The summons arrived soon after for Megara to return the favor Galatea had paid her and attend the birth of her child. It had been a solid nine months since Harmonia's birth and long enough into Megara's second pregnancy that she was struggling at times with the tribulations of Ivy Sickness.
Neither Megara nor Hercules could leave Harmonia's sight for long, for the little girl would begin fussing and weeping and was growing more verbal by the day. Her desperate cries and pleas for her parents kept them tethered to her will no matter where they went in the house.
She knew how to crawl and could even be persuaded to play games while crawling through toy obstacle courses, but she never went anywhere without someone to carry her.
It was for all these reasons that when Megara went, so did they all. They appeared at the palace and were hailed by Theseus before landing. He looked nervous but put on a smile for his guests.
"It hasn't been easy waiting for you to join us," he said. "We value your experience, and you're our closest friends. The place is packed, though… I keep seeing women go in and come back out on some errand, but I can't fathom how they all fit in there."
"Galatea always does the most for her friends. It's all we can do to try and match that energy," Megara said. She tried to pass Harmonia to Hercules, but the baby refused to budge.
Harmonia grasped her mother's hair and pulled, yanking Megara's head in her direction like the reins on a horse.
"Whoa!" Hercules pinched Harmonia's fist so she'd relax her hold. "Moni, we talked about pulling Mama's hair! We don't do that!"
Megara flashed him a secretive look that made him blush.
"You don't do that," Hercules amended.
Theseus cleared his throat. "The men are meeting in the Andron. I'll… see you there, Herc."
Megara snickered as Hercules worked Harmonia's fingers loose from her hair. "I think we've sprinkled a scandal on this holy day. We should try to make up for it."
"I, as a god of Olympus, personally absolve you of all guilt. I'm the one who made the comment." He tickled Harmonia until she forgot to be fussy, then scooped her into his arms. "You run over and see Galatea. If Moni can't be happy without you, we'll switch. I don't think the guys in the Andron will be all that pleased to see my baby hanging out with us while they're drinking."
Megara massaged her shoulder. "I'm sure, for the most part, the girls will be gossiping and hanging out with snacks. Judging by the fact we're all here, we evidently love babies. She'll be welcome with us until all the screaming starts."
Hercules nodded. "Mama's going to take a break, so kisses for Mama," he instructed Harmonia. He demonstrated first by leaning over to kiss Megara's cheek.
Harmonia was already smacking her lips to prepare for her turn, and when it came, she leaned forward with bruising force to plant a sloppy, wet kiss on Megara's other cheek.
"Wow, I got the two best gingers in the cosmos fawning over me. I must be really special." She kissed both of them in return, then scurried off toward the sound of giggling and squealing that she surmised would be her path to Galatea.
Harmonia fussed after her, but Hercules followed her until Harmonia thought she would meet Megara again, only to diverge paths on the way to the Andron.
The little girl's cries for her mama followed Megara through the door to meet with Galatea, but she ignored them, trusting Hercules to soothe her.
Once she was inside the gynaikon, she found Galatea lounging on a bed with a gaggle of friends that Megara didn't recognize around her. Tables were set up on either side of her, stacked with grapes, feta puffs, cheese-stuffed figs, and honey-covered almonds.
At the sight of Megara, Galatea sat up in her bed and squealed with delight. "It's my cousin! Welcome! I'm so pleased you joined us!"
Megara approached the bed and leaned over to hug Galatea. "I'm glad you have the energy to smile. You deserve to enjoy this blessed occasion."
"See, everyone? I told you she's a sweetie!" Galatea hugged Megara back with more force than she was ready for. "Get comfy, Meg! We've got lots of time, I think I haven't even started to have contractions, yet! Now, where's your little honeycake?"
"Oh, she's–"
"Take some snacks and sit down! You don't have to stand and give a report. We're all friends here!"
Both Medusa and Eurydice were in attendance, and evidently, Eurydice would be the next to receive a celebration of her own. The two of them waved, but it was Helen who leaped to the foreground.
