Joxer shook his head. "Mm-uh."

"Just a little more."

Joxer covered his mouth with his hand before he spoke. "No more of that pink thing. I'm sick of it."

"C'mon, baby, do it for me."

"Ares, I am sick of ambrosia! You've been shoveling that stuff into me by the bucketload."

"You're exaggerating. Anyway, it's for the baby." Joxer sighed in defeat, dropped his hand, and opened his mouth. Ares spooned some more of the quivering pink glob into his lover's mouth. "And chew--don't try to swallow it whole, no matter how soft it is."

Ares made a sympathetic expression as Joxer scrunched up his face in distaste. Joxer sighed, and his hand rested on the curve of his belly. "The things I'm willing to do for this child."

"As Strife would say, think of the future guilt material you'll have. That's enough for now." He set the bowl aside, then took Joxer's hand. "Anyway, I thought it would be a good idea for you to have a little something to boost you." He took a breath. "Zeus is between affairs, and I think it's time."

Joxer went very still, eyes wide. "Really?" Ares nodded. Joxer swallowed. "Oh, gosh. I've been waiting for this for so long, and now I feel like I'm standing on the edge of a cliff, about to jump off."

"None of that till after the baby is born, and even then, I don't advise it. The healing can take months."

"How are we going to do this?"

"Well, everyone who knows about you is coming with us."

"Oh, gosh, are you sure about that? What if he feels humiliated in front of all those people?"

"There's that, but then again, there's also a good chance that he won't make a scene in front of that many people. He isn't going to want to let it be seen that he's upset. Are you ready?"

Joxer squared his shoulders. "Yes. Although I have to tell you, I looked forward to meeting that hydra more than I'm looking forward to this."

Ares hugged him. "You're brave when it counts, lover." They stood, and he took Joxer in his arms. "Hold on tight."

*Flash*

They appeared in Zeus' audience room. Ares had a chair appear with them, and eased Joxer into it immediately, popped a basin into existence, and offered it. Joxer held his stomach for a moment, then shook his head, and looked around, his eyes growing rounder by the second. The room was very quiet, considering the number of people present. There was Ace, Aphrodite, Hephastus, Cupid, Strife, Hermes, and Gaia.

Zeus and Hera were sitting on their thrones. Hera looked curious, and Zeus looked curious, irritated, and frustrated. He said. "Finally. Perhaps now you'll tell me what's so urgent that you all demanded an audience?" He blinked, then pointed at Joxer. "And someone get rid of the mortal. He has no business here."

Ares rested a hand on Joxer's shoulder. "On the contrary, Father--he is the reason we are here."

"Well, if he's the trouble, why aren't you handling it yourself? Surely one mortal isn't that big a difficulty."

Ares scowled. "You know, Father, you have a bad habit of only looking at the surface of things. Take another look at this 'mortal'."

Zeus did not miss the ironic emphasis his son put on the last word. He stared at the slender, dark haired man in the chair beside his eldest son, studying him. There didn't seem to be anything unusual about him--just a simple human, and not a very impressive one at that. But Ares had said that he only looked at the surface, so he concentrated, reaching out to scan the man with his power.

His eyes flew open. He shot to his feet, arm out thrust, finger stabbing toward the seated man. Joxer cringed, and immediately Ares was between him and Zeus, shielding his lover. One hand flexed, ready to flick a power bolt to deflect anything that Zeus could fling, but there was no need. Zeus did not attack, he just went, "You! That's the new god?"

Jaws didn't' actually hit the floor, but several of them ended up on chests. Aphrodite was the first one to find her voice. "You... you knew?"

Zeus gave her an irritated look. "Well, of course I did. Do you really think that there could be a new god on Olympus for almost five months and I wouldn't know it? There have been strange power flashes going off for ages now--bursts that I couldn't identify. Plus there was that bowl of vomit that appeared floating in my bathing pool a month ago. It wasn't one of Strife's, and I couldn't think of anyone else who'd be foolhardy enough to do that on purpose, so I figured it had to be someone trying to get control of their new powers."

"Why haven't you said anything?" asked Ares.

