Based on events during Episodes 7x11-7x12 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

Daniel knew he was meant to be trying to sleep. But how could he, with this view before them? Mack was sat in the pilot's seat beside him in the cockpit, his eyes closed, his head leant against the headrest. Daniel glanced behind him; Daisy seemed to have nodded off, slouched against her backpack. He hoped it was more comfortable than it looked.

It was strangely peaceful out here. They were heading towards a fight that would most probably get them all killed, but despite that, Daniel felt extremely relaxed here, looking out at the stars and the wonderful planet beneath them. How long had he been sat here, taking it all in? He wasn't sure. Time seemed to have no meaning anymore.

'Used to hope for this, you know,' Daniel murmured to Mack, a small smile of disbelief on his face as he shook his head in wonder at the sight in front of him. 'Everyone in my time…it was a dream, but a dream we all thought-'

'Sousa,' Mack interrupted, sighing deeply.

Daniel looked around at him; he looked like he was trying to sleep.

'Preserve oxygen,' Daniel remembered, nodding. 'Copy that.'

But Mack didn't mean that. 'What are your intentions?' he asked, his eyes still closed.

Daniel looked at him. 'Sir?'

'With Daisy,' Mack clarified.

Daniel frowned, his heart thudding unevenly against his chest. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting the Director to say, but it certainly hadn't been that.

What are your intentions?

The question threw Daniel completely. What did Mack mean by that? What had he done to make Mack suspicious? Were his feelings really that obvious? And even if Daniel had failed in his effort to try and keep his affections for Daisy concealed…why did that mean he had to have any 'intentions'?

'I don't…have any…intentions,' Daniel replied, confused.

It was an honest answer. He had met an impressive, fun woman, whom he had then failed to protect from a psychopathic kidnapper who had butchered her. After that, he had pledged to himself that he would always watch out for and look after her however he could. He hadn't expected that he would begin to fall for her during this short period of time, but, looking back now, it seemed silly that he hadn't foreseen it from the moment they'd first met in his Area 51 office. She was a righteous person of high morals, high intellect, and bravery and wit like no other person he'd met. And so he had stayed by her side, because he admired her, because he enjoyed her company, and because she made him forget his woes of the end of his old life and made him relax at the thought of his new one. Inevitably, his feelings had subsequently deepened…but not once had he ever presumed that she would feel the same way.

What are your intentions?

Even if Daniel had suspected – or perhaps merely hoped for – a certain spark there between them…even with the way she looked at him sometimes, the way her hand would linger on his arm, the way she tried not to smile whenever he spoke…he would never try to push anything onto Daisy, to assume that she wanted the same thing, to broach the subject when she wasn't ready or uncomfortable.

So no. Daniel didn't have any intentions with Daisy. He wasn't the way he was to gain her affections; he just wanted to work with her – because she was an outstanding, capable agent – and to help her to the best of his ability, because that was who he was as a person and because he knew she deserved the care and support of others.

At Daniel's answer, Mack opened his eyes and looked round at him. His tone of voice and the look on his face told him that Sousa was being genuine.

'Well then, you better get some. And quick,' Mack said, raising his eyebrows at him. ''Cause this thing is coming for you.'

Daniel stared at him in alarm. 'This…thing?' he said, almost warily.

Mack sighed deeply, wondering whether he should tell him the truth. He could tell that Sousa was confused; he genuinely had no idea how Daisy felt. It was plainly obvious to everyone in the team other than themselves, and for some reason, this fact only made Mack warm to Sousa more. Mack knew that Daisy would probably be mad at him if he said anything more, but…they were currently floating through space, on an aircraft running out of power and oxygen, towards two deadly Inhumans wanting to kill them the first chance they got. Tomorrow was promised to no one, and Daisy deserved a shot at happiness, even if it was short-lived, before everything went to hell. And of course, there was no question about whether Sousa reciprocated her feelings. That had been clear to Mack from their time in the seventies alone. It felt only right that he should know he was in with a very good chance.

