A/N: SO sorry for taking so long! I've been writing other things, and it's been taking up my writing reserves. I also just haven't had the drive to come on here. Hopefully I will more often. Chances are, if you leave a review, I'll be more likely to come on and write more. It makes me want to give you more when I know you like it. ;)

Thanks again to ecotiger for being my beta! :D

Chapter 2

The following week is, needless to say, very busy. Frigga and Odin are doing their best to get used to another baby. However, they seem to have forgotten how. The days are hard, but the nights are harder. Neither of them get very much sleep. Finally, Frigga goes to Odin.

"My dear, I think we should make a nursery for him. I rather enjoyed my nights, and they seem to have all but disappeared."

Odin has to chuckle a bit at that. He looks tired, himself. There is no way that he can't agree. He longs for quiet nights that offer rest and relaxation. Not these nights, taken by a baby's screams.

"Yes. I believe you are right. Though he can't be too far away. He never calms unless you are there."

Frigga nods slightly. She thinks for a moment before saying, "What about that room Thor was in last week? The one he burst out of. I don't recall anything being in there. Even if there is, we can move it. It won't be too hard."

"Of course. I can send someone in there now, or we can go together, whichever you prefer."

Frigga smiles faintly and says, "I think we should go together. Thor has to come, too. He has grown rather fond of Loki."

It is true, and that's why Odin's smile stretches. Thor has indeed grown fond of Loki. He can almost always be found in his parents' room, leaning over the edge of the crib with his toes barely touching the floor. He tries to get Loki to play with the toys that litter the floor, but the infant just stares up at him with his huge emerald eyes.

If Loki is sleeping, Thor will sit next to the crib and build something with his own toys for his little brother to see when he wakes. When his eyes open, Thor points to his creation and Loki will stare. He smiles sometimes, but he never laughs. He is normally very quiet, unless he is screaming for something in the dead of night, when the entire palace is asleep.

"Very well, darling. Go get the boys ready and I will meet you there."

"It's a nice room, really. Once we clean up all the mess, that is," Frigga says, scanning the room.

Odin lights the torch on the wall and the room is lit up. Thor looks down at his feet. He can't believe they chose this room. Of all the rooms in the palace, they choose this one. Certainly there was one closer to their own chambers that they could have picked. They will definitely find his mess now. Just as this thought crosses his mind, his mother lets out a sharp gasp.

"Oh, goodness! That's horrible!"

Frigga is standing in front of the tapestry, her hands over her mouth. She is looking at the tear in the tapestry. She reaches out and runs a finger over the edge of the tear, as Thor had done when it first happened. After a moment, she turns around and looks at Thor. She looks extremely upset.

"Thor! What were you doing in here? Do you know what this is?"

Thor shakes his head, backing up slightly. "I didn't mean to, Mumma! I didn't know what it was. I didn't mean to rip it, I swear!"
Frigga shakes her head and says, "Don't say that. Never say that." She sighs before adding, "Thor, please tell me. Why were you in here?"

Thor looks down at the floor. He seems to be trying to hide from having to answer her question. Finally he looks up and mutters, "I was bored. I just found the room and thought it would be fun to play in."

Frigga frowns. "It was in the middle of the night. You were supposed to be in bed. What possessed you to come out in the middle of the night and find a room to play in? You should have been asleep."

Thor says quietly, "I found it earlier. In the daytime. I didn't mean to be bad, Mumma. I didn't know that I shouldn't have come in. I just wanted to play."

Frigga runs a hand over her forehead and looks to Odin. His face is shadowed. He looks down at Thor, who turns his round blue eyes up to him, and frowns slightly.

"Thor. When you find a room like this, you should not stay. What you have done cannot be fixed. You have ruined your mother's tapestry, which she received as a gift from her mother on the eve of our wedding. Your grandmother made it. You see, things like this are precious. They cannot be replaced, or ever properly mended. You have done a horrible thing, Thor. As a prince, you must learn to be more careful."

Thor nods, his lip trembling and tears running down his face. He turns his eyes up to Frigga, but she just looks down at him coldly. This just hurts him even more. She said she would always love him. She is obviously angry, though. Why is it so bad? He knows that tapestries can be fixed. Some of the other ones in the palace have been fixed before. So why is it that this one can't be?

