"Tori, will you please get out of the bathroom soon? Other people need to get ready for the day too," Jane yelled from behind the kitchen counter. She set out four plates then returned one back to the cupboard before she divided out the breakfast she made. With scrambled eggs, pancakes and bacon all on the plates before her, she moved to the fridge and grabbed the orange juice that her daughters said was 'the perfect complement to her cooking.'

"Young lady, you have one minute to get down here," she shouted again. Grabbing two of the plates she moved them to the small dining table they had squeezed into the corner of the kitchen. Even with a family of four, a house in New York was out of the question so Jane opted for upgrading from her small apartment to a flat which better accompanied the extra number of people.

"Good morning, mother." Without even turning, Jane could tell which one of her daughters had entered the kitchen.

"Good morning, Frigga," Jane replied giving her a smile. Frigga grabbed the last plate on the counter and sat down, digging into the meal. Jane joined her soon after, giving up on the idea that she might be able to jump into the shower before having to go to the office.

Jane glanced at the girl seated in front of her. Her eighteen year old daughter was as beautiful as always with her black hair tossed over her shoulders and her emerald eyes already bright with life although it only being half past six in the morning.

"So did you manage to get into the bathroom before your sister?" Jane asked taking a bite of pancake.

"Only to brush my teeth and grab a comb. I was promptly kicked out after," Frigga replied, sipping her juice, "I see you didn't get up early enough to beat her though."

"I know, bad miscalculation on my part, believe me. Really, though, she's been in there for almost over an hour."

"Sixty-three minutes to be exact, not like I'm counting or anything," Frigga smiled. She took the last bite of her eggs and grabbed the two pieces of bacon from her plate before placing the dish in the sink. "I've got to go. Howard wants to meet up a few minutes before I have to go to school. He said something about a new addition to the Iron Man suit."

She turned for the door then quickly back tracked and gave her mom a kiss. "Thanks for breakfast. Love you, bye!"

Jane watched her as Frigga swung her messenger bag over her head and heard the click of the door opening and closing again. Although she was no Stark, Jane always believed that Frigga got her smarts from her. The ravenette always wanted to be read to when she was younger and as soon as she could understand how to read for herself, Frigga took it upon herself to read any and every book she could get her little hands on.

While she did not share Jane's love of science, the young girl had always done well in school with straight A's every year and had an unbelievable amount of knowledge on mythology from all cultures. With that and her love of fictional novels, Frigga was always considered a nerd and came home crying because of the girls that teased her in middle school. No one could convince her otherwise, except for Howard. Somehow the fourteen year old at the time was able to convince Frigga, who was twelve, that she was just being herself and that she shouldn't get upset over what others thought about her.

"She's got it bad for him don't you think, mom?" A voice came from the hallway. Jane looked at Tori who came and sat down next to her at the table.

"Those two have always been friends," Jane replied.

"Yeah and he obviously has the hots for her too. Just ask Sam," the blonde began to stuff her face, "Those two should just admit it and get together already."

"We are talking about your sister. She just likes to take things slow and see how they progress."

"Maybe," Tori huffed in annoyance, "but she better speed it up and quick. There are plenty of girls who would throw themselves at Howard Stark's feet."

"Speaking of speeding up, what took you so long in the bathroom this morning?"

"Bad hair day is all."

Jane rolled her eyes. "For the fourth time this week?"

"This," she said pointing to her face, "doesn't happen naturally."

"Other people live here too, Tori."

"Ok, ok, tomorrow you can get the bathroom first. I'll even go beyond and let Frigga go before me too. Better?" Tori asked her.

"It's a start." Jane sipped her coffee. After a few minutes of silence between the two, Tori put her fork down.

"When is dad coming back this time?" she asked quietly. Jane tried to look at her eyes, but Tori kept her head down with her focus on her half eaten pancakes. Out of all the questions that Jane hated to answer this was the worst by far.

"I'm not sure. You know how busy he is with his work."

"It's already been a month, though, that should have been plenty of time. I don't see why he had a family if he can't even be here." Tori sighed.

"Firstly, you've been hanging out with Darcy way too much. Second, you know that your dad doesn't like being away from you or your sister. We all miss him and he misses us."

The blonde ran her hand through her hair, allowing some of it to fall into her face and narrowly missing the syrup on her plate. She was the spitting image of Thor. Beautiful blonde hair that had grown with age that seemed to effortlessly cascade down her back and big, vibrant blue eyes that were always alive and happy. Except for during conversations like this. She was daddy's little girl, a title she gladly accepted.

It hurt Jane to see her daughter like this, but there wasn't anything she could do, nothing any of them could do, to bring Thor back when he was off in one of the other nine realms. At times like this there was only one thing she could do, something she wished someone would have done those two years when Thor first left. She stood up behind Tori and hugged her. The teen didn't move but Jane could feel the tension in her shoulders begin to relax.

"We've still got each other, and your dad wouldn't want us to dwell on him being gone but enjoy those we have now," Jane whispered, kissing the top of Tori's head.

"Yeah…" That was always the reply she gave but she turned and gave Jane a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, mom."

Jane just nodded. Returning back to her seat and her half cup of coffee, Jane watched her daughter finish her breakfast and run back to her room for her shoes and backpack. Just like Frigga, Tori gave her a kiss, said 'love you', and was out the door.

Then, just like for the past month, Jane was left in their empty little flat. Tori was right it had been a month since he had been back, and, although Frigga might not mention it as much, Jane could tell that both of her daughters were being affected by his absence. Even she had grabbed one too many plates this morning. It had seemed normal for a while, when the twins were young and innocent and carefree. Then when they all needed him most, apparently the other realms did too. Jane shook her head hard.

Before she could dwell on the loneliness any longer, Jane took the empty dishes to the sink, grabbed her coat and shoes, and made her way to the door just like her daughters. She glanced back at her shoulder, hoping that someone else would come from the hallway, but shook her head at the ridiculous thought.

"Please come home safely," she whispered then locked the door and headed to where Darcy would be meeting her.