Topic: Sweet Sorrow

Ayden

Date: 2014-07-05 12:35 EST
November 22nd, 2012

This morning had come too soon for the Singer household. Half of the inhabitants had been up all night - father, son, and daughter, sharing stories and trying to hold back the advance of time toward dawn with will power alone, while mother, aunt and uncle slept, not wishing to disturb what was so clearly needed. Ares returned Ayden to them as morning crept on, and by common consent, they had gathered together for the best breakfast Ellen was able to put together at such short notice. But as morning crept toward afternoon, they couldn't put it off any longer.

Hope stood in the middle of the study, Apollo waiting patiently by the desk, and faced her family with unhappy eyes. "I, uh, I guess this is it, then."

Though Bobby was the eldest and Dean was her father, it was Sam who stepped forward first to say goodbye to his sister. Smiling through a veil of tears, he took her in his arms to give her a gentle hug. They had been over all this before the previous day, and yet, he still felt the need to remind her that she wasn't just leaving them but going home, where she belonged and where - if everything went according to plan - they'd all be waiting. Though it was tucked beneath his shirt, he was wearing the ring Apollo had given her on a chain around his neck, close to his heart, where it would always remain. "Say hello to older me when you get there. Even if you don't remember this, I will, and I'll be wearing your ring as proof," he whispered for her ears alone.

Tearful herself, Hope cuddled into her big brother's embrace, nodding her agreement to his whisper as she squeezed him tight. It was no comfort to know that she wouldn't remember any of this when she was back in her own timestream; she felt the goodbye keenly in this moment. "I love you, Bertie," she whispered back to him, quick to dry her eyes before the tears fell, not wanting to leave him with the sight of her in tears again.

"I love you, too, Hope. Always have, always will," he whispered back, tears shining in his own eyes as he lifted his head from her shoulder to meet her gaze. "You're my best friend," he told her, his voice breaking. "I'll-I'll tell you all about our adventures when you get home, okay?"

"You'd better," she warned him, sniffing to keep herself at least vaguely under control. "I'm totally relying on you to be the easy-going uncle here." She flashed him a grin, gently ruffling her big brother's hair one last time.

It would be weird going back home to find one brother her age and one who was twenty years or so older, more uncle than brother. It would be twenty years or so before the Hope that he knew and loved would be old enough to share his secret and even then, there was no guarantee she'd believe him. At least he'd have his parents, and Bobby and Ellen, to back him up. He wondered what his younger counterpart would think when he found out the truth. Would he be jealous" Was it better to leave well enough alone and not tell her at all" Or maybe he should only tell her and not his younger self. It was all very confusing, but thankfully, he had twenty years or so to figure it all out. He chuckled a little at her remark, even as he swiped at an errant tear. "No guarantees, but I'll try. It'll be hard to fool me. I know all our tricks."

"You taught me all our tricks," she pointed out, backing up a step with a laugh, glad she'd brought a smile onto his face at the last. Her eyes flickered to Bobby and Ellen, and the older woman swept her up in a tight hug, swift and warm, propelling the youngest Winchester in the room into Bobby's arms whether he was happy to hug the girl or not.

Bobby offer a very grandfatherly hug, trying his best to remain stoic failing miserably. "This ain't good-bye, baby girl. We're gonna see each other again real soon. You be good for your mom and dad and have a safe trip home."

"You better be there," Hope told the older generation as sternly as she could manage. "'Cos I gotta learn how to cook somehow, and I'm not good with Latin yet. So there."

Ellen chuckled softly, recognizing their place in this little girl's life, finding it easier to say goodbye in the knowledge that it would only be a few years before they had her back again.

Dean hung back, reluctant to say good-bye. In a way, he was glad he was hanging onto one half of the duo, and he had often wondered over the last few days why he couldn't keep them both. If Sam's theory was right, there would be two Sams in the future. Why not two Hopes" But he had the feeling that might be pushing their luck a little too far. He knew there was one Fate left out there somewhere waiting to exact her revenge, and he didn't want that revenge to be taken out on his children. Sam remained close to Hope, though he had already said good-bye. Of all of them, Dean knew this parting was likely hardest on him, and his thoughts toward his eldest son softened. He wouldn't be like John, he reminded himself. He'd be a real father to his children - all his children.

