A/N: Finally, it's Saturday! I was originally planning uploading this chapter yesterday, but fanfiction was being weird and wouldn't let me upload for some reason. But I guess that's okay because in the end I decided to edit this chapter a little more.

Thank you so much to anyone who has been following the story so far. I hope you like this chapter!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything affiliated with Rick Riordan's works.


The next few times Leo went to the daycare, Reyna didn't show up—and she probably didn't want to—which was just fine with Leo. He wasn't itching for her to kick his butt for making fun of her, and by the looks of it, Leo was almost sure that she would. If he was lucky, he'd never run into her again.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened for a while. Leo would make his regular trips to the daycare, carefully avoiding Sundays, and he continued helping out his mom at the machine shop. Being able to keep an eye on his mom gave Leo a peace of mind because she'd seemed to be getting more exhausted as the days went on. Whenever he felt she was slowing down, or becoming more scatterbrained, Leo would convince her to sit down in a chair for at least an hour while he took over. Eventually, Leo often found himself forcing his mom to rest, putting himself in charge the majority of the time they were at the shop.

Running the shop was easy; Leo had a special talent when working with machines. He never thought he was as good as his mom (she could fix practically anything), but Esperanza always insisted that Leo had a special gift.

"Mijo, I think it's time you take a break," Esperanza insisted one day, after Leo spent four hours taking responsibility for the shop. Every time she tried to get up and work again, Leo prevented her from doing so.

Leo shook his head stubbornly. "Nuh-uh, mom," he said. "I can't let you work until you're perfectly rested."

"I've been sitting in that chair for hours." Esperanza complained to her son, rapidly speaking Spanish. "I think that would be enough time."

"You still look tired." Leo faced his mom and noticed the dark circles under her eyes.

Esperanza sighed and put her curly hair into a bun, the way she did before she set to work. But Leo refused to let her even get near the service counter, so she gave up. "It's late, mijo," she said. "Let's go home."

When the two of them arrived at the house, Leo went to go take a shower while Esperanza sat down at the kitchen table. Slumping back into a chair was a bit uncomfortable, after being in one for such a long time, but Esperanza had a lot on her mind the past weeks.

First was the machine she was working on getting patented. The idea was a more eco-friendly motor that could be used built in a variety of different ways to suit certain machines. She couldn't perfect it well enough; the prototype kept spontaneously combusting. Esperanza wouldn't give up on it, though. She knew that her son deserved a better life than the one she could offer, and getting the patent would better her chances of provided what she wanted for Leo. Seeing Leo working so hard in her place made Esperanza feel disappointed in herself. Her son shouldn't have to work like that, especially when he was only sixteen. He would age faster with all that responsibility, the same way she had.

Esperanza also wondered about how her son was getting along in school. He brought home high marks on his assignments, claiming it was "the least he could do" to make Esperanza proud of him, and Leo had also mentioned a new friend he met, a boy named Jason. As far as Esperanza knew, Leo had a hard time relating and bonding with other kids since he was little. Having to move around from place to place didn't help. They'd gone from Texas and kept moving west, state-by-state from there: New Mexico, Arizona, then a few cities in Southern California, including San Diego. Leo never had a chance to make lasting friends. It was nice for Esperanza to see her son connect with someone else.

Leo's father had occupied Esperanza's thoughts then. She fantasized about how great it would be to still have him around, helping her raise Leo, but she knew it was impossible. They loved each other, but their relationship was a mistake.

Esperanza scolded herself. Without that relationship, Leo would have never been born. Maybe he was destiny's compensation after presenting Esperanza a man she loved but couldn't be with. Of course, Esperanza wouldn't think of her son as nothing less than the best thing that ever happened to her, as any parent might. Still, if his father had stayed…

No, it was better to focus on what will be rather than what could have been.

"Mom?"

Esperanza snapped out of her thoughts and saw her son in the kitchen doorway. "Yes, mijo?"

Leo shrugged. "Nothing, just wondering if you were still up."

Esperanza laughed and got out of her chair. "I'm going to bed now, actually. I'll see you in the morning." She walked up to him and kissed the top of his head. Leo was getting taller.

"Yeah, okay." Leo looked at his mom. She had that sad look in her eyes again. "Good night."

When his mom smiled, the sadness went away from her face. "Good night, Leo."

Leo arrived at Jason's house in the late morning. He woke up late, so he didn't get to see his mom before she went to the shop, but she knew he would be out.

Since Leo first met Jason, the two had become great friends. And it was quite interesting how their friendship worked out. Leo was the talkative one, always cracking jokes and making witty remarks. Jason was normally quiet and wouldn't say too much, but he was a good listener and had a decent sense of humor. When Leo met Jason's sister, Thalia, he was surprised to find that she was more outgoing and open about her thoughts. She was also really gorgeous, in Leo's opinion, but Jason didn't exactly appreciate Leo saying that aloud.

That day, Thalia was teaching at the music store, so Jason and Leo just sat around, planning to do whatever came to their minds. A couple of hours later, Leo had constructed a small catapult system out of silverware and rubber bands, and Jason set up a target range out in the backyard using paper plates and hanging them from the tree or sticking them against the fence with tape. Leo wanted to use paintballs (Jason didn't know nor did he want to know why Leo had them) but Jason insisted on using ammo that wouldn't explode and make a mess, since he was almost certain Thalia wouldn't be happy about that.

"I still don't know how you do it," Jason said, examining the small contraption as Leo set it up on the patio table. "Does it really work?"

