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The day was going beautifully. Joel woke before Nico and myself and burst into tears when he saw my bruised and discolored body lying next to him. Nico bolted awake from the floor, scrambling around to see what was wrong, and I yanked Milo’s knife from my pocket before I was even fully awake. Eventually I convinced him I wasn’t dying and Nico looked guilty as Hell. He stared at my face over Joel’s shoulder as I hugged him, eyes wide as they travelled down my temple, and then he looked away in shame. I was kind of surprised they hadn’t disappeared yet. Bruises usually heal within hours for a son of Apollo, but today I ached all over.

Nico told me to pack. I didn’t ask questions, because anywhere was better than this house, full of bloody and unpleasant memories. When he said it, it was with a sort of definitiveness in his eyes that ordered me not to argue. He seemed pleased with the relief evident on my face, like we’d avoided a touchy subject. So he made Joel some eggs in the kitchen while I stayed upstairs to pack my old suitcase and a duffel bag. The duffel bag was reserved for books, and was full to the brim in minutes. I made sure to pack my notebook and flutes, as well as my few art supplies and the stash of emergency money tucked under my matress. Then the suitcase was dedicated to Joel’s clothes and several stuffed animals, leaving room for only a pair of my jeans and some t-shirts. I then carried them down the stairs toward the door, smiling when I heard Joel interrogating a slightly uncomfortable Nico- and then froze when I heard a very different sound. A baby crying? I opened the front door and peeked through the crack.

On the small cement porch in front of the door lay a writhing bundle of blankets making quite a lot of noise. I opened the glass door and quickly knelt to pick up what I correctly assumed to be a baby, my motherly instinct kicking in. Its red face was squished into a very unhappy frown with tearstains frozen in long streaks. A small note hung pinned from the edge of the blanket, with nothing written but “Daughter of Hypnos. -Claire.”

Claire never referred to herself as my mother. She got mad whenever I addressed her at all, but especially when it wasn’t by her first name. I surprisingly didn’t feel very upset. It was too cold and I was too exhausted and in pain to be angry. I wrapped the blanket a little tighter and cooed softly down at her, and she immediately quieted to look up at me through watery eyes. My stomach dropped for a minute as I wondered if this would change Nico’s mind about helping us. I mean, with Joel it was already enough trouble. But now a baby...

I walked back into the house and shut the door behind me. Nico glanced at me from the barstool and his eyes widened, causing Joel to turn and see what had caught his attention. “Joel…” I couldn’t resist snuggling her closer as I revealed what was hidden beneath the folds of blue and white. “This is our new baby sister.”

He looked down at her in awe, touching her forehead lightly. “Where did she come from?” Nico saw the note and his brow furrowed in confusion.

I skipped over his question and handed her gently to him instead. “What should we name her?”

He looked down lovingly at her, watching as she squirmed and reached for his hair. I rummaged through the fridge to find some milk. When I turned around, I was met with an unexpectedly adorable scene: Nico, with his mouth slightly open, caressed the baby’s tiny head, which Joel raised for easier access. “What about Elena?”

I nodded, and Nico hummed in appreciation. “Sounds good to me,” Nico said, twisting his fingers in her thin blonde hair. He glanced up at me in concern. “You aren’t mad?”

I shook my head, pouring the milk into one of Joel’s old sippy cups. “I can’t be when she’s so cute… Are you?”

He laughed, as if the thought were absurd, and shook his head as well. And that was the end of it.

After Elena was fed some warm milk and soon sound asleep, we gathered around the suitcase. Elena was curled in my arms, Joel hugged my leg and the luggage, and Nico wrapped a solid arm around my waist. I somewhat enjoyed the warmth and close proximity, but I soon was coughing and gagging at the sensation of shadow-travelling. We landed in the Apollo cabin that was thankfully empty, because I pretty much collapsed on the ground. My brain pounded in my skull.

“Is this where we’re staying?” I asked when I stopped panting.

He shook his head and took Elena from me. “No, but people were worried about you. I didn’t tell them when I thought you were dead, but they thought you were in trouble after disappearing for three days.”

