August

"Hey! Earth to Leo!"

Leo quickly roused himself, looking up from his bowl of Lucky Charms. Everybody at the table was giving him a funny look, Nyssa included.

"Oh, sorry Nyssa," he said. "What were we talking again?"

His half-sister gave him an annoyed sigh. "We were discussing whether or not bronze or steel wiring would work better for the cannon's heating components."

Leo tried to quickly conjure an answer. After all, he doesn't want any of his half siblings to think he's been slacking, or worse, uncaring. Even though it was his last summer here until he would begin his apprenticeship in New Rome during the fall, he still had to be a good example as cabin leader. "Umm, I think bronze is easier to mold and it's less likely to overheat since celestial steel is more conductible."

"But we need the extra heat conductibility," Nyssa said. "If we're trying to go for Greek fire and not just regular flames we need something that can transfer quickly, right?"

"And adding a cooling system wouldn't clog up too much space, would it?" added Harley, who has to raise his voice to be heard from the end of the Hephaestus table.

"Well it shouldn't, but we also have to consider how much free space we're going to need for enough airflow too." Nyssa replied, taking charge of the discussion once more.

Leo just nodded in agreement before looking down at his bowl again, swirling his spoon around some shooting stars in his milk. He decided to let his half brothers and sisters carry the conversation, given he had to stay up late for another meeting with the head counselors, among other things. He wasn't up for much talking.

In fact, Leo didn't have the energy or interest to be the leader of anything. Although as one of Hephaestus Cabin's brightest and most talented engineers he'd been approached to be one of the lead designers for the upcoming joint Camp construction effort, he had politely declined. He'd also relinquished the title of head counselor to Nyssa who was still fit for the job, and was currently taking a gap year from college in order to figure out what she wanted to do with her future.

After all, he'd had nearly enough responsibility for a lifetime. After a year and a half of fighting monsters and Giants, trying to make peace between New Rome and Camp Half Blood, flying transcontinental to save the world twice, and of course, rescuing Calypso, Leo felt that he'd earned the right to enjoy this peace as long as he can.

Besides, he had bigger plans for the future, like getting his degree or starting work on starting on a certain snack bar someday.

"Good morning," greeted someone familiar.

Leo gently scooted over, nudging his half brother Robb to scoot over so Calypso could take her seat next to him. He grinned when she gave him a quick peck on his left cheek. "Well, whatdaya know, the sleeping beauty awakens. What took you so long?"

"Just another headache," his girlfriend replied, letting out a tired sigh as she tucked some strands of hair behind her ear. "But it's not a big deal."

"You sure?" Leo asked, beginning to worry. Although it'd been over two years since Calypso had given up her immortality to live a happy life with him, he still remembered how difficult it had been for her to adjust to a mortal, weaker form, no longer able to use her full powers or rely on the perks of godliness. A form that could now get sick. "You don't want to see Will just in case?"

"Look, you don't have to worry about it, ok? Besides, you don't look so great yourself." she gently scolded.

Leo let out a sigh. "Curses, foiled again," he said in his best evil villain voice. Making Calypso laugh, and the sound of it when she did, were two things he hoped he'd never tire of. "I didn't think updating Festus's mental circuits would take so long," he moaned. "I'll ask for more help next time."

"That's my Leo." Calypso smiled. "Just try to go to bed earlier today, alright?"

Leo groaned, always wary of his girlfriend's motherly nagging, though ultimately he appreciated it.

"So, I heard today's sandwiches today are beef. Which I am sure you are aware are my favorite. And since one must always be courteous to their elders, I order you to pass me a plate, please," she teased.

Leo chuckled. "As you wish, oh great and mighty ancient one."

Calypso stuffed down her sandwich greedily. It's still shocking to him at how quickly she could eat; who could've that the former goddess of Ogygia ate like a pig(not that Leo was ever willing to bring it up) when it came to anything with beef and mayounaise.

After Leo downed the last of his cereal, he sat back and admired his surroundings. While September was fast approaching, Camp Half-Blood having divinely controlled weather meant that the fall chills which would normally affect the rest of the upper East Coast wouldn't happen here. Clouds flew by cooling the air from the bright sun. The consistent weather was perhaps his favorite part about life at camp.

Then Calypso suddenly shot up from her seat. She began to clutch at her stomach.

"Woah, what's wrong?" Leo asked. "Maybe you shouldn't have eaten so quickly-"

But she ignored him, practically leaping off her seat at the bench and darting to the restrooms. Not long after, he saw Piper follow behind her.

Leo was about to get up and wait outside the door of the ladies' room to make sure everything was ok when Nyssa spoke up again, "Well folks, breakfast's over, so it's time to get working again!"

