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

Kora was the first thing Daisy saw when she woke up. She was sat on a chair at the other end of the room just within Daisy's eyesight. Her arms were folded tightly across her chest as if she was trying to close herself off from the outside world. Daisy wondered when she'd come back to the Zephyr, how long she'd been sat there, why she'd even felt the need to come to this room in the first place.

'Hey,' Kora greeted.

Daisy frowned as she pressed the button inside the chamber. 'Hey,' she said, sitting up as the lid slowly slid open with a low hiss.

'How are you feeling?'

'Uh…better,' Daisy realised; her body was no longer violently aching, and she didn't feel like she was about to collapse, which was a huge improvement.

Daisy turned around. Daniel was still sat on the chair right next to her, his head level with where hers had been. He was sleeping, his head lolling uncomfortably on his shoulder. A fond smile fell on her face.

Kora shook her head exasperatedly. 'He's been here the whole time. Kept refusing to leave. I said I'd take over for a bit so he could get some sleep,' she said, and she looked over at Daisy curiously. 'Who…who is he to you?'

'Oh, he…' Daisy paused, not knowing what to say; she and Daniel hadn't really had that discussion. 'I…I don't really know yet. Not exactly.'

Kora raised her eyebrows, as if she sincerely doubted it. 'But he's someone special.'

'Yeah,' Daisy replied, without a hint of embarrassment, and she smiled as she straightened up in the chamber. 'He's…he's very special.'

Kora nodded thoughtfully. 'You're lucky,' she said in a small voice.

Daisy smiled. Yes, she was.

Thinking about it now, she couldn't pinpoint the exact moment when it had all started with Daniel. The feelings hadn't suddenly hit her…it was as if they had crept on her slowly, until suddenly the time storm hit them and she was in the middle before she even knew she had begun. Looking back, she knew that she had slowly begun to fall in love with Daniel over the course of those time loops, and yet he remembered none of it. But they could make new memories together. They had already started to. It was still rather strange for Daisy to wrap her head around, how quickly this had happened between them, how deeply she felt, how intense this whole experience had been in the space of less than two weeks. Daniel hadn't been around for all this time, all these years with S.H.I.E.L.D., and she had been fine and content in her life without him…yet now he was here and Daisy knew there was no going back. She didn't want to go back.

Daisy blinked rapidly as she tried to pull herself out of her daydream; she tore her gaze away from Daniel's sleeping figure sat beside her and turned back to Kora. 'H-how long have I been…?'

'Almost two days,' Kora replied.

Daisy's lips parted in surprise. 'Huh. That long?'

'You needed it.'

Just then Daniel began to stir awake at the sound of their voices. 'Hey,' he said to Daisy, his face lighting up at once as he saw her sat up. 'You're awake.'

'I'm okay, you should go back to sleep,' Daisy said, reaching over to stroke his shoulder, but he raised his eyebrows sceptically at her; clearly, that wasn't going to happen.

Kora rose to her feet. 'I'll…go get some food,' she offered. 'You must be hungry.'

'Starving,' Daisy realised.

'The kitchen's just that way,' Daniel said, pointing the direction to her.

'Thanks.'

As Kora left the equipment room, Daisy swung her legs out over the chamber and slowly got down to her feet.

'Ooh, careful,' Daniel said, reaching a hand out as she stumbled slightly.

'I'm okay, just need to…stretch my legs. How's she been?' Daisy asked.

'Kora? Fine. Quiet, but…I think she's still just…processing,' Daniel replied.

Daisy nodded thoughtfully as she leant against the side of the chamber. 'And the others?'

'Everyone's good, they're all in the Lighthouse. Fitz and Simmons came back yesterday, Simmons took a look at your readings last night and she says you won't need to go back in the chamber from today. You're healing well,' Daniel said, smiling encouragingly. 'But you still need a lot of bedrest, doctors' orders.'

