A/N Thank you for the kind reviews. To jmp I'm sorry I can't send a personal message any other way than this but thank you for all the nice things you've said about this story in all the reviews you've given me so far!

I'm really not sure about parts of this chapter so if you feel like giving me a review I would definitely appreciate it!


Time seemed to stand still. For the next few moments nobody spoke; nobody moved. It was as though everything had stopped at the second Hercules had made his announcement. Then an owl screeched outside the window making them all jump, a bell tolled somewhere in the distance and a goat bleated. The sounds of life returned, time flying back in through the window, reminding them all to move; to breathe. Hercules stared hard at Jason, almost willing the boy to speak, to say how he was feeling. In this he was disappointed. Jason stayed stubbornly silent, still looking down at the kitten he held clutched in his arms like a baby. Pythagoras turned slowly, knife in one hand, onion in the other and looked wide-eyed at Hercules, who still looked at Jason with burning eyes. Then he turned his gaze to his younger friend, cringing a little at the thought of what he might find. Jason's mood had been unpredictable ever since he had returned home last night and Pythagoras was worried how the news of Alektryon's arrest might have affected him. He was surprised. Aside from a little tightening across his shoulders, Jason gave no outward sign of even having heard Hercules. The mathematician frowned, unsure whether this was a good or a bad thing.

For his part Jason didn't know how he should feel – or how he should respond. Part of him was cheering inside at Alektryon's arrest, but the other part – the part that still felt dirty and ashamed – was terrified that it would inevitably mean that someone would find out what had happened; that everyone would know. Not that there was anything to find out, he kept reminding himself. Nothing had happened.

"Didn't you hear me?" Hercules demanded. "Alektryon has been arrested!"

"So?" Jason said flatly. He was immensely proud of the fact that he managed to keep his voice completely steady despite the fact that he felt so off balance – he had felt that way all day really; as though the world had suddenly tilted on its axis slightly and he was the only one aware of it. He dropped his head further towards the kitten in his arms, taking comfort from the small creature as it softly nuzzled the side of his face, purring all the time.

Hercules frowned. He couldn't actually see Jason's face any longer. He had half buried it in the kitten's fur and his dark curls had dropped forward to form a curtain, shielding him from view. It was impossible to gauge what the boy's reaction to the news was; impossible to see his emotions.

"What do you mean "so"?" Hercules asked incredulously. "This is important. The news is all over Atlantis! He's got away with things for years now but the guards have finally cottoned on," he paused, frowning. "I'm not sure why they suddenly worked it out now," he admitted, "but at least it means that everything can get back to normal."

Jason shrugged, still looking down.

"Things are normal," he said in the same flat, numb voice.

Hercules barked a short, disbelieving laugh. The tension in the room would have been obvious even to a complete stranger. No, things were in no way normal.

"Put that blasted animal down and talk properly to us," he instructed Jason.

If he was looking for a reaction from the young man he certainly got it. Jason looked up, eyes flashing sudden sparks of fire towards the big wrestler.

"There's nothing to talk about," he hissed. "You kept things from me that I needed to know – lied to my face when I asked you what was wrong – and now you want to talk? Now when there's nothing to talk about? If you really think I want to talk to you right now – that I want anything to do with you – then you've got another thing coming." He pushed his way out past his two friends and disappeared onto the balcony.

Hercules made to follow him. He was stopped by a hand on his arm gently restraining him.

"Don't," Pythagoras urged. "Let him calm down a bit. You will only make things worse by going out there right now."

Hercules looked at the young blonde crossly.

"I'm not putting up with him talking to me like that," he said angrily. "Just because he's having a strop doesn't give him the right to take it out on the rest of us."

Pythagoras resisted the urge to point out that Jason wasn't angry at him at all. That would be unkind. Instead he gave a long suffering sigh and held Hercules' arm a bit more firmly.

"And what good do you think you are going to do going out there and confronting him?" he asked quietly. "Jason needs time."

"What he needs is a kick up the bum," Hercules asserted.

"I think he does have the right to be a bit angry," Pythagoras pointed out tiredly. "You did keep some fairly important things from him – from both of us." He gave his large friend a hard stare.

