"She should awaken within the hour," Eir told him as she straightened and gave a final pat to Kara's shoulder. "If she feels more than muscle ache, send for me immediately. Otherwise, she is free to leave whenever she is ready, but do encourage her to have a hot bath and then a nap before attempting any strenuous activity." Loki nodded, refraining from making a facetious comment. "And love-making is considered strenuous activity; I do not care how relieved you are for her safety or the fact that you are newly wed, am I understood?"

He sighed and grimaced as he felt a slight flush rise in his cheeks. "Yes, my lady. You are understood." Eir nodded and hurried out of the room to attend to the remaining patients still recovering from the battle against the Chitauri. He picked up Kara's hand again. This time he felt a corresponding muscle tension in it and her fingers curled unconsciously around his instead of remaining limp in his grasp. He sighed again, this time in relief. That bit of movement, more than Eir's words, reassured him that his lady was well.

His eyes flew open long minutes later at the sound of a raspy whisper asking "How long?" Kara was looking up at him, her eyes drooping slightly. He smiled, glad that he was able to make out the tired expression clearly. He'd made good use of her time unconscious to train his senses to hear and see again normally.

"Over a day, love. The good news is that Eir was able to heal you completely. Once the soreness passes, you'll be fully recovered."

"I heard my spine snap, Loki…didn't I?"

"Yes, but you'll be fine. You just need a bit more rest." He frowned. "You keep regaining consciousness far sooner than expected. That's terribly contrary of you."

Her chuckle was a welcome sound. "You're just figuring out that I'm contrary? Damn. I thought you were a lot more perceptive than that."

"Promise me something, Kara?" he asked.

"What?"

"The next time I tell you to run; you will do so and not hesitate." She sighed and looked away. "Truly, love. I will not ask you to leave me if I think you can do anything. I respect your abilities, you know that. If I tell you to run it is because I know something about our enemy that you do not and I do not have time to share that knowledge with you. In those cases, run away and get help; Thor if possible, Banner or Stark if we are on Midgard and he is not."

"Okay, but if I run, I'm going to be releasing your abilities when I do."

"Perfect. But still get help. If I'm asking my amazing lady to flee, we will need all the assistance we can get, even if my magic is restored."

Kara nodded. "I promise."

"Thank you, Kara."

… …

Kara groaned as she slipped into the steaming water of the bath. The heat felt so good on her aching muscles. The water sloshed slightly as Loki stepped in and moved toward her. "I don't suppose you're going to rub my back?" she asked hopefully.

His rich chuckle made her shiver. "If that's what you'd like." His lean, long-fingered hands swept down her spine before began pressing in and working the muscles of her lumbar region carefully. "There's still a good bit of bruising, but it will fade by tomorrow."

She winced as those strong fingers moved to a tender area. "Hmm, maybe we should put off the back rub until then; I think some of the bruises are pretty deep."

He left off the impromptu massage and gathered her close. "After you've soaked a while, I have some liniment to apply…gently, of course." She could hear the smile in Loki's voice. His lips brushed her shoulder before moving on to her jaw and she sighed in pleasure. "Then, it's nap time for you."

"No lovemaking time?"

"No, unfortunately; Eir insisted we could not, else she would have to leave you asleep another day."

"Damn. I missed wedding preparations and fussing, and now I'm missing out on my honeymoon. This really stinks, you know."

Loki shifted her in his arms, cradling her to his hard chest. "I'm not pleased either. But once we've dealt with testing the increases to your gifts and with my service to my half-brother's realm, perhaps we can take some time for ourselves before Midgard becomes embroiled in some crisis we must help avert." He frowned thoughtfully. "Surely your honorary brother has connections at some suitable location for us to enjoy ourselves?"

She shrugged. "I know Tony has a mansion in Malibu that he'd probably be willing to loan us. The problem is going to be convincing S.H.I.E.L.D. to let us slip off of their radar long enough to have any privacy. They don't particularly trust me, and yet they trust me a thousand times more than they'll be willing to trust you."

"This is going to be a damned long century."

Kara had to laugh at his disgruntled expression. "I'm sorry," she managed when he glared at her. "But you did kind of bring their attitude on yourself. Their mistrust of me is totally unwarranted."

