Author's Note: After considering some constructive criticism, I'm changing the format of anything spoken in Russian. In effort to keep from messing up the flow of the story, I've changed it so that anything written in italics is meant to be spoken in Russian.

Chapter 3

Flopping onto her back, Daisy gave up on the idea of finding any sort of rest for the time being. Crawling out of bed, she turned the light on and bent over to retrieve her shoes. Once on, she stopped in front of the mirror hanging on the wall and looked over her reflection before she dared to venture into the hall. Normally she wouldn't have cared; but considering the guests staying under the same roof, at least for the night, she at least wanted to make sure she looked presentable…should she run into Steve freaking Rogers. It wasn't fair that he was so beautiful while she was so…not. "Whatever," she muttered to herself. There were far more important things to worry about.

Stepping into the hall, she canvased the area before forcing herself to relax. Even though the differences between this Lighthouse and the one they came from were obvious, she still expected to find a Kree lingering in the area. Making her way towards the kitchen, she began looking through the pantry. She wasn't sure what she was searching for, but something…she'd know it when she found it.

Crackers, chips, cereal…she scrunched her nose. Moving boxes around, her eyes lit up when she spotted it. Pulling the canister out, she set it on the counter before retrieving the milk. "Now, if I were a saucepan in a kitchen that was stocked by aliens that didn't consume food, where would I be?" She murmured to herself as she looked through various cupboards. "Aha." Once she located everything she needed, she started making her hot chocolate.

"Do you always make it a habit to talk to yourself?"

She jumped slightly upon hearing the question and spun towards the direction of it. Once she'd gotten the hang of her powers, she'd adapted to the extra hum of vibrations she felt whenever someone approached her. It made it difficult for people to sneak up on her, and she missed it. When she saw Steve standing at the entrance she relaxed slightly before mentally applauding herself to have the forethought to check herself over before leaving her room. "What is it that people say? As long as you don't answer yourself, it's okay?" She responded with what she hoped was a casual shrug.

"I'm sorry for sneaking up on you," he instantly apologized for startling her. "I didn't realize anyone else was up. When I heard the noises coming from here, I wanted to make sure everything was okay," he explained. It wasn't the fact that it was so very late as opposed to the fact that everyone had made themselves scarce most of the night once dinner finished.

"No, I overreacted," she waved away. "I guess I'm still expecting to see a member from the Blue Man Group when I'm walking through the halls," she confessed. "As tired as I've been the last six months, rest is hard to come by tonight," she replied before looking back at the stove. "I thought I'd make some hot chocolate."

He nodded. Given the revelation Coulson shared, he could see how sleep would be hard to come by. "I'll just…head to another-"

"You really don't have to," she said, interrupting him. "Would you like some?"

"Uh, sure?" He replied as he stepped fully into the room.

"Was that a question?" She teased then with a small smile on her face, turning her head to look at him over her shoulder.

It was the first time he'd seen her smile since meeting her and he found his own smile making his way onto his face upon being called out. Slipping onto a barstool at the island counter, he shrugged. "I just don't want to intrude," he replied. After the emotional conversation he witnessed be witnessed between Coulson and Daisy, both groups sat down for both a heavy and long conversation, each party talking about the things they'd dealt with the previous couple of years. During all of it, Daisy had been mostly quiet, only speaking when prompted to. Once the conversation ended and the large group split up; she'd holed herself off in her room. By the time dinner was ready, she'd taken her meal in her room, so he was surprised when she told him he didn't have to leave the kitchen.

"If you were, I wouldn't have offered you anything," Daisy told him softly before turning back to the saucepan. When she was convinced the powder was thoroughly mixed with the warm milk, she turned off the burner before retrieving two coffee cups and filling them.

He watched as she set the cup down in front of him before claiming the seat next to his. "Thank you," he said, before raising the cup to his mouth.

"You're welcome."

He took a sip from his hot chocolate before turning to look at his companion. "I'm sorry about Coulson," he offered quietly. "He's a good guy."

Daisy turned to look at him and nodded. "The best."

