Based on events during Episode 7x13 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

The street was pitch black and empty as Daisy and Daniel hurried after the others towards the Zephyr, carrying one of the bags containing a couple of the 0-8-4 devices that made up the Quantum Bridge. Realising that they didn't need to run, as they would have to wait for Jemma and Fitz before setting off anyway, they then slowed down to a walk, and Daisy glanced up at Daniel.

'So, err…what were you going to say back there?' she asked tentatively.

'Huh?'

'Before Deke jumped in and, y'know, volunteered. Only…it looked like you were about to give me a big speech in front of…well, literally everyone,' Daisy said, smiling slyly at him.

Daniel gave her a look of mock confusion. 'Uh…no, I don't know what you're talking about,' he said, an embarrassed sort of smile on his face; she loved the way his eyes crinkled at the corners. 'All you need to know is that…well, the basic gist of it was that…w-well, that I…uh, this is going terribly-'

'It's okay,' Daisy reassured him, chuckling softly.

'Well…you already know it, that's the thing,' Daniel said, smiling tenderly at her. 'I was going to say that…even though I wanted to help you guys get home, I…I didn't want to leave you. Not when I just found you.'

Daisy felt her heart swell at his words. 'I found you first, actually,' she said, brushing her arm playfully against his as they walked along.

'True.'

With a smile, Daniel then stopped walking and took Daisy's hand; she stopped as well as he brought her hand up to his lips and kissed the top of it, before clasping his hands around it and holding it close to her chest. It was an old-fashioned gesture, but one Daisy liked very much. She could feel his heart racing against her hand.

'This is crazy, isn't it?' she murmured, a little bemused.

'A little, yeah,' Daniel said, looking at her with an adorably soft expression on his face.

'I mean, we've only known each other, what, just over a week? I've never…I had no idea i-it could…be like this…' She trailed off, unable to find the words; she was too dazed by what had happened to her over merely the past few days, how Daniel Sousa had affected her so much.

'I know, me neither,' Daniel said quietly, and they both looked at each other a little nervously and laughed, both afraid and excited at the same time of what lay ahead of them.

'Guys?'

They both jumped and broke free of their little bubble to turn around in the direction of the voice; Coulson had come back for them, looking a little impatient.

He grimaced over at them. 'Sorry to ruin the moment, but we kinda need to-'

'Sorry, we're coming!' Daisy called back, pressing her lips together to keep herself from smiling.

She grabbed Daniel's hand, because it was the only natural thing to do, and together they ran after the others back to the Zephyr.

Once back on the aircraft, Daisy helped Mack unload the rest of the Quantum Bridge device, and soon after, Fitz returned to help them reassemble it. Daisy chose not to mention Deke; she could see that Fitz's eyes were bloodshot, and to talk about it now would risk comprising this very delicate procedure. Daniel consoled Jemma and guided her to a seat on the command bridge while May flew the Zephyr out of New York and up back into space.

Leaving Mack with the time drive to go over the final procedure with Deke via the comms for one last time, Daisy headed over to the cockpit. Sure enough Daniel was there, stood just to the side behind the passenger seat while May flew them towards the fleet of Chronicom ships still floating there. Daisy sidled up to him and together they looked out at space and the surface of the planet.

Daisy grinned at him as she watched him gazing out at the view in awe. 'Still not over it?'

'Nope,' Daniel murmured with a smile. 'Don't think I ever could be.'

In that moment he felt like he would be perfectly happy to stay up here in the extraordinary wonders of space, with Daisy right by his side, forever…at least, he would, if it weren't for the spaceships filled with angry robots getting closer and closer towards them.

Right on cue, the portal from the Quantum Bridge then appeared directly ahead of them. May and Mack called out via the comms, and shortly afterwards the Zephyr was pulled through, towing the Chronicom fleet along with them. There was a strange tingling sensation as they all went through the portal, and it looked as if everything was moving in slow-motion and yet whooshing past at the speed of light at the same time, and then with a blinding flash of light, they had arrived.

'What the…?' Daniel trailed off in a daze as he and Daisy stared out of the window with open mouths.

Even Daisy was astonished at the sight before them, which was saying something, as she'd seen a hell of a lot out on her travels through the cosmos.

