With the baby no longer preventing healing magic, Darcy was up on her feet by the next morning. Once it was clear that both Darcy and Astrid were healthy, Loki popped down to Midgard to pick up the worried grandparents. Knowing that Asgard would be a bit overwhelming to the mortal couple, he brought them directly into his bedroom where Darcy and Astrid had been staying.

There were tears and squeals and sloppy kisses and manly handshakes. It seemed the mortal ritual was not much different than the Asgardian one.

While Donna and Alan got to know their new granddaughter, Loki went to fetch his own parents. As they were to be in-laws, he felt they should become better acquainted. Unlike his wife, Odin had yet to even meet the mortals. While Frigga had insisted on coming down to Midgard for the baby shower, Odin had claimed that someone needed to remain in Asgard to protect the realm. As far as excuses went, that one was particularly flimsy in Loki's opinion. So, Odin would meet Darcy's parents today and he would do it with a smile even if Loki had to take control of the Allfather's body and force him to comply like a surly, one-eyed marionette. Loki didn't relish the thought of making an aggressive power play with his father while their relationship was still so tenuous, but this was important.

Searching for his parents, Loki found them deep in conversation with Hogun. The stoic warrior was the first to notice Loki's presence and the words froze on his tongue.

Odin turned to see what had captured Hogun's attention. "Ah, Loki. Is something the matter?"

Loki took a cautious step into the room. "Not at all. I hope I am not interrupting anything."

Hogun answered quickly, "Nothing of importance. Are your woman and daughter well?"

Loki nodded before directing his attention to his mother. "Darcy's parents are here. I would greatly appreciate if you were to go welcome them." He turned to his father, "If you both would go welcome them."

Odin's voice was strange. "So there are yet more mortals in Asgard?"

Mindful of the sudden tension, Hogun went to silently excuse himself, but Loki quickly shook his head and raised a hand to entreat the warrior to stay. Then Loki turned back to Odin and rallied his patience. "Yes. My betrothed is mortal. Her parents are mortal. And it should not matter that they are here now as they were going to attend the wedding anyway."

Odin's rigid expression never faltered. "I am unsure just what Heimdall's duties are these days. It seems that you have suddenly appointed yourself gatekeeper. Who will you bring here tomorrow?"

Loki immediately decided that every damn member of S.H.I.E.L.D. was going to be invited to the wedding just to annoy his father.

Before Loki could answer, Frigga cut in, "Odin! We must not quarrel. I will go greet Donna Lewis and Alan Lewis. You may join me if you wish."

"He is going with you." Loki's voice allowed no argument.

Odin's jaw clenched almost imperceptibly. "I think you forget that I am still king, my son."

To everyone's surprise, Loki smiled. It wasn't a pleasant smile. Shivers danced down Frigga's spine at the combination of her son's upturned lips and the cold look in his eyes. His words were like poisoned honey. "How could I forget, Father? But you will still go." He stared hard into Odin's eyes and sent his next words directly into his mind, "Do not force my hand here, Father. You remain king because I allow you to do so. You would do well to remember that Thor is ready to take the throne now. Go meet Darcy's parents."

Odin's body tensed before he released his breath on a sigh. Loki expected some form of anger or resistance, but Odin simply turned to his wife and said, "Come, Frigga. We must welcome the mortals to Asgard."

Frigga threw a confused glance between the two men before answering with a hesitant nod. She took Odin's arm and allowed him to guide her from the room. At the doorway, Odin turned and gave Loki an inscrutable look. Though it seemed absurd, Loki thought it almost looked like pride. Before he could figure out what that meant, his parents were gone.

"It is strange to see you so happy."

Loki turned to look at Hogun as the warrior continued, "Not that you are particularly pleased at the moment. But since you returned here with your woman, you have been truly joyful. I had not realized just how much of an act you had been performing before Thor's banishment. You wore false smiles every day." Hogun sounded vaguely repentant, "I feel as if I owe you an apology though I do not know why."

Loki studied the man before him, "You owe me nothing. You did not see because I did not want you to see. Let us move beyond the past." He stepped closer and hesitated a moment before reaching out to Hogun and wrapping his hands around the shorter man's biceps. "I believe it is time for the both of us to let go of what is gone and embrace the future that is enfolding before our eyes."

This wasn't the first time Loki had referred to Hogun's past. He (and perhaps Odin and Heimdall) were the only ones privy to what had befallen the silent man. Loki had read the man's mind long ago when the skill was still new and required more and better test subjects to master it. It was Loki's first taste of the guilt that could stem from the use of his unique powers. He never ventured back into Hogun's mind, but the experience had made a severe impact. What Loki had seen in the warrior's mind had forced him to respect Hogun more than he had thought possible – he was a man who had lost literally everything but refused to break. And Loki had always respected resilience. Still, there were reasons why Loki would never ask Hogun to hold Astrid. He would never be so cruel. Not when the phantom of childish giggles and puddles of crimson spread beneath tiny bodies still haunted the silent warrior's dreams. But Loki had decided long ago that he would be there for this man, doing whatever he deemed necessary to reinforce the knowledge that Hogun was no longer alone. After all, Loki was intimately familiar with the fact that some families are not born; they are made. And Hogun was family.

