Peggy had the sneaking suspicion getting into Fort Knox would be easier than stepping onto the main floor of the Daisy Clover Dairy. After Mr. Bryan had departed, she'd unsuccessfully tried to shake the lanky man he'd left behind with her. Peggy had just reached the conclusion she was going to have to leave and sneak back in some other way, when the distinctive sound of heels on concrete echoed across the dock, immediately followed by the suddenly eager-to-please voice of Mr. Bryan.

"It's not a problem at all," she heard him say. "Miss Barton is right over here."

Peggy whirled around at the mention of her alias and barely managed to contain a yelp of surprise when she found Angie Martinelli standing a mere three feet away, gazing at her in wide-eyed shock, standing beside the foreman who had a finger pointed directly at her. Angie's eyes roved up and down taking in her disguise, and Peggy could practically see the excitement dancing in her roommate's bright blue eyes as things began falling into place.

Angie recovered quickly, though, and hastily schooled her features into some semblance of normalcy. Affecting a bright smile, she quickly stepped forward and gushed, "Oh goodness, Miss Barton! I thought I'd missed you!"

Peggy, to her credit, didn't miss a beat. "Obviously you did not," she replied, her eyes narrowing to slits. "And you are?"

If Angie was astonished by Peggy's hitherto unknown American accent, she was doing a stellar job of hiding it, because instead of faltering under Peggy's withering gaze, she smoothly stepped forward and held out a hand. "Oh, how silly of me!" she exclaimed. "Hayworth. Gloria Hayworth"

Peggy's eyebrows shot up at the obvious Hollywood alias, but the flirtatious wink that accompanied the name threw her off kilter. She took a deep breath and tried to steady herself.

"Pleased to meet you, Miss Hayworth; however I must say I'm surprised to see you here," her smile was tight as she tried to contain her irritation and confusion at Angie's unexpected presence. "Nobody said anything about sending an extra set of eyes."

Angie merely cocked her head and smiled, and damn it, if that impish grin wasn't doing the most delightful things to Peggy.

"Oh, I just knew it," Angie laughed before turning to give Mr. Bryan a megawatt smile. "Didn't I say they probably didn't tell her?"

"You sure did," he agreed with an idiotic grin.

Peggy watched, fascinated, as Angie flawlessly ingratiated herself with the man. Her mind was reeling at Angie's appearance. Part of her was thrilled to see her friend effortlessly work her charm on the grumpy foreman, but the other part – the SSR Agent part – was annoyed Angie had the audacity to show up in the middle of an undercover assignment and waltz in like nothing was amiss.

It was that portion which caused her to turn a bland smile on both Angie and the foreman.

"Now that you're here, Miss Hayworth, we'll need to see the interior storage facilities. Once that's finished, my colleague and I will be on our way." She raised an eyebrow, as if silently daring Mr. Bryan to challenge her, and was somewhat surprised when he actually did so.

"I don't know, Miss Barton. Last time after you left, I got an earful from the boss about proper protocols." He scratched at his shirt. "Might be best to wait until he gets back from lunch and make sure it's okay with him."

Peggy bit back the scream that threatened to escape her lips. The last thing she needed was for the dairy manager to show up and call in to check her non-existent credentials.

Angie must've sensed this, because the next thing Peggy knew, the young woman had taken the older man by the arm and was giving him her most winning smile.

"Oh gee, Mr. Bryan," she tutted. "We're on a super tight schedule and Miss Barton and me have three more facilities to visit before we can call it a day. If we have to wait for your boss, we'll never get home." She stuck out her lower lip in a pout Peggy had to admit was irresistible.

Mr. Bryan obviously thought so, too.

"That doesn't seem very fair, Miss Hayworth," he said.

Angie leaned closer. "It really doesn't, does it?"

He grinned at Angie, and patted her hand. "You know what, Miss Hayworth? I think I can make an exception this one time. After all, you probably have a fella you'd like to get home to?"

Peggy gritted her teeth and tightened her grip on the clipboard she was holding. It was obvious what the man was fishing for, but Angie just laughed and batted her eyes.

