**Marvel belongs to greater minds than mine, but Nora and the plot are entirely my creation**

Chapter 12

In the blink of an eye, life can change completely. I had watched the days fall from the calendar, precious time slipping away. Between Loki and Thor, Jane and myself, with a lot of help from Heimdall, we searched for answers. There were none to be had. There came a point where Thor and Jane gave up. They locked themselves away from the world, vowing that they were going to enjoy every last moment that they had.

I couldn't give up. Jane at least had friends and a job to go back to if I failed. I had everything to lose. I didn't care about dying. I cared about Loki losing his will to live. Every night, he slept fitfully, nightmares plaguing the long hours. I held him close, sleep eluding me.

With a week to go before all was lost, I realized where I needed to go. I knew what I needed to do, and I knew I had to do it alone. After Loki had fallen into slumber, I dressed in warm clothes and threw on a cloak. The city was quiet as I made my way onto the rainbow bridge. Heimdall was waiting for me.

"You are sure of this?" he asked as he lowered his sword into place.

"No, but I'm going anyway."

He nodded. "I will watch you."

It was now or never. I tried not to flinch as the wormhole opened up. The few times I had left Asgard, Loki had been with me. This was my first solo trip and it was unnerving. I landed easily though, relaxing my body. The ground was soft just like in my memories. The house in front of me had been updated, but was still the same pale shade of blue. The porch needed some repair. The mailbox showed my last name, so here was hoping that this wasn't a wasted trip. I didn't have much time before S.H.I.E.L.D. showed up.

My hands shook as I knocked on the door. I heard movement inside and a curtain moved. The door cracked open and my step-mother stepped outside, holding a bible as protection. The years had not treated her well. She looked like she had one foot in the grave, something we had in common.

"You are not welcome here, Nora. Go back to whatever hell you came from."

I sighed. "I didn't come to fight. I just need to talk to Dad."

She spat at me. "You are evil! You will not taint this house!"

I wiped the spit from my face and pushed my way inside. She screamed at me, but I ignored her. Dad was where he always sat, on the couch in front of the television. It wasn't winter on Earth so there was no fire, but he must have been chilled anyway. The blanket he draped over his legs was the same he had been using for as long as I can remember. His hair was completely gray and his face wrinkled, but the man was the same.

"I just need answers and then you will never have to see me again."

He stared at me, recognition lost. "Freya?"

I didn't understand. "Dad, it's me. It's Nora."

There was a tear in his eye. He stood and wrapped me in a hug. I stiffened. My dad never showed any sort of affection towards me. "Helen, put that phone down! We are not calling the police or anyone. This is my daughter." He took a step back and looked me over. "My God, you look just like her."

He sat back down and motioned for me to join him. Instead, I found a seat on the edge of the fireplace, putting some distance between us. He looked a little hurt, but there was no forgiveness to be had. I wasn't angry with him, but he was a stranger to me.

I pulled a book from my bag and handed him the photograph that I kept hidden in the cover. "So my mother's name was Freya?"

He handled the picture like it was a priceless artifact, which to me it was. I knew every inch of it: my mother holding me as a toddler in her arms, eyes closed but obviously happy, my father standing behind her with one arm around her waist.

"My beautiful Freya."

I huffed. I didn't care enough for the stroll down memory lane. "Dad, focus." His eyes were still misty but at least he was back in the present. I knew my face was cold and hard, but I wasn't here for a friendly visit. "I need to know everything about her and I don't have a lot of time."

"You're different, Nora. Not the same little girl I used to read to." He reached over into the side table drawer and pulled out a box. "I won't say I'm sorry because I didn't have a choice in what Mr. Fury was going to do. I thought about you all the time, but no one would tell me anything. Hate me if you want, but I did always love you."

Whatever. Whether he did or didn't love me was a moot point. "I don't hate you. I don't love you. I don't even know you. You want to clear your conscious? Then tell me about my mom."

He handed me back the picture and the box with it. "Everything of your mother's is in there. I know she would want you to have it. She was an amazing woman. She was beautiful… with eyes like stars. She had this way about her, so graceful. We only had a short time together before she disappeared, but I knew I would love her the rest of my days. When she returned some years later, I was already married to Helen."

"She hadn't change at all. I guess I knew she wasn't human from the beginning but it was still a shock. When you were growing up, I knew that you were taking after her. It was a literal pain in my chest to look at you and see her. I missed her so much."

Leaning forward, he rested his arms on his knees. "Nora, I took a vow to honor Helen, but when Freya returned with you, it shook my beliefs to the core. I had a daughter where Helen and I couldn't have any. I would have walked away from my marriage in a heartbeat but Freya was sick. She knew she was dying and she begged me to care for you. How could I say no? Helen was furious and is still angry to this day as I'm sure you noticed."

