"Loki?"

The protective wards were still in place but it seemed they recognised Stephen well enough to let him in; the room was empty and Loki was nowhere to be seen.

Stephen activated the glass panel and scrolled through the observations, noting in relief that there had been no further bleeding charted in the short while he had been gone. He studied the air. Loki was near. Where was he?

"Loki?" He raised his voice slightly. "Please tell me you've not turned yourself invisible just to avoid me."

After a long moment of silence,

"In here."

Stephen followed the sound of his voice into the bathroom. He could not see for all the steam - no, not steam - icy vapour. It had to be a few degrees below zero in here – Stephen waved a hand and the clouds dissipated.

Loki was immersed in the massive tub, almost submerged entirely in the icy water with only his face breaking the surface and not even the black of his hair visible through the suds. From the overpoweringly sharp smells of chypre wafting through the air, Stephen had a suspicion Loki had been in here for hours.

The only indication Loki gave of notice was a long leg slowly lifting out of the water and Stephen watched a slim pale foot come to rest on the rim, slowly dripping soapy water down the decorative marble panels on the side of the tub.

Stephen slowly shrugged his tunic off. He knew it was freezing cold but there was no point in getting himself wet. He walked over and knelt down by the tub, propping both arms on the rim.

Loki was still not looking at him, but at least he had raised himself out of the water and propped his upper body against the headrest. Loki's dark wet locks clung to the sides of his neck, framing his pale face, making his green eyes appear incandescent.

"Are you still mad?" Stephen asked quietly.

Loki did not answer immediately. "Which definition of mad am I to assume you are referring to?"

"The one that will sway you into forgiving me."

Seconds passed in icy silence.

"I cannot possibly forgive when no one is apologising. That would be mad," Loki said, very patiently.

"Loki…" Stephen groaned, pressing his forehead against the forearm braced against the cool tiles at the edge of the tub. His other hand flailed around sightlessly in the water until he found one of Loki's hands resting on his burgeoning stomach. "I'm sorry."

When Stephen lifted his head again, he could see the slightest twinge in Loki's face and suddenly his ice prince did not look all that icy anymore.

"When was the last time you slept?" Loki asked softly.

"Oh, I've gone for days without sleep before, Loki. Comes with the job," Stephen half-attempted at dry humour but Loki did not so much as smirk.

Loki raised himself from his reclining position and brought his face closer to Stephen until their noses were almost touching. Stephen felt Loki release his hand before white, wrinkly fingers emerged from the soapy water, and Stephen stifled a gasp at the sudden icy touch on his cheek. "Jesus, Loki! How long have you been in the bath?"

"The baby likes it. Calms him down," Loki murmured. His green eyes were still roaming Stephen's face. They narrowed. "You are thinner."

"You have not been taking care of yourself," Loki announced. His voice was soft still, like silk. "Care to explain, Doctor?"

"I am a highly-functioning, hypomanic, Type A personality, Loki." At Loki's raised eyebrow, Stephen gave a small, reassuring smile. "Worrying about you drives me crazy."

For a second, Stephen thought Loki was about to retort with a rebuking, self-disparaging comment as he always did but Loki surprised him when he simply said, "Thank you, Stephen."

Loki gazed at him. "I pardon you."

It was astonishing how regal he sounded despite the fact that he was stark naked and covered head to toe in suds. And Stephen could not take it any longer –

He grabbed the back of Loki's head and seized his lips; Stephen kissed him long and deep, tasting the faint tang of soap and the iron-fortified honey drops Loki had started taking to raise his haemoglobin levels.

When they finally broke apart, Stephen laughed at how breathless he was feeling. His head spun from too low blood sugar and too little sleep and he gripped the edges of the bathtub tightly to keep from falling.

"Goodness. Are my lips too potent for you?" Loki asked with a faint hint of concern.

"I'm fine," Stephen murmured. "I just missed you, that's all."