"Thor, you should go to your room. Don't come out until your nurse fetches you for dinner."

Thor accepts his punishment, his head down. He trudges his way back to his bedroom, his tears now pouring down. Some of them fall to the floor. When he finally reaches his room, he lies down on his bed, face down, and sobs.

The next thing Thor knows is that someone has entered his room. He falls still, hoping that they will just go away. He doesn't want to see anybody. He just wants to be left alone. He doesn't even want to go to dinner. He wants to be by himself in his bedroom.

The person doesn't leave, though. They come over to his bed. The side of the bed dips down slightly as the person sits. A soft hand rests on his shoulder. Thor knows that it is his mother's hand. He knows that hand well. He doesn't know why she is in here, though. Why would his mother want to come visit him if he was such a bad boy? Why is she in here as if she wants to comfort him?

"Thor, please look at me. I know you are awake."

Thor doesn't move. He doesn't make a sound. He doesn't want to look at his mother. He wants her to leave. He knows that she is still disappointed in him. She never forgets anything so quickly. Never. Especially not something that she was angry with him about. So if she is still angry with him, then why is she here to see him?

"I'm not here to punish you, Thor. I'm here to make it better."

Thor looks up at that. He sees that her eyes are red from her own tears. Her nose is also pink. She smiles at him, though. He knows he must look confused.

"I still love you, my son. Remember what I said? How I will always love you? No matter what?"

Thor nods slightly and Frigga goes on.

"Well, I wasn't lying. I love you even though you tore the tapestry. I love you even though you lied to me. I want you to know that I will always love you. Never doubt that, okay?"

Thor shrugs and Frigga feels more tears welling up in her eyes. She pulls Thor up to sit against her and puts a hand on his head. She gently rocks side to side. After a moment, she starts to sing him a song. It's a song that she sings him every night. Even if he is asleep, she sings it to him.

Thor looks up at her and asks softly, "Why do you love me? I'm bad. I lied to you about the flowers. I lied at first about the room. I tore your…taperty. How come you still love me?"

Frigga smiles faintly and answers gently, "I am your mother. I love you no matter what. Don't you understand that?"

Thor shakes his head. "No. I don't understand. You were angry before, but now you aren't. How come you change so much?"

Frigga laughs lightly. "Thor, I change a lot. Everybody does. I won't stay angry with you. That isn't good. You should never stay angry at anybody. Always forgive them. Don't hold grudges, Thor."

The boy nods slightly. He snuggles up against Frigga and says quietly, "I really am sorry, Mumma. I didn't mean to rip it."

"I know, my son. But you should be careful, as your father said. I'm not mad at you anymore. Just please be more careful."

Thor nods. The room is silent for a little while. Frigga keeps stroking his hair and rocking. She doesn't sing anymore, though. She wants to be sure that Thor can speak if he wants to. He always seems to hold back if there is too much noise already, though. It turns out that Thor does want to speak.

"Mumma? Is that room really going to be Loki's room now?"

Frigga looks down at him and says, "Yes, dear. Loki will sleep in there. We are going to have some magic put in there so that we can hear and see him from our room, though. That way we can still be sure that he is safe."

This excites Thor and he bounces slightly. "Magic!? You're going to put magic? That's so cool! Will I be able to see it?"

Frigga laughs and nods. "Of course. I don't see why you wouldn't be able to. But you mustn't play with it. That might mess it up."

Thor nods, his face very serious. "I've had enough of messing stuff up, Mumma. I won't touch it. I won't even look at it too hard."

Frigga laughs again and ruffles Thor's hair gently.

The next day is full of excitement. The servants help to move the things that were already in the room. In the process, Thor gets back his boot, which he hugs. Frigga also finds out where her drapes went. She doesn't get mad at her son, though. Instead, she laughs and ties it around his neck gently, making him grin.

They are very careful with the tapestry, taking care not to rip it even further. It is taken to a woman in Alfheim, who is said to be the best tapestry maker in all the worlds. They found out that she taught Frigga's mother, so she should be able to easily fix up the accident. Frigga doesn't seem to mind that it is torn too much anymore. She is upset, yes, but she has gotten over it. She knows it will be mended, so she is considerably more relaxed than she was before.

