~ A Mother's Love ~

SAPHIRA

Saphira follows Percy and Annabeth through a hallway that leads to a door at the end. The couple was excited and while Saphira was initially curious about his mother, she almost stayed in the van as she thought they should have the moment to themselves. However, the couple had insisted that they tag along to meet Percy's parents and in the end, their insisting and her curiosity won her over. So, Saphira, Chloe, and Lykos had gone along with them, and Saphira is feeling a little nervous. Why? She's not sure, but she is, and she's almost hesitant to continue.

Yet, she remains as Percy unlocks the door and steps inside, with her and everyone else following him. The place of living is… odd to her. Saphira's never been inside a modern city apartment before. It's strange, but at the same time, quite cozy and welcoming. It's clean and well-kempt and the smell of a freshly-baked dessert fills her nose and her body with warmth.

"Mom, I'm home!" Percy calls out as he closes the door behind them.

"Oh, hi sweetie!" a woman's voice calls back, followed a second later by the woman herself. She is older, appearing to be somewhere in her mid-to-late thirties, with hair that is long and brown with only a few streaks of gray, but the streaks did nothing to mask her beauty. Her eyes are a sparkling blue, and while she had the look of a woman who had seen hard times, she still had a kind and loving smile.

She rushes forward to greet her son with a fierce embrace. She kisses his cheek before she moves on to Annabeth, who seems all too happy to receive her affection. Upon seeing the rest of them, the woman pauses with a curious expression.

"Oh, new friends?"

Percy smiles at her, though Saphira notices a hint of nervousness in his eyes. He must be dreading what he'll have to tell her. "Yeah. This is Chloe, Saphira, and Lykos!"

His mother smiles at them in the same manner that she had smiled at her own son, and Saphira can immediately realize what Annabeth was talking about. Just her friendliness and her smile makes Saphira feel so… whole. At the same time though, she's envious, remembering in her younger years, how she would have given anything for her own mother to love her in the way that Percy's mother clearly loves him.

"Hello! My name is Sally, Percy's mom!" She introduces herself. Then she glances at Lykos, again, with curiosity. "Another hellhound, Percy?"

"Actually, Lykos is a lycanthrope," Annabeth explains.

"A wolf, Mrs. Jackson," Chloe simplifies for her when she looks at Annabeth in question.

"Oh. Well, may I say that your wolf is quite a beautiful creature, as are you girls," Sally says. Saphira blushes a tiny bit at the compliment, while Lykos perks up and straightens his posture. Always ready to show off, isn't he? Sally goes on to add, "and you may call me Sally. No need to worry about any nonsense of Mrs. Jackson."

"What about Mrs. Blofis?"

A new voice, male, reaches them from the same direction Sally had come. A man about her age, handsome with a bright smile and semi-long, salt-and-pepper hair. He looks happy to Percy and Annabeth as he approaches, but Saphira is mostly captivated by what -or rather, who- he's holding. A baby girl, no older than two she would guess, with matching eyes and hair of the man.

"Hey, Paul!" Percy says, giving him a hug which Paul returns with one arm so that he can still hold the baby. Percy turns his attention to the baby with the brightest smile Saphira has seen him wear so far. "Hello, baby sis!"

Sister?

Saphira watches as Percy makes a move to take the baby from Paul, only for Annabeth to beat him to the punch.

"Nuh-uh! I get to hold her this time!" Annabeth says as she lifts the baby into her arms with a squeal. "Hi there, little precious!"

Percy crosses his arms with a pout. "Hey now! She's my sister!"

"And right now, your sister is going to be with me!" Annabeth playfully retorts, cradling the baby close to her chest and gently rocking her. The baby seems all too happy to be getting the attention, squealing and laughing while waving her tiny hands. Saphira's heart all but melts at the sight. Perhaps some of Artemis' domain is rubbing off on her, with the goddess being the protector of young children, but she already adores this baby. She's seen very few in her life and each time, she treasures the moment forever.

"Girls and Lykos, this is my stepdad, Paul, and my baby sister Estelle," Percy says, gesturing to the man first, then the baby.

Paul politely smiles and greets the hunters first, but he seems confused when he looks at Lykos. "Lykos is… a border collie?"

Saphira realizes that unlike Sally, Paul isn't a clear-sighted mortal. He cannot see what Lykos truly is in his wolf form through the Mist. Lykos heaves a sigh through his nose, seeming to be saddened that he has no choice but to endure this kind of thing.

"Oh, no. Lykos is a wolf. A werewolf, but he cannot transform so he's stuck as a wolf. The Mist won't let you see him for what he is, but to give you an idea, he's actually like six times bigger than what you are seeing," Chloe explains.

