Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, nor The Avengers or any other Marvel movie.

Chapter 7 – Asgard to Earth

The Bifrost opened much to the Avengers' excitement, having neither seen nor heard from the final member of their team in almost two years. The power surge so close to the facility had caused their systems to go haywire and all of them to rush to the scene, initially thinking the worst until they recognized the flow of power for what it was. However, it was not Thor who greeted them when the Bifrost was turned off, but four beings they'd fought with against Hela, though which only one of them truly knew.

"Sif." Coulson greeted the Asgardian warrior.

"Son of Coul." She greeted in return.

"Thor not with you?"

"No, we come as guards to another." She said unhappily. "Allow me to introduce the Warriors Three, Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg, three of the finest warriors in the nine realms."

"Nice to meet you." Coulson replied. "If not Thor then who?" Sif frowned and directed her words to someone realms away.

"Heimdall all is safe." Once again the Bifrost opened and the four Asgardians stepped aside and bowed their heads, paying deference to whoever was arriving. The Avengers watched with interest as the energy that allowed for travel between realms shut off to reveal a short, very familiar, brunette.

"Janie!" Tony cried, rushing forward to hug her, only to be stopped by a firm hand on his shoulder.

"No longer." Fandral spoke up, a sharp edge to his voice. "Allow me to present the Queen of Asgard, Queen Jane."

"Yes, thank you Fandral." She replied with an unqueenly eye roll, moving forward out of the Bifrost's circle while he bowed with a respectful murmur of "My Queen."

"It's so good to see you all again." She said, unbidden tears gathering in her eyes. Although Fandral had stopped Tony from initiating contact, he did not stop Jane when she all but ran the few steps towards her friends and pulled them into a group hug, Tony included. They were all present, from those who had been there from the start of the Avengers to those who had helped with Ultron, and even those she did not know had joined, such as King T'Challa.

"Woah!" Steve exclaimed when Jane's hug brought him closer to her. He stepped back immediately and looked her up and down in shock. Jane let out a little laugh, knowing exactly what he had felt and nodded in confirmation.

"Ok, what's going on between you two?" Natasha asked. In response Jane smoothed down her voluminous dress and smiled when their eyes were drawn to her belly. Jane was almost into her third trimester by now and given her petite stature she looked more pregnant than she was, though the healers assured her the baby had a great deal more growing to do.

"Yeah didn't see that coming." Tony said as she shoved Clint forwards.

"What are you doing?" He demanding.

"You have kids." Tony explained.

"So…what? I'm the only one who can be near a pregnant woman?" Tony nodded and Clint rolled his eyes.

"I believe congratulations are customary in a situation like this?" Vision asked, and Jane happily accepted his sentiments as well as the others' when they offered them up.

"So since when are you the Queen of Asgard?" Tony couldn't help but ask.

"Since I married its King. Which really shouldn't be a surprise to you." She replied and turned her attention to Steve. "What I want to know is why you're here, how are you here, out in the open like this. You're not being hunted anymore?" Steve laughed darkly, something he almost never did and didn't bode well for those he was against.

"The Joint Counter Terrorist Centre realized they were only able to stop us because we were fighting amongst each other. They may have the capabilities to hold us once in their grasp-"

"Thanks to him." Clint muttered, and Jane saw that although Tony had been forgiven, his actions weren't soon to be forgotten.

"But getting us in their grasp…not so much."

"So you made some show of power and unity and they just backed off?" She was sceptical.

"Well that, and Vision showed them the battle on Asgard."

"What?!"

"Odin said that the Infinity Stones have unlimited power and with one in my possession it made me realize that I have, if not unlimited power, then certainly great power. Power which I had not even attempted to use." Said Vision. "It is the Mind Stone that is a part of me and so I used it to enter their minds, show them the battle and a bit of what is to come."

"Essentially they realized that they needed them to defend Earth." A voice said and Jane turned to see Stephen and Wong. "We detected the power surge and came as quickly as we could."

"So you haven't been recruited yet?" Jane asked, surprised that the Avengers had let Stephen Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme, slip from their grasp.

