Hello, again!

Much has changed since I saw you all last, nearly 3 years ago. I got a new job, a new car, a new apartment, all kinds of things. But no one wants to hear about that.

Re-reading this story, it's honestly hard to get through at first. The first 10 chapters are thoroughly embarrassing to read after these years away, but as they say, "The show must go on."

And so this chapter is dedicated to everyone who is currently reading it. If you're not a new reader (hi new readers), then it means you held out hope long enough, and now, that hope has paid off. Hopefully. If you are indeed returning, I recommend re-reading at least the last 3 chapters. One per year I've kept you waiting.

P.S. I forgot I left off on an actual cliffhanger. For almost 3 years. And for that, I truly apologize. In return, have the longest chapter in this story so far: 9,999 words exactly.

Disclaimer: This is a fan-made work using characters and settings primarily from "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" by Rick Riordan. This work is not affiliated with, nor intended to infringe on the copyright of, any existing work.

19: One Big Happy Family

Zoë didn't want to leave Perseus alone at the ridiculous dance party, she truly didn't—but she didn't have a choice in the matter. Artemis clearly wasn't just suggesting she follow her to the courtyard.

She lightly squeezed Perseus's right shoulder, and he turned around in his wheelchair to look at her.

When he saw Artemis, his eyes widened briefly before he put together what was going on. He laid his one remaining hand over hers, both letting her know he understood she was leaving, and comforting her. His large, warm hand seemed to have been made to perfectly encompass her own, Zoë couldn't help but notice. Or maybe it was hers that had been made to fit in his?

It was such a small gesture, such an ordinary thing, holding her hand, but it was something she was completely unprepared for. How could such a slight touch from him bring with it such a profound sense of both comfort and longing?

But all too soon, the moment passed, and he took his hand back off hers.

She wanted to tell him to put it back—wanted to grab his, and never let go.

But she steeled herself and turned towards Artemis, because it wasn't time for comfort.

It was time to face the music.

Zoë had broken her vow. When she gave Perseus the ambrosia in the junkyard, her vow had been broken. Even to save a life, a huntress simply did not stick her tongue down a man's throat. Perhaps, if there was nothing more between them, or if she had regretted it—if she despised what she had done, despised the man who refused to live in a world where she was gone—then Artemis might see fit to accept her back in the Hunt. If she chose the Hunt over that man, then things might be different.

But she couldn't do that. How could she, when every second she now spent apart from him felt like days? When even now, as she walked to the courtyard with Artemis, as she prepared to lose the home and family she'd had for millennia, she was still worried for his well-being? How was he faring, in the party without her? Did he need her? She certainly seemed to need him.

She had never felt this way before. How terrible a thing, love, to cause such pain? And yet, despite herself, she craved it. It was a burning need—all consuming, relentless—which left no room for doubt in her heart.

To affirm her convictions, Zoë needed only remember that single moment in the junkyard, the instant when the Talos brought down its foot, and she heard nothing. She needed only think of the horrifying emptiness, the freezing dread that scattered away every thought in her being, when she realized he might have been gone. She didn't remember at the time that if he was truly dead, he would have gone back in time and she would never have even known any of it had happened. She had no capacity to reason when it happened, or even think at all. In the moment before he began to scream, in that ice cold instant that seemed to last longer than she'd been alive, she was completely frozen. Thinking back on it with a clearer mind, she knew for certain. That after that moment, nothing could ever be the same again.

And so, briefly recalling that feeling was enough to know what she needed to do.

When they reached the secluded, grassy area, Zoë saw that Thalia had already arrived. She recognized the glow of Artemis's blessing on the girl.

Was she to be the newest Lieutenant this time as well? Zoë blinked back tears—something she'd been doing an awful lot of lately—when she thought of the reality of what was happening.

Artemis announced, "Thalia, Zoë, I believe you two have previously met."

Zoë nodded calmly and said, "Indeed."

Thalia stared at the former Hesperid with just a trace of lingering resentment, and Zoë stared back. Thalia muttered, "What kind of messed up situation is this?"

At Zoë's questioning look, she explained, "You're leaving the Hunt, and I joined it, basically because of the same guy."

Zoë blinked. This girl had feelings for Perseus? He had never mentioned that to her. She knew that Thalia had replaced her as Lieutenant when she died, and Perseus had said he believed she had feelings for Luke before he betrayed them all. Were her feelings for Perseus new to this life? It wasn't hard for Zoë to imagine her having eyes for Perseus. In fact, she could imagine any woman falling for him. Mainly because she couldn't imagine herself falling for anyone else, so how could she imagine anyone else falling for someone other than Percy?

Artemis looked at the two girls before shaking her head. She paused for a long moment.

"I am beyond glad you yet live, Zoë," she began, "but I cannot pretend I am pleased with all that has transpired."

Zoë's fists clenched as she cast her eyes to the ground, not wishing for her Lady to see her eyes start to fill with tears. She would give up everything she had to be with Perseus, but how could it not hurt? Of course it hurt. It hurt like Hades.

Yet the pain was nothing, compared to that one moment. She felt intense sorrow, pain, and fear when she thought of leaving the Hunt, but if they meant more to her than Perseus, then surely she would have felt that same ice-cold dread wipe away all other sensation, right? She hoped she was right—because she wasn't going to get a second chance.

Artemis spoke deliberately to her downcast friend. "Zoë Nightshade, you have forsworn your oath. You have kept the company of a man, and this cannot be forgiven."

Zoë's eyes shut as she silently acknowledged the accusation. She could not deny the feelings she had.

Artemis continued, "What say you in defence of your actions?"

Zoë was silent for several moments before looking up at Artemis with her teary eyes. She spoke slowly. "I make no defence. I ask not for forgiveness, for I have not broken my vow by mere chance alone. I have wronged thee all, but I would not take back my feelings, even were I given the choice. For that, I am sorry. I am so sorry, my Lady."

Unceremonious, yet almost unbearably solemn, Artemis declared, "I strip you of the rank Lieutenant."

