Chapter Text
Sally Jackson was a lot of things.
An orphan, wannabe author, high school dropout, caretaker, GED holder, baker, cleaner, receptionist, pizza delivery driver, mediocre gardener, an assistant manager of a candy shop, lover of the sea, clear-sighted, and a muse of Poseidon.
Now, at the age of only twenty, she was a mother. She was scared, terrified really, not sure what it entailed at all. Poseidon offered her a place in his home in Atlantis. A place where her and her son would be safe from both monsters and his family. A chill went down her spine when he told her about the agreement he made with Hades and Zeus, because of a war and a prophecy. How this child was going to either save or destroy Olympus. Poseidon begged her to go down to his realm with him, on his knees and all. Explained how he would have to stay away and wouldn’t be able to protect them if they stayed on land. That Amphitrite would understand, and would help.
But he also told her about a camp on the north shores of Long Island. How Chiron, the Chiron from the myths, was in charge and trained other demigods. Most demigods only spent the summer, with a few staying year-round. It would be a safe haven that would be able to prepare their son for his world. She’d maybe even be able to keep him during the school year. It would be hard; monsters are hard to kill with mortal weapons, but she would make it work.
She loved Poseidon, truly. He was the ocean in its entirety. He was the calm crystal blue waters of the tropics, warm and beautiful. Balmy beaches and calm winds with the vague smell of coconut sunscreen. He loved giving her gifts; random shells that he pulled up from the seafloor, crowns of coral and pearls, abalone earrings and necklaces, fancy pens made from recycled ocean plastic, a few journals with the softest leather covers embossed with sea creatures, and a small pegasus statue made of seaglass that was the color of open ocean.
But he was also the rough stormy sea of the Drake Passage. Rough, stormy waters that were unfathomably deep and did not care for whoever perished below its waters. He was the storms that would topple buildings and flood cities with little to no remorse, the earthquakes that would rip highways off their bases and swallow anything in its wake. The rare times she bore witness to that side of him, she knew that he was holding back. To keep her safe.
Later, at home curled up on her sh*tty sofa wrapped in a blanket he gifted her, she would watch the news and know that the random floods, rainstorms, devastating earthquakes and tsunamis were because of him. Because he was so angry but kept it far away from her to keep her safe. Because he loved her and was scared for her. For their child.
These episodes always coincided with a meeting with his family. He would come back from Olympus, anger simmering under his skin causing the ocean to be just a tad rougher than normal in the summer. Sally would simply watch him from far back on the dunes as he would wash the beach completely smooth, the water never touching her or her cabin. He would be far out to sea, almost a smudge against the horizon, but even at that distance she could feel his power rippling out like the waves he commanded.
Seeing his powers displayed like that, even though it was merely a fraction of a fraction of a fraction, made her nervous for her son. Demigod lives were never easy, it’s usually painful and short. Rarely do they ever get a happy ending, and if they do it never lasts before the Fates knot up their strings with difficulties.
So, when she held her baby in her arms after a long and difficult labor in the middle of the worst tropical storm New York City had seen in over a decade, she smiled down at him and named him after the one hero who got a true happy ending.
☽ ♠ ☾
When Percy was almost five, she felt on the edge of tearing her hair out, and for the first time found herself considering sending him to that camp Poseidon talked about.
She would never admit to anyone how close she was, but it was a very near thing. They were being harassed nearly every other day by monsters, and were just now able to live in some leaky apartment in Hell’s Kitchen that she did her damndest to make feel like a home.
It was only two rooms; the bedroom they shared and the open living space with a small kitchen near the door. Everything was mismatched but somehow cohesive, and was all free or close to it. She hung up curtains she made from some fabric scraps over the window in the kitchen that just looked out an alley full of trash. The landlady, Ms. Caria—who also owned the dry cleaners downstairs—gave her some bedding, sheets and a few jackets for herself and Percy that had been forgotten by customers. When she agreed to rent, she prayed to anyone that the chemical smell from downstairs would mask Percy’s scent enough that they’d at least be safe at home.
The peace and quiet only lasted a couple of weeks.
It was the longest they had gone without a monster incident.
Sally was cherishing the last summer she’d have with him before sending him to kindergarten. Daycare and preschool had been out of the question since the snake incident, and she was lucky that her job was understanding and let her bring him along the few days she was scheduled. The days that she had off, they would be out in the city doing something. With them being the youngest tenants in the building he had no one his age to play with—which didn’t stop Percy from making friends with the old couple across the hall—so she did her best to take him out to playgrounds and kid friendly events whenever she could.
