Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or any of the characters except for little Rhea

zeichnerinaga: Rhea replaces Percy in this story, she won't have a little brother. I think it will become obvious why in this chapter. ;)

linnangel: Thank you, love your reviews they are greatly appreciated ;) But if you do have any ideas or suggestions at any point feel free to just PM me, or write them in your reviews xD

Previous chapter:

I concentrated on that warm feeling, all my love and the feelings I connected to him, the all-compassing joy and safety and comfort I took from his presence and forcefully shoved it through the link.

My father stilled for several long moments, before he cradled me into his arms, me blushing bright red all the while (I felt strangely exposed) and all compassing wave of pure love and adoration seemed to encase me from all sides, careful not to overwhelm me.

''I don't know how I could possibly deserve you.'' his voice was quiet, full of tenderness and affection, and if possible his eyes were filled with even more love than before.

He pressed kisses my hair and forehead, and slowly falling asleep in my father's arms, I didn't think I ever felt closer to him than in that moment.

I also didn't think that I had ever loved someone as much as I loved him.

It was like my world revolved around him, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Chapter 10 - Desperate screams

The following days passed in a surreal blur of explanations and heartfelt relief.

Like Poseidon said my mother didn't notice anything was wrong, and greeted me with her usual gentle smile and delicious smelling breakfast. The routine was strangely comforting, a good balance to the weirdness that was the godly part of my family tree.

I was kind of sad that I seemed to be drifting slightly apart from my mother though, I felt guilty sometimes and I did love her, but it was not as strong as the love that I felt for my father.

I was a daddy's girl, and how could I not, with his well of love that he showered me with. Looked at me like I was the focal point of his world.

Triton had even cried when he saw me well and healthy, smiling at him when he rushed out of the ocean, I still felt awe when I realized how utterly loved I was.

The biggest change from the ordeal though was the new link I had to my father, being able to sense his emotions day and night was tiring at first, and sometimes I would space out when they were too strong. He would always look at me with understanding and utter relief in his eyes. It seemed like his ability to read my emotions seemed to have rid him of his doubts concerning my attachment and love towards him, or maybe it was due to me sometimes forcing it through the link whenever he would look at me sadly and with remorse.

I hated those looks, and by the decreasing frequency of them over the rest of the summer, he seemed to realize that too.

Another change was that he usually stayed with me when I slept, it might have something to do with me waking up, frantically searching for his presence unconsciously at night. He said it was due to the new bond and from then on, he served as my new pillow, gently humming some song for me to fall asleep.
I soon became used to his constant presence, so much that during the day whenever he was gone, I would instantly miss him.

He promised to come during the night in New York too, when I remembered a factor that I had totally forgotten during my summer at Montauk.

Gabe.

The stinking, foul man who was my ''step-father''.

I hesitantly approached the topic with Poseidon, who did not take the revelation well (understatement of the century).

He was furious, eyes darkening from their usual sea-green colour to nearly black, and the waves began churning, crashing against the beach with increasing ferocity.

I whimpered softly when some of the fury broke through the block he had on his emotions, he immediately stilled and apologized, although I was not naïve enough to think that Gabe would be left off scot-free. Gods were dangerous when annoyed, to have the fury and rage of one of the Three directed at you did not bode well for anyone's life expectancy and I consciously tried to ignore that thought that I had in fact two of such beings on my tail if they ever got wind of me, which they would at some point.

After denying that he had hurt me, my father reluctantly let the matter go, although he made me swear to tell him if anything happened. He also admitted that while Gabe's scent wasn't necessary for me (it was not strong enough to even remotely mask my scent anymore), it was enough to shield my mother from any harm that might come to her because of her association with me, so we both decided to let it be.

Neither of us was happy about it though.

Poseidon seemed strangely contemplative for the night, muttering quietly so I could not hear. All of a sudden I could sense a steely determination and when he turned around and told me that he wouldn't be able to come for the next three nights, I was deeply suspicious and disappointed. He offered me a gentle smile and was gone, leaving me to my confusion and running thoughts.

He had always brought me back to the cabin at night without fail, so what was he doing for the next three nights that would make him leave in such a hurry?

What he did during those nights was, the importance of it was not something I would realize for many years to come.

Four days later, the last day before my departure back to New York, he came to the beach again, looking utterly exhausted and tired, but triumphant at the same time.

Without another comment he put a necklace around my neck, and grinned excitedly. I could feel his happiness but also the slightest amounts of apprehension through the bond but I had the feeling he wouldn't answer any of my questions.

