Chapter Twenty One

Malcolm's POV

My dream started like this.

Everything was really hazy and wavery, as if I was underwater. Unrecognizable faces wobbled and dipped around in my line of vision. I think someone was pacing, because I was seeing the same things over and over.

I heard a door open. The person looked up, so I could see a nurse standing at the opened door.

Where was I? A hospital? A clinic?

"Malcolm Dean?" The lady asked.

My heart stopped as the person who I was seeing through their eyes from stood up.

I'm inside myself?

I couldn't control anything. I turned and saw a little boy. He wasn't very old, 2 years, maybe 3 years old. He had a very faint dash of freckles over his nose and cheeks.

My breath caught. The boy had black hair and gray eyes. Solid gray eyes, like mine.

The person I was inside of held out their hand. The boy grabbed it eagerly.

"Let's go, Lucas, time to meet her." I heard my voice say.

I was shocked; my voice seemed a lot deeper.

"Okay, Daddy." The boy, Lucas said.

My heart stopped again. This was my son?

Questions flew around in my head.

How old was I? When was this? When will this be? Who was the mother?

Dream Me laughed and stooped to pick up Lucas. The boy lovingly threw his arms around my neck and I walked to the door.

The nurse smiled at Lucas and glanced at me. "Right this way, please." She told me.

The nurse led me through a maze of halls and doors, until she finally came to a stop at a door in the maternity wing.

Once again, my breath caught.

Was the mother of my son behind this door? Was she with another child? What does any of this mean?

The nurse, oblivious to my hesitation, pushed open the door and walked right in. I took a deep breath and followed suit.

My eyes turned to the bed immediately. Sitting on the bed was a lady who looked to be around either her late 20's or early 30's, I couldn't decide.

Her black hair was tied up on the top of her head in a messy top knot.

The hospital sheets were resting against her waist as she relaxed into the pillows. She looked bone tired, but her smile revealed all her joy as she looked at something in her arms.

In her arms was a little bundle, swaddled in blankets and a little hat peeking over the edge.

Then I heard it. A baby's cry. A baby's first cry.

Emotion exploded in my chest and spread through my stomach. The lady who had obviously just given birth was crying tears of joy. She leaned in and pressed her lips to it's forehead.

"I love you." She whispered to the baby.

Then she looked up.

To say I was surprised would be the understatement of the century.

The lady had gray eyes with gold flecks surrounding the pupils. An x shaped scar was tattooed onto her sun kissed left cheek.

Aelia.

It was Aelia.

I don't think I've ever been more happy in my life.

Aelia's eyes lit up when she saw me. "Malcolm! I'm so glad you're here! Come, meet Andi."

I felt Dream Me grin and walked over. She handed me the baby.

"Oh my gods. She's beautiful." My voice cracked.

I don't think I've ever been more proud in my life.

She was a girl. I saw a tiny tuft of honey blonde hair poking out from under her hat. She yawned. And then she opened her eyes.

"Aw, her eyes…" Aelia didn't have to go any further. I knew exactly what she meant.

Andi's eyes were bluish gray and much like her mother, had tiny gold flecks around the pupils.

I handed Andi back to Aelia. She beckoned Lucas forward. Lucas shyly climbed onto a chair I had pulled over and sat beside his mother.

Aelia smiled tenderly at him. "Look, Lucas, you have a baby sister now. Say hi to Andi."

Lucas looked at his little sister. His face broke into a grin. "Hi, Dani!"

Aelia laughed. "Not Dani, Lucas. Her name is Andi."

Lucas nodded. "Hi, Andi! I am your big brother."

Andi yawned in response.

Lucas gave her a sloppy kiss on the forehead.

I think my heart broke just then.

"So, Malcolm. I was thinking about her middle name. I wanted it to do with your Mom, since Andi means light in Hawaiian (A/N: I doubt this I true, but I need this for the sake of the story, so you know, chill out dearest), so I wanted her middle name to mean something about wisdom or knowledge."

I nodded. "Sophia. It means wise."

Aelia smiled. "Andi Sophia Dean. Perfect."

I felt Dream Me grin again. He cradled Andi in his arms. Andi opened her mouth and yawned again.

"Did the nurses already come in with her birth certificate and her foot prints?" I asked.

Aelia shook her head, and for the first time, I saw the bags under her eyes.

"How long were you in labor?" I demanded.

