I do not own Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.; just playing around with their characters after the heart-wrenching ending this week
Spoilers for 3x13
As the door to the interrogation room clicked shut with a feeling of finality, Bobbi stared straight ahead of her, the standard grey walls and steel table she was cuffed to having lost any semblance of interest long before the latest round of questions, and tried to fight down the feeling of de-ja-vu that was bubbling in her stomach. The situation was already too similar to the last time she'd been questioned by Interpol. Inhuman threat, the locals not being able to control it, her and Hunter stepping up to save innocent lives, being caught and interrogated by Interpol. Now all she could do was hope that was where the similarities would end. But considering what had happened last time, she didn't have much hope.
Before she and Hunter had been a part of S.H.I.E.L.D. A part of a team, people they knew they could count on and who knew they could count on them. Their friends. Their family. Then Siberia happened and they'd lost everyone but each other. She didn't regret her and Hunter's decision. They did what they needed to do, what S.H.I.E.L.D. had needed them to do. And they'd still had each other, but even with him nowhere they'd been had felt like home. This time it looked like they wouldn't be able to even keep each other; that the life she and Hunter had been able to scrape together from the ashes of Siberia would be torn away in the form of the prison sentence Coulson had saved them from.
This time there was no Coulson, no team standing by to help them escape. Hopelessness flared in her chest, and her eyes started to well with tears she wouldn't give her captors the satisfaction of seeing fall. Not since the night in the bar, when the team had gathered to say good-bye, had she felt their loss so keenly. Felt the emptiness inside where her heart used to be. Worse even, because then, at least, she'd had Hunter to hold on to.
Engulfed in her misery, trying hard not to wonder what was happening to Hunter, whom she hadn't seen or heard from since their arrest, Bobbi lost all track of time. It could have been minutes or hours or even days before the interrogation room door opened again and she wouldn't have noticed. Her life was truly over now; if there had been any question of that before it was answered the moment she looked into the face of Inspector Duval as he sat down across from her.
Satisfaction practically radiated off his body and a slight glee shone in his dark eyes. Duval had made no secret his distaste at her and Hunter's release last time. Bobbi had no doubt he would enjoy seeing them finally get what he thought they deserved.
"I have some good news and bad news for you Ms. Morse," he began in his slightly accented English. "Good news is you're being released from Interpol custody. Bad news is that you're being handed over to the agency the United Nations has recently formed to handle these so-called Inhumans and related threats."
He paused, as if waiting for Bobbi to react to his words, but all she did was stare blankly back at him. This was nothing she hadn't expected; it may have been a different agency but the end result would be the same. The complete loss of what little she had left.
After a moment Duval continued. "In a few moments we will be taking you and Mr. Hunter to an airfield where you will be handed over to the custody of Agent D. Johnson of the 'Strategic Hazard Intervention, Espionage and Logistics Directorate'."
Wait, what? Bobbi had been slightly smirking inside at Duval's stumbling over the long and awkward agency name, while trying to keep her emotionless expression when what he said hit her; Agent D. Johnson of the 'Strategic Hazard Intervention, Espionage and Logistics Directorate'. The name Johnson shouldn't really stand out, it was one of the most common surnames there was. And plenty of names started with D, for all that the name made Bobbi's heart twinge in remembrance. But the agency name was an entirely different matter. Strategic Hazard Intervention, Espionage and Logistics Directorate. S.H.I.E.L.D.
Duval continued to talk, but Bobbi didn't listen to a word he said; her mind racing even as other agents came in to escort her out. Only when she saw Hunter being escorted towards the waiting car as well was she drawn even momentarily out of her thoughts. And then it was only long enough to ascertain that he was unharmed and going to the same place as her.
The part inside Bobbi that had given up all hope told her that the agency name spelling S.H.I.E.L.D had to be a coincidence. It was similar to the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, but different enough that if the name's creators were dense enough it wouldn't be immediately apparent what the name spelled. Okay, make that really dense. Half the words were identical. And Division and Directorate were practically interchangeable.
A sliver of hope started to shine through the cloud of hopelessness and loss. D. Johnson. S.H.I.E.L.D. It was too much to be a coincidence. But even then, Bobbi refused to let herself fully believe. It might be too much to be a coincidence, but too much had happened, too much had been lost for her to let herself believe.
What Bobbi really wished was that she could talk to Hunter about it. But despite sitting next to each other as they drove out to the airfield, the presence of the Interpol agents made her keep her silence. It didn't seem like Duval had made the connection to the United Nations' agency's name to S.H.I.E.L.D., despite once again pointing out her previous employment by said agency during the interrogations. And if he hadn't she had no intention of cluing him in if the impossible was about to happen.
Once again, Bobbi lost all tack of time and after what felt like both an eternity and a second they arrived at the airfield. Glancing out the window, Bobbi could see single person stating near the end of an empty runway a short distance away. They didn't appear to have a transport nearby, but Bobbi knew better than to assume that meant anything.
