Daisy was swinging her chair from side to side periodically sending pulses towards the pieces of metal that was AIDA turning them to dust. She was in AIDA’s server room, had just finished programming the backdoors out of the Framework, and was now waiting for the people in it to wake up and go through them. Daisy looked back at the code and then to her watch. By her calculations, May should be waking up in five minutes in the Framework and if she follows the same routine then she should be walking through the backdoor in seven. Standing and stretching Daisy sent a parting pulse to the remains of AIDA and left the room, heading towards the room where they had found May acknowledging the CIA agents outside the doors. She took the empty seat next to Lian May and thought back to when she had gained the family that she had always wanted.
Flashback starts
Daisy had been on the run from SHIELD for a month now when she realised that she had missed her last period. She had chalked up the incessant nausea as withdrawal from when the HIVE had possessed her, though it could very well be morning sickness. With that in mind she left the motel, scrubbing all traces of her being there from the cameras as she went, and went to the closest drug store and bought 3 pregnancy tests.
That evening she booked into a dodgy motel 3 towns away and was waiting for the allocated time before she could see the results of the tests. Her phone’s alarm went off and Daisy was simultaneously elated and upset at the positive result she saw on the test. Daisy had always wanted a family and a child of her own, but the fact that Lincoln was not here to celebrate with her was extremely upsetting. Daisy took in a deep breath. Using May’s training, she took all the emotions and channeled them into focusing on what she had to do now. Daisy knew she would never put her child up for adoption and dropping them off in foster care was not even worth thinking about. Therefore, she had to work out how she could provide and give her baby the stable childhood she always dreamt of. Sighing, she knew what she had to do but made the decision to wait a few months before implementing her plan, as she needed these next few months to create an old/new identity for herself and to disappear completely from SHIELD.
Daisy was 6 months pregnant when the job offer came like she knew it would. Before SHIELD she would get an offer like this every other week when she was freelance hacking. The only difference this time was that she accepted it and was now waiting in a coffee shop waiting to meet her handler face to face. What Daisy or Mary Campson was expecting her new handler to be was someone in a suit and tie that would rather be out in the field than be stuck babysitting a blackhat, except the handler she had seemed to be given too was neither. Looking at the person who just came through the door, she started praying that May had not shown any pictures or spoken about Daisy to her mother, because that was exactly who was now coming towards her and by the look in her eye all that praying was for nothing. Crap.
Daisy’s mind was racing. She really needed this job to pay the bills and to make sure her baby would want for nothing growing up but with Lian May as her handler there is a very good chance that May would find out where she is and Daisy is not ashamed to say that she was petrified at the thought of that confrontation. There is also the fact that May might find where she is and could put her back onto SHIELD’s radar and she does not want her child to grow up with SHIELD breathing down their necks.
Whilst all these thoughts were spinning through her head, Former Director May had reached the table and had sat down across from her. Obviously, her panic had shown on her face because the former agent reached across the table to grab her hands, stilling them from her nervous wringing.
“I’m guessing from the way you reacted to me you know who I am?” She asked when she got Daisy’s attention. Unable to speak with her mind spiraling, Daisy just gave a jerky nod.
“Very well then. To be clear I have never retired but I am no longer the Director but I have high enough clearance that I am able to reduce your file so nobody knows you except by your hacker handle which was one of your stipulations and right now i am very glad i am able to do this.” She said with a concerned and fond look towards her stomach.
Looking daisy in the eye she carried on, “Melinda has told me a lot about you, to a point that I consider you family. As such, I am going to restrict access to your file to the point where only the director or deputy director can access it, which is two levels higher than what I originally was going to do. The catch with that is that I want you to move into the same complex that I and my ex-husband live in.”
Holding her hand up and raising her eyebrow as if daring her to interrupt her when Daisy opened her mouth to refuse, she continued on,
“No. You are family and you are going to need some helping hands when that little one comes. Plus, it is a secure complex with a decent communal play area for the residences children. Everyone in that complex has been vetted and are either former or current agents of the CIA, and those who aren’t are either family of a CIA agent or were involved in some way with the CIA at one stage in their life. Please think about it. Melinda loves you like a daughter and as such you are my granddaughter. And I protect my family. I am going to grab a cup of tea and a cup of hot chocolate for you. Whilst I'm gone please think about it.” Lian May finished, got up, and headed towards the till.
