The last night of the cruise, Percy had requested a private table on their secluded deck for dinner. She sat on his lap while he fed her bites of the most succulent fruits she had ever tasted. The meat was tender and seasoned, the vegetables were cooked to perfection, the dessert was heavenly. Yet Annabeth's favorite part of the meal was the look in her husband's eyes. He never looked away from her, as if he was afraid she would disappear once he did. They didn't talk much; the silence was pleasant though, as the waves tossed and the dolphins clicked away in the distance. The serving staff came to take their dishes and Percy moved his chair to face the deck, holding her against his chest. She gasped with delight as the sky lit up with brightly colored fireworks. His chin rested on her shoulder and his arms tightened around her.

"This has to be the most perfect night," she muttered under her breath.

"This has been the most perfect twelve days of my life," he whispered in her ear.

"Minus the first day I was puking my guts out."

"Yeah, we could have done without that. Ok, most perfect eleven days." She wrapped her fingers around his and settled against his chest.

"I almost don't want to go home. Having to return to reality after a vacation like this seems so wrong."

"You know you don't have to work anymore, honey," he said softly. She quirked a brow and glanced at him over her shoulder.

"I just mean…look, you're not the kind of girl who lets a man take care of her, so I've never said anything but if you don't want to go back to work, we would be just fine. It's not as if, you know, we need money to survive."

"Percy, if I don't pay for my lifestyle, I'll lose my entire sense of self. You might be immortal but I'm not. I still have to work and pay bills."

"What bills? You don't pay rent, you don't need to buy groceries or gas, or-"

"I love that you're trying to give me everything I could ever want," she cut him off, her voice gentle. "But my life has been too abnormal for me to just give up any sense of normalcy. I hope you can understand that."

"I do. But please promise me you'll reconsider when we get pregnant." She looked surprised and he looked sheepish.

"I've had this image in my head, for the past… I dunno, five or six years… you with a huge belly on our couch while I rub your feet and bring you chocolates."

"You're sending us back centuries, Jackson! Back to when women stayed in the kitchen. Is that where I'm headed?"

"Don't threaten me," he shuddered. "It's clear which one of us does the cooking." She snorted and shook her head.

"Annabeth, I just want to take care of you. In all of the ways I can. If being immortal means I can shower my wife with riches and comforts, I could get used to that.

You don't have to give up anything… just let me take care of you, the way I have imagined over the years."

"Alright Seaweed Brain. Shower me with gifts. But the moment you start saying things like 'where's my martini', we're going to have some problems."

"I don't even like martinis." She rolled her eyes and turned back to the fireworks. Percy closed his eyes and summoned a gigantic wall of water, making the lights and the stars dazzle. They heard the oohs and ahhhs from the crowds above them and Annabeth shook her head.

"Show off."

"You're not tired are you? I have another surprise if you're up for it."

"I'm not tired." He helped her to her feet, and they watched the fireworks show end before he tugged on her hand, leading her down the hall.

He lead her to a swanky little restaurant that was hidden away, jazz music pouring from the walls. Percy closed the door and she raised a brow when she saw they were all alone.

"Privacy," he grinned as he reached behind the bar and poured them two glasses of champagne. The lights were low, with a spotlight shining on the piano on the stage.

"You weren't able to find someone to play romantic music for us," she teased and he looked serious as he shook his head and set the glass down. She cocked her head and her brow furrowed as he walked toward the stage.

"What are you doing, Seaweed Brain?"

"You once told me you wished I could play piano."

"I said I thought musicians were hot. And that was ages ago, back before…" she trailed off, looking uncomfortable. Percy glanced at her over his shoulder with a

raised brow.

"Before I died?"

"That is not what I was going to say," she snapped. She sighed heavily and drained her glass.

"Alright well, Apollo has been giving me lessons. I wanted to surprise you, but-"

"No buts," she poured herself another glass and joined him on the stage. He grabbed her hand to hold her steady, as she held her dress out of the way. The silver satin clung to her curves as she leaned over the piano and propped her cheek on her hand.

