Disclaimer: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show and characters are owned by Marvel. I am simply borrowing from them.

Disclaimer #2: This fanfiction contains SPOILERS for the 4th season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Cold Desert

Chapter 7

Jemma walked down the hall with two of her interns pointing out the bathrooms and the way to the cafeteria. Oh, how she loathed breaking in noobs.

"Jemma."

She spun around. It was Coulson. She stopped, "Hello Sir… Agent Coulson," she amended. It was so weird not to refer to him as 'sir' anymore.

"A word?"

"Of, of course." Please don't let this be about Daisy. "Loomis, McMasters, why don't you head back to the lab, I'll be right with you. You can find your way right? Two lefts and then straight down the blue hallway. Great." She turned toward Coulson, "What can I do for you?" Her voice was bright and hopefully charming, and really hopefully not too obviously nervous.

"Jemma. I need to talk to you." He opened up a boiler room door.

"In here?"

"Well, Mace has my old office so it's this or on the Zephyr. Which would you prefer?"

"Um…" She walked inside. The Zephyr was preferable but that was about a mile away from where they were so this would have to do.

"So, this is about Daisy."

"Oh," her voice pitched, definitely not masking the fact that she had extra info on Daisy that she didn't want Coulson to know about.

The look on his face told her he knew. "As you probably know I interviewed both Daisy and Mace and I've received their written statements about the night they were abducted."

"Oh, did you?"

He folded his arms. "Yes."

"Well, I think…" She faked a look of trying to remember. "I think Daisy did mention something like that to me."

"Really? What did she say?"

Her face dropped. "Oh… um, right."

"Jemma, I'm certain there are a chunk of things that have been left out. Something happened to them that, for some reason, they don't want us to know. Those mercenaries may not see as much prison time as Daisy seems to think they will."

She sobered. "Right…"

"So, what do you know?"

Daisy hung up his phone as she pulled Jeffrey down into another kiss. His office really wasn't the best place for a social visit but he was going to have to deal.

As she pulled back he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Let me take you out."

She smiled, lowering her eyes, and ran one hand over the vase of freshly picked daisies on his desk. "Out to dinner?"

"Yes, whatever you want."

She turned back to his smiling face. He was the most solid person she'd ever considered dating. Someone she could trust, someone who she could rely on… She hadn't told him yet but maybe at dinner she could… mention it? "You have lipstick on your lapel."

"Do I?" he glanced down and as he did she readjusted his tie.

The door burst open and they both spun around.

"I don't even want to know what's going on in here," Coulson said angrily.

"It's not what it looks like," Mace said.

"It looks like Daisy's fixing your tie."

"Then yes, it's exactly what it looks like," Mace said.

Daisy dropped her hands to her sides. "If you don't want to know, why barge into someone's office without knocking?"

"I know what you two have done."

"W, what?" Mace visibly paled. He and Daisy exchanged a look.

Daisy touched his arm lightly. "What are you referring to?"

"Your reports for starters." Coulson slammed their reports down on Mace's desk. "You lied," he pointed at Mace. "And you Daisy, why would you lie about something like this?"

She rolled her eyes. "Who have you been talking to? They're obviously pulling your leg-"

"Are they pulling my leg about your pregnancy too?"

Mace's eyes were suddenly on hers. "Pregnancy?"

For a moment she couldn't breathe. She met his eyes as stunned as he looked.

Coulson looked from Daisy, then back to Mace. "She hadn't told you?" His tone was a bit more reserved now.

Jeffrey's face worked; he took hold of the desk and leaned back down onto it slowly.

"I was planning on telling you… tonight, over dinner actually," she said a bit sadly.

"Is it… mine?"

She nodded slowly.

"This happened, when we were kidnapped I'm guessing?"

"Of course, when else could it have-" Coulson trailed off. His eyes immediately went to the yellow tie Mace was wearing. "Is that lipstick?"

Mace instinctively wiped his mouth.

"Oh… Oh… I, I don't even want to know what's going on here do I?" Coulson said hands in mock surrender.

Daisy folded her arms and glanced at him darkly. "Next time, knocking would help."

