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THE CAR WAS SILENT. Well, not entirely. The rhythmic tapping of Percy's fingers on his knees was the one sound inside the vehicle. The skies were grey outside, rain dripping down the window. That was okay. They weren't going to Montauk for the scenery anyway. She said they were, said they were going for some vacation time (and gods knew her beautiful boy deserved a vacation for the rest of his life), but it ran deeper than that. She hoped Percy would feel some semblance of comfort there, where his childhood had been the happiest: no Gabe, no schools, no stress. Just her and her son, sheltered in a little cabin with hot chocolate and blue cookies.
But the silence was weighing on her. She couldn't imagine how it felt for him. And gods, did she want to know what happened, but the look in her boy's eyes was fragile. He painted on a brave smile for her and refused to divulge any details about this war. This war. His second war. Just barely seventeen, and he carried the horrors of two wars. Horrors he would never unsee, and she would never be able to fully understand, no matter how hard she tried. Grief burned in her chest. Anger resided there too - at the gods, at the world, at herself.
But Percy would never see this side of her. All he would ever know was her love and her embrace. If she had to send her son out as a warrior, at least she could always be ready with a home for him to come back to. She would be strong for him. She would hold fast for her son, because he needed her now more than ever.
She reached over, slipping her hand into his and squeezing. He startled a little, but then relaxed. He looked over, bright green eyes filled with gratitude. She didn't have the words to comfort him (no words could ever soothe his pain), but she could be there for him. "Thanks," he said softly.
She swallowed back her worry. "I love you, Percy."
"I know," he whispered, looking down. "...I'm sorry for worrying you."
"None of this is your fault. I'm just glad you're here now. Just the two of us in Montauk, like old times." Paul had been incredibly understanding when Sally explained, explained how Percy needed this time alone. Away from the world. Safe. Paul had just kissed her and told her to take as much time as they needed, and if he could do anything, to let him know. He insisted they take his Prius. Gods, she was so grateful for that man. "What do you say when we get there, we make some blue cookies and watch Roman Holiday."
Percy flinched. His hand started to slip away from hers. Sally tightened her grip. She was not letting her son get away from her again. Perhaps that was a poor choice of words. She wondered why, but all she said was: "Then the Little Mermaid it is."
She snuck a glance at her son, who was staring straight ahead. His expression was unreadable, but after a moment, it softened. He nodded. "I like that."
They settled back into that silence. Montauk was near now. She recognized the scenery giving way to the coastline, the ocean appearing on the horizon despite the clouds. Percy retracted his hand, taking to flipping his pen between his fingers anxiously. Sally let him, as much as she wanted to take his hand back. She was terrified if he was too far away, he would disappear again, snatched by conspiring gods or bloodthirsty monsters, or even his own mind. Silence wasn't good for them, she decided. "Should we put on some music?"
"Sure."
It hurt to hear his voice so flat.
She turned on the radio, letting Taylor Swift's voice wash over them. She didn't pay attention to the lyrics, really, still peeking over at Percy. After a moment, his tapping began to fall in line with the beat. He began humming to himself, matching the song. Good. That was good. With a little smile, she began humming too, making Percy's lips twitch up in his own smile. "I thought you didn't like Taylor Swift," he teased.
"Well, I wouldn't say I'm a Swiftie, but she has some pretty good songs," his mother teased right back.
Percy snorted in amusement. The sound lifted her spirits a little. "Paul's influenced you."
"Hey, he has some pretty good music. And you can't be a teacher without keeping up with the current music."
"Does that mean he listens to Conan Gray?"
She chuckled. "Why don't you ask him when we get back?"
"Because, listen, there are some great bands I can recommend him. Linkin Park, Breaking Benjamin, Red, Daughtry. Even Nickelback. Do kids these days not know great music? No hate to Taylor Swift or Conan Gray, but like, you can't tell me no one knows those bands."
"I honestly have no idea, but I'm sure he'd love to listen to yours," she suggested, smiling. Hearing Percy sound more energetic, even if a little bit, gave her hope. Her son would be okay. He had to be.
"And, really-" His voice dropped. Sally put the car into park in the driveway, looking over.
"Percy?"
His eyes were fixed on the radio. She glanced to it, then back to him. His expression had tightened, and his knuckles were white around the pen. She knew the signs from the last war when something had triggered him and he had completely flipped. She took his hand in hers, and her free hand went to cup his cheek. "Percy, what's wrong? Talk to me. What happened?" If she could keep talking, maybe she could ground him, bring him back from the verge of the panic attack she could see building in his eyes.
"This song-" He choked out. Then he was gone. He tore his hands from hers, shoving the car door open and bolting.
The first few lyrics of Escape (The Piña Colada Song) drifted out from the radio as Sally followed her son, leaving the car running. She ran after him, wind whipping her hair around, but kept her eyes firmly fixed on her son's receding form as he ran. It was only when her feet met the sand and kicked it up in front of her that she realized where he was headed. "Percy! Please!" She called, but the wind was snatching her voice away. He disappeared into the water, leaving her behind on the shore, and Sally was begging him to come back, she couldn't lose her son again. She followed him in, but he was gone under the currents. Fear, cold dark gripping fear, latched onto her and without a moment's hesitation, she was diving in after him. She didn't care she couldn't breathe underwater or swim as well as her son or even see, but she was begging the water to bring her to her son.
