And if the night runs over
And if the day won't last
And if your way should falter
Along this stony pass
It's just a moment
This time will pass
Stuck In A Moment
U2

Calla drifted off to a short but deep and peaceful sleep in Daniel’s arms.  Ares looked down at them and couldn’t help but smile. Waving a hand in the air the stone bed beneath them disappeared along with the animal hides and in their place was an ornate white metal bed that was even bigger than the one that it replaced.  “It’s too hard,” he said softly and brought a cashmere blanket up around her shoulders.  The hides were old and musty, he should have done this before. “Only the best for her.”  Before leaving the room, he used his command over fire to light the hearth and did the same when he reached his Throne Room where he was closely followed by Nick and David.

Daniel watched them go as he laid in the bed that Ares shared with Calla on their night on the beach. He recognized it the second it appeared under him but didn’t see the point in making an issue of it. “It’s ok now, Kitty,” Daniel whispered, “you just sleep for a little while. Everything’s all right.”  Those nights on Sengul had been long and lonely, when he slept which was rarely, he dreamed about holding her again and prayed that she’d still be here when he got back to Earth.  For these few moments, it was a like living in a slice of heaven. Soon the Real World would crash in again but just for now all was quiet.  He wished he could say all was well but he’d settle for quiet and the sweet warmth of her in his arms.

In the bed, lying in Daniel’s arms, Calla began to stir. Her sleepy eyes rolled open as she looked up at her Husband with a warm smile. “Hello, my love.” Her velvety voice caressed his ears.

“Hi,” Daniel returned and kissed her forehead.  “You ok?”

No, she wasn’t ok but she would be in time.  She was stronger now by far but her heart was just as heavy as her Father’s and Son’s were.  Still she had a dull headache, in fact she’d had it for almost a full day now since she’d woken from her induced sleep but there’d been no time to worry about it deal with it. There still wasn’t. “I’m sorry, Daniel. This is not what I wanted.”

“Yes, it is.” He countered quietly. “Or are you going to tell me that you really wanted to die?”

“No,” she returned, “but it still isn’t what I wanted. I don’t believe you wanted it either. Why did you do it?”

What a stupid question.  “I wanted you to live. No regrets. I’m not angry, Kitty.”

“No?” Drawing in a deep breath and letting it out as a long sigh, she turned her eyes upward to look upon his face.  There was no anger reflected in the orbs she loved so much, no regret. “In that case, I believe you made me a promise.” She coaxed.

“I did?” Daniel teased and gave her a wide grin. “Let me think, hummm….” He pursed his lips as he teased her. “A promise, huh?  Oh, wait, now I remember, was it something like this?”  He leaned over and kissed her long and deep. She still had the scent of the others on her and Daniel found it, like the act that came before, more than slightly erotic.

“Yes, something like that.” Calla agreed and wrapped her arms around his naked body. “I’ve missed you so. Do you love me now that I am near beautiful again?”

“I never stopped loving you,” Daniel protested lightly. “Not for a minute.”

“Just wanting me?”

Daniel shook his head and pulled her in closer. “I never stopped doing that either. C’mere, I’ll show you.”  He propped himself up on one elbow.

Calla slid up next to him. “I always do appreciate it when you hold to your word, my love.”

Now he was over her, looking down at her, his blue eyes to her green ones. She was much better now, yes she was younger and she was prettier and yes that made her all the  more attractive to him and any man. Calla never did come to trust that he didn’t want to hurt her and that he would always put her needs before his.  Not that long ago this would have damaged her even more than she was and he couldn’t be part of that though it seemed Calla hoped he would put his own needs forward.  When he didn’t she felt about as old as she looked, that wasn’t something he intended. “That’s not all I’m gonna be holding to.”

**

The other three took off for different parts of the island, each to be alone with his thoughts.  Not having much to consider, David didn’t venture far from the entrance to the cave just in case he was needed, not for sex—nah he wasn’t needed for that at the moment, he could hear Danny and Calla inside and she was singing away, that sweet beautiful music she made. Rather he stayed outside the cave  in case Wolfgar should decide to pay an unexpected visit though he hoped that little SOB was puking his innards up until his black heart hit the floor.

Nicholas took a long walk around the island that he hadn’t visited in almost a decade and tried to get his head around what just happened.

