"What about this?"

Daisy squinted at the dress. "It's a hearing, not a funeral." She muttered, looking at some other shelves. "I thought you guys said we have nothing to worry about."

"We don't." May said, eyes scanning the store. "But it doesn't hurt to have something nice you can go out in."

"Right." Daisy pulled an outfit off the rack at random. "Well, what about this?"

Melinda grimaced. "I don't think the cut will work."

"What am I, an old woman with twenty cats?"

"No." May said. "But the judge might be."

Daisy deflated. "Fair point." She muttered, putting it back.

May took a moment to break the situation down a bit more. "Would you feel more comfortable in a skirt or pants?"

Daisy looked up from another rack of clothes. "Uuh... pants, I guess." She didn't have a problem with skirts and dresses, but in court she knew she'd feel vulnerable enough without creepy old men leering at her legs.

"Got it." May said, going off to search.

"Hey, what about this?" Phil called, holding up a pair of black pants and a suit jacket. "With a nice shirt?"

Daisy cocked her head. It was nice, she had to admit. She'd never worn a blazer before, but it seemed like the kind of thing a judge would like. She shrugged. "I'll try it on."

When Daisy closed the curtains in the dressing room, she let herself start shaking, staring at the outfit. It was happening. They were buying clothes that she would wear on their day in court. When some judge would decide her life for her, because it didn't matter what she wanted her life to be.

Daisy changed quickly, pulling the blazer on over her shirt. She shifted around. The material felt odd and slick against her skin, but she liked how she looked in the mirror. The novelty T-shirt she wore under the blazer only slightly undercut it.

There was a soft knock on the wall. "Daisy?" Melinda. "What do you think?"

Daisy swallowed and slipped out. "It's nice."

May nodded, watching her turn. "It is. Do you feel comfortable?"

"I guess." Daisy muttered.

She'd been so sullen all day that Melinda had to say something. "It'll be okay you know. You don't have to be nervous."

"I can't help it." Daisy shrugged, looking down. "Sorry I can't just not be scared like you guys, I-I just... I am."

She looked up when May put a hand on her shoulder. "You think we're not scared?"

Daisy swallowed. "Aren't you?" She asked. "You're both being so calm about everything, it's like..." Like you don't care what happens.

Melinda sighed. For once, emotional control was the opposite of what Daisy had needed from them. "We're terrified." She murmured. "That's the truth. I've been staying up every night trying to come up with contingency plans. Phil's been getting references from everyone he can think of."

Daisy bit her lip. "You just- you guys don't act like it much."

"I know." She murmured, her thumb rubbing circles on Daisy's arm. "I'm sorry we made you feel like we weren't worried."

"It's okay." Daisy mumbled, tugging at her sleeve. "I'm just being dumb about it."

"It's not dumb." May said. "It means you care."

Daisy laughed softly. "It'd be easier not to." She joked half-heartedly. Partly wishing she could stop caring, if just for a moment.

May shook her head. "Life's better when you do." She said quietly. "Even if it sometimes hurts." She gave Daisy a gentle shove back to the dressing room. "Come on, we need a shirt to go with that if you want it."

"Okay." Daisy mumbled, then before she could stop herself, gave Melinda a quick hug. She tried not to think about how few of those she could have left. "Thanks."

May's arms came up automatically to hug her back, feeling the tension Daisy held, the fear. She let one hand gently stroke her hair. "Everything's going to be alright." She murmured, but quickly let go. Phil was meant to be the clingy one, not her.

Daisy ended up settling on the same blazer, but in a different colour which worked better with the shirt she chose to complete it all. She also got a new pair of shoes, leather boots not unlike what she saw Melinda wearing from time to time. May herself had thrown on a leather jacket as well as a pack of socks, but Daisy still winced when she saw the total.

It was okay, she reminded herself. They wanted to do it. Daisy was still caught up convincing herself not to demand the clothes be returned when the shop assistant spoke to her. "Ooh, I wish my mom and dad would come shopping with me." She said with a smile.

The words caught Daisy off guard. Her head whipped up and she opened her mouth to correct the woman, but found there were no words. "I- we're- I mean..." She bit down on her tongue, realising that there was no good way to respond to that. They were almost a family, but she didn't feel like Phil and Melinda were mom and dad.

"Thank you." Phil said, nodding to the woman in farewell, and the three of them left.

Daisy refused to look at either of them, but a glance from Melinda told him that this wasn't the time.

Instead he let Melinda carry the bag of clothes and stopped to get them all milkshakes. By the time they all sat down at a table, Daisy seemed marginally better, and before she was even halfway through her shake, she looked to have bounced back entirely.

Phil would never cease to be impressed with her resilience.

"There is something else we need to talk about before the hearing." He said, noting that Daisy paused in drinking her milkshake. "Your name."

Daisy swallowed. "What about it?"

"Your surname." Melinda clarified, stirring her milkshake with a straw. "Assuming everything goes well in the hearing you''ll have a few options."

The decision hadn't even occurred to Daisy. Would she keep her last name? The only thing she had from her birth parents? If she took Phil and Melinda's surnames, which would go first? How would she hyphenate? Or would she use all three just to confuse people? She took another gulp of her milkshake to stall for time. "What do you think?"

