Annabeth groaned as she slowly stretched out her sore limbs. She had spent some of the day at the hospital visiting with Hazel and keeping her entertained. Frank had been there as well, and he sat by Hazel with their hands intertwined. If the two were dating, they hadn't said it aloud yet.

After the hospital, Annabeth went to the gym to train. Since it was a Sunday, there was no one else at the gym. Well, there was one other person there: Reyna spent most of the time there lifting weights or running back and forth across the gym, like she was being chased by someone.

Half of Annabeth's time was spent lifting weights, and the other half was spent destroying a punching bag. Her focus was fully on her fight with Arachne, and she was more than ready for it. Annabeth could not wait to prove herself and defend her title.

"I still think this is a little sus," Percy commented as he sat down next to Annabeth. His gaze focused on the burger in the small box that he held. Piper snatched it out of his hands.

"Did you seriously just call it sus?" Piper demanded.

"I did," Percy confirmed.

"You need to stop playing that mobile game," Piper deadpanned.

"It helps me connect with my patients," Percy defended. He grabbed his burger and carton of fries from the bag. Annabeth her own carton plus two sandwiches. "When I play the game with them, they trust me more."

"Tell him that he's a nerd," Piper appealed as she looked at Annabeth.

"I'm out of this," Annabeth deflected as she took a huge bite of her sandwich. Her phone rang, and a sigh escaped her. She placed her sandwich down and grabbed it. Upon reading the name, a small smile came to her face. She answered it. "Hello, little brothers. Isn't it past your bedtime?"

"Haha. You know it's not," Matthew laughed. Annabeth heard the sound of the phone being handed off.

"We wanted to check in that we are still good to visit you," Bobby began. Annabeth smiled wider. She couldn't wait to surprise the two.

"Yeah you are," Annabeth confirmed. "I have you guys coming in three days before my fight, and the tickets are already paid for. I'll be there to pick you up, and we'll get dinner after. Piper and Percy agreed to keep an eye on you two and also take you anywhere you want to visit while I'm at the gym."

"Not to mention she got you great seats," Piper teased as she practically headbutted Annabeth to get close enough to talk into the receiver. Annabeth gave her an annoyed look, and Piper winked at her.

"Do you promise to be on your best behavior?" Annabeth questioned.

"Are you talking to us or Piper?" Matthew countered. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Both," Annabeth replied. Her brother laughed. "I'll be spending my mornings and afternoon at the gym. When I get off, we can do whatever you two want."

"She gets crazy scary when she gets closer to her fights," Percy chimed in. Annabeth hit his arm and then hit Piper for good measure.

"Hey!" Piper protested.

"We won't bother you," Bobby promised.

"I know," Annabeth smiled again. "I look forward to seeing you guys."

"We can't wait!" Bobby barked.

"It's going to be so much fun!" Matthew agreed.

"I'll send the tickets to dad along with anything else that he needs," Annabeth promised. "You two have a good night."

"Have a good one sis!" the boys called out at the same time. Annabeth waited for the phone call to end. Then, she looked at Percy and Piper.

"You're so mean to us," Piper complained.

"I'll hit both of you again," Annabeth threatened. She put her phone down and continued eating her sandwich. Piper stuck her tongue out and took a bite of her own. She cringed a moment later.

"I told you that it was called impossible because it doesn't taste good," Percy teased. Piper glared at him and raised a fist. "I got you a couple of different sides just in case you didn't like it."

"Thank you," Piper backed down as she focused on the sides that were left behind for her. She sighed and sat back against the couch. "Did I ever tell you guys that Jason is such an idiot?"

"What did he do?" Annabeth questioned. Piper rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"I told him that I was late, but I was pretty sure it was because of my medicine. He bought a pregnancy test," Piper revealed.

"That seems like the responsible thing to do," Percy began.

"It is," Piper agreed, and a red shade came to her face. "But, he made his driver stop the limousine at a convenience store to buy the pregnancy test."

"Oh no," Annabeth realized. Percy frowned as he didn't seem to get it. Annabeth looked at him. "Jason is only in the limousine when his father is there."

