A/N: Hey guys! Just a heads up, this is going to be a short chapter that's kind of a bridge, all in Grant's POV since Samantha's currently dying in a hospital bed. I would put a smiley face, but it seems out of place after that last sentence. 😂 Also, I sincerely hope none of you are only reading this on a laptop, because the emojis look scary weird when they're not on mobile 😂<== especially this one.
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Samantha is dying.
The doctors said there's nothing else we can do for her.
Coulson's trying to find the doctors who saved him, but I'm not hopeful.
I don't know what to do.
It feels like a piece of me is dying. She's been with me almost twenty-four seven since we were partnered up almost four years ago, and I don't know what I'm going to do without her.
I've been sitting next to her bed as often as possible, praying for some kind of miracle. I can't lose her.
She and Garrett are the most important people in my life, and Garrett is the reason I'm losing Samantha.
What the hell am I supposed to do?
I felt the plane shudder, like someone was docking a Quinjet. Maybe one of Coulson's ideas had panned out. Maybe there was still hope.
I hurried upstairs, only to come face to face with Antoine Triplett. That meant Garrett was here.
Trip wanted Quinn, but I sure as hell wasn't about to let that happen. I acted calm, but once we started fighting, I was barely able to stop when Coulson ordered me to.
I was friendly with Garrett, but I needed to talk to him alone. Maybe he hadn't been the one to order Samantha shot. Maybe Quinn did that on his own.
I was grasping at straws, and after watching Quinn's interrogation, I couldn't anymore. He admitted that the Clairvoyant told him to shoot Samantha, and Garrett was the Clairvoyant.
"I need to talk to you," I said, pulling Garrett aside once everyone else went off to do other things.
"What's wrong?" he asked. I could read the underlying message: Don't blow our covers.
"Not here." I started walking, sure that Garrett would follow. I went down into the cargo hold, past Samantha in her medical pod, and into one of the pods with nothing but boxes. There were no cameras here, and no chance of interruption.
"So? What's this urgent thing that you're breaking protocol to talk to me about?" asked Garrett.
I glared at him. He was like a father to me, but right now, I was working hard not to punch him.
"Samantha."
"What about her?"
"You ordered her shot."
"Yeah, I did. What's your point?"
"Why the hell did you order her shot?" I asked, barely managing to keep my voice low. I wanted to yell and knock things over, but I couldn't blow our covers.
"She was getting too close to Quinn, and frankly, to you."
"To me?"
"Yes, to you. I get that she's pretty, but I'm worried you're getting attached."
"That's why you had her shot?" I growled.
"Aren't you listening? Yes, that's why I had her shot. Look, Samantha seems like a great girl, but she's becoming a problem. She's not a weakness, is she?"
"No."
"Good." Garrett walked out without another word. I didn't follow.
I slammed my fist against the wall. Samantha wasn't a weakness. She was a strength. She kept me sane, kept me tied to reality, when I was closest to losing my grip.
I couldn't lose her.
I didn't bother explaining this to Garrett, mostly because he wouldn't understand. There was a part of me, though, that worried my explanation would make him want to kill her more.
When we touched down wherever we were going, I was determined to do whatever it took to save Samantha.
I refused to lose her.