~ * Chapter Twelve ~*

Holidays never really were Annabeth's thing. As a child, she would wait up by the window, waiting for the mother who would never come or sitting on the sidelines at her father's house, feeling like an intruder as her step-brothers opened their presents. College was only marginally better, at least exams gave her an excuse for not returning home. Holidays at Jurassic World though? Now that was the real nightmare. Olympian insisted on capitalizing on the holiday season so as the calendar grew deeper they brought out the festive decorations and themed paraphernalia. Special shows were orchestrated, holiday music blared from their loudspeakers. As if the logistics of all that wasn't bad enough, the holiday crowds were just the icing on the cake. Their attendance spiked between November and the New Year. It was a complete and utter nightmare.

The weather didn't help, Annabeth thought sourly, her lips twisting as she sat down at her desk. It didn't matter how many Christmas tunes they played or Santa hats they put on the infants at the petting zoo, the temperatures never dropped below seventy. She blew out a long breath, running her fingers through her hair before reaching out and picking up the coffee that sat steaming at the end of her desk.

"It's only October," she tried to console herself as her computer came to life, the screen slowly glowing until it was a brilliant blue, the Jurassic World logo flashing across the screen before requesting her credentials. Taking a sip of coffee, she deftly typed her password in before heading straight to email.

She idly clicked through the mess, not quite awake enough to find the energy to properly sort through the mess when an email caught her attention. The subject line read 'Okay now don't freak' and the sender was none other than Percy Jackson.

"Oh that can't be good," Annabeth muttered, setting her coffee down as she opened the email and then the attachment it came with.

A video came to life, a feed from one of their surveillance cameras. It overlooked the paddock, pointing down at the figures moving below. The angle gave her a good look at the back of Jackso – Percy's head. His hands were resting on his hips, watching the two raptors who sat at the edge of the video. It was Juno and Minerva, Annabeth recognized, and it looked like they were eating. No, three raptors, she almost missed the little one, Ceres, who was sniffing the ground. But where was the fourth raptor, Diane?

Her question was answered a second later as the missing raptor careened into view. The raptor shrieked, jumping her sister. As the little raptor cried out she heard Percy's voice, slightly distorted by the video, calling out;

"Hey! That's too hard Diane, you're hurting her."

Don't, Annabeth thought in panic as Percy stepped forward, but of course, he didn't listen. Diane released Ceres and turned on the raptor trainer instead, hissing and crouching low. Annabeth's heart leapt into her throat, her hand already going to her phone, to call Percy or Grover or someone, oh god – when suddenly Diane was on her side, shrieking, as Juno viciously pinned her to the ground. Annabeth sat back in her chair, her heart still pounding, as Juno continued her dominance act. When the raptor turned to Percy for guidance, she closed her eyes in relief.

Thank God, she thought silently as the video skipped and showed Percy leaving the paddock perfectly unharmed.

'Didn't call Thalia,' the message attached to the email read. 'But Grover probably will. Just a heads up. I'm okay. She didn't even get close to me.'

Annabeth checked the timestamp for the email and grimaced when she realized it was sent last night. Her fingers twitched as she got to her feet, knowing she had to go down to the raptor paddock. Thalia hadn't called her yet, but that didn't really mean anything. Just as she was grabbing her car keys, coffee in the other hand, the skype box opened on her computer, signaling an incoming call.

Luke Castellan.

"Sorry Luke," she said as she typed out a quick message. "But now's not a good time."

She logged off her computer and strode out of her office, nodding at Connor as she passed.

"Connor, I'm heading to the raptor paddock," she told him briskly.

"What? Really?" the man sputtered in surprise, accidently knocking the red plastic pterodactyl off his desk in his haste to turn around.

"Yes really," Annabeth huffed, a little offended at his surprise. "There was an incident last night. Percy's alright," she added quickly as worry began to spread across Connor's face. "Percy's fine, they didn't actually hurt him. But one of the raptors did try and attack him so I'm going to go down and sort things out. I should be back in a few hours."

