She stood in the hallway, keys paused in the first lock on her apartment door. All the energy had drained out of her arms and she leaned forward against the door. It had been a trying day. After Thor had left her cubicle, she had rebooted her computer and attempted to look in the database for Loki's file but found that it was classified restricted level 4 and she wasn't cleared to see it, she did know, however, that the higher the level, the more serious the information so she had shut the computer down and left for home. When she had made her way into the apartment, she dropped her briefcase beside the door, walked to the island in the kitchen, sat down and put her head down on her forearms. She had wanted to stay with Loki, had wanted to talk to him, spend an enjoyable evening outside the confines of her bachelorette pad but what he'd told her had been too much to process. She was beginning to think that maybe this entire assignment wasn't right for her. It was one thing to deal with an assassination attempt on a government official, run crowd control, or accompany diplomats and their families on outings like she had in D.C., it was entirely another to work in an office dealing with superhumans. There was always the chance of the unpredictable in D.C. but here there was a big chance of the unimaginable and Sarah had always considered herself grounded in reality...even if the events of the previous summer had forced her to reconcile herself to the existence of the unknown, even ghosts had been a stretch for her when she was little. She was a follower of her dad's philosophy, if you couldn't see it, hear it or touch it, it wasn't real...though she'd suspected he'd possibly made it up to help her conquer her fear of the dark...and she still slept with a small nightlight in her bedroom. Mr. Whiskers curled himself around her ankles, purring loudly, the dance of the supreme can opening, Sarah called it, and ne'er would he stop until she gave him what he wanted. She stood up and took a can of cat food out of the cupboard while he jumped up on the kitchen counter, taking his usual position, paw on her arm as she waited for the can opener to do its job. When the phone rang, she jumped, set the can on the counter and grabbed the phone while the cat shoved his face into the can and started to eat.
"Hello?" She said, then closed her eyes as she heard her mother's voice, at this point when she was having a crisis of faith, not who she needed to talk to, nevertheless, "Sarah, your sister called and said to call you. Is everything ok?" She paused, she could hear the low mumble of the radio in her mother's kitchen tuned in to NPR and the rattle of a pan with the hiss of running water and suddenly she very much wanted to be back home, to hell with her mother's nagging and worrying, "I'm ok, Mom." "Just, ok?" Her mother replied, and Sarah heard her dad's voice, distant, probably in the living room, "Annie, who you talking to?" Her mother called out that it was Sarah on the phone, her dad replying with a question as to when she was going to come home to visit. "Tell him maybe next weekend, ma." Sarah said into the phone, wondering if her mother had heard her. "Oh that would be great, Sarah. So you didn't tell me why you're just ok." Sarah looked to the counter where the cat had pushed the food tin to the edge of the counter and she managed just in time to catch it before it headed for the floor, and she picked up his food dish and scraped the remaining contents of the can into it, setting it back on the floor. "The job is a little more than I thought it was going to be, the work isn't hard but the office personnel is hard to get used to." "Well haven't you made some friends at least?" Her mother asked. "Yeah, there's a girl in the cubicle next to me, Lily Hoffman, she's nice..we eat lunch together each day. We're planning on a shopping trip this coming weekend...hey I guess that's a plus, the money is good right?" She heard her mother sigh, "If you hate the job it's a chore going to work every day..money isn't everything. Why don't you look for something closer to home?" There it was, "Mom there isn't much call for the Secret Service in Rutland." "So join the local police force here, I'm sure your qualifications would get you right in." Her mother replied, "Mmm no, mom...listen I'm going to get some supper, I'll call you later, I promise I'll try to come up next weekend ok?" Her mother sighed loudly, "Alright, call us, miss you, honey." "Miss you too mom." She said and meant it. That night, she lay in bed listening to the sounds of the street outside her window, the sirens, the shouts of the occasional person passing by, the trucks. Maybe when she visited her parents next weekend, she would talk to the Rutland police department to see if they had any openings.
Sarah had immediately been ushered into Mr. Fury's office when she arrived at work the next morning and at first she thought her little foray into the lower levels had been found out but if it had, Fury didn't mention it. "Miss Miller, yourself and Miss Hoffman will be accompanying two of our high operatives on a short trip to Burlington, Vermont," Upon hearing the location Sarah smiled and for the first time since she'd come to S.H.I.E.L.D., Fury smiled back at her, "It's your home state, it'll be good to see it I'm sure, but that's not why I picked you, it was a request from one of the operatives that you be assigned to this mission. We have been informed of an individual living, or rather hiding in Burlington with...special abilities and we'd like to recruit this individual before other.." Fury handed her a folder, "..interested parties have the chance." She opened the folder and glanced at the contents noting a picture of an older looking man alongside a picture of a house. "You'll be leaving within the hour. Good luck."
