A/N: As the great Elle Woods once said, "Omigod you guys!" I'm back! It's been a minute - the bar exam took a good chunk of my energy, and now this COVID crap is sapping even more of it. But I feel like now more than ever, the world needs fanfiction, and I've been working on this chapter for a month and a half now. It's relatively short compared to the others, but it accomplishes what it needs to and sets up the rest of the story well. I hope people are excited to have a new one, and that you're all still around to enjoy it.

Also, I'd like to clarify - Amy is only 2.5 years old at this point, but we're going to go ahead and say she's a gifted child. I need her to have more vocabulary than the average kid, and with Loki as a parent figure, I feel like she would be more advanced than other kids her age. At any rate, I apologize for the lack of "realism" there but I just gotta get done what I gotta get done, and we're talking about space magic anyway, so suspend your disbelief. ;)

I've already got the next chapter in the works, so hopefully it won't be another couple months between this and that one. Thank you so much for your comments and encouragement. They mean the world.

Song: "In My Life" by The Beatles (although I picked the Diana Krall version for my Spotify playlist because I love her version so much).

"Honey, did you do something different with the challah?" Vivian asked.

"Why?" Grace replied. "Is it not as good as usual?" She shot Loki a sly grin, as if to claim victory in the Great Challah War.

Vivian took another bite of the French toast. "No. Actually, it's even better this time!"

Grace nearly choked on her orange juice while Loki looked quite pleased with himself. "I added some vanilla extract and cinnamon to the batter," he said. Vivian and Al both looked at him in shock.

"You baked it?" Vivian asked.

"Why the tone of surprise?"

"I'm just surprised Grace let you bake it," Al said. "Usually she kicks everyone out of her kitchen when she's having people over."

"Well, since you're clearly the better breadsmith," Grace said to Loki, "guess who gets to do it from now on?"

Loki sipped his coffee. "I am beginning to regret having said anything."

She shrugged. "That's what you get for being a smartass." He grinned. When she gave him back the sarcasm he routinely dished out, it was nearly an aphrodisiac. She turned back to her parents. "Anyway, we just wanted to thank you guys for being so helpful and taking Amy on such short notice."

Vivian smiled. "Why wouldn't we? She's our granddaughter. We'll take her every chance we get."

"Besides," Al added, "we only get to do it this once."

Grace's breath caught in her chest and she glanced at Loki, who remained impassive. He was more like Odin than he would ever admit; if he didn't want someone to know what he was thinking, they wouldn't. He had better control of his face than anyone she knew.

They had discussed how to tell her parents, but no real, concrete plan had been formed. Grace knew she didn't want to do a cheesy reveal on camera like so many posted online, but that was the extent of what little plan there was. Loki had said he would leave it to her to decide since they were her parents—hence his reaction, or lack thereof.

She didn't have nearly as much control over her emotions, though, because something about her mother's expression changed. It was now or never, she realized.

She felt Loki take her hand. "Yeah, about that…" she began.

"Very funny," Al said.

Vivian set her fork down and studied her daughter's face. She looked from Grace to Loki and back again. "Honey," she said, "are—are you serious?"

Grace and Loki looked at each other then, and neither of them could contain their smiles any longer. The last time Grace had delivered this news, it was in the aftermath of tragedy and it was alone. She loved Amy deeply, but if she could change the circumstances of her conception, she would. This time was different. This time, there was joy. This time, there was excitement.

This time, there was Loki.

Vivian leaped out of her chair so quickly that she nearly knocked it over. Al just sat for a moment, thrilled and shocked, before jumping up and pulling his daughter into a hug. Vivian rushed around the table and took Loki's face in her hands, kissing him on both cheeks. "Congratulations, sweetie!"

He smiled shyly, as he always did whenever she showed him affection. He took one of her hands and kissed it. "Thank you, Vivian." Then, while she crossed behind him to hug Grace, Loki looked to Al. "I hope you don't mind me saying so, but I am glad to have proven you wrong."

Al laughed, extending his hand, which Loki shook firmly. "If there were ever a time for me to be wrong about something, I'm glad it's this! Mazel tov!"

"Actually, that was the reason we went to Asgard last weekend," Grace admitted. "We needed to, uh, get some answers."

"Oh! Yes, of course," Vivian said. "You know, sometimes I forget…" She trailed off, not wanting to be indelicate.

"It's all right," Loki replied. "Circumstances being what they are, we simply wanted to ensure that Grace could safely carry the child."

