Thor is pacing outside the Healing Room when Loki appears beside him.
"Any word –" Loki begins, but is cut short by Thor who grabs him by the throat and pins him against the wall.
"What were you thinking, Brother?!" he yells in Loki's face.
Loki, cowed and clearly worried himself, can only shake his head, unable to talk with Thor's hand around his throat. Thor drops Loki and takes a step back, crossing his arms, clearly waiting for a response. Loki clears his throat and considers his words.
"We were having a bit of fun." Holding up his hand to forestall Thor, he continues. "She knew what I was doing. And, I honestly thought she couldn't be hurt. She shouldn't be hurt, not after having the elixir." Looking Thor in the eyes, he says, "I love her too, you know. I wouldn't hurt her on purpose."
Thor, seeing the truth in Loki's eyes and the matching anguish, feels his anger melt away. Thor steps in towards Loki and grabs him behind the neck, leaning in to touch foreheads. Quietly he says, "I can't lose her, Brother. Being with her is like nothing I've ever felt before."
Loki's only response is, "I know."
Together the brothers wait outside the Healing Room for news.
The healers work frantically to heal the wound in Anara's chest. The bolt of power seared a hole nearly to her heart, and her heartbeat was erratic. There were several tense minutes while the tissue regenerator did its work, repairing the sac around her heart and working outward. Once her chest was repaired and her heartbeat returned to normal, they took stock of the rest of her injuries. All of her ribs were broken, though through some miracle, none had punctured her lungs. Several vertebrae were smashed; her right scapula was cracked and her humerus was broken. After several hours under the tissue regenerator, they transfer her carefully to a tank filled with water from the healing pools to allow her bones to finish healing, absorbing precious minerals from the water.
Anara stays unconscious through the ministrations of the healers, but unlike her previous stay there, has some awareness of what's going on. Voices drift through the darkness talking of burns and broken bones. She knows she's hurt badly and does not fight to regain consciousness, at least not yet. Knowing she is in good hands, she slips along the lines of the Force looking for what she missed this morning. Something like this she should have seen, but all she encounters is emptiness. Not even the fog of the dark side, just a lack of anything where this accident should have been. This morning, she was still too distracted by recent events and her feelings for Thor to notice, but now she's curious and just a little concerned. She's never run into a lack of the Force before: clouding by the Dark Side, yes, but not a total lack of the Force. Half the things she sees around her sister are clouded or outright wrong because of the Dark Side's influence, but this is different.
A thought suddenly comes to her and she looks for Loki's aura. Concentrating on it, she watches how the lines of the Force flow around him, and that's when she sees it – nothingness - the same black-hole effect, but in direct relation to him when he's being mischievous. Looking back, she can see it the night he invaded her dreams and again the night Fenrir was caught spying. It is an effect on the Force she's sure none have ever seen before, and she's unsure of its implications. Withdrawing deeper into herself, she begins to study the phenomenon, no longer aware of what's happening to her body.
When he's satisfied that Anara is out of danger, Master Healer Gustause goes out to talk to Thor and Loki, who have been pacing ruts into the stone floor outside. Motioning them to a set of chairs in a nearby alcove, he sits down, and the brothers join him.
"Let me start out by saying Anara will be fine. We've repaired the damage to her chest and are working on her broken bones now. "
Looking at each man in turn, he sees relief wash over their faces.
Loki is the first to ask, "Why was she hurt so badly? Bolts from our weapons have never hurt any of us like that."
Gustause considers for a moment before answering. "First, you have to remember that she is not Asgardian, she is human-a superior human-but still human. The second half of my answer depends on how you answer this: Has she eaten an entire golden apple or has the elixir we administered been her only exposure?"
The brothers look at each other. When Loki shakes his head in the negative, Thor answers, "She's not had an entire apple. Since she received the elixir, we believed that would be enough."
"Interesting, interesting" Gustause muses. "Well, given the extent of her injuries, I would surmise that most of the elixir was exhausted in the healing process the first time, leaving very little to fortify her body the way it does yours, which makes her very resilient indeed. I've seen her spar with you and the Companions. She can take a beating, but apparently not one quite like this." Addressing both men, he says, "You will have to be careful until you can get Odin's permission to take her to visit Iduna. No more matches like this one. I don't think she can survive another set of injuries like these." Standing up, Gustause leaves them, saying, "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my patient." Holding up a hand to stop Thor before he can speak, he adds, "You can see her when her bones are healed and no sooner. It will be a long night. I suggest you head back to your rooms or the Mead Hall. I will send for you."
As Gustause disappears back into the Healing Room, Loki says to Thor, "I guess she wasn't kidding when she said you'd bruised her ankle yesterday."
