4 April 2014

Daisy had a love hate relationship with the sci-tech academy. On one hand it was great to flex her programming muscles with some people who could actually keep up and understand what she was doing, and she liked playing with all the cool toys they had. On the other hand, she couldn't help but feel like they looked down on her. The students were often patronising, even the nice ones, and she had just been summoned with no warning from the Triskellion.

She was going to have lunch with her parents too.

Daisy shook off her disappointment. These things happened. She'd see them for dinner tomorrow night either way.

She burst through the lab door with a wide grin. "'Sup science twins?" She asked.

Jemma and Leopold both jumped at her loud entrance. "Daisy, do you mind?" Fitz said, one hand over his heart. "Our work is delicate."

Daisy rolled her eyes but held herself back from being too sarcastic. Those two were high strung. She hadn't really decided if she liked them yet, but they were pretty damn amazing at what they did. It was a good idea to at least get along. "Sorry."

Simmons smiled. "It's quite alright, you just surprised us." She said, "I hope Agent Weaver didn't pull you from anything important."

Fitz snorted softly. "Important work at Communications." He muttered, fiddling with one of his drones.

Daisy's temper flared up, but she fought to control it. "Actually I was at the Triskellion." She said conversationally. "They wanted me to explain the new security features."

He gaped at her for a moment, then looked back down. Daisy was gratified that Fitz didn't reply. Sci-tech kids could be so up themselves. She knew that Phil would tell her to play nice with them, but May would tell her not to take any crap, so she wouldn't.

Jemma popped up beside Daisy with a cup of tea, which she placed before her with a smile. "Fitz has been working on the Dwarves you see." She said brightly. "And we very much liked your idea of giving them their own AI, so that they could scan the area more effectively."

"Makes sense." Daisy shrugged. "So you want me to program it?"

"Well we'd certainly appreciate it." Simmons said pointedly, elbowing Fitz in the ribs.

He jumped, glared at her, and looked up at Daisy. She noticed the subtle flush to his cheeks and groaned internally. What was it with nerdy guys? "We'd- we'd be grateful for your help." Fitz muttered.

"Well since you asked so nicely." Daisy said with a grin. She knew that she'd probably be working with these two for a long time. They were the brightest graduates from Sci-Tech in history. "Where should we start?"

It was easy to get into a rhythm of work with Fitzsimmons. Fitz got less petty when he was focusing on the project, explaining his drones to her, and Simmons was equally helpful, chiming in and finishing his sentences.

The three of them got so deep into their work that they didn't notice the buzzing phone Daisy had left on the bench.

In fact the first thing to pull them out of their own little world was a scream.

Then gunshots.

Daisy hit the floor before her brain and fully grasped what was happening, and once she had, she'd grabbed Fitzsimmons and dragged them down too. The sound of footsteps down the hall made her hurry to the light switch, flicking it off, before returning to hide out of sight with the two scientists, praying that this was just some way over the top hazing ritual.

Someone jiggled at the doorknob a moment after Daisy hit the lock on her tablet, and then a male voice said. "It's locked. I don't think anyone's inside."

Another replied. "We'll find the override soon enough. For now just keep rounding up the new recruits. Hail Hydra!"

"Hail Hydra!"

Jemma whimpered and Daisy clamped a hand over her mouth, her brain running wild. Hydra? What did that mean? They'd been gone since the 40's, everyone knew that. Phil had told her that story, her academy professors told her that story.

What the hell was going on?

When the footsteps retreated, Daisy didn't move. "What the hell is this?" She hissed. "I swear if this is a joke I'm gonna kill you."

"I don't know!" Jemma gasped. Her breathing was getting rapid, and Daisy knew she wasn't far from panicking. "I-I don't... what do we do?!"

Daisy swallowed. "We have to get out of here. Fitz, you okay?"

She couldn't see him in the dark, so she reached out to touch him and felt him shaking. "Fitz, I can get us out."

"How?" He whispered. "How- you've never even been out in the bloody field! None of us have!"

