Patching Up Sox [Zephyr]

[Zephyr McCall]

Zephyr chuckled at Eliza’s comment about both the kitchen not being her biggest friend and about her being the ‘baseball’ mom of all baseball moms. “Hey if Conor wants to play soccer as well he can. I played soccer first when I was a little older then he was.” He said. “Soccer had been my favorite sport until my uncle took me to my first Red Sox game.” He told her with a smile. He couldn’t help but laugh, at her comment about the flask “You insist on giving him alcohol don’t you” he said jokingly.

Zephyr listened as Eliza explained about the medicine that Eliza was trying on Conor how it had components of alcoholic drinks but no alcohol which Zephyr totally approved of. “I’ve had my fair share of night terrors and nightmares when I was a kid. I grew out of them though but I doubt it’s anything like what Conor’s going through. It’s probably not the same besides, most of my nightmare experiences were just after my brother and uncle died so that was the reason behind it. Also sleeping in a dark room with an empty bed above you and knowing that just the night before there had been…takes a toll on a kid you know” Zephyr said.

Zephyr looked confused for a moment as Eliza stepped back. He wondered what was wrong but he knew things had just gotten serious and real when Eliza called him by his real name. He couldn’t remember the last time she didn’t call him by his nick name, if he ever had in the years he had known her and even now. “I’m listening…” he said a pensive look in his face as he waited for Eliza to gather her thoughts and speak.

He kept his face blank and engaged in the words that Eliza was saying not showing any reaction at first to her telling him that she had dated some other guy that she had worked with and the guy had proposed to her. He didn’t have anything to really say to that quite yet and Zephyr knew she wasn’t finished there. “Go on..” he said as she paused.

His facial expression didn’t change as she told him that she had said yes and became engaged. He knew why he wasn’t invited to the wedding; he probably would have stopped it anyways. But he knew what she meant when she said her list was small. She couldn’t invite any of her friends from camp, especially not him. If she hadn’t told him about getting pregnant with Conor why would she tell him that she was getting married? Zephyr understood this, and really didn’t have a reaction to it really.

Zephyr couldn’t help but make a witty comment about his Red Sox cap that she had ‘stolen’ “Hey my hats aren’t stupid. And if I remember correctly, you won it in a bet.” Zephyr said with a grin but then his smile fell as he saw the tears welling up in Eliza’s eyes. He wanted so badly to cross the gap between them and pull her into his arms and tell her it was okay. But he had a feeling her ‘confession’ wasn’t over and he wanted to let her finish. He held his tongue to not say ‘but I thought you liked that stupid grin of mine’ since obviously it was not in good tastes to say that as she wiped away her tears.

As she listed off the items in the box he remembered those memories, most of them happy but the one connecting to the alarm clock…painful. But overall most of his memories with Eliza had been happy ones.

Zephyr shook those thoughts out of his head bringing him back to reality as Eliza spoke again and refrained from making any unnecessary comments, or at least hold them until the end. Zephyr was hugely relieved hearing that Eliza didn’t go through with the marriage; then again he hadn’t seen a rock on her finger so he knew that she hadn’t. Though finding out her ex-fiancé was Greek explained a lot about the huge guest list. He had a friend from college that was honest to god Greek, and they’d told him about their cousin’s wedding they’d gone to once. Zephyr thought it sounded like a nightmare; though at the same time a single guy’s dream with all those single women unless you were related to them then it would kind of suck.

Zephyr was glad she hadn’t gone through with it. Especially now that they’d come back into each other’s lives. He smiled as Eliza said that she loved him and basically how she had always loved him. “I love you too…” he said softly. “Liza, Ellie...” he said pausing and letting out a small breathe as he took a step towards her. “I feel the same way about you as you do to me.” He said as she paused but didn’t realize she wasn’t done yet.

When she was finished he crossed the gap and pulled her close to him against his chest. “Shhhh, it’s okay. I’m sure you’re glad you got that off your chest. But honestly…that’s all in the past. Just like all the girls I dated, had flings with a flirted with are in the past.” He said engulfing his arms around her. “You don’t need to worry any more. I’m here now. And I’m not going anywhere this time. If I do…I’m taking you with me.” He said.

