Percy Did a Boo-Boo

I ain't gonna spoil the fic by explaining this idea in the opening AN. This is normal PJO/HoO lore except I'm thinking maybe Percy might have a twin sister cause that's pretty much a staple of all my stories now. Idk, I find it hard to write PJO characters other than Percy and Artemis. Oh, also, Percy is with Leo, Hazel and Frank when they travel to Delos. His sister can fill in for whatever he was doing in the actual book I don't remember. I think maybe I might also have it so Percy wasn't asleep for 4 months. Feels weird that he only spent 2 nights at Camp Jupiter, it makes more sense if he spent 4 months there while the Greeks were building the Argo II.

Percy Did a Boo-Boo

The group came to shore on the island of Delos. The island was quiet, likely due to the fact it had two, maybe three inhabitants. No one was there to greet them as they anchored over on nearby Mykonos and hopped out, with Percy ferrying them to the shore of an abandoned Delos on waves, managing to keep Leo, Frank and Hazel dry while doing so. Perks of having a Son of Poseidon on a Mediterranean Cruise.

That and he was also the most powerful demigod according to his simps back on Long Island, at least that was Leo's opinion.

The Greek Demigod touched sand and took in a breath, letting the wave recede back to normal tide height behind them. Feeling himself stand on a beach after all this time running around Greece, California and New Rome made him want to strip naked and dive into the water, just to feel it again, to feel natural. It felt like home, the sand.

But stripping naked on their sacred island would not have been much appreciated by the Twins.

The Twins. More specifically one in particular plagued Percy's mind. When he was in New Rome the face of a woman hovered in his mind like a mirage. When he next saw her face adorning a statue in the Pantheon, Percy almost fell to the floor tearing at his face. It was her, but not quite. Diana. Now that he knew, or rather remembered all this Greek stuff, the final piece came together. Not Diana. Artemis.

Percy knew he was taking a risk by coming here. He hadn't even seen Artemis since that night after the Titan War, let alone talked to her about it or sought more. Would she even have wanted more or would she think it a drunken mistake? Or worse. If it was the latter, Percy didn't want to know, but he had to know for clarity's sake. She had tormented his mind for months, the worst that could happen is he loses justification to keep thinking of her.

Simultaneously, he was terrified to see them. He didn't know if Apollo knew, but if he did, Percy would have been better to stay on Mykonos and go get grinded on by European men.

While the other three were busy talking about the island, and how no mortal could be born or die on it, Percy sighed in an attempt to pull himself out of his thoughts. "Do you guys think the Twins will mind if I take a leak?" He tried to lighten the mood, really for his own sake.

Hazel looked horrified, while Frank just pointed his arm to the ocean, gesturing to it. Percy cocked his head, turning and promptly heading back to the current. He stood waist height, prompting Hazel, Frank and Leo to look away in slight disgust. Percy stared intently at the horizon. He wished America looked like this. New York was Hell after the sights he'd seen. Percy briefly wondered how his fellow praetor Reyna and his cousin Nico were faring in Epirus.

If I die here, not only is it a cool view, but I die doing what I love. Pissing on their laws. Percy thought to himself as he finished up in the ocean, remembering Hazel's lesson on Delosian Law.

Leo summited a nearby hill and shouted at someone. "Don't shoot!" Falling down the hill slightly while trying to move, he seemed to have found the people they were looking for. Hazel and Frank rushed after him, and Percy followed suit, but upon reaching the edge of the hill he paused. Taking one last breath, knowing damn well it could be his last, he hopped over the top and descended down the hill.

There was a large amphitheater shape carved out into it, and near the bottom where the other three stood sat two people on rock seats. One, a blonde seventeen year old with a plaid jacket and shoulder length blond hair, rhinestones on his clothes like he was a quirky girl cosplaying as Elvis strumming a ukelele. Distant from him, but close enough for conversation was an equally aged girl, dressed in black leggings, brown hiking boots, a silver tunic, a crescent necklace and with her auburn hair in a ponytail. She was whittling a curved stick, which percy could only assume was a bow with his rare experience.

"You knew we were coming?" One of the three asked, seemingly in response to a comment he hadn't heard. Percy continued walking down, careful not to fall over but kicking rocks as he did so.

"We knew there would be someone to visit us eventually, but we did not know wh-." The auburn haired girl spoke to them sternly, like they were annoying her while she was trying to eat her lunch or something, but when one of the small rocks rolled down and made a noise as he hit a column, her attention was diverted. Upon looking at the source of the noise, her eyes widened and she paused.

Apollo, strumming his ukelele, heard her cease another brooding comment and turned to look at her. Upon seeing his sister's gaze pointed somewhere else, Apollo followed it, seeing a familiar figure finish walking down the hillside. With the afternoon sun in the west, it meant his front side was a shadow, and only once he got close could Apollo pin down who it was.

Percy smirked that same stupid smirk, the one where it was technically a grin but also a smirk at the same time. With his left hand awkwardly in his pocket as four godly eyes lay on him, he raised his right hand in the salute that his months of Praetorship required him to utilize. It used to be a more radical salute apparently, but after the 1940s Camp Jupiter implemented a more PC policy and phased out the old Roman salute for a less offensive newer one. Now it was like a lazy military salute. He just raised his right arm up, his hand slightly tilted to the left to point vaguely towards his head. "Hi, Lady Artemis. L-uh, Apollo." He fumbled his words.

Apollo turned his head back to face Artemis. His little sister was stunned into silence, an emotion he hadn't witnessed in her for years. The three demigods who'd shown up first all looked confused as the Twins all looked at each other, and Apollo nodded to her. His gaze returned to Percy and his eyes narrowed at the Hero of Olympus.

Artemis stood up, dropping the bow she was whittling carelessly onto the dirt. "Perseus, I require your audience." She turned to face the other three. "Consult freely with my brother. I know of what you seek, and I am irrelevant in the matter." She said matter of factly and plain old rudely.

The Goddess spun on her heel and marched off towards the treeline, and after a moment's hesitation Percy quickly followed, trying to avoid Apollo's hateful gaze. Percy looked apologetically towards his fellow Demigods, silently promising to be back ASAP.

The Demigod and Goddess walked in silence for a few minutes. Percy had no idea how big the island was in feet, but he doubted it was even a mile long. He wanted so desperately to talk to her, whether it be asking her what she wanted, or to ask her how she felt about that night on Olympus, or even just to ask how she was doing in general.

He felt like a simp, no better than Beryl Grace or Reyna's father. It could have been self-consciousness, but he felt like he was drifting on that path towards obsession. She plagued his mind every day, even when his memory was erased he couldn't forget her, he just didn't remember who she was. He could tell her that, but he didn't want to be executed for Romeo-ism.

He suddenly realized that the Goddess was no longer next to him, and Percy had no recollection on when she had fallen behind. He heard the rustling of something being lifted off of the leaf-covered ground behind him, like a giant animal was about to take a step, and so he turned to see.

KR~UNCH

Percy must have flown back about two feet onto the ground from that blow. His eyes being half lidded allowed him to view the blood that he had spat out onto the ground on impact. He couldn't tell if his nose was broken. It felt like his whole damn face was broken.

He could see Artemis holding a branch half the size of herself, and instinctively Percy reached for his watch, but Artemis dropped the branch back onto the floor, hurting his ear a bit from the impact. "Get up." She demanded, and not one to disobey a Goddess who had just beat the shit out of him in one blow, Percy obeyed.

Artemis held the facial expression of an annoyed husky as she looked over his wounds. "Barely even damaged." She told both him and herself, sounding impressed through her pissed off sigh.

Percy groaned as he stood fully, popping his back. "Feels like you threw a train at me." He complained, trying not to freak out at this goddess for assaulting him with a log since she was, well, a Goddess.

