A/N:

Thank you to all who have been reviewing the story thus far; it means a lot that there are those supporting this project. As for the guest who'd reviewed the other night, thank you for the comments on that Annabeth and Percy moment that I originally had (where Percy talks about Polybotes); I went back and I actually rewrote it, and it's so much better than what it was before. I'm glad that you pointed that out, as I'd written that moment a little haphazardly and I didn't really put that much thought into it, but going back and rewriting it, I made sure to make Annabeth's reaction a lot more accurate. The more constructive criticism the better. I hope you all continue to read and review like this.

Chapter 7: Leo and Hazel

Coming back into the camp, Percy and Annabeth walked toward Nico and Hazel's cabin hand-in-hand, as they'd Iris-messaged with Jason that they would be reading that day in Nico's domain. After watching Estelle all weekend, they were happy to get back at camp. Plus, they'd been able to have alone time together in Percy's room at the apartment. Being able to just be close to one another, it was exactly what Percy had needed after such an emotional couple of days, revealing all that happened in the past. And even Annabeth admitted that she'd needed the same thing.

Together, they hauled their suitcases into Percy's cabin, with Annabeth setting her bag onto one of the empty beds. She spent the night so many times in Percy's cabin, almost no one cared. It even got to a point where she sat at his table during meal hours, which was forbidden. But given that they were together, almost no one cared. Even Annabeth's brother, Malcolm, was cool with it.

"At this point, I don't even care anymore," he'd said to them. "You guys do whatever you want."

The blessing from Malcolm had been all they'd needed. It was to a point where no one looked at them strangely anymore.

"Ready for more?" asked Annabeth, unzipping her bag.

Percy nodded. "At least this next chapter is a good one," he said. "It's one of the happier ones."

"But it's still bittersweet," Annabeth mumbled. "I guess Luke makes another appearance in this one?"

"Yeah," Percy nodded. "Where do you think he is?"

"I don't know," Annabeth said. "Hopefully, if he is reborn, he makes his way back somehow. But if he's in Elysium, maybe we can have Nico forge a connection?"

Percy nodded. "Maybe we can get Silena and Beckendorf on call too."

Annabeth nodded in agreement, grabbing his hand. "Come on. We'll unpack later."

Percy nodded, grabbing his journal and heading towards the Hades cabin. Upon opening the door, they saw the others already there, waiting for them.

"How was Manhattan?" asked Piper, leaning back in Jason's arms.

"It was good," Percy said, tossing Leo the book as he sat on the floor, allowing Annabeth to hold him closely to her from behind. She nestled her head against his shoulder, kissing his neck softly. But before Leo even opened the book to the next chapter, he spared Percy a glance. To a point, he still felt bad about his stupid joke about Annabeth and Percy sharing a bedroom.

"Percy," he said. "Are you alright, you know, from Friday?"

Percy nodded. "Leo, I'm over it," he insisted. "It's fine. Really."

Piper and Jason just glanced at one another. They weren't convinced Percy was over what Gabe had done to him. But they also knew not to press the subject. If Percy wanted to talk about it, he would do that on his own time. It was obvious to them that if Percy ever needed to cry about it, he would do it when the opportunity presented itself. But they also knew it wasn't something they could just ignore. Having this information left them all in concern for how Percy would cope with all that happened.

But Leo, sensing Percy didn't want to talk about it, glanced down at the page. Only what he read left him grinning slightly. The chapter read, "My Dinner Goes Up in Smoke."

"Word of the bathroom incident spread immediately," Leo read. "Wherever I went, campers pointed at me and murmured something about toilet water."

"Maybe not the best look for you," grinned Frank.

Percy shook his head. "It really wasn't," he chuckled, feeling Annabeth kissing his neck softly again. But what Leo read next caused a series of chuckles to echo through the room.

"Or maybe they were just staring at Annabeth, who was still pretty much dripping wet."

"Like father like son," smirked Nico.