She gave me a smirk. "Forgetting already, are we, Blondie? I was only in labor for about 8-9 hours. Not that long, considering some women are in labor for 2 days."

I strode over to her, carefully enough not to squash my new daughter, and gave her a kiss on the lips. Her mouth was slightly chapped, not that I minded.

Lucas tugged on my pants leg. "Can I see Dani again?" he wondered aloud.

I laughed; a good, hearty, genuine laugh. "I don't think he'll be calling her Andi anytime soon." I told Aelia.

Aelia nodded and gazed lovingly at him. "I don't mind though. Dani will be his nickname for her."

I nodded in agreement and led Lucas to a rocking chair in the corner and then sat down. I had him stand in between my legs and placed Andi into his eager arms, but kept my hands around his elbows for support so he wouldn't drop her.

"Hi again, Dani! My name is Lucas. I am you's big brother."

Aelia chuckled. "I think you mean your big brother, kiddo."

Lucas didn't even hear her. He babbled on and on to his baby sister until Andi finally got bored and drifted off to sleep.

Lucas fell asleep on my chest. I looked at Aelia over his tangled mess of black hair. She was getting drowsy, I could see it. She caught my eye. I nodded. She smiled in relief and fell asleep.

I hugged Lucas closer.

Then I fell asleep too.

When I woke up (still in Dream Me time), Aelia was wide awake, Lucas was hypnotized by the TV show that was playing, and Andi was cooing softly in her hospital issue baby basinet.

It was only then, I realized, that three other figures were in the room. Two with blonde hair, one with black. And they weren't nurses.

"Malcolm!" Noelle rushed over to me and threw her arms around my neck.

I rubbed her back. "Hey there, Elle."

She pulled away. I studied her as Noelle went over to cuddle Andi. Her golden blonde hair had grown longer, at least 6 inches. It twirled around her waist. I noticed a ring on her finger. It had a gold band and a diamond on it; simple, expensive, and beautiful.

I wondered who she was married (or engaged) to.

I went over to talk to the other people.

Percy had his arm slung over the shoulder of Annabeth as he talked to Aelia. Annabeth was studying the room. Her hands were resting on her stomach.

Then I realized that she had a very prominent baby bump poking out of her shirt.

"Hey there, little sis." Dream Me greeted.

Annabeth turned and gave me a side hug. "Hey there, Malcolm. Congrats! Baby #2 already."

Dream Me blushed. "Her name is Andi."

Annabeth grinned. "I know, Aelia told me. She also told me how Lucas refuses to call her Andi."

I laughed. "Yeah, he calls her Dani. But enough about us, how far are you along? Is it a boy or a girl?"

Annabeth, instantly knowing what I was talking about, glanced down tenderly at her soon to be born (by the looks of it) baby. "He's a boy. Percy and I don't know whether to name him Charlie or Luke. I want to name him Charlie, since Luke sounds way to close to Lucas, but Percy wants to honor Luke's memory."

I laughed again. "Why don't you name him Charlie, and have Luke to be his middle name? Aelia and I couldn't decide between Lucas and Noah, so we did the same thing. Lucas Noah Dean."

Annabeth nodded. "That's a pretty good idea, Malcolm. I don't get how I didn't think of it sooner."

I shrugged. "It's nothing."

I exchanged a few words with Percy, and then played with Lucas for a little bit. Percabeth left after awhile, so only Noelle was left.

"Noelle, can I ask you something?" Aelia asked.

Noelle raised an eyebrow, but nodded and went forward. When she got there, Aelia placed Andi in her arms and looked her in the eye.

"Noelle Amber Lynn Dare, will you be the godmother of my first daughter?" Aelia whispered; her voice soft.

Noelle was speechless for a moment. "Y-you want me to be the godmother of Andi?"

Aelia nodded.

"But… but why?"

"Dare, I've known you almost my whole life. You are one of the most dependable, trustworthy, kind, determined, courageous, and encouraging person I've ever met. I couldn't be any happier if you accepted." Aelia smiled at her tenderly.

Noelle's eyes watered. "It-it would be an honor for me to be the godmother of Andi."

Aelia smiled again. Noelle grinned through her tears. She gave Andi a kiss on the forehead, said her goodbyes, and then left.

Lucas left with Noelle, as he was staying the night at her house since I was staying here.

Aelia and Andi dropped right off to sleep. I kissed them both, flicked off the lights, and laid down on one of the chairs.

