"She's singing softly in the night
Praying for the morning light…"

Chapter 1

Loki stormed into the Great Hall, the messengers words still hanging in his head echoingly: she's gone into labour. Eyes pivoted to the frantic god as he practically ran to the throne of his father, bypassing his surly brother without so much as a glance. His mother stood at Odin's side, a look of equal anxiety on her face as Loki felt in his heart.

"How long?" he demanded, eyes flickering between his two parents. His heart pounded in his chest, the frustration of not knowing such vital information driving him insane: "How long?!"

Frigga's orbs flickered to her husband before she answered. "A few hours that we have known. As to before Heimdall saw her… well, there's no way of knowing for sure."

Loki drank in the words and let his eyes close. A few hours… was that good or bad? He didn't know. All he knew was that those hours he'd spent hidden in the library, making the message delayed in reaching him, were the most loathed hours he'd ever spent in his life.

His hands reached up to tear through his hair. "But she's only seven months. Barely. She shouldn't be due yet…"

"The Asgardian in the baby is speeding up the process. Our metabolism rate is faster than that of a mortal." His mother explained with flawless expertise. Loki was never more grateful for his mother's caring nature, even extending to research the possible implications of their predicament. He didn't dare think of if she hadn't. "The baby will be ready, but Summer's body will be strained."

That sentence alone snapped Loki back to focus and his eyes shot open, wide. Summer… "Take me down there." He demanded in a heartbeat. "I'll not have her do this alone."

Thor finally spoke up from his corner, face dark and eyes glaring. "You should not care so." He growled, his arms folded stiffly over his chest. Anger and violent strength simply radiated from him, and Loki sensed that the training room would get a thorough beating when this was over. "We've put her out of our lives."

Loki's teeth bared in a shameless flare of anger. The bastard, he thought. His temper was already on edge; it wouldn't take much to push him over.

His father beat him to it: "If you had a morsel of decency and self-restraint we would not be here." Odin said bitterly from his throne, cold eyes finally snapping to the present at his eldest. "As it is, this is our grandchild being born and because of you we must only know them from afar."

Eyes shot to the king in shock, none of them hardly believing that such harsh, cold words had left Odin's mouth. Especially to his favourite, prized son. Not that Loki disapproved of them! Thor's undoubtable rage was broken with shock. Although, Loki swore he could hear the distant clap of thunder outside.

"Where is she?" Loki pushed aside, urgency fighting to the surface again. Every second he delayed…

His heart hammered anxiously in his chest at the dark, begrudging look in his father's eye, and the flurrying worry in his mothers. "She's in a field." Frigga finally told him. "On her own." Her shoulders shrugged at Loki's confused expression. "She watches the stars at night."

"A habit of hers." Thor cut in curtly, drawing Loki's attention suspiciously. How did he know this?, Loki wondered in his head darkly, keenly aware that his information seemed to be news only to him. So they were deliberately keeping him out of the loop, Loki reasoned. The God of Thunder found an interesting spot on the wall to glare at in the meantime, thick with bitterness: "Careless for her condition-"

"How could she have known she'd go into labour at seven months?" Loki hissed. "Even we were caught unprepared!"

Still, a part of him glimmered inside – the stars ...Summer was waiting for him. Loki was no fool. He could see her in his mind, lying on a blanket over the grassy field, eyes light, dreaming and hopeful for when she would see him again.

Where was she then?, he wondered. Summer had said she'd come from a port, from the coast – far from where Loki could imagine a field to be! Hope fluttered in his chest that she'd got away from her troubled, violent past and he prayed that it was true. He'd been granted precious little information of her in the last five months. And by that, he meant none.

"She has no aid." His mother said in an almost pleading voice, making Loki think it was directed at his father. Odin's brow was furrowed in troubled thought.

Loki's heart fell at his mother's words. "You have to send me down." He breathed in horror. On her own… the rage flooded back into his system in a rush and he closed the gap between him and Odin in long strides. "She's in danger, and she's alone, and you would just leave her?"

"And if I send you down, what then?" Odin snapped back, rising to meet Loki's hard eye. "You can deliver a child, can you? Sending you down would only rekindle your feelings for her before you would have to separate for a second time."

"Then send mother down!" Loki fired without hesitation. "Or just bring her back!" The plea couldn't be guarded from his voice, but he didn't care anymore. "No one need know the truth. The child could be another mans – mine even! – if that would save Thor's precious reputation. Anything-"

"Why do you insist on tormenting us so? The truth always rises to the surface eventually. We could not hide it forever."

"Just do something!" Loki begged, grasping his father's shoulder in appeal. "If not me then send down mother. You can't leave her there alone. What if something happens – what if she dies?!"

"Then perhaps you can move on from this obsession at last!"

"If you do this then you may as well have just killed her the day you banished her!" Loki yelled, eyes pricking with helplessness. His voice echoed around the Hall, drilling into the bones of every person within it. Even himself. His rage froze into dread at what he'd just said, and his voice came out no louder than a whisper: "It's as good as a death sentence."

Silence.

Loki could hear his heart hammering in his chest and felt despair cling tight. This could not be happening; how could his whole life have spun around from just one woman?

And she was just being left. Forsaken, when she needed their help the most. Loki felt disgusted, but the thought of Summer suffering, of the life being taken from her as she struggled to give birth to her unwanted child… it was just hollowing. He couldn't imagine it, he couldn't.

She couldn't die. Loki's breath hitched at the thought.

