[1] Take the Shot | Leo Fitz

25

Nina didn't know how long she'd been in the shower for though she knew that the warm water she had started in was now stark cold but she made no move to get out of it.

The first 5 minutes, Nina had scrubbed her arms and legs raw watching as Skye's diluted blood dripped down the drain leaving droplets of the contaminated water on the white floors.

It wasn't long until certain words started floating up into Nina's mind and she clawed at her head in repressed agony.

It's alright boss, it's not you-

It's okay boss. Death comes for us all.

Cyrus.

Tell Tommy I love hi-

I do...

It wasn't until a new addition to the symphony of Nina's fallen team's last words flooded her mind did she truly shatter.

Nina... I'm sorry...

At the absence of Skye's blood in Nina's shower, she was quick to add her own as she sent her fist repeatedly into the tile of the shower walls. She didn't stop when the skin split open, nor did she stop when the tile cracked and was stained red.

She didn't slow down as she abused that one section of the wall. Nina focused on her pain as it spread from her knuckles and up her arm like wildfire, in an attempt to quiet the voices in her head and give her something to control.

She only stopped when she heard a knock on the door.

"Nina, we're at the trauma centre," it was May who called out through the door and Nina dropped her hand. As the blood from her knuckles dripped down into the still running water, Nina looked up to the showerhead.

She didn't say anything for a moment as the water rushed over her face, she couldn't tell what was her tears and what wasn't. When Nina took a step back and breathed in, she responded to the agent that was undoubtedly still waiting outside the door.

"I'll be right out," she called to May with a soft voice. When she didn't get a response she assumed that May had left.

Begrudgingly, Nina turned off the shower and stepped out. She dried herself off and was glad that she had brought a change of clothes with her. She was quick to get dressed in the small space she had, the moisture in the air not affecting her as she pulled on a pair of black pants and a long-sleeved athletic tee.

When she exited the bathroom altogether, she was surprised to see May leaning against the opposite wall with the first aid kit in her hand. She raised it as she locked eyes with Nina.

"Right or left?" Was all she asked.

Hiding anything from May was almost impossible but Nina wasn't expecting the older agent to know how she coped with distressing situations so well. Nina just sighed before holding up her injured knuckles, showing May the torn skin and red flesh that should its freshness.

"Right,"

*

Skye had been in surgery for what felt like forever as the rest of the team were in the waiting room. May was seated far away from the group, lost in her mind while Coulson placed frantically. Ward kept an eye on him while Simmons lay, passed out, across a few seats.

Nina sat with a coffee next to Fitz, the pair hadn't said anything as Fitz didn't want to overstep and Nina was too busy seeing the faces of everyone she'd ever lost. She felt guilty. Guilty that she'd never be able to tell Skye about her sister or the fact that her mother wasn't dead and guilty over the fact that she knew if she was in Skye's position the team would be equally as distressed.