A/N: All characters, places, and events you recognize belong to Marvel, Disney, etc.


Day 204

Puente Antiguo, New Mexico

Jane frantically wiped the burning tears from her cheeks with a shaking hand. She blinked several times to clear her vision, but the fuzziness remained at the edges.

She remembered. She remembered all of it: Kai, the Tesseract, each dream...that last night. For weeks, Jane had struggled to keep the fabric of her life intact as this mark appeared on her skin and memories not her own haunted her. She had searched for understanding. Now she understood, and the truth was so much worse than she could have imagined.

The transmission suddenly screeched. Jane jumped, her heart painfully accelerating even faster than it already was. Only after a second attempt to shift to third gear did she realize that her left foot wasn't even on the clutch. A dull hiss filled her ears.

Focus, Foster! Keep it together. Sunlight bounced off the freshly fallen snow and cut through the windshield, even though it was the weaker winter version of the New Mexico sun. Squinting against the light, Jane searched for the outcropping she used as her landmark.

The bulky van lumbered over frozen waves in the sand. A particularly sharp bump snapped her teeth together, catching her tender cheek between them. Jane cried out at the pain. She tasted copper at the back of her throat, and an arrow-sharp memory of Kai—Loki—cradling her bleeding hand sliced her heart. Her vision narrowed even more and dizziness thumped at her skull.

Please let me find it...please be there. Sucking in each breath was painful against the vise grip of panic. Jane dragged her hand across her sweaty forehead then regretted it when her wet hand slipped on the gear shift. The steering wheel wrenched out of her slack grasp as the utility vehicle's tires fought with the washboard path.

There! Even after nearly seven months, a few ridges and whorls remained on the desert floor where the sand had been melted to glass by the blast. Skiffs of snow swirled and gathered in the indentations, highlighting the site. Jane blinked back sudden tears of gratitude at this unexpected help. She brought the hulking vehicle to a halt a few yards away.

Breathe, Jane. Steady. In, two, three, four, out, two, three, four. But her head still pounded and her heart still raced out of control. She pulled the handle of the door and pushed it open with her shoulder. Her legs buckled, and she had to wait a few seconds before she could stand and close the car door. The sharp chunk of the metal door closing resounded in the empty desert.

Jane hesitated for a beat. What was she doing? This was crazy. Hysterical giggles erupted from her chest. This was crazy? No. This was a sane response to the absolute insanity that had blown up her life.

One foot slid forward, then the other. Jane steadied herself with a hand on the car's hood. Breathe, two, three, four… She shivered and pulled her barn jacket closer around her. A breeze stirred, raising goosebumps along her neck and arms.

Her toe nudged one of the glassy ridges along the perimeter. She took a couple of steps inside for good measure, and threw her head back, searching the afternoon sky, but there was no sign waiting for her.

"H...Heim….dall?" Her voice came out thin, reedy, powerless. Humiliation washed over her. What an idiot. How could you have been so gullible? Heimdall won't listen to you. Jane cleared her throat.

"Heimdall?" Stronger this time, clearer. She took a deep breath and pushed the dizziness away. "I hope that you can hear me."

A wave of terror suddenly crashed over Jane, squeezing her stomach and buckling her legs. She dropped to her knees on the frozen desert floor. Where was the bracing anger now? Her stomach lurched and Jane swallowed hard to maintain her composure. Please don't let me throw up now. Not here.

The melting snow soaked through her jeans and numbed her knees. Jane welcomed the distraction. She scooped up a small handful of snow and pressed it to her face, pushing her hair out of her eyes. Cold rivulets trickled down her arms, wetting her sleeves. Breath, two, three, four. Focus. Jane stayed on her knees, though the cold burned and ached. She tipped her head back again.

"Heimdall, I beg you, please don't tell...I'm not sure what you've seen these last few days—these last few months—I didn't know it was Loki, I didn't...I didn't know he was even real. I don't want to help him get revenge on Thor. I won't start a war. You have to help me. I'm not a danger to…to Asgard, to Earth, to anyone!

"And, Heimdall—" A sob cut her words off. One arm dropped to defensively cradle her abdomen. Darcy's suspicions had been right. Jane had protested that it was impossible: I'm practically a nun. I haven't slept with any man for close to forever. But the return of her memories—the vivid, overwhelming details of how she had spent her last few hours with the black-haired prince—had swept away all her arguments. The nausea, exhaustion, the sudden aversion to alcohol, all made sense.

