A/N: Super long chapter. . .many conversations, hence the title. Sorry that it took so long to update. Thanks to Mathinscience for making me get a move on, else i might never have finished this chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, i swear! please don't hurt me! please!

For a moment, Rosalind, Skye, Jane and Batty all stood in the upstairs hallway. But then, without saying anything, they started to drift to their rooms.

"Wait," Rosalind said feebly. "I can't stand this. I'm calling a MOPS."(A/N: Meeting Of Penderwick Sisters) The others paused.

"Can't really call it that. We're not sisters anymore, are we?" Skye said.

"Or Penderwicks," Jane added. Nevertheless, Rosalind walked into the room she shared with Skye. The others followed, and placed themselves on the two beds. Batty and Rosalind on one, and Jane and Skye on the other.

"MOPS come to order," Rosalind said quietly but firmly.

"Second the motion," said Batty.

"Third it," Jane said.

"Fourth it," Skye said miserably.

"All swear to keep secret what is said here, even from Daddy, unless you think someone will do something truly bad," Rosalind said, the typical opening to such a meeting. She made her hand into a fist. Skye put hers on top of it, Batty on top of hers, and Jane on top of Batty's.
"This I swear by the Penderwick Family Honour!" they chanted in unison. Finally, they broke apart.

Rosalind looked down at her bare feet, trying to come up with something to say. But what can you possibly say to your younger sisters, when you just found out not only are you demigods, but you're not actually sisters either?
"Guys," she started, but her voice cracked. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Guys, this is a lot," she said. What next? "I know it's shocking-" (obviously you know, Rosy, she thought to herself) "- and it's scary." She took a shaky breath. "But I feel like it shouldn't change much." Her 'sisters' stared at her.

"Shouldn't change much?" Skye said. "Rosalind. We're demigods! Now that we know, monsters are going to start coming after us. I bet we have to go to this camp half-blood place this summer, maybe even for the whole year! We're not sisters, and our parents aren't our parents!"

"That's the thing," Rosalind said calmly. "We are still sisters, and our parents are our parents."

"But Rosy, Mommy and Daddy lied to us," Jane said. "Real parents wouldn't do that."

"Jane," Rosalind said. "Don't you see? Our real parents abandoned us. They didn't want us, just because of what we are. As mad as I am at Daddy right now, I think he saved us from a horrible childhood." She waited for her sisters to take in what she had said. She desperately wanted them to understand, even if she didn't fully understand herself.

"We're still sisters," she stated. It wasn't a suggestion. More like an order.

"Of course we are," Skye said flatly, contradicting what she had said less than five minutes ago.

"Exactly," Rosalind said, slightly surprised that it was Skye who backed her up. "We've grown up together. We've fought with each other. We've punched people in the face for each other," she added, with a knowing glance at Skye. "I'd say we're family."

"It's just like with adoptions," Jane said. "Even once the kids find out, they still love each other." She paused. "Is Daddy still our family?" she asked.

"I want him to be," Batty said.

"He should be," Rosalind said carefully. "Right now, I know we're all furious with him. He shouldn't have lied to us all these years, even though I know he had his reasons. But he loves us, and we love him. At least, I do." She looked at her sisters expectantly.

"I love him too," Batty said proudly.

"So do I," Jane said. "And despite the fact that she just yelled at him, I think Skye does too." Skye glared at her younger sister, but didn't make any move to deny it. Just then, they heard the footsteps on the stairs.

"Go see who it is," Skye hissed at Jane. Jane rose, and opened the door just a crack.

"It's Jeffery," she whispered.

"Tell him to come in," Rosalind replied, despite Skye's looks of protest. Jeffery walked in timidly. Batty moved over.

"Sit here, Jeffery," she said . He plopped himself down beside her. "Hey, Battykins," he said softly.

"We're having a MOPS," Rosalind told him. No one outside of the family knew about the MOPS, except for Jeffery. He nodded, and they swore him in. Once the little ritual was over, there was silence.

