Chapter Text
Everyone who has ever met Percy Jackson - God, demigod, and mortal alike - knew that there were two people they could never touch if they didn’t want to face his wrath.
Annabeth Chase and Sally Jackson.
Sure, Percy is typically a friendly and easy going guy. If you’re his friend, you’ll never meet anyone more loyal. But he is the son of the Stormbreaker and the savior of Olympus twice over - and he hadn’t even learned the full extent of his powers yet. He protects his friends fiercely, but he would tear down the world for his mom and his partner.
“Honey, you should know that there’s a huge storm brewing over Los Angeles. It’s likely to take down several planes.” Hera said, approaching her husband's throne. Few dared to interrupt the King of Gods when he was watching WWE of Olympus, but this was an emergency.
Zeus looked at his wife with annoyance that bordered on confusion, “And I should care, why? It sounds like a handful of mortals might die, that’s way below my pay grade.”
“Sally Jackson is on one of those flights.” Hera said, her mouth taught and teeth clenched. Her husband still wore that stupid, clueless look.
“Who the Hades is Sally Jackson?”
“Percy Jackson’s mom? The woman he walked into the Underworld for when he was 12? The woman he’d raze Olympus for?”
“That boy would never harm us!”
Hera shot him an exasperated look, an eyebrow raised.
“Fine, the boy’s just impertinent enough to try, but to be sure he couldn’t actually do any damage.”
“You realize that ‘that boy’ defeated Ares at 12, right? Imagine if his mother died in your territory? Look, i’m definitely the God he hates the most and you are probably a close second. He might not be able to kill us but i’m not willing to test that theory, especially when you can easily do something about it.”
Zeus narrowed his eyes, his very being balking at the idea of backing down. As the King of Gods, he was meant to always be right but despite himself, the image of Posideon’s son at full power did send a small chill down his spine.
“Fine,” He said, waving his hand dismissively. And just like that, the winds diverted and Sally Jackson had the smoothest plane ride of her life.
Thanatos crept into Hades dining hall, feeling a rare burst of nerves. Only a fool interrupted Hades, but he knew that the God would want to know about this.
“Lord Hades?” The God in question stood, shadows gathering around his feet. Persephone didn’t look up from the steak she was cutting.
“Do you want to tell me what possessed you to interrupt my meal with my wife?”
You would think that the personification of death couldn’t fear for his life but you would be wrong.
Thanatos kneeled in respect, “My Lord, I thought you would want to know that Sally Jackson has shown up on my collection list.”
“Percy Jackson’s mother?” Hades had heard a lot about the mortal woman from his son, Nico. The boy clearly loved the woman, almost seeing her as a second mother.
“Yes my Lord. He is slated to die in three days of a brain aneurysm.”
“Well take her off the list!” Not only would the God never hear the end of it if he let this happen, he’d probably find his son and Jackson standing on his doorstep within a minute, ready to tear the Underworld apart.
“Unfortunately I can’t my Lord, the blood clot has already formed within the woman’s body. I cannot heal her and if she dies, I must collect her.”
“Oh me no.” Hades mumbled, burying his hand in his hair and lightly pulling.
“You can’t let her die darling, you’re the one that said you wanted your son to lead a happy life. Sally means the world to so many of those children.” Hades and Thanatos both looked at Persephone with wide eyes. Her expression was concerned but determined - she wouldn’t be swayed about this. It was rare that she truly put her foot down, but Gods help the being that got in her way when she did.
“Thanatos, get Apollo down here.” Hades said, his mind finally piecing together a plan. The Sun God was in front of him within minutes.
“Uncle! Not that i’m not happy to see you but I don’t think you’ve summoned me in well over a millennium.”
Hades narrowed his eyes, both in annoyance at the younger God’s grating voice and the obnoxious light he gave off.
“Yes, it has been a while, but I have a favor to ask of you.”
“Awe, i’m touched! What can I do for the King of Darkness today?”
“Sally Jackson is set to die in three days.”
It was like the air had been sucked out of the Sun God, his glow dimming immediately. His eyes lost their playful sparkle and turned deathly serious.
“Take her off of your list then.”
Typically Hades scoffed at anyone who took on a threatening tone with him, but it looked so strange on the God of all things fluffy that it was almost amusing.
“We’ve tried, but the blood clot that will cause her death has already formed. She will need to be healed if she is to avoid death.”
“Leave that to me,” Apollo said, barely finishing his sentence before vanishing. Hades plopped back into his chair, a headache forming behind his eyes.
Within five minutes, Sally Jackson’s name vanished from Thanatos’ list.
Apollo appeared at the Jackson’s door, not wanting to waste any time. Even if she wouldn’t die for three days, the God of Medicine knew that a blood clot could wreak havoc on the body. He needed to fix this fast.
He knocked on the door using his Lester form - which had become his preferred form in the mortal world. Lester might not be as beautiful as Apollo, but he was familiar and reminded the God of who he was at his best.
A wave of affection filled him when saw Sally Jackson standing in her doorway with a blue-stained apron.
“Lester! Or Apollo - it’s so good to see you dear!” She said, wrapping him in a warm hug. He was tempted to sink into it, Sally gave the best hugs, but he forced himself to focus on his powers. It looked like the blood clot had started in her arm and had moved to her shoulder area - a dangerous spot since it could easily migrate to her heart or brain.
He placed his hand right over the clot. It faintly glowed for a moment while his powers worked to remedy the issue, but it was gone by the time Sally began to pull away.
“Please, come in! Also, what name do you prefer now?”
The God chuckled as he followed, “Either is fine, but I do often find myself missing Lester.”
“Then Lester it is.”