"Wha…whe…" Daisy tried to pull herself into a sitting position. The piercing pain in her head stopped her and she dropped back the few inches she had risen, groaning with the ache.

The room was dim, not dark like it was sealed off or she'd woken in the middle of the night, but dim as if someone had purposefully removed the light. Through the miniscule slit she was able to open one eye she could just make out the shapes of furniture…a small table, some sort of dresser and a large chair. It was bleak, but not barren.

She lay quietly and brought a hand to the bridge of her nose pinching hard in an effort to relieve the not so dull throb inside. May had taught her to use all of her senses when assessing her surroundings…sight was out so she listened to the silence that surrounded her. She heard no traffic sounds, no trains or air traffic and it was still except for…for…crickets. Did she really hear crickets?

Smells were…were…was homey the word? Something was cooking. Something smelled very good and although she hadn't realized she was hungry, her stomach rumbled at the scent. Bread…it was bread…fresh baked…something she hadn't smelled since…well for a long time.

She slowly lowered her hand and brushed it across the soft blanket that covered her then slid it under and felt the cotton sheet that covered the mattress. She could smell…fabric softener…no fresh linen…like when the sisters hung laundry to dry behind the orphanage. It seemed like a lifetime ago. Realizing she could feel the sheets and blanket with her bare feet she quickly patted her side and stomach. These weren't her clothes…something soft, warm, but not hers…where were…who…

Daisy attempted to slow her pounding heart rate, to quell the panic rising in her gut. She was hurt, worse that she could remember in a long time and despite telling herself that she wouldn't care if someone ended her, being this close gave her a lot of second thoughts. A familiar voice in the back of her head told her to control her emotions, to focus…to…

She heard the footsteps before the door began to open and quickly stilled her body and slowed her breathing. With no recollection of where she was or how she got there she would take no chances. She was not bound or handcuffed and the door was opened without being unlocked so apparently she was not being held captive. She certainly wasn't being detained; this was not the Cage or some other agency facility. It wasn't a hospital either, that smell was unmistakable.

"It's about time you woke, child. I was starting to worry." A low but comforting voice commented as something was placed on the table next to the bed…something that smelled very good. "I won't turn on the lights. They'll probably make your head worse." Daisy could tell the voice was smiling.

She tried to open her eyes but it just hurt too much. "I…" she tried to speak but she was having a problem forming words and beside it just hurt too damn much.

"Shhhh, shhhh," the voice consoled her as a gentle hand brushed across her forehead. "I've got some broth." Now it turned away, changed somehow…sounded more concerned. "It's probably all you can handle for now. I'll hold it for you to sip through the straw. Maybe tomorrow we can try some bread as well." The voice was closer again and she heard something being scraped across the floor…a chair…it was sitting closer to her ear, she could hear the soft breathing. "Here you are, dear." She felt the straw touch her lip and cautiously took small sip.

It was good. She took a much larger sip and the straw was taken away. "Slow down, child. There's plenty but too much too fast won't do you very good." The voice said with a chuckle.

Daisy snapped her mouth closed and gave the smallest nod she could knowing even that movement would aggravate her pain. She felt the straw and took a few more small sips then pulled back. "How..." she whispered hoarsely.

A warm hand patted hers and she heard the mug being put back on the table. "Mario brought you to me. He found you in very bad shape and well…he recognized you from the news and I knew it would not be wise to take you to a hospital."

The girl felt the warmth rise in her cheeks and jutted her chin a fraction of an inch letting the woman know she understood.

"No need to feel badly…it's my job to help those in need and when Mario brought you to me you were certainly in need." Again Daisy could tell the woman was smiling as she gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

Daisy felt the straw brush her lip and she took a few more sips. She wished she could see but opening her eyes more than a slit caused everything to blur and double making her feel nauseous. She wanted to see this woman, to know her benefactor, to tell her she couldn't stay, couldn't put her in danger. Instead she finished the broth listening to the slurping sound the straw made as the cup emptied.

"It's late, dear." The voice was now standing gathering the mug and pulling the chair back to its place. "You get some sleep now and we'll talk more in the morning."

