Chapter Text
It was early evening by the time she arrived, but in the city that never sleeps that didn’t mean much. She weaved her way through the hustle and bustle outside several bars and bodegas before turning left down the familiar residential street.
She’d visited the house on more than a few occasions, including a few Christmas Eves with the children on Thelma Sousa’s invitation in the past few years. But that wasn’t quite the memory she had in mind as she started up the steps to the townhouse.
Instead she thought of the long black coat she’d worn seven years ago, exhaustion in her bones from flying to and from Nevada in one day. Her heels clicking on the stone steps before knocking on the wooden front door. The look on Daniel’s fathers face when he realised why she was standing at their door, the wails of his mother as her second oldest son prevented her from collapsing to the floor. Because her oldest was gone, taken from all of them. She could offer no comfort that he’d died peacefully, but spared them the details of where he’d been found.
It had felt only right that she issued the death notification, she couldn’t have fathomed it coming from anyone else. The family that took her in and treated her like one of their own, even after she was no longer romantically linked with their son, knowing she didn’t have much of her own family to lean on.
Yet here she stood, seven years later, about to attempt to explain something out of this world in an effort to bring this family the closure their son wanted to give them. The closure he’d begged her to allow them all. An envelope in her purse that weighed heavy.
She rapped three times on the door, stepping back slightly as she waited for a response. It came in the form of Mrs Sousa, or Thelma as she insisted Peggy called her.
“Oh Miss Carter, what a surprise! Come in, come in. Have you eaten?” Daniel had always said his mother was a feeder and it was something Peggy readily accepted from one of the best cooks she knew.
She was greeted warmly by Mr Sousa (Frank) as well as David who was here fixing something in the bathroom. Ines, the youngest Sousa sister, bounced down the stairs when she heard who was here, wrapping Peggy in a tight hug. The other two now had their own homes, both Bella and Esme, happily married with children that received birthday and Christmas presents every year from ‘Aunt Peg’ - Uncle Daniel’s best friend.
After a brief catch up over supper, Peggy cleared her throat.
“I actually have some news for you. To do with…Daniel.” The warm room went silent. This wasn’t a family that shied away from talking about their departed loved ones like Peggy’s own family did, but Peggy arriving with news was unusual to say the least. She explained as best she could about how time travel and timelines intersected and how sometimes things were not as they seemed. At one point, David left and could be heard making phone calls to their other sisters, the two of them barrelling through the door what felt like minutes later. They took their seats around the table, all eyes fixed on Peggy. Her gaze flickered to the mantle, where several pictures of Daniel rested, his Army portrait in pride of place.
“I’m sorry Miss Carter, what exactly are you saying?”
So she spelled it out, Daniel was supposed to die, but he was saved, brought forward in time. There was disbelief and confusion but everyone’s eyes were filled with tears.
“So he can come home?” Ines asked, her voice raw.
“He can’t.” Peggy replied, knowing this was going to be the hard part. “He’s not able, because of a range of things, including the safety of the world if you can so believe. But, I did see him.” His mother gasped, as Peggy reached for her handbag, extracting the letter. “He asked me to give you this.” She slid it across the table, and no one reached for it at first, just read the slanted writing on its surface.
The Sousa Family
It was a font so familiar to all of them, from reports Peggy had read for years on the job to letters he’d sent home from war, to school papers as a youth.
“That is a letter he wanted to send to you all. To tell you he is okay, to tell you a little about his life.” Peggy sat there waiting for someone to make a move. Frank was the first to budge, taking a hand and pulling it towards him, thumbing the crisp surface.
“Have you read it?” He asked, his voice hoarse.
“No, it was a private family matter. I can leave so you can read it.” She went to move but Frank’s words stopped her.
“Would you read it for us?” He was looking round at his shell-shocked daughters, his son who was trying his best to hold it together and his wife who looked close to breaking down. His own voice was thick with emotion. “I don’t think any of us are… up to it right now.”
“Of course.” She tentatively took the letter from him, looking around the family surrounding her before taking a breath and opening it. There was more in the envelope than she originally thought, but she held onto the bundle of papers, taking in the familiar writing once again before she started, her eyes fixed on the words only.
