Daughter of Flames and Darkness

It's Time

"Must you go?" Maleficent asked as she watched her husband get himself ready.

"It's an official Olympian meeting. I don't want to go, but I have to." Hades said, slipping on his sandals. He walked over to her and held her hands before glancing down at his wife's belly. She was now in the final month of her pregnancy and they both knew that the baby would come at any time. He didn't want to leave her all alone, but he knew how adamant Zeus was about attending mandatory meetings. "It'll only be for a little while, promise. But remember. If you feel anything, all you have to do is call me. Okay?" He placed a hand on her stomach. "You're not feeling anything right now, are you?"

"No, just disappointed to see you go... And also hungry." Maleficent replied as she felt her stomach growl.

"That reminds me, where the heck are Pain and Panic with lunch? Those nitwits should be back by now." Hades shook his head and gave his wife a kiss. "Anyway, I gotta go or I'll be late."

"Alright. But don't worry. If anything happens, I will call you immediately." Maleficent said reassuringly.

"Great. See you later, babe." He looked back down at her stomach and gave a gentle pat, feeling the warmth of a familiar faint glow underneath his hand. "You too, kiddo." He leaned down and gave his wife's belly a quick kiss, which made her blush in embarrassment.

And with that, Hades took a few steps back and disappeared in a burst of blue flames, leaving Maleficent by herself. She sat down on the bed and started rubbing her enlarged abdomen with one hand. She felt the warm glow within, but quickly winced as she felt another hard kick.

"You're lucky your father finds your attempts at grabbing attention endearing." She said to her bump before Diablo flew in and perched on the bed next to her. She smiled and stroked his back. "Any day now, my pet. Any day now." Her calm moment of silence was abruptly interrupted when she felt another pang of hunger. "Ugh. Where are those imbeciles, Pain and Panic? I'm practically starving." She got up, grabbed her scepter, and walked out the door with Diablo reluctantly following close behind.

0-0-0-0-0-0

"The Council of the Gods is now in session." Zeus declared as he and his fellow Gods sat at their usual meeting table on Mt. Olympus. "Anything we need to address before we proceed?"

"Hey, wait. Has anyone seen Hades?" Poseidon asked.

Zeus glanced over to see the chair Hades usually sits in was empty. His eyes widened and he stroked his beard in thought.

"That's funny. Hades is not usually one to be tardy." He said.

"Hey! I'm here! Phew, here I am. Sorry I'm late." Hades exclaimed as he ran in and practically jumped into his seat.

"There you are, little brother. Where have you been?" The King of the Gods asked.

"Sorry, bro. Got caught up with something at home. But I'm here now." Hades replied.

"Caught up? Any issues with the wife by any chance?" The God of the Sea asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Issues? With Maleficent?! Never!" Hades argued. "Now can we just get on with this meeting, please? I wanna get this over with."

"Uh... sure, Hades. Sure." Zeus said, sounding almost uncomfortable. "Now, let's start off with..."

The King of the Gods continued to talk, but Hades didn't listen to a word he was saying. His mind was buzzing with thoughts of Maleficent and their child. He feared for her safety, of course, but he was also afraid he wouldn't be able to be there when the baby finally arrived. It could happen any day, any hour, or any minute even. He unconsciously drew circles on the table with his finger as he stared off into space, not even bothering to pay attention to his surroundings.