Pairing; Peggy/Angie
Summary; Peggy is a lieutenant and Angie is a nurse stations at her base, she also happens to be the nurse sent to stitch Peggy up when she gets shot
Honestly, Peggy didn't feel a thing until one of the boys mentioned the blood gushing out of her shoulder. That's when the pain hit her like a fraught train. She fought through it, though, heading back to camp with a almost half men than she had left with.
Her second in command suggest that she head to her room and that he would send one of the nurses along to see to her.
There was a knock on her door less than a minute after she sat down at her desk and the door creaked open when she called for them to enter. "Lieutenant Carter, officer Thompson sent me along, he said you took some lead to the shoulder."
"Yes, come in." Peggy said, not taking her eyes off of the papers in front of her.
"Are you really doin' work right now?" The nurse asked, tentatively walking over to Peggy and setting her things on Peggy's desk.
"A through and through to the shoulder isn't going to be a sufficient excuse for not notifying the families of the men we lost today." Peggy explained, eventually lifting her eyes to look at the woman in front of her. The pen in Peggy's hand almost slipped from her grasp, this wasn't a nurse she had seen before. This woman was definitely new.
"You're incredible. You hear stories about the great Peggy Carter, regardless of what camp you are stationed at. You're a really hero amongst us women."
"What's your name?" Peggy asked, watching the woman fix out all of her equipment. "It's only fair I know yours since you know mine."
The woman chuckled, readying the needle with anaesthetic. "I'm Angie Martinelli."
"Peggy Carter."
"I know." Angie grinned, looking up at Peggy through her eyelashes. "I bet you're in pain, this will help a lot with that."
Angie eyed Peggy's shoulder before motioning to the woman's shirt. "I'm sorry, lieutenant Carter, but you're going to have to take your shirt off for me."
"Please, call me Peggy." Peggy said, groaning as she stood up, working on getting her buttons undone one handed.
"Would you like me to-" Angie pointed to Peggy's buttons and Peggy nodded.
"If you wouldn't mind, Miss Martinelli."
"Angie is fine." Angie flashed Peggy a quick smile before setting about unbuttoning the woman's shirt.
"Are you new at this base, Angie?"
"I am. I was deployed her yesterday." Angie explained, looking unsurely up at Peggy once she had fully unbuttoned the woman's shirt. "This is gonna hurt."
"It's ok."
Angie nodded, slowly pushing Peggy's shirt off her shoulder. Peggy leg out a hiss through clenched teeth, breathing a sigh of relief when she heard the fabric hit the floor.
"I'm gonna inject you with some local anaesthetic, it will take a few minutes to kick in but once it does you won't feel a thing, I promise." Angie explained and Peggy nodded. Needles never bothered her anyway.
"Where are you from?"
"New York. Yonkers." Angie answered, gauging Peggy's reaction to the first injection before continuing. "How about you, English?"
"London."
"Thankfully, this is looking like a through and through so I don't think I will have to poke around to find any bullet fragments." Angie explained as she peered at the wound from the back. "Could you sit up on the desk for me?"
Peggy obeyed, sliding up onto the desk, watching Angie as she footered about, waiting for the anaesthetic to take effect. "Have you always been a nurse?"
"I was a waitress and aspiring Broadway star before the war."
"An actress? You definitely have the profile for it."
"Are you calling me pretty, English?"
"I am." Peggy gave Angie one stuff nod, watching the nurse as she poked experimentally at her shoulder.
"Well, thank you." Angie smiled, nodding towards Peggy's shoulder. "How was that?"
"Didn't feel a thing."
Angie nodded, picking up the bottle of saline solution.
"And here was me under the impression that Peggy Carter was invincible." Angie teased, grinning up at Peggy as she soaked the wound in saline.
This was refreshing to Peggy, she was so used to people being afraid at her that she expected everyone to just be silent around her.
"Not quite."
"You will be out of action until this heals. Dependin' on how good your immune system is that could take up to a month." Angie explained, wiping the dry blood from around the wound. Peggy nodded, but Angie could tell she had no intentions of taking time off. "I mean it, if you go back into the field before this heals you will tear the stitches. I've had a few men not listen to my orders and they have had to get the limb amputated. I don't wanna have to do that with you."
"You are giving me orders?" Peggy arched her eyebrow, a grin playing on her lips as she watched Angie skillfully threaded the needle.
"I am. I would order bed rest, too, but I know you wouldn't listen." Angie positioned the needle as Peggy's skin. "You will feel a little pressure here but it shouldn't hurt. If it does, let me know right away."
"Yes, ma'am."
Angie chuckled lightly, pushed the needle through Peggy's skin. "How long have you been stationed in France?"
