The Before [Prequel- Part 2]

The Bet

~~~Catherine's pov~~~

It took a couple of sleep-deprived days, but we eventually worked out a sleep schedule that coincided with Linda's.

From 5 p.m. to 3 a.m., I would take care of her if she woke up from her nap or anything else like that. Loki opted to take the longer shift to let me rest. That meant from 3 a.m. to 4 p.m., he was on daddy duty.

He would of course wake me up if she needed to eat, because we both decided against giving her formula. Since her genetic makeup was so complex and different from most human children, we wanted to err on the side of caution and not give her a formula specifically designed for human babies.

As for sleeping arrangements, to make the whole process easier, we temporarily moved the baby's crib into our room. That way if she started crying in the middle of the night, we would be right there.

It was also to calm my nerves. As much as I hated to admit it, my maternal hormones were in overdrive, and any time I was in a separate room from my daughter, my mind liked to make me panic and overthink for absolutely no reason.

I made Loki promise that if I was resting or otherwise unable to be in the same room as her, he would be there. Just to be sure nothing would happen.

"I finally got her down for her nap." I sighed, completely drained as I plopped myself down on the couch next to my equally tired husband.

"It only took a half hour this time. Not bad." He gave me an approving nod. "And seeing as how you're out here with me at this moment and not hovering over our daughter's crib, I'm assuming you have the baby monitor with you?" He raised a brow as he wrapped an arm around me, pulling me into his side.

"Guilty as charged." I chuckled, holding up the device in my hand. "This is going to get easier, right? I won't always be paranoid for no reason?"

"I'm sure it will." He assured me, brushing some hair out of my face. "But it's not surprising that you want to keep an eye on her. We've been through a lot these past few months. It's only natural to be on guard."

He was right. Between the drama with the Shield team, going to the future, dealing with Odin and Hela, and then fighting Thanos, there was a lot to be cautious about.

And then of course, there's the constant looming threat of Ross finding us.

"I guess so. It's just-" I was cut off by the sound of my phone ringing in the coffee table in front of us.

"Who is it?"

I grinned as I grabbed the phone and saw the caller ID. "My dad. They must've just gotten back from that assignment."

"Are you going to tell him that he missed the birth of his grandchild?" Loki inquired with a small laugh. "I'm sure he will be ecstatic to learn that all that time it took to prep the compound was for nothing."

I playfully hit his chest before picking up the phone, putting it on speaker and placing it back on the table. "Hi, Dad! You're on speaker."

"Hey, kiddo! And Loki too, I guess." I could hear slight annoyance in his voice at saying Loki's name, but he masked it well.

"Hello to you too, Stark." He rolled his eyes slightly, but kept a small smile on his face. For me.