Percy grinned slightly, nodding at Leo to keep going. "She showed me a few more places: the metal shop (where kids were forging their own swords), the arts-and-crafts room (where satyrs were sandblasting a giant marble statue of a goat-man), and the climbing wall, which actually consisted of two facing walls that shook violently, dropped boulders, sprayed lava, and clashed together if you didn't get to the top fast enough. Finally we returned to the canoeing lake, where the trail led back to the cabins. 'I've got training to do,' Annabeth said flatly. 'Dinner's at seven-thirty. Just follow your cabin to the mess hall.'"

"Okay, you sounded pissed," mumbled Jason around a smirk.

"I took a bath in toilet water," Annabeth said, rolling her eyes. "What do you expect?"

"'Annabeth, I'm sorry about the toilets,'" read Leo. "'Whatever.' 'It wasn't my fault.'"

"Well, in your defense, Percy, you had no clue what was going on," said Piper. "Your powers just responded naturally. You had no control over them. Much like my charmspeak which I'd used to steal a BMW."

"And that's what landed you in the Wilderness School," sighed Leo before reading, "She looked at me skeptically, and I realized it was my fault. I'd made water shoot out of the bathroom fixtures. I didn't understand how. But the toilets had responded to me. I had become one with the plumbing."

Jason, Frank, and Hazel all snickered at that description, before nodding at Leo to continue.

"'You need to talk to the Oracle,'" Annabeth said. 'Who?' 'Not who. What. The Oracle. I'll ask Chiron.' I stared into the lake, wishing somebody would give me a straight answer for once."

"Calling for your dad?" guessed Jason, raising an eyebrow.

"All I'd been looking for was a sign," Percy said, "after being lost for so long, I needed something."

Everyone nodded empathetically. They all understood, given they'd all felt that way at some point or another. Annabeth responded by tightening her arms around him, her blonde curls brushing against his arms.

Leo cleared his throat before continuing to read. "I wasn't expecting anybody to be looking back at me from the bottom, so my heart skipped a beat when I noticed two teenage girls sitting cross-legged at the base of the pier, about twenty feet below. The wore blue jeans and shimmering green T-shirts, their brown hair floated loose around their shoulders as minnows darted in and out. They smiled and waved as if I were a long-lost friend."

"They sensed what you were," grinned Nico.

"I guess so," Percy said, smiling.

"I didn't know what else to do. I waved back," laughed Leo.

"Of course, you would wave back like a bitch," smirked Jason, imitating a little wave with his hand. He even put on an obnoxious smile and batted his eyes. But it earned him a pillow being thrown at his head by Percy.

"Shut up, Superman," Percy grinned around a laugh.

"'Don't encourage them,' Annabeth warned. 'Naiads are terrible flirts.' 'Naiads,' I repeated, feeling completely overwhelmed. 'That's it. I want to go home now.'"

Everybody in the cabin laughed hysterically, even Percy. His body shook with uncontrollable laughter.

"Like we all didn't think that!" laughed Jason.

"Except Nico," grinned Percy. "You were just so happy to be here. You looked like you didn't wanna leave."

Nico's face went slightly red. "And then I learned who my dad was, and suddenly I realized I really didn't have a place."

"Well you do now," pointed out Hazel, nodding at Leo.

"Annabeth frowned. 'Don't you get it, Percy? You are home. This is the only safe place on Earth for kids like us.' 'You mean, mentally disturbed kids?' 'I mean not human. Not totally human, anyway. Half-human.' 'Half-human and half-what?' 'I think you know.' I didn't want to admit it, but I was afraid I did. I felt a tingling in my limbs, a sensation I sometimes felt when my mom talked about my dad. 'God,' I said. 'Half-god.' Annabeth nodded. 'Your father isn't dead, Percy. He's one of the Olympians.' 'That's . . . crazy.' 'Is it? What's the most common thing gods did in the old stories? They ran around falling in love with humans and having kids with them. Do you think they've changed their habits in the last few millennia?'"

