Chapter One

Jane stirred her coffee absently as she ran over the numbers in her head again. There was a chance - there had to be – and she was so close. She knew she was. The data was all there; it should work. Now what she had to do was…

"Jane."

She lifted her head. Her intern frowned across the table.

"Are you daydreaming again?"

Placing her spoon on the table, Jane took a sip from her mug before answering. "No, Darcy. I'm thinking over plans for our next phase of work."

"Yeah, that's daydreaming for you."

Jane gave her a strained look before returning to her mug. "Yeah, yeah, I know – I work too much."

"You said it." Darcy raised her eyebrows. "Alright, Boss Lady, what's our agenda?"

Jane nodded, humming. "First, we need to go over the data."

Darcy let out a whistle. "Alright, I'll get on that." She whipped out her phone, beginning to unlock the screen. "Right after this game."

"Darcy." Jane shot her a warning glance.

"Alright. Alright. Tell me what to do. I'll get it done."

Jane gathered up the papers on the table, lined them up and handed them over to Darcy. "I need you to file these." Flashing a smile, she added, "Please."

Snatching the papers, Darcy sauntered towards the filing cabinet. Things were in motion. Kind of. Jane cringed at the potential workload ahead of her. She made some major breakthroughs with the project, but she was a long way from her goal. Ever since that worm hole – Bi-Frost – opened so close to her lab, she worked nonstop. She reached for any scrap piece of information she could get her hands on.

Of course, the wormhole Loki came through was 'classified' and she only found out about it by asking Thor. S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't hand over data like that for no reason. That didn't mean Tony wouldn't hand it over if she asked. He did. Gladly. He sent it to her email within the following minutes after she requested it. S.H.I.E.L.D. introduced Tony Stark and Bruce Banner as assets to her research. Little did anyone know that Tony divulge any and all information she requested, especially information deemed confidential. Loki was largely confidential.

As she sifted through her thoughts, a voice filtered through. Darcy stared at her. "Huh?"

Darcy rolled her eyes and smiled. "Earth to Jane? Hello? I said we should take a break." She shrugged. "You have been really focused on work lately. How about we take a breather?"

Take a breather? Jane almost denied the suggestion. Darcy was trying to weasel her way out of work. The intern didn't do much else, but file away papers and fetch her important documents. As those thoughts rose inside her, they were as quickly snuffed out. She and, of course, Darcy have been working nonstop since Jane first sat down with the idea and let it run wild. She couldn't recall eating anything the past few days. She knew she ate her three meals, but she couldn't remember what they were or when she ate them. She was having a hard time recalling the last moment when she wasn't busy fretting over numbers and data. Jane hated to admit it, but Darcy was right. She sighed. "Alright, Darcy," she said, a grin spreading wide in triumph on the intern's face. "Taking a break might do me some good." She shrugged, admitting, "Things have cooled off a bit. Maybe taking a 'breather' will help me think of new ideas."

Darcy punched the air with a whoop of cheer. "Alright, that's what I'm talking about! I know the perfect place."

Jane smiled as Darcy grabbed the car keys and rushed out the door, only stopping to call over her shoulder, "Let's go, Boss Lady!"

"I'm coming," Jane called back. Then a thought struck her and she added, "Give me a minute. I need to make a call."

"Hurry up," Darcy snapped. "I'm getting the car started. And then I'm personally escorting you to take a breather."

Standing from her seat, mug in hand, Jane made her way to her room where she was pretty certain she had left her cell phone. Upon entering, she found the room as it always was - in disarray. Files piled on her desk. Clothes were thrown about, neglected. A plate of an unidentifiable food item was shoved into the corner. Jane took a deep breath. Darcy was right. She needed a break. She shook her head. Well, now she was getting one, a forced one, but one nonetheless. She surveyed the landfill that was once a room, when she spotted her phone on her nightstand next to her bed. Thankfully, the mess wasn't everywhere – she had the decency to leave a path to her bed and desk. She grabbed her phone and punched the speed dial button. After the first two rings, a familiar voice answered.

