Daisy fell asleep early in her own bed in her own room. Maybe skating and falling on the ice like ten times, combined with moving all those boxes and unpacking had just exhausted her. She woke at the sound of her alarm blaring and turned it off. She threw on workout clothes and used the bathroom and then knocked on Melinda's bedroom door.

"Come in Daisy."

She entered and saw Melinda coming out of her bathroom. Melinda smiled at her and said, "You ready for Tai Chi?"

"Yeah. Here or..."

"Let's go out to the living room."

They did and while they were doing Tai Chi Phil came upstairs, waved to them, put water in the teakettle and started making breakfast.

He made chocolate chip pancakes with bacon and Daisy stuffed herself. She excused herself to take a shower and get ready for school. The drive was much closer from their house then from Melinda's apartment. She came back downstairs with her backpack, setting it and her shoes by the door. She sauntered back to the kitchen and watched Phil pack all their lunches. She grinned. Melinda was looking through some paperwork for her job, and it was such a normal domestic scene. She moved over to Phil.

"There are a lot of muffins left. They'll be stale soon."

He looked up. "You want me to pack some for your friends?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Maybe a way to thank them for being there for me on Friday."

Melinda looked up. "You okay? You want me to go to school with you?"

Daisy grinned. "I'm good. Phil said I just have to give a statement what happened, right?"

"Yes. I can be there if you want."

"I think I'll be okay. I do need to thank Trip and everyone though. I sent Carol and Nat a couple texts but, I just want to thank them all together. And I want to – I need – I want to show – do this to show that it's okay to not be okay but I can still move on from it. You know."

He smiled at her. "Muffins it is."

Daisy sat down at lunch. She had seen Nat earlier in English class, but this was the first time she was seeing everyone else since the incident Friday. Some kids from other tables stared at her when she had entered but no one said anything.

She opened the extra bag Phil had packed full with muffins. "I brought muffins," she said simply.

Sara flashed her a smile, and Miles waited till she got one out and grabbed it first. She passed one to everyone.

"I just wanted to thank you guys. For being there for me – for not – for not making a fuss, for giving me space and time, and just – just – for being my friends."

"You're welcome." Trip spoke first.

"Like I said Daisy. We have your back." Nat patted her shoulder.

"Grant Ward is a bully. His parents have always bought his way out of everything though. None of us at this table like him." Mike added.

"Yeah. He's a tool. Heard he was suspended for three days and got two week's detention."

Daisy nodded. "That's what my dad said."

"That you're Mr, C's daughter helped. They couldn't just sweep it under the rug." Carol frowned. "Like they usually do."

"I'm just sorry Roy also got suspended."

"Yeah well zero tolerance for violence. They had to do that, I guess. Too many people saw him pounding the crap out of Ward. If it makes you feel better, he said it was worth it. He'll be back tomorrow." Trip shook his head. "I never seen Roy that mad before."

"I'm just sorry I missed that part."

"Yeah well, check youtube girl. Lots of videos from the peanut gallery." He looked around the room.

"Oh. So they recorded everything?"

Nat shook her head. "They didn't see much Daisy except Roy giving ward his just due. We acted pretty fast."

"Thanks."

Nat shrugged. "Been there kid. Me and a couple others."

Daisy looked at Nat. "I didn't know that."

"We didn't know it either – but it's okay. All you need to know is a couple of us get it, okay? You want to talk about it, fine. You don't want to. That's fine too."

Daisy gave her a small tentative smile. "Maybe someday." She sighed. "I need to bring in something special for Roy tomorrow. You think he'd like chocolate chip cookies?"

"Hey Phil. Can you teach me how to make chocolate chip cookies tonight?" They were on their way home from school.

"Sure. You have a hankering for them?"

"A what now?"

"Hankering. Like a yearning. A longing for them?"

She gazed over at him amused.

"A craving."

"Is that an old people word Phil?"

"It is not. It's just a word."

"Sure Phil. Whatever you say. But actually, I wanted to make them for Roy. He is back tomorrow after his one-day suspension which he got cause of me."

"Well he didn't have to do what he did. You didn't cause him to hit Ward."

"No I know. But he did. To protect me. I just want to thank him."

"Okay. You like him, huh?"

