Owner	Pose
Daniel Sousa	Daniel had set up the meeting on the way down from Peggy's office, calling Lily's burner and setting the time and place, later that night at the Long Island house, which also gave Daniel and Peggy a chance to get a night away together. But first things first, at the appointed time, Daniel is fiddling with some food in the kitchen, nothing fancy, omlettes with cheese and bacon, but he was home and cooking kept his mind off the meeting. As much as he wanted to see Lily again, what they discussed tonight would define the shape of his future. Whether that meant being able to stay here with Peg or go back in time to his death for the sake of the timeline. It was a lot, and as he idly poked at the omlettes with a spatula, he took a long pull of the beer in his other hand and glances over at the clock.
Peggy Carter	It had been a lot of paperwork to catch up on doing, but almost a week after Peggy finally got back on her feet, she's entirely caught up. AARs, data analyst reports, news, promotions, everything is done. That means, Peggy can risk taking a day or two away from the Playground. Which means an escape back to the old house. The one that has been refreshed by being a safe house since this mess with HYDRA happened. The cleaners still come, but sunbleached rugs have been replaced and the one couch with one near identical. It still looks like a place in the 1950s, but all the colors are fresh again. Peggy's not bothering with a suit today. It's a lovely evening, she's in a red sundress with little white flowers on it and matching red t-strap heels. Some jazz on the record player in the dining room, the windows open to let a balmy summer breeze in, Peggy feels a little more centered than she has in ages. She goes quiet as she looks over to her husband, however, seeing the look on his face as he stares at the clock. "Daniel. It will be alright. What did we say? We're going to figure this out, no matter what..." She comes up behind him, wrapping an arm around him from behind to hug him against her front.
Melinda May	It's tempting, Lily knows, to just ''Skip'' ahead, through the door and into the kitchen of the old house. It's so familiar a place, albeit now a touch strange in this contemporary time. It's also tempting to show up with a bag full of Quon's dim sum... just for old time's sake. She settles, instead, for a bottle of single malt worthy of Howard Stark's cellar. She knows they'll want it before all is said and done. Job's only half done. The Framework is done. The serum breakdown has been fixed. That leaves stablizing Daniel and dealing with Arturo as the last half of the crises that brought her... home. Home, after all these years. For just a moment, looking at the front of the house, there's a wistful smile on her face and the hint of mistiness in her eyes. Squaring her shoulders, however, she pushes such things away and replaces them with the more confident smile that wants so badly to settle on her features anyway. She's genuinely glad to be here. She reaches out to ring the bell.
Daniel Sousa	Daniel drinks in the warmth of the hug, drawing in some of Peggy's centeredness from that simple show of support. "You're right," he admits putting down his beer so he can rest a hand on one of Peggy's. "We'll figure this out," he repeats, "No matter what." He starts taking omlettes out of the pans, one hand still holding on to Peggy's until the bell rings and he glances to Peggy. "Want to get it?" he asks before letting his eyes meet hers for a second saying, "Thanks," it's for the hug and keeping him on an even keel tonight.
Peggy Carter	His hand on the back of her's brings her arm to squeeze around his waist a bit closer. By touch alone, she can tell how much he needs this. Peggy leans over and presses a kiss to the side of his neck, just below his ear. "I mean it. And I am always right, so..." She grins, as she whispers those words against his skin. She hopes she is this time, at least. Then the doorbell comes, and her smile grows a bit wider. She didn't have the chance to see Lily since the birthday party and even then, she didn't entirely realize who it was at the time. She's eager to see the woman who was so a part of their lives for so long. Her photo still hangs many places around the house, and that jar of bullets they all decided upon still rest on the mantel piece. This was as much a home for her as them. Peggy gives the corner of Daniel's mouth a quick kiss before fully letting him go, "Of course. I love you." And with that, she quickly disappears to the door and pulls it open. Silly Lily there, a wide, warm smile immediately crosses her lips, "Lily?" She asks, almost hopefully. It had been so long. She doesn't know if the woman even hugs any more.
Melinda May	Peggy's too good a profiler not to see the differences between Lily and May, especially these days. Especially when she's looking. Beyond the obvious sartorial differences -- Lily still favours earth tones, her trousers a dark green, her top a warm camel colour, albeit sleeveless -- her body language is more open and relaxed, and her smile comes more quickly and easily. Never more so than when she sees the woman who for so long was -- and in many ways still is -- her best friend. Her dark eyes twinkle, creases deep at the corner with the width of her smile. Despite the beautiful box to hold the bottle that's in one arm, she steps in automatically for a hug. "Peggy. Oh, my god. I feel like I've stepped back in time." All other appearances to the contrary.
