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Chapter Text

Jemma held back a scream as the man plunged the knife into her abdomen. This wasn’t supposed to happen. It had been a routine mission, simple intelligence gathering. She was to flip through the paper manila folders and pull out all the ones from Whitehall’s experiments, but then the doors slammed shut behind her. She heard them lock and the alarms start to blare. She was isolated from her teammates when the soldiers flooded the room and knocked her out. They had brought her here. Jemma had no idea where here was, however.

She had no idea how long it had been. A week, maybe? She knew her team was looking, the singular thought that kept her going. The men wanted answers about Hydra. Who she was and who she worked for, but she could not disclose that SHIELD was still alive and well. So, she kept quiet. She took the torture in the way that May had taught her; she did her best to stay calm. She knew higher emotions would lead to a spiking blood pressure and no doubt bleeding out faster. She had been cut, beaten, hit, and more in the past week. She wasn’t sure how much longer she would last.

Jemma took a moment, tuning out the screaming man, to catalogue her injuries. She was pretty sure she had at least three broken ribs. A concussion, a broken wrist, and probably at least a bad ankle sprain. She decided to not think too much about the various cuts and contusions covering every inch of her body. She knew most would need stitches, but couldn’t bring herself to identify which.

Awhile later, the men finally left her alone. She was left tied to a metal chair in a pitch black room. Jemma had never been scared of the dark, even as a child. Instead, she was scared of the possibilities that lurked in it. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes, trying to breathe through the pain. Her moment of respite was cut short by incessant coughing. Her body shook forcefully as she expelled what felt like glue from her lungs. She couldn’t see, but she knew it was probably a blood clot. It wasn’t looking good. She knew she wasn’t supposed to, but Jemma closed her eyes and let the darkness take her away from a world of pain.

Chapter Text

No one on the team had slept in days. Daisy was on her fourth cup of coffee. Fitz had downed his sixth of tea. Even May had had a few shots of espresso. Yet, they still had no leads and no clues as to where their biochemist was or who had taken her.

Fitz slammed his fist down on the table and yelled out on frustration. Another dead end. As time ticked by, they all tried not to think about what had happened to Jemma already. They couldn’t even stomach the possibility that she was already dead. No one had the heart to say it out loud.

“We’re never gonna find her if we’re all exhausted. We should get some sleep. We all think better when we’re well rested,” Mack spoke up.

His statement was met with glares from all around.

“Mack’s right,” Bobbi added with a sigh. “We can take shifts. If any of the facial recognition softwares find her, we’ll be in a better place and more able to respond quickly.”

Fitz didn’t look up from his computer. Daisy wiped away a tear. Coulson sighed, realizing he was going to have to be the one to address it.

“Bobbi, Hunter, Mack, and I will go down now. In six hours, May, Fitz, and Daisy will go get some rest. Am I clear?”

He was met with mumbled “yes sirs” and “fine.” As much as they all wanted to find Jemma, they knew they wouldn’t be of much help to her if they were all exhausted and worn out themselves.

Albeit reluctantly, the first shift of agents headed down to their bunks. Nobody had a restful sleep, of course. Fitz, Daisy, and May found more dead ends while they slept. The lack of progress was more than just frustrating.

Six hours later, the groups switched. Mack and Bobbi had been right that sleep and a break would allow them all to approach the situation with fresh eyes, but even fresh eyes didn’t seem to be able to uncover where Jemma was being kept, or by who.

Bobbi sighed as she closed the laptop, discounting another abandoned Hydra base as a potential location.

“Hang in there, Simmons,” Bobbi mumbled to herself as she pulled up more files from the hard drive.

Chapter Text

Wanda yawned. It was five AM and she was supposed to go for a run with Natasha. She wasn’t excited in the slightest but didn’t complain. She knew she wouldn’t be able to keep up, but at least she would get it over with.

By 5:15, Wanda was in the kitchen eating a banana. They were supposed to run five miles around the compound and she didn’t want to pass out again. Natasha popped her head into the kitchen, clad in black workout leggings and a t-shirt.

“We have a mission. Meet in the conference room in five.”

Wanda let herself smile for a moment at getting to miss the run, but quickly sobered up and headed towards the elevator. She knew Natasha would make her do it later, and would probably make her run an extra mile if she knew Wanda was happy to miss it.

When she walked in, Steve, Bruce, and Nat were already there gathered around the table and scouring over what appeared to be maps. Steve looked up and offered her a smile. It was apparent that Bruce hadn’t gone to bed yet. He still had on his lab coat and button down shirt and was nursing a cup of coffee. Natasha smirked at her.

“Bet you’re glad we’re not out running right now, huh?”

Wanda blushed and nodded. Steve snorted and shook his head. At least she never had to run with Steve. If Sam couldn’t keep up with Steve, she knew she had no chance.

Tony walked in, yawning broadly. He was clad in iron man pajama pants and a stained t-shirt. He crossed his arms gruffly and tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes. He took Bruce’s coffee and took a long sip before collapsing into a chair along the wall. Bruce was so busy looking over the maps that he didn’t even notice. Wanda saw Natasha shake her head at their antics.

Clint and Sam were the last ones in. They were both sweaty and huffing, having just come from a sparring session.

“This better be good, capsicle,” Tony bit out before huffing out another yawn.

Natasha rolled her eyes and Steve shot Tony a glare.

“I think we found a Hydra base that’s being used again. It’s been abandoned for the last 50 years, but the heat was recently turned back on.”

Bruce swiped through the holotable while Steve continued to talk. (The man could still barely work his cell phone. The holotable was far beyond his capabilities.)

The plan was to infiltrate the base with guns ablazing. The heat signatures for the base, located in northern Russia, only showed about 20 people. They had no idea how many were armed. A surprise attack would do best, meaning early morning. They would take the quinjet and land a few miles away and go from there.

Steve called for the Avengers to suit up and meet at the loading dock ready for mission. The flight to Russia would take about 12 hours for the quinjet. They would use that time to finalize and perfect the plan as well as continue to gather intel as to why a base gone dark could be back in use after half a century.

Everyone suited up and were on the loading dock by 6. Bleary eyed, the Avengers took their seats as Natasha set course for Russia. They had a mission to complete.

Chapter Text

They had come in the dark room and dropped off another sandwich on a metal tray. Jemma didn’t dare eat what they gave her. She knew she could go without food for about three weeks, and her time spent on Maveth had trained her for longer.

Before she left to go undercover for Hydra, Coulson and May had taken the time to go over basic combat training skills with her. Coulson went over how to escape, whereas May went over how to attack using the resources present. Jemma refused to eat the sandwich, probably laced with tranquilizers or some other chemicals. The tray, however, was a good weapon.

They had finally released her bonds when the food came in. Her body was limp on the floor, laying in a pool of her own blood. Nevertheless, she persisted. Jemma stood on shaky legs and grabbed the tray with a white-knuckled grip. Then, she felt her way to the door and waited for her victim to step into the room.

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The second the door opened, Jemma slammed the metal tray against the man’s face as hard as she could. He fell backwards and landed on the floor. The tray clattered to the ground from Jemma’s shaky hands. She peeked into the hallway, looking for backup. However, there didn’t seem to be any. So, Jemma made a run for it. She sprinted down the twisted hallways, as fast as her damaged body would allow her to. Pain shot up her leg from her ankle, but she did her best to ignore it. Searing pain had her seeing black spots in her vision, but Jemma couldn’t stop now. She continued down the hallways until the alarms started to blare. Jemma looked around wildly until her eyes fell on a door. She opened it and quickly slipped inside. A broom closet, she discovered. It would have to do.

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The Avengers touched down as the sun began to set. Their plan was solidified. Steve and Wanda were a pair and would sweep the second floor. Natasha and Clint took the ground level floor. Sam and Tony would take the basement. Bruce would stay onboard the quinjet to monitor for any changes and announce if backup showed up.

Pairs seemed best since the situation seemed too good to be true. The Avengers never had bases this empty. They felt that there was more to the base than what they were seeing. Gideon Malick was a smart businessman; he wasn’t stupid enough to leave a base so open to attacks.

After they landed, the group trekked their way to the base. They hid in the bushes, checking for reinforcements or even protection. But no one seemed to be guarding the base.

“Bruce? Are you seeing this? Where is everyone?” Clint hissed. It was never this easy.

“I see what you all see. Maybe this isn’t Hydra. They’re beyond ill prepared.” Bruce sounded hesitant, yet hopeful.

Steve motioned for them all to move in, and they advanced to the front door. They all moved back as Tony pointed and shot at the main door. He slammed it open and the Avengers advanced.

These were no Hydra soldiers. The Avengers easily took down the 10 men in the main room. They all had non-military grade weapons and clearly had little to no combat training. Maybe this would be easier than they had all expected. What were these men here for, then? There had been no evidence of a lab of sorts on the building scans. Maybe not what, but who. The group split off into their pairs after checking the coms were working.

Sam and Tony found that the basement was essentially empty. There were no people, no soldiers. They flipped through the filing cabinets that were covered in spider webs and dust. No one had been down here in a long, long time. Whoever had inhabited the building clearly wasn’t there for intel or old files.

“Basement’s clear,” Sam announced on the coms. “Coming up.”

Natasha and Clint easily fought their way through the rest of the first floor. Everyone seemed as ill-prepared for battle as the men defending the front doors had been. They finally came across a locked office door and looked at each other. They could hear people yelling on the other side of the door. The pair made eye contact and Natasha rolled her eyes. Clint blew out the lock with an exploding arrow and the two stormed the room.

Another five men were guarding a lanky young man with dirty blonde hair. Natasha easily incapacitated the guards while Clint approached the other guy.

It didn’t take long for Natasha and Clint to scare the kid into giving up information. Werner von Strucker, son of Baron von Strucker, late head of Hydra. Clint and Natasha shared a look. So maybe this was Hydra. It was pathetic, really. A group of unprepared men led by an even more unprepared kid high on emotions. Clint knocked him out and let Bruce know that they had a Hydra member to bring back.

Steve and Wanda found that their floor had the most people. Guards were lining the hallways with semi-automatic weapons. Red alarms were blaring. Clearly, the Avengers hadn’t been the ones to set off the alarm. So what had?

Steve and Wanda easily made their way through the soldiers. They didn’t know what they were looking for, but they figured they’d know when they saw it. Their teammates had all came up empty handed, so they figured whatever they had been protecting must be on the second floor.

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Jemma heard commotion kick up in the hallways. Clearly, someone else was in the base. She didn’t feel Daisy’s quakes so it couldn’t be her team. Plus, they’d never be this messy. Chaos wasn’t exactly Coulson’s style.

Now or never, she thought to herself. On a whim, Jemma threw open the door of the closet and darted out. She had no idea where she was going, just knew that she needed to get away.

As Jemma rounded the corner, she saw a blast of red energy take down a soldier and her heart missed a beat. She was dead for sure. She turned to run again but saw that there were more soldiers coming from the other end of the hallway. She was trapped. Her head was spinning and searing pain ran through every inch of her body.

A round piece of metal flew down the hallway and took out three of the soldiers. I know that shield, Jemma thought to herself. She spun around and put her hands up and found herself face to face with none other than the Scarlet Witch and Captain America.

They stared at her and the only sound was Jemma’s labored breathing. She took a moment, panicking, wondering why they were staring at her. Then it hit her. I’m covered in blood and probably look like a bloody maniac.

Wanda’s accented voice cut through the hallway as she and Steve continued to look Jemma over.

“Who are you? And who are these people?

Jemma opened then closed her mouth. She had no idea who had taken her. She didn’t know where she was. She wasn’t even sure how long she had been here. She didn’t know if she could disclose that she worked for SHIELD while in the building. These people had worked so hard to get her to admit that and Jemma wasn’t about to just give up that information.

Thankfully, Steve took pity on her. Wanda shot another blast of energy over Jemma’s shoulder and the man fell to the ground.

“We can get you out of here, ma’am. Come with us.”

Steve left no room for debate. Jemma went to run and stumbled. Steve caught her arm and wrapped it around his shoulders.

“Is anyone else here that needs to get out?” Steve questioned.

Jemma just shook her head no. She truly had no idea, but she didn’t think that anyone else was in the building that wasn’t Hydra.

The trio rushed down the stairs as Steve updated the team through the coms. Clint had Strucker slung over his shoulder and was on his way back to the quinjet with Natasha. Sam and Tony were walking with them.

“They had a prisoner,” Steve said frantically. “She’s badly injured. She needs immediate medical attention. She’s lost a lot of blood. Bruce, do we have any equipment?”

“Yeah, yeah, we have a gurney and a first aid kit. No blood, though. I’ll call Dr. Cho and tell her we have an incoming. Will she make it to New York?” Everyone could hear Bruce shuffling around, getting ready for Jemma’s arrival.

“I don’t know. I know nothing about her.” Steve had no idea what to say. The woman obviously wasn’t doing well and Steve had no idea how long she had been in this condition.

The Avengers assumed that the woman had been what the soldiers were protecting. They could question the Strucker kid when he woke up as to why. Maybe they could figure out who she was and why she was so important, too.

Steve was essentially carrying Jemma by the time they got outside the building. He scooped her up in her arms and started running.

I guess I’m running today after all, Wanda thought to herself as she ran alongside Steve. She didn’t know what to say, but the situation was obviously urgent. The woman had seemed so nervous in the hallway. Why was she free in the hallway? None of them knew. They could clear that up later. It wasn’t important at the moment.

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By the time they reacted the quinjet, Natasha was ready for takeoff. Bruce had the gurney ready and other medical supplies lay alongside it. Steve gently laid Jemma, who had since passed out, on the gurney. Steve went off to sit next to Natasha and make a plan to move forward with, leaving Wanda and Bruce with the unidentified Jemma Simmons.

“Any ID? Information? Tools they used? Any information at all?” Bruce questioned Wanda rapid fire.

Wanda just stared at Bruce and shook her head. She truly did know nothing. She wished she could be more helpful.

The hanger door closed and Bruce rolled Jemma into the ship’s makeshift medbay. Wanda blindly followed him. Bruce started calling out orders, for gauze and a basin of water and towels and a million other things that Wanda ran around to get. She floated items out of cabinets to Bruce from all around the room as he worked on an unconscious Jemma after he hooked her up to vitals.

Her blood pressure was low and her pulse was high, no doubt to the low volume of blood flowing through her body. Bruce’s lips set into a grim line at the realization. The girl needed blood. He wasn’t sure she would make it to New York.

The more blood he wiped off Jemma, the better Bruce felt. Some of the cuts were scabbed over, clearly not brand new. Maybe there was hope for her after all. It seemed like she had been living with a low blood volume for some time now. Bruce didn’t want to think about for how long.

He worked on stitching up some of Jemma’s larger cuts and had Wanda type up a list of injuries on a tablet as he called them out. The list was long, but it would be helpful to Dr. Cho when the got back to New York.

While he worked on closing her wounds, Wanda took to simply cleaning the girl up. She looked young, maybe early or mid 20s. Wanda wiped away the blood on Jemma’s arms and legs, finding more cuts and bruises to categorize and identify for the list.

As Bruce tied off the suture for a particularly deep cut on Jemma’s abdomen, her eyes fluttered open. Her sudden gasp of breath had Bruce and Wanda’s eyes shooting to her face. Jemma immediately started coughing and Bruce sat her up as Jemma coughed blood into her own lap. The room was silent as she tried to catch her breath.

“What’s your name?” Bruce asked. He could tell she wasn’t going to be awake for very long and wanted to get as much information as he could.

“I’m with SHIELD. My team’s probably looking for me. I-“ Jemma broke off into another sputtering cough, and more blood expelled from her lungs. Exhausted from coughing, Jemma let the darkness envelop her once again.

Bruce looked at Wanda and Wanda stared back at Bruce. Now they had something to work with, at least. Bruce sighed as he lay Jemma back again and told Wanda to add hemoptysis to the list of injuries and symptoms.

“Stay with her,” Bruce told Wanda. “I don’t want her to be alone when she wakes up again. She has no idea where she is and for all she knows, we kidnapped her.”

Wanda just nodded and sat down on a stool by Jemma’s bedside. She stared at the woman who looked better without blood covering her whole body.

“I’m gonna go try to ID her. What do you think that accent was. British?”

Wanda nodded and Bruce left the room, leaving the two women alone. It was going to be a long flight back to New York and for Jemma’s sake, Wanda hoped she wouldn’t wake again until they were at the base.