Al's eyes flashed for a second. "And I assume that won't be an issue?"

Loki smiled. As protective as Vivian was, he had a special appreciation for Al's quiet concern for his daughter. "It would seem that this pregnancy will be quite similar to any other. The symptoms may be slightly worse, but—"

"But the actual pregnancy will only be, like, six months. Well, more like four now," Grace finished.

"Four months!?" Vivian exclaimed.

"Well, the baby will be totally developed by then. It's just developing faster than—"

"What I mean is, how are we going to be ready in four months?"

It was almost as if Vivian had forgotten that Grace had been pregnant before. "Ma, I don't need a shower or anything. I still have all Amy's stuff, and even if it's a boy, most of her baby clothes were unisex anyway."

"Nonsense," Vivian replied. "Besides, I'm sure Loki's mother would love to attend, since she hasn't had the joy of grandchildren yet."

Grace waited for Loki to interject, certain he would assure her mother that Frigga wouldn't be interested in attending an earthly baby shower. But he sat silently, hands in prayer at his lips, contemplating.

"Loki?" she said, hoping he had merely tuned out.

"I suspect my mother would quite appreciate an invitation to such an event," he finally said. He caught the stunned expression on Grace's face and smiled. "What was it Al just said? At the rate my brother is going, she may only get to do this once."

"Is it true?"

"I don't know. I heard they returned very suddenly."

"One of Odin's servants said the Allfather himself attended the examination."

"I've never heard of a mortal having a child with a Jotun!"

"You'd have thought Thor and his mortal would have been first."

Ever since the younger of Odin's two sons had brought his human partner and little girl to Asgard, the entire city had been aflame with gossip. Whether it was about the child's father, the way Grace dressed, or the way Loki looked at her—so unlike he had looked at any Asgardian woman—it seemed everyone had an opinion of their relationship. The consensus appeared to be that if the change in the prince's attitude and demeanor was due to Grace's presence in his life, then she had to be some kind of sorceress. She was at least more immediately accepted than had been Jane, although that was less a reflection on Jane and more a reflection of Thor's popularity with women. Any woman who earned the favor of the heir to the throne would have been secretly scorned by the women of Asgard.

Loki and Grace's sudden and brief visit to the palace had, however, not gone unnoticed. That they had been isolated for most of the trip, save for a visit to the healing room, only served to fuel the fire. No one knew anything for certain, but that did not stop the servants from speculating.

There was, however, one servant who didn't feel the need to engage in the incessant discussion of the prince's love life. Dagmar heard much of it while attending to the queen's ladies-in-waiting; they seemed to have a particular interest, possibly due to being in the position of serving the queen herself. She was currently combing the delicate curls of Frigga's newest attendant, a young lady named Hillevi, from the northern part of the realm, where the wealthier citizens lived. There was to be a dinner that evening to celebrate the return of Asgard's warriors from Vanaheim, where peace had just been restored after a yearlong series of revolts, and Dagmar was to help the queen's ladies prepare. She gathered a large group of pins and began to weave Hillevi's golden curls into a thick braid.

"Well," Inger said, "perhaps Prince Loki simply wanted to accomplish something before his brother for once."

The women all laughed. "I'd bet all the gold in Odin's vault that the king and queen are less than thrilled," Ragna replied. "I'm sure they'd have preferred Thor and Sif give them a grandchild than Loki and his mortal peasant."

Dagmar couldn't take it anymore. She nearly slammed the comb onto the vanity. The other women got quiet. "Is something the matter, Dagmar?" Inger asked.

Dagmar knew she was overstepping a boundary but didn't much care in that moment. Anger palpable in her voice, she said, "You know nothing of the prince or Grace."

"And you do?" Hillevi asked, more with curiosity than disbelief.

"Dagmar was the mortal's attendant during her visits here," Ylva said. "And apparently now she no longer feels it necessary to address those above her with respect."

"Grace preferred I not use a title to refer to her," Dagmar said with increasing irritation. She knew she could be banished from court for her impertinence, but it was only because of Grace that she was here at all. She could not abide the way these so-called "ladies" were talking about the prince's betrothed. "It is only because of Grace and Prince Loki that I am here to attend to you. They were and still are kinder to those 'beneath' them than any of you have been to them this evening. They are wonderful parents to their child and will be to—"

She cut herself short, realizing what she had just done. The four ladies stared at her, wide-eyed and slack jawed.

