The Ordinary Days
A/N: Welcome back! Thank you so much to everybody who has clicked on the story and/or left a review, it really means a lot to me that so many of you are continuing with this story. :)
WARNINGS: Some steamy stuff happens in this chapter but it doesn't venture into rated M territory yet. Peggy's assault is briefly mentioned in one line by Steve towards the end but it's nothing explicit.
Chapter Six
After dutifully applying her makeup and picking out a simple day dress, Peggy went down to the kitchen the next morning and found Steve dumping the last of his coffee into the sink. He gave her a shy smile when he saw her.
"Good morning," he said kindly, and she merely smiled in reply. "I was just about to head out to help Daniel with some things. But I left the rest of the coffee on in case you wanted any."
"Oh," replied Peggy as she noticed the silver coffee pot steaming on the stove. "Thank you, but I'm alright. I'm more of a tea drinker anyway."
She grabbed a pot from a lower cabinet to boil water and Steve nodded with a bit of a frown.
"Oh…yes, of course. I should've realized."
"No, it's fine. I can make it myself."
Steve stood for a moment watching her fill the water with an oddly determined expression on his face, which Peggy found intriguing. Was he watching how she made tea to remember how to do it himself?
"Weren't you about to head out?" asked Peggy as she found Steve's gaze a little off putting, and he blinked.
"Oh, yes. I'll be back before suppertime, if not sooner."
Peggy nodded as Steve waited for just another moment, as if waiting for her to say something, but in a moment he turned and walked out of the front door.
Once the tea was ready, Peggy sat down with the steaming cup and inhaled the comforting vapors. She thought about Steve's hesitation before leaving – had he been wanting her to wish him goodbye? Or even a, "so long darling, I'll see you at suppertime" kind of farewell? Surely not, as he was just as much aware of their arrangement as she was. But was that something he would expect some time down the road? Was he anticipating that eventually they would fall in love and become a happily married couple?
That was not Peggy's plan, as she knew this arrangement was only to keep her and her unborn child off the streets. Of course, it would be nice if they could be friends, but would she ever find herself happily married to Steve Rogers?
One day at a time, she reminded herself as she took a scathing sip of her Earl Grey.
True to Jarvis' word, the first visitor since moving in was his wife, Ana. She bounded up the front steps and embraced Peggy, who was off guard since she had never met this woman before.
"Dear Mrs. Rogers," said Ana warmly as she kissed Peggy on one cheek and then the other. "I feel as if I know you already. My sweet Edwin told me all about you and your new husband, whom I was surprised to learn are great friends of the Starks! They have been so good to us, so any friend of theirs is a dear friend of ours."
"Oh, um," stammered Peggy, surprised but flattered by Ana's enthusiastic expressions of friendship. "That is very kind of you. Your husband was very generous in helping me get off on the right foot yesterday and I'm grateful for that."
"Oh, nonsense," tutted Ana, "we treat our friends as family. Now then, I brought some things to help us with your cooking lesson today. Might we get started?"
"Yes, of course."
Peggy helped her bring in some of the paper bags of groceries that were in her car and the pair got started on making some basic dishes and desserts. Peggy found her to be an even better teacher than her husband, much to her surprise – Ana was jovial and sweet, taking great care to ensure Peggy knew not only how to cook the basics but general techniques like chopping and sauteing.
"Every good wife should know these things," winked Ana as she showed Peggy the proper way to whisk an egg. Peggy smiled meekly back at the comment but said nothing.
By the end of the day, the icebox was full of meals and spreads that would last the couple for weeks. Peggy was walking Ana out to her car when Steve approached from the fields, looking a little dirtier and more tired than she had seen him that morning.
"Hello," he said warmly to Ana. "I'm Steve Rogers."
"Oh! Mr. Rogers," she exclaimed, "what a pleasure it is to meet you! My husband said nothing but good things about you when he came home last night."