"I explained all that," Hercules said defensively. "I was only doing what I thought was right."

"I know that... and Jason does too. He knows that what happened was not really your fault. When we were at the beach earlier he said that he did not think he would stay angry at you for too long."

"Well all I can say is that I hope he hurries up and gets over it quickly," Hercules grumbled sitting down at the table and reaching for a cup and the wine flagon.

Pythagoras nodded to himself. That was one friend calmed down, now he just had to deal with the other one. He loved both his friends dearly but sometimes he wished that they weren't quite so difficult to live with. Turning back to the food he was preparing, he continued to chop vegetables in silence, adding each item to the cooking pot in turn, mind busily thinking about how to approach his younger friend. When they had left the beach he had been hopeful that Jason's black mood had been broken – that the young man had relaxed enough for life to begin to get back to normal. It appeared that he had been mistaken.

Once supper was nearly ready, the mathematician moved out towards the balcony, intending to fetch Jason inside to eat. In the doorway he paused. Jason was sitting on the floor, his back to the wall and knees tucked up with the kitten on his lap, talking to the small creature softly. Without intending to eavesdrop, Pythagoras started to listen to what his friend was saying.

Jason felt thoroughly ashamed of himself. He hadn't intended to blow up at Hercules and certainly hadn't meant half of the things he said. It was just that he seemed to be on a really short fuse today – to be getting angry about the smallest things – and his existing ire at the bulky wrestler made him an immediate target. Jason sighed and closed his eyes. He couldn't work out why he was getting so irritated. On his lap the kitten purred and nuzzled his fingers.

"It's alright," Jason said softly tickling the small creature under the chin. "I'm not cross at you, kitten." He paused. "We'll have to think of a name for you," he informed it. "I can't keep calling you "kitten" all the time."

Jason stopped, still stroking the kitten. He looked at the creature seriously.

"I suppose it depends on whether you're a boy or a girl," he said. "I'm not entirely sure how we'd find that out... I might have to ask Pythagoras. He's bound to know. He's the cleverest man I ever met... the kindest too when it comes to it."

He stroked the kitten's head again before carrying on.

"Don't worry about Hercules either. His bark is far worse than his bite. I'm sure he didn't mean it when he called you scrawny... although you are a bit small and skinny. You'll grow though."

Jason paused for a minute before he eased the kitten into a more comfortable position on his lap.

"I was always a scrawny unwanted thing too," he confessed. "At least I'm not scrawny any more."

Listening from the doorway Pythagoras thought his heart would break at Jason's last comment. The implications of his statement to the kitten were clear and the mathematician desperately wished that he could convince his friend of just how much he was wanted without admitting he had been listening in and without embarrassing them both. He quickly stepped forward towards Jason with a friendly smile plastered on his face. As he approached, Jason looked up, eyes narrowing as he tried to work out whether Pythagoras had been listening to his rambling speech to the kitten.

"Supper is ready," Pythagoras announced as brightly as he could and offering Jason a hand up.

The brunette caught the outstretched hand with one of his own and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. The kitten was deposited on the floor with an audible annoyed squeak. Pythagoras paused and bent down to pick up the little white ball of fluff.

"We need to think of a name for it," Jason said peering at the kitten in Pythagoras hands. "Do you have any idea how to work out if it's a boy or a girl."

Pythagoras smiled and nodded, turning the little creature over until it was held like a baby in his arms and examining the area just below its tail.

"It is a little girl," he announced.

"We still need to think of a name," Jason said as they stepped back into the kitchen.

Hercules looked up, confused.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because we can't keep calling her "kitten" Hercules," Jason answered patiently. He gave the big man an almost shy look. "I'm sorry about before," he said. "I didn't mean what I said."

Hercules looked at the young man speculatively but wisely chose not to say anything about the boy's apology.

"I don't really see why we need a name for the thing," he said staring at the kitten who was walking up and down the kitchen table again where Pythagoras had put her down. "Kitten seems a good enough name to me." His face softened and he smiled as the kitten started to rub against his hand.

"Every creature needs a name," Pythagoras answered, frowning lightly.

