Well hi, I'm sure you're wondering how I update so fast. So because i'm benevolent I'll tell you. I use my days off to do nothing but drink coffee and type. Oh and not sleep. That's an important one.
So, without further Adieu: Chapter 3: The Baby.
Warnings: Un-Beta'd (and written at 3 am, so I am truly sorry for all errors), and MA content.
Heart beats fast
Colors and promises
How to be brave
How can I love when I'm afraid
To fall
But watching you stand alone
All of my doubt
Suddenly goes away somehow
Blood.
It had been on his hands since his Father had first handed him Mjölnir. He had shed blood and been relieved of his own. But never once had he thought that he would have to witness a time when the foe couldn't be fought. The battle couldn't be won. "Thor," Banner said softly, "Let them work."
She already looked like death had claimed her and his heart wrenched. "I can't leave her." He choked out, his voice thick with tears, "I swore I wouldn't leave her."
"You're not leaving her, your letting the professionals do their job." Banner gave the large man a tug out the door and Thor took one last glance at his first true love as she disappeared into the operating room. Please he prayed, please don't take her..
…
Earlier..
There were benefits to having your own personal furnace sleeping in the same bed every night, and then there were the disadvantages. "Shift, you're on my side." She grumbled.
"Sorry." He rolled away and she stretched. At eight and a half months pregnant she was more so uncomfortable in her own skin than whatever he could do. Nearly nine months prior, he had returned to her. He had show up at her door and she had ravaged him with the ferocious need that she still didn't understand. The large ring on her finger was cool and comforting as she attempted to beat the pillow under her head into submission.
She laid down on the bed, once again unable to get comfortable until his arms wrapped around her and pulled her against him, tucking her small body into his long hard one. He provided something inexplicably necessary for her to fall into sleep.
She smiled as she snuggled up within the great cage of his arms, the feeling of serenity falling around her. Nothing bad could ever happen while she was in his arms, Mjölnir barely a few feet away. His free hand kneaded her at her lower back and she groaned and began to purr as her entire body became mush under his fingers.
Those fingers had gotten them here, it served him right that they should be helping.
He had proposed to her upon his return and had inflicted some downright devious means to get her to comply. She remembered waking up with the massive stone on her finger, the shock had nearly driven her over the edge, but his big blue eyes looking back at her, after two years without him, after the temper tantrum she had when she realised she was in love with in, after watching him leave again.. She couldn't deny that she wanted him to swear by the most permanent means possible.
And to her, marriage was Till Death Do Us Part. Or in their circumstances, For As Long As They Both Shall Live. Thor would live a very long time, as would their child. The godhood gene's had already been recognized by Stark and Banner who protected her from SHEILD after finding out. Fury may know she was pregnant, but he didn't know the child would be more Asgardian than Human.
She smiled at the memory of barging through the mighty Helicarrier, Pepper on her heels. She snickered at the memory of being pregnant and screaming at Nick Fury for calling her new Husband away from their honeymoon. She remembered the fear on the mighty Director's face as Thor's little woman, the new head of his science division giving him a proper chewing out for not stopping Loki from harming Erik Selvig, the man who had been given a day pass to walk her down the aisle only to attack her in a moment of insanity.
It was all SHIELD's fault, and Pepper had wanted ring side seats.
Tony and the boys had been overwhelmingly encouraging welcoming her to their little club. "The Avengers," Stark would shrug, "we're kinda a big deal." Then Pepper would smack him and all would be well. Beautiful, kind, sweet Pepper Potts who had arranged a SHEILD sanctioned, Security wedding, that was still beautiful.
The Avengers had been busy cleaning up the byproducts of Loki's attack, various factions that rose in rebellion to the mighty hero's, and it was the first night in weeks that Thor had been home, sharing their bed. She sighed and basked in his arms.
She had just settled when she felt a kick at her stomach. Her hand rubbed the tender spot and she sighed, "Momma's trying to sleep, baby.." She murmured. She hadn't wanted to know what the sex of the baby was, and Thor already seemed to know prior to all the Doctor's visits and scans.
Her life had become a whirlwind, and all she wanted was to have a quiet few months with her growing family. She had never had a family and wanted this one desperately. Steve, Tony, Bruce.. The ones who understood that while she may never have a calm life, she and Thor deserved a few months of peace. Especially after all the hardships she'd had to withstand.
His hand rested on her stomach as their child shifted. She noted with exasperated affection that their child would be its father's twin, always moving, restless for the next adventure.
The sharp pain that clenched her belly was fairly familiar as pregnant as she was, but the rush of warm liquid on her leg was not. "Thor." She said, elbowing him. "THOR!" Mjölnir flew to his hand as he sat up, ready to bludgeon any foe. He looked around furiously until he realised they were still alone, he smiled at her and started to lay back down when she stopped him, "We need to go."
"Now?" She started crawling out of the bed and the reason soon became apparent as the wetness of the bed and the spot on her nightgown. "Now." He said firmly, and then proceeded to trip over a pair of jeans on the floor. "Damnnit!" She giggled as she pulled off the nightgown and pulled on the long jersey dress that brushed the floor, with the deep v that displayed her newly acquired generous chest for all the world to see. The thick knit sweater was belted around her waist, above the large bump and she sighed when she picked up the bag by the door and started to the front gate.
"I'll wait out front." He was dressed and following her before she barely made it out of the room. Reaching down he snagged the bag from her hand and she smiled and laid her hand gently on his back. "It's going to be fine. What are you worried about?"
He glanced down at her massive stomach and sighed, pulling her into his side he kissed her temple and shook his head, "Agent." He barked at their ever present guard, "to the hospital."
"Yes sir." She had fought every step of the way, but Thor had requested the additional guards. At first it had only been for while he was away, but they became such a steady presence that he gave her one look and told her 'they stay'. She had picked the battles she knew she could win and living without a bodyguard was not one of those.
She stopped halfway down the steps of their brownstone when she felt the sharp pain crack through her like a bolt of lightning. Her mouth opened to scream but no noise came out. She felt her feet give out beneath her when the two muscle arms of her own Avenger, her personal hero caught her. "Jane!" He cried out, fear rampant on his face, the pain causing her eyes to flicker and close. He carried her to the vehicle and pulled her into the back seat. "Drive. Now!"