Clad in only his favorite black leather pants Ares left the others behind and exited the cave to the beach where he promptly dove into the cold waters.  The shock was refreshing and reviving, he hoped it would take the heaviness from his heart but it didn’t.  Diving under the water time and again to wash off the scent of her—not something he wanted to but felt he had to or risk going insane later if it lingered on him too long—he felt disgusted with himself for the first time in a very long time.  Strange, Ares had been through the ravages of War time and again, yet his own Achilles’ heel turned out to be a small redheaded woman. Swimming over to a rock by the shore Ares wrapped his big guns around it as though it were a living person and held on as he began to weep.

“Umpa? You all right?” All Nick could see of his Grandfather was those big arms wrapped around the sharp boulder but he thought he heard Ares crying.

“Go away, Nicholas. Leave me in peace.”

Nick knew exactly how his Grandfather felt in this very awkward moment. What they did had been the right thing to do and yet it all seemed so wrong.  The Curse of Being an Olympian; the mind stuck in the past but the body stuck in the present with its restrictions and its rules. “Are you crying? Umpa?” He couldn’t remember the last time he saw his Grandfather cry but now the man was openly and almost uncontrollably weeping as he grabbed the rock to keep him afloat in the cold waters. “She’s gonna be all right, you know that, right?”

“Thank the Gods,” Ares returned without looking up at his Grandson.  That was the payoff, Calla was out of danger and Hades wouldn’t be taking her away anytime in the nearest of futures. “Believe it or not and contrary to popular belief,” Ares intoned, “I am in possession of a heart. And you, Nicco, how is your heart?”

“It aches,” Nick admitted as he ventured a few more steps along the shore. Dad thought it would be so easy for Umpa, Nick tried to explain it to him and he thought his Father listened, thought he caught on but maybe not as much as he should have. No, Dad might never understand the depths of Ares’ love for his Daughter and its myriad of forms. “I know how you feel, I know….” His voice trailed off as his jaw dropped. “Oh my God, Umpa!”  His venturing turned into a sprint to the rock where Ares was holding on for dear life.  Ares’ locks, which were slightly shorter now thanks to Wolfgar, were no longer raven and lightly salted.  Now he was almost completely gray and there were deep lines at the corners of his dark eyes. When his Mother saw that she was going to pitch a royal fit.  More than that Nick couldn’t help but feel that he was starring into some very perverse mirror that was giving him a glimpse of his future self, say, a few centuries from now. “How much did you give her?” 

“All that I had.” Ares admitted. “So long as she lives then it’s worth it. I’d do it again in a heartbeat, for her. Only for her.” 

“You’re  not gonna die on me, are ya, Old Man?” Nick asked sharply. “If you die, Umpa, she’s…she’s…”

“I’m headed for the Underworld just yet.” Ares swiped a hand across his bloodshot eyes to clear both tears and salt water.  “You don’t look so good yourself.”  Nick’s own raven hair was now salted and Ares suspected he would find the same would be true of both Daniel and David whenever he ventured back inside the cave.

“You better not be,” Nick warned, “you know she’s going to want you with her when we get up there.” That was true, Ares had been Calla’s personal bodyguard since he came to live in Altair Ain. He accompanied her anywhere and everywhere in that capacity.

“I will be ready. What about you, hum, Nicco? Are you ready?”

No Ocean, No Horse

Wolfgar was one nasty piece of work and he had to go down.  Still, Nick couldn’t help but feel guilty. If he’d reached out to his son, if he’d made an effort to find him, if..if..if.  “Pots and pans.” He muttered.

“What?”

Nick looked up and recited a few lines from one of his Mother’s favorite nursery rhymes. “If ifs and ands were pots and pans….”

“…There’d be  no work for tinkers.” Ares finished.  He used to tell Calla that when she was little. “So tell me, Nicco, when she wakes do you think she will still love any of us?  Or do you think she will damn us and that we have only succeeded in making her loathe herself even more? What do you think her newfound God would say about such things?”

“One, you can stop calling me that. My name is Nicholas and you know it.” Hearing the name said with such slight contempt in Ares’ voice was too much for him. Not after hearing her say it the way she had. He never wanted anyone else to call him that again but if his Mother did it that would be all right and she might. “I think her newfound God is my son and I don’t give a flying fuck what he’s got to say unless he’s breathing his last breath.” Nick sneered.  “When she wakes up she’s going to open her arms to all of us and tell us how much she loves us.”

