I'm updating 4 days earlier whaaaat? Well you guys know I mentioned I'm trying to churn out as many chapters as I can before summer ends. And the comments have been such motivators! :))) A lot of people have mentioned they wanted to see a bit more Jarvis, so no worries, you'll all be liking this chapter. I haven't watched S2 of Agent Carter, but I sometimes use clips for inspiration, this chapter is inspired by Episode 7, the car scene with Peggy and Jarvis. :)
"I can't believe I just did that." Peggy muttered to herself as she waved goodbye to the gentlemen that had driven her.
She was pleasantly surprised at how decent the men were. One of them tried asking her if she'd like to go out with them, and after a polite no, they shrugged it off and were nice enough to drop her right in front of the precinct. Once she arrived at her desk, she picked up the receiver to call Angie.
Maybe they could go watch a movie or go bowling, or do something. Whatever it was, she just wanted to take her mind off Jack. She had the rest of the day off so she might as well enjoy it.
"Hello, this is SunnyDale's Theater! How may I help you?"
She sat up once she heard the greeting, "Sorry to disturb miss, but I'm calling for a friend, her name is Angie Martinelli, is she around?"
"Oh, you just missed her honey, she said she was off on a date with some mystery guy."
Peggy arched her brow, her best friend never mentioned she was dating, and knowing Angie she usually gushed endlessly about her infatuations. Maybe it slipped her mind?
Peggy nodded, "Alright, thank you."
She pursed her red lips. Now what?
She snapped her fingers, Howard! Maybe they could find something to do together? He always complained that she spent too much time at work. Which was true, with Howard's busy schedule from working on his inventions, and her at the office, they never really saw each other through the day.
After a few rings, she heard a voice.
"Good Evening, this is Mr. Jarvis speaking."
"Mr. Jarvis, it's so good to hear your voice." Peggy said as she plopped down in her chair in exhaustion, "Is Howard home?"
"No, I'm afraid he's off in an… important meeting, he repeated that under no circumstances must he be disturbed."
Peggy arched her brow, "Howard's been in a lot of meetings lately."
"Perhaps because of the new invention he's been working on lately…Do you need something Ms Carter?"
"Actually, yes," She bit her lip, "I was wondering if you could pick me up from the precinct."
"Whatever for? I thought you usually ended work late."
Peggy massaged her temple, "Chief Thompson dismissed me for the rest of the day."
"How unfortunate."
"Unfortunate indeed." She said under her breath before letting out a sigh.
Thinking about Jack was making her head hurt. But moping around wasn't going to change anything. She shook her head, she had to snap out of it, she wasn't going to let a man control her feelings.
"How about we go an adventure?"
"You don't know how long I've been waiting for you to say that Ms Carter! Hold on, I'm informing Ana about this so she doesn't complain if we come back late. You know my wife, she's so particular on time."
Peggy chuckled as she waited for Jarvis to relay the news, she could tell he was excited. She missed their little detour missions as much as he did.
"So Ms. Carter, what do you propose we do on this grand adventure?"
She picked the form of requirements for hiring that Jack had given her earlier in the day.
"We're going to look for a new secretary to take my old spot. According to Jack, all we need to do is look for someone who has served during the war for a minimum of a year."
"Splendid! Alright, hang tight Ms. Carter, I'll be there as fast as I can."
Before she could reply in thanks the phone clicked. She smiled to herself, what did she do to deserve Jarvis' kind heart?
'''''''''''''
Jarvis was patiently standing in front of his car while staring at his watch. He glanced up with a polite smile, "Good Evening Ms. Carter!"
"Why hello Mr. Jarvis." Peggy replied approaching the car, "You came here quickly."
"Of course I did." Jarvis pipped while opening the door for Peggy. Once she entered, he lowered his head to the window so his head faced hers.
"So, where are we off to?"
"Anywhere away from the S.S.R." She muttered once he closed the door for her.
Jarvis tapped the the hood of the car as he walked to his driver's seat, "Luckily for you, I happen to know where we might be able to find a secretary."
"Heaven knows what I'd do without you Jarvis." Peggy said with a small smile.
"Funny, Mr. Stark mentions that to me almost everyday." Jarvis said with a wink before entering the car. He turned the ignition, "I assume you haven't eaten dinner yet. Ana made a sandwich for you."
Peggy's face lit up, "Really?"
"It's in the back seat."
Just as Jarvis has promised, she spotted a sandwich wrapped in a brown paper. She grabbed it from the back seat and unwrapped the sandwich. The amazing smell of cheese and steak made her close her eyes in bliss.
"Bless that woman's heart." She said after taking a big bite, not didn't realizing how hungry she was.
"Work must have done a number on you today." Jarvis noted, keeping his eyes on the road as he drove.
"You can say that again." She replied before taking another bite of her sandwich.
"Care to explain why I feel like a parent who is picking their daughter up from detention after a bad day at school?"
She let out a sigh, "Because the girl stood up for herself and the the sexist boys in her class didn't like it. So she got in trouble."
Jarvis's lips twitched into a smile at how Peggy was referring to herself in third person. He understandably nodded as her heard her explain what happened on the mission while interjecting, "Yes." "That's terrible." "Well that isn't fair."
"You know, with all you've described, I can't help but think about the saying that when boys pick on girls its either because their afraid of her, or because deep down they have a tiny crush on her."
"That theory is flawed Mr. Jarvis. The agents don't pick on me because they all fancy me." Peggy said with an incredulous laugh.
"Well." Jarvis said briefly glancing at Peggy from the corner of his eye before looking back at the road, "They may not all fancy you, but I'm certain one of them does."
Peggy cleared her throat due to almost choking on the sandwich she was eating. Was Jarvis insinuating to her that he knew about her and Jack? No, Jarvis couldn't have known …or could he? She raised her brow suspiciously while observing Jarvis who was whistling innocently, as though nothing he said was out of the ordinary.
