"Good morning, lovebirds." Said a voice down below. Both Grace and Loki had fallen asleep on the roof as they lay in each other's arms. Loki had lain down with his arms wrapped tightly around Grace and closed his eyes. He never intended to fall asleep up there on the roof. But, apparently, he did.
Grace was the first to sit up. Her brown hair was all disheveled and her blue eyes were dreary from sleep. She looked down and saw Loki still lying on his back watching her with his green eyes. There was a warm grin on his face as she pulled her hair up and said to him, "Thank you for last night, Loki. That was lovely!" She smiled at him then and he thought he saw something in her smile that was never there before.
"No problem. You have shared so much with me; it was a pleasure for me to share something with you." Loki answered as he sat up and placed his hand warmly on her shoulder.
"I am still down here." The voice said again. It was a feminine voice that sounded very familiar to both of them. It also had a hint of sarcasm in it that was mixed with just a pinch of amusement. It was none other than Jane who was standing by the door of the house looking up at them.
As Grace rested her head back onto Loki's chest, he said to her, "We should really go down and rejoin the world, Grace."
"I do not want to. The world is too cruel. I just want to stay here in your arms for a bit longer." Grace protested with her eyes closed and her arms tight around Loki's waist. He smiled in response and turned to Jane and told her that they will be down in a few minutes.
"I will just wait in the house then." Jane replied. With that being said, she walked in through the front door.
Loki and Grace just sat on the roof with their arms wrapped around each other and not even two minutes later, Grace was asleep again. Loki looked up at the blue sky and sighed. He picked her up in his arms and carried her down off the roof and entered the house. Jane walked up to him, but before she could say anything, he whispered to her, "Grace fell back asleep. I am taking her to her room. I will be right back out."
"Alright." Jane answered in kind.
As Loki walked away with Grace held in his arms, Jane watched and could not help but think that he really did love her. Given what Thor told her about him and his past and all that he had done, she found it strange that he would form such a strong relationship with Grace. Then again, Grace was a hard person not to form a connection with.
A few moments later, Loki exited Grace's room and he closed the door behind him quietly. He walked into the kitchen and asked Jane if she would like anything to eat or drink. Jane declined both offers and said to him, "What did you and Grace do on the roof last night, Loki?" She had suspicion in her voice as she spoke to him.
"We just watched the night sky and ended up falling asleep." Loki answered point blankly.
"That is it?" Jane asked questioningly.
"Yes. Grace did not want a blanket so we had to hold each other tightly." Loki answered.
Jane nodded her head and said, "I just came to tell Grace that I am going back to New Mexico today. I realize that I have not really stayed long this month but," She paused for a moment and took one cautious step towards Loki. "I usually come because I know she must be lonely. It would appear that even though you have only been here about a year, she has formed a closer relationship with you then she has with me."
"I highly doubt that." Loki replied with a polite smile. "You were her friend from the beginning. You also come to see her as often as you can. You must pay her utility bills as well."
"Sure, I pay her water, electricity, and her rent bills; I also bring her little things to add to her house every now and again. But I only started doing that after I found her. It took me eight long years to discover where her parents left her. When I did, she did not even recognize me at first. It took her almost two weeks to remember who I was." Jane persisted. "But you, you hardly leave her side. You do things just to make her smile or laugh. I can only assume that means that you love her, am I wrong?"
Loki looked back at Grace's room and noticed that the door was still closed then he looked back and Jane. He took a deep breath and answered her with a soft voice, "Yes, I do love her. With all my heart."
"Then be good to her." Jane answered. "Just know that if you break her heart, I will find you no matter how long it takes, and I will make your life a living hell! Is that understood?" Jane threatened with hostility clear in her voice.
"Completely understood. I would never dream of it!" Loki answered calmly.
Jane left the house then and Loki went back to Beth's room and sat on the edge of her bed. He placed his hand gently on her shoulder and woke her up by saying, "It is time to get ready for school."
Beth awoke and smiled warmly at him. When she noticed that Loki had awakened her she asked, "Where is Grace?"
"Grace is sleeping." Loki answered. "Would you allow me to walk you to school today?"
Beth smiled and answered, "Yes!"
Loki smiled and responded, "Get ready then. We should get going soon."
Loki left Beth's room and wrote a note on the counter for Grace letting her know where he and Beth went and to wait there for him to return. Beth then came skipping out of her room all dressed for school with her books under one arm and grabbing the lunch bag that he had packed for her.
