The polls have been taken down. It was a three-way tie for Sophia, Olivia, and Milo! Thank you for taking the time to vote! :)

Before you come into this chapter, I'll let you guys know I've started a new story! It's the one I suggested making before called: A Light in the Dark. Check it out if you can! ;D It's another PJO story, naturally...

Of course, because I'm in the middle of two stories, that means updates might take a bit longer than they already do (hence the reason it took me so long to update this one). There will most likely be a longer space in between each post. Sorry. I say sorry a lot. Does this mean I'm a true Canadian? :I *blushing* Seriously though, I'm gonna just stop saying that. I have a life other than this so I have a right to keep you guys waiting for longer periods of time. You're welcome! XD

To aphrodite-spawn: I'm so glad you are enjoying my story! And yes, I do realize the Stolls are not twins. I remembered this after I published the chapter but was too lazy to edit it afterward. One day maybe... XD Anyway, I love hearing feedback. :) I'll definitely keep your comment in mind. Mostly, the reason I did that was because for whatever reason, I had it in my head that it had to be 4,000 words or more and I would fill the chapter in that way. I was always worried about that and now I'm more aware. Thanks! :D

This is a VERY short filler chapter guys, but it doesn't mean you won't enjoy it. :) I will apologize ahead of time for how quick the ending may seem. Writer's block...

Sorry for any mistakes. This includes Spanish terms. Blah, blah, blah... -_-

SHOUT OUT!
No one but the kids belong to me. If I owned the Seven, I'd die happy.


~Piper's POV~

In Piper's dream, she was brought to a scene where Leo and his seven-year-old daughter, Lily, were strolling around on the busy streets of Maine. It was hot, crowded, and the prefect time to enjoy the weekend. At least she believed it was a weekend. Otherwise, Leo would most likely be working in his machine shop with one of the kids again.

As they walked down the sidewalks, window shopping for the expensive odds and ends, Lily sat on her father's shoulders with her hands holding onto his forehead.

For the first time, Piper noticed she wasn't wearing a dress like all the other times. This time, the little girl was wearing simple jeans and a pink shirt with Hello Kitty surrounded with white and blue flowers on the front. The fact that she was wearing something with flowers again made it obvious that it was clearly her thing. Piper never saw her without them printed somewhere on her clothing. That and her hair was always pulled back with the usual headband with the bow on the side, leaving the rest of her long, soft hair to flow over her shoulders. These were Lily's trademarks and they were adorable. She was also carrying a small purse that was slung across her chest.

Leo wore grey shorts and a green, v-necked shirt. His tool belt was wrapped around his waist like he always had for emergencies whether it was for a monster attack or a quick go-to for snacks. Piper wouldn't openly admit it to him personally, mostly because it would degrade it from it's actual use, but she could totally see it as the ultimate baby bag for his kids. Whatever they needed, they had it right there in the tool belt. Teenage Leo would hate the comparison. He'd treat it as if it were a personal insult.

Crossing the street, Lily bobbing up and down on her father's shoulders, she lightly patted a rhythm on his forehead with her delicate fingers. "Daddy, can we go to the toy store now?"

"The toy store? Mi pequeña flor (My little flower), I thought you enjoyed walking around the hardware store," Leo said rather seriously. Gee, he must be a really fun dad. Walking through hardware stores and calling that fun? Those poor kids.

"But we spent days in there! You kept saying you needed this and that and this and that..."

"All the while," he interrupted, "you kept begging and begging to go home..."

"Because you took forever and ever..."

"And you kept nagging and nagging..."

"And you ignored and ignored... Ah!" Lily quickly burst into a laughing fit caused by Leo's fingers tickling her side. She pulled at them with one of her hands and pushed them away. "Stop it!"

"Why? Are you ticklish?"

The little girl just giggled and shook her head sheepishly though keeping herself ready for any more unwelcome tickling. "No... But, Daddy, can we? I wanna go look at the toys."

