Author's Note: This is a little shorter than the last two chapters, and I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I hope you all like it :)

Harry takes her hand and racks his brain for something to say so the silence won't get awkward. His mind is a mess right now because Lola's actually in front of him and she's not looking at him like he's got something wrong with him. She's not aware of what he's been through or what he still goes through and it's strange to have someone look at him like he's just like anybody else.

"Are you going be in town for much longer?"

A smile graces her lips as she retracts her hand, "Two more days, actually. I'm not really sure where to start, if I'm being honest."

Something about him draws her in, but she knows that it isn't the same feeling as when she's interested in someone else. Even when he's smiling, there's a sad look to his eyes and she wants to make it go away because she hates it when people are sad like that.

Internally, he's arguing with himself about whether or not he should ask her if he could show her around. He doesn't have the time with his job, but he'd rather spend time with her and get to know the woman behind the music. There's a strange pattern to his regular heartbeat and he hasn't felt this way since he first saw Eleanor.

Harry bites his lip for a brief moment, his eyes drifting to her lips for a moment before he meets her eyes again, "Can I take you to dinner tomorrow night?"

For a moment, her smile falters. She's not really sure that she wants to. Harry's an attractive man and he's certainly very nice, but she doesn't want to lead him on to thinking that she's incredibly interested. Lola wants to help change the look in his eyes though and she decides that one dinner date won't hurt, she hasn't been out in ages anyway.

Lola's smile brightens, "Sure, that sounds lovely."

And suddenly it's as if she's flipped a switch somewhere in his body and he lights up like Christmas lights after the sun sets. All she'd done was say yes and it seemed to make him far happier than he'd been in a long time.

"Really?"

Gentle laughter falls from her lips as she nods again to let him know she did agree, "Yes, really. Do you know where Claridge's is?"

He doesn't even register the high priced hotel name because he's too excited that she's agreed to let him take her out on a date. "Of course! Is that where you're staying?"

Lola nods once more, "Yes, that's where you can find me."

Harry's practically radiating happiness, "Is seven alright for you?"

She's noticed that his hair is rather long, but she decides that she'll ask later because she doesn't want to seem rude and it looks like he's about to collapse if he stands out here in the cold any longer.

"Seven is perfect. I'll meet you in the lobby. It was nice meeting you, Harry. Enjoy the rest of your evening."

Lola pulls her coat closer and starts to walk away with her guards and Harry's still smiling like an idiot as he calls after her, "You too!"

She disappears around the corner and he's sure that she'll call a cab, but that's more than alright because he'd rather her get home safely than for her to walk home in the middle of the night like he is.

It's different for women still and it doesn't matter what he thinks about the issue, it won't change things as quickly as they should be changed. Harry's proud to see that the women have gained some ground and he supports them at every step of the way no matter what people think about him.

For Christ's sake, it's in the constitution: "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all have been created equal." He doesn't understand why equal didn't really mean equal and why it still doesn't, but things are changing and he has high hopes for women's equality in the future, even if it does make him more of an outcast than he already is.

The temperature's dropped a few degrees during the time that he waited for Lola and it's starting to get to him again because now his mind isn't occupied with conversation. His knees are shaking and there's a slight pain shooting up his right leg, but he doesn't really pay much mind to it because he's too busy thinking about the date that he has tomorrow night.

Lola said yes and he's still surprised that she agreed. No one's wanted to go out with him in months. Well, that's a lie, women always wanted to go out with him, but they never wanted to see him again after the first date because something always triggered a flashback for him at some point during the evening.

This time he's hopeful though because Lola's father was in the first war so she should understand, at least on some level. Hell, she writes about it in her music so she has to understand if he gets pulled down into another episode. Peggy understands.

Peggy. He hopes that she got his note because he wants to stop by when he gets back to return her book and tell her about his night. Despite the fact that he didn't notice her kindness much before, she's still his friend and he's glad that she's continued to try for him even though he was so standoffish and secluded.

He's just made it to Ledge Street when Peggy makes it home. She sees the note on her door from the end of the hall and a smile traces her lips immediately. Harry must've come by when she was out to return her book.

She's happy to see that he's stepping out of his shell a little and leaving her a note instead of just disappearing and waiting until he's up in the middle of the night.

Fred's got his music on again and she laughs lightly to herself because he's going to end up in a lot of trouble one of these days. The door to the complex opens behind her, but she doesn't notice it because she's too busy digging in her purse for her keys.

It's bloody cold outside and she can't wait to get inside and feel the warmth from the furnace in the basement. She misses her radiator, but the furnace is certainly much less stressful and much more effective.

Harry runs a hand through his hair and he hastily pushes through the door to escape the cold and give his legs a much needed relief. Peggy's at her door and peeling the note off of her door with a smile on her painted lips.

He's never seen her with makeup on before and it takes him a moment to recognize that it's her and not some stranger. She looks really nice and he watches her with a smile of his own as she reads his note.

Peggy,

Tried to return your book, but you weren't home :( I'll stop by later to try again, hope you've had a good day.

H.

