(A/N: I have a tumblr page dedicated to all my fan fiction, and it contains some stories I have not published here. The link is on my profile. Please feel free to check it out).

Chapter 11

I could barely describe it, but something felt wrong throughout my day. The nausea from the morning never fully faded, and my mind was bogged down by a cloud of depression. At what, however, I did not know. I had nothing to be sad about, that I was aware of, but I still couldn't shake it.

It was the same sort of sadness I'd felt when I'd first arrived, that had kept me awake until Loki first visited me...

It had left me in a rather foul mood, and I kept to myself, not really going out of my way to make conversation with anyone. One thing I was almost certain of, something about my dream had truly upset something deep inside me, and I was not shaking it off.

I can only assume word of the state I was in had reached Frigga because by noon she came to pay me a visit in my chambers just as I was finishing up a feeding. "You kept yourself locked away today," she observed as she stepped in, offering me a friendly smile. I did not return it, focusing, instead, on getting Emma to sleep. "Is anything troubling you?"

"No," I lied. She stood still for a few moments, watching me lay Emma down before speaking again.

"What's happened, Anna?" she asked, and I turned to face her.

"Just a dream," I answered. "Nothing more."

"A dream?" she asked, raising her eyebrows a bit. "A dream has you sulking around like this?"

"Pretty much." I sighed, really wishing she would simply leave me alone.

"This wasn't another one of your nightmares was it?"

"No. It was just a dream. And honest to god dream. The first real dream I've had since I got here."

"Was it?" she asked.

"Yes," I replied, deciding I was done with this conversation. "I'm sorry, but if you'll please excuse me, I-"

"Did you not heed Thor's warning?" Frigga snapped, startling me. "You didn't drive him away, did you?"

"Drive who away?" I scoffed. "My 'nightmares?'" Frigga pursed her lips but said nothing. "I thought it was impossible for him to see me. I thought that he couldn't possibly leave his cell without someone noticing. Wasn't that what you both told me?"

"Anna..."

"How long have you known? How long have you both known I was telling the truth? Were you just lying the whole time?"

"Mind your tongue!"

"Then tell me what is going on!" I hissed, wanting to yell but keeping my voice low for fear of startling Emma awake. "Because I am done with the mind games, and the lies! I want to know what's happening to me!" There was a long silence, and Frigga exhaled sharply, staring at me the same way a mother would to a child who had just had an outburst.

"The truth is, Anna, that you already know what the truth is." I narrowed my eyes.

"What?"

Her eyes looked away from me and her frown deepened. "I will not help you find your answers. All I can do is urge you to abandon this foolishness and consider the life you have here." She stepped up to me slowly, looking at me with sad eyes. "You have a home here, Anna. A home where you are safe and loved. There is no shame in choosing happiness." With that, she turned and left me to think on her words.

Night came, and I sat on my bed, waiting for him. Emma had gone to sleep easily enough, making me glad I at least didn't need to worry about having another fussy night. As I waited I could feel my adrenaline rising, the feeling of dread growing stronger as I remembered Loki's warning. Tonight would be far worse than before.

All I could wonder was, what could possibly be worse?

He'd already explored what I considered to be my worst memory, so what did that leave? How could anything be worse than reliving the moment I watched my husband hurt my child?

I waited and waited for what seemed like hours, my aching back eventually bidding me to lay down against the pillows, and I stared at the ceiling, wondering what could be keeping him.

Eventually sleep began to take over and after fighting it off as long as I could, my eyes closed themselves and I drifted off.

"Can you look at me, Anna?"

I opened my eyes, my head throbbing, and the first thing that came into view were my hands resting in my lap, a hospital bracelet around one wrist, and I became aware of the hospital pajamas I was wearing. I picked my head up, looking around, blinking several times as though my own vision was too difficult to bring into focus. There were white walls surrounding me, and in front of me, clipboard in his hands, sat a man in a white coat.

"Take your time, Anna," he said gently, watching me cautiously as I looked around.

"I'm dreaming..." I murmured sleepily, reaching up to rub my eyes, but he shook his head.

"Try to focus, Anna," said, leaning forwards. "Do you know where you are?"

