Heyya peoples!

Before anything, I want to thank you all so much for sharing your reviews with me! It means a lot. :D Each time I find one, I just can't help but smile. It feels great to be able to know you all want more. :)

To comment on what LifeInTheGrey said: We shall see what happens. ;) Poor Piper is totally confused in this story, but the dreams do have a purpose.

Again, I don't speak Spanish, so if any of you who do find something wrong, I relied on Google Translate. Hopefully everything's good though.

On with chapter four! (Just a heads up: this chapter is actually WAY longer than what I intended it to be. Including my A/N, this is exactly 8,439 words. Oops)

SHOUT OUT!
You already know what I'm about to say, so...


~Piper's POV~

Piper spent the whole day trying hard to forget about her dreams by volunteering to pick strawberries and keeping herself busy with anything she could get her hands on. The Demeter kids thought it was sweet of her to offer to help and she enjoyed being able to give them an extra hand, but mostly what she was thinking was that if she found herself with any time to rest more than ten minutes at a time, she would cave in and search for Leo again, and something told her that if she did he wouldn't be as easy to talk to as yesterday. He was right. She had acted creepy. Starting off by asking how many kids he wanted, then asking if he could braid her hair, to full out talking about being able to see into his future… Yeah, that was creepy. If she had the chance, she'd have to find him and apologize for freaking him out. Maybe his advice to see the Apollo kids wasn't such a bad idea after all. After she was done in the garden, she might pop in for a quick word with Will.

"Hey," a voice came from behind her. Turning around to see who it was, Piper almost cursed under her breath. She came here to escape from any reminders of her dreams. Could she not stay free from it even for a single day?

"Oh, hi, Calypso," she grinned in a friendly manner and continued to pick the juicy red fruit. "What are you doing here?"

Her friend knelt down next to her with a basket in hand and went to work. She was wearing a really cute baby blue tank-top with a pair of skinny jeans. A white belt was wrapped around her thin, non-pregnant waist.

Seriously? Piper thought. She was picking strawberries. Did she just not care about getting those nice clothes dirty?

"I just thought I would spend some time with my hands in the dirt," she smiled sweetly. "It's been a little while since I've had some gardening time and I think it's about time I got back into it. How about you? I don't usually see you here much."

Finding a rich strawberry, Piper picked it. "I guess the same reason as you. It's been a while. Besides," she grinned after taking bite. "There's the reward of devouring your prize."

Calypso laughed.

While they worked and made small talk, Piper found herself repeatedly going back to her dream as she watched Calypso work. She looked so young here, though even when she is in her mid-thirties she doesn't look old and neither does Leo. Here they were sixteen and still ready to up and leave on another quest, the future they see for themselves being so unclear and uncertain. They had no idea if they were meant for each other or if their relationship they had with one another would last long or not. In all honesty though, it was hard to picture them not getting married to each other in the end. Leo kept dropping hints about marrying her in a way that wasn't exactly clear if he was joking or if he was serious. It drove Calypso mad but Piper guessed that was precisely what he wanted to happen. That way he could surprise her by asking that one question every girl dreamed of hearing, catching her completely off guard. That was adorable.

"Have you seen Leo today?" Calypso suddenly asked.

"No. Why?"

She bit her lip. "Well, no specific reason, I guess. I just haven't seen him around today. Yesterday he seemed to have something on his mind. He hardly even talked to me. Do you know what it's about? Is it because of me?"

Oh boy. "Uh, no. I don't think so. You know how he can be: One minute he's his happy-go-lucky self who loves all the attention and another he's all quiet and antisocial. It's a Leo thing."

"Maybe," she sighed. "Maybe you're right."

Piper hid her unease behind a smile and continued to fill her basket.


Just as she promised herself and to Leo, Piper made her way into the infirmary in search of Will, the son of Apollo. If anyone would know if she was going insane or not, he would. And to know if these dreams could potentially be all part of an oncoming prophecy scared her. Why her? What was happening? If these dreams didn't fade fast, she wasn't sure if she could handle it. It had been sweet to meet Leo's future family and all, but she was seriously concerned that even if she wasn't actually crazy at this point, in the near future, she would be. Ugh. Future. Just thinking about it gave her vertigo.

Arriving at the infirmary, Piper entered through the large doors. So many patients lay on cots in rows against either wall of the building, some in serious condition while others simply had a broke limb or bad rash. At the foot of one of the more serious patients, Will stood with a clipboard in his hand, looking over the medical information the wounded camper had.

"Will," she called. "Do you think I could spare a minute with you? I have a question I need you to answer."

He looked up and smiled. "Piper, how are you?"

"Okay, I guess. So, do you have a minute, or would you like me to come back later?"

"Nope," he shook his head and placed the clipboard back on the hook on the wall beside the sleeping patient. "I'm free. What do you want to talk to me about?"

