Hey guys! Here's an update for you. It's mostly a filler chapter and it's a little short, but I think it's cute. Next update should be longer and more eventful, but for now, I hope you enjoy. :)
Summers were the quietest time of the year in the Jackson house. With both boys away at camp, this wasn't exactly surprising. It was always strange though, not having them around for two months, and I wondered sometimes if the apartment I'd grown up in always felt as empty to my mom when I was gone as our house did to me now. I wondered what Annabeth and I would do with ourselves in a few more years when all three of them were away. A part of me really looked forward to it, but mostly I felt old and kind of sad thinking about it.
For the moment, Carly was still at home and was currently fast asleep on the couch, wedged between us on the cushions. The boys had been gone just over two weeks now and she had enjoyed the freedom the situation presented her to pick the movie we watched tonight. Her choice had been one about a young girl and a horse, and honestly I got bored with it pretty quickly. But I stayed anyway, because she was excited about it and frankly I probably loved her too much for my own good at times.
That didn't mean I wasn't glad that she'd fallen asleep halfway through.
Annabeth, as if reading my mind, glanced down at Carly, her head half-buried in my side and her breathing deep, picked up the remote from the coffee table in front of us, and deftly turned the TV off.
I looked over at her, my arm slung over the back of the couch. She met my eyes with a small smirk, which I returned before shifting out from under Carly and standing. The eight-year old stirred slightly as I maneuvered her enough to pick her up. "Come on, honey," I murmured, "Let's go to bed." She woke up a little, but allowed me to pick her up. She laid her head on my shoulder and was asleep again before we reached her bedroom. I tucked her in, left her door open a crack, and headed back downstairs. Annabeth was still seated where I'd left her. She watched me approach.
"She didn't brush her teeth," she said when I was a few steps away.
I hesitated. "Do you want me to go wake her up?"
She considered it for half a second and shook her head. "She'll be fine for one night."
"Okay," I said softly, seating myself down beside her. She moved closer and I put my arm around her.
We sat together for a few seconds in silence before she asked, "How was your day?"
"It was alright," I answered, "I think the sturgeon fiasco is finally behind us, thank gods."
"How did you explain it away?"
"I didn't. The water tests came back normal so no one has a clue what to think. They chalked it up to a genetic anomaly and moved on to other things."
She hummed, leaning into me. "That ended better than it could have."
"Yeah," I laughed, "The authorities aren't after me this time, at least." She smiled in agreement. "What about you? How was your day?"
"It was fine. Other than drawing up the blueprints for that office building downtown, work is slow this week, and with only one kid around here, I almost don't know what to do with myself."
I smiled, curling a loose strand of her hair around my finger. "Just wait until Carly's at camp too," I told her, voicing my thoughts from earlier.
"Gods," she said contemplatively, "I don't know what I'll do then. I'll have to work more hours just to keep from going crazy."
"We should go on vacation," I said, "A long one. Just us, no kids."
Annabeth snorted. "When was the last time we did that?"
"Before Logan probably."
She shook her head. "What did we even do back then? Is it sad that I don't remember?"
"Probably." Though to be honest, I wasn't sure I knew myself. Raising three kids took up so much time each and every day, the idea of a life before any of them was surprisingly hard to fathom. There had been a time in our lives that hadn't involved cleaning messes or breaking up fights or wiping butts, and I didn't remember ever being bored before the kids had come along, but I truly did wonder now what we'd done with so much free time.
A moment of silence passed between us and I wondered if Annabeth was thinking similarly. "Di Immortales, Percy," she murmured, "We sound so old."
With a sigh, I said, "I know."
She took the hand that wasn't around her, my right one, and flipped it over in her lap. With her finger, she absentmindedly traced the tattoo on my forearm, the one from Camp Jupiter. It was a habit she'd picked up in more recent years, one that I wasn't totally sure she was aware of. I kind of liked it. "I'm not sure I'm ready for Carly to know the truth yet; for all of them to know."
"Yeah," I replied quietly.
She looked at me now, smirking. "I know you're not."
I smiled. "We could always have another one," I reasoned. I was joking. Mostly. "It's not too late."
