Moments


A/N: Many, many moons ago, some of you asked for Daniel's opinion on Cartson in response to 'Breakfast'. Your request tickled my Muse's fancy, and I thought 'why stop at Daniel?' And so because a few other plot lines needed to be fleshed out first, this was put on the back burner.

But now for your entertainment (I hope), I bring you...Daniel Sousa, Edwin Jarvis, Howard Stark, and Angie Martinelli!

I do apologize in advance for Howard's refusal to keep it clean (Captain America isn't around at this time to reprimand him)


Opinions


Daniel:

A year ago, it was me and Peggy against the world of male superiority. She was belittled for being female, and I for not being a 'whole' male – and by none more so than the office Deputy Jack-ass.

But then all that changed.

Dooley died, but we saved the day, and only because of Peggy. Jack got promoted (undeservedly in my opinion at the time, as he took credit for Peggy's actions), and I thought his reign of terror would increase ten-fold without the Chief to keep him in check.

But it didn't.

Either Dooley's death or the weight of the responsibility of Chief changed Jack, because he treated Peggy different. He treated me different. He treated her not only like an agent, but as his Deputy Agent, even though he gave me the job (after Ramirez turned it down).

Then it was us three against the impossibility of filling Dooley's large shoes. (All I gotta say is that it is no wonder the man's marriage was falling apart.)

As for me and Peggy, I admit that I was infatuated with her, and some part of me always will be. She is that kind of woman.

But when she was telling me that day at the café about her worries of juggling a family and her career, I knew there was sadly no future for us. And not to sound cliché, but it had nothing to do with her and everything to do with me.

As she was talking, everything inside me was rebelling at the idea of my possible future wife and possible mother of my future children putting herself in danger. I knew that if we were to pursue a relationship that eventually led to marriage, I would struggle with the overwhelming urge to protect what was mine and it would never sit well with me. In that moment, I realized that I was just as much of a male chauvinist as Jack was.

To be fair to me, I also realized that what I wanted in life was to have a home where it was an oasis from the dark and dreary world of intelligence and espionage, and to have a spouse like Carter, who would take it home with her, such a dream would never be possible.

To be fair to Jack, he wasn't as much of a male chauvinist as he once was, at least in regards to Peggy.

He publicly nipped Matthews' harassment of her, encouraged her do interrogations and lead missions, interfered with Johnson's patronizing treatment, and he partnered with her without complaint. He even went so far as to let it be known that she 'hands him his ass a few times' when they spar in Cliff's training lessons (but only after she had done so to a few others as well).

And he somehow manages to keep his cool when she is in danger. A feat that I don't think I could have managed if we had become as close as they seem to be.

There is a popular theory in the office (Fisher's) that the reason Jack had been such a boob towards her was so that he could have walls against her, and now that he doesn't have that, it is only a matter of time before he falls headlong and makes a complete and utter fool of himself for her.

Ramirez even has an office pool going as to when they will kiss. My money is about a year from now. My reasoning is that Carter is stubborn and Jack values his balls too much to risk trying something too soon and have her crush and feed them to him through a tube. I am told that I might want to reevaluate that assessment, considering how berserk Carter went when Jack got shot.

And Wallace may be right. Peggy hadn't gotten hysterical, but she had gone dark avenging angel-like. And ever since then, she has been…softer towards him, especially since she came back from London. There is even a hint of – dare I say it? – affection that leaks out when they exchange their usual witty repartee, which has become more tease and less barb.

It's almost enough to turn one's stomach, especially if it's your former office nemesis possibly getting the girl that you once carried a torch for.

I complain now, but if these two kids make it, I hope to be the best man at their wedding.

Talk about avenging speeches.

~A~

Jarvis:

My Anna has taken a shine to Miss Carter, which is a great relief, let me tell you, as it would have made my life more than a bit a difficult to have the woman I love at odds with the woman I admire and Mr. Stark values. Yes, 'more than a bit difficult' is most definitely an understatement.

But that is neither here nor there, as my Anna likes her, adores her even.

My wife has never told me how to do my job. She trusts that I know best how to handle Mr. Stark. Occasionally, I will go to her to ask for advice when I am in a moral quandary about how to deal with one of his latest escapades, but for the most part I shield her from it and she lets me.

