THERAPIST | JACK THOMPSON

TWENTY NINE

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"Evelyn." Chief Dooley knocked on her office door. "My office, now."

Evelyn's eyes widened in fear that she had done something wrong. She placed down her cup of coffee and chocolate biscuit and jumped up to head towards Chief Dooley's office.

Her eyes flickered between Jack and Peggy who were both stood their with their arms crossed and a pout on their faces like stubborn children. The brunette smiled sweetly towards The Chief and waited for him to say something.

"Chances are Leviathan will continue to communicate in code, which means that the team needs my skills as a code breaker, assuming that it is Leviathan. We have no idea who's at the other end of that typewriter." Peggy spoke up first as Chief Dooley motioned for Evelyn to take a seat on the edge of his desk, which she happily did.

"All the more reason not to saddle me and my guys with babysitting her." Jack shouted as he pointed towards Peggy.

His eyes flickered up and down Evelyn. She looked more closed off than usual. Her head was hung low and she had yet to utter a word to him.

"Would you prefer to have a nanny wipe your noses?" Peggy questioned cockily as she raised her brow to look at Jack.

"I might." Jack responded smugly.

"Enough." Chief Dooley snapped as he looked up to Evelyn for some sort of assistance. "You're the therapist, therapize them."

Evelyn's mouth opened as if she was to say something, but she saw the way that both Jack and Peggy were looking at her. The brunette let go of a long sigh before turning to face Chief Dooley.

"I don't believe that's why you call me in here, Sir." She spoke softly. "I think you actually want me to make the choice for you. And if your asking for my opinion, I believe that Peggy is one of the best agents we have. She shouldn't be whittled down to someone as little as a lunch lady."

Jack scoffed at what Evelyn said, causing the attention to go back to him. He shook his head, making Chief Dooley ask,

"It's your team, Thompson. What do you want?"

"Look," Jack let out a sigh before sitting on the edge of Chief Dooley's desk. "it's great that Carter cracked the code. I am proud of her. I am." He looked towards Peggy to show her that he was actually thankful for her work. "But we have no idea what we're getting into over there, okay? I don't need brains. I need brawn. I need-"

"You need someone who speaks the language, not-" Peggy was cut off by Jack shouting.

"Ramirez speaks Russian."

Evelyn jumped up and moved away from Jack to stand beside Peggy. Peggy offered the girl a sympathetic smile and have her hand a light squeeze, silently telling her that nothing was going to happen to her.

"I spent three years in the mud of the European theater. The Eastern front, the Western front, and everything in between." Peggy spoke calmly, she didn't want to make Evelyn jump or even appear emotional, she knew there was no way The Chief would let her go if she did.

"Yeah, surrounded by some of our best men." Jack reminded her.

Evelyn looked towards the floor and anxiously fiddled with the hem of her sleeve, thinking about both Bucky and Steve. She missed them dearly and would do anything just to be hugged by them again.

"Agent Thompson, do you know what the smell of herring in the air means in the middle of a Belarussian summer?" Peggy asked curiously.

"Someone's having a fish fry." Jack shrugged sarcastically. His eyes flickered over to Evelyn who pursed her lips and looked around the room.

"It means there is wind blowing in from the Baltic. It means a snow storm in July, and if you can smell the wind, it means you have 30 minutes to find shelter and build a fire before you die of hypothermia in the morning. I know all of this because I've been there." Peggy explained.

Chief Dooley had to bite back a smirk at Peggy. She was smart, he'd give her that. He raised his brows questioningly as he looked towards Evelyn, who simply shrugged in response.

"Now I know, too." Jack stood up and placed his hands into his pockets, a tight lipped smile forming on his face.

"Look, put yourself in my shoes, Carter. I send you on this mission, you get yourself killed, I'm the moron who got a woman killed in action." Chief Dooley paused. "I send you and one of my guys buys it, I'm the one who set him up to die. I know you've spent time in Russia, but we're putting together a European tac team that knows the terrain."

"Not like I do." Peggy hesitated for a moment, looking across to Evelyn. "Not like the 107th regiment."

Evelyn instinctively placed her hands over the necklace that Bucky and Steve got her for her birthday just before they died. Her eyes stung with unshed tears, which she quickly blinked away.

"Do you need a moment, Doctor?" Chief Dooley questioned, knowing that the 107th was a sensitive subject for the girl.

"I'm fine, thank you, Chief." Evelyn whispered, her voice cracking as she spoke.

All Jack wanted to do was go and give the girl a hug. Tell her that her brother and Steve would be missing her too. That they're in a better place now, but he knew that she wouldn't want that. Not after what he said to her the other night.

"The Europeans don't even know Europe as well as the 107th. You think I wouldn't snatch them up if I could?" Jack questioned raising his brows at Peggy.

"What would you say if I could deliver them?" Peggy asked Chief Dooley. She needed to be on this mission, she was so sick and tired of collecting everyone's lunch orders.

"I'd say, 'pack your bags,' but that's not gonna happen." Chief Dooley responded.

Evelyn allowed a smug smirk to form on her face as she pulled out a small slip of paper with a phone number on it. One that belonged to Dum Dum. Peggy shot the girl a playful wink before exiting the office.

"I'm gonna miss her." Jack chuckled as he pointed towards Peggy. "I mean, come on, Chief you're not actually thinking about letting Carter go, it's like if you let Evie go-"

"Son, I like you." Chief Dooley cut the man off. "but I'm running an office here. I got the vice president of the United States calling me at home, asking me when I'm gonna deliver him Howard Stark."

Evelyn anxiously looked around. She probably needed to schedule a session with Chief Dooley soon. She could tell that he was stressed and had a lot on his mind.

"At the same time, I got a Nazi war criminal telling me Stark's involved in a massacre. I'm trying to run an investigation here, and I don't have time on my docket for your little crush on the Doctor." Chief Dooley continued.

Evelyn's eyes widened at the last statement. She was sure that the conversation wasn't for her ears, but she hadn't left the office. They knew she was still there.

"Yes, sir." Jack put his hands up in defence. taking a quick look at Evelyn, who avoided eye contact with him. "Okay, I'm thinking we fly the team over there, we land on the Polish side of the Russian border, we meet the tac team there, okay?"

"The 107th will meet us at the Polish side of the Russian border." Peggy announced, causing Evelyn to bite back a smile.

She needed to get on that trip, she needed to see her friends. She needed to feel like she was close to Bucky and Steve again. She just wasn't sure how she'd manage to persuade Chief Dooley.

"That is the plan, isn't it?" Peggy then looked across to Jack with a raised brow. "It is the most obvious one."

"Gear up. You roll out in an hour." Chief Dooley nodded, he noticed that Jack was going to cut in so he said, "That's all." He then looked across to Evelyn. "Doctor, stay, you and I need a chat."