Loki smiled brightly when he saw Beth and extended out his hand for her which she happily took. As they left the house hand in hand, Beth asked, "What did you and Grace do last night after I went to take my nap? You never returned to continue reading to me."
"We just sat on the cot and talked then we went to the roof and watched the stars together." Loki answered as they walked along the street hand in hand.
"That is it?" Beth asked as she tried to take as wide steps as he did.
"Pretty much. We also fell asleep on the roof." Loki answered. He looked down at her when she giggled at his last statement. He saw a large smile on her face when he looked at her and asked with joy in his voice, "Why are you laughing?"
"The roof is not comfy." Beth replied.
"It was to us." Loki responded.
"How? Did you have a pillow?" Beth asked as she looked up at him.
"Nope. We did not plan on falling asleep, it just happened." Loki answered.
"Did you kiss her while you were up there?" Beth asked as she found a rock to kick along in front of her. "You like her, I can tell."
"Yes, I kissed her on the forehead." He responded with a smile on his face as he looked down at her. "Also, I more than like her. I love her." Loki replied. His mind went back to last night and he remembered watching Grace's face as she saw the lights that he summoned with the magic that he got back. He recalled leaning back on the roof with Grace asleep in his arms. He remembered the feeling of her head resting on his chest as she gently breathed. He had watched her sleep then and noticed that she looked even more peaceful, if that was even possible, while she slept.
"Loki?" Beth interjected after a few moments.
Loki was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of her voice. "Yes, Beth?"
"Are you going to be my new daddy?" Beth asked shyly.
Loki chuckled softly and answered her, "Would you like that?" Beth just nodded her head in response. "That is entirely up to Grace, my dear. But I would like to be. Very much so."
They continued to walking in relative silence that was broken by Beth asking the occasional question and Loki responded to every single one. They reached the school a few minutes later and noticed that there were cops out front. They were walking around trying to calm people and speaking into their walkie-talkies on their shoulders.
"What is going on?" Loki asked the nearest mother when he was close enough.
The mother that Loki spoke to had pale green eyes and shoulder length red hair, and when she turned around, she saw Loki standing there with Beth's hand in his. She screamed and pointed her finger at him and backed away quickly. The police were on him in an instant. They pried him away from Beth, who was protesting and shouting, and slapped some hand cuffs on him. They then lead him away and put him in the back of a police car and drove away. Beth, forgetting that school was about to start, ran all of the way back home as fast as she possible could.
Back at the house, Grace awoke in her room by herself. She heard the birds singing outside her window and smiled. The events of last night came rushing back to her then. She watching the most fantastic scene up in the sky that she had ever seen with Loki by her side. She also recalled falling asleep in his arms as he held her close. He must have eventually fallen asleep on the roof as well for they both awoke there in the morning. After Jane had roused them she must have fallen back asleep in his arms and he must have carried her into her room.
Grace then remembered with a start that Jane was at the house and she was not overly fond of Loki. She did not want to leave those two out there by themselves. She sat up rapidly and put her brace on. She stood up and walked out to the kitchen only to find that she was alone in the house. She then saw that there was a note on the counter so she walked over to it. When she was standing in front of the note, she picked it up and read it. The note read:
Dear Grace,
Jane decided to leave early, so she is on her way back to New Mexico. I have taken Beth to school. Do not panic. I will be back soon. I promise.
All my love,
Loki.
A smile spread across Grace's face as she read Loki's short and to the point note. He obviously did not have time to compose a full letter. Grace folded up the letter and put it in her pocket then she started to prepare some coffee for him when he arrived back at the house.
The door opened then and someone came running into the house. Grace turned around then and saw Beth panting and gasping for breath. "What is wrong, Beth?" She asked. Worry coating her voice.
"Loki got arrested." Beth answered breathlessly as she pointed out the open door.
Shock was all over her face as Grace asked, "What happened?"
"I am not sure." Beth replied. "Liza's mother just looked at him a screamed. Then the cops were all over him."
Grace quickly grabbed her wheelchair and told Beth that she was going to go and try to get him out. She told Beth to wait at the house and she then wheeled herself out the door,
As Grace wheeled to the police station she felt the anger rising within her. She wanted to calm down yet could not, her rage was adding to her adrenaline. She was imagining finding Loki locked in a prison cell with several other brutal inmates. He was far to gentle a person to harm anyone if he got attacked by the other convicts. Sure, he could defend himself but he should not have to.
