A/N: Sooo…this is the chapter I've wanted to write since the idea first landed in my head. This one contains the scene I've been stewing about, (thanks to JaninaM8 for letting me bounce some ideas off and reigning me in), and the discussion I had originally meant to mirror the title… and I'm really excited to finally put it to paper. Or…word processor? Ah…whatever. I imagine that this is going to be more like…maybe 25 chapters?

I'm trying to get as MUCH DONE before Monday as I can, as my classes begin then, my kids go back to school Tuesday…! Yeah. So, the plan is to hammer out a chapter a day this weekend, then maybe twice a week (?) until it's done.

Thank you so much for reading this. I'm really having a blast writing it.

A Double Event

The week went by fairly quickly, Jane and Loki settling into a nice routine…they went out every other night, walking the streets of Whitechapel until about two or three, then heading back to Algate. Loki didn't bother to go out afterwards…he felt that their eavesdropping on useless conversations that were mostly better unheard was sufficient.

Saturday the twenty-ninth was a warmer day than the East End had experienced in at least a few weeks.

Fandral came into Asgard a bit later than usual…this didn't go unnoticed by Loki.

"It's after nine, Fandral. What do you mean by it?" he was behind the counter, doing some paper work.

"Loki…" he began. He took his hat off, and began to play with it, approaching the counter reluctantly.

"What is it?" he was concerned. He was unaccustomed to Fandral behaving this way.

"I'm…very worried about Mary. I saw her last evening, and she said that she had heard about a…person…claiming to be working for an American. This person was, she had heard, a Pole."

"Yes?" he raised his eyebrows.

"Do you think, this Pole, could he be the foreign man you heard asking for Mary?" he swallowed.

"I…" Loki thought about the accent he had heard, but it seemed so long ago now…"I cannot say for certain."

Fandral nodded. "I have a bad feeling about this weekend, Loki. If you think on it a moment, the previous three have all taken place on weekends."

"Mary Ann Nichols…" he protested…

"All right. Friday. Close enough," he sighed. "At any rate, I feel as though something will happen tonight."

Loki sighed a touch. "We cannot act on 'feelings,' man. We need to be able to think clearly and rationally."

Fandral looked at him desperately. "I'm worried about Mary."

"Then make certain the she doesn't go out this evening," he replied, and began to put his things in the back. "Does she know?"

Fandral swallowed and sat at his stool behind the counter. "Know?"

Loki entered once more. "Does she know that you love her?"

"Does Jane know?" he said accusingly.

"What makes you think that I care for Jane Foster beyond friendship?"

"The same something that makes you think that I love Mary," and Fandral opened his book, turning his page.

Loki said nothing, but nodded.

He hadn't said any word resembling those terms Fandral employed describing his feelings for Jane. Not to himself, not to anyone.

The fact was, was that he was afraid. Afraid, because of what had happened with Sif. It was such a convoluted time. He never fully understood his feelings for Sif….he still didn't. He probably didn't fully understand his feelings for Jane, either.

Loki cleared his throat and went to the back…staying there for the remainder of the work day.

At around two in the afternoon, Fandral knocked on Loki's door. "I'm going to leave, Loki. I want to get to Mary."

Loki looked up from his desk, nodded.

"Don't go out tonight, Loki."

"Everything will be all right, Fandral."

The clerk fussed with his coat and cap…"I wish you wouldn't…you and Jane…I'm…"

"Wary. I know."

"Fine. Suit yourself."

Fandral left the back…Loki got up. "Fandral!" he called out.

He turned as he opened the door.

"I thank'ee…I will be certain to be very aware and careful."

He nodded, and left.

Loki sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He looked around the shop. When was the last time he sold a book?

He laughed and began to close up.

He obtained some things from the back and locked up the shop, heading for the Market to run some errands.

