"WAHHHH! WAHHHHHHHHH!"

Thalassa tearily smiled down at her newborn son as he was placed into her arms by a nurse. He'd quickly been cleaned, weighed, and swaddled in a baby-blue blanket, and finally Thalassa could hold him again. "Healthy set of lungs…" the nurse commented with a warm smile before backing away from the hospital bed and going to exit the room. "I've never heard a cry that strong before."

Thalassa looked up at her husband, who was awestruck as he leant in closer to inspect his child. "He takes after you, Samson…" she murmured and cuddled the baby close as his cries lessened into whimpers. "Shh… shh, little one…"

"He'll have a good, loud performer's voice, then," the new father – Samson – commented with a giddy grin. "Just like Mom and Dad, right son?"

The newborn's eyes flickered open, though they weren't quite able to focus on anything yet. He had a suggestion of brown hair, mostly toward the front of his hairline. Thalassa beamed at his pinkening complexion as tears ran down her face. "He's beautiful…"

"Thalassa, love…" Samson leant in closer and the two shared a kiss overtop of their infant son. "I love you so much. You did so well."

Thalassa turned her attention back to the baby in her arms. All of the pain, all of the waiting, even leaving her family forever… it was all worth it. She had never loved anything more than the little bundle she held in her arms at that moment. "He needs a name, honey."

Samson chuckled. "I thought he already had one."

"Apollo…" Thalassa said quietly, then turned anxiously to her husband. "It needs to be your decision too. Do you like it?"

"It's perfect." He nodded. "It's Greek, like your name, and its origins reference the sun, like mine."

Thalassa nodded back, smiling at her little boy who had fallen asleep. "Apollo," she said slowly, as if testing the new name. "I really like it. I'm glad you feel the same way."

Samson leaned closer and kissed Apollo on the head, then in turn kissed Thalassa. "I love it," he said. "It's strong and unique – perfect for a performer!" He looked thoughtful for a few moments. "Honey, I think he should take your last name."

Thalassa was startled by this statement. "Mine?" She furrowed her brow. "Gramarye?"

"The Gramarye name is renowned… I think it will help him become the best stage performer that he can be! And I want the best for him!"

Thalassa giggled at Samson's enthusiasm. "What if he doesn't want to be a stage performer? What if he wants to be something else?"

Samson's expression turned into a bewildered frown. "He has two amazing performing artists for parents… what else would he possibly want to be?"

Thalassa watched Apollo sleep as she mused over his future. "He can be anything he wants to be… maybe a doctor? An athlete? A lawyer, even?"

Samson snorted. "Yeah right. Besides, it's not like it's going to hurt him to give him your last name either way."

Thalassa sighed. He seemed to be pretty insistent… "Well, if that's what makes you happy, then that's what we'll do. If I chose the first name, I suppose it's only fair that you can choose his last. It's just… my father…"

"Thalassa, I'm sure if we would just be honest with him - "

She shook her head fervently. "I'm only eighteen years old! He's furious enough that I married you…! He s-said I could only come back if it was without you… imagine coming back with your child…"

"Our child," Samson corrected. "And his grandson." He put a hand comfortingly over Thalassa's. "With time, I think he'll come to accept us – if nothing else, I believe having a grandson named Apollo Gramarye will help Magnifi bond with him – with us."

Thalassa hesitated, then nodded slowly. "Okay… okay, but only because it's what you want."

"It's for the best, love," he squeezed her hand and smiled. "I promise. Apollo will be just fine."

Thalassa laughed quietly despite herself. "Hear that, Apollo? You'll be 'fine'." She stared up at Samson, amused. "I should hope he'll be much better than 'just fine'."

Samson laughed heartily. "We'll all be fine! We're going to be just fine! Is there something wrong with being fine, Thalassa?"

"…I suppose not, no. If we can get through this mess and still be 'fine', it will be nothing short of a miracle."

"We will, love… I promise you, and I promise Apollo. We will get through this. We will be fine."

…

Things were not fine.

