A/N: So i realize actual BoO comes out tomorrow. I'm so sorry I have two chapters left. Absolutely crazy midterm week. I will finish this week because I do intend to make a sequel. Please please review but most importantly ENJOY!

Visiting Hours

The salty smell of the ocean mist grew stronger as Poseidon walked towards Percy. Outside of the battle at Olympus, Percy hadn't seen or heard his dad in almost a year. Despite the extraordinary circumstances of that stretch of time, this was odd even by Olympian standards. Then again, Percy thought, Jason is meeting his dad for the first time. And then there was Dax.

Percy spotted his brother talking to Jack off to the side. They were talking quietly, and Dax clearly didn't want to be seen. The loss of Ryder, combined with the anxiety of having to interact with Athena and Poseidon, must be tough to handle, even for him.

Jack looked distressed, but he was able to smile softly whenever he looked at Skylar and seemed to be reassuring Dax, which was good for both of them. Apollo and Hermes were making their way towards the pair, so Dax slinked away before being drawn into an awkward conversation.

Poseidon had reached Percy now, and the god drew his son into a tight embrace.

"Percy, I was so scared," Poseidon said softly. He pulled away and cleared his throat, but his eyes were still a bit misty, "Then again, I don't know why I was. I should never have doubted your ability, or your power. What you've done is nothing short of miraculous. I am so proud of you."

Percy shifted uncomfortably at the praise, "Thanks, Dad, but I couldn't have done it alone. Jason and Piper and Leo saved Hera. Frank and Hazel were awesome in Alaska. Everyone played huge parts when we went to Rome. Nico and the House of Hades. Dax and his crew. All of you. It was so not just me."

Poseidon raised an eyebrow, "And Annabeth?"

A broad smile spread across Percy's face just at her mention, "I mean, that goes without saying. She was even more incredible than me, through everything. She was the glue that held us together on the Argo. I couldn't have survived Tartarus without her. I couldn't have done any of it without her."

"Nor her without you, Perseus Jackson." A voice said behind him.

Athena glided out from behind him to stand at Poseidon's side.

"Hi, Athena." Percy's face turned beet red. He was still pretty confident Athena would have a blast incinerating him.

"Your father is correct Percy. Your efforts during this war were unbelievable and you have proven me wrong once again. The world, your friends, and your family have all survived."

Percy's face became an even deeper shade of red, "Thank you."

"I would also like to add that my threat is still outstanding. However, you have proven yourself in innumerable ways. So, I have no doubt that I will never have to follow through with it."

Athena even cracked a small smile.

Poseidon narrowed his eyes at the goddess, "What threat?" His voice was confused and a bit angry.

"I simply told him not to screw it up." Athena replied smugly.

Is this what it sounded like? Was Athena really giving him her blessing? Relief, joy, and a hundred other complimenting emotions washed over him. He smiled so wide his cheeks started to hurt.

"It?" Poseidon asked accusingly.

Percy couldn't keep the smile off his face, "Don't worry, Dad. I could never live with myself if I did that."

Athena nodded approvingly. Poseidon still eyed them both suspiciously, but let the subject drop at Percy's reaction.

This was incredible! Definitely a top five happiest moment for Percy. Ever. After everything they'd gone through, finally, Athena relinquished her motherly overprectiveness, officially. And there was no problem with Poseidon. Percy's dad really did only care about his son's well-being, and it was pretty obvious Annabeth had become a driving factor in that regard.

Percy was pulled out of his thoughts by an arm wrapping around his waist. Annabeth pulled herself tightly into his side. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. They both turned bright red when they remember their parents were watching. Poseidon smiled warmly at the pair. Athena was expressionless, but Percy would have bet a hundred drachma her eyes moistened just a little.

"What are you smiling about, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth said.

"Oh, nothing." Percy replied. A little smile forced itself onto Athena's face. Impossibly, Percy's own smile stretched even wider.

"Miss Chase, you were spectacular during this ordeal. I cannot thank you enough. You two have saved the world again." Poseidon said.

"We couldn't have done it alone. All the others –"

"Oh spare me," Athena cut her off, "You two are too modest for your own good."