Chapter Text

Bruce ran a hand through his hair with another deep sigh. Who was he supposed to call to ID this girl? He had so little to go off of.

“How’s the girl?” Natasha called casually from the cockpit.

Bruce just shook his head.

“She’s a fighter, and a SHIELD agent. I think she’ll make it to New York. Turns out a lot of that blood is older.”

“Were you able to ID her?” Steve asked.

“No. All I know is that she works for SHIELD and she has a thick British accent. I don’t have a lot to work with.”

“I swear I’ve seen that kid before,” Tony commented. “I don’t know where, but I think I know her from somewhere.”

Natasha rolled her eyes. “Thanks so much Tony. How helpful.”

Regardless of her identity, Bruce knew that someone was probably looking for this girl. She had said she was part of a team. He had never had to report finding a missing agent before and didn’t know who to call.

“I’m taking suggestions here. Who do I call about this?” Bruce said desperately.

“You could try the Playground,” Sam commented. “Maybe they can at least ID her?”

Bruce nodded at that. It was a good idea. So he went off to call the playground.

Sam Koenig answered the phone and Bruce clenched his teeth. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the Koenig brothers. They were nice and easy to talk to. They just made him the slightest bit uncomfortable. They were unnerving, really. How many of them were there? Bruce didn’t think he wanted to know.

“We found a SHIELD agent on a mission today,” Bruce started. “I didn’t know who to call about it. We’re trying to at least get an ID on her. Short, brown hair, thin, pale, and British.”

There was a long pause from Sam.

“Is she a scientist? I might know who you’re talking about. Lovely young woman. I didn’t know she was missing.”

Bruce furrowed his eyebrows at that. He hadn’t expected an answer, let alone one this quickly.

“I have no idea what she does for SHIELD, Sam. What’s her potential name?”

Sam was quiet again for a few moments.

“You know we’re mot supposed to do things like this over the phone, Agent Banner.”

Bruce sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. He was so close to getting somewhere.

“You should call the director.”

Bruce perked up at that. Director Fury? To ID a random agent?

“Fury? Really Sam”

“Yes sir, I think he’d be able to help you contact her team, too.”

“Thanks Sam,” Bruce ended on. He hung up and ran through his options.

Fury was not an easy man to contact, but Bruce supposed he’d have to make it work. Fury didn’t answer Clint anymore after that time his kids sent Fury pictures of their “artwork.” Tony had drunk called him far too many times. Steve was too amazed by cellular technology to be able to hold a conversation well. His volume was shut off half the time. Wanda didn’t even have a cell phone. She didn’t really need one, as she was never alone and had used the technology even less than Steve.

That left Sam and Natasha. He knew that Fury had a soft for Natasha and figured he was most likely to answer her call. Now all he had to do was convince Natasha that Director Fury was the best person to call to ID this random agent.

“What’d Koenig say?” Steve inquired as Bruce walked into the cockpit.

“He thinks he knows her. Says she’s a scientist. He also wasn’t willing to give her name over the phone.” He hesitated to reveal the next part, glancing at the back of Natasha’s head.

“He thinks we should call Director Fury. Koenig said he can give her name as well as connect her back with her team.”

Natasha did turn around at that and arched an eyebrow.

“You think the best way to ID an agent is to call Director Fury,” Natasha deadpanned.

Bruce put his hands up defensively.

“Hey, it was Koenig’s idea, but mine.”

“And maybe it’s not such a bad one,” Steve piped up, looking thoughtful.

Natasha turned on Steve now.

“Will the director even know this girl? Koenig could be thinking of someone else.”

“It’s worth a try, Nat,” Bruce tried again. “And we know we have the best shot at talking to him if you’re the one that calls.”

They all knew Bruce was right. Natasha knew the director had a soft spot for her. After the incident with Lilah’s fairy princess drawings, Fury was probably never going to answer Clint’s phone again.

Natasha sighed. This was an agent and she deserved a shot.

“Fine,” she sighed. “I’ll call him, but don’t get your hopes up.”

She found his contact and clicked on it. She shifted to speakerphone and put it down on the dash panel. They all waited with bated breath while the phone rung.

After almost a full minute, Fury finally answered.

“Agent Romanoff, is there a problem?” Fury answered, gruff as ever.

“We have an agent here. Found her in a Hydra base. She was being held prisoner and was tortured pretty badly. We’re trying to ID her.”

“How do we even know the girl is SHIELD? She could easily be lying.” Fury had a point there.

“Sir,” Steve spoke, “It’s Steve. Wanda’s with her right now, so she’s not going anywhere.”

They heard Fury sigh deeply.

“Fine.”

Natasha and Bruce exchanged a look. They took that as a good sign.

“What do you know about the agent?”

“Not much,” Bruce spoke this time. “She’s short, thin, pale, British, with shoulder length brown hair.”

There was a long pause on Fury’s end.

“Is she young?”

All of them were a bit baffled by his question.

“Uh, yes sir. We figure maybe 23,24 years old,” Bruce said.

There was another long pause.

“Do you mean to tell me that you have Jemma Simmons on your plane? Is she gonna pull through?”

Everyone furrowed their eyebrows. I guess Fury was the right one to call, Bruce thought to himself.

“She should be okay. We’re coordinating with Dr. Cho back in New York. If she makes the flight, she’ll most likely live,” Bruce said.

“That girl’s a fighter. She’ll make it. I’ll call her team. They’ll be relieved that you guys found her. I’ll meet you when you touch down in New York,” Fury said.

“Thanks Director, ETA is 9am ET. See you then,” Natasha said before hanging up.

They had never heard the Director talk that way before. He never sounded that concerned about anyone. Ever.

Natasha shook her head as she slipped her phone back into her pocket.

“I guess Koenig was right,” she conceded. “That was weird though, right?”

Steve and Bruce nodded furiously. So weird.

Bruce went back to the room with the girls. Jemma was still unconscious and it looked like Wanda had tried to get some more blood off of her. It worked. The girl looked much better.

“Her name’s Jemma Simmons. She’s a SHIELD scientist and the director is very glad to know she’s alive. He’s contacting her team,” he informed Wanda.

Wanda’s eyebrows knit together in confusion.

“The director? As in Director Fury?”

Bruce nodded.

“I’m just as surprised as you are. Any problems while I was gone? We have to keep her alive.”

Wanda shook her head no and Bruce pulled up a second stool to the other side of Jemma’s gurney. They wondered about this girl’s connection to the director and what kind of team she was on in silence as Natasha brought them all home.

Chapter Text

Fury was relieved to hear that Simmons was safe. Coulson had notified him when the initial mission had gone awry and the agent had gone missing. Ever since he had pulled her out of the ocean, dragging Agent Fitz up with her, Fury had developed a certain respect and fondness for the young agent. He knew that she was more resilient than she appeared, but that her team also must have been worried sick.

Coulson was on shift with Mack, Bobbi, and Hunter when Fury’s name lit up his phone screen. Coulson furrowed his eyebrows. The director had only called him twice before. Once when he found Simmons in the ocean, and the other to let him know he had survived the fall of SHIELD. He quickly answered before Fury changed his mind about calling.

“Sir?”

“Hello Coulson. You’ll be relieved to know that Agent Simmons has been found. She’s safe on the quinjet with the Avengers.”

Coulson let out a breath of relief and everyone looked up at him. Coulson gave them all a thumbs up and an exhausted smile before tuning back into Fury’s voice.

“She’s in bad condition, blood everywhere and a list of injuries a mile long. How soon can you and your team be in New York?”

“We’re in Peru running down a lead. Probably eight hours tops. May can go faster, I’m sure.”

Fury snorted at that.

“Yes, I’m sure she can. Tell her to call Agent Romanoff for more details. It’s going to be a shock to them that you’re alive. See you there Coulson,” and with that, Fury promptly hung up.

Coulson breathed out a sigh of relief and finally let himself smile. The others looked at him with anticipation.

“Simmons is alive,” Coulson informed them.

Bobbi and Hunter hugged and everyone sighed in relief.

“The Avengers found her somehow, I think by accident. I don’t have many details other than she’s stable at the moment. They’re taking her to New York.”

“I bloody knew she would make it. That girl’s a fighter if I’ve ever seen one,” Hunter triumphed.

Bobbi wiped away a tear.

“Someone go wake the others. I’ll get us in the air and off to get our girl,” Bobbi announced. She was smiling.

“I’ll tell May. Mack, go get Fitz and Daisy,” Coulson ordered.

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Coulson went down to May’s bunk. He knocked on her door lightly.

“May?” He called softly. Everyone knew she was a light sleeper and had probably woken at his knock.

The door opened less than ten seconds later. She looked at him bleary eyed. Clearly, she hadn’t gotten any restful sleep. Not that anyone had expected her to.

“Any news?” She asked hopefully.

Coulson smiled. “The Avengers have her. I don’t know how. I just got off the phone with Fury. They’re bringing her to New York.”

May smiled, really smiled, and let out a huff. To May, Fitz, Simmons, and Daisy were all her kids. May would never forgive herself if something happened to one of them. So, she had spent hours with each one of them, preparing for all kinds of situations. Clearly, all that training had paid off.

They felt the zephyr shift under them.

“Bobbi’s getting us in the air and on track to New York,” Coulson offered simply.

May nodded and started to head upstairs.

“One more thing,” Coulson began with a wry smile. “As we don’t have many details, Fury suggests you call Romanoff and get a better, fuller picture.”

May and Natasha hadn’t talked in a while, ever since their girls’ night with Laura and Maria awhile back. Yes, it had been almost a year, but she knew they were still on good terms.

May gave Coulson a nod and went back into her bunk and pulled out her phone.

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Mack woke up Fitz first. Daisy was a much heavier sleeper, having dealt with rowdy kids and noisy households during foster care as a kid.

He knocked on Fitz’s door, not bothering to hold back his excitement. Besides, he knew it was very unlikely that Fitz and Daisy were asleep anyway.

“Yeah,” Fitz called from the inside.

Mack couldn’t say that he was really surprised when he opened the door. Fitz had a spread of papers surrounding him on his bed and Daisy was sitting next to him, laptop open on her lap. They looked up guiltily and Mack game them a reassuring smile.

“They found Simmons. She’s alive.”

“Oh thank GOSH” Daisy proclaimed, her hand grasping her own chest. Her eyes closed in relief.

“Thank goodness,” Fits announced at the same time. He too let out a measurable sigh of relief, his eyes slipping closed.

Mack smiled at their reactions. He wasn’t going to comment on the fact that they were both in Fitz’s room working on leads when they were supposed to be resting. It didn’t matter anymore and he knew that it was just because they cared. He knew everyone else on the team was doing the same during their “resting” time, anyway.

“She’s with the Avengers,” Mack continued.

Skye’s eyes became as big as saucers.

“The Avengers?” Fitz asked in awe.

Mack grinned at their reactions and nodded.

“We’re supposed to get more details soon, but for now all we know is that the Avengers found her by accident on a mission. She’s in bad shape and is en route to New York for medical treatment.”

They felt the plane shake during his speech. They all looked around, Fitz and Daisy in alarm.

“Bobbi’s bringing us to New York now. We’re seven or eight hours out,” Mack finished.

“Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay,” Daisy kept repeating, her smile growing a little wider with each word.

“Okay,” she said again. “Now we’ll actually rest a bit. I could use some coffee and Fitz, I’m sure you’d like some dirty water,” Daisy finished with a smirk.

As Fitz tried to think of a comeback and stuttered away, Mack shook his head with a smile at their antics. They did all deserve some rest. The three of them headed up towards the kitchen.

————————————————————————

Hunter followed Bobbi into the cockpit. He silently took up the copilot’s seat as Bobbi prepared for takeoff. Another tear ran down her cheek and she quickly swiped it away.

“Love, she’s alive. She’ll be okay. We’ll find the blokes that did this to her,” Hunter said, trying to be reassuring.

Bobbi sniffed and smiled and she flicked a few more switches.

“I know we will. The Avengers probably already did that for us. I’m just so relieved,” Bobbi conceded.

Hunter nodded, then very quietly, “me too.”

Jemma was like a little sister to the two of them. Jemma and Hunter often bonded over British snacks and past times. Daisy always made fun of the towns they talked about, claiming towns like Canterbury and Perthshire couldn’t possibly be real towns. They bonded over tea and biscuits. Hunter liked to talk and Jemma liked to listen.

Bobbi had had a soft spot for Jemma ever since she had first lay eyes in her at Hydra. Coulson had been very forceful in making sure Bobbi protected Simmons with her life. She had been told that the girl was a biochemist and a terrible liar and Bobbi couldn’t help but wonder why she was undercover. Bobbi was impressed with Jemma, who quickly moved her way up through the science division and even managed to hide evidence of communication with SHIELD in her lab partner’s drawer.

Bobbi had to agree with Coulson that Jemma was a terrible liar. That much was evident after their conversation in the bathroom. The girl was jumpy and nervous and out of her depths undercover, but Bobbi had to give her credit. The girl had guts and was clearly both stronger and braver than anyone gave her credit for.

Those ideas were reinforced after Jemma returned from Maveth. Bobbi added resilient to the list of words she used to describe Jemma. The girl seemed unbreakable, even after spending over half a year on an alien planet.

So yes, as Bobbi got the zephyr off the ground, she and Hunter couldn’t help but relish in the feeling of knowing that they would see Jemma again soon.

Chapter Text

They were three hours out from New York when Natasha’s phone screen lit up. Melinda May. The two hadn’t talked in a while, both getting so caught up in work and life. Nevertheless, the two women had a mutual respect and understanding for one another.

Natasha answered the call almost immediately.

“Hey Melinda, what’s up?”

“I was told you found a team member of ours.”

Natasha paused for a moment. As far as Natasha knew, May had been out doing solo missions for the last few years. Since when did she work on a team?

“Agent Simmons is on board. I’m assuming you’re calling for details.” May made a noise of confirmation.

Natasha took a moment to collect her thoughts.

“We found her at an old Hydra base in northern Russia. The base was in use again after 50 years and we found it suspicious. The base was pretty empty. The soldiers were pretty unprofessional, under the orders of some Strucker kid. Steve and Wanda found her running down a hallway, covered in blood, trying to get out of the building. She’s stable for now. Bruce has done everything he can for her on board. When we land in New York, Dr. Cho is going to do a full work up. She’s been unconscious pretty much since we left Russia.”

That was a lot to take in. May nodded along, letting out a deep breath that she didn’t know she had been holding.

“In your opinion, will she make it?” May trusted Natasha’s judgement and knew she soundly sugar coat or give false hope.

Natasha took a moment to consider May’s question.

Then, “I think if she was gonna die, it would have been awhile ago. She’s holding on.”

She heard May sigh again.

“She’s a fighter.”

“Yeah, she is.”

“Oh, one more thing,” Natasha smirked. “Fury was the one to ID her.”

May lifted her eyebrows at that.

“Young British agent seemed to do it for him. He has a soft spot for her,” Natasha finished.

She heard May chuckle on the other end of the phone.

“Yeah, he does. Ever since he pulled her and Agent Fitz out of the Atlantic.”

“And why, per se, was he pulling her and another agent out of the ocean?”

May smirked at the question.

“We need a girls’ night soon. You can ask Jemma then,” May offered.

“I’m gonna hand you off to Wanda,” Natasha said, shifting the plane into autopilot and making her way towards the medbay. “She’s been with her ever since we got on the plane. We’re about two and a half hours out from New York. Fury’s meeting us there. See you then.”

Natasha walked into the makeshift medbay and looked at Wanda. Bruce was out of the room at the moment. She thrust the phone into Wanda’s hand, who gave Natasha a look.

“One of Simmons’ teammates. They want to know how she is. Talk to her. Her name is May.”

Natasha gave Wanda a nod and went back to the cockpit. Wanda room a moment to stare at the phone and then cautiously lifted it to her ear.

“Hello?”

“Hi Wanda. My name’s Melinda May, agent of SHIELD and one of Simmons’s teammates. What can you give me on her condition?”

Wanda didn’t know if she was allowed to or not, but she was nervous and didn’t want to disappoint. She opened the computer and read May the list of injuries that she and Bruce had identified.

May was silent as she took it all in.

“And her vitals?”

Wanda’s stomach clenched as she stared at the screen. She really didn’t know what the numbers meant.

“Uh, I’m, I’m very sorry, Agent May,” Wanda stuttered, her face going hot. “I do not know what numbers are what, um, vital.”