Artemis kept walking down the small trail, basically a path where greenery had been cut out of the way so travel was easier. "Good. You deserve it for going missing on us." She told him. Percy opened his mouth to retort, but Artemis interrupted. "I know, it was all Hera's doing. Just… she really picked a bad time. Come, I have something to show you."

Percy was surprised he had made it this far and was still human, let alone had unbroken kneecaps. Still, he was curious what she meant by that, so he continued to follow. Still, he wanted terribly to talk about that night. They were both virgins, it was extremely awkward but yet it felt like that made it better. They were both inexperienced, socially inept killers who just knew you were supposed to press repeatedly against each other. It felt more… human that way. Better than if it was Aphrodite or someone of that sort.

Still, Percy decided to wait until she brought it up herself, and if Artemis hadn't done so by the end of their little walk together, Percy would do so for her. For now though, he was merely awaiting what she had to show him.

They entered a small clearing where sunlight was scarce through the dense treeline and the foliage overhead. The ground was now flat, and instead of yellowish rock or forest soil it was plain-style grass. The entry they had come through seemed to be the only path into this clearing, though if one wanted to they could go trudging through the woods in any direction.

In the center of the clearing stood a reindeer, majestic and strong. Antlers that looked almost wooden stood proudly above its head, though said head was bent over looking towards the ground. Upon seeing the caribou, Artemis halted. "Prancer! Vamonos!" She ordered, surprising the reindeer and sending him bounding off through the treeline. Percy at first hadn't questioned that this abandoned Greek island had a reindeer population, but he figured Artemis must have also been storing her chariot, and therefore the reindeer, on Delos too.

Upon the stage right exit of Prancer, his absence revealed a small piece of furniture sitting in the center of the clearing, seemingly what the caribou had been peeking into. It looked like a small cabinet or table, roughly three feet high and standing on four legs. It was made of palm wood very recognizable to Percy and looked somewhat homemade, yet also very polished.

There were a few slits in all four sides about an inch thick each, totalling fourteen slits in all with three on each end and four on each side. Through them Percy could see a color, but in their continued movement couldn't deduce the identity of what was contained within this box.

"Here, this is what I needed to show you." Artemis told him, walking over to the wooden container. As she reached it, Percy heard a small noise from inside, and once he came up alongside her and took a look inside he froze. His heart felt like it was going to explode as he stared at the small being. His mind raced, deducing everything in an instant, no matter if his brain was running logic tests to counter reason. A choked sigh escaped his throat as he stood there next to Artemis staring down into the cot.

A small, very young infant lay in the crib, dressed in a silver onesie with her left hand up against her mouth. Her legs kicked slightly as her gaze switched to look at Percy, studying him silently and intently.

Percy stood with his jaw hanging open as Artemis reached down and picked up the infant underneath the arms, resting her on her hip and letting her momentarily continue staring at Percy. The two stared at each other silently while Artemis picked up a small pacifier from a tree stump sitting next to the crib. Percy noticed it was also silver and had a small seemingly printed picture of a bow and arrow on it. "Binkie." Artemis said quietly to the baby, holding the pacifier up, and like a trained dog the infant opened her mouth so Artemis could stick the pacifier in.

The Goddess rested the baby's head against her chest and now Percy found four eyes set on him from that direction. Artemis sighed, uncharacteristically nervous. "Well, Percy… this is Selena." She introduced quietly, shyly even.

Percy didn't need to ask a question he knew the answer to. Why else would she be showing him this, letting a mere demigod in on such a revolutionary secret. He briefly wondered if any other gods knew about this? Surely, Apollo, at least. Besides, what was the point in asking? It's not like there were any other candidates. That, and this baby looked like a smaller, cuter, less menacing version of his twin sister.

He swallowed, but found little to no saliva still present in his body. "C- Can I hold her?" He stuttered, weakly lifting his arms towards the baby kept in Artemis' grasp.

Artemis nodded, bringing the baby - Selena - away from her chest and rearranging her holding position. With Selena leaning back against her now, Percy was able to grab the baby by placing his hands under both arms, and in a fashion similar to Artemis' technique he pulled her from her mother's grasp and held her close against him.

Once pressed against Percy, Selena stabilized herself before looking upwards and continuing her trend of silently staring at the Son of Poseidon. Almost like there was some base level instinct that let them recognize each other, Percy and Selena stared into the other's eyes curiously. A hunch on both minds despite neither being expressly told the truth and one being almost newborn. Like two monkeys playing with puzzle blocks, Selena and Percy had figured it out.

Percy smiled as he wrapped both arms around the snuggly-dressed baby, like a bear keeping its cub safe in the warmth of a secure embrace. Her eyes enchanted him, just as Artemis' had done when he had looked into them before bearing the burden of the sky for her. Selena's were sea-green just like his own, but they held a glow he'd only ever seen in the eyes of spirits and deities. A glow she most certainly received from her mother.

"Wow." He whispered softly, stunned by the sight below him. "Aren't you something…" He looked back at Artemis for a brief second, then back at the baby. "Selena." Her name rolled off the tongue well. He definitely couldn't say he was disappointed with Artemis' choice. Selena smiled around the binkie at her name being said, like him saying that confirmed her base instinctual suspicion.

Percy looked back up at Artemis. "So… how old is she? Sorry, I've just lost track of time, that's all." He admitted. It was true, he didn't even really know the date to be honest, just that G-Day was 48 hours away.

Artemis folded her arms as her boot kicked against the grass, not doing any damage since she merely skimmed the blades with the toe. "Two months?" She looked back up at him, a mixture of uneasiness and apologeticness. "It's okay. Time flies by here, it's uncountable with all that's going on. The… thing was August, and it's August again in 2 days if I'm not wrong, so two and a half months." She explained, doing the math in her head.

Percy wasn't even gonna attempt math right now, not when he was holding a baby. Last thing he wanted was for the brain to overload and motor functions that kept Selena held in place to break down. That seemed right.

He looked back down at Selena, who was now looking back at her mother since Artemis had spoken. "Shit. Two months. I'm sorry I wasn't there. Hera put me to sleep, and then two months ago I was with Lupa and I had amnesia and…" He sighed. "It's been… a lot. I'm sorry." He apologized profusely.

Artemis' eyebrows furrowed sadly. "Why are you apologizing? You didn't even know. I planned to tell you, but it took me about 6 months to decide that and by then you were already gone. Not long after that Olympus went into lockdown and me and my brother fled here. She was born on this island, as I was." The Goddess explained to her only consort.

Percy looked down at Selena and frowned. "Still, I'm sorry I couldn't be here." He slowly began to sit down, ending up cross legged on the grass next to Selena's cot. As she found herself a new pen in his lap, Selena began to move a bit, looking around at the grass and leaning on him for support.

Artemis smiled and sat down not too far from them, leaning on the wooden structure and looking at her consort and daughter. "She seems to like you." She noted, watching as Selena basically used the front of Percy as a jungle gym.

Percy chuckled lightly. "She'd better. I think I like her too." He gave a lop-sided grin to the infant, who was making little noises as she let go of him and climbed over his leg.

Both Percy and Artemis sat watching Selena as she crawled around on the grass on her belly, meeting daisies and bugs. "She's a lot like you." Artemis again spoke out of the blue, sounding tired.

Percy looked at her, his forearms resting on his knees. She was sitting with her back and head against the cot, her knees drawn up just below her chin. "How so?" He asked, wondering what she meant by that.

The side or Artemis' mouth twitched. "Well, she obviously looks like you. Same hair, eyes, skin tone, nose, everything. But… I don't know, it could be just that she's a baby, but she's very happy. She only cries when she can't find me or Apollo, never when she wakes up or gets hungry. She's always exploring, crawling off when we're not looking to try and pet the reindeer, stuff like that." She paused for a moment, before flicking her hand dismissively. "Nevermind, it's dumb. I guess I always sorta thought you were… carefree. I kinda liked that about you." She explained hurriedly, her cheeks rapidly turning redder by the second.

