To Teach a Trickster

It was a good twenty or thirty minutes before the door to the examination room opened and the nurses and doctor came out. All of them looked like they had been through a hurricane. The doctor was in the middle of adjusting his coat when he walked up to Jane and Darcy.

“You’ve got a lively one there, despite the fact that he’s sick as a dog.” the doctor said, running his hand over his hair to smooth it down.

Darcy’s eyes widened. “What happened?”

The doctor chuckled. “Nothing too bad. He just got a little angry when the nurses tried taking his temperature.”

Jane couldn’t help raising an eyebrow at that, wondering how something that simple and harmless could turn into a brawl. But then again, this wasLoki, she had to remind herself.

“So…does he have the measles?” she asked.

“Yes, he does.” the doctor stuck his hands in his coat pockets. “Thankfully, it’s not a bad case of them. But, yes, he does have them. Naturally, there’s nothing we can do except make him as comfortable as possible and let the sickness run its course.”

“When do you think it’ll end?”

“A week, maybe? Two at the most.”

“Can we take him home?” Darcy asked.

“That’s what I’d like to talk to you about. If it’s okay with you,” He turned to Jane, “we’d like to quarantine him here until he’s well.”

“I was afraid you’d say that.” said Jane.

“Sorry. It’s just for precaution. Has he slept any lately?”

Jane shook her head. “Just naps, mostly. He’s had a rough time at nights due to the fever.”

“I’ll see about getting him something that’ll help with that. He needs rest.” The doctor looked from Jane to Darcy. “Have both of you either been vaccinated or had the measles?”

Both women nodded simultaneously.

“Good,” the doctor sighed. “One less worry there.”

“Can I…” Jane motioned toward the door.

“Sure, go right ahead.”

Nodding, Jane walked toward the room and went in. Darcy followed close behind her.

“Hey, Loki,” said Jane cheerfully. The trickster was huddled on the gurney, hospital blankets wrapped tightly around him. As soon as he heard Jane’s voice, his head shot up. He whimpered, his eyes starting to water.

“Jane…” he weakly got out, stretching his hand toward her. She put her hand on his and leaned over to give him a hug.

“How you doing?” she asked, ruffling his hair.

“One of those horrid women tried to stick something in my mouth,” Loki said, sounding disgusted.

“She was trying to take your temperature.” said Jane.

“I refused.”

“Why?” Darcy asked.

“I don’t know where that thing has been.”

“You let her take it anyway, didn’t you?” said Jane.

Loki’s entire face blushed a deep red and he covered his head with the blanket. “N-no, not exactly. She said that if I didn’t cooperate that she would stick it ‘where the sun doesn’t shine’. I failed to understand what she meant. Rather than show my ignorance, I said something rude. I-I didn’t know they would stick it there…” He grimaced, shifting his bottom uncomfortably.

Jane put her hand in front of her mouth to hide a smile. “So that explains the angry shouting and scuffling we heard a few minutes ago.”

Loki nodded under the blanket.

“Wait, you mean…she stuck it in your bu—” Darcy’s sentence was cut off by Jane nudging her with her elbow. “Oh my gosh, I thought they only did that to animals.”

Jane shot her a look. She still fought to keep a straight face, clearing her throat. She ran a comforting hand over Loki’s head.

“Can I go home now?” Loki whined, coughing.

“Um…about that…” Jane gave his hand a squeeze. “The doctor wants you to stay in the hospital until you get better.”

“Stay here?? I don’t want to stay here! It’s a horrible place.”

“I know, but you have to do what the doctor says. You have the measles and they want to keep you here just to be safe.”

“What are measles?”

“It’s a human disease.” Jane gestured at the splotches on his face and arms. “You have the symptoms. The doctor says you don’t have a very bad case, so that’s a good thing. You should be able to leave here in about a week.”

Loki looked at his arms then back up at Jane, confusion all over his face. “A week?! I’ve got to stay in this place a week??”

“Don’t worry, I’ll stay here with you.” She smiled.

Loki shook his head. “No! I’m not staying in this place. I’ve had enough. I want to go home.” He ended his sentence with a series of coughs and then fell back against the pillow.

“Loki, you need to get well.”

“I’ll never get well here.” he wheezed before coughing again. He wiped his nose on the blanket, making Darcy cringe in disgust. “They want to prod you with things too much.”

“Looks like I’ll have to go home and pack a few things for you,” said Jane, turning to Darcy. “You going to stay here with him until I come back?”

