I own nothing but the OC Ella and the baby Aisling. ALL HAIL THE GODS OF MARVEL! I hope you enjoy this chapter… and try not to hate me too much when it's over!
Enjoy~
Chapter 29 Thank You
The party that Stark had been planning for Ella's return had been downgraded to a friendly family gathering, complete with barbeque and a small fire in the pit on the large balcony of Stark tower. Ella was silently glad that things had been changed to a small gathering; these were the people that she wanted to see and spend time with.
She looked around the small group gathered now, all talking amongst themselves, joking, laughing and enjoying the company. Banner was sitting next to Phil and Skye, holding Aisling and talking animatedly to the child while Phil and Skye watched smiling.
Skye had gotten her chance to meet Thor and she was as awestruck as most women were when they met him. Ella smiled to herself, remembering the look on Skye's face when the Asgardian had walked into the room. The poor girl had forgotten her own name.
Steve and Clint rarely took their eyes off from Loki for the first half of the evening, but then as the night wore on, they relaxed slightly, just enough to begin to enjoy the get together and even crack a few jokes.
Natasha had sat by Ella most of the night, talking about one thing or another and watching the way Loki acted and reacted to Ella. It seemed as if everyone was amazed over the transformation in the younger prince of Asgard. Gone was the cruel and ruthless psycho that had attempted not that long ago to take over the planet. Instead he was an attentive husband and an overprotective father. His eyes rarely left Aisling, and when they did it was to search out Ella if he didn't already have his hand on her.
Ella was surprised at her little dysfunctional family. They were all very accepting of Loki even after everything that had happened. The only one that still refused to speak to Loki was Phil, and she was more than understanding of his lack of acceptance. The issues that were between the two of them ran deeper than anything Ella wanted to get into in a one night family reunion.
She was happy. This is the way things should have been all along. She knew now that she had been foolish to leave Asgard and return to Earth after everything that had happened with Loki, but in hindsight it was just the space she needed to get her own act together. For so long she had no idea where she belonged, or why she was the way she was, and now everything fit. All was right with the world again; this one and the many others that she now knew existed.
She watched Skye again, feeling something of a kinship with the much younger woman. Skye's story was so much like her own that Ella felt a stab of pain in her heart, and then she was suddenly glad that Skye had Phil and the rest of her SHEILD team. Hell if it hadn't been for SHEILD Ella would probably be dead herself, so she was glad that Skye had that going for her.
Stark cooked on the grill, telling everyone he had mad grill skills as he burned the first and second batch of hamburgers and chicken. Ella watched from the same lounge chair that she had sat in when she had talked to Phil after learning he was still alive. That seemed like forever ago now and so much had happened. It was true that she loved every person that was here with her now in one way or another.
This was her family and in some ways they always would be, even though she had another family on another realm, this would always be the family that got her through some of the worst parts of her life. It shocked her when Fury had shown up with a bottle of wine. She expected him to be angry that she would not be staying with SHEILD after all they had done for her, but he hugged her in his awkward way and told her he too was happy that she had found peace. Fury even had a few jokes with Loki, continuing to call him 'Real Power' throughout the gathering.
Ella laid her head back against Loki, who was sitting behind her on the lounge chair, allowing her to use him for the chair for the most part.
"Are you getting tired?"Loki whispered close to her ear.
"MmmmHmmmm," Ella sighed looking into the small fire in the fire pit close to her feet. "It's been an eventful day."
"So it has," Loki replied, pulling her closer to him and kissing her neck briefly.
"Oh, come on guys," Skye said, catching the kiss. "Get a room will ya?"
"Uh, they have a room, but I'm not sure we want any freaky Asgardian sex going on here tonight," Stark said holding up another hot dog before declaring it was finished. "Not sure the tower could handle all that action. Loki has seriously messed up this place once before, I don't need all that again."
Everyone laughed and Fury made another off color joke about 'Real Power' causing another round of chuckling at Loki and Ella's expense.
Ella sat up slightly leaning away from Loki and held her glass in the air. "I just want to say, thank you all for being here tonight and… well for being such a wonderful family. I'm not sure I would have made it this far without you all. I love you guys!"
"Here, here," Steve said and they all gathered closer together to make the toast official.
Ella rose from her seat and gave Loki a quick kiss on the cheek. "I need to use the ladies room, and make sure Aisling doesn't need to eat." Ella said turning to explain to Loki why she had moved again.
