A New Woman: Chapter 6
An Agent Carter Fanfic
Edith found herself feeling strangely cheerful about going to the movies with Thompson again after work. She rolled her eyes at herself. “I’ve got to get a new hobby.” At least she finally had something besides work to do.
She hurried through her letters for the day and snatched up her jacket as she shot a glance at the clock. Perfect. Plenty of time to meet him as he left work.
She made it to the bookstore with only a few minutes to spare and decided to wait outside. Thompson was one of the first to come out. He nodded when he saw her, but said nothing as she fell into step beside him. She kept her eyes on the sidewalk and only just restrained herself from skipping over the cracks as she usually did.
They slipped into the theater through the back door and found Doris, who led them to their seats again. Thompson sat down, and Edith started to follow, but Doris touched her shoulder to stop her.
“How is Thea?” she asked. “She hasn’t been to work in a while, and we’re all getting worried.”
“She’s fine,” Edith said quickly, ignoring the pain in her chest. “Her mother got sick, so she went to take care of her. She was so rushed and panicked, I guess she forgot to tell you. I’m sorry for not mentioning it sooner.”
“That’s fine. I’m glad she’s alright.” Doris grinned and glanced significantly towards Thompson. “I’m sure she’s glad to know you found yourself a boyfriend.”
Edith forced a laugh and was glad her blush would be misinterpreted. Doris left her to slide into he seat next to Thompson.
“So we’re dating now?” he asked quietly when she sat down.
She was about to apologize when she recalled this was the first thing he had said to her all evening. “I don’t know what you expected her to think, Jack.” She put just the slightest emphasis on his name and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, but he didn’t seem to notice. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “After all, this is the second time we’ve come to watch a show together. The same show, in fact.”
He said nothing as he looked around the theater for anything suspicious, but apparently found nothing as he soon settled back. “But why did she say Underwood would be glad you had a boyfriend?”
Edith glanced away and nudged her specs up. “She always told me I stayed home too much. She thought if I had a boyfriend to take me places, I’d go out more. She probably also wanted me to stop asking her to go dancing.”
They fell back into silence as Judy Garland and Van Johnson sang, danced, and fell in love in front of them. “How do you watch these so many times?” Thompson asked. “You already know everything that happens.”
“It wasn’t about the picture. We’d usually talk through the whole thing anyway, making jokes about it, or saying what we would do in that situation. It was about spending time together.” She looked down and smoothed the wrinkles in her skirt. “At least, it was for me,” she murmured.
He, thankfully, did not comment.
Edith looked back up as Judy Garland began another song, and she hummed along. She felt Thompson’s gaze on her, but chose to ignore it. “Answer me honestly. When was the last time you came to see a picture?” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him open his mouth, and hastened to clarify. “Besides Thursday.”
His mouth snapped shut, and, as she glanced at him, his lips quirked up into a slight smirk. Then it faded as quickly as it had appeared, and he tilted his head back. “I don’t remember. When I was in school, maybe?”
Edith’s eyes widened. “Really?” She shook her head. “I guess you’ll make up for it now.” Thompson crossed his arms and sighed, and she cocked her head. “How many trips you think this will take?”
“Why? Getting impatient on your first stakeout?”
“I was just curious.”
“Well, considering I still don’t know what I’m looking for, I’m sure it’ll take much more than two, Edith.” So he had noticed. She turned back to the screen and chewed her lip.
He was right. It took many more than two. Twice a week, she met him outside the office and they went to the theater. He never saw anything unusual, but they kept going back, and Edith began to wonder if it was sheer desperation on his part.
“I realized I never properly thanked you,” Edith said while they watched Come to the Stable for the second time.
Jack frowned, but didn’t turn to look at her. “For what?”
“For getting me out of Cooper’s interrogation that day.”
He shook his head. “You shouldn’t have been there in the first place. Not like that.”
“Thank you anyway.” Edith chuckled. “He looked so mad when you threatened to call the governor. It’s a good thing he didn’t make you do it, though. It wouldn’t have helped anything.”
“I know, but I also knew Cooper wouldn’t risk calling my bluff on it.”
“How did you know?” She frowned. “Come to think of it, how did you know he’s my grandfather anyway? It’s not like he tends to advertise the fact.”
He was pointedly looking away now. “Your brother told me.”
“You knew Charlie?” Her voice rose without her realizing it, and several people around them shushed her. In a quieter tone, she asked, “And you just didn’t think to mention this before?”
