EPILOUGE

1 YEAR LATER

RUTH LAID AWAKE IN her uncomfortable hospital bed while a nurse escorted Prometheus in. When he saw his wife, he rushed forward to give her hug, but worried that he might hurt her if he embraced her too hard, so instead he grabbed her hand and squeezed it while he took a seat at her bedside. "How are you?" he asked.

Ruth sighed happily. "I'm sore all over," she admitted. "I feel like my insides have been ripped out, and I feel like I could take pain killers from now until the day I die and I would still hurt. I've never been happier." She smiled as she sincerely spoke these last four words.

A nurse entered the room, carrying a newborn baby wrapped in a light blue blanket. "Congratulations," she said to the happy couple. "It's a boy." She carried the baby to Ruth and placed it in her arms, then left the room as abruptly as she'd entered.

Prometheus was so happy, he thought he'd cry. "I'm a father," he said out loud, squeezing his wife's hand. He'd never loved Ruth quite so much as he did at this moment, while she held his son in her hands.

Ruth squeezed his hand back, then let go so that she could hold it in front of their son, who grasped one of her fingers in his little hand. "Look at his hand!" she said. "He's so tiny. Look at all those little fingernails." She stared at the tiny child in amazement. "He has your eyes," she said.

"He has your smile," Prometheus replied. He'd known other gods and titans who'd had children, but they'd never said anything about how amazing it was to look at a tiny child and know he'd created life. He was amazed to think that no one had thought to mention it, but the way he felt now was impossible to describe.

"We'll need a name," Ruth said. They'd talked about names a little before, but then they'd agreed that the right name would come to them as soon as their baby was born, and they'd never really agreed on a name. Now, she wished they had, because it seemed too important to decide after only one conversation.

"I've always sort of liked the name Pericles," Prometheus said.

Ruth frowned, unsure if he was serious. "I was actually thinking of something a little more conventional," she said, then added, "Pericles would make a nice middle name."

A nurse entered the room again, and Ruth stifled a yawn. "You should rest," Prometheus told her seriously. "Labor isn't exactly known for being easy or relaxing." He kissed Ruth on the cheek and said, "I love you," while the nurse took their son away.

"I love you, too," Ruth replied.

Thus was their family started. They went on to grow and learn, cry and laugh, fight and make-up. As time passed, they learned and loved and many things happened to them, and many stories came to pass, but you will not hear them here, for this story is finished.

Author's Note: Due to difficulties involved with the uploading process, I cannot post links to the webpages I used in research for this story. If you would like to know what sites I used, please e-mail me or leave me a review. If you do send me an email, write "fictionpress" in the subject line, because I usually delete e-mails from people I don't know. I would also like to cite Bullfinch's Mythology, which I read for school, in which I learned the basic personalities of major characters in Greek mythology and gave me the idea for this story. Special thanks to everyone who reviewed my story, your comments are greatly appreciated!