Connor nodded, stooping down to pick up the fallen dinosaur and place it back in its rightful place on his desk. "Okay, got it. Tell Perce hi for me and be sure not to get eaten!"

"Ha, ha," Annabeth said humorlessly as she stepped into the elevator. Connor gave her two thumbs up and a cheeky smile as the doors slide shut. If it made her smile well there as no one around to tell.

The drive out to the raptor paddock was actually quite peaceful. There were no great crowds of guests, or calls of employees, emails to be answered or calls to make. Just her and the sound of the gravel under her tires. It was nice, and Annabeth found herself relaxing as she drove further away from the park. She pulled her car next to Grover's, killing the engine and surveying the paddock before her. Her entrance hadn't gone unnoticed. Standing by the gate, Grover was watching her with something like satisfaction on his face.

As she got out of the car, he turned towards the cage, making a vague gesture like 'see?'

"Hello Annabeth," Percy called out from inside the paddock. As she walked closer she could see him, arms crossed and avoiding his best friend's gaze as he smiled at her.

"Good morning Percy, Grover," she said nodding. "I just got your email."

"The one where Diane tried to kill him?" Grover grumbled, crossing his arms.

"The one where Juno stopped Diane before she so much as took a step," Percy asked loudly and Grover scowled.

"The one from last night," Annabeth replied ever diplomatically, rolling her eyes. "Where Diane looked like she was thinking about attacking you but never got the chance to make up her mind because Juno was too busy asserting her dominance."

"Yeah, she's a good girl," Percy said, the first half of her sentence clearly going right over the ridiculous hat that sat atop his head as he gazed fondly at the blue raptor.

Juno seemed to realize he was talking about her. She held herself up higher, strutting like a peacock. Ceres and Minerva were both within a stone's throw of the proud raptor, Ceres' beady eyes watching Juno's little dance while Minerva disinterestedly cleaned her feathers. But where was Diane?

"Over there," Percy said, jerking his head towards the edge of the forest in response to her unasked question.

In the shadow of the trees, Diane crouched low. She watched her sisters move around, head close to the ground. Annabeth noticed how Jack – Percy was very careful not to look at the raptor, keeping his eyes locked on Annabeth.

"She's getting the cold shoulder," Percy explained, "because she's a bad girl. Ethan says we've got to let her work her way back into the pack's good graces because she defied the hierarchy or something. Ceres is pretty stoked, she's no longer the lowest member of the pack."

As if on cue, Ceres chirped happily, head whipping towards her alpha. To Annabeth's immense surprise, Percy mimicked the sound back at her, an almost alarmingly similar echo of the raptor's call.

"Ethan also said that Diane won't try a thing like that for a while and neither should the rest of the girls," Percy said, turning back to Annabeth after giving Ceres one more fond look.

"And he also said that eventually Juno would challenge you for the alpha's position," Grover said loudly, arms still crossed and expression disgruntled.

"Yes, Ethan said as much when we first started," Annabeth said.

Grover continued to glare at Percy, who continued to look anywhere but at his friend. Grover concern was…almost cute, touching, and borderline brotherly. And Percy avoided Grover's ire like a child avoiding their parents' eyes after getting into trouble. It was a new side to both of their characters she'd never been privy to before and she soaked it in with interest, cataloging and tucking the information away for later. Maybe, despite how woefully unprepared and ill-fit they were for the position that should never have been thrust upon them, they weren't a bad type to have around.

Thalia liked Percy at least, and that had to count for something.

"What are you doing with the girls today?" Annabeth asked.

"Live prey runs," Percy said, his eyes finally flickering over to Grover before skidding almost comically away under the stern glare he received.

"They can catch them now I've seen," Annabeth said, nodding as she pulled out her phone and flicked through the last few digital reports they sent her. "Their agility, balance, and coordination have all significantly improved."

"Oh yeah," Percy agreed, nodding. Annabeth couldn't help but be distracted by the bobbing fishing lures on his hat. "They learn quickly. And they know what they need to learn."