"Don't you worry. I plan to be," Bobby replied, glancing at Dean and Nim or Jo or whatever name she was going by now. "You better get on with it then."

"Yes, Grampa." For the first time, Hope called Bobby by the name she and Sam had planted on him when they were children, rather than the safer Uncle Bobby she'd been using since they got here. She kissed his cheek, and whirled away to catch Ayden in her grip.

If Dean's sister was surprised by the sheer force of emotion that radiated from Hope as the girl hugged her, she did her best to hide it, knowing now that she had raised this girl through her teens and hoping like hell that future had changed for the better. "All right, squirt, ease off," Ayden murmured, gently setting the girl back from her with a smile. "Won't be so long before you see me again."

Hope nodded, rubbing at her nose as she sniffed once again. "I know," she promised. "Just remember to take a coupla pictures of the wedding this time. Always pissed me off that you didn't."

Ares stood quietly behind Ayden, saying nothing but looking on with a wistful look on his face, perhaps thinking of his own family and missing them, or at least, some of them. "Pictures?" he asked when Hope remarked on that. There were no camera on Mount Olympus.

Ayden

Date: 2014-07-05 12:36 EST
"Yeah, you know, get one of your artsy cousins to do a painting or something," Hope told him, waggling a finger under his nose cheekily. "No one's gonna do me out of seeing my Aunt Ayden in her wedding dress, not even my Uncle Ares, got me?"

As Ayden spluttered with laughter, stepping back to slide her hand into Ares' grasp, Jo snorted with laughter herself. "You are definitely your father's daughter," she told her daughter - her only daughter, sandwiched between sons, or so they had been told. She stroked Hope's hair as the two women embraced, kissing her cheek affectionately. "Soon you soon, baby," she promised, gently stepping back to let Dean say goodbye to his little girl.

Ares wasn't quite sure what to make of Hope's familiarity with him. She obviously knew him from the future, but he hardly knew her. Seeing the future was not one of his talents; if it was, it might have saved him a lot of trouble in the past. He linked his fingers with Ayden's, a somber look on his face, knowing he would be bidding her goodbye himself very soon.

Dean snorted a little at the remark from his wife, who seemed to fail to see how alike their daughter was to her, more so than him, or so he believed. There was no smile on Dean's face as he looked on, knowing it was his turn to say good-bye. Their last good-bye, as they'd already said everything they had to say to each other in private. "All right, no crying," he warned. "It's not like we're never gonna see you again. We just have to wait a few years 'til you're born." Was he trying to remind the others or Hope or himself of that fact' "Come here," he told her at last, opening his arms to his only daughter.

Hope flung herself into his arms, utterly disregarding the instruction not to cry. She was quiet about it, though; only Dean felt the heave of her body as she dragged in a slow, shaken breath to take control of herself before lifting her head. "Don't be an idiot, or I'm gonna have to do all this again," she told her father as solemnly as she could, looking up at him with a warning frown.

He clung to her tightly, even more tightly than Sam had, not really wanting to let her go. He'd been over it with Jo, tempted to ask her to stay, just as Sam was staying, but they'd both decided it was better if Hope returned to her own time where she belonged. He chuckled a little at her warning, his own eyes filling with tears, though he had warned her not to cry. "Just like your mother," he murmured back at her. "Don't worry," he told her, brushing a thumb against her cheek. "I'm not gonna do anything stupid, okay' I've got too much to live for."

She looked up at him, the man she had idolized long before she had lost him, hoping as much as she dared that their intervention was sending her home to a time when all the people she loved still lived. "Okay, Daddy," she nodded. She'd gone through with him last night all the things he wasn't allowed to do over the next twenty years, though whether he obeyed or not remained to be seen.

Behind her, Apollo cleared his throat as discreetly as he could. "Hope," he said gently, deliberately not looking at Ares as he spoke. He and the God of War had never really seen eye to eye, regardless of the fact that they were on the same side. "It's time."

