Loki lay on his side, sleeping peacefully, which was rare for him in the last few years, when his eyes opened at dawn. He let the world come back to him, and smiled at the dream of him and the Alfar Princess years ago. He enjoyed her thoroughly, the nights before her Wedding to the High Noble of her Court, spent with her gripping his sheets and screaming his name as she peaked. He did not know when the dream morphed from Princess Cera, to Sara beneath him, but the lasting effects caused him to realize he was painfully aroused.

He streched his back, and felt something bump against his legs as he moved over the bed. He turned, looking over his shoulder to see her. She was in her clothes from the previous day, and curled on her side and an arm tucked under her head. She had been sleepwalking again, and he did not hear her, nor feel her when she slipped into his bed. He moved her hair out of her face, and she hummed in her sleep as she settled again. She yawned then, blinking her eyes at him with a sleepy smile and streched on her back to get comfortable again, when realization hit her as to where she was.

"Shit!" She said, diving from the bed and standing against the wall in shock. She looked mortified, and she tried to not panic, but she was. He leaned against his elbow on the bed, and gave her a smile to try and reassure her.

"As pleasant as it was to find you sleeping next to me when I woke up, I took no liberties." He said, and Sara nodded, she started to pace and wring her hands as she moved. "I did not even notice your presence until this morning."

"I can't help it, I have done this since I was seventeen. I... I am so embarrassed by this." She said, and covered her face. Loki let out a breath, sitting up and he laughed at her and gave her that reassuring smile again. "Oh God... I'm such a mess."

"I will not tell anyone that your Nocturnal Wanderings had you in my bed, this accident will remain in this room." He replied, feeling his arousal relax to a less embarrassing situation under the blanket and sheet. She gave him a quick nod, and she relaxed a bit as she straightened herself back up.

"Thanks, I really mean that. It... It's really nice of you." She said, and he gave her a soft chuckle. She left him, and he watched the way her hips swayed as she walked away. Sara didn't see him as anything more than her responsibility, nothing more, but it did not mean that he couldn't enjoy the enticing view.

--

Sara splashed in the water of the pond, Mark running down the dock and pulling his knees up to his chest. He landed in on the other side of them, and splashed them as they laughed. Amy laughed, her head thrown back, and Sara screamed when Mark pulled her under the water by her ankles as he swam by. She came up for air, and Loki swam through the water near them. He was wearing a pair of blue trunks, and enjoying the cool water as the July heat bore down on them. He was doing laps, and Sara looked away before he noticed her staring again.

"Shark attack!" Robert shouted, pulling Amy back and forth in the water and they all laughed. Mark picked Sara up, holding her by her thigh and her side and tossed her into the water away from them. She went under, and floated free under the water a moment and saw Loki staring back at her. His hair was a dark halo around his head, and she smiled as bubbles of air escaped her mouth and raced past her eyes toward the surface. The each kicked past eachother, and circled a moment as hey moved back toward the surface. She shot back up and took a deep breath, all of them laughing as the splashed eachother and Loki came up next to her. She laughed, treading the water and he shook his head as she swam back to her friends. She reached a point where she could wade and climbed onto the dock to jump off again.

"Cannonball!" She cried out, and jumped off the dock, and went under the water and swam around to join the group again. She laughed, and Loki splashed at Emily a bit.

"I did not know this sport came with throwing small women about." Loki said, wading up behind them, and they laughed. Mark picked up Emily, tossing her into the air, and she landed in the water, her legs and arms flailing as she fell. The pale Ginger looking mortified as she looked around her, and Sara saw her bikini top float past. Loki turned away from her, giving her privacy and Sara made eye contact with him and turned pink as he stared.

"That is why I wear a one piece swimsuit!" Sara said, trying to make it look like she was more interested in teasing her friend and laughed as Emily got her purple top back on. Amy gave Sara a high five, and she screamed again when someone grabbed her ankle and pulled her under the water. She came face to face with Loki, and she swam under the water and he followed her toward a deeper part of the pond. She then pushed off his shoulder as they both surfaced. She swam back to the group, and stood up in the water and laughed at Loki.

