Hi everyone! Dragonrider here! This is my first Percy Jackson fanfic, but all criticism is welcomed! Hope you enjoyed!
Chapter one:
"There," Paul heaved as he brought the rest of the Christmas decorations from a closet into their small apartment. He dropped the box, and Sally watched as dust flew off of it. He wiped his hands from the dust. "I think that's it. We just need to decorate this place."
"Thanks," Sally told him as she gave him a peck on his cheek. "I usually have Per-Percy . . ." She broke down into tears at her lost son. Paul wrapped an arm around her.
It was a few months since she had received a call from Chiron telling her about Percy's whereabouts in Tartarus. She had been so broken-down, so saddened, and so had Paul. After all, they had known what laid down there. They hadn't received anything after that.
Sally sighed, and gazed around her living room. The couches were untouched by the dusty boxes, which were littered around the floor. She had began to pull out some items, but hadn't gotten far. Soft, melodious Christmas music flowed into the apartment from a CD player sitting on a couch. She recognized the song as 'Silent Night' by Martina McBride. She hadn't realized that Paul had changed the Cds.
Paul noticed her eyebrows raised at the song. "Hey, she has a good voice." She grinned at him.
"I'm not saying anything," Sally sniffed, and dried her tears with the palm of her hand.
"He'll be okay," Paul comforted her, gathering her in his arms. She cried soundless into his shoulder, but he didn't care.
Suddenly, the door was knocked on, and Paul reluctantly released her. He smiled apologetically at her, and she nodded. Confirming that it okay, she shoved him playfully towards the door, and turned back towards the living room. The door was knocked on more fiercely, and Paul unlocked it, not bothering to check through the peephole. What he saw surprised him greatly.
In front of him stood nine bloody, bandaged demigods. He immediately recognized Percy in the front, and wasted no time engulfing the teen in his arms. Tears swelled to his eyes as he saw the mess Percy was, but mostly the relief to have his step-son home.
They stood like that for a couple of minutes, enjoying each others' company, the others waiting patiently behind them. He could tell Percy was crying too, and begun to feel the tears once again drench his shirt. Percy was in time for Christmas, and he knew that Sally would be overjoyed that her son was home. Speaking of Sally . . .
"Sally!" He called, releasing his hold on Percy. "You might want to come see this!"
"Is something wrong?" Percy grinned at the sound of his mom. Just as Sally walked towards the door, Percy ran, and hugged her tightly, as if afraid that he might lose her. And, Paul realized, he probably was afraid.
Paul tore his gaze off the mother and son, and looked towards the others. He recognized Nico Di Angelo, from Percy's birthday, and from when he came with Percy to get his mom's blessing. He didn't recognize the others, though.
"Forgive me for being rude," Paul apologized towards the group. "My name's Paul, stepfather of Percy."
"Hey, Paul." Nico told him calmly. Paul nodded at the boy.
"Hey, Nico." Paul smiled gently, but didn't get one from the boy. He knew to expect that, though. The son of Hades was never very social.
"My name is Jason Grace," a blond haired boy announced. He had electric blue eyes, and his abdomen was wrapped with bandaging.
"I'm Piper McLean," a girl who had choppy brown hair told him.
"Leo Valdez, at your service," a boy with elfish features, and curly hair introduced himself. He had grease stains all over himself, so Paul figured that he spent a lot of time with machines.
"I'm Frank," a Chinese boy told him. "Frank Zhang."
"Hazel Levesque," a dark-skinned girl greeted. She casually shook his hand, and he grinned at her. She smiled politely back.
"My name is Thalia," a punk-looking girl told him. She too had electric blue eyes. "Nice to meet you, sir. Percy's told me a lot about you."
Paul laughed, and looked at Percy, who was now standing by his mother. He grinned at Paul. "He has, has he? Thank you, Thalia. And Paul's fine. I don't need sir."
He turned to look at the last, remaining demigod, and saw a blond-haired girl leaning against the doorframe. She had what looked like a broken ankle, but he didn't question it.
"Annabeth!" He exclaimed, and rushed to give her a hug. She looked mildly surprised, but gradually hugged him back. "I'm sorry! I didn't see you there!"
"That's okay, Paul." She pulled away from the embrace, and they all turned to see Sally engulf Thalia in a hug. Percy snorted, then broke down into a laugh at the girl's obvious discomfort. Even Annabeth joined in, and the girl's electric blue eyes narrowed dangerously at the two.
"Sally, dear, I think you're in Thalia's personal bubble." Paul told her gently, and Sally's eyes widened in realization.
"Oops, sorry, Thalia." Sally released the tall girl. She smiled, and Thalia smiled back.
"It's no problem, Mrs. Jackson." Thalia told her, and Sally frowned. She gave Thalia the I-told-you-not-to-do-that-I-can't-believe-you-did look.
"Thalia, I've told you Sally is fine," Sally scolded playfully at the girl. Thalia shrugged.
"Sorry," she apologized, although Paul thought she didn't look very sorry. Sally rushed towards Annabeth as soon as she saw the girl, and Annabeth was once again blanketed in hugs.
"Oh, Annabeth!" Sally exclaimed. "Thanks for keeping my son safe." Annabeth grinned at the words.
"Oh, no, Sally! You've got it wrong!" Annabeth laughed softly. "Percy saved me more times than I can count."
"I'm sure you've saved him, too, though." Sally told her. Annabeth nodded. Sally looked towards the other demigods, who were grinning and smiling at the little family reunion. She noticed how tired they were, and how hungry they looked.
"Would you guys like to come in for lunch?" Sally asked. "And rest a little? We're having grilled cheese."
They all looked at each other, then smiled at her. She took that as a yes for lunch. "Follow me."
She guided them into the kitchen, were some sat at the small table, while others leaned against the walls. Their eyes all gleamed with hunger, and Sally wondered when the others had properly eaten last. She figured it had been a while.
Percy came to help her, and she was secretly glad he seemed back to his normal self. He helped her slice the cheese, and to speed things up, Leo helped cooked them. She was surprised at first, then waved it off. He was a demigod, after all.
After they munched down dozens of her sandwiches, they came to sit in her living room, on her couches. They sat in silence, listening to the music, and gazing around their surroundings.
Sally and Paul were glad they were home in time for Christmas.
Sorry for the bad ending, but I'm not too good with those. Hoped you enjoyed, and please review! Update should be coming soon! Also, I hope you guys didn't mind me adding Thalia in the story. I couldn't have left her out, she's my favorite character J. Thanks for reading!