Jackson peered at her from under the brim of his hat, his face slightly obscured by the fence between them but none of that distracted from the pure seriousness that suddenly descended over his usually casual expression. "They know when they do something wrong and what to work on. Sometimes they don't know how to fix it and need me to help, but sometimes . . . sometimes they just learn on their own. We've got footage of them practicing at night, running in circles or tracking scents around the paddock."

No more than a foot from Jackson's side, Juno sniffed the air and turned, her narrow reptilian face looking right at Annabeth.

"Problem-solving," Annabeth murmured, "and fixing their own faults. That's terrifying."

"It's amazing," Percy the lunatic said with a grin, putting his hands on his hips as he nodded down at his girls. At Annabeth's incredulous look, his smile faded a little, his brow puckering as if he didn't understand why she wasn't sharing his enthusiasm.

"I mean," he said, eyebrows rising, "it's very not-amazing from an I'm-a-little-insignificant-human-and-they-might-want-to-eat-me-one-day kind of perspective. But, like, from a raptor perspective? Or a, look-at-these-incredible-animals-that-exist perspective? That's awesome. They learn so much and they do so well, and realize when they're not good at something? I mean, I've met plenty of humans that won't admit they aren't good at something and refuse to get better, but these girls? Nope, they realize when they suck at something and then try to do better. From an evolutionary, animalistic perspective? Awesome."

His eyes were shining by the end of the not-so-eloquent but plenty passionate speech and Annabeth couldn't help but nod her head thoughtfully in return.

"Biologically, it is pretty amazing," she admitted.

"I mean, it's like when people get all afraid of sharks for their teeth and speed and stealth. Like, yeah it's scary and dangerous and could kill you, but they're just animals trying to survive. Doing their own thing before we came along."

"You really liked working with the sharks didn't you?" Annabeth asked and part of her was amused by his almost childlike excitement.

"Hell yeah, I love sharks," came the enthusiastic response.

Juno gave a throaty caw and the sound echoed in the paddock. In the forest behind them, a few startled bird took the skies, squawking in fear. Annabeth clenched her jaw at the cry, internalizing her own fear as she suspiciously eyed the raptor. The raptor ignored her, beady eyes fixed on her trainer.

"Alpha loves you too!" Percy immediately assured her. "Just as much as sharks."

Juno threw her head back and cawed once more. Percy frowned down at her before side eyeing Annabeth.

"I think she's actually trying to tell me to shut up and let the prey loose and not angling for validation," he admitted. "She's a bit of an asshole like that sometimes. Don't worry Juno, I still love you."

Juno didn't look concerned and actually, tilting her head, Annabeth rather thought the raptor just looked irritated. Huh. She could sympathize.

"If that raptor's getting annoyed, isn't that a good time to leave the paddock?" Annabeth asked firmly.

Grover made a noise of affirmation, gesturing towards Annabeth as Jackson blinked at them, then at Juno.

"Yeah, I should probably feed them," Percy said, their concerns going right over his head.

"Do you see what I have to put up with?" Grover asked, sighing heavily. "Just makes sure he doesn't get eaten. I'm going to go hit my head against something, repeatedly."

Annabeth didn't quite know how to respond to that and instead just watched in confusion as the man walked away, muttering to himself.

"Should I be concerned?" She asked when Jackson made it passed both sets of doors after securing the girls in their pre-exercise cages.

"About Grover?" Percy asked, grinning as he looked off to where the man disappeared, "Nah. He can spare the brain cells. Besides, he was just looking for an excuse to get away from the exercise. He's a vegan you know, it wouldn't be very good for his health to watch cute little woodland creatures get hunted down and eaten."

"I see," Annabeth said, although she really didn't. They stared at each other, Annabeth fiddling with the phone at her side as Jackson rocked back on his heels.

"So, ah, I'm going to go start the exercise then," he said after a few awkward moments of silence.

"Yeah that'd be good," Annabeth agreed.

"Is this where you tell me to just pretend you're not here?" He asked with a weak smile as she followed him up onto the boardwalk.

"That only ever makes things worse," Annabeth said. "It's going to be awkward for a while. We'll make it work."