"Hey, if it isn't my favorite Asgardian tamer!"

Jane cringed. Ever since Tony found out that she and Thor were sort of together – dating seemed too formal since they hadn't been on what most people would call a 'date' – he worked into their conversations a comment about her ability to woo gods. She stopped correcting him about them being 'gods' about the third or sixth joke he cracked. She held the phone tilted away as she took a deep breath and then brought it back to speak. "Tony, listen, I am really close to something here."

"You got Thor to sit and play fetch?"

Jane held back a groan. Another golden retriever joke. She went on before he got carried away. "About the Bi-Frost," she paused, gathering what she wanted to say. She was close. She knew she was. There was a problem though, and she needed Tony's help. The pause cost her. As soon as she opened her mouth to speak, Tony spoke.

"Yeah, hey, speaking of Bi-Frosts, guess which genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist created a metal that can withstand subzero temps?"

Jane knew she was going to regret it, but she asked anyway. "Tony, why did you create subzero metal?"

"Hey, who told you it was me? You're right. It could only be me. It's state of the art. This metal would make Frosty look hot."

"So, yeah, subzero metal. Why?" Jane repeated, ignoring him. "There are only a few places on earth with sub temps and I can't see much reason to crank out the Iron Man suit to fight off the evils of penguins." Being around Darcy and talking with Tony had sharpened her tongue more than usual.

"You can't trust those flightless birds; they're unnatural. They could strike at any minute."

"Yeah, uh-huh." He began to go on about how the birds proved a potential threat, but Jane wasn't having it. She had to get back to Darcy, who was probably throwing a fit having to wait in the car. This call was supposed to be quick, but there was no such thing with Tony.

"Have you seen the movie, Birds? Penguins, same thing, only in water-"

"Tony," Jane tried to keep her voice leveled. "What do frigid temps and penguins have to do with Bi-Frosts? Now would you -"

He cut her off in an instant. "Thor told me there were, um - what are they called?" He paused for half a second; Jane heard the distinct snap of fingers on the other end. "Ah, realms! Thor told me about other realms. He mentioned some were particularly cold. I'm getting a head start, so when we drop into Giant Land and other places, I'm ready."

The phone almost slipped from Jane's hand. "Wait, wait, what?" It all came out in a rush of air. She was grasping at words her brain couldn't make. "Wait. Tony. Why are you preparing already? We haven't even created a prototype. I mean, that's why I called you-"

He cut her off for the umpteenth time, she noted. "You need a master engineer who can pull together real construction?"

"Yes, I do. But the way you're talking makes it sound like-"

"I've already made several prototypes."

She gaped. "What?"

"Yeah, I have the data and files you sent and I decided to take a whack at it, see where this thing goes."

"Wait. You're serious? You actually created Bi-Frosts?" Jane's heart raced with anticipation. Was her data right? Had she figured out the formula needed to create a machine for interspatial travel?

"Don't get your hopes up yet. The first one exploded the first few top floors of Stark Tower." Jane winced at that. "The second test was more contained; only one floor was destroyed. The third one, the charm, did not explode." Jane was about to remark about how potential that sounded, when he continued, "It burst into flames. No big deal. The heated metal melted through several floors. It was like an interesting game of hot potato, only the potato was like burning magma."

Jane couldn't hold back her groan this time. Those tests sounded awful. "Tony, I'll have to run more data-"

"You didn't let me finish. There were four tests."

"Oh, no. Please spare me the details…"

"The fourth one opened a worm hole."

Jane's breath hitched. Her mouth tried to form words, but speaking suddenly became difficult. "A… a worm… wormhole?" she sputtered. "It opened a worm hole?" She felt dizzy like her head would spin forever. This wasn't real.

"For a second. Jarvis told me that for a millisecond there was a perfectly formed wormhole. Then the thing fell apart and all the electricity went out."