"I'm really sorry," he whispered, tapping his feet quietly in four -four time. "I know I should have told you. It's just, I was told not to. And I didn't think it would be right for me to be the one to tell you."

Rosalind sighed. "We understand Jeffery," she said.

"No you don't," Jeffery said matter-of-factly.

'You're right," Jane said. "We don't. But you're still our friend." Jeffery smiled at her gratefully.

"You know, when I'm with you guys, I forget all about being a demigod." He grinned sheepishly.

"I thought the whole point of you being with us was because we are demigods," Skye said to the ground. Jeffery's smile faded.

"That's only kind of true," Jeffery explained. "Remember, I only found out I was a demigod that year. And I didn't find out you were demigods until the year after that. Chiron mentioned it to me. He told me to keep an eye out for monsters when we were together. He was looking out for our safety."

"You should have told us," Skye muttered. "You lied by omission."

"I didn't tell you, because it wasn't my secret to tell," he said impatiently. He shook his head and started playing with the frayed ends of Rosalind's blanket.

"What other things have you not told us?" Skye countered. "Are we witches too? Princesses?"

Jeffery rolled his eyes. "Well, now that you mention it. . " he said sarcastically. Then he sighed, and the fight seemed to go out of him. "Look," he said, staring directly at Skye. "Say you had asked me, before tonight, if you were a demigod. I wouldn't have cared about what everyone said. I would have told you the truth. I couldn't have lied to you. But you didn't."

"Of course we didn't!" Skye said, throwing her hands up in the air. "How would it ever have crossed any of our minds that we were half-bloods?"

"What i'm trying to say is- oh forget it!" He scowled at his shoes, shakind his head scornfully. Skye seemed to realize there were other people in the room. "Sorry," she mumbled.

Rosalind sighed. She pursed her lips, trying to think of what to say next. The tension in the room was awkward, even when the other three weren't directly involved. If felt wrong. She couldn't recall an actual fight any of them had had with Jeffery, except maybe for the on going spat between Skye and Jeffery when they first met. But that was before she knew Jeffery. Now, sitting there in that room, Rosalind felt as if someone had taken away the joys of their friendship, and left only the bad.

"Rosalind," Jeffery said quietly, gently. "You shouldn't be too upset with Anna either. I've only known her for a few hours, but i know she never meant to hurt you. Any of you." He ground his teeth together slowly. "She was just looking out for you."

At the thought of Anna, Rosalind's heart ached. Anna had always been there. To give her and her sisters advice, on various matters. To go shopping with, to see movies with. To play basketball with. SHe was like the fifth Penderwick sister. And now, she didn't know what she was. Sitll their honourary sister, as the girls had decided about themsleves? Her best friend? The nymph who had been sent to watch over her? What?
Rosalind did know that Anna had been her friend. But is someone still your friend when you find out they never even told you what they really were? She shook her head. It was too much.

"Put yourself in her-in our- position," Jeffery said. He was speaking slowly, as if she were a young child, completely naive. Which, she supposed, in this case, she was. "What would you do?"

Rosalind switched the roles: her, a young nymph, sent to watch over a demigod who didn't know what she was. Anna, said demigod, innocent. She tried to imagine what it would be like, spontaneously befriending the girl, without being able to tell her anything. Knowing she might hate you when she finds out. Rosalind realized it would be extremely difficult, keeping such a secret. She realized how many times she would want to tell her friend everything, but knowing it would only end badly. She sighed.

"I suppose i've been unfair," she said, avoiding eye contact with everyone. "I just feel like it will be so hard to trust her now."

"She'll still keep your secrets, Rosy," Jane said optimistically. "She'll still keep all our secrets."

"Just because she's a nymph, doesn't mean she'll betray you," Batty said, then yawned. It was almost midnight. Then everyone else yawned, for yawning was a contagious thing.