Artemis made a slow but deliberate grabbing motion towards Zoë, and the silver circlet faded from the woman's braided hair, leaving it loose and messy. The tears that had been filling the former Lieutenant's eyes began to fall.

"I release you from your broken oath."

No thunder rumbled across the sky on Olympus, as her oath had never been made upon the Styx. The only river involved was one of tears, that at this moment flowed freely down the face of the tall, caramel-skinned girl.

Artemis took a deep breath. "And I eternally banish thee from my service, never again to join my Hunt, or fight by my side, for as long as you may live."

Zoë's eyes were blurry with tears, and so she could not see the omnipresent silver glow that had surrounded her for so many years drain away. First slowly, then all at once, like water from an ocean wave disappears when it sinks beneath the sand—but also like the moonlight fades before the sunrise.

As her strength weakened, her tears hastened. This was it. There really was no turning back now.

Artemis solemnly decreed one final time, "Zoë Nightshade, once my most faithful companion, and my oldest friend, I hereby withdraw all that I have given you. From this day forth, you may never again call yourself a Huntress."

Zoë Nightshade, now a mortal woman, sank to her knees, no longer bothering to, or perhaps no longer capable of, containing her grief. A single, soul-wrenching wail tore from her throat before she began to rack violently with sobs.

Her wordless cries rang out in the night sky, incessant, even when comforted by Artemis herself. Indeed, her screams became even louder as the goddess of the moon approached, and loudest yet when a flawless divine hand was placed upon her quivering shoulder.

Artemis tried to contain her oldest friend for several minutes before it became clear she was utterly inconsolable.

"Maybe I should go get Percy?" Thalia suggested awkwardly.

Artemis sighed in thought briefly before nodding. "Perhaps it would be for the best. From what I know… he should not make things worse."

Thalia nodded and jogged away.

Artemis thought aloud softly amid the shrieks of her oldest friend, "He may be the only solution to the problem he caused."

After what seemed like nothing but a few moments, Percy frantically ran into view, moonlight bouncing off his new metal limbs, illuminating his panic-stricken, devastated face.

Artemis immediately noticed the artificial pieces of the man before her. They must have been a reward, from Hephaestus.

Her heart squeezed with pain as she thought about how her oldest friend's reward for the same quest was having her immortality stripped and being cast out from her eons' home and family.

But she also knew that this was what Zoë needed most, however much it hurt them both in the moment. The Hunt is simply no place for a woman in love, she thought.

Percy's anxious and panicked face morphed into a stern one when he saw the situation in the courtyard. As Zoë curled up in the fetal position, yelling incoherently into the night sky, his left hand, his biological hand, clenched tightly for just a brief second.

Artemis looked on passively at the strange man. Who could he have been in his past life? Or perhaps, lives? Could this be his third and final life before heading to the Isles of the Blessed?

At least Zoë had fallen for what seemed to be a good man—or as good as men got, at least. She would have to keep a close eye on the two in the future, nonetheless. If Percy became lax in his treatment of her oldest friend… well, Zoë could handle herself, but Artemis wouldn't mind helping.

After seeming to take stock of the situation, Percy quickly knelt next to Zoë, and Chloe the kitten appeared from inside the Nemean Lion coat, mewing loudly, seemingly pleading with the man, having been unsuccessful in her own attempts in getting her mother to stop crying.

He extended his metal arm before quickly retracting it and reaching out with his left hand instead.

Artemis watched on in muted curiosity as Percy's hand lightly touched her ex-lieutenant's forehead and the howling almost instantly ceased, replaced by a barely restrained whimpering.

"It'll be alright, Zoë. You'll be okay. You're strong, Zoë," he repeated gently several times, though she didn't keep improving, unlike when he laid his hand on her head.

"Mew!" Chloe the kitten mewed in distress while pawing at her momma helplessly, trying to help Zoë as best she could.

Artemis tried not to be affected when Percy stroked her best friend's cheek lovingly, soothing her cries further, before pulling her head into his lap, where he leaned down and whispered something even she, a goddess, couldn't hear.

Whatever he said to her, it seemed to have been extremely effective, as Zoë immediately threw her arms around his midsection, and stopped making much noise after that, though she would still sob every few seconds.

The goddess of virgins didn't succeed fully in suspending her delicate sensibilities however, as she felt her own cheeks flush in embarrassment. She put her hand over her chest as Percy continued his ministrations, beginning to smooth the hair of her ex-lieutenant with his real hand as he held his prosthetic arm around her back, helping her press even closer to him.

How forward!

Over the years, associating with other gods and goddesses, Artemis had been witness to her share of misbehavior, but it had always been between people she didn't care about. Never had she seen such a display from one of her huntresses before. Of course, there were plenty of huntresses who had left the Hunt in disgrace, but none had ever disgraced themselves directly in her presence. It was quite shocking to the goddess.

She looked away, greeting her new soon-to-be-Lieutenant who had only just arrived. "Thalia."

"My lady," Thalia cautiously returned.

When Thalia saw the loving display between the boy she seemed to have had a crush on and a girl who wasn't her, Artemis noted the emotions that flitted through her face.

Her eyes widened. They narrowed. Her brow furrowed. Her jaw set. And then her whole face relaxed.

Good.

Softly, Artemis changed the subject. "We will conduct the ceremony to confirm your position as Lieutenant later, with the rest of the Hunt."

Thalia slowly tore her eyes from Percy and Zoë, before nodding. "Understood." After a moment, she began to say, "Should we…"

"No," Artemis answered before the question was asked. "There is nothing more we can do here. Let us return to the Hunt sooner, rather than later."

She offered up a silent prayer for her oldest friend as she began to walk away. "Zoë, no matter what path you tread, I will always wish for you nothing but happiness. Please, find peace."

But as she was leaving, Percy called out to the goddess, halting her briefly.

— — — — — — —

Percy was running out of the party before he even thought to ask what was wrong. All he knew was Zoë was in trouble somehow and she was at the courtyard, and so that was where he was going to be as soon as physically possible.

Not for the first time, Percy cursed the loss of his divine power. For the time being, he was totally cut off from his water sense, and had to rely on memory to navigate to the courtyard. He felt blind and deaf, but at least he could move on his own again.

