Identity

"Coulson," Skye called out as she knocked softly on the already half-open door and peered into the office.

Coulson looked up from the swamp of papers he had been examining. "Skye," he greeted her with his usual friendly smile. "What can I do for you?"

Skye stepped further into the room and closed the door behind her. She had spoken to Coulson many times in his office about private matters before, but for some reason, this time, nerves flooded through her. Her hands began to tremble slightly, a shaking that, unlike the vibrations caused by her powers, she was unable to control. "Is it alright if I talk to you for a minute?" she asked hesitantly. "If you're busy, I can just come back later."

"No, trust me, I've been searching for an excuse to take a break from all this," he assured her, gesturing to the papers and folders that littered his working space. They were a jumbled mixture of important documents, plans, diagrams, profiles, and a few pieces of plain paper covered in random scribbled drawings, accompanied by an occasional game of hangman or noughts and crosses. "Take a seat."

"How's your arm?" Skye asked as she sat down on the black chair in front of Coulson's desk. It wasn't what she had come to discuss, but it seemed like a more casual way to begin the conversation.

Coulson looked down at what remained of his arm. The stump was concealed by a bandage and sling. "Well, apart from that fact it's half missing, I'd say everything is fine. I kind of miss it. I was really attached to it, you know," he joked. "I'm guessing you didn't come here to discuss my arm though. What's on your mind?"

Skye twirled a strand of her chocolate brown hair nervously around her finger as she attempted to organise her thoughts before blurting them all out. "Things have been a bit crazy lately, with the whole S.H.I.E.L.D. and Inhumans stuff. Now that it's all over, I've been trying to figure where I fit into all this now, but the truth is... I don't really know who I am anymore, or who I'm supposed to be." Skye. Daisy. The two names danced around in her mind. They haunted her thoughts constantly, as if begging her to choose one over the other. She had spent her whole life trying to figure out who she was and where she belonged in the world, and just when she had thought she had found a place to call home, things had become much more complicated.

"Are you saying you're not sure you want to be a S.H.I.E.L.D agent anymore?" Coulson asked. His brow creased into a mixed expression confusion and disappointment.

"Not exactly. I mean, come on. You guys took me in when I was nothing but a hacker living out of a van. Until my parents showed up, you were the closest thing I'd ever had to family. I want to be a S.H.I.E.L.D agent, but..." S.H.I.E.L.D. Inhumans. Both groups had grown to be of great importance to her. In her mind, she was a S.H.I.E.L.D agent; her brain analysed information and formed plans strategically. However, in her heart, she was an Inhuman; the blood ran through her veins, giving her extraordinary abilities and filling her with a new sense of purpose.

"You're an Inhuman," Coulson interrupted her rambling thoughts by completing her sentence. "You have a duty to help your people. I understand that." He paused momentarily and looked at her. "You know, Skye, you may feel like you don't fit into either of these groups, but that's just because you have the ability to be both. You have the abilities of an agent and an inhuman. You don't need to limit and define yourself to just one. You're much more than that. You have more power than any agent or inhuman."

Skye felt a reddening warmth rush to her cheeks upon hearing Coulson's compliments. Initially, after she had discovered her powers, she had felt like a freak. Fortunately, most of her negative feelings had disappeared after meeting the Inhumans, specifically Lincoln and her mother, who helped her to appreciate and control her powers. If there had been any doubt still lurking in the back of her mind, Coulson's kind words had just wiped it all away. "So, you're saying I can be both?"

"I'm saying you should be both," Coulson replied with a smile, "and I think I have the perfect project in mind that will allow you to do just that. I'll let you know the details once everything is organised and I think you're ready."

A cheerful smile broke out across Skye's face. "Really? Thanks Coulson. Before I go, I actually have a favour to ask. You may not like it."

"I'm sure I won't mind whatever it is, Skye," Coulson assured her. "Ask away."

"Is T.A.H.I.T.I still up and running?"

Skye watched as the smiling expression on Coulson's face transformed into one of discomfort. Beads of sweat started to form on his forehead, like drops of rain preparing to fall. "Um... uh... I'm not sure," he stammered anxiously. "What could you possibly want with T.A.H.I.T.I?"

