Chapter 10

"You are to stay there, until I instruct you otherwise. Deal?"

Maria's eyes glared for a moment. "No way in hell."

She moved to rise from her cross legged sitting position on the couch, before she caught Thor's gently warning eye and froze. Maria pursed her lips.

"I'm not going to just sit here," she half growled. "And you can't make me."

Thor's stern face broke in an instant, his lips spreading in an arrogant smile. He folded his strong arms across his chest, and raised his eyebrows challengingly. "Really? You think I, Thor, prince of Asgard, God of Thunder, with Mjolnir's power at my command, could not restrain a single mortal woman?" He let out a bark of laughter, his eyes shining gleefully.

Maria stuck her tongue out at him.

Thor laughed harder.

"You will do as I say." he finally managed, steadying his chuckles and stepping forward, ruffling his hand in Maria's hair as if she were a little kid. She swatted at him, but couldn't bat him away before his hand had latched onto the side of her face tenderly, his thumb hooking under her chin to lift her face upwards. "You are injured and need rest. I will take care of duties for you until I deem you fit. Do you understand?"

"I understand that a stupid little cut on my eye doesn't count as an injury. I need to get to the hospital." Maria unfurled her legs and stood up from the sofa.

Thor's hands travelled to her shoulders and pushed her straight back down again.

"You are not working today." he commanded. "Today, I will take care of you."

Thor was rather enjoying this. He could see by the look on her face that she hated this, the idea of being rendered useless and helpless, no matter how long it was for. From he'd seen of her, she liked to do things, to move, to keep busy. For him to tell her she was to do nothing, and he would be doing it all for her she must have been livid. And every inch of it showed on her scowling expression. True, he conceded in his head, a cut didn't merit the title of injury, but he was thinking more of the wounds he couldn't see.

Maria was defiant now, and that was a good sign in Thor's mind. At least everything that happened, traumatic as it was, hadn't broken her will. Her spirit was intact; the rest of her would heal in time.

Satisfied she would stay put - if only for a little while - Thor moved to the kitchen to fix her some food. He tried to remember where things were, having stood with Maria so many times before while she cooked, and soon had a decent collection on the counter to get to work on.

He'd just lifted the bread knife, when Maria's voice from the living room distracted him.

"I'm not coming in today," Thor heard her say, frowning: who was she talking to?

He set the knife down and went back to the living room to investigate. Happily, Maria was still sat on the couch, though Thor could see her fingers tapping the arm rest irritably, her other hand held up to her ear.

Her fingers stopped tapping, splaying out in front of her haltingly. "No, he didn't do anything!" she said in a quick voice. From behind, Thor watched her head tilt to the side. "...well, he did, but it's nothing serious. Just a little cut, that's all. I swear. Thor patched it up fine."

Thor had just folded his arms across his chest, ready to announce his presence and confront Maria with why she seemed to be having a one-sided conversation with herself, when the penny dropped. He'd seen something like this the last time he came to Earth. Mortals had a device which allowed them to talk to people as clearly as if they were right there with them, when in reality they were far apart.

"Jane..."

That was it, Thor thought, quite proud he'd been able to remember. Maria's talking to Jane on the - his mind stretched to remember the word - phone.

"He did. He kicked him out!"

Thor knew he shouldn't be listening in, but while she didn't know he was doing it he couldn't see harm. And he wanted to hear what she had to say. By what he could understand, she was telling Jane what had happened. I 'kicked him out', Thor thought in his head, they're talking about me.

He leaned his shoulder against the wall. There was no way he was bowing out now!

Maria sharply jerked the phone away from her ear and Thor glimpsed the small black device for the first time. Even from his distance he could hear the noise from the receiver. Yep, Thor thought affirmatively, definitely Jane.

Gingerly, Maria moved the phone closer again. "If you don't be quiet, I'm gonna hang up." she warned sternly. The receiver silenced in an instant. "I don't know..." she replied to something Thor hadn't been able to hear. "I don't think he'd dare to be honest. Thor would probably kill him if he came back."

Almost definitely, Thor's thoughts confirmed. His arms crossed over his chest tightly.

"No, I'm fine. Really. I'll see you later."

Maria pulled the phone down from her head and Thor heard her sigh as clear as day. He straightened up from the wall, and walked forward quietly.

