#Coulson and team deserve every bit of frustration he causes them

[stargazerdaisy]

Goodbye prison beard and muscles. I'll remember you lustfully.

[jaskiers-sweetkiss]

Worth It

Pairings: Dousy, background Pepperony, FitzSimmons, Philinda, Mackelana, and Huntingbird  

Word Count: 2.8K

Warnings: mentions of violence, mentions of gun use, mentions of ptsd, light swearing

a/n: Here’s my soulmate au for day 6 of @aosficnet2 ‘s AoS AU August! It’s got Modern Man!Daniel Sousa based on Enver’s appearance as a police officer in The Avengers. 

___

Daisy “Quake” Johnson - Inhuman, hacker, Agent of SHIELD, and now she could add “Avenger” to her list of descriptors. The agent hadn’t been entirely surprised when she’d received an impromptu meeting with Director Nick Fury about her powers. At the time he had told her he was putting together a team, a group of people with super-human abilities that would work together to defend the world if the threat arose. She had signed on, she was already a SHIELD agent and she’d had plenty of training with her ability from her mom growing up at Afterlife, but she never met the team. Well, until about 24 hours ago. They were a bit of a nightmare (a complete shitshow if she was being blunt), none of them had worked together before so it was no surprise that they were butting heads. Daisy got along just fine with Natasha Romanoff aka the Black Widow as the two of them had crossed paths from time to time within SHIELD, but she couldn’t say the same for scientist Bruce Banner (the Hulk), billionaire Tony Stark (Iron Man), or the first-ever superhero Steve Rogers (Captain America). Of course, now they were also dealing with a Norse god of thunder who was supposedly good and his brother who was apparently bad. Thor, Stark, and Rogers: three massive egos in one aircraft. 

Judging by the footage they were streaming from the museum Loki was more than just bad. Daisy had always been wary of powers, her mom had taught her that. Power was extremely dangerous when put in the wrong hands, that’s why Afterlife was so selective in choosing who got to go through terrigenesis. Loki was clearly the wrong hands and even though she really hated the men she was surrounded with, if they were the world’s only hope then she’d put up with them. 

“So you expect me to believe there is life on other planets?” 

Daisy sighed, trying not to get too frustrated. The man had been in the ice for seventy years, he missed a lot and probably had no reason to expect that “aliens” existed. Of course, she had known the truth since she was a child: not only was it highly probable that life existed elsewhere in the galaxy, but she was part-alien herself. Of course, no one else knew that. Inhumans were a secret from the rest of the world and it would need to stay that way. 

“Oh, I’m sorry Seismic Activity, did you know that already?” Stark asked sarcastically, raising a brow at her and she rolled her eyes. 

“It’s Quake, actually, and yeah, I knew that, statistically, it was highly probable that alien life exists,” she bit back, glaring at the man, “Just about everyone in this century knows that.” 

“Agent Johnson if you have some sort of issue with when I was born then you should just come out and say it,” Cap said, a frown on his face as he sat up in his chair. 

“Look, I couldn’t give two shits whether you were born yesterday or a thousand years ago, I just don’t think we really have time to be debating extraterrestrial life right now,” Daisy said, fighting the urge to roll her eyes again as she gestured to the holoscreen displaying Loki’s cell.  

“She’s right, gear up.” Director Fury said. Daisy wasn’t sure when he had entered but she was glad he was taking her side. “We’re under attack.” 

Daisy nodded, rushing out of the room to find her gauntlets and her weapons. It wasn’t a great idea to quake on a giant helicarrier so she’d probably be fighting old school. 

“Woah, what the hell is that Johnson?” Natasha Romanoff was sneakier than Fury and Daisy hadn’t even known she was in the room until her wrist was tightly in the woman’s grasp. 