"No, they did not," sighed Jason, shaking his head. "Though to my dad's credit, he did it twice with my sister and I. First time he came as Zeus. Second time as Jupiter. You'd think he'd have enough sense to not break his own damn oath."

"You just hit the nail on the head, Jay," said Percy.

"About what?" Jason asked.

"What happened with Thalia," said Annabeth.

Jason sighed. "I guess I'll be learning about that this chapter?"

"I think in the next," said Percy, leaning back even further so he laid his head in Annabeth's lap. Her fingers tousled in his raven hair, smoothing it out.

"'But those are just –' I almost said myths again. Then I remembered Chiron's warning that in two thousand years, I might be considered a myth. 'But if all the kids here are half-gods.' 'Demigods,' Annabeth said. 'That's the official term. Or half-bloods.' 'Then who's your dad?' Her hands tightened around the pier railing. I got the feeling I'd just trespassed on a sensitive subject."

"A very sensitive subject," Annabeth sighed.

"Agreed," Piper piped in.

Leo and Frank nodded in agreement as well. Leo glanced down, continuing. "'My dad is a professor at West Point,' she said. 'I haven't seen him since I was very small. He teaches American history.' 'He's human.' 'What? You assume it has to be a male god who finds a human female attractive? How sexist is that?'"

"Most twelve-year-olds don't even know what the word sexist means," pointed out Piper.

"I was quite advanced," said Annabeth.

"But sexism goes both ways," pointed out Jason. "Artemis is pretty sexist too."

Everyone seemed to be hit with realization. It hadn't occurred to them that women could be sexist towards men as well.

"Oh, yeah, I didn't think of it that way," mused Hazel.

"Especially since Artemis goes around calling grown men 'boys'," pointed out Percy, his face wincing with distaste.

"She has Apollo for a brother. Maybe that skewed her thought-process," suggested Annabeth.

"Maybe," agreed Leo, before going back to reading. "'Who's your mom, then?' 'Cabin six.' 'Meaning?' Annabeth straightened. 'Athena. Goddess of wisdom and battle.' Okay, I thought. Why not? 'And my dad?' 'Undetermined,' Annabeth said, 'like I told you before. Nobody knows.' 'Except my mother. She knew.' 'Maybe not, Percy. Gods don't always reveal their identities.' 'My dad would have. He loved her.'"

Percy closed his eyes thoughtfully. He knew to a point Poseidon still loved his mom deeply. After all, his father had claimed him as his favorite of all his children. A blissful looked appeared across his face. Annabeth could have sworn she saw her boyfriend turning ten years younger. He looked so relaxed for once. Maybe it had to do with her fingers constantly being in his hair. But he seemed so at ease. After seeing him so tense the past few days, she was happy to see him looking so peaceful.

"Continue, Leo," Annabeth said, a smile appearing on her lips as her hands smoothed over his forehead.

"Annabeth gave me a cautious look. She didn't want to burst my bubble. 'Maybe you're right. Maybe he'll send a sign. That's the only way to know for sure: your father has to send you a sign claiming you as his son. Sometimes it happens.' 'You mean sometimes it doesn't?' Annabeth ran her palm along the rail. 'The gods are busy. They have a lot of kids and they don't always . . . well sometimes they don't care about us, Percy. They ignore us.'"

Everyone in the room shifted slightly. But Percy and Annabeth both looked content enough. They knew that their parents had cared enough, as they'd both been claimed. Percy's father had instructed the water to heal injuries he'd get from Gabe's beatings. Annabeth's mother had guided her telepathically when she'd ran away. Even Piper looked content, as Aphrodite had claimed her as her own. Although Piper had been made to never feel enough by other girls in Aphrodite's cabin, she knew deep down she truly was Aphrodite's daughter. The way she felt connected to emotions of love, heartbreak, and could change her eye color as much as she pleased . . . it was as though it had been meant to be.

