5668/House Warming and HYDRA, 1950

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House Warming and HYDRA, 1950
Date of Scene: 21 March 2021
Location: The Carter-Sousa Residence, Long Island
Synopsis: Lily visits Peggy and Daniel for dinner, but they're interrupted by a HYDRA assassination attempt. (This is why they can't have nice things.) The stress of the situation triggers a strange seizure in Lily, which puts a damper on what was left of their party. But, hey... the mantle gets a new trophy out of it.
Cast of Characters: Peggy Carter, Daniel Sousa, Melinda May
Tinyplot: Echoes In Time (SHIELD 1950)


Peggy Carter has posed:
The perfectly elegant, too normal house on a very quiet block at the end of a perfectly mowed lawn was not the place people might ever think of Daniel Sousa and Peggy Carter to be nesting, but somehow they talked themselves into it being a good idea. There's a two car garage, two stories of bedrooms, a water tight basement, and a lovely little porch. It's just the sort of starter home for a young couple contemplating a family. It's even got white shutters. They barely get back to sleep in it.

But tonight, Peggy insisted. They could bring more files home, but they were going home and hosting a dinner. She'd already invited Lily, so there was no backing out, getting take out and just working through it all. Peggy even left the office just after 5 so she could go home and try her hand at cooking.

...it wasn't working very well. The London Broil is more like London Bricquette now, the salad is wilting, her bread didn't rise, and something is smoking. She's just not certain what. She's got an apron over her suit and looks incredibly lost as she stares at the disaster.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel knew how to cook, it was an essential skill in the Sousa home during the 30's when his mother worked, and his dad was a bit too helpless in the kitchen to handle things on his own. Still Peggy had wanted to do this herself and he was happy to let her, helping here and there where he could, which at the moment means fanning smoke out the kitchen window with a pot lid. "Need me to take a look at a few things?" he offers, not quite able to keep the smile off his face. He's dressed down, his work pants, no suit or tie, and his shirt sleeves rolled up to the elbow, since it was just a quiet night at home with friends. "See what we can salvage?"

Melinda May has posed:
Lily may have been mildly surprised by the dinner invitation when it came, but she appreciated it, nonetheless. A discrete inquiry, however, revealed to her before she left the office that Peggy had gone home early to cook. Thus, she now finds herself torn. Should she swing by Quon's and ask for sufficient take-out she can hide in the trunk of her car... just in case? Or should she roll the dice and take a chance that Peggy knows more than her half-memories tell her she does. Or the chance that Daniel knows more than most men of her acquaintence in this time.

In the end, pragmatist that she is, she opts for the former, the food carefully cradled in wooden crates lined with white towels and draped with the same to preserve it throughout the drive. She can return both crates and towels later, after all, given her apartment is still above the restaurant. She glances back briefly at the car as she heads up the walk, considering whether or not she should have just brought it with her rather than hide it there. In the end, however, she carries only a bottle of wine with her. The food can wait until she sees just how bad the damage may be.

Thus, she fixes an easy smile on her face and knocks smartly on the front door.

Peggy Carter has posed:
A little groan escapes Peggy's lips as she looks back at the stove. "I don't even know what's smoking any more, I thought I turned everything off!" She sighs deeper, definitely looking more than a bit embarrassed that she failed at this so horribly. Again. "... We should have gotten take out, shouldn't we? And Lily's going to be here any minute..." One hand drags down her face. "Fine. Fine. I surrender. Save waht you can. I... am not made for the kitchen." It took an act of great will to push beyond her stubbornness and let him try to save the meal.

Then there is a knock. "Well... I've known you to work miracles before, now is the time, my darling. And we should maybe open a window." She leans over, stealing the briefest of kisses against the corner of his mouth before she lets him go to saving what he can and she scampers to the door. She's still in her apron and high heels from the day, but she has a wide EVERYTHING IS FINE smile plastered across her face. Too wide. "Lily! Prompt as ever. Dinner might be... a few... minutes, but goodness, come in, sit! Home sweet home. I hope the expressway wasn't too bad."

