Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Chapter 9: The Sea

Annabeth's POV

I'm so pissed right now I could scream. I know that's not a usual thing for a daughter of Athena, but if the Stolls can make Chiron curse then I don't feel as bad. I'm going to teach those two a lesson as soon as I catch them. Well, to get back to reality, Percy is handling the wheel of the ship, expertly I might add. Instead of just using his abilities to run the ship by himself he has been letting the rest of us help. He has surprised me with how good of a teacher he can be, when he's not being a seaweed brain. However, I can't shake the feeling that something is bothering him. Every since his conversation with Theseus in the mess hall, he's been acting a little preoccupied. I'll have to ask him about it.

"Where are Thals and Nico?" I asked Percy.

"They went downstairs, they looked a little green. I think they're sea sick. I sent them down to get some Dramamine." Percy said.

"How are you doing?" I asked.

"Fine, the ship handles like a dream. I'm getting ready to set the auto pilot." Percy said.

"Auto pilot, I didn't know you could have one on a sailing ship." I said.

"Not all, but this instrument panel was designed by Hephaestus, he actually designed all of the controls and electronics onboard." Percy said gesturing for me to walk to the controls.

I walked to Percy and looked at the control panel, I hadn't noticed all of the controls. There were controls for; ten different types of lights, navigation system with auto pilot, a radio, sail extension system, anchors, electric back-up motor, battery back-ups, solar panel displays, weather displays, radar system and a underwater camera.

"Can you turn on the underwater camera?" I asked curiously.

"Sure, it is pretty cool." Percy said, he flicked the switch on the control panel and a small screen about five inches by five inches in size slid out from the control panel. Suddenly the screen came on and I could see the rudder behind the ship and the wake extending back from the boat. The camera was in a wide angle display and I estimated that you could see about twenty feet below the ship as well as thirty feet to the starboard and port sides of the ship. The visual quality was excellent. Suddenly, out from nowhere a large figure appeared by the ship, it looked like a large fish and as it came closer I realized that it was a great white shark. The shark was about twenty feet in length easy. I noticed Percy's eyes close.

"Percy what's wrong?" I asked concerned.

"Oh, that's her." Percy said.

"Who! The shark?" I asked.

"Yes, that's the shark that helped Theseus in Greece when he fought the water Drakon." Percy said.

"Really, she's along way from home." I said.

"Not necessarily it has been speculated that great whites travel thousands of miles in a year as they go to different hunting grounds." Percy said sounding all intellectual.

"There you go acting like the professor again." I said playfully.

"O.K., she's talking to me, she has a message for me. Stay here I'll be right back." Percy said, before I could say anything he jumped overboard fully dressed.

I looked back at the screen and sure enough there was Percy swimming alongside the shark and I could almost see them communicating by their movements. Percy nodded and rubbed his hand on the sharks massive head as the shark turned and swam away. I looked at Percy and he suddenly exploded up out of the water and landed on the aft deck of the ship, fully dry. Once he caught his breath he ran over to me.

"What did she say?" I asked curiously.

"It was a message from Theseus. He gave us coordinates to safely harbor the ship. There is a small inlet just north of the enemy base. We should be able to anchor there safely. She gave me the coordinates so I shouldn't have a problem at all finding it." Percy said.

"That's great, talk about a unique way of sending a message." I said.

"It sure was, but as you know the gods can't help us directly with a quest, but since the Stolls took our ride Zeus allowed this assistance as long as Theseus did not tell us in person." Percy said.

"I'm glad he helped I was worried about anchoring off a cliff with the ship, especially if a storm came a shore while we were in the middle of a rescue." I said.

"Well I checked the weather radio reports and there is a storm on its way. It's at least two days away, but the inlet is secluded and protected enough that the ship should weather the storm just fine." Percy said.

"Good, that's one less thing to worry about." I said, I could tell that my words reminded Percy of something, something troubling.

"What's wrong you have been acting a little strange since we left camp?" I asked.

"Theseus was concerned about the prophecy you know the line about how the power of the sea will be unleashed." Percy said carefully.

