Pairing: John/Daisy friendship, Daisy/Ralph, hints of John/Kelly
Suggested by: I don't at all remember.
Title: Daisy
Daisy sat on her cot, staring at the empty cot next to it. It was his cot, his place beside her, now he was gone. He'd left only hours ago. She supposed she should be glad that he was alive; not all of the failures were. The augmentations hadn't taken. They'd sent him away. He couldn't be a Spartan like her.
Daisy hadn't noticed as the shadow settled over her. She only looked away from the empty cot when a weight had settled down beside her. Daisy looked over to see the familiar face of her squad leader. "Thinking about him?"
For some reason his tone annoyed Daisy. It was flat and unemotional. She was in pain and he felt nothing. "I just miss him. We were friends, partners, and…I just miss him." She looked down toward the floor. Without Ralph, something felt missing.
"You two were very close. Two of the only ones brought back after you ran off." Daisy flinched at John's words. She wasn't particularly proud of having run off, or of what she found when she did. She wondered if John knew. If he knew his family had never missed him, that they'd never even known he was taken. Did he even care? John had fully embraced being a Spartan, something she was sad to say she had resisted. Now, she realized this really was the only place she had. Her family didn't miss her, she was a freak compared to normal people, and she was still sort of struggling to get the hang of her changing body.
"Yeah, there was one other." Daisy shook her head. "That was a mistake. We shouldn't have left."
"I'm glad you came back, and Ralph came back. This squad is a family, and family stands by each other." John finally looked at Daisy. "I'm sure that wherever Ralph goes, that he'll be all right. He's alive, and I'm sure he'll go on. Maybe he'll return home, find a way to still help with the effort." He stood up. "As long as he's alive, he'll be fine."
Daisy resented the words. He was so calm about it. She didn't care that John had no idea that Ralph had no home to go back to. To his parents he was dead, his clone had died, and he'd killed it. She'd let Ralph believe she'd killed her own clone. It seemed to ease his guilt. "That reminds me, how is Kelly?" The words were blunt and she knew full well exactly what they meant. John had always been close to Kelly, and the speedy woman was still in the medical bay, recovering. There had been whispers and rumors among the surviving Spartans about Kelly. They'd all tried to keep it quiet out of respect toward Sam and John. No reason to rub it in their face that their friend was on the brink of death.
John's voice was carefully neutral as he replied. "No word on her condition yet. It is still unclear if she will survive." Daisy looked over at him and flinched at the look on his face. Either he didn't care or didn't realize that he was showing his fear. He was looking at the cot but he didn't seem to be seeing it. His eyes were unfocused as though looking into the past, lost in the memories and thoughts of his female friend.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up. I know you and Sam must be worried." Daisy fidgeted slightly. She regretted having said the words. She could only hope she'd be able to smooth it over. "She's strong, I know she'll pull through." Daisy smiled, trying to lighten the mood. She hadn't meant to upset her squad leader that much. "At what point have you known Kelly to quit on you? Before you know it she'll be back at your side."
John didn't seem to be comforted by her words. He took a deep breath and calmed himself. "I hope so." He stood up, his face becoming perfectly neutral. "Come on, we need to get to medical. It's time for more of those scheduled shots."
Daisy groaned. "I hate those things. Ralph's lucky he doesn't have to deal with that." Daisy stood up and frowned. John nodded, not saying a word, and moved out of the barracks. Daisy trailed behind him, taking one last look back at the empty cot. She was content with knowing Ralph was alive somewhere, making a life for himself. She'd miss him, but it was better than losing him completely like might happen with Kelly. She put it all out of her mind for now. She needed to focus on fully recovering, and getting back to work.