Chapter Thirteen

I quickly set to pack my things that I planned on taking home with me. Lady Frigga was kind enough to allow me to keep my chambers for when I returned so that I didn't need to take everything with me. Even so as I sorted out what I thought was necessary the room still looked the same. Bare with little trace that I had been staying there save a few hair accessories on the table of the vanity mirror and the pile of suitcases I kept at the foot of the bed.

Frowning, I turned to Sully and patted his fat head. "Well boy I think it's time we leave." He stood up, his thick belly jiggling as he wagged his tail. "I don't think you're going to be that happy once you get put on that diet."

"Let the poor dog enjoy his feasts," thundered Thor as he entered my chambers. He walked toward me with both arms extended wide and grasped me in a surprisingly gentle hug, lifting my feet off of the ground. "I am sorry for the pain that has been wrought upon you my friend. I too know what it is like to lose a father." He set me down carefully, resting his thick hands so that they covered my frail shoulders completely. "When you return we will regale in tales of memories past, ease the pain with ale flowing freely from Valhalla itself."

I let myself smile at Thor's attempt to cheer me up. While drowning my sorrows in ale sounded the least bit tempting it was sweet of him to try. "Thank you, Thor," I muttered as I watched him pick up my things with ease. "I appreciate it."

"Never you mind. It is what friends are for."

I nodded and turned around, ready to leave, when I stopped to see Loki standing in the doorway with the curious expression he often wore around me. I shifted uncomfortably, hoping that I would just be able to leave without having to say goodbye to anyone else. It was stupid really, I'd be back.

"You are leaving." It wasn't a question.

"My father is ill," I started to explain but Loki held up his hand and shook his head.

"Allow me, brother."

With the wave of his hand he summoned the suitcases that Thor balanced in his grasp toward him. They floated in neat stacks around him while he stood with both hands folded neatly near his thighs. I gaped, still amazed that this was nothing more than what he liked to call a parlor trick.

"Thank you Loki," said Thor with a wide grin. He turned to me and nodded toward the door. "Shall we?"

I exhaled loudly, and nodded knowing that words would fail me. Going through that door meant leaving and leaving meant going home to my ill father. "Ready as I'll ever be," I muttered walking past Thor.

I stopped just as I reached Loki, our bodies close enough that I could smell the musk and spices. He looked down at me with an odd expression, awaiting for me to either say something or continue forward. Licking my lips I contemplated on what I'd even say. Thank you? Thank you for what? I had nothing to thank him for. Sighing, I chose to keep walking and listened to the footsteps of both men behind me.

As we walked through the corridors I could feel Loki's stare at the back of my head. The heat rushed to my face and I kept tugging at the collar of my neck as though that would detract from the fact that his eyes were practically boring into my skull. Was he angry with me that I was leaving without telling him? Was he relived? He was so difficult to read that for all I knew he was completely indifferent.

Sully barked as we reached the Bifröst, his teeth snapping at the changing bricks under his feet. He ran ahead of us, toward the large round structure. I grimaced calling out his name afraid that he'd stupidly chase the rainbow-like to the end and fall off the edge. He lifted his bulky head at the sound of his name and stared at me as though I was the idiot. Rolling my eyes I called to him once more, his ears perking up, and his fat body charged my way.

He really did need a diet.

"Lady Hayden!" I turned at the sound of my name, surprised to see Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg and even Lady Sif standing behind Thor, Loki and I.

"Lady Sif and The Warriors Three," I said with a smile, "what are you doing here?"

"You thought we would not say goodbye to our friend?" roared Volstagg, his giant belly rumbling with the sound of his deep voice.

I smiled, touched. "You guys really didn't have too."

"We heard of your father, Hayden," replied Sif in a surprisingly kind tone. "We wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you, Sif." I turned to everyone and felt my face start to fall apart. "All of you, thank you so much."

Hogun stepped forward and held out a small, blue cloth in his hands. "A gift," he muttered handing it to me. I started to open the cloth but he placed his gloved hand over mine and shook his head. "For when you feel truly lost, then you may open it." I nodded and held the cloth against my chest. "Be safe."

"Must we endure these pointless goodbyes? She is not going to fight a battle worthy of your tears," prattled Loki grabbing me a little roughly by the shoulders and spinning me around.

