WARNING: IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE TRIALS OF APOLLO, PLEASE TURN BACK IMMEDIATELY. I REPEAT, IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE TRIALS OF APOLLO, TURN BACK IMMEDIATELY. ONCE YOU READ THIS SPOILER, THERE SHALL BE NO GOING BACK!!!

ALSO, YOU MIGHT NEED THAT HANDY, DEMOGOD SUPPLY OF DUCT TAPE FOR YOUR HEART.

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"I'm going to have a baby sister. I'd like to be around to get to know her."

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"Laura, Liana, Laima, Leena, Lana... Luna?"

Sally Jackson laughed. "What is it with you and these 'L' names?"

"They have a nice ring to them." Paul replied. He looked across at where his step-son was sitting on the sofa, watching the two of them with an amused expression.

"Paul, there are 25 other great letters in the alphabet." Sally chided him.

"Alright, fine." Paul resigned. He faced Percy and asked him, "What do you think?"

Percy shrugged and reached for a cookie on the coffee table. "Can we name her Blue?"

Sally crossed her arms over her swollen belly. "No."

"Then I'm lost." He promptly went ahead and devoured his blue cookie in two giant bites.

"Lisa, Lina, Lyena, did I mention Luna?" Paul suggested.

"As in Harry Potter?" Percy said.

Sally took the big book away from her husband and flipped through to a different section. "Jennifer? Jen for short. Maybe Kate, Anne, Angela, Claire or Suzie?"

"No way." Paul said. "Suzie was my great-grandmother's name. We are not naming our daughter Suzie."

They went back and forth like that for what felt like hours to Percy, plenty of time for him to study those bright smiles on their faces.

They looked so happy together, so happy that it warmed Percy's heart. Something good was happening in their lives for a change, especially his mum. She deserved to finally be happy.

Seeing her eyes sparkle like that, it made him feel reassured.

Someday soon, he was going to face a monster he wouldn't be able to defeat. He was going to be given a choice and he was going to have to choose to be a hero one last time. Someday soon, Percy Jackson was going to die.

Demigods are forced to learn that truth quicker than most and he'd gone through all those years wondering what would happen to his friends and family. How would they cope?

But now, he felt reassured, knowing that when that happened, he'd be leaving them in capable hands. They'd have each other.

He wasn't the only one his mum had now. She had Paul. She was going to have a daughter. If Percy ever had to go away, she'd be okay. She'd have someone to make it okay.

He thought of something she'd said a long time ago about why she'd named him Perseus. He was the only hero who ever really got a happy ending.

"Andromeda."

The name slipped out, almost accidently. It was so quiet he was sure that his mom and Paul hadn't heard. But they were looking at him now, finally left silenced.

"Andromeda - Andy for short." Percy explained. "She was the princess Perseus rescued in the ancient stories."

"She gets a happy ending." Sally remembered.

"Andromeda." Paul smiled. "Has a nice ring to it."

* * *

Percy woke up to the sound of glass shattering.

It only took a few seconds for him to pull out Riptide and burst through the door of the room opposite his own. What greeted him inside was more horrifying than anything he'd ever witnessed.

There was a monster standing in front of the white cot.

An infant child was in her arms. The little girl was looking at the creature in front of her with frightened, wondering eyes, trying to make sense of the terror she was seeing.

Flickering flames danced on the Empousa's head. Her legs made a strange, discordant clank when she walked. And she walked with the same malicious saunter that had been apparent years ago. "Perseus Jackson."

Percy pointed the tip of his sword at the monster but she just laughed. "Oh I wouldn't do that if I were you." She ran a clawed finger lightly under the little girl's chin, harshly enough to draw a drop of blood. "A lovely little girl. It'd be a shame to see her die."

"Kelli." Percy whispered cautiously. "Put her down."

"No, I don't think I will." She said. "You see, Perseus, you killed me too many times. You humiliated me and entitled me to years in that monstrous pit. You deserve to die. But I think I'll kill her first, right in front of your eyes. And then you can join her."

Percy edged around her, trying to find a weak point, a chink in the armour, but he couldn't do anything to Kelli without hurting his sister. There was no one else there to help him, no one else in the house. By the time Sally and Paul came back home, it would've been too late.

Then a glass of water caught his eye at the other end of the room. "How did you get here, Kelli?"

"Easy, really." She bragged. "It's always so easy for monsters to come back. But you demigods. You stay dead for a long, long time." Andromeda started to cry in Kelli's arms.

Percy concentrated on lifting the water out of the jar. With one twitch of his neck, the water flew out and wrapped around the Empousa's neck. Kelli gagged and dropped the baby girl, but Percy was there in an instant. He set her gingerly on the ground and faced Kelli who was clawing at her neck in an attempt to stop the water, but the liquid kept slipping through her fingers.

Percy was tempted to let her die like that. She deserved it for what she'd done. But he remembered Annabeth. How she'd told him to never use his powers like that again. And he thought of his little sister behind him, watching while he strangled the monster to death.

With a quick slash of his sword, he ended the Empousa's misery. Golden dust rained down around them and the crying of his sister broke the silence.

