A/N: A Very Very VERY belated birthday present for my twinsie Navybabe!
Sif winced and rubbed at her side tenderly. She'd been attempting to ignore the insistent jab to her ribs, trying to focus on her book. Sighing she placed her book aside and looked down at her swollen abdomen. "Alright little one, you win. I'll go find him."
She hefted herself from her the chair, waiving away her maids silent offer of assistance, she was pregnant, not invalid! She knew just where to find him, and headed quickly, or at least as quickly as she could being roughly the size of a bilgesnipe.
She found him in his usual corner of the library, leaning against the window, long legs splayed as he continued his research. He looked up at her shuffling, and smiled, the sun catching his raven hair and making him look like the young man she had befriended so long ago. Sif returned the smile, but it quickly faded into a grimace at the insistent jab once again.
Loki moved quickly, guiding her to the seat of the window sill, using his magic to widen it for the two of them. Sif nodded gratefully and eased herself onto the cushions, his hand protectively covering her abdomen.
His presence temporarily quieted the child within. "Oh thank Frigga," Sif moaned as she felt the limb removed itself from her ribs.
Loki raised his eyebrow questioningly, "Already making demands of your mother, ástin mín*?"
Sif groaned as she felt the child move eagerly at the sound of her father's voice. "Hasn't even been born and she's already made her preference for you known."
Loki smirked and placed his head on her abdomen speaking softly, "You must allow your mother to rest. You'll be here soon enough my little troublemaker."
Sif rolled her eyes, knowing that she'd have to watch these two, they'd be as thick as thieves.
Loki sat up, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her temple as she leaned into his chest.
"She seems to have calmed down considerably," Sif murmured. "Read to us, you know she loves hearing you read as much as I do."
Loki smiled, and began reading, his arms wrapped around both his girls.
"I swear by Odin's eyepatch, Loki! This is all your fault!" Sif screamed as she dug her hands into the bars attached to the bed.
Loki was as white as a sheet, attempting to soothe his beautiful but savage wife. "Come now, surely you've faced worse on your adventures with Thor," he chuckled, dabbing her face with a cool cloth.
Sif grabbed his wrist and snarled, "If it's so bloody easy then you can do it!"
Frigga hid a smile as her youngest son paled even further at the thought.
"Now Sif, as much as we'd like to see him taken down a few pegs, I do need to check your progress." Eir said chuckling as she lifted the sheet.
Sif nodded, relinquishing her painful grip on Loki's wrist. He moved to step away, but she quickly grabbed his sleeve, refusing to let him leave her side.
"Okay Sif, looks like she's as impatient as her parents, so I'm going to need you to give me one big push," Eir said, looking up at the couple.
Loki helped Sif sit upright, smoothing her hair and whispering encouraging words as he sat behind her.
Sif nodded at Eir, and let out a loud yell as she pushed. After a few moments of silence, they heard the soft wail of their daughter.
Sif collapsed against Loki sobbing, relieved that she was finally here.
Eir held out the scissors to Loki, as he moved to cut the cord. He gathered their daughter in his arms, cleaning her off with a spell, and brought her to her mother.
"Hello Helene. I'm your Papa," he said softly to the bundle in his arms as he placed a kiss on her forehead.
As he passed her to Sif, her eyes opened and stared into his before she blinked and her skin turned a pale blue.
Sif laughed, "I told you she already had a preference for you."
Loki smirked, as he stroked Helene's cheek, "Welcome to the world, my little mischief maker."
*ástin mín –Old Norse, "my dear," "my darling"