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The night before Christmas Eve, Daisy gets injured on a mission which prompts May to take her home for the holiday weekend. Daisy may be skeptical at first but Lian May knows exactly how to make sure that Daisy has the best Christmas ever and leave her knowing that she will always have a family to turn to.
“Come on, Daisy, let’s get you inside.”
Daisy rolled her eyes but grabbed her duffle from beside her on the quinjet nonetheless. “I have a concussion. It’s not like I’m not dying.”
May smirked at her and motioned her to follow. Daisy looked out at the medium size cabin that they were approaching on foot. May had refused to tell Daisy where they were going and now they landed in the middle of some rolling hills with only one house in sight. Daisy tried telling herself that this trip was different from when she first got her powers and was sent away to a mysterious cabin, but her anxiety was rising nonetheless. “Will you finally tell me where you’ve kidnapped me to now?”
“Relax, I didn’t kidnap you – you willingly came when I said I was going away for Christmas and you were invited.”
Daisy sighed knowing May was right. Everyone else had left either last night or early this morning to go home for Christmas Eve and Christmas. Daisy had planned to just stay back and hold down the base since she didn’t have any family but apparently getting a concussion and fracturing her arms again during a last minute mission last night made May feel worried enough to drag her along. Daisy couldn’t help but feel like a pity case though and that she was ruining May’s plans for a quite two-day vacation.
“Is this cabin yours? Or did you find it on AirBnB or something? You know I can just stay on the quinjet so that you can enjoy your vacation without having me intrude.” “Enough,” May said sharply, cutting off Daisy’s insecure ramblings. “You are a guest. Now, let’s go, we’re already late.”
They continued the last few meters in silence and Daisy was surprised when May knocked on the door. Daisy was going to blame the concussion for the fact that she hadn’t even considered that they would be staying with someone else for the next two days.
The door opened and they were met with an older Asian woman who wore a stern look on her face. “Quolian. You’re late.”
May rolled her eyes, “nice to see you too mother.”
Daisy perked up instantly and her straight face morphed into a full fledged grin in half a second. She was finally going to meet the infamous Lian May!
Lian turned her attention away from her daughter and towards Daisy. “You must be Daisy. Come in child. I heard that you are injured; you shouldn’t be carrying your bag and be out in the cold.”
Lian ushered Daisy inside, past Melinda, and to the couch. “You know who I am?” Daisy asked, surprised.
“Of course I know who you are. Melinda is your SO, is she not?”
Daisy tried to not let the comment get to her. Sure, part of her wished that May had talked to her mother about Daisy because she cared about her but that was the type of wishful thinking that had burned her many times before.
“She is, I just didn’t know she would talk about work with you.”
Lian cast a sideways glare towards Melinda as she responded, “oh believe me, she tries her best not to keep me informed on her life but I have my ways of learning about it anyways.”
May rolled her eyes and sighed, “at least I’m home for Christmas like I promised.”
Lian rose from the couch and shook her head in a disappointing way that Daisy had only ever seen moms in movies achieve. “Yes, because arriving in the late afternoon on Christmas Eve and planning to leave 24 hours later counts as spending the holiday weekend home with your mother.”
Daisy smiled at the layered sarcasm.
May seemed to know her mother was only teasing but the subtle guilt trip still appeared to make an impact. “The criminal world doesn’t rest for the Holidays, Ma. Be grateful for the time you have me. And you finally got to meet Daisy.”
Finally. That word definitely caught Daisy’s attention and made her insides do a little jump. Maybe May had told her mother about her more than she thought.
Lian hummed, “and I assume Philip will still be joining us tomorrow?”
Daisy perked up again at that. “Coulson’s coming too?”
“Yes, he will be here early in the morning,” May said, internally enjoying catching Daisy off guard for the second time today.
“I always liked that man. When will you two finally grow up and get married?”
May groaned, “Mother, stop.”
Daisy grinned and stood up, “No no no, I think she should keep talking. Please tell me more Mrs. May about how May and Coulson should get married.”
“Daisy,” May said lowly, “enough. Mom, Phil and I are not together and we won’t be getting married any time soon despite how often you bring it up.”
Lian rolled her eyes and turned to walk away. “One day Darling, you will open your eyes and realize what’s already in front of you.”
May rolled her eyes and looked away from her mother’s retreating form towards Daisy who was grinning like a Cheshire cat. “Don’t start.”
“Come on May!”