‘Pai, Mãe, David, Esme, Bella and Ines,
I know this is strange and completely unbelievable, but it is also something you will have to keep to yourselves as hard as this may be. Peggy will have tried to explain to the best of her ability but I assume even she struggled. The truth is, I did not die that day in 1955, but was instead rescued by a team of SHIELD agents from the future. I am all too well aware that it sounds like something from the comic David and I read as kids. But it is the truth.
The fate of the world was hanging in the balance and they were trying to fix it. They were aware of my fate, and chose to save me, instead of letting me die. The condition was that my death had to be faked. For leaving like that, without ever saying goodbye, I will feel eternal regret.
However, I write to tell you a little about how my life looks now, to let you know I am okay and think of you all daily. I hope Bella made it through those college classes and David is staying safe fighting fires out there. I hope Esme and her baby are safe and healthy, and I hope any little ones that have come along in the meantime know all about how Uncle Daniel would have loved them dearly. I hope Ines is still writing, I hope she lands a job at the paper, just as she always talked about. I hope Pai and Mãe are healthy, happy and Mãe is keeping everyone in line as always.
I am potentially the happiest I have ever been. I still work for SHIELD, with the team that saved me. It's hard work but still good work, fighting for justice and protection for all (yes David I am aware of how that sounds).
And I met my wife.
She was on the team that saved me, she saved me. She’s incredible, smart, stubborn, powerful and doesn’t have a filter when she speaks. She keeps me on my toes with sharp wit and I have no doubt that all of you would rip into me for punching above my weight because Daisy is simply the most beautiful person both inside and out. Adjusting to life here was really tough, but she’s been beside me every single step of the way, even before we got together. I am completely and utterly head over heels in love with her and our two children. (Yes, two!)
Phillipa Skye Johnson-Sousa goes by Pippa and she turned five in November. Her name comes from a few places, Daisy’s father figure and a name she once went by. She is a bundle of energy and looks just like her mother. Sometimes she tilts her head if she’s working something out and I swear I can see Bella in her. She loves everyone, our entire family here and loves stories from both mine and Daisy’s past. She knows all about you all and asks questions about games we played and if we can come visit. We explained that we can’t, but that you all love her.
Our newest arrival is Jordan Frank Antoine Johnson-Sousa, named after myself, Pai and a man who saved Daisy’s life when she was younger. At just nine-months old I am told he is the spitting image of me, so I have no doubt he’ll look much like David and I as he grows up, even down to the ears. Both kids have those actually. He is a smiley bundle of joy, who adores his big sister and sleeps through almost anything. Currently he’s determined to crawl and is attempting to do so with his Aunties out in the hallway as write this. Pippa is clapping and cheering him on, like only a sister can, and I should know, I have three of the best.
Overall, we have a very happy life here. Though it has its trials and tribulations, as I have learnt life always does, we’re better together and I know this is where I truly belong, even though I miss you all.
I have enclosed some pictures of us and the kids, which I hope offer you a snapshot of the happiness and content I feel here.
Sempre seu filho e irmão,
Todo o meu amor,
Daniel’
There were only tears in the room, from everyone. Peggy wiped her own on a handkerchief taken from her purse.
“There’s pictures?” Thelma asked gently, cautiously reaching for the small pile of printed photos. Her daughters were immediately around her, desperate to get a look.
The first was a wedding photo, bride and groom laughing, arms wrapped around each other. His wedding ring stood out from where his hand cupped her waist, small lights twinkling above them in an outdoor space.
“He looks so happy.” Bella commented, wiping a stray tear from her cheek.
“Cleaned up well it looks like.” David added, smiling softly while passing his middle sister his handkerchief.
“She’s gorgeous, his Daisy?” Esme said, “That dress is stunning.”
The next photo was of the couple sitting in a hospital bed, a newborn nestled in Daniel’s arms, Daisy resting her head on his arm, looking down at the baby who wasn’t quite visible.
“Look, he's been crying.” Ines pointed to Daniel’s face, his red rimmed eyes as he looked down at his daughter. “He’s always been such a sap.”
“Oh look at this one!” Bella said, pointing to the third one, Pippa dressed in a yellow t-shirt and denim overalls, hands held in Daniel’s as she started to walk, looking up at her grinning father with wide eyes and a big smile. Another of a slightly older Pippa snuggled into Daisy’s side, each of them with a hand on her baby bump.
“He really hit the jackpot with her, she’s stunning.” David let out a low whistle.