"How kind. Are you heading out for the day?"
"Yes, but I'll be back soon to continue cooking lessons with Mrs. Rogers. I've been spending all day with your gorgeous wife, and she is even kinder than I had imagined. You're a lucky man!"
Peggy caught the nervous smile that he gave her, and she could not help but feel a little guilty about hoodwinking the Jarvises into thinking they were happily married newlyweds.
"Y-yes, indeed I am. Give my regards to Mr. Jarvis, will you?"
"I will! Goodbye Mr. Rogers, Mrs. Rogers!"
Ana climbed into her car and drove off as the pair climbed up the stairs into the house.
"So were your cooking lessons today a success?" Steve asked as he followed Peggy into the kitchen.
"If you check our icebox, you'll answer that question yourself," chuckled Peggy. "We definitely won't starve any time soon."
"I'm glad you're improving," he said with a smile, but then his eyes widened. "N-not that you were bad before, or anything like that, the stew yesterday was great –"
"I won't be offended if you say I'm a bad cook," she interrupted, a little bite in her voice. "It's simply a fact that I haven't cooked much of anything before, so I hold no false ideas that I'll be any good after two days of lessons."
"Right…" Steve trailed off, looking like he wasn't sure if he should keep talking or not. Thankfully, he chose not to keep digging his own grave and the pair ate their supper in near silence.
A week passed by in a whirlwind as Peggy worked every day on getting the house cleaned and presentable, while Steve spent most of his time getting shown the lay of the land by Daniel and helping him care for the animals and the fields. Ana came over once or twice more in the middle of the week to teach Peggy some cooking basics, and Peggy found herself getting a little nervous as she came over more frequently. Her morning sickness could come and go, sometimes presenting itself right when she woke up or other times later in the morning after she had eaten breakfast. Thankfully, though, Ana never appeared to notice Peggy looking ill but the more often she came to visit, the chances of her seeing something concerning increased. Despite this, Peggy was grateful to Ana for helping her better her cooking skills so she and Steve wouldn't starve.
Steve, meanwhile, found a good acquaintance in Daniel and valued his knowledge of farming and husbandry. Sometimes in between their laboring they chatted about the war as it was a common interest, but neither of them carried that long of a conversation about it as it was often a sore subject for most men their age. Every evening, Steve came home to find Peggy in the kitchen attempting a new recipe for dinner (with varying degrees of success, his tastebuds lamented), and then after dinner the pair separated and went to bed in their respective bedrooms alone.
It was such a strange thing, Peggy thought, to be married to someone and yet barely see them except in passing. Their busyness during the day at least gave them both a welcome distraction from the loneliness they were feeling deep down, but at night, when the house was quiet, it was difficult to think on anything else. There were many nights when Peggy was tossing and turning in her bed and thought about knocking on Steve's door and asking if he was just as lonely as she was, but she thought better of it and left him alone.
One afternoon while Peggy was digging away in the garden planters outside the house, a voice called out to her. She looked up and saw a brunette woman in a pair of overalls approaching the house, waving.
"Hi!" the woman said as she approached Peggy, who stood up and brushed the dirt off her apron. "I'm Angie Martinelli, I live on the farm down the way. I heard I had some new neighbors so I thought I'd come by and say 'howdy.'"
"Oh, hello," said Peggy as she shook her hand. "I'm Peggy Car-I mean, Rogers. My husband and I acquired the farm from a friend and moved in about a week ago."
"Oh, you're English!" exclaimed Angie in delight. "I've never known anyone from outside the States. Is that your real accent?"
Peggy chuckled. "Yes, I promise you I'm not that good of an actress."
"Is your husband English too?"
"No, Steve is American, through and through. He's out working in the beet fields otherwise I'd introduce him to you. Would you like to come inside?"
"Sure thing."
Peggy led Angie into the house and was pleased that most of the dingy furniture and floors had been cleaned up to make a better environment for visitors.
