A/N: Hello faithful readers! I'm extending the 'submission period'. I got one really cool suggestion to add to the list. BEST (Bucky, Elizabeth and Steve) was submitted by a reader on AO3. The others are still, StuckyGoddess, StuckyBeth, Stabethy or CaptainAthenaWinter. Let me know, but for now, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, Disney, ABC or the Avengers.
After breakfast, I showed Jemma to her new labs, and Daisy already knew where she would be set up, already running Face Trace programs on multiple Hydra agents that had not gone down with the Triskelion.
I got a call about the President wanting to meet around lunchtime, so I sent Steve with Brock to go handpick a new STRIKE team, to keep him from finding out until I was gone. For now, it was Steve, Brock, Nat and Clint, who was staying for another week and then heading home to see his family.
I was waiting for the last of the Quinjets to touch down in the hangar, before sending Steve off. He kissed my cheek goodbye, jogging to catch up with Brock. They were taking my Quinjet to the HUB and the Playground, and would return around 2pm, with a good idea of who should be recruited. The agents that disembarked the Quinjets looked over at me confused, walking over to stand in a rough formation.
"Good morning, and welcome to orientation. We are starting over. And with that, regardless of what department you were previously stationed in, it means ensuring we are stronger than the enemy. Depending on your shifts, you'll be training hard before your start times. All departments will be certified in weapons, as I know many in the Science's were not prepared for a fire fight. If I hear of any complaining, I will personally build the Absentee Father, by hand, adding modifications that will make you regret complaining about sparing, weight training, using the gun range and paintball course, or using a treadmill," I sassed, "Cause a paintball course is practically a luxury for this base. And you will get used to carrying a weapon at all times. No one will be left defenseless."
"There are rules to this particular base. Nobody leaves unless on a Quinjet or by authorized use of a Photostatic veil. Hydra knows you, they know your families' identities, and they won't hesitate to hunt you down if they think you are a threat. So, if you receive a threat, asking you to come forward in exchange for your family and friends outside of SHIELD, you come directly to me, and I will do everything humanly and inhumanly possible to get them to safety. Understood?"
"Yes Colonel," A few of them said, while the rest nodded.
"This base is primarily run by an AI, HERMES. It requires the lanyards you each received after your session in the Chair to access. Do not lose your lanyard, or you will be explaining yourself to the Koenig's. Trust me when I say they are so beyond 'by the book', that you will have to complete the Chair again for a replacement. Your free time is your own. Use of the Internet is to be used with caution. While our tech keeps us invisible to Hydra, use of social media will help them locate us very quickly. No selfies with Quinjets," I joked, seeing some of them chuckle.
"A delivery truck should be arriving here soon with a preliminary amount of food and general supplies for the next two days. Only take what you need, and we will be getting the cafeteria set up quickly. Each room has its own small kitchen, with basic appliances. If you would like a toaster or a microwave, you submit a requisition to the QM. You will have a roommate, but you will not have to share a room, only a bathroom and the kitchen. You'll see what I mean later."
"There are twelve floors, ten above ground, and the remaining two sub-basements. Level One is strictly training rooms and the cafeteria. Medical is on Level Two, and the Science labs on Level Three. Levels Four to Six are offices and conference rooms for debriefings, Communications and Operations. Levels Seven to Ten are accommodations. Level Ten however is reserved and off limits without express permission of a resident of that floor. You will be required to swipe your lanyard anyway, so don't try it."
"Sub Basement Level One is a holding floor for those bound for the FRIDGE or government lockup. Sub Basement Level Two is a weapons range. There are lounges on each accommodation floor, with larger kitchens, video game consoles and tech. Use them responsibly and please be considerate of others, who would like to enjoy those things instead of cleaning up after you."
"You aren't my private army, you are not toy soldiers. You are real people, with very real lives. I have never asked my men to sacrifice more than I was willing to myself. All I want is to keep you safe, and to keep the world safe while we are at it. Now, are there any questions?" I asked, waiting a moment while everyone digested what I had just said. A hand raised and I smiled in the agent's direction.
