Chapter Three
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 Myths.
Hope you're all doing okay out there! Honestly, it's hard to believe it's February already! Soon it'll be March and then spring!
In case you couldn't tell, I love spring. The warmer the weather, the happier I am.
You know what else is hard to believe? The fact that we're at 31 reviews already! Thank you all so much for your continued support here! :D
AmethystDragon14: Yay! I don't know what I've been feeding the muses but they must be liking whatever it is they're getting! :D I think Hook acting like a human has to be my favorite part of all of this. And of course Henry got a mention! How could he not? :D
Katie2001: Oh yay! I'm so happy you enjoyed the chapter!
a-person-on-the-internet-75: I can see your point however the difference between this baby and Freddy is that there's a chance that Jessica/Claudine might actually be Hook's kid. They're still villains so selfishness is still part of them—not to mention taking Freddy from Frollo might actually start the war they're trying to avoid that much sooner.
61394: A pirate shanty is always appropriate especially for a fic about pirates! :D
twilightgirl587: Sounds like Jessica has a pretty good life ahead of her! :D
Greek Mythos: They were happily married in Disney with the exception of an episode of Hercules: the animated series where Hera and Zeus got into a fight. Also I use a mixture of Greek Myths and Disney for the Greek Gods here.
LotusQuil: Oh man, we all know that Zeus wouldn't last a day on the Isle! :D
Guest: I like the idea of having JJ as a nickname for Claudine/Jessica—though she'll probably be referred to as 'Jess' most of the time.
Never Say Never: Oh I loved this one shot! If I end up using your idea, I'll definitely refer to this one shot for ideas!
Guest: I do agree that Disney's version of Peter Pan takes Wendy growing up more gracefully than most Pans would have—honestly I prefer Peter in the sequel than I do the original just because I think there's more nuance to his character than there was in the first Peter Pan.
danifan3000: Yep, Claudine will be renamed Jessica!
Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think! :D
"Hades? Is…Is that a baby I hear?"
Hades paused and tilted his head as Persephone asked the question. Sure enough, there was a faint cry though whether or not it was Sammy or Jessica who was crying remained to be seen.
It had been a couple of weeks since the Hooks and the Smees moved in and, though he'd never admit it to Hook or Smee, Hades enjoyed having the human company.
It made up for dealing with the idiotic nature of Pain and Panic…and it distracted from the pang of missing his wife. Not for the first time, Hades cursed the creation of the agreement between Zeus, Demeter, and Persephone.
That wasn't to say the first day was without its learning curve—Hades for one quickly learned that he couldn't just shout for his minions whenever he wanted.
"Pain! Panic!" Hades shouted as he let in Milah, Hook, Mollie, Sammy, and Smee.
The baby in Milah's arms started to whimper from the sound. Milah started to gently rock her to try to soothe her—after all, Hades was going to get upset from time to time.
"Oh…whoops," Hades said and to his credit he did look somewhat abashed. "I'm…I'm not exactly used to having sunspots around."
"It's okay Lord Hades," Milah said, her voice soft as she continued to try to soothe her new daughter. "She's okay."
Hades nodded as Pain and Panic came running toward him.
"Pain!"
"And Panic!"
"Reporting for duty!"
Hades shook his head at their antics. "We're going to have company. I need you two to set up rooms for Captainess Hook and…is it Captain now?"
He looked over at Mollie as he asked that. While he might not have liked most of the Isle, Hades of all people knew the importance of titles. If this alliance was going to work, it would make sense if he didn't offend the people staying with him.
He could offend them when they moved out but until then…
Mollie sighed. "Well…yes Lord Hades but titles aren't necessary. Just Mollie is fine," she said, her voice soft. Maybe if the loss of her captain wasn't so fresh, she could have handled hearing her new title.
Hades nodded and turned back to Pain and Panic. "A room for Captainess Hook and Mollie Smee. Oh, and something for the babies to sleep in," he told them.
"Y-Yes sir! I-I'm pretty sure V-Virgil's old c-crib is around here somewhere," Panic said as Pain nodded frantically.
"Good," Hades said before turning to Hook and Smee. "Are you two staying as well?"
"For the night," Hook said. "And we'll be popping in frequently between shifts."
"As long as it's okay with you Lord Hades," Smee added. "If it helps, I can bring the crib we found in the barge for Sammy. We don't want to inconvenience you."
"That might be a good idea William," Milah nodded. "Jessica and our little one here can share a crib, Jessica will only be a month old so who's going to know if we pretend they're twins? But Sammy should have her own crib."
Hades nodded as Panic came back.
"Um…Hades?" The imp said, his voice soft as he looked up at his boss.
"What?" Hades barked but did his best to keep his voice soft. He didn't want to scare Jessica again.
