Sons of Sparta

Sons of Sparta - A Story of the Spartans, Book 3

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

by argouru

Note: 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.

WARNING: Portions of this installment of the series includes a section regarding mental illness.

A month later, after all of the family, including Henry's grand uncles Martin and Brian had come to see the newest member of the family along with all of the honorary uncles, aunts and cousins, the trio moved back to the apartment to formally begin their life as a family. John returned to work after having been given that month off with pay by Sam, who told him to take time to be with his son and learn how to care for him properly, while Henry took another month off to tend to the boy before returning to work. They took the baby in shifts so that Henry could return to his regular duties part of the time while John kept Glenn with him at the temple, either taking care of the boy himself, or leaving him in the daycare room when he had duties such as working in the armory or kitchen where the baby's safety wasn't assured.

John loved being a father for the most part and Glenn was well behaved... Except during feeding times. Glenn stubbornly refused to feed from bottles, demanding to be nursed from his birth father instead, much to the couple's frustration. It was only after over an hour of fighting each time that they could get the boy to take a bottle instead. Henry wasn't pleased with this as he wanted the baby to be able to take either of the two, but nursing was the one thing Glenn refused to budge on. Milk only, no formula.

This made John's days of caring for the child more and more stressful as time went on. No matter how frustrated he became, however, the human refused to ever take his frustrations out on the boy. Instead, he would set the baby down and step away for a few moments until he got himself back under control. It was a true pity to him that the baby was so stubborn about feeding, as that was the only thing that caused strain between siring father and son. John truly and deeply loved his child, but found it sad that Glenn basically threw a tantrum because he couldn't be nursed all the time. It was a problem that grew steadily worse and worse as the months progressed, wearing on John's nerves and making him experience a slowly deepening sense of guilt for feeling that way.

John began to think about the differences between him and his child and wondered if he would ever truly be able to understand the boy. Glenn will have experiences I'll never be able to relate to, John thought to himself with sadness. What if he asks me about Emergence? I can tell him what I know, but all I can give him is an outsider's perspective on it. And what about his heritage and the differences between our species? Glenn's Spartan, but I'm not. No matter how hard I'll try, I'll never be able to understand things he'll end up taking for granted. I know I helped give him life, but there will always be this chasm between us, keeping us from ever truly understanding one another. Henry's the same way. He loves me, but there's things about him I'll never understand and it's the same way for him. He was born Spartan and me human. We love each other, but we're so different. Love doesn't mean understanding...

It was three and a half months since Glenn's birth and John was taking care of him in one of the private use daycare rooms at the temple. The boy was once more fighting the bottle and John was growing more and more frustrated and disappointed. It hurt him that the baby was being so difficult to him and he felt a bit of sadness that the child wouldn't enjoy his company more. After more than an hour of fighting Glenn to take the bottle with the baby stubbornly refusing, John set him down and sighed with frustration, feeling his stress level going through the roof. Glenn's distinctive hunger cry was naturally ingrained into John by now and he had checked everything else about the boy to be sure, but it was indeed hunger, as it had been hours since Glenn had last fed, so John knew that an empty stomach was the issue. However, it seemed as if the infant would rather starve than take the bottle.

"Dammit, Glenn!" John said in a harsh tone without yelling. "Henry's not here and you can't nurse forever, so stop being so damned stubborn and take the bottle already!" He offered it to the baby again, who turned away from it and resumed crying. "Oh come on!" John growled. He sighed with disgust, set the refused bottle down and hugged Glenn close to him to try to ease the child's distress. Glenn began to root around against John's chest, moving his face around on the cloth of John's work robe until he found a nipple and tried suckling it through the cloth. "No, Glenn!" John said sharply, pulling the child away from his body. Glenn began to cry again, so John stared at him with a sour expression.

"I can't do that for you! It doesn't work that way on me!" he told the baby, who continued to cry. "You really don't get it, do you?" he asked in exasperation, set Glenn down and made sure he was safe, then rose and grumbled. "You really need to learn the hard way, don't you? I can't believe I'm doing this!" He removed his robe, sat down and took the still crying baby into his arms, then guided him into place. "Don't you ever tell anyone we did this," he ordered the child, who latched onto his nipple and tried to nurse from him. The sensation was odd to John, but he let the child continue to try until he pulled away and started sobbing anew.