"Random short girl! Must throw!" Mark laughed, and she turned shy as she was lifted out of the water and tossed through the air by the same person. Her legs kicked out, and her arms pinwheeld as Robert admired the skill. She hit the water, going under and came up for air and treaded water and heard her friends laughing.

"That was some sick air!" Robert said, and they all laughed, Sara returning to the group and smiling as she tread the water under her. Everyone was laughing and splashing eachother, when the familiar Sheriff's Ford pulled up to the house, and everyone watched in silence. He walked across the field and dock, crouching down and he took off his hat.

"Sara, did you Assault Travis Andrews with a spider?" Sheriff Rogers asked, and she started laughing. He pulled her out of the water, and handed her a towel as he stood over her on the dock. She wrapped the towel around herself, and the Sheriff crossed his arms. "He wants to press charges sweetie, saying it could have bit him. He was madder than a cat getting baptized, and poor Marilyn at the front desk had a hell of a time dealing with him."

"He was on my property, and being a nuisance Sheriff. I have witnesses, one of them Amy." She protested, not wanting to have to go to jail, and he shook his head and rubbed his temples. From the looks of it, he managed to talk Travis down, but it took alot of talking.

"I'm going to get a Trespass Order against Travis for you, but you need to be careful. It took me an hour to talk him out of contuining with the charges, he was ready to come out here and pick a fight!" He replied, and he looked at the group in the water. She tapped her bare feet on the dock, and he regarded Loki and sighed. "Amy, I hope you are wearing a one piece swimsuit with him in the water with you! Christ on a cracker, Emily. At least cover up with a shirt or something!"

"I am Dad, but I am an adult, so is Emily.." She said, and she crossed her arms and Robert gave him a wave. "Make our own decisions and shit."

"Watch your mouth Amy, you are lucky I don't drag you home and give you a lecture there." He said, and turned back to Sara. "Keep your nose clean Sweetpea, call me directly the next time Travis comes harassing you. Okay?"

"Yes Sherrif." She said, glad she was not in trouble, but she still felt queasy at making him have to come out to talk to her. She looked at the window where Darla would have seen the whole exchange, and she worried that her ghost was judging her at that moment. She sat down on the dock with her feet in the water, still wrapped in the towel as Sheriff Rogers left them and felt Robert come out of the water next to her. She started shaking then, and Emily sat on the other side of her.

"Dont you start crying Bugs, I may be a ginger, but I have stolen enough souls to cry with you." She said, and hugged her friend after joining them on the dock. Loki went over, staying close by, and she felt the lump in her throat get harder. The sob escaped her, and Mark patted her knee as she leaned against Emily and cried.

"Why... why do I always mess things up?" She cried, and Robert laughed at her. He gave her a squeeze and someone held her free hand, offering comfort.

"You sure as fuck don't mess everything up! That is that cunt that is pushing up dasies in Spanaway, in your head." Emily said, and hugged her tighter. "You make everything better dummy! If it weren't for you, we wouldn't all be friends."

"Yeah Bugs. Amy and Dobby adopted you, and you sort of dragged me, Irish, and Spooky into the mix." Mark said, and Sara gave him a smile. She looked down, seeing that Loki was holding her free hand, and her eyes went wide. She wiped her eyes on the towel, and she smiled a bit.

"We didn't officially conviene the Council to see if Loki could join the Guild of Unfortunate Miscreants. We need to put it to a vote!" Robert said, stealing her towel and draping it around his head like a hood. Loki gave him a look, and they heard him chuckle a bit.

"Friends! I gather this Council to see if we should allow Loki, to join the Guild! What is our motto?" He said, and every chimed in with the same thing.

"We are the Unfortunate Miscreants, and it is not a DD campaign until the bard has seduced a dragon, the elf has worked her magic, and the Ranger has committed a possible war crime." They all said, and fell into laughter. Emily ducked back into the water, and pulled Sara with her, both if them laughing as they splashed. Emily could always make her feel better, just by being herself.

"All in favor?" Robert said, and everyone raised their hands. He shrugged, looking at Loki, and he gave a thin smile to be allowed to join their group. "Welcome to The Guild, where we pick on eachother, but follow one basic rule."

