Peggy stood outside Angie's holding room, looking through the double mirror. She hadn't seen her since the accident. She was showing impressive progress which made her hopeful, but it all seemed too good to be true. Unconsciously she shifted her weight from her right and left leg. When she was worrying, or thinking about something intensely she could almost forget that the leg Tony made for her was a piece of metal. She was by no means at her old level. Hardly a day passed when she didn't trip on something, and she couldn't run like she used to. The SHIELD doctors assured her that she'd be back at her old performance eventually, she just had to keep working on it, and not cause more damage in the meantime. Bucky walked down the hall and stopped with her, "How is she doing?" he asked.

"I've been watching her." Peggy sighed, "She seems… more like herself. Less like someone just waiting around for orders."

Bucky nodded, "Are you going to go in?"

She stayed silent, "I should. I'm just being a damn coward. I'm afraid she won't remember me. I'm afraid it'll all be an act, that Hydra just planted her here to target me. I'm worried she'll be her old self and expect things to be back to the way things were with us… I guess that's what I'm afraid of the most."

Bucky looked back to Angie through the glass. She was sitting in her bed reading a book, "You're afraid you'll break her heart."

"Petrified." She said under her breath.

"Her memory could be spotty… just be careful okay."

"Thank you Bucky, I will.." She walked around him from behind to reach the door. Peggy pulled her ID card from her pocket and held it against the sensor, then put her right thumb on a sensor pad. The red light turned green and the door unlocked.

Angie didn't look up when the door opened, "Thank god, I'm starving." She sounded like herself. Peggy didn't answer fast enough and Angie looked up and stilled, "Hey English…"

Peggy's eyes immediately filled with tears, "I… I take it you remember me."

"Yeah I have the whole time." Angie closed the book and stood up, "They said you were hurt which is why you didn't come. But remembered everything the real way when we were trapped there."

Peggy's entire body filled with rage and looked back at the pane of glass. She knew Bucky was behind it, and she could hardly contain herself. She could handle many things, but lying was not one of them. She remembered that she was with Angie. Angie of all people. Her body relaxed and she looked back at her dearest friend, then at the table that was covered with books and different things to pass the time. "May I sit?"

"Don't be so darn formal." She scolded Peggy.

She really was like she used to be.

"Standing is a bit complicated nowadays." Peggy pulled the chair out and sat down. Angie matched her and sat across from her at the table.

"That's what I heard." Angie looked down at the table, "I'm sorry Peg-"

Peggy took a deep breath, "I need to ask you questions.. I need to know this isn't a trick."

Angie nodded, "Yeah, of course. I don't blame you."

Peggy scratched her forehead and tried to think of questions so specific to Angie, no Hydra agent would even care to alter. "What was Howard Stark's butler."

"Edwin Jarvis." Angie answered quickly.

"And what did you call him." Peggy added to the question.

"Mr. Fancy." Angie answered with the small curve of a smile.

"What did I eat at the Automat?"

Angie pinched her brow, "It was 60 years ago English."

"Just try and answer." Peggy almost smiled, "My favorite thing to order day or night?"

She nodded, "Rhubarb pie. Schnapps after." Angie smiled and looked at Peggy's hand where there was a ring on her finger, "Can I ask you a question?"

Peggy nodded, "Of course." She knew where this was going.

Angie kept her smile, "When's the wedding?"

Peggy rolled her eyes, "Oh please Angie, be serious."

"What?! I am being serious. I want to know. I'm going to be there."

Peggy shook her head, "Please don't play games with me Angie."

Angie leaned forward, only to make her point not to intimidate her. Not that she believed Peggy Carter could be intimidated. "You think, that I'd stop you two from being together?"

"I don't want to break you heart-"

She took her hand, "I love you, English. But you can be so thick sometimes."

Peggy inhaled then paused, "Wait, I don't think I understand what you're trying to say."

"I love you, don't get me wrong. But you love Steve. I'm a big girl, I can handle that. I'm just happy to be alive, and away from those creeps. I'm happy you're here, and that you're happy."

"My god, do you know how worried I have been about this?" Peggy melted, "For a week, I have had this pit in my stomach that you were going to have your heart broken by this."

Angie nodded, "I'm not as fragile as I used to be."

"Darling, you were never fragile."

Peggy walked out of the room an hour later. She didn't want to speak too soon but that was Angie. An unaltered Angie, who of course had seen the bad side of Hell and lived to tell the tale. But which one of them hadn't. Once she was out of the room she remembered her wrath and stormed down the hall at the Playground in search for Bucky. He was inside the training room with Steve with the punching bags.

