Hey, guys I'm back:) I'm so sorry for the long wait, and thank you for the reviews! I do not own PJO, Rick does, this story is for entertainment purposes only.

Enjoy:)

Thalia never thought she would, but there was one word she was beginning to hate more than ever: condolences.

She went to the market that's right around the corner from their apartment just to pick up a carton of milk for Mittens. Just one thing—milk, and it's a small part of town they're in, so everyone knows her there.

But this was just ridiculous.

That morning she had woken up to Mittens licking her face and pawing at her. She was forced to get up and to get out the door without getting ready to get something to feed the cat.

So she walked out of the apartment wearing her sweat pants and tank top. She didn't think anyone would be there because no one ever is, but this one day, it's like the whole building's there.

Thalia knows they're talking about her and the disappearance of Luke. She knows because once she steps in wearing Luke's sliders, and they stop talking and stare at her like she was some sort of mutant.

But she heard one last sentence in the background:

"I heard her friend, Annie, going crazy on the roof."

Thalia grits her teeth and she clenches her fists by her sides and walks to the cold section, feeling all of their eyes on her. She stops and looks back, and the entire crowd looks away.

She decides to play along, thinking that this could be fun. Thalia trails along the side with the chips, and with her back turned to them, she starts to make her eyes fill up with tears, though it's not that hard because she takes one look at his sliders on her feet and her heart weighs in her chest and she begins to cry a little. Then she thinks about Jason, and how she missed his entire life, his wedding, and thinks about Luke again and how he thought he died because he thought he was saving the both of them.

She choked out a sob, but then heard an "Aww…" and immediately sucked it up and remembered that these people were two-faced in this moment. They didn't have the guts to actually pity for a person, and make sure they're okay, but instead focus on whispering about the rumors they heard about Annabeth on the roof.

Thalia gritted her teeth and then looked at a random bag of chips and reached for them. Then she stopped because she realized that she didn't like the salty kind, and then quickly jerked her hand to the Cheetoes.

She broke down sobbing and clutched the bag of snacks close to her. Tears ran down her face, and she felt every single pair of eyes on her. She peeked open an eye and looked at them, her sobs suddenly dying, and she stared into the shocked and concerned faces.

She babbled out, still crying, "These were h-his favorite." Thalia clutched them closer to her chest.

Nuh-uh! Luke would've said; those aren't my favorite! I thought you knew—wait a minute. You're not doing what I think you're doing, are you?

"Oh," a couple of them crooned.

One, a woman, stepped up to her and laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I give you my condolences."

There was that word.

Condolences.

She couldn't even get her mouth to form the words because she loathed it so much. Thalia pressed her lips together and frowned and had to force the words out of her mouth:

"Thank you, so, very much." But she said it through gritted teeth and glared eyes.

The woman didn't seem to notice as she gave a smile. Not a kind one to Thalia, but a confident one to her own, as if she was proud of herself for actually being able to care for someone.

Thalia walked away and towards the milk. She casually picked out a carton from the fridge and turned around to find that all the people in there were still gawking at her.

"What are you looking at?" She threatened.

They tore their eyes away from her, suddenly frightened by her snap at them, and they scattered over the store again.

One teenage boy passed by her and called her a curse under his breath.

"Hey!" She took his shoulder and turned him around to face her and she pointed a free finger at his face. "Call me that one more time and I'll show you what a real witch on wheels looks like."

The boy's expression turns weird as if her touching him made him want to wriggle out from under her grasp.

And then a gasp ripples through the store and Thalia glances around, seeing everyone with shocked faces.

Wow, Thalia, letting your anger get in the way of your beautiful plan. Again. That's what Luke would've commented.

Thalia then recovers by backing up and covering face with hands and sobbing a little too loud. "I can't believe you would call me that!" Then she punches the guy in the chest for good measure. "My best friend just died and you have the nerve to call me that?!"

She could imagine Luke shaking his head and crossing his arms. Well, you can be one sometimes.

Then the people in the store mourn for her again, but the boy can see through it as he scoffs.

Thalia shoots a glare at him through her fingers.

He glares back, but is cut off by another one of the ladies pulling on his ear. "You apologize to her right now, Gary!"

"Ugh, mom, I told you—my name is G-Man."

Thalia had to snort. This kid was just a teenager.

