A Birthday Daisy fan fic. 

 She woke startled not remembering where she was. Focusing and regulating her breathing just like May taught her to she slowly relaxed. She looked around the small hotel room and then sat up grabbing her phone. Four- thirty. She had finally been able to fall asleep for a few hours. She had needed to crash for a couple days now, on the run from Shield, the FBI, the police and the National guard. It seemed everyone wanted a piece of Quake. She shook the last vestiges of her nightmare from her mind, and got out of bed shuffling to the small table in the room. She grabbed the water bottle and took a few sips. She walked to the window and peeked out seeing nothing. She sighed and sat down on the bed. She reached into her backpack and pulled out the laptop. She checked for info on herself from all the systems tracking her that she had long ago cracked. Nothing reporting her whereabouts which meant she was safe for at least a little while.

           Figuring she wasn't going to get more sleep, at least right now, she shoved the laptop in the bag and went to the bathroom. Taking a shower made her feel a bit sharper. She walked out of the bathroom and grabbed some fresh underwear from the bag and a new shirt and socks. She grabbed her skinny black jeans and got dressed pulling on her boots last. She went back into the bathroom and pulled makeup out of the bag applying heavy dark liner and shadow. She pinned up her hair and then pulled on the hat and black wig. She'd have to think about changing up her disguise soon. Maybe a blond wig. She smirked thinking about it. Probably wouldn't work with her complexion and eyes. Still, it could work though. May taught her that. Give them something to focus on and they don't look at your face as much. Platinum blond hair with red streaks. Or pink maybe. Daisy took one last look in the mirror.

        Satisfied she grabbed cosmetic bag and put it and her extra phone in her backpack. She pocketed the other phone and grabbed all the chargers off the wall and thru them in the pocket of her backpack. She set up the room placing everything how she always did. Reaching her hand in her pocket she pulled out a wad of cash. Cash was untraceable. She counted it figuring she had enough for about a week if she was careful. She'd already paid the hotel manager yesterday for five days in cash upfront, figuring she'd be lucky to stay through tomorrow. She shoved the money back in her front pocket, shrugged on her jacket, threw her backpack over her shoulder and stepped out into the warm July air of Arizona.  

           The town was called Page. It was about two hours north of the Grand Canyon, near the border of Arizona and Utah. It was exactly the kind of place to get lost in. No one would think she'd be in such a place. She walked across the parking lot and headed to the little 24 hour diner she'd eaten lunch at. Her stomach grumbled as she chided herself for not eating. She could hear May in her ear. Food is energy Skye. When you don't eat right you leave yourself vulnerable. Skye. May had sometimes forgotten and called her that when she first returned to the base. Not as bad as Coulson, but she still did it. She would remind her no May it's Daisy now. May would apologize as she rolled her eyes.

           Daisy wondered if May knew the reason she wanted to be called Daisy. Oh she'd told them all it was to honor Cal and it was her rightful name, the past she'd been looking for her whole life. That was part of it. But another part was because Skye was dead. After what she had done and how she had betrayed her team and her SO, protecting a mother who ended up trying to kill her and her real family, Daisy needed to part with Skye. Skye was weak, she was needy and she let herself be compromised by emotion. Daisy was strong. She was like May. She didn't let her emotions dictate her reactions. She didn't allow her feelings to get in the way of what she had to do. Daisy walked up the steps leading into the diner. As she entered, her training kicked in as she observed who was there. She'd already cased the place for exits knowing how to get away should the need arise. Seeing no danger she headed for the booth in the back, the one that allowed her to see everyone who entered and allowed several escape routes. May would have told her she did a good job. She smiled setting her backpack down next to her.

          The waitress came over to hand her a menu, but she waved it off, knowing exactly what she wanted already.

           "I'll have the breakfast special #3. Make my eggs scrambled, bacon, hashbrowns, and wheat toast. Orange juice and coffee."

            The waitress jotted her order down and nodded. "Very good. Thank you."

