Hello! I am fully aware it has been a while but due to family drama I've been unable to spend as much time writing as I would have liked. so here is a slightly short -but still jam packed- installation in this story.

Chapter 7 Truth

Jane flew down the two flights of stairs, barely feeling the concrete under her feet. Jumping the last six steps, she skidded to a stop on the floor. She didn't know which was stranger; the snow in a locked building, or the fight that had just happened. Battle. A voice said in the back of her head. She ignored it. For a few seconds she had no idea what to do first. Who did she go to? Then a more reasonable voice in her head said. Phone, 911. Fumbling she took out her mobile and shakily dialled the emergency number.

"911. What's your emergency?"

God what did she say? A fight? An attack?

"My friend and I were attacked,"

"Okay stay calm miss. Is anyone injured? Do you need an ambulance?"

"Yes- yes, both of them need help. They both have stab wounds a-and they fell down the stairs," her voice wouldn't stop shaking as she gave the operator on the phone the address of the university accommodation.

"Okay miss, an ambulance is on the way. Try and keep pressure on the wounds."

The operator started going through the first aid Jane could give them while the ambulance was on the way.

How long did she have? How long did Loki have? The wound in his abdomen was really deep. Jane had to leave the knife in. It was really hard to listen to Loki's gurgling breaths. At least he's breathing. Something wet slid down her cheek. She swiped the tear away, but more came and she had to focus on the wound in Loki's ribs as well. There was so much blood. It was staining her hands. She gave up stopping the tears. She was scared, she was in shock, however she was also angry. Jane felt hot rage burning in her throat. How could they do this? How could this happen! It was this rage she used to push down the panic attack numbing her legs.

Looking at Loki's ashen face, it wasn't like he had a particularly rosy complexion, but it was now a grey colour instead of a pale ivory. Idiot! She wanted to hit him. Instead she called him names in her head. Jackass! Asshole! And some other much fouler words.

All Jane could do now, was wait. And wait...

Loki opened his eyes. It was much too bright, so he closed them again. A couple of minutes later he become aware of a heavy weight on the bed to his left. Slowly turning his head –ah! That hurt- and opened his eyes again. A mop of messy brown hair covered his left arm. My arm's numb. He thought absently. He tried to flex his fingers. The slight movement of tendons in his arm made Jane's head jerk up suddenly. She hit it on the back of the chair. She had a bandage wrapped around her forehead and a very bruised right cheek. He remembered the fight. He also remembered what happened to him; the blue skin, the red eyes.

Jane's eyes were full of tears and her mouth was a very thin line, the corners of it quivered. Her facial features kept contorting, a mixture of rage and relief. In the end she settled for both.

"You!" her voice strained as it tried to stay level. "You're a stupid, stupid asshole!" she hissed through gritted teeth, and then she hugged him and started crying.

"Ouch!"

"I'm s-sorry!" she jerked off him. "Your w-wounds, I'm –you're- idiot!"

He wasn't entirely sure if she was insulting him her herself. He decided it was probably best not to speak. He lifted his left hand and patted her arm gently. He hated mortal hospitals. He would have much proffered his magic to be back and then he could heal himself in a heartbeat. However, much to his chagrin, his magic was not flowing through his veins at the current time. And so Loki faced four days of mortal healing methods; being poked and prodded and facing the unpredictable moods of his friend Jane. Some days she would see him and be very kind, then she would be silent and moody, red and fuming, and some days she didn't visit him at all. Those days where he was alone were the longest; hours stretched on and on for ages, a thousand years seemed to pass in a thousand seconds. He spent most of his time thinking and searching. It might not have been the magic he wanted, but it was something more than what he was left with at the current time. Joten. He delved deep within himself looking for the cold tendrils of winter and ice. So far he had found nothing. Trust things to show up and then vanish when you need them most. He thought bitterly.