Percy got a crash course in the use of his new prosthetic limbs as he sprinted to where his memory guided him.

Before long however, the sound of Zoë's tortured screaming became all the guidance he needed. Each wail that tore through the air seemed to rend through his chest and claw at the core of his being. With each passing moment, he ran faster, and faster.

He only slowed down once he saw the condition of the Huntress. Or, well, former Huntress, anyway. She wasn't physically injured, which made Percy want to heave a sigh of relief, but the knowledge that Zoë would prefer pretty much any physical injury he could think of to what she was going through right now made him keep his sigh inside where it belonged.

His real hand tightened as he watched Zoë scream incoherently in pain. She deserved the accolades and honors of a true hero. Instead, she was punished. And Percy only had himself to blame.

He should never have…

But maybe, he could ease her suffering somewhat—even if he was the one who caused it.

He walked over to the woman he loved and knelt by her head. He instinctively reached out with his right hand, before remembering he didn't have one—at least, not a real one. He used his left hand to brush against Zoë's forehead, and her screaming stopped much faster than Percy anticipated.

She was still in pain, clearly, but she was crying instead of screaming. That was an improvement, Percy forced himself to believe.

"It'll be alright, Zoë," he soothed. "You'll be okay. You're strong, Zoë."

He repeated those words, and words like them, but Zoë just kept crying. She hadn't improved much since he first brushed her forehead. He needed to think of something, fast.

Eventually, Percy gently grabbed Zoë's shoulders and brought her head into his lap. He made sure she was against his actual leg. He stroked her cheek gently with the backs of his fingers, and noted that see seemed to quiet slightly when he did so.

He leaned down until he was right next to her ear.

"I'm here, Zoë. It's me. And I'm not going anywhere."

Suddenly, Zoë threw her arms around his middle and began to sob directly into his stomach. It felt like she was trying to bury herself, so he held her back with his metal arm and smoothed her hair with his real one—it was about all he could do in this position.

But as he did so, he heard a noise and so turned to look, intending to protect Zoë if it was a threat—but it was just Thalia.

Thalia and Artemis spoke too softly for him to hear, but as they turned to leave, Percy remembered something.

"Excuse me, Lady of the Moon."

Artemis stopped and turned.

Percy spoke up, "I only just remembered. The General planted 12 teeth of Sybaris and gave them a sash from a Huntress, back at the Smithsonian. We never saw them again, and perhaps they've already been dealt with, but I thought you'd like to know. They didn't seem friendly."

Almost immediately, Artemis replied, "Thank you for telling me. And…"

Artemis paused for a long time. "Take care of Zoë."

Percy looked down at the trembling woman in his arms, and when he looked up to retort, Artemis and Thalia were both gone.

"Could I possibly do anything else?" He asked himself, quietly.

Returning to stroking Zoë's hair, he constantly murmured assurances and comforts.

"Everything will turn out alright, Zoë. You can make it through this. You can do this. Everything is going to be okay."

She slowly got better, but he noticed that she responded best when he affirmed he was there for her.

"I'm right here, Zoë. I'm not leaving. I'm staying here, with you. You're not alone. I'm here with you."

At some point, Zoë stopped crying, and Percy had thought perhaps she was sleeping. He wouldn't mind if she was. He'd stay out here as long as she needed, as long as she wanted. Anything she wanted, he would give it to her, do it for her, be what she wanted, anything. He'd find a way.

But when she softly spoke, it pulled him out of his thoughts. "Perseus…"

"Zoë?" he asked gently while lowering her from his torso, trying not to let his eagerness and relief that she was okay enough to talk show through in case it freaked her out.

"When thou toldst me everything, that day in the sea," she rasped weakly. "You mentioned we had talked once, in the dam river. Dost thou remember?"

"Of course," he assured her, barely registering the word 'dam' in her speech.

"I told thee I expected to die," she murmured, as if remembering the day she shouldn't have memories of. "I said nothing lasts forever. I said in two thousand years, I had not grown wiser."

"I remember," he said softly.

"I was wrong, but I was also right," Zoë said as she opened her eyes and stared into his. "I was a fool then, and I am a fool now."

"How am I supposed to interpret that, huh?" Percy joked cautiously.

Zoë gazed at Percy. Her volcanic black eyes melted into his sea-green.

He knew what she would say, as time froze.

She whispered, and an ocean breeze appeared on Mount Olympus to take her words to him.

"I love thee, Perseus Jackson."

Tears dropped, one by one, onto Zoë's face.

"I'm so, so sorry," Percy whispered back hoarsely, throat opening and closing as he fought not to sob.

A bitter smile made its way onto Zoë's exhausted visage. "Now who is the fool? What is a girl to think, when the man she loves apologizes instead of reciprocating?"

Percy sniffed in a way that perhaps was supposed to have been a laugh. "I love you, too, Zoë Nightshade. I always will."

He smiled and continued, "And I couldn't be more sorry."

"Foolish," Zoë admonished quietly. "The both of us. Utter fools."

"Hm," Percy pretended to make Zoë's special noise.

After a long while, Zoë spoke again, just as softly. "The prosthetics are from Lord Hephaestus, I presume?"

"You presume correctly. They're… my reward. They're supposed to be exactly as strong as my real limbs, and no stronger."

Zoë tried to scoff, but it didn't sound right through the tears. "What a reward."

Percy smirked half-heartedly. "Hey, at least it's better than the 'privilege' of calling the sun god 'Cousin Apollo.'"

Percy panicked as Zoë suddenly started rapidly leaking tears again.

"Perseus?" Zoë choked out between sobs.

"What is it?" Percy asked gently but briskly.

Zoë spoke frantically, so panicked and anxious to get her words out that she ended up speaking in Ancient Greek. "Promise me. Promise me that you aren't like him. Promise me—"

She choked back a sob.

"Promise me I haven't thrown my life away, Perseus. Promise me this wasn't for nothing."

Seeing the pleading in her gorgeous eyes, Percy didn't hesitate to pull Zoë up from his lap and into his arms. He held her waist gently yet firmly, and pressed his lips gently to hers once, twice, three times. 3 was a magic number, after all.

