Steve nodded, and gave Peggy a last passionate kiss, and pecked Susan's nose as he leaned his forehead on hers, "Take care of Mummy for me, okay?", and Susan gurgled, patting her hands on his cheek, her newly forming eidetic memory taking his words to heart.
Peggy smiled, squeezed his hand, and then walked on with Erskine, with Steve sighing heavily yet lighthearted at the same time as he went another way, to the command tent to talk with Colonel Phillips to see to his further missions.
"You alright?", Erskine asked her as Peggy looked back at Steve walking away. "Yeah, just... this'll be the first time we've really been apart since the day... I've just gotten so used to being with him at almost every waking moment as well as sleeping...", Peggy admitted.
Erskine nodded, "I can understand that. Think of it as practice for a job after the war. After all, you'd need to learn how to live together yet not together at the same time, though I suspect, for your heroics and such, the military will give you a good hearty amount of money to last you through the years.".
"Maybe, maybe not, we'll just have to see there.", Peggy sighed as she looked to Susan. "One thing is for sure; I think I'm certainly going to have my hands full with the next few weeks with this one.".
Susan babbled quietly, her fingers trying to catch Peggy's bouncy curls, and Erskine chuckled, "Indeed.", as they kept walking on, with Erskine asking a soldier to grab the bags of wipes and diapers and the blanket on the way.
Under a matter of hours, Peggy arrived in England with Susan, staying in the fort, for the next two months, with either weekends of visiting her parents who fell in love instantly with their first granddaughter, or days of letting Erskine babysit Susan while Peggy catches up on sleep or drills.
To make sure Susan can't forget her father, Peggy arranged for old and recent newsreels of Steve to be watched on days where it's especially lonely for Peggy, even with Susan to occupy her attention.
On the end of the two months, Colonel Phillips personally returned back to England to tell Peggy that she's back on duty for the mornings, and Peggy, having seen that Erskine is just as much bonded to Susan as much as Susan is to her parents, went to work on expressing her milk into normal-sized bottles, and with lots of kisses, Peggy hesitantly yet excitedly left the fort to come back to work, to fight again, and especially Steve as she turned on her fire powers, flying in speed records just as dawn broke.
Meanwhile, Steve was having a fairly miserable time on the front without Peggy at his side. Not to mention the down mood of the campaign. The landings had been achieved and the Allies had a strong foothold, but the Germans rushed many reinforcements to Normandy to bottle up the invasion. Steve first had to help liberate the port of Cherbourg in the west in order for more supplies to come in and then move to the east to assist the British in taking Caen which should've fell on D-Day but would take weeks before that would happen.
Not to mention the slow fighting through the hedgerows which kept the march southward incredibly slow. But the good news was that the Germans were being drained and unable to replace many of their losses while the Allied numbers swelled more and more and were ready for a breakout which came on July 18th with Operation Cobra which finally started to punch the hole open to the west and the American forces began to flood out of Normandy.
Now it was the start of August with the situation looking precarious for the Germans. Patton's 3rd Army was driving further west in the Brittany Peninsula and south while planning to swing back around to the east while the British, Canadian and Free Polish forces pushed from the Caen area. A massive encirclement of German forces was slowly forming that the Allies were hoping they could achieve... and with Peggy coming back, it might be done.
Steve was busy, stomping and crushing tanks and watchtowers and artillery guns in his giant size, with his stone animals trampling and killing any Germans on sight, with the rest of the Allied forces behind him, shooting out at pillboxes and trucks.
He then heard a familiar sound of a fire flare, and looked back and up, and his heart swelled in joy and happiness as he saw the Human Torch aka Captain Britain aka his fiancé, Peggy Carter, in giant size, grunting and shouting as she passed him, sending fireballs at German camps in the distance, shrinking down smaller as she dived through more tanks, exploding them with pieces killing more Germans, and grew bigger again as she slammed a hand in the German phone lines and such, burning with smoke.
All the Allied forces cheered, lifted their guns in salutations, whistled, and clapped as Peggy left a trail of damage and fear for the next few miles as she turned off her fire powers, and marched right up to Steve, and with a smoldering grin, she grabbed Steve's neck, "Too long, luv.", before kissing him.
"Much too long.", Steve said as he goes back in for another kiss but really puts the passion behind it as if it had been years since they had last seen each other. "I missed you so much...".
Peggy smiled into the kiss as she felt Steve's strong arms lift her up, and she hugged him with her legs around his back, and her arms around his neck, her hands tousling Steve's hair, and their kiss was so passionate and deep, going for a long minute, slightly knowing that they're in public, unknowing that all the Allies are giving wolf whistles and cheers in support and amusement.