She sighed, tugging her arm out of the redhead’s grip and slipping on her gauntlet to cover the writing. The marks weren’t uncommon, most of the world had them. They developed at age 16 and were usually the first words your soulmate said to you. However, not everyone got one or soulmates died and SHIELD specialized in utilizing the soulmark-less. That’s not to say there weren’t agents with soul marks in the organization, for ordinary agents SHIELD held a mostly don’t ask, don’t tell policy. Typically the only way to get into high-risk assignments like the Avengers was to prove the lack of a soulmate, but of course, the Avengers were less than typical. 

“They make exceptions for people with powers.” She brushed it off, slipping on her other gauntlet. 

“That doesn’t change the fact that you’re connected to someone,” Natasha argued and Daisy huffed, turning away. 

“Stark’s got a mark, and he’s actually met his soulmate. If something happens to me mine’ll never know what they missed.” 

Daisy quickly slid her various knives and guns into place in their holsters before leaving, effectively putting an end to one of the worst conversations she’d had in a while. She didn’t need the Black Widow to guilt-trip her, she had herself for that. She’d heard the stories about the pain people felt when their soulmate died and it often kept her up at night, but right now she had a job to do and she’d be damned if she sacrificed the world for one person she hadn’t even met. 

Of course, her dedication to the cause hadn’t mattered much, she still wound up on the floor of the helicarrier with Phil Coulson bleeding out. She didn’t know the man super well, but he was usually the agent present whenever an 0-8-4 was discovered and since Daisy was something of an 0-8-4 herself, they crossed paths pretty frequently. She knew he was an upstanding and kind man, she knew he was a good agent, and she knew he didn’t deserve to die like this. 

It wasn’t long until Fury came and swept him away and Hill ushered her back into the briefing room where some of the others were gathered. They all looked worse for wear and apparently they were about ready to give up. The Hulk was gone, Loki had jettisoned Thor from the airship, and he has the tesseract and would likely be taking over earth shortly. Daisy couldn’t believe it. 

“I just watched several good agents die, and you want to throw in the towel? Do you have any respect for yourselves?” She questioned, glaring at Rogers and Stark. 

She stormed out when she was met with silence, passing Fury in the hallway. She wanted desperately to change out of her skintight Quake suit and get cleaned up, but she wasn’t ready to give up the fight yet, opting instead to unzip the top half, tying the sleeves around her waist. She wandered around the ship like that, her sports bra the only thing covering her torso, before finding herself on the top deck, leaning over a railing. 

“Have you met them yet?” 

Daisy turned to see Rogers gesturing to her wrist where the words “Who the hell are you?” were written in a neat script. 

“Nah,” she shook her head, barely concealing her disappointment with a smile. 

“You’ll find them eventually, or they’ll find you.” He gave her a tight-lipped smile.

“Thanks for not berating me for risking my life while my soulmate is out there somewhere.” 

“Hey, I hid my makr to join a highly experimental drug trial and enlist in World War Two so I don’t have much room for judgment.” He joked and Daisy laughed, feeling a little better.

___

Daniel Sousa had been sure this would be another day at the station as he slipped his uniform over his shoulders, covering the soulmark on the back of his shoulder. Soulmarks appeared when a person turned 16, appearing at the place where their soulmate would first come in contact with them. The combination of the location of his mark and the words (“Probably your only chance at survival now let me go”) had always been a mystery to him though he hoped he would solve it soon. 

He took the subway to the station, just like he did every morning. Daniel was a police officer for the 99th precinct in NYC which was about a fifteen-minute subway ride away from his apartment. Despite its obvious flaws (thanks MTA), he liked taking the subway - it was more environmentally friendly than driving himself, it was much faster than trying to make it through New York traffic or walk (though sometimes he did walk when it was nice and his leg wasn’t bugging him as much), and the crowds increased the probability that he’d come across his soulmate. 

She wasn’t on the subway today again and so Daniel resigned himself to daydreams of how they might meet. He hoped it would be romantic, that she’d bump into him accidentally (it was the best way he could explain the back of his shoulder), maybe he’d catch her as she tripped over him and they’d lock eyes and she’d take his breath away. He pushed away the fears that she would be freaked out by his prosthetic or the fact that her words on his shoulder didn’t fit that scenario at all. He wanted their meeting to be perfect for her. 

