ALL RIGHTS TO THE CHARACTERS (except Celeste, she's mine.) BELONG TO THE AMAZING RICK RIORDAN. I DO NOT OWN THE PJO/HoO SERIES!!!

Chapter 17 - Piper

Piper's head was pounding. When she woke up, she saw Percy cradling Celeste. When Percy released from her grasp, he was stumbling in shock.

Jason was next to Piper, rubbing his temples.

"Pipes? You all right?" He asked. Piper turned toward him quickly. He looked pale, but at least he was conscious again.

She remembered when Celeste had first come on the boat and Jason thought he had created that storm. She remembered comforting him belowdecks. His warmth against her had made her heart race.

Later, when he had fallen unconscious after the boat exploded, she thought she had lost him. The poor guy had bumped his head SO much. She was worried this time he would be knocked into a coma.

Seeing him awake though, his eyes shining and his blonde hair glowing in the light, it made her explode with happiness.

"Yeah. I'm alright." Piper said. He smiled at her. Then, they both looked over at Percy. His face read pure confusion and shock.

Celeste was still on the ground, sniffling and wiping her eyes. She was watching Percy with puffy eyes. Her hair was a mess and Piper had the urge to give her an extreme makeover.

"No. You will not be like that." Piper thought to herself. She didn't like being the girly-girl type. It was still a surprise about Aphrodite being her mom. She was NOTHING like any of her siblings back at camp.

"Percy. What's wrong?" Annabeth said.

Piper was about to ask Jason what was going on when she saw Celeste flicker as if she was an image.

"Jason." Piper whispered harshly. He turned towards her.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

Piper pointed towards Celeste. She was flickering uncontrollably. Celeste stared at her hands and started to panic, her eyes widening.

Jason looked at Celeste in astonishment. "What's happening to her?" Jason asked. Piper shrugged.

"Percy!" Celeste yelled.

Percy snapped out of his shock to look at Celeste.

He looked worried when he noticed her flickering out of sight. He jerked from Annabeth's grasp and ran to Celeste.

Piper couldn't hear what they were saying. Percy's eyes started to fill with tears as Celeste began to fade away.

Then, an idea popped into Piper's head.

"Celeste!" Piper called, putting all her charm-speak in her voice. Celeste turned towards her.

"Stop fading! Stop disappearing! Be visible!" Piper yelled.

She barely noticed Jason squeezing her hand, encouraging her to keep going.

Celeste started to become visible again.

"Stay visible! Stop fading and stay where we can see you!" Piper yelled louder.

Celeste looked weak, but Percy held her close to him.

After several charm-speak screams from Piper, Celeste finally stopped disappearing.

Percy cried in joy and wrapped her in a tighter hug. To Piper's surprise, Annabeth was smiling.

Wouldn't she be jealous that her boyfriend was hugging another girl?

Apparently not.

Suddenly, Celeste's face went slack as she collapsed into Percy, her eyes rolling into her head.

Her face was pale and she looked very weak.

Annabeth rushed to help Percy carry Celeste.

"We can't afford to be attacked again." Annabeth said. "We need to find some kind of shelter."

Everyone nodded and they all took off into the night. Piper stayed close to Jason, holding his hand tightly. She leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked.

Percy, Annabeth, and Leo were carrying Celeste. No one spoke. Piper had a feeling only Percy and Annabeth knew what was happening. They obviously didn't want to talk about it.

Every five minutes or so, Celeste would cry out. Piper couldn't tell if it was in pain, or just pure misery.

Every time she cried, it stung Piper's heart. She didn't know Celeste very well, but looking at her in pain was like looking at an injured puppy.

Occasionally, she would whimper and lean into Percy. Still, no one spoke.

Finally, they found a small hut.

Normally, as a demigod, finding a hospitable place meant monsters.

However, Celeste was injured and the poor girl wouldn't make it through the night if she didn't get some rest.

The moment they open the doors to the hut, they all almost collapse from exhaustion.

A lady stands at the counter. She had red hair and freckles spotted around her cheeks. She was smiling widely and seemed not to notice Celeste slumped over on Percy's shoulder.

"What can I get you kids?" She said brightly, her voice slightly high-pitched.

"A room. With 8 beds." Percy blurted out.

The woman's smile melted.

"Sweetheart. This is not a hotel. This is a gift shop."

Percy gave the woman his big sea green eyes. The woman shuffled uncomfortably. "Please? Our friend's hurt." Percy begged.

The woman sighed. "Fine. I've got spare beds in the back. Used to have a whole family living here. But just for the night! And I'm not feeding no homeless kids, so don't you go stealing nothing!"

Piper then sparked another idea. "Can we just have a little food ma'am? We're really hungry and maybe we could have some medical supplies for our friend?" Piper charm-spoke as hard as she could.

The woman's eyes glazed over. "Of course." She said dazed.

She pulled a first-aid kit from below the counter and a box of microwaveable enchiladas.

Piper saw Percy stifle a laugh at the sight of the box.

Grabbing the first-aid kit and the enchiladas, the eight of them followed the woman to the back of the hut.

The room they were in wasn't very nice, but it was better than sleeping outside.

The curtains were tattered and the beds looked about 30 years old.

However, Piper slumped into a bed.

She saw Percy lower Celeste into a bed.

As soon as she fell onto the bed, dust exploded from the sheets.

Everyone coughed, but Celeste remained unconscious, breathing in the dust as of it was normal oxygen.

Not soon after, everyone was asleep.

Except Piper.

She had gotten enough sleep when she was unconscious earlier. She looked over at Jason who was sleeping soundly. She hoped he wasn't having any nightmares.

His blonde hair was in his face and his lips were slightly parted.

His chest rose and fell in even breaths.

He looked so peaceful.

Piper brushed her thumb over his face, pushing his hair behind his ear. She gave him a light kiss on the cheek and then finally drifted off to sleep.