Saving Grant Ward

Chapter Forty-Nine

Once we got back upstairs, Skye was in charge of pairing people off and giving them their assignments. I really hoped I'd be paired with Grant.

I headed towards the conference room, ready for assignment, but Phil intercepted me.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Going to get my assignment."

"Simmons said you're not cleared for field duty yet."

"What? No! I can't stay behind on another mission!"

"I'm sorry, Samantha, but that's doctor's orders. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be cleared soon."

"Ugh!" I yelled dramatically, throwing my head back to look at the ceiling and stomping back towards the dorms. I wasn't looking where I was going, so I ran straight into Grant.

"Woah! Slater, what's wrong?"

"I'm benched from this mission too!"

"Well yeah, you're barely allowed to run."

"Grant! That's not what you're supposed to say! You're supposed to be on my side and help me change Simmons's mind!"

"Sorry Slater, but I'm with her. I don't want you getting hurt."

I narrowed my eyes at Grant. "As soon as I'm cleared, I'm punching you in the arm. Hard."

"I'll look forward to it," he said sarcastically, before going to see Skye for his assignment. I started back to my room to pout, then thought better of it. I was going to get an exact count from Simmons on how much longer I was going to be benched.

"Simmons!" I called, coming down into the lab.

"Hello Samantha," she said, hardly looking up from her work.

"I need you to run tests on me again!"

"Why?" she asked, her head snapping up. "Is something wrong?"

"No, but I want an exact time I have to wait before I can go on field missions again."

Simmons rolled her eyes. "Samantha, are you serious?"

"Yes! This is the second time I've been on the sideline and I really don't want there to be a third. Please Jemma."

"Fine! Sit down and roll up your sleeve."

"You're a saint," I said, giving her a hug before sitting. She gave me a full exam, and I was still sitting in the lab when the teams came back. Agent Blake had been seriously hurt, and I felt guilty, but I was secretly thanking God that it wasn't Grant.

Simmons was given orders to stay at the Hub to help with Deathlock, which was a huge step for her. It also meant she wouldn't be around to force me to stay on the plane, so I was already planning how to sneak back into the field if Simmons didn't clear me.

"Alright Samantha," she said, coming back into the room, "I checked all of your vitals and how you've been healing, but I'm sorry, you're not quite ready for the field yet."

"Simmons!"

"Hear me out! I know you want to get back to work immediately, and I think you're almost there, but if you over do it, you will be stuck in a hospital bed for even longer. Please, just take another week to slowly get back on your feet, and then you can go back to normal field duty."

I sighed, trying to stay calm. "Simmons, are you sure? I hate being on the sidelines. I hate not being able to help my team. We're finally closing in on the clairvoyant, and I want to be able to do more than sit on the Bus."