December 24th, Christmas Eve

Jane waited outside with the hospital. Her car was fixed and she'd been given the OK by her doctors to drive. Something kept her from going inside the hospital to collect Loki. The automatic sliding doors opened and the regal looking man was wheeled out in a wheelchair by a member of nursing staff. With only a little difficulty, Loki was switched from the chair to the passenger seat of the car. Jane drove them back to the student accommodation in a heavy, awkward silence. Loki didn't seem to want to break it either; he stared out of the window at the city. Jane clenched her teeth.

Upon reaching the student living, she helped Loki to stand and linked her arm with his to support him as they made their careful way to the lift. Purposefully avoiding looking at the spot on the entrance floor where she had sat, for fifteen minutes, stopping Loki from bleeding out; she punched the 'up' bottom on the lift.

This was getting ridiculous. Jane was even refusing to look at him now. He could feel her pent up anger practically rolling off of her. What is she angry about?

That little question was soon answered.

Jane closed and locked the apartment door, threw her keys on the kitchen counter and rounded on him, just as he had sat in one of the kitchen chairs.

"Where did you learn to fight? Are you military? Where are you from? And who the bloody hell are you?!" the last bit was yelled. Loki winced. What would be the best lie? He looked into her beep brown eyes. Eyes that burned for truth.

"I am Loki of Asgard," what am I doing!? "I am a god -God of mischief and lies to be precise- During a fight with my brother Thor –the god of thunder- I was thrown from the bi-frost, I fell through time and space and landed on Midgard –Earth- some years in the past. You hit me with your car as I manifested in this time."

Jane swelled like a bull frog, and then deflated. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You expect me to believe that?" she finally said massaging her temples. Loki shrugged. That was not the right thing to do. "You seriously expect me to believe that! If you do, I must have hit you harder than I thought with my car! Or you hit your head during-"she cut herself short choking on the words. She was seething.

"Believe it or not, it is the truth," Loki replied cooly. This tipped the iceberg. Jane swelled and exploded.

"WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN! YOU SUDDENLY APPEAR IN MY LIFE AND THEN MY LIFE GOES TO SHIT!" Jane deflated slightly and kicked a cupboard door, regretting it instantly, she swore at the pain in her big toe. "Fine," she hissed out through clenched teeth. "Fine, if and IF what you say is, in fact, the truth, then I need proof."

"What kind of proof can I give you? A miraculous show of power? Shall I turn water to wine?" Loki was losing his own temper now. This always happened when he told the truth; no one ever believed him, ever.

"That would be a start!" Jane snapped back.

"Well, I hate to tell you, but I'm all out of magic," Loki growled "my fall ripped it from me."

"Ha!" Jane laughed, it was a cold sound. It didn't suit her at all. "Okay crazy god story aside. Where did you learn to fight? AND I want an apology."

"I was trained to fight alongside my brother and the Warriors Three since a young age over a thousand year ago." He wasn't getting anywhere he could tell; but he was determined to tell the truth. I want her to believe me. Jane's lips pressed into an impossibly thin line. "And an apology for what?"

"For almost killing my ex boyfriend-"

"HE ATTACKED US!" Loki sprang to his feet. He suddenly felt very lightheaded but he ignored the fuzzy splotches in his vision. Instead he focused his emerald stare on the small woman in front of him.

"AND FOR NEARLY GETTING YOURSELF KILLED!" she hit him. It hurt. She tried to hit him in the chest again. Loki caught her wrist. "LET GO!" She screamed in his face. He was so much taller than her but she glared up at him defiantly. Slowly he opened the hand holding her wrist. She wrenched it from his grip as soon as it was loose enough. Turning her back to him she began to pace the kitchen. Finally feeling too dizzy to bare it any longer, Loki sank back into the chair. So some of her anger was the fear she had for his safety? That didn't make much sense. Strange mortal. A warm feeling blossomed in his chest and something tingled in the backs' of his eyes. When was the last time anyone had worried about his safety?

"I need some air," Jane said quietly.

