I OWN NOTHING! but these two are too sweet not to write about. Supermegathanks to my friend Ali who beta'd :). The "No woman is going to trade a red white and blue shield for a silver crutch" line almost broke my heart, so this is my revenge...

It was about 6 o'clock in the evening, and Peggy still had three hours left in her shift. She yawned and stretched a little in her chair and continued poring over reports of recent Howard Stark sightings.

After another half hour of looking though an assortment of flimsy reports, Peggy decided to strike up a conversation with Sousa; who was currently at his desk, combing through the paperwork found on the boat that housed Stark's stolen gadgets.

"Daniel," she called out.

"Mmmhmm?" he drawled, engrossed in his work.

Peggy stalled. Suddenly, for the first time in quite a while, she was nervous about what to say to a man. She took a deep breath.

"I can assure you I don't do this often, but would you like to have a coffee with me after work? There's this diner I go to regularly- my friend is a waitress there. I usually stop there at the end of my shift and walk home with her."

Sousa looked surprised and then wary.

"Peggy, you're a swell gal. But you don't need me looking out for you, and I don't need you pitying me because of this thing." He replied, lifting his crutch off the floor and waving it for dramatic affect.

Peggy's immediate reaction was surprise. She knew, of course, that the other men pushed Sousa around a bit. Be that as it may, she had never realized how hard it hit him. Her surprise, however, quickly became irritation. She and Daniel spoke nearly every day. Did he really believe she had so little respect for him? Or did he think she was the sort of woman to ask a man to coffee out of pity? When she voiced her thoughts, she was shocked at the bitterness of the reply.

"Look Peg, I don't care what kind of woman you are. There's not a single one on earth who would trade a red white and blue shield for a silver crutch." He bit off, unconsciously repeating Krasinski's words from the night of his death. He didn't wait for a reply, and returned his attention to his paperwork.

Peggy stood up and strode over, confidence weighing each step.

"Look Daniel," she started, leaning over his desk to make sure she was heard, "It's not a trade. Do I miss Steve? Yes. But I'm hardly going to spend my life pining over a man who stood me up for a dance. I will always remember him fondly, but he's gone. I would really enjoy having a cup of coffee with you."

Sousa looked up at Agent Carter, something in her voice and demeanor triggering memories of seeing her in news reels, keeping the men in line.

"Yes Peggy, I would very much like to take you for a cup of coffee."