Leo stopped to look at his watch, biting his lip as if struggling to read the time. "I dunno, mi pequeña flor. The parking meter only has fifteen minutes left and I don't want a ticket. Can we do it some other time?"

"Nooooo," she whined with a fake cry, mildly kicking her short legs against his chest. "Please? I want to look at the stuffies! Daddy, I'll be the best little girl in the world! Pleeeeeeeaaaassee?"

It was obvious how much of a decision this was turning out to be for the poor thirty-year-old Leo. If Piper wasn't mistaken, it almost seemed as if he wanted to go there as well but wasn't sure if they had enough time. One thing was certain at least: Leo hadn't lost his child-like behavior after all those years. It was laughable really. Something told her Percy would end up walking in there without hesitation too. They're personalities were similar that way. Just a bunch of little kids beneath these two tough men.

Impatient Lily, waiting for an answer, leaned over his head and brought her face to his, blocking his view. "¿Por favor, con una cereza en la parte superior? (Pretty please with a cherry on top?)" She kissed his forehead for extra bribery.

With a smile, Leo lifted her up and set her on her own feet. "Solo por quince minutos. Entonces nos vamos a casa. (Only for fifteen minutes. Then we go home)"

She grinned with eager excitement and jumped up and down. "Yay! This way!" and she grabbed her Papi's hand before dashing down the street towards a cream-colored building at the end of the block. The sign above the door read Lucky's Toy Store with bright bold letters on top of a blue background filled with teddy bears, dolls, and other traditional toys. Two large windows on either side of the door displayed wonderful temptations ranging from detailed train sets to Easy Bake Ovens that would make any child drool with envy.

When they walked inside, she could see how much the outside was deceiving. The place was even bigger than it looked! Now Piper knew why even Leo wanted to come here. This place was a paradise for any child of any age. Child merchandises of all kinds lined the walls from ceiling to floor. Toys even hung from the ceilings! However, none of this seemed to faze Lily as she practically dragged her father down the isles until they came up to a huge shelf filled with pretty much any animal you could possibly imagine. She had obviously been here enough times to know where each one was as she let go of Leo's hand and dug through one of the baskets to pull out a pink bunny.

Lifting it up to her face, she grinned. "See, Papi? This is the bunny I was telling you about yesterday! Look! It even has a ribbon on its neck!" She brought her finger under the stuffy's head and showed a purple bow tie. "Can you buy it for me? Please, Papi?"

Leo laughed at her amusement. "But it's pink. Bunnies aren't pink. And what's this?" he said pointing to its side. Stitched next to the tail was a large heart to match the ribbon. "Their hearts are not on their bottoms. This is highly unbelievable, Lily."

His daughter laughed. "That's because it's a toy. Oh! And look at this one!" she suddenly gleamed and grabbed a turtle with large brown eyes. "If I had this one, I would call it Shelly. She could sleep with me in my bed."

Clearly trying to drop the hint that he wasn't about to buy any kind of toy today, Leo grabbed it from her and examined it from top to bottom. Shaking his head, he looked at her with dissatisfaction. "The eyes are too big. You sure you would want this thing sleeping in the same bed as you? It would scare me half to death if I saw this face looking back at me in the middle of the night."

"What about this one then?" she asked grabbing a polar bear with icy blue eyes. "I could call this one Snowball. You know, Daddy, I don't have a teddy bear," she hinted.

Placing the turtle back in his basket, he smirked at her. "I think this one's whole head is too big. It looks like a fuzzy bobble head."

Lily pouted slightly and then grabbed a blue whale from the shelf. "I like this one too. Look how big this one is!" and she hugged it. Sure enough, it was pretty much as big as she was from head to toe... not that she was very big herself though.

"I think everything about that one is too big for you, mi pequeña flor," he laughed. "It could swallow you whole!"

