A/N I know, I'm sorry it's been a while, but I've been busy. I realized after I posted the last chapter that it might have seemed a little rushed, with their escape and everything, but in the grand scheme of things that part isn't as important as what's gonna happen after FitzSimmons returns to SHIELD. There will be I don't know how many more chapters, so don't think it's over!

Fitz and Simmons were stuck in quarantine upon their arrival, which would have given them time to actually talk, except everyone kept hovering over them. Skye was taking direction from Simmons on how to work the machines, Coulson popped in to debrief them, Bobbi rolled in on a wheel chair to give Fitz a pointed look, Hunter high-fived Fitz through the glass, and Mack stood glowering in the corner. May even called from wherever the heck she was to tell them that she was proud. It was great to be back, but Fitz just wanted some time to be alone. He wanted to talk about what the weird alien machine did (Jemma breezed over that in her debriefing), what the Kree themselves did, and what happened when they'd kissed. But everyone wouldn't leave them the hell alone!

Finally he was able to catch Skye's eye. She smiled knowingly at him and then shooed everyone out, saying, "C'mon, guys, FitzSimmons should get some rest."

It was startlingly quiet after everyone left. Jemma just looked at him.

"Uh," Fitz rubbed the back of his neck, "I figured we should, um, talk about, you know, things." He winced.

"Okay," Jemma sank slowly onto her bed, so Fitz followed suit on his identical one.

"What, uh, what—" Fitz stammered. He took a deep breath and Jemma smiled encouragingly. "I want to know what you want."

Jemma's smile was now sad. "If I wasn't so selfish you wouldn't be in here with me!" she said, sounding angry, which was a not so pleasant surprise for Fitz.

"What?" Fitz's only thought was that maybe Jemma thought somehow that she was selfish because he'd come to get her. But that didn't make any sense.

Jemma took a deep breath, "The Kree changed me, Fitz. I'm not completely human anymore, and I might be dangerous."

"Jemma . . ."

"Leo!" Jemma interrupted and Fitz let her because she never used his first name. "I can't—I can't take any chances, so please," her voice broke, "Please just stay away."

"Okay," Fitz swallowed and pulled his legs up onto the bed to prove that he'd keep distance between them, even thought that was the last thing he wanted to do. "Can we just talk, though?"

Jemma swallowed, "Sure."

~o0o~

After Skye kicked everyone out, they met in Coulson's office. Bobbi sat in her wheelchair next to Hunter, who looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. Coulson leaned back wearily against his desk, Skye standing next to him. Mack was as still as a statue next to one of the large windows and they'd also managed to pull May up on the video screen. She looked subtly different, like she'd actually been smiling for a while.

"Do we know exactly what happened?" May asked.

"No," Coulson answered, "We know that Fitz broke into the Kree fortress and got Simmons out,"

"Against orders," Mack interrupted.

Coulson gave him a look, but kept going, "The Kree preformed some kind of experimentation on Simmons, and we don't know exactly what that means. Simmons didn't seem to want to say."

"I don't blame her," Skye defended, "I know what it's like to feel tampered with and changed. Let me talk to her."

Coulson acknowledged Skye's request with a nod, "We'll find out more tomorrow. They both need rest and time to figure things out."

May caught the implication, "They're dating now?"

"Not quite," Skye said, "But closer to it than they ever have been. Or they were."

"Sir," Mack spoke up, "I'm just as glad as you that they're both alive, but I think we should address the breaches in protocol that allowed this to happen."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Skye demanded, but Coulson held up a hand.

"While Fitz disobeyed orders by following Simmons, he did so at his own risk. No one's taking action against him."

"But it wasn't at his own risk," Mack argued.

"Mack—" Bobbi started but Mack acted like he didn't hear her.

"They're both back here, on earth, with who knows what alien diseases or influence. They unlocked a whole new set of problem," Mack continued.

"So did the Inhumans!" Skye practically shouted, "But, oh, that's right, you didn't trust us either!"

"You're mother gave us good reason!" Mack practically snarled.

Before things could escalate, Hunter broke in, putting his hand on Bobbi's shoulder as he did so, sensing that she wanted to interject herself, "Mack, what are you suggesting? What happened to you and Fitz being so close? Or was that a trick like everything else?"

"Lance," Bobbi entreated softly but urgently.

"Because I've become close to Fitz too, and I know that he'd do anything for Simmons or for any of us, and whatever you decide, whether it be marking him a threat and locking him up or kicking him out of SHIELD, he'll take it because he'll feel he deserves it. But he won't let you touch Simmons. We got through the Inhumans crisis, so we can get through this."

Mack gritted his teeth and stalked out without another word, leaving the rest of the room in silence. After a minute Bobbi softly said, "I'll go after him," and rolled herself out. Hunter stared after her.

~o0o~

"You don't have to tell me anything," Fitz said, "Unless you want to. But I don't care what they did to you," he paused, "I mean, I do care, it makes me really really angry, but you're still my Jemma Simmons and I'm still going to love you no matter what."

"Fitz . . ." Simmons said sadly, "I—I do love you, but I—" she stopped. "The Kree wanted me to become their weapon, to destroy the Inhumans." Fitz's eyes widened. "They taught me their history," she went on, "And they changed me. When you came, that was the end of the process. I didn't get to find out exactly what happened to me but Kam-Do—one of my teachers—implied that it would be impossible for us to, well . . ." she trailed off.

"So I was too late," Fitz looked down, not meeting Simmons' eyes.

"It's not your fault," Simmons said hurriedly, "I asked them to finish the transformation."

"What?" Fitz's head snapped up, "Why? Didn't you know I'd come after you?"

"Of course I knew you'd try. That's why I did it," Simmons took a deep breath. "You went through hell to save me once and I couldn't live with myself if you got hurt again trying to find me. The Kree are dangerous."

"So your plan was . . ?" Fitz asked, trying to process everything she was telling him.

"To get sent on my 'mission' as quickly as possible and tell you to stop looking," Simmons wiped at a tear that had inadvertently squeezed its way out.

"What were you going to do when they asked you to kill the Inhumans?" Fitz demanded angrily.

"I don't know," Simmons shouted back, "They probably will come after me now anyway, so my plan is to get out of here as fast as possible.

"You can't give up your life for me!"

"You did for me!" Simmons scoffed, "You want to know why I took the mission at Hydra after your accident? I was too guilty and too mad and too shocked to face you. You didn't give me time to tell you how I felt about you giving your life for me, you didn't let me tell you that I'd rather die than see you the way you were. You gave up your amazing mind for me and would have given up more and a part of me thought that I deserved to give up what I cared for most too. So I gave up you. I left and I avoided you and I tried to make you hate me. I was punishing myself. Now I've finally found a way to repay you, and you still won't let me!"

Fitz had no idea what to say. He'd seen Simmons in some pretty bleak situations: dying from an incurable alien disease, stuck in a container at the bottom of the ocean, Trip's death and Skye's transformation, but he'd never seen her look as low as she did now. "I'm sorry. Are-are you sure you'll have to go?"

Simmons smiled sadly, "I don't know, but I can't take any chances, like I said."

Fitz jumped up and pushed himself next to her on her bed. She tried to scramble away, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him. "I can. If you think you need to leave SHIELD, I'll come with you. We're a team, Jemma, we always have been and we always will be."

A/N The next chapter will deal with Simmons's new capabilities and more of how each of the team members reacts to them. Please feel free to let me know if you have a suggestion for a power you feel would fit her; I haven't quite solidified that part yet. I would also appreciate a review, if you have time.