Chapter 6Chapter by Rhino (RhinoMouse)Notes:Hey guys! You continue to blow me away with your response to this.
Chapter TextEmily snorted as she spotted a bottle of nail polish for kids who chewed their nails. "She's back."
"Really?" Reid perked up from where he'd been making some colorful threats toward the handwriting in the case file he was looking at.
She held up the bottle. "Well I didn't buy it, and none of you gentlemen know this is my favorite color."
Morgan gave a good natured shrug. "Fair enough. So where's our super secret Terminator then?"
"JJ's office is the most logical option," Reid put in.
Emily closed her current file as she stood up. "I think I'll just check. I owe her a thank you for the polish anyways."
Morgan seemed to pause. "Oh, that means morning workouts." He groaned.
"Your fault for being macho enough to think you can keep up with her." Emily shook her head 'men'. She was amused by Morgan refusing to accept a tiny asian woman was physically crushing him without even trying. It was a hopeless cause, and she had her suspicions about rumors of performance enhancing drugs for field agents. Whether it was a pipe dream or a reality she didn't know. But if she had to guess Daisy had been dosed with steroids.
Emily knocked on JJ's office door before walking in. She smiled as she spotted Daisy's familiar form, folded up in a chair. JJ was holding a paper cup filled with what seemed to be coffee, based off the fact that she was actually drinking it. "Good to have you back Daisy."
"Hey Prentiss." Daisy turned and beamed, which would have been nice enough if she didn't have a massive black eye.
Her eyes widened. "What happened?"
"That's what I asked." JJ raised her brow. "Willing to tell now?"
Daisy rolled her eyes. "Local military commander wasn't interested in working with a 'little girl'. I gave him first punch. It's not that bad, didn't even fracture the orbital bone."
"Didn't fracture the…" Emily shook her head. "Seriously?"
She shrugged. "It was the fastest way to get them to follow orders."
"Should you have ice on that?" JJ asked, exasperated.
Daisy laughed. "I'm good, and really this is nothing. I mean I didn't get shot or blown up, easy mission. So, I hear you had a doozy of a case down in Texas?"
"It's hard when it's a kid." Emily didn't mention how hard it had been on Reid. But then, likely Daisy would realize that soon enough. "So any hints about your super classified mission other than you worked with the military?"
"Nope." Daisy popped a piece of gum into her mouth. "But I was watching a movie on the way back and had a thought. We should do brunch sometime. Like us three and Garcia. Brunch looks super fun and they have those champaign and orange juice things."
"Mimosas?" JJ's eyes flicked to Emily with a grin. "I think we could do brunch." She shifted her whole attention to Daisy. "My paperwork is miraculously done by the time five o'clock rolls around now."
Daisy looked particularly smug. "Well that's what happens when you have a reasonable workload."
"Which you clearly don't." JJ gave a pointed look to the bear paw cactus on her desk. And then for some reason at the window.
Emily took a second look at the window. "Is that bullet proof glass?"
"I do not understand the FBI, your security is terrible. I could have broken in when I was a teenager." Daisy looked truly disgusted.
She shook her head, well it was true. "Good thing you're one of us."
JJ frowned as her phone went off. She held up a finger while picking it up. "Jareau?"
Emily wasn't sure what it was but something kept her from using this moment to get back to work.
JJ hit the mute button, pressing the receiver to his chest and looked at Daisy with a perplexed expression. "There's a woman downstairs, name of Melinda May here to see you?"
"May?" Daisy's whole face lit up as she hopped out of her chair. "Don't worry about her disappearing from the guest desk while we were talking. I'll meet her down in the gym."
JJ's bearing had stiffened slightly. "Who is she?"
"My old SO." Daisy's entire being radiated delight as she practically bounced out of the room.
Emily stuck her hands into her pockets. "We're gonna wanna see what's going on in the gym. You don't get a chance to see two specialists of that caliber very often if at all."
"What do you mean?" JJ frowned.
Her lips quirked. "Come on, Garcia will give us a bird's eye view."
////
Rossi pulled at the collar of his shirt. Miami heat was a doozie. He cleared his throat before they all got to work on this newest case. "Detective, when you see an asian woman, mid to late twenties, bullet graze scar on her cheek, she's with us."
"She's not arriving with you why?" The lead detective Lopez asked.
He chuckled. "Agent Daisy's a badass. Likely surveilling the area for threats."
"You make it sound like this is Baghdad." Lopez joked as she led them into the station.
He shared a knowing look with Pretiss, if Daisy hadn't been involved with the massive series of strikes against AIM, after Stark's kidnapping and discovery, he'd eat his left shoe. "We all have our quirks after working this job."
"Huh, well I'm gonna take the skinny kid and Derek to the dump sites, so I got my cell, radio. If anyone doesn't give you anything just call me." Lopez stepped back, eager to get back to the case, or well get back to 'Derek'.
Emily gave the detective an absent minded, "Great."
"She did say she wasn't good at names." Rossi fought back the desire to laugh.
Emily rolled her eyes up to him. "Remembered Derek."
"Wonder how she'll describe us?" He focused on the effects of the latest victim. It wasn't a good sign their unsub had subdued and killed a fit vacationing cop.
Emily sounded amused, but the humor fading as she focused on the task at hand as well. "Oh, I'm sure I don't want to know." She sighed. "It's always sad seeing someone's life reduced to the things they had with them when they died. It's just so clear they didn't know how short their time would be."
"Odd." Rossi noted the lack of worn suits despite claims of business. That might end up being something.
////
JJ was exhausted, it was late and having Wil there was just straining her further. It wasn't that she didn't feel for him. His partner had been murdered. And then turned out to have a secret life, to have never trusted him enough to share his sexuality. But it was all just...it was complicated. She spotted Will on the phone as she left the station.
She worried at her hair, but stepped forward. "Hey."
"You know…." He rocked back, grief painted across his face. "Sure is warm in the Bayu but at least it cools down some at night. What, are you leaving?"
JJ looked down to her blazer she had draped over her crossed arms, protectively held in front of her. "Yeah. I'm beat."
"Without saying good-bye?" He straightened ever so slightly, though he didn't lose his laid back posture.
She shook her head. "I didn't know where you were?"
"Did you look?" He gave that lopsided grin she'd found so charming all those months ago in New Orleans.
JJ took a long moment to take in the man she'd been seeing. Her eyes flicked along him. He was everything she should want in a man.
He huffed at her silence. "Should I be worried? I mean, it doesn't take a profiler to see that you got one foot out the door in this relationship."
"Could you just please keep your voice down?" She cut off what was surely an airing of his concerns about their relationship.
He jerked his head towards the glass doors of the station. "I don't care if they hear us." He glanced at her before looking back to the door and raised his voice. "Hey, YO!"
"Shh."
"I'm crazy about her." He pointed at her without pausing in the least at her attempt to get him to lower his voice. Turning back to her he looked at her like she held his heart. "You know, I don't have a problem with people knowing about it."
"Well I do," she said shortly.
"Why?"
It was not a good day. "Just because!" She could see him readying to dig further. "All right, it's-- it's my business." She willed him to understand her point.
He looked down with his stupid puppy eyes. "Are you ashamed of this?"
"No." She barely resisted rolling her eyes.
"Did I offend you?" He raised a shoulder in question.
She just felt tired. "No."
"I say something wrong?" He tried.
"No."
"You been… you seeing another guy?"
She glared slightly. "No!"
"Do you wanna see another guy?"
"No."
"You want to break up?"
"Y…" She fell silent. Fuck. This wasn't the time or the place for this but Will wouldn't let it rest.
He looked surprised as if he hadn't been expecting that. "You… you do?"
JJ hesitated before giving the slightest of nods. "Yeah."