Daisy wanted to stop her, to ask all the questions that were jumbled in her aching head, wanted to stop her and demand answers but suddenly she felt very sleepy. To late the young girl realized there was more to that broth than its wonderful flavor. She weakly tried to push back the renewed alarm. She raised her hand a few inches from the bed and sent forth a weak energy pulse rattling whatever rested on the nearby dresser.

The woman smiled and shook her head placing her hand atop Daisy's. "It's okay, child," the voice comforted as it tucked the blanket with motherly experience. "I knew you wouldn't take anything for your pain so I added a bit to the broth, just to help you sleep. I promise."

"Promise…" Daisy mouthed as she drifted into sleep…something in that word…something in the way it was said.

When she opened her eyes, really opened her eyes, the next morning Daisy took in her surroundings and smiled at her ability to map it despite her condition the night before. Things were still a bit blurred and turning her head quickly gave her the feeling of just stepping off one of those spinny playground things. She pulled herself up and leaned back on her elbows. Her head felt as if it was made of concrete but she managed to hold it up. She really needed to take care of some personal needs and struggled to throw her legs over the side of the bed.

The door opened admitting a stout elderly woman in a dark dress covered with a light blue apron. Daisy blinked away an odd memory as the woman moved to her faster than she thought a woman of that age might move.

"Oh no, no child, you need to stay in bed. You're not that much better." The woman scolded, but gently.

"But I have to…" Daisy began, clearing her throat at the sound of her rough voice.

"No, no you don't have to." The woman smiled.

"No," Daisy grimaced sarcastically and tilted her head just a smidge. "I really do have to."

The woman pursed her lips and shook her head as she crossed her arms over her abundant chest.

Daisy looked desperate and nodded as she bounced at the edge of the bed. That stopped rather quickly as the motion sent shockwaves of pain through her neck and head.

"Oh," the woman suddenly understood. She turned and took something from the top of the dresser. "Not a problem dear." She held out the metal pan.

Daisy's eyes shot open as her cheeks turned scarlet. "Oh no…no, no, no, no, no…just point me toward the facilities and I'll be just fine." She made a valiant attempt to stand and quickly sat back down before losing her balance.

"Sweetheart…you have a very serious head injury. You wouldn't be able to cross the room let alone make it all the way down the hall to the lavatory." She held out the pan again. "Come now, dear. I'll help you."

"NO!" Daisy shouted loud enough to actually hear a crack inside her head. "No," she lowered her voice at the shock on the woman's face. "No…I…I can…"

The woman and her evil pan moved closer as Daisy backed up against the mattress. "You don't have to worry dear; I was a nurse once upon a time. I have plenty of experience."

"Well I haven't." Daisy mumbled as the woman helped her back into bed.

After washing and being propped up on several pillows Daisy was served breakfast. It wasn't her favorite, oatmeal never was, but she was starving and today the warm sweet mush was the best thing she'd ever tasted.

The woman, who had yet to share her name, took the tray as she finished and handed her a cup of tea. The girl looked at it with trepidation. The woman laughed.

"No worries, dear, it's just tea, nothing more, nothing less." When Daisy merely stared the woman took the cup from her hands and sipped it herself. "You see, just tea." She smiled broadly and for a second Daisy felt something familiar.

She sniffed the tea and stared at the woman for a moment. "Do I know you?" She said it out loud without thinking, immediately regretting it. The woman merely smiled and patted her leg.

"Finish your tea, I'll clean up and we'll have a nice long talk." The woman steadied the tray in her hands and exited the room leaving her patient in deep thought.

It truly was only tea yet when the voice urged Daisy awake it was well after noon. This time the woman helped her to stand and with strength surprising for a woman her age, held her as they walked to the lavatory at the end of the hallway. It took a lot longer than she expected but when she placed her hand on the brass knob to pull open the door, Daisy breathed with relief as well as satisfaction. The woman reluctantly released her with the warning that if she even suspected there was an issue she would be coming in to help. Daisy nodded and hurried to comply.

Once back in her small room the woman made her comfortable in the large upholstered chair and opened the blinds to let in the afternoon sun.

"I once knew a small girl that gave me more trouble than I thought possible." The woman began as she pulled a second chair next to the table she had set before the girl. "I had wished she would someday grow out of that."

Daisy narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to respond but was stopped by the woman holding up her hand. Again, a flash of memory crossed her throbbing mind.

