AN: Hello lovelies! So here's a little story that's been buzzing around my head since the first time I read 'Son of Neptune' and the buzzing just got stronger every time I re-read it, so here we have it: what I think would have happened if Sally had actually answered the phone when Percy had tried to phone her from the pay-phone in Alaska. I'm sorry if the Sally, Percy and Paul seem a little OOC, it's the first time I've written anything in the PJO fandom. Feel free to leave constructive criticism!

Hope you all enjoy it!

The Phone Call

Sally Jackson was sitting in the kitchen nursing a cup of blue tea the night the phone rang around midnight. She hadn't been able to sleep that night, or the night before, or the night before, or the night before. She was pretty sure that she hadn't been able to sleep since the day Annabeth had called asking if Percy had come home for some reason. That was seven months ago and the only time she ever got a full night's rest was about once or twice a month when her body was simply too tired to carry on and she would pass into a deep dreamless sleep early in the evening until early the next morning. Then the cycle would start again. The inability to fall asleep, the nightmares when she did, the endless worry when she was awake. Gods she missed Percy so much.

They hadn't heard a word from him since before he had gone missing and the uncertainty was driving her insane. She needed to know what was happening to him, where he was, what he was doing… if he was okay. That was the biggest thing; she just wanted to know he was alive and okay. She didn't really need to know the rest if she knew he was okay, although it would be appreciated if she could know the rest. Poseidon hadn't been much help. She'd tried contacting him multiple times since Percy had disappeared but he had never answered. She stopped trying after Annabeth told her that none of the gods were responding to anything.

The ringing of the phone startled her out of her thoughts. She frowned at it; who would be phoning around this time of night? She could think of only one person. She jumped up and snatched the phone off its cradle before it could go over to voicemail.

She took a deep breath, trying in vain not to get her hopes up too high, "Hello?" she answered.

She heard what sounded like a sharp gasp but then nothing. She could just make out the sound of the hustle and bustle of a busy place in the background but whoever had called her wasn't speaking. She felt her heart sink a little, "Hello? Is anyone there?" she asked.

There was still no reply and she felt her heart sink further, maybe someone had accidentally dialled her number and had then dropped the phone.

She was just about to put the phone down when a single word, choked with emotion sounded over the line.

"Mom."

It was him. It was him. It was Percy. Oh Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Ares, Hera, it really was Percy. The relief washed over her like a tidal wave and she couldn't speak for a moment.

"Mom?" his voice sounded again, "Mom, please…"

He sounded so lost and broken. Suddenly Sally found her voice again.

"Percy. Oh gods Percy, is it really you?" she asked, tears beginning to trail down her cheeks.

"Yeah, mom, it's really me." He said and she could just see the faint smile on his face as he reassured her that it really was him.

"Oh, thank the gods." She breathed, sinking to her knees in the process as another wave of relief threatened to drown her, "Are you alright? Where are you? I've been so worried."

"I know, I'm so sorry. Hera took me and put me to sleep for a while and then she took my memory and I didn't know and I'm so, so sorry, mom." He explained and she could hear that he was fighting tears.

Sally had to make a conscious effort to not curse the queen of the gods right then and there, she needed to focus on Percy first, "It's okay, sweetie, it wasn't your fault. Just tell me if you're okay."

"I'm okay mom," he answered and another wave of relief washed over her, "I'm with a couple of new friends I made, we're on a quest…" he trailed off, obviously thinking that giving her that piece of information may not have been the best idea.

Suddenly she was furious, "You go missing for seven months and the first thing Chiron does is send you on a quest?!" she hissed.

"No, no, mom, it's not like that. I'm not on a quest for Camp Half Blood, it's for the other-" he was cut off by a whistle in the background and he cursed before speaking again, "That's my train. I have to go, I'm sorry."

Sally took a deep breath to settle her nerves, "Alright, honey, but please promise me that you'll be careful and that you'll come back to me."

"I promise." His voice broke, "I love you mom."

She sniffed and wiped at her eyes, she hadn't even realised that she had started crying, "I love you too, Percy."

"…Bye." He said and then the line went dead.

"Bye." She whispered.

She dropped the phone on the floor next to her, pulled her knees up against her chest, buried her head in her arms on top of her knees and began to cry.

Paul found her like that a little while later: curled up on the floor and sobbing her eyes out with the phone lying next to her.