She shrugged, it was probably just her being paranoid, for all she knew he might have been talking about Daniel. After all it wasn't a secret in the office that Daniel had harbored a crush on her for sometime. Perhaps Jarvis noticed and was referring to that.
She brushed the thought aside, wanting to change the subject, "So where did you say you're taking us again?"
"It's a private casino Howard would go to often after the war."
"And this is important to us because…?"
Hearing the skepticism in her voice, Jarvis raised his chin.
"You'll be happy to know plenty of officials ranking from low to high are usually there. Often times, they bring their dates with them. Since theres always a certain husband or boyfriend that's lost all their money from gambling, I'm sure we'll find a young woman suitable for the job at hand."
"I hope you're right." She replied as she looked ahead at the location they were approaching.
The building's neon sign read: Elite Casino, glowed brightly in the night. Once Jarvis parked the car, they stepped out and made their way to the entrance. As they walked closer, Peggy could hear jazz music and jolly laughing blasting from the Casino.
Jarvis turned to Peggy, "Ms. Carter, theres one thing I forgot to mention."
"Yes Mr. Jarvis?" She once she noticed Jarvis adjusting his tie, a habit he did when he was anxious.
"Well, as you can probably tell from the name, the Casino only allows certain people—and by that, I mean wealthy people like Mr. Stark. And those two guards in front," He pointed to the two tall and hefty men in dark suits, "They know me as Mr. Stark's butler… but I'm not sure they'd allow you in."
Peggy clicked her tongue, oh ye of little faith. Jarvis must have forgotten, a little bump in the road on a mission never phased her. She always had a plan.
"I have an idea, just play along," She said before fluffing the ends of her hair. Once they were at the entrance, Jarvis cleared his throat.
"Good Evening good sirs!" He greeted before going in, "Don't worry, Ms. Carter is with me."
The guard on the right with a clipboard held a hand up, "You can go in, but the lady stays. I don't see the her name on the list."
The other guard took Peggy by the arm, "I'll escort you out."
"Do you two wankers live under a rock? Don't you know who I am?" Peggy asked in an angry but exaggerated tone.
One of the guards shrugged, "You look familiar…"
"Thats because she's Mr. Stark's girlfriend. There was a editorial piece on them being the newest couple in town" Jarvis piped, "If he hears about this he'll blow a casket through the roof."
The guards glanced at each other nervously, "W-we're sorry ma'am, we don't want that to happen."
"You certainly do!" She said opening her purse and pretending to vigorously rummage through it, "Wheres my pen? I'm going to get both your names and report the both of you. I will not stand for this type of treatment."
The guard let go of Peggy, "We apologize Ms. Carter, we honestly didn't know."
She turned to the other guard who nodded, "We promise this will never happen again. You can come in."
"Good." Peggy said sticking her nose in the air, "Come on Mr. Jarvis."
Jarvis gave a polite nod to the two guards before quickening his steps to catch up with Peggy.
"That was much easier than I thought it would be." Jarvis voiced loudly due to the ruckus of noise around them.
Peggy surveyed her surroundings. On one side of the room, was a room of people gambling their hearts out, while on the other there was a spacious dance floor where couples danced merrily to the music.
An African-American woman singing with a blues band on the podium caught Peggy's attention. The beautiful woman had a firm but curvy build with a full afro of curly hair growing on her head. Like the woman, the band was all African-American. The woman's melodic voice soared as the band kept in beat with the song. She could why Howard retreated to this lively place often after the war. It was definitely his kind of scene.
"They're amazing…especially that woman, she sounds so much like Ella Fitzgerald." Peggy said almost wanting to dance like the people before her.
"They are indeed." Jarvis agreed, "But you probably won't find a suitable secretary by listening to music the whole night. Shall we take a gander at the other room?"
Peggy nodded as they turned to the other room reserved for gamblers.
Most of the players were of different ages, some looked serious while others seemed to be playing for the fun of it. She watched, as some sat back while others leaned forward, some drawing deeply on cigarettes as they played others with drinks next to them. Behind the players, was a different table of women chatting as they watched their dates play.
She made her way to the table, perhaps one of them could be the a potential candidate for the job.
"Hello ladies, mind if I join?" Peggy asked with a polite smile.
"Not at all sugar!" One of the woman said patting a seat next to her.
"Thanks." Peggy replied as she sat down at the talkative table.
After sitting at the table and having small talks with the women around her, she regretted coming to the table in the first place. Although all of them had served during the war as nurses, or with small time jobs, they all retired because they had rich husbands that could take care of them. She hated stereotyping, but from talking with them, they all seemed like rich airheads.
Many of the women were her age, most were bragging about how much money their husbands and boyfriends were going to have if they won the of the game blackjack that the men were currently playing. It was almost a game to them, as they pompously gloated about whose husband was richer than whose. It repulsed her on how they clung on to their male counterpart's success instead of doing things on their own.
"So where's your man pumpkin?" The woman beside her asked.
"Oh, he's not here, I just came to observe the game from afar." Peggy replied in a bored tone, Mr. Jarvis was wrong, coming here was definitely a mistake.
"What's your fella's name?" Another woman asked with curious eyes.
"His name's Ja-" She cleared her throat and quickly glanced at Jarvis who was at another table. She inwardly reprimanded herself for almost saying Jack's name. She hoped he didn't catch her mistake.
"I mean his name's Howard Stark."
Her brows raised as the whole table squealed and giggled with glee before bombarding her with questions about Howard.
"No wonder she looks so familiar! I saw her in the newspaper with Howard Stark a few weeks ago."
"You're dating one of the most handsomest men who could buy out this whole casino!"
"Ladies, its really not that much of a big deal." Peggy insisted.
She wished she could say she was surprised by the reaction from the women, but she was used to it. Used to women fawning over her friend as though he was happiness in form of a man. The only person she knew that didn't melt into a puddle at the mention of Howard was Angie, bless her heart, because Peggy would have gone insane if her friend reacted the same as these women were.
