Ah, I'm back again~ As I promised, this chapter pulls us out of that deep, dark spiral of sadness and brings us back up to the normal level of happiness with just a little bit of goofiness. I finally get to use a gag that has been sitting patiently on my shelf waiting to be used! So hopefully you all enjoy this chapter *hope hope* and I really *at the risk of sounding like a broken record* hope that the ending doesn't sound really cliché. I did most of this chapter last night while listening to one song over and over again . . . but I'm happy with how it came out! But I'm sad because this means the story is almost over *panics* what am I going to do without all of you?! I'll miss you while I go underground to edit this thing to pieces, so let's make the most of the time we have left. Please keep reviewing, even if its just to say hi, I love hearing from you! This chapter's shout out goes to: Midnight Shadow Fae! Thanks everyone!

"Oh Hades," I whispered, holding him close to me. "I thought you were dead."

"And I thought you wore clothes," a familiar voice said behind me causing me to stiffen and blush as I looked down at myself. I didn't notice Hades' eyes traveling down with mine but I did notice when someone threw a blindfold around his head and yanked him out of the fountain. I didn't see what happened to him after that because Aphrodite was lifting me out of the fountain and Demeter was grabbing my ear and trying to force information out of me.

Aphrodite managed to drag me away long enough to clothe me again, this time in a very beautiful, but very feminine peplos and skirt, strategically coordinated to match Hades'. The peplos was red and lined with gold with large medallions pinned at my shoulders. The skirt was black with black flowers layered over it in a different fabric so they shimmered in the light. When I came back into the room I was horrified at what I saw. Hades was pressed against a wall with my mother's hand over his throat. She was screaming something at him and punctuating every couple of words with a hard slap across the face that sent his neck snapping in one direction or the other and left a stinging red mark on his cheek.

"Mother," I screamed, rushing forward, "Stop it! Stop it right now." I grabbed her arm and tried to pull her away. I wasn't having much luck until Hera thankfully joined my cause.

"Demeter," she hissed. "Get a hold of yourself."

"You don't understand, Hera, that was my baby girl. I can't let him go unpunished."

Hera pulled Demeter aside and gripped her shoulders. "I understand that, Demeter, but this is not the answer. You need to hold your hand like this and use the back of it to hit him to show that he's inferior to you. And if you really want to make a point, use a ring or something that will leave your mark in his skin." I was too shocked to do anything but gape open mouthed as Hera walked calmly over to Hades and smacked him across the face so hard that he sent stumbling across the room. "You beast!"

"You monster," my mother added, throwing her whole body into the slap. "How dare you violate my baby like that," she said, slapping him with every other word. "Filthy god; you deserve to rot in the darkest pits of your own realm."

Mother and Hera were raising their arms again, planning a double-slap to Hades when I finally came to my senses. I rushed forward and threw myself in between the goddesses and Hades. "Please," I begged. "Don't hurt him. He didn't know and I can explain everything, please." Tears were shimmering in my eyes and my knees were shaking as I stood with my arms outstretched, protecting the god that, not long ago, had fought to protect me. My mother and Hera lowered their arms, albeit reluctantly, and stepped back a few paces when suddenly there was a pop and a heavy thud and Hades was crashing towards the floor. I screamed as he hit the floor hard, his jaw popping on impact, causing him to cough up golden Ichor.

I spun around and nearly collided with a heavy fist, the same fist that had just punched Hades in the jaw. Ares pulled his fist back, cracked the knuckles and then spat the word "scum" in the direction of Hades. He dragged his eyes upward, roughly scratching my body. "Ladies," he nodded.

"Why did you do that," I shrieked, regaining my senses once again.

Ares shrugged, folding his hands behind his head. "Old score to settle. Plus, I figure if the Queen of Olympus can beat on Hades, I can too." He grinned at us, "So why are we beating up Mr. Doom-and-Gloom?"