'She's into you,' Mack said, a soft expression on his face as he looked at Daniel.

Daniel let out a quiet intake of breath as he let Mack's words resonate with him. 'She's into you.' His heart and mind were both racing, trying to make sense of it, because he could hardly dare believe it to be true.

'And…I'm not even sure if she knows it yet but, pretty soon, she'll figure it out,' Mack went on.

'Into me'? But does that actually mean what I think it means?

Daniel slowly looked over his shoulder as Mack spoke, his eyes falling on Daisy as she slept against her backpack, completely oblivious. A slight frown fell on Daniel's face. Him? Mack couldn't be right. Of all the men in the world that this incredible woman could be attracted to…she could have any one of them, and they would be lucky to have her…but Daniel Sousa? He was just an ordinary man. It had taken him years to gain confidence in himself after losing his leg and facing such scepticism and pity at the SSR, but he'd steadily grown to know and appreciate his own value as a man and as an agent – Peggy had helped teach him that – but still…even then, he wasn't anything that special…at least, not in comparison to Daisy Johnson. He'd known he'd been punching above his weight when he realised he'd developed feelings for her, but he'd never had to worry about that before because…well, he'd just never assumed anything would happen. Was he good enough for her? Was he worthy? He'd had the same doubts when he'd fallen for Peggy years ago…only to have them further reinforced when they'd later broken up.

It took Daniel a moment to realise that Mack was still talking, and he turned away from Daisy, trying to focus.

'And when she does,' Mack was saying, chuckling fondly, 'watch out. 'Cause when she gets something into her head-'

'She won't stop,' Daniel finished for him, a bemused frown on his face. 'Yeah, I noticed.'

Mack nodded, pleasantly surprised. Sousa really did know her. Over a year may have passed for Mack since he'd first met Sousa in 1955, but from Sousa and Daisy's perspective, it had only been…a week, two weeks? Mack wasn't sure. But, even though he was certain of Sousa, he knew he had to give him The Talk. It was his duty, after all; like Daisy said…they were family.

'But listen…Daisy's been hurt. Bad,' Mack said in a low voice.

Daniel frowned sadly. He turned around again to look at Daisy, peaceful in sleep. She had told him briefly about Lincoln's death, but something in Mack's tone and the look in his eyes told him that he meant more than that. She had known tragedy and heartbreak and betrayal numerous times. And it broke Daniel to think that someone would ever cause her pain.

'So…I'm happy she's ready to dive back in, and I'm…happy it's you,' Mack said sincerely.

Daniel pulled a face as he turned back around, a little flustered. 'Dive back in'? Happy it's me? Mack really was assuming that Daniel was all for this…which of course he was – the idea that there was indeed a very real chance now of a romantic possibility with himself and Daisy made Daniel feel over the moon, if not still a little disbelieving – but still, it was somewhat embarrassing that the Director could read his feelings so remarkably well.

'I like you,' Mack went on, stunning Daniel. 'You seem like a good man.'

'Thanks, I-'

'Even if you're a little…y'know…straight ahead,' Mack added.

Daniel frowned, confused. 'Wait, is that bad?'

But Mack pressed on without further comment. 'But…I'm not about to let her get hurt again,' he said firmly, fixing Daniel with that commanding gaze of his. 'You hear what I'm saying?'

'I think so,' Daniel said slowly, nodding. 'I think you're…threatening me, sir.'

'No,' Mack said with a smile. 'Not just me. Every member of this team.'

Daniel raised his eyebrows, impressed. He completely understood why Mack was talking to him in this way. He wasn't just the Director, he wasn't just Daisy's boss, he was her family. They all were. And she meant the world to them all. How could she not?

'And we have technology at S.H.I.E.L.D. that you've never even seen-' Mack went on, but Daniel interrupted him.

'I hear you,' he said firmly. 'Loud and clear.'