She smiled and reached for him, "It'll.. It'll be ok." She said softly, the pain throttling voice, causing her to scream. He held her hand to his face and kissed her palm, cradling her head with his other arm. "I'll .. I'll be ok."
…
"Sir," The doctor emerged and found himself surrounded by the Avengers. Stark and Pepper were leaning against the opposite wall, Banner was meditating, The Captain was at ease and watching Barton and Natasha playing some convoluted card game while Thor was pacing. "Uh, Mr. Blake."
"Aye." Thor said, "You have news?"
The Doctor nodded and sighed, "Please sit."
"No." He said, his knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists, wishing nothing more than Mjölnir in his hand, the weight of the Hammer would soothe him, merely the idea of fighting his way to Jane more comforting than the face of the Doctor. "Tell me of my wife."
"I'm afraid I have grave news," he said, catching the ear of the entire waiting room. Thor went pale and swayed as Banner stood and placed a hand on Thor's shoulder.
"Easy big guy," He said quietly, "What of Jane?" Banner looked at the Doctor and nodded, "I'm a family friend, Doctor Banner."
The Doctor opened his mouth to speak when a Nurse poked her head out. She was covered in blood, head to toe, and a concerned look in her eye told the room the news would be dire indeed. "We've got it to stop, but she hasn't regained consciousness."
He nodded and looked back to Thor, "She has Placenta Privia, which is when the placenta has embedded itself into the wall of the uterus and causes major bleeding." He sighed an looked pointedly at Thor, "She gave birth to a healthy baby boy." He said, and Thor's heart stumbled to a stop. "She was conscious long enough to name him and then lost it due to subsequent blood loss." The nurse reappeared and muttered something, causing the man to grow pale flee back into the room within.
Thor followed him in and was immediately held back by Banner and another Nurse. "Sir, you are not sterile, this is an operating room."
"Is she dying." He thundered. "ANSWER ME." He glanced at her face and felt ill. The colour had drained and she looked like death had already swept her away. Thor caught the whimper of a child and stared at the bassinet. Thor was still in shock from the sight of his wife's near death state and allowed himself to be ushered out, following the child's whimpering voice like a leashed animal.
He glanced down at the boy, his crystal blue eyes were the mirror of his own. Another nurse appeared and wheeled the bassinet down the hall. Blake- Baby Boy written in a beautiful cursive on the side.
A chill settled in his bones as the child left his sight. He felt the pull to follow them. Like a dragging anchor in the sea bed he felt the urge to follow behind. Consciously he knew that they would be fine, but the animal instinct was to protect them was strong inside him. The divide was torture. A thousand knives to the gut, a million blows to the head, a lifetime of Loki's betrayal, nothing could touch the torture in his soul. To stand vigil and wait for her, or to watch over his child.
It was beyond torture. It was excruciating. "Go." Steve said, "We'll find you when she's out. She's strong Thor. She's made of tough stuff, she'll pull through." He felt the final tug. Forgive me, my love. His oath to never leave her again burned his tongue as he walked towards the nursery.
The Nurse smiled at him and directed him to the babe crying in his bassinet. "You are the most beautiful child in all the realms." Thor whispered to his son. "I will ensure you never know pain." He whispered.
"You can pick him up." The nurse said softly, "It helps with the transition process." He stared at her, terrified. She smiled at him, "Oh, you're one of those Dads." She laughed and rolled her eyes, stepping through the empty room of bassinet's. She gathered his son in her arms and walked beside him. "Like this." She place him in Thor's arms, "cradle his head." She said, "that's it."
The boy stopped crying as soon as he felt his father's arms around him. "He's perfect." He looked up at the young woman smiling at him, "Isn't he?" Staring at the child he was render speechless, holding his child for the first time was magic. I come from a place where they're one and the same.. how untrue were those words.
"You're his Father. You're supposed to think that." She said, "I have to get back to work, but if you need anything, just let me know. There are rocking chairs in the next room, and I think it's empty right now feel free to go in. Just don't leave the floor."
"My-… My wife is-" He looked up and saw Steve's solemn face at the door, "Jane?" He said and the Captain smiled.
"She made it Thor." He felt the swell of joy inside, "I told you, that girl is made of tough stuff."
He beamed and looked down at his son, "She made it." He said as he swayed back and forth. "Come see my son Captain." Thor beamed at the man.
Pepper went to find the missing two only to smile as she spied them cooing over the new baby. "Guys!" she said into the room, "Jane's room's down the hall." Thor nodded and the guilt washed through him. He followed the Captain and Stark's woman down the hall, and stopped when he saw Jane.
She was still pale as death, but her ruby lips were parted and he could see the rise and fall of her chest. "Pass the baby over big guy." Pepper said softly. She took the baby from his arms and returned it to the Nursery, giving Steve a tug out of the room as she left, leaving Thor alone.
"Wife." He said softly, the single tear that fell down his cheek landed on her hand when she didn't respond back. It had become their words of comfort, often early in the morning. One would wake the other with the words, and the response was always automatic. "You're supposed to call me Husband, Jane. You're supposed to be alrigt." He choked out. He had been an idiot. Once upon a time he thought his Father's death had been painful, banned from Asgard had been painful. Banned from her painful.
That had been the stupidity of a reckless child. Looking at the love of his life, being feet from her, calling for her with no response was more than pain. It was akin to death. If she died, he would gladly follow. If something were to happen to her, he would have nothing. No reason to stay on Earth.
Except now he had a son. He had a reason to remain.
So long ago they had sat in her observatory and he had felt disgust at the story of her parents, of how Erik had come to take on the paternity role while her true father still lived. If his pain had even been half of Thor's.. Death would be a welcome friend, but he had to stay, he had to live.
For their son.
And so he would sit, and wait. For she was the very glue that held him together. She was the warm body that kept the demons away from when the terrors of the past threatened him. She was the siren that's song sang to only him. She was supposed to be Queen. "I love you," he whispered as he kissed her forehead.
