summary: termination of parental rights is never easy to face, especially when itâs the last thing anyone would want to happen.
pairing: andrew garner & daisy johnson & melinda may; andrew garner x melinda may
word count: 1046
a/n: i havenât been through tpr myself, and while i have done my best to do research, my writing may not be accurate (so please do let me know). also this is not a sunshine and roses portrayal of the foster care system, this is one based in the reality that many families face.
read it on ao3
Getting the call from the social worker that a judge had signed off on a termination of parental rights for both Jiaying and Cal was a call that both Andrew and Mel had been dreading for months now. Daisy had been in their custody for a while now, coming up for three years this June, but even so, it was something one could never really prepare a child for.
They knew bits and pieces about her childhood with the Zabos, and while Jiaying and Cal werenât able to care for her in a way that she needed them to, it didnât mean their love for her didnât come in spades. It was in the way Jiaying taught her new phrases in Hunanese every time they had supervised visitation, the way that Cal bought her flowers every time he saw her, the way they smothered her in love and adoration every second of every visit they had with her.
But the system wasnât based on just those little moments, and unfortunately the judges had declared that they just werenât capable of looking after Daisy on a full time basis. Andrew had reached out to her parents after the conversation with the social worker, just to check in and see how they were doing, but the hurt was still raw and while theyâd been polite, the conversation hadnât lasted longer than necessary.
When Daisy gets home from school, they sit the girl down right away and tell her what had happened, neither one of them offering up any sentiments of false hope or sugar coating it. Sheâs distraught, as they had both anticipated, and when she runs upstairs to her room, phone clutched tightly in her hand, they decide to leave her be.
The social worker has had very little to offer in terms of how they should go about contact in the future, neither Mel nor Andrew wanting to tear her away from her parents or her older half-sister. In the meantime, Andrew decides to get started on dinner, while his wife types up a draft email to send to the social worker and the Zabos in the morning.
They can hear the muffled screams and thudding noises coming from Daisyâs room, and while both of them want to rush in and take care of her, hold her in their arms, they know it wouldnât do her any good. As Andrew carries on cooking dinner, Melinda decides to book an emergency appointment with Daisyâs therapist, Dr. Hand, for the next day, informing the woman that TPR has occurred.
When Andrew dishes up dinner, Mel heads upstairs and knocks on Daisyâs door, letting the young girl know that dinner was ready if she wanted to join them, and if she didnât then she could take her plate upstairs. Going back into the kitchen, she thanks Andrew with a kiss on his shoulder before taking her plate and having a seat.
When they hear the heavy footsteps of their ward coming down the stairs, neither of them hold out for any hope that sheâll join them, but when she doesnât leave immediately, Mel flashes her a smile and tugs Andrew down beside her.
âIâm not going to call you Mom, you know that right?â The teen says as she settles down at the kitchen table, sitting directly opposite her foster carers.
âI wouldnât expect you to Daisy.â Melinda responds, staring at the angry looking teen.
âBecause youâre not my mom. You take care of me, and I appreciate it, but you arenât my mom. And I wonât call Andrew Dad either, because he isnât my dad.â
Melinda nods and Andrew settles his hand on his wifeâs forearm when he sees her hands clench as she resists the urge to reach out to the young girl.
âWe know Daisy. Jiaying and Cal are always going to be your parents, we donât want to replace them. And if adoption or permanent guardianship is a route youâd want to go down, then you should know itâd be for your sake, not ours.â
âWe care about you, Daisy. But we arenât going to do anything that would upset you, or your parents for that matter. Whether youâre legally ours or not, you will always have a place to call home here, and we will always keep you safe.â
âI know that Phil is gonna want to know now if youâre going to adopt me, but, can we wait? I donât, I donât know yet if thatâs something I want. And uh, I wanna see Mom and Dad first, if thatâs okay?â
âOf course it is honey, Iâll tell Phil to hold off on bringing it up for the time being. Now, eat up, Andrewâs food doesnât taste as good if it needs to be heated up.â
âCanât be as bad as yours.â Daisy says without thinking, wincing as soon as she realises what sheâs just said.
âIâll let you off that one, for now. Now, eat your food, or else I might have to cook tomorrow.â
The laughter that comes from the threat isnât as carefree as Daisyâs usually is, but itâs a marked improvement on her mood so Mel and Andrew decide to take it as a win. The rest of their meal is had in silence, Andrew holding his tongue despite the irregularity of the situation, and once Daisy is done with her food, she gets up from the table, putting her plate in the dishwasher and giving both adults brief but tight squeezes before running back to her room.
âSheâll be okay Melinda,â he says when Daisyâs door slams shut, âshe just needs to process everything first.â
âI know that, but itâs just hard to see her like this. Itâs so awful. We should let her take tomorrow off of school, give her some time before her therapy session to just feel lost.â
âWow, look at you.â Andrew sidles up behind her and drapes himself on her back. âMelinda May, tiger carer extraordinaire, willingly letting a kid take a day off school without being nudged into it. Iâm impressed.â
âWell, she deserves it, especially in a situation like this. Even if she is a mouthy little shit at times.â
âYouâre not wrong there. But sheâs a good kid.â
First of all, Andrew was a great therapist. He genuinely cared about his patients, putting their wellbeing above Shield. He had moral stances that he took and he was also practical. He wanted to help people first and foremost. He was good at his job. In her entire life Daisy never had a therapist she liked but she opened up to Andrew in a single conversation. In her own words he helped her. And Daisy would do whatever it took to save him. She never blamed him. But Andrew was not just a therapist. He was also a teacher, likely a researcher, a husband, a friend. He was a good husband to May prior to being taken over by Lash (in a way that mirrored how Daisy was taken over by Hive). He was supportive and secure in their relationship. He was romantic as hell (you're the center of the best moments of my lifeđ) And he was a good friend. He was a good person.
