Okay, so this is my first time writing fanfiction for anyone so I'm a little nervous of what you guys will think of this. I'm not the best writer out there, so bear with me. Once you get going, the story will develop and you will hopefully enjoy it enough to want more. I had a great time writing this and I hope you guys will like it.

So, basically, I came up with the idea to write about Leo Valdez's future and what it might be like. I know the amount of kids he has might seem unrealistic, but hey... It can happen. Besides, I picture him with a large family. Thing is, it isn't only about his future, but his present life at Camp Half-Blood as well. I really liked grouping the two time periods together and I think you will too. (Hopefully! :D)

I don't want to spoil anything, so before I give myself the chance of that happening, I want to point out a few things. Firstly, I don't speak Spanish, so if any of you out there do, and find some Spanish in here that doesn't seem quite right or maybe doesn't even make sense, I will have you know I had to rely on Google Translate. My apologize if they aren't the way they should be.

Also, feel free to comment on my story in any way you wish. I will gladly accept pointers and any other suggestions on making my story better.

Okay. Enough of my ongoing chatter. Time for the story. Here goes...

SHOUT OUT!
I do not own any of the Heroes of the Olympus characters. Credit goes to the wonderful (and slightly evil) author of the series, Rick Riordan. I own the kids though. :D


~Piper's POV~

Piper sat with her siblings at the Aphrodite table in the dining pavilion. As usual, she was growing annoyed by their constant chatter about how well their makeup turned out today or anything they could to pull the attention amongst themselves. She, Katie, and Ben were the only ones who refused to join those conversations. They didn't care any two cents on how they looked and the others knew it. There was no way Piper was going to get sucked into any conversations that consisted of cosmetics and/or hair products. They knew this also and found out the hard way that they shouldn't force her. Dealing with a charmspeaker didn't often end well for them.

"I wish they would just give it up," Katie grumbled. "Cosmetics are the only things they talk about. I want to puke."

Piper tried to hide her smile. "Same."

"Oh, except for Drew."

"What?"

"Drew's talking about another unlucky man on her leash she won't let go of. Poor Bruce."

"She likes Bruce?" Piper asked with honest shock. "I never pictured her ever chasing him down. He's not even that good looking."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Please, she's only after him because he said she looked nice a few days ago."

"Hey, he might actually like her back if he said that."

She laughed at the idea. "We were dressed up for that evening party, remember? He told all the girls they looked nice that night, and let me stress the word nice. That's all he said and poor Drew took it the wrong way. You'd assume she would actually know if he likes her or not."

"Maybe she picked up on something you didn't," Piper suggested after taking a bite of her vegan lasagna.

"Piper, I was standing there beside her the whole time. He even told me I looked nice while Drew was there to hear it. I have no idea why she decided to form a crush on him, but at least he isn't some handsome disaster like all the others."

"Yet."

Smirking together, Chiron cut in to announce the evening games and the night went on.


That night, Piper had the strangest dream. She found herself standing in the middle of a remarkably clean modern home with beautiful flowers or different types of plants displayed in various vases placed on many surfaces from atop the fireplace, the coffee table, and even the kitchen counters. The couch and matching loveseats circling around the fireplace looked quite comfortable considering they were white leather, and there was a very comfortable throw rug underneath all of that that looked so soft, Piper was sure her toes would sink right down into it. Outstanding art hung on the walls, giving the gentle blue and white walls a flash of color that brought the whole place to life. If she was able to have a home like the one she was standing in, Piper would grab it without even the slightest hesitation.

Suddenly, from somewhere down the long hall, a chorus of voices talked over each other.

"I want pink streamers and pink balloons and a pink cake and pink presents and pink decorations and…"

"No! Green streamers and green balloons and green cake—"

"I want pink!"

"Green!"

"It's not only your birthday party you know! It's mine too!"

"But I don't like pink! Pink is a girl color!"

"Boys can like pink!"