After about thirty minutes, Grace reached the police station and entered. She stood up from her chair and slowly strode over to the desk. Before she reached it, she managed to hide her anger just enough to fool the police woman who was behind the desk.
"Ah Grace." She said when she noticed that Grace stood directly in front of the desk. She had deep blue eyes and dark red hair that was pulled back in a tight French braid. "What can I help you with today?"
Grace smiled and answered, "I understand you arrested someone on suspicion of being the one who invaded the city. I came to tell you that you made a mistake."
The police woman laughed a hearty laugh and responded to her, "An eye witness pointed him out, Grace. Unless she made a mistake, we got the correct man."
"May I go back and see him, please?" Grace asked. "He had been in my care for the past year."
"You mean to tell me that he has been in New York for a year and we did not know about it?" The police officer responded as she sat forward.
"Yes, he has. He is not the man that you think he is." Grace replied quietly.
In response, the police woman grabbed a set of keys from her desk drawer and said to Grace, "I do not believe that we got the wrong man, but I will let you see him. Because you help so many people, I will even let you speak to him for no more than five minutes."
"Thank you." Grace responded.
The police woman opened a bared door and lead Grace past cells with inmates shouting curse words at each other and cat calling when she walked by. Some of them even called out to her saying, "Hey pretty girl. Come a little closer, baby."
"Most of these men here were arrested for drug dealing or robbery. Some of them for abuse or even murder. Never have we had someone in here who tried to cause genocide." The police woman explained.
"Loki did not try to commit genocide!" Grace answered. There was a hint of hostility in her voice and then she quickly composed herself and added, "He was just heart broken."
She laughed and answered, "Well, when my boyfriend left me, you did not see me on the news killing people."
Grace just ignored that comment and continued to follow the police woman further into the prison. Every jail cell that they passed held at least two inmates in them as they walked through what seemed to be a maze of cells. They called out to her in much the same way, but some of them called out degrading comments at her. Some sounded a bit like this: "Hey, are you deaf as well as lame! Get me out of here!" Others, I do not even care to mention.
"Your man is in solitary confinement. It is just back here." The police officer commented once they were getting close.
Grace then came up to a room that was completely enclosed with concrete and cinder-block. The door to the room was made of metal and it had one single window in it that held a thick plastic in it. "He is in there." The police woman pointed to the room.
"Why was he put in solitary confinement?" Grace asked with shock clear in her voice.
"We did not want him to harm any of the other inmates." Said another police man that walked up to them. He had brown eyes and thinning brown hair. He was clutching his belt as it strained to support a rotund stomach.
Grace looked at him and practically shouted her answer, "He would not harm anyone! He is far too gentle to do anything of the kind!"
"He invaded the city with an army of aliens." The man commented. "You say that that man is gentle?" He pointed at the cell with his thumb as he held on to his belt with his other hand.
"True, he did invade the city, but he has changed." Grace protested.
They argued for a few more minutes, and then the woman turned to Grace and said, "You wanted to see the prisoner. Is that correct?"
Grace composed herself and responded, "Yes, please."
The police man pulled a set of keys off of a loop on his belt and unlocked the door. The police woman was preparing to usher her into the room by lightly grasping her arm, but Grace could tell this and shouted, "Do not touch me!" while simultaneously yanking her arm away.
The police man opened the door then and Grace saw Loki with shackles attached to his feet and hands as he sat on a small bench in the far corner of the room. It was dark and the only light that entered into the small room was from a minuscule window on the west wall. Although it was dark, Grace could see a dejected look upon his face as he stared out the window with a faraway look in his green eyes.
The room was sound proof so he did not hear them arguing outside the room. "Have you come to see the monster before it is too late?" Loki asked without even looking up to see who was at the door. His voice was one of someone who knew that they were never getting out alive and he had a single tear running down his pale face.
Grace stood at the threshold of the room and sighed when she saw him sitting there. "I have told you before, Loki. You are not a monster." When he heard her voice, he looked up with an expression that was a mixture of joy and dread. Grace then casually limped into the room and sat down beside him. "You are only a monster if you choose to be." There was a weak sad smile on her face as she looked into his green eyes.
"Grace," Loki began as he turned to face her. "I am so glad to see you. But you should not have come." He was speaking to her in a soft gentle tone of voice that confused the officers who were watching.