"Oh they tried to recruit me." Stephen laughed. "But being Sorcerer Supreme doesn't exactly leave me with much time. We agreed to work on a consultant basis."

"Naturally."

"Congratulations, by the way." He said with a look to her midsection. "And where is the doting father-to-be?"

"Good question." Bruce chimed in.

"He's…busy." Jane's answer was cryptic. "And while he's busy I intend to visit my father, Erik, Darcy and Pepper." She said before they could ask. "So, Tony, can I borrow one of your jets? I promise to bring it back in one piece."

"And what about returning you to Asgard in one piece?" Sif interrupted forcefully.

"Sif-"

"No! My Queen, forgive me, but we really must protest. This is not what was agreed upon."

"Yes, this is madness!" Volstagg agreed.

"Please return to Asgard at once, where we can better protect you." Hogun added.

"If not for yourself then think about what the Allfather will do to us if anything happens to you or your child." Said Fandral, earning raised eyebrows from the Avengers.

"Clearly we're missing something here." Scott muttered to Sam.

"Indeed you are." Said Volstagg. "Primarily that Thor – the Allfather – does not even know she is here, let alone gave his permission for this little excursion."

"I don't need Thor's permission to do anything." Jane snarled. "And you all know he's overreacting. As usual."

"Perhaps, but he is the Allfather and it is his right to overreact if he so chooses." Fandral said. "When we agreed to accompany you here you said it was merely to warn these Avengers of Thanos' more imminent arrival-"

"Wait, what?!" Steve tried to interrupt.

"Not to go off to lord only knows where in this realm!" They continued as if he hadn't spoken.

"We were to be in and out quickly and that is what we shall be. The warning has been given, now it is time to go. We cannot allow you to go off somewhere unknown." Hogun's tone was final.

"Then it's good thing it's not up to you." Jane retorted, though not unkindly, knowing they were only concerned for her safety.

"But it is up to me." Came a deep baritone voice. Everyone had been so focused on their argument that they had failed to notice Thor's arrival.

"Allfather." The Asgardian warriors murmured, bowing before their King.

"Enough, friends, you do not bow to me." He said the often repeated phrase as he patted the nearest to him on the shoulder before walking passed them towards his wife.

"But I'm expected to?" Jane asked, arms crossed and an eyebrow raised, a sure sign her husband had better tread carefully.

"Have I asked you to?" Thor returned, crossing his own arms. This was not the first time they'd had this argument. Jane had confessed to him her talk with Sif from all those months ago and Thor had tried to reassure her he would never try and forcefully bend her to his will or any such thing. She had believed him, and still did logically, though her hormones were a different story; his overprotectiveness often set her off as the pregnancy hormones overrode her brain. "Have I dictated your movements? Have I ever asserted control over you that is technically my right as your husband?" He waited for an answer that didn't come for even in her hormone driven anger, she could not claim he'd ever tried to control her. "No, I have not."

"Then how is it your decision?"

"Because your safety is the one thing I will not play with. I would forsake all nine realms to keep you, and our child, safe. Do not doubt that in this instance if I have to order Heimdall to force you home, send the entire guard to watch over you, and order the Bifrost closed to all but me to keep you safe, then I will." Jane stared at him for a moment before breaking down into tears.

"I'm sorry." She cried, allowing him to take her into his arms and comfort her. "I'm so sorry, I know you just want us safe." Thor murmured that it was all right even as he looked passed her to their friends, most of whom looked in shock, though one whom was outright amused.

"Ah pregnancy hormones...don't miss those one bit." Clint said with a laugh. Thor could not stop the twitch at the corner of his mouth, though he forced himself not to smile and continued to rub his wife's back until she was calm. He then bent to her level and gave her a kiss before taking her hand in his and turning to his fellow Avengers.

"Friends, it has been awhile." He greeted.

"Long enough for you to get leg shackled and crowned King of the gods at any rate." Tony quipped, reaching to shake Thor's hand.

"We are not gods." He reminded them as he had many times before. "And I am not sure I understand what 'leg shackled' means."

