Fallen Star

Fallen Star Chapter 15

"The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say."

-The Hobbit

Jane sat alone at the table in the lab, making herself finish the last of the tomato soup she'd made for lunch. Darcy had gone, and Fenris was in Erik's trailer—though what he was looking for, Jane didn't know. He hadn't wanted to eat any of the breakfast Coulson had gotten for them at the hospital, and he hadn't even acknowledged her offer for lunch once they'd been dropped back off at home. She could count on one hand how many words he'd said to her today, and most of them were "yes" or "no."

She rubbed her forehead, wishing she could take a nap—but she knew she'd never be able to sleep. Too much spun through her head, mainly worry for Erik, confusion about Fenris, and deep dread about the Cube.

Her cell phone rang. She jumped, then got up and picked up her purse off the couch. She rummaged around as the phone sang Mozart's "Turkish March" far too loudly. Finally, she pulled it out, hit the button and put it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Sweetheart," sighed a familiar voice. Jane straightened.

"Mr. Stark?"

"Yep, that's me," he said, sounding very tired. "Glad I could catch you."

Jane's heart leaped.

"Did you find something?"

"Well...Yes, and no," he answered, and she could almost see his wince. "That's kind of what I wanted to call you about, but first I wanted to call you about a sort of hunch I had, and I wanted to offer my assistance."

Jane pressed her fingers to her forehead as she tried to follow him.

"Okay..."

"See, I had a hunch last night, while I was bent over a bunch of old papers with my head almost cracking open," he said. "And my hunch is that your Asgardian boyfriend is going to go after the Cube—and of course, if he did, he'd want to take you with him, so—"

"Wait, wait," Jane held up a hand. "Boyfr...Fenris?"

"Um, yeah."

Jane shook it off.

"What makes you think he's going after the Cube?" Jane demanded.

"Look, I may not be the best with people, but I know that guy," Tony answered. "Even if he is from some other planet—realm. His and my internal metronomes tick at about the same rate. He was easy to figure out." He heaved another sigh. "Anyway, I just have a gut feeling, and I'm usually right. So when you find out that I am right, call Pepper, and she'll set you up."

"Set us up?" Jane frowned. "With what?"

"With anything you need," Tony answered. "Here, let me give you her number."

"Okay," Jane said, scrabbling for a piece of paper and a pen. "I'm ready."

Tony rattled off a few digits, and she scribbled them down.

"Normally, I wouldn't even call, I'd just come pick you guys up and we'd go together," Tony said as she finished. "But I've got another lead I'm in the middle of following."