Disclaimer: Disclaimed, I own nothing.

A/N: This one-shot is a companion to my story Homecoming. Percy and Annabeth have settled in New Rome and have, for the most part, accepted the celebrity status their fame has given, but that doesn't make it easy for their children.

Legacy

Percy made his way up the winding walkway to his home, his body tight with fatigue as he realized with some self-depreciating irony that he was getting old. Years ago a full day of work and two additional hours of supervising extra curricular activities would have been a cakewalk for the demigod, but now he simply felt drained.

Though the sight of his house lightened his mood considerably, each step soon brought with it as the sound of the raised voices culminating in a heated argument made their way to his ears. Wasting no time to enter his home, he immediately made a beeline for the kitchen, the source of the voices that elevated in pitch with each word.

"You're not going and that's final!" Annabeth had screamed at their daughter, her face red and voice straining under the pressure. As Percy entered the room and placed his briefcase on the table, he laid his hand on the small of his wife's back, mostly to reassure her he was there but also to provide some comfort from whatever had caused the blowout with their daughter.

Maya however had seen the action, not as a placating gesture to her mom, but as a united front against her wishes. She was, with no exaggeration, a daddy's girl, and the thought that her father would side against her in this issue only drew tears that would swim and threaten to fall. Percy's presence however was a calming influence on both the women of his life as he looked from wife to daughter and back, waiting for some explanation of the heated argument he had walked into.

"So what's going on?" He asked at last when both Annabeth and Maya had clamped their mouths shut, yet their posture reflected a tension that Percy had never seen the pair, especially not directed towards each other. "Is someone going to tell me or do I have to guess?"

Feeling Annabeth's body relax slightly under his touch, the tension vacating her body just by his mere presence, she turned her attention to him, her stern expression betrayed by the look in her eyes as she locked irises with her husband. Percy knew his wife better than anyone, knew her on a deeper level than she would ever let anyone know, and he knew in that moment that the argument with their daughter, at least for Annabeth was not initiated by anger but rather fear.

"The quest that was issued, you know, the one disembarking tomorrow? Yeah, Maya volunteered."

"What?" Percy asked, his attention immediately shifting to the teenager standing on the other side of the dining room table, her arms crossed in a stubborn pose Percy had seen reflected so many times on Annabeth that the mirror image of his daughter using that same stance was almost comical if not for the situation. "No..."

"Yeah, I'm going," she said in defiance. She hated arguing with her mother. Though she would never say it aloud, there was no one she respected in this entire world more than her, yet it was the look of fear resonating from her father that nearly broke her resolve. Her father had always been the bravest person she knew. He was fun and carefree and could lighten any mood, yet the fear in his eyes at that moment, an expression she never connected to him, made her second guess herself, and she hated what that might imply.

"We'll talk to Frank," Percy said immediately, his attention going back to his wife.

"Don't talk around me, I'm part of this too you know!" Maya yelled, fighting back the only way she could.

"Get him to pull her off the quest..."

"No, don't you dare!" Maya yelled again, this time directing her anger at her father who blanched at being on the receiving end of her fury. This made her feel all the more guilty as she had never raised her voice to her father. Granted, none of the Jackson children were particularly rebellious or disrespectful, they had their arguments like all families did, but none of their children had outright defied their parents as Maya was now. "If-if you do this, I will NEVER TALK TO YOU AGAIN!"

"Maya..."

"I mean it, I swear on the..." her words were immediately silenced as Annabeth clamped her hand over her daughter's mouth, a pregnant pause as she turned her eyes to the ceiling, listening…

Only when no sounds of rolling thunder came to mark the oath did Annabeth breathe an unsteady breath and removed her shaking hand. "Don't ever..." was all she could muster before she took a terrified step away from her daughter.

"Maya," Percy said, his voice filling the absence between them all as he slumped into a dining room chair, his eyes fixing upon his daughter with the realization of what she had almost done. "Why is this so important to you?"

Despite the strained tension only a moment ago at Maya's foolish efforts to force her parents into letting her go on the quest, the young woman let out a bark of a laugh that held no humor or mirth within its tone. "Are you really asking me that?"

