THE JOURNEY BACK to S.H.I.E.L.D HQ was calm, which made Jenna wonder if it was the moment before the storm — the peace before the chaos that was heading their way in a whirlwind of emotions and struggles, far greater than they had ever faced or even imagined. But, although her fate and Fitz — almost the same thing — were pluckily floating in her mind and making her unable to think about anything else as the Quinjet flew back to their secret base, some good news arose to the scene as well. And good news, meant literal news.

          "Guys, you should come take a look at this", Simmons called on Jenna and Trip, who were seated next to one another — they had even chatted a little bit about everything from their favorite ice cream flavors to their biggest regrets, but once the man had seen the faint, sad look on her face, he had understood to give her the space she clearly needed. And he didn't blame her, as things were rather messed up. But, now that Simmons caught their attention, both of the S.H.I.E.L.D agents stood up from their seats and glanced at each other before rushing over to their shared friend.

          Needless to say, Jenna was positively surprised, as she had expected some kind of a new complication raise its head, only to find herself stare at Phil Coulson himself, live on television.

         "HYDRA doesn't think we're smart enough to know when we're being fed alternative facts to keep us afraid, to keep them in power. Remember, there are more of us than there are of them. And now that we know the truth, we have a choice to make. We all have the opportunity to be patriots. Will you take a stand? Are you going to hold them accountable?", the man stared into the camera bravely, and as his words of encouragement got to Jenna, the blonde ended up smiling at the flicker of hope within her heart. Clearly, it had been a busy day for the other agents.

          Swallowing, Phil continued, "A wise man once told me that a person can do anything once they realize they're a part of something bigger. It's taken me a while to understand that. For years, I was just a face in the crowd, a history teacher who spread HYDRA's lies. They seemed too imposing for any one person to fight. But now I'm choosing to stand up, to become a part of something bigger", and nodding in utter agreement, Jenna placed a hand on Simmons' shoulder.

        "I see why you're all so fond of him", she whispered, and radiating with pride for her boss, Jemma grinned in response.

       "I really do believe that together, we can accomplish anything", the man on the TV added on, before taking off his glasses and digging something out of his pocket — a badge. "Because the truth is I'm not just a history teacher. My name is Phil Coulson and I'm an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D."

—————

        ONCE BACK AT the base, Jenna and Jemma were reunited with Daisy, whose first instinct was to rush over to Trip and hug the man in relief and joy — only for awkwardness to descend onto the situation when he pointed out that he didn't know her, earning a suffocated smile from Jenna who glanced at her best friend silently. Smoothly lying her way through the moment to avoid seeming crazy in Antoine's eyes, Daisy flashed a convincing smile, but before it could get any worse, Simmons had gestured for Jenna to keep Trip busy while she would catch up with the Inhuman.

       Nodding in response, Jenna suddenly linked her arm with Trip's. "Hey, how about some tea?", she suggested, and as the man loudly declared that he was going to need something stronger than tea, the two of them headed towards the kitchen, laughing together. As they walked away, the blonde shot one last look to Simmons, who simply smiled back at her in gratitude. It was a similar gaze that Jenna sent Coulson's way once she found him in the hallways of the base, nothing but respect and appreciation for the man who had so bravely stood up to HYDRA on television and sworn his loyalty to S.H.I.E.L.D. It was true that the agency they all worked for had seen better days, but the improvement that was happening each day, gave Jenna hope.

       And she needed it. Desperately. She needed to believe that she could be happy with Fitz once again, and frankly, the thought was as sweet as the sugar in the tea she made for herself.

       "Hey, peanut", Evan huffed as he stepped into the kitchen, where Jenna and Trip were talking about the most irrelevant things at the moment, and in an instant, the scientist narrowed her eyes at her big brother and shook her head in disagreement.

        "Um, since when is that nickname allowed? Drop it", Jenna waved her finger in the air, threatening to toss the hot tea onto Evan's chest, but the grin that spread across his lips proved that he wasn't intimidated — as if she'd ever waste her precious drink like that.

