Hazel's POV

Camp Halfblood was a mad house. A fun, enjoyable, mad house. Lots of happiness and excitement filled the air, but a thin layer of film created by sadness encompassed everything. The war was over, but all the losses hit us hard. But nonetheless, campers were in relatively good spirits.

I was sitting with Frank, Gwen, and Dakota from the Fifth Cohort in the dining pavilion, eating breakfast. It was a bit strange to not be served by the whizzing spirits, but it felt like the Argo ll, with the magical plates that filled with whatever you wanted. We were just making small talk and enjoying the food when I sensed someone come up behind me and sit down by my side.

"Hello, my Cohort buddies," Percy greeted.

"What's up man?" Dakota asked him, sporting a red Cool-Aid mustache.

"Well, I gotta steal Frank and Hazel for a few minutes, if that's okay," he replied, standing up. We both mimicked him and told Gwen and Dakota bye, then followed Percy.

"What are we doing?" I questioned Percy.

"Hold on, I'll explain to everyone." He looked at us and smiled. He seemed to be in a good mood, happy and excited. It was nice to see, because he just hasn't been able to get back to his old self again since Tartarus. He's doing much better lately though, and Annabeth is too. I caught Frank's eyes and asked him the silent question: what's gotten into him? Frank just shrugged.

Percy led us to another table where the remaining Seven sat. It hurts so much to say that. Leo... we all missed him. Especially Jason and Piper. The two of them always had a bit of misery clouding their eyes. I felt so bad for them; Leo was their best friend and now he was gone. I knew he was gone, too. I had felt him die, no doubt about it. But there was a strange feeling to accompany it. I can't explain it, but it was almost like the death was trying to be erased. Like when a fire alarm is pulled, but it turns out to be a false alarm. I had talked to Nico about it to see if he noticed the same feeling, and he had. But we agreed not to mention to Jason or Piper... no need to get their hopes up for nothing.

Annabeth smiled at Frank and I as we sat down. We sat in across from her, Piper on my right and Jason on hers. Percy, instead of just circling the table to reach Annabeth, slid across the top and landed on the other side on his feet.

"Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth scolded, slapping his arm.

"What?" he said with a smirk. "It's much more fun and faster that way," he reasoned.

She huffed and agreed reluctantly.

"So what did you want to tell us?" Jason asked, getting Percy back on track.

"Right. So, Chiron and my mom talked, I guess, and she's coming to camp to see us all," he finished with a grin. I looked to the sides of me. Jason and Frank wore the same expression, and I would bet that it matched mine, too. It showed a mix of being happy for Percy, but a sting of missing our own mothers. Piper and Annabeth were holding each other's gaze, the two that had goddess mothers. Percy caught onto our faces quickly, and hurriedly tried to make the situation less tense.

"I mean, she's really excited to see all of you and-"

"That's great, Percy," Jason cut him off gently.

"Uh, yeah!" he agreed, scratching the back of neck nervously. "So, uh, I'll just, like, come find you I guess when she gets here, if that's cool with you guys."

We all told him that that's fine, said goodbye, and went our separate ways. Jason and Piper headed towards the Zeus cabin, and Frank and I walked in the direction of the lake. It was peaceful there. Percy and Annabeth stayed sitting at the table. Just before we were out of earshot, they started talking.

"Did I do something wrong? They seemed upset," Percy told Annabeth.

"No, Seaweed Brain, it wasn't you. It's just... you know, all their moms..."

"Yeah, I know, but I didn't mean it to be like that..."

"I know what you mean, but it's alright, Percy," she assured him. I turned my head to see Percy leaning his head on Annabeth's shoulder, and she had her arms around his neck loosely. Frank must have saw it too because he sighed and muttered:

"Well I didn't mean to make him feel bad either."

I sighed and responded, "Yeah, me neither"

We finally reached the lake after a walk in silence. We sat down and put our feet in the cool water.

I finally broke the thick silence with, "Percy's mom sounds really nice."

"Yeah, I'm sure she is," Frank agreed. "She reminds me of my mom a little bit," he admitted.

"Really? How so?"

We spent the next few hours discussing our mothers, and it felt surprisingly good. We were caught off by Annabeth, though.

