Disclaimer: Don't own the characters, only borrowing them to play with for a bit.

"…I promise I will return…for you… deal?"

It was Darcy who made Jane realize just exactly what he had meant by those last words to her, words accompanied by a kiss on her hand that had sent tingles down her spine and a look in his eyes that could have melted steel. A look that had led to her giving him the kiss that had made her feel as if she had been struck by one of the bolts of lightning that had accompanied Thor's return from the dead.

She was still having a hard time taking in the fact that a Norse legend had come to life and turned hers upside down and inside out. She was a scientist and she worked with facts and hard evidence. But that was the problem. The facts and evidence were telling her that the impossible was true. That somehow she had stumbled into a fairy tale, one populated by gods and monsters and magic.

"Magic is just science that we don't understand," she had thrown at Erik when he had scoffed at the possibility that the homeless guy they had found in the desert was a legend come to life. But she hadn't really believed it. Her outburst had been that of a defiant child crying out to the parent who tells them that fairy tales don't come true, magic doesn't exist, and it's time to grow up and be an adult. She had known that, even while some part of her wanted to believe the opposite.

The simple truth was that too much had happened in the short span of the last three days and it had left Jane off balance and reeling.

The strange aurora in the desert, hitting a man with her car not once, but twice, a satellite crash that wasn't a satellite, a super secret government agency confiscating her life's work, watching her homeless guy mow through at least a dozen government muscle men without breaking a sweat, four Norse gods (?) showing up at her door, and a metal monster that shot fire from its head and trashed most of the town. Really?

The final straw was her homeless guy dying and then being resurrected in full Norse warrior regalia, complete with giant hammer, after which he proceeded to demolish the metal monster in an aerial battle that took place in the middle of a tornado that he had created.

As if that wasn't enough, her Norse god (now she was thinking of him as hers?) had flown her to the site where it had all began and then vanished with his friends into something he called the Bifrost, but which to her looked suspiciously like an Einstein Rosen Bridge. It was too much to expect her to take it all in and keep her sanity, that is if she had any sanity left.

All of that had kept whirling through her mind and still did, even as she surveyed her newly restored laboratory.

True to his word, Agent Coulson of SHIELD had returned all of her equipment and data to her along with a check to "compensate" her for the "inconvenience they had subjected her to." Along with the check had come an offer of financial backing that would enable her to hire staff to assist her in her work. The unspoken truth was that the staff would actually be working for, and keeping SHIELD informed of, every significant thing she learned.

Jane was weighing the advisability of taking SHIELD up on their offer when Darcy woke her from her daze. Darcy had been rambling on for the last so many minutes. "Meow meow" and "Thor" and "hot" and various and sundry other words had somewhat registered with Jane but she had simply mumbled what she hoped Darcy would take as an agreement, and continued on with her own thoughts.

"Jane, did you hear what I said?" Darcy had tired of Jane's grunts and stood in front of her with her hands on her hips.

"Wha…" Jane began.

"I knew you weren't listening. I asked you how it felt to be claimed by a Norse god? Like, do you know how many women would be dying to be in your place? All you've done since he left is fool around with your equipment and stare off into space."

"Wait a minute. WHAT did you say?" Jane demanded.

"Which? "

"The thing about being claimed."

"That." Darcy stated.

"Claimed? Like I'm some kind of thing? Darcy that is so completely nineteenth century."

Darcy grinned, "Try 900 AD, or thereabouts Jane and I think you've got it. You can't tell me you've never read any of those stories where the mighty warrior comes along, conquers the dragon, sweeps up his ladylove, and carrier her off. That's the culture Thor comes from and he most definitely claimed you before he left. I thought it was pretty damn hot myself the way he swept you off into the sky. Not to mention that kiss you laid on him. I thought I was going to melt where I stood from the heat you two gave off."

Jane shook her head, "Darcy I'm a 21st century woman and a scientist. No guy, no matter how hot he is, is claiming me."

Darcy shook her head and looked at Jane sympathetically. "But he isn't just a guy. He's literally a god."

Jane just hmmphed and walked away muttering to herself, "Claimed… claimed… as if…" while Darcy smiled at her retreating back.

Some months later...

It had been months since Jane's adventure in the New Mexico desert, and sometimes she wondered if it had all really happened. But then she would look around her laboratory at the shiny new equipment and the two additional technicians that she now had assisting her, and she knew it had all been true.

