His Dove (Loki Laufeyson)

Part 91 (Baby)

The next morning I woke up in Loki's grasp, having only gotten a few hours of sleep.

I huffed as I got up from the bed, rubbing a hand down my face as I tried to wake up the rest of the way. Loki, still likely exhausted from staying up to wait on me, slept peacefully as I got dressed in a tunic and leggings, pulling my hair up into a bun before cradling Elias into my arm.

I left him to sleep while I went back down to the healing wing, dropping Elias off on his perch in my study before washing my hands and going to Ingrid's room.

"Hey, beautiful." I said with a small, sympathetic smile to the clearly exhausted woman. She made a small, tired groan in response, looking at me in what I could only describe as misery. "Babe not let you sleep?"

She shook her head, and the half asleep Fandral in corner coughed out a laugh.

"He cries loud enough to wake both of us up, and doesn't stop unless he's being held."

As if on cue, the babe in his cot began to cry hysterically, and I felt my eyes grow wide as Ingrid instantly began crying as well.

"I just fed you!" She nearly sobbed. "We haven't slept all night, little one. Please!"

"Alright, alright." I waved my hand at the exhausted parents, picking the small infant up out of the cot and swaying to ease his tears. Instantly he stopped crying, cuddling towards my chest.

"What are we doing wrong?"

I smiled sympathetically at the question, shaking my head. "Absolutely nothing, darling. It's a transition for him, being out in the real world instead of being cozy bundled up inside you. What he's doing is completely normal while he adjusts, though incredibly hard for you two. Let me take him for a couple hours so you can rest."

Ingrid looked at me as if she were ready to protest.

"Ah, yes. The mom guilt for allowing someone else to take your newborn for any amount of time, totally normal. Alas, I'm awesome and I'm definitely not taking no for an answer. I can either hold him in here for your comfort while you sleep, or I can take him to my study so I can get some work done while I have him."

She smiled softly at me, nodding a bit. "Thank you, Dani."

"Of course. You two have a nice rest."

An hour later I was still holding the little one, flipping through Eir's journal during my downtime in my study. I was making sure to take notes on how far I got in the journal, where Eir was in her life during that time.

By now, Eir had all 4 of my brothers with Fafnir, though it was still nearly a century before my birth. Dyre and Davyn were of course the oldests, older than the set of twins Eir had next, Domari and Denby, by just over half a millennium. In the journal, Eir repeatedly wrote of being sure that she'd bare no other children. I always smirked when I saw those paragraphs, knowing she was clearly mistaken.

I was flicking to the next page when Loki teleported into the room, making me smile.

I quickly put my free hand to my lips, allowing my gaze to fall down to the small baby in my arms before I looked back at him.

"Nannying, I see?" Loki whispered with what was quite possibly the softest smile I had ever seen on his features.

"Ingrid was downright hysterical, and Fandral couldn't keep his eyes open. They needed a break." I responded back just as softly. "Little man here seems to enjoy my company."

"It's hard not to." Loki commented with a smirk before setting a glass of water and a small plate of eggs and sausage in front of me. "Since you got up so early, I assumed you skipped eating before you came down here."

I smiled a bit sheepishly and nodded. "I wanted to hurry."

"Of course you did, my love." He hummed lovingly, pulling the chair on the other side of my desk to sit beside me. "Go on, continue reading."

Loki took the fork into his hand, feeding me a bite of the eggs with a small smile.

I stared at him for a moment, a grin on my lips.

"What?" He questioned, an eyebrow raised.

"You enjoy this." I giggled in response.

"Spoiling my queen? Absolutely."

Loki and I sat in a comforting silence for about a half hour before Frigga interrupted, a smirk plastered to her face as she saw us.

"Quite a nice sight." She commented, lifted her head triumphantly, as if she had won some sort of argument.

"Mother." Loki warned, tilting an eyebrow upwards.

"What can I do for you, my queen?"

"I went to get the babe for his check, though he wasn't with his parents. I suspected I'd find him with you."

I nodded and stood, putting the boy in his travel cot for Frigga to take.

"Should I take him to his mother afterwards, or bring him back to you?"

"He'll likely grow hungry by the time you finish, I'll make sure to see if Ingrid would like me to take him after his feeding."

"For her pleasure, or yours?" Frigga grinned at me as she spoke, making me shove my tongue into my cheek.

"Don't tease me." I playfully whined, making the woman laugh as she exited the room.

"My poor darling." Loki faked sympathy, pouting out his bottom lip. "Mother thinks you to be a sucker for children."

I sighed. "I am."

"Really?" Loki shoved a hand over his chest, gasping. "I had no idea!"

"Oh, fuck off." I rolled my eyes at his teasing, making him grin as he wrapped me into his arms.

"You know, I'm becoming quite fond of the idea of children."

"Are you now?" I spoke through a smile. "Perhapsin a couple months we should borrow the babe from Fandral and Ingrid for an evening. I'm sure you'd change your mind."

"Oh please, darling. You think me too weak to handle a child?"

I chuckled, shaking my head. "I think a baby would drive you mad, my love."

"Have mine; we'll find out."

"Loki!"

He threw his hands up in mock surrender, though the grin plastered to his face proved he had succeeded in his goal.

"Alright, alright. Discussion for another day, my very flustered love." He chuckled out, before kissing my cheek. "I have a magistrate meeting soon. I'll see you this afternoon."

"Bye, mischief."

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Quick AN: My shadowing is over and classes are slowing down, so back to my regular, daily postings! Thanks for everyone being patient with me, and happy Valentine's Day!

Also want to add for the readers who are fans of chaos, it's coming. The book has slowed down for a few parts now, but peace never lasts!