6925/Dollhouse: Here We Are Again

Dollhouse: Here We Are Again
Date of Scene:	14 July 2021
Location:	MedBay - Playground
Synopsis:	Peggy wakes after the attack and she and Daniel share some quiet moments together, ones they hope won't be their last.
Cast of Characters:	Peggy Carter, Daniel Sousa

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Peggy Carter has posed:
It was touch and go for about two hours in the medical bay. Whatever shocked Peggy, it tossed everything out of sync. Not just her electrical system, but other vital parts starting to fail. It's like that lightning bold triggered a cascade of biological catastrophes and it's only Simmons, Collingwood, and a few other medical staff's brilliance which has kept her alive. Daniel wasn't allowed right at her bedside as they worked, but no one had the heart to kick him out of the lab.

Well after midnight now, and things have calmed down. She's stable enough she's simply on a line of oxygen across her nose instead of actually being intubated, and fresh monitors across her chest to keep careful track of her vitals. Blood pressure is low, pulse slow, but everything is finally steady and moving. There's been a lot of worried looks from Jemma, but the agreement they'd all see how she was in the morning before making any drastic steps. Daniel might have heard scraps about her serum. Something was deactivated, or changed? Maybe HYDRA had done more damage than a lightning bolt.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel had been there every step of that time, well, if not in the room then hovering outside the door or sitting in a chair he dragged to the corridor from the lounge. Eating? Sleeping? What's that? He pressed about the serum when he heard it mentioned but the doctors were too busy doctoring to give him a straight answer and once they were done and he was allowed at Peggy's bedside his focus was fully on her, though whatever information he does glean from them he turns over in his head, fretting as he waits for signs of life from Peggy.

Peggy Carter has posed:
There wasn't much they could tell him, only that the shock seems to have triggered some sort of cascading collapse of that very carefully (well, messily) genetically engineered serum they only just managed to 'fix' last year. It was a patchwork fix. Everyone was shocked it worked as well as it did. But now, it seems to not be working so well. Whether this was HYDRA's plan, or an unfortunate side effect, no one seems to know. But now they are in a holding pattern. Wait and see if her body starts recovering on its own. The fact that she's stable at all is a touch of encouragement.

The next brush of encouragement is a faint stirring of her body somewhere after one arm. She's not fully conscious yet, but she's trying to get back there. A part of her dimly recognizes something is very wrong and the faint panic in the back of her subconscious at being under wires again? It's enough to try and wake her up faster than the rest of her likes. Her heartrate starts to climb on the monitors, not dangerously high, but faster than expected.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel is sitting by Peggy's bedside flipping through a children's book while he waited for some sign of life. As the readings climb the book is set down and he shifts closer to the bed, reaching for one of Peggy's hands. "Hey you awake in there?" he asks gently. Hoping that was the case and not some new crisis. Though if the latter was the case the monitors would be screaming and he'd be pushed aside by the medical professionals rushing to save Peggy's life, so like her hand he holds onto hope.

Peggy Carter has posed:
This is not the nightmare she wanted to wake up into. In fact, she hoped it was the nightmare she was escaping. Wires on her all over. Chest. Hands. Another IV in her veins. The oxygen line across her nose. Surely not again. But as her eyes jerk open in panic, looking up at her husband, it all seems too real. "Out...out, get me *out* of here... Not again, please, not again..." Peggy begs him, in her half asleep, half awake, still coming out of the drugs panic. This seems too nightmarish to be real but her senses are telling her otherwise. The heartrate monitor climbs again, hitting concerning territories, a small alarm starting to go off.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel tightens his grip on Peggy's hand, "Peg, it's okay, you're not in the pod, you're at SHIELD, I'm right here, you were attacked at the party, it's been about six-hours since then and you're in Playground medical," he tells her calmly as his jangled nerves allow. As a nurse peeks in to check on the alarm he beckons her over to check Peggy out. He might have spent a lot of time in hospitals but he was no sort of doctor.

Peggy Carter has posed:
The immediate spill of incredibly important information is exactly what Peggy needed. Daniel knows, after all this time, how she wakes up. This time is a bit slower, her eyes not quite so focused on him yet. Normally she climbs out of the fog so quickly. Once her mind is ready to be awake, she's awake! But not tonight. She presses her eyes closed, since they aren't well focusing on anything, and takes in a deep breath. That's enough to calm her heart again. The nurse lingers a few moments closer, staring at monitors and watching the woman, but apparently nothing is so concerning she needs to interrupt. She gives Daniel a quiet, encouraging nod, and then steps on. She'll be close, but she doesn't want to intrude on the couple.