Thor does the best he can to help move things. He can't carry much, though, and ends up making larger messes, which the servants have to clean up after him. He does succeed in moving some of the paintings out into the hall. They are being put around the palace in different halls. There are hundreds of them, and Thor can't help but wonder how in the world they all fit into one room. Some of them are larger than he is. Others are very small, no larger than his head. They are all beautiful, though. One of the paintings, Thor's favorite, is a warrior clad in full armor, clutching a sword which he holds high in the air proudly. Frigga allows him to have it in his room since he likes it so much.

It takes a few hours to get the room completely empty. Once it is cleaned out, though, Thor realizes just how large the room is. It's huge; at least as large as his own. It only has one room, but the one it has is so spacious that the lack of rooms isn't a problem.

Frigga leaves the room, returning a few moments later in an older dress, paintbrushes in her hands. Her hair is pinned up to keep it out of the way. A few servants follow, carrying more brushes and paint containers. Frigga hands Thor a paintbrush. He looks surprised, but happy.

"I can paint, too?"

Frigga nods, smiling. She says, "Yes, my dear."

Thor beams up at her. He dips the brush into the paint and is about to smear it on the wall when Frigga's gentle hand stops him. When he looks up at her, she smiles down at him.

"Let me show you how first."

Thor nods and Frigga demonstrates how he should paint, using long strokes. He watches intently, really wanting to make her happy after messing up so much. Frigga motions for him to try. When he does, he follows her tips. It actually looks pretty nice.
"Good job, Thor. Keep on that way and we'll be done in no time!" Frigga says, smiling happily down at him.

While Frigga and Thor work on the back wall, two pairs of servants work on the side walls. They get done before the queen and prince, but they don't have near as much fun. Frigga and Thor laugh the entire time they paint, and by the time their wall is finished, they are both covered in paint.

Odin comes in just after the entire room is painted. He looks around the soft blues and whites of the room and smiles. The smile grows when he sees his wife and son. Frigga moves over to him and smudges a bit of blue paint on his nose. Odin actually laughs about this. He kisses Frigga's forehead.

"Well done, everyone. I'm sure Loki will love it. The carpenters have agreed to make Loki's furniture, as they did Thor's. They should be done in a few days. "
Frigga smiles and says, "Good. I just know it will be beautiful."

The next few days pass by much too slowly for Thor's taste. He spends a lot of time with Loki, playing with him. Frigga takes them out to the garden and they play in the grass while she plants new flowers in the space of the crushed ones.

"Why don't you ever laugh, Loki? There's lots to laugh about. See that funny little bug right there? Why don't you laugh at that?"

Loki just stares at the bug, his eyes still sleepy. He lies on a blanket, surrounded by toys and things Thor has brought him from the garden. He seems to be stuck on his back, for he moves very little. Thor notices this when he gives up trying to make Loki laugh at the bug.

"Hey, you're like a little turtle! Do you like turtles?"

Loki makes a face and Thor falls onto his back, wriggling around like he is stuck, himself. He says, "See, I'm a turtle, too!"

Loki looks at him intently before wiggling slightly. Thor laughs and Loki grins, wiggling even more. Thor squirms with him. Every so often he will stop and look over at the baby. When he does, Loki will stop and look at him expectantly. If Thor scrunches up his nose while he wriggles, so will Loki. If Thor laughs, Loki will grin.

Thor rolls over onto his stomach and Loki tries to do the same. He can't, though, and he screws up his face as though he were about to cry. Thor gently takes his hand, though, and says softly, "Don't cry. I'll help you."

He gets on his knees and carefully lifts Loki up. The baby is still in his brother's arms, looking at him curiously. Thor turns Loki over so he is stomach down. Loki sticks his arms and legs out, ready to catch himself if Thor drops him. He doesn't like not being able to see the older boy, but he doesn't fuss about it. Thor gently lowers the baby down so his hands and knees touch the ground. He knows that his baby brother can't hold himself up yet, so he keeps his hands on his tummy. Then he starts to move around. Loki picks up his hands and knees, scared at first. Thor consoles him and tells him that he won't drop him. Loki gradually calms down and puts his knees back on the ground.

