Battle of the Heart

by Jessica Florence

  “Love you.” I leaned down to kiss her sated face.

  She smiled and kissed me back.

  “Yours forever, love.” I loved it when she said that.

  We lay together for some time in silence, just basking in the glow of our lovemaking.

  “I hope he has your black hair.” She broke the silence. Our child, with black hair like mine. Pride blossomed in me. I was already very excited to meet our child. Would he or she have black hair like me? Or brown like hers? The possibilities were exciting to contemplate.

  “I hope she has your smile,” I told her. We traded thoughts of our child over the hours until Thalia’s voice slurred and she fell asleep. I kissed her head, and let myself fall asleep, only to continue our conversation in the dream world, in her fields of Greece. For now, we had peace. We had something to look forward to—a bright and beautiful future.

  Chapter Three

  Thalia

  Cream cheese. I woke up really wanting a bagel with cream cheese. Nothing fancy, no strawberry, or veggie-flavor cheese. Just the original. My mouth was practically salivating. I rolled out of bed, noticing it was still dark out as I walked into the kitchen. I prayed Tristan had bagels and cream cheese. So I popped open the fridge and took a peek. My heart sank. No cream cheese. My body felt ill. Not like I had to throw up, but like it was mad that I didn’t stock the fridge with cream cheese. I quickly walked back into the bedroom, crawled into the bed and woke up Tristan.

  “Babe, wake up. I need you.” I was exaggerating a bit, but man my body was seriously dying for it. He woke up startled, I was a little confused. He was never really one to sleep deeply. I pushed that thought away; there were more important things to talk about.

  “Thalia, are you ok? What’s wrong?”

  “I need you to go get me bagels and cream cheese. There aren’t any in the kitchen and I am starving for them. Like, I may commit murder if I don’t get a bagel with original cream cheese soon. Maybe you could flash there and make it happen.” I beamed a sweet smile and batted my lashes. I would go get it myself, but he could just disappear, get it, and would be back in a flash. I would have to get dressed, drive, and then come back.

  “Bagels and cream cheese.” He pondered those words as if they were foreign. I nodded.

  “Please. This baby is demanding it.” It was totally the baby’s doing so I figured it would persuade him quickly if I told him that. Honestly, he would do anything for me, and I would for him.

  “Of course love.” He flashed out, and seconds later was back with my bagel. I’m ashamed to admit I launched myself at the bag and devoured the bagel in seconds. Thankfully, he had anticipated this situation and gotten three, so I grabbed another. It was gone in mere moments as well. Feeling much better now that my stomach wasn’t clawing at me, I kissed my amazing husband and passed out, cream cheese still on my lips.

  I woke up with a strange feeling in my tummy. This time there was light shining through the windows. I slowly sat up and tried to figure out what I was feeling. It was almost like a tickle in my lower stomach. Weird. I looked around and noticed I was alone in the bed. I wanted to thank him, and apologize for last night. He was so sweet and I was a dairy mess. With slow steps I walked into the bathroom, cleaned up and did my business. Once I was all set, I went in search of my sexy beast.

  He was sitting on the couch with his laptop, probably working on his philanthropic business of helping military families that suffer from loss.

  “Morning.” I sat down next to him. He looked at me and smiled. Then his smile faded. What was that about?

  “Tristan?” His eyes were changing between light and dark gray. What was happening?

  “You’ve grown,” he commented. I must have looked as confused as I felt because he moved closer to me.

  “He’s growing.” He bent down to my stomach and pulled up my shirt, exposing my belly.

  “HOLY SHIT,” I whispered. My stomach had a little bump—it wasn’t the flat tummy I went to bed with.

  “Oh my God, was it the bagels? Did I eat too much? I don’t think I should be that big yet.” I was panicking. I needed a doctor, I needed answers.

  “Tristan…” I was scared. It came through my voice as clear as day. His face didn’t give me any hope either; he was up and on the phone in seconds, pacing the living room.

