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Chapter Text

Jemma watched the four men sitting in front of her wearily. They looked back with equal measures of distrust. 

“Are we sure she’s real? I mean, Brubaker was on cooking duty and we all know he’s not too picky about what he puts in the pot…”

“Shut up Taylor. We’ve all eaten the Tentacle Plant before and it’s never given anyone hallucinations.”

“Brubaker’s right, and I’d be seriously concerned for our sanity if all four of us start hallucinating the same woman. If I am going to have visions, it should at least be my parents.”

“Really Austin? You don’t think we’ve been slowly going crazy here? For the past however many years?” 

“Guys, you are not helping,” the middle one said. He never took his eyes off her, and Jemma forced herself to hold still under the intense gaze. “There’s been nothing out of the ordinary in our air, food, and water supply. We know there were others on the planet before us. Maybe she’s just the next unlucky one.” 

The other three men looked at one another and shrugged, “You are the survival expert. So, what do we do with her?” 

“She has a name, and a lot of questions,” Jemma snapped. “Let’s start with: who the hell are you?”

“I’m Will,” the man with the serious eyes said. “These here are Austin, Brubaker, and Taylor. We are with NASA. Or at least we were, until we got stranded here on a scientific exploratory mission. I don’t suppose NASA sent you over as part of a rescue effort, judging by the accent.” 

“No, I’m not affiliated with NASA.” Better not mention S.H.I.E.L.D., since it’s now linked with Hydra in the public opinion, and she needed these men to stay friendly. At least she knew how to talk about science and how to make herself seem harmless while doing so, thanks to her time undercover. “I am Dr. Jemma Simmons, biochemist. I was transported to this planet while examining an unknown artifact. What are you here to study?”

Three of the men lit up. 

“You won’t believe the flora on this planet…” 

“The soil and rock compositions…”

“Guys!” Will said. “You can bring out all your research notes later. We need to tell her about the biggest natural phenomenon first.” He looked at Jemma, almost in apology for what he was about to reveal. “The sun has not risen once, in all the time we’ve been here. Our watches all stopped working a while ago. What year is it?”

Jemma had spent 752 hours without the sun before she fell below the surface. How long ago did these men leave Earth? She noticed the outdated equipment in the corner, the frayed seams on their clothes, the shaggy hair and beards. Bile rose in her throat. “When did you embark on your mission?”

“2001,” the men answered together. Four pairs of eyes watched her, hoping, begging her to tell them it wasn’t so bad, they haven’t lost that much time. 

“I am so sorry,” Jemma kept her voice steady. They deserved the truth, without hearing her panic. “It’s 2015 now.” 

The men did not react well to Jemma’s information, but they accepted it quickly. Jemma suspected they'd already realized that a long time had passed. According to Will, the retrieval team was supposed to fetch them after a year. None of their solar-powered equipment worked here and they stopped marking days after the last watch battery died, but they knew they were way past the one year mark. 

Jemma tried to cheer the group up with select news from the last fourteen years. They didn’t need to know about the Hydra uprising, but she told them about the Avengers saving Earth at the Battle of New York. If Captain Carter could adjust to the twenty-first century after losing almost 70 years in an interdimensional portal, who’s to say they couldn’t slip right back to their old lives when they found a way back home? 

Of course she updated the researchers on the latest scientific developments as well. Jemma talked about the different star formations here with Austin the astrophysicist. Brubaker the biologist was delighted when Jemma recited the major discoveries over the past decade in their shared field. She worked often enough with Fitz to give broad updates to Taylor the engineer. The scientists were amazed by her phone, and she beamed when they exclaimed over the battery life. Will told them to stop playing with a frown. 

“A larger capacity doesn’t mean it’s infinite. Quit toying around.”

Jemma bristled. She was trying to lift people’s spirits, not being frivolous. “I can assure you, Fitz did an excellent job on the battery design.”

“Yeah, that’s why you want to save it,” Will said. “For the times when you really need to see a friend’s face and hear their voice.” He waved at his team. “Trust me, I’ve had to deal with talking only to this lot for the past fourteen years.”

“Hey!” The scientists protested half-heartedly, but they all hung their heads. “Will’s right. Save the battery Jemma. This is yours.”

