Who: Hades & Nick (with children) What: You looked tired. Where: Hades' Office When: Sept 25 Warnings: None. Not even back-handed sarcasm!
First thing in the morning, as soon as he reached his office, Hades called Nick and told him to come to him. If he couldn't find a sitter on such short notice, Helen was welcome to come. After all, what was one more child in his office?
But as he waited, he settled nicely into his normal life as Dante Lot, and Dante had plans. And plans needed money. And it wasn't like he didn't have the money to do his plans but... This was just more fun. He and his children had taped the stock pages to the walls of his office, at completely different levels as he and his children had differing motor skills and heights.
Delaney and Edward were then bored by his activities, or maybe they were more entertained by the mini whack-a-mole he had bought. It was only him and Eric in his office chair now, Daddy playing with the dart in his hand while son looked up at the sound of his father's voice, "And this is how we pick stocks. We take the dart and throw it. Wherever it lands, we buy..."
There was a knock at the door, heralding his servant's reward. In reply, Edward yelled out in his loud baby voice, "Hoo dere!". See, this one was a quick learner.
Nick stuck his head in, looking confused. "Oh, it's Ed..." A little amused, he smiled and waited to be invited in by the real adult. He looked presentable enough, but at a closer look, he looked tired, maybe a little pale. Like he'd seen a ghost!
Har har har.
Hades threw the dart at the wall and then leaned back in his chair. "Good boy, Eddy. That's exactly what we say when people knock on your office door." Eric laughed as his father leaned back and clung to his shirt as Hades reached under his desk and hit the door opener, "Come in."
The mortal stepped in, unbuckling Helen from his chest as he did. She caught eye of the twins and Delaney, and giggled at them with grabby 'wanna play wanna play' hands. "Hey."
Delaney looked up at the new addition and clutched her whack a mole mallet all the more. However, with a glance to her father, she seemed to consider the need to be inviting, "Come play!"
The god nodded to the mortal and motioned to one of the chairs, "How are you doing?"
There was barely a pause before Nick shrugged. "Okay, I guess..." Wait. Why was he asking? Nick tried to think of a time Hades had asked that. He could probably count it on one hand. "What with Mel being gone and all. But, okay. You?"
Don't say, 'Awesome'. Don't say it. Don't say it. Hades put his youngest son down on the floor and shrugged a little, "On an upswing." There, that would do as an answer. He eyed the mortal carefully. He probably hadn't been sleeping well... and he was pale. "Are you sick? I have a lot of things for you to do."
"No, I just-- no, not sleeping well, that's all. Helen doesn't like not having Mom home, y'know," Nick said, rubbing a hand at the bags under his eyes. It was the truth, kinda.
"Maybe you should sleep in the same bed with Helen until Mel does come home." That was was what Mel had wanted. Hades glanced down at the four children on the floor. Delaney was behaving. He would have to be careful, she was clearly up to something. "It might reassure her, while reassuring yourself in the process."
"Yeah, I'm moving her crib into my-my room," he said, unable to hide a yawn. "Excuse me. What did you need, then?"
"You should have a Red Bull. They do work." Not as good as Provigil though. Oh, Hades missed Provigil. But he would continue this sham and actually give Nick work. With a flick of the wrist, he tossed over a manila envelope, "Inside is a list. It's a going to one bank and then another. And then seeing lawyers. However, I don't have time for it. Hence you."
Nick took the envelope and looked inside. "Seeing face to face or over the phone?" he asked to double check. Part of him wanted to worry about if he was doing something illegal or not. But he somewhat believed by now that even if it was, Hades had the resources to probably get him out of it.
... Call it faith.
And Hades didn't like breaking the law, except when absolutely needed. "Face to face. If it was over the phone, I could do it myself." The god continued to watch the mortal. He looked well enough for a man whose lover was off somewhere doing unmentionable things. But there was something that he felt needed to be said, "She is coming back, you know."
Nick looked up a bit. "... I know," he said, looking back down to the kids. Or at least he wanted to know. He hoped he knew, fervently. "As long as she's okay. And comes back safe."
"She will." be. She will be. Hades had no doubt in his voice. He spoke with complete confidence in every word he said, "She just needs to get things out of her system. Things you and little Helen don't need to see."
Nick nodded. "Comes with the territory. If she needs it, that's fine. Yeah," he said with a bit of a sigh, clearly comforting himself. But there was an edge to his tone. See there? Hades, of all people, would know. She'll be back. She will.
