The Before [Prequel- Part 2]

Nightmares and Reality

~~~Catherine's pov~~~

"-and she's starting to sleep through the night now, which is a relief." I let out a sad chuckle as I gently bounced my five month old daughter up and down in my arms. "But other than that, not much has happened."

Tears fell from my eyes as the world around me remained silent. No answer, no reply, just the wind blowing through the wilting, autumn trees.

"I really miss you." I held back a sob, using a trembling hand to trace out the carvings on the gravestone I was kneeling in front of.

Loki Laufeyson. Beloved son, brother, husband, and father.

"I'm still mad at you for dying." Hot tears fell from my cheeks and onto the grass beneath me. "And I know it's not your fault. I just wish you were here to watch her grow up."

My daughter peeked her head out from under her blanket curiously, probably wondering why I was crying.

She was too young to understand. Too young to know that she lost her father only a few short months ago.

Dozens of happy memories flooded my mind as I continued to stare at the grave. Happy memories I would never get to relive with him again.

The day we first met on the streets of New York City. Our first dance. The moment our soulmate bond started to take hold. Our first kiss. All those years on the run together that lead to us getting married. The moment we found out I was pregnant.

Those memories were all I had left of him now.

And now the only memory of him that was at the forefront of my mind was the moment those Shield agents showed up at our door and told me he was killed in action.

Wiping my tears, I slowly stood from my kneeling position, pressing a kiss to the headstone. "I'll be back same time tomorrow, okay?" I took in a deep breath, trying to stop any unnecessary crying. "I love you, Mischief."

It hurt my heart knowing I would never hear him say it back to me again.

I jolted awake, my face wet with tears I had apparently cried in my sleep and my heart beating out of my chest.

Frantically, I looked to the other side of the bed and saw Loki sleeping beside me peacefully, alive, and not six feet under in a graveyard.

Oh, thank God.

It was just a nightmare. It was just a nightmare.

I kept repeating that to myself, pressing a hand to my chest as I tried to even out my erratic breathing.

I guess that was my subconscious telling me that I was thinking a little bit too much about that story Loki told me about the night before.

In that timeline, our daughter spent three years believing he was dead. Why would she think that unless I believed it too?

I tried to push the thoughts out of my mind, not in the mood for a panic attack at the moment.

Geez, I really need a therapist...

Releasing a breath I didn't realize I was holding in, I started to lay back down to get some more sleep. It was only four in the morning after all and it was far too early to be awake.

The child in my womb however, did not agree, and before my head even hit the pillow, I was met with a searing pain in my lower back and abdomen.

"Oooohhhhh.... Okay, that's different..." I let out a quiet, pained groan as the pain slowly decreased.

I didn't panic much because I'd been having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions over the last day or so, and once again, my doctor assured me that was completely normal.

The idea of waking Loki up lasted a grand total of two seconds before I dismissed the thought out of my head.

There were only a few weeks until the baby was born, and he needed sleep before 'dad brain' took over.

That's why I discreetly hopped out of our bed and started pacing the floor while simultaneously rubbing my back to relieve some pressure.

This went on for about six minutes or so before the pain returned, this time debilitating and almost agonizing.

It was so bad that when I cried out in pain, it took me a few seconds to register the suddenly appearing puddle of water between my legs.

...my water just broke, didn't it?

Well, shit.

"Catherine? What's wrong?" A clearly half-asleep Loki was at my side in mere moments, worry filling his drowsy voice.

I was that loud, huh?

"My water just broke and I'm pretty sure I'm going into labor." I answered, breathing heavily as I gripped my stomach in pain.

That sentence woke him up real quick.

"What?" His eyes filled with fear and that's when my own anxiety took hold.

It was way too early for me to be feeling contractions. What if something was wrong with the baby?

The initial shock of the development wore off and was now replaced with pure terror.

"Loki, I'm not up to term yet." My voice came out shakily, blood running cold. "Something's wrong. Something's really wrong-" I cut myself off when another wave of pain made its way through me like ten thousand volts of electricity.

This was like nothing I had imagined. It was the worst pain I had ever experienced and that was saying an awful lot.

I held onto Loki tightly as I fell to the ground, crying out in agony all the while.

Why was this happening? Why now?