Hades had woken up in the middle of the night for the third time in a row, and it wasn't because he had a nightmare. It was worry. The reason for his distress was curled up next to him, red curls spilling over onto his chest. He envied her ability to shut off her mind and rest, but he supposed it was a mortal thing. She couldn't sense things the way he did. And right now he had to be on top of his game.

Two heartbeats. As long as he heard the steady rhythms of hearts belong to mother and child, things would be fine. And that's what he was doing now while she slept, listening for signs of life.

One benefit of being a god, the god of death to be specific, was the ability to sense life and all its particulars. It came with the job description: he was in charge of the dead, and the dead were once alive after all. Hence, he could tell just by using his magic how much longer a mortal had before they ended up in his domain. Or, in this case, if they were pregnant. And the mortal occupying his bed definitely was.

Zelena was exactly 5 weeks, 8 hours, 24 minutes, and 10 seconds away from going into labor, and his anxiety had gone through the roof. Ever since he found out she was carrying his child, a demigod, he had gone into overprotective boyfriend mode. Was their bed comfortable enough for her? Was she eating enough? Even though he knew the baby's vitals were perfect, he had to double check. And then triple check. Over 2,000 years old and he was about to become a father for the first time. He was determined to not screw it up.

Satisfied that his beloved and the baby were fine for now, he settled back into the pillows, wrapping an arm around her stomach. His precious little hellspawn was kicking away under his fingers, no doubt causing Zelena great discomfort. Pregnancy was difficult enough, but the baby was half god, and her mother was mortal. A powerful witch, but not immune to the strain this particular pregnancy was putting on her body.

"Easy there Princess, easy." He whispered, rubbing his hand in a circular motion.

"Let Mama sleep." Their daughter was strong, and not only physically. He could sense the little one's magic already, no doubt having inherited raw power from Zelena and godly special abilities from him, probably his immortality.

He kept talking to the baby for what seemed like hours, making sure she knew how much she was loved. It calmed his mind- telling his heiress he would give her Mt. Olympus if she desired it. His brother's reaction would be priceless, anyway. Worth the trip.

"Hades?" He heard Zelena mumble, shifting to face her incredibly doting lover.

"Yes, my queen? My goddess?" The Lord of the Dead was now in full on panic mode, searching Zelena's face for any signs of pain. Was something wrong? Oh god was there something wrong with his senses? He should have been more alert…

"I love you, but shut the hell up. It's 3 AM." He relaxed. She was just grumpy. Nothing to be concerned about.

"Sorry babe."

She tensed. "Call me babe one more time and I'll incinerate you." There was the sass he loved so much.

"Night, my little green bean."

In retrospect, provoking his hormonal girlfriend was not his brightest idea. She opened one eye, and he should have known that even in pregnancy, she wasn't to be messed with. He was evicted from their bed by one strong push, landing on the floor with a thump.