Hey again! I really don't have anything to say, so just enjoy the chapter will you! Reviews are very much appreciated!

Thalia's POV

We were screwed. As soon as I went underwater I saw, that there was no way we could get away alive. We could never save Grover. Grover... The pain hit me. I could never talk to him again, I couldn't tell him how I felt. I couldn't ask him how he'd felt. He could never comfort me again. Questions would be left without answers. Answers I needed to know to make decisions.

'Artemis,' I thought. 'Please, save us from here.'

Artemis was not only my lady, but one of my best friends, in a way. If she wouldn't save us, then, I guessed she didn't need my services anymore. I would accept it. I hadn't been as loyal to her as she would've deserved.

Then another wave of sadness hit me: Percy and Annabeth would never get their parents' blessing. They would die in as good as exile. I prayed Hades to let them get in Elysium. Their love would last forever in the Underworld.

The currents lifted me to the surface. Not a moment too early; I hadn't even realized how low in oxygen I'd been. The night was jet black. I couldn't see a thing. But I still could hear. I heard Percy yell for Rachel, Annabeth and I. I tried to yell back, but I couldn't. The water and the wind had frozen my throat. I couldn't make a sound.

Suddenly I felt something bump into me. Something rather soft and moving. A person, who breathed heavily, tremors breaking her breath occasionally.

Rachel.

"Thalia!" she whispered. Apparently her voice had gone, too.

I was so glad she was there, but as I couldn't say a thing, I just threw my arms around her in a hug. I wanted to show her, that I was there. She was probably glad, too. She must've been pretty shaken. I was, too. I hadn't been quite close friends with Rachel, but I was happy, that she was there. I didn't want to be alone on the edge of my death.

I wasn't sure about where we would end up when in the Underworld. Hades had promised places in Elysium to the hunters, who had fallen in the battle against Kronos, but he hadn't said anything about those, who'd survived then. And I certainly didn't know about Rachel. After all, she was a mortal. What would Hades have in store for us? I didn't know.

About one thing I was sure: Grover would either survive and fulfill his mission or face death bravely from eye to eye. He'd be reborn as a mighty tree, trustworthy and comforting. Maybe the gods would make him another tree on Half-Blood Hill. I could see it: Grover as a mighty oak standing next to my pine tree. Perhaps, if Artemis wouldn't save me now, the gods would return my spirit back into my tree and I could live next to Grover forever.

My consciousness was slipping away. I couldn't feel the cold anymore. Only numbness. Death was peaceful.

Annabeth's POV

I woke up with bright sunlight shining through my eyelids.

'Wow,' I thought to myself. 'Hades must've sent us straight to Elysium!'

Then I realized how bad I felt. Every inch of me hurt and my throat felt like there were a thousand bees stinging. I couldn't open my eyes. The salty water had chapped my whole face and probably my body, too. Was this really Elysium? I'd thought there was no pain there. What if I was in the Fields of Punishment, damned into eternal pain? Could Athena have been so cruel? I felt alone, forsaken. Where was Percy? I could endure eternal torment if I could see him. Being without Percy was my personal hell. Well, if this truly was the Fields of Punishment, there would be only agony for me.

Then something occurred to me: if this wasn't Elysium, what was that bright light then? I hated the uncertainty of the situation. With or without the curse of Athena, I still wanted to know things. Not knowing what had happened was the worst ever. This was the Fields of Punishment times gazillion.

Suddenly I heard a voice coming from next to me:

"Have you awoken yet?"

It was a female voice, soft and girly. I assumed it to belong to a girl, about my age. Or maybe a bit younger. Who was this person? I was starting to reconsider my Underworld theory. I'd been in the Underworld and I was pretty sure they didn't care about the dead people's well being. But should I trust this girl? Well, a while ago I'd thought I was dead, so perhaps trusting this stranger wouldn't be the least smart thing to do.

"Yeah..." I croaked. Gods, talking hurt so much!

"I'm glad," the girl spoke again. "Just rest now."

That didn't sound bad at all, but I wanted to know where the others were. Most importantly, where Percy was.

"Where's..."

"Shh, don't try to speak," the girl said. I felt a quilt being pulled over me. "You're safe. And so are the others."

Thank the gods! They were alright!

Knowing, that I would probably see Percy soon made me relax. I was still surrounded with questions like where on earth I was and who was the strange girl. I'd also realized, that we could rescue Grover if he was still around to be rescued. I prayed to the gods, that he was fine. The strange girl hadn't left my side. I could sense her there, right next to me. Soon she started to hum a tune. I didn't recognize it, but it was so beautiful and calming, that I was getting drowsy. That was when I started to get suspicious. Humming a song, that would put me to sleep? That didn't sound convincing. But I was so tired, that pretty soon I gave in and let sleep take me.

The next time I woke up, I could force my eyes open. I was lying in a deck chair. First I thought I was back at Camp Half-Blood, but when I absorbed my surroundings, I realized, that I'd never been in the place before. I was on top of a grassy hill. There were trees and some exotic plants surrounding me and the sea glittered a few hundred meters away. I felt like I was in a tropical garden, with fruit trees and huge flowers. What was this place? I tried to rise, but I was too weak. My muscles felt like spaghetti.

