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Look! It's a longer chapter! It's like...NORMAL people write! ;)
Please enjoy this-I promise I'm working on...things...this. Something! :D
Jane sat at the spacious island counter in her kitchen.
Stared at the calendar hanging on the wall nearby.
It was two days until her birthday.
And closing in on four years since she had last seen the father of her child. As was habit, she craned her head to look to her ceiling. She wondered if Heimdall was gazing down on her.
She wondered if Heimdall was even still alive.
For all she knew, the entirety of Asgaard could be a frozen wasteland, ruled by the Frost Giants.
She bit her lip when an image of Thor, frozen in death, flashed into her mind.
His voice, his touch, and his promise, echoed within her and brought her near tears.
Another sound snapped her back to reality.
Soft, light humming.
A child's laughter.
Her daughter.
Jane turned away from the calendar and shut the horrible thoughts of a dead or dying Asgaard from her brain.
She stood at the corner of the kitchen, gazing into the den at her three year old.
Kari bounced and skipped in circles around one of their plush reclining chairs, humming brightly, giggles sneaking through every few seconds. When she would miss a step in her skip, she would stop and laugh at the chair.
Jane cocked her head to side.
"Baby, what are you laughing at?"
At the sound of her voice, Kari paused. Her light blonde hair bounced and fell into her face. Blue eyes found her mother.
She looks so much like him….
"My friend. But he laughed at me first!" She placed her hands on her hips, and gave the chair a frustrated look.
Kari could put on the "sass" when she truly wanted; Jane saw Thor's personality in their daughter more and more as she grew.
She was very intelligent for her young age. She was also abnormally strong.
Jane recalled the punches and kicks in the womb. She also recalled several bent and broken toys.
Fortunately, Jane did not encourage or even acknowledge the unusual level of strength her daughter possessed. And as she grew, Kari seemed to employ it less and less.
She was a gentle girl, seemingly normal.
And despite it being just her and Jane alone in the large home, she seemed quite happy.
Jane smiled.
She had been wondering how long it would take for her daughter to create an imaginary friend to play with.
She had considered, several times, getting a family pet. A dog seemed appropriate; strong enough to handle Kari's bouts of strength but gentle enough not to lose patience and possibly bite.
She had decided to wait, however.
Allow Kari more time to grow and mature before giving her something she could potentially (and accidently) harm.
Jane took a step into the den.
"Does your new friend have a name?"
Kari stood, and turned away from her. She gazed toward the windows.
Her voice grew small.
"No."
The word was whispered, and saddened. Jane bent down and picked her little one up. She thanked all who could be listening that Kari had inherited her frame, and not Thor's.
She was small despite her strength.
"Honey, what's wrong?"
Jane brushed the blonde locks from Kari's eyes and looked into them.
"He's gone now. I don't know where he went."
Jane followed her daughter's gaze out the window.
A car passed by on the road far outside their large front yard.
She hugged her and set her down.
"It's okay, sweetie. I'm sure your friend will come back."
The next day saw Jane hating those words.
She had just shut down her three computers after emailing the results of her current research to Coulson.
Jane enjoyed working from home. There were no children in the neighborhood near them, and she was happy to spend time with Kari daily.
She knew, of course, that the girl needed other playmates besides her, however.
The fact that Kari had made one up only confirmed that.
SHIELD had provided them a home far too large for two. An entire wing was dedicated to her work. Computers, servers, and file cabinets lined the walls of the room. Satellites were posted on the roof and in the side yard.
Jane did not protest the home one bit.
The slight buzzing of the computers died and Jane sought solace in the silence.
The next day was her birthday. Tony Stark had been calling her since the previous week. He wanted to throw her a party, invite the Avengers.
Even Coulson had mentioned an interest.
Jane had not confirmed any celebration.
Pepper Potts had sent her text messages, asking her what she wanted as a gift.
Jane could not tell her that the only thing she would ask for was a reunited family.
So she did not respond at all.
Jane picked up on the sound of Kari's voice again.
More humming echoed from the den.
