Lieutenant

Chapter 33

Time was both a friend and an enemy. Artemis watched as things began to change once more as they always did. The demigods who'd been so young and unpredictable had struggled their way into adulthood, now with an opportunity to settle down, and have a decent life.

It was no surprise when weddings became a normal occurrence, as did the invitations. It was a prosperous time in the demigod world and why shouldn't they all seize the opportunity while it lasted?

Artemis showed up to each wedding and smiled, she played nice, but part of her couldn't invest much attention into the festivities. She felt out of her element, this wasn't her territory, and she was always incredibly out of place.

There was only one time that the goddess felt included and welcomed. It was, of course, a small gathering. Nothing large or grand as Thalia had specifically requested, as had the Roman, Reyna- Artemis supposed she'd better begin addressing the girl by name.

Only a handful of people were invited, mainly friends and family, and most of the Gods did not make an appearance. Zeus was wise to remain absent in it all.

Thalia didn't dress to the nines as many people would have expected and neither did Reyna. Others may have taken it as a sign of embarrassment, that the two girls were trying to downplay the importance and rarity of it all, but Artemis knew that Thalia just wanted something simple.

The goddess couldn't blame her. There had been enough fuss over their relationship when it had originally taken shape. It wasn't every day a huntress was set free of their oath without consequence, let alone a praetor of Rome falling for a Greek, not to mention the complicated history involving Jason.
— — —
After the wave of weddings, there was a span of quiet before a new wave took shape. This wave included offspring. It was something practically unheard of for the Greeks, but it was a welcome change.

A young Jackson was born, then a little Grace boy, then a Valdez, another Grace boy, an adopted Di Angelo, and a Zhang. Artemis had the chance of meeting both of Jason's children once, only because Thalia insisted it was the right thing to do, they were family after all.

The eldest was named Jaxon. He had blonde hair like his father and seemed to be the roman's spitting image. Jaxon's younger brother was Andy, the spitting image of Piper.

Artemis found it amusing how excited the little demigods could get at the mere sight of their Aunt. Jaxon had sprinted down the hall, small feet slapping on the floor, until he'd nearly tackled Thalia in a tiny hug.

"Hey kiddo, you're getting insanely fast." Thalia had smiled and picked him up. "You're gonna be a track star I'm sure of it."

Compared to his brother, Andy was much slower, crawling on the floor but giggling as infants did all the while. When he reached Thalia his little hands had used her pants to tug himself to his feet. Small arms arched upwards demanding to be lifted as well.

"They're adorable," Artemis had noted, unsure of what else to say.

"They're little buggers." Thalia teased, as Jaxon smushed her face between his hands. "But I love them because they're my little buggers."

— — —
Slowly, the two boys had taken a liking to the goddess, but Artemis was more than happy to sit aside and watch Jaxon rough house with Thalia.

The two were definitely interesting to watch and occasionally Andy would make some sort of animal noise and crawl into the fray. The goddess had been worried that the little infant would be hurt, but Thalia was always careful and conscious of where Andy was located.

As all children do, Jaxon and Andy eventually grew tired, and were more than happy to use Thalia as a pillow and bed. Jaxon had clambered onto her stomach and sprawled out like a starfish while Andy rested on her chest like a tiny koala. "Great, now I'll never be able to move."