Nick’s comment made Ares’ upper lip curl into something that hoped to be a smile one day. “From your lips to God’s ears.” He said thoughtfully.  “I think you may be wrong. Her mind is--”

“Fragile,” Nick said almost in disgust. “My Father’s been telling me that all my life. It’s not true. She’s not stupid, you know?  She’s not demented.  She’s  not…not..”

“Go on, say it.”

“Simple!” Nicholas almost shouted. “She is not simple. Helena wasn’t simple either…”

“Neither was Corey,” Ares ventured. “I didn’t mean to say that she is, only to say that Calla tends to think a little differently than the rest of us.”

Think differently? Hell, no she didn’t think any differently. In that moment she thought the same damn thing anyone else would have. “She wanted to live, all right? This was the only way.”

Ares took in a deep breath and hauled himself out of the icy water. “How do you know she wanted to live?”

“I saw it in her eyes.”

“So did I.” Ares agreed and found the strength to hope that Nick was right. “If I lose her again because of this then I might as well have let Hades take her.” Dripping seawater head to sand-caked toes Ares drew in another breath vowing to push aside all the turmoil building within him and get on with the task ahead. “We can’t sit around here feeling sorry for ourselves. Come on, we’ve plans to make.”

Back inside the cave they found Calla and Daniel fresh from Ares’ hot spring bathtub. Both were still wet and steaming, As Jackson lounged across Ares’ Throne with Calla between his legs. “I don’t think so,” Ares said quietly as they entered the room just before she could lower her head. “That’s still my Throne.” He reminded them.  Rising quietly to her feet it was easy to see that Calla was glowing.  She may have remaining streaks of gray in her hair but they didn’t serve to dull the life bubbling up inside of her. Naked and glistening with warm spring water she looked every bit the Goddess that Ares knew her to be and yet she turned her eyes away as she wrapped her arms around herself to hide her nakedness and made a hasty retreat for his bedroom as though she were ashamed to let them see her in all of her glory.  That was new. And Ares found that he didn’t like it.  Calla was a modest woman but not when it came to her body and who saw it under most circumstances.  If the world would let her, Calla would walk around naked 24/7 and not give a damn about it.

“Sorry,” Daniel said to his Father in-law.

“No, you’re not.” Ares returned with a smile.  “Use your own Throne.” He advised before stoking the fire and looking around at his old home.  “Get dressed, Jackson, you can’t go to Olympus with your dick hanging out.”  That made the other men in the room laugh.

In the bedroom, Calla slipped one of Ares’ old shirts over her head. Her clothes were stained with Ichor as they lay on the floor. The shirt had been hanging here for years as had the other items of clothing, while it was a bit musty it still held Ares’ scent deep within the fine cotton.  Standing by the roaring fire she turned to look at her reflection in the dusty mirror.  She looked much better than she did just hours ago and she felt it as well.  The aches in her joints were nearly gone and only her old injuries, those at her knee, shoulder and soles of her feet still made their presence known. There was still that dull headache to contend with, it might be growing worse but she couldn’t tell.  Taking a glance back at the open door and hearing the low voices of the men talking beyond she wondered if they all felt the price was a bargain or if it had been too high.  She wasn’t blind, she’d noticed the new grays in all of their heads but none more so than Ares who scarcely had any raven remaining. Not even his beard escaped the ravages of his Gift.  “Are you all right?” She asked Daniel who was just slipping back into his shoes.  “Did I take too much from you?” Calla walked the short distance to him and ran her hands through his silky sandy hair which once held such lovely golden highlights but now those highlights were gray and white. “From all of you?”

“No,” Daniel assured her and gave her a hug.  “Are you ready?”

There was a long road ahead.  “Yes. You?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you scared?” She reached for his hands. “I am. He’s very powerful, Daniel.”

“Yeah, I’m scared, Kitty.” Daniel admitted and held tighter to her hands. “But we’ve been through worse, right?  He’s just one guy, that’s all.”

Just one guy with extraordinary gifts. But Daniel was right, it was just Wolfgar. Rasputin had some abilities but Raven’s only special gift was her long life and Tula was completely mortal. Calla stood up on her tiptoes to kiss his check.“Let’s go.”

Out in Ares’ Throne Room they discovered the others had been waiting for them around a table laden with food. “An army moves on its stomach,” Ares said as he rose from his place as the head of the table and gestured for Daniel and Calla to sit.  “I imagine it has been a while since you had a proper meal, my Daughter.”  Not just her but them as well, eating what passed for food on Sengul hadn’t exactly excited his palate any.