"Are you really expecting Colonel?" She asked, and I nodded, giving a small side view of my belly, "I am. If it's not obvious by the beach ball I swallowed."
That got a chuckle out of the crowd, breaking the tense atmosphere.
"Colonel?" A voice asked, and I saw Sharon's hand when I turned toward the voice, "Have we determined how many of ours are still waiting for rescue?"
"Roughly 200. One team will be going to assess the Sandbox and begin tracking down any escaped prisoners. As soon as your bags are in your room, you head out in teams to pick them up and deliver them to the Koenig's at the Playground and Providence for questioning. Just protocol," I held up my hands, as she nodded.
"You were mentioning our families. Should we be concerned they might be threatened?" Another asked.
"I would like to say that it would never happen, but that is a 'perfect world' situation. This is our real world, with a very real threat. Hydra is fractured, trying to stabilize themselves and when people don't feel secure, they can resort to drastic measures to gain their footing again."
"Ma'am, will our… will our fallen be given proper recognition? My friend, my partner…" One man asked, "He drew enemy fire to help the rest of my team escape at the HUB."
"Our fallen will be given a proper memorial. It is something I will be speaking to the President about today. And the Wall's of Valor still stands at most of our recaptured bases and academies. They will be added, I promise, if not given a separate memorial marker."
"Yes?" I said, seeing a young girl, probably one of the relocated academy students.
"I just want to say, thank you, for sending those Agents," She spoke softly.
"I don't leave anyone behind," I answered honestly.
"Anymore questions?" I asked after a moment of silence. When no one called out, or raised their hands I said, "Alright then. I have Agent Rogers and Agent Triplett over there, ready to give you your room assignment and tell you where you'll pick up your first week's schedule. HERMES will alert you when the food truck arrives and again, and take only what you'll need. I can always order more," I reminded them, checking my watch, "You've got 30 minutes before the food arrives and immediately after that you'll be designated to teams for rescue. Dismissed."
"Colonel Rogers," Sharon's voice called over the murmuring of the crowd, who were walking over to Daisy and Trip for their room assignments.
"Agent 13," I smiled, "What can I help you with?"
"You could start by please telling me whether it's a girl or a boy?" She whispered with a smile.
"A girl," I beamed, "We are excited, but trying to keep it down. A lot of people just went through a lot of trauma they weren't prepared for."
"Damn straight. Not upset, but why wasn't I brought in?" She asked, confused.
"Because we needed everything to be genuine for Hydra. Everyone's reactions, they had already predicted them, and I didn't want to tip them off more. They know you are a Carter, and I wouldn't give them anymore reason to take you out. I was trying to protect you."
"Thank you Aunt Liz. But next time, I want in."
"I know. I'm counting on you Share-bear," I teased and she groaned quietly, "Rumlow still had a moment to tease me about that, thank you very much."
"Well, I hope a promotion to Communications Department Head of this base might change your mind about hating me," I said as we walked.
"Are you serious?" She asked as she stopped in her tracks.
"I am. You get a secretary and everything," I smiled back.
"I accept, enthusiastically."
"Perfect. Don't bother going over for your room assignment. I have you across the hallway from Brock on the 10th floor."
"Are you guys going back to get stuff from the apartment? I need to grab a few things," She asked.
"I might send Brock and Steve tomorrow. You can catch a ride if you aren't still picking up our agents abroad."
"I may still need to speak to Daisy, so I will leave you here," She said, giving me a salute. I chuckled, "At ease soldier. Peggy will be so proud of you- Shit! I have to go see her after I see the President."
"Oh, good luck with that. Seriously, her temper increased since her Alzheimer's started, haven't you noticed?"
"Oh yes, I did. And I'm not looking forward to that."
President Ellis greeted me as I walked in to his office, where several members of the government were present.
"Colonel," He smiled to me, shaking my hand.
"Mr. President," I returned the smile, as he introduced me to the room; George Rider, Kevin Donaldson, and Jackson Decker. The Director of the CIA, FBI and Homeland respectively. Along with General Barker of the Army and Admiral Franklin of the Navy.