She had noticed before that Will was the group’s de facto leader, and she thought the former pilot turned astronaut seized the position as the one with the most survival skills. Now she saw the other side of him, the heart that cared under a gruff exterior, and her own heart tugged. Will believed they would never return to Earth, but he was going to watch out for everyone until the end. She was not a member of his original team or his responsibility, but he was taking her under his wing too. Will didn’t deserve to die on a foreign planet. None of them did. 

“This battery is mine, and I say its best use is to help us go home,” Jemma declared. “How much power does it take to start up one of your computers?”

After weeks of hard work, in too many days to think about and each hour carefully tracked, they were standing in front of the canyon. Her phone battery had died after powering up the computers and watching the video of her friends one last time, but it was alright. Jemma had enough data and calculations to know that a portal would open across the canyon soon. She would see her loved ones again. Science would bring all of them home. 

“Okay everyone, gather up,” Will said. “We need to get all five of us across and we can’t waste any time. As we discussed, Austin will go first, then Brubaker, Taylor, and Jemma. I will bring up the rear.”

“Never thought I’m going to jump off a cliff one day,” Austin said. He was physically the strongest person after Will, and he would be their anchor on the other side, but he wasn’t the bravest about heights. He fidgeted with his homemade glider. “Are you sure this is safe?”

“It’s the best we can do with what we have,” Will said. 

Jemma rolled her eyes. Will was pragmatic, an important quality for surviving on an unknown planet, but he needed her to give everyone hope for the mission. 

“The canyon is only thirty meters wide. We will cross it without any trouble.” Jemma handed out bottles with identical SOS messages inside. “Remember, even if not all of us make it in time, get this through the portal. S.H.I.E.L.D. will come then.”

Austin swallowed, nodded, and jumped. He glided to the other side without problems. Brubaker and Taylor soon followed. 

Will checked Jemma’s makeshift glider one more time, “Final stretch, then you will be home for dinner. Are you ready?” 

“Oh yes, I can’t wait for that bottle of wine,” Jemma smiled at him, remembering the times they’ve talked about what they missed from their lives on Earth. “Are you looking forward to your steak dinner?”

“Yeah,” Will hesitated. “Do you want to share it with me?”

She was not expecting that, or maybe she was and simply hadn’t allowed herself to think about it in the midst of everything, “Will.”

“I know, your friend Fitz asked you to dinner right before you got here.” Will looked into her eyes, the same intense gaze that she noticed from the very beginning. “I wasn’t going to say anything while we are stranded here. Didn’t want to make things awkward.”

“But now?”

“You gave me hope,” Will said. “When we get back, go to dinner with Fitz, and then also go to dinner with me. I just want a chance on an even playing field.”

Feelings weren’t her strong suit, but Jemma could do hope. Hope that everyone would get their happily-ever-afters back on Earth, and her most difficult dilemma would be deciding how she felt about two good men instead of how to survive the rest of her life in darkness. 

“Let’s go home, then we can have that dinner.”

She jumped, towards hope. 

Chapter Text

The phone buzzed. Melinda continued with her arm movements, drawing steady circles. She had talked to both of her parents recently and Coulson knew better than to bother her on vacation. Unless Nazis or aliens were coming. Again. 

Melinda exhaled and completed her Tai Chi form. The cellphone was still vibrating as she walked over to the table. For a moment Melinda wondered if her unknown caller might be Skye. No, Daisy now. The hacker could find her phone number easily, but Daisy hadn’t called since Melinda left the Playground, not even when Simmons disappeared. It won’t be the first time Melinda’s interpersonal relationship fell apart, after the other party learned the truth about Bahrain. 

“Hi Mel.”

“Drew.” Then again, Andrew wanted to give them another chance. Hands entwined in the Hawaiian sunset, she had believed she deserved happiness again. She could feel the excitement and the joy now, spreading slowly in her chest. “Calling so soon? I thought we’re taking things slow.”

“Are you alone?”

Melinda tensed. Andrew’s tone said it wasn’t a flirtatious call. They said goodbye in Hawaii days ago. He should be catching up on his work right now, not calling from an unlisted phone number. “What happened?”

“It’s hard to explain,” Andrew said. His voice was steady as always, but Melinda heard a hint of fear inside. “Can you come here?”

“I’m on my way.”

