A/N: Sorry there's not much Thor in this one. He'll come into the next few a little more. I wanted to focus on Loki and Darcy a little more.

Enjoy!

Jane walked to the place where her security detail would pick her up. It was normal. They had arranged it so that they would come and get her, and take her to the base so that even she didn't know where it was. It was kind of freaky, but in a really cool way. She had her own team of scientists that would gather information, and she worked alongside Dr. Selvig to make sense of the data gathered.

She was glad that she had this job. It definitely beat scraping by, trying to get enough money put together for buying new equipment, and having enough left over for food and rent. Her paycheck had jumped from virtually nothing to at least 6 figures. She would've been perfectly happy with 5, but who was she to complain? Now all she needed was her man, and she was all set.

But last night she'd learned that her man was now a child.

Damn it, Loki, why'd you have to go off the deep end? Couldn't you forgive Thor for his arrogance? He's different now, and he was trying to make it up to you…

Then it struck her that the brothers were not like humans in that regard. One did not simply wipe out a millennium of wrongs overnight, or with a simple apology. Maybe Loki was a little justified in his rage, but it didn't give him permission to kill innocent people, like those in New York. Or Coulson. A new thought struck her then.

If Loki was back on earth, SHIELD would not be happy if they found that she'd offered him a place to stay.

Oh, God, what a world of trouble she'd be in if they found out…

She took a deep breath, and resolved to not let anything slip.

Darcy faced a bit of a dilemma, herself. She wasn't quite sure how to deal with Thor in his child-like state. Loki, however seemed to have a handle on the situation. Thor listened to his brother without question. So, really, the mortal girl was babysitting Loki. An interesting occupation, most certainly. Thor was content with a pile of Legos in the corner, happily building and tearing down miniature fortresses. Which left Loki and Darcy to awkward silence, and equally awkward attempts at conversation.

"So, why did you get mad at him in the first place?" Darcy asked suddenly. Loki looked puzzled for a moment.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"No. I've already put the majority of it behind me, and there's nothing to be gained by discussing it with you." Loki said, a hint of irritation coloring his tone. Darcy huffed in response.

"Okay, so can you tell me anything about the spell? What do you think will get rid of it?" she prodded. Loki became thoughtful.

"It's not what I think will end the spell, it's what I know will end the spell." Loki said darkly.

"You know how to break it?" Darcy whispered, shocked. Loki nodded once.

"Indeed I do. After much thought, I have stumbled upon it." Darcy blinked in confusion.

"Then why haven't you done anything about it?" Loki smiled.

"Wouldn't you agree that he's rather sweet in this form?" he said smoothly. Darcy felt like he was lying, but there was also a note of sincerity in his voice, which was misleading. She reasoned back and forth; was he lying, or wasn't he? She couldn't tell, so, she let the subject go. Loki watched her, smiling. "Something troubles you?"

"I…I don't know. You're a real troll, you know that?" His eyebrows knit in confusion.

"Troll? I'm afraid I don't follow…" Darcy laughed.

"Nevermind." After a moment, she spoke again. "So, do you have kids?" Loki did his best to remain expressionless, but the mortal girl seemed far too perceptive to miss the pained look in his eyes.

"N…"

"You do. Don't try to lie to me." Darcy smirked. Loki chuckled slightly.

"Four. Are you satisfied?" Obviously not. Darcy pounced on this information.

"What are their names?" Loki smiled. Her curiosity was charming, but he didn't want to give in to that as he had when a certain spy set out to interrogate him. Apparently he had no choice. Her willingness to listen and ask questions worked better than any truth serum might have.

"Sleipnir, Fenrir, and Jormagundar are my sons, and Hela is my daughter." He thought for a moment before continuing. "But they were all taken from me. I'm a monster, and they, by extension, must also be monsters. Or at least that was Odin's reasoning, I suppose. Why do you ask?"

"You seem to be really good with kids."

"I'll admit, I do love my children, but I never got the chance to get to know them."

"That's too bad. So, what happened to them?" Loki was silent for a moment.

"I'm not sure. Odin changed Jormagundar into a serpent, and left him on this realm. Fenrir was imprisoned in Asgard." His voice cracked a bit, and he fell silent.

"What about the girl? Hela?" She watched him closely, immediately regretting asking. Loki laughed slightly.

"She…Well, she's the reason I brought Thor here. Odin left her in the realm of the dead." Darcy noticed a tear gleaming on the edge of his eye, and tactfully failed to mention it. Loki continued; glad to finally have someone to listen to him. "She was disfigured in Niflheim somehow, either by the atmosphere or the residents thereof. She rightfully blames Odin for it. She had been planning to kill Thor, as revenge to Odin for taking her from me. When I turned Thor into a child, that seemed to make her task all the easier. But I couldn't let her take him."

"What, are you the only one allowed to try to kill your brother?"

"I never tried to kill him." Darcy crossed her arms.

"I don't believe you. What about that big silver destructo-bot thing? It killed him." Loki's eyes widened.

"I knew that Odin had banished Thor, I didn't realize that he'd made him mortal as well. How was I to know that it would kill him, not merely distract him?" Darcy raised her eyebrows, pursing her lips as she thought over this new bit of information.

"I suppose you've got a point."