"Hey! I'm the one who's been trained to deal with this crap, and I'm not letting you get yourself killed!" Daisy hissed. "I am getting us out of here."

Jemma swallowed and took a deep breath. "What can we do?"

Daisy gritted her teeth. She had no gun. As good as she was at hand to hand, she didn't think she was going to make any impact against a team of armed Hydra agents. "We need a diversion." She said. "So we can sneak out."

"Then what?" Fitz asked in a hushed voice.

"We run." Daisy muttered. "I can hotwire a car, then we can make it to my parents' safehouse."

"Your parents have a safehouse?!"

"Not the time guys." Daisy hissed. "We need a diversion." She paused. "You've got a self destruct feature on those drones, right?"

"Wha- no. Daisy, no, you can't, we've been working on them for- you can't just blow them up."

"It's them or us Fitz! I'm sorry, but I'd blow up everything you've ever built if it gets us out of here!'

Someone passed by and the three of them held their breath. Daisy reached for her tablet. "I have to contact the Triskellion." She said softly. "We need backup. You guys start rigging those drones."

When Daisy opened the communication channel however, she noticed something. "There's a coded message." She whispered. "Being transmitted on all channels."

"What does it say?"

"Working on it."

It didn't take Daisy long to decode the message, but when the letters flicked up on the screen she wished that they hadn't. "Out of the shadows." She said, heart in her throat. "Hail Hydra."

Two pairs of eyes fixed on her, frightened. "What does that mean?" Jemma asked.

"I-I think it means we're on our own." Daisy whispered, tapping hurriedly at the screen. The Triskellion was the heart of this, she had to see what was going on. She had to know.

Daisy hacked one of the outside security cameras just in time to see the building begin to crumble, helicarriers falling back into the lake. No. God no. A tiny voice whispered in the back of her mind. Her parents were in there. Her mom and dad. What happened to them?

Stop it. She told herself. This isn't the time. You have to go.

"We're on our own." Daisy said firmly. "I hope you're done with those drones."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

The explosion was bigger than Daisy had expected, but she wasn't really surprised about that. If there was one thing these two were good at, it was blowing stuff up. "Come on!" She hissed, ushering them out the window she had jimmied open.

"Daisy Johnson." Her blood turned to ice. That wasn't a familiar voice.

Daisy swallowed and turned, resolving to at least buy Fitzsimmons enough time to get away. "I don't think we've met." She said coldly.

The man was clearly a specialist. Short dark hair, clean shaven, tall. A sense of superiority and smugness about him. More importantly, he had a gun in his hands. He smiled. "You'll know me soon enough. I'm here to bring you in." Daisy suddenly realised where she'd seen him before. He was one of Garrett's trainees.

Daisy didn't move, but she did fall back into a more solid stance. "I guess you're gonna be disappointed then."

"Don't make this harder than it needs to be." He said, taking a step forwards. "I don't wanna hurt you."

"Won't be a problem." Before he had a chance to react or say anything else, Daisy had rushed forwards, kicking the gun from his hand. He managed to land a significant punch to her jaw and Daisy stumbled back, dazed. Before he could pick up the gun again she lunged, aiming a kick to his knee and relishing in the scream elicited as it bent sideways.

"Daisy come on!" Jemma's voice called, and when Daisy looked back to the window she found herself screaming from the knife that had slashed at her leg.

She put the Hydra agent out with a swift kick to the head, seized his gun and clambered out the back window. It wouldn't be long before they were followed.

Jemma reached for her when she saw Daisy's limp. "You're hurt!"

"Don't worry about it." Daisy grunted. "We have to get out of here."

She tried to hurry, but found herself stumbling every few steps due to the wound to her calf. After several seconds of this, Daisy felt a uncertain hand pull her arm over a pair of shoulders. She blinked at Fitz, but he didn't look at her. "Come on." He muttered. "It's faster this way."

Daisy nodded. "Thank you."

Fitz shook his head. "You saved us."

