Hey guys, I am so sorry for this extreme delay. I fell off the bandwagon when I took my break after the attacks, and then life happened. I moved in with my long-term boyfriend, been working 40-60+ hour workweeks, and battled a few health issues. To just add to this LOVELY banquet of events, my work was due for its state inspection. I think I'd rather fight a bear than deal with those people. I am trying to get back on schedule, and I hope what I post continue to be up to your standards.

In a nutshell my derp-face fox profile picture seems to describe me pretty well

Sheep: I am trying to keep things strait the best I can, but the reason you mentioned was why I only touch on it in brief. The mythology gets rather complicated, and I'm sticking to Disney canon mostly (to a point) and despite appearances I was looking stuff up re: food, drinks, ect. The things I have planned have required research. Given my schedule unfortunately I can't do the degree of research I would like to, and I have been trying to implement your suggestions. I will try to get out of the habit of using tea during filler moments, and I got my terms mixed up with old medical theory. The history of medicine is a rather long and complicated one, and I may have accidently confused myself due to recent reading I was doing about the 1918 Flu epidemic.

DarkPreistessOfHyrule: Thank you, I hope you and yours are all safe.

Demi: Thank you once again, and I hope you continue to read this attempt at entertainment

Tigrera5793: Thank you, I hope you also continue to read. I love Cassie and Ikarus, quite possibly because my close real life friend Cassandra reminds me quite closely to the cartoon character.

It was two cups of mulled wine later when Hercules managed to coax Meg out of the bedroom. She was feeling embarrassed at having locked herself away the way she did, and had emerged from her world of self-pity with the help of her crimson companion. Herc had insisted on carrying her down the stairs, and for once Megara was not up to the task of resisting. Once at the bottom of the stairs and feeling more than slightly intoxicated, she made her way to the furniture in the den.

Before she was given a moment to settle, Icarus threw his lanky arms around her, words blurred through his mind as he struggled for the right thing to say. Meg lifted her arms, returning her friend's embrace, both able to appreciate the value of silence. No words would be able to ebb Megara's pain, and the simple embrace was able to convey what he had hoped.

"I'm sorry I was so selfish…" She trailed of, slouching back against the divan. There were a few moments of awkward silence before Meg could muster the energy to continue. "Thank you for coming Ick… I know I don't look it but I am grateful." And she was, finally out of her-self-induced confinement she could appreciate the comfort in the company of friends. Hercules smiled; relived she broke out of her normal habit to sink within herself to cope.

"Can't forget about my buddy when she's all laid up in bed!" Icarus shouted, falling backwards into a chair with an exaggerated wave of the arms. Meg managed a smile,

"I'll drink to that, to friends," She gestured for Hercules to fetch a few cups, and the three of them shared a drink to the idea of friendship. A toast she wound cringe at herself for making had her wits still been about her, but at the time she forced a smile and tried to allow the company of others keep her from sulking back into a world of self-pity. The three began to regale each other with stories of their less glorious youthful moments, and before long Hercules had to fetch a second jug.

Without the sun beating down on the stone building, the winter chill penetrated into most of the house. Hercules added wood to the fireplace, and place the jug of wine before the fire so they could warm themselves from the inside. He returned to the divan, and was surprised when Meg leaned against his shoulder. He looked at her, finding her flushed cheeks endearing. Despite the fact she had thrown herself into his arms in front of the gods themselves, she was not fond of displaying her affection in front of others and he blamed current events for her rather odd behavior. He realized quickly however that he misinterpreted her intentions. She was shivering against him, but the discomfort didn't wipe the smile from her expression.

"Cold Hon?" Meg nodded, and Icarus chimed in as well,

"Colder than the very depths of my heart when my dearest Cassandra is away!" Most of his speech was slurred, and the couple was unsure if what they had heard was what he had actually said. Hercules took the answer as a 'yes' and excused himself to fetch some blankets he had stored in one of the many spare rooms. Upon standing Hercules quickly realized just how much wine he had consumed, and placed a hand to his head.

"Aw, Herc? Can't handle a few drinks?" He shot her a glance, which turned her wry smirk into a fit of giggling. He smiled, relieved to see her happy even at his expense. As he stumbled through the hall the sounds of Megara and Icarus laughing faded as he tried to recall just which of the spare rooms had anything warm in them.

He stopped at a room that when constructed was designed to be some type servant's quarters, that Hercules had constructed into one of many guest bedrooms. He briefly pondered what type of servant's quarters would be constructed in such a location, but pushed such thoughts from his mind as he gathered the furs and woolens from the dusty unused room. Being away from the fire, and with his bare feet padding across the floor he realized that it felt unseasonably cold, even for a winter night. He blamed the wine, and returned to the den. Each wrapped in a blanket, and a fur waiting for Cassandra to return the company returned to their revelry.

