"Oh forgive me," Melpomene said, as heavy with sarcasm as she was with child. "I'm sorry things haven't been easy for you lately. Here's some advice, then: when someone gets attacked in the street, or when someone gets dumped eight weeks before they're due to give birth, it's nice if people come over and visit! I didn't think that kind of shit needed to be spelled out!"
She turned on Thalia, then, gripping her teaspoon like a weapon, though there was a shake to her hand, and her voice. "Listen - I won't let anyone take him away! And you know what - neither will Ares! He doesn't want her to have this baby. He's on my side. Even if he did take my knife off me." Damn everything, he was going to end up being the second Olympian in a month she'd had to demand her knife back from. She slumped back into her corner again. It was a good corner. Supportive. It had never disarmed her. It had always been here when she needed it.