Her head broke the surface and she gasped for air. Were those tears on her cheeks or just the water?
He wasn't here. He wasn't here, he wasn't here, he wasn't here and Sally had lost her son again-
She didn't have a match or someone else's left over ice cream this time, but she had faith. She had to. So when Sally couldn't find her son by ducking under the treacherous waves again, she resurfaced, and she did the only thing she could. She screamed.
"POSEIDON!"
The effect was almost instantaneous. Water swirled under her feet, lifting her up, and a head formed out of the water before. Sharp green eyes stared at her. It took the god a split second to see her eyes, to see the dangerous waves and to see her frantic swimming towards him, to understand.
"Get him! Get our son!" She snarled at the god, latching onto his shoulders. "If you don't, I will hunt you down-"
She stumbled. She was standing on shore, the god steadying her. "I will get him," Poseidon whispered over the waves.
"I have to help, I have to find him-"
"Sally." Strong, weathered hands settled on her shoulders. "Percy is fine. I know where he is, but you cannot go in. I will bring him to you."
She hated that Poseidon was right. Because he was. Percy was gone into the water, a place Sally could never follow, no matter how much she loved the water. No matter how much she loved her son. There was always going to be a part of him she could never fully understand, a part of his life she could never follow him into. She could kill all the monsters or read all the Greek myths she wanted, but there would always be a side of her son Sally could never fully grasp. Like now. And it absolutely killed her that a stupid god had to dive into the water after their boy, that she couldn't swim to the darkest pits of the ocean and find Percy herself, but she was mortal.
That was her curse. Gods above, what she wouldn't give to trade places with her boy, to shoulder all his pain and grief and trauma so he could walk with a light step again, but the world didn't work like that. She had known who Poseidon was before Percy ever took his first breath. She was responsible for this.
And yet, Sally wouldn't trade anything for her son.
It felt like an eternity. Pacing on the beach, wringing her hands, wondering if the waves were too tall for her to dive back in, wondering if Percy was okay because he obviously wasn't-
Percy is fine.
No. No, he wasn't, was he? He wasn't okay and Sally didn't know why, only that her son had come back changed. Changed more than she'd ever seen him. The first war had been bad enough, had left him with scars and night terrors. But this? This was a whole new level of not okay, maybe never okay again and it terrified her. It took her heart and slammed it on the ground until Sally was almost breaking. And she was about to, about to dive right back into those waters because damnit, Poseidon, you're taking too fucking long and-
"Baby!" Sally bolted forward as soon as she saw the boy walking out of the water. She ignored his father's figure behind him, and ignored the water soaking her to the bone again, and she threw her arms around her boy. She wrapped him in a hug so tight she was squeezing the own air out of her lungs, and Percy was stumbling over his words but she didn't care because he was back. "Hey, hey, it's okay-"
"Mom, I-I'm sorry, I-"
"Shh," she whispered, sinking down to her knees in the surf. Percy followed her, body trembling against hers. "It's okay, sweetheart. You don't ever have to apologize to me."
"I just- That song- Annabeth..."
Sally pulled back just enough to cup his face in her hands. He was still stumbling over his words, but she could tell. Mothers always knew. He couldn't talk about it just yet. "Hey," she breathed, "it's okay. It's okay. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, okay?"
His lower lip trembled. "But I- I owe you an explanation..."
"No, sweetheart, you don't. You're home safe, and we're back together. That's all that matters. Do you want to talk about it?"
A second of silence, interrupted only by the crashing waves and shrieking seagulls, and then he shook his head. His green eyes glistened with tears. "N-No... I don't think I can, I'm sorry, there's just... I just need my mom right now, i-if that's okay."
And her heart, cracked and bleeding and fragile, shattered open once more, spilling all of her love for him. She pulled him back into her arms, letting him grip onto her, letting him bury his head in the crook of her shoulder. He wasn't sobbing but someone was and oh, that was her, wasn't it? She was sobbing, because she couldn't help it, running a hand through his dark curls, holding him even closer, like he would evaporate if she let go. She blinked back her new tears as she felt movement, saw Percy's hand reaching for his father, and hers joined. She loved her new life, she loved Estelle and Paul and everyone, but this had all started with the three of them. It had started with Percy, Poseidon and Sally, and it would always be them, against the world. No matter what.
Poseidon's arms wrapped around them both, and she felt the calmness radiating off of him. The ocean calmed behind him, until it was nothing but small, gentle waves washing up around them.
Until her dying day, Sally Jackson would love her son with every bit of her she had. Until the skies fell and the world burned away, until the day the gods fell out of the sky, Sally would fight for her son. She would do as she always told him, and hold fast. She would brave the storm, because that's what the Jacksons did: they braved the storms meant to break them.
For now, though, they stayed here on the beach in the heavy arms of a grieved god and a broken hero and a fierce mother. Even when the sun broke through the clouds and warmed her skin, Sally stayed, because that's what mothers did.
They held fast for their children.