Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, nor the Avengers.
Chapter 2 – Going Home
Jane and Thor did not stay long after Loki left, knowing they had to go see her father. As excited as Jane had been the previous night to see him, she was now feeling quite nervous. She had not seen or spoken with her father since disappearing to Asgard almost two years ago. She knew that Tony had gone to see him when the Avengers had returned to Earth and had explained everything to him, but that was one of the reasons she was nervous; Tony was not known to put people's minds at rest. With the help of a Quinjet the trip across the country took barely any time at all and they arrived well before lunch. The Quinjet not being your everyday vehicle drew the attention of everyone on the block as it landed smack in the middle of the street, there being nowhere else to land it. While not your everyday vehicle, Quinjets were very recognizable as something the Avengers used so a rather excited crowd gathered around, wondering which of Earth's heroes was going to step out. They were quite confused when four unknowns disembarked, confusion then growing to alarm when the crowd saw that they were armed, though it didn't last long for two more disembarked, both of them well known to these people.
"Enough." Jane said, and Sif, Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg hesitantly put away their weapons. "I thank you for your diligence in protecting us, but these are my neighbours, I grew up around most of them." As if to prove her right an old woman called Jane's name as she approached and immediately began chastising her for her long absence while at once fussing over her like a mother hen; clearly this woman had known Jane since she was a young girl.
"It's good to see you too, Mrs. Anderson." Jane said, happily embracing the woman.
"You have been away far too long, young lady!" She admonished. "Though you've been busy I see." She placed a hand on Jane's belly. Jane blushed though smiled all the same.
"Very busy, much more than this." She replied, moving Mrs. Anderson's hand a bit to where her child was kicking. "Mrs. Anderson I'd like you to meet my husband, Thor." Thor came forward and took Mrs. Anderson's hand in his, giving it a kiss. Jane smiled indulgently, knowing Thor did this for show – he knew full well after years of living on Earth that this was not a common custom any longer – but being unable to scowl at him given Mrs. Anderson giggled and murmured something about blushing like a school girl. "Mrs. Anderson took care of me when my dad was away while I was a child." She explained and Thor's eyes lit up with understanding and warmth, seeing that his wife's time in this old woman's care was fondly remembered. "And these are our friends, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three of Asgard." Fandral – never to be outdone by anyone when it concerned a lady – followed Thor's example and kissed Mrs. Anderson's hand, offering her a suave smile and wink.
"It is an honour to meet one so dear to our Queen." That drew Mrs. Anderson up short.
"Queen?!" That had apparently not been what she was expecting. Jane blushed and Thor tried not to laugh.
"Yes." She said shortly, though clearly Mrs. Anderson was waiting for an explanation. "You know of the mythology surrounding Thor." And indeed she did. Jane had spoken in detail with her old caretaker turned friend about it shortly after she had met Thor for the first time. "His father was King Odin, the Allfather. Well, that title went to Thor when Odin passed away almost two years ago. Then we got married and things are the same as on Earth in that sense, so yes...when I married Thor I became Queen of Asgard."
"Does this mean I'm expected to bow to you now?" An amused voice asked and Jane gasped, recognizing it instantly. Without any hesitation she launched herself at the man standing behind her and held on tightly.
"Daddy..." She murmured as if she was a little girl again, tears streaming down her face. Richard Foster wasn't faring much better and merely held his daughter tighter, though he was careful of her bulging belly; that had not been something he could miss. No one said a word as father and daughter held each other for a while; it had been almost two years and none would deny them this moment. After a little while though, Richard pulled away enough to greet the man he had just heard was now his son-in-law.
"Thor." He gave the tall blonde god - seeing Thor in all his Asgardian finery it was really the only way to describe him - a nod.
"Sir." He returned. While he might be King of Asgard, this was still his father-in-law and he'd be damned if he got on the man's bad side. The two had met each other before a couple times after Thor had come to live on Earth and in between his missions with the Avengers, but neither could say they knew each other well.
"You're taking care of her?" It was phrased as a question, though it really wasn't.
"Of course." He answered in all sincerity.
"Well…your tone of voice tells me I don't even need to ask if you're caring for my grandchild." He muttered. Jane pulled away from her father and looked up at him. "Come on, let's go inside." Bidding farewell to Mrs. Anderson and everyone else who had gathered, Jane, Thor and their friends – and guards – went inside Jane's childhood home.
"Erik!" Jane cried happily, seeing the man she'd known her whole life – Erik and Richard having become friends in university – but who had also become a good friend of hers as well as she'd grown.
"Hello Jane." He said, giving her a hug as well as the proper congratulations on her pregnancy.
"Erik." Thor then greeted, earning a less familiar, though no less enthusiastic, greeting. Jane made the introductions to Sif, Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg as they all settled around the living room after Richard made a pot of coffee at Thor's request; he had grown to love it, but it was not a drink they had on Asgard. The conversation flowed easily as Richard filled his daughter in on what had been happening with him since she'd left, followed by Jane doing the same.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." She said when her story was complete, though her hormones were now getting the better of her again as she teared up. "I'm sorry you didn't get to walk me down the aisle or even be there for our wedding-"
"Honey, it's ok." He assured her. "For all his joking, Tony explained things very well to me, I know you couldn't contact me."
