Well hello there! Fancy seeing you in a place like this, you know, all neglected and covered in dust! Have you been hanging out around here all this time? Man, someone should really do something about all these cobwebs! It's really a shame that the writer of this fanfic is so ridiculously lazy, letting it get run down to this state is downright embarrassing!

Well! I'm back. After being near paralysed by writer's block, I finally managed to scrape up a chapter, and I have to say, I'm feeling a little rusty. But I gave it my best shot and I'm glad to have finally finished it because I'm super excited about the chapters to come!

I hope this was worth the wait! Enjoy!

They sat there together in silence. Rosa wasn't sure how much time had passed; she didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to think about how much more time would come to pass… in Midgard… away from everything and everyone. Away from him. She couldn't think on it. She didn't want to face it…

What she did think of was Loki, how horribly sad he must have been. She knew how much Odin had meant to him. He could not express it in so many words but all he had wanted was for his Father to be proud of him, the way he was of Thor. Loki craved love so desperately. Rosa hoped he had felt it before his Father had past.

You have my love, Loki… she offered silently, you shall always have my love…

Tears welled in her eyes and threatened to spill. Would she ever see him again now? He had no reason to return for her. Not now that Thor had been forbidden to return, and Loki thought that… If he would but try to speak to her just once. She only needed a few precious seconds to let him know that it was all wrong, whatever Lyora had told him, it was wrong.

She felt Thor shift beside her, shaking her from her thoughts. When she raised her head to look at him, he was staring right at her. He looked different… older. There was something so calm in him now.

"When I told my family that we were to be wed… your eyes filled with sadness." Thor said gently, it was not an accusation, it was simply a fact that he had come to realise. "I tried to ignore it, but my words broke your heart."

"Thor…" she hesitated.

When she could not find the words that she was searching for, Thor took the opportunity to speak. His Father had been trying to teach him a lesson, and perhaps admitting to this was for him, a step towards learning it. "Rosa, I saw you as means of proving that I wasn't the shallow fool that my brother accused me of being. When you hadn't immediately fallen at my feet like so many others, I thought if I could make you see me for me, and actually like what it was that you saw, it would prove him wrong. I didn't want to be at fault, I didn't want to improve. I just wanted for him to be wrong. But I was so desperate to prove myself that I abandoned my intentions of being genuine and I forgot to treat you with any respect or dignity. I thought you saw something else, something different. I got carried away, Rosa. And what I did not realise is that you acted so and denied me because you were already in love with another."

Rosa's stomach churned unpleasantly, this was the last thing she wished to discuss. Not now, only moments after learning that she would never see Loki again. And in truth, the idea of confessing to Thor now that it was his brother that she truly loved… it seemed foolish. Thor was all Rosa had left that connected her to Asgard. If he were to become enraged by the knowledge that it was Loki she had chosen over him, what was to stop him from abandoning her? After all, why wouldn't he? And what would she do then? Rosa sighed and looked away, fighting against the tears that welled in the corners of her eyes.

"Who is he? Tell me of him." Thor said gently as he watched her. When she did not speak he went on. "Rosa, it's alright. You can tell me."

Still Rosa chose not to speak, she continued to stare out across the arid desert, biting her lip.

Thor smirked, and made an attempt to lighten her mood. "Rosa, it is not as if in all of Asgard it would be someone I might know anyhow…"

Rosa suddenly shot him a nervous look before glancing away again quickly. Her heart started thundering in her chest and she was grateful for the darkness to hide from him the blush that crept it's way up her neck.

Thor did not look away, he hadn't missed her reaction. He sat there studying her profile, the way she chewed nervously at her lip. He furrowed his brow. What could cause her to be so hesitant? Who could this man possibly be that the idea of revealing his identity would instil such reluctance in her? When he had announced his intentions to his family and friends, there had been apprehension true enough, but there had also been happiness and offers of congratulations! From everyone! No… not everyone… all except-

Thor's eyes widened as he thought back, pieces of a scattered puzzled suddenly clicking into place before him. It was right there, yet it seemed so surreal, so difficult to accept as reality. "…before we fell to earth… it was Loki's name that you called out... You-you called him by name, not Highness, or Lord. You said 'Loki'."

Rosa's eyes shot up to meet his for a split second. "Thor…"

"…every time I spoke of you in his presence, it filled him with such anger. I never suspected for a moment that it might be because… by the Allfather, Rosa."