Leo swallowed before continuing. "I thought about some of the kids I'd seen in the Hermes cabin, teenagers who looked sullen and depressed, as if they were waiting for a call that would never come. I'd known kids like that at Yancy Academy, shuffled off to boarding school by rich parents who didn't have the time to deal with them. But gods should behave better. 'So I'm stuck here,' I said. 'That's it? For the rest of my life?' 'It depends,' Annabeth said. 'Some campers only stay the summer. If you're a child of Aphrodite or Demeter, you're probably not a real powerful force.'"

"I'd disagree," Jason said, kissing Piper's forehead. "You're the most powerful child of Aphrodite that there is."

Piper beamed with pride, her eyes changing from green to amber. It was no secret that she was one of Aphrodite's favorite daughters.

"'The monsters might ignore you, so you can get by with a few months of summer training and live in the mortal world the rest of the year. But for some of us, it's too dangerous to leave. We're year-rounders. In the mortal world, we attract monsters. They sense us. They come to challenge us. Most of the time, they'll ignore us until we're old enough to cause trouble about ten or eleven years old, but after that, most demigods either make their way here, or they get killed off. A few manage to survive in the outside world and become famous. Believe me, if I told you the names, you'd know them. Some don't even realize they're demigods. But very, very few are like that.' 'So monsters can't get in here?' Annabeth shook her head. 'Not unless their intentionally stocked in the woods or specially summoned by somebody on the inside.' 'Why would anybody want to summon a monster?' 'Practice fights. Practical jokes.' 'Practical jokes?'"

"Something Conner and Travis are experts in," sighed Nico.

"Since they tried convincing you to play poker when they first got here," pointed out Percy with a lazy smile. "They would've stolen all your money. Continue, Leo."

"'The point is, the borders are sealed to keep mortals and monsters out. From the outside, mortals look into the valley and see nothing unusual, just a strawberry farm.' 'So . . . you're a year-rounder?' Annabeth nodded. From under the collar of her T-shirt she pulled a leather necklace with five clay beads of different colors. It was just like Luke's, except Annabeth's also had a big gold ring strung on it, like a college ring. 'I've been here since I was seven,' she said. 'Every August, on the last day of summer session, you get a bead for surviving another year. I've been here longer than most of the counselors, and they're all in college.' 'Why did you come so young?' She twisted the ring on her necklace. 'None of your business.' 'Oh.' I stood there for a minute in uncomfortable silence. 'So . . . I could just walk out of here right now if I wanted to?' 'It would be suicide, but you could, with Mr. D's or Chiron's permission. But they wouldn't give permission until the end of the summer session unless . . .' 'Unless?' 'You were granted a quest. But that hardly ever happens. The last time . . .' Her voice trailed off. I could tell from her tone that the last time hadn't gone well."

"What happened?" whispered Piper, sensing the tension in the air.

Suddenly, Percy and Annabeth both tensed considerably. "It's a long story," admitted Annabeth. "One that will be revealed the more we read. Please, continue, Leo."

"Is it something to do with Luke?" offered Jason sympathetically.

Percy swallowed the lump out of his throat at the mention of his former rival. "You could say that," he mumbled.

Everyone knew not to further press the issue. As much as they wanted to know, they could tell what a sore subject it was for Percy and Annabeth. Even Nico seemed tense at the thought.

"'Back in the sick room,' I said, 'when you were feeding me that stuff –' 'Ambrosia.' 'Yeah. You asked me something about the summer solstice.' Annabeth's shoulders tensed. 'So you do know something?' 'Well . . . no. Back at my old school, I overheard Grover and Chiron talking about it. Grover mentioned the summer solstice. He said something like we didn't have much time, because of the deadline. What did that mean?' She clenched her fists. 'I wish I knew. Chiron and the satyrs, they know, but they won't tell me. Something is wrong on Olympus, something pretty major. Last time I was there, everything seemed so normal.' 'You've been to Olympus?' 'Some of us year-rounders, Luke and Clarise and I and a few others, we took a field trip during the winter solstice. That's when the gods have their big annual council.' 'But . . . how did you get there?' 'The Long Island Railroad, of course. You get off at Penn Station. Empire State Building, special elevator to the six hundredth floor. She looked at me like she was I sure I must know this already. 'You are a New Yorker, right?'"

