Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:41:56 -0600
From: J Wolfstone <argouru@gmail.com>
Subject: Sons of Sparta, Book 3 - Chapter 27

Sons of Sparta - A Story of the Spartans, Book 3

(inspired by the story 'Spartan' parts 1 through 4)

by argouru

Note: All credit for the creation of the Spartans and Amazons, as well as
the Spartan mythos belongs to the author 'CF', to whom I owe special thanks
for his allowing me to write about these incredible people.

WARNING: Portions of this installment of the series includes a section
regarding mental illness.


27.


Henry found the reactions of the family both heartening and amusing.  The
twins were taking this in stride, knowing that as the eldest sibling, it
was only proper for Henry to have the first of the next generation of sons
in the family, but he could tell they were also saddened to have to wait
even longer.

Steven was both shocked and put out.  "~I thought I would be the first,~"
he grumbled gently over the phone.  "~I met my partner months before you
found your guy!~"

"Yes, but you aren't living with Giorgos yet, so it's slower going for you.
Maybe things will pick up for the both of you once you leave college."

"~I hope so,~" Steven sighed.  "~Well congratulations all the same.~"

"Thanks."

Fred, Ash and Will were supportive, but Fred couldn't resist a friendly
tease.  "You two little monkeys must've been rolling around like weasels
every day to Emerge so fast! I'm proud of you...  Slut!"

"Up yours too!" Henry grumbled with a smile laced with suffering at his
younger sibling's demeanor.

The granddads were thrilled.  "~So I get to become a great grandfather?~"
David asked with joy in his voice.

"Here's hoping," Henry replied nervously.

"~Well good for you Henry,~" Matthew replied happily over the speaker
phone.

The dads were delighted.  "~That was fast!~" Sam said in amused shock.  "~I
still can't believe you Emerged so soon!~"

"~I'm very happy for you guys,~" Daniel added cheerfully.  "~So you'll be
moving back in about five months, right?~"

"What?" John asked frowning as he stared at the phone in shock.  "Why?"

"Dad Daniel, we haven't gotten that far yet," Henry said, then turned to
his partner.  "Taking care of a gestating Spartan is a lot of work and I
refuse to burden you with taking care of me all by yourself.  Once I get
big enough to need more care that I can provide for myself, we'll move back
home until after the baby is born.  That way we'll have all the help we
could want."

"But what about the apartment?" John asked.

"We'll keep everything paid up while we're staying at the dads' house, then
come home once the boy is settled enough to travel."

"Alright, if you guys can put up with us for that long, then I won't
object.  It'll make getting to work a lot faster anyways," John said to the
older couple on the phone.

The Spartans chuckled at that...



Henry grumbled as he finished up in the bathroom and went to get ready for
work.  *Man...  Being gestant is a pain in more ways that I thought.* In
addition to the pains he endured from his womb made of filaments, he had to
meditate two hours a day to keep his temper under control and always be
aware of his stomach's proximity to everything to avoid risk to the child
growing within him.  He had always been so used to being strong and ready
for anything, but now he was having to get used to being vulnerable all the
time and hated every moment of it.  Then he'd begin to feel guilty at the
resentful feelings he was having.  The rest of the time, he couldn't help
but to wonder what the child would be like.  *Will he look more like me or
John or look like both of us?* Then he would chide himself for getting his
hopes up.  It wouldn't be until the last four weeks of gestation or so
before he could begin to start becoming truly attached to the child, but it
was hard not to think about it often.

Daniel and Sam came over the next morning, bearing all of Daniel's old
gestating clothes for Henry to use in order to help save money, now that
they had a child to save up for.  The clothes were a little out of date,
but not awfully so, making Henry feel relieved that he wouldn't look too
bad in them.  The next day, Henry returned to work, only now he was working
in the hospital dispatch office instead of being on call with Craig, who
showed up with a smile.

"You vapid whore!" he teased with a grin.

"Vapid?" Henry countered with a smile.  "I resent that!"

"Well look at you! So are you and John gonna get married now? You can't
have your child be born out of wedlock, you know, or people will talk,"
Craig teased.

