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Today's my birthday, so I'm literally posting this as I'm walking out the door, but I'm not going to be home all day, so I wanted to get this up! (See how much I love you guys?) :)

Anyway, here's chapter 4! Hope you like it! Please read and review.

Paul sat at his desk in his bedroom, looking through the open door, watching the two teenagers before him. It was mid-September, about a month since Percy and Annabeth had returned from Tartarus. The new school year had just started, and Paul had been attempting to grade the first assignments of the year, while Sally was at the store. Attempting, because he had given in to listening to the conversation between the two teenagers across the hall, when he had tried, and failed, to ignore it.

Now he sat, watching as Percy sat in the living room with Annabeth, doing homework. Well, Annabeth was doing homework; Percy was staring blankly at the sheet of paper before him. Paul knew schoolwork was difficult for them, being dyslexic and ADHD, but he'd noticed a long time ago, that Annabeth was much better at controlling it and getting her work done.

When Percy and Annabeth had returned from their quest to stop Gaea, which had, unfortunately, included a trip through hell for the two of them, Paul and Sally had been unsure of whether or not the two would be able to attend school when it started, only a month later. Percy had taken care of the appearance issue at the beach at Montauk by using water to heal both his and Annabeth's physical injuries, but their mental health had still been in question. The two had insisted that they had to go to school, leaving no option of "if," only "where."

Chiron had suggested the teenagers stay at Camp Half Blood for the year, but neither was anxious to be back in the demigod world right away, so Goode High had become the next best option. Sally had been concerned that Percy and Annabeth wouldn't be able to cope with public high school so soon after their ordeal, but the two had insisted they would be fine, and Percy was adamant that he was going to return to the first and only school he'd ever been able to make it more than a year at.

Percy had been kidnapped by Hera and transported across the country in the middle of his sophomore year, and it had collectively feared that he would have to repeat tenth grade, but thanks to Annabeth, Percy had amazingly been able to pass a placement test, and was in his junior year at Goode, along with Annabeth. They'd made it through the first few weeks of school without too much trouble, psychologically, but Paul knew it was only because they were good at hiding what went on inside. He also knew that without the other, neither would be able to make it through each school day.

Now, here they sat in the living room, working on that night's assignments. Paul found it a little ridiculous that, after all Percy and Annabeth had been through and done, they'd have to worry about things as small and insignificant as homework, but was warmed by the fact at the same time. It also seemed, to Paul, that school was helping them heal a small bit, or at least distracting them from the horrible memories that haunted them.

Paul watched as Percy sighed, looking away from the sheet in front of him, and at Annabeth who was scribbling away at her work. She noticed him looking, and slowly looked away from her work, and at him. They sat there, looking at each other, not saying anything. After a few seconds, Annabeth arched her eyebrow inquisitively. Percy looked at her a second longer before he sighed again and held up the homework page.

"How the heck to you do this?" he asked, exasperated. Annabeth examined the paper, a slight smile spreading across her face.

"You're supposed to subtract, not add, to solve for x," she told Percy, handing back what was obviously his math homework. She turned back to her work.

"Then what do you do here?" Percy pressed, pointing to the paper. Annabeth leaned forward, looking at the paper.

"You add instead of subtract."

Percy stared incredulously at his homework. "So you're saying I did all of this wrong, and it would have been right if I swapped the methods?" Percy's voice matched his disbelieving expression.

"Yup," Annabeth replied nonchalantly, without looking up from her work.

"You're kidding me, right?"

"Nope." Percy sighed unhappily and went to work, erasing and rewriting all of the math problems he'd thought he'd finished, while Annabeth put away her completed homework, took out a book, and began to read.

Paul turned to the sound of the door opening, and Sally walking in, with her arms full of grocery bags. He made his way to her, greeting her, and taking most of the bags from her, and followed her toward the kitchen. He heard nothing coming from the living room, as he helped his wife put away the groceries, and assumed that Annabeth was still engrossed in her book, as her boyfriend struggled through math problems.

Paul left Sally to start dinner, and returned to his desk. He graded two papers, before losing interest in the boring work, and letting his eyes wander. They again fell on the couple in the living room, Annabeth reading her book, and Percy leaned over the math sheet.