Jane could not boast much business for a Saturday. She was not upset about this. It was past five now, since she had been busy all week, she kept open much later than usual. The fact was that she had made a good bit of money… but in truth, she was looking forward to seeing Loki…

She thought about the dinner they had enjoyed at Martha's Tavern…and though there was nothing of consequence that made her have such a good time, she did all the same…

He was attentive, more so than usual, and their playfulness did not ebb despite the fact that they were out together, dining, at night.

Jane thought that, perhaps, he was more handsome than she gave him credit for. His surly and brusque nature often inhibited any impartial critique. But yes…in the dim of the tavern, she noticed the contours of his face, the steadiness of his eye, his soothing voice, and Jane was pleased.

He was an amicable companion.

And she had fun with him.

His mind was equal to, if not superior to, her own; and though Jane was loathe to admit it, she was a bit snobbish when it came to intellectual pursuits. Loki humbled her a touch…

His own mind could be brought down a bit as well, she believed. That was no easy task, but one she felt she could accomplish if pressed.

She heard her door open just as she was putting the last of her things away, and quite unbidden, her heart jumped.

She placed her hand to her chest. "Loki?" she called from the back.

"And if I wasn't?" came Loki's voice.

Jane swallowed and smiled. "Then I'd throw you out. Can't be too careful these days," she entered the center of the shop smiling. "How was your day?"

"Fine," he sat, crossing his legs.

"Just fine?" she sat across from him and undid her hair, then began pulling it back up in a messier bun.

"Fandral is in a state," he undid his tie, unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt…tied the ragged scarf around his neck…

"What over?" she undid her buttons low, then took a tattered shawl she found in the bin out behind her shop in the alley that week. She had stopped putting the rouge on…

"He thinks that something will happen this evening based on a conversation he had with Mary," he rolled his pant legs up as per the day laborers' style and changed to work boots he kept at the apothecary.

"What did Mary say?" Jane adjusted her hat so that it sat more steadily on her head. She would need to bathe the following day.

"That a foreigner was boasting that he worked for and American. Apparently, this person was Polish."

"Oh?"

"Mm. Isn't much of anything, is it?"

"Well, no. But it isn't nothing, either. We need that name, Loki…I think that is our real problem. That, and potentially stopping another murder."

"Is that what our purpose is?" he stood, pulling on his coat.

"Of course! We are trying to make certain that no one else is murdered in a gruesome, horrific fashion!" she checked her layers. It would become quite chilly around eleven.

The custom had become to buy some bread from McKay's bake shop, then some provisions from the carts. They would be shutting down sometime in November or December, depending… so the customers would be certain to enjoy the fresh goods while still available.

They set about doing just that, then Loki suggested they walk over to the garden, since it was a warm enough day.

Jane agreed, and they went. "Father is becoming worried again," she said as she bit into her bread. It was from the hearth, still warm.

"Your late hours?"

"Well, yes. He thinks that we are wasting our time."

"Do you?" he took a bite of an apple.

"No, But it's been some time…"

"Not really, Jane. It's only been a few weeks."

She nodded. "Well…maybe…for my father's sake, we should limit our investigation to two nights a week, instead of four."

Loki nodded. "I understand. Of course."

She smiled, finished her bread. "Done, then?"

He nodded once more, then followed her out into Whitechapel Road.

They had walked, hidden mostly in shadow, for about two hours. Jane complained that she wanted a place to sit and get a warm drink, for the chill had settled early.

Loki acquiesced, and at around nine at night, found themselves in a pub across from the International Working Men's Educational Club on Berner Street. He ordered her a hot toddy.

"Why here, Loki?" she whispered.

"I've been meaning to come to this location…there is a lot of unrest about the Jewish immigrants, and here is where they meet. They find friendship and community."

"So?"

"So…if someone was wanting to frame a Jew, they'd come here to commit their crime," he looked at her and smiled.

"You are amazing," said she, with a wide smile…"I thought that you…" she lowered her eyes and played with her glass.

"You thought that I was about to spout anti-Semitic rhetoric?"

Jane blushed, then nodded. "I'm sorry…I hear it a lot in the shop."

"I'm not one of those people, Jane."

