Here it is, the final chapter! Hope you enjoy :)

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

The new division was called S.W.O.R.D. – the Sentient World Observation and Response Department within the agency. The mission was simple: to make sure that nothing similar to the attempted Chronicom invasion on Earth would happen ever again. Their job was to meet with alien races and establish peace treaties and form good relationships with them. How hard could that be?

Daisy wasn't as nervous at the prospect of leading as she'd thought she would be. There was no one in the agency better suited for this position; she'd had a great deal of experience out there in the depths of space, after all, and had dealt with a whole variety of extra-terrestrial species on many different planets. This job was practically made for her, and Daniel was the perfect choice as her right-hand man; his diplomatic skills were unrivalled, and he had nothing but support and encouragement for her. He helped her see every single day that she was more than capable of doing this job, and, with Kora's enthusiasm at joining them on this mission, Daisy found herself itching to get going.

They had six weeks to prepare until they were due to set off on Zephyr 3, the new aircraft Mack had had made for this very purpose – with some inside help from Fitzsimmons, of course – and, as much as Daisy and Daniel were enjoying making the most of their lazy, domestic days together in the homey apartment that they loved so much, they couldn't wait to embark on this next adventure.

Daisy was firm on one thing as they made their plans with the other agents at HQ for this unusual assignment – that Daniel wouldn't just be working for her in her team; he was her work partner, and they were going to build up S.W.O.R.D. together.

'We should be called 'the Astro Ambassadors',' Daniel suggested.

Daisy pressed her lips together in an attempt not to start laughing as she looked at him. ''The Astro Ambassadors'?'

'Yeah, why, is that a bad name?' Daniel asked.

'N-no, it's…it's great,' Daisy said, smiling, as she leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. 'You're great.'

Kora couldn't stop laughing at Daniel's excitement. 'I can't believe you actually asked him if he'd prefer to stay,' she said to Daisy one day as they collected a bunch of files on all the known destinations they would be visiting. 'How many times has he gone on about that time we were in space last year? As if he'd ever go anywhere else but where you were anyway.'

'I know, but…I had to give him the choice,' Daisy said, smiling to herself.

Kora shook her head, dazed, as she watched Daisy. 'You really love him, don't you?'

Daisy smiled warmly. 'I really do.'

Daniel wasn't just her partner. He was the love of her life, a constant companion from another time…and now she had her sister from another dimension as well, excited to accompany them both on this new journey. Daisy kept wondering why she wasn't even the least bit scared about what they were facing, but then knew she didn't have to be, not with Daniel and Kora by her side.

She got them both going-away presents; for Kora, it was a crash-course from May on how to fly one of the Zephyr aircrafts (she knew that Kora had been wanting to be a pilot for some time now), and for Daniel it was something a little less exciting…a typewriter.

When she pulled out the clunky typewriter from her bag and placed it on their table, Daniel's mouth practically popped open in awe. 'Wow. Where did you get this?' he asked, amazed.

Daisy laughed; if this was his reaction at a typewriter, she couldn't imagine how he was going to cope when they eventually got out there into a far-away galaxy. 'An antique store. I saw it in the window and…well, it made me think of you,' she replied.

'Thank you, Daisy. You're…' But whatever it was she was, Daisy didn't find out, for Daniel then kissed her so deeply that she forgot practically who she was and what she was doing.

Daisy was confident that she was leaving her Secret Warriors team in good hands; she had managed to convince Joey Gutierrez to come back into the fold a few months ago, and he was more than capable – and passionate enough – to continue on with their work. Daisy had even had a few of the new Inhuman recruits sign up to be part of her new team – 'the Astro Ambassadors' team, Daniel insisted – on Zephyr 3.

Daniel began packing his belongings weeks in advance, and as he did so he kept listening to 'Come Fly With Me' and 'Fly Me To The Moon' on repeat, going back and forth between the two as if he couldn't quite decide which song he preferred, and one day Daisy even came home to hear him singing to himself, with a deep, smooth voice like a wonderful cross between Seth MacFarlane and Michael Bublé. His excitement was utterly adorable.

'Happy death-day anniversary,' Daisy said to him when June 22nd arrived.

'Best day of my life,' Daniel said, and when she gave him a questioning look, he smiled softly at her. 'It was the day I met you.'

That evening they had a date night with a pizza takeout and sat down to watch a movie. Daisy had considered showing him Star Wars in preparation for their upcoming assignment, but then thought that that would just put him off, so went with E.T. instead. As she knew he would, Daniel got very emotional and cried at the end, and afterwards he went on and on about how beautiful the musical score was so much that Daisy showed him a John Williams playlist on Spotify (which only made Daniel tearful all over again), and from then on the apartment was filled with endless emotional film scores playing through the speakers.

On their last day before they were due to set off, Daisy and Daniel made their calls to the other team members. Daisy and the rest of the team had already agreed to try out the new Framework transmitter device that Fitz had sent them all a copy of to speak as a group in a couple of weeks, but there was still something rather final as Daisy and Daniel talked to them each in turn. The plan was that they should be back on Earth by Christmas for a few months, but they were going so far away and life out in space amongst the stars and planets and aliens was extremely unpredictable, as Daisy well knew, so there was an air of uncertainty as she and Daniel made plans for the next time they would be able to visit the team.