John's frustrations spiked and he glared down at the baby resentfully. "I tried to tell you, but you had to learn the hard way." Glenn continued with his cry of hunger and John couldn't help himself but to speak bluntly. "I can't do that for you, Glenn!" he said with sudden grief. "...I'm not your real dad!"

A sudden wave of horror flooded him and he set Glenn down carefully before he broke down crying himself, feeling a mixture of shock, shame and grief. What the fuck is wrong with me?!? he thought as he cried. How could I say such a thing? What's happening to me? But deep down inside, he knew the truth. He doubted the connection between him and his son. He did know he was a genetic parent to the boy, but the difference in species was proving to be too much of a barrier between them. John finally saw that he was jealous of the Spartans, Henry and Glenn included, and resented them for being better than him. No matter how much John had tried, he had been unable to overcome his feelings. Now, all of the pain, jealousy and resentment that he had been repressing was coming out and the worst part was that he was starting to take it out on his own child.

What kind of a monster am I to resent my own child? How can I do that to him? He wanted to take it back, but knew that he could never do so honestly. That only broke his heart further. I turned into the very kind of person I never wanted to be... Someone who resents his child the same way my family always did with me. It's not fair to Glenn... He deserves better than that. It's not fair to Henry either, or the rest of the family.

Finally, once he had gotten himself back under control, he picked Glenn up and hugged him gently as the baby continued to cry with hunger. "I'm sorry I said that, Glenn," he whispered, his only consolation being that Glenn was far too young to have understood that John had said. He tried once more with the bottle and finally, reluctantly, the infant started suckling on it. John could only hold the child and feed him, unable to overcome his feelings and continuing to cry sliently with hurt and shame...

Henry was worried. John was even quieter than usual and there was an odd quality the Spartan couldn't identify to the human's cuddling of late. It had begun two days ago after John and Glenn had come home from the siring father's work, but each time Henry asked him about it, John would only say that Glenn had been fighting the bottle. Henry knew that that was true, but couldn't help but feel that there was something more to it. He had planned on taking Glenn to work with him on Friday when he was awoken at five thirty am by the hospital calling him in. There had been a bad accident on the freeway and several people, including an Amazon, had been hurt. The hospital was calling in as many technicians as they could get to answer the phone. John was understanding, however and said he would take care of Glenn for the day. Henry left soon afterwards, feeling worried about several things.

John was awoken an hour later by Dennis calling him to ask if he could work the late shift, which he agreed to. He then called Henry to let him know, but the phone went right to message. John left the details for him and hung up, then went back to sleep for awhile with one ear on the baby monitor, but Glenn was sleeping soundly. At eight, he awoke fully and went to check on the baby, who was awake and staring quietly up at the mobile hanging over his crib. He turned to look at his human parent with interest as John leaned his head on the rail gently and stared sadly at his son.

After they stared at each other for awhile, Glenn reached towards John, who felt his eyes mist up as he picked the boy up and held him, unable to get past his feelings of guilt and shame. He drove them over to the temple at noon and put Glenn into the care of the daycare attendant, a woman named Linda, who had been attending the temple for nearly as long as it had stood. After that, John only checked on the boy during his breaks, feeling unworthy of being around the child for more than a few minutes at a time, but forced himself to throttle his feelings and bury them deep down inside while he was with the baby. John checked the news and heard that an unnamed Amazon was in surgery, meaning Henry was there as well, offering his expertise to the surgeons as they worked on saving the woman's life. During his second break, he was unable to hold in his grief and shame any longer and cried for twenty minutes before he was able to return to work.

At eight in the evening, Daniel showed up and offered to take care of Glenn until John got off of work. "Sounds good."

"Are you alright?" Daniel asked with concern, noting the haggard look of his son-in-law.

"I'm a little tired. Glenn kept me up this morning and has been fighting the bottle today again."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I want to pray after closing, so I'll be by afterwards to pick him up. Thanks for taking him."

"Sure thing," Daniel said as he left, still feeling worried about John's off behavior.

At nine, John and Keith were the only ones left in the temple as it was past closing and everyone had gone home for the night. "Go ahead and take off," John told the Spartan. "I want to pray before I leave, so I'll lock up for you."

"Thanks man. Have a great weekend."

"You too," John said, locking the door behind the head of security and sighing. He had been thinking hard all day and made a decision. He needed to apologize. He went to the offices and logged onto one of the computers, worked out what he needed, then went back to the front security desk. After that, he disrobed and entered the altar chamber...

