Chapter Text
“Easy, chica,” advised Elena as she helped Daisy into the passenger seat of her car. It was four in the morning, and once the nurses had finished with Daisy, the pair had opted to sneak away. They’d wanted to keep the patient overnight, but both women knew there was no chance in hell she could afford a full hospital stay.
“I’m fine,” Daisy mumbled, keeping her eyes closed as Elena buckled her seatbelt for her. The other woman scoffed at her in mild annoyance before closing the car door and walking around to the driver’s side.
Once they’d arrived at Daisy’s apartment complex, Elena insisted upon helping her up to her room. Daisy was exhausted and out of it, so Elena struggled to keep them both upright as she leaned heavily on her. Once they reached Daisy’s flat, Elena rummaged through the hacker’s purse to find her key. She shoved it into the lock and pushed the door open. Nearly meeting her wits’ end, Elena quickly brought her friend to her bedroom and laid her down before she could collapse from exhaustion herself. Sure, she hadn’t been beaten up by a frat boy, but pulling an all-nighter in the Los Angeles General Hospital ER was not exactly her idea of a fun Friday night.
Elena sighed and looked at her best friend. Her face was contorted in pain, and she was curled in on herself like a fearful small child would be. She’d known her since high school, and right now, her 24 year old best friend looked just like the teenager she’d found smoking in the girls’ restroom eight years ago.
“What brand is that? Marlboro?” Elena was leaning against the sink beside Daisy.
Daisy raised her eyebrows, the tops of them getting lost in the red beanie covering her forehead. She was sitting on the bathroom counter. “Nah, my foster brother rolls his own. Sells ‘em to me for two bucks a pack.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out another cigarette. “Want one?”
Elena smirked, crossing her arms over her chest. “How much?”
Daisy smiled back, nodding as she handed it over. “Just your name.”
Elena happily took the cigarette. “Elena Rodriguez. You?”
“Daisy Johnson.” She took another puff, sighing as she looked out the window to the schoolyard. It was nearing winter, and it was dark and drab outside.
Elena took a puff, raising her eyebrows in pleasant surprise. “This is nice, especially for a homemade one. Where does your brother get his supplies?”
Daisy shook her head as she blew out some smoke. “No idea. I don’t tend to ask questions. I keep my distance. He’s…easily irritated.”
Elena detected a tiny wince in the girl’s voice. Upon closer inspection, she noticed an extra caking of makeup in the area around her eye. A tiny sliver of the tender skin beneath her eye was left uncovered, and it was several shades of purple and blue.
“You know, I haven’t seen you around here before. You a freshman?” Elena asked.
Daisy sighed. “No. A junior. I’ve been here three years. I’m not exactly the socialite of the school, so I don’t blame you for us never crossing paths.”
“Ladies!” came the muffled sound of a man’s voice, followed by a loud rapping on the door. “Am I going to have to come in there?”
“Shit, he saw the smoke again,” Daisy cursed, hopping off the counter. She slung her backpack around her shoulders and rushed to the window, shoving it open.
Elena followed behind, watching as the other girl skillfully slid her body through the window to the grass outside.
“Come on, come on!” Daisy said, grabbing Elena’s arms and dragging her through. She fell to the ground, her hands cushioning her fall in the mud below. Daisy reached up and shoved the window closed, then ducked down. Elena moved to stand up, but Daisy shoved her back down. She shook her head sternly. “We can’t let him find us,” she whispered.
Elena smiled as she lay in the mud beneath her new friend. “Do you make a habit of hiding at school, Daisy?”
Daisy smirked. “Yeah, I guess you could say I do. This is the first time I’ve ever had company, though.”
The girls smiled at one another. They could both tell a new friendship was forming. Elena looked up at Daisy’s face, once more studying the bruising around her eye.
Yeah, Daisy could use a new friend, alright.
