Summary: Diana comes home

Stories That Must Be Read Before Reading This One-Shot: gives some spoilers for Priya's Pain and Hermes's Struggle

…

"I'm home!" Diana Fay called as she entered the house.

"Mommy!" yelled a voice immediately.

Diana counted four seconds before her five-year-old son came running down the stairs and leapt into her arms. "Mommy!"

"Hello sweetie," Diana beamed, hugging her son. "How was kindergarten today?"

"I drew a picture!" proclaimed Ethan. "It's on the fridge!" He struggled out of Diana's arms and raced into the kitchen.

"Where's my second favourite guy?" Diana teased, heading into the living room.

Leo Tyler was sitting on the sofa, reading some kind of science journal. When he spotted Diana, he smiled and stood up. Diana and Leo moved closer and kissed briefly. "Second favourite?" Leo repeated, pretending to be offended. "Who's your favourite?"

"Me!" Ethan's voice hollered from the kitchen. "I'm her fav-rit!"

Diana laughed as Ethan came running back into the room, clutching a big piece of pink paper. She ruffled his brown hair. "What did you draw today, Ethan?"

Ethan proudly displayed the drawing he had done. Diana smiled as she looked over the three potato-like figures: one that said "Mommy", one that said "Daddy", and one that said "me". "That's adorable," she said. "Well done, Ethan."

"Can I have ice cream?" Ethan asked eagerly.

"After dinner," Diana replied. "Perhaps if you ask your father nicely enough, he'll make you some spaghetti."

"Pasta!" Ethan clapped his hands happily. "Let's go, Daddy!" He began pulling on Leo's hand, trying to drag him into the kitchen.

Diana's husband let out a chuckle. "How about you go watch some TV while we cook dinner for you?"

"Okay!" Ethan switched the TV on, hopped onto the sofa, and grabbed the remote.

Laughing, Diana and Leo entered the kitchen and began preparing the meal. "How's your home universe?" Leo asked.

Diana grimaced. "Not good, really. Monsters are everywhere. I only just escaped with my life."

"But you got to revisit Camp Half-Blood, right?"

Diana nodded. "Oh, yes. It was nice to see Chiron again after all these years, but Mr D was as unsociable as usual."

"Did you visit anywhere else?" Leo inquired, switching the microwave on.

"I popped in to visit Perry on my way back," Diana replied. "Did you know they found his son?"

"Hermes?" Leo gasped, whirling round to face Diana. "They found Hermes?"

Diana gave him an odd look. "Yes. Why?"

Leo bit his lip and looked away. "I…nothing."

Diana put down the packet of pasta and frowned at her husband. "Leo, we tell each other everything, don't we?"

"Yes, I know." Leo sighed. "Okay…you know how I worked for the government a while ago?"

Diana nodded.

"Well…my superior was Bill Hawkes, the guy who started Project Newborn, which was how Perry lost his son."

"You were part of it?" Diana gasped.

"No, no, no," replied Leo hurriedly. "No way. He assured me it was still in the storyboard phase but it turned out he was implementing it behind my back. I saw my friend—former friend, I should say—when he had just stolen Hermes from Perry's mate. I tried to fight him but he overpowered me and knocked me out. I helped Perry find his mate afterwards but…I always felt so guilty because it felt like it was all my fault."

Diana folded her arms. "In what way?"

"Well, I worked very closely with Bill and Dimitri, for one thing. I should have noticed that they were implementing Project Newborn. For another, I could have stopped Dimitri from taking off with Hermes. To this day, I still can't believe I was overpowered by him. At the time, I was almost half his age and double his fitness. Not only is it embarrassing that he was able to knock me out, but it just makes me feel even worse because I was perfectly capable of stopping him from taking the baby but I failed, and I thought I was going to have to live with that knowledge forever." He ended up almost crying. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and looked up at his wife, who was gazing at him sympathetically. "But they've found him?"

Diana nodded. "They did. Just under a week ago."

Leo smiled as tears began running down his face. "I-I can't believe it. I'm glad for them."

Diana walked slowly over to her husband and hugged him. "You don't have to blame yourself anymore. Hermes is safe at home now."

The couple's intimate moment was interrupted by a shriek of, "JINGLE BELLS!"

"Is he watching a Christmas show?" Leo asked as he and Diana broke apart.

"No idea," grinned Diana. "But as it's only a couple of weeks away, I'm sure it's fine."

Leo gazed at her, a completely happy look on his face. Diana turned and caught sight of it. "What?"

"Do you remember when we met?"

"Yeah. I turned invisible, you accidentally hit into me, and I irrationally blew up at you."

Leo chuckled. "Yeah." His face turned slightly scared. "That was actually quite scary."

Diana linked hands with her husband and smiled. "Just don't get in the way of my anger again."

Leo knitted his eyebrows together as he stared at his wife. "Anyway, we'd better get Ethan away from the Christmas shows. We're having a Christmas movie later."

"Oh yes!" Leo clicked his fingers, remembering. "You said I could choose."

"I did say that."

"I'm choosing The Polar Express. Have you seen it?"

Diana shook her head.

"It is truly brilliant," Leo said, grinning. "You'll like it." As he walked into the living room, he began singing: "It's a magic carpet on a rail, never takes a rest. Flying through the mountains and the snow. Ride for free and join the fun, if you just say yes. 'Cuz that's the way things happen on the Polar Express."

"You nerd," laughed Diana.

"Better a nerd than boring, right?"

"You have no idea."

…

AWW! Cute family, amirite? Diana, Leo, and little Ethan :D

Also: I do not own The Polar Express, neither the movie nor the song.