Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson

A/N: Hope you enjoy!

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I knew I was taking a huge risk, bursting in on something important like deciding what to do with the person that tried to bring Olympus down, but I needed to see Luke. That desire, that passion, pushed all my fear and worry down, giving me strength and courage to continue on. I was this far, there was no point in turning back now.

I slowly crept up to the room and peered inside.

I stopped just outside the doorway (if you wanted to call it that) and looked at everything inside. My mind didn't want to register all of what I saw.

First and foremost, the throne room—which was really just oversimplifying what this was. Massive columns rose to the domed ceiling that was embellished with moving constellations. Twelve colossal thrones (and when I say colossal I mean big enough to hold a fifteen-foot-tall person), were arranged in an upside-down U (like the cabins at camp). A fire, almost as big as the thrones themselves, crackled in the hearth pit.

In these thrones were the 12 Olympians. First, Zeus with a trimmed black beard, and eyes that sparked with energy. On his immediate left was an angelic woman with silver platinum hair that was braided over one shoulder: Lady Hera.

On Zeus's immediate right was Lord Poseidon who had sea green eyes, just like Percy's. Sitting next to him was a disfigured man with a malformed head, and a dense, brown beard with fire flickering and extinguishing throughout his beard: Lord Hephaestus. Next was Hermes, he was intently paying attention to what everyone was saying. I would've been surprised if he hadn't, this was his son after all. Sitting next to Hermes was Apollo, he had his iPod out but his earphones were hanging around his neck. I had a feeling, though, the music was still playing and he could hear it clearly. Dionysus looked disinterest, more or less. Ares was sharpening his knife.

Swinging on the other side, next to Hera was a goddess with thick, dark hair: Lady Demeter. Next to her was a woman with striking blond hair, and stormy gray eyes, no doubt that was Lady Athena. Her eyes were the gray I'd come to know very well, but her dark hair shocked me. I guess I was just so used to Annabeth's hair being blond, I never considered that her mother would have dark hair.

Lady Aphrodite was next. I can't quite explain what she looked like exactly, just that she was the most beautiful, gorgeous, most perfect woman I'd ever seen. Perfect hair, perfect face, perfect make-up, perfect… well you get the point. Last, but most certainly not least, was Lady Artemis. She looked younger than the others. She had beautiful auburn hair and looked like she was sitting in a shaft of moonlight.

(And on a side note, if I looked at the fire, in the hearth, close enough I'd see a small girl—maybe seven or eight—shimmer between the flames: Lady Hestia. She was my favorite of all the gods and goddesses.)

I could feel the power humming in the air, making me feel slightly lightheaded and breathless. That or because I really shouldn't have been standing up.

I finished looking around at everything, looking for a particular someone. And sure enough, standing in the midst of it all, was…

"Luke!" I shouted, not able to hold back my cry of pure elation and joy. My worries of offending the gods and being blown to smithereens totally forgotten as Luke turned around, looking for the one who called his name. Before I could stop myself I ran forward and crashed into him so hard he almost fell over.

I threw my arms around his neck tightly, tears brimming in my eyes. I felt Luke's arms, which were hesitant at first, come around me tightly and I finally felt that I was safe again. That I was home again. That everything was going to be all right in the end. I breathed in his wonderful scent.

"Tori," he whispered in my ear. "Tori." he repeated. "They told me you were dead."

I pulled back slightly and didn't look up for a second. Something stopped me. Maybe I was afraid… of what? I'm not quite sure. But this fear had suddenly bubbled inside of me. It disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared and I looked up, and there he was. There was what I'd come here to see. His brilliant snowy blue eyes—eyes the color of a perfect blue lake that had a clear coat of ice during the middle of winter—that stopped my heart.

I started to incline my head upward slightly so that I could kiss him. He slowly leaned down toward me as I stretched up on my toes so that his lips could reach mine. And you know what? I wasn't embarrassed or scared or self-conscious. None of that mattered anymore. All that mattered was that I was with Luke.

The kiss was a little restrained at first, but that didn't last long. It heated up a little. But this didn't last long either. We both knew where we were standing and we broke apart. I wasn't able to stop the tears of joy and worry from trickling down my face, though.