The Quantum Realm didn't look remotely like space, or Earth, or a vortex, or…well, anything really. It was purple and vast, but it looked to be neither gas or liquid or air. There were huge strange yellow and black shapes looping backwards and forwards, and collapsing in on themselves, as well as balls of fire exploding in the distance. They moved through the magnificent ethereal space slowly, as if in slow motion. There seemed to be no end destination in sight, but Fitz had assured them that a portal would appear at the other end at the right time, to transport them through to the original timeline. It looked like something from out of this world completely, like they had been plunged into a whirlwind of colour and shapes where none of it made sense. It was like nothing any of them had ever seen before.

Once they had all taken a good look out of the windows, Daisy then accompanied Jemma to the medical bay with Mack and Coulson, to see if she could help in any way while Fitz attempted to restore Jemma's memory. After checking on the wound on Yo-Yo's arms, Daniel then went back to the cockpit and stayed there on his own for a while, watching open-mouthed as they soared past the strange shapes and balls of fire and mystical twinkling colours. He then heard the approaching footsteps of familiar heeled boots.

'Sousa,' May greeted, as she re-emerged in the cockpit. 'A word.'

Daniel's eyes widened slightly. This can't be good.

'Agent May, have I-?'

'There's no need to be so scared, I don't bite,' May interrupted him with an exasperated roll of her eyes.

'I'm not sca-…oh. Sorry…keep forgetting you can…feel things,' Daniel said awkwardly.

'That's what I wanted to talk to you about,' May said, raising her eyebrows as she sat down on the pilot's seat next to him, and she sighed. 'Look…when you offered to stay behind, Daisy was…well, she was devastated.'

Daniel swallowed uncomfortably; did she really think he didn't already feel bad enough about that? 'I-I never meant to…upset her,' he said apologetically, too saddened by the thought to look May in the eye. 'I just…it hardly felt right for any of you to do it and…y'know, be trapped forever in a different dimension when I'm living on borrowed time as it is-'

'I know that. Believe me, I know what you were feeling when you said it. And I commend you for it,' May said earnestly. 'But I also know you don't think Daisy feels as strongly as you do, and…well, I just wanted you to know that you're wrong.'

Daniel looked up at her, a little bewildered. 'That's…a bit invasive.'

'I know, I'm sorry,' May muttered, sounding almost cross. 'I can't help it, I just…'

'It's okay, I understand. Sort of,' Daniel said, and he smiled sympathetically at her. 'Daisy told me you weren't big on feelings. Before.'

'And now I'm turning into a relationship therapist, I know. Just my luck,' May said irritably, but when she next spoke her voice was much softer, her eyes imploring. 'You mean…a lot to her. A lot. I just thought you should know that.'

Daniel looked at her for a moment, then nodded slowly. 'Thank you, Agent May,' he said sincerely.

'And Sousa,' May said, getting up from her seat, 'if you threaten to stay behind or leave her again, I'll personally break both your arms.'

Daniel nodded. 'I understand.'

'Good.'

He thought he saw a hint of a half-smile on her face but before he could be sure, May had already left the cockpit. Feeling a rush of affection towards her, Daniel smiled to himself as he sat back in the seat and continued to look out at the Quantum Realm. He may be floating in the middle of no-man's land – quite literally – between timelines, surrounded by a deadly fleet of body-snatching robots…but at least he was with a team he already loved to bits, a team he would give his life for if need be. They were all marvellous people, and he was so lucky that they had found him. No matter what happened today with the Chronicoms and Malick, at least he would have that to hold onto.

Meanwhile, downstairs in the medical bay, Daisy was trying to encourage Jemma to trust Fitz, who Jemma was still a little wary of, as he tried to refresh her memory. She still couldn't remember what had happened, so Fitz took it slowly with Jemma and tried to get her to fill in what little blanks she could recall while he told their story to Daisy, Mack and Coulson.

