Author's Note: The title of this story comes from a sign that I saw a man holding out in front of a church on my way to work the morning after the finale aired. I immediately thought of Don and how I felt he needed to hear those words from someone during that episode.
Peggy Olson was not in a good mood. She hadn't been sleeping and she was having difficulty concentrating on the work she was doing for Chevalier. Everything involving that account made her think of Don. Truth be told, he was reason she was unable to concentrate. It had been six days since she had heard from him, and even though Stan had made a valiant effort to distract her, Don was never far from her mind.
Peggy sighed and decided to try Don's old trick of writing a letter to a fictitious friend, describing the merits of Chevalier cologne when the buzzer on her intercom scared the day lights out of her.
"Ms. Olson, you have a phone call."
"Who is it?" Peggy snapped. "What do they want? I'm in the middle of something."
"The gentleman didn't say."
"Well get this man's name and number and tell him I'll call him back when I get a moment, which will be sometime next week if he's lucky!"
Peggy's secretary hesitated before replying, and Peggy could hear muffled sounds on the other end of the line. "Okay Peggy, whatever you want."
Peggy sighed and attempted to regain her focus but it was no use. She took a deep breath and just as she began typing again she was startled once more by the intercom.
"Ms. Olson?"
"What?" Peggy spat with irritation.
"I really think you should take this call. Trust me."
Peggy sighed with frustration. "Fine. I'm not getting anywhere anyway. Put him through." Peggy lit a cigarette and picked up her phone. "This is Peggy."
"Are you still giving your secretary a hard time? I thought you'd have learned your lesson by now." The deep voice on the other end of the line was unmistakable and Peggy's heart soared.
"Don? Jesus, is it really you? Thank god...you know you scared the shit out of me the other day!"
Don chuckled. "I know. I'm very sorry about that."
Peggy felt a little irritation mixed with immense relief at hearing Don's voice. He sounded a thousand times better than he had when she'd spoken to him almost a week ago. "Where are you?"
"I'm in New York. I needed a few more days to sort myself out, but I'm back home now."
"I'm glad to hear it." Peggy said sincerely. She had been worried sick ever since she had spoken to him and she had felt completely helpless when he'd hung up on her. In her mind she knew there was nothing she could have done since he was thousands of miles away, but it hurt her to know that Don was out there somewhere in pain and that she was powerless to help him.
"So where is your home now? I know you sold your apartment."
"Right now I'm at the Roosevelt until I can get the keys to my new apartment from Meredith. Have you seen her?"
"No. Roger kept her on as a second secretary for a while, but they eventually caught on and put a stop to that. I'm sure you can get her number from Caroline."
"Oh, that's too bad." Don said with genuine feeling. "So, how do you like your new job?"
"Eh, it's okay. McCann is a big place...it's pretty intimidating actually. Stan and I aren't even on the same floor. And my supervisor...don't even get me started on her! I never thought I'd say this, but I actually miss working for you."
Don laughed, "Well, then it's a good thing I called Jim Hobart and begged for my job back and asked to have you assigned to me so we can work on Coke together."
Peggy was stunned. "Are you serious?"
"Yes. I met with him, and after a fair amount of intense groveling, he agreed to take me back...with the stipulation that I never go AWOL again."
"Holy shit!" Peggy exclaimed. "Wait a minute, when did you meet with him?" Peggy asked in confusion.
"A few minutes ago."
"How could that be...where did you say you are?"
"I didn't say, but I'm right outside your office."
"What?"
Peggy's door opened and Don appeared in her doorway as if by magic. Stunned, Peggy hung up her phone and rose up from her desk chair. Don looked essentially the same, although he was tan and his hair and sideburns were longer than she had ever seen them. Don had the good sense to appear contrite as he closed the door and approached her with a guilty smile in his face.
"I should punch you in the nose." Peggy said as she walked towards him with happy tears in her eyes.
"I love you too, Peggy." Don said sincerely. Peggy threw her arms around Don's neck and he squeezed her hard, picking her up off the ground and kissing her cheek affectionately. He then placed her on the ground and continued to embrace her, resting his chin on top of her head. Peggy sighed contentedly and pressed her cheek up against him, reveling in the sound of his heart beating in his chest. She relaxed into Don's embrace as the months of stress and worry melted away. Being in Don's arms felt like home. After a few minutes though, Peggy felt her anger rise and she released herself from Don's arms and poked him hard in the chest.
"You are NEVER allowed to do that to me again, do you hear me? Running away and scaring me like that...do you have any idea how worried I was? It wasn't just me either...Roger, Pete and your secretary were all worried sick about you Don! You can't just do that to people! I really thought you were going to kill yourself when you hung up on me. You need to realize that you are very important to many people. You are loved! You matter! You matter to me." Peggy finished softly, her eyes spilling over with tears.
Don's felt horrible for causing Peggy such distress and he was extremely moved by her speech. "Come here." Don asked quietly. Peggy complied and Don once again drew her into his embrace. His arm cradled her head protectively and he kissed her hair.
"I am so sorry to have put you through that sweetheart. Your friendship means more to me than I could ever say. I will never be able to express my gratitude to you for what you did for me that day. I'm not sure I would even be here today if it weren't for you."
Peggy pulled away so that she could see his face. "What do you mean?"
"You saved my life Peggy. You yelled at me and told me to come home. No one else did that, not even my daughter or ex wife. Your words convinced me that I needed to get my shit together and get my ass back to New York where I belong. I don't want to think about what might've happened if you hadn't taken my call. You have always been my touchstone, my guardian angel Peggy and I will never be able to repay you for that."
"You don't have to Don. I'm just so relieved to see you and know that you're okay. I really thought that I would never see you again, and I couldn't bear that. For better or for worse Don, you are my family and I love you, warts and all."
Don smiled sadly. "I love you too sweetheart."
Peggy smirked, "You do realize that I'm never going to let you out of my sight again?"
"That's what I'm counting on...and it's Dick."
Peggy furrowed her brow in confusion. "What?"
"My real name is Dick."
"I wasn't going to ask. It doesn't matter to me who you were Don, all I care about is who you are now."
"I'm not the same man anymore Peggy. I'm not perfect and I may never be, but I'm going to try to be better. I have to."
"Don, nobody is perfect. We all have done shitty things that we wish we could undo, but we can't and life goes on. That doesn't mean that you forget about them, but you put them in the past and do your best to move forward." Peggy reached up and touched Don's cheek. "Someone very important to me gave me that advice once." Peggy said, smiling affectionately at him.
Don smiled warmly and took Peggy's hand and kissed it and held it close to his heart. He then he looked around her office and surveyed his surrounding. "This isn't such a bad office. It's small but I like what you've done with it." Don then did a double take when he saw a familiar painting on the wall. "Is that Cooper's painting?" Don asked incredulously.
Peggy laughed, "Yes. Roger gave it to me. So what now? Were you serious about Coke?"
"Absolutely. After Jim Hobart raked me over the coals I told him about this idea I had when I was meditating."
Peggy grinned, thinking about the possibilities of working on such a huge account. It took a few seconds for her to comprehend what Don had just told her. "Hold on, you were meditating?"
Don grinned. "I was wondering how long it would take for you to catch that. Come on, let me buy you lunch and we'll discuss the details. I know a dynamite Italian restaurant that serves a first rate veal parm."
~THE END