Chapter V

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Rhea shoved the magazine aside and looked up at him helplessly, pleading, "Do we really have to do this?"

Teasing her, he kneaded her shoulders and said, "What, getting cold feet now? You were excited yesterday. What happened?"

"Mars, look at this," she said, holding up a letter. "I got it this morning. I didn't throw it out because I thought Remus might see it."

One hand still on her shoulder, he scanned the letter. With every word his eyes darkened and his grip on her shoulder tightened. You shameless hussy, it read, have you no shame? Hooking an older man for his money. An older man with a child at that! Have you no heart. If you have any decency at all you'll back out now and save them you. He looked down at her, shocked to think she would pay attention to the stupid and fanatic words of someone who was too much a coward to even sign their name. His face contorted in disgust, he burnt the letter to a crisp, watching the hideous words disappear. Turning to her, he demanded, "You didn't believe that, did you? Please say you didn't listen to a word of that."

"No," she exclaimed, shocked, "of course not! But it made me think, John."

"If thinking makes you question whether or not you're doing the right thing, then stop thinking. It's a dangerous habit at its best. Besides, you didn't hook me, I hooked you. I'm the shameless one with no consideration for my son. You're the helpless victim of my wiles. And if you call me John one more bloody time, I'll –"

Laughing, she gripped his hand and smiled up at him. "Alright, I give up, Mars. You shameless hussy, seducing a younger woman with no means of self defence against your advances."

Mars bent and kissed her, laughing, "Exactly."

They were still kissing when Remus walked in. Easily accustomed to that sort of behaviour, he rolled his eyes and said, "Mum, there's an owl for you. It's squishy."

Snorting at the thought of a squishy letter, Mars watched as she took the letter and opened it slowly. Her nose wrinkled and she sniffed it before standing and following Mars' example of setting it on fire. "Undiluted bubotuber pus," she explained. "Remus, don't you dare start lighting things on fire."

Remus laughed and said, "I'm going outside Mum. Okay?"

Chuckling, Rhea bent and kissed him, nodding and shooing him out. She straightened and laughed when Mars leaned towards her, pinning her against the wall. His voice was hoarse and throaty, "Where were we? Right about here, I think."

He kissed her again and she laughed. As his hands went to pull her hair out of its knot she pulled back and said, "Alright, I know what you're trying to do. Not now Mars."

"Then when?" Mars whined, tugging at her ponytail to loosen it. "We're going to your parents' house today, and I certainly can't then; we'll be sharing a room with Remus."

"Oh honestly," she said, poking him in the stomach and grinning as he grunted and pulled away. "You're named after the god of war, the least you can do it show a little strength."

"Says the woman who insists on calling me that infernal name my mother picked out," Mars scoffed, sniffing the air loftily. "Besides, I highly doubt Mars ever had to practice self-control," he laughed, grabbing her wrists and pinning them above her head. He trailed kisses along her cheek and stopped to whisper something in her ear.

Eyes going wide, Rhea froze and gasped, "Oh! Well, then. Mars! I guess so, alright."

With a quick laugh of triumph, Mars kissed her, again and again and again until they had both forgotten about decency and conduct.

- 05 – 05 – 05 – 05 – 05 -

A cry tore from Rhea's throat and she flung herself into her father's arms, laughing and exclaiming happy expressions in Italian. Mars smiled, and wondered if her father knew how Italian he looked. He was not the protective father Mars had prepared for as he came and clasped the man on the shoulder, hoisting Remus up into grandfather-ly arms, "So, you're the two my daughter's been gushing about for months. And you're the little wolf-boy, aren't you?"

Remus wasn't sure how the old man meant it, for it sounded nice, but he had no pleasant memories in association with his wolf counterpart. The old man saw this, and Mars' tense form, and laughed, "I Roman! The father of my city was raised by wolf! Rhea did no tell you?"

Eyes going wide, Mars shook his head. Rhea laughed and took Remus, waltzing inside the house as her father slapped himself on the chest and declared, "Then Paulo Laurenzia tell you! Ah, mi, Rhea, you leave me alone. I now going to be the last Laurenzia in England!"

Laughing, Rhea said, "Oh stop complaining Papa. You're getting a grandson."

"Is that rascal worth taking my daughter?" Paulo roared. Remus, eyes wide, stared as the man knelt before him. For a moment they were caught in a battle of staring before the Italian man scooped the terrified boy up into his arms and laughed. "Alright, alright! I no complain anymore! But I keep him!"

