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When Sally Jackson left her apartment that morning to go to her favourite café and write a chapter or two of her book, she did not expect to find a familiar boy hiding by her door. The kind of familiar that she could not quite place.
She came out of the elevator and found her key when she saw him. He was small, no more than four of five years old, scrawny and he was crying. They were silent tears, but all that more heartbreaking. The little thing was rubbing desperately at his eyes, hiccupping quietly. Sally’s heart was going out to him, she wondered if he had gotten lost. Where were his parents? Was he living in this building? If yes, why had she never seen him before?
So many questions, but they would have to wait. She could not let the boy cry, her motherly heart was urging her to kneel down to his level and console him. She could start asking after he would calm down.
Her pregnant belly was making the task a little more difficult than she would appreciate, but she made it work in the end. She kneeled down and gently called out: “Little one, are you alright?”
The boy flinched and his head shot up violently. It seemed like he only just noticed her and got scared when a stranger appeared so suddenly. Sally smiled and reassured: “It is alright. You are safe. What is your name?”
She hoped that one question would not be too much. She wanted to know what she should call the boy. Perhaps the familiarity of his name would help him calm down and trust her.
The boy blinked his big dark eyes and stared at her in confusion. Then, he uncurled a little from where he had been until then clutching his knees to his heaving chest. He seemed to be contemplating something, the confusion spread all over his face, so much so that Sally was starting to think that he could not remember his name. Luckily, it only lasted a fleeting moment before the boy’s lips spread in a big smile.
“Sei mia mamma?” he asked, hope clear in his voice.
Sally got taken aback, her heart was breaking. The boy was not speaking in English, that much was clear. He probably did not understand her either. What should she do now?
“I am sorry, sweetheart, I cannot understand you. Can you speak English?” She asked as gently as she could.
She did not want the boy to assume that she was mad at him. He looked way too much like Percy after he had had a nightmare. Something scratched in the back of her mind, asking for attention. She pushed it away for now, concentrating on the lost soul in front of her.
To her utter astonishment, the boy spoke in perfect English next: “Are you my mommy?”
Tears gathered in Sally’s eyes. She fought them to smile at the boy: “Sorry, sweetheart, I am not your mommy.” The boy started sniffling again so she quickly added: “But I can help you find her. Can you tell me her name? Or yours?”
As quickly as the boy’s face scrunched up with sadness, it brightened right back up. He beamed at her, pointing to his chest: “My mommy’s name is Maria. And I am Nico!”
Everything clicked together and Sally immediately knew who the boy was. The name Nico, the foreign language that she only now realized must have been Italian, and the fact that he appeared on her doorstep were very telling. It was only the age that did not match, the Nico di Angelo she knew should be around fourteen years old. Something must have happened.
Sally felt bad for her promise to help find Nico’s mother. Percy had told her a little about the heartbreaking history of Nico’s life, he would be so disappointed if he heard that his mother was dead, killed by Zeus himself because of some stupid prophecy. The Nico now, the four-year-old one, knew nothing about grievances and hardships of demigod life. It did not seem like he had any memories either, otherwise he would not be asking about his mother like this.
Sally knew what she had to do. She had to contact Percy, he would for sure be able to help his friend go back to normal. However, first things first, she had to take care of Nico. Now that the boy was not curled up into himself anymore, she could see that he was injured. Not too badly, at least she hoped so, just scrapes and grazes, it still must have been painful though.
The boy was starting to get worried so she had to gather herself quickly. She was a mother of a demigod, she could handle this, no problem.
She smiled at the tiny boy: “Nico, what a nice name! Do you want to come home with me so we can take care of these scraped knees? It will hurt less with a band aid, what do you say?”
The boy looked to be thinking hard about her offer. Then, his little face scrunched up in disapproval and he even scooted farther away from Sally.
“Mommy told me not to go anywhere with strangers. They could be dangerous. Are you a monster, lady?”
Sally was taken aback, but she quickly regained her composure. She could not show Nico how deeply those words affected her. Maria di Angelo had been a great mother who protected her children even before they had learned anything about their godly heritage and dangers that came with it. Sally respected that; what a mother would not do to keep her child safe, she had ample experience in that field.