"He means married." Jane supplied.

"Ah, I see." He said, though he really didn't. "I am not sure I will ever understand your humour, Tony Stark."

"You're not the only one." Muttered Natasha.

"We have kept an eye on Earth," Thor continued. "Though I am sorry we have been unable to return before now. However, with Asgard in the state it was after Hela's attack it could not be helped."

"You have been busy." T'Challa commented. "We understand."

"Thank you, friend, we have indeed been busy."

"Quite busy, I'd say." Tony couldn't help but add in reference to Jane's pregnancy, a comment that earned him the petite brunette's ire.

"You know of my father's death. Jane and I married and were crowned King and Queen of Asgard as we continued to rebuild. It has been a slow process, and only recently has the Bifrost been completed."

"That's a touching story." Bruce said sincerely but he couldn't help adding. "But what happens when her mortal life ends and you life for another few thousand years? Unless you plan to be all Romeo and Juliet about it."

"Another reference I am unfamiliar with, but whatever it is shall not happen. I am not the first Asgardian to love a mortal. Thanks to the Apple of Yggdrasil, Jane is as much an immortal as I. I'm just lucky she agreed to leave her home to be with me."

"Right…" Tony started after a moment. "So pretending we understood that and getting back to the task at hand…what is this about Thanos?"

"He comes quicker than we thought." Said Thor. "It is why I did not wish you to leave Asgard." He turned to Jane, unamused.

"He's coming faster than we thought, he's not here yet." She defended.

"His reach is far and you cannot guarantee that he is has not extended his influence to Earth, even if he himself is not here yet." Jane had no response to that and so merely stayed quiet, letting Thor win this one as she knew she'd get her way in the end.

"So what do we do?" Asked Peter, who they noticed was not the overexcited teenager they had previously met, though he was still certainly a kid.

"I think the question is what can we do?" Wanda corrected him.

"What's your plan?" Jane asked, looking up at Thor. "I know you, Thor Oddinson, you have a plan." He smirked as he turned his gaze to the sky.

"Heimdall, when you're ready." He spoke to the all-seeing guardian who opened the Bifrost seconds later, bringing to Earth someone those of this realm weren't sure if they ever wanted to see again.

"Loki." Steve greeted, albeit reluctantly, the only one willing to do so. Although they couldn't deny that he'd helped them against Hela, there was still the not so small fact that he'd once tried to take over Earth. The group stared at Loki for a moment before their silence was interrupted by Jane who had turned to her husband.

"No! Absolutely not!" She snapped at him.

"Sweetheart-"

"Don't you sweetheart me!" Her snap turned into a growl. "This is insane! I can't believe you'd even consider this! Don't forget that I can lift Mjölnir too and I will be happy to clobber you with it when we get home!"

"Ok, what is she talking about?" Rhodey asked.

"No clue." Sam answered for them all.

"He means to use Loki as bait." Jane explained unhappily. "Thanos is after him and as he's had a hold of Loki before it'll be easier for him to get his claws in him again."

"To what purpose?" Vision appeared curious and the least hostile towards the one who'd nearly destroyed their world. "I can only think that you mean to have Loki gain Thanos' trust and work from inside to bring him down. However, to do so would require that we trust him not to betray us to Thanos."

"It's not trusting him I'm worried about." Jane murmured. They stared at her for a moment before realization dawned.

"You're worried about him getting hurt." It was all but an accusation.

"Is it so bad I've come to care for him after almost two years of living in the same palace?"

"Yes." Tony's answer was short. "Yes it is."

"Well get over it." She snapped.

"I know I have given you all little cause to trust me."

"That's the understatement of the century." Clint muttered.

"I give you my word as King of Asgard that we can trust him." Thor promised. "It is near impossible to fool the Soul Stone in my possession, even for Loki." That made them feel a little better, though they weren't so quick to trust him as Thor was, especially when they saw Sif's scowl.

"I'm still not sure, but we'll listen to what you have to say." Was all Steve would promise. It was enough though and Thor smiled in acceptance.

