Author's Notes: An update in less than a month! Will wonders never cease?
Thanks to my amazing betas, Amanda, Jade, and Majoline, who not only catch all my goofs, but encourage me to keep writing this minor epic. And thanks to all of you for your patience and support - it means so very much. :)
Kara liked the sun. She liked the sand, warm and squishy between her toes. She liked the bucket full of shells waiting to go home and be named and put up on the shelves in her room, in Kara's museum of rocks and things. She liked the warm water splashing at her ankles.
But what she liked best of all at the beach was seeing her Daddy happy.
He always smiled when they played, when they read stories, when he tucked her in, but some days he just seemed sad, or scared, and even hugs and cookies and pictures didn't make him not-sad.
Kara's head was all better, and she didn't get headaches anymore, and Daddy and Miriam were her favorite Scout leaders ever, even if Daddy rubbed his forehead and frowned a lot when they were doing arts and crafts. But if her owie wasn't making him not smile, she didn't know what was.
Maybe it was work. A lot of times he came home and he was really, really quiet after Sara or Connie left. So maybe if work made him sad, being not at work and at the beach would make him happy.
Kara had been a tiny bit scared on the plane, and George was a lot scared, but they had Captain America Bear and he was never afraid, and he had his shield to keep them all safe. Then the nice man came with pretzels and sodas and it was just like movie night, watching The Hobbit on Daddy's iPad.
Kara decided she liked flying, and she liked trips, and she hoped Daddy would take her lots and lots of places.
It was sticky and hot when they got off the plane, but everyone was nice, especially the ladies who looked like Kara imagined her Mama looked smiled at her and told her how pretty she was. Stephen and person George started talking the way everybody else did, all nice and slow and Connie thought it was funny but Kara thought they sounded beautiful.
At dinner, everyone shared, and everything was yummy. Kara's favorite was the ribs and the macaroni and cheese. The tea was sweet, like soda, and Daddy made a funny face when he drank it. For dessert, they had the best banana pudding ever, even better than Stephen made her when she bumped her head, and her Daddy liked it so much he even got seconds.
When they got to the house, Kara was so tired and full Daddy had to carry her into the room. But Kara heard the ocean, heard the crash crash crash of the waves, and she snuggled little George, who liked the noise too, and they fell asleep.
Stephen and person George made biscuits for breakfast, with lots of sweet, sticky syrup on top, and they ran down to the beach as soon as they put on their bathing suits. Kara left Captain America to keep the house safe against alligators - one of her friends at school said there were alligators in Alabama but maybe they were nice ones, like in Princess and the Frog. But dinosaur George really wanted to go to the beach, so Kara said he could, but only if he didn't get wet.
The Mommy and Daddies took turns playing with them, picking them up and twirling them in the water. Oscar was the first one to see the dolphins and they yelled and waved at them until they swam and jumped away. They had chicken and funny cheese sandwiches for lunch, and the Mommy and Daddies (mostly the Mommy) made them wait on the blanket for a little bit before they could go back in the ocean.
"We're gonna go see Grandma and Grandpa before we go back home," Alice said, kicking her toes on the sand. "They're Daddy George's mommy and daddy, and they like the tigers and not the elephants, so that's why Daddy Stephen says we can't talk about the goddamn football with them."
Kara opened her mouth. She knew that was a bad word, and the Mommy and the Daddies must have known it was a bad word too, but they were laughing so hard they forgot to tell Alice that. Stephen and person George started arguing about who was better at football, tigers or elephants. Kara didn't know why tigers and elephants would play football, but she said even though tigers could run fast and had sharp claws, elephants could hold the football with their trunk and stomp over all the tigers.
Stephen gave Kara a high five. Person George looked cranky, but then Stephen fed him a funny cheese sandwich and he didn't seem so mad anymore.
Kara and Oscar made a sand castle. Kara decided it should be Hogwarts, and Oscar said okay as long as there were knights and a dragon. Castles definitely should have dragons, but a nice dragon, and Kara plopped little George on top of one of the towers.