"We should go to bed," Rosalind said sleepily. She regarded the others with bleary eyes. "We shouldn't be as angry with Anna as we are now. Or at Daddy," she said, with a glance at Jeffery, to let her sisters know they shouldn't be furious with him either. "Now, Jeffery, where are you sleeping?"

Not long after that, everything in the Penderwick household fell silent. Jane, Batty, Rosalind and Ben were all in their respective bedrooms. Skye sat out on her garage roof, looking at the stars, but not really seeing them, for she was thinking of other things. Jeffery and his friend Nico lay on the couches down in the living rooms, wide awake, occasionally exchanging a few quiet words. And when Iantha turned over in the middle of the night, searching for the comforting hand of her husband, all she got was sheets and blankets. It's safe to say that no one got any sleep that night.

The next morning, Skye crept downstairs early, careful not to wake Rosalind, who had fallen asleep minutes before. She had thrown a sweatshirt over her sleeping tank top, which she was grateful for. The windows had been left open, as they usually are in summer, but along with the wonderfully fresh smell of dew, it also resulted in chilly early morning drafts. Her bare feet padded across the uneven wooden floor. Her curly blond hair was wild, as it always in the early hours of the day, sleep or not. She rubbed the exhaustion out of her eys, and her stomach grumbled. She suddenly decided she wanted a large breakfast that morning. It would help compensate for the energy she had lost from lack of sleep.

She crossed to the fridge and pulled out a carton of eggs, a pack of bacon, and orange juice. Then, on second thought, she brought out a grapefruit too. She placed the bacon on a tray, cautiously doing exactly what Rosalind had taught her, for she was notorious for doing things incorrectly in the kitchen. next, she placed the tray in the oven, setting the temperature just as Rosalind had said. Then she set the timer for when she would have to come and turn the meat over. Then double checked.

"Wonderful," Skye stated firmly. She was proud to have done everything right. She noticed Hound and Asimov's food dishes in the corner. As if on cue, Asimov came stalking into the kitchen.

"Meow," he said perceptively, which just happened to mean "Give me food now, or i'll never talk to you again." His ears pricked, as if he could sense it was working.

"Stupid cat," Skye grumbled, but she poured the food in anyways. She knelt as he ate, scratching his head, while he paid her no attention.
"I suppose i have to feed Hound too, don't I." At the sound of Hound's name, Asimov looked at her. He and Hound were particularly fond of each other, though the cat would never admit it.

Skye filled the dish, humming one of Batty's peices while she did so. When she realized what she was doing, she stopped immediately. She, much like Asimov and Hound, would never admit to liking Batty's music. She then went to wake Hound for his breakfast. She went into the living room, and walked over to his bed, which was just near the door.

"Dog," she whispered. "Hoounnd," she tried again, but he still didn't wake. Then she said, "Asimov." In a flash, Hound was up and wagging his tail. His tongue fell out of his mouth as he panted, but he didn't seem to care. He bounded into the kitchen, leaving Skye alone.

Only, when she straightened up, she remembered she wasn't alone. Nico lay on one of the couches, his head buried under a pillow, his body covered in blankets. Jeffery sat on the other couch, his back to her. His head was in his hand, his elbows propped on his legs. He seemed to be muttering something. Skye stood leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed, watching her friend. His brown hair was rumpled, and so were the sheets he was sitting on. He stopped muttering, and just sat there, obviously thinking deeply. Now, usually, Skye wouldn't interupt someone's thinking session. She knew she would hate it if someone were to interupt hers. And maybe it was the lack of sleep, or the events of the past that night, but she didn't really care. She cleared her throat loudly.

He jumped, and turned around.

"Gods!" he hissed. Skye couldn't help but grin. And once she grinned, he started grinning, and it was just as if the previous night had never happened. Then his smile faltered.

"Um," he started awkwardly. "How long have you been standing there?" Skye cocked an eyebrow, and regarded him for a few moments. "Not long," she said quietly, unsmiling. Then a loud beep punctured the silence. Nico grumbled and turned over, but he didn't open his eyes. Skye glanced at Jeffery, then turned and walked into the kitchen. When she spun around from turning off the timer ( and setting it again, for when she would need to take the bacon out), Jeffery was standing in the doorway. She ignored him, and started cracking eggs into a bowl.

