14. Merry Christmas

Final Chapter

It was 10 a.m. on Christmas morning, and I was so glad to finally be going home. After we dropped Noah off at Nico and Rachel's apartment in Lincoln Square, the cab pulled over to the curb in front of the Brownstone my parents and I lived in. I paid the cabbie, and Lexie and I walked up the steps to my house.

"Nice place," she complimented. When she'd lived in Manhattan eight years ago, she and her mother lived in the same apartment building as my parents and me. Those apartments were small and were in Washington Heights. My parents had since bought a two-level Brownstone here on the Upper West Side. "How long have you lived here?" she asked.

"Uh," I scratched my head and thought about it. How long had it been? "We moved in when I was eleven, I think."

I opened the front door to my house, and Lexie and I walked in to the smell of fresh baked cookies. My mouth watered. Mom's Christmas cookies were to die for.

"Well, look what Santa dragged in," Dad smiled as he came walking toward the foyer.

"Hey, Dad," I said, giving him a little smile. It was good to see him.

He ruffled my mop of black hair like he always did, then wrapped an arm around me, giving me an embarrassing hug right there in front of Lexie. "You two alright?" he asked.

I nodded. "We're fine. Just tired."

"I bet," he said then turned to Lexie and gave her a hug, too. "It's good to see you, sweetheart. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," she said to my dad.

"Percy," my mom called from the kitchen. "Is that them?"

"You'd better go hug your Mom's neck," Dad said to me as he gripped my shoulders and steered me toward the kitchen. "She's been worried."

We walked into the kitchen as Mom was putting a ham into the oven. The kitchen was a little messy where she'd been prepping Christmas dinner. It took all my willpower to walk past the tray of sugar cookies that were sitting on the counter to cool. Lexie and Dad couldn't resist, though. They both grabbed a cookie.

Mom turned to me, and wiped her hands on her apron. She had a look of great relief on her face. I gave her a hug, and said, "I wrecked your car, Mom. I'm sorry." I don't know why that was the first thing I said to her.

"I know," she said as she fussed with my messy hair like moms do. "The Virginia State Police called me. They said they found it totaled and abandoned on the side of the interstate. I tried to call you to make sure you were okay, but I kept getting your voicemail."

"Uh, yeah," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "My phone drowned."

"When you went into the Mississippi River?"

I blinked. How'd she know about that? "How…"

"Katie Stoll called us. Apparently Morgan had quite a few visions of you guys on the quest. They kept us in the loop," she explained.

I cringed at that. "That's…frightening."

Mom laughed. She knew Morgan and I weren't exactly chummy. She handed me a cookie. "Here, eat that then go take a shower. You stink."

I rolled my eyes. "Why, thank you, Mom. I love you, too."

She smirked and pinched my cheek to annoy me then walked over to Lexie. "We're so happy you're spending Christmas with us," Mom smiled as she gripped Lexie's shoulders. "We've missed you around here."

Lexie hugged my mom and said, "I've missed you guys, too. And sorry, I probably stink, too. There wasn't a shower in my tomb. "

It was meant to be funny, but I didn't laugh. I cringed at the words my tomb, because if things hadn't worked out the way they did, she very well could've died in there. That wasn't funny at all.

"Well, we have two showers here, sweetie," Mom said to her. "You can take the one in mine and Percy's bathroom."

Lexie smiled. "Thanks," she said, then turned to me. "CJ, you got some sweats or something I can borrow? All my clothes were in the luggage I checked at the airport, and it's probably in the lost and found at LaGuardia now."

"No, it's not," I said, remembering that I'd grabbed her luggage. "It's in the backseat of my Jeep. When I went to pick you up from the airport, I pulled it off the carousel before I left. I'll go get it for you."

"Oh…thanks, CJ."

"You're welcome," I said, then grabbed my keys and went out back where my Jeep was parked to get Lexie's suitcase.

When I came back in, Mom and Dad were in the kitchen. Dad was peeling potatoes and Mom was rolling out a piecrust. They were laughing about something when I walked in.

