I did a stupid. I totally forgot about the grey streaks. I know in canon, Percabeth's grey streaks grow out, but in my stuff, they still have them. AND they're passed down to the kids as well. Tobias (and all future Jacksons) have grey streaks like their parents. Just pretend that I mentioned it before and we're all happy with it, etc. :P

To Riordanlover16- 1) Some characters deserve to die :3 2) Excellent 3) Nico's main parental figure was Bianca, another child, so yeah... I guess he would need someone 4) Can't not have drama, this is fanfiction. There are standards 5) Autistic characters are underrated, we need more Tism! 6) I will add them to the list! I'm currently steamrolling through this and proof-reading my own books to get them published hopefully this month! :)

Leo found Louisa in the stables. Annabeth had obviously told Percy the good news because he was running around telling everyone, shaking them by the shoulders to make sure they listened. He told Leo twice in his excitement, and Bradley who could only smile along and didn't understand a word that was being said, and then ran away to tell Chiron.

Louisa was brushing Storm down in her stall. Storm was quite happy where she was, munching on a bucket of feed. She looked up as Leo entered, ear flicking. Leo grinned and pulled a handful of sugar cubes from his toolbelt.

"Ssh," he said as the mare crunched them. "Don't tell Lou."

"I'm right here," Louisa muttered. Leo feigned surprise and she rolled her eyes. "Why's Percy so hyped? He's makin' my head buzz."

"Annabeth's pregnant."

"Ooh, that'd do it." She went back to brushing Storm's flank. Storm nuzzled Bradley's snow suit then his face. "No, he ain't a teddy. He's just warm." Storm studied the baby's face. "He's a baby, what d'you expect?"

"What?" Leo asked.

"She's moanin' he's all dribbly."

"I tried cleaning him up. It's never-ending. Drool this end, poop the other." He shrugged a shoulder. Storm went back to her bucket, unimpressed.

Louisa threw her brush back into the basket, selecting a comb. Storm flicked her tail, grunting when Louisa pulled on a particularly bad tangle. Leo took a seat on a haybale, unzipping Bradley's snow suit. It was rather warm in here as well. He could hear other horses and pegasi in their stalls, whickering and the soft clops of hooves. It smelled of hay, fur and soap in here, underlined by that smell of horse manure. It wasn't the worst manure he had smelled, the strongest offender currently nestled in his arms.

Storm stomped her hoof and turned her head. Louisa glared at her.

"You put the tangles there. This is your fault." Storm huffed. "I either work 'em out or I chop your whole tail off. Yeah, that's what I thought."

"Do you think Bradley will understand her?" Leo asked. Louisa stilled and looked over at him. "Well, if… if what your dad said is true, then he'll be like you, right?" She nodded, jaw setting. She went back to combing out the tail. "I've been thinking on it," Leo continued, "and the best I can figure is that he's basically your clone."

"Come again?"

"Well, you know…" He needed to word this very carefully. She was looking at him, torn between waiting for an answer and throwing the heaviest brush she could at him. "Your dad did that magic thing and he said… that whole monument thing. I'm sorry, but to me it sounds like he's a clone, your clone."

"Bradley is my clone?"

"Yes. Or at least," Leo waved a hand at his head, "it makes sense up here."

"You watch too much sci-fi."

"Hey, hey. One day, I'll have that sci-fi. I'll have a ship."

"You had a ship."

"I'll have a ship like the Enterprise," Leo amended. Louisa squinted at him. "I will," he persisted. "You can be my co-pilot again."

"Can't we have a ship ship? Make another Argo. I'm good on ships like that. 'Cept when it was flyin'."

"If it didn't fly, I wouldn't have been able to rig up Festus."

"True." She got the last of the tangles. "I do miss that ship," she sighed. "Not so much the monsters 'n' the whole… Gaia thing, but I do miss that ship." Leo nodded. He missed his ship too. He missed the comradery they had had, the Seven and Louisa and Coach Hedge and Buford, who was now roaming about Bunker Ten shouting at inanimate objects. He missed his machinery and his craftsmanship and the fine way everything ticked along.

He didn't miss the quest though. Didn't miss the constant danger and the mast getting knocked down every other day. Didn't miss the evidence of Chrysaor's attack.

His hands were shaking. Bradley was looking up at him, offering that gummy smile.

