Finally, finally, the solstice was only two days away, but the ship still wasn't ready. Annabeth tried not to take it out on Leo in Bunker 9 when he told her after dinner that he'd run into another issue. As calmly as she could, she asked if he needed help, but when he assured her he didn't, she didn't stick around. Instead, she stomped through the woods and back to camp. Something was swelling in her chest, a mass of frustration and exhaustion fighting to get out. She needed to be alone right now. So she went to the only place she could think of where she was pretty much guaranteed privacy.

The Poseidon cabin.

Normally, Annabeth would have used her magic Yankees cap, but it hadn't been working since her mother essentially denounced her at the train station. Instead, she just had to cautiously look around and hope no one noticed when she slipped into Cabin Three. As soon as she closed the door, the familiar sea scent of the cabin rushed over her, nearly making her knees weak. But below that was a musty, closed-up kind of feeling to the room. As far as she knew, no one had been in the cabin in months. Tyson had been out alternately searching for his brother and working at his job in the undersea forges. And Percy, of course, was gone.

Annabeth pushed herself away from the door, stumbled across to Percy's bunk, and flung herself facedown on it. She pulled the pillow towards her. It used to smell like Percy's shampoo. Now, it smelled like nothing. She pressed her face into the pillow and screamed.

After a few moments, she felt slightly better. She rolled onto her back and looked up at the cabin ceiling. The Celestial bronze sea creatures Tyson had made and hung up years ago seemed to float in the air. A light breeze blew through the cabin, making the creatures dance on the ends of their strings. Annabeth closed her eyes, clutching fistfuls of the comforter. When Percy had first gone missing, she'd come to his cabin nearly every day. Some part of her had hoped that she'd find him back here, confused and maybe pissed off, but safe. However, as the weeks passed, the visits had become too depressing. It had been months now since she'd been in his cabin. She ran a finger over the Minotaur horn hung up on the wall over his bed; it was coated in dust. She took it down, used her t-shirt to dust it off, then hung it back up again, making a mental note to put it in his cabin on the Argo II. Maybe that was dumb, but when they found him and picked him up for the quest, she thought he would like that.

And suddenly, her frustration and anger flipped to straight up sadness. Her throat got tight and tears boiled up. She flung an arm over her eyes, trying to stop them spilling over, but it didn't work. The months of missing Percy suddenly felt like a massive weight pressing her down. She was starting to wonder if even finding him would make it disappear, or if she'd have to live with this feeling forever. Going over good memories barely even helped anymore; they were just starting to feel more and more distant, like they belonged to a girl with a different future. A girl who sometimes got what she wanted. Annabeth didn't feel much like that girl at all right now.

"Percy," she asked the empty cabin, "where are you?"

Naturally, there was no response. Annabeth hadn't expected one.

The sun was starting to set. It cast an orange glow over the gray cabin walls, highlighting the seashells embedded in the stone. It reminded Annabeth of one evening last August, towards the end of camp, when she and Percy had been dating about a week and a half. They'd snuck away to his cabin before dinner, not for anything scandalous, but just for some privacy. The other campers were still giving them a hard time about finally getting together. Connor Stoll kept popping up randomly and shouting, "Caught in the act!" even if they were only holding hands, while every time Annabeth passed Drew Tanaka, the Aphrodite girl rolled her eyes and said, "I give it two weeks tops." So the two of them just wanted a couple of minutes away from everyone else.

Percy was sitting on his bunk, leaning back on his hands, eyes on a bronze seahorse twirling on its string. Annabeth was sitting cross-legged beside him, resting her chin on her hand, mostly just watching him. When he glanced over at her, though, she shifted her eyes to the cabin wall. Then she looked at it a little more closely and lifted her hand so she could run it over the stone. "I never realized there were seashells in your walls."

Percy followed her gaze. "Oh, yeah. It's pretty cool. I think this stone might be from the seafloor or something."

"I guess I never really thought about how the cabins got built," Annabeth mused. "They've just always been here."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "You never thought about how the cabins got built? Seriously?"

