Hiding Out

Director Peggy Carter had several phones in her office at SHIELD. The larger one was for general purposes but primarily for work, connecting her to the agents and other employees under her command. The red one was a direct line to the president. The small black one was a personal line, the number to which was only known to a select few, and used only in case of emergency. If Angie needed to call her at work for normal domestic reasons she would use the normal office number and be routed to Peggy through the switchboards and Rose. But if Angie needed to call her because she was ill or Natasha had been hurt, she would call the direct line. Which is why when the small black phone's tinny ring cut through the silence of Peggy's office, her heart dropped to her stomach, and her stomach to her feet.

"Angie?" Peggy said into the receiver before it was even fully pressed to her ear. Peggy relaxed for a split second when it was Howard's voice that replied, but only for a split second. "Calm down, Howard. I can't understand you. Deep, slow, breath. Good. Now say it again slowly and clearly if you please." Peggy listened and then jumped to her feet. "What the bloody hell do you mean Anthrony's missing?" Panic flooded through Peggy as she listened to Howard but unlike Howard who was frantic, she remained calm. "I'll find him, Howard."

In a faded brick brownstone in Brooklyn tiny bare feet hardly made a sound as Natasha Carter quietly made her way to the kitchen. When she makes it to the bottom of the stairs without stepping on a single squeaky step, she pauses to listen. She can hear the ticking of the clock on the fireplace mantel, but nothing else so she knows her Mama isn't in there so she decides to go through the living room to get to the kitchen. She pauses to listen again before pushing open the kitchen door in the dining room, no music, no rattling noises, Mama's not in there either. That meant she was either in the study working or the basement washing clothes. Slipping into the kitchen the little redhead set her plastic play shopping basket on the table and began to gather what she could to fill it with. At only five years old Natasha wasn't really big enough to get things out of the cabinets, not without pushing a kitchen chair into place that she could climb onto, but Mama would hear that for sure. So she had to settle for an apple and a banana from the bowl on the kitchen table, a couple of slices of bread and the jar of peanut butter left on the counter from breakfast, a bottle of Coke from the fridge, and some cold leftover sausage and peppers from last night's dinner. She even remembered to grab some take out utensils from the takeout drawer that every New Yorker had in their kitchens.

With her pilfered shopping stuffing into her little plastic basket Natasha made her way back up to her room. After carefully closing her bedroom door behind her she made her way over to her closet where she gently knocked three times and waited. The door was opened from the inside, revealing a tired looking ten year old Tony Stark. Natasha smiled as she held out her basket. "I didn't get caught at all, Tony."

Tony returned the little girl's smile as he accepted her basket of goodies. "Thanks Nattie. I'm starving. I didn't eat before I left."

"You're welcome." Natasha replied as she sank to the floor to sit cross legged as she watched Tony root around in the basket. Every morning after kissing her Mummy goodbye Natasha ran to the big window in the living room to watch Peggy get into her car and head off to work. She would stay in the window until she could no longer see Peggy's car and then dash off to wherever her Mama was so they could start their day. Only this morning was different because after her Mummy's car had disappeared from sight, Tony appeared across the street. Natasha got so excited at seeing him that she forgot that she wasn't allowed to open the front door alone, letting the boy inside without her Mama knowing he was there. She didn't understand what was happening, only that Tony looked sad and scared, so she nodded when he asked if he could go up to her room, and promised not to tell anyone he was there. "Hey Tony?"

"Hmm?" Tony replied as he ate one of the cold sausages.

"Are you going to live in my closet now?" Natasha asked. "I wouldn't mind, but it's really small and dark."

Tony shook his head. "No, Nattie, I'm not going to live in your closet. I just need a place to hide until I can figure out how to get to Jarvis and Ana in England."

At the mention of England Natasha's whole face lit up and she began to bounce on her butt in excitement. "We're going to England! We're gonna go and see Gran and Grandad! But first we're going to stay in a hotel and Mummy's going to show us London!"

