Legacy
Chapter 10
Peggy stirred her coffee as she sat in her usual booth at the Automat one evening while she waited for her dinner. She then brought the cup up to her lips and took a sip, before glancing over at the clock above the kitchen. Normally, she wouldn't be in too much of a rush to leave but tonight she had some very important people to go visit. Dugan and the other Howling Commandos had arrived safely in New York a few hours ago and Peggy had arranged to meet up with them at their hotel later that evening. She was so excited to see her friends, so obviously, she didn't want to be late. Luckily, she still had about thirty minutes left before they were expecting her. Plenty of time to eat dinner and catch a cab over to the hotel.
Peggy then grabbed the evening paper from the table and had only begun to read over the front page when Sarah let out a cry from the space next to Peggy, where she had been sleeping since they arrived at the diner. The young woman reacted quickly, and scooped up her daughter and rocked her until the baby calmed down.
"Shhh Sarah. It's okay. I've got you." Sarah let out a whimper as she quieted down, while her mother continued to rock her and pat her back. "You'll be a good girl tonight, won't you? I know some people who are very much looking forward to meeting you. Hmm. What do you say?"
Sarah then crinkled her eyebrows and started playing with her hands contently. Peggy smiled, confident that the baby's fussy moment had passed and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
"There's my good girl," Peggy said.
A few seconds later, she heard footsteps and looked away from her daughter to see Angie walking over to them with her dinner.
"Here you go, English," Angie said, placing the plate in front of Peggy.
"Thank you, Angie."
"You're welcome. Can I get you anything else?"
"No, thank you. I'm good for now."
"Good, cause I'm off the clock," Angie said, sitting across from her friend. She then closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief upon sitting down. It was just what she needed after spending almost the whole day on her feet.
"Long day?" Peggy questioned.
Angie nodded. "Oh yes, very long. I can't wait to go home and get myself into a bath but I'll stay and chat with you for a while."
"I appreciate the company." Peggy then adjusted Sarah so she could eat her meal easier.
"So, what are you two ladies doing tonight?"
"Well, a few of my old friends are in town for a few days, so we're going to go pay them a visit."
"That sounds lovely. Are these friends from England?"
"Yes, well, one of them is English." Angie gave her look that suggested she was a little confused. "I met them during the war."
"Oh," Angie nodded. "Where did you meet them?"
"Work," Peggy answered, simply.
"I see. Sounds like it's been a while since you last saw them then."
"It has been, I haven't seen them since the war in Europe ended." Peggy licked her lips, wondering if she should tell Angie more. Then after a beat decided that she could, as she did trust her friend. "They were Steve's friends too. That's how I know them, actually."
Angie's mouth hung open for a minute as she hadn't been expecting Peggy to mention Sarah's father. Seeing that he didn't typically enter their conversations, so it was a little shocking for Angie to hear Peggy say his name. Once and while Peggy would of course mention him, but not on a regular basis. Though she was curious to learn more about him, Angie didn't pry, out of respect for her friend.
"Oh really?" Peggy nodded. "Well, that's nice. They must be looking forward to meeting this little girl here then"
"Oh they are. I think they're going to spoil her."
Angie chuckled. "Well a cutie-pie like her deserves it."
Peggy glanced at the baby still resting happily in her arms before replying "She does and I'll allow it, to an extent," Peggy said with a chuckle. "I'm just glad Sarah will have them in her life, especially since…since Steve isn't around."
"Aw honey." Angie reached out to squeeze her friend's hand. "I know how much you miss him. I do think that it's good that Sarah will have people in her life who knew her father, besides you of course."
Peggy nodded and took a deep breath. "Yes and it is important to me that Sarah knows about her father, as much as she can anyway."
"Of course, it is," Angie said. Then thought of a way to try and lighten the mood. "Hey, I'm sure he'd be thrilled that his friends are about to meet his daughter."
"Yes, yes he would," Peggy said with a smile.
"There you go. See, Peggy, you're never alone. We're all here for you and Sarah."
After finishing her dinner, Peggy said goodnight to Angie and then hopped in a cab, and soon arrived at the hotel where the Howling Commandos were staying.