While Calla didn’t meet the stares of any of the men around her, there was no sense in arguing as they were all ravenous from the night’s festivities alone.  Everyone sat and ate as they discussed what their next move would be. Ares materialized a map of Mount Olympus detailing all of the Palaces and Temples along with other buildings that, for the most part, were no longer standing.  “He’s got them in the Dungeon,” Ares said and pointed to Zeus’ Palace on the map. “It’s down here deep enough to have withstood the blast.” He traced a long finger to below the Palace roughly three stories deep.  “This is my old cave,” he pointed to another spot on the map that was quite a bit below the index finger already resting there.

“What did you do, Father?” Calla asked easily though she didn’t need to be told and she didn’t meet his gaze.

“You’re not the only one who spent time in Zeus’ Dungeon,” Ares reminded her. “I was a frequent guest in this one.”

Calla greedily drank down warm Nectar and ate slices of the pizza along with picking at the antipasto Ares brought to them. His kitchen was long depleted of food so instead he simply got what he wanted from a local shop, he even paid for it and brought it back to the cave. She was delighted when she saw the stone-hearth pizzas and knew they’d come from  Dorcas Pizzeria, a much loved place from her childhood.  Ares didn’t allow her to leave the islands much as a child but once in a blue moon he would take her to Dorcas’s. More often than not he would bring it to the cave as an unexpected treat.  Here, tonight, he’d brought several large pizzas, plates of antipasto and gyros.  On the table was also a familiar red and white bottle the label read; κόλα which is Coke, in Greek. Daniel loved his deep-dish Chicago style pizza but she’d take this thin crust over that any day.

Sometimes Ares surprised the hell out of her with the little things he remembered and the thoughtfulness he showed. This was his way of telling her that he didn’t want the night to come between them, he still wanted to be her Father and not her Lover, at least not in this lifetime. For that she was very grateful.  With the quiet simplicity of the gesture, Calla found the strength to look at her Father. His hair was so white that it sent a shiver through her his eyes still sparkled. Don’t, he mouthed to her and then put the bottle of Coke before her. Ares’ hand laid itself over hers as she reached for the bottle,  “Thank you,” Calla said her voice thick with emotion and love.

“You’re welcome,” he returned tenderly and filled the chalice with her favorite soda.

That was all the exchange Father and Daughter needed for now. There were other things at hand. “So, tell me Father, did you spend so much time there that you dug yourself a tunnel?”

“No, but I found the one that Zeus dug for himself. The Children may find it as well.” Ares began to trace the line from his cave to Zeus’ Dungeon above. “Father left himself an escape route, one panel in each cell slides back if you can trigger it. Once through the panel the tunnel comes out, here…” he pointed on the map, “just on the other side of my old home. I added a shortcut to it, a direct a tunnel to the cave. If it’s still there then we can slip in and free them without being detected. Of course it might help if we had some type of distraction.” He looked at Nicholas. “What do you say?”

It was the shifting inflection of Ares’ voice that made her skin prickle. “No,” Calla answered before Nick could, “I’ll do it.” She didn’t look up from her meal.

“I’ll do it.” Nick said in a low commanding voice.  “You go with Umpa and get them out of there.  I’ll deal with my son.”

Calla raised her head and tilted it meet the gaze of her Husband. “Daniel?”

She didn’t want to hear this but, “Go on, Nick. I’ll back you up.”

“No, no, I won’t allow that.” Calla protested. “This is ridiculous, he wants me, let me go and deal with him.”

David spoke up. “I think you’re overridden on this one, Sunshine.” He said and popped a black olive into his mouth. “The brat wants Nick by the looks of it, Nick’s itching it break off a piece for himself so you better let them handle it.”

“Men,” Calla huffed and turned her eyes to his, “so primal.”

“Don’t worry, Cal, if we need help we’ve got plenty.” Daniel assured her.

“Really?”

“Yep, they’ll be here any minute.” He looked down at his watch. “You wait and see. In the meantime, have a little something else to eat.”

“I’m not hungry,” she got up from the table and wandered out of the cave.

Daniel started to go after her but Nick stood up, “I got it.”  David looked at his brother and nodded, Ares followed suit. Nick didn’t wait for Daniel to reply before following her out of the cave and toward the beach.  “Don’t wander off so far,” Nick called after her. “It’s dark and it’s dangerous, come back here.”

