"Visiting your brother, my King?" Heimdall remarked as Loki stepped into the round Observatory.

"Yes, it's been a while," Loki said, faking politeness. He just wanted to get to Midgard as fast as possible.

Heimdall sent him to the same spot as last time, the tribal burn from the other day etched over by this arrival. As soon as his feet touched the soil, Loki started to walk in the direction of the small town. No doubt that female scientist had noticed his use of the Bifrost, so Thor would probably be on the lookout for visitors.

Loki spotted his brother standing outside the workplace, his arms crossed in front of his chest. He had not counted on a warm reception considering their last encounter and Thor was indeed not exactly welcoming him with open arms.

"What are you doing here, Loki?"

"Can't a man visit his brother?" Loki smirked, spreading his hands.

"You are no man," Thor replied curtly.

"Can't deny that!" Loki actually laughed at that, his worries forgotten for a second.

"Cut it out, Loki. Just say what you came here to say and leave."

Behind the window of the workshop Loki spotted Jane, she was watching the exchange between the two Asgardians with a frown. The mortal was clearly no fan of the raven-haired brother and somehow that stung a little.

"Believe it or not, I actually came here to see how you're doing. And to tell you mother says hello." Loki tried to look sincere, even though this reception had irked him already.

The mention of their mother softened Thor up a bit. "How is mother?"

"She's well. She misses you," Loki admitted.

"I miss her too." Thor looked years younger when he said that, but that look disappeared quickly again. The angry frown took its place and stared Loki down.

"How would you like to see mother again?" Loki smiled when he saw he caught his brother off guard with that question. "Maybe you could attend a wedding too."

"Ah, yes, congratulations on that. You're getting married after all," Thor said after a moment of silence.

Although it didn't really surprise him, Loki was not pleased his order to seal up the Bifrost had not been followed. Thor could not have heard about the wedding any other way.

"Sif came to visit you?"

Thor didn't answer, but he didn't have to, Loki knew he was right. However, that was something for another time. "Mirilya said she wanted to meet you, so I thought I would invite you."

"Did father wake up?"

"No, he's still in Odinsleep. Why?"

"Then I can't return."

Loki tried, but Thor was not to be swayed. The God of Thunder was adamant he should stay on Midgard, near Mjölnir, until he had proven himself worthy again.
"So you won't come back for your family? You are choosing this dump" - Loki gestured to the tiny town around him - "over Asgard?!"

Thor glanced back at the woman behind the window. "Ah, I see, you choose her over your family," Loki sneered.

"You seem to be doing perfectly fine without me," Thor answered through clenched teeth. The blond warrior turned around and started to walk to the workshop. "Goodbye, Loki."

A white hot rage filled Loki. His own brother chose Midgard and that mortal over his family. He needed Thor to come home, but the selfish bastard wanted to stay here, foolishly hoping to prove his worthiness by playing nice with the mortals.

"Heimdall!" Loki called out, the light of the Bifrost splitting the clouds in the next second.

When Loki stepped out of the Bifrost and wanted to walk right out of the Observatory, he was held back by Heimdall's solemn voice.

"You are wanted in the infirmary, my King. I'm afraid your fiancée has taken a turn for the worse."

No! No, this was not happening!

Loki started to run and teleported himself back to the palace, still running when he appeared in the hallway next to the healing rooms. Two Einherjar stood watch and they quickly opened the doors when they saw their king materializing in front of them.

Inside, Loki immediately saw the bed with the Soul Forge glowing above it. The young healer that was with them before stood next to the bed, checking data on a tablet in her hand.

"My King," she said a little startled, when he brushed past her to get to the bed. Mirilya's eyes were closed and she seemed to be sleeping. Or was she sedated? He looked at the Soul Forge, but he did not quite understand what it all meant.

Mirilya's forehead burned against his cool hand as he brushed some hairs away from her face. She looked paler than ever, the dark rings under her eyes standing out like coals against the snow.

"What happened?" Loki whispered.

"I… I'll get Lady Eir for you, my King," the young healer stammered.

"You don't know?" He kept his eyes on Mirilya's face, his right hand holding hers. She didn't react to his touch, but he could feel her pulse under his fingers.

"I do, my King, but…"

"Then you can tell me. Now."

Loki could hear the young woman swallow hard before she started to speak. "You were away, my King. One of the guards heard Lady Mirilya was in pain and she was brought here. She had a bleeding again, worse than before. There's a small rupture in the placenta, but that's not even what worries us the most. She developed a fever and her blood pressure shot up."

He let her words sink in. All the dangers of this pregnancy marched through his mind with heavy boots, like armies of the enemy, his doom approaching with every booming step.

"Lady Eir gave her a mild sedative to help calm her down," the young healer said softly. "She was panicking."

"I should have been here," Loki mumbled, gripping Mirilya's hand a little tighter.

"There was nothing you could do, my King." The healer didn't dare to look at him, but she spoke to him anyway. Loki admired her quiet bravery, she would do well as a healer. "The only thing to do was taking her here and that has been done. Now, we just have to wait until she wakes up again. See how she feels. We'll keep monitoring her closely."

"Where is the guard that brought her in?"