Phil hesitated. "You don't have to decide right now." He said. "We've got time for you to think it over. I know it's a big decision to have to make."

Daisy nodded slowly, staring at her glass. She was silent.

Phil continued. "For what it's worth, neither of us will be upset if you want to keep your name. We just want you to be happy."

Daisy looked to May, who nodded silently. Daisy bit the inside of her lip. "I don't want things to change." She said softly. "I-I love how we've been living, I love just... being with you guys." That was the closest she could get to saying it to their faces. She tilted her head back to keep any tears from escaping. "No matter what happens next week, things are gonna change."

Phil and Melinda's eyes met and, after a moment, Phil leaned forwards to cup Daisy's hand in his. "Yeah, you're right." He said softly. "Some things are gonna change. But we won't, okay? Whatever happens, we'll still want you at home, with us." Daisy didn't move. "We'll still want you to be happy, no matter what."

Daisy swallowed. "What if they don't approve it?" She asked quietly, finally saying it. "What if they take me away?"

Now May spoke. "We'll keep your room ready for you." She murmured. "And we'll have friends keep an eye on you to make sure you're safe." She bit her lip, not sure if she should tell Daisy. Screw it. She needed to know things would be okay. "Maria's applied to be a registered foster carer." She said. "Even if you get taken away from us, she'll look after you until you're old enough to come home."

Something about that struck a chord. Suddenly the hearing didn't really matter in the long run. No matter what happened in court, Daisy would have her room and her family here. They would wait for her, protect her.

She blinked heavily to keep from crying in a food court. "Thank you." Daisy ground out, her voice rough from emotion. She felt like she should say something more, but it was all she could think of. There was a gentle nudge at her free hand, and Daisy saw that May was offering her a napkin.

She laughed tearfully and wiped her eyes. "Okay. Let's go."

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

The night before the hearing was a quiet one. None of them felt like doing work, and one by one they ended up sitting side by side on the couch, Daisy's blanket draped over them. Daisy clutched her plush dog to her chest, staring at the blank TV screen. "I'm still scared." She whispered, her head resting against Coulson's chest. "I know that I shouldn't be, but I am."

Both shook their heads, and Melinda gently stroked her fingers through Daisy's hair. "Me too." She admitted.

Phil smiled sadly. "Me three." He mumbled, relishing in their tandem groans. He laughed quietly. "What should we do about it?"

Daisy shrugged. "Is there something I should say tomorrow?" She asked. "Should- should I call you mom and dad?"

She felt Melinda's hand pause in it's soft movements. "Do you feel comfortable doing that?" May asked carefully.

Daisy shrugged. "Does it matter?" She felt them both open their mouths to give the obvious answer, and cut them off. "I mean- tons of foster parents made me call them that, I-I thought it was important I guess."

She could feel Phil's chest rise and fall with his breath. "What's important," He said, "Is that you feel comfortable with us."

Daisy groaned and hit him in the face with a pillow. "Yeah, I get it, just- what's gonna sound good to a judge?" She asked, getting slightly agitated. "I'm most comfortable without them sending me to some other crappy home where they..." She trailed off. She knew she didn't need to say it.

"No one needs you to fake anything tomorrow." Phil said, "Just do your best to stay calm and everything will be okay."

"It's hard."

"I know." May murmured, "But you're good. Best tai chi student I've ever had."

Daisy looked up. "Really?"

Phil snorted, poking Melinda. "Only cos you traumatised those academy kids." He teased. "They all said you were a terrible teacher."

"Not my fault they weren't good at it."

"I think you're a good teacher." Daisy said quietly, and Melinda smirked smugly.

"Thank you Daisy." She said pointedly, with a hint of sincerity mixed in.

Daisy smiled, but then looked down. "I'm sorry I don't call you mom and dad." She mumbled. "I- it just feels wrong."

Phil's arm tightened around her and May shifted closer. "No, it's okay." He assured. "It's not important."

"It is though." Daisy said quietly. "You guys took me in, you- you do everything for me, and I can't even call you what you are."

"We're a family." Phil said. "It doesn't matter what else we call each other. We're a family first, and family means nobody gets left behind."

Daisy snorted. "Are you seriously quoting Lilo and Stitch right now?"

"It's a great movie." He said stubbornly, but was mostly grateful for making her laugh. "And it's the truth. We're a family, nothing you can do will change that. Okay?"

Daisy looked up at Melinda, who nodded, brushing her hair away from her face. "You're stuck with us." She teased gently.

Daisy smiled. "Okay." She mumbled, "Thank you." She bit her lip, trying to force her decision into words. "I-I think I wanna keep my name. Sorry."

Phil shook his head. "You don't have anything to be sorry about."

"Yeah." May said. "I didn't change my name for this guy either."

Despite their words, Daisy still felt like she had to explain. "I just- it's the only thing I have left of my birth parents."

"We understand." Phil murmured, gently kissing the top of her head. "You don't have to be ashamed of that."

"But they left me." Daisy said, not sure whether she was sad or angry about it. "And you're here."

"This doesn't have to be permanent." May reminded. "If you decide later in life that you want to change your name, you can."

"Okay." Daisy murmured again, burrowing further into their joint embrace. She suddenly felt exhausted.

Melinda smiled fondly at the girl in their arms. "We're not moving tonight, are we?"

"Nope." Two voices answered.