"It does. Everything I have learned about the muses has taught me one thing: they're very sweet but that's because they're equal amounts sugar and arsenic. Best to let the arsenic side be done out of sight..." Hades knew he didn't want to witness it. He didn't especially want to know, but he was sure he would learn something if he did need to get a team of lawyers for each state Mel was traveling through. "But that's not why I called you here." Which was a bold faced lie, but he would let Nick have his pride, "I'm busy so you're busy."
Nodding, Nick stood back up. "Anything else?" Too, too tired to be snarky or argue.
"Can I keep Helen for a few hours?" Hades had never gotten the time he was promised for not being able to come to her birthday party and now seemed like a good time. Children rarely like errands.
"Sure, she needs to play more with them, I think," Nick said. "Thanks for asking, though." Wait, they were being civil! It almost made him smirk but he didn't want to break the spell. And here Mel wasn't around to see it. Damn.
Hades shrugged a bit. Helen was too young for him to just nab. This would actually be kidnapping and he didn't play that game. "Will keep my eye on her. She'll be okay. Tell me how everything goes when you come back."
Nodding, Nick stood and turned for the door. But when his hand touched the doorknob, he paused, thinking. "Can I ask a question first?"
"Sure." Oh, Hades hoped he wouldn't regret that answer. He really did. Things were going so well.
"Mortals can see ghosts, right? At least, sometimes. It's not just lights and tricks for some of them?"
The god nodded, "Sometimes. Usually children or the relatives of the deceased can. And I suppose people with spiritual connections, but I've never found one those who aren't a fraud." And now it dawned on him how odd a question that really was coming from Nick, "Did you or Helen see a ghost?"
"I don't know if it counted as a ghost," Nick admitted.
Hades was curious now and leaned forward, "Well, was it a living person or not?"
"Dead person. But not the usual dead person." If Hades caught his drift. "Not someone I expected to be talking to."
The once king of all the dead sighed a little. If he was right, he was also certain reincarnation was bad for one's mental health. "Was it you but not you?"
The mortal nodded.
They didn't call him the eternal judge for no reason. Hades shook his head, "Have actually heard about that happening before. During times of great stress." And he couldn't believe he had to use such events to give advice or comfort... or whatever this was he was doing. "The good news is, you're not going crazy."
Nick laughed a bit, smirking. "Really? Could've fooled me." He paused, and added much more seriously, "I could see him like he was flesh and blood. But I threw a cup at him, and it went right through. Am I hallucinating?"
That was new, but not everything could be werehorses. Hades nodded a little bit, "Think you are, but not in the 'insane' way. It sounds like in your extreme stress, you're projecting and your older soul is taking its chance to talk. Clearly, you're not integrated." That fact made him tap unconsciously against his desk in annoyance. That wouldn't have happened if he had done all of this....
"Can I make it stop?" Nick asked hopefully.
"Yeah. Two ways. An easy one or a hard one really." Hades then held up two fingers to count off the ways, "The first one is hard. You and your previous life find common ground and your personalities, memories and everything else unite to be a more complete person. More complete as stronger... not more complete as you aren't a whole person right now. The second is a bit easier. He'll go away when you're less stressed."
Less stressed? Nick almost laughed but managed to keep it in. Yeah, sure, when he was possessed by a pissy old man, his girlfriend caused disasters everywhere, and his boss was the former owner of Hell. But instead, he said, "Okay. I'll go for option two for now."
Hades could almost see that thought. Almost. It helped that Nick was a little transparent about things like that, "You don't have to be stress free, just less than right now. Go do your errands, come back, get Helen and then fingerpaint with her or something."
...Creepy. "That sounds easier, then." He sighed and glanced to his assigned work. "Okay. I'll be back."
One does not get to put 'King of the Underworld' on his resume without being a little creepy. Hades waved him off, standing from his chair to survey the layout of children and where would be best to sit with them. "Just make sure you give the right things to the right people. Foundations are hard enough to set up without fixing paperwork."
"Sure." Nick bent to give his daughter a kiss, and turned away, stifling a yawn. Oh jeez. This would be a long day.
Hades waved with a wicked smirk, before sitting down to beckon the children to come to him. Helen would catch on, they had games to play this morning. Unlike Nick. Nick had twenty people to go see. The sheer annoyance of it should tastefully make him forget his master's concern and civil kindness and never guess this was all an elaborate check in.
Exactly as Hades hoped. He so enjoyed when a plan came together.
Summary: Hades summons his not-so-favorite little minion, and the two chat about chores and Mel and... uh, dead people. You know, the usual. Nick walks away a little more relieved than he was. But with more chores. Can't win, can't win.