A/N: I was inspired to write this after reading Heartbreak, Love, and Fear, a one-shot by TheDumbBlondiee. Go read her story- it's seriously amazing! By the way, the ages of the kids are an approximation. So no flames please if I got them completely wrong-tell me nicely.

Disclaimer: I own nothing (except maybe Logan Lerman. . . I really would like to own him!)

Family

They were a family. Fourteen year old Luke, twelve year old Thalia, and seven year old Annabeth. An irregular, scraggly group, but still a family.

They looked after one another and cared for one another. Luke protected the girls with his life, like a father. Thalia took care of all of them, like a mother. And Annabeth was the one who brought them all together.

It was just a regular night for the runaways. They were setting up camp in a bush that Annabeth had found by crawling into the hollow space beneath the branches. Thalia took a sheet -stolen from a clothes line months ago- out of her backpack and laid it down on the hard-packed earth. She then took out a heavier blanket which was riddled with holes. It didn't keep them as warm as she would have liked, but snuggling up with each other seemed to do the trick.

Meanwhile, Luke was taking out some food from his backpack: three tired looking apples, a bag of Cheetos, and a canteen of water. He laid them down on a large, flat rock that he had found nearby.

While her "parents" were setting up camp, Annabeth took out her knife and began to sharpen it, the blade making a rhythmic screeching sound against the rock.

When the makeshift bed was set up and their table was set, the three children sat down to dinner. They chatted and laughed as they ate their apples and licked the cheese powder off of their fingers, but the air was tense. They all knew that they were in constant danger, which was what had made then grow up pretty quickly. No time to play with Barbies or go to the pool. It was a hard life, but there wasn't anything they could do about it. Kill or be killed.

They cleaned up their dinner mess and Annabeth ran over to her backpack. Taking out a picture book, she came and sat down next to Thalia and Luke.

"Not again," Luke groaned playfully, teasing Annabeth. "We read this every night. I know it by heart."

Thalia shot him a dirty look. "Fine," she said. "If you know it by heart, then why don't you read it!"

Luke gave an impish smile and took the book from her. He gave a small grunt as little Annabeth climbed into his lap.

"Geez Annabeth you're getting too big to sit in my lap," he said as she snuggled even closer against his chest. Thalia tentatively scooted closer, and Luke put his arm around her, opened the book, and clicked on the flashlight.

"One upon a time," he started, "There was a beautiful princess who was locked away in a tower. . ."

"And they all lived happily ever after," Luke finished, snapping the book shut. Annabeth jumped, and then started to snore lightly again.

Thalia chuckled to herself. "I think she's asleep."

She stood up and dusted the dirt off of her pants as Luke carried Annabeth over to the bed. He laid her down and pried her fingers off of the collar of his t-shirt. He climbed in on the other side of her as Thalia tucked Annabeth in and lightly kissed her cheek. Then, Thalia turned the flashlight off and climbed into bed too. The children snuggled together and Annabeth stirred.

"Goodnight Mommy, goodnight Daddy," she said drowsily, just before she fell back asleep.

Thalia raised her head and looked over Annabeth's sleeping form to where Luke was. They smiled at each other through the darkness. They might not have a home or nice things, but they had each other, and that was enough. It always was.

I really hoped you liked it. I certainly do, although I may be a bit biased. If you look at my profile, you will see my Projects list. I'm working on an Ariel/Peter Pan crossover right now, and I'm also starting my long Percy Jackson fanfic, but that's not going to be up for a while. I'm going to write the whole story first, and then post it. So, let me know in the comments if you'd like me to PM you when the first chapter is up. And please, please remember to review this. I can tell who read this-it's called trafficking people. You don't even have to have an account to review!

Love,

imaginethatt :)