So, it had taken some time. Not Leo's fault, really. He had worked as fast as he could have, but Festus had been so damaged that he needed to cool down a bit after he was fixed. Not much, just two days, but even two days seemed extensive to be in the same place.

Where, you ask? Well, Leo had thought he should probably take Calypso to a small town with not too many buildings, so she wouldn't have the shock of her life with how the world had changed. Unfortunately, Festus had picked up the perfect place for the fixing parts as Burlington, Vermont. It obviously was no New York City, and Leo should be thankful that there were trees among the buildings, and that you could see the mountains in the distance, and that the water from Lake Champlain actually looked like water. If he wasn't mistaken, it was more of a college city, so it definitely could have been worse.

And it could have been better. Apparently, even Burlington was a bit much to Calypso (I really can't take her to NYC), and she had resigned herself to keeping her back to the city and watching the lake. Leo couldn't blame her. He couldn't imagine how beautiful the world probably was when she was around the first time.

They had found a secluded corner near the water and surrounded by some woods. Festus was sleeping in the corner. Leo tried to clean his hands as best as he could, but grease didn't come out easily. Oh, well – he had already stained Calypso's blouse, anyway.

He took a seat next to her, leaning against a tree. Before he could even move to put an arm around her, she murmured something.

"Sorry?" Leo asked.

"I can't believe Pan let this happen," she spoke sadly, staring ahead.

Leo had a distinct memory of Annabeth telling him that Pan had died. She had explained to him a bit of what had happened in the Labyrinth and how the satyr Grover had taken over something of the god – Leo wasn't sure of the details, he had been working harshly at that time. He and Annabeth seemed to only share stories as they worked endlessly on the Argo II.

He wondered if he should tell Calypso that.

"Look on the bright side," he said instead, this time putting an arm around her. "We still got plenty of trees over here. And this water's still blue. The air is breathable. The –" Leo trailed off as Calypso turned her head to him, her expression telling him that he wasn't helping.

"You have no idea…" She shook her head and turned away from him. "This is nothing compared to before. I watched the world below as we flew, Leo… It's heartbreaking." She sniffed. "Now I understand what Percy said… that people don't have space for gardens. It's the saddest thing."

Leo didn't know what to say, so, naturally, he tried to change the subject. "We'll introduce you to it slowly. Camp Half-Blood is in the country part. We'll head there tomorrow."

"Your friends are probably worried about you."

Leo winced. Yeah, he knew, he knew. And he did feel a bit bad. He knew that Hazel and Frank would have told the others about his plan to stay with the physician's cure, but he had no idea what their reactions would be to him simply showing up again after two weeks or so. They may have burned his shroud and everything.

In a way, Leo was glad it had been two weeks. For a while, he had been concerned that he had been unconscious on Festus for decades before finding Ogygia. It was only when he and Calypso had landed in Burlington and he had grabbed a newspaper that he could breathe again at the Monday, August 16th 2010 at the top of the page.

Leo tried to keep the conversation light from then on until it was time to sleep. They left in the wee hours, traveling south to Long Island. It made him nervous, he wasn't going to lie. Piper was going to kill him, most definitely, and he didn't hide the fact that he was actually scared of her reaction. He hoped all the others would still be at camp – Jason, Hazel, Frank, and Reyna. Leo was pretty sure that Jason would be, but he had a feeling the other three Romans wouldn't, and it made him a little sad. Not to worry, though. He could make another trip.

He debated which entrance would be more dramatic: landing on the beach, on Half-Blood Hill, or on the diving pavilion, where people would be having breakfast. With a smirk, he told Festus that the land beside the pavilion was the perfect place to land.

As they descended, Calypso's arms tightened around his waist. Leo could feel she was nervous as well. At first, he had thought it was because of the general situation – leaving her home prison for the first time in thousands of years and facing all these people at once. But then he figured that, duh, Percy Jackson was down there, and maybe she wasn't all too happy with the prospect to see him. And maybe, he thought, he himself wasn't all too happy for her to see him either, but there was nothing to be done about that.