“I am your Mother,” he heard her say in the darkness. Her voice on the wind told him which direction to take.  The compound gone from his system and his physical wounds healed Nick summoned up his own command over fire to ignite two fireballs which danced in the palms of his hands lighting his way and bringing warmth to the chilly night. “I’ll find you. I was always good at hide and go seek,” Nick reminded her in a soothing voice.  He found her standing by the same rock Ares had been clinging to and letting the waves lap about her toes.  “You’re gonna freeze.” She turned to look in his direction and the fireballs in his hand illuminated her face in an amber glow. “Why don’t you look at me? Are you angry with me?”

“I don’t want you risking your life.” She answered still not meeting his stare. “You’re going to be a great King one day.”

“Am I?” Nick answered. “I don’t think so. I think you and Dad are going to rule over Altair Ain forever.  Zeus didn’t exactly step down, now did he?”

“Of course he did and he left me in charge. One day I will do the same with you when that day comes I want you to know that I have the utmost faith in you.”  She turned to look out at the sea again.

Quietly, Nick walked up behind her. “What are you looking for out there, huh, Mom?” He asked gently. All his life he could remember waking up in the middle of the night to hear her creeping around downstairs in one house or another, when they moved to Scotland he would often look out his bathroom window in the night to see her wandering around near the edge of the cliffs as she stared out at the sea. Sometimes he was afraid that he would stand there in the dark of night only to watch her jump into the cold unforgiving sea and he would be helpless to stop it. The notion that Poseidon would stop her or come to her rescue always gave him a bit of hope but still no one wanted to think of their Mother being on the edge like that. She just always looked so damn lonely and lost wandering around there. As though she were looking for something that she could never find. “Whatever it is I’m betting it’s not out there. I bet it’s here so turn around, ok? Look at me.”  Heedless of his plea she continued to stare out at the churning sea.  “You know, back at the house Dad said that he thought you loved me more than him.”

“That’s not true,” she said without looking back at him. “I love all of you equally but differently.”

“That’s what I told him. So why would he say that?”

The side of Calla’s mouth turned upward in a sly but sad smile.  “Because I was secure in your love before his.”  Now she did turn around to look at him. “When I first saw you, you were perfect. So pure and innocent.”

“I’m not perfect.”

“Yes, you were, all pink and covered with muck and you and your sister were utterly perfect.  I ‘d never felt that much outpouring of love in my life.” She reached out for his hand and Nick extinguished the fireball dancing there. “For a very long time I was never sure if Daniel loved me or if he just felt obligated to keep me around but you loved me unconditionally and I was sure of that. As sure as I am of that fact that you are standing there and I am holding your hand.  You were always so happy to see me, you’d toss your little arms in the arms in the air and jump up and down saying ‘Mama, mama,’ as you reached out to me.” she almost started to cry as the tears welled up in her eyes. “Because of it, I lean on you too much. I love you too much. I know and I’m sorry. Tonight…it was too much.  I never involve you in anything like that.  I’ve taken something from you and I can never give it back.  I hope you can find a way to forgive me one day.”

Here he was afraid that she was going to tell him that he’d hurt her again. That’d he’d done something awful to her…again. “There’s nothing to forgive. You wanted to live and I wanted you to live…we all did. There’s nothing wrong in wanting to survive….”

“Only in how you go about doing it.”  She brought his hand to her lips and kissed it.

“As for pure and innocent,” he shook his head as his eyes clouded over for a moment, “I lost those things long ago and it didn’t have anything to do with you.”

Calla kissed his hands again. “You’re a good Son, Nicholas. Go back inside now, it’s cold. I’ll be in soon.”

Her words and her tone seemed final and Nick knew he wasn’t going to get anything else out of her tonight. Emotionally they’d all been through one hell of a wringer.  Her eyes bore that out as she stood there looking up at him they seemed full of sorrow as they nearly swam in her head. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

“My headaches,” she confessed softly, “other than that I’m fine.”

“And your heart?”

“Will mend.”

Nick didn’t like the look in her eyes, it seemed to him that there was much confusion there. “If you’re not there in five minutes I’m coming back, don’t you even think about going off to Olympus without us. Got it?”  She didn’t answer. “Promise me, Mom, or I’m not going anywhere. Swear you won’t go off on your own trying to take him on. He’s my problem and I’ll deal with him. Or don’t you have faith in that?”