After bidding farewell to Piper and Davis and wishing them luck on their next mission in L.A., they then had a chat with Alya over video call that evening – Daniel was still too freaked out by holograms and Daisy's story of the Framework so wasn't quite ready for trying out Fitz's adapted Framework device yet, particularly when he thought that Zoom was advanced enough. Alya was deeply upset and scared by the idea of Daisy and Daniel going so far away for a long time, so to cheer her up Daisy began to sing 'Remember Me' to her from Alya's favourite movie Coco, and Daniel even joined in halfway through the song, making Alya's face light up with joy. It made Daisy feel rather emotional; here she was, singing a duet to her beloved goddaughter with the man she loved. It couldn't get much better than this, could it?

'You have such a nice voice,' Daniel said to Daisy, once they'd bid farewell to Alya and ended the call. 'You know, in another life, I bet you would have been a famous singer.'

'Uh-oh,' Daisy said, raising her eyebrows. 'Don't open that door.'

Daniel chuckled. 'Why not?'

''Cause otherwise I'm gonna spend our entire time out in space serenading everyone on Zephyr-3, and I don't think our new team would appreciate that,' she said dryly.

'Some of them might,' Daniel said, smiling, and Daisy rolled her eyes and kissed him before getting up to open a bottle of wine from the fridge.

'Hey, did you notice Jemma acting a little… well, weird, when we said about coming back in five months' time and everything being the same?' Daisy asked curiously.

Daniel frowned. 'Why, what are you thinking?'

'I'm just wondering if…maybe she…might be pregnant again,' she said, smiling excitedly, as she poured them both a glass of wine.

'Oooh,' Daniel said, his face lighting up, as he took his glass. 'Possibly.'

'I don't know, it was just something in her face. I can tell when she's trying not to smile. But, y'know, maybe it's just a trout in the milk.' Daisy said, and he smirked at her; he wasn't sure she fully understood the phrase, but he appreciated the gesture all the same. 'We'll just have to see.'

Daniel cleared his throat quietly as he looked down, suddenly intent on studying the wine glass in his hand. 'Daisy…w-would you ever…want ki-…I mean…just out of curiosity…theoretically speaking, y'know, in a few years…purely hypothetical…-'

'Yes,' Daisy said firmly, before he could ramble on any longer.

Daniel nearly spilt his drink as he looked up at her in surprise. ''Scuse me?'

Daisy smiled softly at him as she put down her wine glass and reached out to hold his hands, closing the distance between them. 'I didn't think I did. I never thought I would. But…yes. I'd like to have kids,' she said, astonished to hear herself say the words and know them to be true. 'In a few years, maybe. Ideally not in space, though, I don't think I could do what Simmons did.'

Daniel smiled at her, his gaze full of warmth. 'You'd like to have kids? Really?'

'Mm-hmm. I just hope I'll meet someone out there suitable enough to be the father,' Daisy said, and, chuckling, Daniel brought his lips to hers in a tender kiss.

It didn't take them long to set everything up on Zephyr 3 the next day. The aircraft was eerily similar to Z1, right down to the equipment room and healing chamber, but that only filled Daisy and Daniel with fond memories, rather than traumatising flashbacks (thankfully). As the other agents that formed part of Daisy's new team moved on board, claimed their bunks and began to settle in, Daniel and Kora both stayed with Daisy on the command bridge, mesmerized by how it was all going to work; their destinations were hundreds of light-years away, after all. Daisy explained to them both about the jump drive, and how it enabled them to transport from here to there, no matter how far the distance, in the blink of an eye. She didn't think either of them understood that well, but they took it all in their stride.

'You definitely sure you wanna be here?' Daisy said to Daniel with a smile as she watched him get out his pieces of paper and pens.

'Yes, of course. I'm with you, aren't I?' Daniel replied, smiling back at her. 'I'm right where I need to be.'

Daisy gazed at him for a moment, taking in the tender look in his eyes, his adorable dimples, his soft smile, and then wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. No matter what they were doing or where they were going or how bad things would get, she knew that Daniel would always be by her side, just as she would always be by his. He was her touchstone in this crazy world they lived in, and she couldn't be more grateful. When she leaned away from him, smiling, she glanced down at his paper and pens.

'You know we can't post letters from space, right?' she said, raising her eyebrows at him.

'I know. But I want to write about what we see, where we go,' Daniel said.

'Like a journal?'

'Yeah. Sort of. I'll make my notes here then type it up properly on the typewriter. 'The Adventures of the Astro Ambassadors',' he said enthusiastically, and Daisy smirked. 'What?'

'Nothing, just…I love you,' she said, stroking his arms.

Daniel smiled. 'I love you, too.'

He kissed her tenderly at first, but when he deepened the kiss, she leaned away to see that smouldering hunger in his eyes and the way his parted lips were smiling at her, which left her with no choice but to slide the door to their bunk firmly shut so that she could spend some quality time alone with him before the Zephyr took off.