Piper pointed her head to the door. "You think we could speak in private?"

"Sure," he replied and following her outside. In the shadow of a tree that stood well away from all the other campers, they stopped and faced each other. "So? What's this about?"

She shifted her weight from foot to foot. "To be honest, Will, I'm a little afraid you'll think I've lost my head."

Waiting for her to continue, Will motioned for her to keep going. "Don't stop. I won't think you're crazy."

She didn't know how much she could trust him to keep his word, but she took him up on it. "For two nights in a row now, I've been having strange dreams. Dreams I've never had before, and something tells me that I'm having them for a reason. I don't know why, but they seem important."

His eyes narrowed. "Like a prophecy?"

"No," she said shaking her head. "I mean, I don't think so anyway. Well... maybe? Ugh!" she moaned and pressed her fingers to the temples. "I don't know!"

"Hey," he said with a firm hand on her shoulder. "It's alright. Just take everything slow. We'll work through whatever you're going through."

Looking him in the eye, she murmured, "I'm going to trust that whatever I say to you, you'll take it as it is and not question me. I'm just as freaked out by it and need to figure out what's going on." She described her visions with Will in a clear voice and in great detail, careful not to leave anything important out. The whole time Will had his arms crossed and stared at the ground, digesting her whole story. It was a lot to take in and she couldn't expect him to understand everything, but if there was even a slim chance he could, she'd take it. Anything to take a step closer to understanding this herself. After she explained everything she could, she paused for a few seconds to let it all sink in before asking Will, "Am I sounding crazy yet?"

He looked to be in deep thought as he processed what he had just heard. Finally, after what felt like ages, he looked back up at her with an expression she couldn't quite describe. "I think you sound like you know what you're talking about, and let's be honest: For the life of a demigod, we constantly go through some pretty strange crap. No. I don't think you sound crazy-at least by a demigod's standard anyway."

"Really?" she breathed with relief. "Thank you so much. You have no idea how dizzy all this is making me. After mentioning it to Leo I thought no one would believe me—"

"You talked to Leo about this?" Will cut in with a serious tone.

"Yeah. Why, is that bad?"

"And he didn't believe you?"

"No. I admit I went about it the wrong way. Sorta creeped him out a bit."

"You should've come to me before you said anything to anyone. We don't even know why this is happening."

"I know," she groaned. "I just figured… Well, I'm not even sure what I figured. Honestly, I acted before I thought anything through and now poor Leo thinks I'm going insane. Is there any possibility that you could help me figure out what this fortune thing is for? Why am I having them?"

Will simply shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't answer that one. One cannot make sense of another's dreams easily by merely listening to them. Usually the one having the dreams can make the most sense out of them. Even you should know that."

Disappointed, she nodded with understanding. That was exactly the answer she was hoping not to get. She didn't want to keep having these dreams, but how was she going to stop them? "I know," she murmured.

Will gript her shoulder and offered her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you. Really, I am."

"Thanks, Will. I appreciate even the smallest of help from you," she smiled politely before walking away.


That night, Piper decided to join the campfire sing-a-longs with the rest of the campers. If anything was going to distract her, this would. She sat with Calypso, Annabeth, Percy, and her two siblings, Katie and Ben (Jason was away at Camp Jupiter) while they all sang the corny camp songs while the fire blazed with the uplifting shades of pink and yellow. It rose higher and higher every time the mood grew more enthusiastic and full of delight. This made Piper happy. Some of the campers even decided to roast marshmallows down at the front to make into s'mores. She wanted one also, but that would mean she would have to shove through the crowd of campers in front of her and climb down the steps just to roast a couple marshmallows for herself. To her, seeing how much work that involved, it wasn't worth it.

Looking through the crowd, however, the one thing that she noticed was that Leo wasn't there. Had she really put him off that badly? Telling him about his future shouldn't have made him that upset, could it? Sure, she creeped him out, but that wasn't a reason to sit and pout about it. Where was he?

"Has anybody seen Leo?" she asked her friends over the noise. "He's normally around at this time."

After bringing that to attention, everyone looked around with furrowed brows. "No," Ben offered. "In fact, I haven't seen him all day. Then again, I had no reason to seek him out."

"I saw him working in the forges," Percy said leaning over her to speak to Piper. "From what I know, he's been there all day. I'm surprised you guys didn't think of that. I mean, come on! He's the son of Hephaestus for crying out loud! Where else would he be?"

Calypso smirked. "True. I just wish he would pop up every once in a while. Is it strange to think he's mad at me?"

"Yes," Piper decided. "Why would he be mad at you? You did nothing wrong."

She cringed. "Oh, but you're wrong there. I may have accidentally broken his latest machine thingy yesterday afternoon."

"His tool cabinet?"