"Play me something beautiful." Percy smiled, his fingers finding the ivory keys, and began to play. Annabeth sucked in a breath as the room was filled with hauntingly beautiful music. He knew she had a secret love for classical musicians and had asked Apollo to teach him several of each. He personally thought Bethoven sounded too depressing and Mozart's compositions were just insane and Bach was just boring. But he'd taken her breath away as soon as he'd started to play so he continued with another song and then another. When he finished, he tugged on his wife's hand and pulled her around the piano. His strong hands grasped her hips and put her on top of the baby grand, his fingers moving down to push the dress up past her knees.

"Let's see how well you follow orders," he said in a husky voice, his hand moving under her dress. His eyes widened and a smile covered his face.

"I'm impressed, Wise Girl. You can listen after all." She wanted to scowl and argue but his palm was pressing against her damp curls and she didn't want him to stop.

Earlier that evening he had presented her with a beautiful gown of silver satin which matched his suit jacket perfectly. She'd leaned in to kiss him but his lips went to her ear.

"I want you to go without underwear this evening."

"Excuse me?" Her eyes had widened.

"You heard me. No panties." He'd winked and disappeared into the bathroom.

He hadn't said anything else about it and Annabeth had gone back and forth with the request. At the last minute as she was running back to get her pashmina, she'd pushed her panties down her legs and stuffed them into her bag. The dress did look better with no panty lines, she'd reasoned, but she doubted very much that had been her husband's thinking.

Now, Annabeth was sprawled out on the piano, her blonde curls spread underneath her as Percy pushed her dress up even higher.

"For the love of all that is holy, Annabeth, you are so perfect." He bent down to kiss her stomach, and her hand flew to his hair. His eyes locked on hers as he trailed his tongue down past her hips, to tease the inside of her thigh. He lifted her leg into the air, draping it over his shoulder. Percy's fingers teased her center, his thumb finding her clit and rubbing before moving to torture a different part of her.

"Percy," she whimpered as he leaned up to kiss her. His tongue and fingers took on the same rhythm and she allowed him to play her body, as skillfully as he had played the piano. He tore his lips from hers to latch onto her throat. As she came closer to her climax, he yanked his hand away and she sat straight up, her eyes wide. Percy gave her a sly smirk as he resumed his place on the bench and pushed her legs apart. Between his wife's creamy thighs was Percy's favorite place to be and he was certain he would never tire of her taste. Making her cum with his tongue had always been one of Percy's sweetest fantasies and right now, he could remember the very first time they had done this. Those soft moans and pleading whispers would never get old. He rose to his feet and pulled her hips up with him.

Annabeth shrieked as she practically hung upside down, his mouth latched to her core. With her legs wrapped around his shoulders, his hands moved to pull her dress down so he could palm her breasts. He yanked her bra cup down, her nipple hardening from the cold air. He palmed her roughly, his fingers squeezing her stiff peak. Her hands slammed down on the piano as she let out a breathy wail. Percy slowed his motions and gently brought her legs down,helping her to sit up.

She felt dizzy, all the blood gone to her brain, and she rubbed her head as she sat up.

"Want to take this back to our cabin?" He held out his hand but she pushed him back onto the bench and knelt in front of him. His jaw dropped as she quickly worked the buttons of his slacks and reached in to pull his cock free. As much as Percy loved to go down on her, Annabeth loved to return the favor. She had never imagined herself actually enjoying this- it was hard work (it was called a blowjob, after all) but she loved the way his teeth dug into his lip as he did his best to hold back his moans, the way his chest rose and fell with his heavy staggered breathing, the flush in his cheeks when she finally brought him to the edge. Her mouth watered for him, she actually relished the way he grew even harder in her mouth. She planted soft kisses along his length before she closed her lips around him. He had always been impressive in size so she couldn't really fit all of him in her mouth without gagging but Percy didn't mind that.

"Annabeth," he panted, his eyes squeezed shut as he clutched the edge of the bench with one hand, while the other grasped at her curls. She sucked for another few minutes before she stood up and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"What are-" he gasped as she reached between them and tapped his head against her folds. He held her dress up at her waist as she lowered herself onto him and braced her feet behind him. She arched her back a little so that he had to scoot forward and thrust up into her, both of them moaning loudly.

"Gods I love you," he pressed his forehead to hers.

