7023/Back to Work, Peggy Carter

Back to Work, Peggy Carter
Date of Scene:	21 July 2021
Location:	Medical, The Playground
Synopsis:	Phil, May in tow, drops in to see Peggy and Daniel, declaring the Chief to be ready to return to duty. Finally.
Cast of Characters:	Peggy Carter, Daniel Sousa, Phil Coulson, Melinda May

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Peggy Carter has posed:
While Peggy didn't savor the thought of spending another night in medical and it was likely she'd be slipping out to her and Daniel's bed before sleep, she did come back after the long jog and jaunt she took with Daniel in the early evening, to let them all give her once more once over. To make certain the gene therapy seems to have entirely stablized her. As if the look of her didn't prove that alone, but she knows there are tests for these things.

She's sitting up in the far medical bed now, no longer attached to any monitors but they are running several scans with the more advanced technology medical has. Really, she's just waiting for the blessing to leave. She's showered after her run, her dark hair damp and fuller looking around her face. The burns aren't entirely healed, but everything else is. Even the old scars at the edge of her face. She doesn't look a woman of 100 or even a woman of 40 any more. Fresh faced and not quite 30, she looks very much like the first photo the SSR took of her after the war. Maybe a few years older. Not by much. There's not a wrinkle left on her face or neck. She's got the fullness of youth about her. She also looks like she's going stir crazy. She stares at her husband. "I swear they can send me a report on all this in the morning." She mutters. She's wearing a comfortable 1940s wrap dress now too, almost professional looking other than the damp hair and lack of make up.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel managed to climb into a suit before making it to medical along with his wife, or well as much of a suit as he wore in LA. No tie, just a jacket, button down and slacks, his hair is damp as well as he leans against the wall beside Peggy's bed, nodding. "I hear you there," he says through a yawn. "I'd say break out again, but our place is just down the hall, I don't think we'd fool them," he says with a bit of a smile.

Phil Coulson has posed:
Phil has learned a great deal in the years spent in SHIELD, under the (sometimes) difficult tutelage of one Nick Fury. He's learned how to blend in, he's learned how to make an entrance, and eventually, how to make an exit. In this case, Mr Everyman is in suit and tie, looking all the world as if it's been recently pressed, his tie in that double windsor knot that he sports for the more formal look.

His entrance isn't anything remarkable, nothing sneaky; it is simply a push on the door, though he stops it partially without going completely in. Instead, the top of his head can be seen, his hand flat on the door. "Ma'am?" Still respectful.

Whether he catches a response or not, he opens the door all the way and there, in the threshold, is a very awake, dapper Phil Coulson.

"I.. uh.. figured we should probably talk." His eyes take in the room; a quick scan, though he looks a touch more closely to all the medical equipment, blue eyes lingering.

He has to draw his attention away, and he smiles quickly, "Mr Sousa.. I've, uh.. read the files."

Melinda May has posed:
May hasn't had a chance to pop in to see Peggy since she poked her head in during the overnight while the chief was sleeping. She's been busy keeping busy, however. One way or another.

When Phil decides it's time to go see the chief, however, she finds herelf tagging a long. She waits, while he decides whether or not he's actually going to enter or not. Though, if he takes too long, she may just make the decision for him.

As he does finally enter the room, however, she steps in behind him, letting the door close behind them.

Peggy Carter has posed:
Well awake and a little too restless, the moment Peggy hears that knock and the ma'am in the room, she calls back to the door, "Yes, yes, come in, goodness knows it's not locked!" The Chief has more energy now than she has had in years. No trace of the Framework is left on her body and only faint burns and scars of the lightning that tried to kill her. She smiles a bit softer when she sees Phil come in, and even more with May behind him. "Well, at least the night won't be an entire wash." She mutters to her husband.

