Peggy couldn't believe this was happening. Steve was putting the Valkyrie down. In the middle of the ocean. "Please, don't do this. We have time. We can work it out." Don't do it. I love you.
"Right now I'm in the middle of nowhere. If I wait any longer a lot of people are gonna die. Peggy, this is my choice," Steve says, voice strained. It's quiet for a few moments, the silence between them deafening. Both of them have so much they want to say, but not enough time. "Peggy?"
A few more beats of silence pass before Peggy finally speaks, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm here."
"I'm gonna need a rain check on that dance," Steve says. Tears well in Peggy's eyes, threatening to spill over. Not now. Not here.
"Eight o'clock on the dot. Don't you dare be late. Understood?"
Steve chuckles and pulls the compass out of his pocket, propping it up against the dashboard. "You know, I still don't know how to dance." A sad smile tugs at Peggy's, her heart already aching.
"I'll show you how. Just be there," she says, trying to keep her voice even.
"We'll have the band play somethin' slow. I'd hate to step on your…" The line goes silent and Peggy knows it's done. Steve's gone.
"Steve? Steve? Steve?" Peggy's voice cracks, the tears she's been fighting so hard to hold back finally spilling over. I love you.
Mid-April 1945, a few weeks later
Peggy and the other SSR agents are working when a wave of nausea hits. "I'll- I'll be right back," she groans, running to the bathroom. Ugh. Not again. Peggy wasn't sure when this all started but whatever it was, she needed to get over it. The nausea finally passes after a few more minutes and she heads back to the briefing room, ignoring the other agent's stares.
It isn't until hours later that Howard finally confronts her. "Everything okay, Peg?" She sighs and sets aside the files she was looking through, leaning against her desk. Ever since the Valkyrie had gone down, Howard had been watching her more closely. Peggy knows he means well, but sometimes Howard's more overbearing and nosy than her mum.
"I'm fine, Howard," she says, folding her arms over her chest. Howard flops down in the chair, muttering under his breath.
"Yeah, I'm not believing it. You're not fine, Peg and we both know it."
"It's probably stress or something. If you haven't noticed, the whole world is at war," Peggy says, annoyance creeping in her voice. The room falls quiet for a few moments, the tension between the two thick. "Fine. I'll get checked out," Peggy says.
"Good. They're expecting you in 15 minutes," Howard says before disappearing down the hall. Peggy shakes her head and chuckles, heading towards the infirmary.
A few minutes later, Peggy's sitting in a small room, waiting for the doctor to come in, her foot tapping against the floor impatiently. "Agent Carter. What seems to be the problem?" the doctor says.
"I've been throwing up for the past few weeks. Afterwards, I'm fine," she says, shrugging her shoulders.
"Any other symptoms? Fatigue, bloating, mood swings?" Peggy frowns, shaking her head slowly at the doctor's words. "Let me rephrase that. Is there any chance you could be pregnant?" Pregnant? No. No… oh. Oh no.
"Maybe," Peggy says, thinking back to that night with Steve a few weeks ago. Steve. The familiar pain in her chest hits full force, breaking her heart all over again.
"Well, we'll do some tests just to make sure. Hold tight a few moments." A few moments pass before the doctor comes back in, Peggy's thoughts whirling like a tornado. What am I going to do? This isn't how it was supposed to happen. I've worked so hard. "The results should be in soon."
With that the doctor leaves, once again leaving Peggy with her racing thoughts. After what feels like forever the doctor finally come back in, his expression unreadable to Peggy. "Your test results came back. You're pregnant."