Unexpected

Change of Plans

I'd been holding it off ever since I arrived at my grandparents' house after the whole episode in Miami with Stark and the Mandarin, but now I seriously needed to crack down. I was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. after all and even though I technically was on leave for the holidays, the fact was that my mission to protect Potts until I was relieved for the holidays had taken a nasty turn. I had a lot to explain and honestly, I should have given my report in full as soon as everything happened, but at the time the only thing I had on my mind was my deep desire to see my grandparents, to make sure they were well and that they knew that I loved them. I needed to write up my report now, before too much time had passed. Sure, I'd called in to S.H.I.E.L.D. when I saw the news about the vice president, but beyond that I'd been completely out of touch with the agency.

Sitting in the corner of the couch with my legs tucked up under me and my laptop open on my lap I worked on filling out paperwork over a secure e-mail, setting it to be sent to Agent Jenkins. It was weird, sitting with the cold morning light shining through the window to my left while my grandfather snored in his chair on the other side of the room, his book propped open on his rotund stomach as he took his midmorning nap, while I was writing about Extremis-enhanced baddies working for a super-sterioded terrorist. Guardedly I watched my grandmother from the corner of my eye as she entered the living room with a mug of coffee in her hand, ready to switch the screen should she try to get a glimpse of what I was working on.

"You look pretty intense there, Penny. What'cha working on?" she asked taking her seat beside Grumps' chair.

"Oh, just some paperwork. It's the first of the year and already they've got me filling out forms."

"Hmm." She gave me a look that I couldn't quite read, "Penny. Which agency do you work for again?"

"The Strategic Homeland Intervention Espionage and Logistics Division."

"Right." She said, "That's what I thought it was."

Why did she say that like that? Why was her tone so suspicious? "Why do you ask?"

"Pen..." her tone trailed off as she put her mug down on the side table between her chair and Grumps'. Her posture was tighter, her shoulders holding stress and her face was measured, controlled. I knew this scenario, I'd faced it only a few times growing up, when my grandparents would catch me in a lie and would confront me about it. "I've tried to search into your government job... and I can hardly find anything about this S.H.I.E.L.D. of yours."

"Karen, are you sure you want to approach her about this now?" Grumps' voice suddenly asked, snapping my attention over to him. When had he woken up? "It's still early in the morning and it is New Years Day after all."

My stomach sank. I knew my grandparents weren't dumb, and I knew they must have had their suspicions, but I had always sort of hoped that they wouldn't bring it up. Somehow, without saying it, we had come to an agreement that they wouldn't dig too deep into my job, but now that had been broken. All I could manage to say in response was, "It's fine."

"What is it exactly that S.H.I.E.L.D. does again?"

"Grams..."

"You're not just a translator are you? Desk jobs like that don't include so much travel, nor do they end up calling you in for emergencies that you return home with bruises like that."

Grumps turned away from Grams to face me, his expression now solemn as well, "You must understand that we're worried about you, Penny. You showing up on our doorstep Christmas morning with a huge bruise like that that you obviously tried to conceal from us... it was the last straw. We just want to make sure you're okay, that you're safe."