As promised, here's the first chapter of the sequel to my Captain America/Agent Carter crossover, "Pieces of the Whole." I would suggest going back first and reading that if you haven't already. Enjoy!

February, 1947

Peggy Carter wasn't the type to complain, and she wasn't doing it now – not complaining, that was. Complaining took verbalization, and she was keeping her complaints quite to herself today, so what she was doing could probably be considered… sulking, instead. It wasn't like she didn't have fair reason to do so, though! Not even two months ago, one of her soulmates had been shot – by one of her two missing soulmates, which was another story with its own set of agonies entirely – and Jack had since been declared unfit to continue working as the director of the SSR, which wounded her – and Jack Thompson – thoroughly enough on its own. Then there was the small matter of Jack's temporary – thank God – replacement.

If he called her a pet name one more time, she was going to show him exactly how not-sweet she could be and then trust Howard to get her job back for her when she was fired for hurting a superior. She hadn't been treated this badly in the office since her husband had started running it, and she was just about ready to go up the walls with her boredom! If only Agent Flynn would give her one chance to prove herself, she wouldn't have to endure any more codes and data for awhile – or at least until Jack's permanent replacement was found.

That was the exact thought on her mind when she took on the after-hours mission that came through. She could prove herself – and if she couldn't… well then, Howard had sufficient pull in the SSR if she got herself into too much hot water…

And, boy, did he ever use it! She thought gleefully as she walked out of the SSR with her head held high the next day. Howard wanted her in Washington, D.C. – to run what the genius was now calling SHIELD.

SHIELD! The name was one of the first updates that she knew Howard had in mind for the SSR, but he'd somehow managed to leave out the fact that he wanted her to help run the organization! They were going to have a discussion about that little omission very soon!

As she walked to the elevator, she was surprised when Daniel and Jack came out of the respective offices they'd been assigned because of the shifting that came with Jack's demotion.

She raised her eyebrow at the expressions of the smiling men who stayed a step behind her, but didn't speak until the elevator doors had closed behind the trio. "You knew this was coming, didn't you?"

"Eddie warned us a little something nice might be happening soon," Daniel admitted sheepishly, taking one of her hands as Jack snagged the suitcase she'd carried with her and held onto it and her now-free hand.

"Hm, I'll have to have words with him about that soon."

"Sooner than you'd think, maybe?" Jack asked knowingly.

"Why? What else do you know?" she asked her husband.

He shrugged. Daniel dropped her hand from his own the moment before the elevator doors slid open again and Jack tugged her happily into the street outside the "telephone company" – where Eddie was waiting for them with a car door open and a cheeky grin on his face.

"Congratulations, Miss Carter," he said cheerfully.

Just to sass the man who was Howard's butler and one of her seven soulmates, Peggy opened the passenger side door and slid in, declaring, "That's 'Agent Carter', thank you!"

"Actually," Jack corrected, getting in the back with Daniel. "I think it's 'Director Carter' now, isn't it?"

Peggy's smile widened as she repeated, "Director Carter. Peggy Carter, director of SHIELD. I like it!"

"SHIELD?" Eddie repeated curiously, as he got into the driver's seat and pressed the gas pedal. "Isn't that Mr. Stark's new title for the SSR?"

Peggy nodded, offering, "I think he likes it because it reminds him of Steve."

"To my knowledge that is part of it, yes," Eddie confirmed. "He has seemed especially focused on finding Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes since the latter… popped back up. He's not having any such luck, I'm afraid."

"Then we'll have to see about getting him…" Peggy trailed off, uncertain of how to phrase what she wanted to say.

Eddie supplied evenly, "Stable."

Peggy nodded and took the hand that the butler had been resting against his thigh, looking around at their passing surroundings and purposely changing the subject as she asked, "This isn't the way back to our house; where are we going?"

"Anna and Angie are going to have the house to themselves for a week," Eddie revealed as if this news were nothing unusual. "The four of us are going to Mr. Stark's private airstrip and then taking a plane to Washington."

"So that's why he didn't ask you to come with him when he left for DC himself;" Peggy mused. "You all already knew that you'd be coming along in two days' time anyway!"

"We did," Jack answered saucily.

Peggy rolled her eyes, teasing dryly, "I hate the lot of you."

"Well, we love you," Eddie reminded her, kissing her knuckles without ever even taking his eyes off of the road.

"And, you know," Jack pointed out, "For a woman who is surrounded by people she hates, you sure are smiling an awful lot."

"I'm allowed to smile;" Peggy objected, getting even more excited as the reality of the words about to come out of her mouth began to sink in as she said, "I'm becoming a bloody co-director of SHIELD!"

That day was one of the proudest times in Peggy's life, even one of what one might call her high points and it changed her entire world. She took over Jack's old position and more as the agency expanded, and as far as she could within a job such as hers, she established a routine life. That routine wasn't broken for decades – until the late eighties when time caught up with her and her soulmates began to pass away.