Author's Note: Yes, this is a slightly dramatic beginning, but this will get action-packed real soon, I promise. (Action like shooting and running, get your mind out of the gutter.) Thanks for reading!

One morning, about two weeks after their return with Will, Jemma seemed more unsettled than usual. She had snuggled into the far corner of the chair away from Fitz, then, apparently unable to get comfortable, suddenly stood and leaned on the wall next to the window, facing away from Fitz, tapping her toes on the ground.

Fitz remained silent as he watched her fidget, waiting her for to speak up with her troubles. She usually did. The past weeks had done wonders for their communication and he actually had started to feel like he used to - like there weren't any secrets between them, like they really were telepathically linked, as Sky - Daisy - had once said. They were entirely FitzSimmons once more, with the relatively new addition of knowing the true depth of one another's feelings. As a result, they had been a bit more direct with their conversations, no longer skirting past issues they had tiptoed around in the past. They were a bit more tactile, too, her hand gently finding his arm when they spoke, his hand finding the small of her back when they walked together. They seemed to constantly need physical reassurances the other was actually there.

The only thing they had not discussed at length was Will.

Fitz watched as she took a sip of the tea he had greeted her with, frowned, then took another sip before rolling her eyes and staring daggers at him. "Honestly, Fitz, you'd think by now you'd know how I like my tea!" She slammed the cup in its saucer on the window ledge and crossed her arms with a huff, leaning against the wall.

"Excuse me?" He asked, startled. She knew damn well that he was the only person who actually did know how to make her tea exactly the way she wanted it, with just the right amount of sugar at just the right temperature. He even knew how her flavor preferences shifted depending on the season or the weather.

"You heard me!" Simmons loudly snapped, then as though suddenly hearing herself, widened her eyes and covered her mouth with her hand. She turned to look at Fitz, gaze pleading. "Oh, Fitz. I'm so sorry, I…" She paused, her eyes starting to well up with tears.

Fitz quickly rose and moved to stand behind her, hand on her shoulder. "Shh, it's alright," he hushed her, trying to calm her nerves that had somehow gotten so on edge. She hadn't been this tense since immediately following her return from the alien planet nearly a month ago.

Simmons nodded, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She reached up to grasp Fitz's hand on her shoulder and leaned back into his chest, letting his body support her weight as they stood together at the window.

A few moments later, she opened her eyes and returned her gaze to the sunrise.

"Now then," Fitz said gently, squeezing her shoulder and slipping his hand down from her shoulder to her hip, lightly resting it there, testing to see if she was okay with this, trying to get a feel for her boundaries. When she didn't respond negatively and instead just snuggled closer to him, he continued, "What's wrong, Jemma?"

"Noth-" she started, then paused. Taking another deep breath, she turned around, letting the hand at her hip graze around her flat stomach and rest on the other hip as she placed her hands on his chest and gazed up at him. Fitz took a sharp breath, surprised at the sudden proximity. They hadn't been this close since their kiss. "Actually, it is something, I just don't think you would want to discuss it," she admitted, ducking her eyes. "Will's body is almost acclimated and he's been thoroughly cleared by all doctors - including myself - for any viruses, human or alien. He's been studying up on what he missed in the last 14 years, he was thrilled for anything to read, he was pouring through every book we could hand him," she laughed to herself smiling at the thought. She stopped suddenly, as though remembering where she was. "I - um… It's just… He's here now." She said, her voice quieting. "It's real."

Fitz just nodded, looking down at her hands on his chest, bracing himself for the moment he knew had been coming. The anger he had felt during their kiss still bubbled under the surface, and when he was tired or ticked off by a difficult issue in the lab, he would allow that anger to rise up and color every interaction with Simmons. How dare she linger with her hand on his arm if she was just going to leave him? Why would she hold his hand while watching the sunrise if she was going to pick Will over him? Didn't she understand the torture she was putting him through? Didn't she sense it that every time she leaned in, he tensed just a little, terrified of what he'd do if she tried to kiss him again?

"He's asked to visit NASA," she said suddenly, her voice clear and steady. She pushed herself away from him lightly, gently separating them and breaking his hold on her waist. "Fitz, I'm so sorry," she said, sadness dripping from the words as she remained focused on his chest.

Fitz froze. Was this it? Had she chosen? "Why." He said, stating the question. Demanding a clear answer.

"I'm… I'm going with him."

"Wha-"

"I'm going with him, and I'm sorry."

"You - " Fitz started again, still not understanding exactly what was happening. He ran a hand through his hair, a habit that had lost its effectiveness after he started cutting his hair shorter.