"Papa," Rhea warned, taking Remus from him and beckoning Mars inside. It was small house, but enough for an old man and his wife. "You can come borrow him from time to time, but that's it. He's my little boy."

Roaring with laughter as he sat and pulled Remus onto his lap. "You, Rhea, nothing like your mama. She want a baby girl, a baby girl that go leave me. You, Remus, tell me why her mama want a girl?"

Shrugging, Remus said cautiously, "So Rhea can be my mum?"

Mars chuckled as Rhea's father laughed and tipped Remus over the side of the chair. The little boy laughed, screamed, and squirmed as he was held upside down. Sighing, Rhea went and scooped him out of her father's clutches, saying, "Papa, he's going to spill his lunch everywhere if you do that."

Winking at his daughter, he laughed, "Then we fill him back up! It's easy!"

Rhea sat, placing tea before her father and Mars, and she asked lightly, Remus on her lap, "How's Mum?"

"She visits her Irish friend. She asked me come too, but I say no. English more than enough for me, no Irish. Much too much for Italian in England." Mars laughed as Rhea rolled her eyes. The old man's attention turned to him and he said, "You. You're named after my people's god of war. And your son is a legend to me and my fellow Romans. You seduced my daughter?"

Rhea flushed and cried, "Papa! What kind of a question is that?"

Waving her off, he looked at Mars. "The same one your grandfather asked me when I go with your Mama to his house. Then I told him I did and he made me marry her. But this one's already marrying you, so he's safe."

Laughing, Mars asked, "What if I said she was the one doing the seducing?"

Eyes going wide, Rhea exclaimed in indignation and her father laughed, a rich booming laugh that made Remus smile. "If you say that I say you lie," Paulo said. "Rhea has no need to seduce anyone, just look at her. She my daughter! Besides, I see the way you look at her. I Roman, and Romans are no fools."

"I'm sure Papa," Rhea said dryly. "You're just an arrogant old windbag."

Patting her on the head as though she had just made a terrible mistake, Paulo asked, "Does she do that to you too?"

Mars nodded and said, "Of course, that's why I like her. She's maddening."

"You stupid git," Rhea sighed helplessly, standing and leaving Remus alone on the chair.

Paulo sent Mars a pointed look and said, "She must really like you, if she insults you like that. If she does things just to get on your nerves, then she loves you. Now sit. Rhea, you go away, I tell a story now. I tell them of Romulus and Remus and my city."

"Were they brothers?" Remus asked, his eyes wide with anticipation, eager for knowledge and adventure.

"Twins," Paulo said, eyeing the young boy with the same affection and laughter of any story-telling grandfather, "born in Alba Longa, by the river Tiber. My family is from there, and they're in this story. But the story does no start with the boys, it starts with their mama and grandpapa."

"Was their grandfather a king?" the young boy asked, hungry for more than Paulo would give in a mere introduction.

Laughing, Paulo shook his head and said, "Wait, Remus, wait. He was a king, Numitor, a great man. But his brother, Amulius, was no so nice. He took over and sent Numitor into exile from his own kingdom."

"That's not nice!" Remus declared, shocked that someone would do that to his own brother, even if only in legend.

"Oh," Paulo sighed, smiling at the boy's morality so young, "there's more, much more. He took Numitor's daughter, his niece, and forced her become, Rhea, what do they call it here?"

"A Vestal Virgin," Rhea said easily, re-entering the room and explaining as she saw the confusion on both Mars and Remus' faces, "a priestess of the old Roman goddess Vesta. They weren't allowed to marry or have children and were supposed to devote their life to their goddess."

Shocked that she knew so much, so easily, Mars listened, feeling the colour drain from his face as Paulo nodded approvingly. "Good, good. You get better Rhea. Now, Numitor's daughter a great and beautiful woman. Her name's Rhea Silvia. I named my daughter after her."

Mars looked up at where Rhea stood, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, and he wondered if she remembered that his fist wife was named Sylvia. Shrugging it aside, and saying it meant nothing, he listened as Remus asked, "She was Romulus and Remus' mum, wasn't she? But how, if she couldn't have any kids?"

"Bright boy," Paulo declared, tapping Remus on the head lightly, "now listen and I tell you. One day Mars, the great god of war, fell deeply in love with her. Nobody knows exactly what happened, but Rhea Silvia gave birth to twin boys."

