August
Poseidon helped Percy pack his bags. He tried not to stare at the pictures of Sally in their apartment. He kept an eye on Percy every once in awhile to make sure he wouldn't go into another fit of shock.
Percy kept his crutches, even though he saw him struggle and in pain. Poseidon wanted to rattle some sense into him, but he still chose to get around in crutches.
"Are you ready?" Poseidon asked softly.
Percy nodded looking down at the floor. This was the same apartment that he was raised in since he was a baby. Percy only originally packed for his summer stay with them, but now he has to pack everything he wanted to take for a permanent stay.
Percy took one last look before exiting the door with him. Poseidon already called an Uber, Percy didn't seem traumatized during the Uber from the hospital to his apartment. Poseidon is hoping that will stay true to the ride to the airport.
He helped put Percy's bags into the trunk before hopping in the backseat besides him. He distastefully eyed Percy's crutches which sat in between them, that's going to be a pain in security.
Their flight is split up into two separate flights. Their first takes them from California to Texas. Their second is between Texas to New York. Even if it's before dawn, they'll be lucky if they it make home around dinner.
Poseidon thanked the Uber driver after he helped them get the bags out from his trunk. Poseidon had several bags he had to carry, Percy couldn't carry one since he's on crutches.
"Let's go and get this over with. We can request a wheelchair so you are able to get through security without the crutches." Poseidon attempted to reason with the sorry teen.
"No. I'll be fine, all I have to do is hop a few steps in the metal detector." Percy said.
Poseidon really wished he inherited Sally's common sense, but he ended with his stubbornness. Poseidon guessed that's his own fault.
Poseidon winced as watched Percy hop through the metal detectors, he was having a hard time trying not to loose balance. The TSA Agents were not impressed, but nevertheless let him pass.
Poseidon had first class tickets, their seating is at least comfortable. His brother Zeus had a good deal with airline companies from his expertise in meteorology. His deal extends down to all of his families members as well, it isn't that big of a blow in Poseidon's bank account.
Percy who has the window seat had his eyes glued out the window, it appeared he was lost in his thoughts. Poseidon let him be, it's a big change. Hopefully he'll be able to fulfill the duty as a parent and try to be there as much as Sally was there for Percy.
Poseidon never thought he would miss seeing the New York skyscrapers. But seeing them again in the first time in three months made him feel at home. He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw his car in the airport parking lot.
Poseidon hopped in the drivers seat while Percy quietly slid into the passenger's seat. Percy's silence is very unnerving, but he didn't want to push it. He just put the radio on to help drown the silence, while he got lost in his own thoughts.
Poseidon is beyond terrified about how his wife is going to react when he gets home. She's been giving him the silent treatment or been giving him very short responses since their last fight a week ago.
His friend Daedalus has a Newfoundland dog who's been trained to be a therapy dog, and he's giving it away. Poseidon offered to take it after hearing Hazel's advice about getting a therapy animal. He planned on giving it to Percy on his birthday on Tuesday, which is five days away from today.
The problem is Poseidon made it final without Amphitrite's permission. He informed her about it last week, and to say she furious is an understatement. She does not like pets, it's not like she allergic to them, she just doesn't like them. That's one hurtle, the next hurtle is that isn't a small dog; It's a massive breed that looks the size of a small black bear.
Poseidon sighed as he pulled in the driveway. The house looks the same as always. It's a two story house with dark blue-grey panels on the outside, and a large backyard with a swimming pool, and a decent sized front yard.
He grabbed Percy's bags while Percy stood awkwardly behind him with his crutches. Amphitrite opened the front door before he even opened the screen door. She had a grin plastered on her face, and she wore a casual t-shirt with jeans.
"Hello Percy, it's good to see you. I'm very sorry for your loss, but you're very welcomed here. Let me get that Poseidon" Amphitrite grabbed the bags from his hands and took it upstairs to Percy's room.
That went better than Poseidon expected. He assume she would be cold at the least, but maybe she pulled it together for Percy's sake? He'll probably still get an earful later from her.
Poseidon watched as Percy made his way upstairs. He winced when he almost fell with the crutches. He almost went to aid him, then he remembered Percy chose the crutches and he needed to deal with those consequences.
Poseidon eyes scanned around to see if Amphitrite changed anything around the house he's been gone for three months for. Everything seemed to be the same, Amphitrite was never the one to redecorate.
His eyes landed on Triton, who was slinking lower on the couch trying to avoid his presence.