The girl was obviously nervous. Natasha had told May some about Wanda. A kid who grew up on the streets with no one but her brother after their parents were killed. She was sweet, Natasha insisted. Very, very nervous, though, and always looking to please.

May smiled a bit at the girl’s anxiety. It reminded her a bit of Jemma when she had first met her, although Jemma had been more composed.

“That’s okay, Wanda. Why don’t you read me some of the numbers on the screen. Is there one that looks like a fraction?”

Wanda managed to tell May Jemma’s blood pressure, pulse, and pulse ox levels.

“Thank you, Wanda. Do me a favor and stay with Jemma.” With that, May hung up.

Wanda thought about going to give Natasha’s phone back to her in the cockpit, but the woman on the phone had just instructed her not to leave Jemma’s side. Wanda took a deep, grounding breath, just like Bruce had told her to do whenever she felt overwhelmed. She set the phone down on the counter next to her. If Natasha needed her phone, she could come and get it.

For now, Wanda adjusted the stool and went back to the woman laying on the gurney. Agent Jemma Simmons. Wanda looked down at Jemma’s hand and squeezed it gently.

“I hope to speak to you when you wake up, Agent Simmons,” Wanda spoke softly. She held Jemma’s hand all the way back to New York.

Chapter Text

Everything was a whirlwind after the Avengers touched down in New York.

Bruce came into the makeshift medbay as Natasha landed the quinjet.

Wanda immediately hopped up, ready to be useful.

“Dr. Cho has a team ready. We need to move her. She’s probably going to need a chest tube and at least a few surgeries.”

Wanda nodded at him and Bruce unlocked the gurney. Bruce stood by Jemma’s feet and Wanda went to the head. He instructed her on where to go.

Once the gurney was off the quinjet, Wanda stepped back. A team of medical professionals stepped into her place as Jemma was wheeled into the building, Bruce rapidly updating Dr. Cho on Jemma’s condition.

Wanda took a moment to collect her breath and then jogged after the gurney. She had no intention of getting in the way but she certainly didn’t want to disobey Agent May.

Natasha put a hand on Wanda’s shoulder before she could take off.

“They can help her, Wanda. You can’t.” Natasha’s words were firm, but they both knew she was right.

Wanda blushed at Natasha, a frantic look in her eye.

“Agent May told me to no leave her side,” Wanda got out brokenly. They had all noticed that her English got twisted when she was nervous.

Natasha hesitated a moment, holding eye contact with Wanda. With a sigh, she took her hand off of Wanda’s shoulder.

“Go.”

Wanda sprinted after the gurney into the building. She knew the medical wing was on the fourth floor and didn’t want to disrupt the elevators. She ran up the stairs, slightly out of breath by the time she got up there.

Wanda’s timing was impeccable. Just as she reached the top stair, the elevator doors opened. Dr. Cho and Bruce were leading a pack of about 6 nurses, all huddled around Jemma’s gurney.

Wanda followed at a distance as they rushed Jemma down the hallway and into a room. She was hooked up to fluids, blood, and had a central line inserted.

“She’ll need an x-ray, I’m pretty sure her ankle is broken-”

“And that bruising on her abdomen is consistent with internal bleeding-“

“That’s definitely a stab wound on the left upper quarter, the Monocryl won’t hold-“

“With how old these wounds are, there could be numerous other injuries-“

Wanda stood just outside the doorway looking in as Bruce and Helen exchanged words. She didn’t understand much of what they talked about, but she gathered enough to know that Jemma was in serious trouble.

“I’ll get the ultrasound, blood in the abdomen is the biggest threat,” Helen said and Bruce nodded in agreement.

“The x-rays can wait,” he added, running a hand over his greeting hair.

One of the nurses rushed out past Wanda to get said ultrasound and silence finally fell over the room.

Bruce took a breath and left the room, but noticed Wanda lurking in the doorway. She was quick to explain herself.

“I promised Agent May I would not leave the side of Agent Simmons,” she said quickly.

Bruce just gave her a tired smile and a nod.

“Just don’t get in their way.”

Wanda nodded. She had no intention to.

As Dr. Cho recorded Jemma’s vitals, Wanda cautiously stepped into the room and to Jemma’s bedside. After a minute, the vitals started spiking. Dr. Cho’s eyebrows furrowed and her hands and eyes started roaming Jemma’s body looking for a cause.

With a small moan, Jemma’s eyelids began to flutter open. Dr. Cho’s eyebrows shot up.

“She can’t possibly be awake and coherent,” Helen mumbled, more to herself than Wanda or Jemma.

Nonetheless, Jemma continued to fight to open her eyes. Wanda quickly went and turned the lights off with a nod from Dr. Cho.

Jemma groaned again and went to move, but squeezed her eyes shut as another wave of pain overcame her.

“Try not to move, Agent Simmons,” Dr. Cho spoke, keeping her voice low. “You’re in critical condition and at the Avengers base in New York. Your team has been notified and should be here in a few hours.”

Jemma kept her eyes closed and took a shallow shuttering breath. When she couldn’t take a full breath, she panicked a bit. Dr. Cho made eye contact with Jemma, whose fingers brushed against the ribs on her right side.

“Breath,” Jemma managed to get out. “Chest fluid,” she swallowed and gasped. “Lungs...tube...now.”

Dr. Cho took the clue with a nod.

“Your chest feels tight and you can’t get in a full breath because of the fluid?”

Eyes closed, Jemma gave a single nod.

“Alright then, I’ll start a chest tube.”

Dr. Cho left the room to get supplies. Jemma took a few moments trying to get in her breath, but she just couldn’t seem to catch it. Wanda mimicked what she had seen Bruce do on the plane and put one hand between Jemma’s shoulder blades and helped sit her up. Jemma’s hand stuck out, looking for something to hold onto, and Wanda didn’t hesitate to grab it.

Leaning forward, Jemma was able to breathe a bit easier, but not much.

“Who,” Jemma managed to get out.

“Oh, um, sorry, I’m Wanda Maximoff. I’m with the Avengers. And SHIELD.”

Jemma just nodded tiredly in response.

Dr. Cho returned with a tray of supplies, stethoscope strung around her neck. She pressed the cold metal bell to Jemma’s back, confirming the fluid floating around in her pleural cavity.

“Alright, Agent Simmons. Cold, then a pinch, then uncomfortable, then there should be some relief. “

Jemma held steadfast to Wanda’s hand as Dr. Cho adjusted the bed to sit Jemma up. She lifted Jemma’s filthy cardigan to expose her rib cage, which was disturbingly visible.

She felt her way to the space between the sixth and seventh ribs and swabbed with iodine. She then injected the area with a local anesthetic. Jemma didn’t so much as flinch.

“Lots of pressure here,” Dr. Cho announced as she took the scalpel to Jemma’s rib cage. After creating an incision of about an inch, Dr. Cho slowly fed the tube into Jemma’s pleural cavity. Almost immediately, there was a popping sound and fluid rushed down the tube and into the collection bag. Jemma gasped in a breath of air, her chest finally fully expanding.

At that moment, the nurse returned to the room wheeling the ultrasound machine with him. Walking alongside the nurse was Director Fury. As Helen taped the tube in place, Fury took his place at the foot of Jemma’s gurney.

“Good to see you alive, Agent Simmons,” he said. “There have been a lot of people worried sick looking for you.”

She tried to smile at that, but it came out as more of a grimace.

Just as swiftly as he had come in, Fury left the room. Helen reclined Jemma, who was able to breathe much easier with the tube, and lifted her shirt to slather on the ultrasound gel.

Wanda squeezed Jemma’s hand lightly, which made Jemma smile. She looked over at Wanda as Helen began to probe her abdomen, which was clearly painful for Jemma.

Wanda figured she should try to distract Jemma from her current situation, so she started to ramble.

“Agent May told me to not leave your side,” Wanda began. The statement made the corners of Jemma’s mouth turn up, which gave Wanda confidence.

“She’s very relieved that you have been located. I do not know of this team she and you are a part of, but I was able to gather that everyone around Agent May was also much relieved,” Wanda finished.

She watched Helen talk to the nurse quietly and rapidly snap off her gloves. It was clear that Dr. Cho hadn’t liked what she’d seen on the ultrasound. The nurse ran out of the room, leaving the three women alone again.

“Agent Simmons, there is a significant amount of blood floating around in your abdomen. You’re going to need surgery and I’d like to get you in right now.”

Jemma just nodded, not bothering to voice a response. She knew the surgery was necessary.

“I’ll send a nurse to prep you and bring you down. Were you injected with anything that may interfere or react with anesthesia?”

Jemma shook her head and allowed herself to lie back and close her eyes.

“Alright. See you in the OR, Agent Simmons.”

With a tight lipped smile, Dr. Cho practically ran from the room. Jemma turned her head to Wanda again and cracked open her eyes.

“How bad?” Jemma croaked out.

Wanda didn’t want to lie to the agent, but knew she want the most qualified person to talk. She hesitated before giving up what she had heard.

“They say it is not good, but they believe if you were going to die, you would have done so before the fly,” Wanda conceded, searching Jemma’s face for a reaction.

The girl didn’t seem to have one, though. Her eyes slipped closed again and she bummed in response. The nurse came in to prep Jemma and Wanda knew she couldn’t stay much longer. Jemma seemed to sense the same thing.

“Thank you for staying with me, Wanda,” Jemma said softly, smiling at Wanda.

Wanda had no words. She just smiled at Jemma and gave her a nod. With a final squeeze, Jemma released Wanda’s hand and let the nurse prep her for surgery.

Chapter Text

Bobbi landed the plane on the lawn of the Avengers base. The grass was already burnt away (thanks, Thor) so she figured it didn’t really matter. Besides, they all really wanted to rush inside.

The group stuck together as they got off the plane. They headed inside and saw the Avengers talking in the main room. May cleared her throat, drawing Natasha and Steve’s attention.

Steve took one look at Coulson and practically blew his top. His eyes got wide and he stared, going pale.

“Coulson. You, you, I, we, you-“ Steve stuttered.

Fury took that moment to waltz into the main room. Sure, he could have warned the Avengers, but what fun was that? After all, Steve’s reaction was priceless.

“Yes, Steve. He was dead.” Fury couldn’t keep the amusement out of his voice.

The Avengers couldn’t help but stare at Coulson. It had been years since the invasion in New York. But, they had all seen stranger things.

“I, well, it, it is an honor to meet you all,” Fitz got out. “But, is Simmons here? Is she alright?”

Tony squinted at Fitz. He had seen this kid before too. Fitz made eye contact with Tony but quickly looked away.

Fury let them all adjust for a moment. He enjoyed seeing how uncomfortable they all were.

“Yes, right. Agent Simmons is here, but she’s in surgery right now.” Bruce was the first one to speak up. “I don’t know how much longer it’ll take. There was a lot of blood and fluid.”

Before Coulson could embarrass himself and say something so incredibly fanboy-ish to Steve, May grabbed his arm and dragged him off to where Bruce was leading them. The group followed Bruce through the winding hallways, desperate to see Jemma.

They arrived on the medical floor. Bruce was going to walk them all into Jemma’s room, but when he rounded the doorway, the floor was covered in blood. Right.

Bruce stopped short and spun around.

“Uh, maybe you’d all rather just wait in the waiting area instead. The room isn’t exactly clean yet.”

Bruce looked around, desperate to offer these people more than a place to wait. His eyes fell on Wanda, who was sitting in an armchair in the waiting area reading Animal Farm by George Orwell. She had never finished school in Sokovia and the Avengers bargained with her that she didn’t have to go to school if they at least got her to basic academic levels. To Natasha, that meant reading the American classics.

“Wanda stayed with Agent Simmons the whole flight and was in her room up until they took Agent Simmons for surgery,” Bruce explained.

Wanda looked up from her book, casting Bruce a weary glance. The girl was rather shy and quiet and he knew that sticking her with a group of concerned agents that she didn’t know might not have been the best idea. But Wanda was here and talking with her would give him some time to get an update on Agent Simmons’s condition.

“You’re the one I talked to on the phone,” May stated. Wanda nodded nervously. May smirked.

“How was she when you saw her last?” Fitz asked desperately. As the agents began to settle into the couches and loveseats around the waiting room, Bruce took the opportunity to sneak out, leaving Wanda with one more apologetic glance.

“She was,” Wanda paused for a moment, thinking. “In pain. Bloody. Yet, tranquil?”

She looked around to see if she had gotten the word right. It seemed to have been right. No one looked confused.

Obviously though, hearing that Jemma was bloody and in pain distressed the team. Coulson clenched his teeth and Bobbi sighed inwardly as Hunter wrapped an arm around her.

“I am sorry I cannot do more for your teammate. She is a fighter.”

Wanda hadn’t had to console many people in her life, but she was trying. She had heard many people say that Jemma was a fighter. Back in Sokovia, being a fighter wasn’t a good thing. Who liked someone who started fights all the time and always got into trouble? But everyone in America seemed to use it as almost a term of endearment.

May sighed. “That she is.”

Wanda relaxed a bit, seeing that she likely chose the right words to use. At least she didn’t upset the agents any further.

The group fell into a silence after that. Wanda went back to reading her book. Daisy fell asleep on Mack’s shoulder. Hunter fell asleep on Bobbi’s. Fitz was far too nervous to even sit down and spent his time nervously pacing the waiting room. May watched him tiredly but didn’t bother telling him to sit down. Coulson just sat staring off into space, deep in thought.

Bruce walked in almost an hour later and everyone (that was awake) looked up at him expectantly. He just shook his head. Nothing yet.

He settled down in an unoccupied chair and waited anxiously with the rest of the group for any news on Jemma. Even though he didn’t personally know the girl, he had tried his best to save her life and wanted to know if she’d make it.

(Plus, he agreed with Tony. She did look familiar. So did the Scottish agent in the room.)

———————————————————————

Dr. Cho finally came out of surgery almost eight hours later. She blew out a breath as she made her way to the waiting room, where she knew Jemma’s team was probably waiting. She knew she didn’t exactly look presentable at the moment. She was still wearing her blood-soaked scrubs, but she figured the team would appreciate having the news faster than not.

When she went into the waiting room, nine pairs of eyes looked up at her expectantly. Daisy gasped and covered her mouth at the sight of Dr. Cho. She knew that they he’d Jemma in surgery for internal bleeding, but my gosh, Daisy couldn’t help but think. There’s so much blood.

Dr. Cho put her hands on her hips as she thought about how to proceed. Might as well start with the simple stuff, she decided.

“Agent Simmons is alive,” she stated. There was a collective sigh of relief through the room. She built off that every.

“The surgery was more complicated than expected. There were multiple sources of bleeding in her abdominal cavity, all at various stages of healing. We were able to cauterize all of them, we believe.”

She took a moment to collect her thoughts. Now came some of the bad news. But the more Dr. Cho thought about it, these were all agents of SHIELD. The news probably wasn’t as bad as they had imagined.

“The bleeding went through to her pleural cavity, which explains why she needed a chest tube and had such low oxygen levels upon arrival. Her right lower lobe of her lung was unable to be saved. We’re not sure what punctured the cavity wall in the first place; it was likely one of her broken ribs. She has a long way to go, but she’s stable and I’m confident that she’ll pull through, since she made it this far,” Dr. Cho finished.

The room was silent for a few moments. All they could hear was each other’s breathing as they took in the news.

Coulson and May, ever the practical planners, knew a missing lobe would mean respiratory therapy. They had also heard she had likely broken her ankle. That would mean physical therapy. Bobbi had been in a similar situation before, although they fully expected for Jemma to be starting from a much lower place. She had developed a slight case of osteoporosis and severe malnutrition ever since Maveth. They all knew she struggled to gain back that weight. This would just make things more complicated.

“Can we see her?” Daisy finally asked, a hopeful look in her eyes.

Dr. Cho contemplated her options. She knew she was only supposed to let family in, but these agents were her team.

“Does she have any immediate family?”

“Her parents live in England. Her father developed Alzheimer’s and her mum takes care of him, so they don’t really travel anymore.” Fitz had the words out before he could think about what he was saying. Jemma hadn’t told any members of the team about her parents other than him. He hoped she wouldn’t be cross with him.

His teammates looked at him in shock.

“We didn’t know that,” Coulson quietly conceded. They waited another moment in silence, thinking about yet another thing that Jemma seemed to have suffered alone.