Jane didn't hear anything after 'For a second.' It's all she needed to hear. Tony created a prototype that opened a portal. A prototype using her notes and her research. This changed everything.

When she heard Tony's voice again, he was congratulating her.

"You are officially the proud mother of wormhole-opening devices. I'd say, after subtracting all the work I put into creating prototypes, you can take 12% credit."

Her eyebrows shot up. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What? I did all the research! What do you mean 12%? That's a complete-"

She stopped when Tony let out an unfitting yelp and muttered, "Pepper! Pepper, I was joking!"

Jane scrunched up her face as she pressed the phone closer. The CEO in question could be heard in the background, scolding Tony. "I can't believe… again… I thought you were done with that… you're being a total… apologize…" It clicked as she went on. Tony was teasing Pepper indirectly through her. Typical.

A minute passed before Tony finally came back. "Pepper's abusing me."

"I'm sure you're on your best behavior."

"Definitely. Just earned my halo. Going to get wings installed soon."

"Was that before or after you blew up a government military fighter jet?"

"Hey! That's classified information! And for the record, I didn't blow it up. I fired my plasma blaster and it happened to be in the way. How do you even know about that?"

Jane allowed a smirk. "You're not the only one with access to private files."

Silence ate up the phone line. "Dammit, Bruce," Tony muttered. "Why did he-!"

Tony's voice cut off as someone yanked the phone from Jane's grasp. "Hey!" She spun around, seeing an unimpressed Darcy holding the phone firmly. "Give that back!" She moved to grab it, but Darcy threw it into the piles of junk before she could. "Darcy," she seethed.

"Oh, please, it was only Tony." Darcy shrugged. Grasping Jane's wrist, she began to drag her out. "Come on! You said you were taking a break! Tony is work related!"

Try as she might, Jane couldn't wrest her hand from the woman - she was surprisingly strong. But she kept protesting this absurdity regardless. "You can't grab someone's phone like that! What if it was life or death? That was so thoughtless! Darcy, sometimes you're too-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Darcy waved her hand as she pulled Jane through the door. "Come on, Boss Lady, you're taking a break."

Jane sat uncomfortably at the counter Darcy insisted on. She had wanted to sit near a window, but her intern was having none of that – "Darn it, Jane, a window seat, really? The sky's right there! Don't think I don't know what you're doing! The sky is also work related. Come here, we're sitting away from the windows." – and so they sat down, backs to the skyline. The stools at the counter were slightly too tall. Her toes barely touched the floor when she pointed her feet down, and no matter how she moved, her back ached. How in the world did Darcy consider going to a diner and sitting on stools like this relaxing? Tossing a sideways glance at her intern, she saw that the woman was punching keys on her phone screen. She groaned inwardly. Of course, Darcy was only playing games on her phone. What else would she be doing after getting out of work? No. Jane reprimanded herself. She needed this, too. She visualized her room and its state of decay. She needed this. So be it that what she needed was a ratty, old stool. And a haze-filled dinner. And a hostess with a lazy eye.

When the hostess came to take their orders, Darcy surprised Jane when she ordered half the menu. "What?" Darcy noticed the stare she was receiving, but only shrugged. "I'm hungry, alright? I skipped breakfast."

"Skipped breakfast?" Jane asked, incredulous. "I saw you wolf down three pieces of French toast, and you're telling me you crave six cheeseburgers, three fries, a hot dog and two large pops?"

"You forgot my side of hash browns."

Jane gawked a moment more before throwing her hands up in defeat. "Whatever. You eat what you eat." She threw another pointed look. "By the way, in some places, it's considered rude to steal people's phones."

"I didn't steal your phone. It's in your room."