"I think I'm...I'm…" Jane's voice failed her entirely. How could she bring herself to say the words out loud? She could barely manage to think them to herself: I'm pregnant. With Loki's baby. I'm carrying Loki Odinson's child.

But Loki wasn't truly Odinson, was he? He was Laufeyson. And one of the few things she'd learned from Thor about life on Asgard was that Frost Giants and Asgardians were mortal enemies. What if the baby was regarded as a threat? From deep in her belly a wild, protective force exploded and for a few seconds she was invincible. No one would hurt her baby. She would kill with her bare hands if necessary.

The bravado receded as quickly as it had come, leaving her shaking. Who was she kidding? She was powerless against Odin, against Frigga...even against Thor, if it came to that. "Heimdall. Please protect my baby. I didn't know—I didn't want—I'll figure this out, I'll handle it. Please help me...please...don't tell…"

Another wave of crushing panic swept from her toes to her head, overwhelming her this time. Her stomach heaved and emptied itself, tears flowed freely, snot ran down her chin. The convulsions twisted her so strongly that she could not stay upright. Her vision dimmed, the buzzing in her ears grew louder.

"Ahhh! I can't—stop—help me, please!" She collapsed to all fours on the icy ground.

"Jane!" Someone gathered her hair out of the way. "I've got you."

Darcy. Was she alone? Frantically, she whispered, "Thor!"

"Isabel is keeping Thor occupied. I just told her that you're having a PTSD relapse. Come here; get out of the cold. You're shivering." Darcy gently helped Jane to her feet, pressing a tissue into her hand. Jane wiped her mouth as Darcy led her past the car she'd borrowed from Isabel to the van. She unlatched the back end and boosted Jane in, then climbed in after her.

Jane hunched into the fetal position and rocked back and forth, tears pouring unchecked from her eyes. Darcy scooted toward the other woman and pulled her into her arms. "Shhh…shhh...it's okay." She paused, then murmured, "You know what? Scratch that. You cry as much as you need to, woman."

oooOOOooo

"I was told you requested a progress report, Master." Loki bowed low to the ground before the purplish floating hulk of Thanos.

"Yes, runt. My patience is wearing thin." He drew the last word out, making it a threat.

Loki bit his tongue. With every iteration of the Zetryan moon, It took more and more effort to remain submissive. Thanos was truly the Mad Titan. In his single-minded courting of Death, he had come to believe that he was the most powerful being in the universe. What he wanted, he expected to get immediately, simply because he wished it so. Survival on this twisted black rock depended not on one's actual merits but on the ability to keep Thanos happy. Logic, loyalty, past successes—none of these mattered.

"The army is nearly ready, your Highness."

"Nearly?"

"Master, the hive mind of the Chitauri—"

"What of it?" Thanos' voice carried a clear warning.

Loki hesitated, then sighed in resignation. He did not anticipate escaping his association with the purple Titan alive. A defeat on Midgard would likely mean a drawn-out, excruciating death. If there was a way to avoid defeat later, he had to risk displeasing Thanos now. "Is there any way to reprogram them? It seems more a weakness than a strength. We've invested so much. If the Command Center is disabled or destroyed, the entire army is useless."

"My army is weak? Useless?" Thanos lifted one finger off the arm of his throne.

He had to tread very carefully. Loki drew a breath to answer, when a spear of panic suddenly ran through his gut, strong enough to make him wince. It wasn't his own fear, though. The shape of it was different, distinctive. What is this? What is happening? Is this Thanos' doing? He subtly scanned his surroundings.

Thanos cleared his threat. A tremor coursed down Loki's back. Focus, you fool! He wasn't exactly afraid of death, but the kind of death he knew would await him was particularly unsavory. "Master, forgive me, I must have misspoken. I would like to request permission to reinforce the defensive features of the Command Center."

"Hmm." The finger lowered. "Watch yourself, No-One's-Son."

oooOOOooo

Several minutes later, Jane's tears had subsided to the occasional shuddering sob. Darcy handed her another tissue. Jane sat up and blew her red, puffy nose. She stared at the dull gray floor of the van. "I'm pregnant."

Darcy choked a little. "What?" Be cool, Lewis.

"Remember, back at JDEF, when you asked me if I was pregnant? And I said no way? You were right."

They sat silent for a long while, then Darcy said, "O-kay. Caught me a little off guard there. Just—why are you telling me now?"

Jane fumbled in the pocket of her jacket, then pulled out a hair elastic. She yanked her wet, tangled hair into a low ponytail. "I told you I was having these déjà vu moments. Well, I remember everything now."