Just before the events of Izel's and Sarge's demise at the temple a few weeks ago, Enoch had rescued Fitz and Simmons from a band of Chronicoms and taken them back to the jungle, where Flint had recreated a piece of the time monolith, to help Fitz and Simmons do 'what needed to be done'. Fitz, Simmons and Enoch had then picked Simmons' favourite star system – the Theta Serpentis system – to escape to, where they had been able to evade the Chronicoms while working on the time stream device Enoch had managed to steal. During that time, they had studied the time stream and tried to come up with solutions on how to save the team – and the world – from the Chronicoms' invasion. In the end, they had identified only one path that would give them a chance of success, and the three of them had built a time machine, as well as the implant that they knew they would need to use later for Jemma, and Coulson's L.M.D.. They had spent a few years converting the Zephyr to match the time drive's designs while also transforming it into a home for themselves while they'd lived their lives together.

Then, realising they could put off the inevitable no longer, they had jumped back to the moment they had left, while the rest of the team were engaged in battle at the temple with Izel and Sarge. Jemma had returned to the temple to rescue the others, save May from dying after Sarge's brutal attack by putting her in a stasis pod, and whisk them away in the time-travelling Zephyr just before the Chronicoms blew up the temple. Meanwhile, Fitz had stayed behind in the containment module, guarded by Piper and Flint, to establish the link between both timelines so that he could bring the team back home.

It was complicated, and Daisy could barely wrap her head around it all, but she was glad that things were slowly starting to fit together now. However, although Fitz's story had triggered certain parts of Jemma's memory, she still couldn't remember everything. Her mind was jumbled, and she was anxious and confused. Fitz looked broken as he watched her pace the room tearfully, clearly struggling to get to grips with what was going on in her mind.

Feeling desperate, Fitz then turned to Daisy, Coulson and Mack. 'Okay, I need to fill you guys in so you know what we're fighting for,' Fitz said, staring at all three of them pleadingly. 'So that we can…map out a plan together, and all be willing to do what needs to be done, no matter what the cost.'

Daisy was staring at him, almost afraid. She hadn't heard Fitz talk like this before. She was apprehensive about what else he had to say, but she trusted him, and she knew that they all needed to work together to figure out how to defeat the enemy flying on either side of the vessel. She left the medical bay briefly and asked Daniel to come and take Jemma away, so that the rest of them could discuss the options with Fitz and form a plan. Daniel obliged at once and guided Jemma out of the room, asking her soothingly if she would like something to eat or drink from the kitchen. Daisy smiled as she watched them go, before turning back to Fitz and pressing the button to shut the automatic door to the medical bay.

Fitz then proceeded to tell them everything; everything he had seen, everything he could predict, everything he thought could or couldn't work in the next few hours to come. He told them about Kora. He told them about May. He told them about what their powers combined should be able to do. He told them about what Daisy should have the strength and capability to do, though it made Coulson and Mack uneasy to hear him tell it. He told them about how they needed to ensure their timelines were set in stone at the temple, before their past selves were due to begin their time-travelling journey.

'Okay, I think I'm getting it, it's all…sort of making sense now,' Daisy interjected, her head pounding, 'but…Fitz, I can remember what happened at the temple very well…it was only, what, just over two weeks ago for us? And Simmons wasn't on her own when she came in to save us. Who were those other people, the ones in the hazmat suits? She never told us.'

'Right. About that,' Fitz said, with a slight grimace. 'We haven't actually got around to that part yet.'

'What do you mean?' Mack asked warily.

'We still need to fetch the reinforcements.'

Daisy stared at him. 'You don't mean…'

'Us? Yeah,' Fitz replied heavily. 'Well, the rest of us who aren't going for Kora and Malick anyway.'

'That's…' Daisy shook her head wearily as she sank back against the table. 'I think my brain is melting.'

Fitz raised his eyebrows; this next thing he had to say wasn't going to make things any easier for Daisy to process. 'There's one more thing you need to know. The most important thing,' he said to them all, and his voice shook slightly. 'What we're fighting for.'

Coulson took a step forward. 'Go on,' he urged.

Fitz hesitated and took a deep breath. 'W-well…while Jemma and I were away, we…we had a baby.'

