Ready? Okay, here we go ;)

Daughter

As soon as the small fingers came into contact with hers, a huge smile split Bobbi's face. It felt so right, having that little hand in hers.

"Thank you," she said again to Delilah, taking Isabelle's suitcase from the woman. She lifted it easily with one hand—there couldn't have been much more than clothes inside. The woman motioned for her to wait and returned a few seconds later with a plastic car seat, which Bobbi accepted gratefully. Was it a bad thing the thought of car safety for a child hadn't even crossed her mind?

Carrying the car seat awkwardly under one arm, she gently led Isabelle out of the facility and into the sunlight. As they approached the taxi Bobbi mentally thanked Chaev for providing the transportation through S.H.I.E.L.D. and not through an actual taxi service, as Bobbi had originally assumed. She opened the door closest to the sidewalk and positioned the car seat. Slipping the straps of the miniature backpack off Isabelle's shoulders, Bobbi made to drop it over the seat into the trunk but the girl's arm shot out to stop her. Bobbi stopped bewilderedly, then placed it in the corner of the foot space instead. That seemed to be acceptable. She helped Isabelle inside, well aware of the way the girl's eyes were darting around the city block but dreadfully unsure how to calm the anxiety she must be feeling. Bobbi shut the door behind her, put the suitcase in the trunk, and went around the other side to get in. She fastened her seatbelt before turning to Isabelle, but to her surprise her daughter's was already done as well.

"Good job with the seatbelt," Bobbi praised her awkwardly. The girl didn't smile, just looked back at her with large blue eyes. Isabelle jumped slightly as Agent Walker pulled away from the curb before settling back in her seat again and staring into her lap.

"Is there something you wanted in your backpack?" Bobbi tried haltingly, in a voice for some reason a few notes higher than normal. "You can get it if you want."

Indecision held the girl still for a moment, and then she slowly reached down to pull the backpack toward her and onto her lap. She unzipped it and the previously-squished head of a stuffed rabbit popped out. Isabelle pulled the plush bunny from the backpack and dropped it onto the floor again, hugging the rabbit to her chest.

The sight made Bobbi smile. "I like your bunny," she said kindly. "Does he have a name?"

"His name is Hoppity," Isabelle mumbled, voice muffled by synthetic fur and stuffing. Bobbi paused, unsure of what to say after that, and glanced up to see Agent Walker watching her amusedly in the rear view mirror.

"That's a cool name," Bobbi told her. The traffic seemed to have died down while she was inside the adoption agency, and she was somewhat relieved to see the Fishtank base coming up ahead. The cab stopped on the curb where it had first picked her up, and Bobbi unbuckled. "Have you ever flown before?" she asked. After a moment the girl shook her head mutely. Bobbi opened the door for her and picked up their stuff from the trunk. "Well, it's perfectly safe, I promise. There's no reason to be scared. But if you are—" She helped Isabelle out of the taxi. "—just tell me, okay?" Bobbi took her hand again, and together they walked back to the Quinjet. Isabelle stared up at the odd-looking plane curiously, and Bobbi took that as a good sign. Four-year-olds were supposed to be curious, right?

Bobbi kept her hand clasped lightly around Isabelle's as they mounted the ramp into the darker interior of the jet. Triplett swiveled around in his chair, smiling broadly as he beheld Isabelle for the first time. Despite his friendly grin, the girl stopped dead at the sight of him. "Isabelle, this is Trip. He's my friend, and our pilot. He's going to fly this ship, and he's really good at it."

"Hey, kiddo," Triplett greeted her, giving a wave from the cockpit. The girl didn't move.

"You okay?" Bobbi asked, kneeling to get down on Isabelle's level again. She nodded slowly. "Good," Bobbi smiled. She stowed the suitcase in the corner and guided Isabelle into one of the seats. She lifted the tangle of black straps from the edge of the chair. "I'm going to put this over you, okay? It's a kind of special seatbelt, made for planes."

"Maybe you should put yours on first, to show her," Trip suggested from up front. She thanked him with a glance and sat down in the seat next to her daughter, pulling the straps over her head and clipping them in.

"See?" Bobbi said gently. She lifted Isabelle's over the girl's head and settled it on her chest before tightening them for the girl's smaller size. "Just like that."

"Starting her up," Trip reported, flipping the necessary switches. "Take off in fifteen...fourteen..."

