Dearest Readers,

Another week another update ;) Thank you all for keeping up on the updates here. I will definitely keep updating every week for sure, and maybe there will be a few more sprinkled in here & there. This is a fun chapter to write, because we get to see a completely different side to Persie that I have been dying to write... the big sister :)

Let me know what you think, don't forget to follow this story and/or follow me to stay tuned for all the future updates!

XOXO Ally Layne.

Holy Water

Chapter 25: Missing the Misery

It was a few days until Christmas, and Persie was excited to finally have a reason to go back to New York for the holidays and see her family. When her mom reached out to her and asked her to invite the Winchesters, too- well, Persie felt a rush of both anxiety and excitement.

Anxiety, because the Winchesters were going to meet her mom.

Excitement, because the Winchesters were going to meet her mom.

It really was a double-edged sword.

Persie and the Winchesters were currently staying in a hotel in Kent, Ohio on their way to Manhattan to her mom and Paul's apartment. She was lounging on the couch in the room and swinging her legs over the side, humming Jingle Bells while she tried to focus on a book on lore that Sam asked her to read.

But Persie knew she was going to have to put her Holiday plans on hold when Dean walked into the shared hotel room with a grim look on his face. "What is it?"

Sam looked up from where he was on his laptop, doing some digging on local missing persons, but nothing was coming up too shocking to suggest there was any foul play going on. Or, rather, to suggest that there were any monsters on the prowl.

"Bobby called," Dean grunted, crossing his arms and widening his stance. "We have a job in Michigan."

Persie furrowed her brows. "Michigan?"

He nodded. "Apparently there's some disappearances in Ypsilanti, Michigan that he wants us to take a look into."

She sighed, laying back on the couch. "He wouldn't be sending us there if it wasn't serious."

The brothers shared a look. "We just know how important seeing your family is to you," Dean told her. He nodded to Sam before sitting at her side and smiling down at her. "If you want to go to New York instead, we can catch up with you after."

Sticking a finger to his chest with a glare, she spoke, "Dean Winchester, if you suggest I sit this one out, I'm going to drown you."

Sam let out a laugh. "Just let it go, Dean."

Persie nodded emphatically. "You're not gonna win this one, Winchester."

He rolled his eyes. "Since when is offering you time with your parents and little sister a bad thing?"

She pursed her lips, looking to see the sincerity in his eyes before letting her shoulders drop. "Fine. I'll go to New York, and you boys go check out what's going on in that town in Michigan. But if you guys run into any sort of trouble…"

"Call you?" Sam offered, looking over at her with a knowing smile. "Of course."

"If Bobby tells me you called him first, I'm going to make your lives miserable."

Dean snickered. "Good luck making it any more miserable than it already is."

She gasped dramatically. "Oh, really? So constantly being around your brother and me is so miserable?"

He opened his mouth but wisely said nothing.

"Well, fine. I'm going to get out of your hair, then. Maybe your life won't be so miserable."

Persie stood up and went to grab her bag, and sent a text to Annabeth to try and get a hold of Nico to bring her to her mom's.

The older Winchester watched her stalk off with wide eyes and his mouth opened in confusion. "What just happened?"

"Dean, you walked right into that one," Sam told him, before turning back to focus on the computer in front of him.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

.

.

.

Persie said her goodbyes to the boys, giving them both hugs and warnings to be careful and not to start the next apocalypse when she's gone. Obviously, because another ending of the world as they know it is not a good way to start the New Year.

Dean held onto her for just a little longer than normal. "We will see you soon," he promised, then placed a quick kiss on her forehead.

She had to make sure she didn't immediately touch that spot or pinch herself to make sure that really just happened, but from the small smile pulling on the corners of his lips- she didn't do too good a job at hiding her elation.

"I'll see you both soon," she answered, giving his hand a squeeze before stepping back to where Nico was waiting. "Keep in touch."

Sam nodded. "Wouldn't try to keep you out of things."

Her eyes narrowed. "Oh you so would."

Dean snorted. "Of course, we would." Then his eyes softened. "And just so you know it will be more miserable without you than it is with you here."

She paused, then took a quick few steps to pull him back into a hug. "Same here, Hot Shot."

