To Awesome as Annabeth, I was focused on the Baby Frost story, but I finished that now- might do a sequel, not sure yet- and it's OK! You didn't have to review if you didn't want to! You have Rolos? Where are mine?! And updating! Gods- first you have my favourite chocolate and then you're impatient :P

Compared to fighting a hundred foot tall monster, Math class was even more boring and Alvie hadn't thought that possible. Crystal was trying to get him to do the work, but he didn't understand the jumble of symbols and numbers in front of him. Besides, he was happy with his C.

Despite himself, his thoughts kept wondering back to the fight on the ship. That giant sea serpent had been the only thing that had attacked them, strangely enough. Then again, Nico had run about the ship on Annabeth's orders expelling 'death aura'. He wasn't happy with this, but he didn't dare argue against Annabeth.

Crystal had been upset that she had missed it all, but Tobias and Max were more than happy to fill her in. Alvie wasn't sure how he'd done it, but he'd given up controlling the ship to hurt the monster and decided to hurt it directly instead. Having stayed on the deck, he looked squarely up into its eye and the whole beast went rigid with fear.

Everything after that was fuzzy, but his older brothers insisted that the monster had started thrashing about, throwing up water and ship parts alike, while screaming in clear, monstrous agony.

A sigh to his left caught his attention and he looked sidelong at Crystal. She had given up with their Math work and was now drawing various stick men all over the page in various stances. He must have looked questioning as she smiled and said, "They're fighting."

"Why?"

"I'm bored." And that was a perfectly Crystal answer.

"Silence at the back." Their teacher called, staring at them pointedly. Alvie waited until he had turned his back before sliding his Kindle from his bag and continued reading House of Secrets. Crystal cast him a knowing smirk, her eyes sparkling with mischief, but she said nothing and carried on with her stick man war.

Crystal watched him from the corner of her eye. Just by inspecting his eyes, she could tell he was enjoying the book. They gleamed or narrowed in harmony to whatever was happening and, sometimes, a brief flicker of a smile appeared. She loved to watch him read- she got to see his emotions playing out of their own accord.

She glanced at the clock on the wall.

Fifteen minutes of this torture and then food.

"Nico's outside." Alvie informed her under his breath. Crystal jumped to her feet and, sure enough, Nico was running across the playground.

"Miss Watson, what-?" But she wasn't listening, throwing the window panel up and leaning out.

"Nico!" She shouted. He skidded to a halt and looked up. "Here!" His eyes found her and he smiled. "Is Mom OK?"

"Now!" He called. "Hurry up! And bring Alvie!" Excitement exploded through Crystal and she laughed. She scrabbled for her things and grabbed Alvie's hand, dragging him after her.

"Where do you think you're going?" Their teacher demanded.

"I'm going to be a big sister!" She beamed. "Alvie, come on!"

"Can't feel my fingers…" She let go and ran for the stairs. Alvie ran after her, stopping here and then to pick up her books that fell from her still open bag. "Crystal!"

She only stopped when she caught up with Nico.

"Let's go, let's go, let's go!" She exclaimed impatiently, her eyes shining as she pulled on Nico's hand insistently.

"OK, OK, calm down. You alright, Alvie?"

"Talk later, I want to see my brother!"

They shadow-travelled to the hospital once free from the school grounds. Crystal broke free within seconds and sprinted for the doors.

"She's mad." Nico was torn between amusement and astonishment at his daughter's eccentric behaviour, but he could share her enthusiasm. "Come on." Alvie followed him obediently, juggling Crystal's books as he struggled to fit them in his bag and jog after his uncle simultaneously.

It didn't take them long to find Crystal- she had gone ahead and found her mother's room, but they weren't letting her in.

"She's my mom!" She argued, looking frustrated.

"Crystal, stay out here, OK?"

"Why'd you bring me here if I can't see her?!"

"You will." Nico comforted, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Just not yet." Crystal glowered at him and made to retort harshly when she felt Alvie's arm around her shoulders and calm flooded through her.

"OK." She said quietly, letting Alvie led her to a chair. Nico studied them for a second, his eyes flicking to Alvie, Crystal and back again, before he vanished into the room. The door closed behind him and Crystal made a rude hand gesture Alvie wouldn't dare repeat.

She met his gaze defiantly. "That didn't happen."

"Of course." She smiled impishly at him, but then worry filled her eyes and her smile faltered.

"Mom'll be OK, won't she? And the baby?" She grabbed his hand, twisting in her chair to face him full on. His eyes tinged white and he nodded. "Promise?"

"Promise." He confirmed. Crystal beamed and threw her arms around his neck, all but strangling him.

"I can't wait! I'm going to be the best big sister ever and- ooh, what are we going to call him? He needs a name. And middle names. All babies get middle names, right?" Alvie didn't get a chance to answer her question. "I've always liked Theodore, but your brother's called Theodore, so we can't have that. What about Michael? No, no, not Michael. Harry! No, he needs to be Potter last…"

"Aren't Nico and Joy picking the name?"

"But I want to help!" She protested childishly. Alvie stared at her. "Don't look at me like that! I'm going to be a big sister!"

"OK." And he left her to her rambling muses to herself and watched people coming and going and the light that flickered every few seconds, metres from where he sat. Once or twice, the water fountain gave a monotonous gurgle and he watched the bubbles spiral to the surface and vanish.

How long they sat there, he wasn't sure. Crystal must have gone through dozens of names by the time Nico reappeared, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Crystal was on her feet as suddenly as she had been in their Math class. She darted past Nico and Alvie could hear her chattering non-stop and Joy laughing.

"I take it she didn't stop talking?" Nico smiled. Alvie shook his head and his uncle laughed.

"Why'd you bring me?"

"Someone had to keep her in check. And you had double Sport last, I know you hate that." Alvie blinked at him. Nico ruffled his hair and pushed him in encouragingly. "Tiny thing," He said, "Won't bite you, don't worry." Alvie still wasn't all that convinced. Babies were difficult creatures.

Almost as difficult as girls.

Crystal was just having her baby brother set in her arms. Alvie caught sight of a fine mess of dark hair over the blue blanket.

"Hello!" Crystal cooed, her eyes shining. "Oooh, he's so cute! Alvie, look!" Nico nudged Alvie forward and Alvie saw that the baby was indeed 'tiny'. His eyes were a grey-blue colour, not unlike Crystal's. Everything about him was so delicate and so small; it was hard not to like this one.

"What's his name?" Joy and Nico glanced at each other. Alvie's mind tingled and he sensed thought after thought whirring through their minds.

Massaging his forehead and grimacing, he barely noticed that they had given the infant's name.

"Sorry, what?" Joy looked at him worriedly while Nico snickered to himself.

"Adrien James di Angelo."

"Am I a di Angelo too then?" Nico shrugged.

"If you want." Crystal grinned at him. A heartbeat later, she was staring back down at her baby brother, cooing over him again. Joy clearly didn't know what to make of her daughter's sudden infatuation.

BABY. There. Nice chapter.

That's my good deed for the century :3