Daisy was pleased; it was such a relief to know that Jemma was back. 'And Alya?' she asked hopefully.

Daniel smiled. 'She's here.'

'H-how is she, what's she like?'

'I'm not saying anything,' Daniel said with a smirk, enjoying her enthusiasm. 'We can head down there in a bit to see her, once you've eaten?'

'Yeah, and then I'll, like, really need to take a shower,' Daisy added with a grimace.

Daniel chuckled. 'Okay.'

He was pleased to see just how well she looked compared to the other day. Her skin had returned to its usual tone, the swelling and bruises had gone down, and her eyes and face looked truly awake. Even the minimal movements she had made so far with her body showed a vast improvement. He frowned then as his eyes ran over her tight-fitting Quake suit.

'Huh, we never got changed,' he noted.

'Well how could we? Most of our belongings got blown up in the Lighthouse in the other timeline.'

She said it so matter-of-factly, as if it was a perfectly normal sentence to use in everyday conversation. But of course, Daniel had to remind himself, this sort of thing was normal for this team.

'Good point. You should get out of that suit though. Doesn't exactly look comfortable,' Daniel said, raising his eyebrows at her.

'No…I guess it's not,' Daisy admitted. 'I'll go find some other clothes in a bit, there should be some still here in the closet.'

'Do you think that's it?' Daniel asked, swallowing slightly. 'For…well, us all being here on the Zephyr, I mean.'

'Uh…probably,' Daisy replied.

Daniel watched her carefully; even he felt sad at that prospect, and he'd only joined them all onboard this place the other week. 'Are you okay?'

'Actually, I, uh…I'm pretty great,' Daisy said, frowning as she realised that she wasn't lying.

'Well, you look good,' Daniel said. 'Considering you kind of died the other day.'

'Thanks.'

He smiled at her. 'I'm really glad you're not dead.'

'I'm really glad you're not dead too,' Daisy said, smiling back.

'That's the most romantic thing anyone's ever said to me,' Daniel said, and he got up from his chair and closed the distance between them, stood tantalisingly close to her as she rested against the side of the chamber.

'I'm also glad you didn't stay behind in 1983 in the other timeline,' Daisy said, her face close to his. ''Cause if you'd gone ahead and done that like the stupid selfless hero you are, I'd have quaked you, really badly.'

Daniel raised his eyebrows as he nodded at her, smirking. 'I'd like to have seen that,' he said slyly. 'Though…you're a bit of a hypocrite to call me the 'stupid selfless' hero'.'

Daisy chuckled. Daniel put his hands on her waist and she rested her hands on his shoulders, and it was the most natural thing in the world.

'Daisy. I'm not going anywhere,' Daniel said softly, smiling, but then he frowned. 'That…didn't mean to sound as ominous as it did.'

Daisy laughed softly. 'You're right, by the way, I could do with getting out of this thing,' she said, indicating her tight suit.

Daniel nodded at once, unaware of how her eyes had fallen to her lips. 'I'm on it. I'll go have a look in the closet,' he said, removing his hands and leaning away from her; Daisy's face fell ever so slightly, both disappointed and amused. 'I might freshen up as well. You stay here, Kora will be back with food any minute.'

Daisy shook her head wearily. 'Seems strange…the sister who never existed before…bringing me food,' she murmured, dazed. 'A few days ago I would have suspected her of poisoning whatever food she'd bring me.'

'It's…it's all a bit surreal, isn't it?' Daniel said, smiling reassuringly at her, and he headed towards the door. 'Anyway…I'll be back soon.'

Daisy barely had time to do anything more than smile fondly at the doorway that he'd disappeared through when Kora then returned, but it wasn't just food she had brought – Coulson, May and Mack had come up to the Zephyr from the base to check on how she was doing.

