Skimmons: Athlete and A Doctor

Part 10

Jemma woke up snuggled against Skye as usual, only with a sharp pain in her back. She sits up, remembering that they had stayed over at Coulson's and she had gotten quite drunk and fallen asleep on the floor. Looking down she realized that at some point she had been wrapped up in Skye's favorite jacket and something in one of the pockets had been prodding her in the night, explaining the sore spot. As covertly as possible, she fished around, trying to remove the offending object as fast as she could so that she could go back to sleep. Her hand finally closed around a box inside of Skye's chest pocket where her wallet usually was kept.

Jemma's heart stopped and she slid it free. She muffled her gasp with one hand. She cradled the velvet box in both hands and prayed that it contained what she suspected it did. Biting her lip, she opened it with a small click and wasn't sure whether screaming, crying, or laughing was the more appropriate reaction. The object was, in fact, an engagement ring with the diamonds in a double helix shape where the usual single stone would be.

"Yes." she whispered. "Always and forever, yes."

Jemma curled herself back around Skye and slid the ring on her finger, just to see how it fit. She admired the sight for a while and put it back where it had come from and went to sleep with a smile on her face.

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Skye wakes up with Jemma's arms wrapped around her. She had had her third proposal dream that month. They'd been coming for the past two, more often since buying the ring. She wanted to propose soon, but had no idea when the proper time would be, or how she should do it. She'd been meaning to talk to Morse about it, but that woman's marriage had been the strangest that she had ever witnessed in her life. That only left... Melinda May, the Cavalry.

As usual, she was awake earlier than anyone else. Oddly enough, Skye hadn't seen her go to bed, either. Skye was beginning to think May didn't sleep at all. The athlete squeezed herself gently from her nest between Jemma and Ward and took a seat at the buffet with a bowl of Frosted Flakes.

"Can I ask you something?" she begins when May doesn't respond to her presence.

"I guess that depends on the question." May replies, turning the page of her book.

"How do you know that it's the right time to propose to someone?" Skye asks, not sure of whether May would actually bother to answer or not.

"You're aware that I've never proposed to anyone, right?" May asks incredulously.

"Yeah, but... "

"But I'm the adult female in your life, and that makes it my responsibility to answer these sorts of questions for you, right?" May says with a resigned shake of her head. "I never wanted kids."

"I'm not your kid, and I only wanted some advice, thanks anyway." Skye growls, unsure of why she's angry all of a sudden. She picks up her cereal and starts to walk away.

"Coulson Jr., hold up... just remember that there will never be a perfect place or a perfect time. The whole point of your relationship, in my opinion, is that both of you are in need of someone to lean on after years of being alone. Just keep believing in yourself and in her, and I'm sure you'll be okay, okay?" May said like she wasn't more sure of anything else in the world. She always had been really good at faking it, though.

"Thanks, May." Skye says with a grateful smile. She struggles back to her place beside of Jemma and settles down, pulling her closer. Despite the fact that Jemma was still completely asleep, she somehow still knew that it was Skye, and curled into her lap, using her as a pillow. For the next couple of hours, Skye sits like that to ponder May's advice on proposing to the sleeping girl. She combed Jemma's hair with her fingers wishing that she were an artist capable of capturing the epic peace on her lover's face.