In Good Hands...

I. Just Stepfather Things

The day started like any other day for Mr Blofis.

He had gotten up early to grade a few papers before freshening up. Breakfast was a buzzing affair that day, since Percy was writing his last winter-term exam. His winter break was to start tomorrow. He promised his mum to come home as soon as his exams were over.

They planned to start their Christmas preperations together by baking their special plum cake with blue icing and blue chocolate-chip cookies for Christmas Eve tomorrow. Paul had been assigned the duty of decorating their Christmas tree with Percy along with preparing his family's signature Ham and Gravy for the special occation.

Unlike teenagers his age, Percy loved helping out at home. And more importantly, he absolutely adored his mother. And after spending a good deal of his childhood in boarding schools, he loved spending time with her at home.

Their relationship was beyond that of a mother and son relationship. They were absolutely everything to each other. A small world of their own without outside interferences.

Most imes, it was hard to say who dotted on whom more, that was how close they were. Inside jokes, mid-night snacks, movie marathons, you could name it and they did it. And ever since Sally had gotten herself a deal to publish a book, on top of her day work, Percy had taken over a large chunk of household chores to spare his mum a bit of free time.

Sure, he did miss a few things and messed up a few others at the beginning, but he was alright now.

And he'd always been nice to him. Sure, he'd been reserved at the beginning, especially with respect to his intentions for his mother, but since then, they'd warmed up to each other quite nicely.

The sarcastic side of his personality seemed to seep into their relationship day-by-day. He'd also gotten Percy a place at the school he taught, Goode High School and would drive to school together everyday.

Usually, they'd make small talk or just listened to the radio. He was still getting used to the fact that his soon-to-be step-son was a demigod in flesh-and-bone, a demigod son of Poseidon himself.

It sounded like a fairy-tale come true. A Greek god, handsome and strong, falling in love with a beautiful and intelligent woman and having a beautiful child together. Most fairy tales ended there, but not Greek mythology. The story only went downhill after that, just like their lives had done.

Sally had trusted him with her entire life's story when he'd proposed to her, opening up about her childhood losses of her parents and uncle, meeting Poseidon and having his child, getting tangled up in an abusive relationship for her son, leaving it all behind to start a new life, just before he'd met her.

She gave him a chance to reconsider his proposal, assuring him that she would understand, no matter the answer.

He somehow had absolutely no difficulty in believing that Sally had attracted the attention of a god. There was something about her... he just couldn't place a finger on it, that drew the attention of people who wanted to make a meaningful connection in their lives.

And at a deeper level though, he was quite relieved too. He did not like the feelings of envy that had risen in him when Poseidon had visited them a few months ago. Now, he'd made peace with the fact that her ex was in a league of his own and there was no competition in that. Besides, Sally had agreed to marry him. She loved him, and wanted to have a family with him.

Paul still found it hard to believe that her son, tagged a troublemaker throughout his schooling, who struggled with ADHD and dyslexia, was a demigod, just like the old legends. He could hardly believe that the lean boy beside him had really been through so many dangerous adventures he'd water-downed and described since he was twelve.

He definitely remembered the nationwide manhunt that had ensued when his mother was reported missing and he was supposedly on the run. But there was no mistake, no trick whatsoever when he showed him the control he had over water. He really was the son of the sea god.

But there was something wrong today, he thought as he drove them school. Percy seemed more agigated than usual. "Worried about your literature paper?" He asked, casually glancing at him. That seemed to bring him back from his thoughts. "What? No, nothing like that... " He mumbled, sounding troubled.

"Did you go through the prose I mentioned the other day? The one about Fire and Ice? It has always been an important part in every year's test." "I did go through them, though now that you mention it, I can't remember the author's name... was it Robin?" "No, it's Robert Frost." "Yeah.. That's the one. Sorry, I forgot." He sighed deeply, as though fed up with his own incompetence. That hadn't been Paul's intention.

Paul didn't want to impose since he still wasn't sure about their dynamics yet. Sure, he was soon to be his step-father, but Percy was nearly an adult. He could get his driver's license in about six months. And he still had his actual dad around. But in the end, he couldn't stop himself.

His shool life wasn't really fair to him. He had earned himself the name of a trouble maker even before classes began, and was caught in one mishap or the other every other month. He struggled really hard just to get slightly above average grades and didn't really have many friends at school except for Ms Dare. "Is something troubling you? You seemed fine when we left home."

Percy faced outside then, confusion clearly written on his face. Paul didn't press the issue after that. He realised that maybe he just needed space. They drove the rest of the way in silence. They were in the parking lot when Percy started quietly. "I shouldn't have promised mom." He continued, "I don't know Paul, it just seems something isn't right. The moment I promised her, I kind of knew I'd jinxed it." He ended it so quietly, it was barely above a whisper.

Paul didn't know how to answer that. Personally, he didn't really believe in jinxes. But he didn't believe in gods and monsters too, until a month ago. He was just a mare mortal, his life wasn't the same as Percy's.

"You worry something might go wrong." He asked. Percy set off at this. "I know it sounds stupid but everytime I've said something like that, whatever luck I had until then seems to just evaporate. Everything just goes downhill. Do you get what I'm saying?" He asked, meeting his eyes for the first time.

Behind the easy going sarcasm facade, his eyes shone with insecurity. Paul realised Percy never really shared his fears with anyone. With his want to protect his mom from the scarier parts of his life and being a hero of the prophecy at camp, he was the one who had to be going, no matter the situation. "Well then, I hope you have a really normal boring day, but just in case it isn't, I'll prepare dinner. I hope you'll be home by nightfall at least. Stay safe. All the best!" Percy's lips twitched in amusement, whatever he'd be expecting, that wasn't it.

"I'll make no promises you know, just in case. Bye Paula. Thanks for the ride!" He concluded waving him goodbye.

Paul felt extremely proud of himself as he made his way to his cabin. Percy had found him trustworthy, allowing himself to confide in him. He liked the progress he was making in his relationship with Percy, given that he was everything to Sally.

This knowledge kept his spirits up for the rest of the day. Until he received a voice mail from an unknown number. "Hello, I hope I'm speaking to Mr Blofis. I'm Annabeth Chase, a friend of Percy from camp. Could you meet me at the cafe behind the school at five? I've something urgent to discuss. And please don't tell Percy and Sally!" She said before hanging.

*****

Words: 1365

*****

A/N: Hope you liked the story! Vote and comment guys. The next update will be soon!