Earlier than planned! :D Bet y'all are thrilled about that!

Yeah, yeah, I know it's short. Sue me. I really couldn't think of what to do with this chapter. I could've combined this one and the finale, but I wanted my chapter count to come out at a nice, even 35. It might be a bit below the standard of the last few chapters, sorry.

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize as canon.

Thirty-Three: Let's Go Home

Leo woke up feeling like his chest was going to burst. His heart was clenched, like someone had tied a knot in it and then began stretching it tight.

"Ngh," he groaned, rubbing his eyes. "What happened?"

He looked around, realizing he was in the hotel bed. How did he get there?

Oh yeah, he thought with annoyance. Aphrodite made me go to sleep. I wasn't that tired, dammit!

Percy and Hazel were sitting against the wall, eating again.

"Gimme something," Leo whined. "I'm hungry!"

The two demigods looked up at him and smiled. Percy threw a sandwich at the son of Hephaestus.

"Mornin' Sleeping Beauty," the son of Poseidon remarked. "Have a nice nap?"

"I've had better," Leo said, stretching. He nibbled on the sandwich. "How long was I out?"

"Not that long," Hazel said. "Just the whole night. We just woke up, ourselves."

Leo nodded. "Aphrodite?"

"Left after your wedding memory," Percy answered. "By the way, it was beautiful. Never seen you so clean!"

"You saw that memory?"

Hazel nodded and held up a disk labeled Caleo Wedding. "Aphrodite gave us the tape, too. She said that weddings should always be taped, for better or for worse."

Leo groaned. "Please don't show that to anyone," he begged.

"Why not?" Percy asked. "It was a nice wedding! You only caught fire once, and Calypso was drop-dead gorgeous. Great wedding, in my opinion!"

Leo blushed. He chomped on the sandwich in silence.

Hazel stood up and walked over to him. "Here," she said, holding her hand out. "You should have these back."

Leo smiled when she handed him the wedding rings. He slid his own ring onto his finger and slipped Calypso's into his jacket pocket. "Thanks."

"No prob."

"So, is that it?" Percy asked, still sitting against the wall.

Hazel looked at him incredulously. "What do you mean 'is that it'?"

Percy shrugged. "I'm just not used to a quest ending so…smoothly, y'know? Usually there's a lot more death and monsters involved."

Leo chuckled. "We could always go south to the Pillars and see our old pal Hercules. I'm sure that'll be fun!"

Percy made a face. "Shut up."

The trio laughed. Leo got up and gathered the memory things off the bed. He slipped them into his tool belt pockets—even Calypso's army jacket, which took a while to do, but he managed in the end.

"Yeah," Leo conceded. "I think that's it. We can't do anything more."

"What about Calypso?" Hazel asked. "Shouldn't we find out where she went?"

Leo shook his head. "No. She's back on Ogygia."

He explained the terms of his return to Ogygia. Sadness etched his voice. The tugging at his heart continued at every mention of his wife.

"Man," Percy said, rubbing his neck. "That sucks, bro. I'd offer to go get her myself, but I've been there already, too."

"You're not going to try and return again, are you?" Hazel asked.

"No," Leo answered without hesitation. "Maybe I would've a few years ago, but now that I've got the twins…I won't risk them growing up without me. I had to deal with my mom dying and leaving me alone. It left me broken growing up. I won't do that to my babies."

"I have a feeling Calypso took away your memories so you wouldn't return," Hazel concluded. "She probably did it to protect you."

Leo thought about that and nodded sadly. Then, he laughed. "Yeah, well, when the twins suddenly burst into my life one day, it would've been nice to get my memories back! I wouldn't abandon the twins for anything!"

The other two demigods nodded, smiling.

A few hours later, after saying a final good-bye to Tulio the hotel clerk, the demigods were flying home on Festus. None of them slept this time. They told stories about their respective kids and Leo's misadventures in Europe (minus one memory of Paris that would never come to light). They even started comparing Percy's time on Ogygia to Leo's—hey, they were bored!