Daisy sat deep in thought. This was definitely not what she planned for when she accepted the job offer, yet this may perhaps be the best outcome she could think of. On one hand, she felt a bit insulted that Mrs. May thought she couldn’t raise her child by herself, but on the other hand it was a weight off her shoulders in regards to the fact that she didn’t need to be alone anymore. There was also the small part of her that realized that this way she could possibly get May back in her life without SHIELD getting involved. The secure complex was a bonus as she would definitely sleep better knowing that her and her baby were secure. Daisy sighed knowing that even if she said no Mrs. May would carry on asking until she agreed. There was only one answer she could give so when Mrs. May came back, Daisy simply said “Yes.”
The proud and satisfied look she got in return was just like May’s. So much so, that Daisy started to believe that all May women were just born with these expressions.
After that they drank there beverages and discussed logistics of her new job and when Daisy was to move in (the next day, apparently Mrs. May had moved into her ex-husband's house and hers was standing empty). Daisy left the coffee shop with an address and phone number and a view of a very bright future.
In the following months Daisy got back into her hacking and helped a CIA and FBI task force capture and take down the group calling themselves The Watchdogs who were killing all known and unknown Inhumans. She settled well into her new home and enjoyed her job immensely. She set up the study in her new home as a computer lab so whilst she was pregnant she could do her hacking from home, as she was not allowed to go into the office whilst pregnant. She also won’t receive the nano-tech mask until she had given birth so she could keep her identity secret. In all she was very content in the life she found herself living.
Daisy was 8 months pregnant when her life changed again in the form of the force that was Melinda May. In the two months that she had moved into Grandma May’s (Lian insisted on Daisy calling her that) old house she and the May’s had fallen into a routine where they would get together for dinner every Wednesday and for Sunday lunch. Daisy was not ashamed to say she loved the way they both would dote on her during these times. She loved hearing the stories about May and of the different places they lived in during Grandma May’s days as an agent in the CIA. In return, she would talk about the friends she had made during her times at the orphanage and the mischief she and her best friend Matt would get up to. She would sometimes talk about the not so good foster home she was placed in. After one of those talks, Grandpa May would go into the kitchen and return with 3 steaming cups of tea (one with no caffeine for Daisy) whilst Grandma May would sit next to her, rub her back, place a hand on her very pregnant belly and just reassure her. She of course did this in a very May way (not saying anything but allowing her body language do all the talking).
Once Grandpa May had returned with the tea they would talk about potential baby names and get her to tell the pranks that May had pulled in her agent days with a certain Hawkeye. Daisy was always reminded of a certain Clingy Clint she knew from the orphanage that ran away with his brother when she was eight. It would never fail to cheer her up.
It was during a Sunday lunch that Melinda May had arrived at her father’s house unannounced and shaken up. Daisy had only just arrived and was sitting in the living room with a cup of tea when the doorbell rang. Grandma May went to answer the door and suddenly a steam of Mandarin was heard followed by the door shutting and two sets of footsteps walking towards the living room. Daisy could not help the surprised gasp that escaped her mouth.
May looked dead on her feet, her skin tone was grey and she looked sick, not to mention she did not even seem to register that Daisy was in the room even when she sat next to her on the sofa. Grandpa May came in with a cup of steaming tea and offered it to her before sitting on the coffee table in front of Melinda. Grandma May sat on her other side.
When Melinda had taken a sip of tea she started talking about how she was possessed by this ghost-like creature and the only way to rid her of it was to kill her. Radcliffe (a new scientist on the team who had previously worked for HIVE) and Jemma had worked out a way to stop her heart for long enough for the ghost-like thing to leave her body before restarting it. However, something had gone wrong and it took them longer than planned to get her heart to restart. Whilst she was dead she saw Andrew and Daisy. At the sight of them, she started to cry but then she saw Coulson and he told her that she needed to go back. She tried to tell him that she just wanted to hold Daisy one more time and tell her that she loves her, but the next thing she remembers was Jemma standing over her with the defibrillators in her hands crying and babbling that she was alive. Yet all Melinda could feel was despair because Daisy could be dead because she was there with Andrew and yet Coulson was also there but he wasn’t dead. But all that she wanted was to find her and never let her go again.
