a.n. Wooow, last chapter! I can't believe it's gone so fast, and I can't believe how much everyone's loved this fic! I'm so glad that you guys have liked reading this as much as I liked writing it, I've wanted to write this kind of fic for a while but didn't feel like I had it in me. Massive thanks to everyone who's reviewed, and a special thanks again to marvelthismarvelthat, for being the best beta/friend ever :)
Melinda woke first. Despite the stress of the situation she had slept quite well.
She squirmed slightly, being careful not to rouse Daisy, and winced at the pain in her shoulder. No matter how fit she was, sleeping on a couch just wasn't good for her muscles. Uncertain of what to do, knowing that she couldn't get up without waking them, Melinda contented herself with watching Phil and Daisy sleep. They both looked so peaceful. Even in the face of the day to come.
Melinda was also keenly aware that neither she nor Daisy had had a nightmare. Nor had any of them woken in the night. That had to mean something, right?
After several minutes, sunlight started to creep through the window, and Phil started to wake. He hummed, shifting. "Mel?"
She shushed him, looking at Daisy. "Let her rest a little longer." May murmured.
Phil blinked his eyes open, his vision clearing. He smiled and leaned forwards a little to kiss his wife. "Morning." He greeted with a smile.
Melinda smiled too. "Morning." She said warmly. "Sleep well?"
Phil hummed. "Yeah, surprisingly." He shifted and stifled a groan when his back clicked. "Ow."
"Gonna feel that later."
"I'm feeling it now." He grumbled, but then looked down at Daisy with a gentle smile. "Totally worth it though."
"Definitely."
Surprising them both, Daisy groaned and rolled over. "Oh my god, you guys are such saps." She said with a grin.
Phil and Melinda both glared playfully, and May reached over to muss up her hair, getting spluttering laughter and half-hearted protests.
"Come on." May said, smiling. "Breakfast."
With a start, Daisy remembered what day it was, and her laughter immediately faded. "Pancakes?" She requested weakly.
Melinda gave Phil a gentle shove. "You heard her, pancakes, stat."
Phil rolled his eyes, groaning as he stood up. He stretched. "With berries?" He asked Daisy.
Daisy nodded, suddenly on edge. "Please."
"Coming right up."
Daisy noticed Melinda slip into their room and assumed that she was going to shower. She did, emerging from the bathroom some minutes later. However when she came back out for breakfast, hair damp against her shoulders, she held something else.
A large wrapped gift.
May placed it on the table in front of her just as Phil put down a large plate of pancakes in the middle of the table. Daisy swallowed. "What's this for?"
Phil nudged her. "It's for you." He said. "I thought that was obvious."
"You didn't have to get me something." Daisy muttered. "I-it's not my birthday or anything."
"We talked about it." May said. "And it's important to us that you have it. No matter what happens today."
Daisy sucked in a nervous breath. More and more it was feeling like this could end badly. "Okay." She said softly. "Thank you." She looked at the box, not even sure where to start.
"Open it." Phil said in a stage whisper. "The pancakes are getting cold."
Melinda scoffed and Daisy smiled. They were always so nice to her. She hoped the judge would decide that she deserved them. Carefully, Daisy peeled the tape off one piece at a time, letting the paper fall away.
She stared at the contents of the present, stunned. "I- no, you can't, I- this is too much."
"It's not." Phil said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We've been talking about it for ages. You're great with computers, and we want you to have the opportunity to practice."
"But it's so- I don't deserve it." Daisy mumbled, crossing her arms around her waist and looking at it. It was brand new, top of the line, so clean and perfect. She didn't do clean and perfect. She did scrappy junk that was barely held together.
"You do." Melinda said. "And look at it this way. No matter what happens today, you'll still be able to talk to us to this."
Daisy swallowed, seeing past the laptop and instead looking at what it represented. Their faith in her. Their promise that they'd be a family no matter what. Their belief in the person she could be. She bit her lip and forced herself not to cry. "Thank you." Daisy mumbled, throwing herself into May's arms.
Melinda immediately returned the hug, grabbing Phil's arm to drag him into it too. "Any time." She murmured. "Now come on, it's time for breakfast."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
The drive was mostly silent. Phil could feel the tension in the air, their worries combined. He knew that this was mostly a formality, that the odds of them not being approved were outrageously small, but he was still scared. He tried to start a conversation a few times, but knew even before he did it that it wouldn't work.
He couldn't wait for this whole hearing to be over already.
They were early to the courthouse, which Phil had thought was a good idea. Now he wasn't so sure, watching Melinda pace back and forth while Daisy wrung her hands.
He sighed and went for a walk down the corridor. It didn't take long for Phil to find what he was looking for.
He walked back. "There's an empty room down there." He said, nodding. "Maybe doing some tai chi would help your nerves."
Melinda raised an eyebrow. "And what's going to help your nerves?"
Phil shrugged. "You know I love watching you." He said.
"Gross." Daisy muttered, but there was the hint of a grin there.
May narrowed her eyes playfully. "Come on." She said, taking Daisy's hand. "It'll kill the time at least."
Daisy followed. "Yes ma'am." She muttered. "As long as I don't tear my shirt or anything."
Melinda rolled her eyes. "Oh please, you couldn't tear a piece of paper with those muscles."