Henry left the hospital at a quarter to six and went directly home. He found a note from John saying that he was working late and they would be home late, so he shouldn't wait up for them. Feeling disappointed, the Spartan showered and went to bed for a nap. He awoke shortly before nine and was shocked when Apollo spoke to him.

Henry, I want you to come to the temple.

"Lord? Why? Is something wrong?"

There's something you need to see. Please come right away.

Nervous, as Apollo had rarely spoken to him outside of the temple, He got dressed quickly and left right away, growing more worried as he went. He arrived and found the doors locked, so entered by way of his set of temple keys given to him by his priestly father and paused at the security desk where a folded note had been left reading 'To whom it may concern'. Curious he opened it and read.

'Please show this letter to the authorities so that no one will get into any trouble for what I have done. I have been jealous of the Spartans for as long as I have known them and tried to overcome my resentment, but was unable to. What was worse, I felt that way about my partner Henry Danielson and our son Glenn. The last thing I want in life is for them to be hurt by the way I felt, so I did the only thing I could to ensure that I would never hurt them. Henry, please forgive me and tell Glenn that I am sorry I wasn't there to see him grow up. I love you both so much that I can't live with this guilt and resentment any longer. The last thing I want is to hurt you... Please forgive me for what I have done-'

Henry panicked at that, dropping the note. "JOHN!!!" He screamed, looking around frantically and seeing that the doors to the altar room were closed. He barreled forward and slammed into the doors, but they wouldn't budge, even when he used all of his strength. He pounded on them, trying to break them down, but they resisted. Henry stepped back to kick at them when they opened on their own. Seeing this, he ran in fully clothed, only to stop dead in his tracks to see John's nude body sprawled across the altar, blood pouring from his throat and chest.

"NO!!!" the Spartan screamed in grief, rushing to the body of his husband and taking the man he loved into his arms, seeing the sword still protruding from his chest. Henry broke down then, sobbing hysterically. "Why did you do it?" He asked, his voice thick with sorrow. "Why did you leave me?" He sobbed for several minutes before he lifted his head from John's lifeless shoulder. He kissed the dead human on the lips softly, then seeing the sword still stuck in John's chest, set him down and pulled the blade free. He held the blood-soaked blade up, then took off his shirt, his grief overwhelming him. He lifted the sword with determination and closed his eyes as he braced himself, unable to go on without his husband.

"Stop!" a firm voice said, grabbing his arm. Henry's eyes snapped open to see Apollo standing before him. "That is not what John wanted for you."

Henry looked at his god with utter hatred. "But it's what you wanted, right? A nice fat feeding for you?!? I hope you choke on his death!" he snarled, trying to break free of the immortal's grip. "Let me go!" Apollo stood there, glaring at the mortal sternly. "You son of a bitch!" Henry growled, swinging his fist at Apollo's face.

A sudden blast of light and power sent him sprawling to slide several feet across the floor, the sword clattering and skidding away from him as he his prone body slid along the smooth marble floor before he came to a stop several feet away. He laid there in agony for several moments. "If you were not My grandson, I would have killed you outright for that!" Apollo declared coldly.

"Well why not?" Henry wheezed as he slowly, painfully got back up. "What's one more death to You anyways? That's what You get off on!"

"I will not deny that John's death nourished Me very well, but it was his own choice to sacrifice himself to Me. Besides, I'm not done with him yet."

"What?" Henry asked in shock.

Apollo looked to him with warning. "Just watch," He said, then turned to John's body upon the altar. "You stupid, stubborn man," He said grimly. "I tried to be here for you, but you were determined to do everything for yourself. Now look at you, dead and leaving behind a half-orphan and a widower. You honestly believe, even now, that your life has so little meaning," the deity said, emotion choking His voice. "You're wrong, John... Your life does have meaning. If only you had allowed Me to help you... If you had only talked to Me about how you felt... But you persisted in believing that you were unworthy... You're not, John. If you weren't, I never would have broken divine law to save you that day... And for what it's worth, I accept your apology."

Apology? What’s He talking about? Henry wondered in confusion.

"Well," Apollo continued. "Here's something I bet you didn't know. When a person dedicates their life, death or both to me, then I gain dominion over their entire existence. I hereby exercise Mine over you. I'm going to shove My help down your throat and you're GOING to accept it! Now rise!" He commanded, and in a flash of light, John was hacking and coughing as he laid sprawled upon the altar, his life restored and his wounds healed by the god's divine power. "Kneel before Me," Apollo commanded as John finished recovering.