…
A day past and the Avenger's came through so frequently that the only time he was ever alone were the dark hours of the night. It was such time and he was cradling his son against his chest. He had admitted to the Doctor that she hadn't told him the name she had chosen, wanting to surprise him. The man had looked at him with sympathy and told him, the well of emotions hitting him like a tidal wave when the words broke his heart. She could have picked any name from earth, any combination would have been beautiful. "Haldor Arik Blake." he whispered to the baby in his arms. She had named in the language of Asgard. "Hal Thorson." Thor said softly,
"He's so small, Jane." He said to her unconscious form. "We created something so beautiful."
He looked to the sky and whispered to the great Watcher, "Heimdall, help us." He looked to his son and back to his wife, "She is the Queen Asgard needs." He sat holding the child who slept in his father's arms. "She is wisdom and sanity and everything I need. The Queen I need if I am to ever rule."
Nurses came in regularly to care for Hal and to offer Thor blankets or food, but the look he would give each of them terrified them till they said nothing more to the man who was obviously on his last iota of bravery, sitting vigil over his unconscious wife.
The words 'coma' and 'grave' were tossed across as he sat, unwavering, unmoving. Her breathing shallow, but still present. He didn't care what the doctor's said. She had promised it would be ok, that she would be fine. He would hold her to that.
He had placed their son back in the bassinet and rested his head on the bed at her feet. He watched her chest rise and fall, the rest of her so still. She was rarely still. Late in the night she would squirm and shift in the dead of sleep, sometimes in terror over a nightmare, or sometimes in irritation over being too warm or too cold or one of her many other complaints that made him chuckle. While the sun was high in the sky she would dart around her lab, her face a mask of joy and discovery, her voice a blur of words like 'theorizing' and 'hypotheses' and 'more pop tarts'.
She had finished the machine that would transport them back to Asgard and had decided to visit when the baby was strong enough, but she may never be strong enough. She may never get to see the golden city that he did miss. He would never tell her that, despite his deep and abiding love for her, he did miss Asgard. It was a life he wished for her, the ease of palace life. She had never known easy life, the innocence of just existing, no need of money, or worries of SHEILD interfering. She'd had to fight against so many, even him, her entire life, the traitorous tears falling from behind closed eyes. "Please." He whispered.
He awoke hours later when the weighted bag rested on his hand, a single golden apple inside, the words 'Eternity' written in the ancient language on the silk. An Apple of Indun. The food of the immortals.
If she were to partake, she would enjoy immortality with him, but they would have to return to Asgard for the true procedure, the painful method of becoming Asgardian. He had only seen it once, but it had scared him. To take away mortality was a dangerous and sacrificing process that would change her forever. He was honored that they felt her worthy, but he had sworn he would never take her choice away from her. For the time, his sense of honor barely overpowered his need for her. So he would wait.
But he didn't know for how much longer.
…
There was something she was forgetting. Something important. The glass enclosure was empty and her work laid out for her. "Come with us…" the haunted voice's said.
Her parents, smiling and happy, her father's arm wrapped around her mother like a picture Erik had on the mantle. She looked at the door out to the desert, unable to ignore the feeling like there was something – someone – out there that she was forgetting. "Mom." She said and smiled, stepping towards them. "Dad."
Outside she heard loud voices, yelling, a flat line echoed in her head. Such noise for a desert.
"Janey. You've been so strong." He said, the deep baritone warming her heart, "You've been so clever.." The words made her pause. Clever, someone else thought she was clever.
"You're clever, far more clever than anyone else in this realm." The words made her stop. She shook her head, but couldn't get the feeling out of her heart. The feeling that there was someone out that door that she loved hopelessly so. But that was an impossible thing. She didn't love, not her, not Doctor Jane Foster ,"Blake." She said, not knowing why, "I'm Jane Blake."
"No sweetie," her mother said, the voice washed over her like a warm summers rain..
"Rain." She said, taking a step back, "Thunder."
"Jane sweetheart…" her father smiled at her and reached out his hand to her encouragingly so, inviting her to come closer "Come, come meet your brother." The baby appeared in her mother's arms, cooing and smiling. "Come meet Henry." The perfect blue eyes and blond hair struck a chord.
"Not Henry," she said, her brow furrowed, "Hal, not Henry." She looked down and placed her hands on her flat stomach. "I had a baby." She looked at her hand and smiled at the large stone embedded in the ring that hadn't left her hand in a year, the beautiful ring was where it always was, "I got married." She glanced out behind her.
The memories, the reason she needed to leave. She looked back at her parents and shook her head, "I can't stay, he needs me."
"We need you." They said, but she was already running back through the glass door.
"Thor." She gasped and opened her eyes.
…
The doctor was shining a light in her face, asking her to prattling off all her friends, her job, where she lived. "Please, just let me see my baby, let me see my husband."
"Mrs. Blake, you have suffered a severe trauma, I'm afraid you-"
"Yes, but I'm fine now. Let. Me. See. My. Husband." She snapped. "I know he's standing out there listening to this. All you're doing is causing us more stress."
"Mrs. Blake." The Doctor tried to plea, but he knew it would be useless. He turned to the door and frowned, "Five minutes."
The door flew opened and Thor appeared at her side, "Jane." He scooped her up in his strong arms and held her close. She could feel his heart hammering through the thin shirt that looked like the same one he had brought her in wearing. His face was the same as that tired man that had appeared at her door the year prior, after saving New York from his brother. He looked as ancient and weary as the myths would have her believe.
"You haven't been taking care of yourself." She cupped his cheek and he pressed the cold hand against his beard.
"I feared I would never see you again." He whispered, "They said you wouldn't make it."
"They?-"
"The healers.. the doctors." He said gruffly, "the Captain and Banner continually swore that you would be fine but-"
"Good. Always listen to Bruce and Steve." She said, smiling up at him. She wanted to tell him to stay holding her forever, she wanted to never let him go, but she knew what needed to be done. "You need to go home, sleep and change." She said, wrinkling her nose. "It's been three days, Thor, I think that shirt is going to start crawling away."