“Nope,” May held up her hand, effectively silencing Daisy. “Now lay down while I take our bags to our rooms.”
Daisy’s face immediately morphed into a frown. “I’m not sick and I’m not even that injured.”
May raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? Then why did you sway when you stood up a minute ago? You’re favoring your right leg because your left is injured and your eyes are having a hard time focusing.” Daisy’s eyes got big realizing she had been caught. “Exactly, now lay down and take a nap. Knowing my mother, dinner will be ready in an hour.”
Daisy reluctantly did as told this time and laid back down on the couch and closed her eyes. “Fine, but I still think you and Coulson are overreacting.”
May smirked seeing as Daisy was almost instantly asleep. Sure the girl had had worse injuries in the past but head injuries were not something to be messed with and there was no way she was leaving her unsupervised at the base, and on a Holiday nonetheless. “Sure Dais, now rest.”
But Daisy was already asleep.
~
Dinner was a much more lively affair than Daisy had expected. Lian had cooked a large amount of chicken stir fry and made the best dumplings that Daisy ever had. The conversation around the table flowed easily with Lian telling Daisy crazy stories from her time with the CIA and the occasional story of May from when she was young.
It wasn’t often that Daisy got to see May so relaxed but tonight she was full of laughter and soft smiles. And Daisy couldn’t help but blush as May recounted the events of how Daisy helped save Jemma from Maveth or how proud she was that Daisy had learned to control her powers.
After dinner, they all sat around the fire and watched White Christmas before Lian and May retired to bed. Daisy decided to stay up for a while longer watching Elf since she had taken a pretty long nap in the afternoon.
At some point she must have fallen asleep on the couch though because only a few hours later she sprung awake from a nightmare. She sat up and tried to take deep, calming breaths like May had taught her to but her mind was still on edge. After a couple of minutes she had calmed down enough and she finally took stock of her surroundings. The TV had been turned off but there was light coming from the kitchen. Curious, she decided to get up and investigate.
If Daisy were more awake she wouldn’t have been so surprised to find Lian pulling two mugs down from the cupboard while a tea kettle sat on the stove.
“Hello Daisy. Would you fancy some chamomile tea with me?”
Daisy was a little shocked. Lian hadn’t turned around and Daisy was sure she hadn’t made a sound.
“Eyes in the back of my head, Darling. I could sense you were there,” Lian said, turning to offer Daisy a kind smile.
“Right. Uh yeah, tea sounds good.” Daisy walked over to sit on one of the bar stools. “May always says that she has eyes in the back of her head and that that’s how she knows when FitzSimmons and I are causing trouble.”
Lian smiled, “it’s a mother’s trait.”
Daisy flinched at that, remembering her nightmare and May’s past.
If Lian saw it, she chose to ignore it. Instead, she went back to preparing two mugs of tea and then came to sit on the bar stool next to Daisy.
“Would you like to talk about it?”
Daisy played innocent, “talk about what?”
“Your nightmare, child.”
“No it’s okay I – “
“Daisy, I assure you that you will feel better after telling me about your dream. No one should be having a restless sleep the night before Christmas.”
Daisy finally caved and decided that telling Lian wouldn’t hurt. “Not too long ago, I met my birth parents. I’m sure May has told you that I grew up an orphan.”
Daisy released a deep sigh and continued staring down into her mug of tea. “All my life, I dreamed of meeting my parents and then they turned out to be the opposite of what I wanted. My father, despite having a golden heart, was a bit crazy. And my mother had become cruel after so many people had been cruel to her.
“My dream started out happy. We were having the Christmas I always dreamed of. My dad made breakfast, we opened presents, we were singing and everything was great.”
Daisy shuttered remembering how it all went wrong so quickly. “And then I mentioned May and Coulson. I don’t even remember now what I said or how things escalated but before I knew it, my mother was sucking the life out of me again and this time my father was cheering her on instead of saving me.”
She usually tried to block memories from the ship out of her mind but dreams like this brought them back with a vengeance. Daisy rubbed both of her fists on her eyes, both to stave off tears and to ground her back to the present a little.
“I heard your parents weren’t what you had dreamed of,” Lian said quietly.
Daisy was a little shocked to hear that Lian knew anything. She didn’t think May was the type to share these things with her mother. “Not at all. They loved me but they weren’t good people. Not like May and Coulson.” Daisy sighed before looking up at Lian. “How did you know?”
