Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fic: Loyalties (4/5)
The next few hours were filled with planning, and then Al and Hunter brought Jemma back to her place. At that point, everything had become something of a blur. She didn’t want to think about what was going to happen too closely. It would just end up with her curled up somewhere, panicking.
But now, she was walking up the ramp of the plane and into the lab. She was one of the first ones there, and while she had argued that the ideal time to take the plane would be when they were still at a skeleton crew, Coulson had disagreed. He wanted to wait long enough to see if they could take down Garrett and Ward at the same time. Jemma felt like it was an unnecessary risk, but she also recognized it’d be dangerous to leave them alive and free.
She took a deep breath as she walked into the lab, trying to calm herself down. But her smile was entirely genuine when she saw Mack sitting at the center table, his chin resting on one hand while he tapped the fingers of the other and stared at her expectantly.
“Could have at least left me something to read.”
“Mack, I’ve missed you!”
She wished she could hug him.
“Yeah, well.” He shrugged and looked down. Jemma smiled at the blush creeping up his cheeks.
She put her bag down and walked closer, hoping to gain some kind of comfort or intimacy even as she knew it was pointless. But before she could say anything else, there was a rap on the lab door. She turned quickly and tried to remain natural as she realized it was Garrett. Over his shoulder, she could see Ward carrying equipment up the ramp. It was almost time.
“Ready to go?”
“Oh, yes, sir,” Jemma replied, overly enthusiastic. She inwardly cringed; whoever thought she’d be a good fit for a secret agency had never heard her try to lie. She cleared her throat and continued on, hoping to distract Garrett from her obvious discomfort. “I had an idea about the GH formula yesterday. I think I might have solved it.”
“Fantastic. I hope so. Wheels up in 20.”
Jemma nodded rapidly, but her smile collapsed as soon as he left. Surreptitiously, she reached inside her pocket and pressed the button on the small device hiding in there. Her mental clock started ticking down. And then she faced Mack again, who was watching her suspiciously.
“Everything OK?”
“Mm-hmm,” Jemma felt a bit like a bobble head doll as she nodded again. Mack’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t say anything else.
She began to unpack her bag and organize her things, pretending it was just like any other first day back on the plane. But she couldn’t stop the creeping feeling in her stomach that she was about to die; that if anyone were to be caught in the crossfire, it would be her; that the raid would fail and she would be punished for her role in it. She couldn’t let that happen without letting Mack know how she felt.
“Mack?”
“Hmm?”
“You’re…I mean, I…you’re my best friend in the world.” That wasn’t quite what she had meant to say, but it was still the truth.
She glanced up at him and was rewarded with one of his genuine smiles. However, his suspicion was still there, and there was some concern lurking in his eyes. She continued before he could say anything else.
“More than that, really. I know saying that’s pretty pointless but…dammit. I wish - I wish I had known you before.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I wish I had joined S.H.I.E.L.D. I could have - I could have done something good with my skills instead of…this. And maybe - maybe I could have saved you.”
“Jemma, what’s going on?”
She couldn’t have answered if she wanted to. The power went out through the entire plane, and seconds later she could hear shouts and sounds of fighting. She crouched down behind the table, knowing she had done her part and her task now was just to stay alive.
“What. The hell?”
Mack crouched next to her, and Jemma turned to face him. They were so close that, if he were real, they would be sharing breath and their noses would be almost touching. In the darkness, just the two of them, the adrenaline rushing through her - it was almost enough to make her forget the danger. Mack seemed to pick up on her thoughts, and his eyes dropped to her lips, which she couldn’t help but lick in response. Her eyelids grew heavy and she rocked towards him.
“Simmons,” he murmured.
Despite the inappropriateness of the moment, Jemma had to suppress a shiver. What she wouldn’t give for him to be able to touch her, just for a few seconds.
“Simmons!”
Ward’s whisper was harsher and more urgent and much, much less sexy. Jemma jumped in surprise and smacked her head against the bottom of the table. So much for hiding. Time for plan B - play along.
She cautiously peeked above the table, trying to look as nervous and afraid as possible. Hardly an acting stretch, but she wanted to really sell it.
“Ward, what’s going on?”
