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The incessant beeping of the alarm clock instantly snapped Peggy out of her dream. She turned on her side, slapping the top of the device to silence it. She groaned as she stretched and rose from the bed, her hair a mess and her sight still a bit blurry. She could already hear the water splashing in the bathroom, which must have meant Daniel was already up. She yawned again before quickly taking a look at her phone. Just as Daniel got out of the bathroom she was already logged into the scheduling app, scrolling through today’s flights to quickly remind herself.
“Well, look who decided to get up.” Daniel said, his prosthetic and pants already on as he moved through the room, stopping to peck Peggy on the temple.
“Says the one who woke up before the alarm rang.” she replied as she moved to the wardrobe, taking her uniform out and spreading it on the bed. “Bad dream?”
“No, not at all,” he replied, moving to put on his shirt. “I was thinking, though, about the weather…”
Peggy nodded. The last few days out of New York were absolutely dreadful, with rain, fog and gusty winds - three things Peggy hated dealing with most while flying. She still remembered how a few days ago a gust of wind very nearly slammed the plane into the ground on approach. Looking outside the window, however, Peggy could already see the sun peeking out of the scattered clouds.
“Doesn’t look too bad, does it?” she asked, moving towards the bathroom.
“Let’s hope it stays.” Daniel replied, smiling as he spotted the faint glimmer of the stone in Peggy’s engagement ring. After losing his leg and the dreams of becoming a pilot himself in a crash, he thought he could never really fully be happy again. However, the last year proved him wrong - he was now a Chief Purser at SHIELD Airlines and the love of his life said “yes” when he asked her to marry him just two months ago. As he heard the water splash in the shower he took a look at Peggy’s captain uniform, freshly pressed and clean on the bed. He smiled again as he moved to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
The ride to the airport was quick. Soon enough, Daniel and Peggy were in the crew break room, along with a few other pilots and cabin crew. Daniel sipped on his coffee as Peggy bit into her sandwich, the sheet with the weather forecast on her lap suddenly filling with crumbs. Daniel chuckled at that, but before Peggy could say anything the door to the room swung open.
“Oh, look who’s there.” a woman’s voice exclaimed as she moved towards the couch Peggy and Daniel were sitting on. It was Ana Jarvis, one of the stewardesses both Peggy and Daniel knew for some time already. Right behind her came Rose Roberts - another known colleague.
“Hello to both of you.” Peggy said, exchanging quick hugs with both women. “Did you happen to see Angie or Mr. Jarvis?
“Edwin is in the toilet now.” Ana replied.
“And I saw Angie at the parking lot.” Rose supplied, plopping down on one of the seats.
“Good.” Peggy said, checking her watch. “We will be quite on time then. First stop of the day is Dulles.”
“Yep. Where would you like to be then, Ana?” Daniel asked, checking his own watch.
“The front, if that’s OK.” She replied.
“Of course. Rose?” Daniel continued.
“I’ll take the back.” She replied as Daniel felt Peggy’s head on his shoulder. He smiled just as Angie Martinelli, the last member of the cabin crew, entered the room.
“You’re taking the middle on the Dulles flight, Angie.” Daniel said, looking him right in the eye.
“And why is that?” She replied, a bit winded. “Do I get no say in this?”
“First come, first serve, don’t you remember?” Peggy chimed in, a smirk firmly planted on her face. “I believe it was your idea at first, wasn’t it?”
“Sure was.” Daniel muttered, also unable to keep a grin from forming on his face.
“OK, the middle it is then, lovebirds.” Angie replied, raising her hands in mock surrender, chuckling. “You do look sickeningly sweet like that, you know.”
“Pleasure is ours.” Peggy replied, looking at her wristwatch. “So, where is Mr. Jarvis?”
As if on cue, the doors to the room swung open again, and a tall, brown-haired man in a pilot's uniform stepped in.
“Edwin, over here!” Ana waved at him, causing him to turn towards the couch. He quickly followed her lead, plopping down next to her.