The house is just as cute inside. All modern, sleek furniture, and even a brand new television with shiny rabbit ears on top of it! There's a huge fancy radio and record player stereo in the corner of the dining room and a big Queen Anne table. This place looks like it should have three children running through it and dinner parties every weekend.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel does cock his head to look at the stove as well. "You know, I'm not sure either," he says giving the stove one more wave of the pot lid before he puts it down and wraps his arms around Peggy's waist. "Go get the door," he tells her, returning that kiss before letting her go to get the door while he goes and tries to perform some miracles with tonight's meal. "It was a good try though," he says with earnest encouragement as she goes, before setting his hands on his hips looking over what he had to work with while he tries to come up with a plan. "Hey, Lily," he calls out when he hears the other agent at the door.

Melinda May has posed:
There may not be smoke billowing through the house, no one needs to be calling the fire department, but Eau d'Briquette is its own perfume. As Lily steps in, she can tell. And Peggy's too-wide smile is another clear indication. She winces, though there's definitely amusement in the expression. "I brought the wine, anyway," she says, lifting the bottle to her. She doesn't say it, but it'll go great with the dumplings in her trunk. And she knows how to refresh them, even after the drive.

"The expressway wasn't bad, given the time of day," she tells her, keys to her car still in her hands. "And, eh, Suelin said to give you her regards. She asked me to bring you a gift. I told her it wasn't at all necessary, but..." She gives a mild shrug, as if to say she was helpless to refuse. "Maybe we can send Daniel out to fetch it. It's in my trunk."

Then, she hears his voice, and she smiles. "Hi, Daniel. How goes the battle?"

Peggy Carter has posed:
Still smiling a bit too wide, failing somewhat horribly at hiding her embarrassment behind it, Peggy steps back with a bit of a flourish to show off the parts of the house that aren't smoking, that modern living and dining room at least. "Please, please! Come in...ah... you didn't have to bring anything, really, but yourself. Though wine is always appreciated." How a world class spy can be this bad at hiding when something has gone wrong, or thinking she's fooling anybody, is not clear. But Peggy's trying hard.

"Uh...Daniel's just trying to put some finishing touches on the London Broil, but I can go fetch it from the trunk. You sit, rest, relax...I can make you a cocktail when I get back inside, do you have a preference? Howard sent us a whole bar along with that television. Which I don't think we've even turned on." Peggy might be actually *nervous*, her words a bit too fast and anxiety behind them. She can fight with the best of them but a normal dinner party is terrifying.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"Oh, doing alright, Lily, you?" Daniel calls with a smile in his voice. "Glad to hear the expressway wasn't too bad," yep, definitely not mentioning the state of dinner even though he's sure she can smell it in the air.

He makes his way to the door of the kitchen to wave, and greet Lily with a smile. "Yeah, dinner should be along in a little bit," he adds to Peggy's words, giving her a little look of support, a silent 'we'll figure it out' before he ducks back into the kitchen. "As you can probably guess the bar sees more use than the TV," he remarks of Howrd's gifts. That drive to and from the office in Chelsea ate a huge chunk of their day.

Melinda May has posed:
Lily hangs onto her keys, shaking her head faintly at Peggy. "No preference," she smiles. "Whatever you've got will be fine." She steps in far enough to see the bar and the impressive tv. Inhaling deeply, she lets out her breath more softly, closing her eyes and almost wilting. Awkward social situations aren't her forte, either.

"Why don't you both come to the trunk with me," she says with a bit of a sigh. "I told Suelin the gift wouldn't be necessary but..." She clears her throat uncomfortably. "I suspect it is."

So, she turns, and heads for the door, fully expecting they'll both follow.

Peggy Carter has posed:
There's genuine confusion on Peggy's features, though as she realizes who Suelin is a few other things click into place. She stares between them, a wrinkled nose decorating her features a moment later. "I...really am that much of a disaster that Suelin sent along food, didn't she?" Peggy asks with a half embarrassed laugh. She shakes her head slowly and laces one arm through Daniel's arm so they can walk together out to the car. She's admitting defeat.

It's interesting to watch them at home, because there is definitely more idle, warm affection between them and comfortable touches than they allow at the office. Despite dinner being a disaster, the fact that Lily has been invited into their private spaces and life speaks a lot as to how much they trust her. And how much they are still very deeply in love, even with wedding and honeymoon well passed and the stresses of a long commute and too-big house on their shoulders.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel wisely no comments about the necessity of Suelin's gift but the look he gives Lily reads 'thank you' clear enough. He does lean over and kiss Peggy's cheek, "We'll get it next time," he promises, before Peggy takes his arm and they walk with Lily to the car. Indeed, in their little corner of domestic bliss the walls they put up around their feelings at the office are nowhere to be seen even with Lily present, a sign she's definitely amoung their most trusted friends. "So how's everyone at Quons?" he asks as they make their way towards Lily's car.