Lian hummed and took a drink of her tea. “Melinda stayed with me for a while before going to spend time with her father. She was quite hurt by some of your actions even if she didn’t admit it.”
And that made Daisy’s stomach sink even further as she looked back down into her mug and clenched it tighter. She had felt guilty for months over what happened in Afterlife and hearing from May’s mother that she had hurt May made her feel even worse.
“Let me clarify, child. She was hurt but she was not angry with you. She understood your actions but she was still hurt by your words and actions.” Lian rested a hand on Daisy’s knee. “Daisy, I know my daughter isn’t good with words or emotions but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t love deeply. And I assure you, she loves you like the daughter she will never have. Why do you think she brought you here?”
Daisy shrugged, not trusting her voice.
“She did it because she cares and no one deserves to be alone on Christmas.”
Daisy finally looked up. “I made a lot of mistakes and I used May’s worst memory against her. I don’t think she could ever see me as a daughter after that. I lost my last chance at having a family.”
Lian made a tsking noise. “My dear child, you know blood doesn’t make you a family, correct? And part of loving others is understanding that we all make mistakes. We say things we don’t mean and we make stupid decisions. Love gets us over those hurdles. And family are those people who will love you and support you through every good and bad moment in your life.
“I assure you, Melinda and Philip love you and they consider you and the rest of your rag tag team their family whether you like it or not. Now, if they could just get their shit together and admit their love to each other, then all would be right.”
Daisy couldn’t help the deep laugh that she let out at Lian’s last statement. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks that.”
“Oh you certainly are not. They are just too dense.”
Daisy laughed again and drank the remnants of her tea, feeling a little lighter.
“I am sorry about your parents, Daisy. But just remember, you have a lot of people in your life who love you like family.”
“Thank you, Lian.”
“Anytime.” Lian stood and took the empty mugs to the sink. “Now, we should get back to bed. We have a busy morning ahead of us. Think you can sleep now?”
Daisy smiled. “Yeah, I think I can.”
~
When Daisy woke the next morning, the sun was already shining so she knew that May had to already be awake and probably her mother too. She was surprised to find that it was already 8am when she looked at the clock. May never let her sleep in this late.
Daisy made quick work in the bathroom, slid on her slippers, and threw a sweatshirt over her PJs and made her way towards the main living area.
“Sleeping Beauty finally wakes,” May said with a smile from where she sat sipping her tea on the couch.
“Mellie told me you could sleep through anything,” Lian said with a slight tone of disbelief and a mild shake of her head, “but I must admit, I was getting a little worried about your head injury when not even the jet woke you up.”
Daisy’s mind was still a little foggy from sleep, “jet?”
“Merry Christmas Dais!” Coulson said entering the room from the kitchen holding two mugs.
Daisy instantly brightened up seeing him there. She had completely forgotten about the off-handed comment about Coulson joining them this morning. She walked over to him, grabbed the mug he stretched out to her and then gave him a big hug which he gladly returned. “I forgot you were coming!”
“And miss your first Christmas with the May’s? Not a chance.”
Everyone laughed and Daisy felt that warm feeling in her body again, like there was more going on that she realized.
“Alright, now that everyone is awake and here, we can open presents and then have breakfast,” Lian said. It was only then that Daisy noticed that the tree had presents around it that weren’t there yesterday. She instantly felt blood rush to her cheeks, realizing that she didn’t bring any presents with her. Between her getting injured and May looking over her shoulder as she hastily packed for a trip that she had no idea where she was going or what she would be doing, she hadn’t even considered packing the little trinkets she had found for May and Coulson. And she definitely didn’t have a present for May’s mother.
Daisy frantically looked from the tree to May who saw her panicked look and gave her a small smile and motioned for her to sit on the couch beside her. Daisy did as silently told while purposely avoiding eye contact again.
“Relax, they’re all little things and no one is upset that you don’t have something to give considering the circumstances,” May said softly.
Daisy instantly relaxed. She finally looked back up at May who was wearing such a gentle smile that Daisy wasn’t sure she had ever seen. She had to admit, she really liked this softer, happier version of May.
“Since Daisy is the guest, I believe she should go first,” Lian said, passing her a small red box.
Daisy blushed. “You really didn’t have to get me anything.”
“Nonsense. Now open it.”
Daisy removed the ribbon and took off the lid. She inhaled sharply when she moved the tissue paper away and saw a very delicate daisy ornament inside. She slowly picked it up and held it so gently, almost like it would disappear. She didn’t quite understand why she was getting so emotional but she was.