"Sally's here, if you guys want to come meet her," she told us simply, gave a meek smile, and walked away.

"We better go," Frank said, standing up and grunting when his knees popped. He took my hand and he hauled me to my feet, then we followed Annabeth.

Percy was standing just at the camp border, looking apprehensive. Annabeth was at his side, their fingers intertwined. Jason and Piper stood a little ways behind them. Frank and I took our place at their side.

"She's not mad at you, you know that right?" Annabeth mumbled to Percy.

"I know, but still," he answered. "I went missing for months and haven't seen her since. It's just a little nerve-wracking." Annabeth just nodded in response.

"So," Piper interjected softly. "Percy, I'm guessing your mom is... aware of all the demigod stuff, right?"

"Yep," he replied, popping the p. "She's always known, long before I knew. She can see through the mist, like Rachel."

I liked Rachel. She's nice and spunky, and has good art tips.

"Oh, that's cool." Piper's voice trailed off. I could tell she was thinking about her dad, who knew nothing about Piper being a demigod. I felt bad for her; that was almost worse than him being dead, honestly. But not quite: she could still go see him and talk to him, it was just all shadowed in lies and secrets.

Before the silence grew to be awkward, a blue Prius with... were those hoof prints? dented into the hood pulled up close to Thalia's Pine. Percy took off across the border, pulling Annabeth behind him. The four of us left followed a little hesitantly behind the couple. A woman stepped out of the car and rushed towards Percy. The two of them met in hug, Annabeth had stopped a little ways behind them. Percy and his mother stayed in each other's embrace for a long time. Sally muttered to Percy, "I missed you so much, I'm so glad you're okay." He didn't say anything back, but hugged her tighter. After a little longer, Sally pulled away and slapped Percy's arm lightly.

"If you ever disappear again, I expect more than one phone call, young man," she ordered sternly. Then her face morphed into a smile and she added, "Please don't disappear again, though." She moved in to hug her son again.

"Love you too, Mom," he breathed and laughed quietly, pulling away. Sally looked at Annabeth and Annabeth smiled warmly. In an instant, they were hugging too, and crying.

"Uh... why are we crying?" Percy asked uncertainly. Annabeth gave a watery laugh.

"Because you're an idiot," she deadpanned. 

Sally laughed and agreed. "We spent a lot of time together when you were missing, Perce. We're just so relieved we have you back." She smiled sadly. Percy smiled back meekly.

After Sally released Annabeth and wiped her eyes, she walked over to us.

"Alright, don't tell me, I'm going to get this," she told me, Frank, Piper, and Jason. I was a confused until I figured out she meant our names. "Well," she started, "you must be Jason, your eyes look just like your sister's." She enclosed him in a hug, which surprised him, but he soon hugged back. "You two beautiful ladies must be Piper," she said, nodding to Piper, "and Hazel." She embraced both of us, too. Her hug was motherly and full of love. It felt so good, and I didn't want to let go, but I did. "And you are definitely Frank," she finished with a smile. Frank hugged back right away. He must have felt the same way as me.

Sally stepped back and Annabeth wrapped her arms around her again. Sally did the same to her and Percy hugged them both. It was so sweet. Percy pulled away first and whispered to us, "I think Annabeth is her favorite child." I laughed softy, along with the other three. 

"Oh, and I'm so sorry about Leo," Sally told us all gently. She grabbed Jason and Piper's hands and gave them a squeeze. They both looked at her gratefully.

"Well, I'd better get going, even though I wish I could stay longer. Paul says hello, by the way," she said to Percy and Annabeth. "And please tell Nico I said hi."

"Of course," Annabeth replied. "Tell Paul I send a hug."

"I will, dear."

"Me too," Percy added and kissed his mother on the head. Sally gave us all another bear hug.

"I'll try to visit again before the summer is over," she promised. "And feel free to come to our house whenever you want to," she told us with a motherly tone. I couldn't help it, a lump formed in my throat when she said that.

"Thank you," I replied. She smiled back.

With one last hug and forehead kiss for Annabeth, Sally started back towards her car and Percy followed to give her a final goodbye.

Annabeth sighed contentedly and whispered, "She's the best. I love her." I couldn't help but agree.