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There were too many people in this room. Poseidon wasn’t entirely sure how many people were supposed to be here, but he didn’t think it was this many.
Between screams and exhausted silence, Poseidon sat by his wife, watching the midwives try to help her. Nereus and Doris, Amphitrite’s parents, were also here, and quite frankly Poseidon wished they weren’t. Sadly, they were her parents, so he didn’t feel it was his place to send them out. Besides. Doris had given birth to fifty-one children. Surely she knew what was going on.
But if they knew what was going on, why had it been nearly two days, and the baby still had not been delivered? Why were there four midwives in the room and not one of them was helping ease his wife’s pain? She had been awake and screaming through near constant contractions for nearly two full days now, couldn’t anyone do anything?
One of the midwives was waving him out into the hall, along with Nereus and Doris. He kissed his wife, trying to impart strength to her, and she squeezed his hand gratefully.
“I’ll be right back,” he promised. She nodded weakly, and he smoothed hair away from her face gently before reluctantly leaving her side. As he went out into the hall, his unspoken question of “what the fuck is taking so long” must have been heard loud and clear, for the nymph serving as a midwife swallowed nervously.
“There’s an issue. The baby is turned the wrong way for delivery, and its tail is folded in on itself, making this incredibly difficult for her. Of all the children we’ve delivered, none of them have had this issue, I’m afraid we might have to call in outside help…” she said, and Poseidon swallowed. Fuck. Fuck, this wasn’t good. His wife was blessedly immortal, so she could not die to childbirth, but so many worst-case scenarios began flirting through his head.
“Who should we call?” Nereus asked, probably having a whole damn list of new midwives to call upon that would take hours to get there, hours they didn’t have, hours that his wife would be in pain, just to stand there and do nothing, just as these ones had.
“I don’t know. None of the other midwives I would think of have ever faced this before either… for the safety of the mother and the baby, perhaps we should call in… someone who has dealt with this before…” she said carefully, and all eyes looked to Poseidon.
“What? Who?” He asked dumbly. He was stressed, leave him be.
“You were born turned the wrong way, surely you know someone ! Come on!” Doris huffed, also worried for her daughter. She kept looking at him like this was his fault, as if just because he was born turned upside down, he made this baby be like that, too. Maybe it was his fault… the idea didn’t sit easy with him. Nereus got that look on his face like he was about to suggest something Poseidon didn’t like.
“Your mother delivered you like that. Perhaps she has some insight.”
“No. No way. I’m not calling my mother down here. She’s just gonna… micromanage everything, she might not even deliver the baby right, the woman is no fan of getting her sleeves dirty…”
“I know you have struggles with your mother, Poseidon, but what’s more important here? Your comfort, or hers ?” Nereus asked accusingly, giving him a hard glare and nodding at the room where his wife lay, in pain. Poseidon took a deep breath.
There were so many things that could go wrong with bringing his mother down here. For one, that would introduce her back into his life when he had worked hard to keep her out of it. If she even said yes. If she said no, then she would be able to laugh at his struggle. If she did come help deliver the baby, what if she didn’t let him hold his baby? She hadn’t trusted him around Zeus as a baby. His claws dug into his palms at the mere thought. And what if she poisoned Amphitrite into hating this baby for causing her pain, just as Rhea had hated him for the same?
Still, anything was better than leaving his wife to suffer. He sighed.
“It’s Amphitrite’s decision. I’ll ask her, if she wants me to bring in Rhea, I will do everything in my power to get her here,” he said, resigned. Doris nodded her head, exasperated.
He could hear them talking after he left them in the hall, Doris telling her husband in hushed tones of someone she knew, whose baby had come out stillborn after an ordeal like this. Poseidon’s stomach felt like a stone in his gut, weighing heavy on him.
He came back to the room and refreshed the cool cloth on his wife’s forehead, Amphitrite looking up at him and nodding her thanks, frowning when she saw his grim face.
“The midwives are saying they can’t do this. I can… I can go ask Rhea to help, maybe she would-”
“Not her,” Amphitrite interrupted in almost a snarl. Poseidon blinked at the sudden venom. “Someone else. Find someone else.” He couldn’t deny he was glad that his wife said no, a weight being lifted from him.
“We’ll find someone…”
“Maybe Hera?” She asked, and Poseidon could kiss her. He did, in fact.
“Ill send a messenger. Not gonna leave you here alone,” he promised, kissing her hand. Gods, he felt monumentally better at the idea of getting Hera instead of Rhea, bless his wife for agreeing, despite her struggle.
Amphitrite had met Rhea once, and apparently it left a bad taste in her mouth. Rhea tended to do that.
Poseidon summoned a messenger, his best and fastest dolphin, the very same as who had helped lead Amphitrite to him before they were married, Delphin. Poseidon had made him god of all dolphins after that, and even now he remained a good friend.
“I need a message sent to Olympus. Bring my sister Hera here, as fast as you can, can you do that?” Poseidon asked, still holding his wife’s hand. Delphin got a nervous look on his face at the thought of going up to Olympus, but he quickly nodded, his resolve strengthening at the faith his lord and lady were putting into him.
Poseidon held his wife as best he was able as she began to bear through another contraction, praying that Delphin would return with his sister in time, praying that their baby would not become like that of Doris’ friend.
— — —
Zeus was getting on her last nerve. Honestly. He just seemed so damn insistent upon telling her every little detail of a party he was planning, when quite honestly she couldn’t give less of a fuck. Everyone knew it was just an excuse to drink himself silly and make even more questionable choices that she would have to be the one to deal with.
It was almost a relief when there was a knock at the door to the throne room. Almost . It was not a day when they would be taking complaints from the denizens of Olympus, no matter how important they thought it. So instead of relief, she was filled with an even greater annoyance.
The being that opened the door at Zeus’ ‘come in’ (though he sounded as annoyed as she was right now, her only comfort), was a gray-faced fish-like creature, a long snout comprising much of their face. A gray tail moved behind them as they stepped into the room. He bowed, moving awkwardly as if not used to two legs. Hera supposed, as a fish, it wouldn’t be.
Why this creature wasn’t making a plea to her brother Poseidon, who would be its god if it lived in the sea, was beyond her. Zeus grumbled.
“What is it you need of me,” Zeus asked in a bored voice, his exasperation audible.
“A-actually, my king, I have come to request something from Queen Hera…” it said in a high, chittering voice that grated on her ears. It sounded like those creatures that Poseidon was so fond of. What were they called again? Dolphins.
“And what is it, that you could not ask your own lord for?” Hera asked, leaning on her arm.
“Actually, it is Lord Poseidon who has sent me… there is an issue down in his palace he needs you for,” the dolphin creature said. Hera sat up, as did Zeus.
“An issue?” Zeus asked, clearly thinking it was some sort of threat, not that Hera was thinking any differently. “And he needs Hera?” He added incredulously. Hera shot him a look. She could handle any threat perfectly well, thank you .
“Yes, your majesty…”
“Well what is this issue?” He demanded.
“The lady Amphitrite is in labor, has been for two days now, and there’s a complication with the baby…” the dolphin said, head still bowed. Hera stood up immediately, stepping towards the dolphin with urgency, the poor creature stumbling back to continue bowing at her.
“Get up, what are you waiting for? Take me to him!” Hera said. Zeus dared not argue, clearly wanting nothing to do with helping. Just as well. He would only be in the way.
“Deep breath, my Queen, for my lord Poseidon cannot empty the halls, the baby must be born underwater, for it is of the sea.” Hera indeed took a deep breath, and the dolphin transported them back to the undersea palace.
Immediately she could see a couple standing in the hall, talking. They both bowed when they saw her. She’d bet that those were Amphitrite’s parents. Poseidon came out to greet her, and he looked nothing short of the word frazzled. His hair was tangled and there were bags under his eyes, stress etched into his every feature.
“Hera,” he said with no small amount of relief, “thank you for coming so quickly… Delphin, good work, you are dismissed.” The dolphin, Delphin, swam off, his legs having melded back into his tail as soon as they had come back into the water.
“Of course, you called the right person. What’s the issue?” She asked, her voice distorted by the water.
“He’s oriented the wrong way,” Poseidon said, the unsaid ‘ like me ’ visible in the pain in his eyes. “His tail has folded over him.” That would make things difficult. It didn’t surprise her that Poseidon already knew it was a boy, but that look in his eyes, like this was his fault, she’d have to get that idea out of his head. The look that his in-laws were giving him was undoubtedly not helping either. They’d have to stay out here.
“Okay. I’m going to need space. How many midwives do you have here?”
“There are four in there right now…”
“Clear out all of them, send in two when I tell you. I need to see what I’m working with. Poseidon, you come in. Can you both sit in another room to wait?” she asked, and they nodded respectfully. It wouldn’t do to have too many hands in the kitchen, and Poseidon visibly needed a moment without so many eyes on him.
The midwives cleared out, waiting for orders a respectful distance away, and Amphitrite’s parents found another room to go wait in. Hera took stock of her brother. Now that no one was watching him, he was visibly shaking, trying to keep himself under control.