Regardless of Apollo's feelings toward him, Ares had taken his and Aphrodite's side at the Battle of Troy and was still suffering indignities for it. Oh, how quickly the Olympians forgot and yet were slow to forgive.

Dean flashed a warning look to Apollo, refusing to be rushed in bidding his daughter farewell. "Keep your shirt on. I'm not finished yet," he told him, refusing to be bullied or bossed in his own home - or more accurately, in Bobby and Ellen's home - no matter who it was doing the bullying. He turned back to Hope, his heart aching to see her go and to hear her call him Daddy. She was his only daughter and there was no doubt she was a Daddy's Girl. "You take care of your brother when you get back and make sure he knows you love him," he told her quietly, as he pulled her close for another hug. Everything they had to say to each other had already been said, and yet, he was reluctant to let her go. "You're my girl. You always remember that. My best and my brightest."

Pulled in close for another hug, Hope kept the tears at bay through sheer force of will, something she had learned from the mother who watched with sad eyes from close by. "I will," she promised Dean. "You take care of my brother, too. I love you, Dad."

If it hadn't been for Hope and Sam, there was a good chance they might not have made it out of the church alive on their wedding day. It seemed like a long time ago, but it hadn't really been that long at all. Not nearly long enough. Dean wanted to keep her close forever, but in a few years, he'd have her back, and he'd move heaven and hell to keep her safe. "Don't worry about Sam. He'll be okay. I'll make sure of that," he said, darting a glance at his son, the look on the young man's face evidence of how hard all this was on him. He'd deal with Sam later; he only had a few short minutes left with Hope. "Love you, too, sweetheart. Take care of yourself," he told her brushing a kiss against her cheek. He looked to Apollo, his expression turning serious. "Make sure she gets home safe. No mistakes."

She kissed his cheek, and finally wrenched herself away, wrapping Jo up in another warm hug before tearing herself from them, stepping backward. Apollo held out his hand, and she hesitated, turning to squeeze Sam tight one last time. She didn't want to stay, but at the same time, she didn't want to go, either.

Sam wrapped her up in one last hug, knowing he'd relive this moment over and over in his head at night, wishing there was something more he could do or say to tell her how he felt, but if she didn't know already, there was nothing he could say or do to change that now. "Remember what I said. You haven't lost me. I'll be there when you get back, and so will Mom and Dad," he assured her quietly again.

"Maybe I'll have a baby sister, too," Hope murmured into his ear. It was a long shot, but no one really knew what else they'd changed, after all. She stood for a long time in her big brother's arms, ignoring the increasingly impatient fidgeting of Apollo behind her. "Be safe, big brother," she said finally, drawing back with a deep sigh. She looked at her family, arrayed before her, everyone she'd loved all her life, and could think of only one thing she could possibly say as her last goodbye. "Kick it in the *ss."

Ayden

Date: 2014-07-05 12:37 EST
Dean chuckled at his daughter's final remark, a fond grin gracing his face. "You bet your *ss we will!" he told her, glancing briefly to Apollo before looking back at Hope. "Now, go on....Get outta here before we start crying again!" he said, though he wasn't really in any hurry for her to go. He suspected if they drew out the goodbyes any longer, it would only make things harder, especially on Sam. "See you in a couple of years, baby girl!" he called, borrowing Bobby's nickname for her.

Hope nodded, pulling together a last smile for them as she slipped her hand into Apollo's. The Sun God withdrew a rib of Chronos from his jacket, wrapping Hope's hands about it, and snapped the delicate piece sharply. There was an implosion of sound and red light that seemed to blind without a flash, and abruptly, they were gone.

Jo stared at the empty space where her daughter had stood for a long moment, her vision watery. "Be happy, baby girl," she whispered, so low only Dean and Sam could hear her.

Dean turned to draw Jo into his arms at her whispered farewell, unaware that as soon as Hope had disappeared, Sam had fled the house, making a beeline for the back door as quickly as his feet would carry him.