"Where's Lexie?" I asked them.

"Shower. Just leave her bag by the bathroom door," Mom said then sternly pointed the rolling pin at me. " And no peeking, young man."

"Gah, Mom," I groaned, then left the kitchen before she could embarrass me anymore than she already had.

I walked through my parents' bedroom toward their bathroom. The bathroom door was open a little and steam was rolling out. I could hear the shower running and smell Lexie's signature lavender soap. And I know Mom said no peeking, but the door was open just enough that I caught a glimpse of Lexie's silhouette on the shower door.

I tapped on the bathroom door. "Hey, Lexie," I called. "I'm gonna leave your suitcase here by the door."

"Okay," she called from the shower. "Thanks."

I took one more deep breath of lavender then went upstairs to take a long hot shower. After rolling on the ground in a cemetery, being balled up on a dirty warehouse floor, and riding on an Amtrak for a day, I was filthy, and it felt so good to be clean again.

I was in my room, digging through a drawer for a tee shirt when there was a knock on my door.

"Come in," I called.

I heard the door open and Lexie say, "Wow."

"Admiring my muscles?" I teased as I grabbed a tee shirt and pulled it on.

She smirked. "I've seen your muscles, and I'm not impressed. But your room," she said, looking around in amazement. "It's clean…really clean. Like OCD clean."

I shrugged. "Yeah, messy is my pet peeve. I'll make a good housewife one day."

She laughed out loud, which was great to hear. I wanted her to laugh and be happy while she was here.

I turned on my TV and game console and said, "Now grab that controller and park your butt on my bed."

We'd played video games sometimes when we were kids. Racing games were her favorite, and I just so happened to have one in my collection. She smiled and took a controller off the shelf where I kept all my gaming stuff and sat down on the foot of my bed. I sat down beside her as the game loaded.

"U of M?" I asked, pointing at the University of Miami tee shirt she was wearing. "You thinking about going there?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't thought a lot about college, yet. What about you? Do you know where you'll be going?"

"Columbia…if I get in."

She smiled and nudged my shoulder with hers. "Ivy league," she beamed. "Impressive."

"Honestly, I'd rather go to UConn to play baseball, but Mom insists I try to get into Columbia."

"Insistent mother," she sighed. "I know that feeling."

I knew she meant her mother's persistence that she join the Hunt, but that wasn't something I wanted to talk about. I told her I wouldn't pressure her in any way, so I felt it was best to avoid the subject if I could. Luckily, the game loaded at that moment.

When she saw the game on the screen, she squealed, "Racing!" Then she playfully punched my shoulder. "You remembered."

"Still your favorite, huh?" I laughed.

"Of course, and I'm even better at it than I was back when we were kids, so you'd better watch out," she warned me.

"Oh, I think I can still beat you."

She shot me a narrow-eyed smirk. "Bring it on."

We played for hours, laughing and chatting and occasionally whooping and hollering as we raced our computer animated cars. It was a blast. It reminded me of how much fun we used to have together when we were little. Back then we'd lay on our stomachs side by side on the living room floor, controllers in hand and staring up at the TV. We'd nudge each other with our shoulders and kick at each other's bare feet to try to cause the other to wreck. And that was how we ended up now.

We were nearing the end of a race, and Lexie's car was trailing mine by a length. She nudged me hard with her shoulder, and I lost my balance, but recovered before she could take the lead.

"Get out of my way!"

"You're not gonna pass me before the last turn!"

"You wanna bet!"

"Face it! I'm still a better racer than you!"

"What is going on in here?" I heard Dad say as he stepped through the open doorway.

His sudden appearance was just enough to distract me, and I wasn't prepared for Lexie's elbow that caught me in the ribs and sent me rolling off the bed and crashing onto the floor, which sent Dad into a fit of laughter.

"I win!" Lexie celebrated as her car crossed the finish line before mine.

"You cheated," I corrected her as I pulled myself up off the carpet.

