womanofvalue | [outlander psl au]

The ground was saturated with so much rain that Peggy thought she might be washed away, but just because the plains were soaked didn't mean that the drills stopped. The soldiers didn't know it yet, but the landings were going to arrive sooner than anyone wanted and that meant no one can be untrained, lest they end up paying with their lives on those beaches. Today, when the fog rolled in, her superiors informed her that she would be running orienteering with her men, eliciting a sharp 'sir, yes, sir' from Peggy before she took the maps to her own private tent in order to brief the Lieutenants.

Leaning over to study the map, her stubborn engagement ring catches her eye. It had managed to escape from where she had tucked it away, just like all her thoughts about Fred. Their engagement was a terse and stressful thing. When she had announced that she was going into the field with the SSR, he had threatened to leave her. It had been her mother that had convinced Fred to wait Peggy out, insisting that once the war was over, things would change.

As much as Peggy was fond of Fred, she was beginning to see the splinters in their engagement turn to wider cracks, chasms so wide that you could lose sight of the love you once shared and guided you towards that engagement. Carefully, she pushed the ring back, securing it with one of her brassiere straps. Snapping her compass shut, she gave the objective and the orders. "I'll be out in the field to keep an eye on each platoon. The first to reach the objective will not run additional miles," she promised.

"The others will be doing laps around the base, respective to their finishing position." Folding up the map, she handed one to each of her four Lieutenants. "Let them look at it for a few hours, then to the navigator." With a few more orders, she allowed them to prepare as she herself got ready. She tugged on knee-high rain boots, an overcoat, and despite the misty fog in the air, she double-checked that her hair and makeup was in good shape.

Several hours later found Peggy in the thick of drills, listening to the shouts of men in the distance as they worked their way towards her and the objective. Standing there with a brolly, she glanced at her pocketwatch and decided mentally that she would see the first platoon in no more than forty-five minutes. Clasping the watch shut, the echo of it was drowned by another sound -- one that didn't belong. The sound of twigs and branches crunching made Peggy reach for her pistol, simply to be ready.

"Phillips?" she called out, thinking perhaps something had happened and she needed to recall her men. She saw the silhouette of what appeared to be a man in the fog and she found herself inexplicably drawn towards him, mainly because it simply didn't make any sense. "Who's there?" she asked, when it was clear that the man she was seeing didn't bear resemblance to anyone on base. This close, she could see that his hair had a strange look to it, not to mention his clothes. "Has there been an accident?" What could have happened to render the man in such a state?

(Peggy also did not need to allow her conscious thoughts to become aware of how handsome the man was, despite the fact she feared she was already a lost cause, given the way she was filled with a renewed warmth and how her gaze lingered)

They were inside a ring of large stones, which she vaguely recalled the locals warning her about. She had paid little mind, marking them perfunctorily on the map before moving on, but now she had to wonder if the talk of strange rituals wasn't at least a little true. Forty-five minutes. She had forty-five minutes until the men arrived, surely she could deal with this surprise in that time.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

bearstheshield

"I've never met him," Steve says, shaking his head quickly. "I just know that it's called that, that a man named Erskine developed the serum that gives me my strength and agility. Do you think it's fate or something that I wound up back here?"

Steve isn't a really superstitious man and aside from showing up at the occasional mass or murmuring a prayer when he's in a bind, he doesn't believe in much that he can't see with his own eyes - he just has the benefit of seeing a hell of a lot with his own two eyes, especially in the last few years.

From:

womanofvalue

She's not entirely sure what to make of it, but coincidence seems a stretch at this point in time. Whatever Steve is doing here, Peggy is beginning to think that he's right and he's meant to be. Still, that doesn't change the mission and hardly changes the plan, it just adds a complex layer to things.

"We'll deal with that once he's rescued," she counters, because there's no point in wondering why the universe is what it is, especially if they're gearing up for nothing but failure. The question in the back of her mind, of course, is why her? She can see Steve Rogers somehow being dropped here if he needs that serum in the future, but what role does Peggy play in all of this?

