Back from a long break, would appreciate reviews from all you wonderful people on this chapter, specifically the Percy/Annabeth dialogue...want to know how I've faired in writing their banter.

Anything in italics in "" is being spoken either in Latin or Greek, depending on the speaker, that is, if the language is not already mentioned.

Reyna

Reyna felt like she was floating, floating in an endless blackness. She knew she wasn't dead, because if she were dead, Charon would be asking her for a coin and she would be looking for the door Gwen had escaped from. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move, or yell, or even see anything other than darkness. Panic began to well inside her, did the mermen catch them? She remembered Percy thanking her, and talking to Octavian, but what if she had imagined all of that? Get ahold of yourself, Marcus' voice screamed in her head, Romans don't panic.

"Reyna."

She tried to turn her head, but nothing happened.

"Reyna."

She tried to call out, to see past the blackness, but no matter how much she struggled, nothing happened.

Percy

Percy stared up at the ceiling of the infirmary. It was tiled, like the ceiling in the principia, but thankfully the mosaic wasn't of the gods staring down at him. The mosaic was one of the sky, either on the brink of dawn or night. Scattered randomly amongst the thousands of dark blue tiles were what looked like fragments of a mirror that represented the stars. It was intricate, yet simple, and absolutely beautiful. He couldn't help but wonder who had created it.

With a sigh, he picked his head up and glanced over at the cot Reyna was lying on. The daughter of Bellona looked vulnerable in her wrinkled purple t-shirt and torn jeans. Her dark hair had come out of her braid, or perhaps someone had taken it out, because her hair spilled across her pillow. She was flushed, a side effect of all the nectar and ambrosia she had been given, but otherwise looked okay, for the time being.

Ethan, the head medic, was curled up in an uncomfortable looking chair next to Reyna's cot. The son of Apollo was young, thirteen or fourteen if he had to guess, and looked even younger in sleep. Like most of Apollo's kids, he had light hair, which curled and fell into his eyes. Percy had no idea how Ethan knew what was wrong with Reyna. After the boy had gotten everyone out, he had questioned Percy about the type of weapons the merman had been carrying. Apparently the mermen's knives, which were made from the sharp edges of clamshells, were commonly rubbed against some poisonous water plant that was extremely deadly blah, blah, blah. Long story short, it was a miracle Reyna was alive and even more of a phenomenon that he hadn't been infected. Probably had something to do with the whole, son of the sea god thing.

Percy looked away from Reyna and let his head fall back on the pile of pillows behind him. One of the other medics had been kind enough to give him a bunch so that he could sit up comfortably. Ethan had been upset, saying something about head contusion and needing to lie flat, but Percy had just given him, your-praetor-will-do-what-he-wants look, a look he had learned from Reyna. As he stared at the ceiling, he couldn't help but think about Blackjack. The Pegasus loved going for a fly over the sound at night.

"Orion's belt is in the wrong place."

Percy almost fell off the cot. He wiped his head up and immediately regretted his decision as the room blurred and spun before his eyes. Trying to get everything to come back into focus, he rubbed his eyes. Next to him, perched on the edge of an empty cot was Annabeth, who was still a bit fuzzy around the edges. She looked like she had just rolled out of bed, her hair thrown into a loose and sloppy ponytail. Curls framed her face, and she brushed them behind her ear, only to have them fall forward again, when she turned to look at him.

"It's supposed to be more to the west."

Percy smiled. "Nice outfit."

Annabeth didn't glance down at her black sweatpants and faded green t-shirt, which seemed a size too big for her.

"You too," she pointed at his collar, "I especially like the blood stain."

"How did you get in here?"

She held up her Yankees cap. "I went back to the hotel and waited for Piper and Leo to go to sleep, and then I walked back here and slipped inside while one of the medics was leaving."

He laughed quietly. "Do I even want to know how you got past Terminus?"

She smiled. "Probably not."

"You know," he sat up a little straighter and turned toward her slightly, "I'm pretty sure your mom didn't give you that cap so that you could sneak out and see your boyfriend."

