The whole camp had no idea what to do. One moment she was happy and her usual self, and the next day... well the next day she looked like she would fall at any second.
And no one there could help her.
It's not like they hadn't tried; of course they had tried. All of them had tried even the new campers that didn't know Annabeth or Percy, because no one could stand seeing someone just look that sad all of the time. Some had tried harder then others of course. Her closest friends had tried to sympathize with her since they knew what she was going through- kind of.
Because if there was one thing everyone knew, it was that his disappearance had hit her the hardest. And no one was even feeling half of what she was, except maybe Sally Jackson.
But they had tried anyways.
oooOOOooo
Thalia had gotten permission from Artemis to come back to Camp for a few days and help with her cousins disappearance As soon as she got there she had taken 3 tubs of ice cream (Ben and Jerry's of course because this was an emergency) gone to the Athena Cabin and gone to the only occupied bunk.
Annabeth had just been laying there, staring at her wall full of pictures. Pictures of her family, of Annabeth and Thalia, Nico, Grover and everyone else at Camp Half-Blood. And Percy. Everywhere there was Percy, laughing and kissing and smiling and looking like they didn't have a care in the world. Which at that time, Thalia supposed, they hadn't.
"Hey." Thalia said softly, trying to get her friend to stop looking at that wall and have a conversation.
Annabeth turned her eyes to Thalia for a fraction of a second, took in the icecream and bowls and spoons she was holding and then looked back at the pictures.
"I'm not hungry." was the only thing she said.
"No welcome back I missed you? Or where have you been for the last 2 months Thalia? How about a hug, huh?" she said, once again trting to get a reaction from her might-as-well be sister.
Sighing Annabeth sat up and swung her feet out of the bed. She was worse then Thalia had realized. She looked frail and her skin was already an unhealthy gray. She was still in her PJ's despite it being the afternoon and Thalia was sure that she hadn't even left her bed until now.
The younger girl came over and hugged her and it was then that Thalia felt how frail she really was. It had only been a day, but already Annabeth Chase was losing the will to live.
Slowly Thalia guided Annabeth back to the bed and they sat down. Annabeth rested her head on Thalia's shoulder and Thalia wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulders in response.
"Come on Annabeth, you can't let this happen. Not you. You're a fighter, heck I'm surprised you're not out there begging Chiron to give you a quest to look for him right now." Thalia nudged her shoulder. "Annabeth don't think for a second I don't miss him too, but you're not going to do any good sitting here and missing him."
Annabeth drew in a breath and for a second Thalia saw a flash of life in the now dull grey eyes, but as soon as it came it was gone.
"Chiron won't let me do anything! He said we had to wait a day to send out an official search party; he didn't look happy about saying it but that didn't stop him. There's nothing else I can think of to do! I've Iris-messaged him, I've called his home, I asked evryone, and checked the stables to see if there was any Pegasi missing! I've done everything I can think of but there's no sign of him! And it doesn't help that the only god that's usually here was recalled to Olympus yesterday!" Annabeth was shaking and couldn't seem to stop. "Thalia, I don't even know if he's alive or dead."
Thalia wrapped both arms around the girl, feeling the wetness of tears on her shirt.
"I know," she whispered. And it was true she did know. Kelp-for-Brains was her closest friend (who was a guy) and she would trust him with her life. Heck she had tons of times to prove it. Besides Thalia missed him too. It was like a constant pain in her stomach and she could hardly stand it. "I miss him too, but Annabeth instead of waiting here and doing nothing we've gotta try to find him. We can break the rules and sneak out, heck I don't care. We just need to get up and do something."
Annabeth drew away from her, eyes red and exhausted. "OK." she whispered. "OK." she said again, louder this time as if trying to convince someone to listen. "I'll get up, and I'll do everything I can to find him, and I won't rest until I know for sure what did happen! But first I just want to lay here and eat this delicious strawberry icecream you've brought to me."
Thalia smiled. "That's my girl."
It ended up they ate all of that icecream, and they talked, and they both cried. But Annabeth got out of bed the next morning. And she wasn't lying, it seemed her whole life had become revolved around trying to find Percy.
So why did Thalia feel like she hadn't helped her friend at all?
oooOOOooo
Grover just didn't know what to do.
In the past whenever Annabeth had been upset he had just gone to find Percy to help her and before Percy he had gone to find... Luke.
