Chapter Text
Phil turned the car into the driveway following the real estate agent. It was the last house they were going to look at.
Daisy looked out the window. “This one’s smaller than the others.” The house was a ranch style, brown brick I the front with tan siding on the sides. It had a two-car garage on the right side.
“Good,” Melinda said as she got out of the car.
Daisy nodded. “Yeah that last one had seven bedrooms and four bathrooms. Wouldn’t want to have to clean all those rooms.”
“Or heat them. That bill would be outrageous.”
“Well I didn’t have time to vet all the homes. The real estate office just put down the available homes in the school district and I picked five randomly to check out today. There are more to look at another time.”
“It’s fine Phil.”
“Yeah this one looks nice actually.” Daisy tried to be positive.
The real estate agent, Mrs. Lawson, ushered them in the front door. “This one has no furnishings. The older couple moved closer to their children in California and are anxious to sell. They’ve dropped the price twice now. It’s been on the market for nearly a year. They moved a few years ago and tried renting but now they want to just sell. As you can see the living room needs a coat of paint and so do some of the other rooms. If you follow me, you will see the kitchen was recently remodeled and is a fairly nice size for a smaller home.”
Phil nodded as they took in the large kitchen and smaller dining area next to it. “It is really a nice kitchen.”
“Now if you follow me down the hall, you can see on the right is the main bathroom.” They all looked in and it was just a regular bathroom with a double sink and shower tub, and a toilet. The color scheme was green floors and tan fixtures. “The bathroom needs paint too. You can see also it needs some drywall work there as well as in this hallway. There are few small tears and holes.”
“That wouldn’t be a problem. I know people who could help with that.” Phil added
She continued with her tour. “Two bedrooms on the right, the last one is larger. And on the left is the master bedroom with a full bathroom. It’s a small bathroom but everything works in it. The master bedroom could use a new rug but it’s not necessary to move in. All bedrooms could use paint.”
After they looked at the bedrooms, she led them downstairs to the basement. “This is probably the best feature of this house. A full basement, hardwood flooring, with an extra bedroom and another full-size bathroom. Plus, a utility room with full laundry facilities. Over on the side you can there is a full bar, and small kitchen area. As you can see the patio doors her open to the backyard as well, and the yard is actually nice sized. The property is almost one and half acres, with a nice yard and a small wooded area in the back.
Daisy opened the patio door and walked outside. On the right side there was large above ground pool with a deck, and a swing set next to it. She grinned. Then her attention moved to a large tree, a little bit to the left which had a treehouse and a branch with a tire swing. Her grin grew larger.
Melinda had followed her outside. “The pool looks like it’s older but well kept. Someone took care of the wood deck too.”
Daisy turned to her excited. “There’s a treehouse. You think it’s safe? Like to go up?”
“Let’s see.” Melinda walked over and climbed up the wooden planks on the tree trunk. Daisy followed her. They tested the wood. Melinda yelled down to Phil. “It’s pretty new, looks like. And well made.”
“It’s actually something the real estate company would like to tear down. Along with the pool. But the owners haven’t allowed it.”
“I like it Phil.” Daisy’s face appeared out the window of the treehouse.
He smiled. “I like it too.”
They climbed down and everyone went back into the house. Mrs. Lawson seemed in a hurry to leave, she handed both Phil and Melinda one of her business cards and headed to the front door. “If you’re interested in any of the five homes you’ve seen today you can call me, and we can make an appointment to work out details. If you want to see more homes, I can arrange that for next week, I am free to show homes on Tuesday or Wednesday.”
“Thank you, and we’ll be in touch.” Phil answered and they all headed to the driveway.
Once in the car, Phil started the engine and backed out of the driveway so Mrs. Lawson could leave. He then pulled off the side of the road. “I liked this one. I could see myself living here. It’s only fifteen minutes from the high school. Looks like a nice little neighborhood. It seems pretty quiet. What do you two think about the house?”