"Sally!" he exclaimed, immediately dropping down next to her and pulling her into his arms, "Shh, shh." He murmured into her hair and rocking her back and forth in an effort to calm her down, "Shh, I'm here." He said. He didn't want to tell her that everything was alright because he was afraid that it wasn't. The last time she had broken down like this had been right after they had officially declared Percy missing.

Slowly the sobbing lessened until all that was left was the occasional hiccup and sniff.

"Come on," he said, pulling her to her feet and leading her to the kitchen after dropping the phone back in its cradle.

He led her to the chair that she had obviously vacated earlier. He found her previously abandoned cup of tea and felt that it had gone cold so he poured it out and set the water to boil again for a new cup.

Sally sat and watched him in silence as he made her a new cup of tea and she couldn't help smiling. Her son was alive and okay and she had a wonderful fiancé who loved her and would make tea for her in the all early hours of the morning when she needed it. The only thing that would make her happier would be if Percy was catching the train to New York from wherever he called from and would walk through her door at any moment, but he had said that he was on a quest so she knew that wouldn't be happening any time soon. Her smile fell a little at that thought.

Paul seemed a little surprised to see a small smile still playing on her lips when he turned to bring her a fresh cup of blue tea. Sally knew he didn't really understand her and Percy's obsession with blue food but he did understand that it was important to them so he went along with it; it was one of the many things that Sally loved about him.

"So," he said after taking a sip of his own blue tea, "Want to tell me about it?"

Her smile widened a little as she wrapped her hands around her mug, waiting for the tea to cool down and absorbing some of the heat; the apartment was always a little chilly in the early hours of the morning.

"I got a phone call." She told Paul after a beat of silence.

"Oh?" he asked, taking another sip from his tea, he had a throat of steel, "From whom?"

She smiled even wider and waited for him to set his mug down before answering: "It was from Percy."

Paul's eyes widened in a mixture of shock and elation, "From Percy? What did he say? Where is he? Is he alright? Where has he been?"

Sally shook her head and held up a hand, "I can only answer one question at a time, Paul." She said with a little laugh, happy to once again be reassured that she wasn't the only one who worried about Percy, "He said he's alright and that he's on a quest. He didn't say where."

She was so glad they had told Paul all about Percy's 'extracurricular activities', it would have made things much more complicated to explain if she had to come up with excuses too.

Paul looked angry, "He just got back and the first thing they do is send him on a quest?" he echoed her earlier angry hiss.

She shook her head, "He said he's not on a quest for Camp Half Blood and that he's with a couple of new friends."

Paul's anger faded and was replaced with confusion, "If he's not on a quest for Camp then who is he questing for?"

Sally shrugged, "I'm not sure. I think he was about to tell me but then the whistle for his train sounded and he couldn't talk anymore." Her face fell as she recalled the sadness in his voice as he had said 'Bye' to her.

"A train to where?" Paul asked.

Sally shrugged again, "He didn't say."

Paul nodded in understanding, "Did he say anything about where he's been all this time?" he asked after a short silence.

Sally took the first sip of her tea before she answered, "He said something about Hera taking him and putting him to sleep and taking his memories away."

Paul frowned, "So she took his memories away just like she did to that other boy Annabeth mentioned last time?"

Sally gasped and sat up straight, "I clean forgot about Jason!" she said, "He must have been at Jason's camp all this time and he just couldn't remember which is why he didn't try to get in touch with us until now."

Paul nodded, "And he must be on a quest for them."

Sally nodded too, "That makes sense."

She took another sip from her tea as Paul finished his, "We should call Chiron." Sally said, "Annabeth deserves to know that he called. Poseidon knows she's been about as worried as I have been."

Paul nodded, "You're right but they'll all be sleeping now." He said, glancing up at the clock which now read one-thirty in the morning, "We'll call them first thing in the morning. If Annabeth has been worrying nearly as much as you then Poseidon also knows that she needs all the sleep that she can get."

Sally nodded as she lifted her cup to her lips again.

Paul waited for her to finish her tea before standing up and gathering the cups and setting them in the sink to be washed later.

"Come on," he said, holding out his hand to her, "I'm sure Poseidon would agree that you need all the sleep you can get too."

Sally smiled again as she took his hand, "I think you're right, Mr Blowfish."

Paul just rolled her eyes at her as she let him lead her to their room.

She fell asleep almost as soon as Paul had settled in behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist and for the first time in seven months her dreams were good.