So here's the first time Peggy meets a member of Daniel's family! You've met Charlie a few times before but you'll get to know her a little better after this chapter. Read and review please. I was picturing Laura Mennell as Charlie.
Peggy and Daniel were in the middle of making dinner when they realized they were missing two tomatoes. It was cold out, so Daniel insisted he go out to the store on the corner to get them. Peggy was tending to the pots and pans in the kitchen when she heard a knock at the door. That's odd, Peggy thought, Daniel shouldn't be back so soon. She took a quick peek out the doors eye hole and was surprised to see a tall, beautiful woman with silky long jet black hair standing on the front porch. In one hand she was clasping the handle of a brown leather suitcase. Her face looked familiar, but Peggy couldn't place it. Peggy really hoped this wasn't her work following her home because she was in no mood to fight off some would be assassin. Just as the woman began to knock again, Peggy opened the door.
"Oh!" The woman said startled. "I'm sorry, I was looking for Daniel Sousa. I must have the wrong door."
"No, you have the right place. Daniel isn't here at the moment, but is there something I can help you with?"
"Oh, I knew I shouldn't have come without telling him." She sighed. "Is he out of town and you're watching his apartment? Do you have a number I can reach him at?"
"He's right around the store on the corner, actually. Is there something I can help you with?" Peggy asked again.
"I'm sorry, I should have introduced myself before. I'm Charlene Sousa, but everyone calls me Charlie. I'm Daniel's sister."
"Of course you are," Peggy said, suddenly remembering she recognized the woman from the family photograph in their living room. The woman was about ten years older than she was in the picture and her hair was styled much differently, but it was certainly Daniel's sister. "Come in, come in, you must be freezing."
"I do have to say I'm surprised about the weather," Charlie laughed as she walked in with her suitcase. "Daniel is always bragging to me about the beautiful sunshine you have here."
"We certainly have our nice days. I'm Peggy Carter by the way," Peggy stuck out her hand once Charlie had put down her bag in the living room.
"How nice to finally meet you," Charlie smiled as she shook her hand. "Daniel is always saying such nice things about you."
"And he tells me the same about you."
"Well, I hope he tells you I'm usually much more practical than this. Daniel just sounded disappointed about not being able to come home again for the holidays, so I thought it would be nice for me to come early to surprise him, but now I'm beginning to feel like I made a mistake. I don't even know if he has any room for me to sleep!"
"Nonsense, Daniel would be glad to have you," Peggy tried to smile.
That part wasn't a lie. Peggy knew Daniel would be thrilled to see his sister, but the situation was a little more complex than that. Daniel and Peggy had moved in together a few months ago and, out of sheer cowardice, not told their families. There was a distinct difference between putting up with the judgment of Ms. Lewkowski next door and the judgment of your mother for living in sin.
Peggy began to put a plan in motion. She would have dinner with Daniel and Charlie, and then leave to spend the night at with Jarvis and Ana. Charlie would never have to know about their true living arrangement. The only problem was how to hide Peggy's things from Charlie. Charlie would have no reason to go into Daniel's closet, Peggy thought, so she would just throw all her clothes and personal items in the bedroom into there. She just needed to distract Charlie long enough to do it.
"Charlie dear, would you like to call your parents and let them know you made it here safely?" Peggy gestured to the phone.
"Oh yes, thank you Peggy."
Peggy swiftly moved into the hallway as she began to dial the phone and then practically ran into their bedroom. She was carrying a second armful of her clothes from the dresser into the closet when heard the bedroom door open.
"They must have stepped out for a-" Charlie stopped once she saw the clothes in Peggy's arms.
"I was just, uh, making some room for your things if you needed the dresser. You see, my apartment was flooded and Daniel was nice enough to let me store some things here."
Good lord, that was the best lie a federal agent could think of, Peggy thought? She knew it was preposterous but she hoped by some miracle Charlie would buy it. But the sound of her laughter, Peggy was going to go out on a limb and assume not.
"Really Peggy, you two thought I would care you were living together?"
"Living together? No you see-"
"Peggy, there are a dozen Agatha Christie novels in the living room and that bathroom is meticulously clean. I lived with that boy until I was twenty and I know that is not his doing." Charlie said as she put a hand on Peggy's shoulder. "Now, do you want to put your things back in your dresser?"
"I must look ridiculous right now." This is not how Peggy intended to meet one of the most important people in Daniel's life for the first time. She was supposed to make a good first impression, not have the first time meeting Charlie start off with a lie.