Natasha's voice had raised a bit in her excitement which catch Angie's attention before she even noticed her daughter's bedroom door was closed, which was odd. Natasha didn't like having her door closed all the way. "Nattie?"

Both children's eyes went wide at the sound of Angie's voice. Tony closed the closet door while Natasha leapt to her bed just before her Mama came into the room.

"Nattie, who are you talking to, angel?" Angie asked, her blue-green eyes scanning the room carefully.

Natasha held up her ginger bear with his silly mustache, army greens, and bowler hat. "I was talking to Dum Dum Bear. I was tellin' him all about Mummy talking us to England, cause she's English, just like Winne the Pooh and Paddinton!"

Angie couldn't help but laugh gently as she moved across the room and perched herself on the edge of her daughter's bed. "Guess you're pretty excited, huh?" Reaching out she tickled her little girl's tummy. She loved the sound of Natasha's giggle. "Me too." She pulled Natasha to her and cuddled her close. "How about we…" The sound of the phone ringing cut Angie off. "Hold that thought." She told the little girl in her lap before kissing her temple and moving her back to the bed.

The upstairs phone was in her mothers' room so Natasha knew that's where her Mama would go to answer it. So she darted over to her closet door to check on Tony, and was startled to find him trying to brush away tears.

In her room Angie had pressed the phone to her ear with a cheerful greeting only to have her wife tell her that Tony was missing. "You'll find him, English, and Nattie's fine. She's hyper excited for our trip and tellin' her bears all about it. I will. Keep me updated, Peg. I love you."

Tony said he was ok, but it looked like he was crying. Mummy said that sometimes people cry when they're happy, and sometimes she cried when she was sad, hurt, frightened, or super tired. Maybe Tony was just tired. Going over to her bed she picked up Dum Dum Bear and her blankie and gave them to Tony and then kissed his temple the way her mothers did, and left him alone like he asked. When Natasha stepped out into the hallway she was scooped up into her mother's arms, startling her and making her squeak. "Mama!"

"Come on angel, you've been in your room playing by yourself all day. You can match socks while I fold the laundry, and then we'll start dinner." Angie said as she cuddled her little girl close. If it were Natasha missing Angie would be out of her mind. Peggy would be out there razing everything to the ground looking for her. For a moment, Angie actually wondered what Howard was doing.

It didn't take long for Angie to notice that something seemed off with Natasha. She seemed anxious and antsy about something, and Angie was starting to worry that Natasha was reacting to her own anxiety over Tony. Natasha could be attuned to her and Peggy's moods, and she really didn't want to stress her daughter out, so after they finished folding a bunch of towels, Angie turned the television on just in time for Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. With Natasha fully distracted Angie gathered up her basket of clean laundry and headed upstairs to put it away. As she climbed the stairs she wondered for a moment if maybe she should call Peggy for an update, but then sighed softly knowing that Peggy would call her when she could.

On her way to the linen closet at the end of the hall Angie suddenly stopped. Something a bit off had caught her attention as she passed the bathroom and she turned to look to see what it was. The toilet seat was up. Why on earth was the toilet seat up? It was Friday, their cleaning lady came every Wednesday, so it wasn't that the bathroom had been just cleaned. Plus Leisl would never leave the seat up. Everyone who lived in this house was a girl, with the exception of Darth Vader, Natasha's black Betta fish. The only time that toilet seat was ever lift up was when… Angie's head snapped towards Natasha's bedroom door, which she knew she'd left open, to find it closed again.

After dropping her basket into the chair in their room Angie picks up the phone and dials Peggy's personal line. There's no answer but Angie knows that Peggy's pager will alert her to the missed call and her wife will call her back as soon as she can. Then she picked a few select items from the basket to carry back to Natasha's room. Sure enough, just as the knob softly clicks and she begins to push the door open she hears a shuffle inside. Angie shakes her head as relief washes over her. When Peggy calls back Angie has returned to the kitchen and quickly picks up the wall mounted receiver. Peggy is quick to tell her that she's tracked Tony to Manhattan. "He ain't in Manhattan, English."

