Artemis PoV
I woke up in bed with Perseus, which I seemed to have been doing a lot of in the past weeks.He held me close under the thick blanket, kissing me softly.
I smiled as he pulled away.
"Perseus," I started. "How does your phone have a connection out here?"
"Good morning to you too," he teased. "I have a signal booster in the trailer."
"I love you," I expressed, kissing his cheek. "But I need to get going."
My husband sighed, stretching out and grabbing the clothes I had thrown toward the front of the car the night before.
I dressed quickly, ensuring I was able to snag his sweatshirt. Perseus pouted teasingly until I pointed to one of the many hoodies I had stolen from him.
He pulled me against his clothed chest. "When do you think you'll be back?"
"Less than a week," I replied softly, knowing how much he would hate it.
"A week?" My lover clarified. "As in up to seven days?"
I kissed him. "I love you. I'll text you once I'm back on Olympus, alright?"
He sighed, kissing me lightly. "I love you too."
Before he said something romantic and made me stay, I slipped out of his arms and got into my car, driving off.
Athena PoV
When Artemis didn't respond to my texts or calls, I began to worry.
I appeared in the living room of her palace and heard what couldn't be anything other than someone getting sick in a bathroom.
Swiftly, I drew a blade and walked to the master bathroom, finding that it was my sister getting sick in the bathroom.
I sheathed my dagger and crouched down beside her. "It's alright, dear. I've got you now." Artemis nodded, collapsing against me.
I wiped her mouth and propped her up against the bathtub, quickly braiding her hair. "Why are you ill? Have you not gone to see Apollo?"
My younger sister shook her head. "I'm not taking his help until he removes the curse he put on Perseus."
I sighed, summoning a cool glass of nectar, which she gladly accepted. "Did you drink too much?"
"No," she argued. "I haven't had alcohol since the last event."
I paused for a moment. "Did you forget to use a protection spell when consummating with Perseus?"
My sister's face drained of colour. "He's in Alaska, and I visited him. The condom...it was intact when we were finished. I can't be..."
"Mortal protection is not one hundred percent effective," I scolded. "Artemis, you're pregnant with his child."
She paled further. "Perseus said he didn't want children yet. What do I do?"
"Nothing at the moment," I suggested. "I'll take care of everything, alright?"
Almost simultaneously, the other Olympian goddesses appeared and began to comfort her.
Artemis was the youngest of us, and we looked out for her.
It's what family does.
"Aphrodite," I summoned. "You're coming with me to tell Apollo she's pregnant so you can charm him if he becomes violent and unreasonable." She nodded, and we appeared in his office. The sun god stood. "I had a dream this would happen, but I thought it was erotic, not prophetic."
I slapped him. "Your sister is pregnant and she can't be with the father because you're such an unreasonable asshole. This is not the time for jokes."
Apollo just stared, holding his cheek. After a long silence, he was able to string together a sentence. "She's better off without him. I'll just terminate the baby next time I see her."
"You will not," I hissed, drawing my blade. Apollo held his hands up in surrender. "Alright. I'm still not going to remove the curse, though."
Uneasy, I sheathed my blade.
"Artemis must go to Alaska and be with Perseus," I said, appearing in her living room.
My sister was panicking, which was understandable considering she was immortal and it was her first child.
The other goddesses, offering their comfort and knowledge after going through the experience, nodded.
Her phone pinged, and everyone stopped to look.
I had this strange sense that we were becoming mortal for a moment.
"Perseus asks that she come to see how his cabin has progressed," Demeter read aloud.
"That is some strange sex talk right there," Aphrodite remarked.
I sighed. "That wasn't sex talk, you whore. He's likely in the process of building a self-sustaining cabin so he can live there." Gently, I nudged my younger sister. "Go."
She nodded, disappearing.
Artemis PoV
I hid the unopened box of pregnancy tests in the glove box of the car before pulling up to what had become a half-built house.
Perseus ran over, greeting me with a hug. "How are you feeling?"
I nuzzled against him, closing my eyes and pressing my face to his neck.
My husband held me tighter. "You alright? I can show you everything later."
I breathed deeply. "No. I want to see it now."
He seemed concerned but nodded, taking my hand. "I drove up to a convenience store, and these guys asked what the trailer was for. We got to talking, and they're helping me with the house. When it's done, they'll take the trailer."
My lover took me up to the house, wrapping his arms around me from behind. "There'll be the kitchen, the bedrooms, bathrooms, living room, dining room, swimming pool..."
He went on and on.
I bit my lip. "Perseus, do you think you could make the nursery a priority?"
"Of course," he replied. "Anything for you. Just, why?"
"Do you remember last night?" I asked, pulling away to look at him.
"Yeah," the man responded obliviously.
I looked down at the snowy ground. "The condom didn't work. I'm pregnant, and Apollo wants to kill the baby, so I was hoping to stay here with you."
He held me close. "I love you, and I'll love the baby no matter how they turn out. You'll stay here with me and we can probably get Athena to deliver the baby."
"So everything's going to be okay?" I asked quietly.
My husband kissed my forehead. "Everything's going to work out just fine. I promise." I sighed, relaxing immensely as he held me.
The god led me back to his truck, having me sit in his lap.
"How long will your pregnancy last?" He asked, taking my hands. "I want to have everything ready for us to move in before the baby is born."
I sighed. "I'm not sure, Perseus. Typically, goddesses can choose to have the baby whenever they please. Since you were born a demigod and then turned to a full god, it's supposed to be random."
"What do you think we should name the baby?" He continued, looking me in the eye.
"I have no idea," I replied. "It's all just happening so quickly, and I don't know if I'm going to be a good mother."
My husband squeezed my hands. "You're going to make an incredible mother. You sponsor a group of kickass girls, so I'm pretty sure we can handle a baby."
I leaned in, closing my eyes as I brought my lips to his.
He let go of my hands, pulling me closer.
I wrapped my arms around my lover's neck, enjoying the tenderness of the kiss.
"I love you so much," Perseus breathed between kisses. "And if I could just sit here forever and kiss you, I would, but I need to get back to work on the house."
