Hello, readers, so this is my first attempt at a Percy Jackson story. I've been writing this for months - in fact, it's all finished and completed, just waiting to be updated. I finished the last chapter today and decided at having a crack at publishing it. Usually I don't because I never finish.

Part of this story is inspired by Amidst the Darkness by MrsJackson3. It's a brilliant story and I strongly suggest you guys to check it out if you haven't already. Especially if you love Percy/Poseidon bonding and stuff. In fact, it's the story that urged me to begin writing this. Anyway, I'm going to leave this here for now. I'll warn you now that there is mild swearing and sexual references in the chapter ahead and other chapters.

Hope you enjoy the first chapter :)

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN PERCY JACKSON, EVERYTHING IS OWNED BY RICK RIORDAN.

Poseidon's POV:

It starts off as a perfectly regular day.

I wake up, a little later than usual, and head downstairs to the kitchen for my morning cup of milky coffee (two sugars) whilst I text my sister, Hestia, who's just returned from a business trip to Australia (she's a social worker). For some reason, she wanted to meet me as soon as possible – at work, actually. I own an aquarium just twenty minutes away from my home; it's one of the biggest in New York. It's a little strange that Hestia wants to meet me so soon after her business trip, going as far as meeting me at work. I know that it has to be important. So I agree, get dressed, and leave the house. The roads are horrendous. Being the middle of the summer holidays, parents are taking their children on daytrips. A popular place to visit is obviously my aquarium, so it takes me an extra ten minutes to reach it.

Nereid is waiting for me as I enter through the back door, away from all the tourists. "Good morning, Poseidon," she says.

I smile; Nereid is a close friend of mine. She and her father are in charge of the care for all the animals here. "Good morning, Nereid,"

"Your sister called. She said she'll drop by at about noon,"

I check my watch – its 8am.

"Alright. Do me a favour and tell me when she arrives,"

"Sure,"

And with that we split up – Nereid heads off the tropical exhibit, probably to prepare for a tour she'll be doing later, whilst I go to the arctic exhibit. We have a new arrival; a baby sea lion. She was found off the coast of California last week, abandoned by her parents. My aquarium specialises in nursing injured sea creatures back to health. She arrived yesterday.

"How's Glimmer doing?" I ask Nereus as I come to the baby's tank. Half of the aquarium is devoted to showing off fish in tanks for people to see, but a majority of it is closed off to employees only.

"Think she's rather happy," Nereus comments. He's Nereid's father – however he's very bitter. "Lonely, though,"

I dip my hand into the tank and Glimmer curiously comes to prod it. I bite back a smile. "Any health problems?"

"Grazed flipper, malnutrition. Nothing we ain't seen before,"

"Good. That means once she's old enough, we can release her into the wild," I say.

I sit next to Glimmer's tank for a while, seeing how she reacts to things like my hand being in the water and being stroked. She quite likes it, though she still seems bored. Eventually, I have to leave to sort out other things around the aquarium.

Nereid texts me a few hours later; Hestia has arrived. I change out of my wetsuit (I was feeding the dolphins) and head over to my office.

"Sister," I greet, grinning.

Hestia, my beautiful older sister, beams and strides over to hug me. Out of everyone in my family – my brothers, sister, nieces, nephews, parents, etc. – Hestia is the only one who I see at least once a week. You see, my family is extremely...dysfunctional. We don't like each other. We stay to ourselves. Hell if I can tell you the last time we were all together and didn't end up fighting with one of them after five minutes.

"Oh, it's wonderful to see you again, Poseidon," Hestia says, pulling away.

I kiss her cheek and smile. "It's been a week, Hestia,"

"I don't care. Even a week is a long time,"

I sit down and motion for her to take a seat opposite my desk. "So, what's so important?" I ask.

Hestia (clearly) feigns confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, sister," I roll my eyes. "Why else would you demand to meet me so soon after your business trip if something important hadn't happened,"

"Alright, you got me," she sighs. "I've just received news, Poseidon. Something...something life-changing,"

I frown. "As in...?"

Hestia purses her lips, as though she doesn't know how to tell me. She reaches into her briefcase, which is clearly from work, and pulls out a folder. Opening it, she takes out an A4 sized photograph and slides it across the desk to me.

"Do you recognise this woman, Poseidon?"

I study it. The woman in the picture is rather beautiful – tall and slim with curly brown hair and pretty brown eyes. She's smiling at the camera, though she looks tired beyond her years with lines of grey in her hair. But the woman can't be any older than twenty eight. She looks rather unhealthy, too, with deep purple, bruise-like bags beneath her eyes and worryingly gaunt features. Behind the tiredness, however, I do see something familiar. That face...

"I think I might have gone high school with her," I say. "Though she certainly looks older than me,"

Hestia smiles sadly, as though she knows something I don't.