Annabeth shrugged and picked her feet up, crossing her legs Indian style. As she moved, the logo on the leg of the sweatpants became visible. Goode High was printed in white block letters on the bottom of the left leg. He frowned and took a closer look at her t-shirt.

"Are you wearing my clothes?"

"Maybe." She played with her baseball cap, her cheeks a bit pink.

Percy wasn't upset, he liked the fact that she wore his clothes and loved how she looked in them. As caveman as it sounded, when she was wearing something of his it felt like she was acknowledging his claim of her, not that he saw Annabeth as a possession or anything, it was just…He let that thought trail off, before Athena or Artemis blasted him.

"I don't remember giving you those." He narrowed his eyes playfully. "Have you been sneaking into my cabin? You know, stealing's a punishable offense."

She rolled her eyes. "No, I paid off Connor and Travis to take them."

He frowned. "Really?"

"Gods," she grinned at him, "you're such a Seaweed Brain."

Try as he could, he couldn't help but feel relieved that she was kidding. The thought of Connor and Travis riffling through his things terrified him. If those two went through his cabin, they'd have so much to hold over him, not to mention he'd probably die of embarrassment once they told everyone what they'd found.

"I got them from your cabin," Annabeth lowered her voice when Ethan shifted in his chair; "a week or two after you disappeared."

He gave her a small smile. She glanced away from him and looked back up at the ceiling. Percy knew Annabeth hated feeling vulnerable, hated talking about her feelings and his disappearance had really shaken her. Right as he was about to ask her if she was okay, she looked back at him, a smirk on her lips.

"I found a few interesting things while searching your cabin for clues to as why you disappeared."

He swallowed. "Yeah?"

"Mhm," she tried to keep her expression serious, but failed miserably, "I love the collage you made of me above your bunk."

Percy could feel his face reddening. "Shut up."

"I can only imagine what you have taped to your walls at home."

He reached forward and shoved her knee playfully. "At least I'm not stealing your clothes."

She laughed. "That would just be wrong. The day you do that is the day I break up with you."

"Relax," he flashed her a mocking smile, "lacy underwear is not my thing."

"They aren't lacy."

He stared at her, slightly shocked. She regarded him with a challenge in her grey eyes. Annabeth never ceased to surprise him.

"So," he cleared his throat, trying to pull his thoughts away from what type of underwear Annabeth did wear, "what else did you steal from my cabin?"

Annabeth didn't answer right away. She was studying him and he shifted uncomfortably. There was no doubt in his mind that she didn't know what he was trying not to think about. Honestly, he loved to play who can outwit the other, but the game had taken a dangerous and very personal turn. He really didn't want to discuss what they'd stumbled upon with Reyna and a fourteen year old boy in the room.

"Just some t-shirts and a sweatshirt or two." She traced the white letters on the sweatpants.

"What about my ball caps?"

Annabeth brushed the hair away from her face. When it just fell back, she let go of her Yankees cap and re-tied her ponytail. Percy wished she'd leave it down, he loved her princess curls. Despite tying the elastic three times, a curl still escaped. He smiled as she sighed in frustration and raked it behind her ear.

"Grover took those."

"What?" A terrifying image of Grover parading around in his clothes invaded his mind. "Is everybody at camp wearing something of mine?"

Annabeth's eyes flashed. "No, of course not."

"Who has my Montauk cap?" He really hoped that Grover hadn't taken it. It was his favorite, and he didn't want it to get torn or stretched out because of his horns.

"I do." Annabeth's voice was soft. He suddenly realized that the clothes she had taken were probably his favorites. The shirt and sweatpants she was in he wore all the time. They hadn't been dating for very long, and for some reason, he was glad that Annabeth knew which clothes he favored.

"Oh." Smooth, he thought.

"If you want the clothes back, I brought most of them with me…" Annabeth let her sentence trail off.

"Yeah," Percy grinned, "but you can keep the sweatpants, the green and blue t-shirts and my black hoodie."

Annabeth tipped her head to the side. "How did you know I had those?"

He shrugged. "Lucky guess."

"What about the Montauk cap?"

He regarded her seriously. She in turn arched an eyebrow at him. How do people do that, he couldn't help but wonder. "Well," he sighed dramatically, "I guess you can keep that too."

