Peggy Carter (Epilogue)
Peggy sighed, settling onto the couch next to Daniel, allowing him to wrap his arm around her shoulder. “Did you enjoy your day off?” he asked, teasing her even as he pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head. It was nearly a week after their invasion of the Hydra ship, and no more dead bodies had turned up in the water, here or in Malibu.
“I enjoyed it immensely,” she admitted, stretching out. “How’s the search going?” After their return to Los Angeles – and some quick medical care – Peggy had settled in to deciphering the files she had taken from the ship. The humans they had found in the water were apparently a Hydra experiment to replace U-boats. A human wouldn’t ping on a ship’s radar. Or if it did, it would dismissed in the same way that dolphins were, too biological and small to be a torpedo or a submarine. But something had gone terribly wrong, and they had started dying, winding up all along the shoreline, though a few bodies had somehow made it further upriver – the ones that the SSR had discovered before Hydra had covered the mess up.
Howard’s people were tracking down the scientists who had run the experiments in the first place, but they were keeping the SSR apprised. Peggy trusted that if anything came of their search, Daniel would let her know. Or they’d tell her directly. It was nice to be surrounded by people who believed in her again.
“Still no luck,” Daniel sighed. “They’re mostly just running in circles.” Peggy laughed, her bare toes curling into the couch cushions.
“How are Jarvis and Ana doing?” Daniel asked after a moment.
Peggy smiled fondly. “They’re doing wonderfully. Apparently, Howard has found a woman that might actually be able to handle to him. I haven’t met her yet, though. Maria, I think is her name. Either way, Jarvis seems to be absolutely delighted.”
“Any woman who can stop Howard Stark in his tracks deserves all the respect we can give her,” Daniel agreed, equally amused. “Do you need me to look into her? Make sure she’s not a Russian spy?”
Peggy twisted around to swat at him half-heartedly. “I already did it,” she admitted, chagrined.
Daniel chuckled, leaning down to kiss her properly. Peggy responded in kind, and when they pulled apart, Daniel pressed his forehead against hers. “I love you, Peggy Carter,” he murmured. “Even if you are a pain in the ass.”
Peggy smiled back at him affectionately. “I don’t know why you do, but I love you, too,” she replied.
Daniel might have said something in reply, but just then the phone rang. Reaching over to the phone sitting on the table, Peggy picked it up. “Hello?”
“Hello yourself, doll!” Howard greeted enthusiastically. “Are you busy? I’ve got something to show you.”
Peggy sighed. “That depends, what is it?” she asked. Her answer was already decided, though; she wanted to hear him say it.
“Why, Peggy, one would think you didn’t trust me!” Howard explained, affecting a wounded tone. Peggy just waited silently, and on the other end of the line, Howard sighed. “I found the blue cube,” he admitted at last.
Peggy froze, her hand tightening on the phone. “Blue cube?” she asked, holding up a finger when Daniel opened his mouth, undoubtedly to ask if she was okay. “As in, the energy source that Hydra was using for their weapons? The thing that Steve Rogers crashed down with?”
There was a long, weighted pause. Then, “Yes,” Howard said, his voice soft.
Peggy’s eyes narrowed, and she glanced at Daniel questioningly. He nodded. “Don’t touch it,” she warned him. “We’ll be right there.” She hung up without waiting for a reply, standing and heading for the bedroom to put on some proper clothes.
She came back out, ready to go, to find Daniel standing by the door, holding his coat over one arm. “At least our lives are never boring,” he said as they walked out the door.
Peggy couldn’t have agreed more.
Fin.