Secret Santa gift: Operation Paris
Happy New Year @allmyheart2 , I'm your Steggy Secret Santa! I hope you enjoy this. I had a lot of fun writing this. If there's anything you don't like, let me know. Also, I couldn't add a read more link for some reason, so I apologise in advance. Thanks to @steggyfanevents for organizing this!
*Does not follow CATFA storyline
*Peggy's POV- December 23rd-24th, 1944
The wind blows harshly and I hurry back to headquarters. This winter's been brutal and it's only going to get worse, it seems. I make it back to headquarters a few minutes later, the wind blowing the door shut behind me.
"Carter, I need you in my office. 10 minutes" Colonel Philips says.
"Yes, sir". He walks away and I head to my desk, cluttered with reports like always. I sit down, grabbing one of the reports, and start working. I don't get very far before it's time to see Colonel Philips.
"Carter, you're here. Good" he says gruffly. The door opens a few minutes later and in walks Steve. If he's here, it must be something serious.
"Sit down" Colonel Philips says. We take a seat and wait for him to continue.
"There seems to be a situation. HYDRA is planning something big. We think they're going to plant bombs and set them off. You need to stop them before it's too late" Colonel Philips commands.
"What's the intel say? Any idea what they might be planning? Where it's going to happen?" I ask.
"Intelligence shows that it's going to happen in a public place. Somewhere where a lot of people go to maximize casualties. We're waiting on confirmation but it looks like they're going to attack at the Eiffel Tower" Colonel Philips says.
"Bloody hell" I mutter under my breath.
"How long until we get confirmation?" Steve asks.
"Should be within the hour" the Colonel says.
"What kind of weapons should we bring? Are we shooting to kill or shooting to maim?" Steve chuckles lightly and I nudge him in the ribs.
"Shoot to kill. Bring your handgun and anything else you might need. Don't forget the first-aid kits. I expect there will be a lot of injuries".
"Good luck. You're dismissed" Colonel Philips adds.
"Can you believe this? It's bloody awful. Why would anyone want to bomb the Eiffel Tower? What does that accomplish?" I ask angrily.
"I know, Peg. People do horrible things during war. We can't understand their reasons. We can only hope to save as many people as we can and put an end to HYDRA" Steve says softly. I sigh and hold Steve's hand in mine. He smiles at me and I drop his hand when another agent walks by. Even though we've been together for a while, I try to keep work and our relationship separate. I don't want the other agents thinking I can't hold my own or get assignments because I'm dating Steve. My cheeks turn red and I walk back to my desk hurriedly.
"I better finish these reports before the mission" I say, grabbing my report from earlier. Steve nods and I turn back to my work. A while later, Colonel Philips calls us back to his office. By the look on his face, I know it's not good.
"They're attacking the tower, aren't they?" I ask. Colonel Philips nods grimly and I sigh.
"When do we leave?" I add.
"20 minutes. You're dismissed". We walk outside and grab our gear, making sure we have everything before heading out on foot. We don't want to draw any unnecessary attention, so we're wearing civilian clothes in an effort to blend in.
"We should split up. See what we find. Radio if you see something or run into trouble" I say.
"And remember: shoot to kill. We both come back from this mission" Steve says. I nod and squeeze his hand gently. A few blocks before we reach the tower, we go our separate ways. There's a lot of people out here for mid-December in the middle of a war. Damn it.
"Do you speak English?" I ask a woman standing nearby.
"Yes" she says nervously.
"You all need to leave. Something bad is going to happen" I tell her.
"Tell everyone you can to leave" I say urgently. My words finally sink in and she hurries off. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and radio Steve. I hope these people get the bell out of here.
"How's it going, Rogers?"
"Nothing su-" he trails off.
"They're here. At least 8 of them heading for the tower. I'm going to follow them" he says urgently.
"Shit. I'm on my way". I take off running and see they've already planted the bombs. I will myself to run faster, my lungs burning for air. I'm almost at the tower when the bombs go off. The tower's immediately engulfed in flames. Pieces of debris fly in all directions. People lay scattered around from the blast, some missing limbs, others burned beyond recognition. I run around frantically, trying to find Steve among the bodies. I hope he's alive. He has to be alive. As I'm running, I stumble over a body. I look down and see it's the woman from earlier.
