Sons of Sparta

Sons of Sparta - A Story of the Spartans, Book 2

(inspired by the story 'Spartan' parts 1 through 4)

by argouru

Note 1: All credit for the creation of the Spartans and Amazons, as well as the Spartan mythos belongs to the author 'CF', to whom I owe special thanks for his allowing me to write about these incredible people.

Note 2: This story is a bit different from Book 1, as it shows various events in the lives of the family from book one and their friends. It only seems slightly random as I tackle things in linear order. Hope you enjoy!

It was early in the morning, just as the first light of dawn began to tint the horizon when the rental car pulled up to the house. Two men opened the car doors, both tall, tanned and well muscled in an athletic manner. One was clean shaven with short, light brown hair and dark blue eyes, the other with dark brown hair that was buzz cut to keep it short, a short-trimmed full beard and piercing green eyes. They got out of the car and looked around at the Victorian-style house in the yard and the large empty lot next to it at the corner of the intersection, surrounded by houses on one side, an abandoned shop next to the lot at the corner and the fog rolling down over the hills that surrounded this part of the metro on every side except the west. The smell of the ocean was carried on the soft breeze. The thick fog made everything look like something out of a dream, or perhaps a movie, such as a mystery... Or a horror movie, knowing Sam, the blue eyed person thought with a smile.

Daniel looked around and had to admit that the area looked very nice. The fog coming down the hills was very pretty to look at and the scent of the salty sea air was vastly different from the moist air from the lakes of Minnesota. He watched his partner with a slight smile at seeing the way Sam's face brightened with a child-like wonder as he gazed around. Daniel looked around as the sky became brighter, his keen real estate training kicking in as he eyed the property. The land was actually two lots but he was certain that he could get the properties combined and zoned as business land without too much of a hassle, especially with the legal firm backing them.

He walked around, getting a feel for the land and examining the properties with a critical eye. It seemed like fairly nice land and the survey records for the area showed nothing that would be a serious issue. He yawned, feeling groggy. I wish we'd waited until later in the day to come out here, he thought, But I can understand why Sam wanted to get away from the motel. Somehow his admirers had found out they were coming and had flocked to their motel as soon as they'd discovered where the couple were staying. Sam had wanted to get away from them as soon as possible, despite being able to handle being mobbed with grace, at least nowadays, that is.

Poor Sam... He never wanted to become a celebrity but it's not like he's a normal man. Six years or so ago, about two years after he and Daniel had met in a lakeside park and their partner bond had formed, Sam's life had changed forever. When they had first met, Sam had been a human who lived alone. After a difficult week of learning that it was the lifebond that had made him so obsessed with Daniel, they had moved into the human's apartment together, then when Daniel had become Emergent thirteen months later, Sam had fathered Daniel's first child.

Daniel was a Spartan, one of a member of a human-like species of hermaphroditic males whose only main difference from humans was in the way they reproduced, not counting the enhanced physical attributes all Spartans had of being stronger and more athletic than humans. Each Spartan had a single lifebonded mate, the one and only person, be they either another Spartan or a human man, that could help them to have children. The funny thing was that if a person didn't know what to look for in the standard physique that all Spartans shared of being over six feet tall with a well-built body and a slight perpetual tan, they'd never know a Spartan from a human. The only time that Spartans were clearly distinguishable from human males was when they entered their reproductive cycle, called Emergence, when a series of filaments that resembled a circular fan of feathers grew out of their navels. It would be obvious to all because the filaments couldn't be covered up without causing intense agony.

The filaments, composed entirely of raw nerve endings, were very painful to the one who bore them and the only pain killers which would ease the discomfort would also cause the filaments to separate and fall out. The emergent Spartan would either allow the filaments fall out naturally, or allow their partner to deposit his semen onto the filaments, causing gestation, or pregnancy, as humans called it. The filaments would spread out across the lower torso to form a supporting network for the temporary womb that would grow on the outside of it and hold the growing infant until the time when the baby would be born and the womb be forcibly removed from the father to free the child. Thus a new Spartan would be born, as the Spartan genes always won out, ensuring that the baby carried on the genetic heritage of the Spartan species while having various physical characteristics of each parent, even if one of them was a human.

That was how Daniel and Sam's first son, Henry Danielson, bearing his human father's middle name, had come to be. But four months after Henry's birth, Sam had developed an inoperable, untreatable brain tumor and was given only a few months to live. Sam had set his affairs in order, then flown with Daniel and Henry to the temple of Apollo, the god responsible for the existence of all Spartans and worshiped by some of them as their god, including Daniel and his family, in New York for the rite to confirm Henry as a true Spartan before his people. But Sam knew that Daniel, whose love for Sam was so deep that he couldn't bear to live without his partner, had planned to end his own life after the human's death, leaving their child an orphan just as Sam had grown up.

Sam, who was an atheist at the time who had lost his faith in his own religion of modern Satanism, had decided to pray to Apollo for the sake of his loved ones. Apollo had entered into Daniel's body with his permission and asked Sam to offer sacrifice that his prayer be answered. With only mild hesitation, Sam had committed suicide, ritually sacrificing himself to the god of the Spartan people that Daniel would find the strength to endure without him. But Apollo had then brought Sam back to life that Daniel would not be lonely, then transformed him into a Spartan and helped Sam to use the power hidden deep within himself to cure him of the tumor. After that, Sam became a loyal worshipper of Apollo, joining the rest of his new family's Apolline faith and deciding to work towards becoming a priest of his new lord. That had been six years ago and since then Sam had gifted Daniel with the impossible... Spartan twins born of the transformed man, who had been gestated to completion due to the combined aid of Apollo and Sam's inner power, who he named Marcus and Jason Samson, as the Spartan children always took the first name of their birth father with the suffix 'son' at the end as their last name.

Now, countless people saw Sam as a symbol of divine existence and power. Sam had been receiving donations from new and old believers in Apollo steadily and now wanted to use that money to found two more temples in America so that those who wished to worship the god Apollo could do so without having to travel all the way to New York to the only currently existing Apolline temple in the US. Their purpose here in Santa Rosa, California, about an hour's drive north of San Francisco, was to find a suitable site for the west coast temple as land in Des Moines, Iowa had already been secured for the Midwest temple located in the center of the country.

Daniel yawned again. We should've stopped for coffee or something, he thought as he turned his attention to the house itself. Seems nice enough.

"Hey Sam... Let's check out the house."

He pulled out the key he'd been loaned by the agency and unlocked the door. As they inspected the house, they found that the water pipes and electrical wiring needed updating but would work for the time being. The structural integrity of the house was sound and while the basement was somewhat smaller than Daniel would've liked, it was serviceable. At least there's enough bedrooms for the head priest and their family. Five bedrooms is rather spacey. If the head priest has a small family, maybe they'll be willing to let us stay here instead of renting a motel room, or something. Sam'll have to visit at least sometimes, since he's the one responsible for founding this temple and I'll naturally be coming along with him... Maybe the boys too, so that they won't miss us too much.

They went up the stairs and into the master bedroom, where they gasped at the spectacular view. They'd really lucked out here. Mrs. Jarvis, the former owner, had died after being hospitalized when she'd had a stroke, leaving the property in limbo until Daniel had managed to snag it. Now they nearly owned the property and could begin to make plans to start constructing the temple on the adjoining property. It's going to be pretty noisy here for quite awhile for the priest and his family... Oh well.

He turned to Sam and saw the look of joy and wonder on his partner/husband's face and knew he'd found the right place. He walked over behind his mate, wrapped his arms around him and kissed Sam's left ear. "You like it that much, huh?"

"Yeah," Sam answered softly. "I wish we could live here... But I don't want to leave the family behind."

"Tired of Minnesota?"

"Frozen wind and tons of snow for up to five months a year, humid heat that's impossible to breathe in during the summer, potholes the size of trashcans every spring, psychotic drivers with their 'me first!' attitudes and a road system that's determined to kill you by getting you forever lost if you make a wrong turn? What's not to love?"

Daniel chuckled and kissed Sam's ear again. Sam turned around in Daniel's arms to face him. "Do we really have to go home?"

"What about the kids?"

"Can't we just sell them? I bet we could get some pretty high bids for Henry on eBay." Daniel glared at Sam with annoyance marring his smile. "What?" Sam asked innocently.

Daniel sighed with disgust and shook his head sadly. He turned to look out the window. "It is pretty fantastic here, huh?"

"Yeah but we have family back home... At least we'll be here sometimes once the temple's up and running."

"True. But enough about real estate," he said, leaning in for a passionate kiss. They became aroused, massaging each other's asses through their pants with their strong hands as they continued to kiss. "Wanna do it?" Daniel asked when they paused for breath.

"We don't actually own the property yet. Isn't there some kind of law against this?"

"Only if we get caught. We'll have to have sex here eventually, you know, seeing as how it's likely we'll be staying here sometimes."

"This from the guy who used to not be able to talk about sex without blushing? I'm proving to be a rotten influence on you, aren't I?" Sam asked with a smile.

"Must be your old Satanic beliefs working on my will or something... It's good to be bad." Daniel grinned as he leaned in for another kiss.

They lowered themselves to the floor, still kissing. They slowly took off each other's shirts and Daniel nibbled his way down Sam's face, then down his neck, pausing to tenderly kiss the long horizontal scar across Sam's throat. Daniel then kissed his way to Sam's chest and gently, lovingly kissed the vertical scar in the center of Sam's chest. To some people the scars were disturbing but to Daniel they served as symbols of his partner's unending love and devotion to him and their oldest son. Sam had willingly sacrificed himself to Apollo, a god he hadn't even believed in at the time, for the sake of his family that they would have the strength to endure beyond his death and that Apollo would watch over them once he was gone. Daniel winced mentally as the memory played through his mind again, watching helplessly while Apollo controlled his body, seeing through his own eyes as Sam slashed open his throat with his sword, then pierced his own heart afterwards, sacrificing himself in ritualistic fashion.

He breathed deeply, taking in the scent of Sam's skin and laid him down on the hardwood floor where they cuddled and kissed, trying to ignore the discomfort they felt from the unyielding surface as they became more impassioned. They undid their pants and kicked off their shoes, Daniel pulling off his underwear. Sam, having one step to skip, was already free of his clothing as he liked to freeball... Seeing underwear as a wasted effort. They laid down and kissed passionately.

"I love this Spartan virility!" Sam growled lustily, his breathing hard and shuddering with lust.

"Pity you didn't get to go through puberty as a Spartan," Daniel sighed.

"That good?"

"Practically had to scrub the walls down every evening," Daniel breathed, sighing deeply with nostalgia at all the happy memories.

"I hate you, you rat bastard," Sam teased and Daniel chuckled.

They became more heated, working themselves up to arousal before switching into a sixty nine position, each taking his partner's shaft down his throat. Daniel loved just how talented a cock sucker Sam was and returned the favor. It wasn't long before Daniel groaned in satisfaction as he released his sperm down Sam's throat. The sensations must have been too much for him, because Sam quickly followed suit, grunting pleasurably as his shaft pulsed, spraying his semen down Daniel's eager gullet.

A few minutes after they finished, Sam chuckled. "We'd better be careful, or we'll become Emergent again." Daniel chuckled in response.

They spent several minutes in post ejaculate bliss before the hardness of the wood reminded them that the floor was not the most comfortable place for a sexual encounter and rose painfully before dressing.

Sam buttoned his shirt, staring out at the fog-shrouded hills as the sun began to rise. He walked over to the window and stared out at the scenery. "So do you like it here?" he asked softly. Before Daniel had the chance to answer, Sam nodded with a smile. "Good... I like it too. We should be able to begin construction of the temple pretty soon... What do you mean wait?" he asked, frowning with confusion and cocking his head at an angle.

Daniel saw this and bowed his head respectfully. Sam wasn't insane or imagining things. He was conversing with his adopted father and god Lord Apollo, god of the sun and of warriors, as well as the being who had recreated the Spartans as they now were, saving their race from extinction by transforming them into a species of hermaphrodites that they could bear sons of their own and continue the noble bloodline of ancient Sparta. Daniel had gotten used to this during the last few years as Sam worked hard to become a priest of their lord. After a moment, Daniel felt a soothing hand touching his bowed head for a moment, making him smile with gratitude.

"Alright, if you say so, Lord," Sam said finally with a slight bow, then turned to his partner. "I wonder why he wants us to wait on starting construction?" he asked Daniel, looking thoughtful.

Daniel shrugged. "Who can know the ways of the gods?" he asked philosophically. Just then, Sam's stomach growled noisily. "Told you we should've stopped for breakfast first," Daniel said with a smile.

"Yeah, guess cum isn't the best breakfast out there. The funnest to be sure but not the most filling no matter how hard we try." He smiled as he put on his pants and shoes.

"You got some cum in your beard," Daniel said with a smile.

Sam chuckled, cleaned himself up and ran to the bathroom to make sure he'd gotten it all before they left.

"So Lord Apollo is pleased with the location?" Daniel asked as they reached the car.

"Yep, he loves it as much as we do... Go ahead with the purchase. What all do we have to do?"

"Well," Daniel said thoughtfully as Sam drove them out of the yard to the street and headed for the Denny's they'd passed along the way to get a proper breakfast, "I'll call the real estate agency to let them know we'll take it, then we go by the office to formalize the paperwork and pay for the properties, then I'll need to go to city hall and see about getting the land re-zoned, call Leon to make sure all of the legal aspects are in place, then we can start construction whenever we're ready." Leon was also a Spartan, one who worked for the law firm that was helping them with all of the legal issues involved in the construction and running of the temples to be.

"Sounds good," Sam said as they pulled up to the restaurant and got out. They got a table and ordered big breakfasts of pancakes, sausages, eggs, toast, orange juice and bacon.

They were halfway through the meal, Daniel talking over the phone with the realtor to set up an appointment for later that morning to come in and formalize the sale. Daniel looked up when a gay couple, as neither of them looked Spartan, came up to the table, looking excited. Sam spoke with them softly and gave them an autograph each, shook their hands and returned to his food after they walked away with smiles. Poor Sam, he thought as he noted the slight sigh of suffering Sam gave as he resumed eating. It's not like he ever asked to become a celebrity... All he wanted was to be able to have a happy life with me and Henry. It's not all bad though... Now we have the twins too and maybe other sons someday. We're both still young enough to become Emergent again a few more times... I know that being given so much attention all the time can be a bit hard on him. He -was- a hermit when we met, after all...

It took them two more days before they formalized everything and caught a plane home to Minnesota...

"We're home!" Sam called out as he and Daniel let themselves into the farmhouse kitchen.

"Dads! You're home!" a trio of young voices shouted over each other, rushing into the kitchen to greet their parents. Sam and Daniel hugged Henry, Jason and Marcus warmly. Sam eyed their sons and noted that they were all growing up rather fast. Eight-year old Henry looked to Sam's formerly human eyes to be more around twelve, the twins were only five yet looked closer to seven and a half. Henry seemed to take more after Daniel than Sam, what with his short light brown hair but with his Dad Sam's green eyes. The twins took more after their birth father Sam, with dark hair, lighter skin then their older brother and piercing eyes. The twins were nearly identical... The only difference between them was the rather odd quality of having different colored eyes. Marcus took after Sam with vivid green eyes, whereas Jason had his dad Daniel's deep blue peepers.

Their grandparents followed the boys in with smiles that looked somewhat muted and hugged each of the returning members of the family. Daniel saw the looks of worry and frowned with concern. "What's wrong?"

"Business troubles," David, Daniel's human father said.

"We'll talk about it later," Daniel's Spartan father Matthew said softly and kissed his son's cheek. "Welcome home. Hi Sam," he added to his son's partner, who nodded in greeting as he was still engulfed in children and couldn't even get an arm free to great his Spartan father-in-law properly.

The boys began chattering away then, telling their dads about everything that had been happening over the course of the three days Sam and Daniel had been away. They listened as best as they could, trying to sort out what was what from the overlapping voices, Daniel casting a worried glance at his parents...

Priest Walter Samson, no relation to Sam or the twins, who served as Sam's religious instructor from England, was entertaining the boys so that the adults could talk privately the next day. They all sat at the kitchen table, the grandparents looking slightly grim.

"Dads," Daniel asked with a worried expression, "What's wrong? It's nothing...?" He looked at his human father with worry.

"What?" David asked with shock. "No! No! It's nothing like that! It's the shop."

"What about it?" Sam asked.

Matthew sighed deeply. "We're going to have to close the book store. We're just not getting enough coming in to justify keeping it open." He shook his head sadly.

The younger men nodded thoughtfully. With the invention of portable devices like tablets and iPads, as well as online bookstores like Amazon and eBay, actual book stores were struggling to survive. The family owned store had been barely surviving for the last three years, with the profits diminishing to the point that there was barely any income left at all after expenses. Sam had figured that this day would come but was still sorry to see the shop closing as it had been Matthew and David's' dream for several years to own it. To see it closing was quite the blow to their egos.

"Oh dads... I'm sorry," Daniel said, reaching across the table to take their hands.

"It'll be okay, Son," Matthew said simply.

"You guys going to be okay?" Sam asked with concern for his fathers-in-law.

"Well," David said, scratching his mostly gray hair, "We'll have enough to get by on for awhile.

"How's the mortgage?" Sam asked.

"We've got about fifteen years left, why?"

"How attached to Minnesota are you guys?" Sam asked slowly.

The older couple looked at each other with raised eyebrows. "Not that much," David said equally slowly, turning back to his son-in-law. "And I'm sick of the blasted cold making my arthritis flare up so bad every winter. Why?"

"Sam?" Daniel asked, looking at his partner expectantly. "You mean...?"

"I know we haven't talked it over or anything," Sam answered slowly, "but the only reason I didn't bring it up was because your dads are rooted here. But why not? The Santa Rosa house is plenty big enough... Just as much as here, so why not? With Ryan and Liam and their boys in Portland now and Martin and Brian with their boy Jacob in Salt Lake City, the store was the only thing holding Matthew and David here and they are the only thing keeping us here."

"Well yeah..." Daniel said, lost for words.

"Look, I know it's a lot to ask and I know it's not fair to drag everyone halfway across the country behind me but it would be a good change of scenery. That company you're working for keeps trying to stick you with the crappiest district of houses they can and you deserve better then that... It's just an idea, is all."

"Well," David said thoughtfully. "It would be nice to get away from all of the snow and humidity..."

"Well don't let me feel like I'm pressuring you all... It's something to think about." Sam turned to Daniel. "Sorry I didn't mention this before but I didn't want you to leave your folks behind, so I kept the idea to myself these last few months."

Daniel shrugged. "It's okay. I know you mean well and I'm not mad or anything. It's just a bit surprising, is all."

"I know," Sam said, looking apologetic. "Well why doesn't everyone think it over and we'll put it to a vote. Whatever the majority is, I'll go along with. One thing, though, David..." Sam said to the human. "The house is on the same land as the temple. That wouldn't be too much of a problem for you, would it?"

David sighed. He was a Lutheran, whereas the rest of the family not counting the boys, were Apolline, worshippers of the god Apollo. "Well, ever since Apollo possessed you and thanked me for my patience and told me he was okay with my own beliefs, it's kind of hard to object. But you'll be making sacrifices in the temple, right?"

Sam nodded. "Apollo is sustained by the ritual sacrifices of animals offered up to Him in addition to the worship given to Him by his followers. Without those deaths to feed Him, Apollo loses His strength. We'll be setting up a kitchen and a food shelter for the poor on the grounds as well, so that those who can't afford to feed themselves can have at least one place where they can get a decent meal... As long as they don't mind meat coming from sacrificial animals, that is."

David sighed. "It's fine by me. As for the offer to move with you guys, assuming that you decide to go ahead with it," he said, nodding at his son, "We'll have to talk it over some and see what all will be involved in making it happen if we agree."

"Fair enough," Sam said, nodding and then looking to Daniel, who took his hand and squeezed it gently to show that the offer touched him deeply as he smiled...

A week later, the family gave their answer. "Get us out of here," David had put it bluntly. Chuckling, Sam spread the news at the family would be moving to Santa Rosa, California two months later.

A month after the announcement, high priest James Phillipson arrived at their home to check on Sam's priestly progress personally. One would've thought that the President were visiting, what with the security detail that attended him and his partner Mike Hill. James brought with him a case containing a pair of twin swords which he presented to Sam, who stood nude before him as the family bore witness. He handed Sam a pair of leather scabbards and sword belt that possessed over the shoulder support straps to help handle the weight of the blades they would carry.

"Sam Henry Smith," James intoned in a rare show of formality. "Do you accept two sword blades?"

"Yes," Sam answered solemnly and filled with pride, "I accept them freely."

"And do you understand that in accepting these blades you are making a vow to one day offer sacrifice unto our Lord Apollo and become an ordained priest in service to him?" the high priest asked.

"I understand" Sam answered sincerely.

"And will you always serve our lord to the best of your ability?"

"I will," he said.

James placed one of the blades into Sam's left scabbard and slid it home, then did the same with the other in his right scabbard. James closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them... And Sam felt intense power radiating from the high priest as a change came over him and his eyes changed subtly. "Sam Apolloson, draw your blades and kneel before Me," Apollo said through James.

Sam stepped back, drew his swords in a fluid movement, spun them around and knelt down, his arms parallel and the sword points touching the grass with his head bowed. Apollo/James touched Sam's head with his hand. "Sam Henry Apolloson, receive My blessings, for I accept you as My acolyte until such time as you offer sacrifice unto Me again, at which time you shall be ordained as a priest in service to Me." He touched Sam's head and the Spartan gasped as he felt the power of his god flow through his body from head to foot, feeling like the power of the sun itself was filling him.

"And rise," James said as himself. Sam stood before the high priest. "Congratulations," he said, smiling brightly and clapping Sam congenially on the shoulders by way of celebration. The family cheered and came forward to offer their words of congratulations.

"Well done, mate," Mike said with a smile of his own.

"Thanks," Sam said, feeling very proud...

The next night, Priest Walter and the family bore witness as under the full moon Sam walked to the ritual area of the farmhouse's land for their final night of worship of their god at this location. He wore his twin blades proudly and stood, hands on the hilts of the new symbols of his faith, eyes closed as Matthew and Daniel readied the pig they were offering as sacrifice this night. Sam concentrated on his devotion to his god, who had given him so much... A new life, a future and two fine boys that he himself had gestated to term, in addition to another fine son and a beloved partner. He now had a loving family and even a father of his own and this night, he would worship that father and offer Him sacrifice.

Priest Walter nodded that the fire was ready. Sam looked over to his sons to see Henry smiling at him proudly, the twins looking solemn and respectful despite their young age. He smiled at them all, then turned to see the expectant looks of pride on the faces of his partner and father-in-law. Sam was a bit surprised that the twins had wanted to be here. While this wasn't their first night of service or even their first sacrifice, they were still quite young and often tended to be too hyper to stand still for worship. Tonight however, they seemed to understand the special significance and had expressed their interest in attending the service. The boys themselves would not be actively worshipping as they were still too young, although Henry had begun to express an interest in becoming more actively religious and was now asking questions about the Apolline faith.

Once everything was ready, the men faced the fire and drew their swords as one like a well-rehearsed squadron of ancient centurions, spun their swords around and knelt in prayer. Tonight was special as Sam was the one leading services this eve for the first time. "Apollo be with us and hear our prayers," Sam began, leading his first formal service for the family.

"We, the sons of Sparta," all the men called out, "call out to you in worship and offer sacrifice unto you. We acknowledge you as our creator and praise your strength, your wisdom, your mercy. Offer us your protection and keep us strong, for we are instruments of vengeance and are proud to carry on the noble blood and dignity of the Spartan people. Apollo bare witness."

The sedated swine was ready for him. Sam walked forward and readied his weapons. "Apollo," he called out solo, the rest of the worshippers remaining silent. "I offer You sacrifice this night. With the shedding of this blood, anoint me with Your power and Your blessings and accept me as Your own... Ordain me as Your priest as I offer You this life and claim me as Your loyal servant. Know that this sacrifice is also a gift from my family and offer them Your blessings as well... For you Lord Apollo... Let this death revitalize You and keep You strong."

With a pair of well rehearsed motions, Sam slashed with the left blade as he stabbed with the right, cutting open the throat of the pig as he simultaneously pierced its heart, ending the creature's life quickly with minimal pain. As he struck, the animal's blood poured forth, washing Sam in its vital essence, anointing him with blood. Once the pig was dead, Sam stepped back, faced the fire once more and returned to the prayer position, everyone else following suit.

"Apollo, a sacrifice has been made. Offer us your protection and blessings. Lord, watch over us and hear our prayers."

"Apollo, watch over us," the worshippers intoned as they knelt in prayer. They each asked what they would of their god, Sam asking that he be able to serve his god with wisdom and patience for what all laid ahead for him on his chosen path.

Sam felt the presence of his god, who placed a firm hand upon his bowed head. I accept you as My own, Sam Henry Apolloson their god said aloud for them all to hear, and acknowledge your sacrifice. You are now in service to Me. My blessings and protection are upon you and yours, always. He then felt the power of his god pour into him for a moment, confirming him as a member of the priesthood of Apollo and strengthening the bond between them as god and priest. Offer the second sacrifice and be confirmed as My priest.

Sam heard everyone gasp slightly at that, as Lord Apollo did not speak this way normally during their services. He nodded solemnly after the hand was taken away, then rose and faced the rest of the worshippers. "Thus ends this rite of worship to our Lord. May you all be well and strong for all of your days."

Everyone sheathed their swords save Sam, whose were still covered in pig's blood. The boys came forward with cloths and carefully cleaned their father's holy blades before he stepped away and with a flourish, resheathed them. He stood a moment in solemn acknowledgement of his lord, then sighed and opened his eyes.

Daniel came forward then, touching the blood upon his partner's chest and kissed him deeply. He reached down and fondled Sam's maleness, making him hard. They moved away from the group to finish the rite privately. The entry into priesthood had a second part as Sam was in a partner bond... There was a second sacrifice to make. They walked over into the barn, priest Walter following to bear witness and they entered then closed the door behind themselves so that the boys would not see. There was a small cot set up inside and Sam and Daniel made their way to it quickly, then laid upon it as they began to become more aroused. Finally, they were ready and Sam claimed Daniel's willing body, plunging deep within him. He rode that eager hole quickly until he found completion, groaning with satisfaction as he released his seed within Daniel's willing orifice.

He collapsed against Daniel's chest with a sigh and felt Walter's hand upon his head. "The second sacrifice has been made. As Apollo is a god of death, He also brings life and joy. I hereby proclaim that you, Sam Henry Apolloson, are now a fully ordained priest in service to our Lord Apollo. Serve Him well and receive His blessings always." He bowed his head for a moment before he looked back up. "Congratulations. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go help slaughter the carcass so we can begin cooking it." With that, the now fellow priest took his leave as Daniel kissed the side of Sam's head.

"I'm proud of you," he sighed.

"Thanks," Sam breathed against him as he recovered from his exertions, then his stomach growled. "I really hate the fasting part," he sulked as he realized just how hungry he was from going so long without food in order to purify himself for the rite.

Daniel chuckled. "Try to hold on... You know that you aren't permitted to eat anything until your first sacrifice is cooked and presented to you. It won't take them too long to cook it up for you."

"Would it be considered blasphemous for them to run it through the microwave so that it'll cook faster?"

"Probably."

"Damn it." Sam started to wonder if it would've been sacrilegious to sacrifice a bucket of KFC, immediately knew that it was and offered a silent apology to his god as he did his best to wait patiently for his meal. He came back out to make the formal announcement with Walter to verify, then everyone came forward to touch the blood that still covered the now Priest Sam, touching of the spilled blood being a token for good luck to any who would do so. Then Sam and Daniel retreated to the shower setup in the barn that the new priest could clean himself with his husband's help.

It seemed, to Sam at least, forever for the pork to cook properly so that he could eat. He made sure not to wolf it down but rather eat slowly and reflect on the interconnection between life and death and Lord Apollo's role in the cycle as well as his lord's connection to the world. They moved into the house for the meal itself, where David asked the boys if they were okay having witnessed a sacrifice.

"Oh yeah, it was so cool!" Henry said eagerly. "Dad Sam slashed the pig's throat wide open and stabbed it in the heart and the blood gushed out all over him 'til he was covered in it!"

David went very green at that and excused himself from the table for several minutes. "Don't torture your granddad David like that!" Daniel chided the boy. "You know he's squeamish!" the father frowned at his son.

Everyone chuckled at that all the same...

There was one thing that Sam wanted to do before they moved away. He and his husband stood out front of the building looking at it with a bit of apprehension. Daniel took his hand. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked gently.

Sam nodded slowly. "Yeah... I need to put all of this behind me."

They entered and found the director. "May I help you?" a kindly woman in her fifties asked.

"Hi," Sam said softly. "I grew up here and am moving away soon. I wanted to get a final look around before we left."

"Grew up here? Who are you?" she asked again, looking a bit taken aback and saddened by the expression of old pain on Sam's face.

"Sam Smith," he said using his old human name. A few years ago, he had legally changed his last name to 'Apolloson', the name his adopted father Lord Apollo had given to him when he had returned Sam to life after the man had sacrificed himself to the god for the sake of his partner and their eldest and only at the time, son, Henry.

"Oh, well please... Feel free," she said in a kindly manner. "Let me know if you need to know where anything is."

"I had eighteen years here... I remember where everything is," Sam answered softly before he and Daniel began to wander around the building and grounds.

They walked for over two hours, Sam relating to his partner the events of his childhood and how the various spots within the orphanage related to his upbringing. Daniel listened quietly, interrupting with questions rarely. He saw the phantoms of old pain on Sam's face and heard the sound of regret in his lover's voice as Sam related his history to his partner. They saw his old bedroom, the kitchen and dining hall, then passed a door that Sam refused to even look at.

"What's in there?" Daniel asked.

"The chapel... There's nothing in there for me," he answered and Daniel knew that it hurt Sam too much to go in there. That must have been the place where Sam had prayed every day for someone to adopt him but his prayers had never been answered... Sam had grown up entirely within these walls, never wanted or loved, then been discharged as an adult at age eighteen. Because his prayers had never been answered, Sam had lost his original faith long ago and became an atheist, convinced that the gods didn't love him and ignored him in the same way as all of the potential parents who had passed him up for adoption.

They finally ended up at a corner of the fenced in grounds. Sam stopped and looked down silently at where the two walls of chain link fence met, staring down at the spot in the grass solemnly. After a few minutes, Daniel spoke. "What's this place?"

"My retreat," he answered softly. "This is where I came whenever it got to be too much to take..."

Daniel looked at the ground sadly. He realized that this was the place where Sam had come to cry at his loneliness and self-doubts. Daniel found himself wondering just how often Sam had come here and cried all alone. Sam sat down and drew his knees up, wrapping his arms around his shins and staring out across the yard with a haunted expression. Daniel stared at him and could see the sad and lonely boy Sam had once been. He turned and sat next to him, wrapping an arm around Sam's shoulders as the orphan began to cry.

"Why?" he sobbed. "Why didn't anyone ever want me? What was so wrong with me that no one ever wanted to adopt me?"

Daniel had no answers, he merely held his partner as Sam cried out his pain, kissing him gently from time to time. They remained that way for a long time.

Finally, Sam's tears faded and he moved to get up. Daniel followed him up, taking Sam's hand gratefully. Sam looked around at the grounds sadly. "It's strange," he said. "Some things have changed but others are still the same. It's weird... Jarring in a way... Like calling someone Bob all your life only to learn in the end that his name was really Bill all along." He shook his head sadly. "...Let's get out of here."

They left, Daniel offering to drive and Sam never looked back, leaving his old pain behind him as best he could...

The move itself was the single worst nightmare of their lives. The moving van showed up two hours late and nearly broke two boxes of dishes when they just grabbed them roughly without noticing the word 'FRAGILE' written across the top. Jason was moody as he didn't want to move and began to argue every detail of the trip. Marcus kept wanting to pull out their toys to play with, trying to cheer Jason up and thereby undoing all of the packing they had done of the boys' belongings and David got into a shouting match with one of the drivers for smoking in the house.

How Sam made the four day drive from Minnesota to California without murdering his children was a mystery he was never able to solve, as the twins were all over the car, Henry seemed determined to sing the most annoying and repetitive songs he knew for hours at a time and Daniel yelled at the three of them so often that he nearly lost his voice twice. If it hadn't been for his meditative techniques, Sam was sure that he would've been the only member of his immediate family to arrive at their new home alive.

The one good thing was that the moving van was already there and unloading when they arrived. Also, the only casualties were a few dishes and a tacky old copper-painted ceramic lamp that David insisted on keeping but Sam was privately glad to see gone at last. Matthew seemed to be the only truly calm one in the family.

"How do you remain so calm throughout all of this?" Sam asked him in bewilderment.

"Well," the older Spartan said. "I've had to move repeatedly my entire life, so I'm used to it. Also, I uh... Don't say anything or David'll kill me... I uh, kinda 'accidentally' broke the lamp before I put it into the box."

Sam walked away, stifling a snickering, hissing laugh as he went...

The boys began to argue room arrangements right away. Sam finally settled the matter by placing a black jelly bean into one of his hands behind his back and letting the twins pick a hand. If they guessed correctly, they could have first dibs. If not, Henry got to choose, as the twins were willing to share a room. They guessed right, much to Henry's dismay and chose the room in the corner of the second floor nearest the bathroom. Henry sulked as he roughly manhandled his belongings up the stairs to his room, banging the boxes and suitcases into everything he could to vent his frustration but thankfully not breaking anything. Sam didn't see why Henry was so put out... The room he'd gotten was on the north side and therefore would be cooler in the summertime.

Matthew and David took the bedroom on the first floor with quiet dignity and locked themselves inside for some quality alone time. "You think they're doing it?" Sam asked slyly, embarrassing Daniel.

"Sam! That's gross! They're my parents! ...Yeah, probably," Daniel added, hanging his head with shame.

"You wanna do it, too?" Sam asked, walking over and stroking Daniel's ass through his jeans.

Daniel squirmed nervously for a few moments before his lust won out. "Ok."

They giggled as they made their way upstairs and into their new bedroom, closing the door behind them. Sam and Daniel were a versatile couple and liked to mix things up. This time, Daniel took charge right away, seizing Sam and tossing him onto the bed. They hadn't even been in the house a full four hours when the needs of their bodies had struck, just as they had for Matthew and David. Maybe it was their Spartan physiology, maybe it was love, or maybe it was just that they hadn't had a chance to be intimate in nearly a month. Whatever the reason, they took full advantage of the boys' interest in their new rooms to make the most of what alone time they had.

They laid down on the bed after Sam grabbed a sheet to toss over the bare mattress to avoid ruining it too much. Then they laid there, stroking each other's torsos softly. Sam loved it whenever Daniel paid attention to his torso, so Daniel ran his fingers over his partner's washboard abs, the fingers ba-bumping over the muscles. They kissed deeply, beginning to work the other's pants open and down, then working Daniel's underwear off. Sam, still hating underwear, was already ahead of his husband in that regard. Then they began to stroke each other's shafts to stiffness.

"You want me in you?" Daniel asked between kisses.

"Yeah... Fuck me," Sam sighed in response. Daniel reached over to the box next to the bed for the lube, slicked himself up as Sam used a portion to loosen himself in preparation, then Daniel positioned himself and slid in slowly. He gave Sam a few moments to get used to him, then began to stroke slowly within Sam's interior. They kissed passionately as they got into their rhythm.

"Dads," Henry said as he stormed into the room. "I wanna go-Whoa!" He stopped in mid-sentence from shock as he saw his parents in mid-action. "Urgh!" he exclaimed, slapping his hand over his eyes and looking revolted.

"Henry!" Daniel snapped as he glared at his son with deep offense. "What's wrong with you? You know better than to just storm in without knocking!"

"Well I do now!" Henry exclaimed weakly, turning away.

"Then knock next time," Sam added dryly. "What do you want?"

"Dad Sam, can't you-?"

"No, I won't! Besides, if it wasn't for this kind of thing your Dad Daniel would've never become Emergent and you'd never have been conceived."

"Urgh, Sam!" Daniel exclaimed and pulled out, making Sam groan from the sensation of being exited roughly. "We're not having sex in front of our son!"

"Hey... If he wants to come bursting into the room, then he has to pay the consequences," Sam countered with annoyance at their son's rudeness.

Daniel looked at his partner with doubt and mild revulsion.

"What?" Sam asked. "Sex is perfectly natural and he'll be doing it too, someday. I don't get why everyone always makes such a big deal about it." Sam turned to their eldest son. "Don't wrinkle your nose too much fella. One day you'll love this as much as we do... When we can get the privacy to do it, that is!"

Henry groaned, facing away from them. "Dad!"

"What do you want, Henry?" Daniel said, glaring at Sam for his crassness as he snatched up a blanket to cover them both.

"I wanna go explore the neighborhood."

"Don't go too far yet and don't talk to strange adults."

"You mean besides you guys?"

"Ha ha!" Sam said. "Take your brothers, too."

"I don't wanna take them! They won't stop holding hands!"

"They're what?" Daniel asked, certain that he'd misheard.

"Holding hands?" Sam asked in confusion. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Henry answered.

"When did they start doing that?" Daniel asked, sounding nervous.

"When we left Minnesota. They'd just sit next to each other holding hands for hours at a time."

The parents looked at each other, Sam frowning with puzzlement and Daniel looking very bothered. "Go ahead and go but don't go too far, okay?" Sam said.

"Great!" Henry said and dashed away.

Daniel sat there, looking worried. "What's wrong?" Sam asked.

"Are they really holding hands?"

"Don't read too much into it. Aren't twins supposed to be closer than normal siblings?"

"I don't know... I've never heard of Spartan twins before..."

"Don't worry about it. It's not like they're dry humping or anything! They're probably just nervous about the move and are offering each other some support, is all."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I think so. Don't worry. They're good kids... Way better behaved then Henry, at any rate."

"Yeah, that's true," Daniel said and let the matter drop.

"You're not horny anymore, huh?" Sam asked in disappointment.

"Sorry," Daniel said apologetically.

"It's okay," Sam said, leaning up to kiss him softly. "I still love you."

"I love you too," Daniel answered softly.

"Well, if we're not going to fuck, I'll go get cleaned up... Shit... Where's the bathroom supplies?" he asked his partner uncertainly.

"Hop on in, I'll find them," Daniel offered gently.

"I'll save some hot water for the both of us," Sam said with a suggestive smile.

"Ok, I'll be quick," Daniel said, brightening as he got up to go wash his penis to clean it of lube before he went to find the box...

Henry made his way out of the house and shuddered. He didn't know what was worse, catching his dads doing it, or Dad Sam acting so calmly about it.

Hope I'm never like him about that, the lad thought as he shoved his hands into his pants pockets and began walking down the street. The neighborhood didn't seem too bad, even though all of the yards looked very artificial in nature and there weren't as many trees as there were back in Minnesota. The hills to the North, East and South were very odd too. In Minnesota, there were no large mountainous hills anywhere to be seen in the Twin Cities metro area. He was most of the way down the block when he saw the hint of a pants leg poking out of the leaves of a tree growing along the sidewalk a short ways ahead. It seemed that someone was climbing it. He smiled and walked up to the tree, hearing a cat wailing in distress.

"Well come here," a girl's voice said in an exasperated tone. "You want down or not?"

"Hello?" Henry asked as he got close.

"Just a sec'," the girl said, shifting in the branches.

"What are you doing?" Henry asked.

"Trying to get Nibbles out of the tree," the girl replied calmly. "Ow! I'm only trying to help you, Dummy! It's your own fault you can't ever get yourself down once you're up here! Quit being a baby, already!" She reached for the cat a second time, which lost its grip and fell to the ground. The landing was a bit rough but the cat shook himself off and took off running. Making a snort of disgust, the thick and curly blonde-haired girl hopped down and looked after the retreating feline with a slight frown of annoyance. "YOU'RE WELCOME!" she called loudly after the animal, then shook her head sadly. "Try to do something nice..." she said and trailed off.

"Is that your cat?" Henry asked.

The girl shook her head. "No, he just hangs around the neighborhood a lot. I'm the one who named him but he might be called something else by others. I'm not sure he has a family, so I try to keep an eye on him to keep him out of trouble."

Henry got a good look at the girl and saw that she was slightly tomboyish in personality and dress, yet also had a strangely regal grace about her despite her rough personality. She was wearing pants and a pink t-shirt instead of a dress. Her hair and pale blue eyes gave her a look that many adults would compare to that of the child actress Shirley Temple, only as a young teenager. Her eyes were a light blue and looked rather alert. She took in Henry's appearance of being a very fit boy with short light brown hair and sharp green eyes. "You're new," she said. "I'm Sally Alice Mayweather. Who're you?"

"Henry Danielson," he said, taking the hand she offered and shook it. "I just moved here with my family."

"Where from?" Sally asked.

"Minnesota," he answered, noting that the girl was inquisitive and matter-of-fact in her approach.

Sally wrinkled her nose. "Isn't it really cold there all the time?"

"Not in the summer. It can get pretty hot and muggy in late Spring and Summer most years, from what I've seen."

"Oh, well it's not too bad here in the summer. Hot but not too bad. So where are you living now?"

"Oh, just down there near the corner," Henry said, pointing back the way he came. "We just moved in today."

"Old Mrs. Jarvis' place? I've been in there a few times... She always made cookies... She was nice. Pity she's gone now but nice to see someone took the place over. It's been empty since she was taken away to the hospital."

"Yeah but my dumb brothers got the better room," Henry sulked, still bitter more that he hadn't won first choice of rooms than anything else. As oldest brother, he should've automatically had first choice.

"You have brothers?" Sally asked with interest.

"Twins, I'm older by about two years."

"And your parents? Are they nice?"

At this, Henry faltered. He wasn't ashamed of being Spartan but most people didn't like them very much, so he hedged. "Yeah, they're okay, I guess... What about your family?"

"I'm an only child. My Moms A-... She's really nice to me," Sally said stopping herself and changing what she wanted to say, looking somewhat embarrassed and uncomfortable all of a sudden. Henry wondered what was wrong.

"You okay?" he asked with concern.

"Oh yeah," Sally said, still looking nervous. "My folks are really nice... 'Cept when I'm in trouble, of course..."

Seeing how much Sally was bothered by her family, as though she was embarrassed or something, Henry sighed. He knew it would come out eventually and felt it would be better that it happened sooner, rather than later. "Say, you're not a bigot or anything, are you?"

"Not really. Why?"

"Can you keep a secret?" Sally nodded, looking very serious. "My parents are a bit different from most people, me too for that matter... We're Spartans."

Sally's reaction surprised him. She let out her breath and slumped back against the tree, looking deeply relieved. "Well that makes it way easier on me... I'm an Amazon. I have two moms instead of a mom and dad."

"Really?" Henry asked, surprised.

Sally nodded. "Yeah. Everyone treats me funny because of it, like it's catching or something, which is stupid."

"That -is- stupid, every other boy I meet acts like I'll think he's my partner, or something" Henry scoffed.

"Tell me about it!" Sally answered, rolling her eyes with disgust. "Well tell you what, You treat my moms nice and I'll treat your dads nice, too, okay?"

"Okay," Henry said with a smile.

"Come on," Sally said, taking the lead. "I'll show you around the neighborhood..."

The twins stayed in their room for hours and growing nervous, Sam went and knocked on their door. He heard frantic shuffling before Jason opened the door. Sam wasn't able to explain why but he'd always been able to tell which twin was which even without looking the child in question in the eye to see whether they were Marcus' green ones or Jason's blue. Maybe it was birth father's intuition, or something. Jason was looking slightly nervous and Marcus was shifting nervously on the bed.

"Everything okay in here, guys?" he asked and they nodded in unison. "Henry not giving you guys any grief about you taking this room, is he?"

"Haven't seen him," Marcus said.

"He took off," Jason added.

"Can we talk a bit?" Sam asked and the twins nodded. Sam entered and sat on the double-sized bed they shared. "Say? How's come you guys don't want your own beds?"

"We like sleeping together," Marcus said.

"We don't want our own beds," Jason added.

"But someday you both will be too big to share a bed together. And what about when you find your partners? You'll want to sleep with them and I don't think they'd like to all be sleeping in the same bed. Four guys in the same bed would be awfully crowded."

"What if we don't want partners?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, who needs 'em?" Marcus piped in.

"Well," Sam said with amusement. "You're too young to appreciate the benefits of having a partner... You guys are only five, after all. Don't worry, once you guys turn ten and every human who looks at you will swear you were thirteen or fourteen, your hormones will kick in and all you'll think about is other guys." The twins frowned at that but said nothing. Sam sighed with disgust. "You two are hopeless," he said with a smile. "It's okay... You'll get there when you're ready. Say... Don't be mad or think you're in trouble or anything but word is you guys like to hold hands lately..."

"We like it," Marcus said.

"It feels nice," Jason added.

"Well..." Sam hedged. "I can understand wanting to feel comforted. You know you both are very lucky. You both have each other and your big brother Henry. I know he can be a pain sometimes but you know he loves you guys, right?" They nodded. "I have to admit that I'm actually really jealous of you all..." Sam began to look somewhat sad and the boys looked at each other, then moved forward and hugged their birth father tightly.

"Don't be sad, Daddy Sam," Jason said.

"Yeah, you've got us," Marcus added.

"I know... And I truly love you guys too but it makes me sad sometimes that I never had any brothers of my own like you guys do. I never knew my dad or my mom and never had any brothers or sisters, either."

At that, the twins looked very confused. "Why?" Marcus asked.

"What happened?" Jason asked.

Why do they always feel the need to both have a say? Sam wondered with amusement. "Well," he said aloud, "I grew up as a human in an orphanage and never had a family until I met your Dad Daniel. Then his family became mine, too."

"You were a human?" Jason asked.

"But you're a Spartan like us," Marcus added.