They had the biggest bunk, seeming as they were the two commanding the aircraft. The room was by no means as spacious as the one they had in their apartment back on Earth, but they'd personalised it with homey items to make it feel like their own. This was going to be their new home for a short while, after all. They had packed numerous other things for their own entertainment – they had brought Daniel's turntable, a huge collection of vinyl and DVD, Daisy's portable speakers, an endless pile of books, and their Nintendo Switch even. They knew it would be enough; besides, their main form of entertainment would be simply looking out of the front window.

The launch went successfully, and the moment they had left the Earth's atmosphere, Daniel hurried over to join Daisy and Kora in the cockpit. It had been almost an entire year since he had clasped his eyes on the planet from this viewpoint for the first time, and it was just as astonishing as he had remembered. It was strange to think that they wouldn't be back on Earth until Christmas, according to their schedule. And then after a few months, they would probably head straight back out here to continue representing their planet. It was a strange new life, and yet one both Daisy and Daniel already knew they were going to enjoy immensely.

While they travelled and Daisy adjusted to her new commanding role, Kora assisted as co-pilot and Daniel helped out around the aircraft and getting to know their new team members, while spending his free time reading the book Cosmos that Jemma and Fitz had lent him. It made for a fascinating read; it taught him about the mysteries of space, but also inspired him with the idea that the universe was not simply made up of stars and planets; it was a link between all things, and was something they were all an important part of.

It was Daisy's birthday almost a week after they had set off on their travels. Daisy hadn't even registered the date until Daniel and Kora threw a surprise party for her on the command bridge with the rest of their new team; apparently, they had been planning it with the other agents for weeks. They had been limited with what they'd been able to do for it – it wasn't like they'd been able to bake a cake, after all – but the mere gesture itself was more than enough to make Daisy cry with happiness. She had never really celebrated her birthday before, not properly.

Daniel had bought her a load of presents, of course, and had also written a handmade personal voucher for Daisy, containing many suggestions for all the things they could do together once they returned to Earth. There was an adorable drawing of a little scruffy dog in the corner of the voucher that made Daisy smile giddily. That night, Daniel brought his turntable out onto the cockpit, and when the other agents had retired to their bunks and the Zephyr was left on auto-pilot, drifting through the vastness of space while the jump-drive charged up, he put on Frank Sinatra's 'Love Is Here To Stay'. As the song played, he took Daisy into his arms and began waltzing with her. Unable to keep the huge tender smiles off their faces, they rested their foreheads against each other's and swayed gently in the small space behind the pilot seats in the cockpit as they laughed and kissed and looked out at the stars, and it was the most romantic moment in Daisy's life that she knew she would never forget.

Daisy and the old team had arranged to meet up virtually for a group call using Fitz's updated Framework device on the one-year anniversary of the day they'd saved the world; the date seemed rather fitting. Daisy put on the new necklace Daniel had given her for her birthday, which went along nicely with a choker, and swallowed somewhat nervously as she did her hair and put on her smart jacket. As the time for their call approached, she headed up to the command bridge. Daniel was already there, surveying his own personalised old-fashioned control panel they'd designed for him.

He smiled as she approached. 'Is it nearly time?' he asked, and Daisy nodded. 'You're seriously telling me you can reach them on that thing? I lost signal trying to phone you that time I got lost in the shopping mall just before Christmas.'

Daisy chuckled as she sat down close to his control panel. 'Fitz is very good when it comes to this sort of thing,' she said, the transmitter device ready in her hands.

Daniel frowned slightly, concerned; she looked a little uneasy. 'Are you okay?' he asked her gently.

'Uh, yeah, I'm just a little…I don't know why, but I feel nervous,' Daisy replied, confused and annoyed with herself for feeling this way. 'We haven't all spoken as a group – with all of us, together, I mean – for, like, a year.'

'That makes sense,' Daniel said softly, smiling. 'It'll be nice though. For you all to be together. Even if it's some creepy simulation-'

'It's not like how the Framework was before, honestly, Fitz has sorted it all out and Coulson's added his own personal touch to it apparently,' Daisy assured him, smiling.

'Okay. Well…tell them all I say hi,' Daniel said, taking the seat opposite her by his control panel. 'I'll be right here when you wake up…well, when you come back.'

'I know. You always are,' Daisy said, and she smiled warmly at him before attaching the Framework transmitter device to her temple, taking a deep breath, and turning the switch to enter the call.

Dear Daisy,

I have been so excited to use the new typewriter you got me that it seemed only right for my first letter on it to be for you. It is officially two weeks until we set off on Zephyr 3 and I am writing (correction: typing) this now while you are away in L.A. sorting out your 'Secret Warriors' shenanigans with Yo-Yo and Agent Gutierrez (I'm sorry, I'll just never get over the name 'Secret Warriors', it's hilarious).