Throughout Melinda's story Daisy could feel herself crying and by the time she had finished Daisy all but threw herself on to Melinda (well as much as she could with her huge belly). She started babbling about how she was alive and that she was so sorry that she had made Melinda think that she was dead. She just didn’t know how to let her know she was alive without getting onto SHIELD’s radar again and she was so sorry. Melinda finally noticed who was sitting next to her (well now almost on top of her) and grabbed hold of Daisy. Hugging her, mumbling about how she was so happy to be alive and chanting how she loves Daisy so much and Daisy was in so much trouble for running away. She of course forgave her as long as she promises to never do that again. All of this was done whilst she was crying and kissing the top of Daisy’s head. Grandma May was also silently crying and had a steady hand on both her girls' backs anchoring them in the emotional storm that was happening within them. Grandpa May moved so that he could support Daisy and had his arm wrapped around her shoulders. His hand rested on Melinda’s shoulder whilst his other hand was resting on Lian’s knee as the girls continued to cry in each other’s arms.
It was almost 30 minutes later before the family could bring themselves to separate but Melinda kept one of Daisy’s hands firmly grasped in both of hers feeling like if she let go then Daisy would disappear. Her father left the room to get everyone a fresh cup of tea and to put the food in the oven to start a late lunch. Whilst he was gone, Daisy started to tell Melinda how she found out she was pregnant and how she had ended up where she was now with Lian pitching in where needed. Daisy had gotten embarrassed when Lian told Melinda how she insisted that Daisy call her and Melinda’s father Grandma and Grandpa.
“What else would my daughter call her grandparents?” Melinda asked rhetorically.
After that Daisy had cuddled right up to Melinda and carried on with her tale now secure in the fact that Melinda really did see her as her daughter. Just like Daisy saw Melinda as her Mom.
Once Daisy had finished her story, the food was ready and by unspoken agreement the heavy subjects were tabled for a later time. The lunch table was filled with stories from rookie days and how the baby had started to do cartwheels in her stomach when she wanted to sleep and was increasing the amount of times they would kick her as her due date approached. However, Melinda was speechless for a few minutes when Daisy revealed that her hacker handle was Skyenet the hacker that Fury had been hounding to get on his payroll before bursting into laughter stating how Agent Hand had been tasked with recruiting Skyenet and yet when she had her under her roof she proceeded to kick her off the bus.
May had to leave again after a few days but before she left she promised to take time off around Daisy’s due date so she could be there for the birth of her grandchild. True to her word when Artemis Qiaolian May was born she was right there and was the second person to hold her after Daisy.
Flashback ends
Daisy came out of her reflection when Melinda suddenly gasped and started to struggle against the restraints tying her to the bed. Daisy and Grandma May immediately got up to stop her from hurting herself. As soon as Melinda saw both Daisy and her mother, she stopped struggling but the panic was clear in her eyes. Lian, seeing the panic, laid her hand on her daughter's arm, “I understand everything is very overwhelming right now but let the medics take a quick look at you so we can move you from this room. Once they cleared you and we get you out of this bed we will answer all your questions.” Melinda clearly did not like that answer but her mouth was so dry and not using her voice for months did not allow her to voice her disagreements. (well that and she knew once her mother had decided something there was little to no chance of changing her mind). So Melinda laid there whilst the CIA medics checked her over and gave her some medicine for her voice so she could at least attempt to talk. The medics after completing their checks determined that she was slightly malnourished and dehydrated but the main thing that concerned them was that because she had been immobile for so long she had lost 80% of her muscles. The following statement that she would have to use a wheelchair for at least a month whilst doing intense PT before she could attempt to walk. That did not go down so well if Melinda’s glare was anything to go by but as weak as she felt, Melinda could not do much to dissuade the medics (nevermind her mother and daughter) that she definitely would not be getting into that wheelchair they brought into the room. So she was picked up by her daughter and unceremoniously plopped into the wheelchair, wheeled out of the room into a different room that clearly was styled as a living room with a floor to ceiling window showing the vast blueness of the Pacific ocean. There was a 3 seater couch and 2 comfy looking chairs. Melinda was placed in the middle of the couch with her mother and daughter flanking her.
Once settled Melinda wrapped her arm around her daughter as much as she was able needing the comfort from living within a nightmare for months. After Daisy had snuggled into her side she pressed her nose into Daisy’s hair and asked her first question, “Artemis?” wanting to know how her granddaughter was doing was a lot more important than what ever had happened to her.