Taking the whale away from her face, she looked at him as if she was questioning if he was actually teasing. "Daddy, it's a toy. It can't gobble me up."

"Oh no? Maybe you'll believe me if I show you, huh?" he said and grabbed the toy from her and crouched to her height. "Take this... what shall we call it?... Mr. Humpback - was swimming around when he suddenly spotted a little girl with long, golden hair in a pink shirt," he told her while bobbing it up and down to make it swim.

Lily looked down at what she was wearing and her grin turned into a giggle.

"Then, ever so carefully," he whispered with a look in his eyes, "he sneaks up... and... attacks!" and he threw it at her.

Almost falling down from the weight of it, she laughed. She picked it up and pulled out a huge striped snake that had been coiled up on the shelves instead. "Then Slither the snake comes to the rescue and ties Daddy up," she said loosely wrapping it around his neck.

"Oh yeah?" he said while grabbing a red dinosaur resembling a T-Rex. "Little did he know that Ms. Jurassic was out for the hunt."

This concept was clearly exciting her because she quickly grabbed a pink zebra-striped giraffe and clashed it against the dinosaur. "The magical zebra giraffe can fight it though!"

This went back and forth for a while, the two pulling random animals off the shelves, until the floor was almost completely covered in various species of stuffed animals ranging from monkeys to elephants. Piper laughed at how much fun the two were having with each other and it was almost a shame when a store employee found them sitting in the middle of the isle chucking animals at each other.

"Excuse me, sir," said the shocked teenager, "but I'm going to have to ask the both of you to clean this up."

Leo turned around to face her with the snake still coiled around his neck and a spotted cow on his head. At that moment, he suddenly remembered where he was and pulled the stuffies off. "I-I'm sorry about that. I guess we kinda got carried away, didn't we, Lily?"

She nodded sheepishly, which was funny because she was just about to throw a sheep at him. She set it down, suddenly very shy.

"I understand that, sir," the employee went on, "but unless you pay for them, they are not to be played with. Store rules. Sorry."

After watching her walk away, Leo turned back to Lily and the two of them had a round of giggles. Eventually though, he decided to act like the adult and stood up, wiping his bottom from any dirt that had been on the floor. "I guess we should be heading out... now..." His eyes grew wide with panic. "The parking meter!" He quickly checked his watch and swore under his breath, just quiet enough for Lily not to hear. "We should've been gone ten minutes ago!"

He then bent down and began to scoop the animals in his arms and stuffing them back on their shelves at a rapid pace, not caring where they all actually went. Lily helped him, though she was more precise on where they went as she placed them each in their own proper home.

Eventually, they rushed out the door and down the street to find one of those large vans for larger families parked in front of a meter. Unlike any other vehicle though, it didn't have a regular paint job. This one was a shiny bronze with plated siding that looked well taken care of. The front license plate had a picture of a dragon blowing flames and the grill just above the front bumper displayed a large letter F. The difference between this vehicle and the others were tremendous, though there was one thing that it had in common with the truck beside it: a small sheet of paper tucked under the windshield wiper.

Leo groaned as he walked up and pulled it out, swearing once more. Sighing, he then shoved it in his pocket and pulled the side door open. His seven-year-old gladly climbed in and began buckling herself into her car seat. He made his way to the drivers seat.

As they pulled out, he looked through his rear view mirror at Lily. "Do me a solid, cosas cortas (short stuff). Don't tell mamá that I got a ticket, okay?"

"Okay," she answered cheerfully.

He hit the steering wheel with his palm. "Man! I can't believe this! Calypso's gonna kill me if she finds out! How am I gonna hide this from her?!"

His rant lasted for another five solid minutes, just him talking to himself about his luck, when suddenly, in the middle of his rant, in that perfect moment, Leo managed to look back at his daughter again just as she was opening her little purse to bring something out. His eyes grew large. In her hands was a mini stuffed turtle just like the larger one she had shown him earlier, only this one had big green eyes.

