Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns Percy Jackson. He probably also owns the line that I MAY have borrowed from the PJO movie.
"Happy Father's Day to you. Happy Father's Day to you. Happy Father's Day to Daddy. Happy Father's Day to yoouuu." Sally was singing quietly to herself. She always sang to her parents for every holiday. If she didn't know any songs for the holiday – so really all of them besides Christmas and birthdays – she just sang the birthday song and changed the words a little. She did it for Easter, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, even holidays she didn't know like Columbus Day that she got out of school for. Her parents always loved it.
She sang to her mommy for Mother's Day last month. She drew her mommy a pretty picture of a flower too. It didn't seem fair that she was able to give her mommy a picture for Mother's Day, but she couldn't give her daddy the picture that she drew of a dog for Father's Day.
Uncle Rich said that her daddy could see the picture from heaven, and that he definitely loves it. He even offered to hang it up on the fridge. But Sally didn't want her daddy to see the picture hanging up and think that Sally gave it to Uncle Rich instead. No, it was better that she hang on to it.
Sally sighed as she sat on her bed looking at the picture. She didn't even realize she was crying until she saw a tear on the paper.
Sure, Uncle Rich was nice and he had a pretty house. But she wouldn't want to stay for more than a visit. She had only been there for two weeks, but all she wanted was to go home. She just wanted her parents.
She tried singing again; maybe that would make her feel better.
"Happy F-father's Day to y-y-you. Happy Father's Day to…" All at once, she could no longer control her tears. She stopped singing. She just curled up in her bed and let herself cry.
She was really starting to hate Father's Day.
Sally was so exhausted. Even at ten months, Percy was keeping her up most nights. And tonight he was extra fussy.
As Percy's shrill screams pierced the night, she allowed herself five seconds of pity before getting up once again to calm him down. It was very early on a Sunday, so Sally didn't need to be at work later that morning. It was a good thing – she didn't think she had gotten even a solid four hours of sleep.
She reached Percy's crib and saw that his face was beet red from screaming – it was a miracle the neighbors hadn't complained yet. She picked him up, wondering if she should bring him to the doctor the next day – he felt a little warm, but she wasn't sure if that was a fever or a combination of the exertion from screaming and from New York's typical June humidity.
Sally rocked him back and forth. She was humming slightly, just willing him to fall back asleep.
She loved being a mother, she really did. She wouldn't trade Percy or the life they had for anything. But it was just so hard. Sally had no idea how single mothers did it. She was either with her son worrying about money, or at work worrying about her little angel. She hated not being able to be with him all the time, but she also hated the thought of being too poor to give Percy everything he needed.
She had Percy all to herself; it was always going to be Sally and Percy against the world. But sometimes, she just wished that she had someone to share his life with. Someone else who would get excited when he started talking. Someone to spoil him with toys he would probably never use. Someone to teach him to drive and shave, and someone to sit with at Percy's high school graduation.
Sure, having Poseidon as a father meant that Percy would be stronger and more powerful than Sally could ever imagine, but it also meant that their lives would be lonelier than Sally ever wanted. She just really didn't want her son to grow up without a father.
She looked at the clock and saw it was 3 in the morning. She had almost forgotten – that meant it was Father's Day. Percy's first Father's Day, and it was going to pass like any other day.
Without realizing it, Sally had started humming the birthday song to Percy. He was much quieter, although he still wasn't asleep. So she added to words and started singing to him.
"Happy Father's Day to you. Happy Father's Day to you."
She knew that it would get easier. Before she knew it, Percy would be able to fend for himself and he'd be off fighting a new monster each day. Then she'd be wishing he was a baby again and that all of his problems could be solved with her singing to him.
"Happy Father's Day to Poseidon."
She understood why Poseidon couldn't stay with them and really be a father to Percy. But she still wished that things were different. A boy needed a father.
"Happy Father's Day to you."
But with or without Poseidon, Sally was going to make sure that Percy grew into an amazing man. He was going to be strong and good and loved by all. She was going to make him into a little gentleman. They didn't need Poseidon; Sally would make sure of that.
Percy's eyes were closed as she finished singing. His breathing was even, and he looked so peaceful. Sally could have watched him sleep forever, but her own eyes were drooping.