"I noticed every day!" I hated it, but I was crying. "There was no warmth in this house. There was no love. There was only Helen and her resentment." I took a few minutes to calm back down. "Look, I didn't come back to hurt you. I'm trying to protect people I care about… and a lot of self-preservation. S.H.I.E.L.D. is going to be snooping around here looking for me and for that I am sorry. After next week, I'm either going to be responsible for a wedding or just another headstone. Either way, you won't be seeing me again."

I made it to the door before turning around. "Thank you for this," I said, lifting the box.

He smiled. "I'm an old man, Nora. I've made mistakes, but I always had the best of intentions."

Against my better judgment, I walked back over and hugged him. It was a solid hug, filled with years of loneliness. I probed his mind gently so he wouldn't feel what I was doing. He truly hated himself for what had transpired. His marriage was crap and the woman he loved was dead. I gave him the only gift I could.

"I love you, Daddy."

And I meant it. The little girl in me wanted to crawl into his lap and hear all of the stories and make up for lost time, but I could hear sirens in the distance. I said goodbye and left, making my way back to the field where I landed. I saw the line of cars pulling up around the farmhouse and thought I even saw Natasha, but in a blur, everything was gone.

"Did you find what you were searching for?" Heimdall asked, gently as the giant could.

I opened the box and pulled out the top piece of paper, another photograph. My mother was laughing, her hair flying around her. She had a friend next to her, also laughing. Something about them was extremely familiar. "I think I found more than I thought I would."

Heimdall would have told Loki that I was home, but I didn't go to him. Instead, I followed my gut and headed into the throne room. Odin was seated, reading a report of some kind, but didn't seem too terribly busy. I didn't speak. I waited for him to notice I was there.

"Sire?" One of the guards motioned towards me.

I suppose he expected me to be forceful but instead I knelt, not caring if my pants got dirty. I stayed in that position until he had dismissed everyone else. He came down the steps and helped me to my feet.

"You have found something I take it?"

I moved over to a table and sat. He joined me, visibly confused. I handed him my photograph first. "This is my mother."

He studied it, no recognition showing. I then handed him the one I had found only moments prior. His sharp intake of breath was all of the confirmation that I needed.

"So the only person who could tell me anything about her is dead." My face fell. "I have been to most of the realms hoping for a glimpse of something that would give us the answers you required when it would have been here the entire time."

I took back the photos and left. I walked aimlessly, head spinning. I saw the unknown woman everywhere I went. Frigga was a beloved queen and still missed terribly. My picture was old but still undeniably her. I had visited Frigga's home in Vanaheim but no one knew my mother. There was nothing else that could be done. I had failed.

The garden was empty. The ground was cold. I didn't even feel it. I didn't care that my life was over. I was numb to that very real possibility. Thor and Jane were far from my thoughts. I wasn't even really thinking about Loki. He would eventually get over me. He was a god after all. No, it was that I had come so close to knowing my mother, to knowing myself and it was all snatched from me in an instant.

I could blame a lot of people. If Frigga was alive, if Jane hadn't needed to be protected, if Loki hadn't directed the dark elf, if… if… if… … but if's were about as useless as a paper umbrella in a rainstorm.

Darkness was falling. I hadn't even noticed. I looked around and was shocked. The plants closest to me were dead, pots shattered. The garden was a war zone and I had done it with my mind. I hadn't known. Loud voices could be heard from nearby but I stayed where I was. It was useless. I had no will to move.

"I found her!" Thor's voice boomed in the failing light as he made his way to me. He reached out to me and jumped back, holding his hand. "What devilry is this?"

I didn't answer him. My power was bleeding. My heart was injured. My mind was broken. I stared ahead, seeing nothing, but knowing that there were others nearby. Darcy called my name, and I could feel Ian next to her. She had begged Thor to bring him here until he finally relented. Jane was on the fringe with Odin, protected by guards. I didn't blame them. They knew what I was capable. Sif and the Warriors Three had weapons drawn, other bystanders just watching and waiting.

There was a cool wind in front of me and I cracked into a thousand pieces. He was in my head, cradling me to him, talking softly until my power had receded enough for him to be able to follow through. Loki was on the ground in a heartbeat, pulling me into him. His hands checked me for physical injury, kisses sad on my lips. I couldn't find strength to fight him nor return his affections.

"Don't leave me, Nora," he whispered over and over.

I finally turned my head enough to see that he had been crying, or were tears still falling? Space and time had ceased to matter so I didn't know the answer. I had no answers. I had failed. I had failed him.

"You didn't fail me." He rocked me gently and somewhere there was movement. It was me.

I snuggled closer to him, breathing him in. He smelled of incense and soap. Something deeper called to me. His power was there, his pain, and his rage. All of this was him, and he was mine.

"Father."

The gasps weren't unexpected. Even I was surprised. Never had I heard that word come from my lover's lips, but Odin moved to stand before us. "Yes, my son?"

Arms wrapped tighter around me, and I started to protest. I could sense what he was going to do and it was so not going to happen. He kissed me. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for all of us."

I nodded. It was, in the end, up to him.

"Father, in front of these witnesses and in respect to those who will be affected, I do hereby renounce any claim to your name and to the throne of Odin."