"Now that you've been accepted into the group, Meg, I'm so happy you're here, and we can set aside any of our problems." She took Megara's hand before she was ready and squeezed it.
Couldn't she go five minutes without someone squeezing or yanking on her?
"Adonis and I are getting married next month! His poor face isn't quite healed, but he's doing better now."
"Did I ask?"
Helen laughed while Megara stood unmoved. "You're so funny!"
"If I was the one to wound Adonis, I would have used Widowmaker Gamma, the greatest and sharpest sword to ever complete my arm with its ferocity!" Now, there was a face she'd seen only once, but she remembered the name Tempest.
"Maybe you should go to the wedding," Megara suggested to the Amazon. "Anyone married to Adonis should be happy to meet the Widowmaker."
"Oh, Adonis and I aren't really fans of weapons," Helen giggled. "We're more fans of art."
"Mostly of him, right?" Megara shot back. "Please go sit down before I feel the urge to shove you."
"Sit with me!" Tempest seemed to order.
Megara wasn't in the mood to test how serious the injunction might be. She took a few stuffed dates and grapes and sat next to the Amazon.
"You have a warrior's tongue as sharp as any sword!" Tempest declared.
"I'm afraid it's my only weapon."
"I'm trying this new thing where I appreciate other people's cultures!" Tempest said. "In your culture, looking pretty and speaking well are powerful weapons for a woman, are they not?"
"As powerful as we can manage," Megara agreed.
"Then you are a warrior fit to sit at my side! And you married Hercules, right? You're the one he wound up with?"
"Yes. He remembers you fondly, by the way."
Tempest barked out laughter that reminded Megara of a Spartan drill sergeant. "I bet he's afraid of me! But it's nice of him to lie!"
"I still need to know where Harmonia is!" Galatea whined. "I want to squeeze her little face!"
"She'll be upstairs soon," Megara said. "Herc has her downstairs to give me a break, but she can't stand being away from either of us for too long. She's having Herc time while I settle in, but the bulk of it will be up here."
"Good," Galatea relaxed. "It'll be good to see the first baby I saw born before this one comes. I need to remember what it was like to watch so it'll be easier for me to go through it."
Megara suggested, "If you want, I could put a pillow under my dress and make a few embarrassing noises for you."
"While that jog my memory, I'd rather everyone around me was comfortable so I could imagine I'm comfortable, too."
"Then we'll be your comfort gallery." Megara leaned back in her seat and crossed her legs. "What do you think, everyone? What's the most comfortable thing we can imagine?"
"I'd like to sit on a couch in the sun and listen to nothing but the waves lapping against the beach," Helen sighed and seated herself.
"I love the beach, too," Medusa said. "The beach outside my home is always full of happy people, and I soak up their joy." She blushed. "And then… when Triton comes to visit, we meet on that same beach, and I'm happier than ever."
A collective sigh of adoration greeted Medusa's words.
"I'm so happy that's going well for you!" Galatea exclaimed. "It's been a long wait for you to find someone who could treat you the way you deserve."
"Actually, I've had plenty of people to treat me well ever since the night I met my new friends," Medusa said, exchanging affectionate glances with Megara and Galatea. "You two gave me a second chance at life and taught me I can be something more than a monster… But the first person who did that was Hercules. I'm grateful to all of you."
Eurydice leaned over to hug Medusa. "That's why it's so wonderful we can be here with each other every time we're going through this. I feel like it'll be a tradition where every time it's one of our turns in this room, we'll always be there for each other."
Megara glanced disparagingly in Helen's direction, but the look went unnoticed.
"In my homeland, the women bear our children while attending fight training, and when we give birth, we remain until training is complete, then give birth in the stadium so that our children are always ready to fight from the day of their birth!"
Nobody had anything to say to that for a solid minute.
Finally, Megara spoke up, saying, "Unless it's a boy, right?"
"Right!" Tempest barked.
Someone knocked at the door, and Helen jumped up first to answer it.