“S.H.I.E.L.D.,” he replied as if that were answer enough. He walked around the table towards her and Mack stood up as well, placing himself between the two of them protectively, if a bit futilely. Jemma tried not to smile at the gesture. But Ward stopped long before he got close to her. Instead, he faced the cupboards holding all the different weapons Donnie had built.
“You OK?” he asked as he opened the cupboard and pulled out two guns.
“Yeah.”
“Good,” he gave her a quick, sort of reassuring smile as he handed one of the weapons to her, and Jemma fought an irrational feeling of guilt. “Stay that way. Someone you don’t recognize comes in here, shoot first and ask - ”
They heard the approach at the same time, and turned to see May running at them with a determined look on her face. She launched herself over the lab table, using her hand to balance as she twisted and brought her legs forward. She kicked the weapon out of Ward’s hand before he could bring it up to aim.
“Simmons, get out of here!”
The look on Ward’s face when he and May shouted the same order would have been sort of funny if Jemma weren’t so terrified. But the moment of confusion was enough to give May a momentary advantage. She rammed the heel of her palm into his face, and Ward staggered backwards. That was all of the fight Jemma allowed herself to watch.
Instead, she made for the lab door, not entirely sure what her plan was beyond getting out of any crossfire while she could. She wasn’t fast enough, however, and the bullet that shattered one of the lab doors missed her by inches. Jemma screamed and whirled around quickly. May and Ward were still brutally attacking each other but Ward had the upper hand for the moment and had managed to recover his weapon as well. He glared at Jemma as he aimed at her again.
There was a blur out of the corner of her eye and the next thing she knew, she was tackled to the floor just as Ward got off another shot. A second panel of glass broke into pieces above her head, but she was far more surprised by the weight on top of her.
“Mack?”
His hands were running all over her, feeling for injuries, as he looked at her with panicked concern.
“I’m OK, I’m OK.”
She had to say it several times before it finally registered. Mack took a deep breath and smiled, nodding reassuringly. And then he too seemed to realize the unexpected change in his abilities, looking down in wonder as he skimmed one hand back up her side.
Jemma was torn between wanting to hug him, just feel him fully for the first and perhaps the only time, and wanting to pull him down into a passionate kiss. But she didn’t have to - or get to - make that decision. On the other side of the room, May yelled in fury, there was a very loud impact followed by a gurgling, gasping noise and then…silence.
Mack and Jemma sat up quickly, looking over to see what had happened. Jemma sighed in relief when she saw May still standing and Ward unconscious on the floor. May glanced at her for a second before lifting one hand to her ear and saying something that Jemma couldn’t quite hear. But everything became clear when Coulson’s voice came over the speaker and announced S.H.I.E.L.D. had control of the plane.
The sound of surprise and confusion next to her grabbed Jemma’s attention. She looked over at Mack who was staring at May.
“It’s…the Cavalry,” he muttered. “I…Simmons, I…remember.”
And with that, he blinked out of sight.
***
Jemma sat at the table back at S.H.I.E.L.D.’s base and stared ahead, unseeing. She was exhausted and relieved, but at the same time, somewhat confused about what the future held and still feeling oddly guilty yet ultimately sort of numb and… There were so many emotions competing within her, she just shut them down, basically.
She hadn’t been able to look Ward in the eye as May forced him down the stairs that led to the cell that would be his home for the foreseeable future. Apparently Garrett hadn’t made it at all. The GH formula hadn’t been enough - or too much, Jemma wasn’t sure - and Coulson himself took Garrett out with a weapon decidedly not of this earth.
The plane was safely in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, with the remaining Hydra crew members being shipped off to other secure facilities to be held for trial. Jemma was the only one not wearing handcuffs. She couldn’t help but wonder if she deserved them, really.
She took a deep breath and exhaled it shakily.
“Hey,” Skye sat down next to her and offered her a smile. “How are you doing?”
Jemma shrugged. Skye didn’t say anything for a moment. Just having someone sit next to her in companionable silence was pretty comforting. But then Skye broke in again.
“So, I think once the dust settles, Coulson will want to talk to you about how you’ll fit in with our team. He seems to like you a lot. I’m supposed to ask you what you want for dinner, because your diet apparently seriously sucks.”