"Why do you say that?" Grace asked. She had begun to choke up because she guessed what was coming. Her hands were folded neatly in her lap but you could tell that she was fighting the impulse to reach out and hold him.
"I am going to be executed in a few hours." Loki answered her.
Grace then had a tear that began to run down the left side of her face. "Why?" She asked again sorrow coating her voice.
Almost immediately, the police man answered, "Because we were ordered that if we ever capture the man who is responsible for the invasion of aliens in the city that we should execute him at sunset."
"Can you give us a little privacy, please?" Grace asked with her head hanging low. Her voice was filled with sorrow as she asked the police officers for a few minutes unsupervised with the prisoner.
In response, the woman turned to leave but turned and saw that the man was still standing there watching what was transpiring in the cell. She nudged him gently and they both left Grace and Loki in the room and stood a few feet away.
"I wish I could hold you right now." Grace said with a sorrowful voice. There were tears running freely down her face as she looked up into Loki's tranquil green eyes.
"Why can you not? Is it something they told you not to do?" Loki asked.
"No, I was angry when I heard that you had been arrested." Grace stopped speaking for a moment and wiped the tears away from her face. Then she continued speaking. "When I am angry, my gift becomes more of a curse. No one can touch me, nor I them, for at least a half hour after I calm down or my 'gift' works in reverse. I unintentionally drain the life energy out of them. I do not want to do that to you."
"I trust you. Besides, if that happens to me, at least I will perish in the arms of someone I love. Then, I will always be with you." Loki said quietly. He then lifted his bound hands and slowly put them around her neck tenderly. Nothing was happening. Loki was not losing his life energy. Grace then leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him and leaned her head against his chest and wept freely.
They remained in that tight embrace for a few moments and both Grace and Loki desperately wanted time to stop. But unfortunately, time stops for no one. It just marches on and on with no regard to anyone.
Loki whispered in her ear then, "I have something for you."
They separated then and Loki retrieved something from his pocket as Grace wiped the tears away from her eyes. Loki grasped whatever it was in his hand firmly as he looked back up at her and said, "Please think of me every time you look at this." He then opened his hand to reveal a black ring that he had fashioned out of his hair.
"Is this why you asked where I put the hair that you had given me?" Grace asked as she looked from the ring back up to Loki with shock clearly written on her face.
"That is correct." Loki answered with a weak smile on his pale face. "I want to spend the rest of my life at your side. I had planned to propose to you when I came back from dropping Beth off at school. But, alas, that happiness is not in store for me."
Grace gently took the ring out of his hand and slipped it on the ring finger of her left hand. Loki watched as she did this and saw another tear find its way down her sweet face. Once the ring was on her hand, Loki leaned forward and kissed her on the lips.
Tears continued to run down her face as she placed her hand on the right side of his face and kissed him back. With that kiss, Grace communicated how much she would miss him and Loki expressed how much his short time with her had meant to him. He knew where he was going after he died. That he would be able to experience a taste of heaven while he was still alive was enough for him.
"Time is up." Said the police woman. She had with a note of regret in her voice as she spoke.
Loki's and Grace's lips separated then and Grace whispered to him while they were still in each other's arms, "I will never forget you, my love."
Loki then felt a tear run down his face as he listen to her speak and as she stood up to walk away. She walked very slowly to the door and turned back to look at him when she reached the threshold. He did his best to give her a reassuring smile, but failed in the attempt.
As soon as Grace excited the room, the door was slammed shut and she looked back at it sorrowfully. She then turned to the police man and asked, "Who gives this command that you must follow through with it so thoroughly?"
"The mayor of the state of New York does." He answered point blankly. "There is nothing I can do about it."
Grace then turned around and marched as quickly as she could back to the door. She looked through the small window and saw Loki sitting on the bench with his head hanging down low. She knocked on the window then and Loki looked up and saw her standing at the window looking in at him. "I love you!" she shouted with tears running down her face.
Loki could not hear her, but he could tell what she was saying to him. A smile grew on his face as he stood and raised his hands to his lips and kissed them. Grace smiled weakly when she saw him do this. She then turned to the police man who was standing by the door and said to him, "Please, let me go in his place."
The man scoffed and said, "Now why would I do that?"
"Because," Grace stopped and looked back at the door and saw that Loki was still standing up watching her. She looked back at the police man and said, "I do not know. Just, please, do not kill him!"
The police woman put her hand on Grace's shoulder and said, "I am sorry. There is nothing we can do. Allow me to show you out."
