Author's Note: I'm back! I needed a small break from fanfiction to re-charge my batteries, but I'm back now! Please enjoy this chapter!
Odin heard Thor even before his son had appeared in his doorway. He was always able to sense his son. It had come in handy when Thor was a child and loved to go hide. One day, he had hid himself so well that Frigga thought her son had been stolen, but Odin had been able to find the child. He had always had that special connection between himself and Thor that had never existed with Loki.
Thinking of Loki filled the All-Father with guilt. He hadn't been able to save his other son. He had lied to him—doing what he thought was right—and it led to Loki's own downfall. Odin would never forgive himself for what had happened to Loki.
"Father," Thor greeted with a quick bow. Odin looked up to see his son standing in the doorway. "I needed to ask you—"
"Thor?" Frigga groggily questioned as she stepped into the main chamber. "My son, are you ill? What causes you to enter our chambers at such an early hour?"
"I apologize, Mother," Thor said quickly and Odin could see the determination flaming in his son's eyes. "But I needed to know if—"
"It was real," Odin informed him. "But it was all I could do."
"Then, Jane and I actually met?" Thor questioned and the All-Father nodded. Thor let out a shaky breath and sat down in a chair. Frigga smiled and placed a hand on Thor's shoulder.
"Tell me, my son," Frigga began. "How is your Jane Foster?" Thor met his mother's gaze and sighed.
"She thought I did not want to be with her," Thor confessed and his mother squeezed his shoulder. "But when I told her that I did want to be with her and that I had destroyed the bridge, she promised to bring me back."
"See?" Frigga said brightly. "All will be well soon."
Thor nodded, but he had felt something off when he had met Jane—almost like something was lurking in the shadows, ready to strike at any moment.
Jane had been typing for three hours when Erik arrived at 8:00 am. She hadn't been able to sleep since her encounter with Thor and she was more determined than ever to get him back. He had said he loved her after all and he wanted to be with her. It was exactly what Jane needed to hear.
"Good morning," Erik greeted as he set his coffee cup on the table. "Please tell me you at least got some sleep before you began working." Jane's eyes never left the computer screen—she needed to focus. She was so close to a breakthrough that she could taste it!
"I went to bed," Jane assured him as she hit a few more keys on the keyboard. "And I slept." Erik sighed and Jane could picture the disapproval on his face. Still, she kept her gaze focused on her latest simulation.
"Jane you need your rest!" Erik protested. "Not sleeping enough will impede—"
"Impede my brain, I know," Jane interjected. "But I'm wide awake, Erik. I actually slept a little."
"Fine," Erik replied curtly. Jane knew he was only looking out for her well-being, but he had to know that she needed to bring Thor back. That was her job now—it was why SHEILD had given her funding. "I talked to Director Fury this morning." Jane's fingers stopped flying over the keys and she turned around to face her old mentor.
"Why?" She questioned.
"He needs me to do a secondary assignment," Erik informed her as he sat down at an old wooden table across from her. "So, I won't be here as much as I have been."
"What assignment?" Jane questioned, her interest piqued.
"Studying some energy cube," Erik explained as he reached for an apple. "No one really knows what it is." Jane nodded her head.
"Well, be careful?" Erik chuckled dryly.
"I always am, Jane." He answered.
With a small smile on her face, she met his gaze and then faced her computer screen once more. She was so close to getting him back. She just needed the plow through her work and once her SHIELD employees got here, she could tell Darcy what had happened while the SHIELD workers did all the grunt work.
She was so close to getting Thor back.
And yet, so far.
Author's Note: Review please!