He dropped Riptide, kneeled down and picked up Andromeda. She quietened down when she realised he wasn't going to hurt her. Percy wiped away the drop of blood gently and kissed her forehead. "No one will ever hurt you again." He told her. "Never. I promise."

She stared at him with big, brown eyes and opened her mouth to say something but it came out unintelligible. She yawned and fell asleep in the safety of her brother's arms.

Sally found them together the next day, asleep beside the white cot, still sitting in a pile of golden dust.

* * *

"I want to be a detective when I grow up."

"Oh yeah? Is that why you're dressed in mum's black coat? And my cap?"

Andy looked down at her feet which were completely covered by the coat. "It's a bit long." She finally said but then she looked up and smirked at her brother. "But your cap fits perfectly." The cap promptly flopped in front of her eyes. "I think I might keep it Perseus Jackson. Now back to the matter at hand." She proceeded to walk around Percy's room, the coat dragging along behind her.

"I have deduced that you are hiding a bag of candy in this premise."

"You're six," Percy said, from where he was lounging on his bed, papers spread out all around him. "How the heck do you know all those big words?"

"'Deduce' and 'premise' are not big words, sir. They are merely uncommon among my age group. And," she added. "If you continue using such words as heck in front of your little sister, I will have to file a report for Mom."

Her brother frowned. "You've been reading way too many sophisticated books."

Andy turned around, momentarily stopping her search for candy. "What does sophist- sofis- soffifica- What does that big word mean?"

Percy laughed. "You're asking me?"

"You have a point, big bro." Andy rummaged through his desk and came out with a plastic bag filled with blue sweets. "Aha! I was right! You've been holding out on me!"

"Hey!" Percy protested, jumping to his feet and abandoning his work. "Not fair. How did you find them?"

"Told you. I'm going to be a detective when I grow up." Andy started to attack the bag of blue sweets. Percy came up behind her and picked her up. Andy screamed and flailed around and in the rush Percy quickly took the plastic bag away from her hands. He set her back down on the floor carefully and waved the bag in front of her face. "Thanks sis."

Andy stomped her foot and scrunched up her face. Her cap had fallen off and the coat was starting to slip down her shoulders. "That's not fair! You're bigger than me! I'm small!"

Percy fluffed up the mop of dirty blonde hair and smiled, giving her a blue lolly. "Small, but clever."

She muttered a hesitant thankyou and took the lolly.

Then her eyes caught on to something behind Percy and she grinned widely. She shouted something that sounded like "Avvabeth!" and ran past Percy to attack the girl standing behind them.

Annabeth knelt down to welcome her in a hug. "Hey, sweetie. How are you?"

"Good! Do you want a blue lolly? I found a whole secret stash in Percy's room!"

"There's a reason they were secret." Percy grumbled, walking over to them.

Annabeth stood up and kissed him. "Hello to you too, Seaweed Brain."

Andy bounced on her toes and announced, "Ooh another mystery to solve!"

"And what's that?" Percy asked.

"Why you two are not married yet." She said innocently.

Silence dawned on them. No one could've looked redder than the two demigods standing in front of the six year old.

"I'm asking because," She clarified. "I saw this little box on Percy's desk and inside it was this-"

"Andy, I am going to kill you."

Her eyes went wide and she ran out of the room, with Percy close behind her. Halfway down the corridor, she tripped over her long coat and fell.

Percy was just a little too slow in trying to catch her.

Annabeth was beside them in seconds, helping Andy to her feet.

Tears started to brim in the little girl's eyes and her lips trembled but she held back the sobs, muttering a small, "Ow."

Percy engulfed her in a big hug. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." She said.

Annabeth took her small hand and said, "Are you sure?"

"Even if I'm not," She said. "I'll have to be. Because I want to grow up and save the world, like you do." She looked up at Percy, smiling. "That's why I want to be a detective. I can find out about mysteries and solve them to stop people from getting hurt. Just like the people do on Mummy's crime books. I can save the world."

She shook off Percy and Annabegh and ran back into the room to find her bag of blue candy. Percy sat there watching her for a second.

Annabeth had to help him up. "I guess it runs in the family." She said, "Saving the world."

Percy ran a hand through his hair. "How do I keep her safe from the world when she's trying to uncover every mystery of it?"

"You can't." She told him.

"What?"

"You can't keep her safe from her own dreams, Percy."

* * *

Andy bounced on her toes nervously. "What if it doesn't work?"

Her brother laughed. "It's going to work."

"Yeah, but what if it doesn't?"

"You'll never know if you don't try."

"Right. Like that line isn't cheesy enough already, coming from your mouth."

"Hey, there can only be one Sass King in the family. That's going to be me, okay? Now shut up and let me do it."

Andy bit her lip, but she finally said, "Fine."

Percy stepped through the barrier. He faced her and said, "I give you, Andromeda Jackson, permission to enter camp."

He held out his hand to her.

After a moment's hesitation, she took it and stepped inside. A gasp escaped her lips before she could stop it.

Percy grinned at her. "You like it?"