He was ripped away from his thoughts by his partner, Jack Thompson, telling him they had to go check out a call downtown. There weren’t any detectives involved so it likely wasn’t anything serious- probably a noise complaint or something equally mundane.

Daniel had been right, the call was a typical noise complaint, easily solved and probably ignored as soon as they left the building (Jack bet they’d be back in 24 hours, Daniel gave it 32). However, he never could’ve guessed that when they went to climb back into the squad car a portal would open up in the sky and a bunch of space creatures would attack earth. Thompson grabbed the radio to inform the station of the situation. It took a few minutes of convincing (he didn’t blame them, he only believed it because he was seeing it) and a few more to figure out what to do (there really isn’t an official protocol for Hostile Alien Invasion) before they were told to stay put and that backup was on the way. 

Daniel reached for his gun, steeling himself for the fight he was sure he was about to be involved in. An alien invasion would be a really bad time for his crippling ptsd. Still, he was sure his hand would shake if he had to actually lift his gun, his finger would hesitate on the trigger, he’d have to fight to keep his eyes open because if he closed them all he’d see was Afghanistan. 

“Sousa you with me?” Thompson asked, snapping him from his thoughts. 

He nodded, letting out a shaky breath, when had he stopped breathing? 

Thompson nodded, more to himself than to Daniel, “Good, cause we’re going to get through this.” 

___

If she had been really thinking at all, she might’ve wondered if she was having an out-of-body experience as she moved through the streets of Manhattan with the purpose of a woman on a mission. The Avengers were scattered across the borough trying to fight the Chitauri with mixed success. It seemed like no matter how many they blasted, quaked, shot, or struck with lightning more kept coming through the portal. Daisy was taking out as many of the aliens as she could while trying to command the local police forces- badges or not, they were purely human and severely underprepared to fight this threat. Their services were more equipped to evacuate and protect the civilians. 

She hadn’t been paying attention when she knocked into someone’s shoulder. It was a police officer, she noticed, though where most of the officers she’d seen seemed ready to take on the Chitauri head-on, he looked terrified. 

“Who the hell are you?” The man questioned, quickly grabbing her wrist before she could run off. 

“Probably your only chance at survival now let me go.” Daisy bit back angrily and the man gasped, dropping her arm and backing away like she had burned him. 

“You’re- we’re-” The man stuttered and even though he could’ve been about to say anything (maybe “you’re Quake!” or “We’re gonna die!”) Daisy knew exactly what he meant. She knew from the burning sensation on the wrist he had been holding. He was her soulmate. 

“Oh my god, I don’t have time for this!” Daisy yelled angrily, quaking the alien that had appeared behind the man. 

She silently cursed fate or destiny or whatever was behind this for planning her soulmate meeting during a literal alien invasion. 

“Listen, I need you to leave the frontlines- spread the word: all officers are to evacuate as many civilians as possible. Focus on protecting them.” She ordered making an effort to put the world-altering event before the life-altering event she had accidentally just stumbled upon. 

“Who’s going to be there to fight?” 

Daisy quaked another approaching Chitauri soldier. “Leave that to the people with powers.” 

The officer nodded mutely, seemingly stunned into silence. 

“Sousa!” Another officer called out, “Quit chatting we have a job to do!” 

The dark-haired officer, her soulmate, nodded to the man and started to move away. 

“Officer Sousa!” Daisy called, taking steps backward herself, “Maybe we can get some coffee when this is all done?” 

“Sure but how’ll I find you?” He asked, turning back to stare at her hopefully. 

Daisy’s steps were picking up speed, the urgency of the day not lost on her. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll find you!” 

And with that she was off, turning on her heels and sprinting towards Stark Tower. 

___

Daisy stared at the computer monitor in front of her. It had been a few days since the Chitauri attack and while New York and her mental state was still a disaster, she needed to do this. The file she had found in SHIELD’s database was a welcome distraction, as was the handsome face staring back at her from the screen. 