She turned to my dad who was still laughing. "Percy, did I cheat?"

"Looked like a fair win to me," he laughed.

"Oh, yeah, take her side," I grumbled. I wasn't really upset, just playing the part of the sore loser. I was actually happy, very happy, happier than I'd been in a really long time. And it was all because of Lexie.

"Come on, you two," Dad said, waving for us to follow him downstairs. "Supper's ready."

Supper was amazing. Mom and Dad were actually really good cooks. Our Christmas dinner included ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, corn on the cob, and homemade apple pie. And it all was delicious.

During the meal, we told my parents what had happened over the last few days. They listened with great interest and their gestures and body language made it clear that they'd been in similar situations before. I already knew they had; they'd said as much, and I'd seen some of their struggles in dreams.

After we ate, Lexie and I helped Mom clean up the kitchen while Dad went into the living room to start a fire in the fireplace. Once the kitchen was clean, Mom grabbed the bottle of wine she and Dad had been drinking at dinner, and Lexie and I grabbed a root beer from the fridge, then we went to the living room to exchange Christmas gifts.

Lexie and I settled on the floor by the fireplace, Mom got cozy on the loveseat with her glass of wine, and Dad took up position as Santa by the Christmas tree.

"In honor of our guest," Dad said as he pulled a gift out from under the tree. "Lexie gets to open the first present."

Dad handed Lexie the gift box, and she read the tag. It was from my mom and dad. "You didn't have to get me anything," she said to them.

Mom waved her hand dismissively. "Nonsense. Now open your gift."

She opened the box and inside was a framed photo. It was a picture of her and me when we were eight. We were sitting on a bench by the lion exhibit at the Central Park Zoo eating ice cream cones. We were smiling like crazy for the camera and had chocolate ice cream all over our faces. Even I'll admit it was kind of adorable.

"Gods, I remember that day," Lexie smiled at the photo. "We had so much fun, didn't we?"

I remembered that day, too. "Yeah, that was a really fun day."

"I found that in an old shoe box full of photos," Mom said to Lexie. "I thought you'd like to have it."

"Thank you, Annabeth. I love it."

We opened more presents. Mom loved the leather-bound sketchbook I got her and the diamond tennis bracelet she got from Dad. She was also thrilled with the promise from Dad that they'd go car shopping next week…you know, since I'd totaled her Volvo. Dad and I were ecstatic about the Knicks and Mets season tickets Mom got us. That was the best present ever.

When it came time to give Lexie her gift from me, I was surprised that she pulled a present out from under the tree first and gave it to me. "I got you a little something," she smiled.

I unwrapped the gift and opened the box. Inside was a baseball housed in a display case. The ball was autographed, and it was personalized. I read the message, "CJ, work hard, play hard, and love the game. David Wright." I blinked. "Oh, my gods. The David Wright. He's the best infielder in Mets history." I was astounded. What a great gift. David Wright had been my favorite Met since I became a baseball fan, and he'd autographed that ball just for me. Suddenly the charm I got for Lexie seemed like a pretty crummy gift. "How did you get this?" I asked her.

"He's my brother."

My mouth was gaped open. "David Wright is a son of Apollo?"

She nodded. "You'd be surprised how many professional athletes are demigods or legacies."

I admired the ball then turned to Lexie. "I love it. Thank you so much."

She smiled. "I'm glad you like it."

I grabbed the last gift under the tree and handed it to her. She unwrapped it and opened the felt box to reveal the gold arrow charm I'd found at Tiffany. "It's beautiful, CJ," she exhaled. I think she really did like it.

"I thought you could put it on your bead necklace," I said, pointing at the necklace around her neck.

She took her bead necklace off her neck, clipped the arrow charm to the middle of it, then put it back on. "How does it look?" she asked.

It looked beautiful against her tanned skin. I smiled. "It looks perfect on you," I told her.

"I love it, CJ," she said as she ran her fingers over the charm. "Thank you."

