A little bit of Maria's POV from what she's like in my mind. I hope i got get right...

Maria woke up before her husband, small rays of sunlight disturbing her face. She turned to look at the man sleeping next to her. She knew he wouldn't be awake, mornings were never his thing, even if he did wake up early every day. The irony of often made her laugh a little. Quietly, she made her way out of the bed and stood up. Hades was one of those people that needed some morning coffee to function properly at such an early hour. As much as she would like to let him sleep, they would be later for the reunion if they waited too long to get ready.

Opening the door, the first thing to catch Maria's attention was the boy that was soundly sleeping on the bed in the middle of the living room. She felt a smile grace her lips at the sight. He looked so peaceful, compared to how agitated and alert he had been when he was awake. Though she knew very well that he would not tell her, she would love to know what horrors the boy had gone through up to when they had found him. That same thought reminded her of the boy's injuries. Once he woke up, Maria would make sure to call the nurse and get him treated.

Thankfully, everything she needed to make coffee was already stored in the cabinets. Maria took two pots out, and started heating milk in one, and water in the other one. Hades didn't like milk in his coffee, but Maria could not stand the strong, bitter taste of the coffee alone, so she added milk and cream to it, but even then, she never drank much. There wasn't many things inside of the cabinets, mostly plates and basic things such as salt, sugar, oil and others. She would have to order something from the hotel's room service for breakfast, Hades wouldn't want to go out to eat.

Minutes passed while Maria prepared the coffee, enrolled in her thoughts about the upcoming day. She didn't notice the stirring from the boy sleeping in the living room. It wasn't until she turned around to set two mugs on top of the counter that she caught the site of a pair of eyes, as blue as the sky itself, staring at her in mild curiosity. As soon as those eyes met hers, the boy pulled the blanket over his face. Maybe he was shy? It wouldn't surprise her in the least if he was. Might as well ease him a little then. "Good morning" she greeted softly, not wanting to wake up her husband just yet.

Without waiting for an answer, knowing she might not get one, she turned around and began to pour the mashed coffee beans into the pot filled with water. "Good morning" the reply eventually came, softly, like a whisper. If Maria didn't recognize the voice of the boy, she would have believed that she but imagined it. Smiling to herself, she continued to stir the water and powder together, not showing any change in her calm demeanor, though she was exited on the inside. "Would you like some coffee?" she tried to continue, hoping the boy would once again grace her with a reply.

It took longer than the first one, but Maria's smile grew regardless "Yes." the boy answered, his voice still small, yet not as soft as before. Silently, she took out a third mug and began to pour the pure coffee into two of them, a small amount for her, and a full mug for Hades. After adding milk and cream to hers, she took the pots filled with milk and coffee, and left them next to the third, unfilled mug, their handles facing the opposite sided of the counter. She also took a spoon, the sugar and the cream and left them next to them, before grabbing the two mugs and heading inside the room, closing the door behind her. She hoped the boy would gain the confidence to get up from his bed and serve himself the coffee. It would help him feel more at ease in the small hotel room, she thought.

The door was closed and she set the mugs in the nightstand, beginning to wake Hades up. They only had so much time if they wanted to not be rushed all throughout the morning. She felt him stirring and grabbed the mugs, sitting in the bed next to him. Time to truly begin a new day.

Maria finally walked out of the room, bathed and fully dressed. She had enough time to wash the dishes while Hades got himself ready to leave. She had almost forgotten about the boy, whom she saw sitting at the counter, inspecting an empty mug. He turned to look at her and seemed to consider moving from his spot, but decided against it and just stayed there. It relieved her that he didn't seem so keen on avoiding her presence as he had done before.

She dared to take the mug from his hands and began to wash it along with the other two and the pots. She could feel the boys stare in her back as she worked. Rather than scared like he had been before, he looked confused and slightly curious about her. What to make of him today was what bothered her. She doubted bringing him to the meeting would be any good. Mr. Castiglione was hardly what you would call 'a friendly face' when you first met him. But she felt sick at the thought of leaving him with anyone else. He could just stay here, she supposed. The hotel had many activities he could preform while they were gone. Maybe a trip to the spa? That would surely do the poor kid some good. He looked tense beyond belief. There was also that-

Her thoughts were cut short by a knock on the door. She ignored the suspicious glace the boy seemed to make towards it and answered it, being greeted by one of the hotel workers. "Good morning, ma'am. An order of a plate of pancakes, one large plate scrambled eggs with bacon and sausage; and a black forest ham sandwich for room 104. Is this correct, ma'am?" he asked and held a tray with three plates of food on top of it.

"Yes, that is my order. Please set those on the counter for me." The man only nodded before coming inside and leaving the plates there. Maria paid close attention to the boy, who stared rather hungrily at the plates. The man thanked her and left without another word. Maria closed the door and went back behind the counter. The boy settled for staring at his lap now, not saying a word. With a little more confidence, Maria settled herself in front of him and offered him the plate filled with pancakes with the complementary bottle of syrup. He gave it a small glance but didn't look up for long.

Maria signed in defeat, apparently, the boy was still going to be completely introverted again. It made her sad, seeing as it seemed they had done progress, but he seemed to shut down again and again whenever it happened. "The pancakes are yours, honey. You can eat and stay here during the day. Hades and I will be going on a work meeting of his. We will be back in the afternoon to eat lunch here. You can help yourself to anything here, don't worry about it, we will be back as soon as we can." She quickly left to give Hades his breakfast before the baffled look in the boy's face could make her talk any more. She was slightly embarrassed that she had talked to him exactly as she would talk to Nico, but she couldn't help it. They boy reminded her of him. Maybe they would get along if they met…

She decided indulging in such a train of thought would have to be done later, when she had more time in her hands.

She felt rather bad leaving the boy to his own devices. At least the nurse had reported herself and began to take care of the boy's countless wounds. Maria had to admit that she was grateful though, seeing the amount of infected and bloody scratches, coupled with the large purple and even black bruises had made her stomach turn in a sickening way that almost made her regret eating her breakfast. She was both worried and enraged by them, wondering, who would lay a hand on a child. For one thing, she was sure she would sacrifice hours of whatever free time she was given to find the culprit. But that was in the future, for now, she had to decide what would become of the boy once they had to go back home.

A word with the hotel's manager was enough to assure her the boy would remain untouched or bothered, but she had to think of the future. She didn't want to leave him here, but could she take him home with them? She supposed it wouldn't be a problem for how big their house (read: mansion) was, but would it be okay for him to leave this place? What if he actually had family here? Though it didn't seem likely, the boy had made no attempt to go home, it was still a possibility. Not to mention they couldn't just give him a place if they planned to raise him. He would need more, like teachers and duties. Oh, gods, what about her own children? Would Nico and Bianca be okay with having an adopted brother? A very mysterious one, who barely spoke at all. Bianca herself would try to approach him, she believed, as for Nico…she had no clue, really. That boy was as unpredictable as his father, if not more.

'Stop Maria' she told herself as the driver took them to the Castiglione household. 'Don't tear your hair out just yet. Just, take it easy.' She had a few hours, didn't she? She would figure this out. Yes, of course she would.

Does anybody else miss little Nico? I certainly do, but there's still one more chapter with Maria before we get to that. This is about to turn a little.