  “Leander, we need that doctor. Now. It’s an emergency.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Got it. On our way.” He ended the call and moved to me.

  “We are going to the doctor’s office now ok? I’m going to carry you.” He scooped me up. I knew he was about to flash us, but I told him to stop. I was freaking out, and had no clue what was going on.

  “What if flashing me is bad for the baby?” He paused and thought about it. Opting to go the safer route, he carried me down to his SUV and helped me get situated. He sped like hell, and managed to hit every green light possible on the way to the doctor’s office. Whether he was working some God mojo or not, I was thankful. We pulled up to a nice-looking building in the downtown area of Boston. I’m not sure what I was expecting, since this doctor was a demigod and worked on other demigods, but it sure looked like he was doing really well. Tristan got out of the SUV and came around to help me out, sweeping me off my feet again. Was it over ill? Maybe. But at this moment, neither one of us cared.

  We were met at the door by a man who looked to be in his 40s, with sandy blond hair, and soft brown eyes. He looked a little familiar to me, but maybe that was because he was the doctor from the gym. He looked fit.

  “Doctor Geoffrey?” Tristan asked. The man nodded.

  “I am, come in. I’ve got the examination room all set for you.” He walked us with haste to the simple room.

  “First I need to take your blood pressure, get your weight, and get some preliminary medical history. It will only take a few minutes. After that, I’m going to have you lay back on the exam table and we will do an ultrasound, either with the probe or externally, depending on how far along you are.” He gestured for me to step up on the scale, which I did. I weighed an extra five pounds. That made me feel great. Not.

  He got my blood pressure, which was elevated, but nothing bad, probably just from the stress. There wasn’t much to my medical history. I was pretty healthy. Never been pregnant before, and we told him about our weird conception of the baby in the Amazon. I explained that I had thought I had gotten my period before the wedding but he said some women still bleed in the beginning months. It wasn’t super common, but also wasn’t super uncommon either.

  “OK, go ahead and lie back on the table, lifting your shirt to the top of your tummy, please.” He pulled a machine with a small screen over to me. The ultrasound machine, I assumed, but it looked a little different.

  “This machine is a little different than your mortal machine. As demigods, we tend to run with a little more power in our veins. It happens to blow the electricity in the regular machines. This bad boy can handle any power thrown its way. Now you said last night had a flat abdomen?” He placed his hands on me and started pushing lightly, feeling around.

  I nodded.

  “Yes.”

  He made a few hmm noises and turned on the machine. He grabbed the hand held device and squirted some gel onto my stomach.

  “Okay, let’s take a peek at the little one…see what is happening.” He watched the screen as he placed the device to my skin. The screen lit up to a blinding white color, then went dark.

  “Powerful bugger. Let’s try that again,” he commented and turned on the machine again. My hands sought out Tristan’s, and he wrapped his around mine as we anxiously waited for some answers. This time when the screen came to life, we saw all different shades of black and white. That weird tickling feeling settled in me as I watched movement on the screen. I had no words.

  “See there. That’s your baby.” He pointed towards the moving shadow on the screen. Tristan’s hands on mine tightened. Our baby.

  “Oh my! Well, tha
t explains some things.” My head snapped to the doctor’s face.

  “Oh God, is something wrong?” I felt the tickle increase.

  “She is good, and so is he.” What? I blanked. She? He? Tristan asked what I couldn’t open my mouth to get out.

  “Explain, please?” We looked back to the screen and I saw it.

  “You’re carrying twins. A boy and a girl. They are measuring to what I would say is about 20 weeks gestation.” Twins. I was shocked. I was vaguely aware of the doctor wiping me up and fiddling with buttons on the machine. Twins…

  “Doctor, what is happening with the babies and Thalia? Twenty weeks can’t be right.” Thank the gods Tristan was on point in this exam—I was absolutely shocked out of my mind.