He looked her in the eyes once more and smiled as warmly as he could. He moved his head to the side of hers and whispered in her ear, "I will never let you go, Zoë. I can only speak for myself, but I will never leave you. From now on, you will always have me. Trust me when I say that I'm not going anywhere. I love you."

He didn't swear on the Styx, that damned river. He didn't swear anything at all. But it was enough. For Zoë, at that moment, it was enough just to be in his arms, and feel her lips tingle long after his had left hers.

"Then I shall speak for both of us," Zoë breathed. In Ancient Greek, she said softly, but clearly, "From now into eternal, we are one."

From a broader perspective, it was utterly ridiculous. She'd known him for something like a week, and he was already pledging his life to her, and she to his. Maybe he had an excuse, in that he'd been thinking about her non-stop for a hundred years. Maybe his mind was even damaged from the solitude, but her mind hadn't changed in eons, so where was her excuse?

She didn't have one.

It was that simple. She didn't have an excuse thousands of years ago when she threw everything away for Herakles, and she didn't have one now when she threw everything away for Perseus.

The difference was that Herakles had walked away with her immortal power in hand, and now Perseus had given it back, and he was here to stay. It didn't hurt that she actually enjoyed Percy's company immensely.

She wiggled in his embrace and hugged her face to his muscular chest, instead of his muscular stomach like before. After several minutes of simply holding one another, she spoke gently. "I wish to sleep, Perseus."

"I wish so, too," he replied.

Miraculously, Percy and Zoë made their way to the elevator and out into New York without incident. Outside, they found Argus waiting for them in a camp van, slowly being covered in snow. Percy and Zoë sat next to each other, Percy on the right, so his flesh and blood leg was pressed together with Zoë's right leg, and they were both out like lights before Argus had even left the city.

Chloe the saber-toothed kitten slept in a tiny curled up ball on Zoë's thigh, nestled against Percy's larger one, using it something like a pillow.

Zoë leaned her head on Percy's shoulder in what was, for her, still a daring display of affection.

Percy's shoulder was very, very glad to be leaned on.

— — — — — — —

At the bottom of Half-blood Hill, the camp van coasted to a stop.

Within seconds, a silver-haired high velocity round shot from Thalia's Pine through the air like a real bullet.

"Percy! Percy! Mommy!"

In the van, Percy slowly woke up from his nap, keenly aware of both the literal weight on his shoulder, and the metaphorical weight it represented.

However, he didn't have much time to reflect on his situation, as Lily began banging on the door of the van like a crazy person.

"Mommy! Percy!" she shouted, knowing the only people who could hear her were also the only people she wanted to be heard by.

The beauty of Zoë's peaceful sleeping face briefly stunned Percy as he made to wake her, and that instant was long enough for Zoë to rouse on her own.

"Is that Lily?" she mumbled in Ancient Greek.

"Yeah," Percy confirmed in kind, before opening the door.

Instantly, Lily seemed to have teleported into his arms.

"Hi, Lily," he greeted groggily.

Lily did not respond with words. Instead, she sobbed into his shirt. Her tears came from the shock of her immense relief replacing her immense worry in such a short time, and once started, they refused to stop.

Percy had just gotten plenty of practice comforting a crying woman, and gently soothed the immature woman latching onto him, rubbing her back in a rhythmic way that he knew she found relaxing.

Outburst briefly contained, Percy carried Lily out of the car, made simple by the fact she was clinging onto him like a koala bear.

Zoë slid out right after him, walking to Lily's back as she put her arms around the child, sandwiching her between the two adults (though all three had the same physical age).

As they comforted the daughter of Hecate, Percy gazed towards camp, thinking of what was about to happen.

Zoë closed her eyes, but she and him were of one mind. Hopefully the Hunt had already moved on. Any partings she wished to have would surely not be pleasant. It was better not to say goodbye. If she needed closure, she could find it later. She had larger concerns, now.

Suddenly, Lily shouted in horror, "Percy Percy no?!"

Percy tried to smile. "It's not that big a deal, Lily. I'm already fine. Good as new."

Percy thought he could feel Zoë shudder through Lily.

"Percy no," Lily said through her tears, seeming half hopefully she was misunderstanding, and half crushed at what had happened.

"I'm not lying," he tried to placate her. "I'm fine now. I'm all better."

At Lily's still suspicious expression, Zoë added, "Liliana, Perseus was injured, but he has overcome it. He is strong. Art thou strong, Lily?"

Lily blinked, hesitating briefly before agreeing.

"Then let us go," Zoë suggested, in a tone that made it clear it was no suggestion at all.

And so in the dead of night, the group of three made their way up the hill, towards Thalia's Pine.

Waiting for them was Chiron, in centaur form, nervously clopping his hooves in the grass by Thalia's Pine.

"Percy!" he said apprehensively. "And Miss Nightshade, as well, of course."

"Yes, Chiron? We're all very tired. We just want to get some rest."

"I've heard some of what happened," Chiron explained briefly. "I've already given Zoë permission to cross the barrier."

Percy gave his old mentor a tired smile. "Thank you, Chiron. I appreciate that."

Chiron looked like he was internally debating whether or not to say something for a moment, but in the end, he came to the decision to half-heartedly say, "There is the, erm, small matter of Miss Nightshade's accommodations."

Percy waved him off and started walking towards the barrier. "There are plenty of empty beds in Cabin 3, Chiron, I don't think it'll be a problem."

Suddenly realizing something, Percy turned back to look at Chiron. "Unless someone is… forcing the issue?"

Chiron waved both hands in a 'not at all' motion. "Of course not. If that's what you've decided, then it's sorted. I'm simply… not privy to as much as I thought, it seems."

"I'll fill you in tomorrow some time," Percy sighed. "It's been a rough week; who knows when I'll wake up."

"I understand completely, my boy. I'll see you then," Chiron said before he clopped slowly towards the Big House, only briefly stopping to watch the trio—plus a cat—meander their way to Cabin Three.

Walking through Camp, Percy felt like he hadn't been there in years, even though it had been a only matter of days since he'd seen it last.

