Percy POV

We'll arrive at Camp Half-Blood any minute. Annabeth is scared. So am I. I told them I would tell them what happened to us, but I don't know if I can.
Annabeth hasn't had another flashback. Thank the gods. They scare me. Knowing that there's nothing I can do.
Annabeth slept in my room again last night. We can't sleep apart. There's no way.
Once last night, she woke up crying. She sobbed something about don't leave her. Of course I wouldn't.
Nothing has been or will be the same anymore. Annabeth is broken. So am I. We wake up crying every night. I can't bear for her to be out of my sight. I always have to be touching her in some way. Holding her hand, putting my arms around her. I feel like if I'm not holding onto her, she might disappear forever.
She does the same to me. She won't leave unless she has to. She walks slower. She hardly ever smiles, much less laughs. Just looking at her brings fresh pain.
Her broken grey eyes look into mine. "You ok?" Her voice has become softer.
"Yeah. I'm ok. Are you?"
"I guess."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm scared. What if, we can't get married and live in camp? We can't live in the mortal world. The monsters and everything..."
I hug her. "Everything will work out. If we have too, we'll elope and just live in my cabin. Ok?"
"Ok."
"But I'll do everything in my power to give you your dream wedding."
"Thank you," she says into my chest.
I put my forehead on the top of her head. "If you want," I murmur into her hair. "I'll tell the whole story."
She nods. "Ok."
"I see it!" I point over the edge. There is camp.
She grabs my hand. "You ready?"
I nod. "You?"
"No."
"Hey, you can do it Wise Girl."
"I hope so Seaweed Brain."
I take her hand as we descend. She squeezes mine nervously. Time to get off. All the campers run to greet us. They are cheering and screaming wildly. Annabeth is almost separated from me, but I pull her close.
People clap us on the back, congratulate us, and all that crap. They have banners with scenes of me and Annabeth fighting monsters.
Of course the flashbacks choose that moment to attack Annabeth. She grabs my shirt, and whispers, "It's coming Percy," before she is completely taken over.
Campers mouths drop open as she screams. I hold onto her as Piper, Hedge, and Leo tell the campers to give her some space.
Her pupils are dilated. She cries out. "No! No!"
Chiron canters over to us. "What's going on?"
"We'll explain later," Leo says.
She screams. "Percy no! Let go! Please!"
I pick her up bridal style. "Hey, hey." I whisper to her. "We're safe. I'm not leaving you again. Ok?"
She starts madly clutching at me. "No, no!"
Chiron looks freaked out. Like, really freaked out. So do all the campers. But my only concern is Annabeth.
"Annabeth!" I say, looking into her eyes. "Annabeth wake up. Ok?"
I try to keep calm in the outside, but inwardly, I'm scared out of my mind. I hate seeing her this way. There's nothing I can do. Nothing.
She screams one last time and then wakes up. She looks at all the campers in fear. Then looks back up at me. "I-I..."
"It's ok," I say.
"Let's go, Chiron says. "Piper and Leo kept us posted about what was happening with them, but we need to hear what happened to you and Annabeth in Tartarus.
I nod. I don't put Annabeth down. I want her to be as close as possible when I tell the story.
We go to the amphitheater. Some Apollo and Hephaestus kids rigged a jumbotron and speakers so you can see and hear the action no matter where you are in the amphitheater. Chiron, Annabeth, and I are in the center, there is a couch for Annabeth and I. Chiron stands. "So," Chiron says gently. "Start from when you were on the ledge.
"She wanted me to let go. But, I was like Jason. I lost all my memories, as you probably know. I only remembered one thing: Annabeth. When she found me I swore I'd never leave her. So when she wanted me to let go of her, I just couldn't. I told her we were staying together and she wasn't getting away from me ever again. Then, I let go."
There are some "Awwwww's" from the Aphrodite cabin.
"It took us three days to reach the bottom. Annabeth had broken her ankle, and it was in bad shape. We found a cave next to a stream and stayed there. We lived on water and ambrosia for six or seven days, but we ran out of ambrosia. There were, there were voices everywhere, causing nightmares and hallucinations. I was wounded by a hellhound. I couldn't walk, and each step brought agony for Annabeth. She had to fight when monsters came after I was wounded. But her side was impaled, and she lost a lot of blood."
Tears form in my eyes as I say the next part. "She almost died. She was dying, and so was I when Jason, Piper, and Leo found us. They took us out of Tartarus. Our parents and Apollo came and healed us. Almost."
"Almost?" Chiron asks.
I start to choke up. "Annabeth contracted a disease in Tartarus that no god could heal. She collapsed when we boarded the Argo II. Apollo checked her out and told us about it. We gave her nectar and ambrosia. In a few hours, the sickness was gone. But then she had one of those...flashbacks."
"The disease brings back my worst memories," Annabeth says. "The sickness is gone, but I'll always have the flashbacks."
I press her to me. "Chiron, I have to ask you something."
"Yes?"
"Annabeth and I can't be apart. The whole no campers alone in a cabin will just torture both of us. If we want to sleep, we need each other. We can't be separated like if we were normal campers."
"What are you getting at?"
"We wanna get married. And build a house on the beach. Safe from monsters."
He nods. "I see no reason why not. I understand your situation. If it were under any other circumstances, I would refuse, but I understand. Mr. D won't mind either."
Annabeth hugs me. "We'll be ok now," she whispers.
I rock back and forth with her. "We will be."
"We can enlist some campers to help with the building. Until then, you can both stay in Percy's cabin. But please no fooling around until after marriage!"