Phil fiddled nervously with his hands, sitting in the living room. He had take-out menus lined up in the kitchen. Something gave him the feeling that he wouldn't feel like cooking. He just hoped that Melinda wasn't going to leave him. He knew what would happen if she did. He was the last person she'd let in. He didn't know if or when she would let anyone else in too.

He recognised her footsteps climbing the stairs to their apartment and swallowed when he heard her key turn in the door. Their eyes met when she entered, and there was a hint of resignation in her gaze. Like she'd been expecting this.

"Hey." Phil said, voice rough. "We should talk."

Melinda didn't move though. She stood by the door looking at him, her throat working. Finally her mouth set in a determined line. "Look, Phil, if we're done we're done, okay?" She said forcibly. "Don't beat around the bush."

Phil recoiled, heartbreak taking over his features. "What are you talking about?" He asked. "I- Melinda I've been trying to help you- I've been trying so hard-"

"I get it." May interrupted, crossing her arms. "I do. You didn't marry this. Just-" She sighed. "Call it how it is. You owe me that."

"I love you."

"Sometimes that isn't enough Phil." She murmured, looking down. "You deserve better, you know that now."

He stood, going to her. "I don't care." Phil said softly, barely refraining from touching her. "I don't care what I deserve. I want you. I don't care what that means. If it means I stay with you for years, trying to help you get better, then that's what I want."

Melinda swallowed. "No, it's not." She said shortly, looking at him. The tenderness in his eyes made her want to just let it all go and fall into his arms. She couldn't though. "And we both know it."

"What are you-" Phil broke off. Damnit, Daisy was right. "You saw the emails, didn't you?"

May stiffened, refusing to feel like she'd done anything wrong. "You left your laptop open on the counter."

Phil cursed internally. "Melinda, it's not what you think, I swear."

"I don't need excuses Phil."

"I'm not making excuses!" He exclaimed, "Look, just give me a chance to prove it, ten minutes?"

Melinda crossed her arms, but nodded. If he wanted to pull some reasons out of his ass that made this okay, it was fine by her. She didn't care though.

Phil typed rapidly on his computer, Melinda watching him from across the room. 'Daisy, are you there?'

'Well I'm not at school.' Daisy replied.

Phil bit his lip. 'Look, I need a favour. You were right about Melinda, she saw that I had messages from you and had booked hotels and now she thinks I'm having an affair. I know you don't trust me, but please, can we do some kind of video chat? I don't know how else to prove that I'm not having an affair.'

Daisy stared at the message. He seemed so desperate. But, she reminded herself, he could just be desperate for whatever underaged girl he could find. She was still partly convinced that that was what this guy was. Some pervert. But he might not be. He might be some innocent, sweet man whose wife was about to leave him for no good reason. Besides, she'd had a GPS track on his computer since the day she had first hacked it. He was nowhere near her.

Worst case scenario, she found herself looking at some sweaty creep jerking off on her computer. But she was safe. She could block communications with Phil in seconds in necessary. Daisy swallowed nervously. 'Fine.' She typed, regretting it immediately.

Daisy wasn't sure if relief was the right word when it turned out that he wasn't some sweaty naked dude jerking off to her face on the screen, but it was all she could come up with. Actually, the best word she could come up with to describe Phil was dad. He just looked like a cartoon dad, fading hair, lines on his face, kind eyes which immediately tinged with worry when he saw her.

Daisy became aware that she probably didn't look like he expected her to. She cleared her throat. "Hi."

Phil's concern cracked when he saw how nervous she looked. He smiled. "Hi. Nice to finally see you." He waved to someone off screen, and a woman came to sit next to him. Not too closely though, Daisy noticed.

Phil's wife wasn't like she had expected. She knew that Phil had said that she kicked ass, but she looked far more intimidating than Daisy had imagined.

Melinda frowned when she saw the person on the screen. She looked to Phil. "What is this?"

Phil wove his fingers together. "This is Daisy." He said softly. "We've been emailing for the last few months."

May raised an eyebrow. "What, you found her on one of those 'cute teenagers want you' places?"

Daisy recoiled, but spoke. "I-I kind of hacked your husband's computer." She said. "And I guess he thought trying to talk me to death was the way forwards?"

May said nothing, but Phil caught the subtle clench of her jaw.

Phil stayed quiet as Melinda regarded the girl on his laptop. "Do your parents know about this?" She asked.

Phil winced, and Daisy hesitated. "Well, I don't have parents, so... no."

"Your guardians then."

Daisy bit her tongue. "I ran away from them a while ago." She admitted, knowing that these two could get her sent back now. They knew what she looked like. She hadn't thought of that. Stupid. "So same drill I guess."

"Who's looking after you then?"

Daisy shrugged. "I am." She said. "And- he is too." She added, nodding to Phil.

Phil put a hand on Melinda's shoulder, counting it as a victory that she didn't shrug him off. "She needs help." He whispered, hoping Daisy didn't hear. He knew that she thought she could look after herself, but she did need help.