"For Thalia?" He echoed, giving her a small grin as he fiddled with the controls above the paddock.

"I was thinking more along the lines of 'for our sanity'," Annabeth replied dryly. That got her a small snort, but it was short lived as silence descended once more.

Annabeth was prepared for the awkwardness that she knew would come after their little reconciliation, but being prepared and actually waiting it out were two very different things. Jackson fidgeted, obviously discomforted as he got the exercise in order.

"Alright girls," he called down. "Ready?"

Annabeth didn't know if that was for the girls' benefit or to calm himself as Jackson released the prey's hatch. There was a sort of deadly silence as the creature tore across the paddock, as if the whole world were holding its breath. The click of the raptors' doors unhinging a minute later was like a gunshot. Juno emerged first, angling her head up as she tasted the air. She swished her tail and Minerva stepped forward to silently follow the beta as they vanished into the bushes. Ceres went the other way, her tail disappearing into the dark cover of the trees and Diane sulked behind her.

Annabeth barely resisted a shudder at the collected attack. It was a thousand times more organized than the first exercise where the girls just took off of their own accord. She glanced at Jackson out of the corner of her eye. The lunatic was leaning against the railing, peering with a curious expression into the paddock.

Unable to just stand there and wait, Annabeth pulled up the feeds for the raptor paddock on her phone. She flicked through the feed, trying to catch sight of the girls. There was movement in camera three and her fingers hovered over the image. The leaves swayed in the light breeze, lazily waving in the air, but there was no sign of raptor or prey so she flicked to the next one. When she got to the last one and still hadn't sighted the raptors, she frowned. Even though she knew the girls were in the paddock, she glanced up.

The paddock doors were still firmly shut, the fence buzzing lightly, and one raptor trainer glancing curiously at her.

"I can't catch them on the camera feeds," she said, feeling like she should explain.

"They camouflage pretty good, even Juno who's got that bright strip of blue down her back. Here, let me look."

He stepped closer, peering over her shoulder at the phone's little screen. Annabeth obligingly held it up and flicked through the feeds once more, slowly this time.

"Wait, what was that?" She asked, frowning as she stopped on camera four's feed. Percy leaned closer.

"Looks like Ceres," he said, which –

"You can't know that," she declared even as she squinted at the image. The large green bush in the frame looked slightly discolored, and the branches seemed to move in the opposite direction of the wind.

"Definitely Ceres," Jackson repeated and she didn't have to look at him to know he was starting to scowl. The bush rustled and a pair of eyes shined out.

"Tell me how you know," Annabeth asked instead, deciding a little bit of good faith wouldn't be amiss. Maybe he really did know. Travis seemed to know whenever his gallimimus herd was about to stampede, so maybe Jackson could tell which raptor was hiding in the bush.

"Minerva would be able to stand perfectly still," Percy explained, "and Juno would know better than to move in the opposite direction of the wind. Diane can't stand still at all, she's usually the stealth ambusher but she's on timeout this week so she probably won't be included in the hunt at all. That leaves Ceres."

"How do you know Juno can tell which way the wind's blowing?"

"I mean, I don't really," Jackson admitted and Annabeth raised an eyebrow, turning just enough so he could see it.

"Shut up," he said but his voice was light and good natured, and before she turned back to the screen, he flashed her a smile.

"Professionalism," Annabeth said, tsking her tongue.

"I professionally ask you to shut up," Percy amended. "But I guess I don't really know, it's just kind of a feeling. She never rattles bushes or branches in a direction that the wind wouldn't. I guess she could when I'm not watching her, or maybe she always gets lucky. She didn't always do it, it's kind of a recent thing I've noticed. So, ah, maybe I just think she's smarter than she really is, or – "

"Or she realizes which way the wind blows and knows to blend in better she can move with it," Annabeth finished for him.

"Yeah."

Ceres' nose back into the bush and somewhere off screen there was the shriek of a distressed animal that was sharply cut off.

"Juno or Minerva must've got it while Ceres herded it into place," Jackson said casually as Annabeth shut the feed down, not wanting to see anything else.

