Chapter 3: Of Insecurities, Intervening Gods & Romantic Rendezvous

"Lovers in the long grass
Look above them
Only they can see
Where the clouds are going
Only to discover
Dust and sunlight
Ever make the sky so blue

Afternoon is hazy
River flowing
All around the sounds
Moving closer to them
Telling them the story
Told by Flora
Dreams they never knew"

Flora's Secret by Enya

The next morning Meg was quite sure that Hercules had forgotten what had happened last night, but she was quickly proven wrong.

"Good morning," Hercules whispered to her ear as he placed a tender kiss on her cheek. She smiled: this was the right way to wake up.

"Good morning to yourself," Meg turned to her other side to face him and she was pulled for a slow, lingering kiss. Oh yes, this was the right way to wake up.

After the kiss, Hercules ran his finger gently in her hair.

"So what was the last night about?" He asked tenderly.

Meg sighed. Of course Wonderboy wouldn't let this go.

"It was nothing…" She begun, but after she saw his face, she knew he really wouldn't let this one go.

"Well, to be honest, I was just… Thinking," Meg replied quietly.

"Thinking about what?" Hercules gently pressed on while his fingers were tracing soothing circles on her shoulder.

"Well… I was thinking about us," Meg begin and Hercules frowned at this as he felt his insecurity raising its ugly head once again.

"I just… So many things have happened lately. I'm just afraid that someday, you will regret that choosing me and staying as a mortal. I'm afraid that one day you'll wake up and you won't see me the way you see me now. I'm afraid that you will end up bitter because you chose me. I'm afraid that Hades isn't really gone," All those things she had tried to keep inside suddenly escaped from her and she felt herself almost trembling because of its impact.

Suddenly it clicked in Hercules' head: she was afraid that she wasn't enough. He knew those feelings of uncertainty and self-doubt better than most of the people, because he had been battling those for the most of his life. And the vengeful Lord of the Death did certainly not make the things any easier for her. He pulled Meg even closer to himself and nuzzled her hair.

"As long as I remember I've felt like I wasn't enough, like I didn't fit among the rest of the people. I understand how you feel, I do. But I could never regret choosing you. Because I only feel complete when I'm with you. You and this, us being together, is my dream: not Mount Olympus or anything else could compete with this. No matter what comes our way, may it be Hades himself or anything else, we'll work it out. Together," Hercules promised, holding her near.

Meg felt tears filling her eyes: she still had hard time believing that someone would really value her above anything else, that being with her was worth all the sacrifices. Hercules now understood this: he would prove it to her again and again until she would believe it.

The day was rather uneventful (at least on their 'saving the Cosmos and stopping the apocalypse'-scale), Hercules had went training with Phil and then attended some event at his flag-store in the city centre of Thebes. Meg had went to the market, picking up some groceries. Then she went back to the villa, first reading some scrolls and then preparing a light meal for herself and Herc when he got back home. (She really needed to find other ways to spend her days, she was starting to feel like a spoiled stay at home wife.)

So when the evening came, Hercules and Meg were having a nice, serene evening at home.

That was, until Athena popped by. Meg was half-way walking from atrium to kitchen, her eyes glued to a scroll of that day's Greekly World News at her hands when she suddenly heard someone clearing her throat. She raised her eyes and found herself almost face to face with the Goddess of Wisdom. She gasped loudily and Hercules stamped to the room after hearing her muffled cry.

"Hercules, Megara, hope I'm not interrupting," Athena acknowledged both of them.

"Erm, no…?" Hercules was puzzled to find her standing in his house. When he was younger, Athena had asked for his help multiple times, but that was years ago. He didn't even live in Athens any more and she was the patron Goddess of Athens. She was in Thebes, city-state which had strained relations to Athens, to say the least. What could she possibly want?

"I guess this is not a social visit, huh?" Meg asked, already sensing that the Goddess had a reason to be there.

"Just wanted to let you know, that Hades has gotten out of the Vortex of souls," Athena then told them, her face completely void of feelings. Meg felt a knot forming in her stomach and Hercules put a reassuring hand around her.

"Do not worry, though: we have some of our own people keeping their eyes on Hades," Athena then tried to comfort them. Meg wondered who of the Gods would have the unfortunate fate of being the babysitter of Hades?

"Alright, that's… Good," Hercules was still unsure why Athena wanted to tell them this personally.

"Yes, yes it is. After Hades' betrayal, all of Olympus is in state of… Unrest. We may need your help to restore the peace, Hercules," Athena then continued, looking directly at the hero.

"Okay, care to elaborate?" Meg arched her brow, feeling anxious. What did she mean exactly by that? She did not look forward into meddling with the affairs of the Gods.

"At the moment, I can't. But when I can tell you more, I will. That's all for now. Farewell," Athena stated, her gazed already distant as she suddenly disappeared.

Then Meg and Hercules were left alone once again. Somehow they knew that it wouldn't be long before Athena (or some other God) would appear at their home yet again, asking for help. And surely that would be at the most inconvenient of the times.