She smiled. "I wasn't going to give it back even if you said no."

"I figured, Wise Girl."

The doors to the infirmary burst open and he jumped. Annabeth was so surprised that she wasn't able to put her cap on before people began streaming in. On the other side of the room, Ethan fell out of his chair and muttered a string of curses that would have gotten him kitchen duty if Reyna had been awake. Five women, all dressed in black, marched into the room. Percy immediately recognized Hylla, the queen of the Amazons looked so much like her sister it was startling.

Hylla had her eyes glued to him, or rather, who was next to him. "You." It was just a whisper, but Percy heard it, and his stomach dropped.

"Can we help you?" Annabeth's tone was very unfriendly.

Hylla laughed and her guards closed the doors to the infirmary, taking up positions in front of it so that no one could get in, or out. "I've been waiting years to come across you."

Annabeth glanced at him, but Percy kept his eyes on Hylla.

"Who the Hades are you?" If it were possible, Annabeth's voice became even colder.

Hylla took a step forward and Percy slipped his hand into his pocket, grabbing ahold of Riptide. Just as he was about to get up, Ethan stepped in front of Hylla.

"You need to leave." Ethan crossed his arms and glared at the queen of the Amazons. "No visitors allowed, my patients aren't well enough-"

Hylla pushed the son of Apollo to the side and tried to walk past him, but Ethan grabbed ahold of her arm.

"Hey, I said-"

One of Hylla guards leapt forward and grabbed ahold of the back of Ethan's shirt. The son of Apollo flailed his arms and legs, trying in vain to free himself. If he wasn't in such a dire situation, Percy would have laughed, Ethan looked like caught fish. Deciding that things had gone far enough, Percy stood. The floor rolled beneath him, but he pushed down the dizziness and faced the queen of the Amazons.

"Queen Hylla," Annabeth stood up next to him, "you can't-"

Hylla took a step forward, her hand clutching the hilt of a wicked looking knife. Without thinking about it, he moved in front of Annabeth, blocking the queen of the Amazon's view of her, and effectively ruining her shot. Annabeth poked him hard in between the shoulder blades, making it clear that she wasn't happy with his show of protectiveness.

"Don't tell me what I can and cannot do Percy Jackson."

Hylla took a step to the right and he mirrored her footwork. There was no way in Hades he was going to give Hylla a clear shot at Annabeth. As of right now, he was the only thing standing in between her and one seriously pissed off, and well trained killer. He felt Annabeth's back press up against his, and he was relieved to know that she was keeping an eye on the other Amazons.

"Get out of my way Jackson." Hylla moved closer and he uncapped Riptide. Just as he was about to retort, and tell her to back the Ares off, all Hades broke loose.

Ethan, who Percy had thought was unconscious amongst the broken cots, had somehow gotten ahold of a bow and had let an arrow fly. The arrow whooshed past Hylla's ear, making her dark hair fly and sunk into the marble wall right where he and Annabeth had been standing. Somehow, Annabeth must have seen Ethan raise the bow, because she grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him over the cot next to them.

Hylla's guards threw some knifes at Ethan, while Hylla advanced on them. Percy couldn't do anything but lay dazed on the floor. Everything was out of focus and swimming before his eyes. Luckily, Annabeth had her head in the game and tipped over one of the cots, using it as a makeshift shield.

The doors to the infirmary banged open again and Percy tipped his head to the side, watching as hundreds of blurry combat boots raced in. Through the roaring of blood in his ears, he could hear Hylla and her goons yelling insults as members of the legion detained them. Some of the combat boots raced over to him, forming a circle around his body. Someone broke through the circle and knelt next to him.

"Percy?"

He turned his head and looked up. The mirror stars swam above him as he stared up at Gwen, or Gwens, because he was currently seeing double. People were shouting in Latin and in English. His head was throbbing and no matter how much he blinked, the stars wouldn't stop spinning.

"Annabeth," he groaned.

"Right here." He opened his eyes and was horrified to see that two Gwens and two Annabeths were staring down at him.