“I see the tradition carries on,” May said and Daisy could have sworn there was a playfulness to her tone. “How long have you been waiting to give her that, Mom?”
“That is not information you need to know,” Lian said before turning to Daisy. “It is tradition in our family that the first year someone spends Christmas with us, you receive your own ornament for the tree. I’ve had that on hand for a while hoping Mellie would bring you home at some point.”
Daisy was doing her best to keep the tears at bay but the gesture meant more to her than she thinks they will ever know. She had never belonged to a family before to warrant having her very own ornament on the tree.
“It’s beautiful and fits you Dais,” Coulson said. “Go put it on the tree! And then see if you can spot my ornament.”
That dried her tears quickly. Coulson also had an ornament and she was determined to find it. She walked over to the tree and began investigating. She was about to pick the cool sunglasses one when she spotted an ornament that looked remarkably similar to a red corvette.
“This one! It looks exactly like Lola,” Daisy said, proud of herself.
“You are correct,” Phil said, grinning ear to ear. “You should put yours right next to mine!”
Daisy smiled and felt her heart swell a bit more as she placed hers on an empty branch just a little to the right of Coulson’s.
“Perfect. Welcome to the family, Daisy,” Lian said with a grin. “Now, Mellie, time for you to open your present.”
Daisy sat back and watched as the rest of the gifts were exchanged. May got a new watch and a box of her favorite tea. Lian got a new tea set and Coulson got her some of her favorite tea from China. (How he managed that, Daisy wasn’t sure but apparently it was tradition and Lian would have been upset if he hadn’t brought it, which Daisy found hilarious.) Coulson also got new cuff links and a pair of Captain America socks from May. (The grins on both of their faces when he opened them was something that Daisy wished she could have a picture of. They never looked so carefree and happy and she wanted to remember this forever.)
May and Coulson even surprised her with a few other little things. May had got her a new pair of aviators (that looked a lot like May’s own favorite pair) and Coulson had got her favorite chocolate and a new soft throw blanket (which she immediately curled up under). Daisy felt happier than she had in a very long time.
The rest of the morning flew by with Coulson and Lian cooking, laughter flowing freely, and a general feeling of peace. They had dinner around 1:30 (which Daisy thought was ridiculous that it was still called dinner despite it really being a late lunch) and before long, the three of them were gathering their stuff to head back to base.
“Thank you so much for inviting me into your home for Christmas, Lian,” Daisy said, giving the woman a hug.
“It’s been a pleasure to meet you. And remember what we talked about last night,” Lian said, raising an eyebrow.
Daisy smiled, “I remember.” And she would. Despite hearing the phrase, ‘blood doesn’t make you family’ many times before, Daisy thinks it wasn’t until this little trip and hearing Lian say it, that the sentiment really sunk in.
“And Quolian, you need to call more.”
May sighed, but Daisy noticed the slight smile as she hugged her mother. “I’ll do my best Mom.”
Then Lian turned to Coulson and her face became more serious. “And Philip, I can trust that you will keep these ladies safe?”
Coulson grinned, “I can try but usually they are the ones protecting me.”
Lian hummed in acknowledgement. “Well, I hope you have safe travels and I expect you all back next year. Maybe next year will finally be the year I get to call Philip here my son-in-law.”
Daisy grinned again as Coulson blushed and May groaned and began walking away, “goodbye, Mother!”
“Merry Christmas, Lian!” Daisy said before rushing to catch up to May and Coulson’s retreating forms.
Once on the jet and up in the air, May flying and Daisy beside her, Daisy broke the silence. “Thank you for inviting me to your family Christmas.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. My mom really liked you.”
Daisy smiled, “I like her too. She’s spunky.”
May cracked a smile, “that’s one way to describe her.”
Daisy leaned back in her seat, feeling rather content. The past 24 hours were not what she expected from the holiday but she could easily say that it was one of the best Christmases she’s ever had.
“But seriously, May, thank you. I know you were worried about my injuries but I can’t thank you enough for letting me tag along. This is probably the best Christmas that I’ve had.”
May looked over and gave her a soft smile. “As my mom said, you’re family, Dais.”
And that statement alone, was the best gift that May could have given Daisy. She may have lost her blood family, but that didn’t mean she was alone in the world anymore.
“Yeah, best Christmas ever,” Daisy said softly, mostly to herself, feeling more at peace than she had in a long time.