"Yeah. But not like you are thinking. He's – he – I don't know. I think maybe he's been through some things like me. He's a good guy."

"He is. He's had a rough life. He's overcome a lot."

She looked at him curiously. "But that's teacher stuff that you know, and you can't tell me, right?"

"Right."

"That's cool. So after dinner? I'll do my homework early."

"Sounds like a plan."

Melinda walked by the table in the kitchen and grabbed a cookie.

Phil saw. "Hey those are too hot. You need to let them cool down."

"It's fine Phil." She shoved half of it in her mouth.

"Don't cry to me when you get a stomachache. And isn't that like your fourth one."

Melinda shrugged her shoulders and shoved the rest of the cookie in her mouth, picked up her mug of tea and another cookie and sauntered out of the room.

"She keeps coming in here and we aren't going to have any cookies left." Phil lamented.

Daisy giggled. "We made two batches Phil. It says we should get sixty cookies from each one."

He winked at her. "Mel could never resist my cookies."

"I heard that innuendo Phillip." Melinda yelled from the living room.

Phil blanched as he looked at Daisy who was cracking up. "I didn't mean it like that Melinda. Everything was fine till you decided to make it not fine."

"Oh believe me Phil. Your cookies were always fine. You were always great at baking cookies." Came back her suggestive tone.

Daisy lost it. She started laughing. Then stopped abruptly. She looked at Phil. "Ewe."

"You're grossing out our daughter Melinda," he yelled. 'Stop it."

"That's not the words you used to yell Phil. Quite the opposite actually."

"Melinda." He chastised.

Daisy faked throwing up. Melinda appeared in the doorframe. She had a grin on her face. She casually stepped into the room and stole two more cookies.

Daisy got to lunch earlier than usual. She was the second one at the table, Sara was the first. She had two containers with her as well as her lunch bag.

Clint showed up next. "What's in the containers?"

"You'll see." Daisy waited as one by one the table filled up. The last one to get there was Roy. Trip patted him on the back before he could sit down. Daisy cleared her throat. "Hey Roy. I just – um -I wanted to thank you. For protecting me. Sorry about your suspension." She handed him the top container.

"It was nothing Daisy. I've been itching to punch Grant Ward in the nose for a very long time."

"I've heard. Anyway, me and Phil baked those last night."

He opened the lid and grinned. "You didn't have to do this Daisy. But thanks. They're my favorite."

"I know. Oh and I brought this one for everyone else to share. I really appreciate you guys. I've never had – I've never had a lunch table before."

"You gonna open them up or what?" Miles spoke up.

She laughed and opened the lid and passed the container to him. The kids all erupted in loud talking demanding he share the cookies. Daisy glanced at Roy who gave her a nod and smile. Nat patted her on the arm. She smiled back at Roy then dug into her lunch, content and happy.

Tuesday night Phil went grocery shopping for the Thanksgiving meal. Lian had texted him her list as well. Melinda had gone to the airport to pick up Lian and William. Their flight was arriving at seven. Daisy had a test to study for as well as a ton of homework for the last day of school before Thanksgiving break. That's how she found herself home alone in the new house. She'd started out in her bedroom, working at her desk, but kept hearing all kinds of weird noises. So she'd move to the dining room table and tried to focus on reading the science material. She only had a C in the class, and wanted to get a good grade on the test to bump her grade to a B.

She knew Melinda and Phil wouldn't be mad at a C, but she had made a goal for herself to not get anything less than a B this quarter. Which meant she had until mid-January to get all caught up and to get all the work done in all the classes. She was doing the worst in science and Algebra. Maybe a tutor wasn't such a bad idea after all, she thought. She read the next paragraph and then heard a loud bang outside. In the back. Her heart started racing as she stopped what she was doing and listened. There was another noise this one not as loud. Then there were a series of noises, almost sounding like scratching.

Daisy got her phone out and called Phil. He picked up after a few rings.

"I think someone's trying to break in the house Phil," she said panicking. Her breathing was coming in gasps.

"Hey, hey. Calm down. The doors all have locks. It's okay. It's probably just a squirrel or something."

"Do squirrels make loud banging noises Phil? Please come home."

"I'm at least forty minutes away with the traffic Daisy. I needed to go to this one store for Lian's items. And Mel is no closer. Just take a breath and calm down. We are in a more suburban area than you're used to. It's okay. Probably just a noise you're not used to."