She walked into the hangar on the rooftop with Lily where a large jet sat, fuel line still attached from its underbelly to a fuel tank in the hangar floor. An agent waved to them and they walked around to the rear of the jet and up the walkway into its interior. "I'm terrified of flying." Lily whispered to Sarah as she gripped her arm suddenly, "Well why didn't you say that to Fury. He probably would have found someone else." Sarah said as she sat down in one of the seats lining the side walls. "And miss the opportunity for a mission? I'll face my fear head on, I haven't been on a mission in a year." As Sarah was strapping herself into her seat, she heard Thor's voice outside reverberate in the hangar, "Come on, we've made them wait long enough." Thor's huge form silhouetted in the walkway as he walked up the ramp followed by Dr. Banner who gave a small smile and a nod to Sarah and Lily. Thor and Dr. Banner sat down and began to strap in, Thor having a moment of trouble as he stretched the adjustable straps to their limits, Sarah snickered quietly at his distress and Thor looked up at her, realization dawning on the source of her mirth and smiled at her, "I have the same problem with clothes, they do not stretch as I would like them to, more often they rip." Here Thor flexed his pectorals for emphasis which made Sarah and Lily both break out in laughter. There was a clink and a metallic clang as the fuel line was detached from the belly of the jet which whined to life, the back wash coming up the ramp and tousling their hair as if reassuring them this was going to be a fun ride. "Sarah glanced towards the cockpit at the pilot momentarily and was startled by the sound of footsteps running up the walkway. She turned her head to see Loki sliding into a seat beside Thor and her heart began to race. "Brother, I was sure you weren't going to make it." "I was talking with Fury and you know how that usually goes." Loki grumbled. Sarah made a concerted effort not to look up at Loki though she could feel him staring at her, could see his stiffened posture from her peripheral vision. She bent her head with Lily, who was looking at her tablet, trying to distract her from the fact that they were ready to take off. The walkway rose and thumped into place, the pilot said something into his microphone and the clear response "Cleared for takeoff" in reply. The entire platform of the hangar began to rise as the roof retracted to the floor and suddenly the were rising
above the Manhattan skyline.
As the jet started to speed over the landscape, leaving the tall buildings behind, Sarah ventured to look up but Loki was turned to Thor talking in whispered tones, seemingly agitated and she strained to hear what he was saying but the sound was lost in the high pitched whine of the engines, "You didn't tell me she was coming with us, that's all there is to it." Loki said, and Thor shrugged his massive shoulders, "You did not ask me who was coming," When Loki opened his mouth to protest, Thor held up a hand, "And if you wanted her to know the truth, maybe there will be an opportunity on this mission." Loki turned and looked across the aisle at Sarah who quickly lowered her gaze back to her tablet, "It won't prove anything, nothing I show her will convince her and I'm not sure I want to now." He did though, he wanted to grab her by the arm and whisk her away to Asgard, maybe frighten her just a little for the things she'd said. "It would be no different than the green menace," Dr. Banner looked across Thor, "Really, all the time?" "Or Stark or the super soldier. Superhero feats of strength but no evidence of what we really are." Thor looked at Loki, "Why must she believe what we are brother? Why isn't it enough that she believe in what we can do?" Loki looked away, silent for the moment. "It's true, Loki, you want her to know what you are because you are trying to impress her, but you've only served to terrify her. These are human beings, the scope of their beliefs are limited at best. They tend only to believe what they see" Loki turned to glare at his brother and made to grumble a reply at him but none came to him. He turned away and kept his gaze trained at the floor of the jet for the remainder of the trip.