She carefully set him down in his crib, hoping that he would stay asleep for a few hours.
Sally did wish more than anything that Percy would grow up with a father figure. But that didn't seem likely. He would surely feel the absence, and she dreaded future Father's Days when Percy's inevitable questions would come. She had no idea what she would tell him in order to delay him from finding out about the Greek world.
Sally knew that she would grow to hate Father's Day even more than she already did. It would always serve as a constant reminder that the two of them were alone in the world. But she loved Percy enough for two parents. She prayed to Poseidon that that was enough.
"Where's my bean dip Sally?" Sally heard shouted from the other room.
"It's coming Gabe," she said back.
"I told you to make it ages ago! How hard is it to make a simple bean dip?" Sally closed her eyes and counted to five before responding – she would have counted to ten, but Gabe would start screaming if she ignored him for that long. Percy was in his room down the hall, and she hated dragging him into this.
"I had to run to the store, Gabe. I gave you the last of the bean dip during your poker game yesterday."
"Don't sass me Sally," he shouted back. "It's not my responsibility to make sure we have enough to feed our guests; it's yours. So stop slacking and bring me my goddamned dip!"
Sally sighed. They had only been married for a few months, and already Gabe was acting as if he owned her. She knew that the marriage would be bad. She just didn't realize how bad.
Just a few years, she told herself for the hundredth time. Just until Percy is old enough to know about his heritage and defend himself. Just a few years.
Sally took her time finishing off the dip. When she had stalled enough – Gabe was going to start shouting again – she brought it into the living room. Living room wasn't really the right word to describe it anymore. Trash room was more like it. All of Sally's hard work to keep the apartment nice and homey for her son became useless as soon as Gabe moved in. Now, she could barely stand the sight of her former living room.
There was trash everywhere – empty chip bags, beer cans, and used cigars littered the floors. She saw cigar burns on the couches that she had worked so hard to buy and stains all over the carpet. The only piece of furniture that Gabe had brought with him when he moved was sitting in the center of her living room – a huge poker table. There were beer cans and cigars all over that too. Gabe and four other large men were sitting around the table in the middle of a hand. The other men almost smelled as bad as Gabe did – almost. Sally wanted to admonish them all and tell them to go home and take a shower. She stopped herself. Not only would that make Gabe mad, but the smell was probably hiding Percy's demigod scent even further.
The men didn't acknowledge her, so she tried to dump the bean dip on the table unceremoniously and leave.
But it never happened that way. During every poker game since they married, Gabe had been doing his best to show Sally off to his poker buddies. It was as if he was bragging about the fact that he was actually able to find some sucker to marry him.
"Where do you think you're going Sally?" Gabe asked. "Your husband is wiping the floor with these losers. Don't you want to give me a congratulatory kiss?" No she didn't. But she knew that she didn't have much choice, especially since he had been drinking.
Sally walked over to him slowly. She leaned down and tried to get away with kissing his cheek. He wouldn't allow that of course. He turned and got her right on the mouth.
Sally tried not to flinch. He tasted stale. She hated the taste of cigars, and was starting to hate beer as well. She also did not like the way his hand grabbed her ass every time they kissed.
After what Sally deemed an appropriate amount of time, she tried to pull away. He only pulled her closer. He didn't let her pull off until one of the other guys started throwing chips at Gabe to get him to stop, and even then he kept his dirty hands on her. He gave her a final squeeze before looking smugly around the room. Apparently, he decided he needed to show off to his friends even more.
"Is that little brat of yours in his room?" he asked. Sally's heart began to thump harder. Gabe never cared where Percy was.
"Yes. Where else would he be?"
"Doesn't he realize what today is? Doesn't he have something to say to me?" Her heart dropped. It was Father's Day. Sally hoped that Gabe didn't actually expect anything of Percy today. Gabe didn't see himself as a father figure, and neither did Percy. That was fine with Sally – she'd rather Gabe not attempt to raise her son anyway.
"Brat!" he shouted. "Brat! Get out here you stupid boy!" Gabe never called Percy by name – he thought Percy had a stupid, sissy name. But still, there wasn't any dispute as to who he was calling.