Meg especially felt uneasy of what all this could possibly mean. The sleep would not come easy that night either.

The following day had turned out be sunny and beautiful: Hercules had woken up at dawn to finish his workout early.

He had noticed how badly Meg had been shaken by the news of Hades' return. He wanted to do something special for her, to give her something more positive to think about. So he had told her that he would finish his training early that day and he would spent the rest of the day with her, doing something nice. Meg had gladly agreed, happy to have him as company and not dwell the whole day with her own, depressing thoughts.

When Phil had arrived to the stadium, his pupil had been already half-through his work-out routine.

"What's the rush, kid?" Phil grumbled as he made his way to his student.

"Oh, hi Phil! Well, I was kinda thinking…" Hercules stammered as he was lifting the barbells.

"Spit it out, kid," Phil had taken a notice of Meg sneaking to the arena, so he had a faint idea were this was going.

"I was kinda wishing I could spend the rest of the day with Meg," Hercules blurted out, already anticipating Phil lashing out.

Phil sighed. 'Knew it.'

"After you finish your work out, you're free to go, kid," Phil then replied.

Hercules put down the barbells, awestruck.

"Really? I can go with Meg?" Hercules then made sure.

"SISTER! Get a move on, I wanna talk to you!" Phil shouted to Meg, who was waiting farther away.

Meg made her way to the two of them, looking more then a little suspicious. Phil couldn't blame her; he hadn't been exactly friendly to her at all times.

"Herc told me that he wanted to get the rest of the day off to spent it with you," Phil huffed out.

"Look goatman-," Meg begun, but Phil stopped her on her tracks.

"I told him that's fine by me," he looked first at Meg and then at his student.

"Really?" Meg had a puzzled look on her face and then glanced at Hercules, who seemed just as surprised as she was.

"Yes, really. First off, if the kid decided to stay here on Earth because of you, wouldn't it be reasonable for him to be able actually spent time with you? Secondly, I obviously judged you wrongly and I'm sorry for it," Phil explained to her, to the both of them.

"Oh. Thanks Phil, that means a lot to me. I think we started on a wrong foot (or in your case, on a wrong hoof), so maybe we should leave that to the past?" Meg had lowered her guards and was now looking at him earnestly.

"Deal. Just don't do anything stupid, okay?" Phil told them gruffly, busying himself with organizing the equipment.

"We won't, thanks Phil!" Hercules told him happily, taking Meg's hand to his own. He started to explain something vividly to her and she laughed at whatever he had told her. There was that shine in his eyes that only people who were madly in love had. More so, that same shine was reflected back in Meg's eyes.

He had never seen the kid happier. And he had never seen Meg laugh like that, like… She was truly happy. He hadn't seen either of the two as happy as they were together. So who was he to stand against their happiness?

Besides, the kid had already fulfilled his own dream and he had fulfilled Phil's dream as well, just as he had promised.

Phil had the feeling that he hadn't much more work left to be done with the kid, that soon he could get back to Idra, his home on the island, and truly continue his retirement.

Hercules had had a perfect spot on his mind where he wanted to go with Meg.

They had found a secluded place in the shade of the trees on the outskirts of the city. It was peaceful and serene, completely different to the hustle and bustle in the city. But the best part of it all? There were only the two of them.

The two of them were laying on the grass, looking at the sky and occasionally talking about whatever came to their mind. It was a lazy afternoon, but to Hercules, it was perfect.

He glanced at the woman laying next to him. 'She is perfect,' he silently corrected in his mind. There were moments like these when he was taken aback by her beauty: he felt actually surprised that she was there, next to him. That he had managed to save her and after all that had happened, she still wanted to be with him. That she still loved him. For that, he felt truly blessed: to find someone he loved and who loved him back just as much. When he was younger, he thought he would never find anything like that, especially not anyone like her. So having her there with him was more than he could ever even ask for. This was so much more than mount Olympus could ever offer.

Meg seemed to notice his stare and playfully asked: "You like what you see?"

Hercules surprised her by rolling over and placing himself on top of her, adjusting his weight on his hands framing her body.

"Yes, I actually do. It's the most beautiful sight there is to see," he told her gently, coming closer.

Meg bit her lower lip, looking at him under her long lashes.

"Oh? Is that so?" She smiled at him seductively and instead of replying, his lips came crashing at hers and they found themselves rolling around in the long grass.

Luckily, it was a long day and Apollo granted them few extra moments to spent alone in the quiet solitude of the forest.

-A/N: My oh my, what is Hades up to (because Hades is always up to something)? And what's going on with the Gods of Olympus? I know I've put much emphasize on insecurities of both Meg and Herc, but I think they have been through some things, that need some time to heal. There is some disgustingly sweet romantic moments here as well, so you're welcome. *wink wink* Once again, thank you so much for anybody commenting, following or showing their support in any way. You guys rock. Until next time, take care.