Falling Backwards (A Heroes of Olympus AU and Fanficton)

Chapter 13

Needless to say, Leo was confused. His Mama and Daddy had woken him up early and fed him breakfast, much to his displeasure, and they buckled him into his car seat, beginning to drive. Leo didn't like this, and no matter what his Mama and Daddy did, he was pretty unhappy the whole ride. They had boarded a plane, and Leo was stuck in his car seat for another 6 hours.

****Sorry, I just didn't want to write about the flight. I wanted to skip right to the good stuff.****

When the plane landed, Leo was unhappy, tired, and in desperate need of a change. They got off the plane as quickly as possible, and Piper rushed to the restroom with the shortest line and changed Leo.

Once Leo was all clean, Piper snuggled him to her chest as she and Jason made their way through the airport to baggage claim, where they grabbed their bags. They wandered through the airport some more towards the entrance.

Piper and Jason looked around for a bit, and finally spotted them.

Gleeson Hedge leaned against a column, eyeing the mortals as they passed. He was in disguise today, like he usually was when they were in public, his baseball cap low on his head. Mellie stood beside him, her dark hair pulled back into a tight bun and her brown eyes scanning the crowds.

"Mellie!" Jason called out, much to Leo's discomfort as he began to cry. "Over here!"

Mellie looked startled, and she looked in their direction with curiosity and excitement. Gleeson was a different story. He looked in their direction with a wary glare, ready to hurt anyone if they picked a fight. When the two saw Jason, Piper, and Leo, they smiled.

"Oh, Piper! Jason!" Mellie exclaimed, smiling sweetly. "It's so good to see you two! We've all missed you so much!"

"Yep. We all missed you two knuckleheads." Gleeson didn't hug them, but that was expected. "It's been too long since you came to visit. Why didn't you come and visit sooner?" Piper and Jason laughed.

"Coach, we didn't come and visit sooner, because we got busy."

"What?" Clearly, this answer didn't satisfy the satyr. "What could have possibly made you two so busy that you couldn't come and visit us?!" Piper leaned down and cradled a still crying Leo. "Ooh." Gleeson seemed to understand. "That makes much more sense."

"Oh!" Mellie squealed. "He's so adorable!" She giggled to herself. "Oh, I remember when Chuck was about that age. What a cute age!" Mellie looked absolutely ecstatic that Leo was there, especially since she had never met him before. "What's his name?"

"His name is Leonidas." Jason answered, beaming.

"What?!" Once again, the Coach disapproved. "What kind of a name is Leonidas?"

"A fine one." Mellie said, giving him a look of disapproval.

"Yes, of course." Gleeson relented. "Leonidas is a fine name."

"Well," Mellie's smile returned as she attempted to change the subject. "Let's get you two back to the penthouse! They are certainly dying to see you!"

*******

The penthouse was on top of a large apartment building, and had two stories and several guest bedrooms.

As they stood in the elevator, Leo continued crying. Nothing seemed to calm him down, especially since he barely slept on the flight. Leo was exhausted and he just wanted to sleep. He clung to Piper, but nothing he did helped him fall asleep any faster.

"It's okay, sweetheart." Piper soothed. "We're almost to Grandpa and Nana's place. Once we get there, you can sleep." Despite this promise, Leo continued crying, which made him even more exhausted.

They stepped into the penthouse, and were greeted by a very chipper Tristan McLean, wearing jeans, a navy blue button-up shirt, and black dress shoes.

"Hey!" He looked absolutely elated that they were here. "Pipes! Jason!" He hugged them both, despite Leo's wails. "And who's this?" Leo looked up at the man that he vaguely remembered and continued crying. "What's the matter, kiddo?"

"He's exhausted." Jason explained, taking Leo from Piper. "Poor little man didn't get much sleep during the flight, and we had to get up early today."

"Well your room is set up, so why don't you lay him down in there so he can get some sleep?" Tristan suggested, and Jason nodded. "Gleeson, could you help Jason with the travel crib?" The satyr nodded, leading Jason down a hallway and opening a door to a very spacious bedroom.

"I'll get the crib set up, you just focus on quieting your little one, okay?" Gleeson was gentler that usual, deciding that it wasn't a good idea to upset the baby.

Jason walked in to the kitchen, warmed up Leo's bottle, and walked back to the room, where the travel crib was almost completely set up.

"Thanks, Coach Hedge."

"No problem, kid." Gleeson grunted. "And I've told you to call me Gleeson." Jason nodded, then turned to his son, whose cries had turned more into whimpers and pleas for sleep.

"Sorry, kid." Jason brushed some of Leo's tears away with his thumb. "Let's get you to sleep, okay?" Jason sat down on the edge of the bed and cradled Leo in his arms, taking out Leo's pacifier and exchanging it for the rubber nipple of the bottle.

Leo drank and drank as his eyes began to droop. Within five minutes, Leo was fast asleep, still drinking the milk. When he had finished, Jason gently burped him, then laid him down in the now finished travel crib, covering him up with his blankie, putting Banjo in his arms, and placing a pacifier between his lips. Finally, he left the room to go and greet the others.

*******

Jason walked out onto the terrace, where he saw Laurel Alderidge tending a mini garden.

Laurel Alderidge was Piper's stepmother. She had met Tristan on set of a movie he was in, and her being one of the tech crew who took care of the numerous amount of plants on set (the movie was called, Revenge of the Killer Petunias, and it bombed). But when he had asked her out to coffee, she accepted. And four years later, here they were, married.

Laurel was 48 years old, with sun-kissed skin, wavy, shoulder-length chocolate-brown hair, and honey-brown eyes. She was sweet and gentle and had one of the most genuinely-kind smiles Jason had ever seen. She wore a black tank top, torn jeans that had grass stains on them, moccasins, and a large tan knit cardigan that was far too large for her petite frame.

"Good morning, Laurel." Laurel jumped, whipping her head around with an almost fierce look, but when she saw it was just Jason, her sharp gaze switched back into a much gentler one, and she smiled.

"Good morning, Jason!" She walked up to him and gave him a tight hug. "It's so good to see you!"

"It's good to see you, too, Laurel."

"How have you been, Jason?"

"Pretty good. Yourself?"

"Not too shabby. Not too shabby at all." Then, Laurel seemed to remember something, because her eyes widened. "Oh, where's that little one I've heard so much about? Where's little Leo?" Jason chuckled to himself.

"He's taking a nap. He didn't get much sleep on the plane, and he wasn't too happy that Piper and I had to wake him up early this morning." Laurel seemed to deflate at this slightly. "But you can see him as soon as he wakes up." Jason promised, and the older woman's smile returned.

"Well I can't wait to meet him." Laurel pulled off her gloves. "So, tell me all about your son. What does he like to eat? I'll make something special for dinner."

"Well, Leo's young, but he's a pretty big fan of tacos. He mostly eats the beans, though." Laurel laughed, and she nodded. "He also absolutely loves mashed potatoes."

"I see." Laurel led Jason back into the penthouse. "Well I'll see what I can do."