A/N: Thank you for everyone who reviewed. I will try to put more bonding moments in here, just give me time.

Disclaimer: Rick owns this; I do not.

Family Bonding

Chapter 7

PERCY

I could feel the heat of the morning sun through the tent. I just curled up in my sleeping bag; however, I felt something draped over my back. I uncovered my face to see my dad fast asleep and sprawled out as if he was the only one in here. His arm was draped over my back and a small pool of drool collected near the corner of his mouth.

Now I know where I get it from.

Loud snores emerged from his throat and his hair stuck up in many interesting directions. It's moments like these that I wish I had a camera.

I tried to remove his arm from me, as gently as possible, without disturbing him. The snoring immediately stopped and his arm released me, only to rub the sleep out of his eyes. He looked at me with tired eyes for a moment, then turned face down into his pillow and grumbled sleepily.

"What time is it?" his muffled voice asked.

"Uh"—I quickly looked at my watch—"6:45. Why?"

He groaned. "That is way too early."

I snorted. "You and me both."

Then his head popped up and he smiled at me. "How about we go fishing?"

I thought about it, and then shrugged. "Sure, but what about the others?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Do you really think they will want to come with us after what happened yesterday?"

"Oh, yeah," I recalled sheepishly. I unzipped my sleeping bag, pulled on my tennis shoes, and emerged from the warm tent.

The outside air was cool and crisp. It smelled like pine, as if someone had shoved one of those car fresheners down my nose. The sun hung just a little over the horizon and the green grass was covered in dew.

I sat at the small bench in the center of camp. From behind me, I heard a deep intake of breath. I looked over my shoulder to see my dad stretching outside of the tent. He had smoothed out his hair, though it still looked a bit messy. He ruffled my hair as he passed, then proceeded to take out the portable grill.

"Um, dad," I asked slowly, "what are doing?"

"I'm making coffee."

I raised my eyebrows. "Gods drink coffee?"

"Of course," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Why do you think it's called 'nectar of the gods'?" He smiled at me with a wink.

"Oh."

I heard stirring behind me. I looked to see Thalia and Hades emerged from their tents. Thalia, unlike the rest of us, looked ready to go for the day. Her hair was neat and her bright eyes sparked with energy. Hades, on the other hand, looked almost like my dad. His hair stuck up in many strange positions and underneath his eyes looked dark.

"What's wrong with you Hades?" my dad asked. "You look like the walking dead."

He didn't respond. He just sat next to me facing the tents.

"Uh, uncle?" Thalia asked cautiously.

Hades sighed. "I have been up since four this morning."

"Are you insa—wait! Never mind, I'm talking to Hades. Of course you're insane," my dad laughed.

I thought Hades was going to glare at him or something. To my surprise, he just sighed. He looked exhausted.

"How's Nico?" I asked him out of the blue.

He seemed to wake a little. "He's doing better. He managed to fall back asleep."

"What was the dream about?"

I could see it visibly pained him. "I think it would be best if we not discuss it."

I wanted to ask more, but I could hear the finality in his tone.

Instead, I turned my attention to Thalia. "So where's your dad?"

She snorted and spoke more to my dad and Hades than me, "You know the princess and her beauty sleep."

Now everyone was awake. My dad and uncle had to cover their mouths so they didn't wake anyone else up. I chuckled quietly.

"I heard that!" The sound of Zeus's muffled voice shouted.

This only increased the laughter, which seemed to wake Nico because he shouted, "Some people are trying to sleep y' know!"

We all tried to calm down to the best of our ability. Within the next few moments, Zeus and Nico were up and about. Zeus looked the most presentable of the Big Three; his hair was combed back but he still looked tired. Nico, though, looked more like his father. The only difference was that his eyes were red and puffy.

"Hey, Nico," Thalia greeted in a sweet voice, which was quite unlike her.

Apparently he noticed too. "Please don't treat me like a kid, Thals."

She nodded. Then she quickly turned her head towards my dad.

"What are you making, uncle?"

"Coffee."

"For how many?"

"Three."

"Just three?"

"Yes."

"Can you make it for four?"

"Or five?" Nico butted in.

My dad then turned to me. "Do you want some too?"

"No thanks, dad."

He turned back to what he was doing. I sighed.

"So, I'm guessing you slept well, princess?" Hades asked Zeus with a sweet smile.

Zeus glared at him. "I slept fine, unlike you Zombie Brain."

"Zombies don't have brains."

"Exactly."

"I hate you."

"Okay," my dad interrupted. "After breakfast we will spend time with our children. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," my uncles muttered still glaring at each other.

Breakfast was okay. It was just simple sausages with eggs and toast. Somehow Nico and Thalia got into an argument about whether blackberry or strawberry jam was better. Sometimes, I wonder how I'm related to those two.