So here's the next chapter of unconditionally! I know it took me a while, but I was struggeling with really bad writers block on this story, and serious lack of time to write. I hope you guys aren't too mad about it!
To quickly recap: Skye (she is still Skye in my story, not Daisy) has her powers, but she's struggeling to get them under control. After an escalation, May called in her mother, who is (obviously) older and has more experience with inhumans. She also has history with Coulson, since he and May are longtime friends, and even took him for a little one-on-one (awkward). Also, Ward has been leaving Skye messages, by hacking into her laptop. Except, Ward doesn't have the skills to do that... But Miles (Skye's ex-boyfriend from season one) does. So what are those two up to?
PS: I put a small easteregg in this chapter, from a (two word) line from another movie Clark Gregg (the actor who plays Phil Coulson) did with his wife Jennifer Grey (yes, THE Jennifer Grey from Dirty Dancing), called 'The Road to Christmas'. For those of you who've seen it: maybe you find the easter egg (hint: it's from the scene where he shows her his art pieces). I loved the way he acted that scene. So raw and so well done. For those who haven't seen is: it's a low budget movie about a guy who is driving with his daughter to his mother's house for christmas, and they pick up another woman on the way there who needs a ride. It low key, a little corny, and not the best movie of all time or anything, but I still loved it. Definitely recommend it if you're looking for a happy-ending, family holiday movie. (His latest movie 'Trust Me' is a good one too. The ending is little weird, because it's an indie movie, but still a really funny, warmhearted movie. Okay, I'm going to stop promoting his movies now, but I just wanted to share them, because I think they're great and nobody I know have watched them as well, so I wanted to share it here. Watch them if you like and got some spare time;))
Now: enjoy this new chapter!
- In Coulson´s office after May´s mother left. -
"So… That was kinda weird with May's mom." Skye began.
"Yeah, she is a bit strange, but she's fine when you get to know her a bit better. Don't worry."
Skye crossed her arms. "That's not what I was talking about."
Coulson looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"I was talking about her dragging you away to have a little one-on-one. Something you want to tell me?"
Coulson shrugged. "I don't know what you're getting at, Skye. She just wanted to talk to me. It's been awhile. Nothing else to tell."
"Not the first time I've heard that." Skye mumbled.
"What?" Coulson asked.
"Nothing. So she didn't want to interrogate you because of old times perhaps?"
"What old times?"
"Oh come on, Coulson. When you and May were dating of course."
"Uhm, Skye, May and I never dated. You know that right?"
"Yeah yeah," Skye waved his answer away with her hand. "May told me the same thing. I'm here to tell you that I'm not buying it."
"Well, you better start buying it, because I've got nothing else to offer you. We never dated. We're just friends, always have been."
"Hmhmm. So you've never gone undercover before, like you did when we went to steal the painting. Pretended to be boyfriend and girlfriend? It would be a great cover. You guys played it so convincingly the last time- almost like you've done it before." Skye said as she tried to see his reaction.
Coulson was looking at her with his famous poker face. The one he always used when talking to suspects or other people he doesn't trust. Just a smile, which made it seem like he was impenetrable. That he was trying to disguise his feelings encouraged Skye even more.
"Then maybe you had a drink to maintain your cover. Danced a little. Being in each other's arms after working together so long- being friends for so long…"
Skye paused to look for a crack in his composure.
"…A spark jumped. You looked into the other's eyes and saw something you never saw before. Afterwards you returned to the hotel for the night. But then as you stood outside your rooms perhaps you could no longer resist how beautiful May looked in her dress, and she couldn't deny that you had never looked more handsome in your suit. So instead of going to your separate rooms, you took her hand and you guys went into your room and-"
"Okay, Skye, that's enough!" Coulson jumped in. "None of that ever happened. There was no undercover boyfriend-girlfriend dancing, no gazing into each other's eyes, no noticing her dress and my suit or whatever. We're friends. Partners. Nothing more."
Skye grinned at the fact that she had managed to break his composure.
"Like hell there was no undercover dancing! I hacked into the security cams on our mission. That is most definitely not the first time you've danced together!"
"You were able to hack into the security cameras? Why didn't you tell us that back then?!"
"Hey, don't change the subject!
"Okay fine. We have danced together before. We entered the dance elective at S.H.I.E.L.D. academy. They teach you how to scan the environment while dancing. May wanted the extra credits so she could graduate and we dropped it two weeks later."
"And you still remember all the steps?"
Skye still wasn't buying it.
"You know May. Her memory of motor functions is ridiculous. When she learns something that involves choreography or other physical moves, she never forgets."
"Yeah, I wasn't that surprised that she remembered, I meant you."
"What about me?"
"You remembered those steps too after all those years!"
Coulson scoffed.