“If that guy and your ‘friends’ truly cared about you for following your heart, they don’t truly love you.” Zephyr said. “I do. We all make mistakes and we learn from them. I want to be with you Eliza…If you’ll have me. I don’t want to lose you either. I thought I had moved on but the moment I saw you again, I knew I hadn’t. You don’t need to be sorry for the things in the past. You did what you thought was right for you and for Conor and I’ll always love you for that. I think the main reason that I never settled down or got too serious with another girl was because deep in my sub-conscious I knew that the only girl for me…was you” Zephyr said.

“I love you…and If you’ll have me, I’ll make sure you’re never scared like that again” Zephyr said lifting Eliza’s chin and smiling down at her. “I’ll love you forever, and always. Just remember that” Zephyr said.

[Eliza Moores]

Eliza smiled brightly for the moment, "Never would've took you as a football player..." She chuckled softly before putting her hands on her hips in a very over dramatic, fake huff, "Ah hell nah! That flask is for mommy only... I just don't think the other moms will approve when they see me drink and drive with my son in the car... Then again, I can always turn it back to soda or tea or whatever if someone asks.... Maybe I should just drink out of one of those Starbucks cups, may be safer and less alarming to non-Dio people."

She knew the idea of her drinking and driving with their son may put Zeph off a bit, but it was not like she could get drunk, it just was not happening ever.

Whenever Zeph talked about his nightmares and the reasons behind them, Eliza could not help but give him another tight hug; she knew that there was always going to be tinges of pain when it came to that subject. But Eliza never pried, she knew that it was something that as time goes he would talk to her more about, she knew the basics and she wasn't wanting to ask too many questions. Old wounds don't need to be forced open.

As she did her rambling spiel, she gauged his facial and body language, he seemed to be intentionally trying not to do anything for her to know what was going on in his mind... Of course he would pull a statue moment, but that was Zeph when it came to being serious he could be truly serious....

She continued on her rambling, her story and all that, only time she broke her speech was when he made his comment, before she could quip right back the word vomit came again and she started to cry, her mind and heart were both so focused on getting everything out into the open that there was no stopping the floodgates, not even for jokes.

As she continued on with her ramblings, telling him everything that really mattered to her in the box, even the painful memory that also had so much meaning to her, it showed her how far they had went from their beginnings, they grew together as individuals and as a couple... The giant hole in her heart was from Zeph taking up so much space in it for so long then to have him ripped out of her life without any choice.

When she heard Zeph's voice through her own, she was still unable to stop herself, but she knew what he said... He loved her too... He felt the same way... This was not real... But it was. It really was Sox, years later saying he loved her. The tears came flowing as she stopped her ramblings and he crossed the floor to her, Eliza melded into his arms willingly and pressed up against his chest.

She listened to him, his words were like boulders being taken off her body, things that had been crushing her for years, all the stress and pressure she had put herself under were being lifted by the only man who could ever do it. She swore right then that this is what true forgiveness and love is like.

She nodded her head, her tears of joy and the release of stress were probably drenching his shirt, but she really didn't care, she was just so elated that things seemed to be getting better in her life. She wrapped her arms around Zephyr's waist and tightly held onto him, she honestly never wanted to let him go, but she knew she would not have to be without him again, Zephyr had become someone who she trusted with everything in her life. "I have always wanted to be with you Sox, even when I tried to force myself to love someone else it never came... Conor and you are the only people that truly make me happy and full... I never will leave you, I cannot do it again. I truly think the gods blessed me with Conor, I know I wasn't the best person when I was here, but when I was without you I was truly broken, they gave me Conor to ensure I never fully lost you... You were always there in him, your eyes, your amazing stupid perfect grin, that mischievous glint you get when you are up to no good, that damn love of strawberries that literally brinks on addiction; It was all there to keep me from truly viewing you as gone from my life, like they knew one day... Well today, somehow we'd cross paths again and they would not part, ever, especially if I can help it."

A soft laugh came through the tears, as she tilted her face with his hand lifting it up, "Sox, you are all I ever wanted and everything I have needed in my life... I have always, and will always, love you."

She took a moment and leaned up, giving him a soft, sweet kiss before going back down from her tippy toes, why she didn't wear heels was beyond her. She took a moment and smirked a bit, playfully, lightly patting his bicep; "Now that we have said our vows, how about some pizza?" Her grin was a mile wide and her eyes were filled with real, true joy... and her nose with the amazing scent of freshly cooked, pizza handmade with love.

