It's not that Jason didn't like Calypso.

I mean, sure, the girl seemed nice enough, she'd managed to get on Piper's good graces, and he'd always trusted Piper to be a good judge of character. And yes, there was no doubt in his mind that Calypso loved Leo, that much was clear from the second the two stepped foot on Camp Half-Blood. Just the way the two seemed to instinctively react to each other spoke volumes of the depth of their relationship. And yes, Calypso was undoubtedly clever, her tactical advice in the past war council had proven that beyond a shadow of a doubt.

…But still…there was something just slightly off about the former goddess.

It started, he supposed, a couple of days ago, at the conclusion of the second battle. Calypso's advice had proved invaluable and had secured the Greeks a solid win. She was meant to pick off Roman soldiers from a hidden location and then rendezvous with him and Piper before the final attack on the remaining Romans. But Calypso had missed the rendezvous. He and Piper waited as long as they possibly could for Calypso to show up, but after a while, they figured that the ex-goddess had been taken out during the fighting and continued onto the main battleground without her. Of course, the Greeks had absolutely pummeled the Roman forces, especially once Leo and Festus joined the party. There was hardly any fighting after that point.

They'd all been ecstatic, of course, but Leo's celebrations were abruptly cut short when he noticed Jason and Piper with no Calypso by their side. When Will Solace informed them that Calypso was not among the campers escorted to the medical tent, the three of them began to frantically search for Calypso, afraid that she might be lying somewhere hurt…or worse.

Eventually, it had been Jason that found her. She'd been sitting on a rock by a creek, and when he approached her from behind she'd been swiping at her face, as if she'd been crying. "Calypso?" he'd called.

She sniffed quietly and turned to him, a fake smile plastered about her face, "Oh, Jason. I'm sorry, did I miss the rendezvous?"

"Yeah," he nodded, noticing the obvious signs of crying now that her face was open to him, "are you okay?"

"Me? Oh, I'm fine. It's just—I just got hit on the head a little too hard, I guess, I must have dozed out for a few minutes." She stood up swiftly and began walking towards the main camp, "Was anyone injured? How'd Leo do? I'm sure he and Festus were fantastic!"

Did she really think that fake cheer was fooling anyone? "Um, yeah, he did great. We won pretty quickly after he showed up."

She smiled, but it looked forced, "Yes, that's my Leo."

Jason nodded silently as he kept a close eye on Calypso. For a girl who claims she'd just been knocked out by a hit on the head, she sure seemed to have no trouble with her balance. There were no grass stains on her clothes or scratches from where she would've fallen, and there sure weren't any bruises on her head…And he found it hard to believe that anyone could have knocked out Calypso quite that easily. Sure, the girl looked small, but you'd have to be a fool not to notice the amount of power that seemed to come off her in waves. There's no way someone would just happen to get a lucky shot in that would render the ex-goddess unconscious. But still, all that didn't explain the real thing that was bothering Jason: why had she been crying?

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked as they exited the woods.

Calypso turned to him and for a moment he could've sworn she was about to tell him something, but then a loud cry of "SUNSHINE!" cut off whatever she was about to say and the moment was gone. Calypso simply turned to Leo with a more convincing smile than the one she'd used on Jason and ran into Leo's arms happily.

After that, the Greek's celebrations had put all worries about Calypso out of his mind. That is, until later that night, when they'd all been gathered around the Greek's campfire and he noticed how the former goddess seemed to draw into herself. Everyone was talking excitedly about their roles in the battle, boasting about the number of Romans they'd knocked out and throwing out suggestions for the next battle, yet Calypso merely sat there, one hand wrapped around her knees, the other dutifully clenched in Leo's hand. Her gaze was blank as she stared at the fire, as if her mind were entirely somewhere else, as if she wanted to be anywhere but here, and he could swear her eyes were watering…

"How 'bout you, Sunshine?"

Calypso jumped out of her reverie suddenly, "Huh? What? I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

Leo chuckled, "Hey, I'm the ADHD one in this relationship, remember?"

Calypso laughed prettily and shrugged off Leo's earlier question, "You know what? You're right. I'm not feeling well. I guess I'm still feeling that hit to the head. I think I'll just go lie down now."

"You want me to walk you to the Big House?"

"Hey, Calypso, I can check out your head if you want me to, make sure you don't have a concussion or anything," Will Solace piped in from his spot across the fire.

Calypso shook her head quickly, and, Jason thought, nervously, "No! No, it's fine. I'm fine. Thank you. I'm just gonna go sleep. Goodnight!" She rushed off towards the Big House before anyone could respond.

Leo looked back towards the group with a flabbergasted expression, "Was it something I said?"

"Probably," chuckled Piper, "but she really did seem out of it. I think she just needs some rest."

