Here's chapter 10! Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter! Each one made me smile!

Re-edited: 12/27/2016

Of course we ran into a sphinx on the way home from the airport. We made quick work of it though. It was always easier to take down a monster the second time around, but this was almost laughable. We took her out in under two minutes. It was probably some sort of record, it such a thing existed. Annabeth and I took down Miss Exemplary and, without even glancing back, I grabbed her hand and we headed back onto the busy sidewalk, flagged down a cab, and continued on our way home as if nothing had happened at all.

When we got to our building, late in the afternoon, I paid the cab driver and grabbed our suitcases to take inside. When we got to the apartment, I unlocked the door and followed Annabeth inside. She wore a plain tank top and shorts, and was covered still in monster dust. I thought she looked beautiful. I brought the suitcases to our bedroom and wandered out to find her again.

She was in the dining room, which was open to both the kitchen and the living room, staring at the boxes stacked all around her. I approached from behind and wrapped my arms around her. "I don't even know where to begin," she said. I looked around and was suddenly glad we'd gotten most of the necessities done before the wedding. At least now, we could take our time with getting everything else done. We didn't really have that much stuff, but the apartment was still pretty empty with the majority of our things still packed, and it was kind of overwhelming.

I rested my chin on her hair. "We'll figure it out," I replied.

She was quiet for a second. "Can you believe it, Percy? That this is all real?"

"No," I admitted, smiling. It still hadn't quite sunk in. During our honeymoon, nothing had seemed quite real, amazing at it was. Now we were home again. Annabeth was my wife. We were married. This was our life. It was very surreal, but I was looking forward to getting used to it.

"We did it," she murmured. I knew what she meant. We'd beaten all the odds and survived long enough to get to this point. Despite everything, we were finally here.

I kissed the top of her head and tightened my grip around her. She turned in my arms so she was facing me and leaned into my chest. I knew she was tired. I certainly was. Paris time was six hours ahead of New York, and we'd been traveling all day. Between jet lag and eight hours on a plane, sleep was sounding pretty good right about now.

I was just about to suggest that maybe a nap would be a good idea when there was a knock at the front door. Annabeth pulled away from me, eyes slightly narrowed and looking puzzled. She obviously wasn't expecting anyone either.

Reluctantly, I let go of her and walked toward the door. I opened it to reveal Grover standing in the hallway. His eyes were wide and he had a huge grin plastered to his face. He was bouncing slightly, as if about to erupt with excitement. He wore his usual human disguise: cap, fake feet, and crutches; though he clutched the crutches in his left hand at his side, obviously far too wound up to have the patience to deal with them.

Before I could so much as open my mouth to greet him, Grover started talking. "Hey, Percy! Thank the gods, you're back!" The satyr stepped inside, not waiting to be invited in, and didn't miss a beat, "How was the honeymoon? Do you know how hard it is to have to wait two whole weeks to tell my best friends the greatest news ever?" I blinked, utterly confused, as he made his way into the apartment, still talking, probably in search of Annabeth. I shook my head, bewildered and amused, shut the door, and followed him.

When I got to the living room, Grover was hugging Annabeth, who, I guessed, had been seated on the couch and had stood to greet him. I sat down on the cushion next to her and wrapped my arm around her when she sat down again. Belatedly, I realized this may not have been the best idea because I was comfortable and exhausted, and my eyes felt instantly heavy. Fighting it, I focused my attention on Grover, who seemed more than happy to stand, despite the armchair that was available just a few feet behind him. The satyr eyed the two of us and his unexplained euphoria seemed to fade for a moment. "You two look beat," he noticed.

"It's an eight hour flight from Paris," I explained without enthusiasm.

He nodded, as if that wasn't an obvious statement. "How long ago did you get back here?" he asked.

I shrugged. "About ten minutes before you did."

"Oh, really?" he asked, suddenly looking apprehensive, "Sorry, guys. I figured you'd be home way before then."

"Our flight got delayed," Annabeth explained with the same lack of animation, "Then we ran into a Sphinx on the way home and our cab got stuck in traffic."

"Oh, wow," Grover said, shaking his head, "You guys just have horrible luck, don't you?"

At this, we both started laughing. "You're just noticing now?" I asked, "Now, what's this big news you came all the way from camp to tell us?"

