This story takes place after the season 1 finale. Again, no idea what is going to happen so this is probably not at all canon. I don't even know if they are going to use the machine again.

Agents of Shield belongs to it's mad good creators and ABC and Marvel.

"What is your name?" Agent Koenig asked calmly.

"Jemma Simmons," she replied impatiently, not meeting his eyes and wondering again what the point of this was. She should be helping her team or with Fitz doing something to bring him back. There were about a hundred other, much more useful, things she could be occupying her time with right now.

"The machine is picking up some strange readings," he informed her, frowning, "Are you in any sort of pain at the moment?"

'Yes,' she thought. However she suspected it wasn't the kind he was referring too."I might be a bit upset at the moment," she retorted sarcastically. "Maybe that's what's throwing this damn thing off."

He smiled politely and clicked a button on his board. "Thank you agent Simmons, for your co-operation."

She sighed, feeling guilty for snapping at him. He probably didn't want to be doing this anymore than she did. He was only doing his job. She tried to match his polite tone as she answered his other questions.

Then he reached the one about the box and her temper returned along with the sound of rushing water that haunted her nightmares.

"What is in that box?" he demanded.

"Fitz and me," she scoffed, "we're in that bloody box at the bottom of the ocean having a tea party and discussing how to make the perfect strawberry shake."

"That isn't your answer," he informed her in that infuriatingly calm tone.

"It's what I replied to the question," she snapped, clenching her fists and wishing she was anywhere else, "doesn't that make it my answer?"

"The machine says you're lying," he shrugged. "Although it could be picking up on sarcasm, which is basically lying. It has trouble telling the difference."

"I'll bet it does," she laughed. It was an awful sound and it didn't feel like laughter. "I'll bet that piece of junk has trouble telling the difference between a lot of things. Like the difference between an agent of Shield and someone from hydra."

"Agent Simmons-" he warned and she saw a stupid red light flashing on his face.

"This machine is broken!" she raged, slamming her fist down on the side of the chair with a painful clank. "I think it has already been made abundantly clear that it doesn't know the difference between a friend and a lying traitor. It let that bastard betray us. It let him drop Fitz and me out of a plane into the ocean." She was shaking with fury and she saw agent Koenig's calm leave his face but she didn't care.

She was back in that damn box, at the bottom of the ocean and they weren't having a tea party they were scared. They were terrified to die but they were together and they had somehow found the courage to live out their final moments as something more than doomed frightened creatures. And then they had a plan, a wonderful, fantastic plan that just might work. In the moments before she realized she was about to lose her best friend forever, she had felt hope. Then Fitz had told her the rest of his own plan and she had felt an entirely different emotion that she couldn't find a name for; one which had left her sick and hollow. It had appeared alongside a wonderful, agonizing burst of love that made her terrified all over again.

"That machine may have let him take Fitz away," she said very quietly, feeling the anger leave her, taking her strength with it.

"He did take my brother," agent Keonig whispered, his voice filled with pain and she looked up at him feeling a rush of shame. How could she have forgotten that?

"I'm sorry," she breathed and saw his eyes brighten with tears.

"It's OK," he assured her gently.

"No," she objected shaking her head, "It really isn't OK." She wasn't only talking to agent Koenig because she could still hear Fitz in her head saying exactly the same thing. "None of this is OK."

To her amazement he walked away from the controls and stopped in front of her. He reached into his pocket and held out his hand, offering her a crumpled up tissue.

She realized her cheeks were wet with tears.

"Thank you," she said gratefully, taking it from him and whipping her face.

He gave her a small smile and returned to his post.

"We know the machine was flawed," he announced in a business-like voice, "but I have personally made sure that changes have been made to both it and it's operating procedures. If I have my way, what happened with Ward will never happen again."

She sniffed. Of course they'd fixed it. Agent Keonig had done something productive instead of letting his pain get the better of him like she had done just now.

"We can try again when you're ready," he told her.

"I'm ready now," she said firmly.

"What is in that box?" he asked again and this time she knew the answer. It was the same thing that turned her nightmares into dreams when she was lucky.

"There are two oxygen tanks in the box." she declared and he nodded in understanding.

"Last question," he announced and she was ready for this one as well. "Why are you here?"

"I'm here to protect people," she replied easily, "I'm here to get Fitz back and I'm here to stop Hydra."

A real smile appeared on his face and, despite the ache in her heart, she managed to return it.

"Me too, agent Simmons," he agreed, "Me too."

Background

Thank you so much to everyone who liked, read or reviewed my other stories. Your reviews are always helpful and fun to read (especially notapepper, so much fun to read:) so are your stories.)

The Fringe reference is the strawberry shake. (I originally said float by mistake, mixing strawberry shake with rootbeer float...ooops..) This is one of Walter's favourite foods and he likes to try to improve his recipes.

This is me, again, trying to get into Simmons' head partly because I do not entirely think I understand her. For example I don't know for sure if she would really lose it like this, she seems pretty level headed. At the same time though something really horrible did happen to her and I don't think it would be too far a leap to say she was angry about. Feel free to let me know what you think.

Also, I don't think what Fitz gave Simmons was an oxygen tank exactly but I figured a tank would be more useful if he could rig it the same way.

This could take place in the same universe as Swings and Stars and Dance With Me but just a bit before those stories happen.