There was a long pause before he shifted back slightly. "Ok."
"You're supposed to hop on a plane every weekend forever? And neither one of us is willing to relocate, so-"
"When did we have that discussion?" He had the gall to sound insulted.
She felt her frustration bleeding through. "Well do you?"
"Maybe." But even as he said it his head jerked to the side slightly.
So she challenged him. "You want to give up your career in New Orleans so you can live in Quantico, Virginia?"
"Well I'd at least like to have that option." He floundered slightly. "You know look, JJ. All I'm looking for here is an acknowledgment to your friends that you care about me."
"Why?" Her hand went up in frustration. "Why is that so important to you?"
"Why?" He pulled back sounding so hurt. "Have a good night JJ." Wil walked away.
She wiped at her eye before turning around to face where he was going only to pause at a very awkward looking Daisy stepping to the side so Wil could walk past her. She was holding a drink carrier of sodas. It dawned on her Daisy had left to get them something with ice in it not that long ago.
Daisy held up a hand. "Hey?"
"Perfect." JJ sniffed, and turned away.
There were a couple of steps and then a warm hand nearly touching her shoulder before pulling back. "Wait, please."
"What, want me to make more of a fool of myself?" JJ dropped her head. "Sorry, you didn't deserve that."
Daisy cautiously set the drink tray down. "It's ok, and the hotel has a great bar?"
She blinked. "What?"
"I'm good at listening, and it doesn't sound like you've had anyone to talk to about this for a while." Daisy stayed soft. "If that's not what you need just let me know, but if you need a drink and an ear I'm here."
JJ pushed some of her hair back. "We're on a case."
"And it's late, neither of us are the agents who are the most impactful at this point in the investigation." Daisy slid her hands in the back pockets of her jeans. "And you know, cheap vodka is my go to after a bad break up."
She sighed, the fight draining out of her. "I could use something really, really strong."
"Well it's a good thing I already claimed one of the SUVs for the night." Daisy carefully gestured to the parking lot.
JJ played with the umbrella in her cocktail of dubious name. "So how much did you hear?"
"Enough." Daisy knocked back a shot.
She blew out a breath. Grabbing one of the several shots Daisy had ordered for them she knocked one back herself. Hissing she dropped it back to the bartop. "Not going to pry?"
"Hey I'm just here to listen if you need it, be a shoulder if you need it, and possibly hold your hair while you puke." Daisy sipped from her proper glass of bourbon. "I get how some stuff is so complicated you just...there's not much to talk about sometimes."
JJ leaned her forehead against the palm of her hand. "I'm not...I wasn't ashamed of him. I just… If I told everyone it would make it real and if it's real people get hurt you know?"
"I get it." Daisy looked at her with painful understanding. She seemed to consider not saying anything, but then she was asking. "How long were you and the detective….a thing?"
She took a drink of her cocktail, fruity. "A year now of being...something."
"A whole year and you never wanted to take the dive?" Daisy's brow rose. She took a swig of her bourbon. "That sounds like a sign there."
JJ made a low sound of frustration. "Well I've always been good at running. Ran my way into a soccer scholarship and have run my way out of every chance at a relationship I've had."
"Well are you dating guys you need to run from? Cause of my three relationships two of them were raging assholes and terrorists. So you know, there's that."
She nearly snorted out her drink. "What?"
"Oh yeah, first serious boyfriend recruited me into a terrorist organization when I was fifteen and then went against all our ideals and shit to make money. Got people killed. Then I guess I just went for worse. Ward was basically one of your guys's unsubs. I don't even want to know how many people he murdered." Daisy tilted her head back and downed her bourbon. Looking down the bar she signaled the bartender for a new round for them.
She didn't know what to say to that. So she downed her drink as well. "Your third serious relationship?"
"I actually met him in a...well I guess you could call it a cult turning towards bio-terrorism." Daisy huffed out a laugh. "But he was...he was a good man. He died a hero."
JJ touched Daisy's shoulder as she spotted how the other woman's eyes were misting slightly. She didn't know what to say to that. Instead she pushed one of the depleting number of shots towards Daisy.
Daisy snorted, but knocked it back. "It still hurts, I think it always will. I wouldn't trade what time I had with him for anything. The time I spent not with him for whatever reason seems so stupid looking back."
"Maybe I'm being ridiculous. He's everything I could want." JJ accepted her new drink and waited for the bartender to leave. "When I'm with him I can just...forget reality."
Daisy poked her. "So why do you think if you made it 'real' you'd get hurt? Cause I heard a lot of logistics concerns and stuff."
"I won't lose this job. I know people think what I do isn't as important as the profilers-"
"That's bullshit." Daisy frowned. "The team wouldn't function without you. When you called out sick last month it was chaos. I had to answer phones, JJ."
She smiled at that. "You know what I mean though. People think I'm just the pretty face for the media. Everyone... "
"What about him gives you that sick feeling in your gut that it won't work?" Daisy leaned against the bar. "Because after a year there's gotta be something. I mean that's 'did you use my toothbrush?' stage."
JJ snorted before taking a sip of her drink. She turned maudlin. "I don't know. I'm always the bad guy, it's always my job getting in the way, and me canceling and I'm tired. But I'm tired of being alone. I want the whole happy relationship, kids, family home thing."
"You want your Fitz." Daisy nodded solemnly as if that made sense.
JJ stared at Daisy.
Daisy blinked before laughing. "When I got recruited there were two scientists on the team, Fitz and Simmons. And they like...they clicked. We called them Fitzsimmons. Pretty sure for the first few months all of us were confused at which one was which. And Simmons is like my best friend. So I always say I want my own Fitz, but not Fitz because that would be weird."
"Sounds nice. What if Wil is my Fitz and I'm just running for stupid reasons?" JJ looked at Daisy.
Daisy hummed. "Do you want him? Or are you hanging onto him because he's the closest you've met to what you want?"
JJ bowed her head. "I'm awful."
"No you're not. You're lonely and in a high stress job." Daisy pushed a shot closer to her. "And you deserve someone who doesn't make you want to run. Or pressure you for things or try to make public scenes when you clearly hate those."
JJ downed the shot. "He really does those. I don't know why?"
"From what I saw, which was limited, it was a fight. But does he respect you?" Daisy asked.
She considered it. Did he?
Daisy gently bumped her. "If you have to think about it you can do better. At least that's my two cents."
"He does all the right things, but then… I feel guilty for canceling on him, for the hours this job requires, not being ready to move as quickly as he is, it's just….exhausting." JJ slumped.
Daisy nodded. "Then you did the right thing breaking up with him. Relationships shouldn't make you tired. Change is terrifying, but it shouldn't be exhausting."
Could it really be that simple? No blame, just a simple 'you did the right thing?' and affirmation she wasn't crazy. JJ downed a shot.
Chapter 7Chapter by Rhino (RhinoMouse)Notes:Sup!
Chapter TextDaisy frowned as they went careening around a corner, towards the youth hostel the unsub was in. "Morgan, let me go in? I get places like this. I go in, I tranq the guy. This is a lot of civilians who could get hurt."
"I can delay everyone long enough you can have maybe three minutes." Morgan shot a quick look at her. "Can you find and neutralize him that fast?"
Daisy ripped off her collared shirt and started pulling one of Morgan's shirts out of his go bag. "I can do it in one." She grabbed eyeliner and smeared it across her eyes. Dropping the eyeliner she unfastened her braid and shook her hair out. Opening the glove compartment she grabbed the tranq gun and shoved it into the back of her pants.
"What are you..shit how do you do it that fast?" He yelped as he took a second look at her.
She grabbed the flannel shirt she'd stuffed under the seat. "I kinda miss getting to go undercover. They just send me in as the muscle now." Daisy braced as they slammed to a stop in front of the hostel. "Good luck." She slid out the door.
