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Chapter 7
The sun was just coming up when Daniel was finally admitted to the hospital.
The normal Friday morning traffic that was customary for New York had barely begun its slow crawl and Peggy could not help but be stunned by the whole situation. She had been used as bait to lure in the rouge Black Widow. Thompson had known Dottie Underwood was out for revenge and Peggy, being plagued by both guilt and her compassion for her coworker, was to find Daniel.
It had been both a clever plan and a despicable one. Thompson manipulated her and her emotions for Daniel and now she was too angry and too tired to properly think. After all that happened, she was left numb. Daniel had nearly died in that attack. Between being tortured by Dottie, he had been shot accidentally in the firefight when the Black Widow used him as a shield.
It was not a life threatening wound but it was enough to leave him in critical care for the next couple of hours. The rest of the morning felt like a blur. There was the customary debriefing and there was the job of waiting for Daniel to wake up. She had volunteered for the waiting duty; none of the other Agents were willing to do it. It was too early in the morning for them. Only Thompson mentioned that he would come back and visit but that had been many hours ago.
As the hours dragged on, it seemed that Thompson's words were hollow because his only excuse was that he was too busy running the SSR. For someone who initiated this big mess in the first place, it seemed awfully convenient to avoid his two "deputies" when they need him the most.
As she sat in the waiting room, Howard Stark went to sit down beside her. "You should get some sleep, Peggy." He told her gently. "You were up for the whole night rescuing him and you've been through a lot. If you want, I can wait here and I'll wake you if he is ready for any visitors."
The woman sighed and rubbed her eyes sleepily. "I'm aware of how tired I am but that doesn't matter. I just don't want to fall asleep and wake up to find that he died and I didn't say goodbye."
Howard smiled softly. "I have the best doctors looking after your Agent Sousa. They seemed to be very confident of his recovery. In fact, I would not be surprised if he wakes up in a few hours asking about you. You did it Peggy. You brought him home and that is all one could ask for."
Agent Carter nodded and leaned against her friend gratefully. "You have always had my back Howard and I am grateful for that. Even when you caused all that commotion with your bad babies, you still came back. Sometimes I feel that you and Jarvis are one of the few people I can trust. The SSR planned on Daniel being captured, assuming that I'd find him in time. What if I hadn't? Dottie could have killed him! She put him half in the grave already and Thompson wanted to brag to me."
"I suppose it's hard being Chief of the SSR," Howard mused "With all those decisions to make."
Peggy snorted irritably. "If I was the Chief, I wouldn't put our agents' lives in danger! I would not send one man alone to get tortured in the hopes that a Black Widow assassin might give out some valuable information. There has to be a better way and Thompson is a fool for doing this."
Howard grinned. "I think you'd be a swell Chief! You would change the very nature of what it means to be an Agent. Little girls would want to be you and men would be jealous of any person you'd fancy. You would change the world as we know it Peggy and that I would want to see!"
Laughing, Peggy cuffed him gently on the shoulder. "When did you get so corny all of a sudden? As a woman, I am barely recognized as a capable Agent at the SSR, much less a potential candidate to become the new Chief. I doubt Thompson's going to give up his job any time soon."
"That's just what I think." Howard said matter-of-factly. "You have always been smarter than those fatheads anyway. They once tried to arrest me but you knew I want an innocent man."
Peggy rolled her eyes and was about to fire off a retort when a nurse came into the room. She was a young woman, younger than even Peggy and she was smiling softly. "Are you Peggy?" The nurse asked curiously, looking between the two of them. "Mr. Sousa just woke up from his surgery. He seems to be a lot better now and he was asking for you. I assume you're his wife?"
"Um…I'm not-" Peggy began but Howard interrupted.
"She's actually his fiancée!" Her friend said quickly. "She has been worried sick about him."
The nurse nodded understandingly and despite Peggy's protests, the other woman ushered her through. The hospital was fairly quiet and aside from the doctor wandering the long hallways, there weren't many people around. Finally, the nurse opened the door that led to Daniel's room. Peggy took a deep breath and prepared herself mentally for what she would see. But it was okay.