I'm not sure when I will give this to you. Perhaps when we are far away in a galaxy somewhere thousands of light-years away from Earth. Perhaps when we are back home, whenever that will be, and planning whatever wonderful journey to go on together next. Or perhaps when we have settled down, if such a concept truly exists for people like us who love the adventurous life of S.H.I.E.L.D. so much.

You have only been gone for two days and I miss you so much, even though I know you will be back tomorrow. It has only just made me realise that we haven't had much time spent apart ever since we came to the 21st century last year and began this new, scary, wonderful life of ours.

I appreciate that you find cheesy speeches 'gross', as you put it, so forgive me for the rest of this paragraph, but I feel I must say it. Daisy, you have changed my life completely. Before you, I was lost. I was happy in my work, but I was a lonely wanderer in every other aspect of my life, and then you came along and saved me in more ways than one. You showed me a whole new world and made me believe in so many things again, love being a key one. You welcomed me into your family with open arms and have been by my side every step of the way as I have adjusted to my new life, a life I just cannot imagine without you. You are my home and heart, and there is no amount of words to truly express how grateful I am to you.

You are the most remarkable, brave, selfless, funny, beautiful person I have ever had the privilege to meet and call my partner in life, and I hope you can see just how incredible you are, in the eyes of myself, of Kora, of all our friends, and of the eyes of everyone who has ever known you. I am so proud of all you have achieved and everything you have ahead of you. You are a true inspiration to all agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and I am honored to be your 'dorky weirdo', even though Google tells me that shouldn't be a compliment, no matter how nicely you say it. Not a day goes by when I don't thank the cosmos for causing the miracle that somehow brought us together.

I love you so so much. I can't wait until you come back home and we can begin our new exciting adventure out in space together. I'm sure you, Kora and I are going to have a rather wonderful time.

Yours always,

Daniel x

Daisy wasn't sure what she had expected the call's venue to be, but the sight of the New York speakeasy that Coulson had chosen made her breath catch in her throat for a moment. She hadn't seen this room – physically or virtually – since this very day last year when they'd left Deke in 1983 in the other timeline, when Daniel had offered to stay behind and she'd known then that she didn't want to live without him by her side.

Coulson was already stood there in the centre of the bar, looking at the empty chairs that were arranged in a circle, ready for them all. He was dressed in a crisp smart suit and looked the same as he always did, and it was a joy for Daisy to see. It had only been three months since they had last seen each other, and yet for some reason it felt much longer.

'There he is,' Daisy greeted enthusiastically as she walked over to him. 'You're looking good!'

'You're looking good,' Coulson said, smiling back at her. 'I never change.'

They took their seats. Daisy felt nervous as they waited for the others, and she still couldn't fathom why. She had seen each of her old team members on numerous occasions since they had parted ways at the Lighthouse. Perhaps it was just the notion of this being the first time that they would all be together as a group that made it seem so momentous.

Yo-Yo then joined the call and walked into the speakeasy, with a friendly smile on her face. 'Long time no see,' she said.

Daisy's smile flickered slightly, but she recovered her expression quickly. Yes, it had been a long time. As the months had gone on, their contact with each other had steadily grown less, as Daisy had feared. She couldn't believe that it had taken them a whole year until they had been able to find some time to meet (and only virtually, at that) as a group.

May arrived then, looking unusually smart with a white shirt and black jacket. Coulson's face and eyes were soft and gooey as he gazed at her. Daisy was sympathetic; those feelings would never go away. No matter what version of Phil Coulson he was, he would always love Melinda May.

She knew that May and Coulson hadn't had chance to see much of each other since their unexpected extended stay in the U.K. at the beginning of January, due to May's work commitments trying to get the Academy up and running in time for the grand opening. But since that had happened, and May had got settled into her new job, they had resumed contact with each other…very occasionally. Daisy had heard from Kora that May had even taken Coulson out for a surprise dinner last week, as an early celebration for his birthday – not at one of the diners they'd gone to frequently back in the old days when they'd been young and started out as agents, but instead a new restaurant that neither of them had tried before, to make new memories with each other rather than pine after the way things had been. From the tender way they were looking at each other, Daisy could only assume that this had gone rather well, but she also knew from the longing, almost sad look in Coulson's eyes as he gazed at May now that he was doubtful about whether it would last.

'It doesn't matter how I feel, it's not fair to ask her to waste time on a robot-version of her dead…lover,' Coulson had mumbled to Daisy, the last time they had seen each other when they had met for coffee at HQ. 'Nope, that sounds creepy – let's go with 'dead boyfriend'. But no, we never actually had that conversation-'

But Daisy had put her hand over his to cut over his rambling and said, 'Hey – who May wastes her time on is for her to decide.'

Those words seemed to have definitely changed something in Coulson, but she knew that he would always struggle with his true identity and what it meant for him and May, given their romantic past. Daisy hoped that they would be able to work things out, even if they only stuck together as close friends; they were at their happiest and strongest when they were together, platonically or romantically, and they were practically her mother and father, after all.