They haven't had the best communication after Triton's birthday. Poseidon tried calling him several times after that day and he never picked up. Triton has answered some texts with only one word. Poseidon believes Triton only texted a question about how to calm Delphin down when he was in a frenzy. It's obvious that he's still upset with him, and Poseidon's not quite sure how to fix it?
"Triton how have you been? We haven't really talked to each other in these last three months."
Triton sunk lower on the couch practically half falling off the couch since he was vertical instead of horizontal.
"Triton have I not taught you manners young man? Go greet your father you haven't seen him in three months!" Amphitrite scolded heading to the kitchen to cook dinner.
Maybe she isn't as mad as Poseidon thought she was? He didn't think she would come to his defense like that? But then again she never took sass or disrespect from Triton.
Triton reluctantly got up from the couch. He began to walk awkwardly towards him, his hands shoved into pockets.
"Hi dad." Triton greeted with an almost mumble tone.
Poseidon rolled his eyes as Triton converted back into a shy toddler. Poseidon took initiative and pulled him into a hug. He was as stiff as a board, but Triton softly patted his father's back in return.
"Well was that so hard?" Poseidon sarcastically asked while pulling away.
Triton retreated his hands back into his pockets with a scowl stalking to the kitchen. Poseidon rolled his eyes once more; "teenagers" he mumbled under his breath.
Poseidon went to go greet his wife in the kitchen. She has her back turned as she's cooking the ground beef on the stove.
"I never been more excited to have a home cooked meal. Having hospital food for months on end gets tiring very fast" Poseidon said leaning on the countertop.
Amphitrite turned with a smile on her face, "You're in luck, we're having tacos tonight."
Amphitrite behavior was confusing. Maybe Poseidon was worried about nothing? Maybe Amphitrite finally is getting warmed up to Percy?
"Does this mean you're not mad about the dog?" Poseidon couldn't help but ask.
Her smile instantly fell off her face. She waved the wooden spatula in her hand.
"Don't push it Poseidon. I'm beyond furious what you've done. I'm just trying to put what is done behind us. Don't push it."
Poseidon let out a sigh, there'll be an argument tonight. She won't put it behind her, it's just her way of saying, 'I don't want to make a scene'. For now he decided to keep his mouth shut on the subject.
"Well, I'm gonna start to unpack my stuff." Poseidon departed from the kitchen without waiting for his wife's response.
Amphitrite already took the bags up to their bedroom. The luggage is laying on the neatly made bed. He took his sweet time putting his items away, giving Amphitrite some time to cool off.
Poseidon headed back down towards the kitchen as the smell of tacos intensified. His stomach growled for something other than the hospital's menu.
Amphitrite, Triton, and Percy sat at the table with tacos on their plate. They're all silent, picking at their food to try to avoid conversation.
Poseidon prepared his plate before joining them at the table. None of them glanced up from their plates as he sat down.
He scanned their faces, some kind of interaction with the three of them already happened. Judging from Percy's expression, it wasn't pleasant.
Poseidon fought the urge to bury his head into his hands. This is going to be a long adventure to try and come together as a family.
Sunday (3 days later)
"Why don't you just bring him here? It's not like we don't need the help." Delphin asked.
"Delphin, did you not just hear a word I said? He's missing a leg! There isn't much he could do until he gets a prosthetic."
"Nonsense Poseidon. Remember Tyson? He got attacked by a shark, he lost his eye and his arm, and he still helps out with the sharks. If Tyson can do it, so can Percy." Nerus piped in.
Poseidon turned to Nerus with a frown, "I thought you didn't like Percy? What changed?"
"Just because I don't like the sprite doesn't mean I don't recognize good help. We need him more than ever no matter how much he annoys me. We've been on nonstop calls for the last seventy-two hours, we desperately need the help." Nerus wiped his brow after a wave splashed the boat.
They're currently are on another rescue call with a whale caught in a fishing net. It was reported the whale has several abrasions due to the net, which is why Delphin their lead veterinarian is here. Nerus also joined to inform Poseidon on several rescues that happened since he was gone.
Nerus had nothing but good words to say about his eldest son's involvement with the rescues, which Poseidon raised a brow at. Nerus is a cranky old man, and to hear him complement both of his sons is beyond wild to him.
Poseidon shrugged him off. He would love to have Percy help out, but he's concerned if he involves him too much it will overstretch his recovery process. Maybe Poseidon can start Percy off with feeding duties, or small cleaning duties? It's something to think about.
