DISCLAIMER: Most of this is Rick Riordan's Work Straight from TLO but I changed it a Little bit…

Chapter 13: Waking Up to Parenthood…. Sort of

"Hello? Why you people sleeping?" said a small soft, princess like voice.

"Hello, I am Thalia Grace, Daughter of Zeus," I said.

"I am Maple-Leaf a wood nymph. Why were you sleeping for so long?"

"Morpheus put a spell on us."

"The bad god of dreams? I don't like him!" With that said Maple-Leaf was gone.

"LUKE CASTELLAN!" I screamed and Luke woke up.

"Where are we?" he asked. "How long did Morpheus knock us out for?"

I looked at the clock on my phone. I was stunned at the year. "Uhh … Luke it's been TWO YEARS!"

"I'm fourteen and you're twelve? Sweet, man."

"No, not sweet, we just lost two whole years off our lives, man!"

"Whatever, let's get out of the woods."

We walked out of the woods silently and walked the dark streets of Manhattan. It was late, really late. We walked to an airport and asked what fight was leaving next; we just wanted to get out of New York. The lady had said the next flight was to Virginia, right by the James River. Luke said that he had a nice place on the James River but I really didn't know what he was talking about.

We were there within a few hours and we were walking in the woods along the James River when we came to a clearing. I seen a little hut sort-of thing and turned to Luke, "Is this yours?"

"Yes, yes it is!" Luke replied matter-of-factly.

We walked over to it and I walked inside. It was a demigod's dream in there. There was a box of ambrosia and a canteen of nectar. It was stocked with weapons and other medical supplies. "Wow, Luke I didn't know you were actually capable of doing something like this!" I exclaimed.

"Aww, Thalia you don't give me enough credit for anything!" Luke played me a round of sarcasm.

"Luke, let's go to the city and go buy some food. I'm starving! Can we get some cheeseburgers or something?"

"Sure, let's get going."

After we had, had our cheeseburgers we were walking around town when Luke thought he heard some noise coming from a dark alley. We walked towards an alley between two stores, one with a sign that read RICHMOND IRONWORKS. Luke and I crouched in the shadows. "Thalia, I think I heard something down there. Let's go," Luke said. He got his bronze knife out and I got my spear and I tapped Aegis, a gift from Zoë Nightshade.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

Luke nodded. "Something is down here. I sense it."

A rumble echoed from the alley, like someone had banged on a sheet of metal. Luke and I crept forward.

Old crates were stacked on a loading dock. Luke and I approached with our weapons ready. A curtain of corrugated tin quivered as if something were behind it.

I glanced at Luke. He counted silently: One, two, three! He ripped away the tin, and a little girl flew at him with a hammer.

"Whoa!" Luke said.

The girl had tangled blonde hair and she was wearing flannel pajamas. She couldn't have been more than seven, but she would've brained Luke if he hadn't been so fast.

He grabbed her wrist, and the hammer skittered across the cement.

The little girl fought and kicked. "No more monsters! Go away!"

"It's okay!" Luke struggled to hold her. "Thalia, put your shield up. You're scaring her."

Reluctantly, I tapped Aegis and it shrank into a silver bracelet. "Hey, it's all right," I said. "We're not going to hurt you. I'm Thalia and this is Luke."

"Monsters!"

"No," Luke promised. "But we know all about monsters. We fight them too."

Slowly, the girl stopped kicking. She studied Luke and I with her intelligent gray eyes of hers. They reminded me of Torri's eyes back at Camp Half-Blood. Maybe this girl was a daughter of Athena.

"You're like me?" she asked suspiciously.

"Yeah," Luke replied. "We're … well it's hard to explain but were monster fighters. Where's your family?"

"My family hates me," the girl said. "They don't want me. I ran away."

Luke and I locked eyes for a moment. We both related to the girl standing in front of us.

"What's your name, kiddo?" I asked her nicely.

"Annabeth, Annabeth Chase."

For some reason, Luke smiled. "Nice name. I tell you what, Annabeth– you're pretty fierce. We could use a fighter like you.

Annabeth's eyes widened. "Really, you could?"

"Oh, yeah." Luke turned his knife and offered a seven-year-old girl the handle. "How'd you like a real monster-slaying weapon? This is Celestial bronze. It works a lot better than a rusty ole hammer."

Most of the time I would slap Luke for handing a seven-year-old a knife but we were half-blood and it would be stupid not to have a weapon. Everyone knows when you're half-blood regular rules like that literally go out the window.

Annabeth gripped the hilt.

"Knives are only for the quickest and bravest fighters. That's why Thalia doesn't have one." Luke joked and I punched him playfully in the shoulder. "They don't have the reach or the power of a sword, but they're easy to conceal and they can find weak spots in your enemy's armor. It takes a clever warrior to use a knife and I have a feeling that you, Annabeth Chase, are pretty clever."

Annabeth stared at Luke with adoration "I am, I'm very clever."

I grinned at Annabeth. "We'd better get going, Annabeth. We have a safe house up on the James River. We'll get you some clothes and food."

"You're … not going to take me back to my family?" she said. "You promise?"

Luke put his hand on her shoulder. "You are part of our family now. And I promise I won't let anything hurt you. Thalia and I are not going to fail you like your family did, Annabeth. Deal?"

"Deal!" Annabeth said happily.

"Come on," I said. "Let's go home." They way I said home mad Annabeth smile.