Leo shook his head in disbelief. "Oooooh no. Oooooooooooooooh no. Lily, did you steal that thing? Did you actually steal that?!"

Startled that she had been caught red handed, she quickly stuffed it back in her purse with a pale face. "W-what?" she uttered.

"Lily, what did you think you were doing?! What's wrong with you?! You know better than to steal!"

"I-I didn't steal it..."

"Oh, you didn't, did you?!" he fought back. "Well then if you didn't steal it, do you mind telling me how you paid for it, cause I sure the hell didn't!"

Lily looked down at her purse again and sunk back in her car seat. The facial expression she gave him proved that she was guilty of what he was accusing her of.

He let out a heavy sigh filled with frustration and annoyance. "I'm very disappointed in you right now, Lily. After everything your mother and I taught you and your siblings, you go and pull a stunt like this! What were you thinking?!"

Pulling the turtle out of her purse again, she kept it out in plain sight, flopping its little flippers. "I just wanted to have a special toy. Anita always takes the ones I have and never gives them back. Noah does too, but he hides them. I only took a little one. I didn't think they would miss it."

Leo opened his mouth to say something, but closed it soon after as he pressed his fingers to his eyes in a tired fashion. There was silence from him for a second or two, and when he did say something, he stole another glance at her through his mirror. "Lily," he sighed. "I'm sorry that you don't feel like you can keep a toy for yourself, but that doesn't mean it's okay to steal. You know that. We could've come back for it another day."

She thought about this for a little while and then brought her gaze up to him, guilt drowning her. "Do I have to take it back?"

Despite his anger and frustration he had displayed only moments earlier, he huffed with a small smile. "Tell you what: If you don't tell Mommy I got a ticket, I won't make you take it back. Just don't blab that you stole the thing."

Lily's worried frown melted into a grin. "Thanks, Papi! I won't say a thing!"

He brought his eyes back on the road with his lips pressed together. After a while, he began chuckling to himself quietly. The chuckling gradually grew louder and louder only for it to grow into full out laughter. The seven-year-old looked at him funny from her car seat and began giggling with him.

"Daddy," she uttered. "What's so funny?"

Wiping tears from the eyes, he tried to explain. "W-we became quite the criminals today, didn't we, cosas cortas (short stuff)? First we steal a toy, then we get a ticket for not paying our parking meter! I-if the others could s-see me now! Letting my own k-kid steal!" he gasped for air. "I would p-probably win first prize for the most irresponsible father in the US! I just let my kid steal a toy from a toy store!"

Watching the two of them burst into another round of laughter, Piper added her own. As crazy as it seemed, she totally believed he would do something like that! Sure, he proved how responsible he was in other circumstances even as a teenager, but this was one of those moments where Leo Valdez showed his inner bad-boy behavior to his own kids. Sometimes, Piper wondered how he managed to raise seven well-behaved kids let alone survive on his own. It almost seemed like the guy had no limits.

Eventually, they managed to get back home to find Noah playing on the piano they had in the corner of their living room, his little fingers tapping the keys to create an old familiar children's tune. As soon as he heard the door open, he swung himself around to find the laughing pair trudging in with red faces.

"What's the matter?" Noah asked with a suspicious grin. "What's so funny?"

Leo shut the door and calmed his laughter. "N-nothing, bud. We were just talking. We made a joke."

The little boy smiled wider and hopped off the bench. "Tell me! I wanna hear it!"

His father simply ruffled his hair and walked past him, still chuckling. "Some other day, bud. Some other day..."


I know. This was really short and 100% a filler chapter, but I felt like without it, the next thing would've come too fast. This was necessary even though it didn't seem like it. Again, sorry it was short. I'm sure you guys were all expecting something grand after such a long wait.

The next chapter will have more plot building, so stay tuned! ;D

Chapter thirteen will soon be available...

(Also, check out my new story if you will! It's called, A Light in the Dark)

~supworld~