He opened his mouth to say something before shutting it once again. He'd never been good at striking up a conversation with new acquaintances, let alone women. He cleared his throat, hoping it would help the pit of uncertainty that was steadily growing in his stomach. However, when he realized he'd gathered her attention he decided to just go for it. "After the conversation earlier, Nat and I talked and…we wanted to let you know that if there's anything we can do, don't hesitate to ask." He noticed a pen and small pad of paper a short distance away and reached for it. "Considering how most of the world views us as criminals, I don't know how much help we'll actually be, but we'd like to help all the same," he tacked on as an afterthought. He wrote down both his number and Nat's before ripping off the top page and handing it to his companion.

He was giving her his number? Her younger self would have totally shrieked with excitement. "I'll keep that in mind." She and May already had a brainstorming session planned for the following day, she'd make sure to pass along the offer.

"Given the story we heard today, it sounds like you may not end up even needing it." Considering everything that Coulson's team had faced in the last five years, it sounded like they could handle just about anything. "And if that ends up being the case, we'd still like to be kept in the loop where Coulson's concerned."

She nodded again as she set the paper down in front of her. "I think I can do that." She raised her cup to her lips and took her first slip. As she savored the taste of the drink, her eyes fell closed and an involuntary moan fell from her mouth. As soon as the sound hit her ears, her eyes shot open and she cringed. She looked to Steve, only to find him watching her with a quirk to his lips. "I am so sorry," she apologized, feeling her cheeks heat up with embarrassment. "It's just, after six months of nothing more than the slop we were fed, this tastes like a little bit of heaven."

"It was bad there, huh?" While the Lighthouse had been mentioned, Coulson and his team had held off from speaking too in depth about their experiences, insisting that they were making sure to change the road that initially prompted the need of the Lighthouse in the first place.

"It was like a bad science fiction movie," she admitted. "The Kree played humans against each other, encouraging them to turn one another in for the smallest infraction for a small reward." She spoke about the sterilization of the human race before mentioning the 'Renewal' that her team faced while Deke was busy selling her to Kasius. "Once I was turned over to Kasius, it felt like I was in some warped version of the show Spartacus." She looked over at him then, wondering if he'd seen it. "Have you ever seen it?"

He nodded but didn't offer a verbal response. He didn't think he'd ever forget the first episode he watched. The entire world had changed during the seventy years he was asleep, and the shock factor had more or less lessened by that time in his life. However, nothing could have prepared him for what he saw during that first episode. He'd expected the violence and blood. What he hadn't expected were the sex scenes. Natasha had teased him for days after he told her the story.

"So, you get the basic gist of it…" Looking away from him, she stared into the contents of her cup. "It felt a lot like that. Inhumans were seen as being slightly higher than humans because of their abilities, but not by much. He would host what he called an 'Exhibition Ceremony,' where he would invite wealthy acquaintances to the Lighthouse for a few days. During that time the Inhumans would be forced to fight against one another in a pit and once a winner was determined, they were sold off to the highest bidder."

He turned to look at her, noticing that she was steadily staring at the cup in her hands. "Sounds brutal." Even after all the horror he'd seen in his life, he still couldn't understand how one being could treat another in such a way. He looked at her profile, her head was tilted so, so that her neck was exposed, and he was able to see a scar, or what he assumed was the scar. While Coulson had explained their trip to space, from the corner of his eye he'd seen how Daisy covered that particular spot when the inhibitor had been spoken of.

"You can ask."

The worlds startled him from his thoughts and winced. "I'm sorry," he apologized for staring.

Daisy shrugged. "I gave up my dreams of being a Victoria's Secret model after I was shot twice in the stomach," she replied casually.

He offered her a smile of amusement upon hearing her words and understood what had been left unsaid. "You were really responsible for the end of the world?"

"That's me. Daisy Johnson, Destroyer of Worlds." She added a half smile at the end of her self-deprecating words so that he knew she wasn't mad at him. "That's what everyone called me," she shrugged. "Coulson was right when he said we didn't know for sure. It was all hearsay and assumptions, so I can't say how. Still though, how could that many people be wrong about something like that?" She expected that as time passed and she matured her powers may eventually evolve as well, but not to that extent, and not that soon. "Even before I had control of my powers and I was causing earthquakes, it was never enough to break the world apart…"

"Do you miss your powers?"