Once Daisy had reassured them firmly that she was feeling much better, they caught up on news of what she had missed while she had been recovering in the healing chamber. Coulson had been dealing with the large number of Chronicom Hunters in the base, which had left him indisposed for a while. May had assisted him with this task, as well as looking after Kora. Since their return to the Lighthouse, Fitz and Simmons had been taking turns splitting their time between the base taking care of little Alya and the L.M.D. lab on the Zephyr. As a reward for guarding Alya and protecting her while they had been away, Jemma had promised Piper anything, literally anything, she wanted. It turned out that all she'd wanted was her best friend back. So, Agent Davis' L.M.D. was currently in the process of being built now in the lab, which Daisy was pleasantly stunned to hear.

Mack and Yo-Yo had spent most of this time with Flint; they had practically adopted him back in 2091, and so they were overwhelmingly glad to have him here with them all. It seemed that they had already begun talking about the future – Flint had expressed an interest in becoming a S.H.I.E.L.D agent, and Piper was already eager to take on new assignments out in the field once her L.M.D. partner was ready. Mack and May seemed keen to explore these ventures. There was something rather poignant about it all as Daisy watched them discuss about the possibilities for new recruits and trainees nowadays, and how the agency could move forward. They had triumphed, they had defeated Malick and Sybil, they had won the war. And yet it felt somehow, at least to Daisy, that they would soon be losing each other.

May seemed to sense that Daisy was feeling a little overwhelmed; she soon ushered the others out of the room, saying they should give Daisy some peace and quiet while she ate. Once the three of them had left, Daisy tucked into the food Kora had brought her – it was a bowl of the soup Daniel had recommended – only to find that her taste buds barely registered it. She wondered if perhaps that was an after-effect from her time drifting out in space. Before she could ponder on this aloud, however, Kora began to speak.

'Where's Agent Sousa?'

'He's gone to freshen up and get me a change of clothes,' Daisy replied, forcing herself to eat more of the tasteless soup.

Kora nodded, looking deep in thought. 'It's funny…Sybil never really saw it, with you two. She told me and Nathaniel pretty much everything she could see in the time stream about this team but I guess…when it comes to, y'know, feelings, she never thought it was important…or maybe she just didn't see it because she didn't understand it…' She trailed off, her face falling slightly; she looked dismayed. 'I can't believe I…I followed her. And that I…believed everything Nathaniel said…about ruling and…'

Seeing how ashamed she looked, Daisy put down her bowl of soup and dragged Daniel's chair over so that she could sit down opposite her. 'I know it's hard, coming to terms with…bad acts you've done. Believe me, I've been there. But it'll get easier with time,' she said, and she reached out and took Kora's hand. 'You'll come to terms with it, you'll make peace with yourself, you'll…move on and try to do good to make up for the past. And I wanna help you with that. The best thing is to just take it one day at a time.'

Kora looked up at Daisy, a little dazed, then gave a shaky nod. 'Is there still an Afterlife here, in this timeline?' she asked curiously, as Daisy let go of her hand.

'Uh…it's complicated,' Daisy said sadly. 'I'll tell you all about it soon, I promise, but…'

'You can't face it right now, I get it. Agent May told me that…that Jiaying isn't alive, in this timeline. That things went bad,' Kora said, watching her sister carefully. 'She wasn't the best mother, was she?'

'No,' Daisy replied eventually. 'But she tried her best. She did what she thought was right – for both of us. Her heart was in the right place…at first, at least.'

'Before HYDRA. Yeah, May told me about that as well,' Kora said, in answer to Daisy's questioning look. 'May's been…really nice to me. She's looked after me a lot since we got here.'

'Huh. That's nice to hear.'

Daisy meant it. May had this surprising maternal instinct that Daisy had only really seen come out with herself or Jemma. But of course it made sense that May would want to help Kora; she would have been able to sense Kora's fear, her loneliness, her guilt, how lost she was. She looked back up at Kora, feeling somewhat sad, and noticed the dark circles that looked almost like bruises under her eyes.

'You look tired. You should go get some sleep,' Daisy said softy.