"I love you, Percy. Oh gods I'm so close!"

"I love when you cum around my cock, love. You're squeezing me so tight… you feel so perfect!" He moved his hand between them and rubbed at her clit while his hips slammed into hers.

"Cum for me, Annabeth. I need you to cum for me." She screamed his name to the ceiling as her walls fluttered around him. He rested his forehead against her chest, his breathing heavy.

"That was so hot," he whispered. He pulled her to her feet, straightened her dress out, and gave her a kiss before returning the champagne glasses to the bar. She could barely walk so he scooped her into his arms and by the time they were in front of their cabin, she was fast asleep. Percy chuckled as he tenderly pulled her dress off and cleaned her up before tending to himself. He took a quick shower (willing the water to actually make his skin wet but he was so tired he had to fully concentrate twice) and lay down beside her, pulling the covers over her shoulders. His eyes went to the tossing waves outside their porthole window and he smiled, feeling utterly content with her by his side.

Annabeth stared into the mirror, grimacing at the dark circles under her eyes. She had been a wife for a little over a month and already she looked tired and haggard. Her husband had been gone for three days, away helping the gods with some kind of problem in the middle east. But she was panicking, her heart wouldn't slow down and she felt anxiety gnawing at her all morning. Piper had finally convinced her to buy a test, hoping it would put her at ease but Annabeth had wanted to call Rachel instead. Ironically, the Oracle told her to buy a test. (Thanks a lot, Rachel) Now Annabeth waited impatiently, pacing around the bathroom while the minutes ticked away. The little stick lay on the side of the bathtub and she chewed her nails, wondering when Percy would return to her. When the alarm went off, she lost it.

"Percy! Percy, I need you!" She had no idea what he was doing nor did she care. She couldn't do this alone. She thought she could but she was wrong. She needed her husband. She needed him to tell her it would be alright, no matter the outcome. She swallowed and touched the red flower at her throat and stifled a sob.

"What's wrong," his deep voice made her jump and she ran straight into his arms. Percy tensed and held her close, feeling her heart race.

"Annabeth, what happened?"

"Nothing. Nothing happened. I just needed you here with me."

"Ok," he said simply. He didn't chastise her for pulling him away just for a hug. He didn't say anything about her tears. He simply held her and stroked her back soothingly, whispering loving words into her hair. The alarm went off again and he pulled away to glance down. His eyes widened and he turned back to her.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"Yes," she sniffled, wiping at her nose. "I'm sorry, I know you were in the middle of something important but I couldn't do this without you."

"You are the most important thing to me, Annabeth. Don't ever be sorry for needing me. Have you...did you look at it?"

"No. I need you to do it. Please."

"Honey-"

"No, I can't look at it, Percy. I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"That I might be pregnant. That I might not be pregnant. I don't know. You have to look for me. Please." He nodded and squeezed her hand while he leaned down to pick it up. Her eyes remained on the floor until she heard him sigh.

His disappointed look told her all she needed to know.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"You have no reason to be sorry. We can keep trying, love, I mean, I didn't really expect us to get pregnant right away. I may be a god but even my powers aren't that strong."

"You're disappointed," she pointed out.

"I won't lie and say I'm not. But not in you. Just that I can't hold a baby in my arms any time soon. It just gives me more time to whisk you around the world and have you to myself though," he winked. She looked miserable and he cupped her chin.

"Hey," he said gently. "It's ok, Annabeth. Really. I love you and you love me and that's all that really matters right now. The rest will come later." He kissed her nose and she nodded before he folded her into his arms again.

"Is this why you have been so upset lately? Because you thought you were pregnant?" In truth she didn't really know what was wrong. They had both said nothing would really change once they were married but that was a lie. It had been a challenge, returning to the real world and all that entailed. Annabeth had no one to blame but herself; after all, Percy had asked her if she wanted to stop working but she'd refused. The firm was keeping her busy and there were several huge projects coming up. Since Annabeth was so busy, Percy oversaw his godly duties and had been away on and off since they had returned from their honeymoon. She hadn't seen her friends in weeks either. Piper and Jason had invited her over for dinner several times but she was just so tired. That's why she had entertained the possibility that she might be pregnant. It would make sense, after all. It would explain why she was tired and achy and grumpy.

