Day 122 – Lighthouse Base – Coulson Barracks – 1950 hours

May tucked a blanket around a sleeping Daisy and kissed her temple lightly before stepping back and watching the girl slumber. She mentally measured each breath as the little girl's chest rose and fell softly, naturally. She'd been home, in her own bed for two and a half days and still May worried things would fall apart again. The memory of Daisy collapsing in her arms would not be erased. It played over and over, especially in the quiet hours of the night.

She heard Coulson approach before he lightly laid a hand on her shoulder. He too stood and watched their child sleep for a few moments before speaking softly. "She's okay, Melinda." He tried assuring her just as he did last night and the night before and each time she rose during the night to check on the girl. He smiled thinking this was what it would have been like bringing their infant daughter home for those first few weeks.

"Simmons says everything was fine when you saw her this morning." He reminded her with a soft one armed hug.

They turned and walked to the door, stopping there to give one last look then stepped into the small kitchen leaving the door slightly ajar.

May shook her head. "She's just not herself. She might be fine as far as Simmons is concerned but something is off." She pushed the door open a few more inches, just enough to give her a clear view of the little girl's form in the dim light of the room. "She doesn't even put up a fuss when I have to use that damn thermometer." She huffed as she reached into one of the cabinets, pulled out two small tumblers and plunked them on the table.

Coulson took the unspoken hint and retrieved a bottle from a separate cabinet. He poured the amber liquid into the glasses and gave a soft chuckle. "That could have something to do with you keeping your promise to paint her backside purple two days ago." He held out one of the tumblers to her and resisted the urge to smirk at the glare she gave him.

"She deserved it after the damn stunt she pulled." May snarled as she took the glass and swirled the liquid around, staring at it rather than meeting his eye. Then looked up as she continued, "not that you didn't have a hand in it."

"Two or three," he agreed with a smirk of his own as he raised his glass in a silent toast.

They both drank the strong liquor lost in their versions of the incident that occurred a bit more than forty-eight hours before.

xxxx

Daisy's first day at 'home' was without incident. She was just relieved to be there and still a bit shaky after a week in the med ward. It was late afternoon when Jemma finally released her and spent a few hours visiting with the team before actually returning to the family barracks. Mack had greeted her with a sweeping bear hug, lifting her into his arms and holding her tightly for more than a few minutes. It was easy to see the man's joy in seeing his former partner feeling well again. Daisy blushed at the weird attention but was just as happy to return the affection. Yoyo provided double chocolate brownies that, surprisingly, May didn't limit, allowing Daisy to splurge with three large pieces. Even Fitz took a break from his relentless research to enjoy welcoming the little version of his friend back to what could be considered normal activities. Simmons smiled at how he seemed to relax seeing Daisy looking so much better.

By the time the team celebration had wound down Daisy was more than ready to climb into her own bed, but not before giving May an extra hard time over temp taking. She bargained, begged and flat out refused until May threatened to have Coulson help. After sobbing through the entire procedure, May gathered the little girl into her arms and shushed her until she dozed off. Then spent fifteen minutes seated at the girl's bedside just watching her sleep.

Day two was not so pleasant. Daisy seemed to be in a foul mood from the moment she opened her eyes. Breakfast was a battle with the girl insisting she wasn't hungry and refusing everything but a slice of toast of which she ate just half. May held her temper and uncharacteristically gave in but only with Daisy's promise that she would eat a much better lunch.

The battle over the morning temp measure started before the girl left the table. Daisy insisted she felt fine and there was no need to continue the dreaded procedure. She pointed out that her temperature had not changed in the last two days and nobody needed to check it anymore. The girl reasoned that if Jemma felt she was well enough to leave her sick bed…well, then she was well enough to forgo the whole rigmarole. While Coulson felt the whole thing was a bit amusing…watching May go head to head with a pint sized Daisy was something to see, May was not so entertained by the girl's dramatics. She firmly reminded Daisy of Jemma's conditions for her release but the argument continued despite the usual Coulson threat. Even that did not end Daisy's protest, nor did her attempt to lock herself in the bathroom or escape out the side door. May was faster and Coulson was stronger and beside they had keys and codes for every lock in the place. Finally, and before May totally lost it, Coulson scooped up the little girl, carried her to her bed, and plunked her down with orders to stay put. He even called her Agent Johnson. When she folded her arms over her chest, glared at both parents and still refused to cooperate, they let out frustrated huffs and joined forces to get the job done. There was a lot of protesting and the struggle was exasperating but it was done. After which Daisy refused to be comforted, still kicking and screaming that they leave her alone…which they did…for the hour it took her to calm down.