He nodded and smiled pointing at her. "I think there may be something she needs from you." He chuckled softly. "She is making you glow."
Ella looked at her arms and saw a soft golden glow around her; she knew it would be surrounding her whole body soon if it wasn't already. It was Aisling's way of indicating her needs or wants. "I guess my timing was good." She smiled back at her husband.
"Shall I accompany you?" He asked, beginning to stand with her.
"No," she assured him, pushing him slightly to stay in the seat. "You stay, I won't be long."
Ella made her way toward Phil, who was now holding the baby, having managed to get her away from Banner. "Ok, Uncle Phil," Ella said standing in front of him. He looked up startled to see her unnatural state.
"Ella," he said, trying not to sound as shocked or startled as his face appeared. "You're glowing."
"I know." Ella laughed at the look on his face and the rest of the looks she was getting from the others gathered around her. "It's how Aisling communicates. She lets me know what she wants or needs by making things glow. It's kinda neat."
"It's amazing," Phil replied, standing now and handing the tiny child to Ella.
Ella took her daughter and then turned toward the balcony door. "We'll be back soon." She promised them as she went inside with the baby.
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Loki had a bad feeling. It had started the moment they had arrived in Midgard and it had not lessened an ounce. Upon first arriving in this realm, he figured the feeling was due to the upcoming announcement and the people the announcement would be made too. These were Ella's family and every single one of them had a plausible excuse to hate him and want him dead.
Once the initial shock of his presence had worn off, he found them all to be quite pleasant and accommodating to his presence. No one really threatened him, although the soldier stared at him for well over two hours in the beginning. But now he felt certain that whatever feelings they harbored for him, their feelings for Ella outweighed all of the bad. Most were not exactly friendly, but they accepted his presence if it meant they could be with Ella, no matter how briefly she was here.
The feeling of dread that built up inside him still would not dissipate and he could not place its origin. He was beginning to become exceedingly uncomfortable with the feeling, until it almost physically hurt to take a breath.
He watched the others, feeling that the threat would not come from any of them, but from an outside source, but where… and when. Everyone was oblivious to his concerns, he had been able to smile and playfully joke with them when the need arose, but as the seconds past, he was sure something bad was coming.
It was then that he realized Ella and Aisling has been gone for the better part of an hour. It was not unusual for Ella to hide with the child when they had been in Asgard, but it had been her idea to come to this realm to be with these people. There was no way she would have been away from them for any longer than absolutely necessary, especially with the way all of them were taken with Aisling.
Loki got up from the chair, smiling at Natasha who looked up at him as he passed.
"Is something wrong?" she asked, him, not allowing him to make it past her without standing up and walking beside him to the patio doors.
"Ella has been gone for some time now," He smiled, attempting to exude a confidence he did not feel. "I'm just going to check on her, to make sure she hasn't fallen asleep with the baby. She would hate to miss being with you all, no matter how tired she may be."
Natasha's voice dropped very low as she spoke, not allowing anyone else to hear the conversation. "You're really good at the lies most of the time, but not where she is concerned. What's up?"
Loki felt the smile falter, she was right. When it came to Ella he could not hide his feelings and he gave up trying. "I am concerned." He replied, softly. "I have had an unexplainable feeling of impending doom since our arrival in this realm. I believed it to be because we were coming here to see all of you, the people that most wanted me dead but even now the feeling lingers. Something is wrong."
Natasha nodded, understanding his explanation instantly. "We should check on her then."
"What's going on?" Phil asked approaching Loki and Natasha as they spoke.
"I was just going to check on Ella," Loki said, watching Natasha's face.
"He feels like something is wrong," Natasha explained simply. "When an Asgardian gets a bad feeling, I think we should listen."
"Absolutely," Phil agreed. "She has been gone for awhile."
As discretely as possible the three of them left the gathering on the balcony and made their way inside to the room where Ella and Aisling were supposed to be.
_/_
Loki pushed the door open slowly, not wanting to startle Ella if she had fallen asleep while feeding the baby. What he saw stopped his immortal heart for longer than he cared to admit. Ella was in the middle of the room and she was not alone.
His feelings had been correct; there was more danger here than he could have ever anticipated. Loki blinked once, then twice, wondering if his mind had conjured the form standing close, too close to Ella. His eyes scanned the room quickly, looking for the child. Ella must have been able to feed her and lay her in the small bassinet next to the bed that Loki had conjured for her before the unwelcome visitor had arrived.