"Please Phil."

He heard the panic in her voice. "Okay. I'm gonna hang up and call Bobbi. She's only about fifteen minutes away at her station, okay. I'll call her, and then call you back and stay on the phone with you. I'm going to hang up now."

"Okay. Call back please. Tell her to come now."

"I will. I'll call back right after I hang up with Bobbi."

Daisy heard the phone disconnect and put it in her pocket. She looked around the dining room and then went to the kitchen. She grabbed a knife from the holder in the counter. She moved back into the dining room and glanced at the patio door and moved to the light switches on the wall, flipped them up, flooding the backyard with light. She backed away from the dining area and saw that the outside porch light in front was already on. But the garage/driveway light was off. She moved back to the kitchen and opened the garage door switching on the overhead light. Then she flipped the outdoor garage light on as well. She gazed around in the garage which was empty of vehicles. Nothing else was out of place. She slammed the door shut and moved back to the hallway leading to the bedrooms. She sank down to the floor, leaning against the wall, took her phone out and placed it on her leg and continued to hold the knife in her hands.

A few more seconds passed and then her phone vibrated. She picked it up.

"Daisy. It's me. I'm on my way home. Bobbi's on her way too. She'll be there soon."

"Okay. Please hurry."

"Hey. She has a key, so she'll let herself in. Where are you?"

"Huh?"

"In the house. What room are you in? "

"The hallway. I got a knife."

"Daisy, stay calm. Bobbi will be there in a few minutes. Just stay on the phone with me okay?"

She nodded.

"You with me? Can you talk to me?"

"Yeah. I'm here." Just then she heard another loud crashing sound outside. "Phil." He voice was shaking. "I think there's someone trying to break in. What – what if he hurts me? Like before."

Phil tampered down all of his fear, focusing on keeping a steady tone and staying calm. He was now driving while talking to Daisy. "Just stay put. Stay calm. Wait for Bobbi. She's almost there, Daisy.

Daisy stayed on the phone listening to Phil talk. She went through her breathing exercises for Tai Chi that Melinda had taught her. She focused on a point across from her, but it didn't work. She closed her eyes trying to picture a nice scene in her head. She gripped the knife tighter and felt herself losing the fight. The knife clattered to the floor as did the phone causing it to shut off. Daisy's breathing became ragged and shallow, as she became fully immersed in the PTSD memory. She was there again. He was holding Kerrie down and his pants were at his ankles. Kerrie was screaming in pain as he forced himself inside her. Daisy had grabbed the chair and slammed it over his back. He cried out in pain and turned to glare at her. The anger in his eyes was far worse than anything she had ever seen. Then he sneered at her. He got up and pulled up his pants telling her that he was going to kill her after getting what he wanted from her. She hesitated a second too long and he caught up with her in the hallway. He tackled her and then laid on top of her, ripping at her clothes. He overpowered her.

"Hey. Daisy. It's okay. I'm here." Daisy looked at her blankly and then threw herself full force at Bobbi. Daisy was screaming and lashing out with her feet and hands. It took Bobbi a few seconds to realize what was happening. When she did, she kicked the knife down the hall that she saw next to Daisy and simply moved back to a safe distance. She shouted at Daisy over and over who she was and where she was. It was horrifying. After only a couple more minutes, Daisy stopped and became still. She was breathing heavily.

"I'm so sorry Daisy." Bobbi knelt there still a safe distance away just watching Daisy who appeared to slowly be coming out of it. She picked up her phone and called Phil. "Hey Phil. I'm here. Daisy's not hurt. There's no one else here as far as I can tell. Hunter's outside checking the perimeter. Slow down and don't worry, okay. No need for you to get in an accident." She paused and listened. "Of course, you were speeding Phil. It's your kid. Yeah see you soon. Oh, hey you want me to call Melinda?" She listened to his response. "Oh okay. Yeah, so she'll be on her way back shortly anyway. No need to make her drive like a lunatic. Like you." She listened again. "Sure Phil. See you soon."

