How would “Bid Time Return” have ended up if Jane had ended up with Darcy in 1946? I had a long drive yesterday and was listening to the part where Darcy wakes up and is very concerned about Jane’s whereabouts.
I had several versions of the first part of the story. Different things happened -- Darcy escapes the bunker on her own, makes her way off the base, stumbles to a farm and passes out in the yard. They take care of her for a bit. Peggy, investigating the “break-in” eventually tracks her down.
In another version Jack Thompson comes up to investigate instead of Peggy and Susa, Darcy gets herself arrested and Howard eventually springs her because he’s curious why she keeps asking for him. Etc.
I was making it too complicated.
And, that’s kind of why I didn’t put Jane in. So many characters, I have to think what I can do with each of them, and even then sometimes I can’t find room to do as much with them as I’d like. Bid Time Return could’ve used more Angie, amiright?
I think if Jane did get caught up ... oh good lord, can you imagine Howard? I mean, he has his faults, he’s definitely a man of his time in a lot of ways, but I think he’s a man who’d be far more intrigued by an intelligent woman than dismissive. He would drive Jane insane. Peggy and Darcy would have to sit on Jane to keep her from killing him.
I think for as difficult as things were for Darcy, if Jane was there, they’d be a big comfort to each other as they tried to adjust and figure things out. Darcy felt quite alone in a lot of ways, isolated in her thoughts because she didn’t feel she could safely share them. But, Jane knows everything, so they would have had each other to bounce thoughts and theories and worries and fears off of. That would have made things easier for Darcy, she’d probably have been less morose. She might even have managed to keep the secret about Bucky for longer. Until, you know, the warehouse. But, still!
Peggy would have had her hands extra full with Jane and Howard science/engineering mania and Darcy “imma go hunt down hydra, guys!” lunacy.
Jarvis would have Jarvised as Jarvis does. While he’s not exactly unflappable, he’s been in enough weirdness just working for Howard on the average day, that he soldiers on while he’s flapping. Bless him.
I think, overall, the story would have been similar. Just the extra dynamic of Jane being there. But, I didn’t really have anything specific for Jane to do, so I didn’t feel like she’d add a whole lot to the story. The story was really about Howard and Peggy and Darcy, and other characters as a compliment to those stories. Sadly, yeah, I just didn’t have anything for Jane to do.