But she could only blame herself. Percy held the proof of that in his hands. He watched her with a worried frown.

"I think I'm just stressed from work. I miss our friends. And I miss you." He frowned as he tossed the pregnancy test aside.

"I miss you too. But you said I should go help, since you've been so busy."

"I did. I'm not mad at you, Percy, I'm just… I don't know." She sighed and he brought her hands to his lips before pressing them to his chest.

"Call in sick tomorrow. Let me take you away for the weekend."

"I can't," she shook her head. "I have to finish those blueprints before Saturday and then I'm flying to New York on Monday to meet with our new client. I can't afford to take any time off."

"At least come out with me tonight. I have reservations and think you need a night out."

"That sounds so great but I have so much work to do."

"Annabeth why are you working yourself to death?"

"Not this again, Percy." She tore her hands away and turned.

"You just said it yourself, you're stressed from work."

"Everyone gets stressed from work!"

"Everyone isn't married to a god," he said crossly.

"You cannot keep saving me, Percy. I told you, I'll lose my mind if I don't keep busy or maintain my independence."

"Damn it Annabeth, we are a team! We always have been! So why are you trying to do everything on your own? Why, when we are married, are you trying to fight your battles by yourself? You always let me in before we married. So what has changed?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Nothing has changed. I'm just trying not to lose myself completely! Annabeth Chase is disappearing!"

"You're still you! All that has changed is your last name. Even though you refuse to acknowledge that at work." She opened and closed her mouth several times, looking uncertain. Percy nodded coldly.

"Yeah, didn't think I would notice that one, did you? I called your office and asked to speak to Annabeth Jackson. They said there's no one there by that name."

"It's just a hassle, having to change my email and business cards and everything. I'll change it eventually." Percy ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head.

"You introduce yourself to your clients as Annabeth Chase!"

"Is Iris helping you to spy on me again?"

"So what is it, Annabeth? Do you regret marrying me?"

"Don't be ridic-"

"I'm not being ridiculous," he spat. "I'm having a hard time wondering why my wife isn't using her last name… the last name she said she would be happy to take!"

"It's just a name, Percy, why are you getting so upset?"

"It's not just a name. It's this whole solo act that you keep pulling. Never, in our years of battles and victories, have you tried to go it alone! The exception being searching for the mark of Athena and that's because you had to do that by yourself. I've always been by your side. So just tell me why, after all this time, are you trying to push me away?"

He waited for an answer but she couldn't give him one. She could see how much it hurt him but she didn't know how she could help that either. She'd only told one or two people at work she had gotten married… why? Why was she hiding it?

"Are you embarrassed by me?" His voice was soft and vulnerable.

"Of course not."

"Then why?"

"It's just… so new. All of this. I love being married to you but it also means I'm not my own person anymore. And you have to understand, Percy… when I ran away from my Dad's, I was on my own until Luke and Thalia found me. I learned at camp that you needed to have a sort of independence and confidence in yourself. That you can't really count on anyone." Percy's eyes softened but Annabeth saw intense pain flooding them completely.

"I call bullshit on that one, Annabeth. Thalia and Luke took care of you. You found a family at Camp Half Blood. You found best friends, and you found love. You're strong and fierce and the most brilliant mind I know but you work as a team and that's how we have always been. When we fought Kronos, when we battled Gaia, when we fell into Tartarus, when we faced Setne… we did all of that together, Annabeth." He approached her and cupped her chin but she refused to meet his eyes.

"So I'll tell you what I think. I think you're scared. You're scared to admit how much you love me, because people have always left you. Your mom, Luke, Thalia, your dad… even I almost left you. You're terrified to admit how much it would hurt you if you lost me. And now that we are actually married, it's become more real. No matter how many times I tell you I could never love anyone else, you still think I will up and leave you. So you keep that name, Chase, as a means of escape. At work you believe you can stop worrying that I will leave you. Because there, I don't exist. I'm just the cute boyfriend that comes around every now and again… not the husband who loves you unconditionally. So if it makes you more comfortable to think of me that way in order to save face and avoid pain, go ahead. I won't ask you to change it. All I ask is that you tell me if you want out," she gasped and her eyes flew to his. He looked utterly heartbroken.