Soon enough, two small children of around seven came bounding into the open room all dressed up for what must be their birthday party, one in jeans and a T-shirt, and the other in a dress. On behalf of being brother and sister (from what Piper assumed), they looked almost identical with their honey-colored hair, brown eyes, a small scatter of freckles on their noses, and were even the same height. They were obviously twins.

Following the two, came another two children, though these two were of different ages; one maybe four and the other around twelve. The older one looked most like the squabbling twins with his warm honey-toned hair and his freckles, but the younger one was very different. He had dark curly hair with big brown eyes, tanner skin, and pointed ears. This little boy looked so much like Leo, it was insane…

The next person to come out from the hall, was a man who seemed to be around his mid-thirties with the same dark, curly hair, brown eyes, and pointed ears. He was carrying a couple boxes with decoration supplies.

A thought came to Piper that made her head spin. This…this couldn't be…Leo…could it? How could he still stay thin like that after all those years? Normally people went south after starting a family. Clearly this wasn't the case for him. He was still quite thin, though a little more buff.

Grown-up Leo placed the boxes on the kitchen table. "Hey, you two behave or else I'm putting these decorations away and canceling the party all together."

Wow, his voice grew a lot warmer here. Instead of having that still-developing teenage voice, Leo's voice had turned quite pleasing to the ear, making Piper want him to say something more. Without even knowing her wish, he granted it.

"Liam, why don't you and Milo take the streamers and liven this place up, huh? Make this party come to life!" Leo suggested.

That facial hair though! It wasn't very much, but seeing a goatee planted on his chin was so abnormal to what Piper was used to seeing, and it actually looked really good. Dare she say it, he looked hot with it!

"Okay, Dad," said the older boy and he looked inside the boxes. Pulling a few colorful roles out, he handed some to the little boy who looked like a miniature Leo.

"Oh," Leo suddenly said and grabbed them from them. "I'll cut the pieces for you."

Watching him cut long strips Piper wondered why the older boy couldn't just do it. He was old enough to do it himself.

"There you go bud," he grinned and handed them a stack of long, colorful, streamer spaghetti. "The tape is where it usually is."

The two boys nodded and began to decorate the house.

"Now, Lily, Noah, what do you guys want to do to get everything ready?"

The two twins looked at each other with challenging glances.

"I don't want do anything with him," Lily pouted.

"And I don't want to do anything with her," Noah grumbled back.

Leo tilted his head with a shrug. "That's too bad," he said causally. "After all, it's your guys' party."

"Well I'm still not doing anything with her!" the little boy declared. "She doesn't want green."

"You don't want pink!" Lily yelled at him. "Boys can like pink too, right Daddy?"

"Sure," he grinned with an amusing look. "Boys can like pink and girls can like green."

"But I don't!" the twins shouted in unison.

He narrowed his eyes and pretended to speak into an earpiece. "Houston, we have a problem. The twins are disagreeing once again. Whatever can we do to avoid any further disaster?" Then his face brightened up and he pointed a finger into the air like he had an idea. "Hey, here's a suggestion! Why not make the decorations both pink and green! Or maybe blue and yellow! Or orange and purple! Or…" his grin grew a little. "Or maybe red and blue?"

"I want red!" Lily suddenly exclaimed. "Red is like pink!"

Noah, on the other hand, looked unconvinced. "If she likes it, it's probably too much of a girl color."

"Ah," Leo grinned and crouched down to his height. "But it isn't. Red is a boy's and girl's color. Do you know what my favorite color is?"

"Green."

He laughed. "That's your favorite color. My favorite color is red."

"Really?"

"Oh, you bet! Red is the best color since man discovered rainbows!"

"I want red!"

Leo ruffled his hair and stood back up. "Good, cause most of the decorations are from Valentine's Day."

"Oh no!" Noah groaned. "Now we're gonna have hearts and flowers everywhere!"

"I like flowers! Mom does too!" Lily chimed up.