"Would you like some lemonade? I think we have a bit left in the icebox."
"Alright. So how long you been married?" asked Angie as Peggy grabbed a glass from the cabinet. She was glad her new neighbor couldn't see her cringe a little at the question.
"We got married the day before we came here," she explained as she handed Angie the cold glass. "So just about a week."
"Aw, how sweet is that," she remarked as she took a sip. "I've never been the marrying kind so I can't relate, unfortunately for you. But it's all the better for me."
"Never married?" Peggy asked incredulously. "So do you run your farm by yourself?"
"Yes, ma'am. I have hired help, of course, but all the decisions are made by me."
"Golly…" Peggy poured herself a glass, finishing off the last of the lemonade and sitting down at the table with Angie. "How on earth did you manage that? Did someone sell the farm to you knowing you were an unmarried woman?"
"I inherited it, actually," she explained with a sad smile. "My aunt was a widow and then when she got sick and died she passed it onto me. I guess the farm has a history of being run by single women so I seem to be doing fine so far."
"Wow…I hate to admit that I find myself rather jealous of you, Angie," Peggy admitted honestly.
"Is marriage that bad?" she inquired with a grin, and Peggy laughed nervously.
"Oh, it's not that…it's just that I wish I could live my life not having to rely on men to make all my decisions for me. My parents always pushed me to marry well so I was raised on how to be a good wife, and then when Steve came along we…fell in love," she swallowed, hoping she was a good liar, "and even then we had to ask my father's permission to get married. I live my life in debt to other men, even if they want what's best for me."
"Gosh," breathed Angie, "I'm glad my parents were never like that. I think they knew once they saw the rebellious streak I had that pushing me to marry a rich guy wasn't gonna fly with me. But how did your parents react when you told them you were marrying a farmer? Not that that's any of my business," she quickly added, looking down at her lemonade glass.
"It's alright. My parents…let's just say they weren't happy at first, but they knew Steve was a good man and would take care of me."
"Well, all's well that ends well, I suppose."
"Mmm."
Peggy got up and took their empty lemonade glasses to the sink to change the subject. "So you live at the farm down the road?"
"Uh huh. It's the one with all the wheat fields behind it. You should come by if you ever feel like you need some company."
"The fact is, I might take you up on that offer," Peggy replied with a little more sadness than she had intended. "Steve's gone for most of the day so it's just me and the dog here in the house more often than not."
"How sad. Don't you get to see each other in the evenings?"
"W-well, yes," stammered Peggy, thinking fast. "But the days here are pretty long, and with the house in a lot better shape I'm having to find different things to occupy my time."
"You got that pretty little garden outside I saw you digging in," offered Angie. "Tell you what: next time I come by, I'll bring you some seeds so you can start a vegetable garden. I've got plenty to spare, don't worry about it," she added as Peggy looked ready to protest.
"Oh, that would be lovely. Thank you."
Perhaps it was the lack of real human connection for several days in a row, but Peggy felt genuinely lifted to have made a friend out here in the middle of nowhere. Angie gave off an easygoing air and Peggy appreciated not having to worry about saying or doing the wrong thing, as she often felt around Steve.
"Well, I suppose I better head back to the homestead," declared Angie as she stood up. "Thanks for the hospitality, Peggy."
"Any time, Angie," said Peggy as she led her to the front door, following Angie out onto the porch. "Let me know if there's ever a good time to visit you."
"Oh I keep busy but I'll always make time if you wanted to stop by for a chat," she offered as she headed down the porch stairs. "Hopefully you won't get too busy to come by and visit. I know you're in the honeymoon stage now but soon you'll start having kids and I'll never see you again. I'm only joking!" she added with a laugh as she saw Peggy's reaction. "Take care, English."
