Disclaimer: Don't own it. Wish I did.

Author's Note: When I was watching the second season finale, this was where my head thought it was going. Turns out, I was wrong, but I still like the idea, so here it is. This picks up at the end of season 2 episode 22, but goes AU from there. It starts towards the end of the fight scene between Mack, Fitz, Coulson, and Gordon, but Mack gets knocked unconscious. As for the repercussions of that one small change, you'll just have to see. Let me know what you think? Unbeta'd, so apologies in advance for any mistakes.

Sacrifice

Fitz raced to the chest to secure it, tucking his pole underneath his arm so both hands were free. Gordon could just unlock it again, but why make it easy on the Inhuman? Coulson knelt by Mack.

"It's okay, he's alive, he's just knocked out," he called back to Fitz.

Fitz nodded, heart in his throat. It was just him and Coulson against the Inhuman, and he was no fighter. He was just half of Fitzsimmons, the Science Twins. It was times like this that he wished he'd learned at least some self-defense. If he made it out of this alive, he'd ask May. She offered once, when he saw her training with Skye. This time, he'd take her up on that offer.

He stood back up, and felt the hair on the back of his neck rise to attention. Suddenly, Gordon was behind him and there was a strange new pressure around his pole. The world seemed to come to a halt, time stopped. But the Inhuman wasn't moving to attack him. He looked down and watched his hands, one at a time, release the pole – it stayed where it was – and slowly backed away. He spun around.

The pole had impaled Gordon through the abdomen, and he slowly started falling forward, hitting his knees on the ground and collapsing against the chest. Coulson started to move towards him and, at first, Fitz couldn't figure out why. Then he saw the blue crystal flying from Gordon's hand into the air, and his life flash before his eyes.

"Jemma..." he whispered, wishing he could see her one last time. He'd seen what had happened to Tripp, and he'd know if his parents were Inhuman descendants, right? And then he saw Coulson catch the crystal before shattering on the floor. He was saved, but Coulson was slowly turning to stone, a look of horror on his face.

"Director!" he cried out. Oh dear god, what could he do? He couldn't knock the crystal out of his hand, they'd all die, including Coulson, and if it got into the exhaust, the whole ship could die. So he had to watch, as the man he looked up to, sacrificed his life to save them all.

He moved next to Mack, who was stirring. "Turbo?" Mack asked weakly. "What...?"

"Gordon's down. I, uhh, actually he, uhh, he impaled himself on my pole when he teleported behind me..."

"Atta boy, Turbo."

"But Coulson, he..." and Fitz found he couldn't continue. He was struggling not to cry, and he knew if he spoke, the floods would come and he wouldn't be able to stop them.

"He what?" Mack sat up, shoving Fitz out of the way. "COULSON!" He moved towards his fallen axe, to remove the offending part by any means necessary, but it was no good. Only Coulson's face was left uncovered by the rock, and soon, not even that. "NOOO!"

Somebody burst through the door. "What...?" The question died out as she saw the statue on the floor, and she lunged towards him. Mack grabbed her, stopping her.

"You touch him, it could infect you too," he warned, as he held her. He debated knocking her out, as he knew he couldn't hold Agent May back if she put her mind to it. But his words must have registered, because she stopped fighting him. Her knees buckled, and he set her down next to Fitz, who had lost his battle against his tears.

"Skye?" he asked her softly.

"She won." After defeating the redheads and securing them, she and Lincoln had run after Skye. They found her weak on the deck, her father cradling the dead body of her mother, and no quinjet or crystals in sight. May had wanted to stay with her, to...comfort her? – the feelings were strange, as they usually were around Skye – but she knew there might still be other battles going on. Skye, barely able to rise, had wanted to come and help too, but May ordered her student to stand down. Lincoln stayed, to guard and care for her, and she ran off to the HVAC room.

"Then it's over," Mack said.

May nodded. "Dammit Coulson," she said. "Why do you have to be so damn self-sacrifing?"

As if her words had prompted it, the rock began to break apart. They thought it was the end, but it was a new beginning. The rock flaked off Coulson rather than breaking him with it, and he emerged from the cocoon, unharmed.

"What the bloody fuck?" Mack said, and all May could do was nod her agreement. Who knew?