"What?" Comes Peggy's reply. "He's there? Is Tony with you?"

"I'm pretty sure he's hiding in Nattie's closet." Angie tells her wife and can instantly hear the relief in Peggy's exhaled breath.

"When did he get there? How did he get there? Why is he in her closet?" Peggy asked in rapid fire succession.

"Don't know yet." Angie replied. "He's still in the closet. I figured that if whatever happened with Howard was bad enough to actually make him run off, that's something only Aunt Peggy can fix."

"I'm on my way home." Peggy said firmly.

Once she arrived home Angie filled Peggy in on a few more details such as not being able to find the leftover Italian sausages she was planning on using in her spaghetti sauce and the missing bottle of Coke from the six pack they had just bought. Angie also told her about Natasha's odd behavior and how she'd thought she'd heard their daughter talking to someone, only to have the girl say she'd been talking to her toys. Peggy was gently shaking her head in disbelief as she crept silently towards her daughter's bedroom. She had been out of her mind with fright and worry all bloody day, only to find out her children were both safe and sound in her own bloody home playing hide and seek from them!

Pausing outside of Natasha's closed door, Peggy listened, and sure enough, not only did she hear her daughter's voice but Tony's as well. When she turned the doorknob the sound of bells made Peggy blink. Had they booby trapped the door? Stepping into her daughter's room Peggy found Natasha laying on the floor near her closet coloring in one of her favorite coloring books, a few stray crayons shattered near the closed closet door.

"Mummy!" Natasha cheered as she leapt to her feet and rushed to her mother to hug her.

Peggy couldn't help but smile as she returned her daughter's delighted hug. She allowed herself a moment to wonder how long this would last, the sheer and utter joy her child felt to see her each and every time she returned home from a long day of work. How long before squeals of delight turned to monotoned syllabus of disinterest and enthusiastic hugs turned into half hearted waves. The fact that she was actually rather cross with the child at the moment reminded Peggy that her little girl was growing up way too fast.

"Hello my darling." Peggy said as she returned her daughter's embrace.

"How come yous home early, Mummy?" Natasha asked, knowing that her mummy wasn't normally home until closer to dinner time. "Did you get all of your work done?"

"I didn't get to do much of my work today, darling." Peggy answered as she looked down at her little girl as Natasha released her and took a step back. "I spent all day looking for something very important and special, and I got to come home early because that very special and important thing is here."

It wasn't so much her mother's words that sent a flicker of panic through Natasha it was Peggy stepping towards her closet that made her dart over and press her back against the door. "No Mummy."

"No?" Peggy repeated, blinking her dark eyes in surprise. "Excuse me young lady, did you just tell me no?"

Natasha's panic was rising. She'd promised Tony she wouldn't tell, not even her moms. "Spiders."

"What?" Peggy replied, a bit startled.

"Spiders, Mummy." Natasha repeated. "There are spiders in there and you don't like spiders."

Peggy blinked again. Was her five year old seriously using her knowledge of her dislike of spiders to keep her from discovering Tony? Peggy wasn't sure if she should be angry or to laugh. "Natasha Elizabeth Carter, move away from the door." She said firmly and calmly. "Anthony Edward Stark, come out here right this instant, young man."

There was a long pause and then the sound of shuffling from within the closet before Tony's muffled voice spoke out softly. "It's alright Nattie."

Natasha frowned a bit but moved out of the way so Tony could come out and stand beside her.

Peggy stood there, arms crossed over her chest, looking as stern as she could for as long as she could before she said, "Come here, Anthony." She watched as the boy dropped his head as he approached and the moment he was within arms reach she was pulling him into her, wrapping her arms around him, and holding him tight. "Do you have any idea how worried and frightened you've had us all, Anthony?"

Tony was actually a little surprised by his godmother's reaction, having been expecting a reprimand rather than a hug, he was ridgely stiff in her embrace until he heard the emotion in her accented voice. The boy melted against his aunt, pressing his face into her abdomen as he tightened his arms around her. "I'm sorry Aunt Peggy. I didn't mean to worry you."

