After Piper called in their emergency, she and Jason raced over to the pier. He told her that a couple of his friends had joined the Coast Guard so he might be able to get them to take Piper and him out on the water. They arrived at the boat right before it was about the push off. Out of breath, Jason explained that he and Piper had called in the missing people and the coasties welcomed them aboard.

It was all Piper could do not to have a panic attack. She was the one that invited Annabeth to Hawaii and she was the one who left Annabeth in the ocean. Her breathing was too quick, too shallow and she kept thinking about what state Annabeth might be in at this very moment. To try and distract herself from her thoughts, Piper looked to Jason. He seemed so in control of himself, his face betraying no emotions. From how he talked about Percy, she knew that the two of them were close, so it surprised her that he wasn't on the verge of a meltdown like she was. He approached the situation calmly and pragmatically, helping the coasties out as much as he could. Piper knew she wasn't any help. They asked specific questions like what beach they were on, how far out they were swimming, and what time did they last see their friends. Luckily, Jason knew the answers. Piper's thoughts were so jumbled, knowing herself, she would have sent them searching in the opposite direction.

A couple hours of searching was how long it took until someone spotted a speck bobbing on the horizon. Piper was stretched out over the railing trying to get a closer look. The boat moved steadily closer to the figures and yet the two people who Piper was now certain, were Annabeth and Percy, didn't notice the rescue team. She squinted confused until she realized that they were hanging on to each other. Actually, Piper's eyes widened, Percy and Annabeth were kissing, their faces hidden by Annabeth's curls. Piper watched Annabeth grasp the back of Percy's head and neck. He responded by pressing her closer, his hands on her waist. It wasn't until the boat disturbed the water around the surfboard that the two of them broke apart. At that point, Piper starting waving her arms so Annabeth would notice her. At first, when Annabeth turned on the board to face the ship, Percy seemed confused that she stopped before he too noticed the ship. The relief on Annabeth's face broke out in a huge smile as she waved happily at Piper. Percy joined in on the waving as the two of them swung their legs around to face the boat.

Once their friends were safely out of the water, Piper threw her arms around Annabeth hugging her tightly. "I was so worried about you! Are you alright?! Is everything okay?! You aren't hurt are you?" Piper said into Annabeth's shoulder, "I shouldn't have left you in the water and gone out for tacos with Jason! I'm so sorry!"

Annabeth pulled out of the hug, "I'm perfectly fine Piper. And that's where you went? On a date?" She laughed then her voice dropped lower, "Did you at least get lucky?"

Piper gasped, but smiled, glad her friend was alright, "Annabeth! I'll tell you later when we're not so close to-" she jerked her head in Jason's direction. Annabeth laughed and told her she'd hold Piper to that promise. After that, Annabeth and Piper sat in companionable silence until they reached the pier.

Jason, ever the gentlemen, offered the girls a ride back to their hotel. Percy and Annabeth appeared to be just fine overall. Neither of them seemed shaken by their experience. As soon as the boat docked, Percy ran towards the car yelling "SHOT GUN!" Piper spotted the hint of a smile at the corner of Annabeth's mouth as she watched the dark haired surfer run. The whole boat ride, neither of them had said a word about how they ended up locking lips. It was killing Piper not to know what had happened on the water, but she was waiting until she was alone with her friend to pry.

The second the door to their hotel room closed behind Piper, she rushed to Annabeth who had plopped down on her bed. Piper sat down on her bed across from Annabeth, drew her knees up to her chin and looked at her expectantly. Annabeth sighed and opened her eyes, " I suppose you want to know every little detail that happened."

"Yeah no shit." Piper smiled as teased, "I want to know how you went from yelling at the guy to making out with him. Which by the way now that I think about it you two are really cute together."

Annabeth glared, but started the story. "It was a while before we noticed you and Jason had left. By the time we did, we were miles away from the shoreline and had no idea which direction land was…." Annabeth didn't have quite the way with words Piper did, but Piper soon became lost in the story the longer her friend talked.

Percy and Annabeth stared mouthed open at the endless expanse of blue around them. All thoughts of the argument they were having less than 10 seconds ago were replaced with a stream of frantic thoughts. Annabeth's mind filled with all the books and articles she had studied just in case something like this ever happened to her. Despite remembering trivial details like authors names and chapter titles, Annabeth couldn't come up with a single helpful idea. One of the first times in her life, she was at a loss for what to do. Surely Percy would have a better grasp of what to do in a situation like this since he lived here. Looking to Percy for reassurance, Annabeth hoped to find that this cocky surfer boy would have the answers. If anything though, Percy was more panicked than she was. Annabeth spotted the beginning signs of an anxiety attack in Percy's face and mannerisms. His breathing had become shallow and fast when he realized their predicament and he didn't seem to be taking any steps to calm himself. The hand that wasn't holding onto the board was trembling near his face.

