Work Text:
Peggy Carter sat nervously in the waiting room of the oncologist's office, clutching Angie's hand tightly as she waited for Angie's doctor to give them the results of Angie's test. Since Angie had begun to notice a increased pain in her abdomen over the last few weeks, and her physician had been alarmed at how quickly Angie had developed what she called a severe case of jaundice, the former SHIELD director had been extremely wary about the state of her partner's health. Now, sitting in front of the young man who would pass judgement on Angie's case, Peggy couldn't help but feel as though she was sitting at an execution. She smiled as she felt Angie take her hand into her own; even after nearly sixty years together she still felt her heart flutter whenever she felt Angie's hand in hers. The fluttering stopped, however, when the doctor opened Angie's file and began to read the results.
"Ms. Martinelli, Ms. Carter, thank you for being here today. I hate to say it, but it's pancreatic cancer, ma'am. Now I know that sounds a little frightening, but given the right course of treatment and the fact that you have a strong support system, you should be able to respond fairly well -”
"Please, Dr. Samuels," Angie said, cutting him off with a dismissive wave of her hand, "Both you and I know that what you’re saying is a load of crap. I'm 79 years old. I've lived through more bad news in my whole life than both you and your parents have combined. Just be honest with me. What is going to happen to me and how long do I have left?"
Dr. Samuels sighed, shuffling the papers in Angie's medical file nervously. "Ms. Martinelli, from what we can tell your cancer is at Stage Three, possibly Stage Four. Given that pancreatic cancer is one of the most difficult to diagnose and treat, we lost a lot of time with it already. Now, we can treat it with surgery and radiation therapy, which your insurance will partially cover, but given both your age and the fact that the disease is so advanced, it would likely do more harm than good. Therefore, sadly, if I were to prescribe treatment, it would be to get your affairs in order and prepare yourself and your family for hospice care."
Angie nodded, squeezing Peggy's hand when she noticed the other woman trembling, "And my other question? How long do I have left?"
Dr. Samuels sighed again, "It could be a year. It could also be a month."
"Thank you, Doctor," Angie sighed as she stood up and slowly shuffled out of the room; only her "You gonna drive me home, English?" was enough for Peggy to break from her shock and go after her.
Several hours later, eating a stew Angie had made, Peggy was still reeling from the doctor’s diagnosis. She had known that eventually her time with Angie would end, be it through a breakup or a death, but being given an actual timeline for the end of their relationship had shaken her to her core. She had also figured that she would die first, given the dangers of her career and the fact that she had many people who still wanted to kill her, so the prospect of spending the rest of her life without Angie terrified her. It took all of her strength to not burst into tears in front of Angie, which was ridiculous given her former occupation as the director of a top-secret intelligence agency. She hadn’t even noticed that Angie had turned the television to the evening news, and reacted slowly when she noticed Angie excitedly gesturing at the screen.
“Peggy, look at the television!” Angie exclaimed, and the older woman turned to see the news reporter sitting next to what looked like a combined graphic of Canada, the gay pride flag, and two interlocked rings.
"In international news,” he said, “Canada has become the fourth country to legalize gay marriage. The Civil Marriage Act, which came into effect today, officially gives gay and lesbian couples the ability to have civil marriages in every Canadian province, and allows couples from overseas to legally marry in Canada. Lauren Sheffield is live in the capital city of Ottawa. Lauren, what's the reaction to this in our northern neighbor, and could it influence more states in the US to consider legalizing gay marriage or civil partnerships?"
“Well, good for them,” Peggy grumbled as she turned back to her stew, but she was interrupted when Angie took her chin in her hand and forced her to look the Italian in the eye. Peggy recognized the glint in Angie’s eyes, the one that said I am going to make something happen whether you like it or not, but even that wasn’t enough warning for the words that tumbled out of Angie’s mouth.
"Marry me, Peggy."
“Wh-what?” Peggy stuttered out.
“You heard me,” Angie replied, “Will you marry me?”
“I-uh...now?”
"Not this very second," Angie said, rolling here eyes, "But will you go to Canada with me in a few weeks and get married?"
Peggy blushed, looking down at the gold band encircling her left ring finger. "Angie, we exchanged vows so long ago, isn't that enough? I also don't want your health to become worse from the stress of traveling."
"I know that we 'married' each other when we were younger, but now we have the chance to do it for real, with our entire family and close friends there to see and celebrate it. And if I'm going to have the opportunity to be Angela Carter legally, on paper, then I'm going to do whatever it takes to get that opportunity." Peggy opened her mouth to continue her objections, but Angie clamped a hand over her mouth before she could voice them. "And as far as travel putting stress on my health, you and I both know that we have an extremely wealthy godson who would bend over backwards to have his two favorite aunts travel comfortably so they can get married. We can just tell him that it would be his wedding gift to us."
Peggy remained silent, mulling over what Angie had said. While she was concerned that Angie was only doing this due to her terminal diagnosis, and her reserved nature made her shy away from public attention, especially regarding their relationship, those doubts faded away as she saw the excited look on Angie's face. And yes, there was something appealing about being able to officially write "Mrs. Margaret Carter" on legal documents, and not just have it be an inside joke among their friends and family. The look on Angie's face became more excited, and Peggy realized that she was also beaming.
"Angela Martinelli," she said, dropping her fork and taking both of Angie's hands in her own, "I will marry you."
Angie squealed excitedly, and raced to the nearest telephone. "I have to tell the kids! And our grandbabies! They'll be so excited!"
Peggy sighed in response and turned back to her meal. Perhaps Tony's good graces would extend to paying for their honeymoon.