"You're still mad at me," Jeffery stated after the fourth egg (she was making breakfast for everyone else as well).

"No I'm not," she said, not looking up from her eggs.

"Yes you are," Jeffery said. He placed his hands on the back of a chair. His muscles were tense. He bit his lip as he looked at Skye.

"I'm sorry, Skye," he said. "I know that I've lost your trust by keeping this from you. And I know it will be hard to regain it. But please, try to understand. don't be angry."

Skye poured the egg concoction into a large frying pan, and started pushing it vigorously around with spatula. "It's not just you," she said loudly. Jeffery straightened up hopefully, and came to stand beside her. She didn't look up, and her hair blocked her face from him. "I'm angry at pretty much everyone right now," she added, quietly. Her stirring was half-hearted now. "I'm angry at Anna, for never even hinting she wasn't human, never even giving cause for us to ask. I'm angry at Iantha, for not convincing my father to tell us, when he told her. I'm angry at my father, for not being my father, and for not telling us our true identity until now. i'm angry at my mother, for not telling us, even when she knew she was going to die! I'm angry at me and my sisters, for never figuring it out, for never showing any real signs. And most of all," she was stabbing the eggs now, and they were starting to stick to the bottom, "I'm angry at my real parents, and my sisters' real parents. Mainly, because they don't. Seem. To GIVE a shit!" She threw the spatula at the eggs, and slumped into a chair. She sighed and rubbed her eyes. The anger seemed to have gone out of her, and there was really only sadness there.

"I know it looks like that," Jeffery said, taking up the spatula. "But your godly parent honestly does care."

"If they cared," Skye mutered, "Why aren't i living with them, on Mt. Olympus?"

"Because," Jeffery explained. "It doesn't work that way. The gods are forbidden to interfere directly with their motal children's lives. They can't help them, not in any way, except to give advice. So, letting you live on Mt. Olympus, isn't exactly an option."

Skye scuffed her foot across the floor. back and fourth, back and fourth. "So how do they show they care, exactly?"

Jeffery sighed. "My dad. he came to me, on the last day I was at camp, that first summer. And he told me, that no way was a kid of his going to military school. He told me that i had to fight for that music school no matter what. Even if my mother repeatedly said no. It was his words that made me fight for it."

Skye was silent for a moment. The only sound was the sizzling of the eggs, and the scuffing of her foot. "but Jeffery," she said. "I don't even know who my parents are. How can i possibly get advice from them?" She didn't wait for an answer. "I don't see why people can't just tell the truth! Would it be so hard? Maybe, if we had been brought up knowing who we were, there wouldn't be cause for all of this anger and confusion!" Especially the confusion, she thought. She had been angry many times (she was known for her temper) and she didn't mind it as much as confusion.

"But then you would be plagued by monsters, and you'd either have to all live apart, live at Camp Half-Blood, or move frequently," Jeffery pointed out.

"I know," Skye said. "I know it almost doesn't make sense to be angry at you all, because you all have perfectly justified reasons for what you did. But is still am."

"Skye Penderwick doing something she knows doesn't make sense?" Jeffery said with mock shock, as he placed a plate full of bacon, eggs and toast infront of her. SHe realized he must have been cooking all the time they had been talking. She hadn't even been aware of the buzzer going off.

She punched him in the arm. "Shut up," she said lightly. "And thank you," she added as he sat down too.

So, when Batty came downstairs half an hour later, she walked in on the two laughing amd talking and hitting each other, just like it should be.

