Actually, the ship hadn't disappeared, Charlemagne had merely blinked his eyes, and in that flicker of time, he and the two goddesses were suddenly.., elsewhere. And he wasn't entirely comfortable with the way they were almost twined around him, either. "What do you want from me?" he asked bluntly.

Selene smiled up at him seductively. "Why pretty, we want an immortal husband. And since Zeus treated us so shabbily on that score while giving all to his beloved daughter, we decided to steal you."

Charlemagne turned the thought over in his mind a moment. It didn't exactly come as a shock to him. The immortal part, not the rest. But if that were true, then that meant that Meg was still a god. That would certainly improve his chances of a rescue. If Meg realized it in time. He turned his attention back to the moon goddess. "I'm terribly sorry, but I'm already spoken for. And I happen to be in love with my wife."

Eos pouted. "Don't you find us attractive, Charlemagne? We can make you forget all about Aphrodite and your mortal children. And," she added a bit ominously, "you'd better get used to the idea, because you're not going anywhere. You'll be spending the rest of eternity here. With us."

Charlemagne felt an attack of stubbornness coming on. He stopped where he was. "You're both very lovely," he began, hoping to take some of the sting out of his words, "but I am simply not interested. And I do not intend to be your husband."

Their eyes flashed daggers at him. "Come with us, Nietzschean," Selene ordered. "We have something to show you."

They led him to a small room. Inside were a handsome sleeping youth, and on a table, a small cage with a grasshopper inside.

"Our husbands," Eos said bitterly. "Selene's Endymion forever young, but eternally asleep. And my Tithonus, immortal, but withered to an insect. But Zeus always favored Aphrodite. First he gave her son an immortal wife, now he grants you immortality. It isn't fair."

"My condolences," Charlemagne said coldly. "But it's no doing of mine. And while I certainly understand revenge, I will not willingly be a part of yours. Especially when the target of your retribution is my wife."

"You will change your mind in time," Selene predicted. "And being immortal, we have time to be patient. But not too patient. And just remember, Charlemagne, that while you cannot die, you can be hurt. And being immortal, we could hurt you for a very long time."

Charlemagne kept his features impassive. He wondered just what they would do, and how long he could take it before he broke. Hopefully, he could hold out long enough for Meg to get here. He held on to that thought. Meg would find him. He suddenly realized that he was still in his pajamas. "Do you suppose I might have some proper clothes?" he asked.

"Why?" Eos chuckled naughtily. "You're really not going to need them."

They led him into a large well-furnished bedroom, every bit as luxurious as his one at home. The two goddesses leaned into him a bit, and Selene reached out a bold hand to caress his bare chest.

Charlemagne caught hold of her wrist and pulled her hand away from him and fought to stifle the automatic physical reaction.

Selene, instead of becoming angry, giggled. "He doesn't want to play, Eos."

"Maybe if we leave him alone for a while he'll get lonely," the dawn goddess answered. In the blinking of an eye, the pair vanished.

Charlemagne turned and looked the way they had come in, but the door seemed to have vanished as well.

He examined the chamber carefully. No doors, no windows, no sign of anything that could be used as an exit. There was a table laden with food and drink, and he was about to sit down and refresh himself, when a thought occurred. Meg had told him some stories about how things were when people still worshipped her and her extended family as gods, and something stuck in his head about not eating or drinking anything. He sighed. Well, at least if he were immortal, he wouldn't starve to death. He had a feeling though, that he was still going to get terribly hungry and thirsty.

Then, without thought or warning, he had the sensation that he was no longer alone. He turned and saw two rather unremarkable young women standing behind him.

"Hello? Who are you?"

"We were sent here to serve you," one of the women said. She turned to her companion. "Are they still looking?"

"Not any more," the other answered. The figures blurred, and instead of two plain women, there was a beautiful young couple.

"I'm Eros," the young man introduced himself. "And this is my wife, Psyche."

"How do you do?" Charlemagne said politely. "Should I know you?"

Eros grinned. "We have met, but it was on the Andromeda, and I was in disguise. I'm not even sure Mother knew I was there. I found out about Selene and Eos' plan, but I didn't have time to warn her. Since there are two of them, and only one of me, I don't think I can get you out of here myself, but I can help keep you safe."

"But what about..?" Charlemagne gestured at Psyche.

"She's like you, a mortal that was granted immortality." He put his arm around his wife. "But also like you, she's not a god and has no powers."

"Why are you helping me?" Charlemagne asked bluntly.

"Mother didn't tell you about me, did she?" the youth queried a little sadly. "I know we've had our differences, especially over Psyche, but..,"

"You're Meg's son?" Charlemagne blurted out. It hadn't actually occurred to him to wonder if she had had children before she had met him, even though intellectually he knew that she was older than he could really comprehend.

"Welcome to the family, step-father," the youth said formally.

&&&&&&&&

Trance sighed. She did have work to do, but now that the little boys had had some sleep, and knew that they were going home, they were full of energy and high spirits. She liked children, but they were driving her nuts.

"Andromeda?" she inquired.

The AI appeared instantly. "What do you need, Trance?"

"Is there anyone with some time on their hands who could take over the baby-sitting for about an hour?" Trance asked. "I've got some things that I have to do, and I can't do them and keep a proper eye on the boys."

