Title: I Had a Date
Author: snarkysweetness
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Jemma, Peggy, Howard, Sharon, Steve, Phil, & Peggy the Second; Steggy with mentioned Fitzsimmons & Peggy/Daniel
Summary: Jemma makes sure that Steve and Peggy finally get that dance.
Warnings: Lotsa feels.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Notes: Jemma Simmons is the granddaughter of Steven Grant Rogers and Margaret Carter and no one can take this theory away from me aside from the Whedons themselves.

"I'd stop getting handsy if I were you, Captain," Peggy warned, swatting her brush in his direction, spattering pink paint on his plaid flannel shirt.

Steve scrunched up his nose before stealing a kiss anyway, his hand still under her shirt. "I think it's too late for that, Agent," he teased in the direction of the large bump blocking his way towards her chest.

Peggy smacked his hand away, her cheeks only slightly pink and huffed in mild annoyance. "At this rate, we'll finish by the time she's seven, Steve," she said, looking at their very shoddy painting job.

"Don't worry, Peg, I'll have it done in no time," he whispered, kissing her neck quickly before returning to work.

Peggy raised a brow, knowing full well in five minutes he'd be back to trying to get her out of her knickers. She sauntered over to the paint can, dipped her brush once more, and moved to the opposite side of the room. "No more shenanigans, Captain, we have a date later, don't forget."

"Don't worry, we'll make it."

"Grandmother?"

Peggy blinked as a familiar face came into view.

"Mother?"

The young girl's face fell for a moment and she quickly recovered, simply giving her a small shake of her head in response. "No, it's me, Jemma…you're crying," she whispered, worry lining her voice.

"Jem…Jemma?" Peggy remembered now. She'd spent so much of her life trying to move forward, to put Steve behind her but now…She was sick. Her mind was slipping and now her regrets and memories and dreams were all she had left.

Peggy patted Jemma's hand weakly. "It's nothing, dear, I was just thinking about your grandfather," she whispered, her mind once again wandering.

It should have been so simple; she and Steve getting married. Raising their daughter, running S.H.I.E.L.D., growing old together; but life wasn't simple. Instead she'd found herself alone at the Stork Club (irony if she'd ever heard it) waiting for a man who was lost to her. She'd known he was gone but she couldn't let him go, not yet.

It wasn't until she was all on her own; terrified in a foreign hospital with a newborn that she finally accepted he was never coming back. He would never meet their daughter; he wouldn't be there to keep her safe. And she would always be in danger because of who her parents were. As if being a child born to an unwed mother wasn't bad enough said mother was a spy and her father was Captain America.

Keeping her would be selfish. She deserved to have her best shot at life and as much as Peggy hated it she knew in that moment it would never be with her.

"You sure about this, Peggy? We can keep her safe. There are other ways." Howard insisted, holding the small bundle against his chest protectively.

Peggy ran her thumb over the tiny fist clamped around her forefinger, tears in her eyes. "I need to give her her best chance."

Even as she handed her off to Howard to be taken to her new family Peggy didn't regret the night she'd finally given in to that stubborn boy from Brooklyn. To this day he was still the best man she'd ever met and as much as she'd truly loved Daniel she had never loved anyone as much as she'd loved Steve.

Being with Steve had led to the most painful moment of her life but she was glad there would always be a piece of him in this world; proof that they'd loved one another.

"You're so much like him," she whispered absently, still patting Jemma's hand. "So much."

Jemma swallowed back tears and held her chin firmly to keep the urge to sob at bay. She could see she was losing her again. It happened more often these days. She was getting sicker. It didn't seem fair, to find her and to almost as quickly be losing her.

And to be a brilliant scientist completely incapable of helping her.

Even if Jemma shifted all of her focus onto finding a cure there was no time. And neuroscience wasn't one of her fields of study. She could do nothing but be here and watch her fade before her eyes.

Jemma hated being useless.

"I was going to tell him you know," Peggy whispered, still lost in her own mind.