Melinda May has posed:
Lily gives an awkward shrug, but smiles warmly nonetheless as she leads her defeated boss and her husband to the car. "We thought you'd like the dim sum set. She said it would be poor form to send them empty. I told her you were going to provide dinner." A beat. "So, she insisted."

Because, of course, she did.

Chances are Lily's at least partially lying. There was no debate about whether or not to fill the dishes. But the rest of it is probably true. "Besides, I'll show you how to refresh everything. As long as you don't burn water, you'll be fine." A sparkle has returned to her dark eyes as she says it.

"But they're well," she tells Daniel in answer to his question. "No trouble there, for now anyway. I suspect Mr. Wong is distracted elsewhere." Like at those places of business SHIELD's investigation has recently disrupted.

Her key slides smoothly into the green Chevy's trunk. She lifts it open to reveal the wooden crates with the woven bamboo baskets filled with various dim sum dishes -- steamed kept carefully from fried kept carefully from stirfry. There's even a small tea set in the middle with some traditional green tea wrapped in small rice paper satchels stored in a little tin box.

Peggy Carter has posed:
"I think, maybe, the kitchen is simply yours, my dear." Peggy admits to her husband in mostly good natured defeat. She'd be stinging about the failure for a bit, she always did, but neither of them seemed very bothered. And she did love Daniel's cooking.

Then the car trunk is opened and she can practically smell the savory scents, various dumplings and fried pieces coming out of the lovely little bamboo steamers. "Oh goodness...You both didn't have to, but these are *gorgeous*. Certainly not any bit serving dishes anyone has gotten us before. These are the little bamboo trays you get off the carts, right?" Peg likely has no clue that they are also used to cook/steam the things, but then there are many reasons she's not allowed in a kitchen.

Across the street, a dark sedan drives slowly. Almost too slowly. Maybe it's trying to be safe incase of kids playing in the early evening light. If someone is particularly sharp, the might catch the flash of a camera lense from inside the car, pointed in the Carter-Sousa house direction

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"Might be an idea," Daniel says of taking over matters in the kitchen, with a smile. "And I can show you a thing or two, once we get a bit more fire insurance, anyway," he teases warmly giving Peggy another little peck on the cheek to soften the teasing some more.

"Glad," Daniel says of the folks at Quons. "And even better news about Mr. Wong, we still need to run down his business partners though," he says before pausing a moment to look up at the passing car. "But that can wait until the office..." he says brow furrowing in concern. "Did anyone else see a camera?"

Melinda May has posed:
The car is moving slowly enough to attract attention. There may be children out playing, true, but the cameras of the 50's are somewhat less capable than their 21st century counterparts. This means they can't cruise by at speed and take photos well at all. Even inching along could be enough to blur things out, depending on the model.

"They are," Lily confirms, eying the car as it passes. She shifts slightly, reaching deeper in the trunk for a bag she keeps there with different equipment in it. "They're also used for steaming, when required," she notes. "But I suggest you stick to serving with them." Because she'd hate for the bamboo to ignite.

She pulls out a pair of 9mm's from the bag, pushing one low over the dishes, where it can't be seen, towards Peggy. The other stays wrapped by her own palm. "Get the license," she suggests quietly to Daniel. "Take what you need." She opens the black bag. There is definitely helpful equipment within -- some SHIELD-issue, some not.

Peggy Carter has posed:
"...are we all really *this* paranoid? It's the suburbs, people drive slow here!" Peggy mutters as Lily passes that gun in her direction. But she does take it, obscuring the motion with her body so no one can see it from the street. She gives the car a look across her shoulder, but had been entirely back turned at the time so she missed the possibility of a camera lens watching them. Still, she frowns. "...We really are too paranoid. No one even knows we live here. Come on. It's dinner time."

She might protest a little too much, hoping they aren't being stalked more than she actually believes it. She then leans down, scooping up as much of the food as she can to carry into the place while keeping one hand free -- seemingly to get a door, but really to get her weapon.

