Damn, I do love some Quakerider. So this isn't full AU; Robbie still has the Rider, but Daisy doesn't know where her powers come from. And she hasn't revealed them to her friends and co-workers at Shield. She went on vacation instead, trying to get them under control so she can keep them concealed.

Also, all I know about cars is how to drive one, so details are vague for a reason.

(-)

"Damn it!" Daisy hit the steering wheel as her smoking van slowed to a halt. She'd managed to get it next to the curb so she wasn't blocking traffic, but that didn't do her much good, just made her less of an inconvenience to everyone else.

She wondered if maybe she had done it unintentionally. Maybe while she was dealing with annoying traffic, she had put off a wave that knocked something loose. Her little "vacation" had improved her control a lot, though. It might just be that her beloved van was old and crappy.

Whatever the reason, she needed to call for a tow. First, she did a quick search of mechanics in the area, checking ratings and reviews. Canelo's Auto Body Repair was highly rated, and the reviews didn't look at all like bots. She'd ask for the tow truck to take her there.

(-)

Daisy was heading to the office to get someone to look at her car when something strange happened. There was no visual or audible cue, nothing unusual to trigger it, but her head snapped around behind to her left, where a car had the hood up. And she saw the man working on it having a similar automatic swivel as she did. Looking into those dark eyes, Daisy felt something. Recognition. Of what, she didn't know, which meant it wasn't really anything she recognized. But some part of her did.

The man looked just as startled and confused. And he was frowning, looking increasingly angry. He must not like being stared at. But he was staring right back at her.

Looking away and shaking her head, she went into the trailer that served as the office. When the affable-looking Latino man looked up, she said, "Hi, I just had my van towed here. It broke down, and I was hoping I could get it fixed."

"Of course!" he said, standing. He was smiling, and it was warm and earnest. "We'll take good care of you. Show me your van."

The angry man was nowhere to be seen when she left the office with Canelo, as he introduced himself, which was fine by her. Shield had her used to strange things, but her instincts told her a whole new flavor of strange was waiting for her.

So it was fitting that Canelo was called away moments after they left the trailer. "I'm sorry, but I can't look at your van right now." He took a moment to think. "Reyes should be done with Mrs. Ramirez's car. Hey, Robbie!"

And who else emerged but Mr. Happy himself. He wasn't staring now, looking like he wanted to ignore her. Canelo took that option away when he said, "This young lady needs her van fixed." He looked at Daisy and said, "This is my best guy. You're in good hands." Then he hurried off.

Cue awkward silence. Daisy finally said, "Um, my van is over here."

The smoke had dissipated, or so she had thought, but when Robbie opened the hood, whatever was left hit him in the face. He was unaffected, not so much as a cough or squint. Strange. But she stayed quiet while he looked at things and said, "This part is in pieces, like it got hit with something." He narrowed his eyes and asked, "You sure you don't know why this happened?"

Thank you, May, for teaching her to lie with a straight face. "No, it's not like someone took a bat to my engine while I was driving." But apparently she had quaked slightly, enough to shake a part into pieces.

"Well, I'll have to take this engine apart to get a replacement part put in. It's going to take time." He seemed a bit more relaxed when he was talking shop.

"How much time?" She had a while before she would get called back to Shield, at least if nothing cataclysmic happened.

"Day or two." Robbie sighed. "It normally wouldn't take so long, but I've been stuck with two newbies, and one is a complete idiot, so I get called to advise or put out fires. Literally, once."

Daisy smiled slightly. "Guess that's the price of being the best. Everyone wants your time and attention."

He frowned at that, but it was thoughtful, not angry. And Daisy found herself drawn into those eyes again. There was a heat there, a fire inside him that was being held at bay. And it was almost familiar.

Shaking herself out of her staring contest, she said, "Weird question: mind if I stay here?" When his eyebrows went up, she added, "Not like in your guys' office or whatever, just…while I'm on vacation, I've been living in my van. I mean, I have a home now, but for years this was the only home I had. So, you know, it's comfortable." It sounded stupid. Especially since she had enough money to get a nice hotel room. But she liked her van.

A slightly softer look stole into his eyes, and she realized why. "I mean, I wasn't homeless homeless. I had a nice mobile set-up. Any trouble came along, I'd just go somewhere else."

