Coming Clean

May Parker was just finishing her shift. Tonight wasn't as bad as last night. Not as many tedious events having to deal with patients and co-workers. It actually ran smooth.

Working at the hospital wasn't the best job in the world, in fact May sort of wished that she had a better job. Sure, she was grateful for the salary she made so that she could pay the rent and take care of Peter and herself, but the long hours she could do without. She hated to have Peter see her like this. As much as she tried to keep a level head, she hated the fact that things weren't like how they used to when she had Ben to help her out with things like this. She was the adult, and practically the parent, so it was her obligation to hold a solid foundation for Peter to successfully function in the real world by himself. Worrying about letting him go wasn't even in the question. Right now she had to get past making sure he was ready to go.

May grabbed her purse and said goodbye to her co-worker Donna on her way out before pulling out her phone to see who was calling. She hadn't even made it out of the building yet. Fumbling through her purse, she pulled out her cell phone and saw that it was an unknown number. Hesitant as usual with these kinds of these things, she somehow felt the urge to answer.

"Hello?" she answered, still heading out the building, waving bye to one more co-worker, Steven, passing by.

"Aunt May, it's me, Peter!" her nephew frantically answered back. She hadn't heard from him all day, even when she tried to call him earlier. She had no idea where he was, what he was doing, and now that his voice was clear and audible on the other line, all she could think about is how pissed she really was. "Where are you right now?" he asked urgently before she had time to respond.

May was thrown off the by his sudden question that she almost forgot to chew him out just then. "Wha- Where am I? Where are you? I've been at work where I'm supposed to be. I called you repeatedly, I left a voicemail, I even texted you - where on Earth are you?!"

"Aunt May, I know you're mad right now, but you have to listen to me! You can't go home! Do you hear me? You can't! It's a lot to explain right now but just trust me, please - there are these men who are probably waiting at the house right now, and they're going to kill you!"

The words just spilled out of Peter's mouth all too violently that he didn't really have time to filter them or anything. As blunt as the words came out, he didn't know any other way to tell his aunt that she was going to die; better yet, she was going to be murdered.

"What men, Peter - what are you talking about?" May stuttered, as though her entire night literally fell down the rabbit hole.

It was at that instant, to Peter's surprise, Natasha took the phone. They both stood in the only phone booth they could find nearby in the middle of Lower Manhattan, still trying to lay as low as possible, though at this point it was futile. With everything that was happening, there would be no better time for Natasha to finally come clean and stop doing the very thing she swore never to again: lying.

"Ms. Parker, this is Natasha Romanoff, Agent of SHIELD," she began, right then and there getting down to business. For a second she felt pride in her heart by once again proclaiming herself as an agent of SHIELD. "I am the same woman you met before by the name of Cathryn. There is too much to explain right now, but know that Peter has been with me all day helping me solve this case, and I assure you he is okay. As for you, ma'am, your life is in serious danger. Have you left work yet?"

Natasha's stiff and authoritative tone was convincing enough that this was no joke. "No," May worryingly answered. Now she began looking around her, suddenly aware of the present danger Natasha spoke of.

"Okay, listen very carefully," Natasha started again. "Do not leave the hospital just yet. You're going to have to get out of those scrubs because they'll be expecting you to be wearing them."

"Who? Who are these people you're talking about?" May impatiently pleaded.

"They're men who are out to kill you. They're the same men who've been after Peter and I as well."

May's heart dropped. She wished she never asked. Her family's life was now in danger. Peter was enough to be her entire family at this point. And whoever this Natasha Romanoff lady was, Peter working with her made it even more confusing and messed up for her to comprehend. Though, for some reason, her name sounded oddly familiar to May.

"Wh- Why are they trying to kill me? Wh- "

"Ms. Parker, you have to stick with me on this one, and I need you to trust me, okay? Do as I say and you will live," Natasha coldly stated.

But she believed. May believed every word. Perhaps tonight was too good to be true.

"Okay," May surrendered. "Okay . . . just tell me all that I have to do."

"First, lose the scrubs. I know there should be some clothes in a safe area for patients to keep in holding while under surgery or inspection, correct?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, go find some and put them on."

May hadn't ran in years, or even jogged, but she power walked the hell on to the patient clothing area. It didn't feel right to steal, but she didn't want to object to any of Natasha's orders, either. Something about the woman came off as both rather intimidating, but sincerely helpful. May just knew she was the one she needed to listen to right now.

"Do not make eye contact with anyone, even if you know them," Natasha said, her voice catching May off guard for a second. She was so caught up with what she was doing that she'd almost forgot she was on the other line.

May entered the elevator and turned out to be the only one inside. The longer it took for the doors to close, the more worried she became. What would worry her even more is if someone stepped in. Thankfully no one did. Once they closed, relief came over May.

The elevator didn't move as fast as she would like it to be, but at least she was the only one in it. She wouldn't have to worry about anyone watching her . . . except for the cameras. She did her best not to look directly into them. She was that paranoid now. If only it would move faster. Where she needed to be was on the third floor. Between that time all May could think about was how she'd sunk so low. All the years of trying to raise a family with just herself and her late husband, for what she thought were quite successful up until this point, now started to fall apart. Not in a gradual succession, but all in one spontaneous event. Her entire family - her immediate family - being Peter and herself, was in danger. If Mary and Richard were looking down at her right now with shame, she could only beg for forgiveness.