Looking over my shoulder I waved goodbye to the Asgardian warriors and allowed Thor and Loki to lead the way. We reached the global structure, stepping inside where a man dressed in golden armor stood in the middle. He was of dark-skin with a black goatee and hard expression upon his face. In his hand he held a sword that he clasped tightly, holding it's blade in place on the ground.

"Heimdall," he shouted running up the stairs to the center where the man stood. "We need a passage to Midgard to bring Lady Hayden home."

The man opened his eyes and I felt myself compelled to stare into them. They were a warm yellow that swarmed with knowledge beyond any mans comprehension. He turned to look at me, his head slowly raising up as though he knew who I was and everything about my life.

"Heimdall is the gatekeeper," explained Loki while Thor explained the situation to the man who refused to take his gaze off of me. "He allows passage from our world to the other eight, including your precious Midgard." Heimdall's gaze shifted to Loki and even I could feel the ice in his stare. Loki smiled and leaned into me, "he is not too fond of me."

"I can send her back to Midgard," said Heimdall in a deep, booming voice. "But she cannot return this way."

Thor nodded. "I understand," he said turning to me and beckoning me forward. "We can use the portal as we did the last time."

Loki followed after. With reflexes I'd never seen Heimdall lifted his sword and held it at Loki's throat. I shouted out, and Thor was quick to move Loki out of the way. The suitcases he carried with magic clattered to the ground, echoing in the stillness around us. Sully began to bark, his teeth showing as he stood behind me.

"He cannot pass. Not after what he did."

Bark. Bark. Bark.

"Trust me Heimdall, Loki is not going to Midgard. He will stay on Asgard, with me."

Bark. Bark. BARK!

Loki snarled. "Do enlighten me, brother." Bark. "But was Father's punishment upon me not similar to your own? How am I supposed to redeem myself if I am not able to learn of my mistakes and amend them to the people of Midgard?"

Bark. Bark.

Thor turned to Loki and furrowed his brows. "You wish to go to Midgard to face the punishment father cast upon you? Now? After all this time?"

Loki shrugged. "I grow weary of being nothing more than a court jester."

"He will not pass," repeated Heimdall. Bark. Bark. "Silence, beast!" Sully whined and rubbed his head up against my calf. I looked down at him as he coward, pulling his tail between his legs. Heimdall lifted his head and slowly turned to look back to Thor. "He had wrought havoc upon not only myself, and upon you, but upon the people of Midgard. I will not allow him entrance if I can keep him from it."

"You listen here you sniveling, insolent—"
"Brother," sighed Thor holding up his hand to silence Loki. "He is right."

Loki started to open his mouth, ready to protest and continue with the name calling when I stepped forward. "You're a terrorist, Loki. A mad villain. People know your name, they know your face. Going to Midgard to redeem yourself probably isn't the best of ideas right now. Besides, who knows what S.H.I.E.L.D would do the moment that you set foot on their soil."

"Brother, it is in your best interest to remain here."

Loki turned from me, to Thor, to Heimdall and then back to me before letting out one of the most insane chuckles I'd ever heard. "I do not want to go to Midgard, you fools. I only detest being told what I can and cannot do. There are other ways to regain my powers. I do not need redemption and a dead man's forgiveness to achieve that."

"Brother, what do you—"

And, he vanished.

I inhaled sharply and spun around to face Thor, pushing the tears that stung the side of my eyes away. "Can I just go home now?"

California. Where the sunshine's bright, the people half-baked (in their skin, and in their mind) and where dreams were either made to succeed or to crumble and break. There was nothing for me in this desolate oasis of palm trees and beaches, save for my parents. Leaving for New York was one of the best decisions I had ever made, I thought I stared out the window of the taxi cab.

The Bifröst had taken Thor, Sully and I in the middle of the New Mexico desert where we greeted by several agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Fury himself and a woman with dark waves of hair dressed in flannel and wearing a smile from ear to ear. The moment that both our feet were on the ground she tore through the agents, pushing past Fury with ease and into Thor's thick arms. He spun her around, laughing loudly, and set her down placing both hands on her small face and leaning his forehead against hers.