Jemma and Fitz joined the call soon after May had arrived, and then Mack, who had been slightly detained due to a 'situation in Moscow'. Of course, he couldn't talk about it – everything was classified now that Jemma and Fitz were no longer agents. It almost hurt Daisy to realise that there seemed an almost awkward atmosphere in the air. The group dynamic had changed. There were no hugs or drinks or laughter over some inside joke or prank that one of them had pulled. They were far away from each other, in so many ways.

It was strange to resort to small talk, but what else were they to do? They had all seen each other on separate occasions throughout the past twelve months and yet this, circled together as a group who hadn't been together in so very long, just felt strange. Daisy wished that Daniel were here, sat opposite her to give her that familiar warm, reassuring gaze of his, but then of course he was here. He was sat about a metre from her, by his adorable little control panel with the fifties-style buttons. She may not be able to see him right now, but she knew that he was there.

The group began to catch up on what they were all up to now. Mack was currently stationed in Moscow, conveniently close to Bobbi and Hunter, and he and Yo-Yo had bought a new house, a place with a stunning view, although Yo-Yo was away on assignment with Piper and Davis. They enquired after May's new job; she pretended to hate it, though they all knew that wasn't the case. She did find it exhausting, however…though not quite as exhausting as Fitz and Jemma found being parents.

'She's the best,' Coulson said fondly, as they all asked after Alya.

'She's learning to swim right now,' Jemma gushed, and they all 'oohed' and 'awwed'; in unison. 'She wants to design her own fish.'

They all chatted about Alya some more, desperate for more information – none of them could ever get tired of talking about Jemma and Fitz's little space-miracle after all.

'Did she, uh, she get Uncle Mack's present?' Mack asked.

Jemma's face lit up. 'Yes, thank you.'

'Yeah, thank you for all the many presents,' Fitz said, giving Daisy a pointed glance.

Daisy smirked back at him; she and Daniel couldn't help it, they just adored Alya too much. She deserved to be spoilt.

'One a year is plenty,' Fitz said firmly.

'Oh, come on, Fitz, what about Christmas?' Yo-Yo pointed out.

Fitz looked exasperated. 'It's overrated.'

'We did get a very nice letter from Agent Sousa,' Jemma said, smiling adoringly at Daisy.

Daisy secretly liked that Jemma still called him 'Agent Sousa' in front of the others; back when the Fitzsimmons family had visited them in New York a few months ago, they had all been so familiar, on a first-name basis, but now being in this room surrounded by these people, Jemma was resorting to her old formalities automatically, and it was nice. It was almost like no time had passed at all, that things weren't really so different. But of course they were.

Daisy smiled back as the rest of the team exchanged knowing looks; Sousa had written to the rest of them as well numerous times over the past year.

'So cute he writes letters,' Jemma went on adoringly.

'I know, right? I just got him a typewriter,' Daisy said, thinking back fondly to his reaction when he'd opened it. 'Speaking of a kid on Christmas.'

She chuckled to herself, her eyes looking rather dazed, and she smiled to herself, lost in train of thought.

Jemma looked at her hopefully. 'Things are going…well?' she said.

She had asked Daisy this question many times, and she knew the answer, but she said it to encourage Daisy to speak about it in front of the whole group. Jemma knew that this was a big step that Daisy and Daniel had taken together, to leave Earth and venture out hundreds of light-years away to the depths of space, to explore the many planets and ancient alien species out there. While other normal couples might have perhaps moved on to becoming engaged, this assignment with S.W.O.R.D., Jemma knew, was Daisy and Daniel's equivalent. And it was a big deal, for both of them.

Daisy nodded, a smile on her face. But still, even after all this time, she didn't want to jinx it or boast about it. 'They're going, yeah,' she said brightly, sounding utterly dazed at that wonderful fact.

She knew that Jemma knew this didn't even cover it, but Daisy preferred to act casual about it; she didn't want to rub it in everyone's faces or gush like a silly lovestruck teenager about how incandescently happy she was at how well things were going.

The rest of the team looked at each other with raised eyebrows and knowing smirks. They knew just what she meant by that. All you had to do was look at Daisy's face, her smile, her eyes. She was brimming with happiness. She was on top of the world.

'We're just, like, loving the journey together,' Daisy went on softly.

This whole past year had been an incredible journey in itself. Just being in a relationship, learning about each other, moving in together, saying 'I love you' to a romantic partner for the first time, everything they had been through in the first two weeks of knowing each other, let alone this wonderful year that had passed since then. And now this – an assignment out in space, together. It was like something from a dream.

As Daisy talked, May's gaze fell on Coulson sat beside her, her eyes tender yet sad as she watched him. She was so happy for Daisy, to see how well things had turned out, to see her finally with someone who deserved her and took care of her and made her smile the way she was doing now. She had come so far, and May didn't know anyone who deserved this happiness more than her. But part of her couldn't help feeling envious, for both herself and for Coulson. If they'd acted on their feelings earlier, years earlier, perhaps they could have had what Daisy and Daniel had now. She and Coulson still saw each other occasionally, they had even come close to turning into something more once again a couple of times…but it would never be the same. And it could never match the magic of Daisy and Daniel's relationship.