Suddenly I heard a voice calling my name. It came somewhere behind me. It was a voice I knew.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

"Annabeth! You're awake!"

Heck, I didn't want to meet her in this condition.

Rachel appeared beside my deck chair and placed a cool cloth on my forehead.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I'm fine," I said. I was happy to find out my voice was getting back to normal. My throat was still burning, though, but not so badly as it had been.

Then I remembered the strange girl. Who had she been and where was she now? Had she been only my imagination? I finally looked at Rachel. She was wearing strange clothes. A white linen shirt and trousers, that matched. Where had she gotten those? Then I took a look at myself. I wore the exactly same shirt and trousers as Rachel did. Where had I gotten these?

Then another person came next to Rachel. One I didn't recognize at all. This girl had caramel-colored hair and almond eyes. She was about a year younger than me, but her face looked... timeless. Like she'd looked like that for a thousand years.

"You're awake again!" she said and smiled. I recognized her voice immediately. This was the strange singer girl.

"Where am I?" I asked.

The girl offered me a drink, that looked somewhat like apple juice. I took a sip and it tasted like strawberries. Fresh, juicy strawberries. Just like the ones, that grew at Camp Half-Blood. The drink was nectar of the gods.

"No need to worry, you're in my home, Ogygia," the girl said.

Why did the word 'Ogygia' ring a bell? Where had I heard it before? I didn't have to think about it for long, because the girl continued:

"I should probably introduce myself, too. I am Calypso."

Calypso? I'd thought only male heroes could get on her island. I had read about Ogygia from the Odyssey.

"Where's Percy?" I asked. I wanted to see him. That would fully convince me of being safe.

"He's inside. He's still resting," Calypso said with a soft tone.

Percy had met Calypso before. After blowing up Mount St. Helens, he'd marooned on her island and she'd taken care of him. There was some more to that, but I didn't want to think about it. I just thought how this reunion might feel to Calypso, since she'd been forced never to see the heroes, who'd left her island, again.

"Is he okay?" I continued the flow of questions for Calypso.

She nodded.

"He will be just fine, but drowning is quite exhausting."

Thank gods, he was okay! I would see him soon and everything would be fine. We could save Grover and... Wait, there was still something missing.

"Is Thalia here, too?" I asked.

I didn't need an answer, because I heard another voice from behind me saying:

"Of course I am, Annabeth."

Again, thank the gods! Thalia was safe, too!

"So, you're Annabeth?" Calypso asked.

Her tone surprised me. I got the feeling, that she'd been told about me. What did she know about me?

"Errm... yeah, I am," I said.

"Yes, I've heard of you. Percy talks in his sleep and I suppose you already know, that I have met him before," Calypso said.

Again, I was surprised by her tone. It was a tone I used when I talked of Percy. Filled with emotion. Of course! The Fates had cursed Calypso to fall in love with every hero, who got on her island. There was a jolt of jealousy in my stomach.

"Yeah. He's... errm... mentioned that," I mumbled.

"I see," said Calypso and smiled a dreamy smile. "Now, I'll let you three to catch up. I need to tace care of the brave one."

The 'brave one'? Did she always call male heroes that?

Calypso left us and Thalia took her place beside my deck chair. Her face was chalk pale and she looked like she'd lost a lot of weight she couldn't afford to lose. The same applied to Rachel. Thalia, too was wearing same kind of clothes as Rachel and I.

"How are you feeling, Annabeth?" Thalia asked.

"Good... I guess," I said. Nearly drowning was a shocking experience. I had never been so close to death as I'd been then.

"Gods, I thought we'd all die!" Rachel squealed.

"So did I!" Thalia and I said in unison.

"Have you seen Percy?" I asked.

"I got a glimpse of him," Thalia said. "He was sleeping inside."

Sleeping was good. I wanted Percy to get better as soon as possible. I needed to see him, to talk to him. I wanted to thank him of the comfort he'd given me in the moment of death.

There was another thing I wanted to talk to him about. While in the boat, fighting against the huge storm, I had given a thought to the choice we had to make. Our parents had told us to do what was right. They had also told us to contact Hermes if we wanted to obey them. The storm had made me think. Don't get me wrong, I do love Percy and I couldn't ever stop loving him, but I wondered if it would be better to give up on our parents and obey them and act as friends with Percy. After all, we both knew how much we loved each other. See, if we were to rescue Grover, we needed to get away from Ogygia and to the Monster Doughnut -island and that would mean another trip on a boat. I was sure Poseidon wouldn't let us get through another time. And given that, I thought a full life with my friends would be much nicer, than a shorter one. I could spend eternity with Percy in Elysium, after the long life with him as my friend. I was quite sure Percy would understand. I just needed to speak to him.

Thalia offered me another sip of nectar. After that, the whole drink disappeared into my stomach in no time. I felt one hundred percent better.

"I'd like to see him," I said. "Could you help me up?"