[Zephyr McCall]

Zephyr raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? And why not? I got the need for speed and for soccer that’s what you need strong legs and speed both of which I have and you know it.” Zephyr said. “Yeah might be better to have one of those reusable coffee mugs that they sell at like star bucks and what not. Might be safer.” He said. He didn’t really like the idea of her drinking and driving with their son in the car weather or not she could get drunk it was just the principle of the matter.

Zephyr knew the reason behind the tight hug that Eliza gave him as he talked about his nightmares and the reasons behind them. He never really talked about his deceased brother or uncle, and he was glad that Eliza didn’t pry for more about them he’d shown her pictures of them before in the past and had the last family photo he had with the five of them all together framed and sitting on his nightstand in his room. Conor really was a spiting image of his namesake, since Zephyr’s brother had been his identical twin.

Zephyr didn’t care that Eliza was soaking his tee shirt with her tears and when she pulled back there was going to be a big wet spot on his chest. He smiled as she spoke about how she always wanted to be with him and the only people that truly made her feel happy and complete were him and Conor. He couldn’t help but pull that ‘stupid’ perfect grin that Eliza loved so much and that apparently Conor could pull as well as she talked about how Conor was so much like him. “Hey…If your going to have an addiction, you might as well have it be a healthy one that’s good for your right?” he said with a playful chuckle jokingly.

Zephyr wiped away the tears slightly from Eliza’s eyes as she looked up at him. He smiled as she kissed him reaching up on her tippy toes. He usually leaned over to meet her halfway sometimes though not this time. “Well If you think those ‘vows’ were good wait until the real thing. You know how great of a writer I can be if I put my mind to it” he said with a wink. “But I think you might be right let’s check on the pizza.” He said as he walked over to the oven and grabbed an oven mitt before opening the oven door and steam poring out of it. He pulled the hot tray out and smiled. “Looks like it’s done.” He said as he closed the oven with his foot and set the pizza tray on top and turned the oven off.

“Should we wake Conor for some piping hot pizza or let him sleep and he can have some later?” Zeph asked as he tried to remember where he put the pizza cutter. “Ah found it” he said after rifling through a what used to be organized drawer and cutting the pizza into slices. “I’d ask you to get the plates out of the cupboard behind you…but whoever designed this kitchen didn’t take into the account of short people” he said with a chuckle obviously joking since she could easy reach the cabinet and gets plates down since April was roughly the same height and she didn’t have too many problems with it.

[Eliza Moores]

Her wicked smirk came up once again as she took a moment to imagine Zephyr in a soccer uniform, she just couldn't help herself, "I was just thinking how... interesting, it would be to see you in those loose short shorts that they wear; never pegged me for a leg gal... But damn babe, you got some good ones." She laughed and smiled, it was all she could do right then, her imagination was great when it came to putting Sox in different outfits... Strange but true.

She nodded at the coffee mug note, "Well you know I could also actually drink something non-alcoholic in it; without looking like I was always drinking alcohol... If that makes sense." She quirked her eyebrow at her own words, she knew what she said but sometimes missed her train of thought; Sox usually got it but no one can be that perfect always.

As she was almost clinging to Zephyr and blubbering like a baby, rambling once again on how she felt blessed by the gods, as she spoke about his strawberry lovin' self, Sox had to pop in a quick chirp, "Okay, yeah, yeah... I would take you addicted to strawberries over basically most other things in this world that you can be addicted to." She nodded, "I mean canceling out all the hard drugs... smoking, weed, alcohol; I know that is kinda ironic for me so say, but you know its quite harmful to non-Dionysus kiddos... We are built for it, our bodies need it to a certain degree."

It made Eliza's smile glow as Zephyr gently brushed away her tears, her eyes still glistening a bit from the tears, she could not help but smile as she stayed on her toes for their kiss. It felt like a cute and romantic little moment, she wished that she could have a mini out of body experience; just to see how they looked together, but she knew they were great together, no matter what she didn't see.

When Zephyr said the 'real thing' about their vows, Eliza's heart pattered away; the thought of marry Sox, it was just another run on her heavenly ladder, it was going to be at least a while away, but it was still a lovely thought... "I think that day I will be definitely be wearing water-proof makeup, just because I know I'm gonna be bawling." She chuckled softly, leaning up and giving him a quick kiss on the chin before he walked off to check on the pizza.