"Yup. I didn't mean to. How can I stop myself from tripping over those darn tools lying everywhere? They're just scattered on the floor! If there's one project I'm glad he's inventing, it's that tool cabinet. Those forges are a pigsty!"

"What's a pigsty?" came a voice from down below.

Everyone turned to see who it was and low and behold, Leo Valdez was making his way up the stairs to the group of friends with a suspicious look.

"Leo!" Calypso declared a little too cheerfully. "I was just saying how much of a pigsty the Ares cabin is! I'm thankful none of us have to stay in that place."

He rolled his eyes. "Pft! No kidding. You could break your neck just walking around in that place. If you ask me, that place is a deathtrap—though I wouldn't be surprised if it was meant to be like that."

Piper tried to hide a snicker. That only brought his attention to her and the atmosphere felt slightly awkward between the two. "Hey, Leo," she said and pressed her lips together.

"Sup, beauty queen? You've got dirt on your face," he smirked as he squeezed past her to sit with his girlfriend.

Touching her cheek, Piper found he was right. It must've been from working in the strawberry fields. "Why didn't anybody tell me?"

Leo shrugged. "Because nobody's as amazing as I am. I'm courteous," he grinned.

"Oh, be quite!" Calypso huffed and slapped his arm playfully.

"What? You disagree?"

"Yes."

"Then why are you dating me? There must be something you like," he teased, leaning his face in closer to her so his nose almost touched her cheek. "Huh? Whatcha so attracted to?"

Calypso blushed and shoved him away. "Stop it!" she giggled.

"Why? You embarrassed?"

"I…No! It's just…"

"Just what?"

"Not here, Leo! You're making a scene!" and she forced herself to ignore him as she joined into the next song, Leo and the rest following suit.

Piper didn't. That little argument they had reminded her so much of her dream it was starting to seriously scare her. It was just like that scene with them in the kitchen when Leo pulled her in and kissed her in front of their kids. Comparing the two scenarios and finding those kind of similarities was enough to convince her that her dreams were the real deal. She was actually visiting his future.


Preparing herself this time, Piper made sure to head to bed before everyone so there could be a chance she would wake up earlier and not miss breakfast. Seeing how late she was sleeping because of these dreams, she was afraid if she continued like that, she wouldn't be able to keep her early-to-rise routine she had before. Katie and Ben understood though and were more than willing to wake her if needed. She was grateful to have siblings like them.

As she fell asleep, Piper found herself standing in the middle of a machine shop where Leo and his autistic son, Liam, stood, peering into the hood of a truck. Once again, there was music in the background, but this time not blaring. Guess Leo did actually have a job in a garage after all.

Leo wore an oil-stained mechanic jumper while Liam had on a pair of shorts with an old stained shirt that looked like it had seen better days. While his father fiddled with different mechanisms around the motor, Liam watched with the utmost interest. His eyes stayed glued to whatever his hands lay upon and smiled with excitement as Leo worked out the problems the vehicle had.

"I like cars," Liam uttered with a wide smile.

Leo looked over at him with a curious grin. "What's that?"

The boy pointed his finger at his chest and then at the motor. "I like cars. I want to work on cars."

"You wanna work on this one with me?"

With an overly enthusiastic nod, Liam beamed. "Yes, Dad!"

Leo straightened up and ruffled his son's hair. "Okay, then, big man. Let's get you started."

Liam looked up at him eagerly. "You and me!"

"Tell you what," Leo started and wiped his hands on an oilcloth. Grabbing a wrench from his magic tool belt (he still had that thing!), he handed it to him. "There are a few bolts I need to tighten. You think you're man enough for the job?"

Without even thinking it possible, Piper watched the boy's smile grow even wider as he took the tool from his dad and pulled it up to his chest. "Yes, Dad! Yes! I'm a big man!" he said and pointed at his chest again.

Leo laughed. "Alright, big man. Let's see what you got." He leaned down to his height and put a finger on three bolts on the motor. "You see these bolts? I need you to tighten them. It's a big job so you're going to need a lot of concentration for this. Now, bring your wrench up to the first one like this," and he gently guided the tool in Liam's hand to the bolt. Fitting it between the tips of the wrench, Leo held it there and continued to explain. "What you have to do now, is twist it down, like this." Holding onto his hand still, he helped him twist the bolt. Soon enough, it wouldn't tighten anymore and Leo let him take the wrench away.

"You think you can try that on your own?" he asked him.

"Yes!" and Liam brought the wrench up to the next bolt. Slowly and carefully, he tried his best at positioning the tool around the bolt, but when it didn't work the first time, he started to moan with frustration.

"It's okay," Leo assured and helped him. "There you go, now twist."

Liam obeyed. With help every here and there from his dad, Liam tightened all the bolts on the car and it was soon finished. The boy looked more than pleased with himself.

