Arriving at the Med Centre, true to the Agent's word, Coulson and Thor were waiting for us.

"Loki!" Thor called out and strode over to us. He beheld an expression of remorse on his face.

As Bruno had completed his task of bringing us to the facility, the orderly took his leave.

Standing behind the wheelchair, I carefully put my hands on Loki's shoulders. It was to simply let him know I was here, literally behind him, as I was concerned Thor might say something to upset my friend.

"Brother," Thor said, as he reached us, "when we got the alert you needed medical attention... we were surprised and confused. I had no idea you were hurt." He knelt in front of the wheelchair to be face-to-face with his brother, "who or what did this?" his brow furrowed, "I will be sick to learn if it was I who did this to you."

Loki didn't respond to his brother. Instead, he stared at the floor looking uncomfortable. Considering the circumstances, I couldn't blame Loki for his behaviour, but it did hurt to see Thor showing compassion and it not being reciprocated.

"Thor," I said, choosing my words carefully, "I need to bring Loki to where he needs to go for treatment first, okay?" I shot him a small smile, "once he's settled there..?"

Thor nodded in understanding, and at that point, Coulson had joined us.

"I'll take you all there," Coulson said, first looking at me and then at Loki, "we'll make sure your friend gets the treatment he deserves."

Loki kept silent and so did I as I pushed the wheelchair to follow Coulson, with Thor walking beside us. What Coulson said bothered me, I wasn't sure how to take his words. Were they snide or sincere? I took a deep breath, reminding myself that Coulson would get his proof of Loki's innocence, come hell or high water. When that time arrived, I would relish the moment of proving this Agent wrong. Meanwhile, all I could do was to double my resolve to not leave Loki's side, for the sake of his safety.

It ended up being a short distance to the infirmary. When we got there, a person from the medical staff emerged from the doors to greet us. He introduced himself as Doctor Tom Lowenstein. He seemed to be a friendly sort and did not seem to show any malice to my friend. In fact, he was quite impressed with his new patient.

"Loki," Lowenstein said, "pleased to meet you," and gave him a warm smile. "Let's get you to the exam room, we should be able to assess your injuries from there."

Coulson excused himself, saying he would sit in the main area until the results were available, adding that he noticed the new issue of some magazine was available in the waiting room.

I was glad to see Coulson leave as I felt like I had been holding my breath. It also made it easier for me to ask Loki a question, "I wonder if the medical staff know how to properly treat Frost Giants?"

"They do, or at least they should," Loki said, inhaling sharply, "on my last visit, part of the conditions to allow me to stay on Midgard, was to make available samples of my blood and DNA."

"Are you serious?" I blurted out in earnest. Loki simply nodded, his face betraying another unpleasant memory.

With Thor being with us, I said nothing more. I would have to wait for the right moment to talk to Loki alone, but I couldn't believe the audacity of SHIELD. Their mandate would explain such methods, but it certainly did not justify them. And with no one to stand by Loki at that time, who knew what else they could have done to him - or even forced him to do - without his consent?

And how could Thor have allowed this to happen? Maybe those of SHIELD just persuaded him in the right way... Or maybe Thor was given an offer he couldn't refuse?

We reached the doors of the exam room. Dr. Lowenstein told Thor and I that we would have to stay in this area as only Loki and he would have access.

I was about to protest when Dr. Lowenstein directed us to an area where we could easily observe the procedures through a thick panel of glass that was just a turn down the next hallway.

Upon seeing my face, Thor must have realized I needed a moment alone with his brother. He told me he would meet me in the observation area. I couldn't have been more grateful that he understood.

Dr. Lowenstein also seemed to get the vibe as he went ahead to the exam room, letting me talk privately to Loki.

"Loki, I'm so sorry," I said, upset. I knelt beside the wheelchair, my hands grasping the armrest, "SHIELD has not been kind to you. Not at all..." I was about to say more, then Loki touched my hand.

"Don't forget, Beverlee, I brought terror to Midgard," he said softly. From his expression, the admission of this still weighed heavily on his conscience, "if what they did to me was a crime, it is minor in comparison," he looked me closely, a small smile appearing on his lips, "I have heard on Midgard the fallacy 'two wrongs don't make a right,' but in this case..?"

