Chapter Eighty Six

A/N: I do not own anything other than my OCs when they come out to play. Everything else belongs to either Disney or the Greek Gods.

Another break chapter come and gone, and now it looks as though the next group of chapters will be chapters 28-34 of Choosing Love, a break chapter after that and then because the next group won't be able to fit all of Choosing Love and the last few chapters are a bit of a doozy, I'll just go ahead and finish up them reading Choosing Love before the following break chapter!

As for review responses, it looks as though answering general questions won out though knowing me, my review responses may change in a few months or so lol :D

Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think! :D

James couldn't help the small frown that pulled at his lips as Milah pulled him into a side room. He knew he was finally going to get some more details but…he wasn't sure if he wanted to.

It was clear that this version of him had clearly inhaled too much pixie dust if he thought it was even remotely okay to lay a hand or a hook on any of the kids!

"James?" Milah asked, her soft voice pulling his attention back to her.

"Sorry," James said softly. "I just…I was just lost in thought."

Milah gave him a gentle smile. "It can be a lot to take in, reading about the future. I'm sure it's even more daunting when you know it's a future that may not even happen in your timeline."

"Well I know it won't because Jessica…I mean Claudine isn't being raised by that fanatic," James said. "That's one change, and for the better I say. It's so odd not hearing her be referred to as my daughter, never mind having Harriet be cold to me. I know you explained it earlier but…"

"It's still hard to wrap your head around it?" Milah asked knowingly.

James chuckled. "Even when it's another timeline's version of you, you still know me better than I know myself," he told her. "Then again, it's still hard to wrap my head around the idea that there's a timeline where you die."

Milah gave James a sad smile as she gently cupped his cheek with her hand. "We always knew there was a danger, James," she said softly. "Or at least my version of you and I did. And maybe it was a combination of things, having CJ too close to having Harry, the lack of good food, lack of medical system…"

"Hey, hey," James said gently, softly resting his hand on hers. "No matter what happens, I'll never regret having CJ. Or any of the kids. Well, you know, once I have them in my timeline. And speaking of that…"

"James, are you sure?"

"Milah, if I don't, then how can I know what to avoid in my own timeline?" James asked. "I mean, apparently other me was so convinced CJ would be a boy he got Harry's hopes up unnecessarily…"

"James?" Milah asked, frowning as James rubbed his forehead. "Are you okay?"

"Fine…" James said after a minute. "I think…I think my own time line caught up with me."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I have memories of Harry being born…when I know you were still pregnant with him when I was brought here. And now I want to go send the other version of myself to Davy Jones' Locker even more than I wanted to before. How…how could he hurt him like that? How could he hurt any of the kids?"

Milah sighed. "I wish I knew," she said softly. "Every time I'd look down and I'd see Harry with a new bruise or see the look of forlorn resignation on CJ's face when she'd look at her siblings…or the look on Harriet's face, a look of longing for something she could never have again."

"Even if the other me hadn't gone completely mental, she likely would have still had that longing," James said gently. "She would have the clearest memories of you…CJ wouldn't miss what she didn't know as sad as that is to say and Harry's memories would fade…"

"James…" Milah said and James could hear the meaning behind her words. Hear the thanks in his attempt to make her feel better but hear the slight scolding at the same time as it was clear he was stalling.

"Right, right," James sighed. "I mean I know kinda the gist of the whole thing but I…what on Earth would have caused me to kick my son in the ribs?"

"Mal and Uma destroyed the scroll that went over Harry's injury so we can't use that," Milah told him. "But at the same time…I'm glad. You didn't see him James, it tore him apart to even listen to it happen again."

James sighed. "And the last thing I want to do is make him relive it," he told her. "But…"

"Don't, James," Milah said gently yet firmly. "I understand you want to know but I can tell you what I know. I can't go into emotions or what you were thinking but that'll be better than nothing right?"

James nodded. "Of course," he told her. "I just…I know you told me when I first arrived but having the memories now of Harry as a baby…it just seems so…foreign. The idea of even hurting any of the kids…"

"I know," Milah said with a small sigh. "But you might as sit down. Better that we do it now rather than you continue to be confused."

James nodded once more and sat down. If he questioned where the chair came from, he tried to not let it show. Sometimes it was better to not question powerful entities.

"Where to begin…" Milah whispered, resisting the urge to shake her head and rid herself of the memory of her nine year old son being made to feel like he was worthless. Had she been there, things would have been different. Though…had she been there James might not have kicked Harry in the ribs.

"Whenever you're ready," James said, gently taking her hand in his.

Milah shook her head but gave him a fond smile. "You don't know how nice this is, James," she said softly. "To know there's a version of you that's still the man I married, the man who fathered our children…to know there's a man who would never strike his son because he abandoned a counter at a fish shop because his friend and captain was in trouble…"

"Your me did what now?" James asked, his eyes growing cold at the thought.

