Annabeth POV

I was still on the ground. Percy had left me a bit shocked. He had left with such urgency, I had stared at the place where he vanished for a while. Finally I blinked, and got up again. I sat back down in my chair and started to read again. I was midway through my chapter when another rustling sound caught my attention. I looked up and saw a figure coming out of the bushes. It moved with a lurch in it's step, as if it was hurt or exhausted.

It was Percy.

I dropped everything and started running to him. "Percy!" I cried. He looked up, saw me hurtling to him and a broad smile lit his face. He stopped, opened his arms wide, and I ran into them, choking back sobs. I buried my face in his shoulder. He wrapped his strong arms around me. I looked up at his face, studying. His eyes were sea green. His hair was shaggy, and his bangs hung into his eyes. His hair was longer than before. His cheekbones were more prominent. His face was starting to show a beard. And all that mattered was that he was back.

My Percy, my Seaweed Brain, was back.

"I missed you," I whispered. He smiled even broader.

"I know," he said softly. "I missed you too Wise Girl." Then he kissed me. When we parted he grimaced.

"Percy?" I stepped back and inspected the rest of him. His hand was bloody. I held the back of his hand, brought his palm up and looked at him questioningly. He grinned sheepishly and his hand started to mend itself on its own. Normally that didn't take much energy but this time he nearly fell over when he was done. Then he fainted, becoming limp in my arms. I held him up and lowered him gently onto the ground. He lay there and I called for Chiron. The centaur came galloping over, saw Percy, and helped me carry the limp body of my boyfriend to the Big House. We laid him on Chiron's bed in the corner of his room. Chiron gently moved me out of the way and started bandaging Percy up. He inspected him, and found that Percy was not hurt, just exhausted. Since he had come out of the forest, we could only imagine that he had gotten the creature out. Suddenly the door was flung open. Poseidon himself came barging in.

"Lord Poseidon, what?" Chiron stuttered. Poseidon shoved him out of the way and sat at Percy's bedside. He smiled sadly. Then he stroked Percy's hair. Doing so he let something flow from his fingertips. Water, I guess. Percy sat up, coughing. I ran over to his bedside.

"Percy!" He looked over at me and smiled. He reached up feebly and caressed my cheek, as if checking to see if I was really there. When he realized that I was he smiled wider. Then he looked next to me and saw his father.

"Father, why, what-"

"Shh. You need your rest. I just wanted to tell you I am extremely proud. I am also extremely glad that that is over," he said. He helped Percy sit up and gave him a hug, before walking out of the room to say something to Mr. D most likely. I could hear him shouting at him.

"Why did you do nothing! I watched from my kingdom, waiting for you to do something when one of your campers- my son -was controlled by a dark spirit from the Underworld. Yet what did you do?! Nothing! Dionysus, you are going to take control of this right now and live up to your responsibilities! Just because you are the son of Lord Zeus, does not mean I will have mercy upon you! I have never liked you, and this makes me hate you even more!" Then there was a door slam and I could tell Poseidon had left the Big House. I smiled at what I imagined Mr. D's face to be. Then I looked back at Percy. He was asleep now, his chest rising and falling as he slept. I sat next to him and stroked his hair from his face and smiled down at him, then leaned down to kiss him. At the last moment a playful smile lit his face and he kissed me back. I widened my eyes in shock. After that, he hugged me tightly.

"I'm so sorry. Annabeth, I'm so, so, so, so sorry. Please forgive me, forgive me for the harm I caused you. I never wanted to do that," he whispered in my ear. My stomach did a flip.

"I know. I forgive you," I said. Behind us Chiron coughed. He pointed to the table where his medical supplies were and seemed to ask if we needed them. Percy shook his head and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He made a move to get up and instantly crumpled to the ground.

"I'm okay, I'm okay, just tired," he said, waving us off. He used the bed as a support and got up. I supported him slightly and he didn't resist. We walked outside. Soon we had walked all the way to the Poseidon cabin. We got inside and Percy stumbled to his bed. He sat down and studied my face. I smiled.

"Annabeth, I-I, wow, this is going to come out wrong. This is probably the wrong moment for it, but I can't think of a better place. I feel like something will always come between us, and I want this to unite us in those moments," he paused. He searched for something in the drawer of his night stand and when he found it he turned to me fully. He stood up. Then he revealed what was in his hand.

A velvet box.

I gasped.

"Annabeth Chase, I want to build something that will last forever with you. Annabeth Chase, daughter of Frederick Chase and the goddess Athena, will you marry me?"

I smiled, trying to choke back my excitement and/or tears, "Yes! Yes, Percy, of course I will marry you!" I cried.

Percy tried to stand up but before he could really get up I tackled him in a hug. He laughed and somehow managed to get the ring on my finger. I sat up and examined the ring. It was beautiful. It had a thin band with a mix of celestial bronze and topaz jewel. I smiled down at him. He reached up behind my head and kissed me.

And there we have it! Last chapter! Sorry I didn't upload before this, I'm busy studying for finals. Hope you enjoyed, and I have something great planned for my next story, a Harry Potter/Percy Jackson crossover during the triwizard tournament!

Im sorry that this story is so short... But I didn't feel like writing that much this time. It was nine pages or so on my computer. Thanks for hanging with me in this story!

~doodledraw