As Hogun reached up to clasp Loki's arms and return the embrace, the corners of the silent warrior's lips quirked up into a small smile. Wordlessly, Loki returned the expression with a grin of his own.

Odin had been perfectly civil to Darcy's parents, though that might have had more to do with their borderline reverent behavior than Loki's threats. The mortals had been obviously and a bit humorously awestruck at the Allfather's presence. While they had already met Frigga, the Queen had a gentle air to her that put those around her at ease. And Thor and the other warriors they had met had been boisterous but polite. Loki himself, while never completely dropping the aura of danger that surrounded him, was damned charming when he wanted to be and had worked hard to make them comfortable in his presence. So with those examples, the poor mortals were unprepared for the moment when Odin swept into the room in an explosion of gold and power, leaving awe and reverence in his wake.

Odin seemed especially pleased when Donna asked if she should kneel. Frigga assured her that wasn't necessary, but that simple, honest offer had been a nice icebreaker. Odin welcomed them to Asgard with grand words and a lukewarm smile, while Frigga jumped in to welcome them to the family. Odin's jaw clenched at that pronouncement, as if involuntarily objecting to the upgrade in the mortals' status, but he let it go when Astrid decided to let her presence be known with an impressive howl. After that, softly murmured words and teary smiles dissolved any lingering tension in the room.

Frigga proposed a tour of Asgard for the Lewis family, but Darcy quickly bowed out with an excuse about naptimes and feeding. Odin waved his wife and the mortals away, claiming to desire a moment alone with Darcy and his granddaughter. Darcy knew her face clearly reflected her dislike of that idea, but before she could voice any complaints, Frigga ushered her parents out into the hallway and the door closed behind them with an ominous click.

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room. Darcy tried her best to preserve that silence by not making eye contact, but that only increased the awkwardness level around her. Moving surprisingly quietly for an old man in ostentatious armor, Odin crossed the distance between them and silently took Astrid from Darcy's arms. Her fingers twitched as if to steal the child back, but she let her hands fall to her sides and finally looked directly at the face of the man before her.

His gaze was intent on the little body in his arms and his expression was far more gentle than she had anticipated. Without taking his eye off the precious bundle, he addressed Darcy, causing her to jump at the sudden noise.

"You are good for my son."

Darcy blinked, trying to interpret that. She had a bit of difficulty because it sounded rather like a compliment and Odin would never say anything of the sort to her. Still, she figured she ought to respond.

Her voice was hesitant. "Thank you?" It was a question, not a statement.

He finally glanced up and pinned her with a look that made her want to step back and cross her arms over her chest defensively, but she held her ground and tipped her chin up to better meet his gaze.

He added, "That does not mean I believe you are good for Asgard."

That was much more like it. Insults and the like were more suited to their particular relationship.

Darcy tried not to smile, but she had a feeling she was failing. "Well, the way I see it, what's good for Loki is good for Asgard. And fatherhood will hopefully calm any of those lingering homicidal impulses."

Odin acknowledged the words with a nod, before cocking his head to the side. "I cannot tell if you love him because he is a killer or despite it."

Darcy suddenly had the uneasy feeling that this was some sort of fucked up Odin-style heart-to-heart. Treading lightly, she replied, "I don't see why it has to be an either/or situation."

He remained silent, but the look he gave her seemed to demand clarification, so she continued. "I love him. That's not going to change if he does something horrible. I may love myself a little bit less for loving someone who can do something like that. But…I mean, don't you still love him? It's obvious how pissed you were at him when he decided to go to the dark side, but you still love him, right?"

"He is my son. And in that particular instance, I loved him despite what he had done."

Darcy let that marinate in her mind for a moment. "Well, that's just not very fair. If you love someone, then it should be completely. It shouldn't be in spite of anything. That seems to taint it a bit. Granted, I'm pretty hormonal at the moment, so I might be getting a bit mushy on you." She took another moment to think it over. "But I guess it is kinda fair. Loki loves you in spite of the fact that you were an enormous, lying jackass to him. So I guess you can love him in spite of the fact that he didn't obey your every whim."

Odin gave her a curious smile. "You enjoy being insolent to me."

"It's not insolence, it's honesty. Though I can see how you could get those confused."

Astrid let out a quiet whimper and Odin adjusted her in his arms before shifting his attention back to Darcy. "Did Loki seduce you immediately, or take his time?"

