A Miracle Starts With a Beat of a Heart

Chapter 41

The Final Chapter...

Time seemed to almost stand still.

Everyone stuck around the Lighthouse for sometime, claiming they needed a long break after their time travel excursion, which Daisy whole-heartedly agreed. Though she feared what was eventually coming, she decided to just live in the moments she still had with her family. For the first time since she joined SHIELD in 2013, it was relaxing. They didn't have to worry about some threat. They didn't have to worry about the end of the world. They were able to just enjoy each other's company.

One would even say it was very domestic of them.

It became a common practice that the team would spend their time in the common room, just going about their day and spending time with each other. It also gave them time to catch up on everything given that it's been awhile since they really got to sit down and just talk.

Daisy sat on one of the bar stools with Nadia in her arms. Since returning, she really had a hard time putting Nadia down for even just a few seconds. Daisy was reminded of all the times during time traveling where she almost lost her life. The thought that she possibly would have never gotten to hold her daughter again still racked her brain, and even though she lived to see another day and her daughter, she still couldn't bury the worry away.

Like most of her issues that most definitely needed to be addressed, Daisy found a distraction to bring her mind somewhere else. Kora was sitting alone on one of the more secluded couches. Daisy hadn't really gotten time to spend with her long-lost sister since first waking up. There were just so many things moving around and loose ends that needed capping that it seemed to slip her mind unfortunately. No problem in starting to build that relationship now.

"Hey," Daisy said, alerting Kora from her own thoughts. "Mind if I keep you company?"

"Sure." Kora nodded as she shifted over, allowing more space for Daisy to sit with Nadia in her lap.

"You doing okay?" Daisy asked. "You're not really socializing with everyone else, which is totally fine if you really don't want to. You just looked a little lonely, so I wanted to make sure everything was okay with you."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kora responded nervously. Daisy raised her eyebrow, not believing a word her sister said. Kora sigh. "It's just... everyone's being so nice to me."

"Well, they are some of the best people in my life."

"But that's just it," Kora continued. "After everything that I've done to you guys, and you specifically, I don't understand why everyone is treating me so nicely. I took the side of the enemy. I attacked people. I caused instances in which people were killed. I just... why?"

"You were manipulated by Nathaniel and brainwashed into thinking that what he was doing was right," Daisy told her. "He used your emotions and feelings for his own personal gain. The team understands that. They forgive you for it all. They know that all of it wasn't entirely your fault."

"But I still made those conscious choices."

Daisy sighed as she put her hand on Kora's arm. "Trust me when I say this: I know exactly what you're feeling." Daisy took another breath. "Sometime ago, I went through something where... I caused pain to the people I love. I hurt people. People died because of what happened. However, it wasn't my own doing by any means. I'll explain it all to you one day, but to put it lightly, I was brainwashed. After I was broken free from the sway, I still had the memories of what happened, and I felt all the guilt from it. It ate me up. It consumed me. I couldn't understand why my team forgave me after all that I did."