"You did awesome, big man," Leo grinned and offered him a high five, which the twelve-year-old returned with utter glee. "I think you're going to become quite a remarkable mechanic just like your Papi, you know that?"

That received a giddy giggle from the boy and a bashful hug as he hid his face in his father's chest. Leo hugged him back and kissed the top of his head. They really did have an amazing father-son connection. Piper was happy for them.

"How about we break for lunch?" Leo suggested.

"Cookies!" Liam declared with excitement and suddenly ran off to retrieve a lunchbox from off one of the worktables. He tried to press his fingers against the lock to open it and when it didn't work, he moaned with frustration once more.

"Hold on, big man," Leo said and grabbed the box from him. "Let me help you."

Once it was open, Liam quickly snatched the bag of cookies and opened it. At least he was polite enough to look at his dad for permission.

"Why not start with dessert?" Leo grinned. "Your mother won't know." With that said, both he and his boy dug in and each had a cookie…and then a second and a third. They were gone in no time so there was no other choice but to eat the untouched sandwiches.

"Yummy," Liam said as he licked his lips free from peanut butter and jelly. "Mom is a good cook."

Again, Leo laughed and ruffled his hair. "She is, isn't she? These sandwiches must be the best in the country, the world even," he humored the boy. "Es perfecto. (It's perfecto.)"

"And yummy!" Liam came in with a huge smile.

"And yummy," he repeated with a smirk. "What do you think about the apple slices? Are they the best in the world?"

A new look came to the boy and he checked his lunch box in order to find the bag of apples. Pulling them out, he nodded with a look of satisfaction. "Yup. Best apples."

"You haven't even tasted them to find out. Try a piece and tell me if they're any good."

Listening to his advice, Liam opened the bag and fished a slice of apple out. He took a bite and chewed it intently, seeming to determine if they were as good as his dad made them out to be. Swallowing, he nodded and finished the rest of the apple slice. "Best apple."

"That's good."

Suddenly the room began to fade away into a new scene showing Leo and Apollo walking down large open halls where marble pillars and different Greek-styled statues lined the walls on either side. The floor was a golden-bronze marble, matching the pillars rising to the ceiling, and reflected the bright torches that were lit to guide them through the Olympus palace. Apollo looked the same as he did when he had appeared at the Valdez house, and so did Leo. This must've been the same day.

Together, they found themselves coming to an open room where a circle of ginormous seats curved around a large hearth burning with immortal white flames, brightening the whole room. Even though she had never seen it first-hand, Piper knew enough to realize that was the throne room where the twelve gods sat proudly during important meetings and whatnot. Zeus's was the largest and placed in the center of them, while the others sat close at its side. Poseidon's must have been the one made from kelp and seashells, while Athena's was probably the one made of architectural pillars and imprints of owls. Aphrodite's, Piper's mom's throne, was made of a pink marble surrounded by red roses, their thorny vines wrapped around the arms. How well those flowers represented their goddess. Roses were stunning to look at, but the thorns could cause pain if you handled them the wrong way. Same went for love. It was beautiful to behold, yet wounding if treated without care.

Hephaestus's throne was, of course to no surprise, made entirely of mechanical parts which moved as if on a timer, clicking and ticking like the inside of a grandfather clock. Apollo's was made in a shining gold that reflected every light that touched it—very hard on the eyes.

"Father!" the sun god declared, his voice echoing through the large halls. "I have come to speak with you!"

Leo looked around in search of the king of the gods, but there was no one. After the echo Apollo had made faded away, he turned to him. "Are you sure he heard you?"

"I almost forgot what it was like being a mere mortal. Yes, Valdez, he heard me. The gods can hear even a simple whimper of help from miles away. My father heard. The question is, will he come?"

"Zeus!" Leo cried out with a hint of anger. "This is Leo Valdez! I have come here for the matter of my family! If it is possible, I would like to speak to you in person!"

At that, there was a sudden whirl of wind like a tornado had unexpectedly decided to blow its way through the throne room. Following this uproar of a storm, was a dark cloud that shot bolts of lighting and shook with thunder. It had formed directly over the largest of thrones and faded just as quickly to reveal the god of the sky slumped back on his throne like he was more than bored.

"What?" he asked in a non-hospitable way.

"Zeus," Leo uttered as if he hadn't expected him to actually arrive. "Uh, I told you what. My family is in danger. Apollo told me he had been trying to convince you to allow them to stay here until the threat of the beasts pass."

Zeus grumbled. "Look, son of Hephaestus: If you've talked to Apollo, you have most likely already heard my answer. No. The answer is no. I have no use for children here."

