A/N: Hey! It took me long enough to update, huh? Yeah. Sorry about that by the way, but hopefully you like the chapter anyway!

So, I think that this story is going to be finished by Christmas, but we're going to keep our fingers crossed that it will be sooner than that! Also, I made a change to Chapter 5: Presents and Jumping. It was a one word change, but it changed the entire timeline of the story, so you might want to go and check that out again.

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Annabeth burst out of the water and crawled up onto the beach, gasping for air. Her lungs were killing her, and she had been about ready to drown.

It was obvious that Percy had never tried traveling through water like that. It had been clumsy and awful, and Annabeth was so injured that her body was extremely exhausted.

Annabeth's arms gave out, and she fell onto her side.

Oh my gods! That was awesome! I never knew I could do that! Thank you, Poseidon! Annabeth, did you see-?

She may have been exhausted, but Percy was wired. Water, especially salt water, always gave him an energy boost, and Annabeth was jealous.

Gods, Annabeth!

"Annabeth!" Percy said. "Are you okay?"

She tried to move or say something, but her mouth wouldn't move and her eyes wouldn't open. Everything was starting to swim, and she didn't think she was going to make it much longer before she-

Ω

Annabeth!

"Annabeth! Please! Hey, wake up! Come on, Annabeth! Wake up!"

Her eyes fluttered open, and she moaned. She blinked a few times before she could actually see anything.

Percy was hovered over her. His mouth kept moving, and his eyes were wide.

"Percy?" She said.

Thank gods.

"I'm right here." Percy said.

"What happened?"

"You passed out. I gave you some nectar and ambrosia, probably too much, but I don't think it healed your ankle yet. We'll have to wait a little while before you can have any more of either of them though." Percy explained. "Do you want to sit up?"

She nodded, and all of her muscles protested as Percy pulled her up so she could sit. The world spun in a circle, and her head dropped down onto his shoulder.

Gods, why was she so tired? Of course, she had fallen from a cage twenty feet in the air, broken her ankle, and her throat was cut, but really? That was nothing compared to some of the stuff she had dealt with.

Annabeth, are you sure you're-

"I'm fine." Annabeth said weakly. "Just tired. Where are we?"

She could hear the waves crashing onto the beach, and her clothes were a little wet from the water, but she hadn't bothered to look around before she had passed out cold. She had no idea where Percy had taken them.

"Well…" Percy said slowly. A few different thoughts flashed through his mind. A big, red bridge. Fog. A biplane. Thalia with a shield.

Annabeth lifted her head from his shoulder and looked around anyway, but even before she did, she knew. She knew this place; she could feel it in her stomach. Instead of making her feel like it should, she didn't know what to feel.

Percy recognized the place too.

With Percy's help, Annabeth struggled to her feet. She gripped his arm and said, "Come on. I know somewhere we can go."

Ω

Annabeth was beginning to feel better. She had shoved even more ambrosia into her mouth (Percy had been so mad when he saw her) and finally her ankle healed and the cut on her throat closed into a dark pink line.

Since she had figured out they were in San Francisco, they had started walking toward the subdivision where her dad lived. It wasn't too far away from where they were now, and it would be an easy walk as long as nothing got in their way. When she had spent a few weeks out here a couple of years ago, she had gone to the exact beach that they had washed up on numerous times. When she was away from Camp, she liked to be close to the ocean for some reason.

She had hesitated to go back to her dad's house. She wasn't sure how he and her stepmother would react to seeing her again. Sure, she had called him a few weeks ago and patched things up, and they were good now, but she didn't know if that allowed for her to come stumbling up out of nowhere and ask for somewhere to stay for a night.

Why are you nervous?

"I'm not nervous." Annabeth said.

Percy looked over to her, and she could see the sarcasm in his green eyes. "That's why your hand is sweaty."

"My hand is sweaty because I ate an ungodly amount of ambrosia." Annabeth said.

He shrugged. "Your fault. Not mine."

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

It still looks the same here.

