To Riordanlover16- Maybe you're magic! Have you got the lottery numbers by any chance? XD

To LooneyPeach- Yes, it is a conundrum. On one hand, fantastic character to play with. On the other hand, painful agonizing failure :3

To valdeznation- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA you good?

A short, filler-ish one today. I am off next week for my birthday, so here's hoping I'll get some proper chapters done!

"FISH!" Lizzie let herself in, casting aside her luggage and her coat. She sprinted across the living area and barrelled into her sister. "Ooh, I've missed you! I'm sorry it took me so long to get here! Work, money, boring grown-up stuff." Lizzie squeezed her. Louisa wheezed, her head squished in her sister's greeting. Lizzie was almost as tall as Jessica, so Louisa only came up to her shoulder.

"Am not fish," she managed between the enveloping arms. She wriggled. Lizzie shushed her, stroking her hair.

"Five more minutes."

"MOM!"

"Oh, hey, Lizzie."

"What are you holding? What's that? Oh, it's moving!"

"It's your nephew."

"WHAT?!" Lizzie screeched. Louisa, finally released, recoiled and rubbed at her ears. "Since when? What happened? What?!"

Louisa shook her head. Lizzie turned to their mother for answers only to find her shaking her head too. She was handed the baby instead, which effectively shut her up. "How old is he? What's his name?"

Louisa knew this now. She was keeping a close eye on the date and how old her baby was.

"He's a month-old tomorrow. Bradley."

"Bradley Valdez," Jessica added with a smirk. Louisa pretended not to hear her, or Lizzie asking who Valdez was. Jessica hadn't let it go since the day of the birth certificate. Louisa was just glad she hadn't heard Leo's comment afterwards— you don't match.

Those words had stuck in her mind and refused to dislodge.

You don't match.

"Baby Fish," Lizzie cooed. "Guppy."

"No!" Louisa protested. Lizzie grinned and she held Bradley closer to whisper in his ear.

"She is Fish and you are Guppy."

"Mom!"

"Mm, what's that? I'm off the clock." Jessica smiled sweetly. It faded when she noticed Lizzie's mess and the front door wide open. "Oh, just invite the neighbours in, why don't you?" she grumbled.

The neighbours didn't come in, but Leo did. He appeared as she was lugging Lizzie's suitcase away from being a blockage, knocking on the doorframe.

"Hey," he said. Jessica nodded.

"Fuck's sake, Liz, what did you pack?" Leo stooped to help her with it. Jessica directed him towards her room with it.

Lizzie's eyes were glittering.

"Who's that?" she whispered excitedly. Louisa held her hands out, opening and closing them in grabby motions until her baby was passed back. "Why wasn't I told I had a nephew? I'd've brought presents!" She gasped with an idea, hands clapping to her cheeks. "I will get him a present. What do babies like? Should I get him a bike?" Louisa stared at her. Lizzie grinned. "I'll think of something. Helloooo!" she sang as Leo emerged. He shook her hand when it was offered to him, smiling in polite confusion. "I'm Lizzie."

"Ooh, you're Lizzie. I'm Leo."

"Ooh, you're Leo. He's cute, Lou," she whispered not-so-quietly behind her hand. Louisa glared at her, pink-faced. "And his hair's on fire! What is that?" She grabbed Leo by the head and yanked him closer to examine the fire.

"Uh, ow."

Louisa swatted her sister away. Lizzie giggled, as angelic as she could muster.

"Sorry, Leo," Louisa swept his hair back for him, "Lizzie's weird."

"You're weird," Lizzie muttered.

"Children," Jessica sighed, "you're all weird. Lizzie, sort your stuff out."

"Yes, Mom." Lizzie bounced away. Leo raised his eyebrows at Louisa. She pouted.

"She's callin' him Guppy."

"Why?"

"'Cos she calls me Fish."

"Aww, that's adorable."

"No! Don't encourage her!"

"Sorry," Leo smiled meekly. "Still adorable though." She scrunched her nose at him. Leo clapped twice. "Gimme." She rolled her eyes, but handed Bradley over without any argument. She couldn't argue, Leo had told her. Legally, she couldn't argue.

He had to keep reminding himself. Bradley was legally his baby now. He had finished securing the apartment the day after signing the birth certificate, but he had been back every day. Sometimes for a couple of hours, sometimes for the whole day. He had been busy, refusing to share any details when Louisa pressed him. She didn't believe him when he had said 'work'. He knew she still thought he was some sort of Robin Hood on the sly.

Leo rocked Bradley, grinning. "Hola, chiquito. Did you miss me?" Bradley's hand waved madly and Leo held it gently, the impossibly small fingers curling around his thumb.