"You're kidding right?" A lady at the far side of the table asked. Another woman nodded her head in agreement, "Gosh you're the luckiest girl in New York City."
"Correction. I think, he's the luckiest guy in New York for dating me."
The women at the table laughed before one spoke up, "We like you, you've got spunk."
"So I'm told," Peggy said dryly before turning and observing the table of men playing Blackjack, "They look like they're having fun. Why don't any of you ladies try to play with them?"
"It's no use hun, they feel like we women would put a damper on the game."
"Then we're going to have to change that perception." Peggy stood up, "Watch and learn ladies."
She walked to the table of men with a confidant strut. Without bothering to ask she sat in an empty chair. She could already feel the puzzled glares around her. She saw one of the men set down his cards. From the big cigar, and the piles of money stacked next to him, he seemed to be the ring leader of the table.
Before the man could speak, she help up an index finger.
"Before you begin a tiring, and redundant lecture on why I can't play because I'm a woman, I have a proposition for you all. If you let me play and I lose, I'll give double the cash to the winning man."
She felt a tap on her shoulder, she turned to Jarvis who looked as worried as a mouse.
"Ms. Carter where do you plan on getting that amount of money?" He whispered.
"Nowhere because I don't plan on losing." She replied before turning back to the table.
"For both our sake's, I really do hope you know what you're doing Ms. Carter." He warned before backing a bit for her to have space.
"Hmm…" The leader mused while stroking his mustache, "Double the money. I like the sound of that, and what happens if you miraculously win?"
"Not only do I get all that cash," She said gesturing to the stack of money, "But you all have to allow women to play with you from now on."
The men at the table burst out in laughter.
"This chick is crazy!" One of them said with a snicker. She calmly folded her arms on the table, "How about you all put the money where your mouth is. Do we have a deal or not?"
The sounds of laughter died down, everyone turned their head to the leader for his approval.
"I'm feeling generous today, so we'll let you play this once." The leader said blowing out a large puff of smoke from his cigarette, "Take it easy on her fellas."
Peggy smiled, these men didn't know what they were in for.
'''''
"Well gentleman, from the looks of it, it seems as though I've won." Peggy said smugly as she set down her final card.
The women who were now crowded around the table cheered, even some of the men at the table clapped in admiration. The leader of the table let out a chuckle of disbelief as he pushed the stack of money towards Peggy.
"It's all yours pretty lady. Good job."
"Oh to hell with being pretty, I just won against all of you, if you want to appease me compliment my brain." She said with a composed smile as she put a hand on her hip.
"Howard Stark comes here very often, if I hear a word from him that you gentlemen exclude ladies from anymore games, I'll be back and I'll make sure I take more than just a stack of dollar bills. Understood?"
The men at the table all nodded nervously, she could tell the mention of Howard's name had already put them on edge.
She started walking away, "Let's go home Mr. Jarvis."
Nodding politely to the people at the table, he picked the envelope of money Peggy won, and walked after her.
"You're a bundle of talent Ms. Carter. Stunning gambler, secret agent, skilled marksman, and I'm sure you're probably fluent in many languages, I can only imagine the hell you'd put America through if you had chosen to fight against them during the war." Jarvis noted once they left the gambling room.
Peggy laughed, she never thought of it that way, her being on the 'wrong side of history.' She frowned, she probably would have been the exactly what Dottie was. Smart, precise, adept, but evil, heartless, and oh so very misguided. She probably would have never met Steve, never been friends with Howard, Jarvis, Angie and Daniel…and she probably wouldn't have given Jack a second glance.
The sound of instruments clanking and and banging brought her back to reality. She looked up to see the band that was now packing up after the late night. The lead singer was in a conversation with the drummer.
"How many tips did we get tonight?"
"Not a lot… as usual."
"At this rate, I don't know how we're going to make it through the month Benny."
"If I may be so bold to ask, what exactly do you plan on doing with this money Ms. Carter?" Jarvis inquired as they continued walking.
Peggy glanced down at the envelope that was now in her hands, she knew for sure she didn't need it. Her eyes flitted back to the woman who was still talking with the jazz band.
She placed the envelop in Jarvis' hands, "While I head to the car, could you do me a favor and give this to the band?"
Jarvis nodded, happy to help Peggy complete a good deed, "And what do I do if they ask who the money is from?"
"Don't let them know its me, just tell them it's from an anonymous donor."
"I certainly must add humble and generous to the talent bucket." Jarvis said with a proud smile before leaving her.
She watched Jarvis talk to one of the band members and hand the person the envelope. Immediately the person embraced Jarvis in a tight hug before excitedly thanking him. After that each member of the band gave Jarvis a hug, or a pat on the back. Peggy smiled at the flustered look on Jarvis's face, he probably wasn't expecting that much a reaction.
Feeling accomplished, she turned and proceeded to walk out of the casino. She may not have found her secretary, but at least she did something of use today.
She passed the guards who previously had refused her entry. They both gave her a polite wave.
"I hope you enjoyed your night at Elite Casino!" One said with an anxious smile on his face.
"Luckily for you chaps, I had a wonderful night. Ta-Ta." She responded before leaving the nervous men.
On her way to the car, Peggy heard a set of footsteps walking in her direction. She knew it couldn't have been Jarvis because he was still in the Casino with the jazz band. Once she reached the car, she glanced at the mirror on the side of the car to see two men in the reflection.
In a split second. her brain whizzed with her different options. She didn't have a gun with her because she had left it at the precinct. She remembered she always had a knife strapped to her leg in case for emergencies. But the problem was that even if she reached for a knife, if they had a gun, they would have shot her by then.
She turned to the men, deciding to play it out and see if the circumstance changed.
"Can I help you boys?" She asked with with a cautious eye on their hands behind their back that were obviously hiding guns. One of the men took her by the arm as the other held a gun to her side.
"Walk." The man whispered in a low tone.
"What do you want?" She asked as they lead her to an alley behind the car park.