She kept forgetting that Percy had been here before. He and Thalia had come to get her father's help on that quest they had been on to find Artemis (and save Annabeth). Percy never really talked about that quest too much, so Annabeth had never known all of the details. She had found out more while they were at the Hoover Dam than any other time before.

"It's been years since I've been out here." Annabeth said.

Percy squeezed her hand. "You've talked to him, haven't you? I thought everything was good with you guys now."

"It is, but I still don't know how he will react to us just showing up on his doorstep out of nowhere." Annabeth said. "Especially when I look this bad."

I think you look great.

Percy grinned as if he had forgotten that she could read his mind. Either he had or he didn't care. "Well, let's go find out."

Ω

Just let me do it!

Annabeth bit her lip as Percy stepped in front of her and knocked on her dad's door. She had been standing here for the past five minutes, but every time she reached up to knock, she hesitated, and her hand always fell back down to her side.

"Percy!" Annabeth hissed.

He shrugged and took a step back to stand behind her.

On the other side of the door, Annabeth heard footsteps. She couldn't figure out why her heart was racing, or why she was sweating so much. It had to be all of the ambrosia. She was not nervous. Was she?

The door swung open.

Her father was standing on the other side, smiling. He was wearing an aviator cap and a pair of goggles. His shirt was buttoned wrong so his collar was sticking up. He was smiling, but he wasn't looking at them yet. His face was still turned in to the house as he yelled, "Honey! My planes are here!"

But then he turned toward Annabeth and Percy, and his delighted smile melted for half a second before he raised an eyebrow and smiled again.

"Annabeth?" He asked.

She smiled nervously (so maybe she was nervous), "Hey, Dad."

"Annabeth!" He said as he pulled her into a hug. "I can't believe you're here!"

I told you, Annabeth.

He sounded really excited. Maybe Annabeth was wrong to worry about coming here.

Her dad pulled back and looked behind Annabeth's shoulder, like he had just realized that she wasn't alone. He looked confused for half a second as he looked at Percy.

Percy held out his hand and shook her dad's, "Nice to see you again, Dr. Chase."

Her dad raised his eyebrows again, "Percy? Percy Jackson?"

"That's me." Percy said with a laugh.

Her dad smiled again. "Well! You grew up!"

Oh yeah. I was in that awkward stage when I was here last time. I didn't have any muscles then.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Dad, can we come in? It's kind of an emergency."

He stepped to the side and beckoned them forward, "Yes! Of course! Come in!"

Annabeth led the way, and she felt Percy following close behind her.

Their house looked the same as it had the last time she had been here. There were magazines stacked up onto the coffee table. Everything was considerably messy, but it looked like a home. There were very few differences. Instead of LEGOS being thrown around the room, there was a couple of gaming systems and a few controllers lying around under the television.

"Frederick?" Someone called as they came into the living room. Annabeth's stepmom peeked around the corner from the kitchen. "Who was at the door? Did they bring the planes you-"

Annabeth's stepmom, Mia, froze in her steps, and Annabeth cringed inwardly. How was she going to react to seeing her? Was she going to go crazy and start yelling and-

"Annabeth?" Mia asked.

"Hi, Mia." Annabeth said carefully.

She flicked a glance to Frederick and she smiled, "Frederick, I told you she wouldn't hate us. You need to stop worrying so much."

Ω

These cookies are pretty good, but they'd be better if they were blue.

Percy, Annabeth, Mia, and her dad had all sat down at the kitchen table to talk. Mia had brought out some cookies and juice for them to snack on. Her dad had demanded to hear the whole story, and Annabeth had done her best to tell all of it.

"What's on your neck, Annabeth?" Mia asked in a slight pause from the story.

Annabeth stiffened and covered her neck with her hand. She didn't want anyone to see it. She didn't want anyone to look at it or-

It's okay! It's okay, Annabeth!

Percy set his hand on her lower back carefully. "We had a little accident with a monster, but everything is fine. Annabeth is okay."

