Avengers: A Wedding At Last

To The Soul Forge

Lavenda sat in the center of her little house, warming herself before the hearth. In the peaceful solitude, she enjoyed her tea and the quiet. Having lived for several thousand years, the Asgardian woman had served as a midwife to the royal family. She had delivered Bor, then Odin. With Thor's birth, Lavenda could take pride in knowing that she had helped to bring three kings into the world. She had brought wailing babes into the world and felt the beauty of life. But with the beauty there was always ugliness. Lavenda had witnessed Bor's victory over the Dark Elves but she had also seen Odin's blood-soaked campaign as he conquered nine worlds alongside his firstborn.

Hela. A chill would always pass over Lavenda whenever she recalled the day the goddess of death was born. Whenever Lavenda delivered a baby she always felt their spirit. She'd felt the goodness of Bor. though she felt some darkness in Odin she knew his heart would lead him out of that darkness. But Hela? The girl, swaddled and resting upon her mother's breast, was full of darkness from the start and it would only grow.

That was why delivering Thor had been such a blessing, such a renewal in her faith. The boy had been the biggest and loudest of any baby she'd delivered by far. And she knew the moment her hands touched him that he was destined to save Asgard.

Long after Thor had been born, Lavenda had used her skills as a midwife and assisted in births throughout Asgard. She'd kept herself at a distance. Her role was to deliver babies, that was all. She watched as Thor grew from the brash young prince into a selfless hero. And when Hela returned after Odin's death, she watched as Thor bore great sacrifice to free Asgard from the dark child's clutches.

When Thanos and his children decimated the ship that carried Asgardian survivors away from their decimated world, she had watched as a Thor laid down his life so they could escape. Before entering one of the escape pods, she'd looked upon the new king with tears in her eyes.

"Live, my king," she whispered before her escape pod delivered her away from the ship.

Since relocating on Midgard, Lavenda had continued to watch Thor from a distance as he fell into great despair after Thanos's victory. She watched as she and her people continued to live and believe in him in spite of himself.

And then? The miracle. The reversal of Thanos's actions. The return of all the lives lost.

A knock on the door drew Lavenda from her memories and she smiled. Her services were needed, she knew. When she opened the door, Brunhilde stood on her doorstep.

"Let me get my bag," Lavenda sighed with a smile.

"You won't need it," Brunhilde said with a tight smile. "Not yet, anyway."

"What do you mean?" Lavenda asked.

Brunhilde put an arm around her shoulders. "Thor and Dean are on their way home. We need to meet him at the Soul Forge."

Lavenda shook her head, confused. "Why would a midwife be needed at the Soul Forge?"

"I think you can guess."

A slow smile spread across Lavenda's face. "Yes. Yes, I believe I can."

"So, let me get this straight," Tony said as he stood in the middle of the room and pointed at the Asgardian examination table. "You guys have super magic diagnostic equipment and you never bothered to tell me about it?"

Thor sighed impatiently. "It never came up in conversation, Stark."

"Fine, but when this is over I want to check it out!"

Reed, Bruce and Sue stood nearby and stared at the Soul Forge with equal interest. Dean lay on it with his fingers laced over his abdomen and stared up at the ceiling. He'd experienced the Soul Forge once before when the Aether had been inside of him. Though it was a painless procedure, he couldn't suppress his nervousness. He looked at Thor, who stood as close as he could while the Asgardian technicians prepared to operate the Soul Forge. Thor smiled encouragingly and Dean tried to mirror his optimism.