"Jane I-"
"Not another word Mister. Go. Shower, Sleep, Change, come back this-" she glanced out the window and saw the sun rising over the horizon, "This afternoon."
"Jane." He said, the argument prepared on his tongue withered as she leveled him with her hazel gaze. "Wife."
"Husband." She said softly. "You'll do me and Hal no good wearing yourself thin like this." She kissed his cheek and gave him a shove. "I love you, now go."
He sighed and grumbled, but stood and gave her one last look. She smiled up at him and he leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I love you with all my heart Jane." He hadn't been gone for a second when the Doctor re-appeared.
"Thank you. He's been scaring my nurses for days now."
"He has that affect on most people." The Doctor gave her a worried glance and she chuckled, "I hit him with my car a couple times and my assistant tasered him when we first met, accidentally of course, then we had breakfast." She remembered fondly, "So, most people. Not me, but most." She heard the whimper of a baby as the doctor sat and started assessing her once more. "Hal?"
"They will bring him in as soon as I finish. Patience Mrs. Blake."
"Jane." She said and tried to help facilitate the good Doctor. He realised he had lost her focus and gave up halfway through, deeming her strong enough. Standing he scribbled on his clipboard, adjusted the IV and popped his head out the door.
Natasha Romanoff walked in carrying her son. "According to the nurses, he's been fussy today." She said smiling. "It's almost like he knows you were up."
Jane didn't hear any what the Black Widow said, nor why she was there, she didn't know what the Doctor said in response, or the Nurse who popped her head in and said.
All Jane saw was her son.
Her hands reached out and the boy was passed to her. He fit in her arms like they had been made for him, "Hello Hal." She said softly, "I'm your Mother. I know you don't remember me, but I remember you." This creature had been safe and sound inside her, comforting her for months, and finally she got to meet him through the most dramatic means possible. He gurgled and squirmed in her arms, and she kissed his downy forehead. "You are truly your Father's son."
She sat for hours, staring at him. The nurse came in and helped her feed him, various members of the Avengers were in through the morning and early afternoon, as one arrived, the other would leave. Almost as if they were all on guard duty. All but one had come and cooed over her and the baby, cognitively, she knew she had sent him home to rest, but a part of her guiltily looked for him every time the door opened.
She relished in the time she got to spend, just her and the baby. His face the mirror of his father's. "Hal," She said, "Haldor Arik." the boy's big blue eyes blinked at his mother as if to say. 'you keep saying my name lady.. what's wrong with you..'
"Rock of Thor and Eternal Ruler." The rumble came from the door. "A suitable name for a Prince." He looked refreshed in clean clothes and the scant hours sleep he had gotten. Her face stretched into a wide beam as he stepped in, the door swinging shut behind him.
He looked around the room and took in the roomful of sweet smelling blossoms and the beaming face of his love. "Wife."
She smirked at him and sighed, "Husband." He sat on the bed beside her and kissed his son's cheek, avoiding her gaze, and she took the time to really look at him. His face was still full of pain and anger, the fatigue was only temporarily quelled, not solved.
She grabbed his large calloused hand with her own. "Thor, I'm sorry."
He shook his head and said nothing, staring at her and their son. His eyes were vibrant and brimming with emotion. They sat in silence for a few moments then the conversation grew between them.
She didn't notice the red silk bag on the table beside her, hiding behind a large bouquet of flowers, she didn't know that within it held immortality. And the moment was so perfect, he didn't have the heart to tell her.
…
She and Hal had been given a clean bill of health weeks prior and since she had been moving the Apple that had arrived while she had been in the semi-coma; in places where he would find it. He would then try and hide it and she would find it and put it back on the counter.
Shortly after Hal had crossed the two month mark it had all come to a head while she was making dinner. "Jane. I won't let you take the risk for my selfish need."
"Is that what you think this is about?' she said, crossing her arms and scowling at him ."You?"
"What other reason would you need to become Asgardian."
"For my son." She said, her eyes narrowed. "I will not abandon him, no matter how old he is when I reach my mortal end."
"Jane, you barely survived childbirth." He sighed, his fear for her growing larger by the second, "you're body is not strong enough.
She scowled and popped her hip, her hand resting on her hip. "Not strong enough… That's your great argument? That I'm a weak human, not strong enough for Asgard?"
"You almost DIED!" he roared, "Enough of this." He turned to storm off and was stopped when she threw the heavy pot at his head. It connected with a RINNNGGG and he stopped, his fists cracking as he clenched his hands.
"Almost, you Neanderthal." Her eyes were liquid fury as he took several deep breaths to calm his own anger. "I didn't, I almost did, but I didn't."
"It is not a pleasant experience." He said, his voice low and enraged. "I will not have you attempt to become immortal only to die."
"My choice." She said, her eyes narrowed. They were nose to nose, neither moving an inch.
"Hey guys, why is there a pot on the ground?" Steve knocked on the arch of the kitchen, appearing from thin air and looked awkwardly at the dueling couple. "Thor?"
"She threw it at me." He growled, "It would seem violence is the only answer."
"It's the only thing that your thick skull seems to understand." She snapped. The three heard the wail from the nursery and she bolted up the stairs.
"So you want to fill me in why the guys outside were too scared to come in? They feared you were on a rampage." Thor slammed his fist against the counter causing a crack to form in the granite.
"She is so-.. Stubborn." He bite out. "Were she anyone else I would have throttled her long ago."
"Hey big guy," Steve said, glancing warily at the stairs. "What happened?" Steve had gone to many baseball games in his youth. Stark kept trying to take him to these modern games with their impressive large stadium's and beer brought to the seat. But he was sure no pitcher in all of history could have thrown the golden apple at the wall like Thor, and none could cause the oak to crack. "Stop breaking your house and tell me what the hell is going on."
"She wants to become Immortal." He snarled. "She wanted to become Asgardian. For Hal, for me."
"And?"
"The last soul I saw attempt to drink the elixir and eat the apple died." Thor massaged his knuckle and slumped against the wall. "A warrior of Alfhiem," he said, "My father had deemed him worthy, but Indun hadn't. She sent him to Valhalla." Steve gave Thor a curious look, "The underworld for Hero's."