       With a chuckle, Trip actually took Evan's side, causing a betrayed look to shine within Jenna's eyes. "I like it", he smirked, "peanut", and in response, the woman scoffed in disappointment and disbelief.

       "Excuse me, peanut makes me sound like a six-year-old kid. Which I am not, in case you didn't know. You know, I—", she began ranting, but once she saw Simmons in the doorway, waving her hand to get Jenna's attention, she cleared her throat and decided to drop the bickering. "I am a mature adult, so I'm going to leave you two here and enjoy my tea in peace", Jenna continued, and snickering in amusement, Evan nudged his sister gently as she walked out of the quaint kitchen and towards Simmons. And despite arguing against Evan, she couldn't help but smile — she did love him.

       However, the smile on her lips faded once she noticed Jemma's eyes frantically looking around, her fingers playing with one another — a habit whenever she was nervous — and it was causing the blonde to frown. "What is it?", she wondered whilst drawing a sip from her tea, her intent eyes never leaving Simmons' as the woman inhaled deeply and nodded in determination.

       "Daisy wants to leave Fitz here", she blurted out, and the mug in Jenna's hand nearly slipped as she coughed and shook her head immediately, the blonde waves disagreeing with her. "She thinks that it's too dangerous and we'll have to come back later", Simmons sighed, running her hand through her brown hair as Jenna used her own to cover her face and fight back the bitter tears. She had come too far to give up now — she had fought so hard and if she was expected to turn her back on Fitz... no. She had done that before — let him out of her sight, and it had led to this hell.

        "We can't", Jenna whispered through her shaky hand after she had put the tea mug away, and nodding in agreement, Simmons pulled her best friend into a hug. "I refuse to lose him again", the blonde muttered against Jemma's shoulder quietly, "I love him."

       Gulping, Simmons then let go and looked into Jenna's eyes carefully, confirming that she had something more to share with her. "I also found out what's different about him here. His—uh, his father. He never left Fitz", the woman added on, and Jenna's instant reaction was to snap her head up and look at Jemma as if to question if she was being serious. But nothing about her face made it seem like she was joking, and the truth earned a heartbroken exhale from the Rivers girl as she let it all sink in. Of course. In the real world, Fitz's father had abandoned his family, shaping Leo into the man he was. Here? He was the brutal, cold head of HYDRA and it was all because of that toxic man standing behind him instead of his warm, loving mother.

       "We need to do something", Jenna decided confidently, and with a careful smile pulling on her lips, Simmons declared her allegiance and agreement with a curt nod.

       "Yes, we do."

—————

       IT WAS OBVIOUS that the two women were rather determined to get their best friend back from the cruel grasp of HYDRA, the venomous embrace of AIDA, since neither of them had shaky hands or racing hearts despite the guns attached to their hands as they stood outside a cozy looking house. But indoors, Jenna knew to be a man she had grown to loathe just through everything Fitz had told her — how his father had abandoned him in the early years of childhood, and now that in this reality he hadn't, it had driven Leo into someone he was most definitely not. That was something that Jemma and Jenna were hellbent on fixing, and that much was clear to Alistair Fitz whose eyes widened at the sight he found waiting for him at his doorstep.

        Needless to say, he hadn't expected his day-off to consist of two women — fugitives from HYDRA, no less — pushing into his home, all the while holding him at gunpoint and making it obvious that they weren't there for a cup of tea and an idle chitchat. No, they were there to get work done, to get one step closer to reuniting with Leo and being the happy trio they had once been.

        "Let's be reasonable about this", Alistair held his hands up in the air while circling around opposite the blonde and the brunette, knowing very well that despite his strength and the mean punch he could throw, he wasn't in a very good position considering there was not just one, but two threats, the potential of them pumping him full of lead with a single, quick movement. Shivering at the thick accent that Jenna was used to hearing in Fitz's voice, lacing his quirky tone, the blonde gulped, but never let her eyes move away from the man, even if she was dying to look around the house and seek for any signs of Fitz.

