A/N: Oh, my lord. The reviews. You guys are amazing. So, here's the next chapter. Enjoy.

Jane walked through the door, tired. She hadn't done anything strenuous, but it was amazing how tired one was after using your brain…

She had expected to find her apartment in shambles, but, surprisingly, it was still standing. No frightening plumes of smoke, or flames shooting out the roof. And it was quiet. Hopefully, that was a good thing.

She peered into the living room, and saw Loki, Darcy, and Thor sitting around the glass-topped coffee table, enjoying Thai take-out.

"Hey, what's going on?" She glanced around. Loki looked up from his dinner and smiled.

"Welcome home, Miss Foster." He said with a sly smile.

"Oh my god, you guys cleaned?" Darcy nodded, holding out one of the boxes to her friend.

"Yup. And we got you take-out, too." Thor set down his plate and ran over to her, bringing a small-ish Lego structure.

"I made this for you!" he crowed triumphantly. Jane took it, smiling. Thor was quite attractive as an adult, but as a child, he was so adorable.

"What is it?"

"It's the palace! I wanna take you there sometime! It's amazing. The real-life one, not this one…" He grinned up at her. Jane glanced over at Loki, trying not to laugh.

"It's great, Thor. Thank you." The boy walked back over to his food, digging in with the same gusto that he had shown as a grown-up. Jane sat next to Loki.

"So, whose idea was it to clean?" Darcy pointed at Loki, unable to answer, thanks to a mouthful of pork pad thai. Jane raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry. If it offends you, I can put everything back where it was…dust included." Loki offered, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

"Oh, no, it's fine. It's…uh, great, actually." Thor interrupted the conversation with a yawn. He climbed up onto Loki's lap, nestling into his brother's arms, looking like he belonged there. Loki brushed his bangs back away from his face.

"Tired, Thor?" he asked, squeezing him lightly. Thor nodded silently.

"Mmhmm." Loki stood up, holding his brother to his chest.

"If you'll excuse me, ladies…" he said. Jane nodded. Loki took him down the hall, and into the guest bedroom they now shared.

"Loki, when can we go home?" Thor asked.

"I'm not sure, Thor. But I promise to get us back as soon as possible." He pulled the blankets up over Thor and started to leave.

"Loki?" He stopped, and turned back to the lump under the covers.

"Yes?"

"I love you." Loki wasn't sure how to respond. He sat down on the edge of the bed. How badly he wanted to respond with 'I love you too', but how could he lie to that innocent face? He leaned down over the boy, and kissed his forehead.

"I know you do." He whispered, before gently ruffling his hair. "Sleep well, brother."

"Night Loki."

Loki came back out into the living room to see both Jane and Darcy speaking in whispers.

"What did I miss?" he asked. Jane looked up, her face almost unreadable. Her eyes however were like a book. She still didn't trust him. Not unexpected, but still a nuisance.

"I really need to know what's going on, Loki. If SHIELD knew you were here…" Loki's eyes widened with alarm.

"You didn't tell them, did you?" Jane shook her head.

"No, but if I'm going to keep this from the people I work for, you'd better give me a damn good reason to."

"I don't know what to tell you."

"You've gotta give me something. I can't just keep this…" Loki cut her off with a gesture.

"Yes you can, and you will, because Thor's safety may depend upon it. If you truly care for him, you will tell no one." He ran his hands over his hair, completely at wit's end. "I came to you, because…I thought you might be more accepting than the Avengers. Please. I'm doing all I can, but I need to arrange something before I can try to change Thor back."

"How are you going to change him back?" Jane asked. "You've mentioned it several times, but you haven't made any move to do it. How do I know you're actually trying?"

"I know this seems counter-intuitive, but, I need you to trust that I'm doing everything in my power to get my brother back." His eyes were pleading. "Miss Foster, I am not lying. I couldn't lie about something like this. I swear."

"Okay. What do you need me to do besides that?"

"Just knowing that you're not going to reveal our presence to SHIELD is enough. I don't want to bring you any farther into this than I have to." The moment was interrupted by the lights flickering out. A greenish pale light appeared in the center of the room.

"Very clever, Father." A voice said. Jane shrieked when Hela's black-robed figure appeared. Darcy said nothing, just tucked herself into the corner of the couch, trying to stay out of sight as much as possible.

"Hela, you shouldn't have come here." Loki said quietly. Hela smiled a little.

"When have either of us been know to willingly do the bidding of others? I had to inherit something from you. My eyes, half of my face, the rebel attitude…" she purred. "And now, my unwillingness to let go of the past."

"You already know that answer, Hela. You aren't taking him." Hela bared her teeth in a feral snarl.

"I'm not coming for him tonight. I actually wished to have words with my dear father." The sarcasm was biting, and Loki winced. The term 'father' hardly applied to him.

"Very well. Shall we take this outside?" he offered, hands outspread. Hela nodded once, and they vanished.

Jane turned to Darcy, shaking like a leaf.

"What the hell was that?" Darcy glanced around the room, and then back to her friend.

"Just one more reason to think twice before dating a Norse deity. Family reunions are a bitch…"

An hour later, Loki reappeared in the living room, looking tired. The dark circles under his eyes hadn't been there when he'd left.

"What happened?" Darcy asked. Loki shook his head, collapsing onto the couch. Jane offered him a cup of tea, which he accepted gratefully. After a couple sips, he seemed to be revived enough to talk.

"Thank you." he said, staring out the window. "I'm sorry for any alarm my daughter may have caused. Rest assured, she will not do so again." Jane nodded.

"I'm sorry for doubting you, Loki."

"No, I deserved your mistrust. I can't exactly say that all my dealings with your kind have been honest."

"Okay. But seriously, tell me what you want me to do to help, and I'll do it." Loki shook his head.

"Just don't tell SHIELD. That's all I can ask." Another shadowy figure stepped out of the doorway. Agent Phil Coulson.

"It's a little late for that." he said.