"If you need back up." Morgan was out and grabbing his radio.
Daisy easily jogged inside. She relaxed as she slid into the familiar atmosphere. A slow circle of the recreation rooms and she spotted the unsub. She felt bad for him, years of horrific abuse, and a psychological break. He was a monster, but a made one. She ambled towards him. "Hey, think I could join your card game?"
He looked up with a smile. Before he could answer he slumped unconscious to the ground.
Daisy ignored the jumping and shrieks of the kids at the sound of her gun going off. She pulled out the cuffs and cuffed the unsub.
"Put your HANDS UP!" A voice demanded as the cops came bursting in.
Morgan trying to get to the front. "She's with us! Don't shoot!"
Daisy held up her hands. "You must be Detective Lopez, haven't bumped into you yet."
The lead cop's gun lowered. "You're FBI?"
"CIA technically." She shrugged, keeping her hands up.
"PUT YOUR GUNS DOWN!" Morgan ordered.
Finally the cops lowered their guns. She looked at Morgan. "Three minutes huh?"
"You said you could do it in one." He huffed, his shoulders easing now that guns weren't aimed at her.
Daisy dropped her hands. "Do you think I should get a taser to be lower key? Cause honestly once the guns come out it usually means a lot more violence than your unsubs put up."
Prentiss stepped forward putting her fingers against the unsub's neck. "Let's get him out of here before he wakes up."
Daisy set a bag of deeply greasy empanadas down next to JJ. She then set down the six pack of gatorade. "Since we're slow enough you can feel the hangover now."
"How are you so cheerful?" JJ groaned while accepting a bottle of the gatorade and taking several great gulps of it.
She smiled. "I don't get hangovers anymore. Though I did get really high two years ago and coming down off that was...not fun."
"You suck." JJ breathed in the scent of greasy empanadas. "Are those for me?"
Daisy started pulling out the paper wrapped food. "I got you drunk, means I have to get you through the hangover." She softened as she looked at JJ. "That's what normal friends do right?"
"You're spectacular." JJ sighed before taking a giant bite out of a pork empada.
She chuckled. "Prentiss, how much more paperwork do we have before we're loading up on the jet?"
"Not much." Emily looked up from where she was writing her formal report. She looked at JJ and then made an 'aw' face in understanding. "Hotch yell at you for using a tranq gun again?"
Daisy grinned. "I believe he's accepted it as the lesser evil, that you don't have to have stand offs or hostage situations anymore."
"Think we can all get some of those tranq rounds? It would be nice to be able to shoot without killing." Emily's face fell grimmer.
Daisy nodded. "Yeah I can get you an Icer."
Morgan clapped Daisy on the shoulder as he walked past. "Good job Coulson."
JJ slapped Morgan's hand away from the bag of empadas. "They're mine Derek. Maybe you can get Detective Lopez to find some for you."
"Oh I see how it is." He huffed in good humor. "Prentiss you need me to sign any of your reports?"
Daisy had already signed off on her shooting of the unsub and honestly she didn't have profile and investigation notes to fill for the prosecutor. Dotting all the i's and all that. She spotted Wil talking to one of the local cops. She purposely stepped between his eyeline and JJ. No one wanted a scene. "So, pork the right call on those empadas?"
"God yes." JJ half moaned into her hangover food.
Her lips pulled up. "So any of your paperwork I can help out with so we can be in the air sooner?"
"What, got a hot date at Quantico?" JJ looked up at her curiously.
Daisy snickered at that. "Naw, I just do not like this heat. Like it's so muggy."
"Not much better in Virgina honestly." Emily chimed in. "My first summer after joining the BAU was rough."
////
Rossi's eyebrow twitched as he saw Daisy slouched with a false ease as she politely hovered around JJ. Well, that was interesting. He turned his attention back to Hotch who was sitting in front of him. "Daisy paid for this unsub's lawyer too."
"Is that bad?" Hotch looked away from the window. "Do you know how rare it is for someone who can ruthlessly take down our unsubs, to still sympathize with them?"
Rossi hummed, well Hotch was coming around on their newest member then. "How's Jack?"
Rossi watched the team making their way off of the jet. It had been a hard case, a hard week. But he could see the team wasn't ripped to pieces over this one. He moved to climb into his car and paused as he spotted someone already in it. "Shouldn't you be driving JJ home?"
"Garcia picked her up." Daisy shrugged from where she was curled in his passenger seat.
"Ah." He climbed into the driver's seat and started up the car. "Am I dropping you off anywhere?"
She looked at him. "Well I was hoping you'd teach me how to cook?"
"You're super bored aren't you? First Garcia, then Morgan and JJ." He pulled away. "So how does me teaching you to cook figure into your plans?"
Daisy played with the end of her braid. "It just feels right."
"Well I guess teaching you some of the basics won't hurt." He wondered at what the deadline she'd been given was? She was too busy attempting to help everyone for it to be natural.
////
Hotch frowned at the containers of dinners with post it notes attached. Based off the little heart doodles it hadn't been his last unexpected guest. He pinched his nose. Spooks were the worst, and he could feed himself damnit.
He looked at Daisy. "Rissato?"
"Rossi's a good teacher." Daisy tossed him the SUV keys. "I packed you an icebox for the roadtrip to the conference."
He caught the keys and couldn't help how his lips twitched up. "Protect the others."
"Gottchya Bossman." She gave a sloppy wave and traipsed off.
Hotch shook his head fondly.
////
JJ locked eyes with the lead detective. "What the hell happened?"
"Says some guy in an old brown van paid him 50 bucks to walk the dog up and down the street. Told him to be careful, someone in the neighborhood was kidnapping people's pets." The lead detective looked down at where the man who'd been turned into a patsy, by their stalker was being questioned by two beat cops.
Emily huffed in disgust. JJ wanted to scream or do something. A woman had come to them for help and now she was missing. Her fiance, distracted by their stolen dog. It made JJ feel sick.
"Where's Daisy?" Emily asked suddenly.
JJ paused. "She was with us in the car." She turned expecting the familiar laid back but steady presence at her shoulder. She shrugged. "Probably checking the perimeter."
The fiance was distraught as he cut in. "The back door's off its hinges. Her cell's still in the house, her wallet. Her purse is on the bed. He just… he just took her." His voice was rough, barely keeping it together. "I was right here."
Emily carefully stepped in, "Let's go inside."
JJ turned to the detective as Keri's, a victim's now fiance, was led away.
"What now?" The lead detective asked her.
JJ just felt like a failure. She'd tried to help someone before bodies started dropping. Just one case where they stopped the crime before it happened. "Well, he finally got her. He's not about to let her go." Because they'd failed. Hadn't found him fast enough. She wished she didn't know what happened next.
Morgan caught her shoulder before she could go into the house and desperately look for clues with the others. "JJ, Daisy has been antsy ever since we took this case. We may not profile each other but I don't think she's checking the perimeter. And if I'm right…"
She felt a shiver down her spine. "You think she'll kill the unsub."
"I think it's a distinct possibility and we need to find them before Daisy does." His jaw tightened. "Come on, maybe our guys left something behind."
////
Daisy stepped into the middle of the road. She eyed the oncoming brown van. Tightening her hand into a fist, the vibrations ran through her feet and into the road.
Both left tires blew at the same moment, the van careening to one side.
She raised a hand and a wall of vibrations stopping it directly in front of her. The metal dented like it'd hit a brick wall. Daisy's eyes narrowed as she saw the terror in the unsub's eyes. It'd been too long since she'd used her powers. And she had some frustration to work out. Not to mention she didn't like kidnappers, at all.
The unsub stumbled out of the driver's side door. "What the fuck?! What are you doing in the middle of the road? Did you do this?"
