Noah,

On the drive to San Francisco, one of the two cars got along great.

That would be Sam and Swift in her sleek, black car. Sam was driving and had held onto her hand the entire time, refusing to let go. You could tell this morning they were now together, but neither came right out and said it. Pretty much the only time they weren't together, I asked Sam what was up. He explained simply as he picked up an apple for breakfast that he loved her.

I had never heard those words out of his mouth, and I didn't doubt that he meant them. He would have figured out one of his ways to make you think he said that he loved you but never did, and he wouldn't have brought up anything to me.

I didn't know how they got together. When they got together. Where he disappeared last night. And what was up with Swift last night.

I just knew that they woke up together and happy, and that was all I really needed to know.

I knew that Kate was dying for details, but I was okay with how little I knew. It didn't matter to me when they got together or why they did. I just know that they did and that they are happy. It didn't matter to me that they kept it a secret. They must have had a reason. Nothing much mattered to me other than seeing Sam the happiest he has ever been.

I've seen Sam through just about every big moment. I was there when he got his first girlfriend. I was there when he broke a girl's heart for the first time. I was there as he learned how to drive. I was the one that he proudly told of his first conquest (Maya Greene when we were sixteen). I saw him become a professional soccer player. And not once had I ever seen him this happy.

That was what was comforting me as I drove the car that was not getting along as well.

For the last few hours, I had been trapped in a car with two boys trying to fight over my injured sister. It was easy at first. Charlie was still too angry to speak to any of us. Even Kate was getting Charlie's world famous silent treatment, and Aiden and Chester were not going to talk. So, I just put on the radio and ignored the teen angst in the air.

But Charlie's resolve to hate us all had been fading since the moment it was formed, and she did understand why we did it underneath everything. She knew she would have done it, too, even if she did also think it was a slap in the face to the idea she had tried to establish that she wasn't seven years old anymore. Her silence could only last so long…

It started with Aiden asking her a million times if she needed anything, which she never did, and I felt pretty bad for the poor kid. He felt guilty, and he was desperate to try to make it up to himself, to erase the guilt he felt. But, with every shake of her head, his cause was losing steam.

Maybe Chester liked seeing that because his lips spread into his signature smirk and formed the words, "She's not three, Aiden. She's fine."

Aiden's face shot to look at him, and that was the moment that I saw the war that would take up the rest of our car trip waged as they looked at each other with distain.

"Gods, this thing won't turn on," Chester was hitting his phone, and Aiden smirked as he glanced back at him.

"Maybe if you tried the power button."

"Maybe if I bashed your face in," Chester glared at him, leaning in to get up in his face, and Charlie had to pull on his leather jacket to keep him from trying to fulfill his promise.

"Please, I beg of you. Try me," Aiden's voice was almost a growl, and I looked back in the rearview mirror of the car.

They had been doing this silently the entire quest, but it had never formed real words like this until now. While we all knew they wanted to kill each other, it had never actually been stated until today, and I had been startled and maybe even a little afraid of what they might do when it started.

But that was hours ago, and I was just looking back at them like I was a parent watching two kids yell that their sibling was "breathing on them."

Kate glanced over at me as the two boys continued to yell at each other.

"I thought it would have been more awkward to ride with the Happy Couple. I was wrong," she whispered soft enough for just me to hear, and I grinned, a small and almost silent laugh coming out of my lips.

"What's up with them? We all knew they hated each other, but now they're actually saying it," my voice was just as faint as Kate's had been because these words were just for her.

"Stating their claim over her or something. I have no idea," Kate shrugged, and my lips pursed as I looked back at them and suddenly remembered that this war was over my baby sister.

To me, she was still the baby Annabeth introduced me to in the hospital. She was still the baby that my friends crowded around to "awww" over, especially Kate. She was still the toddler who I watched take her first steps. She was the little kid who had drawn all over my wall with permanent marker. She was the little girl playing pretend in Annabeth's high heels.

And yet she was grown up now. There were two guys behind me fighting over her!

The thought was making me nauseous.

