excitement coursing through her veins. "Maybe it depends on how close you are to someone. I mean, out of everyone here, you're closest to Fitz and me. Explains why Fitz saw your dream too, and why I woke up in a panic. Everyone else just felt on edge, and Clint and Natasha didn't even feel anything because they don't know you."
Fitz gasped. "Skye, you're a genius!"
Jemma held up a hand, lips pursed, eyes focused. "Wait a minute, am I hearing wrong, or did you just say Clint and Natasha, as in Hawkeye and Black Widow?"
Skye waved her hand dismissively. "Oh yeah, we have Avengers here. No biggie. Natasha came to visit you while you were unconscious, actually, but Coulson's kept them so busy neither of them have had the chance to see you since you've woken up."
"Bloody hell. We have Avengers here!"
Fitz shook his head, but his grin was still visible. "Back to the point," he pushed on, "Coulson is the only other one who knows apart from us, but I guess we should tell the others as well."
"Yeah, they'll be pissed if we leave them out," Skye added.
All of a sudden, Jemma felt extraordinarily tired. She yawned and felt her eyes drooping.
Fitz noticed this and gestured for the two others to leave. Although Skye raised an eyebrow, they both left.
Quickly, as to not raise suspicion, he softly dropped a kiss on Jemma's forehead, and closed the door behind him.
Needless to say, she fell asleep with a smile on her face.