"You're not an adult yet, it's impossible for you to change your name!"

Gary sighed and then looked at Thalia, who was waiting with a glint in her eyes, though it was mistaken for tears, and a smirk.

"Sorry," He snapped.

Thalia sniffed and said, "Whatever. Just let me grieve in peace," then she walked to the counter to pay, but then remembered that Mittens had pushed her out of the door so fast that she hadn't been able to grab some money. She gritted her teeth and thought, Stupid cat.

What are you doing?! Luke would've yelled and offered out a hand and eyebrows scrunched. You've got the whole ball game set up! Now knock it out of the park.

Thalia was confused for a little bit. Since when did Luke become her conscious?

Since he died, it replied.

Since I died—since I left you. See, you were right, to Annabeth, I mean. I'm always going to be there.

Thalia smirks smugly and she can't help but think: So it is true, huh? Great minds think alike.

You wish, Luke replied. I'm the one giving you the advice here.

Thalia walks up to the counter, conjuring more tears as she carefully sets the objects on it, her hands shaking, and her eyelids fallen in sadness. She can feel the register clerk staring at her with a frown and pity eyes, and she knows she's got this in the bag. So then she digs her hands in her sweatpants' pockets, searching for money, but then her eyes widen in surprise. With shaking hands, she pulls out the insides of her pockets and shows that there's nothing in them.

Thalia starts breathing heavily. "I could've sworn…" then she sighs. "I was planning so much about Luke's funeral that I—"

"I-it's okay." The girl, the clerk, said. "Don't worry about it, it's on us." And she smiles at Thalia sweetly.

Thalia smiles too, and on the inside, she knows that the mission is accomplished, but she can't seem too ready.

"Are you sure? Just because my best friend was murdered brutally, doesn't mean that I should be treated differently than all these other citizens of the store." Her hand waves to all the other customers, and her voice is airy.

"Of course it does! Here," The woman puts her things in a plastic bag and then it holds it out to her. "Go ahead, it's on me."

Thalia feels bad for a moment, but then she remembers that it's not completely a lie—her best friend really was brutally murdered.

Behind her, Luke would stare at her, his arms still crossed. And he'd be shaking his head slowly, but a smug smirk lining his lips. Wow, I can't believe you—using my death as an excuse to get free food.

Well, you're the one helping me do it, aren't you? Thalia answers back as she cries a little and walks out the door of the store.

Luke would stand there, dumbstruck. But then he points a finger at her. Hey! Don't put this on me! I'm dead, but you put me in as your subconscious! Then he would stop and stare at her. Really, Thalia? You made a dead man be your thoughts?

"You weren't just a dead man," she whispers under her breath to where only she could hear it.

I loved you.

This time, the tears that passed into her eyes were real.

Thalia glared at the cat.

Mittens sniffed at the bowl of milk that Thalia put out for her and then looked up at her as if saying, "What kind of demon poison is this?"

"Oh, no you don't." Thalia says, putting her hands on her hips. "I got that for free! Just for you! Do you know how hard that was?!"

Mittens gave her a look, her cat eyes lazy, and her tail swishing back and forth, barely teasing the floor. She meowed at Thalia and then sat down, and looked away, ignoring both Thalia and the milk.

Thalia's jaw dropped and she stared at it incredulously.

"No. Don't you dare."

"Thalia?" A voice asks and suddenly Rachel appears. She blinks at her in confusion. "Who are you talking to?"

"The cat!" Thalia's hands thrusts out at Mittens. "Who else?!"

Rachel frowns. "Right. Silly me,"

Thalia sighs. "It made me get something for it to eat and when I got the milk for free, it doesn't even appreciate it! Spoiled brat," she mumbles.

Mittens yowls at her and then walks over to the table, jumping up onto it.

Thalia glares at it, but then Rachel takes her arm. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute. You got it for free? How?"

"It's a long story…" Thalia trailed off. "The point is that Mittens here isn't eating it! Now we have wasted milk."

"Are we seriously going to keep calling it Mittens?" Rachel asks as she takes the bowl of milk and washes it out. "Doesn't it seem a little clichéd? And weird?"

"Yeah…" Thalia sighs and she slumps down in a chair that has its back to the now un-named cat. She remembers its paws and how it looked like it had Mittens, but for some reason, she reminded Thalia of Luke. The way it acts, all smart and silent at the same time, and always loving on her.