As the SUV rolled to a stop, Bobbi and Hunter were unceremoniously pulled from the cab and lead towards man, who was clearly an agent. A quick glance at his unfamiliar face was enough for Bobbi's brief ray of hope to recede. Apparently, the United Nations really was that dense.
The fog of hopelessness returned to Bobbi's mind, so that she barely registered as Duval walked up to who appeared to be the lead agent and began talking with him.
"You must be Agent Johnson," She heard dimly, while looking over at Hunter and seeing her own emotions reflected in his eyes. As they stared at each other, Bobbi took a last mental picture of him. This new agency was an entirely unknown entity, and for all Bobbi knew they would separate her and Hunter after taking custody of them. Forever.
I love you, she mouthed at him, whishing that they weren't restrained so that she could hug him while pressing a kiss to his lips.
It looked like Hunter was about to respond in kind when the conversation around them ceased and the Interpol agents guarding them, pushed them forward.
Tearing her eyes away from Hunter, Bobbi steeled her resolve not to display any emotion and turned herself to face the waiting agent, only to halt suddenly in her tracks. At that moment two other agents were walking forward from a different direction; two all too familiar agents.
Alphonso 'Mack' Mackenzie and Daisy Johnson.
The lost hope rushed back in making Bobbi feel slightly giddy as the relief swept through her body, washing away all the fear and hopelessness in an instant. She didn't know how they did it nor did she care. All that mattered was everything was going to be okay now.
Fortunately, Duval didn't seem to notice either hers or Hunter's equally relieved reaction to seeing their friends as he turned to face the newcomer's.
"I assume one of you must be Agent Johnson," he said in a slightly exasperated tone. Bobbi wondered what had happened during the brief conversation with the other agent to annoy him so much. "I have orders to turn these two over to Agent Johnson and only Agent Johnson."
"I'm Agent Johnson." Daisy said, as she and Mack sided up to the group. Bobbi could see both of them glance towards her and Hunter, their gazes sweeping over them making sure they were unharmed.
Duval looked surprised at her proclamation. "You are Agent Johnson? I must admit, this surprises me. From what I've heard about you I was expecting someone more…" he trailed off as if unsure how to phrase it.
"Someone more like me?" Mack finished for him, and Bobbi had to stifle a laugh. From the slightly tense stances of her friends she had to assume they weren't completely free and clear just yet, and couldn't allow her giddiness at seeing them ruin anything. Being this close to them and losing them would be worse than her slight hopes never coming to fruition at all.
"Because I can assure you, that between the two of us she's the muscle."
Daisy smirked slightly beside him before speaking. "While I'd be more than happy to offer you a demonstration of my various skills under other circumstances, we have other matters to deal with that doesn't involve what you may or may not have heard about me. Inspector Duval you have the transfer of custody paperwork for me to sign I presume."
Duval pulled a form out of his jacket pocket but instead of placing it in Daisy's outstretched hand stared at the two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents for a moment, before turning to look at Bobbi and Hunter. He seemed to have subconsciously picked up on the vibe going on between the newcomers and his prisoners and didn't like it. Combined with his earlier annoyance, Bobbi could sense things just got a little trickier.
"I find I do not like this situation Agent Johnson. Your agency has just recently been formed and much of your jurisdiction is still under consideration by the United Nations and yet you come in and demand we turn our prisoners over to you. Based on what little protocol has been established it was assumed that we were merely informing you of the situation."
At his words, all the little pieces that had been floating around in the back of Bobbi's mind since first making the connection from the United Nations new agency to S.H.I.E.L.D. fell into place. S.H.I.E.L.D. had fairly recently been reorganized under the United Nations, hence the name change, and the extent of its authority was still under consideration. Daisy and Mack must have seen the report and were severely stretching what authority had already been determined in an effort to get her and Hunter out of trouble.
A warm fuzzy feeling spread through Bobbi's heart as she looked at her two friends. Knowing that there were people who would do just about anything for you, even after not having any kind of contact with you for so long, and seeing it in action were two very different things. Even if this gamble didn't work, she'd always be grateful to them for trying.
A subtle change came over Daisy that would have been unnoticeable to anyone who didn't know her, as she moved closer to Duval. "Believe me I understand," she said in a slightly flirty manner. "But you know how it is, the higher-ups give an order and we have to follow it."
Bobbi snorted under her breath. She doubled either Coulson or May had any idea what Daisy and Mack were up to right now. Not that they wouldn't have approved even if they did.
"However in this situation, the protocol has been established. We have jurisdiction in regards to anything and everything involved in a situation with an Inhuman. That includes regular humans as well. Since these two were the ones to take down the Inhuman in question, their fate is determined by us."
She stepped closer and gently placed her hand on Duval's arm and smiled shyly up at him. "If it makes you feel better, I give you my word that after we have determined exactly what happened, their actions will receive the treatment they deserve."
Bobbi held her breath, as Duval considered Daisy's words, not daring to make eye contact with anyone. If Duval didn't buy this, then they were all in deep trouble. Fortunately, after a moment he nodded his agreement and handed the papers over to Daisy to sign.
