Our missing agent has been found and is recovering at the hospital. Medusa and I have eliminated several bad guys. The day is looking up. I help her with turning the bodies to stone by holding their eyes open. She sorts through the mess of memories, hoping that we will find out where the container of women and children are headed. Once we finish with the last body, Medusa turns to me. No doubt, she will tell me what she has found when her eyes flutter closed, and she starts to fall. I rush over and wrap both arms around her as she collapses into my arms and breathes heavily. She had spent so much energy today. I can only imagine her exhaustion.
“I’m sorry. They don’t know where the container is headed,” she whispers into my chest.
“Don’t be sorry. You are the reason that Morrison is alive and will get to go home to his family. You look exhausted. Are you staying in the area? I have a spare bedroom that you are welcome to use.”
Medusa lifts her head and stares into my eyes, searching for…something.
“Yes, that would be great. I am too exhausted to teleport.”
“Are you okay to walk? I can carry you.”
“No, I’m fine. I can walk.” We take a few steps, and she stumbles. To hells with this. She is going to hurt herself trying to walk after all she just did. Without giving her time to protest, I sweep my arms under her and pick her up. I cradle her to my chest and walk out of the building. I am thankful when she relaxes into me and doesn’t protest.
“So, I was thinking of going on a cruise,” she says softly.
“That sounds nice. I hear they are a lot of fun. I have been meaning to go on one myself.”
She leans in even closer to me. “I know you’re busy, but…maybe if you can get time off…umm maybe…you would want to go…with…me?”
Joy fills my heart. She forgives me. Gods knows I forgave her a long time ago. Maybe this really is our second chance.
“Oh Gorgie, I would love to go.”
She laughs. “It does sound fun. I have never been either. I hope that we can get to know each other again.” Her words fill my eyes with tears. Only this time, they are tears of joy. I do my best to keep them from falling. I kiss her cheek and feel the heat creep into my face.
“Sorry.” I didn’t mean to kiss her.
“It’s okay. I can’t believe that we ran into each other like this.”
“Me either, but I am glad we did.”
“You know you can’t drive with me on your lap, right?” she teases me as we exit the warehouse. I walk out into the crisp night air. The officers are all gathered. No one says a word about me carrying Medusa to my car. They know better.
“Okay, I am going to put you down now.”
Medusa nods, and I set her lightly on her feet. With one arm still wrapped around her, I use the other to open the passenger side door and usher her into my car. Once she is in and resting comfortably, I walk to the driver’s side door and start the car. The car purrs to life, and the heater kicks on and starts warming the car.
“I have to go brief the others. I’ll be right back. You wait here, okay?”
Medusa murmurs an okay as she rests in the seat with her eyes closed. I softly shut the door before briefing the others. I am relieved to see that Medusa is asleep when I return.
The drive home with Medusa sleeping soundly in my front sleep was quiet. Every few minutes, I catch myself looking over at her to make sure she is okay. I can’t help it. I am fiercely protective of those that I care about. When I pull into the driveway, I have no idea what time it is and don’t really care. I shut off the engine and exit the vehicle, and by the time I am at the passenger side door, Medusa is waking up. I don’t know what I expected. Perhaps I could pick her up and carry her to my home, still asleep, like some sort of fairytale. Yes, that’s what I wanted. I want the fairytale. You never know how much you want something until it is presented in front of you. Everyone is finding love and pairing off. I wanted that, too. I just don’t know if I will ever have it. I don’t have the best track record for love. The only lasting love that I have ever had is my son, Erichthonius. I adopted him at birth and always loved him as my own. He has been the one constant in my life. I can always count on him. He will never turn his back on me, nor I him.
I raised him and have always had a soft spot for my Little Eric. But he grew up to be a man, even though he will always be my little boy, and I his fierce Momma Bear. But I think it is like that with all mothers.
I open the door.
“I am sorry that I woke you, we are here,” I say with a small smile.
“No, it’s fine,” Medusa says as she gets out of my car and stretches. I guess that answers the question of if I was going to carry her again. I laugh silently as I lead her up the walkway to my home.
“One moment,” I say as I unlock the door and turn off the security system. Once we are inside, I re-lock the front door. I have found that I am more security conscious since those assholes, that I now know where the Cartel, blew up my home. I must remind myself to send them my bill. I look over at Medusa. “Are you hungry? Do you need anything? The kitchen is fully stocked, and there are fresh towels and linens in the closet. You can take anything out of my closet that you like if you wish to clean up and change. The guest room is right next to mine. Please make yourself at home.” I explain as I give her the mini-tour of my condo. We stop in front of the guest room, and I give her a quick hug.
