"Shhhh, we can't wake up your mama, okay?" said a husky voice gently, hardly audible amidst the sharp cries of the child.

Persephone had been wakened up by a piercing wail in the middle of the night. Worried, she had hurried down the corridor to the nursery of her three-month-old daughter, Makaria. That was when she saw the dark, tall figure of her husband from the crack in the door.

Surprised, Persephone watched quietly as Hades clumsily picked up from the crib their daughter, who had born a month before fall and had only spend a couple of hours with her father, before he was to descend back to the Land of the Dead.

"What's the matter, Kari?" whispered Hades, trying to soothe the infant who hadn't ceased to cry. Persephone remained standing at the door, leaning against the frame as she watched her husband taking care of their child. They hadn't spent much time together since she had come back this year, him being too occupied with his kingly affairs and her with young Makaria. Only after she had fallen asleep could he return to their chambers, limiting their interaction to sleepy chit-chats and chaste kisses with Persephone being half-asleep, worn out by motherhood and postpartum hormonal changes.

Such lack of communication kept pouring into her mind venom of tingling anxieties. She had always felt that their marriage was somehow fragile since she had first acknowledged her love for him, worrying whether their love for each other was merely lust and they would soon get tired of their relationship, or if her love for him was just an illusion she had misted her mind up with, just to make her stay at this gloomy realm more endurable. Their absence around each other only made it worse.

The sight of Hades holding their daughter, though, was reassuring. "Is it your diaper? I thought I just changed it half an hour ago," said Hades, desperate to pacify the baby as he shifted her in his arms to examine the linen cloth wrapping around the little child's bottom.

Persephone smiled at what she was seeing. Hades clearly had no idea how to comfort their little daughter. His posture while holding Makaria was awkward and stiff. Unlike his brothers, who had already fathered more than a few dozens of children, Hades was completely new to being a father. Despite all his helplessness, Persephone could tell, from the way his eyes sparkled while looking at their precious princess, that he was going to be a wonderful Papa.

"Not your diaper, hmm," sighed Hades, biting his lip. "Are you hungry, dearie? Want Papa to wake Mama up?"

"She's probably hungry," said Persephone, finally stepping into the nursery.

Hades looked up from the infant's face and offered Persephone a small smile as he lightly stroke Makaria's back. "You're awake."

"Hard to stay asleep when your baby is screaming bloody murder next to your room," she joked. "Hand her to me."

"Here." Carefully, Hades placed Markaria in Persephone's hand, the stiffness in his movement suggesting that he was afraid of dropping her.

"Relax, you're not going to drop her," laughed Persephone as she gently settled Makaria in her arms and herself in the chair.

"She is just so tiny," breathed Hades, "I feel like she can slip through my fingers as easily as a coin."

"She's loud, for such a tiny thing," Persephone remarked, untangling the strips of her sleep robe with one hand, rocking the wailing little girl with the other, "Wonder where she got all the volume from."

"Shhhh, Mama's here, baby," whispered Persephone as she guided Makaria to her chest.

"I'd cry too, if I was such a small thing," muttered Hades.

Persephone chuckled as the wailing of their little daughter finally ceased as she buried her head in Persephone's breast, suckling with all her infant strength. Wonder filled her chest as milk flowed out of it, as it did every time she fed Makaria. She still couldn't believe that such a beautiful life had grown inside her, and was still amazed by how that life, now outside of her, though still dependent on her for survival, was thriving to live with such raw power.

Suddenly, a rush of cool air invaded Persephone's side as her robe slipped down her shoulder. Her free hand hurried to pull it back up, so as not to expose her belly scarred with stretch marks. If there was anything she had to complain about her pregnancy, apart from the agonizing pain of childbirth, it was the marks that it had left on her godly form. Gods, different from mortals, were rarely scarred, but any marks that had managed to get onto their skin were usually permanent.

"Don't," said Hades, grabbing her wrist mid-air.

"They're beautiful," he said, kneeling beside the klismos chair to kiss her belly. "You, her, too."

Persephone sighed in bliss as Hades rained kisses all over her abdomen almost religiously. Tired, she allowed herself to close her eyes and lean back in the chair, adding another hand to support little Makaria.

"She's beautiful," whispered Hades, with his chin resting on her thigh near her knee as he watched the mother nursing the child with a faint smile at the corner of his lips. "A true miracle."

"She is," breathed Persephone as she reopened her eyes to see Makaria staring back at her with warm, dark brown eyes; she smiled.

"I've never thought I'd be blessed this way," he continued, "never thought I, I, I could… create, life."

"Unbelievable, isn't it?" said Persephone as she stared into her daughter's eyes.