“I like the tree house.”
“Is that all. It has a pool too. A nice little pool. Nice yard. Nice privacy back there. The kitchen’s nice too.”
“It needs a lot of work. Some maintenance. A thorough cleaning and new paint. It’ll take some time during warmer months for the upkeep of the yard and pool. That bedroom definitely needs a new rug or something. Maybe all the bedrooms could use new rugs actually. The bathroom needs work, the floor is all cracked.” Melinda added her observations.
“The basements really nice. It looks newer, like it wasn’t done too long ago.” Phil was trying to be positive.”
“What’s the list price?”
“Um hang on a sec. Let me check. Let’s see, this one’s on Hamilton Drive, right. One story ranch house with basement on one point four acres, and four bedroom and three baths. Built in 1990. Renovated basement in 2008. Renovated kitchen in 2012. Above ground pool added 1998. One owner. Asking price is $328,000.”
“Holy shit” Daisy raised her eyebrows. “Isn’t that a lot of money?”
Melinda nodded. “For a house that needs a ton of work it is.”
“Well the one before that that needs no work is listed at $779,000. And the others are all above $500,000. So, it’s the cheapest we’ve seen so far. We can look at more with the realtor. Or we can look for another realtor. But there aren’t that many places in this school district that are any cheaper that are up for sale. Unless we want to just get a larger apartment or a half double in a development. We could check those out too.”
Melinda looked back at Daisy. “You like the treehouse huh?”
“Yeah. The whole backyard was cool.”
“I liked the basement. And Phil liked the kitchen.”
“Melinda it’s a longer drive for you for work. At least a half hour with the traffic. You’d probably have to buy a car. You okay with living out here?”
“Or a motorcycle. They’d be cheaper. And faster.”
Daisy’s eyes widened. “That would be so cool.”
“And very impractical. You couldn’t drive Daisy around.”
“Um sure I could. I just need to get two helmets.”
“You could teach me to ride too.”
Melinda frowned. “Um, no I don’t think so. Never mind that. That was a stupid idea. I’ll buy a car. A good solid larger tough car.”
“Seriously, you just lost your cool status.”
“I agree with Mel. In fact, I vote we buy you a tank once you get a driver’s license. Even if I too lose my cool status.”
Melinda laughed. “Phil no one ever said you had cool status.”
“Many people think I’m cool Melinda.”
“No Phil. But it’s cute that you think that.”
“I’m hungry. I think we passed a Mickey D’s on the way here.” Daisy spoke up after her stomach rumbled. “It’s like after two.”
Phil looked over at Melinda and then started the car and pulled onto the road. “McDonald’s it is.”
“Ugh.” Melinda made a face.
Phil and Melinda had spent the better part of the afternoon discussing the ranch house and the pros and cons of buying it. Daisy had retreated to a chair in the living to watch TV. It was almost time for Bobbi and Hunter’s shifts to finish, so Phil had started dinner, he was making his Mac n Cheese for Bobbi, so Melinda walked into the living room. She sat down on the sofa, as Daisy acknowledged her presence with a wave of her hand. Melinda watched the screen for a bit before speaking.
“You like this show?” The sitcom ‘Friends’ was playing.
Daisy turned the sound of the TV down. “It’s okay, I guess. I’ve seen most of them. Bobbi doesn’t have much in the way of choices, and no streaming I can find, so I’m stuck with basic cable.”
“Oh. I can tell you my passwords and you can stream on my computer if you want. I have practically everything. Netflix and all the others. You can even hook it up to the TV if you want.”
“I didn’t peg you as the type that watches a lot of TV.”
“I don’t go out much.”
“Which is also weird cause you are like – well – I mean – you’re hot. I would think you get asked out a lot.”
“I’m not exactly a very sociable person.”
“You seem pretty sociable with Phil.”