Steve could obviously tell what some of the troops were doing, even if he couldn't really hear them. Honestly, this kind of action was something many of them probably hadn't seen for a few months, if not years.
After they finished at last, Peggy was gently let down, smiling coyly at Steve, "How was it, my intended husband?", and Steve laughed warmly, "That was the best reunion kiss ever, my intended wife.", smiling lovingly as he brushed a strand of hair over her ear.
Peggy smirked proudly, "I'm glad to hear that. Shall we fight on, Captain?", gesturing to the smoldering ruins of German camps, knowing that there's more up ahead.
"I hope Phillips has informed you about what's going to happen, got almost the whole of Army Group B bottling near Falaise and could trap almost 150,000 troops if we link up with Patton's 3rd Army down south.", Steve said.
"I know... so what are we waiting for? Let's do this, that's an order, captain!", Peggy laughed. Steve nodded, "Yes, Captain!", with a grin, and they went to work, doing their best beyond belief, leading the way for the Allies.
The two of them made their push southwards fast; trying to break open the road to allow the Canadians and the Polish 1st Armored Division to drive fast and link up with the US troops and finally close the Falaise Gap. A monumental victory was within their own hands and could be grabbed if Peggy and Steve pushed it harder than they ever had before.
If much of Army Group B could be captured and destroyed; almost all of the Panzer and SS divisions in France would be all but gone and it would be even more losses Germany couldn't afford; especially with the catastrophe of Operation Bagration in the east that broke open the Eastern Front and allowed the Soviets to destroy much of Army Group Center but drive all the way to the gates of Warsaw and the Vistula River. All the more reason for the Western Allies to break through and drive fast to Paris and the Franco-German border.
Peggy and Steve quickly cleared a creek that the Germans used to muster a static defensive line; it was clear to the two of them that these defenses were only to slow down and delay the Allies to allow more Germans to escape the Falaise Gap.
With fire explosions and stone animals practically everywhere in the Falaise Gap, with smoke and gore, and the Allies picking off stragglers with the Canadians and Polish divisions successfully linking up, it was estimated that at the end of the morning, over 80,000 Germans were lost to death during battle.
Peggy, after seeing that Steve's time was up, took him back to England by fire flight, glad that on close contact, Steve is impervious to her fire, and with a kiss to Steve and Susan, Peggy then went back to keep fighting for the afternoon before returning back to recover and rest as wartime seems to hold off during the evenings, with occasional cases of infiltration.
Steve was enjoying his time with Susan, making sure to give his daughter a kiss on the forehead after not seeing her for months as he relaxed to enjoy the time he was now in safe territory; especially since he had been mostly on the front lines since D-Day.
Meanwhile, it was starting to get late when the fighting was now starting to die down; the Allies and Germans would use the night to either dig in and hold their gains or in the Germans' case, move and retreat since they couldn't do it during the day with Allied air supremacy practically having a free for all on any convoys of moving troops. With the sun starting to set, Peggy took the chance to flame on and fly her way back to Portsmouth where they were now staying for the time being.
Of course, as Peggy flew, the Germans were making sure to have England suffer for the Allies' gains as she found herself flying right by 6 of the Nazis' new vengeance weapons, V-1 Buzz Bombs.
Peggy narrowed her eyes as she saw the Nazi sign on the planes, and decided to shrink down as she shot up, high into the clouds, making the planes blind and confused to see nothing, and then a minute later, with a wide spin through the clouds over and down, Peggy grew and grew as she shot through the planes one by one with fireballs exploding the gas containers, destroying the V-1 Buzz Bombs completely.
Peggy grinned smugly and proudly to herself, and went on her way to Steve and Susan, happy to know that those V-1 Buzz Bombs is now in decommission, never to destroy England.
After a few more minutes of flying, she soon found herself back in Portsmouth where she landed at the little home that two of them were allowed to reside in for the time being. She landed right outside the front of the home before she knocked. After a moment, it opened up with Steve smiling and holding Susan in his arms.
"Well, hello, stranger, what brings you around to our humble abode?", Steve chuckled. Peggy smiled and giggled, "Well, I was rather hoping that I am invited for dinner with my husband-to-be and my daughter.".
Steve laughed playfully, "Well, you are just in time, my wife-to-be. Dinner is on the table.", and Susan squealed happily, reaching for Peggy, with Steve chuckling, "Make that dinner on the go.", passing her to Peggy's arms as she came in, gently closing the door.
Peggy smiled as they walked to the dining room off the kitchen, seeing that the curtains are closed, with the candles and lamps on, and Peggy smelled the air, "Oh, it smells divine!", sitting down with Steve gently pushing it in, with Peggy removing her war outfit down to her waist, removing her bra, and with executed well-practice, Susan fed from her in one arm while she leaned in to eat with her other arm, with Steve sitting on the opposite side, facing her, eating as well.
