"This can't be happening." Hades muttered under his breath, staring at the newly received text from David. He didn't have time to deal with Team Hero and their problems, not when Zelena was hours away from the start of labor.
"What does Prince Useless want?" Zelena asked, having read the text over his shoulder.
"Apparently, my brother's in town looking for me. He's…. intrigued to know how I ended my banishment." Then it hit him: Zelena was standing over his shoulder, and not staying in bed like he asked her to.
"Zelena! What are you doing up? Is it the baby? Are you feeling well?" She waved him off, choosing to make herself breakfast.
"I'm fine, and I swear to the gods if you don't stop panicking I'll really give you something to worry about." It was strange, for the past week she had felt almost normal- no pain, no nausea- come to think of it, no fetal movement either.
"I'm not panicking!" His hair erupted in blue flames, indicating that the god's previous statement was a lie. Hades was very, very stressed.
"Whale said I have another week before the baby arrives, so calm down and tell David you'll deal with Zeus." No. His magic told him that she didn't have another week, but trying to explain that to his stubborn girlfriend was a fool's errand: The Mills gene might as well be synonymous with "sassy pain in the ass". Of course, Hades would never say that to Zelena's face if he wanted to live another day.
"Alright, but promise me you'll go relax. Stay off your feet at least."
"Fine. I'll go lay down for a bit." Zelena relented, retreating to their bedroom for a nap.
"I love you, my goddess!" With that, the god teleported to the Charming's apartment.
"Hades! Did you figure out how to deal with Zeus?" Snow wasted no time in getting down to business- the whole town could be in danger.
"He'll probably want to talk. I'll tell him to meet me outside of town, away from everyone." The god scribbled a message on a conjured piece of paper and sent it away with a wave of his hand. Hopefully, distracting his idiotic brother wouldn't take long and he could get back to worrying about his daughter's arrival.
"Good idea. Do you want us to stay with Zelena in the meantime? Just in case something happens?" Hades was surprised- he didn't expect them to care. It was refreshing.
"That would be most welcome, thank you. She's sleeping now, I don't expect there to be any trouble."
"We'll keep you posted. Good luck!" Hades nodded in response and then left, deciding to not keep the king of Olympus waiting.
"I would say it's nice to see you Zeus, but I'd be lying." The two gods decided on a meeting spot that wouldn't attract attention- the middle of the woods.
"Pleasant, as always." Zeus conjured a chair and made himself comfortable.
"Why are you here, brother?" He needed to get back to Zelena and make sure she was safe. He didn't know if the rest of Olympus knew about her, and planned to keep it that way.
"How familiar are you with the terms of your banishment?"
"Let's see…frozen heart, eternal damnation, solitude, and- oh yeah- surrounded by dead people."
"Not that. The removal of your banishment." Shit.
"The True Love's Kiss thing? Yeah, you made your rules pretty clear." Don't bring her up, don't bring her up-
"Where is she, Hades? I'd like to meet the mortal that broke your curse." Hades saw red, and began to clench his fists. There was no way he was getting near Zelena.
"Did you think I wouldn't notice? You're obviously out of the underworld with a beating heart- so someone broke the curse. I won't ask again- where is your lover?"
"None of your business."
"Oh, but it is. There are a few things I neglected to tell you, seeing as I never planned for this curse to be broken. If you managed to break your curse, any future offspring you sired could contend for control over Mt. Olympus." Hades' jaw dropped. Did his brother just imply what he thought he did?
"Don't look at me like that. I was in a good mood that day and put it in the fine print for laughs." Zeus dropped the friendly tone, done playing nice.
"Now that you know all the details, all I need you to do is hand her over."
"So you can kill her? I don't think so. What makes you think we'd even have children?"
"Because you have one on the way." Hades' stomach dropped. He now knew why his brother made a surprise visit, and it wasn't good.
"How do you know that?"
"Wrestled it out of Pain and Panic, some loyal minions you have." Hades then made a split second decision to leave before things broke out into a fight. He didn't have the time for a drawn out duel today.
"Sorry to cut this short, but gotta go!" Lord Death disappeared in his signature wave of blue fire, hoping that things at home were as he left them.
Zeus went into a fit of rage, yelling after his departed brother: "ENJOY FATHERHOOD WHILE YOU CAN, HADES!"
Turns out that Zelena went into labor during his meeting, and was taken to the hospital by Snow and Charming. By the time Hades showed up, Zelena had already been taken into a room for examination. He was just about to enter when Charming grabbed his arm and dragged him out into the hallway.
"Hey, can we talk before you go in there?" David asked, wanting information.
"Long story short, Zeus wants the baby." The two men winced as muffled sounds of things being thrown were heard in the distance. Hades would give Whale a medal for his patience.
"Are you going to tell Zelena?"
"Not while she's in labor. It'll just make things worse."
"I don't think she can get much worse- she pretty much ripped my arm off on the way here." Hades nodded knowingly, he had been on the receiving end of her murderous mood swings on multiple occasions.
"Thank you for getting her here. What did I miss?"
"Well, she made multiple death threats towards Whale for refusing her the epidural and almost set the hospital on fire, but she's been pretty mild tempered by her standards."
"Why would he not give her the epidural?"
"Something about the labor progressing too quickly." The prince pushed Hades into the room before Zelena could ask about Hades' whereabouts.
"Good luck! Have fun with the she- demon!" Hades groaned.
Zelena was certain being ripped in half would actually hurt less. She had curled into a ball on her side, holding onto Hades' hand like her life depended on it. Five hours in, and she was a sweaty, exhausted mess: Contractions came in close waves, which sent a stabbing pain throughout her body, she felt an unbearable pressure on her hips, and was overall drained of energy.
Hades had given himself the job of periodically wiping down Zelena's face with a cold cloth, which he knew provided some relief.
"You're doing great, love, just keep breathing." He looked down at her limp form on the hospital bed- she looked so pale and fragile.
"I hate you." It lacked her usual bite, as she screamed through another contraction.
"Almost there, just picture our baby in your arms."
"I'm picturing your heart in my hands as I crush it-" Her eyes widened and she suddenly rolled over onto her back, instincts causing her to lift her knees towards her chest.
"Go get Whale! She's coming!"
It took a full twenty minutes, but Zelena gave birth to a healthy baby girl weighing six pounds and five ounces.
"Aria." The new mother declared, cradling the screaming infant to her chest. She felt close to crying she was so happy. Their little girl was perfect.
"A name fit for a queen." Hades agreed, mesmerized by the tiny bundle in his lover's arms. She had her father's grey eyes and traces of Zelena's red hair.
"Indeed." Zelena proceeded to breast-feed Aria, and Hades wanted to stay in this moment forever.
"Did you tell her?" Snow White burst into the room, clearly frantic. David probably updated her on the Zeus problem, triggering the princess' need to help others. And now Hades was a dead man walking.
Zelena's good mood vanished, turning to glare at Hades.
"Tell me what?"
Dammit Snow.
