It's not her
Coma.
Jemma tells herself that everything will be okay, that it’s only a matter of time before Daisy opens her eyes and smiles at her.
She holds her hand tightly for days. She doesn’t know if she holds it so that Daisy knows on some level that she’s not alone or if it’s to reassure herself that Daisy’s here (barely).
She refuses to leave Daisy’s bedside unless it’s to use the restroom. All it takes is for May to come in and threaten her with a look and begrudgingly she goes to shower and have a proper meal but then she heads right back.
She holds Daisy’s hands as she sits and stares at her the whole time. She’s afraid of closing her eyes and waking up to find her gone. Or worse, dead.
It's not like she gets much sleep anyways. Hey dreams are restless and haunted, she'd much rather be awake.
It’s a miracle Daisy’s alive (barely) but Jemma still feels like she can’t breathe.
The bruising on Daisy’s cranium led them to believe that Daisy’s powers most likely caused the bullet ricochet from her skull. The blood vessels and a few bones in her arms were broken as well due to her powers. And though the bullet had not gone through there was still a significant amount of blood loss and brain swelling which worried them. They had to perform a ventriculostomy on Daisy in order to get the excess liquid out.
She looks so thin and pale. It reminds her so much of the incident with Quinn. She’s so afraid but the soft rise and fall of her chest is soothing to Jemma, proof that the Daisy is still breathing (barely).
She thought she’d be happy by now. She thought she’d be able to sleep at night, she can’t.
She hates being a doctor and knowing the statistics of Daisy coming out of this okay, the odds of Daisy waking up and the odds of Daisy not having some sort of permanent brain damage.
She berates herself, the guilt threatening to swallow her whole. She should’ve stayed, should've gotten there sooner. But she can’t drown while Daisy is fighting for her life.
“She’ll be okay.” Fitz says as he places a hand on her shoulder.
She jumps in her seat not hearing Fitz walk in. “You don’t know that.” She snaps.
The regret is instant and her body slumps. This is Fitz, her best friend; he only means well. It's thanks to him and their friends that Daisy is here.
“She’s a fighter.” He adds not affected by her short temper. She nods.
This is what she wanted; they’re both alive (barely).
…
Mack gives her the Journal. Her fingers run over the broken cover. SORRY carved in a haunting way. She looks at the Daisy, the beeping of the machine is the only sign that Daisy’s still alive. And it hurts. It feels like a nightmare since the moment that they got sucked in into that hellhole. Maybe even long before that. She feels broken, exhausted from crying, she feels like disappearing.
But the thought that Daisy needs her keeps her grounded (barely).
Pages filled with her. Pictures, thoughts that go from hope, to desperation and end with resignation. She feels useless as she waits for a sign that Daisy will return.
She's angry. Angry at herself for not being able to save Daisy and she wants to be angry at Daisy for not waiting a little longer. But her anger does not solve anything.
“Simmons.”
She looks to see Bobbi standing in front of her.
"Go eat and take a nap," Jemma opens her mouth to protest but Bobbi continues, "I'll stay with her and I'll promise to get you if anything happens."
Jemma closes her mouth a sighs. She nods weakly, stands up feeling her joints pop.
"I'll be back." She whispers to Daisy even if she can't hear her and walks out.
...
Jemma strokes Daisy’s hair back, it has grown long since she last saw her; a year. She thought that having Daisy back would fix everything but this is something she can't fix. She catches the movement in her eyelids first, then the twitching in Daisy's fingers. She stands. Her heart skips a beat and she waits.
Eyes flutter open, squinting at the dim light. Jemma holds her breath, it's finally happening. Daisy opens and closes her mouth as if trying to get used to the movement.
“Who are you? Where am I?” She finally croaks out.
And it hurts.
Her hand stills on Daisy's hair. Daisy could be confused.
“Daisy it’s me. It’s okay we are back at the base.” She pleads, she tries to use a comforting voice that might be for her own benefit but she knows it's laced with desperation.
The girl shakes her head and backs away from her touch and Jemma's heart clenches. Her hand falls to her side.
"I'm not Daisy." She shakes her head and Jemma can see the panic building as Daisy tries to scramble away from her. The room starts to shake and Jemma feels useless.
"Daisy please relax-" She pleads as she feels her eyes watering.
"No!" Daisy shouts and a the glass windows explode. And Jemma can't move, cant say anything. She watches as Fitz and Mack rush in. Mack holds Daisy down.
"Let go of me!" Daisy thrashes against him, the whole base shakes and Jemma wishes the roof would just fall on her, she's tired of fighting. She can't do this without Daisy.
Fitz injects her with a sedative as the lights above them flicker on and off.
"You can’t keep me here!" Daisy shouts weakly as her body falls against the mattress. The room stills shaking and daisy closes her eyes as the medicine takes effect.
Her chest feels to tight as her heart thumps wildly in her chest. Mack and Fits stare at her with worry and she closes her eyes tightly. This has to be a nightmare.
"Daisy." Jemma chokes out.
She falls to the floor, she can't do this with out her. And the girl in front of her is no longer Daisy.