Chapter Thirty-Two

I felt bad. FitzSimmons started tutoring me with so much excitement the next morning, but I was way behind where they'd planned to start. Still, they reassured me that everything could still work and quickly altered their lesson plan, and we were off to the races in no time.

After only a week with Fitzsimmons, I was starting to understand the basics of physics, chemistry, and biology. Sometimes, if they spoke slowly enough, I even understood what they were talking about! The best part though, was that I was actually having fun.

I continued training with May, although less frequently, and FitzSimmons and I continued to eat together. I still missed Grant and Phil, but all around, I was starting to feel like I had before the Helicarrier!

"So what are we going to do today?" I asked excitedly as I headed for the lab with FitzSimmons.

"Well, we were thinking-" Simmons got cut off by an agent with a datapad coming up to us.

"Agent Slater?" she asked.

"That's me."

"You're being assigned to a solo mission in Naples."

My eyebrows shot up. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. You're going by commercial air travel-" I groaned. "-and your flight leaves in three hours."

"What! I gotta go pack! You couldn't have given me any earlier warning?" I asked the girl. She just shrugged.

"Sorry. Here's the mission file. Don't miss your flight." She handed me a SHIELD folder, then turned on her heel and walked off.

"This place has terrible communication skills," I grumbled. Then I turned back to FitzSimmons. "I'm sorry guys, I have to go. Literally, I don't know if I'm going to make my flight even if I leave right now. Let's continue our lessons when I get back, ok?"

"Oh, alright," said Simmons, looking a little disappointed.

"Yeah, I guess we'll see you then," said Fitz, looking the same.

"Oh, you guys," I said, pulling them both into a hug, "I'm going to miss you so much! Thank you so much for everything you taught me, and I promise we'll get lunch as soon as I'm back. Hopefully it won't be long, so don't get too upset. I'll see you soon."

I smiled and waved and they did the same, then I sprinted back to my room. Grant and I had packed emergency go-bags a long time ago, and I honestly wasn't sure what was in it anymore, but I didn't have time to pack anything else. I grabbed it and a motorcycle from the vehicle pool, then I gunned it to the airport. New York was one of the busiest cities and JFK was one of the busiest airports, so I didn't have a second to spare.

Thanks to some Ward-level tactical driving, I made it onto my plane with about ten minutes to spare. Not great, I know, but not bad either.

I pulled out the mission file since no one had sat next to me or behind me yet, and even though I just glanced over it, I could tell this was more of a retrieval mission than a deep-cover assignment, which meant I would be able speak to people without fear of blowing my cover.

I pulled out the emergency phone I'd bought to keep in touch with Grant, and decided to send him a quick text to tell him where I was going. Since I didn't have to worry about my cover, he could call or text me back pretty much whenever, and I would be fine.

However, I didn't know if he had a cover, so I had to be careful. I decided to say:

Katherine, please give me a call or text when you get home.

That way, if anyone read the text on Grant's phone, they'd assume it was a wrong number.

With that out of the way, I put my headphones on and turned on Hamilton, since I couldn't go over the case file once people were sitting around me.

After a few songs, I managed to fall asleep until we landed in Italy. Thank God.

When I stepped off the plane and took my phone off "airplane mode", I saw that Grant had tried to call me. Of course he came home just as I left.

I called him back, and he picked up after the first ring.

"Slater, where are you?" he asked.

"Naples," I responded happily. If I had to be assigned a solo mission, I'm glad it was in Italy.

"Why are you in Naples? Is everything ok? Are you doing ok?"

"Grant, I'm doing fine. I made some friends and they helped lift me out of my funk. I'm here for recovery," I said, hoping he would understand what I meant without me having to explicitly tell him, since I was in a public airport.

"You're on a recovery mission?" he asked. Even after being apart for a month, we still thought on the same wavelength.

"Yup."

"With who?"

"Me."

"You're on a solo mission?"

"Darn right! How'd it go for you?" I asked, genuinely curious. I was secretly a little worried to be doing my first solo mission, and I was hoping Grant would give me some pointers without me having to blatantly ask.

"It went well. My mission was undercover, so it's a good thing you sent that text the way you did, but the hardest part is watching your own six. You'll be fine though, just stay alert and remember everything I taught you."

"Everything you- ugh, whatever Grant."

"You know I'm right, I taught you everything you know."

"I think May, Phil, and all my teachers would disagree with you," I shot back.

"Hm... Seriously though, remember to watch your six and call me if you need help."

"Alright, will do. Thanks Grant."

"See you when you get back Slater."

****************

When I got to my hotel I sat down and read through my entire mission folder, discovering that I was supposed to hunt down a remaining orb that had been recovered from Maw' Tej. Of course they hadn't all be recovered, nothing was ever that easy and simple. My planned flight home left in three days, so I didn't have long, but I honestly didn't think it would be a problem. This mission looked easy.

I should've known better than to invite a jinx like that. Even though all of Maw' Tej's major players had been taken out years ago by Grant and I, the few orbs still out there were highly sought after. To top it off, the Rising Tide had leaked its location, so I had to rush to get to the orb before any number of other mercenaries could get to it. By some miracle I managed recover the orb on my first day in Naples. I decided to enjoy the rest of my time in Italy, since I'd had such a stressful mission because of the moved-up timeline.

I spent the remaining two days taking pictures of the beautiful Italian city and sending them back to Grant, usually with a caption like "Jealous?". My time was well spent.

As gorgeous and warm as it was in Naples, it was a relief to touch down back in New York. I wanted to see Grant face to face again, and continue my training with May and FitzSimmons.

I quickly dropped off the recovered artifact (it had been surprisingly easy to get through customs with my SHIELD badge), then headed to the room that Grant and I usually shared.

I flung open the door, only to accidentally hit Grant in the face.

"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry!" I said, although I was laughing pretty hard too, "What were you doing in front of the door?"

Grant rubbed his forehead where a nice red mark was beginning to form.

"Dammit Slater, not two seconds and you've already injured me. I was standing close to the door because I was trying to open it before you hit me in the face."

I shrugged, trying to suppress my laughter. "Sorry."

"Yeah, you sound sorry."

I smiled guiltily and pulled him into a hug. It felt so good to be with him after a month of being apart. Grant was stiff for a minute, but then he relaxed and put his arms around me.

"So were you leaving to look for me?" I asked, finally pulling away after at least a two minute hug.

"Unfortunately, no. I got another solo assignment."

"Dammit! They do understand we're partners, right?"

"Apparently not. We can remind them as soon as I get back."

"Where are you going this time?" I asked, a little concerned by the mischievous look on Grant's face.

"Nowhere special," he said, clearly lying, "Just Paris."

"Paris! Are you freaking kidding me? Ugh, I'm so jealous right now. This is karma for Naples, isn't it?"

"Definitely."

"Ugh, whatever. Go to Paris, see if I care. But please send pictures, I've always wanted to see it."

Grant laughed. "Will do. And maybe one of these days we can find time to go back together so you can see it for yourself."

"Oh my gosh, yes! We're absolutely making that happen," I said, making a mental note to ask about vacation time, "Do you have to leave now?"

"Yeah."

I sighed. "Fine. Give me another hug and stay safe."

"I will. Don't worry."

"If only that magically made all my worries disappear."

"If only."

I pulled Grant in for one last hug, then watched him walk off down the hallway. I made a promise to myself that this was not going to be the new normal. We were going back to being partners as soon as he got home from Paris.