Daniel Sousa	Smiling at Peggy's words he replies, "Oh right, how could I forget?" his tone wry and amused, his spirits lifting. They only lift further when the door bell rings, finiding himself catching Peggy's excitement as it tamps down his anxiety to a dull buzz in the back of his head. "Love you too," he says as she departs and he covers the food and moves to join Peggy and Lily in the entry way. He smiles to see them in a hug and he says, "Good to see you Lily, welcome home. Come on in when Peg let's you go."
Peggy Carter	When that hug comes, there is a flood of relief and happiness from Peggy she hasn't felt in so long. Her arms tightly wrap around Lily in a full body, heart deep hug as she takes a deep breath of the woman's scent. It really had been so long. "Lily... Oh god, it's good to see you." Her hug tightens a moment longer then she dares to let her breath and let go. She leads in the few feet to the familiar house, so little inside having changed at all. Peg really did take care of this house like it was a home even when she was so far away and couldn't even bring herself to step into the house. Someone always cleaned it. Someone always took care. She accepts the bottle of scotch, looking quite impressed at the box, "Oh, you brought the good stuff. Here, let me... I know you two have had a chance to catch up, but here. I'll put this away. You two hug." Peggy's bringing it over to the old, familiar corner bar in the dining area. She even looks like the Peggy that Lily first met, 28 years old and in over her head a bit too much with SHIELD and so much work. She looks unnervingly like her old self, wrinkles gone, and even the faint burn scars on the left side of her face are mostly healed and gone.
Melinda May	"I considered something more exotic," Lily says, as Peggy takes the scotch away and Daniel approaches, "but I didn't figure you were ready for Xandarian brandy just yet." Her eyes still sparkle. The hug has been a long time in coming and Peggy's emotional response mingles and echoes her own. Lily's had a lot longer than Melinda May to understand how *that* particular power works. She turns, however, to give Daniel an embrace as well, albeit not quite as long as the one Peggy gave her. "Yes," she says with no small sense of satisfaction. "This has been a long time in coming. And a far better setting than that coffee shop." Here, they don't have to worry about wrangling Miss Underwood. When she steps back, she looks around. Her eyes fall on the familiar photos and that half-full jar on the mantle. "It's to be home."
Daniel Sousa	Daniel returns the hug gladly, smiling. "No kidding, better company too," he remarks before adding. "But it worked though, Dottie's intel saved us, so glad you made that happen." He lets go then and says, "There's omlettes not sure how they pair with scotch, but we managed to match weirder with scotch before, so I imagine we'll make do" Thinking of late nights after a long mission where they threw together whatever was edible packing it away with whatever drink in the cabinet was strongest.. "How have you been?" he asks her, leading the way inside. "And what in the heck is a Xandarian?"
Peggy Carter	"...Daniel pretty much covered all my questions. Though mainly, what is a Xandarian??" Peggy echoes with a little bit of a laugh behind her voice. She's only half teasing on that and always curious. "I'll pour us all some scotch. Lily, you sit down, relax, get off your feet and enjoy being home for a little bit. We've... we've really missed you. I was kicking myself that I didn't get more time to talk at the party." Peggy's look is all gratitude, love, the quiet longing for the woman who was her best friend for so many years. "And Dottie is trouble, but... Trouble I know how to handle. I'm glad she's on our side, for the moment. She'll be useful." Peggy is strangely protective over her old enemy as well.
Melinda May	"We all know the scotch is the main attraction," Lily says with a wink. She chuckles at the common question. "A alien," she answers with a flip of her hand. "Closest thing to human I've found outside of Earth." That's telling, now isn't it? There's a beat. "They can take a helluva beating, though." She shrugs, flashing a brief grin. She crosses with the pair toward the kitchen, reaching out to give Peggy's hand a light squeeze as she nears, before she enters the kitchen proper and regards the omlettes and bacon. "I see Daniel cooked," she grins. "Good. I didn't get a chance to stop in at Quon's." Because that's a whole other issue, given May's frequency there. She does sober some as they speak of Dottie. "I figured Underwood would be a calculated risk. She's not the same woman she was. A little time and investment... Well. Who knows, right? Failing that, you really just need the right carrot to motivate her." She gives a mild shrug. "I told her she'd already proven she could beat you at least once. Why not prove she could help? Just for a change." She doesn't really think it worked, but it still led to the outcome she wanted. Thus far, anyway.