It's just as she's turning for the door again that the still slow moving black car's window starts rolling down and there's a long barrel of some rifle peeking out the darkened interior, in their direction. It's not more than 2 seconds later that shots cough out in sharp precision -- One meant for Peggy, one for Lily, and one for Sousa.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"Frogmen, at our wedding," Daniel replies in regards to their paranoia. It was justified. He does duck into the trunk to help himself to a Minox camera, and a couple of dishes, hooking his cane over his arm as he does. In the fiddling with the dishes, he palms the camera and click it a few times in the direction of the car's plate, before giving it a quick read to comit it to memory as well. "Let's get this stuff," he says as he starts moving in that direction, car kept carefully in the corner of his ^eye.

And a good thing too, when the camera is replaced by a rifle he catches the movement and turns, "Down," he shouts to the others dropping bamboo dishes as he dives for cover the bullet shattering the light by their door.

Melinda May has posed:
The food dishes are collected in wooden crates, making carrying things both easier and perhaps a little more awkward to do with a single hand. However, it does mean that there's less chance of the food being completely destroyed when the box is inevitably released in favour of gunplay.

Gunplay. On a suburban street. In 1950. A.K.A. How not to win friends and influence your new neighbours.

Lily lingers by the car as the other two retreat, seemingly waiting to close the trunk. It allows her to fall back behind the car's rear quarter panel when the bullets fly. It also causes her to curse sharply when the tail light shatters from the impact of the bullet. Her Walther comes up and she fires off three shots of her own in quick succession, aiming for the windows at about shoulder height. She'd aim higher, for the heads, but she'd actually like to take at least one of them alive, if they can. Someone to take out the frustrations of a ruined dinner on later.

Peggy Carter has posed:
It's the flash of a gun's barrel coming out that catches Peggy's eye, having just looked over her shoulder again to double check her instincts that surely this was nothing when it was very clearly something. "Down!" She snaps at nearly the same time as Daniel, dropping the food back into the trunk as she begins to drop in panic, putting the car's fender between her and the shooters.

It's not until no other shots ring out and the sound of the car continuing to move has never stopped that she dares to duck her head out from behind the car and stare at the dark sedan. Now it's clear the plates have been very neatly obscured on them. This was all very planned. But it's not coming back for them, no other shots are coming... Only one neighbor has poked a head out to yell, "Keep it down out there! Loud cars these days, damned kids!" And then he's grumbling back away. Apparently, it's easier to assume that was a car back firing than gunshots in a suburban Long Island neighborhood.

Peggy curses softly, picking herself the rest of the way up, "...Are either of you hurt? They... they're going to be long gone. We should get inside..."

Melinda May has posed:
Crouched by the wheel, no longer focused on the fleeing car, Lily is paying almost no attention to anyone or anything around her. The gun falls from her hand, skittering past the curb to slide beneath the underbody of the car, toward the rear tire. Her muscles spasm and an expression of clear agony forms silently on her features -- eyes screwed tightly closed, lips drawn back from clenched teeth. Her head twists strangely and, for just a moment, it's as if there are several of her kneeling in the same place. They split apart, as a clear seizure wracks her body, and then snap back together several times in quick succession.

When the seizure passes, perhaps only a minute in duration (though it feels like an enternity to Lily), the woman curls tightly, singularly, into a fetal position. Her torso heaves with heavy, shallow breaths, like a runner having completed a marathon. Her hands are still in tight fists, white knuckles pressed against her knees as her arms wrap tightly around herself -- like she's desperately holding herself together.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
When the shots stop Daniel lifts his head tracking the car from the front porch, frowning as he sees the plates blocked out. "Damn it," he mutters, reaching for the railing to help him up to his feet along with the cane. "Is everyone ok-" he begins before he sees Lily and starts to limp down the steps to the car. "Peggy, something's wrong with Lily," he warns, rushing towards the women. "Lily, what's happening? What can we do to help?" he asks her hoping she might have the answers he doesn't.

Peggy Carter has posed:
The moment Lily drops, a wash of anger crosses Peggy's features and she looks ready to IMMEDIATELY run after the car. Her mind assumes that Lily has been hit and how dare they hurt one of her team. But she double checks that assumption as she notices it's as if there are a dozen Lilys or more all at the same space. This doesn't look like a rifle wound. "Shit. I'll...get a blanket. Stay with her!" Peggy orders, snapping between rage and now terrified worry in the split of a heartbeat. "Watch her to see what...this is!"