"Hmm." Loki snorted delicately. He lifted a hand and pressed his index and middle fingers to Stephen's forehead; before Stephen could protest, an influx of seiðr coursed through his body, warming him from his head down to the tip of his toe and he shuddered.

"Feel better?" Loki asked, his voice lilting.

"Much." All of a sudden, the bathroom did not feel all that cold anymore, and the unexpected surge of energy seemed to have revitalised every system in his body; his head felt clearer, and the aches and pains had all but disappeared from his muscles. The rush was intoxicating, like – "Angel dust."

"I'm sorry?"

"No, I'm sorry. I'm afraid you're done with your bath." Stephen plunged his hands into the water and physically lifted Loki up in a sudden burst of strength which he did not know he possessed, eliciting a surprised yelp from the raven-haired prince. "I need you, Loki."

Loki wrapped his arms around Stephen's neck as he was carefully lifted out of the bath. "But we can't –"

"No, not that. We don't have to do anything." Stephen rinsed the suds off Loki's body. He knelt on one knee and washed Loki's feet, and planted a kiss on the gentle mound of Loki's belly. "I just need you."

"There's something different about you."

All dried and dressed for bed, Loki was now relaxing propped up against the headboard with an open book balanced on his belly. He did not look up. "What do you mean?"

Stephen studied him over the rim of his cup. Loki had requested a light meal to be sent up for him and Stephen surprised himself by polishing off everything within minutes; his appetite was clearly returning.

"You seem calmer." Happier. Of course, Stephen refrained from saying it out loud. "Just…better."

Loki nodded distractedly, but he flashed him a quick smile. "I feel better. Now that you're here."

Stephen cleaned up after himself and patted the Cloak goodnight before sending it off to hang on the rack. He decided against a shower, for he did get himself wet persuading Loki out of his languorous bath, so he changed into his T-shirt and sweatpants.

He watched Loki's cheek bulge and retract periodically as he sucked on his sweet. Even that simple act was sending pulses of lust and desire up and down Stephen's body, and he suppressed a sigh of frustration.

"What's the matter, Doctor?" Loki looked up from his book. "Was the meal not satisfactory? Would you like something else from the kitchen?"

"No, I'm fine." Stephen climbed into the bed next to him.

They sat in companionable silence for what felt like hours until Stephen inhaled deeply. He knew Loki had stopped reading because the page had not turned for the past five minutes.

Stephen reached over and plucked the book off Loki's belly before gently putting it aside on the bedside table. He lifted the covers and slid his legs under them. He waited expectantly for Loki to do the same before pulling them over both their bodies. The night was particularly chilly. Yet Loki's feet were surprisingly warm.

"You've got your stockings on. Good." Stephen gave him a peck on the forehead. "You're such a model patient, Loki."

Loki resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "You don't know the half of it, Strange."

"Yeah. Thor told me about your little adventure." Stephen's eyes narrowed slightly. "Do be careful, Loki."

"Val and her big mouth." Loki muttered. "Thought women were supposed to be good at keeping secrets."

"Speaking of secrets…"

Stephen looped a thigh around Loki's leg, pulling it in closer. "I have a confession to make." Stephen hesitated. "I'm afraid I have not been entirely truthful with you."

"Is this about where you've been disappearing off to?" Loki shook his head. "You don't have to tell me anything, Stephen. I am not your keeper."

"No, well yes, but no, not about that."

Stephen laid a reverent hand on Loki's stomach, caressing it gently. "It's about our baby."

Loki's breath stilled. "Go on."

"I mentioned that the bleeding can happen again and there is no telling when or if it will happen at all, and how bad it is going to be," he started.

"But I am being careful, Stephen –" Loki halted in mid-sentence at the touch of Stephen's finger to his lips.

"I know, darling, I know." Stephen soothed. "But I never told you that when the time comes, the baby is going to need help. A lot of help."

"Is something bad going to happen to him?" He watched the fear grow in Loki's green eyes. "Is my body – is this hurting him?"