Once she was inside the building she asked the man at the front desk what room Dugan was staying in. Knowing that's where they would all be, before proceeding over to the elevator until she arrived on the 14th floor.
Peggy then walked down the hall until she found the room she was looking for. As she stepped closer to the door, she took a deep breath and looked down at Sarah, who was resting over her shoulder while sucking on her pacifier.
"Are you ready?" Peggy asked the baby while smoothing her hair.
After a moment passed, Peggy finally moved to knock on the door. The next thing she heard was shuffling coming from inside the room, which made her roll her eyes, knowing that the boys were trying to straighten up for her. While she did appreciate the gesture, she did find it a bit silly, seeing that she had camped with them multiple times and joined them for card games so she knew what they were like. So all things considered she did find the gesture a bit ridiculous, though very sweet on their part.
When the clanging around from inside the room finally ceased, she heard the door click open and Dum-Dum's smiling face appeared in the doorway.
"Hi Peggy," he greeted.
"Hi Dugan. Nice to see you. How was your trip?"
"Long, but it's good to be back in the States," Dugan said. "Hey, I finally remembered the code-word from Russia. It was ostrich wasn't it?"
Peggy nodded. "Six days, that is quite the delayed reaction there, Dugan."
Dugan gave her a quick shrug in response.
"Oh now you remember," Peggy heard Pinky Pinkerton's voice say from inside the room. "Did you not hear me yell that to you back in Russia?"
"Give me a break, we were in enemy territory that night," Dugan yelled, then turned back to Peggy. "Come on in, Peg. I'm sure the rest of these morons would like to see you."
Peggy chuckled and shook her head before following him into the hotel room. As she entered the living room area of the suite, she laid eyes on all her friends.
"Carter," she heard Jim Morita and Gabe Jones call from the table they were sitting at.
"Hello, Jim, Gabe, Pinkerton," Peggy said, looking around the room again, greeting all her friends. "Sam."
It felt so nice to see all the boys again and together in one room. Peggy instantly felt so relieved by the very sight of them. She had been worried about all of them while they were overseas, even Dugan, Pinky, and Sam who she had just been reunited with a few days prior. Just seeing all of the Howling Commandos in front of her, brought her such happiness. So much so that Peggy wasn't sure she could stop a tear from going down her face.
"Well, this brings back old memories, doesn't it?" Dugan said, then glanced over to look at the baby in Peggy's arms. "Except now we have a little person in the room, don't we fellas?"
Peggy smiled and moved to reposition the baby so the Howling Commandos could get a better look at her. The boys' eyes then all quickly focused on little Sarah, as they scanned her face, obviously looking for any similarities between the baby and her parents.
"Boys, I'd like to introduce you to my daughter, Sarah," Peggy said. "Sarah, these are some very good friends of mine, who are still fighting for the title of uncle I believe."
The Howling Commandos then all let out a chuckle.
"Excuse me, but I thought that I had called that position," Gabe said.
"No way," Jim remarked.
"You all can be her uncles. I'm sure Steve would have liked that," Peggy said.
The room then grew quiet for a minute, as they all felt the loss of Steve fill the space. It was like a brick of emotions had been dropped on them. It was a feeling that Peggy could tell by the looks on all of their faces that they knew they would have to feel sooner rather than later.
"Yeah, he would," Dugan agreed and the others nodded in reply. "Okay, well now that the title of uncle is settled. Come on, fellas, how about we enjoy our time with these two ladies?"
The rest of boys then nodded in response before answering with a resounding, "Yeah."
"I'll get you a drink, Carter," Pinkerton said. "What would you like?"
"Oh, just some water for me, thank you."
Pinkerton gave her a nod before he continued on into the little kitchenette area of the suite.
Peggy eyes then drifted over to Sam and to her surprise, she saw him smiling. She then looked down and saw Sarah smiling back at him as she waved her small hands in the air.
"She's a beautiful child," Happy Sam Sawyer remarked, clearing his throat.
"Sam, did my eyes deceive me or was that a smile?" Peggy asked.
"What? Of course not," Sam said regaining his composure.
"No, that was a smile," Dugan agreed, joining the conversation.
"Okay, it was but it was for Sarah. Let's not make a big deal out of it," Sam replied, reverting back to his normal stoic expression.