"There," she whispers, pushing aside the brush to show the castle beyond. "The outer guard will be the first we need to deal with, and quickly, unless we want to be plastered all over the security cameras."

From:

bearstheshield

"And here I was thinking I wouldn't have to deal with technology in this day and age," Steve says, groaning under his breath. He would rather not kill the guard, though, and he thinks if he just knocks him out that will be better overall.

"Don't let yourself be seen and I can take him out. He will wake up with a headache but no harm and no foul."

From:

womanofvalue

Peggy might feel a strange pull towards this man that she can't explain, but her eyes flash with fury when he suggests that she stay behind him. She's the one who was chosen for this mission and as far as she's concerned, Steve is simply lucky enough to have been invited along. Giving him a cross, furious look, she pushes a hand at his chest. "I will deal with the guard, seeing as then I can also gain us entry into the house seeing as I've been studying the security systems for weeks," is her pointed, sharp reply.

"I can ensure that he doesn't have any bruises at all, and not even a headache when he wakes," is her added remark, giving Steve a look that says if he doesn't pay attention to her demands, he might be in the same boat soon.

From:

bearstheshield

Steve lifts his hands and spreads them, trying to gesture that he's really not here to fight. "I'm sorry. It's in my nature to protect whoever I'm with. This isn't because you're a woman or because you're not capable. It's because I'm the one who throws myself in front of everyone else to keep them safe. I'm invincible. I can move faster, take harder hits, get up from bigger falls. I can take two or three on the chin and keep going and I don't want to see you hurt. I don't want to see anyone hurt if I can help it."

He pauses for a moment. "It's not about your skill. I swear."

From:

womanofvalue

Peggy wants to insist that she doesn't need protecting, but worries that he's not going to fold. She hopes that he does, because she doesn't want to think that he's going to treat her like she's incapable simply because he's invincible. "I don't care, this is still my mission," Peggy hisses at him with fury and righteous (in her opinion) anger on her face.

"I don't care that you think you can somehow serve this mission better, you're here for backup. Understood?" she barks at him, like she would any of her soldiers that she needs to fall in line.

From:

bearstheshield

"It's not that I think I'm better. It's that I can...never mind," Steve says, nodding at her order. "Yes ma'am. I'm backup and I'm following your lead. I'll stop trying to take command."

It chafes a little because he's worried and he doesn't think he can stop himself from jumping out in front of her if he has to but he has got to rein it in and let Peggy do her job.

From:

womanofvalue

Peggy keeps staring at him with the pointed look of a woman who's used to being in charge, only relenting when he yields and lets her have control of this mission. "If," she says, clear and sharp, "it appears that I'm in deeper than I can handle, then I will give you leave to step forward and help, but let me be a spy before a soldier right now," she says, as she makes it to the outer posts, starting to strip off so she can change into the housekeeper's clothes.

She only pays a little mind to the fact that Steve is right there beside her, trying not to become too embarrassed. "Hand me that hat," she directs, the little maid's hat poking out of a bag.

From:

bearstheshield

It takes Steve a moment to get his wits about him but he does and he gets the hat for her, handing it over. He averts his eyes while she changes. He's a soldier, sure, but Peggy is also a beautiful woman and he can't ignore that.

"Just tell me where I need to be and when. I can take orders...most of the time."

From:

womanofvalue

Peggy takes the hat and gives Steve a happy look as she takes the hat and settles it on her head, adjusting her brassiere and the uniform as she works into it, careful to not pop out, so to speak. "Quick, tell me if I look convincing," she says, reaching back to pin her hair in a low-bun to ensure it's out of the way, checking to make sure that she has her holsters on properly underneath the skirt of the outfit and that her shoes are equipped with the knives she's brought along.

From:

bearstheshield

Steve gives her a careful once-over, evaluating whether or not she looks the part of French peasant rather than put-together English spy. It says something to her ability to dissimilate that she truly does and if he didn't know better, he'd think her true self was an act and this was the truth.

