It was freezing outside. The window creaked like it would break right then against the wind and it kept Annabeth wide awake. It's not like she would sleep anyway, she had other things to do.

Right now, she was working on a design for Hermes' temple on Olympus. It was just a rough outline, and she was sure she'd trash it before she actually finished it, but it kept her busy and that was good enough.

"Annabeth?" Her dad, Fredrick Chase, knocked on the door hesitantly like he was unsure if she was in there. He opened the door, smiling when he saw her, "Hello." She put down her pencil and hugged him quickly.

"Hey."

"You got here late." He remarked, "Im sorry, I was at work." He looked unsure of whether she was mad at him or anything.

She should have been. It was an accurate response. She'd endured a long three hour plane ride from New York, which was punctuated by one very long layover in Tennessee (Annabeth will never get the image of about a hundred people in snake-skin boots and cowboy hats stampeding through the airport in Dolly Parton tee-shirts and other merchandise), only to get home and neither her father nor her step-mother was home.

Thankfully, she found an unlocked window. The only problem? It was on the freaking second floor. There was also the minor detail that it started pouring outside and Annabeth almost fell out of the tree she had to climb to get to said window around three times.

It was her old bedroom window, and when she looked in it had been mostly cleaned. As far as she had known, it had become a storage room for a while between her short and sparse visits. The bed was pushed into a corner, her old sheets still on it. Her desk was facing the window, completely barren, and a dresser was against the opposite wall.

Annabeth breathed a sigh of relief when the window slid open, even if it got stuck once or twice and almost gave her a heart attack, and she gratefully climbed into the room.

First of all, it smelled disgustingly of bleach and cleaning supplies, she noticed. And second of all, the heavens opened up and she saw that in the corner was her luggage, which had been (thankfully) shipped ahead of her. If it hadn't made it here, she was afraid she'd have nothing besides the clothes on her back and the few things she had in her backpack.

So, yeah, she should have been mad or upset. But, she was honestly too tired far that. After the Second Titan War, she hadn't gotten much sleep, and was hoping that this trip would maybe help her relax. So far, that wasn't going so well.

"It's fine, dad." She smiled. He visibly sighed in relief, awkwardly reaching out to pat her arm. There was an uncomfortable silence as they stood there before he said that there was food downstairs if she wanted any and then left hastily.

Annabeth looked down at her project on her desk and sighed, rolling the paper up and shoving it in a random drawer. She was already in her pajamas, since her clothes had been completely soaked, so she grabbed her backpack and made her way to the bathroom.

As she was walking back out, she heard murmuring voices from downstairs. Annabeth knew it was rude to eavesdrop, but she couldn't help but stop and listen.

The voices were clearly her step-mom's and her dad's, and they were talking hurriedly.

"Don't say anything." Fredrick said, "She's been through enough, Helen."

"Fred..." The woman sighed, "I won't pretend to know what goes on in her life, but I'm so scared."

"She can protect us. If anything, we're that little bit safer with her here." He assured, "She's not so little anymore."

"Goodnight, Fredrick." Her step-mother replied, leaving the room. Annabeth scrambled to get to her room, closing the door just as the woman got to the top of the staircase.

She didn't pretend to know what they were talking about, but she suspected things were going beyond just normal monsters.

///

She had woken up early that morning, going downstairs to see Helen and her dad already awake. The boys came down after her, bleary eyes but chattering excitedly. They beamed when they saw her.

"When did you get here?" Matthew asked, sitting down beside her at the table.

"Last night." She said.

"You idiot, she was here when we got home." Bobby sat on the other side of Annabeth, leaning over to glare at his brother.

"What?"

"She got here while we were gone." Helen explained, "She was getting ready for bed, so I didn't want to bother her."

Annabeth stayed silent, awkwardly sitting in the middle of an argument that was unfolding between Matthew and Bobby. Her dad raised his eyebrows at him over his cup of coffee.

"Boys..." He said, his voice stern. The twins huffed.

"So, how have you been, Annabeth?" He turned to her, smiling.

"Fine." She said. Everyone was quiet.

