Sorry for the delay - I had a problem with my hand so I could not write properly, today is the first day without a bandage, so I celebrated and finally wrote down the penultimate chapter. I hope you will enjoy it! :)

"You are not taking him," said Peggy and her voice – for the first time in the last twenty hours did not tremble. Steve checked whether she had a gun with her. Luckily, she did not.

The man who was standing in front of the others looked at her. He inhaled deeply.

"We are here to do our job, ma'am."

"Agent," Steve corrected him.

"Agent," the man repeated after him. It was clear that he did not want to make any trouble. Of course, he was the third side, he was not involved in this case in any other way than it was told to him that he was supposed to bring Michael with him to the headquarters. He made a step towards Michael, but Peggy moved a little too and blocked his way. Hers and the man's eyes met.

"Agent, I got an order. If you want to argue, you should argue with my superior. If you want to cause trouble to me, however, well… that's why there are four of us." He yanked his head towards the other four who straightened up a little, their hands found their weapons. When seeing this movement, Steve moved behind Peggy. Mr Rogers was only watching it with wide eyes, not able to move. There was a minute when nobody spoke.

"We do not want to fight you, but we were given orders. You will not win anything by beating us," said the man amicably.

The canvas of the tent opened again and Colonel Phillips came in. When he saw the situation, he set a hard look at Peggy and Steve.

"Carter, Rogers, what the hell are you doing?"

"I can't let them do it, sir," said Peggy, not looking away from those who came for her brother. Steve did not talk but jerked his head towards Peggy in a silent explanation. Phillips knew perfectly well that Steve would not let those men hurt her even if it was her decision to go into the fight.

"Carter, move aside!" she moved a little as if a conditioned reflex led her, but in the end, she stayed where she was.

"That's an order!" Phillips shouted.

"Peggy," a small voice could be heard from behind Steve.

"That's alright, Peggy. We knew it was coming. Do not worry about me," They all looked at Michael. He was trying to stand, but the panic that was shaking him was too strong for him to control his own limbs. Steve placed his hand gently on her shoulder and draw her towards him. She was so surprised and scared all at once that she let him do it. She moved from their way, now watching her brother, as he obediently stretched his hands towards a man with handcuffs.

When they passed them, Peggy woke up from her shock and reached for Michael. "NO!" She yelled, but Steve held her close to him. She tried to fight so vehemently that in one moment, he held her above the ground. It was not hard for him; she was light for him. The hardest part for him was to hear her cries and knowing that at that precise moment, he was the barrier which stood in her way and he was certain that she would hate him for it. On the other side, the other option was to let her go, punch one of the men and be judged in front of the military court for disobedience. And he was not going to let that happen.

When the men were two steps close to the tent's entrance, Howard ran in.

"Stop it!" he yelled.

"Stark! Not you too!" Grumbled Phillips.

"I have an order from the headquarters! You are not taking him, look at it!" he shoved the letter into the hand of the man in charge. He doubtfully opened it, but then his look changed into a surprised one.

"How should I understand it?"

"As you read it," Howard confirmed.

"Of course, I was sure you will not believe a paper. That's why there is a call to the headquarters being set for you right now. You can talk to your commander." Howard looked at everyone in the tent gleefully. And his happy face fell immediately. Peggy was hugged by Steve's arms, tears were falling from her eyes silently now. As he watched her, however, she was losing all the colour from her face. Steve noticed it too because he was tightening his hug and watched her face all the time. Michael was trembling so hard that the two men must have supported him. Phillips had his chin set and it was clear as a day that he was trying to fix his expression. Mr Carter had tears in his eyes, not moving either, not allowing himself to ignite the spark of hope that Howard brought in.

"Until I am back, look after him," said the man and left the tent.

"Stark? What did you do?" Asked Phillips sternly.

"I will explain later, colonel," he jerked his head towards the men who now led Michael towards the bed, deciding that there is no need for him to be standing.

The man came in in ten minutes.

"Alright, our orders were changed, and we are leaving. As I was told, you are now in charge of Michael Carter," he looked at Howard.

"Yes, I am, thank you," Howard's face was happy again.

