Youthful Times

A/N: Hey guys, I know I am late, I would have post an A/N but I have been in a really dark place, I have just been going through my own personal version of hell and I just haven't dealt well with it, I am so hurt and confused it's almost surreal right now. I have never felt the pain I have felt these last few days up until now before. It is unlike anything I have ever felt before in my entire life. I am so sorry about the late update, I took the time to run through everything and noticed a few date mistakes in the chapters and went and corrected it to make sure that everything is going according to plan. I will definitely be updating this upcoming Sunday with results from the fandom competition. Hope you enjoy this chapter; see you at the bottom with the reviews.

Chapter Twenty

...::Sally POV::...

Time.

Something we have no control over, the definition of time is the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole. It is something I certainly had no control over like the titan Kronos, lord of time, I certainly wish I did.

You know how much time has passed since I last say Poseidon, or my family. Almost four months had flown by since I last saw my family and Poseidon and not a day had gone by since I had seen them and I was driven insane by it. Today was June 26th, the day of Poseidon's graduation, the graduation I had promised to be there was today and I was about to do something crazy.

I was going to go and see him graduate but from the shadows, I couldn't risk being seen by anyone but as long as I could just see him receive his diploma which is what I wanted to see. But what I was doing now was even crazier cause on my way there I was going to stop at my home an pick up a few things, this is the only chance I had to go because my father wouldn't be there and I was desperate to see my mother.

I just wanted her to know how I am doing and just see her, and tell her that I forgive her and I just want to see her. Artemis and Hestia said I shouldn't but I was blatantly disobeying them. I snuck out early just to do this, left a note saying I was going to the beach with Will and Zoë, his girlfriend of four months now which Will was more than happy to cover for me.

Walking through the city in the early hours, it was quite hard to believe how busy and alive it actually was a this hour, it was very hard to believe. I remember that day when Paul found out about my pregnancy, how Nurse Janice lectured me about walking home, right now, I wish I had listened to her.

Being ten weeks then and six months now, walking was way harder with a very large protruding belly, and having swollen ankles was not fun. I couldn't help but smile every time I thought of May, she had her son Luke just over three weeks earlier than she should have. Last night at about three am, did Artemis get the phone call that Lucas Castellan was born (May's original due date was the 19th of July).

May said he is very beautiful and has the most incredible sky blue eyes. She sent a picture to Artemis who showed it to me and Diana and he looked absolutely tiny and she was right about his eyes. They reminded me of the crystal clear water of Poseidon's swimming pool, never once had Poseidon's pool gone green or cloudy, you'd think that he had power of over the water or something.

I noticed a cab pulling up and a drive hopped out of the vehicle and came towards me. "Deary, you shouldn't be walking around." I turned and looked at the person and I instantly recognised the familiarity of the gentleman. I remember the picture that May showed me of her son's father, the curly head of black hair, those rich and deep blue eyes, identical to Luke's.

This was Luke's father and May's lover before she ran away.

"You're Hermes aren't you?" I asked curiously as the gentleman nodded. "I know May, May Castellan." I whispered and his eyes widened, his eyes seeming to fill with tears.

"Where is she? I have to talk to her. I made a mistake leaving her when she told me about the baby. I tried to find her but her roommate said she just left. Is she okay? Oh Gods, is the baby alright?" He ranted in a panic and I swatted him upside the head, shutting him up.

"Now that you are calm, May is alright. She is in the hospital; she had her son last night." Hermes face lit up like a Christmas tree, his eyes glassy from his tears as he smiled brightly.

"I have a son. I have a son." He spoke repetitively, joy plastered all over his face.

"Yeah, I can tell you where she is, if you do me a favour and take me to where I need to go." Hermes nodded, I thought he might get whiplash just from shaking his head so vigorously.

"Come, hop right in." He answered as he ushered me into the passenger seat of his cab which I felt was very thoughtful and I told him my address and off we were. "So how long have you known May for?" Hermes inquired curiously, his eyes trained in front of him.

