I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Rick does.
Set at beginning of Mark of Athena
Flashback
Annabeth stared at the framed picture on the wall. It showed a young boy, with raven hair and sea green eyes, giving a big, toothy smile to the camera (although some of his teeth were missing), while a small birthday cake with blue icing lay in front of him. Annabeth noted the nine candles disproportionally placed within the cake.
Sally came up beside her and chuckled.
"I always wished I could give him more for his birthday. A bigger cake, better presents, maybe some birthday money for him to spend however he wished. He never complained though. He perfectly happy having any celebration at all, even if it was just the two of us. It was always just the two of us."
Annabeth wiped her tears with the sleeve of her sweater and turned to see Sally fighting back her own tears. This had become a routine for them. Ever since Percy went missing, Annabeth had taken a little bit of time out of every week to spend with Sally. The two women used this time to comfort one another, as they had both lost a piece of themselves. Annabeth was not one for showing weakness or emotion like this, but she appreciated Sally letting Annabeth use her as an outlet. Otherwise Annabeth might explode from trying to keep everything in.
"How has Paul been doing?" Annabeth asked.
Sally sighed. "Better than some of us, though not by much. He's mostly worried about me. According to him I haven't been sleeping enough, so he's been trying to get me to take more naps throughout the day. And I do try to sleep, but it's like whenever I close my eyes all I can see is…"
"Percy." Annabeth finished for her.
Sally nodded.
Annabeth remembered the reason she came to visit. "We got a report from one of our satyrs about some pretty intense demigod activity at this wilderness school not too far away. From what I've heard, it sounds like the signature is strong enough to be Percy's. I'm going to go check it out as soon as I leave."
Sally looked like she was trying not to get her hopes up too much.
"We're going to find him." Annabeth tried to lace some confidence into her words, as if she was trying to convince her own mind of this as well. "I'm going to bring him home."
Sally looked at Annabeth for what seemed like an eternity. Annabeth could see in her eyes the telltale signs of exhaustion and worry, but there was also that all too familiar gleam of hope and kindness that seemed to run rampant in the Jackson family.
Sally pulled Annabeth in for a hug. "Promise me.," she said softly. "Promise me you'll bring him home."
Annabeth felt Sally's sobs reverberate through her body.
"I will. I promise."
End of Flashback
"I'm going to kill him." Annabeth said.
Piper stood next to her, looking out over the railing. "Well that's not exactly a romantic way to be reunited with your boyfriend."
"Not him, although I'll probably… no, definitely end up doing that too. I'm talking about Leo." Annabeth turned to glare at the runty son of Hephaestus who was currently manning the controls of the Argo II.
"Can't you make this thing go down any faster?" Annabeth yelled at him.
Leo looked up from his soundboard, Wii controllers in either hand. "If you would like to live to see your boyfriend again, then unfortunately this is as fast as we can descend and still have a safe landing. Now if you want to get there faster, we can always turn the ballistae on the ship itself and blow ourselves out of the sky, or we can…"
It was at this moment Annabeth shot Leo an extremely menacing glare. That promptly shut him up.
Piper laid her hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "I know you're worried Annabeth, but yelling isn't going to make this go by any faster."
Annabeth leaned her elbows on the railing. She turned to look at something to her right.
Piper followed her gaze. A tall, toga-wearing blonde boy stood near the front of the ship. Jason calmly stared out into the valley that was coming into view below them. Piper knew though that her boyfriend was anything but calm on the inside though. He was pretty good at hiding it still.
"Do you think Percy found someone else too?" Annabeth said, without turning her head. "What if he doesn't remember me?"
Piper knew that this had been bothering Annabeth ever since they had found out about the Roman camp. Although this was the first time Annabeth had voiced these concerns out loud.
"If what I've been told about Percy is true, he must be pretty stubborn. My guess is it would take more than a memory wipe from Hera to make him forget the person he gave up immortality for."
Piper tried to give Annabeth her most encouraging smile. Annabeth's lips turned up slightly.
"Thanks Piper."
