Silence. Darkness. The only sound is the distant screeching of something too horrible to think about, but in Tartarus there's always some monster noises and by now they've both learned to drown them out. It's hard, but focusing on that is one of the only things that keeps them sane.

Percy is still awake. It doesn't surprise him – you hardly ever get any sleep down here, with the cold, hard rock beneath you and nothing but darkness. He can't remember the last time he slept, proper sleep. 'Sleep' for him was now just closing his eyes and lying down, hoping that maybe he'd doze off. It was the most rest he got.

He feels Annabeth stir next to him, her elbow jerking back and digging into his ribs. His gaze flickers upwards and he shuffles over to look at her, to make she she's okay. Her chest is rising and falling rapidly, her face contorted in fear and displeasure, her fists clenched tightly by her sides. It's too dark to see, but Percy can guess her knuckles are white with strain, and he wearily presses her wrists down by her sides to keep her from thrashing about. Her head tosses from side to side, her mouth mumbling words he can just make out.

'Percy- no- don't- y-you can't!

Stop!

No!'

Annabeth's voice rises, the words being forced between her dry, chapped lips, the screams and sobs pushing themselves out. Tears begin to streak clear lines down her ash-covered face, washing away the blood, as her sobs and convulsions begin to die down.

'Please, stop, Percy, - no….'

Her words trail off, and his heart breaks a little more at the sight of her. He leans over her protectively, brushing a clump of hair from her eyes and cupping her face in his hands.

"Annabeth, it's me, I'm here, Annabeth," he says, though the volume capacity of his voice is no more than a whisper. She shakes her head against his grasp, crying still, when he pulls her up and strokes the back of her hair. "Shh, Annabeth, wake up, it's okay. It's okay."

"Percy!" she cries, a violent jerk down her spine a sign that she was awake, and she wraps her arms tightly around his torso and sobs into his chest, trembling. "Percy, I'm sorry, it was a nightmare, y-you were in it, and you were dying, and I couldn't- I couldn't-"

"Hey, hey, hey, shhhhh, I'm here now. It was just a dream Annabeth," he rubs his hand in circles across her back, trying to calm her down. "It was just a dream."

"It was so scary Percy," she whispers, the crying stopped but still shaking. She can hear his heartbeat, fast and uneven, but to her it's the only thing anchoring her down. His hand is soothing on her back, and slowly, she begins to relax. She can feel the tension leak from her body, until she feels just as weak as she did before she fell asleep. Clenching the fabric of his shirt tightly in her fists, she squeezes her eyes shut and says, "I just want to get out of here."

Percy has nothing to say to that. He pulls her up onto his lap, buries his chin in her hair and holds her waist close to him, but he keeps his eyes firmly set into the darkness ahead.

"I –" he pauses, the words getting caught in his throat. "We will get out of here, Annabeth. One day."

She sighs, pulling back and brushing the tears from her eyes. "You think?"

He finds himself forcing a smile. "Yeah. Yeah, I do."

She sobs a sad smile, her lip trembling, but her grey eyes glisten with a spark of hope and that's enough to make him smile back.

"A- and, life will finally make sense," he continues, placing his hands on her hips and adjusting her position so he can look her fully in the eyes.

"I really think this is our final task Annabeth," he says, his green eyes illuminated in the darkness eagerly. "I think that as soon as we get out of here, the gods will be done with us."

She smiles, brushing his dark hair out of his eyes. "Mmm," she says, her gaze dropping and her fingers fiddling with the clay beads around his neck. "I like the sound of that."

"And we'll get out, and we'll finally be off the hook. And we'll- and we'll be out of this mess, and we'll get married, and have a big family just for us."

She laughs slightly at this, leaning forward and pressing her forehead against his, and feels his breath on her face. "Don't be funny, Seaweed Brain."

"I'm serious! And you'll become a- a famous architect building monuments and buildings among the New York skyline, monuments to last the ages."

"What about money, Percy? What about college? We've already missed enough of our life."

"Don't worry about that, Wise Girl. We got enough to pay the bills right here."

"Fine. What else'll we do once we get out of here?"

He pauses, trying to come up with a tactful idea. She can tell when he's got it because a huge grin lights up his face. "We'll get rich, and we'll buy our parent's homes in the south of France!"

"Really, Percy? France?"

Darkness shrouds most of his face, but she feels his fingers lacing with hers as a response. "Well, Mom always talked about retiring to France with Paul. We could do it, Annabeth. We'll do it for them, as soon as we get out of here."

"Okay then Percy," she agrees with him, her voice playful and sweet, like she was talking to a child. She looks up thoughtfully, trying to join in. "And we'll buy everybody nice sweaters, and-"

"We'll give out free dancing lessons," he pipes in, causing her to laugh.

"Sounds like a nice life," she comments, brushing her nose against his cheek. "I'll help you read those books too."

"And I'll soothe those worried looks of yours."

"And we'll build a nice big house on a mountainside,"

"-making everybody look like ants!"

They laugh together, and for the first time in a while they both feel the weights of Tartarus lifted from their shoulders.

"We'll do it Wise Girl," he says finally, as she presses her face into his shoulder. "We'll get that house on a mountain, way up there. We'll get out of here, you and I. We'll get out of here."

She smiles, and closes her eyes, ready to fall asleep against him. "You and I."

Disclaimer: all characters belong to Rick Riordan, not me. The song and inspiration belongs to Ingrid Michaelson.

A/N. So! Guess who's recovering from a fanfiction writer's block? MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Yeah baby

So I'll be updating the next chapter to the Percy Jackson drabble collection soon, so don't give up on me! That story is not abandoned yet, and the next chapter should be up soon. I'm doing Titanium for Luke and Thalia, after a request.

So! See you then. Reviews and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated!

~Franki