She blinked a couple of times and took a deep breath. She knew she looked stupidly weak right now, but when Mia had asked her that she had flashed right back to when Regina had been standing over her and holding a knife to her throat.

"Yeah." Annabeth said as she shook herself. "I'm fine."

Her dad was studying her. He looked like he wanted to say something else about it, but obviously he decided not to. His gaze flicked back over to Percy, and his eyes narrowed.

Just then Annabeth realized how close she and Percy were sitting right now. He hadn't removed his arm from around her either. How did this look to her parents? If they asked about their relationship, how was Annabeth going to explain that they weren't dating, but they loved each other and they would be together if Aphrodite hadn't cursed them so Annabeth could hear his thoughts?

Luckily, Mia stepped in before her dad could ask. "So, you guys need to stay here tonight, right?"

Annabeth started to shake her head. "No, we should probably be going. We're supposed to get Aphrodite back before-"

Annabeth, this is like our only chance to sleep in a real bed.

She ignored Percy. Didn't he realize that they were trying to succeed in their quest? They only had a few days left before they had to have Aphrodite back, and they didn't even have a clue on where to start looking. They didn't have time to stay here!

Her dad jumped in, "No! You guys need to stay here at least for tonight! You both look horrible!"

Annabeth was about to say Well, thanks, Dad, love you too, but Mia hit him on the shoulder with a dishrag.

"Frederick!" She scolded. "What he means is that you two look extremely exhausted. You need to sleep for one night before you continue on your quest. You guys can stay here tonight and plan what you're going to next, and in the morning I will cook you breakfast and we can take you two to the airport."

Bad idea.

"Um, you can't do that." Percy said nervously.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, leave it to the seaweed brain to make it literal.

"Can't what?" Her dad asked.

"Take us to the airport. I can't fly." Percy said with a look at her.

Mia and her dad both looked confused. "It's the fastest way to travel. We really don't mind-"

Annabeth broke in the conversation. "We know you don't mind, but we really can't fly. Zeus would shoot a plane that we were on out of the sky."

She was hoping that they would take that as the end of the conversation and just assume that this was how things were, but after being out of her world for so long, she guessed that they wanted to know anything they could.

"Why?" Her dad asked.

Percy looked kind of embarrassed. "Um, Zeus doesn't really like for me to be in his domain. He gets kind of angry, like blow you into a thousand pieces angry."

Annabeth rolled her eyes again. They still looked confused, and Percy wasn't doing a very good job of explaining anything.

"Percy is a son of Poseidon. Zeus is a little temperamental about his brother's illegitimate children being in his territory. Some plane crashes aren't just accidents." Annabeth said.

Way to make me sound like a mistake. When I saved Olympus I thought we were done with that.

Percy was red.

She winced and put her hand on his arm. "Sorry, illegitimate was a bad word to use. You know I didn't mean it like that."

Whatever.

He shrugged, "It's true I guess."

You know if I really wanted to be mean, I could say the same thing about you.

Mia cleared her throat, but Frederick couldn't stop looking back and forth between Annabeth and Percy. "So, um, that's okay. We could take you to a bus station or wherever in the morning. We can figure it all out later. Frederick, did you tell Matthew and Bobby to walk home today?"

He nodded absently. "They should be here soon."

Annabeth got a little excited about that. Since she hadn't been around too much, she hadn't ever really gotten to know them, but they always acted excited when she was here. She hated to admit it, but when she did miss this place, she thought about them the most. It would be fun to introduce Percy to them. They were always bugging her to tell them about demigod stuff.

An awkward silence settled over them, and after a few more seconds, Mia got up and moved to the stove. "Well, we're having grilled chicken and salad for dinner. I hope you guys are hungry."

Man, I'm starving. It's been ages since I ate.

"I am, actually." Annabeth said. "And I know this dork is starving."

"You know me so well." Percy said playfully.

Her dad cleared his throat, "So, you're a son of Poseidon?"

You haven't already told him this? I figured he knew…?

Annabeth thought she had told them already, but maybe she had just told them about him instead of telling them who he was. When she had spent time out here a few years ago, talking about demigod stuff wasn't exactly encouraged.