“I see,” Sally was not giving up. Nico did not have a mother that could protect him anymore, but since he had somehow ended up on her doorstep, she would do her best to stand in place of his real one. “Then… I can bring the band aids here, if you can wait a little. Would that be acceptable?”
Once again, the boy was thinking hard. He came to a conclusion and nodded.
Sally beamed at him and patted his head before she could think better of it. The older Nico never struck her as a child who liked physical contact. She stilled, only for a fraction of a second though, only until she saw the boy reflect her smile. He nodded again, less hesitantly this time. There was a huge contrast between the boy in front of her and the Nico she has come to know during the turbulent times of the war with Titans, it was startling.
“Alright,” Sally stood up with difficulty, her back has been killing her lately. “Wait here for me, I will be right back. I will leave the door open, you can come in if you want.”
She did as she said. She fished her keys out of her pocket, wrestling with her notebook bag and two other bags full of groceries, her hands were full. The boy suddenly giggled. He must have found her struggles funny. Sally could not blame him, she was certain that with her big belly and the bags, she was quite a sight.
Finally, she managed to unlock the door. She looked down at the still giggling boy. “I will be right back,” she promised as she hurried inside, leaving the door half open.
She put down her bags and made a beeline for the bathroom, there was a medicine cabinet for emergencies. She had been sure that there were band aids there, but when she opened the first aid kit, it was almost empty. It was only at this moment that she realized that she had forgotten to refill it after Percy’s last visit. Since her son was not living at home anymore and only came back occasionally, it had slipped her mind.
She did not waste another second and went to Percy’s room, there was another first aid kit there. This one, she always kept stocked fully, more often than not, it came in handy when her son came. Or when some of his friends stopped by after being attacked or chased by a monster.
She opened the kit and sighed in relief, everything was there, neatly packed and ready to be used. She took out a box of band aids and a bottle of disinfection and checked the expiration date.
Suddenly, there was a loud shriek from somewhere nearby, the hallway Sally suspected, and the next second, two tiny hands wrapped themselves around her thigh. She flinched in surprise, she had not heard Nico coming inside. Had a neighbour scared the boy into running for safety to the closest, maybe only, person he knew? Or has there been a monster attack?
Sally fell to her knees and protectively wrapped her arms around the small trembling body. She listened attentively, ready for anything.
“Miss Jackson!” came a shout from the hallway. “Your door is open, should I close it for you?”
Relief made Sally’s knees weak, if she was standing, she would have had to grab onto something to steady herself. She was pregnant, she did not know how she would have been able to protect herself, Nico and her unborn child if a monster actually showed up and was about to attack.
“Yes, thank you very much,” she replied back.
She did not shout, just spoke loudly, she did not want to scare Nico more. The boy’s face was hidden in her stomach and he was clutching to her for dear life. She patted his back, whispering soothingly: “Everything is alright, Nico, there is nothing to fear. You are safe.”
Slowly, the boy relaxed in her hold and eventually unglued his face from her belly. She could still see the lingering fear in his eyes, but when she smiled, he returned it. He was such a precious sweet little thing.
He wriggled away from her and she let him go. Her arms were suddenly feeling empty, it was a strange sensation. It has been so long since she had held a small child in them, it reminded her of the times Percy would come to her for comfort after Gabe shouted at him. She blinked, willing the memories to go away, she did not want to remember the painful parts of her past. She was happy now, and so was Percy.
Nico looked at her thoughtfully, he did that a lot, and declared with the confidence that only a five-year-old could have: “You are not a monster, lady. You are too nice. Mommy gave me cards with pictures of all the monsters in the world, you look nothing like them.”
Sally chuckled. “Good to know. Now, should we put on those band aids?”
However, before she could do or say anything else, the boy yawned widely and staggered on his feet, falling right back into her arms. She caught him, crying out in alarm: “Nico!”
“I am really sleepy, lady. Can I take a nap here? It is comfy, I like…” the boy mumbled and then trailed off. He was sleeping before he finished speaking.
Sally held him tighter so he would not fall. Internally, she was panicking. It was not unheard of that a child would fall asleep in the middle of a conversation, especially if they had a tiring day behind them, which Nico had, but it was still a little unsettling. He had gone out like a light without any warning. It could also be that he had fallen unconscious instead due to some injury she had not yet noticed.