"I am now but I was born as a human. I never did tell you the story, did I?" They shook their heads.

Sam settled himself and told his sons his story. "Well, shortly after your brother Henry was born, I got sick with a tumor in my brain. It's a nasty lump that made me sick and made my head hurt all the time. It was going to kill me and I was scared of leaving Henry and your Dad Daniel all alone. I didn't know what to do, so I did something I'd never done before. I prayed to Lord Apollo and asked for His help. I didn't think He would answer, because no god had ever answered when I prayed before but He did. He asked for sacrifice and I knew I was going to die no matter what, so I gave my life to Him so that He would help Henry and Dad Daniel. Then Apollo brought me back to life and let me make a wish. I asked to be able to live so that I could stay with them. So Lord Apollo changed me into a Spartan, helped me get rid of that nasty tumor and a year later, I was able to start having you guys. So it's because of Apollo that you guys are alive and I'm here and healthy for all of you."

"Is that why you pray to Him?" Jason asked.

"And why you want to make a temple for Him?" Marcus added.

"In part," Sam said kindly. "But I also want to do it because I love Him. He's the only god who ever loved me and answered my prayers. He gave me a new life and allowed me to have you guys. Maybe someday you'll have more brothers, too. Lord Apollo adopted me and became my father too. I want to do this to thank Him for all He's given me and show Him that I love Him as well as how much His love means to me, too."

Within his mind, Sam felt his lord's love and gratitude for him and smiled to himself. "Say..." he said. "I personally don't mind if you guys hold hands but most people won't understand. They might start to think you guys are acting to each other the way that Daddy Daniel and I do to each other. Since you're brothers, many people will be uncomfortable about that. They think that things like that are wrong and will get mad at you guys and us too for letting you do it. So I want you both to promise to not hold hands around others or when we're out in public, either, okay?"

"Okay," they said simultaneously.

"And I think that you should only do that here in your room, okay? I'm not sure if Daddy Daniel will understand and Henry seemed kind of upset about it too. So don't hold hands around other people, okay?"

They nodded their agreement.

"Ok then, I'll let you guys finish unpacking, okay? Have fun."

"We will," they said in unison as Sam took his leave.

Sam closed the door and sighed. He didn't want to stifle the boys but was worried all the same. He hoped that he'd done the right thing...

Henry came home later with Sally in tow. "I'm home... And I brought someone with me."

"You can call me your friend, you know," Sally said with a smile.

"Cool," Henry said with a smile of his own.

"Oh ho!" Granddad David said, coming out from the kitchen where he'd been unpacking the dishes. "Who's this, Henry? Did you go and get yourself a girlfriend?"

"GRANDDAD DAVID!" Henry exclaimed. "Don't be gross! You know I don't like girls or Amazons!"

David suddenly looked very uncomfortable. "You shouldn't go around saying things like that to strangers, boy," David said with a frown of nervousness.

"Granddad David, Sally knows I'm a Spartan."

David stared at the boy with shock as Matthew came in, stopping dead in his tracks as he heard the comment from his grandchild.

"Henry!" Matthew exclaimed, looking at his grandson in shock. "What's wrong with you? You shouldn't go telling that to just anyone you meet. We thought you had more sense than that! Not everyone likes Spartans, you know. It could cause us a lot of trouble."

"It's alright, Sir," Sally said, coming to the defense of her new friend. "I'm an Amazon, so I know enough to not go around telling anyone."

"And you are...?" Matthew asked slowly, taken aback by the girl's comment.

"Sally Alice Mayweather," she answered dutifully.

"Well alright then. I'm Matthew Mikeson and this is my partner David Williams."

"Hello," David said.

Just then, Daniel and Sam came down from upstairs, their mood having rekindled after awhile and then became sated. Their hair was still wet from the shower as they'd needed to use it a second time to clean up afterwards.

"About time you guys made a showing" Matthew said. "We thought you'd be in your room forever."

"Dad Matthew!" Daniel muttered, blushing with embarrassment. He looked away from his dad and saw Sally standing there with a smile and paled with shock. "Uhh! Hi..." he said softly.

"Hello," Sally said. "I'm Sally Alice Mayweather, Amazon."

"You're an Amazon?" Sam asked as he looked at the girl with interest. "I've never met one before. Nice to meet you," he said shaking the girl's hand eagerly. Sally stared at the scar on his neck curiously and Sam started to feel self-conscious. "I'm Sam Apolloson," he said, "and my partner here is Daniel Matthewson, though I also like to refer to him as my husband. We're Henry's dads."

"So that means you're his dad?" Sally asked Matthew, nodding at Daniel.

"That's right. A son always gets his father's name with the suffix son at the end, so since I gave birth to him, his last name is indeed Matthewson and since he's Henry's dad, Henry's last name is Danielson."

Sally nodded, then turned to Sam. "And your dad's name is Apollo? I didn't think any Spartans would ever use their god's name as their own."

"It's a bit complicated," Sam said with a weak smile.

Sally puzzled that over for a minute, then shrugged. "Whatever... It's nice to see someone moved in here. I remember when Mrs. Jarvis lived here. Everything was covered with plastic. You won't cover things with plastic, will you? Because the furniture wasn't very comfy to sit on like that."

"I like her," Matthew said with a smile. "You don't beat around the bush, do you Sally?" he asked her.

"Not really. Seems like a waste of time to me," she answered matter-of-factly. "Say, would you all like to meet my moms? I bet they'd love to meet you all. A whole family of Spartans just a few houses away will make them feel a lot better. We don't like being the only non-humans on the block. I hear them talk about it sometimes, saying that maybe we should move. But with all you Spartans here, life will be easier on them."

"Well technically," David said, "I'm actually human but I'm the only one in the family. Everyone else is Spartan now." He glanced at Sam nervously for a second, embarrassed by phrasing it that way. Sam saw his discomfort and shrugged it away. Sally stared at them in confusion for a moment.

Just then, the twins came downstairs, pulling their hands away from each other as they came into view. Daniel saw the end of the motion and frowned with worry for a moment before he recovered. "There you guys are! Come meet our new neighbor."

"Hi!" they said as one.

"Hi there, I'm Sally Alice Mayweather, Amazon."

"We're Marcus..."

"And Jason..."

"Samson... Spartan," they finished together.

Sally looked at them with raised eyebrows.

"They do that all the time," Sam said with a smile. "Relax, they're not going to lure you out into the cornfield to worship their god, or anything!" Sally smiled at him but suddenly Sam flinched, as his head was suddenly yanked sideways. "OW!" he exclaimed in sudden pain, grabbing his right ear protectively. Sally saw him hang his head and could've sworn she heard him mutter the word 'sorry' in a soft whisper as he rubbed his ear as though it was suddenly hurting.

Sally frowned slightly at that but said nothing. "Well I know my moms'll love you guys. I think they'll want to meet you all. Why not come over for lunch or dinner or something?"

"Well we wouldn't want to impose," Daniel said softly.

"Don't be silly," Sally said. "Mom Tracy loves to cook."

"Well, we'd be willing to host too, once we get everything unpacked," Sam said.

"Tell you what," Daniel said to the girl. "Let us finish the main part of our unpacking, then tell your moms they're welcome to stop over."

"Lovely," Sally said with a smile. "Well I should get going or my moms will start to worry. Nice meeting everyone," she said cheerfully, making her way to the door.

"I'll walk you home," Henry said, starting to follow her.

"No you don't mister," Daniel said, making the boy halt in his tracks. "You haven't unpacked a thing yet. I know because I just checked. You need to unpack your things first, then you can go play with your friend. He'll see you later, Sally."

"Alright. I'm in the green house on the left, four doors down. See you Henry. Nice to meet you all."

Everyone said goodbye as she left with a wave. Sally reached the sidewalk and glanced back at the house before she walked towards home. "Kinda weird," she said softly to herself as she went, "But nice all the same."

She let herself into the house. "I'm home!" she called out and her mom Tracy poked her head out of the kitchen.

"About time you got home, you missed lunch," her parent said in mild admonishment.

"Sorry about that but I met some new people."

"Oh," Mom Alice said, coming down the stairs. "Who?"

"They moved into old Mrs. Jarvis' place. They're a big Spartan family. Henry's nice and he has twin brothers named Marcus... And Jason. Then there's their dads Daniel and Sam and Daniel's dads Matthew and David. David's human but everyone else is Spartan."

"Well that's a relief," Tracy said to Alice. "Having Spartans in the neighborhood will be a good thing."

"Say Moms..." Sally said slowly. "I thought you said that Spartans only take their birth dad's name for their last."

"Yes," Alice said. "Why?"

"And Spartans worship Apollo, right?" Sally asked again.

"Yes, some do," Alice said. "Why do you ask?"

"Because one of Henry's dads, Sam, has the last name Apolloson. I was wondering why he used-" she stopped as her mom Tracy sat down heavily with a look of shock. "Mom, what's wrong?"

"Sally," Tracy looked at her daughter in shock. "Are you sure about the name? Sam Apolloson?"

"Yeah, that's it. Why?"

"It can't be," Tracy said slowly. "He and his family live in Minnesota."

"That's where Henry said they're from," Sally answered.

"Are you sure it was him?" Alice asked. "What did he look like?"

"Well," Sally said, thinking back. "He has short dark hair and a beard, beady green eyes and a big nasty old scar across his neck like someone snuck up behind him and went-" she drug her finger across her throat, making a squelching noise that made her moms' faces grow pale.

"Well," Tracy said with effort as she recovered from her sense of shock. "I think I'll make up some brownies for them." With that, got up and made her way to the kitchen.

"I'll help," Sally said brightly, following her mom...

Matthew heard the doorbell ring late next morning and went to answer it. He had to admit that the house, while rather old, was fairly nice. The water pressure was bad, signaling that the pipes needed replacing but the house was otherwise rather well off. "I got it," he called out and opened the door to find Sally standing with a pair of women. It was obvious to his trained eye that they were both Amazon, what with their regal bearing and lithe, athletically muscled bodies.

"Hi Sally," he said cheerfully.

"I brought my moms. This is Alice, my birth mom," she said, indicating the woman with long blonde hair, blue eyes and a generous smile, "And Tracy," Sally finished, gesturing to the black haired, brown-eyed woman who was pretty and looked like a female track star what with her firm, thin musculature and angled face. She had a slight seriousness that came through even though she, too, smiled warmly. Matthew saw that while Sally had her birth mother's coloring, her face was more like Tracy's, thereby proving their relation as mother and daughter.

"Hi, nice to meet you," Tracy said, her smile growing wider.

"A pleasure," Alice said warmly.

Matthew shook their offered hands with a smile of his own. "Hello, I'm Matthew Mikeson. It's nice to meet you."

"Sorry if we came at a bad time," Tracy said softly, shuffling the Tupperware container under her arm.

"No, we're fine. Please come in." He gestured for them to enter.

"We brought brownies," Tracy said with a smile, offering the container to their new neighbor.

"Oh thank you," Matthew said warmly, taking them from her. "Well, everyone's out back. Come on, I'll introduce you." He led them out to the back yard where the family were sitting and playing. Sam was in a mock swordfight with the twins as David, Daniel and Henry cheered them on. Sam was wielding a pair of nerf swords while the twins had one each and were trying their hardest to fell the villain.

"Come on, guys," Henry cheered his brothers. "Get him! With him gone, we'll have less people bossing us around!"

"Fine!" Sam said as he parried a blow from Jason. "Take their side! ...Traitor!" He took a left sword swipe at Marcus, who ducked under it and retaliated, forcing the father to block with the other sword, then quickly dodge to avoid a stab from Jason. "Ahh! That's it! You're all my witnesses! These two little monsters are trying to commit fratricide!"

The Amazons laughed along with everyone else as the trio flailed away at each other in their two-on-one epic battle of good versus evil. Sam noticed that they had guests and didn't want to keep them waiting. It was time for evil to triumph once again, so he quickly stepped back, then lunged forward suddenly as the twins pursued him, slipping past their guard and stabbing them both in the chest simultaneously.

The boys looked stunned by the maneuver, then made highly theatrical deaths, retching horribly as they writhed around and finally collapsed side by side.

Victorious, Sam cackled with glee as he stood over the bodies of the fallen heroes. "Next... The world!" he exclaimed in a sinister tone, raising his swords victoriously.

"You monster!" Daniel exclaimed in mock-horror. "You murdered my sons!"

"I had to," Sam answered grimly. "They were almost completely defenseless... I had no choice." He hung his head sadly. The boys laughed as they laid there. "Hey you two," Sam sulked, "You're supposed to be dead! How can I enjoy my victory if you're both still alive?" The boys got up and dropped their swords. "STOP!" Sam exclaimed with annoyance. "A sword is a sword! You never treat a blade that disrespectfully! Pick them up by the hilts and put them away properly! Being the sons of an Apolline priest, I'm shocked that you'd treat swords so disrespectfully!" he finished with a touch of annoyance.

"Ok," they said guiltily in unison and did as they were told.

"Can you take mine, too?" Sam asked gently and they nodded with slight smiles, took their father's weapons from him and hurried to the toy chest along the back wall of the house and stored them away properly before joining the group at the table.

"Well," Matthew said, "everyone, this is Alice and Tracy, Sally's moms. This is my partner, David Williams," he began.

"Hi," David said warmly, shaking their hands. "I'm human by the way but seem to be the only one here," he finished with a grin.

"That's fine by us," Alice said with a kindly smile.

"And this," Matthew said as he continued the introductions, "Is our son Daniel Matthewson," who smiled and nodded in greeting, "His partner Sam," Matthew said, "And their boys Henry Danielson and the twins Marcus with the green eyes and Jason with the blue, Samson."

Sam noticed that Matthew had skipped his last name but saw that it had been more for Sam's comfort than anything else. Matthew understood that Sam hated being the center of attention and was trying to help him avoid feeling uncomfortable.

"Are you Sam Apolloson?" Tracy asked, eyeing Sam's throat scar and making him shift nervously in his seat.

"Uhh... Yeah," he said with effort.

"We don't want to come off as rude..." Alice began, then hesitated.

"...But you really want to know," Sam said with a wry smile.

"You might as well just get it all out in the open now, Babe," Daniel said with a sympathetic smile.

Sam sighed and related his story to their guests. "Did it hurt?" Sally asked bluntly after he was finished telling the Amazons of how he had sacrificed himself to Apollo, was brought back to life, then transformed into a Spartan.

"Well the sacrifice part did hurt a lot but only for a few seconds. Apollo is a very skilled person and made sure I didn't suffer more then was necessary. The transformation did hurt a lot though and seemed to take forever, even though I passed out partway through."

"And you worship Apollo now?" Tracy asked.

Sam nodded. "Kind of hard not to after what all he did for me. I only just recently became an ordained priest."

"So why did you all move here?" Alice asked gently with interest.

"Well," David said. "We had to close down our bookstore last month after sales declined past the point of feasibility and with all of our family living out here, we decided to accept Daniel and Sam's' offer to move away from the Midwest. The cold was proving to be murder on my joints, anyways."

"Also..." Sam said slowly. "I do need to warn you guys that I'm planning on founding a temple to Apollo in the lot next door," he finished, pointing at the empty lot between the house and the corner.

The Amazons were surprised but supportive of the idea and began to ask questions about Apolline faith and what all would be going on at the temple once it was up and running. The concept of sacrifice was a bit disturbing to them at first but once Sam explained all of the details, the Amazons lost some of their nervousness about the idea, especially once they learned that the bodies were treated respectfully and the meat from them would be given out as offerings to the poor so that they could have decent meals. They were surprisingly open-minded and also seemed to think that the temple would help to revitalize the area.

The Amazons also expressed deep relief at finally having a second non-human family in the neighborhood and told that they had begun to seriously consider moving away but with the Spartan family now living nearby, they finally had some folks that they could be both open and comfortable around. Amazons, it seemed, had a very difficult time fitting in and being made to feel welcome in the area. While women were sympathetic to Spartans, Amazons tended to make many human women nervous, as they and Spartans did for human men. Only some were truly comfortable and accepting of the women who had reared a child from birth in a way that had absolutely no involvement from any man, human or Spartan, not that the later was even possible.

Spartan men could only sire children by their Spartan partner, should they be one of the few who actually ended up in a partner bond with a fellow Spartan. Spartan genetics were incompatible with human women or Amazons, so the only person they could ever sire a child by was their partner, if they were lucky. Otherwise, they would only ever be able to bear the children themselves and never sire ones by others. Fortunately, Apollo was a generous god and none of the family had ever heard of a Spartan who wished to sire children ending up in a partner bond with a human man. Seeing as how Apollo Himself was the one who had originally created the partner bond for Spartans, Sam guessed that He made sure those in partner bonds were always happy together.

Sam returned his attention to the conversation as Alice explained about how she and Tracy had met. "Well," Alice explained, "When we were arrested during the round ups and sent to prison, I was never more terrified in my life. My moms just sat there, all quiet, as though they were expecting the worst. I tried to help them as best as I could but they weren't very responsive and I began to lose hope that we'd ever get out of there. I was crying in the bathroom, certain that my mothers were going to die in prison... Maybe all of us... Well, suddenly there was a gentle knocking at the stall door and after I freshened myself up as best I could, I opened the door without really looking up and apologized for making a scene..."

"And I told her she had nothing to be upset about," Tracy continued. "I told her I felt like crying too and I'd only just arrived. So I gently placed my hand under her chin and lifted her face so that I could tell her everything would be alright and our eyes met," she said, looking to Alice with a smile...

"And I," Alice continued, "Thought that someone had smacked me across the back of the head with a board. All I could do was stare into Tracy's eyes." She smiled fondly at her partner.

"She -did- look like someone had smacked her with a board," Tracy added with a grin. "Or something. Her mouth was hanging open all the way. To be fair, though, I'm sure I looked exactly the same. I think I actually gasped."

"It was love at first sight," Alice said wistfully. "And I knew that no matter what happened, everything would work out for us. I mean, Hathor wouldn't have brought us together if we weren't going to make it out of there alright."

"Hathor?" David asked.

"Our goddess. It was She who created the Amazon species over thirty five hundred years ago."

"The same way Apollo created the Spartans?" Matthew asked looking as though he were fighting off deeply disturbing memories and trying not to show it.

"We think so," Alice said slowly, still looking at David.

Actually, she's right, Sam heard within his head in the way that let him know that his god was speaking only to him. When the last human Spartans prayed to me to intervene in their fates, I looked around and saw what Hathor had done and... 'Borrowed' the idea from her. It's also from Hathor that I got the idea for the Spartan partner bond. That way, all Spartans would be ensured the possibility of having children of their own in the same way that the Amazons do.

Sam nodded. "Yes, that's correct. He says that's where He got it from," Sam said, sensing that it was acceptable for him to share what he had been told. He wondered why Apollo hadn't spoken out loud.

Because I don't wish to bombard your new friends with too much too quickly. Let them slowly get used to seeing you as My priest. I know you hate it when people begin to treat you differently as it is.

Thanks, Sam thought back with sincerity.

"So he admits it," Tracy said with a sly smile full of humor.

"Uh... Well..." Sam hedged.

"Oh don't be embarrassed," Alice said kindly. "We've met priestesses of Hathor and they act exactly the same. We know all about how the gods have active communication with their priesthood, so don't feel like we're going to try to slap a straightjacket on you or anything."

Sam sighed with relief. "Good, 'cause I swear I'm not skipping any medications, or anything." Everyone laughed at that.

"So Apollo is listening right now?" Sally asked Sam with a look of surprise.

The priest nodded. "Yep. He likes to keep an eye on me to make sure I stay out of trouble... Which is basically a full time job for Him, omnipresence or not."

You have no idea... the god told him dryly.

Sam started laughing at that and the others smiled at him, imagining fairly accurately what the deity had said to make the priest laugh.

"So," Daniel asked the ladies. "How -did- the Amazons get their start?"

Tracy laughed. "Well, that's a very long story... Tell you what, why don't the lot of you all come over for dinner tomorrow evening and we'll tell you then? We'd love to host you." Alice nodded her agreement.

"Alright," Daniel said brightly, "We'll be there."

Not wanting to take too much time away from the Spartan family, the Amazons took their leave and made their way home as the men returned to their unpacking and settling in...

The next morning, Daniel awoke to find himself alone in bed. Is he at it again? he wondered to himself with a sigh. After rising and grabbing some pajamas, he walked to the window and looked out across the yard to the empty lot where, sure enough, Sam was exercising in the cool morning air, dressed only in a pair of skin tone spandex swim trunks and working his way through the sword presentations again and again. Daniel saw the flash of steel and noted that Sam was now working with his actual swords, rather than the metal practice rods.

Daniel smiled to himself, thinking that Sam made quite the image as he stood there, swords in hand, like something right out of ancient Sparta. Even from here, several yards away, Daniel could see the look of concentration on his partner's face as he spun the blades again and again in a complex figure eight motion. There was a thin sheen of sweat on Sam's body as he moved, telling Daniel that his love must have been at this for awhile now.

Daniel rested his head against the glass and smiled. He's come so far from the man I met in the park that day... He's actually living his life now and has a purpose. He didn't know if Sam knew but Daniel had taken a side course in psychology while he was working towards his real estate license. He'd needed the extra credit to qualify for financial aid and had figured that learning how the mind worked would give him an edge in his profession, which it did. That same knowledge had shown Daniel the true nature of his partner... The truth was, Sam had been a man who was deeply scarred emotionally... And it showed.

His reclusive nature, shunning interaction with others and avoiding leaving home as much as possible, the cluttered state of his home, the frayed state of his clothing... It had all pointed to a man who had given up on life. Sam had been merely enduring his existence... Waiting for it to end. It wouldn't surprise Daniel to learn that Sam might once have been suicidal at some point in his life. The haunted look of old pain in his eyes told Daniel volumes. He'd never spoken about this with Sam, feeling that if his partner wanted to talk about it, he would eventually do so on his own. Daniel refused to be rude and force the issue, not wanting to cause Sam to relive old pains if he didn't want to.

But Sam looked and acted much better nowadays. He was slowly learning to open up more and more, becoming more outgoing and sharing with less and less prodding from others. The look of pain was slowly leaving him and he smiled quicker and more often than before. Daniel accepted Sam's odd sense of humor with grace, knowing that while his partner's sense of humor was a bit disturbing at times, at least he was truly happy now.

Gone was the sad, lonely man who had been waiting to die. He was now a strong and happy man who had the loving family he had always wanted and who was looking forward to a long and happy life. He even has a father of his own, Daniel thought with awe and gratitude, thankful to their god for being the parent Sam had always longed for. He makes a pretty good dad himself, for that matter. He knows how to balance love with discipline, be supportive, yet stand back and let the boys have enough independence so that they can grow up properly and be nurturing as well as strong. Sam's doubts about being a fit parent had proven to be completely groundless, as far as Daniel was concerned. Daniel also saw just how deeply Sam loved their children, as well as knowing that Sam wanted more someday. They still had plenty of time, though, as Spartans could remain fertile for many years longer than humans.

And he's found his purpose in life, too... Serving our god and the world. Not bad for a man who had once shunned the gods for thinking that they didn't care about him. Daniel sighed good-naturedly as he watched Sam go through the fifth presentation again. What's he planning? I wish he'd tell me, already... He frowned in concentration as he watched the priest begin a series of motions that looked completely unfamiliar. It almost looked like he was doing some sort of dance. Sam spun and swung his twin blades in a complicated series of movements that ended with a slash and stab motion of the swords. I don't recognize that one. What's he doing?

Sam had been rather secretive of late about his plans for the opening ceremony for the temple's founding. He would make furtive calls and emails, yet say nothing to the family, telling them only that it was a surprise. Not wanting to spoil it for himself, Daniel turned away from the window as Henry pounded loudly on the bathroom door.

"Come on, guys! I need the bathroom too!" the eldest boy shouted, making a racket.

"HENRY!" he shouted, walking out into the hallway. "Stop shouting! You'll wake up the whole house!"

"You're the last one up," Henry said matter-of-factly and pounded on the bathroom door again.

"Stop that!" Daniel snapped, becoming annoyed with his eldest son. "Let me," he added with a sigh and knocked more gently that his child. "Marcus, Jason, don't keep the bathroom tied up. Other people need it too."

"Okay," their voices came in unison from behind the door.

"How do they always manage to talk that way?" Daniel wondered aloud.

"They're mutants is why," Henry answered.

Daniel looked at the boy with distaste. "Don't say things like that! It's rude! They're twins is all and must be more in sync than most people."

"They're freaks, Dad Daniel. Who ever heard of Spartan twins? You said so yourself."

Daniel frowned at his son. "Henry, you're being very cruel and bigoted! Marcus and Jason are unique, not mutants or freaks! I'm surprised at you! Don't you love your brothers?"

Henry suddenly looked very guilty. "Yeah... I do. They're just a bit odd, is all. They always hang out together and never want to be apart. I can't even play hide and seek with them right because they won't even split up whenever I try to make one of them 'it'. They insist on both being 'it'. I like them but they act so weird sometimes, is all."

Daniel said nothing. He too, had begun to notice that Marcus and Jason were unnaturally close, even for twins. They refused to sleep in separate beds, be away from each other for more than a few minutes at a time and never seemed to even so much as argue. They were so sickeningly sweet to each other that it was rather unnerving. It was only natural for siblings to squabble but the twins never said so much as a single harsh word to each other. Daniel didn't know what to think or do.

Just then, the bathroom door opened and the boys came out with towels wrapped around their waists. "Done," they said in unison, heading for their room.

"Finally," Henry said in exasperation and entered.

"Don't use up all the hot water," Daniel warned. "I want a shower too."

Henry mumbled a positive reply and Daniel sighed, then headed downstairs to pilfer the first floor bathroom...

That evening, all seven members of the family arrived at the Amazons' home for dinner. It was a tight fit for the ten of them but everyone was able to crowd around the large dining room table for a dinner of meatloaf, mashed potatoes with beef gravy, green beans, corn, rolls, olives and home-canned peaches with milk, tea and Kool-Aid for the kids. Fortunately, the boys were behaving themselves as they chatted with Sally.

Meanwhile, the adult men listened as Alice told them the origin of the Amazons...

"Well," she began, "it started over thirty six hundred years ago in ancient Egypt. In a small village there lived two women who were the best of friends since birth. They were called Nephilia and Heranipus. When they were thirteen years of age, their families married them to two men from the village. Heranipus' husband was a pleasant, yet distant man who showed almost no interest in his wife. She was well cared for but there was no love between them. Nephilia, however, faired far worse. Her husband was a cruel and abusive man who beat her regularly 'so that she would know her place'. This was very common in those days, as women were little more than the property of their husbands.

"One day, Nephilia was beaten so severely by her husband that she became bedridden for a time and Heranipus was permitted to tend to her friend as she recovered. Nephilia began to cry, telling Heranipus she wished that her husband had killed her, that she would finally be free of his cruelty. Heranipus wept at the plight of her dearest friend and pondered what to do. She then made plans to spirit her friend away that they could escape their unhappy marriages and flee to a new life elsewhere. Heranipus obtained small doses of nightshade, which she explained to Nephilia how to use. They drugged their husbands into unconsciousness, then fled from their homes, vowing never to return.

"They journeyed across the desert, fleeing their lives of servitude to their spouses, yet once the men had recovered, Nephilia's husband became enraged, forced Heranipus' husband to join him and they set off across the desert in pursuit of their escaped wives. For many months the men pursued the women, until they finally found them. Fearing for the life of her friend, Heranipus prayed to the goddess Hathor for protection. The goddess imbued Heranipus with great strength and skill and the woman slew the murderous husband of her friend. Heranipus' own husband begged for his life and out of deference for the way he had treated her, she spared her husband's life and told him to leave, making him promise never to speak to anyone about what had occurred that day and also making him promise never to return. He agreed and left, never to be seen again by the pair.

"'But what of other women?' They asked. 'What about other wives who were still trapped in loveless marriages?' They wept at the cruel fates of their fellow women and seeing this, Hathor was moved to feel great pity. The goddess reached into the minds of such women and through dreams and gentle, silent urgings, encouraged unloved wives to leave their men and seek out Heranipus and Nephilia, guided to their side by Hathor's will. Over time, the pair obtained a small following of women, many of whom had been soured against men and others who could only feel love for their fellow women. Together, the group began a pilgrimage across the desert and into the forests beyond the last of the sands. There, they made a new home and lives for themselves.

"But over time, the women became sad, for in shunning men they had forever denied themselves the chance to have children. In time, their grief at being denied motherhood grew, so they prayed to Hathor for aid that they could find a way to bear children, yet remain free of the dominance of men. The goddess used her power to transform the women into a new species, which She named Amazon, possessing the ability to make another woman pregnant and also possessing superior strength and stamina that they could defend themselves from attack should any men ever find their way into the lands of the Amazons. Hathor then taught the women how to use their transformed bodies to give each other children, yet the Amazons soon discovered that they each could only become Emergent with only one specific other of their kind and made a life of happiness with their new partners... All but one, that is.

"One lone Amazon had no partner of her own, living alone in sadness. Hathor saw her warrior's loneliness and reached out across the desert to find a mate for her. The woman she found felt the call and made the journey across the sands to find her beloved. Once she arrived, the pair feel madly in love and in time had children of their own. Seeing this, Hathor created the partner bond for all Amazons, that each would find happiness and companionship that they could raise a family by successfully bearing daughters upon each other. Hathor has always watched over her daughters even to this day, helping Amazons and their mates find each other, be that partner a fellow Amazon or a human woman.

"The priestesses of Hathor, few though they are, are the holders of our traditions. The priestesses wander the world, guided by our goddess to the places where they are needed but for the most part, those of us who are devout worship on our own. Hathor does not truly require worship, yet accepts it from her followers and not being a jealous goddess, She never forces any to worship Her if they do not wish to. So you'll find Amazons who follow other faiths, or a rare few who follow no path at all... So that's it... That's the origin of the Amazons," Alice finished with a smile.

"Wow!" Matthew said. "That's a much different origin from the way we Spartans got our start. I'm not sure how much you know about how we came to be as we are now..."

Tracy smiled. "We know all about Spartans. The last Spartan warriors returned home from war to find their culture the victim of genocide, so they prayed to Apollo for intervention, who transformed them so that they could have sons by each other but Hera took it away, Zeus gave it back with terrible pain during Emergence and gestation to appease Her, then Apollo made the partner bond for your kind and that you could reproduce with men since Hera made you sterile towards women. Some Spartans still worship Apollo and you endure to this day."

Sam laughed. "Sounds like you bought the cliff notes version at Barnes and Noble." All of the adults joined in on the laughter. Sally and Henry rolled their eyes while the twins looked confused.

"Don't mind them," Henry said to his siblings, "they're just being dumb!"

"Hey!" Daniel said defensively, "I take offense to that."

"So how did you gals learn about Spartans?" David asked as he leaned forward with interest.

"Oh," Tracy said. "We regularly attend the monthly ASP meetings down in the city."

"ASP?" Daniel asked.

"It's the Amazon, Spartan and their Partners support group. It's a good place to make friends you can relate too. There's not a lot of members but what we lack in quantity we make up for in spirit. We have a few friends outside of the group but they're all humans who can't really relate to us. They're supportive but it's nice to have friends who've had similar experiences to our own. We'd be glad to introduce you all, if you want."

"I don't know if it's a good idea for me to be there..." Sam said, looking uncomfortable. "People tend to act a little odd around me."

"Oh come on, Sam," Matthew said. "It'll be good for you."

He's right, Apollo spoke into Sam's mind. You need to get used to interacting with others as my priest.

"You too?" Sam asked softly, his shoulders slumping.

You can't just bury your head in the sand, Sam. I need you to learn how to be comfortable being among crowds and this would be a good start. Consider it part of your priestly duties.

Sam sighed. "Alright, if you think so. Maybe it'd be a good way to help spread word about the temple, too..." He looked up and noted David looking a bit apprehensive like he always did whenever he saw his son-in-law speaking out loud with his god. While David was accepting of the family's Apolline faith and had even met their god personally when he had spoken through Sam, he was still rather nervous, what with being a devout Lutheran and all. Everyone else, the children included were looking at him with interest... Especially Sally, who had a slightly confused air to her expression.

She turned to Henry and whispered to him. "Is your dad a bit crazy?"

Henry looked at her in shock. "No!" he whispered back. "He's talking with Lord Apollo. He does it all the time. Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

"Apollo?" Sally asked. "You mean he's real?"

"Of course he's real! I've received his blessings through Dad Sam a few times and sometimes He'll talk through my Dad Sam too. He's a bit scary at times because He's a god but He can be really nice too. He brought Dad Sam back to life so that he could stay with us when he got sick when I was a baby."

"How'd he do that?" Sally asked, looking unconvinced.

"I'll tell you later," Henry promised before returning his attention to the main conversation.

"But all the same," Sam was saying to everyone. "Let's just keep my attendance on the down low. I don't want the meeting being flooded by people who only want to be there to see me."

"Sam's rather modest," Daniel said with a smile before giving him a quick peck on his fuzzy cheek.

"Well, it'd defeat the real purpose of the meeting is all. I don't want to monopolize everyone's time like that," Sam added gently.

"Will do," Alice said with a sympathetic smile.

"So how long until the temple opens?" Tracy asked.

"It'll be about two more months before we'll have everything in place to have the opening ceremonies. I'm still waiting to hear from the armorer to confirm that the order of swords has been shipped, get the FDA paperwork approved and set up the secondary masonry delivery so that we can begin construction of the temple building itself afterwards."

"Wait," Alice asked in confusion. "You're building the temple -after- the opening ceremonies? Why?"

"Apollo said He wants it done in that order. I think He has something planned for the opening. Me too but that part's a secret because I want my part to be a surprise."

Is that why you always ask for privacy each day after your morning prayers?

Yes and don't go peaking into the future, either, or you'll spoil the surprise. He thought with amusement and felt the god's curiosity increase at that but his divine father said nothing more.

Sam smiled to himself. It should prove to be very interesting. He'd first gotten the idea from Apollo himself, back when they'd had the discussion about the day that Sam had first prayed to Apollo and what had happened during that fateful trip to New York. It should prove to be a very interesting experience for everyone. Now if I can only build up enough stamina so that I won't pass out afterwards... he thought to himself grimly.

After dinner was over, the men returned home to finish settling in, feeling very happy at having made some new friends...

Sam was out on the grounds of the yet to be constructed temple the next morning. He rose up from his morning prayers as he felt the touch of his lord and father leave him to his requested privacy and began his routines. He was still getting tired about two thirds of the way through his full routine but was hoping desperately that he could build up enough stamina before the founding ceremony two months from now on the day of the full moon. Normally sacrifices took place at night but since Apollo was a sun god and most people who wished to attend would be available only during the day, the god was fine with the event taking place at noon instead, when the sun was at its peak within the skies.

He began the presentations, starting with the first. He crossed his blades over his head in an 'X' shape, holding them there in salute to his lord and father, then began to spin them, moving only the hands and wrists as he spun the swords in a circular motion. After four hundred revolutions, Sam sunk to his knee and rested the sword points on the grass, panting with effort. He waited until he recovered his breath and rose, then after another sword cross, he began the second presentation. He used his whole torso for this one, spinning the weapons in a complex figure eight motion again and again for several minutes. He ended in the prayer position once more, resting again for a few moments. Once he recovered, he rose, made the cross again, then with his arms forward, he spun the swords yet again for awhile, then knelt again. Another cross and the fourth presentation while still kneeling with his blades above his head. Prayer position, cross, then the fifth while standing in a variation of the figure eight. Kneel, cross, then the sixth where he crossed the blades in high and low eights first above his head, then at waist level, going back and forth again and again. He collapsed once more in the prayer position, his lungs burning and his muscles trembling as sweat poured from his body. He took well over a minute to recover before forcing himself to do the final beginning cross before the seventh and last presentation, where he spun the blades in a gentle and simple arc again and again for several minutes before nearly collapsing into the prayer position to end.

He could barely remain upright, his sides burning with pain and his breathing ragged and forced. He remained there for over ten minutes, his legs shaking as he panted heavily. It seemed to take forever before he began to recover. As he did so, a sad realization came to him. I can't do it all. I can barely maintain my balance as it is after all seven presentations. There's no way I can do the four point after all of that. I only have two months to get everything down and I'm about ready to pass out as it is! I don't know what to do, he thought, feeling helpless and wishing he could ask for advice.

Sam? Apollo asked, sounding tentative.

Hey, he said, unable to speak aloud as he was panting so hard.

I'm sorry to interrupt but I sensed that you were willing to speak with Me. What's wrong, My son? the god asked kindly.

I'm just not strong enough... I want to do the full set of presentations then do my special one but I just can't manage it. I can barely do the seven as it is... I want to do all of it right but I just can't see how I'll be able to pull it off without killing myself, even with two more months to train... I don't know what to do, he finished, feeling defeated and weak.

Sam, I'm touched that you wish to please Me but it's also important to understand your limitations... I've been thinking about the opening ceremony and have come to understand that perhaps the complete set of full-length presentations wouldn't appeal to the audience. I'm mostly used to dealing with European observers who tend to be more patient. Americans, however, tend to want things faster that other peoples. So I give you my permission to shorten the presentations to accommodate the audience as well as yourself. I'd recommend reducing the time for each presentation to a quarter of their normal length. That way you'll have enough stamina to do everything you want to and still have the strength for what I'll require from you afterwards... It's alright Sam, don't be so hard on yourself. You're actually doing much better than you think you are, you know...

I know but I thought that my stamina would be increasing faster than this, is all, he answered, feeling a bit disappointed.

Apollo laughed gently. Give it time, Sam, just give it time. You're actually progressing much faster than most of My priests, as it is. You've progressed farther and faster than you realize, you know. Just be patient with yourself and stop trying to do it all so quickly.

I guess you're right. I do tend to be a bit too much of a perfectionist, huh?

It's one of your more annoying qualities, Apollo teased his adopted son in a moment of humor.

Ha, ha!

Go get some breakfast. Part of the reason you're so worn out is because you only eat after your workouts. It's good training for religious observances but you shouldn't do it every day. It's not healthy.

Ok, Sam said, standing up, saluting with his blades, then sheathing them. He turned back to the house but stopped as a girl's voice called out to him.

"Hi Mr. Apolloson!" Sally called out to him, rolling up to the edge of the yard on her bicycle as she did so. The basket on her bike was filled with rolled up newspapers.

"Hi Sally," he said, still somewhat short of breath as he walked over to her. "Got a paper route, huh?"

"Yeah... Mom Tracy says it builds character," the young Amazon answered, rolling her eyes. "Whatcha doing?"

"I was doing some training on my presentations," Sam said as his breathing stabilized.

"Presentations?" she asked, frowning in confusion.

"I take my swords and move them in certain patterns as part of my religious observances in honor of my lord. Since Apollo is a warrior god, shows of fighting prowess and skill in wielding my blades are what appeal to Him. By performing them well , I show my devotion to my god and my skill as a warrior in service to Him."

"So being able to fight well is important to followers of Apollo?"

He nodded. "Each worshipper is a spiritual warrior of Apollo, although we only fight whenever we have to, such as in defense of our homes and loved ones. Also, because we offer sacrifice to our lord, we must be willing to shed blood for Him, which is part of being a warrior, too. Does that make sense?"

"I guess so," Sally said with a shrug. "So are you going to make Henry do all that too?"

Sam shook his head. "I won't make him do anything he doesn't want to but if he chooses to worship Apollo as well then I'll gladly teach him."

"That's good," Sally replied. "If he wants to, it's fine by me."

"Thanks for being so supportive. You're awfully enlightened for a six year old."

"Six year old?" Sally said, looking at him with distaste.

"I'm sorry," Sam apologized, seeing her reaction, "but if you aged as a Spartan does I'd say you looked about six. Although... If you were human, I guess I'd say you were about ten."

"No, I'm fourteen," the girl replied with amusement.

"That old?" Sam asked in disbelief. "You look pretty young for fourteen, I honestly thought you were younger than Henry and he's eight."

"Well Amazons mature more slowly that humans and much slower than Spartans, so I guess that's why you'd think that way. You Spartans shoot up like weeds!" she giggled.

"Gee thanks!" Sam said with a mock-scowl.

Sally laughed for a moment, then stopped and looked at her watch in alarm. "Crap!" she exclaimed. "I'd better get going if I want to finish my route before I have to go to school. See you later!" she said, taking off as fast as she could.

"Have a good day!" Sam called out after her with a wave.

"You too," she replied with a wave of her own before she turned the corner and disappeared.

Sam sighed and went into the house for breakfast, resolving to make sure he learned as much as he could about Amazons...

"Sam," Matthew asked as they stood in the kitchen later that day, "Did you get the contact info we'll need for tonight?"

The priest nodded. "Yeah. I got the address for the ranch and the one for the vet clinic for the tranqs, too. All we need to do is set up the tent and for me to make sure the authorities know in advance about the ritual in case anyone tries to call it in."

They shouldn't really have too much of a problem, as the neighborhood was a sparse one at the edge of the city and most of the land in this area was devoted to business use. Their house was at the very edge of the residential district and their neighbors were far enough away that they wouldn't be disturbed by the sounds of the rite, including the sacrifice itself. The neighborhood was one of the newer ones that had yet to be built up fully, which made for few neighbors close by and ensuring a certain amount of privacy despite being within the city limits.

At least now they had a way to legally obtain the drugs needed to make sure that the animal was heavily sedated in order to provide the minimum of suffering when they offered its life to their god. The only issue would be if any of the few existing neighbors saw them taking a pig and several swords into the tent, then come out later with the animal's carcass and decided to call the authorities out of concern. That's why they were waiting until about ten at night, allowing the children to stay up late as the three boys had all expressed an interest in attending the service. David would stay in the house and keep an eye out for any troublemakers or police and deal with them calmly so that the Spartans could practice their religion without being disturbed.

David was still a bit nervous about their Apolline faith but tried to be supportive. It wasn't easy for him, a devout Lutheran, to condone such practices but his attitude had become less opposing after Apollo had spoken to him through Sam's body. While David was not a follower of Apollo himself, he yielded to the spiritual needs of the rest of the family with dignity. As for David's beliefs, he was still searching for a new church to attend and the family was supportive for the most part. As a former Satanist Sam still had difficulty accepting his human father-in-law's beliefs but never spoke ill of the matter, preferring to keep to the agreement they had made years ago to avoid discussing religion with each other. He was grateful, though, that David was willing to not only allow them to continue to practice their religion unobstructed but also offer to make sure that no one disturbed them while they did so.

Just then, Daniel walked in looking very dejected. They gazed at him and felt their spirits drop from his posture of defeat. "Hey guys," he said sadly.

"Oh Dan," Sam said softly, walking over to his partner and hugging him tightly. "I'm sorry," he said. Daniel had gone out for a job interview and from the way he was acting, the results of the interview were clear.

"Thanks... I just don't get it... Why didn't they hire me sooner? It's just not fair! I hated having to job hunt like that all the time. It just sucked!"

Matthew paused. "Wait... Daniel, you said-"

"YEP! I GOT IT!" Daniel laughed joyfully as he broke the somber mood, lifting Sam in his arms to spin him around happily a few times before setting him back down.

"You faker!" Sam accused with a big grin laced with annoyance. "I really felt bad for you!"

"Like you're the only one capable of playing head games?" Daniel answered with a self-satisfied grin. "It's your fault for believing me!"

"Congratulations, Son," Matthew said as he hugged his offspring happily. "When do you start?"

"Monday but rather early so I'll need to get to bed by ten Sunday night."

"Ok, I guess I'll have to settle for a quickie before bed on Sunday night," Sam sighed philosophically. Daniel scoffed but Sam shamelessly leaned in for a tender kiss. "I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks," Daniel said with a smile before kissing him again.

"Ew!" Henry exclaimed from the doorway as he entered. "Are you two at it again?"

"Hey!" Sam answered testily. "You want more brothers or not?"

"All I want is dads who aren't pervs!" the boy answered.

"You calling me perverted too?" Daniel asked defensively.

"You handcuffed Dad Sam to your bed!" Henry protested. "I'll never get that image out of my head!"

"That was an act of love!" Sam retorted. "...And experimentation," he added with a look of awkwardness. "Besides, you should know better than to barge into other peoples rooms!" he finished firmly. "Try knocking first once in awhile!"

"Daniel! You didn't!" Matthew said in shock as he stared at his son in disbelief.

"It's your fault for placing the idea in my head in the first place!" Daniel answered defensively, blushing furiously. While he was becoming more open-minded about sex, thanks to Sam's attitude on the subject, he was still having a hard time actually talking about it to other people.

"When did I do that?" the grandfather countered with shock.

"The night Sam first came over and fainted when he saw me. You asked me if I wanted someone who I'd have to handcuff to the bed to keep them from escaping, remember? Then when I thought about it and liked the idea, you got mad and yelled at me... Just like you're doing now!" Daniel answered with amusement, recovering from his embarrassment as he countered his parent's argument.

Matthew stood there with his mouth hanging open for a moment before he finally closed it with effort. "Fair enough," he finally said weakly.

"You kinky little monkey!" Sam teased his partner.

"So you're all perverts!" Henry said with an air of intense suffering. "This family's gross!" He sighed as he opened the fridge.

"We're not gross, just open-minded is all," Sam sighed. "Besides, in only a year and a half you'll be hitting puberty and then your tune will change quick enough, Mr. Nearly Nine-Year Old! What are you doing in here anyways? You're supposed to be doing your math assignment right now and making sure the twins are doing theirs."

"I wanted a drink. Besides, I think I'm stuck on decimals." Henry looked so disappointed with himself that Sam's heart went out to him but the boy turned to Daniel. "Can you help, Dad Daniel?"

"Ok," Daniel said as Henry grabbed some milk.

"No offense, Dad Sam," Henry said but the parent held up a placating hand.