"No, no, Loki. No." Stephen grabbed his hand under the covers. Loki's feet may be warm, but his fingers were freezing. "I'm afraid it is going to hurt you, more than him."

"Oh. Good." Loki looked relieved, and Stephen's heart twisted in pain. "That's, okay. I think."

Stephen's jaw clenched. The guilt, the remorse, it was all coming back again.

"W-What is going to happen, Stephen?"

"You will not be able to deliver him normally, Loki. Once the contractions start, the abnormal positioning of the placenta will almost certainly cause you to bleed out catastrophically and you wouldn't make it long enough for the baby to be born."

Loki stared at him long and hard. His expression wavered from fear to uncertainty to deep grief and finally, determination.

"So cut him out of me."

Stephen's stomach lurched.

"I'm so sorry, Loki."

"I don't want to hear it, Stephen." It was Loki's turn to squeeze Stephen's hand. Loki took a deep breath.

"You did what you had to. You saved my life." Loki brought Stephen's knuckles to his mouth and stilled the shakes with a touch of his lips.

Stephen felt his eyes burn and he swallowed hard. "Loki…"

"And I'm not sorry we made love either. If we hadn't, we would probably never have learnt of this…problem until I go into labor, and whatever disaster that ends up happening will definitely then be too late to avert."

Stephen nodded. He was at a loss for words. He cupped Loki's cheek tenderly.

"It is okay, Stephen."

Stephen kissed his forehead, apologising silently over and over in his head –

Loki balled his fists into the front of Stephen's T-shirt.

"I am okay." He whispered. "Truly."

Stephen pulled back. Despite Loki's reassuring words, his anxiousness was not soothed as rapidly as he would have liked. "You're taking this awfully well."

Loki shrugged. "The night I got pregnant I woke up in the most terrible pain I had ever been. Then I spent the next two months flipping the coin to choose the poison of the day, be it debilitating nausea or a monstrous headache. I could not and still cannot teleport without collapsing, and I could not walk ten steps without the floor threatening to kiss my face. Then a sorcerer hit me with a spell, kidnapped me, locked me in another dimension and in attempting to break free, I took a fall. A stupid fall that not only almost killed me and my baby, it damaged my insides that now I cannot even have sex without bleeding like, pardon the expression, a stuck pig."

"So in the grand scheme of things, Doctor, a life-saving surgical procedure is nothing." Loki sighed and closed his eyes. "My life in your hands, remember?"

Stephen listened with a slightly stunned expression on his face. Loki was not one to complain, always keeping his pains to himself. He could not put his finger on it but something must have happened in his absence; Loki seemed to be thawing more with each passing day.

"You're really something, Loki Odinson."

"Something what?" Loki asked drowsily.

"Just an expression." Stephen reached out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind Loki's ear. "Means I think you're amazing."

Loki opened his eyes slowly and gazed at him thoughtfully. "You could have just said amazing, you know."

"Amazingly vain." Stephen smiled benevolently. "But I love you."

Stephen tipped his face forward and kissed him gently. Loki's lips were dry and soft, curling slightly into a smile as he leaned into the kiss in response. "So you've said, Doctor."

Thor was surprisingly a very good listener.

After Stephen had finished explaining and presenting the options on the table, Thor nodded once, betraying none of his emotions. Outwardly he looked calm and every inch the King he was born to be. All he did was steal a glance at his brother sitting quietly next to him before turning at once to look at Bruce.

"What say you, Banner?"

"I think Tony is true to his words. I don't believe he means any harm by offering the Tower and he does possess access to the best medical and surgical facility in America –" Bruce tapped his spectacles against his crossed arms, "He will do his best to protect Loki and baby from SHIELD and whoever else who might be too…interested."

Thor nodded. He turned to Loki. He prompted gently, "Brother?"

Loki in turn, looked to Stephen. "Give us your opinion, Doctor. An honest one, if you please."

Stephen shook his head. He had decided on this matter long before he broached the issue upon requesting audience with the King. If he cast his vote for New York, it would be entirely out of selfishness and sentiment. Sanctum Sanctorum was in good hands; it would not fall without him.