"The Dungeon Master is an asshole." They all laughed, and began splashing again in the water. Amy laughed, and Emily asked Loki to toss her off the dock and into the water. He pushed himself up onto the dock and lifted her and gave a swing, and she squealed as he threw her over the water. She screamed as she sailed over them, trying to hold her top on, and kicked her legs as she went under the water. She came back up, her eyes laughing as Mark grabbed Sara and pulled her up onto the dock.

"I challenge you to a jolly good game of short girl tossing!" Mark shouted, and he tossed Sara into the water as she screamed. Everyone laughed, and they had not a care in the world. She came up, and swam under the water again, she liked seeing how long she could stay under, the silence and pressure comforting her as she floated. Her butt hit the silty bottom, and she let her arms float above her as she closed her eyes. The bubbles traced the planes of her face, and she felt her lungs start to demand air. She ignored it, floating free when a pair of arms grabbed her and her eyes shot open. She tried to get free, and she coughed as she felt the arms around her waist and chest.

"What the hell! I was okay!" She coughed, and she turned to see Loki holding her and she heard Mark laughing.

"She is good, it is her weird thing she does. She liked to float under the water, says it feels good to her." Robert laughed, and he let her go. She blushed, and she backed from him.

"I thought you were hurt, and drowning. My apologies." He said to her, and she swam back to him, and gave him a hug. His body went rigid, and she could hear him swallow and then he relaxed slowly. He returned it and she smiled, and she swam back from him again.

"Thanks for caring, it really is a weird thing I do." She said, and took a deep breath of air and let herself sink under the water. She floated free, and she opened her eyes to see him floating across from her. He moved his body so he could float, and she let herself drift as she sank further. The water cradled her, and he watched her as she let her arms float free. She relaxed every muscle in her body and her fingers brushed his. She felt a jolt and his hand held hers as she floated, his eyes on hers in the murky water.

She kicked up and let go of his hand, reaching the surface as she stared back at him. They swam around eachother for a moment, and she returned to the dock. She had to put distance between her and him. She couldn't let this happen, she could get into trouble, and so could he.

--‐--‐--

She curled in the chair in the library, her feet tucked under her as she read the book she picked from the pile of new books on the table. She turned each page, enjoying the story and she heard someone walking up to the room. She looked up, giving Loki a wave as he put the book he had finished reading back on the self and walked around the room to select another. He stopped, sitting down in the other chair, and opened Of Mice and Men and began to read it. He regarded her, and she showed him that she was reading The Crystal Palace.

"I would like that one after you." He said, and she gave him a nod as he sat back in the chair and began reading the book in his hands. She appreciated that he enjoyed reading, and she tried to focus on the book in her hands when a loud banging at the front door made her sit up straight with a start. She put her marker between the pages, and looked out the window to see who it was. Loki took notice at how she jumped, covering her mouth and she saw that familuar GTO parked outside.

"Maybe if we don't answer, he will think I'm gone?" She whispered, peeking through the lace curtains and ducking back. She took her cell phone out of her pants pocket, and dialed the number for Sheriff Rogers. She jumped as he pounded again, and Loki clenched a fist as Travis shouted through the door.

"Sarah! You stupid bitch!" He shouted, and slammed his fist against the door. Loki began walking to the door, and she grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"No such luck, as it seems." Loki said, and stood up from the chair. He stood in the hall, near the door, and they could hear him stomping off the porch.

"Sara? What is going on?" Sheriff Rogers asked, answering his phone and she gasped and almost fell into panic as she remembered the Kitchen door was unlocked.

"Sheriff... Travis is here. He is pounding on my door now!" She said, running toward the back door and nearly knocking Loki over in the process. She tried to hurry, but someone punched her in the cheek in the Den. She fell over backwards, and lay on the rug. Her ass hit the floor painfully, and someone grabbed a handful of her hair and dragged her toward the back yard by it. She screamed, and they threw her down the steps she landed on the paving stones. Her ears ringing, and her leg on fire as she crawled toward her phone. She texted Amy, and felt dizzy as she tried to stand up, but her right leg gave up on her. She screamed, pain traveling through every nerve ending and she heard sirens in the distance.

"Get the fuck off me!" Travis screamed, and she saw Loki punch him in the face and bounce his head off the kitchen tiles. The front door opened, and Sheriff Rogers ran into the house and pushed Loki to the side. He handcuffed Travis, and Sara lay in on the flagstone path and cried with the pain in her body.