Bobbi just watched Daisy for the next few minutes. The things she had shouted were disturbing. Yeah, she knew, they all knew, that Daisy had likely been sexually and physically abused. But to see the ramifications of that, to see the girl going through a PTSD attack and verbalizing some of the horror brought everything closer and made it far more real. Poor kid. This was her niece, her flesh and blood and someone had done unspeakable things to her. Bobbi felt her blood pressure rise as her anger boiled over. She took a few breaths and calmed herself. Herself getting upset would do Daisy nor Phil any good. Hunter had come inside but a quick shake of Bobbi's head had him moving out of Daisy's sight and into the living room by the window to wait for Phil.

A few moments later, Daisy opened her eyes and stared at Bobbi. Recognition slowly made its way to her mind. The memories were still there, on the surface, but she could recognize them as just that now, no longer trapped in them. Those things had happened but not today. A couple years ago. Not today. Today, she was at her new house and lived with people who loved her and protected her. Including the blond woman kneeling a couple feet away from her. Wait, she'd had a knife. And her phone. She was talking to her dad before – before. She looked at Bobbie and tears started to flow.

Bobbi talked very gently and softly to her. "Hey it's just me. You're not hurt. No one's here to hurt you. I won't ever let anyone hurt you. I'm here. Phil's on his way."

Daisy was full on sobbing now. And still shaking.

"Hey can I touch you? Is it okay if I hold you? Daisy please." Bobbi was near tears herself.

The slight nod from Daisy allowed Bobbi to move in front of her and she pulled Daisy into her arms. Daisy leaned into her and continued to cry.

Fifteen minutes later Phil drove into the driveway and got out of his car running to the house. Hunter came out and greeted him. "Slow down mate. You don't want to scare her."

"What?" Phil stopped in front of Hunter.

"Daisy. From what I gathered she had one of those panic things. Bobbi is in there with her now."

Phil tried to move past him.

"Phil. Listen. Bobbi has her. She's quite emotional. She was terrified. Whatever it was going on in her mind, barreling in there will not be helpful. I checked your place. No one was around. I think maybe there were some raccoons by the dining room patio door. Probably what she heard. Looks like some bags of food trash were left outside there. There are papers and plates and cups strewn about. Probably from last weekend."

"She's okay? I mean she's..."

"She's with Bobs. In her arms currently. She was crying and talking but what I heard didn't make much sense. Least not to me. Take it slow Phil."

He nodded and took a deep breath. He walked into the front door. He saw Bobbi and Daisy still on the floor. Bobbi seemed to have things under control for the moment and so he allowed her to continue to take the lead. He wasn't sure his presence would be helpful.

Daisy had allowed Bobbi to walk her back to her room and get her into bed. Then Bobbi sat with her. Phil had continued to keep his distance once he got inside. Bobbi was currently sitting in Daisy's room while she slept. She had fallen asleep about ten minutes ago. Phil was pacing back and forth in the living room waiting for Melinda to get home. He wasn't sure if she'd be mad at him for not calling but he didn't want to have her upset like he had been while driving. He knew he had barely kept it together when Daisy had called him in her panic.

Melinda had taken her parents to the apartment to get settled in. Their plane was actually about twenty minutes early, and she was on her way back to the house. Phil knew that because he had called to find out where she was. He was relieved she was almost home but also terrified that she'd be very angry at him. Hunter had brought in all the groceries and put them away, which meant he'd have to search for everything later, but that was fine for now. Hunter was currently sitting on the couch drinking a beer. He'd offered one to Phil, but he'd shaken his head. From what he could gather from everyone, Daisy had suffered a full-blown PTSD attack. Bobbi had explained that Daisy was protecting herself with the knife, and he'd picked it up off the floor and set it on the kitchen counter. He saw the lights come into the driveway and heard the automatic garage door open.

"He moved to the kitchen followed by Hunter, and waited for Melinda to come in. She opened the door and saw them standing there. "Hey I didn't know Bobbi was stopping by tonight. Oh and you. Hi Hunter. I thought you guys worked the late shift this week? How are you?"

"Good."

"Where's Bobbi? And Daisy? I brought her a macchiato."

Melinda set the drink carrier down on the counter. "Phil. What's wrong?"

"Uh- um- well it seems Daisy thought our furry masked neighbors, otherwise known as raccoons, were bad guys trying to break in and uh – well she um – she had – she panicked."