How long ago that was, how fresh it still seemed. That was the first time he had almost lost her and it didn't hurt any less now, not even when it had almost happened again.

"Leo?" She was in front of him, stooped to meet his eye. She touched his face, wiping a tear away. "I'm sorry I brought up the Argo. It was cool, very cool."

"It was," Leo agreed. "I'm super clever like that, you know." She smiled crookedly.

"You won't let me live that down, will you?"

"As long as you live," Leo agreed. Louisa studied him curiously. Leo cleared his throat. "Anyway, what was Mr. D like?"

"Mr. D," she replied stiffly. "I'm seein' him tomorrow."

"Is that good?"

"I… I think so. Probably long overdue, all this, ain't it?"

"Yeah."

"You're not supposed to agree."

"Bradley said it, not me."

"Did he now?" Leo nodded earnestly. Louisa swept Bradley up, holding him just above her head. He beamed down at her, dribble dangerously dangling from his chin. "Don't gang up on me," she warned. "I made you. You are on my side, ya hear?" Bradley cooed and reached for her with that mad grabbing he could only just manage. Louisa lowered him, splodging a kiss on his forehead. Bradley wobbled his head, mouth open wide on her cheek.

"Aww, he's giving you kisses!" Leo beamed. "And drool," he added, wrinkling his nose. Louisa did likewise, but she was laughing, hugging Bradley to her. She swayed with him, rubbing his back.

"Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"What… what do you want him ta call you?"

"What d'you mean?"

"Well… you… you signed the birth certificate." Pink rose in her face and she couldn't concentrate on him. "That… that does make you his dad, but… uh, it's up to you. You can just be Leo if you want."

"I do not want," Leo blurted. His heart was fit to burst from his chest with excitement. "Are you serious?" Storm looked up from her bucket, nodding the same time her rider did. It must be serious if the pegasus was getting involved.

Leo beamed, patting his cheeks. She was Mama, they all addressed her as Mama when talking to Bradley, and she did too. What did he want? What did he want?

Mama and… Mama aaaaand… Mama aaaaaaannnnnnnnndddd…

A light went on. "Papi," he said. "Mama and Papi."

Louisa considered it, examining her— their son's face. Their son, their son, their son.

"I like it," she nodded. Bradley grabbed hold of her fingers, that smile back once again. Louisa laughed. "I think he likes it too."

They settled into a routine over the next few weeks. Breakfast at their allocated tables. Sometimes Louisa kept Bradley with her and sometimes she brought him over to have breakfast with his papi. Leo loved it when he had Bradley, either sitting him on his lap or on the table. His siblings from the Hephaestus cabin teased him at first, like all good siblings do, but they were quick to dote on Bradley. It was hard not to. With his chubby cheeks and big green eyes, his mad tufty hair and the big, bright smile, Bradley was impossible to resist.

From breakfast, Leo would take Bradley with him to the command tent while Louisa went to see Mr. D. Construction had already started, levelling off the ground in places, foundations being built up. Annabeth had accepted Leo's statues, though their occupants had changed.

The town was going to be split into twelve smaller villages, one for each Olympian. Each village would have a statue of the respective god or goddess (not of Leo) and then there would be statues of minor gods all around the outskirts of the city, following the layout of the cabins. Leo tried to sneakily rub the name out of one of them and replace it with his own. Annabeth noticed immediately and cracked him across the knuckles with a ruler like some old-timey headmistress.

Louisa would come and see them at lunchtime, bringing food. Annabeth was already suffering cravings so Louisa would bring her chocolate spread and strawberry sandwiches. For Leo, she would bring something a bit more sensible, like ham and cheese toasties.

"I miss your mom's bacon sandwiches," Leo pouted.

"I'll get her to make you some when we're home," Louisa promised, ruffling his hair.

Annabeth swallowed her mouthful, licking chocolate spread from her fingers. Louisa took Bradley away, heading back to her cabin to feed him in peace.

"She doesn't look so tired," Annabeth remarked.

"No, she doesn't," Leo agreed. Whatever was said in these therapy sessions remained in the therapy sessions, but it was clearly working. Some colour was coming back to her face, the shadows beneath her eyes fading. Percy had reported fewer nightmares this week.