'I showed him E.T.,' Daisy went on enthusiastically, 'to prep for it, so…'

'Great movie,' Coulson said approvingly.

'Classic.'

'He cried like a baby,' Daisy said, and Mack chuckled fondly as they all watched her, still in awe of just how huge and genuine her smile was. 'Um, but he's…he's-he's made for this work. He's solid. But he does keep calling us 'the Astro Ambassadors', so that's…yeah.'

She laughed to herself, aware of how everyone gazing at her with warm smiles on their faces and surprised by how that didn't even embarrass her. But why should she be embarrassed? It was no secret that she was in love and happy.

'He's a dork,' Daisy said proudly.

They all knew that was code for: 'I love him to bits', because she'd said it to them all so many times with such adoration whenever she'd been in touch with any of them these past few months.

'But he says hi,' Daisy said, making a mental note to force Daniel to use the Framework transmitter device the next time they did this.

The team then moved on to ask Coulson what his plan was; to their relief, he was in no rush to turn himself off. He wanted to take some more time, continue to reassess, and see the world. May, Mack and Daisy offered him places with their respective teams for when he was done with his sabbatical, which Coulson was grateful for.

Daisy's signal then began to go slightly; they were about to enter a nebula back on Zephyr 3. Yo-Yo was near the drop zone where she was, and May had a group waiting. A slightly awkward silence fell for a moment as the old team looked at each other, realising that the conversation had somehow already drawn to a natural close. Daisy was sad; she'd hoped that they would be on this group call for much longer. She had so much to say, and yet she couldn't think what. It wasn't like before, where they had all talked with each other every day and it was normal and natural. This was a catch-up, just a five-minute catch-up, and then that was it, back to their ordinary lives, to carry on with the rest of their day.

Jemma looked rather despondent as well that it was all over so quickly, so soon. 'I vote we make this a tradition,' she said.

'Yeah, I agree. We can't lose touch,' Mack said firmly, smiling reassuringly at Daisy sat opposite him. 'We've been through…too much together. A miracle we survived.'

Daisy found comfort in his words. Even though they had all gone their separate ways and didn't get to see each other every day, their family still existed, and they would still be there for each other, always. They were tied to each other from everything they had been through together. That love, that family they had built would never disappear; it would still be there no matter the distance or the time. She had to believe that.

They all began to joke then about the amount of times they had all nearly died – or, in Coulson's case, the multiple times he had died – and then reminisced about Deke, wondering how he was doing in the other timeline. They all missed him so much, and laughed fondly at the thought of him doing his rock concerts while leading the agency.

And then there was another awkward pause. None of them wanted to leave. And yet none of them could think of anything else left to say.

They had forged permanent bonds with each other, they had been through monumental, world-altering, life-shattering events together…and yet their lives had just gone on, they had left it all behind, and the intimacy and familiarity of their day-to-day routine living and working together was just a mere memory now. Somehow, in what seemed like the blink of an eye and yet also a decade, their lives had changed completely. Their best friends were now just contacts on their phone, people they dropped by to visit occasionally when they weren't busy or who they would send a quick text message to once in a while. The S.H.I.E.L.D. bases, both airborne and underground, that they had grown attached to were no longer their homes. They were all new people now. And perhaps they were better for it. But that didn't make it any less poignant.

Yo-Yo was the first to leave.

'Same time next year?' she said, and as everyone smiled and nodded at her in agreement, Daisy felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach.

A year away? Yes, they would no doubt visit each other occasionally as they had done this past year, but a year until all of them were together as a group again? A year?

And yet, as Daisy thought about it and registered that desperate feeling in the room between them all – that feeling of longing for one another, of what once was – she knew that time didn't really matter anymore. It never had for their team. They would have that bond forever, no matter what.

May was the next to leave, though before she did, she encouraged Coulson to swing by at the Academy on his travels, to tell his many stories to the newcomers. Daisy hoped that he would.

Jemma and Fitz then left; they were having a picnic in the garden back at their charming cottage in Perthshire and Alya was punching Fitz in the leg, eager to carry on playing. Daisy looked forward to having that with Daniel someday. Before departing, Jemma promised to email Daisy an anatomy analysis she had requested for one of S.W.O.R.D.'s upcoming missions. Daisy smiled; Jemma only corresponded directly with Daisy about work when Fitz was either out or asleep, because she didn't want him to know that she was secretly carrying on with S.H.I.E.L.D. work in their retirement. It was reassuring to know that Daisy wasn't the only one who missed the old days so much.

Before Mack exited the call, he looked directly at Daisy, and in that moment he was her big brother once again. 'Be careful out there,' he said softly.

Daisy smiled and nodded. He knew he didn't need to worry, not really. She was Daisy Johnson, the hero who saved the world, and she had a good man by her side always watching out for her.

When just Daisy and Coulson were left in the call, they sat in silence for a moment, then looked at each other. This group call had hit Daisy like a punch to the gut of just how final everything was with their team, how it really was over, a distant memory, an old story. In just the space of a year they had all moved on and formed new lives, away from each other. And now they would just hang out together as a group once a year, with the occasional visits and calls and texts every few months in between. And yet, somehow, Daisy felt okay with it. It was a strange feeling of acceptance. Because she was happy in her new life, truly happy. But she would always miss the way things had been. They were her family, after all. They always would be.