Leo looked over his shoulder at Calypso's retreating back, "Yeah, you're probably right. Knowing her, she's probably just mad some kid got the best of her," he winked.

The conversation picked back up seamlessly, and no one seemed to dwell on Calypso's strange behavior. Even Jason tried to accept Piper's earlier statements that the ex-goddess was merely tired, but still, that didn't explain why she'd so clearly lied about getting knocked out during the battle…

Jason didn't mean to start tailing Calypso. It just sort of…happened. The day after the Greek victory, he was getting back to the cabin from his usual morning jog when he just happened to see Calypso returning from the woods. From the very same area of the woods where he'd found her the day before. And just like the day before, her face seemed a little red. Puffy. Like she'd been crying. And just like yesterday, she seemed to be surreptitiously swiping at her eyes.

Calypso looked around guiltily, like she didn't want to be seen. Jason, of course, hid himself from her view. After looking over her shoulders at the woods one last time, she took a deep breath and silently trekked up to the Big House. Jason frowned, What on earth is going on here?

He couldn't help himself, he had to know what was going on in the woods. It would just be a quick peek. Maybe it was nothing. That's what Jason told himself as he headed into the woods in the same direction Calypso had just left. Eventually, he found himself by the creek, in the same spot he'd seen her the day before. He could see evidence of Calypso's small, tiny footprints on the soft mud, but also…a second set of footprints. Fresh footprints. An undeniably…manly set of footprints. A set of large boots made these imprints. Boots larger than the ones Leo wore.

A sense of stillness creeped onto Jason's being. It couldn't be…she wouldn't. He shook his head and reminded himself that Calypso loved Leo. And yet he couldn't get the image of a puffy, red in the face Calypso wiping at her tears out of his mind. If Calypso just happened to meet a random camper by the creek, then so what? But then…why would she cry? Why would she hide it? Why would she be here twice? Why…why would she lie?

Jason trudged back to the main campus of the camp, feeling like Jupiter's own storm clouds were raging inside his head. Leo was his very best friend, and after all these years, after all the hardships they'd gone through together, all he wanted was for his friend to be happy. Leo deserved that. But right now…things weren't looking good. Just as Jason fully emerged from the woods, he saw Calypso and Leo strolling hand in hand towards breakfast. Leo was animatedly telling some ridiculous story, no doubt, and Calypso was looking at him with pure adoration in her eyes. That couldn't be fake…could it?

"There you are!" Jason turned as Piper approached him, "What were you doing in the woods at this hour?"

Jason frowned and looked back to Leo and Calypso, "I'll tell you after breakfast. Why don't we catch up to them?"

Ever perceptive, Piper chose not to push the issue, but rather nodded and shouted a "Hey! Hold up!" to the couple up ahead.

Leo and Calypso turned, "Aww come on Pipes! I was just getting to the good part of my story! Now with all my memories back I have so many new stories to share with Sunshine! She can finally get the full experience of what a heroic, awesome, manly—"

Calypso rolled her eyes and shoved him playfully, "Please, make him stop! If I hear one more ridiculous story I might just pack my bags and run away from hot stuff over here!"

It was a joke, obviously, but Jason tensed nonetheless. Piper laughed, "Oh, gods, which story is he telling you now? Has he gotten to the one where he was caught by the harpies after dark literally with his pants down?"

Leo groaned, "Aww come on Piper!"

"So what happened?" Calypso jumped at Piper's story like a lioness after a juicy steak.

Piper laughed heartily, "Well, you see, they picked him up by his boxer shorts and flew him around half the camp before he ended up falling…"

"That's not true! I—" but unfortunately, the girls were already laughing heartily at Leo's expense. Leo groaned, "Jason, man, come on, you gotta help me here!"

Jason shrugged halfheartedly, "I mean…it did happen…"

Leo fake sniffed, "It be your own people sometimes!" he clutched at his chest dramatically.

Calypso rolled her eyes at his melodrama, but took his hand and pecked his cheek nonetheless "It's alright Leo, I somehow still find you charming."

Leo grinned in victory and placed his arm around Calypso's shoulders. "Now, let's stop putting me down and go get some grub!"

"You okay?" Piper murmured at Jason as they took their seats, "You seem off."

"I'm not sure," Jason murmured back, "later."

Piper looked sideways at him, and whatever look he had on his face must have reassured her, because she nodded and seamlessly involved himself in whatever conversation was going on at the table. Jason couldn't help but be impressed.

Unfortunately, Jason couldn't bring himself to make good company through the remainder of their meal, and he couldn't help noticing that someone across the table from him was also seeming to drift off more often than not. She'd respond animatedly any time she was directly addressed, but the second the conversation got away from her she just sort of…faded. Just what in the world was going on with Calypso?