As Annabeth slid into a chair beside Percy, placing her hand on his forearm, the pair watched as Maya stared disbelievingly at her parents. "Are you serious?" she asked incredulously as she shook her head, as if wondering how two demigods who had been questing since they were twelve could not understand her need to see the world, to test herself, to prove that she really was the daughter of Percy and Annabeth Jackson.

"Do you know how hard it is being your child?" She asked, her eyes staring accusingly at her parents and waiting for a response that was not coming. "Everyone expects great things from me, from all of us, and all we've ever done is cower behind this wall. How many quests and missions and times have you saved the world? And yet I've done nothing to earn that. Can't you understand?"

Silence followed thick and heavy in the room before Percy raised his eyes to his daughter. "Believe me sweetheart, we understand, more than you know. We knew how hard it would be for the three of you living here. Constantly being compared to us. We never wanted that for ourselves, we sure as hell never wanted it for you."

"Yeah, well it happened regardless, and here we are, drowning in your shadow!" Maya replied as angry tears began to spill from her eyes. A moment later she had seated herself at the table before fixing her eyes upon her parents, both reflecting a silent guilt that they had pushed Maya into this, regardless of how unintentional it was. "Do you know..." she began between the sullen warble in her voice. "they actually have an entire class dedicated to teaching about just what you two have done? How am I supposed to ever measure up?"

"You never needed to baby," Annabeth said, fixing her eyes upon her daughter, hoping to relay that they were so proud of her regardless of what she may think.

Swiping angrily at her eyes, their daughter continued. "You may not have ever needed it, but everyone else does. Every day I hear it, the questions and in some cases mockery that here I am," she paused as a sob ripped itself free past her lips. "Daughter of the two greatest demigods of our age...and a great big disappointment."

The trio fell silent at the pain-filled admission of the weeping teen who, despite her best efforts, only wanted to prove she was worthy of the name Jackson, and the two parents lost as to how to beg forgiveness for all the pressure their fame had foisted upon their children.

"We didn't have a choice," Annabeth, her voice hauntingly quiet as her own eyes brimmed with tears at her daughter's struggle to feel worthy in her own life, to feel she could measure up to the insurmountable legend that was Percy and Annabeth. And yet, the couple knew what living in New Rome would burden their children with, but still, there was no other option.

"What?" Maya asked, her eyes fixing upon Annabeth with a look of confusion, desperate to understand why, if they so hated the hero worship, why did they choose to live in this city.

"We tried baby, we really did." At the statement, Annabeth's eyes fixed themselves upon the table top, recalling memories she wanted to excise from her mind as she struggled to hold her emotions in check. Yet it was Percy's eyes that startled Maya the most. Red rimmed and glimmering with barely restrained tears, his expression took on a haunted, distant visage as if recalling what he desperately wished to forget.

Without any words spoken, Percy pushed himself from the table and left the room. The action startled their daughter, not because her father left, because her mother's eyes did not track his departure. All her life, Maya cited her parents as the absolution of a loving couple, to the point that she found it silly, if not incredibly romantic, that any time one of her parents would leave the room, the other would watch their partner until they were out of sight. This was the only time she had ever seen her mother ignore her father's absence, and that brought a sense of anxiety to the teenager that she could not quantify.

For several minutes, Annabeth merely stared at the table, fighting to control her emotions before turning her attention to the doorway to her right. "Damon, Alex, I know you're there, you best come in here too."

From around the door frame, the two younger siblings entered the room. Damon, 11, was nearly a spitting image of Annabeth, save for his father's unruly mop of black hair that was nestled upon his head. He was most like Annabeth, intellectually and in attitude, yet he was far more shy and uncertain of his place in the world than either of his parents. He was an intellectual prodigy which made it difficult to make friends, but those few he had managed to find, he was as loyal to as his father.

Conversely, Alexander was far more like his father than any of his siblings. He had control of the water second only to Percy, and was every bit as hyperactive and rambunctious as his father, and had far more energy than any nine-year-old had the right to. However, as he shuffled his way into the dining room, he seemed apprehensive and cautious, as though worried he had been caught eavesdropping.

While Damon most resembled Annabeth and Alex, Percy; Maya was the perfect blending of the pair. With her mother's beautifully cascading golden locks and slightly swollen lips, her father's strong jaw, and gently curved nose, she was quickly becoming a beauty to rival the goddesses of Olympus themselves. Her eyes, likewise, was a blending of her parents, not the silver eyes of Damon or the striking emerald hue of Alex, but rather a soft, muted green that shone as creamy jades. Not as smart as Damon or as skilled with water manipulation as Alex, she nevertheless was deeply talented.