"See, it's not so bad. Don't be scared."

Loki picks up his hands again and Thor sighs. "You can't just keep doing that. I promise it won't hurt."

If Loki could see him, he would stick out his tongue. But he can't, so he just looks at the ground accusingly. Then he lets his hands and knees back down and Thor moves him. When Loki lifts his hand, Thor almost gives up. Then he sees that Loki is doing his best to crawl. He keeps moving forward and Loki keeps up his attempts at crawling.

Thor almost doesn't believe his ears when he hears Loki's tiny gurgles. He stops and Loki stretches out his hands, trying to move forward. Thor gently sets him down on the blanket. Loki stumbles without the support and falls onto his stomach. He turns his face quickly enough, though, and doesn't get hurt. He starts crying anyway, making Thor's eyes go wide.

Frigga's head pops up over the flowering bushes and she calls, "Thor, what's wrong? Is he okay?"

Thor looks up at her and says, "I don't know. I was just trying to teach him to crawl, and he fell!"

Frigga stands up and hurries over. She scoops Loki up into her arms and holds him close. Looking down at Thor, she says, "He isn't old enough to crawl, yet. I'm not mad, don't worry. Just give him a little more time, okay?"

Thor nods. When Loki sees him, he reaches his arms out toward him. Frigga looks mildly surprised, but hands him over to her first son. Loki grins up at Thor and he smiles back down. Loki laughs. It is a soft, adorable little sound. Frigga's smile stretches across her face. Thor laughs along with Loki, making the baby laugh even more.

"I knew you'd laugh someday!"

The following day, five days after the room was painted, the furniture from Nidavellir, the home of the dwarves, arrives. Thor excitedly peers through his window as the little dwarves carry it up to the palace doors. When he can't see them through the window anymore, he runs out of his room, down to the main floor. He joins his mother as she and Odin lead the dwarves to the room where Loki will now sleep. Frigga holds the baby, allowing him to watch. And watch he does. His bright green eyes are peeled open as far as they will go as he stares at the dwarves. He seems just as in awe as Thor, even if he doesn't really understand what is going on.

The dwarves are very short, only a few inches taller than Thor, but they carry the furniture extremely easily. Their bushy beards and eyebrows cover most of their faces. Only their large noses show through the masses of hair. Their legs are short and thick, but they somehow walk quietly. There is no stomping or shuffling of their feet. Instead, they walk nearly silently.

Frigga directs them on where to put the furniture. Once it is all in the room, it looks very nice. The dark, rich color of the wood compliments the soft colors of the wall. Odin thanks the dwarves and pays them. As they walk out, one of them smiles at Thor. He can only tell that he is smiling by the slight upturning of the mustache. The dwarf presses something small into Thor's hand and moves on.

Thor doesn't even look at whatever it is, but puts it into his pocket. He watches as the dwarves all file out, one after the other. He waves them off, a small smile on his face. Loki imitates him, his lips spreading in a toothless smile.

Later in the evening, Loki is settled into his new bed, sleeping softly. Odin is carrying Thor to his bedroom, Frigga close behind them. Thor almost fell asleep as they were putting Loki into bed, and now that he is in his father's arms, he is deep into sleep. He had already bathed and changed into his night clothes, so Odin gently settles him in bed. He places a whiskery kiss on his son's forehead and steps back for Frigga. She moves over and does the same, minus the whiskers. She pulls Thor's blankets up around his shoulders, making sure that he is covered up well.

On the way out, Odin puts out the light. He closes the door quietly and leads Frigga by the arm back to their chambers. They snuggle up in bed together, trying to keep warm. It's been getting colder now that winter is fast approaching. Not even the fire burning gently warms up the room enough. They have to pile up blankets and sleep close to be warm enough at night.

Just as they drift off into a light sleep, Loki's wails ring through the palace.

A/N: I hope this is enough to hold you all over until next time. I'm not sure how long it will be. I'm trying to get ideas for Bruce's chapter of my other story, for those of you who read that. I'm having trouble, though. If you have any ideas, fling them at me!

In the meantime, if you haven't already read my other stories, go ahead and do so. They're pretty good. ;)

Ciao for now!