"Well what about Medesicaste?" Hercules said running his hand gently over the kitten's fluffy white head.

"You don't think that's a bit grand?" Jason asked.

"Medesicaste is the butcher's daughter," Hercules said. "Ooh she is... lovely. And all the free meat you could want!"

The two boys exchanged a look.

"Definitely not Medesicaste then," Jason murmured.

Pythagoras looked at the kitten thoughtfully.

"Isosceles," he said firmly.

"What in the name of the gods is an isosceles when it's at home?" Hercules demanded.

"It's a triangle with two equal sides," Jason answered. He looked up to see both of his friends staring at him incredulously. "What?" he asked defensively. "I wasn't bad at geometry in school."

Hercules shook his head slowly.

"We can not name a cat after a triangle," he said.

"Why not?" Pythagoras asked, hurt. "Isosceles triangles are particularly beautiful."

Jason smiled at Pythagoras' defence of his beloved triangles.

"Isosceles it is then," he said lifting the kitten down off the table as Pythagoras started to serve supper.

As soon as he took the first spoonful of food Jason tasted blood in his mouth again, just as he had the night before during his encounter with Alektryon. It was all he could do to swallow the mouthful without spitting it out or bringing it back up. He bit his lip and dropped his head, breathing hard through his nose as he tried to regain control of his stomach. He hadn't eaten all day and was starving but the thought of taking another mouthful made his stomach lurch. Without being consciously aware of what he was doing Jason stirred his spoon round and round his bowl slowly. He looked up at the sound of a throat being cleared in a very pointed manner. Hercules was looking at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Are you going to eat it or play with it?" the burly man asked.

Jason smiled sheepishly and choked down a second mouthful of food. Trust Hercules to notice that he wasn't really eating. He paused again to let the second mouthful settle, feeling vaguely giddy and knowing that his burly friend's eyes were almost burning into him, before ploughing on with his meal as best he could.

Supper continued in a very subdued manner. Whenever he thought no-one was looking, Jason slipped some of the food from his bowl to the kitten at his feet. Both of his friends noticed but chose to turn a blind eye. Eventually the young man stopped and looked up at Pythagoras, his bowl still at least a third full.

"I'm sorry, I'm really tired," he said. "I didn't sleep all that well last night. Would you mind awfully if I went to bed?"

Pythagoras smiled gently.

"Of course not," he said taking Jason's bowl.

The young man nodded vaguely and stood up, catching Isosceles up with one hand.

"Sleep well my friend," Hercules added.

Jason smiled and turned towards his bedroom, talking softly to the kitten as he went.


It was night time as Jason made his way through the dark streets of Atlantis. At first he wandered aimlessly, feet taking him down random pathways until he came to the Telapius Gate. He wondered briefly if he should have let either Pythagoras or Hercules know that he was going for a walk but it was too late now. He shrugged to himself as he wandered past the inexplicably silent guards. That was weird. The Atlantian guards were usually only too keen to stop random travellers and harass them – although it was never particularly challenging to evade them.

Once he was outside the city, Jason realised that he was being drawn onwards. It started as a vague pull at the back of his mind – an urge to travel in a certain direction. By the time he got through the woods and into the mountains he was nearly running, the force drawing him onwards was so great. He was confused as to how he had got through the woods so quickly – usually a journey to the mountains of Galena took the best part of a day – but looking up he realised that far from still being night time the sun was now high in the sky. More time must have passed than he had known. He ought to learn to pay more attention to his surroundings, he berated himself. Really it was getting ridiculous how often he lost track of time and found himself in a very different place from where he started. Mac had always said that he had his head in the clouds most of the time and he did seem to be getting distracted more and more frequently lately.

The caves were dark and cool after the sunshine outside. Although he had only been here once and had not exactly had the time to explore, Jason walked confidently onwards, his feet seeming to know where they were going even if his brain had not yet caught up. Ahead of him a light was shining and he hurried towards it, suddenly desperate to see what it revealed. It was coming from a large cavern. As Jason entered he saw that the light was coming from a lantern, carried by a cloaked and hooded figure walking purposefully towards an opening on the opposite wall. There was something about the way the figure moved, the set of his head, the roll of his shoulders as he walked, that was heart-achingly familiar – and Jason knew, without knowing how he knew, that the man about to walk through the opening was his father.