Daniel Sousa	"Oh, just an alien?" Daniel says, rolling his eyes. "No big deal." he grins moving the plates out to the living room for them to eat in comfort like the good old days. He looks to Peggy, "I think someone's teasing us," he says with warm amusement. Plates handed out he raises his free hand in surrender. "Not saying having her around is a bad idea, she's done great work, even if I still think she's planning to shoot me."
Peggy Carter	"I'm... less worried about Dottie than... many other things. First, however, how are you? Truly? It's... god, Lily, I feel like it's been half a century. I didn't even realize at my birthday, at first -- though I should have, but..." Peggy shakes her head, still a little embarrassed that her brain didn't catch on that night. She leans over to take and squeeze Lily's hand for a heartbeat or two and then let go so they can settle into their scotch and eggs. The table is the same one they got for their wedding, the beautiful old cherry wood Queen Anne. The runner has slightly changed but otherwise it's the same house. With the music going and Peggy looking young again, they really could be back in 1956, easily.
Melinda May	Lily settles into a chair and smiles at her friends. Her eyes still sparkle, warm with the light of home and happiness. "I'm well. Truly. Very glad to see you've recovered from your recent misadventures. And looking forward to a day when I can tell you all I've been up to since I left SHIELD. Today, however, isn't that day." She chuckles softly at Peggy's embarassment. "To be fair, it's been more than a half century, really. Nearly 60 years. I didn't exactly intend you to know who I was at your birthday party. By rights, I shouldn't even have been there. I abused Melinda's identity horribly that day, wandering around the Playground like that." A beat. She grins. "I suppose it helps that I knew it better than anyone else there other than you two." She, too, after all, was around when it was built.
Daniel Sousa	Despite his earlier trepidation it was so easy to slip into the warm and happy mood of the evening, and imagine he was back in the 50's again. "It was a good trick though, and a helluva party, made for a memorable day," he says with a look to Peg, if anything he may be understating that /just/ a little. "And we'll hold you to that Lily," he adds about telling them about her life since she left SHIELD almost 60 years ago. Then he looks around the table his expression growing a bit more sober. "Not to rain on our parade here, but do we want to get down to business?" he doesn't sound too sure himself, reluctant to leave the warmth of the happy reunion to speak on more fraught subjects.
Peggy Carter	A wry smile flickers across Peggy's lips at the commentary about the Playground, "Yes, well, considering the occasion...I'd like to think it was worth it." Peggy winks at the woman. She then forces herself to dive into the omlette. Some food is necessary before they dive into the conversation that might very well make Peggy lose her appetite. She takes in a deep breath between bites, then grabbing at her scotch to wash it down. And approving sound comes from her throat at the taste of the scotch. At least it will help relax away the worst of the stress. "But... yes. I... suspect you're not just here for a reunion." Peggy's eyes flicker to the side, studying her husband for a few worried heartbeats. "I told him that, no matter what, I... we're going to figure this out. Even if we have to send him back in three decades, I... I want him here now. Need him here. How do we fix this that he can stay and we fix the timeline together?" Peggy, as ever, ripping the bandaid off. She now keeps her scotch in one hand and reaches her other for Daniel's palm. She's going to hold on to him, to keep her promise.
Melinda May	Lily rests the heels of her hands on the table, her utensils over the edge of the plate as she regards this pair who have always been her family. "I couldn't stop what happened in '56," she says seriously now. "I tried. I tried a variety of things. I wish I could have given him back to you then. But... in this world, I couldn't." She licks her lips lightly. "I *can* give him back to you now. There *is* a way to make it stick. I... haven't been able to fully see just what it is or how it can be done. I've got several ideas. But there's something that keeps getting in my way every time I try. I just know I've seen a future where it can work. Has already worked." Her expression is serious, but there's confidence in her eyes. "So, yes. We're going to fix this. But it's going to get a lot messier before we do. And it would really help if I knew just exactly how you got here." A beat. She looks down at her plate pensively. "I saw you die. I tried to intervene, but I couldn't. There was some energy that blocked me. Paralyzed me. I've never been able to get past it. But I think it's part of the key."