Steve turned his head and saw Peggy, "How'd it go-" he asked before the rage on her face registered. This wasn't good anger. This wasn't determined Peggy, or fired up Peggy ready for a good competition Peggy. This was the peggy that fired 4 shots into a shield she wasn't sure was bullet proof. "Ugh oh-"

"Let me explain-" She marched forward straight to Bucky and shoved him back with her full strength. He slammed against the wall.

"You lied to me." She took a step forward but Steve stopped her. Not like it mattered, "Spotty memory my ass."

Bucky stood up, "She was with Hydra."

"Yes and they blew my foot off. I don't need to be reminded," Peggy snarled and fought against Steve grasp of her, "You lied to me." She repeated.

"We wanted to make sure she was fine before we told you anything."

"That's not your call!" Peggy pushed Steve's arms off of her.

Steve got in front of her to stop her advance on Bucky, "Peggy just calm down. He didn't mean it like that."

"He lied to me Steve!"

"IT WAS MY IDEA." He shouted back, "I knew that if Angie was waiting here for you, you'd never rest and you'd never get better." He breathed, "Take this out on me, not on Bucky or Nat."

Peggy's open hand made contact with Steve's cheek as hard as she could muster. His head turned to the side and he grabbed his cheek. Peggy stayed silent, which was a bad sign. Still, without a word Peggy turned and walked out of the room.

Bucky rubbed his good, non robotic shoulder that had taken his impact from the wall, "Told you…"

Once Steve was prepared to go back to Peggy's room he felt like he was walking into a WWII Hydra base. A dangerous place where someone was probably going to shoot at him- a well deserved shot, but a gunshot nevertheless. He turned the corner walking past the lab where Fitz and Simmons were working. Fitz looked up and made eye contact with him and shook his head. Steve didn't know that at the time but it was a warning.

He made another left down the hall and looked down to where Peggy's room and small office was and saw a suitcase sitting against the door. Steve tried to open the door, but a voice revealed to him that he no longer had clearance. "Come on Peggy!" He knocked a few more times. "I'm sorry okay! I was just trying to help you and not get hurt."

The door opened revealing a very angry Peggy Carter, "Why are you always trying to do that?"

"Because I love you." He said obviously.

"Well, I don't need you to keep things from me. I don't need a protector."

"I know you don't." He nodded, "I don't really know why I didn't want you to talk to her right away. Probably for a stupid reason."

She nodded, "Yes. It was a stupid reason."

Steve looked at the suitcase, "Are you really kicking me out?"

"No."

"Are you leaving me?"

Peggy sighed, "No Steve. I am not leaving you, I am taking a weekend reprieve to think. I am mad at you, I am mad at Bucky, I am mad at Natasha… But for some reason I still love you."

Steve stayed where he was, "I love you too Peg… can I please come in?"

She kept her hand in the door and debated for a few moments. The anger subsided, "Yes." she begrudgingly stepped aside so he could enter. "But you have to tell me why. I promised not to keep things from you, I expect the same from you."

"When you put it that way, you make me sound like such a villain." He sat on their bed.

"Just tell me why you lied to me." Peggy stood in front of him and crossed her arms.

His ears went red and tried to deflect the questions, "I…" Steve rubbed the back of his neck, "I don't know. I didn't want you to get too attached to the idea that she'd be the same. I don't think I wanted her to be the same. You always talk about how much you were in love with her."

"For god's sake man, do you not know that I talked about you the same way?" She couldn't believe how stupid he was being.

"But you did love her." He corrected.

"You were dead! What was I supposed to do. If I had the knowledge that I would be killed by an assassin and then frozen for half a century, then yes perhaps it would be different."

Steve didn't say anything, "I know it's stupid."

"It is. It's incredibly stupid." She was wrong to assume she wasn't angry anymore. "I love you Steve. There is nothing that is going to change that. Not even you being ridiculously petty like you are right now. You're an unbelievably jealous man."

"You shot me when you saw me kissing someone else." He said in his defense, "It's not like you haven't been."

Peggy shot him an incredulous look, "My god. You haven't learned anything."

"What?!"

"I was angry because you were acting like the rest of them!" She growled, "I'm not letting you change the subject right now." She took her weight off her left leg and leaned against the desk ignoring the sharp pain radiating from what was left of her leg.

Steve stood up, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She snapped back.

"Peggy come on…" He wanted to help her, "I'm sorry."

She took the few steps over to her bed and sat on the edge, "I've just been up too much today.. Trying to strangle Bucky was a bit too much for where I'm at."

"Don't blame Bucky. Or Natasha, she's already avoiding you." Steve pleaded.

Peggy looked up from getting ready to take the prototype leg off, "Why is she avoiding me? I figured she was just busy with everything happening.."

