"Can I come in?" May asked as she poked her head into Daisy's office.
"Yeah sure." Daisy said, not even looking up from her work.
"You seem to be adjusting to your position well." May said.
"I'm trying." Daisy said.
"And you're pushing yourself too hard too fast in the process." May said.
"Excuse me?" Daisy asked.
"You're going about rebuilding SHIELD the wrong way. The organization wasn't built overnight, let alone by one person. You can't shoulder it all on your own. That's not what being a director means." May said.
"I don't know what else to do. The president expects results from me and I'm doing whatever it takes to get them." Daisy said.
"And in the process you're burning yourself out. Look, I appreciate your commitment to your job, I really do, but the way you're doing it, it's not helping anyone, especially you. I'm gonna tell the same thing Fury told Coulson about rebuilding SHIELD. Take your time and do it right." May said.
"Well then, I guess I'm gonna need to get you a new lanyard. I don't think red is the right color for you anymore." Daisy said as she stood up.
"You're demoting me?" May asked.
"The opposite in fact. I'm promoting you to black. In addition to your responsibilities in the field and on Coulson's new team, you'll serve as my advisor, since you're right, rebuilding SHIELD is not a task for one person and both Coulson and Fury had people offering guidance to them when they ran SHIELD, so why shouldn't I. Besides, I think that way people won't think you're giving me motherly advice." Daisy said with a smile.
"And what's so wrong with that?" May asked with a smile of her own.
"Nothing, but people might think that I'm not being impartial to your suggestions if they think that it's from a mother to a daughter. This way it looks professional." Daisy explained.
"That's smart." May said.
"Well, I did learn from the best." Daisy said.
"Thank you for the promotion." May said.
"You've earned it. And feel free to rub it in Coulson's face that you outrank him, but make sure he knows that the team will still be his to command." Daisy said with a smile.
"It will be my pleasure." May said.
"I'll have a new lanyard for you soon." Daisy said.
Over the next few weeks, Daisy began to loosen up a little bit, slow down on her goals to rebuild SHIELD and she was becoming more like the woman she used to be before her promotion. She's also began to name more advisors for her board, naming Jemma her Special Advisor to the Director in Science and Technology and Lincoln her advisor in inhuman transformation, training and recruitment.
"You certainly seem relaxed." Lincoln said to his girlfriend as he climbed into bed next to her.
"Ever since I started to take things slow, I've found this job to be much easier for me. I can actually think clearly again. And it also helps to have people advising my decisions instead of making them entirely on my own. It's too much pressure. I see that now." Daisy said.
"You're able to get a whole night's sleep again. A major improvement." Lincoln said.
"Tell me about it. Plus, it's been good for us, since now I have people I trust aside from Mack to take care of things here, while we work on our relationship." Daisy said.
"I know. When does Simmons get back by the way?" Lincoln asked.
"2 weeks. I gave her and Fitz some extra time in the Bahamas to make up for when she was MIA." Daisy said with a smile as she climbed on top of Lincoln.
"I hope you're not too tired because we've got a restless night ahead of us." Daisy said.
"I'm always up for that kind of action." Lincoln assured her.
"May, you up for a trip to Queens?" Daisy asked.
"Depends on what it's for?" May said.
"Recruitment op courtesy of Tony Stark and Maria Hill. I need a pilot." Daisy said.
"On it, so why do you need to go to Queens for a recruitment opp? Can't you send someone else to do it?" May asked as they headed towards the hangar.
"No, this is a special case and I want to handle it personally. I'll give you the details on the flight." Daisy said.
"Copy that Director." May said.