Maria didn't know he was there until his fingers touched her shoulder. She jumped, startled. "Gordon Bennett!" Her eyes fluttered shut with relief when they found it was only him, and her hand pressed over her heart. "Don't scare me like that." she breathed, blinking her eyes open again. "How can someone like you move so quietly?"

Thor chuckled, his hand moving round to her shoulder blades. He leaned down and smiled. "You remember those 'godly powers' you were speaking of yesterday?"

"Yes."

"That's one of them." Thor's smile settled firmly on his face when Maria's lips stretched into a grin, her eyes crinkling in the corners.

"But seriously, what are we going to do today?" she asked, eyes still sparkling like gems. "I honestly can't just sit here all day."

Thor straightened up, his mind working. "Nothing strenuous." he lay down the ground rule firmly. He certainly wasn't planning on letting her do much; any cooking or cleaning around the house would be his work for the day, and shopping would require bringing Maria with him, so that would have to wait for another time. As far as he could see Maria would be stuck in the house.

Or not, he thought as an idea hit him, his eyes lighting up excitedly.

He knew what they were doing today.

XXX

This land really was a beautiful place, Thor decided as they made their way up the hillside. Staring around them, Thor could see for miles: the village behind them, the town a great deal further, and surrounding those were the luscious green fields occasionally broken by lines of bordering trees. They walked up one such hillside now, a tall oak standing promisingly at the top.

"Can I walk now?" Maria whined in his ear. "Is this really necessary?"

In one hand, Thor held a basket, filled delightfully with bread and cheese and other such picnic foods that he couldn't wait to delve into. In his other arm however, was something a little less co-operative.

"Let me down!" Maria squirmed frantically, and Thor had to tighten his hold around her waist, hips and thighs to keep her from tumbling to the ground. Her arm unwound from around his neck, for her hand to push hard at his chest. Thor was too strong though - even with only one arm pinning her in place - and she eventually conceded defeat. Her arms crossed impatiently. "I can still walk, you know. He didn't cripple me."

"I know." Thor smiled, enjoying her frustration. "But you do not need to while I am here."

Thor's smile curved into a wicked smirk as Maria groaned, tossing her head back, and pounding her fist into Thor's chest as she brought it up again. The god didn't even blink at the blow. Maria's forehead thudded down where she'd hit.

He'd asked Maria to put on the dress he'd picked out for her, and she had, the skirt flowing over her lap beautifully. Her legs crossed delicately at the ankles, finished with a pair of dark low heels. Since Thor would be the one taking her to wherever she wanted to go, he'd decided dressing her up would do no harm. He'd been surprised at how easily Maria simply abided by what he'd asked of her when it came to her clothes, not arguing for an instant. Perhaps it was secretly what she wanted, Thor thought to himself, to feel special for once.

Even her hair had had a lot of effort put into it. Thor was impressed at Maria's skill: the dark strands were folded back loosely into a casual bundle at the back of the back of her neck, interlaced with delicate little braids that only Maria's tiny fingers could create. It was a style not dissimilar to one he'd find on a woman back in Asgard.

He himself had picked out the nicest shirt Maria had bought him and wore it open over a white t-shirt, matched with the darker of the pairs of jeans Maria had bought for him.

Finally, he pulled them up to the oak tree and set the basket down on the grass. He held on to Maria a little longer. He could feel her itching to move, to squirm, but his spare hand caught the side of her face and turned her to look at him, his arm gently holding her still. "Promise you won't run?"

He watched with amusement as Maria irritation was instantly overwhelmed by a grin, as if she'd ever been annoyed at all. "You'd catch me even if I did!"

"That is true." Thor smiled, angling Maria's body until her heels touched ground. His hand hovered at her back as she got used supporting herself again after so long in Thor's arms. When he was sure she would stay upright of her own accord, Thor explored closer to the oak tree, his hand trailing from her back to the length of her arm before he broke away.

Maria turned her back to him and stretched, basking as the suns warmth gloriously hugged her skin. A wide smile on her face, she dropped down to her knees beside the basket, and fanned her skirt out around her lap.

Thor watched her stare out at the village from the oak tree, his forearm leaning on the trunk, smiling softly.

He knew there was no reason to fuss over Maria so much. She could have gone into work. She could have climbed her own way up the hills. It was Thor, rather than any physical ailment of Maria's, that had prevented her from doing so.

