Family is for all time, always [1]

Time as a family

~~~Catherine's pov~~~

We were sitting on a hillside, preparing to take on Alioth.

I'll admit, Sylvie's idea isn't the best, but it's still better than my husband's idea of trying to kill a damn cloud!

I was talking with the other Loki variants and Mobius when Sylvie walked up to me.

"Go, spend some time with them. I'll take over the planning phase. Go be with your family."

I nodded. "Thanks, Sylvie."

"Anytime."

I got up from where I was sitting and walked down the hill to where Loki and Linda were.

"So, what are you guys talking about?" I asked, sitting next to Linda so she was between Loki and me.

"Ah, you finally decided to join us then?" He feigned surprise.

"Haha. I'm being serious. What are you talking about?" I rolled my eyes playfully.

"The time when Grandpa and Steve beat Uncle Thor the first time they met." Linda smiled.

"Yeah, that must've been fun to watch. But remember, I wasn't there. Your dad was." I reminded her.

"Yes, I was, and I must say, it's a great memory to look back on." He smirked.

Of course, he loved the memory where his brother lost to two mortals.

"What about when Hulk almost killed Uncle Thor on Sakaar?"

Loki looked at her proudly. "Another great one."

"Also, another one I wasn't there for. How about when Steve said, 'Language' to Grandpa? No one would let him live it down. Ever." I smiled fondly at the memory. Just knowing that I had memories that I could look back on made the moment so much sweeter.

And Linda was, of course, not present for these events because she wasn't born until after Thanos. But we always told her stories.

Loki laughed at that one. "He was so upset when he found out we told you about that. You wouldn't stop saying it to him all the time."

It was true. In fact, every time she saw him, she would say, "Hey, Language Police!"

"I know. I loved being able to annoy him." Linda sighed happily.

Then I remembered an event that Linda and I shared a few years ago. "Linda, do you remember when we were caught in the time loops? How everything kept resetting, and we all got so mad?"

She laughed with me as I played the memory in her head.

"Hey, no fair. I barely remember that because only you two kept your memories of each loop." He crossed his arms. "And a quick side note, Coulson told me I died a few times in the time loops. That isn't true, is it?"

Linda and I shared a look. "No. Of course, it's not true. We would totally tell you about how you died over five times if you did. Which you didn't. You definitely didn't die over five times." She lied.

"Well, that's not unsettling at all..." He murmured.

We exchanged a few more stories before I noticed that Linda was shivering.

"You cold?" I asked, knowing that she was.

"A little bit." She nodded.

I was going to conjure up a blanket for her, but Loki beat me to it.

"Better?" He asked as we were enveloped in a green blanket.

Linda nodded and scooted closer to him until her head was in his lap.

"Much better." She sighed contently before drifting off to sleep.

Once I was sure she was asleep, I spoke up.

"She really missed you, you know."

He looked at me, confused. "How would you know? You forgot everything as well."

"True, but she didn't. After my memory was wiped, she kept asking me about you. If you were coming back, if you were even alive. Of course, then, I chalked it up to nonsense because I couldn't remember you, but now, I realize how often she brought you up. I guess she did it in hopes it would jog my memory." I shrugged.

We both looked down at her sleeping figure, and I realized how much she'd really gone through.

She spent three years being the only one who remembered anything, while I, her own mother, couldn't even remember her father. It must have been torture for her.

"If Sylvie can pull this off, we might be able to return to our timeline." He said quietly.

I had never thought about that.

What would it be like to go back?

"It would be nice, but there are too many cons. If we go back to our timeline, what would we be going back to? A world where Linda's constantly in danger? Just think about it. If we don't return, who would be after her? She wouldn't be in any more life-threatening danger. The TVA literally killed you and arrested us because we saved her from getting run over. That's not the world I want to live in. One where our daughter is destined to be killed." I shook my head at the thought.

"While I miss certain people there, like my brother, her safety comes first." He nodded, gripping my hand reassuringly.

"Yeah. And who's to say we won't find another Thor somewhere else? I'm sure countless versions of your brother would love to have you back." I joked, knowing that the thought would scare him.

"Yes. You know what? Countless versions of Thor is not something I want to think about." He shuddered, making me laugh.

I was about to say something, but Mobius interrupted me.

"Guys, we need to go now. Alioth's on the move." We heard him from behind us.

"We'll be right there," I said, getting up.

"Linda, we need to go," I whispered, trying to wake her up.

She nodded sleepily and walked back up the steep hill with Loki and me.