They both nodded and turned away to look back out of the front window in silence. Suddenly the stars and the Earth seemed to have drifted to the back of Daniel's mind now as he parted his lips, trying to find the right words. He wanted to tell Mack just how much Daisy already meant to him, how he would do absolutely anything for her, but he didn't want to come across as too keen or too intense. But then again…the way Mack was talking, it was as if 'this thing' with Daisy was already set in stone, that it would only be a matter of time. The prospect stunned Daniel, but also flooded him with a certain warmth, a feeling of hope and stability…a feeling of home.

'I would never hurt her,' Daniel said, looking back at Mack.

They were simple words, and didn't by any means cover the extent of his growing feelings for Daisy, but it was crucial to Daniel that Mack knew this. It was a promise – a promise that Daniel knew he would keep forever.

Mack turned back to Daniel, and he smiled as he nodded, satisfied. He'd already known this, of course, but it was still nice to hear. Sousa was clearly a diamond in the rough, a rare kind of man who was caring and selfless. Mack couldn't wish for anyone better for Daisy.

'Hmm…imagine that,' Mack said wistfully, as he gazed out at the view ahead of them. 'The man out of time…and Quake.'

He chuckled softly to himself. He didn't notice the way Daniel frowned and looked round at him in utter bewilderment.

'It's like a damn comic book,' Mack said, amused.

'Hold on – what did you just call her?' Daniel asked, confused.

'Hmm? Uh, 'Quake', it's, uh…it's her superhero name,' Mack replied, having forgotten that Daniel still had a lot to catch up on.

'Really?' Daniel said, and there was an almost sceptical look on his perplexed face.

'Yeah. Yeah, really.'

Daniel repressed a laugh as he looked away, smiling bemusedly. He pulled a face as he thought about it.

'Quake'. And I thought 'Captain America' was bad enough.

''Quake'?' Daniel repeated, frowning at Mack.

'Mm-hmm.'

There was a slight pause as Daniel tried to process it. It was no use. He couldn't keep it in.

'Do you not hear…how…hilarious that sounds?' he asked Mack.

Mack frowned, baffled. 'Wh…' He trailed off as he thought about it.

''Quake',' Daniel said dramatically.

A second passed and then both Mack and Daniel burst out laughing, though they tried to keep it down so as not to wake Daisy sleeping behind them. Mack shook his head as he chuckled away and grabbed hold of Daniel's arm to steady himself.

'I…' Daniel said exasperatedly, before laughing again and glancing back at Daisy's sleeping figure.

'I do now,' Mack admitted, trying to control his laughter.

''Quake',' Daniel whispered again.

'Stop!' Mack begged quietly as he clutched his chest, still chuckling away. 'We'll wake her up!'

'I'm sorry, I just…really, of all the names…' Daniel murmured, shaking his head with a fond smile as he and his new friend continued to laugh.

It was nice to find someone else in the team to bond with. He'd spent a bit more time with Jemma than the others since he had joined, but it was mainly Daisy who he had always gravitated towards, at first simply because she'd been a comforting presence for him. He'd hardly had any time spent alone with Mack, and he hadn't expected the Director to be so fun and easy to get along with. He hoped that they would be able to spend more time together once they moved onto the next mission…if they were to miraculously all get through this one alive.

'You sure you're still interested in her now you know about the name?' Mack said, still chuckling.

Daniel laughed softly as he gazed back out at the surface of the planet. 'I…I think I'd be the luckiest guy in the world, regardless of her name,' he said.

At this, Mack slowly stopped chuckling and he gazed at Sousa, a fond smile on his face. 'Huh. You got it just as bad as her,' he murmured. Maybe even more, he reckoned.

Daniel frowned at him. 'What do you mean?'

'Eh, no doubt you'll find out soon enough,' Mack said, smirking to himself as he turned back to the window.

Daniel swallowed nervously as he glanced back and forth between Mack and Daisy, still in disbelief. 'She's into you.' Mack really had no idea how such simple words could fill Daniel with such hope and joy…and scepticism.

