Nico stared at the woman in front of him, noticed her tired eyes and tired soul. Saw himself mirrored there. And in a thoughtless moment, he became a hypocrite as he made himself visible to her in the dark dining room. "Annabeth, is it?"

Gray eyes met his but not in fear, only in curiosity. "What are you?"

Nico couldn't help but smile. "You could say a human, you could say a ghost."

"Are you planning to hurt my kids?" Annabeth asked. "If so I'll get a priest here and get you out."

"I'm not going to hurt them," Nico swore.

"Then what do you want?" Annabeth snapped. "I'm busy. If I'm gonna give you time, I'd rather give my kids time."

"I want to know if I can help." Nico offered. "Will said the kids really miss you. Why are you so obsessed with work?"

Annabeth pursed her lips. "It pays the bills. They aren't imaginary as Percy tries to say."

Nico looked at the blueprints. "Why not get a regular job?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "No."

Nico smirked. "What about forcing Percy to get a job?"

Annabeth's lips twitched. "That'd be something, huh? Maybe I will. But that doesn't stop what I need to do here."

"Take more time with your kids." Nico tried. "They really miss you."

Annabeth's face fell. "I miss them, too."

Nico spread his hands. "Then spend time with them. Seriously. Tell Percy what you're worried about and he'll make it work. I'm sure he will."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "How do you know so much, huh?"

Nico shrugged. "Just a simple ghost, saying what he sees."

"A simple ghost." Annabeth shook her head. "How'd you die?"

"Got sick." Nico pointed to the ceiling. "But Will? He killed himself."

"How?"

"Hanging."

"Where?"

"Attic."

"Is the body gone?"

"Yep."

Annabeth looked back at her blueprints. "Okay, then."

Nico smiled. "You're just that cool with us?"

Annabeth nodded. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Nico shrugged. "I'm a ghost."

"And I'm a human." Annabeth held the blueprints out to him. "See if you can figure it out. I'll go read the girls to sleep."

Nico smirked in victory. "Okay. Take your time."