Daniel Sousa	Daniel holds tight to Peggy's hand as if by that grip alone he could make himself stay. As Lily speaks his hand tenses at first, his expression grim as he hears there's no way to fix the past, though as she says there's a way to make being here in 2021 stick, he breathes out a sigh he didn't realize he was holding in. "You've seen that future?" then he ventures. "And it worked?" he asks instinctively pulling Peggy's hand to his lips for a kiss, a quiet celebration for the light that's just become visible at the end of the tunnel. "Messy we can handle, as for how it happened. A literal magic mirror with a djinn inside, this woman in Queens, Abcde, she woke up the djinn somehow and brought me and the founder of HYDRA forward in time. Guessing the djinn might be the source of the energy, didn't see much of what he could do but I got the sense he was a real heavy hitter. He reset time once, then when HYDRA tried messing with the mirror they made time repeat over and over. So, how do we make all this work?"
Peggy Carter	Peggy listens in pensive silence. When Lily says she couldn't fix if the first time, the older woman shakes her head slowly. She knows. She fully understands. She didn't expect that to be fixed. "Even if you could, Lily... that world is done. That world has made this one. I would never ask you to change that now, no matter how much I hurt, because Michael, Sharon... so many people are who they are because Daniel died." Peggy's heart hurts just to admit that, but she knows it's true. It's now that matters. Her fingertips tighten in response to Daniel's, heart in her throat, listening nervously. She lets out a small breath of relief as Lily confirms they can do it, even if she's not certain how. She slumps a bit back in her chair, shoulders resting against the elegant upright wings of the back. She lets Daniel explain the whole situation, but her smirk comes as he describes the day, "God, that was a... mess of a day. We did fix it, eventually. Stopped what HYDRA was doing, but it was a mess. Something... about this mirror is doing it."
Melinda May	"A magic mirror?" Lily's brow arches in a very classic Melinda May expression, save that her eyes are still softer than Melinda's. "Huhn." She takes a moment or two to think, enjoying some of her eggs in the process. "I don't know a lot about magic. But if this djinn can manipulate time, whether it's magic or technology, doesn't matter. That's probably what got in my way." She cants her head at the description of the timeloop. "Time loop. Was that... back near the end of April?" She shakes her head. "Okay. That explains that. It was very frustrating day, yes." Because temporal constructs do find time loops to be very annoying. She had to jump offworld entirely to escape it. That was a waste of energy more than anything else. "So, is this HYDRA man still here, too? Tell me more about the woman from Queens?"
Daniel Sousa	The truth in Peggy's words stings, crushing somewhat faint hopes that somehow he could undo all the damage that had been done, see his son grow up, be there for Peggy, see his granddaughter be born but she was right, that world was gone, only 'now' mattered. He takes a long drink of the scotch and gives Peggy's hand a squeeze as he lets it go. After setting down his glass he nods in response to Lily's arched brow."You've seen it already actually, the mirror it was one of the artifacts we recovered on that raid on the docks before I went to Groom Lake, scary looking thing, with the faces," he says. "Anyhow seems likely this djinn is our culprit. And yeah," he looks to Peggy for confirmation. "That was April, right?" with the chaos since he arrived the days were all starting to blend together.
Peggy Carter	Seeing that look in Daniel's face as Peggy lays out the necessities of the situation makes her heart ache, but she squeezes his hand in turn before letting go. Scotch and focus, that is what tonight would call for. Now her dark eyes are all for Lily, expression serious, especially as she gives a nod about April, "Oh god. It was...April. Late April, I think, but... The Framework really... I feel like I lived 15 years. Figuring out time again is... Difficult. I suspect you know how that is, Lily." She cracks the woman a tired smile and takes a sip of her scotch.
Melinda May	"Mm." Lily smiles wryly at Peggy's observation. "Yes, but my internal clock is better than yours. More practice." Still, she nods about the mirror. "God, that was a few years ago, wasn't it?" That op at the docks. Tessa. Rose. God... Rose. She shakes her head and exhales thoughtfully. "I don't know what happened in the Framework. It's not like I could use Melinda's credentials freely during all that." Yeah, go figure. "So, what you're telling me is that we've got a temporal artifact or creature that's brought you and the founder of HYDRA forward seventy years or so..." She cants her head. "So, who's the founder of HYDRA?" No, popping back to the Italian Renaissance hasn't been among her many jaunts through time. "Because HYDRA was around in WW2, at least. If not further back than that. Because if you were both brought through at the same time, it's entirely possible that you're linked. Which means that anything we do to or for you would necessarily transfer to him."
