Suggested and requested by a fan - hope it's well recieved
Epilogue
Whether it was alien DNA, traces of GH-325 or just plain old sheer determination and drive, six months later Daisy was once again meeting with May every morning for training. She'd grudgingly completed rehabilitation, swearing at anyone who attempted to help her stand or walk and within two weeks had all but dismantled the walker she had been issued. She'd actually hidden it on more than one occasion, accidentally-on-purpose, 'forgetting' it in the kitchen…the bathroom…the common room…or any other room she managed to escape without a personal assistant.
Today…yes, six months and three weeks after her run in with the Watch Dog Assassin Squad she was walker free…and just a few days earlier Jemma had finally agreed to let her actually walk about the base without that 'firschtinkin' helmet. How she hated that damn thing. It made her feel like…well like someone who had to wear a bloody helmet to get around anywhere! She was finally free and with a lot of whining she shook her full time 'nanny', and then only by promising to wear one of those 'oh, I've fallen and I can't get up' thingies around her neck and a tracker on her wrist so that Dr. Simmons and her newly adopted parents would know her whereabouts at all times. It seemed like a fair deal…besides; it only took her twelve minutes to disable the damn thing and five more to make sure they didn't find out.
But this morning she was face to face with her former S.O., who actually was once again in that position, after all that had happened. And once again, she had that damn helmet strapped to her head. May refused to do even the most basic exercise with her until she wore it…not even Tai Chi. Daisy was mortified, but acquiesced to avoid the ongoing argument and tongue lashing that followed.
"Come on, Daisy, you're not even trying." May growled as she reached out a hand to pull the girl up from the mat for at least the fifth time since they'd started. "If you want to wake up those sleeping muscle memories, you are going to have to put in a bit more effort."
Daisy drew a deep breath and blew it out before answering between even more small breaths. "You are the one not trying. Come on, yourself…you're holding back and don't deny it."
May raised an eyebrow and glared at the girl. "You think so?" She asked with no emotion as she moved to one side and took on an offensive position. "Defend yourself!" She spun into a roundhouse kick narrowly missing Daisy's face, fell to the floor on to her right and swept the girl's feet out from under her. Daisy hit the floor with a loud 'oomph'. May was on her feet in a second and held out a hand again. The girl slapped it away and pulled herself up to sit in a crossed leg position.
"It's this damn helmet!" Daisy groaned as she ripped open the chinstrap, yanked it off her head and threw it across the gym floor. It bounced twice, slid across the mats, spun around on its top, and landed upright against the far wall. She let out a disgusted sigh and dropped her chin on to her fists as her elbows rested on her knees. "It's very uncomfortable and really messes with the peripheral vision thing." She grumbled over a pout.
May stifled a laugh at the young girl's plight and turned to drop her workout gloves into her open gym bag. "It's for your protection, Daze, your skull is going to take longer to heal than the rest of you." She looked over her shoulder at the young girl who rolled her eyes and blew a fluttery breath over her lips. "You've done great so far, but Jemma told you it would take time. You just have to be patient with yourself." She took a long drink from the bottle of water she pulled from the bag and walked over to her young charge handing her one as well.
Daisy looked up over her brows at the woman who she considered *mom* and snatched the offered bottle, pulled it open and drank so furiously that it dribbled over her chin and down the front of her sweaty workout top. She didn't care. Slamming the top back on the bottle, she smacked it down on the floor next to her. She was mad and wanted May to know it.
The older woman shook her head and took another sip from her bottle. "Brain injuries are nothing to screw around with, Daisy. The brain doesn't really heal it just finds new pathways to accomplish old tasks and abilities. You should consider yourself lucky."
Daisy shrugged her shoulders and turned up one side of her lips. It could have been a lot worse and lying in bed for almost three weeks humbled her greatly. In that time she feared what she might not be able to do, even her power was weakened to the point she could barely make an ink pen shiver. She never really embraced that power, but she knew she'd miss it if it were gone.
