Chapter 7.
Peggy smiled down at her daughter.
The forged paperwork, thanks to Howard Stark, was complete. Natasha's new biography had been created. She was now, Natasha Elizabeth Carter, and no one (God willing) would be able to legally take her away from Peggy.
It had taken the redhead all of 10 minutes for her to to get use to calling Peggy mommy. It was as if she had just been waiting for permission from the brunette. And oddly enough, or maybe not, Peggy found making the mental shift of thinking of the child as her daughter was not difficult at all.
The little redhead was skipping, and chatting away happily in English about her day, about her lessons, and pretty much anything else that popped into her head. It was difficult to believe that one month ago the redhead had been abandoned, and left for dead. Or that she had been terrified of everyone that wasn't Peggy. Natasha still clung to the agent, preferred the woman's company, and affection above all others. But, the child could go to her makeshift classes, whilst the brunette went to work in a different building without there being a panic attack on Natasha's part.
(They ate all their meals together though. And Peggy had even managed to acquire a small hot plate where she cooked their breakfast.)
'Sweetheart, what's your name?'
It was a little game they played when they were alone. She needed to get Natasha used to her new biography, so she could rattle off the information as if it were all true.
(If only getting rid of her accent was that easy.)
So Peggy asked her daughter for her full name, her DOB, who her mother was, and who her father was.
'He died in the war, before I was born,' she replied sad-eyed.
It had been decided, in the interest of safety, to not advertise to the world that Steve was Natasha's father. So, instead of having her last name be Rogers, it was Carter. And her father, for all intents and purposes, was just some poor unlucky soldier who died defending their country.
'Very good, Nattie,' Peggy praised. She opened the door to the mess hall, and they both stepped in. It was still a little early for dinner, so the the hall was barely a third full. The people there either grabbing a late lunch before going off duty, or an early dinner before going on duty.
Natasha was first to notice Howard Stark, and Private Lorraine sitting near the back, and she nearly dragged her mother to them.
'Easy, sweetheart! You nearly pulled your mum's arm out of its socket.'
'I'm sorry Mommy,' the redhead replied, her face filled with contrition. 'Are you okay? Did I really hurt you?'
Peggy bent down, and kissed the little girl's cheek, so she knew the brunette wasn't really angry with her. 'I'm fine, Natasha. Just be careful, okay? Remember, you're a very strong little girl.'
Duly chastised, the child nodded, and hurried to where her godparents were. The brunette stared at the three for a few moments, rotated her shoulder to make sure it really was okay, and then went to join them.
She was not exaggerating. As the little redhead was enjoying regular meals, sleeping patterns, and overall safety, her augmentations were becoming more pronounced. She was nowhere near Steve's level (Thank God!), but the little girl had to be careful that she didn't accidentally hurt someone in her youthful exuberance. Her senses were also experiencing a growth spurt. There were times when the base-camp was so loud that it was physically painful to Natasha, or someone wore a little too much cologne or perfume causing her to retch.
Hence, the early dinnertime.
'Uncle Howard! Uncle Howard! You're back, I missed you,' the child exclaimed as she climbed onto his lap, and hugged him. 'Did you get me a present!'
'Natasha! Don't be greedy,' Peggy admonished.
Howard laughed, and gave the little girl a peck on the cheek before seating her next to him.
'Of course I did,' he responded, ignoring the brunette. He pulled out crayons, and a sketchpad, and placed them in front of the child.
The little redhead's mouth formed an O as she touched her presents reverently. It was as if there was a small part of her that still found it difficult to believe her luck, even as the the child reveled in the attention.
'Thank-you Uncle Howard,' Natasha said. And the sun had a rival in the way her smile lit up her face. 'Look mommy.'
Peggy couldn't help but smile at her daughter's enthusiasm for something as simple as paper and crayons. 'When we get home we'll give them a try, okay? Til then, what do we do with our toys?'