Bobby exchanged glances with Ellen, wondering whether one of them should go after him or let the boy grieve on his own for a while. "I guess we'll find out in about twenty years or so how it all turns out," he remarked dryly. He drew something out of a pocket and held it out to Jo. "I thought you might want this, to remember her by," he said, handing her a photograph of their grown baby girl.

"Guess you'd better slow down on the drinking so you can see it, then, huh?" Ellen teased her husband, somehow managing to steer him into the kitchen without touching him. Though it was their house, they had been looking after Winchesters for years. They knew when a little privacy was needed.

Jo laughed as Bobby handed her the photograph, unable to stay sad at the image captured of Hope and Sam posing for the camera. "I hope you got copies," she told her husband softly. "We should frame one."

"You'll have to ask Bobby," Dean replied as he, too, glanced at the photo. "He took it last night. Insisted on it, in fact." Dean remembered another photo that Bobby had taken back home in his own reality, just before Jo and Ellen had died. It seemed a little surreal. This was his home now; this was where he belonged.

Jo's eyes strayed worriedly toward the back door, for the moment utterly oblivious to Ares and Ayden, who seemed to be keeping as quiet as possible so as not to interrupt anything. "Should we go and find him?" she asked Dean softly. "He's all alone out there now."

Dean didn't forget about Ayden and Ares lingering quietly nearby, sensing there was something else going on there, something his sister had not yet told him. His gaze flickered that way a moment before turning back to his wife and the matter of their heart-broken son. "You go. He won't talk to me anyway. I'll be there in a bit. Promise." He leaned in to brush a kiss against his wife's forehead.

Jo smiled sadly, rising up on her toes to kiss her husband, knowing how it must hurt to have such a strained relationship with a son who had technically not even been born yet. "Just give it time," she murmured gently. "You two will be great friends, I'm sure of it. In time." She squeezed his hand gently and moved away, nodding to Ares and Ayden as she slipped by and out through the kitchen, going in search of Sam.

"He's too much like me, in some ways," Dean said, knowing the boy - young man - had lost both him and Jo a few years ago, just as he'd lost his own father and mother before him. It would take time and effort, but Dean was determined to break down the wall between them sooner or later. He offered a strained smile back at her, hoping she was right before she slipped outside to tend to their son, leaving him with Ayden and Ares. He waited until Jo was out of sight before turning seriously to the other pair.

"You gonna tell me what?s up or make me guess?" he asked, his question mostly aimed at his sister. It was turning out to be a difficult day, and he wasn't sure he could take any more heartbreak.

Hand in hand with Ares, Ayden didn't even blink when Dean turned his serious expression onto her. "Uh ....Well, I'm gonna be staying here for a bit longer," she told her brother, glancing at Ares briefly. "Ares has a hunt he needs to finish, and this is the safest place for me right now."

Dean furrowed his brows at them both, wondering how much else they'd been keeping from him, probably thinking he'd been worried enough about Hope and Sam to worry about them, too. He arched a brow at the word "hunt", glancing briefly at the God of War who reminded Dean more of a teenager in heat than a fierce warrior. "A hunt. Uh-huh." He wondered what it was exactly that the Olympian was hunting. He guessed it wasn't foxes. "Okay, spill."

Ayden sighed, but continued speaking, knowing Dean wasn't going to be satisfied until he knew virtually everything. "We only got two of the Fates," she reminded him. "The one left is Clotho, the Spinner, and she could still make trouble. But Ares doesn't want me going with him to deal with her - apparently he has an ally already working on it." It was obvious from her tone as she said this that she wasn't pleased about being left behind.

Ares winced a little at the word ally, a word he would have used very loosely to describe the arch-angel he was currently in cahoots with. At least, she hadn't said friend. Ares' friends were few and far between, as far as he was concerned, though in his time of need, he might be surprised to see who came to his aid and who did not.

"The Spinner," Dean echoed, gesturing with a wave of one hand in a circular motion. "Isn't she the one who spins the thread of a person's life or some crap" I ran into Atropos once back home in..." He sighed. "It's a long story."

Ayden

Date: 2014-07-05 12:37 EST
"That's the one," Ayden nodded, finally releasing Ares' hand as she moved to perch on the edge of the nearest desk. "You know, the most powerful one, the one who can unpick your thread. In fact, the one that having a seer along to help with would be a good idea. But no, we're risking life and limb after asking me to marry us with just an angel for back up."