Thalia and Rachel lifted me up and let me put my whole weight on them. Getting up so suddenly made me woozy, but I didn't show it. I wanted to see Percy. Thalia and Rachel walked me down the hill, towards the sea. We passed beautiful plants, marvelous flowerbeds and many fountains and Greek statues. The scent of the flowers and trees was intoxicating. No wonder men had difficulties with leaving this place.

Pretty close the shore was a huge cave. We entered it and arrived in a room, which had four beds beside the walls, with linen curtains around them. Only one bed had the curtains closed. I could see Calypso's shadow behind them. She was working on Percy. I took a glance on the ceiling. There were crystals there, like stars, embedded in the rock. It was beautiful beyond any measure. I tore my gaze off it and concentrated on moving my feet towards Percy's bed. Calypso rose behind the curtains and opened them.

"You shouldn't strain yourself," she said and looked at me.

I didn't look back. My eyes were locked on the boy lying on the bed in a half-sitting position. He looked back at me with his half opened sea green eyes. A smile appeared on his face.

"Annabeth!" Percy said.

I wanted to run to him, but I could tell, that if Thalia or Rachel would let go of me, I'd fall on the hard rock floor, so I just let them walk me to Percy's bed. I sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Hey, Percy," I said softly and stroked his hair.

"I'm so happy you're okay," Percy said. His voice was feeble, but I could hear true relief in it.

"Me, too," I said and smiled.

I heard the curtains close behind me and I sensed, that we were left alone.

Percy's other hand gripped mine and he held it on his chest. We stayed like that and said nothing. Words weren't needed in that moment. The sweetness of the reunion was almost touchable. There was no friction between us. Just happiness. We'd survived yet another struggle, hundreds to come. Right then, I didn't even remember the decision that had to be made.

After a while, Percy opened his mouth.

"I love you," he said.

How I'd missed him saying that!

"I love you, too, Seaweed Brain," I said and my smile grew even wider.

In that moment, I remembered the decision, that had to be made. I wanted to tell him how much I loved him whenever I got the chance. Soon, if we'd come to the conclusion, that we should apologize to our parents and obey them, I wouldn't be able to tell him that any more.

I lowered my head and Percy's lips met mine. After hours of horror, kissing Percy felt better than the Isles of the Blest. I could stay in that moment forever. Just me, Percy and the sweet silence. No parents, no friends interrupting us. I wanted to cherish these moments. Make them the most beautiful. That wasn't hard. Apparently, Percy had something similar in mind. Together, we made our kiss perfect.

I hadn't realized how weak I still was. My arms, that I had put all of my weight on, buckled and I fell on top of Percy. That broke our kiss.

"Gods, I'm so sorry, Percy!" I apologized. He was still weaker than I was. Had I hurt him bad?

"It's okay. No harm done," he said, luckily.

Percy pulled my face closer to his and we continued our kiss. His one hand went to my hair, his fingers tangled on them. His other hand caressed my body. It started from my shoulder, found its way down my side and traced the curve of my hip. There it stopped. I felt a jolt in my stomach. This was new. He'd never gone as down as my hips with his hands. They'd always stayed above my waistline. I didn't mind, though. When it was Percy I was talking about, I always craved more. There wasn't a part of me, that wouldn't have wanted him.

I heard the curtain being pulled open.

"I'm... sorry to interrupt, but Annabeth, you should get back to rest."

I was liking Calypso less and less every minute.

Percy brushed a strand of hair off my face and said:

"She's right. You should rest."

"But I just got you back," I whispered. "I don't want to go away."

Percy smiled and kissed my forehead.

"I'm not going anywhere. Seriously, you need some rest," he said.

Reluctantly I let Calypso pull me off Percy's bed and walk me back outside. Thalia and Rachel were sitting on the grass, next to the cave entrance. My deck chair had been moved there. Calypso put me down and I sunk on the deck chair. Then she went to her garden.

"Have you heard anything about Grover?" I asked.

Thalia hung her head.

"No, we haven't heard anything," Rachel said.

Poor Thalia. I remembered the time Percy was unconscious. It had been pure Hades. It was hard, not to know if a loved one was still alive.

"Are you okay, Thals?" I asked.

"I'm fine... It's just... hard," Thalia answered, struggling to keep her voice straight.

I wished I could comfort her. Just give her a hug or something. But I was stuck in this stupid chair, too weak to lift myself up. I felt useless.

"Are you hungry, Annabeth?"

Calypso was walking toward us, her caramel hair a bit ruffled from working in her garden. Her white Greek tunic had some stains of grass. Nevertheless, she was one of the most beautiful people I had ever seen. Again, I could see why heroes left this place so reluctantly. Now that Calypso had asked, I was pretty hungry, actually.

"Yeah," I said.

"I'll go and make you some dinner, then," said Calypso and off she went.

I couldn't understand her hospitality. Not at all. I knew, that the time on Ogygia would be... different. How different? I didn't know yet. But it would most certainly be nothing I'd experienced before. And then there was the thing I'd have to discuss with Percy. I prayed to the gods he'd get better soon. I didn't want to upset him before he was fully recovered. On the other hand, I wished I'd never have to mention the matter to him. Olympus knows, I didn't.

Did you like it? Hate it? Tell me your opinion! What do you think should happen? Review!