"Guys, guys, it's only going to be a week at most," Sam added, looking between the two in amusement. "Stop trying to reenact the Notebook and let her go, Dean."

"The Notebook?" Persie asked.

Dean shook his head. "Nope. Not even close, Sammy."

Nico pulled Persie away from Dean with a glare. "But too close for my liking."

Her eyes widened. "You've watched-"

"Just don't," he deadpanned, his eyes darkening at the thought.

She nodded. "Will?"

His jaw clenched. "I said don't."

"Okay, so it was Will."

Nico shadow traveled her from Kent to the door of her mom's apartment within seconds.

It took a few moments for her to make sure she wasn't going to hurl up her lunch, but once she was sure it wasn't going to come back up in a hurling form she let herself stand up straight.

"That was so not cool, Death Boy," Persie groaned.

"But it was funny."

She turned around to glare at him. "You're not even laughing."

He shrugged. "I am on the inside."

She rolled her eyes before turning back around to face the door to her mom's apartment. It was just as she remembered. Breathe, she reminded herself. Don't forget to breathe.

"Uh… you gonna knock or what?" Nico asked in a bored manner.

Persie didn't have to look behind her to know that he was probably picking his finger nails. "Yep."

"You gonna do it anytime soon or should I do it for you?"

It was Nico's impatient mood that got her to grow a pair of ovaries and knock on the door. Her palms started to get clammy when she heard footsteps running to the door, and a familiar female voice calling, "Estelle, get back here!"

"But mommy, someone's at the door!"

A familiar male voice followed, "Don't answer the door if it's a stranger!"

"How do I know if it's a stranger?" The same voice of a young girl asked innocently.

"Exactly that, pumpkin. You don't know."

"So I don't get to answer the door?" She asked.

"Well, it's more like you just get to wait for your mom or I to do it with you," Paul's voice answered, and she realized they were just standing on the other side. She heard a low groan, and a cheering laughter, and realized he must've picked her up.

Her mom said Estelle liked to try and run out into the hallway when people came over. He was probably trying to keep that from happening, again.

At this moment, Persie was smiling so wide she thought her face was going to burst.

The door opened, revealing Paul standing there with Estelle on his hip.

They all smiled at once.

"Sal! Get over here!" Paul called into the apartment behind him.

"Who is it?"

Persie smiled at her mom's voice.

"Sissy!" Estelle exclaimed, lunging out of her father's arms and into those of her older sister. "I missed you so much!"

She felt tears start to slip from her eyes as she hugged the small girl close. Estelle was wearing a green jumpsuit with a bright white and red striped turtleneck underneath, while her hair was pulled back into two twin braids. She was just as cute as she was when Persie left to go to Bobby's.

"I bet I missed you more," Persie told her younger sister, who's face scrunched up and she tried to hide her growing smile by shaking her head as quickly as she could.

"Nope! I missed you more-est!"

"Persie, you're home!"

Her attention was pulled from Estelle to her mom who came barreling in the doorway and crashed into her daughters, pulling them in for a hug. "Hi mom."

Paul wrapped his arms around the girls, placing a hand in Persie's hair. "It's good to see you, kiddo."

"You too, Paul-o."

Sally looked over her daughter's shoulder and saw Nico standing there, trying to blend into the shadows. "Oh don't you try and run away from me, Nico Di'Angelo. You get your scrawny behind in here so I can try and fatten you up."

Nico's mouth fell open. "Scrawny?"

"Mommy said bee-hind!"

Persie snorted as Sally let them go and grabbed Nico and began to drag him into the apartment. "Yes, mommy said behind," she agreed. "It was funny, wasn't it?"

Estelle's eyes widened as she nodded in earnest. "Mmhmm!"

Paul smiled at the two of them and gestured for her to come in further. "We were just getting ready to watch a movie, so why don't you two settle in and make yourselves at home?"

Sally looked back at Persie. "Because you are home. Finally, you're home."

Persie grinned at her mom behind one of Estelle's braids. "I have a lot to tell you, don't I?"

After she pushed Nico into the kitchen she turned back around to look at her daughter, placing her hands on her hips. "You definitely have a lot to fill me in on. Bobby's been doing an okay job of it, but you? Not so much."

She bit her lip. "Oops."