            Daisy grabbed some of the sugars out of the bowl and started playing with them on the table. The diner door opened and Daisy watched as two men walked in. They moved to the counter and called the waitress by her name asking for coffee. Daisy smiled. The waitress brought her coffee and orange juice.

             "Your order should be up in a few."

             Daisy nodded and smiled back at the waitress. She opened two sugar packets and put them in her coffee. She would have preferred tea, having acquired the taste from May, but figured asking for green or chamomile tea in a place like this was asking for trouble. Besides the coffee would jolt her system awake better in case she needed to move quick.

            Soon the waitress brought her food and she dug in. She was starving. She hadn't eaten for close to 15 hours and she internally yelled herself for not getting dinner last night. May would have raised her eyebrow at her as if to say 'dumbass'. She smiled. May didn't show a lot of emotion but as they trained when May was her SO, Daisy had started to see her little movements that showed how she felt. Daisy called them Mayisms. A raised eyebrow when she thought Daisy was being a dumbass. The left one. The right was exclusively for when Daisy said something funny and also included a slight upturn of her lips. When she really screwed up the frown and glare that could pierce a hole in you. When she did something right while training the head nod. When she surprised May by doing something pretty cool her eyes were warm and she would flash a brief smile her way.

          Daisy pushed her now empty plate away and downed the rest of her orange juice. Her mind shot to a devastated May who had tears rolling down her cheeks as she held Andrew's body. A picture of a stoic May at Andrew's funeral, till she herself had broken down and started crying. It had been May who had held her and comforted her. She had been responsible for Andrew's death and still May was there for her. Everyone was there for her. Forgiving her. Telling her it wasn't her fault. Telling her she needed to move on. Telling her Lincoln would have wanted her to move on and live and be happy.

           She was not going to be happy. Not ever. Not anymore. But she could make sure her family was happy. And safe. So she had run. Left one night, writing notes begging May and Coulson to not look for her. Thanking them both for letting her be part of their team for a while. She had left notes for everyone. The one she left for May she asked her to take care of Coulson. She told her to find happiness. She told her maybe it was under her nose, right in front of her. That sometimes the greatest love is that of best friends who would die for each other. Daisy smiled. She had written it all cryptic like that and then added a PS that everyone could feel  the tension so could May and Coulson just have sex for everyone's sanity, please.  She could imagine her SO reading her letter. How she'd curse her out and then smile fondly shaking her head and then smirk.

         Daisy got up and went to pay her bill. She left a sizable tip planning to return later in the day for lunch. She walked out into the growing heat of a summer day in the southwest. She thought of Jemma and Fitz. She knew they were together now. Finally she thought. Geez talk about tension. She smiled. She'd kept tabs on everyone. YoYo was at the base more often than not these days. She and Mack were cute together. So they were happy. All her family. More importantly they were safe. She left so they would be safe.

           It was close to six and the sun was already rising. She stopped at the machine in front of the hotel office, plunking in five quarters, opening it and  retrieved a newspaper. She turned to walk to her room when she stopped and took in a deep breathe. July 2. The date was July 2. Her throat tightened and her mouth went dry. She pushed the tears back that were threatening to fall. She leaned back into the wall behind her and heard a sob come from her mouth. She fought for control taking a few deep breaths. A car door slammed and she realized people were moving about. She needed to get to her room before she drew attention to herself.

            She walked quickly to the side of the far building and practically ran to her room. She stood in front of it and gathered herself. She placed the keycard in the slot and opened the door. Her hand shot out as she caught the dime that fell. She moved into the room and pulled the door closed behind her. There was a flicker of daylight filtering in the room from the side of the window blinds. She took two more steps in the room and set her backpack on the chair beside the table. She straightened up and then froze.

          "I taught you better then that Daisy. You didn't even look, you assumed the dime made you safe."

           Daisy started shaking as Melinda May flicked on the light and stared at her from across the room.