“As her parents are not here and cannot come here, you can all come in. Preferably not all at once,” Dr. Cho said, glancing wearily at the large group. They looked at each other, wondering how to decide.

“Fitz, Daisy, you to go first,” May ordered. She knew they were probably Jemma’s best friends on the team and that they had a bond formed over years of living on the BUS together.

Dr. Cho gave yet another nod. The two hopped up and followed her down the hallway to Jemma’s room.

Chapter Text

“I do have to warn you,” Dr. Cho spoke cautiously. “She’s hooked up to a lot of tubes and machines right now. She’s got an IV, central line, chest tube, nasal cannula, and her leg is immobilized until get get a closer look.”

She waited a few seconds for the two agents to nod. She opened the door and let them in.

Fitz and Daisy proceeded slowly towards Jemma’s hospital bed. She had cuts and bruises covering what appeared to be every inch of her body.

“My gosh, she looks awful,” Daisy said quietly.

“Why thank you, Daisy,” Jemma responded, her voice softer than usual.

Fitz’s and Daisy’s eyes widened and quickly rushed to the sides of her bed.

With half lidded eyes, Jemma smirked up at them. Or, tried to smirk, at least.

“I didn’t know you were awake! I swear! Actually, now that we’re closer, I think you look gorgreous!” Daisy backtracked quickly.

Fitz snorted at her attempted coverup as he squeezed Jemma’s hand, being careful not to disrupt her IV.

Daisy blushed and Jemma didn’t really have the energy to respond. She clasped Daisy’s hand in her free one and squeezed Fitz’s in her other. For the first time since before she had been kidnapped, Jemma let herself relax.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Fitz spoke up.

“Y’know, the whole team’s here to see ya. They’re all really worried, Jems.”

She cast a tired glance up at him, smiling softly.

“I’ve missed everyone,” she said. But suddenly, her face contorted and she groaned.

Daisy and Fitz exchanged a panicked look.

“What’s wrong? Should I go get the nurse?”

Jemma waived Daisy off and then smiled a bit.

“No, no, nothing like that. There was a girl,” Jemma had to stop to take a few breaths. “Wanda. I do believe I have traumatized her.” She stopped again. “She sat with me.”

Fitz tilted his head to the side.

“Wanda Maximoff? I think she’s in the waiting room. Young, with long, brown hair and a thick accent?” Jemma nodded at his apt description.

“She’s the freaking Scarlet Witch, Jemma. I think she can handle a little blood,” Daisy chuckled.

Jemma did have to agree with that. Nonetheless, she did worry.

“It was more than a little blood, Dais,” she said quietly.

Fitz and Daisy let the meaning of her words sink in as they fell back into silence for another few minutes.

“I don’t wanna let you out of my sight again, Jemma, but there’s a whole lot of other people who wanna see you and Dr. Cho will only let us come in pairs”

Jemma smiled at the malice in Daisy’s words. “It’s protocol and you know it.”

“We’ll see you later, Jems,” Fitz said. He gently pressed a kiss to Jemma’s forehead before releasing her hand. Him and Daisy bid Jemma a goodbye and a feel better before leaving her room.

————————————————————————

Bobbi and Hunter were up next. The pair went down the hallway after Daisy and Fitz got back to the waiting room. They took a minute to prepare themselves before going in, knowing she wasn’t going to look good. Hunter opened the door.

The pair slipped inside and despite all the tubes connected to her, Jemma looked better than they had expected. She was obviously badly injured, but she smiled at the sight of them.

They approached her bedside in the same prudent way that Daisy and Fitz had.

“Hey,” Bobbi said with a smirk.

“Hey,” Jemma responded. She smiled.

She looked from Bobbi to Hunter.

“I missed you guys. I’m,” Jemma stopped for a breath, “so glad to see you.”

They both smiled at that. It was concerning that Jemma couldn’t even get out a sentence without needing a breath, but they were happy that she was talking and in good spirits.

“Bet your chest hurts like a bitch, huh?” Hunter asked.

Bobbi rolled her eyes affectionately and took Jemma’s hand into her own as she sat on the edge of Jemma’s bed.

“Yes, Hunter. It does indeed.”

She turned her head back to Bobbi and offered her another small smile.

“You were there for me during my recovery after Ward,” Bobbi said. She looked at Hunter. “You both were. Heck, the whole team was. We’re going to be here for you too, Jemma. Yeah, therapy’s a bitch, but you’re not gonna have to do it alone.”

Jemma’s smile widened at that.

“Thank you,” Jemma responded simply. She didn’t know how to convey the amount of gratitude she had for her team.

“Am I gonna hurt you if I hug you?” Bobbi asked Jemma.

Hunter scoffed. “You’ve never asked me that when I had broken ribs, love.”

Bobbi rolled her eyes at him and looked back to Jemma, who shook her head.

Carefully, Bobbi pulled Jemma into a light hug. She could tell Jemma tried to return it, but her body was weak.

When she pulled back, she went to go stand by the edge of the bed with Hunter.

“We’ll be back to see you later, obviously, but I do believe there’s about a million other agents in that waiting room that want to see you,” Hunter said.

“But if you’re getting tired, let us know. No one’s feelings will be hurt,” Bobbi added.

Jemma shook her head. She really did want to see the rest of her team.

“We’ll send em in. See you later, Jemma,” Bobbi said warmly. She winked at Jemma before leaving the room with Hunter.

————————————————————————

Mack went in alone. He figured that talking to one person would be less exhausting than two, and she had to be exhausted. Plus, he didn’t have the relationship with Jemma that the rest of them did. For a long time, their relationship had been built on false pretenses and lies. Fitz was their only real connection for a while, but over time, they had grown into friends.

He went into Simmons’s room, trying to mentally prepare himself for what she would look like. He knew it wasn’t going to be good, but he knew he could handle it.

He smiled at her when he went into her room and to his surprise, she smiled back. Of course Simmons was awake and smiling, even an hour after her own major surgery.

“Hey Simmons,” he said softly. “How ya feeling?”

“Okay as I can be,” she responded with a smile. “Tired, sore, but glad to be here.”

Her optimism was contagious, as always. He shook his head.

“Less than an hour after surgery and seem chipper as ever.”

He knew she really wasn’t as happy as she seemed, and he thought that she probably knew that he knew too.

“I just wanted to check in on you. You’ve got a few more visitors, and I can tell you’re exhausted. See you later.”

He offered her one more warm smile, one that she mirrored. He kept his visit short and left Simmons alone to have a few minutes to herself before her next visitors came in.

————————————————————————

Coulson and May were to go in next, but they wanted to give Jemma a break. They knew that she would never tell them, but she had to be exhausted from all the visitors. They all sat in the waiting room, a comfortable silence blanketing them.

“Oh, er, Wanda. Jemma wants to see you.”

Wanda look up at Fitz in surprise.

“She really appreciated you sitting with her on the flight and here and, well, she thinks she’s traumatized you with all the blood.” Daisy couldn’t help but grinning after her statement.

Wanda let a smile fall on her lips and a blush crossed her cheeks. She was glad that she was able to help, even when it had not seemed it like it.

“I’ll go in with you,” Bruce offered. “I’d like to meet the woman who had the director flying across time zones.”

They all laughed at Bruce’s statement.

“I would like that, Bruce. Thank you.”

Wanda offered him a smile. They would go in after Jemma had finished seeing her team.

Just as May and Coulson were getting up to go to Jemma’s room, a nurse appeared in the doorway.

“Sorry, all here to visit Agent Simmons?”

Everyone nodded.

“Dr. Cho is planning to bring her down for an MRI and x-ray now. She’s worried that if the damage done to Agent Simmons’s ankle isn’t fixed soon, it will not heal.”

Silence once again overtook the room. With it being under the blanket, none of them had seen Jemma’s ankle.

Jesus, May thought. The nurse hadn’t said that it wouldn’t heal incorrectly. He said that it would not heal.

“Of course,” Coulson offered up. “Do whatever needs to be done. We’re here for her. We have time.”

The nurse smiled and gave a nod. “Someone should be out with updates every 20 minutes or so.”

With that, the nurse left and the small group was left alone with each other once again.

The room felt heavy. Nobody talked. The phrasing of the nurse had gotten to more than just May. It will not heal. Jemma Simmons, always the bright and innocent one, might have an ankle beyond repair and she didn’t tell any of her teammates, her friends. It wasn’t surprising really, but everyone still felt terrible.

Natasha and Steve appeared in the doorway, sweaty and panting. Wanda felt a pang of guilt. She knew she was supposed to have a sparring session with Natasha every day at noon, but Natasha didn’t seem angry with her.

“Any news on the agent?” Natasha was always the curt one, which May appreciated.

“She’s out,” Broke spoke up. “Alive, all bleeds identified. Missing a lung lobe, but should live. She’s down for diagnostic testing for her ankle now.”

She and Steve leaned against the wall. Natasha took a long sip from her water bottle while Steve offered up what he hoped would be nice for her team to hear.

“When Wanda and I found her, she had already broken out of wherever they were keeping her. We don’t know the whole story, but that girl was determined to get out,” Steve said.

That made Coulson smile a bit. Bobbi too. Of course Jemma had managed to escape her captors.

“You all need to eat,” Natasha announced. “I doubt any of you have eaten anything while looking for Agent Simmons.”

There were no protests as everyone looked at each other. They all knew it was the truth. Bruce blew out a breath. Sometimes Natasha’s bluntness was really a gift.

“Honestly, Dr. Cho is probably gonna wanna do surgery on that ankle after the x-ray,” Bruce conceded to the group. “It’s bad.”

He could have said more, but left it at that. He didn’t actually know how bad it was, but from feeling her ankle, he could tell it was in pieces, likely shattered from blunt force trauma.

“I’ll order a few pizzas, on Tony,” Natasha announced as she left the room.

Steve sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“That’s very kind of Tony,” Coulson tried to joke. Some smiled weakly, but no one laughed.

“Nat’s right. You should all take a breather. Agent Simmons is currently the only one in the medical wing and you are our only visitors in the building. Updates will come. Until then, try to recuperate,” Bruce said kindly.

They knew it was true. Begrudgingly, the team filed out of the waiting room and followed Bruce to a sitting area. They spread out, resuming positions similar to where they had been in the waiting room.

Wanda hung back. It felt wrong to intrude on the team.

“It’s fine, Wanda. They’ll come get you too,” Bruce spoke quietly.

She nodded and the pair headed upstairs to the kitchen the Avengers used privately.

There was total silence while everyone was eating. Another nurse had informed them that Jemma was indeed in surgery again. Not only had the bone been broken, but many muscles and ligaments had also been torn. They knew it would be a long wait, but they would wait forever for her.

Chapter Text

Jemma woke up to the sound of steady beeping. Her eyes cracked open, squinting at the bright lights in the room. Her whole body ached, but everything was comfortably numb. She lazily looked around her with half-lidded eyes, coming into eye contact with a young woman. Jemma vaguely recognized her from earlier that day.

The nurse smiled warmly at her.

“Welcome back, Agent Simmons,” she soothed. “The surgery went well. You have a new ankle and are on the med.”

Jemma’s eyebrows knit together in confusion. No one had told her she would be getting an ankle replacement. Her foggy mind wouldn’t let her focus for long, though.

“Get some rest, Agent Simmons,” the nurse repeated. “There are lots of people still eager to see you.”

After that, Jemma slowly nodded off, falling back into the comfortable and painless haze that was sleep.

————————————————————————

Another nurse none of them had met yet entered the waiting room. There wasn’t nearly as much carnage covering the nurse as there had been on Dr. Cho before. She had a weary smile on her face, which everyone took as a good sign.

“The damage to Agent Simmons’s ankle was more severe than expected. Dr. Cho had to remove it, for the splintered bone was too far gone. She replaced it with a titanium alloy ball and socket joint. Most of her muscles and ligaments have been reconnected, but it’s likely that some feeling may never return. Nevertheless, Agent Simmons is out of the danger zone and is on the mend. She’s currently in the PACU. I’ll return once she can see visitors.”

That made everyone smile. She was going to make it.

Fitz grinned. He and Simmons had designed special prosthetics in their first year at the academy. Agent Weaver had approved the designs for practical use within weeks. It warmed him to know that a design he and Simmons had once created may be the one that was allowing her to regain function, even if only partially, in her ankle.

“Since when have we used titanium?” Tony questioned. “When I was sick, Nat and Fury stuck a magnet in me. Where the hell were titanium joints when I needed my life saved?”

Leave it to Tony to think of himself first. There was a tirade of eye rolls and groans following his statement.

Fury, who had somehow silently made his way into the room again, smirked.

“Don’t act unthankful, Stark. You’re welcome.” He left the room in an uncomfortable silence for a minute, reveling in his work.

“And the technology came from Fitzsimmons. I bet she never thought she’d have her own work in her one day.”

His works took a minute to sink in. Fitz smiled. He was glad they had been able to help.

May was the first one for it to hit. Her eyebrows shot up, exchanging a surprised glance with Coulson. They had both heard that Fitz and Simmons were some of the best the academy had ever seen. They had known of many of their inventions, like Jemma’s dendrotoxin that went with Fitz’s gun to make the icer. Clearly, they didn’t know as much about the young pair as they had thought.

Daisy just shared a grin with Mack. She was so proud of her genius friends.

Wanda was lost. She looked around in confusion. She knew nothing of the SHIELD academy, let alone the names of any agents that had gone to them.

It hit Tony and Bruce at the same time. They looked at each other, wide-eyed, before turning back to Fury.

“She’s the Simmons of the Fitzsimmons?” Bruce asked in shock.

“She’s the super genius and youngest kid from the academy?”

Fury smirked at their responses. He knew that their paths could all cross eventually, being the best and brightest scientists that SHIELD had. He just never imagined this is how it would go down.

Tony jumped up from his chair, looking around the room. He raised a shaky finger up at Fitz. The great Tony Stark, stuttering away.

“And you’re the Fitz! Her partner! The engineering kiddo!”

Wanda giggled at Tony’s behavior. She had seen him angry, upset, happy, and a million other things, but she had never seen him surprised before. From the bewildered look on Bruce’s face, she was assuming he hadn’t either. (Or maybe, he was still in shock himself from having met Fitzsimmons.)

A stunned silence bathed the room for a few minutes. Fury slipped out of the room, happy with the damage he had done. He snickered under his breath and he proceeded down the hallway.

“Y’know Coulson,” Bruce started, “I wanted to recruit them for my lab.” Fitz’s eyebrows shot up at that. The Bruce Banner had wanted him and Simmons?

Bruce smiled at him. “You got to me before them, though. And I heard there were cupcakes involved. Homemade. I’m sure those helped.”

“I would love to collaborate sometime, Dr. Banner,” Fitz said. “Me and Simmons, both. We, uh, well, you’re one of our idols, actually.”
They both blushed at that.

Tony stared between the pair across them room.

“What am I to you? I’m a super genius too ya know! I was a guest speaker at the academy once! I’m a GENIUS!”

Tony was obviously envious of the two. Coulson’s team was amused, however. Daisy even openly laughed at Tony’s little outburst.

“Uh, yeah, yes Mr. Stark, we would love to work with you sometime. I have a few designs I would love to go over with you, sir.”

Coulson smiled. He loved how innocent Fitz and Simmons still appeared, even after enduring years of Hell and trauma.

“Simmons will be thrilled to hear about the opportunity. She’s always wanted to work with other SHIELD scientists.” He quickly shot Coulson a worried glance. “Not a that we haven’t appreciated and loved our time on the team, sir. It’s been a time of growth and new experiences, I believe.”

Coulson just smiled warmly. He knew what Fitz meant. They had both become hardened field agents over time, but at heart, they were both scientists simply chasing knowledge.

“I know, Fitz. And it’s been a pleasure having you both.”

The room fell into a comfortable silence again as they all thought about the future. The prospect of collaborations was beyond exciting. Daisy thought that maybe she could get to know the Black Widow better, and Coulson was thrilled at the idea of getting to spend more time with Captain America.

The nurse from earlier returned to the room. “Any takers to visit?” She asked pleasantly.

Coulson and May rose simultaneously from their chairs, ready to go finally see their Simmons.

Chapter Text

Jemma was barely awake when Coulson and May entered her room. Her eyes were only slightly open, her body limp in the hospital bed. They each went to her bedside, approaching slowly. Her eyes were too tired to follow them. Two surgeries had taken quite a toll on her.

