Chapter Text
When all was said and done, it took them four days to repair the ship enough that they could guarantee the trip would take them to Mack and Deke.
They spent a day going through all of the parts she and Daniel had managed to scrounge up from the truck to determine if they were in fact usable; a half day for him to go back under the truck to look for even more and then the rest of that day cleaning all of those parts to go into the ship until Enoch had been satisfied.
Daniel had kissed her for the first time against the truck after Enoch had declared they had what they needed. He had been happy to be done, to be useful, and he’d just leaned in and pressed his lips to hers without another thought.
She’d kissed him a second time directly after that and then stopped keeping track of who kissed who in the two days that had followed while she frantically worked to create and test a code update that needed to happen in order to make the older parts of the truck work with the technology on the Zephyr.
Daniel had stayed by her side while she worked. He had May show him how to make coffee using their machine and brought her cup after cup while she plugged away and he studied ship schematics in case he needed to help patch anything. He never tried to tell her to stop during her frenzy because he understood how important it was to accomplish their goal.
He just made her tea when he wanted to suggest she take a break and let her curl up against him when she followed his subtle suggestion.
It had been a long time since she’d had someone that got her like her did.
She was exhausted but she felt confident as she waited for one last test with the code to finish before she could hand the rest of the work to Jemma and Enoch.
She indulged in thinking about maybe letting herself sleep for more than an hour at a time when it was done.
Or maybe kissing Daniel more.
Or a combination of both because he had yet to go back to the bunk they’d given him. Instead she’d just carved out space so he could share hers. She liked having him there. He liked being there. It wasn't complicated. A little fast maybe but Daisy felt like it was the right move.
“Daisy?”
She looked up from the screen as Jemma knocked and entered the part of the lab she’d taken over.
“Just checking in. Do you need anything?”
“No thanks, I’m almost done,” she promised. “About fifteen minutes to go but it’s looking good. For once things might work in our favor.”
“That would be a nice change from the norm wouldn’t it?” Jemma said as she leaned against the counter next to her.
“Boy would it ever,” Daisy sighed as she sat up with a wince and stretched.
“You’re still in pain,” Jemma pointed out with a pursed lip.
“I’ll get over it, code now, pain later,” she shrugged. Jemma sighed and didn’t argue. Daisy knew that she’d likely bring it up again but she’d won a reprieve for the time being.
“Speaking of the norm,” Jemma started. “I noticed a certain Agent leaving your bunk again this morning.”
Daisy bit back the grin at the knowing Jemma’s face and turned back to her screen. She was honestly surprised it had taken her friend this long to make a comment because she and Daniel weren’t exactly hiding anything from the others.
“Did you now?”
“I did and might I say he looked a little disheveled?” Jemma responded and she felt her cheeks heat up because it was possible that she’d spent ten minutes with her hands buried in his hair while his mouth had attached itself to her neck so he could continue to experience all of the benefits the future had to offer a modern relationship. He’d been adapting remarkably well to that part of everything and she wasn't complaining about being the benefactor of his new found freedom.
“Did he?”
“He did. Looked quite pleased with himself as well,” Jemma raised an eyebrow. “Inquiring minds want to know; how does it feel to be having your way with a SHIELD legend?”
“Pretty damn good to be honest,” Daisy grinned. “But it’s more than just that.”
“I’d guessed,” Jemma mused and at her look she shrugged. “You wouldn’t start sharing your bunk with just anyone.”
“I don’t think I can call it just my bunk anymore,” she responded. “I know it seems crazy and fast but it’s something good you know?”
“You have to grab joy where you can find it in our line of work,” Jemma offered. “And you know your instincts better than anyone. I trust those. And I trust you. After everything you’ve both been through you deserve some good. Enjoy it.”
“We’re going to get Fitz back,” Daisy told her as she reached over to squeeze her hand.
“I know he’s safe, that’s what matters,” Jemma said as she returned the squeeze. “And I know we’ll get him back. The universe has tried many times but we’ve always found a way to be together again. I have faith in us and in him to guide us home. But first we get Mack and Deke. And if his hard drive survived, we can get Coulson as well.”
“Really?”
Daisy felt a glimmer of hope as Jemma squeezed her hand one last time before she pulled away.
“Really. Enoch and I were discussing it last night while you worked. If that hasn’t been too badly damaged then we can easily give him a new body. But we won’t know until we get that hard drive back. There’s still a chance we might not be able to make it happen.”
“And we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, let’s be cautiously optimistic that his super power worked,” Daisy paused and took a breath. “But if it didn’t, we don’t take heroic measures this time. We need to let him rest.”
“Understood,” Jemma told her as the terminal in front of them beeped. Daisy turned and felt her entire body relax at the results.
“Well look at that, I think we’re good for you and Enoch to take over Dr. Simmons.”
“Right you are Director Johnson,” Jemma nodded. “I’ll go get Enoch so we can start. We’ll be a few hours if you wanted to get some rest.”
“You sure?”
“We can handle it now,” Jemma assured her. “And I’d feel better about your recovery if you got more than an hour of sleep. And if I can’t convince you, I believe I saw Agent Sousa heading towards the bunks on my way here. Though I would suggest actually sleeping this time versus whatever you were doing this morning.”
“Fine,” Daisy laughed, stood, and stretched. “You’ll wake us when you’re done?”
“Of course,” Jemma assured. “Sleep well Daisy.”