"But that's because you two are girls!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Enough!" Leo declared with a stern tone. "You two have been arguing about boys and girls ever since you had permission to have a party. Now, your mother and I only agreed on putting this thing on if you two were willing to help out and behave. You both gave your words on it and right now it looks like you're breaking it. If you want your mother and me to host this thing, you two are going to have to make up, right now."

It was so odd for Piper to see him so serious. Normally the guy would find something to joke about instead of punishing, but she supposed after looking after four children, he would've had to learn that there were other ways to handle things.

Lily and Noah challenged each other to say something else, but when neither of them did, they nodded and apologized. "Sorry," they said in unison.

"Are the decorations still gonna have hearts and flowers?" Noah whined.

"No," Leo said with a softer tone. "Lucky for you, we don't have to use them."

With everything settled down, they dug in and began to decorate, starting in the kitchen. Everything seemed to be working great.

Just as they finished placing the paper plates and cups at the table in the dining room for each expecting guest, Piper heard more movement coming down the stairs. With surprise, she saw two more of his children rushing downstairs (he had six kids?! Busy guy!). These two were both girls and of an older age, clearly entering into their early teenage years. Both had curly black hair and darker skin like Leo, only the oldest one shared his pointed ears and her hair was shorter than her sister's.

When Leo heard them running down the stairs, he looked up at them with decorations in his hands. "Sophia, Olivia, I thought you guys left an hour ago. What were you two doing up there?" Discretely, he stuck a bow on the back of Milo's shirt without him noticing. He smirked a little.

Yup, that was Leo kicking in.

The younger one shrugged. "We thought we'd just head out a little later. We like arriving punctually late."

Leo laughed at them. "I have never heard of punctually late before!" he hooted. "Don't you mean fashionably late? That was an oxymoron if I've ever heard one! Punctually late! Ha! That's a good one!"

"Whatever," she grumbled. "We're leaving now."

"Wait, who are you going with? Obviously Meggie and Carly left without you. I saw them walking past a while ago. I had assumed you went out to meet them."

"Why does it matter?"

"Dad, Liam's shoe's untied again!" one of the kids called.

"I'll be with you in a minute," he shooed. "What do you mean it doesn't matter? I want to know who you're going with."

"Just some friends," the younger one offered. "Really, Dad, it's fine."

"If it's fine, you can tell me. Who are you going with?"

"Honestly, Dad!" the oldest rolled her eyes. "You've seen us hanging out with them before! You don't have to worry!"

"Daddy!" Lily cried out from the kitchen.

"I said I would help now just be patient please! Sophia, who are you talking about? What friends?"

"Alex and Taylor!"

"Girls, I hope?"

"Dad! Who cares?! You've seen them before! So has mom! Stop acting like this is a big deal!"

"Where have we seen them?"

"At the school play!" the younger one said with exasperation.

"There were a lot of people there, Olivia. Your mom and I were stuck in a crowded audience. Which friends are these?"

From the kitchen, Piper could see the kids fighting over something from the decoration box while Liam sat on one of the chairs holding his shoes in his hands and moaning at them. Something didn't seem right with him, she discovered. The way she saw him moving around and acting wasn't normal behavior for a person his age.

"Alex and Taylor! I told you!" Sophia sighed. "Please, can we just leave now?"

"They're boys, aren't they?"

"So what?!" Sophia asked with clear annoyance. "Yes, they're boys! Why does it matter?"

"Why does it matter?" he asked, baffled. "It matters because you two are my daughters and I care about you! I don't know who these people are!"

"You just don't remember them!"

He was silent for a second before asking another question. "Are they those two troublemakers who kept tagging along at your guys' orientation last year?"

"They weren't troublemakers, and yes. See? You've met them."

"DADDY!" the kids cried from the kitchen and there was a loud crash.

He turned around in a hurry to find a shattered flower vase lying on the ground, spilling water everywhere. Lily and Noah stood there with a torn sign in their hands, guilty as charged for the accident.