Coulson took the chair while May stayed standing. Her eyes roamed Jemma’s body while Jemma tried to focus on her visitors. Jemma’s leg was in a cast from her toes to her knee. There was a trapeze attached to her foot with pins holding the cast in place from every direction. Recovering from surgery was a different kind of pain than any of them were used to. On the team, Jemma was the only one who had had routine surgery before, for her scoliosis.

So yeah, May and Coulson knew that Jemma was in pain, but they couldn’t relate as much as they wished.

“You look exhausted.” May began.

Jemma’s lips cracked into a smile.

“Strong start, Agent May.”

Coulson shot May a horrified look, then looked back at Simmons. Seeing her smile made him smile. At least she was still in good spirits (for now, he thought to himself).

“We’re glad to see you awake Simmons. And for the record, you look great for someone who just got out of a second major surgery.”

Her smile softened. She knew she didn’t look well, but it was kind of Coulson to say otherwise.

“I’m not any more ready to lose you know than when you jumped out of the BUS, Jemma.”

She was close to tearing up at that.

“I’m not ready to leave, sir.”

Then she looked down and fiddled with the edge of her bedsheets, her face contorting into something else her superiors couldn’t quite recognize.

“I didn’t think you’d want me after this.”

May and Coulson looked at each other, bewildered.

“Why on earth would you think that, Jemma? You know we love you,” she added on softly, the second part far more quietly.

Jemma bit her lip, still not looking up at May or Coulson. She took a minute to gather her courage before speaking again.

“You have both helped me train in self defense and combat for years, ever since my mission at Hydra. It seems that I was unable to apply such knowledge and let myself get kidnapped. Again.” She hesitated before adding, “I can’t help but feel as if I’ve let the both of you down, forcing you to rescue weak little Jemma Simmons for the umpteenth time.”

A stunned silence overtook the room. May and Coulson exchanged a truly shocked look. How could Jemma ever think that they were disappointed in her?

Jemma took the silence the wrong way, going to roll over and look away as much as her leg and tubes would allow her to.

“Look at me,” May said before Jemma could roll over. “Please,” she added more forcefully.

With a small sigh, Jemma relented to laying on her back again, holding back tears as she looked up at May.

“You are not weak, Jemma Simmons. Do you hear me? This. Is. Not. Your. Fault.”

May knee Jemma didn’t believe her, but she hoped the words would at least swim around in her head for awhile. They all knew that Jemma suppressed her feelings, sometimes to dangerous lengths. The few times they were able to glimpse into her thoughts, they were horrified with what they saw. They knew that it must have taken an immeasurable amount of courage for Jemma to confide in them.

“Of course we’re not mad at you Jemma,” Coulson spoke, tears welling in his eyes. “You did your best. That’s all we ever ask of you. You were unarmed and heavily surrounded. I don’t think even Cap could have made it out.”

Coulson had to stop himself when his voice cracked. May’s eyes didn’t leave Jemma’s face. She wasn’t sure she remembered the last time the girl had allowed herself to be so vulnerable.

“Steve and Wanda told us that you got yourself out. They just happened to find you on a random raid of a random base. They said that you had gotten out of wherever you were being held and were on your out of the building on their way in.” Her lips twitched upwards. “As far as we’re concerned, you got yourself out, Simmons.”

She was truly touched by May’s and Coulson’s words, but her foggy mind was lagging behind. When she felt a tear roll down her cheek, she decided to crack it up to the numerous pain medicines she was on.

“I’m beyond touched. Thank you, both, truly.”

Jemma didn’t know what else to say. For the first time in a long while, she found herself speechless. For maybe the first time ever, so did May and Coulson.

“We’ll, uh, leave you alone now, Jemma. Give you some time to think and rest. You’ve been through a lot.” Coulson wiped another tear away, giving her hand a squeeze.

With a nod, Coulson left the room. May took another moment by Simmons’s bedside, trying to decide what to say.

She settled on the same thing she had told Simmons years ago, before Fitz had died and Jemma was married and they had saved the earth.

“You’re not weak, Simmons. I don’t know how to make you believe that too. But I’m going to try.”

May gave her one last smile and her hand a squeeze. She turned around, taking a minute to compose herself before leaving Jemma’s room. May let very, very few people see her vulnerable, but Jemma was one of them. She put back on her stoic business face as she met Coulson in the hallway. They said nothing as they went back to the waiting room. They had no idea what one could possibly say to make things better.

Chapter Text

A few more tears rolled down Jemma’s cheeks and she let May’s and Coulson’s words sink in. She wanted to believe them. So, so badly. She knew her head was bullying her. They did care about her. She would work on it, maybe take up May on her offer to “try,” whatever that meant. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. One step at a time. She wasn’t alone. (She really wanted to believe that.)

She didn’t know if her stream of visitors was done for awhile or not. Jemma would love to meet (and talk back to) Wanda. Whoever took care of her on the plane, too. Maybe thank Steve. But they were the Avengers and she knew they had important places to be.

But lo and behold, Bruce and Wanda were the next ones to visit her. He was smiling and she was practically hiding behind him, nervousness practically projecting off of her.

There was an awkward silence for a few moments. None of them knew each other well.
So Jemma decided to speak up.

“Thank you for saving me,” she said earnestly. “I really do appreciate your efforts. Please extend them to the rest of your team.”

Bruce smiled at that and Wanda seemed to relaxed marginally.

“Why not tell them yourself?” He proposed.

Jemma was taken aback. Did the Avengers really have time to talk to her?

Very little about how Wanda’s powers worked was known by SHIELD. Even Wanda herself didn’t understand where they stemmed from. Jemma had been one of the biologists to study it, so it felt rather awkward to talk to the subject of weeks of her research. Jemma figured it would be better to talk to Wanda than address the rest of the Avengers, even if it was an odd situation.

“I would like to thank you, Wanda, for staying with me,” Jemma said. Wanda blushed at that and looked down.

“I know it may not feel as if you did much to aid in my recovery, but I assure you that your care and empathy towards me has made all the difference.”

Wanda looked up at that, biting her lip to hold back a smile.

“Agent May called Natasha and told her to tell me to not let go of your hand. I have a feel that she may have killed me if I did not follow her orders.”

That made Jemma smile, genuinely smile, as well.

“Oh, May. Overprotective, that one.” She sighed, the smile on her lips softening.

“And I wanted to meet the person who struggled so hard to stay alive,” Bruce said. “Only to find out that I knew her. You’re a legend in SHIELD labs across the world.”

She sputtered, amazed at his response.

“I’m a legend? Why, Dr. Banner, me and Fitz, that is, my partner,” she paused for a breath, “we have idolized you ever since our freshman year at the academy.” Another breath. “Your breakthroughs have revolutionized science as we know it!”

Bruce laughed heartily at her rant, eyes gleaming.

“It’s not often I get to meet my fans,” he joshed. “I’d love to collaborate some time, Dr. Simmons.

Her eyes became saucers and Wanda giggled at her reaction.

“I- I would love nothing more Dr. Banner!”

“Your partner seemed just as eager. Made Tony a bit jealous, if you’d believe it.”

Jemma’s face went red with embarrassment.

“Well, of course, he too is a giant of his field-“

“Jemma,” Wanda began, holding back a laugh, “he got jealous last week when Sam chose Steve to be his bowling partner and not him. You are not the problem.”

They all had a good laugh at that. Bruce’s smile lasted a long time. Wanda had always seemed withdrawn from the team, disconnected. This was one of the first times, if not the first, that he had heard her crack a joke.

Jemma was gasping for breath from laughing so hard, her pulse shooting up and attracting attention from a nurse in the hallway. The nurse sprinted into the room, alarmed and ready for anything. The wild look on his face only made the trio laugh harder.

When they had all settled down, Bruce thought about what to say next. Fitzsimmons were certainly some of the best and brightest at SHIELD. Wasn’t that what the Avengers were supposed to be composed of?

“The other Avengers would love to meet you as well, I am sure,” Wanda spoke, looking at Bruce for approval. He nodded at her encouragingly.

“They would all like to meet the woman who broke herself out of a Hydra prison with no weapon.” Jemma’s heart warmed at that. This reinforced May’s theory that she was not weak. This helped. It was a start.

“How did you get loose?” Bruce questioned. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, obviously. Just curious.”

It was probably (definitely) the pain medicine, but Jemma started giggling uncontrollably at his question. Wanda and Bruce exchanged a confused look.

“I hit him in the face with my lunch tray.”

To everyone’s surprise, it was Wanda who burst out laughing. Bruce supposed to was funny and joined her. Jemma knew that laughing would only wear her out and draw the attention of the nurse again, so she settled for a giddy smile instead. This certainly wasn’t how she pictured the Avengers. They were nothing like the cold gods she had been told of. They were people too. People who were surprisingly good at cheering other people up.

————————————————————————

Down the hall in the waiting room, they all heard the trio burst out laughing. May quirked an eyebrow and Daisy grinned. The laughter was contagious. Soon everyone in the room was smiling, too. May just shook her head.

She exchanged a look with Coulson. Their time with Jemma had been more than heavy. They were glad that the Avengers, of all people, were the ones to bring some levity into her life. It didn’t matter where the light came from, though. They both knew that sunshine lived in every cell of her being, even after all the years of trauma she had been forced to endure. It would take time, but they knew she would be okay.

Chapter Text

Jemma fell asleep shortly after Bruce and Wanda left her room. The nurses continued to flow in and out throughout the night, but Jemma never stirred. She was no heavy sleeper like Daisy, but didn’t wake at every sound like Bobbi. Her sleep was restful, considering everything she had been through.

————————————————————————

Dr. Cho came to the waiting room to discuss Jemma’s long road to recovery. They looked at each other, unsure of who the proper people were to be in that group. In the end, they decided on Coulson and May as the team leaders (and team parents, honestly), Fitz as her partner, and Bobbi as the one who would probably be helping Jemma carry out the various therapies, just as Jemma had done for her.

The five of them entered a conference room down the hallway. It was well lit, with a beautiful view of sprawling hills off in the distance. There was a large oval table in the middle of the room surrounded by plush navy chairs. Dr. Cho began by pulling closed the shades and pulling down a screen from the ceiling.

She opened a laptop and hooked it up to the screen. Open was the before x-ray of Jemma’s ankle, alongside of the after x-ray.

She didn’t have to explain the images. Everyone in the room had at least some experience with x-rays before. They also knew that the recovery from her ankle replacement wouldn’t be the hard part.

They waited through Dr. Cho’s presentation, showing MRIs and Jemma’s ruined muscles and ligaments. That was going to be a pain in physical therapy. The before and after didn’t look so different. Her muscles would need time to regrow and reconnect. Dr. Cho and the other surgeons could only do so much. Like everything else, time would heal them.

The next slides showed the various cuts and bruises on Jemma’s body. Some had been the ones Bruce had stitched up on the plane. Some had shown up more recently. Bruises seemed to litter her entire being, down to her toes. Some of the cuts had been closed with simple butterfly stitches, others left to heal on their own.

There were a few abbot her lung, showing surgical pictures. The damaged lobe was shown, a clear bullet hole straight through it. Necrosis had slipped into its edges. Surely it had been doing more Jemma harm than good while sitting in her chest. None of them knew how long ago she had taken the bullet, however.

After a few slides more of Jemma’s medical information and up-close images of her injuries, the screen went black and Dr. Cho reopened the curtains. Light flooded back into the room as silence bathed the group.

“So, her physical recovery is going to be Hell,” May stated. They all just nodded in agreement.

“Has she told anyone about what happened yet?” Fitz questioned. The room remained silent. “Her mental recover is probably going to be far worse.”

Now that was a true statement if there had ever been one. It had been on everyone’s minds, but no one wanted to ask. Jemma was in bad condition as it was. Who knew what it would do to her if she was forced to relive whatever she had gone through? Just like with Maveth, she would share when she was ready.

She would probably never talk to another therapist, after her last one ended up being a murderous beast most nights. Talking her feelings out had never seemed to go well for her before. May had watched it contribute to the collapse of Jemma’s and Fitz’s relationship after Hydra. Sharing her feelings had never ended well for her, ever since she was a girl.

But she was going to have to talk it out eventually, or else she would never heal. But this time, Coulson wasn’t going to make the mistake of forcing her to talk to someone. She had told Andrew she was fine for weeks during therapy while she struggled with nightmares and panic attacks. This time, he would take May’s advice and give her time.

They would let her talk to May and Bobbi and everyone else on the team instead. They would do better this time around.

————————————————————————

When Jemma came around, May and Bobbi were by her bedside. She blinked at them, smiling, happy to see her teammates again. She was nervous when alone in the room, even though it was literally the Avengers tower, more impenetrable than most other SHIELD facilities.Bobbi smiled at her radiantly.

“Hey there, Simmons. How are you feeling?”

Jemma could hear the sincerity in her voice and sincerely appreciated it. She couldn’t bring herself to return the bright smile, though. She had a feeling waking up, especially in strange places, was going to be an issue for awhile.

“As well as can be expected, I suppose.”

May rose then from her chair. She got straight down to business, as always.

“We know you’ve been through a lot and Coulson and I aren’t going to force you to see a therapist.” Jemma visibly relaxed at that.

“But you’re going to have to talk to someone. Maybe me, maybe Bobbi, whoever on the team or at the base. Maybe even your parents. But you need to talk to someone about what happened or you’ll never move past it. But you know that.” Jemma gulped and nodded at May’s words. She knew they were true, but that didn’t make her want to talk about it any more.

But to her relief, May ended her speech and her face softened. “But until then, we’re just glad you’re here.”

“But part of the reason we’re the ones here is to talk about your path to recovery,” Bobbi stated, looking sorry. “They’re hoping to start physical therapy for your leg today.”

That sounded exhausting to Jemma. But she knew it was necessary. She held back a sigh.

“Who will I have the pleasure of working with for that?”

Bobbi and May exchanged an amused glance and a twinkle appeared in Bobbi’s eye.

“That would be me. I can’t prescribe your exercises but I can definitely be the one to supervise and spot.”

That had all of them smiling and Jemma blew out a breath of relief. At least she wouldn’t have to adjust to someone new. She loved Bobbi and knew she would push her just the right amount.

“We’re gonna start now,” Bobbi said.

Jemma raised an eyebrow. “Now? Bobbi, I’m not sure I can sit up on my own. I definitely cannot be walking or stretching yet.”

May smirked at that. “Physical therapy doesn’t have to be that hard, Jemma.”

“Your first sets are small,” Bobbi continued. “Can you lift your leg using the trapeze?”

Jemma just looked at her for a few moments before nodding. May prompted her, so she demonstrated. May smirked again.

“Congrats Agent Simmons. You’ve passed level one of physical therapy.”

Jemma thought she must have been joking, but Bobbi nodded in agreement. From what she remembered, Bobbi’s physical therapy had been much harder at the beginning. She tried not to compare herself to Bobbi, though. She had been told time and time again not to.

“How little does everyone think of me?” Jemma asked indignantly, and Bobbi giggled.

“How about lifting your leg without the trapeze?”

Jemma worried her bottom lip between her teeth. The cast was rather heavy. She didn’t know if she could.

“I know it seems like a lot,” Bobbi soothed, “but try.”

Jemma nodded and hesitantly tried.

“Lift from your hip...It’s a start. Keep your knee slightly bent, don’t overextend it...”

Bobbi and May coached her through a few tedious and tiring lifts before Jemma let her leg go down.

“Good,” Bobbi soothed, then grinned. “Congratulations. You’ve survived your first physical therapy session.”

She knew it was small, lifting her leg. But it felt big. Jemma thought about making a sarcastic comment about how she was getting congratulated for picking her leg up off the mattress but decided against it. Like May had told her all those years ago when she started combat training, take the small wins.

Chapter Text

Jemma slept for the rest of the day, worn out from physical therapy. Bobbi sat through video conferences with different physical therapists from SHIELD, creating a regime for Jemma and planning for the future. She hadn’t even started the conferences with the respiratory therapists yet.

May and Coulson quietly talked about her mental recovery. They had both been tortured themselves, and they knew Jemma had been too, but this time was different. May and Coulson, even though they were generally private people, talked to each other about what happened to them. They knew there was a slim chance that Simmons would come to either of them to talk. They just hoped that Bobbi and Fitz, maybe Daisy, would be enough. They would talk to the three agents later on, prepare them for what to say and when to get help for Simmons.

