Published November 7, 2021
Content warning: pregnancy, childbirth, and contemplation of death.
"Homemaking"
Phil professed to have a lot of faith in Hercules, and even in Meg. They two had proven that they could "go the distance," even when that distance was greater, or led to a different destination, than they initially thought.
Nevertheless, he was surprised by how good they turned out to be as spouses and, later, as parents. Neither of them struck him as a domestic type, and he knew from experience that they weren't particularly responsible. But, once again, he underestimated what they had in them.
Meg's cynicism was virtually gone—Hercules had restored her faith in the goodness of both gods and men. But she was still more familiar with the ways of the world than he was. In their daily life, her reservation and pragmatism balanced out his enthusiasm and optimism.
After a honeymoon around the Mediterranean, they moved into a villa in a suburb of Thebes. It seemed a happy medium between the countryside Hercules had grown up in and the city where he had made his fortune. Pegasus had his own sizable stable—big enough, in fact, for a mate and foals, should any come along—and Phil provided equipment for their private gymnasium.
Meg had virtually nothing to take with her to their new home. But once they moved all of Hercules' possessions in, she enjoyed arranging and decorating the house.
"I've never really had a home to make my own," she said one day early in their marriage.
The way she phrased that made Hercules pause. "I never really thought of a home as something you make. I thought it was something you had to find."
Meg smiled, knowing what he meant. "Maybe it's both."
Once the buzz about the Titan attack, the engagement, and the wedding died down, Hercules tried to step back from the spotlight. He remained "on call" for any public emergencies that required a hero, but with Hades gone and most of Greece's monsters vanquished, major incidents became rare. While he supported himself and Meg with his merchandise royalties and rewards for heroic deeds, Meg was practical and shrewd with managing their finances.
Phil tried to retire once again, happy to end his career on the highest note possible after achieving his life's goal. But his own name grew more famous, and many would-be heroes sought him out to ask him for training. After some internal wrestling within himself and external wrestling with some arrogant punks, he decided to hire himself out as a guest coach and motivational speaker. Hercules was the last hero for whom he would be a long-term personal coach—their bond was irreplicable.
The two remained in touch, and Phil chastised his former student if he suspected Hercules was slacking off on his exercise. Feeling up for a challenge, Meg started working out too—a lack of supernatural strength was no reason not to build up what strength she could.
The couple spoke with Zeus and Hera a few times throughout each year, usually around holidays and other special occasions. They visited Amphitryon and Alcmene more often, joining them for a family dinner a couple times a month, which gave Meg a sense of family she had never known before. It was something she cherished and hoped to create herself.
When Meg became pregnant with their first child, the initial reaction was wonder and jubilation. Despite the apprehension she had expressed to her mothers-in-law, she was more at peace on the subject, having received advice and promises of assistance—both human and divine—if needed.
As for Hercules, there was no containing his joy at the prospect of becoming a father—a unique kind of hero. But as the months went by, he felt increasingly anxious and somewhat terrified.
Alcmene and Amphitryon were full of good, sound advice about parenting, but Hercules could not look back on his own childhood without thinking of his being kidnapped as an infant. If even a god could be stolen from their cradle and have their greatest safeguard taken away, what did that say about mortal babies? Anything could befall them—illness, wild animals, runaway carts, natural disasters, sharp objects left out.
And what might happen if Hades managed to pull himself out of the River Styx? Would he not want revenge more than ever? He had already targeted Meg in order to blackmail Hercules; the thought of their children being endangered was even more sickening.
And even if he did everything right, and kept their children safe for as long as humanly possible, they would still die someday. That was the consequence of Hercules' choice to renounce immortality and marry a mortal woman. He could not regret that decision, at least as far as Meg was concerned, but it grieved him to think that he was passing his mortality on to his children.
Phil, who was happy about becoming a surrogate uncle, sympathized with the new parents, but could not offer much by way of advice or comfort. Amphitryon and Alcmene wanted to help however they could, but they had never experienced that period of waiting for a child's birth—they had found Hercules without any forewarning that their lives were about to change. And Hercules did not want to burden Meg with his anxieties, when she was already carrying so much herself, physically and emotionally.
Feeling as though he was running out of possible confidantes, Hercules visited Zeus' temple to talk about the road to fatherhood.
"Were you at all afraid?" he asked.
"Not really," Zeus admitted. "We might've been a little nervous about you injuring yourself, but even that would have been just a little, temporary pain. Besides that, we didn't think there was anything to be afraid of. Even if worst came to worst, you couldn't die." He grimaced. "Of course, looking back, I can see we probably should have been more careful."
"What about when I became mortal?" Hercules pressed.
"Well, we trusted that your strength would protect you—which it did, from what we could see or find out. And we did what we could to keep you out of harm's way."
"Really?"
"Did you never wonder why your pop's farm was so fruitful? Or why no one died as a result of your accidents?"
