Enjoy :)

Chapter Quote:
"Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own."
~Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land
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Chapter 10: We Just Dropped In

Luke

Everything was black. The only thing Luke could feel was the rush of an invisible wind and Bryn's hand gripping his hand as if she would never let go. How much time passed, he didn't know, but he was pretty sure that they were in the shadow-world longer than they were supposed to be.

All of a sudden, Luke was dropped unceremoniously onto a carpeted floor. The Helm of Darkness flew off of Bryn's head, bouncing halfway across the room. Immediately he looked at his girlfriend who was on her hands and knees, head drooped down.

"Bryn? You okay?" He asked, placing his hand on her back.

"I-I don't know what happened. I thought of home but all it did... nothing happened," she stammered, practically falling over onto her hip as she propped herself up on arm so she could look at him.

"Hey, it's okay. We got out of it and we're in the real world now. Where are we?" Luke glanced around. The building itself seemed familiar but the room didn't.

"My bedroom in London. I thought it would be good for us to be somewhere familiar. Besides, I really wanted to see my mum and dad."

"And I'm sure they would love to see you. Rest for a moment before we go anywhere. You look pale."

"I'll be okay. I've shadow-travelled before but never when I was in control. It just unnerved me not having the Helm listen to me... come on, let's see if my parents are home." Bryn pushed herself up. Luke got up with her, following her downstairs. They heard some movement in the kitchen which they went to investigate. They discovered Mrs. Winchester, grabbing something from a cabinet. She must've just come home from work because she was still in her work clothes.

"Hi mum," Bryn said. Mrs. Winchester world around, pointing a gun at the two demigods. Instinctively, Luke stepped in front of Bryn.

"Do you carry one with you everywhere you go or something?" Luke queried when Mrs. Winchester lowered her weapon.

"Bryn! Luke! Oh my gods when did you get here?!" she exclaimed, rushing over to hug her daughter and Luke.

"We literally just got here. We're on a quest," Bryn explained.

"Yeah, we decided to drop in," Luke said. His girlfriend looked up at him, grinning at his pun.

"How did you get here? Are your brothers with you? What about Derek, Silena, and Hallie?"

"That's a little complicated to explain... long story short, someone stole father's weapon along with Poseidon and Hades'. We just got Hades' Helm of Darkness. Silena and Derek are hopefully at camp so Silena can get treated for her snake bite. Hallie shadow-travelled the twins out of the place but we have no idea where they ended up. I used the Helm of Darkness to transport me and Luke over here."

"Where was the helm?"

"Snake Island. It's off the coast of-"

"Brazil. I know of the island. Please tell me Silena did not get bitten by a Golden Lancehead Viper."

"She did... Derek got her out of there immediately," Luke replied, suddenly feeling guilty that he hadn't tried contacting his sister yet. He'd been so wrapped up in using the helm and seeing Mrs. Winchester that it'd completely slipped his mind.

"Oh I hope Derek got her to camp because that snake is extremely deadly."

Luke mentally tried reaching his sister but there was no response from her. Fear settled into his bones. He pulled out his cellphone and dialed Derek's number. When the son of Hades didn't pick up, panic was added to his fear.

"Try calling Chiron?" Bryn suggested gently, taking his hand. It comforted him to have her there because he knew she was just as worried. He could feel the tension in her grip.

"Silena will be okay, my boy," Chiron said immediately when he picked.

"Oh thank the gods... what about Derek?"

"He's... sort of okay. The trip really took it out of him and once or twice my hand has passed through his body. He's whole now but it'll be a couple days before he's back to full strength. Camp Jupiter sent some of Bellona's daughters to help give him strength after we told them the emergency of the situation. Where are you?"

"In London at Bryn's parents' home. We don't know where the twins and Hallie are. That's our next mission. Do my parents know about Silena?"

"They're on their way over now. Good luck finding the twins and Hallie, and stay safe yourselves. If any of you are going to find trouble, it'll be you and Bryn"

"Hey, trouble finds us," he laughed. "We've had enough trouble the past couple of years. Trust me, we're not looking for anymore."