Percy raised an eyebrow, "Yes, sir."

"So, you're pretty important, I'm assuming." Frederick said.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Dad, don't bump up his ego anymore. That's all we need right now right, Seaweed Brain?"

"Actually," Percy said, "I kind of want to hear more about this me being important stuff. So, come on, Dr. Chase. Hit me with the questions."

Ω

They sat at the table for a long time. Her dad asked as many questions as he could think of, and Percy answered all of them with a smile and a laugh. Most of the questions were about him anyway, and Percy made it as entertaining as possible.

After Mia had started laughing with them, she had sent the out to the living room, claiming that she had to cook dinner and couldn't do that while she was laughing so hard. Annabeth was glad to see that she was smiling as she said it.

So now, Annabeth and Percy were in the living room. They had pushed the coffee table back to the couch, and they were throwing a few halfhearted kicks and punches at each other. They were trying to come up with a strategy, but it was difficult for them to sit down and think with all of the distractions.

Watch her leg.

"So," Percy said as her leg caught him in the stomach. "Where do you think we should go next?"

Annabeth avoided his fist and twisted under his arm. "I don't know. Regina didn't say anything else to even give us a hint."

"What are we going to do then?" Percy asked. He grabbed her leg and stopped her kick before she hit him in the jaw. "We only have what? Five days left? Maybe four?"

If my math is right.

Annabeth nodded. "Yeah. Zeus is going to lose his shit when she isn't back by then. Ares is going to throw a fit and demand to search for her, and Hera is going to get mad and say that she should be there and that we should have done a better job. They're going to come after us first."

Percy frowned and dropped her leg, dodging another swing of her fist. "You think Poseidon and Athena wouldn't do anything about them wanting to kill us?"

"Your dad would probably get mad, but if Zeus wants to kill is then there's nothing they could do." She said.

I guess you're right.

"Like always," Annabeth said playfully.

Well, you're in a good mood.

She shrugged as she landed a few blows on his sides. "I guess I am."

I like it.

She grinned and they kept fighting. She noticed that Percy was holding back, but she really didn't mind right now. Her dad would probably be a little nervous if they started full out fighting anyway.

She was just about to ask Percy if he had been having any dreams about their quest when the front door opened.

They grew up!

Annabeth dodged Percy's fist again and twisted his arm around to an almost painful degree. If he hadn't been invulnerable, his bone would have snapped.

"Annabeth?" Someone asked squeakily.

Her two little brothers, Bobby and Matthew, were standing at the door staring at her. They both had their jaws hanging open, and they were staring at her like they couldn't believe she was actually there.

She grinned at them and let Percy out of the arm hold, "Hey, guys."

"Annabeth!" They yelled as they swarmed her.

She hugged both of them, and they were talking her ear off about how they had missed her and they hadn't seen her in a while.

I miss Camp.

Annabeth wanted to look up at Percy. She forgot that he wasn't ever around any other little kids besides the ones back home. Bobby and Matthew were probably reminding him of some of the younger demigods.

Bobby looked up to see Percy, "Who's this, Annabeth?"

She looked up to Percy and he kneeled down in front of the twins. He held out his hand and shook both of theirs seriously.

"I'm Percy Jackson." He said just as seriously.

Matthew looked over at Annabeth. "Whoa, is he like you, Annabeth? Does he fight monsters?"

Before Annabeth could answer, Percy laughed and winked at them. "Oh, yeah. I fight a lot more monsters than she does. I'm better at it too."

Bobby broke into the conversation before Annabeth could interrupt, "Cool! Do you have a knife like she does?"

You showed them your knife?

Well, she technically hadn't showed it to them, but they had maybe caught a glimpse of it when she was fighting off a hellhound in the park a few years ago.

"No way!" Percy said. "I have something better."

Bobby and Matthew both shouted in excitement when Percy pulled Riptide out and uncapped it. The pen grew into a sword, and the bronze blade glowed awesomely.