"I know it. I suppose we'll have to depend on their trust of…damn, they don't particularly trust Stark either. Who do they trust?"

"You know," she said thoughtfully. "I can't think of anyone they trust, at least not in the Avengers. From what I've observed, they trust Maria Hill, but we don't trust her. She's a suck up and toady and quite frankly her psychological profile is on the pathological side. I think they trust Raj Nassar, at least more than they trust Nick. I'm not sure why, though. Since we all resigned and pretty much blackmailed them into accepting our resignations, they're not even going to trust Hawk or Nat."

"That still surprises me. Barton was fully committed to his organization."

She snorted. "This will surprise you even more. It was Steve who told them they had to choose between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers and that they had to resign from one or the other." Loki chuckled and shook his head. "What?" she asked.

"Actually, that does not surprise me. Captain Rogers is all about loyalty to one's fellow warriors. He is the ultimate soldier, is he not?"

"Uh…oh. Yes, you're right. Hmm. Since we may have a lot of time on our hands, maybe you should study psychology. You've got a knack for it."

"I'd rather further study your technology. I think much of it can be adapted to work with magic, and be much improved by the process. Not that I could share such things with Midgard as a whole, but it could be beneficial for your…our friends." He smiled as she tried to hold back a yawn. "I think my lovely wife is ready for that nap."

"Any prohibition against taking that nap with me, and holding me?"

"No, love, none. In fact, I must insist upon it."

"Good."

… …

"Nick, calm down," Raj said as he watched S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director pace around his new marble desktop.

"How the fuck can I calm down? We've had three serious threats in as many days and we still only have one third of our strike team available. What the hell are they doing in Asgard? It's been damn near five days!"

"Nick…"

"And I have the Council on my ass, as you damn well know. What the hell am I supposed to tell them? Sorry, we just don't know when we can expect Iron Man, Captain America, Hawkeye and Hellbringer back? That would go over real well with those chicken-hawk mother fuckers."

Raj bit back a grin. "So they are…most of them." He let the grin emerge when Nick dropped down in his leather executive chair behind the red marble of the repaired desk. "Still angry with Loki, I see."

Fury's one visible eyebrow lifted. "Were we even discussing that crazy son of a bitch?"

"The Avengers did leave at his behest. Though actually, it was a comment on your desktop. Choosing red over the more soothing blue is indicative of repressed anger and frustration."

"Choosing red means the blue was on backorder and I didn't feel like waiting three months to replace the damn thing. The other options were black - and I'd lose half of my folders against it, or green - and I sure as hell wasn't going there."

Eyeing the stack of black folders that sat on one edge of the desk, Raj nodded. "I agree, and the green would have been a bit much, considering. Well, the red is an intimidating color, which is likely more appropriate to the atmosphere of this office."

"Whatever. Just keep that insane bastard out of my office; the last thing I need is a matching set," he grumbled, nodding to the large glass jar that held a collection of blue marble fragments.

"He's not clinically insane, you know." He shrugged at Nick's glare. "Moreover, the Avengers left willingly to help him, and Thor, of course. Who's to say they will not return with both Asgardians in tow?"

"You are just a fucking ray of sunshine today, aren't you, doctor?"

"That's better than a foul-mouthed pessimist. And yes, I know the Council pushed you to your limit today. It's what we do best. It's when you surpass your limits that you do your finest work, Nick. You know that."

"The last time I was pushed past my limit I had to sacrifice one of my own. I won't forget that."

"It was not a unanimous vote."

"I respectfully suggest that the decision to launch a nuke, particularly at a civilian target, become subject to a fucking unanimous vote. We don't need panicked politicians making military level decisions simply because they are in the majority."

"True."

… …

"She's been sleeping normally," Loki told his parents as he held his door open to them. "The bruising is still severe, but otherwise she seems well."

"That is glad news, my son," Frigga said as she moved to embrace him. Loki stiffened for a moment before relaxing and returning his mother's hug. "How do you feel?"

"Weak. No, not physically," he clarified at her worried frown. "I still automatically reach for that which is no longer there. It…" he trailed off, giving Odin a hard look. "It frustrates me," he finished, knowing his voice was sullen, but unable to keep the tone out of it.