Paul couldn't help noticing how much healthier the two looked compared to only a month earlier. Percy had taken care of most of the physical ailments a few weeks prior, but the two had still been a sight for sore eyes for a while. Over the past weeks, Percy and Annabeth had filled out their clothes again. They no longer looked like walking skeletons, and Annabeth's limp had healed completely. Their skin had become tanner and less pasty, and their hair had become fuller and regained it's luster. Everything on the outside looked almost back to normal. If you didn't know Percy and Annabeth well, you'd never think anything was wrong.

Paul knew them though, and he could still tell. They smiled more, no longer forcing it, but not as much as before. The once outgoing teenagers were still rather on the sullen and reserved side. These things were getting better, slowly improving, but there was one thing that still gave them away. Their eyes. Their eyes still held some of that shattered glass look. Paul noticed it less often now, but it was still there. Whenever one wasn't with the other, it was there, and when night fell, it was there. When one was having a particularly bad day, or when they were wrapped up in the nightmarish memories, it was there. It was less dominant now. Most of the time, it was just a dark undertone, if it was there at all, but it was still there. Their eyes were the things that Paul couldn't let go of. He wouldn't stop worrying about the two until their eyes didn't hold that look anymore.

Paul was running this through his mind when Percy sat up, and closed his textbooks and announced, "Done!" Annabeth didn't respond, except to turn the page. Percy just stared at her, waiting for her to acknowledge him. After about a minute, his ADHD self couldn't seem to sit there doing nothing any longer. "Annabeth," he called evenly. No response. "Annabeth!" Percy said, a little more forcefully. Still nothing. Finally Percy reached out and grabbed the book from her lap, placed a bookmark in the page, and closed the book, so fast, Paul knew he must have experience in doing so.

"Percy!" Annabeth barked, glaring at him. Percy gave no response, other than to grin crookedly at Annabeth. "Percy! Give it back!" Annabeth scolded. Percy shook his head, placing the book beside him, on the side opposite Annabeth.

"Later," he told her simply. The two seemed to have a staring contest, but Percy had apparently made up his mind, and wasn't backing down. Annabeth made a move toward the book, but Percy was ready for it and caught her, pulling her onto his lap, and tickling her sides. Annabeth giggled hysterically, and squirmed, trying desperately to get away from her boyfriend.

Watching this, Paul had to smile. He realized this was the first time he'd seen the two playing around like this since before Percy's disappearance. He realized that he now lived for moments like that, and seeing it made his spirits soar.

Sally, who must have heard all the commotion, made her way into his view. When she saw the two, she smiled wider than Paul had seen in many months. She laughed softly at the scene before her. Paul met her eyes, and he knew exactly what she was thinking, and it was the same thing he was. There really was hope. They'd been telling themselves this all month, but neither had really believed it until this point. Sure, there had been high points, in which they would share a glance and try to start to believe it, but neither had. Until now. Right now was the beginning of them believing. They'd hoped and prayed, but now they knew, with absolute certainty: Percy and Annabeth were healing. Sure they were still broken inside, and they were learning to cope with the terrible things they'd been through and seen, but they had each other, and together, they were going to do it. They were going to beat this, no matter how long it took, and Paul had never been so happy to have a front row seat.

Sally and he watched for another minute or two, before Sally cleared her throat. Percy and Annabeth froze and looked at her, as if they expected to be scolded, but then they saw the huge smile that was still spread across her face, and they both smiled again, looking a little embarrassed.

"Dinner is ready." Sally announced, before turning back toward the kitchen. Percy stood up and offered Annabeth a hand. He helped her up, and together, they made their way to the kitchen, with Paul following behind.

"Such a seaweed brain," Annabeth whispered, smiling. Percy grinned at her.

Paul had never been so happy to hear Percy's silly nickname. This was the first time he'd heard it in months, and it was like music to his ears. As he walked into the kitchen, he silently thanked the gods for this first real ray of sunshine. He smiled at his wife, with a knowing glint in his eyes, than at Percy and Annabeth, who looked a bit confused, but smiled back.

Paul took his seat, feeling genuinely happy, and looking forward to what was to come.

There you have it! Did ya like it? Review and let me know! I love reading them!

Also, I'm not sure how much farther to go with this story. I have an ideas for like 2 more chapters, but I'm not sure how much farther to go. If you have any ideas, please let me know. You can leave them in a review, or PM me. Thanks for reading! :D