She waited till he raised a hand gesturing at her angrily. Her hand grabbed his. "You shouldn't have kidnapped Keri asshole." And then she twisted.
Daisy left the unsub tied to the front grill of the van. It was too shoved into the rest of the van to be moved by a puny man like the unsub, especially not with his newly dislocated shoulder, road burn and three rounds of dendrotoxin to the groin. She grabbed the side door of the van and ripped it open. There was the squeal of tearing metal. She spotted Keri, curled defensively, tied into her seat. "Keri, I'm here to get you out."
"Daisy?" She gasped out a sound, her whole body shaking. "Is he gone?"
Her lips pulled into a slightly mean grin. "He's not going to hurt you." Daisy hopped into the back of the van and slid a knife out of her sleeve and sliced the ropes holding Keri in place with a quick flick of her wrist. "You're safe."
Keri was out of her seat as soon as she could.
Daisy carefully helped her out of the van. She tilted her head to the slightly bleeding and unconscious unsub cuffed to the damaged front of the van. "He's not going to hurt you."
Keri looked around the area frowning. "Where...where are the police, your car?"
"I'm a specialist." Daisy cautiously led Keri over to a bit of grassy medium and sat down with her. "I can move faster without the team when lives are at risk. Are you hurt anywhere?"
Keri shook her head. "He had a gun I couldn't…"
"You did what you had to do." Daisy passed a taser into the woman's hands. "I know what it's like."
Keri's face scrunched up in confusion. "But you're an FBI agent?"
"My creepy stalker was my ex and former trainer." Daisy shared carefully. "He was a monster, and I had to play that I didn't know it. To kiss and pacify him." She felt bile at the memories. Everything with Ward was so mixed up, especially after the framework. But nothing could change the horror and terror of that first time he'd taken her. "Believe me, surviving long enough for someone to get there for you took strength."
Keri's hands were shaking. "Do you ever feel safe again?"
"I'd recommend self defense classes, it'll help." Daisy pulled at some of the dry grass they were sitting on. "But I still have nightmares."
Keri's emotionally spent dry sob echoed around them. "Is it actually over?"
"If they don't convict him I'll put a bullet between his eyes." Daisy held the other woman's gaze without flinching. "I'm not like the BAU. They're good people, I'm not. This is over, I promise."
Keri's shoulders softened and then she was sobbing.
Daisy didn't offer to touch her. The only person she'd want touching her after this would be here soon enough.
It didn't take long before the sirens were audible and then the police cars and SUVs came screeching into the small suburban street.
Morgan burst from his vehicle and ran for the unsub. He practically leaned against the van as he realized the unsub was alive. He looked up meeting Daisy's eyes. Finally he gave a slow nod.
She stood and left as Keri's fiance came barreling towards her.
JJ stopped in front of her. "How'd you find her?"
"I put gps in all of her shoes. You said he 'cared' about her. He'd have let her keep her shoes if he managed to get to her." Daisy knew she had to say something, JJ was looking at her with the slightest edge of wariness. "I know what it's like to be made helpless. No one should have to suffer that."
Chapter 8Chapter by Rhino (RhinoMouse)Chapter TextEmily stared at the van. The door had literally been ripped off its hinges. There were finger indents in the door. The amount of strength was...steroids? This was super soldier level strength. Forget rumors. She stepped around and stared at the front of the van. The vehicle had hit something, and she'd never seen tires blown out like that. Whatever had happened here hadn't been by the book.
"Did you see the door?" Morgan spoke lowly.
She nodded. "I'd heard rumors of super soldier programs inside the government." Her throat felt dry at suggesting something on this scale. This was beyond anything she'd imagined.
"This whole thing will be classified." Morgan crossed his arms. "She didn't kill him."
Emily felt his unease at how this could be used to affect the team by others. "I understand why us now." She looked pointedly at the ambulance. "Did you see him? That's a lot of barely restrained rage."
Morgan's arms tightened. "But it is restrained."
"She cares about us." Emily offered, though she knew it was weak.
He sighed. "She's a wild card, but she's always shown mercy and empathy. That's not someone who's a risk for going on a spree. And look at how much effort she's gone to protect our team? That's a person who needs a stable foundation."
"And the BAU is that?" Emily couldn't help the disbelief. "If this is what it looks like they won't let her stay with us for long. And you've seen her behavior. She's already preparing for not being around for that long. Making dinners for Hotch? Hacking afternoons with Garcia? Workouts with you? That's someone settling her business."
Morgan looked over to where JJ was speaking with Daisy. "But she wants to stay with us."
"None of us have the pull to make that happen." Emily hated playing devil's advocate. But it needed to be done.
His features hardened. "Then we make sure she knows she has a place to come back to."
They both fell silent staring at the damage to the front of the van.
"Are you still going to work out with her?" Emily asked.
He chuffed. "Well I'm clearly never going to beat her. Christ, does this mean the CIA just has secret agent versions of WWII Captain America? Cause that would have been nice to know about."
"I don't know, what I'd heard about it made it sound like ghost stories. But then someone is always trying to recreate the super serum every few years." Emily ran a hand through her hair. "First Stark in that ridiculous suit of his and now this."
Morgan rubbed the back of his head. "It's turning into a crazy world out there."
"Does this mean we might get an unsub that's..powered up?" Emily wanted to chew her nails, but that would taste terrible. Because Daisy had gotten her that nail polish. "So who's going to tell Hotch?"
Morgan took a step back. "Oh, that's all you, Prentiss."
////
Reid's fingers twitched as Daisy pulled him towards the barber shop. "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure you need an iron. Look, most of talking to a girl is a bit of confidence. And nothing helps with that like a nice haircut. But for realsies you need an iron for your shirts. The sweater vest thing is cute, but iron your shirts dude." Daisy caught his hand and swung their now joined hands as they walked down the street.
He wasn't really sure what to do about that. A beautiful girl was holding his hand there wasn't… what was he supposed to do? He wasn't used to people like her not caring if anyone mistook them for more than friends. Girls didn't like being paired with him. But she clearly didn't care and it baffled him. "Uh…"
"And honestly, the nerd thing works for you. Smart, well groomed, and a bit quirky. You'd have dates if you bothered to ask. But most girls wait for the guy to ask. It's stupid, but, well. it's a thing. I'm sure your profiler head knows more about it than me."
Reid gaped. "But girls don't...I ramble?"
"Believe me, the rambling is cute. There was this girl, super cute and nerdy, super smart. I'd have considered dating her if she hadn't of clearly been head over heels for her nerdy science partner. Which is why we're going to an exclusive viewing of newly found war footage at the Smithsonian. I have expert intel saying the curator is cute, and has an IQ matching yours." Daisy grinned, completely ignoring that people might see that they were holding hands.
Reid tightened his hand in hers and caused them to stop. "Are you just doing this because you're leaving for a new assignment coming up?"
Daisy cocked her head as she looked at him. "Doing what?"
"Being nice to me." He could feel himself heating up at admitting that.
She softened. "Reid, I like you, and I don't have to do anything I don't want to anymore. And what's this about me leaving?"
"Your behavior has been overly conciliatory and ingratiating. Typical behavior when preparing to leave and wishing to have done so on good terms." Reid's eyes flicked across her face. "You're not leaving?"
Daisy crossed her arms. "I'm not leaving, though I do have a secondary assignment that will mean I won't be with the team all the time. I'd only be leaving a couple of times a year. The Director and I agree that I can't keep taking missions as I was." Her mouth pulled to the side. "I didn't like it at first. But this team is growing on me. And it helps that your death toll is far lower than my old team."
"Death toll?" He squeaked.