"Don't be silly, I'm sure I would have done the same thing," Charlie laughed as she watched Peggy put back the armful of clothes.
"Now," Peggy smoothed her dress, "I should really be a proper hostess and offer you some tea. Daniel really should be here shortly."
"That sounds lovely."
The two had just sat down on the couch to enjoy their tea when the front door opened.
"Hey Peg, they had some bananas too and I thought-" Daniel stopped when he saw his sister smiling at him. "Charlie!"
"Happy Holidays Daniel!" Charlie gave him a big hug despite his arms being full with a grocery bag. "I'm afraid I really wasn't thinking when I decided to come and intrude on you."
"No, no Charlie you're not intruding. We would love to have you at our-" Daniel stopped dead in his tracks when he realized what he had said. He gave Peggy an apologetic look, which she only returned with a laugh.
"I'm afraid I already blew our cover dear."
"I don't know why you kept this from me Daniel," Charlie said while giving him a disappointed look.
"You know how Pai and Nene are."
"I don't really think they would mind that much," Charlie tried but smiled when Daniel gave her an unconvinced look. "All right, they probably will mind. But really Daniel, you are an adult now."
"An adult who has no shame admitting he's a little scared of his mother," Daniel said.
"And I'm afraid this is as just as much my fault," Peggy interjected. "As much as I don't want to hear anything from my mum, I would rather like to meet your nene before she finds out we have an apartment together."
"Well, she'll never hear anything from me," Charlie promised. "Now, don't you have a dinner to go back to making Daniel?"
That's my sister, Daniel thought.
Peggy and Daniel enjoyed their visit with Charlie. The two still had to work, but they found plenty of time during the evening to entertain her. During the day, Mr. Jarvis and the car were at her disposal to take her anywhere in the city she would like. The highlight of the trip to Charlie was certainly the dinner with Howard at the swankiest restaurant in town. Daniel had been prepared to give Howard a lecture about respecting his sister, but he quickly saw that as much as she enjoyed his company, she seemed as immune to his charm as Peggy.
It seemed like she had only gotten to their apartment yesterday, but soon enough it was time for her to return home. Daniel was putting her suitcase into the car and was having a chat with Mr. Jarvis when Charlie took Peggy aside into the kitchen.
"It was really nice to get to know you Peggy."
"And it was lovely to meet you. I hope you have some nice things to share about me with your parents."
"Of course," Charlie smiled. "And before I left, well, I wanted to say thank you."
"For having you here? It was no trouble I assure you."
"No, thank you for that, but that's not what I meant." Charlie paused. "Thank you for loving my brother."
"Oh," Peggy whispered, she wasn't anticipating a conversation such as this. "He makes it quite easy, I assure you."
"He is a good man, isn't he?" Charlie nodded as she looked at her brother out the window. "Sometimes I have to remind myself he's just that, a man. He doesn't need his big sister protecting him anymore."
"I don't think he will ever stop needing you," Peggy protested. "From what he told me about his youth, you were like a third parent."
"I just felt so… responsible for him," Charlie said. "The day he was born, Pai said a good sister watched out for her brother. And Daniel was a little guy growing up and the other boys teased him so. I think they knew… he was too gentle to fight back as much as he should have. He let people walk all over him sometimes. But he's changed now."
"He's still a sweet man, but I think you're right," Peggy nodded. "I've noticed a change in him myself. He seems much more assured of himself nowadays. That doesn't mean he still doesn't need his sister."
"He might need some protecting every now and then, but I think he has someone else to do that job now." Tears were starting to fall down Charlie's face as she embraced an unprepared Peggy in a hug. "Thank you Peggy, thank you for being a good woman and taking care of my brother."
Peggy couldn't stop a few tears from coming down her face as well. She felt a weight come off her shoulders she hadn't realized was their be lifted when she knew she was being accepted by at least one of Daniel's family members. And not only that, but Peggy had the feeling she had gained a good friend that week.
"Peggy, Charlie are you okay?" Daniel was startled when he walked into the kitchen and saw both women crying.
"Fine, fine Daniel," Charlie smiled as she gave Daniel a quick peck on the cheek. "It's hard to say goodbye, that's all."
"Oh, okay. We'll try to come home this summer," Daniel assured her.
"Will you be ready to tell Pai and Nene by then?" Charlie smirked.
"Maybe next winter then," Daniel sighed.
Hope you liked it!