"You don't have any use?!" Leo spat at the god. "My children are no…no objects to throw around! They. Are. My. Children! Human beings! And if you don't think of us puny mortals as worth worrying about, why don't you think back to when we puny mortals saved your ass numerous times in the past! The least you can do is offer this small sacrifice and help save seven innocent children and my pregnant wife from the wrath of some group of bitter monsters! Can't a god of your rank do even that much in return?!"

"In return?! I did not say I would give you and your friends anything in return for anything! In that fight with Gaea, you killed yourself to defeat her, and in return, you all had a happy ending! No more threat! Why do you mortals always request a reward?! Always the expectations! A god does not simply go around granting wishes like a genie!"

"I'm not asking you for anything but a chance that my family will live! They are my own flesh and blood! I don't expect you, being a god, to understand the amount of pain a mortal can go through at the loss of such a person! All you gods think about is yourself and nothing else! Why? Because you live forever and are capable of doing whatever the hell you want to! Mortals aren't like that and they are constantly trying to live their small lives as well as they can and to be happy! And what do you think will happen if my family dies?! How do you think I will feel?! I couldn't live the rest of my life in peace knowing that my family could've had a chance to stay safe and were forbidden it! Please, Zeus! Please!"

The king of the gods sat there with his beard sparking with an electrical charge, his anger rising. "You think you have the right to even try to force me to feel pity for you?! I am the lord of the sky! The king of the gods! I can smite you with a single blow of my breath if I wanted to! I gave you my answer! Now go before I lose my temper!"

Poor Apollo had been standing there, watching the two yell at each other and wanting so much to help the situation, but alas, he felt useless, which Piper assumed a god rarely felt. Though he was still arrogant, Apollo had really come a long way, even in the present time she was living in. Ever since the quest he went on with Meg, he had become almost a completely different person in the sense that he knew how it was like to be a regular mortal. He'd had to suffer through the trials his father had sent him out to do, which involved almost dying several times along the way. Standing here, now, must make him feel Leo's anxiety.

"Father, please!" Apollo stepped in finally. "I know we have talked this over multiple times already, but I'm asking again, as your son, to break free from your pride and allow Calypso and the children to stay here, even if it's only for a few days. I, along with my friend, know what it means to be a mere human being. Their lives are much different than our own and I will tell you, a lot more delicate. There are dangers from all angles. Please, say you'll come through with this."

Zeus squirmed in his chair with an unimpressed frown, but he was contemplating the situation. Were things going to finally turn around?

"When? How many days?" he muttered.

Leo let out a shaky breath and glanced at Apollo with the corner of his eye like he was searching for reassurance. "I would like to send them over here as soon as possible, if I'm able, and they would leave as soon as the monsters have been killed. I don't know when that will be though."

Zeus did not look pleased. "How many did you say you were going to bring over here again?"

"All of them. There's seven kids total. Believe me, Zeus, when I say they can behave. I have raised my children to know better and to respect others, especially those they don't fully know. They're beautiful children. My family is the light of my life."

"I'm not saying yes if that's what you think," Zeus stated, "but I'll think it over one last time. After this, my answer is final and there will be no more talk about it unless you want to become a statue in one of my halls."

"Thank you, Lord Zeus," Leo breathed with relief. "I understand. Thank you."


The next scene came right after. In this one, Leo sat on the couch in front of the fireplace, surrounded by his kids with the exception of the oldest two. Little Anita was placed comfortably on his lap and Milo clung tightly to his arm. In his hands was a thick story book filled with different childhood tales such as The Gingerbread Man and The Three Little Pigs. As he read to them, Leo made goofy voices for each of the characters, making the little ones giggle to no end. Milo and Anita, being the youngest, found this incredibly funny.

"And so the bears came home only to find the door open," Leo read. "Worried that they had been robbed, they went in and what do you think they saw?"

"Goldilocks!" Milo shouted out.

"No. When they walked through the door, they saw their three bowls of oatmeal still sitting at the table. Papa Bear walked up to his dish and said grumpily, 'Someone has been eating my porridge!'."

"And then Mama Bear found her dish!" Noah exclaimed.

"Hey," Leo said. "Who's telling the story here? No spoilers!"

Noah and Lily both giggled.

"As I was saying, Mama Bear found her dish and said with surprise, 'Someone has been eating my porridge!'," he read with a high voice. Everyone laughed, even Piper. "Next it was Baby Bear's turn. When he saw his bowl, he cried out with a sad groan, 'Someone has been eating my porridge, and it's all gone!'."

"Because it was just right!" Noah chimed in again. Milo laughed.

"That's right. Now, with fright, the family of bears searched the house for any more surprises and when they reached the living room, Papa Bear found his chair lying on the ground. 'Someone has been sitting in my chair!' he roared. Then Mama Bear saw her chair and gasped. 'Someone has been sitting in my chair!'," Leo said in the same feminine voice.

"You're funny!" Milo cackled and hugged his father's arm tighter.