Percy was playing a role in his sister's recovery. After therapy, before lunch, they were in the arena. Sparring, racing, training, lifting weights. Sometimes others came in and helped. Jason had been in a few times; Piper and Nico swung by on several occasions (Leo also suspected they were gathering intel on 'Leoisa'). Leo hadn't been to any of these sessions himself, busy helping Annabeth with New Athens, as she insisted on calling it. It was a terrible name, as far as he was concerned, far less flashy than Valdeztopia or McShizzle-McHizzle.

The training exhausted Louisa to begin with, but she stuck with it. She was determined, ignorant of the snow and the cold, determined to rebuild herself. It was getting harder to disarm her again, now a rarity when her sword left her grasp. Her knuckles were bruised and split from doing push-ups, but she did them. Her arms and shoulders were sore for days from lifting weights and her legs threatened to collapse after trying and failing to race dryads.

"She won't give up," Percy said after the first two weeks, grinning proudly. "She tried to stab me in the leg today and didn't apologise, it was great."

It took Leo a moment to decipher that, realising when Louisa came into the tent and seeing her smile.

It was almost December now. Just under a month of her re-training and, oh, she did look so much better! Her hair was starting to grow out again. She stood straight, her hands relaxed at her sides. He understood what Percy meant then, sensing an air of the old Louisa as the tent flap swept closed. She had put weight back on and she was utilising it, re-strengthening herself. She looked strong and healthy.

And hot, Leo thought. He shook his head, dismissing the thought. Behave yourself, he mentally chided.

Leo would leave the command tent about two or three in the afternoon and spend the rest of the day with Louisa and Bradley together. Campers were starting to feel seasonal now and there was so much to do, so much to look forward to. The river was frozen over by the Poseidon twins and its naiads and ice-skating drew numbers in. Trees and cabins and the Big House were being decorated with fairy lights. Snowmen sprung up everywhere. Sledding kids challenged each other to crazier and crazier races. Mistletoe had a habit of sneaking up on unsuspecting demigods. Leo even saw some harpies wearing festive hats.

This got him thinking. Annabeth noticed one morning, noticed him staring at the plans while taking nothing in. Bradley was asleep in the sling against Leo's chest.

She set down her tea, put aside her pencil.

"Penny for your thoughts, Leo?"

"My thoughts are worth millions, thank you very much." Yes, Annabeth was beginning to understand that. She didn't, at first, believe Louisa about Valdez Industries, but she believed it when Leo's money cleared to help buy the land they were now building on.

He smiled lopsidedly at her. "Just thinking about Christmas." He glanced down, stroking Bradley's hair. "Did you do anything special for Tobias's first Christmas? I can't really remember."

"Oh, we had some special baubles made up. Had his name on, the year. He had no idea what was going on, bless him, but he seems excited this year. We're going to see Santa next week."

"Are you now?"

"Yes. Not sure if he's grasped the concept yet, but we'll see. Why? What are you thinking?" Leo rubbed at his face, sighing.

"I wasn't, really. Well, I was, but… oooh, I just wanted to do something nice for Lou. I think she'd like that bauble thing you did, but I wanted to do something else, something more. Like… like…" He flailed his hands. "Do you reckon Jessica will let me turn her apartment into a Winter Wonderland? Reindeer included."

"Probably not."

"No, I didn't think so." Leo sighed grumpily. "I'll keep workshopping it. Maybe I'll rig Festus up to a sleigh and deliver presents or…" He trailed off uncertainly. Annabeth tapped her chin in thought.

"Why don't you ask Chiron if you could use the arena? He usually lets us off of training over the holidays, so we can spend time together or go home to family. You could Winter Wonderland the arena. It's a big space and it could look really nice. Some trees, some snow, some… Valdez flare." She could see Leo absorbing this idea, turning it over in his brain and sprinkling it with whatever thoughts were thrown at him. He had options now he had a potential base to work with.

Chiron was all for it, when Leo spoke to him after dinner that evening. He had waited for the others to leave first, promising to meet Louisa and Bradley at Cabin Three in a bit.

"It sounds like a fantastic idea, my boy," he smiled. "Bring me some plans and I will see if I can be of any assistance."

"Thanks, Chiron. I, uh, do need to get Lou out of there though. She'll have to train somewhere else until it's ready."

"I can close the arena for renovations."