Luke reached up to wipe them away.

"Don't cry," he whispered. "It makes me think I'm going to die." I couldn't help but smiling and chuckling at that, even though that was a strong possibility. "You should probably get going now." he suggested.

I nodded and stretched up to give him a quick, small kiss.

"I love you," I whispered.

Luke smiled, pulled me into his arms and kissed my forehead.

"I love you, too." he murmured in my ear.

I hugged him to me tightly, sniffled, wiped away my tears, and then slowly pulled away and walked out of the throne room.

No one seemed to notice my brief absence from camp except for, of course, Percy, Annabeth (who, to my amazement, didn't tell… at least, I didn't think so), and Thalia. And I had a hunch that Chiron possibly knew but if he did he didn't say.

For the rest of the day I couldn't think about anything else but Luke. If he was okay, what the Olympians had decided his punishment was, if he was even still alive (but I was confident that I'd know if they killed him), you know those kinds of things.

I went back to the Hermes cabin (because I still hadn't been claimed), where things had seemed to have gone back to normal. Of course Travis and Connor Stoll were still the head counselors of the cabin, but I wasn't treated as coldly. Then again, a lot of people were still wary of me and tried to avoid me. I was just glad I didn't have those wretched guards. It was so nice!

I slipped into my sleeping bag, but had trouble getting to sleep. I was restless. I tossed and turned. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore, I got up and got dressed and went down to the beach. I was hoping that a walk, some movement, and the calming lull that the waves had when they washed in and pulled out would help me get to sleep.

I stood just inches from where the waves stopped and retreated. I'm not sure how long I stood there. It could've been minutes, it could've been hours. Then finally I started to feel drowsy, I felt my eyelids become heavy and droop. I turned around ready to head back to the cabin, but someone was standing right in the middle of my path. I veered back, with a gasp, all my senses went on high alert, and blood roared in my ears.

The slim man with a business suit on and salt-and-pepper hair smiled. I put a hand over my heart and caught my breath.

"So sorry," he said walking forward, and a little past me. I waited for a moment, thinking he wasn't sorry at all; that he enjoyed scaring me, before turning around and going to stand up next to him. "I couldn't help myself." he finished. That confirmed my theory.

"No, that's totally fine. Maybe getting scared half-to-death will help me get to sleep."

Hermes looked over at me with a sly smile.

I wanted to ask him why he was here but that seemed too rude.

"I wanted to thank you." he answered my unspoken question.

"For what?" He really didn't need to thank me for anything, I thought.

Hermes turned toward me, I mirrored him. His eyes were so intense my breath caught. Unfortunately I couldn't quite decode what emotion they held.

"For… everything." he sighed. "For… not giving up hope; not giving in when things got rough; believing in him." His voice had become a whisper. I'd never seen a god in such a vulnerable state before. It shocked me that he felt that he could show me this side of him, and it was kind of scary too. "For saving my son; for saving Luke."

I was speechless. I opened and closed my mouth trying to form coherent words, but all it really sounded like was a fish drying up on land.

"What…" I started. I took a deep breath. "What… did you decide?" I asked.

The Hermes that everyone knew, that I knew; the one with a coy smile and a mischievous glint in his eye, came back.

"Thank you." he said again before his form started to glow. I averted my eyes and put a hand up automatically. With an incandescent white flash of light, he was gone and I was alone on the beach once again.

I walked along the stream where it had all started. Where I first learned that Luke was trying to help Kronos re-emerge from the depths of Tartarus. The place where we'd shared our first kiss.

I found a nice place and set my blanket down. My book tucked tightly under my arm. The second book of the Kane Chronicles: The Throne of Fire.

I sat down, content with my spot, right next to the stream, with its soothing sound of water flowing swiftly over the pebbles. I got in a comfortable position and opened up my book. Before I could get through the first paragraph though, I heard some rustling in the bushes near me. I couldn't help but smile.