There was a silence. Daisy, Coulson and Mack stared at Fitz, completely stunned. After realising that it wasn't some strange joke, they then crushed Fitz in a fierce hug, exclaiming with both glee and pity as they realised what he and Jemma had gone through, everything they had sacrificed. For a few blissful moments, Fitz allowed himself to put the Chronicoms and Malick and the terrifying readings of the time stream to the back of his mind, and he put his father hat back on and recounted tales of his and Jemma's precious miracle with a beaming, tearful expression.

Their daughter was called Alya; they had named her after the constellation they had fled to, Jemma's favourite star. She was four years old now. She loved the stars, just like Jemma, and she loved any stories and games relating to monkeys, just like Fitz. She was their everything.

And suddenly it all made sense to Daisy. Everything that had happened since the temple, and everything that was about to happen. They had to succeed, no matter what the cost. For Alya. For their family.

Afterwards, Coulson left to find May in the cockpit and consult with her about their proposed plan. Daisy was acutely aware of her heart beating heavily against her chest as she went to go and find Daniel. She wondered how many beats she had left. When she bumped into Daniel in the corridor, it took her breath away; the sight of him made her overwhelmingly happy yet at the same time devastatingly sad. His hands fell automatically to her waist as he laughed softly at the way they'd nearly crashed into each other in the corridor, and it felt like the most natural thing in the world. Daisy wished it could last forever, but she knew now that that wasn't likely anymore.

'Hey,' Daniel said, as she smiled back at him. 'So what's the plan?'

'W-well…Fitz explained it all. And…I need to go after Kora,' Daisy said, her voice tremoring ever so slightly. 'He's right, she's the key to this. We can't stop the Chronicoms without her.'

Daniel exhaled deeply. 'Malick's still out there.'

'I know,' Daisy replied, averting her gaze. That's the whole point.

Daniel's face was creased with worry; he sighed and cursed under his breath. 'I wish that guy would just put an egg in his shoe and beat it,' he muttered, his hands still on her waist.

Despite everything, Daisy felt her lips twitch. 'I…I…couldn't agree more.'

'Well…if Kora let you go, Malick will probably have her locked up, right? So I can try and get her out while you-'

But Daisy interrupted him firmly. 'No. You're…you're not coming with me,' she said, and Daniel's face fell.

'I'm not?'

'There's a better way you can help,' Daisy said, swallowing as she put her hands on his shoulders. 'Coulson's about to debrief us all now. Come on.'

They both headed to the command bridge, where everyone else was assembling, and Coulson and Mack then explained the situation. May was to fly Daisy, Coulson and Mack to the Chronicom ship in order for them to free Kora, stop Malick, and set their plan in motion to stop the Chronicoms attacking the planet. Meanwhile, Daniel, Yo-Yo, Fitz and Simmons were to head back to Earth and retake the Lighthouse…after a quick but very important detour to the temple.

While they crossed over from the Quantum Realm through the portal and re-entered the original timeline, a rather traumatised-looking Yo-Yo tried to catch Daniel up on what had happened at the temple as they clambered into blue hazmat suits. Once she'd finished explaining, Daniel wondered if his brain had finally reached maximum capacity and was just too overwhelmed with confusion to process anything else. He barely had any idea what was going on or what he was about to do at this temple…but he was happy to just roll with it, as long as he could help and keep everyone safe.

The team then split up to carry out the plan. While Yo-Yo headed off to the Quinjet to prepare for take-off, Daniel hung back to find Daisy; he didn't want to leave without saying goodbye. He found her in the equipment room. She was stood by the healing chamber, closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths. It was if this room was her comfort, her therapy room now. Daniel then cleared his throat softly; Daisy turned around and nearly yelled out at the sight of him in the blue hazmat suit.

She barely stifled her laughter. 'Looking good,' she said, smirking.

Daniel shrugged playfully as he walked over to her. 'I try my best,' he said, flicking his visor jokingly so that it covered his face.

Daisy chuckled – the visor made him look even more ridiculous – but then her face fell as she realised what this meant. 'Are you…are you guys leaving now? For the temple?' she asked, her voice tremoring slightly.

'Yeah,' Daniel replied through his visor, as he closed the distance between them. 'Doesn't sound like that was a fun day. Glad I missed it.'