Silence filled the space between demigods and gods. Percy had no idea how to respond to that. Apparently neither did Annabeth. But that was okay, that's how they always were.

"And Annabeth, thank you for never giving up on my son." Poseidon said.

Fire burned Percy's cheeks as blood rushed to fill them. His throat dried up. Thankfully, Annabeth laughed.

"It's not like I had a choice, sir. I think it would hurt me more than you to lose him." Annabeth replied as she squeezed his waist. Now, both the gods' eyes were definitely misting.

Past the gods, Percy's attention was drawn to a cloaked figure doing his best to avoid being noticed by their party. Dax was circling out wide to avoid them. After tracking him for a few seconds, they made eye contact, and Dax stopped walking. Percy's smile morphed into a mischievous smirk.

Anxiety burned through his bloodstream. His eyes flitted around nervously, trying to identify anyone who might want to talk to him. He couldn't let himself be pinned down and cornered. Then it was only a matter of time.

Why did Jack have to make sense? Of course he should talk to his parents, but that would be the most nerve-racking experience of his life. Funny, I'll run straight at a pissed off primordial, but am scared to death of a little family reunion.

Dax was reminded of the night before the battle, when he could barely force himself to go see Jenni. Except this was a hundred times worse. And he couldn't even seek comfort in her, because that would almost certainly attract Aphrodite, and that was another battle that terrified him to his core.

Spotting Percy, Annabeth, Poseidon, and Athena, he attempted to sneak past them and find Keenan. They could be social hermits together. Percy and Annabeth were facing him, but they seemed to be enthralled by the conversation.

Looking back at the far wall, Dax continued his hopefully clandestine escape, but pretty quickly he started to feel eyes boring into him. After a few more steps, he couldn't take it. Giving into his body's natural instinct to face a potential threat, he turned and locked eyes with Percy, who smiled impishly.

Oh no.

While the two gods were focused on whatever Annabeth was saying, Percy made hand motions encouraging Dax to join the group, but Dax froze. He knew he had to go over there, but he didn't know how he was going to face his parents. He didn't know how to talk to them and ignore the fact that he only exists because of their mistake. Percy had to understand that.

Either Percy didn't understand, or didn't care. His motions became more forceful and urgent. Dax took a reluctant step forward, then another, and before he knew it he was standing between Poseidon and Percy.

"Hey guys." Awkwardly escaped Dax's lips.

The two gods looked surprised, but they had to have known this would happen eventually. Annabeth smiled and nudged Percy's side with her elbow.

"Percy, Piper is calling for us."

Percy looked torn, as if he wanted to stick around to support Dax, and toss in a few sarcastic comments. Annabeth nudged him again.

"Oh, uh, right. Let's go." Percy said as he allowed Annabeth to lead him away. Percy winked at Dax and smiled. Dax returned it weakly.

An awkward silence filled the void created by the two demigods' departure.

"Uh, hi Athena. Hi Poseidon. I'm sorry –"

"No, Dax, please. I – your mother and I could not be more proud of you. You have faced an incredible amount of adversity with an impossibly heavy burden, but you never gave up on your friends," he paused, looking for the right way to continue.

"You may have been an accident, Dax, but you were by no means a mistake." Athena finished for him.

Dax didn't know how to respond he was so overwhelmed with emotion. Poseidon and Athena managed to dissolve the bubble of stress and anger that had been growing in his belly. What do I say? What do I do? His hands started shaking. The gods grew visibly concerned.

"Dax, are you alright?" Athena asked. Her voice quivered a little bit.

Dax sniffled, "Ya, it's just… I'm sorry… I –"

Dax practically fell forward and wrapped his arms tightly around both his parents. They returned his embrace gladly. Dax silently wept in their arms for close to a minute. He didn't care if anyone else saw him. He had a family, a real one. He had a brother, and he had Jenni. That's all he ever needed.

Eventually Dax pulled out of the hug slowly, "I'm sorry. I don't know what happened."

Both the gods smiled. "It's okay, Dax. We're here, and we're not leaving." Poseidon said with a smile.