Percy smiled, picking the grass in front of him as he looked at her. "Like a baby. Thanks." He joked, and upon seeing her genuinely embarrassed he waved the Goddess off. "But I get what you mean. It's nice seeing someone's having a good time these past few months." He joked, snatching a laugh out of Artemis.

As the two sat staring at the baby in the field a couple yards ahead of them, a thought suddenly washed over Percy's mind. "Gods, what's Cali gonna think? What's Mom gonna think? I'm not even 18 yet." He put a hand to his head, gaining stress like a League of Legends player gains weight.

Artemis was silent, watching as his foot tapped impatiently while he watched Selena lay down on her stomach and play with grass. "Does she have toys?" He asked, watching as the baby played with nature instead of a man-made object. Artemis shook her head, gesturing to the world around them. Not satisfied with a child in today's world not having their own teddy, Percy vowed to make a change. "When… if I make it back, I'll bring her something." He promised.

Artemis frowned. "Don't say that. Don't say if, jackass. You're gonna come back. You have to." She told him sternly, yet pleadingly. Percy was silent, now thinking about all that lay ahead of him. They had to get this Physicians Cure because… well, one of them was gonna die.

Might not work, dipshit.

Shut up. It's Greek magic. This shit always works.

He and Cali still hadn't properly talked about it all yet. She wasn't present when Nike told Leo, Hazel, Frank and he that one of them was gonna die. Therefore, Percy had a 25% chance of dying. It could have been hubris, but just hadn't even considered that it was talking about him. Now, for whatever reason, he was certain that it was him.

These stupid prophecies are always about you. You thought Thalia was the chosen one but then she joined the Hunt, you really just gonna assume it's about one of your friends again?

Percy lay his head back, resigned. He was gonna die, and if all went well this Physicians Cure would revive him. But then again, could he really trust any of his teammates to do this correctly? Annabeth, maybe, but if Leo was the one administering first aid on Percy's pile of ashes, he may as well hop on Charon's boat right away.

"I'm probably gonna die. Nike said so." He told her, making Artemis frown. Her silent questioning of what he meant was met with an answer. "The reason we're her is to get that stupid Physician's Cure. Nike told us a while back that either me, Frank, Hazel or Leo was gonna die, that it was prophecized, and… well, you know all the fucked up prophecies love to be talking about me. Hazel's already died once before, so it probably would've mentioned that if it was talking about her. Leo's slippery enough to get himself out of any situation. Franks got this thing with a stick and his life force or something so if it was him then that'd be like three prophecies stacked on one another. So yeah, I guess that leaves me. Nothing remarkable was said about my death to counter it, and I dunno, I'm just not too confident about this fight." He explained.

Artemis was quiet, and when he looked at her he saw tears in the Goddess' silver eyes. She shook her head slowly. "You're not gonna die Percy. Selena needs you now, you're gonna have to come back." The two of them were silent for a few seconds, Percy looking like he was waiting for her to continue. Finding words she still had yet to say, Artemis relented. "I need you, Percy. Please." She begged, the first time Artemis had begged a man for anything since she had first sat on Zeus' knee as a little girl.

Percy smiled softly, looking back at Selena out in the field playing with flowers. "I guess I don't have a choice now." He feigned witty confidence, feigned being the key word.

The Goddess and Demigod sat in silence for a little while longer watching the girl, their daughter, live life happily in blissful ignorance. She had no idea of the situation or the world right now. She didn't even know there was a world outside of Delos. All she knew were her cot, mother, uncle, the animals and now the father she'd never before met.

Artemis suddenly felt a twinge in the back of her skull. Sis? You done? Cause his friends are. Her brother Apollo mind-messaged her, sounding apologetic. She understood. This wasn't a friendly visit, Percy was only here for a quest, and it was a quest he needed to get back to, no matter her thoughts on the matter. "Your friends are done." She said quietly, not sounding enthused at all.

Percy knew that was coming. How long would it have taken for Leo to charm Apollo into giving up the Curse of Delos? It was funny. When he first arrived he was kinda anxious to get it over with, as it would give Artemis less time to behead him if she had come to regret that night and decided no one was allowed to see her naked. But now, after all that had come to light and the realizations that had dawned on him, he definitely did not want to leave. He wanted to forget about the war, stay here with Selena in his lap playing with animals and just never grow old, like an alternate version of Ogygia. Nevertheless, he nodded and sat up.

"Selena!" Artemis called, and a few yards away the baby's head snapped up like a deer hearing a twig crack. Artemis held out her hands in a come here motion and the baby complied, crawling with exaggerated arm swings like she didn't know how to crawl. Selena crawled all the way back to her mother and let herself be picked up by the Goddess. Percy also stood up, and the two girls walked over closer to him. "Say bye now. Dad's gotta go for a bit." She told her daughter, and that was the first time Percy was openly acknowledged as a father. It was weird to hear, being called Dad.

He almost started crying, grabbing onto Selena's little hand and holding it with both of his. "I promise I'll come back, mkay?" He vowed, not sure if that was a promise he could keep. Selena, not able to speak English since she was a baby and had a binkie in, just stared at him with those sea-green doe eyes.

She didn't even have to say anything to almost convince him to stay. Just looking at his daughter made Percy's knees weak. He looked up at Artemis, wanting desperately to ask what they were now. Were they a couple, temporary or permanent? Was she just his baby mama? Was she only tolerating him for the baby. Was she just waiting to dump Selena on him so she could go back to being divine? Percy didn't want an answer right now, so he didn't ask. He considered kissing her again, but held off. He shouldn't make any more promises he couldn't keep. "I…" He began, and Artemis teetered in his words as though waiting for something specific to be said. Percy couldn't bring himself to take that leap. If he was dying he wanted to die with hope. "Keep her safe. For me." He pleaded, and after looking a bit disappointed, Artemis nodded.

Knowing she couldn't bring Selena out in full view of the other heroes, Artemis merely stood by the crib watching as Percy left. He walked slowly, continuously turning his head to look at them one last time. Selena laid her head in the crook of her Mom's neck, watching her Dad walk away with those ever curious and innocent eyes. She didn't know where he was going, for how long, or when he was coming back. It was like being with a dog as it got euthanized. You couldn't tell it what was happening, you couldn't tell him it would be alright. He was just scared, and all you could do was hug him.

Percy needed to leave, fast, before he broke down right there on the forest floor.

When Piper told Cali that her brother looked on the verge of snapping and had some secret he didn't know how to tell her, the daughter of Poseidon did not expect to find her brother in an abandoned vehicle, crying and slamming cans of Greek Pepsi while blaring Bruce Springsteen hits.

She opened the door of the Toyota, scaring her brother so much he spilt Pepsi on the seat. Understandable, jumpscares as a demigod hit a hundred times harder thanks to the constant pursuit by monsters. The Daughter of Poseidon sat down in the passenger seat, hearing Dancing in the Dark playing while she shut the door.

"You can't start a fiireeee, you can't start a fire without a spar-" Her brother sang like she wasn't even there anymore while the tunes blasted until Cali reached over and paused the CD player. Percy's eyes snapped open and he looked at her. "DON'T!" He yelled, shocking Cali immediately before turning the song back on. She'd never seen him get that angry at her, over a song?

"Hey, dude, what's wrong? You're being fucking weird." Cali told him straight-up, never one to sugarcoat things with him. He knew she was like that, so he never got offended like others would have.

Percy didn't talk at first, but he stopped singing along to the Boss. After staring down at the steering wheel he looked up. "I feel like McDonalds. You reckon Greek McDonalds is good?" He wondered aloud, reaching down to turn the key that this owner had left inside his car. All the cars near the Argo II were abandoned, but luckily one still had keys in it.