Peggy calls that back, but she's taking the front stairs in a single leap and dashing into the lovely living room, only to return ten seconds later with a warm afgan Ana Jarvis gave them both. She's kneeling down, trying to wrap it around Lily's shoulders and get her onto her side when things seem to calm.

"...Lily... just breathe. Talk to use when... you can. We'll get you inside... call an ambulance..."

Melinda May has posed:
When the seizure passes and she is able to catch her breath, Lily loosens very slowly. The pain takes longer to recede, remaining a lingering tingle in her extremities. Her fingers uncurl and twist into the wool of the afghan, pulling it around her shoulders. "I... don't know... what that was." Her voice is a bit of a rasp. Her skin is very pale and she's still a little shaky -- but it's more an unsteadiness than lingering seizure.

But going inside sounds good. An abulance, less so. Still, she leans a little as her body uncoils and relaxes. "It really hurt."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel stays with Lily or rather the Lilys as she goes through...whatever the hell was happening, "Hold on Lily, we'll take care of you," he promises even if he wasn't sure they could. Moving out of the way when Peggy returns with the blanket for the woman he says, "We might be better calling Howard or Doctor Samberly than an ambulance, this... more like their ballpark than a hospital's," he glances up at Peggy for confirmation.

Peggy Carter has posed:
As she looks the pained, curled up Lily over with worried eyes, Daniel's comment about the right ballpark gets an even longer glance. "...you saw it too, then?" She wasn't making things up in her head. She leans down to scoop Lily up in her arms protectively, cradling the woman against her chest in the big blanket and nodding for Daniel to open the front door. "...we'll get her inside and I'll call Howard. Lily...Just hold on. We'll get you help." She promises. And with that, she takes the drama off their perfectly normal surburban lawn, the shot up car and abandoned dinner forgotten in their wake.

Melinda May has posed:
Really, Lily likely would have preferred to keep her feet, rather than be carried into the house. But she's unsteady enough she doesn't fuss. As they settle back into the house, food forgotten on the lawn, she pulls the blanket around her.

Her head sinks back against the back of the couch. She lets out a soft sigh of relief as her muscles slowly relax and she is more easily able to uncoil. Slowly, colour begins returning to her cheeks.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel does his part to help Lily into their house, hanging his cane off his arm until they can get her laying down on the couch. He steps back then leaning gratefully on his cane once he can.

"Do you need anything?" he offers the woman with a concerned look, one he glances up to share with Peggy, as he looks to see how she's carrying all this. Their night had certainly taken a turn from burnt dinners and arriving house guests.

Peggy Carter has posed:
Strangely, while she's worried, Peggy looks completely fine herself. She's trained and toned, it not a horrible challenge to carry a woman with Lily's frame up the stairs and a little bit into their house. Her body has now tripped over into crisis mode and that means she's calm, in control, and operating far better than she was earlier with the panic of a failing kitchen. She hilariously looks more in her element than anything, just very concerned.

She settles Lily down more gently, not touching beyond what she needed to get her out of the driveway, just in case contact from another person hurts as bad as the incident did. "...Put on some tea, Daniel? And we should see if any food can be salvaged. I'll...call Howard, but if you're with us, Lily, do you think you can tell me what happened? I don't know how to explain this to Howard over the phone..."

Melinda May has posed:
Lily shakes her head slowly to Daniel's question, though as Peggy suggests tea she rallies some. "Tea would be good," she admits. Then, however, she's giving a small, helpless shrug, frustration replacing pain on her face.

"I don't know what happened," she tells them. And, truthfully, they probably saw it better than she did. She *felt* it -- the sensation of being pulled apart atom by atom, snapping back together like a released elastic band. But her eyes were closed against the pain, so all she saw was darkness pierced by lightning strikes of explosive, multicoloured light as her nerves fired and misfired, dancing across her visual cortex. And that's not at all something she knows how to describe.

"I mean..." She rubs between her eyes and across her forehead with the back of the base of her hand. "I've been feeling weird, periodically. I wake up tingling sometimes. Or I get a shiver like someone's walked over my grave. But..." She shakes her head slowly, gingerly again. "Nothing like that."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"Tea it is," Daniel says to both women before he limps to the kitchen and pours out the old water in the kettle and replaces it with new before returning it to the stove and lighting the burner. Food would wait until later.