"No worries," Sam answered. "I know my math skills suck. It's better if your other dad helps you with them, since he's better with numbers then I am."

Daniel led their eldest son back out to the dining room where the children were working on their math assignments. The children, due to the fast rate of maturation, began their learning with home schooling from ages four to eleven before entering public school, where they began their public education during the first year of junior high and continuing on to age seventeen and graduation from high school. It was the system that had been developed after Spartans had begun to integrate into society and seemed to be working fairly well in America so far.

Henry would be entering school year after next and Sam was going to take the boy to enroll at the local junior high when he was ten. He only hoped that the school would be open-minded...

That evening the family gathered inside the large, tall tent they had set up in the back yard. As they walked to it, Henry was quiet and thoughtful as he watched his dad Sam moving along with his twin swords in their scabbards, the tips poking out under the robe he wore as he walked. The boy felt rather sad that he could only observe. After watching the adults worship for the last few years, the boy found himself wishing that he could join in with them but he was unable to.

He wanted to worship his god the way his parents and granddad Matthew did. It was because of Lord Apollo that Henry still had his dad Sam in his life. Henry had already made up his mind that he wanted to be Apolline like the rest of the family, not counting granddad David, that was. He acknowledged Apollo as his god and wanted to worship Him but couldn't do so properly... He walked towards the tent with slumped shoulders.

"Henry?" Daniel asked his son with concern as he noted the boy's withdrawn behavior. "What's wrong?"

Henry shook his head, not knowing what to say, as well as not wanting to spoil the evening for everyone else. Instead, he entered the tent in silence as his Granddad Matthew carried the heavily sedated pig into the tent, coming in just behind him.

"What's this?" his dad Sam asked, kneeling in the center of the tent and reaching down. He paused and looked up, then nodded and bowed his head for a moment. He then removed his robe and sighed, seeming to brace himself slightly. Suddenly, his posture changed slightly, becoming more proud as he picked something up from the ground, stood up and turned to the rest of the family with a gentle smile full of a strange, unearthly strength. In his hand was a third, shorter sword in a scabbard and sword belt in his hand.

"Henry Danielson," he said in a deep and radiant voice that everyone instantly recognized as Apollo's. "Step forward..." Shocked, Daniel dropped to his knees as Matthew struggled to do so, yet paused when the god laughed gently at him with humor. "Matthew, don't be silly. How do you expect to kneel safely with your arms full like that? Bowing your head to show your respect will suffice in light of your current condition."

"Uh... Yes Lord!" the grandfather replied with effort, pressing his face to the back of the unconscious swine in his arms as he complied.

Apollo chuckled. "Henry, come here," he said gently to the boy with a smile. Nervously, the lad complied, trembling slightly. He'd seen his father Sam channel their god before and although he wasn't terrified, the power of Apollo was rather intimidating. It was seeing the deity smiling kindly using his father Sam's face that helped him remain calm. He knelt low once he was before his lord. "Rise," Apollo commanded and Henry stood slowly. "I want to thank you for your devotion to Me. I have heard the desire within your heart and am pleased that you wish to become one of My worshippers. I also know that the only reason you do not do so is simply because you do not have a true symbol of faith of your own that would be proper for you. So I offer you this blade, that you may follow the calling of your heart."

"Lord?" Henry asked in a shaky voice, then became shocked when Apollo/Sam knelt down and told him to hold still, which he did as the divine being fastened the sword belt into place.

"There," Apollo said. "Now you can take pride in being able to worship beside your family." He saw Henry look down at the sword nervously, then Apollo glanced over and noted the look of slight nervousness on Daniel's face. "Relax. Henry possesses great skill and talent with swords and will not harm himself. Also the blade is one I took from the temple in New York after notifying the head priest that I was doing so and why, so no one will be accused of theft." Apollo smiled with amusement at that and the family relaxed, Sam included. Apollo turned back to the lad and looked him in the eye. "Treasure this blade, Henry. Although you will eventually outgrow it, the blade itself has a very long life and I expect you to one day pass it on to someone else who will make good use of it. Seeing as how I'm your father Sam's adopted father, I guess that makes you my grandson, after a fashion, so consider this eight years worth of missed birthday presents." He stood. "Kneel before your god," He said gently, yet firmly to the boy, who drew his sword, spun it around in his hand into the reverse grip and knelt in prayer. Apollo placed Sam's hand on Henry's head. "Blessings upon you," He said and Henry gasped as the power of his god flowed through him.

Apollo took the hand away and the lad felt the sense of the god's power fade somewhat. He looked up questioningly to see his dad Sam smiling down at him. "Congratulations, Son," Sam said as himself, "I'm proud of you." With that Henry knew that Apollo had left his father's body and smiled up at him. Sam cleared his throat and looked around, seeing the twins smiling happily at their older brother. "Alright," Sam said, noting that the twins were content to stand back and observe without taking part in the actual worship, "Let's do this together," he finished to his fellow worshippers and stepping back, he drew his twin swords and turned to the low fire they had set up, making sure to keep it small enough so that the tent wouldn't catch fire.

Matthew set the offering in place and moved to join the rest of them. Since Sam was now an ordained priest, they always insisted that he lead the family in their religious observances. He spun his blades around properly and knelt in the position of prayer, sensing his partner, father-in-law and eldest son doing likewise.

"Apollo, we the sons of Sparta call out to you in worship. Be welcome and accept our offering. Apollo be with us."

"Apollo be with us," the rest of the worshippers intoned in response.

Matthew became confused, however, when Sam sheathed his blades once he arose. "Sam? What are you doing?"

The priest turned to him with a smile. "As a priest to our lord, I'll be offering sacrifices often... Why don't you and Daniel take this one?"

Smiling at his son-in-law, the older Spartan went to comply as Henry carefully put his sword into its scabbard and joined his father Sam to watch solemnly. "You take the throat, son," Matthew said to Daniel as he moved to the pig's side. "Apollo," Sam said aloud. "Receive our offering." Daniel nodded to his father with a smile and readied himself. With skill born from years of practice, the pair ended the animal's life quickly. Once they had, Sam and Henry redrew their swords and the group turned back to the flame, then knelt again in prayer.

"Apollo," Sam spoke again, "a sacrifice has been made! We exist by your divide intervention to carry on the glory and dignity of Sparta and serve as tools of vengeance like our forefathers before us. Be with us, Lord and hear our prayers."

As they knelt, Henry offered his prayers of gratitude to his god for the sword, being found worthy of being allowed to worship at last and most especially that both of his dads were here for him. Once more he felt the hand of his god upon his bowed head as his forehead rested on the pommel of his new blade and he knew his prayers were heard.

Sam kissed the boys after they all rose and offered his congratulations to Henry. Daniel and Matthew cleaned their swords and washed the blood from themselves after everyone touched the vital essence for luck. They had a bucket of lukewarm water and rags ready for them to wash up with and Daniel took advantage of it to clean himself quickly, then led the boys back to the house, looking fit to burst from pride for their eldest boy. Sam and Matthew began to work together on the post-worship duties and they butchered the pig with rapid skill before they snuffed the flame, cleaned up and carried in the meat into the house in containers to cut up further and put into storage bags in the freezer. The rest of the remains would be disposed of properly by burning and burying for now, as the proper disposal set up for the temple had yet to be initiated.

The boys were in the kitchen, where they 'ooh'ed and 'ahh'ed over the sword Henry had been given by his grandfather Apollo. But Sam saw a hint of disappointment in David's eyes that the human worked to hide. Eventually, after Daniel and David put the children to bed, the human grandparent came back down to the kitchen looking as though he were beginning to accept that his grandson was Apolline and sat at the dining room table with a sigh.

"You alright?" Sam asked him as Matthew and he finished putting away the last of the meat and cleaned up. Matthew went over and began massage his partner's shoulders with sympathy.

"I'll be alright," the human replied heavily. "I suppose I should've seen it coming. The way the boy always wants to attend your services, it was pretty clear he was going to end up Apolline..."

"It was Henry's choice, David," Sam said softly. "Apollo only gave him the tool he needed so that he could worship properly, is all. I kind of figured Henry would become Apolline, truth be told. He did always show a lot of interest in worship and asks me lots of questions about it all the time. I'm happy for him and he's happy too. In the end, isn't that what really matters?"

David sighed. "It is... I should be happier for him then I am... It's just religious hang ups, is all. Sorry if I'm sounding horribly disappointed."

"That's fine, Dear," Matthew said, kissing his human partner softly. "I understand."

As they kissed, Sam scoffed gently. "Get some filaments, you two!" he teased softly.

"I would if I could," Matthew replied wistfully.

"Why can't you?" Sam asked, looking at the elder Spartan with concern.

"My fertile days are behind me," Matthew said with a look of nostalgia. "Other than Rites of Confirmation, my filaments don't come out anymore. Guess I only had the two eggs... I haven't become Emergent since I had Daniel over thirty years ago now. I'm not complaining, though. Both gestations were successful and we have two fine boys because of it. I couldn't be happier." He smiled at the happy memories playing back through his mind.

Sam rested his head in his hand as he sat at the table and looked at his parents-in-law with a thoughtful smile. "So how did you two meet? I've never heard the story."

"Well," Matthew began. "I'd just moved to Boston to be closer to my dads after they decided to move there and I was touring around the area when I saw a new coffee shop and decided to give it a try."

"I," David continued as his partner looked to him, "was working there to pay my way through college at the time and when Matthew walked up to the counter, I couldn't stop starring at him. He kept coming back to the counter again and again for more and more coffee. I thought he was going to drink us out of business!"

"It's true," Matthew continued. "I must have drank nearly two pots all by myself. I never had to piss more in my life but I was scared that if I went to the bathroom, he'd vanish and I'd never see him again! So I just sat there twitching as I waited for four hours for his shift to end. How I managed to avoid tackling him or wetting my pants is anyone's guess. I just sat there and waited for his shift to end, then nearly rushed him in excitement and invited him out for dinner."

"So we go to a nearby pizzeria right away and Matt just sat there, twitching from a combination of overfilled bladder and caffeine overdose but seemed absolutely terrified to leave me. He looked like a drug addict the way he kept fidgeting, so I finally asked him what the problem was and he told me. I asked him why he wouldn't just run to the bathroom already and he said that he was scared I'd leave, so I did what sounds really stupid looking back on it now, seeing as how I didn't know him at all. I gave him my driver's license to hold on to until he got back from the bathroom as insurance. It was dumb but I was crazy about him from the moment I first laid eyes on him. I had no idea what was happening to me at the time but I really liked it."

"I was pretty pathetic," Matthew piped in. "I literally memorized his home address from his license... Then I... Kind of got off to the picture of him on it while I was in the bathroom," Matthew said, blushing.

"You what?" David asked as he turned to his partner in a mixture of humor and shock. "You never told me that part!"

The Spartan shrugged sheepishly as Sam laughed. "You dirty little horn-dog," the priest teased with humor.

"Well," Matthew replied in embarrassment, his face burning, "I wanted to let off some of the tension, is all."

"Oh Lord of the Sun!" Daniel said in exasperation as he entered the kitchen. "You're not boring him with that old tale, are you?"

"If it wasn't for that tale, Kid, you wouldn't even be here!" David replied with a smile for his son.

"Fair enough," Daniel said as he walked up behind Sam, wrapped his arms around him and kissed his head gently. Sam reached up to stroke Daniel's arm tenderly with a smile as he pressed his head back against his partner's chest.

"So anyways," David continued. "We got together several times and were living together within a month. Eleven months later, I wake up to find Matt at the kitchen table looking like he had a stomach ache and he tells me to sit down. "'Dave', he said. 'I have a confession to make to you. I may look human but I'm not.' Then he gets up and I see what looks like the ends of feathers poking out of his belly button. Needless to say, it took several strong drinks to steady my nerves after that but he calmly explained everything and I found myself liking the idea of having children, so he took me to meet his parents and we sat down for the longest talk of my life... I was like you were in the beginning though, Sam. I thought the whole Apollo's intervention thing was a load of hooey but they really seemed to believe it, so I let the matter drop. After that, we had Ryan, then Daniel here four years later."

"How did you handle the fact that Matthew's Apolline?"

"It was pretty shocking but in time I adjusted to it as well as I could. I don't really understand it all but after Apollo spoke to me through you, I can't deny that He exists now." The human shook his head slowly as though he still couldn't quite believe it even after it had happened.

"David's never taken part in any Apolline rites or services. I Confirmed the boys by myself, with Martin and Brian's help," the older Spartan said, giving Sam a significant look.

"Right," Sam said, masking his shock by rising and moving to the sink to get a glass of water.

That meant that David knew nothing about the Rite of Confirmation and by divine decree, he could never be told. The Rite of Confirmation was the single most closely guarded secret of Apolline faith for a reason. While the Rite was always optional, it was the single most difficult part of devout Apolline faith. During the Rite, a Spartan child was confirmed in the presence of Apollo to be Spartan... Or be killed, should the claim be proven false. Hera, mother of the gods, barely tolerated the existence of the Spartans in the first place, viewing them with contempt because they violated the natural order by being men who could give birth. If a child claimed Spartan heritage falsely and was spared, the goddess' wrath would annihilate the entire species in vengeance for the slight. Should anyone try to interfere, they would be killed for affronting the gods. Also, the worst part was that the birthing father had to be the one to offer the child and sacrifice them should they not be Spartan. If the child was not of Spartan blood and the father failed to act, then the head priest was required to kill the child and then the father for denying the will of the gods.

Sam knew that as a priest, he would probably be put in such a position himself several times in the future, forced to potentially kill a small baby and his unwilling father should he hesitate to obey the will of the gods. It was what he, like all who served their lord, dreaded most about being a priest of Apollo. Sam had witnessed the Confirmation of Henry and performed it for his twin sons already, as well as having first witnessed the Confirmation of his cousin-in-law Jacob, who was only about a year and a half older than Henry as Martin was several years younger and had met his partner Brian a little later in life than most Spartans did.

Because of the possibility of committing murder of an infant and maybe even others, the Rite of Confirmation was the one religious ceremony that was never spoken of except on temple grounds and never with someone who had never witnessed the Rite itself. Therefore, David was completely in the dark. He hadn't even gone to the temple for any of his family's Confirmations, so knew nothing about the grisly Rite... And because of that, as well as his own religious views, David could never be permitted to know. He'd never be able to condone such a thing.

Sam sighed mentally. He hadn't been aware that David knew nothing about it but understood why it was a good idea to keep it from the human. "Well," he said aloud. "I'm a bit tired. Thanks for sharing, guys," he said to his in-laws with a smile. "I think I'll head to bed. Coming?" he asked his partner.

"Sure," Daniel said. He walked around the table to kiss his dads goodnight, then followed Sam upstairs to their bedroom.

They showered together and climbed into bed nude, then hugged.

"I wasn't aware that David didn't know," Sam said softly.

"I love him but Dad David would never be able to understand. I hate keeping it from him but it's for the best." Daniel sounded disturbed and disappointed, yet said nothing more about it.

"I'm sorry that he can't be more open-minded. I won't say anything, even if I were allowed to."

"Thanks," Daniel said, leaning his head against Sam's shoulder and sighing before they fell asleep with slight frowns on their faces...

The family packed themselves into Daniel's van, the only vehicle big enough to carry them all and followed the Amazons into the city. They reached the Castro district, where the gay, lesbian and non-human community was at its highest population in the region. They all looked out the windows as they got into the city and were rather interested in all the sights. Many of the city streets were sloped and packed to bursting with residential and business structures that were built side by side so closely that it was sometimes difficult to tell where one building ended and the next began as many of them physically touched each other. Sam found himself shocked at the small size of the townhouses and wondered how anyone could stand to live in such small buildings that were all literally crammed next to each other. None of them even had a yard.

They arrived at their destination and Tracy showed them the importance of angling the wheels so that should their van's brakes fail, it would roll into the curb and stop moving, rather than roll down the steep street out of control. Once they had the vehicle parked safely, the group walked down the block to a small meeting center that had a large glass storefront covered with curtains.

As the families entered, they saw that they were some of the last to arrive. To their surprise, it seemed like a good turnout, according to Alice that was. A second Amazon family of an Amazon named Leanne and human woman named Jennie with their two Amazon girls Mable and Claire who were of mid-child age like Sally were there, as well as eight other Spartan families, most of whom had one human male parent. Spartan to Spartan partner bonds were rare, so most Spartans ended up with a human partner the way Matthew had with David and Daniel had with Sam before his transformation.

The boys immediately made friends with the other Spartan and Amazon children and the adults were thrilled to meet several others of their kind. Introductions went around and predictably, everyone was excited and awed to learn who Sam was.

"Why did you move here to California?" a shoulder-length brown-haired Spartan with a mustache named Nathan asked.

"We're founding a temple to Apollo up in Santa Rosa," Sam answered, "and were tired of living in Minnesota. We wanted a change of scenery, so decided to move here after Daniel and I checked out the property. We took one look at the place as the fog hung over the hills and fell in love with the area."

"Some more than others," Daniel teased with amusement as he remembered his partner's reaction to seeing the place. "But I really love it here so far, too."

"So how did you hear about the group?" Nathan's human partner, a bald-headed man with a full beard of black hair, named Howard asked.

"From Alice and Tracy," Daniel replied. "They were the first people we met once we moved here. Henry met Sally first, then she brought the gals over and we hit it off pretty well."

"And where's the temple going to be?" Nathan asked with interest.

"Are you a worshipper?" Sam asked and to his surprise both of the pair nodded.

"I'm Wiccan," Howard answered, "and since Apollo brought us together, I feel that it's only appropriate to make him my aspect of the god, so I'm basically a worshipper of sorts."

Sam hesitated at that. "Umm... You are aware that Apolline worship involves animal sacrifice, right?" Wiccans hated the notion of sacrifice and opposed the practice vehemently.

"I know," Howard said with a sigh. "It's taken some getting used to but Nate explained to me the reason why, as well as that it's approached as humanely as possible, so I'm willing to accept that it happens, if nothing else."

Sam nodded in understanding. "Who's your goddess?" he asked, having studied Wicca during his days as an occultist, as well as wanting to ease the human's concerns by changing subjects.

"Athena," he said with a shrug. "Seems appropriate."

"What's Wicca?" Daniel asked.

"Real life witchcraft," Sam told his partner. "It's a nature-based religion that focuses on the cycles of nature, the seasons of the year, Lunar phases and is mainly a fertility religion that uses white magick to aid the worshippers in their lives. They have both a god and a goddess but the identity of each individual Wiccan's deities varies based on personal taste and affinity."

"You're pretty knowledgeable," Howard relied with a raised eyebrow.

"I studied it for a while but it wasn't for me," Sam told the human with a shrug.

Howard nodded slowly. "So you found your way to Apollo then, huh?"

"Yeah... The hard way but I got there just the same." He smiled at his self-deprecating humor.

"Where are you going to build the temple again?" Nathan asked.

"Sorry," Sam apologized, realizing he hadn't answered the question. "Right next door to our place. The house will be designated temple property since as one of the priesthood, I'll be tending it."

"We're out on Aldar Lane and Forty Third Avenue northwest in the northwest corner of Santa Rosa," Daniel added.

"Wow! That's perfect!" Nathan said with interest. "We only live about a mile and a half away from you guys."

"Well," Sam said as he looked at Daniel, who nodded with a smile. "You can never have too many friends. How about you and your boys come over some weekend and we can do a barbeque together."

Daniel nodded to show his agreement as Howard and Nathan smiled with delight at the idea.

They made plans to get together on a Saturday two months later as they were all busy, yet would cancel their other plans to make sure they were free to attend the temple opening.

The next Spartan and partner couple they met were Arthur, a Spartan and his redheaded human partner Xander. Sam was a bit shocked to discover that Arthur, though obviously Spartan, was bi-racial, being half Afro-American. He was also Emergent, being halfway there and wearing a yellow button-front shirt that had been pinned up with safety pins to keep the fabric of the garment away from the painfully sensitive white filaments that stood out sharply against his fairly dark skin.

"I wasn't aware that there were non-Caucasian Spartans," Sam said with a smile.

"My human father is a second generation immigrant from Kenya, Very dark skinned as well" Arthur explained. "But my Spartan dad's white as bleach!" he teased, grinning broadly at the joke.

"It happens," Daniel said, explaining to Sam. "In a partner bond when a Caucasian Spartan has a non-white human partner, some of the genetic traits can carry over to the child. The child is still Spartan but gains some of his human parent's racial genetics, same as with humans."

"That's right," Arthur said with raised eyebrows. "You were born human, weren't you?" he asked Sam.

The priest nodded. "Yes, I was originally human. I was made Spartan by Apollo a few years ago now."

"We've heard rumors," Xander said, "But no one seems to know the real story."

"Well," Sam answered slowly, turning to Daniel who nodded his encouragement. "It was just almost five months after our first son Henry was born that I passed out in the kitchen. I'd been having headaches for the last few months and was plowing my way through generic Tylenol like crazy. The hospital took several x-rays and discovered a large, aggressive tumor growing at the base of my brain. It was already too advanced for radiation therapy, so the doctors told me I'd be dead within three months..."

Sam was too busy talking to notice that everyone had gathered around to hear the tale, continuing on and remembering that fateful day.

"So we went home and I put my affairs into order. I told Dan that it was okay if he wanted Henry to be Apolline and asked him if he wanted the boy Confirmed. He said yes, so we traveled to New York for it. I was an atheist then but didn't know what to believe or not believe in anymore and seeing how the rest of the family believed in Apollo so strongly, I swallowed my pride and offered my prayer to Him that Daniel and Henry would be okay. Suddenly, Daniel's standing right in front of me and Apollo starts speaking through him. He said that I needed to offer a sacrifice and all I had was me, so I thought about it. I knew I was going to die soon anyways, so if my death could benefit my loved ones, I'd do it. It was also more dignified then rotting away in a hospital bed in a coma, I'd figured.

"Apollo helped me to do it right, then He kept talking and I could still hear him even though I was sure I was already dead. He answered my prayer by bringing me back to life, then asked me what I would want more than anything. All I asked for was to stay with Dan and Henry."

Henry heard the conversation and walked over to hug his dad Sam, who rubbed his back lovingly as he continued.

"So Apollo asked me to kiss him. I didn't want to because I love Dan but I couldn't just refuse after everything that had just happened, so I whispered an apology to Dan and then kissed Apollo."

"For the record," Daniel said, "Lord Apollo was using my body, so it was my lips Sam was kissing. I forgave him the moment he said that, understanding that it didn't mean anything."

Sam turned to him with shock. "Oh sure! -Now- you tell me! I've been regretting that kiss and feeling so guilty about it and you forgave me the moment it happened? ...Jerk!"

Everyone laughed at that.

"So anyways," Sam continued, "I kissed him and felt like my body was being crushed in a trash compactor or something and passed out. When I woke up, I tried to rub my stomach and nearly crushed my Emerged filaments. Now I know just how painful they can be! So suddenly I was Spartan... I felt the bond with Daniel all over again and a year later, we became Emergent and I had the twins."

"How did you have twins?" Nathan asked. "No one I've ever heard of has managed to pull it off."

"My filaments grew stronger than normal, is all. That and I was even more careful than normal. We didn't know what was happening until Daniel reached into the womb and found out the truth."

Matthew laughed. "I couldn't believe it when Daniel told me."

"How did you guys get them out?" Xander asked, looking confused.

"Funny thing," Sam said with a smile, "I was eating dinner with everyone when they suddenly ripped their way out of my torso, took off and started killing all my crewmates one by one."

"What?" Howard asked, looking shocked and confused.

"'Alien'?" Sam asked. "Seriously! Doesn't anyone have any sense of culture?"

"Stop that!" Daniel said, smacking his shoulder lightly. "Not everyone watches horror movies." He sighed and turned back to everyone. "Well, I held Sam while my dads," he said, nodding to Matthew and David, "reached in and pulled them out, then I cut the umbilicals and did the post delivery care for the boys," he finished as the boys came over to them and Daniel mussed their hair, much to the boys' annoyance.

"So what's it like having twins?" Arthur asked with a smile.

"To put it simply..." Sam said and wilted dramatically, looking deeply exhausted, much to everyone's amusement.

"So," a single Spartan named Maxwell asked Sam. "Will you be a part of the opening ceremony for the temple?"

The priest nodded. "Now that I'm ordained clergy, I'll be one of the priests at the temple here, although I'll need to take a trip to Des Moines for the temple founding there. I'll be back afterwards since California is our home now."

"You're a priest?" Arthur asked. "When did that happen?"

"About a month before we moved here. After that, we were so busy preparing for the move that I wasn't able to post the news on my Facebook page."

"What are you planning for the temple opening?" Leanne asked.

"Nothing's worse than a spoiled surprise," Sam said with a smile. "But you'll be able to see for yourself if you come. It starts at noon, four weeks from Saturday."

Everyone sounded very excited at that and expressed their eagerness to attend.

"Are you still taking donations for the temples?" Howard asked.

"Always," Sam answered with a nod. "Actually," he said, pulling out a small stack of homemade business cards. "Here's the websites for each of the temples and we take donations by credit card or through PayPal."

Many of the people took cards with promises to make donations and/or attend the opening for the local temple. The boys made several new friends as did the adults and much to David and Matthews' surprise, they were both offered jobs, David at a nearby coffee shop being run by Maxwell and Matthew at a bookstore that Leanne helped to manage in the north end of the city.

It was several hours later that the family returned home, getting lost slightly when they took the wrong exit off of the highway. By the time they got home, the twins had fallen asleep and Henry was mostly out of it himself. Matthew took Henry while Sam took Marcus and Daniel took Jason and the three of them put the children to bed gently, kissing them goodnight and making sure the nightlight was on for the twins, who hated being in a totally dark room. Sam was the last one to leave the twins' room and noted that they had unconsciously scooted closer together until they were almost touching. Sam looked on that with a slight frown of worry.

As he left the room, he cast a last, concerned glance at the boys, not sure what to think about them being so unnaturally close, before he closed the door most but not all of the way...

The last two weeks leading up to the temple founding ceremony were the most hectic days of Sam's life. He had to make sure that the raw marble was delivered, as were the swords for the temple armory, confirm that the animals for sacrifice were going to arrive on time, work with the local volunteers who would run the armory and kitchen for the temple to be, confirm that the police would be present for crowd control, as well as the inspector for the FDA would be on site to monitor the animals and the tranquilizers that would be used on them. He was on the phone with the event coordinators when Matthew came into the kitchen to find his son-in-law shouting angrily into the phone.

"No, dammit! No fucking fireworks! ...Because this is the founding of a temple, not the opening of a stage show on the Vegas strip! We're doing this with dignity dammit! ...Alright, I'm sorry," he apologized with a sigh. "Really. ...It's just that all of this is so damned stressful, is all. All I want is to open a temple to my lord and it's turning into the single most stressful thing in my life. I apologize for yelling. ...It's just that fireworks seem so tacky. I want this event to have some dignity, is all. ...Alright. ...Thanks. ...Okay, see you soon... Bye."

He hung up the phone and sat down at the table heavily. Matthew came over and massaged Sam's shoulders to relax him. "That bad, huh?"

"Thanks," Sam sighed, rolling his head.

"Sure thing," the older man said. "It looked like you needed this and since Daniel's at work, I'll play substitute."

Sam chuckled. "Just so long as David doesn't get the wrong idea. We're both already spoken for."

Matthew sighed. "It's just a massage, Sam. It's not like we're oil wrestling, or anything!"

"Now there's something I've been meaning to try with Dan," Sam answered slyly.

"Pervert!" Matthew teased with a smile.

"I'm trying to be but we're both too fucking busy lately!" Sam sighed again, this time with disappointment. "We'll never become Emergent again if we can't even get enough time together..."

"Be patient, Sam. Things will die down after the temple is founded."

"I know... But it hurts. I want Dan to be here with me... Not having him here beside me right now almost literally hurts."

"I know," Matthew answered softly. "I miss David a lot right now too."

"To be honest," Sam continued with difficulty, "I never thought I could love someone this much... It's kind of scary sometimes."

"I understand. I love David that way too. It's hard for bonded couples to be apart like this but we both have to make a living. Leanne said she'd see about getting my hours swapped so that I can have the same days off as David. But we both got to make a living if we want to get our own place."

"Take your time, Matthew. The boys love having you guys here and it's the least we can do after you both let us live with you for so long at your place. Take as long as you need. You're both more than welcome here."

"Thanks," Matthew said with a smile. "That means a lot."

"What's family for? You guys have taught me what it's like to have a loving family. Thanks for that... You'll never really know just how much that means to me," he finished thickly.

"You're welcome," Matthew said, patting Sam's shoulder in gratitude...

The stone from the quarry arrived the next day. Sam had been very disappointed that they couldn't afford the bronze for the statue of Apollo but the god had told him not to worry about it. Just as Sam was keeping his special portion of the ceremony a secret from his god, having made Apollo promise not to peek into the future and ruin the surprise, Apollo was being a bit furtive with Sam, hinting at some plans of His own while revealing little.

The priest could only wonder what his lord and father was up to...

"Are we there yet?" Jeffrey Liamson asked his fathers for the eight millionth time. Ryan Matthewson's hands tightened on the steering wheel until he thought he heard the plastic crack and eased his grip quickly to avoid breaking it.

"Please," he told his partner through gritted teeth. "For the love of Apollo, make him shut up before I do!"

Liam Alanson glared at their elder son with a frown. "Jeffrey, you are really pushing it! Do that once more and you'll be grounded! Stop being such a pain... We're almost there, so just be patient!"

Jeffrey threw himself back against his seat with a sigh of disgust. "We're never gonna get there!" the twelve year old, who from a human perspective looked more like he was sixteen or seventeen, said.

"Why can't you be more like your brother?" Liam asked, looking over at eight-year old Nick Ryanson, who was staring out the window listening to music on his iPod.

"Because I'm not a vegetable!" Jeffrey sassed, glancing at his brother suspiciously.

Liam grew angry and tapped his son hard on the forehead. "That's enough of that! So your brother doesn't like to talk much. It's not a crime, you know!"

Jeffrey rubbed his forehead self-consciously, even though there was no pain or damage. Why did his parents have to be such a pain? He was bored to tears and sick to death of being trapped in the car. While he was eager to see his relatives again, he wanted the long drive to be over already! He was tempted to try kicking the back of Dad Ryan's seat to make him drive faster but knew he'd get more than a tap for it. His dads weren't violent but sometimes they'd swat his butt or ground him if he pushed them too hard. It wasn't his fault Dad Ryan's company had transferred him to Oregon, making them all have to move away from the rest of the family. The Granddads, Uncles and Cousins now lived closer but not close enough for his taste.

He sighed explosively. "Are we there yet?"

Ryan gritted his teeth so hard they almost cracked...

They finally arrived at the house and got out. Leaving the bags in the car for the moment so they could stretch their legs, the four Spartans walked up the porch stairs to the front door. Liam raised his hand to knock when Jeffrey interrupted him.

"Are we there yet?"

Ryan turned on the boy furiously. "That's it Mister! You're grounded!"

"What for?" the boy protested.

"For being insufferable, that's what!" Liam exclaimed testily as the front door opened to a shocked Daniel, who's warm smile faltered instantly at the harsh tone of his brother's partner.

"Hey guys, what's wrong?"

"Our boy is trying out for world's biggest jerk, is all!" Ryan huffed, then hugged his four years younger brother. "Hey Dan. Good to see you."

"Same here," Daniel said, hugging each of them. Nick was very polite and hugged his uncle warmly. "Hi Nick."

"Hi Uncle Daniel," Nick replied gently as he turned off his iPod and pulled the ear buds out to greet his uncle properly.

"Kiss-ass," Jeffrey muttered, earning himself a mild slap up back of the head from Liam.

"You are already in enough trouble, Jeffrey! One more smart-mouthed comment and you can kiss dinner goodbye too!"

"Alright! I'm sorry!" the boy said, sounding thoroughly unconvincing.

Daniel looked to the adults questioningly. "It's been a long drive," Ryan replied in a strained voice.

"Well come in," Daniel said, stepping aside to let them all into the house.

"Ah Ah!" Liam said, stopping Jeffrey. "You go get your bags gently without disturbing anyone else's, close the car politely, then go right to the room with your stuff."

Jeffrey grunted in annoyance and went to do as he was told.

The rest of the family went inside. They found Sam in the living room with an Asian woman with her long black hair in a ponytail working on a long white robe with gold embroidery across the shoulders and down over the chest in the image of a rayed sun with wavering raybands off of the circular body of the sun around the neck, chest, upper back and shoulders which extended down onto the torso. The wrists of the robe had similar detailing.

"What is that?" Ryan asked with amusement.

"His priestly vestments," the woman said a bit defensively, adjusting her glasses. "He can't run around naked all the time, you know!" She smiled at that, showing a lot of teeth in her narrow mouth.

"Ryan Matthewson and Liam Alanson, this is my tailor and member of the band for the temple founding, Nancy Zang." They exchanged hellos and handshakes. "Nancy's also volunteered to be the temple tailor."

She nodded. "I make all of the costumes for my music troop when we do the ren faire every summer, so making priest robes is right up my alley."

"So how goes the preparations?" Liam asked as he, Ryan, Daniel and Nick sat down and Liam eyed the robe with interest.

"Pretty good," Sam said, as Nancy returned to her measuring and pinning for the final fit. "The kitchen staff are all set up, as are most of security but I'm not too happy with the chef as he doesn't have a lot of experience... Janitorial and maintenance staffs are taken care of, as is the accountant. We just need to figure out where we'll get enough clergy and who will supervise us all and we'll be set well enough."

"What about you?" Ryan asked. "After all, Sam. You're the one who's made this all possible."

"ME?!?" Sam sputtered. "No! No! No! I've barely been a priest for two months! I don't even know all of the Rites by heart and still stumble on the Greek prayers! There's no way I'm fit to be head priest!" he said weakly, looking very uncomfortable. "I'll just be a lesser priest and maybe mascot for the temple. Handle some of the public relations. Oh fuck! I forgot to call Dennis to see if he'll take that position! There's so much to do that I can't keep it all sorted out!"

"Calm down and stop fidgeting or I'll accidentally poke you," Nancy said with a sigh as she shook her head sadly.

"I'll go call him," Daniel offered kindly and kissed Sam gently as he tried to stay out of Nancy's way, who sighed good-naturedly. "Where's his number?"

"In my phone book, under 'D' for Dennis."

Ryan frowned. "Who lists people in their phone book alphabetically by their 'first' names?"

"I do," Sam answered defensively.

"Makes sense to me," Nick said in defense of his uncle, as Nancy finished her work and had Sam remove the robe.

Liam was surprised that Sam was nude under the robe, wearing only his swords. "Going regimental?" he asked with a smile.

"I wanted to make sure it lays right," Sam replied with a shrug.

Nancy scoffed. "Big deal, I've seen penises before, even uncut ones like his."

Liam and Ryan chuckled at that as Sam put on a house robe and saw the human out while expressing his gratitude for all her hard work.

That evening, the grandparents returned home from their jobs to greet their older son, his partner and their two older grandchildren. Jeffrey behaved himself well enough that Ryan and Liam ended his grounding so that tomorrow he could spend time with his relatives. He sat at the table solemnly and barely spoke, seeming to be afraid of saying anything that might get him into more trouble.

After dinner, they all turned in early as the visiting relatives were still tired from the drive down from Portland...

Sam sat outside with Jeffrey the next day, getting reacquainted with his oldest nephew. "Hey kid? How's it hanging?" Jeffrey glared at his uncle in annoyance. "What? What's with the look?"

"Nothing," the boy said, turning away and staring into space.

"Jeff, what happened to you?" Sam asked softly. "You weren't always hostile like this all the time a few years ago. What happened?"

"Like you care," the boy sulked.

"Hence me actually asking," Sam replied with emphasis. "Come on, Jeff... Seriously. I really want to know." Jeffrey hesitated. "Ok, tell you what," Sam added. "I swear that I won't share any of this with anyone, especially your parents... Please talk to me."

"It's school," he answered with difficulty, looking down at his folded up feet and the grass beneath them.

Sam knew that the boy had difficulties in school. According to Ryan and Liam, the trouble had begun when Jeffrey had first entered junior high two years previously. "What's wrong with school?" He asked softly.

"Everyone hates me there... It's awful. I don't want to go anymore. Everyone treats me like shit!"

"How so?" Sam asked, letting the profanity go unchallenged.

"The humans all treat me horribly. The girls look at me like I'm weird and the guys keep calling me a girl and making all kinds of sexist comments. Whenever I get upset about anything, they all say that I'm on my period, or something. I'm the only non-human in school, too. I hate humans! They always act like they're better than me! I ought to take a sword to school and teach them all a lesson! That'll show 'em!"

"Whoa! HEY!" Sam exclaimed, alarmed by the boys behavior and the seriousness of his threat. "That's not something to joke about, Jeff! You should never talk like that! Look, if you tried that, you could end up in prison! You don't want that, do you?"

"But they don't have the right! It's not fair! They hate me just because I'm different! I tried talking to my dads but they say to tough it out and it'll get better and I know it won't! I... I don't want to go back there," he finished, trying hard not to cry. "Please don't let them make me go!" With that, the boy started to cry and Sam hugged his nephew fiercely.

"...Believe it or not, Jeff," he said once the boy had stopped crying. "I understand what you're going through. When I was going to school, all the others treated me poorly because I was an orphan. They'd say all kinds of nasty things to me all the time. Telling me that I was worthless and no one would ever want me. After a while, I began to believe them. I still did, even after I left school. I remained bitter and alone for a long time..."

"What happened to change that?" the boy asked, sniffling.

"I meet your Uncle Daniel. He showed me that I was lovable. He made me see myself differently. He made me happy... Still does, in fact."

"Humans are so mean and nasty. I hate them! ...Guess I should hate you too, seeing as how you used to be one too."

"Hey!" Sam protested. "I got better!" he smiled and Jeffrey laughed at the joke. "Besides," the uncle continued, "not all humans act that way. Your grandpa David is nice. I wasn't too bad myself as a human, right?"

"I guess," the lad replied.

"Tell you what. With your permission, I'll talk to your dads and get them to see about getting you transferred, or talk with the school staff or something, okay?"

"Really?" Jeffrey asked, brightening.

"But... There's one condition. Jeff, you must promise me that you will NEVER take any weapons to school no matter how bad things get and never even THINK about doing so, okay? I mean it, Jeff! No weapons... That'll only make things worse, not just for you but for your family and all Spartans everywhere. There's humans who would love to use that act to take away our rights and freedoms. You're too young to know what happened when the Spartans and Amazons were first discovered by humans a fair number of years ago but it was awful! You have a duty to all your kind to act responsibly, okay? I'm serious, Jeff! It really does mean that much!"

"I promise," the boy said with such sincerity that Sam trusted him to keep his word.

"Ok. I'll talk with Ryan and Liam..."

"He really feels that badly?" Liam asked Sam with concern, worried for his son as the three of them sat at the dining room table later that day.

Sam nodded gravely. "Look... No offense, guys but neither of you know what it's like for him... Having everyone know that he's different. Both of you lived your lives in secret. Everyone you knew thought that you were human because Spartans were still in hiding back then. Also, you both moved around a lot then too, so no one ever got to know you very well. But it's different for Jeff. EVERYONE knows about him and that makes humans feel very uncomfortable. Humans get really nervous about differences sometimes and that can easily lead to anger at the source of those feelings. I know what it's like to be treated badly for being different from everyone else. If we don't do something for Jeff, something really nasty might happen."

Ryan paled. "You're serious?"

Sam nodded gravely. "I recommend keeping Jeff home until after you talk to the principal."

"We will," Liam said, looking worried for his son...

The last week leading up to the ceremony was even more tense and Daniel had to give Sam massages regularly due to his muscles tensing up almost constantly.

The family and priest Walter sat to watch the show. Walter was Sam's religious instructor from the temple in London, England. When the family had moved to California, he had, by necessity, tagged along and was now renting a new flat about a kilometer from the American family's new home. They sat and observed as the troop of soldiers from the local ren faire circuit went through their final rehearsals for the big day. Priest Walter sat watching with a slight frown. They were good but that wasn't the problem. He was feeling rather disappointed. The thirty eight year old British Spartan was feeling very upset with what he had been told last night during his evening prayers to his lord. Apollo had told him that he was to stay on in America for at least another year.

I want to go home! he thought to himself somewhat bitterly as he sat there while the troops went through their routine. He missed London dearly and longed to return to the land of his birth. America was too busy and noisy for his taste. Take this opening ceremony, for instance. Why couldn't they just open the temple calmly, instead of going through all of this rubbish?

While the troop was rather good, it seemed to be too much as far as he was concerned. Or maybe I'm too sour of mood to appreciate it. He sighed and checked his watch. It was almost time for tea and he refused to miss it. Why couldn't Americans take tea? Perhaps they would calm down a trifle if they would just take a sit once in awhile and breathe. Instead, they always insisted on running about like they were on fire, or something. Americans were far too busy a people for Walter's taste. Everything had to be now, or extremely elaborate and overdone! Walter wasn't bigoted or anything, he merely saw Americans rather the way one would see an unruly child who danced about shouting 'Look at me! Look at me!' and seemed determined to make a scene.

Walter sighed and shifted in his seat as the sword bearers went through their routine once more. It was a bit nice, he had to admit, trying to shake himself from his sour mood. One thing that did disquiet him was having learned that Sam was going to perform an abbreviated variation of the full seven presentations before their lord. He should do it properly and undergo the full-length version, Walter thought with a frown. I know Sam has them down well enough by now to do them in full. And what's all this about a 'special presentation'? he wondered. Sam had been incredibly secretive about his personal plans for the opening. Walter only hoped that whatever the American had planned, it was, at least in portion, dignified.

After the rehearsal, he made his farewells for the day and headed for his rental car so he could return to his flat, or 'apartment' as the Yanks called it. He moved on autopilot as he approached the vehicle and unlocked the door and opened it, then paused with a surge of annoyance as he looked at the front right seat and the glove box in front of it, then glanced across to the driver's position on the LEFT side of the auto. Fuming silently, he all but slammed the door, walked around to the left side and had to release the lock before entering. Bloody backwards thing! he thought sourly as he fastened the harness and turned the key in the igniter. He hung his head, resting his brow upon the steering wheel and sobbing slightly.

I want to go home, he thought sadly. It was incredibly difficult for him to be here in America. Everything was too different here for his taste and he couldn't get used to the totally reversed ways of this country. It was also too difficult and painful to be around so many happy couples. Walter was beginning to feel more and more lonely as the days stretched on. I'm thirty eight bloody years old and still haven't met my partner... Maybe I don't have one, he thought sadly, weeping for a moment in his loneliness.

After twenty eight years of searching and hoping, only to be disappointed again and again, he had lost hope. He tried his best to focus on his priestly duties and had rarely left the temple in London for any length of time, trying hard not to think about just how miserable he was. Being here in a foreign land with vastly different customs was hard enough but being around so many happily partner-bonded couples was very stressful for him. Ryan and Liam were very nice but their happiness only helped to remind Walter even more strongly of his own agonizing loneliness, a thing he preferred to avoid dwelling upon.

He had thought that once the temple was founded, his duties here would be over and he would be able to return home. Lord Apollo, it seemed, had other plans for him. He sniffled and pulled out his handkerchief to wipe away his tears. Once he felt presentable, he drove back to his flat, noting that he would only be slightly late for tea. As he pulled onto the roadway, he made painfully sure that he drove on the right side lanes. The last thing he needed was another penalty...

Sam ran through all of the final preparations three times, convinced that he'd missed something before Apollo told him rather firmly that he hadn't and ordered His priest to bed. Daniel came in just as he put away the last of the paperwork and flexed his neck to work out the kinks in it. Finally, they went to bed for the last night before the opening and cuddled.

"Ready for your big day tomorrow?" Daniel asked softly.

"I'd better be!" Sam sighed.

"You'll do fine," Daniel said softly, yet firmly as he hugged his partner close. "I believe in you."

"Thanks," Sam said softly, kissing him deeply...

Sam looked out the window of the master bedroom and blanched. Fuck that's a lot of people! It looked like several thousand people of all three species of Spartan, Amazon and human milling about, talking, buying snacks and trinkets from the vendors, much to his annoyance as that seemed incredibly tacky, as they awaited the big event. He turned away from the window, feeling slightly sick. Truth was, he'd never completely lost his nervousness of being around people. To think that there was a crowd this big waiting for him was incredibly intimidating.

He tried doing some stretches to limber himself up, then meditated but nothing helped him. He donned his scabbards with the shoulder straps to help support the weight of his swords, checked each blade carefully and made sure they were sharp, then sheathed each sword and donned the robe Nancy had made for him. It was one that fastened down the front for easy removal and he made sure it was fastened together properly.

After that, he began to pace nervously for several minutes. Maybe I should call off my part. I don't think I can do it. I'm so nervous I'm likely to slice off my own ear or something.

Calm down, Sam! Apollo said firmly into his mind, feeling amused. You'll do just fine. I would never have accepted you as my priest if I felt you couldn't handle things like this.

Sam felt a wave of invisible comfort, love and support wash over him and noted that his fears were fading to something manageable. He sighed slowly, feeling deeply grateful for that. Thanks, he thought to his lord and father.

Just then, Daniel entered wearing a plain, unadorned robe so that he could partake in the ceremony despite not being a member of the priesthood. His sword hilt poked upwards beneath his robe. "Ready, Babe?"

"Sure," Sam said nervously, edging his way over to the closet and reaching for the doorknob. "I'll be out when it's over..."

Daniel stepped forward with a kindly smile, removed his love's hand from the closet door and hugged him tightly, then kissed him passionately. Sam sighed, getting into the kiss as Daniel's hand opened his robe and reached down inside to take his shaft in hand and began to stroke it gently. Daniel broke off the kiss and smiled at him. "I know what will de-stress you," he said slyly, beginning to sink to his knees.

