Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus Series.

Story: Perseus Jackson and the Last Frontier

Chapter 2: Doctor Jackson?

Third Person's POV

Camp Half Blood – Big House

Frank and Hazel both paled when they heard the name of the place they went to on their first quest.

"Why would he go there?" Thalia asked as she stepped closer to Nico.

"I might know," Hazel said. Frank looked at her thoughtfully; he understood what she meant. The others in the room just looked at her anxiously. "He thought Alaska was beautiful and wild when we were there. He was a New York kid, but he told me that a part of him loved the place."

"Yeah, it's the land beyond the gods, so it would be a perfect place to go to get away," Frank began, but he stopped when he looked at Annabeth. "… from things."

Thalia shook Nico a few times until the son of Hades looked at her. "Where in Alaska?"

Nico gulped visibly. "He's got a house on Kodiak Island."

"Kodiak," Leo repeated. His brown eyes grew large as he remembered something. "That's where they have those huge brown bears."

Piper sighed. "What does that have to do with anything?" she asked.

Leo shrugged. "It doesn't, but it was a cool show I watched on Animal Planet." Piper rolled her eyes.

Jason gave her a smirk before he looked at the son of Hades that was now in the clutches of his sister and the daughter of Athena. "Nico, can you lead us to his house?"

Nico looked between Thalia and Annabeth. "I can, but…" he began. "No buts, Death Breath," Thalia cut-in. Nico nodded furiously. "I can lead you all, no problem." Thalia and Annabeth both let go of him. Nico took a few deep breaths before he straightened out his clothes.

"How has he stayed below the radar for so long?" Leo questioned.

Everyone turned to look at Nico. Nico ran his hand through his black hair. It was mannerism that reminded many of the demigods of their lost friend. Annabeth was now seated, but she leaned forward in her chair to glare at Nico. "How long have you known he was there?" she asked.

"Ten years," he said softly, but everyone heard him.

"What?" Thalia yelled. Nico flinched at the intensity of her voice.

Nico raised his hands again. "He made me promise not to tell," Nico defended.

Thalia's blue eyes flashed with lightning. "He didn't make you swear on the Styx."

Nico nodded. "No, he didn't. He wouldn't make me do that."

Leo cleared his throat. Thalia sent a glare in his direction. "That still doesn't answer how he could be so low profile," he said.

"Lady Hecate placed a spell on him that took away his demigod scent,"Nico explained.

"Why would she do that?" Piper asked. Her eyes glittered in curiosity. Jason smiled at how beautiful she looked.

Annabeth leaned back in her seat. Nico knew the answer, but he was surprised that Annabeth had figured it out so quickly. "She owed him for getting a cabin here at camp for her children. Plus, he was the one that helped bring Lou Ellen to camp."

Nico nodded. "Yeah, she was happy to repay him. Lady Hecate doesn't like to feel that she owes someone."

Thalia placed her elbows on the table before she looked at Nico once again. "What's he been doing all this time?"

Nico cleared his throat. He didn't know if it was really his place to tell them, but he knew that Annabeth and Thalia wouldn't give up until they knew. "He went to college there and became a field geologist. He works for United States Geological Survey. He's pretty well known in his field."

Annabeth tried to remember anything she read on famous geologists, but she could only remember Paleontology articles. "What kind of geologist?"

Nico smiled; they would freak when he told them. "He's a Vulcanologist."

Leo threw his fist in the air. "He studies my dad," he yelled.

Piper smacked him over the head. "A Vulcanologist studies volcanoes, you idiot."

Leo's face turned red, but that could have been because of the large bump that was forming on the top of his head. Annabeth smiled at the interaction between her two friends. She had missed it since Piper moved to New Rome after she married Jason last year.

"Kelp Head has a brain," Thalia said in awe.

Nico smiled. "He's got more than that. He's got a Phd."

Thalia's blue eyes broadened. "Doctor Jackson," she said. Nico smiled at the name.

Annabeth held in her surprise. She cleared her throat; the group turned to look at her. "Chiron, we'll need to take the Argo II."

Chiron nodded in agreement. "Leo, is the ship ready?" he asked.

"Yes sir, my siblings and I have kept up the ship in good condition, and we even made a few improvements as well," Leo replied.

Annabeth clapped her hands together. A few people jumped at the sound. "Everyone prepare for the trip. Go pack your bags," she began. She turned to Leo. "Leo, load the provisions and equipment you need. Chiron, we'll leave in the morning."