As predicted, all campers were having breakfast, and it looked as though the Romans had already left. A commotion slowly started when they spotted Festus in the sky. Leo grinned. "YEAH, BABY! THOUGHT YOU'D SEEN THE LAST OF ME?"

By the time they reached the ground, everyone was up and coming to them, making a lot of noise. Leo slipped from Festus's back, and then helped Calypso down. He turned around to the crowd that was approaching, opening his arms in greeting. When he saw who was the fastest, though, his stance weakened.

Piper was coming for him – she was really coming for him. The glint in her eyes was murderous, and it didn't get any better the closer she got. For some reason, the tears running down her face didn't make Leo fear her any less. She was way ahead of the other campers, running like a madwoman, somehow not tripping over her rapidly moving feet. Leo had planned on being all cocky about it, and maybe receiving a punch or two, but the reality was that when she was about 30 feet away, he instinctively started to back away as quickly as he could.

"LEO VALDEZ, DON'T YOU RUN AWAY FROM ME!"

Maybe there was a bit of charmspeak in her voice, but Leo was so terrified that it had no effect, only making him run faster. He should have figured, really, that Piper would catch up to him easily. And when she did, he found himself on the ground, a searing pain burning on his right ankle and a bit of grass on his mouth. Before he had time to process what had happened, he was hoisted to his feet again and hugged to death.

He could feel Piper's tears against his neck as she muttered, "I hate you, I hate you so much…" With a smile, he put his arms around her as well and watched as the campers stopped a few feet away from Festus, about 20 feet from where he was.

"Did you have to be so noble, Leo, for the gods' sake…"

"Yeah, yeah, Beauty Queen. I know, I'm awesome. I saved the whole world and all that. No need to cry."

Piper backed away and punched him. Hard. He swallowed his complaint as she raised a finger at him. "If you so much as attempt to do something like this ever again…"

Leo laughed; he couldn't help it. The initial shock had passed, even though his ankle still hurt, and he was just glad that she was here, hitting and lecturing him. Piper wasn't too impressed with his laughter and frowned. Before she could punch him again, Leo winked at her and walked to the crowd.

"Man, you're alive!" Jason exclaimed, coming to him to hug him as well. "How are you alive? Nico said you died."

Everyone was looking at him expectantly. Leo smirked, "I told you I had a plan. Why does no one believe me when I say that?"

"Because you usually don't," Piper said, coming to stand beside him. "How did you take the physician's cure if you were dead? Also," her expression closed and she slapped him again, "how could you trick me like that?"

"Ow, chill, Pipes. You would have never agreed to my plan, anyway."

"Because it was insane!"

"It worked."

"It could have easily not. You still haven't said how –"

"I installed it into Festus, of course," Leo looked at her like she was crazy. "Then I took a little detour before coming here." He turned to Calypso, who was still by the dragon, trying not to draw attention to herself, and extended his hand to her. Slowly, she came to him and placed her hand on his, and Leo turned to the campers. "Guys! This is Calypso. She's totally awesome."

Leo saw it. He didn't know how he saw it, but Percy's wince could be seen from miles away probably. Most people were a bit confused, especially those who remembered who Calypso was and how she was supposedly trapped forever. Jason and Piper merely gave him knowing, but happy, smiles. But Percy couldn't hide, because he was right in front of everybody, and Annabeth was about three campers to his left, looking something between mortified and angry.

And surely, Calypso's eyes did what Leo hadn't wanted them to do: focused on Percy. She didn't step forward, though, which was a relief. But Percy was also looking at her, a pained expression on his face. The silence stretched a bit too much before Percy finally came forward, "I am so sorry!"

Calypso stiffened.

"I didn't know they hadn't freed you," Percy continued. "I thought they would, and didn't give it a second thought." Leo saw Calypso's eyes spark, and Percy immediately raised his arms in front of himself and stepped forward. "I planted the moonlace! I found a corner in my apartment. It's truly beautiful."

