Ava lay back on a cold stone floor surrounded by darkness. Chains bound her wrists and anckles, allowing her some movement, but not much. Her stomach had swollen with the life of the child she carried. Ava felt an overwhelming sense of fear and loneliness.

It was then that she felt the pain of childbirth come over her. Ava cried out, but it there was no one to hear her cries. Or so she thought. As she felt the need to push, Ava began to push. She heard the voice of her father coming from somewhere in the darkness.

"You and this monster child shall spend your days here, rotting where you belong." Odin said.

"Father please?" Ava begged, crying from the pain of labor as well as the pain his words brought to her.

"Don't call me Father! You are nothing to me!"

"I can't believe that the sweet little girl I held could turn into a little whore." Frigga's voice said next.

"You lied to me, Ava. You deserve this fate." Thor's voice came next.

"Loki?" Ava cried, though part of her knew that his fate was similar to hers, forced to rot in a cell alone, never to see each other again. She pushed through her labor until finally she held a baby in her arms. The child was a boy, the left side of his body looked like an Asgardian, while the right half was an Jotun form.

The child cried and looked up at Ava, with the intelligence of an adult, showing in his eyes. "How could you do this to me? I hate you." The child then turned to dust in her arms and was gone.

Ava cried. She was alone. Her family had abandoned her, Loki was kept from her, and her child would rather die than be alive with her. Ava curled up and cried, feeling completely empty. "No...no...I'm all alone..."

"Ava, darling, my love wake up. Everything is alright."

Ava opened her eyes to find that she was in her room, laying in bed, Loki holding her. He was still in his Jotun form, as he had been since the other giant had attacked.

Loki gave her a gentle smile and lifted his hand and began to wipe away tears that Ava didn't even know she had shed. "It was only a dream, my love."

Ava didn't speak. She threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. Loki stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head. "Shh, darling, everything is alright. You're not alone."

"It was the most awful dream, Loki." Ava cried.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" Loki asked.

"I was locked up...and my family...they had all turned against me and you were locked up somewhere else...I...I gave birth to our baby...it was a boy and he said he hated me and then he turned to dust and I was all alone." Ava explained.

Loki gave Ava another kiss. "That's not going to happen. Everything is going to be just fine, my darling."

"It...it was just awful."

Loki pulled back and placed his fingers under Ava's chin. He coaxed her face up to look at him. "I promise you, as long as there is still breath in me, you will never be alone...and I'm sure our child will not hate you. He or she will love you. You are going to be a wonderful mother."

Ava smiled at Loki. "You always know how to make me feel better."

Loki smiled before pulling Ava's lips to his for a gentle kiss. "I am here for you, always, my love."

Ava snuggled closer to him. They lingered in each other's embrace for a few moments before climbing out of bed and getting dressed for the day. As Ava dressed, she couldn't help but to look in the mirror and picture her stomach growing large with the child she carried.

Loki stood on the other side of the room watching Ava. Though he wasn't reading her mind, he somehow knew what she was doing. That may have been because he was doing the same thing and thinking that she would look quite lovely when her belly swelled with the life of their child.

Ava noticed Loki watching her and her cheeks flushed slightly, making him smile. She finished getting ready, avoiding picturing herself further along in her pregnancy. Once she was dressed, Loki walked over to Ava and pulled her close.

"How is your arm feeling, by the way?" Loki asked, lifting up Ava's still burned arm.

"Alright." Ava answered.

"I'm sorry that everything happened the way it did." Loki said. "If I'd have just let you tell everyone the truth from the beginning..."

"We don't know if anything would have happened any differently." Ava replied, reaching a hand up to caress his cheek. "There is just so much hate between our worlds."

They took a few moments longer before they finally left Ava's chambers and began to make their way to the dining hall. They walked hand-in-hand through the halls, which were lined with guards. All of the guards were watching them and Loki could almost hear the things they were thinking, could almost hear the horrible things they would be whispering to each other.

Ava gave his hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze as they walked into the dining hall. Thor was already seated at the table. He looked up as they entered and then rose from his seat. He walked over to them and wrapped his arms around his little sister, pulling her in for a bear hug. "I am sorry for the things I said to you last night. I was just in shock and angry. Can you forgive me?"

Ava smiled and hugged her brother back. Tears of happiness spilled over her cheeks. "Of course I forgive you, Brother."

Loki smiled as he watched them. He was glad that things were right between Ava and Thor again.

A few moments later, Odin and Frigga were entering the room. Everyone sat down at the table, eating their breakfast in silence. After a few moments, Odin broke that silence. "We must discuss how we plan to go about bringing peace with the Jotunheim."