Title: Merry Christmas, Daddy

Rating: K+ for mentions of deaths, war, and violence

Special thanks to: The Company (Hallmark?) who created the voice-recording books.

Based off of a commercial I saw; I do not own the commercial or PJO or How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

AU! Sorry for any mistakes in the actual HtGSC part. Errors when Athene's talking are intentional (:

Merry Christmas, Daddy

Annabeth sat on the edge of the bed. "Athene, are you ready to show Daddy your great reading?" I asked her. She shook her head.

"No."

"Athene, you're a very good reader for a two year old. You inherited it from your grandmother, Athena." She told her.

"Mommy, Daddy might not think I is good!" She exclaimed.

"Of course he will, Darling. Now come here," She said, pulling her daughter in her lap, causing a small giggle to come from the child.

Annabeth opened the book and began recording. She looked at her daughter and nodded. "Merry Christmas, Daddy!" Athene said. Annabeth turned the page to which Athene began reading. "Every who down in Whoville wiked Christmas a wot. But the Grinch, who wived just norf of Whoville…did not."

Thousands of Miles Away…

Percy grieved. It was December 24th, and all he wanted was to be home with his daughter and wife. He had only seen Athene once—the day she was born. The next day, they sent him to go into warfare. This was the second year in a row he was away from them. If he did his duties right, he could possibly visit them soon. As if it was hard enough for him already, his good friend, Charlie Beckendorf, had just died. He went down on a ship bombing, not judging the time right. Percy should've been the one that died that day—not Charles.

Currently, the two opposing armies had called a hiatus for a week. On December 30th, they were back in battle. Percy stared at the picture of the baby girl wrapped in the woman's arms. Did Annabeth still look like this? Was Athene okay?

Nico di Angelo, his best friend, came up beside him. "Still looking at that picture?" he asked.

"Every day," Percy told him.

"Look—I know you miss Annabeth, dude. But I really miss Thalia, too. We're both ditching this place as soon as we can, got it? And then…then I'm going to ask her to marry me." Nico said.

"That's great, buddy." Percy smiled at the younger man. "She's only been waiting seven years."

"It's not my fault we started dating at sixteen," Nico said.

"You two have been through a lot. Don't worry Nico. She'll say yes."

"Hey," Grover, Percy's other best friend, said. "This pep talk reminds me of the one we had to give Percy."

"Yeah, yeah." Percy said.

"Jackson! Di Angelo! Underwood! You three have got packages." Sergeant Miller told the men.

He threw them in the room, one to each man.

Grover's was from Juniper, and their daughters Aspen and Evergreen. It was a card with messages all over it, one from each person in their little family.

Nico got a tape from Thalia, which he put in the small video area. He watched as she showed him all around the town. She ended the video with, "Merry Christmas, Death Breath," and a picture showed up of the two of them.

Percy had received a rather wide package. As he opened it, he heard the sound of a little girl. "Merry Christmas, Daddy!" She said. Percy smiled and listened, as did the other two men. "Every who down in Whoville wiked Christmas a wot. But the Grinch, who wived just norf of Whoville…did not."

He smiled as he listed on.

"…every who down in Whoville, all the taw and the smaw, were singing wifout any pwesents at aww! He had not stopped Christmas from coming, it came somehow or anofher, it came jus the same. And the Grinch, his Grinch feet ice cold in the snow, stood puwzwing and puwzwing, 'How could it be so? It came wifout ribbons; it came wifout bags! It came wifout boxes, packages, and bags!' and he puwzwed free hours, until his puwzle was sowlved. Then the Grinch thought of something he had not befow, 'Maybe Christmas,' he thought, 'does not come frum a store! Maybe Christmas, perhaps, is a bit more.' What happened then, well, in Whoville they say, his smaw heart grew free sizes that day. And the minute his heart did not feww quite so tight, he whizzed wif his load through the bright morning light. And he browght back the toys, and the food for the feast! And he, he himsef, the Grinch, caught the Roast Beast. Merry Christmas Daddy!" Percy smiled in sadness, thinking it was over. Then he heard her voice for the first time in two years.

"Merry Christmas, Percy. I wish you could see your daughter—she has your hair. She has my eyes, but—oh, Perce, they're incredible. They have these wonderful specks of green and—and every time I look at her I miss you more. Come home soon, Percy. Be safe."

And it ended.

A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know. It's the beginning of November. But you know what, I loved this idea! And it's for Veteran's Day! So yeah, I hope you did too. Feedback?

I love feedback almost as much as Aphrodite loves love!

~Suzie

P.S. Uh…Merry Very Early Christmas! And HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY! Thanks to all who serve our country, this is for you (: