I always try to post every week but I've had a short holiday, so sorry for taking so long. Thank you for everyone who has taken the time to read and comment. It's always great to hear what people think. So... I've split the POV in this chapter, First half Peggy, second half Jarvis. Just because I need the last chapter to finish on Peggy.
A Week After the Drive-In
Peggy just needed to concentrate. The police files in front of her had all the answers needed to finding the guy, claiming to be Corrigan Sands. Ever since she and Jarvis identified the pale man at the Augustine Ball, he had been on the lam.
But it was hard to stay focused, her mind just kept drifting. Every time she closed her eyes, even for a moment, Peggy could feel Edwin Jarvis' hands gliding over her body. It had been a week since that night at the drive-in but it seemed to consume her every waking thought.
She recalled how the man who was generally all waistcoats and Windsor knots, had been very un-Jarvis like as he wrapped himself around her so naturally that evening. It was such a comfortable movement it was as though he'd held her close many times before. Even now as she sat in the noisy central floor of the police department, Peggy could still feel the warmth of his body, that seemed to fit so perfectly against her own. And she most definitely could still feel the tingle across her skin, from where he whispered along her neck.
A sudden draft wafted across her face and Peggy looked up to see one of the detectives drop another file on to the desk. She realised her concentration had lapsed once again and the heat rising in her cheeks, was not from the California sunshine.
"That's the last of them." the detective said. Looking down at the flushed woman, suspiciously.
"Thank you" she croaked guiltily, struggling to make eye contact with the detective as she waited till he walked away, before opening up the newest transcript.
Thanks to her report on the Augustine Ball, the police department had managed to haul in most of Corrigan Sands associates and interrogate them on the likely hide-out of their leader. Unfortunatly it turned out that the men were incredibly loyal to the phoney Sands, and every piece of information they revealed turned out to be false. Sending the detectives on fruitless raids across the city.
Peggy believed that even though the files were filled with lies, the truth would be revealed somewhere within the text. All she needed to do to make that happen was stay focused and keep a certain butler out of her mind.
That's when a feeling of guilt washed over Peggy. She seemed unable to stop replaying her time with that certain butler, but it really wasn't right to have feelings for a man who was happily married. It wasn't right that Jarvis had put them both in that situation.
Peggy believed, she had been seduced right from the start of that night. She may have teased him about the tuxedo, but in truth, the suit fit his lean, lofty frame exceptionally well. The authority he used to turn her around the dance floor, made her feel weak in the knees and then, he'd insisted on some form of physical contact with her all night. A guiding hand on her back, holding hands while running through the streets. By the time they had reached the drive-in, Peggy was completely at his mercy.
Something had changed in him, Peggy observed. Something very slight but it hadn't been there back in New York. He seemed…. a little less reserved, a little more open. Whatever the reason, Peggy felt waves of guilt at where the evening could have taken them, if Jarvis hadn't spoken of regret. It had been that moment, she was able to take a step back and find some self control.
"Arrghh!" she roared, realising her mind was yet again going back to that evening and not concentrating on the job in hand.
She shook away the thoughts from her head and tried changing tact a little. Pulling out the new transcript Peggy read the first few lines of text out loud, forcing her to absorb the words. And it worked, two paragraphs later Peggy was staring at the answer she needed. She knew exactly where Corrigan Sands was hiding out.
The interview transcripts made mention to almost every part of the city, as a possible hiding place for Corrigan Sands. Every part bar one, Culver City. It's lack of reference, just made the area stand out so clearly. His henchmen had drawn the police attention away from Culver, by sending them to every other part of the city instead. Peggy collected all the evidence and took it to the detectives.
It took less than an hour to dismiss Peggy's convincing arguments. The detectives were tired, They had been sent on so many wild goose chases over the past week, they really weren't keen on starting another. They hadn't really wanted Peggy there to begin with. She was an outsider, only there because of Howard Stark. It was clear none of them were about to lift a finger to help her.
This lack of support was half to be expected. Peggy had put up with those kinds of barriers for most of her life. Her spirits were not dampened, because Peggy always kept a plan B. Unfortunately this time she really didn't want to have to use it.
Sitting back at the desk in the central office, Peggy stared down at the telephone. If she was going to go on the hunt for Corrigan Sands, she would need back-up. That really meant only one person. The same one she had not contacted all week, the one she just couldn't stop thinking about. Peggy sat up straight and placed a shaky hand on the telephone receiver, asking the operator to connect her call.