"Like he was supposed to know that!" said Frank, rolling his eyes.

"'Oh, sure.' As far as I knew, there were only a hundred and two floors in the Empire State Building, but I decided not to point that out. 'Right after we visited,' Annabeth continued, 'the weather got weird, as if the gods had started fighting. A couple of times since, I've overheard satyrs talking. The best I can figure out is that something important was stolen.'"

Suddenly, it hit Jason hard as his face went pale. The title "The Lightning Thief" suddenly clicked.

"My dad's masterbolt?" he asked.

Percy and Annabeth both nodded.

"'And if it isn't returned by summer solstice, there's going to be trouble. When you came, I was hoping . . . I mean Athena can get along with just about anybody, except for Ares. And of course she's got the rivalry with Poseidon.'"

"Looks like that rivalry is broken," smirked Hazel as she watched Percy and Annabeth blush fiercely.

"'But, I mean, aside from that, I thought we could work together. I thought you might know something.' I shook my head. I wished I could help her, but I felt too hungry and tired and mentally overloaded to ask any more questions. 'I've got to get a quest,' Annabeth muttered to herself. 'I'm not too young.'"

"Not too young?" scoffed Jason, rolling his eyes.

"I thought that at the time," said Annabeth.

"But twelve years old is young," pointed out Hazel. "What are you trying to be? A Navy seal? We're kids last I checked!"

"But that doesn't matter. We're expected to fight these battles," Percy said.

"That's insanity," sighed Piper, shaking her head.

"We should remember that when we all have children one day," said Annabeth.

Percy nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I'll allow them to train at camp. But I won't allow them to be assigned quests. I don't want them to have to worry about that responsibility. They shouldn't have to. They deserve better than that. Because the things we all saw . . . the things we'd done . . . no kid should have to go through that."

"Maybe we can do things differently," said Annabeth thoughtfully, running her fingers through Percy's hair a little more. She nodded at Leo to keep going.

"'If they would just tell me the problem –' 'I could smell barbecue smoke coming from somewhere nearby. Annabeth must've heard my stomach growl. She told me to go on, she'd catch me later. I left her on the pier, tracing her finger across the rail as if drawing a battle plan."

With that, Leo set the book down, sighing. "Anyone else want to?" he asked.

"I'll go again," offered Hazel, taking the book from the repair boy. She proceeded to begin. "Back at cabin eleven, everybody was talking and horsing around, waiting for dinner. For the first time, I noticed that a lot of the campers had similar features: sharp noses, upturned eyebrows, mischievous smiles. They were the kind of kids that teachers would peg as troublemakers. Thankfully, nobody paid much attention to me as I walked over to my spot on the floor and plopped down with my Minotaur horn. The counselor, Luke, came over. He had the Hermes family resemblance, too. It was marred by that scar on his right cheek, but his smile was intact. 'Found you a sleeping bag,' he said. 'And here, I stole you some toiletries from the camp store.' I couldn't tell if he was kidding about the stealing part."

"He probably wasn't," Annabeth sighed. "Luke was resourceful. He did that for all newcomers who didn't come with their own luggage." She frowned sadly at the mention of Luke. Saying that just made it hurt more.

Percy's eyes stung slightly at that. He closed his eyes once more at that memory. Luke had gone out of his way for him, getting him supplies and making him feel so comfortable. His chest went tight at that thought, because at the time, Luke had pretended to be his friend . . . he'd lied and betrayed them all, all for the sake of being Kronos's lapdog. But Luke had also been tormented and ripped apart and put in such a horrible position. He'd been truly broken, indeed.

