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:

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?"

From:

womanofvalue

"Well, I'm not the Front," she says, as she takes out the letter to open it, thinking that it will simply be another of his usual requests as to when she'll be back, when she's going to stop this silly dream of playing a hero. "I don't want to transfer you if you don't wish to go," she replies, but she's distracted.

It's not a normal letter at all. What do you call a Dear John letter, when you're a woman and receiving it. He asks her to send the ring back, that he's met someone else who will 'fit his life better'.

Though Peggy hadn't expected this, she finds herself sitting to take in what it says for a long moment. Turning, she clears her throat and keep her eyes clear as she slides the chain off her neck, tucking it and the ring in the opened envelope. She'll return it to him later, right now, she has someone else to worry about. Glancing at him to realize Steve is still there, she gives him a surprised look.

"Sorry," she says, for her distraction. "What I was saying is, if you want to be at the front, it won't be here."

From:

bearstheshield

Steve pauses for a moment and watches her, not certain what's just happened. Peggy seems a little distracted by the contents of the letter and he wants to close the distance between them and cup her shoulder, ask what's wrong. He settles for canting his head a bit and watching her carefully.

"I want to be where I'm most useful. Do you think you'd have a use for me if I stayed here with you? Missions, off the record extractions, that kind of thing?"

From:

womanofvalue

Peggy works to tuck the envelope into her back pocket, trying to clear her mind of the traitorous thoughts that wish to run so rampant and free. She's stinging and hurt because Fred had been the one to dump her, even though she hadn't loved him any more than he, her. And yet, it hurts also to lose a future, even if it hadn't been one that she had wanted.

"Now that Erskine is back, perhaps you can help with the experiment," she says. They haven't found anyone that Peggy is willing to endorse and has been steadily lobbying Phillips to allow her to undergo the first test before they find soldiers. "It's more science than soldiering, but if my request comes to pass, I could use a strong set of arms." She eyes his, trying not to flush at how much she enjoys looking at them.

From:

bearstheshield

"Willing and able to serve," Steve says, giving her a half smile. "I don't follow the science part much but part of being in the Army is being able to follow orders you don't necessarily understand and trusting the outcome."

It's served him well, for the most part, and he wants to trust that Peggy and Erskine are doing work for the good guys. He thinks so. "You just let me know where to be and when and I'll be there. I trust you, Peggy. With my life."

From:

womanofvalue

Peggy is starting to think that she's in far deeper than she knows what to do with, given how much she already feels connected to this man. It's nervewracking and frankly, terrifying, especially now that she knows that there's no man waiting for her back in England.

"In that case, come with me," she says. "Get something to eat. Once Erskine's had a bit of a rest, you can come stand behind me and glower while I make my case again," she says, determined not to give up on her plans.

From:

womanofvalue

From:

bearstheshield

"Glower? Do I look that intimidating?" Steve has never felt intimidating. Deep down, he still feels like a skinny kid from Brooklyn but he knows his body belies that now. He has the serum to thank for it, even if Erskine had been dead by the time Steve had ever joined the Army or even been born. It's crazy, meeting him now.

Crazier still is how attached he feels to Peggy. He doesn't want to leave her to go to the Mess but he does, getting something to eat. He does it quickly, methodically, and gets back to her so he can help her in any way he can.

"All right, where do I need to go and glower?"