“There is a bathroom on the other side. There are extra hygiene products in there as well. Please feel free to use anything that you like. I will get a shower and change. I’ll be up if you need anything. I am so glad that you decided to stay.” We share a brief smile, and I go into my room. I lean against the door after closing it and wait for a moment. I just can’t believe that she is here and is going to be sleeping in the next room. I silently thank the Gods as I walk to my master bath to shower. I hope that I didn’t sound too forward or suggestive.
I turn on the water and wait for it to heat up. While I wait, I grab an oversized t-shirt then hangs almost to my knees. It is one of my favorites. It has a big, bold print on the front saying, I can shoot you in the face, What’s your superpower? I strip out of the clothing that I am wearing and step into the shower. The water is hot and leaves little pink streaks as it cascades down my body. I close my eyes and just stand there, letting it wash away the day. Brief images tease my mind of what I would do if Medusa came in and joined me. My mind seems to enjoy playing in the gutter these days. I rub my eyes and shake the images of her naked body tangled up with mine in the hot water away.
It doesn’t take me long to finish cleaning myself. I turn off the water and grab one of my plush towels as I step out. The room is full of steam and has left a dew on everything. I dry off quickly and put on the oversized shirt. Opening the door to my bathroom, I wait for a moment to see if I hear anything from the rooms beyond, but everything is silent. After I am finished brushing my hair, I walk softly into my room. Still, there is silence. Slowly I exit the room and walk barefooted into the kitchen. Medusa isn’t there or in the rooms leading up to it. I assume she decided to just go to bed. I don’t blame her. Tonight has been…it’s been a lot. She will need time to process. I have had time to process my feelings. She has just returned, and I know she will need time. I must try to be patient.
I grab a glass and pour some water. The cold liquid feels amazing as I gulp it down. I have some work that I should do, but the idea of sleep does sound inviting. In the end, sleep wins, and I walk back into my room and go to bed. It doesn’t take long before sleep sucks me under, and the dreams start.
***
I wake softly to the sounds of birds chirping outside. If I dreamt while I slept, I don’t remember it. Sitting up in my bed, I look around. Nothing is out of place or different from last night. I stretch and get out of bed. I run my fingers through my golden blonde hair as I exit my bedroom. Medusa must still be asleep. Coffee, we will need coffee. I go to the kitchen and start a pot of coffee before making breakfast. I decide on chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, buttery scrambled eggs with cheese and toast.
Medusa emerges from the guest room as I am finishing up breakfast. She is fully clothed and looks beautiful in the morning light.
“Good Morning. I have coffee and breakfast ready if you would like some.”
She looks at the coffee and food slowly and then back to me.
“You…cook? Things really have changed.” She seems shocked by the revelation. I can’t help but smirk.
“I haven’t had servants in a very long time. I had to adapt. You would be amazed at all the new skills that I have.” I wink at her as I make us both plates of food and coffee. She takes a seat at the kitchen breakfast table and smiles as I place both in front of her.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“No, Athena…Thank you…for everything.”
I smile at her.
“You’re welcome.” We both sit and eat, chatting like no time or harsh feelings have passed. We look like old friends meeting for a weekly breakfast, talking, joking, and laughing. We are only interrupted by Medusa’s phone ringing. She answers it with a smile in her voice.
“Good morning, Luke.” I can hear bits of conversation from the other end. He sounds concerned that she didn’t come back last night. I am both envious of their closeness and thankful that she has him at the same time.
“Yes, I’m fine. I was too tired to teleport last night, so I stayed with someone. It’s a long story. I’ll explain when I get back.” They talk for a few more moments, and then she hangs up the phone.
“Thank you again for last night. I have to go, but can we talk about this soon?” She asks. I dial my cell phone into her phone and save it in her contacts.
“Now you have my cell number and my address. I am here whenever you are ready.”
She takes the phone back and stares at it for a moment.
“Is everything okay?” I hope that I haven’t fucked this up already.
“No, no, it’s fine. I am just still in shock, I guess. A lot has happened over the last twenty-four hours. It’s a lot to process.”
“I understand.”
We both stand up and exchange quick hugs before she teleports out. I just stand there and stare at the space where she had been. I secretly hoped that she would pop back and decide to stay. I know it’s not logical, but a Goddess can dream. Taking my mug back to the coffee pot, I refill it. I suppose I should get dressed and start my day. Renard will want an update. Shit…the Captain. What does this mean for us? How do we all fit into this new situation? It’s something that we will just have to figure out as we go. Either way, I am thankful to have found them both. Life is starting to look up after all.
Rainbow Brubaker is a disabled Army veteran, former Deputy Sheriff, wife, and mother. She is passionate about her family, her craft as a writer and her country. She enjoys painting and reading in her spare time. She loves Greek and Roman mythology, all things mythical, mystical, magical and supernatural. She loves to work on her novels, blog and her role as Athena for #ThePantheon. She enjoys spending time with her husband and children. Together they have adopted a special needs teen. She has 4 boys and 1 girl, currently. She states that adoption may again be in their future one day.
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