I dreamed in vivid colors and sound, unable to sleep peacefully. I tossed and turned with my legs got caught up in my sheets, kicking out as I murmured.

A sharp pain shot up my side, startling me out of my dreams and making me cry out. I sucked in a sharp breath and braced myself as the pain returned, lashing across my stomach as if someone had taken a knife and pulled it there.

"Oh," I groaned lowly, feeling the damp sheets underneath me.

I woke my night nurse by crying out, the maid rushing to my side. "Get my husband," I pleaded, pain blistering within me. She went to the door but Thor was already there, dressed in a thin nightshirt and a pair of pants. He came to my side and pulled me against him, his hand cupping my cheek, "I felt you in my dreams. All of the colors and the sounds…" I winced as his hand touched my stomach, his fingers massaging the firmness underneath my flesh. The night nurse brought a bowl of water and a towel, Thor taking it from her and pressing it to my forehead to keep my fever down.

"Thank you for this, fair one," Thor murmured. "Can you get my mother please?"

The night nurse left and I looked up at my husband, "You should not be here for this…"

"Hush Halea, I am glad I am with you," he replied quietly, stroking my cheek gently. I fisted my sheets in one hand and grabbed Thor's with the other, crying out as a burst of pain nearly rendered me senseless and made tears stream from my eyes. "I shall not survive this."

"Hold on Halea, give me pause," Frigga asked, her face drawn and serious as she went between my legs, checking to see if I could finally bring an end to my torture. I knew that this was torment for Thor as well, having been forced to leave the room the more my labor progressed. Frigga pressed her hand down on my tender stomach and I felt her probe me, my mother-in-law sucking in a sharp breath. She turned to my night nurse and nodded, "I will need another midwife to assist me and a nurse or two who will care for the children after their births. Send someone to fetch Odin-King, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three. Tell Thor to prepare himself- this will be difficult for him."

I crumpled over on myself, my body begging me to strain with the contractions. I screamed through the agony, breaking out in a cold sweat as I gripped the bed sheets. There was no escape from the pain, no matter how I twisted and turned- it felt like penance, atonement, salvation.

My entire body heaved and then Frigga was crying out for help, warmness spreading across my thighs.

I smelled blood.

The night nurse entered with two others, the midwife taking over from where Frigga had been tending to me. "Kill me and banish me to Hel," I screamed out, writhing in the bed as the nurses held my legs down. I held out my hand to her, an engrained need to have someone with me inescapable, "Frigga, take my hand." My body tightened and I became something greater than myself in that moment- I became pain and strength and might, my legs straining against the bed. I braced myself for the push, letting out a sharp, piercing scream of pure anguish and ire, feeling my body rising up underneath me. It felt as my entire body was being ripped apart and then something bumped against my thighs, my hands letting go of Frigga's as I reached down to take my child into my arms.

"Oh, oh," I cried, looking down at the perfect, bloody and silent newborn in my arms.

Eyes the color of Thor's searched mine, the nurses moving quickly to cut her life cord. "My lady, let us take her from you- you must continue to push," the midwife said, her words seeming faint as I looked at my daughter. Her skin was a mix of mine and Thor's wisps of dark hair adorning her crown. My daughter had her father's strong jaw and my mouth, the lightest smattering of freckles ornamenting her lovely cheeks. "My darling Theia," I whispered, taking the blanket that Frigga gave me and wiping the blood off of her.

I laid there for what could have been hours, basking in the newness of my relationship with Theia.

"I demand to be with my wife! If I am not granted entrance-"

"Frigga, bring my husband to me," I said quietly, Theia cooing quietly against my skin as I began to feed her. I watched quietly as Thor opened the door, his eyes cautious as the nurses covered me up so as to spare his sensitive nature. He looked at the naked baby against my chest before finally meeting my eyes, "Halea… I am so sorry, my love. I heard your screams and your pains- if I had known I would have never touched you." I saw the distraught look on his face and shook my head, running my finger down Theia's rounded belly. "Do not regret having lain with me- if you had not, we would not have Theia." He came to my side and looked down at our daughter, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "My precious, lovely Theia. Oh how you look like your mother," Thor murmured, stroking her cheek.

After awhile I felt faint, Frigga looking at Thor seriously, "She still bleeds Thor and her body will not be able to heal whilst still in labor. Halea must deliver your second child quickly before she becomes too weak." I groggily protested and attempted to open my eyes to protest, feeling Thor stroking my curls back from my forehead.

"Halea, you have heard mother. I need you to wake up and finish what you have started," he murmured, sighing when I shook my head. "I am too tired Thor- I have failed you. And our baby," I replied sadly, my hand pressing my swollen and battered womb.

I willingly allowed Frigga to take Theia from my arms, Thor moving to sit beside me as he pulled me up into the bed. "I know you Halea and I know that you are stronger than this," he said, gripping my hand and squeezing encouragingly. I leaned against him and sighed, feeling the contractions within me worsen from the movement. It was still, however, much time before I was able to push again, feeling unbearable pressure building unpleasantly in my loins. I bore down, roaring like some sort of possessed animal, my sweat-soaked hair falling forward into my face. "Thor, grab the back of my thigh," I said, grabbing the other. He did as I asked and I pressed against the force he was exerting against my flesh, crying out in pain.

"Just one more push, my lady-"

I screamed my husband's name as tears streamed down my face, the scent of blood and salt heavy in the air as it mingled with the hearty, shrill screams of my newborn. Slumping back against the pillows, I tried to catch my breath, Thor pressing his hand to my chest to try and help me regain my calm. "You must breathe Halea. Slowly, evenly… in and out," he whispered, cradling me within his arms.

There were victorious cries that fell almost silent upon my ears, Frigga holding my child in her arms as she sobbed happily, "You have an heir, Thor-"

"Mother, her heartbeat is faint and she will not rouse," Thor said nervously, one of the nurses coming to my side and pressing her hand to my chest as well. I struggled to keep my eyes open so that I could see my husband even as I felt myself being smothered by some unseen force, Thor being escorted from the room against his will.

"Get me a healer!"