Oi. I know, I know, I haven't posted on HaDD yet, but I have WB and it's getting worse. Meanwhile, you keep y'all satisfied, here's chapter four and I'll be posting a two shot in a few minutes. ~Ali

Chapter Four

Once I get back to camp, I pick up Odysseus from where he was staying in Rachel's cave. She's the oracle, and so Apollo insisted on the cave.

"Mommy!" he cries, running up to me. He looks so much like his father. Every time I look at him, it just hits me. Percy's gone. It hasn't gotten any easier over the years either.

"Hi baby!" I scoop him into a hug, ignoring the paint that is ruining my shirt.

"Mommy, Auntie Rachel showed me how to paint!" he waves his hands around and runs back to the canvas he had been working on. It's a classic little kid painting, three people together and a rainbow of random colors all squished togeth- wait, three people?

I lean in closer to examine the painting. There is a tall woman, a little boy, and a tall man.

"Odysseus," I say slowly, pointing to the man, "who's this?"

And then he says something that breaks my heart. "That's daddy, mommy."

I kneel down and look him in the eye. "How do you know what daddy looks like?"

"Sometimes I have dreams of you and daddy, mommy. I'm not in them, but it's still you and daddy."

I stare at him. How could he be having dreams about his father? His dead father? The father that he has never even seen a picture of before in his entire life; the father that died the day after we found out about him? It's just not possible…

While I'm contemplating this, Rachel takes the canvas down and sets on a table to dry. She talks quietly to my son.

"Percy, I'm going to keep your painting for a while, okay? Just so it can dry. But you and mommy can come back in a few days to get it. Okay?"

"Okay!" little Percy says happily.

"Percy! Time for dinner!" I call.

Tonight it's macaroni and cheese. Hey, don't judge. I can't cook. You try living as a single mother who can't cook. You live off of macaroni and cheese, ramen, grilled cheese, and frozen pizzas. Pretty soon Percy comes in, happy as always.

"Percy, no Lego's at the table." I remind him gently.

He gives me his father's famous puppy dog eyes and I have to look away. He puts the half formed Empire State building down on the coffee table and climbs onto his chair for dinner.

"Momma, what's this?" he holds up the blue envelope that I had put on his plate.

"I don't know; open it and see."

He opens the envelope and reads the letter, his eyes growing wider by the minute.

"We're going to see Grandpa!" he shouts, jumping off the chair and racing around the table to hug me.

After dinner, I stare out the window and down the valley towards camp. Chiron had built a small town for us who are old enough to live on our own. Chris and Clarisse live next door, the Grace's are across the street, and Will Solace is down the road a bit. I love my house. It's small, with only three bedrooms, but I can live with that. It's painted blue, of course, Percy's favorite color. The living room is small, but has a cozy fireplace that the Hecate cabin enchanted. It always burns, and even though it gives off heat, you won't be burned by it. Percy likes the fact that the flames burn in all the colors of the rainbow.

I sigh and get up to go pack. We're going to grandpas tomorrow, and it's going to be a long trip.

"Bye Grandpa!" Percy says, hugging my dad one more time. "Bye Grandma, bye Uncle Matthew and Uncle Bobby!"

I smile and hug my family. What's left of it anyway. "Bye you guys. It was really fun. Thanks for letting us come out." I say.

My dad smiles down at Percy. "You know we love to have you any time, Annabeth."