I thought I was going to luck out and get a kiss on the cheek from Lexie, but Dad interrupted the moment by saying, "Lexie, we normally watch a Christmas classic after we open presents. Will you do the honors of picking out the movie?"

"Sure," she said, then wandered over to the dvd rack to select a movie.

Mom and Dad began cleaning up the strewn wrapping paper, and I went to the kitchen to pop some popcorn and grab a couple more root beers.

As I was reaching into the fridge for the root beers, I saw Lexie out of the corner of my eye. She was walking down the hallway toward the kitchen. "There you are," she smiled when she saw me.

I closed the refrigerator door with my foot, because my hands were full with a bowl of popcorn and two bottles of root beer. I matched her smile. "Worried about me?" I asked.

"We could smell the popcorn burning," she said as she crossed her arms and casually leaned against the frame of the vaulted archway that separated the kitchen from the hall that led into the living room.

"Yeah, that microwave is on steroids…or maybe crack."

She laughed at my excuse for semi-scorching the popcorn. "Can I help you carry something?" she asked, pulling herself away from the wall.

"Sure," I said and offered her the two bottles of root beer that were wedged in my right hand.

She quickly took them, noticing I was about to drop them. Before we started for the living room, she stopped me. "Hey, thanks for coming after me in New Orleans," she said. "And for asking me to spend Christmas with you and your family."

"You're always welcome here, you know that. And as for coming after you, that's what friends do. They rescue each other from the bad guys," I said then pointed at her then myself. "Case and point."

"We do that a lot these days, don't we? Come to each other's rescue."

"Well, no matter how embarrassing it may be, there's no one I'd rather come to my rescue than you."

"Are you saying you're embarrassed to be rescued by a girl?" she mocked-hurt. She knew that wasn't what I meant.

"No, I'm embarrassed to have to be rescued at all."

"Yeah," she sighed. "I know the feeling." She closed her eyes and tilted her head back in exasperation. When she opened her eyes, she was staring at the ceiling and she tilted her head to the side in query. I followed her gaze up to the top of the vaulted archway we were standing under to see what she was looking at. "Mistletoe," she said about the plant hanging in the archway directly above us.

"Oh, yeah," I said. "Dad puts it there every Christmas so he can get a kiss from Mom every time they pass through. He's kinda cheesy like that."

"Nothing wrong with a little cheese every once in a while," she grinned.

Yeah, if it was only every once in a while, but when it came to Mom, Dad was always cheesy. I think that was the only thing that kept him from sleeping on the couch most nights of the week. His goofy charm won her over every time.

I shrugged. "I guess not."

"Well?" she said expectantly.

"Well, what?" I asked.

"Well, are you gonna kiss me or not?"

I nearly dropped the bowl of popcorn. She'd just given me permission to kiss her! I thought my heart was going to leap out of my chest and run the New York City Marathon. I'd wanted to kiss her for so long and here was my chance. I couldn't screw it up. Don't screw it up, CJ!

Be smooth, I thought as my shaking hands shifted the bowl of popcorn to my left side. I smiled at the beautiful face before me and slowly leaned in. I kissed her…and she kissed me back. It wasn't a passionate kiss; it was simple. It was a soft, pleasantly long kiss on the lips that had me closing my eyes and praying that it would never end.

When her lips separated from mine, I opened my eyes to find myself staring into hers. "Merry Christmas, CJ," she smiled softly, her voice just a whisper.

I smiled, too. "Merry Christmas, Lexie."

AN: I want to thank all of the readers and reviewers for taking the time to read Deliverance and for all the wonderful reviews. I truly appreciate every single one of you. I hope everyone enjoyed this fourth installment of Heroes and Legacies, and I hope to see everyone back for book 5. I'm going to take a few weeks off from writing to catch up on some reading, but the first chapter of Heroes and Legacies Book 5: Under the Influence should be published in about a month, and I hope to update it weekly. The summary for H&L 5 is on my bio. Again, thanks for reading and for all the support. -dmac