Peggy waved goodbye with a smile, but as soon as Angie turned and headed down the dirt path, her smile faltered. The comment Angie said about having children made Peggy realize she and Steve hadn't consummated their marriage yet. As she was most definitely pregnant, Peggy knew she needed to get it over with as soon as possible because every day that passed by was an opportunity for Steve to notice a pregnancy symptom before they could do the deed.
Could she afford to wait any longer? The idea of going to bed with a man she barely knew to trap him into believing her bastard child was his made her blood run cold. But on the other hand, the longer she waited, the closer she would get to Steve finding out the truth on his own and potentially leaving her for lying to him.
I have to do it tonight, Peggy thought to herself, and the notion made a chill run down her spine. And I'll need to figure out a way to seduce him…
Tonight's shepherd pie was nearly burned twice by Peggy, who found herself becoming increasingly nervous as night grew closer and closer, knowing what she was going to try to attempt later. Thankfully Steve wasn't around to see her blunders thus far, but when she heard the front door open and close as she was finishing up dinner, her heart fluttered so strongly that she nearly dropped the wooden spoon she was holding.
Peggy surreptitiously watched Steve hang up his hat and coat on the hooks by the door but averted his eyes when he made his way into the kitchen.
"Hi, Peggy," he greeted kindly as he grabbed plates from the cupboard and instinctively started setting the table.
"H-hi," she stammered, pretending to busy herself with the shepherd's pie, which was already done. "Do sit down, dinner is just about ready."
"I'll just finish setting the table."
"I can do that."
"It's fine, let me just grab the silverware–"
Peggy turned around holding the tray of shepherd's pie with oven mitts and did not notice Steve right behind her, reaching for the silverware drawer. She gasped at their sudden closeness and let go of the tray, which Steve quickly caught. Peggy snatched it out of his hands because she knew it was hot and quickly set it down on the table.
"Are you alright?" she asked with concern. "Did it burn you?"
"No, no, it's okay," replied Steve, looking down at his hands which looked perfectly fine. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine," she said hastily. She grabbed both of Steve's hands and looked at them, surprised to find no red marks. She looked up at Steve who was looking at her a little nervously. She quickly dropped his hands.
"Now, then, if no one's injured let's get dinner started, shall we?"
Steve hesitated for a moment, but then obliged and sat obediently at the dinner table. She cut and served him a slice of the pie and took one for herself, sitting in her usual spot on the other end of the table. Steve watched her curiously as she cut into the pie and chewed fiercely, like she was thinking hard about something. Her leg was bouncing under the table.
Steve cleared his throat. "So, how was your day?"
"Me? Oh, it was fine. Fine."
She took another bite and chewed even more furiously than before, and Steve wondered if he should be getting worried.
"The crops are coming in good today," he stated as he took a stab at his own plate. "Everyone is saying we should be making a good profit this year."
Peggy swallowed thickly. "That's marvelous."
An awkward silence fell between them as they continued eating. Steve was wondering if he should say something about Peggy's odd behavior when out of the blue she grabbed the newspaper that was sitting on the table from this morning and started fanning herself with it, saying, "My, it is hot this evening."
"I suppose so," said Steve, although not bothered by the heat.
"I just feel rather…warm all of a sudden. Don't you?"
Peggy set the newspaper down and took off the white cropped bolero she was wearing over her burgundy day dress and hung it over the back of the chair next to her. She then made brief eye contact with Steve and looked down demurely as she reached up to her neck, drawing Steve's attention to the two white vertical buttons at the top of her dress, and slowly undid the top one. Steve's jaw nearly dropped and he had to refrain from staring longer than a second at her newly exposed skin.
"U-uh, no, I'm…I'm okay actually," he stuttered, not sure what was going on or how he should react.
"I'm sorry, am I making you uncomfortable?" she asked innocently, and Steve could have sworn she batted her eyelashes at him.
"N-no, if you're hot then…you know, do what you gotta do," he mumbled as he looked down at his plate and took another forceful bite of his food.