Estelle whispered into her ear. "Did you make mommy mad?"

The whisper wasn't really that much of a whisper, to Paul's amusement. "No, pumpkin, Persie didn't make mommy mad. Mommy just wants to know a little more about what she's been doing, that's all."

The young girl nodded sagely. "Oh, that's okay then." She then looked back up at Persie. "I don't like it when mommy gets mad."

Persie nodded in agreement. "I don't like it either. That's why I do my best to make her happy."

Paul snorted. "I think that's why we all do our best to keep her happy. I for one do not enjoy being the subject of her wrath."

"Me either."

Small eyes widened. "Me too!"

Persie grinned down at her sister. "So what movie were you guys gonna watch?"

Estelle's smile nearly encompassed the entirety of her small, cherubic features. "The Little Mermaid!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air in glee.

Her mouth dropped open. "No way, that's my favorite!"

Two tiny hands palmed Persie's cheeks as a brown pair of eyes stared into her green ones. "It's the bestest movie ever and my favorite and I love it so much."

Paul patted the young girl on the back. "I'm sure your sissy feels the same way, Ellie. But you gotta let her get to the couch so you can watch it together, alright?"

Estelle blinked. "Daddy you ruined our staring contest!"

Persie looked at Paul. "I didn't know we were in a staring contest, to be honest."

He nodded. "She has taken a liking to those a lot, lately. I have no idea where it came from."

She laughed and placed Estelle back onto the ground. "Lead us to the living room, guppy! It's time to watch the awesomest movie ever!"

With a cheer, the younger girl took her hand and ran to the living room, pulling the demigod along. "Here, here, here!"

"Estelle, we are inside," Paul spoke, eying her knowingly.

She blinked her brown doe eyes. "Inside voice?"

He nodded.

"Here, here, here!" she whisper-yelled, forcing Persie to stifle a laugh.

"Okay, let's get settled," Persie said, pulling the girl on the couch next to her, throwing the Little Mermaid blanket that pictured Ariel and Flounder around the two of them. "Gotta snuggle up, lil guppy."

Paul smiled at the two and grabbed the remote to start the movie that was ready for them on pause. "Your mom is making some popcorn, too," he informed the girls, before looking over his shoulder at the doorway to the kitchen. "Well, she was, but right now I think she might be trying to stuff Nico full of food before he leaves."

"I never knew he ate anything that wasn't a Happy Meal," Persie pondered, making Paul sigh loudly.

"Young boys. They never have good habits."

"What about you daddy? You're a young boy," Estelle asked, shuffling to sit even closer to her older sister.

"Oh, I know. I have the worst habits," he admitted, before heading to the couch to sit on Estelle's other side. "I sometimes put you to bed five whole minutes later than what mommy said, and other times I read you two more books after you're supposed to be sleeping."

"I think those are good, daddy."

Persie nodded. "I think so, too."

Sally chose that moment to walk out of the kitchen with two large bowls of popcorn and a trailing Nico who had a large plate filled with food. It looked like she had forced the younger boy to eat a whole meal before he was allowed to leave.

All in typical mom fashion, of course.

Persie smiled at her family as they all gathered to watch the Little Mermaid, which by far was one of her favorite movies of all time.

Her mom knew it of course, and so did Paul over time. A part of her thought it was why they had Estelle watch it all the time, if only as a way to keep the sisters close even though they seemed to always be apart.

A warm feeling settled into her chest. "I'm happy to be home," she said, looking over at her mom who took a spot on her other side. The family of four were sitting together on the couch while Nico took a side chair that had a table he could pull up to use for his food.

Sally leaned in close and pulled Persie into a side-hug. "I am too."

She smiled at her mother before focusing back on the movie. As much as she was happy to be home, for some reason it felt as though there was something missing.

Something vital.

Persie looked around the room where the lights had been dimmed, to see the TV reflecting on two empty chairs on the side.

A small smile tugged on her lips.

She knew what, or rather who was missing.

And if being around them… or if she were being honest with herself, it really was more of a him. If being around him was supposed to be miserable, then dear gods she really missed that misery.

She tugged Estelle closer, allowing the younger girl to snuggle into her side.

But for now… she was home. And she was happy.