Not so with Margaret Carter.

She insists that we check on the two girls' larder at least once a week.

"That girl may be highly capable and independent, but she has no common sense when it comes to a good meal. I mean, her favorite place to eat, you tell me, is the Automat? Bah! But what can one expect from someone who was raised in boarding schools and then spent most of her adult life on Army rations, hmm? No, you go over there and give those girls what I just collected from the garden. We have a surplus that will go bad, as Master Stark is hardly ever home these days. No, wait. Take me with you. I have a few questions for the young misses and you are too intimidated by either of them to ask."

And so we go, and the ladies gossip; and that is how I know more about the inner-workings of both the SSR and the stage and the personal lives of their respective members than either party would ever want me to be. My wife is that good at pulling information out of others, not even professional and guarded Agent Peggy Carter is immune to her charms.

And that was how I was able to witness Miss Carter's regard of young Agent Thompson transform from ill-disguised irritation to grudging respect to high esteem to more than a modicum of fondness.

That last bit, I think, took her by surprise. The panic she experienced when he got shot at the Expo was not only at the idea that he might die but also at how much his loss would affect her.

Anna and I could not do much for her during that time, but we did remove what traces of that trauma that we could – disposing her bloody clothes, polishing her watch and shoes to remove any traces of Thompson's blood.

Although I have quietly watched this transformation take place, I have not done so without qualms.

Agent Thompson threatened my Anna with deportation, and I shall never forgive him for that.

He also was the imbecile that did not see Miss Carter's worth when it was staring him right in the face, and when he did start to, I could not help but wonder if he only saw her as a tool to use to advance his career.

But no man can keep up the charade, if it is indeed one, as long as he has. And let us not forget, that I too saw his face when he jumped in front of Mr. Stark.

But if he breaks her heart, they will indeed be able to say 'the butler did it' when it comes to his murder. If they ever find the body.

~A~

Stark:

I do not like the Smug Bastard that is Peg's partner, not one little bit.

He is a typical G-man suit – full of himself, drunk on the power of the badge, and holier-than-thou.

Before I dragged Peg into my mess, he treated her like how I treat all my women. But my 'dollfaces' are chosen just for that – being nothing but dollfaces. If I were to go out with someone of Peggy's caliber, my fancy-free days would be over as I would be at her mercy.

The Smug Bastard treated Peggy Carter – Steve's girl – that way. 'Tosser', 'Wanker', 'Dipshit', and 'Dumb-arsed swigger' are just a few of my other favorite pet names for him.

But now, he sees her for what she is, and I am told, treats her like the Agent she is as well.

He's still not good enough for her. He wasn't good enough to be her boss, and isn't good enough to be her partner. In fact, she should be his boss.

Now admittedly, I am majorly – no, Captain-ly – biased. No one will ever measure up to Steve Rogers.

But couldn't the ever-aloof Carter warm up to someone who came within a mile of Steve's mark? And definitely not the guy who reveled in the act of making me publicly eat crow?

Yes, as I am often reminded by the Jarvises, he did save my life and all, but I think I hate him a little for that too. If he hadn't jumped in front of me, then I would have never had to have seen that look of utter desolation on Peg's face again.

The only reason, I think, that I agreed to give that speech was because I was grateful to him for surviving.

If he hadn't, I think I would have used all my formidable brain power to Frankenstein his ass, just so that I could kill him all over again.

Yeah, have I mentioned that I dislike Agent Jack Thompson to the point of unadulterated loathing? Yeah, well, I kinda do.

~A~

Angie:

I'm not stupid you know.

I know Peggy is more than a cryptographer for the SSR. I know she's a bona-fide Agent, with a capital 'A', and that she's darn well the best and is showing those fatheads what's what.

I don't let on that I know though, (and the fact that my bestie who is a secret agent hasn't cottoned on to that yet, really goes to show how good of an actress I am, don't you think?).

I don't let on, because I know she feels guilty for lying to me and she'll only feel worse if she knows I know, you know? Also, and here's the biggie, I know she's doing it to protect me, and despite it being sweetly if frustratingly noble – as I have so many questions – it does make sense. I mean, not even that two-faced Dottie thought, (or has thought for that matter), to pump the ditzy wannabe starlet roommate for information.

