"I don't want anyone else to have you."
On the morning of Valentine's Day, Peggy met Don for coffee in a small shop near her house. The inside was run down, and she was glad to see when he walked in that he had dressed accordingly. She certainly didn't want to feel responsible for him getting mugged.
He smiled when he recognized her, but it was hard to keep her smile on her face when he sat in front of her and she could see how sunken the features on his face were. They had been talking over the phone quite often as she adjusted to taking over for him and they each looked for a support system, but she had yet to see the physical toll Don's life had taken on him recently.
"You're looking radiant," he told her with a smirk, and she shook her head.
"I still haven't beaten the round-the-clock queasiness, so I know I look worse for wear. But thanks for trying."
Don ordered their coffee when the waitress interrupted them.
"So," Peggy started once he was pouring his milk into the cup. "How's Megan doing in California?"
Don pursed his lips. "Not sure. I haven't heard from her in a few weeks."
Peggy sighed and took a sip of her coffee before grimacing, and reaching for the sugar. She could certainly sympathize with Don.
"I know what that's like," she said as she stirred the sugar in. "I still haven't heard from Ted."
Don's eyebrows raised, and he paused mid-sip, holding his cup in front of his mouth. He smacked his lips loudly when he set the cup back on its saucer.
"Really? You haven't heard from him since you told him?"
Peggy nodded and stared down at the drink in front of her. It stung a bit to be reminded that Ted had basically blown her off again.
"I don't really know what to expect with all of this. Last time I heard, he was telling his wife."
"It doesn't take this long to leave your wife," Don told her, inhaling deeply. "If I know one thing, it's that Ted Chaough doesn't function well under pressure."
Peggy smiled sadly. He was right.
"Maybe if we run an ad in the LA Times with his name in it, I can get him to call me with his Kennedy impression." Peggy raised her eyebrows and smirked, though she could feel her eyes prick with tears. Lately, crying was all she felt like doing. She wanted to blame just the hormones, but she knew Ted's growing absence would have upset her regardless of whether or not she was carrying his baby.
But the joke fizzled out when Don took Peggy's hand in his, and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles before resting it across her fingers. Peggy squeezed his hand tighter, and he smiled at her before using his other hand to pick up his coffee cup.
She had never felt closer to another person.
As Peggy entered the office a while later, she tried to remember what Don's goodbye hug felt like, since it'd been the first time she'd been embraced after Ted had left. Even though it had been completely platonic, she couldn't shake the smell of Don's aftershave and the warmth of his chest out of her mind.
However, they were the last thing on her mind when she opened Don's office door to find Ted sitting on the couch. She felt her stomach drop, but made sure to keep a straight face as he stood, buttoning his suit jacket.
"Don't think that showing up today of all days is going to be your get out of jail free card," she told him flippantly, setting her purse down on her desk. She turned towards him and folded her arms.
"I'm moving back."
Peggy scowled. "Oh, but you couldn't tell me that over the phone at any point in the last six weeks? You had to keep me waiting for some big surprise with your suitcases in hand?"
"There was a lot going on," Ted said, frowning. "Nan tried to reconcile, but ended up not being able to."
"So there was a chance you were never going to come back, and you didn't even bother telling me?"
"Peggy, I have a - I have kids with her," he told her with a sigh.
"Okay, so if I had two kids with you, I'd become a priority? This is a numbers game now?"
Ted laughed incredulously. "Peggy, I'm trying, okay? I just moved them all out to California, just to tell them that I'd gotten another woman pregnant? There's no easy way to break it to them. And then, I had to call the realtor to make sure the house hadn't sold yet so they could move back here, too."
"Just in case you change your mind, right?" Peggy shot back as she felt herself start to shake.
"I don't know what you want from me," he shouted, and Peggy flinched.
"A phone call would have been great." She could feel her chin trembling as she raised her voice. "You know, not leaving me completely in the dark. I wasn't sure if I should move on or stay here waiting for you, even though I had no idea if you'd ever come back."
"I'm here now," he said, taking a step toward her. She noticed his wedding ring was missing from his left hand, and the tan he'd gotten before was already fading.