Jemma narrowed her eyes in confusion. “Huh?”
Skye laughed. “While we were taking the plane, Mack went and collected your belongings from your apartment. It won’t be safe to go back there, so you’ll have to stay here for the time being. Anyway…he told Coulson about the sriracha and beer and absolutely nothing else in your fridge, so I’m pretty sure he’ll be cooking you dinner every night from now on.”
“What?” Jemma asked, having only focused on one word in that entire, odd statement.
“Hey, don’t knock it until you try it. Coulson’s a pretty good cook.”
“Mack?” Jemma clarified.
“Oh,” Skye slapped a palm to her head and groaned. “I mean…Al.”
Jemma turned her chair so she faced Skye straight on and stared at her, waiting for more explanation. Skye sighed and shook her head.
“Alphonso Mackenzie. Goes by Mack, not Al. We just didn’t want to confuse you or make you start asking questions.”
“I’m really confused, Skye. It’s been a long day, and a very stressful last few months. Could you please just tell me the truth and fill in all these weird blanks? Either you trust me to be a part of your team or you don’t.”
Skye watched her for a second and then nodded. She glanced over her shoulder in both directions and then stood, grabbing Jemma’s hand and pulling her to her feet.
Skye led her down the hall, away from the areas of the base Jemma had already seen. They took two or three turns and went down a flight of stairs. Finally, after passing several suspiciously unmarked doors, Skye stopped outside a room with a keypad. Jemma felt a little scared, wondering what exactly she was being led to.
Skye faced her again, and reached down to take her other hand. She squeezed both of them reassuringly.
“Trust me when I say, we’re as confused as you are. We don’t know how you could be talking to him or what or where exactly he is. We don’t even know how he would have gotten the name Mack, because he’s new to the team, but I have a theory. Mack is in here more than anyone else - he keeps the life support machines running. He says he talks to him sometimes, tries to get through to him. Maybe…I mean, somehow maybe he heard him and something seeped through. I think that’s gotta be proof that we can reach him, bring him back. Maybe you have the best chance of any of us.”
“Skye,” Jemma interrupted firmly. “What are you talking about?”
Skye winced and nodded apologetically. She held up a finger to indicate Jemma should wait and then faced the door, punching in a code. The door beeped and Jemma heard a lock click open; Skye turned the knob, pushed the door open and then stepped aside.
“I’m talking about him.”
Jemma’s mouth moved but no sound came out. It felt like someone had punched her a hundred times in the stomach and she couldn’t begin to draw a breath. Almost outside of her conscious control, she moved towards him, as if her entire being was drawn to him and there was nothing or no one else in the world.
When she reached the side of the bed, she stopped, uncertain if she should touch him. He was real, and she theoretically could, but at the same time he seemed farther from her than ever.
“Mack,” she whispered, feeling tears spring to her eyes as the scientist in her took in the tubes and monitors keeping him alive.
“Fitz,” Skye said, breaking through to Jemma and reminding her there was someone else in the room.
“Pardon?” Jemma looked up at Skye.
“Leo Fitz,” Skye repeated. “That’s his name. Not Mack.”
“Fitz,” Jemma breathed out, looking down at him again. “Yes. Yes, that seems right.”
Skye walked closer and reached out to smooth the hair off Fitz’ forehead. Jemma desperately wanted to copy the move, and she couldn’t help feeling jealous that Skye could just touch him like there was nothing special about the act, like it was something she had done a million times, like she had never dreamed about how it would feel.
“What happened?” Jemma choked out.
Skye’s face darkened and she paused before answering. “Ward. He was on our team, fooled us all. He locked Fitz in a pod and dropped him into the ocean.”
Jemma gasped.
“S.H.I.E.L.D.’s former director fished him out. He must have figured out how to get a beacon going and rigged up some kind of explosion to open the pod. But he’s not a great swimmer and he was 90 feet below the surface and he didn’t have enough oxygen so… He’s been like this ever since.”
“What have you done to try and wake him up?”
Skye shrugged. “Nothing much, unfortunately. We don’t really have anyone on the team who could figure it out.”
“Well,” Jemma nodded in determination. “You do now.”