Peggy waited a moment and watched him continue to eat, then she sighed inconspicuously and returned to her nearly empty plate. The silence between them was now more awkward than ever and Steve was the first to finish his dinner.
"That was great, Peggy, thanks," he swallowed, "but I think I'm going to go to bed now. It's been a pretty long day."
Peggy blinked but didn't question him. "I understand."
He stood up and brought his plate and fork to the sink, washing them as quickly as he could. He averted Peggy's eyes as he gave her a quick "Good night," and headed up the stairs to his small bedroom, shutting the door a little harder than he had intended to. He exhaled long and slow as he thought about what happened during dinner, sitting on the edge of his bed and sinking into the mattress.
Had she been…trying to flirt with him? She had made a bit of a show of taking off her sweater and unbuttoning the top of her dress…Or was he simply reading too much into it?
That has to be it, he thought somberly. I have feelings for her so any little act she does is getting misconstrued by me as…something else. I'm sure I'm just imagining it.
Steve brushed it off and decided he might as well start getting ready for bed, so he unbuttoned his shirt and took it off, revealing the cotton singlet underneath. He was starting to undo his belt when suddenly there was a soft knock on the door and he froze, leaving the belt alone.
"Steve?"
His heart fluttered as he realized Peggy was knocking on the door to his bedroom right as he was undressing. Before he could think of anything to say in response, Peggy gently opened the door and stepped inside his room, blushing. Steve swallowed as he realized she was holding the front of her dress up – this time both of the front buttons were undone – and the back was half buttoned open.
"I'm sorry to bother you," she said innocently as she took a step toward him, clearly unbothered by the fact that he was basically half-dressed. "But I can't reach the back buttons of my dress. Do you think you could…?"
She slowly turned around and Steve was reminded of the night of their wedding when she had asked him to do the same with her wedding dress. He wondered vaguely why she wasn't able to undo the buttons on her simple day dress, but the sight of her half-exposed back took that wonderment out of his mind.
He took a step toward her and she reached up to brush her hair to the side so the soft brown curls hung over the front of her exposed shoulder. He swallowed thickly as his slightly trembling hands reached up to undo the first button in the middle of the back of the burgundy dress, her satin slip underneath starting to show. She let out a long and slow exhale and Steve focused all his concentration on the tiny buttons.
He deftly undid each button, going as slow as he dared. He only had a few more buttons left and was waiting for her to stop him as he got toward the bottom like last time, but she made no indication she wanted him to stop, so he swallowed and continued. He got all the way to the last button and held his breath as he undid it, Peggy still holding up the front of her dress in her arms. Steve could see her back moving up and down and he knew she was breathing hard like he was.
"There," he said in a husky voice, taking one step away from her. "That was the last one."
She turned around and looked him directly in the eyes. They were such a pretty shade of brown, he noticed.
"Thank you, Steve," she said in a near whisper. He was expecting her to turn and leave the room, but she didn't; in fact, she took a step toward him. "Thank you for everything you've done to take care of me."
Steve stayed glued to his spot as she closed the distance between them, unsure if this was really happening or not.
It wasn't until Peggy brought her lips up to his and kissed him that he believed she was actually doing this.
At first he was stunned and he merely let her lips rest against his for a few moments. His mind was racing with thoughts and emotions - I'm kissing Peggy right now - her lips feel kind of waxy, had she just applied fresh lipstick? - oh, God, what should I do with my hands? But then his instinct to kiss her back kicked in and he leaned his lips into hers. He allowed himself to kiss her back chastely at first, unsure, but after he felt no indication of her wanting him to stop, he brought a hand to the small of her back as she used one hand to hold the side of his face, the other hand still holding up her unbuttoned dress.