'It's not the same without these guys,' she said.

'No, it's not,' Coulson murmured, twiddling his thumbs, as he gazed at Daisy and smiled at her.

'And are you really just seeing the world?' she asked him.

Coulson shrugged thoughtfully. 'There's some places I've always wanted to go,' he replied.

Daisy smiled sadly, nodded. 'Okay,' she said in a small voice.

She wished that Coulson would sometime join her, Daniel and Kora on their exciting journey in space. And yet she knew from that last tender look between him and May where he would go to in the end, once he'd finished travelling – to join her at the Academy.

'But look at what you did here,' Daisy said. 'There are people out there…who are lost. People who…show promise. If you don't find them, who will?'

Coulson was smiling at her; he was looking at the answer. 'How's it going with your new recruit?' he asked.

Daisy smiled, and hesitated as she thought about Kora, of how far they had come since this time last year. 'Hmm. She's doing great,' she replied quietly, nodding, and Coulson smiled warmly at her. 'She's been through a lot, but, um…it's funny what can happen when someone believes in you.'

She could feel her eyes watering slightly as she gazed at him, the man who had started this whole thing, the man who had brought them all together and shown Daisy how incredible life and people could be.

Coulson's lips parted for a moment, overcome with emotion at her words. 'Give me a call when you get back,' was all he could manage to say.

Daisy smiled. 'Yes, sir.'

And then he pressed his fingers to his temple and exited the call.

Daisy inhaled sharply the moment he disappeared, as if she'd been holding her breath (and possibly tears) the whole time, waiting until she was left alone before finally letting go.

It had hit her hard, to watch the people she had grown to call her family disappear into thin air one by one like that. It strangely felt more like the end of an era than it had back when they'd been bidding farewell to each other in person at the Lighthouse last year. She knew that she was clinging on to it, that she missed their old life the most when everyone else had moved on, but she was okay really. She was just overcome with nostalgia.

Daisy sighed as she looked around at the empty chairs, lingering, and her face crumpled slightly as she tapped her fingers, not knowing what to do with herself. She wished they could have all spoken for longer. She wished they didn't have to be so far apart all the time. Sometimes she wished she could go back to how things had been before, just the old team together on the Zephyr fighting L.M.D.s and Shrike and Chronicoms and whatever else the universe decided to throw at them.

But she had something just as good, if not even better, to go back to now.

Taking one last look at the speakeasy, Daisy took a deep breath, reached her hand up to her temple and closed her eyes as she turned the switch of the Framework transmitter device.

Her heart swelled the moment she opened her eyes to see Daniel sat there on the chair opposite her, as always, his prosthetic leg propped up casually beside his control panel, engrossed in Carl Sagan's Cosmos. With the mere press of a button, she had come back to the real world, to her world, and was able to shake that sadness and longing away…because of Daniel, because of Zephyr 3, because of this new mission, and because she knew that this, right here with him, was where her heart belonged.

Daniel looked up from the heavy book as she removed the device. 'They good?' he asked her.

Daisy hesitated before answering. Yes. They were all good, more than good even. They were all much better off, and much happier, than they had been before. Perhaps that was why it hurt. There was something rather bittersweet about it.

She nodded and smiled warmly at him. 'They're good,' she replied.

Daniel smiled at her, though his expression turned sympathetic as he watched her bend her head low as she put the tiny Framework device away. He knew how she was feeling. He knew she missed them all, and the time they'd had together, terribly. It had taken her months to accept that it was truly over.

But Daisy was surprised by how okay she actually felt now.

She may have lost the old home that she'd got so used to. But she had a new home now, with Daniel and with Kora, and it didn't matter where they were; she knew that they would always be there for her. Her partner and her sister. Her family.

A small smile fell on Daisy's lips as she looked down. How did I get to be so lucky?

'Hey,' Kora then called over from the cockpit, and Daisy turned around to face her. 'You got to see this.'

Daisy turned back to Daniel; they exchanged an apprehensive glance as Daisy got up from her seat. Daniel put his book down on the control panel, looking a little wary as he got up to his feet – they'd been out here for a number of days now, yet this bit still got him every time.

Daniel followed Daisy into the cockpit and they both paused for a moment, slightly stunned, as the extraordinary sight met their eyes.

Giant, bright, burning red clouds of dust and gas awaited them, sparkling and shimmering. The hot, new stars forming before them cast off enough radiation to cause a spectacular red glow, which lit the inside of the Zephyr's cockpit with a scarlet hue. It was like nothing they had ever seen before. And both Daisy and Daniel knew that there would only be plenty more of these unbelievable, spellbinding sights to come. The feeling was indescribable.

Kora smiled at the dazed look on Daisy's and Daniel's faces as she turned back to gaze out of the window. 'Amazing, right?' she said, as they looked on in awe.