"Phil." Melinda's expression changed into worry.

"She called me and was really upset and thought someone was going to hurt her, so I called Bobbi cause I knew she could get here faster and when she got here, Daisy was in the middle of a severe panic attack."

Melinda took a few steps toward the bedrooms.

Phil stopped her. "She's sleeping. Bobbi's in with her. Mel – she's okay now."

"Why didn't you call me?"

"Because it was right at the time you were picking up your parents, Bobbi was closer, and at the time I thought that it was just a case of being alone in a new house jitters. Plus I didn't want you to get hurt driving like a lunatic to get here when we had it under control. Well – I thought we had it under control."

"Okay. How long has she been asleep?"

"You're not mad?"

"Phil. You're her father. You get to make decisions. If you thought not calling me at the time was best, I trust you. I know you'd never do anything to bring harm to Daisy or me. Or anyone you love. I'm going to go see her now though, okay?"

He nodded. "You gonna sit with her?"

"Yes. I'll send Bobbi out. Don't you guys have to get back to work, Hunter?"

"Yeah. For a couple hours. We end our shift at midnight."

"Thank you." She touched Hunter's shoulder and headed to Daisy's room.

Melinda dozed off a few times in the next few hours. She was sitting in the chair next to Daisy's bed. Bobbi and Hunter were long gone, and Phil checked in on her a few times, bringing her a blanket and pillow, a bottle of water, and the last time a cup of tea. The teacup sat empty on the nightstand and Melinda was currently leaning over watching Daisy sleep looking for any signs of distress. Daisy had turned a few times the last few minutes. Melinda watched as she turned yet again and then stretched her arms and opened her eyes.

Daisy stared at Melinda. Then she looked around and noticed she was in her own room. Her new room. She was confused for a second as to why Melinda was sitting next to her and then it all came rushing back to her. She stared at the shelf across the room, and then sat up and pulled her knees up grasping them with her arms and then laying her head on them. "What time is it?"

"It's almost midnight."

"You get your parents at the airport okay?"

"Yeah. They are set up at the apartment. They'll be here bright and early Thanksgiving morning."

"Bobbi left?"

"She did. Along with Hunter. They had to finish out their shift."

"I didn't know Hunter was here."

"Yeah he was. He checked outside when Bobbi came inside to check on you. Said the noises you heard were probably racoons. He's nearly positive. I guess someone left some trash with food left out back last weekend and they were having a party."

"I'm so stupid."

"Daisy. Don't."

"It was like I – I just lost it. Everything came crashing in." She looked at Melinda. "I don't want to talk about it. Is that okay?"

"It's fine."

"Can I stay with you the rest of the night?"

"Of course."

"I need to go to the bathroom."

"Okay. Use mine. I'm gonna grab you a water bottle and I'll be right in. I just want to let Phil know you'll be with me. Is that okay?"

Daisy nodded. She got up and headed across the hall to Melinda's room. Melinda walked to the kitchen to get a water bottle. Phil got up from the couch and followed her.

"How is she?"

"Non talkative, tired and scared. She's spending the rest of the night in my room. Go to bed Phil. She's with me. She's safe. We can talk more tomorrow."

"Okay. Goodnight. Tell Daisy good night for me."

"I will." She headed back to her room as Phil went downstairs.

Melinda walked in and handed Daisy the water bottle. "Drink."

Daisy nodded and downed half the bottle while sitting on the bed. Then she put the bottle on the nightstand and got into the bed. Melinda came out of the bathroom and got in the other side of the bed and turned out the light. Daisy immediately moved to snuggle into her side and Melinda slipped her arms around the girl. Daisy mumbled a goodnight.

"Goodnight sweetheart. Phil says goodnight too."

"I love you guys."

Melinda and Phil both told Daisy she could stay home from school the next morning, but she wanted to go. She told them she had a test in science and didn't want to get further behind on any classes. She spent her lunch in the library to study for her science test. She'd told Nat why she wouldn't be at lunch and Daisy told her she'd call her about maybe getting together over the break. She'd taken her test and felt pretty good about it. She was currently sitting in last period computer class. She really liked her teacher for this class, Ms. Smoak and liked the freedom she allowed them to work at their own pace. She was making an animated story and she grinned as the character she'd based on Melinda was looking more and more like her mother as she worked.