"About six months."
"Where were you before that?"
"Russia."
"With the hundred and seventh, right?" Angie lifted her eyes briefly to see Peggy nod. "There's a lot of stories going around about that. I heard you took over a hydra base and saved hundreds of lives."
"Do you believe everything you hear?" Peggy whispered, her eyes following Angie as she leant closer to get a better look at the stitching.
"Only the good stuff." Angie replied just as quietly as Peggy had asked, looking up at the lieutenant through her eyelashes. "See, those fellas who are threatened by you try and drag you down with bullshit stories. Turn around for me."
Peggy moved her body round forty five degrees so her back was to Angie. "How do you know they're bullshit?"
"Women are a lot more articulate than men, we think before we act. All the stories I hear, the bad ones, just seem to reckless. You've made mistakes, everyone in this war has, but I don't think any of your mistakes are nearly as bad as people make out." Angie cleaned he wound on Peggy's back, her free hand coming up to rest on the skin where Peggy's neck met her shoulder to keep the woman still. "I think your mistakes are amplified because you're a woman. Men are trying to prove that us women shouldn't be out in the battlefield, or workin' at all, we should be at home, making dinner for any man that will take us." Angie rambled on, putting a smile on Peggy's face because she was one hundred percent correct. "But I don't wanna be stuck with someone just because he will have me."
"You're too good for that." Peggy commented, feeling the pressure of the needle penetrate her skin.
"I am, English. Every woman is. I don't understand women who are happy to serve their husband like they're slaves. I want more than that."
"If only more women had the same mind set as you do."
"You've been shot before." Angie commented, running her fingertips along the two bullet holes on Peggy's other shoulder.
"Those are from Russia."
"And this one?" Angie took Peggy completely when she ran her cold fingers along the scar just bellow her ribs.
"A knife. You think this bad you should see the other guy."
"I don't doubt for a second that he came out of that fight worse off." Peggy didn't have to look at Angie to know she was grinning. "I'm just gonna dress this and you're set to get back to work."
"There's no rush. The work I have to do is hardly the most favourable."
"I'm sorry you lost some men."
"It's the reality of war, I've come to terms with that, the thing that is getting me most is that Fitzgerald's wife just had a little baby girl. He was supposed to be going on a week long leave at the weekend to see them."
"That's rough." Angie sighed, taping up Peggy's shoulder. "You're all set. The anaesthetic will start to wear off soon and you will be in pain but if it gets to much stop by the medical quarters, ask for me. I will give you some pain medication."
"Are you holding back on giving me those now so I will have to come by and see you tonight?"
"Partially." Angie grinned, cleaning up all of her equipment. "But we also aren't allowed to give out pain killers because a lot of the pills we prescribe are highly addictive."
"I guess you'll be seeing me later, then."
"I look forward to it." Angie picked up her bag and made her way towards the exit but stopped, turning back to Peggy. "Oh, and I will have to change your dressing and check up on the stitches at least twice a week but we can schedule that tonight."
"I will be by once I finish this work. If I finish it by tonight."
Angie nodded, smiling at Peggy one last time before leaving the woman's room.
It took Peggy a good five hours to finished writing up the letters to the families of the men who were killed in the battle, the letter to Fitzgerald's wife being a particularly tough one to write.
Peggy sighed as she left her room, walking the short walk over to the medical quarters.
Peggy entered the tent just in time to hear Angie growl, "Keep your hand to yourself or you will lose it."
Peggy frowned, following the voice to station two.
The man sitting in the chair seemed to ignore Angie's warning, reaching forward to touch the woman again but Peggy caught his hand before he could, arching her eyebrows threateningly at him when his head whipped around, as if he was ready to give whoever had grabbed him an earful.
"I pretty sure she told you not to touch her, private." Peggy growled, keeping ahold of the mans arm when he tried to yank it away. "I need Miss Martinelli's services right now. Station five, and if I find out from the lovely nurse there that you even looked at her the wrong way that pitiful cut on your head will seem like a paper cut, understand?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good," Peggy released the man's hand, motioning over to station five with a little wave of her fingers. "Toddle off now."
The soldier grumbled under his breath as he stood up and dragged himself over to station five.
"Miss Carter, I was beginning to think I wasn't going to be seeing you tonight." Angie said, drawing Peggy's attention away from the soldier. "And thanks, they get a bit handsy in here."
"Would you like to go for a walk?"
"I'm working."
"That doesn't matter. If anyone complains tell them to come and speak to me."
"You don't want any painkillers?" Angie asked, pointing back to the locked medicine cabinet.
"No."
"Ok," Angie motioned for Peggy to lead the way, following the lieutenant out of the tent. "Where are we going?"