"I’m sorry if you were busy, I know this is short notice and probably a bad time and you have other things to be doing and-"
"Poseidon."
"And I’m sorry for not going up there myself but I couldn't just leave her and-"
" Poseidon ."
"Yes..?”
"It's gonna be okay. I'm here to help. Where is she?" Hera said in a steady voice. He swallowed hard, nodding. He led her into the room, immediately going to Amphitrite’s side. All things considered, she looked well-tended to, at least from what Poseidon could do for her. Food was cut up to be able to be eaten in small bites, ambrosia and nectar in amphoras beside the bed, and numerous cloths were by the bed to clear away sweat and cool her down. Hera smiled to see Poseidon doing what he could for his wife. She was the goddess of marriage, after all, it was her job to make sure that husbands were treating their wives right. She had no doubt of Poseidon being a good husband, he had been smitten with her from the start.
“Okay. Poseidon, I know I don’t need to breathe, but everyone does it anyway, and I’m not going to be able to focus on her properly if I have to keep water out. I need a bubble, and I need you to maintain that bubble. The baby needs water, but I need air. It can be just around my head. I can’t move as well in the water, so if you could help my movement as well, keep me anchored. Can you do that?” She asked, and he nodded, looking like he was drawing strength from her confidence. Good. He always had been good about just following orders when stressed, doing as told. Hopefully as long as he had a task, he would be able to help. The moment he started to panic, things would get a little bit harder.
An air bubble appeared around her head, and she felt the water around her legs push her down so that she was anchored to the floor, the water around her upper body less restricting so that she had better movement. She looked Amphitrite over, the undersea queen looking exhausted and more than ready to have this baby out .
“Okay. Amphitrite, we’re gonna try to gently move the baby around, okay? Poseidon, help me. Feel her stomach here, here’s the baby’s head, here’s where it needs to be,” she instructed. “This is gonna feel a little gross, hon, but we’re gonna need all the help we can get. Poseidon, how well can you manipulate your hand?” She asked, nodding at his prosthetic water arm.
“Very well, what do you need?”
“I need you to go in and very gently push as we help the baby move.” Poseidon nodded, and shifted to be able to do as told. His arm became longer and thinner. Amphitrite made an uncomfortable face as he did as Hera told him, Hera herself gently massaging the outside of Amphitrite’s stomach, until finally the baby was in a proper position.
“I can’t shift the tail without possibly hurting them…” Poseidon stressed, looking up at her. That would be a bit of an issue if it was still curled over his body like that, but maybe it would correct itself in the process.
“It’s okay. Back in your corner,” she ordered, and he let out a tiny chuckle as he moved out of her way. Good. He clearly needed that laugh. “Can you go get two midwives? Only two.” He nodded and ducked his head in the hall, gesturing for two of them. He had stopped shaking quite so bad. Good.
He returned to his wife’s side and rubbed her arm as the midwives came in. Hera ordered them to get blankets and cloths ready for the next set of contractions.
“Alright, hon, I know you’re probably so tired of hearing this, but at the next set of contractions, I need you to push. This is it,” Hera said, and Amphitrite weakly nodded. Poseidon offered her some ambrosia and small bites of food, and she took it, some color returning to her face after the drink.
When the next set came, Amphitrite began to push with a sharp cry of pain, gripping Poseidon’s flesh hand until Hera could have sworn she heard bones crack. Her little brother did not complain, but at his wife’s cry of pain and his attention immediately on her, Hera felt his control slip over the water anchoring her, and the bubble. A sharp call of his name had him remembering, the bubble regaining its shape and the water pushing her feet back down.
After almost thirty more minutes of tedious focus, and several more snaps of Poseidon’s name to keep his focus sharp, and Amphitrite pushing between sharp breaths through grit teeth, the baby was finally out, held in careful hands after they had carefully smoothed the tail out. One midwife noted that he probably wouldn’t ever be able to shift to a legged form for which to walk on land, and Hera suddenly felt awful. She remembered how she felt when she saw her firstborn, how upset she had been at his disfigurement. Now, she waited for Poseidon’s reaction, bracing for the anger that would inevitably come of her failure.
“ Thank you ,” was all he said, though, looking up at Hera from beside his wife, who looked downright wiped out . His hand was bruising from how hard her grip had been, but he didn’t seem to mind it a bit.
Hera supposed that as long as he had full range of motion, realistically, the baby might not need legs at all, considering where he lived.