She sighed. "One agent turned traitor and after a lot of effort was killed. Idaho and Hartly died on the job. And Hartly didn't go easy. Yo-yo lost both of her arms. Agent Coulson was… he lost an arm, was stabbed in the heart, blown up, at this point the fact he's alive is a miracle. Mack lost his daughter. May will have a permanent limp. Jemma and Fitz are hiding in a literal castle fitted out with state of art security. Doesn't change Fitz's brain damage. Trip was killed in action. Bobbie was so horrifically tortured she spent a year on light duty before leaving the organization. Mace was...he was crushed by a building that came down on top of him while he tried to get the children out. Lincoln-" Her voice caught. "Died stopping a biological weapon. I could keep going. The point is this team? This team is safe."
"That's…" Reid ached at the clear pain painted across Daisy's face.
Daisy tipped her chin up. "The death rate for my field is 80%. I've survived eight years, Reid. My… it was the right call to get me out."
Reid felt stupid. It wasn't that Daisy was leaving, she was just used to her team leaving her. Of course she ensured the team was constantly taken care of. It was trauma, not guilt. "I'm sorry."
"It was the life we chose." Daisy stepped to the side slightly. "Come on, I made an appointment at the barber for you and everything."
He touched his hair, though the serious mood persisted. "Are they going to cut it all off?"
"Whatever you want, but at least get rid of some of those dead ends." Daisy lightened slightly and hooked her arm through his. "Michaels wouldn't shut up about my hair if that counts as corroborating evidence that a haircut will help your cause."
He blinked at the reminder of the Agent from IA. "You invited him to work out with you."
"Have you seen him wandering past the BAU since then?" Daisy smirked as she looked at him smugly.
Reid frowned. "But if he's given up on you, who left those flowers on your desk yesterday?"
"Sharon from white collar crimes." She gave a considered look. "Which she's cute, if she wasn't a bitch I'd consider her at least for a hookup. Sadly, she described my looks as exotic, and asked if I felt safe working with Morgan."
Reid stiffened in offense. "Morgan has saved my life sixteen times."
"Don't worry, she's being audited by the IRS, has a credit score under 250 and I added her phone number to a fake phone sex site." Daisy whistled as if that wasn't horrifying.
Reid looked at her again. "How many agents is that now?"
"Four, I'm a reasonably hot newbie, and you FBI guys are way workaholics who need to get out more. It's not actually that indicative of my hotness level that I've been approached. And they went about it wrong. You on the other hand are going to do far better than my idiot suitors and get a girl to at least talk to you. Now as a gentleman I do believe you owe me conversation?"
Reid wished he knew more about conversation and wasn't afraid of bringing up the fates of the other two agents who'd failed to ask Daisy out.… "In the mid 1960s the CIA used a 4.5 milimeter, single shot weapon that fit inside of a lipstick container."
"Cold war facts?" Daisy perked up. "Tell me more Boy Wonder."
////
Garcia's eyes widened as she realized she had just flipped Daisy down onto the mats. "Oh my goodness, did I really do that?!"
"That was perfect!" Daisy bounced up to her feet. "Come on try again, feet about a half inch further apart."
Garcia intellectually knew that Daisy was a terrifying field agent. It just didn't feel like it during their lunches in the gym. "Are you sure I didn't hurt you?"
"I'm fine. Although if you do this maneuver fast enough on someone who doesn't go with it you can rip their arm out of their socket. Which is the point. Disable your attacker so they can't chase after you." Daisy tapped her shoulder and elbow. "Go for the joints, they're the easiest to injure with the least amount of strength."
She nodded. "Larynx, instep groin, flip."
"And then stamp on the throat," Daisy added on.
Garcia paused. "Wouldn't that kill the person?"
"They can't hurt you if you've snapped their neck." Daisy tilted her head slightly like she didn't understand what was horrifying about that.
She breathed in, she remembered the terror she'd felt at being shot by Colby. Some light throat stomping might not be such a bad thing.
Garcia sipped at her post workout boba. "So what do you think of the whole Stark thing?"
"He's a flaming asshole but a hero. A messed up one who needs to be slapped a few times, and be forced to watch the entire Terminator series." Daisy sipped her own drink. "What about you?"
She laughed. "He's handsome, rich, and brilliant." Garcia sighed. "What I'd give to get my hands on his biceps. Yum."
"His hacking isn't even that good. You're better than him." Daisy grinned suddenly. "My ideal threesome would be me between Captain America and Peggy Carter."
Garcia made a deep humming sound. "Hot." She chuckled. "I did have you pegged as bi, nice to be proven right."
"Eh, I never bothered defining it." Daisy rolled her straw between her fingers. "But yeah bi works. So what gave it away?"
She snorted. "Please Terminator, you're way too punk to be totally straight."
"What about you 'Sugar Doll'?" Daisy wiggled her eyebrows.
Garcia laid a hand on Daisy's shoulder. "Oh Terminator I'm afraid men are too delicious for me to stray to the fairer side."
Daisy giggled into her tea.
She groaned as both of their phones went off. "That's not good."
"Lunch was almost over anyways," Daisy smirked. "And you can get your flirt on with Morgan."
Garcia raised a finger at Daisy. "Nuh uh. Do not go there."
"Oh I get it, your relationship is very special." Daisy looked completely unrepentant as she stepped backwards.
"Oh you!"
Garica stabbed her fluffy pen towards Daisy. "Don't touch my babies."
"I'm bored!" Daisy whined.
She looked away from her screens. "Why don't you go help Prentiss and JJ?"
"I'm not helpful with the profile stuff. And sitting in a courtroom like Reid, Morgan and Hotch. And legal mumbo jumbo not my thing. There's no chasing people down, checking perimeters, they have the unsub."
Garcia grabbed the remains of boba tea out of Daisy's hands and dropped it in the trash can. "No, you, out of my palace of solitude. Go do research for some of the open cases on someone's desk. But I can't work with you here. Out!"
Daisy stuck out her lower lip. "Fine."
"Out." She pointed at the door.
Daisy slid to her feet like some sort of cat. "Fine, you work out your first take down and you're just bossy all over the place."
"Don't make me tell you again Terminator. You're cute but not that cute." Garcia ordered.
Daisy held up her hands as she stepped out the door. "I'm wounded."
"Yeah, yeah." Garcia rolled her eyes and swiveled back to her computers. So back to finding more evidence for the case.
Chapter 9Chapter by Rhino (RhinoMouse)Notes:I've got a job interview lined up, so fingers crossed.
Chapter TextDaisy popped a bubble of gum as she started setting up her laptop. "This system needs to be updated."
"It's still being implemented?" The officer sitting next to Garcia said dryly. "It's brand new."
She stared at the system. "That actually hurts me."
"Hush you." Garcia chided as she pulled out her laptop. "Not all of us are CIA super secret agents."
The officer snapped around. "CIA?"
"Don't worry sugar, Terminator here is one of the good ones." Garcia assured the cop.
The woman startled. "Lisa Bartleby."
"Penelope Garcia, and Terminator over there is Daisy Coulson." Garcia tossed a cord at Daisy. "Be nice." She smiled at Bartleby. "May we?"
"Of course." Bartleby bounced slightly with nerves as she waved at the computer station. She looked between Garcia and Daisy. "I uh, hardly ever get visitors."
Garcia flipped open her own laptop. "You'll hardly know I'm here."
"That's a lie." Daisy snickered while dropping a giant tub of red vines on the desk. "Don't worry Bartleby, we'll upgrade your crib while we're here in payment for annoyance." Her face scrunched as she looked around the dark and depressing room. "And get you some sunlamps and posters or something. Like this place is bleak."
Garcia spoke up before Daisy could start on the fact she was fairly sure she smelled mildew. "What's your operating system?"