"Nope, no fella, but maybe we can talk once Miss Barton and I are through," she coyly suggested.

Peggy didn't bother to wait for the man's reply. Grasping Angie's upper arm, she gracelessly dragged her over to the main door. "Come along, Miss Hayworth! As you said, we have several more stops to make this afternoon," she said pushing her through the heavy door.

Peggy yanked Angie inside the first room they came to which happened to be a rather cramped storage closet. As soon as the door closed behind them, she whirled around and glared at Angie, fists balled against her hips.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" she hissed, all traces of her American accent completely gone.

Angie was nonplussed. "Well, I thought that was pretty obvious, English. I followed you."

"Yes, I can see that," Peggy practically spat. "What I want to know is why? Whatever possessed you to follow me especially knowing what I do?"

Angie stared at her in disbelief. "We make plans three weeks in advance and then you up and cancel on me for some woman named Ruth Barton and then flat out lie to me about it. You think I'm not gonna' follow you and see what's going on?"

Peggy sighed and raised her thumb and forefinger to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Ruth Barton is one of my aliases."

"I know that now," Angie retorted, rolling her eyes as if Peggy had just told her the most obvious thing in the world.

"But what if she wasn't?" Peggy countered, anger creeping back in. "What if there really were a Ruth Barton? What would you have done then?"

Angie shrugged. "I guess I would've winged it."

"Winged it?" Peggy asked incredulously. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

Angie folded her arms across her chest and frowned at her accusingly. "More ridiculous than canceling plans with your supposed best friend and then not even having the decency to let her know?"

Peggy averted her eyes at that and blushed. "I truly am sorry about that," she mumbled, picking at a fingernail and looking anywhere except at her friend.

Angie sighed. "Why didn't you just tell me the truth last night when I asked?"

Peggy frowned and shook her head. "I don't know," she exhaled noisily and then backtracked, shoulders slumping as she began to speak again. "That's not exactly true. I do know why." She took a step closer and reached out, taking Angie's hand in hers. "Angie, athough this business with Leviathan seems to be finished, there's always the small possibility we might have overlooked something."

Angie bit her lower lip. "Is that why you're here today?"

Peggy nodded. "Thompson insisted I do one last sweep of the facility to ensure nothing was left behind or ignored."

Angie glanced away. "Again, you could've just told me, Peg."

"I could have," Peggy admitted, her thumb absently stroking Angie's smooth skin. "But I didn't, and that's because you are already far more involved in my work than I ever wanted or intended."

"Geez, thanks a lot," Angie muttered.

Peggy chuckled and tugged the younger woman closer. "That's not what I mean, Angie, and you know it."

"Then what do you mean?" Angie asked, somewhat perturbed, and God help her, if Peggy didn't find her petulant tone endearing.

"I mean, you matter to me, Angie Martinelli," Peggy smiled, her earlier frustration melting away as she realized Angie's foolish actions stemmed from insecurity rather than curiosity. "You've already done so much for me – covering for me at the Griffith with Daniel and Thompson, patching me up when I come home bruised and beaten, listening when I need a compassionate ear." She glanced down and swallowed hard. "You do far too much, far more than I deserve."

"Now hold on right there, Peggy Carter," Angie huffed and reached out with both hands to place them firmly on Peggy's cheeks until she was forced to meet her gaze. "This isn't a contest. We're not keeping points on who's done what for who," she informed her. "Cuz if we were, you'd have close to a million by now."

"Angie," Peggy began, but stopped when Angie's fingers slid along her skin to cover her mouth. Her eyes widened in surprise at the intimate gesture.

"Hush, English," Angie murmured. "Let's see here. You waltz into the L&L and become my confidante, encourage me to pursue my dreams of a Broadway career, give me a swanky place to live – rent free, I might add – and if that weren't enough, you threaten handsy creeps with forks… yeah, don't think I don't know about that," Angie smirked when Peggy's eyebrows arched in surprise. She brought her face closer to Peggy's and smiled affectionately. "It's not a contest, Pegs, but I ain't given you nothin' you haven't already given me. All right?"

