"Impossible."

Thor folded his arms imperiously. "Is it? You, yourself, said it was almost as if you opened the portal yourself. Isn't the signature of a child very close to that of their parents?"

"It is, yes." Loki hadn't even looked up from his book. "But that's not the only reason it would be similar. If it were an alternate version of myself, it would have been much the same."

Thor raised an eyebrow. "And that's less far-fetched than saying she's your daughter?"

"From the future?" He snorted. "Absolutely. Time travel isn't that easy, or feasible."

"In this day, perhaps." Thor eagerly flopped onto the couch beside his brother. "But perhaps, thirty years in the future?"

That was what finally devoted the Trickster's attention to the conversation. With an irritated snap of his fingers, he sent the book back to its place on the shelf, and turned to Thor in exasperation. "You truly think she's my daughter?"

"I think it's a definite possibility." Thor meekly replied. "She has your eyes."

Of course his oaf of a brother would be prone to such ridiculous, base sentimentality to make his deductions. "My eyes." Loki repeated with a dubious expression. "You're insane."

"I know…" The Thunderer grinned. "But could you at least go speak to her? What have you to lose?"

"Time." Loki stated, but stood up. "In the Triskellion, you said?"

Thor nodded, and opened his mouth to add something. Loki never heard it, though, as he flicked his fingers, and sent himself to the lobby of the grand Midgardian building. A few rapid inquiries and intimidated agents later, he stood before the door to the hospital ward that contained the girl.

For some reason unbeknownst to him, he found himself legitimately nervous. Of course this wasn't his daughter. That would be ridiculous. It would take one quick pulse of sedir to prover that ridiculous theory wrong, and he'd have irrefutable evidence that whoever this madwoman was, it was not his child.

Why was he even hesitating? The whole idea was absurd!

And yet… The memory of the signature radiating from the portal… It would make logical sense. Right?

No.

No, of course not.

With a brisk motion he flung open the door, revealing the young girl, clothed in a hospital gown, as she lay propped up on her pillows, reading a book. Thor was right, she did certainly bear a resemblance to him. Not that it was the deciding factor, plenty of mortals had dark hair and delicate features.

At first, she spared him a disinterested glance, and returned to her book, but after a double take, her eyes lit up as she drank in the sight of him.

"Father!" She cried jubilantly, her face splitting into an elated smile, as she laid aside her book. "I'm so glad to see you!"

"Can't say I return the sentiment." Loki frowned, closing the door behind him. This waif of a girl most likely couldn't hurt him, but there was no harm in being cautious. Warily, he subtly fingered the hilt of the dagger inside his sleeve. "Who are you?"

The girl glanced down in what seemed to be acceptant sadness. "You named me Crystal. Crystal Frigga Lokidotir."

Then… he had named her after his mother. Furrowing his brow, he decided to throw caution to the winds, and sprawled in the chair beside her bed. "A pleasure to meet you, I suppose. I'm sure you think you know who I am?"

"No, actually." Crystal shrugged. "People change after they marry, and I only knew you after Mother, so I'm afraid I don't know you at all. Perhaps you could tell me about yourself?"

"Perhaps not." Loki sent a tight smile her way. "I came to dispel a rumor, and that is all."

She hesitated, then furrowed her brow. "You don't believe I'm really your daughter, do you?"

"Why would I?" Loki demanded, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. "Plenty of mortals have claimed a kinship to me. The only thing that makes you special is your claim from the future, and the fact that I saw the portal you opened. Now, I'm sure you're probably of Asgard, hence the portal, but pretending to be royalty is extremely dishonorable, even for me."

Crystal's face fell in disbelief. "Well, you don't have to be cruel about it." She murmured, nervously fidgeting with her hands.

"My apologies." Loki replied, sarcasm positively dripping from his words. "I appreciate being lied to, and there was no reason for my shortness. Give me your hands."

Crustal glanced up with a hurt expression, but offered her shaking, bandaged fingers, anyway. A flash of remorse passed through the Trickster, as he reached for her. After all, she was a person, and deserved respect, even if she was wasting his time with petty falsehoods.

He fired a quick pulse of energy through her, proving once and for all that she was…

Loki froze, and stopped in his tracks.

Again, he tried the surge of energy, and it bounced back to him, the results clear as day.

Bless her heart, Crystal was trying her hardest not to look smug, but the twinkle in her eyes shone through the mask of calm patience.

It was true. The science did not lie. Crystal was his biological daughter.

He was insane, dreaming, something. This couldn't be real. Leaping to his feet, he began pacing the length of the room as Crystal waited patiently on the gurney, her eyes tracking him back and forth as his mind scrambled to produce a logical explanation.

Well, a logical explanation besides the obvious one. He didn't want a daughter, especially Crystal. What had even happened to her? She was half-starved, and beaten basically to death when he'd first seen her. Now she was a little cleaned up, and healing as quickly as any healthy Asgardian/Jotun would.

He didn't even know her! How could he possibly support her, or… what did one even do for nearly-fully-grown children? Odin had mainly ignored him when he could, and screamed at him when he couldn't, but… that couldn't be the best recourse of action… right?

Well… he probably ought to apologize, at least. "Well then." He huffed. Apologies were not his strong suit. "I suppose… I'm sorry for disbelieving you."

"It's okay." She smiled softly up at him. "I can see why it would be confusing. I mean, if you introduced me to my daughter from the future, I'd probably react the same."

Great. She was sweet, too. What did one even do with sweet people? In his experience, they all tried to fix him, pity him, or simply be kind to him. The first two, he wanted nothing to do with, and the last, he had no idea how to deal with. Even Thor giving him hugs made him uncomfortable. What if she tried to compliment him, or some such nonsense?

What would be the right thing to do in this situation? The hero thing? The Avenger-ish thing? He had to live up to his title, after all. What would Thor do?

Most likely, he'd take the girl under his wing without a second thought, and do his best, even if he had no idea what he was doing.

Why was the right thing always the hardest? Why couldn't he, for once, have his life handed to him on a silver platter, like Thor always seemed to?

"Very well, then." He finally stopped, and clasped his hands behind his back. "I suppose you'll want to live in the tower, then?"

She was asleep.

"Of all the nerve…" Loki began fuming, but arrested himself. She was hurt. Exhausted, most likely, and whatever she'd been through on the Sanctuary couldn't have been pleasant. Perhaps he'd tell her when she awoke.

In the meantime, his whole life was in desperate need of re-thinking, now that he was… a father. It seemed so odd, applying the term to himself.

And it wasn't as if he was preparing his heart for an infant, who would do nothing but eat, sleep, and fill her diaper. Crystal was already almost grown. She was a character all to herself, with likes, dislikes, talents, interests, everything.

This was a huge responsibility. But Loki was no quitter. Flopping back into the chair, he decided then and there. He'd have this child, eventually, whether he liked it or not. It was better to accept her now rather than later, or it might be harder, when the time came.

TheOnlyHuman.