“My Son,” she said with a sigh, “My proud, handsome, strong Son. I promise not to leave this spot unless it’s to walk back to the cave, all right?”  With her free hand she tapped his shoulder, a gesture Nick was glad to know once more. He bent at the knees waiting so that she could bestow a kiss upon his cheek but instead her hands found his short hair. A warm tingling sensation came from her fingertips.  “I took too much from you, from all of you who gave to me so generously.”

“Don’t you dare,” Nick warned, “don’t you give it back. I won’t take it.”

The tingling sensation at the sides of his heads didn’t disappear but it became a bit less noticeable.  Before he knew it, the lightly salted hair on his head which had been cropped military short years ago grew until it was past his shoulders.  “I like this better.” Calla whispered. “You’re an Olympian, you should look like one. I always hated that haircut.” Now she kissed his cheek.

“I know, Mom.” Nick agreed. She threw a fit the day he cut his hair and joined the Air Force. She didn’t speak to him for almost a solid month. “Five minutes.”

“Five minutes.” Calla agreed. “Go on, tell them I’ll be along soon.” She watched him walk off towards the cave and then turned back to the sea. “I am not Nothing,” she said to it though it did not answer.

Back in the cave Daniel stood up when Calla didn’t return with Nick. “Where is she?”

“On the beach, she said she’ll be in in a few minutes. I gave her five.”

“All right. She do that?” Daniel pointed at Nick’s newly grown locks and watched him nod.  Calla always did like longer hair. She never stopped playing with Daniel’s hair now that he’d let it grow to a ‘more appropriate length’ according to her. “She tell you to quit?”

“Not yet, but I guess she will.” Sure she would. When this was over she’d be all over him to leave the SGC.  Annie was gone. Danny was gone. Nick was all that Kiki had left, his Mother was going to start insisting he stop taking chances with his life. She’d probably like to start right now by telling him to go home and wait there until this was all over with.  “She started telling me how I’m going to make a great king one day,” he shook his head. “What is it?” Nick asked sharply.

“What’s what?” Daniel asked.

“You’ve been staring at me like you’d like to start spitting nails in my direction. So while she’s not here why don’t you just say whatever’s on your mind.”  Nick thought he already knew but he wanted to clear the air.

“You see to know your Mother awfully well,” Daniel ventured.  “Maybe too well. You said a lot tonight.”

“I’ve lived with her almost as long as you have.” Nick reminded him. “Our house wasn’t always so big, the walls weren’t always so thick.”

“And I spent a lot of time away.” Daniel led.

“Don’t even go there, Dad.  The only other man Mom ever had was Hartley and you know it.” He glanced over at David. “Present company excepted, of course.” He shot a glance at his Grandfather for good measure. Neither man said a word.

“Anoigo gia Nicco.”

Coming from his Father’s mouth it sounded more like; Et Tu Brute?

“I’m your Son and his Grandson,” he hitched a thumb at Ares.

“Yeah so?  How’d you know what to say? Or that you should?” Daniel challenged. “I know you used to hang around the bedroom door, Nick, but that was a long time ago before…”

“She was bound to you and I was still in my teens, I know.” Nick did his best to keep a lid on the temper that wanted to erupt.  “I can do it because I’m your Son,” he said in a measured tone, “I have to do it because I’m his Grandson…in case you didn’t notice…”

“Oh I noticed, we all noticed.” Daniel said gruffly. In that particular moment, Daniel found himself briefly wondering how Annie managed to handle her husband all these years.  Obviously, she’d done quite well.  Nick took after his Grandfather all right but he had a long way to go until he rivaled the old son of a bitch. “How long?” Daniel asked as he wondered if David could pull off the same trick if he tried. “That’s what I want to know. How long have you known  that you could do that? Or that you should do it?”

“Look, Dad, you don’t have to worry about me, all right? I’m not gonna give her to someone else, like you.” He shot Ares a hot glare. “I’m not gonna come sneaking around the backdoor because it would break her heart if I tried it.  After that she’d run to you.  This was a one shot deal, that’s all.”

“I said; how long?”

“I didn’t hurt her.”

“I didn’t say you did, in fact, quite the opposite I would think.” His tone was still accusatory. “I heard her, we all heard her, so I have to think that you know her a little too well, Nick. I’m going ask you for the last time; how long?”

It was pointless. Daniel wasn’t worried about the future, not yet anyway, it was the past he had in burning in his brain. “Since the night you made us watch the two of you, the night she made you an Olympian the night she bound herself to you. I see it in your eyes, don’t you dare ask me if I’ve ever tried it before tonight. The answer is ‘no’.”