"Need me to drive? You look a little sick," Kate looked at me, and I could tell she knew what I was thinking of.

"I'm fine. We're almost there anyway," I shrugged, and I looked around as I drove through San Francisco.

My grandparents lived here, so did my two uncles. They had families here. We had family holidays here.

I had been raised with three sets of grandparents. My mom's parents were great, and I adored them. They were the part of my mother that I was okay with keeping, to be honest. When I was younger, they took a special interest in me, and they helped my dad even get custody. My dad always respected that they were my family, and I used to go spend holidays with them. I didn't see them too often now though.

There was my dad's mom, who was there for everything. For a while, she even did my laundry when I got to my first apartment, but Annabeth made that stop.

Then there was Annabeth's family. They accepted me in just as readily as they did Charlie, and I had always admired that. I loved them, they were my family.

I almost felt like I should go see them while we were here. I felt like we should go to the townhouse and stay in Annabeth's old room while Uncle Matthew and Bobby would stop by with their families. They deserved to see Charlie one last time if she…

But I didn't take the exit that would lead me to see them. I didn't pick up my phone and call them. I just drove in the opposite direction because I knew I couldn't handle everyone all together as we all knew this could be the last time we all were together.

Suddenly, I felt Kate's hand wrapped around mine, and I looked back at her.

I smiled softly.

"Thanks," I squeezed her hand, "I'll be okay…"

She nodded but didn't take her hand away, and I honestly didn't want her to.

Charlie,

The car pulled to a stop at the address that Aphrodite had given us. I had expected to arrive at a gleaming tower with his office on the top floor, but we were almost out of Silicon Valley. We were on a road towards the suburbs, getting away from everything that was so big and shiny.

We were parked in front of an industrial warehouse with the words "Hephaestus Workshop" written in big letters on one of the garage doors, and there were no cars around or people for that matter. It was something that I knew my mother would have warned me not to go to.

Yet, here we were.

I couldn't help but almost be disappointed as we all began to climb out of our cars, and my expectations for today shattered as I tried to get out of the car without pain. I let out a hiss as I began, and Aiden's hand quickly outstretched, ready to help me.

It still killed me to look at that face as he was so desperate to help me, to make his guilt fade.

I wanted to tell him that I wasn't going to take his hand and that I could get out perfectly well on my own. But it did hurt to get out, and he could help.

Warily, I took his hand, and he pulled me out carefully and rather easily.

I had always been impressed by his cool and calm demeanor. He could always keep it up, and it never failed him. It was a Roman thing, and it was one of the few Roman things that I truly appreciated. I was Percy Jackson's daughter, and it was natural for me to overreact.

But I was beginning to like his uneasy moments more. When his hands shake. When he blushes. When he doesn't always know what the best choice is. When Aiden isn't perfect.

Noah looked at me, shocked that I had let him help me out of the car, and I didn't look at him. I just looked back at the metal building, nodding towards it. We had a job to do here, and this was it.

"Let's go check it out."

"Charlie's right. No more time-wasting," Sam agreed, his arm nonchalantly swinging around his girlfriend.

It was odd to see the Swift. When a boy put his arm around his girlfriend, she typically smiled and leaned on him, gaining the sweet smile of a woman in love.

But Swift did not have that.

She remained defiant as always, strong and very Roman. She had her hand on her hip, which just so happened to then rest on Sam's hand, and she was close to him without leaning too much on him. She was happy, and I could see how she felt about him written on her face. But it was different than what I had seen before. It was Swift in love, something no one had ever thought they would ever see.

Aiden kept watching them, and he seemed torn between disliking the fact that some guy was dating his sister and liking that she was so happy with him.

"Well then, let's go," Noah nodded, and we followed him into the metal warehouse. The door creaked open, and I had to admit that I was surprised.

It looked like something I had seen in one of the architectural magazines that my mother ordered all the time. Everywhere was "Industrial Urban", and it felt almost foreign after so much time at the "Pink Paradise." There were exposed metal beams. Mix-match furniture. Retro signs everywhere. And I wouldn't have been surprised if a group of young hipsters suddenly showed up to discuss the dreaded "mainstream."