Grover lit up again like a Christmas tree. "Oh yeah!" he said, like he couldn't believe he'd forgotten. "Guys, guess what! You're not gonna believe it!" He looked like he was about to explode with joy again. "I'm gonna be a daddy!"

I blinked and sat up, dumbstruck; trying to figure out if I'd heard him correctly. "Wait, what?"

Annabeth perked up immediately. "Juniper's pregnant?" she asked, smiling hugely.

Grover nodded so vigorously, it was a wonder he didn't give himself whiplash. I hadn't seen his smile that big in a really long time; probably not since the day he and Juniper had gotten married. "Yeah!" he said, laughing with delight.

I stood up, a smile spreading across my face. "Grover, that's great! Congratulations." He hugged me and then Annabeth. It was at least another five full minutes before he calmed down enough to converse normally again.

"She told me the day after the wedding. Waiting two whole weeks to tell you was horrible," Grover was telling us animatedly.

"Why didn't you IM us?" Annabeth asked.

"I wanted to tell you in person," he replied, "And, well, you were on your honeymoon. I didn't want to, er, bother you." Annabeth turned a little pink but didn't argue.

"So, um, how long until the baby's born?" I asked.

"Well," Grover began, "We're not completely sure, but probably in about seven months. Juniper and I are both half-human, so usually that means the pregnancy will last about as long as it would for a human, maybe a little longer. So yeah, in, like, seven or eight months, since she's about two months in." He looked to Annabeth with an inquisitive expression, as if asking if that reasoning was correct or not.

She shrugged and nodded. "Maybe a little longer, since both of you grow more slowly than humans do, but it's unlikely." I refrained from smiling, wondering how, though not surprised, she knew that. Grover nodded and smiled again.

"Well, that's awesome, G-man," I said, "We're really happy for you."

"Thanks, me too!" he replied, his smile never faltering. "You guys should stop by camp for a visit sometime. I know it would mean a lot to Juniper. And me. And everyone else there." He finished lamely. Annabeth smiled and assured him that we would, as soon as we got unpacked and settled a little bit. "Great! Well, I should probably be heading back," he said, glancing toward the door, "The Counsel of Cloven Elders is meeting soon and I have to be there, unfortunately. I just wanted to stop by and tell you guys the good news."

"We're glad you did," Annabeth told him, smiling.

We walked him to the door and said our goodbyes. "Congrats again," I told him before he left.

"To you guys too," he said, "You did just get married."

I laughed quietly. "Thanks, Grover."

"Tell Juniper hi for us," Annabeth told him.

"I will. Thanks, guys. See ya!" Grover promised as he made his way out the door and toward the elevator.

I smiled and closed the door behind him before following after Annabeth again into the living room. She retook her place on the couch, glancing over at the boxes again and clearly wondering where on earth to begin. I sat down next to her, put my arm around her, and leaned back, pulling her down with me. "We'll unpack later," I murmured, "The boxes aren't going anywhere." I immediately expected her to protest, so I was very surprised when she nodded and leaned further into me, surrendering. I smiled.

We were quiet for a moment. Annabeth spoke first. "That'll be us someday, you know."

I smiled again. "I know."

"Is that hard to believe?"

I thought about it for a second and chuckled. "Kind of, but I totally want it."

Annabeth smiled too. "Me too," she said, "Someday."

"Someday," I agreed, still smiling.

The subject, foreign and strange as it was, was also familiar at the same time. I'd thought about having a family with Annabeth many times. Long before we'd gotten married, we'd known. We'd never actually come right out and plainly said it, but it had always been implied between the two of us that, one day, we would get married, and one day, we would start a family of our own. We were married now. We weren't ready to have kids yet, but, in a few years, when we were ready, I had no doubt, we would.

In the meantime, it was just us and I wasn't necessarily in any hurry to change that. A family would come in time, but right now, we had more than enough. There was no rush. Our entire lives had been spent fighting and struggling, at times, to survive to see another day. We hadn't been able to enjoy being young and alive together. Now, we'd made it through all of that and we were going to relish the peace we had, for however long it lasted—and, gods so help me, it had better last for a while, because I was through with being their punching bag.

Annabeth and I were going to enjoy each other, together, and, for now, nothing else mattered more than that.

We fell asleep like that, half lying on the couch and each other. And we didn't wake up until four o'clock the next morning.

Thanks for reading!