“That’s enough,” Ares said quickly. “Quiet both of you.” A moment later Calla came around the corner. “Hello, my darling Daughter. You look cold. Where have you been? We were starting to get worried about you.”

“Our company has arrived.”  It seemed Daniel was right they did have many friends ready and eager to help.  Standing there on the beach gazing out at the sea a bright light suddenly appeared over her head and for a moment Calla feared that God was coming for her. He was going to tell her what a horrible wicked woman she was and take her away to Hell.  It wasn’t God, it Thor in his mighty warship.

Behind Calla a flood of people came into the cave including Jack, Sam, Adoy, Thor, Duncan, Morgan and Paddy, Colleen’s husband.  Outside the cave Bink the Dragon waited.  “Hey, there, sorry we’re late to the party.” Jack chimed. “Our girl’s looking pretty good, huh? Must’ve been some magick around here after all.”

“Thanks for coming,” Daniel said as he stood up glad to see everyone and shook Jack’s hand. “Did you bring everything with you?”

“What everything?” Calla asked as her headache grew a little worse.

Back in the infirmary Daniel was informed of Sam’s involvement in the making of weapons for use against the UPs, most specifically those designed from their secret research on Calla.  He wasn’t happy about any of it and didn’t want to tell Calla about it knowing how hurt she would be.

“Yeah, I got it.” Sam answered quietly and without looking at anyone in the room. “All here.”

“Good.”

“I said; what everything?” Calla interjected.

“Hey, look,” Daniel said brightly, “Ares brought food. Why don’t you have something to eat?” He slipped an arm around Calla’s small waist. “Come with me I have to tell you something and you’re not going to like it.”

Walking past Samantha she looked just about as ashamed as Calla felt.  “What’s wrong with Sam?” Calla asked in a low voice as Daniel took her away from the Throne Room and down the hall in Ares’ cave.

“There’s nothing wrong with her, or any of them, ok? Everyone’s fine.” Daniel began as he wondered just how to tell her that the woman Calla considered one of her very friends in the entire world had been going behind her back and using her for experimental purposes.  There was no choice, he had to tell her because Sam brought several of the new weapons with her for use against Wolfgar.  As far as Daniel was concerned this was only saving grace to Sam’s betrayal and he hoped Calla would see it the same way. In what had once been Ares’ kitchen Daniel laid it out for beginning with; “I had nothing to do with it.” When he was done he held quiet for a moment and waited for her to say something, anything at all.  She didn’t cry. She didn’t rail or complain. She just stood there. “Sweetheart, did you hear me?”

“I’m sorry,” Calla said dreamily, “I seem to have a headache.”  She rubbed her temples in hopes for relief but it did no good. “I heard you, Daniel. I know all about it. I’ve known about it for years.”

“You…you have?”

“Yes, of course I have.”  Now she sounded tired. “Some of the tests they ran on me seemed a little odd and when I asked about them I didn’t satisfactory answers so I looked them up on the Internet.”

“Why didn’t you stop them? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Calla shrugged her slender shoulders. “Didn’t seem important.” She offered still rubbing the sides of her head. “We’re just as afraid of them as they are of us but most of us don’t need special weapons to defend ourselves against mortals, not with our own powers and so many weapons already available to us.  Father would understand. Does he know?”

“Yeah, I would imagine he does.” Daniel said as he stood there stunned by her calm reaction. “Kitty, are you sure you understand what I just told you?”

“Yes.”

It was nice to have avoided an explosion but somehow, for Daniel, that just made it worse.  “All right.” He said and put his arm around her shoulders. “You believe me?” Daniel looked down at her face, she looked tired and those lovely emerald orbs which were gazing up at him with so much love and affection that he could nearly burst from it were now bloodshot and weary.

“That you had nothing to do with it? Of course I do, my love.” Calla nuzzled her cheek against his chest.  “You’d never do anything to hurt me. Not even to help your friends.”

Back in the Throne Room they found the table nearly emptied of food and drink. Sam stood up ready to take whatever was coming her way but she wanted to start. “Calla, let me explain—.”

Calla just gave a wan smile and took Sam’s hands. “No need. It’s alright. I understand.”  She looked around at the rest of them gathered here tonight. “So, what’s the plan?”

End of Chapter Sixty-Five
Golden Years
by Moon Mistress
a/k/a Lisa Beth Darling
Go to
Chapter Sixty-Six