"How did you get the Apple?" The Captain pulled two beers from the fridge handing one to Thor and leaned against the wall beside Thor, sliding to the floor.
Thor glanced at the stairs and sighed, "It came to me in a moment of weakness while she was unconscious after giving birth." He took a long pull of the alcohol, pleased to feel the numbing tingle begin to spread through his blood stream. "I prayed for help from Heimdall, and this is what the Gatekeeper sent.
"Are you sure he sent it? You haven't really talked to them in a year." Steve said, praying he didn't get punched for voicing reason. Getting punched by Thor wasn't pleasant, despite happening often. Though not as unpleasant as getting punched by the Hulk.
Thor shook his head and grunted. "Her machine has been ready for weeks now, but she isn't strong enough to travel."
"Is that what the doctor's say?" He looked away from the murderous look Thor was giving her, "I'm no doctor, hell, I'm not even a scientist, but I do know that if you keep telling her no, she's going to go ahead and do it anyway." Steve looked back and saw the anger fade into fear, "sooner or later, she's going to stop asking. So the question you have to ask yourself is would you rather be there to ensure she's safe, or just find out days later.. one way or another."
Thor was quiet for a long while as they drank in synchronization."Thank you, my friend." He finally said. "I am sure it was not – easy – seeing us argue."
"Don't mention it. The Agents outside swore you two were going to kill each other, and most were betting on her winning."They chuckled in camaraderie, "Stark wanted to send Banner but I felt that wouldn't really solve manners. That and you might not have a house afterwards." Thor nodded and stood. "In my experience, it would probably be best if you apologised."
The scowl returned, "I have done nothing to warrant-" Steve stood and smiled tiredly.
"Son," Steve held up a hand, "What little I know about women is that if you don't apologise, you may find yourself with bullet holes in your armor before you can explain yourself." He clapped the man on the shoulder, placed the empty bottle under the cupboard with the pile from their recent poker night days prior and walked out.
Thor paced the front room and muttered to himself, eyeing the couch. He was weighing the pros and cons of apologizing versus sleeping on the couch.
It hadn't taken long after they had wed for him to realise that sleeping on the couch was punishment. Like reprimanding a dog that has misbehaved, she had snarled at him until he had retreated. At the time he had been terribly confused as to what he had done wrong, but like the disobedient pet, he had apologised (he had apparently forgot to 'call' her upon his return from 'Las Vegas' after Stark had let the Hulk loose upon the city). He had been home for days before the fight and it had only taken one little thing, forgetting to take out the garbage, to set her off.
Granted she had been six months pregnant at the time. So emotions had been running a little high.
Stark called her Princess, all the rest called her Thor's firecracker. He hadn't understood until Barton had shown him a firecracker, the small thing that exploded into a million pieces with squealing screams and light so bright that it nearly blinded him. He felt it an accurate description of his wife. All fire and heat and blinding glow with loud screams.
He sighed and started up the stairs, grumbling, but conceding that the Captain had a point. She would very likely go to Asgard without him. She had the machine, it worked as far as they could tell. She could eat the apple rather than keep encouraging him to concede. She was trying to give him everything he had ever wanted, but that had been so long ago, when he hadn't loved her impossibly so. That had been before she had given birth to his son, given him a path back to his throne, endured the horrors of his life while being the warm glow of that firecracker. But it too faded, it too disappeared into the night sky as it fell to the earth, as would she, as it was supposed to be without him interfering.
He peered in the nursery to see her rocking in the chair with Hal over her shoulder. "He was hungry." She said softly. "Did you destroy my kitchen?"
"Only a little." He said, his ears turning red. "I'll fix it in the morning." She nodded and he took a tentative step closer. He did not go to her, fall to his knees and beg for forgiveness, but he; instead, walked to the picture of Yggdrasil she had painted on the wall. He traced the elegant lines of the branches, the long liquid lines of the roots.
"You are always sacrificing yourself for me." He said finally, after the long pregnant pause had grown awkward. "You saved me when I was nothing but a hot headed prince, you loved me when I could give you nothing, you didn't give up on me when I was gone, you married me when you should have chosen someone better," he looked at her and she saw the tears thick in his eyes, "and you nearly died giving me a son. How can you ask me to let you give me more."
"Th-.." She sighed and stood, setting her sleeping son in his crib. "Husband." She said, opening her arms wide. He walked into them and held her close. "I want to give you it, all of it. I have always wanted to give you everything because you have given me so much." She leaned back "A wise man once said 'You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.' And-"
"Who said that?"
"Uh- Dr. Seuss, doesn't matter." She said quickly. "Before you I was existing. I had barely left Erik's and had you not come in New Mexico, I would have gone back to Norway and withered to an old maid."
She cupped his face, "You are full of life Thor. Every day you live, and I get to experience that because of you, I get to see what it's like to live life to the fullest because I see you do it every day. I want see you teach our son how to appreciate each smile, each laugh. I want to live to see you teach him how to swing a sword, how to fight the jotuns, and I will only get to see these if I live to see them with you."
He held her close and she felt his heart hammering, "I know you're scared. I'm scared too, but what if nothing happens." He looked down and saw her hazel eyes looking back at him, "What if all this worry is for naught and I come out the other end an eternal Asgardian."
"What if I lose you." He croaked. "I have lost you so many times, I don't think I could live through another." He buried his nose in her hair and pulled her in tighter, "Please, can we not do this tonight."
"Thor-" she said her arms encircling his neck, "We'll have to cross the bridge soon."
"I know love," he said softly, "But not tonight. Please, not tonight." She saw the pain in his face and nodded, stroking his cheek, tucking the hair behind his ear. She stroked the deep worry lines in his face and sighed. He tugged her towards their room and they separated long enough for her to remove her uniform of the tank top and jeans, pulling on her pajama's and crawled under the sheets. He mimicked her and pulled her close. They knew that their momentary peace wouldn't last, but he needed her to understand.
They had just closed their eyes when she heard the whimper through the monitor. "Your son is demanding his father." She muttered. He shifted and rolled and buried his head under the pillow, grunting at her.