Rosa cringed, shrinking into herself, waiting for him to react. She expected wrath, anger, hatred even... So it shocked her when she heard Thor begin to laugh, though the sound was laced with sadness. She turned to stare at him, totally unsure of what exactly was happening. Thor, still utterly stunned, reached out and put a strong arm around her. He felt her flinch but ignored it, squeezing her ever so gently. It was his turn to struggle for words, gaping soundlessly for quite some time.

"It appears that I owe my brother a sincere apology. I have always had a bad habit of taking from him that which I had no right to take… How long?"

"Months." She answered, her voice weak. "We kept it secret for so long. He was going to tell his family the night that you-"

The weight and warmth of Thor's arm suddenly disappeared and Rosa silently berated herself. Thor had just lost so much, it wasn't fair for her to put guilt upon him for this as well. In all honesty, she felt far too tired to be capable of casting blame in Thor's direction. He hadn't known. He had never meant any harm to any of them. She rested a gentle hand upon his forearm.

Rosa offered a watery smile. "It matters not, Thor. He thinks- he thinks that…" The lump caught in her throat and she had to turn away from him to hide her tears.

Thor's face fell as the guilt rose within him. He did not need for her to finish that sentence. He realised exactly what she was trying to tell him. What he'd done.

"Oh Rosa… forgive me…"

Rosa nodded, her eyes cast downward. She didn't speak. She had seemed to make them both feel worse with ever word she'd said so far.

"You look exhausted." Thor told her gently.

A small laugh escaped her lips. "I am."

"I have come to be friends with some of the mortals here. Darcy, she spoke of her small lodgings. I shall take you to her where you may rest."

"Where will you go?" Rosa asked quickly, not liking the idea of him leaving her. The fear of being alone in the realm of Midgard was still at the forefront of her thoughts.

"I have something that I must return to a friend. To Jane."

"Jane?" Rosa smiled softly, hugging her knees. "Who's Jane?"

She liked the way Thor said the woman's name, gently and with a small smile upon his lips. There was no arrogance in his voice when he'd said it. It had been genuine, nothing like how he had spoken to her when he had made his attempts to 'court' her. No, the way Thor had spoken the woman's name, how his eyes had softened, it reminded her of how Loki spoke to her. The thought made Rosa feel a great warmth and yet overwhelmingly sad all at once.

Thor smiled and began to speak of the peculiar woman who had hit him with her van. Twice.

"Oh whoa, another one!" Darcy exclaimed as she opened her door. The young woman stood beaming at Rosa, taking one look at her attire and knowing she and Thor had not run into each other by accident.

Rosa stood awkwardly in the hallway of a modest apartment block, outside of Darcy's door, accompanied by Thor, Matt, Travis and a drunken, swaying Selvig.

"Darcy," Thor spoke, almost filling up the entire doorframe with his shoulders. "This is Rosa, a very dear friend of mine. She fell to Midgard with me. I search for somewhere she might rest until sunrise. Would you be so kind as to allow her to stay here?"

"Gods sure do play the 'favour' card quite liberally, don't they?" She said, eyeing him. She jerked her head in the direction of her shoebox apartment and moved out of the way. "Come on in. She can crash on the couch. Playing host to a Goddess sounds like more fun than sitting around in my underwear watching Family Guy anyway."

"Debatable." Travis protested, openly checking Darcy out as he entered the apartment.

Darcy blinked. "Who are you?"

"Travis. I'm with the crazy chick. We found her out in the desert this morning. I've saved her from getting hit by three separate cars today." He told her, puffing his chest out with pride.

Matt stepped forward, quite obviously attempting not to roll his eyes. "I'm Matt. I'm with the idiot." He jerked his head in Travis' direction. "Though I tend to avoid admitting to that whenever possible."

"Nice to meet you Matt. You're friend's kinda hot." Darcy glanced at Travis with a smirk.

"Debatable." Matt answered, shaking his head. He turned to watch Rosa move slowly around the untidy room, inspecting unfamiliar objects, her brow crinkled and her eyes sad.

He studied her, how unhappy she seemed. It didn't make sense to him. She'd assured them endlessly that once they found Thor, everything would be alright. Matt had hardly been able to believe it when this Thor guy had actually turned out to be real. But there he'd sat, getting drunk at a bar, like he'd been waiting for her to come for him. And she had. She'd found him. Like she said she would. So why now did she look so defeated… so heartbroken…

Matt tuned back in to Travis and Darcy's conversation in time to catch them competing as to who had picked up the strangest 'God.'

"I saw my guy eat a whole box of pop tarts in under three minutes!" Darcy told Travis, crossing her arms and looking satisfied.

"Our one doesn't do that." Travis replied with slumped shoulders, genuinely disappointed.

Smiling, Darcy looked over the top of Travis' shoulder and her face suddenly morphed into a look of total outrage.