"If you really don't want to be a part of a team for the rest of your life, please be honest with me. You know in your heart that I'm the only one you have always counted on. But I won't force you to stay by my side, you know that. I love you too much to do that to you. If Annabeth Chase wants to be free, you just have to tell me." He gave her a sad smile and moved past her.

"Dinner reservation is at 7. The address is on the card. I hope you can make it." She heard a splash and squeezed her eyes shut as she fell to her knees.

She didn't want to go out but she did want to apologize to him. For hours, she had sat in the floor and wept into her hands, his words echoing in her head. Percy had always been vulnerable when it came to their relationship and now, she was causing more of a rift between them just because she was feeling nervous about being a wife. It was ridiculous, she decided. She loved him and she loved being a wife. His wife. They would just have to learn it all together. As he had said, it was the way they had always done things.

She pulled on a comfortable green dress and pulled her hair into a stylish ponytail. She dabbed some makeup on and grabbed her strappy sandals. Remembering the card on the dresser, she ran back to get it and grabbed her keys.

The place wasn't that far from the beach and luckily traffic wasn't horrible. She pulled in at 6:54 and headed inside.

The hostess led her to a private room and her eyes widened.

"Hey AB!" All of her friends grinned up at her from the long table.

"You made it," Jason jumped up to hug her.

"I don't understand," she stammered as Piper and Hazel hugged her.

"Percy arranged this weeks ago," Piper said excitedly. "He knew you were kind of stressed and needed a night with your friends. We weren't allowed to tell you. But he was afraid you'd be too busy to make it so I'm so glad you're here!" Her heart sank as she looked up and down the table. Her friends from Camp Half Blood and Camp Jupiter chatted happily, sipping fruity cocktails or in Grover's case, digging into the appetizers.

He had planned this for her, because he knew she missed them.

She was such a grade- A asshole.

"Hey, where is Percy anyway," Leo asked with a frown.

"I bet he got held up on Olympus, right," Jason asked Annabeth, who nodded faintly.

"Ah well, I'm sure he will be here later." Would he? Or was he upset with her? He had planned this fun night out and now he wouldn't enjoy it with his friends, because of her?

Ugh. She buried her face in her hands.

"You ok, Annabeth," Rachel poked her hand and Annabeth nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired from work. That's all."

"Hey, we have been wanting to ask," Piper lowered her voice and she and Rachel exchanged looks. Annabeth shook her head sadly.

"That's ok, girl, you have plenty of time," Rachel patted her hand.

"Nico! About time!"

"Sorry I'm late," Nico bent to kiss his boyfriend before he took off his aviator jacket. "My stepmother needed help with something on Olympus."

"Ooooh fancy. Ghost Boy is being invited to Olympus," Leo winked at him. Nico scowled and shook his head.

"Anyway, I ran into Percy up there. He says to tell everyone have a great time but he's swamped with work so he won't make it."

"I haven't seen Water Boy since his wedding," Leo pouted.

"Pretty sure Percy will strike you down with a tsunami if you call him Water Boy again," Jason grinned.

"He also wants everyone to know he took care of the bill already," Nico raised his glass, signaling to the server. "So drink up. His words. Not mine."

"That's extremely sweet of him," Calypso helped herself to the wings. Annabeth stared at her empty plate. She was sure he was avoiding her.

"Wings, Annabeth?" She accepted the plate from Reyna with a nod. She loaded up her plate but didn't have much of an appetite. She listened rather than talked and only spoke when a question was directed at her.

The drinks and appetizers kept on coming and the music got louder as her friends dragged each other off to dance. Annabeth wanted to go home. She wanted to call him back and apologize and somehow make it up to him. But she had been silently pleading with him all through dinner but he hadn't answered or appeared.

"You look way too sad over here, Mrs. Jackson." Startled, she looked up to see an outstretched hand in front of her face.

"I'm ok, Will. Just tired."

"How about we dance off the melancholy?" She glanced over at Nico, who gave her a smile and a nod. She stood and followed him onto the dance floor.