She tried not to do that too often because that led to thoughts of Thor and his promise to return to her. She still believed he had meant what he had said, but thinking of the roiling sky and the charged air around the Bifrost site shortly after he had left gave her a bad feeling. Something had gone wrong. Her hope was that it had to do with the Bifrost and not with Thor. Unfortunately her scientific mind wouldn't let her ignore the possibility that Thor was dead and that was why he hadn't kept his promise. She had seen the Destroyer, and who knew what other terrible weapons existed at the other end of Thor's "rainbow bridge".

"Jane, Agent Coulson is on the phone." Darcy was standing next to her with Jane's cell phone in her hand.

"Agent Coulson," Jane said after taking the phone from Darcy. She listened intently while Darcy watched impatiently. "I could do that I suppose. But I'm not sure why you want me." Another pause. "Yes, I see. In that case I'll be happy to assist. When do you need me to start?"

A look of surprise crossed Jane's face and she quickly walked over to the open back door of her laboratory building. A rush of hot dusty wind and the chucka chucka of an approaching helicopter filled the building as Darcy looked over Jane's shoulder to see a chopper touching down on the open desert behind the building.

"It's here." Jane said into the phone. "Will I see you there?" Another pause and then Jane said "Thank you," and lowered the phone from her ear. She whirled and almost ran over Darcy, who had been straining to hear the conversation.

"Darcy, pack yourself an overnight bag, now. We're leaving in 15 minutes." Two men in black suits were approaching the building, warily scanning the area around it.

Jane had moved over to her assistants and had a brief conversation with them. They nodded and she quickly went to her desk where she gathered together her notebook, laptop, and several folders and stuffed them into a canvas laptop bag.

"Here." She shoved the bag at one of the newcomers. "I have to grab a toothbrush and a change of clothing and I'll be right with you." With that she was on her way from the lab to her trailer with one of the suits trailing behind her.

Fifteen minutes later Jane and Darcy watched the town of Puente Antigua recede below them. The chopper banked and turned and the view below changed to empty desert punctuated by straggling cacti and rocks.

"Where are we going?" Darcy asked Jane.

"Albuquerque for a start." Jane replied.

"And then…?"

"Need to know basis." Jane shrugged. "Evidently you and I don't need to know until we get there." With that she reached down for her computer bag and pulled out her laptop and one of the folders. Opening up her laptop and referring to the papers in the folder she began to type numbers into a spreadsheet. Darcy shrugged and leaned back in her seat.

"Good thing I brought my I-Pod," she muttered to herself.

The helicopter landed at a small airfield just outside of Albuquerque where a private jet awaited them. Their escort left them there, and after a 10 hour flight they deplaned at another private airfield. Before leaving the plane they were provided with cold weather outer gear. Jane and Darcy exchanged glances as they donned the coats,hats, and gloves. A military style back Humvee brought them to a heavily secured facility where a middle-aged man who introduced himself as Doctor Gunderson warmly welcomed them.

"Welcome to the SHIELD Tromso Observatory, Dr. Foster. We are excited you are here and happy you were able to make it on such short notice."

They were shown to their quarters, which consisted of two adjacent one bedroom apartments in a two-story concrete block building. The furnishings were simple yet comfortable, and each apartment had a small but completely stocked kitchen. Jane couldn't stop from yawning as she closed the door behind Darcy and their host, and within minutes she fell into the bed and a dreamless sleep.

Jane spent the next day in meetings with the staff of the observatory, while Darcy was free to explore the living quarters and facilities, which included a complete fitness center, a swimming pool, and a small theater for screening movies. There was also a library, a cafeteria, and a small shop that stocked sundries and personal items. The people Darcy encountered smiled at her but most didn't speak English, and, since she didn't speak Norwegian, communication was limited.

Jane knocked on Darcy's door that night and over dinner in the cafeteria she explained to her that she had been offered an urgent short-term consulting project here at the Observatory. The pay was amazing and what she learned from the work might even assist her with her own project so she had agreed.

"Jane that's cool, but why did you bring me along?" Darcy wanted to know.

"Agent Coulson wanted you to come." Jane shrugged, "He wouldn't take no for an answer. Tomorrow they've arranged for you to meet another grad student who's here visiting their parents. She's from England so you two will be able to communicate. Basically you're free to just hang out and relax while I work."