They had ended up down by the Empire State Building, which she had been doing her best to avoid. Sally knew that Olympus was all the way at the top, and despite how many times she checked it, she could only see the normal sky above it. Jenna, a daughter of Aphrodite and her childhood friend, told her that the Mist was so strongly concentrated around Olympus that not even demigods were able to see it at street level.
Anytime she caught a glimpse of the building, she felt an awful churning in her stomach. Bitter resentment over the fact that her and Percy weren’t that far from Olympus, and Posiedon hadn’t offered them help once, was mixed with a weird combination of love for the sea god and relief that he left them alone. It ate away at her sometimes, the anger at him and the guilt at being angry because it’s not like it’s his fault. His brothers forced his hand after a truly devastating loss.
“Doggy!” Percy exclaimed from next to her, pulling Sally out of her thoughts. She looked down at her son, smiling as he tugged her along further down the block. The smile slid off her face almost instantly when she saw what he was pulling her towards. Glowing red eyes, the size of a dumpster and growling loudly at both of them. Sucking in a deep breath, Sally quickly snatched up her son into her arms and booked it for the nearest subway stop.
The large hellhound growled loudly and chased them. Percy shrieked and clung to her, burying his face in her neck. She ducked and weaved between other pedestrians, swearing under her breath when she dared to glance back and saw that they now had a whole pack after them. Others were starting to notice her being chased by what they probably assumed were rabid dogs as she rounded the corner, ducking under a construction crew carrying a ladder.
She barely checked if the road was good to cross and just bolted across Park Avenue, holding tight to Percy. Horns blared behind her, and she heard at least two of the hounds get hit by a car, but she didn’t have a moment to spare to even check. She was barely aware of the fire hydrants that were shaking whenever she ran past them, or of Percy glaring down the hounds behind them as if he could kill them with a look. Sally was entirely focused on making it the last two blocks to the station safely.
Somehow, they managed to get on the train right before the doors closed. The hounds didn’t follow them once they left the street surprisingly, but Sally wasn’t the type to look a gift horse in the mouth. She sat down into a seat by the door, and relaxed her iron grip on Percy. He just settled on her lap, and leaned his head against her to take a nap. The people around them barely even looked up at her running in like she was being trailed by lit gunpowder.
Watching her son sleep as they made their way uptown, she felt bone tired. She gently brushed his hair off of his forehead, and wanted to cry. All she wanted to do was protect him, against the gods and all the monsters, but it was slowly getting harder to do that, especially without any celestial bronze weapons.
She was extremely lucky that her job had so far been attack-free; her boss was an absolute saint and adored Percy, always spoiling him with salt water taffy. The busyness of Grand Central masked the divinity smell around Percy, but she knew it wouldn’t last him long. Since clearly, the chemical smell of the laundromat downstairs was too weak to cover him for long. She didn’t want to live in her car again.
‘If I send him away…’ She shook her head, feeling guilty even considering it. She glanced up at the stop display and then back down at her boy. Her Percy, who was innocent in all of this, damn what his uncles think and damn that f*cking prophecy. If she sent him away, he’d be safe, but at what cost? Would he even want to see her again? All he would know is that his mom sent him away to a strange camp full of strangers and monsters, and he’d be all alone. There was no way Posiedon would leave him unclaimed for long, especially at this age when his powers were manifesting. Would he even be that safe at camp?
Percy tightened his hold on her shirt when the train jostled, his face pressed into her shoulder. She bit back a sob, closed her eyes and rested her forehead on the top of his head. Gods, she was so tired and terrified for her son. She wanted to scream at someone about how unfair it all was. Her son hadn’t committed any crime, all he’s done is exist, and yet that’s enough for the gods to issue him the death penalty. He’s still a baby, her baby!
She squeezed him tight, and kissed the top of his head. The faint smell of the ocean lingered on his hair, reminding her of his dad. As she gently woke him at their stop, he smiled up at her and she felt the guilt stab at her again for even thinking about sending him away. The gods would probably call her selfish with no self preservation, but she couldn’t let her boy go. She would simply have to find a better way to hide the scent of divinity on him until he was old enough.
Ms Caria, the landlady, was waiting for them outside their apartment when they finally made it home. She was wearing a dark flowy dress with sleeves that reached the floor when her hands were down. As she turned to face them, her dress shimmered a flame orange color as it caught the light, and flickered like firelight. Her long black curly hair was up in a complicated updo that reminded her of an Ancient Greek priestess. She smiled at Sally, warm and gentle like she somehow knew what Sally was going through. For a split second, Ms. Caria’s form blurred, her face shifted between two other ones, twin torches clutched in her hands. With a slight twist of her wrist, her form went back to the black haired one that Sally was used to.
