Chapter 3:

Piper

I was in a particularly good mood the rest of the evening at camp. Such a good mood that Annabeth began to think I had gone mental. "Are you sure you didn't accidentally drink a love potion?"

"No, I didn't. I'm just happy, that's all," I retorted. We were on our way to the campfire when Katoptris suddenly heated up against my thigh. I hissed at the painful sensation and pulled the dagger out of its sheath. What I saw took my breath away. The mansion I had grown up in, the one that held so many memories, was being consumed by a blazing fire.

"Is everything alright, Piper?" I vaguely heard Annabeth ask before everything went black.

Jason

I couldn't find Piper at all during the campfire and was starting to get worried. "Have you seen Piper anywhere?" I asked Leo. "No, man. I haven't seen her since you two left this morning."

I felt someone tap me on the shoulder and turned around. Annabeth. "Piper's in the infirmary," she breathed. The three of us rushed to Piper's location. She was out cold.

"What happened?" I asked, running my fingers through my hair.

"I'm not sure. We were on our way to the amphitheater when she saw something in Katoptris and blacked out," Annabeth replied.

"Dad?" A whisper was elicited from Piper's lips as she stirred slightly. I knelt next to the bed she lay on.

"Piper? Can you hear me?" Her eyelids fluttered open. "The mansion was on fire. I don't know where my father is or if he's okay or-" she was suddenly full on sobbing in my arms.

"Shhh," I whispered, rubbing her back as she sobbed into the crook of my neck.

"Um...we'll leave you alone for a while," Leo said as he and Annabeth filed out of the room. I had forgotten that they were there. I nodded at him.

"We'll talk to Chiron in the morning and see if we can get in touch with your father, alright?" I asked after she had begun to calm down. She nodded.

"Can I stay in your cabin tonight?" she asked me. How could I say no?

"Of course, Pipes."

Piper

I woke up the next morning in Jason's bed with him nowhere in sight. The indentation of his body next to me was still warm, telling me that he had only just gotten up. I heard the crack of the front door opening and turned to see Jason walking in, clad in only a pair of shorts with wet hair. He smiled and sat down at the edge of the bed.

Stroking my hair, he asked me, "How are you feeling?"

"Alright," I replied quietly. I couldn't find any energy within myself to speak more than those two syllables, especially after all that tossing and turning last night. He nodded.

"Go to the showers. I'll get your clothes from your cabin." My knees buckled underneath me as I tried to stand up. "Or not." He caught me before I face-planted. "Have you been eating lately?"

"Yes."

"Well then, maybe you should see a doctor. You look hella pale. Actually, we should go to the infirmary right now."

I sighed. "I'm fine."

"I'm serious."

"No, Jason."

"Please. Seriously, look at yourself. You can't even stand up and you don't want to get help." I stared back at him. "I'm going to go get one of the Apollo kids right now. Stay." And with that, he rushed off.

He returned a few minutes later with Will Solace, the Apollo cabin's counselor. "'Sup, Piper," he said, not really a question, as he pulled a case out of the back pocket of his jeans.

"What's that?" I asked him wearily.

"I need to take a blood test...you might be anemic."

"No, I'm not. You don't need to stick anything in me."

"Pipes," Jason warned. "No." I crossed my arms stubbornly. Being stronger than me, he easily pinned my arm against the bed as Will watched with an amused expression on his face. I screamed as the needle punctured my skin. It really didn't hurt that much, but the sight of my blood filling up that tube was enough to make my insides churn. "He's almost done, Pipes," he said, kissing my forehead.

Will finally pulled the needle out and I relaxed. "Geez, Piper. You would have thought I was cutting your arm off or something," Will mumbled as he left the room.

"So...Piper Mclean from the prophecy of seven...scared of needles," Jason teased.

"Shut. Up," I groaned.

Jason

An hour later, after I had gotten some food into Piper and she managed to stand, she was sitting on a bench watching me hack away at a dummy. Soon after, Annabeth came running. "Jason!" she called. I turned around. "Chiron needs to see you."

I nodded. "Stay with Piper for me?"

"Okay," she replied.

I took the towel Piper held out for me and wiped the sweat from my forehead before slinging it over my shoulder. I knocked on the door of the Big House after I got there. Chiron opened the door with a morose look on his face. "You had asked for me?"

"Yes. Come in, Jason." He closed the door behind me. "It's Piper's father."

"Yeah?" I was suddenly worried, remembering Piper's vision in Katoptris.

He confirmed my worst fear. "He has...passed on." Damn it. I ran my hands through my hair, gripping it tightly.

"How am I going to tell Piper?"

"You know her better than I do," he replied. "That's why I called you here instead of her." I nodded and walked out, planning out how I would tell Piper without her spontaneously combusting.

Really, though, how can you tell someone that her only family - human, of course - had died? I found her and Annabeth where I had left them earlier. "Pipes, I need to tell you something," I began.

A/N:

Meep! I am so sorry for that late update. Everything's super hectic right now with school and we just moved, too. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed the story. Honestly, I don't think there are enough Jasiper fics online...everyone seems to ship Jeyna .

Don't forget to review and if you have any suggestions for future chapters, please tell me in the reviews or PM me!

Thanks to AgentStarkRogers for the cookies! (::)

Angryhenry - I'll keep your suggestions in mind. Thank you so much!

Eat pi, my fellow demigods!

~Athena