I know, I know, I know. It's been quite a while since I've posted anything. My muse for creative writing has escaped me. While I still read a lot of fanfics, I haven't been writing recently. This chapter is more of a response to reviewers kindly asking me to finish this story, and I felt guilting making people feel like there was no solid ending. This chapter is the conclusion. It's fluffy, like the rest of the story, and I hope you enjoy!

This story takes place four years after the end of the last chapter, which is actually the last time this story was updated *laughs nervously and dodges rotten tomatoes*

Disclaimer: I do not, nor shall I ever, own the Percy Jackson franchise.

"Annabeth! They're here!" Percy shouted through the thin walls of the apartment into their bedroom. Percy had already begun walking to the door through the recently and impeccably cleaned living room, appreciating the comforting scents traveling through the air from the kitchen.

"Yeah, okay, I'll be out in a second!" Annabeth replied, taking a deep breath and looking herself over in the mirror, her eyes drifting to the shiny ring on her left hand. Her mind recalled when Percy gave it to her a few months ago. Of course she had known that he would be proposing that night (he was less subtle than Apollo proclaiming the sun's rising through a creative haiku in the morning). Yet, the thoughtfulness of the jewelry took her by surprise. It was two thin silver bands, connecting and weaving around each other with an ocean opal in the middle. It was beautiful to look at, but would not be so sparkly as to attract a monster's eye.

Annabeth smoothed her silky grey blouse and walked out of the room as she saw her now-fiance opening the door to her family. Two sets of grandparents, her dad, step-mom, and brothers filed in chaotically. She received a warm embrace from her favorite grandfather and short, but not as awkward as it used to be, hug from her father. Annabeth rolled her eyes as her little brothers, now teenagers, did some sort of stylish handshake with Percy.

Annabeth invited her family to sit as she and Percy retrieved the dishes they had prepared, with Sally's help, of course. A warm casserole, salsa and tortilla chips, and the bagel bites Percy insisted upon, were laid across the coffee table, along with a bottle of wine with glasses and soda cans.

Annabeth looked into the eyes of her family, resting on the comforting blue eyes of her favorite grandfather that always provoked a smile. Her dad looked at her knowingly, and Annabeth assumed that he had known for quite some time. It was her stepmother who would not look her in the eye, not because she was unwilling, but because her eyes were fixated on Annabeth's left hand.

With a genuine smile, Annabeth waved her right hand and gestured to the living room area,

"Please, make yourselves comfortable."

Annabeth's light tone left no room for anything but compliance.

Her entire family crammed into the seating area's one couch, two plush chairs, and small cushioned bench by the window. Sally had baked cookies for the announcement in hopes to ease the attitudes of Annabeth's family. Who could resist the chocolatey goodness of Sally Blofis' infamous cookies, after all?

"So Annabeth, what are we visiting for exactly?" Her dad asked softly, Annabeth smiled at his indulgence of her, even if he was fully aware and supportive of the situation.

Her stepmother was still wide-eyed and finally looked up at Annabeth's face. Annabeth thought she saw what might have been a tear glistening in her stepmom's eye.

"Well, the original reason was for you all to be invited to the grand opening of my new architecture firm tomorrow night, but, um," Annabeth reached her right hand out to hold Percy's, who naturally weaved his fingers through hers, "now it is also to announce our engagement."

For what felt like months but was probably only about 30 seconds, as Annabeth would later admit, no one said anything. Annabeth's breath hitched for the explosion she was expecting. Not that it mattered, really. A horde of hellhounds could not keep her from marrying Percy and spending the rest of her life with him. Some familial support would be appreciated, though. Athena was civil at best, and Annabeth wanted to minimize on the level of general disapproval at the wedding. She knew that her genetic relatives were not fond of her family lineage that brought she and Percy together, so she was skeptical of the potential reaction.

The screams of joy would not have been factored into her battle plan if this was a war. A war was really what she was more prepared for, but this, the exclaimed excitement from her entire family, this was unexpected.

Her stepmom was surprisingly the first to express her pleasure, and threw her arms around her stepdaughter. Annabeth stiffened at first touch, but after blinking a couple of times to ensure reality, she sunk into the embrace. Looking over at her fiance, Annabeth saw Matthew and Bobby with their arms slung around Percy calling him "brother". Even her grandparents seemed, with some hesitation, enthusiastic. Annabeth's father and grandfather both shook Percy's hand with a subtle fierceness that probably would have made any other man flinch. Annabeth wondered if they knew he couldn't feel any pain inflicted there. She also figured it was best not to tell them.

It was a couple hours of much celebration and a few tears of joy. It had been a long time since Annabeth had felt so content with her family. She felt like she was home. The past few years after her family had first met Percy had been rocky at best, but they had slowly warmed up to both of them. This night, this announcement, was when Annabeth was finally able to see just how far they had come. They still had quite a way to go, but they would all get there in time.

So that night, after everyone had left, when Percy hinted at starting their own family in the future, Annabeth meant what she said,

"Don't hold your breath on that, Seaweed Brain. Besides, we already have a family."

Percy smiled at her over the running water that was practically washing dishes on its own. Annabeth grinned and turned back to wiping the counters. She ran a hand over her stomach, her grin widening as she realized just how true her statement was, and that she was the only one who knew.

One announcement at a time, she reminded herself, one at a time.