"We heard back there that you were Howard's girlfriend." The other man said. He no longer talked in a low tone since no one could hear them.
"And why does that matter to you?" She asked, not because she cared about their answer, but because she was stalling so she could figure out how to disarm the both of them. She saw a wicked smile flit across the men's face.
"We don't like your boyfriend very much." The second man growled.
"Well thats unfortunate." Peggy said in an unamused tone.
Angered by how calm she was, the first man raised his gun to her temple, "Let's cut to the chase, hand us some doe, and you won't get hurt."
"If you're doing this to get back at Howard for whatever reason, its not going to work, I gambled all the money I have."
"You're lying."
Since her tough and bold approach wasn't working, she knew that an element of surprise could be her only advantage. She let out a fake sob.
"I-I-I promise, I have nothing," She wiped a tear from the corner of her eyes, "Howard is going to be terribly cross with me once he finds out how much money I blew today."
She noticed the men shifting uncomfortably as she sniffled to add effect.
"Please don't hurt me." She croaked. Her performance to garner sympathy looked so genuine that even Angie would have been proud.
"She's got nothing let's bounce." One of the men said lowering their gun to their side, "Probably only sleeping with him for the money."
Peggy bit her tongue to avoid saying anything that would betray her character.
The other man scoffed as he put his pistol back in its' holster, "What'd I tell ya, she's just a dumb bimbo like all of Howard's other girlfriends"
That was it.
Peggy put her hands on the man closest to her as though embracing him, "Thank you so…"
"much." She muttered as she kicked him in the groin.
The man screamed loudly before collapsing to the floor in pain. As the man scrambled for the gun, she swiftly stamped on the man's hand with her heel and grabbed the gun before pointing it to the friend.
"Would you like the bullet in the same area as you're friend, or somewhere else? Your choice." She quipped in an unamused but firm tone.
The look of terror over took the man's face.
"You're crazy!" The man replied holding the gun nervously up to her.
She smiled, "I've been told that plenty of times, but its funny, you didn't think it was crazy to harass me for money that you haven't earned."
Just when her plan was going smoothly, she heard another person approach them, once she heard a whistling of an old English tune, she inwardly groaned.
It was Jarvis.
"Ms. Carter, you'll be happy to know that the band said they're thankful for the money you donated to them."
"Mr. Jarvis…you should leave…" She said trying to warn him with her eyes about the gun in the man's hand.
Jarvis's eyes followed her stare to the gun, he took a nervous step back, "I think I forgot my jacket let me get—"
"You lied!" The man shouted at Peggy before turning to aim his gun at Jarvis, "Tell me where the money is or I shoot your friend."
"Oh crumpets, I promised my wife I'd be back by midnight." Jarvis uttered in an anxious tone with his hands raised in surrender.
"Shut the hell up." The man barked with his gun still in Jarvis's direction.
Peggy knew either she would shoot the man, or he would shot Jarvis, "For the last time, we don't have any mone—"
"I'm giving you three seconds lady. Three…"
"Let's talk this out." Peggy said calmly, not wanting to shot him.
"Two…."
She aimed the pistol at the man's stomach before readying her finger on the trigger, "I really don't want to do this."
Jarvis's eyes flitted from Peggy to the man, "Ms. Carter, I'm really not sure that nows the time to be hesitating on—"
"One!" The man shouted.
Before Peggy could pull the trigger she heard a gun shot. She watched Jarvis drop to the ground. Her heart stopped.
"Jarvis?" She said loudly as she ran to his side.
He smiled at her, "I'm alright. It's all part of the plan, look."
She turned to see the man withering in pain, standing above him was the African-American woman lead singer for the jazz band with a pistol in her steady hand.
The man clenched his teeth in pain before looking up at the woman, "You stupid n—"
"Finish that sentence and that'll be the last thing comin' out your damn mouth."
"It's just a graze, you missed." The man spat on her feet, "You can't shot me."
"What? Because you never seen a colored woman with a gun before?" The woman crouched down so they saw eye to eye, she spun her revolver so it clicked in place.
"I purposefully made sure the gun wound was a graze. I was in the Women's Army Corps, if you think I've never killed a man before, you're wrong. So I'm goin' say this one more time…scat 'fore I put a bullet in that ungrateful head of yours." The woman turned to the man that Peggy had hit, "I'm talkin' to you too bozo."
Peggy turned to Jarvis with a small smile, "I think we just found our next secretary."
"You certainly have your priorities straight considering we almost died." Jarvis whispered as they watched the woman.
The man grunted as he got up along with his friend, "If you think I'm not going to report you—"
"What?" Peggy said with a hand on her hip, "You'll report how you almost mugged Starks closest friends for a meniscal amount of money. I'm sure that will go well with the police department."
The man scowled and turned to his friend, "Let's go."
"I thought so." Peggy said with as she watched them leave.
"You two alright?" The woman asked as she lowered her gun.
"Splendid! It turns out Ms. Carter's idea did work!" Jarvis said smugly as he brushed off the dirt from his suit.
Peggy furrowed her brow, what idea?
Seeing that Peggy was confused, the woman chipped in.
"The drummer of my band told me about the money donated from an anonymous donor. I asked him who gave us the money but he told me that the person was insistent on being anonymous, so I followed your friend so I could thank you. Once I caught up with him outside, we both saw the men leading you into the alley."
"And we used the plan you used to get Adeline to rescue you."
"One of you was the distraction while the other apprehended the attacker." Peggy nodded before turning to the woman, "Good work. I'm impressed at your adept ability to make sure I wasn't compromised."
The woman shrugged, "Consider this my way of saying thanks."
Peggy stepped forward to shake the woman's hand, "I'm Peggy Carter, a Special Agent at the Strategic Scientific Reserve."
"Name's Kassisdy Banks." The woman said accepting her hand, "I volunteered with the Women's Army Corps, kept the Air Force flights running smoothly."