Chuckling softly in her arms Daisy replied, “Still not allowing me to sleep through the night but otherwise perfectly healthy and will definitely be happy to see her grandma.”
Melinda smiled at that before turning to her mother and in her now hoarse voice asked, “Where are we and how did I end up here? Last thing I remember was being in Radcliffe's house confronting him about AIDA and then I was in the Framework.”
Her mother grabbed her hand that wasn’t around Daisy and started to answer, “You’ve been in the Framework for roughly 3 months. We only figured out that something was wrong roughly six weeks ago when you didn’t come home for Daisy’s birthday or call. The next time I called you, you did not even ask about Hayley or apologize about missing Daisy’s birthday.”
Clearly the fact that it took her so long to figure out something was wrong was eating at her mother so she squeezed her hand to show that she didn’t hold it against her. Smiling slightly Lian carried on, “Unfortunately even with the knowledge that something was wrong we could do nothing until your LMD came home a week ago. She started claiming that she was in the neighborhood on a solo mission and she had a cut that she couldn't reach to stitch up. Of course I immediately saw the wires under her skin and immediately put a bullet in the LMD’s brain.”
Daisy snorted at that and Lian carried on with a small twitch of her lips, “Naturally by doing that I had destroyed some of the motherboard but Daisy was able to retrieve the data and 2 days ago she managed to trace the signal here. We then created a task force to clean house in the SHIELD base where we detected more LMD’s. Whilst this the task force would storm this place and rescue everyone who had been stuck in the Framework.”
Whilst her mother had been talking Daisy had cuddled further into her. “Who were all replaced by LMD’s in my team?”
Daisy snorted, “Who wasn’t switched is an easier question. Everyone had been switched except for Jemma and Yo-Yo. Even Radcliffe had been switched by AIDA when he started to gain a moral code and wanted to shut down AIDA.”
Melinda smirked at that. “Well I wish him all the best in the deepest hole he can be put in.”
An agent then appeared at the door. “Director May, everyone has woken up and have been given a brief overview on what happened whilst being checked over by the medics. Agent Marlow says that everyone has been prepared for transport and are awaiting your orders.”
Giving her daughter’s hand one last squeeze she released her and stood up. “Start loading everyone up and start prepping the charges. Skynet go back to the mainframe and wipe all the data from it. I don’t want any backups, the Framework and everything with it will be permanently destroyed today. After you are done we shall meet you at the entrance and once all craft has cleared the danger area we will blow this place to pieces.”
Saluting, the Agent left to carry out his orders. With one last squeeze, Daisy untangled herself from her mother and left to go to the server room.
Left alone with her mother, Melinda was helped back into the wheelchair. Kneeling in front of her daughter to help her place her feet onto the feet rests she starts talking, “Daisy has given us permission to tell your team about her and everything that has happened over the past year. However, it is up to you if you want to or not. She said that it is up to you as she is very happy right now and it is you who has had to lie to your team for the past… well for the 2 months before you were captured. She also said that she has absolutely no intention of rejoining SHIELD even remotely ever.”
Lian proceeded to get up and started to push her daughter out of the room and towards the underwater craft from which they had arrived, leaving Melinda to her thoughts.
Whilst she was being pushed towards their ride, Melinda ran through all her options and their potential outcomes. She also acknowledged that due to her lack of muscles she would probably be out of the field for months if not a year and even then there was no guarantee that she would ever be back to her best as she was getting rather old. Thinking about Daisy, Melinda realised that she has been completely absent from her daughter and granddaughters life since her granddaughter was a week old and truthfully all Melinda ever wanted was a family of her own and now she has it… well it might be time to holster her gun and start enjoying her time with her family.
With that in mind she makes her decision. Looking over her shoulder at her mother she asks, “Can Daisy get a hold of the retirement papers from SHIELD? I think once we come clean about Daisy and land I’m going to send in my resignation. I want to enjoy the world I have helped save for all these years with my family, it's time someone else takes up my post.”
Lian smiled, “I am very sure she will have all the papers before we even breach the surface. Are you sure this is what you want?”
Melinda just turned her head and locked eyes with Daisy who was waiting at the entrance to the craft.
“I am sure. I’m ready to come home.”