The Next Day

"Daisy! Jemma! time to get up and get ready for school." Melinda said as she did every morning.

Jemma was never a problem getting to wake up in the morning. Daisy, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. She hated early mornings.

"Good morning mom," Jemma said as she walked into the kitchen, opening the fridge to take out milk for her cereal.

"How did you sleep?" Melinda asked, handing the cereal and a bowl to Jemma.

"Peaceful." She replied, making her measurements of milk to make the perfect cereal ratio. "What about you, mom?"

As she spoke, Jemma mixed her cereal and milk together and grabbed a spoon from the utensil drawer.

"Great actually," Melinda smiled. "Especially since your father is home."

Both females shared a moment smiling at the thought that Phil was back.

"Good morning, you two." Phil greeted, walking into the kitchen. He planted a kiss on Jemma's forehead as he passed her then did the same for his wife. "I see, as usual, Daisy isn't down as yet."

"That's Daisy for you." Jemma chuckled, taking her now ready cereal to the dining room just next to the kitchen. "Anyway, good morning, Dad."

"Slept well, hun?" Melinda asked as she grabbed the orange juice out of the fridge and placed it on the kitchen counter.

"Best sleep I had in a while." He beamed as he took out ingredients to make pancakes. He grabbed his apron from the apron rack.

Melinda smiled as she watched her husband, "That's amazing, love."

"I see you're about to make pancakes," Jemma said. "Daisy's favorite pancakes to besides. Honestly, you spoil her a lot dad."

"Tell me, where is the lie?" Melinda teased.

"I don't spoil Daisy." Phil defended. "And these pancakes are for everyone."

"But, who favors those pancakes more than anyone else here?" Jemma challenged. "Daisy does. Speaking of which, I'll go wake her or she'll sleep the whole morning away." Jemma walked up the stairs, heading towards her sister's room.

Melinda laughed at how Jemma defeated Phil's whole argument. "She's definitely your daughter."

"Using my style of arguing to win against me," Phil stated. "I guess that's when the apple doesn't fall from the tree."

As Jemma lightly opened the door, she was surprised to see her sister sitting up on the bed. Daisy's hair was frizzy and all over her face as she sleepily looked towards her sister.

"Hey, Jem." Daisy greeted as she swung her legs to get out of bed, moving the hair out of her face.

"Daisy, what are you doing up?" Jemma asked surprised. "I mean, it is late in the morning but you usually aren't up until one of us wakes you up."

"I guess but Dad's home. That's motivation enough." Daisy explained. "And it's not that late. You just wake up super early."

"That's fair," Jemma answered as she took another look at Daisy. "Are you okay?"

"What do you mean?" Daisy asked as she walked over to the door.

"You look very tired." Jemma answered showing concern through her eyes.

"I Guess, I didn't sleep too well last night." Daisy voiced. "Do I smell pancakes downstairs?"

"Dad's making your favorite," Jemma stated. "Y'know, he spoils you way too much."

Daisy's whole composure changed to one more eager and excited for breakfast, however, she still looked weaker than normal.

"He doesn't spoil me." Daisy shot. "Anyway, we can talk at the table."

Daisy rushed down the stairs and went straight to the table followed by Jemma who just shook her head at the antics of her little sister.

"Good morning Māmā, Dad." Daisy waved from the table.

"Good morning, Dais." Both parents responded simultaneously.

"Slept well?" Melinda questioned.

"No, not really." She replied. "But, it's nothing."

"Are you sure it's nothing, hun?" Phil worried.

"Nothing that pancakes can't fix." She smiled, though it was weak.

"Would you like tea with those pancakes?" Melinda asked.

Now anyone who knew Melinda knew how much she hated coffee. As such, coffee rarely made it to her door even if Phil wanted it. Due to this, Daisy and Jemma hardly received the option of having coffee. The alternative was tea, which they were stocked up on. The variety of teas they had would make one think that they were in the tea business.

"Alright, Māmā." Daisy accepted.


After having breakfast, both Daisy and Jemma got ready for school. Jemma was dressed in a white T-shirt with blue jeans and white pumps to match, having her hair into a ponytail. Daisy, on the other hand, was dressed in a black long-sleeve T-shirt with black slacks and Nike black sneakers, having her hair down.

As they sat on the couch waiting for their parents to be ready, Daisy turned on the tv, watching the programme that was on.

"Think we will be late?" Jemma asked.

"With our parents being who they are?" Daisy asked as a rhetorical question. "Not a chance."

"I suppose you're right." Jemma smiled, which dropped when she looked into Daisy's eyes. "Dais, what's wrong?"

"I am just tired," Daisy said, turning her attention back to the tv. "You worry a lot."

"That's what big sister's do, Dais," Jemma explained. "We will always worry over our little siblings."