Slowly, Sally saw Percy emerge from his room. He looked miserable. Sally tried to go to him, but Gabe still had a firm grip on her. Percy slowly entered the room and looked at Gabe with disdain.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"Show some respect when you talk to me."
Percy was silent, refusing to respect Gabe. Gabe chose not to pursue that – he seemed to get that Percy was Sally's world. If he pushed Percy too far, his marriage would crumble. Sally didn't know how long that attitude would last, but she hoped it would last for the duration of the marriage.
"Do you know what today is, punk?" Gabe asked.
"Sunday," Percy responded. Even at eight years old, Percy was very bright. He knew exactly what Gabe wanted, and he wasn't giving it.
"Are you stupid?" Gabe asked, raising his voice. "Don't you have something you want to say to me?"
Without hesitating, Percy shook his head. His whole body moved with his head, the way little kids sometimes shook their heads.
"You ungrateful brat," Gabe started to stand up. Percy ran out of the room screaming. He ran into his room and closed the door. Gabe started to follow.
"Gabe, stop," Sally said. She grabbed his arm to stop him, but he pushed her and she fell on the ground. By the time she got up, Gabe was already pounding on Percy's door. As she ran past the poker table to stop Gabe, she caught a glimpse of Gabe's friends. None of them seem the slightest bit concerned. One was even trying to look at Gabe's cards. Maybe this was a common occurrence in their households, but not in Sally's.
Sally grabbed the arm that was pounding on Percy's door. "Gabe, stop," she pleaded. "We haven't been married for very long. Percy has never had anyone to celebrate Father's Day with. Can you just let this go?"
"No I can't freaking let it go Sally," he replied, ripping his arm out of her grasp and continuing to pound on the door. At least Sally could relax knowing that there was no way this walrus was strong enough to knock it down. "I put a roof over this boy's head and food in his stomach. He doesn't deserve any of it. And what do I get in return? Nothing! He needs to come out here and show me some respect."
"Gabe, you're drunk." He didn't deny that. "Look, the guys are waiting for you to continue the game. Why don't you go back to them, and I'll calm Percy down."
Gabe considered that. Sally knew that he would rather play his game than deal with Percy in any way. "Fine," he consented. "But he better come out on his knees." He walked back to the table, swaying slightly as he went.
Sally waited until she heard the loud men restart their game before gently knocking on the door.
"Percy? Percy honey, it's just me. Can I come in?" Silence. Then she heard the door unlock. Percy was back lying in his bed before she even had the door fully open. He was curled up in a ball crying, trying not to make any noise.
Sally closed the door behind her. She walked over and sat on the bed next to Percy. She put her hand on his shoulder and gently rubbed his back until he was calmed down enough to speak.
"I hate Smelly Gabe," he finally said. I do too, Sally wanted to say.
"Percy, hate is a strong word," she said instead.
"But I do. He isn't my dad." She knew that better than anyone. Gabe couldn't be more different from Poseidon.
"I know, and he knows too," she responded. "But people like him… they just want as much recognition as they can get, even if they don't deserve it."
"Recognition?"
"It means attention."
"I know what it means!" Percy insisted. Despite herself, Sally smiled slightly. "But how am I supposed to give him recknition?"
"Recognition," she corrected automatically. He rolled his eyes. "I think he just wants you to wish him a happy Father's Day for now. We'll deal with the rest later."
"But that's a lie! I don't want him to have a happy Father's Day." She wasn't entirely sure how to respond. He kept talking. "It's not fair! Why did my real daddy have to get lost? Why did he go, and leave us stuck with Smelly Gabe? I hate him!" Percy started crying again. Sally wasn't sure this time if Percy was saying that he hated Gabe or Poseidon.
Either way, she didn't have much of a response. She continued rubbing his back, trying to think of a way to calm him down.
When he was a baby, singing to him always worked. She hoped he wasn't too old for it now. Only one song popped into her head. She began to sing it quietly.
"Happy Father's Day to you, happy Father's Day to you." It wasn't much of a lullaby, but it would have to do.
Eventually, she would get Percy to stop crying. He'd calm down enough to go into the living room, mumble a "Happy Father's Day, Gabe" and a quick apology for his actions, and then run back to his room into Sally's arms.
But for now, Sally just really hated Father's Day.