"We're not out of the woods yet." Daisy muttered, bundling into the car. It was a good thing Fitz was good at hotwiring.

The memory of the Triskellion crumbling down to the ground came back, but she shoved it aside. Now they had to get far enough away to ditch this car, then they had to get to the safehouse.

Then she could think about how her parents were in there.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Daisy had tried to bury those feelings the entire time they had run. She had forced them back as she ditched the SHIELD car, as they stole another from an abandoned lot, as she had ditched that one in turn and dragged Fitzsimmons through the woods on her bleeding leg.

She tried not to think about it, but she couldn't keep the thoughts back.

What if her parents had been captured? What if they were in the Triskellion when it had gone down?

What if they were Hydra? And if they were... what would she do?

She shivered at the questions and pushed the cabin door open. "It's shielded." Daisy muttered. "Not huge, but there's a couple of beds and some canned food in the cupboard."

Fitzsimmons trailed in after her, both well past the point of asking questions. "I'd like some water, if that's alright." Jemma said, her voice rough.

Daisy nodded in the direction of the kitchen. "Glasses are in the cabinet." She sat down on the couch with a grunt. "Fitz- the security features aren't on. You can activate them by the door."

"Done."

Daisy closed her eyes briefly to catch her breath. There were spare clothes here, so after grabbing the first aid kit she shod her pants, trying with some difficulty to clean her stab wound.

Fitz hesitated, forcibly not looking at her, his cheeks pink. "Do you- uh- do you need help?"

"I've got it." Jemma said, snatching the kit from Daisy's hands before she could protest. "Biochemistry isn't the same as a medical degree, but I suppose we have to make do."

"Yeah." Daisy whispered. She wanted to say more. She'd been her mom when they were escaping. She'd gotten them out and to safety, she'd fought. She knew that she'd run out of steam eventually though.

Now she was just Daisy. Just that same scared kid who wanted her parents to come back.

She didn't say anything as Jemma cleaned and dressed the wound, nor when she shone a light in her eyes to check for a concussion. Daisy barely had enough willpower to pull on a clean pair of pants.

When Jemma draped the spare blanket over her shoulders Daisy noticed how the two were looking at her. They were worried.

She swallowed. "You- you guys can go rest." She said, nodding to the bedroom. "I'll keep watch."

Fitz and Simmons looked at each other, and a moment later they each took a seat on either side of her. "Don't be stupid." Fitz said softly. "We're in this together."

"Yes." Jemma agreed. "We'd be goners if it weren't for you."

Daisy sighed softly. "Thank you." She murmured. Jemma put a hand over hers, and that was comfort enough for now.

The three of them sat in silence for a long time. Daisy kept looking at her phone, praying for some sign, some message. Something to tell her that her parents were alive.

She felt the phone buzz and her heart leapt into her throat, but a moment later she saw that it was just on low battery.

Daisy bit her lip and put it down. She felt sick.

Jemma looked at her. She hesitated. "You know, I'm sure Agents Coulson and May are fine." She murmured. "They're both excellent agents."

Daisy froze for a moment and then turned to stare at her. "You... you knew?"

Fitz shrugged. "We thought it was weird that we hadn't heard of you before you showed up at sci-tech." He said softly. "We might not be hackers like you but we could do a background check."

Daisy shrugged. "I just didn't want everyone to think I was some kind of... legacy thing."

"We understand." Jemma murmured.

"I didn't really try to hide it." She muttered. "No one asked."

"Well you did change your name on your personnel file." Fitz said. "But that makes sense. If you had 'Coulson' as your last name people would ask questions."

Daisy hesitated, feeling oddly scared. "I-I didn't change it." She muttered. "I just... I'm adopted."

A stunned silence followed her admission and Daisy looked down. She didn't know what else to say. She didn't know why admitting that felt like shame.

"Oh!" Jemma said after a moment. "That makes sense, we didn't think that those two had been married for that long, but obviously that doesn't mean anything, but... well, we were a little confused."

Daisy smiled. "Yeah. They adopted me about eight years ago."