"You're the best," Leo grinned. Chiron seemed rather pleased with that and patted Leo on the head. He trotted off, tail swishing merrily. Leo made to leave, a throat clearing calling him back.

Mr. D sat at the head table still, working his way through a massive chocolate cake. It reminded Leo a bit like the one from Matilda.

"I'm getting rather bored of you," he said. Leo frowned.

"Rude."

"You make a terrible subject of conversation." His purple eyes fixed on Leo, making sure he didn't come too close to his precious dessert. "She thinks very highly of you, you know." Leo understood then what the god meant— Louisa had been talking about him in her therapy sessions.

"How's she doing?" he asked.

"Patient confidentiality," Mr. D replied stiffly, "but she is doing better. She has had rather enough of… what did she call it? Shit-fuckery, I believe her exact words were. Yes. She has had rather enough of shit-fuckery and seems set on leading as normal a life as she can manage. For some strange reason, that life involves you. Don't look too pleased now, will you?"

Leo tried to stifle his grin, tucking his hands behind his back. Mr. D grunted. "I do not see the appeal myself; you are a strange one even by demigod standards. But that doesn't stop her talking about you a lot. You, the child, her family, her friends. She feels she's lost the place she had made for herself and can't figure out how to get it back."

"What about… what happened? Does she… talk about that?" Mr. D's eyes flashed with warning purple flames. Leo stepped back. "I know, I know, patient confidentiality. I just want to know if she's, ah… processing it."

"Our first few sessions focused heavily on recent events. It has whittled down somewhat since, but there are times when it raises its head and needs addressing. I can assure you, Liam Vanson, I know what I'm doing."

"I'm Leo— nevermind. Thank you. For helping her."

"Could you at least do something mildly amusing? Something else she could talk about, if she insists on talking about you? I am rather sick of hearing of how pretty your eyes are."

"She thinks my eyes are pretty?"

"I have cake to eat. Why are you still bothering me?"

"I'm going to go and bother Lou."

"Yes, you do that."

Leo practically skipped from the dining pavilion to Cabin Three, rapping a rhythm on the door.

"About time!" Louisa called from inside. The door opened and she waved him in. The cabin was warm. Bradley was pillowed in on a lower bunk, asleep. Why did he always throw his arms up when he slept? Like he was celebrating something.

Louisa eyed him curiously, suspicious of the grin he was fighting to hide. She was wearing a thick orange camp hoodie, black thermal leggings and bright orange thermal socks. Leo looked her up and down, raising an eyebrow. She rolled her eyes. "I was cold 'n' the store only has fuckin' orange. What did you want ta talk to Chiron for?"

"Oh, uh… I had some ideas for the arena. Might have to close it for a bit."

"What?" She shook her head. "Nah, I've got trainin' ta do, you can't—"

"Chiron's already approved it. It'll only be for a bit, then you can… go back to stabbing Percy, I guess. He seems weirdly happy that you're trying to stab him."

"Yeah, I was a bit concerned at first," she nodded, "but I haven't actually stabbed him, so it's OK?" She hunched her shoulders, pouting at him. "Why've ya gotta close the arena? What ideas?"

"I'll tell you later. I've got to draw them for Chiron first."

"Tell me now."

"No." He wouldn't tell her at all, hoping to surprise her with the Winter Wonderland of her dreams. First, though, he had to build the damn thing.

She started to protest, wanting to know more. Leo grinned. Her old habit of inciting stupid bickering had resurfaced. Whatever Mr. D was doing was working wonders; with every day that passed, Leo saw more of the old Louisa.

He knew the old Louisa wouldn't come back, not completely. Too much had happened for anything to be as it was for her. Instead, her old behaviours were combining with her new ones. Louisa 2.0.

Leo rubbed his jaw, thinking. The old Louisa would most certainly strangle him if he said his next sentence aloud, but Louisa 2.0… he had a bit more leeway with her. So, he said his next sentence aloud, unafraid of death and grinning like the Cheshire Cat as she flushed a deep red.

"A little birdie told me you think my eyes are pretty. Lou. Lou! No, you can't run away into the sea, that's cheating! Aaaand she's gone. Looks like it's you and me, chiquito. Mama's a big chicken." He folded his arms, watching the waves beyond the back door. "A big chicken with good taste. I do have pretty eyes."