Zeus snorted, then smiled. "Well, to be honest, I was having fun trying to figure out who it was. I like a good puzzle, and they don't come along often. What I don't know is how this happened, and why you all felt like you had to keep it a secret from me--aside from the obvious fact that this isn't supposed to happen without my approval."

Strife waved his hand, "Oo, lemme, lemme! It was soooo cool!" Aphrodite and Bliss had told him everything. He had been a little disappointed that Cupid didn't, but then Cupid wasn't talking to him lately. He was staring a lot, but he wasn't talking. It was making Strife nervous, since it had him constantly going over in his mind whether or not he'd done anything receently to piss his cousin off. Strife related how Joxer had come to be a god, complete with gestures. He was so involved that he didn't notice Cupid covering his mouth to hide his smile. "...an' boom! Godhood. So ya see, it really wasn't anybody's fault. This has gotta be wunna those 'decreed by Fate' thingies."

Zeus said dryly, "I'm going to have to have a talk with those girls about being a little more conscientious about telling me things. If they haven't notified me about this, what other secrets might they be keeping?"

Joxer peeked around Ares, lifting his hand timidly. "I think that maybe the fact that I'm pregnant by Ares might be one." Zeus sat down suddenly, a stunned look on his face. "Ah, I see that I'm right."

"You... Ares... What?" Ares blocked Joxer again, but Zeus slowly smiled. "Another grandchild."

Joxer pushed Ares gently aside. "I'm pretty sure it's going to be a boy. He's being awfully active lately."

"It's probably those peppers you ate this morning," said Ares.

"Joxer!" squawked Ace, then, "Ares?"

"He can conjure up his own food now, Ace. I can't very well stop him. But believe me, he heard about it." Joxer crinkled his nose at Ares, who sighed. "Though I don't know how much good it did." Ares smiled almost reluctantly, "And I thought I'd be getting a nice, submissive consort." Joxer rolled his eyes.

"Consort? Oh, I think not!" Hera's voice was firm.

Ares blinked. He hadn't really expected that, but he supposed that Hera's long suffering through Zeus' dallying in the mortal realms might have prejudiced her. "I'm not giving him up, Mother."

"I should say not! But you're not just having him as a glorified concubine, either. You're getting married, son, and that's final!"

Aphrodite was clapping her hands, Cupid and Strife were grinning, and Ares and Joxer exchanged stunned, but happy looks. Ares cleared his throat and said, "Mom, Father... I... I don't know what to say."

Zeus and Hera exchanged looks. "Well, obviously you were expecting me to go on some sort of rampage. Would it make you happy if I threw a few thunderbolts?"

"Don't bother."

Hera came down off the throne. "Ares, get out of the way so I can have a look at my future son-in-law." Ares stood aside. "Stand up, child." Joxer stood, and bowed to Hera. "Oh, stop that, silly! You'll cramp the baby." She reached out, spreading her hands over the swell that was just pushing out the front of Joxer's loose tunic. After a moment she smiled, eyes twinkling. "You're very astute, Joxer. You will have a son. Grandmother?"

Gaia stepped forward. "Yes, dear?"

"While this obviously wasn't impossible, we all know that it's improbable, given the fact that Joxer is a made god, and not a born one. Did you have a hand in this?"

"Not directly, dear, no."

Hera looked at the gentle, shining haired woman shrewdly. "Doing the mysteries of Nature bit again?"

Gaia smiled, then looked at Cupid. "Dear, I need for you to tell Bliss that it's time for him to send back the Chaos stone."

Cupid slapped his forehead. "I should have known."

"Oh, I didn't give it to him. No, this was all the Stone's own idea." She gave a silvery laugh. "You didn't all think I have complete control of it, did you? No, indeed. It has a mind of its own. I can't say I disagree with it this time, though." She smiled at Zeus, who was still looking stunned. "Don't you think that you ought to go ahead and make the godhood official? I'm sure that Hera and Aphrodite are just itching to get after planning the wedding and baby shower, now that things are out in the open."

Zeus stood again, straightening his robes with great importance as he came down off the dais. "Yes. Let me determine it now, and we can have an official ceremony in a couple of days to announce it to the world."

He came down to Joxer, reached up, and settled his hands on either side of the young man's face. "Relax, Joxer. I need to read your power aura to determine what your godhood is." He closed his eyes, and so did Joxer.