"Four months. I was disowned and thrown out of my own home by my father, and I was found by my baby's father's older sister who took me down to The Hope and Hearth Foundation where May was staying." I began, "May was one of the first people I was introduced to, it was nice to have someone who could help me through my own pregnancy. I mean I am only sixteen going on seventeen and it was a great help having her."

"I am sorry about what happened. I take it you are going to visit your mother while your father is away at work?" I nod, finding the little bit of silence very comforting. "I regret making May think that I didn't want out son. I was terrified, I mean we eloped because our parents didn't approve of our relationship and when she told me about the baby, I freaked."

"You two were, I mean are married?" I asked, completely shocked.

"When May turned eighteen, her parents told her that they had betrothed her to the son of a wealthy business man and she ran from home and came to me." Hermes explained, "She was only there for a day before her parents came and took her from me and they locked her in the house like a princess in the tower. I broke her out and we ran away, and we eloped in Vegas before we settled down here."

"What happened between the two of you when you found out about the baby?" I asked curiously but I was hesitant to ask cause I didn't know if I should pry into a person's private life or not but May was my friend and I needed to know what happened between them.

"I had just been fired from my job when it happened, I didn't earn much but it was enough to pay the bills and rent and for food but the day I was fired was the day that she told me she was pregnant." Hermes gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning white. "We argued so badly, I slept in the car, we both said things, hurtful things. I left early to go look for a job, got one as a simple old cab driver and when I came back, she was gone."

I heard his voice break, his eyes rimmed with tears.

"She left without even leaving a note, I searched everywhere for her, but I never found her. I thought I had lost her, I lost hope that I would find her. I even called her parents to see if she had gone home, they said she phoned and told them about the baby. They said they were sorry for what they did, losing their daughter really gave them a wakeup call. They moved here to help me find her."

We had stopped at a robot when Hermes pulled down his sun visor which revealed a photo of Hermes and May in front of a Vegas wedding chapel, May dressed in a loose short sleeved, knee length white dress, her beautiful blonde hair done in a long plait hanging over her shoulder, a bouquet of white lilies in her hands, Hermes with his arms around her waist in a simple black tux, not tie or bowtie, his curly black hair dishevelled and natural and his blue eyes, identical to Luke's filled with so much love.

Next to that photo was a sonogram photo of what I believed to be Luke when he was eight weeks. "Every day I wake up to go to work and drive the city, I look at these photos and find the strength to keep driving this damn cab, whilst searching for her." When Hermes looked up at the picture, he smiled. "What did she name him?"

"Lucas, Lucas Castellan. She called him Luke for short." I answered and Hermes smiled.

"She loved that name, mainly because it is my second name." I smiled, "Looks like we are here." Hermes announced as he pulled onto the side of the road right in front of my house which still looked the same as it had when I was last there. "Don't worry about fees, you have already given me payment enough."

"Not all of it." I replied as I pulled out the photo that Artemis had given me and I flipped it over and wrote down all the information that he needed and handed it to him. "Everything you need is there, that's a picture taken of May with Luke right after he was cleaned up." I smiled at the bright smile on May's tired, flushed face, her hair in a loose plait that seemed to be sticking out everywhere, sweat running down her face.

Even if she looked like she had run a marathon, her bright smile was strong and alive, and hadn't faltered, and the little blue bundle in her arms with a small delicate face peaking out of the blue blanket with little arms sticking out was the reason why she was slightly teary eyed in the photo.

"She looks so happy." Hermes noted; a warm and happy smile on his face.

"She will be happy to see you again Hermes. Many nights she cried herself to sleep because she spoke about you so highly, no matter how hurt she was by what happened, she still loves you with all her heart." I assured him as he smiled at me and pulled a piece of sticky stuff off the visor and placed it on the back of the photo before sticking it right where he could see it.

"Thank you..." He froze because he didn't even know her name.

"Sally. Sally Jackson is my name." I answered with a gentle, amused smile on my face.