"Sara!" She heard the smooth voice of Loki shout, and was scared because he sounded panicked. She blinked as the Sheriff called for an ambulance over his radio, and tried not to shiver from the cold that was settling into her. She took the tablet out, and she unlocked it as Loki stared down at her.

"That is not important Sweetpea, you just wait for the ambulance." Sheriff Rogers said, and she pointed to the device in her hand. Loki picked up her phone, and held it in his hands. He then watched her, lifting her head gently in his hands and resting it in his arm.

"No... listen... program the Hospital they take me to in this... the chip... it has a neurotoxin. Loki could die if they think he is alone and wandering around." She mumbled, and Loki blinked at her as the Sheriff spoke into the radio. The world slowly faded black, the mercy of her body deciding that passing out was the best route.

--‐--‐--

"Listen, you keep that son if a bitch in the darkest cell you can find. I'm damn serious!" The Sheriff said, and paced as he talked. He had left the tablet and her phone sitting on the table in front of Loki, and he rubbed the back of his hand as he thought about the chip in it. How Sara was worried he would die if no one else alerted SHIELD that he was out, and how her last act was to unlock the tablet and leave it that way. He could leave now, walk out the door and program it to tell them that he was where he was. No one would be wiser, and he thought about Sara and her wounds.

She and her friends accepted him that afternoon, and they made him part if their lives. What if leaving was the worst thing he could do, not because of himself, but for the trouble Sara would get into over it? He let out a long breath, and made his decision then.

He reached out, locking the screen again, and setting it on top of her phone.

"There are leftover Babricue ribs in the refrigerator if you would like some Sheriff." He said, and he gestured to it. The handcuffs around his wrist clinking on the table leg as he moved his other hand. Sheriff Rogers chose to lock him to the piece of furniture, as he claimed, for his safety. He let out a breath through his nose, trying not to be annoyed.

"Take this for evidence, the bastard meant to kill Sara." The Sheriff said and handed another Uniformed Officer the bagged gun, marking it as evidence and another took pictures of the place he beat the imbecile for putting his hands on Sara.

"Mark make them?" He asked, and Loki gave him a curt nod. The other officers cleared out of the house, cleaning up after them and leaving everything neat. The Sheriff spoke into his radio, laying down a clipboard where he wrote his report out and taking the offered food out for himself. "You hungry? I don't know how many times a day your people eat or anything."

"The usual three meals a day, with random bits of fruit and nuts thrown in for a snack." He replied, and he watched the man take a beer out of the refrigerator and set another next to it.

"Sheila, show me at the Pruitt place. I'm going to babysit Sara's houseguest, until she gets back." He said into the radio and opened both beers with his keyring. He placed one in front of Loki, and used the key to undo the handcuffs. "I can warm you up some ribs, they are better the next day. I imagine you haven't had any dinner yet, with all this shit going on." He began putting food on two plates, and Loki felt some nagging hunger. He did not have any lunch, and dinner was missed because of recent events.

"I would appreciate that." He replied, and the Sheriff took the plate put of the microwave and set it in front of him, and took out a utensils for the both of them. He gave him some paper napkins, and brought his own meal over, sitting down across from him.

"Amy went to Good Sam... Uh... the hospital in Puyallup. She said that Sara has a broken leg, and they got it set and are putting a cast on it now. She was banged up pretty bad, but will live." He said, and Loki nodded his relief at the revelation that she was not injured terribly. "The Pruitts have been good to me, her Daddy paid for my election. Sara was best friends with Amy since she came here, never liked Darla, but she gave me no grief. I guess what I am saying is that... I'm glad you were here to keep that asshole from killing her."

"I can assure you, it was for selfish reasons also. She is a very warm hearted person, and rather likeable though." Loki replied, and the Sheriff took a long drink from his beer. He chuckled at his response, and dug into his plate of food. Stubble showed along the Man's cheeks and neck, and he sat across the table and stared out the window.