There was a sense of breathless anticipation in the room. There was no telling what godhood would be bestowed--whether an entirely new one would be created, or whether an existing god would have to give up a portion of their present authority. Apollo was feeling particularly antsy. After all, he was God of Music, Medicine, the Sun... Oh, he complained sometimes of how busy he was, but he honestly couldn't imagine giving up any of it.

Zeus scanned the young man before him, searching deep into his soul. He saw the past pain that bred compassion, the scars that did not harden him, the empathy for those who suffered, the desire to ease that suffering, and the very new, but soul deep, serenity that he had found in the love of Ares. In a single flash, it was all very clear to Zeus. There was only one godhood that was right for Joxer, he would do a splendid job at it, taking joy in the good that he could do, and this was a godhood that had been needed for a long, long time.

The other gods and goddesses were surprised by the gentleness of Zeus' smile when he opened his eyes. He settled his hands on Joxer's shoulders. Instead of the usual booming tones he used to make official pronouncements, Zeus' voice was almost soft. "Welcome Joxer, God of Peace."

There were gasps, then an approving murmur ran through the group as Joxer smiled. His eyes lighted, and he stood straighter. Zeus stepped back, and Joxer began to glow as his official godhood began to manifest for the first time. The young man closed his eyes and let his head tip back, spreading his arms as if welcoming the new responsibility.

The power was not as great as it might be for some of the others, but then, the human race did not know that they now had someone they could petition directly to bring peace, both in the grand sweep of nations, and the small, quiet moments of their own lives. Yes, the power was not specifically directed to Joxer yet, but it was there, because there were always those who longed for peace. There was more than one person who watched the silvery glow suffuse the former mortal, and thought that there might come a time when Joxer would be very important and powerful indeed.

The glow increased till it was near blinding, making those gathered turn their eyes aside, or shield them. Then it began to die down. Joxer's clothing was in much the same style as it had been, but now it was white, the gentle cream color of a dove. His boots and belt were of butter soft grey leather, with silver buckles. On his breast was a pin. In its center was a single milky opal, the size of a robin's egg, surrounded by perfect pearls, each the size of a fingertip, the whole mounted on a simple circle of silver. It spoke of the full moon, and deep, still waters--Nature in those all too brief moments of calm, that were all the more precious for their brevity. These were to be Joxer's official robes, how he would appear to his followers, and on state occasions.

Joxer had always been an attractive man, though most people on earth had been blinded to this by their initial impression of brash clumsiness, and Joxer's self-doubts (which were hidden by bravado). Now, due mainly to his security in Ares' love, but partly because of the gift of inner peace bestowed by his new position, Joxer shone as he had been meant to. He was, quite simply, beautiful--his inner goodness shining through to enhance the physical.

"Well," said Hera, smiling, "You and Ares should make some very pretty children. Now, then, I think that we ought to have the joining ceremony quickly, but not with undue haste. I'd say that a week after the official presentation should do. Apollo, tell the Muses that I'll need their help. Oh, and I'll need Hestia and Demeter, of course, to help with the reception. Cupid, can Bliss handle being ring bearer?"

Cupid smiled. "I don't think I'd be able to deal with him if he was passed over."

Aphrodite was bouncing up and down. "And Gaia was right. If we're having the wedding that early, we have practically no time to give Joxer and Ares a wedding shower."

Ares sighed, rolling his eyes. "Like we really need one. It isn't as if we can't just make anything we need."

Aphrodite's lip stuck out (a lot like Bliss), and Joxer said quickly, "Hey, I'm looking forward to that! No one has ever planned a party just for me before." He whispered to Ares, "So we end up with a half-dozen toasting forks and a couple of sculptures that we stick in the back bedroom. It'll make her and the other girls happy."

Aphrodite perked up, and gave him a hug. "Don't you worry, sweetie! We're going to have just the best shower for you! I have to go start planning the decorations." She flashed away.

"One thing," Strife muttered to Cupid, "Now that tha baby is officially identified as bein a boy, 'Dite's gonna hafta curb tha pink a little." He giggled. "I'd hate ta see what transpires if she evah gets her mits on a female grandchild."