There was a strong smell of cinnamon and some kind of citrus hanging in the air. Sally swallowed thickly, unsure what just happened but now fully aware that Ms. Caria wasn’t human at all. Gods, she just wanted to go into her apartment and lock the door and take a nap with her son, was that too much to ask for? She closed her eyes for a moment, ignored the possible-immortal and gathered what remained of her patience and strength. The comforting weight of Percy on her hip bolstered her; whatever Ms. Caria was, she hadn’t yet tried to harm Percy. And she definitely had to know who his dad was.
She opened her eyes and sighed. Ms. Caria had unlocked her door and let herself into the apartment. Sally looked down at Percy, his face was scrunched up in thought and wiggled until she let him down. He then gently tugged her down closer to him.
“She feels all buzzy mama,” he whispered in her ear and rocked back and forth where he stood. Sally furrowed her brows in confusion and crouched down to talk to him better.
“What do you mean by ‘buzzy’ baby?” She held his hands as he glanced back at Ms. Caria as she looked through their apartment. He squinted at her, his eyebrows scrunching together in concentration, like when he was trying to read something when they went out. After a few moments he shrugged and looked back at her.
“She just feels buzzy, like… like elec-tri-city,” he then frowned in confusion at the ground. “Smells like Christmas…” he muttered, scuffing his shoe against the hardwood floor. Sally blinked at him in surprise, unsure how exactly he was able to feel something she couldn’t, but pushed past it and squeezed Percy’s hands gently until he looked back up at her. She smiled at him, trying for encouraging but unsure if it came across.
“You did very well on your pronunciation, baby. Now, how about we go inside and I make you some mac and cheese and I’ll talk to Ms. Caria while you watch a movie. That sound like a plan?” Percy nodded eagerly, waiting long enough for Sally to stand back up before he tugged her inside. She gently shut the door behind them, and toed her sneakers off as he ran back to their room to grab a movie and his favorite stuffed shark. Gods, he really didn’t deserve the life the Fates gave him.
“Sally Jackson,” Ms. Caria called softly. When she turned to face her landlady, Sally sucked in a deep breath.
When Jenna came back from camp that first year, she immediately went to Sally and told her about how the Greek gods were real, and they both weren’t crazy for all the things they saw. She also gave her multiple lessons about all the gods and goddesses, even the minor ones.
So when she saw her landlady standing in front of her; her dress transformed into a night black chiton that looked like shadows were dripping off of her, green eyes near radioactive looking and torches held in each hand, Sally immediately dropped into a kneel.
“Lady Hecate,” she whispered in awe, baffled as to how this somehow happened to her twice. Hecate put a hand on Sally’s shoulder, and smiled at her warmly.
“Rise my child, we have much to discuss,” Sally stood, almost numb with questions. Was she the reason why this apartment seemed to be monster proof? If she was, why couldn’t she make the smell of the chemicals strong enough to hide Percy’s scent? She… Sally felt her face go white.
Oh gods, there was no way she was oblivious to him being a son of the sea. That thought made her stomach flip uncomfortably as she watched Hecate watch her son run around with his stuffed shark she got from the aquarium. A faint smile was on Hecate’s face as she watched him, which made something settle in Sally.
She knew. Hecate, a goddess, knew that her son was most likely the child of the Prophecy, but she didn’t do anything to harm him. Sally wanted to cry.
She had spent the past four and a half years begging anyone to listen, to protect them and help her baby boy grow up. No one had answered her prayers; she was left alone to fend for herself with nothing but her head, her love for her son, and a switchblade she bought from a pawn shop in New Jersey.
Now though, now it looked like someone actually heard her and decided enough was enough. She really could’ve burst into tears at the relief she felt, but she pushed past it. Doing that would worry Percy, and she didn’t want that. So instead, she put her head in her hands for a moment to collect herself, before finally going to make mac and cheese.
It was only after her son was parked on the seashell patterned rug in front of the tv with his favorite movie, Finding Nemo, playing and a large bowl of food in his lap that Hecate was able to talk to Sally freely.
By the time they were done, Sally felt settled for the first time in gods knows how long. She had a plan, she had a goddess on her side who would be teaching her the ways of the Mist and how to defend herself properly.
She had thanked Hecate profusely, scrambling to offer her something as compensation. The goddess merely smiled at her gently and accepted a few gemstones as tribute. Sally knew it wasn’t remotely close to an even exchange, but Hecate didn’t seem to mind.
They both watched Percy for a few moments. Sometime during their talk he had switched Finding Nemo for Barbie: Mermaidia and was now nearly falling asleep from where he was curled up on the couch. There were parts of the plan that made her nervous, but if this was the only way to protect him, she’d have to take it.
Gods, she prayed that this would work.
