Woop, chapter on time! Thank you to all the people who favourited and followed in the last week, and of course to all my reviewers, love you so much! Also just to put it out there, I won't be revisiting the other Avengers for a couple of chapters, just focusing on getting them home for the time being. Also forgive any mistakes, I don't think there are any, but I didn't have a lot of time to proof read, as I'm using my parent's computer.

Chapter 23

The voice was comforting. Tender, warm and so irritatingly familiar. Her fuddled mind had conjured up a face to match the voice, but it couldn't right. It didn't make sense, the tone was wrong for it to be him. There was no bitterness, the words were gentle, flowery and passionate. He had her curiosity, and curiosity was enough for her to force her eyelids to lift. And then she wished she hadn't.

It was him. Loki. His expression was foreign to her though. His cheeks were flushed with happiness, his eyes full of hope, and then to her horror, she realised his fingers were curled around hers. She only reaction was something she hadn't felt in years. Pure, unadulterated fear. In fact, she screamed.
He jerked back, his hand dropping from her quickly After his initial shock subsided a look of realisation settled over his features, and he started calling out.

"Stark! Thor! Somebody, just get here!" He almost started to scream with her, seeming torn between fleeing out of the room, or kneeling beside her. As terrified as she was, she was also fascinated. It was almost like he cared for her.
She didn't have a lot of time to mull over this though, as Tiny's familiar face burst through the strange looking doors. A tiny bit of relief passed through her, as he threw his arms around her. She gave a quiet laugh, still giving Loki a wary look over Tony's shoulder.

"Tash! You're awake!" He repeated, suddenly releasing her, remembering that she had been injured. He turned to Loki, seemingly looking for an explanation for the god's outburst. Loki tried to calm his panicked breaths, running his palms across his forehead.
"She doesn't remember. She doesn't remember me, Stark! She doesn't..." He broke off, his hands beginning to shake as he turned sharply on his heel, sprinting out of the room.

Natasha's eyes followed him out. It seemed he didn't want to hurt her, or he and Stark had reached some sort of agreement. Feeling that she was safe, she leant back on her pillows, ignoring the unfamiliar room, and settling on what she did know. Facts.
"How long was I out for?" She asked lazily, rubbing her eyes. Tony shrugged, a bead of sweat falling down his brow.
"I d'no, about ten days?" Not meeting her eye. Natasha, looked at him, intrigued. Stark wasn't the best of liars.
"Stark, what happened to me." Tony fidgeted on the edge of her bed, before releasing a heavy sigh.
"Tasha, how much do you remember?" Natasha's eyes widened, sitting up swiftly, ignoring the spasms of pain that fluttered through her body. Amnesia was a scary thought.

"How much have I forgotten?"

She had forgotten him. She had looked at him with fear and confusion and had screamed at the sight of him. Yet again, his worst fears had become his reality. How many times was this now? Was there a higher being than him who decided his fate, and why did it despise him so? It seemed that he was not allowed to have anything or anybody.

Was she lost to him? His vain heart answered in the negative. No, he'd just have to make her remember. He was confident that Tony would help him, and Thor, the ever faithful hound, would as well. He just had to get her back to Midgard, show her, show her he had changed, prove his love. She was not lost to him yet.
She'd need time though. Time to recognise that there were memories missing along with half of her heart. She was remarkably smart, and would realise that something was amiss sooner or later.

Satisfied in this plan of action he ran to tell Tony not to tell her about him. Tell him to make up some excuse as to why they were on speaking terms, but to say nothing else. Surely he could handle that much of a secret for the sake of his comrade. Tony had a sense of honour to rival the Captain's.

"Tony, how much have I forgotten?" She repeated, making sure he could hear the threat in her voice. Evidently he did, gulping hard, before strengthening his resolve.

"Okay, so I don't know the protocol for this, so I'm going to go with what they do in hospital dramas. What's the last thing you remember?"

Natasha frowned in concentration. What was her last memory? She knew who Tony was, and knew he was a friend. The events of the battle of New York were clear in her mind. In fact there was no jumbling mess of memories, everything was very clear, not like what she lead to believe amnesia was like. Finally a small snippet of conversation appeared in her thoughts, that seemed recent, but she couldn't place it.

"I just got news from out favourite Norse god, that our least favourite Norse god is paying us a visit... Apparently Asgard's got bored with his silence..."

She looked back to Tony. "A conversation with Fury. Something about Loki coming back, about Asgard being tired of him? Does that make any sense?" She looked relieved when Tony nodded fervently.
"I was listening in on that conversation. That was about three months ago. At least we know how much you need to remember. He said cheerfully, looking relieved that she hadn't forgotten him, or the Avengers. Suddenly Loki marched back through the doors, his face grim as he paced to the side of her bed clasping a hand on Tony's shoulder. He whispered something with urgency. It seemed important, as Tony looked slightly shocked.

"Dude you sure?" Tony asked incredulously. Loki nodded, then turned to face her. He captured her eyes, and stared into them unblinking. It was like he was looking something. It seemed he didn't find it, as he repeated his earlier disappearance.
"What was that about?"Natasha asked Tony, without removing her eyes from the door.
"Nothing to worry your poor addled mind about, dear." He said indifferently,before lapsing into a 'brief' summary of the last three months.