Daniel Sousa	Wordlessly Daniel empties his glass and reaches for more, though his other hand stays entwined with Peggy's not wanting to let go. He does nod about the trouble with time thanks the Framework. "It was? something else," he says of the experience, his voice more sad than excited by the memory of the place, more grief coming up to join what was already there from letting go of any hope of reclaiming his old life. More scotch follows. Yep. Scotch and focus was definitely going to be key tonight. "Not seventy years for him he got pulled out of the Renaissance? Arturo Malevolo." That last news has him setting down his glass. Scotch wasn't enough for that. "What?" he asks. "How do you mean? So if I stay he stays?"
Peggy Carter	That last bit makes Peggy wince. She's here to help answer questions, be back up, but really this is Daniel and Lily's show. She's a bit more quiet than she'd often be, all of this sending her through thoughts and memories that still seem entirely too present. Especially of a little girl named for the woman across from her. "The Framework was a... long story. Maybe we... we should tell you about it sometime. Probably not tonight." But there is a strange weight behind her words as she says that, something that seems about Lily specifically. She returns to sipping her scotch. She nods in affirmation about Malevolo and how long it's been but doesn't have a good answer for both of them being here... Then she pauses, "I mean, if you stays, he stays...and we just kill him, right?"
Melinda May	Lily frowns at the information Malevolo is from so far in the past. Still, she nods. "Yes. Unless we find a way to sever that link, whatever happens to Daniel -- temporally speaking -- will happen to him as well. And vice versa." She tilts her head somewhat in thought, pushing the plate away and reaching for her scotch. "But, yes. I don't think they're *physically* linked. So, theoretically, killing him would work, even if he has to stay." She sips her scotch and lets it burn its way down. A smile touches her lips, but it doesn't linger as the business at hand continues to interfere. There'll be time enough for swapping life stories later. And time enough to indulge the emotions she can feel aching from each of them. She understands grief, really. She's faced quite a bit of it herself, over the years. Starting with the day she first said goodbye to them. "Tell me more about the woman who triggered the mirror?"
Daniel Sousa	Daniel offers Peggy a wry smile at her suggestion. Peg was always a cut the Gordian Knot kinda gal. "Will it work?" he asks Lily at the tail end of Peggy's question, the answer eases his tension considerably. "I'm okay with that he says. The man created HYDRA, the world is a better place without him no matter what time he's in." He squeezes Peggy's hand again, for once something in this situation with a cut and dry solution. As for the girl who set it off, "Her name is Abcde Prescelta, an actual honest to goodness witch, apparently the mirror got from SHIELD holding to some antique store in Queens and that's where she bumped into it. She says she saw Arturo and my final moments and then I guess wished us into the future. If you want to meet her we can set it up."
Peggy Carter	"She's a... nice kid. A little in over her head, but quite effective where magic comes to. I don't think we've have managed through the first bit of any of this if it wasn't for her. But... I suspect we're going to need both of you to finish it." Peggy admits quietly. She's then standing, gently letting go of Daniel's hand as she goes over to the corner bar and grabs the bottle of scotch. All of them are getting well deserved refills after this discussion. "And Arturo is a... problem, but we've taken down plenty of HYDRA's heads before. Just because this is the original one doesn't make him any more tough. If he has to stay, well... we take him out of service as well. Simple as that." Peggy has grown a bit blood thirsty in her old age, at least where HYDRA is concerned. Especially now.
Melinda May	"HYDRA won't last forever," Lily says. It's not that she's seen its demise. It's that she has faith. More faith, perhaps, than they, given her unique perspective. She gives a small smile. "Not against you." She looks between the two. "Would you mind if we relocated to the livingroom?" she asks them. "You're not going to eat until this discussion is over and I don't see the sense in sitting here with cold eggs when we've always done our best work wearing holes in the carpet in front of the hearth." Nevertheless, she sips her scotch again. "But, yes. I think you're right. I want to speak to Abcde and find out what she knows about the magic of the mirror and how it works. I understand temporal mechanics far better now than I did sixty years ago. And I've got quite a few more tricks up my sleeve, too. But we're going to hit resistance no matter what we do -- HYDRA and others."