"I believe you. I'll have Derek or Silena give you a call when they're up and well."

"Sounds good. And thank you for saving my sister's life. I don't know what I would do if something-"

"Don't think about it. Silena is going to be okay, Luke. Get some rest since you have a chance to. Did you get one of the items?"

"Yes, sir. We have Hades' Helm of Darkness. Bryn used it to get us here."

"You're lucky it worked. It doesn't like anyone other than Hades using it."

Luke was about to say it hadn't wanted to work for them but decided against it. "Yes we are. All right, I'll let you go. Bye Chiron."

The two of them hung up and Luke announced, "Silena's going to be okay. Derek exerted a lot of energy and started... dissipating or something but some Bellona kids arrived from Camp Jupiter and gave him strength so he's going to be okay."

"Thank the gods," Bryn breathed. "I'm glad they're both going to be okay."

"Let me try FaceTiming your brothers," Mrs. Winchester remarked, pulling out her phone. It rang twice before Brady's face appeared.

"Hey mum," he greeted.

"Are you and your brother's okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. We're fine. How did you know something happened?"

"Because your sister and Luke are here." She turned the phone sideways so that all three of them fit into the screen.

"Man am I glad to see you two are okay. How did you two get there?"

"We used Hades' helm," Bryn answered. "Never again. That thing is weird and doesn't like people other than Hades using it."

"Shadow-travelling in general is weird. Hallie is knocked out cold so Bradley's watching over her. We're on the far side of Poland closest to Russia. Are Derek and Silena with you?"

"I forgot you two don't know what happened. Silena got bitten by one of the snakes. Derek got her back to camp. They're both going to be okay but they'll be out of it for a couple days."

Brady whistled. "Damn, I'm glad they're okay. You two are okay as well, right?"

"We're fine. We'll stay a day or two here and then start our journey over to you guys."

"Sounds like a plan. How are Derek and Silena going to get over here?"

"We'll figure out that issue when the time comes. For now, rest up. If Russia is going to be anywhere as difficult as Snake Island, we're going to have to be on the top of our game."

"Great... all right, I'll head off. You two stay safe. Love you mum. Tell dad Bradley and I love him too. Love you Bryn. Watch out for her, Luke. And watch out for yourself too."

"I will," Luke promised. "You take care."

"We love you. Talk to you soon," Bryn said. Mrs. Winchester added in her sentiments before hanging up. "Mum, where's dad?"

"He's still at work. What do you say we surprise him with you two being here? He won't be home for another couple of hours so why don't you two go take a rest or shower if you want to while I start cooking dinner?"

The demigods agreed, heading back upstairs. Luke shoved the Helm of Darkness into his backpack. He went to the guest bathroom to shower while Bryn used her own. When he exited the shower, he went to Bryn's room, she was still showering so he went back to the guest room, falling onto the bed and closing his eyes.
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Bryn

The shower felt great, especially after Bryn had been sitting on a dirt-covered, shed-snake-skin covered floor. Bryn had no problems with snakes. In fact, she found them fascinating, but that didn't mean she wanted to sit on their shed skin. Upon exiting the shower, she dried her hair, put on some makeup to hide her paleness and the circles under her eyes. The last person she wanted knowing about her troubles was her mum because Mrs. Winchester already worried about Bryn enough.

Bryn went to see what Luke was doing because she didn't hear him talking downstairs or any sound coming from the guest room. That was explained when she found him sprawled out on the bed fast asleep. She quietly shut the door before going downstairs.

"Hey mum," she said. "Need any help?"

"No, I've got it honey. Thank you though. So how are you doing?"

"I'm okay," Bryn replied, sitting on one of the bar stools.

"The nightmares getting better?"

"They're still the same. Mr. and Mrs. Jackson said it'd take a while for them to decrease in their severity. I feel so bad that they endured it as well but it's nice to have someone tell us that what we're experiencing is normal."