Daniel Jordan Sousa. Born 1984 in Twin Falls, Idaho. Served one tour in Afghanistan before being discharged due to an injury resulting in the amputation of his left leg. 

She scrolled down to the contact information. 

Cellphone: (xxx)xxx-xxxx 

Bingo. 

Daisy: Hi, it’s Daisy Johnson, your soulmate? I was wondering if we could get that coffee?

She was surprised by how quickly he responded. 

Daniel: I’d love to! 

Daniel: btw how did you get my number? 

Daisy: It’s a bit of a story, mind if I tell you over that coffee?

Daniel: does 1:00 work? Maybe we could grab a bite to eat while we’re at it?

Daisy smiled before checking the time, 11 o’clock. She had two hours to get ready. 

Daisy: 1:00 sounds great. I know a cute place off 12th ave 

___

Daniel had no intention of pulling his soulmate from the field, he knew it was where she wanted to be and he’d never dream of taking it from her. However, he’d be damned if he wasn’t out there to watch her back. So, he joined SHIELD not long after they met. Despite his prosthetic, he climbed the ranks relatively quickly though Daisy wasn’t surprised. She had seen his record both in the military and the police force, Daniel Sousa was a damn fine agent. 

The two weren’t in any hurry relationship-wise. They had moved in together fairly quickly but even two years later they had yet to get engaged. It was a bit of an anomaly - soulmates were usually hitched within a year of meeting each other but Daisy didn’t really hold much stock in a piece of paper declaring their relationship valid and Daniel decided he really didn’t need that paper either as long as he still had Daisy. Besides, with their separate jobs at SHIELD, they didn’t really have much time to plan engagements or weddings. 

In 2014 the pair were recruited to an elite team by Phil Coulson, the man Daisy could’ve sworn had died in her arms, the man the Avengers were told had died. She had shaken her head at Fury when she found out. “You manipulative son of a bitch,” she had said though she had meant it fondly. Who knows what would’ve happened when the Chitauri invaded if he hadn’t done what he had. 

Daisy and Daniel joined scientist duo and soulmates Jemma Simmons and Leopold Fitz as well as Coulson’s soulmate Melinda May on the Bus, a giant plane Fury had given Coulson as reparations for his death. The team had its bumps in its initial missions but they quickly became a tightly knit family that only grew when Coulson took over as Director of SHIELD after the Hydra takeover. 

When Daniel finally proposed Jemma had been her maid of honor and Bobbi and Elena had been her bridesmaids. Likewise, Fitz had been Daniel’s best man and Mack and Hunter had filled out the rest of the groomsmen roles. It had been a small but beautiful wedding, Daisy’s mom had allowed them to have the ceremony at Afterlife and Coulson and May had been their officiants. 

Daisy had cursed fate when they met, but looking back she realized it was all worth it for this. 

___

a/n: I had no idea how to end this. Also, I have no clue where the 99th precinct operates in NYC (if it even exists) I just wanted to make a Brooklyn 99 reference. Though I’m realizing belatedly that B99 takes place in Brooklyn and probably doesn’t operate in manhattan but oh well.  

[theartofbeinganerd]

Hello! If you are still taking prompts, could you continue your 4x19/4x20 + pregnancy au? Maybe have it continue into 4x21 and 4x22 and possibly into space???

Hi! Thanks for the prompt!! :)

Continuation of this fic

(Ao3)

-

Ever since AIDA had gotten away from them during theirrescue of Fitz, things had only seemed to get progressively worse, something Jemma hadn’t thoughtpossible after finding that most of their friends had been replaced by LMDs,having to fight their way past them only to enter a virtual reality where HYDRAwas in charge, eventually saving their friends only to lose Fitz to AIDA oncemore, and then, on top of all ofthat, finding out that she was pregnant.

But, even though she hadn’t thought it possible, it washappening; the Framework had started collapsing in on itself, threatening thelives of both Mack and Elena, then Daisy had been implicated in the shooting ofTalbot and AIDA had escaped their reach once more, and now, Coulson wanted Fitzand Jemma to work together to come up with some way to lure AIDA into a trap atthe Playground.