'Does she really…I mean, did she actually say…?' Daniel trailed off and shook his head, annoyed with himself; he didn't want to act like a nervous, lovestruck fool in front of the Director, but he was doing a pretty bad job of it. 'I just mean…what you said about Daisy…you're not pulling my leg, are you? No pun intended.'

He indicated his prosthetic leg. Mack stared at him for a moment, and then burst out laughing again.

'No, I'm not pulling your leg,' he said, chuckling, as he clapped him on the shoulder. 'I like you, Sousa. Wish you'd joined us on this ride a little sooner. Though of course, I'm…I'm sorry about what we had to do to bring you here.'

But Daniel shook his head. 'Don't be. I was meant to die, but you broke the rules to stop that from happening. You all saved me, in more ways than one. Thank you for making that call, sir,' he said sincerely, feeling a lump rise in his throat as he looked directly at Mack.

Mack considered him for a moment and then nodded slowly. 'I can safely say – and I think Daisy will certainly agree with me, along with the rest of the team – that it's one of the best decisions I've made as Director,' he said warmly.

Daniel's lips parted. Before he could think of how to process, let alone respond, to such touching words, there was then a beep from the monitor on the navigation panel; it was the Zephyr's signal.

'We're close,' Mack said in surprise, checking the readings on the monitor.

Daniel turned around in his seat. 'Shall I wake Daisy?'

'Think you'd better,' Mack replied. 'I'll give you guys a shout when I get visual confirmation.'

Daniel left the cockpit and walked over to Daisy at the back of the Quinjet, slumped against her backpack. He bent down so that he was on her level, and gently put a hand on her shoulder.

'Hey,' he murmured softly, as Daisy's eyelids fluttered open.

'Hey,' she whispered groggily, slowly sitting up. 'Is everything okay?'

'Yeah. We're nearly there.'

'Oh. Already? That went faster than I thought it would,' Daisy said, suddenly alert as she sat up straight, trying not to register how scared she felt at what they might find on the Zephyr.

'How did you sleep?' Daniel asked, as they both stood up.

'Not too bad,' Daisy replied, suppressing a yawn. 'I managed to get some, at least.'

'I'm amazed you did, that does not look comfy,' Daniel said, eyeing her backpack sceptically.

Daisy smirked at him slightly, then bent down to open her backpack and retrieve her gear so that she could prepare. They sat down side-by-side on two of the seats, and Daniel's heart raced uncontrollably. He still couldn't really believe what Mack had said…could Daisy really have feelings for him? Then he had to remind himself that he was a thirty-six year old man, not a silly pining teenager.

He tilted his head at her curiously as Daisy got out her gauntlets.

'What are they for?' he asked, interested.

'They, uh…they help absorb my powers so I don't hurt myself and…well, they also help me aim better. With the shockwaves, y'know,' Daisy replied.

Daniel looked rather uneasy. 'What do you mean, hurt yourself?'

'Uh…well, at first, whenever I tried to…contain my powers I'd get bruises, all down my hands and arms. It was kinda bad, they…I couldn't control it, and…I almost shattered my bones,' Daisy said, grimacing.

'Oh,' Daniel said, his brow furrowed in concern. 'That sounds terrible.'

'It wasn't the best. But…I got a hang of it…eventually. And these really help,' Daisy said, holding out the gauntlets on her lap.

'How do they work exactly?' Daniel asked, and he seemed fascinated.

'Fitz and Simmons designed them for me – they're made of compressed microfibers and sort of, like, give off minor electricity discharges to keep me from hurting myself…or something like that anyway,' Daisy explained, passing the gauntlets over to him so he could have a better look. 'They protect me from the side effects of the powers and stop me from causing any major…damage – n-not that I've caused any earthquakes in the past or anything, it's fine – but…they also help me project the waves better. I can feel the vibrations more precisely with them. It's…pretty cool.'

Daniel looked awestruck as he studied the gauntlets in his hands. 'Wow,' he said, making Daisy smile. 'That's incredible. It's genius!'