Kora looked torn. 'Are you…sure you're okay?'

'Yeah, I'm good. Honestly, go,' Daisy encouraged, and Kora slowly got up to her feet. 'Kora. Thank you.'

Kora gave Daisy a tentative smile and nod before leaving the equipment room. She had only been gone about a minute when Daniel returned. He had showered and changed into a tight-fitting white shirt with rolled-up sleeves, and was carrying a change of clothes for Daisy over his arm.

'Success!' he said, making Daisy smile fondly as she got up to her feet. 'I…hope these are ok, I found them on your bunk.'

'They're perfect, thanks,' Daisy said, as he passed over her comfy black T-shirt and skinny jeans.

Daniel turned around at once to give her some privacy like the proper gentleman he was as Daisy began to remove her suit. However, Daisy winced and paused in the process. Her arms are still aching quite painfully; it strained a great deal just to move them.

'Actually, can you, uh, can you help me get out of this?' Daisy asked tentatively. 'Sorry, my arms are still a little…'

Normally she would have asked Simmons or May, but it seemed a bit over-the-top to call them up here all the way from the bottom of the Lighthouse. Besides, Daniel had a perfectly good set of hands.

Daniel turned around tentatively. 'Of course,' he said, looking a little nervous as he approached her and looked at the suit. 'Uh…h-how…do you actually get this thing off?'

'Oh, there are some zips in the lining here but-'

'Oh I see,' Daniel said, and his eyes shot up his forehead as he looked at the tiny zip embedded, almost invisible, in the suit; it took him multiple attempts before he'd got a firm hold of the miniscule zipper. 'My God, how do you change into this without multiple dressers helping you?! How is there time before a mission to even-?'

'Daniel,' Daisy interrupted, smiling.

'Yep. Sorry.'

He slowly, gently unzipped her, trying desperately hard not to damage her suit somehow or to let his hands linger on her back. Daisy closed her eyes in content as his fingers accidentally brushed her bare skin as he unzipped her, and suddenly all they could hear was each other's deep breathing as they stood there. He was so close that she could feel his warmth and smell the scent of the shampoo he's used, and yet he didn't once try anything. The moment he had reached the bottom of the zip, Daniel stepped back, swallowing as his heart raced on, and looked to see what else he could do help.

He cleared his throat nervously. 'Do you have anything on under this…oh, um, okay.'

Daisy had pulled the suit down slightly, revealing her bare shoulders and a sports bra underneath.

'It's okay,' she murmured reassuringly, turning around to nod at him.

Daniel wordlessly helped remove her arms from the sleeves of the suit. He frowned in concern as he looked down at her forearms and wrists; the bruises had gone down considerably, but they still looked blotchy and painful. He stroked her skin around the bruises gently.

'Do they still hurt?' he asked.

'A little,' Daisy replied.

Daniel went to fetch some bandages from the medical cupboard while Daisy stepped out of the rest of her suit. Barely registering the fact that she was only in her underwear now, Daniel helped pull on her jeans and T-shirt. He then sat down with her and wrapped the bandages carefully around her forearms and wrists, making a mental note to ask Jemma for some solution to ease the pain the next time he saw her. Once he had done, Daniel rested his hand around the back of Daisy's neck briefly as he leaned in to kiss her on the forehead. Daisy almost felt like crying in this moment.

This is home, she realised.

'Thank you,' she murmured, as they both got up from their seats, and then she raised her eyebrows at him. 'Hey, no blue shirt,' she noted.

'No. Finally found one of a different colour, thought it was nice,' Daniel said, and he grimaced at her. 'Bad choice?'

'Not at all. I do miss the suspenders though,' Daisy said, grinning.

Daniel raised his eyebrows playfully. 'Oh, really? You dig that?' he said, looking pleased.

Daisy laughed, her hand resting on his chest. He pressed his palm against it, holding her hand firmly against his chest, and they both smiled at each other amusedly as they felt his heart race beneath her palm. It was such a funny feeling.