The Mommy said they could go back in the ocean, but not before her and the Daddies got them with the sunscreen. It smelled like coconut and made her skin dark and shiny. Even though her hands were slippery, she tugged at her Daddy and ran for the waves, giggling as she jumped on top of them.
"I like this beach," she said, kicking and splashing Daddy's legs. "Can we come back?"
"That would be a very long way to go play in the water," Daddy said, smiling. "It is much nicer than that horrible pool."
Kara didn't like the pool Sara would take her to - it smelled funny and her eyes hurt after she'd go swimming. "So much nicer! And I don't think anybody's peed at the beach. Except the fish." Kara wrinkled her nose. She hadn't thought about the fish pee. Daddy laughed and leaned down to pick her up.
"There is an awful lot of ocean. I think you're quite safe from the fish and their business." Kara loved how Daddy always talked to her like she was a grown-up lady, and not a small one.
"You're silly, Daddy." she said, wrapping her tiny arms around his neck. "But I like it when you're silly and not sad."
"Why would I ever be sad?"
"I don't know? My owie or someone at your work is mean to you or maybe you miss the place across the ocean where you came from."
"I hardly even think about it anymore," Daddy said, and even though he smiled, it didn't seem like a real smile. "It's very boring and quite small and the people are horrible."
"Even your mommy and daddy?" Kara frowned.
"Especially them." Daddy got quiet, and sad, and Kara wished she could un-ask the question. He shook his head and Kara could tell he was trying to be happy again. "You, however, are mostly not horrible."
"Mostly?" Kara thought about kicking Daddy but that probably wasn't a good way to make him think she wasn't bad. "I'm always not horrible."
"And just who glued a bow to Dominique's hair last week?"
"Me," Kara mumbled, and dropped her head into Daddy's shoulder. But he lifted her head up and gently kissed her forehead.
"There is nothing wrong with being a little bit horrible," he said. He grinned and looked up at all of their friends. "The best kind of horrible, though, is when you don't get caught."
Jane tugged down at the hem of her dress, which felt like it was barely brushing her hips. Even though she was wearing charcoal leggings, a decision Darcy had vigorously protested ("You're supposed to show a little leg!"), she felt practically naked.
"I should have worn pants," Jane lamented, but the only gesture it earned from Thor was a sympathetic if bemused smile.
"You would look no less beautiful, no matter what you wear. That shade of blue is quite becoming." Thor gave her hand a surprisingly gentle squeeze. "And if I remember Dr. Banner's lesson, a very suitable color for you."
"Hey, you're looking pretty good in it yourself," Jane said, and clearly more than a few passerby, men and women, were thinking the same thing. Jane wrapped a hand around his long blond hair, pulled back from his forehead. "The ponytail might not be regulation, but I'll let it slide."
Thor made a content humming noise that nearly made Jane quiver in her knee-high boots. Thor's hands brushed against her ears, to their new, gently pointed tips. "And you will forgive me if I call you an elf-maiden, and not a..."
"A Vulcan."
Colorado and New York might not exactly be close, but as Jane had to remind herself, at least Thor was on the same planet now. Usually she was the one flying East weekends she wasn't bogged down with teaching or research in Boulder. S.H.I.E.L.D. had very politely offered her a job; Jane had very politely turned them down. Sure, she'd be close to Thor and not in the dark about everything, but her work would never be her own. So it meant a crappy commute to see her boyfriend, but she had freedom.
And now she had her alien boyfriend here with her, and they were at Comic Con Denver, in matching Starfleet uniforms. Sometimes, Jane thought, there was a God.
Or a demi-god, anyway, looking ridiculously good in tight black uniform pants.
"Is the Lady Darcy in costume?"
"Yeah, she is. But she didn't say what, which knowing Darcy, could be a really bad thing." Darcy had only said her outfit was awesome and she couldn't wait to see their faces. Jane had good reason to worry.
