Dismissed from Coulson's office, Lincoln made his way back to his bunk with a confunded expression on his face. What was Coulson playing at? May had already taken him on a few field tests, but it seemed like Coulson wanted his own vision to make judgement on his abilities. Clearly, this was like a final.
As Lincoln changed into his tact gear, he tried not to think about the diagnosed problems Coulson had apparently memorized. It had never really occurred to him that all of those problems were so related until they had been put into a list. While his alcohol abuse had certainly led to his temper issues and his power control issues, he had never thought about his self destructive tendencies as anything other than putting everyone but himself first. Perhaps there was something to be gained by understanding that. It was his excuse, not his reasoning. One of the only times Lincoln had tried to be selfish was when he had pretended he didn't have powers and didn't have a duty to help his people. It wasn't his problem the contagion was spreading.
God, he was so fucked up.
A voice clearing interrupted his thoughts as he pulled on his shirt, turning to the door to see Daisy poking her head in, concern written on her face. "Hey, you." He said in greeting, allowing her entrance with a nod of his head.
"How'd it go?" She asked. Lincoln wasn't sure if he wanted to tell her, but as was pointed out, he was a terrible and god awful liar. "Apparently Dr. Garne r felt it fitting to label me a sociopath, but all together, nothing else I wasn't aware of. Coulson wants to take me on a mission, details as needed." Daisy's reaction was instant.
"What? Oh my God. Is he gonna give you the shovel talk or something?" Lincoln couldn't help but laugh, a smile brought to his lips. "I think it's a test. I'm a probationary agent now, and if the Director wants to have a personal account of my work in the field, I can't say no, can I?"
Daisy hummed in response, checking him over before pointing at his hip. "Tighten your gun belt or it will bounce and you'll have a bruise from the strap if you need to run." Her hands beat his there, tugging the strap taught until it snapped against his leg like a second skin through his pants. Her hand rested on his hip for a moment before her eyes travelled up to look at him. "You'll be fine. Just don't lose your cool and tase Coulson over one of his crap jokes, okay? Remember, go with the feeling. You control it, not the other way around."
A small smile lifted her lips and Lincoln felt his heart soften at the gesture, reminded of the other night when they had lost control together. "I'll try not to tase anyone unless I have to."
Fingers lifted to stroke her cheek, pushing a few stray hairs back behind her ear. "You don't want that in your file, Rookie." She teased, leaning into his hand when it came to rest on her cheek. "But you better not turn up dead, either."
Lincoln snorted, "How does one turn up dead , Daisy? It's like 'waking up dead'. I feel there's a logical argument missing in colloquialisms."
"Okay, I know you weren't a linguistics major, so I need you to chill ." Teasing. She leaned up as he leaned down, pressing their foreheads together. "Remind Coulson that May and I have a lot invested in you and that Simmons needs your brain if he threatens you." Lincoln chuckled, "Got it. I got it. Be safe, okay?" Kissing the tip of her nose before pecking her lips, he pulled away and grabbed his pack. "You too. Take care of him and yourself. I'll see you soon." She smiled and watched him leave before following and shutting the door. Heading the other direction to head to Coulson's office, hoping to catch him before he went to meet Lincoln at the garage.
"Coulson, you cannot kill my boyfriend." May looked up from her conversation with Phil to see Daisy standing in the doorway. Coulson gave a sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I'm not going to kill him, you and May can take your accusations of an impending shovel talk and shelf them... Though I really want to." Daisy's eyes snapped to May with a raise of her eyebrow as she smiled. "I'm afraid I beat you to it. Lincoln needs someone in his corner that isn't directly involved. But the Director does have a valid reason. Lincoln hasn't been on a true mission where he can be observed other than going after An-Lash and to the castle to find Fitz and Simmons. As a rookie agent, he needs an SO-" Stopping Daisy with a look as she opened her mouth, May continued, "That isn't you. We all know you're a little too close, but I see no problem with you continuing to spar with him." Coulson made a noise in the back of his throat as Daisy briefly flushed. Sometimes May enjoyed surprising people with a bit of humor.
"So it's going to be you?" Daisy asked when she recovered after a pause. May shrugged, tilting her head at Coulson. "Or him." "Or both." Coulson corrected, standing and giving his bionic hand a slight tug to test its attachment. "I haven't had a rookie in a long time, but I think this would be a good opportunity. I want him on this team, Daisy. He's a doctor, he has powers, and he's loyal. He tries to do the right thing by a strong path of morals." May noted that Coulson didn't point out what or, really, who he was loyal to, but now wasn't the time to point that out. Daisy seemed to accept this. "Did Andrew really call him a sociopath?" Coulson nodded and May raised her eyebrow, unaware of her ex-husband's evaluation on Lincoln.
"Yes, but it seems that this was after he had went through terrigenesis and after he had read Jiaying's journals. There was a biased opinion involved, but I can understand how he would reach so far. Other psych evals read one issue after another. While I can excuse them for the most part, I wish to be sure. I'm mostly concerned with the self destructive tendecies that seem to be hinted at in all of them. And his lack of control." Daisy shrugged. "His control is based on his stress levels. If he's calm, he's like, the Zen master. And I haven't seen him really try and destroy himself. He's only really done what was right." Coulson nodded. "Because running from us and the ATCU wasn't self destructive. I think, and I'm not a shrink, but I think his evaluations stemmed from the lack of control in his life, powers or otherwise. I just want to be sure, because family history was disregarded before-"
"And ended up with a psycho running rampant."
"-A mistake I don't intend on repeating ever again. So, yes, I will be taking him out on a mission. You have your own if you want to meet with Fitz for your briefing."
"Yes, sir, DC. Don't traumatize him, I really like him. And as you said, he's useful." Daisy answered with a smile before turning and leaving, grateful for the distraction from her boyfriend's impending shovel talk.
Coulson turned to May after Daisy had left and raised an eyebrow. "The only person I ever gave a talking to was Andrew." May gave a low chuckle. "And I remember he called me, thinking you were going to blow up his car when he was driving away and wanted to make sure he had a witness. My father gave him one right after that. He claimed it was scarier than my mother's and yours combined."
"Your father is a smart man." Coulson grinned, heading to the door. "If you have a chance, go talk with Simmons. She signed out a gun and went to the range. I think she needs a friend right now." May nodded before speaking, "And Coulson?" The director turned his head in acknowledgement. "Don't threaten him with becoming a chum bucket. That's a little excessive. Besides... dibs."