It appeared her 'friend' had returned after all.
Jane looked around and waved a hand into the air.
Research was done for the day. Her little girl running around with an invisible playmate was so much more entertaining.
As Jane neared the room she realized Kari was not humming, but singing.
She poked her head around the corner again.
This time, the girl was sitting on the top edge of their sofa, legs swinging over the side. She was looking down at it, singing a song in a silly high-pitched tone.
Jane listened for a few moments.
And jolted.
Her daughter was speaking another language. One she had never heard before.
It sounded similar to…..Swedish?
Her breath caught in her throat.
She tried not to sound worried when she spoke.
"Kari, where did you learn to talk like that?"
Her voice seemed to crack anyway. Her eyes darted around the room. Her heart thudded in her chest. She wondered…..
She feared….
"My friend. He taught me a song. Do you wanna hear it from the start Mama?"
Her imaginary friend taught her what sounds like Old Norse.
Jane walked into the room, tried not to seem concerned.
Plucked her toddler from the sofa.
"Um, no thank you, baby. Maybe later okay? Let's….let's go get dinner started. You can help me stir the mac n' cheese?"
Kari beamed, and suddenly seemed to lose interest in whatever had her attention on the couch.
The little girl enjoyed cooking. Jane saw a master chef in the works.
She willed away her fears to keep them from showing through to her daughter.
Once she had Kari in bed that night, she decided she would make a few calls.
It was when she was tucking her into bed that Jane's fears were realized.
Kari yawned and placed a kiss on her mother's cheek.
Jane shifted, placed a hand at the cell phone in her pocket. She had more than one important number to speed-dial once Kari was….
"Mama? Is it true that Daddy is a King?"
She stopped breathing. For two long seconds, Jane could not catch her breath.
It was true that Kari was aware of Thor's existence. Pictures of him lined their hallway. Some were of him in armor—snapped at Tony's home after a successful mission with the Avengers. Others were of him in normal human attire, beaming at the camera with Jane following suit beside him.
Kari was an intelligent girl. And inquisitive. She knew that the man in the pictures was her father. She also knew he was a "superhero" like the Avengers.
She knew he was gone; helping people far, far away.
And that was all.
"Who told you that, Kari?"
Jane held her breath. Wondered if she would accidently make herself faint.
"My friend. He's been telling me stories about Asgaard. Where Daddy went? He's the King. Right?"
Her blue eyes bore into hers.
Her daughter was practically daring her to contradict this "friend".
Jane sighed. Held back a tear to be shed for later.
"Yes, baby. He's a King. Asgaard is far away, sweetheart. But Daddy will come back someday soon. Okay?"
She wondered if this friend of hers had told her daughter otherwise.
If he was who she thought he was…..she wouldn't put it past him.
But Kari surprised her.
"Yeah, that's what my friend said too. I like him. He's nice. I love you, Mama. Go to sleep and maybe Daddy will be here when you wake up!"
Something stirred in Jane's chest. A flutter of hope.
Did this friend know something? Or was he just telling a child what he thought she ought to hear?
Jane slid the cell phone from her pocket.
"Goodnight, baby. I love you."
She snuck away into her room across the hall, and dialed the first number.
Two rings.
An excited male voice on the other end.
"About time, Jane! So what's it gonna be? Party at your place tomorrow?"
Jane laughed through her worry.
"Yes, Tony. Party's on. I'm calling the rest of the guys as well. Maybe even Natasha…Oh, don't give me that. Pepper will be here to protect you!"
Steven Rogers stood at her right side in the kitchen, sipping a Dr. Pepper. His eyes darted to every corner around them.
Noises echoed from the den, and the patio outside.
Her birthday party was in its second hour. Tony Stark was grilling God-knew-what outside, fully intent on teaching Kari the "finer points" of Bar-B-Que.
Most of her guests were among them, waiting eagerly for the much needed food.
Coulson sat at the counter across from herself and Captain America.
He nodded to the patio.
