A/N: Reading some fics these days and finally figured it out why I felt mine was so different: I share the spotlight. Not only among the demigods, but also my OCs. They are not here only as accessories. They have their own lives, their own problems and they actually have the power to change the flow of the story – and not by acting as an antagonist or love rival (just think of Lucy getting Niel a date with Claire and crashing it with Nico or Jodi inviting Annabeth and Barbara to a Halloween party or Adam acting as an advisor for Reyna about Sierra or even Raven dragging Annabeth to the shelter where she got Oscar). Opposed to others, I didn't keep the demigods in a closed bubble, I split them up and gave them a variety of friends. An advice to other fanfic writers: if you think my fic is good, this might be the reason and feel free to use it. Anyway, I digress. On with the chapter!

Frank's Flashback

SATURDAY, 21st January

"Not that we're complaining, but why are we going to a pet fair?"

Hazel didn't immediately answer, eyebrows scrunched together while checking the map on her phone and likely with Hannah. He waited patiently, until she seemed satisfied they were going in the right path and looked over his way.

"Sorry, did you say something?"

"I asked why are we going to a pet fair."

"Oh, right. Hannah is thinking of getting a pet, since now she would have the space."

She wants to buy? Really?

"But why a pet fair? Why not from a shelter?"

She checked her phone again, mumbling to herself before focusing on him.

"Hannah is not much of a cat person, and her next apartment is not really welcoming to a dog. Besides, she likely wouldn't have much time to take it for walks, so we're thinking of a more... pocket size pet. Like a hamster? We don't know if they have hamsters in shelters."

"A hamster? Are hamsters any fun?"

"Well, it doesn't have to be a hamster. We don't have intentions of getting one today, is mostly to... know the options?"

"And how did you find this fair?"

"Hm... Lucy might have mentioned?"

Even if not the statement on itself, there was something wrong with the way she said it, which clued him that she wasn't telling the whole truth. Felix was the one to figure it out.

"You mean she invited you to this fair? But now you're coming with me?"

Her face twisted like she had something bitter in her mouth, she nodded.

"Don't get me wrong, Lucy is fun to be around and a really good friend. But Hannah and I agreed that spending time with someone who knows about all... this, is good for our mental health."

Trying to keep a serious face, he continued.

"You could've asked Nico, you know."

He exploded in laughter in tandem with Felix, after Hazel's expression to his suggestion, a mix between horror at the idea and annoyance at his suggestion. She pinched the skin of his hand, but it did nothing to stop his laughter.

"Just keep in mind that comedian isn't a career for you."

***

I need to remind myself to come to a pet fair after you leave, I can't grasp the sensation of touching it completely, but they look really awesome.

Nodding distractedly to Felix's statement, she searched for Hazel's face, who was carefully analyzing the reptile in his hands.

"What about an iguana? They keep to their tank and don't need walks."

"We were thinking something more... cute?"

When she saw his mouth open to protest, she continued.

"Like, fluffy cute, not scaly cute."

But they look amazing!

"You really think a hamster is better than an iguana?"

"I'm not say- oh my gods!"

She quickly cut in front of him to almost run to another stand. Sighing, he set the iguana back on its tank before following her, looking over her shoulder to see what had caught her attention.

"That is the fluffiest creature I've ever seen! I want to touch it so much. Can I?"

He took a step back to hid his laughter behind a hand while the vendor opened the cage. He didn't want her to get embarrassed if she saw how amusing it was to him to see her unbashfully enjoying it. Once he could keep his amusement concealed enough, he got closer to her, leaning to whisper next to her hair.

"If I knew how eager you would get, I would have turned into a chinchilla before."

... That was smooth. More than I could've managed it. I didn't think you could flirt.

I wasn't trying to flirt.

Well, it sounded like flirting.

When he saw the embarrassed and almost panicked look Hazel was giving him while hugging the rodent close to her chest, he quickly backpaddled.

"I didn't mean it like that! Just that you seemed very happy and that I like seeing you happy, that's all! It has nothing to do with you wanting to pet it-"

Her sudden intake of breath shut him up.