The air between Jemma and Fitz had been tense ever since he’dreturned to the Zephyr after his most recent kidnapping; Jemma hadn’t been sureof what she’d been hoping for, if she truly had believed the existence of theirchild growing inside of her would set them on the path to healing. But,whatever it was that she’d been hoping for, it most certainly wasn’t the tenseair hanging around them in the lab on the Zephyr. She’d been trying for sometime now to brainstorm ideas on how to get AIDA where they needed her, but Fitzhad been practically nonverbal for the entire discussion, keeping his gazesettled firmly on the floor.

Finally, Jemma set down her tablet and sighed heavily. She noticedFitz’s head twitch upwards, but he still refused to meet her eyes. “Fitz, please, I need you to work with me onthis. We need to stop AIDA once and for all, and with Robbie’s help, we shouldbe able to do that. But, he can’t doanything if we can’t find some way to get AIDA to him without her catching onto our plan.”

Fitz’s shoulders rose and fell on a silent sigh, and hecrossed his arms uncomfortably over his chest. “I know,” he finally mumbled, givinga tiny little nod.

“So…so please, just talkto me,” Jemma all-but pleaded, taking a couple of cautious steps across thedistance he’d been sure to keep between them ever since the hug they’d sharedafter his rescue.

She heard him exhale shakily, tapping his fingers againsthis opposite forearm, before he said abruptly, “I dunno how…how can you evenstomach looking at me?”

Startled, Jemma paused in her progression toward him, heroutstretched fingers freezing in the open air between them. “What?” she asked,her voice barely more than a whisper. She couldn’t have heard that right, couldshe?

“I mean you…you have to remember it, remember seeing me…shootthat woman every time that you do.” His chin wobbled, and he snapped his eyesshut and hastily turned away from her. “Don’t lie to me, Jemma, because I know…Iknow, okay? I don’t blame you. I’m…I’m not the man that you thought I was, andit’s… I understand that we have no future together anymore. You don’t have to pretend.”

“Pretend?” Jemmagasped out, blinking rapidly to fight back the hot tears collecting on the rimsof her eyes. She’d been expecting that he’d break down at some point, but she hadn’tbeen expecting this; despite theguilt she knew he was carrying, she foolishly hadn’t imagined that he’d try topush her away because of it. “Fitz, I’m not…we…”

Before she could manage to collect her thoughts, scatteredby the heartbreak of Fitz’s words, he continued on hoarsely, “I don’t deserveto be a father, do I? After everything that I’ve done, all of the people that I’vehurt…I’m only gonna hurt them and I…I can’t…” He gave a jerky shake of his head,the very idea of hurting their child obviously too painful for him to continuethat thought. “I mean, look how myfather was – is that the kind of father that I’m doomed to be? Was I alwaysgonna turn into him?”

“No,” Jemmainsisted immediately, her denial fierce; Fitz could never be that man, and he had to understand that. “Fitz, you –”

But, he clearly wasn’t listening, as he half-turned back toher then, so that she could see the tears rolling steadily down his cheeks. Hewas obviously intending to be firm, but instead only sounded defeated and dejectedas he told her, “Our…the baby will have a better life without…without me in it,okay?”

Quite suddenly, Jemma’s gut-wrenching sadness was eclipsedby frustration and anger, her hands curling into fists at her sides and hereyes narrowing. Decisively, she told him, “Well, I don’t believe any of that. In fact, I can’t believe that you’d leave me alone toraise our child because you think you’re some kind of monster – shouldn’t I get to choose who is right or wrong tobe raising my child with me? And, not to mention that I’m quite sure that Iwasn’t alone when this baby was conceived.”