"Her name is Sally Jackson,"

Sally Jackson. Now that is a very familiar name. In my last year of high school I dated her – in fact, she was my longest running relationship even to this day. What made her special was that she's the person I lost my...y'know...to. But why does she look so weary and ill?

"I dated her," I say, resting my chin on my fist and staring at the photo, slightly in awe. Is it really possible for someone to change so drastically in merely a decade? "In Senior year,"

God, how have I never thought about Sally until now? When I dated her, I was sure I was in love. I even wanted to marry her when we graduated but by demon of a father forced us to separate. I was sent off to a college across the country and Sally just drifted away, never to be seen again by me or my family.

"I know," Hestia says, nodding.

"Why are you showing me this?" I ask, leaning back and shaking the mistiness from my mind. "What's so important?"

My sister purses her lips again. "Sally Jackson died last year, Poseidon. She committed suicide whilst in jail,"

My jaw drops. Prison? Suicide?! Why would Sally ever do that? I mean, a brilliant woman like her should be married to a millionaire – not wasting away in a jail cell! Sally was a goody two-shoes in school; shy, calm, absolutely breathtaking...damn it, Poseidon, snap out if it! What did Sally ever do to get into jail? Maybe she was framed. Yeah, that's the only explanation...

"Why?" I question, voice croaky.

"Her home was raided and police found all sorts of things. Stolen property, drugs, illegal weapons..."

I gape, speechless. "But...but Sally wasn't like that!" I say, trying to keep my voice below a shout. "She was sweet, kind, the most harmless person in the world-,"

"People change, brother," Hestia cuts in softly. "I'm sorry. Sally was sentenced to ten years in jail and hung herself two months into it. Her boyfriend of the time was only sentenced to five years, being an accomplice,"

I hide my face in my hands. I know that people change. Everyone does. But like this? This is...this is...ridiculous. I can't comprehend it.

Hestia is silent for many minutes, before I finally look up and straighten my face; clearing it of emotions. "So, is that it?" I ask.

Hestia takes out another photo, placing it over the one of Sally. "Do you recognise him?"

The photo is of a young boy. Seven, maybe eight years old. He's sat on a sofa, knees pulled against his chest as he watches what must be the TV. As the picture was taken he's glanced over, giving full perspective of his face. The boy has messy black hair which is naturally windswept and unkempt, like my own, and his sea green eyes shine in the blue light of the TV. Again, like mine. He looks tired and mature for his age. Unlike Sally's photo, however, I don't recognise him in the slightest.

"No," I shake my head.

"Alright," Hestia says slowly, looking displeased. "This is Sally's son, Percy,"

Son. So she did move on from me. But he looks eight years old. That meant she must have gotten pregnant about a year after we split up, if not earlier. Something pinches my heart and I wince. Wow...I thought I meant more to her than that. It took two years for the two of us to finally take that step. For Sally to take that step with another man so soon after our breakup and so soon into that new relationship seems extremely...un-Sally. But then again, she changed. Maybe she changed as soon as we broke up...

I remember again Sally's death and imprisonment. "So, what's the kid doing now?" I ask. "Living with his dad?"

"No," Hestia replies, shaking her head. "Percy claims he never met his biological father. He lives here, in New York, at a children's home,"

I cringe. My parents left me in a children's home for a week when I was young to teach me a lesson because I misbehaved. It was the worst week of my pre-adolescent life. "But he's happy?"

I don't know why I ask it. It seems polite. After all, he's Sally's boy.

Hestia hesitates. "I'm not too sure," she replies. "I purposefully drove past the home this morning...it's one of the most depressing places I've ever seen. Plus what other social workers have said about him..."

There's more silence. "...Why are you telling me this?" I ask again.

"I have this letter for you," Hestia says, avoiding the question. "It's from Sally. She left it in her will for you if she ever passed. It's only just been found in some of her old belongings. I hope you don't mind, but I've already read it..."

I take the envelope slowly. A letter from Sally? Addressed to me? What? Hestia nods encouragingly as I hesitate before opening it. I take out the letter – it doesn't look very old or worn, so it can't be aged – and unfold it.

Poseidon,

You have no idea how many times I've written one of these for you. Every time my life changes I feel inclined to – otherwise it isn't fair on neither you or Percy. If you're reading this, I am dead. About time, too. And it also means that social workers feel that you are suitable to inherit my most precious possession.

I guess that I should begin from the start.

I loved you, Poseidon. You and another are the only two people I have ever loved. When we were dating in high school, it was the happiest time of my life, despite what was happening to me at home. My uncle had cancer. I never told you – why, I'll never know. I was so young and stupid. I thought that the tiniest thing would ruin what we had together. I was scared of that happening. You were my everything.