But now it was his turn to try to comfort his friend and he had no idea what to do.
On the outside it didn't seem like she needed comfort. She was up, and she was working and she was eating, showering and sleeping; but that was the problem. She was surviving not living. She did the necessary things and anything else she did always had something to do with Percy. She had gotten a little better after Piper, Jason and Leo had arrived but not much.
so now Grover was going to find his friend, because to be honest he needed some comforting too.
He found her eventually, in Bunker 9 drawing diagrams for the new ship which the whole camp was working on. The Argo II.
Since Annabeth had started dating Grover's best friend he had discovered she started smelling more... salty. More like the ocean. More like Percy. But now she smelled different. There was a lingering trace of salt, but now there was more lemon. His scent was leaving her, and it made Grover sad.
"Hey Annabeth." he said.
Annabeth turned around, and Grover felt a flash of hope go through her, but then as quickly as it came it was gone. Her shoulders slumped. "Oh, hey Grover."
"Watcha up to?" he let out a nervous bleat and blushed tomatoe red. It made him happy to see her almost smile though.
"Please Grover, don't try to tell me to stop working. The sooner this is done the sooner Percy can come home." She said and determination filled her eyes, along with pain at saying her missing boyfriends name. So much pain.
"I wasn't." he said. "I wasn't." he said again when she raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "I came to ask what I could do to help. Because I wanna do something, anything, to help."
She sighed. "I know you do Grover. A lot of people do. I'm sorry but I don't think there's anything you can do, all I'm doing is planning out the Argo II right now and all of the supplies we'll need."
"Oh, well... alright then." But he didn't move. And she didn't miss that.
"You could stay to keep me company though." It looked like she almost blurted the words out. "You know, as long as you don't distract me." she added on, almost as an afterthought.
He smiled at her. "I think I'll take you up on that."
So he pulled up a chair and he sat there and he watched his friend try to forget everything that was going on around her, and just try to draw her plans. Eventually she looked up at him.
"You've changed this year Grover." she said it like a fact.
"Yes, but then so have you." he said. " So has Thalia, so has Nico and so has Percy. Even Tyson. We've all changed this year Annabeth."
Her eyes searched his and he felt a little unsettled but this was Annabeth. She was like his sister. And his sister needed all of the company she could get.
"You miss him too don't you?" she asked. But she asked it like she already knew the answer.
"Yes, of course I miss him. He's my best friend. He's like my brother. How could I not miss him?" Grover replied. He felt something rise in his throat and tried to choke it down. "You miss him more though."
She looked into his eyes for a second before nodding. "We all miss him. But me, I- I feel like someone's ripped away my heart, and all I'm left with is a big, raw and bleeding wound. It's like a constant reminder that he's gone and it's all I can do not to scream and curse. I don't know what to do but just work the hardest I can to find him. There's no other way to cope." her eyes looked tortured and it was then that Grover saw how hurt and lost his friend really was. "We don't even know if he's alive Grover, how am I supposed to live not knowning if he's ok or not?"
He wrapped his arms around her and felt tears from his own eyes fall. How were they supposed to cope when their friend was gone, and they had no way of messaging him. The only thing that they knew for sure was that Hera had sent him to the Roman Camp and that wasn't very helpful. "I'm not as smart as you, but I do know one thing. We have to have faith in him. We have to trust that he'll be alright and knowing Percy he won't go down without being able to say goodbye to us. That's what I'm doing, and I know that it's the truth."
Annabeth drew back and looked into the saytr's eyes. An understanding passed between them. Annabeth nodded and her eyes lost focus for a second. When she looked back at Grover there was a renewed determination in them.
"You're right. That's all we can do until we find him." She looked up at her old friend. "Thanks Grover, I needed that."
He nodded and pulled her into a hug again, but not before feeling like as much as he could try, he couldn't completely relate to her. Just because she was hurting so much more then he was.
As soon as they found Percy he was going to give him a giant hug, and then he was going to make sure he saw Annabeth as soon as possible, becasue Grover couldn't stand 2 of his best friends being gone.
oooOOOooo
Rachel didn't know what to say to the poor girl.
Annabeth just looked so lost. The Argo II was about half way done but Annabeth was just getting worse and worse instead of better. She was sleeping less, working more, and everyone could see that her armor was starting to become scarily big on her.
