A/N:Well, you guys, this is finally the end. I'd just like to thank everyone for their continual feedback and thoughts. It's meant more than you know. I hope that you all enjoy the ending and thanks again for reading and sticking around!

Chapter Seven

Skye ends up staying for dinner (seeing as they completely slept through lunch) and this time Katherine seems more interested in asking Skye about herself. Jemma tenses but Skye just breezes right through the questions, talking about her nonexistent family with the prowess of someone who is used to telling these lies. If Jemma didn't know better, even she would believe her.

But Jemma does know better. She knows that at the end of the day, Skye is just going to go back to that falling down old shed and fall asleep on a pile of blankets on the very hard (and uncomfortable) ground. Which is why, when Jemma is supposed to be saying goodbye to Skye on the front stoop, she says instead, "You should stay here."

Skye gives her a skeptical look and Jemma just shrugs. "My mum will never notice. You should stay." She says again. "Just for tonight. Please?"

So Skye agrees to scale the trellis once more and sneak in through her bedroom window, just like they're starring in some 80's teen movie. Jemma wonders when she became this type of girl: playing The Game, sneaking out of her house, sneaking her girlfriend in. Lying to her mother, fighting with her best friend. Jemma honestly isn't sure what to make of herself right now.

Jemma hangs around in the living room with Katherine for a while so she doesn't look too suspicious but it's all just a waste of time because her mother doesn't seem notice that she's there at all. So she just goes into her bedroom, locks the door and opens the window for Skye to crawl through.

Having Skye there becomes routine for the next three days. Unfortunately, so does not talking to Fitz. They've never gone this long without speaking to each other and they've definitely never spent this long being mad at each other. Jemma doesn't like it. She feels like everything is all off-kilter, like her world has finally, officially, flipped on its head. She knows she could easily go to Fitz and apologize. But he could just as easily come to her and do the same thing. And so, she just sits around and sulks.

The only thing that seems to make sense right now is Skye. Having Skye sneak through her bedroom window each night quickly becomes one of the favorite parts of Jemma's day. Falling asleep against Skye and waking up spooned against her each morning are definitely some other highlights. It's nice. It's more than nice, honestly. Jemma is pretty sure there isn't a word to perfectly describe how she feels with Skye around.

So, of course, it can't last forever. They're still lying in bed, too lazy and unmotivated to get up, especially since Jemma heard her mother leave hours ago, and when Skye's phone chimes she groans in protest but rolls away from Jemma anyway, snatching the device off the bedside table. She wrinkles her nose, sighs and then shows the screen to Jemma.

It's a text from Miles containing information about the next challenge of The Game. Tomorrow night, midnight, down by the quarry. This concerns Jemma more than it should; they've already jumped off the top of the quarry into the water and the challenges can't be repeated. She's not sure she wants to know what else the judges have in mind for that spot.

But, more than that, it's not like she can just ignore the reality of her situation anymore. Before, it was easy to pretend; she didn't have to focus on anything other than just passing each lazy day with Skye and hoping that she would finally hear from Fitz. But now the most important factor has come back into play: The Game and the fact that only one of them can win. Assuming that either of them are better than the remaining players.

Jemma kinda hopes that she is. So she can finally mail in the letter waiting on her desk. She filled out the acceptance information yesterday when Skye was napping, no longer able to just leave it sitting there, blank and waiting. Jemma might never get to mail it but at least it's ready if she does. It feels so close, dangling just out of her reach. She wants it. Bad.

Skye seems to sense the direction her thoughts are running in because she nudges Jemma lightly, a smirk on her face. "Don't think I'm going to go easy on you, Simmons." She teases.

And just like that, Jemma feels the weight in her chest start to break up. Leave it to Skye to snark about something serious. But it's strange, almost, the relief that she feels. Like now that she knows Skye is going to continue to play The Game like nothing has changed, she can too.

Fitz would be relieved. Assuming they were speaking, of course.

Jemma resists the urge to text him news of tomorrow's challenge. Fitz probably wouldn't be interested in showing up anyway and him choosing not to come is worse than him not coming because he didn't know about it. So Jemma keeps the information to herself and just tries not to agonize and stress about the approaching task.

Thankfully Skye is excellent at providing distractions.