A swift elbow to the ribs had him out and padding through the hall to the nursery. He smiled at the baby that was his pride and joy, the sparse blond hair, the striking blue eyes that grew stormy when he was troubled. "Hush m'boy." He rumbled, gathering Hal close. "You needn't cry child." He rocked the baby and he settled easily. It had become nearly a nightly ritual that Thor would settle the boy. Thor rocked the child until he was once again asleep.
Much later, his mind was unrest with the amusing notion of his Father, the great Odin Allfather rocking a babe to sleep. Thor had been cared for by nursemaids and nanny's till he was old enough to understand to only speak when spoken to. While a hotheaded prince he had always assumed he too would have a legion of caregivers ensuring the best for his brawny sons. But the fickle thing with becoming a father is that it changed him. No longer was he that brash and contrary boy, he was a man, with a wife and son that needed him as he needed them.
He crawled back into the warm bed, and pulled her flush against him, the terror's of his mind only solace was her. Her petite body intertwined with his a salve to his tempest soul.
The horrors he had seen, the bloodshed he had caused had all caught up with him and the many faces of the dead stared back at him in terror. He had thought war a game, a past time for the glory of Asgard.
But now he was a Father, now he was a Husband. And every time he was called away it grew more and more unbearable to part from them.
He was thankful she had finished her machine. Despite his fears he knew that, should something happen to him, she and Hal could escape. They could flee to Asgard where Hal would be protected by the Allfather, Jane would be welcomed like the Crown Princess she would be, mother to a future King. His worry to protect her had kept him up many nights.
But this night, his mind was full of her pain, of her eminent death.
Just before she had woke she had died. Her heart had stopped momentarily and she had crossed to the netherworld, only to return suddenly. It didn't pretend to understand. After more than a year spent on Midgard, he prided himself on adapting to her world, but there were something's that he would never attempt to understand.
She sighed and shifted in her sleep, and he nuzzled the loose hair, tucking his head to her and tightening his grip minutely. Only if to ensure she was still there, that even after a year, it wasn't still a dream that she loved him, that she had married him, that she bore his child.
He closed his eyes and prayed that his worst nightmare, his fear above all others, would be that he would wake, once more in his grand chambers on Asgard and find it had all been a dream. A terrible, wonderful, heartbreaking dream.
…
Her alarm went off and she leapt up quickly pulling a fresh tank and sweats.
It had been six weeks since she had given birth and she still wasn't accustom to the new fleshy body that had accompanied childbirth, but she had taking up running and had found the invigorating sensation of the fatigue in her muscles, the hot shower as the adrenaline coursed her body, her rush of endorphins racing thru her.
It felt like really good sex. Something she hadn't had in months, despite being healed. She cursed his chivalrous upbringing for that and deemed that she would need to lay some serious charm on her husband soon.
She was braiding her hair as she glanced at him in the mirror, staring at her. "What?" he shook his head smiling, but didn't look away. He was sitting up watching her dress and flit around their room.
The bedroom was smaller than her room at the Warehouse in Virgina, the lab still teeming with life and science even after they had finished the machine. The wide bed too big for a couple that rarely slept without some form of contact. No matter how much they fought, no matter their disagreements, she would love him till her final breath and beyond. Having long ago gotten over her fear of the all consuming love she felt for him, the overwhelming love she had for her son had been fervent and paled in comparison. She didn't understand the vibrant love she held for her son, only knowing that she would readily lay her life down for him. That was the crux of all their disagreements, her willingness to once again chance destiny by partaking in the fruit of the gods to live eternity for her family. Thor would rather her live a measly human existence rather than tempt the fates into taking her from him.
But she understood, as much as she hated the niggle of doubt, she understood his fear. She recalled staring up at the night sky, wishing on every four-leafed clover, every horseshoe, ever shooting star, every wishing well that he'd return to her. She knew the fear of being seven months pregnant and being hustled into a SHEILD safe house because whatever Fight the Avengers were fighting had grown heated and he had requested her moved.
"Wife." He mumbled, tiredly at her, the bemused look on his face growing entertained
"Husband." She said and she dropped a kiss on his cheek as she finished her braid and continued to dart around the room, patting her lip gloss and smoothing back her hair. She knew he didn't understand her vain idea of beauty, but she was intent on not being outshone completely by Pepper every time they went shopping.
The tall strawberry blond in question knocked on the door minutes after she had fed Hal and changed him and set the coffee pot to wake him up when they returned, for she could almost guarantee he would be asleep upon her return. "Morning Jane." Pepper said cheerily.
"Pepper." She said, stretching her arms behind her, "Your late." She sniggered as the other woman blushed.
"Tony has issues with the alarm clock before seven." They both giggled and rolled their eyes.
"He threw another one out the window?" Pepper nodded and Jane rolled her eyes. "He's such a child."
"Tell me about it. Sometimes I wonder what I see in him." said nothing, but the memory of the soft look in Tony's face when she had passed him the phone on the Helicarrier crossed her mind.
"You love him." She said, her voice soft and distant. Pepper shot her a sideways glance as they started down the road.
"Trouble in paradise?" they picked up speed, giving Jane the time to collect her thoughts while they found their stride.
"He broke my kitchen when I mentioned the apple again." Pepper nodded and said nothing. Jane had vented quite emphatically on the matter, making her opinion quite clear.
"Tony told me that you two were fighting. Steve came by to collect money."
"Boy needs to stop betting against me." Jane said, her voice breathy as they found their stride.
Their morning jogs were the one time that Jane didn't have a bodyguard, she didn't have a multitude of scientist's and men in black suits haranguing her for stupid details, she didn't have to be constantly listening for her beautiful son or Thor bugging her about something around the house. Sometimes they talked, sometimes they just listened to the city waken around them.
The rhythmic beat of footsteps on pavement, intake of breath, exhale. Repeat.
Their route lead them to the park where they stopped for a bottle of water that was handed to them by mysteriously appearing SHEILD agents and then they turned around and returned to Jane's and Thor's house.