"Hey stop!" he called. "Dad! Wait!"

The man never paused and Jason was suddenly once again left alone in the darkness. He started across the cavern. If he could just catch up...

"He never wanted you, you know,"Mrs Johnstone's voice whispered in his ear. "No-one ever wanted you."

Jason swallowed hard and ignored the voice, knowing that it had to be his imagination – had to be inside his head. He hurried on though the entrance seemed to be getting further and further away no matter how many steps he took.

"Weak," Mrs Johnstone continued, "weak, pathetic, useless and scruffy. Why would anyone want a child like that?"

A laugh rang out from somewhere on the other side of him, echoing around the cavern walls. It was a laugh he had last heard in Circe's cave. Jason froze and stiffened, ready for an attack.

"You swore an oath," Circe hissed coming around to stand in front of him, "and you broke it. Need I remind you that your life should have been forfeit," she smiled coldly. "You will discover what the gods do to punish oath-breakers," her eyes flashed with a dangerous light. "You have condemned yourself." The witch sashayed away with a final laugh.

Jason shuddered and continued on. Finally making it to the opening he found himself in a passageway – a sort of rock corridor. His father was just disappearing around a corner up ahead. It didn't seem to matter how fast Jason ran he could never quite catch up with the man, turning corner after corner just to see his father disappearing around another bend. Running now, he raced after the man, catching himself on the walls, skin scraping and tearing as he ricocheted off the rough rock. A trip sent him sprawling and he lay still for a moment, lungs burning as he gasped for breath, before pushing himself back to his feet.

"It was easy to make you scream in the end wasn't it?" a soft, sibilant voice mused. "You might not have told me what I wanted to know but I still made you scream." Galanus stepped from behind Jason, barging the young man's shoulder, his brightly coloured robe swirling around him. "I could make you scream again," he said. "I know your weakness now. I know you are a coward at heart."

"Shut up," Jason answered, setting off at a run again. He really didn't have time for this – was consumed by the need to catch up with his father.

He rounded another corner and came close to running full tilt into Alektryon. The man reached out one clammy slim-fingered hand and caressed the side of Jason's face.

"So young," he lisped. "So innocent."

"Not that innocent," Jason responded kneeing him in the groin and pushing past him as he fell.

Finally he exited the passageway into another large cavern. This one seemed to be bisected by a fast running river. A boat sat moored to the bank, bobbing slightly in the current. Jason's father stood at the water's edge, seemingly lost in thought.

Jason started towards him when a firm push in the centre of his back sent him stumbling, trying to keep his footing.

"Coward," Galanus said.

"I'm not," Jason responded.

"So why haven't you told your friends the truth?" Circe asked sharply. "You're afraid, Jason. You're scared. You know they'll leave you if you tell them the truth. If you let them see who you really are."

"After all who could ever really care for a nasty, dirty creature like you?" Mrs Johnstone added.

"You're only good for one thing," Alektryon said, "and you couldn't even do that right."

"It's just as well that your parents can't see you," Mrs Johnstone stated. "A coward and a failure. You would have been such a disappointment to them."

Jason stumbled forwards towards the figure on the bank. Tears pricked the backs of his eyes as he tried to escape the demons in his head and reach out to his father.

"Dad," he implored. "Please don't go. I need you."

The hooded figure gave no sign of even having heard him and stepped lightly into the boat, starting to untie the mooring rope.

"Dad," Jason was growing more desperate by the minute. "Please stay. Please."

He watched helplessly as the boat drifted out into the centre of the river, pulled along by the current.

"He won't stay," a new voice said. "He never stays. No-one ever does. You know that."

Jason stiffened at the sound. He knew this voice. Slowly, with growing fear, he turned around to face a person he hadn't seen in nearly a decade.

"Hello Jason," the figure said.

