They were taking things slowly. Ted was staying put in California, but managed to call almost every night for their phone dates. Peggy was cautious, she had put everything on the table last time and he walked away, right back to Nan. She couldn't risk that again. Although from the sound of things Nan's own infidelity was keeping Ted's sense of duty at bay.

He had taken on the role of sole caregiver for his sons. He took them to school every morning, found a housekeeper to be there when they got home and make dinner. Ted tried to be home every night to eat with them. Nan had packed her bags and left, pursuing the young man from down the street. There was the occasional late night but he was doing his damnedest to be there for his boys.

"Are they asleep?" Peggy asked, she knew it was Ted when the phone rang. No one else called her after 10 o'clock.

"Finally. Had to wait until Man from UNCLE finished. How was your day?" He asked, lounging across the couch in his den.

Peggy was curled up in bed, the phone already dragged across the room, waiting on the nightstand for his call.

"Hectic. Clio nominations had everyone in a tizzy."

"That's right. Tell me, my dear, how does it feel? Three nominations for Miss Peggy Olson."

"Feels fantastic… surreal. I wish you were here to celebrate with me." She ventured coyly.

"I'll be there to celebrate when you win."

"You will?"

"Yes. The boys have a school break. They will be staying with my parents out in the Hamptons and I'll be in the city."

"With me?"

"With you. If you'd like."

"I'd like." She grinned, although it quickly turned into a grimace. "I'll have to buy a dress."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"I just hate dress shopping."

"If you weren't likely to win I'd suggest staying at home and wearing nothing at all." She knew what his expression was at that moment, that same look he gave her the first time they slept together. The desperate passion, barely hiding his desire.

"What would we do?" Peggy questioned in a coy tone.

"If we stayed at your apartment and wore nothing? Pitch ideas."

"Is that what they call it in California?"

"Depends. What are you wearing?"

"I was wearing a nightgown until a few moments ago."

x-X-x

"I need to find a dress." Peggy declared, appearing in Joan's office and falling into the chair in front of the redhead's desk.

"I'm not hiding any in here."

"No, for the Clios."

"Ah. Does this have anything to do with the confirmation I received from Ted today telling me he would be attending?" Joan smiled knowingly as Peggy flushed.

"Perhaps."

"Come find me at lunch, we'll make a start. You can't wear what you did last year."

Joan knew people. Years of organizing parties and seeing to the ridiculous requests of Sterling Cooper, et al gave her a sizable rolodex. Peggy was a bit unsure as she was led to the small apartment during their lunch hour. There a grinning man with an accent that was rather difficult to place greeted them. He ushered them in, offering Joan a chair while whisking Peggy into another room. There she was met with rows and rows of dresses by every designer imaginable. Scores of women would have killed to get their hands on such stock, yet there Peggy stood.

The first seven dresses were misses, some way off other's close but not quite right. It was lucky number eight that fit the bill, Joan gasped softly when the younger woman returned to the room in the dress.

"That has to be the one." Joan nodded, staring blankly at the woman in front of her. The changes over the years were suddenly apparent, this was not the same doe-eyed secretary she showed the ropes to at Sterling Cooper. "That's the one."

x-X-x

After dropping his boys off with his parents, Ted had a bit of a scramble to get back to the city in time for the awards. Peggy had left a key for him at the office when it looked like he wasn't going to be there in time to go home with her. When he arrived at her house she was already on her way the ceremony, leaving Ted to get changed as quickly as possible before heading back out. It was a race across the city but he made it just in time. Many co-workers and employees greeted him, but he had yet to see the one he was looking for.

"She's right over there." Joan whispered, nodding to the bar at the back of the room.

Ted felt his breath catch in his chest the moment he laid eyes on her. Peggy was glowing in a flowing black down. The full-length skirt was very traditional but the waist was cinched, highlighting her figure. The thick straps that covered her shoulders were a last ditch effort at modesty, the back of the gown was completely absent offering a view of pale skin from her neck to her lower back. Two large silver clips framed the cutout, resting just above her hips. Ted wanted nothing more than to run his hand down the warm, exposed skin.

"Hi." He managed.

"Hi."

"Wow."

"I take it you like the dress then?"

"Yes." He nodded. "It's going to make it very difficult to keep things going slowly."

"If I win tonight we can take it up a notch." She smiled before brushing past him towards the table where Freddy Rumsen was waving her over. Ted watched as the man stood to hug Peggy, pressing a kiss to her cheek as he congratulated her.

"You look all grown up, ballerina." He laughed, reaching for his Coke and sitting back down. "Careful which heads you turn."

Peggy just laughed and nodded, it was one of the few people Ted ever witnessed her being relaxed around. Anytime she was in the room with Don there was a tension, a desire for approval and a fear of rejection. The moments at which she was completely at ease were a pleasure to witness.

They sat together at the Sterling, Cooper & Partners table, her foot brushing his calf beneath the tablecloth while whispering their own commentary on those presenting and receiving awards. When her category arrived and her name was called Peggy smiled brightly, though remained calm as she walked to the front of the room and received the statue, the validation she had long strived for.

Her dress is the first article of clothing to land on the floor of her apartment. Then his jacket and tie, shirt and undershirt follow, his pants, her unmentionables until they finally tumble into bed, moving so much faster than before.

"Two months of foreplay." Ted heaved, slowly pulling himself up against the pillows as Peggy sat up to pull off the stockings that some how managed to stay on during their frantic escapade.

"Something to be said for slow." She laughed, her face a matching shade of red.

"There was something I wanted to ask you face to face." He began after a few moments of silence as they caught their breath.

"Oh?"

"What do you think of California?"