Frigga's hand touched on her husband's shoulder delicately, the mighty All Father flinching at such a tender touch after such tense air. His wife's eyes were gleaming. "You cannot just leave her." Her soft voice implored. "It was coming to our care that put her in this situation. We cannot abandon her. She needs help."

Gods bless his mother, Loki thought, almost wanting to weep with gratitude as his father's harsh attitude so noticeably changed at his wife's influence. Frigga could always make him see reason. His eyes softened, and he listened.

"She needs help through this." Frigga insisted delicately.

Odin took a deep breath, as if inhaling his wife's wisdom about the subject. He must listen to her, Loki thought. Frigga was the goddess of child birth – what she said was concrete truth. If she said Summer needed help, then she needed help, and not even the All Father wanted the death of an innocent mortal woman on his hands. Especially the one bearing his first grandchild.

Odin finally sighed and his hand lifted to his shoulder, taking up his wife's fingers in his. "I will not let you go." He said softly to Frigga, making Loki's heart scream with defeat. But then his father's eyes lower to Loki's: "But I will allow someone."

Loki was sure his health would suffer at the rush of emotions that had crashed within him thus far, his heart stopping one minute and raging to hopeful life the next. The eager beam spread on his face uncontrollably, despite the terse situation down on earth.

"Your mother is to stay here." Odin went on sternly, laying down the conditions of his agreement. "As are you." He added firmly.

His eyes then flickered warily to his eldest, still stood with his arms well crossed over his chest, eyes dark and irritated. Loki followed his father's gaze to his brother, and drank over the furious God of Thunder. Did the man care that he was going to be a father in a few hours' time? That he had given a being new life? Probably not. Summer was suffering because of him, but all he cared about was his own selfish pride.

"Not you." Loki spilled defiantly. God only knew what Thor might do to her. The possibilities were limitless in Loki's mind since he'd discovered his brother was so brutal, so relentless. His eyes flickered to Odin. "You can't send him."

Thor's eyes blazed angrily, flickering to Loki with disgust written all over his face. "Of course not me, you fool-"

"I would not dare send him after what he has done." Odin assured darkly, casting a disapproving eye to his eldest, who returned it with equal measure. "I would not send any man to do a task such as this. It is not proper." His eyes flickered between his two sons. "A woman may go. Your mother will brief them on what must be done, but only one woman may descend. Is that understood?"

A woman… Loki's head ran for a face. If not his mother, his thoughts flew instantly to servants, but he couldn't ignore the claw of unease in his belly. This was of such vital importance – how could he leave it to a servant who he didn't even know? No, he needed someone he could trust.

But who? Loki was a warrior, a man. His closest companions were all men that met him in the sparring rings or training room.

Except…

Then his eyes lit up, and he had his answer.

xxx

The sky glittered mercilessly as fire ran through Summer's veins, igniting her pain to every inch of her body.

Oh God, she thought, why now? Why two months early?

She lay flat on her back on the blanket that separated her from the grass, writhing with the contractions that wracked her. Her hands clawed at her clenching belly as if she could dampen the pain. She knew what was happening – but how could it be happening so soon?! She hadn't even attended a birth class yet!

Panic fringed in the backs of her mind, but it was pushed out by the pain. Her eyes were wide, her mouth whimpering helplessly at what she knew must be happening to her.

Seven months, for Heaven's sake! How could this be happening? This wasn't right. Her heart thudded madly in her chest so fast she thought she might have a heart attack, brain not able to think more than pained inner screams.

Oh God. Tears streaked down her face uncontrollably, the sight of the dark sky filling her vision, but granting her little comfort. Loki!

Then the clouds swirled out of nowhere and her heart skipped a beat.

Her body froze were it lay – clouds didn't form that quickly. Not naturally. Her lips stayed ghostly parted but now only barely-there breaths joined the warm summer air. It couldn't be, she thought. He couldn't be-

A thud that rippled the ground silenced her thoughts, Summer's heart pounding with hope. Above, the clouds vanished almost as fast as they'd appeared. She held her breath, wanting nothing to disturb the silence as she listened, slow, staggering footsteps driving her heart into overdrive. Someone was here. Someone.

"Oh gods." Knees skidded beside Summer, and fingers scrambled to grasp her hand at her belly. Summer's heart plummeted: it wasn't Loki. "Please say I'm not too late."

Summer stared wide eyed up into the face of a woman, her long black hair tied back in a ponytail at the back of her head. She was undoubtedly Asgardian. She wore no dress, but well-fitting armour and leather trousers. Summer's face fell unmistakably.

The breath left her in a disappointed rush.

The woman's eyes were sharp and focused as they ran observantly over Summer's form, before settling on her face. Summer could see the hard determination there, but her anxiety was more that obvious – emphasised by the woman's unmistakable gulp.

"Miss Summer, my name is Sif." She said, her voice low and urgent. "My Queen has given me instructions to help you."

Her Queen… Frigga. Summer felt like smiling with relief, but her face muscles wouldn't work the way she wanted them to. Still, she couldn't deny the flood of happy warmth inside her: they hadn't forgotten her after all. Her fingers gripped back at Sif's as her mind was sharply drawn back to the pain in her body. The gasping whimper was torn from her throat.

A dark glint crossed Sif's orbs, one that stilled Summer's breath all over again despite the clenching in her belly. The woman leaned down, and put her lips beside Summer's ear. "But more importantly," she breathed. "I come bearing a message from Loki."