Chapter 3

Warnings: None

Loki sat on the cot in his cell, lost in thought. He didn't know how long he'd been there. Other than Thors single visit and his meeting with the Shield representative, he'd been alone with his thoughts. Half formed plans whirled around his head, all of them useless. Without his magic he had no chance of escape. He was completely at the mercy of the mortals he'd made enemies of. The best he could hope for would be for them to allow his child a quick and painless death before handing him over to Odin for punishment. The chances of that were slim though. They knew his magic was bound as long as he was with child, and it would be far easier to hand him over as a mortal than with his powers returning. But maybe they would be merciful. He had after all told them what was likely to happen to his child when it was born. Not that they had any reason to believe him.

He felt his heart twist at the thought and placed a hand on his stomach, just over where he could feel his magic pool. Under that he felt the tiny flutter of life and he felt depression grip him tightly. He could do nothing to save his own child, he couldn't save any of them.

Suddenly there was a sound by the large metal door to his room, and he heard the locks shift before it slid open. Several guards entered and without a word they pulled him to his feet, placed metal cuffs on his wrists and marched him out of the cell. Each soldier was wearing a helmet, making it impossible to see their faces. None of them spoke to him, or even to each other leaving him with no idea where they were taking him. He considered putting up at least a token fight, but then realized they would probably only knock him out again if he did, and he'd rather be conscious for whatever was to happen next. They went through a series of halls and elevators, and he noticed the walls becoming less uniform, even passing a few windows. The floor went from cement to tiles to lush carpet and Loki became more and more confused. Where were they taking him? Finally they stopped in a brightly lit hallway lined with numbered dark wooden doors spread far apart. One of the doors was ajar and when they approached it, one of the guards took him by the arms and removed the cuffs. The rest of them took formation down the hallway. Feeling more confused and out of place than anything, Loki pushed the door open and looked inside. It was an apartment, one of many that the building offered. He had known these rooms existed when he memorized the layout of Shield headquarters months ago, but for the life of him he could not fathom why he was here.

"You look confused," came a voice from inside and instantly Loki recognized the Director of Shield standing near a set of couches. "Have a seat. We have a lot to talk about."

Loki glanced back at the hallway full of armed guards and realizing he didn't have much of a choice, he stepped into the room. At a gesture from Fury he sat in an armchair that was surprisingly comfortable. He blamed this on the fact that he'd had nothing else to sit on other that a flat cot for the past few days. Thankfully Fury sat as well, claiming a section of the matching sofa and outright lounging with an arm up on the back cushions.

"So first off, you should know that we aren't going to accept the deal you offered." The words were spoken casually but Loki could see that one dark eye watched him carefully. Still, as much as he fought not to show it, he felt the bottom go out of his stomach. That was it then. He had nothing left to bargain with, no escape was even remotely feasible.

"I'm bound for Asgard then?" he asked, making an effort to keep his voice even.

"Well that's up to you."

"What do you mean?"

"As I said, we aren't interested in your deal, but we are willing to offer one of our own instead." The man paused to glance at some papers that lay on a table nearby before regarding Loki casually. "You claim that any child of yours is in danger if it goes anywhere near Odin. Unfortunately we have no way of verifying that, and because of this we aren't offering any sort of procedure that would terminate your pregnancy. But because we can't prove that you are telling the truth, we can't also prove that it's a lie either. So what we can offer is this: you will remain here, under Shield custody, until your child is born. If it is in fact a child, it will be a citizen of Earth, which will put it under Earth's protection. Us. That means if Odin wants to turn it into some kind of animal, he'll have to go through the Avengers and all of Shield to do it. If your kid is born and it turns out to be some kind of giant parakeet, we'll wrap you both up and send you to Asgard with a bow on your heads."

Loki stared at the man in front of him with wide eyes. What he was offering was more than he could have ever expected. It was more than anyone had ever offered. He felt a flare of hope in his chest at the notion that perhaps at least one of his children would be able to live, and do so freely. "What are your conditions?" he asked, not that it mattered. Whatever the man demanded he would do, gratefully.

"Well first off you're going to give up your life of crime, and you're going to start paying your debt to society by working for us instead."

"Done."

Fury raised a brow at his quick response but continued without comment. "You won't be joining the team obviously, but there's been a rise in the amount of magic related trouble we've been dealing with lately, and not all of it is you." He gestured to the room around him. "Since you're going to be staying a while, these rooms are yours, unless you'd rather stay in the holding cells. For the time being you may not leave this building, which is more for your safety and our piece of mind than anything else. Sound fair?" It was a rhetorical question, but Loki nodded anyways. Fury then stood and retrieved the papers from the table and returned with a pen in hand. He held everything out to the still seated Loki. "If you're going to accept our proposal, we want it in writing."

With a hand that was shaking only a little, Loki took the papers and at a glance realized it was a contract, stating everything Fury had just explained. Apparently his official role within Shield was to be a consultant towards things of magical nature. At the bottom of the last page there was a blank spot, and he took the pen and signed his name. Looking over the runes that spelled out his title, he added 'Loki' in plain English as an afterthought. He handed both the pen and the contract over to the waiting Fury without making eye contact. He had one last question, but feared the answer. But it had to be asked, and now before he had time to torture himself over the possible answers.

"What will you do with the child after it is born?"

Fury didn't say anything at first, but then eventually said, "What do you mean?"

Loki felt his face grimace before he could stop it. "I assume you will put it in hiding somewhere. I was inquiring more to the nature it will be concealed," and if he would be allowed to see it, perhaps visit it under a different guise.

Again Fury took his time before responding. "The plan was for it to stay here."

At this Loki jerked to face the man who was now looking at him with a strange impression. "Here?"

"I'm not sure if you had the time to notice but this apartment comes with two bedrooms."

Loki knew his mouth was open, but he couldn't spare a thought to close it. He didn't dare allow himself to believe what he was hearing. "You-" but he couldn't get the words out. Thankfully Fury seemed to understand.

"We're not taking your kid away Loki. We're the good guys; we're not really in the baby stealing business."

Loki was silently very glad that he was already sitting as his body went numb with shock. He didn't notice Fury fold and pocket the contract he had signed, or that he had moved from beside him to the door. He faintly heard him welcome him to Shield and the sound of a door shutting but that barely registered. He sat in that armchair for a long time, one hand absently rubbing a spot on his stomach and relishing in the feeling of the life that lay beneath his fingers. He could keep this one. It would be his and no one was going to take it from him.

I know, its a small chapter, I promise they wont all be this size. I just really liked this ending point! Thank you to everyone who reviewed! exprecially to those who now want to 'Kick Odin in his Odinballs', ohmagod you guys are hilarious!

I have a question though for the readers! I've found that there seems to be different ways of spelling Loki's kids names. Sleipnir is ok, but I've seen Jorgumand, Jormungandr, Jormungand Fenris, Fenrir. Now as previously mentioned in the last chapter, I've already written a lot of this story, and now I'm worried I've been using the wrong (or less popular) names. My question is this, If I continue the story spelling their names Sleipnir, Jorgumand and Fenris, is everyone going to be ok with that? Please let me know!