“Sure,”

“Be back in a little bit, okay? Darcy’s going to stay here with you.” Jane squeezed Loki’s hand and left.

Jane came back to the hospital to find they had already moved Loki to his room. She took the elevator to the third floor and walked down the long hallway to room 310. Darcy was standing outside the door and ran to meet her halfway.

“I would not go in there just yet.” Darcy was saying as Jane walked up to the door. She stared at the large ‘quarantine’ sign taped to the center.

“Why?”

“Because he’s in a foul mood. He’s complained from the emergency room all the way up here. He’s made it known numerous times that he doesn’t want to stay here. He even punched a nurse in the face and gave her a black eye.”

“What?”

“It’s true! He punched her in the face before I could stop him.”

“What’s going on in there now?” Jane pointed at the door.

“I think a nurse is trying to get him changed into a hospital gown unless he’s knocked her out and thrown her out the window.”

Jane hesitated, and then gave the door a push and walked in. Darcy followed her.

“Sir, please, just calm down.” She heard a nurse shout.

“I won’t wear that thing!” Loki’s voice shouted back. “You can’t make me!”

Jane blinked at the sight before her. Loki snatched the hospital gown out of the nurse’s hand and threw it on the floor, huddling up against his pillow in utter defiance, his lip pooching out in a pout. She knew that look all too well. It was the look that was usually followed by a really bad tantrum.

“Wait!” said Jane. “Wait, I’ve got this. Here, Loki, why don’t you put these on instead?” she said, pulling Loki’s silky pajamas out of her bag and handing them to him. The trickster gratefully took them. But instead of putting them on, he turned a hard glare at the nurse.

“I won’t put them on as long as she’s here.”

The nurse rolled her eyes and made her way out of the room. “I’ve never seen a grown man act so childish,” she mumbled, closing the door.

Loki turned to Jane and then to Darcy. Jane smiled and turned around to face the window. Darcy turned to face the door. Seeing that no one was watching, Loki changed out of his t-shirt and jeans and put on his pajamas.

“Okay,” he said, coughing. Jane and Darcy turned around. He handed Jane his clothes and got back in bed, pulling the blankets around him, trying to keep warm.

“Shame on you for acting that way to that nurse,” Jane scolded.

Loki cowered under the covers, giving Jane a pitiful look before sniffing and coughing. “She was trying to make me wear that awful gown.”

Darcy picked it up and laid it across the bed. “It’s a hospital gown. It’s what all patients wear when they’re in here.”

“But it’s stupid looking and it has no back.”

“No one’s going to make you wear it,” said Jane softly, brushing a lock of hair out of his face.

“But you shouldn’t have thrown such a fit.”

Loki coughed. “I don’t feel good. What can you expect?”

“You could have just politely said ‘no’.”

“I did, but she still insisted that I wear it.”

“What about the nurse you gave a black eye to?”

“She was being annoying.” Loki sniffled and wiped his nose on the blanket. “Jane, I don’t feel good. Can we please have this conversation later?”

“Of course; I’m sorry.”

Loki looked up at her with innocent eyes.

“Poor baby,” Jane said with a smile.

“Don’t call me that,” he whined.

“You know you like to be called that.” she said, running her finger down his nose.

Loki shot her a scowl.

Another nurse came into the room, a clipboard and pen in one hand and a capped syringe and a cloth in the other. Darcy and Jane looked at the syringe before exchanging looks with each other.

“Oh, boy, here it comes.” Darcy breathed out, seating herself in one of the nearby chairs. She stuck her fingers in her ears and waited.

“Mister…Loki, is it?” the nurse said, looking at her clipboard. “Named after the god, huh?”

Loki and Jane glanced at each other.

“It says here that you’ve been having trouble sleeping. Well, I’ve got something right here that’ll help with that.” Loki’s eyes looked at the syringe, not fully understanding. “But first, let’s put this cool towel on your head. There, how’s that feel?”

Loki nodded.

“O-kay,” the nurse put her clipboard down. She took the syringe in her hands and uncapped it. Loki’s eyes widened.

“Wha-what’s that?” He looked from the nurse to Jane and back again. “What are you going to do to me? Jane, what does she have?”

“It’s to help you sleep.” the nurse said, smiling. “Just give me your arm.”

Loki jerked away and tried to move as close to Jane as possible. “Keep her away. She’s going to stab me!”

“I’m just gonna give you a shot. It’ll just be a little stick right in your arm.”

