You're On Your Own, Kid

12 Years Later

"It took a while to find you, but hi! I'm your daughter. Why did you give me up for adoption?" Daisy stared at her smiling face in the mirror before she dropped it and groaned. She'd been trying to find a way to greet her dad when she got to him, but she was really bad at starting conversations that she wanted to have.

She sighed and left the airport washroom before heading to her flight. She had spent most of her savings on this, other than the money she had put away for the flight home if she needed it.

There was one day until her 14th birthday, and Daisy was determined to get to her dad as soon as she could. She's waited almost all her life for this. She hacked into America's second-most protected organization's files just to research on herself, just to find this address. She needed this.

What she found a few months ago wasn't too shocking, but still. Daisy's father before she was given up for adoption was a man named Phil Coulson. He was a SHIELD agent, from what she read, and semi-retired when he gave her up. Or rather, gave his daughter, Skye Coulson up. And then somehow, Skye Coulson became Daisy Johnson, and now here she was.

Daisy had a few vague memories of Agent Coulson. One of him hugging her, a picture day when he and she were dressed in suits, and something about Oops! All Berries. And the only thing she really had from him, to know that he was real, was a picture in the locket that she's had since she was put into the system.

A tiny picture of the two of them in matching suits, with them beaming at the photographer. Even from the picture, Daisy could tell that he loved whoever took it. She's stared at that photo a million times, ever since she realized she could. It was held in a simple, smooth brass locket, with a daisy engraved at the front. That was all.

For a while, she had considered selling it for a little extra cash, but since it was the only thing she actually cared about, Daisy held off.

The flight wasn't too long, just about six hours. She had a chance to take a nap, have a mini bag of pretzels, and watch two movies. It was pretty okay, seeing as she bought the cheapest available seat in the middle of the middle row, squished between a bigger old lady who offered her chocolate chip cookies and a big dude who offered her candy. She declined both offers and booked it off the plane as soon as she could.

Was it suspicious that she didn't have a big bag? Daisy didn't really care. She hopped onto a bus that drove all the way to Albany, and for three hours, she thought about what she might say. Subconsciously, she heard the heartbeats of the people around her, beating like unsynchronized drum sets. She tapped into the bus's vibrations and tried to use it to calm herself.

What if he didn't want her? He gave her up once before...

Daisy squeezed her eyes shut. He had to want her. He just had to.

Somehow, the three hours passed by in the blink of an eye, and she disembarked with the five other passengers who stayed for the whole trip. By then, it was early evening, and Daisy was getting restless. She really needed to get there or find a place to stay the night. Then, she had the brilliant idea to steal a car.

It wasn't too hard. All she needed to do was get the keys. Daisy walked to a hotel parking lot, picked out a car that looked like it was going to fall apart, and stole the keys from the valet box thingy. And she could already drive.

It was lucky that the highway was empty, because this meant that Daisy could mostly speed. The car was old so she didn't really want to test her luck, but she also wanted to not sleep in this random car that she stole, so she went 100 when the road was straight.

It took her about an hour and a half to get to where she wanted to go. It was a good thing that she memorized the route beforehand.

Daisy got to 325 Fleming Drive by 9 pm. Exhausted and toting her unused backpack, she walked up the steps of the stylish New England-style house and knocked. After a few minutes without an answer, she rang the doorbell.

This time, someone answered, and Daisy forgot what she had rehearsed on the bus. She kept a tight grip on her locket.

A man, probably in his late thirties, opened the door with a friendly but confused smile.

"Agent Phillip Coulson?" Daisy asked hopefully. He looked like his photo, so unless he had a twin brother...

"That's me," he said cautiously, though she thought she caught a spark of recognition in his eyes. "And you?"

"Daisy May Johnson," she replied, finally letting go of her pendant. "I think I'm your daughter."

Daisy saw the realization dawn on Agent Coulson's face.

"Daisy?" he asked. "Really?"

"Yep." She shouldered her backpack. "I travelled ten hours to get here."

"Okay. Come in, Daisy," Agent Coulson said. "Would you like a slice of cake, or would you rather have dinner first?"

"Cake?"

The agent smiled. "Well, it is your birthday in three hours, and I don't want to miss celebrating it again for the first time in twelve years."

Daisy grinned. "Do you have any pizza rolls by chance?" She took her shoes off as she came in and sat at the kitchen island. "Oh! Oops! All Berries! I love those!"

Agent Coulson headed to the fridge. "I have pizza rolls," he replied. "And I guess cake can wait." He stuck a few frozen pizza rolls in the oven. "So, mind telling me how you got here, Daisy? And how you came to the conclusion that I'm your dad?"