"She threw a pot at your head?" Percy asked.

Leo grinned. "Had a welt for a good day afterwards! In her defense, I did kinda pop in outta nowhere."

Hazel shook her head. "It's no wonder she didn't like you at first!"

"She was totally on Team Leo," Leo stated. "She just didn't know it then!"

A few more hours, and one unexpected sea monster attack (easily handled by the son of Poseidon) later, the East coast of America came into sight. Leo urged Festus to go a little faster. He didn't say anything out loud, but the closer they got to New York, the harder Leo's heart clenched and tugged. It felt like somebody was actually pulling him back to the camp. It was really starting to hurt.

Get to the twins, he told himself. Get to the twins, tell them about Calypso, then figure out why your heart is being weird.

Festus roared happily.

Without warning, the automaton dragon shot through the sky at light speed. Percy screamed, "Not agaaaaaaain!"

Leo struggled to keep hold of Festus. "Whoa, boy, not that fast!" he yelled. "What's the hurry? You that excited to see the twins!?"

Festus whirred and roared, spewing extra oil, which landed on a couple of unfortunate beach-goers.

"Soooorryyyyyyy," Leo called, though he was sure they couldn't hear him.

Soon, Festus had slowed again. Leo was pretty sure he had swallowed every gods-dammed bug in New York after that escapade.

"Holy Jupiter," Hazel gasped. Her hair was frozen in that next-to-speakers-at-a-rock-concert-look again. Leo tried not to laugh, but it was just too easy!

"BWA HA HA!" He nearly fell off of Festus. "You look ridiculous, Hazel!"

Hazel glared at him with one eyebrow raised. "And you don't? You look like you stuck your head out of a plane."

Leo checked his hair and realized he was having the same problem as Hazel. He turned his head forward as Hazel snickered behind him.

Percy called from the back, "What are you gonna tell the twins?"

Leo hesitated before answering. "Uh, well…tell them that their mother's name is Calypso, I guess…I promised that I would do that as soon as I returned, and that's what I'm gonna do."

"But will you tell them that you can't go after her?" Hazel asked, concerned.

Leo didn't answer. Truthfully, he never really thought about it. He supposed the twins wouldn't take it that well. I guess I can't tell them until they're old enough to understand, he thought. I just hope that they will understand when that time comes…

Hazel patted him on the back. "They'll understand, Leo," she assured him.

"Were you reading my mind?" he joked.

She rolled her eyes. "You're a pretty easy guy to read—whenever you think no one's looking."

Leo made a face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She smiled sadly at him. "Don't think I never noticed you during the sad days on the Argo II," she said. "I may not have known how to comfort you, but I was always there in case you broke down."

Percy nodded.

Leo grimaced. "Even Percy noticed? Was it that obvious?"

Hazel gripped his shoulder. "Only when you thought no one was looking. And I'm talking about before your sudden mood change after Malta. After that, anyone who knew you would've noticed."

"At least we know why, now," Percy added.

Leo nodded. "I'll try to hide it better next time," he assured them.

The trio chuckled as Festus lowered into Camp.

The tugging in Leo's chest was at it's peak. Leo was pretty sure his heart was going to burst out of him like an alien. He slid off of Festus as soon as they landed. His knees felt like jelly and he almost collapsed from the pain in his heart.

No, he thought, wincing. It's nothing! I just miss my kids—yeah, that's what it is! My kids...Tulio! Esperanza! Where are they? I have to see them!

"Where are mah babehs?" he yelled, throwing his arms around childishly. "Papi's home!"

A/N: Filler-ish chapter! :D Not much happening, since it's near the end. Tomorrow (or perhaps later today if I get it done quick enough—no promises) I will try and post the FINAL CHAPTER! All the Caleo feels will be there, waiting!

NINE MORE DAYS GUYS! SUPER STOKED! I think I'm gonna die before that happens! D: SO LONG! *cries*

And for those who aren't following me: Wanna catch another story about the Valdezes? Check out "How Hot Am I?"! It's the latest edition to my Leo-centric stories :)