"Yeah, well you've missed a lot," she said, unbuttoning her coat. As she removed it, she watched Ted's eyes travel down to her stomach, where the fabric of her dress was pulled taut.
"You're already starting to show?"
"Of course I am - I'm three months as of today." She hung her coat on the hook and turned to see Ted swallow hard, his eyes wide and sad-looking.
"Does anybody know yet?"
"Here? No. They probably just think I'm gaining some after-holidays weight. The only ones that know are Don and my mother, who isn't happy about it at all, mind you. I told her we'd been dating just to shut her up. So you either need to die, or meet her in the next few weeks."
"Don knows?" Ted suddenly looked angry.
"Yeah. We talk." Peggy shrugged.
"You and Don Draper talk? Talk how?"
"You're not allowed to get upset over who I talk to when you haven't said a single thing to me in well over a month."
"But I don't trust him!" Ted folded his arms over his chest, and Peggy briefly wondered if that was to keep himself from knocking what was left of Don's off of her desk.
"Don gave me everything," Peggy said, her voice thick with emotion.
"Yeah, but he didn't give you that," Ted said, gesturing to her stomach. However, as soon as the words left his mouth, he instantly looked like he regretted it.
"Leave," Peggy told him, blinking back tears. Even though Don wasn't perfect by any standard, she knew he wouldn't have left her alone like this. At this point, she would have rather the baby been his.
Ted stared at her wide-eyed as she turned on her heel and walked around her desk to sit in her chair. She propped her elbows on the surface of the desk, and rested her forehead in her hands.
"Peggy, if I could take it all back, I would. I would have never gone home -"
She looked up at him, and he stopped speaking. She shook her head and her eyes filled with tears.
"I know I messed up," he said, taking another step towards the desk. "But I really want to start new with you."
Peggy heaved a shaky sigh. She kept the tears at bay, even though her vision was blurred by them.
"How do I know I can trust you? Three months ago, you were promising vacations and plans that never happened. How do I know this time you won't just leave again?"
Ted tapped his knuckles down on the surface of her desk, and she watched him stare at the wood for a moment, taking a deep breath. When he looked at her, the sincerity echoed the time he'd told her he loved her.
"Because this time I'm asking you to move in with me."
Peggy opened her mouth to retort immediately, but Ted put a hand up.
"It's a two-bedroom. I'm not trying to force you into anything. I just don't want you living in that building anymore."
Peggy bit her lip. She did want to leave the apartment, but moving in with Ted felt like a decision she might regret. Then again, living with him would make it harder for him to disappear.
"You don't have to decide now. Just... let me take you out to dinner," he said, when she didn't respond.
"Not tonight," Peggy said, finally finding her voice again.
"Okay. How about tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow," Peggy said, nodding.
They stared at each other for a few moments, until Ted licked his lips and tapped his fist on her desk again.
"It's really good to see you again," he told her, before seeing himself out of her office.
As soon as he was gone, Peggy turned to the drink cart and poured herself some of Don's leftover whiskey. She went to drink it, but then pulled it away from her lips and poured it out in her trashcan. She held the empty glass tight in her hands and turned to the window, staring at the sidewalk below, wondering how long it would take to fall to the pavement. At this point, it felt like death was the only way to escape the constant push and pull between the love and utter disappointment she felt for Ted. She closed her eyes, and tried to pretend she was standing on the edge of the roof.
Until Dawn's voice came over the intercom.
"Miss Olsen? I have Mrs. Chaough on the phone for you."
Peggy turned around to face her desk so quickly that she was certain she might have gotten whiplash. She pressed the button to intercom back.
"Excuse me?" She could feel herself starting to tremble.
"Mr. Chase, from Hershey's? He's on the phone. Should I transfer the call?"
"Yes, yes, of course," Peggy said, the words tumbling out of her mouth, after she was able to catch her breath again. She never imagined being relieved to hear that Hershey's was on the line for her. Peggy put a hand to her chest and felt her pounding heart, realizing that Nan Chaough held the entire future in her hands.