The Before [Prequel- Part 2]

Lullabies

~~~Loki's pov~~~

I opened my eyes to the sound of quiet singing and darkness outside of the nursery window.

The only source of light in the room came from the open door that led out into the bright hallway.

How long had I been asleep for? When I'd lost consciousness, it was noon and the sun was still very much in the sky.

Fighting back the urge to yawn, I rose from the chair and took notice of the blanket that someone, most likely Catherine, had draped over me while I slept.

I smiled to myself as I realized that the singing I was hearing was her.

That also explained why Linda was no longer in her crib. I had been asleep so long that she had likely woken up and Catherine got up to calm her down.

Quietly, I made my way down the stairs and saw my lovely wife rocking our newborn daughter in her arms, singing softly to her all the while.

I took a moment just to etch the scene in front of me into my mind. The sight of the woman I loved so dearly with our little princess in her arms was one that I wanted to remember forever.

There was a time in my life, not too long ago, when I thought I couldn't love any one person more than I loved Catherine, but Linda had earned that spot in my heart right next to her mother in a matter of seconds.

As for the song she was singing, it sounded familiar, but I couldn't remember exactly where I knew it from.

"Just close your eyes, the sun is going down. You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now. Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound." The sound of her voice carried from her spot in the living room to where I stood on the staircase, gazing at her, completely mesmerized.

She had the most enchanting voice I had ever heard, but she rarely used it to sing. And it wasn't that she couldn't sing, she absolutely could. The problem was her lack of self confidence.

She refused to sing in front of other people, even me. The only times I had heard her sing was when she sung lullabies to Linda before she was born and thought I hadn't been listening.

And just like every other time she would sing, it stopped far too soon.

This time it was my own fault, I suppose, since she only stopped when she saw me come down the stairs.

Still rocking Linda in her arms, she turned her head and smiled at me softly, clearly exhausted. "Sorry if I woke you. I was just trying to get her to stop crying." She explained with a chuckle. "I fed her, changed her, but apparently the only thing that calms her down is singing."

"There will never come a day that I will tire of hearing your melodic voice when I wake up, my love." I assured her with a smile and a kiss to her forehead before carefully taking my seat beside her. "How long has she been awake?" I asked, my voice just above a whisper.

"Well, I woke up to her crying about two hours ago, so since eight o'clock or so." She answered, still cradling our daughter in an attempt to make sure she stayed asleep.

My eyes widened a bit at her statement. She had been at this for over two hours?

"You should have woken me. I could have helped." Guilt filled me at the thought of Catherine having to do this alone for so long after just getting some rest and starting to heal from the delivery.

She raised a brow at my words. "Loki, when I went to the nursery, you were out cold. You clearly needed that rest. Especially after all the magic you've used in the last twenty-four hours."