"Uh, Linux OS with 6 gigs of RAM." Bartleby startled slightly.
Garcia clicked into the system. "And a dual quad core 3 gigahertz processor, with a GeFORCE 8800 Ultra extreme VID card. And a CISCO ASA 5500 Firewall."
"Yeah." Bartleby nodded as she pushed her hands into her pockets.
Garcia slapped Daisy before she could say anything about how that set up physically pained her, no wonder she'd hacked government shit like it was swiss cheese as a kid. "Bitchin. How many cameras?"
Bartleby looked amused as Daisy pouted while shoving a redvine in her mouth. "4,468 not including the ones that only run in the housing projects."
"And all the footage is stored?" Garcia checked.
"Catalogued and digitized," Bartleby replied with the confidence of someone who'd done the work themselves.
Garcia's fingers flew across her keyboard. "Beautiful. 'Cause my boss man wants me to send him a file. So he can run facial recognition software on each of the crime scenes."
"Um, I've already enhanced all of the photos as much as I can." Bartleby frowned.
Garcia eased the woman quickly. "No, I'm talking about using it on the crowd immediately after the shooting. This is icky, but these creeps, they sometimes like to come back and watch the police deal with their handiwork. And viola."
"You're doing good Bartleby." Daisy tossed a can of sprite at the woman, based off her purchasing history it was her favorite drink. "I'll even get you a new chair after all this. Like the department clearly undervalues you."
Barleby's dark cheeks heated as she took her seat. "So uh, what do we do now?"
"We watch cameras. Run some programs trying to look for repetition or clues. And I order us a lot of takeout." Daisy stared at the actual cement blocks of retired computers on the shelves. "The tech here pains me. We had a holographic table in my last office."
Garcia whacked her.
"Ow!"
Daisy looked up from her laptop and tuned into the conversation Garcia and Bartleby were having. Bartlebe was holding a wind up turtle that Garcia had just plonked on the desk. "This isn't exactly regulation."
"Well, then thank god it's only us in here." Garcia gave a cheeky wink at Bartleby.
Daisy chuckled as Bartleby set the turtle down. "So who wants chinese?"
Daisy frowned as she spotted the height readouts of the program Garcia had been running. She'd been busy upgrading the processing speed and cleaning up photo quality of the crowd shots, it took her a moment. "Fuck."
"What?" Garcia looked away from the numbers and then back. "I know it's weird. I'll let Hotch know we have...something."
"You have terrorism or gang initiation," Daisy replied, closing her laptop and stuffing it in her shoulder bag and slinging it over one shoulder. "I need to get to the station. Tell Hotch I'm on my way."
Bartleby's face scrunched up in confusion. "Wait, why are you leaving?"
"Because they'll want me down there now." Daisy paused and sighed. "I got recruited after I got caught as one of the founding members of a domestic terrorist organization. It's all classified but essentially I had a choice. A dark hole I wouldn't come out of alive or sign up and get a badge. If they want to profile this person I have a feeling I'm going to be being asked a lot of questions." She frowned looking at the map of attacks. "But if I had to say, distraction."
Garcia's voice was quiet. "Distraction?"
"Murder isn't big enough if you want to make a statement." Daisy's jaw tightened. "You two stay safe. Do not get in any cars you haven't run surveillance cameras on for the last hour. And lock the door after I leave. If I was running an attack I'd want to make the police afraid next."
Garcia nodded. "You stay safe Terminator."
"I'll be fine. I'm a Terminator right?" Daisy smiled.
////
Morgan was barely keeping it together as he tried to find his team.
"Morgan!" Daisy came careening nearly into him, one hand grabbing his shoulder. "It's Hotch."
His head snapped to the hunched form over a body a block down the street. He couldn't argue, he could hear Hotch screaming for help. Morgan turned to the officer in charge. "You gotta let us through. He's my boss, never leave a man behind. You know that."
"The target is first responders, no one goes in until the scene is secure." The man braced himself. "Get off my crime scene or I'll have you removed."
Daisy grabbed the man's bullet proof vest and physically lifted him four inches off the ground with one arm. "Get out of our way or I will move you."
The man fought uselessly at her arm before nodding. "It's your funeral!"
Daisy dropped him with a short nod. And then took off down the street. Morgan was hot on her heels. They both came skidding to Hotch's side, where he was bent over Kate Joyner, the head of the New York FBI office.
Morgan paled as he realized Hotch's hand was in her, holding something closed. "We're going to get you out."
"Fuck." Daisy ripped open her messenger bag and yanked what looked like a thing of cheese wiz only green. "Artery bleed?"
Hotch's head moved wrong somehow, a certain lull. "I'm holding it closed."
"Ok, Hotch when I tell you to, you're going to let go of it and get your hand out." Daisy looked down at Kate, nervously wetting her lips. "Hey Kate, you're gonna be ok. And you're going to go back to giving me dirty looks. Dirtier even cause I'm not gonna lie, this is going to hurt really, really bad."
Morgan flicked his eyes to the can and then Daisy's face. "It'll work?"
"It's experimental, but it'll stop the bleeding." She grabbed Hotch's shoulder while holding Morgan's eyes. "When I say 'now' Hotch you pull your hand out, Morgan hold her down. This stuff feels like hellfire in your veins."
He nodded sharply, one of his hands spreading wide across Kate's sternum, the woman was barely clinging to consciousness.
Daisy sucked in a breath. "Now."
Hotch slid his hand out.
Daisy pressed the can in and it started to fizz.
Kate's eyes widened and the screaming started.
Daisy aimed her tranq gun at Kate and before either of them could stop her she fired. She holstered her gun. "We needed to know it was working, she didn't need to go through it."
Morgan panted, pulling his hands back. "Ok, ok." He grabbed his phone, realizing it had been ringing. "Baby girl, I got Hotch but listen to me. You gotta get somebody down here soon. Daisy just did something but I don't think that's going to last."
-"The kid is the bomber!"-
His head snapped up to the young kid who'd gotten out of their way when he and Daisy had crashed into the situation. "You're absolutely sure?"
-"I'm sure. We watched him do it."-
Morgan hung up and looked down at where Hotch was feeling Kate's pulse. "Hotch. The kid. He's the bomber."
Hotch looked between Daisy and Morgan. "Go, I've got her go."
And then they were off running down the kid. Their feet hitting the pavement hard as they half flew towards him. Morgan absently noted running with Daisy had made him faster, he still wasn't as fast as her.
They came around a corner and then Daisy was tackling the unsub into an alley.
Morgan was pulling out his cuffs as he finally felt like he could breathe. An unsub could be interrogated, they had something. He frowned though as he saw Daisy yanking the kid up to his feet. He jolted as she tossed him further down the alley. "Hey, we got him."
"We don't have time to do this your way." Daisy glared at the kid.
He grabbed her shoulder. "No."
"There is a major terrorist attack in the works. And if I was in charge of this cell I wouldn't have told this schmuck more than what he needed to do. We don't have time to question him." Daisy's bearing was horribly calm.
The kid's eyes widened slightly. "You think this is going to scare me pigs?"
"We don't torture people." Morgan pulled her attention back to him.
Her eyes narrowed. "I do."
"Seriously?" The kid's back hit the wall of the alley, eyes slightly panicky now as he clearly realized Daisy was serious.
Daisy grabbed Morgan's wrist. "I'm not FBI, and we both know I outrank you Morgan. I get five minutes with him and then you can integrate him. But he's mine first."
////
Emily holstered her gun as she took in the garage. She swallowed as she saw Daisy just sitting there, on the end of the ambulance. "What's your status?"
"Your bomber is tranqed and in the corner over there." She pointed to a slumped figure to one side. "The bomb isn't a threat any more."