"So, it's true?" Hillevi asked, curiosity burning in her eyes.

"I—I didn't say—"

"But you might as well have," Ragna interjected. "How long?"

"Is it human?" Ylva asked.

"The better question is, is it Jotun?" Inger added.

Dagmar picked up the last of the hairpins and secured a curl to the updo on Hillevi's head. "I cannot say." She then turned to leave, the ladies-in-waiting still aghast. The door to the room was already open, so she shut it tightly behind her, thankful that no one had been outside to overhear.

The day after Grace and Loki told Grace's parents, they decided they should tell Amy so she didn't accidentally overhear it from anyone else. So, after Grace got home from work that night, she, Loki, and Amy sat down on the living room floor. Grace always felt that sitting with Amy, on her level, made everything more comfortable—as if it were merely a conversation with her rather than two adults announcing something at her. Amy sat in Loki's lap, and Grace looked to him for encouragement. He nodded, and she clasped one of her daughter's tiny hands in her own.

"Mommy and Daddy have something to tell you, sweetie."

Amy looked at Grace with inquisitive eyes. "Okay, Mommy."

"Well…you know how Little Paul is Chloe's younger brother?"

"Yes. He was in Aunt Stacy's tummy after Chloe."

Grace smiled warmly. "That's right! Just like I had you in my tummy."

"Chloe wanted a sister," Amy said.

Loki smiled. "But now she likes having a brother, doesn't she?"

"Yeah. They play princess and monster."

Grace laughed. "Well, what if I told you that I have a baby in my tummy now?"

Amy's eyes got very wide and she pointed at Grace's stomach. "A baby brother's in there?"

Loki ran a hand through her red ringlets. "Well, we don't know if it's a boy or a girl, sweetheart, but you'll either have a baby brother or a baby sister, yes."

Amy furrowed her brow and looked up at Loki. "Tomorrow?"

"Oh, no, sweetie," Grace replied, unconsciously putting a hand on her abdomen. "It will take a few months before it can come out. Babies have to grow first."

"How long did I grow?"

Loki was impressed but somehow unsurprised at the mature questions his daughter was asking. "You? You grew for nine months. But this baby will be here in October."

Amy looked down for a minute and had a profoundly serious expression on her face. Grace was momentarily worried her daughter wasn't happy about this sudden change. But then, Amy looked back up, cocking her head—the way Grace did when she was contemplating something.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, baby?"

"If it's a sister, can we still play princess and monster?"

Both Grace and Loki burst out laughing, and Loki suddenly lifted Amy over his head as if she were an angel darting through the clouds. "You may play princess and monster with it no matter what it is," he said, "although I suspect I know who the princess will be."

Amy had a litany of other questions for them as the evening wore on. She wanted to know if it hurt to have a baby in your tummy (no, Grace had said), if Loki would have to do anything to make it come (only when it was about to be born, he told her), whether her grandma and grandpa "in space" would come visit it (of course, they both said), and, finally, what its name would be. For that, they realized they had no answer. And so it was that after they put Amy to bed that night, Grace looked at Loki over her mug of tea and said, "So, we should probably talk about names."

Loki settled next to her on the sofa, glass of wine in hand. He had originally decided to forego wine since Grace could not partake, but, as ever, she had insisted he not sacrifice his own desires for her comfort. She was headstrong, and there was no use arguing.

"Yes, perhaps we should, but do you think it necessary until we know whether it's a boy or a girl?"

"I mean, it's not necessary, but I think it might be good to at least have some ideas. Otherwise, we might not get around to it until it's born, and that's how kids end up with names like Apple."

He laughed. "A mortal actually named their child Apple? You must be joking."

"I couldn't make that up," she replied. "So…any ideas?"

"Hm," he mumbled. "Admittedly, I never gave such things consideration. I never imagined I would need to."

She stretched her back, twisting at the waist. "I'm not surprised."

He set his glass down. "Are you all right?"

"Oh, just a little achy. My back doesn't like me sitting at my desk all day."

He took the tea from her hands and put it next to his wine. "Come," he said.

She reversed positions and lay back against his chest. His hands began working the tight muscles in her shoulders, expertly kneading the knots so that they gradually melted away. She closed her eyes, certain she could fall asleep this way. "You know you aren't getting any tonight, right?"

He pushed her forward gently so that he could work his way down either side of her spine. "I assumed as much. I can see you are exhausted."

