Three days later I sat on the edge of Loki's bed and worried; his back was healing well, but his colouring and lack of energy bothered me. Each day it got harder for me to rouse Loki and when I could he seemed confused; he would still answer my questions but his responses were sluggish. The dark circles under his eyes had deepened to the point where he looked like he had two black eyes. His breathing had been so shallow last night that I'd placed my hand under his nose to make sure he was alive. I was pretty sure he was dying. I hung my head and tried to decide what to do. I had sworn to Odin that I would not interfere with Loki's punishment but I had not thought his condition would degrade so quickly. He had seemed so normal just a few days ago.

A soft knock at the door drew my attention and I left the sleeping god to see who would be visiting. Fulla was the only person I saw with any regularity unless I was at the meal table. I was surprised when I opened the door and Frigga stood there. She had not come to visit since the first day but she was here now and I stepped back to allow her to enter past me.

"Frigga, it is lovely to see you." I said, watching the goddess pace the room. "How can I help you?"

"I worry Abby." She said, smiling at me with motherly affection. "You have not had much to say of Loki in the past few days."

I took a deep breath and tried to think of what to say, "I did not wish to alarm you and I promised Odin I would not interfere with his punishment." I said, I could feel my voice trembling.

Frigga turned to look at me and I lost what little control I had been maintaining on my emotions. I sunk into the nearest chair and began to cry. Frigga knelt in front of me and took my hands.

"Child, tell me, what is wrong?"

"He…he is so pale mother." I whispered, remembering praying to Frigga when I was child, "His chest hardly moves and I can rouse him for no more than a few minutes a time and each time it takes more effort to do so." I was sobbing now.

Frigga pulled me into her arms and rocked me gently as I cried. I had told Thor and Frigga both that I did not want to be responsible for any permanent harm coming to Loki, but it looked like it was coming to that. Frigga rubbed my back and I shivered.

"Please mother, do something." I whispered, "I fear Loki is dying."

Frigga pulled back so suddenly that we both nearly fell over. Her face was pale and she dashed into the bedroom so quickly I was surprised she didn't trip on her dress. I quickly followed her and found her kneeling close to Loki, her hand on his head.

"A healthy Asgardian can go weeks without food for water; Loki was neither healthy or fully Asgardian when this happened." I could hear the sorrow in her voice, "I fear you may be right."

She stood and watched my face; she seemed to see whatever she was looking for and nodded slowly.

"You care a great deal for my son." She said and it wasn't a question.

"I do." I answered anyway.

"I may be able to do something, but it may require a sacrifice on your part." Frigga looked nervous.

"Anything." I said too quickly, "Please mother, I will do anything short of leaving his side if you can save him."

Frigga nodded, "You would stay with him?"

What she was saying dawned on me, "You want to know if I would be willing to stay, to care for him until he is well if you can convince Odin to unbind his lips."

"Yes." Frigga was honest with me, "it could take months."

I hung my head, she said months; months away from my friends, my family, and my planet. I took a deep breath and looked at the man on the bed, I remembered our "talk" from a few nights ago; he didn't want me to leave and I didn't either.

"I'll need some things from my home on Midgard if I were stay longer." I said, "Clothes, more books and other things."

Frigga nodded, "I will see what I can do. Will you come with me?"

"Yes."

I left Loki a quick note, not that I was expecting him to wake up, but I didn't know how long the conversation with Odin was going to take.

~A~A~A~A~A~A~A~

Odin was sitting on his throne but started descending the stairs when he saw Frigga and I walking towards him; I was sure the tears I'd spilt earlier were still obvious on my cheeks as we got closer.

"Frigga, Abigail, what is wrong?" Odin asked, placing a hand on each of our shoulders.

"Loki is dying." Frigga said softly, "Abby has told me that his condition has gotten worse the past few days. He sleeps almost constantly and when she does try to wake him, it takes longer and longer each time."

"Abigail, is this true?" Odin asked and I nodded, my eyes tearing up again. "Why did you not tell me?"

"It's only been the last couple days and I promised I wouldn't interfere." I hiccupped, "Also, I don't know how Asgardians react to not eating, I wasn't sure if this was normal."

"It is not," Odin said, "but you could not have known that." Odin turned to his wife, "You would not have come to me if you did not have something else to ask of me."