Cali reached over and put her hand on the wheel to stop him. "No! Percy, what's gotten into you? You're sitting in an abandoned fucking vehicle that you haven't even moved yet, blaring 80s hits and drinking a crate of Pepsi. Just tell me what's up, damn it." She demanded, but Percy just paused again, refusing to say anything.

"It's not 80s hits. Whoever owned this car had a CD in of Bruce Springsteen's Greatest Hits. Born in the USA just finished about a minute before you got here." He explained quietly, almost timidly, making Cali look to the left incredulously.

"Holy shit, Percy, that's not the point. Stop deflecting the conversation." She ranted, then paused to take a breath, feeling like she was yelling at a child. "Piper said you talked to her, seemed really fuckin' nervous, said you were twitching, sweating, stuttering, all that. She said you wanted to tell me something but you're… you don't want to?" She explained why she was there, but again Percy stayed silent. "Please, Perce. Just tell me. Everyone's really worried about you. You can't just look like a schizophrenic and then run off in the middle of a quest. Piper thought you were gonna hurt yourself."

That one kinda got to Percy. "I didn't mean it. I just needed to get off that ship." He explained his actions like a child being chastised for naughty behavior.

Cali reached down into his crate and grabbed herself a blue can of Pepsi, intent on sitting here until she got her way. "But why, Percy? You're not telling me why you're so stressed out, or what you need to tell me. Is it the idea of fighting? It gets to me all the time, so I understand." She guessed. Percy shook his head, so she tried again. "Is it something that happened?"

This time Percy paused for a second before nodding, leaving Cali still guessing and failing to be drawn to a conclusion. "Is it… y'know, Tartarus?" She asked, and Percy froze. "Perce, I know we haven't talked about it, and if you wanna talk now before anymore quest shit gets in the way, I'm happy to have this talk now." She offered, but he remained silent.

"Look, Percy. We both know that place was fucked, and we can either talk about it or never mention it again, I'm fine with it. We got out, that's all that matters. But I just need you to talk to me. Please?" She begged her brother, upset at how uncharacteristically quiet and solemn he was. Where was the Percy who raced her down the apartment stairs on a scooter and almost went through the window when they were eight?

Honestly, the mere mention of Tartarus seemed to have made Percy worse. Now he wasn't even moving or drinking his Pepsi, just staring at the wheel in silence. Cali noticed he must only just now be reliving the events, and so tried to snap him out of it. "Hey, Perce." She literally snapped her fingers in front of his face.

Percy blinked and then looked back at her, putting on an apologetic face. He tried listening to the ending of Dancing in the Dark in peace, hoping he never had to relive Tartarus again, mentally or physically. "Sorry."

Cali waved him off, downing her drink and throwing it out the window before grabbing another one and cracking the can open. "Don't worry about it. Listen, if you don't wanna talk, we've got a little while before we need to head back. We can sit here and just… listen to the music if you want." She offered, to which Percy nodded gratefully.

I'm On Fire started playing, a tune both twins recognized. Cali sipped more Pepsi while Percy tapped the steering wheel absentmindedly. In fact he wasn't absent minded. He had gone to Piper for the very reasons Cali outlined - he didn't know how to break the news to Cali. Now though, impulse was appearing very tempting. "I have a kid now. With Artemis."

Cali spit her drink all over the dashboard, likely leaving crime scene evidence. She looked at her brother, Pepsi on her chin. "What?!" She replied terrifyingly.

Percy shriveled up in his seat, again shutting up. This was why he didn't want to speak before. Only two women in the world terrified Percy, a pissed off Sally and a pissed off Cali. Unfortunately, pissed off was Cali's fourth name.

Cali wasn't taking silence for an answer, however. "Oh no you don't. You are not dropping a bombshell like that and then going dark. Explain, now." She scolded, not even having registered the fact that she was an aunt, just that her brother did something dumb again.

Percy sipped his Pepsi like nothing was wrong. "It's pretty simple, really. After the war we hooked up. I'd kinda had a crush on her since Othrys, I think you knew that. Guess I was an idiot and forgot protection." He explained himself.

Cali wanted to slap him. "Idiot is right, disphit! You're not even fully 17 and… Jesus Christ. You're a dad…" Her face paled, the gravity of the situation only just hitting her.

Percy smiled softly and looked at her. "And you're an Aunt." He informed her like she hadn't already come to that conclusion. It was reassuring seeing her just as frozen as him. It showed Percy he wasn't really going insane from the stress and surprise of being a father. His sister knew she was an aunt for only three seconds and was already stuck in shock.

The twins both reclined their necks, sighing in sync. Cali's mind was flooded with the fact that her brother was now a father, she was now an aunt and if they survived this war, which was a big if, there'd be a baby in Percy's hands and, by proxy, she would have to help too.

"With Artemis…" Cali said quietly, so much unbelievable shit in one revelation that she was only comprehending it one by one. She'd teased him that he thought Artemis was cute after they'd rescued her from Mount Othrys. He'd even done a 'milady' and held the sky for her, bequeathing upon the teen a silver hair streak that pissed Cali off enough that she dyed streaks in her hair occasionally. Percy had blushed at the time, but to think Artemis reciprocated his attraction.

Percy smiled, looking at the roof of this stranger's car. "Yup. It's a girl. Selena." He told her, humming along to oh, oh, oh, I'm on Fire. Thinking about his baby in a non-anxiety setting felt really good. In that moment he wasn't thinking about how he was not even 17 and a father, how after the war his life would be upturned by the need to care for her, what his mom would think and say. Right now, he was just thinking about his adorable baby girl playing with grass and bugs. Her carefree nature rubbed off on him when he thought about it.

Born to Run began to play and Cali looked up, staring at him with an open-mouth smirk, before looking back away. "A niece. Selena. It's good. Did she pick that, then?" Cali asked, wondering if Percy had chosen to name her after Silena Beauregard, the former Aphrodite counselor.

Percy nodded. "Yeah. She mighta named her after Selene, or she mighta just liked it, I don't know. She did, uh… she said I can pick her middle name, and I was thinking Cali." He spoke, staring straight ahead. Cali's head snapped up to look in his direction, but she didn't say anything. "Selena Cali Jackson. I figured out of any name I could choose it has to be yours. You're my twin, basically my other half. Been together since day 1, and stuck together since. You're my best friend, Cal, and I want your niece to carry your name."

Cali had tears running down the sides of her face. She was in that state where she was trying to hold them back but a few had escaped and that only made her want to cry more. The teen rarely cried, and she was always extremely embarrassed when she did, even around her brother. She opened her mouth to speak. "St-" Her voice cracked, and she instantly shut her mouth and looked away so he wouldn't see the tears.

Percy looked concerned. "Cal?" He asked softly, not wanting to say 'are you crying', knowing he'd likely go into battle with a broken nose. He was supposed to watch his nose.

Cali's breath was shaky. She wanted to say 'eat shit and die', but figured that would genuinely kill the moment. It took a few seconds of tearful shivering for her to gain the courage, but eventually she turned and pulled him into an across-the-seat hug. The hug choked him both from surprise and force, but he let his twin sister bury her head into his neck. "I love you too, Percy. You're the best brother I could have ever asked for. I never want to live in a world where you're not there with me." She cried, a wave of hormonal existentialism, grief and pure joy washing over her at once. Again, she didn't cry much, so this was months or even years of tears flooding out.

Someday girl, I don't know when

We're gonna get to that place where we really wanna go and we'll walk in the sun

But till then, tramps like us

Baby we were born to run

The two hugged for pretty much the rest of the song, comfortable not saying anything and just resting in each other's arms. A war worth of fraternal twin love pouring out right now in a moment the two would remember for eternity.