"You still interrupted my conversation with Tony. We were discussing-"

"Work," Darcy gave Jane a look. "For weeks on end, ever since Tony got you the information on that freak show that tried to take over earth, you've been working yourself ragged. You barely come outside – in fact, this might be the first time. And you haven't socialized with people outside of me and Eric in weeks." She leaned close and whispered, "Jane, I didn't want to tell you, but once when I came to your place, I found you passed out on the couch with half a donut stuck to your face and files clutched in your hands. I'm still not convinced you ate that donut. There hadn't been a donut box in your place for a week."

Jane only stared. That was a wakeup call. Darcy, though Jane wanted more than anything to reject every word she said, was right. About everything. In the first week that followed after Loki's defeat, she was more than ecstatic that Thor would be staying. She had begun showing him more Midgardian culture and that had been fun. But, as soon as she found out about Loki, she needed to get her hands on that data. And once Tony gave it to her she flew back into work mode, holing herself up in her lab. Her closest companions became Eric and Darcy. Thor she never saw since he agreed to help S.H.I.E.L.D. with whatever those guys were doing. She sat up straighter, realization dawning on her. She had no idea what Thor was doing. Sure, he stopped by to check up on her and they would talk briefly, but they hadn't sat down and really talked in weeks – months? – and now, realizing that, Jane felt like a jerk. How could she keep ignoring Thor? Well, yeah, she was working on creating a Bi-Frost. Jane stopped that thought before it was even fully formed. That wasn't fair to Thor – it was not his fault she was absorbed with her work. Absorbed - she mentally rolled her eyes. Absorbed was one word, obsessed was another. Chancing a glance at Darcy, who was still staring at her with that you-know-I'm-right-admit-it-already expression, Jane reluctantly began nodding. "Okay. Fine, I've been working way too much," she snipped. "But, that doesn't mean taking people's phones is okay."

Darcy ignored the last part. "See? I'm right. Now sit back and relax."

Resignation was the only option Jane had at this point, so she slumped down in her stool. The food arrived soon after; Darcy's portion looked like a grand feast for a troupe of war heroes. Jane didn't bother masking it; she stared at her intern. "What in the world is all this?" she asked, baffled after the sixth plate was set down on the counter, piling around them. "I was here when you ordered! You didn't order all this!"

"I may have ordered a thing or two more," she turned her head to the side. "When you weren't paying attention."

"Darcy," Jane hissed. "How are you going to afford this much food?" She eyed three platefuls of pancakes. "How are you going to eat this much food?"

Darcy shrugged. "Well, it's not like it's going to be a secret forever, so I might as well tell you not all of this is for me."

Jane opened her mouth to ask what she meant, but was interrupted by the sound of distant thunder. That didn't make any sense; the skies were clear when they arrived. Jane turned to look through the window, when Darcy's hand shot out and clasped her shoulder, prompting her to look at the woman.

"What did I tell you? Windows equal skies; skies equal work. No work."

Jane brushed off that comment. "Who is all this food for?"

Pushing her fries around with a fork, Darcy pursed her lips and didn't reply.

"Darcy? Who's all this food for?"

As Jane was about to ask again, the bell to the diner's door rung and a smile spread across the Darcy's face. Jane looked up and her breath caught in her throat. Thor was in the diner. Thor was in the diner. She smiled and got up to greet him. "Hey," she called as she neared him. Thor turned and as soon as he saw her, his face lit up with the most adorable smile and goodness, Jane decided she needed to let Darcy 'let her take a breather' more often.

"Jane, it is so good to see you," Thor remarked as she wrapped her arm around his and led him to the counter they were seated. "Out of the house, too. That's rare."

Jane shot him a look, but saw that he was still beaming and realized he was making a jest. Even so she couldn't help, but take the reminder to heart. "Yeah, well, you know, it has all of the essentials." She paused, shrugging as they sat down, Thor on her right and Darcy on her left. "Like food, for example."

"Food can be found outside of your house," he gestured around them. "Here, for example."

"No, it's not the same."

"Variety's good for you."

Jane shook her head. "But I have to drive here. At home I can walk into the kitchen and grab something."

