A/N while it's never quite clear in the books when these two characters meet, from what I can tell they must have at least met before the titan's curse, but after sea of monsters...
enjoy!

Sally didn't know what she had been expecting when Percy had asked to have a friend over. She should have known that he had meant Annabeth, who he had (rather excitedly) said was in New York at a boarding school, however didn't make the connection until 9am that day, when she opened the door to find an athletic looking girl with tan skin and blonde curls to rival Cinderella standing there.

Sally had seen photos of the girl before, or at least one photo of her from the year before, when she had sent a photo to Percy. It had been rather cute, she had decided, as her son came to her asking for help (blushing just the tiniest bit) to print out the photo, although Sally had no clue what he had done with it. It had also saddened her, an indication that her son was growing up, reminding her that there would be a time when Percy would have to leave her.

"Hello, dear," Sally said, smiling at the girl who looked as though she would rather face a monster than meet her friend's mom. "You must be Annabeth. Percy's told me so much about you."

Annabeth shuffled her feet a bit, her hands moving up to fiddle with her hair, nodding in agreement over her name.

"Come in, come in," Sally ushered the girl in, guiding her to the small apartment. "Make yourself at home. Percy isn't up yet, but would you like anything to drink or eat? I made some pancake batter. And it's blue."
Annabeth stifled a laugh, a small smile crossing her face, and Sally winked conspiratorially at her, "Don't tell Percy, or you might have to fight him for them."

The small smile turned to a grin, and Sally watched as the awkward girl turned into one with confidence, smirking at Sally, winking right back as she responded, "I could take him."

Sally laughed, shaking her head, smiling at the young girl, "And I believe that. If you want to have a go at waking up sleeping beauty, his is the second door on the right, and I'll get started on those pancakes."

An evil smirk crossed Annabeth's face, as she nodded, "I can do that."

The blonde hair almost bounced as she walked, and Sally snorted to herself. That girl was a force of nature. And she would know, she did have a son with one after all.

Shaking her head slightly, Sally moved to the kitchen, tidying up her son's school work, which somehow always ended up in a messy pile of paper and pens.

The yell of surprise came just after she had put the first round of pancakes on to cook. It was followed by a triumphant Annabeth appearing, laughing as she skipped merrily out of the room, a twinkle in her grey eyes.

"I woke him up," is what Sally is met with, and she finds herself smiling almost reflexively.

In (mostly) mock awe, because she really, really needed to know exactly how this girl managed to get her son up within minutes of arriving, and also because she feels the need to keep the conversation going before it gets awkward, she asks, "Now, how on earth did you do that?"

At least with Percy, her and Annabeth had a similar topic to talk about.

"Now, now, I need to keep some of my secrets, Miss Jackson," the girl said, smiling mischievously, fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

"Just call me Sally, dear."

"... Sally," the girl repeated, and Sally noticed the twinge of nervousness in Annabeth's voice, and she recalled some of the vague details Percy had given her about his friend.

Of course Annabeth would be nervous around adults, particularly if she felt the need to please them. Which both warmed Sally's heart, but also saddened it, and she wanted nothing more than to wrap Annabeth in the biggest, warmest hug she could, to promise the girl that she would never have to be anything but herself to be accepted in this household. But Sally didn't know Annabeth. Not really. She only knew the girl from stories her son had told her, making Annabeth seem larger than life, and a little bit unreal. And Sally didn't know if this very real person would even want, or accept a very sudden hug from her.

Absent-mindedly, she flipped the pancakes, her mind on autopilot, barely noticing the audience she had gained from the younger girl.

"How do you know when to flip them?"

Startled, Sally looked slightly downwards, finding herself staring into piercing grey eyes, interest and curiosity piqued.

"Well…" Sally trailed off, pausing to think for a second as she tried to put it into words, a sense of deja vu coming with Annabeth's question.

The memory came unbidden, one of the rare memories back when she had still been married to Gabe that had been a happy one.

Of course, it had been after a late night of Gabe playing poker, and he hadn't yet woken up, a treasured memory, Percy still short enough that she had to get him to stand on a stool to help her. She smiled, an idea forming in her mind.

"Do you want to help?" she asked. "I could teach you. And since that son of mine is taking his sweet time, I don't have a helper."

"What do you do?"