Peggy stared, enamored with Angie's close proximity and the praise she'd heaped on her. She managed to nod her head but bit back a sigh of disappointment when Angie's hands slowly slid away from her cheeks and the younger woman stepped away, putting distance between them again.

It took a moment for Peggy to gather her thoughts, but when she did, an apologetic smile lifted the corners of her mouth. "I'm sorry, Angie. I should've told you."

"Yeah, you should've," Angie agreed. "Apology accepted."

Peggy waited a moment, eyebrow lifted expectantly.

"What?" Angie asked.

"Aren't you going to apologize for following me?"

"And miss the opportunity to see you all dolled up like some scientist and hear you do an American accent?" Angie grinned impishly. "Not on your life, English!"

Peggy sighed. "Angie."

"Peggy," her friend mimicked teasingly before stepping close again and fingering the lapel of Peggy's white lab coat. Angie's blue eyes darkened and her demeanor changed as she pulled Peggy close again. "I gotta admit, Peg, I might've followed you for reasons more than just bein' curious about Ruth Barton."

Peggy felt her heart flutter. "O-oh?"

Angie nodded. "Yeah."

Peggy watched Angie reach up and slowly finger the right earpiece of her tortoise-colored glasses. "I ain't never seen you in specs before."

"I don't actually need them," she confessed, trying to keep her mind focused on the conversation at hand, something that became increasingly harder when Angie reached up and gently slid the glasses from Peggy's face before carefully folding them and placing them on a nearby shelf.

Angie smirked. "That's a shame. Ya' look good in 'em." She was still hovering close by, and her free hand came up to grasp the other lapel of Peggy's coat.

"You're not trying to change the subject, by chance, are you Miss Martinelli?" Peggy managed to ask in a somewhat steady voice.

Angie shook her head. "Nope. Why?"

Peggy swallowed and tried to clear her head. Angie's close proximity was not helping. "I believe you were telling me your reasons for following me."

"Oh yeah," the smaller woman smiled. "I was, wasn't I?"

Peggy could only nod and watch as Angie closed the final distance between them until her body was practically touching Peggy's, and Peggy knew if she were to tilt her head down ever so slightly, she'd be able to taste the smirk gracing Angie's soft pink lips. She suddenly realized how badly she wanted to do just that.

Angie gazed up at her, smiling as if she knew exactly what was running through Peggy's mind. When she spoke, her breath ghosted across Peggy's lips.

"I wasn't planning on saying anything, Peggy, but I gotta be honest, those glasses and this starched white coat are making this girl wanna' do things."

"Th-th-things?" Peggy stuttered.

"Things," Angie affirmed before leaning up and finally capturing Peggy's lips for a gentle kiss.

A thousand sensations exploded inside Peggy as Angie's lips traced hers, and Peggy instinctively reached up to cradle the Italian woman's face within her palms eagerly kissing her back. She felt Angie's fingers curl into her coat and pull her even closer until their bodies were flush with one another. When Angie moaned at the contact, Peggy took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, delighting when that earned another moan and Angie's hands came up to land sharply against Peggy's shoulders, fingers digging into the fabric.

Peggy briefly wondered at the absurdity of the entire situation – Angie trailing her, arguing with her in a storage closet in the middle of a rural dairy and now feeling her best friend's warm body enticingly pressed against her own. It was like something out of one of those salacious novels, but when Peggy felt Angie's leg rise up to wrap around her hip, she forgot about all of that and took the opportunity to manuever them until Angie's back met the wall with a soft thud. Her startled "Oh!" allowed Peggy the chance to trail her mouth down from Angie's lips to the elegant line of her throat, her tongue tracing a lazy path that was quickly followed by playful nips.

She felt Angie's hand dance along her bare neck until her fingers sank into her hair, wrecking the bun she'd so fastidiously crafted earlier that morning, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was Angie pressing against her and the eager moan that fell from her lips when Peggy's hand closed around the soft swell of her breast.

Her other hand worked its way beneath the hem of Angie's skirt, skimming along her stockings until fingertips found bare skin. She'd just started to unclasp the clips when a knock sounded on the door and Mr. Bryan's voice tenatively queried, "Uh ladies, are you planning on coming out of the closet any time soon?"

