Chapter Text
December 4th, 2016
Daisy hadn’t felt… right in a month. Or was it two months now? She wasn’t sure.
It wasn’t necessarily unusual for her nowadays; not feeling right was something that had become the norm for her in the seven months since she’d broken free of Hive’s possession. There was always something that didn’t feel exactly right, and she’d had to learn to deal with it in the wake of everything.
It wasn’t fun at all.
Something about this particular ‘off’ feeling felt different, though. Despite how ominous the feeling was, it didn’t feel like a Hive side-effect sort of off-ness. She didn’t know what it was, she just knew it was something else.
But she’d pushed that nagging feeling away because she hadn’t wanted to go to Jemma or Lincoln with it. They both had enough to be concerned about these days without giving them more reason to worry about her.
Then a few days earlier she’d woken up and immediately started puking her guts out, and hadn’t really stopped throwing up ever since. So now she was worried.
Which was how she’d ended up fidgeting in front of Jemma’s work station first thing in the morning, watching the scientist analyze something underneath the microscope.
“Uh, Jemma, can I speak to you for a minute?” Daisy asked, shifting her weight back and forth. “It won’t take long, I promise.”
Jemma hummed in response, glancing up at her and giving her a smile after quickly jotting down a few notes in an official SHIELD file. “Of course.”
Daisy looked down and picked at the hem of the sweater she was wearing. Jemma was going to kill her for not coming to her the second she started feeling something wrong a few months ago.
“Daisy, are you okay? What’s wrong? You look a bit pale.” Jemma asked, her brow pinching concernedly.
Daisy rolled her eyes and internally cursed Jemma for being so perceptive. “I think something’s wrong with me.”
“Wrong with you? What do you mean?”
“I don’t-“ Daisy swallowed. “I don’t really know. I’ve felt all wrong since Hive possessed me, but this feels different. I can feel that it’s not him, but I don’t think it’s normal.”
Jemma cocked her head inquisitively, frowning at Daisy’s statement. “Well- what is it you’re feeling? Is it emotional? Is it physical?”
“It’s like the vibrations in my body changed. Like something that wasn’t there before is there now, and it’s made every vibration in my body shift. But I just brushed it off, until I started puking yesterday.” Daisy paused and wrapped her arms around herself. “I don’t know, maybe it is a Hive thing. What if I’m getting possessed again? What if I’m having a side effect from Lash’s powers? Or if it’s a secondary withdrawal? What if Hive or Lash gave me cancer or-”
Jemma reached out and took hold of Daisy’s shoulders, giving her a firm shake to snap her out of her train of thought. “Calm down. Panicking isn’t going to do anyone any good, okay?” Daisy nodded. “Okay, let’s just run a few tests and we’ll see what they tell us. We can go from there. For now just try not to jump to worst case scenarios. Sit down while I get everything together.”
Daisy sat on one of the lab chairs and waited, her leg bouncing impatiently as she watched Jemma gather various monitors and a few vials to take her blood.
“You said you were throwing up yesterday?” Jemma asked, digging in a med kit for a stethoscope and a digital blood pressure monitor.
Daisy chewed on her bottom lip, wishing she could find a way to answer that without being yelled at. “Yeah, all day, then during the night, and ever since I got up today.”
“Daisy!” Jemma chided, walking over with her tray of medical supplies and immediately setting out to take her blood pressure. “You’ve been vomiting non-stop since yesterday morning and you didn’t think to come in?! You’re probably dehydrated! Have you been able to keep any fluids down?”
“I just- I didn’t want to worry you or Lincoln. You’ve both been so busy and I was hoping it was just a virus. But then I crossed the 24 hour mark and I still can’t keep down water, so I decided to come in.” Daisy murmured, internally cringing and avoiding Jemma’s eyes. Jemma’s concerned yelling was only going to pick up at the knowledge that she couldn’t even keep down water.
“Oh my- Daisy, this is not okay! You should’ve come in last night! You have a whole medical clinic at your disposal in the same building you live in, learn to use it!” Jemma let out an exasperated breath, shaking her head as she removed the blood pressure cuff and read the results on the monitor. “Your blood pressure is low, likely due to dehydration, but your heart rate is fine. Which arm do you want me to draw blood from?”