Daniel exhaled deeply as he stroked her fingers softly, looking almost nervous. 'Look, we don't have to…I know we should probably talk about…things at some point-'

'You mean, 'us'?' Daisy prompted gently, and she smiled at him bemusedly at the look on his face. 'What, why are you smiling?'

'Just…just because that sounds good. 'Us',' Daniel replied.

It was so hard for him not to go on and say those precious three words that they both knew to be true. But he managed to refrain himself. This wasn't a matter of life and death anymore; this was a matter of taking things slow, of making sure that Daisy was comfortable. Daniel hadn't forgotten what Mack had said about her being hurt before. The last thing she probably wanted right now was a man she'd only know for barely a fortnight professing his love for her. She didn't need any more scares after all she had been through this past week.

Daisy's eyes filled with warmth, relieved to hear his words, happy to know that he felt just the same. 'Yeah, I-I agree.'

'But there's no rush. You need time to recover and…well, a lot's changing,' Daniel said softly. 'Some of the others are already…making plans to leave and…I'm just thinking we should wait for better timing, don't you? When there's nothing else. Just us.'

Daisy gazed up at him in wonder. A few years ago, this kind of talk would have scared her. It would have made her want to run away, if a man had spoken to her like this. But Daniel wasn't any ordinary man. With him she felt steady and safe, and for them both to speak like this just felt natural, it felt right. She wanted this. She hadn't wanted anything for herself in such a very long time. But this, Daniel, she was certain of.

'That sounds good. Thank you…for understanding,' Daisy murmured, stroking his hand, but then her smile faded as she went over what he'd just said. 'They're making plans to leave?'

Daniel's face fell slightly. 'I don't mean…right away. Just…'

'Soon, though.'

'It…it looks that way, yes,' Daniel said heavily.

Daisy thought about that for a moment then looked at him and nodded, a bracing smile half-formed on her lips.

Daniel knew at once what she needed. 'Shall we go see them?' he suggested.

'Yeah,' Daisy replied with a smile.

They headed towards the door to make their way to the bunker but then Daisy paused for a moment, and looked back. She wondered if they would ever come into this room again. She wondered if they would ever be back in this aircraft again. As if he were able to read her mind, Daniel reached out and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Daisy managed a small, tearful smile at him. They both then took one last look in the equipment room and at the healing chamber before walking out together and leaving the Zephyr.

When they reached the lower levels of the Lighthouse, everything seemed a blur. Daisy could see Mack and Flint talking in the corner at the other end of the corridor, she could hear Coulson and May bantering in a nearby room, she could sense Yo-Yo whooshing around somewhere and making Piper laugh. Life was just going on as normal – only…it wasn't normal, was it? It had been far too long since they had all managed to stop for a moment, to just be themselves and relax.

And then Jemma emerged from around the corner.

Daisy's face lit up at once, and Jemma paused, pleasantly surprised to see Daisy up and about in the bunker. Her eyes fell at once to Daisy and Daniel's intertwined hands; she looked back up at Daisy, who exchanged a shy smile with Daniel as he rubbed her thumb, before turning back to Jemma. A beam broke out on Jemma's face, and she rushed towards them.

Daniel let go of Daisy with a smile and she ran at her best friend, flinging her arms around her in a tight, emotional hug.

'Oh, Daisy!' Jemma said, relieved, as they held onto each other. 'It feels like it's been so long since I saw you…well, awake and out of the chamber, anyway. I'm so glad you're…I'm…I'm so sorry for what-'

'Don't be,' Daisy said at once, as they leaned apart. 'You have nothing to be sorry about.'

But Jemma seemed to disagree, judging from the guilt-ridden expression on her face. 'I should have come to see you the moment I heard you were awake, but…'

And then a little voice came from around the corner. 'Mama?'