She looked at him now. "I know," and she turned to the window, looking at the club.

He eyed her suspiciously, then looked out as well.

"How long should we sit here?" Jane asked a few minutes later.

"Not sure…" he glanced at her drink, then raised his hand for the keep.

He was answered with a scoff.

"You're a laborer, Loki…they don't like being treated that way by day laborers."

"Humph," he said, standing and going to obtain Jane's drink. He paid for it, and gave the keep a pound for his trouble adding, "One should never assume, because one is dressed meagerly, that one is at all disadvantaged. Never judge a book by its cover," he turned and sat down.

And the keep wrote down the phrase last uttered by Loki, with the intention of referring to it later.

"Ridiculous prejudices," he hissed, sitting next to Jane once more.

Jane smiled knowingly, but said not another word.

After a time, and round about eleven, they left the pub.

Jane pulled her wrap close, the temperature felt even colder than before…of course it's colder…it's later…thought she.

They went over to the International Working Men's Educational Club, and hung about there for a bit. Loki was next to Jane the entire time, Jane huddled to his side.

"Eh, Liz!" a man called out. "Long Liz, bless me soul! I been lookin' fear ya last hour, I fink…"

"'ello John," replied Long Liz. "'an whatcha got fer' me tonight?"

"Nufin, Liz…ye be on yer own."

"Aw…give a girl a chance!"

"Sorry, love. Once de cold comes on…it be every man fer' 'imself."

"I ain't no man," said Liz.

"Well…find ye a John…"

"Ain't ya John?" she laughed, and went over to him, trying to kiss him.

"'have yerself, woman! I'll see ye Monday," and he left Liz there, moping and desolate.

"We should help her," said Jane.

"Help her do what, exactly?" Loki stated.

"I don't know…but it seems cruel to leave her to the streets…"

And then, a smallish man, dark, with a bowler cap went over to Liz..she struck up a conversation, then they left together.

"Well, I imagine we both understand what that's about," Loki said. "Come on. Let's walk to keep warm."

Jane couldn't even imagine what the streets would be like in a month…positively freezing, she surmised.

They walked down Berner Street, quite close to one another.

"I wonder what it's like to be one of them."

"One of whom?"

"Them. The women who walk."

Loki looked at her. "I would think it's very sad. Very stressful…frightening…" he slowed the pace a bit.

"Do you not think of this, Loki? Having spent so much of the past six weeks watching them? Is there not a feeling of divide? Of division? That there is an 'us,'" she indicated her and Loki, "…and a 'them'. The wretchedly poor. And there is a sense that though we live and work among them, there is not a common understanding…that there is a sense that we belong to one world, they to another."

"I think I understand what you mean, Jane. I suppose, being born of a wealthy family, I feel it all the more…though I have suppressed that tendency and restricted my snobbiness to an intellectual nature."

Jane sighed and rolled her eyes.

He laughed softly. "But those who honestly don't have anything, not even a reliable bed, no. I don't suppose I've given them much thought."

"I have."

"Evidently."

"And I think it's horrible."

"That it is."

"But we don't do anything about it. We go to work, we go home…we see them. But we don't…we look away because they make us uncomfortable. We value our comfort over their lives. And that's what this is, Loki. Life and death…for not only are we letting them starve to death, we are letting a murderer execute them," she heaved, impassioned.

"I'll just assume that you are referring generally, not specifically, to these people. That present company is excluded, for I, Jane, am risking my own life and limb…at your behest, mind…and I must say that I do care. Despite myself, I do."

"You are a good sort, Loki Odinson…and yes. You are exempted," she smiled at him as they turned a corner.

There was a disturbance up ahead…it looked as though the police were bringing someone in.

"Do you reckon…?" Jane whispered.

"Let's see…" Loki took her hand and went up to, unsurprisingly, Erik Selvig. "Inspector…" he began.

"Just an intoxicated woman, Loki," he shook his head.

"What's her name?" he looked at her.

"I'm nuffin'…" she responded.