The dial tone matched her heart beat as she waited for the call to pick up. When a voice answered , Peggy closed her eyes, took a deep breath and spoke.
"Hello, Mr Jarvis, How would you like to go on another adventure?
Some time Later
"So have you two kissed and made up?" Howard Stark asked, deducing that his butler's slight antagonistic behaviour over the past week, was probably Peggy related.
Jarvis pulled his face at his employer's frightful turn of phrase. The idea of 'kissing' Miss Carter was the very thing that had set an unease between them in the first place.
The phone call asking for help had been their first conversation since the drive-in. He noted the ease of her tone. There was no awkwardness or avoidance to her words. Jarvis began to wonder if, while he'd spent the past week quite out of sorts, Peggy had simply forgotten about the events at the drive-in. Maybe life as a trained agent placed her into the arms of men on regular occasions.
Whatever the reasons, Jarvis was more than happy to follow down the road of ignoring the situation. Repression was pretty much a British attribute. In fact he was quite surprised to have not seen a government poster during the war, advising people to 'Keep Repressing and Carry On'.
Some time later Jarvis found himself standing in Peggy's apartment, listening as she filled him in on the plan to find Sands. It was pretty simple. Drive around Culver City until they find him. She flitted around the room, packing a bag with supplies and Jarvis took the time to study the map laid out on the table.
"There looks to be hundreds of buildings down there Miss Carter, it will take all night"
"Well, you'd better warn Howard that he may have to get his own breakfast in the morning."
He watched her blush for a moment, realising how her words could have been misconstrued. But that moment quickly passed and she continued packing.
Every now and then she seemed to glance over at Jarvis with that mischievous smile. The act slowly beginning to make him feel a little self conscious. But then she addressed her actions.
"I can't take it anymore" she began, stepping up and reaching out towards his neck tie.
Jarvis' breathing ceased while his brain paired her actions to when she removed his bow tie, to use as a hair band. The familiarity ended when he felt a business like tug around his collar.
"It's most unlike you to do such a poor job in dressing yourself" she commented, at his shoddy attempt at tying a decent Windsor knot.
"I'm afraid my hands are a little clammy. The weather has been particularly warm today."
"Well maybe it's not so much the weather, but the blended wool, three piece suit you insist on wearing. Isn't it time you get your self some clothes in a lighter material? You're not in New York anymore".
"If I ever manage to find a tailor in this town worthy of the title, maybe I will get a more weather appropriate suit made." he answered feeling Peggy slide the new Windsor knot tight against his collar. She stood back assessing her handiwork.
"There! A job worth doing, is worth doing well, wouldn't you say Mr Jarvis"
He took a moment to study the result in the mirror and admired her work, before turning and following Peggy out to the car.
Later still
Jarvis removed his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and sat on the floor of a large empty hanger. He felt Peggy drop down beside him, exhausted. The situation was very bad.
After hours of driving the streets, Peggy had spotted a man who'd been interrogated at the station. They followed the direction he'd come from and found themselves inside a huge brightly lit room.
He knew something wasn't right as soon as Peggy stepped inside the vast space. It felt unnatural. Her attention was drawn to some kind of structure at the far end, and slowly they walked the room towards it.
A machine stretched the back wall. It hummed menacingly and was an ugly mess of sharp angles and loose wires. There was no doubt in either of their minds, it was some kind of weapon.
"Look there, It's Mr Starks stolen machine part" Jarvis had said, pointing towards the top. He watched Peggy's eyes light up at the revelation. It meant they were in the right place. Sand's may not have been there, but he would come back at some point.
That's when everything went pear shaped. A wave of heat pulsed from the machine, straight across the room, raising the temperature and seemed to slam the door closed behind them.
So now, after hours of scouring the room for a way to escape they had resigned themselves to the floor. The continued waves of heat, sapping their energy forcing them to give up the fight.
Jarvis could feel sweat forming on his brow and heat coming off Peggy from where their shoulders leaned against each other.
"I bet you wished you'd invested in that lighter material suit round about now" she said, wiping the sweat from her own brow.
"Nonsense, Miss Carter, if I'm going down, then it will be in a Saville row suit" he remarked forlornly , turning and facing the woman next to him.
