Camp and Swimming
“Uncle Nico?”
The tall, brooding adult looked down at little two year old Celeste. Her blonde hair was in pigtails tied with green bows. She was tugging on the end of his T-shirt. He got onto his knees, scooping up the girl he liked to call his niece into his arms.
“Yes, beautiful?”
“Where are we going?”
They were walking up Half-Blood Hill. Nico smiled and looked at Percy. “A camp.”
“What camp?”
Nico sighed and Percy took his daughter into his arms. “You’ll love it. There’s this real nice guy named Chiron, and there’s a beautiful lake—”
“Yay!” Celeste clapped her hands, moving up to touch her father’s cheek. “I like water.”
“I know. And there’s a really nice girl named Rachel, and you remember Uncle Grover and Aunt Juniper? And Uncle Tyson?”
“Tyson!” she squealed happily. Percy kissed her forehead, laughing.
“Percy,” Annabeth sighed, reaching for her daughter, “I wanna hold her.”
Percy rolled his eyes. “Get your own daughter.”
Annabeth swatted him, grabbing her daughter. They walked fully into the camp and just stood for a moment, staring. It hadn’t changed much in the 2 years they had been away, but when they paused, everyone did, too, staring. Whispers went through the crowd. Finally, Percy spotted Chiron in centaur form standing by the Big House. The group walked over to him.
“Percy, my boy!” he exclaimed. “Annabeth, and Nico, too! Well, what brings you…” He trailed off, looking at the little girl in Annabeth’s arms.
Celeste’s eyes grew wide. “Horsey!”
Chiron grinned widely, not bothering to argue with the little one. “Well, this must be the one you told me so much about. Her father’s eyes, her mother’s hair… She’s beautiful.”
“Say ‘thank you’, Celeste,” Annabeth told her.
“Thank you!” Celeste was still smiling widely. “Horsey can talk.”
Chiron laughed. “I’m a centaur, my dear.”
Her eyebrows scrunched together, confused. “Sen-tor?” she said, tiny hands holding onto her mother’s shirt.
Chiron just chuckled again. “Are you here for the day?”
“The weekend, actually,” Nico said. “I’m gonna go set up in my cabin. Good to see you again, Chiron.”
“Same to you, Nico.”
He walked away and Percy kissed Annabeth’s cheek. “I’ll grab the bag from the car. We wanted Celeste to get a camp experience before she grows up.”
“She’s not going to turn 16 tomorrow, Percy.”
He shrugged. “I know.”
He began to walk back down the hill and eyes and whispers followed him.
“That’s Percy Jackson.”
“Son of Poseidon.”
“Saved Olympus when he was 16.”
“The guy from the last prophecy.”
“He’s dreamy.”
“He’s old!”
“Wow, what’s he doing here?”
Celeste played with her mother’s hair as Annabeth and Chiron talked.
“She turned 2 last week,” she told him. “I think Percy and I were having camp withdrawal, so we wanted to take her here. Is Rachel here?”
“I believe she’s waiting for Nico in his cabin.”
“Ah,” Annabeth said, smirking. It was a rumor that the Oracle and the son of Hades had a forbidden romance going on, but only Nico’s friends knew how true that rumor was. “Clarisse?”
“Leading a quest, actually.”
“Mr. D?”
Chiron smiled. “He’s in the Big House. Some children of your old generation are here. The Stoll brothers, Katie Gardner, some Aphrodite girls… I believe Grover is waiting for you two as well. Last I heard, he was very excited to see your daughter once more.”
Annabeth nodded. When she looked over her shoulder, she noticed a group of campers assembling, watching her. “It looks like Percy and I have fans.”
“Oh, yes. Grover was busy telling stories all yesterday. He told them everything about your first quest together, when you saved him and the Golden Fleece, when he rescued you from Mount Tam, when you two went into the Labyrinth with him and Tyson, who is waiting in his cabin, and to the war. They were all awestruck. Connor, of course, butted in and began his own version of what happened the night of Percy’s 16th birthday.” He gave her a meaningful look. “When I believe you and Percy were tossed into the lake together?”
Annabeth laughed, understanding Connor’s exaggeration. Suddenly, an arm went around her. Percy was back.
“Nice to see you again, Chiron,” he said. “We’ll talk after dinner, okay?”
The centaur nodded, waving them on their way. As the couple walked to the Poseidon cabin, Percy took his daughter in his arms.
“You excited for camp?” he asked her.
She nodded. “Daddy, why are people looking at you?”
He smiled, glancing around. “I’ll explain one day.”
Celeste wrapped her arms around her father’s neck and closed her eyes. In seconds, she was asleep.
0000000000
“Percy? Are you sure this is safe?” Annabeth was sitting on the beach in a bikini—after much persuasion from Percy saying that she wasn’t fat from her child and looked absolutely gorgeous—and on a towel, Celeste in her lap.
Percy was in the water. “Of course it is! She’s my daughter, after all.”
They were discussing whether or not to let Celeste into the water. She hadn’t begun swim lessons, much to Percy’s displeasure, but Percy knew how much time Celeste loved to spend in the bath, and her natural attraction to water, so was sure that as long as he and her grandfather kept an eye on her, she would be fine.
There were other campers around them, swimming. One of them Percy had just me the other day. His half-brother, Michael, and his crush, an Apollo girl named Kelly. Riley, Michael’s twin, was deeper in the water.
Percy emerged from the water, picked up his daughter, gave his wife a wink when she ogled his naked chest—even at their age, Percy was strong, and just as well built as he had been years ago—and walked back to the water. Celeste squealed happily.
Percy stayed where the water was up to his hips, holding her. “Watch this,” he told her, holding out his hand and creating a little bubble. “You wanna try?”
She nodded enthusiastically. Percy walked deeper into the water, and Celeste stuck out her hand. Her face scrunched in concentration. Percy chuckled, but let his daughter try to create a little bubble.
Eventually, she let her arm fall back at her side. “It’s hard!” she insisted.
“I know, sweetie. Let’s try again, okay?”
She sighed and Percy formed a little chair of water on top of the water, setting her down. She looked at it and giggled, clapping excitedly. She was obviously amused that her father could manipulate the substance like that.
He grabbed her hand and put them under the water together, carefully forming a little bubble. She laughed. “Bubble!”
“Bubble,” he repeated.
“Bigger bubble!” she told him, focusing her power and making it grow. Percy grinned and removed his hand. Celeste was doing it on her own now. “Yay! Bubble!” Her joyous laugh made her lose her concentration the bubble popped. She pouted.
Percy kissed her forehead. “You wanna go underwater?”
“Undawater?”
“Yeah.”
She nodded, the smile back on her face.
“Percy, I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Annabeth called.
“Oh, like Poseidon would let his own granddaughter drown.”
Annabeth rolled her eyes and didn’t speak.
“Alright, sweetie, hold your breath, okay?”
Celeste gulped in a big breath of air, her cheeks poofing out theatrically. Percy fought the urge to laugh. Her eyes widened and the sea-green stared at him. He grinned widely.
“Ready?”
She nodded.
“Here we go.” He gently brought her under the water and she smiled, giggling and letting her breath out. Her mouth formed an O as she realized she could breathe. He laughed. “Amazing,” he whispered to himself. “I bet you’re just as smart as your mother, too.”