"HI, MR. JACKSON!"

Percy whipped around and reached for a weapon that wasn't there.

Oh.

Matthew Adams was in his class two years ago, back when he taught middle school. He was an alright student; he made okay grades and stayed out of trouble for the most part, save for when he punched out a kid who grabbed him from behind. He was a small dude, about five and a half feet tall, and his chestnut hair fell into his pale face. He was holding out his hand.

"Adams!" Percy clasped his outreach hand. "I haven't seen you since you joined the Legion last year. How have you been, buddy?"

"I love it there!" He beamed. "I figured out I'm good with a bow, and I'm learning to control my anger a little. Hazel is helping me out with it."

Percy grinned. "That's great. I love Hazel. I have some good memories from the 12th."

"I bet," Matthew nodded, making his hair bobbed up and down. "Some people still talk about you, actually." He started walking backwards. "Well, I saw you passing through and thought I'd say hi," he turned around. "See ya, Mr. J!"

"Take care of yourself!" Percy called after him. "Tell Hazel I said hi!"

"Will do!" He answered, running down the street, to the dismay of several pigeons. He wasn't going to. He'd probably already forgotten.

Anger problems aside, Adams was a good kid. Percy had fond memories of him. Still smiling, he continued walking. The house was about five minutes away. Apollo was feeling merciful today. The sun had let up quite a bit.

Percy didn't have the keys, and he'd forgotten where the spare was again (kind of justified, as it was moved every month). So he just knocked on the door and hoped someone was home. All of the lights were off. He waited about six seconds and saw Annabeth's face peek out through the living room curtains for just a moment. Metal clicked as the door was unlocked.

"Hello!" Annabeth shut the door behind him as he walked in.

"Hey," Percy pulled her into a hug. "How did the meeting go?"

She hugged back and rested her head on his shoulder as she spoke. "Everything ran smoothly. Construction starts in a week, and budgeting is completely within reason. I'll start supervision here soon."

"That's good," He let her go and sat down at the kitchen table. "I basically just walked around town all day."

Annabeth sat down next to him. "I thought you paid bills today."

"I did," he said. "But I spent more time walking around and had to get a check cashed first. I went three places today," He perked up. "Hey, you said you had a second place to be, and you were gonna tell me this afternoon. What was that about?" He leaned forward.

She tugged at her hair and cleared her throat. "Um, well, it's... it's news, I guess."

Percy tilted his head. "Good news or bad news?"

"Well, it's good news. I think it is," Annabeth pursed her lips. "I think you will, too."

"What, what?" Percy raised his eyebrows. He was growing anxious.

"Uhh... gods," Annabeth mumbled and shook her head. "I..."

"Come on, spit it out!" He demanded, literally on the edge of his chair.

"Percy," she took a deep breath stared him dead in the eyes. "Perseus Jackson. I'm pregnant."