Ψ Percy's P.O.V Ψ

Once we got to Annabeth's parent's house, we sent text messages to all our friends to let them know that we were expecting. We decided to use the app that Leo had created with Malcolm's help, it was like WhatsApp, except Leo had called it GodsApp but it was essentially the same thing except it had special emoticons of the Gods and their symbols of power and sacred animals. You could also change the name that displayed on your profile as Leo called it, I naturally had a trident after my name and Annabeth had an owl. But you could have selected anything from the normal emoticons you would get from an iPhone. Everyone's was different and not everyone used their actual name, well actually it was only Leo who didn't use his name but still the chat went a little like this. We sent it from my phone but we wrote it together.

Family Chat

Percy: (Picture attached) Hi all, hope you are all okay? These are the Jackson Twins due August 15th; we wanted to share with you all at the same time which is why we've done it this way rather than a very complicated seventeen way iris message. Welcome to the Aunts and Uncles club! Love Percy & Annabeth.

Piper: OH MY GODS! CONGRATULATIONS THIS IS AMAZING; I'M SOOOOOO HAPPY FOR YOU!

FireBoySupreme: Whoa easy on the caps key Beauty Queen! Congratz Jackson family! Uncle Leo reporting for duty!

Calypso: Congratulation both!

Reyna: Great news, congratulations!

Piper:Leo! Don't call me that! How many times do we have to have this conversation! And what are you reporting forexactly diaper changing duty perhaps?

Thalia:Great news guys! I'll phone in a bit!

Malcolm: Congratulations! How'd mom take it?

FireBoySupreme: No! NO! No diaper duty for these hands they're too valuable! I was thinking more like genius creation workshops – because you know I'm a genius!

Chris: Congratulations from me and Clarisse! Happy for you both!

Grover: Great news guys, Juni and I are so happy for you, group get together when you're back from Annabeth's dads?

Piper: Too valuable huh? Yes okay genius boy – maybe wait until you're genius workshop won't harm them huh?

Frank: Great news guys! Hazel says congratulations too, she's just putting Emily down for her nap, hey will they be in the same school year? Hazel also wanted to know if Annabeth was okay? Not too much morning sickness she hopes!

Tyson: YAY, BIG BROTHER!

Will: Congratulations from me and Nico, will phone in a bit too!

Annabeth:Thanks all, we're really excited; a get together when we're home sounds good if everyone's up for it? And thanks Hazel, I'm okay the morning sickness is starting to pass!

Ψ

After Annabeth replied her phone rang it was Will, he wanted to know if he could be the baby's doctor during the pregnancy, he wanted to come with us to all our appointments. We explained that we wanted him to be our doctor and that he was welcome to come with us to New Rome from the 20 week scan if he really wanted too, he decided all this would be acceptable and as soon as she hung up with Will, Thalia phoned.

I smiled and left her talking to Thalia, they hadn't spoken properly in ages because Annabeth was worried she'd accidently tell her. While Annabeth spoke to Thalia, I sent a message to Chiron who was the only person left to tell, Annabeth and I had a group chat with him in too, it was called Important Camp Stuff I had entitled it, Annabeth wasn't thrilled with it but she hadn't changed it either. It wasn't exactly camp related but I knew Annabeth would want to see his response so I sent the message in that group instead of to Chiron on his own. He was also thrilled for us. Everyone knew now it was out in the open, and that made it feel much more real, this was really happening I thought to myself still smiling like an idiot to myself, I'm going to be a dad, a dad of twins!

Ψ

Dinner with the Chases' was a joyous occasion. Bobby and Matthew were super excited to become uncles, and started discussing all the things they could show the twins. Annabeth hadn't stopped smiling all the way through dinner which of course only made me smile more! Fredrick and Helen were thrilled and wanted to know what they could get us to help with the baby, we said we'd make a list of everything we needed to get and let them know. I also knew this was Annabeth's way of not letting her father spend a fortune on the twins though I suspected he would anyway.

"Do you think you'll find out the sex?" Helen asked and we hadn't talked about it, and I didn't know the answer.

"I don't know" I said turning to Annabeth "Do you want to?" I asked her, I knew she hated surprises and loved to know things, so you could have knocked me over with a feather when she answered.

