He was on his knees, he had been meditating for the last three hours. He'd awakened in the holding cell, on the floor, the glaring lights from the high ceiling casting harsh shadows on the floor. With no way to tell the time, he had no idea how long he'd been out, where he was though he was surely at S.H.I.E.L.D. The only thing he was sure of as he sent his mind out to her, was that Grace was alive, hurting, but alive. He needed to see her before Thor came to take him to Asgard, to tell her how sorry he was, that he should have listened to her. They should have returned home to the school. He wanted to thank Kurt for the many nights he'd sat and talked with him, the numberless games of chess they'd played, the advice he'd given. Logan for the chance to prove himself able to do more than just take up a room in the mansion. Ororo for her fierce defense when Fury would have sent his entire compliment of agents to drag him back to Manhattan. He wanted to see them again, the mansion, his students, his bed.

He opened his eyes when he heard a small beep in the silence of the cell. "Brother, I would speak with you."

Loki sighed wearily as the cell door slid open and Thor walked in.

"Must I leave so soon?" he stood up waiting for Thor to take him by the arm and lead him through the door.

"I only want to speak to you. It has not been determined what shall happen to you as of yet."

Loki stared at the floor, "I expected to be in Asgard by now."

Thor put his hand on Loki's shoulder, "Fury spoke with Miss Munroe. What happens will depend on..." Loki felt a twinge of empathy as Thor struggled to maintain his composure, "Sarah."

"Why did she lie to us, brother? Can you tell me?"

Loki shook his head, "I cannot tell you what I do not know. Her mind is closed to me as Fury's is. Those pills she takes clouds her thoughts. It is better not to know anyway. Perhaps it is recompense for your own misdeeds."

Thor had covered his face with one hand, "I did not want to do what Fury asked of me but he said it was the only way to keep you safe and away from the city, then in the course of time, I fell in love with her. Forgive me brother."

"What was there to do? It is what it is, and Fury has played us all for fools."

Thor stood back from Loki, "What is it you most wish for?"

"To go home."

"To Asgard?"

"To the school."

They were silent, then, "Will you return to Asgard to stay, Thor?"

"I have thought of it. I may in time make amends to Jane but it shall be a long laborious road."

Loki looked about the empty room, "I must make peace with myself," He knelt back down on the floor, hands open on his legs.

"I will leave you to rest. I will come and see you if I am made privy to any more information."

He had fallen into a light doze when the quick beep jerked him awake. He raised his head and realized he was extremely thirsty. The door to the cell slid open.

Sarah walked over and knelt in front of him, staring into his icy blue green eyes.

"You are a brave woman to have come here alone."

Sarah shrugged, "I have a tazer in my jacket pocket. I'm not stupid."

He glared at her but said nothing more.

"I talked to Grace." Sarah watched Loki's reaction, "She's alright. You know when she saw I was going to fire on you, she stepped in front of you."

Loki was stunned, "You did not mean to shoot her?"

"No I meant to shoot you, I knew it wouldn't kill you, but I was hoping to slow you down until my backup arrived. She thought she was saving your life."

"I must see her, please Sarah, before I go. Could you arrange that?"

Sarah sat down on the floor, knees to her chest, arms wrapped tight around them.

"Did Thor come and talk to you?"

Loki nodded, "He told me of Fury's deceit. Why does everyone do what that one-eyed bastard orders them to do?"

"Why would you obey Odin? Because he is the leader, people obey their leader."

"And people also rebel when they determine that their leader has failed them."

Loki clasped his hands in his lap, "Thor says he is returning to Asgard. Are you going to ask him to stay?"

"Do you think he would?"

"I have not the slightest idea. He spoke of making amends to Jane."

Sarah shifted at the mention of Jane's name, "That was really rough. They nearly had a knock down drag out fight the night he told her about he and I. We had agreed that I wouldn't be there when he broke the news in case she went for me. I said he had brass balls to face her alone. We moved out that next day, got a place in the city."

"Logan taught me a saying when I became interested in Grace, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, It would seem he was right."

Sarah sighed and rested her forehead on her knees, "We were so damn dumb weren't we?"

Loki sat down on the floor beside her, his legs crossed, "No, we were not dumb. We were impulsive, reckless, in love."

"Do you hate me now?" Sarah peered at him.

Loki took a long minute to answer, "I do not think I could ever hate you. I am angry with you but much more than that, I pity you."

"I don't need it." She murmured, "Do you love her?"

"Yes."

"Good because she really loves you." She dropped her knees to the side, planting one hand on the floor, "Was it easy to fall out of love with me?"

"For a time I was beside myself because I could not accept that I loved two women, but the more I saw you gravitating to Thor and the more time I spent with her made it impossible to deny where my heart had finally turned. No Sarah, it was not easy."

He heard her sniff, and realized she had been crying. He looked over at her.

"I don't suppose it makes up for anything now but I'm sorry for what I've done."

Loki found he couldn't answer her, was unable to reassure her, "Will you still go to California?"

"Yeah, my flight leaves tonight." She grunted as she stood back up, "I think I'm getting too old for this stuff."

Loki stood with her, "Sarah, I beg you, ask them to let me see Grace."

"Sure, Loki. I have to go." Even though it was strict policy to maintain a safe distance with hostiles, she put her hand to his cheek, "I'm sorry."

He watched the cell door slide closed behind her, returning to his knees, needing to meditate to center himself again, his emotions in turmoil. He took a deep breath, then another, as his heartbeat began to ease.

He had stretched out on the floor some time later, sleep overtaking him. The hand at his shoulder was unexpected and he took a sharp breath inward as he rose from the floor and looked up to see Thor standing over him. "Come brother," Thor said, "It is time."

The journey down the corridor to the elevator only served to mount his panic as he saw Fury and two agents waiting there beside the door. As he stepped onto the elevator behind them, he had a brief feeling of peace, of seeing Asgard yet again, the palace, his mother. He watched the numbers climb from the sub-levels upwards until they stopped at the main floor and stepped out into an empty corridor. Fury walked with long purposeful strides to a door, stopping as it slid open before him. They followed him inside, Thor, Loki and the agents. There was a large long black table with a number of black chairs around it.

"Sit," Fury gestured to them as he looked at the mirrored wall behind him.

One of the mirrored panels opened and in walked Ororo and Logan followed by Grace. Loki was out of the chair before the agents could react but Fury held up his hand to them.

He wrapped his arms around her in a tight squeeze, felt the lump of something soft beneath the back of her shirt, "Ow! Oh Loki not so tight."

"Forgive me, my love." He pulled out a chair for her, "Sit, please," He took her arm guiding her to the seat and sitting beside her, his hand never leaving her arm.

"Okay," Fury's voice boomed in the interior of the meeting room, "We have a lot to cover and I would like to get out of here before suppertime so let's get started shall we?