Simmons sat outside the front porch of the cabin, enjoying a nice relaxing cup of tea. Fitz had taken Alya to school, so she was all alone now. She breathed in the cool air as she took a sip of her tea, relaxing outside the cabin she and Fitz built together.
It was peaceful out here. The cabin that they have sat in full view of a lake where they can fish and enjoy the view anytime they wanted. She loved to sit out here, lost in her thoughts and enjoying the pleasant view.
She heard the sound of a vehicle approaching and she turned her head to see the car Fitz had taken approaching and parking only a few feet from the cabin. Fitz came out of the car and walked up the stairs to the front porch.
"Hey." Simmons said, smiling at her husband.
"Hey." Fitz replied, bending down and giving her a quick kiss on her lips before sitting down next to her.
"You want some tea?" Simmons asked, pointing to the tea she had on the table in between them.
"Yes, please." Fitz answered, leaning over and pouring the tea himself.
"So, I just got off the phone with Mack." Simmons said.
"Really? How's he doing?" Fitz asked, looking directly at his wife.
"He's doing good," she replied, "And you're never going to believe what he told me."
"Oh really, like what?" Fitz asked, curiosity written on his face.
Simmons smiled. "Deke is back." She told him.
"Wait, Deke?" Fitz asked in disbelief. "You mean our time traveling grandson, Deke?"
"Yes, he's back?" She took a sip of her tea, a smile still crossing her lips.
"How?" Fitz asked.
"Well, from what Mack told me," Simmons began explaining, "he made some adjustments to the time machine we built and tried to jump to the exact time period we went to defeat the Chronicoms."
"Oh yeah, the one we left behind back in 1983" Fitz remarked.
"Well," Simmons continued, "a few hours ago, he landed inside the triskelion instead of where he wanted to go."
"Oh," Fitz said, "and how did that go?"
"Kora was the only person who was inside Zephyr one when he arrived. She thought he was an intruder and he thought she was the enemy. So, he shot at her and threw a grenade at her and-"
"Wait," Fitz interrupted her. "Deke had a gun, and was carrying grenades?"
"Yeah, that's what Mack told me." Simmons answered.
"But how did he get the time machine to work again?" Fitz asked.
"He used one of the first Pym particles Hank Pym made in the late 80s and arc reactor energy from 2008 to start up the time machine."
"Wait, 2008? That would make him-"
"58 years old." Simmons finished for him.
"How do you know exactly how old he is?" Fitz asked.
"Deke told me that he was 33 years old when we were on zephyr one together, and Mack told me what he said when we were on the phone."
"Huh, so I guess Deke is a 58 year old man now."
"Well," Simmons stepped in, "he actually looks the same as we last saw him."
Fitz looked even more confused and in disbelief. "What?"
"Yeah, he looks exactly the same as we last saw him back in 1983."
"But, how?" Fitz asked.
"Deke thinks he made a miscalculation when he combined the Pym particle with arc reactor energy, and that he somehow accidentally reversed his age back to 33." Simmons explained,
"He said he didn't even know if he would survive the journey."
"Shouldn't he have already done the math and calculations himself before making the time jump?" Fitz asked.
"Well, from what he said, he didn't know if he would have survived the journey, or what would happen if it backfired." Simmons explained.
"But why would he risk his own life and attempt it anyway if he didn't know for sure?" Fitz asked.
"He said he missed us." Simmons said. "He wanted to see us all again." There was silence between them for a moment.
"Well, that's brave." Fitz commented. "Very stupid and reckless, but brave."
Simmons chuckled, "I think it's actually sweet." she said. "I had a feeling that we may see him again one day, I just never thought that he would return looking the exact same as we last saw him."
"Yeah, well, in this world, unexpected things do happen." Fitz commented. They both stared out over the lake, continuing to enjoy their tea. "You want me to make us something?" Fitz asked.
"Yes." Simmons answered.
"Okay, what would you like me to make?" Fitz asked.
She placed her hand on top of his. "Surprise me." She answered.
"Okay." Fitz smiled. He got up and kissed her on her forehead before going into the cabin. Simmons continued to look at the lake, taking another sip of her tea.
Mack sighted as he entered his apartment and hung his coat on a rack. He walked into the living room and sat down, wanting to relax on the couch for a moment after such a long day at the triskelion.
"Crazy day huh." Elena said as she took her hands and rubbed the back of Mack's shoulders.
Mack smiled, placing his hands on top of hers. "Yeah, Well, we have seen crazier." Mack remarked. "I can't believe Deke is really back."
Elena went around and sat next to Mack, holding his hand and smiling. "I'm actually glad that he's back." Elena said.
