AN: First of all: WHOA. The response to the first chapter was WAAYY more than I ever expected! I can't thank you guys enough, its so great knowing that there are people that are actively waiting for me to update. You guys are amazing. Secondly: This may actually be a decently-long story, so I do hope that you stick with it. The way its looking right now is around 10-12 chapters, so space that out over weekly updates and its a few months. Holiday months. So please bear with me if I get busy and maybe forget to post on Sundays. Anywho, I'm dragging now, soooo... ONWARDS!

She was trapped. Black surrounded her with no end in sight. Her body felt foreign to her, as though she was merely contained in it, not part of it. Strange noises came from the blackness. When she focused on them, they cleared. Voices. Simmons and Coulson.

"Yes, I'm sure. There are no drugs left in her system. She should be waking up."

"So why isn't she? If she's stable, why would her body send her into a coma?"

"I don't know, sir. I've done everything I can, but she's not responding. All we can do is wait and hope she comes out of it."

The voices faded, and Daisy felt as though she weighed a thousand pounds. Weary, she let herself sink into the abyss of nothingness that enveloped her.
-

The next time Daisy started to wake, she listened closely before opening her eyes. There was no sound, except for a familiar breathing pattern that she couldn't quite place. She slowly lifted her eyelids.

The sight that met her was the farthest thing from expected. She was laying on a couch in what appeared to be the lobby of an expansive, pure-white theater, and across from her sat Grant Ward, a small grin on his face. She bolted upright and raised her hands, preparing to defend herself if necessary, her face a mixture of anger and shock.

"Where am I, and what the hell are you doing here?"

Ward chuckled. "I don't know exactly where we are, but I'm here because I'm mostly dead, which I sincerely hope is not the case with you."

Her thoughts collecting themselves, she smirked and relaxed. "Ah yes, that's right. This is my subconscious."

"Uh, no, it's not. I can promise you that."

"I'm in a coma, wh-"

The man across from her looked alarmed and cut her off. "Hang on, why are you in a coma? Are you okay?"

Daisy furrowed her brow. "I heard Coulson say I was stable, they just don't know why I'm not waking up."

The former agent relaxed. "But you'll be okay. That's good."

Rolling her eyes, the Inhuman stood and stretched, flexing her fingers and scowling when nothing happened. She tried to send a shockwave through the floor, then noticed that she couldn't feel the vibrations of the earth like normal. She huffed and crossed her arms.

"Great, no gift in my subconscious. This is a wonderful dreamscape."

"I'm telling you, this is not your subconscious. Its like... A bridge world. Between dead and alive. I know it's weird, but it's real," Ward stated.

The girl thought about it for a moment before deciding to keep an open mind. After all, if Thor was possible, why wasn't an in-between world? She narrowed her eyes.

"Okay, but that doesn't explain why you're here."

Ward leaned back in his chair and looked at her with a curious expression. "What did Coulson say happened to me? I've wondered about that a few times."

"He told us that you saved him and Fitz by sacrificing yourself to It while they jumped through the portal."

"Seriously? That's what he told you? How kind of him to make me into a saint," he said as he laughed.

Daisy raised an eyebrow. "My gift allows me to sense when people are lying to me."

"Then you didn't hear it from him. Who told you? Bobbi? Simmons?" He shrugged. "It'd be the truth to them. You wouldn't be able to tell."

She thought back. It had been Jemma that'd told her. And since it never occurred to her that Phil might be hiding something, she'd never thought to ask him directly.

"Why would he say that if it's not what really happened? He has no love for you, he wouldn't hesitate to throw more dirt."

"Unless the truth would get him in trouble. You got a visit from the CIA a couple of days after getting back, didn't you?"

She nodded, confusion prominent in her features.

"Well, if Coulson would've taken me back to stand trial like he should have, you would've learned that I worked for the CIA. Hack their systems when you wake up, find Operation Phoenix. I was Agent SOLAR."

The girl stared in disbelief, then blinked a few times, clearing her head. "So... What actually happened?"

Grant sighed. "My orders were to keep my cover no matter the cost, but I didn't exactly want to be abandoned on an alien planet, so I tried to run for the portal. But Coulson got the upper hand. He pinned me and crushed my ribcage."

There was heavy silence for a moment as Daisy absorbed this new information.

"Then you're dead. If this is an in-between world, why are you here?"

"That creature that Malick was obsessed with? It needs a host. A dead one. I was the nearest corpse. But messages still have to get to and from the brain in order for it to move, so my heart's beating. I'm mostly dead, not completely."

More silence, then another sigh from the ex-agent.

"Skye, I-"

"Actually, it's Daisy now," she corrected him. He smirked.

"Daisy, then. I know I hurt you, and not a day goes by that I don't regret everything I put our team through. But now that you know the truth, I would like your forgiveness."

The girl met his gaze, the sincerity and sadness in his eyes sending a pang of hurt through her chest.

"I don't know, Ward. I'm not really convinced this isn't all an elaborate dream to confront my demons or whatever."

He nodded. "Give it time, you'll see. I was the same way for a while. But, in the meantime, would you like to get something to eat?"

He extended his hand, and though she was leery for a moment, she took it. It wasn't like she had anything to lose, she was still in a coma. She would eventually wake up, and nothing she did in this strange world would be of any consequence. She hoped, at least.

And there's chapter two! If you're new, don't forget to follow so you're notified when it updates! Hope you'll leave some kind words in the review box for me!
PS: What do you guys think of the cover image? I'd love to know!
~J