Felicity Smoak looked over her shoulder at what she was working on and grinned. "That's really good Daisy. Your story is coming along nicely."

"Thanks. This is really fun."

"I'm glad at least one of my students is putting so much effort into this project. Do you have a model for that character or is she random?"

"My mom. The guy in the suit is my dad."

"That's interesting. Very interesting." She smiled, and then spoke more seriously "Look Daisy, there are a ton of rumors flying around this school about you and Phil – um Mr. Coulson. I want you to know I know the truth. Phil told all your teachers the basic story. So uh – anyway, I think you're very brave and doing a fabulous job in this class and your advanced computer class." She paused. "So if there's anything I can do more to help with anything, just feel free to ask. You're already taking some of the most advanced classes we offer here. But I also teach part time over at the community college. You could take a class or two next year. Some computer classes are online, or we could see about letting you take a class of two in the morning before coming to school. It depends on what other classes you need and scheduling of course. Phil said you might be interested in Computer Science as a college major. "

"Yeah. It's something I'm really good at. It comes easy to me."

"Well I'm sure it does, as do many things we like. But don't sell yourself short Daisy. You work hard at this too, and you're very smart. Anyway, I love the concept you have going here. Are they spies?"

"Yeah. Covert special forces of a spy agency that works behind the scenes. My team is a family."

Felicity grinned. "It's a great idea. Very original. I can't wait to see the finished project. No rush though. You have till the middle of January."

"Thanks. I already finished the other assignment. For the school announcements. I know it's not due for a couple weeks. I just want to check it over the break and make sure I didn't forget anything on the rubic."

"Can't wait to see it. Have a great Thanksgiving."

"Thanks. You too." Daisy's grin grew wider as she watched Ms. Smoak go to another student. She rarely ever got complemented by teachers. The way it made her feel was good. She was still grinning as she made her way to Phil's classroom at the end of the day.

Melinda sat on the sidewalk and motioned Daisy to sit next to her. "I've always been a kind of loner Daisy. I like quiet. I never was a big talker. Phil always was the bigger conversationalist, the funny one, the guy who knows a little bit about everything. He's comfortable with people. He moves through change easily. But because of Phil, I had to let down some of my walls to keep up with him. I had to push myself to be less alone. It's not easy for me. I deal with many things physically. I beat a punching bag when I'm angry. I run to let off tension and anxiety. I do Tai Chi to find my peace. I work out cause when I do, I can think. That's how I handle things. This talking, sharing – this openness about feelings, it's foreign to me. Phil and Maria were the two people in my life I could do that with, and even with them I hesitated on some things. Until you came back into our lives – and you needed me to be that too."

Daisy looked at her shoes. Melinda paused for a few moments trying to gather her thoughts.

"When you appeared back in our lives, I vowed to never hide anything from you. To be open and honest and always, always be real with you. You are a talker Daisy. That's how you figure things out. You are so much like Phil in that way. You wear your emotions on your sleeve. You tell people how it is. So if you need to tell me to slow down, to stop, to give you a few minutes, to not push then please do it. Don't be afraid that I will think any less of you. Don't cover up your anxiety, your fear, your anger. I don't expect you to be perfect. I hope you don't expect that from me. Cause no one is perfect. Don't put me on some pedestal Daisy. Don't ever think that I have all the answers. I don't even come close. What you will, however, always get from me is love, respect, trust and the truth. Even if I don't like what you say, don't agree with what you want or say, I will always and forever be here to support you. You're stubborn and sassy. You get that form me. At least I'd like to believe that. You are a teenager with a lot of issues but a wonderful heart. You are allowed to, on occasion, be a teenager. God knows neither Phil nor I will have any clue how to deal with it, but we'll try. Right now, you are hiding what happened at the cafeteria – you're hiding how vulnerable and scared it made you. I can imagine that will happen many more times. If you're anything like me the last thing you want to share is all those feelings the incident brought back. I'm telling you though, that you should. If not with me then with Jemma or a friend. Otherwise that pain will fester inside, and you will either lash out or put up more walls. There's nothing, absolutely nothing you can tell me that will make me think less of you. Nothing that will have me blame you for what others have done to you. Nothing too shocking that I can't handle.