"Now?" Sam asked in shock.

"Can you think of a better way to relax?" Daniel replied, nuzzling Sam's manhood tenderly before taking the priest into his mouth, making Sam shudder with need.

"Not really," Sam answered, his voice trembling slightly, then all he could do for the next two minutes was moan in pleasure until he reached orgasm, groaning in satisfaction as he spent himself inside his partner's willing mouth, who kneaded Sam's buttocks tenderly inside his robe. Daniel moaned in pleasure as he sucked down his love's sperm and made sure Sam was cleaned up before he reached up to re-fasten the robe closed. His hands had just finished when Matthew entered without knocking, looking flustered.

"What's taking so lo-?" He paused as he saw his son on his knees before Sam, his hands reaching to the front opening of the priestly robe. "Daniel!" he exclaimed in shock. "You're not going to-"

"Relax," Sam said to his father-in-law. "We just finished."

"Sam!" Daniel gasped in horror, blushing furiously.

"What?" Sam said as he looked down at his partner. "We've been bonded for long enough now and you should know by now that I'm going to say things like that. There's no point in getting embarrassed about it!" he said with a grin.

Matthew snorted, disgruntled by his son-in-law's crass behavior. "Get your butt in gear, Mister! The ceremony starts in two minutes!"

"EEP!" Sam exclaimed in alarm as he dashed from the room, hands on his sword hilts to keep the weapons from swinging about dangerously as he took off running.

Matthew glared at his son. "I'd recommend mouthwash," he said dryly as Daniel turned beet red, "but there's no time. Come on!"

Feeling deeply mortified, Daniel followed meekly in his birth father's wake...

Dennis Makenridge, a trim, clean-shaven human of average height with short white blonde hair went into his dance, as he called it, making sure that security was in full swing, including the special arrangements for high priest James Phillipson and his partner Mike Hill, who had front row seats and had just taken their places moments ago. He also made sure that the sacrificial animals were ready, sedated and waiting to be moved into place, the band and weapon troops were fully prepared, as well as Peggy, who would do the recitation, that the PA system and all of the sound and lighting equipment was working properly, the kitchen prepped for the slaughtering and cooking of the meat and other food for the post-ritual social and that everything was running on time. The reporters covering the event were in place, talking with various people and he gave them a few brief words before returning to his duties.

Dennis was the very embodiment of the term 'extrovert', feeling energized by all of the activity going on around him. Priest Sam had offered him the position to start after the opening ceremonies but Dennis wouldn't hear of it, asked for all of the contacts and had a highly detailed mental map of all that was to transpire, as well as all that would be needed to make the event happen, in a mere three days' time. Now he walked calmly, yet quickly to the edge of the tent were the troop was readying their weapons for their performance.

He heard priest Walter directing the kitchen staff nearby and looked for the Spartan but he was lost in a sea of people and wasn't visible. Dennis frowned at that, wanting to meet the priest in person, for once. All of their interactions so far had been by phone or through messengers. He sighed and turned his attention back to his duties, checking his watch and making sure everything was running on time. They would be starting the opening ceremonies momentarily and he was wondering where Sam was, as he had a key part in the festivities to play...

In the front row, James Phillipson adjusted the t-shirt he now sported that read 'I attended a temple opening and all I got was this lousy t-shirt!' across the front in black letters on the white background with a transparent image of the Parthenon behind the words.

Mike Hill stared at his partner and sighed good-naturedly. "Aren't you a bit bothered about being seen in such a thing?" he teased with a smile. "After all, you -are- the high priest of Apollo. People might take the wrong idea on that."

"Come on now, Love. You know I try never to take myself too seriously" James grinned back, then leaned over for a quick kiss from his partner before a set of trumpets sounded, interrupting them. They broke apart reluctantly and turned their gazes to the festivities.

Priest Walter took the stage, wearing a plain robe over his nude form and swords. He had a wireless microphone attached to his robe that broadcast to the PA system so that everyone could hear him clearly as he spoke. "Welcome one and all to the founding ceremony of this temple to Lord Apollo. May this place be consecrated to our god and serve as his home. Now may I present Peggy, who will tell of Lord Apollo and his works."

A woman dressed in the manner of Greek women of old unrolled a parchment and read aloud of the traits and feats of Apollo, that all present would know Him better.

Once she was finished, she bowed as the crowd applauded, then left the clearing to make way for the weapons troop, who dazzled the crowd with a stunning display of sword and spearmanship.

Once they were done, priest Walter strode to the center of the clearing once more. "Now everyone," he said. "Bare witness as priest Sam Apolloson makes the formal presentations to our lord. After that, formal sacrifices to Apollo will take place. Anyone who objects to this or a display of public nudity may now leave." With that, Walter stepped aside as Sam came forward.

As Sam removed his robe, handing it to Walter as he moved forward, a human man two rows behind the English couple gasped, then laughed quietly. "Oh man! He's doing it buck naked?" the man exclaimed. "I heard these apple guys were kinky!"

"Shh!" his girlfriend said impatiently. "You promised you'd behave! And they're Apolline, not apple, Dummy!"

"Man, look at the guy," he said, as Sam shed his robe without shame and stretched slightly, then stood with head bowed and hands on the hilts of his sheathed blades. "I'd love to have a body like that."

"I'd love for you to have a body like that, too!" the woman replied dryly in a whisper, which made James and Mike snicker for a moment in amusement before they recovered and sat calmly to watch.

Sam drew his blades in a single, fluid motion and went through the shortened presentations, forming the sword cross, spinning the blades in pattern, then bowing respectfully after each one. He ended by kneeling, laying the swords in the cross upon the ground and stayed motionless, catching his breath as he prayed silently.

As he remained thusly, a series of attendants wheeled out the sacrifice on a cart, moving it to the western edge of the marked off area. James frowned at the odd positioning of the heavily sedated white bull, then raised his eyebrows as a second beast of the same type and color was wheeled out and set up at the south edge of the area, followed by a third in the east and a fourth in the north.

"Four sacrifices?" Mike asked in shock. "Isn't that a bit far?"

"There's been three in an evening but never four and certainly not all at once," James replied softly, feeling stunned at the scale of the sacrifice. "This must be Sam's special presentation."

Once the animals were secured in position and the attendants gone from the area, Sam rose up and assumed the sword cross, his blades facing the sun above. "Lord Apollo," he called out loudly as he lacked a mic to broadcast his voice. "We call out to you in praise and worship! God of the sun, Lord and provider to the Spartan people, let all men and women, be they Spartan, Amazon or human join together here in worship of you. We offer sacrifice to you, Lord and welcome you into this place. Let this land become yours, oh mighty Apollo. Let this place be your home, that those who wish to do so may have a place to worship you. Receive these sacrifices and let them nourish you!"

Sam lowered his blades and began to move in a new set of footsteps as he swung the blades in the new patterns he had developed...

Apollo had kept His promise to Sam to avoid looking ahead to the ceremony and spoiling His son's surprise to Him. As the bulls were moved into position, the god felt shocked as He stood at the corner of the clearing, invisible and intangible, to watch the proceedings. Three sacrifices during the eve of each full moon were a veritable feast for Him, who drank in the power of sacrifices offered Him in the same way mortals took in food and drink. The power of the deaths dedicated to Him were His primary sustenance, supplemented by the worship offered to Him by His followers. But something like this?

Then Sam began to move, sweeping the blades forward and up in long-armed slashing motions, followed by spins and wavering motions as he slowly moved Westward to the first beast. As the Spartan moved, Apollo was reminded of the movements of the ocean and realized that Sam was intentionally invoking that very image. As the priest reached the beast, Apollo felt the power of His son's worship of Him grow stronger and stronger, nourishing the deity with its power, Sam reached the bull and with a pair of motions, slashed open the animal's throat and pierced its heart, the crowd gasping in shock as they saw him kill the beast with skill, offering its life to his god, who drank in the incredible power of this act eagerly with a sense of wonder and deepest gratitude for His son. After the fatal strokes, Sam paused at the end of them for several seconds, the blood of the bull that had gushed forth from the fatal wounds covering his nude form, then he began to move, spinning the blades in circles as he worked his way back to the center of the clearing and knelt in prayer for a few moments.

Then Sam rose up and began to dance with the blades anew, working his way to the East. As he moved, the motions of his blades was different. This time, he twirled them overhead and side to side, then made an arcing sideways slash with both blades from his left to front, then from right to front. then repeated the movements. As he moved, Apollo realized Sam was mimicking the wind. He soon reached the second bull and ended its life quickly, pausing at the end of the motions before spinning his swords and making his way back to center, then kneeling in prayer, his body died crimson from the lifeblood of the two beasts.

The third series, to the North this time, was a dance of aggressive, fierce stabs and chops, some forwards, others down towards the ground without the swords piercing the turf. Apollo realized this must be to represent the element of earth and watched with happiness, pride and love as His son reached the third sacrifice and brought its life to an end, drinking in the heady flow of worship and death which were amplified by the formality and combination of the two acts merged into one.

After His priest returned to the center and prayed once more, Apollo watched as Sam rose and made his way to the South, slashing and stabbing in a rapid series of high-energy motions that the god knew represented fire. As the priest moved, Apollo saw that Sam was reaching his limit, sweat pouring from his blood-soaked body and making the vital essence that had splashed onto his nude form run in rivulets down his body as he panted with effort. The deity saw the fierce determination in His son's eyes as Sam worked his way to the final sacrifice and killed it, offering it to his lord. Apollo had never feasted like this before and felt a new level of strength enter into Him from the power of this act.

Sam stayed frozen in place at the end of the motions, his sides heaving with effort. Then he forced himself to spin the blades in circles as he worked his way back to center, knelt and prayed silently for several moments before he was able to speak. "Lord Apollo!" he called out, his voice strong, yet straining from exhaustion. "Sacrifice has been offered unto You. We welcome you, Lord. Apollo be with us!"

Apollo walked forward invisibly from the corner of the clearing where He had stood to watch and placed His hand tenderly on the bowed head of His priest, letting His love, pride and gratitude wash over His son. Thank you, He spoke into His priest's mind, His voice thick with emotion.

Just please don't expect that very often, Lord, Sam thought within his mind. I don't think I have the strength to do that all the time! he finished with mild mirth that pierced his exhaustion.

Apollo chuckled within His priest's mind in amusement...

James and Mike watched in awe as Sam underwent his presentation, hearing the gasps of shock from the crowd as the first bull met its end at Sam's priestly blades. After the priest had finished the presentation and remained bowed in prayer after speaking, James watched the American's sides heaving for several moments from exhaustion and felt rather impressed. No wonder he only did the presentations at a fourth in length. I don't think he would've had what it took to do all of that after two hours or more of full presentations!

"Whoa!" the man two rows back exclaimed lowly. "Remind me never to piss that guy off!"

"Have you ever heard of anything like this?" Mike whispered to his partner.

James shook his head slowly. "Never. Not anything this elaborate, by any means."

They, like everyone else, fell silent as the attendants took away the bodies of the bulls to the kitchen area where the cooks could go to work on the carcasses. Suddenly the crowd gasped in shock as a mist rose up from nowhere after they had left, covering the clearing and obscuring Sam slightly so that only the top of his head and the pommels of his swords remained visible.

The mist hung there for several moments before it faded to reveal the area it had covered and people either gasped or screamed in shock... Where there had only been a field of short-mowed grass, there was now a large, perfect circle of gleaming white marble comprised of a single, unbroken piece of solid stone now covering the clearing, several yards wide. Within the area were a black obsidian altar stone, a series of gray marble Grecian pillars around the edge, a large gray marble fire pit on a pedestal and presiding over it all was a gleaming, twenty foot tall statue of Apollo made of solid bronze.

"OH SHIT!!!" the man two rows back exclaimed loudly. "How the fuck did all that happen?!? There's no way all of that was moved in there that fast! FUCK!!! He really -is- real!!!"

The fire pit exploded with flame, creating a roaring, everlasting bonfire that needed no fuel and served as a symbol of Apollo's power and presence within this place. Many people screamed and a few took off running, fighting their way through the crowd as they sought to escape from the event in blind terror. Sam arose slowly, blood still dripping from his body and spoke in Apollo's booming voice.

"Behold!" the god declared, speaking through His priest and His cordial voice radiating outward loudly for all to hear clearly. "I am the Lord Apollo, speaking through the body of My priest. Let this place serve as a temple for all who wish to worship Me. Let all who come in good intent be welcome here... This temple, however, shall need priests. Who among you wish to serve Me? Step forward now."

Over a half dozen people moved forward, shedding their clothes without shame as they went. They approached the god within Sam nude and knelt before Him, looking up at the being in awe. Priest Walter hurried forward, also nude, with a few attendants, each carrying a bundle of twin swords in their arms and proceeding to help the new priesthood into the harnesses. The men wore theirs at their sides while the women wore theirs across their backs. Walter took Sam's swords and cleaned the blood from them so that they wouldn't rust, before handing them back to his lord, who sheathed the blades of His priest for him.

"When you all return to this temple," Apollo told his new priests, "bring a sacrifice that you are comfortable with making to offer unto Me and you shall be ordained as My priests to serve under Head Priest Sam Apolloson."

WHAT?!? HEAD PRIEST?!? Sam thought in shock within his own mind. WAIT A MINUTE! YOU NEVER SAID ANY-! He stopped short as a burst of power in warning washed over him.

Obey the will of your god, Head Priest! Apollo spoke firmly within Sam's mind, silencing the Spartan, who could only feel numb and speechless at that.

Apollo hadn't even remotely indicated to Sam that the priest would be promoted to head of clergy. Sam was stunned, feeling as if a horrible mistake had been made, He wasn't even remotely ready or fit to serve in such a capacity. Sam had assumed that Walter would become head priest... That or someone from the New York temple would fill the position. He could only watch numbly as Apollo walked him over to the waiting priesthood.

"Blessings," Apollo said, touching each of His new priests with His power, making them gasp in shock. Sam noted with further shock that not only Nathan from the ASP meetings was one of the new priesthood but Leanne the Amazon who was Matthew's boss, was one of them too."Let all who wish to receive my blessings step forward and receive them." Apollo called to the audience and many people formed a line and stepped forward to the edge of the circle of white marble, eager to feel the touch of the god, shedding their clothes and taking a sword loaned for their temporary use as they stepped forward so as to approach the deity properly...

Priest Walter accepted blessings from his lord, rose gently with a bow of gratitude and walked over to the side to wait until all of the blessings were given. At least now he understood why he was being made to stay here in America longer. He would be required to finish Sam's training so that he would be able to run the temple properly in his new role as head priest. Also, the new members of the priesthood would require training as well and Walter was the logical choice. Perhaps all of the business would help to occupy his mind enough that he would endure.

A human walked over to stand beside him, holding his suit folded neatly in a bundle in his arms and stood beside him. "This is absolutely incredible! When Apollo blessed me... I felt like the power of the sun itself was pouring into me!"

"Yes," Walter replied with a soft smile as he watched Apollo bestow His blessings on the people. "The power of Lord Apollo is quite potent... Especially after the sacrifices Head Priest Sam has offered Him this day... Your voice sounds familiar," Walter added, turning to the man slowly.

"Oh," the man said, turning to Walter. "I'm Dennis Makenridge. We've only spoken on the phone before," he said, his eyes glued to Sam as Apollo was within him, giving blessings to Liam. "We'll be working rather closely from now on, I guess, seeing as how I'm event director and social manager for the temple. This job's going to be amazing!" he exclaimed joyfully, finally turning his gaze to look at Walter and froze with shock.

Their eyes finally met and as far as Walter could tell, the rest of the world seemed to fade away. "Oh my," he said softly, lost for words...

Finally, the last few people came forward to kneel and accept Apollo's blessings, which He gave gladly. The very last person who knelt before Him shocked the god. "David," He said softly, looking down at Matthew's partner with surprise.

David shrugged. "You really seem to be helping people. I'm still Lutheran but I guess just taking a blessing won't be too blasphemous against my faith," he said with a weak smile.

Apollo reached for David's brow gently with a smile and bestowed His blessings on the human, who gasped in shock as the power flowed into him. "Thank you for all of your patience and support for your family."

"You're welcome," David said with a smile before he rose up and moved away to join his partner, who looked at the human with tears of gratitude in his eyes.

Apollo looked upon the mortals with a smile. "Thank you all for attending. I now leave the body of my head priest but know that I am always here for those who wish it. I will always hear your prayers."

Sam's shoulders slumped as the presence of his lord left him and looked up tiredly as Daniel looked at him questioningly with his hands on the priest's shoulders. "It's just me now," Sam said softly, feeling drained and ravenous from the morning's fasting and all of the activity.

"Come on," Daniel said gently. "Let's go get you cleaned up."

He took Sam up to the house, stopping to gather up his love's robe as they went after making very sure he didn't have any blood on him that would stain the vestments. They used the first floor bathroom to shower, washing the dried blood from Sam's body and using the heat of the water to soothe his aching muscles. "You were amazing," Daniel breathed, gazing into Sam's eyes with love and pride.

"Don't get used to that," Sam sighed tiredly. "There's no way I have the energy to do that all the time. Even with the shortened presentations, the four-point sacrifice takes too much out of me."

"I was talking about your being appointed head priest. You'll be great!" His grin faltered at the look of intense doubt in Sam's eyes. "Babe, what's wrong?"

Sam all but collapsed backward against the wall of the shower. "Why me? There's no way I'm fit to be head priest..." he said sadly.

"You really had no idea it would be you, did you?" Daniel asked gently, feeling pity for his partner. Sam shook his head, biting his lower lip and looking like he wanted to cry. Daniel was shocked at this display and hugged his partner fiercely. He hadn't seen Sam look this scared and uncertain since they had first met in the park over nine years previously, when the partner bond had first formed between them and Sam, unable to comprehend what was happening, had panicked so severely that he had begun to have an emotional breakdown.

"What am I going to do, Dan?" Sam asked softly. "There's no way I'm fit to be head priest."

Daniel was shocked at this. He'd never heard Sam talk this way before and saw that his love's confidence was deeply shaken. "Sam..." he said softly. "Lord Apollo would never have chosen you to lead if He felt that you were in any way unfit or unworthy. I trust in His judgment and you should too. And you should believe in yourself the way that both I and our god believe in you. You can do this, Sam. I know you can. Besides, you won't have to do it alone. You'll have Walter to help you... Once he and Dennis finish their bonding, of course."

"What?!?" Sam exclaimed in shock, staring at Daniel with wide eyes.

"That's right... You were too busy channeling Lord Apollo so He could give blessings at the time. I saw the moment it happened. It was just after Walter and Dennis had received blessings and moved off to the side. They began talking, then looked into each other's eyes and pow! You should've seen Walter's face! He looked like someone had dropped a bowling ball on his foot!"

Daniel's laughter was infectious and Sam began to share in it, his fears dissipating somewhat.

"Just try to trust in our lord's judgment, okay? He knows you can do this and so do I. I'll help you through this as much as I can, okay?"

"Ok, I'll try," Sam said. "No disrespect intended but He's a dirty rat-fink."

"SAM!" Daniel exclaimed in shock, staring at his partner in disbelief.

"Well... He waited until He had control of my body to announce it to the whole world while I could only watch Him do it... Using -my- mouth, no less! I didn't even get a chance to protest it! It was a really dirty, sneaky, underhanded way to do it and everyone knows that that's -my- department!" he sulked.

Daniel laughed, kissing Sam passionately until the water ran cold and they began to shiver.

"Fuck that's cold!" Sam exclaimed. "I think we've been in here too long!"

They laughed, got out and dried off, then answered the knocking at the bathroom door which turned out to be Henry, letting his fathers know that the food was almost ready. Daniel fastened the priestly vestments around Sam after he donned his sheathed blades and the three of them returned to the temple grounds as the feast was set up. Sam took place of honor at the head table as the servers offered him first portion of the steaks from the sacrifices along with mashed potatoes with gravy, corn, rolls with butter and a light wine. James and Mike sat with the family as they ate, joined by Tracy, Alice and Sally.

Halfway down the table, Walter and Dennis stared deeply into each other's eyes, talking quietly and completely oblivious to their surroundings. For all they knew, the table could be on fire and they'd never notice. Sam smiled at that. He had seen the hidden pain in Walter's eyes every time any partnered couple were affectionate around him and had felt very sorry for the man, as he had known that very same pain himself for many years. He'd also been rather shocked to learn that Walter was thirty eight years old and was still without his partner. Sam had begun to suspect that Walter was more than simply unhappy and had tried to avoid being too affectionate with Daniel around his fellow priest out of respect for the man's feelings. But now Walter had his love and Sam couldn't be happier for him. Sam had known his British comrade for several years now and had never seen him happier.

James raised his glass. "Time for a toast. Cheers to the new head priest of Apollo!"

"Hear! Hear!" Mike added, raising his own glass.

Everyone added in, Sam swallowing his discomfort as everyone reminded him of his new position and drank to his success. He drank too but for a vastly different reason. Daniel held his hand under the table to give some sense of silent comfort to the distressed priest.

"Sam?" James asked, noting the strained look on his host's face. "Is everything alright?" He paused, looking off to the side at nothing for a moment, then glanced back at Sam and smiled gently. "Don't worry, Sam. You'll do fine. Take it slow and simple. I think that Walter will be more than willing to stay on here for quite some time now."

"Quite true," Mike added. "You wouldn't mind hanging on a spot longer, Walter?" he asked loudly down the table to gain the man's attention.

"No," Walter mumbled distractedly, unable to tear his gaze away from Dennis'. "No worry at all." Everyone chuckled at that.

As the servers poured more wine for everyone, Mike frowned at that, wishing he could have a good, normal pint instead. He was a man of simple tastes and found expensive wine served in crystal goblets to be a bit much. The fair was nice otherwise, however, despite the fancy place settings and he ate with relish, remembering the refounding of the London temple. That had been a rather simple affair in comparison to the founding of this new temple and he sighed slightly at just how much more elaborate this was in comparison.

What is with these Americans? Mike thought to himself with tired amusement. I've never been able to understand why they always insist on making a barking spectacle of everything! Why not simply get on with a thing and be done with it tastefully? Although I suppose they could have done worse... I'd half expected them all to plunge through window glass, screaming and waving machine guns.

Sam looked at the Brit curiously. "Something wrong, Mike?" he asked gently with concern.

"Just reflecting on the ceremony... Bit more elaborate then I'd have thought but not as much as I'd feared," he answered politely, wanting to be honest without seeming rude about it.

"I didn't want us to go overboard," Sam replied with a wistful expression. "I had to nearly strangle the planning committee, who tried to insist on a rock band and fireworks!"

"Please tell me you're joking," James added while laughing but Sam shook his head sadly.

"I wish I was," he replied painfully. "It would've been different if we could've booked Stephen Lynch, though," he finished thoughtfully.

Daniel choked on his wine, erupting into a coughing fit. "Sam!" he blurted in alarm as he recovered. "Please tell me you're joking!"

"Who's he?" James asked, glancing between the pair of them in confusion.

"Only the worst folk singer of all time!" Daniel exclaimed. "He's a singing comedian. He sounds nice to listen to, until you pay close attention to the words and realize he's singing about all kinds of horrible things! ...Being caught masturbating by his father at age thirty, trying to abort his wife's pregnancy, wanting his grandfather dead so he can claim his inheritance, ending a relationship with a neo Nazi, writing a country love song for a woman who just farted and dating a human hermaphrodite are some of the worst ones!"

Matthew groaned. "You have no idea how lucky you are Sam," he said slowly. "If you'd done that, I would've shot you, son-in-law or not!" He was almost smiling in a pained way as he spoke but Sam wasn't sure if he was truly joking or not.

"Well, truth be told," Mike replied with a smile. "I'd half expected explosions or something!" He chuckled gently. "No offense but you Yanks sometimes take things a bit far."

"I know," Sam said, nodding and smiling sympathetically. "I really had to put my foot down with the committee. 'This is a temple founding, not a tractor pull', I told them. The souvenir stands are bad enough!"

"I don't know," James replied loftily. "These shirts aren't -too- ghastly."

Sam took in the t-shirt his superior was wearing with shock. "Are you serious? James, please tell me you didn't waste good money on that thing!" he asked in a manner of intense suffering.

"I told you it was awful!" Mike teased, making James mock-sulk for a few moments before joining in on the humor...

Once the meal was over, Sam had the trumpeters call to the crowd for attention once more as he walked back to the center of the altar area and stood nude once more, facing the crowd with the statue of Apollo towering over him.

"Thank you all for coming. The temple will be closed for a few weeks on the grounds of safety so that we can get the walls and roof that will surround the altar room built. Once that is accomplished, the temple will become open to the public and all will be welcome from that point onwards. Please take a flyer that contains our website address and future phone number so that you can keep apprised of the building process and see the exact date of opening. This concludes the opening ceremonies of this temple of Lord Apollo. Thank you all for coming and may Apollo's blessings be with you always. Good day!"

He bowed and stepped aside to rejoin his family, Mike and James, Walter and Dennis, Nathan and Howard plus their only son Kevin, Leanne and Jennie with their girls, as well as Alice, Tracy and Sally at the table as everyone applauded...

Late that following night, after everyone else was soundly asleep, Sam laid there wide awake in bed, unable to get past his self-doubts. Part of him wanted to cry, feeling as though he had no free will of his own. He wanted to toss and turn but that would wake Daniel, who was soundly out of it. Also, the act wouldn't do anything to actually help him. Unable to stand it any longer, he rose softly so as not to disturb his husband and took up a simple house robe, slippers and his sword belt. He crept from the room as quietly as he could, wincing as a floorboard creaked but Daniel remained sleeping.

Sam left the room gently, made his way softly down the stairs to the front door and let himself outside. It was about three in the morning and the fog was thick across the city, shrouding everything in a layer of mystery, a heavy, slightly salty dampness in the air. Fog was by far Sam's favorite type of weather but in his current state of mind, the wonder was lost on him. He removed the robe and donned his swords, making sure the straps were secure, yet comfortable, then put the robe back on.

He looked to the temple, the light of the eternal flame lighting up the fog until it glowed brightly. The top edges of the pillars and the head of the bronze statue were the only parts of the altar area visible through the glowing haze, the pillars on his side of the altar area casting huge, eerie shadows on the fog between him and them. He walked slowly, feeling uncertain as he approached the edge of the marble floor and pausing at it's edge, wavering with uncertainty. Why me? he asked himself mentally. Sam no longer felt as though he had control over any aspect of his life. He felt more like a slave then a servant of Apollo. That he had been promoted without warning or reason hurt him deeply, making him feel betrayed. I can't do it... There's no way I can serve as head priest. For the life of him, Sam couldn't understand what Apollo had been thinking. He didn't know what to think or do, feeling lost and afraid. He looked towards the flame, biting his lower lip with uncertainty.

Sam... Please enter. We need to talk.

The Spartan looked forward nervously, then timidly removed his robe and slippers before moving slowly forward, his bare feet feeling a radiating warmth rising from the perfect slab of circular white marble. He felt a bit shocked at that, as well as surprised at how comfortably warm it was within the expanse. The fog shrouded everything, so the priest moved forward slowly, noting that the floor remained dry and smooth without being slippery to the touch, allowing him to walk safely, if not confidently... But his lack of confidence had nothing to do with his footing.

He kept his head down as he walked forward, half to watch where he was going and half out of his poor feelings about himself. All of the confidence he had displayed in the past was gone, the mere mask that it had been stripped away and leaving him as bare of heart and mind as his body was physically. He stopped when he drew close to the firepit, feeling the heat of the fire wash over him.

"Sam," a gentle, yet powerful voice said to him, making him look up in shock.

It was not quite the same sound as the projected voice of his lord and father, yet the voice itself was the very same. Rather than seeming to come from everywhere at once, as though he was standing inside the voice like he normally felt, it came from a single point ahead of him. His eyes bulged in shock and his jaw hung slack within his closed mouth as he saw a tall, muscular, blonde-haired and clean shaven man standing nude before him. Sam's gaze shot up to the face of the bronze statue in shock, then slowly moved back down to the figure before him. There was no denying it. This was Apollo in a solid form. The god smiled kindly as he saw the shock on his priest's face.

Sam gestured with a mildly trembling finger at the statue, then at the man before him. "You...? You can be solid? Physical?"

"Of course," Apollo said with a raised eyebrow, looking amused and clearly trying not to laugh. "How do you think that mortals learned what I look like in order to carve my image in the first place?" He asked gently.

"Well..." Sam answered in a shaky voice. "Ok, you got me there..."

The god chuckled gently, then sobered, looking sympathetic. "I feel the need to apologize to you, Sam. I truly did not think that this promotion would cause you to feel this way. I underestimated just how fragile your self esteem is and for that, I am deeply sorry. I see that you feel like I am merely using you without any concern for your well-being. But Sam, nothing could be farther from the truth. I made you head priest because I believe in you. I only wish that you could see in yourself what everyone else sees in you," He finished sadly.

"I wish I could see it too," the Spartan answered softly.

"I think I now understand why you originally became a Satanist... You thought that if you became a stronger person, you could love yourself, because you believed that no one else ever would. Growing up alone in the orphanage has scared you very deeply and now you are unable to see the worth within yourself. You wear a mask to hide your pain from everyone, even yourself. That pain makes you doubt your self-worth and because of that, you lack confidence in your abilities. You are blind to the true strength and love that you possess, as well as the depth of the love others feel for you and the worthiness they feel in relation to you. You must learn to think differently of yourself...

"Sam... I did not make you high priest in order to use you. I made you so because I believe in you and know that you are up to the challenge. If I had felt that you were in any way unworthy, I would not have chosen you to run my temple. You -can- do this... And I think that it will do you good. I know it might seem very intimidating but you'll have Walter to help you... In a few more days, of course. I'm pretty sure he'll be wanting to stay here in America for quite some time now that he has found his love," the deity added with a knowing smile.

"Maybe," Sam answered timidly.

Apollo saw the doubt that still lingered in the mind of his son. "Come here," He said and took Sam into His arms to hug him tightly. "I believe in you, Sam. I always will... I just wish you could believe in yourself." Sam began to cry softly, his father holding him tightly and rubbing his back as the mortal cried.

"Fuck," Sam said as he sniffled several minutes later. "Don't tell me my ovaries are acting up!"

"No," Apollo said with a laugh. "You just received a shock is all. It's perfectly natural to be emotional after something like that. Spartans don't shun sensitivity the way some human men do. If you did, you'd make lousy birth fathers... I am sorry I announced your promotion the way I did. I knew that you'd refuse if I merely asked you, so I did it in a way you couldn't refute. You'll do very well, Sam. You'll have me to ask for advice whenever you wish. I'll always be watching over you."

Suddenly, as they continued to hug, Sam froze and his eyes snapped open. "If I even think you're watching me take a dump I'll slap a restraining order on you," he said in a suddenly flat voice.

The immortal bristled at that for a moment, until he noted Sam shaking with silent laughter and sighed with disgust. "I should know better than to give you an opening like that... You'd think that having existed for twelve thousand years would've made me smarter than this!" He said, shaking His head sadly and feeling disappointed with Himself.

"Sorry... In all fairness, I -did- warn you about my sense of humor," Sam said, pulling back a bit to smile at Him.

"True."

"Thanks. Sorry I'm being such a wimp about this."

"You're not a wimp, Sam. I know you can handle this. You just need some experience to build up your confidence. Once you're comfortable with being head priest, you'll start to feel more confident in yourself. Walter will help you... And so will I. Daniel will offer you all of the love and support you'll need, as will your sons and the rest of your family and friends, too. Just as you are the source of Daniel's strength, he is also yours. That's how it works for partners." Sam's face fell a bit at that. "What's wrong?"

"That just reminded me, is all... I'm a bit worried for the twins... What if one of them finds his partner but the other spends years alone? I don't want one of them feeling abandoned by his brother just because one found love first."

Apollo looked away with a bothered expression. "Sam..." he said, turning back to his son. "There's something you need to know about the boys... They don't need to search for their partners because they already found them..." The god stopped at that, making Sam look at Him with confusion.

"Who are they?" Sam finally asked.

"Sam, this isn't easy to say... Spartan twins are different than other Spartans... I'm not sure how you'll react to this but it's something that you have a right to know... I've looked into the future about this because I had a suspicion. What I saw has confirmed it. Marcus and Jason are the first Spartan twins to survive to term within recent memory, so I had forgotten but they won't be the last pair to survive and grow up healthy. All Spartan twins will have one thing in common. They will love differently than other Spartans... Sam... Marcus and Jason are each other's partner."

"What?!?" Sam exclaimed in shock. "Please tell me you're joking!" he pleaded but Apollo shook his head sadly. "But they're brothers! Look, I'll admit I'm a bit open-minded about a little friendly experimentation but the whole point of having a partner is to have someone to love romantically and have kids together with! They can't have each other's sons! The kids will never be healthy! They have identical DNA for crying out loud! The kids will come out sickly or deformed or wrong in the head or something!"

"Actually, you're wrong Sam. The partner bond -always- ensures healthy offspring. The sons they will have -will- be strong and healthy."

Sam glanced back at the house in shock, looking heartbroken. "I knew it... Deep down inside, I knew it was true... But what kind of life will they have?" he asked sadly. "People will never understand... And what about You?" he asked his father and god as he turned back to face Apollo. "They're my sons and I'm a symbol of Your power and presence in the world! This will reflect horribly on You! The religious right will tear You and Your faith apart! If this ever gets out, it'll ruin Apolline worship! Bigots will storm this place with torches and pitchforks, for crying out loud! Not to mention what it will do for Spartans everywhere! I love my boys... If this is what's right for them, then I'll support them as best as I can but there's no way the world will accept it," he finished sadly, hanging his head.

"I didn't intend this when I gave Spartans the partner bond. I honestly didn't realize that the bond for twin Spartans would be for each other." Apollo stopped then, looking thoughtful and troubled.

"You couldn't...?" Sam hedged.

"No I will not!" Apollo answered curtly, feeling offended. "The bond has already formed between them and I refuse to violate their free will in such a manner! It would be cruel and go against everything that I believe in!"

"I know..." Sam said, wilting and looking apologetic. "I'm sorry... It was a stupid thing to ask... I'm just scared for them. I want them to be happy and have a normal life but how can they when they're an incestuous couple? And what's the rest of the family going to think?"

"Don't say anything to any of them, especially David. Daniel will have a hard enough time learning to accept it as it is but there is no way that David is ready for this knowledge."

"Tell me about it! ...What are we going to do?"

"Well... We have at least four years to figure it out... We'll think of something. Try not to worry about it for now, Sam."

"No promises... Thanks for telling me, though... It'll give me plenty of time to get used to the idea, I guess. And thanks for being here this way too. It's nice to look You in the eye like this... I mean... I know You're my god but..."

Apollo placed a hand on Sam's shoulder. "It's alright Sam. Whenever we're alone, feel free to call me Dad. After all, I am your father."

"But... My name's not Luke..." Sam said slowly, looking puzzled. "...And you're not an evil cyborg."

"What?" Apollo asked, looking at His son in confusion.

"'The Empire Strikes Back'?"

The god sighed, buried his forehead in his hand and shook his head sadly. "I'm going to be the first god to ever develop an ulcer, aren't I?"

"Sorry... I guess You won't be able to do this," he gestured at Apollo's body, "very often, huh?"

"Not in public but I can be here for you in private. I don't have to be visible to be here either but again its better that we keep things professional when others are around."

"I understand. But... Doesn't it get lonely for You to live this way? Never being able to be close to anyone?"

"Actually I do have people I can be like this with in addition to you... This can never go beyond you. It can damage many people's lives and harm people's faith in me as a god."

"Really...? Hold on," Sam said, stepped back and drew his swords, holding them up to Apollo. "Take them." Apollo did so and Sam held his palm forward. Knowing what his son wanted, the god spun the blades at His sides and formed the sword cross.

"Do you, Sam Apolloson, swear never to reveal what you are about to learn?"

"I do so swear," Sam answered firmly, looking into Apollo's eyes, feeling the power of the oath take hold and allowing Apollo to prevent Sam from blurting out anything to others by accident.

"Good," the immortal said. "Hold still." He spun the blades and in a fluid motion, drove them home in their scabbards at Sam's sides, making the mortal pale in shock at the sudden act.

"SHIT! Give me more warning then that!" Sam gasped weakly.

"Sorry," Apollo apologized. "Twelve millennia have sharpened my skills considerably. Anyways... I can see that you worry about me but you don't need to. I too have a partner and we're very happy together."

Sam thought for a moment. "Wait... Gabriel Michaelson?"

Apollo looked shocked for a moment, then smiled ruefully. "You're too smart for your own good! How did you figure it out?"

"Just a feeling, is all... That and the fact that Gabriel has never been willing to say who the other father of his children is, which must be you."

"I'm impressed," Apollo said honestly. "I thought I would have had to tell you."

"...And you're the 'special assistance' he had in bearing his twins successfully, as well as how you knew that Marcus and Jason are partners, seeing as how Gabriel's sons are twins too," Sam said, nodding wisely.

"Not quite..." the god said, startling the mortal. "You see, Nathaniel and Jonathan aren't truly twins. Their true names are Nathaniel Gabrielson and Jonathan Apolloson. Jonathan was born two days after Nathaniel and we made the decision to say that they were twins born from Gabriel in order to protect the boys from scandal and ostracism... No one must ever know about this, however, because it would ruin the lives of Gabriel and the boys as well as the rest of the family. The knowledge of My partner bond to Gabriel must remain secret for all their sakes, as well as for the stability of Apolline faith. I need worshippers in order to survive, Sam. My existence is entirely dependent on mortals. Without your sacrifices and worship, I will waste away. It nearly happened once already. If not for My son Mike's willingness to be a sacrifice to me, I would be dead now. I owe him more than can ever be said..."

"Hey, you've got me too. I won't let that happen to you. I don't know what will happen after my life ends but if there is any kind of afterlife, I'll stay around and help you as much as I can. You're my dad... I'll be here for you as much as I can, no matter what."

Apollo looked at Sam, his lip trembling. "Thank you," He said softly, His eyes moist, then kissed Sam's forehead gently. "When you love, you do it with all of your heart... That's part of what makes you so special, Sam." He then noted the fatigue Sam was feeling. "Enough for now," He said, recovering. "We'll talk more later. Go get some sleep."

"Ok. Goodnight Dad," Sam said, kissing his lord and father on the cheek.

"Goodnight Sam," the god said, smiling at him softly before He faded into invisibility.

Sam walked back out of the altar area, picking up his things at the edge of the marble flooring and noting that his heart felt much lighter despite all that he had learned this night. He made his way back to the house and entered quietly, took off his swords and walked upstairs to bed. He climbed in next to Daniel, who sensed his presence and cuddled close to him in sleep.

Sam had expected to lay awake for some time, his mind abuzz with the weight of all that he had learned this night but he was sound asleep within moments...

The architect went to work quickly, taking measurements of the altar area nervously as Sam stood there to keep him company. The human refused to go near the statue of Apollo, however, out of extreme nervousness, so Sam took down the measurements for the massive bronze sculpture himself, then spoke with the man at length. Sam wanted the altar room to be circular, with a door at each compass point. A squared hallway off the back and sides with an entrance hall in front of the altar chamber with access doors to the hallways on the sides and the kitchens and sleeping quarters for overnight stays were to be placed to the back of the temple building behind an anteroom off of the back door from the alter chamber. A loading dock for deliveries was also included, after consulting with James and the head priest of the New York temple. The rest of the temple, including the security and secretarial offices, front reception desk, public bathrooms, showers and locker rooms, a few daycare rooms, general offices for the various staffs, a large meeting/dining hall, storage rooms, first aid room and even a small apartment for visiting clergy were all designed to go along the sides and back of the building and approved for the final product.

Once the temple was fully built, it would take up about ninety five percent of the temple grounds. Sam had even gone as far as to include a set of skylight doors that could be opened over the altar chamber on nights of the full moon so that the moonlight could pour down into the altar chamber during services, as well as the sun on clear days. Estimates said that full construction would most likely take about a year to complete and Sam gave his final approval. After that, construction began, working round the clock to build up the walls and ceiling for the altar chamber itself, followed by the outer wall of the temple building and front entrance. Construction proceeded at a record pace, yet Sam was adamant about worker safety, earning him respect from the building crew.

The boys were absolutely forbidden to go onto the temple grounds unsupervised, Sam explaining about the dangers of construction sites and expressing his fear for their safety, making them swear not to go there on their own under any condition. Apollo told Sam that He would make sure that everyone on the site would remain safe. A week into the construction of the altar room walls proved His promise to be true when a block broke loose from the winch as it was being moved into place, nearly crushing one of the workers. The man had suddenly flown backwards to land safely out of the path of the falling block. The shaken but uninjured man swore that something invisible had shoved hard against his chest, knocking him to safety. After that, the man became a devout worshipper of Apollo in gratitude for his life being saved.

One by one, over the next week, each of the new priests came to the temple to offer their sacrifices, Walter bringing Dennis along with him as he bore witness to the ordinations of the clergy. Darcy, a human woman, had to take back her sacrificial rabbit when it was explained that the animals offered to their god must all be male, whereas she had brought a female rabbit. She seemed mortified at her mistake until Sam calmed her fears, apologizing for not having explained that to her. She resolved to return the next day with a proper sacrifice and Sam called the rest of the remaining clergy who had yet to offer sacrifice in order to make sure they brought male animals to offer. He discovered in the process that two of the potential priests were having difficulty in obtaining proper animals and put them in touch with the breeding ranch that had started to provide the beasts for the temple.

Within two weeks, which was record time, the altar room was fully constructed, followed a week and a half later by the main entrance hall. Sam instructed the crew to focus on the kitchens so that the cooking staff could have proper facilities, then the bathrooms. The staff worked out of the house for the time being, as the temple offices would be awhile longer before they were ready for use. Donations continued to pour in slowly increasing both in numbers and amounts. The temple accountant announced that he could set up comfortable incomes for all of the temple staff and Sam was a bit shocked and concerned about receiving pay for his services as head of staff and refused to accept it until Apollo Himself ordered Sam to take the money.

I can't have My head priest living in financial squalor, Sam. It's alright... You need that money to live, so take it with My blessing.

Sam reluctantly accepted and noted that with the income, he could live comfortably for the first time in his life. He celebrated by taking the whole family, Ryan, Liam and their boys, as well as Martin, a newly gestating Brian and their son Jacob out to a restaurant. He felt rather happy at being able to treat others out like this and smiled as he ate, watching everyone enjoy themselves...

The next Saturday, the last of the staff was briefed before the temple opening. At the meeting, everyone insisted on addressing Sam as 'Head Priest' every chance they could. By the time the day was half done, he was grumbling and took Walter, who was serving as senior priest under Sam and was therefore his second in charge of the temple staff, aside.

"Okay, who's idea was it?" he demanded testily.

"What do you mean, Head Priest?" Walter asked serinely.

"That!" Sam exclaimed emphatically, pouncing on the opening and pointing at the Brit with annoyance. "That right there! That little two word phrase. Everyone's been calling me that nonstop all day, even the janitors and they only started working this morning! Who's idea was it?"

"I haven't the faintest notion what you mean, Head Priest," Walter protested weakly, unable to meet his superior's eyes.

"Bull! ...It was you, wasn't it?"

"Me?!?" Walter protested in shock. "Certainly not!"

Sam thought a moment. "Oh fuck! It was Him, wasn't it?" Sam asked in exasperation, jabbing a thumb at the ceiling. He shook his head in disbelief. "I'll kill Him. God or not, I'll kill Him..." he muttered.

Walter looked at his fellow priest in shock. "Sam! That's a bit far!" he gasped weakly.

"He started it!" Sam protested in a child-like manner, then sighed explosively and slumped back against the wall. "The sad part is that I know exactly why He told you all to do it... He wants me to get used to the idea of being head of clergy, so He ordered everyone to call me that until I stopped fighting it. Dirty underhanded sneak... He's been hanging around me too much!" Sam muttered, shaking his head sadly.

"You take far too many liberties with our lord, Head Priest." Walter spoke fearfully, staring at Sam with a sickly expression. "Even for a man of... Such a past as you," he whispered, looking around to make sure no one overheard him speak. Sam had wanted to be honest with Walter and had explained about his past as a modern Satanist. The man had been rather shocked at first but was slowly coming around as he saw the depth of devotion his head priest now had for Lord Apollo.

"I know... And I also know that He's only doing it for my own good. It just sucks sometimes," he finished with a heavy heart.

"Trust in Lord Apollo, Sam. He will guide you truly," Walter said kindly, patting his shoulder sympathetically.

"I know... And thanks for finally calling me Sam today."

"Anytime, Head Priest," Walter smiled gently.

Sam scowled. "Now you're doing it on purpose!"

Walter chuckled as Sam growled in disgust...

That night, Sam led the first formal worship service for the temple. Several dozen people came for it but nowhere near as many as had attended the opening, many of whom had come out of curiosity but hesitated to come to services out of fear and uncertainty. All of the family was in attendance, even Ryan, Liam, Martin, Brian and their sons, who all made the effort to attend. The trumpeter heralded the call to worship and everyone came forward to enter, the armorers passing swords to those who did not have their own after everyone had removed their clothing and stored them in cubby holes that lined the walls outside the altar chamber.

Many who entered the room gasped as they felt the power of Apollo wash over them the moment they stepped onto the circle of white marble. It was like a literal presence in the room that was made of warmth in the air, as well as a feeling of great power. Some were overwhelmed almost immediately and had to turn back. Some of the lesser priests were there to comfort and speak with them in order to calm them. Sam wasn't surprised... The first few times he had experienced the presence of his god, it was all he had been able to do to remain calm. Some of them returned but not all. Sam was a bit saddened by that but had hope that they would return in the future.