       "Don't you tell us to be reasonable", Simmons spat, "especially not after what you've done to Fitz", and in an instant, Jenna regained her posture and nodded confidently to agree with her friend. However, whereas she grew all the more wary, the man standing before them merely lowered his hands and knitted his eyebrows together.

       "You mean Leopold?", he inquired curiously, and with a curt nod, Jenna confirmed that to be true, before he continued with, "I've been nothing but a good father." Without even realizing she had done so, Jenna ended up snorting, nothing but amusement aimed towards his arguments — she knew the truth, and he was beyond far from facts with those claims. He was wrong, and she wasn't afraid to speak her mind about that.

       Shaking her head, Jenna stepped closer to the lousy excuse of a father, and Simmons noted the emotions rising to the tip of her tongue, encouraging a bunch of angry stuff to spill from between her lips. "You most certainly are not. You're toxic, cruel, and you've taught him to be cold and ruthless. He's better than that, he deserves better than that. All you do is destroy him piece by piece without him even realizing. You know what a good father is like? I'll tell you—", Jenna ranted with the weapon beginning to shake in her hands, but before she could finish off with the memory of his own dad, Alistair had interjected.

        "You stupid girl", he scoffed, before defending himself and the things he had done, the actions he claimed to have come from a place of love, but he was unable to convince Jenna with those poisonous intentions.

       Suddenly, Simmons stepped in, pointing the gun at the phone resting atop the desk — next to a framed photo of Leopold and Alistair, proudly standing in front of the HYDRA logo — and cleared her throat. "Call him. Call Fitz. We don't want to hurt him, we—we could never. We just want to talk", the brunette whispered, before adding, "you don't have to get hurt, either, as long as you do what we say", at which Jenna nodded in agreement.

       Reluctantly, but eventually, Alistair grabbed the phone from the table and Jenna felt her muscles stiffen as he dialed Fitz's number. It didn't take long for the former nerd to pick up, and at the sound of his smooth voice, Jenna sighed softly and closed her eyes for a split second, trusting Simmons to keep an eye on the man as he made the call. Fitz's words were mumbled from across the line, but Jenna would have recognized that adorable voice in her sleep, even if it was now tainted with more suffering, power, fury.

       The warmth spreading within Jenna's heart suffocated, the flames dying out as Alistair refused to follow their instructions. "The fugitives are here!", he yelled out, "bring all your men!", and as Simmons pointed out how this stupid choice was going to get them all killed, the older man threw the phone towards her. With a groan, Simmons tried to dodge the hit, only for Alistair to smack into her and shove her down to the floor harshly. Her back hit the carpet painfully, and Jenna was already rushing to her aid, when she heard Fitz's voice from the phone that was lying on the floor.

       Frozen by the opportunity right in front of her, Jenna contemplated grabbing the phone and saying something — anything, but once she heard strangled coughs from Simmons' way, she snapped out of it. Seeing Alistair's hands on Jemma's throat, choking her to a very near death, sparked rage within the blonde and she was quickly running towards him to push him off, but her efforts were pointless. He was far too strong and far too large for her to fight so easily, but with the life draining out of Jemma with each passing second, she knew she had to act.

       Only then she understood that she was still holding up a gun, and with saving Jemma as her only goal, the blonde lifted the weapon and took in a deep inhale.

      And just like that, so simply, so effortlessly, she pulled the trigger.

»»»

rip you won't be missed you manipulative douche

FITZ DESERVES BETTER

and so does jenna tbh, and you're going to find out if they get a happy ending veerrry soon (: (to comfort you, i am a sucker for happy endings) i think this book will only have 2 more chapters, possibly 3, one of them being the epilogue.

we're up for a rollercoaster of emotions ((':