Jemma beamed. "That's brilliant!" She said, a little too brightly.

Fitz nodded. "What's it like, living with the Cavalry?"

"Don't call her that." Daisy snapped on impulse. "She hates it."

Fitz recoiled. "I- sorry." He muttered.

Daisy sighed. "It's okay." She said. "I guess I'm just- I'm scared for them. May's not as unbreakable as everyone thinks."

"She's still pretty tough." Fitz prompted. "Right?"

A smile crept, unbidden, across Daisy's face. "Yeah." She admitted. "She is. She taught me everything I know about how to fight." In every way.

"I don't think I'd ever break the rules if she was my mother." Jemma joked.

Daisy grinned. "She's a total pushover." She said, her voice tinged with laughter. "I just bat my eyes and morning training is cancelled." Truth be told Daisy almost never wanted to skip training anyway, no matter how much she liked to sleep in.

Daisy sighed. "I don't know how you guys can do it." She murmured. "Living so far away from your family."

"It is hard." Jemma admitted.

"Yeah." Fitz said quietly. "I- I miss my mum."

"We'll have to get in touch with them." Jemma said, seemingly only realising it at that moment. "Let them know we're safe. My dad must be scared out of his mind."

Daisy listened to them talk, staring at the front door. She wished it would open and reveal May and Phil, maybe a little beaten up, but alive and safe and here.

She needed them to be okay.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Daisy wasn't sure of when she'd dozed off, the adrenaline of the day finally catching up to her. One minute she was trying to ascertain what was left of SHIELD, and the next she was being startled awake by the perimeter alarms blaring.

She jumped to her feet immediately, grabbing the gun a second later. Fitz and Jemma weren't as quick. "Whasgoinon?" Fitz mumbled, blinking blearily.

Daisy swallowed. Her parents would never have set off the perimeter alarms. They were the ones who had shown her how to get past them. "I don't know." She said. "Just stay quiet. Go into the other room, and if I tell you to run, run."

Jemma looked like she was going to argue, but before she could say anything Fitz had pulled her away, giving Daisy a nod. She tried to smile. It didn't work.

As the door closed behind Fitzsimmons, Daisy forced herself to listen. Someone was approaching, alone. Their gait was slightly uneven, suggesting a limp.

That was good. She could take one Hydra agent with a limp.

Something niggled at her though. If it was Hydra, how did they know she was here? Why would they only send one agent?

Daisy's heart leapt into her throat when the door creaked open. She couldn't speak.

"Daisy!" Phil exclaimed. "Oh thank God you're okay, what happened?"

As he took a step towards her, uncertainty gripped Daisy's hands. Hydra had everything SHIELD had ever developed. Including... "Stay there." She said firmly, cocking the gun.

Phil, or whoever he was, stopped in his tracks. "Daisy what are you doing?" He asked. "It's me."

Daisy swallowed. "My dad was the one who showed me that tripwire." She said, trying to stay calm. "He was the one who told me how important it was not to set it off by accident. Face changing tech can't fool that. You can't fool me."

He held up his hands peacefully. "Daisy, I swear, it's me. Look," He gestured to his leg. "I got shot. I fell over, that's why I set off the tripwire."

Daisy's hand faltered. Maybe it was true. Maybe it was a trick. "Prove it." She pressed. "Now."

She wasn't sure why, but his expression softened. "You beat us here." He said, almost to himself, then smiled. "You're an even better agent than we thought you'd be." Phil murmured. "Young lady."

Daisy's heart clenched and she immediately dropped the gun, catapulting towards him. "It's you." She whispered into his collar. "You- you're here."

Phil held her tightly, closing his eyes. She was safe. Daisy was safe and here and now they were together.

At least, they were.

Seemingly in reaction to that thought, Daisy pulled away, looking behind him. "Where's May?" She asked, hoping against hope that she would appear from around the doorframe, having been checking the house for trespassers.

She didn't.