Andy held onto her brother's arm like her life depended on it. "You are going to show me around this place and you're not going to miss a single damn thing."

Percy laughed. "Deal."

They walked down Half-Blood Hill, past Peleus and the Golden Fleece hung on Thalia's Pine, past the gigantic toes of Athena herself. Andy pointed at everything she saw and demanded explanations so much that Percy couldn't help but remember the first time he'd shown Tyson around.

"What's that?"

"Monster-infested woods."

"What's that?"

"A fire spewing climbing wall."

"What's that?"

"That's my teacher. Chiron."

"But he's- he's a- a horse."

"We'll meet him later." Percy promised, driving his sister away from Chiron's archery class before a stray arrow could implant itself in Andy's head.

"Okay but what's that?"

"The Pegasi stables."

"This is so cool!"

Percy took her to the Poseidon cabin. When Andy stepped inside, she took in a deep, long breath. "It smells like the sea." She said to herself. Then she looked at Percy. "You grew up here?"

"Since I was twelve." Percy replied. "Same age as you are now."

"Why did you ever leave this place?" Andy asked, twirling around. "It's beautiful here."

Percy smiled at her, almost sadly. "I grew up."

"Is it that bad then, growing up?" Andy said, sitting herself down on Percy's bunk. She picked up a photo frame from his bedside cabinet and smiled. It held a picture of Percy and Annabeth from when they were still fifteen.

"No of course it's not bad." Percy replied. "It's amazing. You know, you get to go to college, get married, raise your own family, find a purpose in life. It's just a little sad when you think about how everything used to be."

Andy was quiet for a minute, looking around the cabin. "When was the last time you were here?"

Percy looked around the dusty old room. "Couple months ago, I think. But I haven't slept here properly since I was seventeen."

"And now you're twenty nine." Andy realised. "You have a four year old son and a one year old daughter. And Annabeth's your wife." She studied the picture in her hands and smiled at Percy. "You still look the same though. Maybe even happier."

Percy laughed and ran his hand through his hair. "Yeah, I think I am. It's just crazy how fast it's gone by."

Andy set the picture back on the bedside cabinet. She folded her hands underneath her legs and said, "Time is fast. It doesn't like to wait for us. We just gotta keep up."

"That's a pretty poetic line. You gonna add that into the new book you're writing?" Percy smiled and the slight upwards tug of his lips matched hers exactly.

"Maybe."

Percy fluffed up the mop of dirty blonde hair and smiled. "You've always been good writing. I think it's from mom. You see things that no one bothers to look at."

Andy smiled and shoved him away. "Maybe I'll be some kind of a writer when I grow up."

"Maybe."

A moment of silence passed between them. Then Andy said, "Percy, should I be afraid of growing up?"

"Not a bit." He replied, without a moment of hesitation. "Grow up and find the truth. Be a detective. Be a writer. Be whoever you want to be. But don't be afraid of growing up."

* * *

It happened so fast.

No one really warned her.

She was working late one night, holed up in her room, pen in her hands. Her mind was struggling. The usual flow of words refused to pour out. Her thoughts were trapped and paper stared back at her, half formed sentences glowering up.

She'd fallen asleep there.

The call came at midnight. The phone rang twice, but no one picked up.

It went into voicemail, and Percy's voice filled the quiet of the house. "Andy, hey. I'm stuck in traffic. It's really late. Don't wait for me. I might just go home." He sounded tired. "Maybe we can have dinner tomorrow? Just called to see if you're okay." A pause. "I'll see you tomorrow okay? Take care. Good night."

The click signalled the message ending.

He never came back for dinner.

He grew up too fast.

* * *

Andy found that she was at Camp Half-Blood a lot. She liked the woods. The monsters didn't bother her. They never caught her scent. She'd walk for hours through the trees and she'd always end up in the same place. She'd sit down and stare at the stone in front. The name carved into it. She'd cry silently until it got dark again. And she'd slowly make her way out of the woods.

It kept going and at first, she didn't really know what to do. But then she thought of what Percy had told her so many years ago and she decided to take his advice.

She found a way to go on, just like everyone else had.

* * *

A HERO HAS FALLEN
Andromeda Jackson

It's difficult when someone we love passes away. It's difficult to face the cold unforgiving truth, that you'll never see them again. It's difficult, but we manage to keep going.

Five days ago, a hero left us.

He was a brother, a father, a son, a lover. He was a protector, a giver, a helper; he was hope and kindness wrapped up in humour and lightness. But above all he was a man brave enough to face whatever came at his way.

Percy Jackson may no longer be with us at Camp Half-Blood. But instead of dreaming of the years we could've had if he was still here, think of the years we have already lived. The happy, lively years that would never compare to anything else. Think of those, be grateful, feel fulfilled and move onwards.

He's in Elysium, watching us pave our own journey through life. He's still looking after us and he wouldn't want us to break down and cry because of him.

He'd want us to keep going.

Keep growing up, keep learning, and never for a moment look back with regretful eyes.

Percy Jackson got his Happy Ever After.

He wouldn't want us to miss ours.