I stared at the stunning piece of jewelery, feeling strangely awed by the sea-green tear drop surrounded by the silver vines. Looking closer I noticed that the inside of the tear drop there were some kind of swriling colours, moving around restlessly in the confined space.

''It should help in New York, if you concentrate you can feel some of my energy, don't worry I made it myself.''

I looked at him incredulously, awed, bemused and completely surprised at the same time. I was humbled that he gave me something that was obviously difficult to make judging by the new shine and his exhaustion, and amused by the fact that he took my dressing down to heart that I dished out when he told me that he had given me a royal treasure in form of the hairpin just like that.

It nearly gave me a heart attack.

I closed my eyes, and snapped them open in shock. My hand shaking as my fingers curled around the drop protectively on instinct alone. It was not the small stream of power that I was expecting but literally an ocean of well concealed energy.

''Dad?'' I managed to stutter out, my hand still gripping the pendant tightly, ''What exactly is that?''

He didn't answer, just continued to look at me silently, and I pouted before giving up my inquiries, thanking him for such a lovely gift by hugging him tightly, sending my love through the link yet again.

Somehow I had the feeling that there was nothing more precious that I could give him.

The days at home passed by slowly. I took to avoiding Gabe like a plague, instead I started practicing my swordsman ship in a secluded corner of the park. Poseidon had assured me that most monsters would not approach me because his scent was so prominent that they would run off out of fear.

Most monsters had enough self-preservation to keep from antagonizing him, I assumed that most demigods did not have the protection from such close exposure to their godly parents and I realized yet again how utterly lucky I was to even have met my father, not even counting everything else. If he had not kept visiting me so often, monsters would have probably torn me apart.

It was finally time to leave for school, I missed the Academy and my friends. I was insanely glad I had only minimal interaction with Gabe during the last weeks, his stare was too much reminiscent of a leer, to my horror he seemed to be a genuine pedophile.

It was only during the next summer that I would come to regret my decision to not pay more attention to Gabe, it was a regret that would haunt me for a very long time.

School was strangely comforting, same as my mother's breakfast. The normality eased some of the remaining tension left in my body, it was simply impossible to feel stressed when looking at a geograohy map.

To my everlasting joy I became better in archery although I was by no means proficient. I took pleasure in the fact that there was something I was not good at, something that I had to work incredibly hard at to even get better, not even talking about succeeding. My teacher seemed to have at least a grudging respect for my dedication, though he still eyed me rather dubiously sometimes.

Stretching the string of the bow, standing still, muscles taunt, waiting patiently for the right moment even as the muscles protested the unnatural stillness was relaxing, took my mind off the bad feeling that I sometimes had.

My father continued to visit me at night for several months, just serving as my pillow yet again while he hummed those soothing songs of his. I think I was the only one my age that loved going to bed, and to my utter humiliation my father knew it too, judging by the cocked eyebrow and laughing eyes he had whenever I pounced on my bed, hair still wet from the shower and burrowed myself in his warmth.

He didn't seem to mind though. On the contrary my father seemed rather pleased by my obvious affections towards him.

Like Poseidon said, I did not encounter any more monsters during my time at school, leaving me alone to my studies and the extra work my father had cheerfully given me in the form of several old books about Greek history and monsters.

''Don't want you to read anything inaccurate after all.''

When my father was away I developed the habit of clutching my necklace sometimes, feeling incredibly touched by the thoughtful gift every time.

Yet during all those months of peace there was always some nagging feeling of dread in the pit of my mind, eating at my good mood, frustrating me so much that I had taken to just running through the forest sometimes, until my legs hurt and sweat poured down my face.

My friends or rather little sisters still bombarded me with their worries and fears, somehow trusting that I knew the answers to every single on of their problems (I did but that was beside the point), instead of annoying me however I found it endearing.

I was rather fond of them after all.

It was after a strangely peaceful year that I packed my luggage and took the bus home, grinning in happiness at the thought of seeing my mother again. We had written a lot of letters during the year, and I missed her greatly especially since I hadn't seen her in so long.

I tried to ignore the feeling of dread in my belly, instead focusing on hauling my suitcases up the bleak stairs inside the apartment complex we live in.

I wrinkled my nose when I arrived at the door with the name Ugliano on it, Gabe had deemed his name more important than ours after all.

Idiot.

Confused when I didn't hear any sounds, I rummaged inside my bag for my own key, and with an unexplainably heavy feeling in my chest turned around the key, opening the blue door with a slight creak.

Absent-mindedly I told myself that we would need to oil the hinges, even as I had to cover my nose from the smell, eyes tearing up because of the permeating odor that hung heavily in the air.