Shortly after, Phil and Melinda came down the stairs, dressed and ready to take the kids to school. As Daisy got up, Melinda caught the look on her face and worry immediately took over.

"Daisy." She called as she took a step towards her. "What's wrong?"

As Phil looked at his second daughter, he could see how much paler she looked than normal.

"Yeah, you're really pale," He stated as he also stepped toward her.

Looking weaker by the second, Melinda somehow knew her baby was going to fall and lunged forward to catch her.

"Gosh! baby," Melinda exclaimed, cradling Daisy's immobile body. "You're burning up."

"I guess I don't feel so well." Daisy weakly said.

"Why didn't you tell me that when I just asked you?" Jemma scolded. "Just imagine, if you went to school and this was to happen. I don't know what I would do."

"It's going to be okay Jem," Daisy uttered. "Māmā and Dad will make sure of it, they always do."

"That's not answering my question of concern but I guess I can live with that for now." Jemma answered.

"Phil, take Jemma to school while I get Daisy back into bed," Melinda commanded. "Pick up some medicine for fever and I'll call the doctor."

"Will do, Melinda." He said as he grabbed his keys and wallet off the counter. "Come on Jem."

"Yes, Dad." She said as she grabbed her book bag. "Have a good day."

Jemma walked briskly out to the black Lexus Jeep that was parked in the garage next to Lola.

"I thought we were going to take Lola." Phil stated.

"So accustomed to going in the Jeep." She smiled.

"That's fine." He smiled back. "We can take the Jeep then."

As Phil unlocked the doors to the Jeep, he looked back towards the house. Worry showed on his face.

"She'll be alright, Dad," Jemma stated. "Mom is going to make sure of it."

"I know but that doesn't stop the worry." He voiced, turning to the Jeep. He opened the door and ignited the engine. "Let's get you to school."


As Melinda stood over Daisy, she dabbed a cloth in cool water to place over Daisy's forehead.

"Honey, this is going to feel really cold." Melinda warned.

"Okay, Māmā." Daisy acknowledged as Melinda pressed a kiss on her forehead before placing the cold damped cloth where she was kissed. "Māmā, I'm sorry."

"Sorry about what, Dais?" Melinda asked with concern in her eyes.

"About making you worry so much." She replied.

"Oh, baby," Melinda combed through Daisy's hair with her hand. "You will never make me worry too much because it's my job to worry over you all the time. I worry over Jemma just as much."

"I love you, Māmā." She smiled weakly.

"I love you too, Daisy," Melinda said before pressing a kiss to her cheek. Melinda got up and started moving for the door before turning back to Daisy. "Try to get some rest. I will be back."

"No! Māmā," Daisy exclaimed, tears falling from her eyes; reaching for Melinda. "Don't go, don't leave me!"

Melinda's heart melted at that moment. It was then that she understood that although Phil was Daisy's super cool fun parent that seemed favored, she was the girl's hero. She fought Daisy's night terrors when they came. She wiped the girl's tears and encouraged her.

"I am here, baby." Melinda voiced, fighting the tears that welled up in her eyes. "I'm not going to leave you."

Melinda walked over to the bed and sat next to Daisy, humming to her softly. As Daisy slowly started to fall asleep, there was a knock on the door, making her jolt wide awake once again. Melinda sighed as Phil entered.

"She was just about to go to sleep, y'know." Melinda said as he stepped closer with a brown paper bag in hand.

"Maybe that's a good thing in a way." He replied as he held up the paper bag, taking out the medicine he had picked up. "Now, we won't have to wake her to take it."

"I guess you have a point there," Melinda admitted as she took the bottle from Phil. "Daisy, sit up and let's get you some of this medicine."


At The School

As Jemma walked briskly through the corridors, she noticed a group of boys laundering in the hallway.

"Jemma Coulson, where is your little sister Daisy?!" one of the boys asked when she was close enough to hear.

"What do you want with her?" Jemma questioned, ready to defend her sister and her self.

"You know, We, The Tide, don't take lightly to her picking a fight with one of us." The same boy said as he stepped closer to Jemma. "And then she has the audacity to stay away from school and face us."

"That fight was Miles' fault and you know it." Jemma shot.

"Well, if she isn't here, you would be a nice replacement." he said stepping closer to Jemma, so close that he was in her personal space.

"Hey!" A voice echoed from behind. "Leave the girl alone."

"What do you want, Ward?" the boy spun around to see the senior boy who just happened to be a hall monitor standing there.

"Well, for starters that you stop picking on the Coulson sisters and secondly that you get to class," He said flashing his familiar smirk. "Now, is that too hard to ask? Or do you want to face Principal Hand?"

"Fine." The boy said, moving away from Jemma. "Let's go, boys."

As they left the area, Jemma looked at Grant Ward sincerely. "Thank you."

"Don't sweat it." He smiled. "I'm happy to help. Now run along."