Hercules laughed sheepishly. "I guess I thought it was luck." He sighed. "It's just hard to know that … even if I do everything right, my kid is going to die someday."
Zeus looked at him with unusual seriousness. "My son … we'll do everything we can to ensure your descendants have long, happy lives on Earth."
Hercules tried to take comfort in that reassurance, and focus on what he could do to make the most of whatever time he had with his growing family.
Alcmene had helped many women through pregnancy and birth. Having that perspective, she knew that Meg's experience was not as difficult as it could have been. But that did not mean it was easy.
The second and third trimesters were probably the most strained period of Meg and Hercules' marriage thus far. Meg had a great capacity for endurance, but she was not a cheerful sufferer. She openly complained about her various discomforts, even when veiling them with humor. Hercules was well-meaning but sometimes overbearing in his attempts to make her comfortable, and his attempts to be cheerful seemed out of tune with her mood. He could easily do the household chores, run errands to satisfy her food cravings, and massage her aching muscles, which she appreciated. But even his eagerness made her weary.
At times it seemed like there was no right thing for him to do: either offering help or making himself scarce could irritate her. Alcmene told him not to take it personally, and started talking about mood swings and internal imbalances, things Hercules did not fully understand but tried to remember.
They usually managed to make up by the end of the day, exchanging apologies and reassurances. In bed, Hercules would rest his arm over Meg's growing stomach, marveling at the baby's movements. Meg had taken to singing or humming to it and observing its reactions to her voice. The baby seemed relatively strong, though so far they could not tell whether it had the same kind or amount of strength that Hercules had.
Alcmene came to stay with them in the last week before the baby was expected. This turned out to be a good thing, as the labor began two days before the due date they had calculated.
During the worst contractions, Meg squeezed Hercules' hand so hard that he wondered, for a moment, if she had matched his godlike strength. Did women have some kind of hidden power that they tapped into when giving birth? Did the gods lend them some strength? He certainly hoped so, now. He had never seen Meg look so scared, or so angry, or so tired as on that day. Keeping up with her emotions over those hours was exhausting for him, but he knew that was nothing compared to her physical exhaustion.
But when they finally held their child, everything else—the anxiety, the fear, the pain—shifted to the periphery, replaced by utter awe.
Their firstborn had her father's red hair, and ears shaped like his, though her face was shaped like her mother's. Her eyes were a shade in between blue and violet.
Hercules and Meg could only take their eyes off their daughter to look at each other, tired and incredulous and overjoyed, thinking the same thing. They had thought they had discovered the depths of love when they found each other, but this was even deeper.
The four grandparents could not have been more smitten with the baby.
Introducing her to Zeus and Hera was bittersweet and slightly painful, as Hercules caught a glimpse of how his life might have been different if his biological parents had raised him. He saw Hera's delight as she made the baby laugh, and Zeus' nervousness as he held her tiny body in his enormous hands. At that moment, Hercules realized, and his parents were reminded, how much they had lost when he was taken from them.
But when they visited Amphitryon and Alcmene, he saw how much joy he had brought to them, a childless couple with so much love to give. Alcmene eagerly volunteered her babysitting services, and Amphitryon helped Hercules figure out how to assemble furniture for the nursery, a task that required more skill than strength. The new parents were thankful for the help, which allowed them a break now and then.
On the surface, Meg was not someone that anyone would describe as maternal. But underneath her snark and sarcasm, she had a selfless and generous spirit, which made well suited for motherhood. Over time, it changed her, or at least the way she viewed herself, for the better: seeing the innocence and openness of her children made her heart full, and taking care of them made her think more highly of herself, as she discovered her own capacity for goodness.
Hercules supposed that, in a way, the happiness he and all his family were now experiencing made up for their earlier suffering. He felt more at peace when he thought about it that way—not that it justified Hades' crimes and cruelties, but that some good had resulted that compensated for them.
When he looked across his pillow at his wife, and across the room at their children, he knew there was no place where he would rather have been.
He was exactly where he belonged.
Author's Notes
Disclaimer: I took the idea of Hercules and Meg moving to a suburb of Thebes from an episode of the animated series, "Hercules and the Yearbook."
I would appreciate reviews for this chapter, which changed quite a bit as I prepared to post it. I left details about Hercules and Meg's children vague, because I'm still working out what their names, ages and dynamics would be if I write about them in detail. If I do, I'm not sure whether they would be in this story cycle or a separate standalone story. If you're interested, there is some wonderful fan art of Hercules and Meg's children on DeviantArt; I particularly like the works by avitha101.
Recently, my friend Matthew Garlin released an episode of his podcast, "Everything You Never Needed to Know About Movies, Music and Theatre," in which we discussed Hercules. You can listen to it on Anchor, Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
In case this ends up being the last chapter, I want to thank everyone who read and reviewed this work. I've really enjoyed getting into these characters' heads and have been pleased to see it resonating with other fans. Thanks and blessings to you all!