Daisy turned around in the direction of the voice and felt her heart stop. A little girl had appeared, and was tootling around the corner after her mother, clutching what looked like a toy monkey in her tiny hands. She had light blonde hair, slightly tousled, and wore a blue pinafore dress. Her face had broken out into the sweetest smile Daisy had ever seen.

'There you are, sweetheart, have you been playing with Daddy?' Jemma said fondly, as the girl ran up to her eagerly.

Daisy was stunned. She had known about Alya, but for some reason hadn't quite been able to believe her existence until now, where she could see her in the flesh. It had all just seemed too surreal, too miraculous, too much of a fairy-tale. But she was here, she was real…and she was wonderful. Over the past few weeks, Jemma had always vaguely said that they'd 'had time', whenever Daisy and the others had asked how she and Ftiz had managed to build a time machine into the Zephyr. Daisy would never have predicted that that amount of time had been enough to raise a little girl.

'Are you Daisy?'

Daisy blinked rapidly. Alya was looking directly up at her with an excited smile, her dimples showing prominently.

'We told her many stories about you. All of you,' Jemma explained to Daisy.

Daisy exhaled shakily, nodding, as she turned to Alya and crouched down so that she was on her level. 'Yeah, I'm Daisy.'

Alya beamed. 'I'm Alya,' she said.

'It's really nice to meet you, Alya,' Daisy said, her voice trembling with emotion as she smiled back.

And then, to her astonishment, Alya ran up and hugged her. Daisy felt tears begin to fall down her cheeks as she held the little girl close, but she didn't care. Everything she had put herself through, everything they had all sacrificed, all the danger and despair and pain…it had all been worth it, just for this. For Alya.

When they eventually broke apart, Alya turned to look up at Daniel stood beside Daisy.

'Agent Sousa, look!' she said eagerly, holding up her toy monkey.

'Is that another monkey?' Daniel said, impressed, as he bent down to her. 'You should start your own museum!'

Daisy's mouth fell open and she turned to Jemma, who was gave her a knowing smile as she approached. 'She came to see him quite a bit while you were in the healing chamber yesterday,' she murmured to Daisy, as they watched Alya show Daniel her toy in detail.

'Daisy, what shall we name him?' Alya then asked brightly.

She had Jemma's British accent, but with a slight Scottish twang that made Daisy's heart swell every time she spoke.

'O-oh, uh…'

Daisy couldn't think. Seeing Fitz and Jemma's four-year-old daughter, and then seeing her and Daniel together on top of that, had rendered her completely speechless. Luckily, Alya's father then appeared to save the day.

'Are you seriously considering naming your new monkey without me!' Fitz said jokingly in a tone of mock outrage as he walked up to them all, and a giggling Alya ran at him to hug his knees.

The moment she'd let go, Fitz then walked up to Daisy and wordlessly wrapped his arms around her. Daisy gripped him back tightly as they hugged.

'I knew you'd make it,' he murmured in her ear, and he exchanged a smile with Daniel over her shoulder before he leaned away.

'Just look at her,' Daisy murmured to Jemma and Fitz, dazed, as her fingers brushed against Daniel's and they all watched Alya skip around with her toy monkey. 'Look at what you made. She's…she's wonderful.'

Fitz gazed over at Jemma and they smiled lovingly at each other as he proudly replied, 'I know.'

That night, Daniel was just about to nod off to sleep in his new bunk when he heard a tentative knock on his door.

'Come in,' he said tiredly, slowly sitting up in his bed.

The door opened. It was Daisy, as he knew it would be. She was in a dressing gown that ended just above her knee, with matching slippers. Her hair was damp from the shower.

'Hey,' she murmured, hovering awkwardly in the doorway. 'Sorry, did I wake you?'

'Hey. No, I was still awake. Are you okay?' Daniel asked, swinging his leg over the bed and leaning over to switch on the night light.

