Hey, everybody! Thanks bunches for the reviews! We're almost at 300 now! Hooray!

So this is another short chapter, but bear with me because I've got some loooong ones coming up in a little bit (I just finished writing chapter 49 after working on it for like a week and it's almost 7,000 words O_O That's more than five times the length of this one). It's almost the final stretch now!

Thanks, gang! Enjoy!

XLII
PIPER

Piper screamed.

She couldn't help it. She just lost control of herself. The overwhelming feeling of relief and elation that was flooding through her was so great that it overpowered every other thought possible. Leo Valdez—her best friend in the world—was alive.

Completely forgetting about Jason and Annabeth, she scrambled toward Festus and launched herself at Leo as soon as his feet hit the ground, almost knocking them both over in her enthusiasm. She let out a giddy, disbelieving laugh and hugged him so tightly there was a good chance she compromised his ability to breathe. She felt his body tense as he grunted in pain, and she loosened her hold and held him at arm's length.

He was covered in dust and dirt, his skin littered with cuts and bruises. There was a rust-colored burn mark down his right arm, which Piper found strange, considering the fact that he was immune to fire. His white T-shirt was dirty and peppered with charred holes, and the lower half of it was stained a sickening dark red with blood from some wound she couldn't see, tied under a strip of dark green fabric. Judging by his appearance, it was a wonder he wasn't dead.

But despite all that, Leo was still grinning at her the same way he always did. "Nice to see you, too, Piper," he said.

Piper stepped back and placed both hands on her hips. "I hate you, you know that?"

Leo laughed, grimacing slightly. "You greet all your enemies that way? Man, I'd like to see how you say hello to your friends." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Piper let out an exasperated sigh. Despite his having looked like a building had been dropped on him (which she supposed, if Nico was to be believed, one had), he must have been alright if he were able and willing to crack comments like that.

"I don't believe it," Annabeth said breathily, and Piper noticed that she and Jason had approached behind her. "You're… here."

"Well, yeah. I live here."

Jason stepped beside Piper, disbelief on his face. "But—we all thought you were dead!"

Leo raised his eyebrows. "Really? Huh. Guess that explains the lack of victory party back in the desert." He patted Festus on the side of the neck and the dragon whirred affectionately. "Lucky this guy was around or I'd've had to celebrate with the buzzards. Not sure that party would've ended in my favor." When none of them looked amused, he frowned and added, "Yeesh. Tough crowd."

"That's not funny," Piper scolded him. "Don't you get it? We thought you were dead, you idiot!" She poked him hard in the chest and said firmly, "Leo Valdez, don't you ever scare us like that again."

"Noted," he said, blinking hazily. Piper bit her lip, not having meant to use charmspeak. But that wasn't to say she completely regretted it, of course. Maybe a little extra persuasion to take things easy was just what Leo needed.

With a glance over her shoulder, Piper realized that Festus's arrival hadn't gone unnoticed. People were jogging over from the cabins and the volleyball court or ducking out of the infirmary tent in interest. Leo greeted everybody with a smile and a wave, and not a single person was unexcited at his return.

After a few more hugs and assurances, Leo pointed a finger at Jason and Piper, who were standing hand-in-hand. "Hey," he said with a crooked grin, "you guys made up?"

"Yeah," Piper told him, smiling broadly. "Thanks to you."

"Me? What'd I do?"

Piper looked at Jason, who shrugged and said, "Died."

"Oh. Well, now I know what to do next time you two have a fight." Leo mimed stabbing himself in the stomach dramatically and Piper smacked him on the arm.

"You," a voice behind them suddenly growled harshly, and Piper turned around to see Reyna shove her way through the small crowd. Her eyes were wide and sharp, fixed on Leo like he was an insect she just couldn't manage to get rid of. "You're alive."

Leo's grin faltered and he paled visibly. "Barely," he admitted with a weak chuckle.

Reyna's fingers twitched at her sides and she stalked forward. Piper and Jason backed up unconsciously out of her way, both knowing the Roman praetor well enough not to stand between her and her destination. Leo took a step back and seemed to shrink a few inches as Reyna stormed up to him. In one fast, fluid motion, she raised her arm and smacked the back of her hand across his face, causing him to stumble backward and latch onto Festus's wing to keep from falling over. Piper winced sympathetically.

"Ow!" Leo complained, straightening up and looking at Reyna incredulously. "What the heck was that for?"

Reyna huffed and shook her head, looking annoyed. Then she stepped forward and grabbed the neck of Leo's shirt in both hands. Piper was about to intervene to keep her from strangling him, but that train of thought screeched to a full stop when Reyna yanked Leo toward her and kissed him.

Piper gasped and noticed Jason's mouth drop open beside her. Once she'd gotten over the initial surprise, though, she felt a very pleased grin spread across her face. She'd thought Reyna's reaction to Leo's supposed death had seemed particularly cold and unfeeling, even for her. But now, it made perfect sense—it wasn't that she didn't care; it was that she cared too much. And now that Leo was back, Piper couldn't help feeling excited for them both. She was a daughter of the goddess of love, after all. She made a mental note to hound Leo for details on this little development later.

When Reyna pulled back, Leo stared at her, looking slightly dazed. "You know you're up for the Academy Award of mixed signals here, right?" he joked, the corners of his mouth twitching into a small smirk.

Reyna looked a little stunned herself, like she couldn't quite believe what had just happened. Then she did something Piper had hardly ever seen her do—she smiled. A genuine, happy, no-emotions-hidden smile. "What can I say?" she replied simply. "It's my best field."

Leo cracked a grin and laughed at the return joke, but his laugh broke into a pained yell almost right away. His face screwed up in discomfort and he doubled over, clutching a hand over his right side. Concern hardened Reyna's features and she placed a hand on his shoulder. She turned toward the nearest person—a Roman boy a few years younger than Piper who was staring at the praetor as though she'd just danced the Macarena—and said, "Get me some ambrosia. Now."

As the boy hurried off, Leo said in a strained voice that convinced no one, "I'm fine. No worries. I just need to…" His knees buckled and Jason rushed forward to grab him, swinging one of Leo's arms around his neck and helping Reyna support him. Piper suddenly wondered what they were doing standing around hugging and making jokes. Leo was covered in blood, for crying out loud.

Reyna seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "Infirmary," she said over Leo's head to Jason, who was still regarding her with stunned silence. He nodded numbly as the crowd parted to give them room, and Piper followed after them without a second thought.

She'd already lost Leo once, and ecstatic as she was to have him back, she wasn't about to let him out of her sight again.

Don't worry, that's not meant to be cliffhanger. He'll be fine.

So, wanna know what the heck happened in Death Valley anyway? Think I'm gonna make it that easy and tell you right away? Guess we'll find out next chapter, POV switch and all, heh heh.

I'm off work Friday (and as you may know, I only really ever update when I'm at work 'cause I'm always doing other stuff at home), but hey how's this - if this chapter gets 18 reviews, enough to break 300, I'll find time to update Friday from home. If not, the next one'll be up Monday (I know not much happened this chapter, but you can still just drop me a line and tell me to update, right? haha).

Hope to hear from ya! Love you guys! Later days!

-oMM