As the kettle heats, he returns to the living room leaning against the kitchen doorway. "It was weird, like I was seeing triple for a moment then you snapped back together, it was pretty quick too, wasn't really sure what I saw until I thought about it. How long have you been getting those weird feelings though? For as long as you can remember or have they been building up recently?"

Peggy Carter has posed:
Until Peggy has some sort of solid description for Howard, she doesn't dash for the phone again. Especially since Lily seems to be coming around. She continues her slow pacing of the room, too riled up to sit still but ever keeping a careful, watchful eye on her friend. "Yes. It was like I was seeing half a dozen Lily's, not just one. Or... you were being pulled into multiple positions at once and your body tried to occupy all of them. As strange as that sounds." She frowns a bit more, chewing over the possibilities of all that. "...and how are you feeling now?" She adds to Daniel's questions.

Melinda May has posed:
Lily considers that, arms wrapping about her torso to hold the blanket close. "I felt like I was being physically torn into a million pieces," she admits. "And then slammed back together in the midst of some sort of nuclear explosion." Which... is kind of hard to wrap her head around, actually. But it evokes the feeling she's trying to describe well enough.

She looks at her friends, her frustration clear on her face. "I suppose it's a feeling that's been building over time. It's been getting worse over the last month, though. Not... often. Not all the time." Otherwise, she'd have had to have said something at work. "And nothing like this before."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"Huh," Daniel says at the description of what it had felt like for Lily. "You sure you don't want something stronger than tea?" he asks nodding towards the bar to the side of the room. It was generously stocked courtesy of Howard. "And building like that? definitely doesn't sound like a good sign, we should probably call into the office get the big brains working on this ASAP." A glance is given in Peggy's direction.

Peggy Carter has posed:
"I'll..." Peggy exhales slowly, considering this all. She's now thinking hard enough that she's stopped pacing and is just staring at Lily, almost uncomfortably so. But her mind is a hundred miles away, putting together what pieces she can. "I'll call Howard and Jason... and then Dr. Samberley." Jason. Not a name she's brought up in this house in years, though if she's using his first name she's apparently still somewhat in contact with the LA scientist? Who knows. Hopefully there aren't any hard feelings over old flams.

"We'll see who I can get through to. When you're feeling better -- tomorrow, hopefully -- I'd like to get a full report together on this from all our perspectives. Daniel's right, if this is escalating, we need to handle it before it gets worse. And somehow I have a feeling this isn't a simple... seizure condition. Medical would have found that. Maybe... maybe we can get some answers about where you came from after all." She's then moving for the phone on the side board near the door.

Melinda May has posed:
Lily inhales a deep breath, filling her lungs slowly with air in an effort to ground herself. It's a tai chi thing, a bit of focus she's used repeated over the past several months to keep herself in one piece emotionally and, now, it seems, physically. Thus, it doesn't ease the worry that settles across her brows.

Then again, to be fair, *everyone* in the room is radiating worry. And Lily can sense it all. In her present state, she can't help but internalize it. Her normal 'shields' are considerably diminished.

When she opens her eyes to respond to Daniel, she grimaces faintly. "I don't think it actually matters what I drink," she admits. She lifts a hand. It can be seen trembling slightly. "Anything will work."

Her attention drifts to Peggy as she speculates somewhat on what may have caused this strange episode. "Medical has never found anything wrong," she agrees. But her teeth catch the inside of her cheek. "Medical wouldn't know what to look for, anyway. The science here isn't... Howard is probably the best choice, yes." She doesn't know Jason. She gets irritated by Samberley. But in her mind's eye, she sees a blonde Scottsman and a young Englishwoman who isn't Peggy Carter. They can't help her.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"Tea it is," Daniel says trying to sound upbeat, glancing back at the kitchen to check the kettle which had just begun showing the first signs of steam. "Shouldn't be too much longer."

As for Jason? No hard feelings, not really, at least over whatever feelings he and Peggy had shared for each other or his various transgressions brought about by Zero Matter. Still Jason's fault or not his name conjurs, unbidden, the image of the him holding a shotgun to Peggy's head, which Daniel takes a moment to banish along with the frown it brings to his lips before speaking. "Wilkes would be good to bring in on this, his condition was... similiar and that containment unit of his might come in handy if we need to buy a bit more time to crack this," he says, confident it would be a matter of when and not if that Lily's problem would be resolved.

