Where is Uncle Enoch?

“Daddy, where is Uncle Enoch?”

Alya’s blue eyes stared up at her father’s. She was curled up on a leather couch, squished between Fitz and Simmons. They had just finished watching a documentary about the marine life of the Seychelles, Alya squealing with delight each time a new species of fish came on screen. When her parents had been busy building the time drive, Enoch used to tell her stories about all the fauna he had encountered over the years. Anything Alya wanted to know, Enoch had the answer for.

Fitz returned Alya’s gaze, nothing but complete adoration in his eyes. However, at the mention of his late best friend, a bittersweet smile forced its way onto his face. Looking up at Simmons, he saw that his wife shared the same expression.

Enoch. His best friend. At first, the use of that description had been reluctant. Of course Fitz would be annoyed by the Chronicom who always seemed to meddle with his life. But as it turned out, Enoch did much more than meddle. Enoch was the only reason Fitz was still alive, the only reason he survived to live the life he always dreamed of: building a family with his one, true love.

The timestream had shown a chance of Enoch dying. It was one of the first things Fitz had seen when he initially started exploring the device Enoch had masterfully stolen from the Chronicoms. But still, that percentage had seemed so minute; Fitz didn’t think it would actually happen. And as long as his thoughts strayed from that path, it wouldn’t, right?

Simmons had mentioned Enoch’s death at the speakeasy, but it didn’t fully register then either. The team was too busy trying to get back to their main timeline. But once they did, thanks to Deke’s sacrifice, and once they stopped the Chronicoms from taking over Earth, Fitz finally learned the truth about how his friend passed. Enoch had died a hero, willingly sacrificing his own heart to save the rest of the team. It wasn’t even the first time that the Chronicom had given up his life for S.H.I.E.L.D., but Fitz was devastated nonetheless. As much as the two bickered, it was hard for Fitz to imagine living without Enoch. And now it was time for Alya to know the truth.

“Enoch...well…” Fitz started. His voice caught in his throat, the sudden sorrow surprising even himself. “Enoch isn’t coming back.”

“Where did he go?” Alya’s tone was still carefree, not yet realizing the gravity of the situation.

It was Simmons’ turn to answer, but her eyes were already welling up with tears. “You know how sometimes, in the TV, animals pass away and don’t come back?”
Alya nodded.

“That’s what happened to Uncle Enoch,” Simmons continued. “He...died, saving us all really. He was a hero, and without him, daddy and mummy wouldn’t be here right now.”

“But where is he now?” Alya asked.

There was a brief silence, until Fitz finally spoke up. “Well, there’s this lovely thing about life—”

“— No energy in the universe is created, and none is destroyed,” the parents said in unison. They shared a slight smile.

“His energy will live on, through all of us,” Simmons said. “But he can’t come back.”

“I didn’t get to say goodbye,” Alya said sadly.

“Me neither, little monkey,” Fitz said. “But Enoch always knew how much we cared about him.” He looked up at Simmons suddenly. “Did you guys ever give him a proper funeral?”

“Deke and I discussed it, but we didn’t have time on the Zephyr.”

The gears started turning in Fitz’s mind. He hugged Alya a little tighter. “You know what? We’re going to give Enoch one final goodbye.”

“Do you want me to call the rest of the team?” Simmons asked, excited about the prospects of seeing her old friends, while still memorializing an integral part of her family.
“Isn’t Daisy already in space again?” Fitz replied.

“Right.”

“Plus Mack and Yoyo are on some classified mission.”

“Oh, I completely forgot about that.” Simmons sighed, trailing off. “I miss them.”

“Yeah, me too. It’s crazy. We spent six whole years together.”

“We were so young,” Simmons laughed. “You with your little baby face.”

“Hey! No one told me I look better with a beard.”

“You do.” She reached out a hand to rub his scruff.

“And don’t pretend like you weren’t embarrassing either. You dressed like you walked straight out of Hogwarts, Hermoine.”

“I don’t see how that’s a problem. Anyone would want to be Hermoine.”

“Whatever.” Fitz laughed, exaggerating an eye roll. “If only there was a way we could all meet up, without, you know, actually meeting up.” He pondered for a moment, before raising his eyebrows at Simmons. “I’m not saying this is a good idea, but if we used—”

“Fitz! Don’t even think about using the Framework technology. You know how much those lines of code messed with our lives.”

“Yes... but it could also allow all of us to virtually see each other. I could design something on a very small scale, just so we can see our friends again.”

Simmons thought silently for a few moments. “Fine,” she finally said, reluctant. “But be careful.”

“Don’t worry.” Fitz leaned over to kiss Simmons on the forehead.

“Couldn’t even make it two weeks into retirement and you’re already building gadgets again.”

“Hey, I see you emailing Daisy about alien anatomy at night.”

“What emails?” Simmons played coy.

“Jemma, you’ve never exactly been the best at being sneaky.”

“That’s not true!”

Fitz gave a look of mock askance, causing them both to laugh. Looking down, they just noticed that Alya had fallen asleep with her head in Fitz’s lap.

“Aw, she looks so peaceful,” Simmons said, combing Alya’s hair.

“Looks just like you,” Fitz said, following suit.

“Well, she has your eyes.”

“I suppose, but you’ve already molded her to like bio.” Fitz scrunched his nose.

“Of course she’s taken a liking to the better field.”

“I’ll sway her to my side. We’re going to start watching How it’s Made or something, just you wait.”

“I’ll be ready,” Simmons laughed, then stifled a yawn. “I guess we’re calling it a night?”

“It’s only nine P.M.”

“Well I’m absolutely exhausted. Ever since we watched the thing on entomology, I’ve had to follow her around as she tried to catch every single bug in the garden.”

Fitz laughed. “Well, you can go to bed first, but I think I’ll spend a little time tinkering.”

“Don’t be too long.”

“I won’t.” They leaned over to kiss each other one last time. Then, Simmons carefully stood up, cradling Alya in her arms as she walked to her room.

“For Enoch?” Simmons whispered, not wanting to wake up their daughter.

“For Enoch.”