I shifted slightly so I was in a good position to grab my sword if I needed it and continued to read. The rustling came closer to me and I thought for sure I was going to be ambushed, but it passed right by me. It was quiet once again. I heard the soft squish of mud underneath a foot and had just enough time to pull out my sword and block his downward thrust.

I set my book aside so it wouldn't get ruined and shoved his sword away as I turned to try and trip him up. He knew my trick and jumped over my leg as it came by before coming back as fast as a cobra's strike. But I was ready for his blade and rolled away and onto my feet. I parried another swing. He jumped back quickly and thrust his sword forward. I just managed to dodge it, but it skimmed the side of my neck. I could feel the sharpness of the blade. Thankfully he didn't break the skin.

He pulled back.

"Oh, you're in for it now, buddy." I warned coming forward. Our sword fight heated up. He was a great swordfighter, but thanks to my training during the school year I was just as good. I pushed him back toward the stream. His eyes narrowed but his lips turned up in a smile, accepting the challenge.

He pushed even harder and I fell back slightly. I was starting to tire so I decided it was time to disarm him. I jumped in closer to him and slashed my sword toward his head. He ducked like I had wanted to. As he was coming back up, I lifted my foot and kicked him—not too hard—square in the chest. Not ready for this he stumbled and fell back making a good sized splash in the river.

I ran forward and kicked his sword from his hand while lowering mine to the hollow of his throat, a triumphant smile on my face.

Luke looked up at me and smiled but it was devilish and I knew his mind was racing trying to think of ways to get back at me. Yes, he was alive. Yes, the gods spared him. That I was grateful for. He came back to camp the day after the summer solstice. He looked weak and emaciated, but it was only temporary. I asked him what happened. He didn't tell me much except that it was painful and Kronos wasn't going to be bothering anyone for a while (a little while, at least). I didn't push. He also had to be monitored at all times and couldn't leave camp unless there were two other demigods with him.

Now here we were, nearing the end of the summer. I was thinking about being a year-rounder to stay with him, but I wasn't quite sure how to break it to Mrs. Alexander. Although something told me she'd be just fine without me.

I sheathed my sword and held my hand out for him to take. He took it all right, but instead of getting up he pulled me down into the river with him. I screamed as crisp, cold river water seeped into my clothes.

"You jerk!" I yelled slapping him on the chest and getting up as he laughed. He quickly followed but I splashed him with water. So, of course, he got me back with a bigger splash. Now I was covered head to toe in water.

I huffed and started toward the blanket. Thankfully it was still dry and my book, safe.

"I couldn't help myself. You're cute when you're mad." he called after me. I heard him splashing, following me. I sat down on the blanket and dried my hands so I could hold my book. I opened the novel to my marked place and continued to read like nothing had happened.

Luke had come to sit down next to me. He didn't say anything for a few moments, so I just read.

"Do you remember the time, on the ship, when you asked if I had anything fancy for you?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah?" I queried half paying attention because I'd gotten to a good part in the book.

"And I told you I had something in mind?" he continued.

I looked up at him, partially through a screen of wet hair. "I was just joking around, you know." I told him turning back to my book. Suddenly Luke's closed fist appeared over the page blocking the words. "Hey!" I exclaimed looking up at him. "I was reading that."

He merely smiled and pulled his hand away. When I didn't turn back to my reading he nodded, beckoning for me to continue. I examined him closely before finally tearing my eyes away. There, sitting in the middle of the page, was a ring.

My mind went blank as I slowly reached down and took hold of the ring's band. I set my book down and stood up, putting the ring in the palm of my hand. Luke stood up too. He put an arm around my waist and kissed my temple.

I looked over at him. He was still smiling.

"What kind of gem is this?" I asked pointing to the biggest one in the middle.

"It's a red diamond. The most precious and extremely rare of all the gems. Just like you." he told me. I smiled at the comment before looking back at the ring in my hand. The red diamond was mounted on a thin silver band and surrounded by two smaller diamonds.

Luke pulled me closer to him—with my back pressed against his chest—and wrapped his arms tightly around my waist.

"Marry me." he murmured in my ear.

"You know I'll say yes." I choked, tears welling up in my eyes. (What made things even more special was today happened to be my birthday.)

