6441/The Framework: Long Day Done

The Framework: Long Day Done
Date of Scene:	04 June 2021
Location:	Carter-Sousa Townhouse, DC
Synopsis:	May and Peggy wrap up the end of the horrible, terrible, no good, very bad day that has been their Memorial Day in the Framework.
Cast of Characters:	Peggy Carter, Melinda May
Tinyplot:	The Framework

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Peggy Carter has posed:
While it has been a fraught evening, Peggy's managed to calm both of her children and is having an almost nice dinner. She's holding it all in, plastering over those awful emotions for her children, trying to give them a nice time. Lily is halfway through her second hot dog, cut into smaller pieces on a plate that is now completely covered in too much ketchup. Peggy herself seems to have taken three bites out of a burger but then it was time to feed Michael, so her shirt is moved and the towel carefully draped over him, both of them sunk back as comfortable as can be in a stiffer backed kitchen chair. The scene has gone back to being achingly sweet and domestic. A house that should be happy. "If you finish that hot dog and no one else comes, you can bring daddy dinner, but Aunt Mel is talking to him right now..." Peggy murmurs gently to her daughter who seems to be pouting a bit about it. More hotdog is stabbed into ketchup.

Melinda May has posed:
May comes up the stairs from the basement, her steps quiet and perhaps a little slower than usual on the stairs. She put a throw over Daniel before she left the panic room and closed it back up -- albeit somewhat insecurely since it only locks from the inside.

As she emerges into the kitchen, she pushes enough of a smile onto her face that it disguises the worst of the toll the day has taken on her, and continues to take on her. "Are there any burgers left?" she asks with a smile for Lily. "I can see all the hot dogs are nearly gone..."

She glances to Peggy, her smile pulling a bit to one side. "Daniel's asleep," she says quietly. "He's fine, but I didn't want to wake him."

Peggy Carter has posed:
Hearing that he's asleep gets a momentary confused look from Peggy. Worried, confused, but she doesn't protest. She trusts May when the woman says he's fine. "Oh. That... well... I guess it's boring locked in that room. As long as someone around here is getting rest." She offers that as an almost teasing statement, a ghost of a smile following it.

Peggy then nods to the pile of burgers on a plate, a few of them even not burned. Plenty left. I haven't even gotten through my first. Someone else was hungry and it stopped him crying." Peggy nods down to the baby nursing quiet and contently, which takes both of her arms sitting in a chair like this. It's easier in the plush recliner rocker in the living room.

Lily looks up, holding up a piece of hot dog in her ketchup covered hand towards May. She's smiling, mostly content again, especially since May hasn't disappeared like Sharon did. "There is hot dog! You can finish."

Melinda May has posed:
May gives Lily a fond look, almost wistful, perhaps. "No, pretty girl," she tells her gently. "You finish it. I'll have a hamburger. But thank you very much for offering to share. That is very nice of you and I appreciate it."

She picks up a bun and a piece of meat, but doesn't spend a lot of time dressing it. Honestly, she's not really that hungry. She just feels like she should have something. If only for form's sake. Eventually, she sits down with it, opposite Peggy, beside Lily.

The nursing doesn't give her a moment's pause, though she does offer a wry smile. "I'm glad he's settled." She's glad both kids have settled.

Peggy Carter has posed:
"Me too. I didn't know if I'd get either of them down tonight with all the..." Peggy's eyes look towards the front door again, like that piece of her house has actively betrayed her, "Excitement." Then her head turns down, pressing a kiss into Michael's dark swirl of hair as he feeds contently, one little fist up and wrapped around the pushed aside collar of her shirt.

Lily screws up her nose a touch as her Aunt refuses the hot dog, but finally decides to reach that piece of hot dog down into the sea of ketchup and continue munching on it. She's abandoned both buns and utensils tonight. Peggy is not bothering to teach her daughter manners this evening. Chaos can reign. "Is Cousin Sharon coming back? Can you stay the night, Aunt Mel? Read me a story? You haven't in ever." She's perfecting her pout as she says that. It's not quite so effective splattered with as much ketchup as she is.

Peggy gives Melinda a bittersweet, somewhat hopeful smile. "You'd be welcome to stay. Might as well get one last... nice night. Especially if you wanted to talk to him."

Melinda May has posed:
The ache Melinda feels as Peggy invites her to stay is a strange reflection of the Englishwoman's. "I--" She's afraid to stay. And yet, she's damned either way. Does it really matter. She turns her smile to Lily. "I'll at least stay to read you a story," she promises. "I don't know if I can stay all night. Maybe."

She can't, after all, very well tell Peggy she's had her talk with Daniel. Though she may later be able to make an excuse and say that it doesn't really matter. She just doubts that Peggy, no matter how soft, will entirely buy it. She saw the look of confusion, after all. She just doesn't want to mention Daniel's insanity in front of Lily.

There's so much she can't say in front of the child. Everything she wants to say, really.

So, instead, she begins to eat her burger. "What story would you like?" she asks the child, in between bites.

