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He knew he was goading her. And he knew it could all blow up in his face, but this was a long time coming and he wanted Peggy to admit it. He wanted her to admit that when presented with a choice of saving his life or successfully completing the mission, she chose to save him. Despite her insistence of the mission always coming first, she had chosen him.

It all started when Wilkes had held a gun on them. Daniel was more then prepared to hold his ground and stop Wilkes from aiding Ms. Frost. However, when Wilkes held the gun on Peggy, the world stopped for Daniel. He had no choice, but to put his gun down. He wouldn't be the reason Peggy got hurt. He couldn't be the reason Peggy got hurt, he would never be able to forgive himself. So, Daniel put his gun down and told Wilkes where he and Whitney could find the real uranium.

Peggy later yelled at him for choosing her over the mission. When he asked her if she would have done the same for him, the look Peggy gave him made him doubt that she would have chosen to save him. The SSR was Peggy's life and it seemed that she wasn't going to allow any personal feelings (if she had any for him) to interfere with her duty. Peggy's dubious response truly made Daniel stop and think about his priorities, but in the end Daniel knew he would always chose to save Peggy.

When Peggy chose to run into the warehouse to find Wilkes, despite his betrayal and the threat of the bomb and the zero matter, Daniel couldn't help but think that maybe he had it all wrong. It seemed that Peggy was willing to compromise a mission to save someone, just not him. Peggy holding a gun on Thompson to stop him from detonating the bomb only supported Daniel's new suspicions. Wilkes miraculous survival and Peggy's quick forgiveness of everything he had done was just another nail in the coffin of Daniel's feelings and another confirmation that maybe Peggy's feelings weren't as strong as his.

Somehow, and Daniel did not know how it happened, he and Wilkes were paired together as everyone worked to build a new gamma cannon and a rift generator. Daniel kept all talking to a minimum, only really interacting with Wilkes as they passed tools back and forth and held components for each other. When Wilkes attempted to apologize, Daniel didn't want to hear any of it. He was willing to blame the zero matter for Wilkes' behaviour, but Wilkes admitted to being in full control of himself and his actions. Daniel then took that as permission to ask why Wilkes had aimed the gun at Peggy.

"It was a matter of probability. I knew you would put the gun down because that's what I would have done."

And there it was. They both knew that each of them had feelings for Peggy. Though neither of them truly knew where Peggy's feelings lay.

The action that showed Daniel that maybe Peggy wasn't all about the mission in regards to him came when the rift gained too much strength and the remote malfunctioned, Daniel didn't wait around as everyone stated why they should be the one to enter the danger zone and manually operate the generator. He grabbed a prop water hose and tied it to a lamp post before tying it to himself and hobbling toward the generator. He ignored Peggy's shouts when she finally realized what he had done and he yelled at Stark and Wilkes to get working.

It took all his strength to get the handle on the generator turning, but he did. However, the rift kept gaining power and soon Daniel found himself being lifted off the ground. He felt the tension from the hose around his waist slacken, indicating that it was coming loose from the lamp post. Daniel held onto the handle tighter, but he knew it was only a matter of time before the rift pulled him in.

Daniel had known the risks when he had taken it upon himself to approach the rift generator. He just hoped that everyone else would be alright and that they would get the rift closed. He felt his grip on the handle slipping and so he looked up, hoping to catch a final glance of Peggy, safe on the other side of the line. His heart stopped as his eyes found hers where she was gripping the other end of the hose as the force of the rift's pull dragged her closer to the danger zone. As her feet slipped that much closer Stark grabbed onto Peggy's waist and helped to pull. Soon Wilkes was grabbing Stark and Thompson was grabbing Wilkes and the four of them were fighting against the pull of the rift, to save him.

Daniel's hands were finally ripped from the generator's handle and the lose of that secondary anchor brought Daniel closer to the rift and dragged the others right up to the line. He yelled for them to let go. Trying to save his life was not worth four people risking theirs.

"Carter thats an order. Let go. Get that cannon working," yelled Daniel over the rushing wind.

Peggy didn't let go. Nor did any of the others. Daniel looked away, unable to watch Peggy needlessly sacrificing her life to try to save his. While looking down he missed Jarvis and Samberly driving up and prepping Stark's hover car to fly into the rift and explode. He only noticed something was going on when there was an explosion right above his feet and the force pulling him up disappeared, leaving him to free fall and almost bash his head into the generator before landing in the dust. He vaguely registered the coughing and groaning from the others as he realized he was fine. He hadn't been pulled into the rift.

Daniel lifted himself onto his elbows to look to see if Peggy was alright. He was met with a glare from a dusty Peggy. She was fine. Daniel spared a quick glance at the generator to see how close his head had come to smashing into it before he collapsed back into the dirt.

A couple days later found Daniel back in his office finishing up the paperwork from the whole Isodyne case. Peggy, and her suitcases, had joined him in his office as she finished her own report. It was as all the paperwork was signed and Peggy was preparing to walk out the door that Daniel jumped on his chance to confront Peggy about her actions.

He knew he was goading her. And he knew it would probably all blow up in his face, but he wanted Peggy to admit it. He wanted her to admit that when presented with a choice of saving his life or successfully completing the mission, she chose to save him. Despite her insistence of the mission always coming first, she had chosen him. This long going argument was finally coming to a head.

As Peggy advanced on him Daniel braced himself for what he believed to be an epic smack. What he received was so much more. Peggy grabbed onto him and dragged him flush against her body as her lips fused to his. Daniel's brain barely registered what was going on, but the rest of his body did. His hands came up to grip Peggy's waist and his tongue battled hers as she dominated the kiss. Daniel collapsed into his chair taking Peggy with him, their lips never parting. As they separated a few moments later for some much needed air, Daniel stared in wonder at her.

"Good point," was all Daniel could manage with a small smile.

Peggy gave him a stunning grin as she sat in his lap and latched her lips to his again. This time Daniel was ready for her and gave as good as he got.

Neither of them noticed Rose as she peeked into the chief's office to tell Peggy that Chief Thompson was on the phone to confirm him driving her to the airport. When she saw the two of them a broad grin spread across her face and she quietly closed the door, leaving the two in peace. Rose had a skip in her step as she returned to her desk and informed Chief Thompson that Agent Carter would be extending her vacation a bit longer and that there was no need for him to stop by the office or to inquire as to the sudden change of plans.