"He-"

"That's alright, I don't really care. Thought I'd just be polite and ask. Weird, huh?" Ares chuckled as he turned and swaggered from the room. Halfway across the room he caught Aphrodite around the waist and lifted her up in the air. "Hey gorgeous," he said before he pushed her up against a pillar and kissed the breath right out of her lungs for what seemed like an impossibly long time. When finally pulled away from her he dropped her to the ground without a second thought and left the room. We continued staring but Aphrodite simply stumbled her way over to us on weak legs.

"Boy, can he kiss," she breathed.

Meanwhile Hades had staggered back to his feet and was wiping the Ichor off his lips. "I guess I should have expected that," he mumbled. "Ares told me that the next time he saw me he'd punch me in the face. Actually," he turned his attention to Aphrodite. "He said you'd know why."

"Oh, that? Well obviously as the goddess of love I knew you two would end up together but that it would be rocky at first so I guess he figured that he'd punch you for making things hard on Sephy." Aphrodite slid her arm around my shoulders. "And speaking of everyone's favorite goddess, I think its time we explained what happened."

I nodded and everyone took a spot on their throne and settled in to listen. I didn't really know how to explain, I barely knew why this was happening but I steeled my shoulders and told them my ideas. "All of you know that when I'm happy or when I have strong feelings for someone that I make flowers for them. Sometimes its an individual flower but the stronger the feeling, the bigger and more exotic the flower, sometimes I make a whole new plant. Well, I wanted to do this for Hades, because I really do love him."

Hades shifted in his seat, as if he could feel the hot gaze of my mother on him and he didn't know what to say to her. "Mother, even though I'm sure this being is Hades' I can assure you that I'm still just as much of a virgin as when I left you. I've spent the night in his arms but it's never gone farther than that. And this," My hand came to rest gently on my belly, "was made by me and me alone. I wanted to make a whole field of flowers for Hades but I knew that I couldn't, not while I was in the Underworld. There was only moonlight down there so not only would the flowers not survive but it was taking more and more energy to make a flower and sustain it down there. I couldn't have made a lasting flower the way I was then."

"It's true," Aphrodite piped up. "I sent her an Iris Message her and she looked pretty weak. But, in her defense, she also looked very happy. She was surrounded by the daughters of Hades and she was talking about another girl, a naiad, correct? Of the River Styx."

"So I created a flower within my heart for him. But without a piece of him or his realm it could never really be his nymph, it would just be a nymph that I associated with him. So when I found out that if you eat the food of Hades you can never leave, I thought this was a perfect opportunity. I found the tree of pomegranates and I ate seven seeds. Six for me, to keep me there, with Hades, for half the year; and one for my nymph, to make her a child of Hades, a daughter of darkness. And that's when this really started to take off," I said, rubbing my slightly swollen belly.

I looked around the room; mother still looked like she wanted to kill Hades, Hera was considering all this, Aphrodite apparently knew something we didn't and was giggling quietly in the corner. "Hades," mother finally said. "Do you have anything to say in your defense?"

Hades stood up, opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, and then shook his head, sitting back down and taking a few deep breaths, this was all still a shock to him. While he was pulling himself together Hera walked over to Aphrodite to find out what was so funny but she was apparently determined to keep it a secret because Hera was sighing on her throne again a moment later.

"Hades," she said, the irritation and boredom clear in her voice, "Did you have something you wanted to say before you broke my fountain or were you just stopping in to say 'hello?'"

Hades, now revived with a sense of purpose, stood up and addressed the goddesses with the true confidence of a god. "I do have something to say to everyone. If I may, I ask the Olympian Council to assemble." Hera nodded and sent out a silent summons through the air to the other gods and goddesses. One by one they appeared and sat in their thrones, each as majestic as the other. Many were happy to see me up and about again. Poseidon gave me a hug and whispered how much he had missed seeing me, chuckling as he moved to his throne, his blue beard shimmering with the life of the ocean. Hermes smiled broadly, his young face crinkling with delight and mischief and pulled a laurel wreath out of thin air for me. There was much hugging as each of the goddess came into the room, and then, finally, everyone was seated. Hades stood up and moved to the center of the room and I moved over to the edge of the fountain, watching.

