*Includes a recipe for a tea that was said to induce labor for thousands of years...in case it is needed by anyone. Hecate and I have your back, women in Republican-taken-over-states
Hecate did not knock before she came in and, to Emily’s surprise, she simply sat down next to Thor as he told Emily about this new Goddess he was sleeping with from a different Pantheon, which was apparently unheard of. And because it seemed as if he wanted her to press him as to who it was, he obviously wanted to talk about it. But Emily could not think of anything with Hecate sitting there staring at her silently. Putting a hand up to stop the flow of Thor’s story, Emily cleared her throat, knowing better than to address Hecate with annoyance. “I am with a patient right now. I would hate to have you wait…”
“Good.” Turning toward Thor, Hecate declared, “I am here to do a checkup to ensure that the first Demi-God to be born of a human in millions of years is developing properly. Please bear in mind that the human mother lives in a country where, in some states, even if someone found out that I gave her the ancient mixture of pennyroyal, black cohosh root, blue cohosh root, cotton root bark, mugwort, and queen’s anne lace, she would go to prison...even if the baby had no skull! Also keep in mind how difficult it is for a human to carry a Demi-God in her body. And we don’t know how far along the baby is because it grows as it pleases so every moment counts, Thor. While your affair with Athena is interesting, to say the least, I need to do my work now. I am very sorry that I interrupted you. I am. You know I am not rude by nature. It is just that every moment counts right now.”
Thor looked at Hecate with his legendary hammer sitting between his legs and to Emily’s shock, he smiled. “I understand, Auntie. These human men and their deplorable laws make this something of great importance...and it lightens my heart to know a child of earth and Olympus will be born in this world again. I believe this world needs that. So I will leave you to your work. And Dr. Lieberman, I will see you next Thursday. I wish you many blessings with the halfling in your womb.”
Emily thanked him, always amused by his way of saying things. After he walked out, Hecate shook her head. “My oh my. He has always meant well in what he does. However, even just to have sex, he is a strange match for Athena. She is logical to a fault and he has never let his head rule a decision he has ever made in his life! I cannot imagine they talk a lot after the deed is done.” Hecate shook her head as if she were dumbfounded. Then she directed her attention straight at Emily. “Well, my child, please come over here so I can check on our little one. Don’t worry. I have only to place my hand over your womb and I will know everything that is going on in there.”
Emily was so nervous, her hands were shaking. She tried to prepare herself for whatever Hecate would tell her. She really wished for Hermes in that moment and that made her feel weak so she had no intention of voicing this desire. But she didn’t have to. As Hecate pulled down Emily’s waistband on her stretch pants, she declared, “Hermes is here. He is in the hall. He is a nervous wreck and he was afraid it would be bad news. He thought I would be able to comfort you better if it were. Now hush so I can see.” Emily was not about to point out that she never spoke. Instead she just closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. When Hecate touched her belly, Emily felt some of the power of her Matron flowing into her and she almost thought that she could feel the quickening of life inside of her, as if the fetus, barely formed at this point, were responding to Hecate’s touch. After a tense moment, Hecate smiled. “She is fine, my child. She is growing at a normal human rate for the moment although that does not mean she will continue to do so...and...wait a moment…” Hecate’s face turned very serious very quickly.
“What? What’s wrong?” Emily was so worried about Hecate’s reaction that she totally missed the use of the pronoun ‘she’.
After moving her hand around every inch of Emily’s belly and then cupping the belly on each side with each hand, Hecate looked her in the eye and she said, “She is fine. She is strong. And now you must be strong if you truly want to bring her into this world.” Kissing Emily’s belly like a happy aunt, she touched the belly one more time before going out in the hall.
A moment later, Hermes walked in. He was grinning, but something about it seemed false. After begging Emily to take the rest of the day off, he insisted they go back to her place and order in some Chinese food. Somewhere along the way, Emily forgot Hecate’s reaction and the look on her lover’s face when he came into her office. She laughed at his off the wall jokes and she tried to explain to him why Teen Mom was an important show for young people to watch...and she basked in the glow of knowing she was having a baby girl. This seemed to please Hermes as well. By the time the two of them went to her bed, they were both ready for a little more than sleep and she basked in the glow of that as well. She intended to mark on her calendar the significance of that date and it was this last thought that she carried with her into sleep.
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