The city almost made Annabeth forget why they came here in the first place. They were still a long way off, the Argo II having set down a few hundred yards away from the outer wall, but she could still see glimpses of spectacular architectural elements. Large and ornate buildings topped with vast domes of solid concrete, covered with mosaics and marble. The thought of exploring the city made her smile.
Annabeth was quickly brought out of her daydreaming by the large crowd of Romans now approaching them. She was relieved to see Jason standing next to her, as well as Piper on his other side. Her charmspeak might be needed. Even the sight of Leo standing to the left of her made Annabeth feel just a little bit more confident.
The Romans were now standing less than 15 yards away. Soldiers formed a sturdy formation in front of them, while the civilians milled around behind them. Annabeth remembered Jason telling them how demigods were able to live out their lives in New Rome after serving in the legion, free of worry and fear. But seeing it now, with her own eyes, even the daughter of Athena was having trouble processing it all.
Annabeth's attention was refocused when she saw the formation of soldiers break to make way for someone. A girl, who looked to be around the same age as Annabeth, came and stood a few steps in front of the crowd. Her eyes were almost as dark as her hair, and her demeanor was that of a leader… as if the row of medals pinned to her armor didn't tell you that already.
Annabeth felt Jason shift next to her. "That's Reyna." It sounded like he was telling himself this as much as he was telling Annabeth. Piper gave Reyna a look that would've been hard to decipher, but Annabeth knew what the look meant. She was sizing the girl up. Reyna appeared to be analyzing each member of their group one by one. Her face only shifted when she saw Piper's hand intertwined with Jason's. She recovered quickly though and beckoned for the group to approach.
As they approached, Annabeth took a second to scan the crowd for Percy, but there appeared to be no sign of him. Her heart dropped in her chest. She prayed to all the gods that Percy was alive and somewhere at this camp. By now, they were standing in front of Reyna.
The praetor broke the silence. "Jason Grace, my former colleague. Welcome back."
Jason smiled. "Thanks. It's good to be back." Piper coughed next to him.
Reyna turned to look at her, regarding her with a look of contempt, and then turned back to Jason with a look that most people would have interpreted as saying "Are you serious? Her?"
Jason ignored her look and began to introduce the rest of the group. "This is my… friend, Piper, daughter of Aphrodite. Or Venus I guess I should say. That over there is Leo, a son of Hephaestus, or Vulcan."
Leo gave a nervous smile and waved.
"And this is Annabeth, daughter of Athena."
Annabeth noticed Jason didn't mention her mother's Roman equivalent. With the shocked look Reyna was giving her, she knew she would have to question Jason about that later.
Reyna shook her head and turned back to Jason. "Well Jason, obviously you have been gone a long time. And in that time, there have been some… interesting events to say the least."
"Such as?" Jason asked curiously.
"Well, if you look around, you may notice we've only just come through a battle with an army of monsters sent to destroy Camp Jupiter and New Rome. Also, a recent quest has returned from Alaska with the lost standard of the Legion's Eagle."
Jason blinked.
"And…" Reyna continued, "We have elected a new Praetor."
Jason didn't seem surprised by this. He simply asked "who?"
Before Reyna could answer, some commotion from the crowd drew their attention. They turned to see the formation of legionnaires parting again for someone dressed in a purple toga not unlike the one Reyna wore over her armor. Annabeth almost fainted.
There he was, that no-good, infuriating, amazing seaweed brain, still sporting his infamous troublemaker smile. Annabeth immediately noted the minor differences from that last time she saw him. The deepened tan, the leaner but muscular frame, the slightly longer hair, and an SPQR tattoo on his lower forearm, like the one Jason had. Despite these differences, she concluded that he still looked the same overall. His eyes still sparkled with mischief and were as deep and changing as the ocean. She could only stand there, with an astonished look frozen on her face.
Percy lazily made his way over next to Reyna, standing on the side opposite of Annabeth, directly in front of Piper. Percy hadn't even acknowledged Annabeth yet, as he kindly smiled down at Piper. "You're the girl who screamed at Leo in the scroll message I'm assuming. Piper, right?" Percy stretched out his hand as he spoke.