Thor laughed and Darcy started handing down plate after plate to him as she looked at Jane and said, "You're welcome." Jane looked at her with raised eyebrows and she explained, "I set this up. You know, so sing my praises."

"When did you set this up?"

"Remember those times I was playing on my phone the past few days?" She jerked her thumb towards herself. "I was actually texting Thor to get him to come here."

Jane scrunched up her face. "Text?" She turned back to Thor. "You text now? When did you get a phone?"

"Tony had given me one a week ago." He furrowed his brow apologetically. "I should have told you sooner, but I didn't want to interrupt your work."

Darcy chimed in, "Yeah, when you're in the 'zone,' no one can reach you."

Jane frowned. Here she was being forced into spending time away from her lab and Thor wasn't mad, though he should be. Weeks, she's been in her own little world for weeks and he doesn't blink an eye at it. Sour thoughts about how he had her wait a year sprung up at the back of her mind, but she squashed them. That wasn't exactly fair. "Thor, I'm sorry. I haven't-"

"It's fine, Jane. Your work makes you happy and that is good." He took a bite of his pancakes before asking, "Why don't you tell me about it?"

"Hey. No work," Darcy wagged her finger at Jane.

Thor shook his head. "No, it is important to Jane." His gaze softened as he looked fondly at the woman beside him. "I want to hear about it."

Jane smiled. "Okay, but then I want to hear about all that you've been doing."

Soon she related her progress and findings. She concluded with Tony's tests, getting excited when she started explaining the fourth one.

"Can you believe it? It opened up a wormhole!" Jane motioned her hands as she tried to form the image out of thin air. Darcy stopped paying attention and was on her phone again. She perked up while Jane explained the explosions and fiery game of 'hot potato.' As the conversation turned back to science do-dads, she tuned out and started up one of her games. Jane tilted her head to see Thor's expression. She was surprised to see the uncharacteristic calculating glint in his eyes. His smile had diminished. "Thor? What's wrong?"

His brows knitted in mild concern. "Are you sure opening up wormholes will be safe?"

Jane knew where he was going with this. He was thinking about the wormhole that opened up over New York, and so was she. Hostile aliens were a hefty risk. But, Jane was confident that wouldn't happen and assured Thor. "Tony and I aren't trying to rip open holes in space at random. With correct calculations, we're working on opening a gateway to Asgard."

Thor blinked. "Travel to Asgard is already possible."

Jane floundered, trying to find the right words. "Thor, that's not the point."

"Then what is?"

Hands clasped, taking a quick breath, she gathered her thoughts. "I want to know how it works." As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew it was true. Yes, she wanted to create her own way to Asgard, but even more she wanted to understand how such a mode of transportation existed, how it functioned, how it could be powered. "It's what I always want to do. When I see something that I don't know anything about, all I want is to learn the ins and outs of it. There are no Bi-Frosts here; there are no articles, not a lot anyway. So, I have to, you know, scrap together the few pieces of information I have and see if I can understand it." She waited for Thor's reaction. He wasn't reacting. He was smiling. Beaming. Oh, no, what did she say? Does he think everything she said was funny?

"Jane, that is a wonderful reason to pursue your work," he said, smiling in a way she now realized was kind and not mocking as she had come to expect from anyone listening to her work. She should've known better when it came to Thor.

She couldn't help but smile back at him. "You think so?"

Thor nodded. "Yes. Your conquest for knowledge is admirable. It reminds me..." he trailed off.

"Reminds you of what?"

Thor shook his head, banishing a memory of a dark-haired boy tailing after him and put on a more convincing smile. "It's not important."

Jane shrugged. If he said it was nothing, then it was nothing and she shouldn't pry. Instead, she asked him about what S.H.I.E.L.D. had him doing.