"We love you." Athena said.

Another wave of emotion rolled over Dax, but he fought it back.

"I love you guys too." Dax replied.

Another moment of silence entered the group, but it was a comfortable one. No one really knew what to say next, but that was alright to Dax. No need to force anything too early.

"Excuse me." A female voice called out.

Aphrodite was striding gracefully towards the trio, "Poseidon, Athena, I'm so sorry to interrupt, but would it be possible for me to borrow Dax for a minute?" Her smile was gorgeous. Dax didn't think anyone could say no to her.

Athena and Poseidon exchanged a look. Poseidon nodded.

"That's quite alright, Aphrodite," Athena answered, "Dax, we'll see you later."

The two gods departed, leaving Dax utterly terrified standing before his girlfriend's goddess of a mom. Wait, is she my girlfriend? Is that a thing? Dax thought nervously. Of course, you idiot. You told her you loved her, he reassured himself. Oh, right.

Meanwhile, Aphrodite was looking Dax up and down intently. Her eyes were narrowed, not in suspicion but curiosity. After about a minute of staring, the goddess made brief eye contact with Dax before scanning the room. Dax was too afraid to follow her gaze. After a moment of scanning, Aphrodite's eyes brightened.

"Oh, Jason! Come here for a moment." Aphrodite called as she waved her hand through the air.

Dax finally turned. Jason was hesitantly walking towards him. They made eye contact. Dax hoped he didn't look as scared as Jason, but he probably did. Maybe even worsse. Aphrodite probably loved it.

Jason stopped next to Dax. Aphrodite looked him over for as long as she did Dax. When she stopped, she took a long moment to look at both boys in the eyes.

"Do you boys know why I've asked to speak to you alone?" The goddess started.

Jason and Dax exchanged a look.

"I can imagine," Dax answered with a smirk, "because of Jenni and Piper."

"Yes," Aphrodite returned the smirk, "Precisely. Now, why exactly do you two believe you two are worthy of my daughters?"

"Well, your daughters seem to think we are." Dax replied sarcastically.

Jason mentally face-palmed. Dax was taunting the goddess of love about her daughters, whom Jason and Dax were in love with. Whoa, did I just think I'm in love with Piper? Hades. Should I tell her? Not the time, Jason. Right.

Aphrodite's eyes narrowed at Dax, but she didn't say anything. They also hadn't been turned into pigeons, which was a good start.

"I mean, I disagree with them," the sarcasm faded from his voice and his smirk turned serious, "I can't necessarily speak for Jason, but I am nowhere near close to being worthy of Jenni. But she picked me, and I picked her, so I must have done something right along the way."

Aphrodite looked at Dax again, and then turned to Jason, "and you, son of Zeus?"

Jason gulped. This may turn out to be one of the scariest moments of his life, "Uh, like Dax said, I wouldn't say I'm worthy, not by a long shot, but I try my best to do everything I can to keep her safe and happy."

Was that enough? Dax's was definitely a lot better.

Aphrodite looked them both over again. Leo walked behind Aphrodite and made a decapitating motion with his hand. Jason's face went pale and Leo started laughing. Jason would have to pay him back later.

"Dax, Jason, you're bravery and skill have proven you are capable warriors," Aphrodite said, "The reason I wanted to speak to you alone is because I wanted to evaluate your character at least a little."

She paused. Her eyes flitted between the two. She was so enjoying this. Her seductive smile returned.

"Congratulations, you have passed the test. I'll be seeing you both later." Aphrodite glided away.

Both boys let out a relieved gasp.

"Holy Hera." Jason said, "I really thought you were going to get us blown up on the spot."

Dax grinned, "Me too. Especially because I winged it after that little comment."

Jason gaped at him, "You've been hanging out with Percy too much, or maybe it just runs in the family."

Dax had a faraway look in his eye, "Maybe it does," he paused, his eyes zeroing in on something, "They're laughing at us."

