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Trying to do things the normal way is overrated.
"I should have taken that Quinjet when I had a chance," Daisy says dramatically, looking at the road stretching from nowhere to nowhere, almost empty except for a couple of sheep crossing it idly from time to time.
"Well, we actually needed a proper landing this time, and to be honest it would be a strange and disappointingly nonheroic way to die after everything we've been through," Daniel replies, and she tries to ignore the grain of truth hidden in his words.
He is studying an old-school paper map with deservedly superior look on his face. Daisy tried to convince him to rely on Google Maps but luckily for them he didn't listen, so now they still have a hope of getting out of this even despite the lost signal signs on their phones and the batteries spent on pictures of cute lambs, several deer and one outstandingly magnificent highland cow.
"How do normal people survive vacations," she mumbles.
It had been going pretty well at first - at least during the flight - but then came a couple of delayed trains, wrong buses that changed their routes on the go and several shamefully unsuccessful attempts to get directions from the locals, - and here they are, in the middle of nowhere, under the brightly shining sun that doesn't seem to know what the warmth is.
It's inexcusably cold for summer. She really misses Kora right now, at least for her powers. Anyway, May wouldn't let her out of Academy yet, she still has a long way to go.
"We can walk back to Perth," Daniel says finally with a sigh. "And maybe call FitzSimmons from there, or just give the timetable at the bus station a proper look this time ."
"Whatever. How far is it?"
"A couple of miles."
Daisy groans.
"I wish Fitz had invented teleport already. Lead the way, Danny boy. At least we'll get warm."
***
As Daisy slowly gets used to walking down this endless country road, she is starting to feel some new, unfamiliar calmness. With no one around them but a bunch of fluffy animals, no unnatural sounds for miles, with this actual daylight whose existence she has almost forgotten, it feels like some strange dream, and she hasn't decided yet whether she likes it or not. But probably she does for a change.
And then she turns to Daniel and sees how comfortable he is, with his map and cool Coulson-style sunglasses. Far from all the gadgets and new technologies, from noisy crowded cities and alien spaceships, he is finally feeling at ease.
"Enjoying yourself, aren't you?"
"It's hard not to," he says with a smile. "It's been long since my last long walk, and the company is not too bad either."
Daisy smiles back.
"The sheep, you know. I like sheep."
"Of course you do," she grins and then asks a bit more softly than intended: "How's your leg?"
He cannot hide being caught off guard with this candid demonstration of concern.
"Great, actually. Thank you."
Before she has a chance to think of the ways to save herself from a sudden wave of awkwardness they can hear the best noise in the world behind them, approaching very fast.
"A car!" Daisy shouts happily, turning around and waving hand to the driver.
The car pulls over, and on the front seat they can see a man in a cap with some logo on it. Begging the universe to let them understand each other, Daisy comes closer.
"Hey, could you please give us a ride, we got..."
But then she can finally see the driver's face.
No way.
"...lost," she finishes the sentence slowly, trying to calculate in her mind which strategy should she apply in this situation, are they supposed to pretend...
"How on Earth did you get here?" Lance Hunter laughs in reply, and with that goes away any chance of pretence.
"Well, it's a long story that is not so easy to explain! How on Earth did you get here?!"
"On a car, stupid! Why didn't you rent a car like normal people?!"
"For a series of good reasons!"
Most of which are British bizzare driving laws and another one is resentment for not getting the Quinjet a.k.a. "okay, let's do this the dumbest way possible".
"Can I ask you what's going on here?" Daniel asks politely, failing to comprehend the scene.
Hunter gives him an appraising look.
"Lance Hunter."
"Daniel Sousa."
They shake hands. Daisy rolls her eyes: okay, whatever, give your kinda famous real names to every stranger, world class spies, aren't you both.
"Get in, we'll explain on the way."
"Where are you going?" asks Daniel.
Hunter looks at him and then at Daisy.
"To FitzSimmons of course, where do you think?"
"How..."
"Is this even safe?" Daisy asks sternly. "Aren't Evil Russians coming for us?"
"Honestly after all we've been through I think there is only one level left and it is beating the Evil Russians who seem to be everywhere."
"Some things never change," mutters Daniel.
Daisy notes that she has to explain post-irony to him.
"Look, I've been at their place a hundred of times and nothing bad happened, so you can of course continue your lovely walk, or..."
