Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last chapter. You are all lovely.

As alluded to last time, this was the first chapter I wrote entirely post-surgery and Wakanda Forever. This is also the first chapter I wrote after my mother's passing. I came into this and the previous chapter with a completely different mindset than when I wrote conversation 68. I am very grateful that I did the rewrites for that chapter before I lost her.

However, we still have to tell Daisy that she lost her mom, the non-horrible one. I am regretting previous writing decisions right now.

As mentioned in the last chapter, I took a two-month break before I even approached the rewrites of this chapter. This was the best thing for my mental health. I'm also going to write a batch of Star Trek chapters before I even get near the Daisy finds out about May chapter. ( July 2023 update: I ended up writing 16 chapters before coming back to this story.)

This chapter reads like most of my text messages from the second week of December 2022.

Conversation 69: Nausea and avoidance

Mr. Leopold: Hey, sorry it took me so long to respond. I was talking to the hubby. They are in range again. Your brother-in-law says hi.

Fitz-Simmons I: Tell him hi back for me. How is he?

Mr. Leopold: A nauseous guilt-ridden mess. I hate being so far away from him right now. This proves we're perfect for each other because I feel that way too. I threw up on Bobbi's shoes. I'm going to need Mary's help getting replacements.

Fitz-Simmons I: I've heard. I did the same thing to Mary this morning.

Fitz-Simmons I: I did it again to Tony after I found out. It stopped the punching.

Mr. Leopold: It makes absolute sense that our default response to extreme drama is vomiting.

Mr. Leopold: Obviously, no one is okay. The hubby is just trying to concentrate on the mission. I think he'll crash once we're not dealing with the purple monster.

Fitz-Simmons I: That makes sense. I know he's probably blaming himself. It's a very Fitz thing to do.

Mr. Leopold: He feels like he's disposable and should've been the one thrown off the cliff.

Fitz-Simmons I: You can't stop May. Not when she wants to do something.

Mr. Leopold: Not without knocking her unconscious first. Remember when my Fitz kept her away from the Dark Hold?

Fitz-Simmons I: Yes. Fitz is the same way. Both of them.

Mr. Leopold: The same. Which is obviously why she opted to knock him out.

Fitz-Simmons I: She was getting him back.

Mr. Leopold: Probably.

Mr. Leopold: Are you going to be OK?

Fitz-Simmons I: I don't know yet. I just want to be there for Coulson right now. I'll crash later. It just hurts to realize that May won't meet her namesake.

Mr. Leopold: I thought you were going with a star name.

Fitz-Simmons I: Constellation, and we might still go with that name for the first name, but the middle name will be May, regardless.

Mr. Leopold: You know you could be pregnant with a boy?

Fitz-Simmons I: In the other timeline, I had a girl.

Mr. Leopold: In the timeline Grant Roth came from, Peggy Carter's baby brother had a son instead of a daughter.

Mr. Leopold: But we somehow still ended up with a Sharon Carter.

Fitz-Simmons I: I think there are some constants to the multi-verse.

Mr. Leopold: But the gender of your child may not be one of them.

Fitz-Simmons I: May also makes a great middle name for a boy.

Mr. Leopold: Hunter May Fitz-Simmons doesn't sound horrible.

Fitz-Simmons I: I'm not naming my child after you.

Mr. Leopold: Fine, we'll go with Hunter May Leopold.

Fitz-Simmons I: ? I thought you didn't want kids.

Mr. Leopold: I did not want them with Bobbi. Leo is different. I don't know if we'll go with adoption or surrogacy.

Fitz-Simmons I: Or Wanda-enhanced robot.

Mr. Leopold: That's not on the table. Let's not bring any more Afias into the world. One is all we can take. Our child will be dangerous enough if Leo's DNA is involved.

Fitz-Simmons I: or mine.

Mr. Leopold: My future niece or nephew will be dangerous with your DNA involved too.

Fitz-Simmons I: Or your child.

Mr. Leopold:?

Fitz-Simmons I: The husband and I discussed it a while ago. If you and Leo ever finally decided you wanted kids, we agreed I could be an egg donor. However, my uterus is closed. I think I will have only one pregnancy, and then they can play with their cousins.

