Chapter Text
With the uprising of new Inhumans and Simmons going missing, the team needed help. Daisy had suggested to Coulson that they try to recruit Lincoln. He had already turned her down when Afterlife was disassembled, but she thought she could convince him. Mack insisted on going with her, but she knew if he came, Lincoln would disagree. Coulson allowed her to go, which is how she ended up here. She hacked into his school's system to find out when his graduation was.
Daisy tried to dress nicely since she had never been to a graduation before. It was held in a large auditorium, so she sat in the back. Coulson wasn’t expecting her back for a couple of days, and she wanted to support Lincoln. He had told her back at Afterlife that he never really knew his mom and his dad was a deadbeat. She wanted him to know someone was there, even though she wanted him to join Shield.
When it came to Lincoln’s turn to take his oath, she decided to secretly record it for him to look back on later. Even if he didn’t come with her, he was still her friend, and she cared about him. The ceremony had taken several hours but she didn’t mind. Once it was over, she started making her way to the front to see him. A young girl ran up to him with flowers, hugging him tightly. Daisy stopped in her tracks. Lincoln had never mentioned seeing anyone. She felt a small twist in her chest. He was smiling back, hugging her just a tight. Then he looked up, and she swore his eyes met hers.
Lincoln was surprised, to say the least. At first he thought he was imagining things but after she tried to walk away he knew it was her.
He left Amanda there and ran after Daisy. “Skye, wait!”
She stopped in her tracks, turning around slowly. “Hey, Lincoln, I'm going by Daisy now.”
He smiled at her, slightly confused, “Daisy, I like it. What are you doing here?”
“I came to support you, I know you said you’re not close with your parents. But it seems you have someone in your corner.” She looked over his shoulder at the girl.
“I’m still glad you came; you didn’t have to.” Lincoln pulled her into a hug, which she awkwardly returned.
He looked at her, puzzled. “Oh, I’m sorry if that was too forward.”
Daisy took a step back, “No, it’s just.” She looked back again at the girl who was walking over.
“Let me introduce you.” He walked over to the girl and pulled her over. “Amanda, this is Skye, but she goes by Daisy now.”
Amanda’s face lit up. “It’s so nice to meet you! I’m Lincoln's sister, he told me so much about you.”
A slight blush came over Daisy’s face. Sister. Lincoln, blushing a little, shrugged smiling at her. “Yeah, this is my little sister.”
“Seems like he talks more about you than he does me.” She elbowed him.
Lincoln laughed, throwing his hands up in defense. “You never came up!”
Daisy smiled at their interaction, it reminded her of the team. Which reminded her why she was here. She couldn’t ask Lincoln with his sister around.
“I should get going, I took a video I can send to you.” She said, taking out her phone.
“Do you have to? You could join us for dinner-” He said quickly, but Daisy shook her head. “I don’t want to intrude.”
“Don’t be silly! You came all the way here to support my big brother. Plus, I want to hear more about you.” Amanda smiled.
Daisy had a feeling she wasn’t getting out of dinner. She nodded, smiling, “Sure, if you insist.”
“Oh, she insists. Did you drive or are you staying somewhere close?” Lincoln asked.
“I just bought a backpack, and I took a taxi.” She motioned to the back on her shoulder.
“Perfect, Amanda and I drove separately, so I’ll drive and Mandy, we’ll meet at the restaurant?” He asked. Amanda nodded before they all proceeded to walk out.
They said bye to Amanda as she headed to her car. Lincoln took Daisy to his car and opened the trunk to leave his stuff inside. She put her backpack in and leaned against the car.
“You don’t have to come, but I’m glad you did. Nice hair, by the way.” He smiled, looking at her short hair.
“Thanks, I needed a change.” She smiled back, looking at him in his white coat. “So you’re officially a doctor now.”
Lincoln laughed, taking the coat off, “Well, I still have three years of residency. I was matched at a local hospital in their emergency department.”
“Oh.” She said quietly, staring at her feet. He looked at her, puzzled. “You didn’t just come here to see me graduate.”