"I said, 'Thanks.' 'No prob.' Luke sat next to me, pushed his back against the wall. 'Tough first day?' 'I don't belong here,' I said. 'I don't even believe in gods.' 'Yeah,' he said. "That's how we all started. Once you start believing in them? It doesn't get any easier.' The bitterness in his voice surprised me, because Luke seemed like a pretty easygoing guy. He looked like he could handle just about anything," Hazel read.

Annabeth, Percy, and Nico all exchanged saddened looks with one another. They all knew how Luke had felt. Although a part of them still hated him, they sympathized with him more than anything now. They were determined to never let any demigod child ever go unclaimed ever again.

"'So your dad is Hermes?' I asked. He pulled a switchblade out of his back pocket, and for a second I thought he was going to gut me, but he just scraped the mud off the sole of his sandal. 'Yeah. Hermes.' 'The wing-footed messenger guy.'"

Everyone cracked a smile at Percy's description, chuckling.

"'That's him. Messengers. Medicine. Travelers, merchants, thieves. Anybody who uses the roads. That's why you're here, enjoying cabin eleven's hospitality. Hermes isn't picky about who he sponsors.' I figured Luke didn't mean to call me a nobody. He just had a lot on his mind. 'You ever meet your dad?' I asked. 'Once.' I waited, thinking that if he wanted to tell me, he'd tell me. Apparently, he didn't. I wondered if the story had anything to do with how he got his scar. Luke looked up and managed a smile. 'Don't worry about it, Percy. The campers here, they're mostly good people. After all, we're extended family, right? We take care of each other,'" read Hazel.

But Nico grimaced, sharing a bitter look with Percy and Annabeth. A wet trail made its way down Percy's face at the mention of "extended family" and "taking care of each other." In the beginning, Luke had done just that for him.

"When you say it Percy, it sounds more real," he commented.

"Because you mean it," Annabeth added with a sigh, her eyes sparkling with tears.

"I never leave anyone behind. I'm never going to let that happen, ever. It's the least I can do. It was his final wish to me. I owe him one, big time. I give him credit for pulling through when things got tough," Percy said.

"What did Luke do that was so wrong?" whispered Leo.

Annabeth and Percy both shuddered. "It wasn't always that way," said Annabeth, her voice trembling slightly.

"He started off so decent . . . so compassionate," Percy said, sitting up and running his hands through his hair. "On one hand I can't stand what he did . . . but on the other he was so nice and kind. I don't know how to explain it. I want to hate him so badly, but I can't."

The way Percy said it, he sounded so conflicted with how he felt about Luke. Clearly, his and Luke's friendship had been a complicated one. But the others wondered how and why it got to be that way.

"Why?" whispered Piper.

"You'll find out," Annabeth said grimly, wiping her eyes. "Please, Hazel, continue."

Hazel nodded, swallowing hard. "He seemed to understand how lost I felt," she read, "and I was grateful for that, because an older guy like him even if he was a counselor should've steered clear of an uncool middle-schooler like me. But Luke had welcomed me into the cabin. He'd even stolen me some toiletries, which was the nicest thing anybody had done for me all day."

"The way you talk about him, he sounded like such a good guy," said Frank.

"And in the beginning, he was," said Annabeth mournfully. She still wasn't over Luke's death and missed him deeply. Closing her eyes, she said a silent prayer to Hermes that wherever Luke was, that he'd been reborn . . . that he was okay now. She wanted him to be at peace for once. Maybe, he'd find his way back to Half-Blood Hill along with Silena, Beckendorf and all the others who'd fallen . . . and get a second chance.

"I decided to ask him my last big question," read Hazel, "the one that had been bothering me all afternoon. 'Clarisse, from Ares, was joking about me being 'Big Three' material. Then Annabeth . . . twice, she said I might be 'the one.' She said I should talk to the Oracle. What was that all about?' Luke folded his knife. 'I hate prophecies.'"