Natasha promptly put them to the on the seat next to her, and received a nod of approval from Peggy. Howard on the other hand was not so lucky. He received a withering look from the agent.
'You are spoiling my child.'
'I'm her godfather. I'm required by law to spoil her. It's in the constitution, or maybe the bible.'
The brunette quirked an eyebrow. 'I'm familiar with both, and I can tell you nowhere in either is anything about godparents.' and here she paused to include Gail, who merely smiled at her innocently. 'spoiling their godchild.'
Howard smiled up at her, his face the picture of benevolence. He, Gail, and Steve were the only people on base who could withstand Peggy's withering looks, and barbed tongue and remain nonplussed.
'You do know, no matter what you say, or how much you complain, I'm going to spoil her,' he said. He took out a gold case, and opened it to reveal expensive cigarettes. He offered one to each of the women: Peggy declined, Gail accepted. Natasha crinkled her nose at the scent, and asked for one.
She was flatly refused.
'If it makes you feel better,' the blonde said between puffs of smoke. 'You can always think of this as an investment in our little . . . play.' Which for some reason was how Private Lorraine referred to their subterfuge.
'Exactly,' Howard said. (And weren't the two of them just the coziest things, Peggy thought.) 'Steve was a very good artist, it only makes sense that his child would also share his interest in drawing.'
'And she'll learn fine motor skills,' Gail said.
Peggy shook her head in exasperation. She had a feeling, she was going to hear a lot of these silly justifications for them buying her daughter presents. Though they did (not that she'd ever admit it out loud) have a point.
'I'm going to get us dinner. Try not to teach my daughter too many of your horrible vices in the meanwhile.'
'I make no promises, Peggy,' Howard called at her retreating back.
(Decades latter she'll look back at these moments, and wonder how the same man who would have moved heaven and earth for her daughter could be so cold to his own son.)
The brunette returned to their table several minutes later with two dinners. She cut up the Salisbury steak into bite-size pieces, and placed in front of Natasha before tucking into her own meal. It was then that she noticed that Howard was looking at her, and silently chuckling.
'Something amuses you, Stark?'
'A lot of things amuse me, Carter. But I just never thought I'd see the day the great, and illustrious Agent Peggy Carter would be cutting mystery meat for a child. Never mind her child.'
The brunette agent smirked. 'We live in a world of marvels, don't we? And I'm just as surprised at you at the turn of events.'
'Speaking of which,' Howard said. He reached into his jacket and pulled out two objects. One he unfolded to reveal a check with Peggy's name on it. The other was a small savings book with Natasha's name in it. 'Consider them very, very late shower gifts.'
Gail craned her neck to look at the check, and then snuck a peek inside the savings book. She knew what he was going to be doing, but she had no idea at how generous his gifts were going to be.
The blonde whistled. 'I don't think I've ever seen that many zeros in one place in my life.'
'Howard,' Peggy admonished. She gathered the two items and pushed them toward the millionaire. 'This is way too generous, even for you.'
'It's my money, I'll do what I want with it. And if I want to help my poor old widowed friend, then that's my decision.'
Private Lorraine stifled a laugh, and Peggy leveled a look at both of them.
'It's still too much.'
The brunet male sighed, and grasped the agent's hand. He called her stubborn, and too proud for her own good as he pried her fist open, and placed his gifts into her palm.
'Winter is coming, Peggy. She's going to need more than a few donated poplin dresses to get her through it. And she may not be growing at the same rate as other children her age, but she will need new clothes at some point. And I'm sure you'll want to buy her books, and toys, and . . .'
'All right, all right. I see your point,' the agent said with a frown. 'My agent's salary was not meant to support two people.'
'It wasn't meant to support one person,' Gail groused.
'If it makes you feel better, think of it as a . . . signing bonus, like in the major leagues.'
'Signing bonus? For what?'
Gail and Howard exchanged cryptic smiles, before turning to the brunette.
'Let's just say that I'm working on something,' Howard finally responded. 'Something big. Something I'm sure you'll want to be a part of.'