"So….you think it might be Loki that Kari is seeing? I won't lie to you, Miss Foster. We lost tabs on him right around the time Thor left for Asgaard. We'd been keeping track of his activities up until then; we would catch random spikes in energy near the compound. But he never showed himself. And he never tried to infiltrate again. When Thor left, we lost him completely. We assumed he had hitched a ride off Earth. Tried to open a gate to warn Thor. But….as you know…all connections to the other realms are severed. Which means if Loki is here….he's stuck here."
Steve turned towards her suddenly.
"Has he-or whoever it is-tried to hurt Kari? Or you?"
Jane smiled at the concern dripping from his voice. She'd always found Steve to be reliable, and inherently protective. The soldier in him commanded him to do so.
"No. Um….over the years, whoever-whatever it is…. seems harmless. But…I don't know. I really don't know what to think. How am I supposed to explain this to Kari?"
Couslon looked her in the eye.
"You don't. Don't do anything. Don't acknowledge it—him. If something happens, call me. But don't do anything else. Got it?"
Jane read his expression. Caught the severity.
"Got it."
The smells of Bar-B-Que sauce and chocolate cake permeated the air in the home.
Pepper and Tony had been the last to leave, both taking time to help her finish cleaning the mess that Tony himself had mostly made.
Jane sat in her living room, on the sofa. Kari was playing in her room. Jane looked next to her at the old baby monitor she'd dug from the closet. The other was placed in Kari's room with her. Just in case.
She listened to the sounds of Kari making car-engine noises. Her little girl had a tendency to be something of a tomboy sometimes….
Jane leaned back and stared at the ceiling again.
Smiled sadly.
What a birthday present she'd received that day…
Hey, guess what? All those strange things that have been happening since you were pregnant? Guess WHO?
Jane shook her head.
She would not believe it completely. Not until she saw proof. She could not accept the idea that he…..he had been….watching them.
And she could not fathom the truth that he had done nothing to try and hurt them.
Something crackled from the monitor.
A whisper.
A very familiar whisper.
Jane stood up, quickly. Prepared to race in and snatch her child and run from the home.
She stopped when she saw Kari at the entrance to the den.
She held something in her hands. The girl was moving it back and forth quickly from one to the other, smiling with glee.
"Mama-look!"
Jane composed herself. Commanded her heart to stop racing. Smiled….
"What is it baby?"
Kari ran up to her, and thrust what was in her grasp into one of Jane's hands.
Jane shivered instantly. Looked down.
A crystal rose shined in the light of the den, complete with a single leaf protruding from its stem.
Her fingers closed around it and Jane swallowed thickly.
It was not made of crystal.
It was made of ice.
Goosebumps rose on her arms and she stared at it, unblinking.
She fought the urge to sob from the confirmation of it all.
Kari's voice was loud and happy.
"It's from my friend, Mama. He told me to tell you 'Happy Birthday'!"
Kari had insisted on placing the rose in the freezer to prevent it from melting.
In return, Jane had insisted Kari sleep in her bed with her that night.
She had made the call to Coulson. She was told to leave if she felt threatened. She found, to both her horror and confusion, that she did not know how to answer that question.
Coulson had sent Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff to watch her home that night.
It was four in the morning and Jane was wide awake.
Two things were keeping her up.
The knowledge that two SHIELD agents were outside her window with guns.
And the knowledge that Loki Laufeyson had been interacting with her daughter since she was an infant.
Jane shuddered and wondered if the air conditioning was set too cold.
Or if….
She looked to her left and saw Kari sound asleep.
Coulson had said not to acknowledge him but….
Her whisper escaped into the air regardless.
"Loki?"
She waited, heart hammering and her blood racing in anticipation.
Seconds passed.
Minutes.
Nothing.
She rolled over and laid an arm over her daughter.
She knew she would find no sleep at all.
The question of "who" had been answered.
But it would take much longer for any of them to understand the all-important, completely bewildering question of "why".
So. What do you guys think about this time-jumping thing? Interesting? Annoying? I'm getting to something with it eventually...I think. Please holla and let me know!