"A werewolf?!" Paul exclaims, looking fascinated. "Are werewolves like those old movies? Is it a curse by the moon? Is he hurt by silver?"

"Well, the moon would be Lady Artemis, so no. His state of being is…" Saphira was about to say it was not her fault, but that wouldn't be entirely true. So, she settles for the next closest truth. "...for a different reason. But yes, he is harmed by silver."

"I see. I'll be sure to keep all our silverware away from him then," Paul promises.

Estelle suddenly shrieks with delight, pointing her tiny fingers at the wolf. She squirms in Annabeth's arms, reaching out to him and clapping her hands. Annabeth is able to adjust her hold on the infant so that she can see Lykos without the risk of wriggling out of her arms.

"Seems she likes you," Annabeth remarks with a grin.

Saphira can't help but smile at the sight of the baby girl regarding her companion with such obvious delight. She wonders if Estelle inherited her mother's gift of clear sight, if she can see Lykos for what he truly is. If she can, the fact that she's not at all afraid sparks warmth in Saphira's heart. When Annabeth keeps her hold on her, Estelle becomes distressed, now starting to cry at being denied the chance to get close to the wolf.

"You may let her meet him, Annabeth honey," Sally assures her. "She adores fluffy things. She won't stop until she gets to hug him."

"Are you sure?" the blonde asks, and the mother nods her head. Annabeth shrugs and looks at Lykos. "Come here and let her look at you, Lykos."

Lykos groans and looks at Saphira with a frown, as if asking for her assurance. She gives him a supportive nod and gestures for him to go ahead. He sighs, but slowly pads forward as Annabeth kneels down to get to his level, balancing Estelle on her knee. Lykos seems tentative as he leans forward, extending his muzzle towards Estelle who once again bears a bright smile, reaching out to gently grasp his muzzle. The wolf is completely still, allowing the infant to run her little hands up towards his cheeks with Annabeth lifting her a little higher so that she may reach. Suddenly Estelle hugs his head, barely managing to get her arms around it as it's bigger than her body. She nestles her cheek against his, cooing contently. At first, the wolf looks surprised, his body tensing for only a moment, but then relaxes. He even lays down and Annabeth carefully sets Estelle down with him to let her continue burying herself into his fur. Lykos looks almost at peace, closing his eyes as Estelle giggles and crawls around him.

"He's sweet to let her do that," Sally comments.

"Took me two days for you to just let me get close to you when we met, but you let her hug you after ten seconds?" Saphira complains with amusement. Lykos opens his eyes long enough to roll them at her and reply with the usual mocking rumbles and groans.

Sally heaves a sigh and then clasps her hands together, her smile fading as a look of concern overcomes her face.

"So, where are you headed?" She asks with a quiet voice.

Percy looks surprised. "How did you…"

"Because every time you bring new friends, it's because you're about to embark on something that's usually dangerous," Sally replies, humor twinkling in her eyes, but that quickly disappears. "How bad is it?"

"We're about to head to Illinois," Annabeth chimes in, still knelt beside Estelle and Lykos. "A little girl was kidnapped by monsters right outside camp. We're going to rescue her."

Percy nods. "I didn't want to leave without telling you and Paul first, and risk freaking you out because I disappeared… again."

Sally and Paul look crestfallen, and Saphira can't blame them. It must be awful for them to endure their son's absence, knowing he is on a perilous journey fraught with danger around every corner. She's amazed that they are holding together as well as they seem to be. She can already feel the guilt for what she's about to say as she opens her mouth to speak.

"I'm so sorry, but we don't have much time. We have to get to Illinois in three days or we could lose them forever," she says. "We need to get going."

"Of course. A child needs your help," Sally sniffles, wiping a tear from her eyes. "We won't keep you. Percy, sweetie, do you need anything from us before you go?"

"We already packed supplies, but we do need your maps, Paul," Percy replies.

Paul straightens his posture and nods without hesitation. "I'll get them for you right away." He briskly walks towards the master bedroom and disappears for a few seconds, then returns a few rolled-up papers. "There you go. One map is the entire US, the others are broken down in northwest, midwest, northeast… you should be able to navigate no problem."

He hands the maps to Percy, who stuffs them inside his pocket. Meanwhile, Annabeth collects Estelle once again, rubbing her nose against the infant's.

"Thanks, Paul."

"Anything for you, Percy."

"Promise me you'll be careful," Sally says. "Both you and Annabeth."

"Of course we will," Annabeth promises her.

