Apollo was utterly exhausted. Not that he would have been able to tell anyone, being sparked out on the bed (thankfully in his pyjamas and with the gel washed out of his hair). It wasn't even like it had been a particularly unusual day; his wife just had a habit of really liking her early morning jog. This normally wasn't a problem, as Apollo had gotten somewhat used to being dragged along in his battered trainers at six in the morning. He just wished Athena would let him catch a break when he'd spent the entirety of the previous night swamped in paperwork. As it was, he would have been impressed that he'd managed to stay awake until eight that evening if he wasn't already dead to the world.

Athena tiptoed into the bedroom, her pyjamas muffling the sound of her movements until even she could barely hear them. Poor Apollo had collapsed onto the bed with barely the time to wriggle out of his suit. Athena tried to regret forcing him out on her jog that morning, but she was just too distracted by how cute he looked. She smoothed his hair gently, with an almost motherly touch.

"Good night, 'Polly."

Athena was not looking forward to her checkup. In her lifetime, only one good thing had ever happened in a medical building, and she hadn't been keen at the time. Being dragged from a nice, warm, safe haven into the cold, cruel world was not fun in the slightest. Still, she supposed she had to go through with this, otherwise some huge problem could go unnoticed. She checked in at the front desk, sat down in the waiting room and picked up last April's issue of How It Works.

About halfway through an article about lifesaving coffins (for being buried alive in, apparently) the loudspeaker buzzed. "Athena Justice to Room Six, please."

Sighing, Athena got up from her seat and walked nervously into the room.

"Ah, Athena. Have a seat. Just here for a routine checkup, are we? Let's check your blood pressure..."

It was about halfway through the appointment when Doctor Miller did something very strange.

"Erm. Could I just have a urine sample, please?"

"Okay..." Athena really wasn't sure why her doc would want a urine sample at a routine appointment, but she supposed she could oblige. She ducked behind a screen and carefully peed into the little pot.

"Fabulous. Now, I just need to run a couple of tests." Doctor Miller dipped several different indicators into the pot, checking what colour they turned. Eventually, she turned back to face Athena.

"Congratulations. You're pregnant."

Apollo was already home from the supermarket when Athena came in.

"How'd the appointment go?"

"Pretty good, thanks. Nothing wrong with me. Everything's normal."

Apollo felt his stomach plummet as his bracelet tightened. Athena was lying to him. Everything was not normal. Something was up, and he had to squeeze it out of her somehow. He tried a subtle approach. "Nothing I need to worry about, then?"

"Nope."

No reaction. That was odd. Maybe the first bit was a false alarm after all. "So everything's normal."

"Yup."

There it went again. "I'm sorry, but you're lying to me and I won't stand for it. Everything is not normal, is it?"

Tears welled up in Athena's eyes. "You're right. It's not normal. Normal will never mean the same thing again." Her face cracked into a flustered grin. "We're having a baby."

Apollo's stomach rose back into its normal position. Everything was more than fine. He truly had nothing to worry about.

Well, apart from what gender Junior was going to be so he knew what colour to decorate the bedroom.