30First of all, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! You guys brought up a lot of things that I had forgotten about but that needed to be addressed, so thank you thank you thank you!
And I don't actually have a second, so on with the story!
Jason, Percy, and Frank had had to stay at the hospital for several more days before the FBI was willing to let them go back home. They had all been questioned several times about what happened, especially Jason since there were reports of him flying. Jason denied those claims and pretended he had no idea what they were talking about. Whether they actually believed him or whether they decided it was easier to believe him than deal with how a teen could fly, he didn't know, but they let it go.
A lot of people came in to visit while they were there too. Nico stopped by, but he didn't stay long. Once he knew everyone was alright he was gone again. Grover hung out with them once he made it, as did Thalia. Thalia, to all of the boys' delight, had ambrosia with her. Jason was given most of it, but Frank and Percy had some too. It was enough to lighten the bruises on Percy's face to a less gruesome look and also healed Frank's arm enough that he didn't need the sling. For Jason, she had only had enough to at least let him move slowly without feeling agonizing pain.
The doctors had no clue what had happened and why the three of them had healed so suddenly. They just called it a miracle and let it go.
When Percy's mom and stepfather arrived, there was crying and tight hugging and some laughter from those not being suffocated by a parent. They then recounted the story for them, downplaying all the life-threatening parts and emphasizing multiple times that they were fine.
Her side-eye at Jason told them she didn't quite buy that, but Paul put a hand on her shoulder and she let it go.
While they remained at the hospital, the tension between Calypso and Percy didn't get better. Calypso was content to pretend Percy didn't exist, and Percy just tried not to antagonize her further. Much to everyone else's chagrin, neither one explained what was happening between them. All Leo would offer was that it was between them and if they didn't want to tell everyone, he didn't feel right explaining what he knew.
Annabeth and Piper finally intervened after four days. With a glance and a nod at each other, the two made everyone but Percy and Calypso leave the room they were in (Jason was finally healed enough to walk around again). Then Annabeth closed the door behind them, leaving Percy and Calypso inside with the promise that they couldn't come out until they had worked out whatever problem was between them.
"I don't think this is a good idea," Leo said, eyeing the door nervously.
"They'll be fine," Piper waved a hand.
"How do you know they'll talk?" Hazel asked.
"They're going to want to come out eventually," Annabeth shrugged.
The others glanced at each other and then looked at the door, and then they settled in to wait. They could hear Percy and Calypso's indignant sputtering on the other side of the door, which didn't exactly encourage them.
Inside the room, Calypso sat down on the bed with her arms crossed tightly. Percy ran a hand through his hair and leaned against the door, glancing at her.
"So…here we are," Percy said.
Calypso huffed and pointedly looked away from him, her hair flying over her shoulder.
Percy sighed. "Look, they're not kidding, they really will keep us trapped in here until we work this out, which will really only work if you talk to me."
"I don't have anything to say to you," Calypso stated.
"Well, I have something to say to you," Percy said, pushing off the door and taking a few steps towards her.
She glanced up at him, curious.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry I had to leave and go back to the mortal world, and that I chose Annabeth over you."
Calypso narrowed her eyes and her jaw dropped. "Percy Jackson, you think I'm mad at you because you chose to leave Ogygia?" she asked. "Because you fell in love with another girl?"
"Um…aren't you?"
"No you moron, I'm not. I'm mad at you because you promised to get me off of Ogygia but you didn't! You promised to make the gods end my punishment but it didn't end! I was still trapped on Ogygia for years until Leo found me!"
Percy's mouth formed an 'o' and he nodded slowly. "That would be a bit more reasonable, yeah," he said softly.
Calypso looked away again.
"I'm sorry I didn't do as I said. When I made the gods promise to start acknowledging the minor gods, I figured you were included in that. I never thought to mention you specifically."
"And you were too busy with your girlfriend to ever check," Calypso spat.
Percy stayed silent for a moment. "Yeah, I guess I was," he admitted. "I don't really have a good reason, and I'm sorry. You deserved better than that."
"I only saved your life and nursed you back to health," she said, giving him a sideways glare.
"Exactly," he said. "I should have tried harder to make sure you were being taken care of. And I can't tell you how sorry I am. I don't deserve your forgiveness, but would it be too much for me to ask anyway?"
Calypso turned towards him and looked him up and down, debating. "When I told Leo why I didn't like you, he said that maybe I was forgotten about intentionally. He said that if I had been taken from Ogygia before, there wouldn't have been anyone to save him."