Gabe was sitting at the table finishing up his third can of beer when Percy quietly padded into the kitchen. Sally was at the sink finishing up the dinner dishes – Gabe, of course, hadn't offered any help. She was sure he was purposely waiting for her to finish up before deciding he wanted dessert and dirtying more dishes. Gabe was too engrossed in whatever vile thoughts were running through his head to notice Percy standing in the doorway trying to catch his mother's eye.
Sally noticed as soon as Percy entered the room, so he was able to convey his silent message. A plea to not make him do this.
But Sally gave him a stern look and jerked her head in Gabe's direction. She didn't want to force Percy, but they both knew their lives would be much easier if they gave in for just a brief moment.
Sally saw as Percy closed his eyes to gather his strength. She didn't blame him; what ten-almost-eleven year old wanted to submit to a pig like Gabe, even in something as small as this?
"Gabe?" Percy said quietly. It was weird hearing that name leave Percy's lips without being proceeded by the word "Smelly." Percy knew enough not to call him Smelly Gabe to his face; in general, Percy just tried to avoid calling Gabe anything. Actually, he tried to avoid Gabe in general.
Gabe looked up. "What do you want, punk?" Sally could tell that Percy was doing everything he could to not snap back at Gabe. She hated seeing her son reduced to this.
Percy brought his hands out from behind his back, presenting Gabe with a card and a small, wrapped gift. "Happy Father's Day," he said evenly.
"Well it's about time. I don't know what you're playing at, waiting until it's almost your bedtime. As if you're hoping I'm going to forget. Ungrateful, that's what it is." Gabe reached out and grabbed the package from Percy, ignoring the card. Percy knew better than to be insulted. The card was nothing special anyway. Sally knew that he had only written a simple "To Gabe" at the top and just his name at the bottom surrounding the generic "Happy Father's Day" text that was already printed on the card. But still, the least Gabe could do was pretend to read it.
Gabe was already finished ripping through the pristine paper on his present. He was looking at the unwrapped gift as if he had never seen it before.
"What the hell is this?" he asked.
"A deck of cards," Percy responded. "A pretty nice one too."
"And what do you expect me to do with these cards?"
Percy looked taken aback. "Well, you play poker with those guys every day. I thought you could use a new deck."
Gabe looked at Percy as if he was an idiot. "Since I play every day, don't you think I already have cards?" He threw the deck on the table and stood to get another beer.
Sally decided to step in. "Gabe, Percy picked those out himself. He really put a lot of thought into getting you something you would like. And can't you always use a new deck of cards?"
Percy was shaking his head at her, clearly telling her to stay out of it. But it was too late. Sally was talking, and she wasn't stopping yet. "He didn't have to get you anything," she continued. "And he definitely could have gotten you something you would never use." Like soap, she added silently. "Don't you think you should show a little appreciation?"
"Appreciation?" Gabe started laughing. A full, deep, you've-got-to-be-kidding-me laugh. "It's the punk who should be appreciating me. I'm the one who pays for him, who puts up with him, who doesn't kick him out for getting thrown out of every damn school in the city. And what do I get in return? A deck of cards? I should throw him out on the streets right now."
Sally stepped forward to retort. Before she realized it, Percy was standing in between them. "It's cool, Mom." He turned to Gabe. "I'm sorry you don't like your present Gabe. I'll do better next time."
"You'd better," Gabe mumbled before sitting back down at the table.
Percy must have been able to see in Sally's face that she wasn't done yet. So he stepped in again.
"Mom, could you help me with my homework in my room? I can't seem to get long division."
Sally could tell that he just wanted to get her out of that room; she knew that he had already finished his homework, but she agreed nonetheless. Percy let her leave the room first, probably more to make sure that she didn't antagonize Gabe any further than out of chivalry.
This wasn't the first time that Percy had stepped in to cool things down between Sally and Gabe. Where he used to always antagonize Gabe in the past, in the past few weeks Sally noticed that he'd do his best to step in and calm Gabe down whenever arguments began to reach a boiling point. Sally knew he was starting to suspect that Gabe was violent with her, but he didn't know what to do yet. Sally wanted to talk to him and tell him that it wasn't his place to end her arguments, but she couldn't bring up the topic. She didn't know what answers she could possibly give him.