"Romulus and Remus!" Remus cried out, bouncing in his chair. Then he stopped and asked, his mind spinning as the wheels turned behind his silvery eyes, "But she wasn't allowed to have kids. What happened?"

"Amulius was angry, and scared. He was afraid the boys would grow up and take back the throne of Alba Longa. He ordered his servant to throw the two babies in the river. He did, but with the cradle so the twins floated down the river, perfectly safe, though scared."

Scrunching up his face, the young boy declared, "Well, I'd be too if I was in a basket in a river all by myself. What happened? They couldn't eat in a cradle."

"Ha!" Paulo exclaimed, slapping his knee in triumph. "You are a bright boy. That is where the miracle is. The cradle hit the side of the river, and a she-wolf found the babies."

Cutting in quickly, Rhea spoke, "The wolf was scared to the god Mars, and as his sons, the boys were safe." Sitting on the couch beside Remus, she said softly, "The she-wolf nursed the boys as if they were her own cubs until a shepherd came and found them. The shepherd took the boys back home with him to his wife, and they raised the two as their own."

"That's my family!" Paulo declared, slapping his broad chest with pride. "The shepherd name Faustulus Laurenzia, and his wife was Larentia. I from the line of that shepherd, in Rome many generations! Good family."

Mars chuckled, though he felt out of breath and dizzy. Seeing this, Rhea helped him to his feet and led him into the kitchen, listening as her father continued on. "Romulus and Remus grow big. One day they leave the fields and Remus fight with another shepherd. They take him to the man who that shepherd served as a prisoner. The man questioned him, long and hard, and realized that this boy was no shepherd, this boy was his grandson!"

"It was Numitor!" Remus yelled, clapping his hands in triumph that his namesake had escaped punishment yet again.

"Yes," Paulo smiled, "it was Numitor. He get Romulus and Remus and tell them the story of what happened to him and their mama at Alba Longa. The boys not happy, not at all, and they go to Alba Longa and defeat their mama's uncle Amulius. Their grandpapa go back as king of Alba Longa again, and they live with their mama and grandpapa in Alba Longa, happy. But they miss the country, and they decide to leave and build a town of their own by the river Tiber, where the she-wolf had nursed them and saved their lives."

"That's Rome, isn't it?" Remus asked, beginning to become skilled at the art of guessing where the story was going.

"Not yet," Paulo warned, "there's more yet Remus. The two boys argue, like all brothers do, and they start two cities, one on Palatine Hill, where Romulus was, and one on Capitoline Hill. Now, Remus was a bit of a troublemaker, a prankster as it called here. And Romulus was a bit selfish, so they argued even after that."

Remus nodded, awaiting more, and Paulo sat silent for a moment, thinking of how to tell the ending without changing it and without telling it. Finally he smiled at the young boy and began anew, "Remus, being a prankster, teased Romulus about the walls of the city on Palatine Hill. He jumped over them too."

"He jumped over a wall?" Remus said, eyes wide. Nothing in the little boy's imagination could have anticipated his namesake jumping over the walls to guard a city.

Grinning at the boy's awe, Paulo nodded, "He did. And Romulus got angry. And, like all brothers will do, they fought about it. Romulus, being the meaner and fiercer of the two, won. They made the two cities one city and named it Roma after Romulus."

"Why not after Remus?" Remus asked, truly curious as to why they would credit the city to only one of the two brothers.

"Because, Remus," Paulo explained carefully, "Remus was the more forgiving of the two. He did not want to hurt his brother's feelings. So he said nothing when they named it after Romulus."

Remus laughed, pleased with this explanation, completely unknowing of the cup Rhea smashed in the kitchen. "Dammit," she swore, her eyes hard. "Tell him the story for God's sake Papa!"

"What happened?" Mars asked, taking a step over to her.

Looking up at him with haunted eyes, Rhea's head fell away from him as she said, "Remus jumped over the walls, taunting Romulus. It was a game. But Romulus got angry and killed Remus. He took the city on Capitoline Hill and merged it with his own. He named it Roma, and when the brigands and outlaws who settled there had no wives, he went to the Sabine tribe, lured the men away, and stole the Sabine women. The Rape of the Sabine women, it was a centrepiece for artists for centuries."

Numbed in shocked, Mars said weakly, "He killed Remus?"

