"I must say, I was surprised to hear from you." Maria Cline said, amused. Peggy begrudgingly handed her a cup of coffee and sat down opposite her at their dining table. It became apparent to her why she hadn't thought of this earlier – giving Maria the active responsibility of looking out for Dottie would only likely cause Maria to push her luck further if she hadn't already. Peggy tried not to think of what may have already happened between them both during Dottie's absence. "Try not to be too surprised, this is hardly a social call." Peggy said, flatly. Maria inclined her head slightly but held the amused grin she was giving the Agent, whose patience was already wearing thin. It would be extremely satisfying for her to wipe it off with one swift hook to the jaw, Peggy thought darkly. Something playful danced in Maria's grass green eyes, "So was Dottie invited or is this just a one on one, detective?" she asked cheerily. Peggy narrowed her eyes slightly, "Agent." She corrected the annoyance sat before her, "And no, she wasn't." Peggy sighed. Maria leaned forward slightly, her eyebrows raising a little,
"Really? Gosh, I wonder what she'd say if I told her I alone was invited for coffee with you. And to think she has been so well behaved for y-," Peggy shot her a look of venom before interrupting her, "I invited you because... I..." The words were harder to come out of Peggy's mouth than she anticipated, God she hated this. Maria smiled fully, and finished Peggy's sentence for her "Because you need my help." The cup of tea in front of the brunette was suddenly very interesting to Peggy, who had lowered her gaze in some kind of shame. She nodded, "Yes. That's it."
"So explain." Maria said, surprising Peggy. She hadn't expected Maria to even show up, let alone actually listen to what she had to say. Her brown eyes rose up from the tea and to Maria's face before she produced a file, seemingly out of nowhere.
"This, Maria, is my plan to arrest Julien Allore." Maria raised an eyebrow and didn't bother to open the file when it was slid across the table to her,
"Arrest?" Maria asked, her tone serious, "I have a job to do." She said. Peggy nodded, "That's right, and so do I, Maria. Unlike you, I'm not doing it for the money." Maria shook her head, "You have absolutely no idea why I'm doing this." Peggy studied her; it was either money or revenge – she refused to believe it were anything more.
"Enlighten me." Peggy said, still curious. Maria's brow creased in annoyance,
"Just stay away, Agent. This isn't your concern." To this, Peggy's dark eyes hardened, "Dorothy Underwood is my concern and you are going to kill her, if this job of yours doesn't do it for you." Maria looked slightly taken aback, confusion written into her features for a moment, "This job? All she's doing is helping me get to him; I'm doing the dirty work, Peggy." Then her face cleared slightly and she nodded, "And yes, I was ordered to kill her, but I have no intention of doing so."
"She knows what Julien has done and is fully prepared to take the shot, that's enough." Peggy said her voice hard, "I don't want her to go back there Maria." Maria suddenly understood, "You think she'll lose herself in old habit?" she asked. Peggy wasn't sure honestly, "I just don't want her to let herself down or do anything she'll regret." Maria tried to reason, "He's a bad person, and I don't think she'll regret this." Peggy glared at her, "Just make sure she doesn't." Maria felt compelled to agree – she didn't exactly want Dottie to become the woman she saw again when she took that picture of her years ago either, even if it were just for a moment. She cared too much to allow that and somehow Peggy knew, which was why she was here in the first place.
"You won't kill her, then?" Peggy asked, interrupting Maria's thoughts.
Maria shook her head, "Absolutely not."
"Why?" Peggy asked. She already knew the answer but she half wanted to hear it come from Maria herself, her other half was warning her that she wouldn't like the answer. It was Maria's turn to find her drink suddenly interesting, "I consider her to be a good friend." She stated simply.
"That's all?" Peggy asked. Maria furrowed her brows, still refusing to look at the brunette, "You already know, why are you bothering to ask? Are you trying to embarrass me further?" It was embarrassing because she was so willing to give herself to Dottie who would likely never love her back the same way. It was embarrassing because she could never hope to compete with the likes of Peggy Carter. She forced herself to look up from her coffee to see Peggy watching her, "You're right. I already know." The brown gaze averted hers for a moment before a gentle sigh escaped her lips, "Maria, if what I already know is true, then I trust you'll do everything in your power protect her." The woman opposite her nodded, "Of course I will." Peggy seemed satisfied with this answer and watched Maria drain her cup of coffee. "Could you perhaps give Dottie my regards?" She asked as Maria stood up when she was finished. Neither were planning on Maria staying long – so she nodded and left, leaving Peggy sitting at the table nursing her tea. She wondered why Maria was doing this. If her airy behaviour was anything to go off of, it was apparent that she just wanted a life free from dictation. And yet, here she was, being ordered around to kill, again. And for what?
