Chapter Text
A rainy summer night loitered in the air as Doctor Gabriella Ackerly sat at her desk busying away at her computer. The doctor was reading up on the latest working of S.H.I.E.L.D. technology and what could be done to better them in the future. With her legs kicked up on the table, she sipped her tea, reading the wad of information on the computer screen. Whenever she had a pause in typing out ideas that would help S.H.I.E.L.D., she would drum her fingers on the table which had a really soothing effect. Gabriella glanced at the clock on the desk 23:34 blared back at her. She sighed and rubbed her tired face. She's been up since dawn for almost two days helping out S.H.I.E.L.D. with a terrorist cell that had infiltrated the US congress in order to kill of most congressmen. Desperately needing some sleep, she finished reading the last paragraph with heavy, sore eyes and saved the computer document. She turned off the bright computer and yawned wide.
Leaving the empty mug of tea on the desk, she headed to her room, kicking off her shoes and taking off her jacket on the way. Her blue merle border collie Orion followed her to the bedroom at her feet. Ackerly shut the open curtains and turned out all the lights. Not bothering to take the rest of her clothes off, she flopped onto the bed and covered herself in the soft sheets, a welcome change from the seat. Orion joined her and jumped at the end of the bed. She yanked out her hair tie and tossed it onto the carpet somewhere. She told Orion goodnight, patted his head and listened to him get settled on the bed. Then she rolled onto her front and closed her stinging eyes. In the distance an owl hooted lulling Gabriella to sleep.
A loud harsh ringing sound woke her up with a start. Orion slept through it. Noticing that it was still dark outside but the rain from yesterday was still there, patting against the windows, Ackerly groaned tiredly and rolled over to glance at the clock. She blinked at the blurry digital clock. 2:16 stared back at her. She groaned once again, swore to herself and sat up, the sheets falling around her. The phone continued to ring with the annoying tone so she quickly, but sleepily, picked it up and answered the call. "Ye-" she didn't like the way that sounded. It was like she had a blocked throat so she cleared it. "Yeah?" She asked, rubbing her sore eyes and stifling a yawn.
"Sorry about the early morning call, doc," came Phil Coulson's soft voice, "but you need to come in."
Gabriella groaned and flopped back into the bed, "Phil, I've not even been back for 4 hours," she whined tiredly, "and I've not had a wink of sleep since I got back because I've had to look at those damned analyses. Gimme a couple more hours," she yawned and dragged her free hand down her face.
"Sorry, doc, this is urgent. Besides, you can sleep on the jet. It should be there in half an hour," Coulson replied. "And again, I'm really sorry about the morning call."
"It's alright," she dismissed, "I'll see you later." Ackerly hung up the phone and pushed herself up. Forcing herself to crawl out of bed, she made it; fluffing the pillows and tucking in the corners. Orion made himself comfy in the middle of the bed and stretched out his paws, taking up most of the bed. Ackerly had given up on asking S.H.I.E.L.D. what they wanted because they never gave her a straight answer over the phone, even when it's a secure channel. Now she had half an hour before her transport came so she took a soothing shower, ridding her of some aches and pains and got dressed. She brushed the knots from her messy brown hair, tied on her scuffed boots and pulled on her jacket by the time the jet arrived.
The jet made a lot of noise when it landed in her front yard. The wind currents it created kicked up dirt, stones, and grass and flower petals all over the place. Ackerly and Orion rushed to the front door and she opened in time to see the ramp lower and the pilot emerge. It was Clint Barton. "Good really early morning, Clint," she greeted, grabbing her go-bag that was always next to the front door. She moved out of the house and locked it before heading towards the Quinjet. Orion barked happily when he saw Clint.
Clint met them with a warm smile and rubbed the collie on the head. "Out again, doc?" Clint asked with a cheeky smile. "You need a holiday."
"Tell me something I don't know," she grumbled. "I need a long, long holiday."
"I honestly have no idea how you're still standing," he commented, scratching the dog's ear.
Ackerly rubbed her eyes, "I don't either. C'mon, Orion." The three of them walked into the jet and Clint closed the ramp. Ackerly told Orion to sit beside her as she sat down in one of the side seats and strapped herself in.
Clint settled into the pilot seat and started up the noisy Quinjet. She made a mental note to dry and fix that. "This is Agent Barton. S.H.I.E.L.D., I have Doctor Ackerly, we'll see you in a couple hours."
"A couple hours? How fast are we flying?"
Clint chuckled, "Fast enough." Ackerly chuckled quietly and rolled her eyes.
The jet kicked up dirt and stones as it lifted off the ground; Clint kicked it into gear and it shot off into the sky. The white clouds whooshed passed them. Ackerly felt her eyes get sore. "Clint," she asked after a couple minutes of silence.
"Yeah?"
"D'you mind if I sleep on the journey?"
"Not at all, Gabriella, go ahead." Clint said, she could hear the smile in his voice. "You need the sleep."
"Yeah. I do." Ackerly agreed. The doctor shifted herself so she was able to lie down on the bench; she adjusted her belts and found a soft enough position on the seat; it really wasn't soft. The clouds zoomed passed and she very quickly drifted off to sleep.