He wanted to take care of her. He wanted to be the one that made her smile. He didn't want to lose a second of time with her to the women at the hospital. He didn't want to lose a touch of that energy in her smile to the exertion of walking up the hill. He watched her possessively from the tree, impressed.

Normally Thor was only impressed by battle victories and fighting skills, the sort of things he enjoyed and appreciated by surrounding himself in it. The company of men and his friends back in Asgard, offered little else to marvel at.

Even Sif, he thought to himself, just as much a warrior as any of the men were. She didn't expose the same womanly qualities that Maria did.

Maria was Sif's opposite, Thor observed in his head. While Sif was as hard as iron on the outside, Maria's strength lurked deeper within her, her small, delicate body portraying a false sense of weakness that could not be applied to her spirit. While her tiny frame and skin bruised, she held on to a quiet dignity inside her, a strength that was so bold, yet so subtle and humble, Thor couldn't help but admire it. The more time he spent with her, the more he could see it unfolding.

It was after he learned of Jason that he truly realised it though. As he'd lain on the couch that night, Maria curled up sweetly on his chest, it'd come to him. That despite all the abuse her body had suffered, her heart had grown stronger. Her will had survived through the horrific ordeal, stubbornly refusing to let herself be swamped with misery or to even admit to others what was happening to her. She'd pulled through it for years, she'd said.

So, that night he'd decided. That night, feeling Maria's heart beating against his won, he'd realised what it was his body was trying to tell him.

It wasn't that he was simply angered by her mistreatment.

It wasn't that he simply didn't want to ever have to leave.

It was something even more basic than that, something even more primal: he wanted her to be his. Forever.

XXX

The day dragged on better than Thor expected.

After the whole 'getting to the hill' bit, Thor's plan had run dry, and as he took a place of the grass on the other side of the basket, he started to worry. What if she got bored?, he fretted. If she got bored, Thor had no alternative plan, and Maria would be unhappy again. His heart dropped like a stone at the mere thought.

But one look at Maria, at the glowing smile that blossomed endlessly on her face, at the bright spark in her eye, set Thor's mind at rest. It had the opposite effect on his heart though.

The food was nothing special. Just simple stuff: bread, cheese, some cold meats, some fruits and berries... but it didn't seem to matter. They ate, talked about nothing, laughed, basked in the sunshine. Thor was surprised such a simple thing could go such a long way, but he didn't dare complain: it kept Maria still and happy, laughing as she popped grape after grape in her mouth. Not once did she frown or look sad. The closest she ever got was when she threw her head back and let the sunshine was over her face, a blissful look of content in her smile. It reminded Thor of when she slept.

"I haven't been up here in ages." Maria chuckled, after the basket had been abandoned at the base of the tree. They lay stretched out on the grass, Thor's fingers laced behind his head, while Maria lay on her side, head propped up by her fist. "Do you have places like this where you're from?"

Thor moved his hands from his head and propped himself up on his elbows. "We have trees and fields and hills..." he thought carefully. "But not places like this." When he thought of Asgard, no matter how far into the fields and trees one strayed, the gleaming, bold city was never far from sight. There was never the full tranquillity that Thor felt here, with just the sun over his head and the modest little village down the valley. "Although," he remembered with a grin. "I spent more time in the battle arena than the landscape."

Maria's lips curved into a grin to match his own, and she tossed a stray strand of hair from her face. "I can imagine that." she chuckled. "How many fights have you been in?"

"Too many to remember." He smirked proudly.

"And did you always win?"

Thor felt the pride swell in his chest, the urge to boast almost overwhelming. Then again, why not? Fighting was something he was good at. And if it impressed Maria...

"There was never an enemy that could defeat me." he boomed smugly, pleased with the smile he earned from Maria.

"And you always fought with that hammer?"

"Mostly. Not always."

"Did you ever fight a girl?"

Thor threw his head back and laughed. "Of course not! That would never be fair." He pulled his forward again, still grinning at Maria's ludicrous question. Then he caught her raised eyebrow and the dangerous glint in her eye, and the smirk buckled. Oops, he thought as Maria jumped up to her feet, kicking her heels off as she went. Thor scrambled to follow her.

