Leo fell on his rear, speechless.
He began gaping like a fish, trying to say… what? What could Leo possible say
that would make the Gods bring Calypso back?

"N-n-no."
He sputtered. "No! Why do they want her back on Olympus?
Why now? What did she ever do?"

Hermes looked him
straight in the eye this time. "Just as mortals aren't allowed to live up
in Olympus, immortals aren't allowed to live
down on Earth unless they are assigned there."

"Like… how
she was assigned on Ogygia and Hercules at his pillars?"

"Exactly."

Leo got up,
feeling crushed… well, even more crushed than before. "So she can't live
here anymore? And I can't visit her up there? I won't ever see her again!"

Hermes sighed.
"That's the rules. I don't make them; I just follow them."

Leo's head perked
up. "Wait… so what if I could change the rules then?"

Hermes snorted.
"You? Change Zeus' mind? Pah! Forget it!"

"Well then
maybe I can bend them? Maybe I can pull off a Hades/Persephone or
something?" Leo asked defiantly.

The god pondered
this. "Well, maybe I can bring you for aquickvisit so you can talk to Zeus about
it. Just try not to get killed."

Leo's mouth went
dry. What was he thinking? He was going up to Olympus
and telling the Supreme god that he was wrong! Only an idiot would directly
disobey Zeus. Then again, Leowasan idiot to begin with.

"Take me.
I'll do what I can to get her back." He said, sticking his chin up.

Hermes chuckled
and said, "Well, well, well. Won't Aphrodite justlovethis. I bet you she's listening in
right now. Sure, I'll take you. Hope he doesn't pin this on me, now."

Before Leo could
reply, they were zapped in the Throne room on Olympus.
Leo's dark eyes adjusted and he found he was standing in front of a super-sized
yours truly. Zeus' rainy-grey eyes were sparking with electricity, literally.
Leo never felt much smaller, and that was saying something. He coughed in his
fist.

"Lord Zeus,
hi." Thankfully it didn't come out in a pathetic squeak. "So…. Can
we, um, discuss a little something?"

"Why do you
come?" Zeus' voice boomed, echoing throughout the throne room. The other
eleven gods were on their thrones, watching the episode. Aphrodite just beamed
like a love-struck schoolgirl. Pun intended.

"I come
t-to," Leo cleared his throat again, but it was very nerve-wracking to
talk with the big guy. And he was Jason's pop? Ugh. Then again, who was he to
talk? "I come to ask for Calypso back."

"And why is
that?"

Leo was
embarrassed. "Um, well, because,"

"If she is
nothing to you, then why risk your life to get her back?"

Leo's face went
beet-red. "She isn't 'nothing' to me! I-I really like her and she's my
friend and she's a lot of other people's friend too! So bring her back!"
He took a shaky breath. "Please."

Zeus's mouth
twitched up. "So you say. But Hermes told you the rules.No unassigned immortalsare allowed to live freely down inyourworld."

"Well what if
I'm not immortal?" A small voice squeaked.

Leo turned his
face away from the supreme god's face and searched for the source of the voice.
There, at the foot of Zeus' golden throne stood Calypso, glowing with a bright
silver aura of immortality. Leo's heart speed up, his ears growing warm.

"What did you
say?" demanded Zeus.

Calypso stood
straighter. "I said: What if I'm not immortal." She kept her chin up.

Zeus bent down in
his seat and tried to look at her more clearly. "And what do you mean by
that?"

"If you can
grant immortality, then why can't you take it away?"

"So, you want
me to take away your immortality so you can live on Earth?"

"Yes,
sir."

Leo spoke up.
"But, Calypso, this is a big deal! If you become immortal, then you'll be
able to die."

Calypso walked
forward next to Leo. "And that means I'll be able to grow older with you
too." She took his hand and faced Zeus. "I want you to make me mortal,
please."

The other
Olympians exchanged looks and whispers:

"Is she
allowed to do that?"

"What is
she thinking?"

"Crazy
girl. Foolish, just foolish!"

"Oh, how
adorable! Young love!"

"I think we
need a vote," Zeus said. "Those in favor of removing her immortality?"