Daisy looked back to Phil and the look on his face had her feeling like the ground had given out from beneath them. "No." She whispered. "No, she can't- tell me she's okay, please."

"Daisy..."

"No!"

"I don't know where she is." Phil murmured, looking down. "I- she could be right behind me, or..." He squeezed his eyes shut. He'd done what May wanted, he'd gotten back to Daisy. So why did he feel like he had done the wrong thing?

Daisy swallowed thickly. "What happened?"

"We were about to go out on a mission." He said softly. "But when we got into the jeep there was no gas. It didn't feel right but we gassed it ourselves anyway. That's when- when Hydra came." He swallowed. "They were looking for us. I think Sitwell... Sitwell." Phil shook his head. "It's everyone Daisy, everyone."

A horrible thought occurred to her. "Not Maria?"

"Wha- no." He said. "No, no way." Phil thought back. "No, she- she was fighting back. I know it."

Daisy swallowed. "Maybe mom and her got out together?"

"I hope so."

Phil grunted in pain and Daisy remembered that he was injured. "Come on. Sit down." She said, ushering him to the couch. "Hey, we're samesies." She tried to joke.

"Daisy? Is everything okay?" A slightly muffled voice called, and Daisy groaned. Right. She'd forgotten they were here.

"Yeah!" She called. "You can come out. We could actually use some help."

Phil cocked his head, frowning when the two emerged from the other room. "Who are you?" He asked, forcing himself to focus on whatever this was instead of the very real possibility that his wife was dead.

"Fitzsimmons." Daisy supplied. "I was- we were working together when Hydra attacked. We got out together."

"Daisy got us out." Jemma corrected. "I'm afraid we were rather useless."

Fitz nudged her. "Hey, you fixed her leg."

Phil offered her a smile. "Don't suppose you can fix mine?" He asked. He was trying to be friendly. Sci-tech kids could be sensitive sometimes, and these two had been through a lot. "I'm a little bit... shot."

Daisy collapsed onto the couch beside him and Phil wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He knew she was worried about May. He was too, but at least they had each other. He could wait for his wife to come back while making sure his daughter was okay. That was something like comfort.

Jemma stitched his leg up in no time, and it didn't take long for Fitzsimmons to curl up on the other couch and doze off. Phil squeezed Daisy's shoulders. "You did good." He murmured. "Getting them here."

Daisy swallowed and snuggled her head into the crook of his neck. "She'll be okay." She said. She almost believed it.

Phil let his fingers stroke through her hair. "Yeah. She's amazing, she'll turn up in no time."

"She'll be mad we were even worried."

He snorted. "She'll be mad we both got flesh wounds to the leg."

Daisy smiled sleepily. "She'll- she'll make fun of us for getting hurt at all." She mumbled. "She'll show up without a scratch and the leader of Hydra hogtied with a bow on his ass."

"Yeah." Phil murmured. "She will." He knew what her response would be, but he still had to say it. "You should rest. I'll wake you if anything happens."

Daisy scoffed. "You should rest." She shot back. "I had a nap before you showed up."

He sighed. "Lets just... keep each other awake."

"Okay."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

"You're bleeding on my favourite jacket on purpose aren't you?"

May glared sourly and continued to limp through the woods, one arm draped over Maria's shoulders. "You should have known better than to try to save me."

Maria rolled her eyes. "I didn't try to save you, I did. A thank you would be nice."

"You should have left me behind. Saved yourself."

"Oh sure, and then tell Daisy that her mom's dead even though I could have saved her. Tell Phil that I left you behind." Maria continued to carry her. "Thanks, but I'd rather deal with Hydra."

Melinda said nothing. She didn't know if Daisy was even okay. If she would ever get to see her graduate, become a field agent, live her life. She didn't know if Daisy was alive.

As if reading her mind, Maria spoke. "Daisy's a smart kid." She muttered, making as little noise as she could on the leaves. "I'm sure she's fine."

"You don't know that."

Maria hummed. "I know she's your daughter." She said. "And the best cadet to go through any academy in a long time. She made it out, I know she did."