  “Depending on the child’s parentage, pregnancy gestation can be difficult to gauge. I’ve known children of Athena who have blinked and had a baby. It would seem your children are growing at a rapid pace, so when they should be measuring at 9 weeks gestation they are measuring at 20 weeks. As best as I can, tell they both look very healthy to me. I wouldn’t worry much about their growth; demigod children are smart. Their intelligence is well beyond that of a mortal. Now here is a sheet of common questions and answers, along with a pregnancy packet. I’d like for you to read over these, and in week I’d like to see you again and check on your progress.” I accepted a little tote bag of booklets and papers.

  “Thank you,” I muttered, still reeling from the news.

  “Hang in there; everything is fine and is going to be fine.” He smiled. I really hoped he was right.

  I slipped into my clothes again after he left, Tristan and I both quiet, still in shock. Things were happening so fast. I mean, I was already twenty weeks along, with twins! How soon would I be having these babies? My mind was racing and racing as we walked back out to the car and Tristan drove home. I know he felt everything I was feeling in my soul. I hated that for him, because I’m sure he was freaking out in his own way. I mean, he was going to be a dad, and soon. I thought we had 9 months to get used to the idea. It’s exciting at first, and still is, but now thoughts of the responsibility, and birth. Gah, I was going to have to push out two babies!

  We both walked into the apartment in a daze. I just wanted to eat something and take a break from thinking. So much was going through my head. I was glad I had my wedding band on that helped ground my powers out, because if I didn’t, I bet I would be changing appearance like mad right now.

  “I’m gonna eat and lay on the couch,” I said, and grabbed the last bagel and cream cheese. I ate my bagel piece by piece, not really enjoying it but consuming it none the less.

  Chapter Four

  Tristan

  I watched as Thalia picked at her food, staring off into space. The TV was on, but she had a glazed-over look to her. Not that I could blame her—my head was spinning from what the doctor said. Babies. I was going to be a father to a little girl and a little boy.

  Twins.

  It was both the material of nightmares and pure dreams. I was over the moon that we were having twins, truly. I couldn’t wait to see what each of them would look like. Would they take after their mom, or me? Or maybe both?

  But I was scared shitless about them coming so soon. Shit. I wish I could talk to any of the other gods, get some advice. I was never meant to be with someone—I was created to be alone. The only thing I could think to do was protect her and the babies, and make sure they had whatever they needed. I was Anubis, I could do anything. I would defeat every man who tried to hurt my family.

  I walked over to my wife and sat down next to her, gathering her into my arms.

  “Talk to me, love.” I needed her to communicate her feelings. She felt so vulnerable.

  “I’m scared, Tristan. I’m scared of having twins. I hope I’m a good mom. I’m scared about the birth. I’m just so scared of everything.” She started crying. It hurt my soul to see her in pain, to feel her pain within me. I held onto her tightly while her tears fell.

  “I swear to you, Thalia.” I pulled her back and looked her into her watery eyes.“We are going to get through this. Together. You are the most caring, wonderful woman I know. There’s no possible way you could be anything less than the most amazing mother for our children. I will be with you every step of the way, love. You don’t need to be afraid. Give me your pain; place your worries on my shoulders. I can handle them.”

  “I love you so much, Tristan.” She cried some more, but I felt her soul ease. She believed me, and knew I would make everything ok.

  I held her tightly as her tears came to a stop. She was strong. We could do this. For the rest of the night we would process the news of expecting twins, and cater to our worries. Tomorrow, we would start preparing for the rest of our lives.

  After Thalia had fallen asleep, I went for a run, my best time to think. As I passed through the city of Boston, I thought about where we would live when the babies came. Would Thalia wish to stay in Boston? At the apartment? She could literally have anything she wanted.

  As my feet pounded the pavement, my brain started to consume me. So many questions. So many variables left unknown. When I neared the apartment, I felt like I was being watched. Looking around, I didn’t see anyone, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there. Coming to a stop, I let my mind seek out anything unnatural. Bingo. I flashed to the tree in front of our building, where someone was crouched down, watching me with a camera. I was on him in a second.