"A hospital," I answered, looking around. "This is a dream."

"Why do you think that?" he asked.

"Because I'm not really here..." I answered. "This isn't real."

"Can you remember anything, Anna?" the doctor asked. "Before this moment?"

"Can I please lay down?" I asked, rubbing my head, feeling exhausted.

"In a little while," he answered. "Right now I just want you to try to answer some questions, all right?" I nodded lazily and he continued. "Can you tell me what you remember of the last few days?"

I groaned, thinking for a moment, then rested my forehead in the palm of my hand, my eyes falling to the floor. "I was in an accident," I replied. "I woke up in the hospital and Jane was there."

"Jane?" the doctor asked.

"Jane Foster," I answered. "She came to help me..."

"I see..." he said, jotting something down.

"She helped me escape," I continued. "And I was taken to Asgard. That's how I know this is a dream." I looked up to the doctor and smiled. "I'm not really here. I'm in Asgard."

"Are you?"

"I left this shithole behind, and I am never coming back." The doctor sighed and nodded.

"I see," he repeated. Behind him, a nurse stepped in, accompanied by my mother, and when my eyes fell on her my heart dropped. She looked as though she had been horribly aged by the last few days, her hair slightly frazzled, dark circles under her eyes, and a deep sadness in her eyes.

"Mom?" I gasped, causing the doctor to look up from his clipboard and twist around to face my mother and the nurse. My mother's eyes widened when they fell on me, and I got to my feet, stumbling my way into her arms, grabbing her in a crushing embrace.

"Oh Anna!" she cried, holding me tight, beginning to sob and I stepped back, placing a hand on the side of her face.

"Mom, I'm okay!" I urged her, still smiling, and a smile broke out across her face.

"Thank god, Anna!" she wept. "I've missed you so much!"

"Please don't cry!" I said, wiping her face. "Emma and I are safe and we're both fine!" Her smile faded.

"Wh-what?" she asked.

"We're both fine, Mom. We're in Asgard. We're in Asgard, Mom!"

She looked to the doctor in concern. "What's happening?"

"Anna," he said, pulling me away. "I'm going to talk to your mother for a moment. I need you to wait here, all right?" I looked at him confused, and a nurse stepped up, taking me by the arm with a gentle grip.

"Come on now," she said, leading me back towards the chair. "It's all right, dear."

I obeyed, sitting down and folded my hands in my lap as I listened to the doctor and my mother speak in a hushed tone.

"This is the most lucid she's been in weeks," he said to her. "She's still rambling on about these fantasies, but I think we have a real chance to reach her." My brow furrowed.

"But why is she still talking about Asgard? And Emma-"

"It takes time. We just have to be patient. She's recognizing faces now, and the fact that she recognized you means she's already well on her way to coming out of it."

I turned my eyes to my mother, narrowing them as I heard her tone grow even softer, clearly trying to keep me from overhearing. "Does this mean... is this possibly the sign of brain damage?"

"We can't be sure until we've run more tests."

"I don't have brain damage!" I snapped, jumping to my feet, the chair clattering to the floor behind me. "None of this is real, Mom! This is just a dream!" The nurse sprung up, taking hold of my shoulders.

"You need to calm down," she said.

"Don't tell me what to do!" I shouted, pushing her off me and storming my way up to the doctor. "Stop telling my mother I'm crazy! I'm not crazy! I'm fine!"

"Shall I sedate?" asked the nurse who was hot on my heels. The doctor did not look at her, but kept his eyes on me.

"No," he answered. "That won't be necessary. I'd like to try something else first."

He gestured to the door and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Anna, if you could follow me, this will only take a minute."

"Please, Anna..." my mother pleaded. "They're only here to help..."

I sighed and nodded, following the doctor into his own private office where he sat me down, closing the door behind him and sitting himself down behind his desk. "Feel free to have a seat, Anna," he said, offering me a smile. I looked around and pulled up a chair to his desk.

"The last thing I want you to feel is upset," he began. "So I want you to try to relax, and focus for a few minutes, all right?" I nodded and he pulled out his clip board, reading it over for a few minutes before speaking. "You mentioned the accident. Do you remember it?" I nodded silently. "What exactly do you remember?"