"I'm so sorry you're having to go through this."

"It's okay. I have Luke, Silena, and Derek to help me through it. Silena and I are holding up better than the boys though. Luke's had it pretty rough. Same with Derek."

"Why's that?"

"I don't know. His nightmares just seem to affect him much worse than they do me. I mean I've had some that have just been too terrible to explain but that seems to be the case for Luke every night... the only thing that helps lessen their brutality is when we're sharing the same bed."

"If you're asking for permission to let him sleep in your bed, you have it. I'm not worried about you two. You two might have only been dating for two months but you've known each other much longer and have been in love with each other much longer. I don't mind you two sleeping together. Besides, I have a feeling you two have been shared the same bed before, am I right?"

"Yes... on our first quest together, we were on a cruise boat and I had terrible seasickness. It disappeared whenever Luke was touching me so to help me fall asleep, he stayed in my bed that night. That was the first and only time on that quest. The next time was over the summer when he, Silena, Derek, his friend Tucker and I had a sleepover. I'd been in the kitchen and Luke came into the kitchen to see what was up. In that short span of time, Tucker took over the couch so Luke went and got a bunch of blankets and pillows and we made a makeshift bed on the floor. The next time was when Tucker died. Luke was devastated by it. Derek and his parents were out for a college thing I think and I opted to stay home by myself and watch over Neville. I still don't know whether or not Luke walked to the house from the hospital or his house because he has no memory of how he ended up at the house but he stayed the night. We slept on the couch. The next night we slept in my bed because it was late and I didn't want him going home in the dark. I was worried Hannah would try and hurt him because I figured she knew that if she wanted to hurt me, all she had to do was take one of my friends."

"I'm glad you two have each other. And I'm glad he's been there to help you when your dad and I couldn't."

"It's not your fault you weren't there, mum. You thought I was dead."

"I should've known the Cyclops were lying though. All monsters lie."

"Not all, but most. I've met some friendly ones. Believe it or not, a giant saved us in Tartarus. His name was Damasen. When we were attacked by the arai, he removed the curses from us, and thank the gods for that because Luke nearly died from all the ones he took on."

"I shouldn't ask this because I'm afraid of the answer, but how many near death experiences have you two encountered?" Mrs. Winchester inquired. Bryn stared at the ceiling, mentally trying to count how many she and Luke had had when her mother said, "If it's taking you that long, then it's a lot. Where is Luke by the way?"

"He's upstairs sleeping."

"Why aren't you sleeping?"

"Not tired. I'm too wired from our adventure earlier."

"You'll sleep tonight though right?"

"Definitely."

"I'll convince your dad to let Luke sleep in your bed with you tonight. He loves Luke, sees him as a son, but he's extremely protective of you."

Bryn chuckled. "So this is what it's like to have an overprotective dad."

"He has thirteen years to make up for. He's excited."

"Oh gods..."

"Penn? I'm home!" Mr. Drew shouted.

"Speak of the devil," her mum mused. Bryn jumped out of her chair, rushing to the front door to hug her dad.

"Dad!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck.

"Bryn! What on earth are you doing here? When did you get here?" he responded excitedly.

"A couple hours ago. Luke's here too but he's asleep upstairs. We're on a quest and we ended up here. It's a story for over dinner."

"It's so good to see you. I thought you weren't supposed to come up until this weekend?"

"Plans changed a bit because of the quest, but this was the first place I thought of when we needed to escape and voila, I'm here!"

Mr. Drew set down his briefcase before throwing his arm around Bryn's shoulder as they walked into the kitchen. He gave his future-wife a kiss and asked, "Your brothers here?"

"No, they're in Poland with Hallie," Bryn said.

Mr. Drew closed in eyes in exasperation. "How did they end up in Poland?"

"Well, it's kind of a long story."

"One that can be shared over dinner. Bryn, why don't you go get Luke up and-"

"I smell food," Luke announced from the doorway. They all turned around to look at him. He was rubbing his eyes while letting out a massive yawn. "Hi Michael. How are you?"

