Author's Note: This is my Father's Day dedication to my Daddy. Reading Percy Jackson, I could never imagine what it's like to grow up never having a father, or having a father that treats me badly, then tries to make up for it, in Annabeth's case. My dad is the best I could ask for. He does everything for me without having to be asked. I just want to say, "Thank you for everything you do for me, Daddy. Happy Fathers' Day."

Okay, about this particular one-shot, there is a part in The Lightning Thief when Percy vaguely recalls seeing his father's smile when he was a baby, but Sally told him that Poseidon had never seen him. Then later Percy says that he's sure that Poseidon had seen him when he was in his cradle. I say, Percy, you're right.

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.

Enjoy!

It was almost midnight. August 18th wasn't a date most of us really cared about. As a matter of fact, none of us really cared about dates at all, save the summer solstice, and of course the winter solstice, when we would have our annual meetings. But a random day in August…none of the others cared about this day.

Except me. Because it wasn't random to me. Was it special to me? Maybe...maybe it was. I knew it was dangerous, for me and for him. I shook my head, once again feeling guilty. It had been over a year since I'd seen Sally in person. I was yet to see her son…our son. No one knew about him. I wouldn't tell anyone anything. I couldn't. If my brothers were to find out…I thought about Zeus's little girl. I'd never sent anything out to attack her, but everyone knew about her by now. Everyone knew that the oath had been broken. No one needed to know it had been broken again…but this time, by me.

I made myself a breeze, drifting through Manhattan. I remembered exactly where to find her.

I knew it was almost midnight. I made no sound as I re-materialized on the fire escape of the apartment. I looked inside. All of the lights were off in the kitchen. There was a small crack in the window, and becoming a breeze again made it simple to slip inside.

I heard almost no noise, except for the ticking of a clock on the kitchen wall. There were about three minutes to midnight. Great. So I wasn't late.

Silently, I made my way through the dark apartment. I came to her door, which was slightly open. Peeking through the small crack, I could see she was almost sound asleep, with an occasional toss here and turn there. As much as I wanted to greet her, I didn't want to wake her. It wasn't her I was here to see.

I crept away from the door and turned, seeking the other bedroom. Its door was also open. I opened it a little more to let myself through, making sure it made no noise. The room was so different from before. It had been relatively empty the last time I'd been there. I saw now it had been turned into a baby's room. In the darkness I could see that the walls had been painted pale blue, and there were little decorations everywhere. When I got a closer look, I could see the small, stuffed toys mortal children enjoyed, toys made in the likeness of my own creatures: seahorses, crabs, sharks, and of course, fish. All sorts of different kinds of fish. I smiled; she hadn't forgotten about me.

My eyes found the little cradle, the small child sleeping in it. I walked as quietly as I could, until I was looking down at the baby. He lay on his back, with a tiny one of his hands up by his head, fingers curled. A blue blanket covered him. I was amazed at how much he looked like me. The last child I had that bore this much resemblance to me was…Theseus, wasn't it? I thought. His hair was just as dark as mine. The features were also mine.

Suddenly, I felt a pang of guilt. Why must mortal children look so innocent when they sleep? Why? I knew the answer. Because they are so innocent. They really didn't deserve to have such short lives. And if mine were to outlive Zeus's girl…if my son reaches his sixteenth birthday… I reached down into the cradle, stoked the baby's cheek one time. Mortals have such soft skin, I thought.

The baby shifted and opened his eyes. I couldn't help smiling; they matched mine exactly. The same shade of green, exactly like the sea. He stared at me with those big, green eyes, his expression saying something to the extent of, You don't look familiar, but you look like a nice guy. It made me chuckle. But the guilt was still there. I continued to caress his soft face. I sighed. "I'm sorry, little one," I murmured. "I wish you could stay like this forever, young and innocent. Nothing in the world to worry about. But I've handed you the worst life imaginable—a hero's life. You don't deserve such a short, unhappy life."

He just kept staring at me, now and then shifting his gaze to something else in the room. There was no sign that he'd registered any of my words. He was mortal; they tended to mature a lot more slowly than the gods. But it was okay; it kept them innocent.