But Friday night comes all the same and now Skye is sneaking out of her bedroom instead of into it and Jemma is following after her, trusting Skye when she assures her that the trellis is perfectly safe. It takes Jemma an embarrassingly long time to climb down; she pauses and clutches the trellis desperately whenever the structure wobbles and shakes beneath her, certain that she's going to fall. "This coming from a girl who crossed a highway blindfolded and ran from a bunch of murderous dogs." Skye smirks when Jemma finally joins her in the front yard.

Jemma just glares at her, even though she thinks that Skye has a point.

By the time they reach the quarry, there are already plenty of people gathered around. Including Jemma, there are eleven competitors left; the majority of the crowd is now made up of spectators and the people who tried to play The Game and failed along the way. Jemma has no idea how she managed to be one of the few remaining people to make it this far; she's pretty sure that her classmates are equally surprised.

Jemma can't stop herself from scanning the crowd, anxiously wringing her hands as she looks at the faces that have become so familiar to her over the course of the summer. Tears prick her eyes when she spots Fitz among them. Clearly he's looking for her too but when their eyes meet, neither of them do anything to acknowledge the other. Jemma thinks that, for now, it means enough that he's here after all.

They're all gathered on the beach and Jemma can see the top of the quarry and the spot she jumped off months ago that started this whole thing. She knows that she should but she can't bring herself to regret that moment. And now it's almost over. Tonight's challenge will determine who will compete in the final challenge, which will be held in a few days. No more waiting. For better or worse, everything as about to end.

Once all the competitors have assembled, Tripp directs everyone to move off the beach, leading the gaggle through one of the wooded paths. But instead of following the path up through the woods and to the top of the quarry, they just come to an open space on the other side of the quarry.

While the beach and the lake are popular with teenagers and kids and anyone looking for a few hours of relaxation, the rocky face of the quarry draws only the people interested in putting their climbing skills to the test. Both the wooded path and the rocky face of the quarry lead to the top, to the point where you can jump into the water if you're feeling particularly adventurous. But, from here, you can't simply walk up the incline. You have to climb.

Jemma doesn't particularly like the sound of that idea. She glances upward, unable to guess the exact distance between where she is now and the top. It could be ten feet or twenty. It doesn't matter. It seems insanely high, regardless of the actual measurements. Jemma has never even given a passing thought to rock climbing before and hardly feels inclined to start now.

"As you all know, this is the second to last challenge for The Game." Tripp says, his voice echoing off the rocky face of the cliff-side behind him. "It's time to see who are true competitors are."

Predictably the audience starts cheering and clapping and a few even start chanting the name of their favorite player. Jemma's stomach just turns over and she worries that she might be sick.

"The first six people to make it to the top will compete in the final challenge." Tripp explains. "The rest of you will be disqualified."

Six people. Six out of eleven. Jemma just has to climb faster than five others. When she thinks about it like that, her odds don't sound so bad. Except for, of course, the whole climbing part.

"Just like the trellis." Skye remarks as she and Jemma join the other competitors at the base of the rock-face.

Jemma can tell Skye is just trying to make her feel better but she just scoffs. "Right because that went so well." She mumbles.

There's enough space for them all to spread out so they won't be trying to climb on top of each other or get caught behind each other. Jemma takes a deep breath, trying to steady herself, glancing upward once more. It looks a lot farther from down here. But she can do this. She just has to be one of six; she doesn't have to be the best, she just has to finish.

Tripp gives the signal and Jemma stops thinking about the odds or the height or the sheer impossibility. She just focuses on finding a place to put her hands and feet and hauling herself up the wall. She tries to keep her attention solely on her own actions, ignoring the people around her. If she sees who is ahead of her or where she falls in the group, she might lose focus completely.

But, as Jemma climbs, it's hard to keep on her tunnel vision. She feels like it's taking her ages to move even an inch at a time but when she finally lets herself glance below her, there are people making less headway than she is. Of course, there are also a few people who seem to be having no trouble climbing up the mountain. Skye, included. Skye is as fearless in this as she is in everything else and Jemma takes a deep breath and keeps climbing, following after her.

Jemma climbs a few more feet before she allows herself to check her progress against the other competitors. Miles is gaining on her, getting closer with each second, but she could easily out distance him. Jemma can hear her heart thudding in her ears, seeming to block out all other sounds around her. She can do this, she knows that she can. She's getting closer with each steady inch that she moves. She can do this.

Jemma feels something grab onto her ankle and she glances down, confused. Miles has grabbed onto her, straining against the weight of holding her foot and keeping himself on the rock. Jemma tries to shake him off but he just grabs the cuff of her jeans and tugs. She feels her grip start to loosen and Jemma desperately tries to shift her position, to pull herself further up and away from Miles.