'You should say that in front of Simmons, it'll honestly make her so happy,' Daisy said, but then her smile faded as the worry began to seep back in. 'God, I hope she's okay.'

Daniel looked at her sympathetically. 'She will be. She's strong,' he said firmly, 'and Deke's there with her.'

Daisy grimaced at him. 'I know you think that should be reassuring, but…it isn't.'

'Eh, I think you're a little harsh on the guy. He's one of the smartest people I've ever met,' Daniel said, making Daisy's lips part as she realised that he had a very good point. 'And from what I've seen I'd say he even loves Simmons…if he didn't have a very obvious soft spot for you.'

Daisy gave him a sceptical look at his last comment, pleasantly surprised to see his lips twitch almost playfully at her, but then her eyes widened as she caught on with the rest of what he'd just said. 'Oh…oh, yeah, you've got that wrong – Deke does love Simmons, but…not in that way. Deke is Simmons' grandson,' she explained.

Daniel stared at her for a moment. 'Wh…I may have misheard you there, did you just say-?'

'Grandson, yup,' Daisy said, nodding.

'Oookay,' Daniel said slowly, completely baffled. 'H-how…?'

'I don't know what to tell you,' Daisy said with a shrug, 'he came back with us from 2091 and found out Fitz and Simmons were his grandparents.'

Daniel's expression seemed to have frozen. He wondered if there would ever come a day in this new life of his where he wasn't completely thrown by something someone said. He suspected probably not.

'Okay, well…that settles it,' he said wearily, 'I'm gonna need a drink when this is over and you catch me up on everything you and this team have been through-'

'Think we'll actually need a dozen drinks for that,' Daisy muttered, her lips twitching.

'Deal,' Daniel said, trying to appear casual, and Daisy's heart leapt. 'Anyway, my point still stands – Deke will be watching out for her.'

'I know. I know. You're right,' Daisy said, sighing, and she looked at him anxiously. 'I just…I hope I'm back to full strength. Simmons said I'm still not 100% after what he did last week, and Malick's had a long time to develop his powers. What if he's there when we get to the Zephyr and I can't-'

Daniel cut over her firmly. 'Don't think like that. You know you're good. You know you can beat him. And you also know you've got me and Mack with you. You're not in this fight alone. We'll-' But then he broke off, looking horrified. 'Oh, shit.'

'What is it?' Daisy asked, alarmed, as Daniel jumped to his feet, looking agitated.

'I…I'm so sorry for swearing, I just…' He paced a few steps, running a hand through his hair, and groaned, absolutely furious with himself. 'I guess I was so preoccupied with us flying out to space and all that I forgot to go back for the one thing I actually need – my gun.'

But Daisy was smiling. 'Oh, don't worry about that. Look in the bag.'

Frowning, Daniel did as she said, and bent down to look in her unzipped backpack. His lips parted in pleasant surprise; she'd packed two handguns and a small box of bullets. Daniel slowly looked up at her with a bemused frown and a hint of a suspicious smile on his face.

'Huh,' was all he could say.

Daisy looked up from her gauntlets. 'What?'

'I'm just wondering…why would you need a gun, if you originally planned to do this by yourself?' he asked, feigning curiosity as he frowned at her and straightened up, the guns and bullets in his hand.

Daisy blinked rapidly but recovered her expression quite quickly. 'Just…in case something went wrong with my powers. Y'know,' she replied casually, internally grateful that the lights had powered off so that he couldn't see her blush.

'Right. Well, thanks,' Daniel said, raising his eyebrows as he turned back to the guns. 'It's…very convenient that you thought to bring these.'

'Well I always like to be prepared,' Daisy said, averting her gaze. 'Anyway, I'd, uh…I'd better put these on.'

