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The Saturday morning was a lazy and quiet one. For the first time in months the baby monitor had remained blissfully silent through the night. As most parents did, the two loved their child to death and beyond--but gods did he cry. Day and night, little Leo Grace displayed as much excess energy as his namesake and godfather. So when Piper awoke, she was surprised to see the sun and not hear the sound of her baby sobbing from hunger, a dirty diaper, or boredom. Rolling over to her left, she wasn't surprised to find that the spot next to her was empty. Her husband was always an early riser, and it was rare that Piper ever got up before him (unless it was her turn to put Junior back down at some unholy hour of the morning).
As if summoned by her thoughts, Jason strolled in through the doorway, carrying a mug of coffee and looking behind him with a bewildered expression on his face. As soon as he saw she was awake, he smiled and came over to where she was now sitting on the bed. Giving her a peck on the cheek he gestured towards the still silent device and gave her a bewildered-but-pleased look.
“Not a peep?” she asked with a raised brow. She can’t recall a time where she didn't wake up when Junior started crying, but maybe she’d slept through a fit that Jason had just taken care of. Though the look on his face suggested otherwise.
“Nope. I just checked on him and he’s still sleeping like a rock. Had to close the window though, it was pretty breezy in there.”
“Funny, I thought I closed it last night. Guess I forgot,” for the third time this week... A moment of silence passed between them while they both watched the baby monitor, as if speaking of the silence would somehow cause Junior to wake. When a full minute passed and nothing happened, they exchanged equally giddy smiles.
“Finally,” Piper sighed, stretching her arms above her head as she slid off the bed and headed towards the bathroom. “He’s started sleeping through the night. I was beginning to wonder if we’d know what a full eight hours of rest felt like again.” As she put toothpaste on her brush, she heard Jason’s amused chuckle, and knew without seeing that he was nodding his agreement.
“Those were probably the longest four months of my life,” the man sighed. “Thank Somnus--”
“Hwypos,” Piper cut in through a mouth full of toothpaste.
“Somnus,” Jason continued with a grin, as his wife glared at him. “That he didn't actually take half a year to finally get on a proper sleep schedule. I nearly walked into a wall the other day I was so tired.”
“I don’t see how that’s any different from before Junior was born,” she replied, and now it was Jason’s turn to glare.
“Haha, very funny.” he took a sip from his coffee, muttering into the mug in Latin. Piper came out, the sickeningly sweet smile on her face showing just how proud she was of the jibe.
“Oh don’t sulk, you know I still love you, head traumas and all.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek and his pout relaxed, if only slightly. How a grown man could still pull off the kicked puppy look so well was still beyond Piper’s understanding. “How about we head to the park after Junior wakes up?”
“That would be nice,” Jason agreed. No sooner had the words left his mouth did the familiar sound of their baby getting fussy come through on the monitor. A quick glance was all it took for them to divvy up the morning’s roles.
“I’ll get him,” Jason said just as Piper asked how he wanted his eggs.
The temperature was a pleasurable 80 degrees Fahrenheit , though the breeze made it seem cooler. The color of the leaves were darkening, and most of the flowers were beginning to wilt or close their petals. Summer was beginning to give way to autumn. Piper would have to go shopping for some warmer clothes for Junior soon, a thought she filed away for a later time.
It would seem that a lot of people thought today was one meant to be spent outside. Children, seniors, and every age group in between could be seen enjoying the open space. Little kids chased each other across the playground while others swung from jungle gyms, tried their luck on the monkey bars, or climbed trees. Teenagers and young couples could be seen scattered around the area, doing anything from making out, reading under trees, and roller skating. A few solitary adults were jogging around the park, headphones in to drown out the sound of outside conversation. It was truly a picture perfect day.
Piper pushed the stroller as Jason walked beside her, an arm around her waist as they talked about everything and nothing--a call from Leo for a barbecue at his place next weekend (he promised nothing that shouldn't would catch fire this time), speculating how many times Percy has been on the bad side of Nico’s all powerful spatula as Elva laughed and pointed out the the sea prince probably deserved it--and whatever nonsense their friends had gotten into recently. No matter how old they got, for better or for worse, some things never seemed to change.
“Goodness, are those the Grace’s I see?” Came the loud familiar voice of one Leo Valdez. The pair rolled their eyes, and even Junior let out a loud puff of breath. Piper never realized how old some of the jokes got until she adopted her husband’s name. They turned to greet their old friend with a smile nonetheless, and spun just in time to see Reyna jab an elbow into his ribs for the horrible pun. Running into Leo and Reyna at the same time wasn't as strange as it should be all things considered. The former praetor could often be found at this park taking a jog, though the time of day often varied. As for Leo--well this was a happy accident it would seem. A lot of people thought it would be a good day to come out after all.
They stood and chatted for a bit, catching up on recent events--Leo giving status updates on the barbecue preparations, Reyna giving little bits and pieces out about how work is, and little things in general. The breeze suddenly began to pick up and the air started to feel much more chilly with the sun being blocked out by a thicket of clouds.
“Oh, let me get Junior’s blanket on him,” Piper said, reaching for the baby bag and looking through the contents for the desired item.
“Hey, how is the mini-me doing? Once you got him all wrapped up, let me hold him, beauty queen,” Leo asked, both he and Reyna looking eager to have their turn at holding the infant.
“He’s as energetic as ever. But slept through the night for the first time last night,” Jason boasted. As he got into detail about how excited he was at the prospect of getting a full night’s rest again, Piper found the blanket and went to get her boy out of the stroller. Leo was practically vibrating with impatience, and Piper was about to make a joke about his baby holding-privileges would be suspended if he burst into flames again. Then her eyes fell on the stroller.
The empty stroller.
“Oh my gods--” Piper breathed eyes immediately beginning to scan the area of her missing baby. “He’s gone. Holy Hera he’s gone. Jason our baby is missing--” Her rambling was cut off by the feeling of something hitting her head. The item bounced off the top of her light brown hair and landed in the spot of the stroller Junior previously occupied.
It was his pacifier.
Looking up slowly, what little color was left in Piper’s face immediately fled as her eyes landed on a little form wriggling and squealing happily about fifteen feet above their heads. A form she would recognize anywhere.
Leo (Junior) Grace, eldest and only child of Olympian heroes Jason Grace and Piper Grace was looking perfectly at home in the sky above.
And his mother started screaming.
“JASON GET OUR BABY DOWN NOW.” Her voice was shrill and for years to come the four of them would question what made Jason move faster--his own protective instincts or the power of the charm speak Piper inadvertently mixed into the command in her moment of hysteria.
Reasoning aside, Jason was up in the air, quickly recovering their free-floating child before Junior lost whatever control over the winds he had. Jason was carefully but tightly holding his son as they returned to the ground where his near frantic wife and two best friends were waiting.
Needless to say, Leo didn't get his turn at holding Junior for at least a few hours.