"He just…" Simmons started, stumbling again at first, then picking up steam and barreling ahead once she found the words, "He just doesn't know anyone, and I'm the only person on the entire planet that he knows, well, both planets actually I guess, and all of his friends have moved on or forgotten him or were secretly Hydra so they're dead or in jail or working for Ward, and he's so overwhelmed by everything and technology that's happened in last 14 years he can't quite process it very well right now, and he needs someone he trusts to walk him through it, and he doesn't know who to trust except me. And he still doesn't quite understand the whole Hydra connection, even though I've explained it to him a hundred times, because he doesn't really understand the true threat of Hydra because he's never really seen how terrible humans can be to one another. Really, he's been on a different planet since before September 11th in New York, Fitz, so really trying to understand all the evil and terrible and awful things that have happened in this world since then, all at once, well it's really messed with his brain, especially now that he finds out he's somehow connected to Nazis, of all things, and… Well, Director Coulson has been able to pull some strings and Captain Rogers is going to meet with him here at the Garage once we return from NASA to just kind of work through acclimating yourself to a world that's gone on without you, and… Um… I just… He needs me, Fitz. I can't abandon him."

Fitz just stared at her, his mind running a mile a minute to process everything she had just said. Selfishly, the thing that stuck in the forefront immediately was that Will was going to meet Captain America. The bloody fool had gotten himself stuck alone on an alien planet of all things, and that somehow meant he deserved be be friends with an Avenger? He knew for a fact some of his tech had directly saved the life of someone Maria Hill held very dear last year, she had personally thanked him, and he had yet to meet so much as Romanov. Not that he would want to. That woman terrified him to his very core. But while working in the lab since joining Shield, Simmons and Fitz had often daydreamed out loud about whom they'd like to meet, given the opportunity. Fitz would probably be willing to go on another mission with Ward if it meant he got to meet Tony Stark and discuss tech. And Simmons would do anything to meet Bruce Banner and study literally anything with him. Simmons also wanted to meet Thor, but after hearing her discuss his physique with another female lab tech at great length one day, Fitz was fairly certain that desire had nothing to do with his alien abilities or Avenger status. As a result, Fitz also had a secret desire that Jemma never meet Thor or Captain America for that matter, just in case they met them together and Simmons therefore saw him standing next to either man.

But that wasn't the point. Fitz shook aside the streak of jealousy running through him at Will's impending date with an Avenger and moved on to the most important thing she had said. "So you're coming back?" He asked, hoping that the desperation he felt wasn't betrayed on his face.

Simmons looked up at him, shocked, as tears started to well in her eyes, "Oh, Fitz! Oh, of course I'm coming back!" She said, reaching forward and wrapping her arms around him, "Oh, I'm so sorry you thought… Well, of course you thought that, why wouldn't you? I did abandon you. All I do is leave you. I keep leaving you and leaving you, over and over. I'm so, so sorry Fitz. I don't… You shouldn't…" She started sobbing into his shirt, and he instinctively wrapped his arms around her, softly shushing her cries.

"You didn't leave me in the ocean," he said, trying to appease her cries.

"But I did abandon you. When you needed me, after the ocean, I left you. But when Will needed me to save him, I got you and our entire team to cross planets to save him," Simmons muttered into his shirt, self-disgust filling her voice. "Really, you should hate me."

Fitz remained silent, his hand continuing it's journey up and down her back. There was nothing to say to that. He allowed himself a slight chuckle at the thought of ever hating her. The pair had talked her choice to go to Hydra at length during their usual morning sunrise conversations, and he understood her reasoning and had come to accept that it really was the logical choice. She had been right - he had leaned on her far too much during his recovery. That didn't mean he had to like it, but he understood it. He was ready to move past it, but it turned out Simmons was nowhere near ready to move past the guilt she still felt over leaving him.

So he remained quiet, just holding her tightly. "When?" He asked after a moment, hating the answer already.

Simmons sniffled into his shirt, her cries coming to an end. "A few hours," she said quietly into his shirt.

Fitz just nodded, ignoring the sharp pang of fear that settled into his stomach every time he felt Simmons starting to slip away from him. "And when do you think you'll return?"

"We'll probably only be there for a few days," Simmons said, her voice muffled.

Fitz hummed in acknowledgement, reaching one arm to wrap around her waist and bringing the other to smooth her hair, calming her. "Then I'll look forward to your return," he said quietly.

After a moment, Simmons had stopped crying and he could just feel her chest slowly rising against his as she breathed.

"You have to go, Simmons," he said sadly, answering her question before she asked it, reading her thoughts as usual. "You'd never forgive yourself if you just walked away. You have to see," he said, his heart breaking as he said the words. They both knew Simmons was joining Will on the trip for more than just logistical purposes. She had to see what life would be like with Will, back on Earth. She had to see if they would work, and she had to explain her feelings to Will.

Since her return, Simmons had been more somber than her old self, less ready with a smile. Now that Fitz had seen what she had had to become on the alien planet for survival, he knew she was starting to reconcile her two selves. Now she had to do the same with the two men.

She stilled at his words, then just pair stood there in silence for a moment more, the morning sun now soaking Simmons' back and forcing Fitz to squint down at his partner.

Gradually, Simmons sighed and leaned back, looking up into Fitz' eyes. She rose up onto her toes and grasped his face in both hands. "I promise I'll come back," she swore, leaning in and kissing him sweetly.

She tasted like salty tears and tea with just the right amount of sugar and Fitz soaked it all in, squeezing his eyes shut as he prayed this wouldn't be the last time he'd ever get a taste.