“So this is the famed Mr. Jarvis.” Peggy spoke, standing up to shake his hand. “Peggy Carter, nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.” He replied, visibly relaxing, even though only a little. The group exchanged pleasantries, before finally moving out of the break room through the airport to their plane for today.
Nearly half an hour later, Peggy was already comfortable in the captain’s seat of the MD-83. Ever since she qualified to fly on those as a captain, she loved flying them. They might have been a bit less modern than other aircraft in SHIELD’s fleet, but they still had some charm about them (even though they sometimes tended to not want to work properly, but Peggy was used to that).
The click of the lock of the cockpit door broke the silence of the cockpit. She could then heard the door open and shut again.
“Everything in order?” Peggy asked, turning her head to look up.
“Didn’t see anything suspicious.” Jarvis replied, sitting down in his seat. “Anything in the logbook?” he asked as he settled in.
“No,” Peggy replied, quickly flipping the pages “only a windshield change yesterday night. And if there’s nothing wrong outside then we can board.”
“Of course.” Jarvis replied, quickly putting on his headset and radioing in.
“New York, Flight 084, we’re ready to board.”
“SHIELD 84, follow 747 traffic on Juliet onto Juliet Bravo, hold short of Runway 31 Left.”
“Hold short, 31 Left, SHIELD 84”
Jarvis clicked off the radio, looking forward at the Jumbo Jet right in front of them. The boarding went unusually smooth and quick, even though they had nearly 100 people on board. As they taxied through the myriad of crossings towards the runway they’ve done all the preflight checks, not noting anything abnormal. Now they just had to wait.
“Speedbird 114 Heavy, wind 080 at 15 gusts 20, Runway 31 Left, clear for takeoff.”
“We’re next.” Peggy said as she watched the Boeing 747 in front of them start its takeoff roll. Even before it left the runway, the radio clicked into life again.
“SHIELD 84, lineup and wait, Runway 31 Left.”
“Lineup and wait, SHIELD 84.” Jarvis said, as Peggy slowly moved the plane onto the runway and stopped it there. They sat on the tarmac for a while in silence, listening to the flurry of radio transmissions and patiently waiting their turn. After a few lazy minutes, they heard their call sign again.
“SHIELD 84, caution wake turbulence, wind 075 at 13 gusts 18, Runway 31 Left, cleared for takeoff.”
“Cleared for takeoff, SHIELD 84.” Jarvis replied, just before Peggy moved the throttles forward, causing the plane to start speeding up.
“Set takeoff thrust.” She said, moving her hand off the throttles, letting Jarvis push them as much forward as he could.
“Set.” he replied, his eyes quickly checking the engine dials and then moving to the speed indicator. He already felt the airplane accelerating more and more as the needle of the dial moved from 30 to 40 to 50…
“80 knots.” he called out as the needle passed the number.
“Check.” Peggy replied, concentrated and breathing slowly.
Just a few seconds later, the needle moved to 135 knots.
“V1… Rotate….V2.” Jarvis recited as Peggy pulled on the controls, the nose lifting and the machine leaving the runway into the scattered clouds just above the airport.
“Positive rate.” He then said, noting the altitude increasing steadily.
“Gear up.”
The rumble of the landing gear retracting reverberated through the plane. Soon enough, they were fully airborne and already climbing through 2500 feet of altitude. Then, the plane shuddered and dropped slightly, before shooting upwards to climb again.
“That was the wake from that 747.” Peggy commented, carefully steadying the motions of the aircraft with the yoke and rudder, just as Jarvis heard from the tower again.
“SHIELD 84, airborne at 20, contact Departure 118.175.”
“118.175, SHIELD 84, thank you.” he replied, quickly moving the knob to adjust the frequency. As he did that he saw Peggy engage the autopilot and put the flaps and slats up. A quick check of the altimeter showed they were nearing 5000 feet.