Peggy Carter has posed:
"Dammit, Howard...pick up..." Peggy asks, once she's been put through to his exchange. Needless to say, it's not a good time of the day to catch *anyone*. Wilkes is still in the office and not on his home exchange, Samberley has gone home, and Howard is goodness knows where. The only actual person she talks to is Jarvis, leaving a firm but polite message for Howard to get back to her and giving all her love to Ana. With a few pleasant exchanges and promises that the Jarvises would be over for dinner soon, Peggy finally hangs up. She gives them both an apologetic smile. "...No answers secured, one unexpected dinner party with the Jarvises. Ana sends her love." Peggy sighs, giving a little huff a moment later.

She then stalks over to the bar area across the room, pulling out the decanted whiskey, a rocks glass, and nothing else. "Well, *I* need a drink. And Daniel is right, we *will* figure this out, even if we need to find a temporary bandaid or two. We've done it in the past and will again. Until then, perhaps you should stay here if you need...Help. Or we need to time it happening. Goodness knows there are enough bedrooms."

Melinda May has posed:
"I don't want to intrude," Lily says automatically. They are, after all, still newlyweds. It seems wrong to intrude on them, when they're still adjusting to domestic life together. Which isn't to say Peggy's wrong about keeping Lily under some sort of observation. It only means she'll probably need to turn the suggestion into something a little more 'fait acompli' to push it past the stubborn Asian woman's sense of independence and propriety.

Lily Chen is not known for requesting or, most certainly, needing help very often around the office, after all.

She looks toward the window. "At least the dishes will be salvageable," she says, a hint of lament in her tone. "And likely the tea set and tea." It may seem odd to focus on that, but... there's a normalcy to it she wants.

Until, of course, her agent's mind shifts gear in further effort to distract herself. "Did either of you get a look at the people in the car?"

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"Wonderful," Daniel says when everyone is out of touch. Though with nothing to be done about it he asks, "Can you pour me one too, Peg," definitely a night for more than tea.

Speaking of tea though he goes to put together a pot calling back into the other room. "It's fine, Lily," he says of her occupying one of their upstairs room. "Better to have us on hand if you run into problems than being on your own." Even if there was precious little it seemed he or Peggy could do to stop what was happening to Lily.

"And no, snapped a couple of pictures of the back before they started shooting but unless they were looking back when I took my snaps it won't give us much to work with."

Peggy Carter has posed:
Peg's mind had almost entirely blanked on the fact that people attempted to kill them all earlier. She gives a little groan, pouring more whiskey into her glass, then grabbing two more for both Lily and Daniel. They all could use it now. She carries the trio of tumblers over to the living room and sets them down on the coffee table. "Lily. You are practically family. Daniel and I barely use the house as is and it'l be a good excuse to come home each night. There's four bedrooms and two of us. Make us feel a LITTLE less ridiculous for buying the place, alright? Just...Stay." Peggy gives her a levelled look, the sort that says she will make it an order but she doesn't want to really.

Then she's turning back to Daniel, leaning over to steal a bit of a longer kiss from him, even if they do have company. As she pulls away, she's gazing him up and down to be certain that there's no even grazing of an injury she missed. "I'm going to go...gather outside for a minute. See if anything else comes to mind or view. I'll be back quickly. I promise."

Melinda May has posed:
Even as the kettle boils in the kitchen, Lily accepts the tumbler of whiskey. Whether it steadies her nerves or not really doesn't matter. It will doubtlessly relax her... in a while, anyway. She lifts the glass to red lips, the shiver in her hands almost unnoticable now, save for the quiver of the liquid. She is, it seems, still slowly stabilizing.

As Peggy and Daniel both push the point home about staying, she reluctantly agrees. It's more a decision not to argue, actually, conveyed through a look and a slow nod to acquiesce.

As Peggy is slipping out the door, Lily says to Daniel, "We should call a forensics team. See if we can find the bullets." Or, of course, they could do that themselves. There won't be much else to find, she knows. Not even the imprint of a tire in the dirt, since the street is well-paved and still well-maintained.

When Peggy returns, she adds, "I think it safe to say HYDRA knows where you live." She's sure the shooters were aiming to kill Daniel and Peggy, certainly. She's less sure she, herself, was anything more than a target of opportunity. Then again... she's made enough waves... it's possible the shooters just got lucky and found the three of them together.