She nodded, turning completely away from him as she managed, "He killed his own brother. When Papa first told me the story I said that he shouldn't have become king because that's not nice. So he stopped telling me that part of the story, and only told me up until they took back Alba Longa from Amulius. I'd forgotten that part completely."

"Is it just coincidence, then," Mars asked, turning her so that she faced him again and he saw the shine glossing her eyes, "that you're named after their mother, and I after their father, and that my son is a werewolf? Or that Remus' mother's name was Sylvia? Or that your last name's the name of his adoptive mother?"

Having forgotten that detail, Rhea's eyes went wide and she looked up at him. For a moment she stared at him before burying her face in his chest and saying, "I hope so. Oh, God, Mars, I hope so. I shan't have a child, unless it's a girl. I shan't jeopardize him like that. I love him too much to."

Mars hadn't thought of it that way, and he realized instantly that she had thought he was accusing her. Wincing, he pressed kisses to her hair and said, "Hush, Rhea, it's okay. I know, I know you would never do anything like that. Don't worry, he's safe. He's not going to build any cities, or taunt people because of the walls of theirs. And even if he does, my name's John, remember? He'll be safe. Hush, Rhea, please. Look at me; it's okay. I love you Rhea."

Tilting her head up, he wiped the tears from her eyes and kissed her, smiling gently. It was gentle, pleading, loving, and Rhea clung to it because it was what she so desperately needed. Her fingers dug into his shoulders as his hand fisted in her hair, the other at her hip as he pinned her against the wall. And, of course, like it always happens when they least want company, Paulo stepped in with Remus. Instantly the man's hand went over the boy's eyes, and over his own, and he said, "Alright, Remus, we go outside. Maybe they want make a sister for you."

Mars had broken away the moment he heard Paulo's voice, and he tensed as he felt Rhea's head fall onto his shoulder. But, as he heard her laugh he relaxed and asked, "What's so funny?"

Shaking, her head, she pulled him back towards her and said, digging her fingers into his shoulders as she pressed herself against him, "Only that Papa wants us to make a baby on his kitchen floor. He wouldn't have mentioned it otherwise. And that you finally admitted that your given name is John, you silly, stubborn, infernal creature of a man."

"Oh," Mars said, eyes wide, completely ignoring the second bit of her tirade. However, he forgot his embarrassment within seconds and reached for her bottom, pulling her up to meet him. Eyes gleaming with a glint that made Rhea flush to think she was in her parents' house, he said, "Well, then. That's one request I don't mind listening to. Especially if you drop the bloody name issue."

"Dear Lord," Rhea said later, sitting on bed she was sharing with Mars and Remus, "what on earth did we do?"

"I don't know what you did," Mars replied lightly, tossing a brilliant smile her way, "but I made love to my fiancée in her parents' kitchen with the her father outside the door. And I'm not complaining either."

"Mars!" Rhea shrieked, pegging him with the pillow she had been holding. She jumped on him, smacking him playfully as he laughed. "That was completely uncalled for! Now get dressed, Papa wants to take us to dinner!"

Still laughing, Mars got dressed easily, smiling at the gorgeous Italian woman on the bed before him. Lifting her into his arms, he walked down the stairs and laughed as Paulo shook his head and threw himself back in his chair "I give up!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air as he looked over at Remus. "Take her! I can no carry her no more! Get out! Get out and take me daughter with you!"

He burst into Italian, shaking his head as Rhea laughed and placed her head on Mars' shoulder. "Ignore him," she said lightly, "he's just sore that you're stronger than he is. And that you can show off while he can't. Papa, enough."

Turning to her, Paulo shook his fist and began in Italian. Mars placed her on the ground and smiled as she walked over to the father, ruffled his hair, and picked Remus up easily. Standing up, Paulo grunted, "That one I can pick up too! That no show off! Come, I take you to dinner! You, no kiss my daughter at dinner table!"

Laughing, Mars followed his soon to be father-in-law out the door, smiling as Rhea came and wrapped her arm around his waist, Remus on her hip. He could do this, especially if he could get to her stop calling him that bloody infernal first name of his. The trials of a werewolf son, the temper of a Roman goddess, the ever-presence of affectionate in-laws, all stood ahead of the man. Stubborn, arrogant, and unalterably right, Mars Lupin took one look at the woman, at his child, before him and smiled. And decided. Life would be good.

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