"Sorry! Sorry, I didn't- I mean I- it just- I'll go, you know. Back. To the iguana I mean, not the conversation, definitely not back to the conversation! Just, you know. Keep doing tha- I mean, what you want! Keep doing what you want! Hm, later!"

Turning on his feet and concentrating to not trip on nothing, he quickly sped back to the iguana and serpent stand, feeling his face burning.

Yeah, not smooth at all.

Shut up.

I know I can do that second part, at least.

***

He and Hazel kept dancing around each other, going to different stands while still being within eyesight for another ten minutes, before she quietly approached him. Even knowing neither of their embarrassments had disappeared completely, both tried to keep up a normal conversation.

"So, Hannah, any pet that interests you?"

"Well, we saw the hamsters but they are not quite what we were expecting."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Hannah wanted something a little more... interactive?"

A dog?

I think she wants something smaller.

A rabbit?

"Like a bunny?"

"Too much trouble. And not the most pleasant smell. Besides, most of them aren't very cuddly."

"Then birds are ruled out?"

"We did check on a cockatoo. You know, the bird with the thing on their head. They are usually funny on Youtube videos."

He raised his eyebrows at her, in admiration, but she just shrugged it with a self-deprecating laugh.

"No reason to be proud, Hannah says that Youtube is idiot-proof, that even babies that can barely speak and certainly can't read are capable of using it."

"Then you want a cockatoo to make videos on Youtube?"

"Gods, no! They are bigger than they look on screen and when one of them started freaking out - out of nowhere, I might add – Hannah started freaking out inside and we decided it's not for us. Oh, I wanted to show you something!"

She pulled him to look at what seemed like a hamster cage, but empty.

"Isn't it cute?"

"I'm...not sure what I should be looking at."

Without saying anything, she pointed to the corner of the cage and his eyes first squinted, before widening in surprise.

Oh my God, no way I would have spotted it.

"It's a hamster child!"

She chuckled.

"Hamster child?"

"I mean- hm, hamster baby? Like, puppy version of a hamster?"

Hazel smiled.

"I get what you mean, but that's an adult."

"A... dwarf hamster?"

"No! That's a mouse! And not a dwarf version of it."

"Wow. It looks really really tiny."

"Well, it IS really really tiny."

"So, you were thinking of getting a tiny mouse as a pet?"

This looks like iguana food, not a pet.

"Not really. We wanted something not so nocturnal and that would like to spend time outside of its cage playing and cuddling."

"But not a cat."

"Hannah doesn't like cats very much."

"I'm sure we will find something."

Being a Saturday, the pet fair was full of both stands and a crowd eager to get a pet, with a considerable number of families with more than one child either arguing, giggling, begging, crying, squealing or downright screaming for no reason. They kept walking among the stands, which included so many races of dogs and cats, along with the dozen species of rodents, reptiles, noisy birds and silent fishes. Stopping every once in a while, to pet some or ask questions, they got to the other side of the fair, where they found more unusual species.

There was a moment of fear when he was sure Hazel would leave with one of the mini-goats, but she eventually moved apart from it with such a heartbroken expression that he was almost tempted to get the mini-goat for her. Pigs, toads, flying squirrels, turtles, tarantulas, a small monkey that Felix wasn't even sure it was legal to own, some very large cockroaches that caused Hazel and another half of distracted clients to squeak and scamper off, and even a snail almost as big as his fist were just some of it. Once they were reasonably away from the cockroaches, in Hazel's opinion, she gravitated to another stand, where he could see some guinea pigs running in a large play pen.

Maybe she doesn't want a hamster anymore, but she seems set on a rodent.

Maybe guinea pig is a good compromise? They aren't nocturnal, right?

Uh...never owned, never got close to one before today, can't say I knowtheir habits.

Stepping around a screaming child and a hopeless father trying to calm her down, Frank walked to the stand where Hazel was talking to the vendor. When she noticed him approaching, she turned to him with a smile and he could see something on her shoulder.

A ferret. I think they aren't nocturnal. Maybe this could work.