Your father made us split up – I don't blame you for that and I never will. Once you left, my uncle died. I was alone. I didn't want to call you for help with money because I didn't want to burden you. You were already stressed with the pressure that your father was putting on you and I couldn't bring myself to talk to you. I made myself believe that everything would be okay. I could still get a job, make some money, just enough to afford some late night college lessons...

That was, until I discovered I was pregnant.

I'm sorry that I never told you, Poseidon. It's the biggest mistake that I've ever made and I regret it to this day. I had a boy – the moment he was born, I knew he was yours. He had black hair, and when he opened his eyes they were green. Not blue, like a regular newborn baby. They were the brightest shade of green I've ever seen, even to this day. I named him Perseus Jackson, or just Percy for short. I love him more than life itself, Poseidon. Though I don't think he knows that. I've screwed up. Big time.

The pregnancy was difficult. I was practically homeless, without a job, constantly coming down with illnesses that put my baby at risk...I had two options. I could call you, beg you for help. But I didn't think you'd care. Or I could sell myself to other men. Go on. Be disgusted. It was the only option I had left in my mind. I managed to make enough money to pay for the hospital bill and some things to care for Percy with. A client allowed me to stay with him for a while (at a price). I stayed with him for a year before leaving.

Percy and I have been bouncing back and forth between homes and people for years. I don't think that I can explain it all in just one letter. But to sum it up, Percy is old for his age. He's nine years old and he acts like an adult, Poseidon. He never got a proper childhood. Of course, he goes to school. And he's such a bright young lad, if it isn't for his ADHD and Dyslexia. I'm afraid that I've been a terrible mother to him, too. One of my past boyfriends taught him the art of theft. Another used him to smuggle drugs past police. But it was the price we had to pay if we didn't want to die.

Life is tough, Poseidon. And I can't handle it. I've done it all. Prostitution, drugs, crime...and I realise now that this isn't how I want my life to be like. All I want is for my son to be happy. But I can't offer him that. I've left him at foster homes and he's run away from them until he found me again. Percy needs a proper life.

I plan on doing something stupid and selfish. My boyfriend, Gabe, is a drug addict and I've done a fair share of illegal activities in the past and now in the present. I'm going to call the police and pretend to be a neighbour. They'll raid the apartment, throw me and Gabe into jail...and take Percy to a children's home. He won't be able to leave there with his past records. With time, he'll even be happy there. Finally.

I obviously don't make it out of jail if you are reading this, Poseidon. I'll never see Percy again, not even through the bars of my cell. That isn't what I want. I want him to be happy, but I want him to have a parent too. He cannot become an orphan.

That is why I'm asking you this, Poseidon – if I die, at least get to meet Percy. Tell him you're his dad. He's been dreaming of a proper father since he understood what the word meant. I don't know how he'll feel about you but it's all that I can ask from you is to let him know he still has someone. Please.

I don't have much time. Percy will be home from school soon. Maybe, if we meet again, I can tell you the whole story. I hope so. Breaking all contact to you was the biggest mistake of my life.

With love,
-Sally Jackson.

I drop the letter on to the desk, staring at the words. Son. I have a son. Sally's son is mine. She wants me to meet him...

I feel Hestia's eyes boring into mine, taking in my expression.

"Are you okay?" she asks.

"I have a son," I breathe, looking back at the picture of Percy. Of course – the hair, the eyes, even the small sheepish smile and the glimmer of mischievousness – they're all my features. It's true. He's my son.

Hestia nods. "And I have a nephew," she adds, sounding pleased.

I rub a hand over my eyes. God...what did Sally do to herself? Whatever made her think that she couldn't come to me for help? It has to be my father's fault. Curse him, Kronos. That man could take over the world (not that he hasn't tried...).

But wait, no. No more thinking about Sally or my father. There's only one thing that matters – Sally's final wish, for me to meet Percy.

Do I want a child? I think for a few seconds, but no 'yes' or 'no' answer comes. Can I handle being a father? Percy is nine years old (though he looks younger). That means I've missed out on the midnight-diaper-changes and a lot of pointless wailing and crying. Surely I can handle a nine year old. Zeus's daughter, Thalia, is twelve. Hades's son, Nico, is six. If my brothers can handle children, I can too.

"When can I meet him?"

Chapter 1 - done. I wrote this months ago and I've read through it multiple times. I apologise for any spelling mistakes or grammatical issues. If you enjoyed or think you have any good advice, please drop a review. No flames, unless it's constructive criticism (which I appreciate, by the way). Anything that will help me improve my writing.

As I've said, I've already completed the story. The next chapter isn't of Poseidon and Percy meeting: that'll come in chapter 3, if you guys are interested. Chapter two will be uploaded tomorrow when I get home from school, and I'll continue to update either daily/every other day.

Anyway, I'll go now. Please tell me if this chapter was okay - again, I was inspired by Amidst the Darkness, which is like my favourite story. Follow, favourite, whatever...yeah, I'll just be going :S