"Uh, uh! I don't think so big guy!" she scolded Thor as he attempted to lay Selvig upon her couch. "I've taken in your strays but the old man is Jane's problem! Take him to her caravan!"

Before Darcy managed to hustle Thor and a drunken Selvig out of her apartment, Thor turned to Rosa and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Rest now, Rosa. We will speak in the morning. We shall figure something out."

Rosa nodded silently, mustering up a meek smile before watching as Thor hoisted Selvig up over his shoulder and bid each of them goodnight. Darcy closed the door behind them and turned to face her new guests, looking a little exasperated.

"So! Anyone want a beer?" She offered.

Matt looked reluctant. "Are you sure you're cool if we crash here?"

"Yeah, man! Make yourselves at home." She said, gesturing once again to her tiny living space. "Uh… I got spare blankets and shit but you're probably just gunna have to feel around for the most comfortable spot of floor."

"What, your bed's not big enough for one more?" Travis smirked at her as he lifted his beer to his lips.

Darcy quirked an eyebrow challengingly.

Travis and Darcy continued to banter back and forth, and Matt took it as an opportunity to move away from the pair and sit by Rosa. She was already lying on the couch, though she was wide awake, staring out the wide window of Darcy's apartment to the stars overhead.

"Rosa…" Matt said gently, "Are you ok?"

Rosa nodded absently.

"We found Thor." Matt whispered, stroking her hair back from her face.

Her composure crumpled as a tear finally fell. "He doesn't know how to get home," she whimpered. She curled into herself, burying her face in her hands.

"Hey," Matt murmured gently. "It'll be ok, Rosa. You'll see. Everything will be ok."

"I'll never see him again…" she whispered. "I'll never see him again…"

Matt watched her with sad eyes as she repeated it over and over, her voice slowly dying as she fell asleep.

Rosa woke with a jolt to small hands shaking her awake. She squinted against the morning light and looked up to meet the eyes of Darcy who was leaning over the top of her. Disorientated, she looked around to see Matt and Travis lying under tatty looking blankets on the floor, either side of Darcy's coffee table. The each moaned and yawned and rubbed sleep from their eyes, apparently just having received the same wake up treatment Rosa herself had just experienced.

"Come on, you guys! If we don't get to Jane's early enough, we're not going to score a free breakfast!" Darcy insisted. She raked a brush through her curls quite violently and shoved her glasses onto her face, watching the others impatiently.

Matt groaned as he stood up and pulled on his shirt. "Man I definitely did not pick out the comfortable spot of floor you were talking about, Darcy."

"Me either." Travis stretched and winced. He looked up and locked eyes with Darcy. "Still don't understand why you didn't let me be your snuggle buddy, babe."

"Because I'm a classy gal and you're just gunna have to put in a little more work if you want a slice of this. Now come on, I'm starving."

The apartment Darcy rented was only two small streets away from Jane's studio. Darcy walked ahead, leading the way with Travis not far behind her, playfully trying to grab hold of her hand. Darcy would laugh and swat him away, Rosa watched with a small smile.

"So," Matt spoke gently, Rosa hadn't even realised that he'd been walking beside her. "How are you feeling today?"

"It's a beautiful day. It's a new day." Rosa answered, avoiding the question.

Matt hesitated. "You were pretty upset last night…"

Rosa opened her mouth to speak but words would not come. She turned her head away from him as a blush of shame rose up her neck.

"Who is he, Rosa? Who won't you see again?"

Rosa cleared her throat. She swallowed stubbornly against the lump building there. She didn't want to cry in front of him again. She wanted to be strong. She was scared that if she wasn't, she would have to face defeat, she would have to face the ugly fact that she would be apart from him forever.

"Loki." She answered, clenching her jaw a little. "His name is Loki."

"Who is he?"

Rosa cast her eyes down. "Thor's brother… he and I…"

"Come on," Darcy called back to the pair. "If I miss out on my bacon because you guys walk like geriatrics I'll be kicking some serious ass!"

"Good morning, Darcy." Came a female voice, a brunette woman hung out of the door, greeting them as they approached. "Don't panic. I heard you coming and there's plenty left."

"Is Selvig hung over?" Darcy raced through the door excitedly.

"Please, not so loud." The older man begged, the heels of his palms pressed against his temples.

"Jane!" Darcy said a little louder than what was necessary, and smirking when Selvig groaned. "This is Travis and Matt! And that right there is Rosa!"

"You're Rosa." Jane smiled and hurried forward. "It's incredible to meet you. Thor's told me all about your realm and I was hoping to maybe get a little more information out of you. You know, like a second opinion o-or a different perspective or something!"