Elena finished removing Daisy’s boots, careful to be gentle so as not to wake her. She set them on the floor beside her bed, then grabbed a throw blanket from the foot of the bed. She draped it over her, making sure her whole body was covered.
Elena sighed, wanting nothing more than to go home. But she knew she shouldn’t leave Daisy alone in her apartment, concussed and battered.
“Oh, the things I do for you, loca,” she muttered under her breath, before kicking off her shoes and climbing into Daisy’s bed beside her. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.
“Good morning, Jemma,” Patrick greeted his best friend when she entered the residents’ lounge. He was seated at a desk, sipping his coffee as he researched something on the computer.
“Hey, how was your night?” she asked as she fiddled with the padlock on her locker. He’d stayed for the night shift, while Jemma had gone home to get some rest around two in the morning. Now, she was back to relieve Patrick so he, too, could get some shuteye.
He shrugged. “Average.” He sighed and stood, clutching the now-lukewarm coffee mug between his palms.
Jemma shrugged off her jacket and replaced it with her lab coat. “Say, how was that last patient I treated? Did she hold up alright overnight?”
Patrick narrowed his eyes. “What, that concussion case? She left AMA pretty soon after you got off.”
Jemma’s face fell. “She left?! She had a severe concussion! She—” She shook her head in dismay. “I wish AMA forms weren’t a thing. It’d save us a lot of headaches.”
Patrick shrugged, taking a sip from his mug. “I don’t know, people have a right to choose. If they really don’t want to listen to our advice, that’s their prerogative.”
Jemma sighed, shutting her locker. “I suppose you’re right.” She turned and put a hand on his shoulder. “Go home. Get some rest. I’ll see you around soon.”
But as her friend left, Jemma’s thoughts lingered on Daisy Johnson. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, wincing at the new contact she’d created only hours ago, before washing the pen ink off her hand. She knew it was technically against the rules to have personal relations with patients, but Daisy wasn’t her patient anymore. Besides, she wanted, or rather, needed, to check and make sure she was alright.
Hi. This is Jemma Simmons.
She sent the message before she could have any second thoughts. Daisy didn’t respond right away, so Jemma sighed and slid her phone back into her scrubs pocket.
Daisy had never felt so heavy in her life. She had awoken, somewhat, but that was only due to the bright sunlight shining in her eyes. It made her head pound, a deep, unbearable pain that she couldn’t ignore. She groaned and rolled over on her other side, grabbing a pillow and burying her face in it. As she did so, she was reminded of the pain in her ribs. She groaned again, wanting nothing more than to fall back into slumber.
“How’s it hanging, chica?” Elena asked as she entered the doorway. She was holding two mugs in her hands, one with tea and one with coffee.
Daisy opened her eyes in slits to look at her friend, and groaned once more. “I feel like there’s a million little worms in my head trying to burrow out and my brain can’t handle the pressure.”
Elena scowled. “Hmm…sounds uncomfortable,” she joked, setting the tea mug down on Daisy’s bedside table. “Drink it, Dais, I think it will help.”
Daisy rubbed her hand across her eyes. “I just want to go back to bed.”
“You’ve been asleep thirteen hours already. I think it’s about time you get up and moving.”
Daisy’s eyes shot open. “Thirteen hours?? So it’s what, 4 PM now?!”
Elena nodded, scowling in confusion at her reaction.
Daisy sat up quickly, regretting the action immediately. She winced in pain and grasped at her ribs with one hand, and her head with the other. She felt tears welling up in her eyes, the sheer pain too much to bear.
“Oh, oh Dais,” Elena murmured, setting down her coffee mug before climbing onto her bed. She gently wrapped her arms around her best friend, stroking them in an attempt to comfort her. Daisy turned and buried her face in Elena’s chest, her muffled sobs obvious as her whole body shook.
Elena rubbed her back in gentle circles. “We should have just stayed at the hospital. Maybe you’re in worse shape than I thought.”
Daisy didn’t respond to that, just continued sobbing into her shirt.