The look on Ella's face was heartbreaking and Loki had to look away from her, he never imagined that this would happen. He knew he would not be able to run from his past, but this… this was too much.
The figure next to Ella laughed a sickening laugh and tightened the one handed grip on her throat. "I told you Asgardian… If the tesseract was kept from us, you would long for something as sweet as pain."
Natasha and Phil were rooted to the spot where the stood behind Loki, seeing the scene in front of them was almost surreal, as if it were happening in a dream. But Loki knew this was no dream. He had made a deal with the Other and Thanos… and he had never paid what was owed. They must have been able to locate him when he came to this realm, he had let his guard down, and now because of his foolishness, Ella's life was in danger.
Loki looked at the Other, his eyes wide with fear, anger and loathing. "Take me then. Do what you will with me." He attempted to sound smug, the way he had sounded during his last meeting with this being. His voice faltered slightly and he knew he was not convincing.
"Oh no," the Other replied, his tone menacing. "You will live Asgardian, you will live so that you can mourn her death for a thousand years."
The figure raised a spear that Loki had not even noticed until this moment, and drove it deep into the flesh of Ella's stomach. He didn't stop when the tip protruded from her back, instead he drove her across the room until the spear had impaled her to the wall.
Ella screamed as the spear penetrated her flesh, but the scream was cut short as a gurgling sound began to build in her throat. Phil and Natasha had pulled their guns, firing point blank at the hooded figure but the weapons were useless against the Other.
Loki let his anguish and rage build for a moment before blowing the Other apart from the inside out with a magic he had never known he possessed, then just as quickly as it had come, the magic dissipated, the Other was gone, nothing remained, but the scraps of clothing and the spear that still protruded from Ella's gut as she hung from the wall.
The rest of them had heard the gun fire and were arriving at the room just seconds after the first shot had been fired. Aisling was crying in her tiny bed, startled by the sound of the guns. So much commotion, so many voices and all Loki could do at that moment was look at Ella, pinned the wall. He had to force his body forward, unsure of what exactly he should do now. The blood stain that was forming on the front of her white shirt grew even as he watched and she just hung there, hands clamped around the handle of the weapon.
He was vaguely aware of someone else coming into the room to pick up the baby from her bed, then soft comforting words were being murmured to the child. He recognized the voice of his brother and he knew for the moment at least he did not need to worry about his daughter.
Loki finally put his hands around Ella's as she gripped the spear handle and Ella looked up at him. The look in her eyes was strange… far away as if she was already beginning to slip away from him. She smiled when she saw him, blood covering her teeth and leaking from the corner of her mouth.
"I'm so sorry," she tried to say, but he stopped her.
"No, Ella. I did this to you. I am the one who is sorry." There were tears running down his face as he spoke and he knew he would have to act fast. He was no healer, and had no idea what to do, but he had to try something. He gripped the handle tighter and pulled it from her, wincing as she shrieked again, sliding down the wall now that she was free. The blood stain on the wall was almost too much for him to handle, but he swallowed the sob and bent closer to her, using whatever magic he had left in him to attempt to heal her wounds.
The blood kept coming, and no matter what he tried, there was no stopping the flow. Ella was only half Asgardian, so he had no idea what it would take to heal her or hurt her. He guessed no one really did. It seemed at this moment, the human portion of her body was winning, and her life was slipping away.
Loki held her to him then, just held her close and rocked her back and forth. Others were around them now, but he didn't… couldn't open his eyes to see who. If he opened his eyes he would see Ella, and the last thing he wanted to see was the life leaving her body. He felt her body shudder hard against him as he held her and then she was still. He heard a woman softly weeping, but still his eyes remained tightly shut.
It was then that her body began to glow; a soft golden glow that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. But Loki didn't see it; his eyes remained tightly shut, shutting out everyone and everything in this moment. He hated himself for bringing this on her, and there was no escaping the fact that this has been his doing. He had caused the death of the person that had changed his life, he knew he would never forgive himself, and those that stood around him now would never forgive him either… again… he didn't blame them. Maybe, he thought as he kissed her forhead, tears covering her face as he bent closer to whisper one last I love you, maybe they will just kill me.
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A/N: So yeah, that just happened. But Please don't hate me too much, the story isn't quite over yet people! The little box in the right hand corner of the screen is there for you to tell me what you think, and it looks kinda empty right now… so FILL IT UP and let me know what you thought of this chapter :o)
J~
