Alternatively

On the Fifth of July

The sun was still tucked under the horizon when the blue Prius tore down Old Montauk Highway.

A van advertising fresh strawberries peeled out not long after, though it was racing closer to the speed limit.

A man in a tweed jacket and a wheelchair rolled across the porch, staring after the vehicles with a small smile. The commotion had been loud, shaking the house as people thundered down the stairs and yelled for keys and argued about which hospital was closest. Someone had cursed the camp's "shitty, shitty cell service" and somehow, a lamp in the living room ended up broken on the floor, but the whirl wind had disappeared as quickly as it started.

He just held the land line in his lap as he watched the sky slowly lighten.

The sea churned anxiously and the early morning surfers were confused by the sudden change of weather, but a man in a Hawaiian print shirt fishing off the pier knew the moment the first wave began to form. He stared out into the dark waters, pride swelling in his chest the longer he wondered what the outcome of that day would be. It was going to be the happiest moment for years to come and he could only hope his son would be better than he was.

He cast his line out to sea once more and sent for Eileithyia.

Deep in Manhattan, Paul carried his sleeping daughter through the parking garage, trying to keep up with his wife. Both their phones had buzzed loudly, displaying the same texts and blinking with the same voicemails. The instant the messages sunk in, the covers were thrown back as they scrambled to get ready. It would be a long drive, nearly two hours and a half with traffic, but if he knew anything, he knew Sally would get them there in an hour tops.

Estelle grumbled something as he strapped her in her booster seat and he grinned, hurrying to get in the passenger seat as his wife started the car.

Milk trickled down the sloping kitchen floor as the red head hung up with John T. Mather Memorial, unattended and forgotten as she rushed to find her other flip flop. She had made positive a room was ready, warning the staff that a large group was going to crowd the waiting room, whether they were allowed to or not. It would be awhile until her plane would take off, delaying her from meeting everyone, but some thing's can't be predicted until the last second. There were only two instances where she wished her powers were more easily controlled, one being during the Tartarus incident and the other currently occurring.

She shoved the missing shoe on and left her apartment, cereal still scattered on the floor.

The pacing alone was enough to get him anxious, but the news was far greater. He waited with Hazel, dark bags hanging under her eyes and her pajamas rumpled but her voice chipper as she quickly talked with her brother. Everyone had thought it was going to be later, utterly surprised and frantic as plans were thrown together. He hoped it wouldn't be too strenuous to shadow travel them so far across the country, but he should give credit to the guy; he spent years developing his talent.

His girlfriend's hand slipped into his and he nodded, ready to leave when she was.

Somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, the goddess inclined her head slightly, watching her lieutenant run off. Her Hunters stared after their superior as well, but they only had smiles and hopeful expressions. It was only fair; for all that the couple had done to assist the Hunt, why shouldn't their friend be there to support them? It was an important moment in all their lives, something to be celebrated and cherished.

Artemis wondered how she would show the family her personal thanks.

It was strange, a young boy rubbed his eyes as he walked down the hall. He was used to weird dreams, he had them all the time. People he had never seen before would talk to him and places he had never been would flourish in perfect clarity. Hot summer days in strawberry fields and kids who looked to him with admiration, humid summer nights in a dark forest and shiny swords that he might find in his tv shows. They felt like memories, familiar memories that left him homesick. The dream that had woken him up, however, was like watching something in real time. A man with green eyes told the blonde in the passenger seat that they were almost there, to hang on, and Landon found that it left a bittersweet impression in his mind.