After Gale, I didn't think Hazel would go for a ferret.

Who's Gale?

It was a witch who was turned into a weasel by the goddess of magic and then really annoyed Hazel while she was trying to learn how to control the Mist.

I feel like there are several missing key facts to that statement but I'm not sure if I want to know more.

"What do you think, Frank?"

"What about Gale?"

She let out a giggle and he could almost feel himself blush at how adorable she looked.

"I know. Trust me, it was my first thought when Hannah took an interest to it. I could almost hear the Fates laughing at the irony. However, it seems that ferrets are the domesticated version of a polecat. They are sociable, playful and..."

She sent him a sly smile.

"...they don't smell like they have digestive problems."

Digestive problems?

Gale had bit of a... hm... flatulence problem.

Yikes.

The vendor kept trying to convince Hazel, explaining how ferrets usually used a litter like a cat, how they could be kept in a cage or free, as long as it had several distractions and structures to climb or even how they could be taken for a walk just like a dog, with the right harness. Frank kept to himself, searching for information on his phone, seeing from the corner of his eye how Hazel kept the ferret entertained, passing around her neck, jumping from one arm to another, climbing up and down her body. Hazel dodged the vendor claiming it was supposed to be a gift to her sister and she needed to talk to her parents first. Once they stepped away, moving towards the exit, Frank relied the information they found on a shelter, since ferrets, just like cats and dogs, had a longer life expectancy, between six and ten years, and for that got frequently abandoned after their previous owners stopped having the patience or the means to care for it.

"By the way, you know that ferret means little thief, right?"

"Yeah, the vendor mentioned it."

"But did he say how a group of ferrets is called?"

She raised an eyebrow in a silent question.

"A business."

After a second or two of hesitation, she exploded in laughter and hugged his arm. She kept smiling so freely for the rest of the day and he knew it was also due to Hannah's own happiness. As for him, he tried his best to not be obvious at how seeing her happy made his heart warm.

Flashback over, back to present

SUNDAY, 22nd January

Even though it was his idea, Frank regretted as the call went answered for the third time and Felix's anxiety kept climbing.

Please tell she's okay, please please please please...

We'll try again.

I'm not ready for it, Frank. I know we discussed the possibility when we left but I'm not ready, I'm not!

I know! I know! But I think as her last of kin we would have received a call if something had happened.

What if it just happened!? What if I waited all this time, just to miss her by seconds...

A shrill voice answered on the other side and Frank could feel his heart jump.

"What!?"

From his relief or Felix's, he didn't know.

"Hi, grandma."

"Are you dying?"

No, but for a moment it felt like.

"Hm? No?"

"Are you in jail?"

"No!"

"Shame. Then why did you decide to bother me?"

Good God, she doesn't change at all.

"Wait, why did you say 'shame' that I wasn't in jail? ... Should I bein jail?"

"Well, you should be living!"

What does she mean by that?

I... I don't know. Is dementia a possible complication from cancer?

"Fan! Are you deaf!?"

"But-I mean- I just- HOW being in jail is a sign that I'm living?"

"Because you would've done something interesting!"

Oh, good, it's not dementia.

You think.

... I think.

"I'm afraid to ask, but like what?"

"Starting a bar fight."

... I hope.

"I'm not even old enough to enter a bar."

"Do I have to teach you everything, Fan? Fake ID."

"That's a crime."

"Which would put you in jail."

So, I would be in jail for disturbance of peace AND false identification.

"Can't argue with you there. What else should I be doing, in your opinion?"

"Stealing a police car."

A what now!?

"I... won't even comment. What else?"

"Crashing a casino and counting cards!"

Why do you keep indulging her?

What would you have me do? Contradict her?

Fair point.

"Again, not even of age."

"Fake ID."

"We already went there."

"How could both my daughter and my grandson be such goody two-shoes? How could neither of you take after me?"

"... Grandma, were you ever in jail?"

"Of course not, I wasn't stupid enough to be caught. But you're too big to hide under a car like I used to do, so you're more likely to end up in jail."

