A/N: I have taken down the previous version of this story and reworked some parts of it. The bulk of the story remains the same; I have just cleaned it up a bit and changed a few things. I am not Rick Riordan and I do not own these characters. This is just my little happy ending for a couple of my favorite side characters.

Chapter 1 – Sweet Dreams (Are Not Made Of These)

She was standing in a cold, dark room, lit only by torches. In the corner was a large cage, and something was huddled in a ball inside of it. When the prisoner shifted, she realized that it wasn't a thing but a person being held. She couldn't make out who it was, but with a sinking feeling in her stomach she recognized the bright orange of a Camp Half-Blood shirt. A melodious laugh echoed through the cavernous room.

"Come, my darling, are you ready to help me yet?" a woman asked from just outside her field of vision.

"I hope you rot in the pits of Tartarus," her prisoner replied. His voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.

The woman tsked. "Now, now, no need to be rude, son of Hermes. It's a simple task. You retrieve your father's caduceus for me, and I let you go. I don't harm you, and I don't harm your brother."

He looked up and her dream-self gasped. Connor Stoll's eyes were blazing a brilliant blue as he glared at his captor. "I won't do it. I won't betray my father. Besides, I'm not stupid. If I take it, you'll kill me."

The woman moved into her line of sight, though only the woman's back was visible to her. She wore a long black dress and her hair hung in a black curtain down her back. She carried a staff. With mounting horror, the observer realized it was a lotus staff… her mother's.

"Then I will make sure your brother brings it to me in trade for you," she said, amusement in her voice.

Katie Gardner woke with a start. She rolled out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom, where she splashed water on her face. Staring at her face in the mirror, water dripping into the sink, she tried to make sense of the dream. The gods had been silent for the last month or so. Now Katie wondered if it wasn't because there was yet another disaster about to take place. But why would the dream come to her? And who would steal Demeter's staff and Hermes caduceus?

She made her way back to her room and glanced at the clock. It was six in the morning. She looked longingly at her bed, wishing for another couple of hours of sleep. Instead, she went to her closet and grabbed a backpack, then started throwing some clothes and other things in it. Katie wasn't sure what was happening there, but she knew she needed to get back to camp. After packing, she grabbed the closest pair of jeans and hastily pulled them on, along with a t-shirt and sneakers. She braided her long, dark hair and fastened a silver necklace around her neck. The pendent was a cornucopia, a symbol of her mother. Tossing her bag over her shoulder she ran down the stairs to find her father and convince him to take her back to camp.

Travis Stoll awoke, gasping and dripping sweat. The dream had been so real, but how could it have been a vision? He and Connor had gone to sleep after sneaking out last night for some provisions. Looking over at Connor's bunk he couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. Connor had been in the bunk next to his last night, but now; the bed was empty, as if no one had ever slept in it.

Travis leaped out of his top bunk bed, landing with a thump on the floor. He didn't even bother with shoes as he ran out of Cabin Eleven and toward the Big House. "Chiron!" He started pounding on the door.

After a few minutes of banging on the door and yelling, Chiron answered the door. He wore a dressing gown and had curlers in his tail. Any other time Travis would have found this very amusing. "Travis? What's wrong, my boy?" Chiron's tail swished and he tried in vain to stifle a yawn.

"Chiron… Connor… he's gone. Someone… they want my dad's caduceus!" He was stumbling over the words. They wouldn't come out of his mouth fast enough.

"Calm down, child. What happened? Connor was with you last night."

"We went to bed, after… playing a game of cards." Chiron looked skeptical at Travis's hesitation. Travis hurried on with his story. "After I fell asleep, I had a dream. Connor was in a cage and some woman was demanding he somehow get our dad's caduceus. When Connor refused, she just laughed and said that I would take it from him and trade it for Connor. She had some kind of staff… It looked like a flower or something." Travis took a deep breath and tried to calm his nerves.

"And when you awoke from the dream, your brother was gone?" Chiron asked.

"Yes! I have to find him."

Just then someone came running over Half-Blood Hill. A long, dark braid streamed behind her as she ran, and she had a backpack bouncing on her back. "Chiron!" she was yelling.

Travis and Chiron watched as Katie Gardner, her face flushed from running, stopped in front of them. She bent double, her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. "Connor… My mother… Hermes caduceus…" Full sentences seemed to elude her.

"Calm down Katie," Chiron said, kindly. "Travis was just telling me about his dream. I am assuming you had the same or a similar dream. It was your mother's lotus staff in the dream? You're absolutely sure?"

Katie nodded. "Whoever she is, she wants to collect the symbols of power of the gods." A horrible thought of this woman having Poseidon's trident or Zeus's master bolt caused Katie to wince. "It can't happen."

"We must find Connor, and your mother's staff," Chiron decided. "Travis, go get packed, I'll have Argus drive you into the city. You two are going on a quest."

Katie's eyes widened as she fully looked at Travis for the first time. He was dressed in a white tank top and baggy gym shorts and he was barefoot. His hair stuck up as if he'd just rolled out of bed, which she realized he must have done exactly that. She quickly turned back to Chiron so as not to stare. "On a quest? With Travis?" Katie sounded nearly hysterical. It wasn't a secret that she had a rivalry with the Stoll brothers. "But where are we supposed to even look? Is Rachel here? Why us?"

