Chapter Text
*BARIIIINNNNGG*
Annabeth's head snapped up at the unfamiliar sound of the front doorbell. That's odd. We don't generally get unexpected guests at that end of the house. While it was true that she and Percy had earned a bit of notoriety in their chosen fields, those fields were specialized enough that most mortal callers knew how the two of them liked their privacy and would phone ahead. The few monsters that could get through the protections around the house didn't tend to observe the niceties of knocking first, and any demigod visitors tended to come calling from the camp side. Curious, Annabeth got up from her drafting table and went to investigate.
*BARRIIIING!*
"Yeah yeah, I'm coming already! Hold your horses." She said as she reached the door and looked through the peephole. Well…they looked human, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. So, one hand gripping the knife in her pocket, she opened the door. She was greeted with a less distorted version of what she'd seen through the peephole. There were four of them; consisting of a short-haired blonde woman, a very large black man in a ridiculous-looking Hawaiian shirt and fedora combo, and two middle-aged brown-haired men who looked remarkably similar except that one was wearing glasses. It was clearly the bespectacled one that had rung the doorbell. There was really only one thing she could say to such an eclectic bunch. "Hello…can I help you?"
"Um…I hope so. We're looking for someone named Percy Jackson," said the one in glasses, "We were told that he lives here."
"Who are you and why would you be looking for him?" Annabeth asked, trying not to convey how suspicious she was. It waspossible that these people were looking for Percy's usual services, but they didn't look like they spent much time around the ocean.
"Ah…um…good question. I'm Doctor Daniel Jackson, these are Lieutenants Colonel Samantha Carter and Cameron Mitchell, and this is…Murray. We're in need of Mr. Jackson's expertise on something." Annabeth didn't miss the slight pause before the name of the large black man, and found it a bit amusing that this "Daniel" had the same last name as Percy and herself. I wonder if he's a relative. Either way he almost looked uncomfortable referring to someone else as "Jackson." Kind of funny, that.
"'Lieutenants Colonel'? Now, I may not be the most up-to-date on military life, but I don't think those are Naval ranks." She decided to latch onto the most out-of-place part of the encounter.
"They're not," Piped up the one called Mitchell, "We're Air Force."
Annabeth nearly choked. The idea that any organization to do with flying would be coming for Percy's expertise was laughable. "WHAT? What possible use could the Air Force possibly have for my husband's expertise?"
"Husband? Mr. Jackson's your husband?" The woman—Carter—asked, ignoring the slight flinch from the bespectacled Dr. Jackson on the porch.
Annabeth couldn't help the little smile that quirked her lips. "First of all, it's Doctor Jackson, and, technically, I'm Dr. Jackson, as well. Doctor Annabeth Jackson, Ph.D. at your service. My husband's a D.V.M, what are you, Dr. Jackson?" The last she asked while gesturing the quartet to enter. She kept a surreptitious eye on the monster detector to the side of the door when "Murray" came through. The little joint creation of the Hecate cabin and Brooklyn House had saved her skin at least a dozen times. When she saw no reaction from it, she relaxed a little bit more.
"Oh…um...Ph.D., as is Colonel Carter." He replied, distractedly. His attention had clearly been caught by the house's décor, which showed to anyone in the know the true interests and histories of the people living there. Oceanscapes, pegasi, famous battle strategy maps and architectural drawings of famous buildings adorned the walls. The former hung in frames adorned with tridents, ocean life, and horses, while the latter were mostly framed by owls and famous historical quotes.
Even the others of the quartet seemed to slow down a step upon seeing the standing tribute to two gods not usually known to see eye to eye. "Well…this is…different; but I like it." Said Mitchell, endearing himself a bit towards Annabeth.
"I take it you're a fan of Greco/Roman mythology?" Asked Dr. Carter.
"You could say that, although we're more Greek than the Roman." Annabeth said with a smile.
"Um…question." Doctor Jackson lifted one of his hands halfway with the pointer-finger raised, not unlike a student unsure of how their impertinent and/or stupid question would be received. "Unless I'm mistaken, this paraphenelia is all Poseidon and Athena. Didn't those two hate each other? It just seems an odd combination to have."
"It is an odd combination, and many have thought that Percy and I were an odd pair. Poseidon is Percy's…patron, as it were, and Athena is mine. We like to honor that in our home." She sent a silent apology to her mother and father-in-law and promised them a larger mealtime sacrifice later to help make up for the fib.
"Ah…so where is Percy?" asked Mitchell. He didn't seem to be the patient type.
"He's out with his animals. He'll be back in about five minutes unless there's an emergency. You still haven't told me what kind of 'expertise' of his you need him for."
"Wait…his animals? That's right, you did say he was a D.V.M. What does he do for a living?" Asked Dr. Jackson.
"You're looking for him and you don't know?" Annabeth said with a raised eyebrow. "Now I'm really curious. He's a marine veterinarian. What possible use could the Air Force have for him?"
"Really? A marine veterinarian? Does he have a secondary degree in linguistics?" Said the one called Carter, curiously.
"Um…sort of. We both have Masters Degrees in Ancient Greek Studies and he also minored in Latin. Why?"
At the words "Ancient Greek," all but the stoic "Murray" got "ah-ha" looks on their faces, although Dr. Jackson's was quickly replaced with a slight frown. "Both of you? I wonder, could you translate what it says on this page." He carefully extracted a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Annabeth.
"It's a bit of an odd dialect, but it says, 'Follow the path of the Earthshaker, or be drowned in the depths of his domain.' Ok…not exactly a pleasant thing, but why would you be asking us about it?" She was a little surprised to see a stunned look on Dr. Jackson's face and amused looks from the two Lt. Colonels.
"That…that one line took me two weeks to translate..." said the stunned Jackson.
"Hmm…maybe we should trade in for a Jackson upgrade." Mitchell jibed at his friend.
A blue light and a soft chime interrupted what Annabeth was sure would have been an amusing scene. "Ah, Percy's coming back. I'll go meet him and let him know we have guests." She left the quartet alone in the deceptively-secure living room and hurried to gather her wayward husband from the moon pool.
She reached the pool just as he hit the surface, hair perfectly dry, as usual. "Get wet, Seaweed Brain, we've got visitors…mortal ones." It was a testament to how long they'd been together that he only spared a slightly surprised glance before quickly dipping his head back under. When next he resurfaced, his somewhat shaggy hair was plastered damply to his head.
"For me or for you?" he asked as he walked out of the pool, grabbing one of the seldom-used towels as he went.
"For you. Although if I'm reading it right, it might end up being both of us." She said, and filled him in on the rest of the proceedings for the past ten minutes.