“He tends to bring that out in me. Always could. What about you Daisy? Do you like to be around people, like Phil does?”
“Nah. I keep mostly to myself. It’s easier that way, you know.”
“I’m sorry Daisy.”
“Huh? For what?”
“That you had to live the way you did. That I couldn’t be there for you.”
“But that’s not your fault. I mean I was kidnapped. Just saying that is so weird. It’s kinda hard to – to figure – I mean – it’s just hard to wrap my mind around it. I never knew. I keep thinking how weird this whole thing came about. Like if I’d have headed west first instead of here, and that almost happened, I could be in LA right now, just never knowing. How weird is that? One change of a decision, one hack into a school, one choice of stealing from Phil Coulson.”
“I’m glad you made that decision. Not the stealing of course. Although it is how we found you, so I can’t hate it. What changed your mind?”
“I just thought they’d never think I’d head to Chicago. That I could blend in and stay unnoticed. Pull a couple small jobs, stay under the radar, and then skip town to a warmer climate. Miles said warmer climates have more opportunities. He said especially for me cause of being underage. He left last year for the south.” She paused and then grinned at Melinda. “Maybe it was fate? The cosmos? Karma? That still small voice in your head?”
“Well whatever it was, I am glad you listened.”
“Yeah. I wasn’t even gonna get greedy either. I was gonna only do small stuff, but than I saw all that money sitting in that account and since it was getting colder here, I thought just one more big job and you’ll be set for over a year. I thought I set up everything to be untraceable. Never counted on a cyber task force nor cops related to the guy I stole from. I guess I got sloppy.”
“So this Miles taught you how to hack into computers? How to steal?”
“Nah. I’d done that long before I met Miles. He just taught me how to pull off a lot of different kinds of hacks and working together, we figured out a bunch of stuff to get around systems.”
“He was your boyfriend?” Melinda was figuring out ways to torture the obviously older man who had helped corrupt her daughter.
“No. Just a friend. We met in a group home. Found out he was really good with computers. He was sixteen back then. That was two years ago. Haven’t seen him for over a year. Anyway, you guys were talking about that house, right? You figure anything out?”
“We are considering buying it. Phil wants to take a couple people over there tomorrow to check out exactly what work needs to be done. If it’s not too expensive, we are going to make the offer to the realtor.” Melinda quite understood Daisy was done talking about her past from her abrupt subject change. “What do you think of it, besides liking the treehouse?”
“It’s fine. A house is a house, right? You sleep there and sometimes eat there.”
“It’s actually nice that there is that downstairs area. A nice bedroom, a full bath, and a kitchen area and even a living area to put a TV, couch and such. Phil said we could put in a fridge, a small stove and a microwave. Considering Phil and I aren’t really together, it would work well for living together with that privacy.”
“Yeah. Almost like two separate places.”
“Exactly. And you would be welcome in both at any time.”
“Cool.” Daisy turned her attention back to the TV and turned the sound back up, obviously signifying the end of the conversation. What Melinda didn’t and couldn’t know, was the apprehension and fear creeping into Daisy’s mind about going to live in another house and wondering just exactly how safe she really would be.
“Gotta say Phil, your Mac n Cheese was not oversold. It’s probably the best I’ve ever had.”
“Thanks Daisy.”
“I know, right. I mean I can’t even eat the box stuff anymore. My brother has definitely spoiled me when it comes to good food. He cooked for me and Hunter a lot when he lived here.”
“Believe me I didn’t mind. We were living on take-out the previous two years of marriage. It was great to have someone who can cook, living here.” Hunter added as he smirked.
“Oh shush you. It’s not that I can’t cook, it’s that I was too tired to cook. After a work shift, and training recruits at the Academy – I had no time.”
“I know luv. But if I had a choice you know I’d pick Phil’s cooking over yours.”
“Be careful, or you’ll be spending the night on the sofa.”
“That’s already taken. I don’t think Melinda would appreciate sharing.”