Daisy nodded, feeling a little choked up, as she looked out at her new life, glistening and glowing and spreading out far and wide across the cosmos before her. She had spent over a year in space before and yet the sight of swirling stardust and magical sparkling hues of mesmerizing colours would never fail to astonish her. Daniel rested his hand on the back of the pilot's seat as he stood beside her, his lips parting in a daze as he stared out at the stunning view.

'It's beautiful,' Daisy murmured, as the new family looked out at the otherworldly multi-coloured cloud of space dust.

Her eyes began to water slightly as she turned to gaze at a highly starstruck Daniel, who couldn't take his eyes off the window, as if she needed to reassure herself that he was really stood there, here with her in space heading off blindly into the unknown so as just to be with her. He had no idea that what really made this whole experience so incredibly beautiful was him.

A flood of warmth and overwhelming love surging through her, Daisy sidled up to him, her hand on his lower back; they moved as one as Daniel, still gazing intently at the nebula, pulled her closer instinctively and he wrapped his arm around her waist. Daisy smiled as they leaned into each other, at the way he was so automatically attuned to what she wanted and felt even when his attention was diverted by the most breathtaking sight anyone had ever seen, and her eyes welled up with emotion as she turned back to look out at the nebula.

Kora smiled at them both as she got up from the pilots' seat and left them to it, touching Daisy's arm as she headed back to talk to the rest of their new team on the command bridge. Daisy smiled as she watched her go, her sister, her wonderful sister, before turning back to Daniel and resting her head on his shoulder as they looked out at the stars.

'How are you feeling, Danny Boy?' Daisy asked, a smile on her face as they wrapped their arms around each other.

Daniel looked away from the shimmering, swirling scarlet clouds of stardust and gazed at her. 'They're your everything. Stars in your skies,' Jemma had said. Well, she'd certainly got that right.

Not so long ago, he had secretly got in touch with Jemma and Fitz with a sketch of the engagement ring for Daisy that he had designed. He had asked them both to use the same material and technology used to make her Quake gauntlets so that the ring wouldn't get damaged whenever Daisy used her powers (and they had both responded extremely enthusiastically, to Daniel's relief). Looking at the reflection of the sparkling clouds of stardust in Daisy's eyes now, though, it made Daniel wonder if perhaps he would have to think again about the design of the stone on the ring now; perhaps he needed something to reflect their time away out here. Nothing would be as beautiful as this nebula before them. Well, aside from Daisy herself, of course.

'Well, Quake,' Daniel replied, squeezing her waist and pulling her closer to him, 'I'm feeling that this is gonna be a hell of a lot of fun.'

Daisy smiled back at him. 'Me too,' she said, and they leaned in and kissed tenderly.

Any sadness Daisy had felt merely a minute ago once exiting the Framework call had dissipated. It was crystal clear now. She was where she was meant to be. It was dazzling up here, like something from a dream, a whole new world to explore. And she had just the right person at her side to explore it with her.

Daniel pressed his smiling lips to the top of her head, wondering if she knew just how deeply he was in love with her, as they turned back to gaze out at the nebula, at the promise of a new adventure.

They could create their own future now. They were soaring into the unknown together, with a hundred thousand things to see and do, and it was beautiful. They were so far away from Earth – literally hundreds of light-years away from home – and yet both Daisy and Daniel knew that, as long as they had each other, this right here was the only home they needed. Neither of them could see what was coming…nothing was written or set in stone, their future was theirs to do with as they pleased…and they couldn't wait to see what it had in store for them, together.

THE END

Warning - prepare for some waffling…

So, that's it! I really hope you all enjoyed this fic. Thanks to those of you who have stuck with this and been reading and commenting (and even live-tweeting your reactions!) pretty much every chapter, I really can't tell you how much it means to me!

I never expected this fic to turn into more than 10 chapters because a) I've been traumatised by TV shows where the writing for characters/relationships has been a huge let-down *cough* Game of Thrones and The 100 *cough* and b) at the time I started writing this, Enver Gjokaj was only credited to be in about 4/5 episodes, so I never thought he'd make it to the end! Looking back though, I should have seen how obvious it was from the start that Daisy and Sousa would end up together – I was 99% sure their relationship would turn romantic after their last scene in 7x08 with Daniel watching Daisy in the healing chamber, which was what hit me with the urge to write about their story, but I never would have predicted that we'd get Dousy endgame (a whole year later as well!).

Before this fic, I was trying to write my own story (it's always been a silly dream of mine to be an author) but had been struggling with writer's block for literally months. But now writing this fic and seeing your feedback on /Twitter has really helped me get back in the zone and I'm excited to continue with my own stuff now. My motivation to do this wouldn't be there without all your lovely words of encouragement and extremely kind comments on this fic so thank you all so so much!

I'll miss this ship and will miss Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. so much – Daisy and Daniel are my OTP (is it obvious?) and AoS is now one of my favourite shows, and I can't wait to re-watch it all from the beginning. Maybe once I've finished that, we might have a Quake/Astro Ambassadors spin-off announcement?! Here's hoping!

Love you guys. Thanks again so much for reading :)