When Coulson went off to investigate a situation Mac felt was urgent May found the little girl seated on the floor, wedged tightly between her desk and dresser, still clad in her PJ's. Daisy had pulled her knees up to her chest and refused to look up when May asked if this was the way things were going to be now. The girl shook her head without lifting it from her knees pulling them closer, arms wrapped tightly around them.

"I don't wanna do this anymore." Daisy sniffled into her knees.

"Good," May agreed. "I'm pretty tired of it myself."

The girl shook her head. "No, I mean this…all of this shit." She stuck out her arms, palms up and bounced them a bit.

May took a deep breath. She'd let that one go. Letting the breath out softly, she squatted down in front of her small daughter. She put a hand on Daisy's knee and gave a gentle squeeze. "I know." She spoke quietly. "I know this whole thing sucks and whatever is going on isn't making it any easier, but we'll get through it."

Daisy picked up her head, tears brimming in her eyes. "Everybody keeps saying that but we're not…I'm not…I'm not getting through it. It just keeps being…being not through with and…I don't want to do it anymore." The tears came faster almost preventing her from finishing.

May's heart was breaking. "Oh, bao bei…" She tugged the little girl from her spot and pulled her into a hug. "I wish I could fix this for you. I wish I could make it all go away and give you what you want." She sat back pulling both of them to the floor and holding Daisy close, rocking slowly in comfort.

They stayed there for a few minutes until Daisy's tears were exhausted. She rested her head against May's shoulder and drew shaky breaths. "I'm tired of tryin' to hold on to adult me and I'm tired of being kid me."

"Shhh," May comforted. "You just need to be yourself, bao bei."

Daisy looked up without lifting her head. "I don't know who my self is anymore, May. I don't know how to be two mes at the same time."

For as much as May had enjoyed being mom to this little spitfire, she knew her Daisy was hurting. Worse than that she knew there was nothing she could do to ease that hurt. There were no words to console the girl. She felt the tears run over her own cheeks and hugged Daisy tighter. She rocked the child and kissed the top of her head.

"I don't think we can do anything about it today." May forced a smile and bent to look into Daisy's eyes. She helped the little girl to sit up and wiped her tears with the hem of her PJ top. Her voice was unusual in tone and soft spoken. "Sitting here crying like two silly fools won't help anything. Will it?" She smiled a real smile.

Daisy's lip quivered but she shook her head an offered a weak smile in return.

May's smile widened. "No, it won't, so how about if you get dressed and we both go down to the gym for a little bit of Tai Chi?" She raised her brows with the question and waited for Daisy's response. When Daisy simply let out a soft sigh, she jostled her just a bit. "Hmmm? What do you think?"

After a few seconds, Daisy gave a slight nod. May let out a soft relieved breath, maybe the rest of the day would not be so difficult.

xxx

The Tai Chi session didn't do much to raise Daisy's spirits but it did help to calm her. She followed May's moves exactly and seemed content in the fact she remember each one without error. After a quick shower and change, mother and daughter made their way to Command to check in with Coulson. He had very little to report. It seemed the world and all its craziness was quiet for a change. There was a blip of some kind somewhere outside of St. Louis but so far it seemed insignificant. He had a team tracking it and keeping him updated.

Coulson was happy to see Daisy had recovered from whatever was going on that morning even though she did not appear to be her normally spunky self. When he sent Daisy out to check on some of the new programs one of the techs had installed she knew it was only so May could tell him all about their morning. She didn't really care. It wasn't a secret. They talked for a long time before all three of them had lunch together.

Pizza, it was pizza. Somebody brought it from River's End. It wasn't great but it was good and Daisy had to admit she was hungry this time. She finished two slices and downed a can of Coke before May stopped her from snagging another. The meal ended with everyone off to their respective stations to get back to work. Except for May, for now Daisy was her station and the only work she needed to do. They walked slowly back toward their base home.

"You know what we need to do, don't you?" May tried to ease into the fact that it was time for a temp check.

Daisy shook her head. "I don't want to."