Things had definitely calmed down at the Avengers compound. Bruce and Wanda had rejoined their team for an evening training session and Mack had suggested the team all get dinner together. The Avengers had been kind enough to offer them all rooms during Jemma’s stay (and they knew Pepper Potts was probably the one to thank for that).

Daisy and Fitz “decided” to go exploring. Really, Daisy dragged Fitz to go exploring the compound with her. Mack went with them to keep them in check and Hunter went along in search of beer.

Later, they all sat in the common space of the quinjet, eating takeout from a local Indian restaurant that Steve had suggested. May was the one who had suggested asking the Avengers for restaurant suggestions, and Coulson had been itching for an excuse to go talk to Steve.

They turned in for the night after a hard day of conferences and exploring in their temporary bunks. None of them slept well, but all slept soundly, knowing that Jemma was safe and sound just a floor above them.

————————————————————————

The next morning, the agents all gathered in their floor’s communal kitchen. May had boiled some water for herself and Fitz and Coulson had put on a pot of coffee for the rest of them. All were surprised when Dr. Cho stepped off the elevator, smiling.

“Good morning all,” she greeted and received seven tired responses in return. That didn’t seem to dull her enthusiasm.

“Agent Simmons is feeling much better this morning. With the okay of the other providers, we have signed off with her being in a wheelchair. I believe she is rather bored in her room.”

She was met with much less tired responses after that. Daisy and Mack high fived and Fitz was grinning from ear to ear. Bobbi and Mack hugged and the elder agents just smiled.

“I was hoping you’d all be pleased. A nurse should be bringing her up in a few minutes. Keep her day low key, please. No one in that medical wing ever tells me how they really are.”

That set off alarm bells in May’s and Coulson’s heads. They knew Jemma was definitely one of those agents.

Nevertheless, they were excited to see her out of bed, even if it was just in a wheelchair.

They all waited anxiously around the room in silence as they waited for Jemma’s arrival. The news was on the tv as they all sipped their drinks.

Everyone’s heads snapped up when the elevator dinged. A nurse wheeled Jemma into the room, an IV bag hanging off a pole attached to the chair. She was pale, and clearly tired, but smiling nonetheless.

They all jumped up at her arrival. Jemma was greeted with enthusiasm by all, which helped alleviate some of her nervousness from seeing her teammates again. She had been worried they would all treat her like a delicate piece of glass, ready to break at any second. Thankfully, their energy didn’t seem to reflect any of her biggest worries.

They all had some breakfast after the nurse left. Jemma was wheeled over to the table, which they all sat around, eating toast and fruit. Fitz made her a cup of tea and delivered it with a smile before sliding into the seat next to her. She didn’t participate, but enjoyed listening to her teammates talk. Bobbi and Hunter’s banter made her laugh until she was out of breath. She felt guilty when she broke the laughter for everyone checking on her, but bless his heart, Hunter plowed on anyway like nothing had happened.

It was the most normal morning the team had shared in a long while. None of them could remember the last time they had all eaten breakfast together. They valued this time, even if it had come to them through unfortunate circumstances. Coulson and Daisy washed and dried the dishes as everyone else moved to the common area.

“You know, Jemma, the rest of the Avengers really want to meet you,” Daisy said, wiggling her eyebrows. Jemma’s furrowed together.

“They do, they said so themselves. And you know that Coulson will always take the chance to talk to Captain America,” Bobbi added, which made them all laugh.

Jemma’s hesitance alleviated as the others started to plan their day. They figured that they could take a tour of the compound and maybe go into town for a quiet lunch if Jemma was feeling up to it, not that she had been cleared to eat anything too exciting or flavorful yet.

She enjoyed the normalcy of the moment. She missed the family dynamic of when she was just a child living in England. This was a rare occurrence in SHIELD, a team getting to all be together in the same place and spend quality time together. It had been said to all of them by Dr. Cho that consistency would aid in Jemma’s recovery, even more so if the people she were around were consistent.

But thinking too far into the future was unrealistic in their line of work. For now, they all enjoyed planning a normal, quiet day together. Who knew when they would get another chance like this. Jemma had taken only one vacation day since joining Coulson’s team, where she went home to England to spend her birthday with her parents. If anyone deserved a normal, quiet day, spent joshing around with one’s teammates, it was her.

Chapter Text

The group was ready to depart their floor promptly at 9. They were all cleaned up, had eaten, and Jemma had the all clear to spend the day as she pleased, as long as she stayed in the wheelchair and didn’t do anything too strenuous. She was to check back in with Dr. Cho around one.

Bobbi and Hunter went in the elevator with Jemma while the rest of the group took the stairs. They stepped off on the first floor. May had texted Natasha, who was planning to give them a tour of the compound. Instead, they were met by Tony and Steve. They exchanged good mornings while Coulson basically stared at Steve.

“Nat should be down soon, she’s sparring with Wanda,” then more quietly, Steve added, “poor kid.”

“But for now, we’re your entertainment.” Tony clapped his hands together.

“Nice to finally meet ya when you’re awake, Dr. Simmons,” Tony blurted out. “Your contributions to SHIELD and science have been very much appreciated, even saved our lives probably more than once over.” Jemma blushed at the praise.

He continued. “Y’know, I bet Bruce tried to woo you into working with him on some boring project with blood or something,” Tony waved a hand dismissively, “but I’ve got something better both you and your partner here can work on.”

He was silent for a moment, eyes gleaming, as he let the anticipation build. Jemma and Fitz exchanged a confused glance while May just rolled her eyes.

“Creating an artificial human! Yes, that’s right, you heard me. Taking all those artificial organs and making a person out of them. We could make more geniuses and enhanced people, or whatever the heck we call them now,” Tony stopped for a breath, looking at the two scientists for a reaction. Jemma’s eyebrows were furrowed and Fitz had his hand on his chin.

“But Mr. Stark,” Jemma began, “the human brain is much too complex to build from scratch. We cannot replicate processes we do not yet understand, let alone imitate synapses and their connections.”

Fitz built off of her. “Yeah, I suppose we could engineer a brain, quite similarly to a computer. But then we’d just have Aida all over again.”

Jemma hummed her agreement. “Yes, and then the brain wouldn’t even be made of grey matter and therefore not fully be human-“

“-and that doesn’t account for the variation and spontaneous nature of humans-“

“-yes, brilliant point, no program could ever really imitate such behavior, but maybe a brain donor-“

“-but then we’d have to connect the brain to the rest of the body and match every individual vessel-“

“-ah, yes, certainly a challenge. The specimen may not even survive, especially if-“

“-such brain were from a subject with different protein and blood pH levels than the given organs-“

As Fitz and Jemma continued their seamless conversation about the limits of modern technology and medicine in human beings, Tony simply looked back and forth. He opened his mouth to add something, but Fitz beat him to it. Then Jemma. Finally, he just shut his mouth. Next to him, Steve snickered.

“Are they always like this?” Tony asked Coulson in a pained whisper.

Coulson just nodded back in amusement.

Jemma was quickly growing short of breath from their conversation and was continuously stopping for gasps of air. Fitz noticed and offered with a small smile to continue the talk later.

Natasha chose that moment to come into the room and look at the group. Tony still looked somewhere between baffled, confused, surprised, and annoyed. Steve was grinning next to him. She took a look at Coulson’s team. All but Jemma and Fitz looked like they were trying not to laugh.

“What did I miss?” She questioned.

That broke whatever wall had been holding everyone back as the room erupted into laughter.

————————————————————————

Natasha wasn’t Tony’s biggest fan. She hadn’t been ever since Fury had first assigned her to keep watch over him. So she felt pretty damn good after hearing about how Fitz and Simmons had not only basically dissed his theory for a project, but then held a conversation where Tony could not get a word in edgewise.

They were currently walking outside, Fitz pushing Jemma’s wheelchair and Natasha leading the group. She pointed out the large concrete lot, explaining that it was where some of them did target practice with weapons and where Tony tested new missiles. It also explained the dents in the side of the building.

There was a tennis court, an Olympic sized swimming pool, a squash court, a track, a garden, and so much more at the compound. They all stopped to sit in the garden for a few minutes to process everything they had seen so far that day.

“So Stark built all of this?” Daisy questioned. Natasha nodded.

“But I thought he was a philanthropist?”

Coulson furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “He is, Daisy. Why do you ask?”

Natasha smirked as she exchanged a look with May.

“She means,” Hunter trucked on, having no problem saying what most of them were thinking, “that the guy who claims to give his money to the poor spends it on crap like this.
I mean, bloody hell, do the Avengers even have time for squash?”

Bobbi shushed him, but was trying not to smile.

“Can’t say I have,” Natasha said, ever the cool one. “To be honest, I don’t even think Tony knows how to play. He just wanted it for show.”

Then she looked over to Daisy. “And you’re absolutely right. For a so-called philanthropist, the man wastes a hell of a lot of money on frivolous things just for show.”

Daisy let out a controlled breath, looking around. She had grown up with so little. St. Agnes hadn’t even been able to afford new bed sheets when they needed them. But here was Tony Stark, installing entire courts just because he liked the aesthetic.

Mack seemed to catch on to her anger and tried to change the subject.

“So, this garden is nice. Seems like a good escape from the city just a few miles down the road.”

Natasha nodded again. “Yeah, it’s a tranquil place. Wanda and Bruce both love it here. Helps them stay calm and in control. When the season hits, this place is bursting with colors. There’s roses, hydrangeas, sunflowers, lilacs, azaleas, and more. It’s nice. Pepper spends a lot of time keeping it like this.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, appreciating the day. The sun was almost directly overhead and was shining down upon them all. The garden was just shaded enough that the sun was not blinding, but was exposed so that they could all still feel the sun’s warmth beat down upon them. It was pleasant, a very nice day outside.

Wanda came and joined them after awhile. She had just finished a training session with Steve where he wanted her to use her powers in specific, controlled movements. It was easy for her to blow up, create big, resounding effects. It was a whole lot harder to move small and delicate things.

She and Natasha shared a small smile as Wanda settled next to her on the bench. After a few more minutes, Natasha checked her watch. She knew Simmons had to go see Dr. Cho at one and they were going to cut it close if they sat out here for too much longer. It was already 12:30.

An idea popped into Natasha’s head. She knew Wanda liked using her powers on her own, when there was no one around she could possibly injure. One day, she had caught Wanda using her powers in the garden and had praised the girl for it.

“Hey Wanda, wanna show them your new trick?” Natasha probed. Wanda bit her lip, then nodded.

The group looked up expectantly. Wanda seemed nervous, which of course made mall of them nervous. But then again, Wanda seemed like a generally nervous person and Natasha was cool as a cucumber.

Red flowed from Wanda’s hands in wispy strings as it found its way to the dirt. The bed of lilies had only some flowers in full bloom. But they all watched in awe as Wanda used her powers to lift some lilies from the dirt, making them bloom and open.

Natasha smiled as she watched Wanda work. It was one of the few things Wanda liked about her powers. She had told Natasha that she could ruin and end lives with her powers. They were so destructive. The idea had randomly come to her one day when sitting alone in the garden, to try to grow the flowers. She had been excited to find that her powers could help bring life into the world.

Some gasped, some exclaimed as they watched Wanda work. After she had doubled the number of lilies in the bed, she tentatively let her hands sag down to her lap, the red energy retreating back towards her figure. She looked at Natasha for approval, who gave her a satisfied nod and a warm smile, which of course made Wanda smile.

“So I bet that comes in handy when the lawn needs maintenance, huh?”

They broke out laughing at Coulson’s comment, which made Wanda blush. She had never thought about using her powers on the grass, but it would probably be easier than on flowers. After they had all calmed down, Natasha checked her watch again. 12:55.

The group headed back to the main building and met a nurse in the lobby to bring Jemma up to the medical wing. Natasha and Wanda offered the rest of them to come upstairs to the Avengers’ floor for lunch, which they gladly accepted. The nurse said that he would bring Jemma down after she had her tests done and levels checked. The group set off up the stairs, following Natasha and Wanda’s lead.

Chapter Text

Jemma’s check in with Dr. Cho brought nothing out of the ordinary. Part of her wished that someone from the team had volunteered to go with her to her appointment, but she was a full grown adult. She shouldn’t need someone to.

Dr. Cho took her vitals and discussed her pain levels, both on average levels based on her injuries. Her pulse was raised and Jemma told Dr. Cho it was just because of the pain, but really Jemma was slightly panicking. She knew it was silly and that she was safe here, but the sterile white walls and cold, metal equipment placed around the room were all making her uneasy. Over the years, Jemma had gotten better at hiding her discomfort. Her hard work was paying off.

She got the all clear to return to her team after about an hour. She was relieved and let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. She really did quite like Dr. Cho, but for now, Jemma was uncomfortable around anyone who felt the need to poke and prod her.

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The team was eating lunch when Jemma rejoined them. So were the Avengers. All of them. Together. (Chaos ensures, she thought to herself.)

The nurse wheeled her right up to the table into the open spot beside May. The older woman gave her a warm smile.

There was lots of chatter filling the room. Tony was doing his best to one up Fitz, but finding it increasingly harder to do so. Coulson and Sam were listening intently, occasionally piping in with prior knowledge, both helping Fitz’s argument. Bruce was working hard to also poke holes in Tony’s ideas.

Natasha, Clint, Mack, Bobbi, and Hunter were having another conversation. Bobbi and Clint had been stationed together on missions before and Hunter wanted to know just about everything. Natasha made sure to poke holes in every exaggerated part of Clint’s stories. As someone who had been on missions with Bobbi before, Mack made sure to do the same

Steve, Wanda, and Daisy were talking about their childhoods. The three had more in common than they had thought. All grew up essentially in poverty, even if all were vastly different situations. The girls liked listening to Steve’s stories about growing up in the mid 1900s. Wanda and Daisy related over stealing food to get by, Daisy from foster family kitchens and Wanda from local shops. Steve made sure to tell them both that their actions were wrong, but under their glares, conceded that he would not have likely done differently in their situation.

May seemed to be listening to each conversation, not adding to any. Jemma did the same. She was content hearing the room filled with light conversation, all the voices blending together as a white noise. It seemed like she had missed the eating part of lunch. Coulson had noticed though, and was still listening intently to Fitz and Tony’s debacle.

Jemma was zoned out completely when Coulson finished making her bland toast. He threw a wild glance at May, who calmly indicated that he just put the plate down on the table. He did so and returned to where he was seated.

May took the chance to study Jemma. The girl didn’t seem upset or stuck in a flashback. She seemed content to just be, staring at the table with glazed over eyes. May could tell Jemma wasn’t really present at the moment, but figured it might be for the better. She let herself focus back in on Clint, who was telling a story about a mission in the Philippines years ago.

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After lunch, they were all content to just hang out on their floor again. None of them would admit it, but Jemma knew they were all worried about overwhelming her. When Fitz suggested she lie down doe awhile, she didn’t say no.

He helped Jemma out of the wheelchair and into the stiff twin bed. He gently covered her with a blanket and fluffed the pillow under her head, which made her smile.

“It’s a bit like that time in college when you got sick, yeah?” Fitz asked with a smile of his own.

Jemma had been thinking the same thing and nodded.

“Yeah. You taking care of me, vulnerable and ill as could be. Braving a storm to get me honey from the grocery store for my tea.”

Looking back, it was a very fond memory for the two from their time at the academy. It had seemed like a harmless, normal moment in their friendship, but it had really been quite a tender moment.

Jemma had been in bed for almost a week then, Fitz holding vigil by her bedside when he didn’t have class, bringing her lecture notes from their teachers for when she felt up to it. Her mother had always taken care of her when she was little and sick, making her tea with honey for her sore throat. She had been surprised when Fitz had done the same thing before he knew.

She let out a contented sigh as she lay back against the pillows. Fitz picked up her hand and gave it a squeeze. She looked over at him and bit her lip, feeling silly asking him her question.

“Do you think you could stay with me?” She asked him, using all her courage. “Of course, you don’t have to, but I don’t fancy being alone right now.”

He smiled affectionately and nodded. “Course I will, Jems. Scoot over. I’m quite tired as well.”

Being careful of her leg, Fitz squeezed into the small bed, pulling Jemma into his arms, her head lying on his shoulder. It was a tight squeeze, but after years of being apart, they didn’t mind in the slightest. He pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead after adjusting the covers over them. She appreciated that he had left the light on.

“Rest, Jems. God knows we both need it.”