Peggy's smile brightens as she reads over his signature. He's lucky that he's the only man in the hall with the first initial H and he's lucky that he's the only man that she lends her books to. The sad face is her favorite part though, because it shows her that he's actually warming up to her company and he's not as emotionless as he puts off.

Harry makes his way down the hall with a smile, making sure that his boots make enough noise against the floor to let her know that he's there. He doesn't want to scare her when he speaks or make a scene in the hallway if he scared her and she screamed.

Just as an added precaution, he clears his throat to make sure that she's heard him approach.

She jumps a little and brings her hand to her chest as she turns around to face him with a bright smile. "You scared me!" Peggy pauses and holds his note up as she drops her other hand, "I got your note, still going to stop by later?"

Harry laughs and gently takes the note from her hand, "Yes, I just wanted to say hello while you were in the hall." The corner of his lips lifts precariously to the left, "You look nice, did you have a nice night?"

A soft blush rises in her cheeks as she shifts slightly on her heels. He doesn't know how lovely his smile is when he decides to share it.

"To some extent. My friend had her bachelorette party tonight, so it was a little wild. I had fun, but it's not very fun knowing that everyone else is already married or getting married and I'm still waiting."

Harry's eyebrows pull together in slight confusion. He's seen a man come in and out of her apartment sometimes and he always thought that it was her husband.

"You're not married?"

Peggy's not sure if she wants to laugh or cry, "I...no, I'm not married."

His leg is bothering him and he shifts his weight to his left foot to alleviate some of the pain, "Who's the man that comes over? I always thought that he was your husband."

Peggy laughs as she shakes her head, "That's my brother Allen. He likes to check in on me and sit down for dinner sometimes."

Harry wants to laugh at himself for not noticing any similarities between them, "Right, my apologies."

She's not really sure what to say and fumbles with her keys as she tries not to look at him for too long. He's entirely oblivious to her feelings and that's okay because she's sure that he doesn't fancy her like that anyway, he hardly even knew that she existed until the other night when she cleaned and stitched the cuts on his foot.

Peggy unlocks her door and takes a step inside when Harry speaks again with a slightly awkward tone, "I'm going to go get your book, it was a lovely read. Thank you for letting me borrow it."

He turns on his heel to head over to his apartment and Peggy's twisting her fingers unconsciously, "Would you like to come in for some tea? After you get the book, of course."

That's what he's been hoping for since he saw her in the hallway and he nearly jumps at the offer, "I'd like that very much."

Peggy steps inside and lets him know that he can just walk in when he returns. She's glad that he's opening up and at least starting to be her friend instead of just her neighbor that she helps in the middle of the night when neither of them can sleep.

Harry rushes back to his room and ignores the pain in his legs until he's in Peggy's apartment, sitting at her kitchen table as she sets the kettle. She's taken her coat off now and he notices how nicely her dress accents her figure. He doesn't think he's ever seen her wear something like that before, but then again, he usually only sees her at night when she's got sleepy eyes and a nightgown on.

She's smiling softly as she sits in front of him, "Did you have a nice night? I don't think you've stopped smiling since you've come back."

Harry grins and tells her all about his night, excluding the flashbacks and his moment with Craig. The tea kettle screeches and drowns out the sound of women's laughter and music from down the hall and he's still talking with his hands and trying to explain how he connects to Lola's music and how uplifted her feels.

Peggy listens and shares a few hums in agreement as he talks, but she's a little upset that he's already clung to a woman who he doesn't know much about when he wouldn't even acknowledge her as a friend until recently. She's jealous even though she knows that it's ridiculous to be jealous over a woman who's just going to leave in a few days and forget his name.

He leaves around midnight and Peggy sits up and resumes reading her copy of Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison because she can't stop thinking about how easily Harry ignored her and how quickly he'd taken a fall for another woman.

Harry, on the other hand, falls asleep with a smile on his face because he's made a friend and he has a date after work this evening. The nightmares don't come until around four in the morning and he's sitting up in bed and trying to catch his breath as the images fade.

Peggy's in the living room and halfway through her book when he knocks on the door. She already knows that it's Harry. It's always Harry.

Slowly, she marks her page and sets her book on the table to answer the door. This time he's got tears in his eyes and it looks like his legs are about to give out.

"How do you do it? How do you make it stop?"

Peggy doesn't know what to say immediately and she waves him inside so he won't feel like anyone is judging him and so she can make some more tea.

Harry wipes his eyes and watches her every move carefully, waiting for her to say something because he knows that she can help him. She was a nurse in the same war and there's no way that she didn't see horrible things like he did. She's just better at hiding it than he is, she has to be.

She takes a moment to collect her thoughts before she answers his question. "I saw things until a little while ago. There's not a way to completely stop it, one that I know of anyway, but I can tell you what helped make it less awful. I read somewhere that writing is cathartic, so I started keeping journals about what I saw and what I felt like when I saw it and after I saw it."

He doesn't say anything and she adds, "Talking helps a lot too, although I don't really have anyone to talk about it with now that my mother's gone. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but you can always talk to me when it happens. I don't mind."

Harry looks at her like she's just told him he could end every bad thing in the world, "You don't?"

Peggy smiles and rests her hand atop his, "I really don't."