She runs her fingers through Annabeth's tangled hair, the cheap hotel conditioner they stole doing next to nothing to free the knots. The steaming water streams down her back, relieving her aching muscles.
She smiles at Annabeth's drooping eyelids. The poor kid had had a rough week-they all had-and the exhaustion was begining to take over, despite the seven-year-old's defiance to fight it. She reluctantly turns off the shower, moaning when the warmth disappears and the cool air makes her wet skin prickle. She twists the excess water out of Annabeth's hair and begins to rub her down with a fluffy white towel (also compliments of the last hotel they had ripped off) before draping it around Annabeth's shoulders and quickly wrapping one around herself.
The poor kid can barely dress herself, but with Thalia's help, they finally manage to stumble out of the bathroom, Annabeth on her hip, her head resting in the crook of Thalia's neck.
Luke looks up from the magazine he had been pretending to be interested in and grins. "Finally." He stands and flips his wet hair off of his forehead, sending droplets flying. He takes sleepy Annabeth from Thalia's arms and she smiles gratefully. It was getting harder and harder for Thalia's small frame to support the little girl as she grew.
"I think we should spend the night at the safe house." Luke suggests. "We could all use the rest." Thalia nods wearily and leads the way out of the rest stop. Her mind is far from alert; it doesn't run through attack strategies or plan where their next meal is coming from as it usually does.
Right now she is looking forward to only one thing: this coming night-when she can curl up under some blankets and pretend that it is not the ground she is sleeping on, but a king-sized bed with a down feather comforter and four wooden posts. And it is not a cramped, dirty hut she is refuging in, but a big house with spiral staircases and real furniture. And she is not hungry, but full of a nice, homemade meal. And she is not alone, but she can feel Luke's arm around her waist, his chest moving against her back, and Annabeth's warm body snuggled up next to hers.
But thankfully, she already has that last part. Thalia thinks, a smile forming on her lips.