Chiron gave her a reassuring smile, but Annabeth could see the worry in his ancient eyes. "Yes my dear, good luck to all of you."

"Good, last frontier here we come," Annabeth said before she motioned for Thalia to help her carry Rachel to one of the bedrooms upstairs in the Big House. A few minutes later Rachel was sleeping soundly in a bed as Thalia and Annabeth sat in two chairs to watch their friend. "She'll be okay."

"What about you?" Thalia questioned.

Annabeth narrowed her eyes. "What about me?"

Thalia sighed. "How do you feel about seeing Kelp Head again?"

"I don't feel anything,"Annabeth replied.

Thalia chuckled as her blue eyes lightened. "Bull," she said. "I saw the expression on your face when you heard the last line of the prophecy. I felt the anger and pain when you nearly skewered Nico with that dagger of yours."

"What do you want me to say," Annabeth growled. She looked over at Rachel, but the Oracle was still sleeping soundly. "You know how screwed up I am because him." Annabeth's grey eyes clouded over with unshed tears.

"I'll kick his ass when I see him," Thalia assured. Annabeth smiled at her friend before she sighed. The two demigods didn't hear the door open until a voice said, "You know he never meant to hurt you."

The two demigods turned to see the son of Hades standing in the open doorway. "What do you mean Death Breath?" Thalia said. "He just drops a bomb on Annabeth that he's leaving, and they get into a huge fight and Percy storms away. He doesn't say good-bye to anyone and just leaves camp. No one has heard of him for ten years… well, except for you it seems."

Annabeth stayed silent through Thalia's rant about her breakup with Percy and his sudden departure thereafter.

Nico shook his head. "When he found out about Paul and Sally; he couldn't handle it. He took the blame because he felt he should have been there."

"He blamed me Nico," Annabeth said.

Thalia and Nico looked at the daughter of Athena curiously. "Why would he blame you?" Thalia questioned.

"When we were in… Tartarus… he kept dreaming about his mother and Paul. He dreamed they were in trouble, but he couldn't do anything to help them. He never came out right and told me that he blamed me, but I could see it in his eyes. I was the one that fell into Tartarus; he went along because he was too loyal to me. I know he blamed me for getting in that situation," Annabeth explained.

"Why would you believe that?" Thalia asked. "You said that he never told you he felt that way."

Annabeth sighed. "The day he told me that he was going to leave the life of a demigod. That he wanted to put his past behind him… I kind of lost it. I made a big deal that he wanted to leave me behind as well. I said that I knew he blamed me for their deaths. He got so mad when I said that. I'd never seen him that mad at me. He yelled that everything had to be about Annabeth Chase and that I couldn't think passed myself. We said some… terrible things to each other and… I told him that I wish I never had met him." Thalia and Nico were shocked. They never knew the details of the fight.

Thalia stood up and pulled Annabeth into a tight embrace. Nico looked on awkwardly. "Annabeth," Nico began. Thalia and Annabeth pulled apart before they turned to look at the son of Hades. "He never blamed you for their deaths. He only blamed himself." Nico sat on a chair and sighed. "He never moved on. He never dated anyone in Alaska. He just buried himself in school, then work, and then other activities. He never made time for a personal life."

Annabeth wiped a stray tear from her face. "How did you find him?" Annabeth questioned.

Nico smiled at the memory. "Mrs. O'Leary and I never gave up hope. She searched for him even when I wasn't around, but one day she finally found something. His scent was beyond any monster's senses, but Mrs. O'Leary could always find Percy." Nico wore a thoughtful expression. "I think her bond with him was too strong. She found him at a small shack where he lived when he wasn't on the fishing boat. I was with her at the time. Percy nearly jumped out of his skin when she appeared, but he was so happy to see her." Nico chuckled at the memory. "When he saw me, I thought he might be angry, but he pulled me into a hug before he told me all about what he was doing. I stayed in touch with him ever since. I would meet him a couple times a year, but Mrs. O'Leary stayed close to him. She's his guardian, whether he wants her to be or not. I think she fell in love with Alaska, just like Percy."

"I can't believe he graduated from college, but a doctorate, that I could never believe," Thalia said.

Nico laughed. "That's what I thought, but whatever Hecate did to eliminate his scent removed his dyslexia and he gained greater control of his ADHD. Percy did very well in school. He's an incredible geologist and Alaska is a dream place for him."