"It's not a big deal," Leo said, shrugging. "And it should. It's actually a pretty simple structure. Here, hand me a rock."

Jason picked up a small stone and Leo placed it carefully on the catapult. When it was released, the rock flew straight ahead and hit the edge of one plate. Leo grinned, and Jason whistled, noticing a dent the stone made in the plate.

"That's cool," Jason stated.

"Yeah, I try," Leo replied smugly.

They spent the afternoon modifying the shooting range, and Leo made a few adjustments to the catapult every now and then. Jason was really impressed with Leo's handiwork, which helped boost Leo's self-esteem.

The two boys took a lunch break and sat down inside. Jason didn't have much in the fridge besides some leftover pasta that Thalia made, but neither of them minded eating it.

"You know," Jason began, "you should probably write about becoming an engineer in your essay for Andrews' class."

"Huh?" Leo was too busy eating to pay much attention. "Oh. That. I forgot about that assignment."

Mr. Andrews' had assigned the class an essay on what career they most wanted to have. It seemed like something basic they asked kindergarteners on the first day of school—what do you want to be when you grow up?—but Mr. Andrews' wanted at least three pages worth of the students' thoughts and research on their chosen careers. It was due the following Tuesday, but Leo had been procrastinating.

"I'm just saying," Jason continued. "You'd be pretty good at it. And your mom's a mechanic too, right? You've helped out a lot at her shop."

"I don't know, man." Leo furrowed his brow. "Working in then shop is different than all that engineering stuff, I think. I mean, I hardly know anything about being an engineer."

"Part of the assignment is the research." Jason said matter-of-factly. "You probably know more than you think."

Leo thought about it. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea. "So, what are you writing about?"

Jason shrugged. "I don't know."

Leo snorted. "I guess you have a lot of options to choose from anyway."

"It's not that," Jason argued. "I mean I really don't know what I'd like to be."

"You'll figure something out," Leo assured him. "You're Jason Grace, remember? The Superman."

"Yeah, whatever man," Jason conceded, rolling his eyes.

"Worst comes to worst you could end up working at your dad's company."

Jason scoffed. "Now there's a thought," he said bitterly.

After some time, Leo checked his watch, and got up to leave, realizing that it was late. He bade Jason goodbye and rushed back home. While riding back, he silently prayed that his mom hadn't overworked herself. Unfortunately, when he got home, he saw his mother napping on the couch, something she almost never does. Instantly Leo knew that his mom had exhausted herself. Again.

Leo didn't want to wake her up, since she was finally resting, so he waited for her to get up on her own. A few hours passed and she still hadn't woken up. He didn't want her to end up sleeping on the couch all night and getting a sore neck.

Quietly, Leo sat on the couch and shook his mom's shoulder. "Hey, mom, wake up."

Esperanza's eyelids fluttered opened. "Qué?" She turned to him. "Oh, Leo. You're home."

"Yeah." Leo looked at his mother carefully. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were bloodshot. Leo sighed. "Mom, what are you doing?"

Esperanza sat up. She tried to say something, but she felt guilty for letting her son down. He wanted to make sure she was okay, and now she was showing him that she was working her limits.

Leo continued, "Mom, I know you want to work hard, but this…this is way more than enough. If you keep doing this to yourself, you won't have enough energy to see this project to the end."

"Mijo," Esperanza told him, "I'm doing this for you, so please understand."

"If you're doing this for me, then you can stop," Leo retorted. "I don't want anything that could possibly take my mom's life away."

"Who said anything about taking my life away?" Esperanza asked, surprised.

"If you don't take care of yourself, who knows what'll happen to you?" Leo clarified, mirroring his mother's language switch. He shook his head. "It's draining you're energy. You shouldn't go to the shop this week."

Esperanza's eyes became sad again, the same look that Leo had seen the other night. He knew it would make her uneasy to sit around the house for a week, but Leo knew she needed to rest, even if he forced her too. Leo was worried. He didn't want it to get to the point where he wouldn't even have a mom to come home to. His father was already gone; his mother couldn't leave him too. Wasn't Leo allowed to be that selfish?

When his mother didn't answer, Leo pulled his best puppy dog face. "Please?"

His mom laughed, which relieved him. "We'll see, mijo, we'll see."

With another sigh, Leo smiled a small smile. "Okay. We'll see."

They both went to bed then. Leo flopped onto his mattress and the gears in his brain began to turn. It felt like his mind was moving at ten thousand thoughts per minute.

Leo couldn't fathom why his mom was bent on working so much. Sure, the patent could mean her big break, but if she hurt herself in the process, Leo didn't know how he could stand it. The idea of being without his mom was a foreign concept.

A series of taps sounded through Leo's bedroom wall. It repeated, and Leo realized his mom, who was in the next room over, was using Morse code to speak with him. She'd taught him long ago, when he was about five or six, although they only gave each other simple messages from time to time.

You okay? his mom was saying.

Quickly, Leo responded, going up to his wall. Yes.

Silence. Then, I'm sorry.

It's okay. Leo pursed his lips. He hoped his mom wasn't feeling really guilty.

Love you.

Love you too.

Leo last tap seemed to resonate through the walls, a lingering sound that rang in his ears. He crawled back into his bed and pulled his covers over his head. Mom's going to be fine, Leo thought to himself. She has to be.


A/N: She just works so hard, doesn't she? *sigh* And Leo worries about that.

Yeah, I put the Morse code thing into this story too. I don't know, but I liked it so I figured, why not? The way they use it is short and sweet, you know? Sorry, I guess I'm rambling. Please review!

~Abi-Jewel