"No, I think it would be nice for it to be a surprise" She responded and I nodded.

"You'll have to come up with two girls' names and two boys' names then" Bobby said.

"I can give you a boy's name, Matthew" Matthew said and we all laughed including Matthew as he was clearly joking but it was nice that the atmosphere was so light and happy, I could only hope this was what our future family dinners would look like in our own house.

Ψ

Δ Annabeth's P.O.V Δ

We arrived at Sally and Paul's at about half 11 after leaving my dad's, we'd had such a great time there and the fair yesterday was really good fun, although no roller coasters for me or Percy who had decided that if I couldn't do something he wouldn't either, I know Sap! It was a really great day out with the family.

Helen's question form Friday night was still ringing around in my mind 'Do you want to know the sex of the babies?' truth was I really, really did the more I thought about it the easier I thought it would make preparing for them. But, yet when she had asked on Friday I had impulsively said no, that it would be a nice surprise which it would but it would make so many things harder, like decorating the nursery or picking out clothes for them or well everything. But, I'd never been one to back down from a challenge just because it wasn't easy, and that also greatly appealed to me. More than that though, Percy had looked so excited at leaving the sex to be a surprise that I really wanted to keep it that way for him. So, as much as I hated surprises, I was going to stick to my guns on this, it just meant we'd have to be smart with our neutral choices for things; smart was something I could do. I couldn't wait to design their rooms.

Sally and Paul wanted to talk all things baby and I could see Percy wanted too as much as I did but Estelle really didn't want to and I could certainly understand that.

"Why don't you talk to your mom and Paul, I'll play with Estelle." I said.

"Are you sure?" He asked and I nodded "Okay, be careful though – I know how boisterous Estelle can be"

"Percy, we'll be fine, don't worry" I said and I let Estelle drag me off down the hall to her room to play. I found this a little unusual because we always played in the lounge while we visited and I got the idea that maybe she didn't want to play at all. She sat on her bean bag opposite her bed, and I sat on the edge of her bed facing her.

"Hey Estelle, are you okay?" I asked her, she didn't respond verbally but shook her head and I could see tears forming in her eyes and I instantly knew what this was. It wasn't come and play games with me, it was please tell me I'm not losing you because someone else is coming into your life, and I understood that. I just wasn't sure how to approach it with her.

"Hey, Elle, just because Percy and I are going to have the babies, doesn't mean we won't have time for you, you're going to have such an important role in their lives, and I know that they'll love you almost as much as Percy and I do." I said, she looked up at me and since we last saw her, her vocabulary had improved so much, though what do you expect her father was an English teacher and her mother an author. I couldn't believe that she was three next month, where had the time gone?

"Really, I can still visit?" She asked.

"Of course you can, and when you do visit, you can help us feed them, and read to them, because I know as much as Percy does, that you're going to be a great Aunt."

Δ

Percy and I sat in bed talking at Sally and Paul's and I knew something was on his mind.

"Okay, spill what's going on in that head of yours Seaweed Brain" I said.

"You always know" He said smiling at me, he kissed the top of my head before telling me. "I'm worried about Little Star, she seemed distant when we arrived and then you both disappeared to play in her room which is so unlike her, she's always wanted everyone to join in with Heroes vs. Monsters but today she didn't ask us to join in once. I didn't even realise how long you'd been gone until mom started making food. And then after lunch she took your hand and you disappeared for the afternoon again, until dinner, and it was so quiet. I mean she is okay isn't she?" He asked and it was so like him to notice that something was wrong, I mean he'd always been very observant in that way.

"She's fine, we actually didn't play any games we sat and talked mostly and then after a while we read a couple of stories." I said "She's worried that us having the babies, means she's going to lose you, and lose spending time with you. I tried to reassure her to tell her that we'll always have time for her and that she's going to be very important to the babies and that when she visits she can help us feed them and read to them. But, I don't know if I made it better or worse to be honest. You're always much better with this kind of stuff, than me." I admitted I really hoped that I'd helped and that she was fine.

Percy frowned, "I mean I know I won't have the same amount of time, if looking after Little Star has taught me anything it's that children take time, but I'll always have time for her as well." He said and I smiled at him.