Leo laughed at his amusement and continued. "Now, Baby Bear found his own chair lying in pieces on the ground and he moaned with disappointment. 'Someone has been sitting in my chair, and it fell apart!'."

Anita pointed to Baby Bear in the picture and murmured, "He's sad."

"He is," Leo said. "He must've really liked his chair, didn't he?"

The two-year-old nodded.

He read on. "Seeing the little chair ruined, the family decided to check their bedrooms. When they got there, Papa Bear huffed with rage. 'Someone has been sleeping in my bed!'. Then Mama Bear found hers and said with alarm, 'Someone has been sleeping in my bed!'. Now, can anyone guess what Baby Bear found when he saw his bed?"

"Goldilocks!" Milo cheered and bounced up and down.

"You're right! When Baby Bear came to his bed, his eyes grew big with surprise at the sight of the little girl with long golden hair tucked under his blankets. 'Someone has been sleeping in my bed,' he said, 'and she's still here!'."

"Then Goldilocks woke up and screamed!" Noah offered with a pleased grin. He knew Leo would try to tell him not to spoil it.

"And Goldilocks woke up to find three big bears standing over her with shock," Leo confirmed. "Then she screamed and ran out the door, never to be seen again. The end."

"Again!" Anita clapped. "Daddy, again!"

"Again? Little lady, I read it two times already! You're going to get tired of it and then you won't ever want me to read this story again!"

"Again!" she declared anyway.

"Do the rest of you want to hear it for a third time?" he asked the rest.

"Do a different story," Lily complained. "What about the one about the three pigs? You haven't read that one in a long time."

"Tell you what," Leo declared as he flipped to the correct story. "I'll read this last story and then you all go off to bed. My throat is getting sore."

They all moaned.
"Do we have to?" Noah whined. "I like when you read to us."
"Yes, it's getting late. Now I'm only reading this one once so you'll have to enjoy it while you can." Then he adjusted Anita on his lap and began to read while his children listened patiently.

When it got to the end where the wolf fell into the chimney, Anita giggled, "Fire!" and all of a sudden, both her hands burst into flames. The kids all backed away from her with alarm. Anita just waved her hands around and clapped, making sparks fly onto the rug.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Leo exclaimed and clasped his hands over his daughter's to extinguish the flames. "You're lucky I'm fireproof too, little lady!" He turned her around so she was facing him, and pointed a finger at her. "Don't you ever play with fire, you understand me?"

"Fire!" and she summoned more flames but they didn't last long as Leo put them out once again.

"Anita!" he said sternly. "I said no! No fire! Fire is not a toy!"

She looked up at him with big eyes. "No fire?"

"No fire," he confirmed.

"No fire."

With a sigh, he kissed her forehead. "Good. Now it's time for bed."

"Oh, come on!" Noah and Lily whined. "We don't want to!"

"It's past your bedtime," Leo told them. "I promised your mother that I'd have you guys in bed before she got home. You don't want me to break it now, do you?"

"Well, if you didn't swear on the River Styx…" Noah hinted.

Leo furrowed his eyebrows. "Where did you hear about that, young man? Have you ever sworn on the River Styx before?"

Noah's grin fell.

"Answer me, Noah Paul Valdez!" Leo nearly yelled at him with a concerned face. "Did you?"

He shrunk into the couch. "No… Is it bad?"

"It can be, yes! Those kinds of promises are very dangerous! I don't ever want to find out one of you promised anything on that river, understand?"

"Yes, Papi," he muttered with tears in his eyes.

Leo sighed. "Noah, I don't want to make you cry, I just want you guys to stay safe. If a person ever broke a promise like that, bad things happen."

"We won't promise anything like that," Noah assured him.

"Good," Leo said with a slight smile. He stood up still holding Anita and grabbed Milo's hand. "It's time for bed now."


It must've been the same night, because Piper was now suddenly up in one of the rooms with Leo and little Anita. She was changed into an adorable, fuzzy, pink onesie covered with little ducks and hearts. Leo was leaning over her crib, singing her a Spanish lullaby as he stroked her little curls and watched as she nodded off to sleep. When she had, he gently removed his hand and left. Then he entered another room where Milo sat with a teddy bear clutched tightly to his chest, wearing little spaceman onesies. When he spotted his father walk in, he put his teddy to the side and reached out to him.

"Daddy!" he grinned and ran to him.

"Ready for bed?" he asked the four-year-old as he picked him up.

"Yeah!" Milo answered with his trademark, cheeky grin. Piper loved this kid. He was always so happy and enthusiastic about everything. He was also a little replica of his father. "I even brushed my teeth, see?" Milo smiled so wide it looked like it hurt.

Leo chuckled and observed his tiny teeth. "Yup," he nodded. "You did a good job. They're all nice and shiny white."