"That is a matter of opinion," Ares argued. "Atropos was the Cutter. She is....was the one who decided when to cut the thread of someone's life. Clotho only spins the thread, deciding one's fate." It was, of course, a matter of opinion which sister was the more powerful, each of their lives and duties overlapping the other. Without her sisters, Clotho was left in charge of it all and there was no telling what trouble she might cause them. As far as the angel went, he only grimaced in response to that and to the idea of her going along.

It was Dean who broke in, the light-bulb over his head finally turning on. "Gabriel," he muttered. Of course. Who else would be willing to ally with an Olympian to get rid of the last of the Fates"

"Gabriel," Ayden agreed, rolling her eyes. "Who has been ignoring me for the last week, anyway." She sighed softly, rubbing a hand through her hair. "But, yes, I'm being dumped here so you can stop me getting into any trouble while the man I love goes off and attempts suicide with a cocky archangel."

"You mean god," Dean corrected, not really thinking of Ares a man, per se. He might look like one, but he wasn't anymore human than Gabriel or Apollo. He turned his attention momentarily to Ares. "You asked her to marry you?" Yes, he'd been paying attention, thrown off for a moment by mention of an angel.

"I'm sorry I did not ask your permission first," Ares replied. "But yes, I asked, and she agreed."

"Dean, that really isn't the point of my little tirade here," his sister pointed out with a faint frown. She hadn't actually considered telling her family that she was engaged just yet, but it looked as though her irritation had done it for her.

"I'm not sure if I should congratulate you or be pissed off you didn't tell me sooner," Dean continued, knowing what it was his sister was getting at, but enjoying teasing her a little.

As for Ares, he only looked a little confused, as if he was unsure how to take Dean. "She only accepted last night," he explained, which was more or less the truth.

"And now, you're off to risk your neck to finish off the last of the Fates," Dean continued.

"Exactly," Ayden nodded, glad Dean had brought the conversation back to the crux of her upset. She hadn't actually talked about this with Ares, too distracted with celebrating their engagement the night before, but since they were all to be family anyway, she didn't think there was much that could be hidden here. Besides, her worry was just another symptom of her love for him. How could he be angry with that"

"I assure you I will be fine, Ayden. You have not dreamt of my demise, have you?" he pointed out, turning the tables on her once again, as he had once before when she'd been worried about her brother's safety. She was a seer, after all, and if anything was going to happen to Ares, there was no doubt in his mind Ayden would be the first to know about it. Of course, she might not dream of it until after he'd left, but that was beside the point.

Dean arched a brow at the pair, wondering if he should have just stayed the hell out of it, but Ares' safety wasn't Dean's main concern. "What happens if you succeed?" he asked, more worried about the consequences of such an action than the how or the why.

"That was a nightmare," Ayden pointed out heatedly to Ares. "And yes, I will have nightmares about it. If I See anything about it, I might have a heart attack!"

"A nightmare is still a dream," Ares countered, not quite realizing that they were having an argument. He glanced at Dean to answer his question, though he wasn't too sure of the answer. "I cannot say for certain, but without the influence of the Fates, all of creation would be responsible for their own destiny. The Fates would no longer hold any sway on mankind or Olympian." It seemed from what he was saying that even the immortals' lives were influenced at least in part by what the Fates decided.

"And if that one Fate has any influence, she'll use it on you," Ayden muttered rebelliously, but it was obvious that Ares did not have the first idea what was going on here. She subsided into steaming silence, stinging at his complete inability to realize when he was totally dismissing her feelings on any particular matter.

Dean sensed a lovers' spat in the making and knew his sister well enough to know what was really at the root of her troubles. "She's worried about you," he explained to the apparently dense Olympian. "She doesn't want to lose you."

Ares looked from one stubborn Winchester to the other. "She is not going to kill me, Ayden. I am not even sure if I'm going to kill her."

"What are you gonna do, then?" Dean interjected. "Make her promise to play nice and send her on her way' You were responsible for killing her sisters. She's not gonna take that lightly."