As time seemed to
slow down, Leo's heart clenched. If the majority would agree, then…!

Aphrodite quickly
raised her hand. So did Hermes, who shrugged, along with Apollo, Hera ("Oh
well, I have no use for Leo anymore."), his father, Hephaestus, and Ares,
who was egged on by Aphrodite. Artemis held her hand up and said, "A woman
can make her own decisions, but I would prefer not for the sake of a
male."

"Those
against?" Zeus asked.

Dionysus,
Poseidon, Athena, Demeter (who must have heard the "Hades/Persephone"
comment), and Zeus himself raised their hands. He counted the votes and
scowled.

"Ahem,
Calypso's immortality is henceforth, removed." He grumbled, not liking his
authority questioned.

Leo and Calypso
shared a glance, his heart pounding, and he saw her silver aura flicker then
disappear completely. "I'm sorry Calypso," he said.

Calypso smiled and
shook her head. "There's nothing to apologize for, silly. I chose this
myself." Her smile faltered for a second. "But, I want to see my dad
first."

"You want to
see Atlas?" Leo asked. "Are we allowed to?"

Zeus stood up and
stared down at the couple. "I think you should be leaving now. I would
blast you to bits if not for my siblings." he spat.

Hermes got up as
well. "I'll take them away now. First stop," he looked at Calypso
with a sad smile. "Atlas."

In a blinding
white flash, Leo found himself on a mountain peak, Calypso's hand still
entwined in his. A cool breeze played with their hair. He squeezed her hand
then looked up.

Hermes was gone,
but in front of them was a towering Titan, Calypso's father, Atlas, the one who
held the sky. He heard about Percy and Annabeth's turn holding it up. They had
gotten matching gray streaks in their hair, though Percy's had vanished last
summer.

Calypso stepped
forward and gazed upon her father's face, scrunched up with effort. His arms
raised upward, holding a force obscured by the starry night, even if it was
visible at all.

Her face was small
and sad. "Hello, father." She said in a soft voice. Who knew if Atlas
could hear anything in his state? But she continued anyways. "It's been… a
long time. I've been on Ogygia, but for the past few months I've lived here, in
America.
I have an auto shop that I run with Leo, here."

Leo gave a small
wave. "'Sup."

Calypso smiled a
little. "Yeah, and I-" her voice cracked up now. "I'm not
immortal anymore, so I guess you won't be able to see me again, though I wish
you could. What I wouldn't give to see the sparkle in your eyes, I don't
know." Calypso wiped away a tear with her free hand. Leo pulled her closer
and held her tight. "But I just w-wanted to say goodbye. Or hello, or
whatever."

Silent tears
streamed down her face, and Leo kissed her on the cheek, then again on her
lips. "Um, bye." He told Atlas as politely as he could. "I'll
take good care of her, don't you worry."

Just as quickly as
before, in a flash they were back in the auto shop.

He let her go and
together they walked up the back stairs. They sat on the couch and leaned into
each other.

Calypso eventually
stopped sniffing and said, "I'm sorry."

Leo smiled.
"There's nothing to apologize for, just like you said."

"Yeah. Yeah,
you're right. Maybe Hades will let me visit again sometime when I'm dead."

Leo hugged her.
"I'm sure he will. Try asking Nico or something. There'll be a nice home
in Elysium saved just for us. But let's not talk about death. That's much too
depressing."

Calypso let out a
laugh. "Yeah, sorry. It's just… new for me."

"Well,"
Leo sighed. "I'm sure the others would want to hear about this. Imagine
the look on their faces."

Calypso smiled
again and pecked Leo lightly on the lips. "Mhm, okay. G'night…"

Before Calypso
could get up from the couch, Leo reached out and wrapped his arms around her
and buried his face in her long brown hair.

"Thanks,"
he said in a whispered voice. "For everything. Before I met you, I felt
like the seventh wheel."

Calypso put her
arms around him. She smelled like cinnamon and wood smoke, just like always.
"Thank you too, for helping me. Not just leaving Ogygia, but for helping
me find out who I am."

It was simply pure bliss, and Leo could hold her like this
forever.