She leaned her lips into his a little more and Steve couldn't help the small moan that escaped him, pulling her waist in closer. This was heaven and Steve didn't dare question where this sudden change of heart by Peggy came from. She reached her other hand up to mirror the one holding the side of his face and he heard the rustle of fabric, feeling Peggy's dress fall at their feet onto the floor. She brought her body in tighter to his as she wrapped her arms around his neck and Steve felt her silk slip press against his undershirt and trousers.
He dared to pull her body down with his as he sat on the edge of the bed, settling her in his lap. She kissed him fiercely, passionately, and Steve allowed his hands to roam her back, her legs, and any of her exposed skin he could reach.
She removed her hands from around his neck and pulled his undershirt up and over his head, breaking the kiss for a moment to toss it onto the floor. Panting, she looked down at the shape and curves of his abdominal muscles and her eyes widened slightly. Then she looked up at Steve with sultry eyes, her gaze intense.
"Make love to me," she whispered with a slight shake in her voice, but her brown eyes were dead set on Steve's blues and he knew she was serious.
Steve immediately pulled her back in to kiss her, not wanting the kiss to be broken for another moment and not wanting this moment to end. His heart and mind were filled with images of Peggy revealing she was in love with him too, that she had loved him this whole time and was so happy that they got married. The thought made him suddenly scoop her up in his arms and he twisted around to lay her gently on the bed, Peggy gasping in surprise as he did so. He got onto the bed to kneel next to her and leaned down, framing the sides of her body with his hands as he hovered over her. Her face was flushed pink and the brown curls splayed out all around her head like a halo, and Steve had never seen her look so beautiful.
Steve bent down to kiss her and he could tell she was breathing heavily as he did so. He brought a hand to the side of her waist, feeling the cool silk underneath it as his hand slid sensually down her hip to her thigh. Under his hand he could feel that Peggy was shaking.
He broke the kiss and looked down at her. She had her eyes closed but opened them in alarm when she realized Steve had stopped.
"Are you alright?" he asked apprehensively. "You're trembling."
"Y-yes," replied Peggy breathlessly, shaking her head. "I'm fine, just…just don't stop, okay?"
Steve shot her a slightly concerned look. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," she answered emphatically, an edge of annoyance in her voice. "I'm fine, Steve; just keep going."
She reached up to his neck and pulled him down to her lips, kissing him fervently. It felt amazing to kiss her, but Steve's mind kept telling him that something wasn't right. Was she nervous? Perhaps it was because this was her first time being intimate with a man - well, other than the time with the man in the alley, but that didn't really count because it wasn't welcomed nor wanted by her. That thought made Steve realize that she had only known violence with men who wanted her in that way, and so Steve would do whatever he needed to do to show her he wanted her for her, not for her body.
Steve moved his head down slightly to leave light kisses on Peggy's neck, drawing out a tiny moan from her as he did so. The hand that was on her thigh grazed over to the middle of her stomach and Peggy suddenly tensed up. Steve felt the tension and waited for a moment while he kissed her neck, but Peggy said nothing. He dared to graze the hand that was on her stomach a little lower and Peggy gasped.
"Wait, Steve," she said as her hand gripped the one that Steve was holding over her stomach and pushed it away. "Stop, stop, stop!"
Steve immediately shifted off of her and stood up as Peggy sat up in his bed, breathing heavily. She buried her face in her hands and never in a million years could Steve have predicted that she would suddenly start bawling in front of him.
A cold panic chilled Steve's chest and stomach. The only explanation he could come up with is that he had hurt her in some way, given the fact that he could sometimes forget how strong he was now. But he remained frozen and didn't know whether he should reach out and comfort her or keep his distance and let her cry.
After a moment she sniffled and looked up at Steve with pleading eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Steve, but I can't do this."
Her eyes were puffy with tears and Steve felt his heart break a little for her.
"Oh…Peggy, it's okay," he replied softly. "We don't have to do anything you're not ready for. It's fine, really–"
"No, that's…" Peggy sniffled and swiped impatiently at her eyes. "That's not what I meant. I meant that I can't keep lying to you."