But Miles just pulls again, tugging harder this time and Jemma feels her tenuous hold loosen completely and she can't regain her footing. She falls.

And just like that, it's over.

When Jemma opens her eyes, she's most definitely not in her bedroom. She's not even on the floor of Skye's home away from home. It takes her a second to realize that she's in a sterile, overly bright hospital room and her entire body aches and her head is throbbing so badly that it almost brings tears to her eyes. She groans, regretting waking up at all. There's definitely something to be said for blissful ignorance.

But it's too late to go back now; Jemma feels like she'll never slip off to sleep again thanks to the pounding in her head and the dull ache that's spreading across her entire body.

"You're awake." Even though Jemma can tell that Fitz is trying to be nice and quiet, his voice still sounds far too loud to her right now. The noise, coupled with the bright lights overhead, definitely don't do much for her head. She tries to turn in the direction of his voice but Fitz quickly says, "No, you…you shouldn't move. The doctor said you should just rest."

Jemma sighs but figures that it's best to just follow his advice because it hurts a whole lot less this way. "What happened, Fitz?"

"You…you don't remember?" Fitz's voice goes up an octave, the tell-tale sign that he's trying not to completely lose his cool about something and is trying desperately to act like everything is fine and dandy.

Jemma glances at him and quickly regrets even that small movement thanks to flash of pain that shoots through her body. "I remember The Game." She assures him. "And…falling…"

"You didn't fall." Fitz scoffs. "Miles pushed you, that bloody prat." He shakes his head, disgusted.

And now that she thinks about it, Jemma can remember that part too. It all happened too quickly for her to really do anything about it; her grip was already precarious anyway, there's no way she could keep her hold with someone trying to pull her off. But what she doesn't know is what happened after she felt herself start to fall and that's what she tells Fitz.

"The doctor said that you have a single fracture in your tibia and that you'll probably be sore for the next few days. And you might have a concussion because you hit your head when you fell, which is why you're still here. They're keeping you under observation and all that." Fitz tells her. "The doctor says you're lucky you didn't do any serious damage."

Jemma sighs and wrinkles her nose. "I don't feel all that lucky." She mutters. "I feel like someone hit with me with a truck."

At least Fitz's assessment of her condition makes sense. Her body hurts but her leg is numb, likely from whatever painkillers they have her on at the moment. She glances down at herself and sees her right leg encased in plaster and it suddenly hits her exactly what happened. She fell off a cliff; something worse easily could have happened to her. Maybe she should be feeling lucky after all.

Jemma glances back at Fitz, otherwise she feels like she'll keep staring at her leg and replaying the events and the possible outcomes over and over in her mind until she makes herself crazy. "And you brought me here?" She wagers a guess.

Fitz just shrugs. "Someone had to." He mutters. "And your mum is here too. She's just getting coffee."

"Oh right. Mum." Jemma grimaces. "Is she upset?"

The expression on Fitz's face is answer enough and Jemma already finds herself dreading the moment when Katherine returns and finds her awake. "She was worried at first." Fitz tells Jemma. "But now that the doctors know it isn't anything too serious…I think she's just mad."

"Great." Jemma sighs. "It's probably too much to hope that she'll take pity on me because I'm crippled."

Fitz just nods. "Probably."

They're silent for a moment but then Jemma can't stand it anymore. She needs to know. "Who made it?" She questions. "To the top?"

Fitz frowns slightly, his brow creasing. "If you're asking about Skye…she made it. And so did Miles. Apparently all's fair in The Game." He shrugs. "Though, if you ask me, it seems a bit like a coincidence. Skye and her best mate making it to-"

"Fitz, please." Jemma sighs, feeling a different sort of ache start to spread throughout her chest. She feels exhausted even though she just woke up. "Don't start."

"I'm sorry." Fitz says and Jemma is surprised to hear the words come out of his mouth. "I'm sorry about everything I said earlier. I'm sorry that I was acting like such an idiot and I should have apologized earlier." He shakes his head. "When you fell I thought…I think that was the worst moment of my entire life and all I could think about was how I'd been acting like a jerk for the past few days."

Jemma's vision blurs when tears fill her eyes and she reaches out her hand and Fitz takes it. "Oh Fitz." She says softly. "I'm sorry too."

