1946

"No girl is gonna trade a red white and blue shield for an aluminum crutch" SSR Agent Ray Krzeminski scoffed at the thought of Agent Daniel Sousa being interested in Peggy Carter, herself an agent, but who was treated like more of a secretary around the office, post war.
Daniel sighed and went back to paperwork that was strewn over the two desks.

1949

Peggy Carter, formerly Agent of the SSR, now actually Director of SHIELD, and for the record, almost technically Peggy Sousa, placed a record on the player, hoping that her fiance Daniel would soon be home. They'd had a whirlwind proposal and a life that was full of action and adventure, not to be minimized because of the downfall of the SSR and the creation of a new organization that she and Howard Stark, along with Chester Phillips, lead, called SHIELD. The inside joke around the office was that the acronym, Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division, were random terms pulled together to signify a particular deceased hero's actual shield.
Nobody dared even whisper that joke to Director Carter.

For now, Peggy found herself with an afternoon off, while Howard Stark and Chester Phillips were off, doing whatever idiotic man pursuits they had planned, she wasted no time and busied herself with paperwork, then a little rendezvous with her punching bag to limber up, and now, after a fresh shower, she had changed into a red dress. She flipped on a record, "It's Been a Long, Long Time", to let Harry James and the orchestra waft through the room. Turning up the volume slightly, Peggy touched the engagement ring on her third finger.
"How things have changed" she thought back to how much had indeed transpired over the past few years. From her work with the SSR, to being undervalued, to figuratively and literally fighting her way back to being seen as an agent in post war America, to now, running SHIELD, the newborn organization that picked up where the SSR had left off. Oh, the SSR was still around, now part of the larger SHIELD concept. Daniel remained on, now working with the likes of men like Samberly and Wilkes, handling scientific theories. It wasn't that he couldn't be an agent. If Los Angeles had taught him anything, it was that he could definitely be adept at detective work, but he also no longer felt the pressure to prove anything to anyone. She'd made sure he understood that, even before the SSR had been swallowed up by SHIELD.
Peggy remembered their conversation, soon after Daniel had proposed to her. They were in the bedroom, but there had been quite a lot of talking going on, and nothing more.
"Jack Thompson once mentioned that the SSR was going the way of the dinosaurs" she began, "and I'm unfortunately inclined to agree with him" Already sitting in bed, Peggy had on a pair of printed pajamas, short sleeves on the top, with matching pants.
Daniel's face had been crestfallen hearing that utterance as he fumbled with removing his prosthesis
"But" she went on, "I'm thinking that we could include it, make it a part of the larger organization"
"A box within a box, you could say" Daniel supplied, finally removing the artificial leg
"Quite so" she nodded, "How do you feel about that?"
"About you running things?" Daniel asked, and then answered his own rhetorical question, "That would be fine" he smiled, "Look Peggy, I know that I said a lot of things out in L.A, and to be honest, part of that just wasn't me"
"I see" she gave him a sidelong glance, "and you wouldn't mind working under a woman?"
"Hey, I'm not Jack" he grinned,
"No" she smiled, "you're not"
"About that" he began, "I was wrong" he continued, "you weren't being a hypocrite. You're a risk taker, Peggy, and – well, I'm so glad you took a risk on me"
"No" she shook her head and smiled, "Daniel, you're a sure bet"

And so today, with the beginnings of SHIELD underway, Peggy uncharacteristically waited for her fiance, Daniel Sousa, to return from his work in the formerly SSR branch of SHIELD.
Just then, as if on cue, the doorbell rang.
"Odd" Peggy thought to herself, "Why doesn't he just use the key?" she made her way toward the front door, "If he's lost the key again, there'll be hell to pay" she fumed.
"Daniel, what in the bloody blue blazes have you done with-" she stopped as she opened the door.
In front of her stood strapping, strong, Steve Rogers.