Piper beamed at his acknowledgement of her and shook his hand. "That would be me."
Percy then turned to face Jason, still ignoring the blonde girl standing frozen next to the former praetor.
"Jason Grace, I've heard a lot about you." Percy also reached out his hand in greeting. He looked extremely out-of-place amongst the disciplined, seemingly unfriendly demeanor of the Romans.
"Probably not as much as I have heard about you." Jason replied, looking slightly surprised by the very un-romanlike greeting from the newly elected praetor. He shook Percy's Hand.
Percy laughed.
"I bet your sister had lots of good stuff to say about me, huh?"
With this, Percy moved around Reyna, and over to Leo, without so much as glancing at Annabeth.
"So" Percy smiled at Leo, "this is your ship right? You're the Supreme Commander of the Argo II?"
Leo grinned at the sound of his self-appointed title.
"Yep, that's me. Leo Valdez at your service." Him and Percy shook hands.
Percy then turned his gaze to Annabeth. She saw the glint in his eyes, and sharply inhaled. Percy moved to directly in front of her. She could feel the eyes of everybody staring at them, but she didn't care. All she could think about was the boy in front of her. She had dreamed of this moment for 8 long months, and now that it was here, she wasn't sure she could take it. What if he didn't remember her? Why hadn't he even acknowledged her until now?
Percy just stared back at her, a somewhat neutral expression on his face. Annabeth stared right back. She couldn't really tell what face she was making, but if she had to guess, she was probably glaring right at him. Unfortunately, there was only one person in the world it seemed who could (sometimes) withstand her menacing glares, and he was standing right in front of her. Annabeth couldn't take it anymore. She had to say something.
"Your toga is crooked."
Not exactly what she was hoping for, Annabeth berated herself. However, the smile that formed on Percy's face quickly changed her mind.
"Hey wise girl." Percy said. He looked down at her necklace. "Nice pendant."
He then leaned forward. It was only a quick peck on the lips, but Annabeth thought she was going to melt on the spot. She didn't react immediately, but she couldn't help the smile that slowly began to creep up on her face.
Apparently, that was all the encouragement Percy needed. He lunged forward and wrapped one arm around her waist with the other behind her neck, pulling her close. Annabeth had kissed Percy a lot, but this one was just one of those kisses. It reminded her of the kiss in the volcano when she thought Percy was going to die, or the kiss they had in lake at Camp Half-Blood, when they had first become a couple. She could've died a happy girl right there.
When they finally broke apart, Annabeth registered the sound of someone 'cooing'. Probably Piper.
She looked back up at Percy, and she snapped. She wasn't expecting to do as much damage to him as she did with the punch to his chest. Annabeth figured he still had the Curse of Achilles. That didn't stop her from continuing her assault on him. Thanks to her ADHD, she briefly registered the sound of Reyna telling the Legion to stand down, as she continued to exact her revenge on the poor boy in front of her.
"Perseus Jackson!" She screamed as she gave a right hook to his left shoulder.
"Do you know how long you were missing?! Huh?! 8 MONTHS!"
She was in his face now, letting all the worry and frustration she had pent up for so long pour out. Percy seemed fine to let her continue, since she had stopped physically beating him. She seemed to be slowing down anyways.
"Do you have any idea how worried we all were? How worried your mom was? H-how worried… I was?"
Percy winced at the mention of his mom. Annabeth started to regain her composure. She figured she had made enough of a scene. Percy thought she was going to hit him again, but instead she wrapped her arms around her ridiculous boyfriend and hugged him, burying her head in his chest.
"I sorry." She spoke softly. "I know you didn't intend to get kidnapped and lose your memories. I was just so afraid you wouldn't remember me, or that even if you did eventually, you wouldn't feel the same as you did before."
Percy wrapped his arms around her. He kissed the top of her head, and then shifted them so that he was holding both her hands between them.
"If it's any consolation," he said, "Other than my own name, I only remembered one thing when I woke up."
Annabeth looked up, meeting his eyes with her own.
"I remembered the name of some girl." He continued. "Some smart, beautiful, butt-kicking girl who kissed me whenever I did something stupid."