"Guess I can't complain about a paid vacation." Darcy said and the two spent the rest of their dinner hour chatting about Jane's progress on her theorems and her hopes for a virtual test of some of her theories within the next several months.

But that had been a little over 24 hours ago. Now they sat in Jane's apartment and watched CNN as what appeared to be a black hole opened up over Manhattan and disgorged dozens of creatures on flying sleds.

"Oh my God…" Jane choked out.

"What is it Jane? Is it something to do with what you've been working on?" Darcy wanted to know. Just then a flash of red and gold appeared on the screen flying upward towards the hordes emerging from the black hole in the sky. "Isn't that Iron Man?"

Jane sat transfixed. "Look at that blue light Darcy. It appears to have some of the characteristics of the Bifrost bridge but it's shooting up from the top of that building rather than down from the sky."

Darcy was too busy watching Iron Man fighting off the creatures. "There are too many of them. He can't stop them all. Look there goes a bunch of them down into the streets."

The picture on the screen changed to show a street level view of midtown Manhattan. Creatures were swooping over the streets blowing up cars and trucks and people were running for their lives from the carnage. The camera shifted to follow a jet of some kind that was careening down from the sky between the skyscrapers, trailing flames and smoke. It hit the ground and skidded into a building. The camera remained on it as a door in the side opened and three people jumped out, a man and woman in black cat suits, followed by another man dressed in a red, white and blue costume and carrying a round shield painted with the stars and stripes.

"What in the world?" Darcy's mouth dropped open as the three on screen conferred briefly. The man in black pulled a bow from his back and fitted it with an arrow as the woman stood there with a gun in each hand. The man in red,white and blue vaulted over several overturned cars and ran towards a bus whose passengers were trapped inside. The two in black fought off the creatures as their companion assisted the bus passengers to safety.

Jane and Darcy watched as the creatures attacked the trio on the street. The three gave a good account of themselves but it appeared they were about to be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of creatures when suddenly there was a blast of lightning and the creatures were sent flying. When the smoke cleared, a third man had joined the three. A man with flowing blonde hair, dressed like a Viking, complete with a red cape and holding a huge hammer.

Jane gasped and reached out for Darcy's hand. "He's alive. Darcy, he's here." Darcy squeezed her hand as they watched Thor greet and confer with the others.

Over the next hours the two of them watched transfixed as the group the TV commentators had taken to calling the Avengers battled the creatures. Thor and the original group of three were joined by Iron Man and a giant green monster. Finally it appeared to be over. The blue light vanished, the hole in the sky closed, and the cameras and commentators remained to pick over the wreckage and interview the survivors.

Darcy looked at Jane who looked furious. "Coulson knew. He knew this was going to happen. That's why he sent me here, to keep me out of the way. I'm going to kill him."

She jumped up from her position on the couch and grabbed for her cell phone. "Damn it. I don't have a signal."

Darcy pointed to the landline phone next to the couch. "Can you call someone from that?"

Jane grabbed the phone and pulled out her black notebook. She punched numbers into the phone. "I want to speak to Agent Coulson. Who are you?" she demanded. "No, I can't wait until the morning. I want to speak to him or someone in charge now. This is Dr. Jane Foster and I want answers." She listened a moment and hung up the phone with a slam.

"Jane?" Darcy ventured.

"Coulson isn't available and everyone else is busy. I have to wait until the morning until someone can get back to me." Jane rose and paced the floor, fuming.

Darcy sat with Jane as she tried every number she could think of, including that of Erik Selvig, with similar results. Finally Jane looked over and caught her in a yawn.

"Darcy, I'm sorry. Go to bed. You've been a great friend but there's clearly nothing more we can do until the morning."

"I can stay with you." Darcy offered.

"No, get some sleep. I'm going to try to do the same."

"At least you know he's alive." Darcy offered.

"For now." Jane said ominously, followed by a reluctant grin. Darcy grinned back at her and then the two hugged.

"Dream about your thunder god and I'll see you in the morning." Darcy let herself out and Jane sat and stared out the window as the lights of the Aurora Borealis danced across the night sky.

Jane awoke with a start. She didn't know how long she had been asleep on the couch or what had awakened her. The apartment was dark and she sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes.

