Decisions

            It was a long journey back to the Zephyr, his leg now delivering a disgruntled crunch that he felt more than heard with each step. Long distances without a cane were difficult enough without the added weight of his partner.  Daisy had gone limp some time ago, but she was still breathing.  Even so, he reassured himself every few minutes by slipping his fingers around to her neck, fortified by the slow but steady thump beneath his fingers.  A few days prior, he wouldn’t have been able to even imagine the Zephyr, but now it was a most welcome sight.  He staggered forward, Deke running out and offering to help carry Daisy into the aircraft.

            “No, I’ve got her,” Daniel said through gritted teeth, his breath coming out in sharp huffs.  Deke nodded, following him onto the ship where they were met by Simmons. Daniel noticed the stricken look on her face, but then she quickly reverted to clinical, spouting off something about a hyperbaric chamber, but the pain in his leg had started to overcome his senses, and he didn’t realize she was speaking to him until she repeated, “Agent Sousa, are you alright?”

            “I’m fine.  Agent Johnson needs the medical care, not me.”

            Simmons eyed him warily as he grimaced with the next step. “Why don’t you let Deke take her?”

            Daniel went to protest, but then his knee buckled, Daisy nearly falling to the ground if it hadn’t been for Deke and an opportunely placed wall.  Daniel pushed back against the wall, trying to find purchase on the maddeningly smooth surface as Deke took Daisy from him.  Without a word, Simmons wound her arm around him and Daniel leaned against her, slowly making his way back to the medical ward.  When they got there, Deke was already placing Daisy into the hyperbaric chamber.

            “What the hell did they do to her?” Deke said, taking in the numerous bloody bandages that dotted her body.

            “We need to change those bandages and clean her wounds,” Simmons said after helping Daniel into a chair.  “Deke, grab the antiseptic.”

            Daniel wanted to help, but he could tell that his leg wouldn’t support him for any sort of standing right now.  He watched helplessly from the chair, only looking away for propriety when they changed her into a fresh pair of clothes.

            “I really think you should let me take a look at your leg,” Simmons said over her shoulder.

            Daniel nodded stiffly, and then added, “Take care of Agent Johnson first.”

            Simmons made quick work of closing the hyperbaric chamber and checking Daisy’s vitals.  She didn’t speak, but he could tell from the pinched expression on her face that she didn’t like what she saw on the screen.

            “How is she?” Daniel asked.

            “Her blood count is very low,” Simmons said, eyes scanning over the screen.  “I’ll start a transfusion.”

            “What happened out there?”  Deke asked.

            “Malick saw her use her powers at the SHIELD hideout and he wanted them for himself,” Daniel said.  “So, the bastard took her blood and spinal fluid.”

            “She’s weak right now, but she should be okay.  She’s lucky you were there.”

            Daniel chose not to respond, thinking that if she hadn’t snuck a shard of glass in her palm, things could have gone very differently. When Malick brought down the building, a good portion of it had fallen where they had been handcuffed.

            “Agent Sousa, can I take a look at your leg now?” Simmons asked, pulling him from his thoughts.

            “Yes, go ahead.”

            She gently pulled up his pant leg, Daniel wincing as the material rubbed against the sensitive skin just above his prosthesis. The skin was rubbed raw and bleeding in places from where the prosthesis bit into the stump. 

            “I should clean this,” Simmons said.

            Daniel nodded.  “Thank you.”

            “Deke, while I’m treating Agent Sousa’s leg can you check on the next jump?”  Simmons asked. 

            Her grandson nodded, heading out toward the hub of the ship while Simmons made quick work of cleaning Daniel’s leg.   As she re-attached the prosthetic, she casually proposed a more advanced model, but he held off, figuring that what he had got him all the way to the 1970s, so it couldn’t be that bad.  Besides, his leg didn’t feel all that important when someone was lying in some space-age healing chamber next to him, her body covered with bandages.  At least they were clean now.

            Simmons noticed his gaze and said, “She really will be okay.  The hyperbaric chamber does wonders for healing.”

            Daniel believed her, but he wouldn’t be totally convinced until Daisy was awake again, the memory of her fading in his arms still too recent.

            Simmons busied herself with adjusting the settings on the chamber and then Deke came into the ward, looking between Simmons and Daniel as he said, “We’re about to jump.”

            Simmons glanced over at Daniel.  “Last chance, if you…“

            The implication was clear, but so was his answer.

            “I’m where I need to be,” Daniel said resolutely, his gaze on the chamber.

            Simmons smiled softly to herself and nodded, following Deke out of the ward to prepare for the jump.