All Night Long (Olympus Drive Chronicles)

Time: 15:58

Bailey

"Just until sunrise," I say, lacing my fingers with his as we stand next to the Thames. The sun is already dipping past the buildings, down into the sea, for the longest night of the year. "Sixteen hours."

"Fifteen hours, eleven minutes, and eighteen seconds," Wilson says, almost smiling a little, his hand cold in mine.  "I'll be with you."

"Do your job. And I'll see you right here, no matter what happens."

"No matter what. I'll see you at dawn."

"See you at dawn," I say, slowly, reluctantly, we let our hands part and step back from the other.

As the last rays of sun flicker across his face, he flickers.

Then he's gone.

I take a deep breath. Time to get to work.

Teddy

"Did you hear something?" Pippa asks, walking into the living room.

"Yeah, half my power just went out," I sigh, as I stare at the dozen monitors on the wall. "Interestingly enough, just the cameras I have on the lower elements."

"No, something else," Pippa says, shaking her head, leaning in the door way.

"No, sorry, I was focused, I didn't hear anything, I'll get it back going---Aster did you hear anything??" I call the last bit only to trip over him.  "Could you not nap invisible?"

"No," Aster mumbles, attempting to go back to sleep, visible this time. Considering he's a disgusting, horrible monster (he is. I know I'm very sarcastic but he is literally a monster), I'm typically glad he makes himself invisible from time to time. Just not when I'm trying to walk across the room.

"You should go to bed, your flight's early isn't it? Heathrow's a nightmare around the holidays," I say, as I fiddle with my seven power strips.

"I'm not sleeping, anyway, are you sure you didn't hear anything?" Pippa asks, coming to sit on the sofa next to our son, who I had propped up with toys to watch me work.  She kisses his hair gently as he fusses with his blocks.

"No, and Aster didn't either, we're gonna be fine," I say, tripping again this time over my own foot. "Lee and me are great, aren't we buddy?"

My son babbles at me.

Did I ever intend to have a kid? No, but apparently I wasn't smart enough to avoid it. Pippa and I have a monster-hunters with benefits relationship that, yeah, kind of wound up resulting in a kid. We're fond him. The agreement was if we had a girl, she would raise it, and if it was a boy I would, so we both naturally prayed for a girl.

Needless to say we got a boy. But Lee's seriously great, far better than youtube videos prepared me for. He almost never cries, he just babbles at us, and uses his baby-signs to ask or food or whatever, he likes going for car rides and being carried in his little backpack. He isn't scared of Aster either. I couldn't ask for a better kid. Now that he's old enough not to nurse he's to stay with me full time, hence I think her apprehension.

"I know you are," she says, stroking his curls, "I felt something though—something odd. I don't know."

"We're fine, Pip, you know my mum is besotted with him, she texts me daily suggesting she baby sit," I say, sitting down on an ottoman and propping my feet on Aster.

"You really didn't hear anything a minute or two ago?" she asks.

"No, I didn't. Now don't you want to sleep before the flight?" I ask, tucking her hair out of her face. She just showered so it's all loose and wet.