Chapter 2
Daisy returned to consciousness slowly, enjoying the feeling of sleeping on a real bed instead of in her car. When she finally opened her eyes, the bright white lights made her shut them immediately. Where was she? Daisy wondered groggily. She tentatively opened her eyes to realize that it was the med bay.
This made her relieved and sad at the same time. There were so many memories in this room, all tainted now by what had happened. However it hadn’t affected the immediate safety Daisy felt here. It was the same feeling she had around the team.
Being around them was agony. She felt guilt and shame and sadness, but no matter how hard Daisy tried to suppress it, she also felt safety and comfort. Maybe that’s why she wasn’t running right now, she wanted more than anything to stay here.
“Oh good you’re up!” Simmons said in her overly cheerful tone. Daisy whipped her head around to the door, seeing her scientist friend. Daisy cursed herself for not leaving earlier, before anyone had seen her.
“I’ll go get you some breakfast, shall I?” It was a tone that meant, this isn’t a question, so Daisy nodded mutely. She knows how sweet gentle Simmons can get when a patient doesn’t listen.
By patient, Daisy means herself, Simmons almost killed her after one mission when she revealed she had stitched up her own gunshot wound in the field and continued on with the mission. That time Simmons actually locked her to the bed and made her look at pictures of infected gunshot wounds for hours.
Daisy fondly remembered how Jemma would notice if she was sick and leave medicine, or soup, or hot tea in her room. It was an unspoken tradition between them.
Simmons had accepted that Daisy would not come to her for medical attention, so she let her get off without going to the med bay for minor illnesses. However, being the person that she is, Simmons would always secretly leave things for her to take care of herself. Neither of them would ever say anything about it. Daisy doubted she would do that now, things had changed.
Daisy surveyed the room, everything looked somewhat the same except when she turned to her left she saw Coulson. Whenever Daisy spent the night in the med bay Coulson would stay in the chair next to her. She just hadn’t expected him to do that now.
It brought an unexplained lump to her throat, seeing him asleep with his hand lying on her bed. Daisy tried not to wonder if he had been holding her hand, because that would push her over the edge.
He looked exhausted, even in these few months he looked like he had gotten older. Daisy wondered if she’d caused that, oh god she hopes not. She takes the hand on her bed, the real one, in both of her own.
“I’m sorry Coulson” she whispered, her voice cracking at the end. Daisy closes her eyes to compose herself, Jemma would be back in soon.
“I’m sorry too” Coulson words startle Daisy and she let’s go of his hand to turn away from him and not very subtly dry her eyes. When she turns around he’s sitting up, with tears in his own eyes. Seeing Coulson cry almost does it for her. She can see her own vision swimming so she blinks rapidly.
“That’s ridiculous, you don’t have anything to be sorry about '' she finally responds.
“Yes I do, my - my… you, are hurting yourself, you’ve clearly been starving, you haven't been taking care of injuries, and according to Robbie, you’ve been asking random hell monsters to kill you.” his voice sounds sadder than she’s ever heard it before.
Coulson reaches up and turns her face towards his, forcing Daisy to look at him, “Daisy, I love you” he says it so simply, with such ease and sureness behind his words. It is that certainty that causes Daisy to instead of arguing and telling him that she doesn’t deserve to be loved, respond with
“I love you too”