"It was midnight," I replied. "And I was sneaking out with Emma."

"You were running away?"

"Yes," I confirmed with a slight nod.

"From your husband?"

"Yes."

"Was he abusive towards you and Emma?"

I nodded, shuddering an inhale. "Yes."

The doctor nodded and sighed. "And during your escape, that's when you were hit by an oncoming car?"

"I had Emma in my lap..." I muttered, blinking away tears. "That car could have..."

"Why don't we just focus on you for now, Anna," said the doctor, and I nodded yet again, shifting slightly in my chair.

"You say you woke up in the hospital after that, and that's when you saw this Jane Foster?"

"She was in the room with me," I agreed.

"Had you ever seen Jane before that?"

"We were classmates. She went to my high school."

"And how exactly did she bring you to Asgard?"

"She brought me to Thor," I replied, sitting back and drawing one leg up over the other. "He was departing with his brother, Loki, and she managed to bring me there before they left and convinced them to take Emma and myself away."

"And why was he here with Loki?"

I blinked. "You're kidding, right?" I asked. "The attack on New York? The Chitauri? Probably one of the worst tragedies to hit us in a long time?"

His expression was vacant and I shook my head.

"Do you not watch the news?" I cried.

"Anna, when your husband became abusive, did your mind ever wander?" he asked. I raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of topic, but shook my head.

"No," I answered. "I remember every minute of every beating he ever gave me."

"What about when you were alone? When your husband was gone, what did you do?"

"I took care of my child. What does this have to do-"

"What about when your daughter was sleeping and you had time to yourself? Did you ever daydream?"

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Everybody daydreams."

"Did you, perhaps, use it as a way of escaping the real world for a few moments, just to remove yourself from your husband's abuse and perhaps the stress of caring for an infant?"

"You think I'm crazy..." I sighed, shaking my head. "You know what, I really don't care what you think. This is a dream, and any moment I'll wake up in Asgard again. So go ahead and think whatever you want, it really doesn't matter."

He shrugged and nodded. "Well, while you're waiting to awaken, could you perhaps indulge me once more?" He opened a drawer to his desk and pulled something out. "Do you, by any chance, recognize this?" He held up a DVD case and handed it to me.

As my eyes scanned over the cover, my hands began to shake and I felt the color drain from my face. "What's this?"

"Anna, the events in New York that you described, took place in this movie. It's fiction."

"No..." I said, shaking my head. "No. This is a trick."

"Would you like to see for yourself?" he took the case from me and opened it, popping the DVD into his laptop and turning it so the screen faced me. After a few clips, I suddenly saw it all. New York under attack, Thor and the Avengers fighting the Chitauri, Loki standing atop Stark Tower, watching it all take place.

"These memories you claim to have, Anna, of Thor, Loki, Asgard... they're not real," the doctor explained as I stared at the screen with my jaw hanging low. "Your mother told me you always had a strong imagination as a child. Even kept imaginary friends for an unnatural amount of time."

"No..." I whispered, shaking my head. "I'm dreaming."

"Anna, please try and focus..."

"This is a dream!" I shouted, standing up. "You're not real! None of this is real! I'm not here! I'm in Asgard!"

Standing up, the doctor ran to his door, leaning out into the hall to call for the nearest attendants. Before I knew it, I was being closed in on by nurses, and I felt as though I were being suffocated.

"I'm not here!" I screamed, fighting them off me. "I'm in Asgard! I'm in Asgard!"

In the back of my mind I could feel something tugging me back, and I closed my eyes, willing myself out of this hellish nightmare, ignoring the sounds of nurses trying to restrain me, ignoring the doctor shouting out instructions over my screaming, and, feeling like I'd grasped a hand in the dark, I pulled away, opening my eyes screaming and thrashing myself awake back in my bed.

Standing at the foot of my bed, with a grave expression on his face, was Loki.

"Where were you?!" I cried, my body still shaking from the impact of my nightmare. He stood silently in the darkness and I waited impatiently for him to speak.