"This is the coordinates the fisherman reported. The whale should be around here." Delphin yelled over the roar of the waves.
Poseidon stopped the boat, letting the waves lap the boat slowly. He got out his binoculars to have a better look at the sea.
Nerus pointed slightly to Poseidon's left, "That's the whale."
Delphin aimed the sedation gun at the whale. The top of the whale was sticking slightly out of the water, a perfect target for the dart. Delphin released the dart and it stuck to the whale's blubber. To ensure safety of the rescuers, sedation is necessary. If the whale freaks out once released it could easily crush them.
They waited a good fifteen minutes before entering the water. Poseidon and Nerus is tasked with cutting the fishing nets off the whale, while Delphin checks the state of the whale.
"You should've brought Triton along, an extra hand could've gotten the whale free faster." Nerus grumbled.
"Sorry Nerus, Amphitrite banned him from any rescues this week." Poseidon responded not very sorry at all, focusing on the net before him instead.
"Delphin, is there any major injuries?" Poseidon called, finishing sawing through the net with his knife.
"Fortunately only very minor abrasions. I'm putting the tracker on the whale's left side. Hopefully no predators will take advantage of the whale's injuries."
They climbed back onto the boat after finishing the rescue. Poseidon went to collect his phone to see if there were any more rescues called.
"Good news. No one else called in a rescue, I think we're done for now." He reported to Nerus and Delphin.
"Thank the lord!" Nerus collapsed onto the bench as Poseidon started up the boat.
"Remember what we've talked about Poseidon. We need the extra hands, even if Percy can't do much, he can help around in the aquarium." Delphin said as they pulled up on shore.
"No matter how much I disagree with Delphin, he's right about this. We really do need the extra hands around. My daughter spent many hours covering Triton's role around the aquarium while he went on a rescue. Imagine what can be done if we had Percy in the aquarium while Triton is doing rescues? We can do three rescues at once, instead of doing one at a time."
Poseidon nodded at Nerus speech, they're right. The numbers of rescues calls have increased every year due to the manufacturing of plastic. More and more plastic wash up in the ocean daily, requiring more rescues. They're barely keeping up with these calls as it is. If they are able to switch Triton on rescues calls, they would be able to tackle them quicker. They just needed someone to run the aquarium in Triton's steed, and Percy may be that candidate.
"Alright I'll bring Percy along tomorrow." Poseidon tells them jumping into his car.
Poseidon looked in his rear-view mirror to see Delphin do a silent cheer with his hands. Poseidon rolled his eyes at his antics. He turned his keys to start the engine up to head home.
"I'm home" Poseidon called out while opening the front door. Amphitrite was sitting on the couch watching 'The Office'.
She paused the tv and turned to her husband, "You've been gone for three days."
"It wasn't my intention to be gone for that long. The sea has been hectic. How's Percy?" Poseidon asked kicking off his shoes.
She shrugged, "He hasn't been out of his room."
Poseidon shut his eyes, "He hasn't been out of his room for three days?"
"Not that I've seen." She said pressing the resume button on the remote.
Great.
Poseidon climbed up the stairs to check on Percy. It isn't good that he's been in his room for three days straight. He opened his door without knocking.
"Hey Percy, how are you doing? Sorry I didn't expect to have that many calls, wounded animals are washing up left and right."
Percy is laying on his bed, "That's okay, really it's fine. I'm doing well, just thinking about tomorrow."
Tomorrow. School starts tomorrow. Poseidon totally forgot about that. Hopefully Triton explained the ride situation to him.
"Yeah school starts tomorrow. Forgot about that. Did Triton tell you about the ride situation for school?"
Percy sighed and with an exasperated tone said, "Yeah. I'm going with him before dawn."
Poseidon chuckled at the distain his voice held, "He likes to practice in the mornings. I don't know where he inherited that trait. I despise mornings. How long have you been laying in bed for?"
"Not long, I just ate dinner." Percy replied looking anywhere but his face.
Poseidon knew he was lying, but let it slip past, "That's good, I was worried that you be in bed all day for the past three days."
Percy still didn't make eye contact with him. Poseidon sighed before wishing him a goodnight, "Goodnight Percy, see you in the morning."
"Goodnight dad".
Poseidon closed his door, before checking up on Triton. He open his door and like Percy he was sprawled out on the bed, "Hey Triton!" He greeted.
