The moment before the crash is the most terrifying of his life. He's in the middle of his sentence to Peggy, concentrating on communicating his love to her, when half of his mind does a mental freak-out as the ground is suddenly in his face through the windshield (can the massive window in front of a flying ship really be classified as a windshield? a tiny part of Steve's brain wonders) and he thinks (with the bigger part of his brain), I might actually die.

Then there's a resounding boom and a jaw-shattering shock and the communication cuts out just as Steve's brain does the same.

When he comes to a moment later, another mental freak-out happens while the scrawny kid from Brooklyn is in charge of his faculties. He can hear someone yelling and remembers it's him just as icy water breaks over his feet and he realizes he's still alive, though the situation is starting to look worse by the minute. The ship is sinking fast, with Steve inside, and as Peggy's face flashes across is his mind (the last time he saw her, with her lips soft and her face flushed with their kiss) he resolves that there is no way on Earth he is going to let her go to that bar alone next Saturday.

Now Captain America is in charge of his mind and springs into action. The shield is located, and his quick mind seeks out an exit as the ship continues to crash around him. As he climbs upward through the rubble he is nearly submerged in the coldest water he's ever felt, and feeling it come up to his face he takes a deep breath. With superhuman effort (and since that's what he is, can we expect anything less?) and unbelievable strength, he fights his way out of the crashing plane and surfaces in the middle of the vastest, coldest ocean he has ever known.

There is nothing to do but swim, and so he takes a moment to consider the position of the sun, his last known coordinates, and the best direction to start a slow and steady stroke.

SRSRSRSRSRSRSRSR

Hearing Steve's voice cut out mid-sentence (one that was humble and self-deprecating and adorable and so Steve) is absolutely the worst moment of Peggy Carter's life. Her heart drops into her stomach. Her eyes spill tears at an alarming rate. And crying out his name more times than she can count will not bring him back.

It takes several agents and an insistent general to get her to leave the console and sit somewhere quiet to cry her heart out. It takes an unusually gentle Howard Stark to get her to go home (or at least, where she was living last in New York) and take some time off. It takes three days to stop crying or moping or staring out the window. And it takes nine days for her to tell herself that no, it is not actually a good idea to go to the Stork Club at eight o'clock on Saturday and yes, she will definitely be there.

After all, an engagement is an engagement and she was not going to stand him up even though it might break her heart.

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It is on the tenth day after the worst moment of her life that Peggy Carter puts on that red dress she remembered Steve staring at, curls her hair in the most attractive way possible, and puts red lipstick over her trembling lips. She's nervous, and hopeful, and depressed, and she feels like crying. But she will not let herself ruin her makeup on her first date with Steve, even though the deepest part of her heart says there will be no date tonight, just a drunk and lonely girl at a club.

The part of her heart that keeps her going is the one that thousands of lovers across time have listened to, the one that says that the smallest hope is better than giving up entirely. It says that Steve promised he would be there, and that even though he's most likely dead and Howard's technology still hadn't found him and there's no way anyone could survive in that ice-cold landscape, he will keep his promise.

Peggy sighed at herself in the mirror. This was going to be a tough evening.

But at 7:40 she got into a cab and headed for the sure-to-be-crowded club.

At 8:05 she ordered her first drink.

At 8:45 she ordered her seventh.

At 9:15 she set her head at the table and sobbed her heart out.

SRSRSRSRSRSRSRSR

It took ten days for Steve to get to New York, and he was exhausted. He didn't even know for how long he had swum until reaching land. He had been extremely lucky, finding people to help him despite the bleak landscape (was that in Greenland?), not getting hypothermia thanks to his constant movement, and managing to head the right direction the whole time. When he realized he was in Canada he cried with relief. He still had to walk to Maine, but once in the US people had recognized him and helped him along faster. Checking a newspaper in New Hampshire his heart stopped as he discovered it was Saturday. Exerting the last of his effort, it is very late when he got into New York City and then he had to get a cab, a hard task with his star-spangled uniform and disc-shaped shield, and extremely disheveled appearance to boot. Finally a cabby pulled up to Steve and appraised him.