"It is," Calypso replied, no emotion in her voice.

"Alright!" Piper said loudly, clapping her hands and sporting a forced smile. "How about we take Calypso to the Big House? Chiron?" She turned to the centaur, who had been watching the scene a little to the side.

"Yes, of course," Chiron walked to Leo and patted his shoulder. "We have a lot to talk about, young hero, and a lot to thank you. But we should get comfortable first. Let's assemble a council meeting. The rest of you can finish your meal."

Chiron's idea of comfortable was questionable, considering how crowded the ping-pong table would get during council meetings.

The centaur sat in his wheelchair at the head of the table, which he would usually share with Rachel, but Leo had been told that the Oracle had gone to the Roman camp for now, so the centaur shared it with Nico. The son of Hades was deadly pale as usual, but he seemed better in general – or at least less sad –, even if he would shoot annoyed glares towards Will Solace every time the son of Apollo would try to fuss over him from his spot perpendicular to the head of the table.

On Chiron's side, sat Annabeth and then Percy, both not quite looking at each other and pretending to be busy with their camp necklace and a ping-pong ball, respectively. Next to Percy, Jason and Piper played with the net in the middle of the table. Then there was Pollux, who seemed to be half asleep yet and nursed a cup of coffee. Melissa Jordan, head-counselor of the Nike cabin, was in deep conversation with Clarisse, from the Ares cabin, about this war and that war.

On Will's left were Connor and Travis Stoll, playing a really fast version of thumb war, while Katie Gardner frowned next to them. Lou Ellen was lazily making another ping-pong ball fly up and down in front of her, and Butch kept pointing out the many tricks she could do, even if she ignored him. Last, but not least, Clovis snored with his head against the table, drool dripping from his mouth.

Leo noticed that they had made him and Calypso sit at the other head of the table, which made him slightly uncomfortable.

"Would you recount to us what happened, from the start," Chiron asked, and so Leo launched into his story about remaking Festus, and the physician's cure, and using a crystal from Ogygia to find it for the second time and rescue Calypso, and then repairing Festus, and then coming here.

"It should have been impossible," the centaur commented at the end and smiled. "And yet here we are."

"Nah, it wasn't that impossible," Leo shrugged.

"Calypso, my dear," Chiron said to the sorcerer, "you are welcome to stay in the Big House for as long as you wish."

"Thank you, it's really appreciated," she replied. "I must say I need some time, still, before getting used to the new civilization."

"All in due time," Chiron nodded, understanding.

"Miss Calypso?" Lou Ellen raised a finger. "The whole Hecate cabin would be delighted if you'd be willing to give us a lesson on magic usage. We have always wanted to start that class at camp."

Calypso smiled. "That I can do."

"Also," Katie spoke up next to Lou, "it's said that you have a beautiful garden. The Demeter cabin would be honored to learn a couple of tips here and there."

That made Calypso even happier. Magic and nature – those were all she had known in her island. After the shock of the 2000s, familiar territory seemed to be all she needed to start her adjustment. It also meant that she would be staying at camp for at the rest of the summer, and Leo was glad about that.

Clovis snorted loudly next to him, and Leo backed away a bit.

"I hope Dionysius won't be bothered by my presence," Calypso continued. "Leo told me he runs the camp."

"He shall be back soon," Chiron said, "and maybe we'll need to have another meeting, but for now… the council is adjourned."

People started filling out (Butch carried Clovis) to go back to their normal activities. Chiron rose to his full form and walked inside the house, saying he was going to check Calypso's room, and he asked Leo to bring her luggage from Festus. Jason and Piper said they'd go with him, and Leo was happy to accept their company. When Will walked past them dragging Nico, there were only Percy, Annabeth, and Calypso at the table. Leo hesitated before leaving.

"You can go," Calypso spoke to him. "It's okay."