Dammit. He stared at the ladies room door. He hoped that it wasn't anything too serious, nothing that a visit to Apollo cabin and some meds couldn't fix.

"Leo? You hear me?" Nyssa's tone is more demanding this time.

Leo sighed and makes his way towards the bunker area. "Coming."

Not again.

She had let her own appetite get the better of her when she should've known better. , at the soggy mixture of beef, Calypso slowly lifted her head, her throat still sore from practically choking out the last bits of what used to be her breakfast. She looked down into the toilet bowl. The mixture of soaked bread and stomach juice she'd just vomited into the toilet was far from a pretty sight, so she quickly flushed it.

"You doing okay, Cal?"

Calypso sighed. "I'm alright. She was lucky that Piper was the only other person in the restroom; obviously she didn't want anyone seeing her in this state. However, it was in fact the third time in the week that she had caught her in such a state, and she was sure to notice.

So it didn't surprise Calypso when she exited the restroom stall and began to wash her hands, Piper immediately went to her side. "I had an idea," she began, "about why you've been sick like this all week. Do you?"

"I'm not ill," Calypso insisted.

But something in her tone must have betrayed her, because Piper wouldn't hear of it. "You don't have to be the Oracle to know that's not true, hon."

And it wasn't. Calypso didn't protest when Piper took her by the hand and led out of the bathroom. The scent of breakfast still loomed in the air, even though the cleaning harpies were already out folding up tables and hauling away garbage bins. Calypso thought of getting a drink of water before the coolers are as well, but Piper led her past them as they headed towards the cabins.

"Cabin Seven finished up early today since they have to prep for capture the flag, so I don't know if Will's still there or not," Piper explained. "And don't worry about Leo. He's already left with the rest of Hephaestus cabin."

"Why are we looking for Will?"

Piper grinned. "Because he's the only one who has access to the pregnancy tests."

Calypso stopped straight in her tracks. "Excuse me?"

Her friend laughed. "I thought you already knew? I guess you're not at Camp that often, to be fair, but it's kind of an open secret. You see, we might have gotten rid of the shitty old hookup and the break up rule, but that doesn't mean we aren't prepared. And besides, we all had a feeling that you two didn't go out to the lake just to go stargazing during the end of the war celebrations."

Calypso felt her cheeks redden. "W-What Leo and I do alone is none of your-"

"Ah, so you two did have sex?"

For Gaea's sake. Hearing Piper say it aloud so bluntly made her cheeks warm. "Y...yes." Then it hit her her…

"I'm late," she realized aloud. Her most recent period should have begun a week ago, and sure that could happen for any number of reasons, but that combined with the vomiting, the nausea that came by specifically every morning…

"Hey, Goth boy!" Piper suddenly yelled. "Need you for a sec."

Nico di Angelo stopped in his tracks as he turned to face the girls. His face turned sour, clearly irked, though Calypso secretly thought it only made him look a little cute.

"You could've at least said please," he snorted.

Piper chuckled. "Fine then, can you pleeeeeeaaase tell us where Will is?"

"Oh shut up." Nico rolled his eyes in annoyance. "He's probably still in his cabin. The idiot chose to miss out on the games today to do some cleaning, as if his cabin ever stays neat for long. Now if you excuse me, I've gotta make sure the newcomers don't make shish kebobs out of each other."

"Thank you, dear." Piper answered in a chipper tone. Nico just shrugged and walked away.

Even though it had been over a year since they'd meet, to her the child of Hades was still both strange and a stranger. Although he appeared nicer and kinder than she'd expected, she'd never quite been able to click with him. Any attempt she'd made to start a conversation with him had been…awkward to say the least. It still didn't make sense to her how he managed to snag someone like Will Solace as a boyfriend, although it warmed her heart to see that he smiled and laughed more when the two were together.

But ever since Jason Grace's death, Piper had taken up the responsibility of looking out, and occasionally, baby him, as a way of honoring her ex boyfriend. He and Nico had apparently been quite close, having been the first person to have known that the son of Hades was queer…and in love with Percy, no less. Despite having never met him, Calypso felt his presence, and lack of it, whenever she, Leo, and any of the Seven talked about their voyages on the Argo II. Whenever he was even mentioned in passing, sometimes Leo would flinch as if he'd been slapped, and Piper still bit her lip where it'd been scarred in the fight against Caligula. Even though over a year had passed, it was still quite the sore subject, which Calypso understood, having lost friends of her own in the Titanomachy.

"How does Will have access to...those kinds of things?" She asked as they neared the marble steps of Cabin Seven.