“It didn’t exactly come up in the interrogation.” She stared at him, waiting, and he sighed. “We served together.”
She had guessed that. She kept waiting. If he thought he was going to get by without any more information, he was sadly mistaken.
“I didn’t know him well, I don’t think any of us did, but he was a good man, and I wish I had known him better.”
She scoffed and folded her arms. “That’s what everyone says, but no one ever tried to get to know him. I don’t think half his classmates knew who he was until the funeral.” The actors on screen blurred in front of her, but she tried to focus on them, forcing away the funeral. She didn’t want to think of another person she had lost. She squeezed her eyes shut and bunched the material of her skirt in her hands.
“You’re right.” Thompson’s voice broke into her thoughts. She opened her eyes. “I didn’t try. Not like I should have. At first, some of us tried to get him to talk, join in the conversations. Sometimes he would, sometimes he wouldn’t. He was pretty quiet and never really opened up when we were in basic training, and then–” He was silent for a moment, and Edith stared down at her hands. “A friend–a man who trained with us–he–I found out he was gone, and I–I stopped asking questions. The men around me, I didn’t want to know about their parents, or the girl they left behind, or the siblings, or the kids. I didn’t want to know them. It wasn’t until much later, after Braddock, sorry, Charlie, was gone, that I realized that was worse.”
He glanced over at her, then quickly away. “Some of the guys teased him about writing such long letters though he barely spoke, and they’d ask if he had a girl back home. That was the most I every heard him talk, was about you.” A tear slid down her cheek, and she turned away as she wiped it off.
“I don’t remember how it came up, but he mentioned your grandfather was the governor, but said neither of you had ever met him.”
She heard the question in his voice, though he had worded it so she could ignore it. It was a kind thought, but she didn’t mind talking about it. Her family dynamic was normal to her and it had never bothered her when people asked. (Well, maybe a little on Christmas Eve when her father had stared at the phone, and she and Charlie pretended not to notice.)
“My dad always said he and his father fought all the time, but they always managed to work it out in the end. Then he meant my mother. She’s a singer, actually, a performer, and, well, my grandfather didn’t approve. When my dad announced their engagement, grandfather kicked him out, and they never spoke again, not even when my mother left four years later.”
She glanced over and noticed he looked very uncomfortable. She laughed. “Whatever you think you have to say, don’t worry about it. What about you? Are you close to your folks?”
He pursed his lips and shook his head. “My old man and I never really got along, and then last year we had a . . . falling out. We haven’t spoken since.”
“Oh.”
The door opened behind them, and an usher led a latecomer into the theater. Jack glanced up, then stiffened. “Edith, stay right here and don’t move, got it?”
She looked around wildly, wondering what could have startled him. “What? Why?”
“Don’t. Move.” he repeated firmly, then stood up and walked a couple rows down to where the usher had seated the latecomer. The other man spotted Jack coming towards him, and his eyes widened. He glanced towards Edith, then at the empty seat beside her. Jack had reached him by this point, and his arm stretched out to stop him, but the man whirled around, punched Jack in the face, then scrambled over the people sitting beside him, searching for a clear exit.
Jack staggered backwards a step, then started after the man, but the room was in pandemonium now, and the crowd kept him back. Edith knew the man was going to get way, and she was tempted to jump up and try to follow him herself, but she knew she would only be in the way, and she wasn’t entirely sure what she would do if she caught up to him.
By now, most of the crowd had left the theater, so Edith slipped out as well, searching for Jack. She found him standing by the front door, glaring out at the streets like it was their fault his target got away.
“Are you alright?” She ran over, craning her neck to get a good look at his face, but he waved her off.
“I’m fine, but you were supposed to stay in the theater.” She raised her eyebrows and gestured to the crowd surrounding them. He frowned.
“I need to talk to the ticket seller.” He glared at her. “Now this time, don’t move.”
She crossed her arms, but obeyed as he disappeared into the crowd. Thankfully, he reappeared a short time later and ushered her outside.
“Who was that?”
He sighed. “You’re not going to leave me alone until I answer, are you?”
“Nope.”
“That was the youngest son of a crime boss the Chicago branch of the SSR is very familiar with. The ticket seller said he comes to the theater frequently and always at the same time, and he seemed to think he was done for once he spotted you, so I would say we know who Underwood was waiting for.”