He entered and walked to the center of the chamber, then turned to look at the people, who were spread out in a third of a circle before him, facing the statue and fire. He drew his blades and turned to the statue, formed the sword cross, then spun his blades around into the reverse grip and assumed the prayer position by kneeling on his right knee, the sword tips touching the ground with the blades vertically upwards, each arm bent slightly and the elbows slightly bent as the blades stood just slightly forward from his right foot, each side of his forehead resting on one of the pommels of his blades.

Everyone who was skilled with a blade did likewise, resting the center of their foreheads on the pommel of their single blades, the priests mimicking Sam and the rest fumbling until Leanne and Nathan demonstrated to everyone how to change their grip on the hilts of their blades before kneeling. Once everyone was in position, Walter knelt in prayer a short distance behind the head priest and cleared his throat gently to signal that everyone was ready. Sam nodded his bowed head to show that he had heard, then focused.

"Apollo! God of the sun! We call to you in worship! We, who revere You call out in praise of Your might, Your glory, Your mercy, Your wisdom. Apollo, look upon us, both man and woman, Spartan, Amazon, human and acknowledge us. Receive our praise, our worship and hear our prayers! Apollo be with us!"

"Apollo be with us!" the worshippers called as one.

As Sam fell silent, he was struck by the level of calm he felt and noted that his feelings of unworthiness and self-doubt were absent. He felt only a deep level of calmness that overrode all else and gave him focus. He felt the hand of Apollo upon his bowed head and thought his personal prayers within his mind.

Lord Apollo, watch over me and mine and bless us with Your power and wisdom. Let my sons grow up strong and happy, let Daniel continue to thrive, as well as Matthew, David, Ryan and Liam, Martin and Brian, Walter and Dennis, Nathan and Howard and all our friends and family. Guide us and keep us safe. I will do what I can to learn to accept what You will for me and ask for Your love and patience. I know that I'm not the best or most respectful person You have to deal with but I never really mean the things I say. I'm just afraid sometimes. I both love and revere You and sometimes fear You as well, which is only proper. You are my god and well as my father. Let this temple stand for many years to come and be a home to You. Apollo, You are my god and I acknowledge You as such and strive to make sure that You are always taken care of, as well as help to make sure that You are never alone. Hail to You, Lord Apollo.

He felt the hand of his god upon the back of his bowed head tighten gently in acknowledgement and smiled as he felt a sense of comfort wash over him.

Meanwhile, Daniel knelt in prayer, his forehead resting on the pommel of his sword with a frown of worry on his face. My lord, he thought. Please offer your blessings to all of my family. Aid them in their endeavors and let them live long and happy lives. But most especially... Please help Marcus and Jason... I'm really worried about them. They act so strangely towards each other... It's not right. They act like... I don't know. I've tried speaking to them about it but nothing seems to get through to them. I'm scared for them. Please... Do something for them... Help them to overcome this... Obsession they seem to have with each other. It's wrong... I don't know what to do...

He felt the touch of Apollo upon his head and wept slightly. Daniel... Do not cry. Marcus and Jason -will- be happy but their happiness will depend in part on you. Love and support them no matter what happens to them. Always remember that they are your sons and need you to be there for them at all times.

"Lord?" he whispered. "What do you mean?" But Apollo said no more to him. Confused, Daniel lapsed into silence as he felt Apollo's hand tighten comfortingly upon him, then pull away.

The rest of the family knelt in prayer, each offering their personal words of worship and prayers, each feeling the touch of their god. Apollo used His omnipresence to hear each of the overlapping prayers and praise clearly and distinctly, offering His comfort, acknowledgement and aid in the way that seemed appropriate for each of them. He felt the joy of Matthew and Martin's family at finally being able to worship their lord properly and smiled at that, grateful to each of them for their love and loyalty to Him. The one who worried Him the most of the family was Daniel, who was scared of the bond between his twin sons. Apollo saw that deep down inside, Daniel already knew but was unable to admit that knowledge to himself. He would come to understand but the process would have to be approached carefully. The god tended to His worshippers, feeding on their devotion to Him and responding to their needs and praise graciously.

After the service ended, the worshippers rose and left bit by bit, leaving Sam and Daniel alone in the altar chamber. Daniel rose slowly and sheathed his sword, then stood staring up uncertainly at the statue of his lord, puzzling over the god's words. Sam rose, formed the sword cross to the statue and bowed his head respectfully, then slid his blades into their scabbards and walked over to join his partner.

He saw the look of deep worry on Daniel's face and frowned at the depth of it. "Dan? What's wrong?"

"Sam..." Daniel asked softly, still staring up at the statue. "Have you ever felt like your prayers were both answered and not answered at the same time?"

"You know He always does what He feels is best for people, right? You've always trusted Him before, so why not now?" Sam hugged Daniel gently. "Have confidence, Daniel. He knows what He's doing."

"I thought you were the one who trusted Him the least," Daniel said with a slight chuckle.

"Well... I admit I had trouble doing so... Sometimes He does something that'll really piss me off."

"Like making you Head Priest without saying anything to you about it first?" Daniel asked with a grin despite his worry for the twins.

"Yeah... Like that," Sam answered ruefully. "But in the end it was for the best. When I led that service just now... It felt right," he said as he turned to stare up into the face of the statue. "For the first time, I felt like I was where I belong. Like I'd finally started to truly fulfill my purpose in life. I'm not scared, angry or doubting myself like I was... It feels good."

"I'm happy for you," Daniel said and kissed him deeply. "I just wish that I could feel the same... Sam, something's wrong with the twins and I know it's not my imagination."

Sam felt guilty, wishing he could tell Daniel the truth and hating that he couldn't. What do I do? he thought, feeling lost.

Sam... Let me use you so that I can tell him.

Are you sure he's ready to know?

Not really but he'll learn eventually and the more time he has to dwell upon it, the more time he'll have to come to terms with the knowledge. Also, he has the right to know the truth.

Alright. Go ahead.

Apollo entered the body of his priest and stared up at the statue of Himself, taking a long, deep breath to steady His nerves. "Daniel," He spoke and heard the Spartan gasp in shock.

"Lord," Daniel breathed, then knelt quickly.

"I do not know if you will wish to continue to kneel before Me once I have said what I must," Apollo said timidly, looking sadly at his worshipper through Sam's face. "You won't like what I'm about to tell you but you deserve to know... I can only hope that you will understand in time."

Daniel looked up at his god within his love in shock and confusion. "Lord... What do you mean?"

Apollo sighed deeply. "I've looked into the twins' future as well as into their hearts. They have already found their partners, Daniel. They met before they were ever even born... Daniel... Marcus and Jason are partner-bound to each other... Deep down inside, you've already seen that it's true."

"It can't be," Daniel sobbed, hanging his head in grief. "Please tell me it's not true!"

"It -is- true. Daniel... This isn't something I had planned. I never considered that such a thing would be possible when I first gave the partner bond ability to Spartans. I asked Hathor about this but she would only tell me two things. First, that 'a person cannot choose who they love. A person will love who is right for them and no one else can be their true partner'. The second was 'the partner bond will always ensure healthy children no matter who the parents are'. The sons that Marcus and Jason will bear will be healthy and strong."

"They can't have kids! It's sick!" Daniel said with tears in his eyes.

"When you look at the boys, Daniel, do you not see how happy they are together? Do you not see the love that exists between them? They are happy together. Would you deny them true happiness simply because of what you believe is right or wrong? Would you make them miserable for the sake of your own comfort?" He looked down at the kneeling Spartan with the deepest pity.

"But... It's just so wrong!"

"The reason people object to incest is because the offspring would be sickly... But the twins will have perfectly normal sons despite being physically identical. Also, they are not the only ones who will be like this, Daniel. -All- Spartan twins will be this way. But they are still your sons and will need your love and understanding... Also," Apollo added as he raised His voice somewhat with a sigh of suffering, looking to the south side doorway with a surge of annoyance, "it is very rude to listen in on other people's conversations, Henry Danielson!"

Henry? Sam thought in shock.

Daniel turned in shock, then looked at his son angrily as the boy moved slowly into the doorway from the wall beyond it, looking deeply guilty. "How long have you been there?" the parent asked his son, disapproval thick in his voice.

"Long enough to hear everything," Apollo sighed. "Enter," He said with a sigh of resignation and gestured for the lad to come in.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snoop..." Henry apologized. "I just got worried when my dads didn't come out with everyone else."

"So now you too know the truth about your brothers," Apollo said as Henry knelt before his god. "Henry, you must promise never to say anything of this to anyone else. To do so would ruin your brothers' lives as well as those of the rest of your family and even people's belief in Me. Do you understand?"

Henry nodded gravely. "I promise."

"Daniel?" Apollo asked, turning to the parent.

The father hung his head. "I need time to think about this."

"Daniel..." the god said thickly. "Please don't hate Me for this. I truly did not intend for this to happen. But they will be happy together. Does that not count for something?"

Daniel looked saddened. "I don't hate you, Lord. And I don't blame You either... I'm just scared, is all."

"I know."

"What about my dads?" Daniel asked.

"Matthew may be able to accept the truth in time... But as for David? I think it would be too much for him to accept. I don't think it would be healthy for him to know, at least not for a while... More than that, I cannot say. The free will of mortals makes the future hard to predict sometimes. I honestly have no idea how he'd react, so I recommend we go slowly for now. Let them each discover the truth when they're ready for it."

"Alright," Daniel said softly. "I won't tell them. What about the twins themselves? Do they know?"

"No," Apollo said. "I'd recommend waiting until they reach puberty. Once that happens, they'll realize the truth. That's when they'd need all of the love and support you all can give them."

"Alright. I'll try to understand, Lord."

"That is all the right I have to ask... That you try."

Sam's shoulders slumped slightly and he looked at his husband uncertainly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you right away. I was scared of how you'd react."

Daniel stood and hugged him. "It's okay," he said gently. "I forgive you."

With hearts that were only slightly less heavy than they could have been, the three bowed low to the statue of their god respectfully, then returned to the house...

Sam and Daniel laid awake in bed later that night. "Are you okay?" Sam asked, worried for his partner's well-being.

"I knew it..." Daniel replied softly. "I knew it was true but I couldn't admit it to myself... Sam, what are we going to do?"

"We'll be here for them and offer them our support. I can't love them any less simply because they love differently from other Spartans. They make each other happy... And in the end, that's all that matters."

"But what will people say? Sam, they'll never be able to have a normal life, at least not publicly. I just want them to be safe and happy."

"I do too. They'll need us Dan. I won't treat my sons like freaks because their bond is different from most."

"I know... I'll try to learn to accept it. They're my sons too and I see how happy they are together. It's just going to take some getting used to, I guess."

They lapsed into silence, then fell asleep in each others' arms, feeling uncertain about the future...

Getting used to the differences in the weather was a major adjustment for Sam and the boys, who had spent all of their lives in Minnesota and had to adjust to the mild Winters of California. Tracy laughed at Sam when he began to pull out the thick coats that Midwesterners wore for the harsh cold of Winter.

"What are those?" she exclaimed with stunned amusement as she helped the Spartan unpack their winter gear.

"The Winter coats, hats, scarves and gloves," he replied simply.

"These thick things?" Tracy asked in shock, examining the heavily insulated gloves in disbelief. "Where are you guys planning on going for Winter? Antarctica?"

"Hello! There's this little thing called wind-chill," he retorted lightly, looking at her like she was daft.

"Huh?" the Amazon asked. "What's that?"

"You mean you don't know?" Sam asked, stunned that she hadn't the faintest clue as to what he was talking about.

"Sorry," Tracy apologized, shrugging helplessly.

Sam sighed. "Wind-chill is when the air feels colder than it actually is. Just like the heat index is when it feels hotter outside that it really is."

"Ok," she said with an amused smile. "Where're you getting all of that from?"

"That's what Winter and Summer are like, at least in Minnesota."

"That's not what it's like here!" she countered. "Winters must be a lot harsher there than here."

"Well," Sam said slowly. "It gets down to the teens in February and the wind-chill can drive temperatures down to twenty below on average bad days in the Twin Cities area."

"You mean it can get to minus twenty degrees cold?!?" She asked in shock. "No wonder you guys moved!"

"Is it really that mild here?" he asked.

"If you guys try to wear all of this in mid-Winter here, you'll all burst into flames!" she laughed.

"Well damn!" Sam exclaimed in frustration. "Then what -do- people here wear in cold weather?"

"Tell you what... Me and Alice were debating what to get you guys as housewarming gifts, so why don't we take you all out coat shopping in August?"

"You don't have to do that," Sam said, feeling dumb and embarrassed.

"Oh let us do this for you guys! I insist!"

Sam, feeling helpless, could only shrug and accept her offer graciously...

The family and their Amazon friends were together for a weekend barbeque in autumn, Sam still unable to believe just how much warmer it was here in comparison to Minnesota this time of year.

David and the twins were in the house getting the burgers ready for the grill while Tracy and Alice were playfully teasing Henry.

"Oh look at you!" Alice teased, pinching the lad's cheek as he rolled his eyes. "You're going to drive the boys crazy!"

"And coming from Amazons," Tracy added with a smile, "that's quite the compliment. I mean what do we know about men?"

The blonde Amazon rose and looked to her partner thoughtfully. "I've heard that some of them are good for moving furniture..." Alice said slowly, "but that's about it."

"Hey!" Matthew protested mildly in mock-affront.

"Knock it off," Henry grumbled in annoyance as the Spartan adults smiled and chuckled in amusement at the lad's distress. Sally was the only one who looked sympathetic to her friend's plight.

"But you're so adorable!" Alice cooed.

"Tell me about it," Sam said with a smile. "I tell you, if I didn't already have my own partner, I'd be all over him in a heartbeat!" Everyone stopped in shock and stared at him in disbelief. "What?" he asked.

"SAM!" Daniel exclaimed in horror. "He's your own son! Besides, he's only a boy!"

"So?" Sam asked. "I mean come on! He's cute and I am a priest. People will automatically assume I'm a pedophile anyways, so I might as well-"

Suddenly, his head snapped forward sharply, exactly as if an invisible hand had smacked him hard on the back of the skull. "Ow! Ow! Ow! okay, yeah... I kinda earned that one..." he said in pain, rubbing the back of his head.

"Well serves you right!" Matthew said firmly. "Seriously, Sam!"

"It's just a joke," he replied softly. "Sorry about that. Henry, you know I just joking, right?"

"Yeah," the boy said heavily. "But you deserved to get clobbered... Thanks, Lord Apollo," he said aloud.

Sam grumbled as everyone had a mild laugh at his expense...

Over the course of the next year, the temple was built up in full as the worshippers came steadily. Some of those who had been scared away at first had returned but not as many as Sam had hoped. He and Walter ran the priesthood through their training, the donations to the temple being enough to allow the temple to pay each of them a modest salary for their services, although some did maintain part-time side jobs to supplement their incomes with Apollo's approval. Nathan progressed rapidly, seeming to have a true affinity for the swords and also having a gift for languages.

Leanne also progressed rapidly. Sam took her aside one day about two months into her training and asked the question he'd been dying to ask. "So why are you, an Amazon, a priestess of Apollo?" he asked with a smile. "Won't Hathor have something to say about that?"

Leanne shook her head with a smile. "She isn't a jealous goddess. For a while I -had- considered becoming Her priestess but that would involve constant travel all the time. I'm a gal who's just too set in her ways and could never be happy living that kind of life. Hathor knows this and approves of me serving Lord Apollo instead. She knows He needs me more that She does and told me it was alright. So I'm here and glad to serve."

"Well, if She doesn't have a problem with it, then good to hear."

The security guards were also trained in the use of swords. This was something that Sam had insisted on, as many people here would be carrying blades and he wanted his security staff ready for anything. They were also equipped with tazers and pepper spray as the head priest preferred the use of non-lethal force as much as possible. There was also a small, secure lock up room for troublemakers just in case someone had to be detained until the police could arrive.

Finally, the temple was fully constructed and they planned a celebration on the one-year anniversary of the temple founding. Seeing just how successful the soup kitchen was, he got an idea and rented a bus to carry homeless people up from the city for the day so that they could have a nice meal, although he made sure to clarify where the meat was coming from. A few balked but not many. Sam was saddened to see just how many people were without homes and jobs. A Latino man named Pedro stayed in the altar room for quite some time after the meal.

Sam saw Maxwell enter the room gently and go to tell the man that the bus would soon be leaving. Sam was about to walk away when he saw them both pause, staring at each other. Sam stopped, seeing Maxwell offer a trembling hand, which Pedro took and shook slowly. Sam watched them silently with a smile, seeing the intense look in their eyes as they stared at each other. He smiled, recognizing a partner bond forming between them and remembering the day that he and Daniel had first met.

Sam still felt guilty about having run away. He'd never felt so strongly about anyone before and the power of the bond had terrified him. He had thought that it was only he who had felt that way and believed that it would only end in heartbreak for him. He had fled, then spent the next week tearing himself apart mentally over it, feeling terrified of his feelings and at the same time, hating himself for making Daniel look so hurt when Sam had pulled away in fear. Things had worked out for them in the end and he watched with a slightly worried expression as Pedro and Maxwell looked into each others' eyes, hoping that their bond would start more smoothly than his own had.

But his fears were groundless, as the pair began to speak softly to each other and the head priest saw that all was well. He sighed with relief and left quietly so as not to disturb them. He felt happy that Maxwell, who volunteered three times a week as one of the temple cooks, had found happiness. The temple truly was bringing people together just as Sam had hoped...

Life continued on as normal for another year and the temple got into a regular routine. There were public services open to all and Spartan-only services, seeing as how there were about five dozen Spartans in the region who were devoutly Apolline. The Spartans loved having religious services all their own and expressed their gratitude to Sam that they could still worship their god in the traditional fashion.

Sacrifices took place each month on the eve of the full moon and any who wished to could bear witness. Being head priest, Sam was obligated to undergo the full length set of all seven presentations then offer the first sacrifice, then any two other members of the priesthood who had been chosen in advance by mutual consent, would offer the second and third sacrifices. Sam had the priesthood rotate regularly in this duty, so that all of them could have chances throughout the year to show their devotion and level of commitment to their lord. After that, Sam, as head priest with three growing boys and no alternate income, seeing as how he had retired his work from home web design business as it took away too much time from his priestly duties, was allotted a modest portion of the meat. The rest, as well as those offered during the lesser weekly sacrifices in which only a single animal was offered, went to the kitchens to be cooked and offered in the soup kitchen that now ran once a week on Sundays to feed the needy.

Sam stood there one day watching as a few stray individuals prayed to Lord Apollo, then left looking much happier. Smiling, he walked out the front entrance for a bit of fresh air and was shocked when a man dashed up to him holding an open can of red paint. "Murderer! Leave those animals alone!" the man screamed, brandishing the can.

Shocked, Sam flinched as the man thrust forward the can, then froze in confusion as the paint that he'd flinched away from failed to hit him. He looked up to see the man try again and again but the pain wouldn't leave the can. Confused, the activist looked down at the open can... And the wet paint suddenly exploded upwards in a geyser, dousing the hapless person in crimson coloring.

Sam stood there, trembling with emotion, then suddenly clapped both hands over his mouth and ran back into the temple and ducked into a corner as he finally burst out in hysterical laughter.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me!" he wheezed into his hands, shaking and laughing so hard he lost his breath. It was several minutes before he calmed down enough to catch his breath.

I thought you'd like that, Apollo said into his mind.

Thanks for looking out for me! ...I thought things like that only happened in cartoons!

Well... Nancy went through so much effort to make that nice robe for you and I thought that it would be a pity to see it ruined because of one bigot.

You know I have a full set of seven robes, right?

Yes but still...

Sam sighed as he recovered and went back to his duties with a smile, which began to fade with mild concern for what was to come... Because he only hoped that tomorrow would go as smoothly as life at the temple was, for the most part...

Sam and Henry, now ten-years old, entered the school office late the next morning and walked up to the counter. "Hello," the secretary said with a smile. "How can I help you?"

"Hi," Sam answered with a smile. "I'd like to enroll my son Henry for next year."

"Alright, let's take down the information. Student's name?"

"Henry Danielson," the lad replied.

"And your father's name?"

"Well, one's Sam Apolloson..."

"Sam... Apolloson...? And how do you spell that, Sir?" she asked the parent.

"A-P-O-L-L-O-S-O-N," Sam spelled it slowly for the woman.

The secretary looked at him oddly for a moment, as though trying to remember something, then cleared her throat and turned back to her computer. "Mother's name?"

"I don't have a mother but my other father's name is Daniel Matthewson," Henry answered.

The woman paused, looking at Henry for a moment before smiling with relief. "Oh you're Spartan! Why didn't you say so?"

"You're okay with that?" Sam asked her nervously.

"Oh goodness yes! We already have two Spartan boys and an Amazon girl enrolled, not to mention another Spartan enrolling as well, so Henry here will make two to start next year."

"Really?" Henry asked, looking excited.

"Yep," the secretary said enthusiastically. "And the staff," she said to Sam, "has been well educated on Spartan and Amazon culture, so there shouldn't be any issues on that front, either."

"Well that's good to hear," Sam replied with relief.

They filled out the paperwork and left the school in high spirits, Henry looking forward to entering school next year.

He actually -wants- to go to school? Sam thought, looking at his son. He -definitely- takes more after Dan then me on that, the adult thought, shaking his head sadly as he led the way to the car...

Three months later, Sam and Daniel became Emergent again, much to the family's joy. Daniel and Sam talked it over that first morning. "So how are we going to handle this?" Daniel asked gently.

"Well," Sam said slowly. "I have the twins but you only have Henry. Do you want to carry another son?"

"Yeah but what about you? Don't you want to carry more sons too?"

"Yes but one gestation at a time is enough for us for now at least. I doubt we could handle being gestant at the same time. I can wait until next time. I know it'll happen for me again, so you go ahead."

"Thanks... I love you, Babe."

"I love you too, Love." Sam answered softly...

The boys were very curious about the filaments, which resembled white feathers growing out of there dads' navels and slowly working out in a fanning, disk shape across their torsos. Henry was wanting to touch them, so Sam sat the boy down and explained it to him and the twins. "The filaments are made of raw nerve endings, so having them is painful. Even air blowing across them hurts a lot."

"Can we touch them?" Marcus asked timidly.

"We'll be careful," Jason added.

Sam sighed. "Alright but only for a moment and treat them very gently, like they're the single most fragile thing in the world, okay?"

The boys nodded and the twins reached forward to brush the translucent substance lightly with their fingers. Sam tried hard not to flinch at the contact as intense pain lanced through him and he gritted his teeth as he allowed the boys to gently explore his filaments, wanting them to get used to seeing them and understand more about the nature of Spartans.

After several moments, the pain began to make him sweat. Seeing this, they pulled away, noting their father's distress.

"It hurts that much?" Jason asked and Sam nodded silently.

"We're sorry," Marcus added softly, looking guilty.

"It's okay," Sam said softly. "You all have the right to see what it's like so that you won't be going into it blind when your times come. Henry? You want to...?"

The eldest son walked up to his father nervously and leaned in close to see the filaments, then gently and slowly reached forward to touch them, seeing his dad Sam flinch as the boy's fingers touched his reproductive substance. Henry only touched them for a few moments as Sam tried not to flinch away despite the intense pain.

"I'm home," Daniel said, coming in the back door.

Henry suddenly turned, grazing his father's filaments sharply as he turned, making Sam scream in pain and jerk away. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Henry apologized quickly as Daniel, having heard the scream, raced into the room.

"What's wrong?" he asked, wincing in his own pain as he entered the room, his work shirt and jacket pinned back to leave his own filaments untouched by the fabric. He walked over to Sam with concern. "You okay?" he asked with concern.

Sam nodded weakly. "Just a little accident is all. I'll be alright, Henry. Just don't ask to touch them again, okay?" he asked with a weak smile.

"Okay," Henry said, looking horribly guilty and on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry."

"I forgive you... Just please don't do it again, okay?"

"I won't," the lad promised.

"What were you all doing?" Daniel asked once he saw that Sam was beginning to recover.

"I was letting them see my filaments up close and you startled Henry. He accidently brushed them. I'll be okay. It's not like I'm using this batch anyways."

"But still," Daniel said, then turned to his eldest son. "Henry, filaments are very fragile and incredibly painful to the man who has them. You must always be very careful with them, no matter who's they are, okay?"

The boy nodded solemnly...

A week later, Matthew and David took the boys out for dinner and a movie so that Sam and Daniel could have some alone time. The filaments on both of them were now fully exposed and the Emergent couple retired for awhile, laying beside each other gently. The filaments now looked like a disk upon their stomachs that was centered over the navel and were comprised of feathers that overlapped each other in a fanning pattern.

"You ready to be a dad again?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Daniel answered.

They kissed passionately for several minutes, trying to ignore their discomfort as best they could. After awhile, Sam was ready to inseminate his husband and got up awkwardly due to the discomfort of his filaments. "Urgh! This was way easier to do when I was human," he chuckled, making Daniel laugh until he winced as his contracting abdominals disturbed his own filaments.

As Sam got into position by straddling Daniel's thighs, the waiting Spartan looked up into his partner's eyes. "One bit of advice... Be careful of your filaments while you masturbate."

"Right," Sam replied, recalling how their night of conception for the twins had started a bit rocky. Daniel had been masturbating and accidentally bumped his filaments, then spent the next fifteen minutes recovering from the sudden pain he had inflicted on himself. Sam masturbated carefully, using a dry hand to ensure that nothing, not even lube, would interfere with conception. "I'm getting close," he breathed.

"Go ahead," Daniel breathed, bracing himself.

Sam groaned, looking deep into Daniel's eyes as he came, glancing down only long enough to make sure his aim was true. His sperm splashed onto Daniel's waiting torso, making him gasp in agony as the fluid landed on the raw nerve endings, causing incredible pain for the father-to-be. Once Sam was finished, he carefully moved off to Daniel's side and held his hand, not protesting at the almost bone-cracking grip of his partner, who nearly sobbed as he felt as though liquid fire had been poured onto him. The filaments began to move, curling inwards to bring the sperm to the egg in Daniel's navel which waited to be fertilized.

The next hour was one of pure torment for Daniel, Sam looking at his partner sadly and wishing that the pain didn't have to be. He nearly cried as he watched his partner endure the agony of conception, kissing the side of Daniel's head tenderly and pressing his brow to his love's temple as he offered silent support to his husband.

Finally, Daniel shuddered and let out a long, deep sigh as the agony ended and the bubble that was the beginnings of his womb took form. They laid still for several minutes to make sure that conception was complete, then Sam used clean towels to dry the sweat from Daniel's body, making sure not to disturb the proto-womb positioned directly overtop of Daniel's navel as he did so. Then he laid beside his love and they kissed.

"Thank you," Daniel said softly as they fell asleep for awhile...

They awoke two hours later and Daniel put on a pair of low rise briefs before the couple headed downstairs to eat. They reached the kitchen just as the rest of the family got home.

"Daniel?" Matthew asked nervously with the beginnings of a smile. The now-expectant Spartan gestured to his navel area with a sound of eagerness. "Dan! That's wonderful!"

"Congratulations, Son," David added, happy for his child as he kissed the Spartan's forehead.

"Thanks, Dad David."

"What is that?" Henry asked his gestating father, scrunching up his face with distaste as he looked at the bubble closely without touching it.

"That," Daniel answered slowly, "is the beginnings of your new baby brother. Over the next nine months, the filaments will spread out to form a webwork that will support my growing womb as he gets bigger bit by bit. Then when he's ready to come out the filaments will start to break away and your Dad Sam will reach inside and pull him out of me, cut his umbilical cord and our family will become a little bit bigger."

"That's really a baby in there?" Henry asked, sounding very interested.

The parents sat him down and answered the boy's questions patiently as Henry showed a great deal of interest in the process...

Sam's filaments separated and fell out over the next two days and nights and by the third morning were completely gone, taking with them his discomfort. Henry, meanwhile continued to ask questions for the following days and months, wanting to know everything. Once he'd grilled every member of the family, he began to talk with the temple staff all about medicine and first aid, wanting to learn as much as he could. Sam realized that he had seen the boy watching medical dramas as often as he could, which the parent had thought strange for a ten year old but had allowed it seeing as how it wasn't harming anything and might potentially lead to something good.

Over the next four months, Daniel's womb continued to grow and his temper grew a bit short once more as he became irritable from his increased hormone levels. Henry continued to show an interest in the developments in his brother-to-be, as did the twins to a lesser extent. The family noted Henry's interest and the parents and grandparents agreed to each begin to add more on the parents' parts and begin to add on the grandparents' parts, to the boy's college fund as they grew a very strong suspicion about what direction the boy's future would take.

In the meantime, Sam continued to run the temple smoothly as well as work with the group that would end up running the Des Moines temple to set it up. Priest Devin Milesson of the New York temple was chosen to run it, asking Sam for advice often. Sam put him in touch with the same committee that had helped found the Santa Rosa temple and they went to work on designing the Midwest one and went to work on taking care of all the details...

Apollo sighed, holding the ream of blank printer paper from one of the temple's copiers in Sam's hand as he inhabited the body of His head priest. Do I really have to go this far? He asked the man whose body He was sharing.

People are skeptical and require proof. You should know that way better than I do. I still can't believe You're going to do this with my body as it is but even the doubters will have a hard time disbelieving if we do this part first.

Apollo kept Sam's face impassive as He reached down with Sam's empty hand and tore open the paper wrapping around the crisp blank paper. Then as the crowd watched, He walked Sam's body forward... Directly into the ever burning bonfire in its pit within the altar chamber.

Many people gasped in shock, a few folks screamed while one or two made protests as to the accuracy of what they were seeing. Apollo let the paper fall bit by bit to be incinerated by the flames of the fire that surrounded Him as he stood there in Sam's body. As He did so, He felt the mortal's nervousness. Calm yourself. I will not allow any harm to befall you.

He felt Sam slowly relax bit by bit. Well... This is kind of cool... Even though it's technically hot.

The god sighed mentally at the bad joke and returned His attention to the worshippers. "Let all who wish to receive My blessings step forward without fear. I will not allow the flames to harm you. As My head priest believes in Me and takes courage, so too do I call upon you to show the same courage and come forward."

Only Priest Walter stepped forward boldly to receive blessings from his lord, who leaned Sam's body forward and reached out of the fire to lay a hand upon the offered head. "Blessings," He said gratefully.

Seeing that Walter was unharmed, the worshippers found their courage and stepped forward to form a line to feel the power of the touch of their god...

"Henry! Breakfast!" Daniel called out but there was no answer. "HENRY!"

"I'll get him," Sam said, running up the back stairs from the kitchen to the second floor. He knocked on Henry's bedroom door. "Hey kiddo! Aren't you hungry?" He heard frantic scrambling behind the door. "Henry? What's going on in there?"

Worried the boy was up to something wrong, he broke his own rule and opened the door, then poked his head inside.

"Dad Sam! I didn't say you could come in!"

"Now you know how we feel," Sam responded dryly. "What are you up to in here?"

"N-nothing," the lad said, looking very guilty and embarrassed.

"Son, you are without a doubt the single worst liar I've ever met. What were you doing?" Henry blushed furiously. "Oh shit..." Sam said softly. "I caught you masturbating, didn't I?"

Henry blushed so hard it was a wonder he didn't pass out.

Sam sighed. "Has it gone down yet?"

The lad nodded nervously. "Don't be scared Henry, It's perfectly natural. After breakfast, I want to sit down with you. It's clearly time for you to learn about sex."

"Dad Sam!" Henry protested weakly.

"No! You seriously need to know this stuff... It's not all just about getting your rocks off, Fella. There's things you need to know about in order to keep yourself safe. After breakfast, we'll have a talk, okay?" He saw the boy hesitate. "Sex is perfectly natural, you know. I had to learn about it all on my own. They didn't even teach us about it in school. I won't leave you to stumble your way through it blindly and run the risk of getting sick with something nasty, or worse, incurable, okay? Let me teach you about this. It's really incredibly important that you learn about this. I couldn't live with myself if something bad happened to you simply because you didn't know about it in advance!"

"Ok," the lad replied softly, seeing just how much his parent was worried for him.

After breakfast, Sam sat him down and explained sex to him, both for pleasure and for reproduction. Then he allowed Henry to watch a few of his fathers' porno videos so he could see what sex was like not counting reproduction, as the men in the videos were all human. He had only to agree to not tell anyone else no matter what. Only Dad Daniel could be let in on this. He had been told that humans hated the thought of minors being involved in anything sexual and could take him away from them if he told anyone, even his friends who might take to gossiping about it. He readily agreed.

Henry discovered his libido was increasing and found himself first experimenting, then tending to his own needs several times a day. He was really embarrassed about this increase in his needs but priest Walter, whom the boy had sought out as going to any of his family, even Dad Sam, was too embarrassing for the lad, sat him down and calmly explained that such a thing was completely natural for a boy his age and gave the boy some advice on how to handle his needs appropriately.

Henry became even more embarrassed when he opened his sock drawer to discover that some condoms had been put there for him. With them was a note in his Granddad Matthew's handwriting. 'We would prefer that you wait to have sex,' it read, 'but carry these with you... Just in case.'

Blushing furiously, Henry put two of them into his wallet with trembling hands...

Sam's first true test as head priest was when a Spartan/human couple asked him to preside over the confirmation of their baby boy. Sam had known that he would one day have to do this but he had hoped that it would be longer in coming. He stood nervously within the anteroom outside the altar chamber, silently praying to his lord that he wouldn't have to do something he would regret for the rest of his life.

He heard the gong sound, warning all within the temple of the possibility of blood being spilled within the altar chamber and felt sick to his stomach. Sacrificing animals was one thing but this? Could he really murder someone? If anyone interfered in the Rite, they were to be killed for affronting the gods. If the baby wasn't Spartan, if his filaments did not Emerge, then he had to be killed to appease the gods for claiming Spartan heritage falsely. It was the duty of the birth father to do the deed if need be. If he did not, then it was Sam's duty as head priest to kill both the child for his false claim, then the birth father for failing to uphold the will of the gods.

This was the single worst duty of a Spartan priest of Apollo, one that they all dreaded regardless of age and experience. Sam wasn't sure if he could go through with it... He didn't want to kill anyone. Walter had tried to comfort him but Sam had never been more nervous in his life. He was worried about what would happen if he did end up killing someone. What would happen to his family if he did? Also, what would happen to him? He waited outside the altar chamber, filled with dread. Sam didn't know what else to do, so he knelt and prayed to his lord that he would not have to kill anyone. Walter found him that way and waited respectfully for his head priest to rise, seeing the look of fear still in Sam's eyes.

"Sam," he said kindly. "I wish there was a way to make this easier on you but I know you can see this through. Come what may, I trust in you, as does our lord and His worshippers gathered here. You have the strength you will need to endure this."

"Make me a promise," Sam asked softly, "that you and the guys will take care of my family... Just in case."

"We will," Walter said thickly.

"Jerold knows what to do, he's been through this before," Sam said, thinking of the Spartan father of the child. "But Dylan hasn't experienced this before. Neither has Dennis." The human parent and Walter's partner were both completely ignorant of this Rite and what it entailed. Dennis had insisted on being present, wanting to make sure he knew all the functions of the temple and Apolline faith.

"Maxwell and I will be with Dennis and Nathan and Reginold will be with Dylan. Do not worry for them. And do not worry about yourself, either. Apollo sets us no task we cannot endure."

"I hope you're right," the head priest replied heavily. Just then, Nathan appeared. "Everything is ready, Head Priest."

Sam nodded his readiness and they all entered the chamber.

The head priest took his position facing the statue of Apollo and began to chant his Grecian prayer, which was a recitation of the origins of the Spartans as they now existed. Once he was finished, Sam turned to the congregation, burying his fear and doubt deep inside until it no longer showed, looking firm of stance and bearing. "Who do I see before me?" he asked in formal tones.

"The sons of Sparta!" the Spartan members of the assembly shouted.

"And how do you exist?" He asked.

"By the divine intervention of our most gracious god Apollo!" they cried.

"And what do you require?" Sam asked firmly.

"The blessing of holy Zeus, this day and always."

The Spartans readied themselves for the next portion of the right by placing their hands to the hilts of their sheathed blades, Jerold positioning his infant son high on his left shoulder and carefully supporting him with his left arm only as he took hold of his sheathed weapon.

"And for what reason were you created?" Sam asked gravely.

The Spartan men drew their swords as one, then raised them in the air and shouted together "For vengeance!" Sam felt his warrior's blood singing in his veins once again as they sounded that cry.

Everyone sheathed their swords, except for Jerold who merely lowered the blade of confirmation. Sam stepped forward from the dais and approached the waiting parents with their child. "Who do you bring?" he asked.

"A son of Sparta" both answered firmly.

"And how is he called?"

"Norman, Son of Jerold and Dylan," they answered just as firmly.

"And he was borne of?"

"Jerold, son of Kevin."

"And how will he live?"

"By the creation of Apollo, the blessing of Zeus and through the forbearance of Hera" the parents again answered together firmly.

"Mighty Apollo" the Spartans prayed, "For vengeance and out of sympathy for our tears for our mothers you created us. You blessed us and set us apart from all other men. By your divine intervention alone we exist and give birth to new life and keep the memory of our home and your mercy alive across the years. We thank you for this, your new son, born to keep the same memory alive into a new generation. Divine Hera, we cry with you and ask you to moderate your anger. Out of grief for our mothers we continue to accept both blessing and curse and pray to you, reluctant mother of us all, that you will one day forgive our impertinence. Mighty Zeus, creator of all, who granted your blessing on the whole world and confirmed your love for the men of Sparta, be with us this hour as we welcome our newest brother and son to the fold. In the name of the people of Sparta we pray."

"Jerold and Dylan," Sam spoke, "Bring Norman forward. Offer him upon the altar" he said, walking towards the stone bier and standing behind it. They walked forwards and Dylan carefully laid Norman in his blanket upon the altar. He then backed away slowly until he joined the others, looking rather worried.

"You claim this boy to be a son of Sparta?" Sam asked Jerold.

"Yes, I do," the parent answered firmly.

"Do you know what Apollo requires from those who take the Spartan name in vain?"

"Yes, I do."

"And should your claim be proven false do you have the strength to do what is necessary?"

Jerold looked like he was going to be sick, his voice trembling slightly as he spoke his next response. "Yes, I do" he answered, spinning the sword around and raising it upwards, aiming at the baby's heart.

Sam put his hands on his sword hilts and dropped to one knee. "Mighty Apollo. We thank you for your divine intervention. We most humbly beg that you identify and claim as your own the sons of Sparta here present and accept as a sacrifice those who claim your parentage falsely."

Sam grunted in pain as his filaments emerged and heard similar sounds of discomfort from the other Spartans within the room. Sam tightened the grip on his swords as he rose slowly to bear witness and made himself ready... Just in case he had to do the unthinkable. He sighed in relief, then smiled with happiness as the feathery filaments emerged from the boy's navel. Sam leaned over and grasped the tendrils between his thumb and forefinger. The baby let out a high, shrieking scream and began to wail in pain and fear. Sam let go as quickly as he'd gotten hold, yet the boy continued to wail.

"Apollo you bless us with your gift and your presence, hold us in your arms we pray," he said. "Hera your curse is our dignity and identity, look with mercy upon us we pray. Zeus we present this, our brother Norman Jeroldson as a true son of Sparta and worthy by all present to be called kin."

"Worthy by all present to be called kin" everyone repeated together.

The head priest then got to his feet and let go of his swords. "Son of Sparta" he said with deep relief and calmness, "Lower your sword and recognize your brother."

Jerold nearly sobbed as he gently slid the terrible blade back into its scabbard. Sam bent down and lifted Norman up off of the altar, kissed him gently, walked down and handed him to Dylan, who was looking very green and nearly snatched his child from the Spartan's arms. Sam looked on the human with pity for a moment, then smiled down at the boy as he spoke the closing line of the rite. "Let us welcome our son and brother!" With that, many sighed with relief as the somber mood broke.

Sam sighed once more as the parents took their son out for the celebratory party, followed by the other worshippers. Sam then watched with worry as Dylan yanked Jerold away with a grim look, whispering to him in furious tones and all but literally dragging him towards the nearest daycare room. Walter saw the human pulling his partner away viciously. "I'll tend to this. I have more experience in the matter than you and I don't think your presence will be helpful in this, Head Priest."

"Thanks," Sam replied weakly before Walter hurried off after them.

Dennis approached Sam hesitantly. "I didn't know it would be like that," he said solemnly.

"How are you holding up?" Sam asked nervously.

"To be honest," Dennis said, looking rather disturbed, "I've felt better. Do all Apolline Spartans undergo that?"

"Only the truly devout ones. If you're wondering, I believe that Walter will wish to do so as well."

The human nodded gravely. "I'm glad I know what to expect."

"Would you be willing to go through with it?"

"I think so. I can see just how important it is to you guys. Once Walter and I have sons, if he wants to undergo that... I'll support him."

"He's lucky to have such an understanding partner."

"Thanks," Dennis said softly, then took his leave with a silent bow of respect.

Nathan walked over to him a few moments later. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Been better," Sam said shortly, still looking disturbed.

"Hey... Why not take go take a break? We can handle things from here," the lesser priest offered kindly.

"Ok, I'll go check up on Daniel... See how he's doing."

Nathan patted him on the back gently in sympathy before the head priest left. Sam walked up and into the house, nodding to Matthew who saw the expression on his face and squeezed his upper arm in pity, being aware of the rite taking place this day. Sam patted the offered hand, then walked up into the master bedroom where Daniel was watching TV. The gestating Spartan took one look at his partner, looked sad and motioned for his love to join him on the bed. Sam removed his robe and swords, then climbed in and cuddled as close as he could without risking harm to his partner's womb and began to cry as Daniel held him in his arm and kissed his partner's head gently...

Sam awoke a little while later, Daniel still comforting him. "Was it really that awful, Babe?" he asked the priest gently.

"It was scary, Dan. I think I hate that part more than being the father offering the child. It's strange... The experience is a lot different. When I offered Marcus and Jason and watched you offer Henry, it was different. I was there for the children and didn't have any doubts. Maybe because I believe so strongly in you all. But doing it for other people is something else... I don't really know them very well and that lack of familiarity makes it really easy to second guess the validity of the claim, you know? There's a lot more room for doubt."

"Lord Apollo never sets us any task we cannot meet, Sam. He knew you could do this... Just like I did."

Sam didn't know what to say to that. He went back down to the temple after a light lunch and located Walter who explained the situation. Dylan had been furious and sworn that he would never return to the temple, nor allow Norman to come with his Spartan father. The human would not say anything to anyone but only because he had seen how much Jerold was suffering at seeing his partner so enraged. Sam knew that the human would never leave his partner, because the bond of love could never allow for such a thing but the love between the pair was now scarred. Walter and Jerold had prayed to Apollo that one day Dylan would come around but Sam wasn't so sure, as Apollo was a firm believer in free will and would not force the human to accept his Spartan partner's beliefs.

Sam sighed to himself, feeling the comforting hand of his lord/father upon his shoulders. You did very well Sam. Do not worry for Jerold and Dylan. Things will work out for them.

"I hope so," Sam said softy, feeling guilty about having driven a wedge between the two...

After that, life at the temple continued with only occasional disturbances. Henry continued to show a growing interest in medicine, which Sam was both happy and oddly saddened about. He had hoped, after seeing how devout a worshipper the lad was, that the boy would follow in his Dad's footsteps and join the clergy. He had to admit, however, that having a doctor in the family would be nice, too. The twins had yet to settle on any carrier paths but Sam wasn't worried. After all, they were only eight years old and had well over another century of life in them, so let them take their time finding themselves.

Daniel became bedridden in the seventh month, causing him to become entirely dependent on the family for his needs. He killed time by either reading or watching TV, with Henry volunteering to play the part of caregiver as much as he could. It gave the two lots of time to spend together, although Sally came over often and the three would play card games or talk for hours in the time the Amazon girl had free from school. Sam joined in with them as much as his duties allowed, sharing in the caring for his husband during his gestation. Daniel, Sam and Sally compared notes on schooling and shared their experience with Henry so that he would know what to expect when he began to take classes next year.

Sam took Henry out shopping for his school supplies in June, wanting to beat the August rush by a wide margin. The following day, Henry was out walking around the neighborhood with Sally on Saturday in mid July when they stopped to sit under the same tree where they had first met. "So is school really difficult?" he asked her.

"It's not too bad," she replied slowly. "The hard part is putting up with all of the humans. They tend to treat us funny. I got teased a lot and a few tried to bully me at first but I slammed the captain of the football team's head into a locker and almost broke the nose of one of the members of the basketball team and everyone started to avoid me after that, not counting my friends of course. You'll probably make friends with girls more easily then the guys. They always act kind of nervous around Amazons and Spartans. Just don't let yourself get bullied and you'll be okay."

"I hope you're right," he replied nervously.

"So you want to become a doctor?" Sally asked him, changing the subject when she saw how nervous her friend was becoming.

"I don't know about doctor but I do like medicine and helping people get better."

"I'd have thought that you'd become a priest like your Dad Sam."

"I don't know... Maybe someday but Dad Sam is still new to being a priest and I've got lots of years left in me, so there's no hurry."

"I guess," Sally said loftily.

"What about you?" he asked her. "What do you want to be?"

"I don't know... Maybe a cop, or something."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"Yeah but I'm tough enough to handle it."

"You'll get no argument from me!" Henry said. He'd seen how even the bullies in the area avoided picking on the Amazon girl. They avoided Henry too but mostly because of his family's reputation for knowing how to handle swords very well, as well as the knowledge that his Dad Sam killed animals on a regular basis as sacrifices to their god.

"Wanna go watch the boats?" Sally asked.

"Sure," he answered and they headed off to the oceanside to watch the ships drift along the sea...