"It frightens you," Odin corrected. "And it should. You are vulnerable in a way you have not been since you were a child. I would it could be otherwise, Loki." The All-Father did not reach out for him, though by his expression, Loki thought he might be holding back the urge to do so. "I know you detest this, but there was little better I could do for you considering the extent of the damage you did."

"Of course, it's always my fault." His bitterness all but overwhelmed his good sense. Folding his arms across his chest he forced himself to think of the woman still abed in the adjoining room. "No matter; I have what I need most…who I need most. I will manage. Assuming we even survive it."

"That's looking unlikely," Kara spat from behind them.

He turned, frowning at her angry tone. "Love, you should still be asleep."

"Yeah, I know, I'm contrary. Sorry, been that way too long to change much now." She was dressed an outfit his mother had gifted her with that resembled Sif's normal attire. "Now, we're going to talk."

"Kara, perhaps…"

"Perhaps you should let me finish," she snapped. His jaw dropped slightly; he could feel the force of her anger but he did not feel she was consciously augmenting and projecting it. "What the hell is wrong with the Æsir?" she asked, turning to face his parents. "You sit on your high and mighty asses, making judgments, acting like you're all magnanimous and merciful, when in reality you've passed a death sentence. You," she all but snarled, pointing an accusing finger at Odin. "You claim to love Loki, but either you are a freaking idiot who refuses to think things out, or you're a liar. I'd like to know which it is."

Oh, gods. Loki stepped in front of her as she moved closer to the All-Father. "Kara, stop. He could not have known…"

"It's his damned job to know, Loki. You can't be the All-Anything and let things like this slip." Loki groaned. Odin was not going to be able to let Kara's disrespect go unpunished this time. "It's not about disrespect," she told him, still able to read him like a book. "I'm pissed. We both almost died and we're not even off of Asgard yet." She sidestepped him and planted herself in front of the All-Father, feet set firmly apart, her hands on her hips. "There are magic-users on Midgard. Maybe not your level, or Loki's, but I'm betting that half and half bastard wasn't on your level either. And I'll bet there are magic users in the other seven realms. I am not going to be able to release Loki's power to him fast enough to account for that kind of attack. We won't last a year, let alone a hundred and ten of them."

Odin was going to swat her like an annoying insect, of that Loki had no doubt. He turned to the old man, hopeless, but determined to intervene in any way he could. "Father, she does not mean to accuse you; she is simply frightened, please…"

"Loki," Odin interrupted, his voice tired…and…gentle? "Your wife is right. I did overlook this possibility and you were both nearly killed. I have accepted the anger of your brother and of your friends. I will accept Kara's as well, because it is well deserved. I have failed you both."

He stared at Odin in shock. Never, in all of his years, had he seen his father accept full blame for anything. His mouth twitched as he felt Kara's seething anger recede. A glance showed that she was every bit as shocked. "So," she finally said, with just a touch of belligerence in her voice. "What are you going to do about it?"

"We are working on amulets for the two of you to protect you from any initial magical attack. They will likely fail once they've done so as it is not possible to imbue an artifact with ongoing protection from magic. What it will do is give you enough time to react and to release Loki's power to him so that he may counter the threat directly."

"And if we're not together at the time?" she demanded

"You do not even need to be in the same realm for you to return his power to him. It is still his power, you simply hold the key. If you are attacked by magic, turn that key, he will feel his magic return and know you are in danger and will be able to come to your aid. If he is apart from you and attacked, his amulet will call to yours so you know to release his power and then he can fight back once you do so."

"When will they be ready?" Kara asked.

"Not for a few days, this is very delicate work and not something that has been attempted before."

Loki frowned as his lady huffed in annoyance. "We can't stay here another few days. I already can't block anyone's feelings. And judging from everyone's expressions I'm projecting without meaning to. I'd hate to think of what might happen if someone seriously pisses me off and I can't control my fire. We really need to get to Midgard so I can test that out." She looked at Frigga. "Any luck in finding someone who can help me learn to shield again?"

"Yes, dear. And that same person is a magic user of respectable power so you can leave for Midgard in the morning and be assured of protection until the amulets are ready," his mother said soothingly. "Jötunheim will have to wait, as he cannot tolerate the temperatures there, even using his magic to augment his tolerance."