Dream Me stared up into the darkness, getting drowsier bit by bit.

This was my family.

My eyelids grew heavy.

My family.

Then I drifted off to sleep, once again.

I snapped awake. Aelia was standing over me, shaking me as if her life depended on it. When she saw that I was awake, she stepped back and smirked.

"So the zombie lives. It's about time you woke up. Chiron may have let you skip all of your activities today, but he's making you get up for tonight's memory watch." She grinned at me.

I took in my surroundings. I was back in the Big House guest room. It was dark outside, so it must've been campfire or dinner time. Aelia was dressed in black jeans, combat boots, a silver tank top, and a black unzipped hoodie. Her raven hair was pulled up on top of her head in a messy top knot, just like it had in my dream.

My dream.

Did I get a vision from the future?

What did it mean?

Was I really going to marry Aelia and have two kids with her?

Aelia, picking up on my confusion, frowned a little. "You okay, Malcolm? You look dazed."

I shook my thoughts out of my head. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let me get on some different clothes and I'll meet you by the porch."

Aelia nodded, even though it was clear she didn't buy it. "Sure, okay."

She left the room and closed the door softly.

I traded my cargo shorts, sandals, and tank top for sweats, sneakers, a short sleeved shirt, and a pull over hoodie, as it was getting colder outside.

I went to brush my teeth. As I was cleaning my mouth, I thought about my dream. I didn't know what to think of it.

It made me happy, and confused at the same time.

Was it just a dream?

Or was it something more?

Despite being a son of Athena, I was clueless, and I despise being clueless.

Aelia was waiting for me at the bottom of the porch steps. I think she was attempting to whittle, and horribly failing.

She'd curse out loud, chuck a stick at the lake, and try to take out her splinters before repeating the process.

"Did I take long?" I jokingly called as I went down the wooden stairs. They creaked under our combined weights as Aelia shifted and stood up to meet me.

"Centuries, Dean. You took centuries." She rolled her eyes.

I saw many campers making their way for the amphitheater, so I guess dinner had already ended.

Damn it.

My stomach growled from lack of food.

Aelia cast me a sideways glance, obviously hearing my stomach's cry. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a napkin with a sandwich in it. From her other pocket she took a juice box.

"I snuck these out for you. You can thank me later." She handed me the food.

"I think I'll thank you now." I told her. I stopped us, leaned over, and kissed her.

She smiled against my lips. When we pulled away, I slung an arm over her shoulder.

"Thank you, by the way." I told her.

She got the joke, Aelia laughed.

My breath caught. It sounded exactly the same as it did in the dream.

I don't know if I'll ever be able to look at Aelia the same way ever again.

In a good way, of course.

I think.

Thankfully, Aelia didn't notice my hesitation, so I continued to walk as if nothing had happened.

I still thought about it though. Andi Sophia Dean. Lucas Noah Dean. My future children. Unless, the Fates were messing with me.

I managed to finish my sandwich and juice before we got to the amphitheater.

Once everyone was seated, the gods appeared with a flash and rolling thunder (dramatic much, Lord Zeus?).

Then Hera clapped her hands. The screen shimmered into existence and the next memory began to play.

Author's Note:

I solemnly swear that the next chapter with have a memory in it. You guys probably hate me, because I haven't included a memory since chapter 15 (egad!). I hope you loved this chapter.

I admit, I cried while typing this when it came to Malcolm's dream.

To you writers: Do you ever write a story, and you have the last chapter and the epilogue done, yet you have nothing else for the falling action and climax and all that stuff? Or is it just me since I'm such a weirdo?

I bet you 5 drachmas that it's just me.

I'm so freaking weird.

ANNOUNCEMENT! I have decided to change Aelia's skin tone, since she's half Hawaiian. And since Hawaiian people don't have light skin, (it's true, look it up or something, or watch Lilo & Stitch, either one works just fine) you'll be seeing that I describe her skin as 'sun kissed' instead of 'tanned.' If you don't understand, than just think of Piper's skin tone. Basically that, but a shade lighter.

ANNOUNCEMENT! The results are in! Many people liked Conelle better than Conoelle, so hurrah! Connor and Noelle's ship name is Conelle! Be proud of yourselves ladies (and gentlemen)!

Anyways! Thanks for reading this chapter! I love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love you so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so much! Until next time, sexy unicorns!

XOXO,

JiperxPercabeth