"Need to talk? I guess in some ways I could be called a psychiatrist." She grinned and shook her head.

"I'm just being my usual paranoid self. I can't get out of my head and over my old fears."

"I get it," he nodded. "It's hard not to feel that way when you're a demigod."

"And being married to a god… that makes it a lot more interesting."

"It's funny but sometimes I forget that Percy is a god. He really hasn't changed and he still treats us all the same. Especially you. Not that I, you know, expected him to stray but it's not the way of gods, you know? Monogamy and all that."

"Yeah," she mumbled.

"But the way he looks at you… well. I'm sure I don't have to tell you how lucky you are. You're both pretty lucky, I'd say."

"Are you attracted to my husband, Solace?" Will chuckled and shrugged.

"You and the rest of the world know that mortal or god, Percy Jackson is a gorgeous specimen." They laughed together and Annabeth's fingers entwined with his. Her eyes widened, however, as she felt her ring clink against something and she grabbed his hand.

Nico's skull ring rested on Will's finger… a very significant finger.

"William Solace, WHY didn't you say anything?" Will looked sheepish and glanced over at Nico.

"We haven't really told anyone… Nico told his father today and I went to visit my mom last night to give her the news. I figure Apollo will hear it from Hades too. You know how Nico is though. He's wary of telling everyone even though I was really hoping we could tell everyone tonight. These are his dearest friends and he and Hazel have gotten so close… but I'll go with what he wants. I'm just so happy that he chose me." She threw her arms around him and squeezed tightly.

"I'm so happy for you, Will. For both of you."

"There's the smiling Annabeth I know. Keep her around, won't you? We miss that smile." Annabeth's heart glowed and she squeezed his hand.

When they returned to the table, she leaned down to hug Nico.

"I'm so happy for you," she whispered. He blushed but returned the embrace.

"I'm not entirely sure Dad knew what to say but Percy and Apollo were jumping up and down, cheering."

"Oh yeah, that's my dad for you," Will chuckled.

"You told Percy already?"

"I felt like it was necessary… not that I need Jackson's approval or anything but, I dunno, I needed him to hear it and I wanted him to be happy for me."

"I'm sure he's ecstatic. He's always been very fond of you, Nico."

"We've been through a lot together," he nodded. "And I'm grateful he never treated me differently when he found out how I used to feel about him… he has always been supportive of Will and me. I sort of asked him… to be my best man." He fidgeted and glanced at Will, who grinned broadly.

"I think that's an awesome idea. Why don't you drag Nico out for a dance, Annabeth? I'm going to order more drinks."

"Actually, I'll get the drinks. Dance with your fiance, Di Angelo." She winked at them both and watched them sway to the music, stealing kisses when Nico thought no one was looking.

It was a fun night but Reyna had to get home and sleep before her training classes with new probatios in the morning. Rachel had left too so that left everyone coupled up, either on the dance floor or talking quietly at the table. Annabeth sighed and fiddled with her necklace. She missed her husband. Why did she have to be such an idiot?

She made her rounds to say goodnight, promising she would see them soon. Piper and Jason made her swear she would come to their house for dinner next week and with one last congratulations to Nico and Will, she gathered her things and left.

She was saddened when she woke up and realized he still had not come home. Was he really that busy with work? She didn't believe it. He had asked her why she was pushing him away, which is exactly what she had done.

She stared at herself in the mirror as she did her hair. Her eyes locked on her ring and she paused.

"Percy," she said to the empty bathroom. "I love you. And I'm sorry. Please come home. Please." She was only half hopeful it would work.

She readied herself for work, drained a cup of coffee, and hurried off, doing her best to focus her thoughts on the blueprints she needed to finish.

She sat at her desk, staring at the picture of her and Percy on the beach. She didn't even have a wedding photo on her desk! No wonder he had asked if she had regrets. To him, it absolutely could have looked like she didn't want to be married. And how many times had he asked her if she was absolutely sure it was what she wanted…

She spent the morning ordering photo prints from their wedding, submitting a request to change her email address, answering and sending out emails, and finally getting to the blueprints waiting on the table.