"Nowhere in particular. I just needed to get out of my room."
"I can't imagine what it's like writing letters back soldiers families."
"It is a horrible reality of war." Peggy sighed, looking down at Angie who shivered against the bitterly cold French wind. Peggy honestly didn't blame her, those uniforms were ridiculously thin.
Peggy shrugged her heavy green jacket off, not without a sharp jolt of pain hitting her shoulder, placing it around the shorter woman's shoulders.
Angie startled at the sudden contacted, looking down at the jacket before looking up at Peggy. "You don't have to."
"I know. But I know how thin those uniforms are."
Angie smiled, sliding her hands into the sleeves, gripping onto the lapels with her sleeve covered hands and pulling them closer to cover the bottom half of her face. "Are you allowed to give a mere peasant like me your all important jacket?"
"It's my jacket I can give it to whomever I please." Peggy answered. "And you aren't a peasant."
Angie merely hummed, eyeing Peggy's injured shoulder as they walked. "I know you're tough but there is no way you aren't in pain. You have a hole in you."
"I'm fine. I can handle it."
"But you don't have to, that's why we have painkillers."
"Men died tonight, the least I deserve is a little pain." Peggy said and Angie frowned, ceasing in her movements and holding onto Peggy's arm to stop her from walked.
"That's not how it works." Angie argued softly, lightly tugging Peggy round to look at her. "Those men losing their lives is not on you. It is not your fault and it sure as hell doesn't justify you being in pain."
"I knew it was dangerous, I shouldn't have taken them in there."
"We are at war, Peggy. We can't go to the toilet without it being dangerous."
Peggy released a little laugh at those words, averting her eyes to the ground.
"You can't blame yourself for the men you lose, you will drive yourself crazy if you do." Angie voice was soft as she spoke, her head ducking slightly to look Peggy in the eyes. "We are taking you back and getting you some painkillers."
"Can we just stay here for a little bit?" Peggy asked, lifting her eyes to Angie's. "I have so make stuff to deal with back there. The colonel is coming by and I have to tell him what happened today and why we lost so many men." Peggy let out a puff of air and shrugged her shoulders, wincing at the pain that came with the shrug. "I don't know what I'm going to tell him."
"Sure. We can stay here." Angie agreed.
"I never did thank you for stitching me up." Peggy smiled, glancing over Angie's shoulder towards the dim lights of the main section of their camp.
"It's my job, you don't have to thank me." When Peggy looked back at Angie she was grinned, her blue eyes sparkling in the low light that was emitting from the quarters behind Peggy.
"It's still nice to show your appreciation."
"Well, it's nice to know someone appreciates me." Angie replied playfully.
"The work you do here is admirable, you keep dying soldiers alive, you help soldiers who were as good as dead get back to their families." Peggy all but gushed smiling when Angie just blinked up at her. "You girls might not get told this but you are definitely one of the unsung heroes of this war."
"Lieutenant Carter, you keep complimenting a girl like this and she will develop an ego." Angie teased, averting her eyes from Peggy.
Peggy could tell Angie was trying to play off her embarrassment. "Well, someone who does as much as you do deserves to have a bit of an ego."
"You are not nearly as intimidating as people have made you out to be."
"I can be if you wish."
"No. No, I mean I saw you be the woman I've been made to believe you are with that creep back there but I was told that you were always hard faced. That you were ruthless with everyone."
"I feel like you have a point here?"
Angie gave a little shrug. "I dunno, you're just different from what I expected."
"You had expectations?" Peggy raised her eyebrows, partially in surprise, partially teasingly.
"Of course. When you're going to be stationed at a camp with the great Peggy Carter you wonder what it would be like to meet her."
"And am I living up to expectations?"
"No," Angie admitted, noticing the look of disappointment that crossed Peggy's face. "This you is better than the you I had in my head."
"Well, that's somewhat comforting." Peggy glanced over Angie's shoulder when she saw the already dim lights of the camp get dimmer. "We should head back. Colonel is probably already there waiting for me."
"At this hour?"
"It is more than likely, yes." Peggy nodded her head in the direction of the camp, slowly walking with Angie beside her.
The women walked in silence, Peggy just taking comfort in having someone with her, someone who wasn't there out of fear.
"Lieutenant Carter," Colonel greeted them as they entered the main tent. He briefly eyed Angie, nodding his head towards the door. "If you don't mind, miss, this has nothing to do with you."
Angie wanted to roll her eyes but she refrained from doing so, clenching her jaw as she made her way back out of the tent.
"Was she wearing your jacket, Carter?"
"She was, sir, I will be sure to get it from her when we are through here."
