I'm ashamed to admit I've had this sitting in my computer, but I never published it because I didn't want to until I finished Lost and Found OR Complications (And I haven't worked on Complications for a while . . . heh . . Sorry? Don't murder me?), for all you people who have followed me from the Young Justice Fanfiction.

I haven't updated because I've been under attack by plot bunnies who refuse to go away until they've been written, and by the dreadful creativity killer known as . . . homework. I've been a bit busy, I actually had a major project due recently that accounted for a lot of my grade. Unfortunately, that meant no distractions.

But I worked on most of my plot bunnies, some our finished, and that includes this one. Since I posted Until the End over in the Throne of Glass fanfiction archive, I figured I'd post this one while I'm at it. This is mainly a result of my wondering how the heck the gods put up with Percy, like Athena and Artemis. I mean, Athena hates Poseidon, and Artemis has a habit of turning boys into a jackalope.

On with the short story!

DISCLAIMER: You would think that it'd be kind of obvious I own nothing, since this is a FANfiction site.

Poseidon

Poseidon nervously entered the room. He hoped he entered the mortal world unnoticed. Quietly, he walked to the crib. He was wearing his usual outfit of a Hawaiian shirt, Bermuda shorts, and his fishing hat over his messy hair.

His sunglasses were on the top of his head, showing his bright green eyes. He had a black beard, and there were crinkles at the corners of his eyes, showing he smiled a lot. He let out a small, worried smile at his newborn son, Perseus Jackson. Or as Sally had taken to calling him, Percy.

Poseidon liked that much better than Perseus. But still . . . he was worried about what his brother, Zeus would think of his son having the name of one of Zeus's sons. He tried to convince Sally otherwise, but she was adamant about choosing the name Perseus.

Looking down at his son, Poseidon saw that she made the right choice. Percy was almost a year old now. There was a small little mop of messy black hair on his head, and he had Poseidon's eyes. Already, Poseidon could tell how much Percy would look like him. More so then any of his other kids.

He wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. He knew about the great prophecy. He had a terrible feeling at least part of it was about Percy. Poseidon felt ashamed for bringing this fate, a hero's fate, down on Percy. He looked down as Percy gurgled and smiled happily in his crib.

Poseidon let out a soft smile. He reached down his finger in the crib, and Percy let out a happy squeal, causing Poseidon to laugh.

"Da-da!" Percy laughed happily.

Poseidon smiled as he watched his son. So innocent. He picked Percy up and held him in his arms. Percy was so light. So fragile. Nothing compared to the sea god. Yet Poseidon felt protective of Percy. Percy was his son, and he was proud to have him.

Poseidon knew with certainty that this would be his last demigod child for a while. Percy was his first child since before the pact after WWII. Because of that, Poseidon couldn't resist visiting Percy. It had been a long time since he had gotten to be a dad.

His older demigod children were long dead. His godly children grew up too fast. They treated him las their king, not their father, which is how he wants to be treated. Sometimes Poseidon felt envious of mortals.

Mortal children grew slowly, and got to have a childhood. Gods? Goddesses? They grew quickly looked like adults, but in Poseidon's personal opinion, they act like children. Maybe because they never had a childhood.

And mortal parents, they got to see their kids grow, be there for them when they cried. Something godly parents never got from their own parents, and won't get to do with their own kids.

He sighed as Percy started playing with his mouth and beard. Poseidon began to rock him. Technically, it was against the ancient laws for Poseidon to be here. But Percy was so young, too young to remember, and Sally wasn't here. No one would know he had visited, but himself.

It had been a long time since he had any kids, and he kind of missed them being this young. None of his kids had ever attended Camp Half-Blood. Poseidon had a feeling Percy would be the first. He could see murky things about his son's future.

Danger and sorrow, for sure. But there was also happiness and safety, feelings of comfort and family. Already, he was proud of his son, and Percy hadn't even done anything. He supposed that this was the way mortal fathers felt about their own children. Proud of them simply because they are their child, not because of anything they do (or in Percy's case, will do).

Poseidon, however, also had immortal children. They would be very mad if he ever had a favorite kid, especially if that kid was a demigod. And according to the ancient laws, they weren't supposed to have favorites.

Poseidon put Percy into the crib. He stared into Percy's eyes, exactly like his own. Percy stared back, the smile fading as he looked at his father. Percy was still clutching Poseidon's finger. Poseidon knew that Sally would be back soon to check on Percy. He gently kissed Percy's forehead, placing his hand on Percy's head.

He knew it was pretty useless to tell Percy to stay quiet. Percy was a baby. But he was a god, and he knew that his presence will leave an impression on Percy. Something to remember him by. Poseidon smiled down at Percy one last time, before walking away as Percy's eyes began to droop.

As he left the room, Poseidon thought that maybe it wouldn't be the end of the world if he had a child who was his favorite . . . as long as he didn't tell anyone who it was. Before he flashed back to his palace, Poseidon smiled mischievously . . .