After the climbout the skies were clear and smooth. Soon, they reached 17000 feet and levelled off, cruising smoothly and waiting for a possible clearance to an even higher flight level. Peggy relaxed in her seat, taking off her seatbelts fully, while Jarvis kept his hip belt on. Soon, they heard the noise of the door opening.
“Hello, Ms. Carter, Edwin.” Ana said, peeking inside. “Do you need anything to drink? Maybe a breakfast?”
“Just a coffee, black.” Peggy replied.
“Tea, the usual, you know.” Jarvis said, smiling.
“I’ll be back in a minute.” Ana spoke, closing the door. With that, only the noises of the wind hitting the aircraft, the low rumble of the engines and the radio chatter in the background remained.
BANG
Immediately, a white, thick mist filled the cabin. Jarvis gripped the control column hard as his ears clogged up, softening the roar of the wind and the loud ringing of the alarms. Through the haze, he spotted the door to the cockpit laying on the center console, pushing the throttles to maximum power. As the mist cleared up slightly, he could also see the plane was in a steep dive - ten degrees nose down and in a left bank - speeding at over 310 knots. But as he looked to the left, he felt his blood run cold.
Captain Carter was now mostly outside of the plane. The only parts of her body left inside were her legs and feet, jamming the control column forward - that was why they were diving so drastically. Jarvis took a deep breath, but it was as if he was trying to breathe through a straw. He could hear his heart thudding hard against his ribs, even though the tornado in the cockpit made perceiving things quite difficult. Through the absolute chaos that was the cockpit now, he could, however, hear a faint shout:
“PEGGY!”
Suddenly, Daniel came into view from the back, all but running inside. He quickly pushed the ruined door aside and lurched forward, grabbing Peggy’s legs, trying to pull her back inside with all his strength. He grunted and panted, tears falling from his eyes as he held on, his arms sticking outside into the freezing wind. Jarvis, finally over his first shock and feeling more and more air with every breath, started to regain control - pulling the throttles to idle and extending the speedbrakes to stabilize the dive, but keeping it steep. With oxygen in such short supply so high, he wanted to get to a breathable altitude as soon as possible.
“Mayday, mayday, mayday, Center, SHIELD 84, lost pressure, descending to 8000 feet, mayday, mayday mayday.” Jarvis shouted over the radio as the plane kept speeding downwards, losing nearly 2000 feet in less than a minute. Through the wind, he could faintly hear someone respond, but far too quiet to understand anything of importance. In the corner of his eye, he saw Angie enter the cockpit. Her face was a mixture of horror and shock, but then it quickly turned into determination. She quickly plopped down on the jumpseat at the back of the cockpit and pulled Daniel hard by the pant belt, securing him from falling out. Seeing this, Jarvis now focused fully on flying the plane. They have dropped to almost 11000 feet already, but he decided to keep descending fast, mindful of the dangers of hypoxia.
“Mayday, mayday, mayday, SHIELD 84 flight level 110, descending to 8000 feet, over.”
In another minute or two, they finally reached 8000 feet, with Jarvis pulling hard to level out. The speed dropped as the plane stopped diving and flew straight, the instruments confirming level flight at 250 knots. Then, Peggy’s body slid to the side, visible now through the left side windows. Just one look at it made Jarvis’s hairs stand up. It looked like a lifeless doll, hanging by a thread in the wind, being pulled towards the back.
“Oh God, Peggy.” Daniel cried out, holding still her legs tight.
“Don’t let her go!” Jarvis shouted. “For God’s sake don’t let her go!”
“I won’t.” Daniel grunted, pulling harder. Even from where he was, Jarvis could see the blackened skin and blood on Daniel’s forearm. “God, it hurts… I can’t feel it!”
“Rose!” Angie shouted to the back, gesturing at someone Jarvis couldn’t see. Soon enough, Rose was in the cockpit, grabbing Peggy’s legs herself as Daniel fell back, clutching his arm.
“I have her, it’s OK, Chief!” Rose shouted over the wind.
