Hera laughed softly at the mention of the history of the name. There were indeed many noteworthy Katherines in the history of the human race and there was always the chance that this Katherine would one day join them, though no one actually called her that. "Actually, I am Kate to my friends, of which I hope you are still one, and Dr. Washington to my students, or rather, the masses of undergraduates I endure in my lectures. I can be found in the Molecular Sciences Building, 34C, if you ever want to poke your head in for a coffee or something. I'm on the faculty for Molecular Genetics, although I do some work for the Los Angeles Free Clinic."
Sometimes Hera felt like the academic community was in its own little world. It certainly felt that way sometimes when she could easily spend a day in the lab never seeing the sun and totally engrossed in her work. Other days she felt a different sense of accomplishment in healing a hurt child or helping a young woman tread the maze of her impending motherhood. Then she felt the most like her old self, the heartfelt thanks of her patient and their parents almost a prayer. It was a fulfillment she'd never experienced as a goddess. Maybe if she had, she wouldn't have cared so much about the antics of her family. Of course, the paths of 'what if' could be tedious and tangled, and she tried to avoid them as much as possible.
"You know, if you ever want to show your famous face at the clinic, I wouldn't say no," she teased, knowing how many causes Dimitri fronted for these days, though they were mostly environmental. Which, now that she knew Dimitri was her sister-in-spirit, didn't surprise her at all. "What else are you up to?" It never occurred to her that Amphitrite was working with one of the others, so it didn't occur to her to ask after anyone else. Mostly, she didn't want to know about the others. There had been little love lost between her and her siblings and their progeny, legitimate or otherwise. There were many regrets that added up for an immortal. Her lack of relationship with her own children was just another of them.