"Shit. This is all my fault" I yell angrily.
"STEVE! STEVE!" I yell, tears falling. This is all my fault. I should've headed straight to the tower. I should've been faster. I should've-. I spot a body lying on the street and run over. It's Steve.
"Steve, darling? Can you hear me? Please be alive" I say, voice breaking. I listen, hoping he's still breathing. He's breathing, but just barely. His limbs are sticking out at odd angles. His left leg took the brunt of it, from the looks of it.
"Okay, darling. I'm going to move you. We have to get back to base" I say quietly. He groans and mutters something.
"Thank God you're alive. Stay awake, love. Can you do that?" I say. Steve groans again and I help him stand. His face goes white and I wrap his arm around my shoulder.
"Don't put any weight on your left leg. I got you. Just stay awake, love". We walk back to base slowly. We're halfway there when I feel Steve falling.
"Damn it, Steve. Don't do this, darling. Don't die on me" I say, voice cracking. I half-carry, half-drag him to base. We finally make it back and I hurry to sick bay.
"I need some help! Now!" I yell. A doctor hurries out from behind a curtain and comes over.
"What happened?" he asks.
"HYDRA. They blew up the tower. I tried to make it there in time but-" I trail off.
"You look like hell, Agent. Are you okay?" a nurse asks, having heard the commotion and coming to investigate.
"I'm fine. Just save him. Please?" I say, voice breaking.
"We'll do everything we can" the nurse says. I nod and collapse, exhaustion finally hitting me.
I wake up, trying to figure out where I am. Then, everything comes rushing back to me.
"You're awake" a voice says. I open my eyes slowly and see a nurse standing at the foot of my bed.
"Where's Steve? Is he okay? Can I see him? Why am I in here?" I ask, stumbling over my words.
"He's stable. You can see him now. You passed out from exhaustion" the nurse says.
"I feel better now. How long have I been asleep?" I ask.
"You needed it, Agent. I'll be back in a few minutes. I'm going to see how Steve's doing". I nod and sit up, thinking back to yesterday. How could I let this happen? The nurse comes back a few minutes later, leading me down the hall to Steve's room.
"He's unconscious. He should be awake soon once the anaesthesia wears off". I look at her confused and she continues.
"We had to fix his left leg surgically. Among some of his other injuries" she adds. I nod and she opens the door.
"I'll leave you alone". She closes the door and I rush to Steve's side. He looks lifeless laying there. He looks like he's been through hell and back. He's more purple and blue than anything. He's covered with bruises and cuts, some worse than others. His left leg's in a cast, though I figured as much. He's alive. That's all that matters.
"Hi, love. I'm right here. I'm not leaving. Okay? You really scared me out there, Steve. I-I can't do this without you. I need you. The world needs you. Well, it needs Captain America. I need Steve Rogers" I say softly. I lean over and kiss his forehead softly. I sit there holding his hand in mine. Wake up. Please wake up. I love you. I need you, my darling. A while later, I'm about to get up and brief Colonel Philips on what happened when Steve groans.
"I'm so glad you're awake. You're okay. Don't move. Okay? I'm right here". Steve nods his head, or tries to. I see a wave of pain cross his face and my heart breaks a little. I hate seeing him in pain.
"It's okay, darling. Just rest. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere". I stroke his hair gently, Steve's eyes fluttering shut. I smile down at him and his breathing evens out eventually. I rest my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, feeling a sense of calm come over me.
"Peggy" Steve rasps. I wipe the sleepiness from my eyes, looking at the clock. Damn, I must've fallen asleep.
"Wh-What happened? I feel like I've been run over by a half-time truck".
"The mission went sour. HYDRA detonated the bombs. You were closest to the blast. There were a lot of civilian casualties. I tried to warm them, get them to leave, but-".
"I thought you were gone, Steve. When I saw the explosion, my heart sunk. Then I found you" I say quietly.
"It's okay, Peggy. We can't force people to do what they don't want to".
"It still hurts...all those innocent lives lost" I mutter, looking down at the ground. He nods and I look at him, feeling so relieved he's alive. I lean in, my lips lingering before I give into what my heart wants. It's not a long kiss, but none of that matters. All that matters is my best friend, the love of my life, is alive. We reluctantly pull apart, grinning at each other like a bunch of teenagers.
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