The Before [Prequel- Part 2]

Unlikely Ally

~~~Catherine's pov~~~

What happened next was a blur.

I remember two nurses bringing me into the back of the ambulance and onto a stretcher. I remember faintly being able to hear Loki answer the paramedic's various questions, but it was getting increasingly hard to concentrate when all I could feel was contraction after contraction washing over me.

One thing that stuck out to me, however, was one of the two nurses in the back of the emergency vehicle with us.

She looked to be mid-thirties, with light brown hair and brown eyes. She seemed kinda familiar, but as much as I racked my brain, I couldn't remember where I knew her from.

But that wasn't the part that stuck out to me. What stuck out to me was how she was staring at us. Like she knew us.

I quickly shook off the notion because I knew we were covered by an illusion. She couldn't recognize us even if she tried.

Well, that's what I thought. What happened next corrected my previous assumption real fast.

It was all normal until we actually arrived in the lobby of the hospital. That's when that same nurse somehow separated us from the other paramedics that had accompanied us on the drive over.

Before long, she led us to what looked to be an old abandoned part of the hospital, which resulted in Loki getting suspicious and eventually stopping her from taking us any further.

"Is there any reason why we are heading away from the other doctors?" He asked, disguising his voice with a more inquisitive tone, but I knew for a fact he was getting worried that this had something to do with Ross.

"Because the other doctors would have you arrested the second they found out they have the Raven Witch and God of Mischief in the same building." She said quickly, repeatedly looking over her shoulder to check for any possible eavesdroppers.

We both stared at her, dumbfounded.

How on earth...

"How do you know who we are?" This time around, Loki dropped the curious/oblivious tone, replacing it with a much more threatening one, and stood between my stretcher and the rogue nurse, completely shielding me from anything she might try. "Who are you?"

"My name is Julia." She answered, slowly raising her hands above her head, showing us she meant no harm. "I'm one of the Inhuman doctors Mr. Stark hired to help with the baby. I work here when I'm not on call at the compound. I know who you are because my Inhuman power is seeing through illusions."

Her words made it all click.

That's where I know her from! I knew she looked familiar!

Loki looked at me for confirmation, so I gave him a quick nod. "She's telling the truth. I remember seeing her at one of my checkups-" I cut myself off as another contraction sent pain shooting up my spine.

Upon seeing my pain, Julia sprung into doctor-mode. "How long have you been feeling contractions for?"

"About a half an hour." Loki answered for me, noting that I really wasn't in any condition to be answering questions at the moment.

"My due date isn't for another four weeks." I voiced my concern through clenched teeth, the pain in my stomach overwhelming my senses. "Do you think something could be wrong with the baby?"

Amidst all the pain I was experiencing, all I could think about was the baby. She was a month early. This couldn't be healthy.

"The other doctors and I at the compound thought this might happen. We briefly discussed it, but we didn't really think it would make a difference, so we dropped it." She murmured, leading us to a delivery room so we wouldn't be talking in the hallway anymore.

My eyes widened at her response. "You thought I could potentially be giving birth a month early? Why?"

"Right after we were all hired, we asked Mr. Stark for a full rundown of both of your genetic makeups." She explained, helping me move from the stretcher to a hospital bed as she spoke. "We wanted to have a vague idea of what to prep for. And in our research, we found that Frost Giant pregnancies become full term at only thirty-two weeks. So, if anything, you might actually be overdue."

Thirty-two weeks?! I was six weeks overdue...

Panic gripped me, even more so than when I thought I was going into premature labor.

What if something happened to the baby because I hadn't given birth on time? Could that seriously affect her health?

"Loki..." I called out to him telepathically, pain and fear evident even in my thoughts.

"Everything is going to be fine, love. We have an actual doctor now, so we don't have to worry about Ross." He responded reassuringly, pressing a kiss to my forehead and squeezing my hand gently.

"But what if I can't-"

"You can. You can do this. Just think, in a few short hours, it'll all be over and our daughter will be safe in your arms."

His words brought me new strength. I was going to be okay. And as long as my body did what it was supposed to, so would the baby.