In the months that Percy had been gone, Sally Jackson had developed certain habits. One was making blue pancakes almost daily. She mostly tossed them. She only made them to feel a connection to her missing son.
On the day Annabeth, crying, had told her that they hadn't been able to find Percy, Sally's spirit had plummeted. All that her son deserved was a happy ending. A break. He'd already done so much. Been so successful.
For eight months, Sally and Annabeth had tormented themselves, searching for Percy. Sally needed her son. He had taught and helped her so much. He had gotten her out of Gabe's grip; something Sally didn't have the power to do herself.
Then, in June, she got that voicemail. He'd called around midnight. Sally had just gone to bed. If only she'd stayed up a little bit longer.
"Hey, Mom, I'm alive…"
Sally checked the messages the next morning, heard those words, and screamed. Screamed for joy. Paul had come running into the room, and she told him in tears; "My baby is alive! Percy's alive!"
Sally and Paul had embraced then, happy for what seemed like the first time in ages.
After that, Sally tried to keep hope alive. Her son still had his life. There was a chance he could get back to her.
In July, she received more bad news. Two demigods- they introduced themselves as Jason Grace and Piper McLean- told her that Percy and Annabeth had fallen into Tartarus. They were on a quest, trying to save the Athena Parthenos from Arachne, and Annabeth had become trapped in Arachne's silk and had been pulled towards the pit. Percy couldn't let her go through that alone. They had been apart for too long.
This crushed Sally's spirit anew. Now she couldn't be sure Percy or Annabeth were even alive. It felt like someone had cut her heart open.
For the next month, Sally fought to get through the day. Her thoughts were always consumed by Percy and Annabeth. She wanted them to be alright so badly it ached.
She returned to making the blue pancakes.
Chiron contacted Sally every so often, giving her the few updates of the demigods' quest he received. The group, Sally learned, consisted of Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, Jason Grace, Piper McLean, Leo Valdez, and Nico di Angelo. They were traveling to Greece to meet up with Percy and Annabeth to shut the Doors.
Sally wanted them out.
She felt strangely comforted knowing Nico was helping to search for her baby. She knew him. She knew that he had a good heart.
For the rest of the quest, Sally was left to wonder. Nobody knew where Percy and Annabeth were or if they were still alive.
A long month passed, stretching into September. Sally had a quiet little party for Percy's 17th in August, hoping they could really celebrate when he returned.
Finally, the day came.
It was a day when Sally was particularly struggling to keep up. She just missed him so bad.
She was in the kitchen, getting a snack, and she heard the door open. She thought it was Paul, so she didn't move. Then she heard a voice.
"Hey, Mom."
Sally turned so fast she got dizzy. She turned to find her son standing there, looking worse for wear. His eyes flitted nervously around the room, but then he looked at Sally and smiled the warmest smile she'd ever seen.
His shirt had multiple claw scratches, and Sally could see where Percy's back had been bandaged. She could also see where he'd had some nasty head wounds, treated the best they could be.
Sally and Percy were both crying tears of relief. But she could see it weighed heavily on him to have left her for so long, and he was nervous about being separated from Annabeth. They'd been through so much together.
Sally rushed forward and hugged Percy and began to sob. She didn't care if anyone heard. Her son was home.