Annabeth blushed. "Shut up, Seaweed Brain. I've been busy."

"If you say so." He shot her a smirk, and she smacked his arm. "I'm just surprised, that's all. I figured you researched the history of each cabin like two days after you came to camp."

She shook her head. "It just never occurred to me." An idea came to her and she smiled sweetly at him and moved like she was going to get up. "But now that you mention it, I should probably go look that up right—"

To her complete surprise, Percy cut her off by leaning over and kissing her. "Nah. It's waited this long. It can probably wait until tomorrow. Right?"

"Probably," she breathed. Then she smiled again, a real one this time. "So is there something better I could be doing right now?"

"Maybe," Percy said casually. Then he slid closer and kissed her again, one hand tentatively coming up to cup her cheek. The sunset glow seemed to grow brighter, even behind her closed eyelids. Annabeth could have stayed in that peaceful moment forever.

There was a flash of light.

"Caught in the act!"

They broke apart when Connor Stoll's head popped up in the window. He was grinning and pulling out a newly developing photo from an old Polaroid camera he must have found somewhere.

"Dude, come on!" Percy complained.

Connor just laughed. "Isn't there a rule about boys and girls from different cabins and not being alone together? Did I hear Chiron right?"

"Isn't there also a rule about selling non-camp approved food and drinks out of your cabin?" Annabeth asked.

"Touche," Connor responded. He tossed the picture through the window at them, then started to jog away, calling, "You're welcome," over his shoulder.

Annabeth still had the picture. It had been in her dorm room all year, but was now pinned up over her bunk at camp. Sometimes it hurt to look at it, but other times, she needed the reminder that the good times hadn't all been in her head.

Now, she ran her fingers again over the shells embedded in the stone. Something permanent. Her own words echoed in her ears. Stupid, maybe, but hopeful. She couldn't give up yet. It would be worth it, she knew, when they found Percy.

Annabeth's eyelids were starting to feel heavy. She knew she should go back to her own cabin, but she was just so tired. So instead, she curled up on Percy's bunk, pressing her face against the pillow that no longer smelled like him. Within minutes, she was fast asleep.

That night, for the first time in weeks, she didn't dream about spiders. Instead, she found herself in the Hypnos cabin. Standing in the middle of the room was Clovis, which already made the dream weird; Clovis was rarely standing.

"Hey, Annabeth," Clovis said.

"Um, hi. What's going on?"

"I'm just the messenger." Clovis yawned. "Tyson is trying to reach you and Grover. I said I'd put you through."

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "You can do that?"

"Sometimes." Clovis yawned again. "Man, I'm tired."

"You're in a dream."

"Yeah, I know, it's exhausting. Anyway, hold on just a second and I'll get you three connected."

The cabin darkened around her. The next thing Annabeth knew, she was standing in the middle of a starlit field. Mountains rose in the distance, darker than the night sky, and the smell of pine filled the air from the trees surrounding the field. Maybe somewhere in the Pacific Northwest?

"Annabeth!"

She turned and a massive dark shape charged toward her, arms open. Even in a dream, Tyson gave a bone-cracking hug.

"Oof. Hi, Tyson. How are you?" Annabeth patted his back as Tyson released her.

"I am good. Annabeth, I think Percy is close!"

Her entire body froze. "What?"

"Yes. I can smell him again. Smells like salty buttered toast."

Annabeth wasn't sure what to think about that, but it wasn't really important. "How close?"

Tyson frowned. "Somewhere on the West Coast. Hard to say. Where are you?"

"I'm at camp. Where are you?"

"Northern Oregon, near Mt. St. Helens."

"Oh." Annabeth's heart plummeted. "And you don't think it's just an old scent, from when he blew it up?"

"No." Tyson shook his head. "There is an old scent, but that's not it. This is new, just a few days old. It is him!"

Annabeth took a deep breath, trying to still the trembling hope that was threatening to form. Don't jump to conclusions yet. "Okay, well, what do you need from me?"