When May, Coulson and Mack took a team to track down the creeps that did this to her, she was crushed but understood that the longer they waited the less chance they would have to find them. In the end, it was all for naught as the jerks had disappeared without a trace; even that Mario guy that found her had no clue where they had gone. She knew it was still an active case and hoped to have some input…if Mace, Coulson and, of course, May even let her in on the damn thing.
And the first thing on her list of what she needed to do to get there was lose that idiotic helmet! Even if it meant melting the damn thing in the base's incinerator, although she was sure Jemma had a back up helmet hidden somewhere in the medical bay.
"Hey!" May waved a hand in front of her face waking her from her angry reverie. She let out a soft snort and looked up at her. "Stand up," the woman stated, expecting no argument.
Daisy slapped her hands down on the mat and pushed herself to her feet, looking at May expectantly.
"See those weights over there," May nodded her head toward the rack on the opposite side of the room. Daisy nodded…she really hated weight lifting…too tedious. "I want you to move them."
Daisy dropped her shoulders and tossed her head side to side as she whined. "Oh, come on, that will take forever and what's the poi…" She stopped at the deadpan look on May's face.
"Let me finish," May spoke slowly, clearly, emphasizing the final sound of each word. "Use your power and just make them shake…at little." She added the last few words as a warning.
Daisy straightened up and a wide smile spread across her face. This was it. She'd show May she was fine. She'd been practicing. She raised her left hand toward the weights and felt the shiver of strength begin to build. May grabbed her wrist and pushed her arm down.
"Hey, what…" Daisy scrunched up her face as she turned toward the older woman.
"Right side only," She smiled and Daisy's pout returned.
Practice was great…left-handed…right, not so much. She managed a few tinkles of cups and glasses in the kitchen and wobbled a fork off the table, but that was exhausting. Heck, it didn't matter she'd just use one hand until all of her strength returned, didn't think anyone would notice. No one would notice…except May.
"Let's go," May insisted. "Show me. Now." She stepped back and folded her arms over her chest again nodding toward the rack of weights.
Daisy took a deep breath and blew it out causing the hair that had fallen over her face to flip up in the air. She raised her right hand toward the weights and concentrated on sending a pulse of energy toward it. She wanted to send it out the door, down the hallway and into the panic door at its end, that'd show them all. What she managed was a soft poof of a shimmer that caused one of the pins in one of the smallest barbells to vibrate for about two seconds. She dropped her arm to her side and refused to look at her mentor.
May spoke softly as she rubbed the girl's arm. "You were injured on your left side, it affects the right. You need to help your brain build new pathways for it." She smiled at Daisy's frown. "Come on, we'll work on building it…concentrate on your right side." Turning back to her bag, she stashed her water bottle and searched for a fresh pair of gloves. Daisy bounced from foot to foot and took a few deep breaths as she prepared for May's first 'attack'.
"First, you get the helmet." May almost laughed at Daisy's growl.
"Oh, come on…really?"
"Really," May answered calmly as she pulled on a glove but did not turn around. "Helmet or we're done."
Daisy waited a few beats trying to form an argument that might have the slightest chance of…no, nothing would get to Melinda May. She shook her head, pursed her lips and growled before trudging across the room to snatch the dreaded helmet. Under her breath she grumbled all the way. "Damn, stupid thing, don't see what it does anyway…I still feel it when I hit the floor…don't even use it when I spar with Piper or Prince…" She stopped for a moment considering kicking the damn, stupid thing as far as she could with her LEFT foot but reconsidered and bent over to pick up the object.
Daisy wasn't sure what happened first... the sound of wood meeting muscle or the instant fiery sting that probably accompanied it. It wasn't the surprise that spun her around to meet May's fierce gaze, it was the shock.
"WHAT THE HELL!?" She squeaked as she subconsciously reached back to rub out the fire that she was sure had ignited on her posterior.
May stood a few feet away, once again with arms crossed over her chest, but now she also tapped a foot on the gym floor. Daisy couldn't quite make it out but she was holding something in one hand. "Am I to understand that you've been sparing without that helmet?" She nodded toward the object that still lay on the floor at the girl's foot.
"Did you just…did you whack my a…" Daisy was indignant.
