I woke up with thick breathing.

I relayed what I saw to Percy and Annabeth, who tried to calm me down. I was in a terrible state, shaking, eyes swiveling around constantly. The rest of the drive was torture for me. When the bus at long last parked, I bolted down the steps and waited impatiently for the others. I didn't want to wait for a taxi and told them that my house was not far from here. Leading the way I set off at a brisk pace. They could catch up if they wanted to. Right now my number one priority was making sure Dad was alright.

The final bend in the road revealed my home and I ran the length of the driveway, shoved the key into the front door. Everything inside seemed in order when I raced about. I called but the only answer was Jenny loping out of the bedroom, her tail thomping vigorously to see me again. "Hi, girl. Where's Daddy?" Walking into the kitchen I froze.

"Caitlin?" Percy peered around me and picked up the paper and photo that was hanging from the fridge. It was of me as a little girl, hair in pigtails and a toothless grin. That picture had been in Dad's wallet for as long as I could remember and never left it. I didn't need to read the paper to know what it said.

I sunk to the floor clutching my head and cried. I couldn't help it. Alisha and Annabeth tried to comfort me but in vain. Jenny nuzzled my hands and licked my chin. This was my fault. Needing to do something productive before I melted away on the floor in a puddle of my own misfortune, I picked up her food bowl and filled it, not knowing the last time she had been fed. Feeling the slightest bit better, I tilted up my chin and became a good hostess. They were relieved to have someplace to rest and reenergize. The triplets went into the office and called their mom, explaining what happened. Thankfully, she knew that they were half-bloods and it was not as big a shock to find her kids in another town several hours away.

For the rest of the evening we regrouped. Bags were filled with food and water bottles, everyone took showers, and a plan was made to get the siblings back to Camp. I took Annabeth and Percy aside and told them to take the Braxtons back to Camp without me. I was going to find my dad, no matter what. Of course they protested at hearing that.

"No, I am not letting you confront Luke on your own," Percy insisted.

Annabeth tried to shove some reason into me, "Besides, if your dad was in a really bad condition, you couldn't get him and yourself out of there alone while holding back Luke's army at the same time. You need us, let us help."

"I need you two to make sure they get back safely. You need to finish this for me," I begged. After arguing for several minutes they won me over. We explained to Stephen, Alisha and Lucas that the next morning they would go on ahead of us to Camp. At least they didn't argue about it.

That night, the boys crashed in the extra bedroom and I brought Alisha and Annabeth into my room. Alisha was asleep nearly instantly, leaving the two of us to stare at the ceiling. Annabeth shifted in her sleeping bag and rose onto her elbow. "We will find him. Your dad is on Luke's boat; its not that hard to find. Please, Caitlin, this is not your fault," she said for the umpteenth time that day.

"But if I had been here I would have been able to protect him." It felt a bit strange saying that about my father, the person I had always seen as self-sufficient and independent.

"Caitlin, he's an adult. You're just a kid. Get some sleep," she sighed when I didn't answer her. But I could not sleep, no matter how hard I tried. Dad's face kept me awake through the night. At some point I drifted off, only to awake at the break of dawn. Slipping out of the room I pulled on a jacket and sat on the porch to watch the valley wake up. I closed my eyes and bathed in the sunrays. For the time being I could momentarily forget that I was a demigod and my dad was missing and there were five other kids crashing at my house. I was a regular person sitting with my dog watching the morning.

The sliding door opened and closed softly. Percy lowered himself into a chair beside me. For a long time we were silent. "Its so beautiful and peaceful here; I can see why you love the mountains so much. It's different from the city."

"Yeah. Every morning when I watch the sunrise I think of how this is a new day and I can try something new."

He was quiet for another span. "I can get Blackjack and a friend to pick them up whenever you're ready. Then we'll head out for your dad." The way he said whenever your ready made me swell a bit inside. I was being looked at as the leader, even if I was the youngest and least-experienced of the three half-bloods.

By half-after nine we were standing in the driveway, watching as five Pegasus drew nearer. Percy fed Blackjack from a pack of powered donuts found in the pantry. Have you known any winged horse who loves donuts so much? "We'll see you there soon. Blackjack, get them there safely." Blackjack snorted in response as if to say, of course I will. Lucas climbed onto the same Pegasus as Alisha (he was afraid of heights). Once they were on their way we mounted the other three. I looked back to see Jenny staring out at us from the window beside the front door.

"I'll bring Dad home soon," I promised before lifting off.