"What are you doing?!" Leo yelled at them. "I told you to behave! Now look at what you've done!"

"I'm sorry," Lily sobbed and ran to her room. Noah just stood there with Milo off to the side, staring at the mess.

"What are you just standing there for?! Get a towel and clean it up!" Leo shouted before turning back to the door where his daughters were…only they weren't there anymore and the front door was wide open. "They actually think they can sneak out, do they?" he grumbled under his breath before running after them. Sure enough, he found them jogging up to two young teen guys walking up to their place, smiling and waving at them.

With a devious look, one Piper knew all too well, Leo walked out the door and caught up to them. With a forced grin, he offered a friendly nod as he ignored the glares from his daughters and directed his attention on the boys. "Afternoon. I don't think we've met, have we?"

They hesitantly shook their heads. "No, but I know who you are, Mr. Valdez," one of them offered.

"Well that's great!" Leo forced his grin to grow bigger and offered his hand. "It's nice to meet you…"

"Alex," one said and shook his hand.

"Taylor," the other replied and copied his friend's movements.

"Alex and Taylor," Leo repeated clearly trying hard not grit his teeth in front of them.

"Dad," Sophia utter under her breath. "Go away! Leave us alone!"

"Where are you guys heading again?" he asked as if he hadn't heard a thing.

The one who introduced himself as Taylor shifted his weight on his feet. "Uh…there's a party just at the beach. Nothing big. We were just picking Sophia and Olivia up…if that's okay with you, Mr. Valdez?"

"A party?" he asked like he had no idea this was going on, when in fact, Piper knew he knew about it. "Hey, that sounds like a lot of fun! Surfing, ice cream, sun…pretty girls…"

Everyone's faces grew red.

"Yeah, it'll be fun. So, can they come?" Alex asked.

"Oh sure! Of course! Go ahead! You'll have a great time!"

"Really?" both girls asked with shock. "We can go?"

"Well, why not?!" Leo shrugged as if it was no big deal. "The beach filled with young teenagers who have free rage over the place with little to no adult supervision? It's a teens dream, isn't it? Why not embrace it and go with the flow? Everyone else is doing it! You might as well go along and follow what all the cool kids are doing! Maybe they'll even accept you into their circle! Of course! Go ahead! Have fun! It's a great day for it!"

The atmosphere grew awkward and uncomfortable. All four teens looked ready to either run away or fall to their knees in forgiveness for ever thinking of the idea to go to this gathering anyway.

"So…we can go?" Taylor asked with extreme hesitation.

"I've said yes enough times," Leo grinned.

"Okay, thanks," he said with relief, and they all started off in shock.

"Oh, you know what?" Leo called out last second. "When you guys said party, I had a feeling I was being reminded of something and now it's just popped up into my head. It's Olivia and Sophia's sibling's birthday party today as well! Isn't that a coincidence? Poor Lily and Noah wouldn't want you two to leave them on their special day! I guess it doesn't work to go to the beach with you guys today after all! Sorry about that!"

The four teens stopped in their tracks and looked at each other like they were all secretly saying Are you kidding me?

"Oh," Taylor said. "Okay. Maybe some other time then?"

"We'll see," Leo nodded, "but we are a very busy family, you know? With seven kids, there's a lots of running around. I'm sure you can understand."

Seven kids?! Piper thought there were only six! Leo and his wife had had an agenda…

They nodded. "Yeah, we understand," Alex uttered bitterly.

"Good," Leo grinned like they had just finished talking about his latest mechanic invention, which he was always more than eager to brag about. "Have a good day and have fun!"

Once the boys turned and walked away, both girls turned on their heels and stormed off back into the house without a single word to him.

Oh, those early teenage years. Piper remembered them well. She had thought she was on top of the world and whatever she had to say was enough to take control of the situation…but of course it did because of her charmspeak ability, but you get the point. Sophia and Olivia were more than upset with their father, but Piper could see Leo's point of view. He was protective of his daughters and stopping them from going off to some beach party with two strangers, and boys especially, was out of the question. She wouldn't have let them go either.