Looking quite bewildered, Fitz had turned to face her fullyat some point during her impassioned speech, and she was satisfied with thefact that he was finally looking ather, finally meeting her gaze. It was progress, at least. “Jemma…”

“I mean, yes, given a choice, I wouldn’t have chosen to havea child now, not when things are soup in the air and tumultuous, but…but this baby is here, Fitz, and isn’t goinganywhere. We need to accept that, and you need to remember that…that you notonly have a responsibility to me, but also to our baby.” As he hung his headonce more, she took a half-step closer and softened her tone as she said, “You’vebeen through so much, and I understand that you have a lot to work through, but…wecan get through this together; I’ll still be here for you, Fitz, still by yourside. We’re a team, we’re partners, and that will never change, no matter whathappened in the Framework, because…well, none of it was real, and we are. Alright?”

Fitz lifted his head, meeting her searching gazeuncertainly, and after a moment, he released a shuddering breath and droppedhis gaze once more. It wasn’t an agreement, but it also wasn’t a rejection, soJemma simply decided to take it as a win for now.

“Now, all we need to do is find a way to get AIDA to wherewe need her to be.” Jemma picked her tablet back up, tapping a finger againstit in thought.

Fitz gave a half-shrug, then said, “Well…we just need tofind something that she can’t resist the temptation of; she’s driven by emotionnow, not reason.”

She mulled that over for a moment, absently trailing thefingers of her free hand over her stomach as she did so. However, they pausedas it occurred to her in a flash of inspiration. “Fitz, that’s it! AIDA’s feeling vengeful, because shefeels something’s been taken from her. After all, she threatened me, didn’t she?”

With a jolt to his body that looked quite painful, Fitzjerked his head up to show his wide, terrified eyes. “No. No, absolutely not. I refuse to put you in anymore danger than you’vealready been in; even that was too much.”

Jemma was about to insist that it was their only option andthat she could take care of herself, but then she remembered something that oneof the other agents at the Playground had mentioned to her during their briefreturn trip, something that they’d discovered hidden away after the explosiveescape she and Daisy had conducted. “What if…it wasn’t me that was in danger atall?”

Fitz frowned in confusion, even as Jemma’s lips curled up ina smile.

-

Sometime later, after Fitz and Jemma’s LMD had lured AIDAright into their trap, and the Rider (inhabiting Coulson’s body) haddisappeared with her to see justice served, Jemma hurried through the halls ofthe Playground, unable to help her relieved sigh when she caught sight of Fitzcoming her way.

“Are you alright?” she asked gently as they met in themiddle, reaching up to thumb away a stray tear sliding down his cheek. Afterwatching the light go out of Fitz’s LMD’s eyes, she understood how hard it must’vebeen for him to watch something with her face as it struggled, and ultimatelywas killed by AIDA right in front of him as he stood helplessly by.

Fitz nodded, sniffling a bit and stepping back out of herreach, but didn’t say anything else as they hurried off to Coulson and AIDAbattling it out nearby. The overwhelming relief Jemma felt as she watched theandroid that had caused them all so much pain and heartache turned to ash washard to describe, and she cupped a hand protectively over her stomach as shewatched, promising her unborn baby silently that the danger had finally passed.

Now, they were all going to be okay.

And she truly believed that, until they’d bid their goodbyesto Robbie as he left to take care of the Darkhold, and all of a sudden Fitz wasinsisting that he stay behind and face the music for his actions, that he takethe fall for everything that Radcliffe and AIDA had caused. She was appalled and more than a little hurt,after having been so sure that they’d at least agreed to work together andheal, that he’d at least agreed to be there for their baby.

But, then she remembered that he’d never actually said aword in response, had never agreed to anything, and she was all-but crippled byfear as she watched him slipping through her fingers once more. She could onlylisten in stunned silence as Daisy tried to get Fitz to see reason, and did herbest to infuse as much feeling as possible into her “amen”, to show him thatthey were in this together, just likethey always had been, just like they always would be, if she had anything tosay about it.

By some stroke of luck, they seemed to get through to him,and Fitz reluctantly agreed to face whatever was coming together.  Jemma had to take a moment then to calm herracing heart; she wasn’t going to lose him, not this time, not now.

Things weren’t great, but she knew that with a little time,they could get better, they could begin to heal; after all, she was confidentthat Fitz would make a wonderful father, even if he couldn’t see it himselfyet. At least she was going to have the chance to show him how wrong he wasabout their baby not needing him.