"I know you don't but I also know you realize there are some things we have to do, even if we don't want to."

Daisy nodded. "I hate it."

May took the little girl's hand. "I know, bao bei."

The procedure was not easy, but the argument and resistance was not as difficult. The crying was no less but May was able to comfort her little girl until she was cried out. She suggested trip to the pool for just a soak or maybe a float. Simmons couldn't object to just a little dip. Daisy sniffled a bit but said she just wanted to be alone for a little while. May wasn't quite comfortable with that but agreed if the girl would stay in her room with the door opened just a crack. Daisy nodded. May kissed her head and left.

Fifteen minutes later the little girl was gone.

xxxx

There was no cause for alarm or panic, even when a quick check of the bathroom did not reveal the child. May knew it wasn't unusual for Daisy to seek out Coulson when she just needed to talk. After all, May wasn't usually the chatty type. Even she couldn't imagine where she'd pulled every bit of quasi-wisdom she'd spewed in the past few months. Most of the time she had no idea what to say to Daisy or just how to say it but somehow she muddled through it and nine times out of ten said the right thing. The truth was there were times when that kid pushed her to her last nerve and yet she kept a lid on her fury and did what needed to be done.

With that thought she opened her com and let Coulson know he'd be having a visit from their daughter, if she wasn't already there. He replied with a smile she could hear. May knew he loved the fact that Daisy still sought him out when push came to shove. She smiled too. With Daisy safely in Coulson's care she could check in with Simmons giving her an update on the situation. Hopefully, Fitz had some news as well. Perhaps some good news would help lift Daisy out of her cranky mood.

The blip in St. Louis became a bigger concern when one of the new techs felt it was some kind of signal. Coulson had everyone working on finding out more information before he dispatched a team to check it out. The activity in Command was more intense than it had been in the past few weeks. May discussed Daisy's behavior with Jemma and both conferred with Fitz who spent a great deal of time explaining what he had deduced so far. He hinted that he would need another blood sample and both women shared the dread in telling Daisy the news. All in all it was more than an hour before May reached out to Coulson to check on Daisy's mood and break the news that she'd need to report to Simmons as soon as possible.

For a moment Coulson did not respond, although May could hear the activity in the background. At first she wasn't sure he'd told her Daisy never got there but when he moved away from the noise she understood completely. Daisy never showed up in Command. Maybe she walked in during the commotion, figured it was a bad time and when back to their barracks. He was sure that's what had happened.

May swore through her teeth, under her breath and she marched out of the science lab. She punched the switch for the lift and growled again as she entered it. She was not in the mood to play hide and seek with her cantankerous ten…no nine-year-old.

xxxx

A quick sweep of their barracks gave no indication Daisy had been there…not the bedrooms, the bathroom, the kitchen or the small living room. May wrestled with the panic that something had happened between there and Command and the rage that Daisy had pulled some stupid-ass Houdini act. She checked the small storage room next to their barracks and found the bike Mac and Fitz had repaired for the girl where it had been parked two weeks ago. Maybe the kid had gone to the pool without her. Sure the place was locked down but when did that ever stop her intrepid daughter. She once again marched to the lift and smacked the down button while she opened a com with Fitz and informed him of the situation. He could check all of the security camera's from his lab and hopefully locate the fugitive before they had to alert Coulson.

Ten minutes later May had checked the pool, locker room and game room when Fitz informed her he had Daisy in the hall outside their barracks almost two hours ago. Apparently the little girl had gotten into one of the lifts on that floor but he was not able to find her exiting on any other level. May barked at him that that was impossible. The kid couldn't just disappear and it was highly unlikely that even in her foul mood she was riding that lift up and down the expanse of levels for two hours.

Fitz almost laughed before remembering that Melinda May was not one to joke about…well, about anything. He hedged a bit before suggesting that Daisy could have exited on level twenty-seven. For a moment there was silence until May growled a not so friendly version of 'so what'. Fitz stumbled over his explanation of the fact that level twenty-seven was mostly unused storage space and that it had no security cameras as it was designated an emergency escape level…in case the base was infiltrated and there was need to evacuate. It was almost as if that level was invisible to the rest of the base and it had one lift that went to directly and only to the surface. And of course Daisy knew all about it because she was the one who helped him devise and secure the plan for it.