"I know, maybe she could help us paint the nursery or something, to help her feel involved?" I suggested.

"That could work" He said, " I didn't realise she was so unhappy about it, I've been so swept up in the fact that everyone knew and we could talk about it, that I didn't really see that she was upset about it. I feel awful." He said, I turned to face him and I made him look at me.

"Percy you're allowed to be happy about this, and Estelle is allowed not to be as well. She just needs reassuring that her big brother is always going to love her, just as much as he does now, even when his own children arrive, that him having those children isn't going to change how he feels about her."

"Of course it wouldn't, she'll always be my little sister." He said.

"Emphasis on the little, she's three next month, and I know she's really curious and clever, and her vocabulary is very advanced for her age, but her she's still only almost three. And, you've been almost her entire world since she's been old enough to play. You've always been her favourite Percy, even when she was only six months old. She still wants to you to be her favourite, she's just scared that because she'll be sharing you with the twins that she'll miss out on all the cool things you do together. It probably hasn't helped that we haven't visited since before Christmas." I said and he nodded deep in thought, a Percy plan was coming together I could feel it.

Δ

The next morning I woke up to an empty bed, I rolled over and looked at the clock it was 7:30 which was late for me with having work, but we'd taken the week off as we both needed a little bit of a break from work and we both wanted to start getting things ready for the baby this week. It also happened to be half term week so it meant Paul didn't have to go to work either. I decided to roll over and try and get some more sleep, but before I could do that there was a small knock at the door and instantly, I knew it was Estelle.

"Come in" I said and the door to opened a small fraction and Estelle came in holding her toy hellhound and climbed up onto the bed. She saw that Percy wasn't here with me and frowned.

"Where's Percy?" She asked, I thought it was really sad that she'd stopped calling him Pwcy but I was really proud that her speech had progressed so well.

"I'm not sure; I've not long been awake. Why don't we send him a message and see?" I asked and she nodded her head as I reach for my phone from the bedside table and messaged Percy. It didn't take him long to reply, he'd popped out for something for Estelle, he'd be back soon.

"He's gone to the store, he'll be back soon" I said, "Did you sleep okay?" I asked her and she nodded. I patted the spot on the bed next to me and she cam and sat next to me snuggling in for a hug. She'd never done this with me before it was nice, unexpected, but nice.

"Where are they?" She asked.

"The babies?" I asked in return and she nodded.

"They're in here" I said placing a hand gently on my stomach, "they've still got six months of growing to do before they'll be born."

"Can I" She said holding out her hand and I took it and placed it on my stomach under mine.

"You won't feel anything yet but when they're a bit bigger you'll be able to feel them kick by putting your hand there." I said, I didn't really know what I was doing, I was just trying to include Estelle, I hoped I was doing the right thing.

Estelle didn't respond verbally but she nodded. Leaving her hand where it was she looked up at me and asked me for a story. I didn't know all the classic once upon a time ones like Percy did so I told her one I did know.

"Once upon a time there was a young half-blood, she was seven and she'd run away from home. She was living on the streets with nothing but a hammer, but she ran into two people who made her life better, who became her family, even after she tried to hit them with the hammer to defend herself. One of those people was Called Luke and the other was called Thalia, they travelled together until they reached a camp that would be save for them, but Thalia to save her friends fought the monsters on her own, they over powered her and in order to prevent her from dying, her father Zeus turned her into a beautiful pine tree, which protected the camp and all those in it."

Estelle frowned I could see she wasn't impressed about the tree portion of our story, but she said nothing and waited for me to continue.

"The young half blood was really upset, her friend had been turned into a tree, and she didn't think she'd ever see her again, but she was wrong. Five years later a new half blood came to the camp and he was powerful, they became friends and the year after that they went on a quest to save the tree."

"Save the tree?" She asked an I nodded, I knew I was simplifying it down, a lot, but I didn't know how much she really knew, I know we played heroes vs. monsters all the time but I didn't know if she knew they were really.

Δ

Ψ Percy's P.O.V Ψ

I was up for a long time after Annabeth fell asleep thinking of ways I could show Little Star that she would be included in our lives forever, even though the twins were on their way. I had no clue what to do, so I spent a lot of time looking back at old photo albums mom had in the living room of me when I was a baby and Little Star when she was a baby.

