Coffee, Courage and a Captain

Chapter Seventeen: The Aftermath

Steve grabbed hold of Charlotte and pulled her down to the ground, shielding her with his body as the room shook with the noise, shattered glass raining down on them from above.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Howard do the same thing for Peggy as the rest of the room dropped to the ground quickly.

Erskine was the first to jump up, watching as the saboteur grabbed the last remaining vial of serum. "Stop him!" he shouted, as the man raised his gun and aimed it at Erskine.

The bangs echoed through the room, and Charlotte watched as Steve jumped to his feet and immediately ran to the doctor. Erskine's lab coat already had blood blossoming across it as he fell to the ground.

Steve stared at him as Peggy immediately sprang into action, pulling out her service revolver and firing at their assailant, hitting him twice and then running after him as he sprinted for the exit.

Erskine reached up and pointed his finger at Steve's chest, giving him a soft yet sad smile. The meaning was clear- this was what you are supposed to do.

Steve jumped up and immediately ran out of the bunker after Peggy.

Charlotte ran forward, grabbing hold of Erskine's hand as she saw his eyes begin to flutter shut.

"Doc, no, you can't!" she pleaded, watching his hand reach for the notebook in his jacket. He passed it to her, a small smile cracking his tired expression as she felt his hand squeeze hers before his eyes closed and his head lolled to the side.

"No!" Charlotte cried, tears running down her cheeks as she tried to check for a pulse.

Howard watched the young woman cry, feeling the temperature of the room immediately drop as everybody else in the room remained frozen in indecision.

Out of the corner of his eye, Howard noticed the leaves of Charlotte's houseplants- the leaves that were visible, anyway- start to yellow intensely, before they shrivelled to brown, curling in on themselves before separating from the stems and falling to the ground in a small pile of dust.

It wasn't until he began to feel weak that he realised something was truly off, and he crouched down beside Charlotte. "Charlie, whatever is happening here needs to stop," he murmured, looking for all intents and purposes as though he was comforting her.

She stared at him. Her eyes sparkled with tears, but they seemed to catch the dim lab lights in such a way that they looked like they were glowing from the inside. Charlotte quickly released Erskine's hand as the temperature in the room returned to normal, her tears silently falling as she and Howard bowed their head over Erskine.

After a few minutes of this, Howard stood, helping Charlotte to her feet.

They pushed through the group of concerned patrons as Howard guided her back toward Erskine's workspace, Phillips exchanging a look with Howard. Howard shook his head, a grim expression on his face.

"Alright, disperse. Send down Williams and a clean-up crew," Phillips barked.

"Williams is dead sir," one of the MP's that stood at the top of the stairs announced. Phillips heard a choked sob from Charlotte as she and Howard disappeared from the main lab.

Howard reappeared a few moments later sans Charlotte, making a beeline for the tea and coffee station that had remarkably remained untouched in the explosion.

The patrons observed him silently as he boiled the electric kettle, mixing unholy amounts of sugar into some warm water for a few minutes to ensure it was fully dissolved. The metal spoon clanged against the ceramic mug, and he threw it unceremoniously into the small stainless steel sink with a clatter.

He paused as he turned to face the patrons- even Phillips staring at him in disbelief.

Howard strode back to the rear lab mug in hand, not sparing any of them a second glance. The men in the lab remained silent, as they stared at each other. Most were still comprehending what had happened.

The doors above the stairwell were flung open, shattering the silence.

"Red and Stark, where are they?" Peggy asked sharply as she re-entered the lab, scratches down the side of her face.

The patrons wordlessly pointed to the back of the lab.

Peggy spared the prone body on the floor a glance as she passed them, feeling her chest clench as she realised the doctor was gone. Somebody had covered his face with a cloth, but the blood seeping from the holes in his chest had stained his lab coat and pooled on the white tiles.

She walked over to where Charlotte and Howard sat in the lab. Charlotte was sitting on the examination table that Erskine had been using as a model for the injection bars, sipping on a mug of something. Her appearance felt off, and Peggy realised that it was because Charlotte's hair was down.

She and Howard were talking softly, their voices bare murmurs as Peggy noticed Charlotte's hand gripping tightly on the notebook she always carried around with her. The corners were stained with blood.

The pair went silent as Peggy entered the lab, and Charlotte slid off the bench upon seeing the scratches all over Peggy's face. Her lipstick was still unsmudged, despite her jacket having a tear on the sleeve.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly, seeing Peggy shake her head.

"Rogers took off after the guy. I lost him after a few blocks," Peggy informed them, seeing the clear liquid in Charlotte's mug instead of her usual coffee. "What's in the mug?"

"Charlotte nearly passed out," Howard supplemented quickly, as Charlotte ushered Peggy over to where they stood.

"Come and get cleaned up," Charlotte urged. Peggy shrugged at Howard's explanation and joined the pair at the examination table, taking a seat as the Charlotte busied herself unpacking the first aid kit.

She poured antiseptic on some cotton and swiped it over the cuts on Peggy's face.

"Well, at least it will only be minor scarring," she informed the agent- who winced as the cuts stung. "They might not even be that visible- they seem fairly shallow."

"I prefer some scratches over being dead," Peggy replied nonchalantly, peering at Charlotte's tear-stained face and concerned expression as she ensured Peggy was okay. "Why are you so worried?"

Charlotte paused, looking at Peggy in disbelief. "Because you're my friend?" she asked, taken aback by the statement.

Howard chuckled. "Agent Carter, I don't think I've seen you look so surprised before."

Peggy quickly hid the shocked expression. "I don't have many friends who get me," she said quietly so that only Charlotte heard her.

"Welcome to the inner circle," Charlotte said to Peggy, smiling at her. "It currently consists of Steve, Howard, Bucky and yourself."

Howard grinned. "I'm honoured."

"As you should be," Charlotte responded dryly, giving him a look. She straightened as she felt a presence near the front of the lab, and turned toward the entrance to Erskine's workspace.

"Charlotte!" Steve called.

The sound of footsteps on the tiled floors as he rounded the corner into Erskine's lab- no doubt directed there by the still-silent patrons.

Steve stared at her, his chest heaving from the running he had just done as he stared at her with an unexplained emotion in his eyes.

"You're okay," he said- almost to himself, as if reassuring himself of her safety.

She let out a choked sob and ran to him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she buried her face in his chest. Barely surprised, Steve wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. His hand cradled her head as he began stroking her hair soothingly, hearing her cry into his shoulder.

"It's alright, Charlotte," he murmured, holding her as she cried. "It's all going to be okay."

And they stayed like that.