Saying goodbye to the forest was probably one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. This was the most peaceful place I have ever been to and where I fully appreciate having someone in my life. The campsite is important to me and leaving it was torture.

"I'm sure gonna miss this place." I whispered to my boyfriend, leaning my head to his shoulder. "When can we come back?"

Percy smiled and placed a kiss on my temple, wrapping an arm around my waist. "As soon as we get the chance to. Maybe next time, we can go alone and get the privacy that we deserve." The last few words were said a little teasingly, pulling me tighter to him. The idea was strangely gratifying. At least I have something to look forward to now.

"You promise me that, Seaweed Brain?" I just had to make sure that he was serious about this.

He nodded in reply, "Of course." He said, "I swear to you that I will do whatever it takes to bring you back here."

There was absolutely nothing in his face that told me that he was lying or that he wasn't serious about the promise. I just realized how stupid I was to even search for it. Percy is the most honest, most loyal person in the entire world. He would never lie to me when it comes to something that means so much to me. He would never lie to me, period. That's what I love most about him, his passion. God, he was so perfect.

It took us exactly fifteen minutes to actually get on the van and drive away. I knew that it wasn't only me who had a hard time letting go. My friends made a lot of good memories there and if we could have stayed longer, then we would have. But we can't. And if we did, it would have been harder for us to let go. We will grow more attached and that's the last thing Percy needs. He already had a hard time convincing me to go. I don't want him to suffer because my friends are practically cemented to the forest ground.

Anyways, enough of that.

We were heading to God knows where. My precious boyfriend doesn't want to tell me where we were heading next and whenever I would look at the map, I would just waste my time looking for some unmarked place- time that I can use to interrogate or blackmail dear Seaweed Brain. Though blackmailing does sound more possible.

The idea got a small smile out of my lips. If I could just seduce the answer out of him, then I would. But that's wrong. And what I know about Percy is that he keeps things from me because he had a good reason. Plus, I was sure that he didn't like keeping things from me as much as I do. He was trying his best to make me happy. He knows that this will make me happy.

When Jason once again took the wheel from Percy, I decided to bring him to our bed to sleep. It would be nice to take a break from Connor and Travis' constant arguing or Katie scolding them for being too loud, contributing to the noise anyways or how Thalia would eventually join the argument and make everything louder. That is what I have to deal with every single day of my life. He and I, we need an escape. And sleep is the only thing that is possible at the moment.

I was standing in the middle of a beautiful garden, wearing a white summer dress with my hair pinned with a rose of the same color. To my left, I could hear laughing and footsteps. And to my right, birds chirping and leaves rustling in the wind. I decided to head towards the joyful sound to see what was happening.

A little girl of four squealed when I finally emerged from my hiding place, running over to pull me into a loving embrace. "Mama! Mama!" she said, tugging at my arm. "Look what daddy and I made!"

Just to keep her calm, I followed her to the workshop, not complaining once and keeping that smile on my face. She was absolutely adorable with big gray eyes and shoulder length black hair in perfect curls. She was always laughing and it was the most wonderful sound in the world.

"Where are you taking me, baby?" I finally asked but am completely aware of the answer.

She giggled, "You'll see!" She sounded very excited, never once letting go of my hand. "It's amazing!" I laughed with her and nodded, very amused. This wasn't the first time she acted this way. She gets worked up over the little things and maybe it was normal for girls her age.

The only thing I could think of at that moment was that she has been spending way too much time with her father.

We stopped behind the wooden shed where my husband spends his free time working, making things for Juliet. And yes, we named our daughter after the tragic heroine of Shakespeare's play. It just seemed appropriate at that time. And she never at all acted against the name we have given her.

"Percy, what did you make this time?" I sighed. Even after almost fifteen years of knowing each other, we never changed at all.

The man that I will always love stared at me in awe, taking me in his arms and pressing his lips softly to mine. And every kiss makes me fall in love with him all over again, as cliché as that sounds. "Ah, dear Wise Girl, this is not only me. Our daughter has proven herself to have your construction skills."

"Something you clearly lack," I teased, smiling at him. He rolled his eyes and showed me an impressive looking doghouse made for Mrs. O' Leary.

Seaweed Brain picked the little girl up, clearly proud of what they have accomplished. "I painted!" she boasted, a familiar glint in her eyes. "And daddy did the walls and the roof and the floor."

"How long have you made this?" I asked, still awestruck. This is beautiful. They must have put so much effort into building this. And Percy's artistic skills have come in handy after so many years of barely using it.

The handsome man not too far from me shrugged, "Two to three days. I made Juliet promise to not tell you about it and I guess I owe her a new teddy bear." The girl nodded in agreement, smiling at her father. "What do you think?" His look morphed to hopeful and curious, those eyes pushing me to answer him honestly. He would know when I'm lying so there's no point in doing so.

"It's perfect. Mrs. O' Leary will love it" was the only thing I said before I pulled my family into a hug. Kissing them both as payment for the hard work they have done.