There was one picture where I was holding her she couldn't have been more than three weeks old and I had a T-shirt that said 'Best Brother – in Training' on it, Annabeth had given it to me as a bit of a joke to try and make me feel better about my worries about Estelle being born. I was worried that I would bring danger to her because of my scent, I was worried, and it sounds so stupid, but I was worried that mom would love her more because she was mortal. I knew that wasn't the cause she loved us in equal amounts just differently, because we were different people. I understood that now, and I think how I felt then, no matter how irrational it was, I think that is how Estelle is feeling now with the twins.

I messaged Liv, strictly she was just a photographer, but she also had some skill in printing, like t-shirt printing. I asked her if she would prep a t-shirt for me so I could pick it up from the overnight locker early in the morning. She had told me it wouldn't be a problem, I think I spent half of my pay check in Annabeth's sisters shop, if it wasn't for photos if was for something print related. I was going to have to rein that in, with the twins on the way.

When I got back I hear Annabeth telling Little Star a story, instead of interrupting I sat outside the bedroom door and listened to Annabeth's story. She told her about our quest to save Thalia's tree, I thought I could water things down but Annabeth was much better at it, she made it sound like a Disney story which was much better than I had ever made it sound. As she reached the end I stood up and gently opened the door and just leaned against the door frame, I watch my sister listen to my wife so intently while placing her hand on my wife's stomach, on our babies. I took my phone out and took a picture, the quality was okay, though I really wish I had my camera, he picture would have looked much better, but it was still pretty perfect to me.

Annabeth noticed me and smiled, I had a feeling she knew I'd been there for a while.

"Good morning Seaweed Brain" she said to me, as I walked over and kissed her.

"Good morning Wise Girl," I replied before looking at my sister and saying "Good morning Little Star" She shook her head at me like I'd done something wrong.

"Estelle" She said, my baby sister was growing up so fast, she didn't want me to call her Little Star anymore, it broke my heart a little bit, but she's always be my Little Star even if I wasn't allowed to call her it.

"Good morning Estelle" I said and I kissed her forehead before rolling my eyes at Annabeth who was watching the exchange with an amused smile on her face.

"Good morning Percy" Estelle replied smiling.

"Did you like the story?" I asked and she nodded, smiling, which made Annabeth smile, She'd been worried for a while now that she wasn't going to be a good mom, but I knew she would be. How she is with Estelle was proof of that and I think slowly she was starting to believe it.

"I got you something" I said to Estelle, passing her the bag I was holding, Estelle wasted no time at all before pulling the t-shirt out.

She frowned, being almost three, she hadn't started reading yet but to her credit it didn't stop her from staring at it trying, until she looked up for help.

"Best Aunt in Training" I said, "Annabeth got me one for when you were born, I thought it was now your turn." I said.

"Best?" She asked and I knew she wanted to know if it was good or bad.

"Best is good" I said "well better than good" I tried explaining "Like my blue pancakes are good but mom's blue pancakes are the best, see?" I asked.

"Pancakes?" She asked and she had this excited gleam in her eyes as she got up and raced out the room towards the kitchen.

"I hope mom does blue pancakes for breakfast, or I'm going to be in trouble" I said to Annabeth who laughed at me.

"Please, you just told her she's going to be a grandparent. Which, she's been practically hinting at since we got together, there'll be blue pancakes for breakfast. I'd bet on it, you know if we did that sort of thing." She said still laughing at me, though I had to agree, blue pancakes did seem likely.

"I think it would be unwise, to place such a bet" I said teasingly.

Ψ

After breakfast we headed home, to the Greek village, I knew Annabeth wanted to see Piper and Thalia. Estelle, I still couldn't believe she was making me call her that, how can one three year old be so grown up? She was upset that we were leaving so soon, so I had promised we'd visit again during the week as we were both off from work. This seemed to cheer her up, so mom and I made a plan that we or at least I would try and visit once a fortnight to see Estelle. Mom also loved this plan because it would mean she got an update on the twins as we went through the pregnancy.