The baby's eyes began to close with sleep. I decided that it was probably time for me to leave. "We'll meet again," I told him, even though I knew he paid no attention. I saw the clock on the wall. It was a few minutes after midnight now. "And happy birthday, little one," I added.

When I turned around, there she was, standing in the threshold, arms crossed but with a half-smile on her face. "Just saying hello?" she whispered.

I shrugged. "More like 'happy birthday'," I answered. "What's his name?"

Sally looked down, and I could see a hint of pink on her face. "I chose the name Perseus," she told me. "Percy, for short."

I pretended to make a face. "Perseus? After Zeus's son?"

This time it was her turn to shrug. "He's my favorite hero," she explained. "He's the only one who ever gets a happy ending, you know? I don't know…" She looked at her baby wistfully. "I want a happy ending. If anything happened to him…" She trembled, her voice choking up.

I realized how much Sally had changed since I'd last seen her. Yes, she was the same girl I'd met on the beach, but she didn't look as playful and cheerful as she used to. She looked…tired. Too tired for a girl in her early twenties. I put an arm around her. "I can't…make any promises as to whether or not he'll always be okay," I admitted. "That's up to the Fates. But there is a way to keep him as safe as possible."

She looked at me with her ever-changing eyes. Right then, they were almost green. "There is?"

"A camp," I told her. "It's a summer camp, for demigods. They train to fight monsters and defend themselves, in a safe environment where no monsters could attack them. Chiron himself is in charge."

"Chiron," she repeated. "I assume that's the same Chiron who trained Jason and Achilles."

I nodded. I'd told Sally almost everything there was to know about my world. She deserved to know what it was that she could see, that too many others couldn't.

Sally looked at me. There was hesitation and doubt on her face, like she was afraid to ask her next question. "And…it's only a summer camp, right?"

I sighed. "Honestly, with him being such a powerful demigod," I said, "it'd be safer to keep him there, even during the school year."

It slowly registered on her face, what I meant. She stared at me with fear. "You mean—if I send him there, I'll never see him again?"

"I mean, he's safer there than here," I told her. "I highly recommend you keeping him there. But that doesn't necessarily mean he has to stay."

She leaned away from me a little. "I can protect him," she murmured so softly, I might've believed she was talking to herself. "I can see, better than he can. I can protect him," she repeated.

This was hard. I didn't want to tell her that I needed him alive, at least until he turned sixteen, to be a weapon for or against us. I couldn't tell her that. So I didn't. "Sally," I said, "you need to understand that this world isn't safe for him. The camp, that's what's safe. That's the only way I can guarantee his safety, anyway."

She shook her head. "I can't do that. I can't just give my son up like that." I noticed a tear fall down her cheek. I wiped it away.

"Whatever you choose to do," I said, "I have complete confidence that you'll take great care of him. But when he reaches adolescence, remember what I'm telling you right now."

She nodded, but another tear fell. She wiped it away before I could. I kissed her on the cheek.

"It was nice seeing you again," I whispered.

She cracked a smile. "You too," she replied.

I walked toward the window and was about to teleport myself back to Olympus, but I had to say it. "Sally," I said, looking down at the sleeping child, "when he gets older, he'll resent me. But just know that I'm always watching over him, alright?"

"Okay," she whispered.

"And…don't tell him about tonight," I added. "He can't know anything about me. Anything he knows could send monsters on his trail."

Her face fell, but she nodded again. "I won't tell until he absolutely needs to know," she said. "I promise."

It made me feel guilty all over again, but I couldn't blame her, or the child. Honestly, I could only blame myself. It wasn't easy, having such a long life for yourself, but having to watch child after child fall at the hands of monsters, or gods, or anything else. With one more look inside, I began to concentrate my whole being into one place, feeling my body heat up and glow with its green light. Sally saw and turned away. As soon as I was sure that no one would get hurt, I assumed my true form and sent myself back to Olympus.

So, reviews are great and everything, but this is a personal tribute. So feel free to review, but please no flames.

Thanks so much,

~Mandi2341