Athena

Athena frowned down at the small baby boy. Really, Poseidon should be more careful sneaking back into the mortal world. Granted, she only caught him this once . . . after he had done it tons of other times, but that was beside the point.

She suspected that Poseidon was having an affair with a mortal. It took some time, but finally she managed to catch him visiting Sally Jackson and her son, who was only a few months old. Of course, it helped that Athena was partially aware of Sally since she wanted to be a writer and finish graduating high school.

Athena had to admire someone who wanted to learn, and Sally Jackson herself was a smart lady. Unfortunately, she chose Poseidon as a lover, and that just meant trouble. Especially when young Perseus was born. Athena hated to admit it, but she never would've known about Perseus unless Sally Jackson had not prayed to her for advice.

Another thing: Sally Jackson was a clear sighted mortal who knew the Greek Gods existed. She never mentioned being a lover of Poseidon or having a son specifically, but with Athena's suspicion of Poseidon breaking the oath he made, she investigated. If she were honest with herself, she expected Poseidon to break the oath first.

Between Zeus and Poseidon, they never knew who had more demigod kids. Athena was betting on Poseidon, but then again, she was rivals with the sea god. They did not get along. Period. She stared at his young son, Perseus Jackson, Percy for short.

She had to snort at the name. Part of her had no clue why she had decided to visit this demigod in his room in Sally Jackson's small apartment. Sally was out on an errand, leaving Percy tucked safely in his crib. Being a sea spawn, Percy snuck out.

She knew that this sea spawn would have a role to play in the future. An important role, specifically one regarding the Great Prophecy. Athena stared at the one-year-old sitting on his butt on the floor. The boy was staring seemingly in shock at the strange lady who was not his mother that walked into his room.

Athena was still frowning at him. "I should vaporize you here and now, sea spawn, and save us a lot of trouble."

At that Percy broke into a large grin and clapped happily. Athena decided that he was definitely Poseidon's. At the same time, she felt a little disturbed at his reaction, and wondered for the state of his mental health.

No matter. He was still another brat of her rival's. And he was a threat to Olympus. She could probably vaporize him and Zeus wouldn't mind, and she and Poseidon already didn't get along. As she was pondering this, she missed Percy crawling over to her.

Percy climbed on her sneakers and latched onto her leg, at which point the goddess noticed the child.

"Gah!" She yelled. "Get off of me, you stupid brat!"

Athena stuck her leg out, and Percy just swung downward, giggling happily. Meanwhile, Athena was thinking, It's touching me, it's touching me, get it off, get it off, get it off. . . And other things along those lines. How she became a mother herself is a mystery.

Then again, Athena isn't really the mother-y type. You need advice and wisdom? Call Athena. You need battle plans? Hello, Athena. A lesson on how to weave? Athena again. Babysitting advice? Ah, no. Athena does not do 'kids'.

So it's safe to say that she panicked having the son of her rival clinging to her blue jeans and hopped around the room, looking like an idiot. Completely undignified, and as the goddess of wisdom, she probably should've had a different, more logical reaction. But noooo . . . She freaked out.

She completely forgot about everything else as she hopped and ran around the room, trying to get it away from her. Oddly, the little monster seemed to enjoy her going around the room and giggled joyfully. Finally, she tripped and fell flat on her face.

"Oof!" Athena said. What the other Olympians would say to her now . . . she was usually more graceful. And coordinated. And logical. But then, part of taking care of kids was relying on instinct.

Trusting yourself to take care of the kid, not planning everything out, nurturing the kid with care . . . Definitely not her strong suit. She rolled over and glared at the kid on her pant leg. Incinerating him was looking pretty good right now . . .

Little Percy was sitting on her legs, smiling at her happily. She was surprised to find herself smiling. She groaned and lay backwards, sprawling her legs and arms out onto the floor. She closed her eyes. She had the strangest urge to not incinerate him anymore . . . Stupid little mongrel. He was growing on her.

Athena decided she must get away before he charms her any more with his cute baby-ness. Baby-ness? Was that a word? Oh well. Athena also decided that the stupidity of the sea spawn was affecting her as well. Because he was Poseidon's kid, and no sea spawn was ever intelligent.

She felt a weight on her chest suddenly. She cracked on eye open. She was getting a headache. The problem might be solved if she incinerated young Perseus, but then again, there was only so much you could do to avoid prophecies.

She saw Perseus sitting on her, looking at her expectantly, as if he wanted to hop around the room again.

Some buried motherly instinct, usually reserved to some extent for her own kids, started to stir in her. Athena believed in her own kids finding their own path-plus the ancient laws . . . and she hated to admit it, but she was never as good as bending the ancient laws as Poseidon. Then again, Poseidon had a tendency to be unpredictable, and wild. Like the water, the ocean, sea, whatever.

He sometimes flat out broke the rules. Looking at his soon who had a wide smile with a few baby teeth in it, she knew he was going to be trouble. She sat up straight, holding Percy with one hand as she fixed her white t-shirt.

Percy curiously tugged one of the curls from her dark hair that was in a ponytail.

