Chapter 5

• ~Zeus~
• Walking up to the house, I can hear a crying baby from within. When I look over at Posey, he's cringing. Yeah, I get it, bro. I thought this part of my life was over. I need to look into getting one of those… What do they call them?
• “Bro, you seriously need to think about having a vasectomy.”
• Yeah, that’s the word. As much as I want to smack this asshole, he’s right. I’m going to see a doctor as soon as I can. I can’t risk knocking up another woman.
• Stepping to the door, a nice-looking older woman walks out with a smile. I’m not into older ladies, but she has a kind presence and a pretty smile. Something about it seems to calm my nerves.
• “You must be Zeus. I’m Julie, Pearl’s foster mother. My husband is inside trying to rock her to sleep. As you can hear, she’s fussy.”
• Fussy? Is this lady nuts? That kid is screaming bloody murder.
• “Hello, ma’am, I’m Poseidon. Zeus’s brother. Can we see her?”
• “Absolutely. Come on in. Would you like a cup of coffee?”
• “No, thank you, we’re fine.”
• My brother walks in after her, and I’m standing there afraid to move. It just hit me that I'm on my own with this. I’ve never had to care for any of my kids. I always had a nanny, or their mothers cared for them. I’ve never even changed a diaper or fed them a bottle. What the hell was I thinking coming here?
• “Brother, are you coming?”
• “I can’t do this, Posey. I’ve never taken care of a baby before.”
• “It’s okay, I’m here. I know I’ve been a jackass in the past, but things are different now. We’re in this together, okay.”
• Nodding, I look up and see the kind lady smiling at me. “Let’s introduce you to your daughter.”
• Walking into the home it’s not much to look at, but it’s cozy. There are a couple of other children running around playing hide and seek and laughing. I smile a little because I miss that sound around my house when my kids were younger. Not all of my children were raised on Olympus, but they were all my pride and joy. Everyone thinks I’m a womanizing asshole, and that’s probably true, but I love my children. All ninety-something of them. Damn… maybe I should think about that vasectomy.
• “Kids! Stop running in the house. Why don’t you all go play in the backyard.” Turning back to us, she says, “Sorry about the chaos. We take in foster children. My husband and I couldn’t have kids of our own and we took them in as they were transitioning into adoption. Ah, here we are. Zeus, this is my husband, Simon. And this little darling is Pearl.”
• My brother chuckles. “Darling? Does she ever stop screaming like that? She sounds like a banshee.”
• “We’re not sure why, but she’s been like this for about a week now. The only time she settles down is when she’s eating or sleeping,” the man said.
• Looking at my daughter, I can see Sophia’s eyes, but the rest of her looks like me. She’s basically my clone, and I’m almost sure none of my other kids have had that much resemblance. She’s beautiful, but damn, that screaming is getting on my nerves.
• “Would you like to hold her?”
• Taking a deep breath, I’m scared to death I’ll drop her. She’s so tiny from being premature. I don’t want to hurt her because my hands are as big as her whole body.
• My brother nudged me forward, and the little one turned her head to me. For a moment she stopped crying, blinking away her little tears with her big brown eyes staring back at me.
• Stepping closer, I reached to take my little girl, surprised at how happy to have her in my arms for the first time. I’ve never felt like this with my other kids. I’m hoping no one notices that I’m a nervous wreck, but she’s so small in my arms.
• What the hell is wrong with me? These human emotions are getting ridiculous. I can’t even look at my child without feeling like my heart is beating through my chest.
• Oh, my gosh… Am I having one of those heart attacks I hear about? Wouldn’t surprise me. Everything else has been a shit storm since coming to this crazy planet.
• Taking her into my arms, I hear as the little one makes an adorable, kitten-like whimper. Finally pulling her to my chest, I feel her relax in my arms. Beside me, I can almost feel my brother tensing. What is the moron freaking out over? It’s just a baby. It’s not like he’s the one who just found out he’s a dad.
• The woman suddenly is looking at me in shock. “She’s… smiling. Look at her. She’s happy. We’ve never seen her like this.”