There was a desk in front of us, a funky reception desk that was from the 1960's with glowing lights. There was a woman behind it who looked to be actually human, though I had a nagging feeling she wasn't. Her hair was black and teased up like something you would see in "The Nanny." She had ruby red lipstick on, big hoop earrings, and nametag on her tight red shirt told me that her name was Karen.

"Do you have an appointment?" she smacked her gum, painting her nails the same red as her lipstick and shirt.

"We were sent here by Aphrodite," Kate answered.

Karen just blew on her nails, not remotely interested in the Goddess of Beauty.

"We really need to see him," Noah tried.

"Not without an appointment."

I bit my lip and thought of the only thing that I thought could get us in.

"I'm Charlie Jackson," I blurted out, and she stopped, eyeing me up.

I was sure that I did not meet the expectation that had been set for the daughter of Annabeth and Percy Jackson and especially not for the child of the prophecy. I was battered and bruised. My skin was pale, and I looked exhausted.

I wasn't the hero that people were expecting, and I never had been.

Karen considered it and finally nodded.

"Follow me," she motioned quickly, hurrying across the table and towards a big door, and I finally saw what wasn't human about her.

She was a robot.

Wires were trailing out of her mini skirt, and her legs were just big hunks of metal.

I tried not to stare as she lead us along through a warehouse full of crazy inventions. Sparks flew everywhere. There were scraps of metal and wire and wrappers from candy bars all over the floor. Blueprints were put on walls and on desks.

It was a mad spectacle of color, mess, and technology all hidden away in Silicon Valley.

"Excuse the mess, the cleaning crew was electrocuted last week," Karen said calmly and coolly as if she was stating that the ice maker was just on the fritz again.

I had to stay alert, stepping over wires carefully. Not slipping on the wrappers. Watching out for random flying inventions.

"Ahh!" Kate screamed, and Noah pulled her down from the crazy flying machine that looked like a toaster.

His arms stayed wrapped around her, just as scared that she would get hurt as she was.

"Watch out," Karen said just as calm, and we all looked to each other as we continued through the Warehouse of Impending Death.

As we got further and further into the mess, I could hear a hammer pounding away on something metal, and I knew that we were getting closer and closer to our destination, Hephaestus. Karen walked faster and faster, and we struggled to keep up, especially me. I had trouble getting out of the car alone. I couldn't keep up with a robot running through a dangerous warehouse.

Before we knew it though (and before I fell on my butt), we reached the god, and he peered over his latest invention (it looked like a metal cat?) to see us.

"I was worried you would get here soon."

I stared at him, shocked.

Every other god had welcomed us, begging us to enjoy dinner with them and stay for the night. But Hephaestus was worried we would crowd into his workshop.

"Karen, please, take them to the living quarters. Get them something to drink as well. I need to change out of my work clothes," he motioned towards his greasy jeans and tee shirt, and Karen nodded, motioning for us quickly as she began her high-speed walk towards the stairs at the back of the room.

Kate,

As soon as we stepped through the glass door to the stairway, the mess and madness disappeared. Everything was soothing. Even the sound of my shoes against the metal stairs was calming. The metal railing wasn't too cold or too hot. It was the perfect feeling, and the loft we entered was just as calming.

The kitchen was urban and on the small side, not that it was probably a problem since I doubted he was the one to cook. The dining table could seat ten, and the king-size bed could probably fit about the same amount. There were spiral stairs, but I didn't know where it was leading to.

We were motioned towards the living room with ample seating for us all, and we sat, facing the glass wall to that showed the commotion of the warehouse.

But, from here, it didn't seem nearly as bad.

The loft was its own little slice of relaxation, and I leaned back into the soft couch to enjoy it all.

I hadn't really had relaxation in so long. We were scared to death for Charlie all the time, and nothing could ever really calm us though we had tried so much.

But, for some weird reason, I was relaxed watching the crazy warehouse below, sitting on a comfortable sofa, in Hephaestus's loft.

It didn't last long enough though.

