From the Ashes

12

Tony takes a deep, ragged breath. But the world isn't right. It's not right at all. I'll be the Phoenix you need me to be, Mama.

Tony inhales Daisy's sweet scent and lets her presence be his pacifier. His body relaxes in her embrace and he lets his head drop into the crook of her shoulder.

"I don't know what I would do if I lost my mom... I'm so sorry Tony," Daisy tells him as she pulls away to look him in the eyes. Her hands rise to hold either side of his face. She rubs her thumb over his cheek.

For a moment, Tony feels like they're kids again. But at that time his hands held her and she was the one who lost someone. Twice, actually. He was the one to console her then and now she returns the favor.

Daisy sighs. "My father left when I was ten." She echoes his thoughts. "And then, a couple of years later, my brother left home too." He knew that all too well. "So, my mom is kind of the only thing I have left, except for you guys." She continues to make her point, "Mama was like my second mother, Tony. She meant so much to me, and to so many people. I'm so sorry. I loved her so much. And I felt her love. And I'll always cherish that." Her voice trembles as she cries.

Tony wipes the tears off of her face and she does the same for him.

"See, you've lost everyone but your mom. I still have my Dad and all my siblings--and my extended family." Tony shakes his head. "I've only lost one person and I'm losing it. You've lost so much."

Daisy frowns. "Tony, it's not about how many people you have in your life. It's about how much impact they have on you. And Mama—she made an impact on every person she met." Daisy's voice cracks and a steady stream of tears flow down her splotchy, pink cheeks.

Tony puts his arms around her again, holding her closer to his chest this time.

"We can't let this escalate any further," Tony says into her golden hair.

They sit there for a minute in silence, listening to their hearts beating.

Daisy pulls away from him and looks into his glistening, brown eyes. "What can we do about it though?"

"We know where they are," Jensen speaks up.

Tony and Daisy pull away from each other as they remember Jensen's presence next to them. An awkward blush rises to Daisy's cheeks.

"Let's do something about it," Jensen tells them, ignoring the awkwardness that briefly lingered in the air.

Tony stands from the porch swing. "I think I could probably get Alec on board. And if not, I guess we're on our own." He sniffles and wipes his eyes.

Daisy and Jensen stand up with him.

"What are we waiting for?" Daisy asks them, wiping her own face.

They all look at each other before Tony leads them inside. They find Alec in their room with his head in his hands. His head snaps up to look at them when he hears them enter the room.

"We want to do something about this. Are you in or are you out?" Tony asks him bluntly.

Alec stands quickly. "Oh, I'm definitely in," his voice shakes and his jaw clenches. He's furious. He storms past them and goes to the room filled with weapons next door. They follow after him.

"Let's do some damage," he breathes out as he picks up a machine gun and a bulletproof vest.

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The five of them stand against a brick wall as they wait for a car to go by.

Jay's head sticks around the corner, watching the street. When it's all clear he waves his hand, signaling them to go.