"Annabeth?" Mia called from the kitchen. "Can you come here for a second?"

Annabeth turned around and saw her standing in the door to the kitchen. She smiled and waved at Matthew and Bobby before looking back to Annabeth.

Uh-oh, need me to come with?

She didn't answer him.

She followed Mia into the kitchen cautiously. Had the whole nice thing been an act? Had she just been acting like that in front of her dad? Annabeth had always been good at reading people, and she hadn't thought that Mia had been playing, but Annabeth had been wrong before. Was she calling her in here to tell them to get out and never come back?

Mia turned toward her.

"Percy is a nice guy." She said.

Annabeth didn't let her relief show. That's what she wanted? To talk about Percy?

She nodded, "Yeah, he is."

"Are you guys dating?" Mia asked.

"No. We're not." Annabeth managed to say.

Mia cocked her head to the side. "Why not? I saw the way he looks at you."

Annabeth shrugged. Were they really doing this? Trying to have girl talk? "Yeah, but things are just too complicated right now. I mean, this quest is really dangerous and I'm afraid that-"

Annabeth stopped short. Was she really just about to tell her stepmother that she was afraid one of them might die on this quest? Wasn't this the sort of information that she didn't need to share with anyone?

Mia didn't press her for more information like Annabeth thought she would. Instead, she looked out of the kitchen and back to where Percy was standing with Bobby and Matthew.

"He's going to be a great dad." Mia said.

Annabeth actually nodded. Once upon a time, she had thought that maybe, just maybe, she would get to grow up and marry him someday and have kids with him and just live with him. But by the way this quest was looking and going right now, they would be dead within the week.

"Yeah." Annabeth said. Her voice was hollow, and she really didn't want to talk anymore.

Mia looked away from Percy, "Anyway, I just wanted you to know that you have a home here."

Annabeth tried for a smile, but she doubted if she would ever really belong here. The only place she felt like she fit in was back at Camp Half-Blood. "Thanks."

"Dinner is ready. Call the boys in here and we can eat." Mia said.

Ω

Annabeth stood under the water for what felt like forever. She didn't normally take long showers, but the quiet house and the hot water felt so good she couldn't even resist.

Dinner with everyone had been good. Percy talked a lot more than she did about the demigod stuff. Her dad and stepmom seemed just as interested as Bobby and Matthew, and Percy's answers and explanations were hilarious.

She still couldn't really believe they had welcomed them into their home like they did. Annabeth had been expecting a full-out disaster instead of a welcoming, Thanksgiving-like reunion.

After dinner, they had all sat around for a while until it was Bobby and Matthew's bedtime. Her dad and stepmom went to bed at the same time. Mia had made out the couch for Percy, and she told Annabeth to use whatever she needed. They had apparently left her room then same considering the fine layer of dust covering the floor. Before her dad had gone to bed, he had specifically told Annabeth that Percy was to sleep downstairs on the couch.

Yeah. As if they were going to be doing anything tonight anyway.

So now, she was standing in the shower. She had put her and Percy's clothes into the washing machine since they were both pretty ratchet. Percy had borrowed a pair of her dad's old sweatpants, and Annabeth had managed to find a tank top and a pair of shorts from one of the dressers in her room.

Annabeth's eyes closed as she dragged her hands through her hair, and she didn't even hear the door open.

Annabeth?

Her eyes snapped open and she froze under the shower spray.

"Percy?" She asked.

There was a slight pause before, "Hey."

She rolled her eyes and huddled closer to the water, "What the heck are you doing? I didn't even hear you come in."

"I'm getting better at blocking you." Percy said. His voice was impossibly close, and Annabeth could feel herself blushing. What the heck was he doing in here?

"You realize that I'm in the shower, correct?" Annabeth said.

"Yeah."

"Then what the heck are you doing in here? Is something wrong?" She said.

I had a bad feeling. Being by myself was making me nervous.