The bell rang as the twins walked into the Greek store looking for something in particular. Well, they had no clue what exactly they were looking for, but they knew what they needed. A gift for Selena, from her dad and aunty.

Percy shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and inspected the shelves. He still wore his purple Camp Jupiter shirt and by this time what was left of his semi-toga was tied and draped over one shoulder like a really elegant cape - except it only covered his right shoulder. The store clerk didn't pay too much attention, waving it off as foreign kid fashion. They didn't look Greek, more western, so he figured they were European or American, maybe Mexican.

Cali on the other hand had a blue Goode High swim team hoodie with C Jackson imprinted in white on the back to distinguish her from P Jackson. There were days where they'd mixed them up in the laundry and worn the wrong hoodies to school. A hint of the orange Camp Half-Blood shirt hung out the waist of the hoodie as she could not be bothered one bit to tuck it in. Both teens were wearing black jeans and vans, and Cali also had the benefit of a necklace and golden bicep bracelet, making up for the lack of an SPQR tattoo that now distinguished her from her twin brother.

Cali turned towards the storekeeper, her black hair flying like she had just gotten out of the shower. Using her convenient demigod skills, she tried seeing if this word still held up in modern Greek. "Erm, paidíon?" She asked for little kids, hoping he took that to mean the baby items and not that she wanted to procure little kids.

His eyes squinted, getting it enough but finding her pronunciation off, like when British people try acting like they speak English and not caveperson. "Paidí? Eh, mikro paidí." He leaned over the counter and pointed down the aisle near the back, where the twins could see bright colors which she assumed to be Nerf guns or something similar.

It was similar, but very budget friendly. The store looked like a Chinese scam website in the real world. The items were all cheap foreign bootlegs, one of the toy guns was literally branded as American Gun. Guess they didn't make these knockoffs in Greek.

"How much Drachma we got?" Percy asked his sister, immediately setting about looking at the stock. He was not giving his 3 month old daughter a BB Gun.

Cali checked her wallet, which somehow always stayed inside her jean back pocket during fights. Benefits of skinny jeans. "It's not Drachma anymore. Greece uses the Euro now." She corrected him, pulling out a few unrecognizable notes. Only foreign currency Americans ever saw were Loonies and Pesos.

Percy frowned, moving a toy truck on one of the shelves. "That's dumb. I'm not a politics guy but that's dumb. Drachma sounds so much cooler." He reasoned, testing out all the toys to make sure they were suitable.

Cali hummed in agreement, picking up an exaggeratedly cool plastic sword. With the intent to test its flexibility, she nearly snapped the toy sword because of just how easy it was to bend. The daughter of Poseidon quickly put that back. "So what exactly are we looking for?" She asked her brother, not a clue as to what her newfound niece she didn't know anything about was into.

Percy shrugged, still keeping his hand in his pocket. "She doesn't have anything except nature, so maybe a teddy for starters? We can't exactly lug a metal toy truck into battle and then back in one piece. At least something like that we can shove in a backpack. Maybe Leo could have something to tie it to my belt." He applied logic, looking around for where a cheap tourist attraction store would have a teddy.

Cali walked three aisles down looking for what he'd suggested. She had to squint to be able to scan the entire aisle so quickly, but eventually she came upon what was at least partly the soft toys section. "Found it." She told Percy loudly, knowing they were the only customers in the store and therefore didn't need to be restricted by 21st century social anxiety.

Percy walked over to her and found Cali standing in front of a shelf holding a small gray item. As he got closer he could see it more clearly. It was fuzzy and had a small face with cute glass teddy eyes, two flippers on the sides and a small fat tail that also appeared to be small back flippers.

Cali showed it to Percy and he grabbed it, looking down at the plushie with a smile. "Yeah, this is great. Her own seal teddy, from Dad and Aunty." He smiled at his twin sister, who tried to hide her joy at the reminder of her new status.

Percy waited anxiously for the arrival of his girls. To say he was nervous was an understatement. He was thoroughly wetting himself in both nervousness and excitement. The war was finally over and he couldn't wait to hold his daughter and this goddess baby-mother of his whom he found himself increasingly obsessed with.

Of course, there was the question of what exactly they were. There were a lot of questions, in fact. Would she help raise Selena? Was she even going to acknowledge her existence publicly? If so, how were they going to deal with the guaranteed backlash from all corners of their lives?

The more questions piled up in Percy's mind, the faster he began to pace on the spot. Then, as if the saving grace of a guardian angel, a bright light began to consume the area. More intelligent than an idiot, Percy closed his eyes the second he saw the very light he'd been waiting for. His vision was red from the combination of his shut eyelids as well as the supernova light being projected onto them from the outside.

As the light arrived to engulf the wooded area - they were in a less visible and less occupied section of Central Park - Percy's heart rate increased while his anxieties decreased in volume. His worries became replaced by his antsy to open his eyes and gaze upon them both once more.

When the light died down and his vision was black again, he opened his eyes and blinked a few times to get the illusion and staticy images that came with eyes squeezed shut to go away. His entire body cooled and calmed when he saw a natural redhead girl standing in her Greek outfit, the one she wore on Delos. A white chiton that ended halfway down the thighs and had a brown waist belt so it didn't billow everywhere. Golden sandals that ran midway up her slender calves matched the gold and silver bracelets she wore on each bicep. Her hair was braided behind her back and over her shoulder, held in place by hair ties and a crescent moon clip.

She smiled at him softly and moved her hand up ninety degrees, taking it away from the sea-green eyes she was shielding in her bosom. Selena winced at the sudden return of light while she relaxed in her mother's cradle, wearing a magenta onesie with her constellatory binkie in to pacify her.

Father and daughter locked eyes and the former smiled with tears brimming his eyes while the latter faintly recognized him as someone she'd met before. Her brain wasn't fully developed, so give her a break. It probably never even clicked in Selena's mind that Percy was her father. She had only met him once.

Percy grinned and stepped closer, close enough that he and Artemis were almost touching. Selena watched curiously as he reached up a hand to her and then giggled when he began tickling her cheek, or as best a giggle as she could with the pacifier in.

"Give Daddy a hug?" Artemis suggested to the baby. It felt weird saying that. She'd had her own anxieties, and part of that was the question of how they would refer to each other. Like Percy, she wasn't entirely sure of their current relationship status. Did she say 'go to daddy' or 'go to your father, Perseus'?

Despite the fact she likely didn't understand her mother's words, when Artemis held her out for him to take Selena did outstretch her arms as if reaching for a hug. Not one to turn down his baby daughter's affection, Percy placed a hand under her arms and lifted her from Artemis' arms. Remembering how to hold her, or rather having thought about holding her again so much now he basically had a degree in holding her, Percy pulled her close to cradle her much the same way Artemis had.

Selena made a little short crying noise once she separated from her mother, turning her head ninety degrees to try and see her again. Realizing she wanted to stick near her mom, Percy compromised by walking closer to Artemis, who got the hint and moved closer as well.

Whether by happy accident or by design, they got close enough to where they were basically embracing, and in a brave display of affection Percy leaned his head forward to rest against her forehead. Artemis smiled and didn't protest.

Now that Artemis was trailing her fingers down Selena's cheek while resting in Percy's semi-distant embrace, the baby calmed down. Secure in the hold of both parents, she settled for leaning into Percy in the cradled position, seeking warmth, shelter and security.

"I still can't believe it." Percy whispered, not intending to startle Selena by suddenly speaking loudly. The newborn looked almost tired, finding her dad's arms a very comfortable resting space.

Artemis raised her gaze up to him without moving her head from the bridge they currently formed together. Percy hadn't taken his eyes off of Selena, watching as she blinked every second or so, each one leaving her eyelids droopier. "How do you mean?" She asked the hero, continuing to nuzzle the baby with the back of her finger.