However, they’d decided to face the consequences together,as a team, and that meant it was only a matter of time before they were foundat a local diner. Jemma knew that whatever was going to happen next, thesituation wouldn’t exactly be idealfor raising a child, but at least she’d have Fitz with her.

While she’d prepared for a lot of things to happen next,though, blacking out and subsequently waking up in space (something she’d hoped and prayed she’d never have to doagain) wasn’t one of them.

From what she could gather, it was some kind of a base foran organization (she couldn’t tell if they were government or not, not yet),but it felt far more like a prison, the way she was left alone in a locked cellwith all of her personal items confiscated from her before she’d even woken up.

And, of course, there was the startling lack of Fitz anywherenearby, which was the worst punishment imaginable.

The very first day, she was put through a battery of teststo get “checked in”, the last of which put her in an exam room with what seemedto be the resident doctor. By then, Jemma was exhausted and seriously annoyed,and couldn’t quite help the bite in her tone as she informed the doctorcurrently taking her blood, “I’m going to save you some time, and tell you thatwhen you test that, you’re going to find that I’m pregnant.”

More than a little taken aback, the woman leaned awayslightly, arching her eyebrows and glancing down at the vial of Jemma’s blood. “Oh. I wasn’t notified about –”

“Because they didn’t know,” Jemma interrupted, her remainingpatience thinning with every passing moment. “You know, if we’re going to beheld here against our wills, the very leastyou could do is allow me to see my child’s father.”

The woman was clearly unsure, and admitted slowly, “Well…that’snot…it’s not up to me, but…”

“But I’m sure you’ll pass the information along,” Jemmafinished, arching an eyebrow.

And somehow (she imagined that it had something to do withthe ire that only continued to rise in her with the ongoing frustration of theircircumstances that had convinced their captors, in the end), over the next fewdays, she’d gotten their “assignments” changed and had them moved to a doubleroom.

When Fitz was brought there just a few days after theircapture, he was obviously shocked to find Jemma waiting for him, and hesitatedin the doorway, glancing over his shoulder at the guard still waiting outside. “MaybeI should be kept away from you,” he murmured,shuffling anxiously as a deep frown curved his lips.

She could already tell that the few days he’d been left insolitude had done his heavily weighing guilt no favors. But, she’s alreadyknown that she had her work cut out for her, and she’d prepared for thismoment.

So, with a soft sigh, Jemma stood from her seat on the edgeof the bed, grasping Fitz’s hand and tugging him over to sit back down withher. “Fitz, I’m not asking for you to be with me, to love me, to marry me – I’mjust asking that my best friend be here by my side as I carry our child. I’masking that we do our best to heal together from what’s happened, that we dowhat we can to maintain our friendship, because I can’t imagine my life withoutit. And then, someday…maybe we can talk about something more. But, for now,that’s all I want from you, my best friend.”

Fitz gazed back at her sadly for a moment, giving a slightshake of his head as he admitted, “I…I’m not sure that I can even do that.” Hepaused, inhaling a short breath, then went on shakily, “But…I’ll try, because Iowe it to you, and I can at least pay thisdebt.”

Smiling softly, she reached out to find his hand once more,lacing their fingers together and tugging their joined hands to rest in herlap. “You’ve never owed me anything, Fitz. I’m not keeping score, and youshouldn’t be either.” He simply shrugged in response, so she scooted closer andlaid her cheek against his shoulder, murmuring a quiet, “Thank you.”

As Fitz gave her hand a little squeeze, she pressed her freehand to her stomach, and hoped that this was a new start for them, that despitethe circumstances, they were going to do what they could to move on togetherand heal. Whatever was going on around them, Jemma knew that as long as she hadFitz, in whatever capacity his healing heart would allow, and they were therefor their baby, everything would be just fine.

Things were far from perfect just then, but as long as theirlittle family was together and would be for the foreseeable future, there wasalways the chance that they would be again somewhere down the line.

For Jemma, that was more than enough for now.