"We're coming," Daisy says while getting into the car, ready to regret everything. Daniel follows her hesitantly.
"So, Danny," Hunter starts as they set off, "are you a new guy?"
"He's an old guy," Daisy replies. "Like, very old."
"Is that supposed to mean something?"
Daniel and Daisy exchange looks, and then Daniel adjusts sunglasses and says with a very strict face: "Classified."
Daisy tries to hide a laugh.
"Oh, come on. I was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent once too. But things turned bad, I got caught, and now I'm separated from my friends for the rest of my life."
"Which doesn't seem to be the case," notices Daniel.
"That's not my problem, is it?"
"Wait, you got caught? What about Bobbi?"
Well, Daisy already knows the answer, that's why she asks.
"Don't pin a nice name to that monster, or it can deceive you into a couple of desperate attempts to find a human being hidden deep inside."
"Good to know that everything is back to normal."
They smile at each other through a rear-view mirror.
"She says hi."
***
"I revoke your invitation."
Fitz looks resentfully at his friend's cap. Hunter seems to be very pleased with himself.
"The words of a loser."
"You are not welcome here."
"Thirty three points."
"Oh, come on, Fitz," Jemma is hurrying to help. "Let him enjoy this rare short moment, he'll have to wait for thirty years more for another one."
She and Fitz high-five each other.
"Et tu, Brute?" Hunter sighs.
"Once a red, always a red," she declares proudly.
"It... actually works both ways," Fitz and Hunter say simultaneously.
Confused, Jemma leaves them for Daisy and Daniel.
"So nice to see you both!" she gives Daisy the warmest hug and it's very appropriate since it's still freezing. "How was your trip?"
"If you want an honest answer, I don't know how you live here, it's colder than the outer space and I speak from experience, haven't you heard about summer? And the public transport?.."
"Ah, I see, you got the full package," Jemma laughs. "It's not always like that."
"I personally think that it wasn't all that bad," says Daniel, smiling.
Daisy snorts. "Sure you do."
"Well, come in," Jemma invites them to the house, a pleasant two-storey old British style cottage. "Alya has been impatiently waiting for you since the morning."
And here she is, smiling at them happily, shrieking, "Daisy!"
"Hey, kiddo!" Daisy hugs the girl tightly. "How big you are!"
Alya giggles and looks slyly at Daniel over Daisy's shoulder. "Hi, uncle Daniel!"
"Hi, Alya!" He solemnly shakes her hand when she finally releases Daisy.
They leave their things upstairs ("I wasn't sure if one room would be okay," Jemma whispers to Daisy and blushes; Daisy says that it is) and take a tour of the house; Daniel notes how it feels bigger on the inside, and this remark makes Jemma extremely happy (Daisy is very proud of him for an appropriate use of a reference for Doctor Who: she made him watch several seasons just before the trip). Alya is exhilarated to acquaint them with her horde of monkeys (half of their names Daisy cannot comprehend, but she is honored to finally meet Mr. Phlebotinum).
"We've planned some day trips for your vacation," Jemma says excitedly as they walk down back to the living room. "Alya here is desperate to show you Loch Ness!"
Alya nods with approval.
"Isn't there a good chance of us ending up fighting an actual monster there?" Daisy asks sarcastically.
"No, there isn't," Jemma says quietly so that Alya cannot hear her."Yet. And," she continues enthusiastically, "of course, we know some very special hidden places on the isle of Skye!"
"Seriously!" Daisy laughs.
One day, Daniel thinks, I'll be able to keep up with all these inside jokes. "Something special about this isle?"
"No, just... I used to call myself that name. Skye."
"Skye? How many names do you have exactly?"
"That's... classifed."
He should never find out about Mary Sue Poots. Never.
So she changes the subject before it gets out of control. "Didn't know Hunter was coming."
"Oh, don't you mind?"
"Of course not. I missed that dummy."
"Fitz has a secret communication channel with him. As well as me and Bobbi," she adds, proud of finding her own ways. "Don't worry, it's safe. No one would follow him here. We just couldn't tell you beforehand."
Daniel hesitantly comes closer to the fireplace, and as Daisy follows his gaze she can see that on the mantelpiece right next to the small but very detailed replica of the TARDIS there is an old black-and-white portrait of Peggy Carter.
Jemma notices it too. "I'm sorry, I didn't think..."
