So this was my entry for Caution: Heartbreak Ahead. I figured I'd give it to you guys as a Christmas Oneshot.

Originally I had this five part ONESHOT, but I've only got the first part. It was really happy too. I'll publish it in a few weeks.

Hope you guys have a Merry Christmas/ Regular Friday!

::

Christmas Eve 2004
One year before the lightning bolt was stolen

Luke sighs, falling down into his bunk and rubbings his eyes. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears, and the sound was overwhelming. Behind his eyelids he could see the fast thrum of the Christmas lights strung up and around the cabin. From underneath his head he pulled out his pillow, slapping it over his face and blocking out the lights, causing Luke to exhale in relief.

He wasn't a fan of Christmas.

Normally, yes, he could probably tolerate the abundance of lights strung up around camp (seriously, where were they coming from), and his annoying brother that insisted on marching around camp hollering rewritten versions of jingle bells. He had done it easily for the last few years.

But his head was pounding, his eyes burned, and he'd had a stupid nightmare that night so he really wasn't in the mood.

Well stupid wasn't the word to describe it. A better word would've been terrifying. Or tempting.

Luke groaned as the words echoed in his mind, "Pledge your allegiance to me, Luke Castellan. Turn your back on the gods, and it will bring her back. I will save her, if you pledge your allegiance to me. All you have to do, is say 'Yes.'", The voice was cold, and when Luke awoke goosebumps littered his arms, and a chill ran down his spine.

The worst part of it? He considered it. Was considering it.

Is considering it.

He knows it's stupid, idiotic, but it was a chance wasn't it? A chance to bring her back from the brink of death... Who wouldn't take that chance?

Shouldn't he?

Annabeth wouldn't though, Luke thought, She respected her mother. Had no reason to through away everything for just a chance. But it's a chance.

Luke's head really hurts now and he does his best to push the subject out of his mind. It's still there, lingering at the edge of his thoughts and he honestly needs to stop because this is overwhelming him and all he wants right now is for his headache to go away.

Drowsiness is beginning to overtake him, now and he yawns, taking in a mouthful of pillow. He turns over in his bed, the pillow still pressed against his face. The pressure feels nice, turning the throbbing of his head to a low dull. And for a moment, just before he falls asleep, he's content.

::

"Luke." The call of his name scatters his dream, "Wake up."

Luke sucks in a breath, his eyes flying open as he sits up; straight and stiff. The Hermes cabin was dark, the blinking lights turned off leaving Luke's eyes drawn to the dull source of light that pulsed around the room.

He choked.

It was Thalia. She was a ghost, Luke realized, pale blue and hovering above the ghost sending waves of dull light around the room. She looked the same as the day she was turned into a tree, her eyeliner still dark around her eyes.

"Thalia." He croaked, his voice leaving him.

Thalia gave him a sad smile, "Hello Luke. Nice to see you again."

"What--how?" He sputtered, swinging his legs off the edge of the bunk. "You're a ghost!"

Thalia gave a dry laugh," Of Chirstmas Past."

Luke stared at her, utterly dumbfounded, "What?"

"Your dream." She said simply, crossing her arms, "You're considering the offer."

Luke scratched the back of his head, behind his ears, "Uh... Kinda."

"The fates sent me. I'm supposed to help you make the right choice." Thalia stepped forward, her glowing form casting dark shadows across Luke's face. She reached out her hand. "Take my hand."

Luke didn't hesitate, standing up and letting the covers fall back into his bunk. He took a step forward, and placed his hand ontop of Thalia's, intertwining their fingers.

Thalia grinned, and her eyes crackled with electricity. In Luke's grip her hand began to burn, and the world around them began to spin.

::

Christmas Day, 1999
Thalia Grace and Luke Castellan's Last Christmas Together

When Luke opened his eyes, he was standing in a street. Snow fell lightly from the grey above, lightly dusting the cobblestone streets. Lights glowed warmly from inside some of the shops, sending rounded silhouettes of light into the dark pavement.