Phone still held out before her, Annabeth realized Percy was standing practically on top of her. The lures on his hat swayed next to her head as he leaned over, the heat of his body searing into her side, his shoulder pressed heavily against her's. Seemingly oblivious to their closeness, he hummed as she shut the feed off, Annabeth could feel the vibrations as they rumbled in his throat, before stepping away.

"That was quicker than I expected. So they work together as a pack now to take down prey?" She asked as Jackson leaned over the railing to peer into the paddock.

"Yeah, and pretty well too. Juno leads, obviously. Minerva and Ceres usually do the herding, corralling the creature into a place where it can't escape. Juno will then scare the creature right into Diane's arms, or the other way around. Ethan wants to try with bigger prey and see how they take that down."

"Like deer or something?" Annabeth asked.

"I mean, sure, I think that's what he was thinking, but a deer really isn't all that big of a challenge for a raptor. I mean, they're meant to take down other dinosaurs with tough leather skin and horns and whatnots. Not little flimsy deer."

"Unfortunately, we don't raise dinosaur livestock," Annabeth said, rolling her eyes. "That'd be a thousand-dollar meal you know."

"Yeah, because that'd be out of Zeus' budget right?" Percy snorted.

Annabeth couldn't help it, her lips twitched a little. "As a matter of fact, it is out of our budget."

"Bet if he stopped spending so much money on the private jet he takes everywhere there'd be enough," Percy scoffed and Annabeth couldn't help but choke back a laugh.

"He takes the damn thing everywhere!" She exclaimed in exasperation. "Did you know when he first bought the park, the delay in opening was because they had to move an entire paddock to make room for the runway for his damn jet?"

Jackson's shoulders shook and he flashed her that lopsided grin, "You think that's bad? He once landed the jet in the middle of a strawberry farm Thalia and I were at."

"I bet his PR people loved that, oh my god what was he thinking?" Annabeth laughed, shaking her head.

Jackson's smile faded a little and he rocked back on his heels, looking out over the paddock. "I think he missed her," Percy said softly.

And like that, the good mood evaporated. Percy didn't elaborate and Annabeth didn't push. She knew the Olympian family was a messy one and whatever happened in that strawberry field was a story Thalia would have to tell. Annabeth followed the raptor trainer's gaze and found his girls had returned. Juno's jaw was red and she dropped a mangled carcass in the dirt, staring proudly up at her alpha. Jackson's lips twitched.

"Good girl Juno."

Ping.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow as she pulled out her phone, glancing at the report that flashed across her screen. It was from Connor and read:

Um, cameras near the back of the island caught something weird?

Below that line of text there was a picture. Annabeth doubled clicked to enlarge it. In the corner of the picture were a set of latitudes and longitudes, the camera's position, and the set here told her the photo was taken on the far side of the island. At first, Annabeth couldn't see what was weird, scanning the tree line and the short sandbar that led to the ocean without finding anything out of the ordinary. Then she spotted the dark blob in the corner. She frowned, holding the phone closer to her face. Whatever it was, the shape was mangled and bleached from its time in the ocean.

Another line of text followed the picture:

The on-scene-ers think it's a carcass of some sort that just washed up?

"Trouble?" Jackson asked when she finally looked up from her phone.

"No, at least I don't think so," she said. Then she paused, tilting her head to the side as she remembered just who stood before her. She examined the former marine biologist with shrewd eyes. He looked uncomfortable. "Actually, you just might be the person I want to ask. Something washed up on shore not too far from here. We think it might be a carcass of some kind, but it's mangled and bleached. Is that something you'd expect to naturally occur?"

"Oh," Percy said, looking genuinely surprised at her apparent trust in his maritime knowledge. "Yeah, it actually happens all the time, especially with the bigger mammals. The air in their lungs keep them afloat and as they decay they bloat, just like any other animal. So if those gasses aren't released from the body, say when sharks or other predators start eating the carcass, then it will stay afloat. If it's close enough to the shore before scavengers get a proper hold of it, then more than likely it will wash ashore. Happens from time to time."