John staggered to his feet and Henry took a step forward before Apollo shot him a glance of warning. Instead, Henry stood there, watching mutely as his once more living husband knelt slowly before the god. "John Apolloson... You are a fool. It never had to come to this. Your death was completely unnecessary, but you refused to believe otherwise. In your stubbornness, you refused to see the worth of yourself even after Joshua's healing. You think you are unworthy, but you are wrong. John... What you wish for is no crime. Stand up." John did so, unable to look the god in the eye. "Kiss me."

At this, John's head snapped up to stare at the immortal with shock. He shook his head slowly. "I can't," he said weakly.

"I said kiss Me." Apollo demanded firmly.

"I won't do it," the human said softly, yet firmly. "I can't do that to Henry. It's bad enough that I keep hurting him as it is, but I can't do that. Please don't make me do it," he sobbed, never having felt more ashamed of himself than he did at that moment.

"John," Henry said with extreme difficulty, every word costing him deeply. "Do it."

"But-"

"I said do it. The will of Apollo cannot be denied." The Spartan hung his head with sadness.

John looked Apollo in the eye. "Only because Henry told me to," he said. Apollo nodded and then accepted the mortals' lips which pressed to His own.

Henry looked up in shock as an intense light radiated from the pair, making him wince away in shock. When it faded after several moments, the Spartan blinked away spots to see John slumped unconscious on the floor for the chamber. Henry moved over to him uncertainly. Then looked up when the god spoke gently to him.

"Henry, be gentle with him, as well as understanding. It was grief and a desire to spare you and Glenn the pain of his resentment and jealousy that made John give himself to Me. Try to have patience with him and know that his love for you both is so strong that he felt that only by dying could he spare you further suffering. There is much he will not say, but make him tell you. John's days of keeping his pain buried away inside himself must end. You are the only one who can make him do so."

"Lord... I-"

"Now is not the time, Henry. We will speak again later." With that, the god vanished slowly.

Henry returned his attention to John and noted with shock that the human's skin was slightly darker now, from what he could see beneath the blood. Is he taller, too? Henry wondered, slowly rolling John over onto his back and got a double shock as he first noted that John's body was now well muscled, then that he had a fully Emerged set of filaments. He... He's just like Dad Sam now!

Using his medical training, he quickly discovered that John's pulse and breathing were normal and his wounds to throat and chest were completely healed. Finally, groaning, John regained consciousness. He slowly opened his eyes to see Henry staring down at him with a mixture of relief and wonder. John saw his husband staring down at him and broke down, beginning to sob. Henry held him until he finally settled down and stopped crying.

"Henry," John said in a near whisper. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... Please don't hate me for this... For what I did."

"Shh," Henry said. "It's alright. All that matters is you're still here with me. Are you okay?"

"I'm still sore all over, but the worst of it is in my stomach," he said, reaching for his guts.

Henry stopped him with a hand on his wrist. "No John! Trust me, that’s a really bad idea in your condition!"

John looked down and his eyes bulged in shock as he finally got a good look at himself. "He did it... Even though I don't deserve it, He did it anyways."

"This is what you wanted?" Henry asked, feeling shocked to discover that John seemed happy despite his sense of shock and apparent lack of worthiness.

John hung his head in shame. "Yes... Man, look at me, I look like something out of a slasher movie."

"Come on," Henry said, helping him to his feet. "There's an employee shower room in the back for post-sacrifice cleanup. It'll hurt with your filaments out, but as long as we're careful and clean you up quickly, you should be alright."

After they showered, rather painfully for John, the couple made their way to the house, John holding his robe wrapped around his waist to avoid indecent exposure charges, and they let themselves into the house. "There you are!" Daniel said, entering the living room. "I was-" He stopped dead as he got a good look at John. "What the fuck? John... You're...!"

Henry and John stopped in the living room as Sam came down the stairs, followed by Fred. "Whoa!" the younger sibling exclaimed as he saw what had happened to his brother-in-law. "Dude! What happened?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Henry said darkly, turning from his Dad Sam's mixture of expressions at seeing John, mostly a combination of shock, sadness and a hint of happiness, to his husband who was looking guilty. "John... No more secrets, no more holding anything back, no more keeping things from me! It's time you came clean!"