She sighs again as her heart weighs down in her chest and she looks down at the shoes—her sliders. The sliders that used to be Luke's, the ones that he wore when he felt the same way she did—lazy and tired and sad.

Then she blinked, tilting her head to the side and was reminded of the so-called "mittens" on her paws.

"Not mittens," she says as it begins to dawn on her. "She's wearing sliders!" Thalia turns around to face the cat as she said, "Your new name is Sliders!"

When she says the name, Sliders looks up and continues crunching on the Cheetoes, her whiskers covered with orange. She looked caught in the act, her eyes wide open, and Thalia could swear she saw a small scar going over one of the eyes.

Rachel starts laughing. "See, Thalia? Sliders isn't a spoiled brat! She still ate something you got for free!"

Thalia closes her mouth and glares at Sliders, who just licks her lips and then continues eating it.

Thalia sits back and says, "Whatever," and pets Sliders. She can't be mean to her now that she resembles Luke in some way.

Softening up, aren't you Grace?

Thalia purses her lips and stops petting her. "In your dreams!" She says and takes back the Cheetoes bag.

Sliders gives her a pouting look.

"Don't give me that look."

Sliders meows softly and takes a step toward Thalia, bumping her forehead on her arm, and rubbing her ears on her fingers, begging for a Cheetoe.

Can't resist me, can you? Luke would wiggle his eyebrows.

Thalia sighs and then slips one of the crunchy snacks out and offers it out to Sliders, who nibbles on the end.

Annabeth had to admit that the past few months were hard, but she was surprised at how well everyone was healing.

First, there was Percy. The very next day, he had woken up early, picked up Nico from his apartment, and drove them to the Café just so he knew he could get to work on time. Annabeth had asked him how he was doing with it, and Percy said something that made her bite back on calling him Seaweed Brain.

He had leaned on the counter as he watched Nico hand a customer a mug. "Listen, I know everyone's all broken about Luke and Bianca's death. But…Luke was right. He had saved everyone. Yeah, he's gone, but it's almost like he and Bianca teamed together and made sure that we had something that would help make up for that, help us…not be so sad about them. You know?" He had tilted his head to the side, his eyebrow furrowed, and his green eyes glowing.

Annabeth knew.

She had looked back at Nico and asked how he was doing.

"I can see him changing," Percy said under his breath to where only the two of them could hear. "He's getting better, I can tell."

"How do you know?" Annabeth's eyebrows furrowed.

Percy shrugged and he had started moving his arm back and forth, wiping the counter. "I just can. I guess it's just that brotherly, protective sense talking."

Annabeth had raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, don't look at me like that," Percy had countered back, and pointed a finger at her. "I can be a brotherly or-or a fatherly figure. Yeah," He shook his head; his eyes were growing wide and his lips smirking.

Annabeth had stared at him for a while and all she could think was, yeah, he would be a good dad. Something stirred inside of her when she thought of that and tugged at her heart.

Percy smiled at her, in that way that made her blush and that way that made her just want to keep staring at his teeth and wide-pulled lips, the wrinkles that squeezed his eyes.

She was reminded of that night, and how it just took his presence to forgive what had happened with Luke. That night they were in the bed, where she didn't worry about anything else that had happened except for being with him. All Annabeth had thought about that night and morning was Percy. And she still thought of him now.

Annabeth had looked back at Nico, who the last time she had seen him, at the funeral, he was pale and his hair was in a tangled mess and he was hunched over. His eyes were red, like he'd been crying, and he was so skinny and fragile that Annabeth thought even the slight breeze would make him shatter.

But when she looked at him, he had looked at the two of them at the same moment. The sun was behind him in the window, and made out his outline. He was firmer, like he'd been working out and taking more care of himself. He'd gotten a haircut, too, and his dark hair wasn't anywhere near his eyebrows so Annabeth could see his eyes perfectly clear—and they weren't red. His back was straight, his shoulders weren't curved.

Annabeth had to agree with Percy: he did look different. And she could tell he was getting better on the inside.

She knew this because Nico smiled at them.

That had been the first time she'd ever seen him smile.

Annabeth smiled back and Percy spoke in her ear: "Yeah, every now and then there'd be a guy walking in looking for Nico, but he'd just tell them to go."