"Wow. So...you had forgotten...? And you just remembered?" Darcy wondered if any woman had ever before blocked out sexy times with a god. Thor's pride was probably going to be bruised. Jane would need to break it to him gently, but Thor was a good guy. "This is great news! I'll bet he's going to be kind of shocked at first, but then he'll be thrilled! I think he'll make the best daddy, don't you? How should you tell him? How about…" Her voice dwindled to nothing as she registered the horrified expression on Jane's face.

"What's wrong?"

"Thor isn't the father, Darcy."

Wait...what? "Um, then who is?"

Jane didn't answer. Her fingers traced the scar on her wrist as tears spilled down her cheeks. Darcy felt the cells in her brain protesting where her thoughts were going. "You and...Loki?" Darcy wanted to be super chill about it, but she couldn't stop her voice from squeaking.

Jane's shoulders shook. "My life is over."

Darcy secretly agreed, but she automatically replied, "Whoa, hey, that's a big leap, there, boss lady."

Jane raised her puffy, tear-streaked face, wiped snot away with a wadded-up tissue, and glared at Darcy. "I'm knocked up, Darcy. It's Loki's baby. What part of that sounds like 'happily ever after' to you?"

"So, like, for real? It's Loki's baby? Not Thor's? You...um, slept...with...Loki? Wait! Did he—did he rape you? He did, didn't he? He had to have! That son of a bi—" Darcy bit off the curse when Jane began sobbing again. "It's okay, sweetie, we'll tell Thor and he'll kill Loki for us. Don't worry."

"No!" Jane gasped. "We can't tell Thor. I think that's exactly what Loki wants me to do—to be the catalyst to start a war. I'm not putting Earth, Asgard, and the other nine realms in jeopardy because of my personal issues."

"Jane, you can't let him get away with this. We have to report it to someone who can do something about it." She'd gut Loki herself.

"He didn't force me."

Darcy took a deep breath and counted to ten. "I love you, you know that, right? I'm on your side, no matter what. I didn't rat you out about the mark on your arm, even when you were acting seriously bizarre. I kept my mouth shut about your pregnancy when I thought you were just lying about hooking up with Thor. But I'm gonna need you to explain a bit more to me how you had consensual sex with Loki."

Jane's sobs slowed down. She shifted to lean against the opposite wall of the van, crossed her arms over her chest, and narrowed her eyes. "Wait a minute. You kept your mouth shut about my pregnancy? How did you know?"

It was Darcy's turn to stare at the floor.

After the longest ten seconds of Darcy's life, Jane said, "Oh. You never returned those vials of blood and urine to me. Darcy Lewis. You didn't."

Darcy crossed her arms over her ample chest, in mimicry of Jane's posture. "I just had to know. You were all crazy, and you wouldn't listen to any kind of reason. I had to be the grown-up, for Pete's sake! If I had a nickel for every time I've sighed in the last couple of months..." She flicked a glance at Jane.

Jane reluctantly said, "You're right. But when were you going to tell me?"

Darcy frowned. "I hadn't figured that out yet. I guess I thought eventually you'd either admit you were lying or you'd go into labor. I didn't imagine option C: Loki's the dad!"

Jane winced, and Darcy said, "Too soon? I'm sorry. I'm just kind of freaking out here."

"You're freaking out?" Jane covered her face with her hands. "Look—I didn't know it was Loki, okay? Does that make you feel better? I didn't know any of it was even real."

Darcy leaned forward and took Jane's hand. "Listen, Jane. You know I'm not big on this, but given the situation...have you considered termination?"

Jane said nothing. Darcy shrugged. "We can talk about that later." Her phone buzzed. "It's Isabel. Hang on. Hello...nah, we're not ready yet. Could you keep him there with you?...Honestly, he'd only be in the way here...Thanks a million, Iz. Bye!" She slid the phone into her pocket. "I bought us some more time. So, spill it."

Keeping her eyes covered, Jane began, "I don't understand it all, but I'll tell you what I know. I was in really bad shape from the nightmares. One night—you know this part—I had a dream about this black-haired, green-eyed man who rescued me from the Destroyer. He kept showing up in my dreams. I named him Kai…"

oooOOOooo

"Jane and Darcy have been away for quite some time. Perhaps I should—"

"Heads up!" Isabel hollered cheerfully from the top of a ladder, and Thor shot a glance up. An industrial-sized can of salsa hurtled toward his head. He caught it easily. "This is fun," she said. "Want a job? I could use a big, strong guy like you."