"Zeus, I stand before you today not as a god, not as your brother, but as a man. I talk to you as a father and ask this with the utmost humility. May I have your blessing?" The room fell into a hush and father considered this; he looked over at me but I didn't understand what was going on. Finally, after what felt like an eternity he smiled and inclined his head.

Placing his hand over his heart he said, "I, Zeus, father of Persephone, give you, Hades, my blessing." Hades smiled and looked like he wanted to embrace his brother but he held back, I'm not sure why.

Next Hades turned to me, he stood before me and took my hands in his, lifting them gently to his lips. "Persephone, my darling, my dearest, my anthizo, you are the joy of my life. I hoped that you would always be by my side but now we both now that can't always be true. I am here today to ask if, even when you are not by my side, if you would still be in my heart." I was confused; I didn't know what was going on. My heart was pounding against my ribs and my hands were getting clammy. My breathing was starting to get ragged, I was getting dizzy. I didn't believe it when Hades released my hands and bent to his knee. I felt my own knees going weak as he pulled out a simple hand-carved box and held it front of himself. "Persephone, will you be my wife?" He cracked open the box and there, resting on a sea of red velvet was the most beautiful ring I had ever seen. A golden band with a large, sparkling sapphire, my birthstone, surrounded on either side by two glimmering moonstones, his birthstone. My breath left in a rush and my knees gave out. I felt myself plop onto the hard edge of the fountain and stared at the ring, my hands shaking uncontrollably and my breath coming in gasps.

I finally tore my gaze away from the gems and looked up at Hades; he was looking concerned and kept glancing from the ring to me as if I might not like it. I opened and closed my mouth a few times, tears beginning to stream down my face, before I finally nodded, vigorously, throwing my whole body into the movement before launching myself into his arms, my whole body quaking with joy and shock.

"Yes," I cried, finally finding my voice.

"Yes," Hades cried, a delighted kind of shock coloring his voice. He stood up suddenly, pulling me with him. "Yes?"

"Yes, yes, yes," I chorused. "Yes, of course! Yes!"

"Yes," Hades repeated, as if this was the best word in the whole world. "Yes!" He grabbed me around the waist and twirled me through the air repeating "she said yes" over and over again. By the time he set me down again he was shaking just as badly as I was and it took him a couple tries before he finally slipped the ring onto the correct finger. Then, turning triumphantly he faced the Olympians. "She said yes," he roared, as if they had just wandered in.

There was thunderous applause from everyone and soon there was a swarm of people coming to hug me and kiss me on the cheek and congratulate me. Zeus rushed through the crowd and captured his brother in a giant hug. There was a muffled boom and their arms wrapped around each other. For a moment they just stood there, embracing as only brothers can. "Congratulations, Hades," father whispered so that only he could hear. "It's about time you got what you deserved." They pulled back and smiled at each other, embraced again and then father swung his arm around Hades shoulders. "I think this calls for a celebration," he announced. "Dionysus, the wine, please!" And just like that the hall was alive with music and drinks and cheering. Demigods, minor deities, nymphs and naiads alike swarmed into the hall to celebrate.

The party went on for the rest of the day and part of the night and as it was finally beginning to settle down, after no less than four speeches from Hades and I, several toasts, and one heated dance competition, Aphrodite pulled me aside. "Come on, Sephy, you should get some sleep. We've got a lot to do tomorrow."

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean what do I mean? We've got a wedding to plan! And there's no one who knows wedding like Hera and I. Is it okay if I'm your maid of honor, as the mortals say?"

I smiled at her. "I wouldn't have it any other way."