She trotted to the tree, and walked around its base until she swung round on the other side to face Thor again, her hand clinging loosely to the bark. She laughed at the tentative look on Thor's face, the way his hands were flexed, ready for if she would fall. He didn't seem to care that she noticed, eyes darting to her hand on the tree and her feet crossed in the roots, waiting for one of them to betray her.

She didn't give them time to: Maria skipped from the tree nimbly and stepped up to Thor. "Teach me to fight."

The alarm that flashed over his face was priceless! His eyes frowned down at her questioningly, as if hoping she was joking with him, concern swamping his gaze when he realised she wasn't. "Maria..."

"Come on." Maria urged, picking up his hands from his sides and holding them up, palms to her. They stayed in place when she stepped back. "How am I ever going to help defend myself if no one will teach me?" she argued firmly, her hands challengingly on her hips. "You seem to be quite the warrior, so why not you?"

"I don't want to hurt you." Thor gulped, though he still didn't pull his hands down. "It is not for women to fight."

"Not even if it's self defence?" Maria scooped any stray strands of hair from her face.

Thor tensed. "Maria..."

"What if someone fights me and I can't stop them?" she rolled her shoulders, a hard look gathering in her eye.

"Maria -"

"What if Jason comes back and you're not there? What then-"

Thor didn't let her finish. He stepped forward and pulled her in, spinning her round so her back pressed into his body, his large hand clamped firmly over her mouth. He could feel her breaths sharpen, but he didn't release her. His arm across her stomach pinned her in place, holding her in an inescapable grip, but not one that would hurt her. Her hands had automatically hooked themselves around Thor's fingers over her mouth, tugging down hard, but not moving them in the slightest. She wasn't going anywhere until he said so.

Her words echoed in his head tauntingly, his blood igniting dangerously in his veins. Why did she have to say such things? Was she testing him? Whatever the reason, Thor's teeth gritted and his muscles hardened at the thought of anyone hurting Maria, let alone her low-life of a brother.

Leaning down, he gently angled her head so his lips were by her ear. "Step back on my foot. Elbow to the stomach. Then break free and kick."

Maria froze in his hold, but Thor could still feel her heart racing. He was tempted to release his hand over her mouth to make sure she understood, but decided against it. "Step. Elbow. Break. Kick."

Thor half held his breath. Maria would try it, he knew she would. It was just a question of if she was any good. Thor had no intention of letting her go unless she could earn her freedom. Her felt her muscles tighten beneath his hold and braced himself for the small woman's attack.

She stepped back on his foot so weakly Thor didn't slacken his grip in the slightest, holding Maria too securely to continue. He chuckled into her hair. "Is that it?" he grinned as Maria continued to struggle fruitlessly. Even he'd expected more of a fight than that! "No one's going to let you go if that's all you can do to them."

He waited for Maria to go limp in his arms again, before he thought about cutting her some slack and taking his hand from her mouth.

She didn't give him a chance though.

Her teeth bit unexpectedly into his fingers, simultaneously hammering her heel down on his foot and driving her elbow into the god's abdomen, his arms slackening instantly and his knees buckling with the surprise of the sudden attack. Maria even earned a grunt as she jabbed back her elbow a second time. She ripped his arms from around her before he could recover, and turned back when she was just far enough to square a hard kick to his middle.

Thor let out a groan as he thudded back on the ground, his eyes still wide with shock as the blue sky swamped his vision. Another thud, as Maria went down too, brought him back to his senses.

He grinned, hand running over where she'd elbowed and kicked him. She'd most definitely earned that!

He tore himself upright and his eyes instantly found Maria, sprawled out on her side, her hands out from breaking her fall, her small body heaving with gasping breaths. Thor's grin widened: seemed like they'd both been unprepared for that kick! She rolled onto her back as the god stood over her, blocking out the sun. She could just about make out his grin between the blinding rays.

"Don't make me do that again." she gasped, with a tired smile.

Thor laughed as his hand reached down for her, and Maria's fingers met with his halfway, surrendering to Thor's strength to lift her up after that. She didn't even have the will to stop herself after Thor tugged too hard and she was pulled flat against his chest.

She thudded her forehead against him lightly. "I'll leave the fighting to you."

Thor's hand found her back so she didn't fall. He laughed, and pressed his mouth to the top of her head fondly. "We'll make a little warrior out of you yet."