Work Text:
“Shhhhh, darling, shhh” Peggy cooed, feeling close to tears herself as she desperately tried to get 8-month-old Colleen to stop howling before she woke her older brother. At four and a half, Jackie wasn’t exactly easy to wrangle when it came to bed time, and Peggy did not have the energy to go through that routine again.
The baby was running a fever, and had woken Peggy at four in the morning by screeching, then dissolving into sobs and promptly barfing all over her crib. Daniel was really so much better at these sorts of things - as a result of his frequent role as babysitter for his sisters, cousins, and neighbors, he was quite skilled at dealing with sick, upset children. Peggy, on the other hand, felt way out of her depth.
And of course, Daniel was off on a training retreat with S.H.I.E.L.D. Normally, Peggy was the one traveling in her role as Director, and she still took part in a good number of field operations. Daniel, on the other hand, had decided it was best if one of them took a desk job because of the kids, and ignored all protests that it should be her. And he’d taken to the job of training officer quite happily, and did an excellent job with the recruits.
It just so happened that this weekend, those said recruits were partaking in a mission - which was fake, though they didn’t need to know that yet - deep in the Virginia woods. And so Peggy was left pacing the halls of their suburban D.C. home with her distraught baby, praying that she could survive four more hours until Daniel was due to return.
Just then, she heard the pattering of little feet, and Jackie came into the hallway.
“Mummy? Why won’t she stop crying?” Jackie asked with a pout, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
“Colleen’s sick, baby.”
Jackie’s face scrunched up adorably as he considered this. “If I kiss her will that make it stop?”
Peggy couldn’t help but laugh a little. So far, her two kids seemed to get along well, and she prayed that that continued. Work already had enough conflict - she didn’t need more at home.
She gave Jackie a little grin, and beckoned him over. “It can’t hurt,” she said as she knelt down to his level. Jackie approached cautiously, then leaned in and pressed a wet kiss to the side of Colleen’s flushed face.
She immediately silenced and turned to search for the source of the kiss. When she saw Jackie, she gave a happy little babble. Peggy was stunned. Jackie grinned, then declared, “’m tired” and stumbled back to his room.
Still in awe that Colleen had stopped crying (and that Jackie had willingly returned to bed), Peggy slowly stood back up and headed for the nursery, hoping that the baby would go back to sleep easily now. But her luck didn’t last. Halfway down the hall, Colleen squirmed, gave a wet cough, and threw up all over herself and Peggy.
They both went silent for a minute, contemplating the disaster that had just occurred, and then Coleen began to wail again. Peggy, covered in vomit and absolutely exhausted, couldn’t help but sob herself.
After allowing herself a moment of dismay, Peggy took a deep breath. “Get a grip, woman” she muttered to herself. After all, she was a highly trained government operative. Surely she could handle a few more hours alone with her ill daughter.
………………………….
At 7 AM, Daniel pulled into the driveway, grateful to be home so he could see his family and get a nice long nap after the weekend. The recruits had done a good job: he was proud of them. But spending two days in the woods camping in tents took much more out of him than it used to, and he ached all over.
He opened the door to his and Peggy’s single story house, and was immediately met with Jackie hollering “Pai!” and flinging himself around Daniel’s knees.
“Whoa!” Daniel exclaimed, moving his crutch back a couple inches to balance himself. He ruffled Jackie’s hair affectionately, then inquired “Hey, where’s mum and Colleen?”
Jackie pulled away then and looked up at Daniel with wide eyes.
“Mummy said Colleen is sick, an’ she threw up everywhere and wouldn’t stop crying and I gave her kisses and it was sorta better but then she cried more. And now mummy’s asleep in the chair and I’m hungry ‘cause it’s time for breakfast, Pai!”
He scrambled for the kitchen, then, and Daniel took a minute to decide what to do. It seemed like his desire to take a nice long nap would have to wait. First order of business would be to get Jackie some food, and maybe make Peggy a cup of tea - definitely some strong coffee for himself.ly
Fifteen minutes later, Daniel softly knocked on Colleen’s bedroom door, then eased into the room. The sleeping baby didn’t stir, thank goodness, and neither did Peggy, conked out in the armchair. Daniel grinned to himself at the sight of his wife, her limbs hanging off the chair, a thin line of drool down her cheek.
First he went over to the crib and laid a hand on Colleen’s back. He could feel the heat radiating off her, but the fever didn’t seem to be dangerously high, so he let her be for now. Limping over to Peggy, he laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, and Peggy immediately jerked into wakefulness. Another side effect of the war: neither of them were sound sleepers. She went tense for a minute, then relaxed when she saw who had woken her.
Daniel grinned, then raised a finger to his lips with a nod at the crib. Peggy smiled back, then extracted herself from the chair and stretched. Both of them grimaced when multiple joints popped. Peggy gave a long look at Colleen, but Daniel whispered “I just checked, she’s fine,” and the two of them left the room.
They entered the kitchen and were met with the sight of Jackie pouring a ridiculous amount of syrup on top of the Eggo toaster waffle Daniel had made him.
“Hey, I think you’re drowning that waffle in syrup, bud!” Daniel joked, and Jackie looked up with a slightly guilty expression and exclaimed “I was just making it sweet!” just as Peggy reached over to pull the bottle away.
“I think it’s plenty sweet now, darling. You’d better eat quickly, Mrs. Jenkins will be here to take you to preschool in twenty minutes!” Peggy noted, silently kicking herself for falling asleep and forgetting that today was Monday and Jackie had places to be. Just then, Daniel’s arm threaded itself around her waist, and he whispered “Hey, don’t worry about it. He’s fine, if a little sugared-up. There’s a cup of tea for you on the counter.”
Peggy whirled around, and sure enough there was her favorite mug, filled with tea just the way she liked it. She took a sip and went practically boneless in her chair, feeling more relaxed than she had in days. Having Daniel gone had been difficult even before Colleen got sick. She watched him now, keeping up with Jackie despite fatigue, fetching his coat and packing his lunch, then nudging him out the door when Mrs. Jenkins finally arrived, and was reminded yet again of how much she loved that man.
The door closed, and Peggy watched Daniel deflate a little, exhaustion hitting harder now that everything was quiet.
“How about you go get some actual sleep in a bed before you nod off into that cup of tea? I’ll do the dishes and then come join you - I forgot how much work training missions are.” Daniel said with a little chuckle.
Peggy shook her head at his stubbornness.
“Daniel - leave the dishes. They can wait. You clearly need the sleep just as much as I do.” This got a smile and a small nod of agreement out of Daniel.
……………………….
Daniel went about his typical routine getting ready for bed, taking care of his leg and changing into pajamas. Peggy stepped into the room, having gone to check on Colleen one more time, and he gave her a questioning look.
“She’s still sleeping, thank goodness. The fever seems to be down, so hopefully she’s on the mend.”
Daniel smiled and pulled back the covers on the other side of the bed, gesturing for Peggy to lie down too. She curled into his side, and sighed happily.
“You know, I’m really glad to have you home.”
Daniel pressed a kiss into her hair. “You did great with them, you know. But I’m happy to be home too.”
In response, Peggy simply hugged tighter, and Daniel let his eyes drift close, enjoying the sensation of home.