The two of them fell asleep shortly after that, into a much needed slumber. Hours passed and dinner time was approaching fast. The team had been watching Chopped on the tv in the common room as Jemma and Fitz slept. They all figured the two were asleep, probably together. Usually, Daisy would have made a vulgar comment at the idea of the two of them sleeping together, but she knew they were too exhausted to do any more than sleep. Plus, Jemma was in no condition for sex.

As the next episode went off, Mack checked his watch. The Avengers had invited them to movie night and dinner around 7. It was already 6.

“Should we wake them up? They’ll probably want to look put together before another group meeting.”

Hunter waved a hand dismissively. “Let em sleep,” he said. “They need it. Hell, we all probably should’ve slept.”

“Hunter, if you sleep now, you won’t sleep tonight,” Bobbi chastised. He rolled his eyes at her.

“Geez, woman. You sound like me mum.”

The rest of the team snickered as Bobbi sighed loudly at his comment. They let Fitzsimmons sleep for another half hour before waking them up. Daisy was sent to do so. If she took a few pictures before she woke them up, well, who could blame her.

Chapter Text

Apparently, when Tony had told Coulson they were having dinner, then watching a movie, he had meant it was pizza night. Coulson’s team went down to the kitchen where they had eaten lunch that day and were surprised to find it empty. It was 6:50. They figured there would have at least been some people prepping for the meal.

May was the one wheeling Jemma around. When they found the empty kitchen, she rolled her eyes and sat down, locking Jemma’s wheelchair next to her. Coulson looked bewildered and confused.

“Maybe they got called out?” Mack suggested.

“Would those blokes really leave without telling their guests?” Hunter spat in return. Bobbi rolled her eyes. Hard.

“No, I think they would have told us,” Coulson said, looking down a hallway. “And they’re not blokes, Hunter. Don’t speak about the Avengers like that.”

“Yeah,” Daisy chimed in, wanting to argue with Hunter. “And we’re barely guests. They don’t owe us anything.”

As Hunter prepared a retort, Clint dashed in with a bag of microwaveable popcorn. He threw it in the microwave and then realized he wasn’t alone.

Everyone was stunned. The great Hawkeye, wearing flannel pants and a worn grey t-shirt. Clint didn’t even look embarrassed.

“Oh, hey guys. Everyone’s in the living room. Grab a seat. The pizza should be here soon.”

May and Jemma exchanged a look as the truth sunk in.

“So, by group dinner, Tony meant pizza night.” It wasn’t a question. Coulson was trying to keep a straight face. Daisy wasn’t.

She laughed loudly and ignored Mack trying to get her to quiet down. “This is awesome! Pizza night? With the Avengers? I’m in.”

The microwave dinged and Clint put in another bag. There was a small stack of bags next to him still to go.

Steve and Bruce came into the kitchen, dressed similarly to Clint, both carrying eight pizza boxes.

Bruce, unlike Clint, had the decency to blush.

“I guess we didn’t really fill you guys in. It’s movie night.” He put the boxes down on the counter. “This is dinner.”

Everyone seemed to accept the situation and took paper plates. Fitz got Jemma two slices of spinach and pepper pizza before getting himself the same. They all loaded up before moving into the other room.

Daisy couldn’t help the giggle that left her lips at the sight. The Avengers were all sprawled around the room in comfy clothes. Natasha and Wanda looked the most put together, with black leggings and long sleeve shirts. Sam was wearing Captain America fleece pajama pants. Tony was wearing Iron Man ones. It was beyond amusing.

(May knew Coulson had the same pants as Sam in his closet.)

Thankfully, the room was huge. There was an extremely large sectional, a normal couch, two loveseats, and various chairs around the room, all matching. Natasha was sitting in one of the armchairs, Wanda on the ground in front of her. Natasha was pulling Wanda’s hair back into a Dutch plait. It looked like Wanda had done Natasha’s in a French.

Steve and Bruce walked in and flopped down into one of the loveseats. Sam was settled on the sectional with Tony. Clint settled between them. Coulson and May took up the other end of the sectional. Bobbi and Hunter took a loveseat, snuggling into each other. Daisy and Mack took individual armchairs, thankful for the space.

Fitz helped Jemma onto the loveseat and pushed a button on the side that kicked up a platform. After they had gotten her leg settled up at a comfortable angle, Fitz slid in next to her and pulled a blanket over them.

Everyone dug into their pizza, which was surprisingly greasy and, well, normal. There was nothing special about it. It was from a typical house shop down the street in the city. Sure, Tony could afford so much more, but they all wanted normalcy from time to time.

Clint threw around the bags of popcorn as Tony pulled up Netflix.

“So, we’re watching Haywire, right? Everyone agreed yesterday.”

“No, Tony, we’re not. You agreed. With yourself. Why don’t we watch a comedy for once?” Bruce asked.

“I thought we were gonna watch more Disney classics!” Steve exclaimed. “Wanda still hasn’t seen them all.”

“She can watch them with Lilah and Cooper, no reason to waste a movie night on that,” Clint fought.

“I’m with Bruce. Comedy,” Nat added. “Any suggestions from team Coulson?”

Jemma would never say it out loud, but she hoped they wouldn’t pick something violent. She wasn’t in the headspace for that right now.

Thankfully, her team knew that. “We’re on board with comedy,” May said.

Tony sighed loudly and tilted his head back, but Sam nudged him. It seemed like everyone in the room but Tony was considering that it probably wasn’t best to watch an action or thriller movie with someone who had just returned from being kidnapped and tortured.

“Fine,” he conceded dramatically. “Be boring. Whatever. It’s fine. You pick.” Tony thrust the remote into Sam’s hand, who took it happily.

But of course things couldn’t be that easy. Now the Avengers had to argue over which comedy to watch.

“I heard Murder Mystery isn’t bad,” Clint said. “It’s got Adam Sandler and, uh, Rachel from Friends.”

“Guest House is supposed to be pretty good,” Steve suggested.

“My parents took me and Pietro to the theater once,” Wanda reminisced. “We saw Man is Not a Bird. I believe that was a comedy, yes?”

The room fell into silence as everyone just looked at her. No one had ever heard of the movie, even Nat.

“I don’t think that’s on Netflix, kiddo,” Clint finally settled on.

After another hour of squabbling, they turned back to Coulson’s team for ideas.

“We’re clearly getting nowhere. You guys got any ideas?” Sam asked desperately. It was already 8pm.

Surprising everyone, Jemma spoke up. She hoped that she wasn’t overstepping any boundaries, but Sam had asked for suggestions and the Avengers seemed to have a thing for Adam Sandler.

“How about 50 First Dates?” she asked quietly. Next to her, Fitz smiled. He knew it was one of her favorites.

The idea was met with no objections, but rather some hums of approval. As Sam cued it up, Natasha quietly explained the plot to Wanda.

It was a perfect movie to watch for the group. It was funny, cute, endearing, and not gory in the slightest. It was more PG than Avengers movie nights usually were, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. Jemma had always loved the tranquil setting of the movie on the mainland of Hawaii. She found the greenery and open ocean so calming.

After the movie ended, everyone headed off to their rooms for bed. They had used paper plates, so clean up was easy. Bobbi had offered to clean up the popcorn spilled on the floor, but Natasha protested strongly.

“We both know Tony and Bruce spilled it everywhere, like the children they are,” she argued. “They can pick up after themselves.”

Jemma was due for more pain medicine before going to bed. Her and Fitz moved to a room with a queen bed instead of the twin from earlier that day. Jemma had no idea who to thank for that, but she was thankful for the extra space.

She felt gross and wanted to shower, but knew it was probably a feat too big for now. She was tired and she knew she would need help and she didn’t want to bother May, Bobbi, or Daisy. She knew that they were tired, but reminded herself that they wouldn’t mind helping her. They had all told her that, trying to drill the idea into her head. Jemma decided to just take a shower in the morning.

Fitz had brought her a tooth brush and a cup of water for her to brush her teeth. She thanked him and returned the items when he came back into the room. She bit her lip as she looked at the bathroom connected to their room. For a building meant for secret agents and people in such a dangerous line of work, Jemma was slightly surprised at how not wheelchair accessible it was.

Fitz read her mind and helped her to the toilet, leaving her to call him back in when she was done. She tried not to be embarrassed. This was her fiancée, after all. But she couldn’t help it.

They both went about getting ready for bed. Jemma did her leg exercises as Fitz brushed his teeth. A few minutes later, he peeled back the covers and hesitated.

“Okay if I turn off the overhead light?” He asked her.

She bit her lip. She really did not want to be in the dark, even if she wasn’t going to be alone.

“Could you leave the bathroom light on?”

Fitz nodded at the compromise. He turned on the light in the bathroom and left the door ajar so that light flowed into the room. He then turned off the overhead light. Jemma couldn’t help the soft gasp that escaped her lips.

“You okay?” He questioned.

Jemma nodded in the darkness. She felt better after he got under the covers next to her and pulled her into his side. Although the darkness was making her nervous, the light from the bathroom was helping. So was having Fitz next to her.

She sighed, closing her eyes and trying to calm down. She was exhausted and it was easier to sleep with the lights off.

Fitz seemed to sense her anxiety. He pulled her a little bit closer and kissed her forehead.

“I got you Jemma. Try to get some rest. I’m right here.”

She smiled at his kind words and thanked him quietly. She positioned her head against him so that she could hear his heartbeat, which acted as a calm and steady force for her. She let the repetitive noise lull her into a dreamless sleep.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Jemma was awoken by sharp pain coming from her abdomen. Fitz wasn’t in bed next to her. Jemma tried to quell the rising panic in her. He couldn’t have gone far. He wouldn’t leave her.

She tried to sit up, but immediately lay back. Something was terribly wrong. She felt like her abdomen was on fire. Her eyes squeezed shut as she bit down hard on her lip, trying to keep from yelling out. She needed help. Now.

She did her best to keep her breathing under control as she managed to roll onto her side so that she was facing the doorway. The pain was searing and black spots were clouding her vision as a tear rolled down her cheek.

She couldn’t help it as her breathing quickened. She had to get out of here. They’ll find me. I have to get out.

Her panic stricken body was quickly going into overload. She tried to sit up again, this time trying to keep herself up. A small cry escaped her throat. One hand went to her abdomen and it came back covered in blood. Her eyes widened. They did this to me. They found me. I have to get out before they find me.

The room was blurring along with the spots. Another strangled cry came out of her lips as she felt another sharp pain. She was spiraling. She needed to escape. She managed to shakily stand up, one hand bracing her bleeding abdomen as she used the other to grip the wall. Her leg wouldn’t bend. It was trapped. They did this to her. She made it out the door, but not much farther, dragging her leg behind her. Her breathing was much too fast and she didn’t recognize her surroundings. The floors were carpet under her feet instead of the cold concrete. One leg was encased in hard plaster. She couldn’t move it. She couldn’t bend it. These walls were too brightly colored. A blurry figure was suddenly rushing down the hallway towards her. No. They found her. Jemma tried to turn around and get back into her room, but tripped in the process.

————————————————————————

“Jemma?” Bobbi asked. She didn’t know she was up yet. Fitz was in the kitchen making them tea. He clearly didn’t know she was up yet either.

Then Bobbi saw the panic in Jemma’s eyes. And the blood on the front of her shirt. And the fact that she was up and walking, dragging her leg behind her. Something was very, very wrong here.

Bobbi started running towards Jemma. “Hey, Jemma, what’s wrong.”

Bobbi saw Jemma gasp and try to turn around, but her leg wouldn’t let her. She tripped and was mid fall when she caught Jemma. Jemma clearly didn’t know where she was or who she was with.

Bobbi took Jemma into her arms and lay her onto her back on the floor. Jemma was scrambling, trying to get away from Bobbi, but her efforts were weak. She had obviously torn her stitches and Bobbi suspected something else was wrong in her abdomen, too. By this point, it would be a miracle if Jemma’s leg wasn’t messed up as well.

Jemma was alternating between hyperventilating and gasping for breath. Bobbi felt herself start to panic, too. She gently pressed her hands into Jemma’s shoulders and leaned over her.

“Hey, Simmons, you’re alright. It’s Bobbi. You’re safe. We’re in the Avengers tower. You’re okay.”

She was a little relieved when Jemma finally met her eyes. Bobbi felt her own panic start to quell and Jemma’s breathing slowed down, at least slightly.

“Jemma. What’s wrong. What happened,” Bobbi asked, but Jemma clearly couldn’t answer her. She massaged Jemma’s shoulders a little bit, trying to calm her down. Pretty much everyone on the team knew pressure helped Jemma calm down. “I’ll get help, okay? Hang in there.”

Bobbi looked down the hall as Jemma stopped fighting so hard. No one was around. She pulled out her phone and rapidly looked through her contacts. May would be calm and that’s what Jemma needed right now. Bobbi kept her text simple and short.

Need help. Hall with bedrooms. Simmons.

Not a minute later, May was stepping off the elevator. She ran over to Bobbi and Jemma, squatting down next to them as she quickly assessed the situation.

“I came up here to change and Jemma was in the hallway. Standing up. Walking. Covered in blood. She didn’t know where she was,” Bobbi caught up May.

May nodded at Bobbi and then turned her eyes to Jemma. She met Jemma’s panicked gaze and took a deep breath, Jemma mimicking her.

“I don’t want you to move or talk, Simmons. Do you know who we are. Blink once if you do,” May instructed. Jemma blinked. “Good. Do you know where we are?” Jemma blinked again. “Good. Bobbi is going to go get Dr. Cho and they’re going to help you while I stay right here with you.”

May gave Bobbi a nod and she went off down the hallway at a jog. May looked back at Jemma, who was still looking at her. May took another deep breath and firmly squeezed Jemma’s hand. “Hang in there, Simmons. I’m right here. I’m not leaving.”

————————————————————————

Bobbi, Dr. Cho, and a few nurses came running down the hallway a few minutes later with a gurney. The gurney was lowered down to the floor. May kept a hold on Jemma’s hand as she was transferred onto the gurney. She stayed with Jemma until Dr. Cho and her team took over in the medical wing. They sedated Jemma, knowing her body would use a break, especially her lungs.

May blew out a breath on her way out of the room. Bobbi had updated the rest of the team. Poor Fitz had been quite panicked. He had only been gone to make the tea for about 15 minutes. In that time, it seemed as if all hell had broken loose.

Coulson’s team took up their all too familiar spots around the waiting room. They perked up when May came down the hallway.

“She’ll be okay. Sedated for now. Her leg’s a mess and her abdomen is worse. Apparently she popped a bunch of stitches and has a post operative infection. They’re gonna have to open her back up.”

May’s answer was met with deflated sighs. They had all thought that Jemma had been getting better. Her physical therapy had been going well and her mental state, at least they thought, had been improving. Clearly they were all wrong.

“We should’ve pushed her to talk,” May said under her breath as she slid down next to Coulson.

“It’s not your fault,” he commented quietly. “It’s all of ours.”

She couldn’t argue with that. The team, the Hydra soldiers, who wasn’t to blame, really. Jemma, and probably the rest of the team, should have been in therapy for years by now, but SHIELD had gotten them all too good at compartmentalizing. Times like this, when it all came to a head in the form of panic attacks and delusions, reminded them that not all the old SHIELD ways were healthy.

“I left her alone,” Fitz said suddenly. “That’s what triggered her. Probably along with the popped stitches. She panicked because I wasn’t there.” Daisy tried to reassure him that it wasn’t his fault and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder but couldn’t find the right words. There was really nothing any of them could say to make this better. Once again, they would just have to wait for Jemma to resurface from all the trauma and pain. This time, they would do better for her.

Chapter Text

When Jemma awoke from surgery, her mind and body felt numb. Her thoughts were too slow and it was making her nervous, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. She was alone, probably back in the hospital room. She furrowed her eyebrows and went to sit up when she felt a tug on her abdomen. She stopped and looked down, lifting up her gown. There was an extremely large rectangle of gauze with clear tape around the edges. Under it, maybe stitches? She couldn’t tell if the pulling was from the tape or something underneath. Oh well, she thought. It didn’t seem to be terribly important at the moment. It was slowly coming back to her. The blood and the torn stitches. The burning. The panic. And May’s soft voice.

A few peaceful minutes later, she was joined by a nurse with a small smile. After he left the room, May and Coulson came in. They offered her the same fake smile the nurse had.

“How are you feeling?” Coulson asked her kindly.

She nodded. “No more pain. My thoughts are a bit mussed, but that is to be expected I believe.”

