ANNABETH:

It has been three weeks since Annabeth slept through the night. She felt like a new baby, waking up every hour and needing someone to hold her. Not just someone. She needed Percy to hold her.

Every time she woke up screaming, she thought, in the back of her mind, of Sally and Paul who were no doubt awake as well. Annabeth always felt the twinge of guilt. They let her stay with them for almost a month now, and yet every night they woke up to the sound of her screams.

Percy was no better. He would wake up sobbing and shaking, frantically searching for her on the other side of the bed. All Annabeth could do was hold him and whisper in his ear, "I'm okay. You're okay. We're okay," over and over again.

During the day improvements were more noticeable. Paul and Sally wanted Percy to return to Goode after Christmas break if he was up to it. Annabeth wasn't sure what she wanted to do in just over two months when Percy would be returning to school. The only thing she knew for sure was that she would be staying close to him.

That was another thing that changed after Tartarus. Annabeth used to be the strongest, most fiercely independent girl out there. All of a sudden she couldn't leave the room Percy was in without having a panic attack.

These three weeks had been rough for everyone. Percy and Annabeth barely left the house, and when they did it never ended well. For Paul and Sally it must've been like raising babies all over again, the terrible twos and the infant days all rolled into one.

The thing Annabeth missed the most though wasn't her freedom or her sleep or even going out at night with Percy. Annabeth missed her friends.

The last time she saw the other six demigods who were on the quest with her and Percy was three weeks ago when they dropped them off at home. Annabeth knew that they had returned to Camp Half Blood and helped establish peace between the two camps. Annabeth knew that Jason, Frank and Hazel returned to Camp Jupiter with the Romans, and Annabeth knew that Piper took a Pegasus to go see them almost every weekend. Annabeth knew that they were working toward peace and that any demigod was allowed at any camp as long as they didn't cause trouble.

Annabeth also knew that Jason, Frank and Hazel were all visiting Camp Half Blood for the first time since the quest. And lastly, she knew that they wanted to see her and Percy.

Sometimes, ever since she was little, making lists of the things that were certain and true helped Annabeth calm down and think clearly. As much as she wanted to see her friends she worried that they would think her and Percy were perfectly sane and seeable.

They were neither of those things.

Annabeth questioned her sanity more and more as the weeks went by. Did a sane person wake up screaming in the middle of the night? Does a sane person have panic attacks when the slightest shadow moves?

The only person who understands is Percy. And while it might sound bratty and selfish Annabeth didn't want her friends to see her like this. She wanted them to remember her for who she was.

Annabeth had every right to be bratty and selfish.

She just didn't want her friends to see her, their leader, having trouble breathing and shaking uncontrollably and fighting back tears just because of some stupid trigger.

Percy and Annabeth were prepping the salad for Sally while she cooked, when the latest panic attack happened. Sally was going on and on about her new book. It was a good night. They all slept well the night before, and Percy spent the day joking around, almost like his old self again.

Percy was slicing tomatoes. "This book is going to be amazing, Mom. I'm so proud of you."

"Oh, honey, I'm so proud of you. You and Annabeth, my brave little kids."

Percy looked up for a second to smile at his mom. The knife slipped and slit his finger. It wasn't a bad cut, but it seemed to bleed an enormous amount.

Percy cursed, seemingly unaffected by the blood and the memories, and brought his finger up to his mouth to suck on it.

Annabeth's heart raced, and her vision fogged on the outside. The blood, the memories it was all too much.

Annabeth remembered the blooded pooling beneath her fingers. She remembered the desperate note in her voice as she begged him not to leave. "You can't do this, dammit, Percy, you can't do this. You promised me you would never leave me. You promised me!"

Annabeth ripped off another piece of her shirt to press against Percy's stomach. It immediately became soaked. Annabeth's fingers were bright red with his blood. She tried as hard as she could not to cry but a sob racked her body.

"I'm so sorry, Annabeth. I'm so, so sorry"

Annabeth brushed his hair off his forehead. Her fingers left a bright, red line. "It's okay, Percy," she lied. "We're going to be okay."

Now with the blood on his fingers looking just like the blood that was on hers, Annabeth could barely hold in her panic. Percy immediately picked up on it and wrapped his finger in a towel before hugging her.

"Shh, Annabeth, it's okay, I'm okay."

Annabeth shook in his arms for a few minutes, not crying, just shaking. Percy didn't say anything as he rocked her back and forth.

Annabeth pulled away. Sally left the kitchen, and it was just the two of them. "I'm okay," Percy repeated. He held up his finger. The cut stopped bleeding already and Annabeth wanted to laugh because it was just so damn tiny.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "It's just the first time I've seen blood since we got back, and I just panicked."

Percy gave her another long hug. Annabeth realized, as Percy held her, how much she missed her friends. She would IM them later that night she vowed. It was time to get on with her life.

Thanks for reading and please review! And if you don't mind, check out my other story Aboard the Argo II! Thanks