The ever increasing heat had made those perfectly set curls drop, leaving her hair a little straighter and very natural looking. Jarvis felt his throat go dry a little and it wasn't because of the heat. He hadn't realised her hair was that long, and he kind of liked it. He felt he was getting to see a vision of Peggy, that wasn't seen by the outside world.
"I want to thank you Mr Jarvis, for all your assistance, here and back in New York," she said and he noticed the air of finality to her words.
"It's been my absolute pleasure Miss Carter."
She seemed to look at him then, for such a long time, those long eyelashes fluttering purposely.
"You really are quite courageous Mr Jarvis."
He laughed at that. "Hardly Miss Carter, I find that I am terrified most of the time."
She smiled in return, then added.
"On the contrary, I think the only time I have seen you truly frightened was the day we had to face Howard's ex-girlfriends."
He felt her place her hand on his forearm, forcing him to listen to her speak.
"Anyway, you really can't have courage without facing your fear, can you?" then she added. "I'm truly sorry I have got you into this situation".
Jarvis shook his head, she shouldn't blame herself for him being there. How did the saying go? Would you jump off a cliff if they asked you to? When it came to Miss Carter he most certainly would, every time. He saw the good in her, knew that all she wanted was to beat the bad guys and make the world better. How could he not fully invest himself in that kind of cause.
He considered his reply, but stopped when his eyes fell on something high on the wall, behind Peggy's head. It looked like some kind of vent, small and very high up, but a possible means of escape.
"It's no good, Mr Jarvis, I have all ready checked it out. It's far too high for us to reach and I'm not sure we would even get through it". she said, noticing where his eye line was leading.
Jarvis heaved his tired body off the ground and shuffled over to the vent.
"Your right, it's too high for both of us, but one of us could make it". he said watching horror fill Peggy's face.
"I'm certainly not leaving you behind, if that's what you are thinking" she shouted, finding some anger amid the exhausting heat.
"No, I was thinking the butler with no skills and no police contacts should be the one to leave and formulate a rescue attempt" he sarcastically answered.
The pair stood and argued for a good ten minutes until Peggy had no other option, but to agree that it made the best sense for her to be the one to leave.
Never the less he could feel the fire in her eyes as she stared at him in silence, trying desperately to find another option. Jarvis prepared himself for the retort, but it didn't come. In fact she did something he wasn't expecting.
Peggy launched herself forward and kissed him.
To say it was a shock was an understatement. He could taste the brandy they'd shared back at her apartment and could smell that lovely perfume she favoured. But it was all too short and before he had time to really experience the taste of Peggy Carter, she had pulled away.
It was a goodbye kiss, he realised, a moment shared just in case they never saw each other again.
But…..Jarvis wasn't quite ready to say goodbye. His fingers found the hem of her blouse and he drew Peggy to him. It was his turn to instigate a kiss.
She didn't pull away or protest, instead he could feel her melt into his hold. He could still taste the brandy on her lips but mixed with the salt from her skin. It was so hot in the room that he could feel their clothes sticking together as he held her tighter.
Her hand tussled around his hair, spurring him on. They could barely find breath in the heated room, choosing instead to try and find it in each other. Heat throbbed through him, adding to his already hot skin. His hand threatening to burn an imprint to her thigh. There was a chance he might combust but he didn't care.
If this really was the end, then it needed something more than Peggy's short kiss to properly say goodbye. He wanted to show her how truly amazing she was. He gave her everything he had to offer, before eventually releasing his hold on the brunette, letting what little air there was in the room pass between them.
Peggy heaved in a lung full of that air, then other, her eyes wide with shock. Jarvis was sure he stood opposite with a mirror image of emotions. He had well and truly rendered her speechless and he went on to use the quiet opportunity.
"A job worth doing, is worth doing well, wouldn't you agree, Miss Carter" he said, quoting back words she had spoken to him earlier.
Peggy was unable to do anything but nod in return. He knew it was time then, to get the show on the road and he walked the agent over to the vent.
Somehow finding some strength, he helped Peggy climb on to his shoulders, then hoisted her by her feet as high as he could up the wall. He felt the weight lift suddenly and he knew she had pulled herself into the tiny hole.
"Good Luck, Miss Carter" he called, standing back and watching her disappear from view.
Jarvis stood alone then, somehow managing to feel a chill in the intensly heated room. His eyes traced around the space, stopping on the humming machine and he wondered what the fates had in store.