"He?" she asked.

Loki stroked her cheek as he drew her close. "Prince Nyvorlas has agreed to assist you in this. Apparently the Æsir empaths know little if anything about shielding, which is why you haven't met any of them." He turned to frown at his parents. "I'm surprised he agreed to assist with protecting us magically, though."

Odin chuckled. "It was a good excuse for him to see Midgard again. Under the terms of the accords he has not been able to travel there since he was but a boy. He seems eager for the experience."

"Huh. How are we going to explain an elf?" Kara muttered.

"That is not your problem. Haakun will be accompanying you as well. He will speak as my representative to any who question your presence and to your officials to ensure that our will as regards to Loki's sentencing is carried out."

Loki sighed but supposed it could be worse. There were a number of councilors and nobles who might have been chosen for the task that had actively disliked him even before the events of the past year. "Are the rest of the Avengers still here?" he asked.

"Yes, and they've asked if you will join them for the evening meal. A small dining room is ready for you if you are both feeling up to it."

He looked to Kara who nodded. "Yes, we are. And we'd best see them before my honorary brother-in-law loses patience. I'd hate to see what trouble he could ferment were that to come about."

… …

Hawkeye looked down from his perch above the balcony of the small dining room. Unlike their assigned rooms, this balcony overlooked the city. The buildings close to the palace echoed its grandeur though in a smaller size. It reminded him of the mansions of the truly rich compared to what had been dubbed 'McMansions' that were a favorite of those that aspired to obscene wealth. Same kind of detail packaged conveniently for the masses. At the edges of the city he could see more modest buildings, yet nothing looked poor. Not like on Earth, at any rate. "Where the hell are the people?" he muttered.

"What?" He looked back into the room as Stark spoke.

"All of those buildings and no people walking between them; or riding, or anything. It's like nobody's home."

Stark came out onto the balcony and stared out over the city for a minute before looking up at him. "Beats me." He turned back towards the room. "Hey, Fandral. Why does the city look so empty?"

Clint had to lean down from his perch to see the dandified Æsir. Fandral was frowning. "I know not," he said before moving to join them. "Hmm. Odd, indeed. Though it is late." He shrugged. "It has been an eventful week. Perhaps everyone is staying closer to home because of it."

"Fearful," Hogun said as he ghosted up behind them. Stark and Fandral flinched. Hawkeye grinned; he was the only one who had seen the man coming. "The Jötunn contingent headed out."

"Ah, that would explain it," Fandral agreed. "Perhaps we should go back in, the meal is being set up so Loki and Kara should be here shortly."

Stark followed the two Æsir back into the room. Hawkeye looked out over the city once more. In the distance he watched a small group emerge from the wall to continue down the Bifröst. Squinting, he could make out the disparity in height and coloring between members of the group. A small portion of them were definitely much taller…and blue. Nodding at the confirmation of Hogun's guess, he flipped down onto the balcony and headed in to the large banquet table just in time to see the door open and Thor usher in his brother and new sister-in-law. "About time you let the woman out of bed," he said to Loki, smirking when the god snapped a glare his way.

"Barton," he began, sounding aggravated.

"Ease up, I'm teasing. We do that to each other, you know."

"We, who?"

Clint shrugged. "The team. That's what Stark's nicknames are about, or mostly. It's all stress relief; kind of a safety valve so we don't take shit out on each other."

Loki blinked, looking thoughtful. "So you don't mind that he calls you by the name of a fictional elf?"

Actually, that did rankle. He shrugged. "I may not like it, but I'm not going to get pissed about it. It's his thing. He doesn't like me building nests in high places around the tower, but he doesn't take them down. Same thing, more or less."

"I suppose you think I should remove the programming loop then?"

"Oh, fuck, no. That's too damn funny." He decided to score points with Kara. "Besides, it's mischief, right? That's your thing. It doesn't hurt anyone, so what the hell. Just don't mess with anything serious, like weapons and stuff, and we'd all be cool with that."

"I never said I was cool with that," Stark grumped.

"Oh, come on, Tony," Steve interjected. "Think team for a change."

"Yeah, yeah, I think team. I gave the team my damn tower, didn't I?"