Dugan chuckled then turned to Peggy. "She's a lucky girl, getting a smile out of that man."
Peggy nodded and kissed Sarah's head.
"Hey, Peggy, can I hold her?" Gabe asked.
"Hey, I was about to ask that," Jim said.
"Well I asked first."
"But I'm the only one of us who's held a baby recently."
"Oh yeah, who was that?" Gabe questioned.
"My baby cousin."
Peggy then came over to them and started to pass Sarah over to Gabe. "You boys, take turns. You'll all get to hold her."
"I suppose that's fair," Gabe said, then took Sarah into his arms and brought her up to rest against his chest. "Come here, sweetie."
While the boys all took turns holding Sarah, Peggy took the time to catch up with each one of them.
About an hour later, after talking with Pinkerton about how things were going back in England. Peggy walked over to the balcony when she spotted Dugan standing there with Sarah, looking out over the city.
"What's that?" Dugan asked the baby, as they looked in the direction of the various skyscrapers around them. He then turned around when he sensed someone behind him. "Oh, hey, Peggy."
"Hi, how are you two doing?" Peggy asked before mouthing "hi" to the baby when Sarah turned in the direction of her mother's voice.
"We're good."
"She's not getting cranky, is she?"
"Nah, she's fine," Dugan said, then his face broke out into a huge smile. "She's even cuter than her picture."
Peggy smiled in reply and nodded. "Mmhmm."
"She does look like him. I can definitely see some of Steve in her," Dugan said, gently poking Sarah's nose.
"Yes, you can," Peggy said looking at her daughter.
"And she's as beautiful as her mother."
Peggy smiled. "Thank you, Dugan."
"My pleasure, I know you're probably tired of hearing this, hell I've said it to you a few times already, but I am so sorry Peggy. It's not fair that he's not here to see her."
"I appreciate that Timothy. No, it's not fair, but…" Peggy sighed. "He died saving the world and ended up protecting his daughter in the process, as it turned out."
"That he did," Dugan said then after a moment spoke again. "Ah, I am so glad I've finally gotten to meet this little girl. I know the boys are enjoying it as well."
"Yes, they do seem happy."
"And it's nice to be all together again," Dugan said. "We did have fun together, didn't we? During our off hours, anyway."
"Yes, we did," Peggy agreed.
Two years prior.
Peggy walked into the large recreation room at the SSR base in London to see the Howling Commandos and Howard in the middle of a card game. She was a little shocked to see them at first, but then remembered having been informed of their return while she had been in various meetings earlier that day.
Peggy's eyes then caught sight of Steve as he walked over to the side table to poor himself a drink. She hadn't seen him in over a month, in person, anyway. She had seen him along with the others, in the films they would be shown of the Howling Commandos missions. One of which, that had revealed that he kept a picture of her in his compass. Something, that had taken Peggy completely off guard, but she couldn't deny how happy it had made her. She then took in a breath before going over to him.
"Captain," Peggy greeted.
"Agent Carter," Steve said after turning around to face her. "Nice to see you."
"Nice to see you too."
It was true, she was happy to see him. Only then did she realize how relieved she was that he was standing in front of her, safe and sound.
"Would you like a drink?"
"Yes please," Peggy replied. Steve then poured another drink and handed it to her. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
The two of them then stayed silent for a minute as they listened to the card game going on at the other end of the room.
"Sounds like they're having fun," Peggy remarked.
"Oh yeah, they are. We are. It's nice having some down time," Steve said, glancing over at his friends briefly as Bucky shouted excitedly, signaling that he had just won a hand.
Then after another moment of silence, Peggy spoke. "So, how's the shield working out for you?"
Steve nearly choked on his drink before letting out a chuckle. "It works."
Peggy let out a chuckle as well and gave him a little smile. Steve was so relieved to see that she didn't seem to be angry about the incident where she had caught Phillips's secretary kissing him anymore. He still felt so bad about the whole thing and had been a little nervous to speak to her again. As he searched Peggy eyes to make sure she indeed wasn't angry anymore, he was sure that she wasn't. All he saw was happiness there.