That was the first time someone had asked her that and it took her a moment to consider. "When we were fighting the Kree, yes," she replied quickly, if not a bit sarcastically. "I do," she added after a moment. "It feels like there's a hole now, like I'm not whole. But if I'm responsible for the end of the world, I'll gladly live the rest of my life like this to ensure that doesn't happen." Daisy let out a weary sigh before playing back what she said. "I'm sorry, you didn't ask for all of that," she said offering him a lopsided smile as she furrowed her brows. "I'm chalking my emotions during this conversation up as aftershocks to Coulson's revelation earlier," she stated then. "Honestly, it isn't usually so doom and gloom among us. I mean there's doom; there's always a doom in one form or another, but we're usually more sarcastic and upbeat when we deal with things." When she noticed movement over his shoulder, she focused on it, making out the forms of Bucky and Natasha approaching. "Guess we're not the only one that can't sleep…"

Steve turned to see what she was referring to when he noticed the pair talking quietly.

"Do you think we're interrupting?"

He frowned, hating when they spoke Russian in front of him. Whenever they did, he knew it was because they were either discussing him or something about him.

"No."

Hearing the response from the woman next to him, Steve looked at his friends, enjoying the shock on their faces.

Bucky turned to Daisy. "You speak Russian?"

"No, not really," she shrugged thinking of the few things she'd learned from Bobbi. "I had a teammate that did. She taught me a few things."

"You don't mind if we join you, do you?" Natasha asked, looking from Daisy to Steve.

Her tone was innocent enough, but the pointed look in her eyes when she looked at him left little room for doubt that she was implying something. "Why would we mind, Tash?" He asked, watching as the pair settled against the counter across from them.

"Oh, no reason…" Natasha excused.

Daisy narrowed her gaze as she looked from Steve to Natasha, wondering what she'd missed… Her attention fell on Bucky, whom also appeared interested in the conversation but made no effort to participate in it. She noticed that he'd changed outfits since earlier that day and her gaze fell to the stump of his arm, noticing the wounds surrounding it, similar to how Mike Peterson's arm looked when he removed his prosthetic. She heard a throat clear and realized that she'd been caught. She met his gaze, hoping that she hadn't made him too uncomfortable. "Your scars," she said by way of explanation.

Bucky was used to the stares, but that still didn't mean he was comfortable when it happened. However, instead of the usual apology he heard in response, Bucky startled slightly, not expecting that to have been what held her attention.

"Something happened to a friend of mine and he wound up in a similar position, only, the arm that Hydra gave him had rockets attached to it," she tacked on. "Did yours?" She asked as an afterthought, attempting to lighten the conversation.

His lips twisted into a smirk upon hearing her question. Again, something he would have never expected someone to say to him. "No, it didn't," Bucky answered, smiling at her in appreciation.

"You would have been a whole lot cooler if it had," she replied simply.

He couldn't help but chuckle in response to the woman's words. "I'll be sure to let T'Challa and Shuri know of your suggestion."

"Daisy, there you are."

Daisy turned around to see May approaching her with a bottle of alcohol in hand and inwardly winced.

"I went by your room, but you weren't there," May continued as she approached the group, setting the bottle down in front of them before grabbing a glass. "Anyone else?"

"Actually, I'd love some," Nat replied, picking up the bottle. As soon as May returned to the counter, she poured the drinks for them before tossing back the drink.

Daisy stared pointedly at the bottle. "Is there a point in asking how the conversation went?" Daisy asked, having seen the pair walk off together after dinner.