Jemma smiled back before walking towards the destination she always planned on going to, The Library. Since it was her free period, she decided that She and Fitz would spend that time working on their project. As she entered the library, she saw her best friend and partner, Fitz, sitting at a table, looking to her with his arms folded.

"Jemma, you're late." He whispered. "You're never late."

"I had a run-in with trouble." She explained. "Don't worry about it, Ward dealt with it."

"Ward? As in Grant Ward?" He questioned skeptically.

"Yes, Grant Ward," she replied, taking out the book and piece of technology that she was studying the night before. "He protected me from The Tide."

"Oooh Jemma, what have you got yourself into?" Fitz worriedly asked.

"Not really me, they're after Daisy." She expressed.

"Well, if they think they can mess with my little monkey, they have another thing coming." Fitz angrily yet quietly huffed.

"I'm sure Daisy can handle herself," Jemma added. "And to besides, Ward dealt with the problem. Now can we get on with working on this project so I can fully understand the tech we will be using to its full capacity."

"Sure thing." He said as he took out most of the tech he had decided on. "This is going to blow Miss Weaver's mind."

"You bet, maybe she will advance us to college and we can get to work with Doctor Radcliffe." Jemma smiled, taking out multiple sci-tech books.

"You know, maybe that will happen. Let's get to work." Fitz smiled back, opening a book that Jemma had taken out while they were dreaming big.

Back at The Coulsons

The door bell rung, causing Phil and Melinda look at the door.

"I'll get it while you cook up that soup." Melinda said as she walked to the door. "Ah, I see you made it Doc."

"That I have Melinda." The female doctor answered as she stepped inside. "Hey Phil, keeping good?"

"Yes I am Dr. Isley." Phil answered. "What about yourself?"

"As good as can." She smiled before turning back to Melinda. "Now, where's the sick flower you were telling me about?"

"I'll take you." Melinda said, leading Dr. Isley to Daisy's room. "You know, Jemma still wants to learn some medical because of you."

"Really? I'm sure she can do it." Isley chuckled. "Those two girls of yours, best patients I have ever at any time. They're mannerly and kind to others and they don't give me stress when it comes to medication."

"That's until you pull out the needles around Daisy." Melinda reminded.

"The child is afraid of needles." Isley states. "That's very common with children like her. I get adults worse that her so, there's no problem."

"Jemma can tolerate them." Melinda pointed out.

"Jemma is different and with her wanting to be a MD, she can't really be afraid of needles." Isley smiled.

"I guess you're right." Melinda chuckled, lightly turning the knob of Daisy's door. "Well, here we are."

As Melinda and Dr. Isley stepped into the room, Daisy continued to sleep on, the color slowly returning to her body.

"She does look paler than usual." Isley said as she stepped closer to the sick child. "And you said she was also experiencing extreme fevers?"

"Yes." Melinda sighed, walking over to Daisy's bed. "She also nearly collapsed this morning."

Melinda took the cloth off of Daisy and kissed her forehead. She walked over to the table where the container of cool water sat and rested the cloth in it.

"What did Daisy have for breakfast?" Isley questioned.

"Her favorite pancakes." Melinda answered.

The female doctor looked at Melinda with raised eyebrows.

"What?" Melinda expressed. "Phil made them. I gave her some tea with them though."

"I didn't say anything." Isley defended. "What has Daisy eaten for the past few days?"

"For dinner, yesterday was my meatloaf." Melinda stated. "Other than that, she would have rice, dumplings and other stuff."

"The cause wasn't by anything she ate." Isley voiced. "How has she been sleeping?"

"She usually sleeps well." Melinda pointed out. "Actually, she sleeps the longest in the house. Hard to wake her up on mornings. She mentioned this morning, something about not sleeping well last night."

"I see." Isley spoke as she wrote down some stuff. "I'm going to check her temperature and do a full analysis."

"Alright." Melinda said as she walked over to Daisy once more. Melinda could hear each breath Daisy took in detail. As Melinda placed the back of her hand on Daisy's forehead, Daisy eyes began fluttering.

"Māmā." Daisy smiled weakly.

"Hey baby." Melinda smiled back. "Did you have a nice sleep?"

"Yes," Daisy replied while trying to sit up, holding her head as she experienced some headaches with her movement. "Hi, Doctor Isley."

"Hey Flower," Isley replied. "I'm going to do a quick check up on you any then see how best I can help."

"Thank you." Daisy said as she held Melinda's hand.

After all the checks, the doctor smiled.

"Make sure that Daisy gets plenty of rest and she will be good to go." Isley smiled. "This virus isn't really too bad. If she has those fevers, you can give her the medicine you bought. If she manages to get any worse, which I don't think will happen, give me a call."

"You know that we will." Phil said as he poured soup in a bowl for Daisy. "You can stay over for Dinner, well late lunch."