"I brushed extra-long this time."

"Is that so?"

Milo nodded. "Mhm! And I washed my hands too!"

"You washed your hands? What for?"

"They were sticky!" Milo ginned like he had just told him he found a dollar sitting on the road.

Leo burst out laughing. "Well I guess it's a good thing you washed them then!"

"They're clean now! Look!" and he pressed his hands against his father's face.

"Hey!" and Leo pulled his hands away. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Showing you my hands! They're clean!"

"I gathered," Leo said and set him down on his bed. "Let's tuck you in now, okay?"

"Okay, Papi," and the little boy lay down and hugged his teddy. His father pulled the blankets up and tucked his son up to the shoulders. After kissing him goodnight, Milo piped up. "Don't forget to kiss Bebby goodnight too!"

"Bebby wants a kiss?"

"Mhm!"

"Alright then," and Leo leaned in and kissed Milo's teddy bear. "Noche, Milo (Night Milo)," he said and turned out the lights before leaving.

Piper watched as he walked down the hall to the next door, the one that had those two familiar signs that read Lily and Noah's room. It was slightly open so he silently knocked. "Is it okay to come in?"

"It's okay, Papi," called Lily's voice.

When he walked in, he found the two twins each already in their own beds and under their covers. "You two waiting to be tucked in?" They both nodded.

Walking up to Lily first, he leaned over and tucked her in before kissing her forehead. "Dulces sueños mi pequeña flor (Sweet dreams, my little flower)," he whispered to her. Then he went over to Noah and did the same. "Que duermas bien, amigo. Te veo en la mañana. (Have a good sleep, bud. See you in the morning.)"

"Buenas noches Papi (Goodnight, Daddy)," he smiled and they both watched him leave the room.

Next was Liam's room. It was filled with car posters and copies of his father's blueprints for previous projects. Model cars sat on shelves with a few Star Wars figurines, looking completely out of place. All in all, this room was a mechanic's room no doubt.

This time, when Leo entered, he found his twelve-year-old son sitting on his bed pouting with half his pajamas on, his PJ shirt in his hands. Liam griped when he saw his dad come in and threw his shirt on the floor.

"What's going on here?" Leo asked and picked his shirt up. "Why are you throwing your clothes around?"

"Buttons!" Liam shouted and wiggled his fingers. "Buttons!"

"What? You can't do up your shirt all of a sudden?" Walking up to him on his bed, he handed his shirt back to him, only he refused to take it. "Liam, put your shirt on. You know how to work with buttons, now stop acting like this. Take it!"

Liam just shook his head and continued to pout. "No."

"Liam," Leo said with frustration. "You can't go to bed half dressed, now put it on! Did you at least brush your teeth?"

"Yes. No buttons."

"Yes buttons. Am I going to have to dress you myself? Is that it?"

He looked away, showing if Leo wanted him dressed that badly, he would, indeed, have to do just that.

"You've got to be kidding me," Leo uttered under his breath and straightened his pajama shirt out. Grabbing Liam's arm, he helped him into both sleeves and adjusted it on him so it wasn't rolled up in any weird places. His son watched as his father pulled his shirt closed with each button. "There," Leo said when he finished. "Now hop into bed and I'll tuck you in."

Liam didn't budge.

Leo put his hands on his hips. "Liam, I'm beginning to lose my temper with you, now why are you acting this way, huh? I'm not in the mood to deal with another one of your fits so come on, into bed!"

"Not tired," was all he got for a response.

"You're not tired? Then look at a book for half-an-hour or until you are! You're acting Milo's age right now! Should I treat you like a four-year-old? You're twelve for crying out loud!"

"It's too dark!" Liam shouted in a way that sounded more anxious than angry. "Dark out there!"

Something was bugging him. Leo picked up on it right away. "Are you afraid of the dark?" he asked in a softer tone. "Do you want a nightlight?"

He shrugged. "Too dark, Dad. Mom's in the dark."

From the expression Leo showed, Piper could see he didn't know how to take that. She had heard about how autistic people actually had a much more advanced way of seeing things than regular humans could. Their intelligence, at least in certain areas, can surpass even the smartest people but most people didn't want to believe such a thing, so instead of seeing the truth about them, they mark them off as dumb and a waste of time.

"What do you mean Mom's in the dark?" Leo asked with unease. "She's been out of the house at night before. She always comes back."

"No!" Liam shouted. "No! It's dark! Too dark! Mom's in the dark!"

"I don't understand what this is about."

Liam looked at him with tears in his eyes. "It's out there! Mom's out there too! It's too dark! And it's big!"

