The Afterlife (HoO Fanfiction)

The Sink Incident (UPDATED)

~Percy~

That morning, I woke up with a kiss on my cheek. When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Annabeth, looking at me with a bright smile. A dim light was coming through the blue curtain of the room.

"Whyyyy?" I protested. "It's been months since I could sleep a whole night! Why do you wake me up so early?

Annabeth's smile grew wider.

"It's the big day, Seaweed Brain. Remember? The wedding..."

Oh yes! I remember now! It was the wedding of our two friends, Frank and Hazel, and we hadn't bought a gift yet. We had so much left to do before the ceremony, I didn't think that a few hours were going to be enough.

Suddenly, I heard a loud BOOM!

"Moooooommy!!!!!!"

Annabeth ran down the stairs. Something happened with our children, and she needed to be quick before the drama started. I got up with difficulty, and without taking the time to put a shirt on, I exited the bedroom to see what had happened. Still sleepy, I didn't see the toy left at the top of the stairs, so I stepped on it. I lost my balance and I fell down the stairs on the butt.

Annabeth was in the kitchen and saw my magnificent fall. She was holding in her arms our daughter, Silena. Her hair was black like mine, but she had Annabeth's stormy grey eyes, shining with intelligence despite her young age. She wore a little blue and green dress, which was mysteriously all wet.

"I can't take care of two children, do you think I can handle a third one?" Annabeth asked with a wink.

"Daddy hurt?" asked Silena, removing black wet hair from her eyes. She was genuinely worried about me.

"No, Silena, Daddy's not hurt." I reached my daughter and lightly kissed her forehead. She stretched her arms, wanting me to hold her. Annabeth let her go, and my daughter hugged me tightly. Silena was drenched. Her dress was darker than usual and her hair was still dripping.

"What happened, my love?" I asked my daughter. She looked at me with her wide eyes. She took a deep breath and started explaining her story.

"Me wanted to be like you, Daddy!" She threw her arms in the air. "Me wanted to control the waaaater! But then the sink went KABOOM and now there is water EVERYWHERE!" Silena laughed and hid her face with her tiny hands.

I gave another kiss to my daughter. I put her on the floor and she left, running somewhere, hopefully not to another sink... I turned to Annabeth and hugged her. I was no longer sleepy, since my bad luck on the stairs, and now the sink.

The sink...

There was water everywhere in the kitchen. Without letting Annabeth go, I dried the floor, thanks to my power with water. Being a son of Poseidon really helps, sometimes.

So my daughter had my powers. It wasn't the first time that she used them, though. She was only a few months old when we realized it. Annabeth was trying to give her a bath, but Silena's hair remained dry. I was so proud of her!

"Mom and Dad are kissing! Gross!"

I rolled my eyes. My seven-year-old son, Luke, ran away as soon as I looked at him. We had a hard time finding a name for a son. We knew we wanted to name our first daughter Silena, after Silena Beauregard, a courageous daughter of Aphrodite who died a hero. But a boy?

"Luke," Annabeth had blurted out. "Let's call him Luke."

There was a painful story behind this name, but we wanted to give it a second chance. Luke was born blonde, like Annabeth.

I ran after my son, holding Annabeth's hand, and caught him rapidly. I held him in my arms, and he tried to escape. He was tall for a boy of his age and stronger than the others. However, he wasn't drawn by any kind of sports. He preferred to read in his room, or to play with his little sister.

"Yes, I kiss Mom sometimes, because I love her," I said, kissing Annabeth's hand.

"Dad!" Luke protested.

I hugged him a little bit more, then I went back upstairs to get dressed. When I came back, I heard a knock on the door. I opened it and was happy to see Leo, one of my best friends. He was with Calypso, his girlfriend. They were both smiling, holding each other's hands. I let them come in and my children ran to them.

"Uncle Leo! Aunt Calypso!"

"Do you have a gift, Uncle Leo? Also, my mini dragon broke. Can you fix it?"

Leo laughed, hugging Luke and Silena. Calypso was still awkwardly waiting by the door. She left her island twelve years ago, but she still had trouble catching up with today's world. Calypso and I exchanged a glance, the same we always shared since she came back. I didn't remember if we really talked when she came back with Festus. But with one glance we understood each other. I was apologizing and she was forgiving me. On the other hand, I had paid dearly after having forgotten Calypso when I was in Tartarus, and Annabeth had to suffer what Calypso had suffered. I tried to forget this painful memory, now that Calypso was free and happy with Leo.

Calypso lit up when she saw the kids. But Leo lit up literally. My daughter shouted that his nose was on fire.

"It's okay, it happens all the time!" Leo laughed.

Silena was really enjoying herself. She was already telling Leo her adventure with the sink while Luke lead Calypso to the living room, where he had created a train station. I was happy to see my children so carefree. I couldn't imagine them living what I had been through when I was a teenager. Fighting monsters and evil goddesses, seeing my friends die, fighting for my own life... For now, we were safe in New-Rome. However, I always had a bitter taste in my mouth thinking about my children, who would probably have to train and fight the same monsters I had to fight when I was a teenager. For now, at least, we could protect them and they didn't have to feel like outsiders at school since every kid in their classes had ADHD.

Annabeth put a hand on my shoulder. She knew what I was thinking about, and I saw that she was relieved, too.

"Ready to go?" She asked. I nodded.

I said good-bye to Luke and Silena, urging them to be kind with Leo and Calypso, but they were already amazed by the gifts Leo had brought. Annabeth and I needed to find a gift for the wedding, and quickly.

Our house was in a calm street in New Rome. A lot of young families like ours found a place to live in our neighbourhood. There were often little kids running in the streets and young couples taking a walk during hot summer days. Since the war against Gaea, Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter were closer. There were no more tensions between the camps, and they were both open to all demigods, no matter if their godly parent was Greek or Roman. With their families, they had a home anywhere and felt safe and accepted. All this thanks to Jason Grace.

Jason was doing the trip between the two camps every month. He invited the campers at Camp Half-Blood to visit Camp Jupiter for a summer and even go to college there. That's what Annabeth and I did. Through the years, the camps moved to make it easier for the half-bloods to do the trip. Camp Jupiter was now closer to Long Island, to make it faster to travel to Europe, where more and more quests took place. It was almost like one big camp where Greeks and Romans blended their culture.

There were many shops in New Rome, and I was sure to find something for Frank and Hazel. We entered a small shop selling antiquities. There were old clocks, small wooden sculptures and paintings. Annabeth and I wandered in the shop, commenting on every item sold and taking notes for further gifts.

It took us a few minutes to find the perfect gift for Hazel and Frank...