The final chapter! Thank you to all of you who have been here since the beginning! This was an amazing journey and I hope to see you all again soon.

XXX

The sun gently floated over the horizon, announcing morning by lazily flowing through the gaps in the blinds with a rosy copper color. Its rays illuminated the dust that hovered in the air, that drifted in invisible breezes made by soft exhalations and silent murmurs, making them look like tiny stars, blanketing the people in the room within their own little universe.

Annabeth brushed her hair back behind her ear. It had come loose from its rough ponytail again, in clumps. Her grey eyes had faded to gentle clouds, which stared at him through the dimness of the room, her face dotted with the winking rays of sunlight that peeked through the gaps in the blinds. She smiled at Percy sleepily, bending over to press her lips to his.

He knew he looked like he'd just gotten beat up in a fight, and, in many ways, he had.

But the rewards were plenty. And worth the battle.

He still lay in the bed, clutching to his chest a small bundle, no larger than a loaf of bread. It was small and pink and wrinkled, a precious little peach, with a small layer of thin fuzz sprouting from the top. It was curled in his arms, sleeping off the rough night it had just had, probably even rougher than the night had been for Percy.

He kissed the soft top of its head, careful not to wake it.

Before this moment, he had always just referred to it as "the baby", never labelling it with a gender. But now he could say with certainty - and with a ballooning sense of pride - that he was now officially the father of a beautiful baby girl.

A girl with his hair and Annabeth's eyes.

He wished he could stay forever in this one moment, with his baby sleeping in his arms and Annabeth standing over him in the dark.

And, though he knew this moment would never last, he now truly believed, deep in his mortal soul, that that was not necessarily a bad thing.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next couple days were a pleasant blur. Everyone wanted to see the baby. Old friends, new friends, people who weren't even friends at all.

Poseidon came, of course, and some of the other gods, too (Apollo hadn't really hidden the disappointment in his normally bright and joyful eyes that he hadn't earned a role in the delivery), including Athena, though Annabeth wasn't too keen on letting her mother near the baby - knowing full well what the goddess had suggested to Percy behind her back. Even Dionysus made a brief appearance and he made a weird face while the baby rested in his arms, a face Percy suddenly realized with mild surprise was a smile.

Tyson didn't get a chance to hold the baby, because as soon as he laid his eye on her he immediately burst into happy tears and escorted himself from the room. Sally couldn't come, as mortals were forbidden from entering Camp, but Percy was still waiting to take on that front, anyway.

Everybody who met the baby wanted to know her name. The two new parents would smile, mischievously, but say nothing. They finally decided to reveal the name a few days after her birth, standing over her while she was cooing in Nico's thin arms. The boy beamed down at the little peach, looking happier than Percy had ever seen him. Other people wanted to hold the baby, too, but Nico wasn't willing to let her go.

Annabeth cleared her throat. "Okay, everyone. We thought long and hard about the name. We wanted to pick something beautiful -."

"- and something that she could live with," Percy added, causing a few chuckles to ripple through the room.

"Yes," Annabeth said. "But we also wanted it to be meaningful. So, without further delay, we would like to officially present to you…." She gestured to Percy, allowing him to be the one to make the official announcement.

He cleared his throat, dramatically.

"Bianca Silena."

Nico emitted a strange noise, like a small whimper, and when Percy glanced at him, he realized that the young boy had started to cry. Annabeth gently pried baby Bianca from him and Percy wrapped one arm tightly around the boy's shoulders.

"I know the name means a lot to you," Percy said, comfortingly. "We thought it would be the perfect way to honor their sacrifices."

Nico sniffled again, louder this time, wiping his nose on his jacket sleeve. "Thank you," he choked. "But… it's not just that…."

"Then, what is it?"

"She… she is Bianca, Percy," he choked. "Bianca wanted to get reborn, right? Well, she did. I thought I could sense it before, but I couldn't be sure of it until I held her in my arms. It's Bianca, I can sense it. It's her soul." And after that he didn't speak again for a long while.

Percy didn't cry. Instead, he started to laugh. And, maybe that might have been taken as rude, but, frankly, he didn't care one bit. Because he'd realized why his baby was meant to make so many people happy, why it was so important to have this baby over any of the others he could have had at any other time.

Athena had been wrong. Athena - the freaking goddess of freaking wisdom - had been wrong.

This baby wasn't destined to take on Kronos. Or even to be part of some "Great Prophecy."

This baby was destined to be a blessing, because this baby gave the people that he loved exactly what they all needed.

This baby brought every friend who had passed on the peace in death that they deserved, because this baby, along with the entire future generation of demigods to come, was their second chance to live on.

And, in her - in Bianca - they did.

XXX

Again, thank you for reading. All this support has really made writing seem worthwhile. I do have some other fan fiction story ideas rolling around in the old noggin, but I'm not making any promises. I am currently trying to write a novel and it's taking me a bit longer than expected, so I'm putting off all other writing projects until that's finished.

But I will tell you guys if/when my book gets published! Keep in touch!

Until next time, live long and prosper.

~ Peace out. ~