"Now, we called you here to discuss, privately, how things are going to proceed," He started, as I sat.
"With SHIELD still operating, we hope there is a more fool-proof vetting process," The Director of the CIA piped in.
"There is. A lie detector chair that measures 96 different variables, including galvanic skin response, oxygen consumption, pupil dilation, micro expressions biofeedback, brain waves, voice biometrics, etc."
"What?" I asked, noticing the looks on their faces, "Too much?"
"That's… very thorough."
"Well, it was designed to be something even Agent Romanoff couldn't beat."
"Did she?"
"No. I did however, but I've had more years than most to hone my skills."
"Can we borrow it?" Jackson asked, making the rest of us chuckle.
"Yes. I'd like to ask that you put your own people through it. It's one thing for them to have people in SHIELD and the government, but Rumlow tells me that they are even in senior positions of the army, navy, air force. It's very plausible that they are in your own agencies."
"Alright," Matthew said, directing the conversation back, "Where are we with tracking them?"
"Some hideouts were easy to find, other bases are in more dense areas, more likely to be civilian casualties if we storm the place," General Barker supplied.
"I have a lead on one in Chicago, but I'd like permission to implement one of my own undercover," I asked, "See what their security is like from the inside to determine how to attack and capture."
"I see no problem with that," George said, "But until things have settled down, we'd like to be apprised of operations, costs, overseas work and such."
"That's fair. I assume our funding will be monitored this way?"
"Just to ensure its being used for what you say it is," Matthew assured calmly.
"We had syphoned most of the money out of the accounts before everything went down. Right before they could do the same. I have a record of the transfer to the new account, and we can transfer that back to the account you set up for us."
"You are being quite… reasonable Colonel," Kevin commented, suspiciously.
"I'd rather we didn't get off on a bad foot. I may have given Senate the impression, but it was more for Hydra that I said those things. My confidence has always been in this government and how it conducts itself. I believed in what I fought for during the War, democracy and freedom. Freedom sometimes means following the rules of democracy, not running wild and putting other people at risk. We'll earn back your trust, even if it takes ten to twenty years."
"Elizabeth, thank you," Matthew said seriously, "I'm glad you took up the mantle."
"Director Carter and Director Fury are tough acts to follow, but I'm going to do my best. Now, I'd like to discuss proper memorials for our fallen. We can determine who was Hydra and true SHIELD, but my people want to honor their colleagues that gave their lives that day."
"As they were federal agents, I assume Arlington," George asked, and I shrugged, "I believe their families should be given the choice of where they are interred. My only request is a memorial for my people. Nothing quite as public as Memorial Day, or as extravagant. They deserved to be honored, not made a spectacle out of."
"Agreed. I would like to mention them come Memorial Day though. We could arrange for a candlelight vigil for the public, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Your people could have their own, to make it more personal," Matthew suggested.
"They'd like that. Once we secure the Academies, I'll arrange for our own."
"How secure is the FRIDGE?" Matthew asked.
"Not very at the moment. I only got a certain amount of the very dangerous items from it before I had to go off the grid. Hydra swept it clean, but I'm sure we can get it set up again, though not for storage. Strictly"
"So, when do you think you'll be able to get it secure?" George asked, "Because Gitmo is quite full now."
"I can make that priority one, once we've rescued and interrogated our overseas agents," I nodded, "Within the week."
"Sounds reasonable."
"What facilities are secure?"
"The HUB, Providence, the Playground and Olympus."
"Those three aren't listed on your previous list of facilities," Kevin said, looking over a paper.
"They were secret bases. Providence was Director Fury's, the Playground, Director Carter's and Olympus is mine. I've had it since the late 60's, but had it updated early 2000's, roughly 2003 I believe."
"Will we be able to see these facilities?"
" Talbot had previously secured the Playground last week, but after a short phone call, he released it back to us with the exception that his people oversaw us until the government gave us back full control. He withdrew his men this morning after your call Mr. President. Providence, the Playground and Olympus will remain secret to those outside of SHIELD and the government, but we are more than able to give you tours of the facilities and a run down on how they operate."