When he hit a particularly sore spot in the middle of her back and pushed on it gently to dissolve the tension, she groaned, "I love you."

He smiled, as satisfied as he would have been had they made love. "I love you, too."

They sat in silence for a bit as Loki continued to massage away the tension in Grace's lower back. Then, she cleared her throat. "Loki."

"Yes, love?"

"Oh, no, sorry. I was just thinking of names. What about yours?"

He made a face, although she could not see. "Absolutely not. I would sooner name it Thor."

"Damn, that's intense! What's so bad about your name?"

He hesitated. "Well, I would prefer to reserve my name for our more…intimate moments."

She laughed quietly. "Point taken."

"What about Siri?" he suggested. "It means 'marvelous victory.'"

"It also means 'Goddess of iPhones.'"

"I'm sorry?"

"Nevermind," she said, gasping slightly as he moved his hands toward her tailbone. "Loki?"

"Oh, please don't try to talk me into—"

She laughed. "Sorry. This time I actually am asking you something."

"You are maddening," he replied, nipping at her neck. "What is it?"

"Is there any way you could somehow show me what you looked like as a little boy?"

He stopped his ministrations on her neck and leaned over her shoulder. "Why do you—"

She turned her head to meet his gaze. "Because you know what I looked like. And our children will have baby photos. I want to know what my future husband looked like—what this child's father looked like—when he was little."

He lowered his eyes and nodded. "I suppose that is reasonable."

Then, he shifted away from her and closed his eyes, summoning a vision from his past, a memory he could conjure for her. Coming up with something happy was a bit of a struggle; most of his memories had to do with his tagging along with Thor and his friends but never quite fitting in. But then he thought about someone else, the one person in Asgard who never made him feel out of place.

Suddenly, before Grace's eyes, a vision appeared, slightly hazy and tinted a greenish color, like a flashback in a movie. As it came into focus, she could see Frigga, almost exactly as she appeared a few days ago with slightly darker hair. She was seated on the edge of a fountain inside the palace, holding her hands in front of her, palms toward the ceiling. Then, a small, raven-haired boy faded into the picture, seated at Frigga's feet. His green eyes sparkled with wonder as Frigga conjured the same bird as she had for Amy.

Grace was enraptured by the scene playing out in front of her—an eight-year-old-looking Loki, dressed in a hunter green tunic and brown slacks, watching his mother turn the bird in her hands. Then, she took one of his and said something to him. He nodded and concentrated on the bird, and after a minute, it moved from her palm to his. The light in his eyes was unmistakable; it wasn't just that he had performed this trick. It was that he was elated at having done something Thor could not. Something that was his, and his only. Something that had made his mother proud.

Without even realizing it, Grace reached over and took his hand. He glanced at her, watching the smile spread across her face. He hadn't realized how happy it would make her to see him as a boy. Truthfully, he had forgotten how he'd looked; he could view his memories in this manner any time he wanted, but he had long since decided not to revisit his boyhood. He had so few good memories. But this was certainly one of them.

As the vision slowly faded away, Grace's trance broke, and she turned to look at him, tears in her eyes. "That was amazing."

"That was the first spell my mother ever taught me," he finally said. "Perhaps that explains why she showed it to Amy."

"And why you did, too. You know you're a good father, right?"

He ducked his head. "I hope that is the case. I have tried to be."

She took his face gently in her hands. "You have been. And I know that—oh—ooooh—" She put her hand on her abdomen and pushed away from him.

His eyes went wide. "What is it, my love?"

"It's just—just that really cold feeling, very suddenly," she replied. Then, she got a curious look on her face. "Maybe—maybe the baby responds to you."

Loki smiled. "Do you think it can hear me?"

She returned his smile and put his hand on the small bump. "I know so. Say something. You'll see." He looked briefly uncomfortable, like he didn't know how to do this very simple thing she was asking him to do. Suddenly, she got an idea that would kill two birds with a single stone. "Tell him something about yourself."

His head jerked up. "Him?"

"Him," she repeated. "I think it's a boy."

"Why do you think that?"

She shrugged and pulled the mass of waves off her shoulders and into a messy bun on top of her head. "I can't really explain it. I knew Amy was going to be a girl before I ever had an ultrasound, though."

He squinted at her, a skeptical smirk on his face. "Well, considering you had a fifty percent chance of being right—" She smacked him on the arm. "Ow! Okay. Point taken. I surrender."