Chiron shook his head. "She returned to school. Perhaps you can contact her through Iris-message. She may have some information for you. And it has to be you two. You are the ones that received the dreams; therefore it must be you two that go. All I can do for you is set you up with some nectar and ambrosia, mortal money and drachmas. May the gods watch over you." With that, he went back into the house in search of Argus.

Katie looked uncertainly at Travis. "Well, Stoll, you better go get dressed. Looks like I'm stuck with you."

"Gee, thanks, Gardner. I didn't know you cared." Before she could retort, he turned and walked back toward his cabin.

Katie sat down on the steps, waiting for Argus and Travis to arrive. She thought about her dream. Who would want to disarm the gods? A better question might be who wouldn't? A few minutes later Argus stepped out and nodded to her as he passed. He went around the house to get the camp's SUV. Katie watched the distance, and a few moments later, Travis appeared, carrying his backpack. She stood up and shouldered her own pack, and met him at the driveway just as Argus pulled up. She pulled open the door and climbed in, Travis behind her. Neither spoke the entire trip into the city.

Argus dropped them off at the bus station and handed them another bag. It held a Ziploc bag of ambrosia squares and a canteen of nectar. Two more Ziploc bags held drachmas and mortal cash. Katie stuffed the smaller bag into her backpack and looked at Travis. "Now what?" she asked.

"I guess we try to get ahold of Rachel," he replied, looking around. "We need a rainbow."

They looked around, but there was nothing close to what they needed in the bus station. They walked outside and looked right and left. "Central Park?" Katie asked. "I don't think it's too far from here."

They started walking, but soon figured that the park was farther than they had anticipated. Travis reached out and grabbed Katie's wrist to stop her. A jolt of electricity shot up his arm when his hand came into contact with her skin and he dropped her arm quickly. He looked at her, wondering what she had done, or if she had felt it too, but she was avoiding his gaze. "I'll hail a cab," he said before putting his fingers to his lips and letting out a sharp whistle. He raised his hand and a cab swung to the curb for them.

Travis opened the door and let Katie get in before he climbed in. "Central Park West, please," he directed the driver.

They rode in an uncomfortable silence. When the cabbie let them out at the park, Katie dug out a couple bills to pay him and they both got out. She looked at the entrance and then glanced at Travis out of the corner of her eye. Together they made their way into the park. It only took them a few minutes to find a fountain that would work. While Travis kept an eye out for anything suspicious, or mortals who might wonder what they were doing, Katie fished out a gold drachma. "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering," she said as she tossed the drachma in. "Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Clarion Academy."

The mist shimmered and suddenly she was looking at Rachel, brushing her teeth. She looked up and gasped, spitting into the sink and looking at Katie like she was crazy. "Katie? What's wrong?" Rachel glanced behind her to make sure she was alone.

"Rachel, I was hoping you could help. Connor Stoll is missing, and whoever took him, also has my mother's staff."

Rachel frowned and then got a faraway look in her eyes. After a moment she snapped back to herself. "I had a dream. I'm not sure how it will help you, but you need to cross the bay. Start on the west and work your way east."

"What bay?"

Rachel shook her head. "I'm not sure. You'll find help along the way. Head south. That's all I know."

Katie sighed in frustration. "Thank you, Rachel." She reached out and put her hand through the mist, dissolving the connection.

Travis came around the fountain and sat down on the edge. "That wasn't much help," he pointed out.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious. I guess we head south." She started walking away.

"Katie!" Travis jumped up and ran after her but she kept on walking. "C'mon Katie, wait up." He finally caught up with her at the corner. "What's your problem?"

She turned to look at him. She met his blue eyes and glared. "What do you think is my problem, Travis? My mother's staff is missing. I'm stuck on this quest with you of all people…"

"Ouch. I'm not that bad, am I?"

"Travis Stoll, do you have any idea at all… forget it. Just forget it. Let's go catch a train." She hailed a cab and climbed in quickly, giving the cabbie their destination.

"Wait, a train?" he asked as they headed toward Grand Central Station.

"Yes, Travis," she explained with exaggerated patience. "A train will be quicker and more comfortable, don't you think?"

He stared at her a moment before shaking his head and leaning back in the seat. "Remind me not to get on your bad side in the morning."

"Well, you're stuck with me for the next few days at the least, so get used to it."

The cab driver left them at Grand Central, and Katie dug out some money as she approached the ticket window. She requested two tickets to the place that would get them farthest south without bankrupting them: Richmond, Virginia. After she paid, was told that the train left in thirty minutes.

Forty minutes later, they sat in their seats and watched as the New York skyline rolled by. "Why do you hate me so much, Katie?" Travis asked.

She glanced over at him; the sincere, pained look on his face startled her. "Hate you? Hate is such a strong word. I don't think I hate anyone," she mused. "But really, Travis, you have no idea what bothers me about you? I mean, besides the fact that you have made it your personal mission to annoy me at every opportunity?" She lifted her hand and ticked them off on her fingers. "The chocolate Easter bunnies. My gardening tools. My shoes and sandals. The…" she faltered. Instead of looking at him, she turned her gaze to the window once more.

For once in his life, Travis kept his mouth shut. This was going to be a long quest.

Chapter title song credit: – Sweet Dreams (Are Not Made of These) (Eurythmics; Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) album released 1983)