He stepped back, struck by what she said. Loki took Jane's hand once more and led her away. He was silenced by the woman's answer.

"Oh, Loki…what's to become of us all?" she shook.

"I cannot say."

The pair spent the next hour close to the the Worker's Club. It was creeping around midnight, and they were leaning against a brick building just across the way by the Pub they had sat at earlier.

There was a man and a woman just outside the club, and it didn't take Jane long to realize it was the same woman…Liz…they had seen earlier. "She gets around," she observed. "I hope she makes enough from this transaction to allow her her doss…"

Loki was standing, watching them talk, arms crossed in front of him. Jane was standing against him, in an effort to keep warm.

But she imagined, as she stood there, that it wasn't unpleasant, and she actually felt quite safe.

Loki, after about another twenty minutes, froze…

Two men had emerged from the club…they appeared to be speaking in secret…

And Liz came back out onto Berner Street…

One of the men went over to her. He appeared to be propositioning her…but Liz was disinterested.

Loki took Jane's arm…

The man pushed Liz into the alley she had just emerged from, and Loki heard him call a name out…the other man went running toward Liz and her "customer"…

Just then, another man, tallish, with a tall hat and a shiny black bag came, in a state, up the road…

It was unclear exactly where he emerged from…but he was heading in Loki and Jane's direction.

Loki gasped, pushed Jane against the wall, covering her with his body, his head bent into her neck…

The man was very close to them…and Loki then said to her in low tones, "Whisper something in my ear…"

His breath was warm against her neck, Jane felt a stir deep inside of her…her hands went up his arms and she turned her face against the side of his face just as the impressive gentleman passed them.

"He's almost gone," she whispered…

…and Loki could feel her pulse quicken…her breath coming fast…and though it could be on account of the goings on, he somehow doubted it, for she was leaning quite close to him…

He pulled away slowly, his cheek brushing hers…his nose grazed her own…his black locks brushing her face softly…and he looked in her eyes…

They were heavy with want, and her sepia eyes sought his mouth…

…he claimed her lips delicately, but then it was too much, and he quickly deepened it, his hands framing her face, then to her neck…he moaned a touch as his mouth played with hers…

…and Jane pulled him even closer…and there was hunger in her kiss, she grabbed his shoulders for purchase…"Loki…" she said between kisses…

There was no scream…but a commotion…

He pulled away from her at the sound, his eyes not leaving hers…he registered shock in her expression. She regretted it already…

…but Jane was all raw nerve and want. It took her by surprise, yes…but…

Another call…

"Murder!"

"No!" Jane exclaimed, pushing Loki aside and running in the direction of the club.

Loki snapped himself from his haze, and ran after her…

…and they saw Louis Diemschutz, in a state, running from the alley.

Jane went over, and asked him what has happened, while Loki went further into the alley…Long Liz was lying prone to the back wall, blood still oozing from her neck.

They spent the next half an hour answering questions for Selvig and Abberline. Loki detailed everything but the kiss he and Jane shared, while Jane stood next to him, in a haze, nodding.

"Shall we go then, Jane. The detectives have all they require."

She swallowed…"Yes."

PC Watkins had just made another round in his area, not ten minutes from Berner Street. He had seen nothing, heard nothing, assumed all was well.

At one forty-five, he checked his watch, looked up, and saw a heap on a corner in Mitre Square…Watkins walked closer, then reeled back in horror.

He sprinted for Berner Street, knowing that Abberline was likely still there.

And there was the group, talking about poor Long Liz…

"For God's sake, come to my assistance, there's been another!" Watkins shrieked.

Jane felt faint. She swayed, Loki took her hand. "Are you all right?" he whispered.

"Did he say there was another?"

"Jane…we can leave…we don't need to…"

"No," she croaked. "Let's go…"

They followed the police to Mitre Square, where another woman lay, half naked, vivisected, mutilated…

Jane stayed behind, she couldn't go closer.

But Loki did, and as he approached her, he recognized her.

She was the woman from earlier that night…the one who had given her name as "Nothing."