As the two younger children sat at the table on either side of their sister, Annabeth took her time, considering how to tell her kids why they lived in a city where they would forever be saddled with the expectation of being the children of the legendary Percy and Annabeth Jackson. It wasn't fair, but then, when had the Fates every treated them fairly.

As the moments stretch into a crescendo of silent tension, Annabeth at last raised her eyes and looked at her three children, all staring at her with curious yet uneasy anticipation. "I don't imagine you'd remember, you were only three when it happened," she said, her eyes fixing Maya as she again dropped her gaze.

"We were actually living in San Francisco, only five or six blocks from your grandparents. Anyway, we thought we could live like normal mortals, ignore our demigod status enough and maybe everything would be okay. Playing as though we were your everyday, run of the mill mortals. And it worked...for a while. Of course, while New Rome would be safer, we knew what living here would mean for you, and Camp Half-Blood would have been worse. Safest places in the demigod world, and our biggest fears were you being crushed under the expectations people would put on you.

"Anyway," she continued as she shook her head to reign in her thoughts and keep her story on track. "One day, out of the blue, we decided to go have a picnic lunch in the local park, just the three of us. It was a beautiful day and we just wanted to enjoy our time together.

"Your father and I, we weren't really too concerned about monsters. After, well...after having fallen into Tartarus and making your way out, you gain a bit of a reputation among monsters. Sure, some would try to challenge us. Every now and then a new monster right show up and want to make a name for itself by killing those the unkillable. The two demigods who survived hell, trapped in the heart of the monsters' haven, hunted for two weeks, and yet we still managed to get out. But that was rare, for the most part we were left alone.

"So, we found this great clearing, with a small playground we were going to take you to after we finished eating. We..." at this Annabeth's voice hitched as she fought back the sob and fresh tears threatened to drown her eyes. "We took our eyes off of you for only a second. I turned to get the plates and your father was fishing out the chicken from the picnic basket...and when we turned back, you were just gone."

Annabeth paused to take several unsteady breaths as she brought a shaky hand to her mouth, trying to keep the desperate fear from spilling out. "Gods, I lost my mind. I was panicking so bad I couldn't even think straight. Your father and I, we'll, you know what they've taught you about us in school. We've never liked discussing it much with you kids because it's too hard to relive all of it. The quests, the missions, the wars...Tartarus, every minute of it was horrifying, but nothing, absolutely nothing ever scared us as much as we were in that moment we couldn't find you.

"I was absolutely panicked, preparing to run blindly into the woods, but your father, gods bless him, he managed to keep hold of his senses enough to keep me from running off. He summoned the water from a nearby fountain, though, in his rush he blew out the pipes. Anyway, he summoned a rainbow and used a drachma to call your uncle Grover.

"He knew something was wrong immediately, but he listened to us babble an excuse, and he took only a second to summon every naiad and nature spirit in the part, and ordered them all to look for you. Took them seconds to locate where you were and we both bolted in the direction. I was always faster than your father in foot races, so I sprinted ahead, caught up with what had taken you, and killed it before it even registered I was there.

"It was a Laistrygonian, I don't even know what it was doing this far south, but its troupe had somehow lured you away. Once I killed the first one, you and I were surrounded by a dozen more. I managed to kill two more, I could have taken them all but I had you to protect and was working on a plan to stall.

"Fortunately I didn't have to, because that's when your father appeared. He cut through two more in an instant, told me to get you back to the car, and I didn't hesitate. I locked the door and kept a constant watch.

"As for your father, I had only ever seen him that angry twice before, and both times were in Tartarus. I killed two of those monsters in under four seconds, your father half as long...it took him 40 minutes before he made his way back to the car."

The silence again fell over the group as the implication of what had befallen those monsters hung heavy upon them all. These were monsters who had threatened his daughter, threatened his wife, Percy would not let them die easy.

"What...what he did he do mom? What did daddy do?" Maya asked, desperation in her voice, yet an underlining hope that she would remain ignorant of the reality breathed into the silence between them.