Back in the house, Leo found the mess being cleaned up the best it could by a four and seven-year-old. The flowers were put into a new vase, though there were still leaves scattered all over the floor, and water was being left behind where they couldn't see. Still, even though he was the oldest in the room, Liam sat there on his chair, mumbling about his shoes.

"Daddy," Milo said and ran up to him and gave him a big hug, the bow still stuck on his shirt.

Leo hugged him back. "Thanks for cleaning everything up. We only a have a few more hours until everyone gets here." He then turned his attention to Liam and he sighed with a hint of frustration. "Liam, just because your shoelaces loosened, didn't mean you had to take both shoes completely off."

His son just sat there and nodded. "Okay."

With another sigh, Leo walked up and began to help him back into his shoes.

It was then that Piper realized what was wrong with Liam. The twelve-year-old had autism. She hadn't been able to place her finger on it before by just looking at him, but watching how he acted gave it all away. That was why Leo had cut the streamers and had to tie his shoes for him. Man, he must be a busy guy with all his kids. Did he have a job on top of all this? He must have seeing how large his family is, but it confused her why she hadn't seen his wife anywhere; and where was this seventh child of his?

Leo finished and stood back up to look around. "Where's Lily?" he asked the others.

"In her room," Noah said as he dumped a handful of leaves into the garbage bin.

"Her room? Why is she…oh," he suddenly remembered and turned to go walk down the hall. He stopped in front of a white door with two different posters taped to it. One read Lily's Room in childish crayon, and the other read Noah's Room in the same sloppy crayon penmanship.

He knocked gently on the door. "Mi pequeña flor? (My little flower)" he said softly. "Can I come in?"

"Go away!" a little voice shouted.

"Lily, I didn't mean to get mad. I was just a little preoccupied at the moment with your sisters."

"You yelled again."

"I'm sorry. I know how much you hate that. Daddy just lost his temper and it all came out the wrong way. I didn't mean to. Can you forgive me?"

There was a silence from behind the door before it suddenly creaked open. Behind it was little Lily with a tear-streaked face and messy hair. She had obviously been lying in her bed. "I forgive you," she murmured.

After letting him into the room, Leo crouched down to her level and held her face lovingly. "You understand why I got mad though, right?"

"Me and Noah were fighting again. Lo siento. (I'm sorry)"

He smiled at her and kissed her forehead. "I forgive you. See? We can all have bad days, can't we? We have to make sure though, that when we do, we apologize as soon as we can right after so it can turn into a good day again."

She nodded and lowered her gaze. "Should I say sorry to Noah?"

"That sounds like a really grownup thing to do," he said and ran his hand through her soft hair. He cringed at it slightly. "But first, if you are going to have your friends here, I think you're going to need to fix your hair."

Lily brightened up. "Can you braid if for me, Papi? Please?"

"Okay, but only if you promise not to take it out as soon as I put it in because—and I quote: it felt like it was coming out anyway. I know you."

"But I like when you braid my hair."

"You are going to keep it in," he ordered with a smirk.

"Okay."

He lifted her up and placed her on the bed so he could sit behind her. Then dividing the sections of hair, he started with the very top of her head and Dutch braided it. Piper was highly impressed. She had no idea Leo knew how to braid, and so well too. It was so nice and neat; not like those simple messy braids Jason tried in her hair. When she woke up, Piper was going to have to put him to the test.

When he finished, Leo lifted her off of the bed again and stood.

"Gracias papi! (Thanks, Daddy)," she beamed and hugged his waist before running off to find Noah.

Leo's grin faded slightly. "Wish things could still be so simple with Sophia and Olivia."


