When she woke up the next day, Peggy's mind was divided in two.
On one hand, one of her workmates has been seriously injured and world probably never go back to field work. Even though everyone had her back and did not bear a grudge against her for what happened, a small tinge of guilt was still there. The guilt was never easy to snap out of, as Peggy knew far too well. Still, she had to speak to Daniel herself, but for now he was in a coma, so that had to wait.
Looking to her right, she saw Angie sleeping soundly beneath the covers. And that is where the second part of her mind was drifting to – the feelings of affection and companionship. The kisses they exchanged yesterday still lingered in the mind, giving the feeling of a sweet tinge in the otherwise bitter day. Suddenly, Peggy stated thinking about the future laying ahead of her. She had those thoughts sometimes, but this time, she felt she wouldn't be alone. That there would be a person standing next to her, through thick and thin, until the end.
Angie.
With that picture in mind, she left the apartment feeling far more positive. Her first stop before work was, of course, the hospital.
When she approached the waiting room, she felt her heart beat a little bit faster. Questions started appearing in her mind – what if they changed their minds? What if they throw her out? She didn't have time to ponder, and quickly pressed the door handle, walking inside.
The view made her chuckle slightly. Dugan was sprawled on the couch, asleep, his mouth wide open. Thompson was napping, laying on the side in one of the armchairs, while Clint was busy with his phone. He looked up and greeted her with a simple
"Hello, boss."
"Hi, Clint" Peggy responded, her tone as neutral as possible "How was the night?"
"Long." he responded, his voice tired "He's still asleep, that's all I know. They say they will try to wake him up as fast as they can, but they guarantee nothing."
"And what about Dooley?"
"He came here for a moment. I think he was still a bit shocked. He asked how you were, how Sousa was and then left."
"I can bet he has a lot on his head right now." Peggy retorted. "With Leviathan crumbling down, trying to bite back. I bet Phillips is giving him a bit of an earful as we speak."
Clint chuckled. In the corner of her eye Peggy saw Dugan turn to the side in his sleep.
"Just so you know, I don't blame you for this. You made a call that was best in the situation we were in. The fact that it didn't go as we planned… well, you can't control everything, can you?"
Peggy nodded silently, feeling slightly relieved.
"I have to go to the station." she said, after a moment of silence. "Keep me informed."
"Sure thing."
The station felt busier than ever. Officers and civilians darted in and out, as phones were being picked up and instructions were passed along. Peggy walked past the main desk and strolled upstairs towards the office. On the way, she exchanged a few gazes with other co-workers – they were mainly sympathetic. When she reached her office, she sat down at her desk and began to sort out the necessary paperwork. An hour into her shift, she heard the door being opened. It was Dooley, looking extremely tired. Their eyes met, but no words were exchanged. Dooley moved into his office, locking the door from the inside and closing the shutters.
At the end of the shift, Peggy felt uncertain. Dooley did not go out of his office at all, not even during the lunch break. His lack of willingness to talk to Peggy scared her slightly. While she knew now her team was behind her, she could not be that certain about that from her commander.
Right then, the door to Captain's office swung open. Dooley exited the room and moved towards Peggy's desk, grabbing a chair from one of the other desks. He then placed it to the right of Peggy and sat down. It was then that Peggy saw that he hadn't had much sleep – if any.
"Carter." he said, his voice strained.
"Yes, Captain" she answered, automatically.
"There's a lot of talking about you upstairs, you know." Peggy's heart sank. Was this it? Was this the end of her career in the NYPD?
"Sir, I.." she tried to respond, but Dooley's raised hand stopped her from continuing.
"Let me finish, Lieutenant." she obeyed. "Yes, yesterday was tough, and the top brass know that and have already acknowledged it. However, they were actually impressed with how you've been running things here for all those years. And while what happened to Sergeant Sousa is tragic, they are overall impressed with the Leviathan dismantle, which happened in no small part thanks to you."
Peggy felt relief wash over her. She never actively sought recognition, regardless if it was in the military of in the police, but hearing such words did calm her down at she actually felt proud of what she was able to achieve.
"Thank you, sir" she mouthed, slightly more relaxed.
"Don't thank me, thank yourself. Now, the brass decided all of you will need some breathing space. We're putting you on the backburner for now, until we figure out what to do. Is that OK with you?"
She waged her options for a while. At first, she wanted to decline the offer and just go back to work as fast as possible. Then, however, she thought of Dugan, Clint, Thompson and Angie. How would they react? The three men needed some downtime after the horrible news hit and Angie would most likely not be pleased with Peggy spending more time at the station than at home.
"Yes, sir." she answered, sternly.
"Good. You're dismissed."
The call came to her at night, a few days later. The shrill of the ringtone woke both Peggy and Angie up. Peggy quickly picked up the phone and answered. It was Thompson.
"Marge, he's awake." he said, his tone hopeful.
"I'll be there as fast as I can." she responded, before ending the call.
"English, what is it?" Angie asked, her voice sleepy.