She could feel herself going red as she fixed her attention solely on the gauntlets; normally she would have been irritated with herself for blushing, but instead she could feel her lips inexplicably forming a smile. Amused, Daniel walked over to the other side and got out the bullets to load his guns. She'd known all along – and possibly even hoped – that he would have offered to come on this mission with her. And, despite all her protests and worrying, she must have truly wanted him to come as well, otherwise why else would she have packed the guns in the first place? A small smile fell on Daniel's lips. Perhaps Mack was right about Daisy after all.

'I have a visual on Z1,' Mack then called to them both from the cockpit. 'We're a few minutes out. Be prepped for docking.'

As she finished attaching her gauntlets, Daisy got up hesitantly from her seat; life was too short for her to hide away in embarrassment. 'Hey,' she said, glancing at Daniel.

Daniel paused with one of his guns and looked up at her. His heart leapt at the tender expression on her face.

'Thank you,' Daisy said sincerely.

'For what?' Daniel asked.

'Just…being here,' Daisy murmured shyly, her voice shaking with nerves ever so slightly.

He watched, stunned, as she averted her gaze and smiled, trying to keep herself occupied with the gauntlets on her arms. He wondered if he would have noticed her behaviour, if Mack hadn't mentioned anything to him earlier, or if he would have continued on obliviously. He had to admit, it was probably the latter.

'Hm, it was nothing, but…you're welcome,' Daniel said, smiling briefly at her before turning back to his gun and adding pointedly, 'Quake.'

Daisy looked up from her gauntlets with a slight frown and almost did a double take. Did he just call me 'Quake'?

'Sorry, what, now?' she said, a confused half-smile on her face as she turned towards him.

'Nothing,' Daniel replied innocently, 'just happy to help, Quake, whatever you need.'

Perplexed, Daisy glanced to Mack with wide eyes; he hadn't turned around from the cockpit, but she could make out his shoulders shaking slightly, as if he were trying not to laugh. She turned back to Daniel with a smile, completely nonplussed, and it amused him to see her so taken aback by this different side of him.

'Are you being funny?' she asked bemusedly.

Daniel glanced up at her from his gun.

What are your intentions?

Daniel wasn't a flirtatious man by nature; he was polite, shy, grounded and respectful. But he could be charming when he wanted to be – after all, he'd once become engaged to a lovely nurse called Violet after merely six months of knowing her back in the late forties, so he must be able to do something right – and now he knew that Daisy reciprocated his feelings? Well, perhaps it was time to see if he'd still got it.

'You better get some. And quick,' Mack had told him.

So he did.

Daniel pretended to look confused. 'Uh, is it funny? Not if that's what you like to be called,' he said, loading his gun in one impressively slick motion as he stepped towards her, 'Quake.'

As he spoke, Daniel closed the distance between them until he was stood merely inches from Daisy, and he looked up at her with a devastating smirk and a playful glint in his eyes that left Daisy completely floundering. She had never been more attracted to him than in this moment – and that was saying something.

'I-' She broke off, caught totally unawares; where had this playful confidence come from? 'The press called me that, I never-'

But Daniel cut over her. 'I think you should probably put a 'Q' on your utility belt?' he suggested playfully as he looked her up and down, and Daisy gazed up at him in awe, her mouth open and her eyes wide with lust. 'So people know it's you.'

He glanced back down at her belt, making no effort to hide his appreciation of her figure-forming suit, before looking back into her eyes with a flirtatious smile that made her heart stop beating for a second.

Daisy was almost speechless. She'd known that he was witty, she'd even seen a small glimpse of his playful side beforehand, but this was something else entirely. In the space of merely a few seconds, Daniel had turned from his usual kind, serious, gentlemanly self to cocky, teasing and flirtatious, and it both shocked and excited her. She'd thought that he'd been perfect enough before this, but now? This sense of humour, this flirting, this new confident attitude he could slip into? It was just another cherry on what was already a pretty marvellous cake that she was finding increasingly harder to resist.

She grinned at him, trying but failing to suppress a laugh of disbelief. 'That's really smart. Yeah,' Daisy said, matching his flirty tone. 'Yeah, yeah, yeah – make fun of the person who can literally turn you to dust.'