"Everything I said before," Fitz starts, "about Skye and-"

"It doesn't matter." Jemma interrupts him before he has the chance to really launch into his apology. The words that she's been waiting to hear him say for the past few days suddenly don't seem at all important. It doesn't matter. Nothing really matters anymore. "It's all over now. It doesn't matter."

Everything she's been working toward all summer doesn't matter. It took only seconds for her to lose any chance she had at Stanford. Everything she'd ever wanted has been snatched away from her as quickly and suddenly as it was before. She was stupid for ever thinking that something different could happen.

"Jemma, it's not-"

"Yes it is." Jemma says sharply and the reality that settles over her now is heavier and more frightening than the truth of her fractured leg and banged up body. "It's over."

"Don't say that." Fitz chides gently. "We'll think of something. We always do."

Jemma shakes her head. "Three weeks. What are we supposed to do in three weeks."

"We'll think of something." Fitz just says again, more forcefully, giving her hand a squeeze. But they both know that the situation is hopeless and it's all over now. Everything she could have had has slipped through her fingers and Jemma just wants to fall back into the blissful ignorance of sleep for a little while longer.

Unfortunately, that stops being a possibility as soon as her mother comes into the room. She looks as relieved as she is displeased but thankfully manages to hold off on any scolding for the time being. Jemma isn't sure she could handle that on top of everything else.

The doctor comes in to check on her and repeats everything that Fitz has already told her but Jemma pretends to listen anyway. The only part that sounds remotely interesting is his assurance that, barring complications, she can head home in the morning. "You should try and get some rest." The doctor advises her with a patient but firm smile. "Your body needs to recover."

Jemma assures him that she will and when he leaves, Katherine just looks at Jemma and shakes her head. "What…I can't even begin to understand what you were thinking."

"Mum," Jemma sighs, closing her eyes, "can we just do this another time?"

A year ago, Katherine never would have let that slide. She would have gotten the whole story even if she'd had to drag it out of her daughter word by word. But, a year ago, Jemma never would have even considered participating in The Game. A year ago, her father would still have been alive and Stanford and everything that came after would have been a given. It didn't even take a year for everything to change; the past few months have brought them to this moment. And Katherine has been too tired to fight for a long time now.

So Katherine just sighs and lets the subject drop. She just sits in the other empty chair in the room, letting Fitz keep his place beside the bed. Jemma spends a few minutes protesting, assuring them that she'll be fine overnight and they can both go home and avoid spending the next few hours in uncomfortable hospital chairs. Of course, they both stay put and thankfully no one tries to start up a conversation. Not even Fitz tries to cajole Jemma into talking. It's a relief, because all she wants to do is sit and be angry. She feels like she's earned it.

As Jemma finally starts to fall asleep, she thinks about Skye and how she misses having her there beside her, stroking her fingers down her back or through her hair, lulling Jemma to sleep with every touch. She wonders if there might be some truth to Fitz's suspicions but thankfully she falls asleep before that idea can start to take root.

The doctor lets her go home in the morning, as promised, and her body is still too sore to handle using the crutches so Jemma has to endure the wheelchair. "How long until this stupid thing can come off?" Jemma mutters, glaring at the cast around her leg like it's the source of all her problems.

"A few weeks." Katherine says, her tone tired and distracted. The glossy look in her eyes lets Jemma know that she's still self-medicating and she feels guilty for hoping that will make her mother less inclined to ask questions.

Jemma huffs as she slides into the front seat of the car. It doesn't matter, in the end. In a few weeks everything will be different: Fitz will be gone and The Game will be over and she'll still be here. Who cares when her stupid cast will come off anyway?

Jemma finally manages to get Fitz to go home after assuring him several times that all she wants is to go home and rest and when she's up for company, she'll call him right away. She makes this promise a dozen times before Fitz seems reassured enough to head home on his own.

Thankfully, the car ride home is taken in silence and Jemma just stares out the window, watching the familiar sights pass her by. She was supposed to be getting out of here. And now she's stuck all over again.

Katherine helps her into bed, fussing over her half-heartedly and arranging the blankets around Jemma and her bulky cast. "Mum," Jemma says as Katherine starts to leave the room, "will you…open the window?"

It's probably pointless but still, Jemma can't help but hope.

Even though Jemma feels like all she's been doing recently is sleeping, she drifts off shortly after her mother leaves the room. She doesn't feel like doing anything else at the moment, if she's being honest, and at least when she's resting she can take her mind off everything else.