"One more reason to not do anything that could put me in jail."

"Bah! You're thinking to small, Fan. You should be conquering the world!"

"Yeah, ok. Good pep-talk."

"Do you even have a girl?"

Alert! Alert! Change of subject!

"I-it's no- you can-"

"Good! At least that. Call me if she gets pregnant."

"What!?"

Oh, God, why...

"There are recipes in the family if she doesn't want to keep it. And if she does, I should warn her. you were a big baby you know? Would have ripped your mom in half if she wasn't my daughter and had my resilience."

Grandma, please stop talking...

"Oh gods..."

"Ok, now go do something interesting and call me after you get arrested, I'll give you money for the lawyer."

"Wait! Can I ask you something?"

"Make it quick, Fan, I don't have all day."

What does she plan to do? Go snowboarding with my father?

"Have you ever used a fake ID?"

"Of course. Or did you think that Mao was just gifting passports to every starving young woman in the country?"

"And why did you cross Europe to go to Canada? Wouldn't be easier to go the other way? I forgot to ask it when I was there."

"I only wanted to escape; I didn't plan to where I was going. See, I told you I only heard of Canada after but you, like your generation,don't listen to your elders! Besides, I never had your fancy classes to know the shortest route!"

"Since we're in the subject... how did you get the money to cross the world from China to Canada when you were starving while in China?"

She didn't answer immediately and when she did, her voice had lost some of its bite, sounding more somber, triggering Frank's memories of his own grandmother, when they talked for the last time.

"... Like I said, there are recipes in the family. I helped women who barely had enough to feed themselves, who then helped me. Now, go live instead of bothering an old woman."

Cutting the call, she left him to stare at his phone in a daze.

Did she just... suggest what I think she did?

That she made money to cross the world by making abortions in a starving world post-war?

... Well. No wonder she thinks I'm not doing anything with my life.

As someone who has seen my fair share of deaths, and also crossed half of the world while having more than one prophecy ready to end my life, I can tell you how lucky you are to have an ordinary life.

True, your life sounds definitely busier.

And dangerous. And shorter. Most demigods don't live a very long life.

If you could, would you leave it behind to live an ordinary life?

There was a time in my life when I'd have said yes.

And now?

Now I just... I have accepted, I guess. I have embraced it. I have a duty to New Rome, to my friends and to my own legacy. I will forge my own path, but I will not run from my destiny. If I must go down, I will go fighting to protect my family and their future, just like my mother.

... Then what should I do?

You don't have a prophecy breathing down your neck, so take the reins to your life. Choose your own destiny. You can be a general, a father, a coach, a volunteer, a husband, a pilot. Just keep in mind that you can be anything, and that whatever tries to weight you downwill regret not getting out of your way to success.

MONDAY, 23rd January

Never again. Hopefully.

Why do I feel that even if we worked together, the grade won't be something impressive?

After his last period, where the teacher sprang some surprise quiz, he left feeling like his brain was frying and almost ran over someone, reaching out and stabilizing them in the last minute.

"Sorry! Sorry, I wasn't- Jodi! It has been a while!"

She gave him a small smile, but he could see it didn't spread to the rest of her face.

What happened, why is she so sad?

"Hi, Felix. Nice to see you too."

"Are you okay? Is there something I can do to help?"

Before she could answer, her phone rang and after a small doubt, she ended it, sending a text instead, before looking at him with that defeated expression.

"Well, since you offered, can we talk?"

"Sure,  whenever you want. I don't want to keep you from anything."

He gestured to her phone in a vague manner, but she shook her head.

"Barbara and Annie are helping me catch up, but they can wait. They already know, so it's only fair I tell you too."

"Only if you want."

"Only if you promise to try not to look at me with pity."

What happened?

***

It took him some effort to understand the words among the tears and carefully elaborated questions to fill in some blanks. Jodi tried to apologize, saying she's usually much more mature but he interrupted her, saying that lack of tears over such an important subject meant apathy, not maturity.

"And-and- there is Akemi!"

"Your little sister, right?"

Jodi grasped her hair by the roots and start pulling it.