When Phil properly approaches and makes that greeting to Daniel, Peggy cannot help but grin a bit wider, "Phil Coulson, meet my husband, Daniel Sousa. Daniel, you've heard me speak of Phil before. He's one of the best out there. Which is why he's so often been *out there*. It's good to see you back, Commander." Peggy reaches out a hand to warmly shake his, giving it a little squeeze as well. Then she looks over to May, "I... guess it worked, Melinda. Even if looking in a mirror is now ever so odd."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel grins, "Seems like if nothing else May can cover our escape he whispers back to Peggy before smiling in greeting to May and Phil. When Phil introduces himself Daniel shakes his hand firmly and says, "Feel free to call me Daniel, Commander Coulson. And I gotta say I was impressed with both of your work with agent House, interrogation has come a long way since the SSR."

Then he grabs a couple of chairs to pull next to the bed and gestures for them to sit as he takes a seat himself.

Phil Coulson has posed:
Phil puts his hand out in greeting for the official, formal introduction with Daniel, following it up with, "Sir." He offers a quick, self-effacing smile and nods, "Made all the more difficult, ma'am, by paperwork and administrative functions."

Turning bodily to include Melinda in the rest of the room, as it were, he turns back around and nods, "Good to be back. And it'll be even better when you're back, and.."

There's a touch of distraction once more, and his words hang in the air, unvoiced. There's a frown as if an unbidden, unpleasant thought passed, and it's there and gone, leaving behind a briefly confused Phil.

He rouses, however, and is pulled back to the conversation at large. "Different techniques obviously gain different results. Agent May," a man sometimes set in his ways, "and I have a great deal of experience if we're both on the interrogation team." So maybe things haven't quite changed TOO much. Just, this time?

He waves a hand away at the offer, adding, "I won't be staying long." He offers up another fleeting smile, and this time, he looks to Peggy, his hand outstretched finally to grasp hers quickly in the formality of the greeting. "Yes, ma'am.. it did." He's read reports. And not just the current ones. "You look.." He breathes a laugh before continuing, his head shaking slightly. "I'll have to figure out the word before I write the report, I guess."

Melinda May has posed:
Peggy's appearance is changed even from how May saw her in the middle of the night. Beyond the fresh clothes and the shower, the woman's regression is far greater than it was in the middle of the night. There's clear surprise on May's face, which is probably remarkable simply because she actually shows it. Then again, it also likely tells Phil just how far up in May's esteem Peggy and Daniel really are.

Of course, that she's also sensing Peg's excitement and Daniel's relief can't quite help translating just a little into her body language. It's the brief blip from Phil, almost like a catch of breath or skip of the heart -- and not in a good way -- that catches her attention. She files the reaction away to pursue later, however.

"It definitely worked," she tells Peggy with a small smile, covering both Phil's hiccup and her own brief focus on it. "God... you look just like you did when I drew the blood..." Way back in 1949.

Peggy Carter has posed:
"Like I did the year before we founded SHIELD. So, yes. It reset the clock back to that blood." Peggy admits flatly. The more she says it, the more she'll get used to it. Or so she tells herself. There is an interesting smile that overtakes her lips as she sees the way Phil and Melinda interact. She's not yet had the pleasure of watching the team and, while she knew they came up in the agency together, there is more of a tandem there than she expected. It's intriguing to see. She tries not to smile too much about it, focusing on the issue at hand. "They assure me this is, well... Temporary as life. It won't last. I'll age just like normal, again. Everything is back to... Normal, really." As her hand returns from shaking Phil's, she lets her fingertips lace through Daniel's again. The two clearly fit entirely well together themselves.

"But now, I'd just rather like them to let me out of here so I can properly get back to work. HYDRA's not giving up in their plays against us. We've got... a lot of catching up to do, after this Framework mess." Peggy just needs cleared to get back to it all. Her relief mixes with that restlessness to probably give Melinda a feeling of more energy from Peggy than she's had in ages. She's also looking for better distractions. For all the chaos of this week, the Framework is still there, in the back of her head, something she'd very love to forget.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel smiles at Phil, "It's not sir, I'm not an agent right now, but hoping to change that soon," he gives a glance to Peggy as he says that he hadn't brought that up yet but it had definitely been on his mind. Though he's happy to watch May and Phil together as he and Peggy lace hands.