The roar of the fire, the crackles of the coals was a welcome ambience to break the growing howl of the wind outside the window. After the last dregs of the cold wine were finished, the jug placed by the fire had heated sufficiently. The company sipped carefully, and the warm liquid seemed to chase the last of the chill.

Cassandra had returned from her trip just as the first few sips of hot wine had been drunk.
"My dearest Cassie! Come hither and wine with your friends" was the phrase Icarus tried to shout to the woman as she emerged, confused, in the doorway. What came out instead was an unintelligible slur of pet-names and affections that made even Meg blush before bursting to a fit of laughter, accidently drooling wine onto the floor.

"There you are, we had wondered if Pegasus had kidnapped you," Meg laughed, her eyes red, cheeks and nose flushed. Getting over her initial shock, Cassandra allowed a short relieved laugh to slip through her teeth. She had been hovering outside the doorway, trying to brace herself for the awkwardness she had left a few hours before. Now, she was greeted by the sounds of laughter, and her cynical friend enjoying the company of others. Of Icarus of all others, for that matter. The issue of having returned from the agora empty handed seemed to be far from everyone's mind, "Come, come," Meg waved her hand clumsily, her speech much clearer than her intoxicated counterparts despite the concerning degree of blood loss she had endured. "It's not even watered down,"

Cassandra couldn't help but chuckle. This type of behavior would usually put her in a sour mood, but she could appreciate the necessity of such nonsense. She had a feeling it might be dangerous to drink so much after such an event; but Meg was, as she so often like to put it, 'a big tough girl' and may not take kindly to being told not to drink in regards to her health. The woman had just survived a gods-damned miscarriage and bled out, if she hadn't earned the right to make a bad decision, who did?

As she moved closer to the den the fire reminded her of just how cold she had been. She looked at her hands, surprised to find her fingertips were pale, and only then became aware of the fact she had little feeling in her hands, feet, ears, or nose, and that she was wracked with shivers. When had she ever been so oblivious to the signals of her own body? Did she have a vision she couldn't remember? The nagging questions were shoved from conscious thought as Megara handed her a cup of the bitter liquid, and she joined in whatever Icarus attempted to propose a toast to. She took a seat afore the fireplace to warm up, and joined in the story-telling, never shy to bring up one of Icarus's many misadventures.

The night wore on, and Icarus had given in to sleep, and Hercules too was nodding off in his chair. The fire was still roaring, as Hercules was almost continuously adding wood.

"Meg, you coming to bed?" The fatigue was obvious in Hercules's features, and he had stood to retire to the bedroom.

"Soon Hon," Meg stood placed a hand on Herc's shoulder, and stood on her toes to give him a quick kiss. "I'm okay, I promise," she said in response to the look on his face. Skeptical, but wise enough to know to leave her well enough alone, Hercules trod through the villa to retire for the night. Meg sat back down next to Cassandra, and let out a deep sigh, her eyes gazing at nothing in particular on the opposing wall.

"I think I might be a horrible person,"

"Well yeah, the both of us are horrible people. But what brings it to mind?"

"Most of the crying over the miscarriage… it's for Herc's sake. I let him down. He did… does… so gods-damned much for me, and I can't give him this one thing that he wants? I mean I was so early in the pregnancy I wasn't really… emotionally invested in the idea of motherhood yet. But he was, he was so excited. Cass you're the only one who knows about my family… so you know what kind of role models I had. What type of mother could I possibly ever be? I mean, I couldn't even do the pregnancy bit right for a few months," She scoffed, picked up her previously discarded cup of wine and sipped it before letting out a deep sigh as her gaze wandered over to that of her friend.

"First of all, enough of this;" Cassandra reached over, grasping the cup and prying it from her friend's hand. "Second of all, fuck your family. I will not excuse my language. Fuck. Them. They did you no good, and you don't try to emulate them so why would they be any kind of a role model for the kind of mother you would be? And third, I don't think, hell I know that Hercules wouldn't hold this against you. I think he's happy just having you. Miscarriages happen, all the time almost more than actually carrying to term. You know why he cried, why he was so sad? He found you unconscious and bleeding… badly. He was worried about you! To go with that old annoying cliché, he lost you once and is terrified of losing you again. Then, once he realized you were okay physically, he saw how sad you were and it broke his heart. Of course he's sad it happened, but he's more devastated about you. Now go upstairs, and go to sleep."