So much had happened.

Opening the door to his Cabin, Percy jokingly bowed and swept his hand across the empty threshold, "Ladies first."

Lily dauntlessly marched straight in, having detached from Percy some time earlier, before realizing Zoë wasn't following behind her.

"Mommy?" she asked, and Zoë snapped out of a daze. Seeming to come to some kind of decision, she followed her surrogate daughter into what was, more or less, her love's home.

Percy shut the door behind him gently, before noticing a problem. Although there were plenty of empty beds, they were just that: empty. Only his own bed had any bedding on it that wasn't fifty years old, and he didn't exactly have much time for dusting.

While Lily figuratively—actually, literally—flew into the single furnished bunk bed, Percy and Zoë were left looking at each other.

A few moments passed like that before Lily looked at them strangely. "Percy? Mommy?"

Luckily for the both of them, they didn't need to answer. As soon as Lily posed her question, the bunk bed she was on suddenly started morphing. It lost the top bunk, grew wider, longer, and the bedding changed, getting thicker and much more comfortable looking. Percy almost felt like he could fall asleep standing up just by looking at it. A sea breeze gently blew past them.

"Guess dear old Dad is trying to make up for a decade of missed birthdays all at once. I wonder how much he knows."

After a moment, Zoë answered gently, "More than Chiron, I would wager."

"I think you'd have to be a gambling addict to take that bet," Percy quipped tiredly.

Zoë smiled very slightly, but stayed silent.

"If you want to sleep with Lily, I can just sleep on one of the ancient beds."

Zoë furrowed her brows and turned to look at Percy.

Percy explained, "We don't have to move quickly, Zoë. We can take our time."

"Take our time?" Zoë asked slowly, as if she misheard.

"Yeah," Percy answered. "Make sure this is really… what we both want."

"What we both want?" Zoë repeated, incredulously this time.

"I just mean…" Percy started to say, before he was interrupted.

CRACK!

A loud smacking noise echoed through the cabin, as Zoë rubbed her sore hand and left Percy staring in shock.

In a flash, while Percy was still dumbfounded, Zoë threw out both her hands and latched onto the sides of Percy's head, before instantly smashing their faces together with ferocious speed.

For a fraction of a second, Percy thought, things were perfect.

And then it hurt a lot—but it was still perfect.

Before Percy had time to fully register what had just happened, Zoë was already nervously straightening her clothes.

As Lily watched on with sparkling eyes, Percy finally regained his wits, looking at Zoë with a questioning expression.

"Perseus," Zoë began. "I… I am unsure of how to act. I do not understand what I am meant to do. I know not what is normal, what is expected of me. But I do know that we both know exactly what we want. So please, stop scaring me."

Percy looked at her. She was bruised and battered, haggard, exhausted beyond imagining, and the silver glow of the huntresses was totally absent from her features. Percy had never been more in love than right at this moment.

Drawing near to Zoë, he quickly brushed his lips past hers and took her hand. "You're right."

In a moment of impulse, Percy swept Zoë's legs in front of her and brought her into his arms, laying her next to Lily on the bed, before leaping over the both of them, coming to rest on the other side of Lily, so his metal limbs were on the outside of the bed. Their cat curled up at their feet.

"Then let's go to sleep, Zoë."

"Mm."

"Lily, Percy, Mommy, love."

"We love you, too, Lily."

"Mew."

— — — — — — —

The next morning, Lily had gleefully skipped from the cabin, perhaps sensing her new parents would need some alone time.

Her absence quickly awoke the other two occupants of the bed, who both almost immediately went back to sleep the instant they realized there was no danger.

But after several more hours, they arose on their own.

Without getting out of bed, Percy gazed into volcanic eyes and asked gently, "So, I guess we should talk?"

Zoë just kept staring. The heat radiating from the man in her bed, the embrace she was in, was so soothing, so calming, she could hardly believe she wasn't dreaming.

After a long while, she finally replied. "Must we?"

Percy swallowed and turned away. "What do you suggest we do instead?"

Not knowing how enticing she was to him, Zoë pulled his face back towards hers and gazed up at Percy. She said quietly in Ancient Greek, "Will you make me say it?"

Percy held back for just a moment, before processing exactly what the woman in his arms just told him.

And then there was no holding back.

Neither partner knew what they were doing at all, but each was a quick study when it came to the other. Though no lines were crossed that morning that hadn't been crossed the night before, neither had ever experienced anything like it in their lives.

By noon, their lips were bruised and their tongues were tired, but neither had any intention of letting go of the other.

"You wanted…" Zoë began breathlessly, still clinging tightly to her man. "To talk?"

"Yeah," Percy agreed. "But you already answered most of my questions."

"I preferred it to speaking, truth told," Zoë replied.

"I couldn't agree more," he concurred. "But there are still things left to discuss."

Glancing at the Persian princess in his arms, he continued, "For example, what do we tell everyone else?"

Zoë considered this for a few moments before deciding, "What does it matter, the opinions of children? I should think they could figure out for themselves, given time."

Percy also ruminated briefly before replying, "True, I guess it won't take long for word to get around. But, we do have more to discuss than simple things like that. We may as well stop avoiding the big issue, here and now."

"Indeed. Delaying the inevitable will do us no favors."

"So then," Percy asked frankly, "what happens… in two years?"

"I am so sorry, Perseus," Zoë mumbled as she nestled her head into the crook of Percy's neck.

"Maybe we should just stop apologizing to each other now," Percy suggested hollowly. "Or we'd never do anything else."

Zoë closed her eyes and held him tighter.

"When I go back," he whispered lightly. "When I go back, you'll be back home. With your family, where you belong."

He felt arms squeeze hard enough to cause pain.

"That is not true," Zoë breathed shakily.

"Isn't it?" Percy breathed back.

"No!" Zoë exclaimed. "I may be back in the Hunt, but that is not my home any longer. No longer do I belong there."

Percy held his breath.

"I am where I belong, right now," Zoë said solemnly. "This is my home. Here. In thy arms, I belong."

Percy felt his eyes watering, so he closed them and faced the ceiling.