"That," Annabeth said, nodding appreciatively, "was very well said. I'm impressed."

"I don't know if I've been insulted or complimented," Jackson said, blinking down at his girls as though they'd help him out.

"I have to go take a look anyway, but I'll keep that in mind, thank you," Annabeth said, returning to her business mode as she started down the boardwalk stairs and back onto solid ground. "I'm glad you're okay and I'll be speaking with Ethan about their hormonal behavior later to see if we can come up with new protocols to better serve and protect this program. I can't say I like what I'm seeing, but you have a good handle on the girls and they seem to respect you. For better or worse, they're learning.

"I'll be honest," Annabeth added, tapping a reply out to Connor before peering up at Jackson. "I was expecting a call from Thalia."

"Yeah isn't that, ah, strange," Percy coughed, avoiding her eyes as they came to a stop next to the paddock doors.

"What did you do?" Annabeth demanded, her fingers freezing over her phone.

"Nothing," Percy denied immediately. At her disbelieving look he grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head, "but Grover's texts may have been, ah, accidently deleted last night when I called to talk to Jason."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Annabeth asked, rolling her eyes and pretending like that wasn't kind of cute. At least Thalia's real brother and her adopted one were getting along, she supposed.

"Well, it's not like he's afraid to rat me out - he already broken Nico's confidence when he was worried the little skeleton would get hurt so I figure he's a wise bet. If he really thinks I'm in trouble I have no doubt he'll tell Thals."

Annabeth rose an eyebrow, "Have you stopped to consider how much trouble not only you but Grover, Ethan and I will be in if Thalia finds out on her own?"

"Oh no, she'll one hundred percent blame me," Percy assured her looking none too concerned by the prospect.

"I really should tell her," Annabeth said slowly. Wasn't that her duty as Thalia's best friend? Thalia clearly loved Percy a lot and went to great lengths to keep an eye on him. If Annabeth knew he was sabotaging that, shouldn't she tell Thalia?

"Aw, no come on," Percy all but whined, his shoulders slumping. "I'm perfectly alright, Diane won't try it again for some time, you're going to talk with Ethan, it's all okay! No need to needlessly worry Thals.

"Come on," he said, his lower lip jutting out and green eyes wide and pleading. He looked like an overgrown toddler begging to please just have one more cookie.

Annabeth tried to stay stern. "If anything like this ever happens again," she threatened.

"I'll call her myself, scouts honor," Jackson said quickly, crossing his heart.

"Alright fine, but it's all on your head," Annabeth declared, pointing her finger at him.

"It usually is," Percy grinned, relief spreading over his face as she walked away. "It was ah, nice to have you today! Would you mind knocking on Grover's window on your way out and letting him know it's safe?"

"Yeah I'll let him know," she called over her shoulder.

She walked back to her car, pausing to knock on Grover's window. The man was lounging in the back of his car, holding his phone above his head. He jumped a little at her knock, grinning sheepishly. Annabeth smiled wryly in return, giving the man a thumb ups to indicate the safety of his return before climbing into her own car. As she buckled herself in and started the car, she watched the raptor trainer greet his friend. He was grinning and flashed Grover two thumbs up, holding his arms out and turning like he was proving he was unbitten and had all limbs accounted for. Definitely not professional, but it did make her lips twitch a little. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. Jackson and Grover weren't bad people in the same way the Stoll brothers weren't bad people. They just took a while to get used to, and even longer to learn to appreciate.

Reyna and Ethan were waiting for her by the unidentified carcass when she rolled up ten minutes later.

"Ethan," she greeted, "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Me neither," the scientist said dryly. "I was on my way to the paddock when I was asked to come down here and take a look at the carcass. Apparently having a Ph.D. means I can identify mangled, washed up carcasses, even when it's a molecular biology Ph.D."

"Sorry," Annabeth said, shrugging. "I'm sure they were trying their best. It's not like we have a carcass expert on the island. Were you able to tell anything from it?"

"It's big and dead," Ethan unhelpfully supplied, crossing his arms.