"I believe he is still outside, my King."

"Get him, please."

Loki watched Mirilya's face. Every now and then the corner of her mouth twitched, wrenching his gut with despair. Despite the sedation, Mirilya clearly wasn't comfortable. Loki placed his hands on both sides of her head, carefully invading her mind. He had never done this before, not with her, but he wanted to do something for her. He picked the memory of their first walk through the gardens together, when he took her to see the Rainbow Bridge by night. It was a memory he cherished, it was the night the seed of their love for each other had been planted.
Loki concentrated on the memory, trying to fill Mirilya's head with it completely. He held his hands in place for a couple of minutes, until he was sure the little twitches of her mouth were gone. It might be wishful thinking, but he even thought he spotted the hint of a smile on her lips.

He turned around to the guard who had been standing behind him the entire time, quietly waiting for his king. "You are the one who brought Lady Mirilya here?"

"Yes, my King," the guard answered. He was one of the Einherjar that were assigned to the royal couple, tasked with the daily safekeeping of the king and his fiancée.

"I am grateful for what you did, Willon. Can you tell me what happened?"

"I was just doing my job, my King," the guard replied modestly. "I heard Lady Mirilya cry out. And because I knew you were out, I suspected there was something wrong. She didn't respond when I knocked, but when I heard her cry out again I decided to enter anyway. Lady Mirilya was on the floor next to the bed. I saw blood and…"

"You took her here. That was a good call, I thank you for that." Loki put his hand on the guard's shoulder shortly, as a way to convey his thanks.

When the guard walked away, back to his place by the doors, Loki was overwhelmed by the feeling a guard, a servant, looked better after him and his family than his own brother. Thor refused to come back to Asgard, even when his mother and soon to be sister-in-law wanted him to come home. Thor knew about the wedding and chances were his friends also told him about the pregnancy rumours when they came to visit him on Midgard.

The idea that Thor was letting him down on purpose started to take root and really sprouted when Lady Loriana bursted in through the doors first thing in the morning. Loki was sleeping in a comfortable chair next to Mirilya's bed. He was jolted awake by Loriana's arrival and quickly put his fingers to his lips to keep her quiet. The Alfheim princess walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, watching her sleeping friend in the bed.

"How is she?"

"Stable," Loki replied softly, putting his hand over hers on his shoulder. Her simple gesture meant a lot to him, it meant she thought of him too, not only of her long time friend who was starting to wake up a little at that time.

Loriana gave him some room so he could have a moment with Mirilya. She was a little disoriented when she woke up and he quickly put his hand against her cheek to help her feel grounded again.

"I'm here, my love," he whispered to her, kissing her brow.

"Loki?" Her hand gripped his and she started to sob. "I'm so sorry…"

"Oh, my love, don't be. It's not your fault." Loki swallowed hard. "You just have to concentrate on getting better." He wanted to tell her he was afraid of losing her, but he didn't want to scare her. She was scared enough already, tears streaming down her face.

Lady Loriana came to stand next to him. She reached for Mirilya's other hand and together they quietly talked to Mirilya, trying to keep her spirits up, until Lady Eir came in to check up on her.

When the healer was done, she had a serious message for them. "You're stable now, Mirilya. The fever is down a little, but if it goes up again, we'll have to intervene."

"How?" Mirilya asked, holding on to Loki's and Loriana's hands.

"By performing an operation to deliver the baby."

Mirilya's eyes grew wide in shock. "But it's too early! Loki, Lori, it's too early for the baby to be born."

Loki stroked the unruly brown curls he loved so much. "We don't know that for sure, my love. Our baby girl isn't exactly the average baby, isn't she? But I'd rather save you, if I had to choose."

"Loki is right, honey," Loriana pitched in, her voice thick with emotion. "You have to put yourself first. After all, the baby needs you. We need you."

Mirilya broke down crying and Loki sat down on the bed to hold her in his arms. Loriana came to sit next to them, softly rubbing her friend's arm. Her brother Brent found them like that and when Loki saw the look in the young man's eyes he carefully untangled himself from Mirilya to let Brent take his place. No words were being said, but Loki knew the Lightelf felt his sister was in danger. Loriana would surely fill him in on the details, right now Loki didn't mind giving up his place to him. He had other things to take care off.

He leaned down to kiss Mirilya on her temple. "I'll be right back, my love. I'm going to make things right."

The young woman was too distraught to notice the menace in his voice, but Loriana and Brent stared at him when they heard his words. Loriana was mostly confused at what he could mean, but in Brent's eyes he saw something else, something harder. Loki took it as approval of his plans, even though the Lightelf couldn't possible know what he planned to do.

When he stepped out of the healing room, he found Willon still on his post. "My King, I've got a message for you," the guard said to him. "Lady Sif has left her room again. Word is she went to the Observatory."

"And the Warriors Three?"

"I believe they went with her, my King."

"Of course they did…"

Loki wondered why he'd even expected them to behave differently. Their loyalty lay with Thor, his banished brother. Not with him, not with Mirilya. They probably had heard about her admission to the infirmary and wanted to make use of the opportunity, thinking he would be occupied with other things. Oh, how wrong they were! He would show them his undivided attention!