"Really?" Mack asked. "I didn't think you liked him that much."
"He and I get along on occasion. And he told me how he was there for you for an entire year when we were separated."
Mack chuckled. "Yeah, he was there for me, even when I didn't want him around." He brushed his thumb on top of her fingers. "It is good to have him back."
"Oh, that reminds me, Flint called this morning." Elena said.
"Really? How is he?" Mack asked.
"He's doing good." Elena answered. "He said that he's at the top of his class. He's making friends at the academy."
"That's good." Mack chuckled, happy to hear the news. "I'm glad that he's having a good time there." He and Elena took Flint in right after they defeated the Chronicoms. He enrolled into Coulson academy almost immediately after its grand opening. "Oh, um, any lead on those bank robbers that you guys have been chasing?" Mack asked.
"No, nothing yet. Not since their last robbery in L.A." Elena answered.
"You know, I can send you some agents if you guys need any help catching them." Mack offered.
"Thanks Mack, but we'll be fine." Elena assured him. "If we need any assistance, I promise I'll let you know."
"Well, I guess we should get some sleep tonight then." Mack said. Elena smiled, getting up with him from the couch and heading straight to the bedroom.
Kora stayed awake for a long time after she said good night to Daisy and Daniel and made their way to their hotel rooms at a place not far from the Triskelion. She stood outside at the edge of the balcony, both hands grasping the top of the metal railings as she leaned over, looking over the city and staring up at the stars.
She went back inside after what felt like a lifetime and closed the balcony doors. She sat on the bed and looked at the pale green glow of the clock on the table next to her. She knew how late it was, but despite how exhausted she felt, she just couldn't sleep. She couldn't stop thinking about what happened today.
She reached into her right pocket of her jacket and took out the leather journal she found back at the hangar. She stared at the small, almost nearly pocket size journal in her hands, her finger caressing along the initials D.S. She didn't know before what this journal meant until Daisy told her about Deke and she saw him in the hospital bed.
She nearly opens the journal, but hesitantly stops before opening it completely. She shouldn't read it, she thought, it's his private journal, she shouldn't violate his privacy. But what if he wrote something about her? Does he remember her? Nearly killing him and Simmons on the Chronicom ship? Does he hate her? She took a long deep breath, opening the journal to read it. Just a few pages, she promised herself, then she'll put it away and never read it again.
The first few pages described a few detailed missions, 1984 to 1985. The next page she found was a sketch detailing the time machine that brought them to 2019 and ideas on how to get it working again. She flipped through another page and stared at the page that caught her eyes,
'Dear Daisy.
I hope you and everybody made it back to 2019. I thought about what I would say to you if I ever saw you again, more times than I can count other than how to get back to you guys. I'm writing this down in case I never see you again, and I recently had advice from someone that I should probably write down my thoughts and feelings. So I guess I'm really writing this down for only you to see in case anything were to happen to me. There are so many things I want to say, that I wanted to say to you that I wish I did.
I hope you're happy with Sousa. You deserve to be with someone who makes you happy, even if that person is not me. I wanted to tell you for a long time how I felt about you, but I didn't know how to tell you. I put lemons in your bunk as a way to show you, I wanted to tell you that day when you found them, but when you told me about Lincoln, I didn't want to push you into anything you weren't ready for, or burden you with how I felt. So, I decided to give you your space and let you focus on saving the world. But I never gave up on the thought that maybe I could win you over. I started a tech company and became a millionaire to impress you and Mack and Nana and Bobo, so that you would see me as a successful and smart person. I waited for you and tried to just be there for you as a friend, and help you out in whatever way I can.
When I saw that crushed look in your eyes when Sousa volunteered to stay behind and held your hands, I couldn't let him stay behind and let your heart be broken again, because the truth is, you're more important to me than my feelings for you. So, I choose to stay behind, so that you and Sousa can be happy together.
I hope you all are doing well. I do miss you, Mack, yo-yo, Coulson, May, Nana and Bobo. I'm traveling across the world with my band on missions and playing concerts. Maybe one day, we'll all see each other again sometime.'
Deke Shaw.
Kora closed the journal, trying to calm her heartbeat while at the same time, processing the words she had just read. You're more important to me than my feelings for you. She had read plenty of love letters from other famous people she studied, but this particular one, made her feel in a way that no other love letter she ever read. This was a love letter to Daisy. A confession of how he felt about her, and she didn't even… still doesn't even know about how he felt about her. Or does she?
She laid back on the bed and went back under the covers. She held Deke's journal above her and stared at it for a moment, before opening it and going through it page after page. Just a few more pages she promised herself, flipping over a page and reading what looks like lyrics for a song with Daisy's name in it.