I felt my husband's breath on my ear, making me shiver slightly but smile nonetheless. "I love you." He whispered, low enough so that only I could hear him.

My heart clenched in my chest. I can't believe I still have this man with me. I was sure that I scared him off many years ago when I did so many things. But Percy's brave and loyal. He always was and he always will be. I pulled him tighter against me, "I love you, too. Forever."

The three of us just sat there, listening to the birds and watching the clouds. Every once in a while, I would see him stare at me with all the love in the world and it made me wonder, until now, about what I could have possibly done to deserve this- a beautiful little family. And we will stay forever a family. I swear to that.

It was very rare for me to wake up from a nightmare. It was a very blissful dream, something I will surely be looking forward to in the future. Percy was still asleep and it got a smile out of me when I saw the slight trail of drool from his parted mouth. I guess it was a habit I just got used to after all this time.

I carefully approached the driver's seat to see Charlie. As usual, Silena has never left his side even though she fell asleep. "Hey, Beck, how do you know where we're going to?"

"Percy just told me to go to St. Louis. Never really told me where." He bit his bottom lip. "Crap. I wasn't supposed to tell you that…"

I didn't hear the rest of his sentence. My thoughts were already going on frenzy. St. Louis? What was in St. Louis? There wasn't much there for me to be excited about. No famous buildings. No architectural feats. Unless… We're going to The Gateway Arch. I've read about that place in books and websites but, truth be told, I have never actually been there yet. It has been killing me every since and maybe I just happened to tell my boyfriend about that fact and he just happened to add it as one of the destinations on our road trip. I can't believe he didn't tell me about it!

I had to conceal all of my excitement as I headed back to the bed, after saying goodbye to Beckendorf of course. My brain kept chanting to me, saying "We are going to St. Louis to see The Arch! We are going to St. Louis to see The Arch!" The only rational part of my mind keeps telling the other part that I wasn't sure yet. And that I had to somehow keep Percy from knowing that I know. Or else, he would be so disappointed. He did everything just so that I wouldn't find out and I didn't want all of his work to be put to waste.

His arms automatically encircled me in his warmth. "Annabeth, why did you leave?" he murmured half-conscious.

"I just had to go to the bathroom. Don't worry Seaweed Brain. Just go back to sleep." Percy nodded his agreement before closing his eyes fully again, soon hearing his deep breathing and soft snores.

I didn't bother to follow his lead. I already had enough rest for today and the ADHD was acting up again. And this time, it wasn't physically but mentally. I still felt like I was in this mental argument against myself and I didn't know which side was winning. The rational side was forcing me to try asking him again, just one last time while the persuasive side was saying to not to because I already know where we were going in the first place. I don't know which one to listen to and it's giving me a major headache.

A part of me told me to hire a counselor for my brain because it has been giving me enough fights to last a lifetime.

By ten in the morning, everyone was already up and ready for some adventure. I didn't actually realize that it's already been an entire day since we were on the road until it was. I really should look at the time more. And after stopping at a diner for breakfast, Percy drove us to our destination.

It was very hard for me to gather the courage and talk to him about this. Plus, if I am going to ask for a confirmation on the destination, I have to make sure that Charles Beckendorf isn't the one to be blamed. Anyone would make the same mistake he did.

I took a deep breath and looked at the man beside me. "Percy" I called, earning his attention the moment I said his name. "Where are we going again?"

"I told you, 'Beth. It's going to be a surprise." This was always his answer. And there was a reason why it always was.

My fingers started playing with my hair, a clear sign that I was nervous. "A while ago, when you were asleep, I… um, asked Beck where and he kinda gave me a hint and I think I know where." I waited anxiously for his response, surprised to see that he didn't at all react negatively about it.

"I know." He said calmly, looking at me once just to smile. "I woke up when you left and it wasn't really hard to eavesdrop on your conversation, Annabeth. I had to fake it when you were coming back and I guess it worked."

The words made my jaw drop to the ground. "So you knew the entire time and you didn't tell me?" He just nodded once and it made me a little annoyed at how casually he was taking this. He should be mad at me for trying to figure it out. "You're not angry at all?"

"Why should I be? You were gonna find out sooner or later and you're smart enough to piece everything together. I just figured that keeping it a secret would make it a little more… important."

The anger drained away when I realized that he was only trying to do this for me. I know that I was being selfish again. Percy had the right to act like he is. He may be short-tempered but the only thing that was keeping him from letting his rage control him was me and how I would worry. He never wants me to worry about him, not again.

We had comfortable silence for a few minutes, enough for me to regain my bearings and apologize. And when I did, he acted as if nothing even happened and continued giving me loving glances from time to time.

Soon enough, we passed a sign that said: "Welcome to St. Louis"

A/N: I'm not really sure if that's what the sign said cuz I never actually been to St. Louis yet. But let's just pretend if it is.

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