It was a week later when Phil first breached the topic with Daisy. "We'd like you to talk to a friend of ours." He said over dinner. "Her name's Maria."

Daisy eyed them both wearily. "A shrink?"

The distrust in her voice made Phil roll his eyes. Great. He thought. Now I have two of them. "No." He assured. "A friend from work. She's an agent."

She clearly didn't trust that answer. "Why?" Not a shrink. Oh God, were they finally sending her back? Was this how they did it? Trick her into talking to a stranger who turned out to be an agent from wherever she was going now? Daisy tried to push past the thought. They didn't seem like the type to do that.

"I think she could help you." Phil said carefully, watching for her reaction. "She had a difficult childhood, and it could help for you to have someone to talk to."

Daisy chewed on her lip. "What do you think?" She asked, looking to May.

Melinda struggled not to look surprised. She paused. "Some people say that it can help." She said. "So it's at least worth a shot."

Daisy swallowed and nodded. "Okay." She said. "I'll do it."

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

Daisy ended up going into work with Coulson and May, and she struggled not to gape at the size of their base, the Triskellion. She picked up a visitors badge with May at the reception desk, Coulson excused himself, and May walked her to a higher floor. Almost the top floor, actually.

She almost balked when she saw the sign on the door. 'Maria Hill – Deputy Director.' Daisy felt suddenly nervous when May knocked on the door, but fought to hide it.

She wasn't sure what she expected from Maria Hill. Maybe some old woman with a stack of papers to process, maybe a strict, principal-like figure. Daisy didn't quite expect the youth to her, brown hair tied up, uniform neatly buttoned, yet she smiled brightly at the sight of May. "Agent May." Maria greeted warmly, shaking her hand. "Long time."

May nodded, "Phil says hello." She said briskly. "He's busy with the strike teams."

"I know, he's doing a great job." Maria said. "I knew he would." She looked at Daisy. "Nice to meet you." Maria said, extending her hand. "I'm Maria."

Daisy shook her hand. "Hi. I'm Daisy." She said, somehow refraining from stuttering.

Maria smiled. "I think we've got it from here." She said to May. "We'll meet you at lunch." She turned to Daisy. "Come on kid, let's go raid the level seven kitchen."

Daisy looked back at May as she followed Maria. "So- uh, what do you do here?"

"Lots of stuff you're not allowed to know about." She said seriously. "And paperwork."

Daisy smiled weakly. "Can't get rid of the paperwork, huh."

Maria shrugged. "We need it. That's what May does."

"That's not what she always did though, right?"

Maria eyed her wearily as they entered the kitchen. "Why do you ask?"

She looked up. "I just- Coulson hasn't said much about it, and I guess... I don't really know what she used to do, or... what happened."

Maria poured each of them a coffee in silence, sitting and watching Daisy dump several sugars into her cup. "May used to be a specialist." She said finally. "Basically the muscle. Specialists are strong, well trained and kick ass."

Daisy nodded slowly, absorbing the information. "So... what happened?"

"Mission went south." Maria said. "She hasn't been the same since. Didn't tell anyone what happened."

"Do you know?"

"Maybe." Maria said, a hint of steel in her voice. "But I'm not telling you. Don't think I don't see you trying to distract me. I'm a spy; I do this for a living."

Shame rose in Daisy's chest and her heart thudded in her ears. "I-I wasn't trying to- I just- I'm sorry." She mumbled, looking down.

Maria grimaced. She'd scared her. She hadn't meant to. "It's okay." She said, nudging Daisy's cup closer to her. "I'm sorry I scared you."

"It's okay." Daisy said, taking a sip. It did help her feel better. She wished she wasn't so stupid. That she could listen to someone raise their voice or sound mildly strict without being terrified of what they might do to her.

Maria leaned back with a sigh. "I know you're probably tired of people telling you that they understand what you're going through," She said awkwardly, not even sure what she was supposed to do, "And... well, I can't say that I do. But I can kind of relate." Daisy looked curious and was at least paying attention, so she continued, ignoring the weight of decades of experience telling her to be quiet. "My mother died while giving birth to me." She murmured. Not looking at Daisy made it easier, made it a little less unsettling. "And my dad- well, he took his pain about that out on me." She laughed bitterly. "For a long time I thought he was right to. I thought that there was something- something wrong with me. How else could I have killed my own mother?" Maria sighed. "I was angry, in pain, and alone in a lot of ways. So... that much, I can understand." She finally stopped speaking, feeling like a total moron.

Daisy swallowed. "I-I'm sorry." She muttered, not sure what she was supposed to say.

Maria shrugged, absent-mindedly stirring her coffee. "It's better now." She said. "It does get better, sometimes."

Daisy bit down on the inside of her lip, trying to force herself to say it. Her heart hammered in her chest at the thought of voicing it out loud. She knew what happened when she tried to tell people, but for whatever reason she wanted to tell Maria. She seemed like the kind of person who wouldn't tell anyone. "They hurt me." She whispered finally. "And- I just let them." Tears welled in her eyes. "It's my fault they did- cos I didn't follow their rules."