"The…the rooms are…are all set, if our guests would like to pick one…"
"Ah. Right," Hades nodded and looked over at Milah and Mollie.
"Of course," Milah nodded with a smile. "Mollie, you go and pick your room first. You've been on your feet longer."
"I'm not the one expecting a child, Captainess," Mollie said. "You should get off your feet."
Hades shook his head. "Oy vey. Both of you, just pick your rooms. I've got souls to torment after all."
"…right, right," Milah nodded and gently kissed Hook's cheek. "It'll be okay. We'll be okay."
"I know," Hook nodded. "Because I'll make sure to feed Frollo to that blasted crocodile if he comes anywhere near you."
"Hope that croc likes its meat flame broiled," Hades said as he led them to the rooms. "Like I said, I tolerate you Hook, you're one of the few villains on here with a brain. Therefore, I can agree to being allies. Thus, your enemies are my enemies."
"Remind me again why we didn't try to talk to Ariel or Eric after Eric was elected High King so we could get a better agreement?" Hades asked, pulling himself out of his thoughts. This wasn't the time to reflect on the past.
"Because we didn't want to make it seem like we were using our familial connection to them to sway the royals of Auradon," Persephone said. "And more importantly, you're changing the subject."
"Sorry, sorry," Hades sighed, knowing Persephone was right. "It is a baby crying but…it's either Sammy Smee or Hook's new daughter. I can't tell the difference between their cries right now."
"Oh…" Persephone said softly. "Did…did something happen to Mollie, Smee, Hook, or Milah?"
Hades shook his head. "No, they're fine. I…I know this is going to sound completely insane but hear me out. Hook approached me a few days ago and asked if I could house his wife and Smee's wife and daughter."
"…why?"
"How familiar are you with the romantic interludes of the Isle?"
"Not as familiar as you are, dear, and I think you know that."
"Right, right. Well apparently Red Jessica of The Rose was pregnant and managed to hide it for nine months when she gave birth. Unfortunately…she didn't survive to meet her daughter."
Persephone gasped. "Oh…oh no. How tragic. But…the food's fairly decent for the Isle. Not Auradon quality of course but nothing that would cause death like that."
"You know as well as I do Steph that Eric used the plans Beast had proposed for the Isle when the election came about," Hades said with a small sigh. "And whether Eric just didn't think or didn't read through the plans all the way, it doesn't change the fact that there's no hospital here that might have caught the issues Jessica had before her birth."
"Right, of course," Persephone sighed. "But…why would you need to house the child if Hook was the father?"
"Unfortunately we don't know that for sure," Hades told her. "Yes Jessica had partnered up with Hook but he broke it off when he met Milah. However, Jessica also had a dalliance with…Frollo."
Persephone paused. "Are…are you saying that there's a chance that Hook's new daughter could be Frollo's?"
"See now why Hook wants his wife and unborn kid housed here?" Hades asked. "While it's still up in the air as to who the father truly is, if there's a chance the kid's Frollo's, Frollo will see the baby as his. Hook and the other pirates can take Frollo no problem if it comes to war, but for Milah, Mollie, and their sunspots' safety, they're staying here. At least until Milah's own sunspot is born."
Persephone couldn't help but smile slightly as she heard that. "That must be nice for you."
"I will admit…it's…nice having human company."
"Yes, yes, because Pain and Panic are morons. I know," Persephone said with a small chuckle.
"Well that and…I miss you," Hades said, giving his wife a small smile. "Having other people in here makes it easier to…to not count the days until you return even though I'm doing that regardless."
Persephone gave Hades a sad smile. "I miss you too. I've tried to enjoy being in Auradon but no one ever wants to hear about the Isle. At least not on Olympus and you know how isolated the Gods are."
"Has Ariel or Eric ever tried?"
"Ariel's come up to Olympus a few times but that's mainly to talk to Poseidon to check on her family since Auradon City's landlocked," Persephone shook her head. "You can blame Beast on that design."
"You know I will gladly blame Beast for everything and anything that goes wrong in this kingdom," Hades nodded.
Persephone sighed. "Hades…I know you mean well but there's something I can't help but worry about."
"Please tell me you're not worried about Frollo's other brat?"
"It just seems cruel to leave him with Frollo."
Hades shook his head. "No what would be cruel would be leaving a young girl in Frollo's clutches. We know the boy's Frollo's, he looks like a mini-clone of the man. Furthermore, if we took him, it would be guaranteeing a war on the Isle. Mollie's already promised she'd tell Frollo that Jessica was born stillborn if he asks so there's a chance that nothing will come of it. But if we took Frollo's son?"
"I see your point," Persephone nodded. "No sense in risking open war with the man who burnt down half of Paris to find Esmeralda. Would…would it be better if I talked to Captain Phoebus? Or even Quasimodo? You know he's married to Madeline so the baby would grow up with a loving family regardless."