Amphitrite weakly reached for her baby, smiling radiantly when he was placed in her arms. She managed to hold him for all of five minutes before her energy dipped, and she handed him back to Hera, and closed her eyes. Poseidon brushed hair out of her face and eased her into a more comfortable position to lay in while the midwives cleaned up Amphitrite and the baby.
The midwives were dismissed after that by Hera, and she held the baby until Poseidon was ready.
When he finally looked up at her, his hands were shaking again, probably both nervous and excited to hold his baby boy. She eyed the bruises on his hand, wondering if it was broken, when he suddenly faltered as he followed her gaze.
He shook harder, fear filling his face. “ I wouldn’t,” he said, barely above a whisper, and she frowned. What was he talking about? Wouldn’t what? What had put that expression on his face, wiped clear any joy from his eyes, in the blink of an eye?
Then she remembered a different baby, a different mother, sneering down at a much younger Poseidon. She remembered bloody hands and mutilated fingers, and she realized that he’d mistaken her concerned observing gaze with refusal to hold his own baby.
She walked over and shifted to pass the baby over, and he looked up at her, unsure if it was a trick or not.
“You were shaking, and your hand might be hurt. I was just making sure you wouldn’t accidentally drop him. Sit down, I’ll pass you the baby,” she said, and relief filled his face. He sat down next to his wife once more, and she passed him the baby. Joy returned to his eyes, and he grinned down at the baby boy.
“Do you two have a name picked out?”
“Triton,” he said quietly, in awe of his little baby. Triton’s little green tail flicked in his sleep and slapped Poseidon’s chest, and Hera saw tears fill his eyes. “He’s beautiful… thank you…”
“I should have done more to ensure he’d be able to have a bipedal form… I’m sorry,” she said, and he shook his head.
“He’s here, Hera… that’s all that matters.” Poseidon gently ran the back of a finger along the baby’s cheek, being careful not to hurt him with his claws. “Y-you must be tired, I have a room for you if you’d like to stay, and rest,” Poseidon offered, suddenly remembering his manners.
“Thank you, but no. You have a new baby, Sei. You need to focus on your family, not on hosting a guest,” she said, politely declining. Poseidon smiled softly at her in thanks.
“You know, Nereus and Doris wanted me to call Rhea…” Poseidon said.
“Good riddance that you didn’t.”
“I was going to. For her, I would have. But she didn’t want Rhea.”
“Your wife is looking out for you.”
“Even in labor… I found a good one…”
“You found the best one for you, little brother. I’m proud of you,” she said, and his eyes beaded with tears.
“You can’t say that shit, I’m already having an emotional day!”
“Too bad. I am proud of you. You’re gonna be a great father. I can tell.”
“Thank you…” Hera silently promised not to tell anyone if he cried. He did, but he deserved the good cry.
When Hera got back up to Olympus, her mood had significantly improved since earlier. She was wet, tired, her hair was a mess, but none of that could bother her. She felt like taking a nice long bath. Maybe even with her husband, if he decided to be tolerable.
“So?” Zeus asked as she entered, grimacing a bit at her state but softening at her smile.
“It’s a boy. Baby Triton. Amphitrite was exhausted. My goodness, that poor woman. Two days of labor?” She shuddered, and Zeus shuddered with her. He was being tolerable, she decided. “I am going to take a nice long warm bath,” she declared. He nodded, but she held up a finger before he could speak. “And you are going to join me.”
His face lit up, and he practically beat her to their bathroom.
— — —
Amphitrite woke up feeling very, very sore. She looked around the room, taking stock of herself. She’d been cleaned up, some blankets resting over her. A gentle hand was carding through her hair. She looked towards the source, and saw her dutiful husband holding their baby and stroking her hair. She made a noise, and he looked at her, a loving smile spreading across his face.
“Hey… how are you feeling?” He asked lowly. The rumble of his voice was comforting.
“Sore. Tired. Good.”
“Mmh… do you want to hold him?” She nodded, and he gently placed the baby in her arms. He shifted to pour her a half and half cup of ambrosia and nectar, offering it to her lips. She drank, feeling much better once she had. His hand was blotted with many different colors, she noticed, and she frowned slightly.
“What happened to your hand?”
“You have a strong grip, my pearl. I am fine. Isn’t he beautiful?” He asked, diverting her attention. It worked. Their baby boy… Triton. He was perfect. A light sea green tail, though she was sure it would get darker with age, and a few little wisps of light blue hair, like hers. She looked up, and her husband was looking at both of them like he could see his whole world right in front of him. The sap. She leaned her cheek up, non verbally requesting a kiss, and he readily gave it to her. She could hear the purr that was rumbling through his chest, and she smiled.
Her whole world was right here, too.