Mr. Leopold: Who may genetically be siblings?

Fitz-Simmons I: Yes.

Mr. Leopold: How did we get on this topic?

Fitz-Simmons I: Neither one of us wants to talk about May dying. Because if we stay on topic, I will have to ask you how you feel.

Mr. Leopold: I know. I feel horrible. I hate that I have to put on a suit and pretend I didn't lose a close friend while I suck up to Silicon Valley representatives so that they'll provide more funding. The Princess's family can't fund everything because there are rules about how much a American nonprofit can take from a foreign country.

Fitz-Simmons I: I also feel horrible. Coulson is crying on me right now. Steve is with Tony. I just fixed Coulson's hand, but I don't know how to fix him.

Mr. Leopold: Because you can't fix this. This isn't a fixable situation.

Fitz-Simmons I: Fitz went to pack his bag because Coulson can't even go into their apartment right now. I will have to get him on a plane soon, and I'm unsure how to do that. I'm trying to convince him to go with me to Malta, but he wants to stay here and get the president to stop being an idiot. I'm exhausted.

Mr. Leopold: Obviously, it's worse for you. Yo-Yo sent me pictures. I am surprised he used the other hand.

Fitz-Simmons I: I am not. He wants to feel the physical pain right now. It's easier than the emotional pain. Everything hurts right now.

Mr. Leopold: I have some good news. We heard from Daisy. We have her Asgard report. I am sending it to you and the boss now.

Fitz-Simmons I: Could you read it first? I can't deal with more bad news.

Mr. Leopold: Bobbi was reading it while I was talking to you. She says it is safe. Natasha received supplemental letters that Ana won't share. I'll have to ask the husband about that. :-(

Fitz-Simmons I: I'll start reading it as soon as we're done.

Fitz-Simmons I: Does Daisy know?

Mr. Leopold: No. Leo asked for my recommendation regarding if we should tell her. He's not sure how to do this because this is going to hurt her so much.

Fitz-Simmons I: She needs to know, but not in a text message.

Mr. Leopold: Tony considered recalling her. Joey, Bobbi, and Yo-Yo volunteered to go up there in her place. But it wasn't the right time with the pending battle.

Fitz-Simmons I: Now that that's over it's an option and a good one.

Mr. Leopold: Do you really think she will leave the mission if it's an option? Leo is considering sending Natasha to tell her and let her decide if she wants to return.

Fitz-Simmons I: Coulson is reading this over my shoulder. He votes to send Natasha. He was already suspicious because it was apparent we were not saying things to the other timeline. Someone will slip up. Possibly Ana, and that would be the worst way for her to find out.

Mr. Leopold: You're right. I'll let Leo know.

Mr. Leopold: I'm afraid to ask how Phil is doing, considering he messed up his hand and has been crying on you and several other people. Yo-Yo says he is furious, which is obvious with him punching the boss.

Fitz-Simmons I: Yes, he is furious, but mostly at himself for not being with her, so he could've been the one to jump.

Mr. Leopold: I don't know if that would have changed things. Knowing May, she would've just knocked him out first.

Fitz-Simmons I: Probably.

Mr. Leopold: You take care of him, and I will take care of your husband.

Fitz-Simmons I: Make sure he eats and doesn't spend the entire time in the lab. That's how he processes things.

Mr. Leopold: I'll remember to bake some cookies since my other method of bribing a Fitz out of the lab cannot be used.

Fitz-Simmons I: You're going to need a lot of your cookies. Now that he's done packing, he is already reviewing the additional notes from the other timeline. He'd rather do that than have a conversation about what happened before he gets on a plane in 30 minutes.

Mr. Leopold: Of course he is. Try emailing him once you are in Malta. I know Leo's better at communicating with me in writing. Maybe that will work for you too.

Mr. Leopold: You are going to Malta? Did you successfully convince Coulson it's a bad idea to stay in DC?

Fitz-Simmons I: Clint just talked him into it. They've been talking for the last few minutes on the phone.

Mr. Leopold: I'm glad. Be safe in Malta.

Fitz-Simmons I: We will.

To be continued