She loved her new neighborhood. The new house had been provided for by SHEILD when they had found out that the good scientist was moving, encouraging her and Thor to move to New York to be with the rest of the Avengers. Steve was in a similar house a few blocks over and they passed it on their runs, occasionally giggling when they saw woman leaving early in the morning.
She occasionally felt guilty that she had become closer to the great Pepper Potts than she did Darcy who was still her loyal assistant, despite returning to college for Political science. During the summer, Darcy had helped her set up Hal's room in the neutral mocha and pale greens. But it had been Darcy that had watched her fall into madness fighting her way back to Thor, and it had been Pepper had watched her become the woman she was once she had decided to love him.
And Pepper knew what it was to be in love with a Hero.
Their run ended, always sooner than she wanted when she and Thor had a fight. The two caught their breath in her postage stamp of a front lawn. She held her hands to her wrist, smiling at the racing pulse. "Jane, maybe you should get a different perspective."
"Pep.. He's being ridiculous."
"In your perspective. You remember what it was like to watch him die, and I know you do." The image of Thor being flung by the Destroyer still haunted her, "That was before this. Remember? Maybe you need to realise he's working on the notion of a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush." Jane frowned, irate that her friend was actually making sense.
She was doubled over, the final sprint her excuse not to answer. "Just a thought." She said. The black car rolled up to a stop and the man stepped out and held the door for her. "Call me if you need a girls night out. Or a girls night in," Jane stood and waved as she got in the car and sped off.
A suit appeared at her door and opened it for her, "Mrs. Blake." He nodded and she stepped inside.
"He up?"
"Not sure ma'am." The agent said and she nodded crisply. She poured two cups of coffee and tucked the paper under her arm and climbed the stairs after scowling at the faint crack in the island countertop.
She was surprised to see the television on and her husband cuddled up with son in their large bed. "Good morning boys." She set the milky coffee on the table and kissed Hal's chubby cheek. "You're up early." His eyes were fixed on the screen.
"Reports are still coming in, but it seems the destruction is cataclysmic to the small desert town. The town is well known for the odd tornado nearly three years ago that devastated the village and the unknown weapon that wrecked havoc on the people..." A grainy phone video showed a jumpy image of the Destroyer and the Mortal Thor walking towards it. "so far the explosion has claimed at least fifty people."…
"Fury called." He said, holding Hal close, "The town where we first met was destroyed. An explosion.." he said, "They estimate it came from your lab."
She gasped and her eyes flew to the screen, "They said that!"
She missed him shaking his head as her eyes were staring at the screen, trying to pick out the various stores and landmarks, "It was quite obvious." She sat down on the bed beside him and they watched the new reel for several minutes.
"I was supposed to be there." His eyes flew to her. "Before Hal was born I had planned to take six weeks, rather than eight. I was going to go to the labs to get updates since Darcy's off." Her eyes were still glued to the screen. "I never told them- Oh god, all those people." She whimpered and sniffled and he pulled her to his side. "Do you think-" she looked to him and he shook his head.
"If they were targeting you they would have attacked you here." Her mind flashed to their run, normally the City was bustling with life around them, but it had been exceptionally quiet for any regular Thursday morning.
"You-" she snarled and he raised a brow, "You had – agents – following us." He didn't move only furthering her ire. "You!" she said, her son whimpered and she took a deep breath. "Don't. That's my time."
"You are my Wife, Jane. I swore to protect you. Barton agreed that it wasn't unwarranted." His voice was monotone and his arms held the baby close as he continued to watch the news.
"Barton-…" She took several calming breaths, "Is a dead man." She stormed into the shower and blasted the hot water. Her mind worked through the issue furiously, her eidetic memory flashing over all the conversations, all the memo's and notes until the niggle, the note bothering her finally surfaced.
His face was once again the mask of terrified fear.
In her anger, in her rage of violation of her independence she had forgotten him. All she had put him through. She held those two years against him, but he had been as much a prisoner on Asgard as she had been in her mind. She had originally felt that her work was noble, a means of getting him back to her, but she had gotten him back anyway. He had returned to her as he had promised and ever since she had been angry.
Stepping out she pulled her robe around her shoulders and towel dried her hair as best she could. "Husband." She said meekly as she saw him return to the room, Hal once again back in his crib.
He smiled and opened his arms, "Wife." She walked into his arms and he held her close. "I may be overbearing, but it is only because if I were to lose you… Life would be meaningless." He kissed her temple and she sighed.
The phone rang and rang and they both ignored it. "Thor, it's Stark, Fury's on a rampage about Casa del New Mexico. I suggest you and the Princess lay low for a couple days. It looks like she may have been the target. I'll tell you more when I know more. Ciao." Thor flinched and she gave him a squeeze.
"I didn't go Thor." She said softly, "I stayed. Here. With you and Hal. " He held her close and her hands moved across his back, massaging the tense muscles. She pressed her lips to his throat and pulled his face down to hers so she could kiss him properly.
"Jane-" he groaned as her hands started rubbing the hard muscles of his stomach. The response was almost immediate and she smiled mischievously at him.
"Thor." She said, looking at him, she smiled wickedly at him. She could feel him flinching and she amused herself by watching him barely restrain his control.
"Please, don't-"
"Make me." The robe was parted and his hands traced up her side. She watched his eyes grow cloudy and she envision the thunderclouds gathering overhead as he fought against his instinct to claim what was his. While he loomed over her, and his muscles rippled with the ability to tear flesh from limbs, it was she who held the power, and she who wielded him. He was her weapon, and she had no interest in taming him.
His hands traced an invisible line down between her breast and settled at her hips. Her lips traced the line of muscle down his neck and to his chest and he moaned as she found all the places that made him weak. "Jane- don't start this... Please.." he groaned and buried his hands in her, pulling her back gently.
"No. I want this." Her eyes were onyx and her breathing rapid. "Thor, if you're not sure.." he scooped her up and they landed on the bed in a fall of groans and sighs. Her sighs turned into a whimper as she felt the sharp heat puncture her own. Time became obsolete as they stared at each other. All their fights, all their words of anger disappeared while in this moment.
