I thought for a moment- that can't be right…. No. I was seeing things. I had to be- there was no other explanation, or at least none that came to mind and I was usually so full of ideas.

Waiting at the bus stop was an all too familiar face. Luke…

It was him- handsome as ever, that same blonde hair, blue eyes, even had that jagged scar under his eye. I couldn't breathe. He shouldn't have been there- shouldn't be anywhere. He died, didn't he? He was dead! I watched him die.

Luke smiled and gave a little wave. I nearly fainted.

"Annabeth!" he wrapped his arms around me for a bear-hug, planting a kiss on my forehead.

I shuttered, gasping and gaping. For the gods' sake, I prayed I wasn't going mad.

"Yeah, I see you're just oh-so-happy to see me too!" Luke added sarcastically.

My hand fell to his forearm, it was bandaged up- I guess the injury had never really gone away.

I took a step back. "Luke… Wh-what are you duh-doing here?" I stuttered unable to bring up the fact that he had died.

He hugged me again and whispered, "I came back! Gaea let me come back!" He jumped excitedly like some little kid. He looked down at me- caught somewhere between fear and awe. "We can be a family again, just like before- just me, you, and Thalia. It'll be great… I know it will."

I didn't know what to say. Then I remembered Percy, everything that happened between Luke and Percy.

I nodded to Luke before adding, "But first, I have to rescue Percy."

"Percy?" Luke frowned. "Him again?"

"You've missed a lot… Gaea waking and wants to make war with the gods- she's raising an army of Cyclopes and wants to take out all the demigods, one by one. Also, there's been an exchange between Greek and Roman demigod camps- that's right there is a Roman demigod camp and it's really close- I think that's where Percy is. So first, before we can get back all that great, mushy family stuff- I've got to go find Percy, then we're going to Greece-"

"Greece?"

"Longer story- I'll explain later, but first, I have to find Percy. I love you, Luke, I really do but I have to find Percy. I've been searching for too long and have come so close, I just have to do this!" I rushed through.

"Fine. Count me in- I'm coming," Luke added.

I grabbed his hand and we started walking when I whispered, "Oh, Luke, I've missed you so much."

We walked around San Francisco for hour, spent looking at maps and Luke listening to me go on talking about things, and reminiscing on the good old days when it was only the two of us and Thalia. I told him about the hydra- how I ran and how I was ashamed.

"I probably would have done the same thing- those hunters sound like real witches," he tried to comfort me.

Luke shouldn't have been there- he shouldn't have been the one comforting me- it should have been Percy- who at this point couldn't have been more than a mile away.

I stopped talking and started flipping through the maps again. It couldn't have been in the city- off the coast perhaps or in the mountains. I relayed this to Luke.

"In the mountains? Wasn't that by the Mountain of Despair- Atlas's mountain?" Luke asked.

"Yeah! I was stuck there for a while- I guess someone might have noticed if there were some enormous Roman demigod camp out that way," I thought out loud.

"Great, I'm sure we can rent a boat and check along the coast," Luke decided. "Renting a boat's going to cost money- do you have any?"

I thought for a moment, my wallet, my savings, etc. I had enough to get by- not enough to just spend right and left. "No, we can't rent one- fortunately I've got a back-up plan," I muttered pulling out my New York Yankees hat.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Luke asked. "I can do this for you- it's dangerous." We were waiting at the marina watching a man fill his motor boat's gas tank.

"Besides I'm the son of Hermes- god of thieves- I can do this!" Luke continued.

I handed my Yankees cap over to Luke. Piper's charm speaking might have come in handy right about now- but I didn't have that, instead we had a natural-born thief who had just recently come back from the dead and a cap of invisibility.

Suddenly, the boat's motor roared to life and began driving away. Luke appeared with my cap in his hand, "Come on, Annabeth!" I ran down the dock and jumped onto the boat which was still in motion.

The boat's owner had stepped away from the gas pump and ran down the dock shouting after us.

"We'll return it, eventually," Luke laughed.

We rode off in the boat, bouncing over the waves. We're coming, Seaweed Brain!

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