She had turned around to face him. "Wow, looks like you're doing well."

Percy smiled back at her. "So how's Thalia doing?" He had asked.

Thalia was doing just as well, even better than Annabeth thought she was going to be. A couple weeks ago, she'd walked into her apartment from Piper and Jason's house and found Thalia talking to Mittens—or, actually, Sliders.

"What is the matter with you, cat?!" She was screaming at it.

"Thalia," Annabeth had said, standing there as the door slowly swung closed and she had her fingers wrapped around the strap of her bag. "It's an animal. It can't talk back."

"Yeah, well she's talking back to me right now." Thalia countered, but she was looking at Sliders, her hands on her hips.

"Are you okay?" Annabeth asked, more serious this time.

Thalia gave her a strange look, as if nothing had happened, as if Luke wasn't gone, as if no single life had ended. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" She had suddenly forgotten about her feud with the cat and picked her up, stroking her raven black fur.

"Well…" Annabeth had trailed off and her fingers still hurt from how hard she had wrung them together in her lap. "I thought you'd still be a little upset after what happened…"

A look of recognition had passed over Thalia's face. She had sighed and then stood and walked over to her, sitting next to her on the couch, Sliders sprawled on her lap.

"Listen, Annabeth," Thalia had said in a calm voice. "Yes, bad things happened. But, like I said, it's not like he's completely gone."

"But doesn't that make you miss him even more?"

"No, because somehow, that little bugger got himself embedded into my brain. I think in his thoughts now, it's crazy, I know," Thalia had closed her eyes and nodded and said that when Annabeth gave her a look. "But it just is. Maybe that's a different version of post traumatic stress disorder, I don't know, but I do." She had shaken her head. "It doesn't make me miss him more. It makes me grateful for what I have, and I know that, in the end, he was protecting all of us. I've forgiven that, and I've moved on. I even got free food,"

Annabeth had given her an appalled look.

Thalia rolled her eyes. "It's a long story."

It seemed that Annabeth was the only one who couldn't get over him. But Percy had saved her from that, and she had saved him as well. So why was she still thinking that something was missing? She felt like she had to grieve longer, but she couldn't bring herself to it because the other part of her knew that everything was okay.

Bianca and Luke had died to save people, and now everyone was forgiving it.

She hoped they could do it for the third death.

The second week after the funeral, and Thalia had come back to work with Annabeth. She was a little sad about leaving Sliders back at home, but then Piper had looked at her with her face contorted in confusion.

Thalia explained that it was a cat and Piper smiled a little. "I've never had a pet before." She had said.

But Annabeth was starting to hate Sliders. She shed fur, and Annabeth had to clean that up. Her fur was black, so it was always automatically spotted out against the white cushions. Annabeth glared at the cat, which licked herself off in the corner, and she rolled her eyes, picking up the clump of fur through the vacuum cleaner sucker.

Jason was in the house that day, for some reason, he'd gotten a day off of work.

He glanced up and saw Sliders, then stopped and stared at her. Then he looked at Annabeth and pointed to the cat. "When did we get a cat?"

"Thalia stole it."

"That explains it."

They both smiled and chuckled a little and then Jason walked into the kitchen and placed the mail on the island.

Suddenly, a short scream erupted from upstairs.

Jason froze and then looked up at the staircase. He looked frightened by the familiar yelp.

Then the scream came again, and it was Piper.

Thalia came running in, dropping the giant bags of cat food on the floor.
"What the hell was that?"

The scream came out again, loud and piercing, and there were thumping noises against the ceiling. Slider's ears perked up and her head rose, her cat eyes glowing as they searched the ceiling and stairs.

Jason bolted to the stairs and skipped three at a time, yelling out Piper's name while doing so.

But she appeared by the bedroom door and skipped the same amount of stairs going down to him. Her hair was flying around her face, and Jason stopped abruptly in shock. He thought she would be crying, in terror, and he would come to her rescue, but it was the other way around, because if her grin got any bigger, then her face would possibly explode.

She exclaimed and jumped down onto Jason, his arms wrapping around her, but his brows still furrowed in confusion.

"What's wrong?" Annabeth asked from the ground floor; she and Thalia hadn't moved.