"I promised I would return, Jane Foster."

The voice came from behind her and she jumped up from the couch simultaneously spinning about. The large silhouette of a man blocked the window.

"Thor!" She stood there paralyzed unable to take in the fact that he was really there. Her feet seemed to move of their own accord and she flew around the couch and threw herself at him. Thor chuckled and caught her easily.

"You…you..I..how could you let me think you were dead…where have you been? You promised…" To her dismay she could feel the tears running down her cheeks as she pummeled his chest.

Thor pulled her close and stroked her hair. "Jane, I couldn't come sooner. The Bifrost was broken and I didn't have a way here before now."

Jane sniffed, "So how did you get here now and why?"

Thor sighed. "Can we sit down and I'll explain? It has been a long weary day and tomorrow will not be much better."

Jane pulled back from him and moved over to the lamp that sat next to the couch. She switched it on and had her first glimpse of Thor. The thunder god looked weary and there was a sadness in his eyes reminiscent of the look she had seen there after his failed attempt to reclaim his hammer, Mjölnir, in New Mexico. He moved to sit on the couch, reaching out to pull her down next to him as he did so.

Jane curled her feet up under her and looked up at him. Thor reached down and stroked a finger over her wet cheeks. "You cry for me, Jane Foster?"

"I just, I mean I watched all day on television and I saw…I was afraid." Jane stammered looking up into his familiar blue eyes.

"Afraid that those puny creatures would harm me?" Thor chuckled. "I was never in any danger from them."

"What then, Thor? Something has hurt you, I can tell." Jane said.

He looked at her and sighed. "You remember my brother?"

"The one you had to go back to Asgard to have a word with?"

He nodded. "When I arrived it was to find that Loki was behind all of the mischief and mayhem, both on Asgard and on Earth. We fought and I broke the Bifrost, sending him into a black hole." He stopped.

"So that was why you didn't return," Jane said softly. He nodded as she went on, "But what does that have to do with today, and how did you come back if the Bifrost is broken?"

"Loki was behind the events of today. I don't know all of the details yet but I will." He looked grim. "Even though I couldn't return, Heimdall was still able to see what was happening on Earth. When Loki used the Tesseract to open a pathway to Earth for himself, my father used dark energy to send me back here. I came to stop him and to bring him and the Tesseract back to Asgard where he will face Asgardian justice for his crimes." He paused. "Jane, I must return to Asgard with Loki tomorrow."

Blue eyes met brown and Jane nodded. "I understand."

"No, I don't think you do. I would give all I have to remain here with you but I cannot. Instead I must bring my younger brother back home in chains to stand trial as a criminal and a murderer." His voice was soft and Jane could hear the pain in it.

Jane reached up to touch his face. "I do understand. I see the sorrow in your eyes and I wish I could take it away." For a moment they stared at each other and then with a sigh Thor pulled her close. He buried his face in her hair and breathed in her unique scent. Jane held him close.

After a few minutes Jane pulled back slightly. "Why did you come here tonight, Thor?"

"I needed to see you," he said simply. "I needed to see for myself that you were safe, and I knew you would hear of my being here on Midgard. I would not have you thinking that I broke my promise to you so lightly."

Jane smiled at him. She reached up and pulled his head down to hers and their lips met in a soft kiss. When they broke for breath she sighed. "How long do we have?"

"I cannot leave Loki unattended for more than a few hours. He is wily and a master of magic. I cannot take the chance of him escaping the custody of the humans."

"Wait, it will take hours for you to return to New York." She narrowed her eyes, "Come to think of it, how exactly did you manage to get here so fast?"

Thor looked at her with a twinkle in his eyes. "Jane, I am the God of Thunder who wields the mighty hammer Mjölnir. Think you that I cannot travel such a slight distance far faster than your primitive methods allow?"

"That's the Thor I know," Jane smiled back at him, pleased to see the return of his familiar arrogance displacing the sorrow in his eyes. "You've seen that I'm fine, so now what's the plan?"

"This."

Jane gasped as Thor claimed her lips once more, but this kiss was nothing like the first. His lips were demanding and she felt herself being swept away on a tide of rising passion. Her last coherent thought before she let herself go was that maybe Darcy had been right all those months ago and that, if this was what being claimed meant, maybe there was something to be said for it after all.