"We're going up in their air now," Bobbi informed her daughter. She placed her arm on the small armrest between them, palm open. "If you get scared, how about you just squeeze my hand? If you don't want to talk?" Isabelle circled her arms around Hoppity again, hugging him tightly. The poor rabbit looked like he was in a headlock, Bobbi thought privately, but whatever worked for her.

Bobbi was all too aware of Isabelle's preternatural stillness as the Quinjet leveled off at altitude. Her eyes darted around the plane, taking in the other row of seats, the red medical kit stashed under the emergency parachute supply, and the fluffy clouds out the cockpit window. Hoppity was only squeezed harder. The silence despite the quiet roar of the Quinjet beneath them was stifling, twisting Bobbi's stomach in knots. Speaking of stomachs…

"Are you hungry?" she asked Isabelle, producing a bag of Goldfish and a cup of applesauce complete with a spoon from under her seat. She pulled the bag open and offered them to Isabelle. After a moment's indecision, the girl took them, putting one in her mouth and chewing slowly. As if her hunger took over, the other three fish Bobbi had handed her were gone in a matter of seconds.

Smiling, Bobbi relinquished the bag to her and peeled the top off the cup of applesauce. Isabelle attacked it eagerly with a spoon. Before Bobbi knew it the fruit was finished and the crackers done with, and Isabelle had resumed her unnatural stillness. Tiny worms of guilt wriggled in her heart—she knew Isabelle was scared, but not how to comfort her. It made Bobbi uncomfortable to continue watching—no, staring—at the girl, so she looked away and out the window at the front of the Quinjet. When she glanced back a few minutes later, Isabelle was asleep.

Bobbi scooted forward in her seat, carefully unclipping her seatbelt and lifting the contraption up and over her head. She joined Trip in the cockpit, sinking down uneasily into the seat next to him. "She fell asleep."

Triplett nodded, eyes on the sky in front of them. "I'm not surprised."

"You're not?" Bobbi asked. "I would think she'd be unable to sleep, with strangers in a foreign environment. I'd be terrified out of my mind."

"Sleeping's like a defense mechanism for kids," Trip replied. "Their subconscious way of dealing with things. My aunt adopted a kid once—five, so a little older than Isabelle—and for the first week she had him the kid slept eighteen hours a night. Plus, four-year-olds still take naps."

"They do?" Bobbi asked. She sighed. "You sound like you know way more about all of this than me."

"You'll get the hang of it," Trip assured her. "It's always weird the first few days. It'll get better." She thanked him for his optimism with a tight smile, wishing she could be sure of that in her heart. Would all of this have been easier if she'd kept Isabelle in the first place? If she had help from—? No, she wasn't even going to think about him right now.

Over the course of the rest of the five-hour flight Bobbi checked on Isabelle over her shoulder but stayed up front with Trip's easy companionship. The girl remained asleep for the duration of the trip—even through the slight bit of turbulence they hit over Ohio—although her death grip on Hoppity gradually relaxed. On Trip's suggestion Bobbi let her sleep through the landing, but upon their touchdown in the garage Bobbi gathered up their stuff and approached Isabelle.

She placed a tentative hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Isabelle? Hey, it's time to wake up," she said softly. The corners of the girl's lips rose slightly—the ghost of a smile, the first Bobbi had ever seen on her in person. Joy flooded Bobbi's body.

Isabelle's eyes cracked open and the smile abruptly disappeared as she realized where she was. The sight hit Bobbi like an icy smack across the face, but she forced a smile anyway and unstrapped her daughter, handing her the mini backpack and offering her her hand. Isabelle took it, standing up and directing her curious gaze out the ramp. Bobbi turned and led her down it and outside, to the ground floor of the garage.

She wasn't quite sure what to expect as she held the door to the main facility open for Isabelle, Trip following a few paces behind. She had asked May to inform the team and "get the place squared away a bit" but she had no idea what that might mean in actual practice. Presumably nothing dangerous would be left lying around, but beyond that…

Bobbi stopped suddenly as they entered the next room, caught by the large smiles of the team gazing back at her. Each of them—May, Coulson, Skye, Fitz, and Simmons—stood in a line, the younger agents positively glowing at the sight of them. May's expression was more guarded than the rest, but she too seemed to be putting on her friendliest face for the upcoming introductions.

Isabelle stiffened beside her, the grip on Bobbi's hand becoming vice-like at the appearance of so many unfamiliar people. Mixed emotions raced through Bobbi as Isabelle took a step closer to her leg, partially shielding herself from the team's happy faces. One, Isabelle was stepping closer to her for comfort. Two, the number of unknown people in this room was starting to freak her out.