Jarvis leaned towards Peggy before whispering, "She's trained, confident, smart, has experience, you're right you have found yourself a new secretary."
Peggy glanced at Jarvis before smiling at Kassidy, "How would you be in serving your country behind a desk?"
Kassidy quirked a brow, "I'm listening."
''''''
Jack had returned late at night from dinner with the boys from work. After entering his apartment, he placed his key on the peg near his dog before turning to whistle.
"Sally. Where are ya?"
Silence. He grumbled to himself, regretting ever volunteering to take care of his dog for his grandma. He looked through every room in the apartment before entering his bedroom. He spotted a dark figure in the middle of the room. He switched on the lights and frowned.
"Sally. Get here right now." He shouted in a scolding tone. Sally didn't budge. He tapped his foot impatiently, Peggy made instructing Sally look so easy.
"Don't make me tell Gam-Gam about this." He warned with narrowed eyes at the dog.
The mention of the name he used for his grandma made Sally respond with a series of barks before running to him with one of his shoes tucked between her teeth. He scrunched his nose in disgust at the drool that dripped from Sally's mouth.
"Seriously? This was my favorite one." He let out a sigh and tugged his shoe away from her, this day just wasn't going his way. He picked Sally with an arm before closing the door behind him. She squirmed restlessly as he carried her to the living room.
Stupid dog.
Jack gently adjusted her in his arms so his face was leveled with hers, "Sally…What am I doing wrong this time? Huh?"
Sally woofed, Jack chuckled, it was almost like Sally was trying to respond to his question. Suddenly he realized the reason why Sally was so receptive to Peggy. When Peggy was here she talked to Sally as a friend.
He sat down on the coach and placed her on his lap, now that he thought about it, ever since he took temporary ownership of Sally for Gam-Gam, he never really bothered to talk to her. To him, Sally was basically an annoying ball of fur.
…maybe that's what he was doing wrong.
"I think I messed up today Sally. I made Pegs mad again." Jack murmured. He stroked her fur as he recounted what happened through the day, from the kiss in the office, to lunch with Fisher, the mission and the argument they had right after. Once he finished he glanced down at his lap to see Sally had dozed off to sleep.
A corner of his mouth lifted, he was crazy, talking to a dog about his feelings. But he had to admit, it made him feel a bit better, at least someone knew how he felt about Peggy, how he was starting to regret making a selfish decision at work, how worried he was that she left him with strangers…. that reminded him… was Peggy alright? What if the men didn't drop her at the precinct?
He pursed his lips. He didn't like this feeling of guilt and worry. There was no reason for him to start getting worked up over a woman.
"Maybe I should call her to see how she's doing?"
He shook his head when he realized he asked the question aloud, maybe he was going crazy.
Due to Sally sleeping on his lap, he couldn't stand up. So Jack reached for the telephone beside him and balanced the receiver between his ears and shoulder. He groped the table for his small directory book.
"Stark…Stark…Stark." He murmured as he searched the book for Howard's number.
"Howard Stark." Jack said once his finger hovered over Howard's contact information. He paused, what if Howard picked the phone? He glanced at the clock, it was half past ten, hopefully not too late. He'd probably just use the excuse that he wanted to update Peggy on work related things.
Jack rang the number. He waited patiently for someone to pick up the phone. After a few rings, the call dropped.
He tried calling two more times but received the same response. He decided to wait for thirty more minutes before calling again.
He sighed, maybe she was sleeping, as he was about to cut the line he heard a voice.
"Hello Evening, this is Mr. Jarvis speaking, how my I help you?"
"Hi." Jack cleared his throat, "Can you pass the phone on to Carter? It's… work related."
He heard a pause.
"Hm. Work related you say?"
Jack could hear the suspicion in Jarvis' tone.
"Well I'm speaking English aren't I?" He replied in an irritated tone. He hated repeating himself.
"I'm sorry to say, but Ms. Carter is preparing to go to bed. And as you probably know, after her tiresome day at work, she's not in the mood to talk right now."
"So Carter arrive home safely." Jack murmured with a wince, not liking that he was the root cause of her probably not being in the mood.
"Yes… of course, but why does that matter to you Mr. Thompson? And it's awfully late to be calling for work isn't it?"
He frowned at Jarvis' interrogative questions. Although, Jarvis was right, if he knew Peggy could take care of herself, why did he still feel the need to check up on her? As if sensing his uncertainty, he heard Jarvis speak up.
"When my wife and I get into big arguments, I always find that it's best to apologize in person before it accumulates to a bigger argument."
"Excuse me?" He asked in an unamused tone… it almost sounded like Jarvis was giving him relationship advice.
"To put it simply, if you plan on apologizing to Ms. Carter, I suggest you do it in person."
"And why would I want to apologize to an agent that disobeys my orders?"
"Because you know it's the right thing to do or else you wouldn't be calling."
"Hm." Jack said with a scoff. He heard a slight pause from Jarvis's line, almost as though Jarvis was deliberating on whether to continue talking.
"You know, for someone that cares deeply for Ms. Carter, you have a terrible way of showing it."
Jack sat up in his couch and furrowed his brows.
Jarvis knew about them.
"Who told you?" He asked in irritation after hearing Jarvis chuckle.
"No one at all Mr. Thompson. You might have been able to fool Howard and the S.S.R, but I've known Ms. Carter has had feelings for you for some time now. It was only a matter of time till you two…how do you Americans say… hit it off."
"I'm open to suggestions because even if I were to apologize, it's almost midnight," Jack said dryly.
"I know just the thing…."
Jack arched his brow as he listened to Jarvis's plan, he still couldn't believe that he taking his relationship advice from Howard's butler.
It's confirmed, he was definitely going crazy.
''''''
After a long shower, Peggy put on a light nightgown before switching the lights off. She walked back to went in her bed, and closed her eyes. It had been a long day, the only thing she wanted to do right now was sleep.
As though fate wanted to play a prank on her she heard a loud knock on the door.