"Oh my gods," Leo breathed and his face went completely pale. He ran to the window and scanned the area but it was too dark to see anything, just like Liam had said. It was too dark. And Calypso was out there somewhere. Was it the monster they had been dreading for so long? Was that what he had meant when he said it was out there? It was big? "Liam, did you see anything?" Leo said and turned around quickly to face him. He was as white as a ghost.

"It's big, Dad," Liam sobbed. "Too big! Too dark! Mom!"

Leo cursed under his breath and ran his shaky fingers through his hair anxiously. He then pointed at his son. "Stay here, okay? I'm going to check something. I'll be right back."

With that, Leo quickly sprinted out of the room and down the hallway. When he got to a window, he hurriedly pressed himself against the wall and peered out ever so slightly. Nothing. Each time he passed a window, he checked to see if anything was out there but was there was nothing to look at. He continued to the next. It was like this every time until he ran out of windows on the main level. He whispered to himself about being able to have a better view if he went upstairs, and he did just that. Before he did anything though, he quickly opened one of the bedroom doors to find Olivia hanging out in Sophia's room with her. They both looked at him with confused faces.

"Dad?" Sophia asked. "What are you doing? Do you want something?"

"Uh, n-no," he stuttered. "I was just wondering where you two were; haven't seen you around all evening. Night," and he quickly closed the door and peered out the main second-level window.

Still searching for the dreaded monster, Olivia and Sophia both exited the room to find their dad pressed again the wall while he pulled the curtain away from the window slightly to look outside.

"What are you doing?" Olivia asked.

Leo turned to her so quickly he banged his elbow against the wall. "N-nothing," he tried in a casual tone, but it wasn't fooling them. "Just looking outside… Admiring the view… Nothing much."

Sophia's face turned a funny shade of yellow. Piper remembered that Leo had said something to her. "Dad, what's going on?"

"I said nothing, now go back in your room and continue whatever you two were doing, okay bebita?"

"This isn't nothing, Dad," Sophia said earnestly. "¿Están ellos aquí? ¿Está ocurriendo? (Are they here? Is it happening?)"

"Is what happening? Who's here?" Olivia asked with puzzlement.

Leo opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. Quickly sneaking a glance out the window again, he passed them to search another. "Go to your room, girls. Don't make me repeat it."

Olivia turned to her sister. "What's going on? Did you get us in trouble again?"

"No," Sophia breathed and grabbed Olivia's hand. "Come on."

Together they closed themselves into Sophia's room and didn't come out.

Leo seemed satisfied at that but the anxious look never left. "I could really use your help right about now, Dad," he whispered to himself while he searched their surroundings. "Please. I'm not sure I can do this on my own. Apollo? You told me a god can hear from miles away. If you can hear me, I'm begging you to take my family to Olympus now. I can't lose them."

Eventually, Leo ran out of windows to search. When he realized this, he resorted to going back downstairs to peak out the small window on the main door. Then, he dared to turn the knob and slowly and carefully took a step outside. He closed the door behind him and breathed shakily, looking around him.

Nothing.

"Please," Leo whispered again. "Zeus, I know I just got back from Olympus and you haven't given an answer yet, but I'm begging you to save my family. Please. I'll do anything. Just don't let my children or my wife die."

"Piper!" a new voice shouted out, echoing through the streets. "Piper!" it cried out louder and louder until it was all she heard. "Piper!"

Suddenly she found herself gasping and bolting upright in bed with Ben holding onto her shoulders again. She had her eyes open so wide they hurt. "W-what?!"

"Piper, it's okay," her brother was telling her. "It's only a bad dream."

Her was breathing was rapid and she felt drips of sweat on her brow. Her bed was a complete disaster, her blankets half falling off and her pillow on the floor. "It… It was so awful!" she gasped. "They were being surrounded! Poor Leo felt so alone and helpless! His wife and kids are in danger! He has to find Calypso!"

"Has this ever happened before?" Will asked. Wait, what was he doing here?

"No, not like this," Katie murmured. "We usually have to wake her up, but this is the first time we've seen her have such a nightmare."

"How long was I like this?" Piper swallowed.

"For at least five minutes straight," Will said with concern. "What was it about?"

Piper didn't really want to go through it again, but she sighed and started with Liam and continued to the end.

They all sat there weighing everything she had told them. When someone finally did speak, it was Will. "You should tell Chiron about this. And Rachel actually."

"Chiron? What's he going to do? You guys even said we can't do anything about my dreams because they're in the future."

"I know, but these are getting serious enough that I think we should see if Chiron could help. After being the head of Camp Half-Blood for as long as he has, maybe he's known another camper who had something like this before."

She shrugged. "I guess it's worth a shot."


Ladies and gentlemen: Chapter four!

How did you like it? A lot happened in this chapter. I really hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I had writing it. Again, feel free to review (and by that I mean please do) and I apologize for any incorrect grammar, spelling errors, and Spanish terms.

Till we read again,

~supworld~