Peggy was not a part of anything concerning Michael from the day they woke him up. It was an order from Colonel Phillips. She tried to object at first, but the colonel firmly explained that her involvement is undesirable and that she would cause more harm than good. Maybe it was because she was so utterly exhausted, maybe because she wanted to be with her brother as much as possible, or perhaps it was because every time the thought about the disciplinary hearing crossed her mind she felt panic, which finally led her to give up on arguing with Phillips about her involvement.

Since day one Michael did great progress. He could look at Peggy without being violent, he could even remember some important members of Hydra, and he tried to remember as many plans Hydra has as possible. With Peggy's help, he wrote everything down. Their father was avoiding them at all costs. Michael knew that he was there and it was clear that it hurt him that his own father did not want to see him, but he was focusing on his sister and tried not to think about things that made him panic such as the trial, the potential loss of his life, that he will wake up again, without his own will…

They were spending as much time together as Peggy's responsibilities allowed it. They were talking before her shift started in the morning, she was having lunch with him, they were chatting before they went to sleep. They were talking about everything and anything. Mostly, Peggy did the speaking about the past years. Michael was interested in her wedding and was very pleased when he found out that it did not happen. It was also confusing, however, because one day he met Fred Wells in the camp when he was allowed to go for a stroll. He admired Peggy for being a spy and it amused him how young recruits cast nervous glances at her. They talked about their parents – mostly about their mother. And they were avoiding the scariest topic – the trial.

It was on the tenth day of Michael's stay in the camp. Colonel Phillips entered the tent with a grim expression. Peggy stood up and straightened, Michael only lifted his eyebrows.

"The jury decided," Phillips started. "They found the whole file reporting the … actions … of your brother." The fact, that Phillips did not use his name and that he was only referring to him as to "her brother", did not bode well. "They found him guilty. And because the microchips he had in his head… because of all of this is qualified, the advocate could not use it as mitigating circumstances. Even though he show the jury everything that your brother wrote in here about Hydra, they said that they can't be sure that he is not trying to escape the sentence and therefore they decided that he is not trustworthy. The special team was sent and will arrive tomorrow to this camp for him to accompany him on the way to the United Kingdom where…" he did not need to finish his sentence. The punishment for treason was the death penalty and they all knew it.

Peggy was standing and shaking her head.

"They will not take him," her voice was trembling. "I will not let them…"

"Carter, there is nothing you can do about it. I… I am sorry," he nodded towards Michael.

"And what about those others? Are they going to kill all of them?"

"No… It seems that they did not commit so many crimes. According to all their files, it seems that your brother was the subject zero. And because he did so many things… "

"And what do they know? What does the report say? Is it not suspicious that we captured them all in one camp all at once?"

"The report says something else. Every man was captured elsewhere. Your brother was captured by a special unit from this camp. We omitted the Howling Commandoes because… I did not want them to have anything in common with this..."

"I will not let them take him!" She felt the rising panic. Not only was her voice shaking right now, but she was also shaking all over. The panic was absorbing her. She could not focus, there was darkness before her eyes, and she could hear humming in her ears. Before she could faint, however, something touched her hand. She made herself focus on it. Michael was reaching towards her.

"It's ok, Peg. We knew it. We knew that this would most probably happen." He had tears in his eyes. "At least… I will see our country again, Peg. That's what I wanted for the past years." He drew her towards his chest and hugged her tight.

Phillips left the tent. There was nothing else to say. He knew that he did not owe Michael Carter anything. But, in a way, he did not feel the same about Peggy.

Peggy did not leave Michael the whole night. They were there together, trying to talk, but neither one really could. The panic was rising in Michael. Was he ready to die? He knew what might happen and during the whole time he though that he was able to face it. But now, he was shaking like a leaf, tears were in his eyes and all he really wanted to do was to curl into a ball and let his mother tell him a fairy tale. He wished that it was only a dream. Peggy wasn't much better. Most of the time, Michael's head was in her lap and she was stroking his hair in an attempt to calm him down.

The morning came too quickly; before she knew it, she could hear a motor engine. Because nobody else was out of the camp, they knew that the special team for Michael just arrived.

The canvas of the tent opened. Peggy stood immediately in front of Michael, who was sitting on the bed, white as chalk, shaking.

It was Steve. He looked sombre.

"They arrived," he announced quietly and watched Peggy carefully. He knew that she was going to break down. He knew it because he definitely would. And he did not want her to face it alone. He was also sure that she would hate him from the very moment that he would hold her, not letting her go after the team, not letting her help her brother. But he was not going to let her ruin her career.

The tent opened once again. All of them flinched. And in came their father. His face was without emotions. He looked sadly at Michael and then at Peggy.

Then again, he looked at his son. "Michael." He sighed.

"I am sorry, my boy."

He did not move towards him. He did not hug him even though he wanted. He was too well-bred to do such a thing. They did not show their emotions and he was going to stick with it.

The tent opened again, and four men with firm expressions entered, ready to take the prisoner with them.

The silence that fell was so thick you could cut it with a knife.