"Well, I thought you certainly deserved a great meal, especially since it's been a few months.", Steve said. "I did it while Phillips came by and debriefed me on a few things. Didn't hear how much of the war has been going since I've been gone but it seems like we're pushing the Axis back everywhere.".
Peggy nodded as she smiled. "It'll hopefully be all over soon. The Soviets pushing hard in the east; we've probably broken the Germans in France, especially with today and the upcoming landings in the southern part of the country towards the end of the month; 5th Army cleaning up northwest Italy and the 8th Army breaching Ljubljana and pushing for Austria... the war might be over soon.".
"Feels like it's been so long since peace was a thing. Even worse for you since you've been at war since September of 1939.", Steve placed his hand on hers. "Five long years, it's almost hard to believe.", Peggy sighed bittersweetly.
Steve nodded, "Yes, and now look at you...You've surpassed so many expectations people thought of you. You are an incredible woman of great honor, good wit, and clever reflexes, the very first female captain of modern history, and of course, technically, the second woman of great powers according to people, but not to me. You will be always my first super-soldier giantess queen.".
Peggy blushed red, "Oh, Steve...", smiling as she kept taking bites between sentences, with a secure arm to keep Susan on her chest, still suckling, "You have no idea what that means to me...My parents meant well, yet they are indicated with traditions, but Michael was the only one who saw the true me, as we had a such close relationship of being siblings.".
Steve smiled warmly, "I am sure he would have been so proud of you, and I have a feeling that he'd be happy to know that you are a wonderful mother to our Susan, and that he would spoil Susan with all his might if he knew that he has a niece.".
"I know that for a fact.", Peggy chuckled as she put down Susan in a safe place once she was finished feeding. "She hasn't been having any problems, has she? She's all healthy?", Steve asked, somewhat worried if maybe he inadvertently passed on some of his bad genes to her. She looked fine right now, but sometimes looks can be deceiving.
Peggy gave him a reassuring smile, "Nothing bad, Steve. She's all healthy, and she was practically glued to the newsreels of you, active as ever as she tried to imitate you at times. She gets startled if a pan or something loud hits something and turns invisible, and same thing if she's shy when meeting people on our strolls, though she is outgoing with other babies her age. And Erskine has told me that her other power is something called force fields. It practically helps her hover, protect herself, and stop other things from hitting walls or such. Why, she once saved her favorite storybook from falling in her bathtub.".
"Wow...", Steve was stunned to hear that as he looked over to Susan as she was trying to keep herself awake but was feeling very tired from her feeding. "That's incredible...".
Peggy smiled, "Indeed. She will be an amazing woman when she puts her mind to it, I just know it. With us as her parents and role models, she will find ways to help her world, her countries of Britain and USA, and herself. After all, she will have all the time to grow confident and courageous.".
Steve nodded, "I believe in her. I truly hope it won't be too fast...After all, I need to put fear into any man who dares to date my only daughter.", with a slight protective tint in his eyes, even when there's a teasing note in his voice.
Peggy laughed softly, "Remember, you ain't alone. I will be there to judge the lucky man who has our daughter's heart. But that's far off. She's all ours right now.", with a soft smile.
Steve smiled, "Naturally, my queen. I wouldn't dream of making any decisions without hearing your insight.", as they kept eating for the next five minutes. After they are done, Steve took the dirty dishes to the sink as Peggy swayed Susan as she was already deep asleep.
Peggy then smiled at Steve as she gave Susan to him, "I gotta go use our bathroom, take her to the nursery. Erskine showed you around, right?", and Steve smiled warmly, "Of course he did.", walking slowly and carefully down the hallway to Susan's nursery, kissing Susan's forehead as he put her down, "Sweet dreams, Sue-P. See you in a while.".
He headed to their master bedroom in the opposite wing of the house, and as it was nearing the end of August, it's turning sort of cool, and he was glad to be a personal heater as he removed his casual clothes, hearing Peggy's voice from the bathroom, "Is that you, luv?".
Steve called back, "Yeah, Peggy. Susan is really deep in dreamland, didn't even stir once.", and Peggy's voice replied, "Good. Can you come in? Zipper's stuck again. I think oil got into it.".
"Coming, my queen.", Steve responded, coming to open the bathroom door, and gaped in both awe and surprise as Peggy isn't wearing her war outfit, but wearing transparent robes, coyly smiling at him as she removed them, revealing herself in her natural glory, standing next to a gently steaming, warm big bathtub-pool, "Care to join me, luv?", swaying her hips as she stepped the two steps, and walked in, a moan escaping her as she slowly sat down, waiting patiently.