"We have enough time to prove to you Loki's loyalty."

"Oh, so we're all going to live for hundreds of years now?" Clint commented again, this time earning a pointed elbow to the ribs from Natasha.

"I shall divulge all shortly." Thor continued as if Clint hadn't spoken. "For now I must face my father-in-law and explain why I've kept his daughter away for so long." Jane smiled and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder only to drop it, and her smile, a moment later.

"Um…I wouldn't worry so much about my father." She said, a scared look on her face that immediately drew Thor's attention.

"Jane, what is it?" The worry in his voice had Loki, Sif and the Warriors Three on guard, though there was nothing that could stop the force of nature that was coming their way.

"JANE FOSTER!" Every head whipped around to face the oncoming projectile.

"Darcy!" Thor called jubilantly.

"I'll get to you in a minute." She growled as she by-passed him, having slowed down some upon seeing Jane's condition, though it still didn't stop her from wrapping her former mentor in a tight embrace. "My god, Jane, you disappear off the face of the Earth and don't even call?!"

"Darcy, I couldn't exactly-"

"I was so worried! Now you show up out of the blue like this? Were you even planning on visiting?"

"Darcy-"

"I missed you so much! There wasn't anyone to talk to with you gone."

"Darcy-"

"And you're pregnant! And Queen of Asgard I hear? How could you not tell me?"

"Darcy!" Jane finally got her to stop talking a mile a minute. "Calm down and I'll explain everything, ok?"

"Calm down?!" She demanded angrily. "I ran here as soon as I got the call and-"

"Got the call?" Now it was Jane's turn to interrupt. "Got the call from whom? We've been here all of-" She cut off as her eyes landed on Tony. "You know what? Forget I even asked." Thor cringed at the look Jane was sending Tony, very glad it wasn't directed at him.

"I would run, Stark." He advised. Tony didn't have to be told twice and began backing away.

"Tony Stark you get back here!"

"No I don't think so."

"You called her?!"

"You were gonna visit her anyways."

"Yes but on my terms! Not facing her wrath because I didn't call her the second I got here!"

"I'm not that bad, am I?" Darcy asked to which Thor wisely remained quiet.

"Tony get back here!" Jane had taken off at a fast walk, chasing after him.

"Should she be chasing someone in her condition?" Peter asked, never having known someone who was pregnant before.

"Even if she shouldn't there is no stopping her." Sif said with a scowl. "Our Queen is quite stubborn."

"Jane, be careful." Thor called, but otherwise made no move to stop her, so no one worried too much if he wasn't panicked. He then turned to Darcy and happily accepted the hug she forced on him. "Change of plans, I suppose. It will hurt a lot less to wait a few hours to see Jane's father then to deny Darcy."

"Wise move." The woman in question said.

"Shall we retire inside, friends? I should find Jane, at any rate."

"You mean before your wife kills Tony?" Natasha asked with a smirk.

"Queen Jane would not harm a soul." Volstagg defended.

"Yeah you better run!" They heard but could not see either Jane or Tony.

"You were saying?" The amusement was clear.

"It's the hormones." Clint said sagely. "She won't kill him though."

"TONY!"

"But she might maim him." He amended. "I'd be careful the closer she gets to her due date. I know Laura became a bit insane, and she's only human." Thor laughed.

"Wiser words were never spoken, my friend. Come! Allow me to fetch my wife and then we shall drink, eat and be merry while we can! Thanos can wait until tomorrow."

"Awesome!" Peter exclaimed, only to get wrapped up in a headlock.

"Yeah, none for you. You're still underage." Said Steve.

"Aw! Come on!" Laughter followed the Avengers inside as they allowed themselves to relax. Thor had said that Thanos could wait till tomorrow and so they unanimously agreed to use what may be their last day of freedom for nothing serious. Tomorrow would come soon enough.

A/N - The end!

This basically leads right into Infinity War, though as I said I'm not going into it in this fic. Who knows though, maybe I will next year when the movie comes out. Thanks for reading!

Review please!