“No, I wanted to see it but I came to ask if you-” He slammed his trunk shut, startling her.
“Daisy, I can’t. I just finished med school, and I can’t explain to Amanda that I’m running off with Shield.” He said angrily.
“I didn’t know you had a sister and I don’t know the logistics of med school! I didn’t even finish high school, Lincoln.” She shouted back.
He took a breath and ran his hands through his hair. “Look, Amanda knows. She knows we’re Inhuman, but she isn’t one.”
Daisy looked at him, shocked, but before she could protest, he continued. “Your mom brought her to Afterlife and tested her, but she doesn’t have the active gene. She’s human and she’s the only family I have. I kinda told her everything, and before you get mad, I know that puts her in danger, which is why I don’t want to be involved with Shield or have them knowing about her.”
Daisy tried to keep her cool and took it all in. It was incredibly stupid for him to tell Amanda that Daisy was a Shield agent. She understood he couldn’t lie to her. Daisy pinched her nose trying to think.
“Okay, I’ll keep Shield off her back, but you’re in the index. If I delete anything, it’ll look weird. Let me get my stuff.” She tried to open the trunk.
Lincoln stopped her, “Wait, why? You’re coming with us to dinner.”
“I can’t. It’ll be much easier if I go back and tell them you said no.” She argued, trying to open the trunk.
He kept it shut and locked the car. “Daisy, can we just be normal for one second? Back at Afterlife, we used to play games and eat popcorn, and I know it was all a lie and I’m still trying to process that. But I miss doing those things with you, plus Amanda does want to meet you. I can drive you to the airport or wherever you need to go tomorrow.”
Daisy thought about saying no, but she felt like she couldn’t. She came here under false pretenses and it didn’t feel right leaving just yet.
“Okay, only for Amanda.” She teased. Lincoln smiled and went around to open her door.
—
Dinner with Lincoln and Amanda went surprisingly well. Daisy didn’t know what to expect, but Amanda was just like her brother. She graduated with her master's and was a school counselor. Daisy talked a little about her work with computers since she couldn’t talk about the missions. She almost felt normal.
After dinner, they parted ways with Amanda and Daisy, and Lincoln went back to his car. “Amanda liked you.”
She smiled at him, “I like her too. Why didn’t you tell me about her earlier?”
“Like I said, I wanted to keep her away from all of this. I would have told you it’s just with Shield and everything.” He shrugged and opened the car door for her.
They sat in silence for a bit before Daisy spoke. “You can drop me at a motel near the airport and I can take it from there.”
“I’m not dropping you off at a motel, you can stay at my place; it's close.” He said, starting to drive.
“You really don’t have to, Linc-” she tried to protest. “Daisy, you're my friend, I’m not going to let you come all this way and stay in some crappy motel.”
She tried to protest again, but Lincoln kept cutting her off. Daisy finally gave in and let him drive back to his apartment. They were quiet the whole ride. She had no idea what to say, he had been so kind and welcoming even though they didn’t end on the best terms. After everything, he was evaluated, and when they asked him to join, he gave a very harsh rejection. They hadn’t talked since.
“We’re here.” He said, pulling her out her thoughts. Daisy looked out the window and saw an older apartment building.
“It’s cute.” She said suddenly. Lincoln laughed a little. “It’s old and all I could afford and was close to the school, but thank you.”
Lincoln carried her bag up to his apartment and opened the door. “Uh, you can take the room; the bathroom is the door to the right down the hall.”
Daisy looked around his apartment, it was small but exactly what she imagined for him. The living room was filled with books, he had a half dead plant by the window, and pots and pans still on the stove.
“I can take the couch, I’m not kicking you out of your bed.” She turned back to him.
“And I’m not letting you sleep on the couch; it’s the one thing I splurged on since I fall asleep studying all the time.” He smiled.
She smiled a little. “Fine, you can shower first if you want. I should let Coulson know I’m staying the night. I’ll leave the part out where it’s at your apartment.”
Lincoln laughed, “I’ll put your stuff in the room.”