Peggy's clammy, cold fingertips tighten on his a bit more. She still doesn't open her eyes again, but she's clearly responsive. "...I would very... very much like to slaughter every last HYDRA agent possible right now." She whispers faintly, once she has her wits about her. Anger is easier than grief.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel knows what Peggy needs to hear when she wakes but the slowness of her waking draws a furrow of worry to his brow. That furrow remains until the nurse gives him that nod of confirmation, everything is fine.

Daniel breathes easier after that taking Peggy's cold hand to his lips and kisses it, nodding grimly at her words. "You and me both Peg," he says. "The one that shot you was one of theirs they turned with the Faustus method," he knows thanks to the memories from the Framework they're both intimately aware of what that entails. "They're being questioned still, I might go check in on it later. Bucky took off after you got taken here, I imagine he'll put a dent in HYDRA's numbers and Dottie went off to do her own thing. Normally I'd try and stop her, but in this case?" he lets that trail off, he doesn't want to.

Peggy Carter has posed:
"No, no... we need her on our side. She will be... Effective, if nothing else. I am done with mercy." Peggy admits softly. She then takes in another deep, slower breath, trying to calm the faint gallop of her heart. The fear response is taxing on her body. She can feel it, the faint tightness in her chest, the fact the room still slightly spins around her. She waits for it to pass, having mostly gotten control of herself, and then forces her dark eyes open to look up to Daniel. A pale, reassuring smile crosses her features. It's still not that comforting under the oxygen line.

"Oh hell, Daniel, I'm... sorry. Barley back on our feet and now... this. I'll be fine. A few days and I'll be fine. Don't look at me like that. If I'm awake? I'm fine." Peggy does her very best to reassure him, even giving a faint squeeze to his hand.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"Yeah, that's what I figured you'd say," Daniel says of Dottie. "And you're right I trust her to get deeper into Mallick's organization than anyone else we've got right now and well we know how she is about you, so I trust if she gets the chance to get them back, she'll take it."

He meets her eyes, "I'm done with it too," he says though he does look at least a little troubled by that though. "We just got to make sure we don't lose ourselves in taking these people out. We fought so hard in the Framework to stop them from changing us, I don't want to give that to them now. Not when they've already taken so much else."

Smiling back at Peggy, he leans down to give her a brief but proper kiss. "I love you Peg, and we've got our best people working on you, but you should know something."

He pauses a moment to gather himself willing his eyes to remain dry through what he has to say. "They're saying the shock messed with your serum, they're working on a fix. I didn't understand half the things they were talking about but it sounded pretty bad. Figured you'd want to hear it straight away, and we've got our best people on it, I'm sure one of them will be along to explain it better than I can."

He offers a tired smile. "There's nothing to apologize for, if I can't take the blame for getting shot, you can't take the blame for being zapped. We're going to get through this Peg."

Peggy Carter has posed:
The kiss is returned happily. Her lips are cool, cooler than he's ever really felt them since he came to this century. She's taking injuries before, but mild compared to this. Even getting out of the Framework wasn't that bad, their heads hurt and those red lines haven't faded yet, but her body was kept in rather good condition. Now she feels half alive. Not like herself. But still with enough stubborn strength to hold his hand with a rather firm grip.

"No, you're right. We... we won't become monsters. But we will not let them continue as they have. We *must* finish this. I... I'll trust you to keep me focused. Remind me to be human. It's half the reason we work." She smiles weakly to him, her thumb brushing across the back of his palm.

And then that news comes. Very slowly, her smile trickles away. If she had any color to lose, she'd probably lose it now. It all explains why she feels like she does, why she doesn't even think she can sit up. She didn't want to question it, but he's dared tell her. She searches his eyes for any sort of hope, of reassurance it's not so bad. But she knows how bad it got before. "Shit." She finally breathes out, letting her eyes close again in angered, quiet denial. "*Shit*. We... we thought we got lucky, with the fix..."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel doesn't mind the cool lips, though he knows they mean things are bad, but he's just happy to feel her return the kiss as happily as she does. It gives him hope.

"You got it," Daniel says of keeping her focused and human. "And believe me Peg, I want them all gone too, we just need to do it our way." Which to be fair left lots of room for violence and dirty tricks, they may be the world's shield but it doesn't mean they're angels.

There's a faint smile at her words, "And what's the other half?" he teases. "Stubbornness and devotion to SHIELD?"

The levity is short lived, and when she looks into his eyes, there is some glimmer of hope there but it's faint, there was so much about the serum he was unsure about. "We'll figure it out again, our people are amazing, if there's anybody on this planet who can figure out a fix for this it's them."