"Since when are you on a first name basis with my dad?" Bryn asked in a shocked amusement.

"... You know, I don't actually know."

Her dad gave her boyfriend a hug and said, "I'm doing great now that I have my daughter and you here. How are you?"

"Great now that I've had some sleep and that I'm not having a psychotic snake woman sending her army of deadly snakes after me."

"... What?" He responded.

"Like I said, a story for dinner," Bryn chimed in.

"Speaking of dinner," Mrs. Winchester interrupted, "Everyone wash up. It's almost ready."
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Four hours later...

Dinner had been amazing. Not only that, but her parents took her and Luke out to an ice cream place for dessert. They had a competition between the kids and the parents: which team could eat the twelve-scoop challenge faster. Bryn and Luke won because they hadn't had ice cream in so long that even though they practically made themselves sick eating it all, they found it completely worth it. Her mom and dad finished as well but it took them over an hour. In the end, they could actually drink the ice cream since it'd melted.

It hadn't taken too much effort to convince Mr. Drew to let Luke sleep in Bryn's bed with her after she told him it helped with not just her nightmares, but his as well.

They were finally in bed at eleven o'clock. Bryn was reading a book while Luke talked on the phone to his parents. When he hung up, he said, "Silena's fully conscious of her surroundings now. Derek woke up for a bit but he's asleep now. They send their love to you by the way."

She smiled. "I love them too. To be honest, I never thought your mother would forgive me after what I pulled during the Titan War."

"When she found out you did it all to save my ass, she changed her mind pretty quickly."

"I'm glad. I never want to be on your mum's bad side."

"Bryn Winchester, does my mother scare you?"

"Yes. Very much so."

"Well you dad terrifies me so I get where you're coming from."

"Wait, you're on a first-name basis with my dad yet he terrifies you?"

"He pulled me to the side before I came up here to join you and he said there would be no 'funny' business tonight between the two of us."

"Oh my gods..." Bryn groaned, covering her face with her hands. Peering through her fingers, she said, "I'm so sorry."

Luke laughed. "It's okay. He's just super protective of you, especially now that he gets to be protective of you. Listen, I was talking to your parents earlier because I thought maybe we could stay here another night or two and then head down to Paris for a night before we go see your brothers and Hallie?"

She smiled. "Paris sounds amazing, but why do you want to go there?"

"Because I realized we've been dating for two months and I still haven't taken you on a proper date and I feel really bad about that. I figured since Paris is so close and it's sort of on our way to Poland, I thought I could treat you to a night out. We'd take the train down to Paris, spend the day walking around the city, have dinner at a nice restaurant that my dad recommended when he took mom on a date in Paris, and then go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower afterwards, then go back to the hotel. What do you say?"

"Don't feel bad that you haven't taken me on a proper date. It's not like we're in the best situation for you to do so. But I will gladly accept your proposal for a date night in Paris."

"Good," Luke said, a relieved smiled spreading across his face. "I've already talked to your parents about the plan. Your mom wants to take you shopping tomorrow for a dress so your dad and I will hang out for a bit."

"Will you be comfortable hanging out with my dad by yourself?"

"Yeah. Just because your dad terrifies me doesn't mean I don't like him."

Bryn leaned over and kissed her boyfriend. "I love you."

"I love you too. What do you say we turn out the light and go to bed because I'm exhausted from our day. How have you managed to stay awake the entire time?"

"Because I'm used to running on empty."

"Well you don't need to run on empty anymore. Let's get some sleep, Cat Woman."

"Deal, Sharkboy." Bryn placed her book on her nightstand before shutting off the lamp. She snuggled down into the covers and rested her head on Luke's shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her as he kissed her on the head. Bryn let out a content sigh as she closed her eyes, easily slipping into a deep sleep.
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Thought y'all deserved some fluff since it's all going to hell (like it always does) later on. Reviews would be lovely :)