Percy lightly swayed Selena in his arms, beginning to rock her to sleep. As Artemis' touch was getting itchy to her now, Selena softly reached up without a noise and clamped her hand weakly around her mother's finger. The Son of Poseidon smiled as he cradled her, the baby gripping her mother's finger as if begging the two of them to stay connected, securing and protecting her. "Well, I've got a baby. My own baby girl. Uh, I guess our baby… girl." He stumbled towards the end, looking flustered at forgetting her in the equation.

Artemis reached her left arm around and rested her hand on his back, her right being preoccupied with an increasingly sleepy Daughter of Artemis. "She's yours, she's mine, she's ours, we're hers." She assured him, not wanting there to be confusion on how their parental dynamic would be. The message was clear enough, she wasn't abandoning them like any other God would.

"Then what…" He trailed off, so desperately wanting to ask then what am I to you? It got caught in his throat, and as though he were giving a speech and got stage fright, he suddenly grew too worried to continue. A thought left unspoken is a rejection left unmade.

Artemis perked up when he almost asked the exact words she'd imagined he would when she said that. The same words she'd practiced answers for, answers she couldn't spin into a proposal. Only if he asked could she bring herself to risk it and speak the words she wished she could speak.

But that day was not today, and Percy didn't catch the disappointed look she grew as he said nothing more and looked down. Selena had closed her eyes and her grip on Artemis' finger had waned, but Artemis kept hold of hers. If only out of some sort of mother bear instinct, Artemis didn't want to part from her cub right now. The mother and father were content to stand there providing comfort and security to their cub for as long as she, or deep down they, wanted.

Percy and Cali sat on the floor of Cabin 3 both leaning against the back wall in between their bunk beds. The twins were both bottom bunkers, and so instead of sharing the same bunk they just slept on different sides of the room. Besides, the bottoms had curtains which came in handy for things like getting dressed.

Currently they were both dressed and shared a blanket on the wooden floor. Empty Pepsi cans lay littered all over the cabin floor. Inspection day wasn't for four days and to be frank after just returning home from war neither twin could give two shits. Drew could get fucked, which at any given moment there was admittedly a high chance that was true, but she could also get fucked when it came to inspection day. Silena was always a better inspector.

Selena on the other hand was not present in the cabin with them. Percy and Artemis had spent the day together with their daughter in Central Park, and it still ached in Percy's heart that he could never get the courage to, at best, ask her out, or at worst, ask if they were simply the parents of their shared kid and nothing more.

Nothing Else Matters played on speaker through Cali's Ipod, and Percy sat tapping his foot while he checked his watch. Thirty seconds out. He stood up, making Cali look and sit up slightly as they both got prepared in excitement, her especially. They'd been waiting in conversation for hours over this.

As his watch neared the number 12 in terms of the big hand, Percy held his hands out like a priest worshipping a God or Goddess. He was, in a way, requesting something from one, so that was fair enough.

His alarm went off, and Percy and Cali both closed their eyes as the room lit up blindingly as though a nuke had been set off. When the light died down, Percy felt a weight in his hands like someone had tossed him a sack of potatoes and he opened his eyes.

A baby girl with black hair, sea-green eyes and a dark green onesie lay in his arms, which he then turned into a cradling embrace. The feeling of holding her never got old, and as he heard Cali stand up behind him as he kissed Selena on the forehead.

"I want you to meet someone very special, Selena. I think you're gonna like her, you two look alike." He said softly to the gurgling infant, before turning around to face his twin sister, still looking into his daughter's eyes. "Cal, this is Selena California Jackson, and this is your Aunt Cali." He introduced both ways, readjusting his hold on Selena so she could get a look at the teenager in front of them.

Cali had tears running down her face as she gazed upon her niece for the first time, not even bothering to hide it anymore like last time. Meeting your twin's baby daughter can have that effect on one. She stepped forward and held out her arms.

Percy understood immediately and shifted to hand Selena off to her aunty, being surprised that there were no tears at being dumped on a stranger. Then again, he was a stranger only two meetings ago and there were no tears. Maybe Selena sensed a familiarity in Cali the same way she and Percy sensed it in each other.

Cali cradled the two month old girl in her arms, smiling like a new mother as she studied her glowing sea-green eyes. "You're so beautiful." She cried, feeling a wave of emotions as she and Selena held their own personal staring contest.

Selena giggled as her chin was tickled slightly, moving her hand to push against Cali's so the torment would end. The daughter of Poseidon cooed at her niece's cuteness, bouncing her in her arms a bit to keep the baby entertained.

Suddenly she gasped, looking over behind her. "Wait, I almost forgot." She said, handing Selena back to Percy. Equally happy to be in her Dad's arms, Selena settled herself in, expecting just as great a treatment from him as she'd received from her aunt.

Percy was happy to oblige her, cradling and swaying her like he was trying to lull the baby to sleep. Selena was too happy for sleep though, and it was far too early in the day for it anyway. Her Mom never made her have nap time at this time of day. "What's Aunty getting you?" He asked, trying to hype his daughter up. Perhaps not understanding baby-talk, Selena didn't seem phased by his words, absorbed in the Hero of Olympus' sea-green eyes.

Cali returned holding something behind her back, and Percy turned side-on so the resting Selena was facing her Aunt. She smiled back as Cali smiled brightly at her, watching as the teen pulled her hand out to reveal a full, fluffy and gray seal plushie.

Like a toddler on Christmas morning Selena squealed, more like a very loud mewl. She reached up her hands to grab it, having never seen a teddy before, but unfortunately for her Cali was a few steps away.

Luckily for her, Cali stepped forward and held out the seal, watching as Selena's tiny hands clenched like a claw machine when the button gets pressed. Cali lightly guided the plushie so Selena was pulling it towards herself without dropping it, and eventually she rested it on the baby's body.

Selena said hi in baby language to her new friend as its beady eyes stared up at her. Being introduced to her first toy which wasn't made of objects you could find on the ground of a Greek Island, the baby was happy to give it a five star rating as she hugged the teddy close to her chest.

Percy and Cali smiled as the baby looked up at them curiously and gratefully. Percy doubted she'd even taken in the fact she was in a room and not in a field or forest. Cali didn't have any such thoughts. Her mind was occupied with how positively adorable her new niece was cuddling her teddy.

Percy unlocked the house door with the key he knew to be buried inside the pot plant a bit. Using one hand the entire time, he reburied the key and twisted the knob so that the door opened enough so they could step in without making it creak, and he heard the bus turn the corner down the street as it left them there.

Cali took off her shoes so she wouldn't make too much noise with her steps and Percy followed suit. With the lights still off they had to rely entirely on memory to navigate their way to the kitchen, where the twins were able to shut the door and turn on the light.

The kitchen was a corner room between the hallway and the living room. You had to enter the kitchen to reach the living room, so with the kitchen door closed there was no way for the light to reach the bedrooms, even if the living room door to the other living room which had a door to the hallway was left open. At worst, their voices would be audible.

"I'm starving." Percy said, pulling open the cabinet door with his right hand. An OCD person seemed to live here, because everything was organized into its own shelves, containers and divisions. He found a bag of Thai Sweet Chili Doritos and pulled them out, showing the bag to Cali who nodded as she pulled drinks out from the fridge.

A small hand reached out for the Doritos and Percy smiled. "No, you can't have 'em. You don't like spicy chips, they make your tongue burn." He baby-talked Selena as he set the bag down on the bench, reaching down to pull out a large bowl for the twins to share.

Cali poured them both glasses of the Coke Sally bought with the groceries every fortnight. Currently it was 4AM. Percy had Selena until 8, but upon the baby waking up annoyingly at 3AM he remembered he hadn't even returned to let his mom know he was safe, let alone introduced her to her granddaughter. So he woke Cali up and after they got dressed they left a note, wrapped Selena up extra warm and jogged to the nearest bus stop. Thankfully Montauk buses ran overnight, and after damn near half an hour of waiting in the dark they boarded one and rested the 15 minute ride to their mom and stepdad's neighborhood.