Elena sighed and kept her arms around Daisy as she stood up. “Alright, come on, Daisy,” she muttered as she hoisted her to her feet. Daisy’s sobs were a little less intense now, and she sniffled as she met her eyes. Elena nodded at her in encouragement and kept her arm around her as she led her out of the bedroom to her bathroom. She sat her down on the closed toilet lid, then moved to the bathtub to turn on the water.
“I don’t…want a bath,” Daisy mumbled. She was gripping the sides of the toilet seat, leaning forward in discomfort. “I just want to sleep.”
“You’ll be grateful for it when it soothes all those sore muscles,” Elena insisted, feeling the water’s temperature. It was sufficiently warm now, so she plugged up the drain and allowed it to start to fill up. She moved to her ailing friend’s side, kneeling to meet her gaze. She put a hand under her chin, forcing Daisy to open her eyes. “You have to take care of yourself. I can’t stay here forever.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out the prescription they’d picked up on their way out of the hospital. “Take your meds, take a bath, and then you can get back in bed. No phone, no TV, and especially no hacking.”
Daisy groaned in annoyance at the latter. Satisfied, Elena stood, turning off the bath tap since it was full now. She set Daisy’s phone on the bathroom counter. “Just in case you have an emergency.” She put her hand on the doorknob, but turned around to face her friend one last time. “Feel better, chica, and call me if you need anything.”
Daisy slowly nodded in understanding. Once Elena was out of sight, she stood from the toilet. As she undressed, her body screamed at her in protest of her movements. But she pushed through, realizing how desperately she needed to get clean. She left her clothes on the floor and climbed into the tub, groaning as she settled into the warm water. It felt lovely, she had to admit, and she found herself wanting to stay in there as long as possible.
Daisy was awoken from her bathtub slumber by the loud sound of her phone ringing. She groaned at the pain it caused in her head. But the ringing didn’t stop, and she knew she’d have to answer it. She grabbed the side of the tub, trying to pull herself out of the water. She was unsuccessful, and basically had to crawl out of the tub like some kind of creature. She winced as she reached up to the counter, attempting to slide her phone off. It fell to the floor with a loud thud, but at least it was within her reach now. She grabbed at it, seeing that the caller was an unknown number. Without thinking, she picked up.
“Hello?” she grumbled.
“Daisy? Is that you?”
Daisy scowled, moving to sit herself up against the wall. “Who’s asking?”
Whoever it was on the other side of the phone seemed to sigh in relief. “Oh thank God, it is you. This is Jemma Simmons, your doctor from last night. Remember, you gave me your number.”
Daisy couldn’t help but smirk a little. “Oh yeah, Dr. Simmons.” She flipped through her phone, chuckling at the 11 unread messages. “I see you’ve been trying to contact me for a while now.”
“Yes, I’m so sorry to have pressed, but I was so worried. You were very ill, and shouldn’t have left the hospital so soon. I thought for sure you were dead in an apartment somewhere.”
“Not quite dead, but on the bathroom floor of an apartment somewhere, yes.”
“Are you alright?! Should I send EMS your way?” there was genuine panic in her voice.
Daisy laughed, at the expense of her broken ribs. “No, no, of course not. I’m fine, just a little battered.”
“If you say so.”
Daisy found her lips quirking up into a bigger smile. “So, Dr. Simmons…other than your obvious worry about me, why are you calling?”
“Well, I just wanted to check in, really. I care about my patients.”
“Enough to call them on their personal phones?” Daisy could practically feel the doctor’s blushing through the phone.
“Well not usually, of course that would be inappropriate. Now that I think about it, this interaction is wildly inappropriate for my occupation. I apologize, I can leave you alone now if that’s what you—”
“That’s not what I want, Jemma.”
“Then what is it that you want?”
“Well, I’m not exactly in the best shape to go out tonight, but once I am, would you like to get dinner with me?”
There was a moment of silence as Jemma contemplated.
“I suppose it couldn’t hurt.”