Daisy rested her forehead against the rim of the toilet seat, making sure the last of her nausea had subsided before she returned to bed. She took a few deep breaths and slowly sat up, sighing with relief when her stomach stayed calm and she was able to slowly make her way back to the warm of the bed, letting herself curl into Daniel’s side. He had had a hell of a week in his department at S.H.I.E.L.D. and he was clearly exhausted, so she had been careful not to wake him in her mad dash for the bathroom so he could sleep in, but he had heard her get up the day before and another day earlier that week, and he followed her into their bathroom, anxiously holding her hair back as she retched.
Daisy sighed, squeezing her eyes closed. She knew she couldn’t ignore this any longer, but she was scared shitless at the thought of it. All her symptoms pointed right at it— she was tired all the time, had missed her period the last month, and of course the morning sickness. It was all there, clear as day, but the pregnancy test hidden in her sock drawer remained unused, still in its box.
Looking at the time and realizing there was little chance of her falling back asleep before she actually had to get up, she carefully rolled out of Daniel’s embrace and headed into their kitchen to get the day going. It was Mother’s Day, and May and Coulson— Mom and Dad, she reminded herself— were coming for lunch later on, and so she could focus on that. One look at the coffee pot sent her stomach rolling, so she filled up the kettle and set herself a mug of tea instead.
Daniel woke soon after her, and together they began preparing the food for when their guests arrived, Daisy discreetly avoiding the foods that she knew would make her feel even more sick. She knew that she would have to tell Daniel her suspicions soon, but she still wasn’t sure how she felt about it, other than knowing she was absolutely terrified.
Thankfully, by the time May and Coulson knocked on their apartment door at 2, Daisy was feeling much better and any remaining nausea had completely subsided. She couldn’t stop thinking about that test hidden away in her drawer though. It was Mother’s Day. And she might be a mom herself.
She pushed that thought aside though, opening the door to dive right into the open arms of her dad, relaxing into his chest. May put a hand on her arm, causing her to pull away from Coulson and fall into May’s embrace.
“Happy mother’s day, mom,” Daisy whispered. It was their first Mother’s Day since May and Coulson had become “Mom and Dad”, and both women couldn’t help but smile at the occasion.
After a few moments they broke apart but May held Daisy in front of her and gave her a questioning look. Of course May had to be feeling the extreme emotions of fear and apprehension radiating off of Daisy, but the younger woman just shook her head, signaling that now was not the time to ask about it.
The afternoon preceded with lunch, a few board games, and eventually Coulson and Daniel had settled down on the couches in the living room to talk about old old S.H.I.E.L.D. mission.
“Let’s leave these dorks to their history lesson, shall we?” May joked with Daisy, but the look on her face showed that saying no was out of the question. May wanted an explanation for the range of emotions she was picking up, and Daisy wasn’t getting out of it any longer.
Daisy led May down the hall and into her and Daniel’s bedroom, both of them sitting down on the bed.
“Now tell me what’s going on,” May insisted. “You’re putting up a good front outwardly but you’re freaking out inside. What’s got you so spooked?”
Daisy sighed, standing up from the bed and going over to her dresser, taking the test out of its box and silently handing it to May.
“Oh my god,” May gasped as soon as she saw what she was holding, looking up at Daisy, then taking a closer look at the screen on the test. “It’s unused. You have it but still haven’t taken it?”
Daisy nodded. “I bought it on my way home Thursday, but I can’t bring myself to take it.”
“Isn’t it worse not knowing?”
“I don’t know,” Daisy said, flopping back down on the bed dramatically. “It’s just so sudden, and we’ve never talked directly about having our own kids, and this is so unplanned. I’m on the pill and we use protection every time, so I don’t even know how this could have happened!”
“It’s rare, but sometimes people get pregnant no matter what precautions they take.”
“That would be just our luck,” Daisy groaned.
“Is this something you want?” May asked.
“I don’t know,” Daisy said again, and May could sense her anxiety spiking. “I think maybe? Daniel is so good with Alya, and I know that he would be amazing. I just don’t know if I would be. I think I do want this, but I have no idea how to be a mom.”
“Nonsense. Even if you have absolutely no idea what you are doing, you’ve always adapted and learned how to not only make the most of any situation, but excel, thrive, and grow from it. This is just the next step in the evolution of your life,” May said sternly. “You’re going to be amazing.”
“How can you know that for sure?”
May stood up and held the unused test out to Daisy. “Get up, no more moping around. We’re taking this right now.”
Daisy took the test grudgingly, knowing better than to argue, but she did throw in a sarcastic, “We’re taking it? Not sure that’s how it works,” as she stood up and shuffled toward the room’s adjoining bathroom.
“Whatever, smartass,” May said with an eye roll. “You are taking it and I’m going to be here for you. No matter what the outcome is I am with you every step of the way.”
“Retirement made you soft,” Daisy called from inside the bathroom.
“No,” May countered. “You and Fitzsimmons made me soft, you ridiculous bunch of kids.”
“You love us.”
“I do.”
Daisy opened the bathroom door when she was done to find May standing behind it waiting.
“Did you take it?”
Daisy nodded, pointing at the plastic stick resting face down on the counter. May could feel her anxiety spike again, and so she led her daughter back to the bed and set a five minute timer on her phone to wait for the test’s reaction to complete.
“Okay, five minutes, let’s talk about anything but this,” May instructed, knowing that Daisy needed to keep her mind off that piece of plastic, otherwise this would be a very long and torturous five minutes. They talked about Daisy’s upcoming mission, May’s newest batch of students, and about Mack’s plans for the helicarrier to land in D.C. the next week for a visit.
When May’s phone beeped, Daisy froze, her entire body tensing up.
“Together, remember? Come on,” May said, leading Daisy by the hand back into the bathroom.
Daisy picked up the test, but couldn’t bring herself to look at it. She squeezed her eyes shut and shoved the test toward May, who took it from her.
“I can’t do this,” Daisy whispered, her eyes still closed. “Look at it for me, please. I can’t do it.”
May turned over the test to study its little panel, and fell silent for a few moments before looking up at her daughter, whose emotions were bouncing all over between excitement, shock, terror, and anticipation.
“Daisy.”
“Hmm?”
“Happy Mother’s Day.”
Daisy opened her eyes slowly, processing the words.
She was pregnant.
She was going to be a mom.
Suddenly it all fell into place in her mind and a huge smile spread across her face. She dove forward and threw her arms around May, who immediately reciprocated the hug.
“Is this you making your decision on how you feel about this?” May laughed into her shoulder.
Daisy pulled away, breathless with disbelief and happiness. “I’m going to be a mom,” she whispered, her voice full of wonder.
“And you’re going to be amazing.”
Daisy slowly sat down cross legged on the floor of the bathroom, allowing herself to process, and May followed her down, sitting across from her and resting a hand supportively on her daughter’s knee.
“Thank you,” Daisy said, tears of joy springing into the corners of her eyes. “Thank you for making me take it, and for not letting me do it alone, and for always just being here.”
“Nowhere else I’d rather be, Dais.”
They sat in a peaceful, excited silence for a few more minutes, Daisy staring intently at the test in her hand, as if to make sure it didn’t change.
“This really is a crazy day to find out,” she laughed eventually.
“Happy first Mother’s Day, Daisy.”
“Happy Mother’s Day, Grandma.”
They both laughed, and Daisy leaned over one more time to hug her mother. There they sat, soon to be three generations of family huddled together on the bathroom floor, love radiating between them until they couldn’t tell whose feelings were whose, just that they were the luckiest people alive to have found and built the relationships they had over the years.