It was clear Daniel was in pain as he limped back into the passenger cabin, tears falling from his eyes.
“SHIELD 84, New York Center, radio check, how do you read?”
The message, finally understandable, broke through the sound of the wind.
“Center, SHIELD 84, copy, we have a full emergency, requesting landing at nearest airport, over.” Jarvis replied, keeping a close eye on the instruments as he slowed down to 180 knots.
“SHIELD 84, Philadelphia International is 20 miles northwest of your position, do you accept an approach?”
“Center, SHIELD, 84, uh… yes, request vectors for Philadelphia and emergency equipment on standby. We‘ve had a decompression.”
“Roger, SHIELD, 84, turn heading 280, vectors for Philadelphia and, if able, say souls on board and fuel remaining.”
“Souls on board is 102, fuel is 15 thousand pounds, SHIELD 84.”
“Roger and descend at your discretion, SHIELD 84.”
“Copy.”
Looking around the myriad of instruments and holding the control column steady, Jarvis slowly descended lower and lower. Rose and Angie were now both holding Peggy, managing to fully pull her legs inside the cockpit, but not much else. Busy flying the plane, Jarvis didn’t know what was happening in the cabin, but he didn’t really have time to truly think about the passengers, for whom that whole nightmare must have been nearly as bad as if not worse.
“SHIELD 84, contact Philadelphia Approach at 138.1, they are informed, Godspeed.”
“138.1.” Jarvis responded, flicking the radio onto the correct frequency. Before he talked again, he looked to the side, locking eyes with Angie.
“Is she…” the word got stuck in his throat and didn’t want to go through.
“I don’t know,” Angie replied, clearly distressed too “but it doesn’t look good.”
“We’ll be landing soon, let’s hope.” he replied, before clicking the transmitter button again.
“Approach, SHIELD 84 with an emergency, now at 4000 feet, requesting services and approach instructions, over.”
“SHIELD 84, radar contact established, 7 miles west of field, cleared for visual approach to Runway 9 Right, altimeter is 1021. I understand you are declaring full emergency and request equipment, is that correct, sir?”
“Affirmative, and we will be stopping on the runway, SHIELD 84.”
“Roger, cleared for visual approach, visibility over 20 miles, wind 280 at 8 gusts 10, descend to 2500, report runway in sight.”
“2500, SHIELD 84.”
Ending that, Jarvis immediately set the flaps to 20 and lowered the landing gear. He knew he was close and kept looking forward for a moment, before he caught the sight of the strip of black asphalt just in front and below.
“Runway in sight, SHIELD 84.”
“Roger, SHIELD 84, contact Tower 135.1”
“Affirm.”
After another frequency switch, Jarvis turned to face Angie.
“Tell Ana we’re landing. Please.” his voice sounded weird even to him, almost robotic and cold. Angie nodded, leaving Rose to hold Peggy for a short while. It took less than a few seconds and Angie was back, strapping herself in the cockpit jumpseat and pulling Rose by her trousers.
“SHIELD 84, clear to land Runway 9 Right, wind 275 at 7 gusts 9, equipment is standing by.”
“Roger, SHIELD 84, we will be stopping on the runway.”
“Understood, SHIELD 84, good luck.”
Jarvis felt his heart beat faster as he descended lower and lower. The runway was clearly visible and even from high above he could see the flashing lights of the vehicles alongside the strip.
“500.” A computerized voice exclaimed as the altimeter needle passed 500 feet. Jarvis gripped the yoke harder keeping one eye on the runway and one on the horizon.
“400.”
“300.”
“200.”
“100.” At that, Jarvis raised the nose slightly, the speed dropping slightly below the perfect landing speed.
“50.”
“40.”
“30.”
“20.”
“10.”