Annabeth sighed. She was in the shower. She didn't really think that Percy understood that, but maybe he did and maybe he just didn't care. But how was she supposed to answer him? She couldn't exactly tell him to get over it and get out. This quest had been nerve-wracking the entire time, and they had stayed as close together as possible, but now that they had a moment to be by themselves, he didn't want that?

"So are you staying in here?" Annabeth asked.

"Um, yeah." Percy said lowly. She could almost hear him blushing.

She sighed again and cut off the warm water. "Fine. Hand me my towel and close your eyes."

What?!

"You can't expect me to stand in here all night! Close your eyes and hand me my towel!" She said.

Annabeth didn't hear anything from Percy for a few seconds. She knew that he hadn't left, but what the heck was he doing?

She poked her head out around the shower curtain and saw him picking up her towel. He was wearing a pair of gray sweatpants without a shirt. His face was blood red, and his eyes were wide.

Even though Annabeth was embarrassed to Hades and back, she could barely hide her smile. Lately, it was rare that Percy got embarrassed, but when he did Annabeth had to enjoy it. There was just something about shy Percy that she loved.

Whoa! Hold up! That she loved? Did she really just think that? She loved Percy?

Annabeth loved Percy.

Good gods, how was she just now admitting this to herself? Had she felt this way the whole time? Had she always loved him?

Annabeth?

She shook her head and blinked a few times. Percy was already holding her towel out to her.

"Thanks." She whispered as she took it and shut the curtain back.

Umm…

"So, have you thought anything about what we should do tomorrow?" Percy said.

Good. Now that she could actually focus on something maybe she wouldn't do anything crazy like kiss him or drop her towel. That would be embarrassing.

"Well, not really, to be honest." Annabeth said. "I was thinking that we might use the compass that Athena gave us back in New York. That's going to be one of our only options right now, I think."

"You're probably right." Percy said. "I forgot we had that thing."

Annabeth wrapped her towel around her body and wrung her hair out. It was now or never. She had to get out eventually.

She shoved the shower curtain open and stepped out of the shower.

Why is this so awkward?

"Maybe it's because I was in the shower and you so rudely decided to interrupt me." Annabeth teased him. Percy was standing off to the side against the bathroom wall, looking at anything except her. His face was extremely red, and his thoughts were running together.

"It's cute when you're embarrassed." Annabeth teased again.

I am not!

"I'm not embarrassed!" Percy said with a glare.

"That's why your face is red, huh?"

Annabeth! Leave me alone!

She shook her head amusedly, "No way. You asked for this. I am never going to let you live this down. Now, come on. Let's go to my room."

Ω

Annabeth made Percy stand outside while she put her clothes on. She changed their clothes over to the dryer, and now they were sitting on her bed in her room.

She shoved her wet hair behind her ear, "Do you think we should look at a map and plan out where we are going? Or should we just do what we normally do?"

What is it that we normally do?

"When you decide to screw the plan, and we just do a lot of lucky improve that could get us killed." Annabeth said.

"Well, that stuff has always worked before." Percy said with a grin.

Why don't you dry your hair?

"Because I don't have time, and a hairdryer would wake everyone up." Annabeth said with an eye roll.

Percy reached out slowly and worked his hand into her damp hair. He stared at her for half a second, and then Annabeth felt her hair dry and water drip down her back.

It worked!

Okay, that was pretty cool. If she kept Percy around, she wouldn't ever need another hairdryer again!

Suddenly, Annabeth couldn't take it. She knew that they weren't together for a reason, but there was something about this moment that she just couldn't handle. She just wanted to lean over and kiss him so badly. And why couldn't she? How in the world did it make sense that they had to wait? Maybe she had been the one to tell him that, but how could she have been so stupid?

The words fell out of her mouth before she could stop them. "Percy, what are we doing?"

He smiled lightly, like he knew what she was trying to say. "We're trying to get home. Me and you."

"You and me," Annabeth corrected automatically, but grammar was the least of her worries. "What would we be doing if we were at home?"

Percy scooted a little closer to her, "Well, I'd probably be doing some sword training, and you would probably be working on Olympus. You would be almost done by now because all of your buildings are so kickass."