"Mario found you unconscious in an alley. He carried you here." To Daisy's raised eye brows she continued, "Yes, it was a long way and yes, Mario has special skills. He's been with me for a few years now. The poor dear had nowhere to go."

"Is he…is he your son?" Daisy asked although she had not yet met the man. Her words sounded thick and clumsy, fatigue coming on her again. Why even ask that question? It really made no sense.

The woman laughed and covered her mouth. "No, dear, he's just a very good friend that needed help." Daisy failed to see the humor.

"Do you remember how you got into that alley?" The woman asked quietly.

Daisy closed her eyes and scowled at the memory of being caught off guard by two Watchdog thugs. She was so concerned about avoiding the SHEILD agents she'd made that she'd missed them. Before she knew it they'd hit her with some form of dendrotoxcin. It wore off quickly but left her disoriented and unable to defend herself as she usually would, hence the beat down she'd received. She did however incapacitate both her assailants and managed to get far enough away before totally collapsing. Apparently that's when the mysterious Mario made his appearance.

"Guess, I ran into some bad guys," she shrugged for some reason refusing to meet the woman's eye. No sense involving this lady in her problems she had enough on her plate already.

The woman shook her head and 'tsk-ed' before continuing. "I've been watching you for a very long time, and you've always been very good at twisting the truth."

"Why do you keep doing that?" Daisy sounded frustrated and felt it even more when the woman just smiled at her. "You keep saying things like you know me."

"You still don't remember do you, but then you really wouldn't. You were such a little girl." With that the woman stood and walked from the room.

Daisy watched her leave and drummed her fingers on her knee. She felt better than she had yesterday and would probably be even better by tomorrow…with the exception of the brutal headache and still blurry vision. She knew and refused to believe that was a sign of a head injury that could get much worse without real medical intervention. She closed her eyes and wracked her brain trying to think of how and when she had crossed paths with this woman.

She was certainly old enough to be her grandmother, heck probably her great-grandmother…for a moment she panicked, could Cal have a mother that somehow knew of her existence. She would have rolled her eyes at the absurdity of that if it didn't hurt so much. Could she be someone from one of the many foster homes she'd drifted through growing up? She couldn't remember any grandmotherly types and certainly none that would remember her, yet every once in a while something about this lady made her remember something. But what?

The woman returned with a tray and placed it on the small table. Daisy brightened at the smell of the fresh bread and…was that homemade chicken soup? Suddenly it all came back. No she hadn't ever fostered with a grandmother type but she had known many women that would fit in that category at St. Agnes…at least age-wise…not that any of them ever doted on her. Except…except for that one time. She hadn't thought about it in so long. The woman hadn't been there long and soon she was just another person who passed through her life.

"Sister Jeremy," she said just above a whisper.

The woman smiled. "It's been many years since I've been called that, Mary Sue."

Daisy laughed out loud, immediately regretting it as she groaned, "And since I've been called that."

"Yes, Skye…no, no I believe it's Daisy now." The woman smiled warmly tapping her chin and glancing toward the ceiling.

"How…"

"I've been keeping my eye on you for some time, dear heart."

Daisy thought back to her days at St. Agnes', Sister Jeremy had been the administrator for a time and one of the very few nuns that showed her any kind of attention. She was strict but not unkind, tough but understanding…well except for that time the Sister caught her filching money from the poor box. She'd dragged her by the ear to her office and read her the riot act then whacked her backside so hard, about a dozen times, that she was tempted to head right back to the church and spend the afternoon seated in the Baptismal Font. But Sister Jeremy also sat up with her all night when she had the chicken pox and brought her this fabulous soup and homemade bread to help speed her recovery. That she did remember.

"You know we need to get you to a doctor, don't you Daisy." Sister Jeremy pulled her from her reverie, her voice now measured and serious. "I've done all I can, but it really is more than I have means to treat."

"I didn't know you were a nurse." Daisy stated trying to avoid the issue.

"I've been many things." The woman hinted and Daisy knit her eyebrows in confusion.

"I didn't know nuns could do that." Daisy fished. Her vision was blurring a little more and she was having a hard time keeping her eyes open.

"Depends on the orders," the woman half smiled back.

