Written for Week Three of Percy Jackson Ship Weeks

grover|juniper

Miss Me

Miss me. How many times had she said those words? How many times had she stood in the howling wind and battering rain, waiting for him to appear in her line of sight? How many letters had they sent, hers all ending in those words? Miss me.

Juniper always told him to miss her, just to make sure he was thinking about her when she thought of him. It wasn't always fair, being a dryad, because she could only move so-and-so far from her tree before both she and her tree began to perish. It wasn't like every time she wanted to go somewhere, she could pack up her tree and lug it along. No, Juniper was a dryad, a nature spirit, and that meant she had been born tied to the tree. And then she had to go and get herself involved with a satyr, someone who could move around, not having to be afraid of someone harming his life force. But she did love him, for sure.

One.

Juniper sighed as she slowly settled down in the sweet meadow grass. A strand of dark hair fell in her face, and she clipped it back with one of her leaf pins. Every now and then, Annabeth would pop up with some recycled paper and a pen, and she would write letters to Grover. That had been one of the days. Finally, she moved so she was on her stomach, the gray paper in front of her.

Dear Grover, she wrote. Dear? That didn't sound right.

Grover, she . Her pen paused centimeters from the paper.

Grover,

I heard from Percy that you were okay and coming home in five days for a break. Three weeks? Really, Grover? I'm excited. I'm quite fine, so don't worry. Spring is the most glorious time for us dryads, even if there are weather barriers for the other seasons. I think of you a lot, you know. Time passes by slowly without you, Grover, and sometimes I dream that you're here next to me. You're everything to me. I wouldn't be able to stand it to see you hurt, or injured, or anything. Come home safe. Please. I need you more than you know. And I know you wish we could be together to, but that's not enough. I need to see you. Until then, miss me.

Love,

Juniper

She signed it and read it over again. Rolling it up, she picked a blade of grass and tied it together. She looked at it one last time before popping a drachma with the roll. It disappeared in a poof! and Juniper stared at the empty space for a long, long time.

Two.

Three more days. She swung her legs idly, kicking back and forth, hitting the steps a few times. Currently, she was sitting on the porch of the Big House. Using her forest green painted nails, (Lacy from Aphrodite had insisted,) she picked at the chipping paint on the wood. Pieces flaked off as easily as crumbs from bread. She saw it all the time-campers coming to the grove to say hi and gossip, feeding the birds with leftover bread. Thinking of those kindhearted people made her smile. The first to say hi to her was Grover, when he was 26, about thirteen in human years. Now he was 34, or 17 in human years, and maybe halfway around the world from her.

She sighed and watched the sun set alone.

Three.

She stood in the crowd, watching as the heroes came home. The war had ended hours ago, but they must have been regaining their wits and strength-no one couldn't not be tired after a long battle. Some other campers were here, too-the younger ones, varying from ages six to twelve, not old enough to fight. Dryads and satyrs came from the grove, as she did. Peleus snorted, raising his head up and sitting on his haunches, alert. Naiads flocked to the shore's edge to watch. Seconds ticked by.

Sweat prickled at her brow and her hands were suddenly clammy. The first appeared at the top of the hill, and Juniper found herself cheering with the crowd. Her eyes picked out some of her friends and familiar faces-Percy, Annabeth, Nico, Thalia. There were Chris and Clarisse. Travis and Connor Stoll. Katie Gardner, Miranda Gardiner, and Pollux.

But no Grover.

She frantically searched the smiling, exhausted crowd. Will Solace. Lou Ellen. Clovis. All of them were hurt in varying ways-a scratch here, a cut there... Some had missing limbs. Some had deep gashes. There were white-and-red bandages everywhere.

There was still no sign of Grover.

They all turned and cheered, yelling as they ran towards the pavilion. Congratulations were exchanged. A celebration was held, a sort of messy, tired celebration, but a celebration nevertheless. She danced breathlessly, moving with a mass of limbs and loud music. Here she was wild and free. Her heart beat fast and true, lungs expanding gratefully each time she took a breath. Eventually everyone calmed down and just sat around, enjoying living and just generally chatting.

Then she saw him.

He stood out, a lone figure, a bit late, but Juniper didn't care. He looked tired, but his smile was as wide as it had been the day they'd met. She ran. She ran for her life, her legs going as fast as she could. She saw nothing, heard nothing, just her heart and his beautiful eyes.

"Grover!" she yelled, and she tackled him into a hug. He stumbled and caught her. She put her head on his shoulder, her arms wrapped around him. They stood there for a long time, just hugging, and she pulled back, as did he. And then he kissed her, and she was falling, falling, falling into a pit of them, just them. They weren't just Grover and Juniper, they were GroverandJuniper, and her heart was beating to a rhythm of its own.

"Did you miss me?" she whispered when they pulled apart.

"I did," he replied. Grover held out a hand, eyes warm and inviting.

She took it.

Four.

She blinked away tears. Time usually wasn't a problem for dryads, as they grew slowly, but Juniper had always been intrigued by it. She'd started keeping time after she'd met Grover. She kept a watch usually now, a gift from Annabeth. She watched the sun rise and go down, watched people fight and do what people do. She'd seen so much. But the days dragged on like she had never felt before. Grover...

Five.

She smiled at the young dryad. "Yes, I'm Juniper." The girl grinned and clung to her leg. She was cute, her skin a healthy green tint, her almond eyes, and dark hair. When she grinned, she saw it was a gaping smile, missing two teeth.

"I'm Lilac!" She had no idea why Lilac was here, but she accepted in stride. Lilac was full of energy, bouncing around as if excited to see her. She cleared her throat. "Anyway, I'm supposed to deliver a message."

Unrolling a parchment from the pack slung on her shoulder, she read:

"Dear Miss Juniper,

I am pleased to inform you that Grover Underwood has achieved a spot on the Council of Cloven Elders. Thank you for taking the time to listen to this message.

Sincerely,

Dionysus, #12 on the Olympian Council, Honorary Member of the Council of Cloven Elders"

Juniper wanted to cry.

They ran towards each other at the same time. Juniper died when they kissed; she had missed him. To say that Juniper had tears in her eyes was probably an understatement at that point. His lips were sweet, his arms holding her like all the other times they had done the same thing. When he let go, she started sobbing into his shirt. Juniper had no idea why. They just came, long and hard and winding.

She stood there crying for what seemed like forever.

He held her there the whole time.

When her tears stopped flowing, she looked back into his face. He gave her a smile, the beautiful kind, the one that made her stomach fill with butterflies and the one that made up for those last days.

"Miss me?" she asked. He laughed.

"Miss me?"

Here I present to you... my very-late contribution to Ship Weeks #3. The ending closed off badly, I know, but what happens happens. It's August 4th, now Chris/Clarisse, right? Oops. I guess I lost track of time.

Hope you liked it!

Achieving Elysium