"This good," May said before she downed the shot and refilled it. "I've been thinking about Coulson, about what we can do and…I…maybe we could try and track down a Cybertek scientist? Maybe someone can recreate the centipede serum, without the-"

"Unfortunate side effect of blowing up?" Daisy finished for her, considering the idea. One of the last things Fury did before officially handing the reigns over to Coulson was to relocate those scientists that had been forced to work for Hydra. However, that information was nowhere to be found, not even in the toolbox. Who knew how much time they'd have to spend tracking someone down. And even if they did manage to locate someone, hadn't all of the doses been destroyed? Could a single scientist even recreate it? "Even if we could find someone, would that even work?" She asked. "I know they were able to help Mike after the explosion, but he wasn't dying at the time…"

May thought back to the all of their interactions with the soldiers and pursed her lips. Yes, the serum helped the injured, but it couldn't stop death itself. "John Garrett," she said after a moment, thinking on something Jemma said once. "When Fitzsimmons were taken, he was dying and Ward injected him with the serum."

"No," Daisy corrected quietly. "I mean yes, he did…but it was more than that." She wracked her brain for conversations she'd had with the man, or even Ward. "There was something extra added to it," she replied as she recalled exactly what it was. "He used the same cocktail that Whitehall created from Jaying's DNA."

Bucky flinched upon hearing the name. Whitehall? "You mean Daniel Whitehall?" He asked, his body tensing. "You met him?"

Daisy, not missing his reaction, nibbled on her bottom lip and nodded. "He was the one that informed me of my…heritage," she recalled thinking on the moment he had her touch the deviner. "Grant Ward was the Specialist on the team that Coulson first put together. After Hydra came out and he turned on us, he ended up kidnapping me and taking me to Whitehall."

"Who's this Whitehall?" Steve asked then, concerned by Bucky's reaction to the name.

"Hydra. He was born around the turn of the 20th century as Werner Reinhardt. During the 40's, Hydra discovered the existence of Inhumans," May answered, thinking on the file that she and Jemma had looked through when they moved to the Playground.

"He kidnapped a group of Inhumans and discovered that one of them had the ability of youth rejuvenation, but Peggy Carter and the rest of the Howling Commandos arrested him before he could do anything about the knowledge," Daisy took over. "In 89, Hydra broke him out of prison and he decided to pick back up where he left off. Except that time, no one was there to stop him," she said before falling into a small pause. "He found that Inhuman and seeing that she hadn't physically aged a day since the war, he kidnapped her and experimented on her." She chose not to fully disclose everything that had been done to Jaying. "He created a serum that allowed him to de-age. Instead of the old man he should have been, he looked the same as he did in his old SSR profile picture." Daisy tilted her head as she took in Bucky's rigid posture. "He's dead, Coulson killed him," she informed him, watching as his shoulders slumped slightly.

"Okay, well, where's this Inhuman now?" Natasha asked. "Maybe you could talk to her an-"

"She's dead," Daisy interrupted flatly before standing up and making her way towards the sink to wash out her cup.

"We'll figure something out, Daisy," May said, watching the young woman spend more time than necessary to wash her cup. "We've faced worse things than this." She stood up to approach the younger woman.

"Have we?" She responded then before she could help herself. Maybe on a global level, but on a personal one?

"Haven't we?" May responded. They'd fought against Hydra so they didn't get a strong hold on the world, they'd fought Inhumans, Aida, the Kree… "Remember when Simmons was absorbed by the Monolith? And the machine broke before we had a chance to save her?" She hadn't actually been there, but she remembered hearing the story from various team members and how hopeless they'd felt at that moment. "But then, you used your powers to open a portal so that she could be rescued from Maveth." It hadn't been exactly what they'd planned, but it worked out even better. "We'll find a solution to this too." Because she refused to let Coulson die like that. He deserved a chance to live.

From her position next to Bucky, Natasha gave Daisy an appraising glance over. She'd done what? Opened a portal to another world? That was an impressive feat. And even though the younger woman currently had no access to her powers, May had told her about taking her on as a rookie and what a quick study she'd been. While it was obvious that Daisy and May had a lot on their plate in trying to keep the world from ending and keeping Coulson alive, she wondered if Daisy would consider helping them should something arise. She'd have to talk to Steve and Sam in the morning about it. Casting a subtle glance at Steve, she noticed his attention was also on Daisy. The expression on his face was a mixture between awe and consideration and she wondered if he'd had the same thought as her.

Gathering her emotions, Daisy cleared her throat, finished her task and turned around to look at May. "Do you really believe that?"