When we got home it was mid morning and I knew Annabeth wanted to plan out the nursery or nurseries would we have separate ones now? I didn't know, I wondered what designs she would put into place for them and I found myself eagerly anticipating the laser printed model I hoped she would create for it or them, if we were going to have more than one.

Would we need two of everything now? There was so much to think about so much we would need. My car wouldn't be big enough for three car seats, I would need to visit Leo and Calypso and see if I could get it upgraded. We'd need twice as much formula for milk, were we formula feeding? Did Annabeth want to breast feed? Gods how was she going to feed both at the same time when they were little? If she breast fed how would I be able to help her feed them?

"Percy?" Annabeth brought me out of my thoughts by snapping her fingers in front of my face.

"Sorry" I said, "what did you say?" I asked her, turning the engine of the car off finally.

"I asked where you were just now; we've been sitting on the drive for ten minutes, while you're face went paler and paler." She said, "Are you okay, Percy?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Annabeth, just trying to think of all the things we need to do and I got on the feeding two babies at once and – do you want to breast feed?" I asked and then quickly added, "Curious question, you don't have too"

Annabeth chuckled, "I'd certainly like to try, it is supposed to be better for them, but I was a formula fed baby and I turned out okay, we'll figure it out, don't panic just yet." She said and I got the feeling she knew what I'd been thinking about, then she always did.

"Maybe we could make a list of everything we need to do and get and then I can cross it off as we go. I know lists and plans are more your thing, I just want to get this right, I don't want to miss anything." I said and I meant it I wanted everything to be exactly as we needed it to be.

"Of course we can, come on Piper and Thalia will be over in a bit, and we still need to unpack the car."

"I'll unpack the car you take Nightshade in, and put your feet up." I said and she looked like she was going to argue with me but then she yawned and I knew I'd won.

She let Nightshade out of the car and took the house keys from me and I took out our suitcases and followed her after I locked the car. I placed the suitcases at the bottom of the stairs and made Annabeth a peppermint tea, my mom had said it helped when she was pregnant with me, not so much with Estelle, but if they were like me it would sooth her, also Annabeth liked peppermint tea. I'd only recently found this out, she'd always had so coffee in the morning, I suspected it was only because she hadn't had coffee for so long she had found something else to try, though she was only allow one cup a day the advice said.

Anyway, I made her a peppermint tea, as she put her feet up on the sofa with Nightshade curled up to her. It always made me smile to look at because Nightshade rested her head just under Annabeth's little bump. I thought it looked really great and vowed to get a photo of it next time she did it for the album.

Once she was settled I made my way upstairs with the suitcases to unpack everything, I left the front door unlocked and sent a message to Piper and Thalia to just walk in when they arrived as not to make Annabeth get up and answer the door.

It didn't take me long to unpack, but before I made it back down stairs I heard talking, I knew Thalia and Piper had arrived. I suspected they'd been waiting for a message to say that we were home, before heading over from camp.

I met them in the lounge, Annabeth had crashed out, I knew she would do. I smiled in greeting and lead them into the kitchen.

"Hey guys, can I get you a drink?" I asked.

"Sure, but first how long have you been home? Annabeth's out for the count." Thalia said.

"Only about ten minutes, but she had an early start, telling stories to Estelle, plus I think the travelling over the past few days has really exhausted her, also you know she's pregnant with twins. Mom said one baby during pregnancy is exhausting never mind two, just give me a minute, to set her tea down and put a blanket over her and then I'll get those drinks" I said and returned only moments later holding Annabeth's still warm Peppermint tea, I placed it on the counter.

"So congratulations!" Piper said, pulling me into a hug, which Thalia also joined.

"Congratulation Kelp Head" Thalia said as we pulled out of the group hug she punched me.

"Ow! What was that for?!" I whispered shouted at her.

"Getting my sister pregnant, I am happy for you but I still wanted to punch you."

"Gee! Feeling the love here, is this because Annabeth told you at the bachelorette party that we wouldn't name our first child after you?" I teased and Piper rolled her eyes.

"It might have something to do with it, why would it be so bad to have a little Thalia in the house?"

"It's not that it would be bad, and it's not like we'll be calling one of them Piper or Hazel either if they are girls we'll come up with a name that isn't one of our friends names, it's nothing personal it's just something we don't want to do." I tried to explain.

