Twelve years earlier

The crescent moon rose over New York, shrouded by the clouds, as Jack flew silently towards an apartment in upper Manhattan. It was summer, but the night was blessedly cool. The apartment loomed in front of him, a dark shape against the artificial brilliance of the city, and he aimed for a single dark window– one that he'd been staring at for the past few months, longing to enter but forbidden to. Zeus had been watching him for the past several months, but the guards and spies had left, assured that Jack would stay away from Sally. And Jack was just here to meet his child. Then he would have to leave.

It was the only way to keep them safe.

Long, pale fingers tapped the window, and the latch popped itself open as the inner gears froze and retracted. Jack ghosted in through the window and slipped it closed behind him.

A cradle lay against the far wall.

In spite of himself, Jack felt excitement as he walked slowly to the cradle, hardly daring to breathe. He leaned over the crib, struggling to catch a glimpse of his baby in the dim light...the clouds shifted, unveiling the moon and casting a thin layer of brightness over the world. Jack stared in wonder.

A perfectly tiny baby lay curled on the soft blankets in the crib, contentedly sucking on one thumb as it slept. Jack's throat seemed to constrict. Was it a boy, or girl? What was their name? With a soft whistle, the tendril of wind slipped between a crack in the window and ruffled the fabric of Jack's hoodie to get his attention. A boy... It whispered gently. A boy child, called Perseus... Jack swallowed the lump in his throat. A boy... His beautiful boy, Perseus. Sally named him Perseus. But...she said she would have named him Joshua...They still hadn't decided, and Joshua would have been her first choice...

As he looked closer, he saw the dark tufts of hair on the six-month-old's round head that stuck in all directions, just like his. Mesmerized, Jack reached out and gently grazed his fingertips tenderly over the soft strands the looked almost wind-blown. He hesitated, then gently rubbed the little boy's back.

Luminous green eyes popped open.

Jack stifled a gasp, stiffening, and held his breath, his heart speeding up. Don't cry, don't cry... He frantically begged in his mind. If the baby started wailing, Sally would come just from the next room and even if Jack got away in time he'd have to leave the window open, and she'd know. Did Zeus see that as contact? He didn't want to find out–

It took him a full ten seconds to realize all was quiet.

Jack regarded the baby boy, who had casually popped his thumb in his mouth and was calmly observing this spooked stranger with Sally's green eyes that seemed almost quizzical, as if he was saying, 'I wonder why this white-haired guy is looking so scared if me...'

"Hey." Jack croaked in a whisper. "Hey, little man."

The boy didn't reply.

"Uh, I'm your dad, actually. You...you can just call me...y'know, dad."

Silence.

Jack hesitated again before sliding his hands under the boy's head and bottom, cautiously lifting him from the crib and cradling him to his chest. The boy immediately snuggled into his chest, laying his tiny head over Jack's heart. He fit comfortably into Jack's arms and murmured gibberish contentedly around his thumb.

"But what do I call you, little man?" Jack murmured quietly, resting his chin lightly on the soft head of his son, and unconsciously beginning to rock back and forth. "The wind, my friend, told me that your mom named you Perseus. I'm guessing that it's Perseus Jackson, too." Jack felt his heart sink as he finally said it, admitting it to himself that Sally had inevitably given up on him. He had to leave them without explanation, without warning. What had Sally thought when he didn't return? "Though, that doesn't make sense, hm?" Sighed Jack quietly, shifting his son in his arms slightly. "Cause she wanted to name you Joshua." But I gotta say... Wind is almost never wrong. So I guess I'll call you Percy. Percy Jackson." He pressed his cheek to Percy's head. "My son, Percy Jackson."

Now for the hard part.

Jack reluctantly and carefully shifted Percy in arms, moving so that he look his boy in the eye. His son observed him with bright eyes, full of wakefulness and highly alert. He was only six months, but something in the back of Jack's mind was convinced he genuinely understood what was going on.

Jack swallowed past the lump in his throat.

"But...here's the thing, Percy." He said quietly, looking straight at the toddler who gazed steadily back. "I'm...not gonna be around much." That was lame. "You...Great Uncle Zeus said that I shouldn't have had you. He says that I need to stay aware from you. But I don't believe him, and I don't want to leave you, and your mom. I don't care what he says, but..." The words seemed to stick in his throat. In reality, it had been happening, but once he said it, it would become real. He'd be confirming that he'd never 'contact' his family again. He'd never see the ones who could see him, ever.

"But..." His voice was drawn from him, suddenly weak and torn. "I don't want you to get hurt, kiddo. I don't want him to hurt you." Tears leaked from his eyes. Percy's bottom lip began to tremble and his big green eyes squeezed shut as if he was holding back tears, too. A small whimper, a cry, escaped from the toddler's mouth, and Jack cradled his son back to his chest. "Shhh...shhh..." He whispered through his own tears, rocking his baby back and forth as Percy whimpered quietly and snuggled back into his chest, his tiny hands now fisting in the fabric of Jack's hoodie. "I'll still be close," he whispered softly. "I'll watch out for you– but you won't know its me. But I'll be there, I promise. Shhh..." He soothed as Percy began to fuss, as if the very idea of his father leaving him was too much to bear.