She did her best to move him to Percy’s bed and put him there. It was quite a feat for her with how far her pregnancy was, it was lucky that Nico was so small and light that she was able to carry him even in her state. When he was comfortable, she went to examine his body for any further wounds. She found none and let herself fall back down on her heels from sheer relief. Nico was really just sleeping.
She took care of his knees with practiced efficiency. The boy did not as much as stir during those ministrations, he must have been really tired. Sally suddenly remembered one conversation she had had with Percy a long time ago. He had told her about Nico’s powers and that they drained him a lot more than other demigods. It made sense now, the boy had shadow-travelled to her when he had been spooked by the neighbour arriving, he was just sleeping off the premature use of his powers.
Finally having time to breathe and process, Sally looked at the small sleeping boy. He reminded her so much of Percy, all sweet and innocent, and so very, very young. How could she bear the thought of him being all alone in the world and fighting monsters? What did the demigod children do to deserve such harsh fates? At least now, when she had him in her care, she was a little calmer. Everything was alright.
Or, as alright as it could get with Nico being somehow turned into a toddler instead of showing up as his usual teenager self. She had only seen him a couple of times, still, the contrast was clear as day. What life had he led to grow from this sweet and trusting boy into a slightly grumpy, lonely and very distrusting teen? And how come that in his hour of need, he had turned up at her doorstep and not at Camp?
So many questions and so few answers. Sally sighed, not counting how many times she has done it during the last hour. She could wonder for days and she would not come up with anything. The one who could give her the answers was now sleeping in Percy’s bed with little recollection of his older self.
From what Sally had observed, it was a strange case of memory loss. The boy knew how to use his powers and had switched seamlessly to speak in English, both of which he would have learned at a much older age. However, he could not remember that his mother was dead or that he should go to Camp when in danger. Not that Sally was not going to take care of him, but he would have been much safer there.
That reminded her, she should call Percy and inform him about the situation. She was ready to take care of Nico for as long as needed, but someone needed to start looking into his sudden age regression.
She took one last look at the peacefully sleeping boy and then went to where Percy has hidden a small stash of drachmas for emergency Iris messages. They would come in handy now; sometimes, Sally was cursing the fact that demigods could not carry around cell phones, it would have made her life so much less stressful. Do not get her wrong, she never regretted meeting Poseidon, it was just that the lives of those children were already way too hard even without their human parents being unable to check on them easily.
She started Percy’s water fountain and lit the lamp that was close to it for exactly this purpose. A faint rainbow appeared behind the fountain and she did not hesitate and threw a drachma in, whispering her son’s name.
It felt like an eternity before the call was connected and Percy’s face appeared in the colourful mist. Despite the situation, Sally had to smile, she had not seen her son for so long, she was glad he was alright.
“Mom?” Percy called as soon as he noticed her and Sally winced. He was speaking way too loudly, she did not want Nico to wake up too soon.
“Hey, Percy,” she whispered, urging him silently to do the same. “I am so glad the call got through, I have something I want to talk to you about. You see…”
Percy did not seem thrilled by her call, on the contrary. He frowned and shot a quick look behind his shoulder. Then, he turned back to Sally, asking her urgently: “Mom, not that I am not happy to see you, but we have kind of an emergency here. Could whatever you want to tell me wait?”
“Emergency?” Sally was immediately alarmed and her curiosity and fear for her son got the best of her. “What happened?”
Surprised by her question, Percy answered distractedly: “We were on a quest for Geras, you know, the god of old age? Do not worry, everyone is alright. Well, not everyone maybe, we do not know. We just finished and then Geras wanted to reward us and Nico…”
“Nico?” this time it was Sally who interrupted her son. A little too loudly, she heard shifting of sheets from the bed behind her and looked over. Nico turned to his side, but remained sleeping for now. She lowered her voice again: “What happened to Nico? He came here and…”
“Nico is with you?” Percy shouted excitedly. He turned back and informed someone out of view of the message: “Guys! Nico is fine! He is at my house.”
There was a chorus of voices and then Annabeth’s face appeared in the mist. “Miss Jackson,” she greeted, “is Nico alright?”
Too loudly again, Sally winced. There were more noises from behind her and a sleepy and slightly confused voice asked: “Where am I? Where is my mommy?”