As if on cue, Will walked through the door. He froze when he saw us, but almost immediately smiled and speed-walked to me concernedly. “People have been looking for you everywhere! What the heck happened to you? Milo’s been worried sick. He might honestly kill you…”

He pulled me out of the cabin into the light, which my eyes had to adjust to for a long few moments. By the time I was able to see again, I was promptly knocked to the ground, causing so much pain to my sore bruises. I groaned and winced, squinting to make out my captor, who I discovered to be a very angry Swede. “I would pummel you to death if someone hadn’t beat me to it… Zeus, you look awful!”

I half-heartedly pushed his face away, grimacing at the bright sun. “Dude, get off me, I’m in so much pain right now…”

He helped me up just in time for Annabeth and her boyfriend (whose name escaped me at the time, but luckily I never had to say it) to interrogate me. I explained as best I could, but the more I spoke the more tired I became. Everything was happening so fast.

Milo introduced me to a girl. "Leslie. Daughter of Aphrodite," she said as she shook my hand. The way he sheepishly ran a hand through his hair and snuck quick looks at her gave it all away. The way he brought her to me like I was his father, searching for my approval. She was very beautiful. Short brown hair touched her tanned shoulders, dark blue eyes glanced up at me, and a large smile took up most of her face. She looked like the type of person who laughed a lot.

"It's very nice to meet you," I answered, playfully winking at Milo who rolled his eyes at me. I lifted up a fussy Joel who had previously been at Nico's side. "I think we're going to head out now. Joel's getting a little tired." As if to prove my point, Joel yawned into my shoulder and rubbed his eyes with his little hands. It was getting dark anyways. After being hugged rather tightly by Milo and slapped on the back by Annabeth's boyfriend and had my bruises looked at by Will (who couldn't seem to miraculously cure them like before), I endured shadow-travelling yet again- though I did dry-heave into the grass as soon as it was over. Nico rubbed my back soothingly, and Joel placed a hand sadly on my cheek until I stopped.

When I stood shakily, I saw we were standing in front of a modestly beautiful cabin a few yards from a lake. Across the lake I could see the glint of swords in the practice arena of camp, and Kymopoleia’s temple by the sand. This side of the lake was heavily forested, blocking the dying light. “My dad had this cabin built a couple years ago. He hasn’t used it though.”

I followed him cautiously up the stairs and through the front door, setting down the duffel bag. Joel clung to my leg for a moment, but soon gathered the courage to explore a little. To the right is a living room, to the left a dining room and kitchen area, and separating the two was a stairway leading to the second level. Nico gently handed me Elena, who was still fast asleep, and took my bag and the suitcase up the stairs. “We’ll have to get some baby stuff until she can live in her cabin,” he called as he disappeared into the hallway. “Come up and I’ll show you your guys’ rooms.”

I slipped my hand through Joel’s and followed after Nico, admiring the incredible paintings lining the walls of various Greek and Roman stories. He stopped at the second door, which looked to be a guest bedroom. “The kids can sleep here. There are two single beds and plenty of room, and it leads to the bathroom there.”

The way he said it sounded like they were our kids.

The two beds were placed on opposite walls, in between which sat a cherry-wood dresser under the window holding the only lamp in the room. I changed a sleepy Joel into his PJ’s as Nico changed Elena’s diaper. I’m surprised he A. knew how to do it, and B. didn’t complain. Most guys our age would have protested and called it woman’s work. Joel climbed into the bed on the left tiredly, rubbing his eyes while I tucked him in and kissed his forehead. The beds were large enough that I could trust Elena not to roll off, so I tucked her in and kissed her forehead as I did Joel’s.

We crept out of the room, me with the duffel bag and some sleep clothes to change into. Nico reached to take the bag from me. “I can put this in your room while you change,” he offered. I shrugged it off my shoulder and handed it over. “The bathroom is that first door along the hall.”

Once in the bathroom with the door securely locked, I worked off my clothes, breathing deeply as they tugged against my bruises. The tile was refreshingly cool against my feet. When I looked into the mirror, I jumped at my reflection. There was hardly any unblemished skin left on my body. No wonder Joel was so scared this morning.