Triton turned off his music, "Yes?"
Poseidon rolled his eyes, "I just got done with three days of rescue missions. Anyways, Nerus had nothing but good things to say about you when I was gone."
Triton just hummed in response.
Restraining another eye roll Poseidon asked , "Do you know how big of a complement that is coming from Nerus? That man always bitches and whines all day never having something positive to say, and yet gives you a complement."
Triton just shrugged and turns his music back on. For the millionth time that day Poseidon rolled his eyes; Teenagers.
The Next Morning
Poseidon had a cup of coffee in his hands while watching Amphitrite make pancakes. He leaned against the counter while taking sips of coffee. It's only five in the morning, but he wanted to be up before his sons left for school.
"Poseidon, I don't think it's a good idea to bring Percy to the aquarium." Amphitrite mumbled flipping a pancake.
"I have my doubts too, dear. We desperately need the help, no matter how minor it can be. It gives him something to do, rather than being locked up here."
Amphitrite just sighed and continued to cook the pancakes.
Percy walked down the steps with his crutches rubbing his eyes. He's damp from his shower but was dressed and ready for school.
"Good morning Percy" Amphitrite said with a smile.
"Good morning Amphitrite, dad" Percy greeted sitting groggily at the table.
"Good morning Percy, Do you want orange juice or apple juice, Amphitrite is cooking some pancakes." Poseidon asked opening the fridge, ready to grab the juice he requested.
"Orange juice is fine." Poseidon grabbed the orange juice and poured it into a glass, while Amphitrite served him some pancakes.
Percy quickly ate his breakfast at surprising speed, and hobbled off to the living room as Triton appeared.
Triton grabbed a plate and placed the cooked pancakes on it. He proceeded to pour half the bottle of syrup on his pancakes, Amphitrite rolled her eyes but chose not to comment.
Triton tied his long hair back to avoid getting syrup stuck into it while eating. Triton has always had long hair, and he's strangely protective over it. He has panic attacks every time Poseidon jokes about taking him to the barbershop. Triton only lets his mother trim it from time to time. Poseidon strongly remembered Triton's meltdown when he was in third grade after Luke cut his ponytail off.
Thinking about Luke, "Let's make this the year we don't have any problems with Luke." Poseidon ordered.
Triton frowned stabbing his pancakes with a fork, "It's not like I start them in the first place."
It's safe to say that Luke and Triton never gotten along. They have this ongoing feud with each other since kindergarten. Poseidon has no clue what started it, but the tension grows stronger between them each year. Triton's been suspended three separate times because of Luke and even got them both held back a grade.
Poseidon let his comment slide as his ears picked up his younger brother's voice from the tv.
"Good morning New York! We're waking up to a clear Monday morning, it is now 62 degrees, and it will rise up to a high of 83 degrees later this afternoon. I'll be back-"
"It's too early to hear that voice" Poseidon groaned. He's the local meteorologist, and he presents each day's forecast on the news.
Out of all of Poseidon's siblings, Zeus is the one who gets under his skin the most. And that's saying a lot, due to his sister Demeter and her nonstop talk about grain.
"Percy are you ready for school?" Poseidon called, seeing Triton finished his breakfast. Triton got up and started gather his backpack and keys.
"Yeah." Percy called, he hobbled in the kitchen with his crutches. His backpack slung over his shoulders.
"Oh I forgot! Triton why don't you take Percy with you to work after school." Poseidon called from the fridge grabbing himself more creamer to add to the coffee.
Triton's eyes widen, while Percy face contorted in confusion. "What's he going to do? He's just going to stand there, there's nothing for him to do while he's using crutches." Triton asked crossing his arms.
"I'll find something you can do Percy. It'll be a great bonding experience."
Poseidon had to hold back a laugh as both Triton and Percy had a shared expression of horror.
Tyson - In original series of Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus, son of Poseidon -No relation to this story, but he'll be a part of the aquatic crew. He's a cyclops hence why he's missing an eye. The arm is has no correlation to the original series.
Nerus - in The Titan's Curse - labeled as the stinky old fisherman with aquatic abilities. He's second in command on the aquatic crew
Delphin - A talking dolphin in The Last Olympian in Atlantis under Poseidon's rule. He's the lead veterinarian on the aquatic crew.
Zeus - God of the sky/wind/lightning/thunder works as a meteorologist to track thunderstorms and help navigate plans out of these storms hence the family discount on flights.