"Lying to me? What do you–?"
"I'm pregnant."
Steve's mouth remained foolishly agape as he simply stared at her for a few seconds, processing what she had just said. He tried to think of something to say, but the only thing he could manage was, "Are…are you sure?"
Peggy huffed with a roll of her eyes. "Yes, Steve, I've known for weeks. But I've been keeping it from you this whole time and it's eating me alive inside and…I don't know, I just felt like I couldn't keep lying to you anymore."
"The baby…its father is the man who assaulted you?"
"Yes. But he doesn't know, nor does anyone else besides my mother and I. And now you."
"So this…" he gestured at the two of them and the bed. "This…wasn't real?"
Peggy sighed and cast her eyes down. "Before the wedding, my mother convinced me the right thing to do was pretend the baby was yours after we got married. Obviously that wasn't going to happen if you and I hadn't…consummated our marriage," she revealed as Steve blushed slightly. "So that's what I was trying to accomplish tonight. But…I knew it wasn't fair to you, so I had to stop before anything happened."
Steve merely looked at her in stunned silence. It was a lot to take in…In one night, Steve had gone from believing that he and Peggy were going to make love and have a beautiful life together, to then hearing the shocking news that she was pregnant and was intending to use him to further spur on the lie of her pregnancy…He wasn't really sure how to feel.
New tears sprang to Peggy's eyes as she waited for him to say something and he remained silent. Steve knew he had to say something to her but no words would come to him. Peggy merely shook her head.
"I'm so sorry, Steve. You didn't deserve this. I would give anything for you and I to stay married, but if you feel you need to end things with me, then I completely understand. I acted horribly by lying to you and using you, and you have every right to never want to see me again."
Steve was taken aback by Peggy's speech as he watched a single tear roll down her cheek. "Wait…you're saying you think I should leave you?"
"Don't you want to?"
"I…no, actually," he revealed to Peggy's visible surprise. "I don't want to leave you. I made a vow to you in that church before God and everybody that I would be your husband, for better or for worse, and I plan on sticking to that."
"Even though you hate me for lying to you?" she asked earnestly, her voice shaking a bit.
"I don't hate you. I don't think I could ever hate you," he admitted in a small voice, "but you're my wife, and I take that seriously. A gentleman never goes back on his word."
He remembered saying these words to Peggy shortly before they got married, but he knew in his heart they were still true.
"But the baby…" said Peggy sadly. "it's not yours, and our families and everybody we know will think that it is. Our life would be a lie."
"Then we'll say it's mine," he concluded. "No one else needs to know the truth. If we both say the baby is mine then everyone will believe it."
Peggy stared at him incredulously. "I just…I can't believe you want to stay with me in this sham of a marriage. Which will turn into a sham of a family once we add a baby to the mix."
Steve gave her a look of confusion. "It's not a sham to me."
She opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it and looked down at the floor shamefully. She was silent for several moments before quietly saying, "I think I should go to bed."
Steve nodded slowly, wondering what she had been about to say before she stopped herself. "Perhaps that would be best."
Peggy got up and gathered her dress up off the floor, mortification filling her face. She quickly opened the bedroom door and left the room, pausing only for a moment before fully closing the door to say, "Good night, Steve."
She closed the door behind her and left Steve alone with his thoughts.
Steve exhaled slowly and flopped down on his bed. Other than the day he got the super soldier serum administered, this was the strangest and most emotional day he had ever lived through. He found himself exhausted so he closed his eyes, letting sleep drift over him rather than allow himself to face the emotions of the day.
A/N: I'm not sure if I will be able to keep updating this story every day like I have been, but at the very least, I'll keep updating it every few days. As I mentioned before the whole story is written but these first few chapters were already pretty well edited so I was able to post them faster, but later on I'll have to do some thorough editing. So they will get posted a little further apart, I think. Anyway, thanks again for reading and please review if you feel so inclined!