Thalia was beside him, her arms crossed as she stared straight ahead, making Luke realize that they were no longer holding hands. He followed her gaze, taking note of the wreaths that were hung on the street lamps.

He saw two figures, dark, making their way down the shoveled pavement, kicking small piles of snow as they walk. Ones slightly taller than the other, but both of them are wrapped in black jackets; one a fleece, the other old leather. Their arms are held closely to their chest, and Luke watched as the shorter of the two brings their hands to their mouth to warm them.

Of course he recognizes them, how could he not?

He could see the glimmering bronze of his old sword wrapped in cloth and tied across his back. He recognizes the glint of the safety pins on Thalia's jeans, and the silver bracelets around her wrists.

They get closer, and something warm blossoms in Luke's chest when Thalia's voice reaches his ears.

"... Are we there yet?"

"Almost Thals, be patient."

"You've dragged me out of our shelter-- our warm shelter I might add, into this town. I'd love to know why."

"All in good time." Thalia shoves him then, scowling. And he laughs, stumbling to the side. "Wow." He laughs, straightening and regaining his balance, "Real mature Thals. Real mature."

"Well I'm sorry I'm cold and I'm tired and I want to go home." Home. The small shelter they'd created for themselves, like countless others, it wasn't home. He knew it. Thalia knew it. Home was wherever they went. As long as they were together, because that's what home is. When you're with the person you love.

"Sit down, Thals." He pushes her onto a bench, where Thalia huffs, crossing her arms. He sees himself grin, taking the hat that covered his sandy hair and shoving it low onto Thalia's face, blocking her eyes. "I'll be right back."

He dashes down the road slightly, pulling open the clear door to one of the few shops that still had their lights on. The bell jingles, and he watches himself disappear into the cafè.

Thalia's tapping her foot against the ground when he returns, moments later. He's grinning too, carrying two styrofoam cups with heat rising. Thalia turns to face him, eyes still covered, when he sits down next to her on the bench.

"Hold our your hands." Thalia does, and Luke places the cup of hot chocolate, warm and topped with a spiral of whipped cream. Luke whips the hat off Thalia's head, and she stared at the cup in shock.

"How?" She questions in awe, taking a tentative sip from the cup, "Where did you find the money?" He grins at her sheepishly, swallowing some of his own chocolate.

"Christmas magic," he chirps, "Or pick-pocketing. Same difference, really."

A small smile appears on Luke's face as he watches, a feeling of warmth blossoming in his chest.

"Thanks Luke, Merry Christmas." Thalia kisses his cheek lightly, which nearly makes him drop the hot chocolate.

His own cheek tingling, Luke reaches up the brush it, smiling softly as he watches Thalia smile.

"Come on." Thalia, the ghost Thalia, tells him, grabbing his wrist firmly with her hand. He looks over at her, seeing something broken in her eyes. Like she'd come from the future and knew what was gonna happen to them. Something did happen to them, even if Luke thought it couldn't be worse then what already had.

The world begins to spin again, and Luke's only anchor, once again, is Thalia.

::

Christmas Day, 2004
One year before the lightning bolt was stolen

Thalia let's go of his hand. That's the first thing he's aware of. Thalia letting go of his hand.

He opens his eyes, and the second thing he's aware of is that Thalia looks different. Her hair is longer, the eyeliner around her eyes is smudged, and the glow she's giving off is a sickly green. Her eyes are green too, and her veins look like they're filled with  chlorophyll, instead of blood.

"Thalia?" He asks, confused.

"I am the Ghost of Christmas Present." She says, turning to face him, the green glittering in her eyes, "And thus I reflect it. This is me, in the present. You were with me in the past. And after this, you will meet who I am in the future."

"Future?" Questions Luke, "You have a future?" Hope bubbles in his chest, spreading warm over his body. He's almost giddy at the thought. Thalia. With a future.

"That depends. But now is not the time to discuss that. You are here to see Christmas Present." She turns outwards, spreading her arm out to gesture to the land in front of them, speckled with snow.