Suddenly, a sharp, metallic scent filled the air– a thunderstorm.

Zeus.

Terror clawed Jack's stomach and he rapidly and gently detangled Percy's clenching fingers from his shirt and lay the fretful boy back into his crib. "I love you, Percy Jackson." He said, his voice a fierce whisper. "I love you and your mom more than I can say. And you will grow up to be amazing. You'll be amazing." He kissed his sons forehead before plunging his hand into his pocket and pulling out a small pouch. He pinched out as much of the powdery substance as he could and sprinkled it over Percy's eyes like a curtain of shimmering glitter, as if it were pyrite crushed into sand. The boy instantly quieted and fell into a peaceful sleep. Small dolphins began to frolicking around his head...yet it was snowing? "That's my boy." Jack whispered once more before frantically trying to shove the pouch back into his pocket as the metallic smell became so strong he felt as if he couldn't breathe. He finally succeeded, but something fell out the other side, too small for a preoccupied Jack to notice. He darted out the window just in time, unable to even look back once more at his son, leaving nothing behind but a crisp chill and a small, thin silver chain that seemed to glint almost blue in the light of the crescent moon, coiled where it had fell.

—•—•—•—

...I feel so empty inside, like someone ripped my heart out of my chest, but it didn't kill me. My body still functions without it, and I can physically survive without it, but I feel it so keenly that I know it must be the part of me that misses my family. I love them so much. They've been my life ever since Sally ran into me at Montauk Beach– the first person who ever saw me. And what do I do now? I promised Percy I'd watch out for them, but I can't get too close or Zeus might make good on his threat. Plus, Sally should have been long enough in the mortal world to more or less mask her demigod scent. But now Percy... I just don't know. I don't know what do.

Gods, I miss them so much...

It's the last chapter of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes that I place this note. Maybe it's the last time I'll write at all. I guess...now I go back to being the invisible, unwanted, troublemaking winter pest that no one can see or wants to see.

I'll hang on for Percy. I'll do everything for Percy.

The note ended as Percy's heart thumped in his chest.

Zeus.

The king of the gods forced his family apart.

Despite the towering injustice of it all, Percy's wind was inevitably drawn to another question:

The note said he would watch over Percy. But where had he been when Percy was being bullied? When he was being mocked, beat up? When the man in a black trench coat (now known to be a cyclops) had stalked him? When...When...

When his mother had been killed?

Percy's head had started to ache painfully. He glanced at the clock on the wall and blanched. It was four AM! He'd been reading for six hours straight. That was a first– a definite first. With a final sigh, Percy clambered back into his bunk and flopped, face down, into the pillows. It was so comfy...but he didn't want to go to sleep. He didn't want to have nightmares. Suddenly, he became aware of a hard lump beneath his stomach and shifted, wiggling around until his hand closed around something dense, yet soft. He pulled it out and stared.

It was a small drawstring pouch, about the size of his of his fist. It was made from a soft fabric the same color as the roof of his cabin, with silver and gold thread decorating the rim. Stitched or dyed (Percy couldn't tell which) into the clothe was a gilded G. What that could stand for, Percy had no idea. His ADHD got the better of him and he eased the pouch open, teasing the hole open with extreme caution, holding it away from his face. He'd heard about the jokes people would play here— jokes that left you with nasty black eyes, broken noses, and pink and purple hair. He didn't want any of it, especially the latter.

But the opening was wide enough to let in light now, and a glint of gold caught his eye. In spies of himself, he peered closer, tugging it fully open. Percy frowned. It seemed to be nothing more than sand. He reached in and took a pinch out before inspecting it in the retro lighting. It felt as fine as powdered sugar, but oddly enough resembled...fairy dust? Well, with this messed up reality, it might as well could be. He sprinkled it carefully back into the pouch–and his finger brushed something. He reached in and pulled out a sliver of paper– rolled up so tightly it was no thicker than a toothpick.

"You've gotta be kidding me..." He muttered. He unraveled the firmly pressed papers and stared at the message, written in familiar hand writing.

"This Will Help."

Percy smiled. He reached back into the pouch, grabbing a pinch of the sand and pulling the bag shut. He hesitated, then sprinkled it onto his head.

A wonderful feeling came over him, like he was being doused in hot chocolate. He half-expected to start flying, but his eyelids grew heavy, and he fell sideways on to his pillows.

"Thanks, Dad," He muttered before succumbing to a warm wave of sleep.

SO, Guys, what do you think?! Please review! Just a word, or an opinion!