It was not unusual for Peggy to walk through the doors of the Griffith ten minutes before curfew. Sometimes it was later than that. In fact most of the time she climbed through her bedroom window after curfew. However, what was unusual was that she was walking through the doors looking less ladylike than ever. Her once neatly ironed skirt and blouse were crinkled and had rips which would make her mother cringe. Her white blouse had a crimson red stain spreading from just below her right breast. All pins were gone from her hair, and frizzy from the rain it hung limply down her back. Her face was practically void of the make-up she had carefully applied in the morning, and the scent of her perfume was masked with the strong copper scent of blood.

Peggy stumbled through the foyer, and with as little noise as possible climbed the stairs to her room. Numerous times she had to stop and rest against the wall, leaving red marks against the pristine wallpaper. By the time she reached her door her head was pounding to such an extent it felt as though her brain would begin leaking from her ears. She searched her bag for her key, desperate to get inside and clean herself up. The pounding became overwhelming and she slumped against her door, groaning as the pain below her breast became evermore sharp.

"That you English?" Peggy heard Angie call from her own room.

"Yes" she replied, trying desperately to keep her voice low and steady.

Angie's door began to open "everything ok?"

"Perfectly alright Angie" Peggy reached into her bag and grasped her keys firmly "I'll see you tomorrow morn-". She never got to finish the sentence. Clutching her side she sunk to the ground and gasped for breath. Through blurry vision she saw Angie rush out of her room before everything went black.

"Thanks Nichole, I owe you one" Angie whispered, showing her neighbour out the door.

"Anytime Ange – are you sure we shouldn't go to the police? Catch the scum that did this?"

"Oh no need to worry – Peggy never likes to make a fuss…do me a favour and don't tell anyone about this would you?"

The door shut quietly behind Nichole and Angie paced her room with a hand covering her mouth. No less than ten minutes ago her best friend had collapsed outside her door with blood gaping from her chest. Angie had rushed out and lifted Peggy off the ground, and with her feet dragging along the floor, took her into her room. Peggy lay on Angie's bed, her shoes off and feet elevated.

It came in handy knowing a nurse. After making Peggy look less like she had been in a bar fight and more like someone had tried to steal her handbag, Angie went to her neighbour Nichole to ask for help.

"It's much like sewing" Nichole had commented while cleaning out the slash across Peggy's ribs "but with blood." She pulled the skin together and got to work "how did you say this happened?"

"Some guy tried to steal her handbag" Angie had lied all too easily "and you know Peg, she never goes down without a fight."

When Peggy awoke the first thing she noticed was that she was not in her own room. The wallpaper was different and it smelt like an array of perfume and old pastries. Glancing to the chair in the corner she found Angie resting her head against her hand fast asleep. She was wearing a red night gown that certainly was not hers, and spied her clothes hanging from a hook on the back of the wardrobe door.

"Gave me quite the scare English."

The sudden comment made Peggy jump, and she turned her attention to Angie who was now awake and watching her with concern.

"Finding you passed out outside your door was definitely not what I expected to see when I heard you come in so close to curfew." Angie stood and sat on the end of the bed at Peggy's feet. Everything was still fuzzy in Peggy's head as she tried to piece together the events of the evening. Then she remembered leaving the office to follow a lead. She hadn't told anybody where she was going, just that she was going out. Outnumbered and injured, Peggy had fled on foot and had made her way back to the Griffith. "So are you going to tell me what happened or do I need to prise it out of you?" Angie continued.

"Angie, I was just involved in a minor altercation outside of work" Peggy paused and took in a sharp breath, clutching her side "a man attempted to steal my handbag and as I turned to run he slashed at me with a knife."

"Really? That's what you're going with? Because the rips through your skirt and blouse tell a different story" Angie said "this is not just a case of a simple mugging and I don't understand why you're still lying to me."

"You shouldn't worry" Peggy sat up and swung her legs off the side of the bed "it truly is nothing to worry about."

"You were bleeding. A lot. There was a lot of blood and you were unconscious" Angie stood and grabbed Peggy's clothes off the hanger and threw her tattered blood stained blouse on the bed. "I carried you into my room and changed you so you looked like you had been involved in an attempted mugging. But what you really looked like Peg – my God it looked like you had been assaulted by multiple men." Her lips quivered and tears slowly filled her eyes "I didn't know what to do. I couldn't call an ambulance, so I asked Nichole over – you know the nurse? Yeah, so she came around and cleaned you up, I think she believed my story of some guy trying to take your handbag. But I don't English, not for one second."

"Angie if I told you the truth you wouldn't believe me."

"I don't know English, because right now I'm thinking some pretty horrible stuff. Most of them involving broken limbs and groups of men trying to take advantage of you."

"I can assure you that I was not taken advantage of" Peggy paused and gave her friend a small smile "but there were some broken limbs."

Angie covered Peggy's hand with her own and gave it a light squeeze.

"I worry about you Peg" she said "you're always getting hurt and I'm really beginning to wonder about this work at the phone company."

'Surely, I will regret this' Peggy pondered, but she knew she could not keep Angie in the dark forever. Perhaps some information wouldn't hurt her.

"I can't tell you the whole truth-"

"Don't you trust me?" Angie interrupted, taking her hand from Peggy's and holding it to her chest as if she had been burnt.

"I do trust you Angie – with my life in fact" Peggy began quietly "but I cannot tell you because people who are close to me have a way of getting injured or being killed because of me – and I would like to avoid that where I can."

"Golly English, is a dark cloud following you around?"

"Something like that." Peggy sighed and stood up gingerly. Her side hurt, and while she had no doubt that the stitches were done well, she knew it would be quite painful for a number of days. She looked in the mirror and saw a bruise beginning to form underneath her eye, and knew that no amount of concealer would be able to cover it. "I don't work at a phone company, although I do answer phones the majority of the time" she paused and touched her cheek before repeating "I do not work at a phone company."

Angie stood and placed her hands on her hips, tilting her head slightly to the left with curiosity "so where do you work then?"

Peggy let out a small laugh and smiled "that information is classified."

"Well you're no fun!"

"I truly am sorry Angie for everything I put you through tonight" Peggy said, collecting her clothes and slinging them over her arm. "I don't think I could ever thank you enough."

"What are friends for?" Angie replied, pulling Peggy into a hug. "I'm here for you Peg…if you ever want to talk" she whispered into her ear "I know I talk a lot but I'm also a very good listener."

"Thank you Angie, I appreciate your support."

Peggy bid her friend a goodnight and a final thankyou before walking to the door. Grasping the handle she paused briefly and turned around.

"Just one question Angie" she started.

"Yes English?"

"I was just wondering, how did you manage to change me into this nightdress without waking me?"

Angie smiled and crossed her arms over her chest, before replying with an English accent "that information is classified."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

So this is my first attempt at Agent Carter fanfiction. I absolutely love the show and the friendship between Angie and Peggy. Hope you enjoyed it, and I would love to hear your feedback. It's good to be back. (Also sorry if there are any formatting errors, it's been a while since I've uploaded anything on my other profile and I'm needing to get used to the new format)

Jess xx