"Play nice?" Ares echoed, having a little difficulty with the man's tendency to use modern slang and in a language that was not native to Ares' ears. "I intend to make her an offer, but failing that, I have the dagger."

"And she's got your thread in her hand," Ayden pointed out. She rubbed her forehead, wondering whether or not she was ever going to be able to express herself to Ares without him misunderstanding or dismissing what she said or felt. "Baby, you can't say for certain whether she'll kill you or not. And she's a Fate. We don't even know if I can See her at all. The only reason I Saw the others was because I was foreseeing my death and Hope's."

Ayden

Date: 2014-07-05 12:38 EST
"Wait a minute," Dean interjected again. "I thought you weren't having any more nightmares." Though it was through no help from him. It was his earlier counterpart who had made the deal with Gabriel and made him promise to watch over her. This Dean only knew what Ayden had chose to tell him. "You saw your own death?" he asked, curiously. He suddenly wondered how much he hadn't been told yet.

"No, I-I-I don't, I mean I do have nightmares, they're just dreams like everyone else's, I ..." Ayden paused and tried to start again. "Look, after my mom died, I had really bad nightmares. They weren't in focus, they showed me loads of things that I didn't understand. I didn't know at the time that it was the psychic thing making itself known. So ....well, getting Gabriel to watch over me stabilized them. I still have bad dreams that are just dreams, but I also See things when I sleep. And, uh ....yeah, I felt myself die. It was not pleasant."

"And you haven't seen Ares die in your dreams?" Dean asked, seemingly backing up the God of War's train of thought. Of course, that didn't mean it wouldn't happen, but if she really was a seer, it seemed hopeful that she hadn't dreamed of his death.

"Dean," Ares started, appealing to Ayden's brother, since it seemed maybe at least he understood. "May I have a moment with Ayden?"

Dean looked between the two of them, more concerned with his sister than with the Olympian. "Yeah, sure. I'll, uh....I'll just go check on Jo."

"Yes, of course I have," Ayden snapped at her brother, rolling her eyes. "But ....no, not in the way that you're talking about." She sighed, knowing she was being more than a little bit irrational about this, and dropped her head into her hands, heedless as Ares begged a moment alone with her and Dean conceded.

Dean sensed the pair needed a moment or more than a moment to work out their differences. He'd had plenty of these kinds of conversations with Jo back home and then as Nimue here, but what had finally made him understand was seeing for himself what would happen in the future if he played the role of self-sacrificing hero he'd become so accustomed to playing back home. "A word of advice," he started, directing his statement to Ares. "Don't play the hero and don't do anything stupid. She loves you. Any idiot can see that, and I don't want to have to pick up the pieces if you do something stupid."

Ares looked to Dean curiously, wondering just what he meant by that, before nodding his head in agreement. "I will not do anything....stupid," he repeated a little awkwardly, turning to look at Ayden again and wrapping his arms around her to offer some comfort. Dean frowned at the two of them, realizing how similar they were to himself and Jo, even if the man his sister loved with an immortal. He quietly left them alone to go in search of his wife and son.

Despite her upset, Ayden leaned into Ares' embrace as he wrapped his arms about her, pressing her face into his chest to breathe him in as she slowly calmed down. "You must think I'm total idiot," she laughed, shaking her head at her own reaction to the proposed situation. "I can't stand the thought of losing you. You know what I'm like, I'm a worrier. You can't stop me from worrying about you."

"I do not think you're an idiot," Ares assured her as he held her close, holding her there as long as she wished. He understood her worries, and though he couldn't promise nothing would happen to him, he would do his best to make sure he returned to her safely. "You worry because you love me, and for that I am grateful. I worry about you, too, Ayden."

"Yes, but I'm not actively going out there looking for something that could kill me," she pointed out, raising her head from his chest unhappily. "I'm sorry, I know I should have spoken to you about it before blowing up in front of my brother. That was bad of me."