Piper pulled back and she was now the one that was confused. "What are you talking about? Nothing's wrong,"

"But…you were screaming," Jason's hands still stayed on her hips that were still a step above him. His face was still pulled together in concern.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean something's wrong," Piper raised her hand and Annabeth now realized that she was holding something. It was a white stick, and she wasn't sure what it was at first. "This is a great thing!"

The three of them still stared. They weren't sure what to say, and what to feel because they still weren't sure what was going on.

But Piper looked as if she were expecting something. Her eyes were wide, and her lips were still smiling. "Guys!" She gestured her hands to herself as if they were supposed to understand what was happening.

Sliders meowed.

"See, Sliders knows what I'm talking about."

"Sorry, we don't speak cat." Thalia said.

Piper went down one step and she kissed Jason, who was glad that she was there with him, but still looked worried.

"Pipes, what's going on?"

Piper sighed impatiently. "I guess I'll just tell you then…"

"Please," Annabeth said.

But Piper didn't pay attention to her. She wrapped her arm around Jason and her other hand went to his cheek and she smiled. Annabeth stared at how they looked at each other, like nothing else mattered, like it was just them in the whole world and no one else could interfere with that.

Jason wrapped his arms around her, too, and Piper said, "Sparky, you're going to be a dad."

Jason froze, and you could tell that he was speechless from where Annabeth stood. He frowned and stared at her. "What?" his voice came out so soft, that Annabeth could barely hear him.

Piper nodded her head. "It's true!"

Jason breathed out a laugh, and he now looked relieved. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Piper giggled and kissed him again. But when she pulled back, there was a look on her face that was so different from the happy one that she was just wearing. It was as if she had remembered a sad memory. "Maybe it'll work this time." She said.

Annabeth was confused again and the smile began to fade. "What do you mean by that?"

Jason was frowning as well and he peeled his eyes away from Piper and looked at her. "We've been pregnant…before already."

They didn't have to say more. Annabeth's heart weighed down in her chest. Their sadness was so palpable, she could taste it and her eyes burned.

Thalia frowned. "Is that why you like flowers so much?"

Piper stared at her for a while, having a silent conversation, and then she turned away and buried her head into Jason's shoulder.

Annabeth walked back and peeked through the curtains and out the window where the garden of Piper's lined up right outside the window. She could see all the little patches, every child different. Each one growing, their seeds and petals blooming and turning towards the sunshine. Annabeth smiled a little, because it was still beautiful even if it was sad.

But she couldn't help but feel that presence of death hang around her like a thunder cloud. She frowned and she stared at the flower that Piper had planted for Luke and Bianca. Luke's was growing tall, like he was, and she couldn't help but feel that it was staring right back at her.

Annabeth swallowed hard. Even though the flowers were pretty, each one looked like another gravestone in a cemetery. Each one was sad and the dew on the petals was like they were crying. She took in a deep breath through her nose and her breath was shaky coming in and still fragile when it came out. She was scared, for some reason. This was why she felt like something was missing.

This was why she still felt like she had to grieve.

Annabeth wished she could have seen it then, she wished she could've warned Jason and Piper.

Because what she saw out there was like a shadow, dark and eerie and cruel. It was just waiting, sitting, open and bare for someone to take it. It put a chill up her spine because she could swear she saw a spot open for another flower.

It had only been a couple of months, but Piper already had a bump in her tummy that made her touch it gingerly all the time. She was so prepared for this, that for a while, Annabeth thought she was going crazy—baby clothes, the bedroom was even dressed up in its kind furniture.

But then she saw that glow in Piper's eyes. How they turned an ocean blue, and then emerald green. She was excited. She even began treating Sliders like she was a baby, picking her up and making sure she was in human contact. It was proven that a human being can die if it's without any other human contact for an amount of days.

Piper would make sure that that wasn't going to be the case. She was always around everyone, sharing her time with others, making sure everyone else was okay before she was. And that caused some light arguments between her and Jason because he insisted that he made sure she was okay before anyone else was.

Annabeth had to stifle her chuckle and grin every time they did that. It was amusing, and it was loving. She enjoyed their couple and how they spent time around each other.

Every night for the past few months, Annabeth strived to be around Percy. For some reason, she always got this gut feeling to always be around him. Sometimes, that was almost impossible, and that made her frustrated, but then once her gray eyes finally landed on his figure, she was perfectly normal again. Like he was the antidote, the cure, to her.

