A SOKEEFE STORY

Chapter 78

4/4

3rd Person POV

They arrived back at Foxfire and Sophie was surprised to already find their friends there. Biana was sitting on a fresh, new cott with Calla in her arms, a grin on her face as the baby yanked at a few strands of her hair.

"Sophie!" she exclaimed, standing from the chair. Marella and Tam were also there, grinning down at the baby. Tam had a small smile on his face as he kept an arm wrapped around Marella's waist, his silver eyes watching as his girlfriend reacted to every move the baby made. "She is so darn cute!"

Sophie gave her a proud smile, still holding Keefe by the arm.

"She looks just like her dad," Sophie said, gently patting Keefe's chest as she walked towards her friends. Keefe stood close to her, noticing the tremble in her legs as she made her way over to the chair besides Biana. She was looking as beautiful as ever, a beautiful purple dress covering her figure, falling down to her feet with her usual black cape falling down her shoulders. Her brown hair was braided, small flowers and beads woven in the strands.

"What's her name?" Biana asked, her teal eyes wide as the baby grabbed one of her fingers.

"Calla," Sophie said. Biana looked up, a sad smile on her face as she looked back down at the infant in her arms.

"A beautiful name for a beautiful girl," she said, tapping the baby's nose.

"Oh, Biana! Can I hold her now?" Marella asked. "I'm sure Tam also wants to!"

Keefe smirked when he felt a waft of anxiety come from Tam.

"Sure," she said, handing the baby off to Marella. Calla seemed intrigued by the fact that there was a new face in front of her, reaching her small hands up and touching Marella's face, giggling at the contact. Sophie smiled, grabbing Keefe's hand.

"Tam? Are you sure you don't want to hold her?" Sophie asked. Tam bit his thin lips, his black hair hiding his silver eyes as he began to shake his head, holding close to Marella, but she smiled.

"Of course he does! Come on, Tam, you need practice anyways," she said, a smirk climbing to her pink lips as she turned around in his grip.

"Feeling anxious over there, Tammy Boy?" Keefe asked as another overwhelming cloud of anxiety hit him.

"Shut it, Sencen," Tam snapped. Marella began teaching him the correct way to hold the baby just as Elwin had done for Keefe the night before. Calla sat in Marella's arms as she taught, drool falling down the side of her mouth as she played with a strand of Marella's hair.

The two were quite an odd pair, Marella and Tam. Marella had a baby pink dress on, falling down to her knees with ruffles running up and down the fabric with pearls woven into them as if symbolizing a pink sea. Her blonde hair was brushed, beautiful natural waves coming through a butterfly clipped above her forehead to keep some strands out of her face.

Tam however, was in a full black tunic, a dark gray belt separating his legs and torso with a black cape over his shoulders. His black hair fell into his eyes, the silver tips being the lightest part of his body besides his pale skin and piercing silver eyes.

But, as Tam hugged close to Marella for comfort, eyes watching her gestures carefully, Keefe, for a moment, swore he felt the swell of love waft across the room at him.

"There, you got it, are you ready?" she asked. Tam nervously nibbled at his lip, nodding his head.

"Just relax, Tam," Sophie told him from the chair. He glanced up, eyeing her for a moment before nodding, a bit more confidence in the gesture this time. Marella handed over the baby to him, his arms stiff as the infant rested against his chest.

"There you are," Marella said, a proud smile on her lips as she watched him gently rock the baby in his arms. Calla giggled at him, reaching up and grabbing his bangs. Tam's eyes widened in surprise as his head was tugged down closer to the baby.

"She's... adorable," Tam whispered, pressing his forehead against Calla's. She giggled, but abruptly stopped. Sophie's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as the baby parted her lips, eyes wide, before she sneezed.

Right in Tam's face.

Marella broke into hysterical giggles as Tam handed the baby back to Biana, a scowl on his lips when he saw his girlfriend bent over laughing.

"I think she likes you," Sophie insisted. Tam rolled his eyes, finding his spot back next to Marella when she had pulled herself together.

"Your... face!" Marella cried, breaking into more giggles. Tam rolled his eyes, wrapping his arms around her waist and setting his head on her shoulder, pouting.

"Good job, Calla," Biana said. She raised her hand as if insisting the infant to give her a high five. To Sophie's surprise, Calla did raise her hand, slapping it against Biana's.

Biana squealed in delight.

"Dex is never going to believe he missed this," she said.

"Where is Dex by the way?" Sophie asked. "I'm surprised he didn't come."

"'Surprised he wasn't trailing behind her like a lost puppy," Keefe murmured. Sophie elbowed him and he smirked. "What? You know it's true."

"He's busy helping his dad in the shop today, too bad, I'm sure Calla would've spit in his face or something, now that would've been a sight to see, right little Calla?" Biana asked. The infant giggled, bobbing her head up and down.

"Where's Linh?" Keefe asked, turning to Tam.

"With Fitz, somewhere in the shop area, I don't really know," he said. Sophie quirked an eyebrow at him, peering over to Keefe who shrugged. It seemed unlike Tam to not know where his twin sister was.

"He's a bad influence on her," Biana said.

"You think?" Keefe snapped, the emotions from his nightmare coming back. He looked over to Sophie, expecting her to snap back with emotions of her own, but her bottom lip was trembling, eyes trained on her lap. Keefe took a step closer to her, gently taking her hand into his. She looked up at him, forcing a smile on her lips.

"Sophie, do you want him to see the baby?" Biana asked. Sophie quickly shook her head.

"I don't want him anywhere near her," she said, gesturing to Biana to give Calla back. She did, Sophie cradling the infant in her arms. "I don't even want him to see her."

Keefe nodded in agreement, setting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"He won't, I promise-"

He was interrupted by a knock at the healthcare door.

"Soph? How's the baby?"

It sounds like a lot of you are into Percy Jackson... thoughts on their casting for the new series? (This includes Sally, Chiron, Dionysus, Ms. Dodds, Percy, Annabeth, Grover, Luke, Nancy, and Clarisse.) 

I'm personally really happy and I think this cast is going to do a super job bringing the book series to life and will have fun doing it.