"Any other points we missed?" Matthew asked the group.
"I have one. I have information on your replacement candidate for Secretary of State. Please do not pick Ross," I pleaded, giving over my evidence against him. Kevin took it first, reading it in shock, "Is this true?"
"Every word of it. I actually recruited one of his men to SHIELD and he gave me the evidence. Ross distanced himself from Banner because he couldn't control the Hulk. He has lied several times to the government and yourself General Barker," I said as the evidence was passed to him. He read it carefully, nodding with pursed lips.
"Will you seize the RAFT?" He asked, and I sighed, "Only with the permission of the agencies. Or better yet, keep SHIELD out of it. Conflict of interest as Dr. Banner/Hulk is part of the Avengers Initiative."
"Is that where your interests lie? Keeping him on your side?" Admiral Franklin asked.
"No, my interest is in keeping a man like this out of power, where he could do more damage than good. He'd do anything to get the Hulk back and put him down. He sees him as a threat, and we see him as an ally. After New York, it would be hard to picture anything else. Dr. Banner has control over the Hulk and his transformations, unless provoked. I'd rather not give Ross a chance to provoke him. If we protect Dr. Banner from him, he'd try to take us down as well. This is a man that does not like to hear the word 'No', even going so far as threatening me for blood samples to help recreate the Super Soldier Serum."
"We're convinced," George spoke gently, after getting the nod from the rest of the group.
"Alright, he will be removed from our shortlist,"
"Thank you for the information Colonel. We'll deal with him," General Barker nodded.
"I think this is going to be the easiest transfer of leadership in the history of this government," Matthew teased, "Even with the mess in the Potomac."
"So, this Chair…" Jackson asked.
When I left the White House, I popped by to see Peggy, expecting her to be in the middle of an episode. I checked in with the head of security to ensure they had swept for bugs and to loan them a zapper to fry anything they found, or for regular sweeps.
"You absolute brat!" Peggy hollered when I appeared in her doorway, "Hydra? Pregnant? You disappear for months and didn't think to mention that? This is like Steve all over again. I had to learn about it from the bloody news report!"
"Well, to be fair, you didn't listen to my warning about Zola. Claimed my judgment on the matter of him was clouded by grief," I challenged back. She deflated against her pillow and huffed.
"I guess that was a low blow. You were hurting. But why wouldn't you speak up again?" She asked as I came to sit beside her.
"Because I wanted proof. Maybe if I had found it sooner, Howard might still have lived to be 90 himself."
"Eliza," Peggy crooned, taking my hand, "I am so sorry. If I had suspected for even a second-"
"It's okay. I knew I was right, and that was enough."
"You bore all of this, all these secrets alone."
"Not alone. Well, up until a year ago, I was alone save for my inside man. Nick was the one to approach me that he had a bad feeling, and Steve happened to be there when I laid my cards out."
"Oh dear, how did he take that?" Peggy sassed. I raised a brow at her, "Still not being fair to him either, are you?"
"No, I guess I'm not. He is a dramatic one though. But how did he take it?"
"Well, there wasn't yelling, like I assumed. It was a deadly low voice instead, but I just kept cracking jokes like I do in any uncomfortable situation."
"Typical you," she teased.
"And once I got it out, we came back to a discussion we had a few months earlier, of starting a family," I smiled as I laid a hand on my bump.
"My dear, you don't know how happy I am for you! I didn't see you pregnant with Phillip, or how you were as a mother, but I know you must have a natural instinct for it. I only hope I get to live long enough to meet this baby," She sniffled.
"You will," I smiled, "I promise."
She smiled a bit before asking, "Why start a family when you knew Hydra was still out there though?"
"Because I had waited long enough to actually live my life. I'd existed Peg, not really doing more than work, eat, sleep, and repeat. And I could never deny Steve something we both wanted. Something we had always talked about with Bucky. It was before we knew he was... even before we found out Hydra had him."
"I saw the news last night, after your Senate hearing. Barnes is alive?" Peggy asked softly and I looked back up at her, feeling tears roll down my cheeks, unable to hold back a sobbed, "Yes."