Thor chuckled as Isabel descended the ladder. "I already have a job, thank you. But I ought to ensure that Jane and Darcy are well."

Isabel rolled her eyes at him. "They're fine. You know all the science-y stuff takes forever. Come on, help me move these shelves to the other side of the room."

"Hi, guys!" Darcy poked her head into the storeroom. "We're all done with that, uh, project. How's it going here?"

"Great!" Isabel answered. "I've just about convinced him to stick around as my warehouse manager."

Thor set the metal shelves down gently, then turned to Darcy. "Is Jane well?"

Darcy flapped her hand at him. "She's fine, don't worry about it."

"When she left the diner—"

Darcy tugged him out of the storeroom. She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial pitch. "It was pretty traumatic for her to learn that weird sign thing she found was Loki's. You know? I mean, she's not a big fan of his. He kind of keeps messing up her life."

She took a step closer to Thor. "Listen, she's ready to work on defending Earth against that—against Loki. But there's no way she's going back to JDEF." When he made protesting noises, she shook her head. "That place messed with her mind, dude. Either she works remotely or she doesn't work at all. She's calling Erik right now to hash it out with him. I'm just giving you a heads-up so you don't pressure her about it."

He inclined his head in acknowledgement. "Shall we go, then?" He called into the storeroom to Isabel, "Thanks for keeping me distracted!"

"Hey, I wasn't—oh, forget it. Friends gotta do what friends gotta do, right?"

The blond giant and the buxom brunette exited the diner and headed toward the old service station. Through the bank of windows they could see Jane sitting at her work station, head in her hands. Darcy nudged Thor and said, "Hey. Let her bring Loki up, okay? Go gentle on her."

oooOOOooo

Jane heard the lab door open and quickly wiped her eyes. Just take it one minute at a time. You can do this one minute at a time.

Darcy entered first. "How was the call with Erik?"

It had been tough. She had had to dig her heels in, even when threatened with prison. "Good, I think. He—"

"Jane!" Thor's bark made her jump. "I must talk to you immediately about Loki. There is something you must know."

Her heart abruptly accelerated, and Darcy rounded on him. "Thanks! That's exactly what I asked you to do. I appreciate it." The sarcasm dripped from her words.

Jane intervened. "It's okay, Darcy. I might as well get the whole story, right? Pull up a chair, Thor. Let's hear it."

He dragged a dining chair to the work station and sat facing her. Darcy perched on the station itself to listen to Thor. "I told you it was unlikely that Loki had branded a person."

"Right."

"I have changed my mind. I'm now certain that Loki must have completed a rune bond ceremony with a mortal."

No, no, no, you can't think that! Jane's expression betrayed none of her thoughts. "But the mark was found on a piece of metal."

Thor leaned forward and reached for Jane's hands. She pulled back and crossed her arms. He sighed. "If Loki had marked a fortress or a cache of weapons with his rune, he would have hidden it well. There is no strategic benefit in allowing it to be discovered early. If the rune mark was found, then he intended for it to be found, most likely to send another threatening message to Asgard. I don't know how he knew to place the mark where I would eventually learn about it, but I've learned not to underestimate his abilities."

Why did Thor have to pick the absolutely worst times to be brilliant? Jane kept her mouth shut.

"I initially dismissed the idea of Loki forming a bond with a human because the ceremony is complicated. I know nothing of the technical side of it, but one thing all Asgardians know from earliest childhood: rune bond magic requires the full consent of both parties. It cannot be forced on either party. Therein lies its beauty."

Jane choked and covered it with a cough. Beauty? Like hell.

"I found it highly improbable that Loki had spent long enough in this realm to win the heart of a maiden. Heimdall never saw him. How could he reveal himself to the lady but conceal himself from Asgard?"

Okay, so Loki was probably still smarter. Or at least craftier.

"In truth, I found it highly improbable that Loki had won the heart of any maiden in any realm. But I digress. I now believe that Loki found someone with whom he could bond and wanted to make sure I knew about it." Thor sat back in his chair, looking pleased. A shaft of afternoon sunlight gilded his blond hair with gold and platinum and limned his high cheekbones. He looked every bit the prince he was.

Jane shook her head. "I don't get it. I mean, I know Loki's not everyone's favorite. But why do we care if he's found himself a girlfriend? Good for him, right? Maybe he'll settle down now."

Thor nodded. "I would agree with you, if it wasn't for the prophecy."