"The Apollo head counselor always makes runs to a pharmacy just in case the cabin needs extra supplies," Piper said. "Of course, that's not the only thing he or she comes back with."

Embarrassed enough as she was, Calypso didn't ask any more questions.

Will was at the door almost as soon as she knocked. "What can I do for you, ladies?" he greeted. He smiled in a way that reminded her so much of his father, Calypso couldn't help but feel a little bashful around him. Apollo was one of the few visitors she'd had on the island, and she'd even shared her bed with him whenever he came by, at least for a little while.

Before she could reply, however, Piper raised a finger to silence her. "We're gonna need a bottle pop. Five, to make up for error."

Confused, Calypso raised an eyebrow, but Will seemed to understand. "That'll be fifteen dollars." Once Piper paid it to him in cash, he beckoned them inside.

Cabin Seven seemed to always be a cluttered mess, which was surprising given Calypso figured children of the god of medicine would prefer a clean, organized workspace. Instruments of all kinds, herbs and other supplies all lie in disorganized jumbles of jars atop of shelves lined on the walls. Will led them to a large, narrow door.

"So I assume bottle pop is some kind of code for a pregnancy test?" Calypso inquired.

"Yeah, silly right?" Will chuckled. "We code request items in order to avoid embarrassing anybody. Also a good way to keep Chiron and Dionysus from immediately suspecting anything. The code changes with each new Apollo counselor, and I thought it would be funny if I gave them all candy theme names. For example, jelly bean is the name I gave for this new strawberry flavored lu—"

"We get the picture," Piper interrupted, smiling awkwardly. "Sorry, but you must know how awkward this is for her."

Will nodded, sympathy in his eyes as he looked at Calypso. "I can't imagine." He waved a hand over the closet's doorknob and whispers some sort of incantation Calypso didn't recognize. When he turned the knob, instead of the entire door swinging open, a mini cabinet, somehow built into the door itself, slid out like a drawer. He pulled it open and took out five boxes of some store brand tests. "Also, in case if you don't want the... bun, cooking in the oven, I can whip something up that can take care of that too."

"Thank you." Piper snatched the five boxes away and stuffed them into the satchel at her side. Before Calypso could even thank her, whisked her out of the door.

They took the tests in Cabin Ten. Even though they were alone there, the wait was still excruciating, only compounded by the fact that deep down Calypso already knew what the results would be. She just wasn't ready to face it.

Two pink lines on the first test. Then, much to her relief, a negative one on the next one she took. But the rest of the three tests all show the same pink lines as well, confirming her worst fears.

Piper took the fifth test out of her hand. She dumped it into the small trash can next to the bunk Calypso sat at, and then joined her side. "Told ya so, didn't I?"

Her tone was playful, almost lighthearted even, but Calypso's currently mood was anything but.

"Cal," Piper began, "I think you already know what I'm going to say."

"I—I do," Calypso eventually said. "It's just...I'd never imagined-"

"Seriously, you weren't expecting anything like this to happen even after you two...well, come on! I honestly thought you were smarter than that, ya know? Being thousands of years old and all that.

Calypso bite her lip. Her mother had told her all about what mortals in this age called the "birds and the bees", but, despite her nearly flawless memory as an immortal, the idea of sex nor its consequences ever crossed her mind again, especially after her exile on Ogygia. Any dream of lasting companionship; someone whom every day she could wake up next to and greet with a smile, had long extinguished each loss and heartbreak.

Then Leo had arrived, a literal ball of fire striking into her island, and then, somehow, that spark had reignited. The scrawny, snarky and often very annoying young man had ended up being and giving her everything she once thought impossible. They'd never brought the topic up, but she had always envisioned a future with him. But he was still so young, only eighteen, and despite her being literally ancient she's just about as experienced with childrearing as much as he is.

Ask her to weave a mile long tapestry? Piece of cake. Stop a grandparent's plant from withering away? Nature magic is one of her specialties, as anyone in Demeter cabin can attest.

But could she raise a child? Could either of them? She knew just how much he'd suffered throughout his life, and she didn't want to be more of a burden.

So despite Piper's insistence, she decided to put off telling him. She focused her energy and thought into Camp activities; from lending a helping hand for Demeter cabin in the strawberry fields to helping out with Ancient Greek lessons. And she avoided Leo as much as she could; being around him while keeping her secret was suffocating.

It took her two weeks until she felt she was ready. That morning, she looked at herself in a mirror that morning to find a firmness in the base of her abdomen that wasn't there before. She closed her eyes, concentrating her magic to feel the life energy of the being growing within her. It filled her with joy, but she was afraid.

She knew what she wanted. The question was, would her beloved be ready for it?