Agent Simmons (ohfitz) wrote in thedoorway, @ 2014-08-13 14:21:00 |
|
|||
Simmons never stopped listening to the sound of the machines that monitored Leo’s pulse and breathing. He was no longer on life support, those machines were gone, but he was checked constantly for signs he was getting better (or worse) and Jemma remained beside him, armed with every life saving apparatus that was available just in case. Everything that could be done for him had been, now it was just a matter of waiting. Something that Jemma was finding increasingly more difficult. She liked to be busy, she liked to be doing something to know that she was helping of contributing in some way, but she knew that interfering with the body’s ability to heal itself would be doing more harm than good and at a certain point it was her duty to step back and let him be, but each day that passed without significant change was excruciating and isolating. Of course, Simmons spoke to the other members of her team when they dropped in and she was eternally grateful for Trip for stopping in to spend a few hours with her and hand over some home cooked food. She hadn’t left the facility in weeks. Most nights she slept in a chair beside Fitz’s bed, or in a spare cot nearby. Never far enough away that she couldn’t hear the rhythmic beat of his pulse, projected through the screen, she needed that noise. It was her only reassurance that Fitz was still alright. Any slight alteration or irregularity would wake her up instantly. Once, a night nurse had unhooked it to change some of the attachments and which was enough to cause Simmons to nearly have a conniption. It was in irregularity like that that broke her from her afternoon doze. The pulse hasn’t shut off or stopped beating, but had sped up for just a moment, skipping a beat. It was a break in the pattern and Simmons blinked awake almost instantly, as though it was her own heart that had suddenly done something strange. She moved her feet from the bed where she’d propped them up and stood, first checking the monitor to confirm that yes, there had been an anomaly and yes Fitz’s beats-per-minute had increased. Not significantly, but it was enough to delight Simmons after the weeks of unrelenting similarity. “Fitz.” She said, biting her lip and leaning over him to check if the change was reflected in anything else. His colour, perhaps, or the depth of his breathing. She’d already noticed, once or twice or the past week that his eyelids had flickered which was a sure sign of brain activity, but not nearly enough to confirm Fitz would recover partially let alone fully. But combined with the chance in his heartrate, it could at least mean that -- “Doctor?” Simmons called, staying where she was with her hands clasping the railing at the side of Leo’s bed so tightly they lost colour. She wasn’t really shouting to anyone in particular, she was just trying to get someone anyone ‘s attention. “Doctor? I need -- I maybe need another doctor in here immediately, could someone please--” The words caught in her throat as she looked down at the bed, and Fitz, with open eyes turned towards her, was looking right back. It was a moment, it was just a brief moment that happened so quickly, Jemma was almost uncertain as to whether or not it had happened at all. But she’d seen it and she knew. This was a change. This was something. And perhaps they weren’t out of the woods yet, perhaps being conscious didn’t say much about his neurological state or the damage that had happened to him under the water. But what it did say, without a doubt, was that Leo now had his feet firmly planted on the path to recovery. He was headed in the right direction, and he almost certainly could only get better from here. |