"She's only three! Can you understand that? Three! If mom dies, she may not remember! And how am I supposed to face her-"

"Jodi, take a deep breath, you've started to hyperventilate again. Ok,with me. In. And then out."

It took him a couple of minutes to coax her fingers to release her hair and to get her breathing under control; he didn't want her almost fainting for a second time.

"Jodi, I get that you're worried about your mother's feelings, your father's and your sibling's. You want to help them, and that shows how much you love your family. But you need to consider your own feelings as well. Don't! Don't try to convince me they aren't important, not when I've been watching you crumble under their weight for almost half an hour now. Can I ask you to describe your feelings?"

She sighed, her shoulders dropping in defeat.

"Peter described as impotence."

Well, it's not her description...

"And do you agree?"

"Yes."

"Anything else?"

"Barbara said I'm frustrated because I feel like my help won't matter. She's right, it won't."

She looks so... small. So empty.

I bet she feels like that as well.

"I'm sure Barbara didn't mean it like that. Your help will matter. But you can't expect to perform a miracle."

"...I wish I could. Well, what do YOU think I'm feeling?"

He leaned back in surprise to the challenge in her voice.

"You should be answering it yourself."

At this, she exploded, getting up and pacing around, almost vibrating with pent-up energy.

"Well, I CAN'T, ok!? I. CAN'T. Until some weeks ago I was only friends with GUYS, ok!? I haven't been girly for AGES. I don't know how to talk about feelings any more than Jordan does!"

The glare Jodi sent him was vicious, but he took no offense to that,since he could understand it.

"So YES, if you could be so NICE to actually TELL me what I'm feeling, that would be GREAT!"

I don't think it's wise to push her.

I agree, I don't think she has an answer.

It would explain why she went from sadness and anxiety to blind rage.

Before you start, I have a suggestion.

Ok.

Frank took a deep breath and since he was still sitting, raised his head to face her, trying to keep both his voice and his expression as neutral as it could be.

"You feel like you're alone. Alone in the middle of a black nowhere, where you can't even be sure if there's ground beyond where you're standing. You feel like even if you scream until your throat bleeds, no one will ever listen to your call again. You feel like the air around you is suffocating, either too saturated or too rare. You feel like there is pounds of something weighting you down, but you cannot find the source so you cannot shed it. You want to escape, to run, but you can't move, so you start praying that it all just... disappear."

He could see her chest rising with her labored breaths, so he stayed quiet, letting her absorb what he said. Once her breaths stabilized again, he gestured to her to sit before him again, and waited for her to do it before continuing.

"Last time I saw my father, I think he was trying to kill me, either by car accident, hypothermia or snowboarding accident. Maybe not actively doing it, but at least passively. I can't count on someone like that. I called by grandmother yesterday and she yelled at me that I should be getting arrested for fake ID or counting cards or disturbance of peace. She's dying of cancer but she doesn't allow me to be near her, not even emotionally, saying I called just to bother her. I lost my mother years ago. She was a soldier and she died doing her duty, following her beliefs."

May I?

Of course.

"You don't think I don't how it feels to be alone? How it feels to lose a mother? How suffocating it is to swallow the words every timeI want to call to her? How crippling it is to know I have to live the rest of my life without her just a phone call away? That my children will only know my family through a picture and some stories? How devastating it is to know I'll never have anyone to support me when I feel like I can't keep going? For you, so far, this is only a possibility. For me, it has been reality for years now. And if I let it consume me, I wouldn't even live a day. But I refuse to go anywhere."

He took her hand with both of his, trying to keep them both anchored in the moment, and willing himself to ignore the tears brimming in her eyes even as he kept her gaze.

"My mom died by her own choices years ago. She honored her promises and refused to regret anything. My grandmother lived a life so different from my own that I can barely imagined what she must've felt. But neither of them allowed themselves become a prey for fear. They lived refusing to apologize for living, or asking permission for it. Strengths and weaknesses were tools in equal measure, carving their path and sculpting their achievements."

Her breath hitched, and he took her other hand, holding and caressing both to help her calm down.

