Hey guys!-i always start with that-_-". Anywho, this is back in Annabeth's POV, skipping to bedtime that day. also, the new name in here is pronounced :row-see-oh.

Read & review. It helps.

Disclaimer:

Chiron: hey, sorry about before..I just thought u owned PJO&CO.

me: Well, I don't.

Chiron: shit. cause I really wanted a horn...

Annabeth's POV

After Clarisse talked to me I felt a little bit better. I know it must've been hard for her to pass on Silena's lesson. She was right, I need Hope. It was probably all I had.

It was bed time in the Athena cabin. Lights out was ten, but we always went to bed at nine. It was just how us Athena kids were. Mal acted in charge at first, until I stopped him.

"Mal, its okay. I can handle my job." I told him after he scolded Matt. He turned towards me, eyebrows raised.

"I'm positive. Its...what I have to do." I said, not really believing it. Mal knew this was just an act; I had to pretend things were gonna be all right.

"Okay. Tell me if you need anything. I'm serious." He said before herding our brothers into the bathroom.

"All right. Now, girls, time for bed." I announced to the rest of the cabin that wasn't squished into the bathroom. brushing their teeth. I could hear the bickering between Matt and George. I sighed.

"Uh, Annabeth?" My thirteen year old sister, Rocio, said. I looked up. She was standing next to my nightstand, twiddling her fingers. She was feeling awkward, I'm sure. She barely talked. She kept to herself to think a lot. She didn't have many friends, only a Herme's boy-that made me nervous. Force of habit.

"Yeah, Rocio?" I asked. Her face turned red from embarrassment. I heard Alice, our fourteen year old sister who teased Rocio a lot, giggle.

"Do you have a, um, pad?" She asked, her face beet red. To say I was surprised is an understatement. I stared my brunette sister. She was sort of the oddball. She had her father's hair and our mother's eyes.

"S-sure. Bottom drawer," I stuttered after a long time of standing. Since when was she going through puberty? Where have I been?

"Um, thanks. And, uh, I'm sure we'll find him. We just have to keep our eyes open for natural disasters, right?" She laughed awkwardly, grabbing her item out of my drawer. My heart hurt by her words. I smiled, though. I would find him.

"Right." I laughed. My sisters looked at me strangely. I didn't blame them. I was crying all day and laughing seemed impossible that day.

"Okay, girls, you already brushed your teeth. Get in bed." They did what they were told. Some had matching pajamas as I usually wore: dark blue sweats with a black shirt that said 'I'm too smart to talk to you'. I didn't wear those pajamas lately. I usually crawled into bed with one of Percy's T-shirts and his sweats. Only Mal knew who they belonged to. He gets irritated when I wear them. He's very territorial. I guess it runs in the family.

"Bethy?" A small voice broke me out of my reverie. The boys were coming out of the large bathroom, being yelled at by Mal.

"And do not, by any means, stick a toothbrush in the toilet," he scolded. A few girls gasped and ran to the bathroom to see who's toothbrush it was. Mal was trying to reassure them it was George's, but they didn't listen.

I looked at Macey, who had been tucked into bed by Mal thirty minutes before. She was so tiny in that bed. Her blond hair was a mess on top of her head. It looked like it was supposed to be tied up.

"Yes, Macey?" I asked sweetly, sitting on the edge of her bed. She sat up. She crawled into my lap and hugged my waist. "Who did your hair?" I asked.

"Malcolm," she giggled.

"Figures," I muttered. Malcolm shrugged his shoulders, not really caring.

"Why do people leave?" She whispered to me. Everyone stared in awe at her. Stephen, my six year old brother, gave her a look that said 'why would you ask that?'. I gulped. My throat tightened and my heart ached.

"Annabeth..." Mal started. He was such a good brother. He cared about everyone's feelings. Comfort and love was his policy for our cabin. His eyes watered a little. Mal's search party was a failure-as expected-and it hit everyone hard. Percy was his friend, too. Hell, Percy was everyone's friend.

"No, Mal, its okay." I said. He nodded, pulling his blankets around him. He laid down and faced the wall. I heard a few sniffles. George and Matt were quiet for once, staring at me.

"Bethy?" Macey said, looking up at me. I looked down at her. She was so young, yet she knew how it felt to be left. Her father dropped her off at Half-Blood Hill and drove off, leaving Will from Apollo's cabin to find her in the morning. Her eyes were wet with tears and her bottom lip quivering.

"People leave because...they have to. Sometimes they convince themselves they have to, other times they know. Sometimes its the hardest thing a person can do, Mace." I said. I kept the tears in.

"Oh."

"Don't worry, Macey, we'll find him," I said, convincing myself more than her. She nodded half-heartedly and laid back down.

"Can you please sleep with me tonight?" She asked. I really didn't want to. I needed to be alone. Well, as best I could in our cabin.

"Macey..." I started.

"I'll sleep with you tonight, Mace-Face," Rocio said. Macey's face fell a little, but she liked Rocio.

"Okay," she said. I kissed her on the forehead and stood up.

"I'm returning the favor, Annabeth," Rocio smiled. I smiled and nodded. I walked to the far wall and stood by the light switch.

"Good night, guys. I love you," I said in a thick voice. I said this to them every night, but it seemed to mean something more that night.

You never know when you're gonna lose something that means so much to you.

"G'night, Annabeth. Love ya'" they said simultaneously. They chuckled when they spoke in unison for the second time that day. I flicked the switch and climbed into bed.

Sleep hit me as soon as I put my head down.

I dreamed of Hera. She was standing in front of me, in my cabin.

"Annabeth, daughter of Athena," She greeted.

"Hera," I said with disgust. Flames burst in her eyes, but calmed down. She had her brown hair braided down her back. She was tall, letting her chiffon stretch to her unseen feet.

"Do you know why I'm here?" She asked, amusement flickering in her eyes. My heart stopped.

"Can you help me?" I blurted without thinking. She tilted her head a little bit.

"Perhaps. Tomorrow you must fly to the Grand Canyon. You will find the answer to your problem there. Look for the boy with one shoe. He will have two companions: a girl named Piper and a boy named Leo. They are...special." She said. Her voice was hushed, like she was hiding something. Probably the truth.

"Is it that easy?" I asked with disbelief.

"Nothing is ever easy, child. You, of all people, should know that." She said with ferocity in her eyes. My heart fell the thousandth time that day.

"Are they demigods?" I asked. She curled her lip in disgust at the word.

"Indeed."

"Do they have a protector?" I asked.

"Gleeson Hedge. He's very brave, that one, if I do say so myself." She answered me. I was the one who directed Gleeson to that mission. I only thought there were two demigods there. Oh well.

"Okay." I nodded. She glared at me.

"You must leave in the morning." She demanded and disappeared.

I woke with a start. I looked around. Everyone was asleep. Macey was curled into Rocio's chest and Mal was hugging his pillow with a disturbed look on his face.

I ran out of the cabin towards the big house. I banged on the door repeatedly.

I had a clue, a lead. I had hope.

"Annabeth? What is it?" Chiron muttered, opening the door. He was wearing a plaid button-up shirt. I was wearing Percy's green shirt and gray sweats.

"Hera came to me in a dream." I panted. He woke up.

"Come inside. I have a feeling we have a lot to talk about..." He said, opening the door for me to enter. I walked in, knowing this was the beginning of a very painful journey.

OOOOOOh. Cliffhanger. I hate those myself. Sorry, guys.

Review please! The next chapter will be after Jason's little-er big, journey. Well, it's little compared to Percy's BadASS adventures, right?lol.

Review, please. Thanks. Love, AJ121