"Yeah, it's a helluva thing, you should have," he does a quick check for the medical staff. "Running today, just about did handstand pushups too," he says with a grin to Peggy like they were sharing a private joke.

Phil Coulson has posed:
"Yes, ma'am." This is, after all, the number one fan of Historic superheroes, most notably Steve Rogers. He's also quite steeped in SHIELD history; he lives and breathes work. It's actually questionable if he has a life outside the suit, out -there-.

Only one, perhaps two know the answer to that.

There is definitely a comfort when Phil references 'Agent May', the words sounding more as if he //meant// 'Melinda' but just didn't say it. A quick look back in files and such would reveal the pair had been partners for quite some time, and their mission reports?

James Bond doesn't have anything on them. Nor does Emma Peel and John Steed (those Avengers).

"That is actually why I'm here. It's to welcome you back to duty." Here, Phil looks //pleased// to make that little announcement. "It's official. You can, uh.." He turns back around to the door as if expecting medical staff to come in, but they don't.. and he swings back around to face the pair. "The discharge paperwork will probably be ready tomorrow." He offers a quick shrug before his hands drop into his pockets, the jacket lifting slightly with the change in posture.

Brows to rise at Daniel's stated desire to join up, and he nods, his gaze trailing back to bedside, blue eyes shifting towards the medical equipment once more. "Huh.." is more a sound than an actual word before he pulls himself from that brief reverie once more. Smiling tightly, he exhales and nods at Daniel. "Would love to have you."

With his purpose now given, Phil takes a step back, allowing May a touch more access, should she desire it. "I think that's it, then.. should leave you to sleep, or.. your office or something."

Melinda May has posed:
May has always been relaxed around Phil. Somehow in tune with him. Though Peggy hasn't seen them together often, there's no question about that. So, yes, she notices that second look at the machine that saved Peggy's life.

She glances to Daniel as he talks about wanting to become an agent. She smiles at the thought, but it's fainly lopsided and there's a ghost of a shadow behind her eyes. There's still the outstanding issue of his out-of-time status and just what affect that will have on things.

Still, letting him have a badge in the meantime -- as much as any of them have badges -- does work for her. She's seen him in action enough, both now and in the past.

Not to mention a strange overlay of 15 years in the Framework.

As the three of them comment on all these developments, however, May remains silent. It's not that unusual for her, really. Not when there's more than one or two people in the room. That she's been a little more taciturn than usual since their return from the Sphere, well... Phil's probably the one who's noticed most, the others more distracted by their own immediate crises. And for good reason, too.

Regardless, the net result sees the woman, lean casually against a counter, arms crossed lightly over her chest, and a small smile on her face and little she feels compelled to say right now.

Peggy Carter has posed:
As Daniel mentions that he's hoping to change that soon, Peggy looks over to him with a moment of surprise. Pleasant surprise. A slightly wider smile crosses her lips and she gives his palm a bit more of a squeeze, "I think we can manage that. Get your certifications up to date, finish training on some of the more modern weapons. We'll have you back to Agent in no time." Much like Phil and May seem eternal partners, there is very much that feeling from Peggy and Daniel. Though he's not been around for decades, she simply functions better with him at her side. He was there for most of SHIELD's founding and all of its early years, through wedding and all.

Then she's looking back to Phil and the welcome back to duty. "Well it's about bloody well time. I could kiss you, Phil Coulson, but I suspect that would be unprofessional and rather rude in front of my husband. Instead..." Peggy simply slides down off the bed, stretching out with a few happy pops to her spine and other, newly young feeling bones, before she looks back to Daniel. "Give me 30 minutes in the office, and I promise I'll come to bed." She grins.

Then she's looking back to May, "I want to see every plan we have for going after HYDRA on my desk in the morning, and to come up with two more before we decide what step we're taking next. Then we *take it* by the end of the week. I'm tired of these bastards and the hiding. We'll finish this. Finally. I know we will." With those commands given, and her bed time but 30 minutes away, she leans over to kiss Daniel, then gives May and Phil a brief nod, before she's neatly marching out of the room and straight back to her desk. Phil was right, she was ready to get back to work.