Cassandra woke to find Loki sitting beside her hospital bed intently reading a magazine. His raven hair hung lank around his shoulders, and his dark suit was on the higher spectrum of rumpled, meaning he'd been guarding her for some time.

Cassandra stared up at the ceiling. She was sick of waking up in hospitals. At least this time it seemed to be a normal hospital and not a secret medical facility for an even more secret government organization.

Cassandra studied the cover of the magazine Loki was reading and her lips twitched. "Never expected you would be a fan of Chic. What do you think of their sex tips? Anything catch your fancy?"

Loki jerked in surprise at the sound of her voice and snapped the magazine closed. "You're awake."

"Do you imagine I'd be speaking to you if I were asleep?" She replied sarcastically.

Loki tossed the magazine aside and leaned forward in his chair. "How are you feeling, little vixen? That is quite a blow you took."

She carefully removed the oxygen prongs from her nose and used the remote to elevate the bed. Her shoulder throbbed with a dull pain. "A little sore but fine. Before I passed out I saw you kill those men. I didn't imagine it did I?"

"No. I killed them." He said without remorse.

Cassandra nodded. "I thought so."

When she paused to examine her feelings, she found it did not bother her that the men were dead. Those fuckers had shot her! And for what?

When she asked Loki he shrugged. "No motive has been determined yet. Fury managed to get the police off our tail. They were sniffing around here yesterday giving me some trouble."

Cassandra frowned. "Because you killed those hitmen?"

"No, because the hospital staff believe I shot my wife and then brought her to the hospital."

Cassandra missed most of the explanation her mind latching onto a single word. "Wife?"

Loki shrugged again. "They assumed we were married. I did not correct them."

Her heart fluttered unsteadily. "Why not?"

Ducking his head, he laughed briefly, then looked back up at her eyes sparkling with mirth. "What do I care of mortals' opinions? They are wholly irrelevant."

Cassandra's hopes were dashed to pieces by his mocking laugh. Typical Loki. He never could give a straight answer when it mattered. Her thoughts traveled back to what he said in the park about not wanting to lose her. Maybe even he did not understand how he felt.

She struggled to reach the salmon pink cup on the bed tray with her good arm. Her other arm was firmly imprisoned in a sling. "I bet they're not happy about having an alleged wife beater around the joint then."

Loki solved the problem by lowering the cup to her lips so she could sip some water. He chuckled. "I think they'd be happy if we were both gone. They fear we are liabilities."

Cassandra rolled her eyes. Trust a hospital to only see things in terms of profit. She drained the entire cup. Loki refilled it and she drained that too.

Water dribbled from the corner of her mouth. She wiped it away, embarrassed. "I don't know why I'm so thirsty."

"You were shot."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Cassandra sighed in annoyance when her bladder gave a painful twinge. "Can you help me up, please?"

Bracing a hand against her back, Loki levered her into a sitting position. Cassandra gingerly lowered her feet to the floor cringing at the icy linoleum against her soles. She could feel the back of the hospital gown gaping open as she straightened. The lack of a draft against her ass told her she wore underwear.

Progress.

Loki helped steady her, keeping an arm looped around her waist in case she lost her balance. "Where are we going, darling?"

"The restroom." She took several steps toward the restroom, Loki holding onto her the entire way as if she were a small child taking her first steps.

The light flickered on automatically and she stepped over the threshold. When Loki made to follow her inside, she rounded on him with an outraged expression. "I'm not going to pee with you watching! I can do it by myself, thank you!"

Then Cassandra shut the door in his face.

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

Loki failed to see the problem. Cassandra's moments of modesty always surprised him because they were at odds with the passionate woman who made her desire for him known on a regular basis.

How many times had he caught a drunken Thor urinating off a balcony in Asgard over the years? Or the smell of excrement emanating from the bodies of the fallen? After centuries, he had become accustomed to the things humans regarded as embarrassing.

It appeared Cassandra would rather risk further injury than accept help using the facilities.

Loki rubbed an index finger over his mouth and paced away from the bathroom to give her privacy. He sprawled in his chair and turned on the television to a news program.