"I have to do this, beloved. It is dangerous to ignore Clotho. I have to make sure she won't cause any more harm in the future." Why him, she might ask. Why not him' He had started this, along with Hope and Sam and Ayden, and he intended to finish it, but he wouldn't ask her to help him. Not this time. "Do you trust me?" he asked, tilting her chin toward him as she lifted her head from his chest.

"But we started this together," she protested. "Why won't you let me help you?" Urged to meet his gaze by that gentle touch beneath her chin, she swallowed any further distressed words as he asked her the one question they both knew the answer to unequivocally. "You know I do," she promised him. "Of course I trust you."

"Because, Ayden, if I bring you with me, she will use you against me." It was just that plain and simple. He didn't want to have had to tell her that way, but it was the truth. She was a liability, a weakness. He loved her too much, and he knew Clotho would take advantage of that to bend him to her own whims, perhaps taking her revenge not be killing him but killing her. "You're safe here. I need you to be safe. I need to know you are safe until this is over. You must trust me to know what I'm doing. I have already spoken to my mother about this. I am not going to do anything foolish. I have a plan."

She eyed him with an unforgiving gaze for a long moment. "The last time someone I loved said that to me, they died in my arms," she pointed out, torn between tears and anger that he would expect her to just accept that everything would be fine because he "had a plan".

"I am sorry, beloved, but I am not your brother. I am the God of War," he reminded her, trying to be as gentle as he could, though he needed to make her understand somehow. "Even Clotho will think twice before thwarting me. She is not as powerful as she once was. Not without her sisters, and she will not expect me to offer her mercy."

"No, I know, I ..." She shook her head again, focusing her gaze on the pulse that jumped in his throat. "I do understand. I just, I hate being helpless. And I know, I'm always gonna be the helpless one. I'm not a fighter, I can hurt myself in a padded room, I attract trouble like the plague, I just ....I can't help being afraid."

"You are not helpless, my love. You are a seer, an oracle. You have a gift that very few have been given. If you try, you will See me and you will know I am safe." He bent his head to press his lips against her forehead. "Believe in yourself, as I believe in you, Ayden, and believe in me. I promise you I will not do anything foolish. I love you, and I intend to make you my wife. Call on my sister, if you must. She will know if I am safe."

Ayden

Date: 2014-07-05 12:41 EST
Beaten, Ayden knew there was nothing else she could say to express her concern without sounding like a spoiled child. She sighed, resigned to his insistence, and nodded her agreement, though her expression was anything but calm. Would she always feel this way when he went off to war" "Just be careful," she murmured to him. "I can't take losing another part of my world, baby. Promise me you won't take any unnecessary risks."

"I promise," he told her sincerely, a soft smile on his face, though he'd promised her that already. "I will return to you, Ayden Milligan, and I will make you my wife. You have my word as an Olympian and as your beloved."

She smiled reluctantly, rising up on her toes to kiss him with sweet tenderness. "Then you'd better go, before Dean comes back," she admitted with a sigh. "I can do any explaining that needs to be done, and you just stay alive and come back for me. Okay?"

He wasn't quite sure what Dean had to do with anything, but he returned her kiss, reluctant to part from her, but needing to finish what had to be done. "Try not to worry," he told her, knowing she'd do just that, no matter what he said. It was strange knowing he was leaving someone behind who cared so much about him. It had been a long time since he'd bid anyone farewell before going off to battle. "I will return as soon as I am able."

He paused a moment, wondering if he should tell her what to do if something did happen to him, but he had a feeling she would know if he was in any danger. "Remember that I love you," he added, kissing her again, and then he stepped away. There was a small shimmer in the air, and suddenly he was no longer Ares the lover, but Ares the warrior - clad in armor reminiscent of the Ancient Greeks, with a helmet on his head and a shield on his arm, but instead of a sword or spear, he held the Hind's Blood Dagger in his hand - one of few weapons capable of wounding and killing an immortal.

"Gabriel!" he called. "It is time."

The transformation made Ayden gasp, awed by the change in him as she stepped back. She had not truly seen Ares the warrior before this moment, stifling a smile as she considered what her initial reaction to seeing him garbed in leather and bronze had been. With sparkling eyes, she blew him a kiss as he raised his voice to summon an archangel.