Around lunchtime, there was a knock at her door and she huffed at the interruption. She straightened her blouse before hurrying to open it.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Annabeth, I just wanted to let you know the maintenance crew is putting up your new name plate in a moment. So you won't be startled."

"Thank you for that, Lucy," she nodded to her assistant.

"And your email should be all set up now."

"Great, thanks. Can you get a hold of Mr. Claypool for me? We need to discuss our meeting with the Fujimotos next week."

"Of course." She smiled gratefully and closed the door, returning to her work.

Her phone rang and assuming it was Lyle Claypool, her fellow architect, she grabbed it without glancing at the caller ID.

"Annabeth Jackson." There was silence and she frowned.

"Hello?" Nothing.

"This is Mrs. Jackson, how may I help you?"

"Gods it sounds even better when you say it," a deep voice chuckled in disbelief. She gripped the phone and sat up in her seat.

"Percy?"

"Pardon the interruption, Annabeth," she gasped and hissed for him to hold on as her boss had cracked the door open and peered in.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were on the phone."

"Oh it's fine, sir. It's my… my husband."

"Will you come see me when you have a free moment? I'd like to go over your plans for Monday's meeting."

"Yes sir." He nodded with a smile and closed the door.

"I'm sorry about that… Percy?"

"You said husband." She could hear him smiling through the phone. "You told your boss you're talking to your husband."

"Yes, Seaweed Brain, I did. That's what you are, after all." He cleared his throat and she could just see his pleased flush.

"I called to apologize for last night. Ares got really out of hand with a war in the middle east and for some reason Zeus required all of the gods to sit in a damn circle and figure out what we're going to do about him. Of course I said turn him into a squirrel but no one really cared about my opinion so it was a real waste of time. I couldn't get away to message you or anything, so I'm sorry if I made you worry."

"You'll be home tonight?"

"Yeah. I'll be there."

"Good. I need to get back to work but I'll see you later."

"Did you take something for lunch?"

"You're worse than my dad. I forgot but I'll grab something from the vending machine."

"That's not-"

"I have to go, babe. I'll see you at home," she cut him off. "I love you."

"Love you, Wise Girl."

She went to talk to her boss and continued working on the plans until Lyle called and they worked out a strategy for their meeting. She was finishing up an email when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," she called without looking up from the computer. The door didn't open and she frowned before getting to her feet and walking over to the door.

Her husband stood on the other side, his eyes on the wall beside her door. He reached out to touch something on the wall and Annabeth opened the door a little wider.

Her new name plate, with her new name.

Annabeth Jackson.

Percy was touching the plate with reverence, his eyes wide with shock.

"Well hello Mr Jackson. How may I help you today?" He swallowed and held up a bag.

"I couldn't let my wife starve. Or eat from the vending machines." Annabeth stood aside and gestured him in. Lucy looked up from her desk and grinned.

"Shall I hold your calls, Mrs. Jackson?"

"I'm going on break," she nodded. "Please make sure I'm not disturbed." Lucy nodded and giggled and Annabeth locked the door behind her. Percy stood beside her desk, shifting nervously.

"You look stunned," she smiled, seeing him blush.

"It's one thing to hear it. It's another to see it written."

"Well my new business cards will be here next week so I'll make sure you have one to carry around with you. My new driver's license will be here next week too." His eyes widened again and she stood in front of him, her palm resting against his cheek.

"I'm sorry, Percy. You were right. I was scared. But in my mind I have been your wife for years, so I'm not sure why I'm suddenly feeling like this. I know I can always count on you and you are the only one I need by my side. I'm sorry if I have given you even the slightest impression that I don't want to be married to you. That couldn't be farther from the truth." She stood on her tiptoes to wrap her arm around his neck, pulling him down for a kiss.

"I love you, Percy Jackson. And I'm so lucky to call myself your wife." He smiled, his eyes sparkling and he held the lunch bag up.

"I brought you your favorite. Greens with strawberries and almonds with those crescent rolls that you love."

"Thank you," she kissed him again before sitting down at her desk. He lay the lunch out in front of her and handed her a fork.

"Do you have to go back to Olympus tonight?"

"Don't think so, unless they call for me. Why?"

"Cause you are taking me away for the weekend." He smirked and nodded.

"As my goddess commands."