Daisy held out her left arm, looking away as Jemma methodically cleaned the area and inserted the needle. She hadn’t been fond of needles since Doctor What’s-His-Face had drained her. But at least Jemma was good at finding veins, which the whole process pretty quick and painless.
“Alright, that should do it. Hold the gauze there and fold your elbow.” There was a long pause while Jemma stepped away and got the blood analysis going. “The results shouldn’t take very long. In the meantime, why don’t I listen to your heart and lungs?”
Daisy just nodded quietly. She couldn’t bring herself to respond with her mind racing as it was. If there was something really wrong with her, maybe it was a punishment from the universe. After all the things that had happened as a consequence of her actions while under Hive’s sway… she probably deserved whatever got thrown at her.
“Oh, I know that face. That’s your ‘I’m a terrible person and I deserve to be punished’ face, and you need to stop thinking that way about yourself right now. What happened with Hive wasn’t your fault.” Jemma said, her voice carrying that tone she used every time she got concerned about Daisy’s emotional well-being. At Daisy’s lack of response, she sighed deeply, taking hold of Daisy’s hand and squeezing it reassuringly. “In any case, your heart sounds fine and your lungs are clear. So the initial physical exam is good. Let’s just wait for the blood test to finish, and then we can think of how we should proceed.”
As if on cue, the computer beeped, signaling that the blood analysis was finished. Jemma gave Daisy’s hand a squeeze before she let go and hurried to the computer.
The next few moments felt like forever to Daisy. It was like time had slowed to a crawl.
And then Jemma let out an incredulous laugh, making Daisy startle and nearly fall out of her seat.
“Daisy… there’s nothing medically wrong with you.” Jemma turned to Daisy with a kind, but pensive, smile. “Though I guess that statement actually depends on how you feel about this: You’re pregnant. Very pregnant.”
The entire universe stopped as Daisy took in Jemma’s words. She couldn’t even breathe as panic gripped at her chest.
“I- what?!”
Jemma blinked, cocking her head to the side and crossing her arms, analyzing Daisy’s reaction. “You’re pregnant, Daisy. The vomiting is morning sickness and I’m guessing the change in vibrations you’ve felt in your body is the fetus.”
“Are you kidding me?!”
“I’m as serious as a heart attack. I wouldn’t joke about something like this!”
“Holy crap, I think I’m having an actual heart attack.” Daisy pulled her legs up on the seat and put her head on them, trying to slow her heart back down to regular levels. Out of all the things she’d been expecting, this definitely wasn’t one of them. “Bu- But we use condoms and I’m on that supposedly awesome SHIELD birth control pill. How- fuck- what?! Oh my God.”
“Yes, well, condoms break and birth control fails. Your fetus is a product of both of those happening… At the same time.” Daisy let out a strangled sort of squeak at her words, making Jemma giggle before she continued. “Besides, we never really knew if the birth control pills would be as effective on inhumans as they are on humans. That’s why last time we spoke about this, I suggested that you make sure to use condoms if you became sexually active.”
“And we did use them, dammit!” Daisy looked and sounded exasperated now, her annoyance overpowering the panic that had been palpable moments before. “We’ve been annoyingly careful about it. You know how many times I’ve had to miss out on mind-blowing sex because Lincoln didn’t have a condom with him? Too many!”
Her words made Jemma burst into laughter. This reaction was so incredibly Daisy, and she was kind of loving it. It was the most normal her friend had seemed in the seven months since the Hive debacle.
“Jemma! Don’t laugh at me! I’m being serious! Oh my God.” Daisy levelled Jemma with a glare that was more hilarious than intimidating and swatted at her with a case file. “Stooop.”
Jemma took a breath, trying to get herself together and wiping at the tears that had escaped her eyes during her hysterical laughter. “Okay, okay. I shouldn’t be laughing. I’m sorry. How do you feel about this?”
“I don’t know. I can’t believe I managed to get pregnant, honestly. This is just my luck.” Daisy sighed and ran a hand over her face. “We haven’t even had the kids conversation. So I don’t know how he’s going to feel. Hell, I don’t know how I feel. I mean, I’ve never really stopped to contemplate having kids. I guess I kind of just… didn’t think it was a possibility with this line of work.”