And Dottie? Who woulda thunk that wide-eyed Midwestern doll would have been the Wicked Bitch of the East?

But I digress.

The only one who has thought to question me is Anna Jarvis – and I gotta say Thank God! I mean, I am a fountain of bubbling knowledge and observations and questions and it is just so difficult to keep mum about it all, especially when it comes to the secret life of Peggy Carter, who is so buttoned up that everything seems to be a 'matter of national security'.

I at first thought she had been seeing Eddie on the sly, when she was going off to meet him at odd hours and never introducing us. In my world, that means she's having an affair with a married man. And I am so glad for Anna's sake that I was way off base.

And then I thought that since she had gotten arrested and nearly charged with treason for helping out Howard-dishy-Stark, she had a thing for him. That impression was helped along by the fact he gave her free rein of one of his residences for the equivalent of our rent at the Griffith.

But after seeing her interact with Stark a few times, my hopes were dashed. She treats him more like a kid brother than anything else. When he hit on me (right in front of her face!), all she did was roll her eyes. Now, some might say that could just be a sign that she is supremely confident of her hold on him, but I know English. She would never be in a non-exclusive relationship, and Howard Stark's balls would have been so busted if there was anything non-platonic between them.

So I thought about setting Peggy up with one or two guys I know. It was really difficult to decide on which ones. English is really picky, not that she shouldn't have high standards, but a girl should have fun every now and then, and be treated like she's someone's queen, if only for a night.

Before I could decide or figure out a way to set it up, she came to a matinee of my show with Tall-Dark-And-Handsome who had been so hot under the collar to arrest her. It was a good first step, and so I backed off on my matchmaking ways and waited to see how it all would unfold. I knew I had to be patient with English, because with someone as guarded as she is, slow is the only way she goes with matters of the heart.

It took weeks of observation and much speculation between Anna, Eddie, and I to figure out that the spark between she and Mr. Keen-to-Slap-on-the-Cuffs had fizzled out.

But during that time, it couldn't help but be noted that she was making more and more oh-so-casual references to her 'handler' Jack Thompson. ('Handler' was the word she used to explain why she, a 'cryptographer', was working so closely with a SSR agent. Every time she used it, I practically had to bite my tongue in half not to ask what it was that he exactly 'handled'.)

I was able to wheedle out that her 'handler' was Blondie whom I had cried over. When I discovered that, I had blurted gleefully with waggling eyebrows and all, "Oh, him! If it's Mr. I-can't-deal-with-tears, then who is 'handling' whom, yeah?"

All I had gotten out of her was an arched eyebrow, a smirk, and – wait for it – a faint flush of pink that peaked out beyond her starched white collar. But that was enough for me.

She didn't bring him to see my play like she did the other one, but I did find out from him the next time I saw him that he had gone himself to see me 'legitimately in action and not while skillfully covering for a fugitive.'

That conversation had occurred when I had gone with Peggy to visit him while he was in the hospital. Her familiarity with where his room was and the nurses' attitude of wariness as she swept through the halls was sufficient evidence that English had been here many a time.

What fascinated me more than the nurses' reaction to English, was how the two of them interacted. Being an actress I am an astute observer of body language, and theirs was telling.

They constantly snuck glances at each other when the other wasn't looking. His eyes tracked her every move, but he didn't ogle her and he looked her in the eyes when she spoke and not at her considerable assets. What was also a point of interest is that he did not check out my assets except for the initial cursory look that could be chalked up to just a habit of being male and a G-man.

He was patient with her when she fussed over him, even though it irritated him, because he seemed to sense that she was fragile, (if that word can ever be used to describe English), when it came to his near death experience.

That more than anything let me know that Peggy was in good hands, because if he could read her that well and act accordingly, then he might just be smart enough not to screw whatever they have up.

That, and any guy who loves his grandma to the point of still unabashedly calling her 'Gam-Gam' in such reverent tones to a complete stranger was a keeper in my books.

Now, where exactly he stands in her books is the question, but I find it highly encouraging that more nights than not she called him (long-distance), and not me, her bestie, to commiserate over family drama.

To use an Eddie-ism, it is highly encouraging indeed.