Leo wasn't convinced. Annabeth had her arms crossed and her gaze fixed to the wall in front of her. Percy was fidgety, as if he wanted to leave, but knew he shouldn't. Leo tried not to get angry at him, which had happened quite often once he'd found out Percy had broken Calypso's heart and a promise. And sure, Percy had told him that he felt bad and that he was willing to help him find Ogygia again and that he was glad Leo had found Calypso. And Leo surely knew Percy's heart was more than taken. Still, he didn't want to leave.

He met her eyes, and they insisted with him. She needed to have that conversation, even if it would be mostly unpleasant. And as much as Leo didn't like it, it wasn't exactly his business. So he sighed and gave her a kiss on the back of her hand. With one last look at Percy that said, If I hear anything, we'll be in trouble, pal, Leo left the room.

It was so awkward Percy could practically taste it. He was immensely glad that Leo hadn't stayed, because he already had one person mad at him in the room, and the second person was probably very upset as well – he didn't need three pairs of judging eyes on him.

By the way, the first person was Annabeth.

Percy let himself whine mentally for a moment. Why today, of all days? Two weeks gone, and Leo decided to come back on August 18th. Had he come the day before or the day after, or any of the other days of the year, it wouldn't have fallen on his and Annabeth's first anniversary. And to make matters worse, Calypso had been with him.

All the times that Percy had thought about her, he had remembered her fondly. She had healed him and treated him extremely well, considering how she had tried to imprison Odysseus back in the day and succeeded for seven years. Percy had asked the gods to free her, but they had forgotten, and Percy had forgotten, and life had gone on. When he was told that she hadn't left Ogygia, he had felt guilty. He had been ashamed with himself for forgetting. He would have done anything to apologize and make her forgive him for being so thoughtless.

In Tartarus, however, his vision of her had been… tainted? He couldn't describe it. Annabeth had been already blind due to Polyphemus's curse, and then the arai unleashed another curse on her so she would think Percy had abandoned her. In the middle of a monster attack. In the middle of Tartarus. While she was blind. With no weapon. In Tartarus.

At first, Percy hadn't believed that Calypso would do that. Then he had understood that he was to blame, really, for treating her so badly. He was glad that Leo had found her, and it was the opportunity he wanted to make things right and apologize.

Still… he couldn't erase the helplessness he had felt, bordering on panic, when he thought of how Annabeth must have felt. It wasn't her fault. Why did his curse have to hit her? It left a bad taste in his mouth. Percy was too protective of her.

He was still trying to sort out his feelings when Calypso broke the silence, "You must be Annabeth."

Of all the things she could have said, Percy thought this was the worst conversation started. He felt like he had a bomb in his hands.

Annabeth only watched her.

"Oh, you really are beautiful," Calypso continued. "I see. You've got that look in your eyes."

When Percy saw Annabeth's eyes squinting, he knew he should probably say something. "I'm so glad Leo managed to find you and save you. I'm sorry for how I acted."

"For how you left me after a couple of very fine weeks and went on to save the world? Then decided to be kind and ask the gods to free me, only to forget about it? I'm glad to have been so important to you." Calypso's cold words were like knifes in my heart.

Percy winced. "I wasn't a good friend, I know. And it wasn't just to you."

"What a relief," sarcasm dripped from her mouth.

"There is no excuse, really. I realized how bad I was behaving, and I've lucked out so much. But I won't have it be luck anymore. I wanna do this right."

It seemed to get her attention, at least. Her eyes softened slightly, so she wasn't glaring daggers at him anymore, only kitchen knives. Percy was hoping she could see the sincerity in his voice and give him a chance to earn her trust again.

Meanwhile, Annabeth hadn't moved. It didn't make him any less nervous.

"I don't expect you to forgive me immediately," Percy continued to Calypso. "I know I have to work for that. You just have to let me."

For a moment, it didn't seem like she was going to accept it. Maybe she was too heartbroken and couldn't bear to look at him anymore. But then something changed in her eyes. Her shoulders dropped slightly as she stopped being so defensive, and Percy felt like he could breathe again.