I smiled, realizing that this must have been Jane. A twinge of envy struck as I watched them interact with one another. Thor's deep blue eyes staring into Jane's as she whispered how much she missed him and kissed him passionately. Blushing, I looked away giving them as much privacy as I could to see Sully laying on his back, panting heavily with a dazed look upon his floppy face.

I reached down to rub his belly when my named was called. "Agent Waltham," greeted Coulson with a wrinkled smile and a twinkle in his kind, blue eyes. Straightening and moving past Sully I nodded, extending my hand and shaking his in welcome. "It is a pleasure to have you back though the circumstances upon your return are less than ideal." He frowned slightly. "We are sorry to hear about your father's condition."

I chewed on my lip. "Thank you Agent Coulson," I sincerely whispered reaching down to grab for my luggage.

"Oh, don't worry about that," he said with the snap of his fingers and two agents I did not recognize stepped forward and grabbed for my luggage. "We have arranged for a flight to leave in a few hours to take you to California." He reached inside his pressed, black jacket and pulled out a couple of things. "Here is your ticket," he said handing it to me. "And, your official company card. All expenses are on us."

I took both the prepaid ticket and card with trembling hands. It all seemed like a lot to accept. As I started to open my mouth to thank him he held up his hand and shook his head. "Company protocol. Standard issue. Everyone has one, Agent Waltham," he replied with a grin.

"Hey," shouted Fury and Coulson and I spun around to see that he was shouting at Thor and Jane. "I don't pay you to stand around and make-out with your boyfriend. You two are making my agents uncomfortable."

Thor and Jane laughed as they broke apart, Jane tucking her hair behind her head and placing one hand on her hip. "You don't pay me, Fury. The college pays me."

Fury rolled his eye and extended his hand to Thor. "Thor, how long do you plan to stay?"

He frowned as he looked to Jane, her smile faltered. "Not long I am afraid. I have matters to attend to at home that require my utmost attention." He turned to Jane, touching her chin gently. "I am sorry I cannot stay as long as you would wish of me."

Jane shrugged off his touch and forced a smile. "You have your priorities. I understand." Even I could feel the brunt of that one.

Fury ignored her and continued, "we will contact you when Agent Waltham is ready to return to Asgard. In the meantime, thank you for your services in allowing us to do this. I am certain that it cannot be easy for your people to accept."

"Most of them were unbecoming of the idea but Hayden has been a delight upon Asgard. Many of them have enjoyed her company," he said with a smile and I couldn't help but blush as I started to think of my night with Loki. "We will miss her presence."

"Take care in the meantime, Thor," I said with a smile just as forced as the one that Jane wore.

Fury turned his attention to me. "Do you have your journals and recordings?"

I sighed as I shifted uncomfortably in the New Mexico heat. "Well, I have journals. The recording devices don't work on Asgard."

He frowned, but nodded. After all, there wasn't much I could do about that so it wasn't my fault that there were no recordings. "Do you have the journals with you now?"

"They're in one of my suitcases—" Fury snapped and another agent took off heading toward the direction that the previous two had headed in while carrying my luggage. "Um...I hope that you will find it sufficient enough."

"I hope so as well," he said; his voice stern and I suddenly felt as though I were back in high school awaiting the results of a test I hadn't fully studied for. "Coulson, if you could take Agent Waltham to the airport, I have other matters to attend too." He started to walk off with a tall, thin woman dressed in a tight-blue body suit followed close by, "if Stark thinks I'm going to allow his stupid ass to accidentally blow up buildings outside of Miami he's got another thing comin' to him," he muttered as the two of them headed toward a group of agents surrounding a black SUV.

"I too must return, Jane," said Thor grabbing her by her slender shoulders and frowning. "We will see one another soon," he whispered leaning down to place a kiss on her stiff lips. She sighed and melted into his kiss and once again I turned to look away noticing that Coulson was rather interested on some lint that was on his shoulder. "Be safe, my love."

"Heimdall!" he shouted, lifting his hammer into the air, "open the Bifröst!" Jane quickly stepped aside, joining Coulson and I as a large, strike of lightning slammed down onto Thor's hammer and cracked around him.

I gasped, Sully on all fours growled and barked, as Thor zapped away, the lightning retracing it's path and back into the sky. "Did he just—is he—that was—"

"You get used to seeing it," muttered Jane—almost bitterly—as she stalked off. I watched her for a moment, wondering if she was going to be alright when she turned around and raised a thin eyebrow. "I have to head in the direction of the airport anyways. Do you need a lift?"