She clumsily tries to take the portrait away.
"Why, no, it's okay," now Daniel feels awkward. "It's more than okay."
You cannot just put it into words, can you?
"Oh," Jemma puts the portrait back quickly, but not immediately succeeding. "It's... She's always been such an inspiration to me. I've never had a chance to meet her in person, unfortunately."
How much time passed since they last saw each other? For him, it was not so long ago. He can still see her face as vivid as if she were right in front of him, full of life, brave, fierce, daring, relentless, unheard, unacknowledged. To see her being a legend, appreciated and admired by the next generations as she always deserved... Time did her justice.
"She would love you. She'd try to hide it in a very British way, but she'd love all of you."
***
It's getting dark.
Thanks to Jemma's thick knitted sweater Daisy finally manages to get warm. There are a lot of laughs as Hunter starts playing soccer with Alya in the garden: he's goalkeeping while she tries to score. Her parents are cheering her on with all the sports passion you would never suspect they are capable for. Daniel is there too, with a bunch of surprisingly competent advices and his encouragingly kind voice, kind eyes, kind everything, Daisy, stop.
Every time she thinks she's ready to let herself go and dive into this - whatever it is - completely, she remembers that bar full of people, her whole family around for the last time, his calm and confident decision to leave her forever because it's somehow right, and herself being absolutely powerless to do anything about it, and she wants to scream.
She thinks of Lincoln flying away because it was somehow right.
She thinks of her foster parents walking away without turning back, because they couldn't manage her and it was the right thing to do.
She thinks of her real parents leaving her not by choice but nevertheless without a chance for any explanation other than that she wasn't wanted.
She thinks of FitzSimmons moving to Scotland with their new family, with their daughter; she couldn't be more happy for them, but they still left, and it was still right.
She thinks of May going to the Academy.
She thinks of Coulson, excited to explore the world on his own.
Of Yoyo with her new team, of Mack with his confidentiality.
Of how it was right for all of them to leave her and move on.
She can destroy the whole world and she still feels powerless.
As if he catches the wrong kind of vibe, Fitz turns back to check on her, whispers something to Jemma, waits until she nods, gets up and comes to Daisy.
As if he just knows.
"How far did you see through the time stream?" she asks simply before he can say a word.
"What do you mean?" It's not exactly a question, more like a rehearsal of a question.
"In '83, you knew that was the last time we were all together in the same room. It was very specific and also unnecessarily ominous and, like, lifelong. Have you seen the ways all our lives go?"
"It's not like that. It doesn't work like that, there are endless possibilities..."
"So the percentage."
"Yes."
She looks at him intensely.
"No. You don't need this."
"Do you still keep it?"
Fitz makes a grimace. "Do you think I'm an idiot? I'd given it to Mack, and he destroyed it. Should have, at least, but you know him these days." They both mimic him, "Classified."
"He keeps things from you too? That's comforting to know."
"Yeah, you couldn't guess how a cool black coat and a flying base elevate you over mere mortals."
"Or not-so-very-mortals."
"Everything is officially by the rules now."
"Ha-ha. I bet you've already broken a couple of rules."
"What percentage?"
He points at her, smiling.
There's some noise on the soccer ground, as Hunter, it seems, has taken his responsibilities seriously for the first time in his life and is not going to miss a single shot. Alya takes another run-up and kicks the ball with all her might, and with a slight movement of the hand Daisy sends just enough of a quake to change its direction a little right before the goal.
"No-no-no, see, that's exactly what I meant, it's against the rules, it's against parenting!.."
Alya throws her hands up triumphantly and runs to hug Jemma and high-five happily smiling and absolutely unsuspecting Hunter and Daniel, and Fitz gives up and claps along with Daisy.
"Do you remember anything from what you've seen?" she tries again.
Fitz sighs. "You have to be a bit less vague about what you're asking."
Daniel and Jemma both join Alya now - Daniel is careful with his leg though - and three of them are not leaving Hunter a chance, scoring one goal after another. Hunter pretends to be upset and dramatically grabs his head each time, and Daniel laughs lively and loudly at that.
Fitz follows her gaze.
"Oh, so he ’s the question."
She doesn't answer.
"Look, Daisy, you don't need this, it doesn't mean anything, we had a very small chance to succeed with our mission but we still managed. And I don't remember much anyway. Human brain is not fit for such amounts of information."