He was also a fantastic character. He had a great dynamic with not just May but also with Coulson, with Jemma, and with Daisy. He had so much potential. That whole debate of the ethics of an Inhuman cure, not to mention the science of it, as a psychologist he would have a great perspective on that. Coulson going off the deep end in s3, bet Andrew would have some opinions on that. Want to build May's character arc of identity and agency outside of Shield instead of cutting it short with new trauma? Andrew. Want an interesting character with a unique perspective on Shield and the potential to cause narrative tension that didn't revolve around still more trauma? ANDREW
If the writers hadn't been so busy making Andrew their monster, think of all the conversations that could have been had. Think of the dimension and depth that could have been added with his perspective. Think of the new dimension he already brought out of the other characters and how much more they could have done with that. In a season that tried really hard to reach some real world topics but didn't quite land them, think how much better it would have been had Andrew lived. Honestly the more I think about it the more I realize that almost all of my issues with season 3 as far as storytelling could be resolved by giving Andrew a different character arc.
Andrew was a hero. So much so that even when he was turned into a monster, a little bit of him held on, to help the people he cared about. To save them. In the end, Andrew set Daisy free, only to die for it by literal chain. His death felt as pointless as it was cruel. Andrew deserved better.
honestly i love philinda so damn much, but g-d, can we appreciate meldrew for atleast ONE GDAMN SECOND? phil comforted may, yes, but all along he kept wanting her to âgo backâ to what she used to be, which just irks me a little. andrew went to her, showed her unconditional love and support, and told her âyouâll get through this.â I love maydrew and philinda, but I wish the philinda fandom wasnât trying to exterminate the maydrews.
I'm gonna go through the meldrew tag and try to call out the phillinda stans bs.
Just a boy in a Chevy truck
That had a tendency of gettinâ stuck
On back roads at night
And I was right there beside him all summer long
And then the time we woke up to find that summer had gone
This is an odd ship for me. I really ultimately feel bad for both of them. He didnât mean to go through terrigenesis, but after he does he canât stop himself from killing people. And May has just been through so much. I think they both deserved happiness, but unfortunately they couldnât save him. Although they are not married anymore, she loves him dearly and may doesnt love just anyone. Iâm glad he got to do one last good thing by saving Daisy before he died.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Andrew Garner/Melinda May
Characters: Andrew Garner, Melinda May
Additional Tags: Weddings, Ficlet, Probably Canon Divergent
Summary:
Melinda and Andrew are finally getting some time off, and Andrew has an interesting proposal.
I joked with friends that Iâd write a wedding for every pair that I didnât have a prompt/idea for, so this is for them. Haha.
ok, not sure how long the lyric prompts are supposed/allowed to be but how about, for meldrew: "You've got my head spinning, no kidding, I can't pin you down. What's going on in that beautiful mind? I'm on your magical mystery ride. And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me, but I'll be alright."
Oh, my, I am only now realizing that my story is almos as long as the prompt, lol. Thank you for prompting me!
Other Florchis Ships It All stories
Melinda May is intoxicating.
He isnât really fond of comparing women with the effects of drugs, but there is no other way to explain the fog inside his brain. Except, maybe, the dizziness.
âI canât take no more. I give up,â he pants while he collapses on one of the chairs of the club.Â
Melinda promptly snakes her way into his lap, and despite the mentioned fatigue, Andrew circles her waist with his arms. He might not be thinking clearly, but he doesnât need his rational brain to know that there is where she belongs.
âAw, already?â She is fake-pouting at him and Andrew has to refrain himself from wiping that puker with a kiss. Her eyes are glowing, both with excitement and mischief, and that is exactly why he accepted to come here. He doesnât give in to the kiss but he does push back a stray of hair from her face.Â
âYou know I am not the club type.â
Melinda moves her leg to straddle him instead of only sitting sideways across his lap; Andrew arranges his arms to accommodate her. He gives a brief thought to the fact that this is not much like him, that maybe he should be nervous about how her friends will look at him, what they will be saying about them. But how could he be anything but receptive when Melinda May is looking at his lips, five inches apart, with hooded eyes.
âNeither I am,â she says and it is unfair the way her voice is a caress that leaves goosebumps on his skin while she is actually smirking.
âMelinda May,â he begins and the world fades around the edges: there is nothing but her and being this close, âyou can be whatever type you want, and you know it.â
She blinks and each eyelash sucks the air out of the room.
âIs that supposed to be my superpower?â
Andrew leans in; screw everyone else who must be looking at them, there are some things that just can not be resisted, and Melinda Mayâs gravitational pull is one of them.Â
âBeing you is your superpower,â he whispers with his eyes already closed and drinks the laugh right out of her mouth.
âI wouldnât change a thing. Youâre still the center of the best moments of my life.â
The extraordinary love story of Melinda May and Andrew Garner, who met when she was six and he forty-nine, and got married when she was thirty and he twenty-nine.
When Dr. Andrew Garner opens Jiaying Johnsonâs ledger and undergoes Terrigenesis, he unlocks the Inhuman ability to travel through time. Though his gift is beyond his control, he often finds himself pulled towards significant moments in the past and occasionally the future, with one constant presence in his life â his wife, Melinda.
for @aosficnet2ââs AoS AU August: Your Favourite Book