"Hey," Bobbi greeted them. "I guess I'd like you to meet Isabelle."

May nodded stiffly, addressing her daughter. "It's nice to meet you. I'm May."

Coulson stepped forward, eyes on Isabelle. He smiled kindly, kneeling to get on the girl's level. "You can call me Phil."

Isabelle peeked out at him from behind Bobbi's leg. "Phil," she repeated softly, locking her gaze with his for a moment before ducking away again. Coulson smiled, retreating back to May's side. The specialist leaned close to him, murmuring something unintelligible in his ear. "No, as long as Morse keeps her away from my collectables," he replied softly. Bobbi caught his eye and nodded, barely able to keep from laughing. In the presence of the team—no, her team—her fears about being a mother were gradually being put at bay. Not gone, but not brutally oppressive as they had been since she'd received that fateful phone call.

"S.H.I.E.L.D.'s recruiting younger now, I see," Skye joked, squatting down next to Isabelle. Coulson and May fell silent and Bobbi's smile faltered. The hacker looked around. "Tough crowd." Her SO shot her a warning glance and Skye, chastised, turned back to Isabelle. "Hi, I'm Skye. Do you like Disney?" she asked, absolutely friendly and seeming completely comfortable in the girl's presence. Isabelle hesitated before nodding profusely. "We are going to have so much fun together," Skye laughed before standing and retaking her spot next to Coulson. The tensions in the room returned to normal.

FitzSimmons went next, with the biochemist mimicking Coulson's position and the quirky engineer just leaning down. "Hey there, Isabelle!" Simmons chirped. "I'm Jemma, and this is Leo. We're very happy to have you here!" She looked at Bobbi, smiling enthusiastically. "She's so precious; she looks just like you! ...Although the structure of her face is a bit different; is there some Polish in your family? Some English?"

"Both," Bobbi said quickly, before the overly-excited scientist could go on any further. She was encroaching on dangerous territory, there. Did Isabelle even know that she was with her birth mother now? How did you go about telling a child something like that, considering the only mother she can remember is the one from whom she was just taken away?

That train of thought was shunted aside as Fitz pulled something fluffy from behind his back. "Th—This is for you," he said with only a minor stutter, producing a stuffed animal around Hoppity's size but with more legs and holding it out to her. "It's a monkey, see? Because monkeys are the greatest." Bobbi realized with amusement the fifth leg she'd been confused about was actually a tail.

Isabelle accepted the monkey with the arm not already filled with stuffed animal, releasing her death grip on Bobbi's hand. She smiled, looking down at her new toy. "Thor!"

Everyone blinked. "You want to name the monkey 'Thor'?" Skye asked.

"Yes!"

"Umm...I think Thor's already taken," Skye said uncertainly.

"Thor," Isabelle insisted, hugging the monkey to her chest.

"Okay then," Skye chortled, and one by one the team began to laugh. Even May cracked one of her rare smiles.

Then scuffling sounds came were audible from the garage behind them, along with the sound of slamming car doors. Mack's low voice met her ears. "Shit. No, wait, Hun—"

Hunter burst through the door. "Who missed me? Hold on, let me rephrase that—we come bearing pizza! Now who missed m—" He broke off as he spotted all of them staring at him. Fitz and Simmons rose to their feet slowly, no one daring to say a word. Mack appeared behind him, out of breath and frustrated with this predicament they'd tried to avoid. Predicament. That was one word for it.

Nobody moved as Hunter's brow furrowed, eyes roaming first from the silent team to Bobbi's deer-in-the-headlights expression and then down to Isabelle's small, bewildered face. The girl stared at the newcomers with wide blue eyes. He seemed to make the connection a moment later. "What the bloody hell is going on here?!"

Thank you all for reading :) Leave a review if you have a moment to spare; they really make my day and I would love to know what you thought! Yes, the next chapter will pick up right where this one leaves off...

Guest: Glad you found Isabelle adorable. Hope she was even more so this chapter!

Guest: That won't be the last time Skye plays an important role here, don't worry!

Holly: How'd I do? ;)

Shawn: Like this? :)

Andy: You got your wish with this one!

Sasha: Bit of both in this chapter, although Hunter and Isabelle's interaction was rather limited. They got some good 'staring at each other shocked' in though. More to come!

Guest: He's not thrilled, as you might guess from the ending here ;)