"Go away Howard, I'm tired." She said aloud before covering her head with her duvet. She heard another sets of knocks.
"What in the bloody hell is his problem." She muttered to herself as she kicked the sheets off and walked to the door. Howard must have come back from whatever meeting he was in.
Peggy groaned as she opened the door, "Howard, I'm not in really the mood for—"
"Not in the mood for what?"
Once her eyes his met grayish blue ones, she crossed her arms, it wasn't Howard.
"Jack what are you doing here?"
"I'll tell you only if you let me in."
"That still doesn't explain why you're here in the middle of the night." She said frowning as she uncrossed her arms to put a hand on the door, "Tough luck if you came for another round, because I'm not in the mood for arguing."
Jack sighed, jerking his thumb over his shoulder, "Look, Jarvis said I don't have much time before Howard comes back. I just want to talk to you."
She gave him a quick once over, his posture was calm unlike his usual defensive self, his jaw that was usually clenched from scowling now rendered his lips in a set straight line. He wasn't smiling, but he wasn't frowning with either. His eyes were locked on hers with determination without being distracted by the fact she was in only a light but rather revealing nightgown.
"Fine." She said stepping aside so he could enter. After closing the door behind her, she turned to see Jack observing her bedroom.
Jack whistled, Peggy's 'bedroom' was probably bigger than all the rooms in his entire apartment. The room was Victorian-themed, large windows, extravagant drapes, a massive wall of books and a king-sized bed with a dozen pillows, fitting considering that Peggy was English.
"Being Howard's friend definitely has its perks huh?" Jack said sarcastically as he walked to a table at her bedside with picture frames on it.
One had a monochrome picture of a young couple smiling, the man had Peggy's strong eyes, the woman had her confident smile. Parents probably… Another was of a young man in uniform, he looked like her older brother, they both harbored the same aristocratic composure.
It was the third picture caught his eye, he picked it up and examined it carefully.
Peggy standing in between Howard who had a casual arm around her shoulder, while Steve Roger's was comfortably around her waist. Usually pictures of soldiers during the war are somber and stiff. But this one had a happy tone, the picture was taken in the middle of them laughing. The comradery between the three almost transcended from the picture.
He pursed his lips, the rumors about Captain America weren't fake. Athletic build, bright eyes and dashing smile, the man looked perfect. His awe turned to annoyance at the fact that Howard probably approved of the two. Jack imagined there were countless of times Steve made Peggy laugh, countless of times he probably made he smile… he could see why Peggy was in love with him, who wouldn't be?
"We don't have all night Jack, what do you want to talk about?"
He turned to see Peggy in now sitting on her bed.
"Us." He replied as he set down the picture frame, "I want to apologize about what I said earlier…about no one wanting to hire a woman as their boss."
"Did you mean it?"
He sighed, avoiding her questioning eyes, he didn't want to lie to her anymore.
"In the moment yes."
"Well I don't know what you expect me to say. I think its ridiculous you can't accept a woman being a boss."
"Look, I admit, I overreacted back at the office. After my talk at lunch with Fisher, I was so caught up with the idea of you being my boss someday."
Peggy's frown softened, she could sense the guilt in his voice, and she knew he was never one for apologies. She patted a spot next to her on the bed, "Come sit next to me, I don't bite."
Once he sat next to her, she took his hand in hers, "Luckily for you, I'm not interested in being anyones boss right now, I just want to find our men and make sure everyones safe, you hear?"
"You might not want to be a boss now, but the newspapers, our agents, even Fisher mentioned it, people starting to take notice of you. Even I can't deny that you're one of the most hardworking and determined agents I've come across."
Still staring away from her he nodded stoically.
"And I have no doubt that soon, someone up the ladder in the S.S.R. is going to find out all the good you've been doing and want you to be a Chief of some division later in the future."
Peggy shook her head, "I don't want us to think about the future. We'll get caught up with "what ifs" and 'why nots' instead of focusing on what's important—us."
Jack laughed dryly as he stared at their hands, "You still want to date me after all of this?"
"Why would you say that?" She asked. She noticed his gaze was now on her picture frame of her with Howard and Captain America. The poor chap was probably comparing himself to Steve.
"Hey, look at me," She said softly with a hand on his cheek, "Of course I still want to be with you. Just because we had a tiff at work doesn't affect us. What ever we fight about at work stays at work, it has nothing to do with us dating, same if we argue while dating, that shouldn't affect our professionalism at work."
"Knowing how stubborn we both are, trust me when I say this, we're probably going to argue a lot."
"You're absolutely right, we probably will." She shrugged, "But like you said, we're both stubborn so I'm sure we'll eventually make up."
Her optimism made him smile slightly, he liked the sound of that.
"So you're not angry with me?"
"Don't get me wrong, I was terribly cross. But I'm realizing now that if you hadn't told me to stay behind with Daniel, we never would have figured out the Cronies true intentions and you all could have died." She sighed before resting her head on his chest, "Anyways, I'd be an idiot if I expected you to do a whole 360 on your view on women."
He glanced down at her and smirked, "I'm trying though, aren't I?"
She rolled her eyes, "Try harder. Dating me doesn't excuse or validate your sexism Jack."
His smirk dimmed, "How'd you know what I told Daniel anyway?"
"While Fisher and I were disabling the bomb we overheard the two of you."
He stroked her hair as she rested her head on his chest, "I'm sorry."
"I probably owe you an apology as well for being stubborn. After I heard what you told Daniel, I was cross, I shouldn't have left on the road you like that, I'm sorry."
"Now that we're even I hope you know, that stunt pulled proves who is the most stubborn out of the both of us."
"I know, you were probably worried sick," she murmured into his chest.
"I wasn't that worried."
"Oh really?" Peggy glanced up at him before chuckling, "Not even a teen weeny bit?"
"Maybe a little." He teased with a gentle smile before kissing her forehead.
She placed a hand on his cheek before gazing into his warm eyes, "Whether or not we're at work, me and you? We're a team, you can trust me."
