Title: Waterland, Denver CO.
Set: During The Lightening Thief
Summery: She's realizing that there might be a lot more to this Son of Poseidon then she first thought—and maybe he does have a chance as Thalia's replacement.

A/N: I promise, I'll usually leave this 'til the end. But there are a couple things I wanted to say up front: this story is entirely finished (except for minor editing), so how fast I update will depend (mostly) upon reviews. There will be thirteen chapters, and they will gradually move through the series. I meant for them to be entirely Percabeth-y (and this is the first time I've done romance, so sorry if it sucks), but several of them turned out a little different. This first one is an example... but I liked how it ended up. So I'm hoping you do, too. :) Enjoy! (And formatting apparently hates me at the moment, so sorry if anything ends up looking funky.)

Disclaimer: I don't own Annabeth, Percy, or any other characters. Percy Jackson and the Olympians belongs solely to Rick Riordan. Quotes are from The Lightening Thief.

"I don't know. Just a feeling. Annabeth, come with me—"

"Are you kidding?"

"What's the problem now?"

"Me, go with you to the... the 'Thrill Ride of Love'? How embarrassing is that? What if somebody saw me?"

It had to be spiders. It just had to be. Anything else I could have handled, but spiders? No way. Not for this girl, thank you very much.

Percy basically saved my life, and all I did was scream my head off. Percy had provided the water and knocked away the spiders, while I screamed. Like a stupid Aphrodite girl.

Although, to be fair, I wasn't totally useless. I did tell him when to jump the gate. Maybe a little too late, but we definitely would have gotten squished if we'd jumped on his mark. At any rate, we lived—with some assistance from Grover.

I still don't think I'll be coming back to Waterland anytime soon. I mean, really? Who does things like this? The gods have time to set stupid, elaborate traps on love rides for each other, manipulate demigods, have endless affairs, and bicker over every single little thing, but they can't keep track of their symbols of power? Sometimes I wish I were a god, so I could beat some sense into them. Except for Mom, of course.

I'd always thought that Poseidon was the worst. Mom hated him, that much I knew. And I'd told Percy so.

It wasn't fair. Thalia should have been the one in the prophecy. She was brave and heroic and sacrificial… And she actually knew something about mythology.

But I guess what had just happened was somewhat heroic. At least Percy wasn't blaming me for the spider thing. And he did manage to kill Medusa, although his lack of ability to keep up with the gods and monsters and their various relationships with each other might hurt us someday.

I nibbled on an Oreo and stared at the lion in his cage. I was mad at the truck drivers, yeah, but my mind wasn't quite engaged. I was wondered what Thalia would have said about the bolt going missing, if she were here… if she were still alive. Would she be in the truck with me, instead of Percy? Usually, the idea of having Thalia back sounded so good it almost hurt. But right now, I didn't feel like I needed it as much. Although if I could have changed what happened…

I'd told Grover it wasn't his fault, and I really did believe that. But I found myself going back to the night so often, analyzing every detail and agonizing over what each of us could have done differently.

I remembered everything so clearly: endless rain pouring down; the four of us running, running, running; Luke's hand in mine, dragging me along…

Thalia had been behind us, limping but keeping up. Grover was somewhere out ahead, bouncing around nervously and announcing how much farther to camp about every half mile. I liked him okay, but I really wished he would stop. By the way Luke's hand would tense around mine every time Grover spoke, I knew he was getting ticked.

We'd almost made it. We really had. I'd thought we would be okay. Grover was leading the way up Half-Blood Hill, finally done with the mile thing. Luke let go of me to help Thalia, who'd slipped on a rock.

"Keep going!" he shouted hoarsely.

I was basically clawing my way up the hill, figuring they'd catch me in due time. I didn't want to look back, because the hill was pretty steep, and the rain had made everything muddy and slippery. I knew falling was a mistake we couldn't afford.

Behind me, I vaguely made out Thalia saying something, and Luke answering. Neither of them sounded happy. Then there was the sound of scrambling. Out of nowhere, Luke scooped me up from behind, one hand under my shoulders and the other, my knees. His face was soaked, and his eyes looked a little wild.

Out of habit, I wrapped both arms around his neck. Each night, at our various safe houses and camps, I would sit on his lap and do exactly this, while he sang or made up a story or just chatted with Thalia. I treasured those moments, the feeling that someone strong and brave cared enough about me to sit with me. Now, however, as I looked over his shoulder, I felt myself go cold.

First off, we didn't have nearly as much time as I'd thought. The hellhounds (accompanied by the Furies) were maybe fifty feet away, and coming on fast.