"I do not want to lose my son." Frigga said, there were tears in her eyes, "Abby said she did not want his punishment to be longer than two and a half weeks; she did not say she would be angry if it were shorter."

Odin was nodding, "There will be some who are unhappy if we release him sooner." He sighed, "I do not want to lose Loki either, but how can we make sure he is still punished?"

I swallowed and then took a leap of faith, "Restrain him some other way." I said, causing the two Asgardians to look at me strangely. "You still have the restraints and muzzle that Thor used when we came here, do you not?"

Odin nodded again, "We do."

"So, remove the stitches, allow him to eat and drink something, then put the muzzle back on." I took another chance, "You could also keep him confined to his bed using the cuffs and attaching them to the wall above the bed."

Odin seemed to be considering this. "Is his back healed enough to be able to have him lay on it all day?"

"It would be uncomfortable, but not impossible. I would need the keys to allow him to eat and to tend his back, but it could be managed." I said, hoping he would allow it.

"So be it." He turned and called for a guard. "Get the surgeon."

"No." I gasped, "No, please, let me do it. Loki trusts me."

Odin turned his head to me and seemed surprised but nodded. He told the guard to have the surgeon prepare the tools and deliver them to Loki's room.

"I will come with you and explain to our son the new conditions of his punishment."

~A~A~A~A~A~A~

I entered the bedroom first, Loki was still curled on his side and I had to get right up next to him before I could tell he was still breathing. I heard his parents, adoptive or not, come in the room and heard Odin suck in a harsh breath. I crawled to Loki's side across the bed and gently stroked his cheek.

"Loki, I need you to wake up." I whispered, "Odin is here to see you, please wake up."

I sighed, this was going to be harder than I thought; I reached out and shook his shoulder, and finally felt him start to stir. His eyes fluttered but did not open.

"Come on Loki, I need to see those eyes." I said, slipping my hand into his hair. "Don't make me pull your hair again."

His eyes shot open but they were glazed and they flicked around wildly before settling on mine.

"Good boy Loki." I smiled at him, "Odin is here, he needs to speak to you."

Loki nodded and I slipped my arm under him and help him sit up. He was trembling almost violently by the end of it and I held him close, hating how thin he'd gotten in just a few days.

"Loki, it has come to my attention that you are not holding up to your original punishment and since you were not sentenced to death, I will be modifying your punishment." I felt Loki tense at the words. "Your stitches will be removed, you will be allowed to eat a small meal and have a drink of water. The original muzzle that you were transported here in will then be put on you and you will be chained to the bed with the cuffs." Loki was shaking as Odin talked; "You will be released only twice a day; once to eat and once to have your back tended to until the rest of your original two and a half weeks is up."

I looked at Loki and he looked petrified; I grabbed his hand and he squeezed tightly.

"Abigail will remain with you," Odin said and Loki sagged a bit against me, "until you are fully healed."

The pronouncement hit me like a tonne of bricks; I didn't have to leave in a week, I could stay and take care of Loki. I closed my eyes and felt a single tear slide down my cheek.

"Thank you Allfather." I whispered.

The surgeon entered with the tools that would be needed to remove Loki's stitches and a guard was behind him carrying the muzzle, cuffs and keys. Loki's trembling got worse when the surgeon entered the room.

"Shhh Loki, it's okay." I ran my hand up and down his side, "he's only delivering the supplies. I'll be removing your stitches."

I leaned forward so he could see my eyes, I watched him process the information and the trembling slowly stopped. The surgeon set the tray down and then left the room. The guard did the same with the restraints. I gently stroked the side of Loki's pale and sweaty face as he started to calm down.

"You were right, he does trust you." Frigga's voice drew my attention from Loki and I watched the awe on her face.

"He's been without food for a week, he won't be able to eat much and nothing too rich or heavy, maybe some bread and soft cheese along with some fruit." I said, "Could you please call for someone to bring that? Along with water."

"Certainly." Frigga nodded and left the room.

"Thank you." Odin smiled at me, "This would not have been easy for her to watch."

I nodded, knowing it would extremely hard for me as well, even though I was the one doing it. I knew we couldn't delay too much longer so I helped Loki lie down. I got a towel from the bathroom and gently dried his face. I placed my hand against this cheek, smoothed my thumb across his cheekbone and then picked up the scissors I would need to cut the thread.