"What's the problem? That just means that you will be using your powers." I said matter-of-factly. Percy's face was blank and I saw something in his eyes I rarely ever saw, fear.

"It's just he's worried that I might have to use too much power, that I might hurt someone that's not an enemy." Percy said nervously.

"Percy, you'll be careful, we all have faith in you." I said reassuringly.

"Thank you, I know I can always count on you to make me feel better." Percy said as he smiled at me. It wasn't his usual care free smile this one looked forced.

"Are you telling me everything?" I asked.

"Yes, that's it and of course the Stolls are idiots." Percy said with his normal carefree smirk. I guess there wasn't anything else, but I'm going to keep an eye on him just in case.

The sun was high in the sky and the water was a beautiful blue-green color that exactly matched Percy's eyes. After all of the years that I've know him I'm still captivated by his eyes. They are the most beautiful color in the world, at least to me. The ship sailed straight and fast, Percy said that we were racing at an incredible twenty knots. Maybe Poseidon was giving us a little help too.

"Hey, wise girl come here I have something to show you." Percy said I walked back over to the control panel I guess I had wondered off a little as I was thinking.

"What's up?" I asked.

"See this button right here?" Percy asked.

"Yes!" I said.

"Push it!" Percy said as he smiled at me. I looked at the button and then back at Percy. His smile was genuine and not mischievous. I pushed the button and a large leather couch slid out of the wall opposite the wheel.

"What's that for?" I asked.

"In case the captain wants to stay up on deck by the wheel. You can relax in style." Percy said.

"Are you going to stay up here all night?" I asked.

"Maybe, I'm not tired and I want to make sure that we make up some ground on the other team." Percy said.

"Do you mind if I stay up here with you for a while?" I asked, knowing that he would say yes.

"Sure, I was hoping you would ask that." Percy said as he sat down on the couch and motioned for me to join him. I sat down next to him and he placed his arm around me and held me tight. I leaned my head on his chest and we stayed there just like that for a few minutes before one of us spoke.

"Have you figured out whether you're going to stay in a dorm or get your own place when you go to Columbia?" Percy asked.

"Well, my mom said she could help me get setup with a place that's close to Olympus and not too far from Columbia." I said.

"That sounds great, I'm sure Athena is proud of you." Percy said.

"She told me that the other day and it always makes me proud." I said remembering the last time my mom told me that she was proud of me.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Theseus told me he was proud of me before we left." Percy said.

"So where are you going to stay at school?" I asked curiously.

"Well since SUNY Maritime has a regimental curriculum. I have to stay on campus in the dorm with a roommate of course." Percy said.

"Well you should like that. You always wanted a regular roommate at camp." I said.

"Yeah, your right I do. It's just that I will have to keep a part of my life secret from them. I never liked that part of high school. I know I'm not going to like having to do it in college." Percy said. I understood what he meant. It was always so much easier at camp where everybody knew what you were.

"So do you ever think about the future?" I asked just trying to take his mind off of school and off of other responsibilities.

"Future as in careers or something else?" Percy asked curiously.

"Future as in us." I said hopefully.

"Wise girl you know I don't want anyone, but you." Percy said pointedly.

"Well, I know I want to be with you in the future." I said.

"Are you asking whether I ever think of marriage?" Percy said nervously.

"Does marriage make you nervous?" I said feeling a little self-conscious now.

"A little, but not in a bad way. It's just that we're only eighteen and we have our whole lives ahead of us, hopefully." Percy said.

"I thought you might be nervous about the idea of marriage with me." I said.

"That's not the case at all. You and I both have plans for school and for careers. I want to make sure that we both have the opportunity to do those things before get married and have kids." Percy said.

"Whoever said anything about kids, seaweed brain?" I said it was his turn to feel self-conscious.

"You don't want children when you're married?" Percy said he sounded like a little kid asking his mom a question he was so damn cute.

"Of course I do I was just messing with you." I said.

"Good because I want to have kids." Percy said. I never knew he wanted kids.

"A girl or a boy?" I asked I knew he would want a boy that he could go surf with or play in the water with.