"My grandmother crossed a post-war world alone when she was barely an adult, leaving everything she had ever known behind because she refused to die of starvation. My mom refused to let the army take away her desire to have a child and refused to let motherhood force her to abandon her beliefs. This is the blood that runs through me, and I refuse to collapse. You said your mother worked her whole life. But she didn't let it stop her for finding a husband and creating a family, right? She never let her career stop her from making sure her whole family was loved to the moon and back. She even had enough love to half-adopted your friends. She didn't let the ulcers slow her down; she forged forward, refusing to let a day go to waste. Now, when time might become a luxury, this is even more important."

He squeezed her hands and waited for her to squeeze back because he needed her to pay attention.

"She's not dead, Jodi. She's alive, it would be a disservice, if not a dishonor, to let you both forget that. You still have time, Jodi. If you're so scared of losing her, go make the most epic memories. Afraid Akemi won't remember her? Help your mom leave videos to her, to moments where she might miss her mother. Prom, heartbreak, graduation, losing a best friend. Prepare a future with and for your mother, either physically or emotionally. Losing someone to death doesn't mean they get erased. It means you have to honor the time you had together. You cannot let yourselves crumble to fear, not while you still have a chance."

He could see the tears flowing freely once more and gave her a small smile. Standing up, he offered her a hand and pulled her up. When he saw her swaying in doubt, he opened his arms.

"Come here."

They weren't that distant, but she crashed against him. Feeling her strength leaving her, he made sure to give her the support to keep standing, while she cried her heart out. He could feel his shirt getting progressively wet and kept murmuring encouragements to let it all out, assuring her that he was still there. He could feel that his eyes were a bit glassy, but no tear fell. He waited patiently for her cries to subside, but even then, he didn't release her, only gave her a bit more of space within his hug. Jodi kept humming something against his chest, but he wasn't sure if it was for his ears or even if it was a logical sentence, so he just kept of rubbing her back, giving her the choice to stop or continue.

"Felix?"

"Yes?"

"Hugging you now is what I imagine it would be to hug Baymax."

"Is that a good thing?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Good."

"And I'm not yet satisfied with my care."

What?

It's a movie reference. Don't worry, it's not a bad thing.

"Felix?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you, I needed that. Now I just need to remember all that."

"I recorded it, if you need to listen to it again."

She let out a chuckle.

"Smart."

Thanks, I wouldn't have thought of that.

No problem.

"Hey?"

"Yes."

"We're lucky to have you as a friend, you know. For more reasons than you may think."

Thanks.

"Thanks, Jodi."

A/N: Is my heart breaking because I reread Frank's chp for Xmas and realized I was so in a hurry to finish it that I absolutely forgot I should've made him visit his mom's (and grandfather's) grave(or at least pay his respects)? Yes, it is. Pretend he did because that was totally in my initial plan and I FORGOT.

The ferret thing was... unexpected. I wanted to give something more exotic for Hannah and researched different pets, almost a couple of months ago, and thought ferrets were the best option for what she wanted. Only when writing and finally picturing Hazel with a ferret on her shoulder that I remembered Gale, and then, it was just too ironic not to stay. My sister lived with a girl who kept a mini-goat and according to her, it was absolutely adorable and so tiny.

The toddlers using Youtube was based on a real-life experience. I saw my 2yo cousin take my unlocked phone, open the app, use the vocal command to ask for something like Peppa Pig, open a video, put it on fullscreen and just watch. I felt humiliated.

And before anyone goes there, I don't think Hazel would be jealous of Frank hugging Lucy. Her mother wasn't the most loving person, she lived in a decade where people didn't show that much affection, specially outside of family, and she spent decades wandering alone in the Asphodels. I think she, more than anyone, would understand that sometimes, especially when loneliness and fear come crawling up your heart and soul, physical contact with another human being - family,friends or even a stranger - is a necessity, and that Jodi wasn't trying to make a pass on her boyfriend, she just needed someone who had lost their mom to help her see that even if it felt like, it didn't have to be the end of the world.