May paused in her walking. "I won't believe it until I see her." She said softly. "Good agents die all the time."

Maria squeezed her shoulder. "Then we'd better keep going. Prove your pessimistic ass wrong."

May rolled her eyes, but she appreciated Maria's attempts to distract her. "You used to respect me."

Maria snorted. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

Melinda's eye caught sight of a marker and the corners of her mouth tightened. "Tripwire was set off." She said, trying to bury the feeling of dread that accompanied that realisation.

Maria looked around cautiously. "Not enough movement through here for it to be Hydra. It could have just been a deer or something."

May nodded, but the unease grew. This was looking worse and worse. She was too injured to fight anyone right now, and Maria could only do so much on her own.

She had tried so hard to keep her family safe, even at the expense of her own safety. What if it wasn't enough? What if despite all of that, she was the only one left alive?

What would she do then?

Both stopped when they caught sight of the safehouse. It was dark, but it was still standing and didn't look like it had had any of the doors or windows beaten in. Maria turned her head to look at her old S.O. "You got a callsign?"

May pushed ahead. "Let's just go." What did the callsign matter anyway? If Phil and Daisy didn't reply then she didn't really care what happened next.

Maria walked with her, but she slipped her gun out of her holster just in case. It probably wasn't Hydra, but if it was she would be damned if she didn't take a few of those bastards down with her.

Daisy sat up. "Someone's coming." She whispered, reaching for her gun.

Phil cocked his head. "More than one person." He muttered. At his nod Daisy stood, moving to the other side of the door ready to shoot.

Daisy didn't flick the safety off her gun when the door opened, knowing that the sound would alert any intruder. A moment later she was glad of it, because the gun didn't go off when it clattered from her hands. "Maria." She breathed, jumping forwards to hug her.

Maria's arms came up automatically to hold her back, and Daisy was dimly aware that there was blood on her arm. "All clear." Maria called, still holding Daisy. She smiled at her. "You did so great kid."

Phil's eyes widened when his wife limped through the door, and in a blink he was holding her in his arms. "Melinda." He breathed, clinging to her. "You- you... Oh God I was so scared."

May said nothing for a moment, contenting herself with burying her head in Phil's chest. Melting in his arms. He was okay. Daisy was okay. Nothing else mattered. She sighed shakily, finally letting herself go. "Phil."

"I'm here." He murmured. "I'm... I told you I could see a way out."

Melinda swallowed. "You were lying." She said softly. They both knew it was true.

Phil pulled her impossibly closer and closed his eyes, taking in the feeling of his wife in his arms. "I'm so glad you're okay."

May squeezed her eyes closed. "I love you." She mumbled, feeling slightly dizzy from the pain and blood loss.

Phil pressed a kiss to her hair. "I know."

A moment later Daisy had crashed into the both of them, her arms wrapping around May as well. "You were taking too long." She muttered. "She's my mom."

May smiled and returned Daisy's hug, feeling Phil draw away. "I'm glad you're okay."

Daisy smiled against her shoulder. "Well I had a good teacher." She felt May's legs tremble from holding her up and pulled back. "You're hurt."

May scoffed. "Nothing gets past you." She joked, then softened. "I'm okay Daisy."

Daisy raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "So you're saying that if I let go of you, you could definitely stand up on your own."

Maria snorted and May scowled. "I'm fine."

"You can't stand." Daisy looked across the room to where Fitzsimmons were still sleeping. "Let me wake Simmons, she can help."

Maria raised her eyebrows. "Good job getting them out." She complimented. "Gotta say, I'm glad those two aren't Hydra."

Daisy grinned. "They're way too nerdy to be Hydra." She said, guiding May to the empty couch and going to wake them.

It wasn't nerdiness that she saw when she looked around at the people who had made it out though. It was their strength and bravery. It was their goodness.

That was what made them SHIELD agents.

That was why Daisy knew that Hydra hadn't won. Not while they were still there.

Even after everything that they had been through, they were still Agents of SHIELD.