Now he just had one eyebrow raised. Daisy always wanted to do that. But she realized she was talking too much. Telling him too much. Where was the reticent spy May had trained? "Back to my original question…"

"You'll have to talk to Canelo. I'm going to find a new part; we should have one in our inventory."

And after talking and settling details, Canelo agreed she could sleep in her van. Daisy couldn't decide if Robbie looked irritated or reassured. But while he started on her van (what little he could do that afternoon), she went on a walk to scout out the best places to eat (and use the bathroom) within walking distance.

She came across a guy tagging a huge mural. It was a giant flaming skull with an old muscle car below it. And the guy was putting up an X made of bones, one of many. "What's up?" Daisy asked, nodding at the mural.

"You never heard of Ghost Rider?" When she shook her head, the guy said, "He's a legend in these parts. He goes around the neighborhood taking out all the drug dealers and gangsters and rapists and any other mal hombres. Took out two more last night." He pointed to the fresh X's he had just made.

"He has a flaming skull?" Daisy asked, thinking this sounded like a Shield mission waiting to happen. Clearly the guy was some kind of Enhanced. Of course, so was she. And she was hiding it so she didn't get on the Index and lose her place at Shield. They were her family. Without them, she really would be homeless.

"Many say it's the devil come to walk the Earth and punish the wicked. Others say it's merely a demon with its own agenda. But Ghost Rider has the flames of Hell at his command, and he can't be hurt or killed."

That sounded like a nightmare to fight or capture. If it was true. "How do you find him?" she asked casually, examining the admittedly impressive art.

The guy looked at her. "You loca? He's a demonic killer that can't be stopped. Why would you want to find him?"

The strangest thing…that flaming skull that looked hellish and horrifying…she liked it. She had no explanation, it just appealed to her. Daisy had always been strange, and her new abilities cemented that she was a freak, but this was a new level. And staring at that skull… "He doesn't look like such a bad guy."

"Estás loca, mujer. Mantente alejado de mí." Daisy didn't speak much Spanish, but the guy was eying her like she was a freak. Then he ran away. Well, Daisy always had her charms.

(-)

Who was she? The second she crossed his path, his head turned to look, and he hadn't known she was there to start with. And…the Rider…Robbie had never felt so peaceful since he sold his soul. Something about her seemed to calm or placate the Rider. It liked her, but he also sensed It was wary of her. And that couldn't mean anything good for her.

'What do you want with her?'

The Rider wasn't exactly chatty, but this was the first time It refused to say anything. Robbie just wanted to fix her van so she'd leave. Didn't matter that her presence made something in him at ease as well, not just the Rider; she was clearly too good to get mixed up with him.

"Hey, Robbie, I think Joey is about to let the engine drop out of this car," Carlos said.

Cursing, Robbie left her van to put out another fire. If it was literal fire, he could take the heat. But the flames of stupidity burned too hot for him to handle. Damn kid. Next time one of Canelo's old friends asked for their son to work there as a favor, Robbie was vetoing.

She would be back soon anyway, he figured. The shop was closing in an hour. Not that he wanted to see her. Just wanted her settled in for the night. He, of all people, knew the kind of trouble she could find wandering around after dark.

(-)

Daisy was just thinking of curling up with her laptop when she saw Robbie leave. In a muscle car suspiciously similar to the one in the mural. And now she couldn't stay put. She had to find him, because she had a feeling she'd see someone different behind the wheel of that car. When she looked in his eyes, she'd seen fire. A contained blaze. But if that guy was right and Ghost Rider was out for the night, the fire would burn through the streets and any bad guys it found there.

She needed to see it for herself. So she took off in the direction he drove, picking the worst streets with the least lighting. Ghost Rider wasn't cruising around where criminals would stick out. He'd hit them at home, in the dark.

So there was no surprise whatsoever that she ran into five gangsters when she turned a corner. "Hey, chica, what are you doing out alone at night?" the biggest one asked.

"Don't you know this is a bad neighborhood?" another asked.

"Why don't you come with us? We'll get you home safely," said a third with a creepy grin that belied his statement.

"No thanks," she said, getting good footing, preparing for a fight. "I'm looking for Ghost Rider."

That gave them pause. Some people might think Ghost Rider was a myth, but clearly the people being hunted by It knew differently. She could see fear in every face, although some masked it better than others.