Jarvis felt a thud as the plane touched down, a shudder reverberating through the airframe. He didn’t waste time, engaging all braking power he had - engines in reverse, spoilers deployed, gear brakes pressed hard. He watched as the speed dropped lower, lower and lower until they finally stopped. Training kicked in as he shut down the engines quick, already hearing the sirens of approaching ambulances and fire trucks. Suddenly, he felt his body jitter and shake as hot tears sprang into his eyes. He threw away the headset as he sobbed, curling in on himself. On the other side, Rose managed to pull Peggy back inside the plane, laying her down on the cockpit floor.
“She’s alive…” she spoke, her voice filled with disbelief. “She’s alive, quick!” she shouted at the paramedics that managed to get inside the plane already. Ana ran into the cockpit right behind them, enveloping Jarvis in a tight hug.
They were on the ground, shaken, but alive.
“It’s a miracle.” Ana whispered as Jarvis calmed down slowly as she lead him out of the cockpit, down the stairs and onto the tarmac, holding him in an embrace. Angie, Rose and the rest of the passengers followed them as they slowly moved away from the stricken plane.
Daniel fought tooth and nail to ride in the same ambulance as Peggy and got his wish. His arms were frostbitten and his left shoulder was dislocated, but he fought the pain as the ambulance drove off towards the hospital. He listened to the steady beep of the heart monitor as the EMT kept checking on her, confirming what he heard on the plane from Rose.
She’s alive.
She’s alive.
She’s alive.
He reached out with his right hand and gripped her hand, squeezing lightly. He knew she wasn’t probably going to return the gesture, but it didn't really matter. Mainly because she was there, breathing, even though she, by all accounts, should have been dead. He then bowed forward, planting a light peck on her temple, just like he did this morning.
For a moment he thought he saw her lips curve into a smile, but after he blinked they were still pressed into a thin, purple line.
He smiled lightly himself, squeezing her hand harder as the ambulance drove on, away from the horror and into the light.
When Peggy stirred awake, she immediately closed her eyes, blinded by the white light.
Is this Heaven? she thought as memories flooded her - the normal flight, the bang, the feeling of being sucked out, the freezing cold...
"Peggy?" she heard a voice, both distant and close at the same time.
"Daniel?" she rasped out, her attempt to speak ending with a cough, her throat feeling like sandpaper.
"Peggy." she felt warm lips touch her forehead with a quick peck and someone's hands on her own. She opened her eyes again to see him above her, a wide smile decorating his face. He reached out for something - which turned out to be a water bottle - which he pressed to her lips. She drank in large gulps, her throat itching.
“You’ve almost scared me to death.” Daniel spoke, putting the bottle away. “Please, don’t do that again.”
“Nearly fall out of a plane at 17000 feet? Can’t wait to do that again.”
He squeezed her arm at that, causing her to smile lightly.
“Up there I thought you were…” he took a breath “...you know.”
It was her turn to squeeze his arm.
“Daniel, I’m here. A bit battered, but I’m here.”
“I know.” He spoke as he kissed her, softly and slowly. Then, the door opened.
“Get a room!” Angie exclaimed, rolling her eyes but smiling at the same time.
“I thought we had one already.” Peggy spoke, pulling herself up as the rest of the crew moved inside.
“Oh, English, shut up, you talk too much.” Angie replied, sitting down on one of the chairs.
“You should know Danny boy here slept in that chair as you lied here. I swear, I found him in the morning!”
Daniel didn’t say anything, just smiling at Peggy.
“Before you ask, Peggy, aside from you two there were no injuries.” Rose said, sitting right next to Angie.
“And, the investigators I talked to think someone used the wrong screws to fit the windshield.” Jarvis supplied, stepping from foot to foot. “That’s why it fell off.”
“Regardless,” Ana chimed in, pulling out a plastic container “I have some cake here that needs to be eaten.”
And so that’s how they spent the time - eating cake (except for Peggy, who still felt a bit too tired) and reminiscing, the memories fresh, painful and yet with a good look on the future.
“We are a good team.” Daniel said.
“A wonderful team.” Peggy supplied, her tone both somber and somehow optimistic.
“And a wonderful family.” Ana added.
Family , Peggy thought, what a fitting word .