"I came as soon as I heard," Stark said with genuine concern in his voice, standing in the doorway.

Loki laughed. The billionaire had arrived a few hours after Daniel had left him to his own devices.

"No, you didn't. Libby told you."

"Ah, so that's the name of that gorgeous blonde!" The other man exclaimed, coming to stand at the end of his bed. "Remind me to get her number."

Loki waited for Stark to get to the point.

"I was actually here to give you a job offer but perhaps now under the wrong circumstances."

"What's the offer?" Loki asked, intrigued despite himself.

"Partner. Co-CEO. Being half of the big boss."

Loki was slightly stunned.

"That's a very generous offer," he replied slowly.

"You've shown you're worthy of the title," Stark shrugged, as if it were nothing.

"I don't have an engineering degree or anything along those lines. I have a degree in Classics and History and a couple of years' experience as a trauma surgeon."

"Finally owning up to the faked records?" The insufferable man asked, smirking.

It was Loki's time to shrug.

"They needed the staff and the expertise. What does it matter if I have the knowledge but not the qualifications?"

"That's precisely what I'm getting at!"

Stark was practically bouncing in his chair.

"You've been challenging me for years. You know the stuff. You attended that aeronautical engineering lecture and understood perfectly what was going on even though you knew nothing about aeroplanes. Hell, I could probably task you with reading the New York Public Library's section on mechanical engineering this week and you'd have it done. And, trust me, that's a big library."

Personally, Loki thought he could do it in less than a week but that was insomnia for you.

Instead of refuting this, he simply looked thoughtful. Stark leaned forwards, hands steepled as if in prayer.

"Walker, you're the smartest guy I've ever met. I think you might even be smarter than me."

He looked seriously at Loki.

"I've never said that before and it troubles me. I want the smartest guy in the world on my side."

"Oh, but I was going to interview for Hammer Industries," Loki remarked, teasing.

"Don't you dare!" Exclaimed Stark, horrified.

"As a joke?"

"You're on."

Daniel walked in and stopped dead at the sight of Tony Stark in his hospital.

"Daniel, meet Tony Stark," Loki grinned, waving a lazy hand in the billionaire's general direction.

"No shit," Daniel breathed. "Am I dreaming?"

"He's a clever guy, don't mind him," Loki told Stark, who seemed bemused.

"What's he doing here?" Daniel asked. "Are you long lost cousins or something? The height difference and the hair and eye colour and general differences would seem to indicate otherwise."

Stark looked slightly put out by Daniel's height comment but declined to comment on it.

"He was offering me a job," Loki stated blandly.

Daniel's mouth flopped open like a fish.

"Woah, what? At Stark Industries?"

Stark nodded.

"I want Dr. Walker to be my business partner."

"Jesus Christ, you gotta be kidding me! I must be dreaming! Are you gonna take the offer?"

"I might," Loki replied, just to see the expression on the billionaire's face.

As expected, his childish face lit up with glee.

"But, what will the hospital do?" Questioned Daniel. "You're our best doctor. It'll take us ages to find a suitable replacement."

"Would a donation suffice?" Stark asked, already beginning to pull out a chequebook.

Daniel seemed gobsmacked but the other man continued to speak.

"How much do hospitals need? I was thinking five-hundred million."

"To get me on staff?" Loki asked, beginning to feel quite overwhelmed.

"Yeah," replied Stark blasély.

He looked up and met four impressed and bemused eyes.

"What?"

"Nothing," Daniel said quickly.

The hospital needed the money and a new surgeon would need to be hired almost immediately as Loki's departure would leave a gaping hole. He'd refused to be paid for his work, accepting bed and board as suitable payment, whereas the new surgeon would have to be paid, blowing a huge chunk out of the hospital's budget. But five-hundred million million dollars was more money than Daniel had ever seen in his life and he wasn't going to pass over the opportunity to give Mexico a decent hospital - he wasn't selfless enough to decline the money or selfish enough to refuse it.

"Can I take Alden as soon as he's discharged?" Stark inquired as though Loki was simply an acquisition he'd just purchased. "Do you need to do anything?" He asked, turning to Loki.

Loki shook his head.

"I rent a flat so no. I just have a few possessions to take with me."

"We can stop by on the way," Stark said, pleased.

Daniel attempted to be professional.

"He'll need to wait to be diagnosed first, of course."

"Oh yeah, there's that," commented Stark, having seemingly forgotten why Loki was lying there in the hospital in the first place.

"Can I speak to Alden alone for a moment?" Daniel asked suddenly. "Patient-doctor confidentiality and all that."

"Yeah, sure," the other man replied, albeit curious, but left the room nevertheless.

"Alden, are you sure this is a good idea?" He asked in a hushed voice once the billionaire had left. "I know he's the honest-to-God Tony Stark but this is where you belong. Me, Libby, all of us, will miss you. The hospital will miss you."

Loki appreciated the sentiment.

"I'll visit often, I promise," he reassured. "And I'll call, of course. And, regarding patients," he said, speaking more quietly, "Page me and I'll come. Anything tricky, I'm not abandoning this hospital. Ask for help if you need it."

"Thanks Alden," Daniel said gratefully.

"Obviously, page me in good time," Loki laughed good-humouredly. "It's not like I can teleport or anything."

"Yeah, I know," Daniel chuckled. "We'll miss you, Al. Don't forget us."

Loki smiled as Daniel pulled him into a hug. Daniel was the only one who'd ever nicknamed him, with the bitter exception of Thor, and Loki knew he'd miss the American. He'd had some of the best years of his life there with Daniel and the other three. But it was time to move on and Loki knew that adventure awaited with Anthony Edward Stark.

*****

A.N. Loki is off down a new career path! There will be infrequent swearing from here on in, please be warned. Thank you for reading!