The man gave her one stiff nod, motioning for her to take a seat.
Peggy was exhausted after the barrage of questions she has received from the colonel, who made it more than apparent that he thought it was her fault those men were killed, and she had never been more thankful to get back to her quarters and just relax on her own.
Except she wasn't alone.
When she entered her room Angie shot up from her place in the arm chair in the corner of Peggy's room. "I just realised you are a lieutenant, should I have been saluting you this entire time?"
"Only men in uniform should salut me," Peggy sighed, running on hand over her face.
"That bad?"
"He made it more than apparent that the force is blaming me for the lose of those men." Peggy admitted, throwing her arms up in frustration, ignoring the pain in her shoulder. "He's fucking loving it, too. All of them are. They're just jumping at the chance to drag my name through the mud."
"But it's not your fault."
"That doesn't matter to them."
"I'm sorry, what are they gonna do?" Angie asked, slowly walking over to stand in front of Peggy.
"Nothing. The only reason he asked me in there was to make a fool out of me. To make me seem inadequate."
Angie tentatively took ahold of Peggy's shaking hands, making the lieutenants eyes snap up to her. "Don't let them have the satisfaction of getting you in this state."
Peggy released a long breath through her nose, chewing on her rosy bottom lip as she stared over Angie's shoulder, waiting until she had calmed down a little before she looking back into Angie's eyes. "What are you doing here anyway?"
"I still had your jacket and I didn't wanna leave you without painkillers." Angie explained, motioning in the general direction of Peggy's desk where the painkillers were. "I also thought you might need to talk to someone. I'm a good listener."
"There really isn't much to talk about and it's been a long day, I honestly just want to get to bed."
"Oh, right, yeah. Of course." Angie nodded, looking somewhat embarrassed as she tried to move away from Peggy but Peggy kept her in place by gripping a little tighten on the nurses hands.
"But, since I have been ordered to take time off for a little while, you could stop by whenever you're off." Peggy offered, a ghost of a smile on her lips as she raised her eyebrows at Angie. "I could use the company."
"Ok. I get off work at seven tomorrow, is that ok?" Angie asked unsurely.
"Yes, that's fine." Peggy assured, "Thank you for walking with me and I'm sorry for how that arse spoke to you."
"It's not your job to apologise for him. Now, let me give you your painkillers, these will tide you over for at least five hours. If the pain gets to much after that just head over to the medical wing, one of the girls there will be able to help you out."
"What time do you start?"
"Seven," Angie answered, grinning knowingly up at Peggy.
"I think I can hold off until then."
"If you feel like you must." Angie chuckled, walking over to Peggy's desk and picking up the little bottle of pills, popping open the top and shaking two onto her palm. "I'll get you some water."
"There's no need." Peggy assured, placing one hand on the back of Angie's and twisted the woman's hand so the pills rolled into Peggy's other hand.
Angie watched, somewhat impressed, when Peggy knocked back the pills and swallowed them without water.
"Are you trying to impress me, English?" Angie teased with a little grin, picking up her jacket from Peggy's bed, sliding her arms into the sleeves.
"Can I walk you to your quarters?"
"It's almost midnight, no one will be around."
"The fact that it is almost midnight is exactly the reason I wish to walk you to your quarters."
Angie fixed the lapels on her jacket as she eyed Peggy curiously. "That would be nice, thank you."
Peggy nodded, moving to open the door and motioning for Angie to leave first.
Angie flashed Peggy a bashful little smile, pulling her coat a little tighter around herself as she walked out into the chilly air.
"You have a fella waiting for you back in England? Or a fella out there fighting?" Angie asked, peering up at Peggy as she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jacket.
"I don't. Do you?" Peggy asked, watching Angie as she shook her head. "Not from lack of suiters, I'm sure."
"If by suiters you mean creepy men hitting on me at the diner than sure, the list is endless." Angie scoffed, turning look at Peggy when she reached to door to her sleeping quarters, crossing over her ankles as she looked up at the woman. "Men are creeps, English."
"You don't have to tell me that, Miss Martinelli, I am more than aware of the fact."
"I will see you tomorrow." Angie smiled, moving swiftly to kiss Peggy's cheek before quickly ducking into her quarters with a quiet; "Night, lieutenant Carter."
"Yes, goodnight." Peggy murmured to the closed door, a little grin appearing on her lips when her brain finally caught up with what had just happened.
"Are you still out there, English?"
Peggy startled at the voice that came from behind the door. "No,"
"You realise that by answering me you've proven that you're out there."
"Goodnight, Miss Martinelli." Peggy replied, turning and leaving before she could hear the no doubt obnoxious reply, heading back to her room with a grin on her face.