He closed his eyes and tried to get his churning stomach under control. "The stars…"

"Percy?" Annabeth gripped his hand. The shouting continued, someone struggled and metal screeched against marble.

He cleared his throat and opened his eyes. Annabeth was leaning over him; the loose curls form her ponytail failing in her eyes. He tried to reach up and brush them away, but Gwen was holding his other arm down.

"Stay still you Seaweed Brain," Annabeth gave him a small smile, "you hit your head, again."

Someone's voice rose above the din and all talking ceased. The voice was oddly familiar to him, but Percy couldn't make out what it was saying. The stars had fallen off the mosaic and were currently dancing around Annabeth's two heads.

"The stars," he mumbled, "they're dancing."

Reyna

"The next person," Reyna struggled to sit up, all the blood rushing to her head, "to draw a knife," everyone froze and looked at her as she swung her legs over and perched on the edge of the cot, "loses their hand."

It looked as if half the legion were in the infirmary. A bunch of kids were on the other side of the room, kneeling behind their shields that were arranged in a circle. It was a classic defense move, one the legion used when someone fell in battle. People would form a circle around the fallen soldier, while one person helped the soldier up, or dragged them as the circle moved back to a safe position. Another defensive circle was off to her right, and the rest of the legionnaires were struggling to hold down her sister's guards.

"Get out of the way," she ordered the line of heavily armed kids in front of her cot.

One of the kids, a girl from the Fourth Cohort glanced back at her. "Praetor?"

"Move!"

The kids scattered like she had thrown molted metal at them. Reyna glanced around the room and spotted Octavian standing in front of the open doors of the infirmary.

"Where's Ethan?"

Octavian pointed to the defensive circle on her right. Just as she turned to look at the circle, the son of Apollo stood up in the middle of kids.

"Adsum, Praetor." Someone, probably Bobby, hissed at Ethan to get down and dragged the kid back to the ground. She tried not to roll her eyes.

"Are you alright Ethan?"

The legionnaires around Ethan banged their shields once against the marble floor. Reyna felt a swell of pride that everyone was keeping to protocol and acting as if they were in a real battle. Like Lupa and her wolves, while in battle the legion communicated with actions, not words, that way their enemy would not know what they were discussing. Satisfied that Ethan wasn't hurt, she glanced back at Octavian who nodded at the circle across the room. The legionnaires banged their shields against the ground twice. Reyna glared at her sister, who was being held down by Dakota, Jason and Kelsey.

"Let her up."

They let go of Hylla, but her sister didn't let go of them. Hylla punched Dakota in the face, pushed Kelsey so hard she slid into Octavian and tried to knock Jason's feet from under him, but the son of Jupiter leapt out of range just in time. Her sister got one foot underneath her and was about to stand up when she yelled her name. Hylla froze, mid crouch, one hand reaching for the long, thin hunting knife Reyna knew was in her boot, while Jason stood a few feet opposite her, his stance relaxed, gladius in hand.

"That's enough Hylla." She growled in Scythian, the ancient language of the Amazons.

Hylla glared at her, her dark eyes shifting toward Jason. Reyna stood, intending to march over and put herself in between Hylla and her least favorite Roman, but the world tilted beneath her. Someone grabbed her elbow, preventing her from crashing to the floor. She tried to rip her arm free, but whoever had ahold of her pushed her back down on the cot.

"Alright," she swallowed against the nausea, "everybody who isn't injured or a medic, get out."

While most of the kids filed out of the doors, Dakota and three other kids took a seat on the few intact cots. Blood was pouring out of Dakota's nose and she could hear the muffled curses even though she was across the room. Hylla got to her feet, dismissed her guards and walked over to her, glaring at whoever was standing behind her. Gods be good, her sister was really pissing her off. Wearily, Reyna put her head in her hands.

"Hey," someone sat down next to her and forced her to sit up, "don't have another seizure on me."

After recovering from her shock of coming face to face with Octavian, she moved out from underneath his hand. Hylla stopped right in front of her, and before the Amazon could do anything to him, she told Octavian to leave. Her sister watched him go and only after the doors to the infirmary closed did she take a seat in Ethan's chair.

"You're hovering."

