Blood of Olympus Epilogue

Chapter 2: Sally Jackson

(A/N: I had really hoped Rick would do this, but he didn't. So you're stuck with my version.)

Percy:

Camp Half-Blood managed to get the Argo II back into the water, with the help of almost every camper. There was a lot of grunting and complaining from others, but Percy had done most of the work. Waves were easy for him.

Now, he was packing for a trip to his mom's apartment in Manhattan. She would be worried sick about him. Annabeth knocked on the door frame of Poseidon's cabin. She had a backpack on one shoulder. She asked, "You ready?"

"Yeah, almost," Percy answered. He packed his sweatshirt, some jeans, and money, both dollars and drachmas. He shrugged on his backpack and felt Riptide in his pocket. "Okay, ready."

She smiled as she held his hand in hers. They crossed the camp's border and rode the bus to New York City. They passed through the barren fields, their hands still intertwined.

As they got closer to Percy's apartment building, he began to worry about his mom. Is she okay? What if she's not home? What if-

"Hey Seaweed Brain, calm down," Annabeth told him as she felt his anxiousness.

Percy nodded but continued worrying, "Okay, but what if something happens? We will attract too many monsters and then-"

"Relax," Annabeth said softly. "We'll be fine."

They reached Percy's block. Percy, obviously very distracted, accidentally gave the driver a drachma. The Mist may have changed the mortal's view of it, but it still wasn't money. Hastily, he apologized and gave the man forty dollars.

Annabeth grasped his hand again and they took the elevator up to Percy's apartment. He knocked on his door.

Sally:

Sally and Paul were sitting at the counter with glasses of ice tea. It was Saturday, so they were going to do something with their day off. A hard knock echoed through the apartment.

"I got it," Paul offered. He stood up and exited the kitchen. Sally heard voices in the other room and before she could realize who it was, Paul called, "Sally! Percy's home!"

Her heart leapt up. He's okay! She saw her tall, strong son and hurried to hug him. She held on tightly, drowning in her own tears of relief. Percy's arms gripped her back.

"You're alive," Sally choked out. "You're okay. I love you, Percy. You're okay. You're okay. You're alive. Thank the gods. You're okay." She finally let go of Percy, who was at least a foot taller than her now. She held him at arms length and smiled at his face. "You're so much older, and so tall! I missed you so much."

Speechless until this point, Percy said, "I missed you, too. " They embraced each other again and Percy hastily wiped his cheeks, tears glistening in his eyes.

Sally noticed Annabeth standing behind him smiling. "Annabeth, you're so grown up, too," she said as she wrapped Annabeth in a hug as well.

"Hi Mrs. Jackson," Annabeth greeted politely, her eyes watering slightly from all of the emotional hysterics filling the room.

"Honey, call me Sally," she answered, exasperated.

Annabeth:

Annabeth admired how much Sally endured for the world. She thought Sally was extremely brave and to have Percy gone for so long must have been so difficult for her to go through.

Sally noticed her standing in the doorway. She released Percy from her vice grip and greeted Annabeth. "Annabeth, you're so grown up, too."

"Hi Mrs. Jackson," she answered, returning Sally's comforting hug.

"Honey, call me Sally," Sally answered.

"Of course, Sally," Annabeth complied, smile playing across her lips.

Percy:

Paul hugged Percy hello. They smiled at each other and Paul whispered, "So is she your girlfriend?"

Percy grinned, "Absolutely. She's amazing. She's awesome at fighting, too."

Paul chuckled, "That's good. Sally likes her, too." He winked. Percy grinned at that.

Sally worriedly asked, "How long can you guys stay? Do you have another quest that you're off to or..."

"No, mom. We're staying overnight, if that's okay with you," Percy answered, gesturing to his and Annabeth's backpacks.

She smiled happily and answered, "Of course, Percy."

Percy and Annabeth went to put their bags and deadly weapons in the guest room. Percy took off his sweatshirt, a blue T-shirt underneath.

"Should we tell her everything?" Annabeth asked Percy quietly. "She'll want to know."

"Not everything," Percy answered. "Leave out the extreme danger and keep the graphic details to a minimum. But, yeah, Mom needs to know."

Percy and Annabeth joined Sally and Paul in the living room, who were next to each other on one couch. Annabeth and Percy sat across the table, on the love seat, snuggled together.

Sally noticed something on Percy's arm and furrowed her eyebrows. "Percy, is that a tattoo?"

Percy glanced down. When he had taken off his jacket in the other room, he had revealed his SPQR tattoo from Camp Jupiter.

"Uh, well...I, uh..." Percy stuttered. He didn't want to suffer her wrath. Monsters were easy, but moms? No way. He glanced at Annabeth for help.

She came to his rescue and explained, "Yes, but he kind of had to. We'll explain once we get to that part of the story."

"Story?" Paul asked.

"Yes," Annabeth answered. "What we did while we were gone."

Sally nodded and Paul said, "Alright, we're ready. Go ahead."

"So after the goddess Hera erased my memory..."