Daniel Sousa	Normally Daniel would be the one to suggest alternatives to crossing someone off, even HYDRA, but there's not a peep this time, just a single nod. He's good with whatever ends the threat and lets him stay. There's a faint smile at Lily's words about HYDRA not lasting against them. "Hope not. This party was getting old in '45." As for relocating? There's no argument from Daniel he just pushes up from the table and moves, taking his whiskey to the sofa and dropping down with plenty of room for Peg beside him in case she feels more like sitting than pacing. "Abcde is definitely green both as a trainee and I gather as a witch, but she definitely knows the theory behind what happened better than anyone else so she'll be a big help. What else are we going to need or is that more a question for when we figure out how the magic mirror works?"
Peggy Carter	"Living room it is. Come on. You're right. Even after sixty years, you're right. Though we haven't had much time to do thinking in this house..." Peggy moved out within the year of when Daniel died. Of course, Lily and her stayed close, all the way through 63 when Lily disappeared on her too. But never in this house. An apartment closer to the Jarvis' and work. The house just felt wrong. Now she leads the way into the front room, where they spent so much time, so many cases. Something stops her after a heartbeat. She was getting used to Daniel being back, but Lily being here now too? It's like a strange, hard punch of nostalgia, for things she was certain she'd lost. Alone so many years, and now they are both back. She says nothing for a long few heartbeats, just knocks back a bit deeper gulp of scotch and hovers near the mantel, trying to force her emotions back with a deep swallow.
Melinda May	Lily follows the pair into the living room. She's had decades more practice than Melinda at navigating the emotions of others. That sharp hit of nostalgia makes her pause on the threshold to the room, regardless. She closes her eyes for a moment, knowing she'll have to say goodbye to her friends again, before all this is over. But, maybe she can keep in touch more often in the future... Refocussing, she pushes a smile back to her lips and crosses into the room to set her glass on a coaster atop the side table near the chair she always preferred when they occupied the couch. She pauses then near Peggy and lays a hand gently on her shoulder. Just briefly. Enough, though, to perhaps convey a pulse of empathy into her friend. She understands. They all do. There's a lot of history here, a lot of feelings. But they're together, they're still a team, and this will work out, too. Somehow. They've always been strongest together. Finally, however, choosing not to to linger so that Peggy doesn't wallow, she steps away and gives Daniel a nod. "I'll take theory. Once I have a grasp on the basics, I'll know where we need to find out more." Her dark eyes settle on him. "The biggest challenge is this: In order to not change history sufficiently to both allow you to die in 1956 and survive to stay here and now, we need to ensure there's a body to bury. And it needs to be believeable enough to survive an autopsy and the funeral." At least HYDRA didn't hit the funeral like they did the wedding. Still, she gives Peggy a rueful glancing, knowing this discussion is painful. "I had been considering ways to create some sort of construct like I am, to take your place. But..." She looks pained. "That's tantamount to murder to me. It... hits too close to home."
Daniel Sousa	Daniel rises as Peggy moves to the mantel, giving a gentle smile to Lily he settles in on Peggy's other side and rests his hand on that shoulder giving it a gentle squeeze. "Then I'll set up the meeting with Abcde," he says before quickly firing off a text to the woman before his attention settle on the discussion again. "You're your own person, Lil, stands to reason an echo of me would be too, wouldn't want someone else to die in my place." Even if on paper it was the simplest solution. "I've been trying to remember how we fixed this in the Framework, something about sending a drug and a homing device back in time so we could go back and switch out the body? I think HYDRA didn't have a full solution for this, so, they just fudged it a bit which is why I don't remember it clearly, not sure what they would have replaced the body with, maybe a clone? I don't know, I'm really just throwing ideas at the wall and seeing what sticks."
Peggy Carter	The gentle squeeze from Lily gets a long look, Peggy realizing that yes, of course, Lily's probably getting most of this. She takes a shaking, deep breath, trying to clamp down on her emotions and focus on the situation at hand. "Thank you. I... I have missed you, Lily." Peggy whispers gently. It needed said again, even if it was apparent. She gently walks over to her husband, so she's no longer standing and pacing. The thought of killing his double is enough to make her own heart ache. She sinks into the couch, reaching one hand out to pull him down into the place they used to sit, not worried about tugging him off balance with that new leg of his. She leans against him then, nursing her scotch. "Oh god, the Framework... I... I think I... kidnapped you to the future? Used some of Lily's time things to go back, gave you a drug Fury had, then...kidnapped your body so we could revive you? The missing body from the morgue wasn't the biggest deal as you not dying was. It... that feels like 15 years ago. But I think that's how we pulled it off." Peggy boggles a little at her own audacity back then. But then, it was just a computer dream. She drinks more scotch.