"Well maybe I like dancing."
"Maybe you liked something else about that particular dance routine you learned in those two weeks."
But just as Skye wanted to ask further he came walking towards her, grabbed her shoulders and gently turned her around and pushed her towards the door of his office.
"I've got work to do now, Skye. And so do you."
"Wait, I wasn't done talking about this." She protested as he led her to the door.
"Bye, Skye." He said to her as he pushed her over the threshold and close the door behind her. He could still see the outlines of her form through the semi-see-through glass.
"This conversation isn't over!" Skye called from behind the door. When he didn't answer, she left.
He grinned and got back to work.
- A few days later -
"I've been thinking about Ward and Miles." Skye said. "I think we need to go save Miles."
Coulson put down his sandwich and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
"Absolutely not. That's exactly what Ward wants, drawing you out. He is using Miles to do that- no wait, strike that, because we don't even know that for sure. Miles could be working with Ward voluntarily. I can imagine he wasn't that happy when I left him stranded in China and guys tend to become angry when you dump them."
Skye shook her head. He was right; when she had broken up with guys in the past, their demeanour changed from day to night. She had heard a character in a movie once say: "boys will be nice to you, until you reject them". That character had been right. She had experienced the same thing every time she dumped a guy, but Miles was different. She just knew it.
"No. Not Miles. He would never want to hurt me and he isn't even capable of working with someone as evil as Ward. It goes against every fiber of his being."
Coulson sighed. He didn't like destroying her (still somewhat) fond image of Miles, but it was necessary. He didn't trust Ward one bit, and neither did he trust Miles.
"Yeah, you said that before, but then you found out he took a large sum of money for information he got. Remember?"
Skye started pacing in his office.
"I know now that he isn't the man I once thought he was. What he did, selling that information- it was wrong and I see now that he isn't such a pure activist. But he took the money to get a better life for himself- for me too even. Teaming up with a bad buy like Ward to go against a common 'enemy', that's a whole different level, one he isn't capable of stepping up to."
"You don't know that, Skye. People can change. A lot can happen in a few years and his certainly hasn't been easy. Who knows what he's capable of when he's got enough anger in him? I'm sorry, Skye, but I can't let you try and save him."
Skye stopped pacing, walked up to Coulson's desk and slammed her hands on it in frustration.
"Damnit Coulson, I know how it looks, but I know I'm right about this! I need you to trust me. We trusted you to follow on the road you were taking, when everything pointed towards the other way. The carvings, Akela Amador... I'm asking you to trust me now, to follow me on the road I'm taking."
Maybe he should trust her on this. Perhaps his own vision was clouded be her two ex-boyfriends more than hers was. If Miles really was helping Ward involuntarily, he deserved their help.
"Okay." He said simply. "But I'm going to have to talk about it with May first, so I can't make any promises. I'll see what I can do."
Skye straightened her back again.
"Thank you."
That night, Coulson left his office exhausted after the amount of coordinating he just did. He and May had discussed Skye's request to save Miles. She hadn't been thrilled about the idea, but he had managed to turn her around on it. Coulson walked towards the kitchen to get his nightly cup of tea. It had become his new routine before going to bed. He just sat down with his tea for a while as he just focussed on the steam coming of the hot liquid. He inhaled the scent of Camille and tried to let all the problems disappear until nothing but him, the room and the tea existed. He intended to do the same thing tonight. As he walked through the living area, he spotted his youngest agent sitting on the couch.
"Hey." He greeted.
Skye turned around.
"Hey" she replied.
"Shouldn't you go to bed? It's pretty late and you'll be going in as a field agent on the mission tomorrow. You need your rest."
Skye sighed. "Can't sleep. I'm a little apprehended about tomorrow I guess."
He nodded and noticed an empty mug was standing on the coffee table in front of her. He pointed at it and asked,
"I was going to make some tea. Want some?"
"Yeah, sure" she nodded.
He got the water boiling, and looked for the teabags. He then put one in her mug and got one for himself as well.
"Milk or sugar?" He asked.
"With milk, please" she replied.
When the tea was done, he took both mugs and after giving Skye hers, sat down next to her on the couch. They sat like that without speaking for a while as they just enjoyed the heat coming of the tea and the silence.
"So why are you still up? You're going to be in the field tomorrow as well and you're not exactly getting any younger." She teased him.
"Hey! Uncalled for!" Coulson pretended to be offended. He knew she was just messing with him.
"And for the record, being director isn't a 9-17 job and these kind of missions don't plan themselves. A lot of work goes into them."
"I know." Skye replied.