She found herself missing him even more now, and it was an even powerful feeling every time she was near him, and then away from him. Annabeth was tied to Percy, like if she had even turned her back on him, her whole body and mind would unravel and strip her down to the point where she couldn't take it.

Percy was the same way, fighting to meet up with her at nights and they'd lay in his bed and talk and kiss the entire time. She soothed him, made his worries go away, and he didn't just need that, but he needed her in general. He was so used to her coming into the Café for lunch that he'd already have her seaweed coffee made and he'd stare at the door, ignoring every other customer until Annabeth walked in—until her being had literally passed through the door. Until that bell had rung and announced her presence.

Annabeth's life had been so happy lately, that she didn't think that anything bad would ever happen again.

But she should've known better because whatever comes up must come down.

This morning had been such an eerie morning. She woke up and she was usually greeted to the sunshine that formed a weird shape on her bedspread, or even the car noises of morning traffic finding its way to her window.

But this morning she had woken up to nothing but silence. Like the whole world had gone still.

She didn't think much of it as she got ready and ate breakfast. But even her seaweed coffee tasted bad that morning, and that was definitely a sign. Thalia was already dragging her out the door before she could comment about it.

The flowers weren't open this morning either. They were closed, their beautiful look being hidden. It was like the children underneath were hiding away and the dew made it look like they were crying.

The wind didn't blow, but it wasn't humid either. Just still. Nothing happened.

Annabeth had a bad feeling about today, but she still didn't say anything about it and just thought it was a part of her mind. Maybe it was just her—maybe she was the one who had woken up on the wrong side of the bed that morning. But something told her that that wasn't the problem.

Thalia didn't seem to notice it. She walked in and started her daily chores. She had to feed Sliders first and then go to the store that day. Sometimes Piper offered to go, but today she was nowhere in sight.

"Piper?" Annabeth called out. "Jason?"

"Up here!" A deep voice said and Jason was climbing down the stairs now. "Piper doesn't feel very good, so—"

"Oh, hush, Sparky! I'm fine, honestly!" Piper said as she came out of the hallway wearing shorts and an over-sized t-shirt. Her hair was down and her eyes looked dull. They weren't that ocean blue or green, they were just…dull. Like they knew something was wrong, too.

She climbed down, gripping the railing.

Jason reached out for her. "Pipes, you need to go back to bed. Get some rest .You've been doing so much work lately—"

"Nonsense! Laney likes it," Piper put a hand on her stomach that was barely poking against her shirt.

Jason gave her a look, a motherly look, and he said, "Well I'm going to be right next to you whether you like it or not." He grasped her hand.

Piper smiled and kissed him. "Why wouldn't I want that?" She asked the rhetorical question and then continued down the stairs and landed on the couch.

But Annabeth could see that something was wrong. She still stood by the door, her hands hanging limply by her sides, and she stared at Piper. She wondered how Jason couldn't have seen it: the frown that was constantly on Piper's lips, the way her eyelids were hanging a little, the way she was always cradling her stomach.

Piper leaned back on the couch and she turned on the TV.

Annabeth sighed and pursed her lips, still not saying anything about it. She wished she could point it out, but she didn't know the words to say. So, instead, she continued on her own chores. She dusted and washed the dishes and by the afternoon, she was getting ready to do the laundry.

Piper had stayed in that one spot on the couch that whole day, staring at the TV, but Annabeth took looks at her every now and then and saw that she wasn't actually watching the screen.

Annabeth just walked away. Piper didn't say a word either, but Annabeth set down a glass of water down on the table next to her. But since the afternoon, Piper didn't take a drink out of it.

Sliders had walked up to her and jumped into her lap. But she didn't lay down there, no, she stared up at Piper and then meowed. She meowed, and it turned into yowling, deep and long, and it sounded it came from the depths of her throat. It put a chill up her back.

Piper frowned at Sliders as she lightly scratched the back of the cat's neck. Sliders stared at her like she was trying to tell her something. Soon, after Piper began to ignore the cat, Sliders jumped down from her lap and walked away, her tail low and in between her legs.

Annabeth was pulling out the dried clothes out of the dryer. Thalia had gone back out to the store because she had forgotten something.

She expected the towels to feel so warm in her grasp, like how they usually do when she takes them out, but this time they were cold. So cold that they almost burned her hands. She frowned at it as she set it in the basket at her feet. It seemed that nothing was working today.