Maybe it was because she realized that their argument was stupid or maybe it was because she didn't want to think about being lost, but either way Annabeth turned and focused completely on Percy. She leaned over the board and looked him directly in the eye. Her hand reached out to firmly grasp and anchor his out of control tremors. Shocked, Percy returned her gaze as he struggled to suppress his rising fear. When she spoke, Annabeth's voice was calm and clear.

"Percy. Percy, focus on me." Annabeth said as her eyes darted in between his green ones, "Don't look anywhere but my face. I know this is nerve wracking, but you aren't alone and we can get through this together."

Percy was wound up so tight, it took him a while to find the words to respond. "I-I've never been in a situation like this. I can't help it."

Annabeth knew what Percy meant. She felt powerless and wanted to break down herself. And she might have, had Percy not been there. He gave her something to think about aside from the ocean so now she had to do the same for him. "See how I'm breathing?" Annabeth asked, "Deep and slow. I need you to watch and follow exactly when I breathe in and when I breathe out." Percy's eyes shifted from her face to her chest as he focused on the rising and falling of her breasts. She watched as his breathing slowly began to match hers and soon they were breathing in the same rhythm. For the next couple of minutes, the two of them shut everything out. Annabeth never once broke eye contact with Percy as she gave him space to calm down on his own. She couldn't help but notice that the color of his eyes matched the ocean's depths perfectly. The sea green pools that stared back at her were like no other color she had seen before. The longer they floated, being gently bobbed up and down by the water, the harder Annabeth tried to find some difference between Percy's eyes and the ocean. While Annabeth was searching Percy's eyes, she noticed his eyes flitting around her gray ones possibly thinking similar thoughts.

Percy was the one that finally spoke out of the silence, "You know we wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for you."

Just like that, the spell was broken and Annabeth said, "Are you kidding me? Do you want to start arguing again?"

Percy's hand scratched the back of his head, " Well no not really, but it's something to do other than worrying."

As fast as her anger came back, it slipped away again. So Percy obviously didn't have a clue what to do and was looking for a distraction. Not that she blamed him, arguing would pass the time and it always helped to drop the responsibility of bad situations on someone else. Starting their fight back up wouldn't do them any good plus Annabeth noted out loud, "This whole mess is both of our faults. We acted pig headed and blew a small misunderstanding out of proportion. Look where that got us, stranded, with only a surfboard between us."

Percy smirked, "Was that almost an apology?" Annabeth rolled her eyes in response while he continued, "but you're right. Let's say that the fault lies equally between the two of us and call it good. Truce?"

Annabeth nodded and said, "Truce."

Percy smiled as another silence fell over them. This time however, the silence didn't have a purpose and Annabeth started to feel awkward, not knowing what to say. It was getting later in the day, the sun no longer at the top of the sky. Sunset was still a couple hours away, but who knew how long they would wait until they were found. Annabeth had already been in the water for a while before meeting Percy and she was starting to get chilled. Her top half, exposed to the sun was warm, but her bottom half was cool. She wished she could get out of the water and dry off, but her towel could be miles away by now still sitting on the sand.

As if he was reading her thoughts, Percy said, "Uh, I bet we could both fit on this board so we don't have to stay in the water." With the ease of someone who has been surfing for many years, Percy hoisted himself up out of the water and flung a leg over the side of the board. Once situated, he held out his hand for Annabeth. She bobbed higher in the water and reached around his wrist for a better grip. Prepared to pull the majority of her weight up herself, Annabeth was surprised when Percy pulled her clean out of the water and plopped her down on the board. She managed a "Thanks" as she swung her leg over to sit on the opposite side of the board.

Facing each other now, Annabeth could see beneath Percy's shoulders and get a better look at the parts of him had been previously hidden. She had wrongly assumed that Percy was merely skinny and upon closer inspection, she noticed his body was wiry and muscular, his abs well defined and glistening from the water. A blush spread across her cheeks as she realized she had been staring for too long. Hopefully Percy didn't notice, Annabeth had a feeling that he tended to be oblivious to most things. It was a little disconcerting to be this close to him. After all, she just met the guy not even a half hour ago. Should she say something? What would she say? The only thing she knew about Percy was that he surfed and was as stubborn as she was.

It was Percy who broke the silence a second time. He asked jokingly, "Wanna play iSpy or something?"

Annabeth laughed, "I don't think that game would last very long."

"Well just don't pick the ocean! Here I'll start, uhhhhh I spy with my little eye something yellow."

"Is it my hair?"