"Thanks for the offer," Isley said as she held her q bag. "But I have to run. Another time Phil, your cooking is amazing. Make sure to say hi to Jem for me."

"Thanks." He smirked. "I'll make sure to tell Jemma."


At The School

Jemma packed up her stuff as she was ready to head on home.

"Fitz, don't forget to call me later." She reminded.

"I won't Jem." He softly said as he placed the technology he had in its case. "To besides, we have a lot to do with this project."

As they walked out the lab together, they came face to face with The Tide, well, just the members who were trying to intimidate Jemma earlier.

"Jemma, going somewhere?" Brad, the boy from earlier asked.

"Leave her alone, Brad." Fitz stood.

"And what are you going to do Fitzy?" Paul, another one of the members, taunted.

"Why don't you come over here and figure out?" Fitz challenged.

As the boys crowded around Fitz and Jemma, Brad initiated the attack, going after Jemma who surprised him with a counter she learned from her mother.

"Don't underestimate me." Jemma warned as Brad angrily tried to attack her again.

This time, something had stopped him from delivering the blow. That something was Grant Ward, again.

"What did I say about troubling the Coulson sisters?" He asked as he punched Brad in the jaw, sending his body to the floor. "Just what I thought, down in a single strike."

Paul, who had been scuffling with Fitz, looked around to see what had happened, however, his attention quickly went back to Fitz, who was giving him a hard time.

Everyone suddenly became still at the sound of the principal clearing her throat.

"My office! Now!"

As they all gathered in the office, Grant gave his testimony on the events that transpired.

"What's the big idea, with you causing trouble in my school?!" She asked angrily.

"We don't take likely to anyone messing with one of our people." Brad spat.

"This is my school!" She yelled. "I don't take likely to you picking on any of my students!"

"Then, what do you have to say about Daisy Coulson brutally attacking Miles Lydon?" Paul chipped in.

"That's a matter that I'm supposed to deal with, not you!" She said as she slammed her hand on her desk. "It's settled, you are suspended until further notice."

"You can't do that!" Brad remarked.

"I'm the principal!" She reminded. "This is my school and you're going to follow my leadership! Now get out of my face!"

As they left, she turned her attention to Grant, Fitz and Jemma.

"As for you, wh-" she started before Ward interrupted.

"Principal Hand, you don't need the two sci-tech geniuses. They were defending themselves."

"So what do you propose?" Hand gazed over towards Ward. "That I just let them go?"

"Yes." He admitted. "As it was in self-defense, they did nothing wrong."

"I guess that's fair then." She concluded. "You're Both Free to go. Try hard to avoid conflicts that will get you in trouble."

With that, Jemma and Fitz respectfully bowed and left.

"What's the big idea Grant!" Hand exclaimed, folding her arms. "You know how I feel about fighting in my school."

"I wasn't going to let them just hurt the girl." Ward defended. "Isn't it my job to diffuse conflicts and make sure that people get to their classes safely and what not?"

"In a sense, yes." She answered. "But it's also to prevent trouble and not add to it."

"What, or should I say who, do you consider to be the trouble?" He skeptically asked.

"Daisy Coulson," she replied. "She started this whole thing with Miles yesterday. She brutally injured him as well."

"With all due respect, you're looking at it from the wrong angle." He stood. "The boy has a tendacy to get what he wants no matter who he hurts. The sort of person who'd get rich by putting others in danger. Daisy is not the person to just attack someone. I have been keeping tabs of the people you told me to and she's on that list and so I think she was defending herself as well."

"And you don't think that she went overboard in any sense?" Hand challenged.

"So she needs a little self-discipline in fights, but, didn't she already have a detention for it?" Ward countered. "All I'm saying is, this so called group called The Tide, don't have any remorse and as such, they lash out at anyone. They chose the wrong target and she exploded on her attacker."

"I'll think about what you said." She said. "Have a good evening Grant."

"Thank you." He smiled.


Coulson's House

Jemma walked through the door to find her family at the dinner table.

"Good evening Mom, Dad, Dais!" Jemma beamed as she placed her book bag neatly by an arm chair.

"Jemma!" Daisy exclaimed, not as strong as usual, but with as much energy as she could. "You're back home."

"I see someone missed me." Jemma smiled.

"How was your day honey?" Melinda asked as Jemma walked towards the kitchen.

"My day was pretty eventful." She answered. "How was yours?"

"Mine was okay." Melinda replied as Jemma quickly washed her hands and grabbed a bowl.

"Mine was great, aside from me being sick and all." Daisy smiled. "Doctor Isley came by to do my check up. She told us to tell you hi."

"That's wonderful Dais." Jemma said as she walked to the dinner table with soup. "I wish I were here to see her. She inspired me to learn about being a medical doctor."

"That she did." Phil said as he smiled. "So, just how eventful was your day?"