New story :) (But I will finish Serendipity soon!)

Hope you enjoy. I don't own the characters.

Nico leans against the window of the train as it rattles its way towards San Francisco. His heart is thumping loudly. He wonders what he'll find when he gets there. It's been over three years since he found a tattered notebook filled with the red, blue and yellow crayon scribblings of a child. Over three years since his world has come crashing apart. Over three years since he'd lost the best and worst thing that ever happened to him. He idly rubs the sun pendant between his thumb and forefinger and tucks it back into the collar of his crisp white shirt. As the train trundles onwards, Nico squares his shoulders, pulls out his laptop and begins typing away on it…

Annabeth slammed down Nico's laptop. "Hey!" he protested.

"New case," the blonde woman said offhandedly, tossing a folder on Nico's laptop.

Nico glowered at her, but interest piqued, he opened the folder up. The first thing he noticed was the black and white photo for a handsome man grinning up at him. "Dr. William Solace," Annabeth began, "Age twenty five, head of paediatric surgery at the Delphi Children's Hospital. Accused of first degree murder for the death of ten year old Darcy Fallons."

Nico thumbed through the file, "Twenty five and head of paediatric surgery? He must have been quite accomplished."

"He wants to plead innocence as well," Annabeth murmured, pushing back a golden curl that had fallen from her bun. "I thought you'd be interested in working with me for this one."

Nico nodded. He was a paralegal at the Jupiter Law Firm, so he wasn't able to tackle full cases by himself, but he had proven to have a keen eye for detail and exceptional ability to read people, occasionally even surpassing Annabeth, the top lawyer at the firm. Nico was always hungry for more exciting and difficult cases; so there was no way he'd pass this one up.

"Does Reyna know?"

Annabeth flashed him a grin, "She gave me the case, knowing that I'd get you on board. Sucking up to the C-suite are we?"

Nico flushed, "I like Reyna," he said defensively. "She doesn't treat me like a child."

Laughing, Annabeth sauntered out of Nico's office, "I like her too. She's a woman who knows how to get things done. Client meeting at 2 pm tomorrow, look sharp."

After Annabeth left, Nico opened the file again, tracing over Dr. Solace's face. He looked happy in this photo, smiling like he was perfectly content with his life. He was wearing a doctor's coat with a stethoscope around his neck and had a ridiculous amount of cheer etched in every line of his face. Nico wondered if he really did commit the murder. Dr. Solace didn't look like the type who would wilfully kill a person, especially a child. I guess we'll see tomorrow, Nico thought, opening up his laptop. He swore. The report he had been working on had quit, three hours of work down the drain. "Annabeth," he groaned, slamming his head down on the table.

Nico and Annabeth stepped out of the sleek black company car. They simultaneously slid on their sunglasses as they surveyed the area. "Nice place," Annabeth commented as they stepped into the marbled floor, high ceiling lobby of the Olympus Complex. Annabeth was dressed in a grey skirt and blazer ensemble with glittering silver owl earrings. Her bright red ruffled shirt matched her lipstick to a tee, and Nico caught more than one man gawking at her, and glaring at him. Similarly, girls had their eyes riveted on Nico's classic white shirt, black suit look. He had a simple skull ring on his third finger. Smiling slightly, Nico took Annabeth by the elbow to the elevator. Too bad I don't bat for that team.

Checking the address in his folder, Nico pushed the elevator button. "Seventh floor." Annabeth strode to apartment number five and rapped briskly on the door, Nico standing with an impassive expression just behind her. He nearly lost his poker face when the door swung open though.

Dr. William Solace was, for lack of a better word, hot. He was over six feet in height, a trim build, but with defined muscles. His blonde hair fell in soft waves over his forehead and his eyes were a sparkling sky blue. Dressed in a simple blue dress shirt and black dress pants, he looked like a visiting god.

Annabeth smiled and swept off her glasses. "Hello Dr. Solace, Miss. Annabeth Chase, and my associate, Nico di Angelo." Dr. Solace shook her hand and Nico's, and the paralegal couldn't help but notice how warm his grasp was.

