Her parents were about as stunned as she was; especially with what they had heard. It was a few moments of silence before Harrison finally spoke. "So... um... you're married?", he asked as Peggy wondered where he got that answer so suddenly before she glanced down and noticed her ring, which quickly clicked in her mind as what gave it away.
"Uh... yeah...", Peggy sighed as she tried to calm herself. "It's a bit of a long story... and a lot that I can't exactly tell you both under threat of being charged with committing treason.".
Amanda replied, "How long have you been married?", and Peggy sipped her coffee for a moment before setting it down and smiled as she played with her wedding ring fondly, "Almost four months, and before that, we had been in a mostly secret relationship for the past five months, dating and such.".
Harrison narrowed his eyes, in overprotective father mode, "We had gotten a call from a Steve Rogers a while back, and he said that he knew you, and that Colonel Phillips is connected between you and Steve Rogers...Why didn't you call us?".
Peggy sighed deeply, "I was really busy at camp during the first few months, doing my job. And then, for the next few months, really good reasons, I promise, for some time, and those reasons are under classification, Father...And for recently, we were acting like honeymooners a lot because we didn't know if the next day would be the last day we'd have to be apart, and...", tears starting to fall, "Trying for children...Damn it...I thought I was over this...".
Amanda replied, "Maggie, you don't have to rush around in giving us grandchildren, and you know our teachings when you were little. All good things come in time at God's will, and only God knows when those things happen.".
"I know, Mum! But can God do his will when there's a damn war?! A war that anything can happen in an instance, where I can lose Steve to war, and he'd never have a family with me? ", Peggy began to sob, crying, and Amanda walked around the small table, and went to hug Peggy, comforting her, "Shh, honey, I'm here...", as suddenly, out of the bathroom, Steve was wearing his clothes down below, while not wearing a shirt, only his necklace, with his hair mostly damp, all but running to his wife who sounded like she was having a breakdown, "Peggy!", a worried, protective look on his face before stopping at a halt, blinking in confusion, surprise, relief, "Oh...", as he saw his wife being comforted by Amanda, seeing Harrison nearby, recognizing them from his wife's beloved pictures in their house back home.
"Thank goodness I put on some pants at least...", Steve whispered under his breath as Harrison took a deep breath. "You're Steve?", he asked. "Our daughter's husband?". Steve gave a small nod.
Harrison exhaled deeply as Steve glanced at his wife who's looking a bit better, feeling like she can breathe in her mother's arms, as Amanda continued to comfort her, "Shh, it's okay, let it out...".
Steve sighed, "I'm glad you guys are here...She really needed this...I really tried, honest...But I understand that there's a few things that parents can do to help, not spouses...I'd have brought Peggy to my mother, but she has been in heaven for quite a few years...Sorry that this couldn't be in better circumstances and all, with the war...".
"I'm sure you've tried your best...", Harrison said. It only took a moment to pretty much easily figure out that Steve was quite a different man compared to Peggy's previous fiancé; for starters, Steve clearly gave off a much compassionate air to him; one that very much cared deeply for Peggy.
Steve gratefully smiled, and replied, "Apologies for not being quite decent...Peggy wanted to show me what it's like to be in a British pub last night despite the jet lag...", grabbing a clean shirt from one of his luggage, putting it on.
Harrison nodded, "Ah, I see.", and Steve glanced at Peggy, "Peggy? Why don't you take your mother in the back and talk while you get dressed? I can do breakfast if the tin rations in the cabinets are still good.", with an encouraging, tender smile.
Peggy gave a small smile, grateful for her husband, "Thank you, Steve...And Daddy, be good. Steve hadn't much experience since his father died when he was young.", still holding into her mother, wiping her tears.
"Right...", Harrison said as the two women left before Steve sat down with Harrison. "Coffee?", Harrison offered as Steve nodded. "Never turned down a cup that was offered.", he chuckled as he took a sip. "That certainly wakes you up...".
"Enjoy it while you can; coffee's pretty much one of the most heavily rationed items; pretty sure they're mostly hoarding what we get shipped in for the troops, which I say is alright at least, they probably need it more than some of us.", Harrison replied.
Steve nodded, "That's very true. Yet we got to raise moral as much as possible for them, especially people who are from the same place. I would always offer a hand to a British soldier or a French soldier as much as I'd do for America, and besides, I have a feeling that Peggy would kill me if I were not at least assisting with something for some British troops.", with a chuckle.
Harrison smiled, "Well said. Peggy has always been a bit of a determined girl, no matter how stubborn she gets...So, how did you two meet?".