“No worries Bobbi. Melinda, Daisy and I may be out of here soon.”
“You found a house already?”
“A potential house. Speaking of, Hunter, you know any contactors? The place may need a little work.”
“Yeah I know someone.”
“ You think you could call him and ask if maybe he’d be available tomorrow or Thursday to check out a house?”
“I’ll ring him up.”
“Thanks. Oh and how are you both at painting?”
“If you’re looking for cheap labor Phil, just bring the beer and pizza and most of the station will be there. Make it a weekend party.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“So tell us about this house you found.”
The next two days passed by quickly. At least Melinda thought so. Phil and Hunter had gone with the contractor to look at the house and he had given it a mostly positive review, saying with a couple new rugs, Bath floor replacements, some dry wall work, and paint – it would be good as new. So with that done, Phil and Melinda called Mrs. Lawson and made an offer for the house. Their offer was relayed to the owners, and they were told they’d have an answer after the weekend. Melinda had worked from Bobbi’s place, using Bobbi’s office to update all her files, and transfer the necessary paperwork to other agents to cover for her while she took her leave. She’s also spent the better part of Thursday afternoon speaking to her parents about Daisy. They had wanted to fly out to see her, but Melinda had convinced them that Daisy needed time to adjust to everything, and that they should wait till next week. Her father helped convince her mother to the logic of her request.
But now it was Friday and she was nervous. In two hours, their Family Court session would begin, and they were all getting ready for the three o’clock hearing. Daisy had seemed fine in the morning but as the hours went by, she had become withdrawn and quiet. Melinda had only been able to eat a slice of toast with her tea in the morning, and then had swallowed some ibuprofen to stem off her headache which was starting from the stress. Phil had tried to pretend everything was fine, and that was grating on her nerves. He’d insisted she eat lunch, which she insisted on not doing, and he’d brought up that she was setting a bad example for Daisy. So she’d eaten a half of a sandwich and now it was sitting in her stomach feeling like lead. Her head hurt and she considered swallowing more ibuprofen but that would further upset her stomach. The stress was palpable, and her thoughts were racing a mile a minute.
She’d changed her clothes four times, finally settling on a very old navy-blue conservative pantsuit and a pair of black sling-back flats. She opened Bobbi’s bedroom door, where she’d been changing, and nearly ran into Daisy who was pacing in the hallway. Daisy was wearing a pair of dark grey pleated straight leg trousers with a pink and white stripped sweater, and black ankle boots, something Bobbi had helped her pick out yesterday. Daisy smirked at Melinda.
“Nice suit.”
Melinda sighed and shook her head. “You look nice.”
“Yeah I look way to preppy for my taste, but you know. Gotta take one for the team and all.”
Melinda laughed. “I feel like I’m going on a mission undercover. I haven’t worn anything like this for ages.”
“Yeah. Undercover as what? A badly dressed suburban housewife?”
“Point taken. But Phil thinks we should look nice and conservative. Thinks it will make a better impression.”
“Well it’s not like you’re covered in tattoos and piercings. Or that I am for that matter. Seems a waste to buy these clothes for me since I won’t be wearing them ever again. Not that I’m not grateful – I mean maybe she can take them back. I kept the tags.”
“Put them in the back of your closet. You never know when you might need them again.”
“Well that was not a great voice of confidence. I guess you think I’ll be heading to court again.”
“No, not at all.” Melinda laughed. “Look at what I had to dig up. I had to go back to my place to get this yesterday and dig thru the back of my closet, looking for something suitable. I just hope we pass muster for Phil.”
“Yeah he’s kinda being a tool about this huh?”
“I just know if he tells me I have to eat something again to set a good example, . I’m gonna barf all over his polished shoes.”