Thalassa collapsed on her floor and sobbed heavily into the carpet. She curled herself into a ball, as if hoping to protect herself from some unseen threat. She knew it was purely an instinctive reaction, because she didn't feel there was anything more the world could throw at her. She wanted to vomit again, but there was no food in her stomach. In the adjacent room, Apollo was screaming his head off.

'Ignore him. Ignore him. I can't help him anymore. Ignore him.'

Samson was dead – dead to a stage accident that had happened two months ago.

Her world had shattered into unrecognizable pieces. She couldn't work – she didn't even have a high school diploma, and no work experience that she could admit to without outing herself as the runaway Gramarye descendant. Besides that, she couldn't afford food, let alone childcare. Today was the last day in their apartment as she couldn't pay the rent. Thalassa would be a young, homeless mother.

It stung badly to know that this was due to her own terrible judgement – with Samson's death brought clarity to her situation. The kind of magic they specialized in was often risky, but accidental death should have been a secondary concern to her own helplessness. God, she was an idiot.

"WAAAAHHH!"

Thalassa squeezed her eyes tight and cupped her hands over her ears. She doubled over, the sound of her son's crying only serving to remind her that she was an absolute failure as a mother. "I'm sorry!" she yelled, her voice hoarse from tears and stress. "I'm so sorry!"

She could barely feed Apollo. Rationing food for a not quite twelve-month-old baby was despicable, but she had no choice. She was too terrified to apply for food stamps, or for any help at all – her fame meant she would be outed to the world, and she couldn't bear to lose her dignity too, let alone little Apollo's. Samson knew how to work the system with the hospital Apollo was born in, and it was planned months in advance. Nobody ever found out that they were there, and they had used fraudulent identifications to protect their identities. Thalassa didn't have the sort of power that her late husband had…

Last month, before her phone line was disconnected, she had made the desperate decision to phone her father. In a hysterical fit, she had told him absolutely everything – including that Apollo existed.

His words rang clear in his head, over and over and over: 'If you are adult enough to have a child, then you are goddamn adult enough to know what to do about it!'

Magnifi was horrendously furious that she had given Apollo the Gramarye last name, and refused to accept him as a grandson. Thalassa had known that would happen, but now their only lifeboat was gone. She was all by herself in a big, scary, unforgiving world.

' - you are goddamn adult enough to know what to do about it!"

Thalassa's breathing was horribly shaky. She attempted to stand, and almost gave up halfway through. She didn't want to do this. She couldn't possibly do this…

Everything she owned was packed neatly into a single blue duffle bag. She hadn't packed anything for Apollo. The only thing Apollo needed was the sheet of paper she had set on top of the bag.

'Apollo. No surname. DOB: Jan. 27th, 2004. Family history of breast, liver, and colon cancer. Grandfather has type 1 diabetes. The ring is made of an alloy that will grow with him and will always fit perfectly. He will need it in the future – do not remove. Father is deceased. Mother wishes to remain anonymous and it is best for Apollo if no attempts are made to find her.

He will be fine.'

She had written the last line compulsively, desperately, as if by writing it out it would be true. Her own handwriting was unrecognisable, as she had been wracked with sobs when she forced herself to write it. She wasn't concerned about giving them information – they could probably track down Apollo's hospital records, but assuming Samson had done his job correctly, the line of information would end there. The Gramarye surname on his original birth certificate could be a hurdle – what an idiotic decision on their part – but it was a chance she would have to take. She knew her father would be able to take care of it once this was all over. Her father could make anything disappear.

Thalassa's face was tear-stained, but no additional tears would fall. She suspected her eyes had run dry. She knew she had to do this quickly, impulsively.

Thalassa marched into Apollo's room and grabbed him out of his crib. His cries ceased once he saw his mother, which nearly broke Thalassa's resolve. Her son was starving, but was crying because he simply wanted to see her…

Thalassa could barely look at Apollo. She had already taken one of her bracelets off and it now rested on the infant's left wrist. As it was designed to do, it had shrunk to fit Apollo's little arm, but it was still very bulky on him, albeit light. Thankfully he paid no mind to it.

"Mama," Apollo babbled, reaching toward her. "Mama."