Thor shakes his head, "I knew she wasn't jesting, but I never thought about the implications," he says, putting his face in his hands and taking a shaky breath. Looking up at Loki he says, "Had I, I never would have let you test that damnable weapon with her today. As it was, you took a chance increasing the power after we determined a safe level." Pausing for a moment, he continues. "You say you love her too, so promise me, brother, that you will never do such a thing again."
Loki meets Thor's eyes, clearly feeling guilty, "I promise, Brother. I never meant to hurt her, you have to believe me."
The brothers sit in silence for a moment, each thinking their own thoughts. Finally Thor stands up and offers a hand to Loki.
"Come, brother. Let us go to the Mead Hall. The others will be waiting for news, and I could use a drink."
Loki takes his brother's hand and stands, and together they leave the healing wing.
As the stars spin past midnight, Anara surfaces from her deep meditation and scans her body before coming up to full consciousness. She's had enough pain to last a couple of lifetimes and is keen to avoid any more.
Her bones are almost healed, the mineral waters accelerating the rebuilding process much like the Bacta tanks back home, and her chest is unmarked, or nearly so. She can sense the four scars above her left breast, but the fifth, that sat over her sternum is gone, the flesh pristine.
She gives the Asgardians credit, their healing technologies are better by far than any in her galaxy. Sensing no pain other than what she now considers "normal", she rises to full consciousness. She flutters her eyes open to let them get used to the light gradually. Looking around, she finds herself floating in a large tub, leads attached to her chest and head and tubes running into the tub, presumably to circulate the water. Grabbing the sides of the tub, she levers herself into a seated position and holds herself there while the room quits spinning. About the time the room stops, a nurse enters carrying an armful of towels.
"How are you feeling, my lady?"
"A little dizzy, but otherwise fine."
The nurse sets the towels down on a nearby table and begins removing the leads from Anara's body.
"Then let's get you out of here. Master Gustause says your bones are healed enough."
The nurse helps her stand and supports Anara while the room spins again.
"Easy, my lady," she says. "You've been through quite a spot. Move slowly, and the dizziness should pass."
Anara steps out of the tub and lets the nurse dry her off, not sure she can do more than stand still on her own. She feels incredibly weak. Once dry, the nurse helps her into a simple shift and guides her to the nearby bed where she tucks her in.
Thanking the nurse for her help, she then asks, "Can I get something to eat? Nothing heavy, maybe just some fruit and cheese?"
The nurse smiles and nods. "Of course, my lady. I will let Master Gustause know you are awake as well. "
After the nurse leaves, Anara slumps against the pillows, exhausted from her short trip from the tub. When Gustause and the nurse return, she's fast asleep.
When she wakes the next morning, she's not alone. Thor and Loki are both there, each with one of her hands in theirs. Emotions fill the room like incense: guilt, worry, anger, fear, and underneath it all, love. It's impossible for her to tell who's feeling what, the emotions are so overwhelming. She squeezes both their hands and tries to sit up, but the room starts to spin, so she relents and puts her head back down. Suddenly, Thor's lips are on hers in a crushing kiss.
When he finally lets her come up for air, he whispers, "I thought I almost lost you."
She reaches up to brush his cheek with her hand. "I'm fine. Just a little battered, that's all."
He smiles, but the pain doesn't leave his eyes. Loki takes her hand again and kisses it to get her attention.
When she turns to him, he asks, "Will you forgive me? I took our match too far, and I'm sorry."
Anara can sense his sincerity, but there is an undercurrent of darkness she can't explain. "I do forgive you, Loki. I knew what you were doing, and I let it continue. The fault lies with me as well. I let myself get distracted, and I paid the price."
Thor grumbles, "That was not a price anyone should have paid."
Anara looks back to Thor.
"Maybe not that severe, but it was a lesson I needed to be reminded of. I have let myself get too complacent, even in training. It is something I must work on."
Pausing for a moment, she then says, "Now, help me sit up so I don't have to keep turning my head to talk to you two. That's worse than the dizzy spells."
As they help her sit up and rearrange her pillows, the nurse from earlier returns.
"Ah, my lady, you're up again. Shall I bring you something to eat? You were asleep when I brought you something the first time," she says smiling.
"Please. I'm starving!"
As she eats, Thor and Loki tell her what Gustause told them about why she was so gravely injured. Thinking about it, it makes sense to her. If only they'd all figured it out earlier. Thor informs her too, that he's talked to the armorers about making her another set of armor for sparing. Something light and flexible to accommodate her acrobatics but that would protect her until they can make the journey to visit Iduna.
Tiring quickly after her meal, Anara lies back down and is quickly asleep. Loki brushes a stray lock of hair from her forehead, and after a nod to his brother, disappears, leaving Thor to watch over her.