She shuddered and he groaned and paused, still. No fears, no responsibilities. Like those glorious three days spent finding each other, learning everything there was to learn, they reacquainted themselves with each other. Her once small soft body had become firm and solid with muscle, her breasts larger ;a byproduct of childbirth. All of this was new to him, having not dared to imagine her, not wanting to harm her. But he had never been able to refuse her.
She shifted and rolled her hips causing all thoughts to flee his mind.
Slow and endearing was overrated. Her legs locked behind him and her breathless moans reverberated off the walls. All other senses were muted, unfocused. Touch was the only thing she noticed. His warm hands on her hips. Her hands on his shoulders, digging into the smooth hard muscle. He shifted the direction of his hips and she saw stars explode in her eyes. He had found the sweet spot so easily she was sure he had a map to it somewhere.
Greed was not a virtuous trait. But neither cared at that moment while they each fought for control. The both of them fighting for the finish line. She felt the white hot tingle begin crawling down her back and the tendrils began collecting low in her belly. She thrashed and moaned, his hands pinning hers above her head, his full lips capturing hers and swallowing the finally piercing wail as she launched over the edge, the euphoria setting every cell in her body aflame.
He prolonged the sensation with his own need for release, his thrusts became erratic and chaotic, his body invading her own. She was still sporadically clenching around him and it wasn't long till she felt the pulsing heat become a gush of warm liquid. Her hearing came back just in time for his bellows of worship to her, his moans of undying love to echo in the room.
The feeling of weightlessness was hindered by his long body lounging against her. She wrapped herself around him, clinging to his solid warmth, drawing comfort from her own hero.
She did something she rarely did. She took the day off. Even while on 'maternity leave', she worked furiously from the closet like Office in her house, or gathered Hal and took him over to Stark to help him and Banner with various projects. They stayed in bed for as long as they could until their son demanded acknowledgment. Getting dressed she ordered Breakfast and sent one of the minion Agents to get it, only to eat in bed, snickering as they shoved food in one another's face. Hal gurgling with delight at his parent's happiness. The rest of the day was passed in a lazy haze of ignored phones, the baby crying and giggles of adults who were far too old for giggling.
As night was falling the mouth watering scents filled the room making his stomach grumble, her culinary skills had improved immensely (not that they had needed to according to him) since their wedding, and he watched her multitask as she prepared their dinner while feeding Hal.
She was truly a magical creature. The perfect amount of scientist to keep him on his toes, keep his ego down as she put him in his place, and the perfect amount of woman to keep him forever in love with her.
He glanced down at the crack in the granite and sighed, the Apple had reappeared in the basket among the other fruits and he had scowled at the golden fruit as if it were trying to destroy his life by merely existing. This happy bubble was so fragile, this joy was so tender that any risk was too much.
"Knock knock." Stark marched in causing both adults to groan and roll their eyes.
"Tony." She said tiredly, "We have phones."
"Not good ones." He said smiling. Jane approached Tony as one would an annoying younger brother, Thor with the reserve of a kick boxer meeting a foe in the mall. The two hot headed men tolerated each other, which Jane found endlessly amusing. "Besides, I have news."
"Who blew up my lab?" She said, exchanging the bottle for a towel her and Thor moved in synchronicity. Tony watched them for a moment, slightly humbled by the couple's display of love.
Love to Tony was knowing Pepper's name in the morning, Love was making coffee for her a little strong because that's how she preferred it, Love was thinking of her before his close calls with death. But he knew that all paled to these two. He shook his head free of the stray thoughts, "If I told you it was some activist's angry with your work, would you believe me?"
Her pointed glare told him enough. "It's a faction we've been watching for awhile. The kind of rose out of the ashes of Hydra, Steve's buddies from before going all Han Solo- frozen in Carbonite." Stark snagged a morsel from the pan on the stove, and snuck away before getting swatted at.
"It'll be ready in ten minutes." She said, "Have patience."
"But Mooom.." Jane rolled her eyes and raised a brow. "They've been trying to find a way to get back at us and your lab just happen to cross their radar. Those are the kicks Princess." The baby gurgled and spat up on her shoulder, "And that is disgusting." She giggled and kissed Hal's cheek.
"I'm going to lay him down and then we'll talk."
Stark nodded and watched her leave. "It was her they were targeting." He murmured to Thor. The thunder rolled overhead as Thor's fist's clench. "Easy Thunder, Jarvis and I have it under control." Tony stared at him, the fear that settled within his normally cocky and exuberant eyes unnerved Thor. "You keep her here, keep her safe. Roger's is in New Mexico now doing damage control. With his fists mostly." Stark looked to the stairs, "And if you had plans to jet set off planet, best start packing… And then I tell him, 'Old Timer, my dad had better jokes than that.' Hello Princess."
"Stark, are you corrupting my husband."
"Mine valiant efforts to bewitch him fail. He speakth an infinite deal of nothing." Stark raised the invisible skull skyward, "Thou fair-"
"Enough." She said, holding up a hand. "I studied Shakespeare in college. Don't you dare bastardize the bard." Stark shot her a winning smile and sat next to Thor.
"Whatever say you, fair maiden. The blond speaks nothing but whims and plights of fancy."
Her eyes narrowed, "One of these days, Pepper is going to take that Reactor out of your chest and I'm going to be holding her sweater while she does it." Stark paled slightly and she chuckled, "Hungry?"
Jane and Thor: Please, let us have a normal happy life.
SWL: Maybe. (Shifty eyes)
Jane: Please, what did we ever do to you.
SWL: Look at the man I let you marry.
Jane: (looks at half naked Thor.) You win, carry on.
Thor: I don't understand.
Jane: Ssh Darling, the women are speaking.
SWL: Just.. Be gorgeous and let me write!
That I wrote at 4:23 am and I don't know why I'm proud of it. But there it is.
So, here's the deal people, I have two days to write 17,000 words. Otherwise you'll be waiting about a week for the next chappy. So that means Reviews, Lot's of 'em. (I should probably tell you I'm a review-whore, the more reviews I get, the quicker I write, the more interest the story has for me.)
Love you all and Thanks for your support of this once-upon-a-time One Shot.
SWL