"… how?" Meg stammered, surprised at her friend's insight

"I've known Hercules for years. And I'm very good at watching,"

Meg sat for a few moments in stunned silence, her drunken mind making sense of what she said. Cassandra was right, and she knew it. Had she not drank enough wine to down an average man, she may have let her pride get the best of her, and stand up for herself or try to justify her behavior. But instead she buried her face in her hands,

"You're right…" She sighed, rubbing her face roughly with her palms. "But I still feel like a horrible person."

"We've been over this, we're both horrible people. Luckily for us, Hercules must have a thing for horrible people." Meg laughed, and stood up, pausing for a moment to make sure she was not about to simply topple over. She embraced her friend,

"I know I'm impossible. Thank you for coming to visit us… "

"Us horrible people should stick together, otherwise who knows what we would do." The pair chuckled, and Megara headed up the stairs to meet Hercules in bed.

It was when she reached the stairs that she came to realize how weak she was, her legs shaking beneath her. She steadied herself with a palm placed against the wall, the stone cool to the touch. Her gazed moved to the top of the stairs, was they always this tall? She was determined not to call for Hercules, she could make it up a simple flight of stairs. She pulled herself up, carefully, the exaggerated effort making the tremor in her legs more exaggerated. She let her weight rest against the wall, gathering what little strength she had left. She pulled herself up, one at a time, until the shaking became too great and she sank down, sitting on the stair leaning against the wall. She leaned her head back, trying to muster the strength to stand back up. The stone was cold against her back, and away from the fire she was aware of how cold it was. She began to shiver, which coupled with her trembling legs made it feel as if her whole body was going to convulse on her.

She managed to get herself to the top, startled by how much effort it had taken. But the cold was too uncomfortable to sit again, and made her way down the darkened hallway, running her hand along the familiar wall until came upon the bedroom. She could just make out Hercules's dim silhouette on the bed, and made her way over. She collapsed onto the bed, curling up under the blankets, her thoughts halted by trying to get warm. Why the hell is it so cold? Even the worst nights have never been this terrible. She mused if it was the alcohol and the blood loss, and was too fatigued to give it much more thought.

"Meg…" She turned to face Hercules, unable to read his expression in the near perfect darkness. She felt his hand on her cheek, and welcomed the warmth. She shifted close to him, and felt is hand slip from her cheek and drape over her.

"I'm okay Herc… really," She could hear how fast his heart was beating in his chest, and furrowed her brow, "You don't have to worry so much…"

"I'm not worried …" He lied,

"Herc, I can hear your heart trying to claw its way out of your ribcage." He chuckled. The deep vibrations buzzing in the ear Meg rested against his chest. She sighed then, trying to stifle the shivering that seemed to wrack her entire body. "I'm sorry I made you so worried. I know I couldn't have prevented what happened," why is lying to him still my first thought? "and I'm sorr-" Hercules cut her off by pressing a finger against her lips. Confused, she tilted her head to look at him and was pacified with a kiss. Herc pulled her closer into him, using his free arm to grab the blankets and pull it around them.

"I love you… no matter what," he whispered. Did he hear my conversation with Cassandra? How much did he hear? Dear Gods… But her bitter thoughts were pushed aside. Hercules was too considerate to eavesdrop on her. If he had overheard anything he made no further reference to it.

There were so many things Hercules wanted to say to her. He wanted to talk to her about everything that happened, reassure her, console her. But she seemed so relaxed that he let the matter be. He felt her shivering against him, and vigorously rubbed her arms,

"Cold?"

"You're not?... right. Demigod. Well us simple mortals have to bear these whims of our fragile meat-sacks." She managed a chuckle, and heard the reverberations of one in his chest.

"It is really cold… maybe we should have just slept in the den with the fire." Meg shook her head,

"How could I have you all to myself that way?" She paused, enjoying the warmth that was breaking through the bitter chill, the sound of Hercules's heart beating, the rise and fall of his breath. "And I love you too,"

Sooooo on a scale of 0-suck, was this COMPLETELY horrible? Ugh I spent like, 15 hours on this chapter and it STILL came out this short?! Man I suck... Well I hope this is up to par. Pardon Meg's bipolar emotions regarding the miscarriage, keep in mind her hormones are going nutty, she probably has an H+H of 21 and 6, and she's drunk. So her swinging from crushing depression to functionality was not me trying to cop out, I was trying to play on those issues. However, never having endured something like that myself it is not something I can easily write about. It's a tender topic and I am trying my best to treat it with due respect.