Everyone raised their hands in agreement, nodding.

"'What do you mean?' His face twitched around the scar. 'Let's just say I messed things up for everybody else. The last two years, ever since my trip to the Garden of Hesperides went sour, Chiron hasn't allowed any more quests. Annabeth's been dying to get out into the world. She pestered Chiron so much he finally told her he knew her fate. He'd had a prophecy from the Oracle. He wouldn't tell her the whole thing, but he said Annabeth wasn't destined to go on a quest yet. She had to wait until . . . somebody special came to the camp.' 'Somebody special?' 'Don't worry about it, kid,' Luke said. 'Annabeth wants to think every new camper who comes through here is the omen she's been waiting for.'"

Annabeth's face went bright red, and she looked down in embarrassment.

"'Now, come on, it's dinnertime.' The moment he said it, a horn blew in the distance. Somehow, I knew it was a conch shell, even though I'd never heard one before. Luke yelled, 'Eleven, fall in!' The whole cabin, about twenty of us, filed into the commons yard. We lined up in order of seniority, so of course I was dead last. Campers came from the other cabins, too, except for the three empty cabins at the end, and cabin eight, which had looked normal in the daytime, but was now starting to glow silver as the sun went down. We marched up the hill to the mess hall pavilion. Satyrs joined us from the meadow. Naiads emerged from the canoeing lake. A few other girls came out of the woods and when I say out of the woods, I mean straight out of the woods. I saw one girl, about nine or ten years old, melt from the side of a maple tree and come skipping up the hill. In all, there were maybe a hundred campers, a few dozen satyrs, and a dozen assorted wood nymphs and naiads. At the pavilion, torches blazed around the marble columns. A central fire burned in a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. Each cabin had its own table, covered in white cloth trimmed in purple. Four of the tables were empty, but cabin eleven's was way overcrowded. I had to squeeze on to the edge of a bench with half my butt hanging off," read Hazel, sighing in sympathy.

"I can't even imagine that," sighed Piper.

"You're lucky to have been part of the new wave of campers," said Percy, "no one gets thrown into Hermes' cabin anymore."

Annabeth closed her eyes thoughtfully. "Luke would be proud of what we've done."

Percy nodded in agreement, smiling sadly. If Luke were anywhere right now, Percy hoped he was beaming in pride, knowing that nobody was being left behind ever again. It was the least he could do, given Luke had laid his life down to save Olympus, and them. He and Annabeth wouldn't have gotten a chance if it weren't for him. He could almost feel Luke's presence there – maybe he was, for all they knew, on his way back to camp. He would love what they'd done with the place.

Hazel sighed again before continuing to read. "I saw Grover sitting at table twelve with Mr. D, a few satyrs, and a couple of plump blonde boys who looked just like Mr. D. Chiron stood to one side, the picnic table being way to small for a centaur. Annabeth sat at table six with a bunch of serious-looking athletic kids, all with her gray eyes and honey-blonde hair. Clarisse sat behind me at Ares's table. She'd apparently gotten over being hosed down –"

"No, she didn't," muttered Frank, chuckling. Being a son of Mars, he could understand Clarisse a little better than most.

"Because you wouldn't," grinned Percy, winking at his relative before nodding at Hazel to continue.

"–because she was laughing and belching right alongside her friends. Finally, Chiron pounded his hoof against the marble floor of the pavilion, and everybody fell silent. He raised a glass. 'To the gods!' Everybody else raised their glasses. 'To the gods!' Wood nymphs came forward with platters of food: grapes, apples, strawberries, cheese, fresh bread, and yes, barbecue! My glass was empty, but Luke said, 'Speak to it. Whatever you want – nonalcoholic, of course.' I said, 'Cherry Coke.' The glass filled with sparkling caramel liquid."

"Yeah, that sounds nothing like you," smirked Leo, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, we're getting to that," grinned Hazel. Then she said, "Then I had an idea. 'Blue Cherry Coke.'"