Peggy Carter has posed:
When Melinda says she'll stay for at least a story, Peggy's shoulders relax a bit. That's enough. She seems to know it will calm Lily more than she ever could right now. As Michael finally pulls away, she's careful to readjust, shifting him back over her shoulder for the gentle, bouncing burps that hopefully won't take too long. The shoulder is easier to do one armed, so she manages to reach out and get another bite of her burger. Words are sparse right now. What more could they say? Behind that confusion, there is a quiet ache of grief for the life she knows is soon to end. This house. Their contentment.

Lily is young enough to be mostly missing it. The promise of a story from someone who isn't normally reading them is very nice. She eats the final bite of her hot dog, talking around chewing because no one has reminded her not to right now. Truly, all discipline is gone, "The mouse cookie book, but then I get a cookie to take to bed too, so we can play with mouse. And then the bad letters book. With the dino-sore."

Melinda May has posed:
There's not a lot to say. Certainly not with little ears around. And even then... Melinda isn't a talker. Less so in this world than any other.

Her brows rise, however, as Lily lists out not one, but two stories -- one of which includes an extra cookie before bed. It's possible the child is missing her mother's grief for a dying way of life, but she's surely planning to take advantage of it, regardless.

"We'll see," she says with a soft chuckle. "The deal was for one... But maybe you'll get lucky, since it's a holiday today." Yes, there must be an excuse for extra cookies.

And shitty days are usually excuse enough.

Peggy Carter has posed:
When the little girl finally finishes her hot dog, Peggy breathes a sigh of relief, looking across at her daughter with arched brows. "Now, if you want that cookie, go wash up. Only a *little* soap. Lots of water. Get it all off your face too, alright? If it's all clean, then you get a cookie. Go." Peggy knows she's brought them a little bit of time. Lily learning to clean her face and hands was a process.

The child, still a bit too intelligent for her age in the dangerous toddler way, stares between Peggy and Melinda for a moment, evaluating how much more she could get. Then she finally hops down from the chair, leaving a streak of red behind. "Okay!" Then scampering off to the hall bathroom. Water is running a moment later. They've got a bit of privacy, especially as Michael is falling asleep on her shoulder.

"Look, I don't know what that whole muck with Sharon was about but... we'll figure it out. We always do. What did you need to talk to Daniel about? I can tell him in the morning, if... If you really can't stay." Even Peggy wants her to stay.

Melinda May has posed:
May watches Lily go. When the water starts running, she lets her own shoulders relax just a little. The question, though, brings her attention back around to Peggy. "I wanted to ask him about his SHIELD contacts." Not a lie -- if his story is true. Which, yes, she still doubts. "Underwood's as burned in this as I am. I told her to go to ground." Peggy may not be the spy she once was, but she should still be smart enough to realize what a precarious position it leads them in.

"I left him sleep because, frankly, with Sharon spouting the same nonsense, I didn't think I could handle hearing it all again." There's the ring of truth to her statement, despite the fact it's a baldfaced lie. She *doesn't* want to hear the nonsense all again. But she *is* content to leave it in Daniel's court to pove it one way or the other, now.

Peggy Carter has posed:
There is something just slightly off about May's words -- lies of ommission most likely, but Peggy's too tired to entirely put her finger on it. She tilts her head to the side, studying her old friend a little deeper as she tries to figure out whether she should press or not. In the end, she decides to give them some peace for the night. A more tired smile crosses her lips. "I'm glad you told Dottie. No one else deserves to be caught up in this... Mess. I should be mad at Daniel. Livid, he was still with them. But I knew, deep down... I let it happen. And I still love him too much to toss him out over this. Insane ramblings or not." Peggy admits quietly. She'd fallen so soft for the man. Especially three kids in.

Feeling Michael grow heavier against her shoulder, she slowly begins to unfold from the table. "I should get him down while he's asleep. If you want to help with Lily, she'll want you to tuck her in anyway, and at least two stories. She normally gets three. You're getting off light." Peggy mutters with a wink. Then she's turning to go walk Michael to the childrens' room where she can put him down gently in his crib. Lily is eagerly waiting to be approved clean and given a cookie. She has done a decent job of washing up, at least.

Melinda May has posed:
May nods, unsurprised by Peggy's confession. "Underwood knew the risks, but... I won't out her to them. I..." She inhales a deep breath. "I'll see you and the kids safe. But after that..." She's done. Done with the doctor. Done with HYDRA. Just... done.

Only Cambridge was worse than this. But she knows what she did to cause Cambridge. She doesn't know what she did to cause all this.

Despite all of that, however, she chuckles softly as she's told she's getting off light. She feels the weight of Peggy's stare, though, senses the heaviness of her emotions. They're not nearly so piercing as when the Doctor was here -- nothing is as piercing as then. But they are enough to make Melinda long for space. She wants to run. Physically run until she can hardly breathe and can't put another foot in front of the other.

That's not in the cards for tonight, however.

Thus, she turns to Lily and, after a brief inspection, declares, "Good job, pretty girl." Then, she's collecting a cookie and the stories. Maybe once the child is down, the women will speak again, but May doubts it.

For tonight... they're done.