Thank you so much guys for the reviews, they make me insanely happy :') I'm sorry for all the mistakes in the last chapter, I didn't have much time to edit it but I really wanted to get a chapter up for you guys before I got so busy again. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.


"Because if I'm not with you right now, I have this feeling we'll get lost out there. It's a big, bad world full of twists and turns, and people have a way of blinking and missing the moment, the moment that could have changed everything. I don't know what's going on with us, and I can't tell you why you should waste a leap of faith on the likes of me. But damn you smell good. Like home. And you make excellent coffee. That's got to count for something, right?"

-Hank Moody, Californication


Stark blinks at Loki, turning away from his conversation with Clint. "For what?"

"I have to get to the hospital," Loki says shortly, sighing impatiently. Stark's brows practically hit his hairline, eyes roving over Loki to check for wounds.

"Did you get roofied or something?"

Loki huffs in annoyance, ready to pounce on Stark and get the keys himself. "Someone I know is...you know, if you would just let me have the keys I would get out of your hair and we'd all be happy."

"Don't get your panties in a twist, Prancer. You know I can't let you drive around the city by yourself," Stark retorts, rolling his eyes.

"Stark, if you do not produce the keys in the next ten seconds I will gut you and wear your insides to the prom," Loki snarls, stepping closer.

"Brother, what's going on?" Thor asks as he strides up, beer still in hand. Loki whirls around to face his brother.

"This is none of your business, Thor," Loki spits, then turns back to Stark. "Keys. Now."

"Loki, you can't take the keys and gallivander about the city by yourself," Thor points out. "But I'd be willing to drive you where you desire."

"Fine, alright. I just need to get to the hospital," Loki practically begs. Thor nods, and Stark hands the thunder god the keys hesitantly.

"If you so much as scratch her, I will take that hammer and turn your brains to scrambled eggs," Stark warns. Thor snags the keys and makes his way out of the bar, Loki hot on his heels.

Loki hates having Thor in charge, acting like he needs to lead Loki around on a leash, but at the moment Lou is far more important. Loki drums his fingers on the dashboard as Thor steers clumsily, still new to driving. He swerves past an old woman slowly taking groceries to her car, sending her flying into the nearest bush with a yelp that the two can hear from inside the car.

"What is this foul foe?" Thor bellows, a grey wig stuck to the windsheild wipers. He swerves around the road, attempting to remove it.

"Thor, steady this machine!" Loki shouts over Thor's grunts, the dashboard in a white-knuckled grip.

"This fluffy beast refuses to dislodge itself from my view!" Thor yells back, jerking the steering wheel so hard that they almost plow into a stand selling knock-off purses.

Sirens sound behind them, and Loki groans as he sees red and blue flashing lights come into view. "If you pull over, I will throttle you."

"Loki, I must pull over or we will be sentenced to death!" Thor replies, expression panicked as he attempts to find a spot to pull aside. Loki growls under his breath, leaning over and taking the steering wheel, attempting to direct the car back into the lane. Thor makes a noise of protest, trying to shove Loki away. The two wrestle over the steering wheel, swatting each other's hands away until the car slams right into a pole, sending both of them flying forwards.

The airbags pop out, smacking Loki right in the nose. "Midgardian foolery!"

As Loki grips his now throbbing nose, two beams of light, on either side of the vehicle, shine into the car, and Loki glances up to see two uniformed men attempting to wrench the doors open. Loki kicks his side open with ease, knocking the officer next to his window right onto the sidewalk. Loki takes off, not looking back to see if Thor is alright.

"Stop!" The officer shouts, struggling to sit his pudgy self up, but Loki continues to run down the sidewalk until the officer is just a speck behind him.

And finally, finally, the correct hospital comes into view. Loki nearly face-plants into the sliding glass doors, but doesn't stop until he catches a nurse by the elbow.

"I need you to direct me to Lou Piper's quarters," Loki orders breathlessly. The woman raises her brows.

"I'm sorry, you're going to need to check with the front desk," she replies, pointing to a crowded counter. Loki nods, rushing to the spot she'd pointed out.

"Where is Lou Piper located?" Loki questions. The man, clad in hideous powder-blue scrubs, looks up.

