Chapter 10

Jane sat on the bed reading the book, but was unable to concentrate. Where was Erik and Thor? Did they get hurt? Are they okay? It had been more than a couple of hours and she started to become worried. She started to read again when she heard a loud rapping on the door. Startled, Jane bolted toward the door and opened it to find Thor standing there with an unconscious Erik slung over his shoulder.

"Erik!" Jane exclaimed. "Is he all right?"

"He is fine. Not injured at all." Thor replied.

Thor walked into the small quarters, barely fitting into the doorway resulting in him accidently banging Erik's head above. Erik groaned loudly.

"Sorry, my friend." Thor said to Erik.

"What happened?" Jane asked.

"We drank. We fought. He made his ancestors proud." Thor said.

They went drinking while I was here biting my nails of my fingers?, Jane thought.

"Put him on the bed." Jane said.

Thor moved through the small place to the bed, knocking things along the way. He finally set Erik down on the bed causing Erik to awaken groggily, still drunk.

"I still don't believe you're the God of Thunder. But you ought to be." Erik said before drifting off to sleep. Thor patted him on the cheek and drew the blankets over him.

Jane watched, stunned by what seemed to be friendship transferring between the two men. Just yesterday, Erik wanted nothing to do with this guy.

Thor turned back to Jane and looked around. "These are your chambers?"

Jane suddenly became self-conscious. She started to clean up some of the mess around.

"Well, it's more of a temporary living space, really. I don't usually have visitors in here…actually, never." Jane explained.

Thor picked up a sock off the floor, Jane quickly snatched it from his hand and put it away.

"Can we go outside?" Jane pleaded.

Thor nodded. They stepped outside of the trailer and started climbing the roof of the lab. Thor helped Jane up. There were two chairs with blankets and a fire already going.

"I come up here sometimes when I can't sleep. Or when I'm trying to reconcile particle date. Or when Darcy's driving me crazy." They both chuckled. "I come up here a lot, now that I think about it."

After sitting down, she looked at Thor. He was looking up at the night sky, filled with stars. His eyes searched the sky as if trying to find something.

"I'm glad you're safe." Jane said honestly.

Thor turned toward her.

"You have been truly kind. I have been far less grateful than you deserve." Thor said.

She remembered all the times he was rude and acted so arrogant and selfish. She now looked at him differently like he was a changed man.

"I also hit you with my car a couple times, so it kind of evens it out." Jane said jokingly.

Thor grinned at the memory, well more than a few memories. He suddenly remembered something. He reached into his pocket and pulled out her notebook.

"I don't believe it…" Jane said surprised and grateful. She took the notebook and gave Thor a quick hug. She might have hung on a little longer than necessary.

"It was all I could get back. Not as much as I promised. I apologize." Thor said as he withdrew from her embrace. He found himself also lingering. She was so warm in comparison to the cool night.

"No, this is good. Thank you . This means I don't have to start from scratch." She opened the notebook eagerly, but stopped after a while realizing something.

"What is the matter?" Thor asked.

"SHIELD, whatever they are. They're never going to let this research see the light of day." Jane said angry that SHIELD had ended her life's struggle.

"You must do this. You must finish what you have started." Thor pleaded with her.

"Why should I?" Jane said. "There is no point."

"Because you are right. It has taken so many generations of your people to get to this point. You're nearly there. You just need someone to show you how close you really are." Thor said.

Jane stared at Thor trying to understand what he was getting at. Thor moved closer to Jane and took the notebook and the pen that was inside. He began to draw.

"Look—your ancestors called it magic. You call it science. I come from a place where they are one and the same." Thor said.

Jane looked at Thor intrigued at what he was saying and back at the notebook. As he continued, he started to draw what looked to be branches all connecting the planets.

"What is it?" Jane asked amazed.

"This is how my father explained it to me…Your world is one of the Nine Realms of the Cosmos, liked to each other by the branches of Yggdrasil, the Worlds Tree. Now, you see it every day, without realizing it. Images glimpsed through—what did you call it? This Hooble Telescope…

"Hubble Telescope." Jane said correcting him. They looked at each other laughing a bit.

"Yes." Thor continued. "So the Nine realms…Elfheim, Svartalfheim, Vanaheim, Muspelheim, Niffleheim, Nidavellir, Jotunheim…

Thor paused after each world taking care to point to them on the picture of the cosmos.

"…Midgard, or Earth, and Asgard. That is where I come from." Thor finished.

Jane looked at Thor and noticed a longing on his face, for his home. Jane looked at back at the notebook and noticed a pattern. She took the notebook and pen away from Thor and connected all the planets on the image he just mentioned. When she was finished she looked at it closely, and sure enough, it took the similar form of a tree.

She looked at Thor in shock. It all made so much more sense now. This explains everything. She couldn't believe it, but everything this guy said was true. But, does that mean… She decided to ignore it. A question for another time.

"Thank you. This means so much to me." Jane said to Thor.

"It was no trouble at all." Thor said smiling at Jane.

Jane picked up her pen and started asking Thor some questions. Some time had passed and Jane ended up snuggled next to Thor. The fire was long gone. Jane shifted in her sleep. Thor looked down at Jane. She is so beautiful, Thor thought. The moon lighting up her face, making her glow seemingly from within. The warmth of her body was radiating off her and onto Thor. He didn't mind if he had to stay this way forever. Thor pulled the blankets over the two of them. He looked at the sky and back at her.

"Thank you, Jane." Thor whispered before he too drifted off to sleep.