"Orders?" Daisy stressed the 's' as her head bobbed toward her chest. "You were never a nun, were you?" She slid to one side and rested her throbbing head against the soft padding of the chair.

"I was what I needed to be when I needed to be it. Sometimes that meant protecting a special little girl from a very perilous situation." She smiled.

She knew her own story and why she'd needed protection – whom she needed protection from and who did the protecting. For some reason Daisy felt tears forming behind her eyes. "You're SHEILD." It was a hushed statement, not a question.

"Was," the un-nun corrected.

"Guess you've had a lot of names as well…got a real one?" Daisy asked.

"I remember a little girl who was determined to find her family. That family misses you dearly, Daisy." The woman avoided the girl's question.

"I don't have a family." Daisy whispered as the tears began to fall and she turned her head toward the window.

The woman let out a sigh and spoke quietly. "They love you Daisy. They need to you come home."

Daisy shook her head ignoring the pain that she now felt she deserved. She swallowed hard and spit out, "I'll just…I just hurt them."

The woman moved the table and tray and pulled her chair in front of the girl. She took both Daisy's hands in her own. Her voice became stern and the girl could almost see Sister Jeremy standing above her. "They love you and leaving them, them not knowing where you are or what's happened to you…that's what's hurting all of you."

"Did they send you after me?" She tried but failed to pull her hands away.

"No dear, they did not and you know I would not lie to you."

"Then how…"

"I told you Mario brought you here. I think the poor dear may have a bit of crush. I will admit I've been keeping track of you. When I heard you were in the area I did send him into the city to keep an eye on things. I have to admit I never really expected him to actually show up at the door with you in her arms." The woman smiled and squeezed the girl's hands. Daisy raised her eyebrows. "I still have a few connections, even after everything that's happened." They paused a moment remembering before the woman took a deep breath and patted the girl's hands again. "You've been through some horrible ordeals, dear heart and you still fight the good fight, because that's who you are."

"I'm not good. I've done terrible things." It came out in a breath. Daisy hung her head.

"Haven't we all." The woman breathed.

"I'm responsible for so many deaths." Daisy whispered.

"No, dear, you are not," the woman simply stated. "You do not control fate, you don't get to say who lives and who dies and your existence doesn't have any effect on it. We are always exactly where we are supposed to be. I told you that a long time ago when I caught you with your hand in the poor box." The woman almost laughed at the girl's reaction as Daisy grimaced. "What you survive makes you strong, Daisy and you have always been the strongest person I've ever known, the feisty, stubborn little girl I never forgot." She smiled at the tears rolling over the girl's cheeks. "You still feel everything so much deeper than others and you still try to hide it."

Daisy rubbed her forehead. The pain was getting worse and now even the smell of the wonderful soup started to turn her stomach. She slumped back in the chair and barely reacted to the soft knock at the door.

"Angela, Angela Martinelli…that's my name." The woman stated as she looked to the door and patted the girl's hand as she rose. "And that would be your mother here with a doctor to take you to the one place you will get everything you need."

"Mother?" Daisy wasn't sure she'd heard correctly, the room was starting to spin again. She heard quiet voices and felt herself being lifted and placed on a stretcher. "No…no, Sister, no…" she protested and reached out for the woman's hand.

The grandmotherly woman took the girl's hand and bent down to whisper in her ear. "Don't fight fate, Mary Sue; remember you are always, always exactly where you're meant to be."

Daisy felt the woman's hand slip away as another easily took its place. "Shh, you're gonna be okay." A familiar voice comforted and squeezed as the stretcher began to move. "I'm right here, now. I won't leave you."

Even if she opened her eyes the tears would blur her vision beyond the pain. Everything swam in a haze of sounds and the hustle of urgency. She felt another someone at her side then the sharp prick of an IV being inserted, and the super-powered inhuman whined at the quick pain. Another familiar accented voice comforted, "I'm sorry, but it will help you to feel better." The voice turned away and told someone to get them to the Quinjet as quickly as possible.

"You hold on, you hear me Daisy, you hold on." The first voice ordered and Daisy forced her eyes open.

Melinda May held tightly to her hand and gently brushed the stray hair from her face. She looked worried and relieved at the same time.

"Mother," Daisy smiled and squeezed back before the world faded to black.