Fitz was pretty sure his ear would have caught fire if it were possible to do so with the language May spewed for almost three minutes. It got worse when he told her there was no way to check the lift on that level as it too was part of the evac plan. He tried calming her with a suggestion that perhaps Daisy just needed a bit of fresh air…after all she hadn't been outdoors in…

May disconnected before he could continue.

xxxx

Coulson, Mac and Yoyo were waiting outside the Lighthouse residence when May stormed out of the garage façade. They had already been briefed on the situation and expected May in full fury. There was no reason to even attempt to calm her. Coulson was unusually agitated as well. Memories of the last time Daisy had disappeared because of a stressful situation reared in his mind. He remembered searching for her all those months, worrying about her safety, praying she was alive…and at the time she was an adult, fully capable of caring for herself. Now…no he refused to believe the girl had run away again.

Yoyo stood with hands on her hips staring up at the catwalk on the Lighthouse. "She's probably found herself a spot up there where she enjoys looking down at all of us." She shook her head for a moment before the others felt a soft breeze and a minute blip. The woman turned with a frown. "No, nothing, if she was there she is not there now."

"She couldn't have gotten far." Mac announced looking in all directions. "I mean…she's just a kid. She's got little legs. How far could she go?"

"There aren't any cars missing. Are there?" Coulson snarled.

Mac furrowed his brow.

Elena shrugged her shoulders. "Hey, it is Daisy we are talking about. Who knows?" She turned was gone returning a second later with a report that all vehicles were present and accounted for. "Perhaps she went through the tunnel to River's End."

Coulson shook his head as May paced back and forth on the gravel covered driveway. "I've got a team on that and Fitz saw no sigh of her in that area. This is our best bet."

Facing the waves crashing against the rocks below, Mac put a hand to his brow. "Well unless she's got a boat we don't know about, she's gone inland."

"Don't put it past her," May growled as she pushed past him and marched toward the road. Coulson hurried to catch up.

"They aren't getting far on foot." Elena shrugged, looking up at Mac. He let out a long breath and shook his head.

A few minutes later four teams were assembled. Coulson and Mac would take an ATV and search the beaches west of the base. Elena and May would do the same to the east. Piper and Davis had the road leading to the highway which was about ten miles away. Fitz would continue to monitor the security feed and send out his retrievers to monitor the places the team could not. Simmons would stand by in case of medical emergency.

It had been almost four hours since Daisy was last seen.

xxxx

"Coulson…" Fitz's voice was hard to hear over the engine of the ATV. Coulson motioned for Mac to stop then opened the channel with a quick 'over'.

"I think I may have something a little more than three kilometers to the west. The retrievers are short range. I cannot see more than what might be tracks in the sand." Fitz informed him.

"Got it," Coulson replied pointing in that direction. Mac gave a quick nod and revved the machine into motion.

Fitz wished them good luck but knew he wasn't heard. He flicked off his ear bud and began recalling his retrievers.

It took a few minutes for Mac to maneuver through the rocks and brush to the area Fitz described. The beaches in the area were not used and mostly blocked by large rocks and thick undergrowth. Driving, let alone climbing through it to reach the sand was treacherous. Finally the large man was able to steer the vehicle into a small stretch of sand. He pulled to a stop and stood to look out across the expanse. Coulson jumped from the vehicle and stood staring at a dark shape at least five hundred feet away. He pulled binoculars to his face and scanned the area.

The dark shape was a large piece of driftwood, blackened by it's time in the frigid water. Its one bare branch reached up like a boney arm toward the overcast sky. There were tracks in the sand but most were dragged furrows probably made by some animal lugging its prey. Coulson shook his head. They were losing the light as the sun dropped in the sky. He let out a frustrated breath and turned back toward the ATV. Mac shook his head and bent to drop back in the driver's seat when something caught his eye. It was only for a second but he was sure he saw something. He jutted out his chin toward it giving Coulson an unspoken cue.

They both watched for a few minutes, hoping the light and shadows were not playing tricks. Then there it was again, something behind the large piece of dead tree bobbing up and then quickly back down as if ducking out of sight. Coulson pulled the binoculars back into place and watched again. Sure enough the bobbing appeared again a bit to the left of the previous sighting. This time he gave a nonverbal cue, nodding to Mac before stepping out of the vehicle and moving toward the driftwood.