They'd brought Selena here this early because Percy wanted her to get as much time with her grandparents as possible before her mother came to collect her - Artemis was going to break the news to the Hunt that she was no longer a virgin and instead a mother. However, a flaw in Percy's plan proved great - he didn't actually want to wake either Sally or Paul up at 4AM. So, hoping that one of them woke up early or went to the bathroom, Percy and Cali stood around the island eating chips and drinking soda while a tired Selena rested in her Dad's arms, listening to the sound of their crunching and occasional talking as she tried not to doze off.

"Five bucks says she gets super pissed at you for becoming a Dad before high school's over." Cali gave a very likely bet, an outcome which made Percy cringe as he'd spent the last hour trying not to think about what Sally would actually say when she saw them.

"Okay, five bucks says this one's too cute for her to get mad." He countered, swaying slightly while gesturing with his head to the infant who kept blinking slowly, trying to fight off the desire to sleep.

"Dammit, that's a good point." Cali thought aloud, crunching on another chip as she watched her niece cuddle into her Dad's neck.

"I HAVE A GUN AND THE POLICE ARE BEING CALLED RIGHT NOW!" They heard an extremely frightening shout suddenly come out of nowhere. Selena immediately started screaming and crying as she was basically scared out of sleep at 4am by the loud voice.

Cali spun around and held out her hands defensively. "Woah woah! Mom, it's us! It's your kids!" She yelled in the hopes that Sally didn't shoot.

Percy hadn't been able to see Sally, but he soon found out why as she poked her head out from behind the door that connected the two living rooms. "Cal? Percy?!" She appeared fully, putting the shotgun down against the wall and rushing over in her nightgown. "Oh, oh no, who's this?" She asked semi-distressed, hearing and catching sight of the terrified and screaming baby Percy was holding. "Paul? Paul! Put the phone down, Percy's back!" She called out, and Percy could faintly hear the sound of a door down the hallway opening.

Cali scoffed as Sally approached the screaming infant that had her arms around her Dad's neck tighter than ever before. "Yeah, I'm here too." She said sarcastically.

When the yelling occurred Percy had instinctively shifted so Selena was fully covered by his body, a fact he wouldn't notice until later when Cali pointed out. He'd held that kid for about 12 hours max and already had basic paternal instincts.

Percy smiled as Sally reached out to pick up the baby, her motherly instincts clearly kicking in as she saw how much it was in distress. Despite her best efforts, Selena was forced to go to the scary lady and sat on her hip as Sally bounced her up and down trying to soothe the infant. "Shh, it's okay. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were there. It's alright, nothing to be scared of." She calmed her softly, as much as Selena was resisting.

The kitchen door opened and a forty year old bearded man walked in in his pajamas. "Percy?" The English teacher asked, clearly not believing his own eyes after so long.

Percy smiled and walked over to embrace the stepfather he hadn't seen in months. "Hey Paul." He greeted, clapping him on the back as they parted.

"Where have you been? We've spent months looking for you, putting up posters, everything. Your mother nearly went insane over it." He asked almost disapprovingly, like Percy had skipped school but instead of school it was half a year of home life.

Percy smirked the cheeky grin he and Cali were born with. "Only nearly? But, uh, it's a long story. Hera kinda kidnapped me and mailed me to California for the Summer. Well, and the Spring but that went by relatively fast. The… the last few weeks have been pretty hectic." He explained briefly.

Behind them Cali continued munching on Doritos. "We even went to Greece." She bragged to her mother and stepfather. She took a sip of Percy's drink since hers was empty and he was occupied.

Sally looked at the baby girl who had stopped wailing now but still had fresh tear stains on her cheeks as she stared at her Dad longingly. "And who's this? One of your siblings?" She asked, noting the resemblance to them and therefore to Poseidon.

Cali's eyes flicked to him as Percy suddenly lost most of his confidence, ready for the stern lecture and freakout from the thirty seven year old grandmother. Percy cleared his throat. "Well, no… that's actually your, uh, your granddaughter." He summarily stated, widening both Paul and Sally's eyes.

The woman's head snapped to face the baby, who shared Percy's sea-green eye color and black hair. "My- you had a kid?! But~ Percy! You're not even seventeen!" She began the freakout, and behind her Percy saw Cali smirk.

Selena whined as she felt things heating up again and reached out an arm for Percy, a gesture he much appreciated from his daughter, a sign of trust and attachment. Paul spoke up, shushing Sally and pointing to the upset baby. Sally frowned and cooed her more. "I'm sorry, hey, hey, it's alright. You're adorable. What's her name?" Sally asked Percy, convinced to keep her tone and emotions in check while this traumatized baby was present. No sense lashing out on her irresponsible son if he was holding her adorable and fragile grandbaby.

Percy smiled, glad that the topic had shifted from how terrible a son he was, disappearing for months on end without a trace, vacationing in the Mediterranean without them and returning with a baby all before his 17th birthday. "Selena Cali Jackson. You like it?" He asked, knowing full well the answer.

Selena had calmed mostly by now, and as Sally looked at her again she smiled. "I love it." She said before kissing Selena on the cheek. Feeling this, the baby looked at her curiously, still with tear-stained cheeks but thankfully eyes that weren't running.

While Selena was being bid farewell by her grandmother and grandpa, Artemis was nervously exiting her tent. The Hunt was currently camped in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, and the sun was mostly blocked by the dense forestry around them.

Her hunters were spread out around the campsite. The most densely-packed common area was the campfire, which was nothing but ashes currently since it was roughly 10AM. Some were standing or walking around the campsite, conversing or doing their own chores and errands. A couple had even set up hammocks and were resting since their lady had declared they weren't shifting campsites today. She also had an important announcement to make.

In fact, the time for that announcement was now. Artemis raised her fingers to her mouth and blew a loud whistle that caught all the Hunt's attention, and like trained dogs they all flocked over to the campfire where she stood.

Once they were all seated or standing around looking at her the goddess folded her arms and cleared her throat. "Hunters, I have an important announcement." She paused for a second. "While I was on Delos, and again I have to express how truly sorry I am for abandoning you-"

Artemis was cut off by Atalanta, one of her most senior hunters. "We've already forgiven you, milady. We understand why you and lord Apollo had to go there." She assured her patron, who had felt nothing but immense guilt ever since returning from the island, having felt in real time when each of her hunters fell to Orion and other monsters, pained knowing that she couldn't help them.

"Anyway, while I was on Delos there were… changes in my life, ones that may affect you all. In fact, there were changes before then, just after the Titan War…" She trailed off, not having pre-planned her speech and bordering on rambling.

The Hunters all looked at her and each other in confusion, wondering what on earth their lady was talking about. She steeled herself and prepared for any shouting and storming off that would occur in the next thirty seconds. The auburn-haired goddess held out her arms slightly, doing nothing to dispel the confusion of the girls in front of her.

There was a blinding flash, prompting all of them to shut their eyes. A small form appeared in her hand as though it had always been there - quick as a flash. When the light died down the girls were able to open their eyes and most gasped.

A baby no older than a few months lay in Artemis' arms. She was dressed in a green onesie and her notable eyelashes gave away her gender as a girl, thankfully. The baby made a small noise as it lay eyes on its mother, happy to be in familiar arms once again as it got comfy being cradled.

"I'd like you all to meet Selena. She is my trueborn daughter, and I figured since I consider you girls all family then I couldn't leave you in the dark on this. I'm sorry, I have no words to repent for what I did." She looked down, holding the baby regretfully, which would be a great story for Selena to hear later in life. Her mom introduced her to the Hunt and promptly apologized for her existence.