A few days later, Henry held a plastic Gatorade bottle in place as his Dad Daniel emptied his bladder into it. "Thanks for doing this, Son," Daniel said tearfully as he finished. "Ok, I'm done."

Henry pulled the bottle away and screwed on the top. He had to admit that this was a lot better than when his dad Daniel had to go number two. "You really can't get out of bed at all?" he asked.

Daniel shook his head sadly. "I don't dare to try. Any wrong movement could rip open my womb, resulting in either death or premature birth for your brother. I hate being like this but it's necessary. I don't want to risk losing him, not for anything."

"You had to go through all of this when you had me, huh?" Henry asked sadly.

"Yes Honey but it was worth it. Look how you turned out... You were more than worth every bit of pain and humiliation I went through. I'm so happy to have you as my son," Daniel said tearfully.

"Don't cry, Dad," Henry said, hugging his weeping parent carefully.

"I'm sorry to be all weepy. It's just that my hormones have my emotions all over the place lately. I suppose it's good for you to see all of this, since someday you'll find your partner and go through all of this, too."

"What's it like? Having a partner?" the boy asked with interest.

"It's wonderful... And a bit frustrating sometimes too. Much as I love Sam, he makes no sense at all sometimes. Makes me want to tear my hair out. Like his obsession with horror movies... And the way that he just... Occasionally he'll do something really weird that just shocks me so much, like the way he's so embarrassingly open about sex. I mean I like it too but does everyone have to know what all we do?" He sighed. "I really truly love your other dad but he really drives me crazy sometimes." The parent shook his head sadly, the raised his head with a wistful smile. "But I wouldn't give him up for anything. Even when we've fought."

"I wonder what my partner will be like..." Henry said thoughtfully, staring out the open window at the outer wall of the temple.

"Aren't you a little young to be worrying about that yet?" Daniel asked with a smile, shifting slightly in bed to relieve a bit of pressure on his lower back. "But I guess not. I started thinking about my partner when I was ten, too."

Henry frowned as he looked to his father Daniel. "Am I going to end up being all mushy like you guys when I find my partner?"

Daniel laughed gently, wincing slightly from the discomfort it caused. "Probably... The partner bonds in our family to tend to be unusually strong ones. Mine hit me like a sledgehammer to the face! ...I'll give you some advice, though. Try to be patient with him, whoever he is. He'll most likely be human and won't fully understand what's happening to him at the time."

"Like when Dad Sam ran away from you?" Henry asked, recalling the events of that day that his parents had told him.

"Yeah. He didn't understand what he was feeling and it scared him so much that he freaked out quite a bit and took off... But I forgave him long ago. When your find your partner, give him the time he'll need to come to terms with being bonded to you. Don't try to rush it no matter how strongly you feel for him. Trying to force the bond onto him could only harm him. Let him be the one to set the pace, okay?" Daniel asked, recalling how much Sam had suffered at first, as well as how much harder it had been on him when Daniel had tried to force himself onto the then human, thinking that the love between them would be enough to make the man see that the bond was a good thing.

Daniel was still to this day ashamed of how he had behaved then, when the bond was new and he had become obsessed with his new partner, convinced that Sam was fully aware of just what had happened. Daniel had thought that the love between them would be all that was needed and had been willfully ignorant as to just how hard it had been on Sam to accept such a powerful thing as the partner bond. But he had been wrong to do so and had only made it harder for Sam to understand what was happening to him at the time. Daniel didn't want Henry to repeat his mistakes and was willing to do his best to make sure his eldest son's bond started much more smoothly than his own had.

"I hope he's nice," Henry said, still wondering what his own partner would be like.

"He will be, Henry. Apollo never bonds us to anyone who isn't right for us," the parent said softly, realizing that he was beginning to come to terms with the knowledge that his twin sons were bonded to each other. "Take your brothers, for instance. Even though it may seem very strange to us, they're very good for each other."

"I guess," Henry said, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Hey," Daniel said, looking at his son with concern. "I admit that I'm not very thrilled with the idea either but they're still a part of our family. You don't love them any less do you?"

"Not really," Henry replied uncomfortably. "It's just really weird, is all."

"I know, I feel that way too. But I love them both and they'll need all of our love and support to help them along. Just be there for them too, okay?"

"Ok," the boy said softly...

Matthew stood there on the porch, smiling as he gazed at the temple that stood near him.

"Hey there," Sam said, coming out to join him in the early morning wearing his vestments and swords, stretching as he paused. The head priest was on the way to the temple for morning prayers and Matthew also stood ready in his simpler robe and single sword beneath it.

"Hi," Matthew said with a warm smile before he turned back to stare at the structure. "Man, just look at it. Dad Mike would've loved to have seen it," he said as a tinge of sadness came to him.

"You never talk about your parents," Sam said softly. It was true... All Sam knew of Matthew and Martins fathers was that they were dead.

The older Spartan sighed. "I know but they're your family too, even if they're gone, so you have the right to know what happened, I guess... I don't like to remember it but it's important to share it with you. During the initial riots after our existence was revealed to the humans, we were all terrified. My dads called us up and had the whole family get together for safety, so me and David took the boys, met up with Martin, who was still single then and drove out to their house in Detroit. I guess someone started to wonder why so many men were all in one house without any women and stormed the place. We tried to get out the back... Dad Bartholomew was in the rear of the group when humans started chasing after us, caught up with him and hit him hard in the head with a bat. We had our swords with us and stabbed the man. Didn't kill him though, much as I sometimes wish we had. It became a standoff between us and them until the cops arrived. An ambulance took Dad Bart away while the cops restrained Dad Mike, who kicked and screamed, begging and demanding to be allowed to go with his partner to the hospital but the humans didn't understand the bond and dragged him into a squad car with Martin, while me and David were put into another. They asked him if he was human but he lied so that he could stay with me. Daniel and Ryan were also arrested and we were all hauled away to prison.

"While we were in there, Dad Mike hardly spoke a word... He just withdrew into himself. Then one night he suddenly started sobbing and nothing we did would comfort him. We didn't find out until the next day but Dad Bart, who had been in a coma since he'd been hit in the head, had passed away in the night. It was like Dad Mike had felt it happen and gave up on living... He wouldn't eat or drink for two days. We never felt more helpless in our lives. We woke up the third morning after Dad Bart had died to find that Dad Mike had snuck out of his bed in the night. Martin was the one who found him... He'd-" Matthew broke off for a moment, tears in his eyes and his throat constricting for a moment. He swallowed hard and continued with effort. "Dad Mike was dead. He'd drowned himself in one of the bathroom sinks." He shook his head sadly. "I mean... How can someone actually do that? You have any idea just how hard it is to do something like that? The effort alone... There's times that I hate him for doing it. Didn't he love us too? Why did he abandon us like that? Don't get me wrong, I love my Dad Mike more than anything or anyone other than David but there's times I resent him for leaving us like that, too...

"When you ran away from Daniel... The way he acted was just the same." He saw the look of guilt on Sam's face at that. "Come here," he said, hugging his son-in-law tightly. "I forgave you years ago for that, so don't go feeling guilty about it, okay? It's not like you had any clue as to what was going on with you at the time. It's just that I felt exactly the same as I did when Dad Mike realized that Dad Bart was gone. I thought I was going to lose my son the same way... But everything worked out in the end and you're both so happy together. And look at you guys! Three healthy sons with a fourth on the way and maybe even more to come! You two are so lucky, luckier than most Spartans. I'm very happy for you both.

"As for my own dads, I know Dad Mike would have loved to see this place. Dad Bart would've liked it too... He was an architect by trade."

"What about your Dad Bart? Was he human?"

Matthew nodded. "And Jewish, to boot. Not obsessively so but he was really nervous about the confirmations... Damn... I hate having to keep the truth from David. I really do love him but it's hard to have a partner who has beliefs so different from my own. And what about the afterlife? I know I'll go to the Elysian Fields when my time comes but what about David? Is Heaven a different place? Once he's gone, is that it for us? Will I never see him again? ...He's getting old, Sam. His hair's gone all gray and he's becoming wrinkled... I don't know how much longer he'll live. At least I won't have to live too long alone once he's gone, forty years at most but still... I don't want to lose him."

Sam looked at his father-in-law sadly. "You'll never be completely alone, Matthew. Even once your partner is gone, you'll still have all of us. I know it's not the same thing but we'll be here for you, okay? Hey wait... Just how old are you guys, anyways?" he asked.

"David's fifty eight and I'm seventy four," the older Spartan replied softly.

Sam was shocked. "You're THAT old?!? I thought you were in your fifties!" he exclaimed.

"Stop thinking like a human already!" Matthew chided gently, his sadness fading slightly from humor. "And thanks for the compliment, by the way," he said with a smile.

"Sorry," Sam replied with a timid smile of his own. "I was human for too long and have no real alternate frame of reference, you know. I mean I've only been Spartan for about eleven years now, so cut me a little slack." He sobered. "Thanks for sharing all of that with me. I realize it must be hard for you to remember all of it."

"It's okay, Sam. Besides, it's important to know your family history. They would've been your grandparents too, you know. They really would've loved you a lot. You have the right to know, at any rate... I'll show you the old photo albums later."

"I'd like that..." Suddenly, Sam realized just how long thay had been standing there talking and became alarmed at the time. " Fuck! We'd better get going or we'll be late for prayer," the head priest said, moving quickly.

"Lead the way," Matthew said with a reserved smile as the head priest led the way to the side door to the temple so that they wouldn't have to go halfway around the building to the main entrance...

Henry was tending to his gestating father one day during the final month before the birth of his baby brother. "Say Dad Daniel? How exactly does a Spartan birth happen?"

"Well," Daniel grimaced. "When the time comes, the womb will split open vertically along the middle. It usually starts with the base of the womb and slowly works its way upwards along the sides. I'll be moved to the floor over a set of clean towels to stand on my knees while leaning against your Dad Sam, who will support me as I lean forward and use the weight of the baby to cause the womb to tear open more and more over time while the birth coach watches the process until the opening is wide enough. Then he tells the siring father that it's time for the next step, who reaches slowly into the gaps until he has a firm grip on the baby's head and back to support him properly. Then comes the first of the two worst parts of the birth. First, he rips the child free of my body and tearing the womb open farther in the process. Then the umbilical cord that runs from the birth father's navel to the baby's is tied off at both ends then cut, first at the baby's end so he only feels the pain once, then at the father's end. The birth father will pass out when that happens, so the one who cuts the umbilical needs to be ready to catch him, then clean the rest of the filaments from him. In the meantime, the siring father quickly cleans up the baby and dresses him so he won't get sick from the cold. Once the birth father wakes up after passing out, he's eased back into bed and given his new son to nurse."

"Does it hurt that much?"

"Yeah, it's the worst pain imaginable, especially the cord cutting because the umbilical is made of raw nerve endings just like the womb filaments. But the pain is more than worth it to have a son. It's the price we pay to Hera in order to appease Her for having children in defiance of the natural order. I'll endure the pain if it means having another child. Each and every one of you is worth all the pain in the world. I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat to have you again if I had to. You mean that much to me, Henry."

The boy hugged his dad as carefully as he could, both of them crying softly. It was some time before they pulled apart. "Say Dad?" Henry asked his father. "Who's going to be your birth coach?"

"Would you like to do it?" Daniel asked the boy, who nodded. "I'd be honored if it was you..."

Sam walked back into the house for lunchtime to find the oddest sight he'd ever walked into blindly in his life... Matthew was on hands and knees nude with masking tape running across his upper back and just above his waist. Henry was kneeling before him and the adult paused as Sam stopped and stared at them in shock. Matthew rose up on his knees and Sam saw that he had a section of flesh-colored fabric attached to his torso by the bands of tape and the material was bulky as though something was underneath it. Down the front of the fabric was a vertical slit held together with a series of small squares of more tape,

"Do I even want to know what this is?" he asked in a tone of suffering.

"For your information, Wise guy," Matthew said testily, "I'm teaching my grandson how to be a birthing coach! I don't suppose you'd like to help?"

"Alright, what do I do...?"

Several minutes later, Sam was the one kneeling nude with the homemade contraption fastened to him. He sighed as Matthew made the adjustments to the fabric covering his torso.

"Ok, Henry. See how wide the opening down the middle is? That's when you know that the baby is ready to come out. That's when you tell Sam to reach inside the womb for the baby. Since I'm playing his part, get a good look at the rip in the womb then tell me to reach inside him."

"Let's give him the full experience," Sam said.

"What do you mean?" Matthew asked.

"DANIEL!" Sam shouted, scaring Henry and his grandfather.

"What?" his partner shouted back down from the master bedroom.

"I'M GOING TO DO SOME FAKE SCREAMING, SO DON'T GET ALARMED, OKAY?"

"What for?"

"WE'RE TEACHING HENRY ABOUT BIRTHING!"

"Okay!"

"Alright," he said normally to the waiting pair, who glared at him for startling them. "Let's get this baby out of me." The twins entered then and stood back to watch, silently curious.

They went through the motions, Matthew acting as Sam while Sam acted the part of Daniel while Henry acted as... Wait, Sam thought. Henry's playing himself... I just hope he can act like himself convincingly. We'll never get a Daytime Emmy if he can't play the part believably. Sam smiled to himself at that in private humor.

They went through the birthing, Matthew following Henry's instructions and reaching in as Sam fake-groaned in pain, then mock-screamed as Matthew pulled downwards, breaking the masking tape that held the fabric womb in place to reveal a baby doll with a rubber tube tied around its stomach and trailing up to Sam's torso. Henry used string at Matthew's direction to tie the tube in the appropriate places and first the baby's end , then the father's and cut the infants end first in order to avoid making the baby suffer through the agonizing pain of two cord cuttings, then cut Sam's end, who pretended to pass out. Henry caught his dad and eased him down, then removed the tape and fabric from him.

"And that's it," Matthew said with a smile. "You did great Henry and I know you'll handle the real thing just fine."

The twins offered their congratulations to their brother just as David walked in from outside. He took in the tableau with a look of confusion. "Do I even want to know what this is?" he asked, copying Sam word-for-word without knowing that he had done so.

Sam sat up and began to mock-sob as he pointed at accusing finger to his eldest son who was holding the doll, speaking in a mock Southern plantation accent. "Gov'ment man done came to take away muh baby!"

David raised an eyebrow as he turned to look at Henry. "Do you have the slightest clue as to what he's talking about?"

Henry smiled. "We had reports of abuse, Sir," the boy said, playing along with his dad. "Child Welfare cannot just stand idly by and allow such an unfit person to raise a child. For the baby's sanity, we had to step in."

"Well," David said, smiling. "I'll be the first to admit that the father -is- crazy. Alright, take the child to somewhere saner."

Henry got up and escorted the pretend infant away.

"Why?" Sam mock-wailed. "Why? Why didn't I switch his brain with a gorilla's before the gov'ment stepped in?"

Everyone could only stare at the pretend-grieving parent with looks of confusion at his warped sense of humor...

The final week of gestation brought a slight reduction in sensitivity, allowing Daniel's womb to be carefully touched by Sam and the boys for a few seconds at a time before the discomfort became too much for the father-to-be. With the final danger of stillbirth past, Sam and the boys dug all of the old baby clothes and gear out, then went to by the things that needed replacing.

Daniel went into labor in the second week of August and Henry coached Sam perfectly while the twins watched the birth take place, looking very sad at seeing their Dad Daniel in so much pain. The baby was freed and cleaned by Sam while Matthew and Henry cleaned up the birth father then helped him return to bed once he regained consciousness. Daniel took his baby into his arms and began to nurse the hungry child as he smiled and kissed the infant's head tenderly.

"What will you name him?" Sam asked.

"I like the name Steven. Sounds nice and manly." Daniel smiled down at the newest member of the family once more.

"Sounds good to me," Sam said, smiling as he kissed his son, who whimpered in discomfort at his parent's prickly beard. "Tough if you don't like it Son but I like it so I'm keeping it."

Daniel turned to his eldest son. "You did really good, Henry. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Dad Daniel. It felt good to be able to help you."

The family left for awhile to let the fathers bond with baby Steven properly, the proud parents smiling at their boy as he continued to nurse...

Henry volunteered to help as much as possible with the baby, the parents teaching the eager lad everything there was to know about caring for an infant. The boy learned rapidly and soon became an expert on childcare, causing the fathers to realize that Henry would do great in the field of medicine.

"Would you like to hold him?" Daniel asked the boy.

"Really?" Henry asked nervously.

"Sure," Sam said, proceeding to teach him how to hold the baby properly by supporting the head and back firmly, yet gently. Henry took his baby brother into his arms nervously, with Sam close by in case anything happened but Henry had a firm and steady hold. Henry looked down into his brother's eyes, feeling fascinated that he was once just as small as Steven.

Daniel watched his eldest son holding his youngest and knew then and there that Henry was going to be a wonderful parent himself someday. He could almost visualize Henry as an adult, holding his own son in his arms and the parent found himself looking forward to the day when he became a grandfather. He hoped that Henry was able to find his partner fairly early in life, unlike Walter. Daniel had seen that Walter was miserable being alone and had tried to avoid being too affectionate with Sam around the man so as to try to help keep him from feeling too lonely. But Walter had found his man and all was well. He knew that they'd become Emergent any day now, seeing as how they'd been living together for a year and a half now.

Steven began to cry and Henry looked to his father with an uncomfortable expression as he tried to hold the baby away from his body. "Uhhh, Dad...?"

"Hand him over," Daniel said with a chuckle and felt the dampness within the child's diaper. "Oh yeah. He needs changing."

"Ok, then, he's all yours," Henry said, backing away with a revolted look.

"Where do you think you're going? You want to help take care of him, right? There's more than just the pleasant parts to tend to, Son. Stay and help me change him. You need the experience."

Henry groaned. "Dad Daniel! That's gross! I don't need to see that!"

"Oh yes you do," his parent countered. "There's no way you're going to stick your partner with diaper duty for your son after he's born! It'll be your responsibility too, you know, so you might as well get used to it now."

Grimacing, Henry moved to help his dad tend to his baby brother's needs...

Sam was in the kitchen two weeks later when he reached for a cup by crossing his arm over his chest and was startled when a sensation of wetness came from his right pectoral. He reached down to his nipple in confusion and his hand came away wet. What the fuck? Dan's the one with the baby, so why am I lactating too? As he noted that he was with milk, he became curious and lifted his hand to his mouth. He frowned as he cleaned his fingers, went to the cupboard and pulled out a glass, then worked some of his milk into it.

Daniel entered the kitchen with Steven in his arms and Matthew following behind as Sam took an experimental swig and swished it around in his mouth before swallowing. Matthew noticed the wetness on Sam's nipple and felt shocked. "SAM! What's wrong with you?!?" the grandfather exclaimed in revulsion.

Daniel's eyes widened in horror. "Sam! Don't drink your own chest milk! That's disgusting!"

Sam's face fell, looking deeply saddened instead of guilt-ridden. "Sorry," he said meekly, making them pause.

"Sam?" Daniel asked, moving over to his partner's side. "What's wrong, Babe?"

"I just... I wanted to know what it was like, is all. You guys got to be raised on this stuff but I didn't. I didn't mean to gross you out or anything. I only wanted to get as close to it as I could."

Daniel hugged him with a free arm. "It's okay, I guess."

"Sorry to yell at you, Sam," Matthew added kindly. "It's just kind of weird to see an adult do it, is all. I'm getting so used to you being Spartan that I sometimes forget how much you missed out on by growing up as a human."

"I know," Sam replied. "But why am I even lactating anyways? Dan's the one who gave birth, so why me too?" he asked in confusion.

"It's not uncommon when both partners are Spartan for the non-birth dad to lactate sympathetically. Don't worry about it, it'll go away in a few weeks. Just avoid putting pressure on your pecs for awhile."

"I'll do my best," Sam replied...

Henry entered school at the beginning of September about three weeks after his baby brother was born. He boarded the bus across the street from the temple nervously, then worked his way through the bus until he found a spot two-thirds of the way back and sat down in the empty seat. Several of the other students whispered to each other, making the lad sigh wearily. I should've realized that everyone would figure out I'm Spartan, what with being picked up right by the temple, he thought sadly to himself. That and the fact that I'm a lot bigger than any of them. he thought, noting that he looked more like a human of roughly sixteen years in age compared to all of the human students on the bus. He rode in silence, everyone avoiding him without trying to make it look like they were doing so.

Fortunately, his dads had explained very thoroughly what all to expect from public school, so he knew that it was up to him to arrive at his classes on time without assistance beyond the map and possibly asking directions from the adults he might run into. Fortunately for him, Henry was a very good map reader and between that and his watch, he was able to make it to the science classroom for first period on time and take a stool halfway back from the blackboard.

The rest of the day went fairly well but P.E. was the best by far... As well as being the worst at the same time. He impressed the gym coach with his superior physical strength and stamina but the lad made several enemies among the human boys who rapidly became jealous of the Spartan's superior physical abilities.

"Look at that little shit!" Thomas, a human who aspired to the school football team snorted with resentment. "He thinks he's so great! I ought to wipe the turf with him! That'll show up that little punk!"

"Watch it!" Terry, one of his goons, whispered loudly. "He lives next to that pagan temple where they cut up animals for that crazy religion of theirs! For all we know, he's probably even murdered some homeless people there, or something! He might even keep a knife on him, too!"

Henry became angry at the false accusations but said nothing. He grew a rapid intense dislike for the bigoted humans and resolved to avoid them as much as possible in the future. The day ended and he returned home.

Things went fairly well after that for the next two months after Daniel returned to work. He exchanged duties with one of the office workers so that he could have Steven with him while he worked. He wouldn't be doing this often, as he couldn't bring the child to work with him all of the time but he didn't want to force Sam to take care of the child every day, thereby interfering with his priestly duties. Sam would take the boy two days a week, feeding Steven from a bottle as best he could so as to not confuse the boy by having him nurse from two different people.

Matthew and David continued to work their new jobs, slowly saving up for a place of their own. The family also got word from Ryan and Liam, who said that they were coming to visit soon with the intent of looking around the area for a new home, saying that Portland wasn't as nice a place to live for them as they had originally hoped. Also, the school principal wasn't as sympathetic to Spartan equality as they had hoped and had proved rather impassive as to the bullying being conducted on Jeffrey. The boy had been pulled out of school and had returned to home tutoring until they could find a new home. Ryan was currently on leave as he had been successful in obtaining a transfer to a department of his mortgage company in northern California and would start month after next. As for Liam, who was an auto mechanic by trade, was going to take some time looking for local employment.

It was about a week before Ryan, Liam and their sons' arrival that things suddenly got worse...

Henry was at his locker when Thomas and his pals Randall and Terry walked up to him. "Need to touch up your makeup, Princess?" he taunted nastily.

"Leave me alone," Henry grumbled in annoyance, opening his locker.

"Ah, did I strike a nerve, Chicken Guts?"

Henry paused in confusion. "What?" he asked in an exasperated tone that had more than a hint of anger in it.

"Well that's how it works for you freaks, right? You grow a bunch of chicken feathers on your stomach, then get some faggots to stick their dicks inside your navel to knock you up, with you squealing like a little piggy all the whi-"

Henry buried his fist in the human's face before the boy finished the sentence...

Henry dropped heavily into the chair inside the female principal's office, the side of his face still stinging where Randall had tagged him during the fight.

"Sit there and don't move, your parents have been called. Thomas and Terry, your mothers are on their way, as is Randall's father. Henry, your Father Sam is coming as well."

"Don't you mean his 'Mother' Sam?" Thomas taunted.

Furious, Henry started to rise. "SIT DOWN, MISTER DANIELSON!" the principal shouted at him. "AND THAT'LL BE MORE THAN ENOUGH OUT OF YOU, MISTER CALSMO!"

His last name is 'Calsmo'? Henry thought with amusement as he sat back down slowly, finding the human name ridiculous. Well if I had a son like him, I sure as shit wouldn't want the boy using -my- name.

The wait seemed to take forever but finally Randall's dad and Terry's mother arrived, soon followed by his Dad Sam, who arrived in normal clothes, much to Henry's relief. Much as he loved his Dad Sam and had no shame about his religious beliefs, it would've been embarrassing for him if his parent had arrived in his priest's robes. Sam took a look at the large bruise forming on the side of Henry's face and frowned in disapproval. Then he turned to examine Thomas to see a split lip, blackened left eye and torn shirt. His thugs Randall and Terry who sat in the other chairs, with Randall's dad and Terry's mom standing behind their children, looked just as bad as Thomas did. Henry saw his father's mouth quirk at that and got the oddest sense that his dad was either impressed or secretly proud of him... But the moment passed as quickly as it came and the father let out his breath slowly through his nose.

Just then, a grim-looking woman in a flower-print dress walked in, took one look at Thomas and gasped in horror, then ran to him. "Oh my poor baby! What did that brute do to you?" She kissed the boy repeatedly, much to everyone's chagrin.

Henry saw his dad Sam's mouth fall open in shock for a moment, then he closed it and stood there glaring at the woman's back with an expression of deep annoyance and resentment.

"Thank you all for coming," the principal began.

"What happened?" Sam asked, interrupting the woman and taking charge of the situation.

"Well to be blunt," the principal replied, "Henry attacked three of his fellow students."

"They started it!" Henry protested.

"That will be quite enough, Mr. Danielson!" the principal exclaimed in anger.

"What kind of child are you raising, Mr. Danielson?" Thomas' mother all but shouted at Sam.

"Apolloson," he corrected her.

"What?" she asked in annoyance.

"Spartans take the name of their birth father with the suffix 'son' at the end. My partner Daniel is Henry's birth father, so the boy's last name is Danielson, just as Daniel took his Dad Matthew's name, making him Daniel Matthewson."

"That's absurd!" Terry's mother exclaimed. "What kind of ridiculous nonsense is that?!?"

"So you're saying," Randall's father scoffed in disbelief, "that your 'father's' name is Apollo? I thought that he was that pagan god you murder animals for."

"Actually, yes, he is my father... And for the record, the animals we 'sacrifice' to Him are killed humanely."

"How is that even possible?" Terry's mother asked in confusion. "You're saying that you're a god?"

"No, no, no. I'm adopted," Sam replied quickly.

"A god adopted you?" Randall's dad asked, his voice thick with disbelief. "And how exactly did that happen?"

"I was dying from an untreatable brain tumor and grew worried about the future for my partner and our son Henry. I prayed to Apollo, then sacrificed myself to Him for their sakes. He brought me back to life, adopted me as his son, then transformed me into a Spartan and my tumor was cured, thereby allowing me to stay with them."

"And you think we'll swallow that bullshit?" Randall's father scoffed.

"Well," Sam replied calmly, "I do have the x-rays from before and after my transformation." He opened his shirt to show them the scar on his chest. "Then there's the scars I got from when I slashed my throat open and ran myself through the heart as I sacrificed myself to my lord."

The humans blanched as they took in the scars on Sam's chest and neck. The adult Spartan buttoned up his shirt. "Look, I was in the middle of my duties when I was called in here, so let's get back on track. You said that the boys got into a fight, right?" he asked the principal, who nodded. "Alright then. Who hit first?"

"I did," Henry said, feeling the need to be honest.

The human parents made overlapping exclamations until the principal shouted for quiet. "Why?" Sam asked his son calmly.

"Thomas insulted me."

"That's hardly a reason to try to cave my poor boy's skull in, you monster!" Thomas' mother retorted.

"What did they say?" Sam asked, remaining calm.

"He used profanity," Henry said uncomfortably.

"You have my permission to say the words," Sam said. "What exactly did they say?"

"Well," the lad said nervously, "Thomas accused me of wanting to check my makeup, then made sexual slurs by saying that I grew chicken feathers on my stomach, then let 'faggots' fuck me in the navel while I made pig sounds. That's when I got mad at him and punched him in the mouth. Then his thugs jumped me and I beat them all up."

"SEE?!?" Thomas' mother shouted. "THE LITTLE MONSTER ADMITS IT!"

"MRS. CALSMO!" the principal shouted to be heard. "THAT WILL BE QUITE ENOUGH!"

"Henry, you had no right to hit him," Sam said coldly to his son. "You know humans aren't as strong as us, plus you're way bigger than him! You could have seriously hurt them!"

"What do you call this?" Mrs. Calsmo retorted angrily, gesturing to her son's face.

"Henry," Sam said. "I want you to apologize for hitting Thomas."

"But Dad Sam-!"

"I said apologize," Sam ordered, looking somewhat sympathetic.

Henry sighed explosively. "I'm sorry I punched Thomas."

"Now," Sam added. "I'd like for Thomas to apologize for the slur he said that provoked Henry to hit him."

"Are you insane?!?" Mrs. Calsmo countered with fury. "Your little thug was the one who started the whole thing!"

"Only after he was tormented by your son, who was making a sexist slur against our species. It's clear that some of the students here are almost completely ignorant as to the realities of Spartan reproduction."

"No one needs to know that!" Mrs. Calsmo countered with annoyance.

"I think they do." Sam retorted. "In the meantime," he added, turning to the principal. "What form of action were you planning on taking in regards to my son?"

"A week's suspension from school is the standard practice," she replied calmly.

"I'll agree to that. Just let us know what the lesson plan is so that Henry won't miss any of his assignments."

"Now wait one minute!" Mrs. Calsmo protested. "I demand that this little hooligan be expelled!" she shouted, pointing at Henry.

"That's a bit much!" Terry's mother protested. "If your son is the one who provoked Henry to violence, then that makes your son an instigator and I don't want my boy hanging around a delinquent like your son!"

"But Mom-!" Terry began but his mother interrupted.

"I don't care, Terry! You are not turning into a thug!" she said with venom. "Now apologize to Henry this instant!"

"Sorry," Terry said, looking crestfallen.

"You apologize, too Son," Randall's father ordered, looking rather guilty now that Terry's mother had shamed him into thinking that his own boy was a delinquent.

"Sorry," Randall said to Henry in a dispirited fashion.

"And you are forbidden to hang around with Thomas ever again! If I'd known you were turning into a gang member, I would've put a stop to this ages ago! You know your Uncle Larry has a Spartan partner! What were you thinking, Boy?!?"

"I'm sorry," Randall apologized weakly.

"I think that it's only fair to suspend all students involved in this matter to impress upon them all the seriousness of this situation," the principal said calmly. "All students will return a week from Monday, when they will have their assignments completed and ready to turn in to their teachers."

"You're suspending my Thomas?!?" Mrs. Calsmo exploded.

"He used vulgar language and intentionally provoked a fellow student to violence!" the principal countered furiously. "That makes him just as responsible for the situation as Henry! If you'd like, I could suspend your son for longer, unless you'd rather I expelled him outright! This school is a place of tolerance, Mrs. Calsmo! If your son cannot follow the rules, then I see no point in allowing him to attend this institution!" She sighed fiercely. "In the meantime, Mr. Apolloson. Rest assured that we will be making sure that a situation like this does not happen again. Also, Mr. Danielson," she added, turning to Henry. "If anyone insults you in that manner again, go to a teacher or come to me. DO NOT take matters into your own hands again or I -will- expel you!"

"Yes, Ma'am," Henry replied weakly, growing pale at the thought.

Fuming, Mrs. Calsmo took her son from the room quickly. The rest of the parents and students followed at a more civilized pace.

The parents of Randall and Terry seemed sympathetic but Mrs. Calsmo was furious and cornered Sam and Henry in the parking lot.

"Don't think I don't know what goes on at that -temple- of yours!" she snapped waspishly. "You may have everyone else convinced that you're a sheep but I see the wolf hiding under that fake wool covering! I know all about those depraved orgies and devil worship you do there!"

"We worship Apollo, God of the Sun, not Satan, lady!" Sam snapped, deeply offended by her terminology. "And while we worship nude, there's no orgies!"

"Oh please," she slurred venomously. "You can't fool me! I see through your trickery! You're a servant of the devil!"

"Like Tartarus I am!" Sam snapped, infuriated by the woman's false accusations. "I'm the head priest so I know exactly what all goes on in my Lord's temple and I find your slander to be not only highly absurd but blatantly ignorant and highly offensive!"

"Lies! Deceitful lies from silver tongued demons!" the woman hissed, sounding completely unhinged.

Sam! Just walk away before I'm forced to step in to prevent you from doing something that will harm not only Apolline faith but you and your family as well!

Fuming, Sam grabbed Henry's shoulder and walked away with his son.

"You can't fool me, Demon! I won't rest until you're run out of town and that temple of yours is burnt to the ground!!!"

Sam felt his god's rage welling up all around him and hurried away, begging his lord father not to smite the woman. They got into Sam's car and drove away, the radio turned up loud so as to drown out the woman's further bigoted ranting...

They were driving home in silence when Henry, still fuming at the injustice of the situation, sighed explosively. "It'd serve them right if I brought a sword to school! Then they'd all know to never mess with me!"

He panicked when Sam hit the brakes hard, veering the car over to the sidewalk as the car next to them honked in annoyance with them coming to a screeching halt as the tires left skid marks across the asphalt. He turned to see his father looking at him furiously. "YOU DID NOT JUST FUCKING SAY THAT!" Sam roared, looking more enraged then Henry had ever seen him before in his life. "THERE IS NO DAMNED WAY MY OWN FLESH AND BLOOD JUST SAID ANYTHING SO STUPID!!!"

Sam turned his gaze back out the windshield as he gripped the steering wheel so hard that Henry heard the plastic crack loudly as his parent exerted his strength on it, his knuckles turning white. Sam took a long, shuddering breath to steady himself while Henry fought to avoid fleeing the car in terror from his father's sudden rage. Sam sat there for several minutes, staring at the wheel and trying to calm himself back down before he spoke again. "First Jeff, now you... I thought I'd raised you better then that! I thought you had some level of common sense!" Sam sounded horribly disappointed, his voice almost a whisper and Henry was shocked to see the deep level of hurt on his parent's face.

Sam pulled back into the street and drove onwards, staring forward grimly as he drove. "You're grounded!" he growled fiercely. "As soon as we get home, you are going right into the temple, praying in apology to our lord for even considering using the symbol of our faith in such a uselessly blasphemous way, then you will clean every scabbard and polish and sharpen every public-use blade in the entire armory! After that, you are confined to your room until you return to school! You will spend every moment studying and be let out only to eat and use the bathroom. No music, no TV, no nothing... And after you pray and finish with the armory, you are forbidden to so much as even LOOK at a sword for a month! If you have any decency in you at all, you'll have the good taste to be ashamed of what you just said, if not ashamed for even considering the possibility!"

They drove the rest of the way in silence and Henry was ordered to get his sword while Sam donned his priestly blades and vestments. They met back downstairs, Henry also in a robe and sandals and they walked swiftly to the temple next door. Henry noted that Sam took them around to the front entrance and Sam walked with a stiff back as they went. Taylor Sanders, who was head of security, noted their distress as they passed by the front security desk but said nothing as he knew that something must be rather wrong for Henry to be here instead of in school and sporting a forming bruise on the side of his face. Sam strode to the front entrance to the altar room and stopped.

"As soon as you are done praying," he said coldly, "come directly to my office! No excuses!" With that, he walked stiffly to the doorway that lead into the main hallway that surrounded the sides and back of the Altar chamber and anterooms and disappeared from view.

Henry removed his robe and sandals and entered the altar chamber, feeling very guilty. He moved forward and felt the ever-present power of his god surround him as he walked forward dispiritedly until he stood several feet in front of the statue and looked up into the face of his lord. Normally, the statue looked serene but today it looked rather grim... That or he was imagining things.

He knelt in prayer and apologized sincerely for several minutes before he felt the touch of his god upon his head. Henry, you hurt your father Sam very deeply with that threat of yours. He thinks very highly of you and has always trusted you but you have shaken his faith in you. You will have to work long and hard to regain that trust...

Yeah, I guess so, Henry replied sadly. I'm sorry I said that... It was stupid.

I accept your apology but I agree with your father. You need to learn true respect for the blade and I approve of his punishment for you. With that, Apollo's touch left the lad, who felt grim. Apollo had never been so curt with him before, so Henry knew his lord was very upset with him as well.

He sighed and rose, bowing to the statue with his sword held up in front of him, pointing to the ceiling in salute, then went back outside to collect his robe and sandals before heading to his father Sam's office. He reached the door that read 'HEAD PRIEST' on a brass nameplate mounted to it and knocked timidly. "Come in," Sam said with a sigh. Henry entered slowly and closed the door behind him, not wanting anyone walking by to witness what was likely to be an unpleasant scene. "Take off your sword belt," Sam said grimly.

"Dad Sam?" the boy said in shock.

"Take it off," Sam said again, more firmly than before. Henry did as he was told and when his parent held out his hand, the lad placed it into the waiting palm, feeling like he was losing an important part of himself as he did so. Sam held up the blade within its scabbard on the sword belt. "What you said in the car proves that you don't know how to truly respect this blade. You do not deserve it, regardless of who gave it to you! You'll have to earn it back! Now go directly to the armory and get going on your punishment!"

"Dad Sam, I'm sorry!" the boy pleaded. "But they had no right to treat me that way!"

"You think I don't know that?" Sam asked Henry thickly. "We have to be careful around humans, Henry! They are still getting used to Spartans and Amazons and the last thing we need to be doing is catering to their fears and giving them more reasons to hate us! They'll only use it as ammo to take away the rights everyone has fought so hard to obtain!"

"FINE!" Henry shouted angrily, feeling betrayed. "Take their side! Some Spartan you are! You act more like you're still one of them! You're not Spartan at all!!!" He stopped suddenly, lost for words as he saw his father staring at him in a mixture of shock and grief, looking as though he was fighting hard not to start crying before the adult hung his head quickly to hide his face from the boy.

"Get out!" Sam forced out with effort, his face screwed up with hurt. "Go to the armory... Right now!"

"Dad," Henry began, feeling instantly ashamed of what he had said and wanting to take it back.

"I SAID GO!!!" Sam shouted furiously, filled with a deep level of hurt and betrayal.

Henry bolted from the office and ran all the way to the armory, feeling horrible inside...

Sam sat there numbly, staring at the door without looking at it as he sat at his desk, feeling horrible.

How could he say that to me? Sam buried his face in his hands and started to cry. How could his own child, the one he had given his life for the sake of, say something so horrible and untrue? Sam knew he was Spartan, despite having been born a human. He had proven it to himself both in a dream and in the confirmation rite for the twins. He had been doubting himself then so severely that he was unable to see himself as a Spartan as well the same for the boys. Apollo had sent him a dream where the boys had been human and he had been forced to try to sacrifice them as the Rite had demanded but his body had locked up in that moment. The boys' filaments had Emerged and all was well. Daniel had asked in Apollo's voice if Sam still doubted himself in regards to being truly Spartan and the last of his fears about both himself and the twins had vanished.

For Henry of all people to say such an untrue thing hurt Sam deeply. He buried his face in his arms on the desk and cried for some time before he felt firm arms hug him and knew that his lord father was trying to comfort him. He rose up, wiping at his face to scrub away his tears and saw that Apollo was in solid form beside him, looking down at his son with a sad expression.

"Sam, I'm sorry that he said that but don't you dare believe it for even a second!" the god told His son firmly.

"I don't," Sam replied glumly. "It just hurts to hear him of all people say something like that! You know at first I had to fight not to feel proud of him? Three on one and he cleaned their clocks thoroughly! Then when I learned why, I completely understood. I was bullied all the time when I was in school but I had to put up appearances and not encourage him. I don't want Henry to turn into a bully himself! But then he made that idiotic remark about wanting to take a sword to school to get revenge for petty insults... The symbol of our faith, no less! Then that remark just now... How can he be so cruel and stupid?!? I didn't raise him to be like that! He knows better than that! I've never felt more ashamed of and betrayed by him in my life! Especially after everything I've gone through for his sake," Sam said, brushing his fingers over scar across his throat thoughtfully. "How could he say things like that?"

"People often say things in anger that they later regret. Henry instantly felt shamed by what he had said the moment he saw the sadness it caused you. He's a good boy, Sam. He was just allowing his anger to control him. Have faith in him, Son. He'll come to learn how to avoid acting in such a manner again."

"I hope so," Sam sighed, then glanced to the phone as it rang. He turned back to his father as he spoke. "Maybe I should-" He stopped when he saw that Apollo had vanished. He 'humph'ed with a slight smile of amusement and picked up the phone. "Sam Apolloson," he said dully into the receiver.

"Babe?" Daniel asked, immediately noting the tone of Sam's voice. "What's wrong?"

Sam sighed deeply and told him...

Henry was worked for several hours before Mr. Sanders told him to stop for the night. His arms aching deeply, the lad limped his way out of the temple and back to the house. He cleaned himself up as much as he could, reeking strongly of metal polish, leather wax and sword oil even once he was clean and collapsed into bed.

He awoke the next morning to a knock at the door to his bedroom, wincing at the pain from the bruise on the side of his face and the sore muscles of his arms and hands. "Come in," he said groggily and saw his Dad Daniel enter slowly, looking very grim.

"Your Dad Sam told me everything..." he told the boy, looking furious. "You're lucky it wasn't me who heard you say that about taking a sword to school... I would've laid into your butt with your scabbard so viciously that it would be glowing red hot for a week! I am deeply ashamed of you, Mister! Your punishments will stand and so help me if I ever even think I hear you say such things again, both about the sword and about your Father Sam! I am horribly disappointed in you!"

Henry hung his head in shame. "I'm sorry," he nearly whispered.

"You should be! Now get cleaned up and dressed... Breakfast is almost ready."

With that, Daniel left the room swiftly.

Breakfast that morning was the single most somber one they had all ever had. Hardly anyone spoke, sensing the tense mood of the parents and even the grandparents towards Henry and Sam, who normally sat next to his eldest son, had placed himself across the table and refused to speak to or even look at the boy. Henry noted with a strong surge of guilt that his father Sam's eyes were red and puffy, as though he had cried all night long.

After breakfast, Henry returned to the armory and resumed his work on the public-use weapons, knowing that it would take at least two more days before he was finished. He refused to complain about it, however. He knew that he had earned his punishment. He only hoped that he could somehow make it up to his Dad Sam but had no idea how to do so.

Henry worked in silence at the work table of the temple armory, the image of Dad Sam's face after he'd made the stupid remark of how his parent wasn't really Spartan stuck inside his head as he polished blade after blade. He wished that Dad Sam would speak to him so that he could apologize for everything he had said. Unfortunately, Sam had been avoiding the boy all day. Henry went at each sword dispiritedly, dully working on each blade one at a time while wearing a Kevlar apron and gloves to protect himself from injury as he worked with the razor sharp blades.

"Henry?" he heard a feminine whisper and looked up in shock to see Sally peaking around the corner.

"You shouldn't be in here! You'll get in trouble!" Him too but he refused to say that, figuring his mouth had already turned enough people against him.

"Mr. Sanders said it was okay for me to come in here to see you. What happened?" she asked as she sat nearby, yet far enough away on the bench so as not to risk being hurt by the blade in Henry's hands. He sighed heavy and explained the whole thing. She sighed as well once he had finished. "I guess it's my fault that it happened," she said, sounding guilty.

"Your fault?" Henry asked in shock. "Why?"

"I was the one who put the idea in your head, that's why. I didn't mean for you to go picking fights with anyone. The boys I beat up were the ones who attacked first."

"They were going to hit a girl?!?" Henry exclaimed in horror.

Sally turned her gaze down to the floor, looking slightly sad. "They didn't seem to think that I was a real girl, so I guess that made it alright for them to try," she said softly with a touch of old pain in her voice. Then she looked up to him with an expression of grim satisfaction. "But I sure made them regret it! After that, no one tried anything against me ever again! Even once I entered high school no one ever made fun of me to my face and certainly never tried to beat me up ever again, either... But still, Henry... You shouldn't have let him get to you like that. He was just trying to provoke you and you let him. You don't want people to keep manipulating you like that, do you? Or think that you're a bully?"

"No," he replied dully, seeing that she was right.

"My case was different because they were the ones who attacked first. The reason you're in so much trouble is because you were the one who hit first."

"I can't believe I was stupid enough to let him trick me like that!" Henry said fiercely, angry with himself.

"Well now you know what to watch out for in the future, so don't let them do that to you again, alright? But for what it's worth," she whispered, leaning close. "I'm glad you let them have it, even if it wasn't the right thing to do."

"I know I shouldn't feel proud of myself but yeah, it was kind of nice to wipe that smug look off his face... But I still feel guilty about it too. The worst part is that Dad Sam won't let me apologize to him for what all I said."

"Just try to be patient," she told him. "He'll come around."

"It's just..." Henry added, looking confused. "I don't get it! We exist because of a need for vengeance. We say as much during Spartan services! So why is wanting to get back at them so bad?"

"I don't know how to answer that one," Sally replied thoughtfully. "Maybe you should talk to your parents or grandparents, or something. I'm not the best when it comes to Spartan ways, you know." She smiled with amusement at that, lifting Henry's spirits slightly.

"I know. Thanks for coming."

"I'd better go, before I get you into more trouble." Sally got up. "I'll come see you after your grounding ends, okay?"

"See you then," Henry said, watching her go and feeling grateful that at least someone was still speaking to him...

Sam was entering the altar chamber later that same day when he heard shouting from the front entrance. He saw a man in coveralls arguing with Taylor and paused, a few feet inside the doorway into the chamber and wondering what was wrong.

"I don't give a shit! I want to see the 'parent' of that damned little psycho right now! He has some explaining to do!" the man shouted furiously.

Sam went to move but stopped as Apollo spoke to him. Sam. Stay where you are. Curious, the priest did as he was told, remaining in place and waiting to see what the human would do. The man yelled a bit more as Taylor looked at him nervously and seeming to be uncertain as to what to do.

Sensing that it was alright to speak, Sam crossed his arms over his bare chest, resting his arms over the shoulder straps of his sword belt which crossed his chest as he called out loudly. "Is there a problem here?"

Several people who were getting ready for worship and had stopped to see what the commotion was stood there silently, waiting to see what would happen.