Percy's eyes darted down as he said, "Yeah. Okay, maybe this game is a little too easy in our present location. How about twenty questions!? It might help pass the time and we could get to know a bit more about each other."

Spending time in conversation was much more appealing than hours of awkward silence so Annabeth agreed. "I'll go first. What's your last name?"

"Jackson. And yours?"

"Chase. Why do you live in Hawaii, Mr. Jackson?"

"I came here and enrolled in the University of Hawaii on a swimming scholarship. Full ride. My mom and I don't have a lot of money so it was this or a two-year community college. Now why are you here Miss Chase?"

"Graduation present. Are you just going to copy my questions or are you going to ask your own?"

"I'll get around to it! Don't pressure me," Percy pointed at her, "and that totally counted as a question."

Annabeth narrowed her eyes, "Fine, then that means it's your turn."

Percy bit his bottom lip as he thought of a question. "What was your biggest dream growing up?" He asked.

"This sounds odd, but it was always my dream to be an architect. The thought of creating something that will stand the test of time appealed to me. Sometimes I still like to imagine future generations admiring my designs."

"So that means you fulfilled your dream and became an architect?"

"Hey! It was my turn to ask, but yeah I graduated with an employment offer from an architecture firm a couple blocks from where I live. Also, I'm counting that question."

Percy shrugged, "Fair enough."

"Alright lets see, what type of swimming do you compete in? Like what races?"

Percy answered, "Mainly freestyle and backstroke, but I do like relay races as well." And that's how the next hour or so went, with the two of them firing questions back and forth. Annabeth was keeping count in her head and they past the twenty question mark quickly, but she enjoyed talking to Percy so much, she didn't mention it. Annabeth learned that Percy was ranked fourth nation wide for swimming in his age group. And she told Percy about her binder filled with building designs. It contained every structure she had every imagined since she was seven years old. He made her promise to show it to him sometime.

Annabeth couldn't believe how badly she had judged this lanky surfer when they first met. The more they talked, the more she found things about him that surprised her. Percy talked about his mother as if she was the most wonderful woman in the world. It made Annabeth a little jealous considering her not so wonderful relationship with her father and stepmother, but watching Percy light up when he talked about Sally Jackson left a smile on Annabeth's face. He was fiercely loyal to his family and friends, quick to laugh, and one of the most sincere people Annabeth had ever met. After she told Percy about her horrible fear of spiders, expected him to laugh at her, and all he said was, "I don't blame you, those fuckers are creepy," she felt comfortable telling him anything.

It was then that the conversation took a turn to more serious matters. The two young adults fresh out of college shared their deepest insecurities with the other. Percy shared what it was like to meet his father for the first time and when learned that he had a half brother. Annabeth talked about when her father remarried and she ran away from home. She also talked about the unattainable standards her birth mom set for her, never feeling like she was good enough. Annabeth briefly thought this was dumb to be sharing so much with a stranger, but she couldn't help it. There was a connection so tangible between them that it couldn't be ignored. She even shared with Percy everything that had happened between her and her childhood friend/ex-boyfriend Luke.

He stared at her with so much compassion and understanding that she couldn't resist any longer. Annabeth grabbed the back of Percy's head and leaned forward into a kiss. She felt his arms wrap around her waist as their lips met. His hands were large and warm on her lower back. Her fingers crept up into his hair and entangled themselves in the black mop. Percy's mouth opened slightly as he slid Annabeth across the surfboard and pressed her closer to his body.

He was so warm and responsive, knowing exactly where to put his hands. Annabeth had just thought that she could kiss him all day when water lapped up against her thigh. She broke away to look for what disturbed them and saw a Coast Guard vessel. Leaning against the railing, she spotted Piper smiling and waving her arms frantically. Annabeth smiled and waved back, relieved to have been found, but oddly sad that her time with Percy was over.

"Aaaaaand you know the rest from here." Annabeth finished.

Piper stared at her friend as she said, "That. Was. Amazing. You had some kind of fairy tale romance thing going on."

Annabeth tried to wave that comment off. "We did not. We were talking about some sensitive topics and were both vulnerable, I wouldn't have kissed him otherwise."

"Don't you lie to me Annabeth Chase, you felt a connection with Percy you haven't felt since Luke." Piper said as she poked Annabeth in the arm. Her friend was right, Annabeth did feel something strong, maybe even stronger than her feelings for Luke. She wasn't about to tell Piper that though. Piper would just insist on setting her up with Percy and that would be embarrassing. Piper kept talking, "Anyway, there's been a change of plans, we're staying an extra week. I really hit if off with Jason and convinced my dad to pay for another week in paradise. Promise me you'll call Percy at least once or I'll call for you."

Annabeth smiled already thinking about her next conversation with Percy, "I promise."