Luke reached up to take the ring from me, took my left hand, and slipped the ring onto my ring finger. I admired it there for a moment before turning around and stretching up on my toes to kiss him.

Before we could though, someone cleared their throat. I let out a sigh and pulled back slightly, opening my eyes to look at Luke. He looked slightly annoyed. As I turned to see who it was, I vaguely wondered who exactly would be out here in the middle of the forest (aside from me and Luke).

Leaning against a tree was a slim, middle-aged man wearing a postal carrier outfit, a mailbag slung over one shoulder and a white pith helmet. Curly black hair was sticking out beneath it.

I was a little perplexed. "Oh, uh… Hermes. Wh-what…?"

"A delivery, of course." he said ignoring our dripping wet states.

"To…"

"To you." He nodded, pushing away from the tree. I glanced at Luke, whose face was blank (their relationship was still iffy), before walking forward slowly. Hermes took out an electronic signature pad from his bag. He held the pad and stylus separately for me to take. "Sign there, please."

I pointed to the stylus. "There are snakes on your… stylus." I said.

"Hm? Oh, say hello to George and Martha." the god said.

"Uh…" I looked at the little green snakes writing on the stylus. "Hi."

Pleased to meet you, a raspy female voice said. I guessed it was Martha.

Sign here, please. George repeated.

"Wait, what am I signing for?" I asked looking up at Hermes.

He pursed his lips. "Hold these." he said holding the pad and stylus out a little farther. I took them, the stylus a little hesitantly. He then pulled out an envelope from his bag. It was no doubt from my father, Apollo. I honestly couldn't tell you what color it was. It was actually kind of hard to look at really, just like the sun was.

When I saw it though, anger boiled up inside me and I immediately didn't want to take it. George and Martha hissed and that's when I realized my hand was gripping the stylus so hard my knuckles were turning white. I slackened my grasp.

"Sorry." I muttered bringing the pad forward to sign against my own will.

Martha wrapped slightly around my finger, it was an interesting sensation.

Don't be too mad at him, deary, she told me. He did save your life after all.

And that's not easy to do. George added.

"That's enough." Hermes warned quickly taking the pad and stylus from me and shoving it back into his mailbag. It had me feeling like I wasn't supposed to know that.

But, wait.

Apollo saved my life? That's what Martha said, right? I mean, I had a hunch, because bringing someone back to life—just like George had said—wasn't easy. That didn't make any sense, though. I thought he didn't care about me. That's why he hadn't claimed me, right?

"Here," Hermes said breaking me out of my whirling thoughts, and holding out the envelope. I took a breath and reached up to take it falteringly. I stopped for a second before grabbing it. It was warm and had that aura of power, like the paper had been made from the sun's golden rays.

"Thanks." I muttered looking up from the envelope and back at Hermes.

He nodded once. "Goodbye, Tori." He then looked behind me, at Luke is my guessing, but didn't say anything. His eyes flickered back to me as small, white wings blossomed from his pith helmet and he began to glow. I diverted my eyes down to the envelope in my hands. I closed my eyes and tears that I hadn't realized formed, spilled out. They evaporated within inches of the envelope.

I felt Luke's arms come around my waist. I hastily wiped my tears away and turned around to face him, holding the letter behind my back.

I smiled as I met his gaze. They had that knowing look in them.

"Now, where were we?" I asked leaning up toward him. He caressed my face.

Our lips brushed but before our kiss could deepen someone exclaimed, "Oh, hey!"

Luke let out a frustrated sigh. I stood back on my heels and sighed too.

I looked over at who had disturbed us yet again. "Yes?" I asked trying to hide my exasperation.

Thalia looked like she wanted to burst out laughing. "Was I… interrupting something here?" she asked trying to hold back her laughs. Before either of us could answer she continued, composing herself slightly. "Chiron wants to have a word with you guys."

"Both of us?" I asked.

Thalia nodded before heading off. I turned back to Luke thinking I could sneak at least one, quick kiss but Thalia appeared again. "Are you coming?"