She entered Percy's room and walked straight to the unmade bed. She messily pulled the covers up before sitting down on top. Percy followed close behind her, gentling closing the door and settling onto the bed next to her.
"I don't get it Mom," he said. "Why? Why do you keep putting up with that creep?"
Sally sighed. "Percy, I've told you. He's been-"
"Yeah I know. He's been good to us. You've told me that." Percy was upset, but he didn't look angry. "But I know there's more to it than that. Because to me, it doesn't look like he's been good to us at all. Nothing he ever does is good for either of us! I know you Mom. I know that there's a better reason that you aren't telling me."
Sally was silent. She knew her silence was answer enough, but she had no idea what else to say to him.
He sighed. He looked defeated. But he also looked accepting, as if he was finally accepting that Sally couldn't tell him any more than that.
"Fine," Percy said. "Don't tell me. Again. Let me know if you ever decide to trust me with the truth."
Her heart broke. She had never wanted Percy to think she didn't trust her.
"Oh honey," she said. "That isn't it. That isn't it at all. I would trust you with my life. It's just… complicated."
Percy was silent. He knew he wasn't getting anything else out of her. She wished she could tell him more, but she couldn't think of anything she could tell him short of everything, and that would defeat the entire purpose of marrying Gabe.
Sally didn't say anything either. This was the closest thing to an awkward silence the two of them ever had.
It was Gabe who broke the silence. Sally realized belatedly that she had left him alone with the beer. There was no telling how many he had had by now. She was certainly going to regret that once Percy was asleep.
Gabe was definitely drunk. And he was singing rather loudly.
"Happy Father's Day to ME! Happy Father's Day to ME!" Sally couldn't move. She could barely breathe. He was taking her song, something special to her, and turning it into a joke. "Happy Father's Day to GA-ABE! Happy Father's Day to ME!" He started laughing obnoxiously, obviously proud of himself. Perversely, Sally was a little proud of him too for being able to remember all those words with whatever blood alcohol content he was sporting.
Percy must have realized how upset hearing that song had made her.
"Father's Day sucks," he said simply.
She chuckled a little bit. "It certainly does."
In a way, Sally was glad to be trapped in the Underworld. Sure, she couldn't tell where her body was or even if she had one anymore. She was barely conscious. She was also a prisoner, although she wasn't being mistreated or tortured, just immobile.
Honestly, it was kind of nice, getting away from that wretched place that she was supposed to consider her home. And now with Percy aware of his heritage and finally getting the proper training at camp, there really was no need for Sally to spend any time with Gabe. At all. What was he going to do if she didn't spend time with him? End their marriage? Although she knew it was futile, she hoped that he would end it.
It was going to end soon; that she was sure of. Sally had no need or desire to stay with the man anymore. Of course, she'd been trapped in the Underworld since Percy learned he was a half-blood, so Sally hadn't had a chance to officially end things with Gabe yet.
If she was being honest with herself – and since she was a prisoner to Hades, she was trapped with her own thoughts and really had no choice but to be honest with herself – she was relieved that she hadn't been able to confront Gabe yet. She was afraid to end the marriage.
She didn't have any doubts; she had planned on ending the marriage before they had even said their vows, vows that had really never held any meaning.
No, the reason that she was afraid was because she didn't know how Gabe would react.
That wasn't even entirely true. She knew exactly how Gabe would react. She shuddered at the thought of new scars and bruises that would never quite fade. Both she and Gabe knew that he would never find a better wife than her, and she doubted that he'd be in a rush to end things.
Selfishly, she wished that Percy could be there when she broke the news to Gabe so he could protect her. But that wasn't fair to ask of him. She had gotten herself into this mess, and she was perfectly capable of getting herself out of it.
Still, she was glad for the reprieve and the chance to collect herself before breaking the news to him. She figured that she could actually learn to enjoy her time in the Underworld.
Of course, there was another reason she didn't mind being trapped down here. Without any sunlight or clocks, she had absolutely no idea how much time had passed since she had brought her son to Half-Blood Hill. But she figured it was mid to late June right now. That means her least favorite day of the year was at any time now: Father's Day.
But she was away from it. And Percy was away from Gabe.