Rosa studied the woman, there was such excitement in her eyes. She wanted so desperately for everything Thor had told her to be true but something kept her from believing. Mortal logic stood in her way, and Rosa could not blame her for any scepticism she may have felt.

"It would be my pleasure." Rosa insisted and if it were possible, Janes smile widened even more.

Selvig lifted his head from his hands only long enough to speak. "Perhaps we could do this after breakfast, when everyone's feeling a little more alert."

"Oh, yeah." Jane was positively beaming at Rosa. "Of course."

She hurried back toward the kitchen where Thor stood by the stove. He smiled gently at her as she approached, handing her a plate. He glanced up at Rosa and nodded, greeting her. Rosa offered a small smile in return. Silently, she found a seat, still facing Jane and Thor as they prepared the meal. The two smiled at one another, catching each other's glances and then looking away. Whenever their hands would brush together, Jane would blush and Thor would stare, smiling, content.

Perhaps Thor could truly find happiness there, Rosa thought, as she fought against the rising resentment that suddenly bloomed within her chest. The feeling lingered as she watched the pair laugh, slightly nervously as they spoke quietly to one another – words meant only for their ears. Rosa longed for home.

As if someone out there in the cosmos had read her thoughts and rebutted, there was a knocking at the window and all eyes turned towards the sound. Rosa's jaw dropped at the sight of Lady Sif and the Warriors Three waving enthusiastically at a very confused Thor. Rosa stood and watched breathlessly as Thor moved towards the warriors and embraced them each in turn. The hope which had sparked within her at the mere sight of them only continued to grow when the confessed to having come to retrieve him.

There was still a chance – a real chance – that everything might be alright. And for the first time in a great many days, a true smile graced Rosa lips. But then things were said about Loki… awful things that couldn't be true.

Sif watched Rosa out of the corner of her eye as they revealed to the Asgardians just what Loki had done. She saw the distress evident upon her features. Rosa clearly did not wish to believe what she was hearing, and was indeed doing her best to reject the information. Glancing quickly towards Thor, satisfied that he was distracted, Sif took hold of Rosa's arm and pulled her aside, out of earshot.

"Rosa," she whispered hurriedly, ignoring Rosa's confusion. "It is not only Thor who must face the reality of what Loki has done. You must too… I know what you are to him."

"How do you-"

"I saw the two of you together. I saw him tell you that he loved you… Rosa, whoever he was, whoever you thought him to be, that man is no longer there. Perhaps he never was."

Sif recounted the attempts the group had made to convince Loki to bring his brother home, along with their suspicions that it had been Loki who had lead the Frost Giants into Asgard. It was not until she mentioned the rumour that Loki had viciously attacked one of the Palace's maids for reasons that no one truly knew that Sif really sparked a reaction in Rosa. Her eyes widened and her breathing quickened. She took hold of Sif's arms with shaking hands.

"You must get me home!" Rosa begged, desperately. "You must get me back to him. If I could but speak to him-"

"Rosa, I fear it to be too late. Look at what he has done to his own brother…" Her words hung heavily in the air between them. Sif's eyes softened as she spoke again, "I am sorry."

The ground suddenly trembling beneath their feet distracted both women, preventing either of them from pushing the matter further. Each of their gazes travelled to the horizon to witness unnatural looking storm clouds brewing and swirling towards the earth.

It was chaos. All around them, people ran and screamed, children cried for their parents and the fear spread like infection. Thor and the others did their best to round each of the bystanders up and get them to safety while Sif and the Warriors Three attempted to slow down the Destroyer's relentless attacks.

Rosa lifted a small girl into the closest car to her. The family closed the door an sped off in the opposite direction, intending to move as far away from the Destroyer as physically possible. Rosa glanced around. The street – already half torn apart – seemed to be clear of all mortals now. It was just the Destroyer, moving ever closer, seeking it's victims.

It was being controlled by Loki's magic. It had to have been. And Rosa knew that meant that Loki was watching. Closely.

She had to move now, while Thor was distracted. Before she could think upon it, she was sprinting towards the metal giant.

"Loki!" Rosa ran forward through the flames. She knew if she could just get close enough he would see her, he would hesitate, he would listen. She could stop him. She had to.

This wasn't Loki. There was more to this than she and Thor. Loki would be hurt and full of hatred, but she knew he would never take the lives of innocent people because of losing her to Thor.

"He is not who you thought him to be Rosa, I am sorry."

Rosa shook the thought away. No. Loki was good and kind and gentle. He was not capable of something like this. She just needed to speak to him. She could stop this. She could fix it.