Letting my luggage outside, I entered the apartment that I almost didn't recognize, destroyed furniture lay across the rooms, splintered wood and broken glass covering the worn out carpet. I abruptly stopped when I walked through the living room door that hung unsteadily from its broken hinges, looking like someone had broken through it with force.

I was unable to move, my breath coming in short gasps, and I, in a tiny part of my mind that was still functioning, realized that I was having a breakdown or a panic attack or anything in between.

Then I screamed, fully of agony and helplessness, I screamed and screamed, trying in vain to erase the image of my mother sprawled across the now bloody carpet, bruises all over her skin, lifeless eyes dull in the now pale face. The once so vibrant women reduced to a lifeless body, without any sort of indication that she would ever smile at me again.

I screamed and cried, struggled in the hold that I dimly noticed was my father's trying to get to her body, to shake her and demand that she stop whatever she's doing.

I never even noticed when several other people came in, when my father confounded them with the mist, or when they both disappeared with a spray of water.

I only noticed when I smelled the familiar scent of wood and ocean and dust that I always connected with the cabin at Montauk, slowly stopping the hysterical screaming, instead clutching my father more tightly, suddenly afraid that he too would vanish, sea-green eyes dull, devoid of the spark of life so clearly visible, body slack with the force of death.

I didn't even notice that I babbled in a continuous chant, tears pouring out of my wide terrified eyes.

''Don't go, don't go, don't leave, don't go, don't die. Please, please, please.''

I pressed as close as I could, still frantic and scared and terrified, awareness returning with a single thought.

My fault.

I screamed again, clutching my head with my hands, even as I began to sob anew.

''My fault, my fault, my fault.''

Guilt joined the jumble of emotions I experienced in that moment, engulfing the other thoughts, leaving only all-consuming guilt and sadness behind.

I was barely aware of being carried to my bed, limp in my father's arms. I looked at him, silently pleading him to do anything, and he gave me a gentle, but tortured smile, before covering my wet eyes with his hand.

''Sleep.'' he commanded and I passed out, relieved to escape reality at least for a while in sweet oblivion, while my father watched on, silently keeping wake.

Poseidon watched on, as his daughter forcefully fell asleep, turning with tortured moans, twisting her blanket around her, sweat matting her hair, nightmares torturing her mind even during her sleep.

He ran a hand over his face, feeling very old suddenly, before he vanished his shoes and climbed into the bed, gathering her into his arms, letting his familiar and calming energy wash over her sending as much love and comfort as he could through their bond, seeing her visible relax, only an occasional whimper disturbing the silence.

Sally was dead, he thought with a detached sort of pain.

Dead.

She was mortal after all.

He flinched when suddenly Sally's face was exchanged with Rhea's, a wave of agony so great that he could almost taste it cursing through his body, casting a fearful glance at his sleeping, but alive daughter he was relieved when he saw that she didn't seem to have been negatively affected by his running emotions.

She was alive. Rhea was here, not well, but alive, and to his immense guilt and shame, it was all that mattered.

He would take care if her, rip to pieces everything that dared hurt her. Gabe Ugliano would not survive for long.

He had killed Sally, but more importantly he had hurt Rhea, reduced her to screams and wracking sobs and for that alone he had to die, for that alone he would face his wrath.

Poseidon was not known for being merciful to those who had angered him, and he did not think that anyone had ever managed to do so as thoroughly as that mortal. He had never felt so much rage, such anger tightly contained, a wrath so strong that several hurricanes broke out all over the world, and the earth shook.

Screw being subtle, those who hurt his Princess would face his wrath, it was as simple as that.

Marveling that Rhea was still so comfortable in his hold, even with the murderous thoughts running through his body, he kissed both of her eyelids softly, still wet from her tears.

''Don't worry Princess. Daddy will take care of everything.''

A/N Wow two chapters in one day! Proud of myself, so I told you there would be a shocking revelation in this chapter.

The necklace will be very important later in in the story, but that's still gonna take a while, so just keep it in mind.

I really like Sally as a character, but she didn't fit into my story, so she was killed by Gabe. Hate him really, that creep.

Hope everyone liked this chapter, I know it is kind of surprising, still a necessary evil. I also used this to introduce some of the darker sides of Poseidon once more, next chapter we will see what's gonna happen to the obviously traumatized Rhea.

I don't know when I'll be able to update I have a couple of exams next week and will generally be pretty busy, but from Thursday to Sunday I have pretty much free reign, so I'll upload on Thursday or Friday by the latest.

Keep reviewing, love you guys!

C'ya next time.