Andromeda hesitated. "Well, there is someone, but I'm not sure how he'd rate as a baby-sitter."

"Who?" Trance asked, then answered her own question. "Not Harper?"

"Harper," the hologram answered. "I could always monitor and make sure that he doesn't screw up too badly."

Trance took a little hand in each of hers and went to Seamus' workshop and found him idly puttering around. "Harper, I need you to watch William and Richard for a while."

"What?" Harper sputtered. "Me, Seamus the irresponsible, being trusted with kids? You're joking, right, Trance?" When Trance didn't answer, his eyes widened with horror. "You're not joking."

"It's just for an hour or so, Harper," Trance said soothingly. "And look at it this way, you'll have a chance to spend some time with people who are just as mature as you are."

"Ha ha," Harper said sarcastically. Then, as Trance turned to go, he said, "Hey, wait Trance, you can't do this to me!"

"Actually, I can," Trance smiled and left.

"Uh, hi guys," Harper turned to his unwanted guests. Inspiration struck. "Do you like Sparky Cola?"

"What's that?" William asked. Richard just stared with a finger in his mouth.

"Hey, if you leave that finger in your mouth, it's gonna take root there," Harper warned. The little boy giggled and removed his finger.

Harper rooted around and found a couple of cups and poured them about half-full of his favorite beverage. He sat the boys down at the table, and put the cups in front of them when a thought struck him, he really didn't have much experience with kids. "You can drink from a cup, can't you?"

"Course we can," William said scornfully. "We're not babies like the girls are."

"Going to see Mama," Richard said thoughtfully. He picked up the cup and took a sip. "Good."

William followed suit. "I like this."

Harper smiled, maybe this baby-sitting thing wouldn't be so bad. He realized the can of soda was still half-full and chugged the rest. A bit too quickly, as it turned out, and the carbonation reacted as it usually does and he burped resoundingly. The little boys burst into fits of giggles.

&&&&&&&&

When Trance returned to the scene of the crime, as it were, Harper and the boys were playing a rousing game of tag. And there were Sparky Cola cans everywhere. William paused in the chase long enough to pick up his cup and down the contents. He produced a series of small burps, and all three of them started laughing.

"Harper, how much of that junk have you given them?" Trance demanded. The boys had been high-spirited before, now they were practically bouncing off the walls.

"Ah, Trance, lighten up," Seamus protested. "We were just having fun, you know, a little guy time."

"Meaghan is going to skin you alive," Trance said. "You're going to rot their teeth out."

Richard decided that Trance was a fair target in their game. "You're it!" he squealed, plowing into her and knocking her over. Trance just sat on the floor for a moment, looking at the three possessors of Y chromosomes and started laughing.

&&&&&&&&

Charlemagne sat down heavily. This day was definitely not going well. "I'm sorry if I don't seem to be taking this well," he apologized, "but I really was not prepared for any of this. And besides," he added. "Your mother told me she wasn't a god any more."

Eros chuckled. "I think that was a joke on grandfather's part. He gave her what she really wanted while letting her think he was giving her what she asked for." He paused to reflect for a moment. "Grandfather has an odd sense of humor. Like giving the goddess of love and beauty to be the wife of the crippled god."

"Wife?" Charlemagne was taken aback. He could handle the thought that Meg had a son, sort of, but that she was already married..,

"Don't worry about it," Eros advised. "She and father haven't really been together for several millennia. Father's so busy with his tinkering that I doubt that he really ever noticed that she was gone."

Psyche finally spoke. "You can eat and drink if you want to, Charlemagne. The food and drink are safe here."

"Thank you." Charlemagne was about to tuck into it when his manners reasserted themselves. "Would the two of you care to join me?"

The couple exchanged a look. "We'd better not," Psyche murmured. "After all, we're supposed to be the hired help. It wouldn't do for us to be dining with the honored guest."

Suddenly, the pair were a couple of drab young women again. "They're looking," Eros whispered. "Play along."

"Is there anything I can wear here?" Charlemagne asked between bites. "Or am I destined to spend all my time in my pajamas?"

One of the women giggled. He thought it was Psyche, but in this guise, he found them difficult to tell apart. "I'll see what I can find." She went rummaging through some things, and held up clothing that was the height of style in ancient Greece. "Will this do?"

Charlemagne looked in horror at what pretty much amounted to a dress. A very short dress. "I think I'd rather keep my pajamas," he muttered. "Thanks all the same."

"It may take a while," the other one said, "but we'll attempt to get you something more along the lines of what you're used to."

"It would be most appreciated," Charlemagne said with feeling.

&&&&&&&

The Eureka Maru's hatch had barely opened when two ebony-haired little boys ran out full tilt and straight for the dainty red-head in a long-skirted green dress. "Mama!" they cried in unison. Meaghan knelt down and caught them in her arms with tears running down her face. Leander gazed on thoughtfully, then touched her wet face, but said nothing. Meaghan kissed all three boys and said, "why don't you go play in the garden, boys? Mama needs to talk to Captain Hunt."

The threesome ran off, and Meaghan rose to her feet as Dylan, Bekka and Harper caught up. "Thank you for bringing them home, Dylan," she said quietly. Then the tears began in earnest, and Bekka went and put her arms around her. "Where's Charlemagne?" she sobbed.