She tapped her radio. "Bomber is incapacitated." Emily pulled out her handcuffs and made her way to the bomber. She saw the now familiar blue veins on his visible skin. Snapping the cuffs onto his wrists she grabbed him under the armpits and dragged him a few feet over into the light.
Daisy dropped from the top of the ambulance to the ground. "The rest of the team should be here soon."
"Daisy, what happened?" Emily approached her slowly. Something was fundamentally off. "Are you ok?"
She huffed. "I'm fine. Not used to the aftermath of these operations. Do you think it makes me a monster that if Derek hadn't of stopped me, I would have broken every bone in that kid's body?"
"I think it means you are trained for very different situations than this." Emily approached her team member slowly. There was a resignedness to Daisy that was disturbing, a stillness. "And you didn't hurt him, you got the information you needed to come and stop a bomb that would have killed thousands of people."
"I wouldn't have regretted it if I'd tortured him. All these unsubs of yours I've tranqed, I wouldn't have regretted killing them. What does that make me?" She turned fully to Emily. "I've always been a monster, daughter of monsters, but I never thought I was turning into them."
Emily grabbed Daisy and hauled her into a hug. She gripped her tightly. "You're not a monster. I promise you that." She held on, ignoring as other law enforcement and Rossi arrived. Hotch, blood splatter still on his face, right behind Rossi. But it wasn't just them.
She glanced as the seat of the ambulance opened and the swearing started. Emily could see why. The bomb had exploded, but the walls of the seat didn't have so much as soot on them. She winced, so many questions, the clear enhanced strength, the green foam Hotch had mentioned, and now whatever fresh fuckery this was. Working with Daisy was going to turn her into a conspiracy nut at this point.
"So it's all about to get super classified?" Emily forced a chuckle.
Daisy nodded, running a hand through her hair, dark horrific bruising showing on her arms. "I get why they didn't want me in counter terrorism now."
"This is your normal." Emily considered the effects of that. "Threats this size are what you're used to."
She snorted. "Bigger most of the time really. This would be a basic one. We never had time to do things...well the right way."
"But you didn't torture that kid." Emily held onto Daisy's upper arm. "You didn't kill the bomber, you haven't killed any of our unsubs. You prefer to tranq even if you wouldn't regret killing them you don't. Because you know it would be wrong."
Daisy's face looked...confused. "What does that even mean?"
"That you care far more than people with your background, little as I know about it, should. You are a good person." Emily felt the rightness of that, it was true. Daisy may be a walking disaster of repressed rage and violence. But even here, where the stakes were high and if she'd truly used that violence there wouldn't have been consequences, she hadn't done it.
Daisy nodded before pressing the palms of her hands into her eyes. "I just...it was never from this perspective."
"I get it, I really do." Emily didn't let go of the other woman's arm. "There are missions and situations where you break the rules and sometimes you even start to forget there are rules. But you still choose mercy every time. That's who you are."
Daisy let out a startled huff of amusement. "Fuck, I'm sorry. I should probably have listened to that joke of a psychiatrist they made me see."
"What are friends for?" Emily felt the tension easing in her shoulders. "Now come on, you're not leaving me with all of this paperwork, even if it does get classified to hell and back."
Daisy nodded sharply, her composure snapping back into place piece by piece. "Right, yeah paperwork."
"Do I want to know how you stopped that explosion?" Emily asked while giving Daisy a few more precious seconds to pull herself together.
Daisy's lips twitched. "Would you believe me if I said I was an alien?"
"No." Emily paused. "Wait, Daisy?"
Chapter 10Chapter by Rhino (RhinoMouse)Notes:I have a crazy day tomorrow starting in the wee hours and I'm not figuring out how to post from my phone. Congrats, this is Wednesday's chapter like twelve hours early.
Chapter TextMorgan dropped a sealed bottle of green tea from the vending machine into Daisy's lap. "You doing ok down there?" He looked down at where she was sitting on the stairs leading up to the precinct.
"Peachy." She gave him a faint smile before opening up the bottle and taking a sip.
He sighed. "If I asked, would you tell me how you stopped that bomb? Cause the bomb crew is still scratching their heads. And I have to say, I've never seen anything like it." He gave her arms a pointed look. God was he actually considering she had absorbed the explosion? Cause that was what the facts were pointing at. Reid was researching Captain America's serum on a kindle right now. The kid hated Kindles. Truly, desperate times had been reached.
Daisy looked up at the skyline. "Six months." She looked over her shoulder at him. "In six months I'll answer anything you want."
"That's not ominous at all." He hooked his thumbs through the loops of his pants. "We still on for our morning run tomorrow?"
She unfolded, standing with that cat like grace she showed when she wasn't paying attention. "I was thinking just a warm up run. There's a new rock climbing gym I've been meaning to check out. I'll pay for admittance if you wanna join in?"
Morgan winced, fuck. But damned if their hellish workouts didn't visibly help settle her demons every morning. He wasn't an idiot, the dark circles she showed up with some mornings, how it took her different amounts of time to start teasing him for lagging. She needed it, and well it was making him faster. "Fine, but if I can't move my arms you're helping with my paperwork."
"Deal." She smirked at him with a knowing glint. "Get a good night's sleep, you're going to need it Derek."
"Did you just first name me?" Morgan shivered dramatically. "Your workouts aren't that hellish."
They really were.
Daisy just laughed, laying her hand on his arm and squeezing. "See you back in Virginia slow poke."
"Here I am, being a good guy, driving Hotch back. I even got you your gross leaf juice." He shook his head. "See if I don't unleash my Babygirl on you for that."
Daisy snicked, her hand falling off his arm. "Please, girl code. You may be a 'sexy beast'" She put her hands up in a mockery of quotation marks. "But you're the eyecandy. I'm her hacking sister."
"Cold! You're cold, stealing my Hot Mama." He chuckled as he watched her heading inside.
She threw a look over her shoulder. "Maybe you should man up and win her back from Kevin then?" Daisy winked before letting the door close behind her.
He shook his head with a huff. Turning he made his way to where the SUV and Hotch were waiting. Now he just had the whole drive from New York to Virginia to drive Hotch up a wall. He was a good team member.
Morgan kept his eyes on the road as he drove them southbound. "Not going to ask my opinion on agent Coulson?"
"It's clear you support her actions." Hotch's permanent frown was likely deepening.
He tapped his finger against the top of the wheel. "What's got you in a snit then?"
"She's not going to be reassigned." Hotch sounded tired.
Morgan's teeth felt on edge. "With her abilities? No way any department just lets an agent like that sit around on a profiling team."
"She'd started running suicide missions." Hotch's voice was cold. "You're right, she's too valuable to lose. And better they pull her for four or five missions a year and leave her with us the rest of the time. This assignment is permanent."
Morgan risked a quick glance at Hotch. "She's on the team?"
"She's on our team." Hotch's mouth formed a rarely there ghost of a smile. "Ideas on getting her into therapy?"
Morgan considered that, he didn't question the relief. "She'll seek out help herself." He knew Emily and him would be keeping an eye on her though. The PTSD she had bubbling under the surface was starting to peek out. "You say I don't trust you to have my back 100% of the time. But I think I trust her to."
"I'll keep that in mind." Hotch fell silent again.
Morgan settled back into driving. He didn't trust easily. But Daisy had stopped, because he'd asked. And he knew she would cross any line for their team. There was nothing that would stop her. It was terrifying to think about. She wasn't going to be reassigned though. Which was good, she needed the team as much as he was starting to think they needed her. He reached down, turning up the radio.
////
Daisy stirred at the sauce while Rossie chopped, she no longer had chopping privileges after the mincing incident. "How does one find a therapist?"
"A good start might be referring to them without sheer disgust," Rossi remarked while tossing some more garlic into the pot she was stirring. "I have some names."