The scene shifted to later that day when the house was filled with party guest. Parents sat with Leo and his wife (Piper should've guessed it would've been Calypso…Awwwwww!) with their youngest on her lap. This surprise child was once again, a miniature of Leo. Her soft dark hair was pulled up into adorable pigtails, showing off her little curls that twisted in the cutest little ringlets. With such a baby face, she must be only two at the very most and she was clearly shy. The whole time, she had her face hidden into her mother's shoulder except to occasionally smile at a passing guest.

And….wait…. Was Calypso pregnant?! They were going to have eight kids?! Was ten their goal or something?! From the looks of it, she must've been in her later months, like maybe her seventh month. She was pretty round.

While the parents talked in the living room, Piper could see a glimpse of the children all playing Duck, Duck, Goose in the backyard except for Liam, who sat closely to Leo's side with nervous glances around the room. His arms were wrapped around his father for familiarity and Leo kept his arm around him to comfort him.

The scene then shifted again and the house was darker with the lights turned on. Everyone was sitting at the table in the dining room having supper, the decorations long gone and put away except for the random balloon here or there. Goodness, with a family of nine, the table was loaded and the noise that came from it was unbelievable. Leo, as the father, sat at the head, while Calypso sat at the other end and the children all squeezed in on the sides the best they could.

"And Jack told me his family's getting a new puppy!" Noah declared with a mouthful of quesadilla. "They're going to name him Cowboy! Isn't that a cool name?"

"Daddy, can we get a dog too?" Milo chimed in with a beaming little elvish face. Piper wanted to melt! All his kids were so incredibly adorable! And to think, Leo probably looked exactly like little Milo when he was a little four-year-old. Piper wanted his baby pictures to compare.

"You know we can't, honey," Calypso said from across the table. "Olivia's allergic and so is Liam. You can have a fish though, right darling?" she asked Leo.

"A fish?" Leo asked like she was insane. "Cal, no one likes fish! You can't even play with them! All they do is swim around all day in a little tank." He thought a moment. "Man, lonely life. I would hate to be a fish…unless I was in the ocean. Uh…maybe not even then cause of the sharks—"

"Leo," she cut in with a stern face. "You really aren't helping."

"Sorry," and he took a bite of his loaded quesadilla. "No, Milo. We can't get a dog. We're allergic."

Milo frowned with disappointment. "Okay."

"What about a turtle?" Noah asked with enthusiasm. "I want a turtle."

"Ew!" Lily scrunched her face. "I don't want a turtle! Their yucky!"

"That's just because you're a girl…"

"Noah," Leo cut in again. "We talked about this."

The twins apologized and turned their attention to their food.

"Yucky turtle," said the little two-year-old.

Everyone looked at her with surprise and laughed.

"Okay, according to Anita, I think turtles are out of the question," Leo smirked.

"Are we actually getting a pet?" Olivia asked.

Leo looked up at her and froze. Neither she nor Sophia had talked at all this evening after the episode they had had in front of their crushes. With a glance at Calypso, Leo cleared his throat and wiped his mouth with his napkin. "I don't know. It's a big responsibility to take care of a pet…if we are to get one, but there's no promise. You guys also have to consider the allergies Liam has to most animals so finding one that we can all agree on will be difficult."

"I want a snake," Olivia suggested. "We don't have to let him out. We'll just keep it in its cage."

"A snake?" Calypso and Leo asked in unison.

"Why on earth do you want a snake?" her mother declared with an unpleased expression.

"Because they're cool. We learned a bunch about them at school on Thursday and I think I could take care of it no problem."

"But snakes are yuckier than turtles!" Lily complained with a whiny tone. "Daddy, don't let her get a snake!"

"We're not getting a snake," he agreed. He shivered at the idea, showing how much he disliked the very thought of those creatures. "After the experiences I've had personally with those things, I don't think I could live peacefully knowing there was even one in the house."

"Same," Calypso uttered as she helped Anita wipe her mouth.

"Lizards then?" Olivia pressed.

"I like lizards," Milo grinned with a mouthful of food. "We can call it Lizzy!"

"Lizzy the lizard? No way."

