Disclaimer: I own nothing. I'd write something funny and witty right here, but my muse demands that I go on with the story. So you'll just have to imagine it for yourself. Review.

Chapter 3

We drove to New York, which was nuts. One because of the beautiful midnight blue mustang in mint condition that Percy was somehow legally able to drive, on a full license no less, and two, because it was New York. Only crazy people drive in Manhattan.

"You do know that there is a speed limit, right?" I asked as the scenery flew by in a blur. She raised an eyebrow as if to ask 'Why? Are you scared?'

"What are they going to do? Fine me?" I she replied nonchalantly. That was the first of many inclinations of exactly how little the money mattered to her. The second came when she parked in an underground parking lot and dragged me off to do shopping. On Madison and Fifty-Seventh.

"You do know that this place is beyond expensive?" I informed her rhetorically.

"I do a lot of media work," she said apologetically, "Company management, PR, and charity balls. If you want to be living at my house you'll need a wardrobe that shows that." She scrunched up her face at that. "Believe me I was quiet happy shopping at Target," she added. Even so I found myself dragged through the most exclusive stores, with a range of casual and formal clothes. A couple of bathing suits, half of Victoria Secret and lot of shoes. I took comfort that she bought as much in the last two places as I did.

"Why did you almost buy out Victoria Secret?" I say laughing as we struggle without bags. She adopted the solemn, serious look I had seen only once before and spoken, to her, a deep truth.

"Sex good," she said before laughing.

"And why do I need to help you buy out Victoria Secret?" I huffed, rolling my eyes.

"Hopefully, sex very good," she purred, making me swallow reflexively for unknown reasons before dragging me into a hair salon. I was spun into a chair and forced to flip through magazines. During the final battle, large parts of my long surfer blonde locks had been singed and scorched. Due to their weariness the Aphrodite cabin chose not to help me with this.

"I'm afraid you're not going to be able to keep the length," the hairdresser said apologetically. I nodded and told him to chop it all off. When I walked out I had a wavy half-bob which I was told suited my elfish features well. After that she dragged us to an office were everyone referred to her as Miss Jackson. I was glad for the black pants and white lace top she had talked me into wearing. Strappy black wedges sat on my feet, making me seem even taller.

"I'm going to need all the damages reports," she instructed the dark skinned sectary, "And invitations listing for the next month." Percy was commanding and boss, I noticed. In face I think she was the boss. She smiled and laughed in all the right places and it astounded me how nobody from our family looked further when things were going to Hades in a hand basket and she said she was fine. Bullshitting, she was obviously very good at it.

"That's all in English," I said looking over the files, as I didn't do more than flip it over aimlessly and shut it she didn't comment. "How exactly are you planning to read that?" I asked nervously.

"Mum reads it and then I write things in Greek by hand before typing stuff up in English. I probably owe spell-check more than I do coffee," Percy said with a shrug, as if it were no big deal. I couldn't imagine it, I had seen so many people at camp suffer from dyslexia and even the ones from the Athena cabin have given up reading or writing English like a bad job.

"I didn't get the dyslexic gene," I said softly, "I can read and write English fine, if you want the help." I hope that she took me up on it because she had done so much to help me I couldn't help but feel as if I owed her. If not I would be facing the mistrust, anger and grief of those at camp that hated my male counterpart.

"That'd be great, thanks," she responded with a soft smile. I wished that I could see her wear that kind of smile more often. I may not have been large or bright like the others I had seen on her face, but it was genuine and that in the short time I had been here, was saying something.

When we got home Megan shooed us away and began taking our bags and putting them away. Megan was the dark haired one with long legs, she looked vaguely Asian and I pondered about that internally for a moment before shrugging. It appears that Nymphs have ethnicity just like everybody else. Percy slumped on the couch, laying on her back with a thick notebook with a sage green velvet cover laying on her legs. A black gel pen in her hand. I sat on the floor by the coffee table and stared in disbelief. Files were piled around me in tall towers and as I looked them through, my brain started to leak through my ears.

"Do the gods pay you for running there world," I choked out blankly. She let out a little humming half-laugh. There were music companies owned by Apollo, airports and sea ports by Zeus and Poseidon, post offices and at least half the gaming industry by my dad, fashion houses and jewellery chains by Aphrodite, basically if you could think of it, one of the gods had their fingers in it. This… it was ridiculous, but I dutifully read out the files and stopped when she asked. Repeating this or that, and telling her what I thought about the idea's that she rambled about to herself.

"Time for dinner," Jilly said with a sparkling smile. It was with much sighing and grumbling that we packed up, knowing that Aunt Sally would have issues if we started up again before tomorrow. Possibly kittens. I was so fascinated that I didn't actually mind all the hard work.

"This is great," I said stabbing into the salad appreciatively. I wasn't usually a rabbit food fan but this was good. Paul smiled knowingly. I think the thing I liked best about Paul was that I had nobody to compare him to. I was never expecting him to act differently, because in my world, I had never met him.

"V does good work," he said with a nod, "I know that I wasn't expecting to enjoy salad this much in my life but here we are. Try the olive bread." I hummed in amazement as the bread entered my mouth.

"V can be as crazy as Jilly and Megan put together, this is like… like heaven for my mouth," I said hastily, almost salivating. I was met by a chorus of laughter and a small feeling like hope blossomed in my chest. The war was over. Everything was fine, and maybe, just maybe, the scars would heal.

"Hey Luca, do you want to go back to your own dimension?" Percy asked and I froze. Demigod reflexes the only thing keeping my fork from clinking on the plate in a way that would have been far too loud for the anxious atmosphere. I hadn't even considered that I could go back.

"I doubt that there is any way for it to be done," I say finally, but there was a distinct shallowness in my tone that betrayed my unsureness. "It was a fluke that I even got here. For now, I won't go looking for answers that I may not be able to handle," I continued after swallowing around the lump in my throat. I could practically hear the air ring with tension.

"If you want to go home, I'm sure that we can find a way," Percy promised, eyes serious. I knew that if she were anything like my Percy she would keep it too. Except I never said which answer was the one that I couldn't handle. To stay or not to stay… above anything else, I wasn't sure that I could endure actually having a choice.

The rest of dinner rang with idle chit chat, and I took a tip from Percy's book. I smiled and joined in the conversation, praying to my father and hoping that I was half as believable as she was. Somehow I doubted it, even if my father was known as a trickster god.

What do you think? I like it. I recently read a story where Paul's overly religious family come to stay and I'm thinking about having that happen in this one. It would be entertaining to say the least. Yes? No? review, and feed the starving muse that is pouring out there soul for you.