She had hated Father's Day for the past few years. Both she and Percy had acknowledged that Gabe would make them both even more miserable than usual if Percy didn't make some sort of small acknowledgement of the day.
She hated seeing her son like that. Every year, he would swallow his pride to kowtow to that pig and never receive anything in return, not even a hint of gratefulness. Percy deserved to keep his pride. He shouldn't have to kneel down to anyone.
That was probably the most painful part of her marriage, more painful than any injuries or fears that Gabe could give her. Percy always looked so broken on Father's Day. But still, he put on a brave face and did what he had to do. She had never been able to fathom where he found the strength.
It was actually probably right around Father's Day when Percy came to the Underworld. She only knew that he was there because Hades had brought whatever was containing her in to the room where they were talking. Probably as a means of torturing Percy.
It didn't take long for Sally to gather why Percy was in the Underworld in the first place: to rescue her. Well, officially he was there because of a lightning bolt or something, but rescuing her was definitely an ulterior motive.
She could hear him arguing with Hades. Percy wanted her free, and Hades wanted this lightning bolt from Percy. Sally could tell that Percy didn't have the bolt; he would never be able to lie so convincingly.
But then they found the bolt in Percy's backpack? Sally didn't think that had made much sense. She didn't know the full story, wasn't even entirely sure what it was they were arguing over. But she knew some piece of the puzzle had just clicked for Percy. He may be goofy, but he was always a bright boy. He was able to figure it out.
All at once, Percy started arguing with his companions – Grover and a pretty blonde girl Sally had never met. It appeared that only three could return to the mortal world, and they wanted her to be one of them.
Don't you dare Percy, she tried to convey to him. Whatever this bolt was, it seemed very important. He'd need to be in the mortal world with both of his friends more than she needed to be up there. She didn't want him to save her; she wanted him to save the world.
Still, she was shocked that the other two were willing to stay in the Underworld for her. Well, not so much Grover. Especially if he had been allowed to come on this quest, it was his job to protect Percy, and that included his heart. It made sense that he was volunteering to stay.
But the girl… Sally didn't know her, and she couldn't have known Percy for longer than a week or two. She was actually willing to stay in Hades' realm for the mother of a boy she barely knew? Maybe it was a bit of a hero thing, but Sally didn't think so.
In the end, Percy did what he needed to do. He handed Grover and the girl each a pearl and took one for himself.
He looked towards were she was being held.
"I'm sorry," he said to her. "I'll be back. I'll find a way." With that, the three of them crushed their pearls and were gone. As Hades raged at their disappearance, Sally's heart felt as if it were about to burst with pride.
Even without ever having a father figure, Percy had somehow figured out how to be a man.
She was immensely proud of him. But still, she had plenty of time to think. Her mind started wandering down the taboo "what if?" trail.
Percy was an amazing, strong person, and Sally sincerely could not be prouder of him.
But what if he had grown up with a father figure? What if they had been a normal, non-mythical family? What if his biggest worry was finishing his homework and not whether one of his relatives would choose this day to blow him to smithereens? What if Percy had a real father?
Sally could vividly see it. She could see a tall, sturdy man. He was faceless, but she knew he was smiling. How could he not, when he had so much love for their son?
He was a real man. One who respected others, and was incredibly selfless and generous, and actually gave a damn about Percy. He actually preferred when Percy was around.
Of course, Sally wanted a man like this for herself, not just for Percy. She wanted to have someone in her life who she wanted to look nice for. Someone who would compliment her and take an interest in her life, who she could speak to as an equal and not feel as if she had to use small words so his pea brain could understand them all. Someone who would never touch her violently and who was actually capable of remorse. She just wanted someone who she and Percy could share their lives with and who wanted to share his life in return. Sally wasn't a bitter person. But if the gods had any pity, shouldn't she deserve that after all she had done?
Maybe it was the Underworld, or maybe it was because she was finally so close to ending her horrible marriage, but Sally started to envision the way this Father's Day should've played out. She usually tried not to think about the what-if scenarios – she didn't see any point in wishing for something she couldn't have – but for once, she indulged.
She saw the faceless man sitting at the table, smiling of course. He was in a kitchen that looked clean and homey. It was decorated exactly the way Sally would decorate her kitchen if she had the money.