Sally turned away from the Iris message and quickly went to comfort the boy before he would fully wake up and get alarmed. Nico was sitting in bed, his small hands balled into fists as he was wiping away sleep from his eyes. He looked positively adorable, Sally wanted to coo at him and gather him into a hug. The first one, she did not dare to do, even as a small boy, Nico was still a son of Hades, the second one came naturally to her.
The boy stopped rubbing at his eyes and looked around. He started sniffling, probably because he did not recognize the room and was afraid that he was somewhere unknown with a stranger. It was heartbreaking to see him still looking desperately for his mother that would never come to find him.
Sally sat on the bed and drew the boy close to her, rubbing his back soothingly: “It will be alright, Nico, do not worry. You are safe.”
The boy froze for a second, but then he nodded into her chest. He raised his arms and wrapped them around Sally’s waist. He was so small that he could barely reach her sides seeing how big her belly was. His fingers held tightly onto her dress, it tickled.
“Is that Nico?” came an incredulous shout from the Iris message.
The boy flinched and hid his face in Sally’s dress. He held on tighter, he was trembling slightly. Sally held him more closer, making sure she would not stop gently rubbing his back.
“It is,” she replied, lifting her head from the boy and looking at Annabeth and Percy. “I do not quite understand what is happening, he was sitting at the door when I came back from the café. He was injured and exhausted. He seems to have a kind of amnesia, he keeps looking for his mother.”
“Oh no,” Annabeth sounded sad, “we hoped that it did not happen. Geras said he would reward us for cleaning his garden and we were not fast enough to stop him. He pointed at Nico and then we thought we saw him getting smaller, but he shadow-travelled away before we could make sure he was alright. We have been looking for him for the last hour. I am sorry to see that he was indeed turned younger, that was apparently how Geras wanted to reward us. He said that every mortal human wanted to avoid old age so he would graciously help us.”
“We are looking for him too,” Percy interjected, “for an old guy with a cane, he is awfully quick on his feet. We wanted to check with him that he did not do what Annabeth thought he did. Now we need to find him even more, Nico cannot stay like this, he would never forgive us for that. Can you keep him with you until we figure something out? Or you can tell Paul to take him to the Camp, just do not go anywhere on your own, you know, with you being pregnant and everything, you should be careful.”
“I know, Percy, I am always careful,” Sally laughed, startling the boy who was still clinging to her. This little version of Nico was precious and oh so shy, it was adorable. Percy have never been like this, probably because of Gabe, if that smelly pig was not already a statue, now would be a good time for Sally to turn him into one.
She patted Nico’s head and whispered to his ear: “Everything is alright, there is nothing to be scared of. They are your friends even if you cannot remember them right now. Come on, do not be shy, say hi.”
Prompted by her words, Nico unglued himself from her just the tiniest bit and looked towards the mist. “Hi,” he greeted quietly, still hiding in the creases of Sally’s dress.
“Hey, Nico,” Annabeth returned the greeting gently, lowering and softening her voice to match the atmosphere.
Percy did not get the same memo, Sally should have raised him better so he would get better instincts on reading the situation.
“We do not have time for this,” he exclaimed, causing Nico to once again hide fully from view. Sally just sighed, she would have to educate her son later, it would not do if he scared the child in her belly like this too when it was born. Well, it would not do if he scared any child, period.
“Mom, I will call someone from Camp to come and pick Nico up, that will be the easiest for you. I will make sure they come soon.”
“No need, Percy,” Sally stopped him with a raised hand, “there is no need for that. Nico can just stay here until you find Geras and see how to turn him back. I do not mind, really.” She patted the boy’s head and the boy looked up at her with a hopeful expression. “If Nico does not mind?” she smiled.
The boy’s face brightened and he shook his head vigorously. “You are nice, lady, I want to stay with you.”
“Sure,” she ruffled the boy’s hair, “just call me Sally. Lady sounds way too refined.”
“Okay, Sally.”
“It is decided then,” Sally turned back to the two who were watching her through the Iris message. Annabeth was smiling softly and Percy had the most incredulous look she had ever seen on his face, and she was his mother. She chuckled. “Go finish your quest, I will take care of Nico in the meantime.”
