Jemma could admit to herself that she was a people watcher. It wasn’t a recent habit, really. Sometimes it was because she was trying to figure someone out. Sometimes she was just curious. Now? She watched the Newest Director of Shield with an intent she hadn’t had often. She needed to apologize.
She couldn’t very well just go up to Daisy and apologize to her face. The woman was so bad at accepting that others had done her wrong if she cared about them. The only exceptions seemed to be Ward and Fitz. Jemma knew she hadn’t gone near as far as those two had, or at least, she hoped she hadn’t. The curse of unconscious bias, it unfortunately was a bit hard to avoid.
Either way, getting Daisy to accept an apology had been like trying to bathe five cats all at once, all of which planned different methods of escape. The closest she had come was the first time she realized how awful she had been to Daisy, and that apology was only unrefuted because she had managed to distract her friend with something else.
Maybe if she just tried to be the friend Daisy deserved, that would be enough? She’s not sure it would ever be enough. She had advocated for her species' extinction for god’s sake. She had feared her. Not her powers, that had made sense to fear when Daisy hadn’t gained control, but she had feared Daisy. Or Skye, as she was then. She had feared the woman who had done nothing to deserve it, and everything that should have made Jemma trust her.
In any case, a friend is what Daisy deserved, one who did for her what Daisy did for everyone else. So Jemma did what she did best. She worked on biology. Daisy’s biology. If she could just figure out how to stop her bones from breaking, Daisy would never need to fight with broken arms. Until she figured that out, she could do one thing no one else could to take care of Daisy. Or, she supposed, no one else would. Daisy had given her medical authority over everyone else, including Daisy herself. So whenever Daisy broke a bone on one of their missions, Jemma could demand she not fight unless absolutely necessary.
It didn’t do much, honestly. Despite being the Director, Daisy was near constantly in the field. Rebuilding Shield took so much work, and Daisy was terrifyingly dedicated.
Jemma, on the other hand, had been dedicated to not let Daisy realize what she was doing. Daisy seemed to constantly doubt her value, and Jemma is pretty sure she’d have a harder time making her realize her value if the woman knew that’s what she was trying to do.
That determination fell apart during one of their movie nights (Jemma isn’t very clear on exactly when and how those started, but they were so nice, she was reluctant to question it), when Daisy had mentioned that she always liked found family movies. Jemma couldn’t keep the frown off her face, and Daisy noticed. Because of course she did, she is a spy.
“What’s up, don’t like found family or something?” There was a fragility to Daisy that was hiding behind that question, Jemma was determined not to break it.
“It’s just…” It took her a moment to weigh her words. Holding this in for the last three months, since that awful day, had likely been a mistake. “I wish the family you’ve found in our team was good enough to deserve you.”
Daisy blinked and recoiled. “Jemma, what are you talking about?”
“Well, I don’t think I need to talk about Fitz, but he used to be your closest friend, and back then he was certainly a better friend than I was. Mack is still afraid of you, you’ve been nothing but the best of us, even when brainwashed you never killed any of us, but he still fears you, hell he fears all inhumans. I don’t quite understand how he and Elena worked honestly.” Jemma shook her head and ignored how Daisy was clearly trying to get her to stop. She needed to get this out. “Coulson was far too willing to put your life on the line, we all were.”
“Jemma, you don’t-”
“And then there’s me.” She shuddered. This would be the hardest, but likely the most necessary. “I was like Mack. I was terrified of you, instead of your powers.” Her eyes fell shut. She needed to not cry, “You’ve always been wonderful and unendingly kind, but I feared you. There was even a part of me, a large part of me at that, that wanted to defend Fitz after what he did to you, hell, if he had apologized,shown even the barest hint of empathy, I likely would have still been on his side. And… How many times have I just accepted that you were in pain because you pushed through it instead of actually trying to treat you?”
Her eyes slowly reopened to find Daisy gaping at her with shock. She barely had time to register Daisy moving before she was enveloped in a tight hug. It wasn't even a question really to wrap herself around Daisy in return.
Waking up with Daisy's arms curled around her was a new experience. But one she desperately wanted to happen again. The heat on her cheeks was… an interesting development. One she hadn't expected. It wasn't important. Her focus would remain.
“Three months?”
“Yes. Your body has never had the proper amount of time to adjust to your abilities given the turbulent years we've had since you went through terrigenesis.” Jemma layer out her case, “Three months with only low level channeling of your powers through your arms should give your body the time it needs to finally adjust to itself.”
Daisy have her an apologetic wince, “I'm just not sure that's gonna be possible, there are still missions that-”
“That we have other agents to assign to. Honestly it's like you're trying to run yourself ragged. The point of you being the Director is to lead SHIELD, not throw yourself into every mission.”
Her friend’s eyes closed for a few seconds, “Okay, if there's nothing that needs my abilities to complete, I'll stay away from missions until you give the go ahead.” A small grin graced her lips, “What's the point of giving you medical authority if I ignore it after all.”
Jemma cocked an eyebrow, “You stay that as if you don't ignore my orders whenever there's a hint of a situation that would need your powers.” Clicking her tongue, as she shook her head, she let out an exasperated sigh, “Honestly taking care of you is half the medical side of my job. If I didn't already know it was true I'd accuse you of ignoring the other medical staff you hired.”
Daisy's grin was cocky now, “What can I say? I'm very attached to my doctor.”
Jemma ignored the flutter that gave her and rolled her eyes. It wasn't as if she was actually complaining that much. She would always be ready to take care of Daisy. And it wasn't like anyone else was volunteering anyways.