"I want a little girl that looks exactly like you. A beautiful blond haired and gray eyed girl." Percy said as he smiled that wonderful smile at me. I was shocked, he surprised me again and I couldn't help but smile back at him.

"That's so sweet seaweed brain." I said, gods I sound so sappy.

"Well you know me, I'm just a romantic." Percy said sarcastically.

I elbowed him in the ribs a little just to make him squirm. Then I leaned up to his neck and kissed him softly. He made a slight groan and I could feel his body tense. I loved that I had that effect on him.

"Hey, you better stop that or I might hit a wrong button on the control panel." Percy said.

"It's not my fault that I have that effect on you." I said innocently.

"You know exactly what effect you have on me, wise girl." Percy said as he stared down at me with those green eyes and I felt myself go numb, he reached down and kissed me. I had a tingling sensation from my head to my toes. As he broke away from the kiss I felt myself trying to push forward in order to keep kissing. Then I heard Percy chuckle to himself.

"What's so funny, seaweed brain." I said incredulously.

"Well, Theseus taught me one thing about entertainment." Percy said.

"What's that?" I said curiously and still awfully flustered from the kiss.

"You have to keep them coming back for more." Percy said as he gave me his patented smirk.

"Well the audience can always get upset if they feel deprived and leave." I said matter-of-factly as I stood up from the couch and tried to walk away. One problem Percy grabbed a hold of my shoulder and turned me around. He leaned down and kissed me again. This kiss wasn't soft it was harder and more urgent, like he thought I would leave and never come back. When we broke apart I had a hard time catching my breath and Percy's face was red.

I looked at him and I could see the hunger in his eyes. I got a little afraid.

"Percy, I think I'm going to go downstairs. I'm feeling tired." I said anxiously. I could see the surprise on his face, I didn't let him say anything I just ran down the stairs to the lower decks and found one of the empty crew quarters. I didn't even look for Thals or Nico. I sat down on one of the bunk beds I couldn't believe the feeling that kiss had on me. Percy was like a hungry animal. I wasn't really scared of him as much as I was scared of what I would do if I stayed up there. I lay down on the bed and thought about those emotions and those desires. I knew they were there in the back of my mind when I looked at Percy, but I never knew they could be this strong. I love him with all my heart, but these desires were beyond just love I guess this was lust and the animal desire that comes with it. I wasn't ready to go further with Percy in that direction yet. I wanted our first time to be perfect, special. I hoped he would understand I knew guys thought differently about these things. However, Percy was different than your average guy. He didn't love or befriend that many people, but when he did that person could always count on him to be there. He was loyal to a fault and in his case it could be a fatal flaw, but as fatal flaws go it was definitely one of the better ones. I kept thinking about Percy as I fell asleep, then I dreamed of him.

About an hour later I awoke, I heard a sound coming from up on deck. I walked out of the crew quarters and looked for Thals and Nico. I walked to another level and found them in the entertainment room. They were asleep with the satellite television on. I continued to hear the music so I walked up to the stairway that led to the deck. Then I realized that the sound was music. Not just any kind of music, it was a guitar playing and then I heard Percy start to sing. I wasn't too familiar with the song so I used the App Shazam and it turned out the song was Annie's Song by John Denver. I listened intently to the words as Percy sang.

You fill up my senses like a night in a forest

Like the mountains in springtime, like a walk in the rain

Like a storm in the desert, like a sleepy blue ocean

You fill up my senses come fill me again.

Come let me love you, let me give my life to you

Let me drown in your laughter, let me die in your arms

Let me lay down beside you, let me always be with you

Come let me love you, come love me again.

...Let me give my life to you

Come let me love you, come love me again.

You fill up my senses like a night in a forest

Like the mountains in springtime, like a walk in the rain

Like a storm in the desert, like a sleepy blue ocean

You fill up my senses, come fill me again.

The song was beautiful I didn't go upstairs it was dark outside at the moment. I knew it would be beautiful up there, but I guess I was still a little scared. I wasn't ready, not that Percy would push or anything, but I was more afraid of what I would do. So I went back to the crew quarters and fell asleep again. I dreamed even more of Percy, but this time it was about the songs that he sang just for me.