Sally was laughing with the man. She had no idea what they were laughing about, but it really didn't matter. She was happy with him. He was everything she had ever wanted. Her heart started to ache so much she thought it would shrivel up and fall out of her chest.
All at once, the two of them stopped talking. They tried to contain their smiles as they both stared at the doorway. The man grabbed Sally's hand.
Percy walked into the kitchen. He was smiling from ear to ear and was carrying a cake with blue frosting, one that, from the looks of it, he decorated himself. There were gaps in the frosting revealing the chocolate cake underneath. A single candle was lit on the cake. Percy walked forward and started to sing, without any bitterness or irony in his voice. Just love.
"Happy Father's Day to you! Happy Father's Day to you! Happy Father's Day to-"
And her vision cut off. It had been so real. Sally felt herself begin to cry. She could practically taste the chocolate cake and smell the burning candle. But her vision had stopped before Percy reached a name because there was no name to add. There never had been. And there wouldn't be as long as she was married to Gabe.
She felt a little lighter once she realized she didn't have to deal with him this Father's Day. Come to think of it, it could be a while before she had to put up with him again, if ever.
She let out a dark laugh through her tears. Here she was, alone in the Underworld crying, a prisoner of Hades, and having been left here by her son indefinitely. Sadly enough, this was shaping up to be the best Father's Day she had had in a very long time.
Sally woke to the smell of smoke. At first she assumed that Paul had overcooked breakfast, and she almost rolled over and fell back asleep. In fact, she did roll over. But she saw that Paul was lying in bed with her, and her eyes snapped open. She considered waking him, but the smell was faint enough that she wasn't sure if she was imagining it or not. She decided to see if the smell was stronger in the hall before she alarmed him.
She gently rolled out of bed and slipped on her slippers and her robe. She left the room as quietly as she could so she wouldn't wake her husband of only a few months.
The smell was stronger when she left the bedroom. Perversely, her curiosity was piqued more than her alarm or fear. It seemed like it was coming from her kitchen. She walked a few more feet, and then she heard pans clanging in her kitchen. There was definitely someone in there; now she was alarmed.
She would have turned right around to grab Paul – assuming that the clanging hadn't already woken him up – if she hadn't heard a familiar voice cursing. "Di immortales," she heard.
Sally gingerly turned the corner and saw an odd sight. Percy was in the kitchen. Cooking of his own volition. Or attempting to cook at least. The counter was covered in ingredients and batter, there were pots scattered on the floor, and Percy's forehead was covered in a thin sheen of sweat.
"Percy?" she said hesitantly.
He jumped slightly and turned to face her – only spilling a little bit of the batter in the process. He must have really been concentrating on his task if she was able to sneak up on him; due to frequent monster attacks, he was usually hyperaware of his surroundings.
"You scared me, Mom," he replied.
"I can see that," she said hesitantly and slowly, keeping an eye on the stove. "What are you doing home? I thought you were at Camp Half-Blood."
He shrugged. "The camp will survive without me for one day. Kr- Luke probably won't attack today. I mean, it's Father's Day. I had to come home," he replied, as if that explained everything. He must have noticed her slightly confused look. Father's Day was never a big deal in their household, for obvious reasons. He explained further. "I couldn't miss my first real one. Our first real one," he corrected.
"Oh, Percy," she started. Then she noticed the amount of smoke coming from the pan was increasing. "The stove!" She rushed over to take the pan off of the heat before it could burst into flames.
"Oops," he said dumbly. Sally looked in the pan. The bottom was coated with a layer of blue goop that did not look appetizing in the least.
"It looks like you burned your… what exactly is this?"
"Pancakes," he replied as if it were obvious.
"Pancakes?" she questioned incredulously. "Have I really never taught you how to make these?"
"Hey!" he said. He was smiling, so she knew he wasn't actually insulted. "They aren't that bad!"
In response, Sally reached over to grab a spatula from the counter. After a little bit of effort, she was able to flip the mess at the bottom of the pan. The other side of the goop was completely black.
Percy outright laughed at that. "Okay, they are that bad." Sally joined in his laughter. She sobered up rather quickly as something occurred to her.
"These are for Paul, right?"
"No, they're for Smelly Gabe," he quipped. She didn't even smirk at his sarcasm for once.