"Alright. Spill."

Well, if anyone could help him figure out what was going on, it would be Piper. So he told her what he'd seen. "Look Pipes, I'm not saying Calypso has done anything…unfaithful or whatever, but you have to admit it's weird, right? I mean, why the secrecy?"

Piper frowned, "I agree the secrecy is odd, but, Jason she barely knows us."

"Well, yeah but…"

"And Calypso's just gone through a lot of big changes recently. She left her home, she's in a new place, she's met dozens of new people, she gave up her godhood for Zeus's sake! You can't blame the girl for taking some time to adjust."

Jason frowned, "But the footprints-"

"Could have been there from the night before, for all you know! I mean you're not a hunter Jason, how can you really know how recent those footprints really were?" Piper crossed her arms as she fired back at him.

"Do you know what the name Calypso stands for in Greek? It means—"

Piper waved her arms dismissively, "Oh come on Jason, you're reaching! Let's not discuss your namesake if that's how you want to go about things!"

"I just think-"

Piper held up her hand, "Look, Calypso is my friend now, okay? Just give her some time. Let her figure things out. You've barely just met her yourself, it's not fair to make any sort of assumptions right off the bat."

Jason swallowed his next words. "Sure, I'm sure you're right. Thanks Pipes." He smiled, and put his arm around her as they headed back into the main camp, but in his head, he knew…those footprints had been fresh. Very fresh. Calypso had met someone in the woods that morning. A man.

And she was lying about it.

The following morning, Jason got up for his morning jog earlier than usual. He was determined to catch Calypso in the act, and yet, despite how many times he ran around the perimeter of the woods, he never saw her go in.

But yet again, she remained reserved during breakfast, absentminded. Even as she got off the table and took Leo's hand to leave, her mind seemed to wonder. Jason was not surprised then, when lunchtime came around and Leo approached him.

"Hey, have you seen Calypso anywhere?"

Jason shook his head, "No I haven't seen her since this morning—I've been teaching sword-fighting classes with Percy since breakfast. Weren't the two of you going to Bunker Nine so you could show her how to build a robot or something?"

Leo frowned, "Yeah, we went right after breakfast, but she said she was going to meet Piper at around 11…I haven't seen her since. Do you know where Piper is then?"

Jason's eyes narrowed, "Yeah, she's at the archery range…" and her class had started right around 11. No way had Calypso met with her at that time.

"Ugh, where is she? I'm hungry!" Leo whined, oblivious to Jason's worries.

"Look, Leo-"

"There you are!" Leo looked past Jason's shoulder, where Calypso was walking up to them with Piper and Annabeth in tow, "Where have you been? I'm starving!"

Calypso laughed freely, "Well who said you couldn't get food without me?"

Leo gestured dramatically, "And deprive you of my wonderful table-talk? I love you too much to hurt you like that, Sunshine!"

Calypso rolled her eyes sarcastically, a smile tugging at her face, "Aren't I lucky?"

"Hey you!" Piper took Jason's hand as she started following after Annabeth, Leo, and Calypso—Percy was already up ahead waiting on them.

"Hey Pipes…at what time was your archery class today?"

Piper frowned, "11, you know that, I waved at you when I was on my way there."

Jason sighed, "You didn't happen to meet up with Calypso at that archery class, did you?"

"Calypso? No, I was with Annabeth. We were just walking back when we bumped into Calypso on the way over."

"Let me guess, she was somewhere in the vicinity of the woods when you bumped into her?"

Piper stopped walking, her brow furrowed. "Well, now that you mention it…yes." She looked up, "Jason, what's going on?"

"I'm not sure," said Jason, "but I intend to find out."

Jason wasn't proud of it, but starting from that moment he began to tail Calypso in full. After lunch, he followed her to the Big House, where she remained for the remainder of the afternoon, playing a long, drawn out game of chess with Chiron, who of course won, though not without some decent resistance from the ex-goddess. On any other given day, Jason would probably have been very impressed. Today though, he was merely suspicious. Calypso was incredibly smart. One may even say…crafty. Deceitful, maybe?

"Are you sure we're not reading too much into it?" Piper said the next morning as they were walking back from dinner, "I mean there could be some perfectly reasonable explanation for all this."

"Maybe," shrugged Jason, "but Leo's my best friend. And we both know he can be a little…naïve when it comes to women. I mean can I just say Khione?" He shuddered at the memory of that awful snow goddess.

"Yeah, but Khione was a long time ago Jason."

"Yes, for us," Jason insisted, "but not to Leo. His brain was in some kind of cosmic pause for years! All that stuff doesn't feel as long ago to him as it does to us."

Piper frowned, "I just don't believe that Calypso would do that to him. She seems so genuine…"

"But then why is she lying about her whereabouts?"

