Disclaimer: All rights belong to Disney, Marvel, and all the men and women that created the Agents of SHIELD TV shows, and comics. I take no credit, and I do not mean to break any copyright rules. This is simply a work of fiction made for enjoyment. No money is being made.

Rating: T for dark themes, graphic violence, mentions of torture, drug abuse, supernatural violence, major character death, and minor language

Author's Note: Sorry for the almost-month long wait! I was on vacation and didn't have access to my computer. Hopefully the wait just made you guys suspenful ;)

Chapter 37: Pull Outs and Plights

Daisy heads back to Robbie's apartment that afternoon. Gabe is home when she walks in.

"You're back," he notes. "But where's Robbie?"

"He's not coming back yet. I'm just here to pick up my stuff." She doesn't think Gabe understands exactly what she means by that, but that's okay. This is hard enough for her already without having to deal with Gabe's disappointment.

She heads into the guest room and starts packing her few belongings in a bag. There's not many physical objects here - just the necessities. It isn't hard to pack those up.

It's the memories that come with them and that live in the apartment that are hard to pick up and move. She'd grown fond of Robbie and Gabe in the past month and a half. Things had been going so well, too. For once since Lincoln's passing, she had started to feel okay again, like maybe the world could go on. Her heart had grown back, only for her to give it away again.

It's the whole Ghost Rider business that, in the end, destroyed everything. All of her and Robbie's fights happened as a result of something the Ghost Rider had caused or done.

Which is ironic because Daisy never would have stayed with Robbie for more than two days if he hadn't been able to help her get vengeance as the Ghost Rider.

The same thing that brought them together had torn them apart in the end. The cosmos are a cruel thing.

Daisy hears the door creak open, and Gabe wheels himself in. "You're taking everything?" He looks so confused. "Are you leaving?"

"Yeah. Sorry to bother you." She works quickly to pack up a few last items.

"No! I mean, it's not a bother. I don't want you to go."

Gabe looks at her with his big brown eyes, and her resolve almost melts. Daisy isn't a crier, but she feels her eyes sting. That's exactly what she wanted him to say, and yet it's the one thing she can't hear right now. She's still hanging from the edge on this decision - by her fingertips, yes, but still hanging.

"Sometimes in life we have to do things we don't like," she says, more to herself than him. "For me, this is one of those things."

"Did Robbie kick you out again? Because he's an idiot. Don't listen to him." Gabe never lessens the intensity of his stare. She thinks his eyes are watering, too, but she looks down too quickly to be sure.

"Gabe, your brother and I..." Suddenly she doesn't know how to word it. "We broke off whatever it is we had."

The kid frowns. "Why? I thought you guys liked each other."

Yeah, so did I. "Is it real if neither of us can admit to it? He wasn't willing to ask me to stay, and I am tired of waiting for him."

"Like I said, he's an idiot. You don't have to leave." Gabe reaches forward and touches her arm. "Please don't go. And not just for me. Robbie never realizes what he has until he loses it. You make him a better person. You keep him anchored in a way even I can't."

"Gabe, I don't want to leave. Trust me." She takes a deep breath to settle her voice. She feels one of her hands slip off the metaphorical edge. "But I have to. It would be awkward if I stuck around, and I need to move on. If there's one thing Robbie taught me, it's that we have to leave the past in the past before it comes to haunt our present and future."

Gabe presses his lips together and is silent for a long time. Finally he nods. "Okay. I understand. But don't hesitate to call or visit."

She smiles a little, relieved that at least she managed to patch things up with the younger Reyes brother. "I will. Stay out of trouble while I'm gone."

As she grabs the bag of her items and heads out, she hears Gabe call her name.

"Yeah?" She turns to see him watching her, the expression on his face showing that he wants to say something but can't find the right words.

"I know Robbie and you aren't telling me everything," he begins, his face struggling. "If you guys are involved in something dangerous, just stay safe. Please. Can you pass that on to him for me?"

Daisy nods. She wonders how much the boy has figured out, and she feels slightly guilty for having to keep him in the dark. "Of course. And I would suggest you stay with a friend for the next few days - it might be a while before Robbie comes back home."

