"Banner, is she waking up," a male voice asks Bruce.
"She's opening her eyes," says another.
This one I can identify as Tony. A hand is against my cheek. I reach for it carefully.
"Cassy," the voice asks.
"Cassy," he brought out.
A tear rolled down my cheek.
I put my hand on his chest and felt the warm blood on my hands. He looked at me with both eyes in love.
"No. No," I whispered and put my head on his chest.
Thor turned his head toward the sky.
"Thor. You're not leaving me alone. Not yet," I sighed between all my tears.
I could barely breathe.
"Even better," Loki began, pointing at me with his scepter.
"You die together with him".
"Thor," I then shouted.
The hand on my cheek twitched briefly. But then settled warmly against it again.
"Christine."
I open my eyes now and can only see everything double and triple, but I recognize Thor's gaze.
"You're here," I then state in a whisper.
Thor nods.
"But I am," I continue, wanting to take his hand from my cheek.
I don't want him to think that I'm in love with him.
When I see sharply again, I realize that Bruce and Tony and Natasha are standing in the room with us.
"She's fine so far," Bruce announces after a few checks and pats.
"Congratulations Thor. You caught her at the right moment," Bruce sarcastically congratulates Thor.
"What," I exclaim, and all the faces in the room, which had previously looked very relieved, turn to me rather shocked.
"You caught me, Thor? You did that?"
Uncertainly, he nods and takes his folded arms hanging down.
"Thank you," is all I manage to get out.
The reason I jumped in the first place caught me just before I hit the ground.
_________________________________
"Do you remember this place," was my question to Thor, two days after my bed rest ended, as we stand on the balcony.
"Of course," he says, leaning on the railing.
"This is where you met Loki," he then finishes, looking out over the sunset over New York.
"And this is where you gave me the necklace," I add shyly.
"Don't mention it," he then says, turning to me.
"Thor me," I begin, but he puts a finger over my mouth.
Warm.
"You still need to take it easy."
I nod understandably.
"Where's the necklace," he then asks after taking a quick look at my neck.
"I'm so sorry, Thor. I'm so sorry I lost it."
"You have it," Thor puts in, looking down at me.
"Please don't be angry".
"In fact, why didn't you come with me when you thought we needed to see your mother?"
"I wanted to come, but Loki dragged me away from you at the last moment".
"And then what happened?"
"Well... we.... We got closer," I tell him honestly.
"In what way did my brother bother you?"
I have no idea how to answer.
"At that moment, I wouldn't have considered it harassment. From today's perspective, however, it is."
"How do you mean?"
"I remember a necklace," I mutter, seeing the clear image before me.
"And this one I exchanged for yours".
He looks deep into my eyes, which discreetly throws me off my game.
"Only after that did I do what he liked and was good for. The next morning I woke up without it and he seemed hysterical when he realized that".
"Just as he had said," I then finish.
"What did he say," Thor asks, taking a step toward me.
"Come with me."
Floor five. Library.
"Here," I call out successfully after a long search, without Thor really knowing what I was looking for.
"Lokasennas," I say and come to him.
I open the book and as if by pure magic, opened the page on which Loki Gefion - me? - on display.
"In Loki's "Shame Speeches," Gefion wonders why the Aesir are angry with Loki. She says it is his way of blaspheming and accuses him of hating the Aesir. Loki now attacks Gefion, saying that a milkbeard gave her jewelry and she immediately wrapped her thighs around him. Odin then warns Loki not to arouse Gefion's resentment, for she knows as much about the fate of the world as the chief god himself," I read aloud.
Next to it is another picture of Gefion getting upset with Loki, who just grins mischievously. Just as we already know it.
"That means you're attributing meaning to Loki's insinuation?"
"Yes. It makes perfect sense".
I put the book back on the shelf.
I start to sneeze.
"Are you okay?"
"Can we get out of here? I must have kicked up some dust".
We go up to floor seventeen, where the bedrooms are.
"Are you going to your room?"
"No. I don't want you to," I say, holding his hand tightly as he tries to turn away from me.
"Where have you been all this time?"
"Where you sent me and Mjölnir," Thor says with a smile.
"Mimir," I try to repeat after him questioningly.
Thor smiles and holds out his hand. A crash sounds and then he holds his hammer in his hand.
"This is Mjölnir".
I have to laugh for a moment. Then I look at him seriously again.
"So you were in Italy".
"Yep. And I visited your mother there".
Without words, I look at him.
"How did you know," I begin to ask, drawing my eyebrows together.
"The Policlinico Sant'Orsola-Malpighi," now he mispronounces Italian.
"That's what you told Tony when they called".
"So you were there when they did," I put in, noticing Thor take my hand.
"When she passed away, yes," he finishes the part of the sentence I couldn't easily say.
I sigh.
"She was smiling. She was happy. I told her about your good deeds."
Astonished and wide-eyed, I look up at him.
"But she's in heaven now, Cassy. She will watch over you".
Tears of joy well up inside me.
"Oh, and," Thor begins, rummaging in his pants pocket.
"This is what she wanted me to give you".
I accept a small red package from his hands. Carefully, I pull open the bow.
Then I look at Thor.
"She was nice. Even though she didn't know me, she trusted that I belonged with you," he continues talking as I lift the lid.
A note lies inside. And a shiny amulet.
Dear Christine,
you are my only daughter. The only one I really should have been there for. But it looks like fate wanted it differently. My fate at least. You will spend quite a while on Midgard and other worlds. I never wanted to tell you - I wanted to spare you this big thing - but now I realize that I only spared myself. You are Gefion. I'm sure you've figured that out by now. Your friend told me about your adventures and yours. I...
After that, only scribbled letters follow.
"She wrote it within her last minutes," Thor explains.
Tears instinctively burn in my eyes and I run my fingers over the amulet.
"It's so beautiful," I whisper and open it.
Inside are a picture of Dad and one of me.
"It was hers," I then state.
Thor nods and I have to hug him. Jerking away, I pull him to me and breathe in his scent deeply. When I pull out of the hug easily, he looks at me. Especially he stares at my lips.
"Is it okay if," he asks, but I press my lips to his.
This time the love is real and not just dedicated to a necklace.