"Actually..." Henry said slowly.  "Next month we're getting registered with
the SPNA along with Steven and Giorgos and I was thinking about exchanging
rings with him, but haven't gotten around to actually asking him about
that.  Some guys don't like the idea."

"Well you'll never know if you don't ask."

"True."

"So ask him tonight."

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to try," Henry said slowly, wondering if he was
only setting himself up for disappointment...



That evening as they ate spaghetti for dinner, Henry kept glancing at John
nervously, trying to figure out if he should ask or not.  John noticed the
not so subtle glances and couldn't resist.  "Quit staring at me you creep!"
He said rapidly, stunning the Spartan, then smiled at him.  Henry began to
laugh, then winced as his filaments sent a sudden sharp pain through him.

"Ow! Please don't make me laugh! It hurts too much! ...But still, I suppose
I earned that."

"Sorry...  What's on your mind?" John asked.

"Well...  You know the registration we're doing with Steven and Giorgos?
Well...  Sometimes when partners get registered, they'll exchange rings...
Like the way humans do when they get married.  Would you...?" He stopped
then, seeing the wealth of emotion on John's face as the human looked at
him with moist eyes.  "What's wrong?"

John hung his head.  "You beat me to the punch," he said timidly, his voice
thick with emotion.  "I meant to ask you, but was worried that since you're
Spartan, you would think it was a waste of time."

"John..." Henry sighed, unable to believe after all this time that the
human didn't realize that Henry would do anything for him.  "I would never
think that it would be a waste of time.  There's Spartans who get married,
even to each other.  You should've realized that you can talk to me about
anything.  I just wish you wouldn't keep everything to yourself all the
time...  So, does that mean your answer is yes?"

"Of course it's yes," John replied thickly, moving around the table to hug
Henry gently to avoid hurting him and kissed him deeply for some time
before he pulled back with a frown of worry.  "Um...  How are we going to
afford the rings?"

"Actually Dad Sam and I already talked this over," he said, looking at his
partner apprehensively, "The dads offered to help pay for them..."

"At this rate they'll spend themselves into the poor house!" John said
resentfully.  "Look...  I know I should be grateful, but they still have
four more kids at home to take care of.  They can't afford this!"

"Well, Dad Daniel said since Fred is now offering to work his way through
art school, that frees up the money they had saved up for him."

"But what about Ash and Will? They might want to go to college."

"I thought of that too, but Dad Sam said they'll have enough time to save
the money back up before Ash graduates from high school.  They'll be
alright, John.  They want to do this for us as a wedding present, so let
them do it.  Please?"

"Oh alright," John huffed, "I mean if they have to be that mean to us by
shoving their helpfulness down our throats all the time like that!"

Henry just stared at his partner in confusion at the human's wording,
gazing at him with narrowed eyes and an amused frown on his face...



One month later, which was eight months after John and Henry had moved in
together, they stood in rented tuxedos before the judge of the Santa Rosa,
California city courthouse alongside Giorgos and Steven who were dressed
the same.  Henry was trying hard to ignore the stinging pains from his womb
as the shirt covered it and had to leave off the cummerbund, but other than
that, he looked very nice.  Behind the pairs, all of the Spartan family,
including Matthew, David, Ryan, Liam, their sons, Walter, Dennis and their
boys, Nathan and Howard with their sons and the Amazons were there.  All of
Giorgos' family was also present and as they all stood there, Inna Xarhakos
frowned to herself as she looked around for John's family, who were all
absent.

*Where is the boy's family?* she thought to herself with shock and sadness.
*They should be here for this day.  I admit that this is not what I had
thought Giorgos' life would be like, but he is so happy.* The woman smiled
to herself.  *My boy is so much in love...  And if they are willing to let
my future grandsons carry our name despite tradition, I cannot object to
them being together.  Henry and John look very happy together too, but his
family should be here.  What kind of people would miss their own child's
wedding?* She shook her head, unable to understand why they had not come.

