Piper watched as Annabeth and Percy whispered off to the side with their foreheads pressed against each other. It looked like they were both reassuring themselves that they were alive. Next to Piper, the rest of the seven were rejoicing. Jason made to start towards them but Piper grabbed his arm. He questionably looked back at her but she just shook her head. Jason followerd her gaze and saw what Piper saw: a boy and a girl, both broken, finally finding peace and solace in the other. The two watched as Percy blushed and scuffed his feet. He said something to Annabeth that made her smily shyly. Coach Hedge must've felt that they had done enough lolly-gagging and suddenly yelled, "Get back on the ship! We're going home!" The satyr's shrill tone broke the two lovers apart. The seven slowly made their way back to the Argo 2. Piper watched Percy and Annabeth disappear to the stables. No one mentioned their absence for the rest of the mused about the two all night long. She couldn't imagine what they had gone through in Tartarus. Percy and Annabeth had, understandbly, not said very much about their time in hell. But Piper can never forget the way they looked when they opened the Doors of Death. Nearly dead and frightened. Terrified. But there was also guilt there. The kind that becomes a burden. And then all of the nightmares after that. The rest of the seven had enough tact to not mention it in front of Percy and Annabeth but they couldn't escape from the heart-wrenching screams that rang through the night. The screams that didn't end until a door opened and a set of footsteps ran over to the other room. Every morning found the two in the same room curled up against the terrors. They became inseparable. Leaving Percy's side made Annabeth twitch nervously. Leaving Annabeth made Percy's eyes dart around in alarm. They were almost normal when together but apart, that was a different story altogether. No, Piper wouldn't let anyone disturb them right now. So, throughout the journey back, Piper acted like a guard. Percy and Annabeth rarely came out of the stables. When they landed in camp, everyone hailed them and welcomed their heroes with open arms. The rest of the seven got applause too but Percy and Annabeth were different. The campers here knew those two like the seven never did. They knew what they had been through over the years. Piper saw respect in the campers' eyes for her and the others but she saw love in their eyes for Annabeth and Percy. These campers would die for the two heroes. Later that night, there was a celebration, and Annabeth and Percy were also enjoying themselves surrounded by familiar people. Malcolm, Annabeth's half-brother, suddenly ended the party. Piper looked at him in surprise and saw that he was worriedly looking at something. She followed his gaze and saw Percy and Annabeth clenching each other's hands in a vice-like grip. Yes, these campers knew their heroes like no one else did. They were family. The next day, Piper found a note on her bed when she woke up. It was from Annabeth and Percy. They were leaving. Going to New Rome where they could be normal teenagers. They said not to worry about them. This was temporary and that they just needed to leave for a little while. The rest of the seven received a similar note. A few weeks passed, and Jason returned to New Rome. He kept them updated on Percy and Annabeth. He said they usually wandered off on their own. Piper waited back at Camp Half-Blood for them to return. She waited three months. They came back just in time for the beginning of the school year. Piper noticed changes in them. Good changes. They both looked happier. Vibrant even. They were back to their normal selves and didn't have to go everywhere with each became the people, the leaders, they once were. But the remnants of Tartarus still lingered. They never fought each other, even in training. They still slept in the same room to ward off nightmares. One day, Piper noticed Percy and Annabeth walking to the ocean after dark in camp. She stealthily followed them. They were sitting on the deck when Piper found them with their feet in the water. Annabeth was curled into Percy. They looked at the stars with remorse and whispered something to the fathomless sky. Piper, confused but reassured they were okay, left soon after.
A few years passed. Annabeth became an architect and Percy, a marine biologist. The rest of the seven had also started their adult lives. Piper became a teacher but stilled helped around camp. Percy and Annabeth always visited in the summer. One year, Piper once again saw them sneaking out to the deck . They whispered something to the sky just like she noticed the first time and every year after that on the same day.
Then it hit her. Today was the day they escaped Tartarus. They had been remembering that day for four years now. Piper inched closer so she could hear what they were saying. She scrunched her nose in confusion. What does that mean? She made her way back to camp in bewilderment. Piper lay in bed still thinking about what those words meant. Obviously they were important if Percy and Annabeth came back every year to say the same thing. It must be especially important if it was connected to Tartarus. The next morning, Percy and Annabeth left. As she walked back from seeing them off, she wondered if her strange dream had anything to do with the anniversary they were apparently commemorating every year. There was a giant named Damasen and a Titan named Bob, oddly enough. Bob was quietly looking at the stars in child-like wonder. And he was sitting right where Percy and Annabeth were yesterday. Suddenly, he morphed into Percy and Annabeth and said, "Bob says hello."