Jason followed Dax's gaze to find Jenni and Piper laughing to themselves and pointing at the boys. They must have watched the whole thing. Jason's cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

Breaking his gaze off the girls, Jason quickly scanned the room. Frank and Hazel were talking to Hades and Mars. The two gods seemed good-naturedly amused at the petrified Frank. Hazel smiled warmly while Nico laughed at Frank's expression. Good, Nico was laughing. Jason didn't know how he would be after the war was over. Nico still may never come back to camp.

Only twenty feet to Jason's right, Zeus was speaking to Thalia. His sister noticed him and waved happily. This peaked Zeus's curiosity. The king of the gods turned and spotted Jason. He smiled a little nervously before turning back to Thalia. She mouthed, come here.

Dax snapped him back to his body, "I say it's our turn to make fun of them."

Jason laughed, "I don't disagree," he looked back at his father and sister, "But I need to have one more conversation before I can relax with Piper."

Dax looked at Zeus, then back at Jason. He clapped Jason on the back, "No worries. I'm sure she can wait a few more minutes. Good luck."

Jason watched Dax walk to the two girls. Piper looked expectantly at Jason, but Dax said something that made her smile. Jason smiled back,

The son of Zeus took a deep breath and went to meet his father.

Everything was slowly falling into place. Percy wasn't normally one to enjoy gossip and drama, but watching everyone around him made him feel pretty good. Percy had stood off to the side and watched Dax with Poseidon and Athena. The scene almost brought tears to his eyes. Keenan and Leo were off to one side talking softly. Those two had it hard. Watching everyone else reunite with their godly parents must really hurt after their dad's sacrifice. At least they could be proud of him, and of themselves.

Annabeth had left him on his own after Aphrodite stole Dax from Poseidon and Athena. She wanted to have a private word with her mom, which Percy totally understood. He was content with being alone for a few moments, until he noticed Poseidon walking over to him.

"How'd it go?" Percy asked quietly.

"Much better than expected," Poseidon stood at Percy's side and watched the room, "Dax has a lot to sort through right now, between this and Ryder, and I need you to be there for him. He identifies more with you than Annabeth."

"Of course. We'll have a long time together on this next adventure. I have a feeling that there's more to this than Atlas though."

"I think you're right. Please, be careful Percy. This may not be an old enemy but a new one, and those are the worst kind. We don't know what to expect," Poseidon lowered his voice further, "You should know, Alcyoneus is unaccounted for. Hades confirmed he is the only giant not in Tartarus. We just didn't want to scare anyone before the quest even started."

"That makes things more… complicated, but we'll be ready. We're stronger than ever." Percy said more confidently than he felt.

"I hope so, Percy," Poseidon paused to look at Dax and Jason being interrogated by Aphrodite, "I never thought I'd see Dax show his fear this badly."

Percy laughed, "Are you kidding? Aphrodite is scarier than Athena, but don't tell her I said that," Poseidon laughed, "But I think Frank has him beat. It looks like he thinks Hades is going to drag him down to Tartarus."

They both laughed, "Hopefully your uncle doesn't have too much fun with him. Frank is good kid."

"No doubt. He and Hazel are great together."

Poseidon nodded but didn't respond. They stood together watching for a few moments. Aphrodite finally released the boys and Dax made a beeline for Jenni. Jason hesitated, and then turned to face his father. Oh boy.

Jack wandered aimlessly, his head hanging a little bit. Dark bags had formed under his eyes.

Poseidon nudged Percy, "Go talk to Apollo's boy. He seems to be taking thnigs rather hard. The three of you need to be able to be there for each other on this quest. It never hurts to start a little early."

Percy looked at his father and nodded, "Thanks Dad, I'll see you later."

Poseidon smiled warmly and walked slowly towards Zeus and Jason. Percy made his way towards Jack. The other boy didn't seem to notice Percy until he was practically on top of him.

"Hey Jack, how are you feeling?"

Jack looked up slowly, "Oh, hey, Percy," he winced as he looked down at his side, "I'm okay. Still hurts pretty good. I'm still pissed at myself. I should've been there."

Percy knew what he meant. Jack missed the worst of the fight. It was tough to not be their while your friends were fighting. And he couldn't be there at the end for Ryder.