Loki looked up. Jane picked her keys up again and went to the door. She was gone before Loki could ask where she was going.

It was probably better this way; it always took mortals time to adjust to the truth. Would she believe him? That is what concerned Loki most. Would she come back, call him mad and demand him to leave. Would he leave? Loki struck the table in his frustration. It hurt. He wasn't crying. Loki never cried. He may feel sadness in this frail mortal form, but The Trickster never cried...

Why was he crying?

She thought about taking the car, but decided she didn't want to wreck it again so soon. So, Jane walked. No idea where she was going. She just needed to be away. She wandered for a long time, roaming the busy New York streets, paying little attention to where she was going. Before she knew it she was standing, waiting to cross a junction. The red man shone bright in the fading winter light. A shudder ran up her spine. The red man turned green. She knew this junction. This was where she had the accident; where she hit Loki. Jane closed her eyes, picturing that night from months ago.

She was driving. She stopped at the red light. People crossed. She was the third car back. The light turned green. She accelerated. There was no one in the road. Then there he was. He must have stepped out late. She braked! Too late. She hit him. He struck the windshield. It smashed. He flipped over the roof of the car. Hit the ground. She got out. She ran to him.

He had appeared out of nowhere! He stepped off the pavement late! She hit him. CRASH! He had appeared out of nowhere. He was not there then he was there. The air had shimmered then he was there. Falling. CRASH!

"Hey watch it lady!" someone had walked into her. Jane was still standing on the edge of the crossing. The green man winked at her then turned red.

"Sorry," she mumbled to the disgruntled man.

"Ain't no place for day dreaming!" he grumbled then waddled off.

No, it wasn't a place for day dreaming. The skid marks from her cars tiers where still visible on the tarmac. She stared at them. He had appeared from nowhere. He had appeared from nowhere.

Jane swallowed. I'll be damned. Turning fast on her heel, nearly bumping into someone else she hurried back the way she had come. It was nearly full dark by now; all the big light-up billboards were flashing coco cola adverts, get slim quick fixes, and Rimmel London make up. The streets were getting busier as people came out for end of day shopping.

Jane wasn't athletic. In fact she very soon had a very nasty stitch in her side. She kept running though. God, she hoped he was still there when she got back! The lift in the student accommodation was her next hurdle. Too slow! She left it and took to running up the stairs two at a time. If she had the time after this, she swore she'd spend a little more time in the gym. She reached her door and pulled it open. Only it was locked so, she had to fumble with the keys. Finally the door was open! She burst through, rather undignified and stumbled to a stop in the kitchen.

Loki was still there, slouched over the kitchen table.

"L-Loki-" Jane gasped. She was so out of breath she could barely speak. The raven black head lifted and the pale face of the man it belonged to stared at her. His nose was a little red and his eyes were slightly puffy. "H-how?" she managed to breathe out. Loki looked puzzled. Slowing down, Jane gulped down a few big breaths, wincing at the sharp pain in her ribs. She was going to ask again. When he slowly unfolded from the chair to his full inhuman height and walked over to her. Inhuman height.

"Breathe, that's it. Slower," he spoke gently. A mad kind of grin split Jane's lips and she looked up at him. Her eyes burned for the truth. She was a scientist after all –well perhaps not a qualified one- but still, she had the bug.

"Tell me how,"

A bright light shone in the back of Loki's eyes. A smirk twitched the corners of his mouth up. He leaned down to her level. His voice was almost a purr.

"Are you saying that you believe me Jane Foster?" the smirk grew.

"Are you telling me the truth?" she narrowed her eyes.

"Yes,"

"Then tell me how- how you did it- how it happened?" she was buzzing with giddy nerves. He leaned even closer and breathed into her ear.

"Magic,"

I'd love to take this moment to welcome the new readers and to than all of you who have reviewed! it really helps me to keep writing knowing you all want to read more! so, what did you think of this chapter?