About a month later, Loki and Grace where walking in the city outskirts. They walked outside in the bright sun and the air had the smell of fresh cut flowers that was being carried across the soft breeze. Grace was wearing a modest purple shirt with a long black and white diagonally stripped skirt that covered her brace. Loki was wearing a pair of old blue jeans and a dark blue t-shirt while he walked at Grace's side as he contemplated taking her hand.

Grace's shoulder length brown hair was hanging loose and was blowing in the gentle breeze as she smiled at everyone that she saw. Even though she was limping, she was the most beautiful person that Loki had ever come in contact with. She knew the terrible things that he had done and yet she was still kind to him. She gave him food, clothing, and even lodging in her own home.

Loki's long greasy black hair did not blow in the breeze as he walked at Grace's side with a downward gaze. Somehow, he did not feel worthy to be around her, let alone walk beside her. So he walked a few steps behind her as they made their way through the congested streets.

Loki was not behind her long before Grace realized that he was following a few steps behind her. So she slowed down slightly and warmly wrapped her left arm around his right arm. Loki looked at her in surprise after she had done this and whispered to her, "You are not ashamed to be seen with me?"

Grace was shocked at his question and replied to him by saying, "Why would I?" She smiled up at him a bright warm loving smile.

They continued to walk in silence for a few moments as Loki contemplated how to respond to her. Suddenly, Grace stopped in her tracks and her heart began to beat wildly. Loki looked at her face and there was a look of surprise and joy in her wide eyed gaze. "What is it, Grace?" He asked after he searched the crowd for a few moments and did not see what had caused her to become so excited.

Grace then looked up into his green eyes and answered quietly, "My parents are up there!" Her voice was filled with enthusiasm as she spoke and it was clear that she held no anger towards her parents for abandoning her. "Let us go see them!"

Grace seemed to receive a new exuberance as she pulled Loki towards her parents with a bright smile on her face. Loki, on the other hand, was very nervous. Would her parents recognize him? Would they accept him as Grace did? Then he thought; would they even recognize their own daughter? Grace had said that it had been around twenty years since they last saw each other.

When they were about ten steps away, Grace slowed down as she realized that they had other children with them. Was it their children, or grandchildren? Either way, it seemed as if they had moved on and had forgotten about her. The smile disappeared from her face as she watched her mother embracing another child with a loving smile upon her face. A tear found its way down her face as she observed the scene in front of her.

Loki watched her and when he saw the tear running down her face, he felt a tinge of rage flare up inside of him. How dare these people cause her grief! Grace was their first born child! His grip tightened exponentially on her hand as he watched the two of them continue about their way. Grace felt his grip tightening and looked up at him and placed her other hand warmly on his arm.

Feeling her touch, Loki looked down at Grace and saw that there was a calm smile on her face as she spoke to him in a soft voice like lavender, "It is only reasonable that they had more children. I just hope they have not forgotten about me entirely."

Grace then let go of his hand and walked slowly up to her parents as they remained oblivious to her presence. Loki observed as Grace spoke, quietly at first, and as her voice grew in strength; her parents turned and looked at her. She said, "I beg your pardon. May I speak with you both for a moment, please?"

When her parents saw her, she received a blank stare for a few moments. Once they recognized Grace, her father developed a stern look in his deep blue eyes as his thin lips pressed together in agitation. Her mother, on the other hand, had the complete opposite reaction. She threw her arms around her daughter as a single tear ran down the right side of her dainty face. Once they parted, Grace and her mother smiled at each other and held each other's hands. "How have you been? You are looking good! I have wanted to come and see you so many times, but your father told me not to." Her mother commented.

"Why?" Grace asked as a hurt look came into her eyes as she looked over at her father.

Her father just stood there rigidly as he answered with contempt clear in his voice, "I do not want my wife associating with a witch. Even if she is our daughter."

Loki, who none of them realized was just a few steps away, interjected then and shouted at Grace's father, "She is not a witch! She is the most loving person that I have ever had the great honor of meeting! She is your daughter! If her mother wants to see her, you should let her!" His voice was filled with rage as he shouted at Grace's father.

"This does not concern you! Who are you anyway?" Her father shouted back as he turned to face Loki. He was about an inch or two shorted then Loki was but that did not deter him in the slightest.

"I am Loki of Jotenhim!" Loki shouted back. "Anything you say against Grace does indeed concern me!" As the two of them shouted at each other, Grace watched Loki's face as it changed from one of agitation to a look of pure hatred. A fire seemed to be ablaze in his green eyes as he argued on her behalf.

"Well, I am Philip of New York!" Her father shouted mockingly. "I do not give a crap what you think! I will not allow my wife to visit her as long as I am living!"

"Your death can be arranged then." Loki responded. His voice was low and threatening as he gripped the rock that he held in his grasp so tightly that his knuckles began to scream in pain. He had grabbed from the ground after Grace had let go of his hand and began to speak to her parents. He raised his hand and a murderous look appeared on his face. Suddenly, Grace stepped between them with her hands raised as she shouted, "That is enough!"

She placed one of her hands on her father's arm and the other on Loki's arm. They both looked down at her and saw an expression of concern in her blue eyes as see as she glanced at both of them in turn. "Loki," She began. "How about we head back to the house now? Mother, I hope to see you sometime soon, you can meet your grand-daughter, Beth." She then turned to her father and said, "I cannot blame you for your reluctance to allow mother to come and see me. I hope that one day; you can forgive us about this and you yourself will come for a visit."