“Well, you have options, you know? You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.” Jemma paused, eyes meeting Daisy’s with concern as she took hold of her friend’s hand. “We can look into those now, if you want. But I think you should take some time to process the news first. Maybe talk about it with Lincoln too?”
“Talk to me about what?”
Daisy and Jemma jumped, startled by Lincoln’s sudden appearance in the lab.
“Good lord, Lincoln, how many times have I told you to not sneak up on people like that! Especially in the lab! You could make someone drop something dangerous.” Jemma scolded, her accent becoming more prominent in her annoyance.
Lincoln chuckled. “You two are terrible super spies, you jumped like three feet in the air and I wasn’t even trying to be sneaky.” Catching sight of the gauze on Daisy’s arm, he frowned. “You had blood drawn. Is everything okay? Was that what you wanted to talk to me about?”
Daisy sighed, closing her eyes for a few seconds to gather what little courage she could, and silently pointed towards the monitor that was displaying her results. Lincoln’s frown deepened as he slowly moved towards the monitor, clearly concerned about what she wasn’t saying. Looking back at her, he gave her what he hoped was a reassuring half smile and took a deep breath before he began reading.
With his back turned to her as he read the monitor, Daisy desperately attempted to steel herself for whatever reaction he had. She didn’t want a tiny bundle of cells that they’d accidentally made to be the cause of a rift between them, not after how hard they’d had to work to get their relationship going and healthy after she was brainwashed. Not with how much she’d grown to love him.
The seconds dragged on for Daisy, and she started getting fidgety in her seat, her eyes fixed on Lincoln’s back. As nervous as she was about his reaction, she really needed to know.
“Holy mother of- what?!” Jemma found herself having to hold back a giggle at the absolutely gob smacked look on his face when he turned to face them again. He looked and sounded just as incredulous as Daisy had been just a few minutes earlier. “You’re pregnant?!”
Daisy nodded, her face serious, teeth gnawing at her bottom lip.
The barest ghost of a smile appeared on his face as he reached for Daisy’s hand and took it between both of his. “Holy sh-“ Lincoln cut himself off, schooling his features back into a neutral expression. “Daisy, I- are you- how do you feel about this? Do you want to keep it? I don’t want you to feel pressured into anything you don’t want to do, okay? I’ll support your decision no matter what.”
The relief that washed over Daisy at his words was obvious to both Jemma and Lincoln, her body visibly relaxing into her seat. In retrospect, she didn’t know why she’d been so nervous about his reaction. He was always trying so hard to make sure she knew he respected her decisions, thoughts and feelings, that any other response to these news wouldn’t have been Lincoln.
“I’m-“ Daisy took a deep breath and closed her eyes again, focusing on calming her mind.
This was huge. Deciding to have this kid was a decision that would alter her life, and Lincoln’s, forever. She didn’t know if she was ready to be a mother, or if she would ever be. The mere thought of bringing a life into the world, a life that would completely depend on her, was a level terrifying she’d never experienced before.
Yet, no matter how scared she was, there was a part of her that really wanted to take the plunge and do this. Something about having this kid felt right. The possibility of having a baby suddenly seemed like a beacon of light and innocence in the dreary darkness that had been a constant presence in her life for as long as she could remember. As scary and daunting as the prospect of being a mother was, it also felt like it could be the best decision she would make in her life.
Daisy opened her eyes and smiled. “Well, Sparks, I guess we’re going to have a kid.”
Lincoln was momentarily speechless, the shock at her decision evident in his face, but before doubt could start seeping into Daisy’s mind, he surged forward and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his chest as snugly as he could.
“Holy shit, we’re going to be parents!” Lincoln pulled back and dropped a kiss on her lips, his hands coming up to cup her face. Then he sat down on the lab’s floor and put his hands over his face, making Jemma explode into peals of laughter again. “Fuck, I’m gonna be a dad.”
“Yeah, dude. And I’m going to be a mom. Talk about a whole new level of yikes.”