"I…I can't answer that," said Piper. She paused, "you're right. It doesn't hurt to check. Leo deserves some good in his life for once."

Jason nodded, happy to have Piper come around, "I hope we're wrong, but—if we're not…"

Piper grimaced, "The sooner we know, the better."

Jason was about to respond, but quickly shut his mouth as he dragged Piper behind a tree.

"What-?"

He shushed her, "Look!" He whispered into her ear as he gestured to Calypso, who was silently creeping her way to the woods yet again. "Come on," he decided, "let's follow her."

Piper steadied herself with a breath, but nodded and followed after Jason soon after. "It's getting dark," she said, "are you sure we won't lose her?"

Jason shook his head firmly, "No, I think I know where she's going. Come on, we've gotta keep up. She's already too far ahead."

Unfortunately, while Jason was fairly certain of where Calypso was headed, he was not quite as certain of what obstacles awaited him on the rapidly darkening forest ground. In their attempts to follow after Calypso silently, their pace slowed down tremendously, allowing the ex-goddess ample time to get to her destination before them.

Jason was almost afraid that they would arrive too late to the creek when Piper suddenly yanked on his arm harshly. He turned to her in alarm, and watched as she held a finger to her lips, then to her ear. "Listen, can you hear that?"

He strained his hearing—he could make out the faint sounds of what sounded like Calypso's voice. She was definitely speaking to someone. "Come on," he whispered, "let's get a little closer."

"—just missed you so much." Calypso was speaking, her voice cracking with emotion.

"I know, dove." A man murmured back. A man who was definitely not Leo. "I missed you too. No matter what I had to endure down there, just thinking about my beautiful girl put a smile right back on my face. I knew I'd find you again someday."

Jason and Piper locked eyes, their eyes wide with shock. Neither of them wanted it to be true, and yet here they were. Hearing a most incriminating conversation. Jason's attention was redirected as he heard some shuffling. Were they…holding each other? Kissing? He had to know. A sense of morbid curiosity drove him now. He edged nearer.

"Oh, I just wish—"

But whatever Calypso wished, Jason wouldn't get to find out, because in his haste to see what was going on, he'd managed to step on what was possibly the loudest branch to ever snap in these woods. He just managed to catch a glimpse of Calypso stepping away from a tall, broad shouldered man before he had to duck away to avoid discovery.

"I should go," the man said. "We'll talk soon. I love you Calypso."

Jason and Piper locked eyes with each other as they heard the man's footsteps fade away into the distance. Calypso had not moved yet.

Just as he began to think he may have missed the sound of Calypso leaving the creek, he heard a quiet sob come from Calypso, and a whisper, almost impossible to hear, "Oh, what am I gonna do?" just as Calypso left the clearing.

Jason waited until he could no longer hear Calypso's footsteps before he shifted, looking back at Piper as he straightened up. Piper remained crouched on the floor, her brow furrowed. With the full moon, he could make out a wild array of colors shifting through her eyes.

"Pipes?" he asked gently.

Just as suddenly as he'd spoken, she snapped upright, "That—that witch!" Piper snapped, "I can't believe her! I truly thought—she seemed so genuine—"

Jason was taken aback, it had been quite some time since he'd seen Piper so upset. "What should we do?" His heart broke for poor Leo, he didn't know how he could ever break the news to his friend.

"We follow her!" Piper fumed as she started racing after Calypso, "We deserve an explanation! After everything Leo did for her! And we welcomed her with open arms! How could she?!"

Jason rushed to catch up to Piper. With her speed, it wasn't long until he could make out Calypso in the distance, and in almost no time at all they saw her enter the Big House and turn on the light in her bedroom.

"Piper what—"

But Piper would not stop to discuss a game plan. Instead, she stomped right up the steps to the Big House, where she immediately stormed to Calypso's door and knocked loudly on it.

Calypso opened the door, her face red and puffy, she'd obviously been crying, "Piper, Jason! What's going on?"

Piper pushed past her, Jason hurrying after her before she turned back and slammed the door shut behind him. She rounded on Calypso. Her kaleidoscope eyes swirling with wrath.

"You owe us an explanation." She said succinctly, "Now."

A/N: Well, what do you know? I'm still alive. Who knew? Certainly not this story. My bad! In my defense, I've been suuuuper busy. Adulting is hard y'all! Despite the time, I somehow still remember exactly what my game plan was for this story...roughly. I figured I owed it to you guys to see if I could pick it back up and deliver on the story I originally wanted to give you guys.

Thanks for all of you guys that have stuck around with me. I feel like my writing style has changed so much since I started this story. Feedback is appreciated!

What do you think? Should I abandon ship, or keep it going?