"My father is a good man, Coulson. He doesn't deserve to live with everything he was forced to do," she explained. "As wonderful as it is to have a father who loves me and cares about me, I don't what him to remember what he's done to others. It's not who he really is." Skye paused. She could feel the tears dampening her eyes, and an uncomfortable lump forming in her throat. She was about to give up what she had always wanted, a loving parent that would do anything in the world for her. That's how much she loved Cal. Knowing the good man he was deep down, and the potential he had to do great things with his life, she wanted him to live the happy, successful life he deserved. It was his love for her and promise to protect her that had damaged his chances of that. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she made her request. "Is there a way his memories can be replaced? Please."

The anxiety and discomfort in Coulson's eyes faded into compassion. "I'll see what I can do. Are you sure this is what you want?"

Skye nodded. The tears were now running in streams down her cheeks. "I'm sure," she replied in a choked up whisper.

"Well then, you let us know the life you want for him, and hopefully we can make it happen." Coulson rose from the seat behind his desk, walked over to Skye and embraced her in a rather awkward, but still loving, one-armed hug. "One more thing before you go," he said after they broke apart. "Do you think I'd suit a robotic arm?"

oOo

Though darkness loomed in the hallway, it could not hide Skye and Cal's reddened faces and tear-filled eyes. Skye stared at the large red door at the end of the hall. She knew that within in minutes her father would disappear behind that door, and never look at her the same way again. But he'll be happy, she reminded herself. He'll be the person he's always wanted to be.

"This is so long," Cal said with a sigh. "After all I've done, I'd be a fool to think I'd get a Hollywood ending. Came close." A subtle smile spread across his face. "Found you. You know you're better than I imagined, and I imagined you perfect. You're way more interesting than that."

Skye couldn't help but smile a little in return. "I wonder where I get that from," she joked in an attempt to lighten the mood and mask her own sadness.

"Ah, it paradoxical, isn't it?" Cal chuckled, but his face quickly returned to it's sombre expression. "My love for my family is what drove me mad. I know I'm going away for good, but I was hoping you might come visit once in a while."

Skye's eyes were now overflowing with tears. They flooded down her face like torrential rain, making it difficult for her to maintain her smile. "I will, I promise." Of course, she knew Cal would not remember her when she visited, but she still intended to maintain some kind of connection to him, even just casually passing by whenever she was in the neighbourhood. Cal would always be her father, whether he knew it or not. He was her family, a part of who she was, a part of her identity. In her heart, she would always be his Daisy.

Cal smiled. "That would be..."

"Let me guess," Skye interrupted."The best day ever?" Simultaneously, they broke into light laughter. "You have a lot of those?"

"Nope, just one," he replied, staring directly into her eyes with that loving fatherly gaze Skye knew she was going to miss dearly. "July 2nd 1988."

Skye felt her heart immediately crack in two. Her tears were raining down heavier than ever before. Her mind was a mess of jumbled thoughts and emotions bouncing rapidly within her brain, causing her head to ache. She could feel her powers vibrating inside of her. Every inch of her body quaked. She wrapped her arms around her father tightly, not wanting to let go. When at last they broke apart, Skye watched Cal wander down the hallway towards the large red door, the darkness swallowing him. Two agents pulled open the door and Cal followed them through. His eyes met her's one more time, before the door was closed. He was gone.

Skye sunk to her knees, her tears splashing onto the cold floor. At last, she had decided who she was. She was Daisy Johnson, the daughter of Cal Johnson. She was Skye, the hacktivist turned S.H.I.E.L.D agent valued by her loving team. Finally, she was an Inhuman, part of a strange community full of people with extraordinary powers. She was all of these things, and more. These fractions of her life pieced together like a puzzle to form her identity. As a child, Skye had always wished that someday she would find somewhere where she belonged. Now, she had not one, but multiple places where she belonged, and multiple people she belonged with. At last, she knew who she was meant to be.

Herself.

Written for The Hostile Takeover's Theme Writing Challenge for the theme "Identity".