"He's not here," Annabeth says, so relieved to see Percy that she doesn't even bother to hide that fact through the sudden release of tension in her shoulders and the smile that plays upon her lips, reaching her eyes.

She knows he's thinking of Mr D, because that had been her first thought when she was winked here too, only a few days before him.

(Which started the cabin fever and the worry and the frantic attempt at figuring some way off this ship.)

"You're late, Seaweedbrain."