"Answer the question," May advanced on her, ignoring her reaction. Daisy immediately recognized the object she wielded.
"You DID!" She almost laughed. "My god, you did…you, you smacked me!"
"I warned you what would happen if you did something stupid. I don't make idle threats."
"You said if I *said* something stupid…" Daisy retaliated as she backed away from May's advance.
"Don't argue semantics…pick up the helmet." May answered through her teeth.
Daisy bent her knees, squatted down and reached back to snatch the helmet, all without breaking eye contact. "Okay…okay…got it…no problem…got the helmet…see…" She smiled as she stood up and held the object out for May to see.
"Did_you_spar_with_ANYONE_without_that_helmet?" May held the ten-inch wooden bolo bat (sans elastic string and ball) perpendicular to the floor pointing it toward her.
Daisy laughed a nervous laugh as she inched around May heading for the exit. "Ha, well…well, I wouldn't call it sparring…not really, we kinda just wrestled a little…very little, like not even wrestle…more like a…rough-housing a bit. Yeah, like no one even hit the floor…much." She smiled again and tried to gauge the distance to the door.
May stepped to the right and Daisy raised an arm. She stepped quickly to the left and landed a second stinger on the girl's unprotected backside.
"OUCH!" Daisy squeaked. "That's not fair! Come on, May…Mom…I'm not a kid…"
May smiled at the familial title and tilted her head to the side. "I recall we covered that as well. The consequences of stupidity have no age limit."
Daisy shook her head and put her hands out in surrender a second before throwing caution to the wind and making a mad dash for the door. May was faster and caught her by the wrist landing another strike with the small paddle.
"OW-A, okay…Man, that hurts, come on." Daisy danced backward out the door with May's left hand firmly attached to her right wrist. She squirmed to pull herself free while at the same time dancing to keep her targeted bottom away from May's flawless aim.
The two continued their bizarre tango out the door and down the hallway, with several agents dodging out of their path as they went. Not one commented or reacted as they scrambled to get out of the way and every one silently prayed that whatever the exercise was, that Agent May would not have need to involve them now or at anytime in the future.
"YEOW! Mom…momma…OUCH…mommy…" Daisy eeked as May made contact alternately with repeating her original question hoping the girl would soon realize she'd keep this up until she got a satisfactory answer.
Coulson looked up from the clipboard he'd been handed by a young agent, wondering what the commotion in the hall could be and why so many people were detouring in his direction. He signed the form quickly and handed back to the man who stepped back and hurried in the opposite direction. He considered stopping one of the agents to find out what was going on, but everyone went by quickly, ignoring him as if he weren't even there. In a few minutes the hallway was empty and it was easy for him to recognize the two voices engaged in one doozy of a disagreement…if that was what you'd call it. He watched the scene play out in the cross hallway as Daisy came into view first, sliding and dodging backward away from…May who held the Daisy's arm and occasionally swung something in the girl's direction.
They passed the main hallway without looking and moved away down the side hall toward the bunks. He merely stood and listened as their voices faded until he heard the slam of a door and all was silent. The man considered investigating but on second thought, they'd work it out. He started to turn but recognized the footsteps coming closer until Agent May turned the corner and headed toward him. As she walked, she spun a small wooden paddle shaped object between her hands.
"Where in the world did you find that?" He laughed as she walked forward. "I haven't seen one of those since I was a kid."
She slowed as she approached. "Didn't find it," she snorted. "Talked to my mother about our *new daughter*. Got it in the mail yesterday, didn't think I'd need it so soon." She smiled as she passed him.
He watched her disappear around the next corner then turned back and looked toward the opposite corner and the corridor that lead to their *daughter's* bunk. He walked to that corner and stood looked back in the direction May had gone then down the hall toward Daisy's bunk. He shook his head and looked in the direction they had come noticing something in the middle of the walkway. Moving the few feet to pick it up he examined the familiar helmet and suddenly things came together.
Coulson smiled and nodded his head. "Guess now she knows how Grandma May emphasized her point and knowing Momma May I am sure she left quite the impression." He tucked the helmet under his arm and walked toward his office.