“Yeah my sandwich is kinda just sitting in my stomach like a weight. And my head hurts. This is all so very strange. Gotta admit it’s a bit stressful. No one’s ever fought for me in court before. Usually people are trying to get rid of me.” She paused as Melinda’s face morphed into sadness. “I mean, I don’t know why everyone wouldn’t want a smartass teen who can hack all their money from their bank accounts, right? It’s the latest rage. Every family should have one.”
Melinda laughed at the girl’s obvious attempt to make her smile. “Come on. I’m sure Phil is planning an inspection of the troops. Plus, he’ll want to be at least an hour early.”
“Stop squirming around so much Hunter.”
“I can’t help it. The suit is uncomfortable. And it’s too hot. And too tight.”
“Well maybe you should have bought a new one in the last ten years then.”
“I don’t know why I had to wear a suit. I’m not the one asking for custody.”
Daisy leaned over to whisper to Bobbi. “Does he always whine like this?”
“Yeah pretty much. Just ignore him.” Bobbi gave Hunter another dirty look.
Melinda was on Daisy’s right in the courtroom. Daisy was sandwiched between Bobbi and Melinda with Phil next to Melinda and Hunter on Bobbi’s left. Next to Hunter sat Leo Fitz and Dr. Jemma Simmons. In front of them, Victoria Hand and Captain Isabel Hartley sat with Phil’s friends Don and Jane Foster, and a lady Daisy didn’t know. The case before theirs was wrapping up and very soon Daisy would be called to the front.
She didn’t realize it, but her leg was bouncing up and down and Melinda placed her hand on it. She made an effort to stop it and looked at Melinda who gave her a calming smile. She whispered to her, “I guess I’m kinda nervous. I’m not very patient.”
Melinda nodded. “Me either.”
Daisy nodded as her thoughts swirled around again. She was still processing so many things. This woman sitting next to her was her mother. Her birth-mother. She’d wanted her. She’d loved her. The whole concept was so hard for her to grasp. Not only had they wanted the little kid that was taken, but she and Phil seemed to want her now, as she was. Hell, they were buying a house together to give her a stable home. She had learned a few things about them and even had started to like them. Especially Melinda. Phil was okay too. Hell she had a aunt who she got on well with, and a uncle who was annoying but likable. Melinda had told her that her grandparents were anxious to see her and couldn’t wait to meet her. She glanced at Melinda again, and was struck by the undeniable fact that she resembled the woman.
To be sure, Melinda’s build was a bit slighter than hers, and her hair darker, but they had the same eyes, and the same nose. Daisy had been sneaking glances at both Melinda and Phil this past week whenever she thought they weren’t looking. She definitely could pass for their kid and could see the similarities in looks. She kinda had Phil’s smile and cheeks. She closed her eyes now and tried to picture her father, well Calvin Johnson. Not her father she thought, and potentially a murderer. She never thought she looked like him. He was tall, over six feet, and she never thought she looked like him at all, had none of his facial features. As for her mom, Jiaying, she didn’t think she looked much like her either growing up. Now it was painfully clear why she didn’t look like either of them.
Her mother had been strangely distant as Daisy had grown up. Thinking back now, Daisy had always struck it up to her mother’s mental state and the many medications she would take. But now it made more sense. She was not really her daughter. She was someone else’s kid that Cal had kidnapped. She wondered why exactly they’d done that. She knew why she was chosen. She was biracial. She was half Chinese and half Caucasian. Could Jiaying not have any kids of her own? Or was the problem Cal? Daisy thought back to her earliest memory and could only come up with bits and pieces of scenes in her mind. Her very first clear memory was when she had her birthday celebration, the year she turned three. Or maybe it was her clear memory only cause she had pictures of it? A picture of her blowing out the candles to the cake. One of her shoving cake into her mouth. Another of her parents and her in the living room sitting on the couch while she opened gifts.