Rachel sighed in her sleep. "We better leave her to rest," Annabeth said. The three demigods left the room and walked out of the Big House. "We should all pack for the journey." Annabeth turned back to Nico. "Thanks for letting me know. I always thought he hated me for their deaths."

"I blamed myself for a while. When I found out what happened it was too late," Nico admitted. "I think the only person that Percy might blame besides himself, is his dad."

Annabeth nodded. "I think your right. The last time I saw Poseidon, he was still torn up about Percy. He told me that he couldn't do anything and that was his greatest regret," she said.

"What are you going to do when you see Percy?" Nico asked.

"Besides kick his butt you mean," Annabeth replied with a smile. Nico laughed. "We need to talk. We'll have to see where that leads. We both have lives that are very far apart."

Nico nodded. "You both need each other," Nico said. "I hope you both can move on from the pain. He needs you Annabeth… and I think… you need him as well." Nico turned and walked away. Annabeth watched him go. She hoped Nico was right, but could Percy and her get over their heartache? Could they really ever be together again?

The next morning…

The seven plus Nico and Thalia were on the Argo II as the ship flew away from Camp Half Blood. The send-off had been lightly attended as many of the campers hadn't arrived for the start of summer yet. Leo manned the helm as he steered the ship toward the west.

Jason, Piper, Frank and Hazel sat together and talked about the past and what they were currently doing.

Annabeth, Thalia and Nico sat near the bow of the ship as they looked toward the horizon. The last frontier lay ahead of them, and that is where they would find the lost son of Poseidon.

"So, Percy is a geologist. How did that happen?" Thalia questioned.

Nico smiled. "When Percy arrived in Alaska, he did several different jobs. At first he stuck with the sea, so he worked on commercial fishing boats as well as crab boat out on the Bering Sea. He finally moved to the land where he got a job as a logger before he moved to the oil industry. He worked on a pipeline up north and he assisted a few of the oil company geologists. He found that he had a real aptitude for it, so he went to school. He eventually got a scholarship at the University of Alaska and that was that."

Annabeth listened closely. She had to admit to herself that she was curious about what Percy had done for the last ten years. "How did he get into volcanoes?"

Nico laughed. "He was on a trip for school to the Aleutian Islands; a volcano erupted while they were there. He told me that he had been in the eruption at Mount St. Helens, but when he actually saw one from outside… he felt some connection to it. He couldn't answer why. He thought it had something to do with Poseidon as the Earthshaker."

"So, you've been to his place on the island. Can you tell us about it?" Thalia questioned.

Nico's face lit up. "He owns several acres on the island. His house is this big log cabin with huge windows that look out at the ocean. He has a boat dock where he keeps his fishing boat and his float plane," Nico said.

"Float plane," Thalia repeated. "My dad will shoot him out of the sky."

Nico grinned at his cousin's statement. "Hecate's spell means that Zeus can't find him in the sky. Percy took that benefit and learned how to fly. He has a pilots license for planes and helicopters."

"Wow, I guess I can't really think of him as a Kelp Head anymore," Thalia replied.

"You can still call him it, but no, he's not the stupid oblivious kid that we knew, but he's still crazy, courageous, and the same self-sacrificing idiot that we all knew," Nico said.

Annabeth looked on fondly at the interaction between Nico and Thalia. Thalia was like a sister to Nico and Annabeth felt the same way about the son of Hades. "What do you think he'll do when he sees us?" she asked.

Nico frowned. "I think he'll be happy to see all of us, until we mention the word quest. After that he's most likely going to kick his off his land," Nico replied.

"I'll kick him right back," Thalia said.

Nico didn't laugh at Thalia's boast. "Percy likes his privacy, his home is well defended." Thalia stopped smiling at Nico's description. "What do you mean defended?" Thalia asked as Annabeth leaned in to hear the answer. "Percy is pretty well armed and you only have to worry about that if you get passed the Hellhounds," Nico replied.

"Hellhounds?" Annabeth asked.

Nico grinned mischievously. "Yeah, you didn't think that Mrs. O'Leary was only tame Hellhound, did you?"

AN: I'm glad everyone enjoyed the first chapter and the premise for this story. I know I updated earlier than I thought, but I had the idea for this chapter clear in my mind and so I just took the time to write it. This chapter gives a lot more of the back story and more will be learned when the crew of the Argo II meets up with the Son of Poseidon at his home in Alaska. A piece of Alaska trivia, Kodiak Island, which is where Percy's home is located in this story, is the largest island in the United States; it's even bigger than the Big Island of Hawaii. More to come from the last frontier, so stay tuned.