He nodded while May crossed her arms. She was making Jemma nervous.

“You had a panic attack, Simmons,” May stated. Jemma waited for her to finish. “We thought we were doing the right thing by not pushing, but maybe we were wrong.”

Jemma held back a sigh. She really didn’t feel like talking.

“We just want what’s best for you, Simmons,” Coulson continued. A beat passed as he looked at her. “At the very least, we want to know what might set you off into another panic.”

That seemed reasonable. Jemma nodded, giving herself a few moments to collect her thoughts. Coulson and May exchanged a look. After a few more seconds of silence, Jemma spoke.

“Knives,” she began, staring at the wall, deep in thought. “Darkness. Loud noises. Scissors. Hammers. Pliers. Alike tools.” She shuddered. They noticed. “Needles. Being confined. Gore. Sudden movements.”

She thought for a few more seconds but nothing listable came to mind. When she looked away from the wall, May and Coulson did not appear displeased. Maybe that list was good enough.

“That’s good to know,” Coulson said. “Okay if we spread the word?”

She nodded and he left the room, giving May one last meaningful look.

After he left, May sighed and sat down on the edge of Jemma’s mattress. They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes.

“One of your internal stitches burst,” May said evenly, “which put too much pressure on the outer ones, resulting in them tearing and the incision site bleeding. I can’t imagine the situation was made better by you getting up and trying to leave.” May gave her a pointed look.

Jemma felt her cheeks flush. “I didn’t mean to,” she said softly, breaking eye contact with May. It was clear, though, that May wanted her to keep going. Jemma took a breath score continuing.

“I, well, when I awoke, Fitz wasn’t next to me. I was alone and realized I was injured. Then I saw the blood and felt the pain,” she took a gasping breath, “and suddenly I didn’t know where I was anymore. I just felt as if I needed to get out.”

May nodded along quietly to Jemma’s dialogue. It made sense, really. She had felt pain, seen blood, and was pulled into a flashback, where her body went into fight or flight mode. Jemma had been diagnosed with PTSD by Andrew after Maveth but it was clear that this was going to factor into it, too.

“We need to address that,” May said. “I know you don’t want to, but it needs to be done if you ever want to go out into the field again.” She took a look at Jemma’s face. “You don’t have to, you know.”

Jemma looked up at her. “Really?”

May shrugged. “I think you have plenty of reason not to be out in the field. For one, your leg’s a mess. Your lungs are too. That’s excuse enough. But,” May paused, thinking, “you’ve seen more than most field agents have in a lifetime. Honestly, Jemma, I think it might be good for you to sit out field assignments, at least for a while. It doesn’t have to be forever.”

Jemma let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. Not going into the field sounded sort of appealing to her. Very much so right now.

“You also need to talk about what happened. It doesn’t have to be with me. But you need to say it out loud. We both know you keep too much inside.”

Jemma had to agree with that. She knew she did. Her parents had given her a music box when she was little and told her that her feelings could go in there to go away. It was an attempt at teaching her compartmentalization, but really led to her developing unhealthy coping habits when she had too many emotions or feelings.

“I assume we agree?” May asked. Jemma nodded. May smiled. “Good. I’ll send in Bobbi. She wanted to talk to you, too. Fitz also wants to apologize.”

May swiftly left the room, content with their conversation but planning to follow up later.

Bobbi padded in a few minutes later. She gave Jemma a soft smile. “You doing better?” Jemma nodded at that. “I do apologize for earlier, Bobbi. I was a bit of a mess.”

Bobbi furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head as she wrapped an arm around Jemma’s shoulders.

“Don’t be. It wasn’t your fault,” Bobbi argued. “We all have those moments of panic, especially right after, well,” she gave Jemma a look.

Jemma sighed and burrowed deeper into Bobbi’s shoulder as Bobbi swung her legs up onto the bed.

“May said I have to talk about it. I don’t want to, but I know she’s right.”

Bobbi’s comforting rubbing didn’t stop or slow.

“I agree with that, too. You can talk to me, you know. Always. I’m here for you.”

Jemma smiled at that. She was beginning to doze off when Fitz burst into the room. His face was slightly red and slightly panicked as he looked at them. Bobbi smirked.

“Jemma,” Fitz began gravely. “I am beyond sorry for not being there when you woke up.” She opened her mouth to stop him, but he plowed on. “I was making tea for us, but there are no teacups in this whole bloody complex, I swear! All coffee cups, with ridiculous, minuscule designs...”

Jemma giggled at his ramble. “Fitz, it’s really okay. I’m alright now. And this is not your fault. You know that, yes?”

Bobbi squeezed her shoulders. “I hope you know that too, Simmons.”

Jemma tried to tell herself that it wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t, really. It couldn’t be when her trauma had been inflicted upon her by others. But her mind had never been overly kind to her before and it didn’t seem as if it would start now.

Fitz sighed. “No, it’s certainly not your fault, Jems. And,” he hesitated, “I know it’s not mine either. I just wish I could have been there for you.” They exchanged their signature small, shy smiles. Bobbi could feel her teeth rotting at the sweetness of the moment.

Bobbi scooted over and Fitz sat down on Jemma’s other side. She felt safe, cuddled between the two of them. It was incredibly snug and they did not fit comfortably by any means. Jemma was practically on top of Bobbi and Fitz had the side rail up to keep himself from falling off. The pressure and warmth from the two of them helped ground her.

She didn’t know if Coulson had already given them her “list.” It was probably already typed up and distributed. She felt embarrassed, being triggered by such mundane things, but knew this group of people would not think less of her for it and that it would help overall. If Fitz and Bobbi already knew about the list, they weren’t showing it. Jemma appreciated that. They were here for her. Not to make sure that she didn’t break because she was their responsibility, but because they loved her. It was a nice feeling, Jemma thought, to beloved this much. Her parents had been wonderful growing up but they were never the touchy feely type. She learned to love hugs later in life and felt that she had been missing out. The warmth and deep feeling of connection with another person was wonderful. It was incredibly comforting to her. Being able to anchor herself to another person, both emotionally and physically, was a type of intimacy she had never even imagined before she met Fitz.

Jemma let out a small breath and closed her eyes. She knew she should try to get some rest and that she would probably be allowed to go back to her room in the tower soon. Who knew what tomorrow held for her? She had to be rested for whatever her next adventure was, no matter how small. That was for sure.

Chapter Text

Jemma felt better when she woke up. Lighter, even. She didn’t feel much pain. She had been out on stronger medicines by Dr. Cho than she had received originally. They made her feel somewhat tired and sluggish, but she would take weariness over pain any day.

She woke up with Fitz next to her, of course. She always seemed to wake up before him, which she didn’t mind. She had always liked to watch him sleep. He didn’t wake up for another few minutes.

She smiled as he did. “You must be uncomfortable,” she said as he lifted his head and cracked his back. His face said enough. He waved a hand dismissively.

“Nonsense, Jemma. I’ve never been better. Want some breakfast?”

Dr. Cho had said she could leave the infirmary as long as there were no problems in the night. She let Fitz help her into a wheelchair before the pair made their way down to breakfast.

The team was up already. May had already put on the kettle for herself, so Fitz got out tea. Coulson smiled at them. “Better this morning, Simmons?”

She smiled and nodded obediently. She felt panicky all over, and she knew she had promised she would say something to someone, and she truly intended to. Just not right here and now, especially not in front of everyone.

Coulson slid over some toast to her and Fitz as he settled down next to her with their mugs of steaming tea.

“What’s the plan for the day, AC?” Daisy asked with her usual energy. He shrugged as he sat down and wrapped his hands around his coffee mug.

“We could watch the Avengers train. That’ll probably be cool. I think they’re going out on the tarmac today because the weather is so nice, so it can be all out.”

Hunter snorted and Bobbi hit him. “Sorry mate, but are you telling me the Avengers wait for good weather before practicing outside? Now that’s just rubbish.”

Mack nodded slowly in agreement. With everything they put up with, it did seem kind of ridiculousness.

They were done with breakfast soon enough and went down as a group to watch the Avengers train. It was truly a spectacle to behold.

Tony, Sam, and Rhodey were in full uniform, metal suits and all. (No one would admit it, but their suits were their powers.)

Steve was in black pants and a long sleeved tee, holding his shield tightly by his hip. Natasha was in a black long sleeved tee and leggings. Wanda was wearing a similar outfit. Bruce didn’t seem to be making an appearance today. Maybe the Hulk didn’t really need to train as much as everyone else.

It looked like they were forming teams. Rhodey, Wanda, and Natasha on one side, and Tony, Steve, and Sam on the other. The matchups in pairs was pretty obvious. Tony and Rhodey had very similar suits. Natasha and Steve were both basically enhanced people with superhuman abilities. Sam could fly and shoot, and Wanda, well, none of them really knew what she was capable of.

It was entertaining to watch them fight. Tony and Rhodey seemed to just spend most of their time shooting at each other and destroying the grass, acting like it was one on one. Teamwork had never been Tony’s strong suit, after all.

The other four seemed to be using each other more. Wanda and Natasha were a tag team, Wanda deflecting Sam’s shots with her magic and Natasha handling hand to hand. She even got Wanda to levitate her through the air so she could knock Sam out of the sky. It was pretty cool.

The session seemed to end about an hour and a half later. The grass was burnt terribly and there were holes in the tarmac.

Tony sighed deeply as he opened his helmet. “Happy’s gonna kill me.” Natasha shook her head at the irony.

The Avengers headed towards the building. “Come and tell us what you observed,” Steve offered with his heroic smile. Phil melted. May rolled her eyes. Hard.

So the large group made their way to the kitchen as the Avengers threw each other water bottles.

“So, any pointers?” Steve asked. “Obvious things we could do to complement each other’s abilities?”

May had some ideas for them, mostly involving one flying Avenger and one ground bound one.

Jemma’s head snapped up as she heard the sound of a knife. Oh. Sam was cutting up some celery. It was no reason to be alarmed, but she felt alarmed. She gulped down a deep breath of air before looking back to the room. Natasha was staring at her.

Jemma averted her eyes and wheeled herself slightly away from the group. Natasha followed. “You don’t like knives, huh.” She had caught on quickly.

Jemma shook her head, staring at Sam.

“Moron should know not to do that here and now but that’s what I work with Simmons. Morons.”

Jemma smiled slightly at Natasha’s statement. The two of them talking had caught the attention of Bobbi, who looked curiously at Jemma before heading over.

“Everything okay?” She asked innocently. Jemma stopped herself from nodding automatically. She had to be honest here.

“I haven’t really felt okay today, Bobbi. The knife is not helping.” Bobbi followed her gaze to where Sam was putting the chef’s knife into the sink.

“Oh. Sorry Jemma. Of course that’s upsetting.” How had she missed this? Bobbi blamed herself. “Anything I can do?”

Jemma took a second to get up the courage to say it. “Just don’t leave me alone, yeah?”

Bobbi smiled and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. “Yeah. Never.”

They both rejoined the group then. She gave Fitz a reassuring smile as she wheeled herself back next to him. She had no idea where they were in conversation now. Something about Tony shooting at Cap’s shield and then it ricocheting off at an angle at an enemy. It sounded like an absolutely atrocious idea, but it did make her smile.

May had told her that the first steps would be the hardest. She had taken those today. She had admitted that she wasn’t really okay and identified the thing that was making her uncomfortable, even if someone had to ask her directly. Jemma decided to count it as a win anyway. She wanted to take all the small victories she could get.

She took it as another victory when Fitz started calling on her to back him up. She tuned back into the conversation. Of course he was telling them was a dumb idea it was to shoot at Cap’s shield. Someone had to and it would hurt less coming from a scientist. She did a quick sweep out of the corner of her eye. She wasn’t alone. She was safe. No one was behind her and no one was looking at her. She was okay. She tried to keep that all in mind as she pointed out that Fitz was right in that it would be hard to keep a consistent distance between Tony and Cap each time they wanted to do the “trick,” meaning the results would be unpredictable and irregular.

Chapter Text

The day had finally come. Jemma was healthy enough to leave the Avengers tower. She was cleared to be out of a wheelchair, instead using crutches and, in her opinion, an unreasonably bulky brace.

The Zephyr had been reloaded and refueled. Everyone had enjoyed their mini “vacation,” nit that it was much of a vacation, obviously. The time had finally come for the Avengers and Coulson’s team to part ways, at least temporarily.

The two groups ate breakfast together after Jemma had one final check with Dr. Cho. She had a very strict schedule set up, with virtual meetings with physical therapists twice a week and a mental counselor once every two. May was going to attend her counselor meetings with her and Bobbi the physical therapy. It may not have been the most ideal system, but they couldn’t stay on the ground forever. As much as they loved Jemma and valued her well-being, they all needed to get back to saving the world.

Everyone met on the tarmac to say their goodbyes. As much as they loved the company, Steve insisted that they needed to get back to their regular training, although Natasha argued they hadn’t really been interrupted; they more so interrupted themselves. Wanda giggled.

Coulson took his last chances to fanboy over Steve. Clint, of course, felt the need to add fuel to the fire, adding probing questions and telling Coulson personal details about Steve. Very personal. Sam was right there with him.

Bobbi and Hunter talked with Clint, telling Hunter stories of the old days. Daisy and Mack talked with Bruce about new technology and weapons. May and Natasha took the time to catch up and plan another girls night. Fitz continued to talk with Tony about possible future collaborations and possibilities.

That left Jemma and Wanda. They approached each other shyly.

“Thanks for, uh, staying with me,” Jemma said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Wanda nodded. “Of course. You are very strong, Doctor Simmons.” A beat passed. “It has been nice to have someone else around with an accent.”

They shared a good laugh at that. At least Jemma had Fitz. The girls exchanged numbers and shared one last hug.

Natasha and May came over to them. “You two in on the next girls night?” Natasha asked.

Wanda furrowed her eyebrows. “Girl night?”

“Girls night,” May said. “The women of SHIELD meeting up and not having to deal with the guys for a night.”

“Oh.”

“That sounds lovely,” Jemma said. Wanda nodded in agreement.

Everyone was finally ready to part their separate ways. Fitz was right by Jemma’s side as she balanced on her crutches. They were the last ones to board.

“It’s been a pleasure, Doctor Simmons,” Steve told her, offering a hand to shake. She did so eagerly.

“Thank you for everything,” she said, then looked at the group. “All of you. You saved my life.”

Bruce smiled and shook his head. “Quite the contrary, Doctor. I believe you saved your own.” She smiled at him.

Fitz pressed a kiss to her temple, making her blush. “That’s my Jem.”

“Doctor Simmons,” Steve said as they boarded the jet. She turned and looked at him expectantly. Natasha smirked. She exchanged a look with Steve. “You’re an honorary Avenger now.”

Jemma grinned and expressed her thanks. What a way to end her past surreal few weeks.

After they were seated and strapped in, Bobbi got them in the air.

“I gotta say,” Daisy piped up from where she was strapped in. “That was one of the weirdest weeks of my life. And I’ve had a lot of really weird weeks.” Mack nodded in agreement.

Jemma’s phone buzzed. She checked the screen and smiled.

From Wanda: Hello, Jemma. I am truly sad to see you go. I am glad you have been reunited with your team and wish you well.

Sheesh. And Jemma thought she was a formal typer.

Miss you already Wanda. You’re awesome to be around. Can’t wait to see you at girls night! :)

Jemma watched the three little dots on her screen appeared, then disappeared.

————————————————————————

Natasha looked over Wanda’s shoulder and smirked. “Are you already texting Doctor Simmons?”

Wanda looked up at her anxiously. “Is that weird? She just seemed so nice.”

Natasha relaxed into a more real smile. This girl would be the death of her. She slid down on the couch next to Wanda.

“How do I respond?”

She handed Natasha her phone and read Jemma’s text. She snorted and handed it back.

“I really appreciate you’ve been taking our English lessons seriously, Wanda, but you don’t have to be so formal over text.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“Just,” now Natasha felt bad. “Tell her you’re excited to see her then too.”

Wanda sighed. “I know it sounds dramatic, but I miss her already.”

Natasha tapped Wanda’s forehead, making her smile.

“Then tell her that, too.”

————————————————————————

I cannot wait either. I am sure it will be fun. Miss you already :)

Jemma smiled at the text. She was sure it would be fun too. Wanda seemed like such a nice young girl. She slipped her phone into her pocket and leaned her head against Fitz’s shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her as she nodded off to sleep. She was finally home.