As she said it, she prodded a finger on his chest and poked him away, making both their hearts race. She smirked as he glanced down at her finger and took a step back briefly.

'Yeah, you can quake me. No, I get it,' Daniel said, nearing towards her again and raising his eyebrows, that playful glint still in his eyes as he tilted his head at her. 'That's…why they call you that.'

It was in that moment when it hit Daisy that Daniel had never once felt threatened or in any way intimidated by her powers. If anything, it only seemed to make him more attracted to her.

Daisy tilted her head at him, a huge smile on her face. A part of her was met with an urge to crush her lips to his, perhaps even rip that blue shirt open. If Mack hadn't been sat a few metres from them, chuckling away at their blatant flirting, perhaps she might have even done it. The look in Daniel's eyes told her that he certainly wouldn't have opposed. But before either of them could act on such an impulse, they were distracted by the sound of a blast up ahead.

Daisy and Daniel both tore their eyes away from each other and looked up at the ceiling; it sounded like it was coming from above the Quinjet. Daisy hoped it was just meteorites falling, but for some reason she doubted it.

'Mack, what's happening?' she asked urgently, as she aircraft rattled all around them, and she and Daniel hurried up to the cockpit.

'You tell me,' Mack replied, sounding anxious, as all three of them looked out of the window.

And then they saw it – right beside the Zephyr, a huge ball of white swirling light had appeared. It looked like some sort of portal. And then the fleet of Chronicom spaceships materialized before their very eyes.

Daisy's face fell in horror. 'That's why he came up here,' she realised.

'To call reinforcements,' Mack said darkly.

'The Chronicoms?' Daniel said, raising his eyebrows. 'But…but how? I thought Coulson blew them up in 1976?'

'Obviously they survived,' Daisy whispered, staring fearfully at the Chronicom fleet floating not too far ahead from them.

'Sybil must have predicted what Coulson would do and prepared in advance,' Mack said darkly. 'These must be a fleet of back-up Hunters…'

'To work with Malick,' Daisy finished for him, sounding enraged.

'So…why does Malick need them, what's their plan-?'

Before Daniel had time to finish his question, the Chronicom ships then started firing at the planet. Streams of hot orange light were beaming down, hitting various locations. They could hear the blasts even from way up here, and it shook the Quinjet violently as they continued to fly towards the Zephyr.

Daniel sank to his knees, hardly able to believe what he was seeing. 'Are those…space lasers?'

'Just lasers that happen to be in space,' Daisy replied, trying not to dwell on the fact that they were flying towards the deadly fleet that happened to be attacking the planet.

'But they're weapons, right?' Daniel said, crouching behind her seat and trying not to panic as they all stared out at the view outside that was suddenly the very opposite of beautiful.

'100%,' Daisy said, breathing heavily, and she frowned. 'But…they don't seem to be aimed at us, which means they probably don't see us yet.'

'I hope that's still true after I do this,' Mack said, reaching up to flick on some of the switches.

Daniel turned around, surprised to see the lights and monitors coming back on; they were powering back up, the systems rebooting, the engines whirring back to life.

'All right, we got less than a minute before we dock with the Zephyr…or the other thing's gonna happen,' Mack said darkly.

Daniel closed his eyes, the full extent of what they were letting themselves in for only just beginning to hit him now. The idea of managing to take back the Zephyr and rescuing Jemma and Deke from two deadly Inhumans had been hard enough to swallow, but now that an army of Chronicoms had appeared with lasers and weapons firing down on the planet…it just seemed impossible.

'Let's say we manage to…dock with the Zephyr, and somehow rescue Simmons and Deke…then what?' Daniel asked.

Mack glanced at Daniel and then back to the window, closing his eyes briefly and nodding. 'Just…one problem at a time,' he replied, frowning.