Grace started to exit the station then with the police woman's arm around her back comfortingly. Loki watched as they left with a strange satisfied feeling deep inside him. At least he found love and that it was reciprocated before the end of his life.
Grace looked back at the door once they were a good distance away and could no longer see Loki in his cell. But her could see her. A tear ran down his face as her saw her look back two more times. He was really going to miss her.
Once they reached the lobby, Grace then walked over to retrieve her wheelchair and to head home. As she wheeled home you would have thought that the world was coming to an end. Her face was so somber in appearance that even people who passed her by felt a pang of sorrow when they saw her.
The birds held no interest for her anymore, nor did the changing colors in the horizon as the sun sank lower into the sky. When Grace reached her house, Beth came running up to her before she even entered through the door and asked, "What happened? Is Loki still in prison?"
"Yes he is. There is nothing I could do." Grace answered as she stood from her wheelchair and walked into the sitting room and sat down on the cot that Loki had slept on for the year that he was with them. She picked up the pillow that was lying at the head of the cot and held it close to her. As she held it close to her face she noticed that it smelled like him. A tear escaped her left eye then and ran down her face.
Beth saw this and walked up to Grace and sat beside her on the cot. She wrapped her little arms around her and buried her head in the pillow that was lying on Grace's lap. In response to this, Grace gently stroked Beth's hair as they both wept silently.
They sat there for what seemed like only a few minutes, but in reality it was probably more like an hour. Grace felt like it was all she could do not to breakdown in tears right there. For Beth's sake, she was not going to cry as hard as she wanted too.
After a few more moment, Grace whispered in Beth's ear, "You should go to bed, dear."
Beth sat up and looked into Grace's once bright and cheerful blue eyes, for they were now dark and clouded with sorrow as she held back the tears. Beth's dark green eyes were raw from crying so much and there were tear stains streaking down her face. "Can I sleep in your bed tonight?" Beth asked. Her little voice was shaking as she spoke in a hushed tone of voice. Grace kissed her forehead and smiled as a tear ran down the left side of the child's face.
"Of course you can." Grace answered with a saddened smile on her face.
Beth climbed off of the cot and walked slowly to Grace's room and got into bed. Once the door closed, Grace then started to sob bitterly. Tears stained her face as she thought that she would never again see Loki's face and experience the warmth of his embrace. Never again would she be able to witness the smile growing on his face as he watched Beth run around joyfully. She could no longer experience the ecstasy that grew in her innermost being when he kissed her in a way that only he could.
Grace then excited the house and climbed up onto the roof and sat down and watched the sun sinking into the west. She searched the sky for a reason why Loki had to be killed and found none. Yes, he had slain people in his past, but that does not mean anything about him in his present. She lay down on the roof where Loki had laid the night before. If only she had gone with him to drop Beth off a school, maybe none of this would have happened. With that thought, the tears began to stream down her face once more and she wailed loudly with sorrow as she thought of him.
Grace then looked at her left hand and saw the ring that Loki had made for her. A saddened grin spread across her face when she remembered what he told her when he gave it to her in his prison cell. He wanted to marry her. She would have said yes to him without a second thought. Without a single doubt in her mind.
Grace then sat up and descended from the roof and entered into the house. She heard a quiet whimper coming from her room and she knew who it was. Beth was lying on her bed mourning. Grace put a lunch together for Beth the next day and then headed back to her room. She entered slowly and saw Beth lying on her bed in a fetal ball crying. Grace walked over to her and lay down beside her on her bed.
"I miss Loki." Beth said as Grace wrapped her arms around the young child comfortingly.
"I do as well, Beth." Grace answered as she kissed her on the forehead.
"Will we ever see him again?" Beth asked as she looked up at Grace.
A tear then formed in Grace's eye as she listened to Beth's question. She knew that the chances were slim that they would ever see Loki again, but she did not want to tell her that. She knew it would break her heart. "Only time will tell, dear." Grace answered after a few moments of silent tears.
Beth fell asleep in a few moments leaving Grace lying there wide awake. Her mind ran over and over the events of that day and she could not understand why the police refused to let Loki go free. But, then again, she could a little bit. But, could they not tell by his expression that he was different now? Why did they have to kill him?
After about a half hour, Grace gradually fell asleep and dreamed of Loki. She dreamed of the good times they had together and a warm loving smile growing on his face. She also dreamed of the things that could have happened but were cut shot because of this untimely arrest.