They landed at Burlington International Airport a little over an hour later where a black van was waiting on the tarmack for them. As they drove away from the jet, Thor, who'd set in the front seat, turned towards the back to talk to them. "We're headed to a place called the Billings Library, it's on a college campus according to Director Fury. There we will find Mr. Dowd. He works as a librarian there." Sarah heard a derisive snort from behind her seat, it was Loki "A librarian, truly? Fury has sent us to recruit a librarian? What makes him so special, does Fury need him to rearrange the library at his townhouse?", "Did you not read the folder I gave you in the jet?" Thor asked him. Sarah glanced back at Loki who shook his head, a meek look upon his face, "I did," Dr. Banner spoke up, "Craig Dowd can manipulate matter on a molecular level, in other words, he can change a liquid to a solid or a gas and vice versa, he also has a perimeter, he can't affect anything or anyone beyond a certain distance but how far is currently unknown. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1962, emigrated here to the states in 1983 and graduated college with a doctorate in library sciences in 1989. He moved to Burlington in 2000 and became head librarian at Billings that same year" By the time he'd finished, they were all staring at him, "What, Thor said read it so I read it." "Well done,"Thor bellowed, "Now the Director doesn't want any of us to engage a potential hostile lest he feel threatened. Ms. Hoffman and Ms. Miller will approach him first and we will be nearby through the library, we will need to keep a low profile." This time it was Banner's turn to laugh, "Forgive me but you guys haven't looked in the mirror lately have you? Even in street clothes you stand out like sore thumbs. The only normal looking ones here are Sarah and Lily," He nodded to them. "Why in the world is he sending two agents to engage a person like Mr. Dowd?" Loki spoke up, "The only defense they have are their guns and their brains. If he really is hostile, they wouldn't stand much of a chance." "Hey," Lily cried, "We're still agents, we've got a better chance than most. I've seen my fair share of fights." Loki rolled his eyes but Thor interrupted them. "Fury's orders were specific. The agents present a nonthreatening front and we are there for back up." The van had rolled to a stop in the parking lot of the library and they all got out, surveying the Romanesque structure before them. Thor adjusted the strap on his wrist communicator as the Doctor handed out the rest of them to the group. " Myself, Loki and the doctor will go in one by one and locate Mr. Dowd. Sarah, you and Lily will follow and we will lead you to him." Thor said. A couple of girls with an armful of books walked by staring at the group, giggling as they passed by. "We're already starting to attract attention, come on."
Thor had gestured down a long corridor of books where an older gentleman stood. He was dressed in a brown suit, his coat opened to reveal a white buttondown shirt, a cane draped over his arm. His hair was shoulder length and his face bore the look of a man worn from a hard life, his dark brown eyes belying the fact in their brightness. Sarah walked up to him with Lily a step behind, "Excuse us, Mr. Dowd?" Sarah said, and the man turned to her, "Can I help ye, gels?" He asked in a brogue dulled by his years in the states. "Yes you can, Mr. Dowd. We'd like a word with you in private if we may." Mr. Dowd gave a puzzled smile and chuckled, "I'm no in trouble am I? You're not wi' the police?" Sarah shook her head, "No we've come to talk to you about a specialty that you have. Our organization would like to meet with you at our offices." Mr. Dowd nodded his head slowly and Sarah cast a glance through the stacks to her right, locking eyes with Loki two aisles away. "Indeed, I'll be happy to talk with you gels but we canna talk here, follow me this way." He took his cane from his arm and limped away down the aisle. Sarah saw a metal door with a red EXIT sign above it at the end of the rows of books and looked behind her for any of the rest of the team as Mr. Dowd opened the door and gestured for them to walk through. He turned to them as the door closed and suddenly Sarah felt like she was standing on a hill of sand, she turned to Lily as she let out a shriek and realized they were sinking into the pavement. She struggled to regain her footing but only managed to drop to her right knee when the sinking feeling stopped and pain shot through her feet up to her shins. She looked up at Mr. Dowd, mouth open wide as he closed his hand and she realized the ground had solidified around her legs. She looked at Lily who had fallen forward, her right forearm into the ground, eyes wide with fear. "Now ye'll tell me how you found me and why Professor Xavier is still looking for me." Mr. Dowd said, his face grim.
Loki trotted into the main foyer of the library looking around frantically for Thor and the Doctor. "They disappeared, where the hell are you guys?" He hissed into the communicator on his wrist. Thor came up to him from behind, "Did you see them when they walked away?" Loki shook his head, " I tried to follow them but I didn't see where they went, I was blocked by an old woman and I didn't think it would be a good idea to shove her down given the circumstances." Thor looked around and said, "You go outside and check around the exterior, I will find the Doctor and we will search in here." Loki took the stairs to the entrance in large bounds and straight armed the doors open, looking to his left and right as he flew down the outside steps then veered to his right around the building perimeter.