"Oh," Percy realized, cringing at the scene in his head. "I am so sorry, Piper."

"Yeah," Piper sighed. "So, his dad is now talking about marriage and how I'm just a slut who wants the family fortune. That's why I had sex with him, so he would be obliged to marry me without a stupid lawyer thing-"

"A prenup."

"Yeah. Whatever. He also said that I wanted marriage or a baby to force child support. Apparently, Jason told Thalia about it, and she came back just to yell at him. It was a whole blow-up," Piper explained as she rubbed her forehead. "Boys are dumb."

"Not all boys," Percy cut in. Piper lowered her hand enough to give him a cold glare.

"All boys," Piper insisted. Percy just gave her a small smile. "This is why I should have stayed dating women. Less drama."

"Not really," Percy chimed in through a mouthful of fries. Annabeth glared at him, especially as a fry fell out of his mouth and onto her carpet. Percy swallowed and gave her a nervous grin. "Seriously, though. Thalia's into women, and while I love her just as much as you guys, she lives for the drama."

"That's not true," Annabeth argued.

"Come on, Wise Girl. You know it is," Percy rebutted. "Think about all of her relationships back in high school: most of them were like two weeks long and always ended in some kind of verbal fight. Do you remember all the long texts we used to get in the group chat of her ranting, not even counting all the screenshots? Thalia always has to get the last word in, and we all know how bad that ends up."

"For once, Percy is right. Do you remember what happened with Zoë? That was a big blowup, and I don't think anyone has ever seen Zoë that angry. Not to mention what happened with Reyna. I'm grateful that Thalia stood up for me, but I wish she had done it a better way," Piper admitted.

Annabeth remained silent as she ate her food. A sigh finally left her. She knew how arrogant Thalia could be, and an attack on her friends was seen as an attack on her. Annabeth didn't want to get into it at the moment, so she changed the subject, "You never told us if you were pregnant or not."

Piper choked on a fry, and her face shined a bright tomato red, "NO!"

"Keep using protection then," Annabeth ordered with a chuckle. Piper threw a fry at her. "Hey!"

Percy cackled but hid it behind his hand. Piper glared at both of them. Then, she spoke up, "Okay, since we're being mean to each other, how are things with you and your father?"

"Oh, that is low," Percy commented. Annabeth frowned, and Percy turned to her. "Seriously, though, are things okay with him?"

"I don't know," Annabeth admitted. "One day, it seems like he supports my sexuality. And even my career. The next day, he acts like I'm a pariah. I just don't understand it. I wish I could talk to him about it, but I don't even know how to approach it. Either I clam up or he does."

An annoyed sigh left Annabeth, and she hung her head, "I don't know. I hate it. Talking to Reyna helped. I just can't get past this block, though."

Annabeth stared ahead. She wanted to sit down with her father and talk to him about everything. There were a few problems with that, though. First, it wouldn't be easy just to fly down to her father and sit him down for a talk. Two, she was scared to even try. Finally having this talk would set a lot of things straight. She wasn't sure if she was ready for that.

"You talked to Reyna about it? I feel like I have to pry it out of you anytime it gets brought up," Piper added. Annabeth shrugged.

"Reyna understands what it feels like to have a terrible dad, and the things she said have been really helpful," Annabeth admitted. She looked back at her food. "Can we please just change the subject?"

"How about we talk about the fact that you get to beat Piper up more because she isn't actually pregnant. And, I'll even be there to spar," Percy suggested. "We are going to get you the best preparation for your fight that we can."

"Thank you," Annabeth exhaled gently as she looked at her two best friends. She wrapped an arm around both of them and pulled them close. "I appreciate both of you. I really do. Thank you.'

"We appreciate you too," Percy whispered.

"You mean the world to us," Piper agreed. "We'll help you however we can. Whether it's with your title fight or with your father."

Annabeth smiled. She knew that she had the best friends in the entire world, and they would do anything for her. She would do anything for them. Annabeth closed her eyes. She just needed to relax and prepare for the fight ahead. Everything else could wait until after that.