The thing about Skye

She's never accidentally called anyone mom before

Skye had seen kids in school call the teacher 'mom' before, and all the other kids had laughed and teased them. Skye never had that embarrassment. Especially after the first time she tentatively tried calling her foster mother at the time (when she was six and still considered a desirable age for adoption) 'mommy.'

Which, of course, turned out to be a terrible experiment because the woman freaked out and returned her the next day.

Some foster parents forced her to call them 'mom' or 'dad.' So… it's always been calculated. Something to get a reaction (whether it's a good or bad reaction is always to be determined).

'Mom' has never been what it should have been. She's never had a mom.

(Even when she finally meets her mother, the woman she's been looking for her whole life, she's not like what Skye ever hoped or wished her to be like.)

When Daisy first hears it, she freezes. Her joints lock, and she can't help but stare long after the moment passes.

"What?" May snaps, irritably, and Daisy quickly looks back down at her computer.

"Nothing," she says, but she doesn't get back to work. The scene is still playing out in her head.

May storming in, demanding Fitz to pick up his 'damn gadgets so people stop tripping on them,' and then Fitz's sarcastic response of 'yes, mum.'

Mom- Fitz called May mom. And… it's kind of perfect? It makes sense.

She's just so… mom-like. She's… Jiaying might not have been everything Daisy hoped for in a mom, but… May kind of is.

And Fitz had just called her mom so casually! In a joking way, but still.

Daisy wonders… what May would do if she called her 'mom.' It's a terrifying thought that Daisy quickly dismisses.

The second time it happens isn't that soon after the first. Coulson is making sandwiches and he slides a plate across the counter to Jemma.

"Thanks dad," she says, before blinking. "I mean, uh, Sir. Sorry."

Daisy stares. Coulson smiles. "I don't mind. You guys basically are like my kids, huh?" he says, sliding the next plate over to Daisy.

And Daisy says, "Thanks dad," because, well, it's much less terrifying than calling May 'mom.' It just… has a different weight to it than 'dad' does (she doesn't know why).

Jemma blushes deeper, but Daisy watches for Coulson's reaction. His smile grows to a grin.

"No problem, kiddo," he says, and starts humming happily as he goes back to making more sandwiches that he will probably deliver throughout the base like he isn't the most important man running the whole thing.

Daisy's shoulders relax at the entirely positive response and decides, maybe, she can call him that again when he is being particularly dad-like.

…..

Daisy wants to try calling May 'mom.' It burns on her tongue but gets stuck in her throat whenever an opportunity presents itself.

It's just… What if May doesn't react well? What if she's horrified that Daisy thinks of her in a vaguely (totally) mom-like way?

She cares about Daisy. She protects Daisy (sometimes even at the expense of the mission). She always reminds Daisy to eat (because Daisy still sometimes forgets). She lets Daisy nap on her. She… She makes Daisy feel safe. That's the thing that's always been missing from the people she's called 'mom' before (would that feeling of safety change once Daisy admits her… whatever?) It feels very dangerous to maybe call her mom. Like- like she could lose something.

So, Daisy just… doesn't.

At least, until Daisy gets hurt and Jemma drugs her to high heaven.

Jemma wasn't panicked when Daisy got to her, per say. Jemma is unfortunately far too used to her teammates coming to her mortally wounded, on the brink of death, and being expected to patch them up despite her not being that kind of doctor, to be truly panicked, but she did feel the awful stress of it (she's become worryingly proficient at working under this specific event).

Still, she doesn't like seeing her friends in pain and bleeding out (Daisy bleeding out in particular is a nightmare she can't get rid of), so when Daisy gets to her, Jemma doesn't hesitate to shoot her full of morphine while she works, despite Daisy's loud protests that she's 'fine- really' (Jemma's gotten very good at ignoring her protests as well).

Luckily, Daisy isn't on Death's door this time. She's been shot three times (bringing her up to a whopping five times total), but it missed anything terribly vital and she wouldn't have bled out for at least another hour.

Daisy watches Jemma work quietly, not quite falling under the effects, but too out of it to truly understand what's going on.

Jemma quickly and deftly removes the bullet from Daisy's side before carefully sewing her up and then moving on to her shoulder, and finally her leg. It's going to scar, but Jemma knows that scars are nothing new to her friend.

As she is just finishing the last few stitches on Daisy's leg, the girl's head rolls back and forth in some sort of slow denial.

"What's wrong?" Jemma asks calmly, wondering if her inhuman constitution has already burned out of the strong pain reliever. "Are you hurting?"

"May? Where'sss… May? She was… She okay?"

Jemma rolls her eyes at her friend's drugged concern and ties off the last stitch. "She's fine, Daisy. She's right outside, see?"

Daisy's head lulls, straining in the direction of the window, and she shifts, forcing Jemma to pull her arm back fast so she doesn't stab her terrible patient with scissors. Jemma gently pushes her back down onto the bed, and she goes easily considering she had hardly managed to sit up in the first place.

"May- I want May-" tears prick in the corners of Daisy's eyes, which Jemma tries to ignore so she can finish dressing her friend's wounds.

"Okay, okay," she relents, when she won't sit still. Honestly, the only more troublesome patient is May herself. Jemma waves a gloved hand at the senior agent loitering by the door, and she comes in cautiously.

"What's wrong."

"She wanted you," Jemma informs with a sigh at the same time Daisy breaks out into a large smile and reaches out toward her mentor.

May hesitates for a moment, glances at Jemma one more time, and then goes to Daisy's bedside- even letting her take her hand.

Jemma nods in satisfaction as Daisy finally settles again, and reaches for the dressing.

"How you doing, Skye?" May asks, looking highly uncomfortable to be standing there holding anyone's hand, favorite agent or not.

"Ss'Daisy," Daisy slurs, and May's eyebrow raises.

"What?"

"Ss'Daisy now. You and… You and Coulson keep forgetting. Skye sucks. No one loved Skye."

Jemma's head shoots up of its own accord, eyes finding the face of the suddenly morose girl in the bed. Jemma's heart thuds uncomfortably, fingers lingering on the new bandage. She sees May's own suddenly intense look, and the way her hand flexes around Daisy's.

It suddenly looks less awkward and more desperate.

"I loved Skye. Just like I love Daisy."

Jemma feels like she's intruding on something private and precious, but she can't turn her eyes away from the normally stoic, unfeeling, Agent May looking so earnest and open. Jemma knows that May isn't actually unfeeling- that she actually cares quite much (for Jemma herself even), but it's still amazing seeing it so plainly written across her face.

Daisy offers a happy, toothless, smile in response to May's proclamation.

"Would you get mad at me if I called you mom?" Daisy asks suddenly, and Jemma's hand isn't fast enough to slap over her mouth to stop the surprised snort. May's wide eyes makes the whole thing even more funny. She thinks about recording it for Fitz. Or Coulson.

"Uh, no. I won't get mad," May says hesitantly.

"If I called you mom, you wouldn't get rid of me, would you?"

Jemma's smile abruptly drops at the need for that very specific reassurance, and she's once again reminded of her friend's very tragic and (not entirely) mysterious childhood.

May doesn't flinch, like Jemma had. Her hand shoots out and pushes some of Daisy's sweaty hair back (like Jemma's mother did for her when she was sick)

"I would never get rid of you. You're mine, okay? Whatever you want to call me, you're mine ."

Jemma decides that it's time for her to leave them be for a bit as Daisy's tears start streaking into the hair at her temples.


A/N: Please review! They make me very happy. Usually.

~Silver~