Nico was nervous, to say the least. He had been on a visit to Camp Half Blood for a few weeks and he was coming back with something...unexpected. He hadn't gotten to telling Will yet and he wasn't sure how his husband would react. So there he was, standing at the airport with a three-year old by his side.

A week earlier

Nico was taking a well-deserved break. Chiron had called him back to CHB to give the campers a 'special' course on swords skills. After 4 hours of practice, he'd finally called for a break. So there he was, walking along the cabins, enjoying the fresh air. Suddenly a sharp shriek pierced the air. Nico was immediately on the lookout, sword in hand. He realised that the screams were coming from the camp infirmary. With a sigh of relief, he sheathed his sword but ran to the infirmary anyways.

There, a young girl, barely three years old was fighting against the healers from the Apollo cabin. From the looks of it, they were trying to get her to sit still but she wouldn't listen. Nico immediately ran forward, "What's wrong?"

One of the medics looked up at him, exasperated, "She's been like this ever since she came to camp. She won't listen to anyone, including Chiron and it's getting out of hand now."

Nico turned his attention to the small girl who was now sobbing loudly, swatting away any camper who tried to approach her. "Did she just come here? Who's her godly parent?"

The medic shook his head and said, "She's not a demigod. That is," he said, looking at Nico's confused expression, "She's a legacy. Her name's Maria. Her dad was a son of Hecate and mom, a daughter of Athena. Unfortunately both of them just died a few days ago. Injuries from an accident. Her mother felt it best for her to come to camp but she just won't co-operate. And we don't know what to do!"

Nico looked at Maria sympathetically. He turned back to the medic, "She must be scared. She just lost a mother and she's still so young. How about you guys clear out? I'll try talking to her."

As the campers, slowly shuffled out, Nico went and sat at the edge of Marie's bed. Soon the only sound left was her soft sobbing. "Hey, Tesoro. Stop crying, sweetie. I'm Nico. You want to tell me what's wrong?"

Marie looked up hesitantly. Her hazel coloured eyes were wet with tears and her dirty blond hair stuck to her face. She looked at him with so much pain, that it broke Nico's heart. He tried again. "How old are you, Caro?"

She slowly held up three fingers. He shifted closer to her warily, smiling, "Well, aren't you a big girl!"

She just sniffled loudly. Taking a leap of faith, Nico got up and sat next to her, putting an arm around her shoulders. Maria froze but looked up at Nico. "I want my mommy," she said, almost inaudibly.

Nico looked down at her, "I know you do, Caro. But right now the most we can do is keep you safe at camp. Don't you want that?"

At that, she shook her head, "I don't like camp. I just want to go home."

"I never really liked camp either when I first came here, you know. It took me years to get fit in, make new friends. But when I did, camp became my new home!"

So Nico sat there for a long time, talking to her, telling her about all the fun things at camp, the fun he had as a camper. He told her about Will and Percy and Annabeth and Hazel and everyone else. And soon she was smiling and giggling softly.

He noticed that the sun had started to setting so he got up and held out a hand towards Maria, "Let's go to dinner, shall we?"

After dinner, she absolutely refused to sleep in the Athena or the Hecate cabin. She rebelliously followed Nico to the Hades cabin, completely unperturbed by its outside appearance and cried and screamed while Chiron and Nico tried to convince her to sleep with in her appointed cabin. So for the entire week she slept in the Hades cabin. She refused to leave Nico's side for doing anything during his stay.

So when the day for him to leave came around, Nico faced a very awkward situation. That morning after breakfast while they were walking around, he turned towards Maria hesitantly and said, "I'll be going back home to New Rome today." Even to himself, it sounded very sudden and straightforward but he didn't know what else to say.

Maria stared at him for a few moments before she burst into tears. "No! No! No!" She screamed, clutching onto the hem of his shirt desperately. "You can't go! No! Don't go! Don't go!"

"Sweetie, I have to," Nico bent down, trying to console her, "You have new friends-"

"But I thought that you're my friend!" She cried, sobbing into his shirt.

"I am, Tesoro," Nico tried, "But I have to go back to my husband, right? I have my whole life there!"

"Then take me with you! I want to stay with you! You can be my papa!"

Nico froze at her words. "Sweetie, you can't-"

"No, no, no! I want to go with you! I want to go with you!" And she ran towards the Big House.

Nico cursed under his breath and ran after her. Maria ran inside, screaming for Chiron. He went in, trying to catch his breath. The old centaur looked at them, confused but before he could speak, Maria said, "I want to go to New Rome with Nico."

There was an uncomfortable silence before Chiron said, "Nico? Care to explain?"

Nico stepped forward but Maria interrupted him, "I want to go with him! Please! Please, please, please! I want him to be my papa!"

At that, Nico hurriedly said, "Sweetie, that's not possible." Turning towards Chiron he said, exasperated, "Tell her it's not possible."

Chiron stood there rubbing his chin. "I was actually planning to send her to New Rome anyways. She is a legacy. And New Rome would be the safest place for her."

Nico gaped at him. "But. But I can't. I- I mean-"

Chiron looked at him and said, "May I have a word, Nico?"

They went outside to the porch. "Have you and Will talked about adopting?"

Nico sighed, "Chiron. I can't- What about Will? I mean, this is all so sudden!"

Chiron put a hand on Nico's shoulder. "You like her, don't you? I can assure you that both of you will be excellent parents. And I'm also completely sure that Will won't mind at all."

Nico put his head in his hands, huffing loudly. He really did feel like taking Maria home with him but he wasn't sure about himself as a parent nor about Will's opinion about it. "She's only three, Chiron. She doesn't know what she wants. I don't know if-"

Chiron shook his head, "Either way. She's going to have to go to New Rome. I think it would be best if she had a family to live with and it looks like she's chosen you already. Think about it Nico."

Nico put his hands on the porch railing and sighed. There would be no harm in taking her home. He was sure that Will would love her and her, Will. But that didn't make him any less nervous. Will and Nico were only just getting used to their new jobs and a child was a huge responsibility. But he realized that he didn't mind one bit. He looked up at Chiron, reaching a decision. "I'll take her home."

And so there he was. Standing in the airport with an ecstatic three-year old at his side. He craned his neck to look for Will. Next to him, Maria was looking around the airport with wonder, holding on tightly to his hand.

"Hey, death boy!"

Nico grinned as he turned towards the familiar voice. Will walked towards him, smiling and smashed his lips into Nico's, pulling him close.

"Ewww," Maria whined. Will turned towards her, eyebrows raised in surprise. He looked at Nico for an explanation.

Nico took a shaky breath. "Will, this is Maria. The kid I told you about in the Iris message."

"So why is she here?" Will asked, confused, "Doesn't she stay at Camp Half-Blood?"

Nico looked at his husband in the eye, smiling nervously. "Will. How do you feel about adopting?"