And secondly, Thalia was not right behind us anymore. She was back at the base of the hill, about two yards from the end of the road, staring at the hellhounds. Aegis was on her arm, and she was readying her spear. For a split second, she glanced back at me. Then she raised the spear. A flash of lightening swirled out of sky and hit it, and she let out a battle cry.

"Luke!" I screamed hoarsely. "Luke, look, Thal—"

"I know," Luke croaked. "I'll go back, Beth. Let me get you to the top."

He wasn't going to make it.

"Put me down!" I screamed, shoving him. He tightened his hold, determination on his face. I knew that look. He wasn't going to stop. "Luke! Thalia! She—"

Before I even finished, there was a howl. Lightening flashed overhead, and Luke cringed miserably. I looked over his shoulder again. Hellhounds had completely surround Thalia. Her spear was flying and lighting was crackling, but I knew it would never be enough. Not against so many. One of the Furies surged forward, cackling. Thalia barely knocked her away, staggering as she tried to get her balance back.

"Luke!"

Luke stumbled and fell, throwing me to the ground. As I rolled across the hilltop, I dimly registered Grover frozen in shock, and behind him a house with blue trim. I paid them little mind, already scrambling around to look down at Thalia. Luke was turning and drawing his sword, ready to return to her side.

A cry cut through the storm. Both of us froze, Luke in the act of running to aid in the fight and me in the midst of trying to stand up. My eyes found the bottom of the hill. Dozens of hellhounds were piled up where Thalia had been standing.

"No!" I'm not sure who screamed: me, Luke, or Grover. Maybe it was all three of us. Just then, a bolt of lightening knifed across the sky, the fiercest I'd ever seen. It split in half, and one tendril drilled into the ground maybe a foot away from me. I lurched back with a cry, and Luke fell to his knees next to me, pulling me into his arms and pressing his cheek to mine. I could feel a trick of wetness that was definitely not rain sliding into my ear, but I wasn't sure if the tear came from him or me.

The other finger of lightening hit the hellhounds. As I watched in a mixture of disbelief and horror, the pile crumpled into dust. Something lifted out of the heap, silhouetted in the light: a girl's body, with arms and legs dangling limply.

Thalia.

The lightening crackled again, and then vanished as suddenly as it had come. A clap of thunder sounded, as loud as an exploding bomb. Where the lightening had hit the ground was a pine tree, and Thalia…

Thalia was gone.

Percy's voice pulled me back to the present and the zoo van. "That pine-tree bead. Is that from your first year?"

I looked down, blinking a little. My fingers were indeed curled around the tiny tree, a bead I'd been both so proud and so sad to receive. I'd seen Luke hold it the same way, though not so much lately.

"Yeah," I said. "Every August, the counselors pick the most important event of the summer, and they paint it on that year's bead." I tried to pour my focus into happier memories… Even the strange summers, like the Centaur Prom. Forget Thalia's death. I needed some counseling to get over that.

Of course, then Percy had to bring up my dad. The flash of anger and disgust from his nosiness burned away my blues quite a bit, but still, a memory lingered behind my eyes… That last image of Thalia, Daughter of Zeus, spear raised. I studied this Son of Poseidon before me, trying to imagine him in the same position. Not with a spear, of course, but a sword…

To my surprise, I could see it perfectly. He would do exactly what she had. I wasn't sure how I knew so suddenly, or with such clarity, but the thought brought a surge of affection for Percy.

"So, if the gods fight, will things line up the way they did in the Trojan War? Will it be Athena versus Poseidon?"

A wave of tiredness swept through me at the thought of war. I didn't want to see anyone else die. I leaned against the backpack Ares had given us and closed my eyes. Thalia's image still burned on my lids, and I wondered what she would say. Something sarcastic, but something loyal…

"I don't know what my mom will do. I just know I'll fight next to you."

"Why?"

"Because you're my friend, Seaweed Brain. Any more stupid questions?"

A/N: When I sat down to write this, I seriously didn't mean to include all that about Thalia, Luke, and Annabeth. But it came spilling out from the back of my imagination, and so I just left it. I'm a little annoyed, because in a final book check-through I found a paragraph saying Thalia made it to the top of the hill... but I already had her at the bottom. -_- I also had a version where the tree was already there, but I decided this was more dramatic. Anyway, I (obviously) left it as it appears here. So if you were going to tell me that she made it to the top, please don't bother. I'm sorry. I know I wrote it wrong. :p

Aphrodite's scarf will show up in the next chapter/oneshot. Which you will get faster if you hit that little blue button, right down there. Please? I will give you virtual cookies. And if you don't... I will set the hellhounds on you. *Evil laughter*