Loki scrambled to get off the bed, his legs tangling in the covers, but Jane grabbed onto him and put him back in his place. Again, she was thankful for the strength Odin gave her.

“Jane, what are you doing?” he croaked.

“It’s okay, Loki, don’t worry.” She pulled him into a hug, pinning his arm to his side and pressing her head against his. “Shhh, just calm down. I’ve got you.”

The nurse bent over the bed, pulled Loki’s sleeve up, and stuck the needle in his upper arm.

“OW!” Loki screamed, nearly causing Jane to go deaf in her right ear. Loki squinted his eyes shut, feeling tears well up in the corners. He tried to scramble out of Jane’s hold, but she held him as tight as she could until the nurse was done. Darcy got up and ran to help. “Ahhh! Please, let me go! It hurts! It hurts!”

“There you go,” said the nurse, giving Loki’s arm a rub. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Jane and Darcy let Loki go and he quickly backed away, clutching his arm and rubbing it. He turned to the nurse, glaring at the needle she still held.

“Not so bad?! It HURT!” he seethed. “What kind of place is this? I thought you were supposed to make people well, not hurt them more!”

The nurse’s smile dropped and she turned an annoyed look to Jane and Darcy, before walking out of the room without saying another word.

“Loki,” Jane said, pulling the blanket up to his chin. “Behave yourself.”

“I don’t see why I have to. They’re the ones being mean.”

Jane gave him a look.

“You won’t spank me while I’m sick.” he said.

“No, but that doesn’t mean you have to act like a brat,” she said firmly while shaking a finger at him. “I expect you to be good.”

“Besides,” Darcy put in. “You have to remember that the nurses wield needles around here. Make them mad enough and you might regret it.”

Loki looked from Darcy to Jane, his eyes dancing nervously. Jane smiled smugly.

“You betrayed me.” he said sulkily, still rubbing his arm and emitting a loud cough.

“I’m sorry, but I had to,” said Jane. “I didn’t want to see you hurt while she gave you that shot.”

“It still hurt!” he snapped.

“I meant, badly hurt.”

Loki yawned, his eyes beginning to close. “What’s wrong with me?”

“The sedative the nurse gave you is beginning to work.” Jane ran her hand over Loki’s hair. “It’ll help you sleep better. You need rest.”

“Will you be here when I wake up?” he asked innocently.

“Sure,” she smiled; lightly running her finger up and down his nose, making him smile and scrunch it up. Not more than a minute later he was fast asleep. Jane rewet the rag and put it on his forehead, and then adjusted the blanket, tucking it tighter around Loki’s body. After she was satisfied with her work, she sat back in a chair and made herself comfortable, or at least as comfortable as one can get in the chairs hospitals offer.

“You like him now, don’t you?” Darcy’s amused voice came at her from the other side of the bed. Jane sleepily looked across at her friend, almost forgetting the girl was even there since she had been so quiet. Only then did she recall her helping to hold Loki while the nurse gave him the shot.

“Why do you say that?” Jane yawned.

“Just the way you were mothering him just then.” Darcy’s lips turned into a smirk.

Jane blushed a little and shrugged. “Okay, fine. I’ll admit that he’s growing on me.” She waved her hand toward Loki. “I mean, look at him. He’s just…so helpless like this. You and Odin were right. He’s a child—a helpless little child who’s lost and scared and confused and wants to be loved by someone who genuinely cares about him.”

As if to back up Jane's words, Loki suddenly shifted in his sleep and put one of his thumbs in his mouth and began sucking on it. At first, Jane thought she was sleepier than she thought, which was understandable since she had been up practically all night. She closed her eyes and opened them again, leaning over to look closer. Her eyes studied the trickster a few moments, her mind taking awhile to register what she was seeing. She already knew he liked holding his cape like a security blanket, but…she didn’t know he had other secrets. It was certainly startling at first, seeing this grown man doing such an infantile action, but then she felt a smile form on her lips and something inside of her become all warm and fuzzy. He was so precious, she secretly admitted to herself. Then she wondered if it was wrong to feel that way about someone who had killed people. But then she had to remind herself that Loki had been controlled by the Chitauri. Her first instinct was to bring it to Darcy’s attention, but she stopped herself. Something about that felt wrong to her.

“Whelp, I think I’m going to head out and try to get some sleep in my own bed,” said Darcy, getting up and stretching. Jane quickly pulled the blanket around Loki’s face so her friend wouldn’t see him sucking his thumb. She cleared her throat.

