SEASBLU- DUDE that's a great song for this moment

AyeraeW- love me some abba! and wow i love that theory on calypso! i've never thought of it that way

radoddish- all by herselffffff

LovelyAstorxia- damn those lyrics hit hard :(

all about hope- i did indeed, my b, my b!

Guest- aw thank you! these stories, rosie, and i all love you back lol

last chapter from rosie's perspective :( next chapter will be something new: a Leo POV

Grief hung over camp like an umbrella. Everywhere she looked, there were shrouds and burial rites. Nico was the busiest he had ever been, overseeing these ceremonies.

He looked exhausted- as the eight of them and Nico sat on the porch of the Big house, she couldn't help but notice the bags under his eyes.

"We should've been there at the end," Jason was the first one to break the silence. "We could've helped him at the end."

She knew deep down, Leo would've never let that happen. But it didn't stop her from feeling the same way Jason did.

"It's not right," Piper sobbed next to Rosie. "All that work getting the cure...for nothing."

Hazel suddenly broke down crying. "Piper, bring out the cure."

Piper, confused, grabbed the cloth from her pocket. Unwrapping it...there was nothing there.

"What?" Piper said, confused. "I-I don't understand-"

Rosie turned to Hazel. "You want to explain this?" she asked coldly.

Frank put an arm around Hazel. "In Delos, Leo pulled the two of aside. He pleaded with us to help him."

Rosie gulped, her worst fears confirmed as Hazel relayed the story. Hazel explained how she had switched the physician's cure for an illusion. Rosie wasn't surprised- it was Hazel, after all; she knew how strong Hazel was with her Mist power. Frank told them Leo's plan to destroy Gaea with one massive, fiery explosion.

"He had to do it alone," Frank said softly. "He thought there would be a slim chance that he, a son of Hephaestus, could survive the fire, but if anyone was with him...it wouldn't have worked. He knew that Hazel and I, being Roman, would understand the sacrifice. He knew none of you guys would allow it."

Piper sniffled. "If he was here right now, I'd kill him. How was he planning to take the cure? He was alone!"

Nobody seemed to know the answer to this.

Rosie stood up suddenly, feeling hot and overwhelmed.

"Rosie-" Frank started, his eyes shiny with tears. "We're sorry-"

"I have to go," she said, climbing up the porch steps.

"Ro, do you want to talk?" Percy asked.

"I need to get out of here," she snapped, walking into the Big House and slamming the door behind her.

Baby Chuck, Coach Hedge's son, cooed and bleated in her arms. After much bribery towards Clarisse LaRue, the baby's godmother, she let Rosie have some alone time with Chuck. She was sitting in a bedroom in the Big House, holding Chuck as she softly rocked the rocking chair she was sitting in.

"I figured I'd find you here."

Coach stood in the doorway, his face softening as he took in the sight of his son.

"Sorry for stealing your baby," she said, stroking Chuck's cheek.

Coach strolled across the room, sitting down on the bed across from them.

"He's beautiful," Rosie whispered.

"I know," Coach beamed with pride. "I still can't believe...we made that. Freaking life came out of nowhere!"

She closed her eyes, a single tear running down her cheek.

"Reiger…"

"I'm fine," she promised. "I...I just wished he said something."

"You couldn't save him, Rosie."

"I could've," her voice broke, looking up at Coach.

Coach's face fell, as he nodded. He didn't refute this, nor did he support it.

After a few more seconds of rocking and silence, she said, "You should remove the empathy link."

"Why?" Coach asked genuinely, as if she was suggesting the craziest thing in the world.

She shrugged. "Because...we did what we had to do. And...I'm guessing that whatever's coming for me in the next few months isn't pretty. Seems stupid for two of us to go through it."

Coach shook his head. "I'm not going to remove it, Reiger."

"And why's that?"

"Removing it….if I remove it, that's implying that I'm going to let you go through this alone. And that's not the case, Reiger. You'll never be alone."

You'll never be alone.

Rosie gulped, squeezing Chuck's little fist. "I'm really going to miss him, Coach."

"I know, Rosie. I am too."

Her friends seemed to keep her under a constant watch. It was impossible to slip away. She appreciated it, but….she just wanted some time alone.

Her friends had plans, plans that were moving into motion all too soon. Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood would be forever united. Frank, Hazel, and Reyna were going to leave in the morning, but not without promising lots of visits; even Grant was going to go with them. Percy and Annabeth were going to spend the rest of their senior year in New York, and would then go to New Rome for college. Piper was already enrolled in a school in LA, and Jason was going to live with her and her father, an invitation that had been extended to Rosie. She wasn't sure what her next move was.

