Note: I'm finally bringing in my OC! Yay…. she's going to be decently important. Umm… trying not to spoil anything. As always, enjoy and stay safe. Criticism and reviews are appreciated.

Elizabeth pov

Elizabeth had been working non-stop at the SHIELD headquarters for days now. It seemed like every time she was done with one task, she was ended for another. So, when she finally had a day off on Saturday, she had decided to go visit her adoptive father, Steve. It was 10 am. Already, and she had already had breakfast and gone on a morning run. It was very therapeutic, as she had found out, and she did it every morning she could.

Before she goes to her apartment, she made the decision to pick up some breakfast for him, knowing that he probably had either been working or running and was sleeping in late as he did on Saturday. Then again, he wasn't really "sleeping in" per se, more getting the rest of his 5 hours of sleep. She walks in and out of some shops trying to decide what to get, finally deciding on some croissants and two smoothies- one for either of the.

She puts the box of croissants along with a small container of hot, chocolate serum in her backpack before walking up to his apartment. She decides against knocking and instead uses her spare key to get in. She places the food on the table before walking towards the living room which is next to his bedroom. She, at first, sees that someone is laying on the couch. She assumes that it's her father, but as she turns on the light, she sees that it's none other than the man who tried to take over the world; Loki. She screams and backs up into a wall. Steve wakes up immediately and rushes over to her, putting one arm over her mouth and the other on her shoulder to comfort her. "Shh… it's fine. I'm taking care of him." he waits a moment before removing the hand that's over her mouth to make sure that she doesn't make anymore loud noises. Loki makes a small noise and turns onto his other side, but doesn't wake.

"Why is he in your house and why are you taking care of him?"

"Well, I found him last night, in the park when I was running. He was hurt, and… well, you know me."

"Yes, I do, but I didn't know that you would actually hurt a mass murderer who tried to take over the world. And, besides, I thought he's been MIA. This couldn't be Asgard's punishment for him… right?"

"I don't think so. I believe that something happened, but I don't believe that it was Asgard."
"fine. I assume that SHIELD doesn't know?"

"No one knows except Banner and I. And, I guess, now you."

She turns and sees Banner laying on the couch, "Dad, what are you going to do? You can't keep this a secret from SHIELD forever. Sooner or later someone is going to find out, and it's going to be complete chaos."

"We'll figure that out when it happens. For now, please don't tell anyone. I want to make sure he's better first before we figure out the legal side of this."

"This isn't very legal, but okay. Do you need anything, or should I go?"

"Well, now that you know, do you think that you could maybe use your magic and figure out how this happened and get him to answer some questions?"

"What do you know so far?"

"Nothing, really. Like I said, I just found him last night and he hasn't woken up yet."

"Actually, he has. I talked a bit to him last night but I didn't find out much." Banner calls out quietly from the couch.

"He woke up last night?" Steve asks.

"Yeah. I was able to change out his bandages and he ate some food. By the way, you're out of pizza."

Steve sighs, "that's fine. How's he looking right now?"

"Better. It would be better if we could get some answers though."

"Okay, I'll try when he gets up. I have some croissants and smoothies in the kitchen. Banner, apologies, I didn't know that you were here or I would've gotten you a smoothie too. But there's extra croissants and melted chocolate dip."

"Ooh, yes." Banner gets up and disappears into the kitchen, but Steve waits a moment more.

"Can I trust you in here with him? I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I'll be fine. Do you want me to stay here when you go into S.H.I.E.L.D? I assume Banner would have to go as well but I have today off. He might be more comfortable answering questions if you guys aren't here. He doesn't know me, after all. And I'm just a friendly neighborhood therapist."

"Fine, but call me immediately if something seems off or goes askew."

"You got it."

Steve exits to the kitchen to grab a quick breakfast before leaving to SHIELD with Banner. Elizabeth takes a seat on one of the chairs and pulls out a computer from her backpack to write some reports while she waits for Loki to wake up. About a half-hour after Steve and Banner have left, he wakes up. She smiles at him comfortingly, trying to make him more trusting of her. He looks at her nervously and doesn't say anything. Elizabeth waits a moment before deciding to break the silence, "good morning. Did you sleep well?"

He looks at her and nods briefly, but stays silent. Well, she thinks to herself, this is going to be interesting.