For Annabeth, her eyes again shimmered with unshed tears as she looked at her children, shaking her head only slightly. "I don't know baby. He never told me and I never asked. It was the only time in my life I didn't want to know the answer."

More silence, more breathing, more contemplation of the truth laid out before them, and Annabeth continued her tale. "Anyway, we finally made it back to the house, your father and I broke down immediately. We almost lost you baby and we were never so scared in our lives. I don't even know how long we sat there on the bed, holding you between us while we cried in the unfairness of all it. We wanted you to have a normal life, to not be burdened by our pasts, and we couldn't give that to you," she said, wiping away the tear that gliding down her cheek.

"We argued, debated, tried to come to some conclusion, but we knew what we had to do. So, it was 2 am when we called your Uncle Frank," a slight smile at the memory of the large praetor in Mickey Mouse pajamas eased a bit of the tension for Annabeth before she pushed forward. "He heard us out, what had happened and went to rouse the Fifth Cohort. He asked for volunteers and they all came to our aid, the entire Cohort volunteered to help, and I can never thank them enough.

"In less than an hour, 50 fully armed demigods arrived at our house, proceeded to box everything up and had us ready to move in less than 30 minutes. We weren't even there to see it, Hazel led a contingent group to escort us back, and before dawn, the cohort had all of our possessions moved back into our home here in New Rome.

"We never looked back." As the family fell silent, Annabeth stood from her seat and looked upon her children as a myriad of emotions cascaded across her face. Regret, fear, hope, pride, but above all...love. As she stood for a moment, she chewed on her bottom lip, a nervous action that her children rarely saw from their mother.

"I'm sorry, to all of you. We knew what coming here would mean, that you would be compared to us. Made to feel you had to live up to our accomplishments. We never went on any of those missions hoping for glory or to prove ourselves, we just wanted to live; and that's all we ever wanted for you, to be happy, to not be hunted every minute of every day.

"It was selfish," she said, taking a shaky breath as she continued to watch her children for some sign they understood, or at the very least, that they didn't resent their decision to come to this city, the heart of the Roman demigod world, where Percy and Annabeth were revered and worshiped, and their children would be expected to follow that path. "But, in the end, your father and I felt it was better to come to a place where, even if you had to grow up in our shadow, at least you'd have the chance to grow up.

"I'm sorry," she said at last as she turned and left the room, following the path of her husband, so she could comfort him, and he could comfort her, and they could, for a moment, fight to forget all the pain of their past.

While Annabeth departed the room, Maya, Damon and Alex were left to absorb the story they had been told, and wonder at their place in Fate's grand scheme.

-0-

The next day, Maya had departed her house and made her way to the rendezvous where she would meet the other two members of the Legion assigned to the quest. She had hoped to see her parents, hoped to talk to them only briefly and explain how she understood their decision; to let them know that she didn't hold moving to New Rome against them.

It was such a strange reality that her parents had never told her or her brothers about any of their quests. They had learned about the stories the same as everyone else, the romanticized rendition of the legendary heroes slaughtering monsters and cracking jokes. She had never known of the pain and regret that life had caused. Perhaps she expected it, believed it may have existed, but it was never made more apparent than watching her mother breakdown last night, and her father, unable to even speak when faced with the memory that they had nearly lost her to monsters.

She had never given them the appreciation for those struggles they deserved. But she promised, when she returned, she'd make it up to them.

As she crested the hill however, she saw her parents standing at the ready, some 50 yards from where her team waited. The two teen legionaries stood in almost sanctimonious awe of the heroes who waited, but Percy and Annabeth paid them no mind. Perhaps they were simply used to it.

As she drew cautiously closer, uncertain of her parent's intentions, they both offered her a tight, if not encouraging smile. The offering was enough to alleviate some of her fears that they were going to prohibit her from going on this quest, yet she was still unsure how she should act.

"Mom, dad," she began, but they smiled and waved her off as their eldest child approached.

"You didn't think we'd let you go unprepared did you?" Percy said dryly, his voice brittle as though holding his less constructive emotions at bay.

"What, but...after last night..."

"Your father and I talked about it," Annabeth said as she turned her attention to her husband, her hand gripping his as if he were the only thing keeping her stable. "We may not like it sweetheart, gods we hate it more than you'll ever know," she said in a broken voice before restraining her emotions once more. "But we have to accept that this is your choice, that this is what you want. I'm sorry you feel that you have to prove yourself...so, so sorry, but..."