Jason awoke in a cold sweat, gasping for breath and sitting bolt upright in bed. It was still pitch black outside. An annoyed hiss from the floor told Jason that he'd probably pushed Isosceles off the bed when he woke up and that the kitten did not appreciate being moved from her nice warm nest cuddled into his side. He felt the irrational urge to apologise to the small creature even as he swung his legs out of bed.

Wandering across to the kitchen table, Jason picked up a jug of water and poured himself a cup, drinking deeply and greedily in an attempt to calm his nerves. He put the cup down and sighed, running one hand through his sweat dampened hair. The dream was an old one – had plagued him on and off for years – although the setting was different and the additions of Circe, Alektryon and Galanus were new, replacing the bullies of his childhood presumably because they were more immediate to him now. Not that he had been particularly badly bullied in school – no more so than any child. Actually the school bullies had barely seemed to notice he was there – one of the advantages he had found of allowing himself to fade into the background at a young age. Jason paused and poured himself some more water. His thoughts were skittering all over the place tonight and he tried desperately to pull them into order.

Making his way over to the balcony, cup of water still in hand, he leaned over the railing and looked down at the dark street below with unseeing eyes. The fact that his mind could still conjure up the last figure from his dream even after all these years bothered him. Those were memories that were better left undisturbed; better left buried. Jason had spent the best part of the last ten years studiously ignoring those particular memories and the feelings they conjured up, shoving them back down whenever they threatened to bubble up to the surface, and the idea that they could come back to haunt him so easily disturbed him. He sighed again.

"You could not sleep either?"

Jason was startled back to the present by Pythagoras' softly spoken question. He spun around to see the mathematician standing in the doorway of the balcony, shivering slightly in the cold night air, with his own cup of water in hand.

"Nah," he murmured lightly. "I told you insomnia and I are old friends."

Pythagoras came and joined him at the railing.

"It is still some hours until dawn I am afraid," he observed. "We should both attempt to get a little more sleep... although I confess I am not feeling sleepy."

Jason smiled at him, turned and slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor, his legs bent at the knees. Pythagoras mirrored the action and they sat, facing one another, feet almost touching, as they had done on so many evenings – albeit not as late in the night as this. The enclosed side of the balcony protected them both from the night breeze that blew lightly through the house. Although the days were still warm at present the nights were definitely drawing in and becoming much colder.

The two boys sat for some time in companionable silence, listening to the night noises of the city. A soft tickling at Pythagoras' hand made the young man look down and he smiled as he realised that the kitten Jason had brought home had made its way across to them and was trying to get attention. It appeared that Isosceles was most insistent and very single minded when it came to getting something she wanted. The mathematician started to stroke down the full length of the kitten's body, smile widening as Isosceles arched her back up into his hand. He looked up to see his brunette friend watching him with a wry smile, amusement dancing in his hazel eyes.

"I fear Hercules thinks we are both quite mad for wanting to keep a kitten," Pythagoras said.

"He'll get used to her," Jason answered.

"As long as he does not try to use her for gambling everything will be alright."

Jason snorted at the mental image of Hercules trying to enter the kitten into a beetle race – trying to pass her off as a beetle in spite of the objections of the other competitors. He dropped his head back to rest against the wall.

"When I was a child there was this lady that lived on the other side of town who kept dozens of cats. Well it seemed like there were dozens anyway," Jason said softly. "All the local children were afraid of her. Called her the crazy cat woman. We used to think she was a witch I guess. We used to dare each other to run up her path and knock on her front door. Then you had to stay there for as long as you dared before she could answer and put a curse on you. She wasn't really a witch of course. Just a lady who liked cats. God we must have tormented her."

Pythagoras smiled gently.

"We had a woman much the same in our village," he admitted. "Although she was in fact a witch."

Jason chuckled quietly. It felt good to be sitting here with Pythagoras and the kitten exchanging memories – albeit ones that he had censored and decided could be told without risking any secrets coming to light.

The two boys continued to banter back and forth lightly for some time, with Isosceles wandering back and forth between them, purring. Presently Jason found his eyes growing heavy.

"We should probably try to get some more sleep," he said.

Pythagoras nodded and yawned. Moving quietly they both stood and made their way back to their respective bedrooms, bidding each other a soft "goodnight" and returning to their beds and peaceful slumber.