"I believe you are sincere," Calypso said. "You're a very kind person. Very loyal," her eyes drifted to Annabeth for a second before returning to Percy. "I haven't witnessed your battles, but I'm sure you were outstanding."

Her eyes dropped to the table and she started picking at it.

"I knew you had to leave," she continued. "In spite of my curse, you're too noble to just abandon your friends. It was just another quality that made me like you more, even if I hated it for many reasons."

Calypso raised her gaze to Percy again and studied him. He felt as if he was under a microscope and fought hard not to squirm. He was never comfortable being analyzed.

"You'll have to understand why I was so angry and heartbroken," Calypso went on. "I did curse you many times. But what hurt me the most was how you tried to free me, but gave up, as if I was that unimportant and forgettable."

"You aren't…" Percy started, but Calypso raised her hand to show him she wasn't done.

"I can't forgive you that easily. I still hurt. But I suppose… Leo shows respect for you. People here show respect for you. You must have earned it. Even from Chiron himself. Given time, I could… try."

Percy felt his heart soar. "That's all I'm asking."

Calypso managed a small smile.

Percy was hyperaware of his girlfriend next to him. It seemed odd that Annabeth hadn't spoken, not even participated in the conversation in any way. Maybe she didn't have anything nice to say. Gods knew she'd been colder than Alaska toward him when she suspected he'd been in Ogygia, hanging around an immortal girl who would fall in love with him. And it hadn't been any better when he'd actually told her he'd been there. The brownie points he got for having the strength to leave the island only barely stopped him from being murdered, no matter how not his fault the whole thing had been.

Calypso was now staring at the table, looking ready to leave at any moment, but Percy felt they weren't done. He managed to say, "I, um, also think you kind of… owe us an apology?"

Percy could feel Annabeth's eyes turning to him, and he saw Calypso's rising as well. The sorceress seemed one offense away from being really mad, so he hurried to explain.

"You see, during our mission, Annabeth and I were in Tartarus for a while." Percy didn't let Calypso's surprised expression stop him. "And we met some arai."

"Percy…" Annabeth muttered.

"I don't know if you've heard of them," he went on. "Awful creatures, very deadly, very aggressive. And if you happen to kill one of them, you're hit with a curse someone has landed on you." Calypso's eyes widened even more. "I had a lot of curses, which took me by surprise. But I think I needed that to realize how awful I'd been to some people. The monsters' curses I could totally understand. The ones I'd killed, the ones I'd tricked. Annabeth's as well."

"Percy," Annabeth was more insistent, and put a hand on his arm. He still didn't turn to her.

"One curse got her blind. Long story. But I think you'll understand her panic of being blind in Tartarus in the middle of a monster attack."

"Must have been bad," Calypso started, but Percy was in a roll.

"But then a second curse got to her, and suddenly she thought I'd abandoned her. I couldn't reach her. I couldn't protect her. I couldn't do a thing but watch her wander aimlessly calling for me. It must sound familiar to you."

For the first time, Calypso didn't seem to know what to say. "I…"

"Minus the blind-and-in-Tartarus-without-a-weapon-and-being-attacked-by-monsters part, I suppose. But she did feel your despair of being left by me, so there you have it."

"It wasn't supposed to be like that," Calypso got defensive. "It's not my fault she'd been hit with another curse before and that she didn't have a weapon. You have no right –"

"I never said it was your fault for the other circumstances," Percy looked her dead in the eye, one of the most serious he had been all his life. "It happened. It sucked, she almost got killed, I almost got killed, but we were in Tartarus. It would've been bad either way. It could've happened while she was at camp, and I would be telling you the same thing: you're mad at me. You said you cursed me many times, but you did more than that. I understand why you'd be mad at her, but really, Annabeth didn't do anything to you. Hell, you've literally just met her. If you're angry with me, you curse me. I was the one who was a jerk to you, so if you're gonna punish someone, punish me, because I deserve it. But don't put her in the middle of it."