The last photo was clearly professionally done, or from a higher quality camera at least. They were posed, unlike the more natural candid shots that had come before. Daisy and Daniel sat on a picnic blanket in a green meadow somewhere. Pippa stood resting on Daisy’s shoulder between her parents, wearing a little checked green dress and her hair in pigtails. Jordan sat in his father's lap, in a white shirt and shorts that matched his sister's dress, and wearing a gummy grin that matched Daniel’s. All four of them were looking at the camera, big smiles and relaxed postures, the picture perfect family of four.
“He’s so content.” His father commented, looking at the picture over his wife’s shoulder.
“I have a question!” David interjected, looking closer at it. “I mean this in no disrespect to our Dan, but that man has two legs.”
“I can actually answer that, because I asked. Turns out the future makes much more advanced prosthetics, that leg is actually a prosthesis just looks incredibly life-like.” Seemingly satisfied with this answer, David settled back into his own seat.
“What are they like? The family they have?” Esme asked, still staring at the wedding photo of her oldest brother.
“They’re incredible. They welcomed us with open arms, despite the situation being…less than normal. The team that saved him? One big family, those kids have cousins and aunts and uncles. Daisy’s honorary parents are their grandparents. Good people. Really good people. They have each other’s backs.” Peggy replied in earnest.
“So he’s okay. He truly is.” Frank said, pressing a kiss to his wife’s head. There was a silence that settled over them all, as they continued to look at the photos or reread the letters, which allowed Peggy to look at the remaining piece of paper in her hand.
“Oh…”
“What is it Peggy?” Bella asked.
“It’s a letter from Daisy. For you all… Should I?” In response to many furious nods, Peggy began to read aloud.
‘Dear all of the Sousas,
You should have read Daniel’s letter, so you will likely know who I am, but I couldn’t let him send something without writing a little something myself. He promised me it wouldn’t be overstepping.
My name is Daisy Johnson-Sousa and I am your oldest son’s wife and mother of our two children. It is a deep regret of mine that I never got to meet you all, because Daniel has told me all about you and you seem incredible.
As I am sure he told you, Daniel and I met mid-mission about 8 years ago. He was defensive and stand-offish and all in all annoyed that we’d tried to save his life, pulling him away from his job when there was still work to be done. But once he realised we were all fighting the same battle, he became the loveable, dedicated person I am sure you also knew. When we met, I was struggling too. A long life of strange and terrible turns (that I won’t bore you with) left me feeling like I could never fall for anyone again, that I was destined to spend my life solo.
But then he walked into my life. I will be the first to tell you that I can be stubborn (Daniel would likely be the second), but Daniel’s constant support and cheesy lines about helping pick me back up when I run into literal and metaphorical walls won me over fairly quickly.
Falling in love with your son was as easy as breathing. He is the kindest, most caring man I have ever had the pleasure of knowing and he has been there for me at every step and hurdle since we met, just as I hope I have been for him. He’s one of my three favourite people on this planet.
Watching him be a father to both Pippa and Jordan has only cemented this. The way they look at him, or the way Pippa runs into his arms when he comes home is one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen. My favourite time of day is when they read stories before bedtime, the pair of them hanging off every word he says.
I want to thank you for raising the man I married. He talks often about the values and love he got from the ‘world’s greatest parents’ and tells us stories of mischief he got up to with his siblings. He is a truly good man, and there isn’t anyone like him, especially in this life we lead.
I promise to have his back, to protect and love him enough for you all for as long as I live. I am beyond grateful that I get to live life with him and I want to thank you for that.
All our love
Daisy.’
There was little more to be said after that, tears streaming and sniffles the only sound, but they were of happiness and relief more than anything.
“She sounds amazing, just as Daniel deserves.” Ines started, still inspecting the photos.
“Pardon the expression, but she’s a hell of a woman. I have never seen Daniel happier than when he’s with her. They have this silent communication technique, it’s like nothing I’ve seen. A seamless team.” Peggy offered, folding the letter and sliding into the middle of the table.
It would join the other letter and the photos, stored in the inside cover of Daniel’s favourite book besides the mantle, hidden from the masses but easily accessible for when one of them missed him. They served as a reminder, a balm to soothe the grief they still felt for the loss of him in their lives. He wasn’t with them physically, but they could rest knowing he was happy and loved. Time had a way of working out where everyone belonged, eventually.