Melinda tapped her on her leg, and her musings came to a halt. She looked expectantly at Melinda who was getting up. Oh, did they call her case? Apparently, they did, and she had missed it, being so caught up in her own thoughts and memories. She moved robotically to the front with Victoria and Melinda and Phil. Behind them in the first row, the rest of her entourage gathered including Dr. Simmons, Leo Fitz, Bobbi and Hunter as well as Captain Hartley. Daisy shook off her thoughts and put her attention onto the judge. The judge was a woman, probably in her fifties.
The court was called to order and the judge looked at her. Daisy tried to not appear to be nervous, but she was sure it was not working, and her stomach did a few flip flops. Gosh she hoped she didn’t barf right here.
“This is Family Court Case number #011984084, Judge McNamara.” The court worker addressed the court.
“Thank you. Are Daisy Johnson, her lawyer and advocate Victoria Hand present.” The judge spoke.
Victoria spoke, “Yes your honor we are.”
“And are the custody petitioners, Philip Coulson and Melinda May present as well?” Both answered in the affirmative.
“I also believe there are other witnesses here that have supplied this court with affidavits, including Detective Barbara Morse, Officer Lance Hunter, Captain Isabel Hartley, Doctor Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz?”
“They are Your Honor. All are present if you’d like to question them.”
“Good. But I believe I have all I need from them to make my ruling. I see you have come very well prepared, Ms. Hand. I also have all the police records, and medical records pertinent to this case. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Does the prosecution want to say anything before the rulings are made?”
“No, Your Honor. We defer all rulings and judgments in this case to you.”
“I’ve poured over this case and have come to the conclusion it is one of the saddest cases I’ve come across in my twenty years here with Family Court. Daisy Johnson is more of victim than a criminal and will be treated as such in this courtroom. As well her parents are also victims of a heinous crime committed against them almost 14 years ago. Based on all recommendations and written testimony these are my rulings.”
She paused gazing at the small family in front of her, and then spoke again laying out her ruling. “Temporary Joint Custody is granted to Philip Coulson and Melinda May for the minor, Daisy Johnson. Both are required to attend weekly counseling with the minor for at least six months and it is recommended both attend individual counseling as well. A case worker will be assigned to them, wherein home visits will occur every thirty days. After six months, with no issues, permanent custody of the minor, Daisy Johnson will occur. Is this acceptable to you both?”
“Yes, Your Honor.” Phil spoke.
“Certainly, thank you.” Melinda added.
“I understand that even though you are divorced, you are planning to purchase a house together, so the minor child has more support and has a more stable living arrangement. Is this true.”
“Yes. We are in the process now, and believe we have found a house in the school district I teach in.”
“I find that highly commendable for you both to put your daughter’s well being first. I don’t see that often in this courtroom.”
“Thank you. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her.” Melinda responded.
“Next, Daisy Johnson, you will be under the custody of Philip Coulson and Melinda May. You will go to counseling with them once a week for six months and individual counseling bimonthly for at least six months. A caseworker will be assigned that you will meet with weekly as well as the be available for the monthly home visits. You are on probation for one year. Any violation of these directives may have severe consequences, as well as, if you are arrested again your probation will be revoked. Do you understand?”
“Yes ma’am. I mean Your honor ma’am. Thank you.”
“All charges against you will be completely dropped, as well as your minor record will be expunged, upon successful completion of all programs, and reliant on you not getting in any trouble for one year while on probation.”
Victoria spoke. “Thank you, Your Honor. My clients agree to all directives and are extremely grateful for your understanding of this case and all it’s implications.”
“You’re welcome. The caseworker, Sharon Carter is present, and the parties involved should see her and sign all necessary paperwork.”
“Your Honor, the three parties involved would like to petition that their choice of counselor is Dr. Jemma Simmons, who is familiar with the case and who is present and is willing to take them as clients.”
“So ordered. This case is over. Bailiff, we will have a twenty-minute recess.” She looked over at the three of them and smiled. “Good luck to all of you.”