"I thought that was what the shower was for," John replied timidly.

"Dammit, John! This isn't the time for jokes! Why did you do it?"

He hung his head as he spoke. "Because I was jealous. And I was beginning to resent Glenn as much as the rest of you and he deserves better than that. He needs to be raised with love and I do love him, but at the same time, he's a different species from me. He'll have experiences that I'll never understand, never be able to relate to. I felt like I would only ever be able to watch his life from the sidelines... And then the other day I said the most horrible thing I could. I said to him that I wasn't his real father. I felt horrible about it, but no matter how much I love him, I couldn't feel like he was really my son."

"John..." Henry said in a near whisper, hanging his head. "You..." He paused, his head and arms hanging limply... "IDIOT!!!" he screamed in rage, punching John hard on the side of the head and sending the transformed man sprawling to land sideways against the couch as he fell, screaming in pain as the right side of his filaments landed on the cushions. John writhed in agony from the pain in his filaments, rolling quickly so that his back was resting against the couch.

Sam hurried over to examine his son-in-law with a sympathetic expression and glared up at his son. "Henry! There's no need for violence!" he said, shocked and angered at his boy's outburst.

"Well why not?!?" Henry shouted. "He clearly needs to have some sense knocked into him!" Henry calmed down, knelt down and looked his husband in the eye. "John... It doesn't matter to me what species you are! I love you all the same! Do you think that I consider Dad Sam any less my father because he was born human? Even if he was still human, I'd always consider him my parent just as much as Dad Daniel. My granddad David is just as much family to me as Granddad Matthew. Of course you're Glenn's dad as much as I am! Don't you ever say or even think something that stupid ever again! You're Glenn's father, Dammit!"

"I'm sorry," John said.

"Why?" Henry asked passionately. "Why did you do it? What if Lord Apollo hadn't brought you back? What then? Don't you still love me? And what about Glenn? Don't you love him, too?"

"I do love you... Both of you. That's why I did it. I didn't think that Apollo would bring me back at all. When I sacrificed myself, I thought that was it for me."

"Why did you sacrifice yourself, John?" Sam asked calmly with sympathy. "What was the reason?"

"I was jealous... Of all of you. None of you have any idea what I went through growing up. It was like I was nothing. I couldn't say anything right, couldn't do anything right. Not one of you know what it's like to look in the mirror and hate yourself so much that you start beating your head with a hairbrush because you feel ath it's what you deserve for having been born."

Daniel's mouth fell open in shock. "John..." he said weakly. "Please tell me you're joking!" John shook his head sadly. "Why?" the older man asked. "Why would you ever want to do that to yourself?"

"Because I thought that everyone wanted me to hate myself. Because nothing about me ever seemed good enough to others... And never would be. When Joshua cured my depression, He got rid of the illness itself, but not what caused it. No matter how good people treated me, I still felt weak and unworthy. I always felt weak, as well as that everyone looked at me and saw someone who couldn't take care of himself. I thought you all saw me as someone who was too weak and pathetic to stand on his own."

At that, Henry turned away, feeling ashamed of himself.

"Part of me knew that you didn't mean it in a bad way," John continued. "I looked at you all, strong, self-sufficient, able to handle anything. You're stronger... Faster... Better than grubby little humans like me. I tried to fight it... Tried to bury it deep down inside where it wouldn't hurt anyone but me... But it came out anyways. I resented my own son. I was as jealous and resentful towards him as I am towards all of the rest of you. I literally told him that I wasn't his real dad." He shook his head. "Nothing can justify that. I was only lucky that he was far too young to understand me," he sobbed in shame. "My family resented me and in the end, I turned into them anyways, no matter how much I didn't want to. How could I do the very thing to my child that made me what I am? How could I live with myself knowing I was going to resent him all of his life? I couldn't put him through that. That's the cruelest thing I could do... Because I know what it's like to grow up that way." He turned to Henry, who was now staring at him with tears in his eyes. "And I couldn't do it to you, either. I love you too much to keep hurting you like that."

"You should've talked to me John!" Henry said with pain in his voice. "You should've said something! I'm your husband, Dammit! Why did you keep this from me?"

"OH COME ON!" John exploded, his Emergence hormones making his emotions erratic. "What could you do, huh?!? Stop being Spartan?!? There's a neat trick!"