"We're all going to look out for each other. Don't worry, Sally. They'll be alright," Chloe says.

Sally takes a deep breath, reeling herself in and once again showing her strength. "Thank you… oh! Wait! Before you go!"

She hurries to the kitchen and picks up a handful of things from a flat pan on the stove. She quickly stuffs them into a plastic baggie and hurries back to them to hand to Percy. "Blue chocolate chip, freshly baked. Be sure to share with everyone."

"I love you, Mom," Percy says as he pulls her into his arms.

"I love you too."

"Goodbye, Percy," Paul says once it's his turn, while Annabeth hands Estelle to Sally and they exchange a kiss on the cheek.

"We'll be back soon," says wisdom's daughter.

"Good luck, all of you," Sally calls after them as they walk out the door.

Saphira feels a horrible pang in her heart as she and the others pad down the hall to the elevator. It was an incredibly short interaction and she didn't say much, but she could see just how much Sally loves her son. The way she looks at him, smiles at him, hugs him and tells him she loves him. The way Percy does the same… it makes her feel longing. How she wishes she could know what that's like… and how she hates that she is the reason that Sally and Paul have to say goodbye to their son.

Abruptly, she stops before the elevator and turns towards Percy and Annabeth.

"You two should go back."

Both demigods look at her in confusion and disbelief.

"What?" Annabeth presses.

"Why?" Percy joins in.

Saphira takes a shaky breath before continuing. "You don't need to risk your lives for this. I'm the one who failed to get Asteria to camp. It's my job to make that right, not yours. I cannot take you from your parents, from the dreams you two had planned. I cannot be the one responsible for making you put your lives on hold, not after all that you've done, all that you've been through. I cannot and will not have that on my conscience."

Her eyes sting and her throat feels constricted, but she manages to keep most of her composure together. The couple is silent for a long time, staring at her. Perhaps they'll understand and go back, stay here and begin building their future like they had wanted.

"No."

Annabeth was the first to speak, and her answer shocks Saphira. She's incredulous.

"What do you mean, 'no?' You have so much to-"

"No, Saph," Annabeth repeats. "We're not leaving you. We said we would come with, and that's final. I know you think this is your fault, but it isn't. You did everything you could for Asteria, but you know, some things are just beyond our control. Some things just don't go as planned, and believe me as a daughter of Athena, it is beyond frustrating when a plan goes wrong. I hate it. I loathe it, but in the end it doesn't matter because I have to keep trying, and that's what's important."

"We appreciate that you care about us and you want us to be happy, but we are seeing this through to the end," Percy chimes in. "I told you, whatever you need, I'd be there. I meant that as a promise and I intend to keep it."

"Not to mention that Asteria could be somehow related to a world-threatening event. It'd be incredibly selfish of us to ignore that just because we wanted to go live in our fancy new place in New Rome and attend their fancy college. So, like it or not, we are staying with you until this is over," Annabeth finishes.

Saphira's lip quivers, but she's lost her fight against her tears as they now flow freely down her cheeks.

"I swear to you, I will find a way to repay you," she promises through her sniffles.

"Nevermind that. We succeed, that's payment enough for us," Annabeth replies and steps forward to hug Saphira just as Chloe does. Saphira finds herself caught between them in their intertwining embrace, but she doesn't mind at all, only allowing herself to feel their warmth for her.

"So emotional," Chloe teases her, softly stroking her hair.

"S-shut up," Saphira sniffles.

"Love you too."

The ding of the elevator gets them separated as they turn to face the opening doors. They step inside, with Saphira brushing her tears aside and clearing her throat.

"Well then… we should move," she says, hoping her voice sounds stronger than she feels right now. They smile at her and heed her word, stepping into the elevator. Percy presses for the first floor to take them down.

How lucky is she, to meet such people who would sacrifice their own dreams to help her fulfill her mission. Her two best friends, whom she already thought to be selfless and unrelentingly supportive. Now, despite having only met them a day ago, two others who seem to be rapidly heading down the path of becoming her friends as well. She already feels protective of them, like she would be of any of her sisters or of Lykos. If it's the last thing she'll do, she'll make sure that they get to return to their lives and live out their dreams.

She swears it.

. . . . . . .

A/N

Not as long as other chapters of late, but I just wanted to do something short and sweet, let the characters mingle before we send them to their doom!

Just kidding… or am I?

Would like to thank everyone, both old and new readers, for their continued support. It's your support that keeps me going in my writing. That's all I have to say for now. As of the moment that this is posted, the next chapter is nearly complete and will be up in (hopefully) no more than a week or so after this one. Stay tuned!