He's never going to be good at lying. It's just not in his nature.

"You're selling it to me, for whatever that's worth."

From:

womanofvalue

She gives a firm nod of her head when he doesn't seem to find fault in her outfit, adjusting the hat a little more as she leans down for some dirt to get herself good and smeared up, because she wants to make sure she does this without being shot. "Remember, you're the backup," is what she wants to make clear.

"Fists rather than bullets, if you can," she adds after, "make sure the path is clear and we'll meet you back here in thirty minutes. If I don't make it back to you then, don't come looking for me. Just find Erskine and go."

From:

bearstheshield

"Fists rather than bullets always," Steve says. He doesn't like shooting anyone if he can help it and while he feels a little naked without his shield, he thinks he can manage.

As he makes his way through the building, he has to take out a few sentries but he does so quickly and quietly. He makes sure they're still breathing and then hides himself away, now that his part is done. He has to wait the appointed time and then rescue if he needs to. He's playing backup, not running point.

From:

womanofvalue

"Good," Peggy says once she has his promise, heading off into the building to search it for Erskine, the schematics well-known in her mind by this point. She navigates through and acts as the maid, keeping her head down and mumbling shy little snippets of French if ever she comes too close to one of Schmidt's operatives.

Soon enough, she's to Erskine's room and she's able to pick the lock. This was never going to be the difficult part, though. Erskine seems shocked to see her, though his soft, "Agent Carter, what are you doing here?" is just plain insulting. She regards him sharply and heads to the closet to start fetching something for him, giving him a hat and something high-collared so that he won't be noticed.

"If anyone asks, I'm the maid and you're my father who's here to escort me home," she says pointedly, bustling him out of the room and holding onto him tightly as she navigates them through dark back halls. Her heart pounds the whole time and though she has to stop them a few times, they make it to the rendez-vous with little trouble.

Searching around, she tries to find where Steve's got to, careful as she keeps walking, because she knows that they're not free and clear yet. "What are we waiting for?" Erskine hisses, clearly wanting to leave.

"Not yet," she says firmly. "We have to wait." No matter what the mission is, Peggy's not going to leave Steve behind, no matter what common sense is telling her.

From:

bearstheshield

Steve’s gotten tangled up with a few guards who don’t seem to take his high school French as reason enough to be there and he ends up in more of a fist fight than he intended. He’s got to get the way clear so he can get back to Peggy and her charge but right now, he’s tangled up in four guys who are armed and he who has nothing.

He’s fought against worse odds before, yeah, but it still takes a while and he ends up wondering if Peggy’s already gotten out. He hopes so.

From:

womanofvalue

Peggy nearly trips on one of the guards that have apparently been knocked out, and as she helps Erskine to the car, she gives Steve a disbelieving look, even if that look is tempered by faint amusement and fondness. "Really?" is all she asks, when she catches up to him.

"Steve, this is Dr. Erskine," she introduces the both of them as she gets the car going, "Dr. Erskine, meet my unexpected ally. Now, shall we escape?" It doesn't take more than that suggestion for Erskine to nod rapidly, bundling into the backseat, holding onto his research as tightly as he has since Peggy rescued him out. "Do you mind driving?" she asks Steve, beginning to wipe off the knock-out lipstick. "I want to talk to the doctor for a moment or two."

From:

bearstheshield

Steve doesn't expect to literally run into them but when he does, relief floods him. He hadn't wanted see Peggy hurt or the mission to fail and seeing that she's recovered Dr. Erskine and she, herself, seems to be unharmed, this is the best possible outcome.

Dr. Erskine. His serum's been flowing through Steve's veins for years now but he's someone long dead to him. Now, due to this strange set of events, he's face to face with the man who changed his life with his discovery. Huh. It's bigger than any of them now.

"I don't mind driving," Steve assures her. "If you want me to be the get-away driver, I'm your guy."