Loki was right. Despite SHIELD's methods being questionable, and how they crossed a line with his rights, they had the means to heal him and were going to. I could take strength in that.

I nodded to him in agreement, and a smile started to tease my lips. I reached up and touched his cheek for a moment. I then stood up, and took hold of the handles of the wheelchair, and rolled my friend over to the exam room, where Lowenstein was waiting by the door.

Looking at Dr. Lowenstein, I felt unsure of what to say. Considering the circumstances, I still had concerns about being separated from my friend. I was aware doctors had to follow the Hippocratic Oath 'First do no harm,' but then again...

"Not to worry, Beverlee. Loki's in good hands," Dr. Lowenstein said, breaking the silence, and alleviating my temporary social awkwardness. He looked at me with a compassionate expression, and put his hand on my shoulder, "I promise."

"You can be assured, she'll most likely be banging on that glass if I'm not," Loki said, deadpan, with another wicked grin.

We all laughed... although Loki wasn't far from wrong.

******************

I joined Thor in the observation hallway. Through the window, I could see the exam room was small, furnished with a large examination table in the middle. Around the table, there were several shiny pieces of equipment along with some affixed to the ceiling. From what I surmised, it's like they had a machine for every kind of patient or experiment.

We saw Lowenstein enter the room with Loki. He took the blanket off of him, then assisted him onto the table.

This was the first time Thor was able to see Loki's injuries. He turned to me, "Those injuries look painful," he said, then looked again through the window. His voice became quiet, "I... didn't do that to him, did I?"

"Easy, Thor," I said, and touched his arm, "it's okay, I don't believe you caused that damage," I turned to the window, I couldn't look at him to say my next words, "someone else hurt him, moments before you arrived back at your home base," I took a deep breath, "we'll talk about this with Coulson later."

From what I could observe through the window, Lowenstein was keeping his promise to me. He was doing a full examination using the different machines, and so far, Loki didn't experience any discomfort from them. I noticed as they began, for each machine, he would show/tell Loki about it first before carefully using it on him. I was relieved that he was being gentle with my friend - and glad I didn't have to bang on the window.

Perhaps knowing I could relax, for the time being, I found myself letting out a yawn.

"Are you tired, Beverlee?" Thor asked.

"Your brother," I said in a soft-spoken tone, "in his cell, he really wore me out..." then ran my hand through my hair and smiled at Thor in a wry manner.

It made him do a double take.

I soon put him out of his misery - I shook my head then chuckled.

"Loki means a lot to me, but for something like that I would need to know him better."

"Well, I hope you do." Thor smiled at me.

My turn to do a double take.

"I meant," Thor said, "I hope you do get to know my brother better. You seem to relate to him on a certain level. For him to even ask you to help him speaks volumes." He looked at me carefully, "You aren't afraid of him either. He certainly needs someone to stand by him and make sure..."

"He stays out of trouble?" I smiled.

"Something like that." Thor smiled back. "You need rest, Beverlee," he noticed a small couch at the end of the hallway, "go lie down for a bit," he gestured towards it.

I was really tired and did want to lie down. But then I looked back through the observation window; torn.

I felt Thor's hand on my shoulder, and said in a kind voice, "rest. I will keep watch over both my brother and you."

"Just keep watch on Loki," I smiled gratefully and walked over to the couch, "I'll be fine."

******

The toll of the day's activities made it easy to fall asleep as soon as I curled up on the couch, but the nature of them didn't let me rest as peacefully as I would have wanted. My brain was processing everything, and in combination with my fears, my dreams weren't exactly very pleasant. I woke up abruptly sitting bolt upright, and holding my arms against my chest.

It was then I noticed Thor was standing over me.

"Beverlee, are you all right?" he asked, "you didn't sleep very long. I was just about to wake you up, but..."

"It wasn't very restful, but I'm fine." I lied, standing up from the couch. "Is the doctor finished examining Loki?"

"Yes," Thor replied, "Lowenstein was just here. He informed me that due to the severity of the injuries, he's recommended that Loki stays in the Med Centre."

I was glad to hear this. My friend would be more comfortable, and for the moment, he wouldn't have to go back to that depressing cell.

"Where's Dr. Lowenstein now?" I asked.

"He's waiting for us in...the waiting room with Coulson."