"Are you family?" The man asks, Loki arches a brow, then nods slowly.

"I am her...brother," Loki says. The man sighs with a nod, sitting down at his computer.

"What's the patient's name?" He asks.

Loki wants to grip the man by throat and just demand answers, but figures it would be best to follow midgardian custom rather than never see Lou at all. "Lou Piper. She's having her child."

The man types on his computer for a moment, then nods. "She's in 315, maternity ward. But I'm going to need to see some form of I.D. before - hey, come back here!"

Loki ignores the man's protests, already halfway down the hall. He just barely catches the elevator, jumping in before the doors shut. The buttons aren't like the one's at the Avenger's Tower, and he makes a face.

"I require assistance!" Loki shouts, and the other members of the elevator look at him, startled. "How do I locate the maternity ward of this building?"

"Uh, press that button," a mousy man with bright red hair says after a moment, awkwardly pressing the correct button when Loki just gives him an odd look.

Loki hunches his shoulders as the elevator slowly starts to move. It stops seemingly every ten seconds, and Loki grows impatient. "Speed up, you ignorant contraption!"

The other occupants shift away from him with strange looks, watching in disbelief as Loki points a long finger at the buttons and curses at them in every language he knows.

With a soft ding, the elevator stops on the floor for Loki, and he darts out of the small compartment before the doors even open fully. He nearly plows into every doctor on his trek down the hall, knocking over a few people in the process. Finally, he reaches 315 and winces at the screams coming from within.

He doesn't bother pondering it any further, swinging the door open and striding inside. Lou is in stirrups, surrounded by doctors. Her hair is matted to her forehead, eyes squeezed shut tight, and she has Diana's hand in a death grip.

"If you don't get out of my vagina right now, I'm shoving you back in and strangling you with my small intestine!" Lou shouts at her stomach.

"Just a few more, Lou, you can do it," Diana chants, face contorting with pain as Lou squeezes her hand even tighter. "Oh my god, Loki!"

"That's my vagina, not Loki you idiot!" Lou snarls, though her eyes are closed and she can't see what Diana is looking at. Though when Loki takes her hand and smooths her matted hair off her forehead, her eyes fly open and she looks up at him in surprise. "Loki?"

"In the flesh," he says, giving her hand a small squeeze.

"Alright Lou, just a few more, come on!" the doctor calls. Lou groans, head falling back.

"Push, Lou!" Diana orders, nearly smacking her sister upside the head. Lou squeezes her eyes shut, shouting out a string of curses as she pushes once again. Loki ignores the pressure on his hand, just pressing his cold hands onto Lou's heated cheeks silently.

"Alright, alright, give me two more hard pushes!" The doctor orders. Lou takes a deep breath, nails digging into Loki's hand as she pushes once again. "That's it, alright, one more, come on."

"I hope you're happy, Eve!" Lou shouts at the ceiling, back lifting off the hospital bed as she pushes one last time.

And suddenly there he is; Kurt Piper. He's only about the size of Loki's foot, and the doctors immediately whisk him away to the NICU. Lou takes long, deep breaths, eyelids fluttering shut.

"He's so tiny," Diana whispers.

"He was supposed to cook for another two months, what did you expect?" Lou replies, slightly breathless. "How did you get here, Loki?"

"I'll explain later, you just rest."

Lou gives his hand one last squeeze, relaxing as the nurse blots her forehead with a rag. Loki sinks down into one of the chairs, head resting in his hands.

Well, hey there, Kurt.


Diana wheels Lou into the NICU the following morning, stopping the wheelchair where Kurt is sleeping. Lou gasps slightly, seeing her baby so small and hooked up to so many machines. The doctor had thoroughly explained what exactly to expect, but it still is slightly unebelievable to see.

"He is tiny," Lou whispers. She watches her baby with wide eyes, occasionally glancing at the nurse scribbling on Kurt's chart. "How the hell did he manage to play hardcore drums on my kidneys?"

The nurse looks up, smiling slightly. "He's strong; he did great overnight."

"That's my little man," Lou coos, practically pressing her face on the glass.

