(A/N Hey again! Super excited to actually be living up to my hope of keeping a schedule! [tho maybe I shouldn't jinx it only two weeks in...] and I hope you'll forgive me for the slow goings. This chapter and the next are very much things going on outside of our dynamic duo. It's necessary things I just wanna get back into the good stuff tho!

Anyway, as always, I hope you enjoy!)

Percy

Everything was so new and yet all the same. He hadn't had Grace for long, but she fit into his home perfectly. Taking a step back and looking at it, the situation was a little bizarre. They fell into a quick rhythm of training and constant socialization. There was always someone present, never a slow moment. Shuddering, Percy conceded that he subconsciously did that on purpose.

Annabeth was gone.

The fire hurt everyone, but Annabeth was gone.

There was no quest to go on, or jump to take. He couldn't threaten her captor. He couldn't carry her to safety.

Grace stepped into the communal room, breaking his spiral. He had to be more careful. He could not lose control of himself and hurt her.

The child had a nearly blank face as she descended the last step, the only hint of emotion a haunted pain. When their eyes met she blinked away the haunted look and straightened up. She didn't offer a smile, but he didn't really expect her to.

"What are we doing next, Uncle Percy?"

They both made a face at the endearment. Annabeth had tried to train her to call Percy 'Uncle,' but she never did unless it was in a joking manner. Trying now was just awkward.

"Thalia was trying to get ahold of me a little bit ago. I may have blown her off because I wanted to know if you had any requests for the afternoon." A lie. He blew her off because he knew what she wanted. He just wasn't there yet.

She lifted a page and wrung it in her hands for a moment, analyzing the underwater world outside the windows.

"Whatcha got there?"

"A pamphlet."

"If your mom was 'Wise Girl,' I'm gonna have to start calling you 'Wisecrack,'" he teased her. It brought a fading smile to her face before she handed over the pamphlet.

Before even reaching for it he could tell it'd been from Dionysus. The Five Stages of Grief.

"We're still in denial," she nodded at the cursed object in his hands. "I mean I know they're…gone. I get it. But…I'm ignoring it. And so are you."

"Yeah…I am," he whispered. "It's… It's easier to be in denial than to actually process it. To storm into the Underworld and demand- I don't even know. I don't- I don't want to hurt anyone. She wouldn't want me to hurt anyone."

Percy heaved a sigh. Here he was, a powerful god, talking through his grief with a literal child. A child who had just lost her parents.

"Can you tell me stories about them?" she asked as tears fell unbidden from her eyes.

"I will tell you about every shared moment in our lives," he said, gathering her into his arms, "but you've got to keep your eyes shut tight. Okay?"

"Why?" she asked as she nodded into his shoulder and inadvertently wiped snot all over him.

"I've been suppressing a lot of emotions, Grace. I might not be able to control my form if I walk through this. It's… It's a lot. Do you understand?" She nodded. "Do you understand? I don't want you hurt."

"Yeah," she hiccupped. "Tell me about when you met?"

"Well, we were twelve and apparently I drooled in my sleep."

She chuckled and he eased into the story of his first week at Camp Halfblood.

.

Artemis

Piper McLean did not wish to join the Hunt. She was not present solely for Thalia's comfort. Artemis could not determine what her motivation was, only that there was something there. Not nefarious, but hidden.

But that was not for her to worry about right now. Right now, she was looking for Perseus Jackson. Hades take him, he was missing. She could not remember a time in the past decade, maybe two, where she could not locate him, and now she couldn't even sense Grace.

But she could hear Thalia. Her pain cutting through and bleeding into her desire to see her friend and cousin. She could hear Piper pleading for someone to help her through the pain of losing her friend as well as offering her own experiences from a loss-filled past. Frank and Hazel and Calypso's hearts and minds went out as well; waiting for their crew to return. Nico sat alone halfway down to Tartarus, mourning and broken, but stealing himself for the rest of his journey.

They all spoke to Percy, but he was not there to hear them.

So she needed to find him.

.

Percy

With a sigh, Percy silenced his tales and let his heart break and mend over and over again. Grace slept by his side with her head on his shoulder and he considered all the places he could put her. She'd fallen asleep as he recounted helping Annabeth and the Kanes take down Setne.

Looking up at the stars, Percy reflected on their choice of setting for their storytelling session. He'd never brought Annabeth to his mother's cabin, oddly enough. They always had somewhere to be, but right now, it just felt right to be here beside the waves and under the night sky.

The full moon was bright tonight and gazing at it he finally felt peaceful enough to smile and silently mourn the wonderful Wise Girl in his life. It still hurt, but spending so long recalling the fond memories of Annabeth had somehow eased the pain.

A gentle smile still on his face, he watched the glow of the moon. Actually, it seemed very bright tonight… And wasn't the phase supposed to be a crescent?

He didn't even have time to truly process why the phase would be off before Artemis was before him. Her form glowed with barely contained godly rage. Percy startled at the sudden and vicious appearance of the goddess.

She took a visible breath as her eyes flickered to Grace's sleeping form. Narrowing her eyes she screamed into his mind.

Pain.

Heartache.

Grief.

Solitude.

Abandonment.

Thalia, Piper, Frank, Hazel, Calypso, and even Estelle.

Their prayers and woes laid at his feet. Unanswered for all these hours that he'd spent with his own trauma.

Another heave of her chest and he could feel her anger at him projected so clearly and brutally as she allowed Grace to sleep peacefully through the berating. She thought him irresponsible. Selfish and irresponsible and disloyal.

He felt his own anger boil and rise to meet hers.

He owed loyalty to Grace. She was the one he'd taken responsibility for. She was the one who'd lost her mother. Both her parents! She was a single life to risk as he came to terms with his loss, and he trusted her to listen to his commands for her safety.

His justified anger met her full force, surprising her enough to gain a small flinch.

She retaliated with help and support. Herself, Styx, Themis, Hestia! Even Apollo!

He responded with heartbreak and denial. Without word or motion he summoned the pamphlet gifted to Grace.

She offered understanding, but no apology. He was a young god, but she expected more from him. Any apology would be tainted by her still festering anger.

Both took a moment to center themselves. They'd spoken as such before, as with others in fleeting moments. Usually giving locations, opinions, and split second ideas. Not a full conversation. And he'd never been so heated with her; never had such an argument. He felt raw from it, and the way she folded herself next to him, he believed she felt the same.

Ignoring her presence for a moment, he began untying the knots he'd made around his consciousness. He could feel her eyes even as he focused on oh-so-slowly becoming aware of the world beyond the beach. When her hand touched his he startled, nearly waking Grace. After staring at their entwined fingers for a moment he finally met her eyes.

Support.

Squeezing her hand, Percy opened himself up to the pain of the world at large.