Whoa. Thanks heaps to MarburyBlur for reviewing RIGHT AFTER I POSTED :D, Turquoise Crystal (Did it? Is it bad?! O_O), AmberEmber7, AgitatedDog9288 for going all the way, Sophia the daughter of Nyx, and whoever the heck else fav/followed/etc, because I lost the emails, grr. I'm in a very fanfic mood, so I'm gonna post another chapter. Piper is coming your way!

PIPER, PART TWO

Piper couldn't believe it.

That was really the only thought she was capable of thinking. She struggled through every single day, and often caught herself searching the crowd of Athena kids for Annabeth or even going to Cabin Three to ask Percy something, or just to hear him laugh again, when she remembered that neither was there—or ever would be again.

After everything she'd gone through and done as a part of the Seven, Piper had thought she was strong, that she was capable. That she would be able to bear the pain of having one of the Seven die. One of her family.

But apparently she wasn't.

Even weeks after the battle with Gaea and her forces, it still hurt to sit around the campfire and sing without Percy's goofing off and Annabeth's fond smile, and it still hurt to play capture the flag without Annabeth's strategizing and Percy's raw skill. It still hurt to peek into the Poseidon cabin and see it empty, and it still hurt to walk by the place where Annabeth and Percy's shrouds had been burnt. Gods, it hurt. Life hurt without two of Piper's best friends—and siblings. The Seven were all her family now.

Piper sighed and leant against the doorframe of the Zeus cabin, waiting for Jason to come out. He'd promised to stay with her at camp for a while, but Piper secretly thought that he might never return to Camp Jupiter; she saw in her eyes the love of Camp Half-Blood he had.

"Pipes? Are you okay?"

Piper looked up to see Jason standing in front of her, looking stunning even in just a camp T-shirt and jeans. The scar on his lip stood out in the light, and his hair shone golden. "You look amazing," she said, purposefully not answering his question.

Jason took her hand, and his touch was comforting, sending bolts of warmth through her almost numb body. "Come on. We're going on a walk."

His tone brooked no argument, but then again Piper wasn't inclined to argue. She'd felt almost listless ever since the battle, and most of her siblings kept their distance. She still fulfilled her duties as camp counsellor, but she didn't feel that spark that she'd used to feel at camp.

It just wasn't the same without Percy and Annabeth, without Seaweed Brain and his Wise Girl. Without them, camp wasn't camp. It was torture, to be here without them, and—

"Piper?" Jason's voice brought her back into the present, and she looked up at him. Somehow, without her realizing it, they'd already walked halfway across the camp. There was no one there to see them; most people were at the dining hall, but Piper and Jason had decided to skip dinner.

"Yeah?" Piper finally replied, trying to keep her voice upbeat—as she'd tried for the last few weeks.

She'd thought she was getting good at it, but Jason said sharply, "Don't. Don't act like everything's fine." His voice softened. "Because I know it's not."

Piper looked away, and felt the familiar warmth of tears behind her eyes—but none came. She'd cried herself out.

"Look, Pipes," Jason said as they entered the forest. "I know…" He sounded hesitant, but Piper couldn't bear to meet his gaze. "I know that it's hard to have Percy and Annabeth gone. I know how hard it is for you, because I feel it too. Annabeth was so strong and smart and clever, and Percy was—"

"Don't talk about them in the past tense," Piper burst out, then was surprised at herself for doing so. She hadn't done anything like that since—

Well.

"Piper." Jason's voice was impossibly gentle, even as Piper's brain registered in some distant area that she didn't deserve it. She was being so horribly annoying, she knew, although she also knew that she couldn't help it. "Pipes, look at me."

Piper stopped walking—they were standing in a clearing, devoid of trees—and allowed herself to look at him, really look at him.

To her surprise, he looked sad.

His eyes looked wiser than before, or perhaps wiser wasn't the word. No, the right word was sadder. He looked so much older and so much sadder, and his eyes conveyed the struggles he'd gone through, the pain he'd felt, the horrible things he'd done and seen.

"See?" Jason said softly, startling her despite his tone. "You're not the only one feeling hopelessly lost, Piper. We can get through this together."

"We can get through this together," Piper repeated, although she knew she didn't sound half as hopeful as he did.

"Piper." Jason sounded more insistent now, and she tilted her head back to look into his eyes again. They burned with an intensity that she couldn't fathom feeling right now. "Look, I'm just as horrified as you are. I still haven't gotten over Percy and Annabeth's deaths, and maybe I never will. But think about it positively, and I don't mean their deaths, because there is nothing positive about that. Percy and Annabeth are in Elysium, Nico confirmed it, and they're happy and safe together. Someday we'll join them, and then we get to eternally party! How great will that be? And then guess what? We're alive, and together, and safe with our friends. No, not our friends. Our family. And we love each other." Jason stopped, his eyes hopeful. "Right?"

"Of course," Piper said vehemently. Jason's words brought a spark of hope to her heart, and she was suddenly filled with an absolute certainty that he was right, that they'd be alright. "I love you, Jason Grace."

"And I love you, Piper McLean," Jason replied.

"Of course you do, I'm Beauty Queen," she sassed, and then smiled, because it was good to be herself again. She hadn't realized just how different listless Piper was from normal Piper.

"That's my girl." Jason grinned then, a wide, open grin that made Piper smile back. "Now what do you say about some dinner?"