"Thank you Sally." He whispered as I opened the door and climbed out the cab, closing the door behind me as I stepped onto the curb and waved goodbye as Hermes drove away. I turned on my heel and walked up the familiar driveway, the painful memories of running from this place coming back the closer I got to the veranda.

I stood in front of the door, my breathing steady as I pulled my wrap I was wearing around my shoulders tighter before I reached out and knocked on the door three times and waited. The minute the door knob turned, my breathing hitched and the door creaked open and I saw her.

The minute my mom's brown eyes met mine and did a look over of me did her eyes fill with tears, mine mirroring hers as her bottom lip started trembling. "Sally..." She whispered, it was barely audible as I nodded as she reached out and wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into a hug. "Oh my baby girl, I am so, so, so sorry I didn't protect you. I am so sorry I let you down." She sobbed as I hugged her tighter.

"It's okay mommy. It's okay." I whispered back, gripping her tighter as I finally let my tears fall as I hugged my mother, I had wanted to be in her arms for so long and the emotions were so overwhelming, stupid hormones.

A few hours later...

It was so nice being back at home again, I missed my home. I missed my mom, and she certainly missed me. We talked and apologized to one another and forgave each other for what happened four months ago before she dragged me into the house and demanded information.

For the past few hours, I had been telling her about everything that had happened during my pregnancy, and that (drum roll please) she was going to be the proud grandmother of a beautiful little boy.

You heard me.

I am excited now for the arrival of my darling little Perseus Achilles Jackson-Olympia. He deserved to have a part of his father with him, and I quite liked how the name rolled off the tongue.

My mom was so fascinated by how strong of a little kicker her grandson was as she pressed her hand against my bare belly and gasped when she felt my little Perseus kick against her hand, before she grinned and placed her hand back right where it originally was and grinned even brighter when he kicked again.

"Very active little thing ain't he?" She asked as he kicked again, the smile on either of our faces never faltering.

"Yeah, his kicks feel like popcorn constantly popping in my belly." I laughed, this day couldn't get any better. I was too busy giggling with my mom to notice the door open and close but I stopped when I heard a vicious, deep growl. I looked towards the kitchen and my eyes widened fearfully when I saw who was there.

I didn't even recognise my father, his usually loving filled baby blue eyes were dull empty rage filled pools of molten ice as his gaze fixated on me. His briefcase dropped from his hand as he rushed forward, his hand pointed at me, "YOU!" He bellowed as he quickly approached, my mother jumping up in front of him as I rushed behind the couch, fear coursing through my veins. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO COME HERE AGAIN!"

"I am sorry daddy but I had to see mommy. I miss home!" I cried ash my mom tried her best to hold him back and protect me, like she should have four months ago.

"THIS IS NO LONGER YOU HOME! WHEN YOU DECIDED TO KEEP THE THING, THIS STOPPED BEING YOUR HOME!" He bellowed, his rage reaching unimaginable levels as he pushed my mom to the side and shoved her to the ground before he rushed towards me, I was stuck in a corner as I reached for the landline when my mom got back up and held him back.

I dialled the first number I could think of; Poseidon. It rung and rung and then I heard my mom cry and saw her on the floor, clenching her cheek as my father made a bee-line for me, I heard Poseidon's voice as I dropped the phone and pleaded with my father not to do this. The last thing I did was plea before he struck me.

Not once, not twice, so many times that I saw spots as all I could do was shield my stomach and cried out, pleading for him not to harm my son. my vision was blinded by a small stream of blood pooling into my eye, blinding my vision so that all I saw was red as my stomach screamed in agony when my father landed as painful boot to my chest.

All I saw was the phone right in front of me, and I could hear Poseidon's voice. "Help me Poseidon. Help..." I croaked weakly as my last thought was protecting my baby as the blinding pain slowly started claiming me into the darkness but not before I heard Poseidon's strangled voice through the phone, calling out my name.

"Sally!"

Then nothing but darkness and emptiness came.

A/N: Time to a nice load of reviews:

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(-Again, sorry for the late update, hope you enjoyed the chapter, see you all again soon my friends, bye for now-)