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Edwin Jarvis was an observant man, it was often part of the job description. So it was easy to see that something had shifted since he last saw Miss Carter in New York, before he and Ana had followed Mr Stark out to Los Angeles.
It had been clear when they first met that she was a fighter, fighting for respect, for her place in the men’s club that was her work place. The way Mr Stark spoke of her exploits during the war she was a woman that would easily be someone to be feared should you find yourself opposite her in the field. But in the small moments they shared, such as patching up her wounds and giving her the sample of Captain Rodger’s blood, when the mask fell away and the sarcasm was dropped, he saw the concealed feelings, the sensitive soul that she had learned to keep tucked away out of sight. She had been healing in New York, from the war and from the losses in her life.
But when she landed in LA, there was a different aura to Miss Carter. A hopeful whimsy, his wife would probably call it, which was unexpected of the agent in question. Introducing her to Ana was always going to be interesting, as the two couldn’t be more different, but strong women seem to bond in the strangest of circumstances.
It didn’t take long to realise one of the main reasons for the change in Miss Carter’s demeanour was the newly appointed Chief Sousa. This became more apparent upon learning that the Chief was involved with a nurse and he planned on proposing. The butler found this out when his friend tried to subtly mention it in passing, but there was an almost imperceivable catch in her voice and a split second of a wistful look in her eyes. The words didn’t mean to be said.
Then there was the added complication of Jason Wilkes and the further development of the incident that caused him to begin to disappear. His attraction to Miss Carter was easy to see, and although she seemed dismissive whenever he tried to approach the subject with his friend Edwin could tell her mind was troubled by her own feelings on the subject.
But sure enough, as always in the life of Peggy Carter, the case swept them all up. Watching her and Chief Sousa work together again, refinding their familiar working rhythms was good progress in his eyes. This was accelerated on the eve of the accident. He had seen the worry Chief Sousa had when it came to Peggy when it resulted in the assault of his filing cabinet, however the genuine fear he saw in the Chief’s eyes as he cradled her in the back seat of Mr Stark’s car as he kept pressure on her wound. Miss Carter groaned and he heard Sousa call out to her, begging her to stay with him which got no response.The men’s eyes met in the rearview mirror and the butler leaned heavier on the gas pedal.
He couldn’t help but feel sorry for the Chief's fiance that night. Not only had they almost busted down the poor woman’s front door with an urgent medical emergency, but Chief Sousa seemed unable to pull his gaze away from the injured woman in front of him, his feelings for Peggy on his sleeve for everyone to see, including the woman to which he was supposed to be getting married. It was still a surprise when he overheard the Chief say the engagement was off a few days later, but Jarvis and Ana did later discuss that this was probably for the best that it happened now rather than closer to or, god forbid, after a wedding took place. He couldn’t help but tease Miss Carter a little about her two new potential suitors, but the mask fell once again as she admitted she felt somewhat out of her depths with the feelings she was troubled by
Then Ana was shot and Jarvis felt like he was drowning in his own worry and sorrow and all the other emotions. He was barely aware of his surroundings, never mind his own actions, especially when he was filled with rage towards Whitney Frost, even after Ana woke up. He only felt himself fully resurfacing when he was arguing with Peggy in the desert, as the words fell from his mouth in a broken confession and she comforted him despite the venom he’d just spat at her moments before.
Once Ana, the brilliant woman that she is, insisted that he help Miss Carter, he couldn’t help but feel grateful as he rushed to the SSR base. Working side-by-side with Peggy, he caught her eye as they happened to hear an exchange between Chief Sousa and Doctor Wilkes, after which they shared a smirk and slight shrug of the shoulders in silent conversation.
Watching the SSR prepare for battle was something to behold and to see them all taking direction from Agent Carter left a proud feeling in Jarvis’s chest. Other than Mr Stark being utterly ridiculous and insisting on playing golf in a potential global catastrophe, things seemed to be going rather well. That was until the rift generator malfunctioned.
While everyone argued about who should be the self-sacrificing one to manually shut it down, Chief Sousa was already on his way towards the device. The first thing Jarvis noticed was Miss Carter’s pleading voice for him to come back to safety, the look on his face when he looked back at her and Jarvis knew he was doing it for her. He was sure part of it was also saving the world aspect but the look they shared was more telling of their unspoken feelings for each other. When she started looking around for alternative options frantically, kicked Jarvis’s brain into gear.
By the time he returned with the hover car and Dr Samberly, Peggy was hanging onto the hose pipe that had previously been anchoring Chief Sousa. The rest of their team were anchoring her, but she seemed to be holding on through pure strength and desperation to not lose anyone else. A feeling he could understand in her position.
As the rift closed and everyone fell to the ground but began celebrating, Jarvis observed as the two locked eyes with only each other, immediately checking to see that the other was okay. Upon confirming such a thing, an exhausted Chief Sousa collapsed and Peggy chuckled before heading over to help him out of the dirt. They laughed and shared an embrace once they stood, and Jarvis couldn’t help from thinking that maybe this had finally turned out the way it was supposed to.
But then when bringing Ana home from the hospital, they learnt that Peggy was planning on returning to New York, which puzzled him. It was his wife that suggested he should try and encourage the agent to stay in LA, giving him a wink as he left to drive Miss Carter to the SSR. It wasn’t until they were standing outside the theatrical agency that they really got to the subject, and as much as she obfuscated, she was clearly looking for an excuse to stay. But in true Peggy Carter fashion she couldn’t be told, so it was more of a gentle push to see the blinding dark-haired quick-witted reason that was just up the stairs, first door on the right.
And it would have been a lie to say that he was a bit smug when he received a call from Miss Carter a few hours later, letting him know she planned to extend her visit and asking if she could possibly continue to stay with them.
“Was that what I thought it was Edwin? Is she staying?” Ana asked after he put down the receiver.
He replied, with a smirk, “Everything is as it should be, my dear.”