"Oh, um, I think they already have a car for me with my luggage already in it," I said, shifting slightly and brushing stray strands of hair from my bun behind my ear. "Thank you though."

Jane nodded, and left.

"Is she alright?" I asked Coulson as we turned and headed toward the SUV where the previous two agents stood against it with both hands behind their backs. "She seems really upset."

Coulson frowned slightly as he slipped on his sunglasses. He gestured toward one of the agents to open the back door for us, and we slipped inside the cool interior, sliding against the leather seats. The agent closed the door behind me and moved around the car to open the back allowing Sully to have the entire area to himself. He then walked to the passengers side while the other agent took to the wheel.

Leaning forward Coulson pressed a small button and a partition slid up between the front and the backseat. The car started, and we lurched driving through the bumpy desert until we hit paved road. I started to wonder if Coulson had even heard me.

After a couple of moments he sighed. "Jane says goodbye to Thor more times than any woman should say goodbye to the man that she loves," he replied. "She works at the college in New Mexico and even created a device that picks up any strange activity in the area. That's how she knows when Thor is coming back to her. But, he doesn't stay long—and when he does stay it's usually for Avenger's business—she's a little angry that she couldn't go to Asgard.

"After all, she is a scientist and it is in her field. But, Fury wouldn't allow it. He wanted an expert in Norse Mythology." Coulson laughed. "Jane was furious that she hacked into the S.H.I.E.L.D database and download a virus so that anytime Fury logged into the main computer in his office the words, 'Fury Sucks' would scrawl across the screen."

I smiled, knowing that Fury must have been less than pleased by the harmless prank. "She seems really smart."

"She's brilliant," he agreed. "But, so are you. That is why we chose you for this job."

I sighed and leaned into the leather of the seat. "I don't feel like I'm doing a very good job at it," I muttered folding my hands into my lap. "I almost died from a giant wolf attack and a tree nearly gobbled me up. I stick to the books for the most part and the Asgardians don't pay me much attention save a few."

Coulson shrugged and placed a caring hand on my shoulder. "I am sure you're doing better than you think. Those journals are going to open up so many possibilities and answers, even if it's something you think is small or insignificant can be a breakthrough into things we never thought we'd understand."

He was right, I told myself as I turned to stare out the tinted windows. There was nothing but rolling desert and dying brush that littered along the highway. Mountains stretched the horizon, fading from the New Mexico heat. I'd left in winter and it already felt as though it were summer.

Sighing, I decided to get some shut eye and closed my eyes, resting my head against the door. I had a long trip ahead of me and who knew how much sleep I'd be getting once I was with my father. My throat tightened and I willed the tears to stay at bay. These things happen, Hayden. There is nothing you can do about it. All you can offer is your hand when he needs it.

The words that I heard upon Asgard many times before rang through my head: All those who let fear cripple them let death find them with ease. My father needed me. I had to be strong for him—but mostly, for myself. Loki was right, I thought on a sigh, I was weak.

A/N: Thanks again you guys for the lovely reviews/comments and favorites/follows. Sorry this chapter was kind of a point A to point B chapter.

EnyaandEathenyl: Bad news indeed.

Poodle Warriors: We'll just have to wait and see ;) And yes I couldn't leave the story of her being in Asgard just yet.

Guest: Thank you. And Loki will do what suits Loki best. Maybe that involves hurting Hayden, maybe it doesn't (:

Guest: Oh my. This comment is probably my favorite ever. Haha. Just so long as I'm invited to the wedding then you have my full blessing.

iloveLemonade: I'm glad to hear that! and thank you! Hopefully it keeps you entertained as we start to really delve into it.

ninjaloki: Yes. I never intended for Frigga to be "evil" or anything. :D She's just a mourning Queen looking out for the best interest of her people. But, upon hearing of Hayden's father she understands all too well the loss of a loved one.

wastedlimelight: Thank you kindly!

Ellize Avalon: Yep. Caught right where you wouldn't want to be. Karnilla has her own agendas, Loki not being one of them. (: And thank you glad to hear you're enjoying it.

Hayden: A very dirty deal it is. And it's about to get a lot messier.