Luke and I exchanged a glance before I went to pick up my book. Luke took the blanket for me. When Thalia was sure we were following she started out of the forest. I walked next to Luke a little ways behind her.

She peeked at us over her shoulder.

"Why are you guys all wet?" she asked facing forward again.

Blood rushed up to my cheeks even though we hadn't been doing anything bad.

"Sword fight." Luke answered for me. Thalia paused to look at us with one of her eyebrows arched, her exquisite electric blue eyes glistening with skepticism.

"A huh, sure." She turned slowly and continued to walk. A few moments later Luke grabbed my arm and pulled me behind a tree. Before I could respond or say anything his lips were on mine. I didn't mind.

"Guys?" Thalia called.

I pulled back a smile breaking out across my face. Luke's eyes twinkled with… love, happiness, joy. He kissed my forehead and put an arm around my waist. We walked out from behind the tree.

Thalia was waiting patiently for us. When she saw us she snickered. "Oh yes. You were sword fighting all right."

"Are you going to open that?" Luke asked gesturing to the letter I'd gotten from Apollo earlier today.

It was sitting on the table in front of my empty plate. It was dinner time. Everyone was chatting before Chiron made the announcements; it was a very carefree atmosphere now that there was no threat against Kronos (for now). We could just relax—as much as a half-blood can relax—and enjoy the last couple days of summer.

I made a face and took a sip of my water.

"I… don't know." I sighed, picking it up and staring at the back, which had who it was addressed to in very tasteful, refined handwriting.

Tori Williams
c/o Camp Half-Blood
Farm Road 3.141
Long Island, New York 11954

Wish I had inherited his handwriting too.

"I might as well." I mumbled flipping it over in my hands. Holding my breath I slowly broke the seal of the envelope and pulled out the parchment.

Very fancy.

It was folded into perfect threes. I set the envelope down and stared at the paper in my hands for a moment, biting my lip. What would I find when I opened it? Would it be a whole spiel, or just a small note, or… it could be anything.

Luke reached over and held one of my hands, giving me an encouraging smile.

I took a deep breath and flipped it open. Nothing on the top half, so I flipped the bottom half down. In the exact middle of the page, were two words:

Happy Birthday

"Don't look now…" Luke murmured in my ear pointing upward. I realized all around people were staring at me.

I looked back at Luke. "What—?" He pointed up again, nodding. I followed his finger and looked up. I wasn't ready for the brightness, but it was fading and I got a good look at it. Shining brilliantly, even as it faded; just like the sun, was a hologram of a lyre.

Tears welled up in my eyes and streamed down my face. The parchment slipped from my shaking, numb hands. All the sounds around me became totally silent.

"Why do you look so sad? You were claimed!" Luke's voice came through the barrier. I looked over at him; he was smiling, happy for me, but looked disbelieving.

"Because I won't get to be with you that often anymore." I answered truthfully.

Luke laughed, rolled his eyes, and kissed my forehead.

"You are incredible." he said pulling me close to him and kissing my temple before I turned for a real kiss.

After all was said and done, I was now sitting at the Apollo cabin's table. Which felt so weird and I felt way out of my element. I mean, I had been with the Hermes cabin for six years! This sudden change was just so… hard to handle; hard to take everything in. And trust me it was a lot to take in.

The second greatest feeling (because I was getting married to Luke, what was better than that?) was walking up to the bronze brazier, scraping some of my food into it and being able to say, "Apollo."

Don't get me wrong, I was still mad at him. But, the way things had turned out tonight, I had a feeling with a little time (and maybe a gift or two…) that I'd learn to forgive him; I'd be able to appreciate the reasons of why he didn't claim me for six years….

Either way, things were looking brighter—no pun intended.

When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us. ~ Alexander Graham Bell

The End! Sad panda! But I hope that was a good ending….

I really hope you enjoyed this short story.

For "Acknowledgements" to all my readers and a picture of the ring just visit my website.

Guess what! I've written another story for Luke and Tori! It's called "Life, or Something Like it" I hope you like it, if you decide to go read it!

Thank you all for reading!

~ See you at Camp Half-Blood!