"Pipes, you want something to eat?" She heard Jason ask in the other room.

"I'll get it," Piper said after blinking like she just came out of a daze.

"No, no, it's okay. I'll get it." Jason said.

"Jase, it's fine. I can still get something to eat on my own."

Jason frowned and stepped back a little. "Sorry, just thought I could help you out a little."

Piper sighed and realized that this was making her mood meddle with Jason. She didn't want that, because she never snaps at him. "I'm sorry I snapped at you." She said. "Thank you for offering, but I'll get it, it's okay." She rested a hand on his cheek and kissed him.

He smiled as he watched her walk to the refrigerator.

Piper felt dizzy suddenly, and she began to feel an excruciating pain. She doesn't know where it's coming from, but it hurt so bad that she stumbles and falls against the refrigerator. Her hand grips the handle to keep herself up, but the floor feels like it's banging against her head.

"Piper!" Jason exclaimed and she could hear the concern in his voice. He was suddenly next to her, his arms holding her up. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"Oh," she chuckled airily because she couldn't catch her breath. "Looks like Laney's kicking up a storm," she lied.

Jason frowned and it was almost like he could detect the lie that spilled from her dry mouth. "I think you should rest."

Piper liked that idea. She felt like throwing up and that pain was only getting worse. She nodded and didn't feel like protesting about her resting this entire day. "Okay," She mumbled.

"Okay?" His eyebrows reached his hairline and he steadied her more.

She nodded and swallowed hard, beginning to stand straighter even though her knees wobbled. But Jason's hands held her and she was able to stand in his warmth. It never reached her though and she felt cold, her hands shaking in fear.

That pain was familiar. Like something she'd felt many times before. She wished it would just go away; why couldn't death ever leave her?

She began to cry a little as Jason helped her up the stairs. He held her tighter, hugging her, his mouth against her hair and he whispered that everything was going to be okay and that she just needed rest. His words calmed her but it didn't make the pain go away.

"Annabeth, Piper's going to be upstairs!" Jason called to her.

Annabeth walked out of the laundry room carrying a yellow clothes basket. Her eyebrows were pulled together in worry. "Okay. Is something wrong?"

"She just doesn't feel well. She's getting some rest,"

Annabeth nodded. "Tell me if she needs anything, because I'll get it."

Jason nodded as well. "Thank you."

"Just say my name," Annabeth chuckled, but wasn't amused—she was just trying to assure them. "And I'll be there."

Jason turned back to Piper and they disappeared into the hallway.

Annabeth took a deep breath, but couldn't breathe through the lump in her throat.

Sliders meowed as she sat on the bottom step, staring up at Jason and Piper.

After that, it was so quiet. No sound was heard except for Annabeth's breathing, and even that soon stopped once she realized how everything else around her seemed to stop.

That bad tug in her stomach pulled again, and she could feel it.

Annabeth knew, in that instant. This entire time it was like nature was trying to tell her, but hiding at the same time. Even Piper's children were scared of it.

Slider's warning cry was still in her ears and Annabeth's lips parted a little and her eyes grew wide. She lost all feeling and the clothes basket slipped from her grasp.

In those seconds from between the basket hitting the floor and from when she dropped it, everything…was...quiet.

Nothing moved.

Nothing breathed.

It was just…nothing.

The Earth just stopped moving, stopped spinning.

Everything.

Stopped.

Until….

There was a thump that made the fan rattle.

There was a cry that screamed in agony.

There was another cry that pleaded for help.

"Annabeth!"

Ooh...A cliffy. Well, not exactly, but, you know. :) Guess what?

Tomorrow is Friday.

I can't even process it. Like, I'm speechless. I know it's been a short week since I had Monday off, but I'm always so grateful for Fridays. I hate being at school because all of my classes are filled with idiots, but I have a feeling I'm going to have to deal with that for the rest of my life. :/ I heard that people are just now starting school. Lucky, I started three weeks ago.

Guess what else?

33 more days.

33.

That's only two digits.

Two digits until the House of Hades.

O_O

I can't process that either...I already pre-ordered the book. It's so close, I can almost touch it! It's almost here! Thank the gods! XD

Anyways, so please review and tell me your thoughts! :) Have an awesome Friday. Embrace the last day of the school week.