"In two years, you won't remember saying that. You won't remember anything about me. In two years, I'll be a stranger. Just another boy to hate—"

Percy was interrupted by a sharp pain on his cheek.

Opening his eyes, he saw the girl he loved trying desperately not to sob, hovering over him.

In Ancient Greek, Zoë choked out her thoughts, "Stop it! Please! Don't do this—not yet!"

Slowly, Percy pulled her down to his chest—gently, yet firmly.

"It won't be long before doing that hurts you more than it hurts me, you know?"

Zoë's response was to sniffle.

"But you're right," Percy agreed. "You're always right, Zoë. For now, let's just enjoy what we have, together. We'll worry about the future some other time."

"Hold me," Zoë commanded in Ancient Greek.

Percy followed orders.

— — — — — — —

Later that day, Percy and Zoë finally emerged. Walking together to the Big House, they garnered a lot of stares, but most were confused. Chiron greeted them with hot cocoa and grilled cheese sandwiches, which they consumed rapidly. Staring briefly at the delicious substance in his cup, Percy realized glumly that his divinity showed no signs of revival. He may as well have been in the middle of the desert for all his water sense was telling him.

"So, you have prevailed," Chiron summed up.

"More or less," Percy agreed.

"Though you lost your two right limbs, you held up the sky without burning your lifespan, saving both Lady Artemis and Miss diAngelo in time."

"You could say that," Percy concurred.

Chiron looked at the silent girl beside Percy, who no longer emitted the telltale glow of the Hunt. "And Miss Nightshade…"

"Will be staying in Cabin Three," Percy finished.

"For…" Chiron fished.

"Indefinitely," Percy stated bluntly.

Chiron did not seem prepared for this, so Percy added, "What is it? What were you told?"

"When Lady Artemis left with the Hunt, she told me, 'Zoë may be staying in camp for the time being.'"

"That is all she said?" Zoë finally spoke.

"Verbatim," Chiron confirmed.

"Let's stop beating around the bush, here, Chiron," Percy announced. "Zoë left the Hunt because of me. She will stay in my cabin. She is not a camper, so she will not be expected to participate in camp activities, though she may join as she pleases. She will defend the camp should it be attacked. Is that acceptable?"

Chiron was stunned for a second. "And your father…"

Percy closed his eyes for a second before answering, "My father magically changed my bunk into a king sized bed last night so Zoë, Lily, and I could all sleep in the same place. I think he's fine with it. Any other questions? Will Mr. D care?"

"Truthfully, I doubt he'll notice," Chiron admitted. "I suppose everything should work itself out. We have more important matters to worry about."

Percy frowned. "What's going on?"

"Clarisse returned shortly after yourselves. She did not bring with her good news."

— — —

After returning Annabeth's cap and thanking Beckendorf profusely for making the still-unnamed sword, Percy and Zoë ate dinner with Lily, and a couple of uninvited guests.

"I should thank you again, Percy," Bianca said through a mouthful of chicken nuggets.

"Thank you!" Nico cried as he chugged a root beer float.

"No problem," Percy said distractedly, trying to pry Lily, who was pretending to be asleep, off of his side.

"Thank you, too!" Bianca said to Zoë, mouth still full.

"Fangk oo doo!" Nico tried to say with his mouth wide open, filled with roughly 800 shoestring French fries.

Bianca slapped her hand over her brother's mouth, trying to hide his indecency, but the force of the hit shot some fries straight down Nico's gullet, which he choked on briefly, before launching his entire French fry payload across the table.

Luckily, Percy's bronze shield wristwatch spiraled open just in time to prevent a truly horrible disaster, though in covering Lily, Zoë, and, by extension, Chloe (the kitten was asleep in Zoë's lion coat, having been fed a hundred times over by Lily's overeager hand), he got pieces of half chewed potato all over most of his upper body, including his new metal limbs.

After a brief moment of shocked silence across the pavilion, chaos erupted.

"It's not funny, so I don't know why you're laughing," Percy said, deadpan.

"But it is funny! It's really funny!" One of the Stolls insisted.

Even while laughing, the kids at the Aphrodite table swooned at Percy protecting Zoë from the deadly projectiles, and no one laughed louder than the Ares kids, though it seemed like Clarisse wasn't fully committed. It took Percy a moment to remember why that might be.

Lily couldn't stop laughing either, though only Zoë and Percy could tell, and even Zoë cracked a small smile.

"Well, all's well that ends well," Percy thought to himself.

After a very, very long shower, Percy joined the sing-along for the last song before calling it a night.

When the small family of Percy, Lily, Chloe, and Zoë got back to Cabin Three, Percy realized that last night, neither he nor Zoë had changed out of their clothes. He wondered if Zoë had anything to change into, and was proven right in a way when she said she was running to Cabin Eight.

Not thirty seconds later, she was back, holding several silver garments. As Percy watched Lily float around holding Chloe, who seemed perfectly at ease flying around, Zoë changed in the bathroom.

Percy had to do a double take when she came back out wearing her silver T-shirt and soft looking shorts that came midway down her long thighs. Her black hair had no braids, and she looked just the tiniest bit apprehensive.

He'd never seen her in anything but the Huntress uniform, save when Aphrodite was torturing him, and so seeing her in sleepwear, even sleepwear as perfectly decent as hers, was enough to stop him dead in his tracks. He also noted something else about her appearance. Something he first became aware of when Aphrodite tried to seduce him in Zoë's body. And that something was that Zoë wrapped her chest. And that according to Aphrodite, she wrapped them quite tightly.

It was clear to Percy that she was not wrapped up at all right now, and it was clear that that wrap had been doing a lot of work. He was unable to prevent himself from saying, "Wow..."

Lily stopped playing with the kitten long enough to clap happily. "Mommy! Mommy pretty pretty!"

Percy stood up in his own sleepwear, which was actually quite similar, but in ocean blue, and put his arm around her back. "Lily is right, you know. You are gorgeous."

Zoë was afraid Percy could hear her heart pounding like crazy, even though she knew he could see her blush. Percy wasn't one to compliment physical appearance, so she was surprised by how much she liked the sound of it.