He nodded. "I see that now."

"Jeffrey I… I was going to tell you."

"I believe you." He said and turned toward Coulson. "Well, Agent Coulson I think you will need to schedule in another time to discuss the report that I 'lied' on," he said curtly. "Davis can pencil you in for another day. Right now I have to cancel my meetings, if you'll excuse me." He turned his back on Coulson and moved toward Daisy.

Coulson lifted the reports he'd brought in and slowly slunk back out the door he'd so cavalierly burst through.

Mace came up close to her and offered her his hand, which she took gratefully. He was quite a bit taller than she was, and he looked down into her eyes. "Is this what you wanted to talk to me about the other day when you came to my room?"

"Yes." Her voice came out so small that she barely recognized it as her own.

"How long have you known?" he asked softly.

"Only a few days."

"What are you going to do?"

Daisy looked down. "I don't know. I was raised in foster homes, I don't want that for him… or her…"

He touched her cheek tenderly. "I'll take care of her… or him, if you can't."

She met his eyes. "You would do that?"

"Of course I would. I'll be there in any way that you'll let me."

Daisy smiled feeling the anxiety that had been building in her for days slowly ebb out and wash away.

"Why didn't you tell me the other day?"

"I dunno, you were being so damn kissable."

He smiled at her flashing teeth this time, and blushed a little.

"Do you want to go to my prenatal visit with me?" she scoffed.

"Yes."

His matter of fact tone surprised her. She'd never been with anyone so responsible before. "Oh," she said a smile curving at her lips. Maybe some stability in her life was what she needed.

"When?"

"Tomorrow… it's tomorrow."

He smiled at her. "I'll be there."

She looked into his eyes. "You're being very kissable."

"Am I? Oh good."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply.

The door to the room burst open.

"Director Mace, Daisy I'm so sorry, Coulson made me tell him!" Jemma ranted as she flew into the room.

They broke apart again.

"Oh… I'm… so sorry…"

"Agents Simmons," Mace said turning around to face her. "So we have you to thank for all of that?"

"Um…"

"Simmons, I was pretty sure I asked you not to tell anyone," Daisy said folding her arms.

Jemma shook her head. "Coulson was very demanding. Anyhow, you should've told the truth from the beginning."

Mace glanced over at Daisy, and then took a step toward Jemma. "I'm sure you're right Agent Simmons. There's nothing like recounting the blow by blow of one's sexual assault at the hands of mercenaries."

"I… er… yes. Well… I'm sorry I told him."

Daisy glanced down at the floor.

"Have you told him?" Jemma said finally looking at Daisy.

"Coulson told me," Mace interjected.

"What?" she said looking horrified. "Well, I didn't mean for it to come out like that."

"Yeah," Daisy said shortly. "Well, that's how it happened."

"Again, so sorry." She ran a hand over her forehead. "Is there anything I can do-"

"As a matter of fact there is, Agent Simmons," Mace said handing her his tablet. "I have backlog of press junkets to reschedule, and not enough time in my day to get in touch with everyone I need to. So, as your workload has been a bit light lately, would you reschedule those for me? It's just dealing with the press, I'm sure it will be easy for someone as smart as you are."

Jemma's eyes fell to the tablet in his hand. "Um…"

"Great. You can text me once you have those all settled." He handed it to her. "We'll talk later." And ushered her out of his office locking the door behind her.

Daisy glanced over at him. "You locked the door?"

"Yeah, well, I'm tired of everyone just coming in while we're in the middle of more important things."

She smirked. "We were kissing, was that important?"

He strode back over to where she was standing. "Imagine how embarrassing it would've been if we'd been doing something more than just kissing."

"Yeah, but we weren't."

"Not yet."

"Oh really?" She smiled at him playfully.

"Really Agent Johnson."

THE END

I hope everyone enjoyed this ship as much as I did. I think Jeffrey Mace is a great addition to the Agents of SHIELD cast of characters. It kind of hard not to notice the palpable chemistry Mace and Daisy have, and since the writers for the show haven't been doing anything with it (yet) I decided to run with it myself.

Yours,
Doc