"You have either had a series of unfortunate events or a series of extremely lucky coincidences in your life. But this, everything has lead you back together," She smiled, "You have both of them back, after all these years."
"Almost," I smiled sadly, wiping my eyes.
"How bad was it?" She asked.
"Cryo freezing, shock torture, brainwashing… It's about as bad as inhumanely possible. He doesn't remember he can choose things for himself, or that he can refuse to do something he doesn't want to. They never gave him real food, just some weird ration bar formulated for his metabolism. He almost started crying this morning, having toast for the first time in we don't know how many years. I almost started crying!"
"Those bastards," She bit out, shaking her head, "I'd like to see them burn even further."
"They will. Rumlow was a wealth of information, and we've got good leads on their locations. Tony volunteered to help with some tech design and its stuff we know that couldn't have copied from SHIELD."
"How many did we lose?" She asked, and I wanted to smile at her use of 'we', like she hadn't been retired for over 20 years.
"537," I sighed.
"How many remain?" She asked, concerned.
"Around 2000," I estimated, "Rough count, as we are in the middle of rescuing undercover agents from abroad."
"And what is this going to set us back?" She asked.
"Over half our force was Hydra to begin with, but with Insight, we managed to take out half of theirs."
"Well, that's something," She smiled. I nodded, "It's going to even the playing field."
"Is there any word on the gender?" Peggy asked, smiling at the way I rubbed my bump.
"It's a girl," I answered, seeing her face light up.
"That is wonderful! I can't wait to meet her," She smiled, squeezing my hand.
"I can't wait either. I'd like to ask you something now, in case you mind…"
"What is it?" She asked.
"Steve and I were discussing names awhile back, but something I always wanted was to name my children after meaningful people in my life. Phil was named for Chester, and this little one is going to be named after my Mom, Sophia. But I wanted to use your name as a middle name, or even if I have another girl down the road."
"Peggy or Margaret?" She smiled.
"Either or. I just wondered if it was okay. My Mom isn't exactly here to say no, and-"
"Eliza, I would be honored. I may not make it to see another, but I am so touched that you would choose me."
"Are you kidding, you're the best friend a girl could have," I smiled through my tears. Her eyes seemed to go unfocused for a moment and I felt the shift as she asked, "Where is Steve taking you tonight? On this walk after the Public House?"
I took a deep breath, thinking back to the memory of Steve, Bucky's and mine first night together and what I had actually said to her. I knew I hadn't said anything more, so I started elaborating, "We are going around St. James Park. Hopefully we will be back before curfew."
"Those rowdy men will be in their cups by now. You watch yourself at the Public House," She warned and I smiled tightly thinking of my Commandos, "I will."
"Now, Howard told you to not break anyone's heart, but I think with this dress you'll break just the right amount. Give Captain Rogers my best. I think I'll get some rest. We have a big day tomorrow, planning and such."
"Don't wait up for me Peg. I love you," I smiled, leaning forward to kiss her cheek. She returned the gesture, laughing, "I love you too, daft girl. I haven't forgiven you for giving me a heart attack the other night. Jumping out of a bloody plane."
"I give your life adventure and excitement and you know it," I teased, getting up and saying, "Till tomorrow."
"Till tomorrow. Go knock them dead!" She called.
"I will," I winked at her, still smiling as I walked out of her door. As it closed, I couldn't help a few tears, steeling myself as I locked eyes with Melinda down the hall.
"Was it bad?" She asked as I dried my eyes lightly.
"It was okay. She just turned a minute ago," I sighed, as I caught Jeanette's eyes, "She's back during the War. A head's up."
"Thank you Colonel. And congratulations," She smiled at me.
"Thanks Jeanette. Have a good day. Sneak her something sweet later please," I asked as I started walking away from the nurse's station.
"I will, and you as well Colonel."
When we got outside, I took a deep breath, Mel a silent comfort by my side.
"Home?" She asked.
"Not Olympus yet. I need to drop in on someone. And then one more errand."
"Who?" Mel asked as we walked towards the car.