Her head was heating up and she barely heard herself tell Percy, embarrassingly, to say it again.

Percy kept one hand on her back and dropped one hand to her waist, placing his head beside hers so he could whisper in her ear, "You are the most stunning woman I've ever had the good fortune to lay eyes on."

Zoë's heart nearly leapt out of her throat. She needed desperately to gain more of a resistance to such a direct attack, or she'd never have the advantage again. "Flatterer. Thou hath met the goddess of love."

Though Percy stayed in place, she could feel his smirk.

He whispered, "There's a lot I didn't tell you about that meeting this time. For example… Aphrodite appeared to me… as you."

"…as me?"

"I've never struggled to contain myself around her more than when she looked and sounded… Just. Like. You."

Percy heard her breathing quicken. Taking his chances, he kissed her ear and heard a sharp intake of air.

He stood back, and Zoë almost fell over without his support. "Well, time to go to bed."

Zoë's eyes were hazy as she repeated, "Bed?"

For the second day in a row, Percy swept Zoë off her feet and placed her in the bed. Just like the night before, Lily laid between the two, and Chloe the saber-toothed kitten laid at the foot of the bed.

But unlike the night before, Zoë did not wake up refreshed after a dreamless night.

— — — — — — —

Zoë woke standing up in what she honestly imagined Hades to look a lot like, or at least The Fields of Punishment. A pink, heart-shaped bed, in a red-and-pink room filled with hearts and pink and hearts, and the whole thing was horrible. Standing before her in the grotesquely pink room was the most gorgeous woman in existence.

"Aphrodite," she said tritely.

"Zoë Nightshade," Aphrodite spoke magnanimously.

"What is this?" Zoë asked in Ancient Greek.

"This?" The goddess of love responded in kind. "This is Percy dearest's reward."

"Explain yourself," Zoë commanded coldly.

"A rude little thing you are," Aphrodite chided. She reminded herself, "But this is for Percy, not her. Not for her."

Zoë was reticent to speak with the abhorrent creature before her, so she didn't bother doing so.

"Tsk-tsk, Zoë. You truly are a Huntress to your core. No fun at all."

Zoë remained silent.

"Wow, no impertinence? Not even a little? So boring. What does a true hero like him see in a bland prude like you?"

Zoë held her tongue.

"Well, if you're not going to play along with me, I'll just have to play with you. First things first, thank me for bringing Percy and you together," Aphrodite said flippantly.

"No," Zoë responded.

Aphrodite put her hand to her mouth and laughed daintily, "Hoh hoh. Interesting choice. But, for some reason, I don't think I remember asking."

When Aphrodite said the last word, an overwhelming force descended on Zoë, slamming her forcefully into the red plush carpeting covered in pink hearts.

"I'll say it again," Aphrodite said, only slightly more seriously. "Thank me for bringing you and Percy together."

Zoë grit her teeth together and barely forced out a "No."

She almost blacked out when the force holding her to the carpet doubled, and then started seeing black spots in her vision when it tripled.

"You know, that's funny. It almost sounded like you denied me a second time. But, I know I'm just hearing things. I'll give you one more chance. Tell me how grateful you are that I brought Percy and you together."

Zoë felt like she was about to be crushed like a grape, but she steadfastly refused to do as she was told. "No. Never."

As soon as the words left her lips, the black spots dotting her vision became nearly the only things she could see. Every part of her body ached in intense pain, but it meant nothing to her, compared to Percy.

"Trust me, Zoë," Aphrodite said, no longer joking around in the slightest. Though her voice remained beautiful and melodious, her overly casual, familiar tone was now sinister. "You really don't want to see love get ugly. This is supposed to be a reward for Percy, so stop making things so difficult. Just thank me, and it'll be over."

"Never!" Zoë managed to eke out. Every word was like climbing a new mountain, and it got a mile taller with every word. "I… love… Perseus… for… him… Not… you…"

Zoë really was on the edge of consciousness as Aphrodite said, agonizingly slowly, "Last chance. Admit it was me."

"Ne-ver…" Zoë breathed out, finally losing all sight.

And then suddenly, she could see the grotesque carpet once again. She felt hands on her, helping her up. She was vaguely aware of Aphrodite's gentle voice in her ears, now back to the overly-familiar tone she was used to.

"—and I'm really sorry! I just needed to make absolutely, one hundred thousand percent sure this time!"

"Huh?" Zoë groaned.

"Oh, you poor dear. You've been through so much. Let me get you something to drink."

In moments, Zoë became aware of a wine glass in her hands, filling itself with red wine. Slowly sipping it, she thought to herself that she probably wouldn't have liked the taste so much until very, very recently.

Aphrodite keenly explained herself. "So, that darling Percy did as I asked, and seduced away the Lieutenant of the Hunt! You! And so naturally, I need to reward him. My first thought was to personally teach him all the ways to pleasure a woman, inside and out. But Heph-y said that you probably wouldn't like that, so then I thought maybe I'd teach you to pleasure him, but eventually I realized you two would be happier fumbling through it all together anyway—so much fun, and the memories will last forever—and so then I didn't know what to get you both. Until it hit me. Soulmates!"

"Excuse me?" Zoë finally interrupted. "Soulmates? I though they were just a myth."

"Oh, they are," Aphrodite confirmed. "But only the way people think about them now. I mean, one woman for every man? In the whole world? How would that work? Love isn't like that at all. Love and loyalty are very different, my dear."

Zoë blinked, hoping the love goddess would get on with it soon.

"Anyway, long story short, 'soulmates' have to be created after the fact, normally by yours truly. But I may have gotten in a teensy bit of trouble a while ago, when I wasn't making sure both people really, truly loved one another—"

"Apologies, Lady Aphrodite, but you have not explained what a soulmate is yet."

Aphrodite snapped her perfect fingers and exclaimed, "You're so right. So, soulmates are two people in love, who have undergone the soulmate ritual."