Hylla frowned. "Reyna, I'm not…" Her sister trailed off when she realized Reyna wasn't looking at her, but over her shoulder.

Reyna stared at Jason, willing him to leave, but the son of Jupiter simply sheathed his sword and rested his hand against the hilt. He was the picture of ease and the determined glint in his blue eyes made it clear he wasn't going anywhere, even if more than words were thrown. She knew arguing with him was futile, so she motioned to were Percy was still lying on the floor. Jason gave her a nod, a small triumphant smile lifting up the scar on his lip. Reyna wrote off the tightness in her chest as he turned away to the way the floor was still heaving beneath her.

"Mind explaining why you have a death wish?"

Reyna glared at her sister. "Mind explaining why you started a brawl in my infirmary?"

Hylla narrowed her eyes. "They were holding you prisoner, I had to do something-"

Oh, for the love of Olympus. Why was her sister such a dramatic? "They weren't holding me prisoner Hylla, they-"

"Those idiots, refused to tell me anything-"

Reyna clenched her fists. "Don't you dare insult my soldiers. As usual, you overreacted."

"I overreacted?" She was painfully aware of how loud her sister's voice had gotten.

Trying to steady her breathing and force the red haze from her vision, Reyna glared at her sister. "Yes," she hissed, "you overreacted, you always-"

"You could have been killed Reyna!" Hylla all but shouted in Latin.

Reyna sighed, all the fury melting away. "What would you have me do?" She lowered her voice and glared at everyone, they were doing a terrible job of pretending not to listen, "let him drown?"

The look on Hylla's face was icy cold. "Yes."

Everything stopped. For three seconds, the floor stopped rolling beneath her and she could see every detail of every object in the room. Percy was still lying on the floor, Gwen and his girlfriend hovering over him. Annabeth was glancing over her shoulder at her, and Jason, Jason was staring at her, his shoulders tense, hand gripping the hilt of his gladius. Give me the word, his expression screamed; just say it and I'll throw your sister out.

Percy

"You all right?"

Percy squeezed his eyes shut and took a few deep breaths. When he hesitantly blinked his eyes opened, he was glad to see that the stars were no longer dancing and Annabeth only had one head.

"Yeah," he tried to sit up, but Gwen and Annabeth held him down, "I'm fine."

"Alright," Gwen glanced at him and then looked at Annabeth, "help him up on three."

Annabeth wrapped an arm behind his back as he sat up. He got his feet underneath him before all the blood rushed to his head. Groaning, he knelt back down, Gwen and Annabeth holding his upper arms, effectively keeping him upright.

"Maybe I'm not okay."

Gwen called for Ethan, and then asked him a question, but he couldn't focus on anything but the throbbing in his head and the ground tilting beneath him. Annabeth knelt in front of him, one hand braced against his chest to keep him upright.

"Percy," Gods it had been so long since someone had spoken to him in Ancient Greek, "look at me."

He did as she asked, and regretted it immediately. Back were the two Annabeth's, both with storm grey eyes and princess curls. Annabeth seemed to sense what was going on, because she didn't wait for Ethan. She moved next to him, draped his arm across her shoulders, wrapped an arm around his waist and heaved him to his feet. It felt as if he was strapped to a ball and someone had kicked it halfway across a field. Annabeth dragged him back a step and then dropped him unceremoniously onto a cot. With everything spinning and all the blood roaring in his ears, he didn't think about moving his arm from around Annabeth's shoulders. She braced herself against the edge of the cot, her face, or faces, right in front of his.

"Gods you're heavy."

"Sorry," he mumbled as the stars starting raining down from the ceiling.

Reyna

Ethan was trying to stop the waterfall of blood gushing from Dakota's nose, while the centurion swore at him. An arrow was lodged in the marble wall, the expensive stone was cracked and Reyna could only imagine how much it would cost to replace it. Hylla whispered her name, and she looked back at her.

"Percy Jackson, is my friend, Hylla. He would have done the same thing for me."

Hylla threw her hands in the air and got up from the chair. She took a few angry steps away from the cot, but soon turned on her heel and stalked back.