Melinda May	"I missed you, too, Peggy," Lily replies softly. "Don't swallow your emotions on my account. Please. I'm not Melinda -- new to all this. I've never known any different." Indeed, she was formed, fully empathic and awakened. She just never explained to anyone back in the day what was really going on. It was better to simply maintain a reputation as an expert profiler, instead. Safer than being some sort of 'witch' in those days. "And, besides. What you're feeling... we're all feeling. We're family. And we're home. For the first time in years. This is *good*, Peg. Fleeting, yes. But, still good." Yes, her eyes are a little glassy. But her smile is warm and confident. No, she is *not* Melinda May. Which also means she can back away from the strong emotions with more grace and far less anger. She turns her attention to Daniel and nods as he promises to set up a meeting between her and Abcde. "If I need to come to the Playground, let me know. I'm not as worried, now, as I once was, about disrupting Melinda's life. She's fully established, now. I think it's more important that we work together to solve this than maintain any sort of fiction that I'm something I'm not -- or that I don't exist. I'm my own person, yes. But still a temporal echo of her potential." She watches the couple retreat, cants her head some at their recollections of the Framework, of which she still knows very little, beyond it being some sort of powerful simulation. "Unless the Framework played with the same variables we are, I think you can only trust its simulation so far. As for 'time things'... I am my only 'time thing'. I don't have any artifacts or technology to do what I do" Her expression turns thoughtful for a moment. "Here," she says, moving to the center of the room. "Don't panic. Just... count off ten seconds." Then, she smiles at them and... just winks out of existence. Ten seconds later, exactly, she reappears, now sitting in her chair. She reaches for her scotch. "Miss me?"
Daniel Sousa	Daniel lets himself be pulled down beside his wife, wrapping her in his arms and kissing her cheek before he settles beside her. "It is good to be back here," he agrees. "We should do this more often, after we fix..." he gestures vaguely to encompass well everything going on. He nods, "That was it," he says to Peggy, grinning now as the memory solidifies. "If it would work here, I'm game to try it, even if it means getting shot." Wouldn't be the first time for them, and they had a jar of bullets to prove it. As for Lily's magic trick, Daniel almost stumbles in an effort to stand before settles in beside Peggy, he has just long enough to look at her wide eyed with wonder and surprise before Lily is back. He bursts out with a startled laugh, and shakes his head. "Show off," he tells her with a smile.
Peggy Carter	A gentle nod about the Playground comes from Peggy. "I... would have to do a little explaining, but I think you'd be welcome around there. Still. Abcde lives in New York, if we'll be working with her, using this house as a base works as well as anything. We just have to get up here a bit more often." Which Peggy doesn't seem to be too much complainign about. She'd probably enjoy it, "And it is still an official safe house. I can *technically* work from here." Excuses, excuses. Then Lily is showing off and all Peggy can remember, at first, is those horrible seizures she had at the beginning there, "Lily!" She cries out, almost jerking forward to try to grab her too, but she's gone. She sits with Daniel, worried, heart tight in her throat. And then Lily is back, but Peggy is flooded with concern, looking her over to be certain that she's not going to phase out again. "God, Lily, I... I'm glad you have more control than I ever remember but... Don't DO THAT TO US." She half scolds, half teases, a breathless laugh behind her voice. "So, we can't... Send him back and then kidnap him back here to save his life is what you're telling me? Sounds like... we need to talk to the young witch and go from there. Which means, we have a plan, and should finish dinner. Before anyone else disappears in time."
Melinda May	Lily looks apologetic at first. "I told you not to panic," she notes dryly. "My seizure days are well-past. But, now I know why I was having them. It wasn't just because time was trying to pull me to and fro. It's because I needed to learn to control my chronal energies." She now looks definitely smug. "You should see how much fun it is in a fight." Yeah. Imagine if Melinda May could teleport between hits. Or jump back to fix a mistake before it happens... Nevertheless, the plan is set for now. Whatever the solution is, they'll not find it here, tonight. They need to talk to the witch. In the meantime, though, there's a bottle of really good scotch to be drunk and... well, they can always order in pizza to replace the eggs. All of which means, the rest of the evening can be spent as it should be: Reminiscing, laughing, maybe a tear or two, but just enjoying family after far, far too long apart.