They were at the bottom of Half-Blood Hill, staring up at Thalia's Pine. The sky was grey, but breaks in the clouds revealed bright spots of blue. And from the atrocious singing that barely reached Luke's ears, he assumed it was Christmas Day.

Thalia started to walk up the hill, staring at her tree, and Luke scrambled to follow. They reached the top quick, and Luke's face softened when they found Annabeth at the top, sitting on one of the lower branches.

He could hear her talking, quietly, like she was afraid of being heard, "... Luke's being sad again. I thought he was getting better, but he's been really sad since your birthday..." Luke stares at the ground, guilt sinking in his stomach.

"... He misses you. I miss you too. But I know you're gonna come back soon. I'm gonna save you one day, I'm gonna go on a quest and find a way to turn you back. And Luke's gonna help." She said confidently, leaning against the trunk of the pine, "He's still a mess without you." Luke's face felt hot and his stomach churned.

"I've got to go give Luke his present, but I'll be back later." Annabeth slid off the branch and hit the ground, grass crunching underneath her boots. She turned around, hesitated for a moment before wrapping her arms around the tree. "Merry Christmas, Thalia." She whispered, before releasing her arms and bounding down the hill.

"What's the point of this?" asked Luke, his voice hollow. He turned to Thalia, who was watching Annabeth race across the field, her blonde hair flying behind her.

"To help you make your choice." said Thalia simply, turning back to face him. She held out her hand, and Luke looked down at it, mentally tracing along her glowing green veins. Luke bits the inside of his mouth, and takes Thalia's hand.

::

Christmas Day, 2007
Three days after Thalia Grace joined the Hunt

Luke smells the sea before he sees it. He feels the wind on his skin, and the spray of the sea in his face, and he's completely aware of how the exact moment his form solidified Thalia released his hand.

He opens his eyes, and finds himself on a cruise ship. A cruise ship full of monsters. He sucks in a breath, and runs his fingers through his hair, and then turns to Thalia.

One again, she's different. Her eyes were electric blue, rimmed in eyeliner. Her hair was short and spiked. That was the same. But what made his heart sink, was the band of silver woven through her hair, and the shinning silver parka that her hands were tucked into. Instead of pale blue light, or a sickly green, she's shinning a radiant silver that almost hurts to look at.

She becomes a Hunter, his stomach churns at the thought. But at the same time his thoughts are excited, because it doesn't matter if she listened to Zoë and joined the hunt. She's alive.

And that's all that matters to him.

All at once, they began to sink through the ground, and several of the lower floors where they stop in the middle of a large suite. There's a large golden coffin propped up in one corner, sending off cold waves that produced goosebumps on Luke's arms.

Thalia moves away from him as he stares transfixed at the glowing coffin, and he only realizes she's done so moments later. He tears his gaze away with difficulty, and walks over to stand next to her as she stares down at the bed.

He looks down.

His eyes widen, his jaw slackens and his posture drops. Because he's in that bed. His face pale and sickly and that awful scar standing out bright red. And there's bandages, all soaked with sweat, wrapped around his entire body.

Luke thinks he might throw up.

"Wh--What happened?" He says quietly, glancing up at Thalia who's turned her gaze away from him.

"This?" she scoffs, gesturing to his body, "Or in general." There's venom in her words as she glares to the side, her arms tightly crossed over her chest.

"What happened to you?" asks Luke hesitantly, feeling quiet small and very sad.

Thalia whips around, Luke expects to see fire in her eyes, burning with hate. But all he sees is regret and sorrow. "You." She whispered, jabbing a finger in Luke's chest, Luke stumbled backwards.

"What?" He hissed, righting himself, "Just tell me what happened!" Thalia looked at him miserably before reaching out her hand reluctantly.

"Forget it." She said, her voice hoarse, "Come on, the Fates said I had one more stop before they would let both of us go home."

Luke stayed silent, even if there were a million things he would've liked to say. Without a word, he placed his hand in Thalia's, intertwining their fingers tightly. Thalia stared at their hands for a moment, and glanced back up at Luke, her eyes softened.

Silently, they disappeared.

