When her eyes opened, Sally yawned like every morning since he had disappeared. She quietly slipped out of bed; careful not to wake Paul, trudged to the kitchen and switched on the coffee pot, and then made her way to the abandoned bedroom, like always. And just like every other morning since her life lost meaning, she stared emptily at his unwrinkled, cold, and dusty sheets on the mattress that had hardened with lack of use. She shuffled over to the window on the left wall and opened it, she grabbed the small watering can from the windowsill and sprinkled the liquid over the moonlace that grew, white and beautiful, brought by Percy almost two years ago.
Just thinking his name in her head brought on the image of his smile, his frustratingly messy hair, and his beautiful eyes that always brought out the best in her. She would feel the glowing pride she always felt when he narrated his quests so that she would now what he was up to, she would sense the bright happiness that took over her heart whenever he laughed. She would feel his warm body enveloped in her arms, his steady beating heart, and his soft skin. The beautiful boy she had given birth to, nursed, and raised was no longer with her, even though she felt all of him in the air she breathed.
Just like every day since, Paul walked in and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead as they both stared out at a busy New York City.
"The coffee's ready," Paul whispered, almost like he was afraid to disrupt the silence.
Nodding silently, she stood shakily, taking Paul's offered hand. As Sally made her way to the kitchen, nearly putting her whole weight on Paul, she saw the light beeping on the answering machine.
"Paul," she said, "there's a message."
She walked over to the answering machine and pressed a button.
"You have one message, from an unknown number." The mechanical voice stated before the message started to play.
"Mom," the voice said, and Sally nearly doubled over in shock. "Hey, I'm alive. Hera put me to sleep for a while, and she took my memory, and…" He stopped. Sally took a deep breath. Was she really hearing Percy's voice? Holy Poseidon, he was alive! But immediately, Sally worried because the fact that he had paused meant that he was trying to gloss over the truth. And that meant the truth wasn't too great. "Anyway, I'm okay. I'm sorry. I'm on a quest-" He halted again. Sally's heart dropped. Oh no, Percy's quests were almost always extremely dangerous and darn near impossible. "I'll make it home. I promise. Love you." He finished.
Sally sat down on the nearest armchair, hard. She glanced up at Paul uncertainly; his face was as white as a sheet and his eyes were wide.
"Oh, Sally." His face suddenly broke into a huge smile, "He's alive!"
Sally laughed and wiped her moist eyes. She stood and hugged Paul.
"My little baby's alive," She whispered into his shirt.
"You should tell Annabeth. She'd want to know." Paul advised.
Sally eagerly picked up the landline and dialed in Annabeth' number, looking forward to the hopeful happiness she would hear in the daughter of Athena's voice when she heard her boyfriend was alive for sure. And unlike every day since, she smiled with all the joy she could summon.
AN: I always wondered what it was like when Sally received the message Percy left, and lo Behold! This little (and I mean little, see how short it is?) oneshot was born. Thanks for reading and leave a review if you can!