"Then its a deal. I'll learn to trust you if you promise you won't scare me like that again."
"Oh, so I did scare you?" She replied with a grin.
"Whatever," He muttered stubbornly glancing away.
"You know what's funny, the men that drove me both tried asking me out during the car ride." She said as she rested her head back on his chest.
He rolled his eyes, "Bastards."
She laughed, seeing Jack jealous was certainly amusing, "I turned them down, and they were perfect gentlemen about it. I told you I could take care of myself you silly goose, no need to worry."
He sighed while absent-mindedly playing with her hair, "I know you can take care of yourself Pegs… I just…I—"
"Care about me?" Peggy asked, hoping she completed his sentence correctly.
He silently nodded to her.
She noticed he didn't say it aloud, but that would have to do. She knew Jack sharing his feelings was never his strong suit, but she was glad he was making progress. Before, Jack would have never bothered apologizing to her for his wrongdoings.
She felt him tug her hand gently.
"Howard's going to be back any minute," he said as he stood up, "I should probably leave now."
Peggy nodded and stood up with him, "I'll walk you out."
'''''''
As they walked out the room hand in hand, Peggy excitedly told Jack all about the eventful evening she had at the Elite Casino.
His brows were raised, "So let me get this straight? You basically pretended Howard was your boyfriend the whole night…"
"Yes."
"Won a game of Blackjack against professional gamblers…"
"Yes."
"And almost got shot and found a secretary in the process?"
"Mmm-hm, it was all worth it, you're going to love her!"
"Sometimes I think you search for trouble on purpose," He said after chuckling at her amusing story. Only Peggy could be happy-go-lucky after almost being mugged by strangers.
"My mummy always told me that." Peggy said shaking her head as they walked outside the mansion and towards his car.
"Then I must be on to something," He said with a smile, "Where'd you learn to be so good at gambling anyway?"
Peggy smiled wistfully, "My older brother. Poker, Roulette, Pool, Blackjack, you name it, he could play them all. The troublesome young tosser had a nasty gambling addiction."
"Was?" Jack asked gently, hoping he wasn't overstepping his boundaries by asking.
Peggy noticed the concern in his tone, "Yes..he died in the war. Being his younger sister who always looked up to him, I guess you could say I picked up a few moves from him, the bad and the good."
"I'll keep that in mind whenever we play card games at the office." Jack said with a soft smile, "I finally have someone I can compete with."
She glanced at his playful eyes, which was his unique way of comforting her. She smiled back, he knew her well. She was grateful that he tried cracking a joke instead of being solemn about the topic of her brother, unlike what most people like do. Saying things like "what a shame," or "sorry for your loss," as though apologizing to her would bring her brother back. Of course she missed him, but what was in the past, was in the past.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, "So you're not afraid of the possibility that a woman might win a game against you?"
"Who said you're going to win?" He leaning in with his arms now circling around her waist.
She paused with a chuckle before their lips touched, "By the way Jack, promise you won't be cross, but I think Jarvis—"
"Knows about us?" He completed with a confident smirk.
She furrowed her brows, "How'd you know?"
"Well for one, it was his idea that I came to apologize to you." He said before taking a hand off her waist to point at the window behind her, "And secondly I just saw the curtains Jarvis was peeking through close…"
Peggy turned to see the drapes shift, "That cheeky little man was eavesdropping on us."
"Relax, the guy probably wanted to know if we made up or not."
"That still doesn't excuse his behavior." She said tugging away from Jack and turning to face the window, "Come on out Mr. Jarvis, we know you can hear us."
"Crumpets"
After a few seconds, they saw the door open as Jarvis walked towards them.
"I just got off the phone with Mr. Stark, he should be here in about ten minutes." Jarvis said to Jack before timidly turning to Peggy, "You called Ms. Carter?"
She arched her brow, "Shouldn't you be home?"
Jarvis avoided her glance, "I was instructed by Mr. Stark to stay later in case he called for a ride back home. You know how terrible his drinking gets."
"Mr. Jarvis… is there something you'd like to tell Jack and I instead of pecking around like an old mother hen?" Peggy said still observing her friend who was trying to act innocent.
"There are a lot of things I could tell you two, for example, did you know that drinking tea immediately after eating in the night is actually quite hazardous for you?"
Jack let out a sigh, "Stay on topic Jarvis, we know you were eavesdropping on us."
"I would never!" Jarvis said with a more than exaggerated insistence.
Jack rolled his eyes, "Drop the act, how much of our conversation did you hear?"
"Well—I may have heard a private utterance or two." Jarvis said presumptuously with his nose slightly up in the air.
"Uh-huh.." Jack said arching his brow, "And you know about Carter and I because…"
"Its…it's just that I've noticed a bit of a connection as it were…between the two of you." Jarvis said still trying to prove his innocence.
"Sneaky little devil." Peggy muttered to herself.
"Alright, I'll come out with it." Jarvis said glancing nervously between the two, "I saw you two canoodling."
"Canoodling?" Jack asked arching his brow with his arms crossed.
"I believe Mr. Jarvis means he saw us kissing." Peggy muttered with a hand on her hips.
"Precisely!" Jarvis said snapping his finger excitedly.
Jack shook his head, "I've said it and I'll say it again what is with you British people and your over the top words?"
"What is with you Americans and your meaningless slangs?" Jarvis retorted.
"What are our slangs too out of touch for your outdated British words?" Jack said with a dry smile.
"Excuse me, firstly British words are not outdated and secondly can we get back on topic here." Peggy exclaimed snapping her fingers, "Mr. Jarvis, when did you see Jack and I 'allegedly' canoodling?"
"It was on the night of Howard's gala, after you and Mr. Thompson had apprehended the man who attacked the both of you. You were both injured and you were in Mr. Starks room. I wanted to come to give you some supplies… but…"
"But what Mr. Jarvis?" Peggy asked in a dry tone.