Melinda turned to him. "This is what the hotel rooms were for?" She had noted the fading bruises the second she had seen Daisy. It was clear why she run away.

Both of them nodded. May set her jaw. "And you never thought to invite her to stay with us?"

Daisy froze and Phil's eyes darted between them. He didn't know what to say. His main reason for not offering was a certainty that Daisy would refuse.

Thankfully, Daisy spoke. "I don't need another foster family."

May refrained from rolling her eyes. "Then we won't be. Just call us temporary guardians so that you won't be living in hotels and homeless shelters."

Phil put a hand over hers briefly, "I'll make some tea." He murmured, standing and going to the kitchen.

Daisy watched him go, curiously leaning to see more of the apartment. Sensing weakness, Melinda lifted the laptop, turning the camera so that she could look around. "There's plenty of space." May said.

Daisy bit her lip. She wanted this to be real. She wanted to have a safe roof over her head and a kitchen that had food in it. And these people hadn't lied to her yet.

Melinda could see the kid's hesitation. She could understand why, but sometimes people needed a push. Daisy wanted this, that much was clear. "Look, come stay with us or I'm cancelling any and all hotel bookings, got it?"

Daisy froze, the iciness in this woman's voice enough to bring up some bad memories. "I- okay." She said quietly. She couldn't help the feeling that Melinda didn't like her. That scared her, but not enough to make her want to run. Plenty of nuns hadn't liked her, and they hadn't given her any broken bones. She could live with that. It was just a little disappointing. She'd hoped that Melinda would like her, at least a little.

May nodded, softening a little. "Good." She said, turning to Phil as he returned with her favourite tea. "Daisy's going to come and stay with us."

Phil struggled to hide his surprise. "Oh, really? I- good." He smiled at Daisy. "I'll sort out transport tonight. Don't worry."

Daisy swallowed, wrapping her arms around herself. "Thank you." She murmured, but there wasn't a lot of happiness in her countenance. There was trepidation though.

Phil hesitated. "We won't let anyone hurt you." He said softly. "I promise."

Daisy shrugged and said nothing. It occurred to Phil that a lot of people had probably promised her that over the years. He hesitated. "And we have to organise temporary legal custody." He said carefully. "Which means I'll need to contact your foster agency."

Daisy froze momentarily. They could find her. The agency could try to send her back to that home, the ones who had hurt her so much and made her so scared, all because they probably lied and claimed she'd tripped down the stairs.

So then what? That steely voice inside said. What would you do then? She thought about it. Run away. She said. And keep running until they can never find me. Daisy nodded. She could do that. "Okay." She said, trying not to regret this immediately. She didn't trust these two, but they had a nice apartment and food and they both worked, so they wouldn't even be around much.

Perfect.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

The two terminated the call with Daisy not long after confirming that she would stay with them. A moment after the screen went black, both of them let out a long sigh. May bit the inside of her lip. "Why didn't you tell me?" She asked softly.

Phil looked down. "I don't know." He admitted. "At first it felt like it wasn't important, but then... well, it got serious fast."

"Did you tell anyone else?"

"Maria." Phil hesitated. "Daisy messaged me one night, asking what I do when missions go south, how I stay brave when everything's going wrong. Then she didn't reply."

"The night she ran away."

"Yeah." He said. "They hurt her, I know they did. Maria found her file, then found the family."

A flash of anger came across Melinda's face. "They won't have any kids soon, will they?"

"No." Phil sighed again, leaning back on the couch. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you." He murmured, daring to lean closer to her. "You've just been dealing with so much lately. I didn't want to put more stress on you."

May turned to face him fully. "I'm not made of glass Phil." She said firmly. "I'm dealing with this, but I'm not going to fall apart. I don't need you treating me with kid gloves."

Phil looked away. "You're right." He said. "I'm sorry. I'm just... I've been really scared that you're gonna leave me."

Melinda let herself get close enough to rest her head against his shoulder. "I didn't mean to make you feel like that." She murmured. "I'm sorry. And I'm sorry I'm not getting better." Just saying it hurt.

"What? No, Mel, don't say that."

"It's true though." She muttered, not looking at him. "I've been trying so hard, and I can't go back to being who I used to be."

Phil kissed her cheek. "You don't have to be that person." He said. "You just need to keep going, day by day, and you do. You get up every morning and go to work and do your job, and you still protect everyone. Even random kids on the other side of the country who have no one else." He smiled, pulling her closer still. "I love you."

"I know."

Phil snorted and the tension broke. "Star Wars, really?"

Melinda shrugged, smiling, and Phil grinned too. "I've missed seeing you smile." He said, and she ducked her head, the smile fading.

Phil whined playfully. "No, don't stop, come on!"

She buried her face in his chest. "Shut up Phil."

Phil grinned into her hair, wrapping his arms around her tightly. "I'm glad you're here."

Melinda sighed against him. "Me too." She murmured.