While he pulled the pie out, Eliza tilted her head just a bit, Sox and a fresh pizza... Delicious. She would smirk again to herself for an extended period of time, just enjoying the view; that was until she snapped back when Sox asked her a question about Conor...

She actually took a moment to ponder it, "We can try and see if he will wake up, I think he may be out for awhile, but I know if we don't at least try he'll be a grumpy bear finding out we ate pizza without notifying him." Without realizing it fully, Eliza looked down to see that Conor had already realized that there was pizza... He had ran up next to her and was tugging on her shirt asking for a slice.

A chuckle came up as she shrugged, "Soxie does love his pizza." Conor nodded and grinned, Eliza walked over to the cupboard and rolled her eyes a bit at Zeph, "I know us little people have so many challenges every day." She giggled as she reached up and grabbed onto three plates, pulling them down, "Dining table?" She looked around for a moment til she found the small table and put down the three plates, walking over and grabbing a bunch of napkins, setting a small stack by each place setting.

Conor followed Eliza closely with every step she took, holding onto her jeans' belt loop, smiling after finishing up the table she leaned down and picked him up; giving him a quick kiss she sat him down on the chair at the end of the table. She wanted him to have his parents on each side, just in case he needed help. "Okay kiddo, you are going to get your slice of pizza, but what kind of drink do you want?" She smirked knowing her answer before he announced he wanted strawberry drink. "You got it dude."

She laughed and ruffled Conor's hair a bit before she walked back to the kitchen, rolling her eyes and shaking her head just slightly, knowing that Zephyr would be getting a nice little happy jolt from his son wanting anything strawberry. She looked at him and smirked, "You want strawberry drink, too?" She smirked as she searched around until she found the cups. Grabbing three plastic ones she headed over, grabbed ice out of the freezer, then walked over to the sink, filling them up with water. She tapped the first making it a strawberry juice, the second a sweet grape honey wine, and she turned to Sox, her finger hovering over the third waiting for his answer.

[Zephyr McCall]

Zeph chuckled at Eliza’s response to him playing soccer and couldn’t help but smile as well. If he and Eliza were a normal couple and not in hiding because of being demigods, he could somewhat imagine him volunteering to help coach whatever sports team that Conor wanted to join even practicing with him in the backyard. He couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like if they were a normal family but that wasn’t the choice the Fates had decided for them.

As Eliza raised her eyebrow he couldn’t help but feel as if he had missed something. He probably had but then again no one was perfect, even he missed things sometimes.

As if Conor knew they were talking about the boy he appeared practically out of nowhere. He couldn’t help but chuckled. Conor definitely had Hermes blood in him being quiet as a mouse when sneaking up on people. He remembered he and his brother used to nearly give their mom a heart attack when she would turn around to find them both standing behind her with bowls held out for food just as she was about to call out to call them to dinner. “Guess we don’t have to try to wake you up after all, kiddo.” He said.

Zephyr chuckled as Eliza played along with him joking about her height and couldn’t help but smile watching Conor follow Eliza around like a little duckling as she set the table. His grin widened as he heard that Conor wanted a strawberry drink. “Of course. You know me. Anything strawberry makes me happy, though you can make mine a little more grown up as long as you don’t mess with me afterwards” Zephyr said knowing that Eliza would know what he meant by that even if Conor didn’t catch on. Though he might, he was a smart kid after all, mischievous and playful, but smart.

While Eliza was handling getting the three of them drinks, Zephyr took care of the pizza as he brought over the hot pizza tray and dished up a slice onto each of the plates. “Careful, it’s hot” Zephyr warned Conor so he didn’t burn his tongue and knew to handle the slice with his hands carefully. He sat down on one side of Conor knowing that Eliza would sit on the other.

The pizza looked good and after blowing on the slice slightly to cool it down a little Zephyr took a bit. “Mmmm, I think we did good, Liza. Not bad for your first try” he said with a chuckle. “What do you think, Conor? Better then take out?” he asked.

[Eliza Moores]

Eliza watched Zephyr closely as his mind somewhat rolled away to thoughts she could not see, she had those moments as well, where her thoughts took her on what-if moments and little fantasies, but they were always hollow and semi-bitter in taste.

