Small Twists of Fate

Chapter Three

"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..."