Everyone let out a soft series of chuckles at that.

"That's it," grinned Jason, reaching over and pounding his fist against Percy's.

"If I didn't eat anything blue, you'd be worried," Percy commented.

"The world would end," mused Piper. "You not eating blue food and me eating meat will be a sure sign of the apocalypse."

Everyone couldn't help laughing at that before Hazel continued. "The soda turned a violent shade of cobalt. I took a cautious sip. Perfect. I drank a toast to my mother. She's not gone, I told myself. Not permanently, anyway. She's in the Underworld. And if that's a real place, then someday . . . 'Here you go, Percy,' Luke said, handing me a platter of smoked brisket. I loaded my plate and was about to take a big bite when I noticed everybody getting up, carrying their plates toward the fire in the center of the pavilion. I wondered if they were going for dessert or something. 'Come on,' Luke told me. As I got closer, I saw everyone was taking a portion of their meal and dropping it into the fire, the ripest strawberry, the juiciest slice of beef, the warmest, most buttery roll. Luke murmured in my ear, 'Burnt offerings for the gods. They like the smell.'"

"At least he was more patient with you than someone was," mumbled Leo, only for Annabeth to grab a pillow and throw it at his head. Her face went a shade of red.

"Shut up, Valdez," she mumbled back to him, ducking her head low. Hazel laughed softly before reading, "'You're kidding.' His look warned me not to take this lightly, but I couldn't help wondering why any immortal, all-powerful being would like the smell of burning food. Luke approached the fire, bowed his head, and tossed in a cluster of fat red grapes. 'Hermes.' I was next. I wish I knew what god's name to say. Finally, I made a silent plea. Whoever you are, tell me. Please. I scarped a big slice of brisket into the flames. When I caught a whiff of the smoke, I didn't gag. It smelled nothing like burning food. It smelled of hot chocolate and fresh-baked brownies, hamburgers on the grill and wildflowers, and a hundred other good things that shouldn't have gone well together, but did. I could almost believe the gods could live off that smoke. When everybody had returned to their seats and finished eating their meals, Chiron pounded his hoof against for our attention. Mr. D got up with a huge sigh. 'Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats. Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin five proudly holds the laurels.'"

"When do they not?" asked Jason, rolling his eyes.

"A bunch of ugly cheering rose from the Ares table. 'Personally,' Mr. D continued, 'I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have a new camper today. Peter Johnson.'"

"Wow, he must really hate his job if he fails to remember your name," said Frank.

"He did that to all of us," said Annabeth, pulling Percy back into her arms to further snuggle him.

"Chiron murmured something. 'Er, Percy Jackson,' Mr. D corrected. 'That's right. Hurrah, and all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on.'"

"I'm so glad he's no longer there to ruin our sing-alongs," said Annabeth.

"He always brought down the mood, every time," agreed Nico.

"Everybody cheered. We all headed down toward the amphitheater, where Apollo's cabin led a sing-along. We sang camp songs about the gods and ate s'mores and joked around, and the funny thing was, I didn't feel that anyone was staring at me anymore. I felt that I was home. Later in the evening, when the sparks from the campfire were curling into the starry sky, the conch horn blew again, and we all filed back to our cabins. I didn't realize how exhausted I was until I collapsed on my borrowed sleeping bag. My fingers curled around the Minotaur's horn. I thought about my mom, but I had good thoughts: her smile, the bedtime stories she would read me when I was a kid, the way she would tell me not to let the bedbugs bite. When I closed my eyes, I fell asleep instantly. That was my first day at Camp Half-Blood. I wish I'd known how briefly I would get to enjoy my new home."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Piper as Hazel handed Nico the book so he could begin the next chapter.

"You'll see," sighed Percy, leaning back comfortably in Annabeth's hold.

A/N:

If anyone has requests for this story (like certain characters appearing ect) let me know. I'm willing to listen to anything anyone wants from this.