Darkness

Punishment

Daisy was woken by the sound of the door opening. She sat up carefully and saw Simmons come in. She said cheerfully, "Jemma! It- it's nice so see you! I'm sorry about hurting Fitz." Simmons snapped, "You didn't hurt him. You murdered him. In cold blood. You're a killer." Daisy cocked her head and said quietly, "He- he's dead?" Simmons snapped, "Yes! He's dead. He's dead because of you!" Daisy replied, "I- I'm sorry, Jemma. I didn't want to hurt him. I- I couldn't stop it- what they forced me to do, the killer instinct they gave me- I couldn't stop it." Simmons growled coldly, "You don't mean that. You knew full well what you were doing. You're just as bad as Ward was." She spun around and walked away as Daisy flinched at the name. Simmons was right and she knew it. She was as bad as Ward. She didn't deserve their pity or their forgiveness. She deserved death for her crimes.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by Lincoln, whispering to her, "Hey... Daisy, you there?" She was crying. She hadn't realised it. Lincoln murmured, "There you are. I was worried about you there, for a bit. You okay?" She shook her head, sobbing, and muttered, "J- Jemma was right, Lincoln." He took her hand and replied, "About what, sweetheart? What's wrong?" Daisy answered, "I'm just as bad as Ward. You all trusted me and- and then I hurt you. I hurt you all. I deserve to be punished. I'm a monster." Lincoln sat next to her and put an arm around her, then whispered, "You aren't a monster, Daisy. You know how I know? Because you feel bad about it. Because you've spent the last day memorising the names of every single one of the people you were made to kill. A monster wouldn't do that, Daisy. A monster wouldn't look back on what they've done and regret it, be upset about it. They wouldn't cry over what they've done. You are not a monster, Daisy. You are a kind, gentle, compassionate person, and I hate to see you so upset. So don't listen to what Jemma said, sweetheart. She's upset because Fitz died. And there's only one person to blame for that- the person who turned you into a killing machine. Not you. Not me or Jemma or the guard who let Fitz in to visit you. The person who did this is to blame. No one else." Daisy was smiling slightly through her tears. She murmured, "Th- thank you, Lincoln. Thank you so much." He kissed her and whispered, "I love you, Daisy."