Hearing this, the human turned to him furiously as he spoke. "You're damned ri- ARGH!" the human shouted, his anger replaced by revulsion as he saw that Sam was nude, wearing only his sword belt and priestly blades. "Put some damned clothes on you pervert!" the human snarled in revulsion and turning away as though he wanted to vomit with distaste.

"I am about to worship my lord and am approaching him in the proper fashion!" Sam countered coldly. "Who are you to come in here making unreasonable demands?"

"I'm not going to talk to a man who's stark naked, asshole! I said put some clothes on!"

Sam's eyes narrowed dangerously as his hands lowered to the hilts of his blades. Using one's swords to protect himself was perfectly acceptable to Apollo and Sam was more than willing to defend himself if need be. As the temple was covered by the law, Sam was well within his rights to use his blades to defend himself from attack within these walls from any save police and government entities. Little did the human know just how skilled Sam had become in the use of his weapons over the years. The head priest could easily take the man down without actually killing him, if need be.

"I won't," Sam replied coldly. "Who are you and what do you want here?"

"I'm Jim Calsmo and if you're who I think you are, then you owe me an apology for your little freak offspring beating the shit outta my son!"

Sam, who was already hating this man, felt his anger spike higher at the insult to his son and pulled the blades up slightly until they were an inch out of their scabbards. Part of him was surprised that he was still willing to defend the boy after Henry had hurt and shamed him so strongly but realized that no matter how much the boy had hurt him, he still loved his son and was willing to shed blood if need be in Henry's defense.

The human paused slightly at that but his scowl became more fixed, believing that Sam was just putting on a show and not realizing just how close the Spartan was to literally cutting the human down for his behavior and insult, especially in this place of worship.

"My son already apologized to Thomas, though your son was undeserving of it. As for Henry, he is Spartan, not a freak and is already being punished thoroughly! If you want an apology from someone, then look to your own child for disgracing your family so deeply with his blind ignorance and unreasonable hatred!"

Mr. Calsmo turned purple with rage, then lunged for the priest. "YOU DIRTY, ROTTEN SON OF A BI-!" he shouted as he reached the doorway into the altar chamber, where an intense, invisible force slammed into him hard, cutting off his words and knocking him backwards, sending him sprawling to land hard on his ass. He scrambled back to his feet and with a snarl of rage, charged again.

"I wouldn't!" Sam warned the man, who ignored him.

A sudden blast of flame in the form of a wall struck the enraged human as he again reached the doorway, making him cry out in shock as he fell backwards, landing hard on his back. He bolted upright in shock as he saw that the front of his work uniform was smoldering and there was a small fire on the center of his chest. He patted at it rapidly to snuff the flame quickly, then glared up at Sam. "HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!?" he shouted furiously. Then to everyone's shock, the human began to rise again, looking even angrier than before.

Lord, please don't kill him! Sam begged his god within his mind, while still glaring at the intruder, hating the man but not wanting to be involved in a murder charge.

I won't... Apollo spoke evenly within his mind.

Suddenly, the human paled visibly as he stared at something past the head priest and hearing an odd, metallic sound, Sam turned and felt his eyes widen as the statue of Apollo began to move. The statue bent down slightly, glaring angrily at the human and bellowed in the god's voice. "GET OUT!!!" He shouted at the man, His voice ringing deeply off the walls.

"It's a trick! It has to be!" Jim wheezed. "You can't fool me with a few parlor tricks!"

The statue of Apollo sighed with disgust at the man's reaction and seemed to mull something over. Suddenly, the human screamed in shock as something invisible grabbed the back of the collar of his coveralls and began to drag him across the marble floor towards the exit. He kicked and swore as he was hauled along in an undignified manner. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!? WHAT'S HAPPENING?!? LET GO OF ME!!!"

He was dragged all the way to the main entrance and forcibly flung hard out past the sidewalk and into the street. Fortunately, the light was red, so he wasn't in immediate danger of being hit by a passing vehicle. The man got up and took off running, scared for his life.

Smiling grimly in spite of himself, Sam quickly sobered and turned to the worshippers who stood in stunned silence, some watching as the statue returned silently to its normal position, others still staring out the front entrance.

Sam cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Services will start momentarily. Everyone who wishes to worship, please take your blades and enter." With that, the head priest turned and calmly walked in farther towards the center of the chamber to wait patiently for the humans and Spartans to enter, as no Amazons were attending services at this time. Nicely done! He thought with a smile as he glanced up to the statue.

He heard Apollo sigh within his mind in an exasperated manner. Some people refuse to listen. He replied, thinking of how much effort He'd had to use just to make the human leave.

Sam chuckled softly to himself, feeling better than he had in the last two days...

Henry stood there with wide eyes as Thomas' father was literally dragged out of the temple by what had seemed to be an invisible hand possessing great strength. Once his Dad Sam led the worshippers into the altar chamber, the boy returned to his work, feeling shocked. Even after what all Henry had said both about his faith and about his one father, the boy had seen that Sam was still willing to defend his son. He felt stunned and guilty but didn't know what else he could do. His Dad Sam still refused to even look at the boy, let alone speak to him, so Henry was unable to offer the apology he wanted to give. He was also still confused as to why wanting to get revenge against Thomas and his thugs was wrong. How could his faith say one thing while everyone who practiced it say the opposite?

Still unable to sort out his mixed feelings, he worked hard to complete his task and returned to the house the third day after his punishment began, satisfied that he'd completed his work in the armory with speed and skill, yet also sad that he would be forbidden to handle any blade again for another month. As for the sword he owned, the one Lord Apollo had given to him, he had no idea when or even -if- he would get it back.

It was afternoon when he'd finished, so he went to the head priest's office and knocked softly. "Come in," his father Sam's voice said dully from within.

He entered slowly and saw his parent look up to see his eldest son. Sam's face spasmed with hurt and he dropped his gaze back to the paperwork in front of him. "Are you finished with the swords?"

"Yes Sir," Henry replied sadly as he felt hurt that his parent still refused to look at him.

"The sword ban begins now and will end in thirty days," Sam replied thickly in a trembling voice. "As for your own sword, when you earn it back is entirely up to you. Go back to the house and start on your school work. Your Dad Daniel will be in later to check on your progress."

"Dad Sam... I'm really s-"

"No!" Sam interrupted him, shaking his head sadly. "You don't know how much that hurt me. For you of all people to say such a thing to me... You have no idea what all I've done for you... How betrayed I feel by what you said to me... Until you truly understand that, your apology is just words and guilt. Go to your room," Sam said sadly, sniffling. "Just go."

Feeling horrible inside at seeing his parent on the verge of tears, Henry left and returned to his room.

As he went, both parent and child wished that the lad understood...

Henry went right to his room, closed the door and leaned back against it. What does he mean? I don't know what all he's done for me? He thought to himself in confusion, then sighed and moved to the window. He looked up to the sun, closing his eyes. I don't get it... What does he mean? Lord Apollo, please help me... I don't know what to do. A tear ran down his cheek as he felt his sadness increase.

Then I will help you to understand, the god spoke softly to His worshipper. Henry gasped in surprise, having not expected an answer. I am always here, Henry. I will always answer your prayers, even in times such as this.

What did Dad Sam mean? And why is it wrong to want to get back at Thomas for what he said? I don't understand.

There is a difference between the vengeance of which Spartans speak and the revenge that you desire. Let me show you the difference.

Suddenly, the light of the sun seemed to grow stronger and Henry flinched away, staggering back from the window a few steps. The light faded and Henry became puzzled as he heard the sounds of crows and flies. Then the worst stench he'd ever smelled in his life hit him and he began to retch. His eyes popped open to the single most awful thing he'd ever seen. All around him were dead people. Men and women of every age, all human from the look of them, lay sprawled all around him in various states of decay in the hot sun. He dimly noted very old buildings around him, like some ancient city but was too horrified by the mangled bodies around him to care. Some were burnt, others crushed in places. Others were slashed open or stabbed. Even children, a few babies and old people were there before him and the boy began to sob.

"No please! Please stop! Make it stop! I don't want to see!"

The sun flared in brightness, blinding Henry anew and taking with it the sights, sounds and smells of death. The light faded again and Henry blinked away spots from his eyes to see that he was back inside his bedroom.

"What was that?" he asked weakly, feeling like he was going to be sick.

***The end of the last human Spartans. You know how the last warriors of old Sparta returned from war to find their civilization destroyed? How every last man, woman and child was exterminated in an act of genocide by the enemies of Sparta? What you saw was what the last surviving human Spartan warriors returned home to find. When they saw that their nation was no more, they prayed to me for intervention, so I transformed them into what all Spartans now are... Hermaphrodites like you who could carry on the noble blood of Sparta that the nation would endure and your culture survive into future generations.

They also wanted vengeance against the enemies who had done such an awful thing. That form of revenge was perfectly justified. It was the act of cowards who wished to destroy and did so without pity or remorse... Now tell me Henry, how does the insult directed against you by a petty and jealous human boy compare to the decimation of an entire culture? That is the difference between revenge and vengeance. When you said that you wanted to take a sword to school, you dishonored your ancestors and your faith by ignoring the tragic past of your people and seeking to use the symbol of what your ancestors believed in as a tool to force your will upon others unjustly. You didn't want respect either, Henry... You wanted them to fear you. That is not the goal of a warrior. A true warrior knows how and when to use his strength, as well as when not to use it. All of that is why we are angry with you. Because you know better but chose to forget that in your anger.

"I'm sorry," Henry said, hanging his head in shame.

So now do you understand the difference?

"I think so," the boy replied.

Good. I accept your apology.

"But what about Dad Sam? He won't let me apologize to him. I know he's sad but he won't let me make it up to him."

Henry, there's something you need to see. Look at your computer.

Henry turned to it to see that it was turned on. Also, there was something small sitting in front of the monitor. He walked over and picked up the small, thin, clear plastic SanDisk memory card case that was covered with dust. He wiped the dust off the top to expose a handwritten label sticker attached to it. He saw that there was handwriting on it in his Dad Sam's writing. It simply read 'FOR HENRY'.

Watch what is on there and I think you will understand.

The boy sat down and took the card out and put it into the computer. The window opened to show only one thing on the card, which was a large movie file. He double clicked it and sat down. The media player opened it to show his Dad Sam sitting in a chair in what looked like his old computer work room from their previous home in Minnesota. Henry was shocked at how pale and drawn his parent looked and noted that Dad Sam looked like he was in pain.

"Hi Henry," Sam said softly as the vid began to play. "I'm your dad, well, your human dad. I don't know how old you are now or what all has happened in your life but I hope it's been good things for the most part... I made this so that you would have the chance to get to know me. To see me and hear what my voice sounded like. I wanted you to know who I was..." He broke off for a moment, wiping tears from his eyes. "I'm sorry that I'm not there for you like I want to be but things didn't work out the way I wish they had and I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to be there for you... Please forgive me."

Henry felt horrified as he watched, understanding what this was. He began to feel a deep sadness as he continued to watch.

Sam sighed. "Well, guess you're wondering what kind of person I was, huh? Well... I liked horror movies a lot, the gorier the better. I've seen all of them, even the uncensored versions of Dead Alive and The Audition. I had a really warped sense of humor, too. If you can find any copies of shows like Family Guy or South Park, you'll know what I was like... I was a meat and potatoes kind of guy too but liked sweet things like Red Vines and gummie bears. I also liked scenic digital photography. Actually, that was how I met your Dad Daniel. Oh I was terrified... I literally took off running. It was a week before we actually got together officially... I never thought that anyone would actually love me and I felt incredibly confused. It was what I'd always wanted dropped right into my lap but once I had it, I didn't know what to do with it... I don't know if you've found your partner yet but if you have and all's well, then always be there for him. If not, then be patient. I know you'll find him someday. One bit of advice for you if he's human. We humans are pretty clueless, so try to be patient with him, alright? Give him the time he needs to get used to being bonded to you. Don't try to force it on him, okay? Be patient and take it slow. He'll most likely have a really hard time understanding what he's feeling and that you feel so strongly for him, so take it easy and let him set the pace, okay? Don't try to force it onto him, just be there for him and let him come to it in his own time."

He sighed, bracing himself before he continued, holding up a small bottle of soda. "This next part is special... If your Dad Daniel is there for you, then I don't want you to see this next part, alright? I'm going to put up this soda near me. Once I take it down, that'll be the end of that part, so fast forward to when I take it down, okay?"

Henry knew he should do as he was told but something inside made him stay put, watching anyways.

Sam put the bottle of soda on the desk in front of him, then hung his head and after a moment, began to sob. "I was afraid of that..." Suddenly he looked furious despite his grief. "Dammit, Daniel! Why did you do it? Henry deserved better then that! You should've been stronger! For him if not for me!" He looked up at the camera. "Henry... I'm sorry that your Dad Daniel killed himself. That wasn't what I wanted for you! I was an orphan too and the last thing I had ever wanted for you was to grow up without any parents. Having me gone is bad enough but I didn't want you to be without both of us... No one ever wanted me before I met your Dad Daniel... He made me happy. I didn't mean to hurt him or you by dying but I couldn't stop it. I'm sorry he wasn't strong enough to stay with you. It wasn't what I wanted for you. Please don't hate his memory for leaving you all alone. Please? For me? ...I honestly don't understand how or why he loves me. I love him so much it hurts but I can't figure out why he feels the same way about me of all people. He loved you very much... It's just that losing me must have hurt him too much to stand it. It doesn't mean that he didn't love you too... But grief makes people do funny things. I'm sorry." He dried his tears thoroughly, then reached up and very slowly took down the bottle of soda and waited nearly a minute before speaking again.

"I hope your life has been a good one. I hope you're happy. In the end, that's what matters most to me. I want you to be happy, Henry... We're taking you to the temple in New York tomorrow for your Confirmation. I wanted to be a part of it, so we're doing it while I still have time left... Oh, if you're Apolline, that's fine by me. If not, whatever religion you are is okay, just so long as it makes you happy. As for me? ...I don't know what to believe in anymore... I don't know what to think or feel, other than sad and ashamed at my own weakness... At this point, I'd be willing to try anything." Suddenly, he became thoughtful and turned to look at his old single sword which was hanging on the wall behind him in the video. "Maybe... What the hell? I guess it's worth a try..." He said slowly, then looked back to the camera. "Henry. I don't know what will happen but I'll try to make things right for you. I don't know if what I'm thinking of will work but if it'll make sure things will be right for you, then it's worth trying. What's my pride matter anymore? I'll do it for you. I don't know if it'll work, if He even exists, if He'll even answer me... But for you I'll try. I'll do anything for you Henry... Anything except the one thing I want more than anything in the world... To be there for you now... I love you, Son. I'll always love you... Be happy... Goodbye."

The video ended there, but the boy hadn't noticed, he was too busy crying. Henry didn't know how long he sat there, sobbing uncontrollably... Eventually he recovered and closed the player and window before pulling out the memory card, kissing it gently before he put it back into its case. Henry knew what had happened after that. The next day had been Sam's last as a human. He had sacrificed himself to Lord Apollo for their sakes, only to be brought back to life, healed and transformed into a Spartan like Henry and his other dad Daniel.

Now he felt truly ashamed of what he had said. His Dad Sam was always saying that he would do anything for Henry, yet the boy had said that he wasn't truly Spartan. No wonder his dad seemed so sad. Henry didn't understand all of it but he was willing to try.

Just then, the bedroom door opened and his Dad Daniel entered, looking sadly at the boy. "Henry? What's wrong?"

"I want to tell Dad Sam that I'm sorry for what I said, but he won't let me."

Daniel entered and sat down on the corner of his son's bed, looking sad. "Henry, you don't understand why it hurt your Dad Sam for you to say he wasn't Spartan." He sighed deeply. "When we went to Confirm the twins, your Dad Sam was seriously doubting his worth as a Spartan. Lord Apollo helped him in a dream to see that he was truly worthy to call himself Spartan but there's still people who treat him badly and doubt that he's true. They act like he's not really one of us, just because he was born a human. It's hard on him sometimes. That's why it's so important for all of us to believe in him. He needs us to be strong and confident in him. When you said that, it was like a betrayal of trust. It's like you don't believe in him and that hurts him more than anything. Henry... Your Dad Sam sacrificed himself to Apollo for your sake. Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Daniel asked sadly.

"Yes... It does," the boy said tearfully.

Daniel looked at the computer. "You'd better be using that for your school work only, young man," the parent said firmly as he began to recover from his sadness.

"Lord Apollo turned it on for me. He wanted me to see what was on the memory card."

"Memory card?" the adult repeated, rising and moving over to pick up the case. He turned to Henry in shock. "You watched this?" he asked the lad weakly.

"He told me too... Lord Apollo did. He said I needed to see it."

"It must have gotten to you pretty strongly, whatever it is." Daniel set the card back down slowly.

"You never saw it?" Henry asked in confusion.

Daniel shook his head. "This message was meant for you, so I refused to see it."

"I think I understand why Dad Sam was so hurt when I said all of that... I wish he'd let me apologize to him."

Daniel looked at his son for a moment thoughtfully, then walked over to the boy and held out his hand. "Come on... Let's go talk to him..."

Sam sat at his desk, grumbling to himself. Who knew being a priest involved so much paperwork? he thought sourly as he went through it. There were functions and schedules to approve, bills to approve the paying of, applications for staff to review, status reports to go over, letters from worshippers near and far to read, request forms and complaints to address and so on. Form after form and all requiring his personal attention as head priest. He spent several hours a day going over everything in an endless cycle. I think I need to hire a secretary.

Sam? The priest jumped slightly in his chair and heard the god chuckle. Sorry, Apollo said with amusement. I didn't mean to scare you. Daniel is bringing Henry to you. You need to hear what the boy has to say.

Sam sighed. I'm not ready to see him yet. Do I really have to do this?

Henry now understands why you are so hurt by what he said about you. Sam... Give the boy a chance.

Sam would have said more but there was a knock at the door just then. Nothing like advanced warning, he thought resentfully and sighed. "Come in," he said aloud.

Sure enough, it was Daniel and Henry. "Sam," Daniel said. "Henry needs to speak to you." He looked down at their son. "Go ahead."

Henry took a slow, deep breath and began. "Dad Sam, I'm sorry I said that. I don't mean it... I just thought that you didn't care about my feelings and was siding with them instead of me. I didn't mean it. I know what all you've done for me... I know you sacrificed yourself to Lord Apollo for me and Dad Daniel when you had that tumor... I'll never say anything that stupid again, I promise. Please don't hate me anymore..." Henry started crying then, unable to say any more.

Sam saw the boy's sincerity. He got up, walked around his desk and hugged his son for several minutes. "I don't hate you, Son. It just really hurt me deeply is all. I love you Henry... And I forgive you." They hugged for several minutes. "Thank you for apologizing."

"I mean it Dad Sam. I swear I'll never say anything so stupid ever again!"

"Don't fucking swear, Asshole..." Sam said thickly in sudden humor. "It's beneath you, dammit!"

They all chuckled at that. "But thank you, Henry... Okay, I got to get back to this paperwork or I'll never get it done and you need to get cracking on your schoolwork. I'll see you at dinner, okay?"

"Ok," Henry replied and felt better when Dad Sam kissed his forehead and rubbed his back before sending him off.

Daniel smiled at his partner as he left. "I'll be back soon."

Sam smiled at that, sat back down once they and left and returned to his paperwork, feeling better...

Henry returned to school and while some of the students were nervous, others seemed grateful to him that he'd knocked Thomas down a few pegs. At lunch, a pale blonde-haired boy asked to sit with him, one he'd never met before. "Hey, can I join you?"

"Sure," Henry replied, feeling surprised that anyone was talking to him. Many of the kids had seen the fight and told the rest of the school. Seeing how easily Henry had taken on three of his fellow freshmen and had only the last, lingering traces of the bruise on the side of his face to show that he'd been injured in return at all. Many had falsely sworn that he'd put all three of the other boys in the hospital... A rumor squashed when the other three boys returned to school the same day, all still looking the worse for wear.

"I'm Peter, Peter Kyleson. I'm Spartan too. I'm glad you showed those jerks what for. Serves them right for saying bad things about our kind! I heard them say something about chickens and navel fucking." Henry sighed and told Peter exactly what Thomas had said. "All the better then!" Peter added for emphasis. "If it was me who got told that, they -would- be in the hospital right now!"

Henry shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. He was somewhat pleased at how easily he'd taken the humans but was ashamed of having let himself be manipulated so easily. "They're just jerks, is all," he said awkwardly.

"Yeah, I know... But still..." Peter said, scratching his hair.

Henry sighed. "I don't feel anything special towards you like my dads said I would when I meet my partner... I guess this means that you're not him then," Henry said, realizing that while he liked Peter, he didn't feel the intense draw or even the sense of strong familiarity that his Dad Daniel had said he would feel when he met the man he would be destined to spend the rest of his life with.

"I guess not," Peter replied a bit sadly. "But we can still be friends, though," he said, brightening.

"Yeah," Henry said with a smile...

Sally met Henry after school and they walked around the neighborhood and talked, catching up with each others' lives. Henry didn't tell her everything, however. He still was mulling over the visit his god had given him, as well as the video his Dad Sam had made for him when the parent had thought that he was going to die. It was still scary to have seen it, knowing that his Dad Sam was going to die within the next twenty four hours from either sacrifice or the tumor killing him. He remembered everything that his Dad Sam had been told by Lord Apollo the day they had first met high priest James and his partner Mike many years ago. Dad Sam would have died one way or the other during that trip, rather than a month later like everyone had thought.

But when he thought back to how his Dad Daniel had planned to kill himself rather than live without his partner, Henry began to grow uncomfortable and didn't want to think about it anymore. Sally noted the sudden change in him but he told her it was nothing.

They parted company with the promise to meet up again tomorrow after school and Henry returned home...

Ryan, Liam and their sons arrived from Portland and the family helped them to get settled into their new apartment. Daniel explained to them what had happened with the boy and why Henry was forbidden from entering the temple. Jeffrey looked rather guilty then, recalling how he too had once threatened to take a sword to school and just how shocked his Uncle Sam had been at that. The family settled in well enough and Jeffrey started high school the following week, finding the students to be more accepting of him as Spartan in this more open-minded environment. There was an Amazon girl named Nikki in his year who he quickly made friends with.

Ryan, Liam and their sons entered the temple the following weekend and fell instantly in love with the place, proud to have a true place in which to worship their god and began attending services regularly, even Jeffrey, who had taken up the family tradition of becoming Apolline...

Daniel sighed as he hung up the phone and marked the house showing appointment on his work calendar. He hoped that he could move the Lindal Avenue house, which was nice but priced a bit higher than most people wanted to pay. The current owners were stubborn, though and refused to lower the asking price any further.

Stevie began to cry then and Daniel turned with a sigh and gently pulled his son up into his lap. After a moment, he recognized the tone of the baby's complaint and frowned. "I just fed you an hour ago. Can't it wait?" The child cried in response. "I can't nurse you here," he whispered. "People will get offended. You'll just have to wait."

"Problems?" Marian, his boss, asked him as she walked by, stopping and smiling at the baby.

"Sorry about this," Daniel apologized. "He's being fussy today. I hope he's not being too disruptive... He's normally better behaved than this."

"It's alright," she replied good-naturedly. "My Pam was a difficult baby but I saw it through without strangling her."

Daniel paled. "Please don't joke about something like that. I could never hurt my Stevie!"

"Calm down," Marian replied, taken aback by his strong reaction. "I wasn't serious or anything. That really bothers you?"

"We Spartans tend to be very protective of our children. Sorry if it seems like I'm overreacting," he replied.

"I'm sorry... I'll try to behave. You need a break?"

"Just a quick one? I can't get him onto a bottle and he's hungry."

"Oh," she replied, taking a moment to recover from that, still getting used to the fact that Spartans produced milk to feed their young in a similar manner to women and Amazons, then smiled reassuringly. "Go ahead... Just be back quickly, alright?"

"Thanks," he replied gratefully and put Stevie into his carrier and locked his computer before going to the daycare room for employees with children. Daniel tried to only bring his son to work every other day at most, rotating him with Sam as much as possible but with the boy stubbornly fighting to be weaned off onto bottles, it was hard for Sam to take care of the baby often, so he only took the boy two of Daniel's work days a week.

As he walked along, he passed Judith's desk and the woman glanced at him with a look of resentment, then returned to her task. Daniel frowned at that. She was the one person he didn't get along with at work. Judith was quietly bigoted against Spartans, resenting them for having babies the way women did. He sighed and continued onwards, trying to ignore her.

He closed the door, put down the carrier, then removed his realtor's uniform jacket and opened his shirt. Then he sat down and picked up the boy, carefully positioning him, then sighed as he felt the gentle tugging and flowing sensations from his nipple as the boy nursed from him. "Not that I don't like this, Son but you'll have to get used to a bottle someday. Your Dad Sam wants to spend time with you too, you know."

Stevie couldn't care less as he drank away greedily.

"Pig," Daniel teased with a chuckle...

The month crawled by, Henry unable to attend services for the full month due to him not being permitted to use a blade and he felt very sad that he couldn't worship with the rest of the family. He spent time with his human granddad David, who wasn't Apolline but as much as he loved his grandpa David, he would rather be in the temple, worshipping alongside his family.

He thought long and hard about what all he had learned, feeling ashamed of himself for considering taking his sword to school and using it there to scare everyone into respecting him. He thought about what it meant to be a warrior and how his actions would've reflected on his family, the temple and Spartans in general. In the end, he silently vowed to never again even consider such a stupid thing and was unable to forgive himself for doing so. If he was ever allowed to even touch any blade at all ever again, he would both respect and treasure it. He had no illusions that he would ever again see the blade Apollo had given him and resigned himself to the fact that it was gone forever.

For a moment he considered the possibility of saving up to buy a new one but then felt unworthy of having one of his own and gave up on the fantasy. Instead, he resigned himself to helping his Granddad David around the house and making the best of his life, wondering if Lord Apollo would ever allow Henry to pray to Him ever again. Henry would often stare at the temple sadly whenever it was within view but never complained. He knew he deserved to be excluded.

Sally kept him company often on the weekends, helping out around the house and trying to cheer her friend up as much as she could but feeling guilty that she couldn't do more for him. He was alone in his room when there was a knock at his door. He looked up from his homework, not taking it in. "Come in," he said listlessly.

He was surprised that his dad Sam was there, looking at him with a sympathetic expression. "Hey," he said softly to his son. "Your thirty day restriction is up... We're going to start the Spartans-only services. Wanna attend?"

Henry hung his head and shook it slowly. "I'm not worthy," he said softly.

"Our lord thinks differently. He said He'd like you to be there today. He also said you were ready to have this back."

Henry felt shocked when he saw his parent holding forth his sword.

"But..." Henry began, then stopped, lost for words.

"He's been keeping an eye on you," Sam said gently. "And feels that you've learned true respect for the blade. He wants you to have it... And so do I."

Henry stood up and walked over to take the blade and sword belt with nervous fingers.

"Better hurry up or you'll be late!" Sam added. "We'll be waiting downstairs." With that, Sam smiled at the boy and left.

Henry hurried as he stripped off his clothes and fastened the belt in place. It felt good to feel the weight of the blade at his side one more and he vowed never to disrespect it again as he pulled on his robe.

He hurried downstairs with his left hand on his hilt as he jogged to avoid hurting it or anything else. He came downstairs and received a shock when he saw his twin brothers there along with the rest of the family, each sporting a blade of their own. "Guys?" he asked in confusion. "When did you get swords?"

"They're not ours," Marcus said. "We have them on extended loan from the temple."

"We talked it over with Dad Sam," Jason said. "And realized that we'd eventually outgrow smaller swords, so it didn't make sense to get ones now. We'll save up and buy our own once we're bigger."

"But when did you start worshipping?" Henry asked, confused.

The twins glanced at each other. "We decided to start when you got suspended from the temple," Jason answered.

"We saw how much it hurt you to not be able to worship," Marcus added, "and started praying for you. We liked it so much that we've decided to become true worshippers like the rest of the family... Not counting Grandpa David, of course."

Henry was touched with his brothers' thoughtfulness. "Thanks guys," he said, hugging them both.

"Well," Granddad Matthew said with a smile. "Let's get our butts in gear before we're late."

Dad Sam led the family out the door and across the yard to the side entrance to the temple.

They hurried to the right along the access hallway to the doorway that led out into the main hall of the temple, just in front of the altar chamber.

"Sorry if we're late," Sam said to Walter, the secondary priest.

"No, you're all right on time, Head Priest. The trumpeter was about to sound the call to worship in another minute." He noted Henry and smiled with a nod. "Welcome back," he said with sincerity.

"Good to be back," the lad replied with a smile. Just then, the trumpeter came out nude and with sword, raised the long thin horn and sounded the call to worship on a long, mid-range note that lasted for five seconds.

With that signal, every man in attendance, all Spartan, moved forward to disrobe. Then those who didn't have their own swords, moved to the armorer next to the entrance to the altar chamber to receive the blades that were for public use. Afterwards, everyone entered into the chamber with Dad Sam in the lead as the head of ceremony.

Henry took his place beside his family along with the rest of the worshippers and stood ready. He really liked this ceremony more than any other as it made him feel closest to his people. He stood ready as the head priest turned to them, standing tall and fierce.

"Behold!" Sam called out loudly. "We stand here strong and proud! Who are we?"

"The Warriors of Sparta!" they all called out, even Sam himself.

"And what do we value?" the head priest cried.

"Honesty! Integrity! Strength! Wisdom! Nurturance! Unity!"

"And by who's intervention does the noble blood of Sparta still sing?"

"Apollo! God of the Sun! Savior of the Spartan people!"

"And for what purpose did our forefathers accept the gifts of Apollo?"

As one, all present drew their blades and thrust them upwards in salute to the statue of their lord. "FOR VENGEANCE!"

As Henry sounded the cry, he felt a deep sense of pride... For now he truly understood what that meant. As he did so, he remembered the vision his lord had given him of his fallen ancestors and felt the anger that the last human Spartans had felt.

Sam turned and knelt, all of the worshippers following his lead. "Hera," he called out. "We accept the blessing and the curse and acknowledge You as our reluctant mother. Out of grief for the loss of our mothers we accepted the gift that Apollo gave, that we could continue and prosper, as well as to avenge our fallen mothers and sisters. May You one day forgive our impertinence...

"Zeus, we thank You for Your aid and crave Your blessings. By Your intervention were we allowed to thrive. Receive our everlasting gratitude and grant us continuance into future generations. Bestow Your blessings upon the nation of Sparta and all of our kind..." Sam rose, followed by the worshippers. He turned to face the statue of his lord, then he spun his blades around and knelt in prayer.

"Apollo! We, Your chosen sons offer You our praise and worship. We thank You for the gifts You have bestowed upon us that we may continue to prosper and endure. We praise Your strength, Your wisdom, Your compassion and accept You as our lord and savior, for without You we would not even exist. We acknowledge Your divine power and might and worship You in gratitude, love and respect. Continue to watch over us, Your loyal worshippers, Your chosen sons and grant us Your blessings, Your strength, Your wisdom, Your guidance. Hold us ever in Your arms, we pray. Apollo be with us!"

"Apollo be with us!" everyone repeated.

As Henry knelt, he felt the hand of his lord upon his bowed head as his forehead rested on the pommel of his sword.

You learned your lessons very well, Henry. Never forget them.

I won't... I promise... Please offer Your blessings to all of my family and watch over them. Keep them strong, safe and happy.

Your prayers will be answered... Receive my blessings.

With that, Henry felt the power of his god flow through him and knew that everything would be alright. There was only one thing now that worried him but he pushed it away, hoping that everything would be okay...

Walter became emergent two months later, much to Dennis' joy, who couldn't wait to become a father. Sam had to admit that Walter had become a much more laid back person ever since he had met his partner. Before then, he had been the stereotypical stuffy British gentleman who seemed to find virtually everything to be highly undignified. He even had Tea exclusively with fine china and a silver place setting.

Sam remembered the first time Walter had invited him to Tea, which the secondary priest took at the temple during his on hours. Sam found that taking an afternoon break was very relaxing and helped him to de-stress. The British have the right idea, he thought as he sat alone, taking afternoon Tea on his own as he had taken a liking to it so much that he had adopted the practice himself. Nothing like some quiet rest time late in the day to help one stay calm and focused. He was even getting used to the herbal teas and was able to lower the amount of sugar and milk required to make it taste good to him now. One thing, however, he would not do...

He brought two plates of food with him to Tea with Walter. "Ok," he said, sitting down. "These," he said, holding up one tray, "are biscuits," he said, holding up a pile of short, savory leavened bread cakes. "And these," he added, holding up a tray with a selection of hard, sweet snack cakes such as sugar cookies and Oreos, "are cookies."

Walter sighed. "No, those," he replied, pointing to the 'cookies', "Are biscuits and those," he finished, pointing to the other tray, "are... Some form of scone, I think. I'm not really sure..." He glanced at the odd-looking pastries, trying to figure out what they most resembled. He'd never seen such pastries before and was curious as to what they were.

"No, biscuits and cookies," Sam corrected gently.

The Brit looked at the American with a raised eyebrow for several seconds. "What difference does it make?" he asked, feeling flustered.

"Well I already lost this one once to high priest James. I just to win it once, is all," Sam pouted.

Walter huffed in disgust and took another sip of his tea. He saw Sam still pouting slightly but tried to ignore it. Sam pulled apart one of the scone-like pastries and buttered it, then quietly took a bite and sighed in disappointment.

Walter growled with intense suffering. "Oh alright, fine!" He touched each tray roughly for emphasis as he spoke. "These are 'biscuits' and these are 'cookies'. Happy now?" He asked with annoyance.

"Thank you," Sam replied with dignity. "Cookie?" he asked, holding up the tray of sweet treats.

"Oh might as well," Walter sighed with exasperation, taking an Oreo and biting into it. "Childish Yank," he whispered to himself as he sank his teeth into the -biscuit-. Tea continued calmly for several minutes, Sam smiling lightly. Finally Walter sighed explosively. "I mean really?!?" he exclaimed. "It honestly matters -that- much to you?!?" the Brit asked, unable to believe how Sam was obsessing over such a minor thing.

"Well yeah," Sam replied softly, sounding confused at Walter's exasperation.

The Brit groaned with disgust and slumped back in his chair, massaging his temple...

Walter came in a week later sporting a proto-womb and never having looked happier despite the slight pain it caused him. Nancy had altered his priests robes with an opening to leave the torso exposed so that he could remain warm while going about his duties. Sam found himself wishing that someone would design clothes for Emergent and gestating Spartans so that they could remain warm without looking dumb from having to pin their clothes out of the way of their stomachs all the time. The pins could sometimes pop open and stab the father-to-be, causing pain or ripping their clothes.

A month after that, Sam and Daniel realized they had a problem. They wanted to Confirm Steven before Lord Apollo but Sam could not serve his normal function, being parent to the child. Walter, who was still in good enough shape to do so, offered to serve as head of ceremony, so with him holding his blades, Sam placed their son upon the altar and stood back with the rest of his family as Daniel held the blade of Confirmation over their child. Steven's filaments Emerged, just as the parents knew they would and all was well.

Afterwards, the boys talked about their filaments, expressing their shock as to just how incredibly painful they were to have. Henry apologized to his Dad Sam once again for accidentally hitting the parent's filaments last year and he forgave the boy once again with a smile.

Walter continued his duties as best he could for the next two months, Dennis carrying his swords for the priest for the first two months before Walter became too nervous to wield his as he was concerned with hurting his growing womb. After that, he stuck with office work while Nathan took over as secondary priest until Walter was able to return to his duties after his son was born.

Sam came over for a few hours each weekend on his time off to volunteer to help care for Walter once he reached his seventh month and became bedridden. Dennis' sister and aunt volunteered to help as they both lived in the area. Dennis' parents were making arrangements to come for a visit of several weeks so they could be there for the birth and see their new grandson. Meanwhile, Walter's family was saving up for a trip to the states to come and finally meet Dennis as well as be present for the birth of the newest member of their family.

During Walter's eighth month, Sam and Daniel became Emergent again. They had a long talk and went over their budget before they saw that they could indeed afford to have another son and cope with caring for two small children – it wasn't like they hadn't done it before with the twins. As Daniel had already gestated twice, whereas Sam had only done so once, the choice as to who would carry the child was an easy one to make. They conceived successfully and Sam continued to work during his early stages of gestation. Walter, in the meantime, gave birth successfully with the all of both sides of the family there to greet the child and he named his son Riley.

Sam had Nancy alter his robes to allow for his growing womb and all of the temple staff were as happy for him and Daniel as they were for Walter and Dennis. The boys all seemed interested and since the twins had yet to enter school themselves, they offered to take care of Sam during his gestation. He was grateful to have the boys to help him in his time of need as it gave them more time to spend together and help them to understand more about how Spartans reproduced...

Matthew took the twins to be registered for junior high a few months before their tenth birthday, feeling concerned that they insisted on sitting side by side in the back of his car. He kept glancing in the rearview mirror, feeling worried about them. The twins had always been rather unusual to him, seeing as how they were unnaturally close. It wasn't healthy for them to be so dependent on each other but he didn't know what to do. He couldn't even so much as take one of them out to the grocery store as the boy would protest vehemently at being separated from his brother.

Matthew had prayed to Lord Apollo for guidance, hoping that some solution would present itself but his god would only tell him that everything would work out as it should. Feeling confused and uncertain, the grandfather could only worry for their futures. What will their partners think? ...Just calm down, Matthew. They'll outgrow this... They have to...

The secretary was rather shocked to discover that the twins were Spartan. "I've never heard of that," she had said and Matthew could only shrug.

"They're very rare. There's only one other set of Spartan twins currently alive," he answered.

"Well then," she said with a smile to the boys. "We'll see you in September."

The boys nodded and stood there. Matthew, who stood behind them looked down as he went to move away and was horrified to see the boys holding hands. From the way they were doing so, Matthew saw that this was a regular thing for them and was deeply disturbed by it. The way their thumbs were rubbing across the back of the other boy's hand, like a lover's touch, deeply shocked him. He moved forward and pulled them apart. "Time to go boys," he said curtly and led them out to the car, keeping one of each of them on separate sides of himself as they walked. They reached the car and went to the back doors. "No you don't!"

"But granddad Mat-" Jason began.

"NO! I don't want to hear it! Marcus in the back, Jason up front! No arguments!!!" the adult countered fiercely. Looking deeply hurt, they did as ordered. Matthew drove home in silence as the boys looked down at their knees, looking like they wanted to cry. They arrived home and Matthew dragged them into the temple and barged into Sam's office without knocking, where he was on the phone. "Hang up! Right now! We have to talk!" Matthew ordered his son-in-law fiercely, who looked at him with shock.

"Larry," Sam said into the phone. "Something's come up. I need to call you back, okay? Okay, take care."

"Sit down!" Matthew ordered the boys grimly. He rounded on Sam angrily. "What kind of children are you raising?!?"

"What do you mean?" Sam asked with an unreadable expression.

"They were holding hands... Like partners! And from the look of it, they've been behaving like this for awhile now! Don't tell me you haven't noticed! Why aren't you doing anything about this?"

Lord? Sam thought. I don't know what to tell him...

Tell them the truth. It's time for the boys to know as well.

"Well?" Matthew demanded.

"Sit down," Sam replied levelly.

Matthew went to make an angry retort but paused at the grim look on the priest's face and did as instructed.

"There's something the three of you need to know... Spartan twins are different from other Spartans. Their partner bond works differently. The partner bond they have is for each other. Marcus and Jason are a bonded couple."

Matthew sat there stunned by what he had just been told, unable to comprehend the truth. "What?!?" he gasped in horror.

"Matthew, the boys-"

"NO! NO! NO! Don't give me bullshit like that! That's not possible! ARE YOU CRAZY?!? THEY'RE -BROTHERS-, SAM!"

"Matt! Screaming at me won't change the truth! They're bonded to each other! We have to accept it... And it's not just them. Apollo told me that ALL Spartan twins will be bonded pairs... It's not just Jason and Marcus. For twins, it's natural." He turned to his sons. "Boys, your happiness is all that matters to me. I know that your lives will be difficult but I'll support you as best I can."

"You can't be serious!" Matthew shouted. "Sam... They... Are... Brothers! The whole point of being bonded is for them to have children! Family can't do that with each other! It's wrong!"

"Why?" Sam asked calmly.

Matthew felt his mouth drop open in shock. "Are you insane?"

"No, I'm asking an honest question... Why is incest wrong?"

"What do you mean 'why'? You know damned well why!"

"Answer the question, please. Why... -Exactly-... Is incest wrong?"

"Because," the grandfather replied slowly, taken aback by Sam's calm demeanor, "Family can't have children that would be healthy. The children would be either sick or deformed. If not them, then their children's children. It's bad genetics!"

"But it's humans that such things happen to, right? You've never heard of Spartan relatives ever having children by each other, have you?"

"Well no..." Matthew replied weakly as the twins stared at them both.

"The reason is because Spartans can only bare children by their partner and the whole reason for the partner bond is for each of us to find the one man, be he fellow Spartan or human, who can help us to have those children. In addition to that, the bond ensures a deep, unconditional love between the two. The bond between them will also ensure healthy sons... I have been assured this by our lord Himself. The only thing we can do is choose whether or not to accept their bond and offer them our support. I will not turn my back on them, not for anything! But what about you, Matthew Mikeson? Will you allow a human-trained prejudice to blind you to the divinely-given happiness of your grandchildren? Will you abandon them because of it? Turn your back on your own kin? They'll need us, Matthew... More than any of us will ever know."

Matthew closed his eyes and begged Apollo for strength... Then looked to the boys. "No... I won't abandon them. But what kind of future will they have?" he asked sadly.

"They'll need our strength to help them find it," Sam said softly. He rose from his chair and walked around his desk to stand before his sons, then he reached out to them one at a time. "Marcus..." he said and the boy reached to his parent with his right hand. "The other one, Son," Sam corrected. Marcus offered his left hand, which the parent took in his left. "Jason," he said, taking the boy's right hand in his own and brought the boys' hands together and joined them. "Apollo believes in you and supports you both. I love you guys and only want you to be happy. If that happiness is only to be found in the arms of each other then so be it. I don't know what the future holds but I offer you both all of my love and support. I will always be here for you and accept you as you are... Both you and the grandsons you may give me. I won't cast you away... Not for anything." He hugged them both tightly and pulled back to look at them. "Your lives will be difficult, at least at first but I'll be here for you. However, it will have to be kept secret... Most people won't be able to understand. You Dad Daniel and brother Henry know already but no one else. You can't tell anyone else... Many will react negatively if they knew the truth."

The boys looked at each other. "I knew it," Marcus said.

"Me too," Jason added softly.

"But it wouldn't just be us who would be in trouble if people found out, would it?" Marcus asked.

"No," Sam answered softly. "If people found out the truth about you guys, it would hurt all of your family, this temple, our faith and our god as well as all our kind. To protect us all, your love must remain a secret one... For now at least. I can't say about the future but you may very well have to live together in secret for all your lives. That may very well be the cost of your happiness."

"But what if we make a mistake?" Jason asked sadly. "We don't want anyone to get hurt."

The boys looked to each other, deep in thought, then nodded as they came to a silent agreement.

"Dad Sam?" Marcus asked. "What if we swore on the sword cross?"

"We can't take the chance that that we won't make a mistake," Jason added.

"You boys would do that?" Matthew asked softly.

They nodded as one.

"Alright then," Sam said, moving to the rack that held his swords. He lifted each blade and turned back to the boys. Making sure he had full clearance from them and all of the furniture, the head priest spun his blades carefully to avoid harming his growing womb and formed the sword cross. "Marcus Samson... Jason Samson... Step forward."

The boys rose and approached, then placed their palms, one over the other, on the point where the blades touched.

"Do each of you," Sam asked them in formal tones. "Marcus and Jason, swear never to say or do anything in regards to your partner bond that would cause harm to your family, your temple, your faith, your god, or the Spartan people as a whole?"

"We swear," they said in unison.

"Thanks you, Sons," Sam said as he gently lowered his blades. "This means a lot to me that you're willing to do this."

"I'm sorry I got so upset boys," Matthew said, moved by their act of consideration for everyone else. "I'll... Try to understand. Just know that I don't hate you." He looked away sadly.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked him.

"What am I going to say to David?" the grandfather asked sadly. "There's no way he'll ever condone this... Sam, make the cross again. I can't run the risk of accidentally saying anything to him about this. I hate the idea of keeping this from him but my partner couldn't accept the truth about the twins."

"Are you sure?" Sam asked. Matthew nodded, so Sam once more carefully formed the blades into the 'X' that was the sword cross. Matthew placed his palm on the blades. "Do you, Matthew Mikeson, swear never to speak to anyone, not even your own partner, about the partner bond between your grandsons?"

A look of deep pain and guilt marred Matthew's features. "I swear," he said softly as a tear ran slowly down his cheek...

A week later, the twins entered the temple early in the morning before dawn. They went into the armory and each took the blades that had been set aside for their exclusive use by their Dad Sam so that they could be free to worship whenever they wished. They then went to the entrance to the altar room, stripped and entered. They walked forward and drew their blades in unison, saluted the statue of their lord, then knelt in prayer, resting their foreheads upon the pommels of their blades and each offered their silent prayers. The boys each asked for the strength to endure having to keep their love secret.

When their Father Sam had told them that they were each others' partners, it was merely a confirmation of sorts. They had each begun to realize that they felt about each other the same way that their dads and granddads felt for each other. They understood the need for secrecy, since their Granddad Matthew had reacted so strongly to the news of their bond at first. Fortunately, he had begun to work on accepting the bond. As for Henry, he was fully supportive, having known the truth for several years. Dad Daniel was also somewhat supportive, yet the boys felt slightly annoyed that their parents and older brother had known for so long without having said anything to them.