Rosalind stood in the Geiger's garden, a tree shading the sun from her eyes. Bees buzzed amond the abundance of flowers, along with multicoloured butterflies. Mrs. Geiger had always worked hard on her flower garden. Although the yard was small she had made the most of it. There were beds lining the house, with flowers that bloom well in the shade. In circular beds, all different kinds of blooms grew; chrysanthamums, tiger lilies, daffodils, tulips, carnations, orchids. Along the fence, rose bushes grew, sprouting blooms of white and magenta, pale pink and red. Small rocks surrounded each flower bed, and there was a small stone pathway leading up to a white wicker arch. The arch was tall enough that the Geiger boys could pass through it, so it towered over Rosalind. Vines entwined with the wicker, giving it a touch of colour. A bench sat off to the side, under the large maple in the corner. It was one of Rosalind's favourite places on earth.

Tommy, her boyfriend, leaned against the tree trunk, his arms crossed. He was squinting at her in confusion.

"let me get this straight," he said. "All those Greek myths about, like Apolla and-"

"Apollo," Rosalind corrected, but he continued talking. "-Zeus and stuff.. . .they're real?" Rosalind nodded. "And they're in our country?" Again she nodded. "And your whole family is a bunch of the god's children?" And Anna's a nymph?" Nod.

'I know it's hard to believe. We're not even allowed to tell anyone." He looked at her quizzically. 'But you told me anyways?" She rolled her eyes.

"Of course i did! I wouldn't be able to stand lying to you about where i'm going this summer." His face fell.

"Right. The whole Camp Half-Blood thing." He ripped a piece of bark off the tree, and bent it, eventually breaking it into pieces. "How can they be so sure you're not their children?" he asked, then held up his hands to ward off her reply. "I know, I know, stupid question. It's just. . ." he looked at her and stepped closer. "I can't imagine you not being family. Besides, you and Jane and Batty all have dark hair and eyes, like Mr. P. And Skye looks so much like Mrs. P, with her blond hair and blue eyes, it's scary." Rosalind grabbed his hand and started playing with his fingers.

"Its's the Mist," she said, focusing on his hand. "When manipulated right, it makes us see stuff that isn't really. . .true." He frowned.

"So," he whispered, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. 'All i'm seeing. . .it's not really there?"

She shook her head. "No. I really do look like this. It's just, the resemblance between us. . . it doesn't really exist." She thought about it for a second. "Well, now that i think about it, some of it could. We could all have the same godly parent. Other than that. . ."

He shrugged. "Whatever. I really don't care what you look like. Or what you are. You're still Rosalind." SHe smiled at him gratefully. He bent his head and kissed her, and she put her arms around him. Eventually, her head was on his shoulder, and his arms held her, as if they could make her stay.

"So you're really leaving?" he asked.

"Tomorrow," she replied quietly.

"When are you coming back?"

"I don't know." They spoke in hushed tones, like doing so would make it less real.

"Well, it better be soon, or else i might find someone else."

Rosalind lifted her head and bent it back, so that she could look him in the eye. "Do you think i would ever let that happen?" she said playfully. He laughed. "I hope not."

But their final parting was melancholy. Both knew that it would be a while before she returned. And some things would be very different when she did.

Jane was sitting at the kitchen table, brainstorming ideas for her book. She tapped her pen against the spiral wire of her notebook, making a satisfying click sound. THe house was very quiet. Iantha, Ben and had gone on a walk, and Skye and Jeffery had gone on a bike ride. Batty and Hound were upstairs in her room, and Rosalind was across the street at the Geiger's house. It seemed strange to Jane that the adults would let the children go their seperate ways that afternoon, considering the fact that they had been attacked by a monster, and their neighbourhood was no longer safe. All they had done was make sure there was an experienced monster fighter near-by: Jeffery with Skye, Mr. Penderwick with Iantha and Ben, and Nico to cover for the rest of the sisters. However, no one ventured into Quigly woods as they normally would on a Saturday afternoon such as this. No one dared.

At the thought of Nico, Jane frowned. he did not seem to be anywhere in the house. She looked out the window and saw he was in the back yard, standing there with a hose. Curious, she got up, stuffed her pen into her pocket, and stepped outside.