Steve sighed, "She feels bad."

"Why on earth would she feel bad?" Peggy wasn't following.

"She had to… you know… she had to… cut your leg off."

Peggy exhaled, "Jesus, I'm the thick one now. Where is she?"

Steve checked his watch then looked at Peggy, "You should rest."

"Steve Rogers if you tell me where Natasha is right this second, I will forgive that you lied to me about my best friend remembering who I am. And I'll forget about how childishly jealous you are."

"She's probably working with May on trying to find Ward. Either that or working with Angie on collecting information." Steve agreed to their agreement. "I'm sorry for lying to you." He helped her up, "And for being jealous."

Peggy cupped his cheek softly, "I love you Steve. Please don't let anything or anyone convince you otherwise."

Natasha was sitting at a table with a laptop open in front of her. The search to find Ward just became personal for her and she wasn't going to rest until the guy was put down. "What about these spots up here. He couldn't have gone too far from the Chicago Warehouse."

"He could be in Cana-" May looked up when Peggy walked through the door, "Director Carter.."

"Hello Agent May." Peggy walked in and examined the table, "Any leads?"

Natasha didn't make eye contact, "Just trying to figure out where Ward went."

Peggy nodded and noticed Natasha's colder than usual attitude, "May, would you mind giving us a few minutes?"

"Not at all." She agreed and walked to the door. It was about damn time.

Peggy sat down kiddy corner from Natasha, but focused on the papers, "Any good ideas?"

"He could be anywhere. The guy is slick, and he knows how to be invisible." She closed the laptop that was running surveillance scans for Ward. "Bucky told me you found out we were lying."

"Well technically, you never lied. Since you haven't spoken to me… or looked at me." Peggy said calmly. She wasn't mad at Natasha in the slightest, gender bias was the most likely reason.

Natasha looked Peggy in the eyes, "I'm sorry, I just don't know what to say. And when Steve asked me to lie it just made everything more complicated."

"You saved my life Natasha. You made the call and you got Angie and I out." Peggy couldn't be more clear, "I owe you my life."

"I've done lots of things in my life Peggy. Good and Bad, but I haven't ever had to make that call before. Especially not for a friend." She explained, "It just shook me seeing you like that. It's like when I saw Steve in the hospital. When Bucky was still the Winter Soldier he got hurt pretty bad. I was there and I couldn't get the block you were trapped up, and Bucky lifted it. I crawled in-" She hadn't told anyone what happened besides Steve, as much as she hated to admit it telling someone felt better, "And tried to pull you out but your foot was wedged. I just keep thinking that if I had gotten there earlier there would have been more time. Maybe I wouldn't of had too."

"It was likely a blast like that would have broken my foot too badly to repair anyway… You did what any good Agent would have done. What any good friend would have done."

"But you lost a leg." Natasha stated, "I took the world's second super soldier and sawed part of her leg off."

"I do not plan on letting this stop me Natasha. Bucky lost his entire left arm. I can handle this. And let's face it, I've been hurt worse." she moved her leg out from the shadow of the table. "It's rather strange though. I keep stretching my feet but only get one to respond…"

Natasha looked at the fake foot then back at Peggy, "What hurt worse?"

"Losing Steve.." She gave a light chuckle, "It's rather sappy, I know. And a month ago you would have given me a hard time just for saying it, but it's true. The month or so after the war I was in such agony. I didn't spend it crying in my room, I worked and helped tidy up the world… which truly made it worse. One day Steve and I had a future where we would get married and have a family, and the next day he was gone and the day after that I was packing up boxes and relocating refugees." Peggy picked at the red nail polish on her pointer finger, "Physical pain I can handle."

Natasha smirked feeling like a subject change was in order, "You really scared the crap out of Bucky."

Peggy laughed, "He's had worse from me. He was quite the little misogynist before I met him."

"I'll knock him back into shape if he ever slips."

"He's a rather sensitive character. He never said anything terrible, just a product of his time."

"I'm sure you heard worse, whatever it was they said."

Peggy leaned her head back and laughed, "Oh you have no idea. I had a man one time tell me that it was a natural truth that a women would never be taken seriously as an agent or as a leader." She rolled her eyes, "Then perhaps a week later I saved his bloody life. Then to make it better he stole all the credit."

"Sounds like an ass."

"You flatter him." Peggy leaned on the table for balance as she stood up. "I'll let you get back to work. I'm going to go visit with Angie a bit more."

"You're barely off bed rest Peggy. You should go rest." Natasha looked behind her to see Peggy walking off. You could hardly tell she was walking differently.

"Please don't waste your breath."