Annabeth and Percy hesitated only for a moment and then said their goodbyes, urging Sally to call again if something happened. They were dead set on finding the god of old age whose unfortunately chosen reward had caused all this chaos.
Sally turned to Nico who was still clinging to her, clutching her dress in his tiny fists. His eyes were huge and trusting as he looked at her. She smiled, reassuring him even without words that everything would be alright and she would take care of him.
Now, she just had to find an activity that the boy would enjoy, he did not seem tired anymore and knowing how kinds with ADHD could get, he would get bored and distracted easily. She recalled how much trouble she had keeping Percy entertained and out of trouble when he had been Nico’s current age. She thought for a moment, and she had the perfect idea. After sleeping, the boy would surely be hungry.
“Nico, I was going to make some pudding. What do you say, would you like to help me?” At his confused look, she added an explanation she thought someone of Italian origine would understand: “It is like panna cotta but with more vanilla.”
The boy’s eyes lit up and he nodded enthusiastically: “Yes!” He let go of her and jumped to his feet, tugging at the hem of her dress and shouting excitedly: “Let us go, let us go! I can help. I always help mommy when she cooks. She lets me lick the bowl.”
Sally could not resist and bumped his nose gently. “Of course, you can lick the bowl. And then, once it settles, we can eat it together as an afternoon snack.”
Sally led the overexcited toddler to the kitchen and prepared everything. She even found a second apron that Paul sometimes used when cooking, it was not a full body one, it covered just the upper body and arms, it was perfect for the boy. Given his hight, it covered him fully like it was meant to be for him.
She enjoyed making the pudding, she never experienced something like this with Percy, he had been way too energetic to be able to stay in one place for more than 5 minutes when Gabe was not around. When he was though, Percy usually hid in a corner or in his room and tried to be as quiet as possible, it was breaking Sally’s heart even years later. She hoped that her second child would have a much happier and easier childhood.
Nico enjoyed making the pudding too judging by his loud laughter and occasional lick of the spoon he was using to stir the now cooling mixture. He could not wait to taste it. Sally guessed that it would not hurt anyone if the dessert was not chilled before being served and made them both two fancy bowls with fresh fruit and whipped cream on top. In the meantime, Nico was licking the last of the pudding from the now cold pot.
They sat at the kitchen table together and ate their treat. Nico was scoffing down his portion with gusto and Sally had to remind him to eat slowly lest he wanted to choke. When he finished the bowl, there was whipped cream everywhere on his face. Sally took a handkerchief and helped him clean himself up. Despite the circumstances, she was having way too much fun with the boy.
They did not even finish putting the dishes to the dishwasher, an appliance that intrigued Nico to no end, when the boy started yawning again. The excitement must have been too much for him after exhausting himself with shadow-travelling, he needed to take another nap.
Sally led him back to Percy’s room and found one of her son’s smaller T-shirts that Nico used as a nightgown. It was one with a picture of a small cottage with a flower garden, the boy kept looking at it and admiring it. When Sally asked him if he liked it, he explained: “This is how our garden back home looks, I like it. Can we go find my mommy and my sister after I wake up? I really miss them.”
Sally’s heart dropped at the comment but she kept smiling for the boy’s sake. “Maybe, let us get you to bed first,” she promised noncommittally. She did not want to get his hopes up.
She quickly pulled out a children’s story book that she had already prepared for when she would read it to her newborn. Nico obediently went to bed and listened to the bedtime story. It did not take even two pages and he was already sleeping. He must have been really exhausted.
Sally stood up and took a long look at him. She imagined how happy the boy’s mother must have once been to have such a kind and energetic child. It hurt all that more because she knew what kind of person Nico would became, or actually had been in the past. She did not know the full story, but she was aware that after his mother and sister died, he had not led the easiest life. She hoped that at least for a little while, she reminded him of his mother and made him happy.
She went out of the room and left the door slightly ajar just in case the boy had a nightmare or woke up alone and was scared. She sat down on the sofa in the living room and relaxed. With how fun it was to care for the boy, it tired her out too. Before she knew it, she nodded off.
She half woke up to Paul putting a fluffy blanket over her. He leaned in and kissed her like always.
“Welcome home,” she murmured sleepily.