"You don't know that," Hylla pointed to where Percy was now lying in a cot, "you don't know what he would have done, he's a-"

"Not every guy is like dad, Hylla!"

Hylla flinched as if she'd slapped her across the face. Reyna knew she had crossed a line, she knew it before the words had even left her mouth. Everyone in the infirmary was frozen, waiting anxiously to see what would happen, even Dakota was quiet. Hylla's dark eyes, eyes so much like her own, burned with rage.

"You don't even know…" Reyna couldn't understand the rest of her sister's sentence, she didn't speak Scythian fluently. Hylla switched to English. "You think you understand, but you don't Reyna. They are all the same," Reyna knew where her sister was going with this, she knew she deserved it too, but she willed her to shut up, "no matter what they say, or how much you think they care, they always end up hurting you in the end."

Reyna shook her head and Hylla took a step closer to her. "You know I'm right, that boy-"

"Get out." She whispered. Reyna had to make her sister stop; this wasn't the place or the time for this conversation, not to mention that Hylla didn't even understand.

"Reyna."

Hylla tried to put a hand on her shoulder, but she jerked back. The floor heaved beneath her and she put her head in her hands. She heard someone move closer, probably Ethan. Hylla started to say her name again, but she cut her off before she got to the n.

"Get out." Reyna couldn't believe this was happening. "Get out Hylla, just get out."

Piper

Piper stared out the window of the hotel room she shared with Annabeth. Beyond the glass, New Rome bustled with life. Windows were alight with lanterns. Couples and families walked the cobbled streets, their voices rising and falling like some type of long forgotten melody. Every so often, she would catch sight of a purple shirt or someone in Roman armor.

"Hey," Piper sighed and glanced over her shoulder at Leo, "watch this."

Leo grabbed a fork from the table that was covered in dirty dishes and put the end of it on his nose. Carefully, he let go of it, the fork swaying as he moved beneath it, trying to balance it. His eyes were crossed and he was waving his arms like he was trying to land the Argo.

"You're going to poke an eye out."

As she turned back to the window, there was a crash and Leo yelped. Piper leapt up. Leo was lying on the floor; his legs sprawled over the legs of a chair. He pushed himself up on his elbow, and held up the fork, a grin from ear to ear.

"I am okay."

Piper couldn't help but smile. "You're an idiot."

Leo got to his feet and leaned down to pick up the chair. He banged his head against the edge of the heavy oak table and then tripped over the chair as he tried to move back. Piper caught him before he crashed to the floor. Leo gazed up at her, his eyes a bit unfocused and a goofy grin on his face.

"Thanks Beauty Queen."

Piper shook her head. "How much wine did you have?"

Leo furrowed his brow. "Dunno, a lot?"

On the table, amongst the dirty dishes was a bottle of wine. She and Leo had been surprised when the waiter had brought it up with their food. Piper had tried explaining to the waiter that they hadn't ordered the bottle, but he had just left it on the table. When Jason stopped by, right after the sun had set; he explained that it was common for people, even kids, in New Rome to drink wine with their dinners. Wine was always served with meals in Ancient Rome, and even in modern day Italy they still served wine, no matter your age. Jason had suggested they dilute the drink with water and not have more than a glass or two, but it was clear that Leo had not listened.

"Come on," Piper pulled the tipsy son of Hephaestus to his feet, "time to lay down, before you hurt yourself again."

Leo just laughed as she walked him to one of the twin beds in the room and pushed him down onto it.

Percy

"I think I should leave."

Percy reached out for Annabeth and tried to persuade her to stay, but it was Ethan who ended up convincing her to sit back down.

"He's got a bad head contusion and he needs someone to monitor him." The son of Apollo regarded Annabeth carefully. "You can stay, if you'll be of use."

Annabeth didn't even bother to answer, she simply grabbed a chair that had been turned over and sat down. Ethan nodded and then quick as lightning, plunged a needle into his arm. Percy tried to push the son of Apollo away from him and rip out the needle, but Annabeth was holding his other arm down. After a few seconds, Ethan pulled the needle out, a small smirk on his face.

"Sorry, but you'll heal much faster if you're not talking all night." Percy thought about punching the head medic, but he was beginning to blur.