"I could have come home though, with the others." Richard raised an eyebrow at his daughter.
"No you couldn't have." He said, his look and tone of voice acknowledging that neither the house she grew up in, nor even Earth was her home anymore.
"No. I couldn't have." She agreed quietly, reaching over and grasping Thor's hand.
"And I know that. I just hope that with the Bifrost rebuilt you won't be a stranger here. Especially as I'll soon have a grandchild to spoil." Jane laughed and dried her tears, nodding her head vigorously as she promised to visit often now that it was possible.
"While I will not argue with Jane visiting Earth after Thanos' defeat," Thor said, the two not having kept news of the Mad Titan's imminent arrival a secret. "I am hoping you will also agree to visit us in Asgard. Perhaps for the birth of our child in two months time? Erik and Darcy are of course welcome as well." Jane turned a near incredulous look on her husband, not having known he'd planned to invite her family, of which she counted both Erik and Darcy a part of.
"I thought humans weren't allowed on Asgard." She said and Thor shook his head.
"That is true only to the extent that that was my father's rule." He explained. "Asgard is not closed off to any of the races in the Nine Realms. That being said, we are not a tourist attraction." Tourism was a concept that was only common on Earth. The other eight realms were more like Asgard, at once stuck in the past, yet far more advanced than Earth could ever hope to be. Midgard had always been seen as the weakest of the Nine Realms, and although none on Earth had proof of the existence of the other worlds they knew there were beings beyond them out there – such as the Asgardians they worshipped as gods – and the ancient people of Earth accepted their place in the multiverse, knowing they could never reach the height of their gods. This was one of the reasons for Midgard's separation from the rest of the Nine Realms, why very few from Midgard ever left their world but those from Vanaheim or Alfheim travelled freely through the multiverse. Human evolution had seen to their further separation from the other realms to the point where Midgard barely resembled them anymore and many of the ideas and concepts on Earth were completely foreign to the other realms, including tourism. "The Bifrost will not be open to anyone, but we can certainly open it to our family."
"And Thanos' arrival has nothing to do with the timing of this invitation?" Jane asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I freely admit that having those we care for most, those who cannot defend themselves at least," Thor amended, thinking of the Avengers. "Within the protection of Asgard is an added bonus."
"One small problem with the safety part: Thanos will be coming to Asgard first." She replied pointedly. While they had not kept Thanos a secret, the Soul Stone he was after was another matter entirely.
"He will come, yes, but not first." Thor corrected. "Not even the Mad Titan is mad enough to take on the might of Asgard without as many Infinity Stones as he can get his hands on." It was a thin allusion to Odin's words that day that the Soul Stone was the most powerful of all the Infinity Stones and whether or not Jane believed her late father-in-law was right about this particular Stone's power, though she was inclined to believe him given it was Odin who said it, what mattered was if Thanos believed it, for if he did, then it would be as Thor said; he would not go up against the most powerful Infinity Stone without all the others backing him up.
"And even if that's not true, you will be there, which is reason enough for me to go." Richard said to his daughter.
"Besides it sounds like this Thanos will be coming to Earth anyways," Erik agreed. "And even with the Avengers we're not any safer here then on Asgard."
"He is correct, My Queen." Sif inputted. "Asgard might not be up to full strength as we once were, but even weakened as we are the armies of Asgard are a force which those of Midgard cannot hope to match." Jane wasn't so sure about that. Had not the World Security Council proven the might of Earth's weapons during the Battle of New York when they'd wiped out the Chitauri flagship with only one missile? Of course, she also knew that Sif was not referring to weapons alone, but living armies in close combat, and she could not deny that even with all their high-powered guns, Asgard would still claim a rather easy victory over Earth in such circumstances. Asgardian armour alone would protect them against all but the most powerful guns, the metal being something unique to Asgard, harvested from the realm itself where it had gained strength from the Soul Stone over the thousands of years that the stone had given strength to Asgard, and was stronger then even Vibranium. It was the same metal used to build the Bifrost and the palace; it's strength as an element being nearly indestructible, though not fully as Hela had proven.
"Alright, so it's not less safe." She admitted, not at all grudgingly. "I would love for you to come see Asgard." Her eyes were shining at the prospect of showing her father both her new home, and their life's work; he having been the one to introduce her to the concept of an Einstein-Rosen Bridge and feed her love of astrophysics. The rest of the day and well into the next was spent joyfully getting reacquainted with Jane's father. He had called into the university he was a professor at and took a personal day so he might spend the time with his daughter, for which she was quite pleased. The day after that, however, he did have to return to work and Jane and Thor had to return to Asgard; it was not a good idea for the Allfather to be away for too long, especially with Asgard still not up to full strength. Promising to return in a month to bring him, Erik and Darcy to the Realm Eternal, the Asgardians headed back to the Avengers facility to say goodbye to their friends, though they knew it wouldn't be for long with Thanos' arrival creeping up on them all too soon.
A/N - Bit of a short chapter, but I wanted the reunion with her dad to happen. Chapters get at least a bit longer after this!
Review please!