Eros heard his mother's voice as distinctly as if she were standing right next to him. He roused Psyche and broke the compulsion. Filling her in on things would have to wait. Mother would be here soon. Throwing caution to the winds, he took his wife to Charlemagne's room.
His step-father was seated at the table, with his head down on his arms, sleeping. But before Eros could approach him, he was instantly awake and fully alert.
"What's going on?" Charlemagne asked without preamble.
"Mother's on her way," the young god explained. "She'll be here within minutes. I thought we could dispense with some of our precautions now."
Charlemagne stood so abruptly that he knocked his chair over. He left it where it lay, unnoticing, uncaring. "Meg is almost here?" He ran an agitated hand through his hair. "Meg?" He didn't even realize that tears of relief were streaming down his face. "How soon?"
"Will now do, beloved?" a familiar voice inquired from behind him.
"Meg!" Charlemagne whirled around and caught his wife in his arms, his momentum spinning them around a time or two until they came to a stop. They kissed, and the entire room was illuminated with the light of love.
"What is this?" a peevish voice demanded from across the room. As Charlemagne and Meaghan reluctantly broke apart, the light died down to reveal Eos and Selene.
"Well now." Meaghan's voice became more menacing than he had ever heard it. She gently shoved him over beside her son and his wife and advanced on the two goddesses.
"Aphrodite!" Eos squeaked. "We meant no harm. Surely you can understand us wanting a truly immortal lover."
"Oh, I can," Meaghan answered in the same tones. "I can even understand you wanting my husband. What I cannot forgive is that you actually took him." Her customary dress became her workout gear in between one step and the next. Suddenly, when she was within a couple of meters of her husband's abductors, a glowing, translucent dome materialized around the three goddesses.
"What are you doing, Aphrodite?" Selene demanded. "You've won, you have your husband back, what else is there?"
"Take what you want and pay for it," Meaghan quoted in dulcet tones. "You took what you wanted, now it's time to pay for it."
"Do you know what she's up to?" Eros asked in a loud whisper. "I don't think I've ever seen Mother quite this angry."
"I rather think," Charlemagne observed. "That your mother is planning to deliver some physical chastisement to that pair. Good enough for them, too." Then, a look of concern crossed his features. "Do you think she'll be able to handle the both of them?"
The god's eyes were riveted on the dome and its occupants. "They're relatively minor gods, not much in the way of power. Certainly nothing like mother."
Charlemagne made an impatient gesture. "I'm referring to fighting skills. Meaghan isn't too bad, but she isn't all that good, either, even with all the training I've given her."
"You really meant physical chastisement, didn't you?" Eros muttered. "They're gods, Charlemagne, they've never had any reason to learn how to fight." His eyes widened. "You taught my mother how to fight?"
"Bekka Valentine started training her," the Nietzschean explained. "I picked up where she left off." He broke off as the altercation started inside the dome.
Meaghan was nearly a blur as she delivered kicks and blows to the cowering goddesses. They tried to evade her, but the dome, whatever it was, left very little space to run to. Outside the dome, they could clearly hear the smack of the blows landing, and the occasional crack of a breaking bone.
Eos and Selene were now unable to even try to dodge the blows, and yet, Meaghan did not relent. She seemed like another person, one that was causing Charlemagne some concern, lest this new persona replace his wife. He went up to the dome and pressed against it, but it was as solid as a stone.
"Meg!" he shouted. She didn't even seem to hear him.
"Meaghan, stop it!" he ordered/pleaded. This vengeful god was not his Meg, and he didn't like it one bit.
Meaghan halted in her attack, and turned to gaze on her husband with an alien look in her eyes. Then, her expression, softened, the dome disappeared, and she threw herself into his arms, sobbing.
Charlemagne held her tightly, stroking her hair, and murmuring soothing words in her ear. When the tension began to slacken, and her trembling and tears subsided, he lifted her face in his hands and began kissing away the tears. "Hush Meg," he crooned softly. "It's all over now."
Eros and Psyche came over to stand beside them. "Mother?" the love god began tentatively. "The window will be closing soon. We really ought to leave."
"Come with us," Charlemagne suggested. "You can meet the rest of the family and spend some time with your mother."
"I don't know..," the young god looked from his mother to his wife.
"I do," Meaghan said, sounding like her old self. "But let's get out of here first." She faced her son and held out her arms, and he did likewise, then they pulled Charlemagne and Psyche into their embrace and disappeared, leaving Eos and Selene where they lay.
&&&&&&&
"The eclipse is nearly over," Rommie observed. "I surmise that when it is, the window will close." In the viewer, they watched the wavering distortion in space that was the portal to the goddesses hidey-hole. The distortion began to shrink, diminishing in equal increments with the final stages of the eclipse.
Bekka said nothing, but began nervously nibbling on a fingernail.
The portal had nearly collapsed to nothing, when four figures appeared on the bridge.