There wasn't much to be told - a lot of what S.H.I.E.L.D. had him doing was investigating a disturbance in some far away desert. Nothing much was known about it thus far. Even so, he had been sent along with Bruce and of course accompanied with many other agents to check in on the potential threat. It wasn't anything, but when he told it, he might as well have been telling her an amazing adventure with pirates, a missing artifact and booby traps. Jane didn't know why, but when Thor spoke, he was so enthralling. "Son of Coul tells me that he doesn't think there should be too much trouble, but until they figure out what is happening there, they wanted the Avengers to stay in contact."

Jane grimaced. "Just try to be careful."

Thor grinned. "Jane, I'm Asgardian. It takes a lot to harm me."

Jane sighed. "I know. Just don't forget that you may be Asgardian, but that doesn't make you invincible."

"It kind of does," Darcy commented.

Jane ignored her. "Don't get reckless."

Thor saw how worried she looked and finally nodded. "I will be careful." He took a slow breath, deciding now would be a good time. "Jane, there is something I've wanted to tell you."

She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. He never looks that serious. This had to be important. When she trusted her voice enough, she asked, "What is it? What's wrong?"

Thor grinned softly, but it did not reach his eyes. "Nothing is wrong." He hesitated, pushed aside his doubts and continued. "I am returning to Asgard. But only for a quick visit," he added hastily when her eyes nearly popped out of her head in surprise. She relaxed when he said, quick, but she still looked unsure. "I will only be gone for a week. I want to see how everyone is faring."

Thor had been debating whether or not to go through with his question, but as he watched her soft brown eyes stare up at him, he couldn't believe he'd ever have to wonder. "Jane, come to Asgard with me."

"You what?" Jane sat there, stunned into silence.

"I can take you to Asgard. Will you come with me?"

Jane's mouth flopped open in barely contained shock. The answer was on the tip of her tongue when a strange buzz interrupted her. It registered that it was Darcy's phone and she shot Thor an embarrassed look.

Darcy answered it. "Hello?" She waited a beat and then swiveled her head to give Jane the stink eye. "It's for you."

Jane tried to ask 'who,' but Darcy shoved it into her hand.

"Um," she checked the caller. It was Tony. "Hello?"

"Hey, what happened? Bad connection?"

"I'm sorry about earlier. My intern was being rude." Jane turned her head sharply in Darcy's direction, and the woman smiled.

"Is that her way of telling you to quit working?"

"That's her way of saying I need to stop falling asleep with a donut stuck to my face," Jane blurted out, the memory fresh and disturbing. Next to her, Thor was wrinkling his brow, and Darcy smiled harder.

"What?" Jane opened her mouth to answer, but he continued. "Never mind. Old news. Listen. Bi-Frosts."

A baby near her started wailing and the noise was overwhelming. "Tony, hang on a sec." She lowered the phone. "I think I have to take this somewhere more private."

Darcy was a hawk and turned to Jane in a flash. "It's about work, isn't it?"

Jane froze with a deer-in-the-headlights daze. Her eyes flickered from Thor who had an understanding smile and Darcy who was prepping to grab her phone. Jane threw her hands up. "Oh, just let me take this!" She dodged a snaked hand from Darcy and hurried to a secluded area of the dinner.

"Yeah? Tell me more about that fourth test. How long was it open? What were the readings?" Jane asked in a rush.

"I'll get to that. I'll tell you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" she exclaimed, ready to protest. "No. Not tomorrow. I need to hear about it now."

"Hearing is one thing; seeing is another."

"What do you mean?"

"Keep your schedule open, I'm coming over and bringing a prototype."

Jane could have fainted from all the blood running from her face as she paled. "You're what?"

"It's your lucky day - I'm swinging by with Jarvis and the equipment. You'll be able to see firsthand a wormhole baby." He paused before asking, "Does your place have backup generators? Never mind, I'll bring some."

Jane wasn't sure how to answer this. She hadn't expected this at all.

"Jane? Hello? Did your intern steal the phone again?"

"You're coming here?" she finally managed to get out.

