Disclaimer: I don't own any reference to copyrighted material, but I do own the idea of this story.

Chapter One: Seeds of Doubt

Greece would remember this day as long as poets could write on scrolls and artists could paint on pots and walls. On a day when such an epic battle was fought, the most unlikely of outcomes had occurred. Good had prevailed over evil, and a hero had emerged a God among men. But the hero, helplessly in love, gave up his immortality for a life with one good woman.

But this story isn't about the hero, who in his own right has too many accolades to mention, and it is not about his trusty sidekick trainer or his graceful, winged horse. No, the one good woman, Megara – called Meg by her heroic friend and lover – is the heroine of this tale.

It wasn't everyday heaven fought hell on such a large scale, and the celebrations in Thebes continued through the night. Hercules, Phil, Pegasus, and Megara were in the streets celebrating with the people well into the morning. As Apollo led the sun across the sky, Meg and Hercules made a quiet exit from festivities.

"Meg, I love you," he whispered in her ear as they made their away from the noise.

"And I love you," she returned with a kiss.

He embraced her tightly- perhaps too tightly- and their romantic interlude was interrupted by her quickly gasping for air. When she subconsciously pulled away to catch her breath, Hercules began to apologize profusely.

"Meg! I am so sorry! Are you all right? I didn't mean to…oh…you're coughing! I'll go get you some water!"

Her small hands grabbed his cape before he could go far.

"It's all right, Wonder Boy. I'll manage. Don't go."

"I'm sorry," he apologized once more.

"Relax before you become spastic like Phil. I'll be fine in a minute. The city air isn't what it used to be."

"You're right. Fresh air is what we both need right now. Let's get away from this place. I'm going to get Pegasus."

"Hercules, wait!"

He took her hands from his cape and kissed them. "I'll be right back." And in a flash he was gone.

Meg shook her head and smiled. "Hercules, you are one definitely one of a kind," she said under her breath.

She sat on the edge of a nearby fountain dangling her fingers gingerly in the water as she waited for him to return. As she playfully made a figure eight in the water, a light began to glow beneath the water. Before she could remove her hand from the water, it was grabbed by another underneath.

"You know you don't deserve him," said a disembodied, familiar voice. "But you took everything he had been working so hard to achieve away without a second thought. That's pretty low even for me, and I am very impressed. After all this time, I've rubbed off on you…"

"No! Hades, you're wrong!" Meg hissed as she tried to escape his grasp. "He wanted…"

The God of the Underworld continued to pull her closer to the water, and her elbow was now fully submerged.

"He wanted nothing else but his home on Olympus," the God finished for her. "You were just a distraction. Do you think he would have remained human if he didn't feel obligated to do so?"

"You're wrong! Let me go! I won't be under your control any longer!"

He pulled her down until her face was centimeters away from the water's brim. "Yes, and I won't make that mistake again. Now that you're both human, it may be easier for accidents like the pillar to happen again. And you can be assured there will be no deal to save your boyfriend this time around!"

Her eyes grew wide at the thought of Hercules crushed underneath the falling pillar she saved him from less than a day ago. The next thing she knew the light beneath the water vanished, and she fell head first into the fountain. Though the water was less than three feet deep, she couldn't rise out of the shallow depths. It was if there were hands behind her back pushing her down. As she thrashed about in vain, the one hand she so desperately wanted pulled her out from the water.

"Meg!" Hercules screamed. "Meg! Are you all right? What happened?"

She wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his warm, muscular shoulder. She didn't want to lie to him, but she couldn't tell him what she had really happened. The memory of it was still painfully fresh in her mind.

"It's nothing. I thought I lost my grandmother's ring in the water, and I fell in by accident while I was looking for it."

Hercules turned his head quickly to look closely at the fountain. "Did you find it?"

"Yes, I mean no. I mean…it…it went into a drain. I won't ever see it again."

Hercules smiled as he suddenly felt useful. "Step aside, Mam," he said playfully. "I'll just rip open the drain and retrieve it for you."

"Oh no you won't!" she shrieked. She was afraid if Hades could pull her underneath and nearly drown her in the fountain, he'd do worse things to Hercules. "You will not flood Thebes just because I was being careless."

His eyes were still searching the bottom of the shallow pool; it was obvious he was half-listening to her.

"Hercules, please," Meg pleaded. "Don't get in the water. Let's get away from here. In fact, the further away, the better."

His blue eyes met her violet ones. "Are you sure? An heirloom like that must have meant a lot to you."

"Well, it's not like I can take it with me when I die," she replied without thinking. Meg bit her lip in frustration when Hercules suddenly became still, horrified.

"Forgive me for saying that; please, let's go. Where is Horse Feathers?" she said frantically.

Hercules looked at her confused, but he whistled for Pegasus to appear. In an instant, the white winged stallion appeared. Meg gulped hard as Hercules pulled her on the horse. She had a strong fear of heights. She closed her eyes as the horse took off and gained speed as they headed up. They weren't long in the air before Hercules ordered Pegasus down.

"Meg, open your eyes," Hercules said. He had her in his arms on the ground. When she didn't, he kissed her eyelids softly. "You're more tense than usual. What's wrong? Tell me."

Her long eyelashes fluttered as she opened her eyes slowly. She lifted her hand to gently run her fingertips across his worried face.

"You need a shave," she joked.

He put her down and walked a couple of feet away from her. He was obviously agitated. "Meg…"

"Hercules, I am sorry. The past twenty four hours have been a little overwhelming, for the both of us."

"A lot has happened," he agreed. "And a lot of things have changed."

"I am scared for us," she admitted.

He turned to face her. She was still wet and shivering. Ever the gentleman, he took off his cape and wrapped it around her torso snugly. "Don't be afraid. I won't let anything happen to you. I will protect you, and the Gods are surely on our side."

"All the Gods except one," she reminded him.

"Hades," he said through his teeth. "Well, I am sure the God of marriage will be in our favor."

"Marriage?" she exclaimed.

"I had hoped that's where we'll be headed one day," he said, hurt at her surprised tone of voice. "I want you to be my wife, Meg. After everything has happened, well, I had hoped you'd want the same."

"Of course I do! I love you! But are you sure you want to…be my husband?"

He smiled his perfect, laughing smile. "Well, people do crazy things when they are in love." He then pulled her closer to him and kissed her with a gentle urgency. Pegasus rolled his eyes and whinnied loudly in annoyance at the display of affection.

"I want to do things properly," he stated as he held her in an embrace. "Men in this position, I mean, the man usually ask for the father's permission, don't they?"

"Only you would worry about that," she laughed. "You really don't need my father's permission."

Hercules looked away, embarrassed. "I should have asked this before, but is your father, well…"

"Both of my parents are alive," she stated. "And, I have no doubt they will love you. In fact, I believe my mother will faint from shock if I show up at the door with you. You're exactly the type of man she has been praying to the Gods for me to marry. Talk about irony…"

"Then you wouldn't mind if I met them?"

Meg shifted her weight nervously. "Hercules, I haven't talked to or seen them in years. The last time I was home was right before I began working for…" There was no need to name her employer, for it was understood between the both of them of whom she was referring.

"Then this is the time to do so. It will be the start of a new beginning for the both of us."

"A new beginning…" she repeated under her breath.

Megara tightly hugged her fiancé, and she hoped he would do the same even if it meant she were to faint again. She wanted to remember everything about this moment, for it was one of the happiest she had ever had. However, a voice echoing Hades's threat in the back of her head was tarnishing her happiness, and tears began to well in her eyes. She prayed silently to the Gods that she would never see him again as long as Hercules and she lived. Unfortunately, the Fates had other plans in mind…