"What do ye mean you've never heard of the Professor? No one else knows about me. Xavier and his school in Westchester have been trying to contact me for the past five years. Don't lie to me!" Mr. Dowd shouted as Sarah felt herself sink further into the ground and she struggled to find a solid handhold. "Please stop it, Mr. Dowd, we aren't with this school you're talking about, we're from another agency entirely, we've come here with an invitation to New York city to.." "Shut it," Mr. Dowd growled, "Ye can stay here until doomsday or tell me the truth."
Loki scanned the grounds of the library. He was beginning to tremble with anger. He rounded the far end of the library and started to run until he spotted an alleyway where he skidded to a halt. At the end of the alleyway, he could see Mr. Dowd with his back turned to him but beyond that, he could see Sarah and Lily who seemed to be nearly prone to the ground before him. Before he'd gotten a couple feet down the alley, Sarah met his eyes and gave an imperceptible shake of her head and suddenly Mr. Dowd was staring behind her, "Who the hell are you?" from the corner of her eye, she could see Loki behind her but he was coming up behind Mr. Dowd. A hologram? He could project his own image? "The sound of the gravel beneath his boot caused Mr. Dowd to whirl around and face Loki only feet away from him. "Watch the perimeter!" Sarah cried, she had sunk into the ground up to her ribcage and the pressure on her chest was incredible. Lily tried frantically to reach around with her good hand for her side holster. Loki felt the ground beneath him starting to give away and he leaped backwards landing on his back on the pavement. "We're outside around the back of the building," he shouted into the communicator as Mr. Dowd backed away from him towards the girls. "Back off or I'll sink them to the bedrock, do ye ken?" Sarah looked past Mr. Dowd to Loki whose skin color was starting to darken to a cold blue hue, as he stood up and stared at Mr. Dowd, she could see the glow of his eyes which had turned blood red and she looked away, terrified. Mr Dowd put his hand up and was knocked off balance as a large blade of ice flew past his head to crash against the wall of the building behind him, another sliver of ice struck him in the side and he dropped to one knee, quickly recovering before Loki could take another step. Suddenly the door they'd come through in the first place opened wide and Thor burst through the opening, grabbing Mr. Dowd in a strong embrace. "Stop this struggle right now, we mean you no harm!" Thor shouted but Mr. Dowd was pushing him off balance and when Thor hit the wall of the library against his back, it was like sinking into feathers as he kept falling through the wall until his arms were securely stuck in place in the wall and he was trapped inside the library where people were starting to gather and stare. Loki snarled at Mr. Dowd as he walked towards him, "My brother will free himself and you will pay the price for it." Mr. Dowd smiled and waved his hand towards the left wall of the alley which started to melt and crumble. "I think not, you and your group should be on your way and leaving me to my work." A thud above their heads made Loki look up and smile as a roar split the late morning air of the campus. The Hulk landed on the ground between Loki and Mr. Dowd and grabbed him by the shoulders with a roar. Loki rushed to Sarah and Lily, dropping to his knees in time to duck the hammer that was headed for Thor's outstretched hand. Loki pulled desperately at the rubble surrounding Sarah, "Thor please hurry!" He cried as Thor stepped from the gaping hole that had been the library wall. Thor struck the ground with Molijnr and Sarah felt the shockwave and the sudden release as the pavement around her turned to powder. The Hulk still held a dumbstruck Mr. Dowd by the shoulders, growling whenever he would struggle to free himself. As Loki and Thor helped the girls to stand up, Mr Dowd shouted, "Okay, I'll talk to you whatever you want, just get this beastie to put me down."
Sarah sat down roughly against the wall of the library and put her head in her hands. Thor and Loki stood talking to Mr. Dowd a short distance away. Dr. Banner came over to her and sat down next to her. He'd run to the van for a fresh shirt. "Pretty impressive Doctor." She said, too tired and sore to say much more. Dr. Banner gave a shy smile, "You can try it next time then."
"Our organization is called S.H.I.E.L.D. and we've nothing to do with this professor you speak of. I have heard Director Fury mention him but that's all." Thor said, arms crossed in irritation. Mr. Dowd looked down at the ground then at the hole in the library wall where people were standing, taking pictures with their cell phones. "I dinna mean to cause any trouble, I was afraid. Can you understand? I've met a few of Xavier's mutants and I don't want anything to do wi' them. What makes your organization any different?" Thor looked at Loki who said, "It's easy, we're the good guys." Banner coughed at that and Loki cast him a searing look. "You can come with us or you can come down on your own, all we ask is that you come." Mr. Dowd shoved his hands in his pockets. "What's in it for me? Is it all you want to do, talk to me? Or are you planning on dissecting me?" Dr. Banner had stood up and now walked over to them. "We would probably run a few harmless tests to see why you can do what you do." Mr. Dowd shook his head, but Banner continued, "Come on, aren't you the least bit curious yourself?" Mr. Dowd looked up at the Doctor. "Well how are you getting back to New York yourselves?" "We have a jet," Sarah called to him.