• Looking down, sure enough, she’s smiling up at me while rubbing my beard. “Hi, little one. I’m your daddy. I guess we’re going to be spending a lot of time together now.”
• Posey smiled as he said, “I can’t believe it. I’ve never seen you hold one of your kids.”
• Thinking about it, he’s right. I’ve never been a baby person. I only held a baby if I absolutely had to, and that wasn’t often. Looking into her precious face, I realize my whole life is about to change. Damn those witches for doing this.
• Awe.. but look at her. She’s perfect. Seeing her wrap her little fingers around mine makes my heart feel so full, and I wish Sophia was here to see this.
• “Look at you, Zeus. You look like a real dad.”
• Uck. He had to say that didn’t he? While handing the baby back to the lady, I shake my head to clear my thoughts. I have to get a hold of myself. This isn’t the life I want, and I sure as Hades can’t be a father again. All my kids are now grown adults, and I thought I was past this point in my life.
• Damn it. This must stop.
• As soon as I hand the tiny demi-child back to the foster mother, she’s screaming again. Just great. Here we go again.
• “Zeus, it looks like she wants you. I think maybe she knows these people are not like her.”
• “Posey, I can’t. I don’t know one damn thing about raising a child.” Before I can protest, the woman hands her back, and instantly the crying stops. “I’m sorry, baby girl. I’m just not who you need.”
• “I think you’re wrong,” the foster father says. “Look at her face. She’s more content than she’s been since she’s been with us. I don’t want it to sound as if we don’t care for her, because we do. But we just can’t risk the other kids being in danger.”
• The woman agreed as she pulled a photo off the wall. Behind it was a hole and a burn mark that looked like a lightning scar.
• “This was from a lightning bolt that came out of nowhere.”
• I knew it. My little girl is a badass.
• “One of the other children woke her up, and the bolt came right past Jamie Beth’s head and caught the wallpaper on fire. Thank God my husband was there. I know you heard about the flooding inside our house last week. Our upstairs is still drying out, but we don’t have money to keep fixing things. All our money goes to caring for the children. Now, with this hurricane coming, we don’t think this is the right place for her.”
• The man stepped forward, placing his hand on my shoulder. “Zeus, if anyone hears about her being involved in the storms, you know the military will take her away. They’ll say she’s a danger to public safety. They’ll—”
• Posey sighed, understanding what he was about to say. “They’ll use her like a lab rat.”
• “Exactly. As you can see, there’s no other choice.”
• Looking toward the patio door, I saw the wind whipping outside and the rain coming down. I know this storm could kill possibly hundreds of people, if not more. It’s then I realize what I have to do. I can’t let them use her as some sort of science project. My daughter just needs someone who understands her.
• With a deep breath, I say, “I’ll take her. I’m her father and have to protect her. You’re coming home with me, Pearl. Daddy’s got you. And ma’am, I will pay for the damages to your home for your troubles.”
• When I pull my baby to my chest, she snuggles into me. For the first time, she looks calm, and her little eyes flutter shut as she rubs my beard, sucking her thumb. In a split second, she’s sleeping soundly. I suppose all that crying must have been exhausting. I can relate, little Pearl. Daddy hates this crying thing, too.
• Reaching to touch my arm, Posey is looking out the window in awe.
• “Look. The clouds are clearing.” Looking back over his shoulder at me, he looked like he saw a ghost. “She knows you’re her father. She just wanted her daddy.”
• “That’s crazy. You're out of your mind. Demi babies aren't that powerful. Move and let me see.”
• I walk to the window with my little darling, and the clouds dissipate as if on cue. The clear sky is breaking through with sun rays peeking out with a rainbow forming in the distance. I glance down and find my precious girl with a sweet smile as she nuzzles close. I guess I’m officially a single father, but I’m definitely not prepared for this.
• “Well, Posey, I guess we should probably take this little one to the beach. Hopefully, she can stop this storm.”
• “Good idea. We don’t have much time to waste.”