Peggy Carter has posed:
Gingerly, Peggy tries to bring his hand up to her lips. It's hard. There's so many wires. Instead, she just gives it a tighter squeeze and tucks his fingertips against her chest, lightly covered by a stiff hospital gown. Again. They'd had to pull her clothes off for the multiple times she ended up shocked on the table. Her shirt and suit jacket are destroyed.

"Stubbornness and devotion to SHIELD is only another third of it. The rest is... that handsome smile of yours." Peggy states with a weak, but earnest smile, giving him that look that would be flirtatious if she was more awake. The look that normally says she's going to drag him back to their room. But there is no energy for it now, just a ghost of that old smile as she holds tight onto him.

She's quiet then, after that little tease. Not certain how much to tell him about the formula, if she should confess just how bad it got. How bad it might be again. "Daniel... I... I hope they can. They did before. For a time, at least. Hopefully, you're right." She leaves it there, but she can't entirely hide the doubt in her tone. This scares her.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel helps move his hand to Peggy's lips then lets it be pulled to her chest, shifting his chair as close to the bed as he can get it. There is a genuine smile and a chuckle at the remarks about his handsome smile. "Finally," he says. "You're the one wasting good lines when you're too tired to do anything about it for a change," he teases before leaning in and kissing her again. It was a very old joke, at least for Peggy, born of long hours at SHIELD and their late night rituals.
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Her own smile does him good though, "And yours ain't so bad either," he adds with a wink to Peggy. "We'll just have to save up until they spring you and have a 'movie night'" just like the old days.

He holds tight to her hand, there's no missing that fear in her eyes, it tells him all he needs to know about how bad it got. "I hope so too Peg," he says. "But whatever happens I'm going to be right there with you, so if they need to put you on ice again, they better get two cryochambers ready, because I'm not letting you go alone.":

Peggy Carter has posed:
A weak laugh escapes her lips, tired, still a little scared, but at least it's a laugh. "I'll remember that line... for later. Better get a chance to use it." But his promise about two cryochambers gets a sadder look from her. She squeezes his hand again, drawing in a deep, slow breath against the weight of their palms laced on her chest. At least he was warm to the touch. She knew he was real and alive by that warmth alone. This wasn't some deluded vision.

"Hell, my darling, I don't even know if we *have* working cryochambers. The one I was in? We stole from the soviets. And it broke down. That's... that's why they pulled me out, last year. Because it broke and it was try to save me or lose me forever. Jemma, Jane Foster, Bobbi... a whole mix of scientists figured out one desperate... Patch of the serum. It seemingly worked, for the time. They didn't know how stable it would be or how long it would last. But they didn't have the option of putting me back on ice..."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"Damn right you better," Daniel says with a mock stern look before his expression becomes sad.

Daniel shakes his head, "Okay, then if freezing won't work, there's magic, I mean I got pulled out of time by a magic mirror, so right now the sky's pretty much the limit when it comes to options right now since magic is on the table. So whatever it takes, science, magic, divine intervention, we're going to figure this out Peggy," he grips almost painfully hard to the hand on her chest. "We're not going to lose each other again."

Peggy Carter has posed:
Though the squeeze nearly hurts, she does not care. Pain means she's alive. It means this is all real. Pain gives hope. Peggy squeezes back faintly, even as exhaustion is threatening to keep her eyes closed even longer. She forces them back open to look up to him, in the way someone does when they are falling asleep at the wheel and don't want to. She isn't ready to go back to sleep yet. What if she doesn't open her eyes again?

"I... I don't want to leave you. I don't. I'll fight this with eveything I have but, god, Daniel... I can't even sit up right now. We... had so many plans. We were going to do so much. Start again..."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Leaning across the railing of the hospital bed Daniel rests his head on their joined hands, loosening his grip there slightly.

"I know you will, Peg, I know," he says warm tears dropping onto the back of her hand. "And we're going to do all the things we planned, when you're better we'll get you back home and me and this new leg will carry you right to bed and we can figure out the rest after that."

"In the meantime, I'll be right here Peg, keeping you sane.I'll even see if I can convince Davis or Piper to grab a couple things from home for you."

Peggy Carter has posed:
Feeling his head dropping on her chest, it's not near so heartbreaking as those hot tears on her skin a moment later. Peggy's hand tightens against his, forcing herself to keep eyes open. She even leans forward enough to press a soft kiss into the back of his hair, letting her nose rest there so she can breath in his scent every time she inhales. It's as close as they can get in this very wired, stiff bed, but she will take it.

"Oh, my darling. Don't cry, please... Please, don't cry. I love you so much, and I am going to fight this. We have cried too much this week. You deserve so much more than tears and pain..." Peggy whispers into his hair, wishing she could just will herself better. Will the univers to go back one month to when their biggest worry was if he'd be taken back home.