Mr. Dowd tightened the straps of his seat slowly as he stared around the interior of the jet. Loki slid into place beside Sarah and started to strap in as the engine whined slowly upward. She could feel the heat from his body against hers and she started to say something but stopped herself. She reached down into her duffle and pulled out her tablet and glanced over at Lily who had put her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. As the plane rose in the air, she could see Loki looking at the tablet out of the corner of her eye and she turned and held the tablet out to him but he merely looked at it, put his head back and closed his eyes as well.
The jolt of the landing in New York woke her from a light doze and she undid the straps quickly, ready to be back home again. Loki had already stepped off the jet and was walking with Thor and Mr. Dowd towards the interior door of the hangar. She started to walk a little more quickly to try and catch up with them but decided against it as the door closed after them.
When Sarah and Lily finally reached Fury's office, the others were inside waiting for them. Fury nodded at them as they stepped inside. Mr. Dowd was absent, having been escorted away by two agents, preparing him for his own private debriefing with Director Fury. "I've spoken with the agents we had waiting in Burlington, the library will be taken care of. Thank you for managing not to take the building down entirely." Fury said, hands behind his back. Banner looked down at the floor. "Despite having forced Mr. Dowd to use his power in desperation and making for a whole slew of videos on Youtube," Sarah chanced a glance at Loki knowing she would see him smiling which he was, "the team did reasonably well, no one got killed, no one got injured, and we got our man. I would like to see individual reports on this from my two agents." He looked at Sarah and Lily, " You're free to go."
Sarah and Lily stepped out into the hall. "I'm going to be sore for days," Lily groaned, hands behind her back as she stretched. Sarah nodded, "Me too." The door to Fury's office slid open again and Thor, Loki and Banner stepped out and started down the hallway past them but Loki's step slowed until he was standing still, Thor turned to look at him but Banner took his arm and kept walking until Thor turned and continued down the hallway. Sarah looked at Lily, "I'll catch up with you later." She said and trotted down the hall to where Loki was standing. When she caught up to him, he turned to her. "Reasonably well, Fury isn't much for giving compliments is he," She said, feeling she'd been trying to be a bit too cheerful afterwards. "No, he fears the team might begin to feel too good about itself, become too confident." Loki replied, staring down at the floor. Suddenly he began to walk and Sarah trotted to keep up with the pace of his long strides. "I'm going to be all day tomorrow writing that damn report." She said, wincing at the small talk she was trying to make but wanting him to stop and acknowledge her in some way. He kept walking, silent until they were at the elevator to the lower levels and he pushed the call button. "I wonder why they don't make you guys write them too." She pondered. Loki stared at her until she felt compelled to run down the hall the way they'd come, back to her cubicle and hide under her desk. The elevator door slid open but Loki didn't step inside and it slid shut again. Sarah clasped her hands behind her back, hesitated, then said, "Um, you missed the.." "What is it you want to say to me?" Loki interrupted her, a tremor in his voice. Sarah looked down at the floor then up at Loki. "I don't know alright? Jesus, I can't think of a way to start." Loki said nothing, turned and punched the call button again. The doors to the elevator slid open and he stepped in. Sarah watched the door slide shut behind him and heard the hum as the elevator started on its journey. Her throat stung as she held back tears of frustration. She walked to the panel, her hand hovered over the call button for a moment but she turned and walked slowly back down the hallway to her office.
Tony watched Loki walk past him, head down as he trotted up the stairs to the training platform. He put down the pad he had in his hands and followed him. Loki was in the uniform room stripped to the waist when Tony stepped inside. "Hey you guys didn't tell me you were back. How did vacation go? Did you guys make it to the beach at all?" Loki said nothing but grabbed the robe of a gi from a hook and started to tie it. Tony shrugged, "I thought you'd have fun with the girls along for company but I guess not, huh." Loki hesitated, "You all came back safe too, heard you even put on a show.." Loki looked up, eyes blazing, "Leave me alone metal man." Tony raised an eyebrow and stepped back feigning surprise, "Finally a nickname I can call my own, I'm going to tell Banner this one, ya know I was going to ask you to join us at Stark tower tomorrow night and this is the thanks I get." Loki pushed the button on the panel beside the entrance to the training room. "I've no wish to join your little soiree. Excuse me." He stepped inside the training room. As the door slid shut, Tony shouted, "Hey it's not good to go to bed angry at each other, remember that.." He watched Loki walk away from the door and kneel in the center of the room. "Little soiree, my ass.." Tony grumbled as he hopped back down the stairs.