"But they're blue." They never made blue food for Paul. They made blue food for each other, as an inside joke. Sally used to make blue food for Gabe as a means of rebellion. It had never seemed right to her to do something for her new husband that she used to do for her previous husband purely out of spite.
"I thought it was about time to really welcome him into our family," he responded.
Sally responded by pulling him in for a big hug. Unlike most teenage boys, he hugged his mother back. He was used to her being pretty emotional, especially recently since everything was falling into place in their lives (besides the huge impending war that is).
After a moment, Sally pulled away. "He'll love it," she responded. "But what do you say I help you make a fresh batch? A slightly more edible one, maybe?"
"Yeah, I guess," he said. He didn't seem too happy about it.
"What's wrong?"
Percy shrugged. "I don't know. I guess that I just really wanted to do something myself for him."
"Okay. Fair enough. How about you make a new batch, but I'll just supervise? This way you can learn a little bit of cooking too."
His face brightened. "That sounds good."
"Let's start with cleaning up your… creation here."
At his insistence, they didn't throw the burned goop in the garbage. Instead, they placed it on a plate, blue side up, and put it to the side.
They were just finishing up taking out all the ingredients (Percy hadn't coated the pan with butter or spray before laying the batter down – it was a wonder he didn't burn the entire building down!) when Paul came running into the room.
"Sally! Smoke!" he shouted, half-asleep. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the scene in front of him. "Percy?"
"Yeah… er… surprise! Happy Father's Day!" Percy exclaimed.
"Father's… what?" Paul was still a little confused. He hadn't been expecting any acknowledgement of the day from Percy – he had been officially part of the family for only a short amount of time.
"Father's Day!" Percy replied. "I wanted to come home and spend it with you guys."
Sally could tell that Paul was surprised and at a loss for words.
"Thank you Percy," he said sincerely. "That, um, that really means a lot. And I'm glad you were able to come home today. It's such a nice surprise to have you burning down the kitchen for a change!" Sally smiled. She could tell he was touched.
Percy was just standing there silently, so Sally nudged him with her hip to remind him about the rest of his surprise.
"Oh yeah. I made you breakfast, which is why you smell the smoke." He grabbed the plate with his creation and handed it to Paul. "Happy Father's Day!"
Paul examined the plate. "Oh, you didn't have to do that Percy." His eyes never left the plate. Sally could tell he was trying to come up with a way to tell Percy that the food was inedible without insulting him or downplaying his gesture. "This… omelet looks delicious."
Sally and Percy looked at each other and burst out laughing.
"Pancakes, Paul. Pancakes," Sally managed to get out. She could see his mouth form the shape of an O as he tried to figure out how to come back from that.
"And Mom agreed to help me make more that can actually be eaten," Percy said with his signature smirk. Paul finally looked up. He started laughing.
"That sounds like a good plan," he said. "Mind if I get in on that? No offense to your mom, but I make a mean pancake."
Sally nodded in agreement. "It's true; he does." Percy beckoned him over.
In the end, Sally didn't end up doing much in terms of preparing the breakfast. Paul taught Percy how to properly make pancakes, and he even threw in scrambled eggs and bacon for good measure. Her boys ended up cooking her breakfast for Father's Day. She watched fondly as Paul attempted to teach Percy to toss the pancakes into the air from the pan to flip them – that made a bit of a mess – and as Percy was given the task of actually scrambling the eggs – that made a bigger mess.
But Sally could care less about the mess. She was just so happy that for once, Percy had a father to teach him things like how to flip the perfect pancake. Before she realized it, she was humming to herself contently as she watched the two of them cook.
"Happy Father's Day to us. Happy Father's Day to us. Happy Father's Day to u-us. Happy Father's Day to us."
Maybe Father's Day wasn't so bad after all.
A/N: Happy Father's Day! This one's for my Dad, my biggest fan, who I am unfortunately a few states away from today. If you're lucky enough to be with your Dad today, let him know how much you appreciate him. I'm sure it'll mean a lot to him!
Shameless plug: if you liked this story, check out my story Sally's Son! It's the same format (Sally's PoV talking about different scenarios as she raises Percy). This was actually supposed to be a chapter, but it got too long :-) So if you liked this one, you might like that as well!