The biggest one said, "So you're putting yourself in danger hoping he'll rescue you?"

Daisy smirked. "I'm not the one in danger here. You need a rescue."

That made them laugh. Until Daisy hit the biggest one and used his surprise to sweep his legs out from under him. It was dead silent for a moment before all Hell broke loose. They were strong, but they weren't trained fighters. And they'd never had to face May on a daily basis. Daisy had.

Of course, she got distracted when she heard a thundering engine coming towards them, and when she looked and saw the light of flames getting closer, she grinned. One of the thugs still conscious took the opportunity to leap up and stab her. He was going for her chest, but she managed to turn in time so he only got her arm.

The power inside her reacted, and a shockwave went through the thug and his friends and the earth and the houses and, oh, look, Ghost Rider was here and getting shaken up. This was a bigger reaction than she'd had since the start of her vacation. And things had been going so well.

(-)

It'd just left one thug on the side of the road, a mess of ash and blood, when the Rider's head turned. Something was happening. Something different. It got in the car and drove towards it. And there she was, the girl, beating five gangsters into submission. Until she turned to look for It. Then one of them took the opportunity to stab her. She reacted in time to avoid a fatal blow, but it was what happened next that intrigued It.

Power washed out of her in a wave of vibrations, causing a very real earthquake in the vicinity. Tree limbs falling, car alarms going off, people screaming. It was only within a block or so, but she was a potent creature. Angel Spawn. It knew it. It sensed something special about her the moment she was near. And she had sensed It too, even if she didn't know it. This Spawn had been raised away from the traditions and training of her people, clearly, or she would have known exactly what she was looking at and acted accordingly.

But even knowing what she was, It still…liked her. There was something special about her beyond her wretched bloodline. Its host liked her already, worrying about what the Rider might plan for her. It wouldn't harm the little creature, not when It wanted to know more about her.

And as people started to get out of their houses to see what had happened, It got out to pick up the girl, who had fallen from exerting her power and blood loss. Something told It that it was possible, despite the flames. Sure enough, a tentative touch to her uninjured arm elicited no negative reaction, no burns or pain or screaming. So It picked her up, finding it so strange to touch another creature without violence or malice. She was still conscious, and she looked into Its flaming skeletal face and smiled, something both sweet and mischievous. "Gotcha." It was pretty sure she wasn't entirely coherent. No one smiled at Its visage, certainly not Angel Spawn.

(-)

Robbie had seen the whole thing, seen her taking on five guys much bigger than her, and then that power that came from her body and caused such destruction. And the Rider brought her back to Canelo's where It reverted into Robbie, who now had a bleeding girl to deal with. The girl (why hadn't he thought to ask her name?) was still conscious, and she kept insisting she was fine.

"You are not fine; you are bleeding all over my car!" Robbie said, because that was a secondary distress at the situation. He got out and went around to get her out, picking her up (despite her protests) and sitting her on a parking block outside the office. He made sure she was leaning against the side of the trailer before he got his keys out and opened the office to get the first aid kit. It was a good one, given the kind of injuries that could happen in their line of work. Then he took her to the little bathroom behind the office.

He cleaned the wound enough to get a better look at it. "What's your name?" he asked, because he might as well get that out of the way.

She laughed at that, although she hissed a moment later when he started disinfecting. "Daisy. You didn't know?"

"You didn't introduce yourself, chica. What's with the earthquake?" Robbie asked, because he'd never seen anything like that.

"What's with the flaming skull?" Daisy countered.

Robbie wasn't sure how much to say. The Rider liked her, and he got a better insight into Its thoughts when It was in control, so he had heard some of the things It said about Daisy. Something about Angel Spawn, and recognizing It. He remembered the way their gazes had connected like magnets, even when neither of them was aware of the other. And the way she'd looked at him, like she was looking inside, looking into the flames.

"I'm Ghost Rider," was all he said, because she knew that much already. "And since you aren't bleeding out and based on the location of the wound, I think it mainly hit muscle." Which she had a lot of, now that he was examining her up close. Beating up five gangsters wasn't luck; Daisy had trained to fight like she did. "Can you move your arm?"

Crying out a little, she tested her range of motion. "Hurts like hell, but I can move it."

