A/N: I don't know where I got this idea, but it's currently turned into my new baby. I like the concept, I'm passionate, and I love writing for it. I hope you all love it too!

Chapter One

May 23, 1947

Peggy was filing a report after completing her current mission when Howard rushed into the S.H.I.E.L.D. office with a look of shock and happiness on his face. She shut the filing cabinet and turned towards him. "What is it Howard? I thought you were in France."

He rested a hand on the doorframe, trying to catch his breath. "We found him."

Peggy froze. "Howard, you and your team couldn't find him. You looked all over. Are you alright?"

He smiled and wrapped her into a hug. "Of course! I lied about where I was because I didn't want to get your hope up. We developed a more sensitive detector of Vita radiation. I sent teams out on boats with them and we located his plane the fifth day. I flew down here as fast I could to get you before he's thawed out."

Peggy took a deep breath and grabbed her coat and hat. "Let's go Stark."

-o-O-o-

Peggy followed Howard down a hallway and he stopped outside a door. "I want to make sure you're prepared for this. I don't want you to panic. As far as we know he's still alive."

"Howard, I've killed people. I have seen people die and they have died in my arms; I can handle this."

He nodded and pushed open the door. Scientists in white coats were rushing around in the lab with clipboards, but the havoc they were creating was nothing compared to the chunk of ice being melted in the middle of the room. It was opaque around the edges, but the middle had a clear look to it distorted by freezing. Right in the center of it Peggy got a glimpse of red, white and blue and her hand quickly went to cover her mouth. "Now I know it's a lot to take in right now, but they're doing their best to get him out," explained Howard.

Peggy rushed forward pass the torches that were melting the thick ice and instead let her eyes rest on the man she had not seen for two years. He looked peaceful as if he was only asleep in a frozen bed; his shield protectively resting on his stomach. Peggy began to feel the heat from the torches being used to melt the ice, inch by inch, to give the world a hero they thought they had lost.

Peggy moved to the side next to Howard who was observing the process. "How long until he'll be out?"

Howard sighed and tapped his fingers on his forearms. "Could be a couple of hours, could be longer. Why don't you get some sleep? I'll have one of my boys wake you up."
"Fine. But I swear to God Stark if you don't wake me up-"

"Yeah, I know. You'll pull some secret agent stuff on me and I won't even realize I'm handcuffed to a table. Get some rest, Carter."

Peggy gave Stark one last look before letting a young scientist guide her to a quiet, warm, side room where a small cot resided. She didn't realize how tired she was until she hit her head on the pillow and fell asleep.

...

...

"Agent Carter?"

...

"M'am?"

...

"Agent Carter?"

Peggy woke up and grabbed the wrist of the person leaning down by her. She brought their arm around their back and pinned them to her small cot. "Agent Carter, Captain America, uh Captain Rogers, is almost thawed...defrosted...free?"

Peggy looked down at the face of her "assaulter" and recognized him as the man who had guided her back to the room she was occupying. "Sorry, it has been a rough few weeks. I'm ready to leave."

The young man rubbed his arm and led her back out to the open area where a giant block of ice once sat that was now reduced to a Steve sized block. Howard walked over and shooed the young scientist away. "They ETA is about fifteen minutes. Are you ready?"

"God, Howard I'm not sure. When you first told me I was excited, but now." She looked him in the eye. "I was just starting to get over it all, you know? The nightmares were less frequent, I stopped seeing his face everywhere; I thought I was moving on. I had in fact. I'd gone on a few dates and thought I might have found someone, but then he died too. I was questioning if they were dying because of me." She looked back over at the huddled group of people. "Eventually I focused all my attention on my work and look at where I'm at now. I'm working along side you at S.H.I.E.L.D. and it was a godsend because I was becoming my own person. Not Peggy Carter, Captain America's girl, but Peggy Carter, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." She heavily sighed and looked back at Howard. "But now...who am I going to be after this Stark? Captain America's wife? Agent? Mother? I have no idea. And it frightens me."

Howard wrapped an arm around her shoulder gently and pulled her in for a side hug. "You're going to be the same Peggy Carter. Bad Ass Extraordinaire. When the ol' Capsicle wakes up you'll see."

Peggy lifted an eyebrow. "Capsicle?"

"He's a captain. He was frozen. Icicle. Work with me Carter."

"Not anymore than I usually do. Are they almost done?"

He gestured over towards them. "Do you wanna look and see?"

Peggy walked over, her high heels clicking, setting her apart from the men. She worked her way to the front so she could see Steve more clearly. They were almost completely finished, in fact all they had left was his head and they were almost done. As an impulse she grabbed for his hand and wasn't surprised that it was ice cold. She heard a sharp crack and Steve gasped straight up against the table before falling back down. "What was that?"

"Just a reflex, Agent. We still need to shock him," explained a scientist.

"Shock?!"

She watched as a large box was rolled over beside the bed and Howard flipped a switch and took two paddles off of it. Another sliced open the front of Steve's suit and pushed the material to the side to expose his skin. "Clear," shouted Howard before placing the paddles on Steve's chest and squeezing the triggers to send bolts of electricity through his heart. He looked to his right at the monitors they had him hooked up to and waited. Just as he was about to repeat the process small blips were heard and the line danced on the screen. Howard sighed loudly and had everyone else ushered out of the room. He walked over to Peggy and draped an arm across her shoulders. "He'll probably be unconscious for a few days. We're flying him to my place in New York once we know he'll stay stable; I assume you're coming with us?"

"Of course," replied Peggy.

-o-O-o-

All of Steve hurt, but it didn't. It felt like he was floating, but that he was being sliced by a thousand tiny crystals. He tried to breath, but it burned his lungs. Then suddenly his last breath didn't hurt. Or the next one. Or the next one. His eyes began to burn and he knew he should open them, so he did.

Peggy.

She was sitting on the edge of his bed gently stroking his hand. She smiled when she notice his eyes flutter open. "Steve, are you all right?"

He managed to sit up and he rubbed his head. "Yeah, but I feel like I've had this crazy dream."

He noticed Peggy bit her lip. "You've been asleep for awhile."

"How long?"

"Two years," she whispered.

Steve stared across at Peggy, then down at his hands and then out the window. "Well I'm glad you woke me up."