Paul heard the screams before he even woke up. When he finally opened his eyes, it took him a few moments to register where the screams were coming from. He looked over at the other side of the bed and panicked slightly, before he remembered that Sally was away at a writer's seminar and would be getting home late.

Then where were those screams coming…

Paul was ashamed that it took him that long to remember: He had a step-son.

Paul bolted out of the bed and flung the blankets off. He dashed out of the room and across the hall, where the screams were coming from. When he opened the door to Percy's room the screams doubled in volume. Paul rushed to the teen's side as he thrashed restlessly, his face contorted into a painful grimace,

"No…NO!" Percy screamed. "Annabeth!"

"Shhh… Percy it's alright." Paul tried to wake him gently. "It's alright son, wake up."

He put a hand on Percy's shoulder intending to shake him softly, but Percy jumped awake at the sudden contact and recoiled from Paul's touch. Paul sat awkwardly for a second.

Right… I'm the step-dad… not Sally… He thought bitterly. He looked at Percy and melted. The boy's eyes were filled with pure terror and his body was soaked in a cold sweat. Paul swallowed his pride and crept closer to the teen.

"Hey, Percy it's alright. You were having a nightmare, that's all." Paul said softly. Percy blinked the terror and confusion out of his eyes. He relaxed, trying to compose himself.

"I'm sorry Paul," He started. "I… demigods we… we get these horrible dreams-"

"It's alright Percy," I have nightmares too." Paul blurted. Percy stared at him.

Stupid, stupid… Paul thought, You have no idea what 'demigod' dreams are like!

"How-" Percy started hesitantly, "How do you deal with them?" he asked softly.

Paul was surprised by his question. It took him a while to register the words.

"Wha- oh, me? How do I?" He began, "Well… I find it helps when I share them with someone else."

"Oh…" Percy said. "I… it's complicated, I really don't want to drag you into all this demigod crap."

"Hey, I'm a big boy I can handle it." Paul smiled which made Percy smile slightly in return.

"Really it's no big deal Paul… I don't want to bother you, it's not your job to…" Percy trailed off. "I'm sorry…" he whispered, voice almost breaking.

That's when it hit Paul. Percy had never really had a father before. His biological father, the God, left before he was born and Sally's previous husband was abusive. Percy was just as confused about having a dad as Paul was with having a son. With that thought, Paul sat on Percy's bed, causing the teen to flinch slightly. Paul cringed at Percy's response, but he kept going pushing any thought of it's origin out of his mind. He put his arms around Percy and rubbed his shoulder softly.

"Percy… I'm not Gabe, okay." Paul said softly. "You can trust me. Because I do care about you and I do want to help you…"

Suddenly something inside Percy broke. Some sort of dam or wall broke and the teen began to sob, hard. He clutched Paul's shirt and buried his face in his chest. It was all Paul could do to keep his shaking body steady in his arms.

"It's okay… Shhh…" Paul said shakily as tears began to brim in his own eyes. Paul didn't know what exactly demigod quests all entailed all he knew was something pretty horrible had to have happened to break this poor boy so badly. They sat for a few minutes, Paul holding Percy while he cried into his chest. Once he had quit sobbing he spoke softly, his voice hoarse from crying.

"I killed her…" he said miserably, "I-in the dream, I drowned her in her own poison."

Paul didn't say anything; he continued to rub Percy's back comfortingly.

"I killed her only, it wasn't Achlys…"Percy continued. "It… it was Annabeth."

It took all the strength he had to say those last three words and it made Paul's heart break. He remembered Annabeth. She was Percy's girlfriend. The pretty young blonde who had cried over his disappearance with Sally. She'd visited the apartment quite a few times…she was with Percy when he came home last week. The two seemed inseparable, only Annabeth had to leave to visit her father in California. Paul remembered how they'd said goodbye, as if being separated was a terrifying prospect for both of them. Paul wondered…

"Does this have anything to do with your… 'quest'?" He asked softly. Percy nodded weakly.

"Do you want to tell me?" He pried gently. Percy took a deep breath. He was silent for a few minutes… then.

"Have you ever heard of Tartarus?" Percy asked.

Paul wracked his brain, he remembered the name from his Greek Mythology course he'd taught.

"Tarturus that's… that's the prison for the Titans." He remembered. "The 'endless abyss'."

Percy nodded again. He swallowed hard before continuing. "We fell, together." Percy paused. Paul hoped Percy didn't mean what he thought.

"We fell into Tarturus." Percy finished. Paul's heart sank. He felt a tear roll down his cheek and he stopped rubbing Percy's back for a second to wipe it away.

"I'm sorry, Percy." He whispered softly. "I'm so sorry."

"S'okay." Percy said, clearly exhausted. "I… I don't want to be alone."

Paul thought for second.

"Do you… maybe want to… to sleep in my room tonight?" Paul squeezed his eyes tight, regretting the question as soon as he asked it. To his surprise Percy looked at him with tear stained eyes.

"You wouldn't mind?" He asked hesitantly. Paul smiled.

"Of course not."

Sally opened the door to the apartment as quietly as she could. She snuck in and hung her keys on the key rack at the front door. To her surprise the kitchen was spotless and there was no evidence that she'd been away from the home for two days. She smiled, imagining the panic that must have occurred that afternoon while the boys attempted to clean the house for her.

She continued down the hall to her room, still smiling over the image in her head. She almost began to giggle from her blissful exhaustion until she remembered the sleeping people in the apartment. She dropped her suitcase in front of her door and crept silently to her son's room. She opened it as slowly as she could, not wanting to wake the sleeping teen inside. However when she looked into the room, she discovered that it was empty.

Panic gripped her heart as she ran back to her room, almost tripping over her suitcase as she flung the door open.

"Paul! Percy's not-" she stopped herself when she saw the two sleeping figures on the bed. Paul was lying in the middle of the bed with his arm around Percy, who was sleeping soundly with his head on his step-father's chest. Paul's head rested softly on his own shoulder as he breathed softly into Percy's hair. Sally sighed in relief and stifled a laugh as she watched the two most important men in her life sleeping peacefully in her bed. Now how was she supposed to crawl under the covers without waking them…