Annabeth raised one of her eyebrows.
Percy laughed. "My thoughts exactly. I do a lot of stupid stuff."
At this Annabeth smiled. "I missed you Seaweed Brain."
"I missed you too Wise Girl."
Skip to after the events of Blood of Olympus
Annabeth stood with Percy in front of the Jackson-Blofis apartment. She could tell Percy was nervous. Hades, she was too. She could only imagine how Percy felt right now. The guy had faced monsters, giants, titans, and the worst horrors that Tartarus could throw at them. They should be excited to be here, just outside Percy's home, with his family waiting inside. Percy, however, was as nervous as he had ever been, Annabeth could tell that much. Just the prospect of seeing his mother again, after all these months, after all they'd been through. It felt like it shouldn't be real. She kept waiting for the dream to evaporate to find her and Percy back in the depths of Tartarus.
She pinched herself just to be sure.
Percy looked back at her and she gave him an encouraging smile. Percy smiled back and turned to knock on the door. They waited.
Nothing happened.
"Maybe they went out," Annabeth said.
"Maybe." Percy replied.
He tried the door handle to see if it was unlocked. The door opened slightly, and Percy looked back at Annabeth. She made a motion with her hand, telling him to go in. Percy opened the door completely and he stepped inside, Annabeth following closely behind.
The hallway looked exactly the same as when she had last visited, the day before the Argo II had left for Camp Jupiter. Pictures lined the walls on either side. Percy stared at the photos as he and Annabeth slowly made their way down the hall.
They could hear the sound of someone humming a soft tune in the kitchen. Percy stopped; his face lit up with recognition. He turned to look at Annabeth, who saw the faint traces of tears in his eyes. Annabeth gave his hand a gentle squeeze, urging him forward. Percy turned to continue down the hallway… only to bump the small coffee table placed at the end with his knee. Percy bent down to steady the table and set back up the picture that had fallen over. As he did, he stared at the picture. It was a photo of Annabeth, Sally, Paul, and himself during their vacation in Montauk, not a week before he disappeared.
"Paul," Sally called out, "Is that you? I thought you said you weren't going to be home till…"
As Sally rounded the corner of the kitchen she looked up and froze. The bowl she was holding fell out of her hands and shattered on the floor. Luckily, it had been empty. Sally stared at her son, a million different emotions etched across her face, and tears began to flow from her eyes.
Percy gave her a small smile. "Hey mom, I'm home."
Sally started sobbing, but she rushed forward and pulled her son into a hug. Percy was almost a foot taller than her now, but that didn't stop Sally from wrapping herself around him, as if she was trying to hold onto him for dear life. Like she was afraid he would vanish again if she didn't. Annabeth understood that feeling.
Sally eventually pulled back a bit and put her hands on either side of Percy's face. "Percy my boy…" Sally started, but then she looked like she was going to break down again, so Percy wrapped her up again.
"I know mom, I know. I'm here now. It's ok, I'm alive. We're alive"
We're alive.
Ever since Tartarus, those two words had grown to have a lot of meaning for Percy and herself, Annabeth realized. It was a way to remind themselves about what was most important for them. That they were not just alive, but that they were alive together.
Sally opened her tear-filled eyes and noticed Annabeth standing a few feet behind Percy. She pulled away from her son, and have him a heart-warming smile, before turning to face Annabeth.
Looking at Sally, Annabeth realized that everything she had gone through, just to get Percy back here to his mother, was worth it. The look on Sally's face was a mixture of every emotion Annabeth wished to see in her own mother's face. Love, adoration, compassion, pride, and gratitude. Annabeth's eyes had started to water the moment she saw her boyfriend and his mom back together. But now, she was afraid the dam was about to burst.
"Annabeth my girl…"
In two quick strides, Sally had pulled Annabeth into a hug big enough to rival the one she had given her own son. They stood like that for time that should've been somewhat uncomfortable, but it wasn't. Not after what they had all gone through.
Annabeth finally pulled back and glanced at Percy before looking back at Sally.
"I told you I'd bring him home."