Begin Again

Day zero

"You're more than that, Jemma. And I never found the courage to tell you. So please, let me show you."

The words echoed through her head in Fitz's soft accent. All those times they had spent together, and she had never picked up on it. He had loved her, and she never had the time to love him back.

He had shown her, in those last few moments. He had handed her the only way of survival, taken a deep breath and trusted her to get him to safety. In giving her the oxygen, he was giving her a second chance at life, and condemning himself to death.

A single tear escaped her closed eye and she felt it trickle slowly down her cheek. She leant her head back against the wall, the cold sending shivers down her spine, but it was nothing compared to the breathtaking chill of the water still beaded through her hair. A pale blue towel was draped loosely around her shoulders but she was cold, and damp, and scared.

Oh, how she needed Fitz's arm around her now, whispering reassuring words into her hair. But he was somewhere else now, plugged into life support, his brain being pumped with oxygen. She couldn't bring herself to help, even though she was probably the most able doctor anywhere, but the fact that it was Fitz's life hanging in the balance was too much for her. She had saved him once, just as he had for her, but she just couldn't see him lying helpless in the bed.

And so she sat there, her knees tucked beneath her chin and her back to the wall, and the world went by and she watched, trapped inside the world of her nightmares, and cried until there were no tears left.