With that being said, Grace took Loki's arm and warmly wrapped her arm around it and left. Loki dropped the stone that was held in his hand and it landed on the ground with a clatter. He then cast a threatening look back at Philip and mouthed the words, 'Until next time, old man.' As they walked, Grace gazed down at the ground with a slight smile on her face as Loki continued to grow angrier and angrier with every passing moment. He was thinking about how her father had insulted her and seemed to be venomous at the mere mention of her name. Then a thought struck him. This was almost exactly like his parents. Only difference is that he was adopted and Grace was not. She also reacted completely differently to her father's contempt than he did.

After a few moments had passed in silence, Loki asked, "Hey, Grace. May I ask you a question?"

Grace looked up at him and smiled as she answered sweetly, "Of course."

"When your father was so cruel to you, why did you act the way that you did? Why were you not hostile towards him?" Loki asked. His voice was soft as he spoke to her and he looked into her expectant blue eyes with a look of admiration.

"Because it is only human nature to fear things that we do not understand. How can I blame him for something that nature has instilled in him? If I acted the same way he did, would that not reinforce in his mind that I am what he believes me to be? It is not like I could make him less harsh by shouting back at him." Grace answered. Her voice was soft and kind as she spoke of her father. Loki wondered if it was even possible that she could value him as much as he treasured her.

Once they reached the house, Grace hurried about the kitchen preparing a meager meal for both Loki and Beth once she returned home from school. As he watched her, he contemplated what she had said to him as they were walking home. It sounded like she had forgiven her parents for abandoning her. How was that possible?

Grace got some chicken out of the fridge and cut it up onto two separate plates as she smiled at the thought of her parents possibly coming to visit her. Loki watched her and for the second time felt the overwhelming desire to walk up to her and kiss her on the lips. What was happening to him? There was something about her that made him want to surrender his will and lye in her comforting arms all day if he could.

Loki's bright green eyes watched Grace's every move as she limped around the kitchen while she gathered other items for her guest and daughter to eat, and she noticed this. She wondered what was going through his mind as he gazed almost unblinkingly at her. To be completely honest, she was beginning to get a bit nervous. All of that faded away the moment he stood and walked up to her and took her hands gently in his.

Loki then raised Graces hands to his lips and kissed them tenderly as he bent over in a slight bow. The moment his lips touched her skin, Grace noticed that her heart stop beating for a brief moment. Then, Loki let go of her hands and headed into the sitting room to lie down on his cot. Grace was left standing in the kitchen gasping for breath as her left hand rested over her heart and her right hand was on the counter to prevent her from falling.

Grace watched as Loki lay down on his cot and closed his eyes. There was something about that kiss he gave her that was both startling and shocking. There was a certain amount of passion in the kiss that Grace thought that no one could ever feel for her. The touch of his soft lips on her skin was still fresh in her mind and she could not shake it.

Then, Beth came walking through the front door and walked directly into the room that Loki was lying in. She saw him resting on his cot with his eyes closed and a peaceful expression on his face. Beth watched him for a moment then pulled a piece of paper out of her back pack and laid it on his chest. She then walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

Grace, realizing that Beth was home, asked, "How was your day, dear?"

"It was good. I drew a picture for Loki today!" Beth answered enthusiastically.

Grace echoed her tone of voice when she responded, "You did! Can I see it?" She then brought one of the plates with a sandwich on it and placed it in front of Beth.

"I put it in his room. He will see it when he wakes up." Beth responded.

"I am sure he will love it." Grace replied with a smile on her face as she watched Beth eat the food that was set in front of her.

Meanwhile in the adjacent room, Loki opened his eyes. He was not asleep but rather resting his eyes. He heard the conversation in the kitchen so he sat up to look for Beth's drawing. When he did so, he heard a piece of paper fall to the ground. He looked down and saw a paper with a simple childish drawing on it. He picked it up to examine it closer and when he saw it, a warm smile spread across his face. It was a drawing of him and Grace holding Beth's hand as she stood in the middle of the two. The words 'my family' was written on the top of the page in a child's handwriting and there were names of each person in the drawing written underneath them.

Holding the picture in his hands, Loki entered the kitchen and looked at Beth who, when she saw him, dropped her sandwich onto her plate and ran up to him. When she reached him, she threw her arms around his waist and held him tightly. Loki responded in kind and rubbed her back warmly. Grace watched as the two of them stayed there for a few moments.

Once they separated, Loki knelt down in front of Beth and showed her the picture as he asked, "You really consider me part of your family?"

Beth shyly swayed from side to side as she nodded her head. Loki then pulled her into an even tighter embrace as he fought the tears. He then felt a tingling in his hands and he looked down at them with a smile. He knew what that meant. He pulled out of the hug and said, "I have a small gift for both of you." He lifted his closed, cupped, hands in front of him and when he gradually opened his hands, two flowers on one stem made of green light grew in the palm of his hands. Both Grace and Beth watched in amazement and wonder as the flowers grew and then bloomed into the most beautiful flowers they had ever seen.

The petals slowly turned purple with a slight amount of blue in them and then the whole flower changed into real flowers. Loki then handed one flower to Beth and the other to Grace who took them gratefully. "How did you do that?" Beth asked.

Loki smiled brightly and answered, "A magician never reveals his secrets." He watched as both of them gazed in wonder at the remarkable flower in their hands. He wanted to do more for them, but he could not. Not yet at least.

After a few moments, Grace asked, "Well, would you like to eat your sandwich now, Loki?" She asked as he watched Beth closely examining the flower in her hand.

"Thank you, but I am not hungry. You can have it, Grace." Loki answered as he stood up.

Grace smiled and said, "How about we split it?"

"That works." Loki answered with a smile on his face. They all sat down and ate their dinner in silence. Afterwards, they started to prepare for bed but Loki was not tired so he said that he would go out for a walk and that he would be back by morning. Loki left the house leaving Beth and Grace alone.