As her words tapered, Percy squeezed her hand in support before removing the knapsack from his back. "I know they usually provide you with a backpack with supplies, but we figured this would be more fitting," he said, his voice forcing the tone of his words to come out strained. "the usual basics, climbing rope, mortal first aid kit, mortal money. But, there are also six bottles of salt water. Your not a true demigod, you're a legacy, so nectar is probably dangerous, but, you are my daughter, so the saltwater should help heal any wounds, to a degree. Also, you'll find a Stygian dog whistle in there. Only use it once, but if you're in trouble, Mrs. O'Leary will come to you."

"Uh, thanks," she said awkwardly as she shouldered the pack, yet before any other words could be exchanged, Percy turned his eyes to the weapon sheathed at her side.

"Is that your sword?" holding out his hand he waited as waited for his daughter to show the blade to her father, she withdrew the weapon and laid the hilt in his hand. "This is a good sword," Percy said as he weighed the blade, checking its balance in a few dexterous swings. "Did you choose this?"

"N-no," she said reluctantly as she was shuffling her feet, "Dominique, my senior Centurion picked it out, said it would be a good weapon."

Nodding in appreciation, Percy thrust the tip of the blade into the dirt so that it stood erect as he offered a small smile to his daughter. "It's a good blade, but not one worthy of a Jackson." Before Maya could ask what he meant, he reached into his pocket and withdrew Riptide, weighing it in his hand with a small, nostalgic smile before bringing the pen to his lips.

"I, Percy Jackson, Hero of Olympus, Hero of the Prophesy of Seven, Savior of Rome, Savior of Greece, do hereby relinquish my claim to the great sword Anaklusmos, and decree its blessing upon my daughter, Maya Sophia Jackson. Protect her well old friend," he said, the final words hitching in his throat as he held the weapon out for his daughter.

Unable to comprehend what was being offered, Maya's hand moved of its own accord, laying atop her father's hand before removing her fingers from his and taking the pen with it. In that moment, she felt a shift as if more than just the weapon had been passed to her. As she looked at the treasured family heirloom, she was uncertain why this would be gifted to her. "But, I don't get it, Damon is the best swordsman of all of us, why not give him..."

"When, or if Damon chooses to go on a quest," Annabeth said, filling the silence as she knew her husband would need a few minutes to gather his voice. "He will receive the Drakon Sword, he is after all named after the one who forged it."

Slipping the pen in her pocket carefully, as though afraid she might break it, Maya realized she would no longer need her sheath and undid the belt, letting the extra weight fall to the ground.

"There's one more thing," Annabeth said, reaching behind her back and pulling her Yankee baseball cap from her pocket and handing it to her daughter. "It'll keep you safe."

With the final gift, the awkwardness seemed to build as neither parent wished to bid their daughter goodbye, yet the pair of waiting demigods in the distance seemed to be growing impatient. With no words spoken, Percy reached out to his daughter and pulled her into a crushing embrace as Annabeth was quick to join. They stayed that way for a few more minutes before at last they disengaged from the heartfelt embrace and Maya offered an encouraging albeit anxious smile.

"I'll see you all soon...I promise." She said with a last smile before turning and running towards her waiting companions. As they began to disembark, Maya turned and flashed one more smile before waving to her parents, who each nestled in a half hug, raised a hand in farewell.

They remained that way for a long time. Long after Maya had turned around, long after she and her companions had disappeared from view, they stood there, eyes bitter with tears of fear and longing. They stood there and prayed to every god who owned them a favor, to every being who might listen to their pleas that their daughter would return safe.

They would stand there, embraced in each others warmth, and wait for her return.

A/N: So, this was an itch I had to scratch, this idea for a story was actually bouncing around my head before I ever started Homecoming, and I wanted to get this down. Not sure if this will be a one-shot or part of a new series of the family's time in New Rome. I have some other ideas that would fit in, but if this was the start of a new series, it would be connected one-shots, in no particular order, I would just write them as they come.

Anyway, if you made it this far, drop a review, favorite, follow, whatever. I hope you all enjoyed this and that I made it as impactful as I intended. Thank you for reading.