Jemma moved to her knees and scooted closer to her grandmother's rocking chair, taking her hand. "Steve?" She asked, knowing the answer. It was always Steve. The sicker she got the more her mind reverted to her life during the war. To a time when her grandparents still stood a chance.

"I knew, a woman always knows. I was going to tell him during our dance," she whispered and no matter how hard Jemma tried she couldn't keep the tears away. She buried her head in Peggy's lap to keep her from seeing and Peggy simply ran her frail fingers through Jemma's curls.

"He was late."

Jemma was so incredibly grateful when she felt a familiar hand on her shoulder. She turned to find Sharon standing above her.

"Mind if I visit with her for a bit?"

Jemma shook her head, knowing she needed to get back. It pained her to leave but she had someone else who needed her just as much now.

"I'll be back tomorrow, with Steve," Jemma promised, knowing he was set to return tomorrow and nothing could keep him from visiting her first thing.

Her grandmother smiled and pressed a metal object into Jemma's hand. "Keep this, darling. I hope it brings you luck, ducky, like it did me. After all, I found you, didn't I?"

Jemma kissed her cheek and turned quickly, before she could see the tears on her cheek.

"Amanda, is that you?"

"No, Aunt Peggy, it's me, Sharon. Mom…Amanda is gone, remember?"

She closed the door behind her before she could hear the pain of Peggy's reaction. It was the same every time. A pain shot through her chest and she took a moment to breathe and compose herself. When she was sure she could walk out of here with some dignity she glanced down at her gift and her heart sank.

Jemma's fingers shook as she popped open the compass to find a faded picture of her grandfather.

She clutched the treasure to her chest for a moment before rushing down the hallway. She knew what she had to do and there was very little time to get it done.

"You're late," Peggy whispered, her ear against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. The way she had the night after they'd lost Barnes. The night they'd made the bundle growing in her womb.

"I couldn't call my ride," Steve whispered with a smile.

Peggy hummed along to the music happily. For his first dance he was doing very well.

"Steve? There's something I need to tell you."

His eyes fell and he held her closer. "After the song, Peg."

Jemma didn't bother hiding her tears this time. Only someone without a soul could watch the scene before her without breaking down. It had taken a bit of research and a lot of manpower but she'd transformed the rec room of the hospital into a replica or the Stork Club.

They deserved to finally have that dance after all.

"You did a good thing, Jemma."

She nodded, still crying, and let the director pull her into a half-hug. She sniffled with a smile when she saw who was in his arms. "Hello, monkey," she whispered, taking her daughter from his arms. She rocked her gently, smiling down at her before bringing her in close to press a kiss to her forehead. "How is mummy's little angel?"

"Fitz thought you'd need her."

Her heart fluttered and she held the baby against her chest. "He's more perceptive than I give him credit for."

She didn't want to say it but she was glad for Coulson's presence as well. It wasn't as if she could tell her own parents about any of this. Her mum didn't even know she was adopted. Jemma couldn't do that to her and even if she could Peggy didn't want her to. And Phil Coulson was the best second father anyone could ever have.

Jemma let the baby wrap her fist around her finger and she pointed in the direction of her namesake and the captain. "Do you know who that is, Peggy?" Jemma whispered through her tears. "That's the bravest woman I've ever met, the woman who founded S.H.I.E.L.D., and guess what? She's your great-grandmum. Now, don't tell Grandpa Steve but I'm going to tell you a story. It's a love story and it isn't always a happy story but it has a happy ending because it ends with you."

Peggy stared up at her in wonder and Jemma pressed a kiss to her nose with a smile.

"I think I want to hear this story too," Coulson chimed in and Jemma moved the baby to her hip so they could all watch Steve and Peggy Senior, who were still swaying slowly to the smooth jazz echoing off the walls.

"Once upon a time," Jemma whispered, swaying along to the beat, "a stubborn boy from Brooklyn and a beautiful spy teamed up to fight the Nazi's…"