Up front, John looked around happily at everyone who had gathered to bear
witness to this day.  Unlike Inna, who was sad that his family wasn't here,
John was glad those horrible people weren't here to ruin one of the best
days of his life.  He knew that they would never understand.  'It' had no
business being in his life with the way 'it' acted.  His sister clearly
didn't want anything to do with him and he felt the same way.  As for the
woman who had given birth to him, well...  *The last thing I need to ruin
this day is her being here lecturing me on how I don't know what I'm doing
and how I should get home and go to my room, or something...  They never
treated me with respect, so why should they have any right to be here?
Besides, these people are my family now and they're a way better one than I
ever hoped to have.*

"You okay?" Henry asked him quietly.

"I'm good," he said with honesty.

"You look good in a tux," Henry said with a smile.

"So do you," John said, scanning his eyes up and down his partner's frame
with interest.  Henry really knew how to wear the tuxedo and looked
incredible in it.  The human glanced over at the other waiting pair and
smiled.  "Guess we're not the only ones here fawning all over each other,"
he added, nodding to Steven and Giorgos, who stood speechlessly staring
deeply into each others' eyes.

"They do make a cute couple," Henry added gently, smiling with happiness at
his brother's joy.  "I'm really glad Steven found his partner so young in
life."

"You wish we'd met sooner?" John asked.

Henry blew his breath out of his mouth slowly.  "I kind of wish so
sometimes, but I know I wasn't ready.  Shit, I wasn't fully ready when we
-did- meet, but you being in that coma helped me some in its own odd way.
It gave me time to accept the bond and avoid hurting you once you awoke and
experienced it for yourself.  I would've hated for us to go through what
the dads did.  I don't think I would've ever forgiven myself if I hurt you
like that..." He hung his head to hide his shame.

"Hey," John said, seeing this.  "Stop beating yourself up over it, Henry.
I already forgave you, so it's more than time for you to forgive yourself.
It's only natural to want to protect yourself from perceived pain.  I
understand that more than most.  It's okay...  Just let it go and be happy
already, dammit!" John teased in a whisper, making Henry chuckle.

Apollo, who was standing nearby, invisible and masking his presence from
everyone, gazed and His grandsons and their partners, feeling very happy
for all of them and glad that He had chosen to come and bear silent witness
to the ceremony.  He, too, was mad that John's family was not here to share
in the event, but His anger was more because He knew they would all have
refused to attend, even if John had invited them.  Deep down inside, He
understood and approved of John's reasons for excluding them.  He stood
back and waited patiently for the ceremony to begin.

Henry and John looked over to see Giorgos' family all present and looking
very happy for him and Steven.  John then looked around at everyone else,
Daniel smiling at him encouragingly, but Henry noted Inna casting a worried
glance at John, one laced with sadness.  He couldn't help but to wonder why
she looked that way.

Just then, the judge banged his gavel and said, "Next on the agenda...  The
Spartan Partner bond recognitions of Steven Danielson to Giorgos Xarhakos
and Henry Danielson to John Williams.  Will the parties please step
forward." The four men approached the bench and stopped several feet away.
"Now, I don't wish to sound rude, but I have an overbooked schedule today,
so for the sake of expediency, would you all mind if I did both parties at
once?" The four men shook their heads.  "Good, then let's begin.  Who will
go first?"

Steven glanced at his older brother, shrugged and spoke.  "Age before
beauty."

Henry glowered at him, sighed in disgust and turned to face the judge,
clearing his throat.  "I do solemnly declare that I, Henry Danielson, am
certain beyond any doubt that I am joined in a partner bond with John
Randall Williams."

"And now your turn," the judge said to John.

"I do solemnly declare that I, John Randall Williams, am certain beyond any
doubt that I am joined in a partner bond with Henry Danielson."

"And you," the judge said to the other Spartan.

"I do solemnly declare that I, Steven Danielson, am certain beyond any
doubt that I am joined in a partner bond with Giorgos Thaddeus Xarhakos."

"And lastly," he said to Giorgos.

"I do solemnly declare that I, Giorgos Thaddeus Xarhakos, am certain beyond
any doubt that I am joined in a partner bond with Steven Danielson."

"Do you understand," the judge asked, "that by signing your names into this
database you are entering into a permanent, life-long, unalterable
contract?"