"That's better," she said. "Anyway, I knew she was a girl because I just…I mean, I think maybe she was a girl because I wanted her to be a girl."

"That doesn't necessarily sound so implausible when you consider the fact that you are currently carrying a child that is half Jotun. Maybe the Norns heard your wishes."

She let out a whisper of a laugh. "Maybe. Regardless, I just have a feeling." She hesitated. "Do you want a boy or a girl?"

He looked as though he was considering this for the first time. "So long as it is healthy—"

Grace shook her head. "Don't give me that. I may not have had a man around for my last pregnancy, but I know every father-to-be lies with that answer. So, my dear trickster god, be honest with me. What do you want?"

He bit his bottom lip and played with the hem of her t-shirt, barely riding up over the small swell of her belly. "I do not wish to seem like a typical Asgardian brute who wishes to sire an heir, but I must confess there is something about the idea of a son…" He lowered his eyes so that she could not see them, as though he was embarrassed by his thoughts.

She could tell he was holding something else back. "Loki Laufeyson, what are you not telling me?"

He sighed. "Please do not think me heartless when I say this."

"Nothing you could say would make me think that."

"I would prefer that Amy be my only daughter," he said, as quickly as if he were ripping off a bandage. "I know what it is to be the younger sibling, to feel as though you are living in the shadow of the favored child, and—"

Concern clouded Grace's eyes. "Loki, you would never treat our children that way. I know you, and I know that—"

He nodded. "I know that I would not intend to. But I have lived this, Grace. I always wondered how different my life might have been had I been a daughter instead of a son."

She considered this for a moment, and then tilted her head. "You know, I bet if you asked your father, he'd tell you he would do things differently if he had the chance for a do-over."

Loki laughed sadly. "My father will never admit to that."

Grace moved back to lay against his chest again. She wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned her head back on his shoulder. "That may be," she murmured, her voice as soothing to him as his mother's. "But that doesn't mean he doesn't think it."

A lanky, flat-faced figure moved to kneel in front of a floating throne that was cloaked in a force field of darkness. Thanos, the enormous, purple-skinned Titan seated on the throne, nodded acknowledgment, and the figure rose to his feet.

"What have you learned?" Thanos asked in a voice as deep and cold as space.

"Sire," Ebony Maw replied, "we have located him."

"Is he on Asgard?"

"No, Sire. He is on Earth."

Thanos furrowed his great brow. "They left him there?"

Maw shook his wrinkled head. "He has chosen to remain there."

"Do we know why?"

Once again, Maw shook his head. "No, Sire. But, if I may, we do not need the Asgardian to accomplish your plan. His powers are—"

"We may not need him, but his powers are considerable, even in failure. We would do well to keep him with the Order."

"But Sire—"

Thanos' eyes flared with anger. "Enough!" he yelled, and Maw immediately knelt again in deference, his face lowered toward the ground.

"Forgive me, Sire."

With a wave of his hand, Thanos permitted Maw to rise again. "If we can get Loki to rejoin us, we may be able to use him to obtain the Tesseract. If he is permitted to return to Asgard as he pleases, and the Tesseract is there…" He hummed thoughtfully and rose from the throne, pacing back and forth in front of it. "Have you located the scepter?"

"That may be obtainable. The mortals are holding it in a location they believe is secure, but it would be easily penetrable by our forces."

Thanos turned to the throne, his back toward Maw. "Perhaps we can use the scepter to manipulate his mind as we did before."

Maw hesitated to contradict his master, but felt he had no choice. "Attempting to do that would be an exercise in futility," he said. "I believe that because he was under its influence once, he would now be immune to it, and possibly all other mind control."

Thanos whipped back around. "Well, there must be some way—"

Just then, one of the Chitauri approached the throne and knelt, then turned to Maw. While Thanos looked on, the Chitauri whispered something that seemed to confuse, then please his adopted son. "Yes. All right. Yes. Go." Maw turned back to his master. "Sire, a source in Asgard has sent news."

"Which one?" Thanos asked. "As I recall, we have several spies."

"A palace guard, Sire," Maw explained. "He overheard a conversation amongst the queen's ladies-in-waiting. It appears the prince has been betrothed."

"And this concerns me how?"

Maw steepled his fingers. "His beloved is a mortal. And she is with child."

It took a moment to sink in. But once it did, Thanos sank back onto his throne and glanced at the gauntlet on his arm.

"Well," he mused, "I believe we may have found our way around immunity."