Louisa noticed her mother and sister whispering to each other, blonde heads bowed together. Frowning, she marched over and shooed them apart.

Too late.

Lizzie had been brought up to speed.

"He signed the birth certificate?" she breathed, hand on heart. "That's so sweet!"

"Stop it," Louisa hissed. Lizzie snickered and tipped her head towards Jessica.

"Aww, look at her! She's gone all red!" Lizzie steepled her fingers, grinning devilishly. "I shall need to speak to the Entourage."

"No!"

"Yes! Mom, hold my calls and cancel my meetings. I've got some catching up to do!"

"What calls? What meetings?"

"It's an expression. Bye, Fish! Bye, Guppy! Byeeeeee, Leo!" She waggled her fingers, sing-song in her tone again. Leo waved back, smiling, confusion radiating from him. Louisa put her head in her hands. Her sister was insufferable.

Lizzie cackled and swept out the door. In a few short minutes, she had raised the energy of the place and then taken it all away again, leaving them all feeling oddly disconnected.

"Big ass suitcase," Jessica commented. "I wonder how long she's staying for this time."

"Too fuckin' long," Louisa grumbled. She didn't mean it really, Jessica knew that. The sisters got on like a house on fire, much to the chagrin of her blood pressure. Like all sisters, they got under each other's skin like no-one else. And now Lizzie knew about Bradley, or Guppy, there was going to be a whole new energy to their chaos.

Jessica made a mental note to update her life insurance.

"So, what's the plan today?" she asked Louisa, glancing over at Leo. He had gone back to talking to Bradley, making faces. Bradley still held his finger.

Louisa shrugged a shoulder.

"I think we're meetin' the others, though I don't know what for."

"Mini golf!" Leo beamed. Louisa blinked at him. "It was that or the cinema again. We took a vote."

"Who's goin'?"

"Me and you, Percy and Annabeth, Piper, Hazel and Nico. The others are…" He waved a hand. "I tried to get Jason, but he's got some pointy hat thing to do." Louisa snorted, folding her arms.

"When I call him pointy hat, I get told off."

"He just loves me more."

"Pfft."

"Did you hear that, chiquito? Mama's sassing me again." With his finger still entrapped, he had Bradley wave his tiny fist at Louisa. "See, Bradley says be nice to me."

"Does he now?"

"Yeah. I understand everything he's saying."

"Is that so?"

"Mm-hm. We've got our own wavelength, don't we, chiquito? Yes we do. Oh, are we keeping you up?" Leo laughed, Bradley yawning.

"Mmph," Jessica said as Leo turned away, rocking the bundled infant. Louisa looked at her warily. "Truth be told, Lou… he's not what I expected for you, not originally. Now, though… I can't see things being any different."

"I'm not talkin' to you."

"You'll figure it out." Jessica patted her on the head, like she was still a child. "Now, remember, golf is about the least amount of hits. You don't have to wallop it into next week or into orbit."

"It's like you don't even know me."

"And don't brain anyone with the club either."

"It's like you don't even know me."

Leo put Bradley down to sleep, tucking him over with a blanket. They were into October now and winter was on its way. Leaves had turned crimson and gold, the chill wind flurrying them down the street. He made sure Bradley was comfortable and warm, backing from the room with practised silence.

Louisa was waiting by the door for him. Jessica was wrestling a red woollen hat onto her head, pursing her lips at her protests.

"I don't care how old you are. You're not going out without a hat on. Do your jacket up." Louisa tutted. Jessica fixed a look on her and Louisa obeyed. "Under my roof, under my rules."

"I'm goin' outside though. There ain't no roofs outside."

"Does the sky count?" Leo tilted his head. It was technically the roof of the world, so...

"No," they said together. Leo held his hands up, clearly having walked into an old debate. He could see it was all done with fondness; he could also see Louisa would not cross that stern look on her mother's face.

"Leo, make sure she keeps her hat on," Jessica ordered. Leo stood to attention and saluted clumsily. Jessica nodded once. She flicked her fingers from her eyes to Louisa. Louisa pouted, tucking her chin in the collar of her jacket.

Vindicated, Jessica kissed them both goodbye, quick pecks on the forehead. Leo was surprised at the attention. He didn't get a chance to query it, Jessica disappearing into the kitchen. He touched his forehead, looking at Louisa quizzically.

Louisa shrugged a shoulder, not meeting his eye. Leo smiled, understanding dawning on him.

He was in Jessica's good books. He had won her approval.

I've just finished re-reading the OG series. I'm debating a couple of one-shots where Lou sneaks in a bit early, nothing that links to anything else, just some ideas I wanted to play with :P