She leaves for good this time, releasing her remaining grip and letting go completely. Numb, she notices that all her possessions from here fit in one bag, and for some reason that makes her feel even more sad.

She doesn't want to forget the Reyes boys or the valuable lessons she's learned from them. Although she told Gabe she'd visit, she's not sure if she actually will. Sometimes it's best to just leave things behind. Sometimes that includes people. She has to work with Robbie until the mafia and the gang are disbanded, but after that Robbie is going straight to prison. She can't do anything to prevent that, and she doesn't want to face Gabe when he hears the news. He'll hate her.

She needs to just keep moving forward. That's the important thing in life.

But part of her feels like she's just accepting defeat. Why is she always running instead of facing her problems? Is she just so willing to give up everything and everyone in her life? Does she have anything worth fighting for? If not, why?

What if she just doesn't know what is and isn't worth fighting for?

She didn't fight for Lincoln. She just cowered behind him like scared little girl. She didn't fight for her father. She stood by and watched her mother murder him. She didn't fight for Robbie. She just walked away.

Why should she expect anyone to fight for her if she isn't even willing to fight for anyone else?

Then it hits her - no one fights for her. Not anymore, at least. She's lost everyone who ever considered her valuable. And she lost them because she didn't consider them worthwhile.

Maybe she keeps losing because she's not willing to risk anything to win. No pain, no gain, the saying goes.

Daisy wants to start winning. She's lost enough already. She needs to start fighting.

But where does she start?

Before she can find the answer to that question, her phone buzzes. It's a message from May.

Base under attack. Segundo Cielo responsible. They're after Eli. Get back here ASAP.

There. She can start there. Daisy starts up her car and floors it out of the parking lot and towards the SHIELD base.

Robbie feels awful. He's still standing in the middle of the conference room, his arms slack at his side, wondering what he could've done to make her stay.

Why is his mouth dry of words? One simple word could have kept her here. One little plea. Just one. But his mind is speechless and his mouth frozen shut.

He wants to find her, to apologize, but once again he can't think of anything to say. He will just freeze up again.

Maybe they are hopeless. Maybe it had been for the best that things ended now, painfully but not crushing. At least this way things aren't completely ruined between them.

Robbie decides to take a walk around the base to clear his mind and think things through. Today is his first day out of the cell, and he'd been so busy first with Eli and then with Daisy to actually take the time to explore the place.

If you're going to be in the hands of the enemy, you might as well scope them out.

He doesn't end up paying as much attention to the building layout as he should. His thoughts are preoccupied with a certain young woman who keeps blazing into his life as quickly as she leaves.

Robbie always imagined himself as a passionate person, but the fire inside her puts him to shame.

There were times, like when he first met her, that she was subdued and dim, but even through her suffering there were glowing embers that burst into a raging fire once she made up her mind.

Robbie wonders where he would rather be right now: meeting her again for the first time and getting to see that fire started, or being in the present, knowing her and having good memories but also having to watch her walk away.

He settles on the present. It's better to know what you're missing and having memories to fall back on in hard troubles. Feeling regret and pain reminds you of your humanity. If he was in the past, he wouldn't know what he was going to eventually have and then lose.

He doesn't give up all hope, though. Once this is all over, once the Ghost Rider leaves him and if he's granted amnesia from his crimes, he'll call her. Maybe they can actually be together once things are normal again.

Robbie glances to his left and peers through the glass sliding doors into the lab. The curly-haired guy is in there, working on some new invention. Even in his short time here, Robbie has noticed that the scientist, Simmons, is always by his side. For some reason she's not right now.

The mechanic is about to move on when an explosion rocks the whole base. Robbie is thrown sideways into the barrier of the lab. The glass shatters under the impact and he falls to the ground, tiny shards pricking his exposed skin.

There are a few more blasts. Robbie groans and rolls over, his whole side sore where he had hit the wall and then the floor.

There is the sound of footsteps, and Robbie looks up to see the engineer standing above. "You alright?" he asks in his heavy Scottish accent.