Clint snuck a glance at Kara. She looked stressed, but a smile was beginning to grow. "Yeah, you did, and thanks for the obstacle course, by the way," he added.

"You are welcome, Legolas. Glad somebody here appreciates my hospitality."

"I appreciated your hospitality, Anthony," Loki drawled, apparently using Stark's full name because of the Legolas comment…that was cool. "I left the building in better shape this time, did I not?"

Kara snickered outright as Tony's mouth dropped open. The billionaire looked stunned for a moment and then smiled. "Yes, yes you did. And you also refrained from throwing me out my own window. I'm totally grateful for that."

"Okay, guys. That's enough. Anyone who doesn't know you would think you were being sarcastic and that you don't like each other," Kara told them.

Choking back a laugh, Clint held up a hand. "Hey, just because we're a team, doesn't mean we have to like each other."

"No, just so long as you appreciate each other and trust each other." She frowned. "Okay, trust each other within reason."

It was Loki's turn to laugh. "I'm glad you added that last, my love. I'd be disappointed indeed if they fully trusted me."

She glowered at him. "Yeah, I know. You're contrary that way."

… …

Thor frowned. Watching the conversation go back and forth was giving him a headache. But it seemed that his brother and the Avengers were in good spirits with each other. Tony Stark walked up to Loki and draped an arm across the taller man's shoulders. "Seriously, Lokes; the place wasn't the same with you gone. It was getting damned boring. I'll be glad to have you back."

Ah, so they were indeed jesting with each other. Good. "That will still be a while, my friends," he told them. "We will be taking you all to Midgard so Kara may practice using her fire with her newfound strength. Then she and my brother must away to Jötunheim until the ice fields there are repaired. That may take some time."

Loki nodded agreement. "I have not seen the damage, but even if it is less than I suspect, it will still be a week at the least."

Tony shrugged. "That's cool. It'll give me a chance to do some redecorating. At least, I assume you'll want to change your suite again, Kara?"

His new sister frowned. "I imagine Loki will be more comfortable if it's predominately green again."

"What do you mean, again?" Loki asked.

"I kind of destroyed the entire interior of the bedroom after you left. I was…upset."

He sighed and pulled her into his arms. "So long as you did not harm yourself, I suppose it was best to vent your frustration."

She shrugged. "Well, the good news is that we can have normal furniture. The metal didn't hold up after all."

Thor stared at her as Loki laughed. "Now that is my amazing lady," his brother said. "We can make choices before we leave Midgard. I assume you have internet access near where Thor met his Jane?" Loki asked the group.

Tony Stark spoke up. "Yes. I'll have some Stark Industries stuff flown in for you. My phones and tablets have satellite connections, so they'll work anywhere on the planet."

"Then that is settled. I see our meal has been set up. Shall we eat?"

"Indeed," Thor roused himself to say. "Loki, I will not be accompanying you to Midgard, father will need to rest and I have agreed to preside over court on his behalf for a short time. Volstagg will stay here, as will Fandral. They will be working with the guard complement that will join you on your trip to Jötunheim. Hogun has volunteered to return to Midgard with you, and Sif has offered to make the trip as well if you are comfortable with that."

Loki frowned for a moment as he stared at Sif. She, for her part, returned his gaze equably. "Her company is welcome." His mouth quirked. "Assuming she has been able to replace her sword. I'm afraid it did not survive an encounter with a Svartálfar axe when I sought to rescue you."

"When you succeeded in rescuing Thor," Sif corrected. "It was lost to a worthy cause and the All-Father saw fit to replace it with a much finer weapon."

Thor grinned as Loki and Sif looked at each other without their normal animosity. More progress; it was good. "There," he said. "You will have two admirable warriors at your back, as well as a magic user while your lady reacquaints herself with control of her gifts."

"Hey, and us. Don't forget us," Tony Stark reminded him.

"Never, my friend. Knowing the Avengers help to protect my brother and his bride puts my mind at ease more than anything else, save being there myself."