  “What are you doing?” I roared at him. The man was wearing a hat, jeans, and a red shirt. He looked like a normal man, but I knew differently. You couldn’t fool a god.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The look on this man’s face said he was lying. He must know who I was, to be spying on me. Why lie?

  “You have thirty seconds to tell me, before I turn you to ash,” I threatened. His face paled.

  “I was just seeing how long you were gone. They asked me to see if you would leave the woman. Shit, I was just doing as I was told, man.” He started to sing, but I needed more.

  “Who is they?” I jerked him against the tree. I felt his power sizzle a little, but he was just a demigod, no match for me. I truly did wonder if he knew who I was.

  “I can’t tell you man, they will kill me.” So cliché. Didn’t he realize that I could kill him with one shove of my power into him? I decided he needed just a bit more incentive. With my one hand pinning him to the tree, my other hand drifted across his ear, turning it to ash before my eyes. A slight smile appeared on my face. Beyond my fight to save Thalia, I had been tamed for too long.

  “Ah!” the man screamed.

  “Tell me who they are?” I asked again, and this time he was singing all I wanted to hear.

  “The gods, man! My father Hermes sent me to spy on you! You must have done something to piss them off. Please let me go!” I dropped him down, and forced him look me in the eye. It was time to set some things straight.

  “I am Anubis, you little shit. I will spare your life, as long as you run back to your gods and tell them these words: No one shall touch my wife or child. I will raze the earth to dust and shadow before I allow her to be harmed. No one will be safe from me if they even try.” I threw him ten feet away, hard.

  “Run, little messenger,” I commanded. He didn’t waste time before doing as I said. I took a breath, and looked up toward the sky. I knew this was just the beginning. They were gathering information before striking. Since Thalia and I broke free from Athena’s grasp, no one had truly paid attention to us. They came to the wedding, sure, but most of them didn’t know anything about us. Aphrodite, Thalia’s mother, was the only one that was truly around us. Aphrodite wasn’t a problem for now. She would stay neutral for as long as she could. Hopefully we wouldn’t reach that breaking point. I doubted Athena wanted to play again, although I was sure Zeus would use her whenever he could.

  I eased my thoughts, and flashed back inside to check on my wife. She was sound asleep, her ha
nd unconsciously splayed across her belly. My babies. They had the best mother in the world protecting them. I took a quick shower, then joined my love in the bed, my broad hand covering hers.

  We would be okay. No matter what, we would make it through this.

  Chapter Five

  Thalia

  I woke up to a weird, roller coaster feeling in my stomach. I sat up and looked down. My stomach was bigger. Not too much, but I noticed it. I swallowed down the shock and took a few breaths, reminding myself that this was normal. Everything was as it should be.

  I felt that swishing inside me again and put my hand over my tummy. Then it dawned on me—I was feeling the babies moving. They were moving around in there! An outpouring of love and happiness filled my soul. I was a mommy, and no one was going to take that from me. I looked around the room, where my love slept peacefully next to me. A small smile etched on his face led me to think that he was feeling the love that was flowing through me.

  “Thalia.” I jumped, scanning the room to see who whispered my name. A white dove fluttered into the room and landed on the nightstand beside me. To say I was confused would be an understatement. Why was there a bird in our apartment?

  “Thaila.” Holy hell, was the dove saying my name? I looked around, and saw nothing else that could have talked. Tristan was still asleep. Looking back at the dove, I leaned in.

  “Yes?” Lord, I felt weird. Talking to a dove. Although I guess things haven’t been normal for some time now. I was a demigod. Who knew?

  “Thalia, it’s your mother. We don’t a lot of time. I can’t interfere directly. The gods are panicking. Help is coming, and you must have an open mind. Love always wins, sweetheart.” As soon as the dove finished talking, it flew out of the room. I leaped out of the bed to see where it went, but it was just gone like it had never existed. There weren’t open windows or anything. It just vanished. Feeling a little freaked out, I started to run back into the room to wake Tristan, but ran right into an already-awake Tristan in the doorway.