"No," she said adamantly, "We will not be doing that, Seaweed Brain."
I chuckled, "Okay."
She shook her head against me and gave in to laughed once herself. "Oh," she said then, straightening, "I forgot to tell you. We got a letter from the boys earlier."
"What'd they say?" I asked.
"They're settled in. Some Roman campers joined them for Capture the Flag the other night." She hesitated strangely and added, "Logan got hurt."
"What?" I asked, slightly alarmed.
She shook her head slightly but didn't look overly concerned. "I guess the match got competitive and he got caught in between an Apollo camper and an overexcited son of Vulcan. He took a flaming arrow to the arm and was in the infirmary for two days." She smirked, amused. "He seemed more concerned about letting us know they won."
I gave a laugh. "That's my boy."
She rolled her eyes but smiled, shaking her head. "Nice of him to let us know after the fact."
I shrugged. "We would have heard if it was serious. Anything less than life threatening isn't worth worrying about. Could you imagine if my mom had been notified every time I ended up in the infirmary as a kid?" Even now, the idea was horrifying. She'd done enough worrying about me as it was.
Annabeth snorted. "No," she replied, "And I know. I'm trying not to be so hung up on the fact." I stared at her and failed to keep from grinning. She met my eyes and smiled, rolling her eyes. "I know."
We sat smiling for another few seconds. Then I sobered. "Did Nicky say anything?" I asked, "How's he doing?" His feelings regarding Camp Half-Blood had been all over throughout the past year and a half. Though we were working on it, he lacked confidence in himself, which spilled over to affect his life both at school and at camp. Despite our efforts, Annabeth and I were more than a little well-known among both the Greeks and the Romans, even without our regular participation in over fifteen years. Our boys were not strangers to the legacy we'd unwittingly left behind, but while Logan thrived under it, Nicky, at times, struggled with the pressure—most of which he placed on himself.
"He's okay, I think," she said, "He beat his record on the rock wall. You can read the letter if you want. It's in the kitchen." I nodded but didn't move. She continued, looking thoughtful, "He said Hannah hasn't made it to Camp Jupiter yet. He's worried."
I sighed, tightening my arm sound her slightly. "I'm sure she's fine. It's only been a few weeks."
"How long did it take you?" she asked, her hand once again finding the tattoo on my arm, more deliberately this time.
I tried to remember. "I don't know," I replied, "I don't think I was at the Wolf House that long after I woke up but that whole time is kind of a blur. It took a while to find Camp Jupiter after I left though." I paused, thinking, "Maybe a week. But my situation wasn't exactly normal, so…"
She sighed, leaning further into my side. "I know."
"She'll be okay," I told her, "So will Nicky."
She nodded slightly absently. "I hope so. He cares about her so much."
"She's his friend," I said, "If he's as much like me as I think he is, that's no small thing." I stated this like a fact. That's what it was.
She smiled, looking straight ahead. "I know." Then she sighed and shook her head. "Gods, I worry too much."
I smirked and poked her side. "I think it's a mom thing." After a beat, I added, "Or a parent thing…"
She smiled again, and then, staring straight ahead, her expression grew thoughtful. "Do you ever think about that?" she asked after a pause, "How much has changed. How much we've changed."
"From what?"
She gestured vaguely with her hand. "This. Growing up, having kids… moving on with our lives."
"Sometimes," I said.
"It's crazy…" She looked at me, smirking now, "All I wanted when I was younger was a remotely peaceful life and a family of my own, but I don't think I ever really believed that was possible back then."
"I thought all you wanted when you were young was to be a world famous architect," I said playfully.
She gave a laugh. "I did, at first. But at some point, you became more important."
I smiled, still looking at her. "Yeah?" I leaned forward and quickly kissed her lips. "Well, we did the impossible." She smiled. "Athena must be so disappointed."
Annabeth laughed. "She can deal with it." She leaned in and kissed me again, and I didn't hesitate to deepen it.
It was probably too much to ask that things stayed as good as they were now, but then, that didn't mean we couldn't enjoy the peace while it lasted.
Knowing us, it wouldn't last too long.
Thanks for reading!