Dottie looked up from the book she was reading to see Maria swan into her room. The studio had many rooms at the dancer's disposals, including shower rooms and a common area. It was fairly spacious, still furnished, and stocked with plenty of reading material. They had added a bed which Dottie could sleep in, and it was where Dottie had been living for the past month. How Maria had managed to get hot running water and electricity in this place was beyond her, but she was glad for it.
"You'll never guess who I just talked to." Maria said, sitting down opposite her on the bed. Dottie's expression remained as it was, "Who?" she asked. The dark haired woman smiled, "Peggy Carter." Dottie quietly closed the book and did her best to appear impassive, "Oh, really?" She asked, careful not to let her voice crack or waver. Maria nodded, "She just wanted to tell me her plan to arrest Julien." She said, watching Dottie with interest. Dottie's eyebrows rose slightly, "Did she say anything else?" It had been supposed to sound uncaring, but it instead came out sounding slightly annoyed. Maria saw the opportunity to distance the two further and shook her head, "No. She just wanted to give me a heads up about her plan to make an arrest, as if I were going to change my mind and back off." She threw in an eye roll. Dottie's body tensed a little and she nodded, "Oh, right." How charming, Peggy mustn't have cared as much as Dottie originally thought, if at all. The brooch was suddenly weighing heavily on her short sleeved cardigan, but she left it on. For now, it remained a small symbol of hope that maybe Peggy was just trying not to let anyone know she cared even though she did, and that she was just doing a very good job of it. Maria sensed the drop in the atmosphere and she felt kind of bad for how good she felt. She quickly dismissed it though; Dottie didn't belong with that Englishwoman anyway.
She trained her features to appear sympathetic and put a hand on Dottie's knee, "I'm sure she means well." For some reason hearing that from Maria made her doubt it even more and Dottie shook her head, "I doubt it. She's tough. I hardly think she's spending her nights crying over any of this."
Maria frowned suddenly, "I hope you aren't." Dottie looked caught off guard for a moment before she forced a laugh, "What? Honestly, you know me, Maria. Of course not!" Maria nodded, and she knew Dottie well enough to know when she was lying. She couldn't explain why it annoyed her so much that Dottie might sometimes cry over Peggy. Maybe it annoyed her because it meant Dottie wouldn't get over her as quick as she wanted. Maybe it annoyed her because nobody should ever make Dottie Underwood cry, especially not someone she actually loved, someone as lucky as Peggy Carter. Maybe it annoyed Maria because she knew or at least she believed that Dottie had never once cried over her.
It was Dottie's turn to change the subject, "Shall we practice?" she asked, getting up and smoothing her skirt. Maria simply looked at her for a moment, still caught up in her thoughts before she discarded them and stood up with a smile, "We shall." All that mattered was that she was the one with Dottie right now, not Peggy. That was, at the very least, a small win on her part.
Dottie was dancing more furiously than usual. Her actions more aggressive and her concentration more intense.
"I'm almost tempted to just get you to fight with me." Maria breathed, her eyes wide as Dottie pulled her hard against her. Their faces were close and Maria felt her knees almost buckle. Being in such close proximity to an angry Dottie Underwood was a huge turn on. She continued the dance though and spun away and faced Dottie again, whose face was tense, "We can't exactly turn up to the show covered in cuts and bruises." The blonde said, her voice icy. Maria nodded, she had a point. Makeup wouldn't cover everything, as skilled as the artists were. When she was brought back in, her back was pressed against Dottie's front, and Dottie's aggression only made every movement harder than usual, causing Maria to feel more aroused than usual. She forgot the next few paces and had to pull away, which only succeeded in making the blonde even more annoyed than she was already acting.
"I'm sorry. I forgot the steps." Maria said apologetically, placing a hand on her hot forehead. Dottie shook her head, "Its fine." She said, though her face said it was anything but. She strode away and out of the room, leaving Maria breathing hard and sweating. She pushed her dark hair back from her face; Dottie had no idea what she did to her. She took a moment to calm and cool herself down before going to find her partner.