"Mal…she had been pushed into the Cove and couldn't swim, back when she was nine," Milah told him. "Uma tried to help but she couldn't reach and Harry had apparently heard the screams and abandoned his post at the fish shop. Well, actually he didn't even abandon it, he asked Harriet to watch the counter in his stead. Though in Harry's words, if he had to choose between Mal and the counter, Mal won every time."

"Good," James nodded and then tilted his head at Milah's slightly surprised look. "What? You thought I'd say he should have stayed at his post? Milah, we're surrounded by fish so if some of those bilge rats steal some of our wares because our nine year old son is doing something that should have been done by any adult with a brain, well we can always restock. Lord Hades can't just go and get another kid, Harry can't just be expected to go and get another captain."

Is it cheating if you kiss a version of your husband from a different timeline? Milah thought. Because Gods, I really hope his timeline is kind to him and his version of me stays alive. Especially for the kids' sake, though I think Lord Hades would rake him over the coals if he changed to the James in the scrolls.

"So your version of me clearly didn't think the same," James said, noticing the look that had to have been on Milah's face. "And that's why he struck Harry?"

"It looks to be the case," Milah nodded.

"Milah?"

"Yes?"

"Is there some way I might be able to smack your version of me? Preferably with my hook?"

"Well I'm sure if we asked the Fates nicely enough, they might grant you a way," Milah said, though privately she hoped that the Fates wouldn't. Not because she didn't think her James deserved it but because she didn't want the kids to possibly see him.

She didn't want Harry to possibly see the man who made him doubt his entire sense of self worth.

"Ah," James nodded, catching on to what Milah hadn't said. "Well then is there a training dummy of some kind…oh so there is!"

Milah looked over her shoulder to see, strangely, a sparring dummy that looked almost exactly like her James, right down to the red coat and the ridiculous hat with the purple feather in it. The only difference was the dummy had no arms.

"How did…you know what, never mind. I'm a dead woman in the lair of the Fates, I really shouldn't be questioning anything," Milah said as James got up, his sword already pulled from its scabbard though when he had his sword, Milah wasn't sure. She did however glance out the window of the door just to make sure none of the kids were about to enter.

Thankfully, everyone seemed to be in the clear—Harriet was deep in conversation with Sammy while CJ seemed to be chatting with Celia and Dizzy. Meanwhile Harry was with Jay, Uma, and Mal as they seemed oddly entranced in whatever story Lord Posideon was enthralling them with.

Though considering the amused glances Mal and Uma were throwing to Zeus every so often, Milah couldn't help but assume it had something to do with the story that involved Lord Posideon, Zeus, and a net.

Tuning out the sounds and rants coming from the alternate timeline version of her husband, Milah continued to watch the kids as they conversed, got snacks, and talked with others. Occasionally Malinda or Benji could enter conversations and Milah had to wonder about how life was for the future versions of her kids.

Yes, Malinda and Benji had said that Harry and Uma were married but what about Harriet, what about CJ? And did Harry have any kids of his own? What…what was his relationship like now with his father? Did he have one? Did she want to know?

Maybe it's better if I don't think like that, Milah thought as she tuned out the sounds of James going off on the dummy in the background. Think about other things. Like whether or not Harry and CJ repair their relationship in the future. I know I've had a talk with both of them but one talk with their dead mother does not over come years of disfunction and discord. Though it'd be nice if it could.

"How could you-he's your son, you should have thought about your actions before even thinking of hurting him!" Milah heard James cry before he skewered the dummy with his sword.

"Feel better?" Milah asked as she turned to look at the alternate version of her husband.

"Not even remotely but it would have to do," James sighed. "But it's better than potentially traumatizing the kids even worse than they have been. I mean, Gods, Jessica…I mean Claudine lives with Frollo? Mollie made it so that wouldn't be the case, I can't imagine this Mollie would be any different than my timeline's."

"Maybe the circumstances were what changed, not the person," Milah said, her voice gentle as she continued to look at James. "Trust me, I know…knew Mollie. She'd do whatever I took to make sure Jessica's daughter was safe."

James gave Milah a small smile as he heard that. "Maybe…maybe we should get back to the reading? No sense in holding everyone up just for me."

"Are you sure?" Milah asked.

"No but at some point we'll have to do the reading anyway," James said with a small sigh. "I'm just hoping this timeline's version of me doesn't do anything else to earn me going back to town on that dummy."

"Trust me, if it's anything like the previous scrolls, I think both I and Harriet would help you," Milah said before opening the door for the two of them to rejoin the others.

Malinda smiled softly as she noticed James and Milah rejoin. "I think we're ready to resume?"

"I believe so," Benji nodded. "Who wants to read?"

"I will," Ruby said, raising her hand.

"Then, as Jay would say, let's get this party started," Malinda said and smiled slightly as she felt her baby kick once more. Seemed they were all in agreement.