"It is your decision, Loki." He remembered Thor's speech. "The onus is on me to respect it, honour it, and make it happen."

Stephen thought he could see Valkyrie, standing a few feet behind the King and the Prince, lift an eyebrow before breaking into an approving smile.

"Thor?" Loki turned back toward his brother, almost desperately.

Thor reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Loki. I am your King. But I have been your brother long before that. I know you have already come to a decision, I can see it in your face."

Thor spread his hands. "Come, Brother. Tell us."

"As much as I'd hate to be indebted to Anthony Stark," Loki started, inhaling deeply. "I am aware of the dire situation I am in and I duly thank you all for your concern."

He clasped his hands on the table and leaned forward.

"But I am a Prince of Asgard. This will be the first Royal birth since the fall of old Asgard, and who knows when the next Royal birth will happen, seeing as our King is idle still in begetting himself a queen – " he glared at his brother, "but there is nowhere else I would rather have my child than right here. The place of our new beginning."

"I will do it here for my King, for our people," Loki hesitated, surreptitiously glancing at Stephen. "For me."

Stephen reached under the table for his hand. "And for us."

Thor looked so delighted he could burst. "So, it is decided. Do give friend Stark our thanks. In fact, I think I will come with you to convey this joyous news! When are we leaving? Brother, you have no inkling of how joyful you have made me – would you like me to get you anything while I am on my excursion? Horse meat, anything?"

"Mushrooms, Thor." Loki gave him a beatific, almost chiding smile.

Thor bellowed a hearty laughter. He grabbed the sides of Loki's head and planted a kiss on top of his head. "Mushrooms it is then. Come, Strange! Let us be on our way!"

Thor marched out of the Hall, with Valkyrie trailing behind. She gave them a thumbs-up and a wink. Strange and Banner exchanged bewildered looks.

Loki rolled his eyes. "Don't ask."

"Dr Palmer."

Christine yelped in surprise. "For God's sake, Stephen!"

"How did you know it was me?"

"Well, seeing that this is my office, my locked office, and the last time I saw you, you could turn yourself into a ghost and you know how ghosts can walk through walls –" Christine waved a hand, "And because you're my ex-boyfriend, of course I'd know your voice anywhere and so what are you doing here?"

"It's good to see you, Christine."

"Likewise, Stephen. Anytime you come to see me without bringing me a gift in the form of life-threatening injuries and tamponades is a welcome visit."

She rose to give him a hug. He kissed her on the cheek and squeezed her arms.

"I see you have finally moved on." He looked pointedly at the ring on her finger.

She blushed prettily. "Oh, this old thing?" She swept her reddish-blond hair out of her eyes.

"Things turn out not quite how you expect all the time, you know?"

Stephen reeled in horror. "No…don't tell me. It's not Nick, is it? Nicodemus West?"

"No, no, no!" Christine laughed. "But I understand how that could bruise your ego so much more than our break-up would."

"Perhaps even more than losing my hands." Stephen muttered.

"It's someone you've never met. The total opposite of you, if you'd care to know."

"I'm glad. You deserve only the best, Christine."

Stephen's words were nothing but sincere, yet the shadows in his eyes did not go unnoticed. Christine searched his face worriedly.

"Stephen, what's the matter?"

"I have a rather delicate request to ask of you." Stephen looked up at the ceiling and bobbed his head from side to side. "A huge favour, actually."

"When is it ever not." Christine blew a delicate raspberry of her own. "Spit it out, Strange. Haven't got all night. Got tons of post-op reports to write up." She turned around to switch her computer and printer on, preparing for a long night ahead.

"My lover's pregnant with Grade 3 Placenta Praevia," Stephen said monotonously as if he was simply presenting a case to a colleague, but his voice shook in a way that only someone close to him could tell. The way Christine's back stiffened gave the indication she did. "I think it necessitates a Caesarean section that for reasons I'd rather not mention, cannot be performed in a regular hospital."