When she found Dottie, the woman was shaking a drink vigorously. Once she was satisfied it had mixed, she poured it into a couple of glasses. She handed one to Maria, who looked at her with apprehension, "I don't think drinking will do anything to help my memory of the steps, Dottie." Dottie took her own glass and drank from it, her features sharpening slightly, "I don't give a damn." She said, causing Maria to blink at her.
"Excuse me?" she asked, her green eyes hardening. She may have loved Dottie, but that didn't mean she'd let her talk to her like shit, especially not over Peggy Carter. Dottie cast her a quick glance, "You're excused." Maria put down the drink and gritted her teeth, "What ever your problem is, Dottie, it isn't with me." She said in a low voice. Dottie put down her own drink, "Funny, because before you showed up with Vladislav and all this shit you brought, my life was fine! It was finally normal! So yes, Maria, my problem is with you." The blonde nearly spat.
"Your life would never have been normal! Not after what you did to Stalin. If it weren't for me, your life now would have been nothing close to what it is now. I don't even want to imagine what could have happened to you if I hadn't convinced Vladislav that telling everyone what you did would be a mistake." Maria hissed, successfully silencing Dottie, who sat down, looking tired and pensive all of a sudden. She put her head in her hands and sighed, "I'm sorry. You're right, I should be thanking you." Maria sat down beside her, and softened, "I don't want you to thank me, Dottie. I want this all to be over. I want to get rid of Julien, I want to get rid of Golden, I want to get my moth-," she stopped herself before her mouth could betray her any further. Dottie had already heard her though and was looking at her, wide eyed, "What?" Maria dropped her gaze and frowned, "Nothing." She felt Dottie's hand under her chin and was lifted to face her again, "Tell me, Maria." Dottie said, her expression kind, her eyes warm. Maria felt her heart lurch, how could she not tell Dottie? How could she say no? She took a deep breath.
"My mother. He has my mother." Maria said quietly, staring at Dottie, whose brow knitted in confusion, "But how? How were you brought into the Academy? How does he have your mother?" Dottie asked. Maria sighed; it would be a long story.
Maria did not come from wealth. Her mother was desperate for her to receive an education, and Maria was taken by the Academy who had convinced her mother, Karla that it was simply a boarding school for girls, and that they were offering a scholarship of some kind. Once there, they quickly convinced Maria that her mother didn't want her and she was sent there as a result, when in fact they threatened her mother's life and Maria's if Karla tried to intervene in any way. They didn't kill her right away because they thought that showing her mercy would work in their favour. And it did, they didn't need to bother spinning a whole story on her death, because she was taken into prison when she tried to go to the authorities about the secret boarding school who were raising their little girls to become spies. She was believed to be mad and was kept there and forgotten about. It was years before she managed to escape and in the process found her daughter grown up, and ready to kill her.
They recognised each other immediately and Maria put down the gun. She had been angry at Karla for leaving her, for not wanting her. But once Maria found none of it was true, she proceeded to take care of her mother in secret whenever she could. And then she was sent to America. She built a plan with her Karla in order to get her there too, so that they could reunite and start a new life. The plan worked and for a little while Karla was living with Maria, even as she still worked for Leviathan. Once Leviathan fell and Maria was free, her mother was not. She was taken by Golden, who had found out Karla had been helping young girls get clean from the drugs he sold them. She wouldn't again let a young girl's life be ruined. Maria was forced to work with him and help his business rise back up if she wanted to see her mother alive again.
Dottie's expression was unreadable, "I can't believe this." She leant forward and wiped away Maria's tears with a tissue, "We'll kill him. We'll kill both of them" Dottie said darkly. Had her own mother not been killed by her alcoholism, Dottie knew she might have done the same thing in Maria's position, maybe worse. Maria held the hand that was so tenderly cleaning her face and shook her head, "No, you won't. I will. You're here because I trust you Dottie. I know you're the only one who won't fuck this up or turn their back on me. Just help me get there and let me take care of it, please." Her green eyes searched blue, waiting for a confirmation. She got it, and Dottie nodded, "I won't let you down." She said confidently, before there was a pause "Thank you for telling me." She added. Maria sniffed and smiled weakly, "Anything for you." There was a moment of understanding between the two before Dottie handed Maria her drink again, "Have a drink." Maria grinned and took it gratefully, she needed it.