Maria was silent for a moment, waiting for Daisy to gather herself a little. "Do you really believe that?" She asked, for a moment remembering how long she had grappled with that same question, that same shame. That voice inside that said it only happened because she let it. Because the alternative was that she had no control whatsoever, and that was far worse.

Daisy shrugged. "I dunno." She muttered, clearly not willing to discuss it more. Clearly regretting what she had already said.

Maria bit her lip. "It was a hostage situation." She said quietly. "Phil and Melinda were sent to bring in a dangerous individual, but things escalated and Melinda was sent in to save the hostages. She got badly hurt, and one of the hostages didn't make it. A little girl." She hesitated. "She doesn't like to talk about it. Strong people can get hurt too."

Daisy swallowed. "I don't think she likes me much." She mumbled, hating that it hurt to admit. She wanted May to like her, and she hated that too. She'd never had a family with a Chinese parent before though, and she felt like that should mean something.

Maria smiled. "Yeah, I didn't think she liked me either, back when we first met. Melinda doesn't really do big shows of emotion, but that doesn't mean she doesn't care."

Daisy nibbled on her lip. "How did you guys meet?"

"I was at the academy." Maria said, a distant look on her face. "May was assessing one of our classes, scaring everyone to death with that glare she puts on. Everyone was convinced they were gonna fail."

The hint of a grin touched Daisy's face. "Did you?"

Maria laughed. "No, and a week later she asked to be my S.O." She said, then clarified, "Supervising officer."

"Oh, cool." Daisy said, taking a sip of her now lukewarm coffee. "How was that?"

"Great." Maria said warmly. "Once I got past the trial by fire. She's really big on pranks. Or she was."

"What about Coulson?" Daisy pried. "How'd you meet him?"

Daisy's eagerness made Maria happy. "Oh, they were partners back then. Work partners." She clarified with a smirk. "Not that they were that hard to read. A lot of us had money riding on when they'd get together."

Daisy smiled. "How long did it take?"

Maria laughed. "Years. I was so mad it took them that long with the way they were always looking at each other. And- and they kept it a secret for two months before anyone here found out."

A brief laugh escaped Daisy's lips before she could catch it. "No way."

"Yes!" Maria exclaimed. "I was so mad when I found out, and May just thought it was hilarious."

Daisy couldn't remember the last time she had smiled so easily. "So- uuh, what was the wedding like?"

Maria snorted. "Overdue."

"Really?"

She smirked. "It took Phil years to ask her out, how long do you think it took him to propose?"

"Oh no." Daisy grinned, imagining him tripping over his words, trying and failing to make some perfect proposal. "How long have they been married?"

"Only a few years." Maria said. "It was a nice ceremony though. First and only time I've seen Melinda wearing white. I was bridesmaid."

Daisy perked up. "You were? Awesome!" She snickered. "Was he nervous?"

Maria laughed. "Worse than I've ever seen. I had an ambulance on speed-dial in case he passed out."

Daisy giggled. "I can so see that." She said. "Did you think he'd run?"

"Nah." Maria said lightly. "He wouldn't do that to Melinda. He's way too whipped."

"What about May?" Daisy asked. "Was she nervous?"

"Yeah." Maria said, smiling, "She just doesn't show it like Phil. She did scare the ringbearer half to death. Poor kid."

"Kid?"

"Yeah." Maria said. "Can't remember whose kid it was, just some eight year old, but it was pretty funny to watch him try to give Melinda lip."

Daisy smiled weakly. "Did- uh- did they want to have kids?"

Maria hesitated, the humour immediately fading. "I don't know." She finally said, forcing herself to be honest. "They didn't really mention it."

Daisy swallowed. "What do you think?"

Maria shrugged. "Phil's always been kind of a dad." She said. "Ever since I've known him. He looks out for newbies, tells dumb jokes, all that."

Daisy toyed with her hands. "And- May?"

"She's... different." Maria said hesitantly. "But not that much. Look, going through specialist training is hard, and she was this tiny Chinese girl surrounded by massive guys who thought they were tough. She had to grow a thick skin." A warm smile touched her features. "But she's pretty protective too. Just in a different way."

Daisy bit the inside of her lip. She knew what that was code for. "Okay." She said softly. "Hey, thanks for... talking, I guess."

Maria smiled. "No problem. You can call me any time. I might not always be around, but I'll call you back. I really hope you stay with Phil and Melinda. They really care about you. They're just not sure how to help, but they're trying."

"Okay." She mumbled.

The rest of the day passed quickly. Maria even showed her around the base a little, and managed to dig out some old pictures of Phil and Melinda, laughing at the bangs May had had when she started training Maria.

It was nice. Really nice. To the point that, when it came to the end of the day and it was time for Daisy to go back with Phil and Melinda, she hugged Maria in farewell, not caring about the surprised looks that the three of them thought she didn't see.

Daisy just felt lighter than she could remember feeling in a long time by the time. This felt good. This felt like home.

It wasn't until they were driving back that the dread started to set in.

This felt like home, and home was hard to lose.