Second Chance

Chapter 37

"Yes, I'm calling about the cake I ordered. Is it still OK if I pick it up Saturday morning?" I asks the lady at the bakery. "OK great, thank you so much. I'll see you then." I hang up the phone as I head back into the house. Kari and Erika are sitting at the dining room table for lunch.
"Mommy, your home!" Erika says as she runs to me for hug.
"I sure am, my love. I'm just trying to make sure that your birthday party this weekend is perfect. How old will you be again? Nine?"
"No mommy, four!" She laughs and kisses my cheek. She rushes back over to the table to finish her sandwich. I can't believe in just a couple of days, my princess, will be four. Time sure does fly by. I hear a knock at the door and Thor comes rushing in. "Uncle Thor!" Erika says as she runs to him. He picks her up and holds mer close. It's just so cute to watch them. "Why are you here?" She smiles.
"Actually, I need to talk to your mother for a moment." He smiles and puts her down. She goes back over to the table and Thor and I head upstairs.
"You OK, brother?"
"Sarah, we have found him." My heart literally stops. I can barely breathe.
"Is he..."
"Alive. He was found at the gates of Hel. He was brought back to us."
"Is he OK?" I ask, barely being able to keep myself together.
"I am not sure. He has been in captivity for a long time, and he seems to be under some trance. He does not believe he is at the palace. He keeps saying it is all an illusion. That it is merely a dream. I believe, if you come speak with him, it might help."
"This is insane. I think I might puke." I rush to the bathroom and let everything come out. Is this real? I almost gave up hope that he would ever come back. What if he doesn't believe me? What if he never recovers. I stand and wipe my mouth off and wash it out. I go change into a regular outfit and head back to where Thor is standing. "OK. I'm ready. I just need to go talk to Kari and Erika." I head down the stairs and into the dining room. "Erika, sweety. Mommy has to go see the king with uncle Thor, OK? I will come back soon, I promise."
"Can I go?" She asks.
"Not today honey. I want to make sure everything is safe first. Now, I promise I'll be back before your birthday. Don't give Aunt Kari too much trouble, OK?"
"OK mommy." She comes and gives me a hug. I've never traveled this far away from her. I take Kari's hand and lead her into the living room.
"They found him, didn't they?" She asks with a smile.
"Yes, but he is not himself. They want me to try and talk to him. There should be plenty of food in the fridge. I'm gonna leave you my phone since I have no use for it there. Someone might call about the balloons or something, just answer to your best ability."
"Don't worry Sarah, we will be fine."
"Thank you so much Kari." I hug her tightly and walk out the door. Thor grabs my hand and before he can tell heimdall to open the bifrost, I teleport us to the rainbow bridge. I let go of his hand and take a deep breath. Been quite a while since I have done that little trick. I follow Thor to the palace and to Loki's room. He pats my shoulder.
"Sarah, I know this is going to be hard, but you must try not to get sad. He may not believe you are real." He says.
"I'll try my best." I take another deep breath, and open the door, shutting it behind me. The room is dark. I can see he is laying under the covers. I walk over to the windows and open the curtains, letting the sun shine in. I walk over to the bed and pull the covers back to see him staring right at me. His eyes are sunken in, his face is even more pale than when I last saw him, and he doesn't smile. "It would do you some good to get a little sunlight." I tell him.
"Why should I listen to figment of my own imagination?" He hisses. I grab the covers and throw them on the ground, and walk away. Keep it together. Don't break down Sarah.
"Why do you believe I'm just your imagination?"
"I know none of this is real. This is all in my head. Thanos only wants me to believe it's real. I have seen this same memory over and over."
"Well, what happens in this memory?"
"I give you a ring. A proposal of sorts."
"You mean this one?" I say holding up my hand. I walk closer to him and he sits up on the bed. He takes me hand and looks at it closely. The fact that this is the first time he has touched me in forever is killing me. I can feel the soft and rough spots on his hands. I can smell the vanilla, the scent I have refused to smell in years.
"How did you already get this? I have not given it to you yet."
"You already gave it to me, five years ago."
"That is impossible."
"Nope, sure isn't. Do you remember the day you left for that mission, even though I didn't want you to go?"
"Yes." He says with a sigh. He lets go of my hand and looks at me. I can see the sadness and torment in his eyes.
"You told me you would do whatever it takes to come back to me. And then, while on said mission, you saved the team by letting thanos take you away. I'm not sure what he did to you. But that was five years ago."
"Why should I believe you?"
"Because I'm real, honey. I'm right here. Right in front of you. I've been waiting for you for five years. And now that your home, I'm not letting you go." I take my hand and gently touch his cheek.
"Why would you wait for me? You should have moved on." He says sternly.
"Because, I love you, Loki laufeyson. And there was no way I was going to give up what we had." He reaches out and touches my face. He begins to cry uncontrollably.
"You're real?" He asks.
"Yes, honey. I'm real. Do you know what else is real?" He looks at me and I lean forward, kissing him softly. He puts his arms around me and holds me close. The kiss is passionate, and its like we are kissing for the very first time. I pull away and look at him. He puts a strand of my hair behind my ears and stares at me.
"This is hard for me.." He whispers.
"You've been through worse. I did keep you locked in a box." I smile and so does he. He smiles and instantly start crying. Not being able to hold it back any longer.
"Sarah?" He asks, trying to get me to calm down.
"I missed you, damnit." I manage to say and he pulls me into his arms, holding me tightly. I can feel his body shutter as he cries with me. He pulls back and tries to wipe away my tears once more.
"I missed you too, my love."
"Do you believe I'm real?"
"Yes." He smiles.
"So, I have a little surprise for you."
"It is not another ring is it? I think I am fine now keeping my powers." He chuckles.
"No. Not a ring. Um, this is hard for me to say. So when you left I wasn't feeling good."
"I remember, you had been getting sick quite often."
"Well, I went back to earth and went to my doctor... And.."
"Yes?"
"I found out I was... Pregant." He stares at me with those wide green eyes, and I can automatically see just how much they look alike.
"Sarah.." He whispers through the tears.
"You have a daughter." I smile at him, wiping his tears away this time.
"I...you... We have a child!" He laughs. He pulls me close to him and rolls me around the bed. I can feel the happiness in him. We sit back up and he looks at me. "What is her name?"
"Erika Lee Laufeyson." I smile and he cries even more. I have never felt this way. It's like all of the pieces of my heart just shot back in place, and I'm full of joy. I'm whole once again.
"When do I get to meet her?" He asks, trying to calm himself down.
"Well, actually, her birthday is in a day or so. Maybe at the party?"
"But, what if she does not know me? What if she does not want to see me?" He starts to panic.
"She knows who you are, she knows what you look like, and she has been wanting to meet you for a long time. She will be thrilled to have you home."
"You told her about me?" He says breathlessly, obviously becoming overwhelmed.
"Yes, honey. I wanted her to know about her father. She already loves you, and I tell her our stories all the time."
"I would like to meet her."
"You will. Right now, we need to get you showered, and in the sun. I wasn't joking about that." And with that he spins me around the room and holds me close.
"I love you, Sarah Laufeyson." He says.
"And I you, Loki Laufeyson." And at that moment, I knew my world was only going to get brighter from here on out.