They had sighed and decided to let the matter go. Getting angry wouldn't change anything but they agreed that it would've been nice to know at the same time everyone else had learned. They remained bowed in prayer, asking for the strength to endure having to hide their love for the sakes of everyone else and were shocked when their god spoke to them as one within their heads.

Jason and Marcus... Thank you for all that you are willing to endure for the sake of others. It means very much to me, yet I cannot allow you both to suffer because of it. Your love should be one of joy, not one of concern and personal pain. I wish to help you and have a way to do so but it will mean a bit of loss for each of you...

"What do you mean, Lord?" Jason asked nervously.

"What kind of loss?" Marcus asked, equally nervously.

The loss would be a small one, for it would mean a loss of privacy from each other. You two boys have the single most powerful partner bond I have ever seen and therefore have need to always be together. But the one form of privacy you have always had, even from each other, is that of the mind. I can link your minds together in such a way that you will each feel the emotions of the other. I can make a very small demonstration of this to show you what I mean.

The boys looked to each other and mulled it over before they nodded in unison. "We want to know," they said as one.

The doors on all four walls leading out of the altar chamber closed softly. We'll need a bit of privacy for this, He explained to them. Rise and sheath your blades, He told them, which they did. Now join hands and kiss...

The boys looked at each other nervously. They had hugged and held hands before but what their god was telling them to do was an adult thing and though they were relatively close to puberty they hadn't actually entered it and felt the urges it brought as of yet. They moved together nervously. Slowly, they came together and nervously touched lips. As they did so, they gasped, for each boy was able to suddenly feel the love of the other for them within their minds. As the strength of their love for each other engulfed them, they began to cry with joy as they kissed, the kissing going from closed mouthed to a more mature one.

Apollo stood there invisibly, watching the boys enjoy their love with a slight smile. Finally the boys pulled apart, realized they'd kissed deeply and did what all pre-pubescent children did... By reacting with mild revulsion at the adult act, finding passion disgusting and wiping their mouths with the backs of their hands. The god laughed softly to himself as he watched them, then gave them a few more moments of the link, seeing them still smiling at each other despite their amusing reaction of revulsion to the kiss itself.

Boys? Do you like this? They nodded silently, still smiling at each other. If I make this joining permanent, it will be with you for the rest of your lives. You will always be feeling the emotions of the other, both day and night, waking and sleeping. There might end up being some telepathy between you as well. You both have the potential for it, which with the bond to strengthen it, makes the link possible. But it will mean you will never have any mental privacy from each other. That is the cost of this link. Do you still wish for this? If I do so, it will become permanent and not even I will be able to break it once it fully forms. This will be one of the single most important decisions of your lives, so think upon it very deeply.

The boys sat there for several moments before they made their decision, feeling that they were in agreement. "We want this," they said.

They felt the hand of Apollo on their heads and felt the bond grow stronger...

They awoke the next day in bed together and stretched.

*Morning," Marcus thought.

Good morning, Jason thought back.

They stopped and stared at each other in shock. Each realizing that they had heard the other's thoughts. It seemed that Lord Apollo's prediction about possible telepathy had been true. The boys became excited, dreaming up all kinds fun ways to make use of it.

I know! Marcus thought. This'll make schoolwork way easier!

Yeah! Jason thought. If we don't have the answer, one of us can glance at another person's test and see the answer, then we'll both know it! It'll be-

MARCUS AND JASON!!! Apollo bellowed into their minds so loudly they reeled in pain. I DID NOT GIVE YOU THE LINK TO USE AS A TOOL TO CHEAT YOUR WAY THROUGH SCHOOL!!! IF YOU TRY IT, I WILL TELL YOUR FATHERS!!!

Shamed, the boys hung their heads. We won't, they thought, feeling guilty...

Sam was in his office when there was a knock on the door. "Come in," he said, glancing up to see Marcus enter. Sam looked back down to complete the sentence he was typing on his computer. "Hey guys," he said to the twins.

"Hey Dad Sam... It's just me," Marcus answered, closing the door behind him.

Sam looked up in surprise. "You without your shadow?"

Marcus frowned. "Don't call him that," he said with annoyance.

"Sorry, bad joke... Since when are you two away from each other? Jason in the bathroom... Or is he at summer camp?" Sam asked with a wicked smile.

"Why would he be there?" Marcus asked, sensing Jason's confusion at the remark.

"Well those camp counselors won't kill themselves," Sam replied matter-of-factly...

"Dad Sam," Jason moaned quietly.

Daniel paused in folding one of his freshly dried shirts. "What about him?" he asked the boy.

"He's being dumb again... Telling Marcus I should be murdering people at summer camp," the boy sighed.

Daniel looked around for his partner but Sam wasn't here. As far as he knew, his love was still working in his office over at the temple. "When did he say that?" he asked his son with confusion.

"Just now. Marcus is asking him to leave me alone," the boy said with a twinge of suffering.

Daniel stared at his son in shock. "You mean your brother is with him right now and you know what's going on? How is that even possible?"

"Lord Apollo made it so we can be together mentally so we can be together even when we can't touch each other. I can hear his thoughts and stuff."

"When did this happen?"

"Yesterday morning when we went for pre-dawn prayers. We wanted to pray together alone. Lord Apollo asked us if we wanted it so that we wouldn't be sad whenever we're unable to be able to be close together."

"Oh... So does that mean you guys can handle not being in the same room all the time now?" Daniel teased lightly as he recovered.

Jason sighed, rolled his eyes and folded a pair of Marcus' pants, trying to ignore his parent...

"Will you both knock it off!" Marcus growled to his Dad Sam.

"Both?" Sam asked in confusion.

"You and Dad Daniel. He's being just as bad to Jason as you are to me!"

Sam sat there stunned. "Wait, you know what's going on with Jason right now? Where is he?"

"Helping Dad Daniel with the laundry," Marcus replied simply.

"Sooo..." Sam drew out the word as he thought that over. "You guys are like walkie talkies now?"

"I guess you could call it that," Marcus said with a shrug.

"Well I'll be damned!" Sam sighed. "Here I was thinking you guys were finally learning to get a bit of independence from each other but it looks like I was wrong... Are you guys okay with this? Isn't it a little strange to have someone in your head all the time?"

"Not really... It's nice. Now we can go places away from each other without it hurting to be apart. We don't have to hold hands when we're nervous now, either, 'cause it's like we're holding hands in our minds."

"And both of you are okay with that?"

"Yeah we are."

"Well... As long as it makes you guys happy, then it's fine by me," Sam said softly.

"We know," Marcus said with a smile.

"So what did you want?" Sam asked curiously.

"We're experimenting with our link. Getting used to it and seeing what all we can do with it. I wanted to see what you were up to while Jason helps Dad Daniel in the basement."

"Oh? So Jason can see and hear what's going on here?" Sam inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, just as I know what Dad Daniel is saying to Jason. It's kind of fun."

"I suppose it'll come in handy," Sam said slowly. "Although..." he paused in thought. "If I even think you guys are using it to cheat at school I'm grounding you both back into the stone age! You use that power as it was meant to be used... For destroying the world!" he exclaimed dramatically, gesturing towards the ceiling with upraised hands. "I know you'll both make me very proud," he finished softly with a satisfied smile.

"Dad Sam!" Marcus sighed explosively, feeling Jason groan inside his head in intense suffering...

Within a few months of receiving their mental bond from Apollo, the twins reached puberty and Sam sat them down to explain sex and reproduction to them. "Alright boys, time for what they call the facts of life. I've already had this chat with your brother, so it should go as smoothly this time as it did then... Now, who here likes vagina?" The twins looked at him in revulsion. "Good," Sam said with a nod of approval. "We can throw that whole part out! Now, who here likes penis?" At that, the boys blushed furiously. "Good again," Sam said with another nod of approval. "Now we're getting on the right track. The penis has two functions, you already know the first, which is to urinate. But it also serves another, sexual purpose. Have either of you had yours get hard?" Marcus nodded, blushing even harder. Jason wouldn't meet his parent's eyes.

"Oh come on now, there's nothing wrong with that," Sam said to soothe their fears and discomfort. "That's what's called an erection, among other things and is perfectly natural. It's an important part of sex. Once the penis becomes hard, as well as to get it hard in the first place, you can stimulate it with touch, which will make it feel very good. That's primarily called masturbation, although there's many other names for it. Keep that up long enough and eventually you will feel an intense, pleasurable sensation called an orgasm. At the same time, a white, gooey fluid will come out of your penis called semen, or cum. That's C.U.M. That stuff, while looking a bit strange, is what helps make babies. Once your filaments come out and you both decide on which of you will have a baby, the other of you will carefully let his semen come out onto the other's filaments. The next hour will be a difficult one, because the filaments will pull all of the semen inwards to the navel where your egg will be waiting for insemination, which will begin to make the baby himself. That process is very painful, so the other of you will need to be there to comfort him as best you can. Once the process ends, you'll end up with the beginnings of your womb. You know what all comes after that but that's the process that is the start of a baby. Any questions so far?"

They shook their heads no. "Okay," Sam continued. "Sex can also be for pleasure and there's lots of ways to do it. Come with me." He led the twins from their room into the master one for him and Daniel, who was sadly still at work. He walked them over to the bookshelf next to the dresser where their TV and DVD player were. "These," he said, indicating the bookshelf of DVDs next to them, "are me and your Dad Daniel's porno movie collection. In all of these movies, you'll get to watch other people have sex. I will make the same deal with you both that I made with your brother Henry. You may borrow these movies and watch them in your room... However and this is VERY important... You must never tell anyone that we've let you watch them! There are laws against allowing children to be involved in anything that is in any way sexual. If anyone even thought that you guys were doing anything even remotely sexual, Both me and Daniel be arrested, you guys most likely would get taken away and possibly even separated from each other. The laws here in America are very brutal and unforgiving in regards to sex crimes, even between bonded Spartans. For everyone's sake, including your own, please keep this an absolute secret from everyone except me, your Dad Daniel and your older brother Henry, okay?" They nodded solemnly.

"Then if you can do so, you can borrow them and watch them whenever no one but us and your baby brothers are home. Just keep your door locked and the volume low while you watch them, okay? ...Also... If you guys have sex, try not to make any loud noises, okay?" they blushed again, turning beet red this time. "So remember to keep your door locked and the volume on the TV low, okay?"

He and Daniel had gotten sick of their three children fighting over the TV all the time, so for the twins' birthday last year, they'd bought them a used TV and DVD player for their bedroom. 'This way they'll only fight each other,' Sam had said to his partner.

'Why do you want them to fight at all?' Daniel had asked him.

Sam had steepled his fingers and smiled wickedly. 'To see which one of them will win...' he had answered sinisterly, earning him a look of disgust from his partner.

"You may," Sam continued to the twins, "watch these in the privacy of your room whenever we don't have company over. I would recommend, for your safety should you try to imitate what you see these guys doing, to avoid any of the videos that have a red sticker on them. Those sexual activities take lots of time to work up to and can be dangerous if you don't do them carefully."

"What kinds of things?"

"Leather stuff mostly, as well as bondage, flogging and fisting but I'm not personally into it." He paused at the blank look on the boys' faces. "Putting your hand up inside the ass of the other person. It takes many months of hard work to be able to open up enough for that and can go horribly wrong if you're not really careful."

The twins looked disgusted. "Well... it's an acquired taste," Sam said simply. "Never do anything that makes you guys feel uncomfortable, okay? Sex is all about enjoying being together." They nodded. "Let's see," he said, looking over the titles. "This one is tame enough," Sam said, pulling one from the shelf. "And this one," he said with a smile, "may particularly interest you guys as it has a set of human twins in it." He smiled at their reaction of shock and surprise. "Some human siblings are a bit open-minded, so there are the rare sets who will have sex together... But it's a very bad idea to assume any set of twins does so. Always exercise extreme caution, okay boys?" They nodded. "As for anal sex, which is where you push your penis inside the ass of the other, hold off on that for now. I'll talk to you guys on how to do it safely and comfortably later on, okay?" They nodded again. "Ok, go have fun and remember that you don't have to do anything that either of you don't feel comfortable in doing. I'll see you guys later and remember that you can ask me any questions you wish, no matter how embarrassing. I promise I won't laugh or judge you for asking."

He watched the boys go into their room with the DVDs and softly close the door, feeling that they were growing up way too fast for his comfort but wanting to be supportive all the same.

Fortunately, the boys were very careful about being sexual, waiting until they were at home to tend to the growing needs of their bodies. In the meantime, Henry was still avoiding boys, much to Sam's concern but he didn't know how to reach the boy, who still refused to talk about it...

The twins entered school the year after that as Henry entered his senior year of the same school. They all felt sad that this would be only one of two years that they would be attending school together, what with being only a little over two years apart in age. Unlike many human children, however, Henry didn't shun contact with his younger siblings and would often eat lunch with them. He had been rather nervous about the twins' closeness with each other but they had explained what Lord Apollo had done for them.

"So you're like trac phones now but I don't need to buy minutes all the time!" Henry teased, earning him a dirty look from his siblings.

School went well for the twins, for while they had separate class schedules, the link allowed them to stay close despite their opposing classes. They met for lunch with Henry each day before going to their next classes.

The twins had one advantage in school... Word about their family had spread like wildfire among the students, both about Henry beating three of the toughest boys in school so easily and what all had happened to the head bully's father when the human had tried to cause trouble at the temple. With all of that as well as the reputation the family had for their skill with swords, no one wanted to risk trying to bully the boys. Conversely though, few people wanted to be near them, either...

The next few months saw a slow decrease in Sam's duties as head priest, while Walter, who was able to return to more and more of his duties as his own son required less tending to, took over bit by bit until Sam became unable to do his work due to his ever growing womb and filaments. To everyone's relief, Sam's rate of growth was normal this time, showing that this time around, his gestation was a normal one. Finally in his seventh month, he became entirely bedridden, with Walter, Dennis, Nathan, Howard and the family taking turns helping to tend to his needs. Alice and Tracy, as well as Sally all helped out in taking care of the invalid Spartan...

Walter came into the master bedroom to check on Sam, only to hear screaming and yelling coming from the telly as Sam laid in bed, watching a DVD. The Brit was horrified by what was on the screen, staring at it in shock.

In what looked to be a well-lit cavern room with brown stone walls, a woman knelt on the ground, sobbing and screaming hysterically as she fought to ignite a petrol-powered lumber saw. As the woman struggled on her knees, pulling the line sharply again and again, a pale man with an exposed metal plate in his head danced around her, screaming and laughing insanely as he slashed at her back and sides repeatedly with a straight-bladed shaving razor.

Finally the woman ignited the saw and attacked her tormentor with the tool, slashing him up the torso and causing the pale man to fall out of the entrance to the cavern and crash down the hill, screaming as he went. Victorious, the woman stood at the entrance, sobbing, screaming and laughing in dementia as she went into an awkward dance of triumph with the weapon, spinning and slashing with it as the camera slowly pulled away to show her standing atop of an artificial mountain in an amusement center with an active highway behind it.

As the screen went black and the credits began, the Englishman felt stunned and appalled. The secondary priest turned slowly with horror to his superior as his mouth hung open in shock. "What manner of obnoxious program are you watching?!? And while you're gestating, might I add!" he said sharply, pointing emphatically to Sam's bulging womb of filaments.

"What?" Sam said defensively. "It's Texas Chainsaw Massacre II and it's relaxing."

"R-relaxing?" the Brit sputtered in shock.

"Well yeah... It is to me, at least. Say can you do me a favor and pop in Hellraiser III?"

Walter sighed in disgust. "Poor boy will come out a demon if you're not careful!"

Sam got a dreamy look in his eye. "Don't tease!" he said with an excited grin.

Walter shook his head slowly in disgust, "I should know better by now then to say such things to you of all people," he chided himself as he swapped disks in the player for his friend...

Finally, Sam went into labor in the evening late into his ninth month and Henry acted as birth coach for his dads. Once Sam had regained consciousness after the cord cutting and moved back into bed, he was given his newest son, who he smiled down at as the boy began to nurse from him.

"What will you name him?" Daniel asked, smiling at his baby son while holding his toddler son Steven in his arms.

"Sam," Matthew pleaded, "please not an 'M' name, I beg you!"

"Why not?" he asked.

"It's the curse of the 'M's, that's why!" Matthew exclaimed. "Martin and I swore we'd end it! Bad enough you named your one son Marcus but I let it slide as there's never been a Marcus in the family that I've ever heard of."

"What curse of the 'M's?" Sam asked doubtfully.

"I'm Matthew and my brother is Martin, born of Mike, who was born of Murray, who was born of Mitchell, who was born of Maxwell, who was born of Montgomery! The madness has to end, Sam. It has too!!!"

"Ok, fine! No 'M' name!"

"Thank you," Matthew replied with a sigh.

"So what name did you have in mind again?" Daniel asked with a sigh of intense suffering at having to hear the curse story for the thousandth time.

Sam looked at his baby thoughtfully. "I'll name him... Frederrick... Fred for short."

Daniel smiled for several moments until realization hit him, his joy turning to horror. "Sam! You didn't!"

"Too late!" Sam said, grinning at his partner with wide eyes. "It's official!"

"Dammit, Sam! How could you?" Daniel nearly shouted.

"What?" Walter asked in confusion. "Frederrick is a perfectly fine name for the boy. Why are you so upset?"

"Because Sam's thinking of Freddy Krueger from the Nightmare on Elm Street movies!" Daniel snarled, unable to believe that his partner would do such a thing. "What's wrong with you?" he asked Sam with annoyance.

"What?" Sam asked in annoyance of his own. "I just want the boy to have some sense of culture... And what form of culture is more enduring than horror culture? Everyone knows who Leatherface is, after all. I just want my boy to have an enduring name, is all."

"Sam..." David sighed with disgust as Matthew looked at the infant with pity for having been born to such a man.

Things only got worse once Sam began to sing a lullaby to his baby... "One, two, Freddy's coming for you. Three, four, better lock your door. Five, six grab your-..." He faltered, wanting the boy to have a suitable religious reference rather than the traditional one... "... Sword real quick. Seven, eight, better stay up late. Nine, ten, never sleep again."

The family and friends stared at the madman with various looks of horror, discomfort or disbelief...

Henry began high school shortly after Frederrick's birth and his family grew worried at the nervousness he always had at meeting new people. Sam began to see a pattern in the lad's behavior. He never feared meeting women, straight human men or partner bonded men... It was only single men, both Spartan and gay or bisexual humans that he was nervous around. Henry would always refuse to look them in the eye or shake hands with them. He seemed to avoid such men as much as possible.

Sam grew a bit concerned at this and tried to speak with the boy, hoping to be of help but Henry refused to speak about it. Sam prayed for guidance, not knowing what else to do but Apollo said He was aware of the situation and all things would work out as they should. Sam began to wonder if Henry was one of the few, rare bisexual Spartans that existed. It wasn't unheard of but Apollo told Sam that it was merely a personal issue that Henry had to work out for himself. Sam could only worry and hope that things would indeed work out for his son...

Halfway through the boys' school year, Matthew and David announced that they had found a place of their own nearby and would move out the following month. The family was sad to see the grandparents move out but the older couple had wanted their own place for some time now and after they moved out, the twins no longer had to hide their love with David gone from the house. They only had to worry about anyone else coming over to visit now. With Apollo's blessing, they told Walter as he was the single closest man to the family. The Brit had been deeply shocked at first but when he prayed on the matter, their god explained everything to him and he relented, seeing just how happy the twins were together. Dennis was equally shocked and took several days to get used to it but eventually came around and slowly began to lose his nervousness about the matter.

One day while working in his office at the temple, Sam's watch alarm beeped as he sat working in his office at the temple and he saw that it was nearly lunchtime.

"Daddy Sam!" Steven, who was two years old now, said joyfully from his place on the floor where he was playing with oversized building blocks. "Look what I made!"

Fred, who had been asleep in his carrier, began to cry as he was startled awake by the loud voice of his sibling. Sam sighed and picked up the startled infant. "Steven... You scared your brother Fred. Your tower is very nice but remember what I told you about being quiet when he's asleep. How would you feel if someone shouted when you were asleep and scared you awake?"

"Sorry," Steven said sullenly, looking to the floor.

"Shh, shh... Hush now Freddy... Don't be scared. After all, you're the one who's supposed to be doing the scaring, remember? All those nasty teenagers who tormented me in school deserve to be punished and who else to do it then my own darling boy, huh?" He looked over to his toddler who still sat looking sad. "It's okay, Steven. I'm not mad but try to be a little more careful, okay? It's a really nice tower, though. You should be proud, Son... Um... Did you get a building permit from the city? 'Cause we don't need to have our butts sued for violating city ordinances!"

"Talk to my lawyer," Steven said firmly, making his dad laugh.

"Hungry?" he asked as Freddy started to calm down. Steven nodded. "Come on then, Auntie Alice is meeting us for lunch today."

Steven cheered, making Freddy start to fuss again and with a sigh of suffering, Sam led the way back to the house, trying to console his crying baby. They arrived only a few minutes before Alice arrived with Del Taco for lunch.

"Thank you Auntie Alice," Steven said as she handed him his hamburger, making the Amazon smile.

"You're welcome Sweetie," she answered with a smile. As she handed Sam his tacos, she shook her head sadly. "Why does a taco chain make hamburgers?"

"Well, they have to do something with the extra meat," Sam said. "But they have great fries and cherry coke there, so what the hey?"

Alice sighed. "You act as much a child as your boys," she teased with a grin as they ate in the dining room.

"Thanks for treating us today."

"After those delicious ribs last weekend? This is the least I can do!" the Amazon replied enthusiastically.

They then watched with smiles as Steven flew his fry around in the air, "No! No!" he cried. "My powers have failed me! I'm falling!" He said in a low tone of voice, then crashed his fry into the container of ketchup. "If you are powerless," the boy said in a deep and sinister voice, "then you are no longer useful to me!" He lifted the fry and bit into it savagely, ending the life of the helpless hero.

As Sam gushed with pride at his son, Alice starred at the parent. "What kind of child are you raising?" she asked, half-serious.

"What? He had to... The guy was completely defenseless," Sam said in defense of his tyrannical son.

"And what's your problem again, that you would want your son to be pure evil?"

"I was never loved as a child," Sam replied with a shrug and a grin... Then his face began to fall at the truth of the statement. Before he could slip into depression, the table began to shudder... Along with the rest of the house. Sam looked around in confusion because it felt like the entire house was vibrating. He rose slowly in confusion. "What the fuck...?"

"It's an earthquake!" Alice shouted over the noise.

"What do we do?" Sam asked, feeling shocked and confused.

"Grab Fred! Steven, come here Sweetie!" she called, as she knelt down and the terrified toddler ran into her arms as Sam grabbed up Fred quickly but gently and followed Alice into the doorway near the center of the house.

"What are we doing?" Sam asked loudly to be heard over both the racket and the boys' crying.

"Doorways are the strongest parts of any house!" she answered. "Just stay here and watch out for breaking glass! Shh, shh!" she added to Steven, who was bawling in fear within her arms. "It'll be over soon, I promise. You're safe here..."

Sam felt horribly vulnerable and sent up an urgent prayer to his lord for protection of himself and his loved ones, as well as of the temple and everyone in it. He also prayed that the house and temple would survive, hearing something fall and shatter but just as he was halfway through that part of his prayers, the vibrations died away rapidly to silence. The only sounds were the crying of Fred and Steven, as well as the sounds of a few car alarms going off down the street.

"Fuck!" Sam exclaimed in shock as he looked around with his eyes wide from fear. "Is that what an earthquake is like?"

"That was a minor one. Sounds like you guys lost something, though," she answered. They searched around carefully, Freddy still crying from fear and finally found that the only loss was a lamp. "Could've been worse, I suppose," she said with a shrug. Just then the phone rang and Sam went to answer it.

"Sam?" Daniel asked in panicked tones. "Is everyone alright?"

"We're okay here but I haven't checked the temple yet. You okay?" he answered his partner, who had called from his work.

"Yeah, things are okay here. Shit I was scared! I'll call to check on the boys. You'd better make sure the temple's okay. Love you, Babe."

"Love you too, Love," Sam said, grateful that his partner was safe as he hung up. He turned to Alice. "I need to check the temple to make sure everyone and everything is alright."

"Ok, I should check the house anyways. I'll come back over afterwards to check in," she said, making her way to the door.

With Freddy placed back into his carrier and Steven taking his hand, Sam led his sons to the temple and walked around to the main entrance. "Steven, stay close, okay? Don't wander off."

The toddler nodded, too scared to leave his Daddy Sam's side. Walter came over as they entered the main lobby, looking just as shell-shocked as Sam. "Bloody Hell!" the Brit exclaimed, his eyes wide. "I can see what the bother is now! You lot safe?"

Sam nodded. "How is everything?"

"We're still sorting now. I thought that the entire temple would come falling down... Thank Apollo it didn't!"

"Leslie? Leslie!" a woman shouted with worry, looking around.

Sam, I wish to calm my peoples' fears. I have need of your body, Apollo said to him.

"Apollo needs me," he said to Walter. "Hold Freddy?"

"Right," Walter said, reaching for the baby carrier. "Stevie, lovie, come to me," he said kindly, holding out his hand.

The boy looked worried, so Sam knelt down. "It's okay Steven, don't be scared. I need to let Granddad Apollo speak through me to everyone but don't be frightened, okay? I'm still here too."

The boy nodded solemnly as he took Walter's offered hand. Sam rose up and braced himself as Apollo entered him. He turned to the confused masses and spoke in the god's booming voice, moderated to avoid upsetting anyone. "Be calm, My worshippers. No harm will befall you within My sacred temple. Taylor, come with us to the armory. Young Leslie was trapped when the sword racks fell but is uninjured... Linda?" He asked, gesturing to the distraught mother. "Come with us, your son is well, yet badly shaken."

The woman nervously followed them as they walked rapidly to the armory of the temple. They arrived to see the blades scattered across the floor. "No!" Linda gasped in horror.

"Calm yourself," Apollo said, placing a soothing hand upon her shoulder. "Leslie is unhurt. I allow no harm to befall any of good will upon My holy land." Apollo glanced at the scattered and broken weaponry, frowning both at the state of the broken weapons and at how the mess trapped the child within. "Leslie!" He called out, amplifying His voice so the boy would hear Him clearly. "Hold very still! I'm going to move the weapons out of the way so we can reach you!"

"Ok!" the boy called out from within the room, sounding somewhat shaky of voice.

Apollo lifted Sam's hand and concentrated. The blades began to rise slowly and carefully until they were all in the air. "Pity to have to replace the broken ones... Not to mention expensive..." He said loftily and the broken pieces of the blades came together and fused back into whole weapons just as strong as when they had been forged. He moved them to the sides and then fixed the racks as well, returning the fallen and broken wooden racks to their former state and guiding the blades back into their homes.

"Leslie? It's safe to come out now," He called.

The boy poked his head out, then ran out to his mother who kissed him and cried with relief that her child was safe. "Thank you, Lord," she said tearfully to Apollo within Sam's body.

"You're welcome," He said softly with a warm smile of sympathy, then turned to the boy.

"Say thank you to Lord Apollo for protecting you, Leslie," Linda said to the boy.

"But I thought he was priest Sam," the boy said softly.

Apollo laughed gently. "I'm only borrowing his body for a few minutes, Little One. But the next time you get scared, stay with your loved ones, alright? I trust that now you understand how it can be dangerous to wander off on your own like you did."

"Ok. Thank you Lord Apollo."

"You're welcome, Leslie." He smiled and ruffled the child's hair playfully, making the boy giggle, then nodded with a smile to Linda. He turned to the head of temple security. "Taylor," He began, making the human jump nervously as he was addressed directly by his lord. "I suggest bolting the weapon racks to the floor to make them more stable. Also, some Velcro straps will help keep the weapons themselves secure during future earthquakes."

"Y-y-yes, Lord!" the man replied nervously, bowing low.

Apollo nodded, then released control of Sam's body and withdrew His presence from His head priest.

Sam felt guilty. He should've been more prepared for something like this... Apollo felt His priest's thoughts and radiated a sense of calmness to him. Sam, don't be so hard on yourself. You're used to severe summer and winter storms. Earthquakes are an entirely new experience for you. Just ask for some advice from the local temple goers and your new friends on how to make things safer for the next time.

Yeah, You're right... Thanks.

Apollo placed a comforting invisible hand on Sam's shoulder for a moment before the head priest returned to the main room to check in with Walter and the rest of the clergy, who the secondary priest had told to inspect all of the temple grounds and building for damage and injuries. Fortunately, there were none...

Daniel, meanwhile, had called Henry on the tracphone they had bought him for his last birthday.

"Hey Dad Daniel, Is everything okay there?"

"Yeah, we're all okay. I got hold of your Dad Sam and he and the boys are okay. He's at the temple making sure everything is alright there, too. Do you know anything about your brothers?"

"Marcus just called me and said he's fine, Jason's okay too. He says that Wesley Maceklin pissed his pants in fear!"

"Who's Wesley Maceklin?" Daniel asked in confusion.

"Some jerk human who's in their year. Acts like a know-it-all but is dumb as dirt from what I've heard!"

"Ok then. Stay safe and I'll see you tonight. Love you, Son."

"Love you too, Dad Daniel. Later!"

Daniel called Marcus all the same and was glad to hear one of their voices. Marcus acted as a relay for Jason and he gave his sons his love before hanging up.

Daniel then called the temple and checked in with Dennis, who told him that everything was fine. The worst damage was to the armory, where a boy had been trapped but escaped injury due to Apollo's intervention through Sam and that their god had repaired the damage personally. He would pass word about the boys on to Sam, who he was about to go meet up with. Daniel thanked him and hung up, letting out his breath slowly.

He didn't think he liked earthquakes any better than snow and tornadoes, truth be told...

The next two years afterwards went fairly smoothly for the family. Jeffrey, Ryan and Liam's oldest son who was now a full adult, had gone to work as a butcher for a local meat company and Nick had entered his final year of high school. They also had two younger brothers in Richard Liamson and Nelson Ryanson...

When the twins were eleven and a half years old, they came down to breakfast wincing in pain and unable to wear shirts. Daniel stared at them in shock, feeling slightly sick inside. Hating himself for reacting so negatively, he shoved away his discomfort and set the boys down, then called Sam's office and asked him to return to the house immediately.

Sam entered to see the boys and blinked rapidly for a second before he recovered. "Oh... kay," he said slowly, not knowing how to feel other than confused. Deep down inside he'd always known that this would eventually happen but for it to happen so soon was a bit of a shock to him. He sat down heavily and stared at them uncertainly.

Henry came down and stopped as he saw them, his jaw falling open. "Oh man!" he exclaimed. "I knew you guys were doing it but I didn't think it'd make you guys come out this quickly!"

"Henry!" Daniel exclaimed weakly in shock.

"Well they're partners, right? Besides," the oldest son said, turning to his siblings. "You guys aren't always as quiet as you think you are!"

The twins' eyes went wide as they paled, then they looked away in opposite directions, blushing furiously.

"Oh-ho-ho-ho man!" Sam laughed despite his discomfort, burying his forehead in the palm of his hand.

"So does this mean we're going to be dads?" Jason asked.

"Like Tartarus it does!!!" Daniel shouted in horror.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Sam said quickly before his partner could say any more, then turned to the boys. "You guys are at still in school! There's no way either of you is ready to become a parent, not to mention all the legal problems it'd cause with people knowing you're having sex, so the answer is no. Secondly, to help prevent accidental gestation, you boys are sleeping in separate rooms until your filaments fall out."

"But Dad Sam-!" Marcus protested loudly.

"NO!" Sam countered loudly. "No arguments! You guys are only eleven years old for crying out loud! We're not letting you become underage parents! Separate rooms, no arguments! If you really need to both get off so badly together, just use that mental link of yours."

"Urgh! Sam!" Daniel exclaimed with discomfort, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"What?!? It's pretty damned clear the boys are fucking each other, so there's no point in pretending otherwise!" He turned back to the twins. "Jason, you take the downstairs bedroom. Marcus use your regular room and separate bathrooms too, even for showers."

"What else would we use them for?" Marcus asked.

Sam's eyes widened suddenly. "Nothing," he answered rapidly.

"What will we do about school?" Jason asked.

The parents sighed. "Well," Daniel said, "I suppose we'll just have to say you guys contracted measles or chicken pox or something..."

Henry looked away, feeling uncomfortable. Jason noted the reaction and thought that it was odd after the way his older brother had made the offhanded joke about them being noisy during sex, so it couldn't be because the twins were intimate with each other. Marcus felt just as confused and the twins shared a moment of worry for their brother.

Sam called the school and let them know that the boys would be out for about a week but to email him their work assignments so that they could keep up...

David let himself into the house that Saturday to find Jason in the kitchen shirtless, getting a soda. The grandfather stopped in shock to see the filaments poking out of the lad's navel.

"Granddad David!" Jason exclaimed in shock, trying to turn away quickly despite the fact that it was already too late.

"Jason! You're Emergent?!?"

Jason stammered, unable to think of what to say and feeling Marcus' panic adding to his own as his brother was instantly aware of their being discovered. Wait, Jason thought to his partner. He only thinks it's me.

Yeah but still... Marcus thought back, knowing it was only a matter of time...

"You found your partner already?" David asked with shock. "Jason! You're only eleven... And it takes about a year for partners to become Emergent..." the human said slowly to himself. "Jason! You're in an underage bond and have been for a year now? Why didn't you say anything? Do your dads know?"

Jason squirmed, not knowing how or even if to answer.

Tell him yes, Jason but don't say anything about your Granddad Matthew knowing. Your Dad Sam is on the way to you now.

"They know," Jason said aloud. Thanks Granddad Apollo, he thought with gratitude.

Stay strong, boys. Things are about to get worse...

Just then, the front door opened. "Hey boys, I'm home!" Daniel called out loudly. "Marcus? Jason? You'd better not be in the same room!" He walked into the kitchen and stopped in shock. "D-d-dad David! What are you doing here?" he asked nervously.

"Stopping by for a surprise visit. I was on my way to the hardware store and decided to pop on by. Why didn't you tell me Jason found his partner? It's not like I haven't heard of underage pairings before. After all, it was an underage pairing that got us all in prison all those years ago. You could've told me, Son."

"Well..." Daniel replied nervously.

"And why can't he and Marcus be in the same room?" David added, looking confused.

"Ummm... Well..." Daniel hedged until Sam quickly entered the kitchen from the back door. "Hey David," he said in what he hoped was a calm voice.

"Hello," David said suspiciously. "We were just talking about my grandson being Emergent. What's going on here and why can't I get an answer as to who his partner is?"

"It's... A bit complicated," Sam hedged.

Apollo sighed. Maybe I should tell him, He spoke aloud to them all, making the human grandparent jump.

"SHIT! Don't do that to me!" he exclaimed, shocked that the god had spoken aloud. The more that David had seen the works of Apollo, the more he'd become forced to admit that the god of the sun actually did exist, allowing the god to be able to be heard by the human without having to speak through the body of His priests anymore.

Sorry... David, you should sit down for this.

"I don't like the sound of that," the human grandparent replied weakly as he dropped heavily into a chair at the kitchen table.

I'm going to be blunt. First, you won't like what I'm about to tell you but I ask that you hear me out in full no matter what I say. Once I have finished my explanation, say what you will but it is absolutely vital that you give me the chance to explain in full first... Come in Marcus, Apollo added as the other twin poked his head into the room.

"Marcus?" David said. "What's-" He stopped in shock as he saw that the lad was also Emergent. "What the Hell?!? You too?!?"

There's a very good reason for that, David. Spartan twins are different from other Spartans in more than sharing a birthdate and appearance. All Spartan twins form their partner bond differently from other Spartans. To be blunt, David, the twins are bonded to each other.

"WHAT?!?" David screamed in outrage. "ARE YOU INSANE?!? WHY WOULD YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!?"

I'm not finished- Apollo began but David screamed further, interrupting the god.

"NO FUCKING WAY ARE MY GRANDCHILDREN GOING TO BE INBREEDERS LIKE SOME REDNECK HICKS!!! HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!?"

DAVID WILLIAMS!!! SHUT UP AND LET ME FINISH MY EXPLAINATION!!! the god's voice thundered loudly, making the entire kitchen tremble violently and causing the cookie jar on the counter to fall to the floor and shatter. They heard Him sigh with disgust as the fragments of the cookie jar rose up and fused back into a whole, then set itself back in place as though put there by an invisible hand. Meanwhile, the remains of the cookies rose up and levitated over to the trashcan and dumped themselves into it.

David, it's not as clear cut as that. Firstly, inbreeding denotes genetic deficiency in the offspring but I assure you that the children of Marcus and Jason will be completely healthy. The partner bond ensures fully healthy offspring. They will look just like their fathers but be completely strong and stable in both in body and in mind.

"But still..." David protested weakly. He buried his face in his hands. "This is insane. If word of this gets out, they'll be lynched! And what about the family's reputation? What good will healthy great grandsons be if they get burned at the stake?"

I will never allow things to go that far. I will not lie and say that their lives will be easy ones but I will protect them as much as I can. They won't be the first Spartans who will have had to keep their partner's identity a secret.

"Actually," Jason said slowly, glancing to his partner. "We've been thinking about that..."

"We've decided," Marcus added, "that we want to keep our bond a secret for as long as possible. We know that we can't keep it a secret forever but we'll do so for as long as possible... Even if that means we can't become legally registered as partners."

"But," David said, looking to them with sudden worry, "what if one of you gets arrested? Even I've seen that you boys are so close that you couldn't bear to be apart like that."

Do not worry. With their permission, I have created a link between the boys' minds so that they can be together mentally and emotionally even when they cannot be together in person. That is how they can bear to be apart.

"How long have you guys known about this?" David asked his son slowly.

"Well..." David hedged. "A few years..."

"WHAT?!? You've been keeping this from me for years?!? What's wrong with you boy?!? How could you lie to me like that?!?"

"I'm sorry, Dad David but just look at how you reacted! I didn't want you hating the boys or us because of this! It's not exactly easy being your son, you know... Your beliefs are so different from all of ours... I was scared that you'd disown us..." Daniel looked down, unable to meet his father's gaze.

David was shocked at the hurt he saw in his son's eyes. He looked over to see that Sam was looking exactly the same. He let out his breath, lost for words. "Are you all sure that they really are bonded to each other?"

Yes David, the bond is true. I will only say that their sons will be strong and healthy and that I will offer them as much protection as I can. If the twins are willing to keep their relationship a secret, then that will make it all the easier. Please don't be angry with Sam and Daniel for not telling you. I was hoping that we could break it to you gently but you found out more bluntly then I'd intended.

"What about Matthew? Does he know?"

Yes. I told him and made him vow to not tell you. I felt that the time for him to know was right but not for you then. Please forgive me.

"That's asking a bit much!" David replied sourly. "You basically made my whole family lie to me about my own grandsons! How am I supposed to take that? Let me guess... I'm the last person in the family to know?"

Ryan, Liam and their boys don't know yet, nor do Martin Brian and their sons. Only you, their family, have the right to decide if they should know.

"We think they should know," Marcus said.

"It's only fair," Jason added.

"I guess," David sighed with resignation...

Ryan, Liam and Jeffrey took the news with a predictable amount of shock but came around once the matter was thoroughly explained to them. Nick was rather uncomfortable with the idea but said he wouldn't disown them or anything. Martin was nervous, yet supportive but Brian was shell-shocked. It was only when Apollo spoke directly to him at length that the situation was explained in full. It took two months for Brian to come to terms with having incestuous grandnephews but he eventually came around.

Alice, Tracy and Sally were told as well, what with how close they were to the family. Needless to say, the older Amazons were stunned but Sally was philosophical about it. "I kind of figured," the long since full-grown woman said with a shrug. "You guys have always acted like a bonded pair ever since I first met you guys. It's fine by me as long as you're both happy."

"Thanks," the twins said to her with a smile of deep relief and gratitude.

"Well," Ryan said, looking slightly pale and taking a long gulp from his wineglass as they sat together for dinner. "To each his own, I guess."

"If Apollo approves," Liam added, "Then so be it. I'll accept your union."

"If their children will be okay and they're truly happy together," Alice said weakly, "then that settles the matter as far as I'm concerned."

"Same here," Tracy said, sounding more calm than her partner.

With that, they relaxed. Nathan and Howard took quite a few days to come around but eventually did when they saw how much it hurt the twins that the pair treated them so awkwardly.

After that, life returned to normal and most of the family tension faded away. The boys returned to school as normal once their filaments had fallen out. They knew that they'd have several more chances to become fathers, so they handled the delay of parenthood with dignity...

Henry graduated from high school and began to express a wish in entering into medical school but felt sad that he would be unable to afford it. He went to his parents for ideas and they and his grandparents smiled and showed him the savings account they had set up for him that had more than enough to pay his way. He was deeply touched by this and just before his seventeenth year of life, was accepted to UCSF, a medical college located in San Francisco. He worked hard to get ready for when the next school year began...

The night of Henry's sixteenth birthday came and after the party, Sam took the lad to the temple and into the altar chamber. He was shocked when Dad Sam told him not to bring his loaned sword from the temple with him, the younger man having outgrown the blade that Lord Apollo had given him years ago, which now awaited the day when Henry would pass it to one of his nephews as he had committed himself to never having sons of his own.

Sam walked around behind the altar and picked up something hidden behind it. As he came over to Henry, who felt that he was affronting his lord by not bearing a blade in the presence of his god as was proper, saw that the object his father held was a sword case and realization hit him.

"Henry," Sam spoke, his voice filled with emotion. "I want to give you something very special." He held forth the case, which the son took gently and set down, then opened it. The blade inside was slightly old but still in near perfect condition as it had been well cared for over the years. He picked it up gently.

"This sword," Sam said softly, "was the very first true sword I ever wielded, given to me by your Granddad Matthew. You are the only person I could ever see as fit to wield this blade. It has a very special history to it, Henry and is my single most valuable possession, not in monetary value but in significance."

"What do you mean?" Henry asked.

"The sword you hold is the one responsible for the scars I bear," Sam said softly.

Henry was shocked, looking up at his father with a mixture of emotions. "You mean...?" He asked in a trembling voice.

"Yes..." Sam said thickly with emotion. "The sword you hold is the very blade I used to sacrifice myself to Lord Apollo for the sakes of you and your Father Daniel... That sword changed my life forever, helping to trigger the event that made me Spartan and cured my tumor, giving me a long and healthy life by your sides and bringing me into Apollo's service. That weapon ushered in my future and allowed me to give you brothers myself... It gave me everything just when I thought I had nothing left to me but a heartfelt wish that you both would be okay without me... When you wield that blade Henry, you are carrying my love for you and your other father, as well as all of my determination to do anything for you guys, in your hand. You're the only man fit to wield that blade because you are the one I used it for, as well as the one man who can truly understand the history of the blade and what all that means... I've wanted to give you that sword for a long time now but this seems to be the best moment for it. I know you'll never dishonor that sword."

Henry moved to his Father Sam with tears in his eyes and hugged his parent fiercely as he began to cry. "Thank you," he said thickly...

Shortly after enrolling in the university, Henry met with a Spartan professor who took the young man under his wing and began to privately tutor him in a specialized sub-field of Spartan and Amazon medicine. The professor was slightly saddened that Henry didn't want to become a full-fledged doctor, yet wanted Henry to know as much as possible, to which the lad readily agreed. Henry would graduate four years later, aged twenty one, then be hired onto the Emergency Medical Technician staff at the Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, which would allow him to stay close to the family and the temple. He got an apartment of his own, visited the family at his former home with them and attended services regularly, yet the family became worried that Henry still avoided single men as much as possible outside of work.

In the meantime, the twins had graduated from high school and decided against college, instead getting separate jobs. Jason got a job as a mail man, while Marcus went to work at a local pet store. They worked hard to save up enough to move into their own department. They moved out six months later, making Sam and Daniel sad that the house was now that much emptier. They still had Steven and Fred but were still somewhat heartbroken that their three older sons had left the nest. Matthew and David were sympathetic but let them know that life went on and although the boys had left, they continued to remain a close-knit family who got together every weekend, both for services and also for a weekly family meal.

Roughly seven months after the twins had moved out, Sam and Daniel awoke in pain to find that they had both become Emergent yet again. "Sam!" Daniel said in shock. "You know what this means? If both of us are Emergent, then that means we both have a third egg each!"

"Really? How can you tell?" Sam asked.

"Well once the last egg is fertilized, that's it. Even if both partners are Spartan, once one of them has used up his last egg but the other still has one left, only the Spartan with the egg becomes Emergent. This means we can each have a third gestation if we want too. Do you want more kids?"

"Does this make us the Spartan equivalent of Breeders?" Sam teased with a smile.

"I don't know but it sure seems to feel that way!" Daniel replied with an amused smile of his own. "That'll make seven kids at least, you know... We'll probably go down in the record books as the single most fertile Spartan-bonded couple ever to exist!"

Sam laid back in bed and stared up at the ceiling. "I'd like to have another son but if you don't want another yourself, that's okay with me. I'd be okay with us each having one more but it's up to you. Me? I want another boy."

"Ok, I want a third son too but why don't you take this one? After all, your work gives you full pay for faternity leave but mine doesn't, so I'll need to save up for my own gestation."

"Deal," Sam said with a sigh, then shared a tender kiss muted slightly by the need to take care in regards to their filaments. Afterwards, Sam stared up at the ceiling again. "You know..." he said softly. "I remember back when I'd thought that I would be alone for my entire life... Unwanted and unloved..." A tear ran down his cheek and Daniel brushed it away tenderly. Sam started to laugh. "And now I'm going to have the biggest fucking family ever heard of!"

Daniel couldn't help himself... He started to laugh too.

END OF BOOK 2 --- BOOK 3 TO COME...