Loki let the water of the shower course over him, hard and as hot as he could stand it. His muscles screamed with relief and the ache slowly drained from his arms, his back, his legs. He had worked out for nearly an hour, every time his thoughts strayed to Sarah, he had pushed himself a little harder but try as he might, he couldn't force her from his mind. He made himself stay in the training room till he was sure she'd gone home for the evening, well after her shift had ended. He feared he would be compelled to seek her out and when he stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel from the rack, he felt the need stronger now than ever. As he was fastening his jeans, he heard the door to the shower room slide open and he looked up to see Thor walking towards him, a towel over his shoulder. "Tony said you'd be here." Thor set the towel down and drew off his shirt, Loki shook his head, "Tony was right, enjoy your shower." Loki started for the door, "Talk to her brother, heal this rift between the two of you." Loki looked back at Thor, "I wasn't the one who made it." and walked through the door to the hallway.
Sarah had made a change of plans that weekend, calling her mother and telling her she would be home this Saturday instead of the next but she greatly regretted driving the distance instead of taking the train which would have been faster. All she could manage to think about was Loki and she knew she had to stop. She felt that she had permanently damaged her budding relationship with him and that moment in the hallway had confirmed it. She smacked her hand against the steering wheel, urging more speed out of her old Kia Sorrento.
When she finally pulled into the dooryard of her parents house on the outskirts of Rutland, she was exhausted but elated to be home. When she walked into the living room her father stood up from his easy chair and hugged her in a tight embrace. "Sarah Bean glad you're home," Sarah Bean had been his nickname for her since she'd been born and her father had mentioned that she curled up just like a kidney bean in her crib at night, the name stuck affectionately. Sarah and her father walked into the kitchen where her mother was busy finishing supper. "I was hoping you'd make it in time to eat. I wish you could have convince Liz to come with you." Sarah shrugged, she'd begged her to come with her, she'd wanted to have someone to talk to on the way north but Lizzie had made other plans. "Maybe next time. What are we having tonight?"
Sarah relaxed into the chaise lounge on the porch, full of roast beef and potatoes, corn and rhubarb pie, in her hand a beer she was nursing. Her mother and father sat in patio chairs on either side of her. The sounds here in the country were a soothing balm to the noise of the city. Peepers in the wetlands across the road serenaded them and Sarah thought it was a bit late in the season for them. She took a sip of beer and grimaced. "Why do you drink it if you don't like the taste, Bean?" Her father asked an amused smile on his face, he was a giant of a man, six foot two with dark blue eyes and dark brown hair, barrel chested, weighing 280 and not a pound under. "I drink it to get drunk, dad. Not for the taste, trust me, I need this." her father's smile faded a bit, "That's not good. Don't want it to become a habit." Sarah shook her head, "It's not going to...I hope." Her mother glanced over at her, "Don't kid like that Sarah. What's bothering you?" Sarah readjusted herself in the chaise and ran her finger around the rim of the bottle, "It's nothing I can really talk about...no It's something I don't want to talk about." Her mother persisted though, "Is it work related? Did you get in trouble or something?" Sarah shook her head, "It's about someone mom." regretting it as she said it but secretly wanting a comforting word even if it would change nothing. Her mother sat up straight, "Is it a man? Are you seeing someone in New York?" Sarah laughed, "No mom, not seeing anyone." Her mother sighed, "Don't you want to have kids and a husband? I would love grandbabies." Sarah looked at her mother, "I think you've got that in reverse, husband first, grandbabies second and you have Daniel." Her mother sighed and sat back in her chair, "What about a granddaughter? A little girl I can dress up in frilly outfits and buy dolls and crazy hair ties for." Sarah shrugged, "Don't know what to tell you. I'll get back to you on that."
Sarah lay in her old bed listening to the silence save for the hum of the fan. She was seized by a sudden urge to call the office, to get someone to bring Loki to the phone even if he told her simply to shut up and leave him alone. She decided she would have to try and talk to him that Monday and take what he had to say to her like the strong woman she was, she would have no peace until she had done so, of that she was sure.