Loki had been questioned by the hospital security earlier, though Lou had finally convinced them that he was a trusted friend and didn't need to be thrown out. She had left him sleeping in her room, figuring he'd had a long night and didn't need to be woken up just yet.

"He's going to fill out his bibs quite nicely," Diana notes, nodding her head as-a-matter-of-factly. Lou rolls her eyes, but grins slightly.

"He's gonna be a stud," she agrees. The nurse chuckles, closing Kurt's chart and letting Diana and Lou have a moment alone.

"David bought him a crib," Diana says after a moment. "He called last night while you were asleep."

"Did you...did you talk to Loki?" Lou asks after a moment, biting her lip.

"For a few minutes, yeah. I had to leave to get you some clothes after a while. He said he'd been staying with some friends, and saw the story on the news and came immediately."

Lou nods slowly, touching the glass of the incubator with a small smile. "I'm glad he came back."

"Yeah, me too."

They watch Kurt for another few minutes, before the nurse informs them that Lou needs to return to her room to get a bit more rest, and they can visit again later. When they arrive back at the room, Loki is awake and is leaning against the window, watching the sun rise over the city.

"Hey," Lou says quietly, after Diana helps her into bed and excuses herself. Loki turns to her, green eyes hesitant.

"How are you feeling?" He asks after a beat of silence. Lou shrugs, picking at the blankets on her bed.

"Like I just gave birth," she mutters, and Loki chuckles. "Look, I'm sorry for everything that happened. I tried to find you, but New York is kind of big and I didn't have a clue where to even look."

"You don't need to apologize, Lou," Loki replies, coming to sit on the edge of her bed awkwardly. She rolls her eyes, flopping back onto her pillows.

"Yes, I do. I kicked you out because you liked me, like...who does that?" Lou says indignantly, throwing her arms into the air.

"Someone with good judgement," Loki repleis pointedly. "You did what you felt was right, and I cannot possibly be angry with you for that. In all honestly, I believe you did the right thing. I haven't been a good person, Lou, and you know that."

"What, are you going to make a list of everything bad you've ever done and one by one, make up for all of your mistakes?" Lou asks sarcastically, and Loki gives her a look. "Whatever, I just want to forget it ever happened. I want you to come home."

Loki drops his eyes to the floor, and Lou knits her brows. "What? Are your friends that great that you don't want to come back?"

"They're not my friends, per say. It's my brother, and his...team," Loki mutters.

"What, are you like, a prisoner now?" Lou asks, arching her brows. Loki doesn't reply, and she huffs. "Loki, just tell me what's going on!"

"Yes, in a sense, I am a prisoner," Loki replies after a few more moments of silence. Lou's mouth pops open in surprise. "Not the type that you're thinking of. I am just...constantly under my brother's watch. I accidentally crashed his car into a pole last night and left him there and that's the only reason I am alone now. But eventually they will come for me and I don't know if they will take to well to me being...involved with a mortal."

"You crashed a car into a pole and left your brother there? What the hell, Loki!" Lou nearly shouts.

Loki rolls his eyes. "My brother's head is exceptionally hard. He'll be alright."

Lou sighs, and they sit in silence for a few moments. "So...where does this leave us?"

"I will do my best to stay, Lou, but I can't make any promises," Loki sighs, rubbing his forehead. Lou makes a face.

"That's not fair. Stupid secret agents," she mutters, pouting. Loki smirks, staying quiet. "You know, maybe if I tell them you're nothing but a big teddy bear, they'll let you stay."

Loki makes a face, narrowing his eyes at her. "I am no fluffy toy."

Lou lets out a yelp of laughter, then covers her mouth when he frowns. "Sorry, you're a big viscious teddy bear."

She giggles when he rolls his eyes, but he can't help but grin slightly. "You need to rest."

"You better be here when I wake up or I'll kick your ass," Lou warns, settling back into her bed as Loki tucks the covers around her.

"Sleep well, Lou."

She feels the cool pressure of his lips on her forehead just before she drifts off, a small smile playing on her lips.


Adklfjdflkjdfkl I hope you guys like it. I'm sorry if there are mistakes, I only had time to give it a quick once-over. Anyway, please review, I'll love you forever!