Jemma wakes to the sound of someone moving around in her room and for a moment she just lays there with her eyes closed, pretending to still be asleep on the off-chance that it's her mother finally coming in to talk about why her daughter was trying to climb up the quarry in the middle of the night. But then the mattress shifts and dips as someone gets into bed beside her and Jemma's eyes snap open and there's Skye.

Skye looks guilty, like a child with her hand caught in the cookie jar, and she smiles sheepishly. "Sorry. I was really trying not to wake you up."

"It's okay." Jemma assures her, shifting her position so that it's easier for her to see Skye. "What are you doing here?"

Skye almost looks hurt by the question. "I was…I wanted to see you. Is that…okay?" She asks tentatively.

Jemma doesn't say anything. She just reaches for Skye because it's been far too long since she's had her in her arms and she can feel the relief in Skye's body, the way she seems to relax against her.

"I'm sorry," Skye says, her breath tickling the hollow of Jemma's throat, "I wanted to see you earlier but I…I didn't know where you were and I've been waiting for you to come home and I…I didn't know…I didn't know if you were okay or what had happened…"

Jemma strokes her hair, resting her cheek against Skye's forehead. "I'm okay." And it's only a half lie when she says it.

"Fucking Miles." Skye snarls and Jemma can feel her body tense. "Next time I see him, I'm going to kill him."

It isn't until that moment that Jemma realizes that the hesitation she felt earlier, the reluctance she felt when she saw Skye, came from the nagging doubts implanted by Fitz the night before. The idea that Miles might have somehow been working under Skye's directive, charged with eliminating her from The Game so that Skye didn't have to. But hearing Skye, the anger and betrayal in her voice, feeling the sincerity in her touch, it makes Jemma feel foolish for ever doubting Skye. She feels the knot in her chest loosen and she pulls Skye closer, holding her so tightly it's like she's worried about what might happen if she were to let go.

Skye slips her arm around Jemma's waist, resting her head on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry." She says softly, her voice quivering. "It wasn't supposed to be like this."

Jemma just sighs softly, shaking her head. "No." Nothing was supposed to be like this. The past seven months weren't supposed to be like this. And yet, here they are. And there's nothing she can do about it now.

"You have to win." Jemma says softly, after they've passed several moments in silence.

Skye doesn't say anything but Jemma knows that she's taken the words to heart.

Much to Jemma's surprise, her broken leg seems to be the catalyst that brings Fitz and Skye together. It takes Jemma about an hour to become frustrated with the two of them fretting over her but she does find it amusing that Fitz and Skye seem to be finally getting along. Even though she doesn't feel like she needs to be babied, Jemma definitely isn't going to complain about having them both hanging around for the next few days.

It's been three days since Jemma woke up in the hospital, three days since The Game came to an end for her, three days before word starts to spread that the final challenge of The Game will be tonight.

The details of the final challenge are often shrouded in more secrecy than the rest of The Game. No one is allowed to be present aside form the competitors and the judges and whoever is acting as the liaison that year. Only the winner ever becomes public knowledge; whatever was done to win never becomes fodder for gossip. It was during the final challenge that Mike Peterson died and Chan Ho Yin became burned so badly that the rumor is that he's still undergoing treatment and skin-grafts. It's strange to suddenly feel so separate, so unattached to something that has been hanging over her head all summer; The Game is no longer a threat that Jemma has to contend with. The relief she feels is probably the only thing that can lessen the burden of losing.

But, of course, there's still Skye to worry about. The girl that Jemma first found herself falling for in the beginning of summer has returned: the aloof and distant girl, the fearless one, the closed off one, the untouchable one. Jemma knows her well enough now to see the act but even still, Skye's eyes are hard and determined and glint dangerously.

"What I said before," Jemma whispers fiercely against Skye's ear as she hugs her goodbye, "it doesn't matter. You don't have to win. Please just be careful."

Skye smiles at her and kisses her and says nothing. Jemma's words don't matter. She's going to play to win.

"I'm sure she's fine." Fitz says when it's two in the morning and Skye still hasn't returned.

It's not like there was a plan in place; Skye didn't leave with the assurance that she would come back after or otherwise let Jemma know that she was okay, that she wasn't going to be the next person to follow Mike Peterson and Chan Ho Yin into the legends of The Game. But Jemma had kinda assumed that she would. Or rather, she'd hoped that she would.