"I just meant with a flask you cannot help but look like you are getting drunk, even if it is only grape juice in there..."

Conor nodded at his father and grinned, "Pizza smells great."

[/i]

Eliza laughed a bit and patted her son on the head, "You have dad to thank for that, but momma actually helped cook!" She could see the surprise in her son's eyes, she could not help but chuckle, "I know... Its so 'Wow!' huh?" She grinned and gave him a quick kiss before she went along her business of getting the table ready.

As she tapped hers and Conor's, she smirked and nodded at Zephyr's request for a 'grown-up' strawberry drink; she tapped it and concentrated hard, basically making him a strawberry daiquiri on the rocks. Peeking out with one eye she was happy to see it came out perfectly, "Well that is perfect." She grinned and picked up the drinks walking over to the table, the drinks in her hands.

"Well then here is one part of meal time that I got down pact... Drinks." Eliza grinned and placed each cup infront of their place settings before patting Zeph on the shoulder for a moment and giving Conor a kiss on the cheek while his eyes were wide at the pizza. She slid herself into her place and eyed her pizza, her stomach giving a quick flip. She had to admit it looked amazing.

"I think we did great..."

She looked at Conor and smiled as he stared at her with his big eyes, almost looking anxiety ridden, nodding her head, "Ready?" Conor grinned and nodded back, saying, 'set'... Eliza laughed a bit and said "Go!" With that she and Conor did a weird little handshake that involved clapping and smacking the table, when Eliza missed one of the steps, Conor stopped and put both hands in the air yelling "Nike!!"

Eliza laughed hard and rolled her eyes as she got up and walked to the kitchen, it wasn't until she was half-way in there she remembered Zephyr was sitting across from her the entire time... Turning back a bright shade of red, "Where do you keep your strawberries?" She sighed and was getting ready to explain their game, but she knew Conor deserved his prize first....

Conor looked at his dad and grinned, "I won the game... I get strawberries with dinner. This smells really good but I like pepperoni... but momma says that I need more veggies."[/i]
[/blockquote]

[Zephyr McCall]

“Oh…right” he said getting what Eliza had said about the whole flask thing. He smiled as his son’s eyes grew wide with surprise at the fact that Eliza had actually helped cook. “It’s true. Just you watch. I’ll make a better cook out of your mom yet” he said with a smirk in Eliza’s direction.

When the drinks hit the table Zephyr took a quick sip of it before setting it back down. “Mmm…perfect as always.” He said. This was a first, dinner with his family; he hoped that they’d get to do this again more often. They hadn’t even started eating yet but yet Zephyr felt like he was home, like the way things hadn’t been in years. He felt like this was nearly perfect. He hadn’t had a real sit down family meal in years. Back before coming back to camp the only time his mom and uncle were able to sit down with him for a meal was Christmas and sometimes his birthday.

When Conor all of a sudden said ‘Ready’ Zeph wasn’t sure what was going to happen. Were they about to all dig into their food or what? Zephyr was really confused with the complicated handshake that Eliza and Conor did which resulted in Conor yelling ‘Nike!”

Zephyr looked to Eliza with a confused look as she got up and started to head to the kitchen “Uh…fridge bottom shelf on the left…” he said responding to the question of where he kept his strawberries, not sure why Eliza was taking his stash. He looked to Conor still confused as his son explained but not really what had happened before changing the subject back to the pizza. “Well, next time we’ll make Pepperoni then.” He said though he still was trying to figure out what kind of dinner ritual had just happened. “Game? What game?” he asked looking from Conor to Eliza either of which he would like an explanation. Especially since it meant that Conor was getting some of his strawberries that were usually gone within the weeks end as it was. Well if Conor loved strawberries as much as he did Eliza and he wouldn’t have to worry about their son eating fruits, veggies might be another story. “Well if you eat your veggies kiddo, you’ll grow up to be big and strong just like me.” He said.

[Eliza Moores]

A laugh came up from Eliza, "So we don't get CPS called on us because people think I'm an alcoholic mother..." She rubbed the side of her neck at the irony in that statement but there was a difference to a certain degree, besides since Conor's birth she had been much more careful with her drinking, limiting it to nighttime and making sure it was not very noticeable from her son's standpoint, he didn't fully need to process the fact that Dionysus and Hermes were his grandfathers and all the fun things that came with it, he just needed to know he was extra special.