Steve chuckled fondly, "It was in New York City, where I was born and raised. I was with my brother, and he had a date, and he was trying to help me out as his date's friend was not interested in blondes, and then suddenly, she came out of nowhere, like an angel, and when it was supposed to be me asking her out, she asked me out herself! I was taken aback for a second before I realized that she was alone...Turns out she was trying to date a guy, trying to be in the dating loop again, long past the whole ex-fiancé thing she later told me about, and the guy didn't show up, being rude as it turns out that he preferred American women, and of course, I was upset for she was quite a delight, friendly, and amazing...Apart from my mother, Peggy was my first official dance partner, if you can believe it...", with a reminiscing sigh.
"I find it a bit hard to believe, actually... I mean the whole dance partner thing; surely a good-looking guy like yourself must have been the talk of the town.", Harrison said.
"Well...", Steve rubbed the back of his neck. "New York is a pretty big town, let's be honest...". Harrison looked at him, and then nodded, "I suppose I'll take your word for it. When did it happen, anyhow?".
Steve replied, "Only a couple of days after Pearl Harbor...After that brilliant dance, we had our first date as she asked me to show her around to my favorite spots of the city...I was a gentleman, and I had held back as I was nervous, and so, my first kiss with her was on our second date on Valentine's Day, on the beach.", with a fond smile.
"On the beach?", Harrison asked as Steve sighed, "Look, I'm sorry, there's a lot that I really can't say... I hate that much of my best moments and just how we came to be, all classified in most ways... but yes; during basic, we were together at camp and used some leave to head to the nearest beach to us.".
Harrison blinked, "Oh, I see now what Peggy meant about being busy at work...Absence makes the heart even fonder.", and Steve smiled warmly, "Exactly...It was a wonderful date as we danced under the stars on the beach, barefoot, and on that date, I sketched her in her beautiful dress.".
"You're an artist?", Harrison asked in surprise, and Steve chuckled, "I'm not just a soldier, and besides, people need hobbies...And yes, I'm an artist. I'm adept at painting, a natural at sketching, and a novice at woodworking...".
Harrison nodded, "I see. So, you were at camp a lot...", and Steve nodded, "Yes, sir...And before we were sent off on a classified mission, we had our third date on her birthday, taking her to a fairground and a visit to my mother's resting place, as Peggy deserved to have fun on her birthday while learning about my family.", not going to mention that he learned how to please Peggy and vice versa on that amazing day, as it's literally her father.
"Sounds like you'd pull her the moon down if you were able to...", Harrison chuckled as Steve laughed, "I think that's a perfect way to describe our relationship; I'd give her the stars and the moon... that's how much I care for her... and she would do much of the same.".
Harrison nodded, "You know, my wife's right...Perhaps even in a war, God's will would take time to give miracles and such, and for Peggy, I can't believe I'm saying this, but perhaps you two better relax back just a bit, to give her a break...I know anything can happen...like how it happened to my son...but well, having a family is a big deal.".
"We got married shortly after the end of the mission, back in May, and so, it has been a few months now...She thinks that it's her fault that she couldn't have children...I think it's my fault that I couldn't give her children...I told her that we can still fulfill our lives by adopting children who deserves to have a home and a family, and she was absolutely in for it, but...I didn't realize back there when I heard her breaking down in front of you guys, that she was...she really wanted to be a pregnant mother, have a child of my flesh and blood, to give me a family I always dreamed of, after losing my mother and father...", Steve wearily sighed with a hand in his face/hair.
"I know... it took a while for Amanda and myself to have children before we had Michael and Margaret; she had similar issues in the worries that we wouldn't be able to have a family.", Harrison admitted.
"Yeah, well, I fear the situation might be a little different between me and her, no matter what we've done...", Steve sighed, wishing he could explain but knew that might end up being a bad idea if any information somehow leaked out. The fewer those that knew the truth, the better.
Harrison replied, "Hmm, how long do you have with her before you get sent off?", and Steve sighed, "Only today and tomorrow...And I want her to spend today with you guys as she deserves it...And I think tomorrow would be figuring out the locations and such for my first mission...".
"Well, if there's a shore leave of a week between some of your missions, like perhaps on a holiday, you and Peggy visit us in the countryside...There's always a cottage to rent in the town, and perhaps, the feeling of winter, and having fresh air in the countryside would help you out...After all, we always liked to think that we have conceived Michael around Christmas.", Harrison suggested with a light chuckle.
"Hopefully, we will get that chance...", Steve sighed. "Again, I'm sorry we didn't say anything sooner, Peggy, I know would've been dying to tell you two everything if she could've... or being able to attend the wedding.".
Harrison smiled softly, "Hey, it's okay that we missed out on your American wedding, but it doesn't mean that you could get married here too..", with a nod.
