Sally sipped the last of her morning coffee in her bathrobe as she idly checked the home phone for messages.
There was one voicemail recorded at...midnight? And was that an Alaska area code?
Huh...
"Mom."
Sally caught her breath and froze. Her knees buckled and she hurriedly found the sofa to sit on, never taking her ear an inch farther from the receiver.
"Hey, I'm alive. Hera put me to sleep for a while, and then she took my memory, and..."
She could barely pay attention to his words as she listened to her son's familiar voice.
"Anyway, I'm okay. I'm sorry. I'm on a quest-"
She simply let his voice melt away the months of anxiety and pain, not knowing if her only son was alive. Not being able to do anything for Paul who joined their family during a crisis he wasn't fully prepared to handle. Or for Annabeth, his girlfriend for only, what, four months? She must have thought the days of worrying if Percy was going to die in the next twenty four hours were over before this happened.
Far too soon, the message was over.
"I'll make it home. I promise. Love you."
Sally wiped her eyes and smiled.
"I love you too, Percy. Be safe."
What he had said started to sink in. He was on a quest. In Alaska? She wondered if it had anything to do with the Prophecy of Seven Percy had told her about over blueberry waffles one morning after he got home from camp, the one Annabeth had said was beginning.
She should have felt more worried than relieved but hearing her little boy again was like a tonic. Images of Percy, his mused hair, irreverent expression and lanky frame, flooded her mind. Images of him in his childhood danced around her head. The time he learned to ride a bike, not much less of a disaster than when she taught him to drive. The time he threw a tantrum in the Smithsonian for space food and then didn't like it. It made her feel better than she had all year.
She knew she had to tell Annabeth. This was just the moral pick me up she would need before sailing off to the Roman camp. Annabeth would be so relieved to know he really was alive. The fact that he was on a quest and may not come back to the Roman camp wouldn't faze her. Annabeth had seen him survive the impossible and come back from the dead. If he was out there and Annabeth was going to him, she would be confident they could get through anything.
As Sally sat and thought all this, Paul walked in grading some essays.
"Did you get enough coffee, de-Sally what is it?"
Sally disposed of the tears that were still flowing with a tissue and grinned broadly up at him.
"Percy called." she presented the phone happily.
"What?" Paul jumped onto the couch next to her.
She replayed the message for him.
"We have to tell Annabeth about this." Paul breathed.
Sally nodded.
"I'll message the camp and tell her to come over right away." Paul sprang up to get one of their spare Iris-message drachmas.
Sally just lied on the couch in a daze. Percy. Percy.
One last image of Percy laughing overflowed into her mind. She had never told him, but he laughed just like his father. He smiled sarcastically and put his hands behind his head, exposing his scar for a second. She felt a twinge at it. He had been in so much danger and she couldn't protect him from it.
But it didn't matter now. He was alive. He would make it back alright. She was sure.
She lingered on the image of Percy who seemed to be saying Geez, Mom! I'm fine!
I know you are she thought.
She got up and called to Paul to wait.
She wanted to tell Annabeth herself.
I know you are.
A/N: Requested by SwimEatReadLive! They requested Sally hearing Percy's voicemail from the Son of Neptune. I hope you liked it and thank you for reading!
