"Okay, so here's what's going to happen. I'm going to take you in, and you'll have a nice chat with the director." Natasha explained calmly as she reached for Grandma Cherry's arm.

"But I don't want to see the director, I want to stay here." She insisted stubbornly as she backed away.

"With all due respect, miss, you know the rules, and you know what's at stake." Natasha crossed her arms, "You broke the rules, so I have to do my job."

"Well, you can try." The old woman stubbornly took a seat on the sink counter, to which the Russian agent just groaned, "I'm not averse to manhandling an old woman."

Watching this put a small nick to Tony's heart that made a big crack. He hadn't wanted to be right this time. He wanted to trust her, but here she was, involved with S.H.I.E.L.D. What did she have to do with them, and for how long had she known about them? He stormed off to burst right into that restroom, which by then Natasha had hid herself from sight.

"Alright, Grandma, you have ten seconds to tell me what you're really doing here." All the tenderness was gone from his voice.

"I…really just wanted to see you, Anthony." She answered as she started shaking.

"I heard everything. Ten…nine…eight…" He held up his hands and brought each finger down.

"I'm serious. Cross my heart and hope to die!" She grew more desperate.

"Seven…six…five…"

"I have something that they want!" She screamed so hard that the natural pink in her cheeks overshadowed her blush.

"What do you have that they want?" Tony's tone calmed down, and it would remain so for as long as she was willing to stay honest, but she tucked her lips into her mouth and looked aside in shame, so Tony had to resort to his other source, "Natasha, I know you're in here, what does she have?"

However, there was only silence. After all, the Black Widow doesn't just crawl out of her hiding spot on a whim. So Tony grabbed a broom from the closet and started pushing up ceiling panels until he heard a guttural grunt, "…Ah, there's our little pest problem. Now she better come down from there before I adjust the settings on the ventilation shaft."

Natasha jumped down immediately but snipped, "You don't have to call me a pest."

"I'm having a rough day. What does Fury want from her?" Tony was more aggressive with Natasha.

"That's between her and S.H.I.E.L.D. It doesn't concern you."

"She's my grandmother, you can't just tell me to butt out. What is with you people coming into my home just to tell me that there's something I'm not supposed to know?"

"Well I can tell you this. She really did just want to see you. Of course, she's been hiding from us for a very long time now, so coming here would have made it all too easy to find her. I guess she finally got tired of running."

"I'm still not giving it to you. It never should have left the family." Grandma Cherry turned her head away stubbornly.

"Well, can I have it then?" Tony asked.

"No, sugar. You don't want any part of it." She patted his cheek tried to sound sweet and innocent again, even though she knew it was futile at this point. Natasha hushed them both as she answered a phone call.

"Yeah?...Great…Really? If you say so," She shrugged as she put the phone away, "Fury wants to see you, Tony. He said he'll give you a proper explanation once we get to base."

"Oh, "proper," sure, somehow he's going to make all of this make sense. Well, it's worth a shot." Tony walked with Natasha to the elevator, walking past Bruce and Steve who had seen the whole thing on camera.

"Well, hold on just a gosh darn minute! I should go, too! I have every right to-" The old woman rushed behind her grandson, who turned around and shot her a dirty glare just before she could put her hands on him.

"I think you've done enough. You two watch her to make sure she doesn't cause any more trouble." He gestured to his friends before taking off.

Grandma Cherry tucked her shoulders into herself as she stood there in silence. Steve rushed to her side and touched her hand lightly, "Miss Cherry, maybe you should rest. I'm sure this is very stressful for you, and if I remember correctly, you do have a heart condition."

"You're very kind, as always, Steven, but I had a defibrillator put in years ago. My weak little heart hasn't given me trouble in decades," She took his hand and patted it, "but you're right, some rest would do me good. I'll be retiring now, gentlemen, if you don't mind."

While Grandma Cherry was taking a nap, Bruce and Steve sat on the couch by themselves, trying to keep the spirit of the season up.

"You guys were right, these are delicious." Bruce munched on a snowman-shaped snickerdoodle.

"Yeah, more so than I remember," Steve smiled as he nibbled on a tree-shaped one, "I admit I did have my suspicions. How could I not? She's older than me, in every sense, but I think Tony was too hard on her. I mean it's not every day that someone close to you just walks back into your life, just like that."

"Well, what else do you expect him to do? At least she's still here in the house, for now."

"But did you see the way he just…brushed her aside? Well not literally, but…" Steve shook his head, "Maybe if we just go about this calmly, without pointing fingers, she'll be more cooperative and explain it to us. She's a nice lady."

Isolated in her room, Grandma Cherry watched the security cameras, still dedicated to her door duties. She noticed a tall slender figure approaching one of the back doors. With long sleek black hair and a thin gaunt white face, he was conspicuously dressed in a tight dark green suit with shiny gold plates of armor and a cape to match. She didn't recognize him, but in that get up she figured he must have been one of Tony's superhero friends. She grabbed a control pad and played with the buttons until she finally entered the correct code to open the door.