They continued their peaceful silence again. Coulson took the opportunity to take a look around the room. It looked lived in to him. This base wasn't just a workplace, it was their home; to a lot of agents. He was proud of what they'd build here. He then turned his head to look at Skye and he saw she was in deep thought. As she apparently didn't notice him observing her, he continued to do so a little longer. She had grown so much. No longer was the rebellious hacker he pulled from her van sitting next to him, he was witnessing her turning into a real grown woman and he enjoyed every minute of it. He may never have gotten married, or had children of his own, but she was his family now and he would never let her down.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked her.
She sighed.
"I was just thinking about Miles. We met when we were just kids. He was an orphan too and we just clicked. We talked so many nights about what it would be like to live with your own family. He was a trouble maker too, so he always got send back to orphanage just like me. Only his parents were dead, but I was convinced mine were still alive. He was determined to help me find them, even though he had nothing to gain from it. He put all his time and energy into helping me, while he had no money or food. I will always owe him for that."
Coulson just nodded.
"I sometimes have this dream these days... Maybe I shouldn't tell you, it's kinda awkward. Oh what the hell, I'm going to tell you anyway. Sometimes I dream that I'm back at St. Agnes and you and May are looking for a kid to bring home and you choose me. You bring me new clothes and other stuff and bring me home with you. I really like those dreams." She confessed to him.
He smiles and then lays his hand on her knee and squeezes it briefly.
"So what about you? Did you ever want kids?" she asks him then.
He doesn't answer right away, but considers his answer first. He hadn't thought about his wishes and dreams from when he was younger in a while.
"I did. A lot. I always thought that there would be time for all that, but then- Life intervened. I moved up higher in S.H.I.E.L.D., worked 24/7 on the Avengers program. I had Audrey for a while and I thought maybe she would be the one I'd start a family with, but then I died, which kinda complicated the whole starting a family. And as you said, I'm not getting any younger and meeting women is even harder now than it used to be and also I'm the director of a spy organisation... The kind of family I once wanted isn't going to happen for me, but I'm really happy and proud of the family we've got here. "
"I'm sorry." Skye told him.
"Don't be. It may not be what I imagined for myself, but I regret nothing."
They fell silent again and got lost in their individual thoughts for a while.
"Well, you know they say becoming a grandparent is one of the most beautiful things right?"
He was confused and turned his head towards her.
"Skye, I thought we just established that I don't have kids. How exactly do you think I can become a grandparent without kids of my own? You know how that works right?"
"Well, someday my kid is going to be needing a grandfather and Cal is not exactly a mentally stable candidate for that role."
He was still confused, which she could read all over his face.
"You gave me a family when I had no one, so for all intents and purposes you did choose me and brought me home with you. You're like a father to me, so it would be only logical that when I have children you're going to be their grandfather as well."
He couldn't contain the smile that had formed on his face.
"I'd love that" he told her.
"But that doesn't mean I'm allowing boys in your room." He jokingly followed up.
"You do know I'm 26 right?"
"My house, my rules."
"Well then I'll go to his house."
"Who is this guy? I think I need to have a little man-to-man with him."
"God, dad, it's my life! I can do what I want!" she said in her annoyed teen-voice.
That made him laugh.
They fell silent again and Skye yawned.
"I think someone needs to be heading to bed." He said.
Skye nodded and got up from the couch.
"Goodnight, Coulson."
"Goodnight, Skye."
But before she left the room, she could resist teasing him a little bit more;
"Ow and the guy is Carl Creel. You know, because of his rock hard abs, no pun intended, and because he can turn any body part into any-"
"Stop, stop! I don't need that image in my head!" He interrupted her before the image could take form in his mind.
Skye laughed.
"Goodnight, Coulson! Sweet dreams!"
That night Coulson indeed had the best dream he'd had in years, maybe even the best ever. In his dream he was sitting at his desk, when suddenly he heard a familiar voice coming from outside his office:
"Daisy! I said no running in the hallways! People are carrying dangerous things around here!"
He recognised the voice as the one of his favourite hacker/agent/inhuman. He smiled. Mere seconds later a toddler came running around the corner into his office. The little girl looked like Skye's mini-me with the same partly Asian features and straight dark brown hair, except she had blue eyes. When she was born, he thought she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen and she kept getting more beautiful every day.
"Grandpa, grandpa!" The little girl kept yelling and she ran straight towards him. Before she could reach him, he'd already gotten up and was walking towards her with extended arms and hoisted her up once she reached him.
"There's my favourite, youngest agent! Look how big you've gotten! Just a bit longer and you'll be taller than uncle Fitz." He smiled at her.
The preschooler giggled.
"Nooo grandpa, uncle Fitz is much taller than me. I'll be that tall when I'm grown up."
"Ow yes of course. You're much smarter than me about these kind of things." He played along with her.
When he bend his knees to put her down again, the little girl protested:
"Grandpaaa! Big hug!"
He stopped putting her down.