So one day Rachel made up her mind. She would make sure Annabeth did everything she needed to stay healthy, and survive this, Even if it meant following the daughter of Athena around 24/7 she would. Because Annabeth was her friend, and she hated to see that Percy was causing her friend this much pain and loss.
The moment the Oracle saw that Son of Poseidon she was going to give him a real talking to, because this was painful to watch.
Staying true to her word Rachel went looking for Annabeth and finally she found her in the armory polishing her armor.
"Annabeth." she said.
Annabeth whirled around dropping the breastplate she had been polishing. "Geez Dare, don't scare me like that." she bent down to pick up the piece of metal and sat it down on the bench. Then she turned around with her arms crossed.
Rachel studied her, and eventually Annabeth couldn't take it anymore. "Just spit it out Rachel."
The green eyes of the mortal met the gray ones of the demigod. "You look terrible."
Annabeth laughed dryly. "Well thanks for the compliment."
Rachel shook her head. "No, seriously Annabeth. People are worried about you, I'm worried about you. And if Percy were here, I know he wouldn't even be letting you carry on like this."
Annabeth's eyes turned hard. "So now you're an expert on my boyfriend?"
Rachel sighed. "Annabeth." she said pleadingly. "Let me help you, and if you don't want me to help you, let someone else. Because all of us are worried about you."
All of the fight went out of the blonde girl. "I'm not a charity case Rachel."
"I know that Annabeth, believe me I do. How could I not know, I'm sure you wanted to run me through with your dagger enough times when we first met."
Annabeth smiled a little at her. "I don't think I've ever actually said sorry for that by the way. It's just... you came at a bad time."
Rachel smiled, "It's OK. I know not that you don't hate me. Now I even feel comfortable being alone in the same room with you."
Annabeth laughed a little. "Ya well, you're a good friend Dare. I don't tell you that enough." Annabeth took in a deep breath. "And I know what you mean. About me carrying on like I am. It's just, there's nothing else I want to do. If it doesn't help me find Percy then it's pointless."
Rachel frowned a little. "You can't just stop living without him Annabeth. This is unhealthy."
Annabeth sighed again. Then she looked up and the look in her eyes made Rachel go over and give her friend a hug. Because Annabeth was in pain, and Rachel knew that no matter what only one thing could stop it. And that thing was on the other side of the country doing Apollo knew what.
"Come on girl, let's go. It's time for dinner anyways. You can finish this tomorrow."
And Annabeth nodded and allowed the red haired girl to lead her away from the armory.
oooOOOoo
Chiron, Piper, Clarisse, the Stolls, Katie, Will, Chris even Nico came to try to help Annabeth cheer up.
But they all failed.
The only person who made a lasting impression on Annabeth was Sally Jackson. Because only Sally felt what Annabeth was going throuh.
oooOOOooo
When Sally heard the knock on her door she knew who it would be. They had this sort of schedule now. Every Wednesday sometime in the afternoon Annabeth would come over and they would both try to forget, but by the end of Annabeth's allowed time to come they would both be crying.
However Sally and Annabeth went through with it. Every Wednesday; because this was sort of like a therapy for them. They were the only ones who felt this way about Percy's dissapearance and they were the only ones who could console one another.
So Sally got up and opened the door, and was greeted by the familiar sight of Annabeth Chase standing there, looking so lost in the hallway leading to the Jackson's and Paul's apartment.
It made Sally sad to see this once so very strong and brave girl looking so weak and sad. It made her sad to think that however unintentional, Percy was putting people through this.
It made Sally sad to not know if her little boy would ever come home. Even mother's needed comfort occasionally and Annabeth and Paul were the only ones who could give that to Sally. And children all needed a mother's comfort and since Annabeth's mother was busy and she didn't exactly love Karen Sally was there to fill in the gap.
"Hey Sally." Annabeth greeted.
"Hello hon'." Sally said before pulling the door wide open and stepping aside for the teenager to walk inside. She took Annabeth's coat and hung it up on one of the spare white pegs before turning around to see the girl standing there.
Annabeth had bags under her eyes, and her hair didn't look like it had been cleaned for a while. But Annabeth didn't refuse the girl when she stepped forward and opened her arms. And she didn't push her away when Annabeth put her head on Sally's shoulder.