Awkward. So awkward. And she thought her dad was good at the uncomfortable questions. But she had just promised the man honesty, so she replied, "I think we accidentally seduced each other."

He raised a brow, "Do explain."

"Well, I approached him first. And I was a bit tipsy so I think I inadvertently hit on him. It was just that he got the shitty end of the stick and he still saved Thor. I felt like instead of ostracizing him, we should reward that kind of positive behavior. Not that he's a dog or anything, but someone needed to acknowledge that it was a good thing that he didn't enslave the Earth and kill all my friends and co-workers. Then he stole my panties, followed by my bra, and he just kept popping up out of nowhere for a while. We would chat and he tried my guacamole. I think we were friends." Darcy bit her lip remembering what came next, "Then something happened which he's never really explained to me. I assume it involved his very uncool pastime of reading my mind and my very embarrassing habit of picturing him naked. So he got all stalkery and shoved me up against a door…and…yeah. It was pretty hot. But I still take half the credit for that. I think he only went after me once he knew I was perving on him."

Well that was about as honest as Darcy could get. Odin didn't appear to be uncomfortable with the overshare. "So you were friends before you were lovers?"

Darcy nodded. "Granted, we were only friends for a relatively short amount of time. Especially to someone who's immortal. But yeah. And then I think we were friends who were lovers. And then we both found ourselves in over our heads before we even realized we were drowning. Or at least that's what it was like for me."

"Knowing Loki as I do, I assure you that he must have felt similarly overwhelmed. Love is power. You have more power over my son than anyone in any realm, save perhaps this little girl." Odin inclined his head toward Astrid.

Darcy let one of Loki's mischievous grins slide onto her own face. "Well then, it's probably in your best interest to play nice with me. I'm not sure if you've noticed what a badass my man is, but staying on my good side would probably work out best for you if I've got so much power over him."

Odin studied her face with an air of quiet amusement. "Are you threatening me?"

Darcy had the irrational urge to giggle. "Nope. I was being honest again. You really do have a problem with telling the difference."

Odin didn't respond. He simply adjusted Astrid in his arms again so that he could pull a hand free and stroke the back of one finger down the soft pink skin of her cheek.

Feeling heartened by the conversation, Darcy decided to push her luck. "You like me, don't you?"

Odin never lifted his gaze, but she could see the upward quirk of his lips. "Now what ever would make you say such an irrational thing?"

Darcy took a step closer and then reached out to cover the hand that was still making its way up and down her baby's face. The man before her seemed to freeze almost imperceptibly as she tightened her grip on his fingers.

"You held my hand."

Odin finally lifted his head to meet her eyes. "Pardon?"

"When I was giving birth. It's all a bit fuzzy. There was a buttload of pain and yelling and I really thought I was going to die. But I remember that you held my hand."

"I was monitoring your heartbeat through your wrist. Nothing more."

Darcy smiled widely, "Liar." Before he could speak, she continued, "And I'm not being insolent, I'm being honest. You're a liar. Maybe even to yourself. You like me."

Odin searched her face. "Perhaps I like the effect you have had on Loki."

She snorted indelicately. "What effect? Loki is Loki and no one can change that. Though I do try to follow that rewarding-the-good-behavior system I was telling you about."

Odin gave her a patronizing look. "With you, he has accepted himself. Even his true nature as a Frost Giant seems to no longer cause him such distress. That is your influence."

"Maybe, maybe not. He needed time to readjust his entire outlook on who he is and was and would be. Because someone didn't tell him certain very important things about himself. Being brought up thinking that Frost Giants were evil bastards and then finding out you are one really helps to redefine the meaning of self-loathing. But there's nothing wrong with being Jötunn. He's really beautiful when he's blue. It's almost magical or something."

Instead of looking angered at her accusations, Odin smiled wryly. "And you still ask what effect you have had on him?"

Darcy smiled back. "Doesn't change the fact that you like me. Admit it. You don't get enough insolence in your life."

Odin's smile shifted into something more genuine. "Insolence? I thought you were being honest."

Now Darcy did actually giggle. "Maybe I'm both. You still like me. Come on, say it. Say 'Darcy, I like you.' You know that I know that you like me. Man up and admit it."

Odin didn't answer, but she took his amused expression as confirmation. She kept her grip on his hand so that he couldn't pull away, but he never even tried.

Yeah, he totally liked her.

She wondered how he'd react if she started calling him 'Dad'. Hmm…she was going to have to make sure Tony had the camera phone ready when she tried that one out. The Allfather's facial expression was sure to be priceless.

A/N: I suck. I'm sorry. I will finish this, I promise! There's not too much more now. Thanks for all the encouraging reviews and messages. I'll do my very best to update quickly. Sorry for the delay!