"You Captain America?" He said with surprising nonchalance.

"Yeah." said Steve, not having enough energy for anything else.

"Where you goin'?"

"The Stork Club. I'm late for a date."

The cabby looked thoughtful for a minute. "Get in then."

"I don't have any money."

"Well, if I can't give a free ride to the mascot for liberty, I can't call myself an American."

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The club is still crowded and happy and alive at two o'clock in the morning so Peggy decides it's about time to leave. She's cried herself out and Steve's dead and she just wants to go home. Warding off the advances of yet another young man who seems to think that he can cure the woes of the sad girl in the corner, she grabs her coat and purse and heads to the door. When the young man is still following her and saying something about taking her home with him she turns around and points her finger into his chest.

"No." she said, eyes angry despite their swollen state. "I will not go home with you or anyone else. I will not even dance with you because you are not the right partner for me and the one who is…" she trails off partly because her voice is choking up and partly because she's noticed that the club has gotten quiet and nearly everyone is staring towards the open door.

When she turns to see what everyone is looking at, it takes her a full fifteen seconds to register the sight. It is a tall man, with impressive muscles and dirty blond hair. He's wearing a faded star-spangled uniform and carrying a shining shield, appropriate for a costume party - which this club is definitely not. He looks exhausted, there are scars on his face, and he is definitely in need of a good meal. He's leaning against the doorway and staring straight at Peggy with a look that could only be described as one of love.

"Do you think you could try me for a partner?"

Peggy went completely still. "Steve?" she whispers, her voice barely reaching across to him. The club gets moving again, as even his strange appearance isn't that out-of-the-place in New York. The young man who had been following Peggy walks away in disgust and she still feels like she cannot move. Then Steve is walking towards her and she feels herself getting more overwhelmed with each of his steps.

His soft smile and the accompanying words are what break her down and send her into a dead faint:

"I'm sorry I'm late."

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He was nearly to her by then, so Steve moves faster for the next few steps and catches her in her fall. Her body is light and warm against his and he thinks he'll never let her go. Her faint drew the attention of a few clubgoers, so he assures them that she's fine and gently lifts her into his arms, bringing her outside into the cool night air. There's a bench just down the sidewalk so he sits down with her and strokes her hair again and again, looking into her face.

She's been crying and her makeup is smeared and she's maybe had a few too many drinks, but she is the most beautiful woman in the world to him. He revels in the feel of her in his arms and thinks, How could I have missed this.

When she comes to, Peggy can't quite remember what's happened. She knows she feels warm, even though it's cool outside. She knows she feels someone's strong heartbeat next to her and she instinctively holds tighter to Steve. His face is the most beautiful sight she's ever seen.

"You… you were dead," she says to him, her mind still a little numb.

He looks amused. "Not quite. I am here, after all."

She frowns, trying to recall something but his eyes are distracting. "But, you were late."

He faces goes serious. "I know," he says quietly. "And I'm sorry. How can I make it up to you?"

Everything is coming back and suddenly Peggy can't keep her smile in even though she's crying. "Well, you could begin with that dance for starters."

He's grinning too now. "I'm still not quite sure how." He pulls her up and holds her in a dancing position, his arm securely around her waist. They sway for a bit and Peggy cries into his neck, still not sure if this is real.

She sniffles and brings her head up to look at him. "I think you're doing beautifully."

Steve contemplates this for a moment as they continue to dance to the music emanating from the club. It's a slow song, and Steve praises the band's timing. Finally he looks back into Peggy's eyes. "It's only because I have such a beautiful partner, and I guess I'll just keep getting better because she's the only one I'll ever have."

Peggy feels her heart beat faster at Steve's honest look. "Well, I think she's found the right partner too."

He leans down then and kisses her, and Peggy forgets about all she's suffered in waiting. She revels in the feel of him. He's alive, and she's alive, and they'll be able to get through anything.

Because against all odds, they are now together. And nothing will get in the way of that.