Daisy gasped in mock offence, and the two entered the room, closing the door behind them. Phil smiled, watching them go. As long as Daisy wasn't hyper-focused on what was to come, he felt better.
Twenty minutes later the door opened and another family left, looking shaken but happy. Phil offered them a smile. After they had passed, he walked down the hall to where Melinda and Daisy were doing their tai chi. "I think they'll be ready for us soon." He said softly.
Daisy looked up, but was proud that she didn't immediately drop her stance. Instead she and Melinda completed their current form and came to a stop together. "Okay." Daisy said, taking a deep breath. "Okay."
"We're in this together." Phil reminded, helping her put her blazer back on. "Always."
Daisy closed her eyes and gathered herself. "Let's go." She said, walking out into the hallway. "We can do this."
"Hell yes we can." May said, following to walk beside her.
Daisy came to a stop at the door, taking a moment to compose herself. She looked to them. "Ready?"
"Ready when you are." Phil nodded.
Heart in her throat, Daisy pushed the door open and entered.
It wasn't as imposing as she had thought. There was no towering desk where the judge sat, no huge jury of people. Just her, Phil and Melinda, the judge, an attorney, and Mary, who waved at her. Daisy smiled and nodded in greeting.
Phil stepped forwards first, placing his hand on the bible. "I swear that the evidence that I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God." He said calmly. Like he did this every day.
Well, he'd definitely done it more than Daisy.
May went next repeating the same words. Daisy's hands began to sweat. What if she said it wrong? What if she messed this whole thing up with the first words out of her mouth?
Melinda came back, and Daisy took a shaky step forwards. She tried to surreptitiously wipe her hand on her pants before she put it on the bible. She swallowed. "I swear," Her voice cracked, "That the evidence I give, shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." There. Done. An instant before she pulled away, she remembered. "So help me God."
Daisy let out a long breath when the judge nodded and she tottered back to where Phil and Melinda sat with their lawyer.
"All be seated." The judge said, stoic. He seemed almost bored.
As they sat, the judge shuffled through the papers he had. Daisy was struck by the fact that those papers contained as much of her life's story as she'd ever know. She felt Phil's hand grip hers reassuringly and squeezed back.
"Will the adoptive parents please step forwards." Phil's hand slipped from hers and Daisy watched them walk away from her.
The attorney followed, standing by the judge. "Please state your names."
"Agent Phillip J. Coulson."
"Agent Melinda Qiaolian May."
"You both consent to this adoption taking place?"
"I do."
"I do." Daisy wondered numbly if this was what a wedding felt like.
Their lawyer nodded to Daisy. "Will the adoptee please step forwards." Daisy did so, ignoring the fear seizing every muscle in her body. It was at least good that she was standing with them now. They were together. "You consent to this adoption taking place?"
"I-I... yes." Daisy said, caught by surprise.
"You all understand that this is a lifelong commitment, with little chance of appeal?"
"Yes." They all said at the same time.
"You understand that if your marriage were to separate that you share equal responsibility for the child?"
"Yes." Phil and Melinda said.
Their attorney nodded. "Do you both swear to give this girl a loving home?"
"Yes."
"Of course."
The judge moved slightly in his seat, looking at the three of them. "You got the day off school for this, huh?" He asked Daisy.
Daisy stared for a moment before stuttering out, "Yes your honour."
He smiled. "Well, it beats faking sick I'll bet."
Daisy swallowed. "I don't know your honour."
Something in his eyes softened as he realised how nervous this kid was. She wasn't in the mood for chatting. She just wanted to go home with her family. "Okay. Given the recommendation of your social worker and the testimony I've heard here today, I have no reason not to sign the decree of adoption. Do you have anything else that should be disclosed?"
Daisy shook her head and heard both Phil and Melinda say, "No your honour."
She hurriedly echoed them, not sure what happened now. The judge scribbled his signature on a piece of paper that Daisy couldn't see. He looked back to them. "I'll have two copies of this made." He said, "One for your attorney and one for yourselves. In a few weeks the issue of a new birth certificate will be processed."
Phil and Melinda both sagged in relief. "Thank you your honour." Phil said.
Daisy looked back and forth between everyone in the room. "That's it?!" She exclaimed, not even caring that their attorney stared at her.
The judge smiled patiently. "That's it." He said. "You're free to go."
The words echoed in Daisy's head as her legs automatically walked her out of the courtroom. Free to go. Free to go. They weren't going to take her away. She was getting a new start, a new birth certificate. A new life.
"Daisy?" Phil's voice cut through her thoughts. "Are you okay?"
She noticed, belatedly, that she was shaking. She nodded.
"We have to come back tomorrow to sign some forms, but we can go home now if you want, or we could get some lunch first."
The word struck a chord. "Home." Daisy repeated. "I- we can go home." Something about that had tears burning her eyes.
The truth hit Phil too. "Yeah." He said, pulling her into a hug and failing to bottle his tears. "We can sweetie. It's okay."
Daisy snagged Melinda's arm, dragging her into the embrace too. "I-I love you guys."
Melinda pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "We love you too." She murmured. "And we're never going to leave you."
"Never." Phil echoed, and, for the first time, Daisy knew that it was true.
"Let's go home."