"I just wanted to let you know, in case he contacts you. I think I am close. I will be looking."

"Hey, um, what's going on?" a new voice asked.

Tyson and Annabeth whipped around to see Grover standing there, looking nervous at first, until he realized who they were.

"Grover!" Annabeth threw her arms around him. It had been months since they'd seen each other.

"Hey, Annabeth." Grover returned the hug, then shook Tyson's hand. "So, what are we doing here, in a dream?"

When Tyson explained about Percy, Grover's eyes widened. "Awesome! Well, I'm in the Southwest right now, but I can start trying to come this way and see if I can track him. A dryad just taught me this new tracking song—"

Annabeth's attention drifted as Tyson and Grover started exchanging tracking techniques. A fresh scent. A few days. The West Coast. That part at least lined up with the little bit that Jason remembered. Annabeth realized her legs were shaking. She balled her hands into fists, trying to steady herself. But suddenly, finding Percy seemed so close. It seemed achievable, for the first time in six months.

"Well, stay in touch," Grover was saying. "If either of you need me, just send an I-M. Take care! We'll find him!"

He gave Annabeth another hug, shook Tyson's hand again, then his dream form slowly dissolved.

Tyson turned to Annabeth, his eye shining. "We will find him, Annabeth. I know it!"

"I believe you," Annabeth said with a smile, and it was true. She felt the dream tugging at her, pulling her in another direction, so she gave Tyson a final hug. "If you find him first, tell him I said—"

But the dream yanked her away before she could finish the sentence.

And then she saw Percy.

It was a little weird though. She couldn't see much in the dream—everything was misty and foggy, except Percy, who was somehow elevated a little above her, like he was riding on a bus and looking out the window. Her heart started to hammer the moment she saw him. It had been so long. They'd hadn't even been able to contact him in dreams, even though they'd tried. She'd harassed poor Clovis multiple times.

To her relief, Percy looked healthy and like himself. He seemed to be looking for someone when she ran up because he was leaning towards the window, staring hard into the distance. Annabeth ran toward the window, stretching out her hand, longing to touch him, but it was hard to make much progress through the murkiness. Still, she couldn't help saying, "Thank the gods! For months and months we couldn't see you! Are you alright?"

When he looked at her, the longing, hopeful expression on his face almost took her breath away. "Are you real?"

The question hit her like a punch to the gut. She wanted to respond. Actually, she wanted to climb up to him and kiss him senseless, or possibly smack him for being gone so long, but the dream began to fray at the edges. There was no time. So all she could say was, "Stay put! It'll be easier for Tyson to find you! Stay where you are!"

Percy's face dissolved. The dream darkened. With a gasp, Annabeth woke up.

For a moment, she was disoriented. And then she remembered that she'd fallen asleep in the Poseidon cabin. She looked around, trying to see any change, but there was nothing. The cabin looked the same as the night before, just a little gray in the dawn light. But everything was completely different.

She'd actually seen Percy. She'd heard his voice for the first time in six months (not counting the voicemail he'd left her a couple weeks before he vanished and which she'd played an embarrassing number of times). And it even seemed like he remembered her. The part about him asking her if she was real was a little disturbing, but at least he seemed to recognize her. That was a good start.

And they had a lead. A real lead. Tyson was close. There was hope.

There was still a lot of work to be done. Now, though, Annabeth suddenly felt a surge of energy.

She got up and rushed out of the cabin and into the woods, not stopping until she reached Bunker Nine. When she found a red-eyed Leo working on the ship, after having just apparently finished attaching the bronze figurehead of Festus, she skidded to a stop. Leo stared at her. "Something on fire? Besides me obviously?"

"Haha," Annabeth said. "I had a dream about Percy last night. A real one. His brother thinks he's close. He thinks we can actually find him."

Leo's eyes widened. "Oh sweet. Where does he think he is?"

"Somewhere on the West Coast. Which is where Jason thinks the Roman camp should be. So," Annabeth clapped her hands, "what still needs finished on this boat?"