"Oh no, I almost forgot! And we can't forget our big hug now, can we?"
"No." she fiercely shook her head in agreement.
He held her, so that she could wrap both her arms around his neck and her feet around his torso as well. He fully embraced her as well and squeezed her a little. He made some exaggerated growling sounds as he hugged her, which made her giggle again.
"Can we go drive Lola? Pleaase?"
"Hmm, well I don't know." He pretended to be considering her request. "I'm really busy, but maybe if you give me a kiss…"
She immediately gave him a big kiss on his cheek. His heart swelled at the love he felt for his granddaughter.
"Okay, okay, we'll take Lola for a drive. But you have to ask your mommy first if it's okay."
While they were still hugging, Skye walked in.
"There you are, sweetie! I've been looking all over for you. I should have known you would run to grandpa Phil first though."
When Skye entered, Daisy started squirming in Phil's arms and he put her down on the ground. She ran to her mom.
"Mommy, grandpa and I are going to fly in Lola!"
Skye stroked her daughters head. "Is that so?"
She looked questioningly to Coulson to find out what things he had promised her daughter this time, in the 5 minutes she was in his office.
"Hey now, I said drive. And only if it was okay with your mommy."
Daisy started tugged at her mother's pants to get her attention. Skye looked at her daughter again.
"Can I, mommy? Please?"
Skye looked back up to Coulson, who wore the exact same puppy dog eyes her daughter had put on. She sighed. These two were going to be the death of her.
"Okay. But driving only! No flying!"
A big smile formed on the preschooler's face, and she looked at her grandfather. He gave her a quick wink, to tell her that they would still fly a bit, even though her mom had said no. Daisy's smile grew even wider.
"Honey, could you go find daddy for me, please? He and I need to get going soon."
Daisy nodded and ran out of the office again.
"Don't touch anything!" Skye yelled after her, but she doubted her daughter had heard it.
"My god, the amount of energy that one has. It's endless, I'm telling you."
"Yeah, wonder where she got that from." He teased her.
Coulson walked back to his desk and Skye plopped down on the couch.
"You're making jokes now, but in two days you'll understand the struggle I have to live through every single day. Are you sure you can look after her for a few days? I know you're really busy."
She and Lincoln had some business to attend to overseas and their sitter had the flu. The only other person she trusted her daughter with, was Coulson. He loved Daisy, she knew that, but taking care of a preschooler when you are not used to doing so, is a whole other level.
"It will be fine. Relax. And I won't be doing it alone, because I've got a whole base of agents who adore that little girl."
Skye nodded.
"We'll be fine. Don't worry." He assured her.
Daisy came back into his office, dragging Lincoln by his hand behind her.
"I founded Daddy!" She announced. Lincoln waved to Coulson to greet him.
"You found daddy, sweetie." Skye corrected.
"Ow yeah, found." Daisy agreed and she looked like she was mentally storing the information. She had dyslexia, but she never let it hold her back. She was a fighter.
Skye got up from the couch and adjusted her clothes.
"Well, I guess we'll get going then. We're already late."
As she walked towards her husband and daughter, Lincoln said:
"That you for letting us use the quinjet again, Phil. Commercial airlines are a pain in the-"
Daisy's head shot up to her father, because she knew the word that would be coming after.
"-butt." Lincoln corrected at the last moment. Daisy giggled. She put one hand to her mouth and whispered to her father;
"You almost said 'ass', daddy."
Lincoln pursed his lips and placed his index finger in front of them, indicating to be quiet about it and winked at her.
"Looks like it's a good thing you're taking a little break from Daddy. He's a bad influence on you." Skye joked and kneeled in front of her daughter.
When she was on eye level with her daughter, she told her;
"It's only going to be 3 days. We'll be back before you know it. Grandpa is going to be really sweet to you, and you can call us at any time. And I need you to look after grandpa for me, okay? He'll get lonely otherwise."
Daisy nodded. "I won't let grandpa get lonely. I'm going to hug him all day long."
"I love you." Skye told her daughter and hugged her. Daisy muttered a muffled 'I love you' back to her.
"Kiss?" Skye asked when she pulled back. Her daughter gave her a quick kiss on the lips.
"And now give daddy a hug too."
She hugged and exchanged 'I love you'-s with Lincoln as well.
When they were done saying goodbye's, Coulson came to hug Skye as well and shook Lincoln's hand. He then took his granddaughter's hand and they walked her parents to the hanger. As they waved them goodbye, while the airplane took off, Daisy asked;
"We're going to fly Lola too, right?"
"Of course we are, kiddo." He said as they kept waving until the plane was out of sight.
So, that's it for this (long awaited) chapter! Please, leave a comment to tell me if you liked (and/or you spotted the easter egg)! I love hearing from you guys!