Most of the Hunters were silent. Some whispered to each other, but none spoke to Artemis. However, none stood up, none glared, none made any moves. Atalanta, Artemis' own niece through Apollo, eventually held her hands up to be handed Selena, and once she had the babe in her arms the daughter of Apollo began to cradle and coo her.

Selena giggled, and eventually it turned into a big game of pass along as each Hunter got her own turn to hold the overly excited newborn. Selena had a grand old time as she got to personally meet every one of her new sisters face to face, her smile and cuteness being reciprocated with tickles and coddling.

Eventually it came Thalia's turn to hold her, and as she bounced the tiring baby she looked her over. She looked only somewhat like Artemis, meaning she must have looked more like her father, whomever that was. Gods didn't have DNA apparently - hence why sons of Ares didn't come out looking like Dionysus, they were only biologically related to their godly parent, their mortal parent, and their mortal parent's relations.

The daughter of Zeus looked into the eyes of the baby and a sinking feeling arose within her. Eyes like that were rare, in fact she had only ever seen three people with those eyes. The fact that Artemis highly regarded one of the males was ever concerning and built a mound of suspicion in her.

There was an air of stoicism as many of the hunters tried their best to come to terms with the fact that their lady had broken her millennia-old vows. In fact, had she not been accompanied by a cute baby, Artemis felt she would have had a few resignations to deal with. She was relieved that none had come her way already. No one looked happy about anything except holding Selena, but overall it was a better reaction than she had been hoping for.

Eventually her own silence was broken by one of her hunters, Mikayla, asking if Selena was gonna live with them in the Hunt. Artemis smiled and looked at the daughter of Hermes. "Well, um, we'll work it out. She can probably stay with her… father… while we hunt, but she'll definitely become a regular around camp. Who knows, as she grows she might join herself?" She suggested.

All of the Hunters were satisfied with this answer. Some silently stirred, inferring from her comment that the father was still alive and, therefore, had gotten away with boning their lady. They also tried to get the image of Artemis banging a guy out of their heads, it was a bad enough revelation without a mental film adaptation.

If Selena's introduction to the Hunt went better than expected, her father's didn't.

Thalia simmered with her suspicions, not sure whether to hope in favor of them being true or false. What would be the downsides of them being true? Maybe the fact that should his identity be revealed she would actually feel bad stumbling upon his arrow-ridden body. What would be the downsides of them being false? Probably the idea of someone worth less than the most worthy guy on the planet having knocked their maiden lady up and lived to tell the tale, hopefully not literally.

It seemed like Artemis was wise to actually bring Selena along when breaking the news, as most of the hunters were too focused on their lady's adorable new daughter. That was another boon, she came with a girl and not a boy. It probably lessened the pain they were all feeling.

The newborn was particularly attached to the older hunters like Phoebe and Atalanta, probably seeing a bit of her mom and uncle in them since the former looked a lot like the goddess and the latter was the god's daughter. As they held her up to play with her Selena would grab onto their shirts to hold herself close, looking side to side at the other hunters trying to get her attention or a better look at her.

Thalia and Artemis sat together on a log at the fire pit across from the hunters currently holding her. Artemis had her arms wrapped around her knees tapping her fur-booted foot on the dirt impatiently watching her daughter playing with her new sisters. She was thoroughly relieved they had taken to her, the only scenario worse than the Hunt disbanding was the Hunt hating Selena.

Thalia picked at the grass to the right of the log. She questioned whether to prod her lady with her suspicions. How would she react if she was right? Would she even tell her?

Artemis hoped Selena's features weren't too obvious. They would definitely become more prominent as she grew but at least she and Percy would have time to figure out a plan in terms of the public nature of Selena's parentage. They couldn't both coincidentally have mysteriously had a kid during the Giant War and then act like it wasn't each other's.

Thalia scraped some crunchy leaves with her boot. "Milady-"

"Artemis?"

Several hunters sprang into action as they heard the voice, especially one directed at their lady. Many who had their bows on hand drew arrows in the bowstring and pointed it at the voice. Artemis and Thalia's heads both snapped in the direction with wide eyes, recognizing the voice and ready to cry out for the Hunters to hold their fire. As Phoebe drew her arrow she stood protectively in front of Atalanta, who turned her body to shield the baby she held in her arms.

"Percy." Artemis whispered under her breath as she stood quickly. Thalia heard and noticed, but didn't say anything about it as she beckoned her subordinates to hold their fire.

Artemis held out a hand and quickly walked over to Percy, knowing that if she was standing right in front of him her hunters wouldn't dare let their fingers slip. She was speechless, not having predicted him showing up to her camp like this, and not having prepared for the occasion of the Hunt finding out exactly who Selena's father was. No one even had to say anything out loud, Percy's mere presence at the camp the day Artemis returned with a baby saying a man she refused to identify had knocked her up explained everything.

"What are you doing? You'll get killed-" She hissed, trying not to let the Hunt see her genuine concern for the demigod. The time for pretending was over anyway, and Percy proceeded to cut her off.

"I need to do this, and I know it's risky and I can't bear the thought of not being there for her. But I can't bear the thought of not being with you either." He told the goddess, on the verge of crying. He was in a position hundreds of mortal men and women had been placed in for millennia, and he choked at the memory of their fate.

Artemis shook her head, shocked at Percy's suicidal daring. He couldn't risk semi-orphaning Selena to just appear at the Hunt's camp. "What are you t-" She tried to speak, but Olympus' steadfast maiden goddess was silenced by a pair of lips returning to the embrace of hers.

The Hunters all gasped, suspecting the truth but not at all expecting Percy's daring. Many looked homicidal, many more looked shocked into a stupor, only Thalia cringed at his likely fatal action.

While the crowd of teenage girls felt nothing but outrage at the boy's audacity, the auburn haired goddess felt a whirlwind of emotions. The maiden of the silver arrow didn't draw a weapon, she didn't throw her thumbs into his eyes, she didn't even pull away. To the shock and horror of everyone else there, she closed her eyes and leaned on her right foot, bringing up her fingerless-leather-gloved left hand to hold his cheek. The feeling of his temple and heating skin brought goosebumps to her skin, and reality escaped her as Artemis kissed back with all the desire and love locked away in her under denial and pride.

In between their kisses Percy struggled to regain his breath. "I love you Artemis. You don't have to say it back. I don't care. I can wait. I can be content with holding you." He whispered in between every kiss.

Artemis smiled, her perfect godlike teeth showing. Her eyelids remained low as he saw nothing but his enchanting sea-green eyes. Those same eyes had been what had lured her in. For some reason his eyes, though she never took notice of Poseidon's, just captivated her in an entirely unexplainable way. "Don't wait. I love you too, Percy." She whispered back.

None of the hunters heard, they were all still in shock at the sight of their lady making out with the Hero of Olympus. None even had their weapons raised anymore. Their lady's lack of a struggle had made the message clear. Regardless of them, she was doing this. The virgin Goddess of the Hunt had found a mate, and she had a cub.

Well, if the mate stayed in line, the Hunt could be happy with the new cub.

Sorry that ending was rushed. Thought I'd have finished this weeks ago so began posting chapter by chapter… then went AWOL for a couple weeks as I had no motivation to write the ending. Working on an exciting story though and I'm planning to release it in thirds (write the first third and upload it a chapter a day, then write the second third, etc). It's an idea where Percy was the Roman demigod and Jason was the Greek. Jason did the quests like SoM and Labyrinth while Percy ended up becoming Imperator due to all his achievements. When the two camps meet in the Giant War there's sorta an alpha dog confrontation over who's better. Anyway, I hope you guys are all doing well. I hope you enjoyed this here little story, and I'll be back soon with more stuff hopefully.

I also need to work on some of my other shit like Blue Sky Country and Change of Scenery. Whoops.

Word Count: 13531