"Then I think I'm going to stitch it up and hope for the best, because I'm no doctor." Robbie got out the needle and sutures and went to work.

"Good thing his knife was as small as his prick," Daisy said. "Otherwise it might have actually done some damage."

Robbie just barely avoided sinking the needle into her shoulder as he laughed. "I'm trying to stitch you up; este no es momento para bromas."

"I don't speak Spanish," Daisy said with a groan. "Which I'm betting you know, so you're doing that to be difficult."

"No joking," he said. "Like I said, I'm no doctor. I need to concentrate."

It was easy to tell she didn't take her health and safety seriously when the first thing she did after he said that was slide a hand behind his neck. She was just making him meet her eyes, but his skin (which was always warmer than a normal person's) burned under her touch. But, either because he could never actually burn these days or because it was her, it felt good. It sent fire through him, and it took all his willpower not to do something about it.

Daisy didn't know. She just gave him a look of serious gratitude as she said, "Thank you for taking care of me." Then she smirked and said, "Although I probably wouldn't have gotten stabbed if you hadn't shown up; he only got me because I was looking for you."

Robbie just tried to finish the stitches before he lost control. And it wasn't just him; It liked her touch as well. She was going to be in serious trouble if she didn't back off. "Don't touch me."

She looked stung and removed her hand from his neck. That made him feel relieved, rejected, and guilty all at once. But she said nothing, just looking at the wall. Finally, he finished the stitches and tied the end off. "I'll get the blood off my hands and put a bandage on it," Robbie said, going to the sink.

"It's fine," she said stiffly as she went towards the door.

He caught her by her uninjured arm, saying, "You need to take care of it, or it will get infected."

"It's fine," she said stubbornly, jerking out of his hold.

When she was at the door, he just wanted her to stop being so stubborn and let him help her. His irritation had him pressing her against the door, a whimper escaping her when he accidently grabbed her left bicep. He let that go but used his weight to keep her pinned. Their faces were far too close together.

"Look, chica, you play with fire; you get burned. So don't play." It was the most delicate he could be about it.

"But I didn't," Daisy said, a small smug smile on her face.

"Didn't what?" Robbie asked, confused.

"Your fire didn't burn me when you carried me to your car. It felt nice," Daisy said, and now her smile was soft and pleased.

Now Robbie was stepping back, because It took great pleasure in that statement, and that couldn't mean anything good for Daisy. She was frowning now, clearly worried about his behavior. When she walked towards him, he backed up until he hit the sink.

Time to leave. "Just put some antibiotic ointment on it and wrap a bandage around it." He pointed at the kit before edging around her and out the door, into the fresh air. It didn't approve, but Robbie was way too dangerous to relax around Daisy.

I won't hurt her.

'Just do something worse,' Robbie thought.

She's special.

'Even worse,' Robbie thought. She had no idea the kind of danger she was in.

She wants us both.

That sickened him slightly. Imagining Daisy trying to kiss a flaming skull and having her face just melt away as she screamed.

You heard her. Our flames don't hurt her.

'And how did you manage that?' Robbie asked.

I didn't. She's special.

Okay, this conversation was going nowhere. Robbie literally had Daisy's blood on his hands. He didn't need anymore.

(-)

What was his problem? First, he was all up on her, which she really enjoyed, and then he was fleeing. Robbie Reyes was one of the strangest people she'd met, and given that she worked for Shield, that said a lot.

She did as he said, because, no, she didn't want it to get infected. When she was done, she came out of the bathroom to find him pacing back and forth, expressions coming across his face, one after the other, like he was talking to himself without speaking aloud.

Clearing her throat and watching him jerk to a sudden stop, she said, "You can wash your hands now."

When he went in the bathroom, she went to her van. She'd just met Robbie, so why did his rejections hurt so much? It was that strange thing between them that she didn't understand. That feeling she got when she looked in his eyes, inside him. The way that fire felt warm and comforting on her skin.

Daisy laid down on her little palette in the back and closed her eyes. A gentle knock on the back door made her scowl. "It isn't infected. Your job is done. Go away."

"Can we talk?" Robbie asked. "This isn't…I…I don't know what to do about this."

Sitting up abruptly, Daisy hesitated to open the door. But she did, because she had a feeling that admitting to uncertainty was something Robbie never did. "Can I come in?" he asked. Which was strange, given that she'd just opened the door, but then remembered she'd told Robbie her van was her home. So he was being respectful.