'Here we go,' Daisy said breathlessly, flicking more switches on the panel as she focussed on the signal of the Zephyr. 'Three…two…one…'

Daniel took a deep breath as Daisy lifted up the levers and locked onto the roof of the Zephyr, guiding the Quinjet slowly but surely towards it while the Chronicoms' lasers continued to fire down all around them. He held onto the walls but managed to keep his balance as they landed rather shakily onto the roof. There was a rumble and a stunned silence, and Daisy exhaled shakily in relief as she looked round at Mack in surprise.

Mack smiled proudly and reached out to grab her arm. 'Nice flying, Tremors,' he said.

Daniel let out a relieved sigh and gazed at Daisy, immensely impressed; were there no limits to what she could do? 'I thought it was 'Quake',' he said, smiling.

But before Daisy could respond, there was a violent rumble as the Quinjet shook, knocking Daniel backwards to the floor.

'What was that? Are we hit?' Mack asked urgently.

'No,' Daisy replied in a voice filled with dread. 'I think they've locked onto the Zephyr.'

Daniel looked up slowly in horror. A bright blue light was shining down at them, and through the front window they could see that the biggest Chronicom ship was looming above them, beaming them up. They were being captured.

'Oh my God, you have gotta be kidding me,' Daisy muttered, looking out of the windows as they were beamed up into the ship.

The ship's hangar was immense, and like nothing Daisy had ever seen. It was the size of ten football stadiums, with a huge ceiling and beaming lights shining on them everywhere as the Zephyr was guided to the very centre. So much for the sneak attack approach that Daisy had originally intended.

When they landed and the beam dropped them lightly on the hangar floor, Daniel reached out to hold onto Daisy's seat. 'So…I guess this is the next problem,' he said.

Daisy let out a shaky breath as she looked round at Mack. The situation was worse than she could ever have predicted it would turn out to be. This had been her idea. If anything happened to either of them, it would be all her fault. Again.

'Where do you think they are? The Chronicoms?' Mack asked.

'I don't know, I can't see anyone moving out there,' Daisy said, frowning as she looked out of the windows. 'But why else would they bring us up here?'

In the distance they could still hear the booms of the Chronicoms' attacks on the planet. The sound made Daniel feel very cold and empty inside.

'I have to ask…do we have any idea what they might be targeting out there?' Daniel said tentatively, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

'Well…now we're here, I can try and hack into their navigation system, see what locations those lasers are locked onto,' Daisy said, tapping away hurriedly on the screen as Mack kept an eye out through the window for anyone approaching in the hangar. 'There, I'm in.'

'That was quick,' Daniel said in surprise.

Mack raised his eyebrows at him. 'She's very good at hacking.'

But Daisy's face had fallen as she stared at the screen. 'Oh, no…'

'What? What is it?' Daniel asked, moving towards her as he peered over at the screen, his cheek close to touching hers.

'They're aiming at S.H.I.E.L.D bases,' Daisy said, her voice shaking, staring with wide eyes at the lasers' signal destinations on the navigation panel monitor. 'Oh my God, the Lighthouse! It may be too late for us, but we can still warn the others-'

'The Lighthouse can withstand any nuclear attack, it was built for that purpose. Th-they'll be fine,' Mack said, though his voice broke.

'But what about the others? All the other facilities, all the other agents?' Daniel asked urgently, horrified, as he looked back and forth between the two pilots. 'How do we stop them? They're attacking-'

'It's too late,' Mack interrupted in a shaking voice, closing his eyes as if to try and block out the sight and sound of the attack. 'There's nothing we can do.'

'It's already happened,' Daisy breathed, staring at the laser tracking signals on the monitor in dismay.

Daniel exhaled shakily as he tried to steady himself, his hand catching Daisy's briefly as they stayed there in stunned silence. All they could do was sit by helplessly and wait for the Chronicoms or Malick (or indeed both) to come knocking on the Quinjet to take them in as S.H.I.E.L.D. – the agency that had become both Daisy's and Daniel's life, home and purpose – was turned to dust.