She knew it was making her friends feel better to watch her...so for most of the day, she let them. She watched Piper, Hazel, and Reyna absolutely pulverize Grant, Frank, and Jason in a pickup game of basketball. She and CJ played air hockey in the rec room. She watched Ringo and Oscar argue over the pronunciation of the word "gnocchi". Annabeth brought her to the mess hall, letting her play with the cappuccino machine. Percy and Tyson let her rearrange all of the furniture in their cabin.

Her chance to slip away finally came at night, when Percy had gone off to shower, and Tyson to see Ella.

She slipped off into the shadows of the night. She had her destination in mind: the Hades cabin.

Rosie knocked at the door softly, aware that curfew was soon.

Nico DiAngelo opened the door a crack, light from inside the cabin streaming out. He didn't look shocked to see her at all. In fact, he looked like he was expecting her.

"Hey," she said. "Could we talk?"

He nodded. "Let's do it out here," he said, closing the door behind him. "Hazel's pretty wiped out."

"I didn't mean to get mad at them before," she said apologetically. "Frank and Hazel, I mean. I just-"

"I know," Nico said. "But you know you couldn't have stopped him, Rosie. It wasn't possible."

"Right," she said, flatly. "Got it, loud and clear."

Nico sighed. "Rosie…"

She was going to cut to the chase. "Tell me there's still a chance, Nico." She needed something- no way was this happening. It couldn't be real.

Nico stared right back at her, not displaying any kind of emotion.

"Tell me he's still alive."

A brief second passed, and Nico shook his head. "He's dead, Rosie."

It was a slap to the face, but she should've expected it. After all, she had seen Leo go straight into that fiery explosion.

"Okay," she said timidly, not letting on how much this answer bothered her. "Okay."

"Sorry that was harsh, but-"

"Nope. Perfectly stated." She needed to exchange the subject- keep it light, airy. "Everyone's making all these plans, huh?"

"Seems that way."

"Bet you can't wait to get the hell out of here." Nico was never keen on staying in one place at a time for too long.

"Actually...I think I may stay."

"Stay? Stay where? Here at camp?"

Nico nodded, the tiniest of smiles on his face. "I mean come on, Rosie, look at this decor. It's ugly." He gestured to his cabin, looming behind him. "Someone has to redesign."

"Hey, I totally love the creepy, Tim Burton vibe."

"And what about you? Are you...leaving?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "I might stay."

"Darn," Nico deadpanned.

She gave him a small shove, smiling. "Yeah, I'll definitely stay. We'll sing campfire songs together and do arts and crafts and hold hands!"

"Ah, geez."

When she slipped back into her cabin, she was met with not only Piper, but Jason too. Percy and Tyson were nowhere to be found.

"Guys?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Percy and Tyson said they would sleep in the Big House," Piper said, already curled up on Rosie's bed. "They thought you could use our company."

"That was nice of them," she muttered, sitting down next to Piper. Jason was on the floor under them, a wicker basket next to him.

"We brought picnic gear," Jason said sheepishly, holding up the basket.

"Picnic gear? It's ten o'clock at night."

"Hey," Jason said, looking offended. "Picnics can be had at any time of day."

"Of course," Rosie said, holding her hands in surrender. "Where exactly did you have in mind for this picnic?"

"The roof," Piper answered with a grin.

"The roof?" Rosie asked, shocked. "You're kidding."

Turns out, they weren't. They even had a ladder, cheering Rosie on as she climbed up to the roof of Cabin Three.

They ate peanut butter sandwiches and drank chocolate milk, talking about everything but what was before them.

"It's a beautiful night," Piper commented. It really was- the breeze was light and the sky clear, glittering with stars overhead.

Jason smiled. "I think Leo would've liked it."

There it was- the elephant in the room.

It was always going to be clear that someone was missing, wasn't it?

"Yeah," Rosie said tightly. "He would've."

"One thing Leo always preached," Jason mentioned, pulling out a small object out of the basket. "Was having music at a party." It turns out the small object was a handheld radio.

"I thought this was a picnic," Rosie quipped.

The music started playing, and she flashed back to the Argo II- it was Super Trouper by ABBA.

"Can't it be a multipurpose picnic?" Jason said, standing up with Piper.

"It's definitely a multipurpose picnic," Piper said with a knowing nod.

The two of them started swaying, looking at her expectantly.

"You're going to wake the entire camp," Rosie said, shaking her head at her two best friends.

"Tonight, we break the rules!" Jason chanted, jumping up and down. She'd never tell him this...but his dance moves were utter dad moves.

"You?" She said, holding back a laugh. "Break the rules?"

"Come on, Rosie!" Piper said, waving her arms. "No more tears!"

Rosie finally relented, getting up and dancing around with her two of her best friends. The three of them danced and sang along, probably waking everyone in camp.

She knew it was going to be hard. She knew she was going to experience the ugliest of emotions soon enough. She knew she would forever be changed from the loss of Leo. But for now, she didn't want to think about it.

For now, she was just going to keep dancing on.