Jemma just nods absently as they continue to watch some endless infomercial for tap-lights. Because Skye not being here is not the same thing as Skye being hurt or dead or otherwise in danger. Of course, logic only works so well in moments like this one.

Eventually, not even their worries are enough to keep them awake and both Jemma and Fitz eventually fall asleep on the couch. Katherine wakes them up the following morning when she starts banging around in the kitchen for no discernable purpose and the first thing that Jemma does is check her phone. No message from Skye.

If Skye isn't dead or in the hospital somewhere, Jemma is going to be pissed at her for this.

Fitz heads home with the promise to come back later in the day and Jemma tries to read to distract herself from imagining the worst. But after having someone sit her down to tell her that her father is never going to come home again, she feels like it's understandable that her mind wants to run to the worst case scenario right away.

Jemma's heart plummets when someone knocks on the front door and it's the worse feeling of déjà vu she can possibly imagine. All she can think about is sitting here on the couch working on her physics homework and opening the door to find a police officer on the other side, telling her that she needs to come with him to the hospital. Jemma pushes those thoughts away, trying to roll her eyes at her own ridiculousness.

It takes her a few minutes to maneuver herself into a standing position with her crutches and Jemma finally hobbles over to the door, yanking it open. Skye is standing on the other side and Jemma just lets out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank god." She mutters.

The only thing to indicate that things have changed since the last time Jemma saw Skye is the bruise coloring the right side of Skye's face. Jemma wants to ask but there are plenty of other things that seem more important right now. Like the fact that Skye is fine and standing here in front of her.

Jemma figures that she can be pissed about the lack of communication thing later.

Jemma can tell that there's something different, something wrong. It's in Skye's face and her posture, the fact that she hasn't said anything since Jemma opened the door. Once Jemma has made her way back to the couch, she just looks at Skye expectantly, unable to gauge exactly what Skye is about to tell her. Either she won or she lost. Those are the only options. But neither path is simple.

"I won." Skye says softly and Jemma just gapes at her.

It seems almost impossible to comprehend. Skye won. Seventy thousand dollars. Jemma's mantra for the summer seems to have taken on a whole new meaning now.

"Skye." Jemma breathes, looking at her in disbelief.

She doesn't say that's amazing even though it is. She doesn't say I can't believe it even though she can. She doesn't say this changes everything even though it does. Jemma doesn't say anything at all because she doesn't even know where to begin.

Skye looks like she's still a little bit speechless herself. She just slips off the backpack that she's been wearing and holds it out to Jemma. It takes Jemma only a second to realize what the pointed look on Skye's face means.

"No." Jemma looks at her, surprised. "Skye. No."

But Skye just smiles and drops the bag into her lap. "Jemma, just listen-"

"No." Jemma shakes her head, pushing the bag back at Skye. She thinks that the hardest thing is how badly she wants what's inside. "Skye, you can't just-"

"Listen." Skye says more forcefully this time, her tone colored with exasperation. "I wanted to win so I could get out of here and start over and just…be somewhere that felt like home. Listening to you talk about California and the crappy apartment and the crappy jobs I just…I liked the way it sounded. It was like…home."

Skye pushes the bag closer to Jemma once more and Jemma can see the way that her eyes shimmer with tears that have yet to fall. It makes Skye look so open and vulnerable, but still somehow hopeful.

"You said if you could just get there that you could figure the rest out." Skye reminds Jemma. "Well, now you can get there. And I thought maybe we could figure the rest out…together?"

Jemma just shakes her head. "Skye…I couldn't possibly…" She looks at Skye and there's a part of her desperately needing Skye to change her mind and take the money back. But there's another part of her that so desperately needs Skye to assure her that it's okay, that understands how badly she wants this.

Skye leans forward, slipping her hand around Jemma's neck and pulling her closer. "Don't be stubborn." She chides softly. "Besides, what good is all this money if I don't have someone to help me spend it?"

Jemma just laughs quietly, shaking her head. "Skye…I…" She turns her head away slightly, looking down at the backpack sitting between the two of them.

She wonders if it's possible that they could both get what they want. That, when you take away the nuances, they both just want the same thing. Or is Jemma just being selfish and short-sighted in thinking so?

But when she sees the look in Skye's eyes, Jemma thinks they might not be so different after all.

"Together." Jemma says softly as she kisses Skye.

Skye just nods and pulls her closer and the bag falls off Jemma's lap and to the ground, momentarily forgotten.