There was something strange about the misty water flowing from the hose. There seemed to be a flickering image actually in the water, like a TV screen full of static. A girl with dark skin and brown curly hair was talking.

"Alright Nico," she said, and even though the image was not-so-good, her voice was clear. "Bye."

"Bye." Nico replied.

"What was that?" Jane asked suddenly. Nico jumped.

"Oh," he said. "Um... that was an Iris message."

"What's an Iris message?" She asked, glancing curiously at the green hose he still held.

"Iris is the Greek god of Rainbows," he explained. "So, it you make a rainbow, and throw a drachma- that's an ancient Greek coin- into it, she'll show you whoever you want to see."

"Amazing," Jane whispered, simling ear to ear. "So who were you talking to?"

Nico ducked his head. "No one."

"Oh." Jane bit her lip. "Well. . .could you show me how to do it?"

"Sure," Nico said, clearly relieved she had dropped the subject of who he was talking to so quickly. He raised the hose to the sun, and a faint rainbow could be seen in the water.

"Oh Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow," he said loudly as he pulled a gold coin from his pocket and threw it into the mist. "Accept my offering."

THe coin disappeared. "Show me Annabeth Chase, Half-Blood Hill." THe mist shimmered, and then there was a pretty blond girl right there in front of them, sitting crossed legged in a bunk bed, reading about three books at once.

"Annabeth," Nico said. The girl's head jerked up.

"Hello, Nico," she said calmly, as if he appeared before her often. Jane was immediately taken aback by how much Annabeth resembled Skye; curly blond hair, strong athletic build, and the intelligent glint in the eye, like she was planning what would be the best way to defeat you. "Anything wrong?"

Nico cleared his throat. "Not really," he said. "I was just-"

Jane stepped forward. "I'm Jane," she declared, sticking out her hand, then withdrawing it once she realized no one could take it.

"Annabeth," Annabeth said with a nod. She turned to Nico and raised an eyebrow.

"The Penderwick girls," he said. "The one's Chiron told us about. Well, they um . . . know what they are now."

"Nico's teaching me the ways of the demigod world," Jane said pleasently. Nico smiled.

"She wanted to know how it worked," he said to Annabeth. "Any news?"

She sighed. 'Well, the Argo II is still underway; there was a problem with the engine today, but Leo said he'd fix it up tomorrow."

"I meant about Percy," Nico said. She sighed again, and looked at something they couldn't see.

"Grover and Tyson set out today. But. . .i don't know. Recently i've been getting this feeling. . " she trailed off, still looking at that point in the distance. Then, the image of her started to break up. They didn't even say good-bye befor she disappeared completely.

"So. . .who was that exactly?" Jane asked as he switched off the hose.

"Annabeth, Daughter of Athena. Alongside Chiron and Mr.D, she basically runs camp."

'And who's Percy?"

Nico stopped at the bottom of the back steps. "He's her boyfriend. He saved the world last year, but he disappeared about 8 months ago. no one's seen him since."

"Oh," Jane said, frowning. "That's sad."

"yeah, yeah it is." He seemed lost in his memories; bad memories.

"hey," jane said with a smile. "Thanks." He smiled back.

"No problem." Then he slid the door open and walked inside.

Iantha and were walking down the street, Iantha pushing the stroller with Ben in it.

"They'll come around," Iantha was saying. Mr. Penderwick re-adjusted he glasses.

"yes, well i hope they do," he said.

"Skye made breakfast for you this morning," she pointed out helpfully.

"She made breakfast for everyone," he said.

"I know, but she let you have some," she replied cheerfully. He sighed, and she looked at him.

"When are you going to explain about the whole Roman side?" Iantha asked.

"Tonight, i suppose."

"Well, do it fast, okay? They need their rest for the drive tomorrow."

"Yes, i can assure you, i shall not make it any longer than it needs to be." He ran his hands through his hair, something the distinguished man never did. "They are very angry at me," he said. 'For lying, for making them go to this camp..."

"Like i said," Iantha said soothingly. "Theyll come around."

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