A/N: Hey guys! I totally forgot to do this on the last chapter. Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who reviewed/followed/favorited this story. I also wanted to give a huge shout-out to my awesome friend Sam, who was generous enough to let me split this account with her. So without further ado, on to the story!

Disclaimer: As you may have guessed, I'm not Rick Riordan. Sorry.

Leo POV

I gazed out to the rolling hills. Everything seemed so perfect, so serene. A gentle wind brushed by me, ruffling my hair. I stood leaning against the door frame of my small house, hands in my pockets and feet crossed. As I looked on to the large space of land beyond me, I could see three figures off in the distance. They ran around and chased each other, their screams of delight faint in the wind.

I sighed and turned around to go back into the house/workshop that I had built for myself. It was literally in the middle of nowhere. Everybody always asked why I chose to live on a hot, windy plain in the middle of Texas, but I had no response. I guess after the Giant War, I needed space to myself. Unfortunately, I had company today.

Speaking of company, one of the three figures was now racing towards me. Her hair was flying and her small legs were moving as fast as they could. As she neared me, I could see tears running down her chocolate colored cheeks.

"What's the matter, Emily Marie?" I asked her.

She sniffed loudly and then replied, "Collin took my doll and he won't give it back!"

I took a deep breath and then took the problem as an excuse to look up. I tried to look anywhere but at the eight year old girl. Emily Marie Zhang was the spitting image of her mother. She had brown curls everywhere and warm skin. Heck, she even smelled like her mother. But the most frightening thing about it all was her eyes. They were gold - a burning gold. In other words, she looked just like the girl I once loved.

Hazel Levesque.

"Leo?" sniffed Emily Marie. "Make Collin give Dolly back!"

I started to walk across the long grass to the two boys still out on the hill. As I neared them, I could make out which was which. The shorter of the two resembled his father. With cropped black hair, a pale face, and dark eyes, it was hard to believe that he and Emily Marie were siblings. As much as he looked like Frank, Hazel had chosen a strange name for him.

Sammy.

Yeah, I don't understand either. Honestly, I have no idea why Frank was okay with that. The thirteen year old looked nothing like Sammy Valdez. Yet he was named that anyways.

The third and oldest Zhang child didn't look like either of his parents. Collin had wild black curls and skin that was somewhere between Frank's pale white and Hazel's dark brown. His eyes were just as gold and scary-looking as Emily Marie's.

Yeah, I'll admit, he looked (and acted) a little like . . . me.

In Collin's hands was a ragged and worn out doll. He was waving it around, and it looked like Sammy was trying to convince him to give it back.

"Come on, Collin," I said in the sternest voice I could manage (which probably wasn't very stern). "Give it back."

The strong-headed, cocky fifteen year old heaved a huge sigh and handed the doll back to his sister, who was hiding behind my legs.

"When are Mom and Dad coming back to get us?" asked Sammy. "I thought you said they should be back by now."

I nodded. "Any minute now. Just hang on."

And then there was a shout from the house. "Leo!"

I spun around to see Frank and Hazel waving at me. I put on a grin and said, "There you go, kids. Your escape route has arrived."

"Mommy! Daddy!" cried Emily Marie. She tore down the hill, her brothers following. I started the walk back to the house and watched as the Zhangs were reunited after a week of not seeing each other.

See, Hazel and Frank decided to go on a small vacation without their kids. They needed a babysitter, but the Graces and the Jacksons were in New York. Since the Zhang family lived in New Rome, I was the closest out of the Seven. Plus I lived by myself and (according to Frank) wouldn't have a problem handling three kids.

Wrong.

As much as I liked Frank and Hazel's kids, they were a handful, especially for a guy like me. I would be relieved when they left.

I reached the others back on my gravel driveway. Hazel gave me a quick hug and Frank shook my hand.

"Thanks so much for doing this, man," said Frank.

"No problem," I replied. "We had fun, right, guys?"

The three children nodded. "Can we go home now?" asked Collin.

Hazel laughed and said, "Sure. I need to talk to Leo first though." Looking me in the eye, she added, "Alone."

I gulped and ducked inside my house. Hazel followed, shutting the door behind her.

"What do you want?" I demanded, dropping the fake grin.

She made a strangled sort of noise in the back of her throat. "Come on, Leo. What happened to the hilarious Leo Valdez who entertained us all on the Argo II all those years ago?"

I shook my head. "You know better than anybody that that was all a cover."

She gazed up into my eyes. "Not all of it."

As we stood there, I knew we were both thinking about the nights on that fateful ship. Late at night, Hazel and I would sneak out and just stand on the deck, talking. Technically speaking, nothing romantic happened. It all started after Percy and Annabeth fell into Tartarus. Hazel was the only one who understood why I blamed myself for that. She talked to me about it, and soon enough we became best friends. For some reason we kept it a secret from Frank. One day he caught us talking and thought we were more than friends. A huge argument erupted between Hazel and Frank, and the son of Mars told Hazel to choose between him and me. After that day, there was no communication between Hazel and I. She pretended that the two of us being friends never happened.

That is, until sixteen years ago . . .

Nope. Not going there.

"Look, Leo. The six of us are meeting up in New Rome in a few days. I want you to come with us," Hazel said.

I thought about it. By "the six of us" she obviously meant herself, Frank, Percy, Annabeth, Piper, and Jason. Yeah, okay, so maybe I did kind of want to see everybody again. I hadn't seen Jason or Piper in a while, and I haven't even talked to Percy and Annabeth since the Giant War.

"Maybe. I'll think about it," I told Hazel.

She rolled her eyes. "I wasn't giving you a choice. We want you there."

Hazel took a deep breath and then added, "Why are you so isolated? Everyone misses you."

"Do they?" I said. "'Cause I haven't heard much from anybody besides you."

Something in her gold eyes sparked. "You can't seriously think you're still the seventh wheel."

I didn't answer her, mostly because that was exactly how I felt.

"Whatever, Leo," she sighed. And with that, she left the house.

I stood at the door and watched as the Zhangs got in their car and drove off. Little Emily Marie waved to me from the window. I smiled and waved back.

Hazel Levesque was gone again, leaving me with a broken heart and a decision to make.