It was then that Rosa saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Someone who had been hiding behind an overturned car. Matt. He was attempting to make an escape but the Destroyer had turned its gaze upon him. The fire built within it. Even from where she stood, Rosa could feel the heat. Dread filled her. This boy had been there for her, helped her, comforted her. He'd done everything he was capable of to help her despite his uncertainty as to whether a single word of her tale were true. Rosa spun to face the Destroyer. She would never reach it in time. But she could reach Matt. She had made her choice.

"Matt! Watch out!" She flung herself forward, and collided into him just in time to push him aside.

Rosa wasn't fast enough to get out of the way, she turned her head just in time to see the flames.

A scream ripped from her throat as the blast hit her. She was sent flying through the air and collided into the side of a car with a loud thud! But the force of impact didn't even register, all Rosa felt was the searing agony of the burns that scorched up her entire right arm, her neck and part of her jaw. The pain was excruciating. Throbbing, searing, sizzling. Her flesh screamed as relentless waves of pain crashed over her body again and again. She lay in the dust and dirt and tried to inhale but found the action caused the burns to sear with even that much movement, so she lay there, taking in quick and shallow gasps barely even hearing the sound of her name being screamed out.

She was disconnected. In a state of total shock. Everything but the blinding pain seemed so distant and secondary, like an echo. She knew the Matt had fallen to his knees beside her and she heard Sif screaming out, asking whether she was alive, but it all felt as if she were waking from a dream – hanging within two different worlds.

Travis fell to his knees and her other side. "Is she alive?" He asked, panicked.

"She's breathing." Matt answered. His shaking hands hovered over the horrific burns, completely at a loss of what to do.

"Jesus Christ!"

There was another loud boom! as the Destroyer blasted open the front of another shop. The boys turned in time to see it face them, the light of the flames building within it.

"We've gotta get her out of here!" Travis screamed.

Matt and Travis took hold of Rosa without hesitation and hoisted her up. Ear splitting screams of pain erupted from her each time any part of them brushed against her burns. In only a few short moments, when they reached the Warriors Three, Rosa saw her world fading to black. She gritted her teeth, trying with all her might to fight it but the pain was overwhelming. It was too much. She looked over to see Thor walking calmly towards the metal giant before unconsciousness took over her.

"Loki…" she murmured.

Rosa sat bolt upright, sucking in deep gulps of air. Pain seared up her arm and neck and she gazed around wildly at her totally foreign surroundings. She was inside, somewhere cool and peaceful. Everything was so calm. But… The Destroyer. Loki. Thor. Midgard. A firm hand made contact with her good shoulder, causing her to jump. Her eyes shot to glance beside her, heaving in shallow breaths as best she could.

Sif leaned over her, looking apprehensive.

"What happened?" Rosa asked, her head throbbing horribly.

"You're in Asgard." Sif told her gently. "In the healing room… you were burned."

Rosa had not needed Sif to inform her of that. What remained of the skin on her right arm seared with every movement. She was beginning sweat, her body once again unable to cope with the amount of pain she was experiencing.

"Where's Loki?" she asked through gritted teeth. "Thor?"

Sif raised her eyes reluctantly, to meet Rosa's. "Thor heads for the end of the Bifrost. It has been opened, and Heimdall lies unconscious in the healing room."

Rosa glanced to the bed against the wall opposite to her and sure enough there lay Heimdall. If he were there, that meant that-

"I must go to him." Rosa said, pushing herself up from the bed determinedly. She did her best to suppress a hiss of pain.

"Rosa you cannot! The healers have not even seen to your wounds yet. If you were to go out there now." Sif took hold of her uninjured wrist. "Thor ordered me to guard you. I must ensure that you stay here.

"I must speak with him. I can fix this!" Rosa stared at Sif, the desperation evident in her eyes. "Please."

Sif's grip loosened only a little. Rosa took the opportunity to wrench her arm free and before anyone could react to stop her, she bolted for the door.

Tah-dah! What did you think? I hope you enjoyed :) either way, please leave a review and let me know!

Also, before I go, I'd like to say a special 'I'm sorry' to the various reviewers who private messaged me over the past few weeks insisting that I hurry my ass up. I assured you all that this chapter was going to be up a fair bit sooner than I'm actually delivering so I'm really very sorry and I hope we can still love each other.

Just so you know though, the guilt tripping messages and reviews totally work. Admittedly, not as fast as you might hope, but I feel awful every time I turn on my computer now without giving this story at least a little attention…

Talk soon angelfaces! I hope you enjoyed.