"Chill Kelp Head I'm messing with you" She said, and I smiled, I must be tired as well if I didn't catch that, but then I did spend half the night worrying about Estelle.

"Sorry, I was up late, Estelle didn't take the news well, she was worried she would lose me and Annabeth and wouldn't be allowed to visit. I think we managed to get through to her this morning that that would never happen but I guess I'm not as well rested as I would have liked." I confessed and they nodded.

"Do you want us to come back later?" Piper asked as I got them both a drink from the fridge.

"No, stay, we'll have lunch and Annabeth will be up in a bit, she'd be gutted if she missed you both." I said.

"Oh I was hoping you'd say that, because I have so many questions!" Piper said and I smiled.

"Why don't we go into the theatre room and you can ask all the questions you want" I said.

Ψ

Ξ Piper's P.O.V Ξ

I was so excited when I got the message in the family chat that Annabeth and Percy were expecting. I couldn't believe that I hadn't noticed the changes in Annabeth's mood or habits or anything, or even Percy's mood you could see even though he was tired that he was incredibly happy about it. How had I missed this? I wondered if mom had an answer for that, I was normally really good at reading emotions.

"So tell me when you two found out, because I want to know how long I've not noticed something was different with you both" I said, as the three of us sat down in the theatre room of Annabeth's house, Nightshade was still with Annabeth, but Maze was curled at Thalia's feet.

"We've known since before Thalia's birthday, and it was really difficult not to tell anyone. Don't be too hard on yourself though Piper, we interacted with everyone as little as possibly saying we were busy with work because it was so hard to keep it a secret from you all. Though we didn't know we were having twins until we had the scan though." Percy said and I did feel a little better about not noticing knowing that they'd avoided us to keep it secret.

"When are they due?" Thalia asked.

"August 15th" Percy said smiling proudly; I could tell he was over the moon to be expecting not just one child but two.

Nightshade ran through the door, followed shortly by Annabeth, Percy got up to meet her, whispered something and then disappeared. Annabeth smiled and shook her head before sitting down in the empty seat Percy had just vacated on the sofa opposite me and Thalia.

"Hey" She said casually, I looked at Thalia and she rolled he eyes at me and we got up and gave her a hug and congratulated her. Nightshade and Maze were now playing tug of war with a rope toy whilst Percy came back in with a hot chocolate for each of us.

"Thanks Kelp Head"

"You're welcome Pinecone Face, knew you'd want one if you knew Wise Girl had one and you didn't so I just made one for everyone." He said, Annabeth kissed his cheek in thanks and smiled at him.

"How's the morning sickness been?" I asked Annabeth.

"Pretty bad, actually, but thankfully it's starting to ease off a little bit. I've been quite lucky that I can work from home on the project I'm currently working on so, it hasn't mattered too much. I was quite worried when everyone was over for your Birthday Thals, I felt for sure you'd all find out because I'd be chucking my guts up, but they decided to play nice for me." She said and I noticed her hand resting absentmindedly on her stomach and how she already had a little bit of a bump.

"The scan went well, they're both okay?" Thalia asked.

"Yes, both as normal as can be at this point" Annabeth answered to which Thalia snorted.

"Please you've got two potential mini Kelp Heads growing in there, normal isn't even in it." She teased but I could tell she was really happy for them, happiness was radiating from her, in a way I hadn't really seen before.

Percy rolled his eyes and said "They also have the potential to be mini Annabeth's so, hold your judgement until we know." He teased and Annabeth shook her head at their antics, but I could tell she was happy, she had like a glow to her I was starting to notice, pregnancy looked good on her, I noted.

"How did Athena and Poseidon take the news?" I asked.

"Really well, they both seemed really happy when they visited us in New Rome after we told them." Annabeth said "I don't think I've seen my mom smile so much, actually, it was really nice to see." Percy squeezed her hand and smiled at her.

"I'm just happy she didn't blast me" He joked and we all laughed, we knew Athena approved of Percy, but it was nice that he could joke about the time when she didn't. "Dad, seemed really happy too, he about crushed me in a proud bear hug."