Charlie let out a small hiss as she sat down, and my eyes flew to her, worried to see what was wrong. Noah jumped, and Aiden almost sat up to go and help her.

But she was okay, and she didn't even notice that we had all freaked out at her little hiss.

The three of us looked at each other, and Chester was snickering at us, shaking his head that we were that worry some.

"So, I wonder what mission we have now," Chester smirked, "Go find the crazy machine that will try to kill us?"

Charlie laughed, and Aiden's eyes filled with jealousy, forcing his eyes ahead of him towards the glass wall. Seeing that Aiden was distracted, Sam happily pulled Swift under his arm, and she even rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes.

I still couldn't get over how sweet they were. If you had asked me to picture their relationship, I imagined them fighting all the time and being on and off again, but they looked stable and remarkably happy.

Actually, they even looked like somehow my big brother would be able to get Swift into a white dress with a diamond ring on her finger.

Seeing them so happy and so adorable was making me almost sick. Yes, I was happy for them, but I had wanted that with Noah, and jealousy was rising through me. especially since they hadn't known each other long at all.

I had known Noah all of my life, and nothing had happened yet.

Yet, my big brother (a complete commitment phob) had a serious relationship with a girl (who everyone thought would never be in a relationship like this) he had known just for a few days.

That part of me that was still hoping for Noah was getting honestly a bit angry that my happily ever after hadn't happened yet. If Sam could realize that he loved Swift and could even get with her in just a few days, Noah had ample time. But it just hadn't happened.

And it probably never would, haunted me again and again.

"Are you alright?" Noah whispered. His warm breath made a shiver run down my spine, and I was reminded just how much I loved him…

And of the fact that we were not together.

"Yeah," I nodded, not looking at him, and he almost seemed to laugh.

"You're not acting like it," he nudged me, and I smiled a bit.

"You'll lose all respect for me and think of me as a daughter of Aphrodite," I whispered, and he smirked.

"Try me."

"Aren't they just so sweet?" I motioned towards Sam and Swift, "Two people who never should have gotten together got together in a few days. Doesn't it make you a bit jealous?" I asked, trying to word what I would say next carefully, "It makes you realize that, if they can make it work, maybe the person you've been waiting on will never want you…"

I wasn't sure if he realized it was him I was talking about, and I wasn't sure if I wanted him to. The playful banter was gone, and there was silence. I finally looked back at him, and he opened his mouth to respond. But he was cut off by the arrival of Hephaestus.

And whatever he had been about to say was gone.

"I trust that your journey was tolerable," Hephaestus said as he sat down, and that was when Karen returned with drinks for us all. Hephaestus seemed nervous and not nearly as relaxed in conversation as gods prior had been.

"It was… um…" I looked to Charlie, who was still healing from broken ribs.

"Tolerable," Noah finished for me, not sure what else could be said about it.

"My wife sent you here, didn't she?"

Now was the part we had to be careful about. I knew that he must have known about his wife's new lover, but we couldn't mention it. If anything, out of respect.

"Yes, she did," Charlie nodded, and Hephaestus nodded.

"Of course, she always wants me to break the bad news."

"What bad news?" Noah's voice was suddenly afraid, and my hand went straight to his, trying to comfort and calm him, without even thinking about it.

"There are no more tasks. No more small quests to send you on. And, even if there were, Olympia is starting to grow stronger. You must go to her. In the Underworld. I can't delay it any longer in good conscious."

The words hit hard for the entire room like a punch in the gut.

Everything went silent. I wasn't even sure if we were all breathing, to be honest. It was all so quiet that you could have heard a pin drop. Everyone in the room was thinking the same thing, and no one dared say it aloud.

We were close to what could be her death…

There was a long silence that could have been seconds or could have been hours. I was so lost in thought that I couldn't tell.

Finally, someone spoke.

"Thank you, Hephaestus," Noah's voice creaked out, on the edge of throwing something or bawling. His jaw was tightened, his breathing was faster, and he wasn't looking at me. I realized I was squeezing his hand so hard he might lose circulation, but he was squeezing back.