Peggy felt Angie stiffen in her embrace and when she looked up, Angie had one hand firmly clamped over her mouth in an effort to muffle the laughter that shook her.

With a calmness that surprised her, Peggy cleared her throat and steadily replied in her American accent, "We will be out momentarily, Mr. Bryan. My assistant and I are just finishing up a discussion."

Peggy glanced apologetically at Angie and gently lowered her leg back to the floor before reaching up and lovingly wiping the traces of her red lipstick from Angie's mouth and chin while Angie did her best to rearrange Peggy's hair into some semblance of a bun. Peggy captured her hands in hers as they descended and pressed her forehead to Angie's.

"I think it's best we continue this conversation when we return home tonight," she breathed.

Angie gave her a heated look and nodded. "You better believe we will."

Peggy merely nodded and leaned in for a chaste kiss, careful to not leave any lipstick behind. When she pulled away, her eyes twinkled with a happiness she hadn't felt in quite some time.

"Well then, Miss Hayworth, what say you help me finish this inspection?"

Angie grinned and raised a hand to her chest. "Why Miss Barton, I think that's a terrific idea."

Peggy rolled her eyes and stepped away. "Hush, you," she admonished, straightening her coat and retrieving her glasses. She reached for the door, but stopped, a thoughtful look coming across her face.

Angie paused. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing's wrong," Peggy said. "It's just…"

"What?"

Peggy sighed. "I just realized that if Thompson hadn't asked me to come here today, you wouldn't have gotten jealous–"

"Hey! I wasn't jealous," Angie cut in.

Peggy simply stared at her.

"Okay," Angie conceded, "Maybe I was a little jealous."

Peggy smirked.

"But can ya' blame a girl," Angie sputtered. "Besides, I didn't hear you complaining… well, initially yeah, but not after."

Peggy laughed. "As I was saying, I just realized that in some convoluted fashion, I have Jack Thompson to thank for this." She frowned. "I'm not sure how I feel about that."

Angie slinked forward and snaked an arm around Peggy's waist. "I think it's about time the fathead did something nice for you for a change," she informed her. She leaned forward and pressed a hard kiss against the side of Peggy's neck, and Peggy felt it race down to pool between her legs.

Clearing her throat, she gently extricated herself from Angie's embrace. "Yes, well, when you put it that way, I'm rather inclined to agree," she said, trying to calm her racing heart.

Angie grinned knowingly before reaching out to open the door and breezing out to where Mr. Bryan was waiting for them.

"Is, ah, everything all right, Miss Hayworth, Miss Barton?"

Angie grinned. "Everything's swell, Mr. Bryan. Miss Barton was just explaining a few things to me."

"In a supply closet?"

Mr. Bryan appeared confused, and Peggy honestly couldn't blame him. She was still trying to wrap her mind around everything that had just happened. Angie, however, seemed to have no difficulty with the situation.

"Sometimes you gotta' take whatever privacy you can get," Angie explained, linking her arm through his. The gesture, more than her words, seemed to pacify him, and he smiled as Angie continued. "Now, Mr. Bryan how about you come over and chat with me while Miss Barton finishes up her inspection?"

Peggy shot her a grateful look and was relieved to observe the man readily agree to Angie's plan. As she walked down the hall, she heard him ask about Angie's plans for the evening. She was just about to turn around when Angie's voice floated down the hall. When she heard the younger woman's reply, voice obviously raised so Peggy could hear, it was everything she could do to keep from tripping over her suddenly graceless feet.

"Oh, I appreciate the offer, Mr. Bryan, but something tells me regardless of what time we get outta' here, Miss Barton and I are gonna' be working real late tonight."

Peggy turned around just in time to see Angie's unrepentant grin before she disappeared around the corner on Mr. Bryan's arm, her teasing laugh floating down the hallway. Peggy allowed herself the luxury of a smile before making a mental note to make her pay for that comment later. Preferably while Angie was moaning her name.

Late night, indeed.