Author: By the way, this takes place mid-season 2 of H2O! This is partly due to my dissatisfaction with season 3 of it, so there will be no Bella. Perhaps maybe in the future, but very unlikely. Some chapters may loosely follow the plot of some of the episodes, but I have yet to decide which ones, if any at all.

Thanks for reading! Please review and tell me what you think!

"Your house is lovely." Annabeth complimented upon entering the modern villa. Her eyes scanned the entire home, taking everything in and analyzing the sleek style.

"Thank you, Annabeth!" Lisa gushed. "We only have one guestroom, so Sally and Paul can sleep there. But we have set up air mattresses for Annabeth and Percy. Girls with girls, and boys with boys. Annabeth, you can stay in Emma's room. And Percy, you can stay with Elliot."

"Cool! I'll show you my room! C'mon!" Elliot had taken Percy's suitcase for him and already started bounding up the stairs. Percy chuckled, gave Annabeth a quick peck on the cheek, before following after the boy.

"I'll show you where my room is." Emma offered as she began to step up the staircase. A smile tugged on Annabeth's lips when she followed her. "Would you like me to carry your bag? It looks heavy."

"No, thanks. I got it." Annabeth assured with a wave of her hand. She followed Emma silently up the stairs. Emma wasn't particularly thrilled about having to share her room with her cousin's girlfriend, but was nonetheless going to be treating her with proper respect, even if she was silent most of the time.

"So, you swim?" Annabeth asked, breaking the silence and Emma's train of thought. Emma stopped immediately and turned back to face her.

"What?"

Annabeth was not prepared for such a sudden reaction from Emma. Emma's body had stiffened, so Annabeth must have touched on a sensitive subject for her.

"I'm sorry. I just heard that you were a competitive swimmer." Annabeth explained.

"Oh, don't apologize." Emma quickly gave Annabeth a reassuring smile and relaxed her body. She mentally scolded herself for jumping on the gun when Annabeth only said three words to her. "I used to. But I don't anymore."

Emma opened the door to her bedroom where an inflated air mattress was situated neatly on the floor near the bed. Annabeth was cautious to enter the bedroom, not wanting to be rude or anything of the sort. But she couldn't help but scan her surroundings, taking in how neatly everything was organized and put into place.

"Why'd you stop competitions? It looks like you have won a lot of trophies." Annabeth murmured as her gaze locked on the shelf decorated completely with medals and trophies.

"I just lost interest." Emma replied.

"Do you still like to swim? Percy was really looking forward to racing you."

"I'm afraid he'll be disappointed. I don't swim at all anymore. Besides, he was awful before. I find it hard to believe that he's improved over the years." Emma joked.

"I'd love to hear your stories of him." Annabeth said.

"And I'd like to hear yours as well. I haven't talked to him since we were eleven." Emma agreed. She studied Annabeth as Annabeth began to set her suitcase down against the wall. Annabeth moved slower up the stairs and there were dark circles under her eyes. It was obvious with the way that she moved and struggled with things that she was exhausted.

"But maybe we can just save that for later." Emma added. "You need to recover and adjust to the time difference."

"Well, if you don't mind if I put my feet up a little…"

"Please, take all the time you need." Emma walked over to her windows and closed the blinds. "You can rest up here. I'm sure Percy already crashed in Elliot's room, but if you need him, he's down the hall. And the bathroom's down there too. If you are ever hungry, there's plenty of food in the kitchen so just help yourself. My mum makes the best homemade yogurt."

"Sounds great. Thank you so much, Emma. And for you kind hospitality. This is rather...sudden." Annabeth said.

"It's okay. I'm glad you and Percy came. I've really missed everyone." Emma admitted. "Unfortunately I can't stay right now, I have to head off to work."

"Oh, where do you work?"

"Its just a smoothie place called the JuiceNet Cafe. I'll be sure to take you and Aunt Sally and everyone there tonight. It's one of my favorite places."

"I can't wait then." Annabeth and Emma exchanged smiles briefly before Annabeth began to settle herself in the air mattress.