"And... maybe a robe? Something nice to wear? I hate this damned gowns...:

Daniel Sousa has posed:
He smells of shampoo and and the cigarette he snuck while he was waiting. It wasn't something he did often only when he was on edge, but like most people from their time he developed that habit during the war.

Daniel nods and wipes at his eyes, "I don't know what I deserve or don't but if a few tears and pain is the cost of all the good times we've had and we're going to have, I'd pay it a hundred times over."

He turns to meet her eyes with those heartfelt words, letting her see how much he meant them.

The request for a robe gets a nod. "Got your flamingo one in your room here, I can get that one for you right now," he offers. "You can lay here and we'll imagine all the idignant comments Jarvis would have made about it."

Peggy Carter has posed:
The promise about how he would pay it a hundred times over gets a faint, but earnest, smile from her. "I would too, my darling..." She confesses quietly, trying to drink in some solace from that. She turns her head again, pressing a second kiss lightly against his temple and inhaling deep. Even the scent of his snuck cigarette makes her smile. It carries so many memories of easier times.

But his promise to get her robe? That is a god send. "Yes. Just... prop my head up enough I'll stay awake. I don't want to close my eyes. But I... I can't do it. Not this damn gown. Not after everything. Not after waking up from that pod. I want to feel an inch like myself and I'm still chief. They all can piss off if they fight me on this." Peggy was trying to hang onto some scrap of normalcy by her bloody fingernails.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Smiling Daniel says, "I know you would Peg, it's, what are we up to now? A quarter of the reason we work?" though despite the attempt at humour his eyes reflect how much what she said means to him. They wre in this together, no question.

He nods, grinning at her determination to feel normal. "Sure thing I'll get you a robe and some other things, wonder what it'd take to get the nurse to set up your wires and IV around some proper clothes," he ponders. "I'll bring some with the robe, just in case," he says before offering to help her sit and get some pillows under her back.

Peggy Carter has posed:
The help sitting gently hurts. Peggy couldn't tell if she was newly sore or it's still left over from the pod, but chances are those shocks earlier have left all sorts of muscles tender in her torso. She has no strength left to her, needing to almost entirely rely on him to sit up into those pillows. Somewhere across the med bay, the nurse is giving him the stink eye, but as long as no monitors start screaming, she doesn't stop it.

Peggy's breathless by the time she's sitting, but at lesat she's up. That feels a little more dignified already. "T-thank you. Much... much better. And probably a tablet, so I can keep up with reports. There's still work to do and as long as I'm awake and aware? I might as well do it." But sitting up like this, she looks even more sallow than she did laying down. Maybe it's the light. Maybe it's the strain of exhaustion.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
The stink eye is ignored as he helps Peggy sit, going so far to steal a pillow or two from other beds to help bolster Peggy's sitting position. "Guess we can't count on her help with the clothes," he remarks dryly, once Peggy's settled.

The sallow look does not go unnoticed, and for a moment concern registers in his eyes before, he covers with a smile nodding. "Sure, I'll get your tablet. Anything else? After I do this run I'm going to park myself in that chair for awhile, so last call for a couple of hours at least."

Peggy Carter has posed:
"No. The robe and tablet would be... Lovely. Thank you, darling." Peggy slightly tugs him back into her, stealing another kiss. "I love you." She whispers. She wants it to be the last thing they say to each other before he disappears, just in case the worst happens. Just like the ways they used to say good bye before missions. Old habits die hard.

And while the worst doesn't happen, she does lose the fight to the sleep she was trying to ward off while he's gone. She's sunk back into the pillows, slightly slid down into her bed. The lab staff isn't bothering her because she's still stable, but he's likely not going to get her into that robe tonight. It's a shame they don't have the blanket that Ana crocheted all those years ago. It might still be back at the house in Long Island. But her vitals are still stable and slow, she's simply getting despertely needed rest. Even in that uncomfortable hospital gown.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"I love you too," he says as the kiss breaks and he squeezes her hand before heading to their room.

When he returns there's definitely a moment of panic as Daniel sees Peggy slid down into the bed, but soon enough his brain catches up and the lack of alarms and steady vitals cuts through the fear.

Breathing a sigh of relief he sets the bag of clothes under the bed, then smiling at his wife's sleeping form he pulls a blanket over her and spreads the robe over top. Afterwards he pours her a glass of water and leaves it and her tablet within easy reach.

Another smile crosses his lips as he leans in and kisses her forehead. "Sleep well," he wishes her, turning off the light above her bed as he sinks into the chair and closes his eyes to get a little sleep of his own.