Percy thought he'd stunned her into silence, because no one moved. For a moment, he feared he'd gone too far. He had just gotten Calypso to agree to try to forgive him and then he'd gone and dropped this on her. Also, he wasn't sure Annabeth would appreciate his protecting her. He might have gotten himself in double trouble, though he couldn't bring himself to regret it.

Much to his surprise, a ghost of a smile appeared on Calypso's lips, even if it was a sad one. "I never did stand a chance with you, my hero. You are too loyal." She turned her eyes to Annabeth. "I only did what I did out of jealousy. I have a feeling you understand that."

Percy risked a glance at his girlfriend. He couldn't decipher what Annabeth was thinking, her face was blank as she looked at the sorceress, her arms crossed again. Percy knew she understood jealousy – he'd been given the silent treatment one too many times not to notice she was territorial. But he didn't know how Annabeth felt about the whole curse thing.

Apparently, Calypso hadn't been expecting an answer from Annabeth, because she nodded and stood to leave. "I'll help Leo with my bags. I guess I'll see you two around."

The door closed behind her, leaving a tense silence in the room. Percy looked at Annabeth, who had gone back to staring at a spot in the wall opposite of her. Slowly, he reached out and gently took her hand, uncrossing her arms. He brought that hand to his lips, planting a kiss there and leaving it close to his mouth. "You're quiet."

Annabeth only hummed.

"It scares the shit out of me," Percy muttered against her the back of her hand. "Please say something."

She sighed. "What do you want me to say, Percy?"

"I don't know, whatever you're thinking." He brought her hand down and held it between his.

"I don't know what to think." Annabeth bit her lip. "That moment with the curses was the worst moment of my life, thinking you'd left me. But you didn't have to defend me. I'm perfectly capable –"

"Of course I know that. You can defend yourself better than I ever could. But can't I do it for once?" She finally looked at him, which was a relief. "It was a horrible moment for me, too. I had to say something. I don't want you to suffer from my mistakes."

Annabeth seemed to soften at that. "We're in this together, Seaweed Brain. I would take a curse for you."

"The feeling's mutual. But you shouldn't have to, that's all I'm saying. Fair is fair." Percy brushed a stubborn curl out of her face. "And you know you, uh, have nothing to worry about."

"About what?"

"Me, I mean…" Percy struggled with his words. "It's just that you were really quiet, and I know how you can get…"

"Can get what?" Annabeth raised her eyebrows.

"Um, I mean, you were very mad at me when I came back from Ogygia, and I don't want you to think that just because she's here… And it's our anniversary and all that…"

Annabeth interrupted him with a kiss. "I'm not worried. Leo's timing could've been better, though."

Percy laughed and pulled her chair closer. "Our timing is always impeccable, Wise Girl. It couldn't have been any different." He threaded his fingers through her messy ponytail and pulled her into a kiss. He broke away quickly, though. "Just tell me we won't have another Rachel situation. Your sarcasm was off the roofs."

An outraged noise made its way up Annabeth's throat, but before she could slap him, Percy pulled her lips back to his. Despite how firmly he was gripping her hair, the kiss was extremely gentle, soft drags of lips and long sighs. They were both breathless by the time it ended.

"C'mon," Percy whispered, puffs of breath hitting her lips. "I was going to take you on a walk on the beach."

"You're so creative, Percy, oh, my gods, so innovative, never would have thought…" Annabeth responded sarcastically.

"You're mean," he pointed at her.

"But, due to the stressful morning, you owe me, so you can't be mad."

"It's my birthday."

"Now you're just whining."

"Oh, my gods, just shut up," Piper said from the doorway. "Go make out under the sea or something."

Piper had gone there on Leo's behalf to check if Calypso was still there. Annoying Percy and Annabeth had been just a bonus. Still, as they left holding hands, she couldn't help but imagine that they were going to do exactly what she'd said.