Cassandra exited the restroom a few minutes later. Her eyes narrowed when they landed on him though she did not say anything as she climbed back into the bed.

Loki's gaze returned to the television screen. The camera zoomed up on a charred disk of earth in the middle of a field.

Cassandra inhaled sharply. "Turn it up." Her eyes flashed with fire as they met his. "I want to hear this."

Loki raised the remote toward the television.

"After months of quiet another alleged crop circle has appeared in a field in Iowa." The screen split to show a steely jawed news anchor at her desk. "However, this circle is different. Authorities discovered human bone fragments in the center of the crop circle. The remains were charred indicating a body was burned at the site."

Loki listened to the news with half an ear, watching Cassandra's face. Her skin gradually turned ashen, her lips pinching in a tight line. He switched off the TV. "Do you know something about this?"

"The day of the bombing, I watched a news report in my office. I didn't think anything of it at the time. The expert the anchor interviewed said the whole thing was a hoax." She said slowly. "I'm starting to believe all these events are connected somehow."

Loki's gift for seeing patterns in events made him wonder if Cassandra might be right. Steepling his fingers beneath his chin, he gazed out the window. Cassandra had been nearly killed two times. Did this unknown enemy view her as a threat because of her powers?

No.

The enemy was trying to eliminate a future threat. Which meant Cassandra was far more important than she believed. The Merlin. World changer and king maker. How far did the wizard's influence extend? How many webs had her predecessor been entangled in?

What Loki needed was access to a magical library to learn more about the Merlin. The only one on earth he knew of was in Kamar Taj. He bit back a curse.

Strange.

No wonder the charlatan had been so confident they would return. He had outright lied to Cassandra about what he knew of the Merlin. The question is why.

More importantly, he needed to get Cassandra out of the hospital. Whoever wanted her dead would not stop until they succeeded.

"Loki is something wrong?" Cassandra asked hesitantly.

"We're going to the Sanctum." Loki said with a crooked smile, hiding the seething anger that churned inside him. "Let's get you out of here."

"Um, I'd love to leave but I have all these wires attached to me." Cassandra showed him the needle in her arm. "I can't just pull this IV out."

Loki leaned forward to inspect the needle taped to her arm. "I can take care of it."

Like every Asgard warrior Loki had battlefield medical training. Not enough to patch serious wounds but for removing an IV his skills were more than adequate. He peeled the tape off and carefully slid the needle from her arm. He found a box of bandages over the sink and stuck one over the bead of blood forming on her skin.

Once Cassandra was free of the wires, Loki cast an illusion over them to disguise their appearance. Cassandra was now a tall red-haired woman in a white pant suit.

She blinked at her reflection in the small mirror on the wall. "Whoa."

"Come. We must leave." Loki tugged on her shoulder impatiently leading her into the hall.

As they hurried through the hospital lobby no one gave them a second glance. Loki did not expect them to. His illusions were flawless.

As they hit the sidewalk Loki took Cassandra's hand lacing their fingers together. She looked up at him, her lips parting in astonishment.

Across the street he caught the shadow of a figure hiding behind a tree watching everyone who exited the hospital.

Loki squeezed Cassandra's hand, rubbing his thumb against her palm. "Another part of our disguise."

"Oh." She said flatly.

Cassandra turned her head away from him, a lock of hair tumbling over her shoulder. Loki tucked the errant strand behind her ear, his fingers brushing the skin behind her earlobe. "We're a couple going about our business."

"Right. A couple." She echoed.

He lifted her chin, turning her face up to his. "As a caring lover I of course am worried about your injury." Loki pressed a kiss to her forehead. "The hospital is being watched." He said with a fake smile.

Cassandra grinned back, equally fake. "I better not get shot again."

Loki escorted Cassandra toward the nearest cab, holding the door for her. "After you, little vixen."

The cab zipped through the city quickly. Only when they pulled up in front of the Sanctum did Loki realize he still held Cassandra's hand.

A/N: Back to back updates! I can't believe it, but in the spirit of the holiday weekend I decided to go for it. If there are any typos, grammar issues, etc, I apologize since I did not edit this chapter. As always, comment, vote, and have a great day!