I left the bathroom in sweatpants and an old t-shirt, ripped in certain places from years of use. Too tired now, but remember to ask Nico about what his father said about a wedding. Also, isn't there supposed to be a hellhound around here somewhere as my "wedding gift"? Just figure it out tomorrow, I thought as I yawned.   I glanced into the only open doorway to see my duffel bag perched on the end of the bed. I entered and, despite my exhaustion, decided to write the past few days’ events in the book. I searched the bag for the green journal, getting a little worried when I couldn’t immediately find it. I pulled all the books out, and still no journal. Did I leave it at the townhouse? I thought I packed it-

“You haven’t written about me.”

I whipped around to face the doorway. Nico stood with the journal in his hand, staring at me solemnly and a little bit guiltily as he glanced at the book. “There’s nothing about me in it. Do you… Am I not… important?”

…How could he think that? I pulled at my pants, picking at a small hole nervously as I thought of how to explain it to him. “Who did I write about? Whose names did you see?”

His brow twisted in confusion. “Calypso. Leo- who, by the way, you named Theo. Percy. Annabeth. Will. Kymopoleia. Diyonisus. Chiron. And… Milo.” He looked hurt when he said his name.

I nodded. “And whose names don’t you see?”

He looked down at the journal. “Um…”

I took a few steps closer to him, biting the inside of my cheek. I’ve never been this forward with someone. “You don’t see yours. And you don’t see Joel’s. I don’t write about you both because I don’t have to. I remember everything that I previously knew about you.”

My hands were gripping my shirt with a strength I didn’t know I had, and my eyes were trained on my toes digging into the carpet. It’s very warm all of a sudden. And very silent. His next words shattered through the atmosphere.   “I love you.”

My breath hitched in my throat. I couldn’t lift my gaze from the floor. “I don’t love you for your personality, although it’s amazing and intelligent. I don’t love you for your body, although it’s not lacking in any way. I don’t love you for the way you make me feel. I love you for your thoughts. For your actions.”

After a moment, I heard him move, saw his feet in front of mine. He kissed me. It wasn’t desperate, like the last time. It was soft and chaste, but allowed me the same level of euphoria. I could only hum in pleasure, lean in to further a nuzzle. Then he pulled away.

“Do you want… Do you want to sleep with me?”

The look he was giving me had me suddenly very shy. It was a mixture of happiness and joy and solemnity and lust that I have never seen directed towards me before. Heavy-lidded and animalistic.   I glanced away, inadvertently attempting to hide my reddening face. My body was electrocuted with his touch to my hand, gently wrapping his fingers loosely around my wrist. I let him pull me through the doorway, down the hall, to the last door. He shut it behind us, sealing us in a room of dark wallpaper and black flooring. I felt the urge to tell him what I hadn’t been able to yesterday night. “You interrupted me last night,” I whispered, surprised at how soft my voice was. “I wanted to tell you that your eyes… When I first met you I thought you might have been a god. Because your eyes were so perfectly dark. Incredibly beautiful.” I subconsciously reached out a finger to touch his temple, then thought better of it and yanked my hand back.

In the dark, I saw his chest rise and fall. He took my hand again, bringing it to his neck. “You can touch me, if you want.” His eyes glinted in the dim light from the window. “Can I touch you?”

I nodded, glad he couldn’t see my face well. First he stepped closer, running a hand lightly over my stomach. He leaned in to kiss me gently, and I could finally reciprocate after the initial shock of his words. He pulled back and traced a finger down my throat, another skimming down my arm, careful to avoid the deeper bruises. I ran a hand through his hair, placed my second on his chest. His heart rate felt warm and slow and steady, whereas mine was probably on the verge of stopping altogether.   He pushed me closer to the bed until I backed into it and he sat me down, pulling the covers down for us to slide under. His hands roamed over my chest, my stomach, my back, my thighs. Gentle and caring and loving. After minutes that felt like hours, we just lay under the thick grey sheets, quite close to each other, breathing the same air with his hand on my chest and my fingers playing with the tips of his hair. I felt his eyes piercing through me unblinkingly in the dark.

That was the first time in a long time that I fell asleep with ease.