The four men left and it wasn't until they hear their engine start and their car leaving, that they started to breathe again. Steve watched Peggy closely. She was still in his arms and he did not even try to ease his hold. He could feel her needing the support he provided her. He was the first who spoke.

"What did you do, Howard?"

"Well, I took a leaf out of Peggy's book," he smiled widely.

"I called the headquarters and of course, they told me that I signed a promise of confidentiality, but I told them that even though I did that, I am in a situation where I would gladly accept their punishment for breaking it. I also reminded them that I am one of the few inventors who they really need so they should think twice before sending an assassin after me. I explained to them that I plan to build a sanatorium for those soldiers who were hurt during this war and that there would be a special ward for men such as Michael." He looked at everyone uncertainly now.

"I know it might seem like a better name for a prison, but that's not it. Of course, for now, you will not be allowed to leave it, but there would be experts who can help you to process all the things that happened to you. And not only you. I think that those other men will follow you right after. I bought a very nice place in the UK, it was a former boarding school, it is in the countryside and I think that the peace of the place is all that you need. As I said, you will not be allowed to visit the town, but you will be granted permission to call anyone you want, you can write letters and of course, your visits will not be banned at all. So… What do you think?"

There was a dead silence after that.

"Howard…" Peggy started with a weak voice. She got out of Steve's arms carefully and then hugged Howard so strongly it surprised him, and it almost took his breath away. "I take it as yes," he muffled. "And what do you think, Michael?"

They all looked at him. He was still trembling, his eyes were wide open and it was clear that he was still in shock. Peggy let Howard go and wanted to go to him, but before she could, their father moved toward Michael and hugged him. Michael started to cry into his father's shirt, but nobody paid attention to it. It was emotionally a really hard day for everyone.

"Thank you," Peggy whispered to Howard again and again. He was feeling nervous about it because he was not used to gratitude from someone he knew.

Phillips waited until everyone calmed down a little.

"Agent, I hope that I do not have to punish you for your disobedience," he said firmly.

"Sir, I wanted to apologise…."

"Next time that happens, you will not leave London until after the war. Do we understand each other?"

"Yes sir," she nodded.

Phillips left the tent and left the rest of them to – maybe not celebrate, but to allow themselves to calm down a little.

Mr Carter left the day after Michael was transported to the sanatorium with Howard accompanying him. But he did not leave without a hassle. Everyone opened their tents to hear the General and their Colonel to argue about something that became very early too clear.

"She is leaving with me," said General Carter angrily.

"With all the respect, sir, she is an adult, she can decide for herself," responded Phillips.

"She is a woman!" Peggy, who was standing there too, jerked her head.

Auch, that hurt. Hearing her own father using her gender against her was one hundred times worse than hearing it from others.

"Yes, she is. And she is as needed as any man in here!"

"She should not be in here! She was injured, then almost assassinated…"

"That's the dangerous part of the job, sir, as you must be well aware of."

"Margaret," her father turned to her. "You are leaving with me," he said so firmly that all her instincts screamed at her to obey. She was taught to obey her father. But it was years ago, as she reminded herself.

"I am not, sir." She used the sir to let him know that now they were talking as army officers, not as father-daughter.

"What about her reputation? She is in here with only men!" he turned to Phillips again.

"Her reputation is just fine, general. She is not the only female agent in the war," he pointed out.

"Margaret, your mother will be devastated if she learns about it. She will be afraid to lose her daughter!"

"Then it is good news that she has her son back now," said Peggy blankly.

General Carter had to admit his defeat. He did not stop looking angry though. He sat in his jeep and shouted at the driver what is he waiting for. Without looking back, he left.

Peggy looked at Phillips with gratitude. He was still looking at the leaving jeep and without looking at her, he just said: "Don't look at me like that Carter. Just for you to know, I am still angry with you." His voice sounded more amused than annoyed, and Peggy smiled to herself. When she turned, she realized that the whole bunch of the Commandos were standing there, smiling at her. Philip's shout interrupted the moment.

"What are you all doing in here? Don't you have any work to do?"

Phillips marched briskly into the main tent while Howling commandos with Peggy walked towards the mess hall. And for the first time in a long time, they did not hurry.