"Yeah, I have it all set up; I'll be flying out there in the AM. Watch out for a streak of red. Not a literal streak. I'll be there ridiculously fast though."

"Uh, um, can't, isn't..."

"Hmm? What? Is there a problem? Is tomorrow not good?" In a lower voice he asked, "I'm not going to walk in on a naked Thor or something, am I?"

"No!" Jane blurted out a little too loud to her embarrassment. Her face bloomed scarlet as some diner residents stared at her. Fortunately, Thor and Darcy were still eating their meals and hadn't noticed. "No, Tony." She hissed in a low voice, "He doesn't even live with me. And that's none of your business."

"Calm down, Star Gazer, I was only joking." As an afterthought, he added, "Kind-of."

Disaster was dancing on her doorstep now. Asgard. She could go to beautiful, unreachable Asgard. No more dreaming. The real deal. In the snap of her fingers, she could be there; Thor could take her. She had to tell Tony, no. She had to tell him to come back after she has been to Asgard. All she had to do was tell him that she was invited to one of the most exclusive human opportunities in all history and Bi-Frosts could wait another day. She frowned. Bi-Frosts. Those weren't a dream anymore, either. She was on the cusp of inventing her very own and with Tony's help she could take herself to Asgard. Her mind was reeling. "Tony? I, uh, can I call you back? I need to talk to Thor."

There was a pause. "Alright, that's not a straight answer, but okay. Tell Point Break I said, 'hi'."

"Will do." Punching the 'end call' button, Jane maneuvered back to her seat. Handing Darcy the phone, she turned to Thor and muttered, "Tony says, 'hi'."

He watched her, raising a brow. "That's all he said?"

Shrugging, Jane tried to piece together the right words so that what she said next wouldn't be rejection. She decided to work her way around it and somehow loop back to it. "Um, can I ask you why you're going back to Asgard?"

Darcy snorted. "You're not saying, 'no.'"

Jane stiffened. Darn intern could see through seven-foot enforced steel if she wanted. Under Thor's concerned gaze and Darcy's incredulous disbelief, Jane semi-crumbled. "Tony says he can come to my lab tomorrow with one of the prototypes." She winced at Thor's disappointed face when she added, "I really want to be there." She hurried to continue. "I want to go to Asgard, too. That is at the top of my list of things I want to do, but this is my life work." Deflating, she sighed. "I really want to go to Asgard. But, everything I've been researching and chasing after has led up to this crucial moment. Tony got the machine to produce a wormhole, albeit tiny and cost all of his electricity, but he had done it! I'm so close now." Realizing her voice was pleading, Jane straightened up to appear less petulant than she felt. Finding Thor's deep blue eyes, she stared into them gently. "You go to Asgard. And I'll be close behind." That was a lot heftier a task than she let on. Although Tony succeeded, they were a long way off from travel across space.

Thor, though reluctantly, conceded. "If this is what you want."

Oh, sheesh, why did he have to go and say it like that? Jane felt like falling apart at the seams. "It's not that." She stopped at the touch of his hand on her shoulder. His hand was warm and comforting. He wasn't mad at her for deciding to stay and that lifted her spirits. She returned his bright smile. "I will be right behind you, so to speak. In a matter of days." Her nose scrunched up. "Okay, in a matter of a few more weeks. Maybe."

Thor only grinned more and told her softly, "I'll be waiting."

"It's still pretty early," Jane began.

"Early?" Darcy went ignored.

"Maybe we could hang out for the rest of the day."

Thor nodded. "Yes, and you can show me more about Midgard and this elusive 'Cube of Rubix' I've been hearing about."

Darcy didn't hide her snorting laughter and Jane tried masking hers by smiling harder.

"Yeah," Darcy giggled. "Tell him all about the 'elusive cube.' In fact, he can try mine. It's on the table."

Thor stared at her, perplexed. "Darcy has the Cube of Rubix?"

Jane shook her head, smiling as she thought of other 'Midgardian' items to show Thor.