Each of them answered in the affirmative.  "Now each of you read the second
paragraph of your copy of the contract," the judge told them.

"I understand that on entering myself into the database that I, Henry
Danielson, will be committing myself to a permanent, life-long, unalterable
contract in law.  I agree to take equal legal responsibility for the
actions of John Randall Williams, up to and including incarceration and
withholding of all rights, in order that we are not forcibly separated."

John followed with the same statement in regards to Henry, then Steven and
Giorgos in regards to each other.

"Now come forward and sign the paperwork to verify that your names will be
entered into the database in connection to each other of the pairs and in
conjunction with the Spartan Partner Nonseparation Act.  By virtue of
registering in the database of legally recognized Spartan partnered
pairings and in the presence of the court of the state of California and
before these witnesses, I declare that Henry Danielson and John Randall
Williams, as well as Steven Danielson and Giorgos Thaddeus Xarhakos are to
be entered into said database in accordance with the law and that no act of
law will ever permit any of you to be forcibly separated for your partner.
Furthermore, I hereby confirm that your legal rights will be upheld, that
you each remain in partnership under law as recognized by the United States
of America in accordance with the law of all nations."

The judge looked around the courtroom.  "Does anyone find fault with these
contracts being instated under due process?" No one objected.  "Then the
contracts are hereby instated and shall be filed with the law enforcement
authorities of the state of California to be accessible to all states,
nations, counties and principalities.  Now if you have rings, this would be
the time to exchange them."

Daniel and Sam came forward with Henry and John's rings, but Daniel
suddenly paused as he lifted up the ring box marked with an 'S' on the top.
"Oops! Wrong one!" he said, blushing as he put the box back into his
pocket, then reached into his other pocket for the box marked 'H'.  Sam
offered the ring box he had to John, acting as father to the human as none
of his own blood relatives were here.  Inside, the priest felt saddened by
that, but resolved to make the most of the occasion.

Henry and John took the rings and placed them onto the right hand ring
finger of their partner.  "John," Henry said.  "This ring represents my
love and devotion to you and your happiness.  Wear it always and know that
I will always be here for you."

"Henry," John answered, "Take this ring and with it, all of my love for
you.  I will always try to do my best by you and love you with all my
heart."

They kissed tenderly for a moment, then turned to gaze at Steven and
Giorgos as Daniel and Kosma moved to join their sons.  Daniel pulled out
the ring box and went to offer it to Steven, but Kosma stopped him.  "You
are sure you have right box this time, yes?"

"Yes," Daniel replied, blushing.

"Behave yourself Papa," Giorgos muttered as Daniel cleared his throat and
offered the case to his son.

The second couple exchanged their rings, Steven smiling at his partner.
"Giorgos, I love you very much.  I look forward to spending the rest of our
lives together."

The Greek man slid the ring gently onto Steven's finger, looking deep into
his eyes.  "I love you as well, Steven.  I am very proud to be yours and
hope that one day soon we too will be able to have children of our own."

They kissed and hugged, then turned back to the judge, who cleared his
throat.  "Giorgos Thaddeus Xarhakos, as a person of foreign origin, your
registration to a native citizen of the United States of America entitles
you to legal recognition as a citizen of this country for as long as you
and Steven Danielson are bonded together.  As there has never been a single
case of a Spartan separating from his partner, I would say this grants you
permanent U.S. citizenship.  Congratulations."

"Thank you," the Grecian said with sincerity.

"Then with the formalities out of the way," the judge added.  "I hereby
declare these unions official.  Congratulations to you all.  Please clear
the way for the next case."

As they moved away, Henry grunted in pain.  "I can't keep this shirt over
me any longer," he grumbled, opening the tuxedo shirt and freeing his womb
from the painful confines of the fabric, which was irritating his
filaments.  "That's better."

"You okay?" John asked with worry.

"I'll be fine," he said, kissing John gently to sooth his partner's
worries.

With that, everyone went out to a celebratory dinner at a nearby
restaurant.  Afterwards, Henry and John drove home while Steven and Giorgos
went to a hotel that the parents had all chipped in for to celebrate their
honeymoon alone together...