At Zoë's questioning gaze, she continued, "Which is a ritual where the couple exchanges a small part of their souls with each other. To be honest, it's mostly symbolic, and oh so romantic. With one small caveat: souls typically don't like being in two pieces. When the soulmates are together, it's fine. But if they're too far away for too long…"

Aphrodite seemed to stare through Zoë's ribcage as she said, "Well, let's just say that being heartbroken is not necessarily a metaphor when it comes to soulmates. You might be able to guess why I got in trouble for being too liberal with the ceremony. Though, think of how romantic it would be to literally pine away—"

"Lady Aphrodite, please. Can you tell me what the point of all this was?"

Aphrodite pouted cutely, and Zoë mentally praised Percy for not losing it around this woman. Even Zoë wanted to comfort her when she looked so helpless and adorable.

"I had to test you. I've already tested Percy baby, and he passed with flying colors. And now you have, too."

Zoë magnanimously ignored the use of the term 'Percy baby' and asked, "Just how did I pass your test? What was the test?"

"You mean you don't know?" Aphrodite looked bewildered. "You refused to admit your love for Percy was caused by myself."

It was Zoë's turn to be bewildered. "That was all?"

Aphrodite snorted cutely, "Leave it to a former Huntress to be utterly clueless. There's a pretty big difference between love I cause and love I watch happen. Otherwise, there'd be no Hunt at all. It wouldn't be any fun to simply cause the whole Hunt to fall for random men."

Zoë's head started to hurt.

"Well, forget about it. Let's start the soulmate ritual!"

"What!?" Zoë exclaimed. "Now?"

"Well, it's something of a process, to be honest," Aphrodite admitted. "It takes about 3 months. I can start the process now, but you have to be the one to finish it."

"And how do I do that?"

"It's simple. Stay close to Percy for 3 months, without even missing a day."

"How close?"

"Well, it honestly depends. Ideally, at night, you'd be… together," Aphrodite said conspiratorially.

"Together?" Zoë repeated.

"Together," Aphrodite confirmed.

Zoë twisted her left index finger with her right hand. "Well, we already sleep together, so…"

"WHAT!?" Aphrodite shouted in utter glee. "How was it, how is he!? Have you been on top yet, is his—no, nevermind, tell me later. Anyway, that makes this much easier! If you keep him inside you all night, then during the day you could actually get pretty far apart, as long as you top up every few hours—"

"Wait, wait!" Zoë managed to yell above Aphrodite's feverish ranting. "Not that kind of 'sleep together!' We sleep with Liliana, the daughter of Lady Hecate, all on the same bed, like a family."

Aphrodite visibly deflated. "Oh. Of course. I somehow forgot the both of you were virgins. He was so forward when he was with me, I guess I didn't realize…"

Zoë's eye started twitching, not realizing that Aphrodite's version of 'forward' included a man's private thoughts as well as his actions.

Aphrodite continued sadly, "Well, if you're not having sex at all, then you'd probably need to stay pretty close. About… arms reach. At all times."

Zoë's eyebrows shot up. "All times? Even when… when bathing?"

"Yup," Aphrodite confirmed, petulantly over-pronouncing the 'p.' "And when you're going to the toilet, eating, relieving yourself—"

"Excuse me?" Zoë interrupted again. "What was that last part?"

"Oh, would you look at the time," Aphrodite said, obviously changing the subject. "You're about to wake up. Remember, if you don't have sex with Percy, you need to stay within arms reach of him, or the ritual will fail. Oh, by the way, did I mention that if the ritual fails, the parts of your souls that are currently being exchanged will be lost forever and you'll probably both die? And that's why I'm binding you two together! Don't know if you know this, but Percy is pretty important. I'm gonna be in big trouble if he kicks it, so… Ta ta for now!"

Zoë opened her eyes back in Cabin Three. This was going to take a while to explain.

"Don't you see, Zoë!" Percy excitedly said after she finished her explanation, throwing his arms around her. "This could potentially be the greatest gift we've ever been given!"

Zoë wasn't convinced. "Perseus, she said it was mostly symbolic. In fact, she didn't say a single good thing about it. I'm not sure it does anything useful at all."

Percy was still ecstatic, and couldn't contain his excitement any longer, fiercely stealing a kiss. "It's not about what it does, Zoë. It's about what it is. When I… rather, in two years, what if… What if our souls being entwined lets us both come back!"

Zoë blinked as she was kissed repeatedly. A hope she had dared not hold until then suddenly took root in her heart. When Percy came around again for another kiss, she held his head down, and really planted one on him. Afterwards, she asked, "Have I said, I love thee?"

Percy pretended not to know. "Hmm, not sure. Maybe if you tell me a few hundred more times, I'd remember."

Zoë cracked a small smile at his antics, and prepared to launch antics of her own. "I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I love thee, I—"

Percy stopped her with her another kiss. "Much more of that and I'm going to really lose control, Zoë."

After a long time they finally stopped their activities, and Zoë gathered up her nerve to ask something she'd been thinking about for a while. "Perseus?"

"Yes, Zoë?" He responded.

"Tomorrow is something called... Christmas Eve, is it not?" She asked cautiously.

"It is," he confirmed.

"Are you…" Zoë fidgeted uncharacteristically.

Percy thought for a second, before realizing what she might be asking.

He grinned sheepishly. "Zoë, my love. Would you like to meet my mother, by any chance?"

"Indeed," she admitted.

"And how shall I introduce you to her?" Percy asked confidently. "My girlfriend? My fiancée? Or perhaps... my wife?"

Zoë smiled, about to chastise him, before deciding on a different course of action. She said capriciously, "Mayhap I shall decide once I meet her."

"I await your decision with baited breath, my love."

So, perhaps now is a good time to remind you all that the story is indeed rated M. I will not be describing anything in explicit terms, but that does not mean adult situations will not occur.

Anyways, what did you guys think? This chapter was nearly three years in the making, after all. I can only hope I haven't disappointed too much.

I'd like to say the next chapter will be less time in the making, but I truly have no idea. I'm looking forward to writing the Christmas dinner with Sally and Zoe meeting for the first time, but that's obviously not enough for an entire chapter.

So, please leave a review telling me what you liked, what you didn't like, and everything in-between.

l
V