"John!" Sam said loudly. "Get control of yourself! Your hormones are making your emotions run out of control! You've got to get a handle on yourself! Please!" he pleaded.

John sighed, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm sorry... Look, there wasn't anything you could do, Henry. I was the one with the problem. I grew up with everyone around me taking out their problems on everyone else around them just because they could. I refuse to be that type of person! I won't be some asshole who lashes out at everyone around me just because I hate myself. That's why I always took out my pain on myself. Because I know what it's like to be the victim of other peoples' pain. When I realized what was happening to me, I also saw that it was an insult to the very concept of the partner bond, as well as that I broke my wedding vow to you," he said to Henry. "So I thought about it and realized that the problem was me. I didn't want to hurt either of you anymore and while I knew it would hurt to lose me, it would be better than spending years hurting you and resenting you both. That's why I offered myself to Lord Apollo. I didn't want to hurt you guys anymore and had to atone for insulting the bond."

"But you said you wanted to become Spartan," Henry said.

"I did... Ever since I saw what the Spartans are like, I envied you to the point that I became jealous of your kind. You're all stronger than me... Better than me. I wanted that for myself... I remembered how Sam had sacrificed himself to Apollo for the sake of his family, but who was I? My reasons were entirely selfish. I'm unworthy of this... I don't understand why He did it."

Because you're wrong, John, Apollo said, surprising everyone as the power of their god filled the room with its presence. It's no crime to want to be more than you are. My faith is different from the ones you are used to. If you had merely asked Me, I would have gladly converted you. It was only your own feelings of unworth that opposed the gift. I tried to speak with you about this several times, but you refused to discuss the matter. I did not have the right to force my will upon you again, so I waited, hoping you would change your mind and speak with Me. Instead, your stubbornness caused you to take the hard route, which lead to your death. But because you dedicated yourself to Me through your death, I gained the ability to force you to accept your heart's desire.

"So I really am a Spartan now? I can do everything they can?"

Yes. You, John Apolloson, Apollo said, making Sam look upwards sharply in shock, Are a true son of Sparta. You have always possessed the heart and mind of a warrior, so I merely changed your body to match. You are fully Spartan now. Also, I took the liberty of resizing your wedding ring so it would fit your larger finger. It would be a pity if you were unable to wear it anymore.

"Thanks," John said, feeling grateful for that, fingering the ring thoughtfully.

"But why are his filaments still out?" Sam asked slowly. "Mine went back in after a few moments."

In order for John to fully understand Henry and Glenn, I feel that it would be good for him to experience the downside to being Spartan right away. He never truly did get how difficult Emergence was for Henry, so he should consider this a learning experience to help him understand more fully the suffering his husband endured. His filaments will remain fully Emerged for seven days, then fall out naturally. His future Emergences will be normal ones.

"Lord... I-" Henry began.

It's alright Henry. I forgive you. He then spoke so that only Henry could hear. I'm glad I didn't hurt you too much.

Daniel raised his eyebrows at that, wondering what his firstborn son had done to make Apollo forgive him, but said nothing.

Now, Apollo said aloud. I recommend that John be given a week off from his duties so that he can become used to his new body and its abilities. Enjoy your new life, My son.

With that, the presence of Apollo left them. "Why did he say 'My son'?" John asked, frowning with confusion.

"Because Lord Apollo adopted you as his own, John," Sam said. "He claimed you as His son. That makes Apollo your father now."

John mulled that over, feeling shocked. Why had the god done that? He was at a loss to explain why Apollo had done so. "Come on, John," Sam said. "Why don't you guys spend the night here?"

"Good idea," Daniel said, nodding.

"One thing first," Henry said grimly, turning to the man he loved and smacked him across the face. "That's for both lying to me by omission and for sacrificing yourself! No more hiding things from me, John, not ever again! I don't care what it is that's bothering you! I don't care how embarrassing it is, I don't care about any nervousness you might feel or how uncomfortable it is or how you might worry that it'll hurt me to hear it or anything! You have something bothering you, you share it. PERIOD! And so help me if you don't, because I'll... I'll tie your filaments in a granny knot!!!"

"Wow!" Fred exclaimed. "That's just downright vicious!" Henry glared at him, so Fred held up his hands in placation.

"Come on... Let's get you to bed," Henry grumbled.

With that, he led John to the first floor bedroom to sleep with their son...