::

Christmas Day, 2009
Eleven days after Percy Jackson disappeared

Luke's eyes widen with shock, feeling very much like a fist has closed around his heart.

He's watching Annabeth, curled up next to a Christmas Tree in the Big House, sobbing. Her arms are wrapped around her legs, and she's struggling to breath properly as tears fall down her face. Her hair is messed up, stringy and tangled and flowing over her shoulders and down her back.

Standing next to him, Thalia is silent, but she hasn't let go of his hand.

It's miserable for him, standing there for what feels like forever, watching Annabeth struggle to stop crying while sat in front of the tree. She's wiping her nose against the sleeves of her jacket, and rubbing her eyes with her palms.

Luke turns, hearing the screen door being carefully opened. His eyes briefly widen as Thalia slips through, a silver Santa hat balanced atop her head. Quietly, Thalia sits next to Annabeth, placing an arm around her shoulders and giving her a tight one-armed hug.

Annabeth sniffed, looking up, her eyes dimmed with red. At the sight of Thalia, a smile split across her face, "The hunters are here for Christmas?"

"No." Thalia said, leaning her head against Annabeth's, "I got permission to come and see you. Seeing as your boyfriends missing in action, I figured you needed someone to keep you company during the Holidays."

Annabeth leaned into Thalia's shoulder, picking at her nails, "Thanks."

Thalia shoved against Annabeth slightly, bumping her lightly with her shoulder, "No problem, squirt,"

Annabeth laughed, shoving back against Thalia, "Thals, I'm older than you."

Thalia scoffed, "My age may be frozen, but that does not mean you are older than me. You insult me, Chase."

"I'm glad." The duo fell silent, leaning into each other and staring at the flickering lights of the Christmas tree, and a soft smile spreads across Luke's face. Annabeth picks at her fingers for a while, before setting her hands in her laps and looking and Thalia.

"I know I shouldn't be thinking this..." She says solemnly, her voice barely above a whisper, "But sometimes I really miss Luke."

Luke watches, uncomfortably, as Thalia stiffens. The sparkle in her eyes fades away. And in that moment. Luke can't help but think that Thalia looks very old, and very sad.

Thalia sighs, squeezing Annabeth's knee, "Me too." She says, just loud enough for Annabeth to hear. And then, so quiet that Luke's nor sure if he actually heard it, she says, to herself, "I miss him a lot. Our little family."

But then she smiles wide again, if even its a little strained, and squeezes Annabeth's shoulders, "Come on, Annie. It's not too late to waste the day watching cheesy movies on Chiron's computer."

Next to him, Thalia lets go of his hand, and his attention is immediately diverted. Thalia's wiping the her face with her sleeve, sniffing slightly. Luke's face felt uncomfortably warm, and so did his chest, his arms and legs felt like cold lead.

"Why did they have you bring me here. The fates." Luke's voice was empty, drained of emotion.

Thalia turned to face Luke, her eyes watery, "So you knew what was the right choice."

"The right choice. " Luke echoed, his chest hollow.

"Yes." Thalia stepped closer to him, leaning in and brushing her lips softly against Luke's cheek. "Go make the choice that feels right." She drew away, and his vision was engulfed in blackness.

::

Christmas Day, 2004
The morning after the dream

Luke wakes up. His hair is plastered to his forehead with sweat, and his heart is pounding in his ears. Light streams through the window of the cabin.

Sitting up, Luke pushes his hair off his forehead, holding his head in his hands as it throbs.

The right choice.

He closes his eyes, thinking of Thalia. Of how she kissed him on the cheek all those years ago, and how the thought of it still makes his stomach churn. Of how she was there for Annabeth when he wasn't, even when she was a tree.

Of his sickly face in the bed and the glowing coffin.

And the thought of it terrifies him.

The right choice.

Not the right choice for him, he realizes, Or the right choice for the gods. The right choice for his family. For Annabeth and Thalia.

And in that moment he decides. In that moment he agrees. In that moment he accepts it.

In that moment, he tells Kronos, "Yes."