Percy stayed quiet.
Calypso gave a small laugh and shook her head. "Maybe the fates were right to make me wait for Leo anyway. You and your Annabeth are so lovely together, and I care for Leo in a way that I never cared for any of the other heroes that I've saved. And he came back for me…he cares for me too."
Her voice had gone quiet at the end, and Percy smiled.
"Leo definitely cares for you. And he's already proven that he'll do things for you that me and the other heroes wouldn't. You're better off with him."
Calypso gave him a half-smile. "You're only saying that so I'll forgive you," she said.
Percy laughed. "Only a little. I mean every word though. You and Leo are great together. I've only ever seen him look at you the way he would at his ship. I think you mean a lot more to him than either of you realize."
Calypso blushed.
"So…am I forgiven then?"
She sighed. "Yes, I suppose I forgive you for being a complete jerk."
Percy smiled. "I hope you're not just saying that so we'll be allowed out of here."
She laughed and shook her head.
"Then we're good?" he asked, holding a hand out to her.
She accepted his hand and stood up. "We're good."
"I've got to ask though," Percy said, stepping back and crossing his arms. "How is the whole you being immortal thing going to work?"
Calypso giggled and shook her head. "I'm not immortal anymore. When I left Ogygia, I essentially gave up who I was, immortality included. It won't be a problem."
Percy's eyes widened. "Seriously? You're a regular mortal then?"
She nodded.
He blew air out of his mouth. "Well then."
She pointed at the door. "May we go now?"
It took them a few minutes to convince their wardens that they had actually fixed everything between them and they weren't just trying to get out of there before they were actually allowed out, but everyone smiled at them when they were finally released.
Two days later, Percy, Jason, and Frank, along with all the other boys that had been kidnapped, were finally allowed to go home. Percy and Annabeth went with his mom and stepfather, Thalia took off with the Hunters again, and the others walked two miles to a field where the Argo II was waiting. After dropping Hazel and Frank off at Camp Jupiter, Leo, Calypso, Piper, Jason, and Grover went back to Camp Halfblood.
Two days after that, Percy and Annabeth came by for a visit, bringing with them a newspaper.
The paper was dropped on Jason's lap, opened to a specific article. At first he was confused, but when he saw it was about the New Coliseum, he couldn't seem to read it fast enough. Piper and Leo read over his shoulder.
Most of the people working the Coliseum had been arrested and were being charged with homicide. Belgertia had tried to run for several days but had been caught, and he was being thrown in jail for life with no bail. The article also thanked the anonymous tip the FBI had been given about the Coliseum's existence.
"Wow," Jason said. "For once we didn't have to fight the big fight."
"Yeah, feels strange," Percy said. "But I can't say I'm complaining."
"What about the minor god that was helping him get the monsters?" Jason asked.
"Chiron says Olympus is looking into it, but they're not sure which one was responsible," Annabeth said. "I'm not sure what they'll do once they figure it out either. They don't exactly have rules against doing such a thing."
"Yeah, but they messed with kids of Zeus and Poseidon, that can't go over well," Percy said.
"Hey if we get to say for once that it's not our problem I'm content to go with that," Jason stated, handing the newspaper back.
"Yeah, about time we get to retire," Percy stated.
"You know, inadvertently you did save all those kids and stop that coliseum," Piper said. "If you three hadn't been kidnapped then we never would have started looking for you, and we never would have figured it out."
"Hey, if it weren't for my tip about them all looking like MMA fighters you never would have figured it out," Leo stated.
They chuckled.
"That's true," Annabeth said. "That comment did help a lot."
"Well I guess we'll just say thank you to all of you then," Jason said. "Does that cover it?"
Piper chuckled and kissed him on the cheek. "That covers it just fine."
Percy gave Annabeth a similar peck on the cheek, murmuring his thanks to her.
"So now what?" Leo asked.
They glanced around at each other, no one really having an answer. They almost didn't know what to do when they didn't have some sort of impending doom to try and stop.
But that was the beauty of it. They were free to relax for once and let others deal with the big problems. They were free to move on and do what they actually wanted to do. They were free to waste their days goofing off. And they were sure Frank and Hazel were enjoying their time together in New Rome.
Because for once, the problems of the world weren't theirs to deal with.
And that's that. Thank you again to everyone who's reviewed, favorited, and/or followed this story! I seriously appreciate every notification I got.
I hope I answered people's questions in this, but if I didn't let me know!
Thank you all again!