"How is your friends? What was their names... Percy, Thalia, and Grover?" He asked, standing to refill his coffee cup.

"They're okay. Thalia is a hunter now, so I don't see her that much." Annabeth said.

"Oh. I prefer to just go to the store for meats and such, but I understand the benefits of fresh killed deer and rabbit." He nodded.

"Um..."

"I don't think she means actual hunters, Fred." Helen patted his shoulder. The woman may have been a mortal, but she wasn't stupid.

"Oh!" He turned to her, "Okay, that's good for her." He took a swig of coffee, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation.

"Mom, can we go outside with Annabeth? I wanna show her the new treehouse!" Bobby exclaimed, making a puppy-dog face.

"Wait until the muffins are done, sweetheart." She responded, hesitant for them to be alone with the demigod girl, obviously.

"Uh, and Percy and Grover?" Annabeth's dad asked.

"What about them?" Annabeth asked suspiciously.

"How are they?" He elaborated. Annabeth bit her lip, unsure of whether to say that she and Percy may or may not be dating. She wasn't even sure, herself, but knew it was probably going to have to be up to her. Percy wouldn't push a relationship on her.

"They're both fine." Annabeth said shortly.

"Percy and Grover? Is one of them your boyfriend?" Matthew asked. Annabeth sighed. She knew someone would ask that sooner or later.

"If so, I'll beat him up!" Bobby stood on his chair, flexing his scrawny arms.

"Leave her alone." Fredrick laughed, then he hesitated, "Wait, do you have a boyfriend?"

Annabeth wasn't sure how to respond to that, so she was thankful when Helen piped in, "Leave her alone, like you said." She brought a platter of muffins over, placing it on the table.

Thankfully, the Chase boys were too busy stuffing their faces to continue with the conversation.

///

Annabeth walked back into her room, having just been dragged around the backyard by the twins, and sat at her desk again. She was still slightly bitter that Helen was so worried of her being there, but had no idea why since the woman knew that Annabeth could defend herself and the monster wasn't interested in mortals, most of the time, unless they got in the way. But still, the woman had pulled Annabeth over and asked if she had a weapon (which she did) and to be careful and not let the boys get hurt. Like Annabeth would let that happen.

Just as she was reaching for the draft of Hermes' temple that she had in her drawer, an Iris Message popped up (Quite surprisingly) before her. Annabeth sat straight up in her chair, looking into Chiron's dark brown eyes.

"Annabeth! I am so glad I got ahold of you!"

"Did she answer?" A voice asked anxiously, and Annabeth recognized it as Percy's.

"She's fine." Chiron reassured him.

"What's happened? Why wouldn't I be fine?" Annabeth asked hesitantly. Chiron grimaced, and a sick feeling settled in her stomach.

"Something is happening at camp. Do you remember Claire?" Chiron asked.

Claire was Annabeth's half-sister who had disappeared sometime during the war. They suspected she'd gone to fight on Kronos's side, but that was unlikely. Annabeth nodded.

"Well, it seems that she didn't go missing because of Kronos. You see, there has been another disappearance..."

"Who?" Annabeth asked immediately. Chiron sighed.

"She was a new camper. Remember, she just came to us a week ago, while you were still here."

"Oh my gods..." Annabeth remembered the bouncy little girl named Elizabeth (But she preferred Ellie) who had just come to camp a few days after the war. She'd looked up to Annabeth.

"I'm afraid so..."

"Hey, Wise Girl." Percy seemed to be unable to wait any longer and walked behind the desk Chiron sat at in his wheel chair. Annabeth smiled slightly.

"Hi, Seaweed Brain." Then she turned back to Chiron, "Just those two?"

"Yes, thankfully. We were afraid someone was going after the Athena children and worried about you." He knocked his head to the side slightly, towards where Percy was grinning sheepishly.

"Well, I'm fine." Annabeth smiled. Chiron looked down.

"Also, I regret to inform you, but your trip might have to be cancelled a little early."

"Yeah, I figured as much." Annabeth sighed, "Gods, the trip here was awful, though."

Chiron smiled slightly, "I'm sure we can figure something out."