Daniel lay in bed, a new crutch leaning against the wall. His wounds were patched up and when he saw Peggy standing in the doorway, he grinned happily. "Peggy! I'm so glad you came to visit me! After all that's happened I was so worried about you, that maybe you were hurt too."
Peggy glanced at the nurse. "Do you mind if I have some privacy? We have a lot to talk about."
The nurse smiled. "Yes, of course. I will just leave you and your fiancé alone for a moment." As soon as the door shut behind her, Daniel Sousa sat up in bed and looked at Peggy in confusion.
"Why does the nurse think that you're my fiancé?" He asked and was even more confused by her blushing face as she looked down. "Did I say something that put you in this awkward position? I was under a lot of drugs. I know you don't feel the same way and I'm sorry if I said anything."
"It was the only way to see you." Peggy explained quickly. "I had to be family or your wife. It was actually Howard's idea to tell the nurse that I was your fiancé. It made sense I suppose."
Daniel nodded but he was still confused why Peggy's face was so red. "I don't remember much from what happened. The last thing I remember was being used as a shield by the Black Widow and you coming through the doorway. After that, it's a bit of a blur. Were you hurt in the fight? Did the SSR come in time? I told Jack the plan was a stupid. Nobody was supposed to get hurt."
"You got hurt." Peggy said bluntly. "Dottie nearly killed you."
Daniel shrugged. "Yes, but I'm okay now. I really learned a lot from Dottie Underwood. Apparently the Leviathan believes that you are their biggest threat. She was not even bothered by the idea of the SSR coming to arrest her! Her only goal was to kill you, kill me and then kill any other potential threats. Once that was done, Dottie was planning on replacing you in the SSR."
"I knew she wanted to kill me," Peggy mused out loud, "but why would she want to take my place in the SSR? Any other agent would be a lot more useful to replace. I have no real power."
Daniel laughed and shook his head. "You really don't know how special you are, do you? You managed to turn the whole SSR on its head and you never noticed! Thompson knew that you were capable enough to track down Dottie. That's a step up from treating you as a secretary. Even Leviathan is intimidated by you and I believe they have every right to be running scared!"
Peggy looked unconvinced. "Don't exaggerate, I'm nothing special but…thanks. I appreciate the sentiment." For a moment she looked at Daniel thoughtfully, as she stood by his bedside and watched as he looked up at her with his big brown eyes. "In a way, this has been helpful to me."
Daniel nodded. "I don't blame you. I would want to know if Leviathan wanted me dead too."
Peggy shook her head, smiling a shy smile. "No, not that. It's just, before you were taken by Dottie I never realized how much you meant to me. Ever since you asked me to get that drink with you a few days ago, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. I know it's stupid but I really wish I didn't have plans that day. I keep on thinking about all the what ifs and maybes."
Looking at him curiously, Daniel had suddenly gotten really quiet. He was looking at her with disbelief on his face and a bit of hope shining in his eyes. "You were not turning me down?" He asked hesitatingly. "I thought you were just trying to be polite and trying to let me down gently."
"It was just bad timing and I was caught off guard." Peggy explained patiently. "Angie and I were moving into our new home that day and there was a lot of packing involved. The moment I knew you were interested; I felt that maybe…maybe I could have a bit of happiness again. You make me happy Daniel. But if you don't want to go out and get drinks with me, I'd understand."
"Of course I want to!" Daniel said, almost too eagerly. "We can go right out now if you want!"
Peggy laughed. "It's 7:00 in the morning. A bit early, don't you think? How about tomorrow at 5 PM at the Stork Club? Would that be okay instead? Come by my place and we'll go together."
"Alright, that sounds swell." He said with a grin. "It's a date!"
Peggy nodded and after hesitating for a brief moment, she bent over his bedside and kissed him gently on the lips. He leaned into her and she smiled, getting close enough that she was sitting on the bed beside him. She was so close that her hands were intertwined with his and that she could feel his warm breath on her skin. Turning her head towards his, she kissed him again and again, whispering the words. "It's a date" she agreed. "So don't ever worry me like that again Daniel!"
Holding her hands, Daniel looked deep into her eyes. "I wouldn't dream of it!" he said sincerely.