Finally after what seemed like forever, the elevator doors opened. Cautious not to be seen by anyone recognizable, May kept her head down and did as Natasha told her.

"Are you on the third floor?" Natasha asked through the phone.

"Yes, I just made it," May worryingly replied. Natasha noticed the fear in her voice.

"You'll be fine, Ms. Parker. Just do what I say and you'll be fine."

It would take a miracle for May not to be seen by at least a few people she either knew well or recognized. She knew almost everyone in her section. Avoiding eye contact would look too noticeable and looking up wouldn't make it any better.

Noticing the safe area keeping clothes, May hurried over as fast as she could without attracting attention. Then her co-worker Donna had to spot her.

"May, is that you?" the young woman asked. She'd gotten her from behind. Damn, May thought to herself. She turned around as though she were confused.

"Oh, hi Donna," she played along. Donna was a much younger woman, about in her early twenties, so having to explain herself to her was nothing. "I just remembered I forgot something."

"Wow. What could the meticulous May Parker forgot of all things?" the young nurse replied. Then again, Donna wasn't stupid.

May thought of something to say quickly. "My case. My phone case. I was showing it to Greg and he wanted to try it out on his. Plus I'm old, I forget things more often."

Donna laughed a little. "Well I think you're pretty young for your age, May, if you get what I mean."

May smiled. "Thanks, Donna. I'll see you later."

"You too. Good night."

"Good night."

Turning back around, May went back into stealth mode or whatever she thought spies called it. Hoping not to run into anyone else she knew, she turned the numerous halls and finally took notice of the safe holding area. She darted towards the area, almost forgetting not to attract attention to herself. Looking around her really quickly, May opened the door and stepped inside inconspicuously as possible.

Once she was in the room, she shut the door behind her.

"Okay, I'm in the safe holding area," May notified Natasha.

"Okay, good. Now, find something distinct to wear, something opposite of what you would normally dress."

It never struck her before, but May found it amazing that neither one of the patients' clothes were safely locked up. They were put in drawers, neither of which were concealed. Anyone could have done what she was doing now.

She checked all the drawers that her hands randomly chose, looking to see what might stand out and what wouldn't. May was never the one to wear darker clothes, so she tried looking for colors such as black or dark purple. There was a black leather jacket that stood out to her, though not in a good way. She wasn't quite fond of it... perfect. It was totally opposite her style. She grabbed it and held it in her arm while she looked through the other drawers for maybe a shirt and some jeans. The shoes she was wearing now sort of matched with the jacket, so it could pass. Opening one more drawer, May grabbed the perfect pair of jeans to go with the outfit that she could tell fit her size good enough.

"Okay, Agent Romanoff, I found something I think will work. I'm gonna change now," May informed, hoping Natasha was still on the phone with her at all.

"Good. Good, just make sure you change fast and you're not seen," Natasha responded, only half relieved that May stuck out this far. That being said, May saw that there was a lock to the door, and made sure she locked it from the inside.

Natasha and Peter were so invested in the phone call that they felt as though they were with her at that very moment, which in a sense they were. Natasha was guiding her, though she couldn't see what May saw. For Peter it was a lot scarier to know that his aunt's life was on the line without really seeing it happen. All he could do was hear her.

"She's doing fine," Natasha said to Peter, almost forgetting he was there. She had to reassure him somehow.

As May was changing, a thought just occurred to her: what was she to do if she was caught? Not just by the men who were after her, but her staff as well? What if one of her co-workers walked in and asked what on earth she was doing? Thoughts kept rambling about in her head and she didn't really have much of an answer for either of them. All she knew was that it was live or die.

Even though May was a middle-aged woman, Natasha was genuinely surprised as how fast she could change. Before she knew it, May was on the other line saying, "Okay, I'm in the other clothes now, what do I do next?" Admiring just how easy May was making her job, Natasha didn't waste a second to tell what was next. She didn't even bother asking what she was wearing because she trusted her enough to be smart about it.

"Alright, do you have your hair tied up?" Natasha asked, assuming she was right since it was usually expected for women with long hair working in the hospital.

"Yes," May replied, intrigued by the question.

"Okay, let it down to add the final touch."

After doing this, May pulled out her mirror from out of her purse. To her astonishment, letting her hair down really was the final touch. She looked nothing like May Parker. She'd be nearly unrecognizable to any of her friends and family.

"Alright... I'm done," said May.

"Good. You're doing just fine, Ms. Parker. Just hang in there with me," Natasha replied. "Now you're gonna have to walk out of that building, but still don't try and be seen. The new look will only help so much, but your face will tell it all."

"But what if someone does notice me - what if it's someone I know - what do I say then?"

"Ms. Parker, you're going to have to not worry about that right now. You'll be fine. You'll make it out of there. If that time does come where you'll have to answer to that question, you'll know what to do."

May fell silent.

"Are you ready?" Natasha asked. Goosebumps and chills covered Peter's entire body.

"... Yes."