A/N Well... This is my first shot at it. I don't know if I should continue it or not... I'll leave that up to you. I appreciate all sorts of comments, good and bad. And please, if you find a grammatical error that I overlooked, tell me. (I'm sorry if anyone else has had this idea. I don't mean to copy anyone... o.O)

Loki had never understood the world's fascination with babies and little children. Frankly, he found them a little terrifying. And so when Thor burst into his study, Loki nearly fell out of his chair. There, cradled in Thor's massive arms, was probably the tiniest little bundle Loki had ever seen.

"What is that?" he asked in shock.

"Your niece, Loki," Thor said, beaming.

"My what now?" Loki asked.

"Your niece, Katy," Thor said, holding the little bundle out to Loki. Frowning in confusion, Loki took Katy. Not quite sure how to hold her, he held her like a cat, one hand supporting the top half, the other, the bottom half. "No, no. Not like that. Like this." Thor moved Loki's arms so he was holding Katy properly.

Now what? Loki wondered. I don't want to hold her, but if I give her back, Thor will be offended. I can never win with him, can I? Katy made a strange sound, and Loki stared at her, afraid of what might come out of her. Forget offending Thor, he realized. I don't want to hold her.

"Thank you for bringing her, Thor," Loki said. "But if you can't tell…" He gestured to his book as he spoke. "I'm busy."

"Oh," Thor said, as if realizing that he had interrupted whatever Loki had been doing. "I'm sorry. I'll just take her and leave you to your books. Good night, brother."

"Good night, Thor," Loki said, glad to be alone again.

"Miaow?" his cat, Sky, asked.

"I don't know either, Sky," he said, picking her up. "I just hope Thor never asks me to baby sit. But now that I've said that, he probably will." He sighed. "What was I thinking, coming back?"

"Mrow," Sky scolded.

"I was talking to myself," he told her. "Not you." She flicked her tail. "Oh. So I have to make it clear I'm talking to myself? Talk in third person? Loki is talking to himself. Like that?"

"Uncle Loki, you're crazy," little Aaron said, nearly scaring Loki out of his chair. One of these days, Loki thought, someone will scare me out of this chair. "You talk to Sky like she's a person, and you talk to yourself too. And you're always reading. Only crazy people do that."

Loki had had a response ready until his nephew said that only crazy people read. "What has Thor been teaching you?" he asked, prepared response forgotten.

"Normal stuff," Aaron said. "Like useful stuff I'll use. Papa says I won't do much reading."

"If you visit Midgard, you will want to know how to read and write," Loki warned. "The Midgardians are very judgmental. Just ask your father."

"Really? Huh. Papa says the Midgardians are nice and accepting," Aaron said, obviously confused by his father's more trusting nature and his jaded uncle. Out of the blue, he said, "I don't want a little sister. What if Mama and Papa stop loving me?"

Loki marked his page in the book and set it aside. "Aaron listen to me," he said. "Your mother and father will never stop loving you. No matter what. Do you understand that?"

"But with Katy…"
"Katy can't take care of herself yet. Why don't you try helping to take care of her?"

"But I don't know anything about babies!"

"You could always hide in the library."

"But then Mama and Papa would get worried when they can't find me." Aaron looked thoughtful. "So you mean that even with Katy, they'll still love me?"

Loki smiled, just a faint smile. "That's exactly what I mean. Now go, before Thor comes back and tears the door off."

"Bye!" Aaron called as he ran off.

The next morning, Loki was dragged from sleep by someone pounding on his door. Flopping out of bed, he shuffled over and opened the door. "What?" he growled. Loki was definitely not a morning person, Jane reflected.

"I'm sorry to wake you up, but Thor and I need someone to watch Katy while we take Aaron to Earth to get him enrolled in school," Jane said.

"What?" Loki asked.

"Here," she said, handing him a piece of paper. "When you actually wake up, read this. Katy should sleep all day. She didn't sleep last night. But that paper will tell you what to do if she does wake up."

"Uh huh," he said, nodding, still not sure what she said.

"Thanks, Loki," she said, kissing his cheek.

As he closed the door, he realized what he had just agreed to do. "Wha-?" he asked, staring at the paper. "Note to self," he muttered. "Don't agree to anything when you first wake up." He sat down on his bed and read the note.

Loki:

Sorry to do this to you, but Jane and I decided that it would be best if Katy remained here while we set up our home on Midgard. Aaron's old enough that he can help. And we know Katy is safe with you.

Love, Thor.

Loki. As I told you, Katy should sleep all day. But if she does wake up, her bottle is in the fridge. I'm sure you can figure out how to feed her. You're smart. If her diaper needs to be changed, you should ask Frigga. And feel free to play with Katy. She's getting to the point of being restless, but she can't really crawl yet. Thank you again. 3 Jane.

Setting the note aside, Loki walked down to the room Jane and Thor shared. Katy was in her crib, wide awake. She looked scared, and upon realizing that her mother and father were gone, she let loose a shrill cry. Loki flinched and covered his ears. Why anyone would want such a thing was far beyond him.

"Stop crying," he said. "Please? Jane didn't tell me what I should do if you started crying!" He knew it was a bad excuse, but it was true. Maybe…He reached out until he felt her mind. It was very primitive, with only basic emotions. The one he felt most was hunger.

"Having trouble, dear?" one of the elderly servants asked. She had known Thor and Loki since both were little.

Blushing slightly, Loki nodded. "I really don't know what to do with her," he said. "Maybe you can fix her?"

"Loki, Loki, Loki," the servant sighed. "You can't just fix a child. Don't worry about Katy. I'll take care of her. You just go about your day."

"Thank you!" he called as he rushed out of the room.

When Jane realized that Loki wasn't in his room, she decided he must be in with Katy. Checking her room, she didn't find him there, either. Nor did she find Katy. Maybe they were in the library?

The massive carved doors were open. Jane could see Loki sitting in one of the many chairs strewn throughout. Katy was on his lap, and he was reading to her, pointing at the pages. She smiled. Loki may be clueless when it came to people, especially children, but he really did try.

"Did you find them?" Thor asked when she came back.

"They're in the library," she said. "Loki's reading to her. He's a lot better with children than anyone gives him credit for."

"Does he know we're back?"

"No. I…"

"When did you get back?" Loki interrupted, carrying a sleeping Katy. "You can have her back."

"Did you have a nice day?" Jane asked.

"I've only been watching Katy for the past few hours," he admitted. "I let Cinna take care of her."

"Somehow I expected that," Thor interjected.

"Well, Katy seems to like you," Jane said as if Thor hadn't spoken.

"I honestly can't say the same thing about her yet," Loki said, turning and trudging off to his room.

Jane looked at Thor. "Did he just tell the truth?" she asked.

"He doesn't want to get stuck baby sitting again," Thor said. "So of course he's going to tell the truth here."

Not even bothering to change, Loki fell face down on his bed. Had he only watched Katy for a few hours? It certainly felt like a lot longer. He had to give credit to Jane and Thor. They put up with that crying, screaming, noisy bundle every day. Just those few hours had left him with a terrible headache.

"Never again," he muttered into his pillow.