Robbie takes a deep breath and pushes himself up, broken glass digging into his hand sharply.

"What was that?" he rasps, instantly on alert despite the pain.

"We're under attack from someone. It'll be fine. The STRIKE teams will take care of it."

"Under attack" is fine? What kind of place is this?

"Who is it? What do they want?" The answer suddenly dawns on him, and he reaches up to grab the guy's arm. "It's Segundo Cielo. They're here for Eli."

The guy frowns, but he doesn't appear too troubled. "Coulson will take care of it."

Robbie winces as he pulls out glass from his palms. "We'll see. Where's Agent Simmons? She seems like she knows what's going on."

"Right, she does." The scientist thinks for a moment. "She went down to do something...an examination, I think." His eyes suddenly widen. "She went down to check on Eli! She's in danger! We have to go help her."

He grabs two guns from the table and hands one to Robbie. He notices immediately that it's not a normal gun, but he doesn't ask questions. He just follows the engineer, favoring his right side as they move quickly through the base.

There are other teams of agents rushing towards the scene of the invasion, but Fitz - Robbie hears his name from someone else - pushes past them all, and Robbie follows directly behind.

He doesn't know where Daisy is, but he hopes she's safe.

As for him, he needs to secure his uncle. If Segundo Cielo manages to get him away, he may never find the man again.

And the safety of the city relies on Eli's capture and testimony.

The whole side of the building is blown apart, the scene getting worse as they get closer to the cells. The sound of machine gun fire ensues from the scene. Fallen agents are periodically scattered on the ground.

Robbie and Fitz duck behind some rubble for cover. Everything is so chaotic that Robbie has no idea what's happening.

"The cells were right over there," Fitz says, pointing to a large section of rubble. "I have no idea where Jemma or Eli are."

Even as they listen and peer around, the shooting comes to a halt and a familiar female voice is raised.

The two men stand cautiously and make their way forward in the lull.

The oddest sight awaits them: Agent Simmons, in a white lab coat and dark jeans standing in the middle between both sides, is holding Eli Morrow by the throat, a gun pressed to his temple.

"I will fire," she warns sternly, and even Robbie begins to fear her a bit. He knows she's serious.

The stalemate is silent and awkward; the mafia side doesn't want to risk losing their leader, and the SHIELD side doesn't want to risk another gun battle starting. From the looks of it, they're the ones losing.

There's a long period of silence, and then the crack of a gun suddenly sounds; whose it is impossible to tell, but it must have been a slip of a trembling finger.

Jemma jumps slightly in shock, and her finger twitches. The gun in her hand sounds, and Eli slumps to the ground.

All hell breaks loose then. Firing from both sides commences. Robbie leaps forward to protect the scientist in the middle of the battle. He only hopes she hasn't been hit yet.

The gang must have taken Eli's body already, because Simmons is alone, crouching low to the ground and covering her head. Robbie grabs her arm and slowly leads her back behind friendly lines.

Fitz looks instantly relieved when he sees her alive and well. He pulls her back farther to safety, and Robbie returns to help the agents against Segundo Cielo.

The mafia must have a planned getaway because shooting dies down minutes later and the men seemingly disappear.

When the smoke finally clears up, the toll is obvious. A whole side is clear gone, and a half dozen agents are fatally injured, another handful being carted straight off to the nearest hospital.

An agent with dark skin Robbie recognizes from the night he was captured approaches him. "Coulson called a meeting in his office. I'll take you there."

As they walk towards the opposite end of the base, a Mexican woman joins them. "I heard there was a meeting," she says to the man, her accent thick and her voice deep for a woman. "You headed there, Mack?"

He nods. "Everyone on the team was called in. We need to make a plan to locate and take on the mafia before the situation gets out of hand."

The woman turns to Robbie. "Your uncle causes lots of problems, dead or alive," she remarks.

Robbie is inclined to agree, but he gets the sinking feeling that this is only the beginning of their troubles with things his uncle has had a hand in.

The devil inside him stirrs at the prospect of finishing its task.