"He'll be out cold until sometime tomorrow afternoon. Let me know if anything changes, if his breathing slows, or he looks flushed," Ethan pointed to a door near the back of the infirmary, "I'll be in my office."

Percy turned his head to the side and looked at Annabeth. Back were the two daughters of Athena, both with princess curls and an amused expression. He tried to reach out to her, but his arm felt like a block of cement.

"Try not to drool, Seaweed Brain."

As the black spots began to dance in front of his eyes, he tried to tell her not to leave, not even if Ethan told her she could go in the morning, but all he managed was Annabeth, before the blackness engulfed him.

Reyna

"If you try to knock me out like you did Percy," Reyna picked her head up and glared at the son of Apollo, who had one hand in his pocket, "I swear I'll hit you so hard you won't know which end of a gladius you're supposed to hold when you come to."

There was loud laugh, one she was all too familiar with. Ethan shook his head and gave her a nod, then retreated to his office. The other medics had taken care of Dakota and the two other injured campers, quickly sending them back to their barracks. Everyone who had even an ounce of sense had cleared out after she had yelled at her sister, but Jason had remained. Not surprising, she mused, he always lacked common sense, or simply cared too much, a voice in the back of her head whispered.

Jason gazed down at her with his signature smile, the one that had one him the hearts of almost every girl, and a few of the guys, of New Rome. She hated that smile, and she hated the arrogant, victorious glint that always glowed in his eyes when he wore it. Instead of giving him the satisfaction of winning an argument she knew she was going to lose, she decided to switch tactics.

"You're hovering."

Jason's smile dimmed a little, he hadn't been expecting her to let him stay so easily. He moved in front of the chair and hesitated. She stared up at him, even though his image blurred in and out of focus. Damn those mermen and their poison, she thought.

"I'm trying to decide if it's worth sitting down."

Reyna frowned.

"I have a feeling you're just waiting for me to get close so that you can knock me out like you threatened to do to Ethan."

She didn't answer him, but he unbuckled his sword belt and sat in the chair. He rested his gladius on the floor, and she made a mental note to ask him what had happened to his coin later.

"You okay?" He leaned toward her, his smile completely gone, the arrogance replaced with worry in his electric blue eyes. "You're not spinning or anything are you?"

She hated how soft his voice was and she hated how concerned he sounded. Of course I'm spinning, she wanted to say, my best friend got kidnapped by a goddess, brought to an enemy camp and now has finally returned with our enemies in tow, enemies he seems all too friendly with. Instead of answering him, she simply lay down on her side, her back to him. Reyna didn't feel like talking, especially not Jason. The fight with her sister had left her exhausted and miserable. She knew that she wouldn't be able to keep her emotion under control if she got into a discussion with Jason, and she was done with making a fool of herself in front of others.

To his credit, Jason didn't say anything about her childish behavior; he simply settled into his chair and rested his feet on the edge of her cot. On any other day, she would have told him to move his feet, but she had been cruel enough to the son of Jupiter. Trying to keep a lid on everything that was boiling over, she shut her eyes and tried to slow her breathing.

"Despite everything," Jason's voice was just a breath of a whisper, "I'm glad to be home, I've missed Camp Jupiter, and I've missed you, Reyna."

Unbidden, a tear escaped and slid across her cheek. I've missed you too, Jason, more than you probably know, she wanted nothing more than to whisper back, but she kept quiet. It was probably the dumbest thing she'd done that day.

So, you got some Percebeth, some bittersweet Jeyna, drunk Leo, a fight, banter, caring Octavian and Annabeth in Percy's clothes...is it too much to ask for a review or two?

Personal favorite lines, "They aren't lacy" "The next person to draw a knife loses a hand" and "If you try to knock me out like you did Percy I'll hit you so hard you won't know which end of a gladius to hold when you come to"

What were your favorite lines?

How did I do with the Percebeth banter?

Perhaps if I hear from some people, people that I haven't heard from before, but are following this story, in addition to the faithful reviewers, I may just post Chapter 5, which is currently sitting on my computer, finished and ready to go.

(Sorry for the bribing) -Thorntangle