"I can do it myself." Jemma lets out of a huff, rolling her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous."

"You're still crippled." Skye points out as she snatches the bag away from Jemma. "You should milk it for all it's worth. While it lasts."

"She's right, you know." Fitz chimes in from his spot by the trunk, where he's puzzling over how to pack everything inside. "Definitely enjoy it."

Jemma just frowns, crossing her arms over her chest. "I can't believe you're taking her side. Ganging up on me."

Fitz takes the bag from Skye when she brings it over and just continues to look quizzically at the trunk of his car. "We're not." He protests absently. "We might have to start over again…"

Skye groans and shakes her head. "Fitz," she whines, "we've already started over like three times."

"Well, that was before Jemma came up with another bag." Fitz glares at Jemma accusingly. "Did you remember to pack the bloody kitchen sink?"

"Watch it. I'm still crippled, you have to be nice to me." Jemma warns, brandishing her crutch at him.

Fitz rolls his eyes. "For one more week." He mutters.

Skye snatches the bag away from Fitz before he can start unpacking boxes and suitcases from his trunk. "I'll just put this in my lap and it's all good. Right? Right. Okay, good. Let's go."

Fitz starts to protest and Jemma can definitely see his reasoning. After all, the car is already pretty packed full. There's barely enough space in the backseat for Skye. It's not like they were intending to make the journey to California with three people in one car; seven months ago, Jemma had envisioned herself watching her parents disappear in the rearview mirror of her own car, loaded with her own stuff, following Fitz out of town. Obviously, things have changed. Obviously, they're having to make due with what they've got to work with. But as Jemma watches Fitz and Skye bickering over where to store the last of their bags, she can't help but wonder if maybe some things don't change for the better.

Obviously, there are some things that Jemma wishes had never changed at all. Not having her father here to wish her luck as she heads off to college is a nagging pain that she's just barely managing to keep at bay. She knows it'll hit her full force later tonight and probably several times as she starts to navigate this next stage in her life. But she has Skye and Fitz and Jemma is pretty sure that counts for a lot.

Skye finally wins the tug-of-war and pulls the bag away from Fitz. "It's fine. Geez, it doesn't have to be perfect." She teases. "They should make an A&E show about you."

Fitz glares at her. "Fine. But don't come crying to me when you're feeling claustrophobic."

"I lived in a falling down barn for eight months." Skye points out. "I think I'm good."

Jemma pulls herself to a standing position, tucking her crutches under her arms and hopping over to the car. "Shall we go?" She questions, looking at Skye and Fitz expectantly. "We can always stop to repack on the way if we need to."

"No. No more repacking." Skye decrees. "Just driving."

Fitz grumbles to himself but he slams the trunk closed, making his way to the driver's side. Jemma feels her heart jump in excitement at the thought of what's going to come next. There's still a part of her that can't believe that this is really happening. That after everything, she's actually on her way.

And that's the part of her that makes her look a Skye, suddenly feeling a flutter of doubt. "Are you sure…I mean I'm sure we could speak with admissions and-"

"Jemma, stop." Skye rolls her eyes, putting her hands on Jemma's hips. "Are you sure? You sure you want to be stuck with me in some crappy apartment? Because I have a lot of bad habits that-"

Jemma just cuts her off with a kiss. "Stop." She says softly and kisses her again.

Fitz clears his throat and Jemma reluctantly moves away from Skye. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought we were going." He arches an eyebrow. "What happened to 'just driving?'"

Skye gives him the finger before getting into the backseat of the car, settling Jemma's bag onto her lap. Jemma manages to maneuver herself into the front seat, narrowly avoiding whacking herself with her own crutches. She can't wait until this whole thing is over and done with. To say the crutches are a hassle is definitely an understatement.

It feels surreal when they're finally on the road, heading out of town. Jemma has thought about this moment for years, waiting for the day when she could finally put this place behind her and move somewhere bigger and brighter, somewhere she could really start to fit in. And now that it's actually happening, Jemma almost can't believe it. It's definitely not like she anticipated; she never would have imagined this on her first day of high school.

Jemma expects to feel a sense of nostalgia or maybe even homesickness as she watches all the familiar sights pass by the window. But she doesn't. She just feels excitement for what's coming next. Jemma catches Skye's eyes in the side view mirror and Skye just smiles at her and winks and Jemma feels her heart flutter and it's just like that first afternoon when they were standing on the edge of quarry. Only this time, Jemma is ready to jump.

end.