Daniel opened the door to the rooftop and stepped out into the night chill. Nobody had seen Peggy in a couple of hours, and personally he was beginning to worry. But there she was, leaning against some metal railing, the wind blowing her loose hair. He saw her tip her head back and drop her shoulders.

"I'm the reason they're dead" she said, not turning to face Daniel "five of our men are dead because of me."

"None of this is your fault Peggy" Daniel said, cautiously taking a step forward "we had no way of knowing what was going to happen in there."

"I should've seen the bomb." When Peggy turned, Daniel could see in the dim light the shine of tear streaks down her cheeks. She wrung her hands and looked at a spot past Daniel, refusing to meet his eyes "I should've seen it."

"You weren't the only one there – there were a half dozen other people who could've seen the explosives." He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and held it out to her. She silently took it and dabbed lightly at her eyes. "There's nothing to blame yourself for."

"Sometimes I think it should be me" she confessed, turning around and walking back to the metal railing. "When Steve died I blamed myself. I was sure there was something I could've done." She leaned and looked at the ground below her "when I was a child my cousin told me he wanted to die. He served in France during the First World War and was the only one out of his three brothers to come back alive." Daniel could hear her voice shake with such emotion he cautiously placed a hand on her shoulder. "A week later I found him slumped over his desk. I thought he was asleep. He had shot himself. Death follows me wherever I go. Family. Friends. Co-workers. Everybody dies except me."

"I'm still here Peg" Daniel turned Peggy to face him and held her hand. "I'm right here."

"But for how much longer?" She asked, not lifting her head to meet his eyes. "I have a terrible way of making people die."

The night breeze blew gently and her hair came to cover her face. When Daniel found out the Agent Carter was coming to work with the SSR, he was excited to say the least. He had read her war record and knew she would be a valuable asset to the team. He definitely didn't expect to have feelings for her.

"I'm not going anywhere" he said softly, begging her to look at him "I'm not leaving you."

Peggy dropped her head and Daniel heard the unmistakable sound of her trying to hold back tears.

"Would you like me to go?" Daniel asked, receiving a head shake in response. "What can I do?"

Wordlessly Peggy stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Daniel's waist. He pulled her close and held her head against his chest as she shook gently. The world kept on spinning, not knowing what was unfolding on the rooftop. Not knowing that in that moment Daniel held Peggy as she grieved those she had lost in her life. They could hear the sounds of the busy night – people chatting and walking through the streets, cars moving along the roads and dogs barking. But all he could focus on was the sound of her quiet tears, and all she could hear was the beating heart against her ear.

Suddenly Peggy stepped away from his embrace and stood straight, wiping the tears from her eyes defiantly and taking a steadying breath.

"Agent Sousa" she began, her voice shaking slightly "you're a lovely man and I enjoy your company."

"I sense there's a 'but' coming" Daniel quipped.

"But…I'm afraid that harm will come to you if you were to get close to me" she confessed "and I can't risk that."

"Peggy, you're my friend" Daniel took a step towards her and leant heavily on his crutch "and death threats won't change that. I guess it all just comes with being friends with the marvellous Agent Carter."

Peggy chuckled a little and smiled gently at him.

"It's going to take more than that to push me away" Daniel said "it's getting chilly out here. You know, my offer to get a drink still stands."

Peggy hesitated before replying "I don't think I'm ready to get a drink with you just yet."

"It can just be a drink" he shrugged his shoulders and turned towards the door to the stairwell "just a drink between two friends."

Peggy moved with him to the door, which he held open for her to enter. Slowly they made their way down the stairs to the bullpen. The office was empty, all the other agents having left long ago. Daniel collected his coat and gave Peggy a smile.

"I'll be at the pub if you want some company tonight" he told her, putting his hat on his head "I tell some pretty good jokes."

"I don't doubt that Daniel" Peggy replied and stepped through the doors and out of the office "goodnight."

"Waiting for someone?" The bartender asked, handing Daniel another glass of water.

"Why do you say that?"

"Just that you've been looking at the door for a solid fifteen minutes."

Daniel took a sip of his water, having already had a few bourbons "it's been a rough day and I'm hoping someone will turn up."

Another fifteen minutes passed. An hour passed before Daniel was ready to collect his coat and head home. Behind him he heard the door open, a cool breeze coming with it, followed by the unmistakable click clack of heels. The stool beside him was pulled out and he turned to see Peggy sitting there in her deep blue coat.

"How about we have a whiskey and you tell me some of your jokes?" She smiled and raised her hand towards the bartender.

"Ok, so a girl walks into a bar…"

Authors Note

It's late and I'm avoiding studying at the moment, so just wrote this instead. Might be a bit OOC, but part of me sees Peggy as someone who would let out everything at once and just have a good cry. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it a little bit and have a good day/night.