He was wearing one of the standard set of pyjamas from the Lighthouse's limited clothing collection. His face was scrunched up slightly – clearly he was very tired and extremely groggy – and his hair was all fluffed up and messy from the pillow. Daisy took a step forward into his room.

'Can I…can I stay with you tonight?' she asked. 'I told Kora she could have my room…I found her lying on a couch, she hasn't had any proper sleep since the other day, she's…she's exhausted. I know there are other rooms here but mine's already made up…'

'O-of course,' Daniel replied. 'No problem at all.'

'Thank you…'

But she trailed off; Daniel had got out of his bed and was moving unsteadily towards his prosthetic leg, which he'd left propped up at the foot of his bed. Daisy watched, bewildered, as he leaned his arm against the bedframe to balance himself.

'Wh-what are you doing?' she asked, as he hopped towards his prosthetic.

'Oh, well I…I just thought…' He gestured his knee awkwardly.

Daisy raised her eyebrows at him as she closed the door behind her. 'You thought it would bother me?'

Daniel stopped then, his hand outstretched towards the prosthetic. 'No,' he said, and he leaned away from the prosthetic and smiled softly at her. 'Not you.'

He sat down then on the edge of his bed, simply because it was easier and less strain on his leg. Daisy approached and waited for him to gesture to her that it was okay before she sat down on the bed beside him.

'Can I see?' she asked quietly.

Surprised, Daniel slowly rolled up his pyjamas bottoms to reveal the stump on his knee. Daisy didn't look horrified or disgusted by it, or full of melodramatic pity like what he had become accustomed to this past decade. If anything, she looked amazed.

'You keep asking me about my stories,' she murmured, looking at him. 'Well some day soon I wanna hear yours.'

'My stories from the war aren't fun, I'm afraid,' Daniel said, a sad sort of smile on his face, and Daisy gave him a sympathetic look.

'I know.'

He sighed deeply. 'It's been eleven years…and sometimes I still forget it's gone. It's almost like I can still feel it.'

'Phantom limb pain,' Daisy said. 'Yo-Yo had it really bad at first, after her arms…'

'She spoke to me about that. Sounds pretty horrific,' Daniel said, but then he smiled. 'Thank God for Simmons and her prosthetics, huh?'

'Yes, but…you know that doesn't mean you have to…hide it, or be…ashamed, or whatever,' Daisy said, her brow creased as she watched him.

'I know that…and thank you. It's part of me,' Daniel said, and he patted his stump, almost fondly. 'But it is nice to be able to walk properly again. I didn't realise how much the limping made my back ache.'

Daisy chuckled softly, before realising that he was gazing at her as if mesmerized. 'What?'

'You really don't mind it, do you?' he said, dazed.

'Why would I?'

Daniel shrugged. 'Guess I'm just paranoid. It's…put people off…in the past.'

Daisy's lips curved at one end slightly as she raised an eyebrow at him, intrigued. 'By people, do you mean…women?'

'Uh…no…' Daniel said, and Daisy laughed at the awkward look on his face. 'I'm not that kind of man, I swear…there have only been two…maybe three…women in my life since the war and it never lasted long or went well and-'

'Daniel. It's okay,' Daisy said firmly, placing her hand over his. 'You're not the only one with a poor romantic history.'

Daniel chuckled, relieved, and laced his fingers with hers; he watched their hands for a while as they sat there in peaceful silence on the bed before looking back up at her. 'How are you doing anyway? Really?'

'I'm okay,' Daisy said thoughtfully, and she shrugged. 'Y'know.'

'Yeah.'

'It's just…it all feels…very strange,' she murmured, and Daniel nodded.

'I know what you mean.'

'It's kinda nice, though,' Daisy said with a smile. 'To have some time to chill, y'know.'

Daniel looked confused. 'Chill?'

'Uh…relax. Downtime,' Daisy clarified, and she looked rather wistful. 'Can't remember the last time we had that.'

A tender smile fell on Daniel's face as he reached out to stroke her damp hair, brushing a front strand out of her face. 'You look tired.'

