New Identity ~ MCU/SWCW Story

|<Chapter Twenty-Four>|

I know I said revisions... but I couldn't help myself. So here we are :)

Also, TW for drowning. I'll put a triangle (∆) before the scene in case anyone needs to skip :)

"Good afternoon, Agent Tanner," the melodic voice of a certain biochemist rang through Ashley's quarters. The teenager placed the antibiotic cream and package of bandaids down on the desk and spun around to face her visitors.

"Fitzsimmons," Ashley acknowledged, barely able to contain her assignment. "Don't judge my abilities to dress a wound... I'm still learning."

Jemma laughed and simply gestured for Leopold to come forward with the customary briefcase and supplies. "You applied that bandage in the wrong direction, but I suppose I will let it slide."

For the first time since pretty much the time that Ashley had been brought here, she felt at ease. There was something about their presence that was so tranquilizing, forcing her to trust them despite her not being eager to. It was like there was a certain purity that radiated from them, assuring her that they weren't a threat.

"You've got me hanging off the edge, here. Are you gonna tell me what I want to hear or am I going to have to pry it outta you?" Ashley prodded in a half-teasing tone.

Leopold tsked while moving over to the side of her desk to set up his laptop. Jemma, on the other hand, appeared to have other objectives. "Patience, dear. Our first priority is to get you somewhat patched up and presented as one piece for your next lessons."

"That's your first priority," Ashley corrected, grunting as Jemma messed with her left arm. "I want to know what Strucker promised me. It's been a week."

"Good going, Agent. You've successfully fractured your radius," Jemma remarked as she entirely ignored Ashley's commentary. "We'll begin immediately with stem cell therapy and fix a splint for you to use in your off time, but it's not going to fully heal until you give it the proper time off."

"I'll let my arm know when I plan to take a vacation," Ashley sarcastically said and looked down at her bruising arm. A new pain shot from a different part of her body causing her to sharply inhale and wince.

"I'm fine," the teenager tried to assure Jemma but was far from having the biochemist fooled. The woman shot Ashley a look, causing her to cave.

"Where else are you hurt?" She asked although it came out as more of a demand than a question.

"Try the shoulder," Ashley groaned, shrugging off the blanket that she had been using to cover herself. She revealed her shoulder, which was all sorts of crooked and certainly not sitting the way it was supposed to.

"Bloody hell," Jemma sighed and turned to Leopold. "Fitz, I'm going to need your help with this one. I'm no good with dislocated shoulders."

"One second," Leopold responded since he was still in the process of fiddling with the laptop. In a couple of moments, the engineer had finished with his task and turned to Ashley. "Well, this is going to hurt. There's no sugar-coating that. It will reduce the pain once it's back in the socket, however."

Leopold reached towards Ashley's shoulder but she flinched away. "Jemma, you can't handle this?" The teenager pleaded, but the biochemist shook her head.

Ashley really wanted to trust Leopold with this, but there was only so much a girl could take before her trauma caught up with her. As one could tell, she still wasn't enthustiastic about physical contact with men.

"Go ahead," Ashley said through gritted teeth. She had to force herself to focus on something else as Leopold stepped forward and began applying pressure on her shoulder.