"Oh my sweet boy." Peggy said with a soft sigh before dropping a kiss to Tony's head. She held him a little longer and then finally stepped back from him, taking in his and Natasha's pouty faces. It would be so easy to let this all go and just revel in the fact that Tony was safe and sound, but she knew she couldn't do that. "Both of you, downstairs, now."

Angie was waiting in the living room when they entered and Tony found himself wrapped in another tight embrace. He could hear his aunt's softly whispered prayer of thanks that he was safe, and knowing that his Aunt Angie loved him enough to pray for him made he snuggle into her a bit more. Of course Aunt Angie didn't hesitate to end the embrace with several stinging swats to his backside before taking his face in her hands and scolding, "Don't you ever do anything like that again, do you hear me?"

Tony simply nodded, his dark hazel eyes glassy with tears he refused to shed, before being drawn back into her arms. He had scared his aunts and that was twisting him up inside.

"Anthony, you and I need to talk about what happened with your father, and how you handled it." Peggy said firmly once her wife let their nephew go. "But we'll do that after dinner, for right now go help your aunt in the kitchen and clean up whatever mess you made in Natasha's closet."

"Yes Aunt Peggy." Tony replied and was about to follow Angie out of the room but stopped and turned back to Peggy. "Please don't be mad at Nattie. I asked her not to tell, I said it would be ok, that we weren't doing something bad."

Peggy held out her hands to both children and walked them over to the sofa. She sat Tony beside her and Natasha on her lap. "I'm glad that the two of you have each other's backs. That's going to be one of your most valuable resources as you grow up and when you're older." Peggy paused for a moment to put a bit more firmness in her voice. "However, sneaking around and telling fibs, is not acceptable behavior. Your actions, even actions taken to protect one another, have consequences when those actions are against the rules." She focused her gaze on Tony, "Understand?" The boy sighed and replied with a small nod. "Good. Now, off you go, Anthony."

Once alone with her daughter Peggy looked her in the eyes, she knew her daughter well enough that it hadn't just been Tony asking her not to tell that kept the girl quite so she asked, "Why did you not tell Mama that Tony was here?"

"He was sad and scared and mad." Natasha answered. "Grown ups would'da made him madder, and he might've left."

Peggy blinked, and then fought of a proud little smile as to maintain her stern expression. Natasha knew Tony sometimes needed space and time alone before he could properly sort out his feelings, and she had been trying to give him that. "I'm very proud of you for taking care of Tony, Natasha."

"Really?" Natasha beamed. "Does that mean I'm not in trouble?"

"Did you or did you not do a lot of fibbing today?" Peggy asked in response. "You told Mama that you were talking to Dum Dum Bear when you were talking to Tony weren't you?"

Natasha deflated. "Yes."

"And you told me there were spiders in your closet when there were not spiders in your closet." Peggy continued.

Natasha sighed. "I'm sorry."

"You know better than to lie, Natasha Elizabeh." Peggy scolded firmly as she set her daughter on her feet. "Now, off to the corner young lady." She commanded with a pop to Natasha's bottom. "Do not move until I say so. Understood?" She watched her little girl nod her head as she walked across the room to the corner they normally sent her to when she was being punished. Then with a soft sigh she stood and walked over to the phone to call Howard. She would let him know Tony was safe and sound and staying with her for the weekend.

"We could just keep him." Angie said as she stepped up beside her wife after Peggy hung up the phone. "Howard and Maria wouldn't even notice."

"Maybe, maybe not." Peggy sighed. "But Edwin and Ana would, besides, I'm not sure we could handle those two little moppets being together all the time. I have a feeling those two working together could be dangerous."

"Probably, but only in the very best kind of way." Angie said with a laugh.

After ten minutes Peggy finally gave in. "Alright my darling, come here." Natasha ran over to her and she easily scooped her up. "No more fibs, young lady."

Natasha nodded. "I promise, Mummy. I won't fib for Tony anymore."

Somehow Peggy just knew that wasn't a promise Natasha would be able to keep.