Daisy smiled weakly. He didn't know that this was most likely the last time they would be in the same room together…at least from her perspective, anyway. He couldn't know. She slowly went up on her tiptoes, reached for Daniel's helmet with his hands, and kissed the top of his visor.

'I want this suit back in one piece, okay?' she said softly, as she leaned away. 'No stupid, self-sacrificing tricks or…whatever.'

Daniel turned off his visor then, and his eyes were tender as he gazed at her. 'Wouldn't dream of it,' he murmured, smiling.

Daisy's lips parted as she looked at him, at a loss with what to say. Neither of them wanted to say goodbye. They were both about to depart on separate, life-threateningly dangerous missions. They weren't sure if they would see each other again. Daisy knew deep down, particularly after everything had Fitz had said and the way he'd looked at her back in the medical bay, that there wasn't really a good chance of it. But there was still a chance that Daniel could make it. He had to. Daisy couldn't bear the thought of it if not.

'I'd, uh, better get going, we…' Daisy began, looking away from him as she fiddled anxiously with her gauntlets, but Daniel held her hands.

'Daisy, don't…' But then Daniel trailed off and shook his head with a sad sort of chuckle. 'Uh, there's no point in asking you not to do anything reckless, is there?'

'None whatsoever.'

Daisy tried to smile to reassure him, but then her face fell; she could see that he was worried. She almost wished he'd got his visor back on, so she didn't have to see that…the pain in his eyes, the way his forehead creased, the concern etched all over his skin. It made her feel like a hypocrite; after confronting him for being willing to leave her and sacrifice himself back in the safe house in 1983 in the other timeline, she was now going to do the exact same thing to him. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair. But she had no choice. She had to do what needed to be done…for all their sakes, not just the planet's.

Daisy gripped both his arms. 'It has to be me. I have to be the one to take him down,' she said, her voice both firm and apologetic.

'I know,' Daniel murmured, and he smiled sadly as he reached up to brush a front strand of her hair back. 'I just…wish I could be there with you.'

Daisy smiled, trying not to let her emotions get the better of her. 'You will be. In a way,' she said, but then she grimaced as she heard what she had just said. 'Oh my God, I never knew I could be so corny. That's gross.'

Daniel laughed softly, then paused and chuckled again, as if her comment had deeply affected him somehow, before gazing at her and suddenly getting lost in her beautiful eyes. He then pulled his helmet down – after an awkward struggle – and leaned in to kiss her. Daisy wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him back, wanting to memorise the feel of his tender yet passionate lips on hers. His hazmat suit was rather bulky so got in the way a bit, but that only made them laugh between kisses as he pulled her even closer to him, his hands tightening against her waist.

They were then forced to remember that there was no time for this – remarkably similar to the realisation Daisy had been hit with in this very room the first time they had kissed during the time loops – and they reluctantly leaned apart, both grinning as she chased after his lips for one final kiss. Daniel rested his forehead against hers as they tried to put off the inevitable for as long as they could possibly get away with.

'You're coming back home, Agent Johnson. You got that?' he said, trying to encourage her.

Daisy closed her eyes, her lips trembling slightly. His words and fierce tone of voice reminded her of what he'd said to her in the barn in 1976, when she's been collapsed on his lap, slipping in and out of consciousness while he'd stroked her hair. It seemed so long ago and yet still so vivid. That was the day that everything had changed for both of them.

She forced herself to nod as she removed her forehead from his. 'Understood, Chief Sousa,' she said, her voice surprisingly calm and collected.

Daniel smiled. 'I'll see you later.'

He leaned away and grasped her hand; her fingers lingered in his before she reluctantly let go as he turned and left the room, giving her one last reassuring smile before turning to go and find the others in the Quinjet.

Daisy's smile faded the moment he had disappeared from the room, and she looked around the equipment room, her eyes lingering on the healing chamber and that uncomfortable steel chair, in a strange sort of daze. She knew what she had to do to defeat Malick and the Chronicoms. In a way she felt like she'd always known. She just wished that she and Daniel had had more time before it came to this.

Taking a deep breath, Daisy took one last look around the equipment room and then left, hastening to wipe away a stray tear as it trickled slowly down her scarred cheek.