I am so happy that I everyone is enjoying! :)

I do not own any of this. Percy Jackson belongs to the beloved Uncle Rick and the storyline goes to the amazing Michelle Do for her play of the same name.

Annabeth was on cloud nine. Never before had she felt so happy. No, she could easily call her new demeanor overjoyed. The last time she could remember being this happy was when her mother was alive. She could remember her mother taking her to the theatre and whispering to her during the play. Making funny jokes and often repeating humorous lines back to her on the way home. She missed her mother, so much so, that sometimes it was a constant ache in her chest.

The only thing lately that seemed to make the ache dissipate, or be pushed to the back of her mind, if only for a little while was Percy. Percy...What's the matter with me? I have never been so moony over a man before and now he walks into my life and now I'm sighing and wishing that I could see him more? Pathetic! But no matter how much she tried, she could not stop the smile that would creep up on her when she thought of something that he did or said. She could not help but sigh when she would remember the way he always kissed her hand when he would say goodbye. Of course, she would never forget the moment of bravery that she endured to leave the safety of her home and kiss him on the cheek.

Looking back, she probably should have warned him, or at least alerted him to her presence. He seemed quite alarmed when she was kissing him and she had done nothing but sit in her room, red as a tomato, afterwards and over-analyse everything that she had ever done in her entire life. But she would never regret kissing him on the cheek. She let out another tell tale sigh that alerted anyone in the room that she was thinking of Percy as she fixed her hair for their meeting later that afternoon. They had been seeing each other steadily for over three weeks now, and so far, he had yet to make a move towards her. She thought it strange that he would not even try to kiss her on the cheek. The most that he ever did has hold her hand while walking and then kiss her hand at the end of the date.

And as much as she hated to admit it, she wanted more. Usually she shunned a man's touch, but with Percy, she craved it. When he was around, she always felt like she was on a live wire. Her hand would burn when he held her hand and it would tingle after his lips had brushed her knuckles every night. So couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to kiss those lips. She had kissed him on the cheek and had felt like she was floating the rest of the day. Would it feel the same? Would it be as electric as that was? Would he even accept her advances? What if he didn't really like her? All he ever did was kiss her hand. Maybe that's why he never kissed her.

Annabeth looked at herself in the mirror. Really looked. She had her father's blonde hair and her mother's storm grey eyes. Her face was shaped like a heart and her high cheekbones left her looking thinner that she really was. She was told her entire life that she was gorgeous, just the kind of woman that someone would want to marry. And so it had been her mission to spite all of those people and never fall in love. Now that she met a man that didn't dwell on her appearance, and instead was more interested in her intellect, she found that she wanted more of him. And if there is one thing that anyone should know about her, it was that when she set her mind to something, she would not rest until she got it. She squared her shoulders and set her jaw, she was going to get Percy Jackson to fall in love with her like she had with him.

"I'm in trouble Grover, big trouble."

Percy walked into the bar looking like he hadn't slept in three days. Although his hair always had a messy look to it, it was now downright disheveled and his eyes had dark circles under them.

"What's wrong? It looks like you've been up for three days straight." Grover took Percy's jacket, hung it over a chair and then poured him two fingers of scotch.

"I have another date with Annabeth," Percy stated taking a long sip of the drink.

"That's nothing new. You've been seeing her for a while now."

"No that's not the problem. The problem is: I forget."

Grover looked at Percy with a confused look on his face. "Forget what?"

Percy took another sip and when it didn't do the intended job, he started to pull his hair in frustration. "I forget everything!" Percy turned to Grover with a panicked expression. "I forget where we are. I forget that there is anything else going on. I forget that I'm being paid to date Annabeth. I forget that I'm married! I forget everything! It's like, when we're together, we are the only things that matter anymore. And I find myself forgetting that her father is paying to help my sick wife. I find that I want to forget that. I-"

"You're falling in love with her," Grover stated matter of factly.

Percy sighed and ran a hand over his eyes. "Yes, I am. I am falling in love with Annabeth Chase." Saying it aloud made it even more real that he wanted to admit. He was still married for crying out loud. But when he was with Annabeth, it didn't matter. None of it mattered. All that did matter was that he was in the company of an intelligent, amazing, gorgeous woman who for some reason, decided that she wanted to be around him.

Grover laid a hand on Percy's shoulder and took away the half empty glass of scotch. "So...what are you going to do about it?"

Percy sat for a long time and thought through exactly that. What was he going to do? He loved Annabeth, but there was still a part of him that loved his wife. She would always be a part of him, but another part of him knew that it was time to move on. Rachel would want him to be happy. But he was happy with her when she was healthy, and with the money that Annabeth's father was giving him, he could get that happiness back.

But Annabeth made him happy too. More happy than he could recall being. He had gone into a dark place when Rachel got sick. Annabeth was able to pull him out of that darkness and bring him back into the light. She was fun and challenged him to be better. She was not the typical, swooning, giggling dame that he thought all women were. She was intelligent and wanted to make something of herself other than what society wanted from her. She was brilliant, and he could find happiness with her.

"I'm going to tell her the truth," Percy said definitively.

"Why?" Grover asked.

"Because I love her, and she deserves to know the truth."

Grover patted Percy's shoulder and said, "I'll support whatever you do. I'm sure that Annabeth will understand, if not now, then in time. Plus, who knows, maybe in the future you too can start over and make it real."

"...But to her, this IS real, and it was starting to get real for me too."

"Ah, I see. Well, good luck man. When are you going to tell her?"

"Tonight. I'm going over to her house for dinner. Afterwards, I'll tell her the truth. I'll pick up the rest of the money, and then I'll go home. Hopefully this is last payment will cover Rachel's expenses. Then we can take it day by day after that."

"Well, I wish you all the luck." Grover handed Percy his coat as he rose off of the stool to leave.

"Thank you, Grover. See you on the other side." With those parting words, Percy left the bar and went home to get ready for his last date with Annabeth.

R&R