… …

Loki's mouth twitched as he combed his hair back. Kara was still pouting. They'd returned to their chambers after enjoying…and he admitted to himself that he had enjoyed it…dinner and conversation with the Avengers, the Warriors Three, Sif and Thor. His lovely lady was feeling much better and had proceeded to use every weapon at her disposal to ignore Lady Eir's orders as regards lovemaking. He still wasn't certain how he'd managed to resist the temptation she presented, but he had and was now dealing with a very disgruntled wife. "How much longer are you going to pout at me?" he finally asked.

"Until you feel bad for not making love with me," she informed him.

"Then you ought to have stopped before we fell asleep. I guarantee you; I felt badly about the decision even when I made it."

"But…"

"But, your full recovery is more important than the pleasure we could have had together." Her heartfelt sigh brought his smile out in full. "Tony has promised he will make arrangements for us to have a private room somewhere close to this desert. We'll make up for it then, I swear." She groaned and leaned back against his chest as he stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Have I ever mentioned that I'm not a particularly patient person?" she asked.

"No, I don't believe so."

"Oops, my bad."

He laughed and released all but one hand and tugged her towards the door. "Come along, everyone is waiting on us."

"We could let them wait a little while longer and…"

"No. We're late as it is." His heart melted as her face fell. "I am sorry, love."

"I know."

… …

Nyvorlas stared at the door as though the intensity of his glare would bring forth the missing couple. Really, it was well past mid-morning and Loki and his bride had still not arrived. He wondered if the entire trip was going to be spent waiting on them. If so, he was going to be perpetually annoyed. Just as he was about to ask Thor what was keeping them, the door finally opened and the couple emerged, each carrying a small pack. Loki was arguing with his bride, oh that boded well. "Kara, it isn't seemly for you to be carrying it," the dark haired prince
complained. "Everyone will think poorly of me."

"Well, too bad. I will think poorly of me if I can't carry my own damn stuff," she retorted. Loki heaved a long-suffering sigh. "Oh, give me a break. Anyone who really knows you will know it's all my doing and the people who don't; well, they already think poorly of you."

"You have a point," Loki admitted, though sourly. He turned and frowned at the assembled group. "Ah, we're late…as I told you."

"Well, they can thank you that we're not later still," Kara said with a shrug before she looked past her husband. "Good morning everyone, sorry we're late. I dawdled," she said with a sunny smile.

Unbelievable. The smile covered an annoyance that pounded against his brain. Kara and Loki were the ones who were late and Kara was annoyed with them? He narrowed his eyes, wondering if a trip to see modern Midgard would be worth dealing with this woman. "You've dawdled for more than an hour," he noted.

The woman's eyes widened. "Are we really that late?" She actually felt surprised. "Damn. I thought it was maybe a quarter hour or thereabouts. I am so sorry." Again, the emotion he received was sincere. She grinned and glanced at Loki. "Well, I guess almost dying the other day messed with my time sense. Either that or it's Loki's fault for tempting me to dawdle more than I thought."

"I was not the one doing the tempting, Kara. Do not mislead them."

"Humph, if you hadn't spent so much time resisting me…"

"Then we would have been even later as you've already pointed out. Give it up, love. This one is on you."

Nyvorlas chuckled as the woman gave a disgruntled huff of breath. "Fine," she said. "But you still owe me some private time." She snickered as Loki rolled his eyes. "Anyway, we are finally here – and Tony, no snarky comments or I'll smack you. So, let's get going." She turned to Thor. "How are we traveling?"

"Haakun will have charge of the tesseract," Odin's heir said, referring, Nyvorlas thought, to the Cosmic Cube. "You shall all need to be physically connected to either it or in a chain to the person who is, so stow your weapons and belongings and remove any hand coverings." Thor waited as those wearing gauntlets removed them. The one known as Iron Man did something that caused his armor to retract and fold itself up into a small case with a handle. Once everyone was prepared, Haakun and the one called Steve Rogers each grasped and end of the device holding the cube and the rest of them assembled in a chain hand to hand beginning with Haakun and Roger's free hands. "Good journey, my friends," Thor told them. Haakun turned the handle of the device he held and reality shifted in an almost blinding glare of blue light.

… …

Author's Notes: Sorry folks, life got in the way of writing all week. Hopefully I'll have more time this week and can get the next chapter up by sometime next Saturday. Thank you for your patience and support! No smexy in this chapter, but I hope it was worth the wait.