"Yes," he muttered, something dry caught in his throat. "Thank…thank you. She's the best thing that has ever happened to me. After you."

"Wouldn't have her without you," she said quietly, followed by a yawn. "Thank you. She's... She's…"

"She is," he chuckled, giving her belly another soft kiss. "And you're the one who has gone through everything to bring her to this world, Seph. I love you," he whispered to both the mother and the daughter.

"Love you, too."

Hades grinned and Persephone couldn't help but smile back. The little one whimpered and whined as her small mouth hardened, her little fists clenching in the air.

"What's up Kari?" asked Persephone as she straightened her back, concerned.

"How can I help?" asked Hades. She nodded.

"Grab me a pillow, please." He did as he was told, putting it behind her back and fetched an extra one to lay on her lap to support her arm.

"Thanks, Papa," she said. A soft grunt escaped her mouth as her weary arms shifted young Makaria to her other breast.

"Need any help here?" he asked, his hand hovering tentatively above her free breast.

"Yes," she answered, "you know how…?"

"Got some advice from your sister," he explained.

"Artemis?" He nodded, "She was quite excited about her cousin-cum-niece."

"Huh," she said, "well, I know she's always been enthusiastic about children. Didn't expect her to do that, though."

He shook his head. "I asked her for advice myself," he muttered, his cheek flushed with slight embarrassment.

"Oh?" she mused, the image of her sister's shocked expression forming in her head. His pale, thick fingers landed on her breast and began gently massaging it with newly acquired, unfamiliar skills.

"Hope this helps," he said. She sighed blissfully.

"I must be the luckiest wife and mother in the world to have such a caring husband."

"Then I must be the luckiest husband and father," he said, gazing at little Makaria with tender black eyes.

He leaned in closer and gently sweep a strand of golden hair away from the baby's eyes with his index finger, "And this girl is the most blessed little goddess."

As if she could understand what her father was saying, Makaria let go of her mother's nipple and started babbling happily.

"Oh, she's full," giggled Persephone as she lifted Makaria to her shoulder to burp her.

Hades watched with a tender smile as his wife softly stroker their child's back. Upon seeing the goosebumps on her arms, he frowned, "Are you cold?"

"A bit, haven't noticed until you ask," she admitted and he bit his lip disapprovingly.

His expression softened in an instant, though. Swiftly, he tied the strips of her robe back together and laid a blanket from her lap to her lower chest. "Seph, I know you're busy with Makaria, but you still have to take care of yourself."

Makaria began to babble again, as if agreeing with what her Papa had said. Both parents laughed.

"You're a wonderful Mama," said Hades, his expression unexpectedly dreamy as Persephone slowly shifted Makaria back into her arms.

"And you're an amazing Daddy," said Persephone with a yawn, carefully laying their baby daughter back in her crib. As soon as her back touched the mattress, the little goddess burst into tears.

Persephone sighed as she picked up her daughter again to soothe her, exhausted.

Hearing her sigh, Hades immediately rushed to her side and reached out his hands.

"I'll take care of her," he offered, "and you'll go to bed, Mama."

"I'm not tired, Daddy," she denied, despite failing to repress a yawn.

"See?" he chuckled, stroking her cheek and their daughter's.

"But you're tired too, aren't you?"

"I'm not the one who has carried this restless little lion in her womb for nine months."

"Okay, okay," sighed Persephone, finally giving in. "Mama will leave you for Daddy now, okay Kari?" she cooed, kissing Makaria's nose and was rewarded with a joyous giggle, before carefully putting her in the arms of her father.

"Say goodnight to Mama," said Hades, beaming at their little girl, who was still laughing. "I'll join you in bed later?"

She hummed. "Goodnight Kari," she said, giving her daughter a kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight love," she repeated, giving her husband his before dragging herself from the nursery to their bedroom, in which she threw herself into the bed and fell asleep within seconds.

Persephone woke up to her husband crawling under their sheets and gathering her in his arms from behind. Still sleepy, she whined and wiggled in his embrace before turning to face him.

"Hey," she said, smiling slumberously.

"Hey," he smiled back, tired. "Finally put her to sleep."

"Did she behave?"

"Got a bit fussy when I tried to settle her in the crib; didn't cry, though," he reported.

"Told you you're a great father," she remarked.

"Perhaps she just doesn't want to disturb her mother in her beauty sleep."

"Such a good girl," laughed Persephone airily. "Her father did though."

"Did I?"

"Not that I mind," muttered Persephone as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. "I've missed you. Kari, too. You should spend more time with us."

"I will," said Hades, rubbing circles around the small of her back, "now sleep."

So they did.

That was when a piercing wail broke the silence, and both of them groaned with blissful frustration.