"Jack, don't beat yourself up about it. You couldn't have changed the end result," Jack winced again, this time from mental pain, "Thank you, for saving Reyna. I never got to thank you."

"No worries, dude. It's not like I could let her get smooshed," Jack snickered a little, "Listen, Percy, what you did that day was unreal, insane, and totally awesome. I'm really glad to be with you and Dax for the next quest."

Jack stuck out his hand, and Percy shook it. Jack's face grew dark again.

"Uh, and Percy, thank you for being there with Ryder in the end. It means a lot to me." Jack smiled weakly.

"No place else I'd have rather been," Percy laid a hand on Jack's shoulder, "Don't worry, it's hard but we'll get through, together."

"Percy Jackson, when did you get so mushy?"

If it wasn't a boy's voice Percy would've bet Clarisse was his taunter, but it was Leo, who was laughing to himself quietly. He'd managed to sneak up on them.

"What's up, Fire Dude?" Jack said. He smiled genuinely and put his arm around Leo's shoulders. Percy would take it, any progress is good enough.

"Nothing, just imagining all the ways I can smite you guys," Leo said. His eyes lit up with fire, but Percy could see a lingering sadness behind his eyes.

"Oh yeah? Not if I smite you first. I'll always be faster." Jack shot back playfully, "But I'll see you guys later. I think I ought to introduce myself to Skylar's mom."

"You're a brave soul. We'll be sure to honor your memory with a lovely funeral." Leo replied laughing.

Jack's eyes went wide, "She's not that scary. Right, guys?"

Percy had never met Hecate. She'd been there when they were fished out of Tartarus, and at the battle, but Percy was never in a position to really talk to or even observe her.

"Actually, don't answer that," Jack cut Leo off. He smiled nervously, "To Hades I go."

Jack winked and walked away from the pair.

Percy and Leo stood awkwardly. Both of them knew what Leo was going to ask, but he hadn't worked up the courage yet.

Finally, Leo took a deep breath and spoke, "Percy, why didn't you do it?"

Percy looked at Leo compassionately for a moment, "Leo, I didn't accept Zeus' offer for the same reason you did accept it. And for the same reason I snuck out of Camp when Atlas was released the first time, why I left Ogygia, and leapt willingly into Tartarus. For Annabeth."

Leo looked down at the floor and didn't respond. Maybe Percy shouldn't have mentioned his leaving Calypso. That reminds me…

"Leo, you are going to be a fantastic god. Have some faith in yourself and you'll do great," Leo looked up and smiled, "I need you to do me a favor."

Leo looked at him quizzically, "Sure, what's up?"

Percy took a deep breath, "When you go free Calypso, I want you tell her that I forgive her. Not right away. You'll know when the time is right."

"You forgive her?" Leo asked, a little angry.

Percy nodded, "She'll understand what that means. If she explains it, you will too."

Leo looked absolutely dumbfounded. Percy decided to leave before he busted a gear. He said his goodbye, gave Leo a quick hug, and left to find Annabeth.

He was significantly less thrilled by who he actually ran into.

"Well, if it isn't Perry Johnson. You've managed to make me look the fool yet again." Mr. D stood in his way, arms crossed.

"Oh, hey Mr. D. It's not like I meant to. I just wanted to get back at Hera in a way that she wouldn't send a herd of cows after me," Percy stepped closer to the god, "And besides, you like us, and the camp needs you more than they want to admit."

Mr. D smiled, "They need you too, Percy. You may not have accepted Zeus' request, but the others still see you as a god among them. But, the place will need someone to keep order when you inevitably retire. And I get to boss Hera around? I could never pass up that golden apple. Yes, I'll stick around, but don't think for even a moment I won't have your hide on kitchen duty if you stick around long enough to cause your usual amount of trouble."

Percy liked the idea of retiring rather than the usual way a demigod got out of service to Olympus.

"We celebrate here, but its due time you left for camp. They need you all now."

Percy looked at Mr. D with a confused expression.

"Oh, come on, Perry. I'd have hoped you picked up some common sense, or street smarts as you people seem to enjoy saying. No matter, it's time to burn the shrouds."