Chapter Text
"Damnit," Sousa swore to himself as Simmons disappeared into thin air- along with John Garret. But just as he thought he couldn't possibly have been more horrified and anxious, the quakes started, rattling the base. Daisy.
He turned around and sprinted down the hall as fast as he could go, nearly running in to Agent May in the process.
"What happened?" he asked, breathless.
"Jiaying. Malick killed her," she called, still sprinting down the hallway. Dread pooled in his stomach as he rounded the corner, only to see Daisy bent over her mother's dead body, stroking her hair lightly.
"Daisy," he whispered softly, gently approaching the shaking woman, but she stared off blankly, seemingly unable to hear him. Her eyes were glassy and unfocused as Daniel knelt down next to her.
"Daisy, look at me, please," he urged, cautiously putting a steadying hand on her shoulder. She flinched slightly at the touch, but at once her eyes came back into focus.
"Malick," she whispered hoarsely. "He murdered her."
"I'm so sorry," he responded cautiously. A single tear fell down her face, but she made to effort to wipe it away. He sat there with her for a few more minutes, letting her grieve. May's voice suddenly cracked to life over the intercom that ran through the lighthouse.
"Daisy, Sousa, Coulson is on his way from Afterlife. He's bringing Kora with him." The brunette sighed weakly, rubbing at her bloodshot eyes.
"We need to move her body," Daisy said abruptly, face hardening from the vulnerable expression she'd previously donned.
"Okay," he said slowly, slightly disconcerted with her sudden change in demeanor. "I'll take care of that." Daisy nodded, still slightly disconnected from reality, but she forced herself to stand up and blink the remaining tears from her eyes.
"I'm going to go to command. I'm sure May needs my help."
"Wait- what? Daisy, you just saw.. you're allowed to take time to process," Daniel said, bewildered at her resistance to take care of herself.
"I'm fine, Sousa, really. This isn't even the first time I've watched my mom die," she chuckled darkly, thought it sounded more like borderline hysteria. All Daniel could do was stare at her blankly as she rocked back and forth on her feet.
"You.. what?"
"It was years ago. I told you, things got bad. She.. she wasn't well. Mentally, I mean. She'd been through too much by the time we met. I actually believed that she could be a good mother at first, until she turned against Shield and tried to kill me." she still refused to meet his eyes, even as he took her hands into his. She startled slightly, still fixated on the ground.
"I'm so sorry," he said quietly. She shrugged it off.
"Like I said, it was years ago. I've been through worse." Sousa shuddered at the thought that anything could be worse than almost being killed at the hands of her own mother.