Daisy stood still as she felt an arm encircle her shoulder. She grew stiff feeling the contact then realized it was Melinda. The same women who moments ago had said that there was nothing she wouldn’t do for Daisy. She hesitated for a moment and then she did what she hadn’t done for a very long time. She let her guard down. She turned and wrapped both her arms around this woman who for reasons unknow to her, made her feel safer than she’d ever felt before. She felt Melinda’s arms encircle her tightly and then she buried her face in Melinda’s shoulder and started crying. She felt Melinda move her arm to brush over her head and Melinda whispered comfort words to her over and over. Daisy regained control quickly and then felt self-conscious from losing control in front of everyone. She backed away and swiped at her eyes drying them with her sweater till Bobbi stuck a couple tissues in her hand from behind her.
Phil smiled at Melinda and then at Daisy and moved to touch Daisy’s arm, but Daisy backed further away and flinched. Phil missed the flinch, but Melinda didn’t. Daisy laughed then and deflected, making a joke. “I feel like I’m in the middle of a Disney channel teen movie, where everything ends with the awkward teen making the team or winning the game or whatever.”
Phil’s masked his split-second hurt face with a smile. “Well I think we did win, so we should celebrate.”
Daisy nodded.
“Before any of that, we need to meet with your new case worker and sign a bunch of papers. So if you three could follow me.” Victoria interrupted.
They were driving back to Bobbi’s, just Daisy and Melinda with Phil in his car. All the papers had been signed, they had met with Sharon Carter and set up first dates for Daisy with her caseworker and shared their information. Jemma had told them to call her office later that day to set up their appointments, telling them she had paperwork to attend to. Leo was going back into work as were Bobbi, Hunter and Izzy, who had all taken a night shift rotation. Jane and Don were going out of town, and so it was just the three of them. The stress of the day and really the last few days, of worrying had taken its toll, as after the initial jubilation of the rulings had worn off, all three really did not feel like celebrating. In fact, Daisy had suggested a nap would be more appropriate.
“I’m gonna stop at this burger joint to pick up some dinner, is that okay Daisy?”
“Works for me.”
Phil pulled into the parking lot of a small strip mall. “So how you want your burgers, guys? And does everyone want fries?”
“I’ll have a California cheeseburger, Phil, with small fries.
“Just ketchup and mustard on mine please. Small fry is good too. Thank you.”
“Copy that. Should be only a few minutes, it’s not quite dinner rush yet.” He got out and headed into the restaurant.
Melinda looked back at Daisy. “After we eat, maybe the three of us could watch a movie?”
“Maybe.”
“Daisy, I know things are moving really fast right now, but they will slow down and you will be able to process things easier. I just want you to know that you can talk to me about anything, anytime. Okay?”
Daisy nodded. “Sure. Thanks.”
“Plus, now you have Dr. Simmons and Ms. Carter to speak to. And I know Bobbi is there for you too if you feel more comfortable talking to her.”
“Okay.”
Melinda tried again this time being less subtle. “I know there are things in your past, people who have hurt you, bad foster homes, and if you ever want to talk about those things...”
“Daisy cut her off. “I don’t.”
Melinda sighed. She’d probably picked a bad time to push. She’d have to learn to not do that and to take her openings at better opportunities. She’d have to learn how to read Daisy better. “Okay. Just in case you ever change your mind, I’m here.”
Daisy gazed out the window. Yeah, she knew she was messed up. She knew she was damaged. But she didn’t want Melinda to know that. Or Phil. Or Bobbi. Cause then things would change. So best to just try to not freak out again, to suck it up, and to push forward. These people liked her. They wanted her to live with them, and they loved her, or at least the idea of who she used to be – their kidnapped child. Who she really was though, the things she’d done, how she had survived – not something that her birth parents needed to know, nor did they have to know how much of a coward she really was or how weak she was. She could block that from them just the same way she usually could block it from her own mind. She just had to be smarter about all of it.