She quickly handed them back before moving with Mack to take over for the Interpol agents still holding Bobbi and Hunter. The two grinned at them slightly, and Bobbi grinned back as Daisy placed her hand on her arm and pulled her forward.
Before they could move too far Duval called out again. "Are you sure you three are enough to handle them? As I mentioned in that report these two were affiliated with S.H.I.E.L.D. before its collapse. They are very dangerous."
"I'm sure we'll be fine." Mack responded. "We're not exactly pushovers ourselves. Besides we don't have very far to go." As if to prove his point he waved his hand behind him, and the previously cloaked quinjet appeared just behind where they were standing. The other agent must have been the pilot who slipped on board without anyone noticing.
The four were already on the ramp by the time Duval managed to speak again. "Your agency has some advanced toys. 'Strategic Hazard Intervention, Espionage and Logistics Directorate'," he huffed, almost to himself. "That's quite a mouthful. Maybe you people should consider something shorter to call yourselves."
"Don't worry," Daisy called back. "We already have. The name was actually selected around what we already called ourselves"
Duval stared at them, and when Bobbi glanced back she could see his face turning red in realization. "Why you…" he yelled as he and his agents moved forward. But the quinjet was already moving.
Daisy shouted to him just as the ramp was closing. "On behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D., I deeply thank you for the safe return of our agents. I look forward to this level of cooperation in the future."
"What?" She asked innocently in response to the look Mack gave her as she turned back around. "Coulson told us we had to play nice. I was being polite."
Bobbi laughed in relief, releasing the tension that had been building up, well pretty much since Siberia. She was quickly joined by Hunter, then Daisy, and finally Mack.
"Whatever you say, Tremors." He stated, after getting enough air back into his lungs to speak. "Just for that, you get to explain to Coulson what happened."
Instead of answering, Daisy just huffed at him and moved to remove Bobbi's restraints. Mack shook his head, and followed suit with Hunter's. As soon as the restraints were off, Bobbi threw her arms around Daisy in a tight hug that was quickly reciprocated. After a moment she released her and moved to Mack as Daisy and Hunter hugged as well.
"Thank you." Bobbi said fervently to both of them, as she released Mack. "I thought we were really done there for a moment."
"You and me both love," Hunter agreed. "Really, mates, we can't thank you enough."
"You don't need to thank us," Mack injected. "What are friends for?"
"Besides, you guys would have done the same for us." Daisy agreed.
There was nothing more to say. Despite having a thousand questions Bobbi wanted to ask. About the team, about S.H.I.E.L.D., for a time she was content to just sit with them in silence, resting in Hunter's embrace. No one else seemed inclined to break the silence either. Not even the pilot, who'd been so quiet, Bobbi had somewhat forgotten there was even a fifth person on the jet.
They all just sat together, just enjoying being in their presence again after so long of wondering if they'd ever see the other's again. That was until the ringing of Daisy's phone broke the silence.
She jerked slightly, and scrambled to get the phone out of her pocket. When she made a face at it Bobbi knew exactly who it was. "Coulson." It was a statement, not a question.
Daisy just nodded her head, and answered. The conversation wasn't long. And despite the only thing Bobbi could hear of it was Daisy's occasional 'yes, sir's' she had a fairly good idea of what was being said.
"Sir," Daisy said after Coulson had apparently said his peace. "You might want to read the report as to who exactly was involved in the situation. It will explain exactly why Mack and I acted the way we did." Then she hung up the phone.
"Everything alright?" Bobbi asked quietly. As grateful as she was for Daisy and Mack for getting her and Hunter out of there, she really hoped their actions wouldn't negatively affect S.H.I.E.L.D.'s standing with the United Nations. They hadn't done what they did in Siberia for it to all fall apart after everything was seeming to go so well.
"It won't be a problem." Mack answered for Daisy. "Everyone involved knows you two saved the Prime Minister's life last time and a whole bunch of innocent people this time. Interpol was just being petty about needing 'civilians' to do their work for them."
There was nothing to say after that, and the four lapsed back into the quiet enjoyment of the other's presence. In no time, the quinjet was making its landing, and they were filing off the jet and into the Playground.
As soon as Bobbi stepped through the doors into the main portion of the base, it was apparent that Coulson had taken Daisy's advice and read the report, because standing under an obviously hastily put together welcome banner with relieved expressions on their faces were the rest of the team. Coulson, May, Fitz, and Simmons; the rest of their family.
Bobbi looked over at Hunter, and seeing the same emotions in his eyes that she felt, grabbed his hand and moved to joint their team.
It was funny, Bobbi reflected as they all tried to wrap their arms around her and Hunter all at once in a giant group hug, how such similar situations could have such different results. One had torn them from the people they love, the other had brought them back to them. Finally, she was home.
While after Tuesdays episode, I'm not quite as against the Bobbi/Hunter spin-off as I was before, I still would much rather have the two of them stay on Agent's of S.H.I.E.L.D. Especially, if Most Wanted doesn't get taken to series. So this is how I imagined they might return to where they belong. The only beta was myself and spell check, so all errors are my own. Hope you enjoyed.