Leo placed his hands on the table. "Do you think we can get out of the reptilian section? And why are we talking like we are actually getting a pet? I didn't say we were."

"Please, can we?" Noah, Lily, Milo, and Olivia asked with pleading faces. Even Liam and their little Anita looked at him with big eyes.

Resting his head on his hand as he placed his elbow on the table, Leo looked at his wife. After an agreement made with only a simple look of the eye, he sighed. "Tell you what: If you guys can behave and show that you have responsibility around the house, to show respect between your siblings and to your parents, you're mom and I will think about it."

"Really?! Woohoo! We're going to get a pet!" Noah cheered and stood on his chair to do a short victory dance before being pulled back into sitting position by his sister.

"Your father said we will think about it," Calypso reminded him. "Now eat your supper."

"We're getting a pet!" Milo echoed with utter glee.

That whole discussion must have lifted everyone's mood, because after that, supper was done in no time and the little ones even asked to help with the dishes, which Calypso gladly accepted. The only ones that remained without even a chance to help out was Leo, Liam, Olivia, and Sophia. As imagined, the table was quiet for a while before Leo dared to bring the subject up.

"About today," he started with a quiet tone. "Why did you two tell to me you were going with Carly and Meggie today and then change plans without any of my consent?"

Sophia groaned with annoyance. "This again? Really, Dad?"

"Really, Sophia. Why did you do it?"

"Because we knew you'd act like this if you ever found out."

"So the best thing to do was sneak behind both your parents' backs with those two boys, whom I will remind you we don't know anything about, just to go to some immature teen beach party? If you had just told me who you wanted to go with before secretly making arrangements, you two would've been able to avoid a punishment."

"I don't understand you!" Sophia complained. "You agreed to let us go to this immature teen beach party with Carly and Meggie before! Who cares if we were with two other friends instead of the original ones?! Give me three good reasons why you are acting like this!"

Leo's temper was clearly beginning to rise by the small flame he quickly killed on his shoulder. He listed off on his fingers in a surprising calm yet intimidatingly stern voice. "Number one: Carly and Meggie are both kids we know. Number two: They were going with their parents, so I would've felt safe knowing there was adult supervision. Number three: You had asked both your mother and I if it was okay to go with them. Now give me three reasons why you're acting like this."

Sophia huffed with anger. "Because this is stupid, none of this would've been a problem if you would've just let us go, and you're being a big—"

"Being a what?!" Leo stood quickly with a chilling look on his face as he slammed his hands on the table. It really didn't help when flames literally came to life on the tops of his hands. "I dare you to finish that sentence! Come on! Let's hear it! What am I?! Say it!"

Naturally, she just pouted in her seat and refused to look at him. "No."

"Oh, now you don't want to say it! Well let me tell you something, young lady: Go to your room!" he shouted and pointed out of the dining room. "Now!"

"You can't treat me like a child!" she yelled back. "I'm fourteen!"

"And I'm twenty years older and to top that off, I'm your father so of course I can treat you like a child, especially when you're acting like one!"

"You just don't get it!" she shouted and pushed herself away from the table and stood with such force the flower vase on the table nearly fell. That would've been the second vase broken that day.

"I don't get it?!" he asked bewildered. "Sophia, I don't like the way you're treating me right now! You're acting like you own the world and I, your father, am only a mere peasant! The world doesn't circle around you, you know! You are a human on this earth like all the rest of us!"

"Well maybe you're a monster!" she seethed and ran passed to her room upstairs, leaving the rest of them shell-shocked at her behavior.

From one of the chairs, Liam began to sob and Leo cursed under his breath in Spanish. He sat in the chair next to him and pulled him onto his lap and into an embrace. "Lo siento (I'm sorry)," he whispered in his ear and kissing the side of his head. "No deberías haber tenido que escuchar eso. Lo siento. (You shouldn't have had to listen to that. I'm sorry)"

After a while of rocking him in his arms, another silent sob came from across the table. Leo looked up to see Olivia sitting there with her head down and quickly wiping tears away. "Olivia, come here," he said and motioned for her to join them. "Don't cry. I don't want to make you cry."