Melinda scanned the streets as she approached the house. Andrew had moved to a different neighborhood after their divorce. Too many traffic lights for a quick getaway, but no obvious security blind spots. He remembered her lessons. 

She pulled into the empty driveway. Andrew didn’t use any of their old codewords on the phone, so she wasn’t really expecting a trap. All the same, Melinda breathed a little easier when Andrew opened the door on his own. 

“Mel,” Andrew sounded relieved, with a little bit of wonder. “You came.”

“I told you I would.” They used to trust each other with everything. She watched him for clues. “Are you hurt?”

Andrew shook his head. There were no visible signs of injury, but his movements were stiffer and slower than usual, as though he was expecting his body to rebel. 

“I think it’s best if I show you,” Andrew said. “This way.”

She followed him to a home office. The desk and the bookshelves were familiar sights. Not the piles of debris on the floor. 

“An intruder?”

“Not exactly.” Andrew inhaled and took out a box. “Careful. Don’t touch anything.” He held up a notebook gingerly. “This is from Afterlife. Jiaying’s personal papers.”

“Coulson asked you to evaluate the Inhumans,” Melinda remembered. “To identify potential threats and assets. Did you find something?”

“More like it found me,” Andrew said. “I was flipping through the pages, and a crystal dropped out.”

“Jiaying’s failsafe.” A cold shiver climbed up Melinda’s back. He was standing in front of her with all of his limbs. If Andrew simply caught the crystal and lived, this would be an interesting phone conversation, possibly a meeting back in S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, not a secretive visit. “It released the mists.”

“Yes.” Andrew lifted a clear plastic bag filled with dark grey fragments. “I blinked, and then I found myself standing in the middle of the room. Everything was the same except for these pieces on the floor. I swept them away.” 

“Did you know how Terrigenesis works?”

“From Daisy’s descriptions,” Andrew said. “Which wasn’t very clear, given the traumatic circumstances surrounding the event. I thought maybe I was lucky and the mists didn’t affect me. It’s human nature to reach for comforting lies in the face of the unknown. Apparently Inhumans do the same.”

Inhuman. Andrew was an Inhuman now. “What changed?”

“Me.” Andrew was usually good at maintaining a calm exterior, but his hands were trembling as he put down the cocoon fragments. “I was going through the records from Afterlife, trying to find cases where the mists misfired. One moment I was reading in my chair, the next second I was falling to the floor. When I grabbed the desk to pull myself up, my fingers were claws. Literally.”

Melinda glanced at the mess around the room. Andrew followed her gaze. 

“Everything felt strange. I was stumbling and knocking against high shelves I normally can’t reach. When I finally made my way to a mirror, the head that looked back at me… wasn’t human.”

“Drew.” 

He looked back at her with terrified eyes, “I don’t know how long I stayed like that. All of a sudden, my body changed back. I called you.”

“From a burner phone.” Melinda had taught him how to get one, to protect himself in case of emergency. “You didn’t want S.H.I.E.L.D. to know.”

“Their director recently lost a hand fighting Inhumans,” Andrew said. “I’m not breaking patient confidentiality, but you know Coulson has been going through a lot since his first death experience. He’s a good man, but he’s off balance.” 

“I’m a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent,” Melinda reminded him. 

“Yes, and you were also my wife once,” Andrew said. “I know what you’re willing to give up, have given up, to do the right thing.” His voice became a plea. “I don’t trust myself. We know unprepared Terrigenesis could negatively impact the mind. Coulson may be too close to remain objective. Tell me, Melinda, what’s the right thing to do here?”

The right thing had been killing a girl who was too far gone. The right thing now was to bring Andrew in, monitor his physical changes, evaluate his mental state, the whole drill. This time, Melinda refused to let the decision tear out another piece of her heart. 

“We’ll go to the Playground,” Melinda said. “You have no history of violence, no vendettas against the world. There is no reason to consider you a high-level threat. Coulson will be reasonable.” If not, she would make him see reason. “We’ll find someone who understands your transformation. Simmons is out, and Bobbi is still in rehab, but Daisy trusts one of the Inhuman doctors.” 

Andrew nodded slowly, “You will come with me?”

“You’re not facing this alone.” Andrew had reached for her after Bahrain. She snapped away then because she thought herself a monster. He never considered her one. “I am here.” She took his hand. Fingers or claws, they were his. “We will figure this out together.”