"One of us hasn't had enough social media experience and it shows," she chuckles. "Have you seen something you'd like not to?"
"Yes. But that's not the point. It can be nothing, you see? It drives you crazy, you don't want this, trust me."
Something clicks: dark, terrible room, she is tied up, there is a knife in his hand. It's not fair, he doesn't remember that. What is it with men around her not remembering the moments that changed everything?
"Something wrong?"
He is being thoughtful and kind and it's not fair.
"No. Doesn't matter."
"You have to let yourself trust people, Daisy."
"My experience speaks otherwise."
"I know."
The ghost of Ward will always be here for both of them.
"Look, of course it takes time and doesn't seem possible now, but you have to try. You won't get there in a day, but it's important to... to go in the right direction."
"Why does everything have to be this hard," Daisy says with a bitter smile.
"Uh-huh. I prefer rocket science any day. But in the end, it's really worth it."
Alya scores once again, and he smiles happily.
***
It's time for Alya to go to bed; she objects until Daisy promises to read her a fairy-tale. She could've never imagined how much she can enjoy it. Nevertheless, it cannot go on forever, and only with Jemma's help Alya is finally laid down to sleep.
"Thank you," Jemma says softly as they sit down on the stairs, tired from the long day. "She really admires you from the moment she met you at the Lighthouse."
"Admiration is mutual," Daisy replies. "She's neat."
Jemma smiles at her and hesitates for a moment.
"Fitz told me what you've asked." She's not sure if she intrudes. "Has something happened?"
I takes a moment to make a choice, and the choice is to lay everything out on the table. About that incomprehensible fear that is always here with her, how she could feel it again with all its might when Daniel took her hands to say goodbye. How she expects it to happen again - but this time without Deke ready to sacrifice himself instead which is a whole other mess - and how highly likely it is considering that the job description supposes saving the world at the cost of your own life. How helpless and angry does it make her.
Jemma gets it, of course, she's had to go through it with Fitz so many times...
"I meant you, actually."
Daisy looks perplexed. "Me?"
"With Fitz, it's... different. I can't properly explain it, but... Look, it was you who sacrificed herself blowing the giant alien spaceship up."
"Because Fitz told me to, and I knew I can survive..."
"He told you because he had seen you doing it again and again in the time stream. And it's not the only time..."
"Yes, but I..."
I've never done it because I thought it was right, I've never done it to be a hero, I've only done it because I had no other choice,
and there were plenty of choices in '83,
so why?
"...I've always had a reason."
"Everyone believes that."
Is that true? Does the universe make people she care about treat her the same way she treats those who care about her? May warned her - you don't get to choose them - every sacrifice you make - you sacrifice those people in the first place and only then yourself.
She left her friends for the Afterlife.
She left them when Lincoln died.
She left Jemma, the best friend she ever had, alone in her desperate search for Fitz when she decided they had no chance to succeed, and only Jemma's disobedience and the lack of ways to get home made Daisy physically stay with her.
"And how do you deal with it?"
"You accept it." Jemma shrugs. "You talk about it and then you accept it, or don't, and move on. There's no magic solution, unfortunately."
"It seems your therapy bears fruit," Daisy says quietly.
"It's... a process, you know. But I think I'm getting there. It's better when you know that you're moving..."
"...in the right direction," Daisy finishes.
Jemma smiles. "Exactly."
Daisy takes her hand, feeling guilty, unable to express it in words.
"I'm glad that you've found strength to finally deal with... everything."
It sounds cliche, but in this case "everything" actually means every damn awful thing that can or cannot happen to a person, sometimes more than once.
"Thank you," Jemma squeezes her hand. "I have to come up with craziest metaphors, you know. I can't tell her the truth, but then is there even a point if you're lying? Sometimes I feel like it's harder than trying to invent a vaccine for an alien virus in the course of several hours. And I can't even voice this comparison without making it sound like a joke, which it isn't."
"You are always welcome to choose a S.H.I.E.L.D. specialist. Mack will be happy to help you."
Jemma shakes her head.
"We are living like normal people now, you see. Trying, at least. I think my problems began long before S.H.I.E.L.D., anyway. But I'll keep your offer in mind."
They sit in silence for some time, and the voices from the outside become more distinct.
"Are they... singing?"
...hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark
They exchange incredulous looks and simultaneously rush out to the living room.
At the end of a storm
"Are they blasted?" Daisy mutters, glancing over the scale of the disaster. Daniel is wearing the cap now and skips half the words, but it seems it's not their first round of this song.
There's a golden sky
"I think they are just fine," Jemma replies hilariously.
And the sweet silver song of a lark
"Jemma!" They are finally noticed. "We've got a glory hunter under our roof," Fitz throws one of the stuffed monkeys at Daniel and immediately regrets it, but Daniel catches it easily. "Thank you."
...walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone.
***
Their room is spacious enough for them to be comfortable with it, but not enough to ignore the tension, the origin of which is not quite clear to Daniel. What is clear to him is that when Daisy gets something into her head, she won't stop (he remembers Mack's exact words like any good agent would remember the instruction of their superior). So he knows the storm is coming, he's just not sure where it will hit.
"Back there, in 1983," Daisy starts, shivering a bit either from a cold Scottish night or because of impossibility to pretend that this conversation never happened like their last heart-to-heart in the timeloop. "Why did you volunteer to stay?"
"Someone had to," Daniel says simply, as if it's obvious.
"Yeah, but why you ?"
"Because it was my timeline, my responsibility. It was the right thing to do."
Daisy crosses her arms.
"Your team - you belong together, you're like a family. It's not like it was a difficult dilemma, actually. Between a family and a stranger..."
"You've never been a stranger."
"Thank you," he hasn't expected that, "but I was. I still am. I'm not complaining, it's natural, but it's the truth."
But it's not the only truth, something else is off, it doesn't add up.
"You were not aware of technical aspects of the deal."
He narrows his eyes, trying to follow her thought.
"The bar was full of trusted contemporary S.H.I.E.L.D. agents - apart from the team - who, from your point of view, were able to do the same thing - stay there and support the passage between the timelines. Why you?"
Daniel looks bewildered. He hasn't actually thought about it, has he? Everything was so logical and heroic and right, and now it doesn't make sense.
He sits down on the bed.
"I guess I was... frightened."
Daisy doesn't know how to react to this - him speaking so plainly.
"Of what?"
"Of whatever comes next, I think," he says uncertainly. "Of being out of place, of things changing quickly. Of falling behind constantly."
"So did you... did you basically freak out because you couldn't catch up with decades of human progress in a matter of days?"
He freezes for a second, considering this.
"Well, when you put it that way..."
She punches him slightly for lack of better ways to express a sudden wave of fondness, and he takes it with a warm smile. The air becomes much lighter. There was a reason, she can work with that.
"Let's walk outside?" Daisy asks.
"O-kay?"
The lights are still on on the first floor, and they can hear Fitz and Hunter talking quietly in the kitchen. Noticing them sneaking out, Hunter looks out and shouts after them in loud whisper, "Hey, where're you going?"
Daisy turns back in the doorway.
"We'll return in a moment."
***
It's not that cold after all.
They sit on a bench in the garden: Daisy, Daniel and a little shabby stuffed monkey.
The night is quiet and clear.
The pure euphoria of talking things through makes her want to ask more and more questions she cannot quite put into words right now, but there is no need for haste - they have time.
It also makes her feel powerful.
She fumbles with the monkey as her head lies on Daniel's shoulder, and she can feel his arm around her, his cheek on the top of her head.
It is somehow right .
"Shit."
Daisy slowly raises her hands, holding monkey's tail in one and the monkey itself in the other.
Daniel looks at it and starts chuckling.
"Hey, you're shaking me," she complains before she can think.
"Oh, do you mean I am quaking you now?"
She really tries to get angry at this but can't, and instead she has to hide her laughing face on his chest.
"Fitz will kill me," she mutters and slowly straightens up, examining the damage. Daniel carefully takes the monkey's parts from her hands.
"Nothing that can't be fixed with a needle and thread," he says cheerfully.
"And do you by any chance have a needle and thread?"
"Actually, I do."
Always prepared for everything.
"That's very... heroic of you," says Daisy, only partly ironic. "Let's get back inside, there is a life to save."
They get up and cross the garden, and almost at the entrance Daniel stops for a moment and glances back at the deep night sky.
"I'm starting to miss them, you know," he says quietly. "The stars."
Somewhere in the dark, the lark starts singing.