Steve chuckled, "You are truly Peggy's father...She said that she would be overjoyed if she gets the chance to be married again in her homeland...", before looking back at the hallway, seeing that Peggy and Amanda hadn't come out of the bedroom yet, probably still in their own deep conversation, and hopes that Amanda has gotten through to his wife as he himself tried, and then looked straightforward at Harrison, "Would...would you help me find a respectable jewelry store around here?...I really hope you're right about shore leave around Christmas and marry her on the anniversary of our meeting/first date...I'm going to propose to her officially with you as witnesses, as the first time was...ah, impromptu.", with a sheepish smile.
"I'd be happy to. It might be a bit difficult though, with the war on and everything regarding any sort of jewelry but I'll try to find you something...", Harrison told him.
Steve smiled appreciatively, "Thank you, sir.", and Harrison waved a hand, "Pah. Call me Harrison. After all, I couldn't approve better than you, Steve.", with a smile.
"That means a lot to me, Harrison. And I hope no matter what the circumstances are, you two would be there for Peggy...Family is family, after all...", Steve replied.
Harrison looked at him with an approving smile, "You know we will. I'm glad we got the chance to finally meet the man of her dreams. It would be a bit strange to see Peggy as a Rogers, but she deserves to be happy.".
Steve chuckled, "I wouldn't ever take her from being a Carter...Her job, she will be a Carter, to keep herself safe, for I asked for it...I may look like any other regular guy who's trained for war and all, but sometimes soldiers might have enemies, so, she has two separate files; being a Carter in public, while being a Rogers secretly...I know it might seem a bit too much, but I just...I love her more than you could ever know...", with a deep sigh, wanting to tell the truth of being a super Atlantean soldier and all, but he couldn't.
"I think I can already tell.", Harrison chuckled. "For starters, right when we kinda caught you two... just glad she was wearing a robe at least inside of walking around with nothing on. She didn't even notice that we were here for a few moments.".
Steve froze, realizing that the brief shout of surprise earlier while he was still waking up, it wasn't her accidently scorching her tongue from the coffee, but from seeing them, and he blushed so red as he realized that they heard their brief banter, including that scandalous compliment himself.
"I...", Steve was speechless, trying to fumble, to think, and Harrison raised an eyebrow, "I should have known that it was easy to yank on your chain...", with a smirk before paling slightly as he saw Peggy all dressed and his wife coming up behind Steve.
Peggy replied, "Daddy, I told you to take it easy on my husband, and besides, I'm not a dainty girl anymore. You will always be one of my beloved men in my life, but Steve is number one now, and I love him, and that includes all of him, no matter how passionate he brings it for us. And don't think that I was clueless to the fact that you two always grabbed the chance to be alone by yourselves while I was in boarding school.", with a smug, fierce, and wry smile as she caressed Steve's chest through his shirt, embracing him from behind, kissing him on the cheek lovingly.
"Well, you must understand considering that this is the first time we've met your husband... or even know of his existence.", Amanda told her as Peggy nodded. It was her mistake not telling them anything after all these months; hell, they were probably worried with how quiet she had suddenly gone before Christmas.
Amanda then giggled at her husband's gob smacked look, "Harrison, close that mouth or you'll catch flies. She got us busted.", and Harrison closed his mouth, inhaling deeply and exhaled slowly.
Steve smiled, turning his head to kiss Peggy on the lips while enjoying her embrace, caressing her arms, "You came to my rescue, Peggy. You ain't a damsel in distress, that's for sure...So, you're feeling better? Got your mum's advice and all?", with a relieved, slightly concerned look, seeing that his wife has cleaned up, in good clothes and such, with her eyes looking better, with little signs of bloodshot tears at all.
"A little bit... sorry, just still a bit emotional at the moment, but I'll be alright. Certainly can't be in this sort of mood when we head out or I might find myself forced into a desk job...", Peggy said. "And you'd hate being stuck behind a small desk typing up reports...", Steve teased.
Peggy chuckled, giggling softly, "Indeed...You know me so well, luv.", and Steve smiled tenderly, "I ain't a good husband if I don't support and encourage you.", squeezing her arms lovingly, and Peggy beamed happily.
Harrison and Amanda can see how much the young couple are in love with each other, and hearing that, it certainly cemented the fact that their daughter is well cared for, and she's able to take care of herself for she's not certainly a girl or even a rebellious teenager anymore.
Clearing his throat, "So, how about that late breakfast you're going to whip up, Steve?", Harrison asked with a smile, and Steve nodded, as Peggy smiled, "I'll help you out as I know this kitchen better than you.".