By contrast, Gabriel looked downright scruffy when he appeared, jeans scuffed and jacket loose. He smirked at Ares, and bowed mockingly to Ayden. "Hey there, munchkin," he greeted the girl. "Knocked up already, huh?" Ayden's jaw dropped in surprise, but Gabriel was already turning to Ares. "Found her," he told the god. "Boy, is she a mess."

Ares arched a brow at the archangel's greeting. "You will address my intended with the respect and honor due her, seraph," Ares demanded. If these two ever managed to overcome their differences, it would be nothing short of a miracle. At least they had the same goals in mind. He barely blinked an eye at the remark about Ayden being knocked up, either because he already knew or because he didn't share Gabriel's grasp of modern slang. Ares frowned a little to hear that Clotho was not handling the deaths of her sisters very well, but he wasn't really surprised. "Then perhaps she will not give us any trouble." He wondered if he should go to her without his armor and shield, but no, that would be foolish.

"I knew her first, buddy boy," Gabriel pointed out calmly, not at all ruffled by the cold reception to the way he had greeted Ayden. Besides, now he knew Ares needed him, he didn't feel the urge to pick a fight quite so much.

"Hang on," Ayden interrupted, waving a hand at both of them. "Knocked up" Are you telling me that I'm pregnant?"

Gabriel chuckled, turning an innocent look onto Ares as Ayden's eyes pinned the warrior god in place. "I don't know, am I?"

"I would have preferred you found out another way," Ares replied, eying Gabriel pointedly before turning back to Ayden, "but I believe you are. It happened after you agreed to be my wife." He did not explain why it happened then, only that he believed it had. He had already warned her that it was likely to happen if they kept going the way they were going, albeit not in so many words. "Are you displeased?" he asked, looking a little worried, despite also looking like a bad*ss Ancient Greek warrior ready to face battle.

"Uh ..." It took a moment for Ayden to get her tongue around the truth. "No," she said softly, her smile sweet in the way it always was for him. "No, I'm not displeased. Just, you know, more worried about you now." She laughed a little, shaking her head. Worried about the warrior in front of her - it seemed silly.

Still wearing his innocence like a mask, Gabriel grinned and clapped his hands together. "Well, now the happy family is all made up," he declared, looking at Ares pointedly, "we've got a date with a spinner."

Ares wondered if Gabriel realized how easily he could kill the snarky archangel with the dagger he was holding, but for now, he held his tongue, mostly for Ayden's sake. Gabriel was grating on his nerves, but for now, he did his best to tolerate him. Still, it was him Ayden was worried for, not Gabriel and that made him feel a little better. The angel would never know or understand what it was to share that kind of love. "I will return soon," he assured Ayden, not wanting to make too much of a fuss in front of Gabriel. "Shall we?" he asked, looking once again to the angel, anxious to be finished with it.

Nodding, Ayden subsided, a hand gently laying over her womb, where something that wasn't even classed as a foetus yet was beginning to grow.

Gabriel nodded, dropping his attitude, and extended a hand toward the God of War. "Follow me." A moment later, he was gone, leading the way to where the last of the Fates was hidden.

As the archangel and Olympian disappeared, someone else made a reappearance. It seemed the voices and commotion in the Singer kitchen had drawn someone's attention and Dean had arrived back in time to overhear just enough of the conversation to know that his sister was with child. "He'll be back," he assured her as he stepped into the room, guessing that she might need a little reassurance and support from her big brother just then. Jo had things well in hand with Sam. It was Ayden who needed him at the moment.

Ayden sighed, already aching with Ares' absence, especially after that little bombshell had been dropped on her. She barely glanced up as Dean spoke, grateful he'd come back before she could fall apart. "I hope so," she breathed softly, leaning into her big brother's reassuring presence. It had been a bad start to the day, with two goodbyes to confound her - a niece sent to a future they could only hope was improved, and the father of her unborn child sent to fight the last of the Fates. But then, life was never dull as a Winchester. She should have learned that by now.

((Every time we think we've caught up, something else happens! We're getting there, though. Slowly. :grin: Many thanks to my writing partner!))