Hercules stood there, covering his eyes, with a tear-streaked Harmonia in the crook of his arm. "I'm sorry, ladies, but Moni needs her mother."
Megara hurried over to collect the squalling child. "Thanks for your time, Herc. Little Miss Popular will have a great time with us."
Harmonia leaned heavily on Megara's shoulder and dug her fingers into her dress. A puddle of tears formed under her face, and Megara could practically hear her complaining, "Mama, you were gone so long, and I'm disappointed in you!" All she did in actuality was sniffle, but the point was made.
"I'll check in with you soon," Hercules promised and backed away from the door. "Hope I wasn't a problem, ladies!"
"Back away, hero!" Tempest thundered. "This is women's work!"
"Hey, Tempest!" Hercules waved without uncovering his eyes. "See ya later!"
Helen called, "Bye Herc!" after him and closed the door.
"Holy Hera!" Galatea exclaimed. "Look at the little pink piggy! She's so big!"
Megara brought Harmonia to Galatea's side. "She's got to catch up with her papa. She knows how to pack on the muscle." She lifted one of Harmonia's arms and made it look like she was flexing.
Rather than coo happily at the attention, Harmonia was fully in a fit with her mother, so she yanked her arm free and slammed her forehead down on Megara's shoulder.
"She doesn't like it when she's tricked into letting me out of her sight," Megara explained. "But once she calms down and knows she's not in exile, she'll be fun to be around."
"Can I see?" Medusa asked. "I remember how small and red she used to be… it's fascinating how they grow so quickly."
Harmonia looked up at the sound of Medusa's snakes and squealed. She grabbed a lock of her mother's hair and pulled it like a curtain to separate her from Medusa.
"Oh… I should've known that wouldn't be so easy…" Medusa said. "I'm still a monster, after all."
"Don't worry about it; she's just not used to you yet."
Harmonia peeked back out from behind the hair curtain and made a confused peep.
"My name is Medusa," came the attempt.
Harmonia mumbled something in a similar cadence, trying to return the greeting.
Medusa reached for Harmonia's hand, and the little one grabbed a finger and wiggled it around.
"She can't refuse the powers of friendship forever," Megara concluded. "Not even I could do it, and I had a fully formed bitterness crust to protect me."
"Can I hold her?" Medusa asked.
"If she agrees. She's a stubborn little girl, and she always knows exactly what she wants and how to get it." Megara felt the pride roll off her in a cloud, and she didn't even bother to qualify it.
"Sounds like a fine future warrior!" Tempest said.
"Whatever she wants," Megara agreed. "Herc might train her."
"No! Herc's too soft. She ought to learn like a real woman!" Tempest shouted.
"Maybe you should join us and give them both some pointers," Megara suggested.
Harmonia reached for the nearest one of Medusa's snakes, but it dodged, and so did the others.
"She likes to grab hair," Megara explained.
Soon, Harmonia was a bubbly butterfly of joy once more, and in turn, she gave that joy to everyone who passed her around the circle. She only ever fussed if she was too far away from her mother.
When it was finally Galatea's turn, she asked, "How did you learn how to be such a wonderful mother for Harmonia?"
"I have to be in tune with Moni, but that doesn't mean I can anticipate anything. I can only react when Moni gives me a signal."
"Don't you remember things that you treasured with your own mother?" asked Helen.
Megara pursed her lips, but the women who'd been at her own birth took point in hushing Helen. "No," she said finally. "But Moni and I are figuring it out together. That's the only way we know how."
Galatea rubbed cheeks with Harmonia and sighed. "I can't wait to have a little love ball of my own. She's so sweet, and she smells of lemons!" No sooner had she emitted this praise than everyone watched her belly contract.
"Seems like the Fates have a sense of humor after all," Megara said, and gently took Harmonia from her. "I think it might be time for Moni to go back to Papa."
"Pa?" Harmonia asked.
"Yes, Moni," Megara said, kissing her cheek. "And maybe a nap, too." She hoped she wouldn't have to hear the screams.