"Please, come in, and it's Will," he murmured, ushering them into his kitchen. Nico wasn't surprised by how bright the kitchen was. Floor to ceiling windows facing the east and clean white furniture was a staple in this apartment. The walls were decorated with framed children's art, more than one sporting a crudely drawn stick figure of Dr. Solace with "Thank you's" and "We did it!"

Annabeth sank gracefully into a chair and Will sat across from her. Nico slid into a chair beside Annabeth, keeping his sunglasses on. As Annabeth began chatting to Will, Nico kept his gaze fixated on the man, analyzing every motion.

"So Will," Annabeth said amiably, "We'll be representing you in your upcoming trial, which is in five months?" At Will's nod, Annabeth continued, "I understand the delicate nature of this, but I want to be frank with you, Will. If you killed Darcy Fallons, it will be found out about, in which case we would better be able to defend you and reduce your punishment if you pleaded guilty."

Will pursed his lips thoughtfully. "I understand," he said slowly, "But I truly did not kill Darcy and I have the utmost trust in the law to uphold justice."

Annabeth nodded, "Well, you'll be meeting up with Nico periodically to go over witness statements and to talk about what you're going to say at the stand. I'll occasionally be present at these meeting, but my job will mostly be hunting down other people to testify."

At Will's agreement, Annabeth and Nico outlined their fee and after Will signed a couple forms, Annabeth slid everything into her briefcase. She gave Will a bright grin and stood up. "Pleasure meeting you, Dr. Solace."

Will stood up as well to escort them to the door, "Thank you," he said. He placed a hand on Nico's shoulder and smiled at him. "I look forward to working with you."

"What did you think?" Annabeth said, as she applied a fresh layer of lipstick using Nico's review mirror.

Nico hummed, turning the mirror back into place as he pulled out of the parking lot. "It seems like he's telling the truth."

Annabeth nodded. "Well then, drop me off at Chiron's house. I'm going see what Will's boss has to say about him." Nico cruised down the highway as Annabeth read over Chiron's, the owner of the hospital, file. Glancing over at Annbeth, Nico smiled. They made a fine team, the best at Jupiter Law Firm. After Nico had graduated from university with a degree in social science - he snorted, remembering how antisocial he was in university - he'd happened to meet Jason Grace, the chairman of Jupiter Law Firm. Nico had bumped into the man while walking out of Starbucks, spilling his coffee all over him. Jason had been quite understanding about it and while he and Nico stood in line to get another cup, Nico had inadvertently impressed Jason with his perceptive analysis of the other people in the coffee shop.

"How did you know the barista was deathly allergic to almonds and that he was new?" Jason asked Nico as they waited for their orders.

"He paled pretty obviously when I asked for a shot of almond syrup, which someone who had worked here for a while wouldn't have done." Nico replied, grabbing his cup from the counter. Jason smiled at him, his blue eyes twinkling behind a pair of black-rimmed glasses.

"Nico, what are you working as right now? A detective?"

Coughing, Nico glanced down at his scuffed converse. "Unemployed at the moment. I haven't figured out what I want to do with my social science degree yet."

Jason pulled out his business card and passed it to Nico before leaving the coffee shop. "If you're interested in law, send me your resume. I believe the CEO of Jupiter Law Firm, Reyna, is interested in getting some more talented paralegals."

After acing his interview, Nico was paired with Annabeth for the first time. She looked him up and down in distaste. "Oh dear, I'm going have to work hard with you." She threw him a shiny credit card and strode away, saying something about coming back when he had bought a nicer suit. Nico glanced down at his second-hand, fifty dollar suit and grimaced. He couldn't see anything wrong with it.

Annabeth did eventually learn that Nico was more than capable of tackling any problem she threw his way, however, and warmed up to him. Although, Nico thought wryly, as Annabeth scribbled some notes, hair tumbling down due to the breeze from the open window, she was still a bit of an asshole. He still hadn't had time to finish that report she interrupted yesterday.

Please review and let me know what you think? I dunno how much potential this story has...considering I know nothing about law lol