Coulson moved slowly, carefully not wanting to startle some creature that might not be keen on him interrupting dinner. He was pretty sure lynx, wolves and black bears were native to the area and just as sure he could not outrun any one of them. He patted the icer tuck neatly in his belt and hoped it worked on large animals. He was a few feet from the tree when the creature's head bobbed up again. This time he was pretty sure there was no danger of eminent attack. The man increased his speed and stepped around the driftwood snagging the arm of his daughter just as she prepared to make a mad dash toward the brush.

He stared into her eyes, she stared back just as she had in the fireworks factory after she'd run away not so many years ago, been missing for months. It was the same look, not sorry for what she'd done but sorry she that she'd been caught. The anger and relief he had felt then rushed over him in the same fashion. Without thinking he spun her away from him and landed three firm swats across the seat of her jeans then turned her back.

Daisy's free arm flew to the sting on her posterior as she blinked away tears and stared up at Coulson. "I just…just needed some time to think." She spoke quickly, holding back the sob she knew would come.

"Daisy," he breathed and fell to his knees pulling her into a tight hug. "I'm gettin' too old for this."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and let go of the tears, sobbing into him…remembering the look, the fireworks place look…seeing the hurt and the anger and the relief and knowing, knowing he felt the same.

Coulson stood with his child in his arms and carried her back to the ATV. If Mac had witnessed what just happened he made no comment, verbal or otherwise. He waited until both were secure then let Elena and the rest of the team know the child had been found and turned toward the base.

xxxx

May and Elena arrived at the base a few minutes after Coulson and Mac. She was out of the ATV before Elena brought it to a stop. Daisy could see by the look on her face there would be hell to pay and was immediately on the defense. In a matter of seconds she went from the contrite child in Coulson's arms to the battle-ready brat in May's sites. She rolled her small hands into fists in preparation.

"What the hell, Daisy?" May demanded in front of everyone.

"May," Coulson stepped between them in an attempt to diffuse the situation.

She shoved him aside. "Don't May me." She commanded. "I've taken your shit for the past three days, Daisy. It ends now." She growled at the little girl. "March," she pointed toward the lift.

Daisy opened her mouth to refuse but May stopped her with a glare.

"I said march or we will settle this right here." May spoke slowly, just above a whisper.

For a moment the two glared at each other breathing heavily. Daisy chewed her bottom lip then stomped her foot and let out a loud breath through her teeth before turning and heading for the lift. May glared a dare toward everyone else and followed.

Once in Daisy's room, May turned the girl to look at her and demanded one thing, "Why?"

Daisy thought for a moment. She didn't have an answer, not one May would like anyway. What the hell did it matter why? She didn't need permission and owed no one an explanation. Everything blurred in the heat of her anger even though she had no idea why she felt that anger. This whole situation left her helpless and that fed her fear and anger ate fear and she let it.

Daisy narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips before snapping, "because I felt like it!"

It took May no time to accept the dare. She planted her hands on her hips. "That's it, because you felt like it?"

Daisy glared back. Part of her wanted to back down to beg forgiveness, to fall apart in her anguish but the anger chewed away those feeling and fed into her defiance. May's threats meant nothing.

May nodded just once. "Then I think it is about time you get to feel something else."

xxxx

May leaned against the doorframe and swirled the liquid in the glass she held. Once again she watched as Daisy slept across the room. "More of a bright pink, actually, but I think she got the idea." She spoke to the bourbon.

Coulson stood behind her, one hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure she won't be sneaking out anytime soon, regardless of the color scheme." He chuckled. "And I'm just as sure she's just taking a few steps back to get in your good graces."

"She's never been out," May snorted, "or that color would be a healthy purple."

Coulson gently turned her to face him and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "You worry too much, Mom." He smiled. "She's frustrated. Temporary isn't temporary enough for her. She probably just resents being 'mommed'."

Letting out a soft breath, May reached around him placed her drink on the table. She stepped to the side and shook her head. "I still think something's not right. Daisy doesn't hold a grudge, she bounces back but it's more than that. It's like the light's gone out."

"Metaphors? Really, May?" Coulson smiled, still watching his daughter sleep.

"Simile," May corrected, absently. "I'm taking her back to Simmons in the morning."

Day 123 – Lighthouse Base – Coulson Barracks – 600 hours

Daisy did not wake despite May or Coulson's attempts.

They rushed to Med Bay immediately.