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CHARLIE REMEMBERED MORE every day. It had hit her one day. What if one of her friends were still alive?
Howard is an obvious no, as well as Phillips. The Howling Commados is a no, she saw each of their memorials at the Smithsonian.
But she hadn't heard anything about a Peggy Carter being dead.
Charlie sat up from cleaning her gun, grabbing the computer off of the kitchen counter.
She pulled up google, search 'Peggy Carter' into the search bar. There were so many results, Charlie didn't know where to start.
She decided to try a more narrow search. 'Where is Peggy Carter today?' There was one result.
She opened the website, reading about Peggy Carter. Apparently, the woman had retired a few years back. She was 94 right now.
Charlie continued to scroll.
Margaret Elizabeth Carter was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2007, living in a nursing home ever since.
Charlie went down just a bit further, finding the address of the nursing home.
It was sad, Charlie knew Peggy might not even remember her. They'd be floating in the same boat.
"Buck, I'm taking a trip to D.C." Charlie announced, causing the ex-assassin to snap his head up.
"What? Why?"
"I have some business to take care of. I'll be back in two days." Charlie packed her bags, bidding her brother a fair well before starting her trip to Washington.
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Charlie arrived in D.C. at seven in the afternoon the same day. She had decided prior to her arrival that she'd wait until tomorrow morning to visit her old friend.
She really hoped Peggy remembered her.
Charlie has snuck into a building two blocks from the nursing home. The building was called 'Friendly Furries', a pet store.
She hid in the kennel room silently, riding the night out. Sure, she could have easily snuck into a hotel or home, but she liked the dogs here.
"Hey," Charlie said in an undertone. The small puppy yipped loudly, banging its tail against the caged as he wagged it.
"I know, I know. Shh," Charlie calmed down the happy puppy. She stuck her fingers between the cage bars, petting the young dog's tail.
The pup looked up, staring at Charlie with a young soul.
Its blue eyes stared into her green ones.
Charlie moved her gaze away first, settling down in the corner of the room. She didn't plan on getting any sleep that night.
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As soon as she could see the sun peek out from behind the curtains, Charlie was back out the window and on the streets.
She wasn't going to stay long enough to greet the owner of the store.
She made sure she looked as best as she could, entering through the front door of the nursing home.
"Hello, I'm here to see Peggy, or Margaret Carter." Charlie corrected herself.
The lady at the front desk gave her a weird look, before announcing where the elderly woman could be found.
Charlie entered the room up the stairs and down the hall. A greyed woman lay on the bed, her hair curled.
"Peggs?" Charlie called as she cautiously walked in. She had no idea how the woman would react. As far as anyone who hasn't read the HYDRA files, Charlotte Barnes was a dead woman.
Peggy opened her eyes slowly, smiling at someone who came to visit her. "Who are you?" The woman stared at Charlie for a long while as she didn't answer the question.
"Y-You're Charlie! This, oh this can't be! You died a long time ago!" Peggy fretted, her eyes welling with tears.
Charlie watched as her old friend cried at the very sight of her.
"How- how did you- you survive?" Peggy stuttered over her words. Charlie ambled to the table, pouring the retired agent a glass of water.
"Let's not worry about that. I see you lived well." Charlie commented, motioning to the pictures on the nightstand beside the hospital bed Peggy rests in.
"Yes, yes. I had children! Charlotte and Richard Steven, were their names. I've grown so old, Charlie."
Charlie's heart warms. Peggy had named one of her children after her. And to hear Steve's name out of someone else's mouth that wasn't Bucky's was rejoicing.
"You don't look a day over sixty," Charlie reassured.
Peggy gave her a disbelieving look, it looking similar to a glare. "I have a mirror, I do know I look my age."
Charlie shakes her head, smiling. "I'm so glad to see you."
"Yeah, and you! You don't look any older than since... well..." Peggy doesn't finish her words, a look of confusion on her face.
"What is it, Peggs?"
Peggy didn't answer for a while. Her eyes were casted down to her fiddling fingers.
"Who are you?"
Charlie sighed sadly, her eyebrows tightening. "A friend."
• • • - J.S. 6. 23. 2021 Published: July 16, 2021 825 words
