Frigga put her hands over her son and there was a light. She had her eyes closed and was chanting in some unknown tongue. The Avengers were watching her closely, hoping to see some change on their sick friend. None came.
Loki remained pale and unresponsive in his bed, the machines around him beeping in their steady rhythm.

No change.

"What is the matter, mother? Why is Loki not waking?"

Frigga seemed confused. It wasnt working. Why wasnt it working? It should be working, there was no reason for Loki to continue being like that. He should have healed. Friggas work was immense and she was working very hard on this. It didnt make any sense, none at all. She tried again, strongly. She modified the spell. She did everything she could think of while the Avengers watched expectantly around her. But nothing happened.

Thor's mother looked at her youngest son, grief in her eyes. There was an option that made sense... The only option remaining. But it was too grim, too sad to even think about. She didnt want to think about it. Nevertheless, as she repeated the spell with the same results, she had to accept it

"I fear he is far too gone for my abilities. She finally admitted."

"NO!" Boomed Thor.

"Surely there must be something you can do, madam, some other way." Steve said, a pleading look in his eyes.

Frigga thought about it. The only option that she still had was quite extreme but she had to do it. Had to do all she could. She was not going to lose her child again, not while she still breathed.

"I will take Odins horse and go to the gates of Hel, to bargain for his life. But it is possible that I dont succeed you should probably say your farewells. I am truly sorry that I wasnt able to provide better help." And with a pale yellow light, she was gone.

Natasha, Steve and Thor were left alone again feeling even more depressed than before. After all that time, after spending months on the bedside of their team mate it seemed that everything was lost. That this was the end. That the situation was hopeless.

While theres life, theres hope, Steve kept repeating himself. But his mind couldnt help picturing funerals and goodbyes and things like that. He didnt deserve this. Not after how hard hed worked, not after redeeming himself and working his way into the team. Hed done so much good and all for what? To die. No. He couldnt die without knowing how important hed been to him, to Tony to the whole team. He was so important. He couldnt, not in some hospital bed. He tried to hold back his tears. He had lost so much already and he kept losing./p

Natasha was paralyzed, frozen. This was all too much for her. The Captains eyes were bright and he was shaking a bit. And Loki. Damn him. Why had he made this? Become important only to die, and leave a bittersweet taste in all of them. She suddenly wished shed been more civil with the guy. That she had talked to him, thanked him for his services. But no. She ignored him, even after he saved her and Clints asses once and again. She let her resentment and anger get the best of her, even when Stark and Rogers told her about how great the guy was.

Nothing happened.

Nothing continued to happen

Until one Tuesday in December, when it all changed.

Loki didnt know where he was. It was some sort of white, windowless space and he was barefoot. He looked around him, but there was no one around. He felt strangely weightless in that place, whatever it was. And fearless. Lifeless. He walked, and walked and walked but everything was the same, the place was a white infinity. He vaguely wondered if this was what the afterlife looked like. Hed always known he wouldnt go to Valhalla, but pictured Hel very differently. Maybe this wasnt Hel either. Who knew.

Suddenly, he saw a shadow behind him and quickly turned to see a familiar figure.

"Mother! What are you doing here? What is this place?"

"We dont have much time, Loki. You have been cursed with losing the ability to breathe but I made an arrangement for it to be lifted."

"An arrangement?"

"Yes. I forced the caster to undo his work. But fret not, son, he wont be able to harm you again. Or anyone else."

"If there is no curse, then what am I doing here?"

" body is in a very poor condition. The only thing thats keeping you alive are the Midgardian machines connected to your body."

She caressed her sons face and saw a tear run down through his pale cheek. He was so beautiful. He deserved better than this, deserved reaching old age, deserved friendship and love, admiration

"But you are strong, Loki, you have always been and now I am going to need to use that remarkable strength of yours, once more. You have to will yourself awake."

"I dont know if I can, mother."

"You have to. For me. I couldnt bear losing you again, Loki, I will not bear that grief again. Come back. For your brother. For your friends. They are waiting for you, Loki, they have been waiting all this time. They want you to come back."

And suddenly they were there, too. Thor with his cape and hammer, smiling, as blonde and bulky and usual. Steve Rogers, not with his Captain America suit but the clothes he usually wore in breakfast, a simple t-shirt and some jeans, he seemed happy to see him. There was Stark, too, with a glass full of liquor and even the Lady Romanoff, who merely nodded at him.

"You can do this, Loki, I know you can. Fight like you always have done, fight for us, fight for you. You wont be alone. Not anymore."

Loki closed his eyes and focused. Knowing his life depended on this. He didn't want to go - not yet, not when were starting to look up. No. He could fight, and fight he did, like never. He closed his eyes, and could feel the whiteness begin to crumble, the reality of that place start to collapse. And he kept at it, harder, knowing he was so close. Until he made it.

Loki opened his eyes and felt like he was choking - there was a strange device in his throat and it was choking him.

He could see blue eyes looking at him with surprise and how the man was trying to comfort him, speaking words his mind could not fully understand. And then after some agonic seconds in which he tried to understand what had just happened, what was going on around him, where he was oand who those people were (his mind was muddled by drugs and he was extremely disoriented) but then there was another man and he took the things out of his throat. And he could breathe again. Finally.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

Loki's mind started working again. Midgard, the Avengers, that damned cough and the last thing he remembered was having no air and losing sight of the world while in Stark's living room. And then nothing, absolutely nothing. Well, there was something... something he had a hard time remembereing. Something that was probably not possible, because he'd been there the whole. His mother. That room with no windows. But that must have been a dream. Nothing else. A dream.

The Avengers gave him all the attentions one could wish for. They were there, bringing him food, helping him, being sure that he was cared for. The recovery wasn't miraculous, but it was speedier than many. Everyone was so attentive, even the Lady Romanoff, which surprised Loki inmensely. They kept telling him that he was part of the team, and that they were very happy that he wasn't dead.

Sometimes, Loki remembered the room where he'd been, the room with no windows and longed to be back there. Sometimes, the darkness and the sickness - his old companions- called him and told him to go. Sometimes, Loki felt tempted to leave all the fighting once and for all and join the darkness that had claimed him before, so many times.

But they were there too - his brother, the Captain, the Doctor and the inventor, always there to bring him back.

The cruel words of the beginning long forgotten.

And no longer ill.

A/N: Sorry. Just wanted to give it a resolution. Hope you liked :)