That her mind is turning to the stressful event that triggered her seizure, however, (so far without undue consequence) likely means she's recovering well enough to be out of immediate danger of a relapse.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel too had forgotten about the attempt on their lives a fact that makes him shake his head at both himself and their weirdness of their lives. He returns the kiss arms wrapping around his wife for as long as it lasts before he lets go. He seems to be largely unscathed from the attack save for a few scrapes on his hands from when he hit the deck on their stone path up to the house. He gives Peggy the same concerned once over himself, before meeting her eyes to check on how she's doing beyond just the physical.

When she moves to go out he says, "Still got that pistol on you?" he asks not wanting her to go out unarmed.

When she does go, he let's the kettle scream awhile as he watches her from the living room window, moving to produce a gun from one of the drawers of the sideboard, a small revolver, which he slips into his pocket.

"HYDRA, Leviathan, maybe even Mr. Wong," he says to Lily, looking back over at her, "Come keep an eye on Peggy if you can?" he asks as he moves to get the tea ready in the kitchen. "And good point," he says about the forensics team. "There's at least one slug to be found just beside our door," he says of the one that shattered the porch light. "Though with the brick walls, it's probably a pancake by now," still it was something worth checking out. When the tea is poured and steeping he brings the pot out to Lily and grabs his tumbler of whiskey.

He makes the call to SHIELD for the forensics team and when it's done, the takes a long pull from his glass. "Sorry for how the evening turned out. "We didn't plan on assasination attempts and seizures when we put this little party together."

Peggy Carter has posed:
"I've got it. Promise." Peggy calls about the pistol when he questions. She wasn't entirely foolish. Giving them both one last reassuring smile, she then heads for the door and carefully goes outside. In the very last fingers of dying sunlight, she looks over their uncomfortably now-quiet block, making certain she recognizes each car and even the woman jogging down the way with her dog. After being content it looks normal, she gives a small nod to herself and then turns back to the car.

She then carefully starts gathering things. What food can be saved first -- most of it from the trunk, but there is some. Then the rest of the serving and tea ware. By the time she's coming back in, she echoes their thoughts without having actually been a part of that conversation. "I saw at least two bullets. Left them in place. I suppose we should get a forensics team he... Oh. You both already did that, didn't you?" She asks, seeing the looks on their faces. Especially from her husband. She chuckles and shakes her head.

"I've lost count of the amount of people that want us dead. I suppose this was inevitable. We... just have to be careful. No different from any other time of our lives, is it?"

Melinda May has posed:
Lily lets out a soft chuff that's halfway between a laugh and grunt. "No, it's not." She agrees with Peggy. From the moment she 'appeared' in this world, it seems, there's been one conflict after another. She doesn't really know anything else.

Her rear tail light is shattered. There's probably a bullet embedded in there. There's the one in the house, of course. And then wherever the third landed. "What do you think?" she says, a small smile playing over the edge of her glass. "Shall we put them in a glass jar like old pocket change and throw a hey-look-we're-still-alive party when it's full? Could be fun..." Too soon? But gallows humour is an honoured tradition among servicemen.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"Good," Daniel says when Peggy confirms she has the pistol on her, kissing her cheek before she goes out and keeping an eye on her as best he can even as he gets tea ready and calls to SHIELD. When she returns he seems to relax a little and takes a grateful sip of his whiskey. "True," he says. "Guess I thought it'd take them a bit longer to give things a try here," he admits. "Optimistic I know," he says shaking his head and having another sip. "And yeah," he smiles to Peggy. "The forensics team is on the way."

He finishes his drink and moves to the bar to pour another, chuckling at Lily's idea. "As long as we're all there to celebrate when it's full count me in," he tells them. "I think there's a couple of those darts from the wedding around the office, we should throw those in there."

Peggy Carter has posed:
There's a smattering of food left. Nothing looks pretty any more. But it's food. And there's tea, whiskey, and good company. For all the chaos of tonight, it felt like enough. Sometimes it even felt like they were blessed to have that much. Peggy gives them both a wry grin, "Sounds like a good trophy for the mantel, the bullet jar. I'm in. And we'll drink to all the bastards we've put in the ground when we're all breathing to see it full." With that, she toasts her glass of whiskey to them both, taking a long sip to begin them all settling into the nicer parts of their nights.

And she does insist that Lily stay.