He liked seeing Peggy smile, and seeing her smile prompted his lips to turn upwards again.
"So how have you been, Peggy?"
"Good."
"Good," Steve replied and opened his mouth to say something else, when Bucky walked over to them and interrupted his train of thought.
"Hey Steve, we're about to start a pushup contest and thought it was only right if our leader, Captain America started us off."
Steve glanced over at Peggy. "Well…Alright then. Guess, I can't say no to that."
Bucky then patted him on the back. "Come on, pal."
"Agent Carter, would you like to join us?" Dugan asked.
"Yes, Peggy, join us," Howard agreed.
"Sure, why not."
After another half an hour had elapsed Peggy decided to take Sarah home before it got too late and the baby got cranky. As soon as she had finished giving a hug to each one of the Howling Commandos, Dugan walked over to her with Sarah in his arms.
"Here you are," Dugan said, handing Sarah back to her mother. "Thank you for bringing her by."
"Yes, thank you, Peggy," Gabe echoed and the others nodded in agreement.
"You're welcome. It's great to see all of you again. I hope we can do this again soon."
"We hope so too," Dugan said.
"Over a year is far too long," Pinkerton added.
"It is," Peggy agreed. "Maybe I'll see you boys again before you go back to Europe."
"We'd like that very much, Peggy," Dugan said.
"Say, goodnight, Sarah," Peggy said, waving the baby's hand to make her say goodbye and the Howling Commandos waved back.
"Goodnight, Peggy," Gabe said.
"Goodnight." Peggy then turned to leave, though part of her wished she didn't have too.
"Hey, Peg. Have you given anymore thought to the nickname Miss Union Jack? Come on, what do you say?"
Peggy turned around with a serious look on her face. "Not on your life, Dugan."
"Okay," Dugan replied, knowing she would say something like that.
The others then chuckled in response, including Peggy, who gave them one last smile before walking out of the hotel room.
When Peggy arrived back home with her daughter, she closed the door to the apartment, and flipped on the light switch before turning around to lock the door.
She then made her way over to the vanity and put down her pocketbook. And when she glanced up, she spotted the picture she had of Steve resting against the mirror. Peggy then picked the picture up to look over Steve's face as she thought about the times she spent with Steve and the Howling Commandos.
Then the memory of the night they had ended up having a pushup contest surfaced in her mind. She smiled as she recalled the surprised and amazed expressions on their faces when she had completed her one-hundred and seven, one-armed pushups, which had of course amused her greatly. Peggy then remembered when her eyes had landed on Steve's that night and she found him smiling at her. He had looked so impressed and proud of her that he told the group that they should call it a tie between her and him.
Of course, the group would then go on to have many nights like that one. They were indeed good times, and all such fun as Dugan had said earlier. And now she had a new memory to share with the Howling Commandos, one that included Sarah.
Angie was right when she said that Steve would have been thrilled that his friends had finally gotten to meet his daughter tonight. As Peggy knew without a doubt, that was true.
Sarah then pulled Peggy out of her thoughts when she reached out to take the picture of Steve from her mother. Peggy released her grip on it briefly, letting Sarah hold it for a minute. Before gently pulling it out of the baby's grasp, just as her daughter tried to put it in her mouth.
"Oh, no, you don't young lady," Peggy said. "Come, let's get you into a bath."
Peggy then placed the picture of Steve back on the vanity before giving her child a kiss on her head.
After Sarah was bathed and tucked into bed, Peggy went about getting herself ready for bed. As she walked over to the door to turn off the celling light, something on the floor caught her eyes and she bent down to pick it up. It was the piece of string that she had put on the door knob, to warn her if someone had come into the apartment while she was away. Peggy knitted her eyebrows, as she tried to remember if she had seen it fall to the ground when she came in but she couldn't remember. Even if it had been on the floor when she came home, it was possible that Angie had come in to borrow a book or something. Seeing that she was the only one besides Miss Fry who had a key. So Peggy decided not to worry about it right then, feeling that in any event, she was too tired to worry about it, and she could always ask Angie about it in the morning. Peggy then switched off the celling light and made her way over to her bed to read some before going to sleep.
Thanks for reading! I hope you guys enjoyed the little cameo with Steve and Bucky.