Jarvis nervously adjusted his tie, "My, this is putting me in a terribly awkward position—"
"Spit it out." Jack said impatiently.
"Well," Jarvis said with a harmless shrug, "To put it simply, I walked in while you two were in an…" His voice dipped into a deep tone, "Intimate moment."
Peggy could feel her cheeks warming, "Why didn't you bother to mention you were in the room Mr. Jarvis?"
"I cleared my throat, but you two didn't hear me! It being clear that you were both having a moment of passion… I immediately closed the door, left, and pretended the whole thing didn't happen. Unless… one of you want to convince me I saw otherwise?"
"Of course I can explain what you saw." Peggy said indignantly crossing her arms.
"Pray tell Ms. Carter." Jarvis said in an amused tone.
"Well…we had both caught one of the Cronies men that night, so of course… It was a very exciting moment, so to put it simply, Jack kissed me and I indulged him."
Jack turned to her and arched his brow, "Indulged? Really Pegs?"
"Yes." Jarvis said pursing his lips, "…and blushed."
"I beg your pardon!" Peggy said with her voice reaching an octave.
"You blushed." Jarvis said almost in a squeak, Peggy could be quite intimidating.
"Of course she did." Jack said with a confident smirk.
"Whose side are you on Jack!" Peggy said narrowing her eyes at him.
Jack shrugged, "Pegs, we've been caught red handed I don't think we can explain our way out of this."
Jarvis smiled, "Ms. Carter, you act as if I didn't know from the beginning about your feelings for each other. Why do you think I told the nurse that you and Jack were engaged?"
"You wanted us to be together from the beginning?" She asked with a suspicious glance.
"Of course, I'm actually quite happy that you are finally embarking on a relationship."
"Thanks for the blessing, but does Howard know about any of this?" Jack asked with skepticism.
"If he did we'd be having a completely different conversation."
"Can we trust him?" Jack asked Peggy.
Jarvis frowned, "Why do you think Howard keeps me as his butler? I know probably more things about him than even his own mother."
Peggy nodded and turned to Jack, "I trust Jarvis, I know he won't tell Howard."
"No one knows about you two but me." Jarvis said with a wink, he paused, "Well…technically..."
Peggy raised her brow, "Jaaarvis…"
"Except my wife." Jarvis piped.
"Mr. Jarvis!" "Jarvis!" Peggy and Jack said at the same time.
"I'm not sure you two realize whatever the husband knows, the wife does as well. I don't keep secrets from Ana, you know that Ms. Carter."
"Fine." Peggy said with a nod.
Surprisingly she wasn't as mad anymore that Jarvis knew, it actually warmed her heart to hear him say he wanted her to be with Jack. It was much different from what Howard's reaction would have been.
She turned to Jack, touching his arm slightly, "Well, you heard Mr. Jarvis, Howard will be here soon, you should leave."
Jack nodded before pecking her cheek, "Night Pegs."
"Night darling, I'll see you at work tomorrow." She replied with a brief smile as she watched him enter his car.
Jack glanced at Jarvis whose smile was now much brighter than usual. What? Had the guy never seen a couple greet each other goodnight before? Then again, it was probably amusing for Jarvis to see him, the alleged Jackass, treating Peggy, the no nonsense Brit with kindness.
He entered his key into the ignition and glanced out his window, "I don't say this often to people, but thanks for the help Jarvis."
"Anytime Mr Thompson." Jarvis replied with a curt nod.
"Say hi to Sally for me." Peggy said as she took a step back from the car
"Will do." Jack replied with a wink before driving off. Peggy turned to Jarvis who was staring strangely at her, "What is it?"
"Sally?" Jarvis asked with an eyebrow quirked.
Peggy adjusted her nightgown, "Sally's his dog."
"How cute, you're acquainted with his dog already. Marvelous I must say!"
"Stop it." Peggy said with a dismissive wave.
"Stop what Ms. Carter?" Jarvis asked innocently.
She frowned at the look on Jarvis's face, "Jack and I are anything cute, we get into arguments all the time, the bloke gives me a headache at work, I'm too hotheaded, he's sexist, I'm too brash, he's rude…"
"But you still care about him." Jarvis quipped before smirking, "And from what I remember you blush like a tomato when you kiss him."
Her mouth dropped open, "I'm not discussing this with you any further Mr. Jarvis!"
"Well. This certainly does put not only you and Mr. Thompson, but I, in a bit of a sticky wicket." Jarvis said in an as a matter of fact tone.
"Sticky what?" She retorted loudly, almost regretting that Jarvis knew.
"Ms. Carter, I'm happy you and Mr. Thompson settled your differences. But you have to remember that I now have to cover up for you two if Howard ever gets suspicious."
She nodded, Jarvis was right, now the burden of the secret was on Jarvis too, which was exactly why she didn't want to tell anyone.
"And does that bother you Mr. Jarvis? Having to keep a secret from Howard?"
"I'm less bothered, but more worried for you Ms. Carter. I hate to dredge back old memories but you and Howard's biggest argument was because of his dishonesty to you about Steve's blood. Imagine how he'd feel about you not telling him about this new relationship."
"I know, I know, but what can I do? It doesn't help that Howard disapproves of Jack. No one at work can know about my relationship with Jack and you know how irrational Howard can be, he'd probably try to get Jack fired 'for my own good'"
Jarvis sighed, "Probably, but misguided as it may be, I believe its because Mr. Stark cares for you like a brother, I don't see this settling right if he ever found out."
"Then we're just have to be smart around him." Peggy muttered to herself.
Well? Thoughts? Comments on Jarvis knowing about them the whole time? Kassidy? Jack? Peggy? I'm curious to know everyone's reactions!
A/N: For future notice, one of the characters who is the tele communicator for the S.S.R. in IWAT was called Marge, so but I changed the name to Rose to avoid confusion, I don't know why I forgot Rose's name since that is the character's actual name in the show. So as requested I will try to add a bit more people from the Agent Carter show to keep the story a bit grounded.