Reyna elbowed him in the side, rolling her eyes. "Come take a look," the guard said instead.

Her feet sunk into the sand a little but Annabeth valiantly moved across the sand until she was next to the carcass. It was large, at least three times her own body length and half as thick. Tough but bleached muscle clung to the skeleton, torn and bitten, but stubbornly holding the carcass together, little patches of dark skin here and there. There were no identifying marks, any fins or whatnots were lost to predation or the elements. The entire head appeared to be missing.

"Nothing to identify it with," Annabeth said, straightening up and facing the pair. "And without knowing what it is, we can't even safely scavenge it and feed it the animals. Call ACU and have them cut it up and bury it."

"Could always run tests in the lab," Reyna said half-heartedly.

"Yes, because that would be a productive use of lab equipment," Ethan huffed from behind the pair. "There's barely anything here and it's not like we can't afford to feed our animals. Just bury it."

Annabeth couldn't help but agree. She nodded at Reyna, "Call ACU."

Reyna nodded in return, pulling out her phone to make the call. Ethan gazed disinterestedly at the animal and then up at Annabeth.

"It was probably just a whale," he said with a sigh. He looked out across the water, the wind ruffling his bangs, before turning his eye to Annabeth, "Can I go to my paddock now?"

Annabeth waved him on and the third member of the raptor team left without a backward glance.

Knowing Reyna had things under control here, Annabeth returned to her car. Twisting her key in the ignition, Annabeth took a deep breath as she thought about all the other things she had to do today. As if reacting to her stress, her phone rang. Expecting it to be Connor, she answered without looking.

"Annabeth, and here I thought you were ignoring me," Luke's voice greeted her instead.

"Oh Luke," Annabeth said, surprised as she threw the car into reverse. "Sorry, but you know how busy I am. I just finished checking on our raptors and an unidentified carcass that washed up on shore. Not usable unfortunately since we don't know what it is so we'll have to bury it. Actually, I have to go check on our pachycephalosaurus herd and then finish a transfer for containment units – "

"Is this your polite way of telling me you're too busy to talk to me?" Luke teased, laughing lowly.

"I'm park manager," she reminded him, a little irritated. In front of her, Ethan's car veered off, heading down the side path that led back to the raptor paddock. A strange, little part of her brain wanted to follow.

"I know, I'm sorry to bother you," Luke smoothly returned as she shook the strange thought off, determinedly staying on the road that led back to the park. "I'll let you get back to flawlessly running that park."

Annabeth smiled at his confidence, berating herself for her flash of irritation. He was just teasing her. Besides, she had been avoiding his calls. "Thanks, Luke," she said, "I really appreciate it, I'll call you later okay?"

"Of course, Annabeth, good luck."

A/n Why didn't anybody tell me I was using Diane instead of Diana? I went twelve chapters before I realized I done messed up. Artemis' Roman counterpart is Diana with an 'a'. *Pounds head against nearest surface* I'm too attached to Diane now to change it. Ugh. Anyway, moving passed that embarrassing blunder, here's some real progress between Percy and Annabeth! Told you we'd get there eventually.

*To Qwerty. First off, thank you so much for your review! I'm glad you're enjoying the story! 'Murkiest' is actually a word, found in both the Merriam-Webster and Oxford dictionaries, you can check on their respective online sites if you'd like. It might sound a little odd but it's the superlative of the adjective 'murky'. A superlative is the greatest degree of an adjective, so like 'the bravest' aka the most brave. Murkiest aka the greatest degree of murky something can get. Make sense? If you google 'superlative of murky' or even just 'define murkiest' you'll get some pages that explain it better than I can. The title is meant to be dramatic 'the murkiest of all intentions'; 'murky' intentions just doesn't have the same feel. It's like saying 'well this is shady but it could be worse'. No, I want it to be the worst (hehe, see what I did there, superlatives ftw). I appreciate your concern and hope that explains everything!

Beta'd by the ever lovely rhig122.

Sorry for long author's note and impromptu grammar lesson but please let me know what you thought and I hope you enjoyed ~ *