Olivia stood and made her way to him on the other end of the table. After he pulled back from Liam, who was already collected enough to sit on his own, Leo pulled her onto his lap and held her close as she sobbed into his shoulder. He rubbed her back and soothed her like she were still a small child and she hugged him tighter. "I'm sorry," she muffled in his shirt. "I don't like fighting."

"Neither do I," he sighed.

When she pulled back she asked, "Do I really have to be grounded for a month?"

"Olivia," Leo reasoned. "You were a big part in this too, you know. It wasn't all Sophia."

She nodded.

"I'm only doing this because I love both you and your sister very much. It's a lesson you two need to learn and it won't be learned without a punishment you can remember. Understand?"

"I understand," Olivia murmured and kissed his cheek. "I'm going to go up to my room now too."

"Okay," he nodded with a small smile and watched her leave. When she was gone, he looked over at Liam and touched the side of his face, rubbing his thumb against him. "You okay too, bud?"

He nodded and kissed his cheek just like Olivia had.

"Good," Leo grinned, trying to bring that lively energy back. "Now, my young chap, go forth and finish those evening chores or no pets."

That earned him a funny laugh from the boy and off he went after a quick hug.

Leo then stood and walked into the kitchen were Calypso stood with a pen tapping against her bottom lip while staring down at a note pad.

"Do we need any more eggs?" she asked with her back facing him while in the middle of writing a grocery list.

"I don't know," he sighed and rubbed his face as he leaned against the cupboard. When he took his hands away, he looked more than exhausted from all the drama that had happened today.

Calypso turned around and crossed her arms with concern. "What was that all about?"

Leo made a face. "Well, when you were out getting the cake with Anita, I was decorating the place with the kids when Sophia and Olivia came down from their rooms ready to leave for this party. I had honestly thought they had left an hour earlier with Carly and Meggie because I saw them walking past the house. Apparently, though, the girls had made secret plans with a pair of boys to come pick them up instead so they could hang out with them at the party."

"Which boys?" Calypso asked with knit eyebrows.

"Exactly," he replied with his hands spread. "Anyway, the girls were convinced we knew them because we had apparently met these two boys at the school play. Now, I know you don't remember meeting them because I sure the hell don't, but it turns out they are the same boys who tagged along from the orientation thing last year."

"Oh no," she mumbled. "Are we having boy problems already?"

Shrugging, he continued. "I tried talking to them just now and Sophia blew up in my face. Olivia took it better; she even apologized, but I grounded them for a month. There is no way in hell I'm letting them get away with what they did, especially with how they talked to me."

Seeing how worn he was, Calypso walked up and wrapped her arms around him in a hug and rested her head on his shoulder. "I know, baby. It's been a long day."

Leo kissed the side of her head and hugged her back. "Nothing I can't handle without a little lovin' from the most beautiful woman on the planet," he grinned.

"Oh stop it!" she swatted him playfully. "I hate when you do that!"

"What? Tell the truth? You want me to lie instead?" He pushed her away from him and held her shoulders with all seriousness. "Calypso Valdez, you are the ugliest woman on the planet. Better?" he finished with a quirky grin.

"Oh, well now you're just plain mean!" she declared trying to act angry, but failing with a broken laugh in between.

Laughing, Leo pulled her in again and kissed her on the lips. They parted and Calypso raised her eyebrow at him. "Don't stop now, babe. We're just getting started."

He smirked again. "Well, well, well. Looks like someone is in need of a little Leo lovin'."

Calypso rolled her eyes. "Just kiss me."

And so he did.


So there we have it! Chapter one complete! As I said before, I had a great time writing this. What did you think? Feel free to comment and let me know if you are excited for chapter two!

Again, sorry if there are any mistakes. I don't know if I caught them all.

Till next time,

~supworld~