Why was she so tired? Of course, she was very tired all the time lately, that came with the pregnancy, but she usually could stay up and welcome Paul home. She was more exhausted than usual today.
“Nico!”
Then, her memories caught up with her and she struggled to her feet, Paul helped her while giving her a concerned look. She did not explain anything, she first needed to check on the boy, what if something had happened to him? The apartment was eerily quiet, she did not like it.
She stormed to Percy’s room with Paul at her heels. She peeked into the room through the door she had not closed before and immediately threw it fully open the next second. She hurried inside and looked everywhere, but Nico was gone.
“No… this could not be…,” she murmured to herself.
“What is wrong?” Paul finally spoke. He put his hands on her shoulders, steadying her. “What happened? Is everything alright?”
“He is gone…” Sally could barely speak, her heart was beating out of her chest with fear.
She looked around the room, checking if the boy was not hiding somewhere, maybe he was playing hide and seek. She did not want to think about a worse scenario. Only after several seconds, it sank in. While Nico was gone from the room, nothing else changed; the furniture was not destroyed, the window was not broken and the bed was made. That meant, it could have not been a monster attack or an abduction, who would bother making the bed when kidnapping a child sleeping in it?
That only left one option, Nico had left on his own.
“He is gone…” Sally repeated, still hesitant to believe it.
She worried for the boy, especially if he was still in the body of a toddler, confused and alone somewhere where he was not safe. She should have kept a better eye on him. She had promised to keep him safe, and she failed. She wanted to ran out and go look for him, after spending a single afternoon with him, she already came to consider him her second son. However, she knew that it would not help, no amount of running could catch up to shadow-travelling if Percy was not exaggerating when he had told her about Nico ending up in China by mistake in the past.
“Who is gone? Sally, talk to me, please.”
She completely forgot about Paul. Her partner was standing next to her, his hands still on her shoulders and was watching her with worried eyes. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She would not help anyone by panicking, least of all herself, she was so close to labour that a shock like this could easily trigger it. She had to call Percy and tell him about Nico’s disappearance.
First though, she owed Paul an explanation: “Sorry, I am fine. Percy’s friend, Nico, came over. You met him during the battle of Manhattan, the one with a black sword who was commanding a horde of skeletons. There was a situation during his, Percy’s and Annabeth’s quest and he was turned into a child by the god of old age as reward for helping him. I found him on our doorstep when I came home. I was keeping an eye on him while Percy and Annabeth are trying to turn him back to himself. It is just…”
She trailed off and gestured towards the empty room. “He left.”
Paul seemed relieved hearing the explanation. He let go of her shoulders and ran his hands through his hair to regain lost composure.
“I see. Do you have any idea where he could have gone? How old was he?”
Sally smiled. This was why she liked Paul so much, he was immediately on the case, looking for a child he had barely seen once in his life, when the boy had been a teenager no less. He was so caring and responsible, he was going to be a great father to their unborn baby. She wished she had met him earlier and never lived with Gabe.
Paul looked around the room supposedly for any clues Sally might have missed. And he actually found one.
On the bed, as blue as the bedsheets, laid a single folded piece of paper from one of Percy’s old notebooks. Paul picked it up and brought it to her, giving it to her to read first. Sally unfolded the paper and looked at the message. It was a simple one, just a single line, yet it warmed up her heart and filled her with love.
Thank you for the pudding, it was good.
Sally read it over three times and let it sink in. She was staring to think she knew what was going on here. Since she guessed a four- or five-years-old Nico would not know how to write, surely not such a complicated word like pudding, and in such a neat handwriting, the boy must have regained his age before he had left. And it seemed like he remembered what had happened to him too.
As if to confirm her hypothesis, an Iris message appeared in front of her at that very moment. A grinning Percy informed her: “We found Geras, Nico should get back to normal soon.”
Sally smiled and hugged Paul, pulling him into her son’s view. “He actually already has. He is gone now. He must have been surprised waking up in your bed without knowing how he got there.”
Sally did not tell them that she suspected the real reason Nico left was because he had been shy and maybe a little embarrassed. She thought he would not like anyone else to know. It would be their little secret.
“Tell him to come visit sometimes when you see him. He is always welcomed, there is plenty of pudding waiting for him.”