Ϫ Thalia's P.O.V Ϫ

Piper and I walked back to camp with Maze running at our feet after lunch and an afternoon with Percy and Annabeth. They had said we could stay for dinner but I could see how tired Annabeth was getting and Percy was exhausted from the moment we walked in. We politely declined and said we'd go back with Malcolm tomorrow for another catch up.

"I can't believe they're having a baby, well two babies" Piper said as we walked back, "I'm so happy for them." It was the most Aphrodite-ish I had ever seen her be.

"Me too, they'll be great parents" I said as we walked through the woods, I was looking forward to being in the kid's lives, I hoped that they would like me.

"What do you reckon they'll be? Two girls, two boys, one of each?" She asked, I laughed she was obsessed.

"Wow Pipes you're obsessed, anyone would think you were brooding" I teased.

"Oh Gods, don't say that in front of Malcolm he'll have a heart attack." She said seriously.

"Oh I don't know he seems quite comfortable with baby Zhang, maybe more comfortable that you think." I raised an eyebrow and she blushed, I was only teasing but I could tell she'd thought about it, I smiled so she knew I was teasing her. I was actually thrilled to still be involved in all of their lives, it was nice to be able to tease Piper about her new relationship with Malcolm, Jason would be happy for her and I certainly was.

We walked in silence for a bit before I said "You know I'm only teasing don't you?" I asked.

Our relationship had changed so much even before we'd lost Jason, it went from being almost sisters and being really close, to an awkward we don't really know what to say to each other to we're just finding our feet, then we lost Jason and were grew closer again in our grieve and now finally we were starting to get back to being quite close and I was really grateful for that. I hadn't liked the awkward phase and it had only been like that because I didn't really know what to do, on one hand my brother was hurting and wanted my support, and on the other hand as a hunter I wasn't supposed to care about men or love even if that man was my brother, it hadn't really had much to do with Piper herself, and I felt bad that our relationship had turned sour for a while. Jason knew that and encouraged me to reach out to her and talk to her, I wish I had been less stubborn, even with him asking me to reach out it still took me too long and I felt bad about that.

"Yeah I know you are" She smiled at me, but I could tell I'd hit a nerve without meaning too.

"I'm sorry Piper; I didn't mean to upset you. You do know I'm happy for you and Malcolm right? And I'm happy we're friends and I'm sorry that things got well complicated before, I shouldn't have let it get that bad, and I'm sorry it's taken me until now to apologise for it." I said as we came through the clearing into camp.

"I'm sorry too; I was trying to make it so you didn't have to choose between our friendship and being supportive of your brother so I guess I didn't make it any less complicated. Let's draw a line under it and move forward." She said holding out her hand for me to shake.

"Consider the line drawn" I said and she smiled, she looked a lot happier and I was glad our friendship was back on track. "I'm still going to tease you about having kids with Malcolm though." I carried on as we headed to the lava wall.

"I'm sure I'll find something, to tease you back about." She said, "Besides, I'm good with emotions, I'll find something." She smirked confidently and smirked back.

"If you say so McLean" I replied, I wasn't worried the only guy I had ever had any feelings for had broken my heart and his promise to me and our family and betrayed us by leading the titan army. And as a result I had joined the hunt, well it wasn't the only reason but it was certainly part of it.

Piper set the settings on the lava wall, and we set off on a race to the top.

Ϫ

~Author's Note~

Thanks for reading, I hope you liked this chapter, I hope you enjoyed the levels to Thalia and Piper's relationship too that I've tried to add in. I Hope you also liked the Percy and Annabeth parts – who do you want to come in next? I'm thinking Will, Nico and Malcolm potentially. Let me know :).

MasterRiley24 – Thank you for both of your reviews I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter and I really hoped you enjoyed this one too! I hope posting this close to the weekend means you don't have to beg your mum too much! Please let me know what you think once you've had a chance to read it!

Sahanya ganegoda – Thank you for your review, I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter and I hoped you enjoyed this one too. The only reason I've not brought in Magnus and Alex like you requested is I'm not familiar with those stories or their characters and although I know of their existence I don't want to portray them incorrectly as I haven't read that series yet. I hope that makes sense! Please let me know what you think of this chapter.

Happy reading all :)