"I did not know humans enjoyed dressing as others as much as they do." Thor's blue-eyed gaze caught what must have been the fourth Thor they'd seen today. This one at least filled out the armor a little better than the last one. "Or that so many liked to dress as myself."
Jane grinned and let her hand slide down to his hip. "You're one of their heroes now. Of course they do. And even if our heroes are imaginary science officers in space, it's because we want to be better. We want to be like them."
Thor cocked his head as a shirtless Hawkeye with painfully tight leather shorts (and possibly some serious butt padding) walked by.
"Or we..." Jane didn't even bother to keep from blushing. "Umm, there's actually a really good story behind that..."
Thor's reply failed and his smile flickered as a dark-haired man in a suit and scarf brushed past him. Jane had only seen pictures of Loki, when he first came back, and the second time Thor had burst into her apartment with a tight embrace and instructions to run if she ever saw his fugitive brother. It wasn't Loki, Jane knew that much, but even getting out of New York and the craziness that was Tony's bargain wasn't enough to get Loki out of Thor's head.
"Never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad I'm an only child." Jane tried a joke, a smile, wrapping her arm tighter around Thor's waist, but his frown seemed set in stone. "Is everything okay between you guys? Or as okay as it gets?"
"They are as well as they can be," Thor answered, his gaze fixed downwards. "Which is to say, we scarce see each other, though we live in the same city."
"Your visit in August is still on, right? I mean, he did promise, for whatever that's worth." Jane hoped Thor didn't have his heart set on a happy reunion. "Do... you still want to see him?"
"Apparently he has not gone back on his word, as he has not told the Man of Iron otherwise." Thor sighed, and reached out to tenderly cradle Jane's hand. "As yes, I still wish to be with my brother, despite all he has done. He may have sought to kill me, but I cannot bring myself to make this parting permanent."
"Hey." Jane clasped her hand, which seemed so very small, over Thor's palm. "Family's supposed to make you crazy. Especially when it's tried to take over the world a few times. Being careful doesn't sound like doubt, it sounds like common sense." She brushed her fingers against the back of his hand, feeling the familiar scars, wondering how many his brother had put there. "I know things between you and Loki are...complicated, and would probably take a really long time to explain." An eternity, probably. "But this little girl, Kara, you said she loves the Avengers?"
"The Captain in particular but yes, she does seem to be fond of us. It must vex Loki greatly but for her, he tolerates it."
"Okay. She likes you - and after a day with you, she'll love you - and Loki likes her. I know that doesn't seem like much of a connection, but it's more of one than you had before. And definitely a healthier one."
"I - I will try to take it as such." A genuine smile tugged at the corner of Thor's lips. "You are wise in things even beyond science."
"I try. And if he pulls anything funny, I'll use the science on him." Jane drew herself up to all of five foot five. She really should have gotten taller boots.
"Perhaps from afar."
'I could live with that compromise."
A hand hard on her back knocked her off balance, and only Thor's steading hold kept her from a personal encounter with gravity and the floor. Jane whirled around to see a familiar pair of brown eyes, cocky smile, and a blue glow beneath a black t-shirt.
"If it isn't Spockette and Captain Very Tightpants. Smile for the camera, would you?"
Jane barely had time to blink, much less manage something more attractive than a gaping, open mouth as Thor slung his arm tight around her, a bemused grin aimed cheekily at the camera and the woman wielding it.
"Darcy, you've got to be kidding me." Jane groaned as Thor reached for the camera, looking at the screen in apparent satisfaction before showing it to her. Darcy might be a pain in the ass sometimes, but she knew how to take a cute picture. "All things to go as and you came as him?"
"I know," Darcy said, worming her way in between Thor and Jane. "Coolest costume here, huh?"
"You certainly do have the Man of Iron's personality," Thor said, to which Darcy only beamed.
"Thanks, Big Guy," she said, plucking the camera out of Thor's hands and holding it out as far as she could. "Now everybody smile! Mama needs a new cover photo."