Daisy got a message to Coulson that she was at a motel and would be back tomorrow. She heard the shower running and decided to snoop around. Lincoln always seemed like the bookworm type, so she wanted to know what he did for fun.
“Oh yes.” She smiled when she found a record player. She continued to look through some drawers for something to play. Lincoln apparently had a weird taste in music.
“What are you doing?” Daisy almost dropped the record hearing him. She turned around to see him drying his hair with a towel.
She blushed a little while holding the record, “Snooping, you have interesting taste in music.”
“I know. Amanda teases me all the time. I just need good study music.” He shrugged.
“And you get to pick from The Beatles, Frank Sanatra, or Britney.” Daisy laughed, looking through his collection.
He rolled his eyes. “Do you want coffee? Or a snack?”
“Surprise me, I’m going to shower.” Daisy went into his room to get her stuff. She was quick to notice how his bed was made neatly, but his desk was a mess. She chalked it up to studying all the time. He left her stuff at the end of the bed, so it was easy to find. She took her extra pair of clothes and went to the bathroom. Something that amazed her was how organized Lincoln was. She always knew he was put together at Afterlife, but she never expected him to be a clean freak.
Daisy took a quick shower, not wanting to waste water. She did, however, use some of his shampoo. As she exited the bathroom, she could smell a fresh pot of coffee. Lincoln had just brewed a fresh pot and started heating some muffins.
“Well this is a surprise, if I didn’t know better I’d say this was a date.” She teased leaning against the hallway.
Lincoln looked over at her as he poured them coffee. “What if it was?”
She accepted the mug, slightly stunned. “I thought our first date would be more romantic.”
“Well, I’d probably take you out on a Friday night to a very nice restaurant. I’d pick you up at six, and we’d see where the night takes us.” He smiled, drinking his coffee.
Daisy put hers down after drinking some. “And where would the night take us?”
He put his mug down beside her and moved closer. “I’d take you home before curfew because Coulson definitely has some for you.”
She laughed at the assumption and wanted to see where the rest of this was going. He took a step closer, “I’ll walk you to your door and before you leave I’d lean down and kiss you.”
Lincoln did just that; he leaned down and kissed her softly. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he pulled her closer by her hips. Daisy smiled at him as they parted.
“I’m sorry if that was to-” Lincoln said, trying to hide his blush.
“No. No, I liked it.” She smiled and leaned up to kiss him again.
There had always been something between them, even since Afterlife. Their flirtatious jokes and late-night snacks together. He helped her heal and control her powers. Suddenly, all she wanted to do was protect him from Shield. He had his whole life ahead of him, being a doctor, helping people. That’s what he was meant to do.
It was as if he could sense something was wrong. “Hey, what is it?”
“I just feel like I’m putting you in danger by being here.” She confessed.
“What? Why do you think that?” He seemed worried. Daisy tried to find the words, “Shield wants you to work with them, and I do too. Work with me, I mean, but you’re needed here. The world needs doctors like you, but I need you, too. Is that selfish?”
Lincoln was stunned by her confession. It seemed like minutes passed before he could speak. “You don’t need me, Dais, but I appreciate that you understand why I can’t go with Shield. Could I convince you to stay here with me?”
She frowned and shook her head, “I can’t, I’m needed there you know that. I’m the only thing standing between our people being locked up or free. I wish we could just be normal.”
“We’re not normal, we’re Inhuman. I know you're needed with Shield, maybe this could be our little secret.” He smiled slightly.
That peaked her interest. She looked at him, confused, but she sounded almost surprised. “You’d do that? Have a secret relationship with me?”
“I know this sounds stupid, considering I won’t go to Shield with you, but I’d do anything for you.” He smiled and laughed slightly.
Daisy laughed harder from his statement, “We could try, but I can’t promise that we’ll see each other often or at all. But we can call and text, and maybe I can sneak out when you have a weekend off.”
“I can work with that.” Lincoln smiled, leaning in to kiss her again.
Neither of them would be sleeping on the couch. In the morning, there would be a heartfelt goodbye and good luck. They wouldn’t see each other again for some time.