She just nodded. When he was in, he settled sitting with his back to the wall, knees bent with his arms resting on them. It looked so strangely vulnerable. He didn't speak, so she said, "You wanted to talk?"

Sighing deeply, he said, "Don't take it personally. I'm damned, so I don't want to spread the misery around.

That got a frown from her. "Damned. Because of the skull? And the fire?"

"Because I sold my soul to the Devil."

He was dead serious. "How did you do that?"

Her reply surprised him. "You believe me?"

Chuckling, Daisy said, "I've heard crazier things, trust me. So how and why did you sell your soul?"

"Short story is I was driving with my little brother when some gangs opened fire on us. Our car crashed and as I was flying through the air, I prayed for anyone to grant my vengeance for what had happened to my little brother, to me. Then I hit the pavement and died."

Daisy frowned. "You died? How long?" Coulson had been dead for days.

"A minute, maybe two. In the darkness, I heard a voice asking if I would give anything to claim my vengeance, if I would claim vengeance for others. If I would sell my soul for the power to do it. I agreed, and I woke up on the pavement to see this flaming skull-headed person above me. And whatever was in them passed to me." Robbie bit his lip and said, "It's the Rider. It's a separate thing from me, a different person. And…It likes you. That can't be good given Its nature."

That fire. It drew her in, almost dazzled her with the heat. She was seeing the Rider in Robbie. And…she also saw Robbie. How kind he was when you got past his stand-offish exterior. The strength it must take to do what he did and live with a demon inside him.

"Why does It like me?" Daisy asked.

Now Robbie looked troubled. "It recognized you. You're something that's supposed to hate It, supposed to kill It, but you somehow manage to appeal to It anyway. It says that your not getting burned also means you're special."

Daisy's heart leapt at this news. "It knows what I am?"

"You don't know?" Robbie asked.

"No parents. And once this power awoke in me last month, I knew I was something. But not what."

"It called you 'Angel Spawn' and said you're a special one," Robbie said.

"Angel Spawn?" Daisy asked. "Can you ask It more?"

Looking reluctant, Robbie closed his eyes. After a few minutes, he opened them again. "Okay, ages ago, angels came down from the sky and 'blessed' some humans with their children. Sounds like it was actually rape." That had Robbie scowling. "They knew the Riders were getting onto Earth but didn't want to deal with it themselves. So they created human-angel offspring that would have the strength to take care of the Riders for them."

"Lazy Rapists. Doesn't look good on a business card," Daisy said.

Robbie gave her the smallest smirk. "No, it doesn't."

"So I'm supposed to destroy It? How? Quake It apart?"

After a pause, Robbie said, "Unsurprisingly, It won't tell me that. But It's wary of you, even if It likes you."

"Because I could actually hurt It." Daisy was thoughtful. "Is it true that you can't be hurt or killed?"

Shrugging, Robbie said, "I've been shot, stabbed, run over…twice. So as far as I can tell, I can't be killed. Hurt, yes. But it doesn't stay for long."

She was about to ask more questions, but Robbie groaned. "I need to go back out. There are more bad men who need to taste vengeance."

"The Rider needs to?" When that got her a nod, she said, "Okay. Well, I'd say 'be careful' if that wasn't a completely useless statement."

That got her a slight smile from him. "Still nice to hear. I'll be back in the morning to fix your van."

"Thanks," Daisy said. And she laid down, tired from the fight and blood loss. What a night. And it suddenly occurred to her that Robbie confessed that the Rider liked Daisy; he said nothing about how he felt.

(-)

Well, how did that feel? I'm enjoying this take on their meeting, and we will get to Shield eventually. As always my Shield is much more feel-good because I love Found Family as a trope, and that's exactly what it is to Daisy. And she's more mid-second-season Skye than beginning-of-fourth-season Daisy. No Lincoln-loss and HIVE withdrawal.

Also, she only knows her name is Daisy Johnson because she was left with that name on a piece of paper when they found her. That and her birthday.

I'd love to know what you thought about this; constructive criticism is helpful. I feel I get too OOC, but this one is AU as well, which makes that a little harder to judge. But, comment or not, I hope you enjoyed this and will read more.