"Steph, by the time you got Phoebus or Quasimodo to agree, you'd be back on the Isle and Jessica would continue to bond with Milah, Hook, and her sibling," Hades sighed. "Not to mention, there's still a chance that this is Hook's kid."
"So we just let a newborn suffer on the Isle?"
"What makes this one any different?"
"…I hate when you're right," Persephone sighed before changing the subject. "At least we don't have too long to go before I'm back on the Isle."
"I know. Still feels like an eternity though," Hades told her.
"How are Mollie and Milah coping with everything?"
"They're doing okay. Hook and Smee come around after Hook closes up the fish shop for the night."
Persephone couldn't help but smile as she heard that. Oh Hades…I know you're trying to deny it even to yourself but you care. Why else would you let Mollie and Milah stay with you? I love you so much, more than you know. And…I miss you. I can't wait to have you hold me in your arms again.
"Why don't you ask Hook and Smee to stay permanently?" Persephone asked. "If having the company helps you when I'm not there?"
"They've got their own lives," Hades said. "I'm just trying to avoid another sunspot being put before be to judge before they get a chance to live."
"There haven't been that many kids though," Persephone said. "The food might be as plentiful as it is here in Auradon but it's still edible."
Hades nodded. "Unfortunately, the kids I do get are the street rats. The ones who don't have allies who can help them get food. And with how Maleficent runs the Isle, even the most edible of delivery barges still winds up with me working overtime on delivery day."
"Right," Persephone sighed. "She almost always clears out the food…or should I say her goblins do."
"You know we actually caught a few goblins trying to escape the Isle last month?"
"Oh really?"
"Yeah. They said because they had a familial connection to the dwarves that they should be brought off the Isle."
Persephone shook her head. "Poseidon mentioned that. Even if they were just following orders the way Smee was with Tinkerbelle, the difference is that Prince Phillip likely would never let them off the Isle."
"It is hard to forgive someone who ties you up," Hades nodded.
"…why does it sound like you speak from experience?"
Hades chuckled. "Pain will sometimes complain about how Pegasus treated him after he and Panic disguised themselves as a female Pegasus to tie him up."
"Oh," Persephone said. "I…I don't know what to say about that."
"I tune him out most days," Hades told her. "It's usually whenever I'm asking them to do work he doesn't want to do that it comes up. 'Oh boss, I can't do that because my tail injury's acting up'. I mean, his name is Pain so he'd better be used to injuries."
Persephone shook her head once more. She knew her husband would complain about his minions until the cows came home but it was never more than a day. A week max if they did something particularly idiotic.
They might be morons but they were his morons as he would say.
The two of them continued to talk for hours, neither of them willing to hang up the portal call. They knew they would see each other at some point but getting to see them helped to fill a void both of them pretended didn't exist.
"…you should go," Persephone said, her voice soft as if she didn't want to admit that as a possibility.
"In a minute," Hades told her.
"But—."
"Steph, I still do my job as Lord of the Dead. Bolts for Brains has nothing to complain about if I spend my free time talking with my wife. Besides, if he didn't want us to use this portal, he wouldn't have created it in the first place."
Persephone couldn't help but give her husband a smile. "True Hades but you've got company now. You can't be a bad host now can you?"
"Sometimes, I hate it when you're right."
"Well it won't be long before I can be right about things in person."
Hades smiled before lightly pressing his fingertips to his lips and then pressing his fingers on the portal. "I'm counting the days."
"So am I," Persephone said, mimicking his actions. "Is there anything you want me to bring back?"
"Baby formula and diapers. I think we'll need them. Oh and baby toys."
"Okay how about something that doesn't make people think I'm pregnant?"
Hades chuckled softly. "You. I don't need anything fancy and the babies will be too young to want things like candy or electronics. I just need you."
"Then that's what I'll bring," Persephone promised. "Along with my usual bag of supplies. No reason for Maleficent to get to eat all the time."
"And this is why I love you," Hades told her.
"Ah yes, I figured my hatred of Maleficent would have some bearing on our eons old relationship," Persephone teased.
"Hey, you never know," Hades teased back. "You be careful over there okay? Come back to me."
"I always do Hades," Persephone promised. "I love you."
"Love you too."
The portal disconnected and Hades sighed. No matter how many times they talked, he could never get used to the feeling that came whenever the call ended.
Alright, don't wallow, he told himself. You've got allies to keep safe, sunspots to help feed, and souls to assign to the Underworld. Plus you need to make sure Pain and Panic don't destroy the place.
He could wallow when Hook and Smee eventually left. For now, he would enjoy the company.
It was a welcomed change of pace—even if the only time he'd admit it was in his head or to Persephone. It didn't change the fact that it was still welcomed, and it would always be.