Christine sank back in her chair. With a resigned sigh that revealed her years of hard work and having dealt with much stranger things, she asked conspiratorially, her back still turned. "Is your lover an illegal?"

"Uh, yeah, in a way, you can consider Loki an illegal..." Stephen found it quite humorous and he snickered. "Yeah."

"Loki," Christine tried the name on her tongue. "That's an unusual name. Where's she from?"

Stephen hesitated. "It's a he."

Christine swiveled around in her chair. She blinked exactly three times before she spoke again, her voice strangely light, her question sounding more like a statement. "Is this Loki human."

When Stephen did not answer, Christine's eyes widened to the size of saucers. She looked him up and down. She shot out of her seat and grabbed something out of her jacket that was hanging on the door.

Christine furiously typed something on her phone, before shoving it in his face seconds later- "This Loki?"

Strange squinted and whistled. "That's actually not a bad picture…"

Granted, it was an old picture taken during the invasion of New York, but there was no mistaking it, the gold and green armour, the tall and slender form, the jet-black hair – "Yep. That's him."

Stunned, Christine slammed her phone down on the table with a bang. Stephen winced at the crack. She had not even noticed; she was too busy staring at him in horror.

"Stephen…he is not even human. How am I supposed to operate on him?" She covered her mouth with a hand. "Isn't he like a Prince from an alien planet or something? Won't he execute me if things go wrong?"

Stephen rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. "Well…I did some ultrasound scans on him and he looked normal-ish, inside. He's got roughly the same apparatus like us – yours – I mean, women! Human women! God."

Christine's face had drained of all colour.

"No one will be executing anybody, Christine." He knelt in front of her and reached over for her hand.

"Look, I would give anything to be able to do it myself. But I can't." He covered her hand with both hands now, "Please. You are the only one I can trust."

"Where is he now?"

"He's in Norway."

"Norway?!" Christine shrieked. "That's 8 hours of flying time, Stephen! How the hell do you expect me to be there when the time comes?"

"Well, if you were to use my Pick-A-Portal service, the traveling time is drastically shortened to…approximately thirty seconds." Stephen attempted a grin.

Christine's hand was shaking too. But she clasped her other hand on top of Stephen's.

"I can't believe you're doing this to me again."

"I'll bring you chocolates and flowers next time, I promise."

Christine laughed shakily.

After a while of calming her nerves down, her hands finally stopped trembling.

"You're in luck, Strange. My fiancé just happens to be an OB-GYN here at Metro-General. I can shadow him for a while, learn the techniques and how to deal with complications, it's no biggie." Christine released her hold on his hands and clasped her own over her knees. "I will help you."

Stephen's relief was almost palpable. "Oh, thank God. Thank you." Stephen dropped into the chair next to her and palmed his eyes.

Christine watched him silently. "You alright?"

Stephen shook his head.

"You going to be alright?"

He nodded.

"I'm terrified."

"You're doing your catastrophising thing again, aren't you?"

"Murphy's Law, Christine." Stephen's eyes were hollow, despite the elated relief he had felt only moments ago. "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong."

Christine shook her head. "I've told you over and over. Doctors can choose to think like that and be prepared for every eventuality in the world but you will never find peace in your work."

"That's why you always advocate Yhprum's law." At Christine's raised eyebrows, Stephen shrugged. "I listened to you sometimes when you talked to your medical students and interns."

" 'Everything that can work, will work.' " He quoted, tasting it on his tongue and decided he liked it much more.

Christine beamed. She tapped a finger against the side of her head. "Positive thinking, Strange. You should try it sometimes. It does work, you know." She wiggled her ring finger. "Case in point."

Stephen smiled gently. "I am happy for you, Christine."

"And I, you." She leaned in for a quick kiss on the lips. Then she swiveled around in her chair, turning once more toward her mountain of paperwork.

"Send me the scans so I can study his anatomy. God help us if I cut him the wrong way and end up in his oesophagus or something."