"That likeableness is why I gave her my direct number too, she is like family to me. This town is quiet, usually I get calls about a dust up at the bar, or some kid shoplifting at the Farm and Feed store. Hell, most excitement this town has had since I became Sheriff, is you getting dumped here." He said, and Loki laughed a bit at the last statement. He took a fork full of the food and he nodded as he chewed.

"I will do my best to avoid causing you any further troubles. He laughed, and took a bite of his food and the flavors met his palette and he almost hummed in appreciation at them. "You are right, this does taste even the day after." He said, and the Sheriff toasted him with his beer bottle. They clicked bottle necks, and drank to his statement. The dusting of gray hair, gave away his age, and there was something about how the Sheriff carried himself that commanded respect. Something he radiated in his demeanor, and Loki had to give some acknowledgement to the man for how he didn't use it to bully his way about.

"I'm starting to like you, don't make me regret that decision." He said, and Loki nodded and he washed his food down with some of the beer.

"I will do my best to not disappoint you." He replied, and wiped his hands on a napkin and sat back in the chair. The other man studied him, his eyes taking him in as if he were still forming an opinion about him. He crossed his arms, and jutted his chin out.

"Why did you do it? All the Bullshit in New York?" The man asked, and he waited for an answer. "It will stay between us, but I need to know you are not going to take out the Walmart with a chainsaw."

"I was tortured. I tried to not break for two years, but even I had my limits, and could not resist any further. A person is only so strong, and they did terrible things to my mind, things that still cause me to have headaches. I had no real need to rule this planet, I was forced to remove this planet as a threat that stood in the way of another beings plans." He replied, and opened his hands. The man regarded him, and nodded as he sat in the chair. "I can assure you, those plans have been thwarted. And this planet is safe now."

"I respect you a bit more now for being honest, I will not tell Amy about this at all. Do me a favor though?" He said, and Loki nodded as the Sheriff looked behind him as a car pulled up in front of the house. "Dont get the dumb shit idea to cut that think out of the back of your hand."

"I will refrain from doing so." He replied, and stood up from the table. Loki watched the Sheriff, the alert on him evident.

He stepped carefully, walking to the window and looking through it. He peered through them, and gestured for Loki to stay put. He remained by his seat at the table, and watched the Sheriff place a hand on the weapon at his hip as he walked toward the door. He opened it, and relaxed his stance as Mark carried Sara through the door. She was asleep, her head against his shoulder as he turned sideways to bring her in.

"They gave her pain meds, and they knocked her out. She broke her leg, and will need help doing stuff around the house." Mark said, and Loki stood up as Amy walked in after him. Robert and Emily followed up the stairs, and Loki noticed that she was wearing some sort of robes that she had not left the house in He walked over to them, and he saw the scrrapes and bruises on her arms and uncovered leg. He felt rage scorch a path through him, and her swollen eye caused him to clench a fist.

"Hero of the moment!" Emily said, and wrapped her arms around his neck. He stiffened, but hugged the firey haired girl and she giggled at him. "Thanks for beating up Travis, Spooky!"

"I would do it again." He replied, and Mark made his way up the stairs with Sara. Amy yawned, and handed him an orange vial with a white cap on it. He followed Mark up to her room, and he waited in the hallway outside and handed Mark the pills because he was forbidden from entering her room. Mark gave him a hug as he passed him in the hall, and he smiled at him.

"Emily will help her with a shower in the morning. All you have to do is just be her friend, she was freaked out you were going to get into trouble for that shit with Travis." He said, and he gave a curt nod. He walked back down the stairs, following him and waving goodnight to everyone. The Sheriff put his hat back on, amd shook his hand.

"Keep your nose clean, and that Kitcen just became Vegas. What was said in there, stays in there." The Sheriff said, and he gave him a quick nod as he left. Loki locked the doors, checking them again to be sure and made his way up the stairs. He was about to walk into his room, when he noticed that her light was left on and he went to the room and broke her rule by walking to the bedside table and turning it off. He looked at the cast, and he took her bruised hand in his, giving it a squeeze.

"Sleep well Sara." He said, walking down the hall and collecting the comfortable chair from his room and setting it in the hall. He brought a blanket, and then a book and made himself comfortable by streching his legs out in front of him and covering them with the blanket. He began reading, and kept an ear open in case she needed him for anything. He remained there all night, even after he fell asleep with the book in his lap.