“All right,”

“You staying here?”

“Yeah,” she nodded at Loki. “I told him I’d be here when he wakes up. I don’t think it would be good for me to leave him alone anyway. He seems calmer when I’m nearby.”

Darcy nodded that she understood. “Well, you want me to get you anything before I leave?—soda, sandwich, crackers, coffee, sanity?

“No, that’s fine. Since he’s sleeping now, I might make my way to the vending machines later. Thanks anyway.”

“Okie-dokie,” Darcy walked to the door. “Let me know how everything is. I might pop by later on today.”

“Will do,”

Jane turned back to Loki after Darcy left. She gently pulled the blanket off his face and smiled when her eyes met the sleeping face of the trickster. His thumb was still stuck tightly in his mouth. She ran the back of her fingers over the side of his face and rubbed his cheek with her thumb.

“I’m going to go get a little something to eat, okay?” she whispered, continuing to stroke his cheek. “I’ll be back shortly.”


Loki woke up in a disoriented daze, everything seeming unfamiliar. He was momentarily confused as to why he wasn’t in his bedroom. Then it all came back to him in a flood and he groaned. He took his thumb out of his mouth and rolled his head to the other side. He still felt hot and he still had the chills. Coughing, he felt around beside him on the bed until his hand landed on something soft that wasn’t part of the blanket. He raised his head up enough so he could see what it was. Jane was seated in a chair, with her head resting on the bed next to him, asleep. Quickly, he removed his fingers from her hair, not wanting to wake her. Leaning back against the pillow, he sighed and peered around the small hospital room. The place was cold and dreary, the only signs of cheerfulness being the lines of morning sunlight that streamed in through the cracks of the closed blinds. A TV jutted out from the wall across from the bed. A small, cheaply made wardrobe hugged the wall beside it. A couple of hard chairs, a plush recliner, a night table, and a tray on wheels were the only other pieces of furniture the room had, besides the bed he was lying on. There were a few curious machines around the head of the bed that he wasn’t sure about. None of them seemed to be turned on at the current moment, so he figured he didn’t need to be worried about them.

Someone’s voice sounded loudly over a speaker outside of the room, and the sounds of footsteps and clattering went by out in the hall. He turned his head to look at the door, nervous that some nurse was going to come in and do something unspeakable to him. He rubbed at his arm, remembering the sharp, painful needle the last one stuck there, right before he blacked out. He wrinkled his nose and started coughing again. The smell of the place overpowered his nostrils and made him gag.

“Loki?” said Jane sleepily, yawning. “Are you awake?”

“I’m sorry,” he quietly said. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Jane smiled and gave his hand a light squeeze. “That’s okay. Do you feel better after sleeping?”

“I guess,” he answered. “I’m still hot and cold.”

“You’ll be like that until your fever breaks.” she stood up and pulled the blankets tighter around him.

“I’m thirsty,” he said.

“I’ve got some water right here.” Jane reached over and picked up the plastic pitcher of ice water from the tray and poured some out in a cup and handed it to Loki. She helped to hold the cup steady while he drained all of its contents.

“Better?”

Loki nodded.

The room’s door swinging open made them turn and look in that direction. Loki slunk lower under the covers when he saw a nurse step in. She was carrying a thermometer and a cloth in her hands. She said a low ‘hi’ to Jane and quietly walked over to the bed. Immediately Loki placed his hands under his bottom and opened his mouth. Not giving his actions any thought, the nurse stuck the thermometer in his mouth and left it there while she took the old cloth off his forehead and put the fresh one on. Loki was grateful for it, basking in the coolness that radiated over his brow. After a few minutes, the nurse took the thermometer out and looked at it. She pulled out a pad from one of the pockets of her coat and scribbled something on it. Then she turned and left.

Loki released the breath he’d been holding, relieved that the nurse didn't stick the thermometer up his rear like the last time.

“She had you worried, didn’t she?” Jane said with a chuckle, noting the trickster’s expression.

“From now on, she can stick that thing in my mouth all she wants,” Loki said. “I’m not going to stop her.”

Smiling, Jane sat down in her chair again and leaned her arms forward on the bed. She and Loki began to talk, Loki asking questions about things in the room. Jane explained everything to him, trying to word it in such a way that it wouldn’t frighten the trickster. Their conversation soon led to other topics, which gave Jane the opportunity to get Loki’s mind off everything else so he could relax.

Notes