"It's Daniel, he just woke up. I have to go, I'm sorry." Peggy answered, already on her feet.
"It's okay." Angie responded, turning to her side. "Just come back for breakfast." she said, grinning.
"Can't miss one of the best parts of the day." Peggy said, kissing her on the forehead.
She was back in the hospital in no time. She raced up the stairs, not wanting to wait for the elevator. Finally, she reached the waiting room, but found it empty.
"The gentlemen went to see the officer." A nurse sitting in the room said. "Room 504"
"Thank you."
Soon, Peggy entered the room. Sousa was lying on the bed with his back upright. When he saw Peggy, she could see a faint smile on his lips.
"Hey there, Lieutenant. Good to see you." he said, his voice a bit raspy.
"Even better to see you awake." she responded, with happiness in her voice.
"His first question after he woke up was 'Where's Peggy?', you know." Dugan said, smirking. For a second Peggy thought Sousa was blushing.
"That's true." Clint chimed in. "And don't even try to deny it".
"I didn't say I'd deny it!" Sousa exclaimed, in faux-rage. "But it really is good to see you."
"So, how is it?" Peggy asked, with a slight tremble.
Sousa took a deep breath.
"Well, phantom pain is the worst. Aside from the fact that I will never be able to into the field with you all again."
Silence enveloped the room. Peggy then broke it, her voice quiet and low.
"Daniel, I'm so sorry…"
"No, Peggy, don't be. What has happened happened and you can't do anything about it. It's not your fault. I actually wanted to thank you. And Thompson. And all of you in fact."
"For what?" she asked, feeling slightly better.
"For saving my life. And for finally removing the excuse of not being able to fit a wooden leg for my pirate costume at Halloween."
After that, the room burst into laughter. Slightly teary-eyed one, but laughter nonetheless.
The next few weeks passed quickly. Daniel was released from hospital just a week after he woke up, now walking with a prosthetic and a crutch. Thanks to Peggy and Dooley, he wasn't discharged from the force, but instead moved to a cosy desk job. The whole team received praise and commendations for their efforts from Chief Phillips himself. Overall, work life seemed to go back on the right track after the upset.
Which made the fact that Peggy was growing an even steadier bond with Angie even better, he two women finally finding their feelings for each other after a long period of skirting around. Soon, Peggy was certain of one thing – she wanted to spend rest of her life with Angie, everything be damned.
The evening was fairly warm and cloudless. Lights of the big city blinded out most of the stars, but a few especially bright ones could be seen in the night's sky. Peggy admired the clear sky for a second, before hearing a sweet voice.
"English, you going or what?"
Peggy let out a quiet sigh before joining Angie, putting her arm around her waist. They started their stroll towards the apartment. The evening was fun for both of them – a girl's night out through and through, with a nice dinner, a few drinks and an entertaining movie to top it off. A celebration for Angie's new role, full-on Broadway, but not as the lead (not like it mattered for now, anyway).
Peggy's plans went further than that. Soon, both women reached the apartment. Right after entering, Peggy quickly closed the door, ordered Angie to stay where she was and darted towards the bedroom. Angie didn't say anything, although she was curious what the English woman had in store for her tonight.
Right after reaching the bedroom, Peggy quickly opened the small drawer in her nightstand. She quickly picked up the small, velvet box. When she grasped it, she felt her hand shiver a little, and soon her heartbeats became louder. She thought fast – she grabbed the bottle of schnapps standing on the dresser and took a big swig. Her tremble subsided, and soon she was back near the door, her hands behind her back.
"English, what are you doing?" Angie asked, stifling a giggle.
"Angie…" Peggy started, but soon stress overtook her and she didn't finish, her gaze drifting to her feet.
Bugger, why does it have to be so difficult?
"English, what are you hiding there?"
"I…I…" Peggy tried to at least spit out a sentence, but that made her even more flustered.
"Peggy, please say something."
Oh, to hell with all this nonsense.
She quickly lurched forward and pulled Angie in for a kiss. The younger woman squeaked in surprise, but quickly recovered, reciprocating eagerly and sensually. After a while they broke apart, Peggy taking a step back.
"English, what is this all about?"
Instead of answering Peggy, knelt down on one knee and pulled the hand with the box from behind her back, opening it. Angie covered her mouth, opening her eyes as wide as she could, looking at the ring inside the box.
"Angela Martinelli." Peggy finally spoke, her voice filled with emotion "Will you marry me?"
At first Angie didn't say anything, trying to process what was happening. After a second, she suddenly saw a tear, flowing out of Peggy's eye. That quickly brought her mind back to work.
"Yes" she said, her voice filled with happiness and truthfulness. "Yes, English". she repeated, seeing Peggy smile.
For Peggy, it was the happiest moment she could ever remember. After she slipped a ring onto Angie's finger, she got back up and kissed her again. It was long and filled with hope, love and affection.
Suddenly, Peggy felt all pieces of the puzzle neatly falling into all the right places.