Maria was too sore to get out of bed for two days after Mark's aggressiveness. He carried her to the bathroom and table to let her rest as much as possible. Luckily it was the weekend and her two night courses this semester were on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

After a day of that she snapped. "You have got to take it easier on me from here on out."

"I can see that."

She didn't know how to bring up her next comment, fearing Mark would take it the wrong way. "When do I...we get to see Lugh again?"

"After you give birth, as soon as the doctors clear you, we're going-hopefully for a as long as you went last time."

That last month was so slow to pass, no matter how many times she instigated sex to speed things along. By this point, with basically no new memories to unlock, she didn't hit a psychotic craving for Fey sex-it was just the regular everyday pregnancy hormones coupled with wanting this kid the heck out of her. The part that frustrated her the most was she couldn't handle anything even remotely rough, had to be commanded to cum to even get off with how gentle lovemaking had to be-very much against her will to go down like that, but Mark was concerned about her health. She missed the wild abandon so much it ate at her. To think, only 9 months ago I had little interest in the act at all.

The birth itself-though painful as any child being born-had nothing insane happen. Her dad didn't show up, she got a call from Grandma Lucia to see how things were going. She gave birth to a beautiful baby girl who stole any room she had left in her heart with her little squished purple head. The happiest moment was writing down Ethelyn, remembering exactly what she did to decide on this very name. She was very grateful to Mark that the memory was so solid.

After they settled in at home, Maria was smiling down on her baby with Mark holding them both. They had decided to leave off moving her downstairs until after the baby was ready to have her own room, but they were in his living room, laying on his couch together. "My mom used to say they looked like little lizards at first."

"I don't see it."

"I can."

He kissed the crown of her forehead and mentioned his own needs. "I will have to feed at least twice a week."

Of course Mark didn't mean a meal-he still wasn't eating her cooking, despite his reading her mind. It was a sore point, but not one she was going to win until this trip back to his God.

"Do you want me to seek out prey?" He had been there when Maria's doctors told her no sex for four weeks-her checkup would clear her.

Because she worried about Mark, she looked up studies on when it was safe. As she had no stitches-lucky-she could safely test out sex at two weeks, but doctors were being precautious because infection was a higher risk. "Are you fucking them?"

"No?" Mark's voice went automatically rough-the same tone he used when he was contemplating a worm of a demon in his presence.

"So, why can't you tease the hell out of me?"

"Didn't you hear that burly nurse who kept talking about all the prolapsed women they get in from your college because they have that attitude?"

She lolled her head back against his chest, wanting to roll her eyes. "Two weeks. But the prevention of that is vaginal floor exercises and what the fuck do you think we were doing this whole time, playing Old Maid?!"

"You're really mad about this." He huffed as he pulled the woman and child closer in. "It's food. I will have to do it a couple of times a week."

"I could feed you real food, or you could feed yourself!" Now Maria really was getting mad. "You said that curse of yours was over a lack of love. I love you, eat my damn cooking!"

He sighed and thought about his next few words, but it didn't stop him from saying them. "Maria, in a month we are going to go to Otherworld and I'm going to let you be with Lugh as much as I can because it is unfair that we put you in this position. Can you try to give me just as much freedom to eat?"

"Wait." Maria struggled to sit up with the child and her soreness-Mark gently pushed her upright. She turned to face him, wanting to see his face. "You really do believe in soul mates, don't you?"

It had been staring her in the face this whole time. His one rebellion, his avoidance-he feared she only loved Lugh and her love of him was a lie. A lie he willingly sold himself for, sure, but still. It was written across his face in how tight his mouth became, how he had this dead look in his eyes.

Maria shook her head. How the hell am I supposed to compete with century old fears? "You know, I don't like sharing you, but if there is a need to feed, I need your strength. Just don't hide them from me, and don't just casually feed everywhere. How would I feel if Ethelyn died because you weren't strong?"

That was the only conversation they had on the matter.

A few days later, he went to feed off someone else for the first time since they got together. Maria felt like shit, staying home with a baby while her man went and effectively slept around. Postpartum hit hard and she found herself bawling while nursing her baby. She had a sinking suspicion that it would be this way every time he left her-after all, he doubted her. He doesn't trust me.

During classes he took Ethelyn and waited outside with her for Maria to finish-which was for the best as her chest hurt like all hell when she waited a whole class to feed her baby again. She knew it would settle into a routine where production didn't happen during classes, but her body wasn't there yet.

Mark often woke up with the baby just because he was sensitive to noises. If she gave Ethelyn a good feeding, she'd sleep most the night but would wake up crying over being too wet. They soon settled on a midnight change, where mostly Mark replaced a diaper in the middle of the night, as it suited his ability and disturbed the baby less.

Soon it was time for Mark's last feeding away from her. Two weeks, that's all she'd enable this fear of his. She couldn't keep crying over him-and one day he would see what he'd done to her but not until he started digging again. Right now, that was her secret-she allowed this much, it wasn't his burden.

Mark kissed Ethelyn's forehead, then her's before he left.

Maria took the time to settle her baby to her breast and leaned back on the couch so her tears ran more into her hair than on her child. She hated being this hormonal.

Steps sounded in the hallway. Maria wiped away her tears with her free hand, hoping it was Mark and not an intruder.

The door to Mark's living room opened and in stepped a familiar face-though not Mark's. She immediately crossed herself and watched it hit Nico square in the chest, crumbling him, but not ending a dead demon.