May nodded. "I do. We haven't failed at anything yet and we're sure as hell not going to start with Coulson."

Daisy looked at the resolve on May's face and nodded. "You're right."

Natasha cleared her throat, gathering their attention. "Steve and I would like to help too," she told them. "Given our status according the Sokovia Accords, travel could be tricky, but we do have resources available to us."

"I've already given Daisy our numbers," Steve told his teammate softly. He watched as Natasha turned to him with a single arched eyebrow.

"Did you now?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Though she knew he would hear it anyway.

Refusing to let her words embarrass him, he met her gaze steadily.

Having missed the hushed words between the two, May nodded at Natasha. "Thank you, Natasha." She didn't know what they'd have to deal with after having been missing for six months, so it was a relief to know they had extra help on the Coulson front. She turned back to Daisy. "We should probably try and get some rest. Five o'clock comes early."

"Tai Chi?" Daisy asked. Needless to say, there hadn't been much of an opportunity to train when they were in space. "Can you handle it?" She asked, referring to the woman's leg.

"We'll see," May admitted. "But we need to get back to a set schedule again." The last six months hadn't done them any favors in regard to training and sparring. She looked to Nat. "You want to join us?"

The blonde smiled. "Sure." And if that didn't work out, maybe there would be a sparring session? It was always nice to mix things up and train against someone new.

Daisy returned to the counter and grabbed the slip of paper she'd set down. "Thanks for the chat, Steve."

He nodded at her. "Thank you for the hot chocolate."

Daisy offered him a small smile. "Goodnight."

Steve returned the gesture with one of his own before he looked to Natasha. When he noticed a single arched eyebrow, he shook his head. "Don't even go there," he warned before she had a chance to say something.

"Go where?" She asked innocently as he pursed his lips. When he took a sip from his drink she spoke again. "You two seemed cozy."

He exhaled a weary sigh. "It was a conversation, Nat. Nothing more," he said before she could get excited over the idea.

"I didn't say it was," she replied. "It's just…if you were to get involved with someone-"

"She'd hardly be the best choice," he shot down before she could continue. "Aside from the fact that I live in another country, we've both got enough on our plates before adding on a long-distance relationship," he said, trying to discourage the idea. Tired of the conversation, he changed the subject. "You think they'll find something to help Coulson?"

Giving up on the idea that she wouldn't get anywhere with him, Natasha sent an appraising glance in the direction that May and Daisy walked off in and began nodding her head before she even turned her attention back to Steve. "I do. There's no denying the affection between Coulson and Daisy." The girl would die before she let anything happen to Coulson. "I also know that May has a special fondness for Coulson and will do what she has to, to make sure he doesn't go anywhere."

He nodded along with her point before deciding to make himself scarce. "I think I'm going to turn in as well," Steve said, making his way to the sink to rinse out his cup. "See you both in the morning." It wasn't so much that he was tired as it was wanting to get away from Nat before she tried to marry him off.

Once they were left alone, Natasha pursed her lips and turned to look at Bucky. "He didn't dismiss her, he dismissed their situations…" she trailed off, wondering if Steve even realized he'd done that.

"Do you think that if you were occupied by a relationship, you'd stop focusing on Steve's love life?" Because he knew that once she was finished with Steve then either he or Sam would be next, and it wasn't something he was particularly interested in, as fun as it may have been to watch when it was someone else.

Natasha snorted at the thought of a romantic partner. "Are you kidding? There's not a man out there that could handle me," she excused.

He arched a single eyebrow and smirked at her. "Woman, then," he corrected, wagging his eyebrows.

She narrowed her gaze on him. "I'm not even going to address that, so I don't contribute to your pornographic fantasies…"

He couldn't help the bark of laughter. "You have no idea," he told her, still smiling.

She shook her head at him and rolled her eyes in response before she thought on Daisy. "Do you think it means anything that she shares her name with a flower?" She asked, recalling not only the old woman's words, but the story that Bucky had told her.

Bucky shook his head at her one-track mind. He hadn't even considered the fact that the younger woman's name was Daisy, let alone what that could mean for anything else. He mentally chewed over her question, but he could only shrug his shoulders in response.