'Thank you,' she said sarcastically.

Daniel chuckled. 'Come on. You take my bed, I'll go on the couch-'

But Daisy put her hand on his chest to stop him moving. 'Sit back down, mister, you're not going anywhere,' she said, and Daniel raised his eyebrows at her. 'I'm not kicking you out of your own bed, just budge up. We can fit.'

'A-are you sure?' he asked, his voice suddenly a higher pitch than usual.

Daisy looked at him and realised then that it wasn't the tight squeeze or any potential discomfort on the bed that he was worried about.

'God, it's just typical that I'd fancy a square, huh?' she said exasperatedly, amused.

'Hey!' Daniel said defensively, half-laughing. 'I'm…I'm just…making sure you know that I'm not…presuming…that I have no…that I don't expect…w-well I just want to check you're-'

Daisy cut over his nervous rambling by leaning in, cupping his cheek and pressing her lips tenderly to his. Daniel stopped floundering at once and sat up straight as he kissed her back softly, his hand on her other cheek. When they leant apart, there was a dazed, warm look in his eyes as he gazed at her, his hand stroking her damp hair as Daisy smiled back at him.

'Thank you for checking. It's very sweet of you. But don't worry, my reputation's not gonna be on the line if anyone finds out we shared a bed or…whatever. Trust me, that sort of thing isn't a big deal anymore,' she said, trying not to smirk.

Daniel frowned, bemused. 'I mean…it wasn't in 1955 either. We kinda moved past that. Or, at least, some people did.'

'Well then what the hell are you worried about?' Daisy asked, trying not to laugh as she looked at him incredulously.

'I…I don't know, to be honest,' Daniel admitted, and he couldn't help chuckling along with Daisy as she clasped a hand to her head and shook her head at him.

'You are such a dork.'

Daniel grinned. 'I'm gonna take that as a compliment, just 'cause you keep saying it and by your own words you just said you fancy me, so…'

'Oh, you picked up on that, huh?' Daisy said playfully, smirking back at him.

'Yeah, just call me Sherlock Holmes,' Daniel said, but then he grimaced. 'Wait, do you know about those books?'

'Yeah, I know Sherlock Holmes,' Daisy said, and a silence fell between them as she simply looked at him adoringly.

'What?' Daniel asked gently.

'I just…' Daisy trailed off and pressed her lips together as if embarrassed, and she reached down for his hand again, intertwining his fingers with hers.

'What?' he repeated, bemused.

She looked up from their hands and met his gaze. 'I'm just so happy you're here,' she said.

Daniel smiled. 'Me too.'

He then sat back and made room for her on his bed as he got back under the covers and lifted the duvet for her. Daisy got in beside him and he pressed his lips to her forehead as they lay down side-by-side.

'I really like your hair like that, by the way,' Daisy murmured.

Daniel frowned to himself, incredulous. He'd seen what his hair looked like at night once he'd been in bed – it would stick up in messy curls, and it looked ridiculous. Of course Daisy would like it. He smiled.

'Thanks,' Daniel muttered, chuckling, and shortly afterwards they both went to sleep with his arm around her.

They woke up the next morning around the same time in almost the same position, (although Daniel had lost all feeling in his arm in the middle of the night and so been forced to remove it from around Daisy). They whispered good morning to each other and gazed across the pillow at each other with a soft smile on their faces.

'So…what happens now?' Daniel asked, after a while.

Daisy knew he didn't mean 'now' as in immediately, today. He meant about their future, for all of them, for everyone in this base.

'I don't know,' Daisy replied honestly.

It should terrify her. But instead she found herself strangely relaxed. She could sense her conflicted mindset slowly breaking down its walls to allow herself to even feel excited by Daniel's question. The thought of the future no longer plagued her with fear and despair and loneliness, as it had done for so long. And of all the things that Daisy had achieved recently, it was this that made her most proud.