Eliza playfully stuck her tongue out at Zephyr at his better cook comment, but she was actually excited, "And momma will have to teach daddy how to wrangle you for bath and bed..." She grinned as a mischievous smirk came over Conor's face, the time of getting him ready for bed had become a bit more of a few hour process than it should have been. He was smart and cunning when it came to putting off the inevitable in unique and different ways, that was one thing she could not deny about her son.

She smiled, quite proudly, at Zephyr's comment on her drink, that was something that made her feel just a bit useful, plus you saved money in the long run.

After she and Conor finished up their game and Eliza had made her way to the kitchen, she followed Zephyr's answers to the bowl of strawberries. This stuff was like crack for McCall boys for some reason, but eh, it kept Conor happy and it was not all that bad for him.

Grabbing four of the berries in her hand, Eliza gave them a quick rinse under the sink, chopped their tops off and slit them up into small bite sized pieces, she looked up and smiled as Zeph looked at them with confusion. Deciding to let him squirm for a moment, "We do pepperoni once a week as I cannot take anymore of it... After so many years its good to have some different types."

In the last two years Eliza had eaten enough pepperoni slices to probably kill a non-demi, she was so tired of the greasy meat that the thought of it made her stomach turn sideways.

A smile came across her again as she walked over and placed the mass of strawberry slices on Conor's plate, putting a couple of them on Zeph's too. "It is a game I created to help Conor develop a great memory... Also to keep both our reflexes up and running."

She walked over and plopped down on her seat, taking a bite of her pizza, covering her mouth as she chewed and spoke, "Its just a handshake sort of game where you add a new one each week, it takes about fifteen minutes to finish now, but if you do something every night its hard to ever forget it. But even then as someone gets faster, I start losing my place and he wins... alot." She laughed a bit, "Therefore since he wins, he gets strawberries with his dinner, if he doesn't win he has to wait til breakfast to try again." She nodded.

She smiled at Conor as with Zephyr's words of growing big and strong he smiled big, popping a quick piece of strawberry in his mouth, then a big bite of pizza.

Eliza scrunched her nose, the idea of strawberries and pizza together was a bit too much for her, but that is what he wanted so what the hell, right?

[Zephyr McCall]

Zephyr chuckled at the grin and smirk on Eliza and their son’s face and smiled himself; he loved hearing Eliza call herself a mom and him a dad. He had always wanted a family but he had planned on getting married finishing law school and moving out of his mom’s house first. But things don’t always go as you plan, especially when you’re a demigod and the world hates you.

“Once a week? Do you two have pizza every night?” Zephyr asked. As much as he loved pizza he’d get sick of it if he ate pizza for dinner every night. “Well, we’re not going to be having pizza every night when you two are over. And Conor maybe if mom well let me I’ll teach you something so one of these days we can surprise her with breakfast in bed” Zephyr said with a smile looking over at Eliza for a moment in the kitchen. He and his brother did that once when they were little they tried to make pancakes and toast for their mom for mother’s day, they were about Conor’s age when they first tried. He and his brother had made a huge mess in the kitchen and with them themselves as well as set the smoke alarm off before one of their uncles came to the rescue. After that he wasn’t allowed to make anything besides cereal and a sandwich without someone in the kitchen with him until he got older.

“Thanks” Zephyr said as she put a couple of the strawberry slices onto his plate. “Ah…I see. That makes sense. You’ll have to teach it to me some time” Zephyr said taking a bit of his pizza. “Well if you two spend the night more often and are over for dinner, I’ll have to make sure I’ve got more strawberries then usual. “ he said with a chuckle as he popped a strawberry slice in his mouth.

He knew that Eliza might think it was weird that he and Conor thought strawberries and pizza went together, but to Zephyr strawberries went with practically everything.

Zephyr devoured his slice of pizza and had another slice before he was content and finished off his daiquiri. When Conor and Eliza were done with their food as well Zephyr put whatever was leftover of the pizza, which wasn’t much in the fridge and put his plate and cup in the sink and put all the items they had used to cook in the sink as well before wiping down the counter. April really had made him change in some of his habits. Before having her as his roommate he would have put it off for later.

“So after dishes, what would you two like to do?” Zephyr asked.