From:

womanofvalue

Peggy's already hauling herself into the back seat and securing in Erskine, trying to make sure that there's no chance that he's going to slip away out of shock or any other happenings. She can begin to hear a touch of chaos near the castle, which means that they need to get moving. "Drive," she orders sharply to Steve, buckling herself in and getting ready to escape.

"We've got a boat waiting and then it's back to work, Doctor," Peggy says, trying to jest. "I'm sure you're happy to hear that."

From:

bearstheshield

"Yes ma'am," Steve says. He doesn't mind taking orders, especially since it appears that the mission's gone well and he drives back to the docks. This is the best possible outcome for a mission like this - no casualties and a successful extraction.

"Doctor, did they hurt you? Or did they just want information?"

From:

womanofvalue

Peggy raises her brow, rather pleased by how much Steve offers her respect. She'll think about that instinct later, but right now, she wants to get them out of here, which means that she needs to touch up some of the wounds and ensure that he's not in any pain.

"He wants my formula," Erskine says, sounding shaken. "He took it, but it only revealed the monster that he is. They could have more, they forced me to help, but I never wrote it down. They only have what I produced while I was there."

"We'll deal with Schmidt later," Peggy promises. "Right now, all we need is to get you back to safety. You can rest, if you'd like. You're safe now," she promises. Erskine seems to take this as a reassurance, calming slightly, though his looks are wary to Steve. "He's an ally," she says, even though she wonders how quickly that had come to pass. She's not usually so trusting, yet, Steve has passed through her barriers like tissue.

From:

bearstheshield

"Don't worry, I'm with the Allieds," Steve assures him. Now that he's face to face with Erskine, he wants to tell him that he's the result of his serum and it's still getting used sixty some odd years later. Maybe that's a conversation for another time, though, and Steve manages to sit on that bit of information and keep things cryptic for now.

"I appreciate you and your work, Doctor, and I was happy to come along and help. Hopefully they won't be able to reproduce your work."

From:

womanofvalue

"Yes, yes, hopefully not," he agrees, but he looks very wary, his glaze flitting to Steve and then back to Peggy, who is giving his shoulder a firm squeeze to try and promise that he is safe with them, no matter how strange the last little while has been. It takes some time, but eventually he begins to drift off, giving Peggy the ability to breathe out in relief.

She's got no marks on her and the alarm barely went up, which is the mark of a successful mission, in her opinion. It could have gone much worse. "Thank you," she tells Steve. "I appreciated knowing I had the backup."

From:

bearstheshield

"You'll always have the backup," Steve promises her. He's only just met her but he doesn't know if he's ever going to get to go back home. For right now, he's going to be stuck here in 1940s England and if that's the case? He's going to be right behind Peggy Carter making sure she has what she needs.

"You don't have to worry about that."

From:

womanofvalue

Peggy gives him a pleased murmur in reply, settling herself in the back seat where she can watch over Erskine. As well, she can stare at the back of Steve's neck and wonder what it is that she's managed to get herself into. It's the same thought rattling around through the whole of the drive, not to mention the boat, where she lets Erskine debrief them on what Schmidt had been doing. She takes notes and spends the Jeep journey back to base with those.

When they arrive, she asks to see the Colonel immediately, but is stopped by one of the lieutenants. "What is it?" she asks, as she glances back to make sure Steve isn't wandering off (as if he might disappear, vanishing back to where she'd found him).

"Letter, ma'am," he says, handing it to her.

She frowns when she sees that it's from Fred, absently pressing her palm to where her engagement ring lies against her chest, but right now, she has other priorities. With Erskine heading quickly back to his lab, she approaches Steve to regard him curiously. "Would you like me to arrange a transport for you anywhere?" she asks, hoping that her worry about the question doesn't show.

From:

bearstheshield

"There's no place I'd rather be than the Front, ma'am," Steve says, giving Peggy a worried look. He's not sure what's going on but he has no idea how he can get back home and if he can't, he wants to be where the fighting is. That's going to do more good in the 1940s than him hanging back hoping he doesn't break anything.

"Do you need to transfer me to another unit?"