She bit at her lower lip. "My last therapist I actually talked to tried to murder me so it's probably better if you just give me one name."
Rossi made a choking noise. "Life hasn't been fair to you." He started to fill the pasta pot with water.
"It wasn't fair to you either." Daisy remembered the single mention in his file of a son who didn't make it.
He hummed setting the pot on the oven and picking up the salt grinder. "No it hasn't." Rossi salted the water with practiced motions. "Are you willing to put in the work therapy will require of you?"
"I have to be if I don't want to be a risk to the team." Daisy kept stirring, keeping the sauce from burning. "And I don't want to be controlled by it either."
Rossi elbowed her over so he could salt the sauce. "Then you're ready to work on it. Though in my humble opinion you'd be a risk to yourself, not the team."
"If you say so." She didn't see a point in explaining Inhuman powers and their associated risk when the Inhuman was as powerful as she was. "Do you think Hotch will be back anytime soon?"
Rossi gave her a look. "He got blown up, give him a few weeks before he threatens a doctor into signing the papers to let him back in the field."
"So what I'm hearing is check his medical files for the notes so we can make sure he actually follows his doctor's suggestions?" Daisy grinned.
He huffed in amusement. "That is highly illegal." Rossi winked. "I won't say a word. Though perhaps you should take your own doctor's advice." He gave a pointed look at her bruising that was starting to fade after a few days though.
"I just burst a lot of capillaries, no fractures. I got x-rayed." She shrugged, not worrying about her clearly visible arms with the tank top she was wearing. It got hot over the stove as designated stirrer.
Rossi gave a slow nod of acceptance. "Now, how much pasta do you think?"
Daisy dropped the italian pasta lunch on top of JJ's casefile she was looking at. "Eat, I mean I just got back from lunch with Garcia. Which means you really should not be in the same place as when I left."
"I'm not sure if the whole team should go out for this one or not." JJ admitted.
Daisy scooped up the file. "Eat, I'll look it over." She flicked her eyes across it, an arson case, a homeless man had gotten caught in a blaze two days ago. No signs of purposefully harming people, but the fires were escalating and the damage was significant.
JJ groaned as she took her first bite. "What is this?"
"It's good right? And I have no idea." Daisy chuckled, pleased that JJ was actually eating. She glanced at the photos. "We're on standby with Hotch gone. Why not just send Reid and Emily to go work out a profile? It's not one of ours, but we could spare the manpower. And two agents going down is easier to justify to the higher ups over an arson case."
JJ's brow's furrowed. "If we start breaking up the team, they might start expecting us to do that more often."
"Maybe, but since we're missing our unit chief they might not see it as a sign of something our team should be doing long term." Daisy closed the file and passed it back. "That's my advice anyways."
JJ nodded, clearly considering it as she chewed. "Please don't stop learning to cook from Rossi."
"Don't worry, it's a life skill I'd like to have." Daisy dropped onto the couch. Picking up her laptop she pulled up her research on the latest cold case she'd been handed.
JJ looked over at her curiously. "How was your first therapy session?"
Daisy snickered. "Poor lady asked about that scar on my neck as an easy opener. She was hyperventilating and we ended a bit early." She rolled her eyes. "She seems nice though, definitely never been out in the field though."
"Your psychiatrist hyperventilated after one story?" JJ stared at her in horror.
She considered that. "I mean I gave a brief run down of my background too so...maybe it was a bit of both?"
"The brief run down?" JJ's was looking at her in disbelief.
Daisy shrugged. "It is what it is." She considered what to say. "Enough about my poor therapist, what have you been doing with all the new down time with Hotch gone?"
"I wouldn't call it down time." JJ opened up a new file.
Daisy hopped up, and snagged the file out of JJ's hands. "No, you're taking a break before you have to join me in therapy."
"You're lucky I need you." JJ's eyes were narrowed as she took a particularly vicious bite of her lunch.
She rolled her eyes. "Have you considered getting an assistant?"
"I thought that's what you were." JJ grinned at her.
Daisy dropped the file back to it's stack before dropping back to the couch. "I've been thinking of volunteering with organized crime. No offense to your serial killers but I'm getting out of practice with field work."
"You think they'd just let you drop in? FBI interference isn't appreciated by locals." JJ rolled her eyes. "Half my job is soothing egos"
Daisy picked up her captain america mug of coffee and sipped at it. "I always found kicking the biggest toughest guy's ass to be the quickest way to make the rest listen to you seriously."
"Not all of us are ninjas." JJ replied dryly. She softened. "How're the arms?"
She blinked. "I don't get why you're all so concerned. But they're fine, mostly green bruises now. Give it another couple days and you won't be able to see them." Daisy grinned as she spotted JJ setting her fork down. Victory.
Daisy cringed as she saw the bouquet on her desk. "Morgan, please say that's from you?" She could hear the whine in her voice.
He sniggered into his case file. "Nope, want to share with the class?"
"Was it Michaels again?" Daisy picked up the bouquet cautiously, her nose wrinkling. God the FBI offices were full of desperate people.
Emily let out a full on snort.
She winced at the frilly pink card stock. "Fuck."
Both of the assholes burst out into laughter at her predicament. To be fair Emily had had her turn at having to get rid of the man herself. But still, assholes.
"Can I just superplex him? Is that ethical? Cause this is not charming." Daisy grumbled.
////
Reid stood with the others in Garcia's lair. "Why are we watching this?"
"Because Michaels is a pretentious ass and watching him get his ass kicked will make my week." Morgan chuckled while leaning over Garcia's shoulder. "Think he'll show Babygirl?"
Garcia swatted at Emily. "Oh he'll show."
Reid frowned. "I don't understand. Does he think he can actually match her?"
"No, but he thinks he can redeem himself from the sweaty blob he was left as after trying to join in on her morning run. He wants a playful, flirty fight." Emily explained patiently. "He doesn't understand Daisy is sick of him." Her voice dropped to a mutter. "More like the female population of Quantico is sick of him."
Reid glanced at the agent in question as he entered the gym on screen. He wasn't in bad shape, but he was starting to develop a bit of a tummy. "Even if she wasn't enhanced, her workout regime would put her in the top 10% of athletes."
"Five dollars says she ends it in the first thirty seconds." Morgan offered.
Garcia clucked her tongue. "Sucker's bet Hot Sauce, she's going to humiliate him."
"Oh! Yes I'll take that bet." Reid pushed his hands into his pockets.
Morgan looked at him with a chuckle. "Alright Pretty Boy, let's make it twenty."
Reid hummed, he was winning that bet. He bounced slightly as they watched Michaels make a lazy right hook at Daisy.
She grabbed his arm, and then literally flipped over him, then swept his legs before hopping back.
"Finish him!" Morgan called at the screen.
JJ patted him on the shoulder in sympathy. "Men who don't take 'no' for an answer are a plague. She's doing the rest of us a favor."
Michaels had managed to finally clamber to his feet. He came in with an actual attempt at punching her then.
Daisy snapped his arm to one side, and then kicked him in the gut sending him three feet back, doubling over in pain.
"How many times do you think she'll let him keep standing up?" JJ asked as Micheals hit his knees while clearly wheezing.
Emily hummed. "I say he tries an actual charge this time and she puts him down hard."
And sure enough the man climbed back to his feet, his body language all rage before he charged at Daisy.
She literally jumped over his hunched over charge. And turned grinning, waiting for his next move.
Reid couldn't hear what was going on, but in the next twenty seconds he watched Michaels suffer a knee to the crotch so hard it physically lifted him from the ground, being flipped in such a way he was pretty sure it had hyper extended something in the man's shoulder, as he was slammed into the mats.
He turned to Morgan. "Pay up."