"Yeah?" Annabeth asked, shifting even closer to him so they were side by side on her bed. "What else?"

Just say it, Jackson!

"Well, we would be dating because you can't resist me." Percy said with a grin. "And we would be going on a picnic on the beach tonight. And you know what else would happen?"

Annabeth shook her head, "What?"

His arm slipped around her waist and his fingers rested against the beginning of one of her scars. "I would tell you that I loved you, and for some crazy reason, you would say it back."

She couldn't help but smile, "Oh yeah?"

"Oh yeah. And then you know what else would happen?" Percy asked as he moved even closer. They were pressed together, and his head was less than an inch from hers. All she could see was the sea green of his eyes.

"What?" Annabeth whispered.

"Maybe something like this." He whispered as he bent his head to hers.

Percy pressed his lips against hers in a sweet kiss. It wasn't like their last one that was filled with fire and passion; this was just a slow, sweet kiss.

Oh man.

Annabeth felt the exact same way, but there was a reason they weren't together right now. Thankfully, the more rational side of her brain took over (she didn't know how; it seemed like all of her thoughts flew out of the window when Percy kissed her) and she pulled back to lean her forehead against his.

Sorry.

"Don't be." Annabeth murmured.

I should probably go back downstairs.

Percy's arms started to loosen from around her, and he started to pull away.

Annabeth clutched at his shoulders since he wasn't wearing a shirt. "No, don't leave. Just stay here for a little while."

You need to rest.

"I can rest right here." Annabeth said as she laid down on her bed. Her eyes closed, but she said, "Please stay. Just hold me."

Wise Girl…

She heard Percy sigh, but he moved to her and wrapped his arms around her. He slipped her up onto his chest, and Annabeth fell to sleep listening to his heartbeat.

Ω

Annabeth took one last look at her stepmom and dad standing behind her.

This morning she had woken up alone. She had remembered falling asleep in Percy's arms, but he must have gotten up sometime in the middle of the night and went back downstairs. Her suspicions were confirmed when she passed by the living room on her way to get their clothes from the laundry room, and she saw Percy thrown out on the couch with his mouth hanging open. A light snore was coming from him, and Annabeth couldn't help the small smile that formed on her lips when she thought about last night.

In all actuality, Annabeth couldn't wait to get home. She hoped that all of those things Percy had told her about last night were going to happen when they did get home.

Once Annabeth had grabbed their clothes, she had woken Percy up and told him that it was time to leave. He seemed kind of disoriented, but Annabeth guessed that it was just the way Percy was in the mornings.

By the time she had gotten all of her stuff ready, changed clothes, gotten Percy ready, and cleaned up all of the mess they had caused, her dad had walked into the kitchen.

It had taken a few minutes of arguing, but she had finally managed to convince him that they had to go.

Her stepmom had been the one to suggest the train station.

So, they had loaded their stuff into her dad's car, stopped by the store and bought two jackets for them, and they had driven to the train station. Annabeth had checked the compass this morning, and they bought two tickets to Sacramento. As far as she could tell, they needed to head north, and that was as far as they could go on this train.

It's been a while since I've been on a train.

Her dad stepped forward and hugged her again. "Annabeth, please stay safe, and come back and visit soon."

She nodded. "Okay."

Her stepmom hugged her too and whispered, "Don't forget what I told you. You have a home here."

Annabeth just nodded and moved closer to Percy, "Thanks for everything, guys."

They both nodded, and the conductor yelled, "All aboard!"

Come on, Annabeth.

Annabeth let Percy pull her closer to the train, but then she took the lead and hauled herself up the stairs.

"So, do you know where we're going?" Percy asked as they got to the top of the steps.

Annabeth took one last look at the foggy landscape below her. The Golden Gate Bridge glowed in the distance, and the bay glittered off of the shore. She would be back. She would see this place again.

She shook her head, "No. Just get on the train."

A/N: Leave me a review! Thanks for reading!

-SomethingMoreCreative