I awoke the next morning with the sun shining through one of the portholes. I cleaned up and went upstairs to see that Percy was already up and he had already cleaned up. He looked great for someone who clearly stayed on deck all night.

"Hello wise girl, sleep well?" Percy said when he saw me.

"I slept well, thank you. You look great for someone who slept on a couch while steering a ship all night." I said.

"It's the sea air, it always energizes me. I feel incredible actually." Percy said with a beautiful smile. His eyes were almost glowing I never saw them this way. They were incredible.

Then I heard cursing and a few garbled sentences from below decks, then Thals and Nico walked up. They looked like Tartarus.

"You all look terrible, I take it that you both had a rough night." I said.

"You think!" Thalia said her voice was rough and I could tell she must have puked a lot yesterday.

Nico looked paler than normal if that's possible. He was holding his head like he had a hangover.

"Nico, man you look like you woke up on the wrong side of Cerberus." Percy said.

"I feel like Cerberus ate me and then threw me back up." Nico said with the same hoarse voice as Thalia.

"Did you all find the Dramamine?" Percy asked.

"The what?" Thalia asked.

"You didn't take it?" Percy asked incredulously.

"No, I never heard you I was too busy puking my guts out." Nico said as Thals nodded in agreement.

"Alright, I'll go an get it for you two." Percy said as he ran downstairs and came back with a very large medical kit. It was the size of a treasure chest. Percy opened it and found a green bottle with the medicine. He handed two pills each to Thals and Nico. They took them and then sat down at the table on the deck and then laid their heads flat on the table as if they were about to pass out.

"So much for mind over matter. I guess these two children of the big three can't handle their uncles domain." Percy said sarcastically.

"I'm surprised I'm not sick. You'll be fine, this isn't your first sea voyage." Percy said.

"I remember it's hard to forget that." I said still remembering the siren's song and it's effect on me.

"Don't worry, no sirens here unless you count a certain son of Poseidon with a guitar." Percy smiled as he took out his guitar and began to play Under the Sea from the Little Mermaid.

"Come on kids music." I said as I began to laugh.

"I had to play something for these poor sick Disney kids." Percy said jokingly as he pointed to Thalia and Nico.

Thals just raised her hand and extended a certain middle finger toward my boyfriend. Instead of getting mad Percy just began to laugh and continued the song until he finished.

When Percy finished playing he went back to the controls and disengaged the automatic pilot. He started to analyze the controls and look at the navigation system.

"Where are we now?" I asked.

"We're half-way there. We should arrive at the inlet tomorrow morning." Percy said.

"Are we ahead of the Stolls?" I asked.

"We are as long as they stopped somewhere on there way, if not they will be there tonight." Percy said.

"I'm sure they stopped Clarisse would want to make sure everyone was rested before trying to rescue the captives." I said.

"Agreed, so we should beat them by three or four hours." Percy said.

"Good, what do you want to do today?" I asked.

"Well, hopefully the Dramamine will kick in soon and our friends here will be up and about. If that happens, we might as well continue your training." Percy said.

"Is that safe to do on the ship?" I asked.

"Sure it is I won't let you destroy the ship. We'll continue working on reflexes, speed and agility. No use of big three powers on this ship, except mine of course." Percy said.

"Well while we're waiting I'll make some breakfast. How about waffles?" I asked.

"Sounds good, there are some frozen waffles in the fridge." Percy said.

I went downstairs to the galley and made breakfast it only took me about twenty minutes. I came back on deck and Thalia and Nico were sitting up. They both had a little more color on the faces.

"Hey, want some breakfast." I said as I put the waffles on the table. Thalia and Nico looked at the plate and they started to make horrible faces and noises in the back of their throats. They both ran to the side of the ship and began puking again. I didn't think they could have anything left in their stomachs after yesterday. With these two sick children of the big three this was going to be a long voyage.

Hope you enjoyed this fluffy chapter. I wanted to add a chapter about Percy and Annabeth. Next chapter will have some action.