They both took a deep breath and pulled away. Sally smiled softly at Annabeth.
"Come on, sit down on the sofa and tell me everything that's happened. I just baked some cookies if you want some?"
Annabeth went and sat beside the mother and took a blue cookie off of the plate on the little coffe table. She examined it a moment before looking over at Sally with tears in her eyes.
And so the hugged and both of them cried for their missing boy, and for the crappy hand that life had delt them. They both consoled one another again, and talked about how much they missed him, why they missed him and how they were just praying every day that he was all right.
Eventually Annabeth wiped her eyes and bit into the cookie. Sally watched her, and smiled a little.
Her son had fallen in love with this girl. And this girl had fallen in love with Percy. As soon as Percy came home he would be grounded, but Sally was sure she would make an exception for Annabeth. Because Percy and Annabeth needed to make up for all of this lost time, and Sally was going to make sure she gave them as much of that as possible.
"The Argo II is nearly finished." Annabeth said unexpectedly.
Sally smiled at her. "That's great Annabeth. How long until you go to the Roman Camp?"
"Chiron says a few weeks, but I'm trying to convince everyone to move a little faster. The sooner we get done the better."
Sally nodded. "Well that's good. After 7 months I think it's time for my little boy to come home, don't you?"
Annabeth nodded but looked a little troubled. "Sally... Percy isn't coming straight home. In fact I don't think he's coming home until this war is all over."
Sally took in a breath of air. "You mean... I won't see him until after this war? Assuming he lives through it. He's not even coming back to Camp so I can see him there?"
Annabeth shook her head and looked at the grown woman with sad eyes. "I'm sorry, I tried to tell them that you would want to see him but everyone agreed. He isn't coming back home, none of us are coming back home, until we defeat Gaia and the giants."
Sally shook her head. "But, what about the gods? Can't they just teleport Percy home and then back or something?" Sally's eyes had become desperate. "Can't Poseidon do something?"
Annabeth sighed sadly. "The gods are forbidden to mess with quests Sally, you know that. And all of them are stuck on Olympus where Zeus is closely watching their interaction with the demigods. There's nothing anyone can do."
Sally swallowed the lump that had appeared in her throat.
"I'm sorry. I really did try." Annabeth looked at the woman who had become everything that her step-mother should be.
Almost instinctively Sally wrapped her arms around Annabeth. "I know you did dear, I know you did. We all tried at one point or another didn't we?"
But it was ovbious that she wasn't expecting a response.
oooOOOooo
The day that Annabeth and Percy reunited everyone sighed in relief.
Both camps had seen one of them have to live without the other, and however short the time, it had made a lasting impression on every single demigod. No one had ever seen anyone miss someone as much as those two had missed one another and they had all been powerless to help.
The only thing that had helped Percy and Annabeth were seeing one another again, and when that happened everyone was amazed at how suddenly both of them were happy and laughing and smiling again.
One thing they could all agree on was that none of them ever wanted to see one of them without the other - unless it was only for a short amount of time- ever again.
No longer did the couple look like the whole weight of the world was on their shoulders, or like they were about to collapse at any moment. They looked happy and vibrant, and everyone they passed wanted to be included in that happiness and they all wanted to feel that way in their lives at least once.
The couple became the most dangerous opponents in the war games- unless they were against each other. If you were ever against Percy and Annabeth fighting side by side then you were a goner.
And after surviving Tartarus it seemed that the couples certainty and love for one another only grew. They became more distant from the world, but they became closer to each other.
The day that Gaia and the Giants were defeated was the same day the Percy Jackson finally saw his mother for the first time in almost a year. And it was then that Sally saw her son and Annabeth together once again and it was the day she realized that she had the best comfort anyone could have given her. Knowing that her son was happy, and in love and would live to a ripe old age; and that she would have grandchildren.
Even though Percy had put her through more worry and anxiety then she had ever thought she could experience Sally was happy. She had a loving husband who she adored, Percy was happy, Annabeth was happy, and everyone was safe.
So it was then that both Annabeth and Sally felt at peace, and they experienced the greatest comfort of all.
There all done! I hope none of the characters are too OOC, I tried to keep it in character. Hope you liked it! I'm thinking about writing one of those Gods and Demigods read the books stories so tell me what you all think about that! Remember I love reviewers!
Love you all!
Percyjacksonfan3