Annabeth put her backpack down, watching intently as Sally removed the pancakes from the pan, onto a plate and into their tiny oven to keep warm.

"Alright," Sally started, handing Annabeth the butter. "Can you put some more butter on the pan?"

Annabeth nodded, cutting off almost a quarter of the butter, and Sally almost laughed, shaking her head as she smiled at the girl. Fondness creeped into her heart, and she couldn't help but wonder why Annabeth's father wouldn't want her.

"A little less than that, dear," she said, gently taking the girl's hand, guiding it to the right amount.

Annabeth tensed under the sudden contact, and Sally admonished herself for initiating it, suddenly very aware that this wasn't her son she was dealing with, but rather his friend. Before Sally could apologise, Annabeth relaxed, smiling up at her, a little more tension bleeding out from her body.

"And this goes on the pan?"

Sally nodded, picking up the bowl of batter, showing Annabeth how to scoop it up and onto the pan, trying not to touch her as she did so.

"What happens now?"

Sally hummed as she moved to take the maple syrup out of the fridge.

"When bubbles start to appear on the pancakes, we'll give it about a minute before flipping the pancakes."

Annabeth nodded, tapping her fingers on the counter, staring absently at the pancakes.

A loud yawn announced her son's presence in the kitchen door, running his hand through his hair as he shuffled in.

Ah, Sally thought, as she took in her son dressed for breakfast for once, so that's what took him so long.

Before he could sit down, Sally grabbed the washing cloth, shoving it into his hands, leading him to the sink.

"Wha-?"

"Annabeth, your guest, is helping me cook, you can wash up," Sally said, cutting him off as her son finally saw Annabeth in the kitchen, who was trying (and failing) at not laughing at him.

Percy grumbled, but went to the sink without much complaint, Annabeth poking her tongue out at him as he went, who simply rolled his eyes, before poking his own tongue out in response.

Sally sighed slightly, not really attempting to hide her smile as she watched the two of them interact with each other.

Eventually, after Sally had to tell Percy off for flicking water at Annabeth and an episode where a pancake almost ended up on the ceiling (Annabeth had flicked it a bit too hard, and the pancake had achieved velocity, almost making it past the stratosphere of their ceiling), they sat down to eat.

At first Annabeth was quiet, choosing to attack the pancakes with a ferocity Sally had only seen her son do. Although that was probably more due to the fact that she nor Percy ever had anyone over… well, there was Paul, but Percy hadn't met him yet, and it had only been that one time when Sally had forgotten to bring in her printed short story for the peer review… and then maybe once or twice after that when Percy had gone into camp for outside summer camp activities.

Ok, maybe it had been more than once, and Sally really did need to tell Percy about Paul, but not when he had his friend over.

"So, what are you kids doing today?"

Silence had never descended over the Jackson breakfast table so fast.

Both Annabeth and Percy looked at each other for a second (which Sally's mind noted, was adorable) before both speaking at the same time.

"I dunno, what do yo-"

"Do you have any-"

Their faces flushed slightly as they grinned ruefully at each other, and Sally's heart melted. Yes, Percy had had Grover as a friend for the entirety of sixth grade, and then Tyson last year, but before then, he had never really had any friends. Always the new kid, always being forced to start over at a new school. But seeing him now, laughing along with Annabeth now that the ice had been broken, competing to see who could get the most raspberries in each other's mouths… if she had to surreptitiously wipe a tear away, the kids would never know.

"Well," Sally interrupted their game, trying hard to keep her stern face, but probably failing miserably as she felt her lips twitch into a half smile. "If you want to go out anywhere just let me know, 'k?"

She held eye contact with both of them, making sure they both understood, before she began to clear away the plates.

Both Percy and Annabeth, almost as one, began to help her, before she shooed them off. It wasn't everyday her son had a friend over, and they could at least enjoy the day.

Sally hummed as she cleaned up the kitchen. She liked Annabeth, she decided. There was a seriousness about the girl, which Sally couldn't help but be grateful for, particularly in keeping her son in line, which she had no doubt Annabeth was capable of, if any of Percy's stories about her were accurate.

Laughter filtered in from the living room as Sally finished drying the plates, and she had to take a second to herself, breathe in and out as she smiled to herself.

While the future was still an uncertain thing, and perhaps filled with more pain than Sally was willing to admit it might, maybe, just maybe, everything would be ok.