It was the only word Apollo knew how to say, but he knew what it meant. Thalassa finally looked down at him. His eyes had changed from baby blue to a deep brown – just like Samson's. He wasn't sickly thin, but he certainly wasn't as chubby as a healthy, well-fed baby should be. He had a head full of her brown hair, and would probably need his first haircut soon as it stuck out at odd angles… she wouldn't be around to witness this milestone.

"Mama," he cooed.

"Oh Apollo…" She pulled him into a tight embrace and began crying again. "Apollo, Apollo…"

Last hug. Last cry.

She wrapped Apollo tightly in a blanket – though the temperatures in California were rarely chilly, it was 3am in mid-January and he was only an infant. Apollo squirmed, not used to being swaddled like this. Thalassa brought him out to the front and stuck the sheet of paper inside of the blankets with him.

As they left the house, Apollo began to cry. 'He's just hungry and confused. He doesn't know what's happening. He doesn't know. He doesn't know.'

Thalassa moved quickly, her heart hammering in her chest. She already had a destination in mind – a local shelter for homeless woman and children. She couldn't go with him – she couldn't give up her identity and it would be too hard to fake it in such a public environment. Of all places, surely they were used to dealing with situations like this. They would be able to place him with a foster family – he was young enough to be adopted quickly, she figured.

Thalassa began running, and Apollo thankfully quieted before they reached the large stone building. She pulled a black hood over her head, kissed Apollo one last time, and placed him on the front steps.

She fled.

Thalassa could hear Apollo crying again, and every instinct in her body told her to go back before it was too late. She couldn't do that. She couldn't.

'I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. It's for the best. It's for the best!'

As selfish as it was, Thalassa just wanted everything to go back to normal. She wanted to perform again, to see her father again, to see Zak again…

The wailing of an infant soon faded into the distance. Apollo could be really loud when he wanted to be, and she knew he would be found quickly. She imagined his little babbles: 'Mama, mama!'

She winced. As long as he wasn't saying 'Thalassa Gramarye', though...

Thalassa fished in her pocket and dug out a quarter that she had been saving exactly for this occasion. She sighed shakily and walked up to a payphone to dial her father. If he didn't answer, she would be stuck on the streets…

One ring. Two rings. Three rings –

"Hello?"

Relief surged through her so fast that she almost sunk to the ground. "D-Daddy?" Thalassa asked, her voice still cracking from stress. "You were right. I-I can't do this. I want to come home. I want everything to go back to normal. Please Daddy - "

"And what about your child?"

Thalassa's voice caught in her throat, but she managed to choke out the next two sentences. "I-I-I gave him a-away. I did what was b-best for both of us."

Silence on the other end. Then: "good girl, Thalassa. I knew you would do the right thing."

Thalassa winced – the 'right' thing was to abandon her infant son… the worst part was that he was absolutely right. She couldn't care for Apollo, and it would be harmful to try carrying on like this. "I need you to make the last name on his birth certificate 'disappear'."

"I can do that. Where are you, sweetheart?"

Thalassa bit her lip. "Probably forty-five minutes outside of Los Angeles."

"Give me directions. I'm coming to pick you up."

Thalassa felt the stress melt off at her. It was over. This nightmare was finally over.

"Thank you, Daddy."

…

A/N: Because Spark Brushel knew that Thalassa had two children when literally nobody else did, I can only assume that he got this information off of Magnifi (whom he was close to), which means that Magnifi must have known about Apollo but apparently didn't care about him much. Tell me if my logic conflicts with canon anywhere because fitting with canon is my goal.

Apollo was 22 on April 20, 2026 and 23 on Dec. 20, 2027, based on his profiles in 4-1 and 5-5. So his birthday would be somewhere between Dec 21st, 2003 and April 19th, 2004 – I just looked up all of the star signs between those two dates and picked a day that was aquarius, because that seemed to fit him best. Described traits included "seeks truth above all else, independent, friendly, logical, and has a dry sense of humour".

I originally wrote this with the intention of it being a one-shot, but I think I can expand on it and follow Thalassa and Apollo to take a closer look at what happened during their very separate lives. What do you guys think? Leave a review if you liked it (or have criticism for me) and lemmie know whether you'd like to see more!