"Hello Bekka, we're back," Meaghan said unnecessarily. She turned to the avatar. "Rommie, are those moons or their planet inhabited? I'm not really attuned to all the sorts of life forms there are, and I don't want to make any mistakes."
"It's a completely dead system," the android answered.
"Good," the love goddess remarked. The portal snapped shut, and then the planet and its two moons shattered into atoms. The shock wave rocked the ship. "Oops, sorry about that. But I was in a bit of a hurry. I wanted to make sure those two stay where they can do no more harm."
"They're trapped inside there?" Charlemagne asked.
"For all eternity," Eros remarked. "Good enough for them, too." He grinned at the Nietzschean.
"Meaghan, who are these people?" Bekka looked perplexed.
"My son Eros, and his wife, Psyche," Meaghan explained, remembering she hadn't told Bekka about them. "They were there with Charlemagne all the time." She gazed at the couple for a long moment, then went and put her arms around a startled Psyche.
Eros stood there grinning. "I knew you'd come around eventually, Mother."
"High time I did, too," Meaghan said ruefully. She kissed her daughter-in-law's cheek. "Can you ever forgive me, child?"
"Of course I can." Psyche returned the hug.
Dylan entered the bridge. "Everybody back safe and sound, I see," he observed. "Would you like a lift home, or are you going to..,"
"We'll take the mortal way, I think," Meaghan interrupted. "I'm not sure I feel up to the other way just now." Her knees began to buckle, and Charlemagne caught her up in his arms before she collapsed completely.
Eros went over and kissed her forehead. "You overextended yourself, Mother. You should have let me help."
"I probably should have at that," she admitted, resting her head against her husband's shoulder. "But as long as it's been, I look at you and still see a little boy."
"Some things appear to be a universal constant," Charlemagne remarked to his step-son. "My mother is the same way with me."
The AI appeared on the screen. "Do you wish to contact Harper to let him know we're on our way?"
"Yes, please," Meaghan said. Then seeing Charlemagne's puzzled expression, she explained, "Seamus has been staying with the children, love."
The Nietzschean's expression became positively horrified.
&&&&&&&&&
Harper looked around him. The current resident god was napping on the sofa with the twins nestled in his arms and likewise asleep. The three boys were chasing each other around the garden, rowdy and energetic, but as well behaved as one could expect of children their ages. A soft-footed servant tip-toed in and motioned to him.
"Mr. Harper," he said in a loud whisper. "There is a call for you in his grace's office."
Once again Seamus intruded on Charlemagne's domain. When he switched the screen on, he saw Charlemagne himself, with Meaghan cradled in his arms like a baby.
"Is everyone all right?" Harper burst out. The last two times he'd seen Meaghan she hadn't looked good. He didn't know much about gods, evidently. He didn't realize that they could get tired.
"We're fine, Seamus." Meaghan conjured up a weak smile.
"Good to see you Mr. Harper," Charlemagne greeted him. "How are the children?"
"Fine, really great," Harper stammered. He really wanted to tell them about the unexpected visitor, but wasn't sure which god it would be safer to have mad at him. "The twins are taking a nap, and the boys are out in the garden playing tag."
Charlemagne smiled. It was a warm, sunny smile the like of which Seamus had never seen on a Nietzschean's face before. "Glad to see you're doing so well. I'm afraid we're going to be a couple of more days getting home, though. As you can see, Meg is far too worn out to do it the other way."
"Just glad to see you're both okay," Harper remarked. "We can hold out a while longer. But the kids will be glad to see you guys, they've really missed you."
"We've missed them," Charlemagne and Meaghan chorused in unison. They exchanged a loving look. "Thank you for watching them Mr. Harper," Charlemagne added. "We'll be back soon."
&&&&&&&&&&
Charlemagne had taken Meaghan to their room, to rest, so he said, though there were a few skeptical looks passed around at that. Eros and Psyche had stood silently by, looking and feeling out of place. Bekka was too busy piloting to notice, and even Dylan had disappeared elsewhere.
The ship's avatar approached them. "I'm Rommie," she introduced herself. "Would the two of you like me to show you to your quarters now, or perhaps you'd like a tour of the ship?"
God and wife exchanged glances. "What we'd really like," Eros began, "is to meet whoever has been helping Mother here. If you know who that is."
"That would be Trance," Rommie replied. She paused a moment as she conferred with the AI. "She's in hydroponics now. This way, please."
&&&&&&&
Trance had sensed the moment that the party of immortals had come aboard, but had kept to herself. Time enough for everything, now. Besides, she was busy with encouraging some of Meaghan's favorite white roses to bloom, as a gift to the goddess.
Rommie led the two immortals into the midst of the greenery until they found Trance.
Trance turned and looked up. "Hello, Eros."
&&&&&&&&
Charlemagne had fully intended to put his wife to bed so she could rest, but she had other ideas. And the Nietzschean's protests were half-hearted at best. When Meaghan pulled him down to kiss him passionately, he stopped resisting and cooperated in a way that would have made Eos and Selene positively green with envy.