"Ack." Athena said as she winced, tilting her head to the side as Percy pulled her hair. Yes, definitely tempting to vaporize him. She dreaded the day when he learned to speak. Sadly, she had a feeling she wasn't allowed to vaporize him.

The Fates, she sensed, had other things in mind for the boy, and then there was the whole 'you can't avoid a prophecy forever' thing.

She glared at the boy. "You will be a good little hero, will you not?"

Percy smiled and said, "Aga!"

She had no idea what that meant. Babies always spoke nonsense. She stared at the boy, wondering what to make of him. She had a fair idea of what his fatal flaw would be. And she knew that the boy would have some role to play in the life of her daughter, Annabeth, though what it was she didn't know.

Gods could only sense the vaguest things about their child's future, and if they were lucky, they got to sense another demigod their child would know. This only happened once every couple of six hundred centuries. So, not very often. Hermes somehow knew more about his one child's fate, Luke Castellan, because of something that happened with the boy's mother.

Athena zoned out for a moment, lost in her thoughts.

She snapped back to reality when Percy said something that caught her off guard. "Da-da!"

She couldn't tell if that was a question. Babies were confusing. Still, "No, no." She said horrified. "I'm . . . Athena."

"Attie!" Percy exclaimed happily, giggling madly.

"Okay . . . ?" Athena said, unsure. Gods, she could tell this boy would be like his father.

She wasn't sure which was more terrifying. When he learned to speak and could say things to annoy her, or that he was like his father. Most likely, he'd annoy her because he'd say something his father would say.

She looked at him sternly. "You will have a role to play in my daughter's life, Perseus. You are not to harm her. Or I will incinerate you into ashes and throw your soul into Tartarus."

Percy stopped clapping and stared at her. Then he yawned. Athena sighed. There was no point in talking to babies. They could not understand. But this was the only way she could see the boy and not break one of the ancient laws. After all, the boy would not remember her, and unless she told him, he would not know.

She needed, for some reason, to tell the boy these things. He had to be warned to not hurt her daughter, and to make the right decision. For the sake of the future. (Or at least that's what Athena told herself, she was not worried about her daughter, she was not. Athena had full confidence in Annabeth . . . But she was still Annabeth's mother).

Athena stood up and tucked the boy back into his crib as he yawned and rubbed his eyes. She silently decided that she was never baby-sitting. At the same time, she decided that kids are confusing. She concluded that Percy would be trouble, and it was not his time to die-yet.

She also decided that however annoy he would be when he was older, he was a pretty adorable kid. And she would rather jump into Tartarus then say that aloud. At the same time, it got her thinking about Annabeth.

She'd have to give her daughter to Frederick to raise soon. A hero must be raised by their mortal parent. She knew that Annabeth would be a powerful demigod, and it looked like Annabeth would look a lot like her.

Maybe it was her being over protective, maybe it was wanting to raise her own kid at least once, but she silently resolved to raise Annabeth until she was a year old. Then she'd send her to Frederick Chase. Of course, she could just speed up Annabeth's aging until she wouldn't be dependent on a mother (which was around a year old*).

She didn't need to do that all the time, Athena reasoned with herself. It wouldn't be too strange to raise Annabeth for the rest of her two months. Then Annabeth would be a year old, having already grown eight months at an alarming rate.

Maybe some part of her was jealous of Dionysus, who was stuck at Camp Half-Blood. He had the luxury of something none of the other Olympians had: He lived near his kids and got to watch them grow up. And as for raising Annabeth for two months, it wouldn't break the ancient laws.

Annabeth would be too young to remember her. So, no laws broken. For the first, only, and last time in her immortal life, Athena silently thanked the sea god for the loop hole he found of visiting the kids when they are too young to remember. She'd have to remember it for future reference (*cough* use*cough*).

They at least got to see their kids once before they grew up without their parent. Before they could get angry and resentful, or mistrusting. It was hard for gods and goddesses to grow up away from their kids. Athena began to hate the ancient laws more fiercely then before.

She would protect Annabeth and her children. She knew not all of them would get a happy ending. She knew Annabeth had danger and suffering in her future more so than any of her children. The least Athena could do as a parent was to guide her.

Maybe Annabeth would never know, and certainly she hoped the others would never know, but Athena was already planning. It would have to be something that was subtle yet helpful, something who's meaning Annabeth would have to figure out (how to use or the message behind it).

Maybe a hat . . . An invisible hat . . .

Artemis and Zoe

Artemis and her lieutenant stared blankly at the baby boy in front of them. Artemis knew whose child he was. Poseidon's. It was clear the boy would look a lot like him, Perseus had Poseidon's eyes and hair. Artemis had suspected Poseidon had a child.

She spent more time with mortals than any other god, and she was a goddess of childbirth and protector of young children. So naturally, she noticed when Poseidon snuck into the mortal realm. Artemis knew when the birth of Poseidon's son, Perseus Jackson, happened.

Curiosity got the better of her as she was traveling up north towards Maine. Artemis decided to visit the boy, and she took Zoe with her. They visited when the boy's mother, Sally Jackson, left, and no one was home. They did hear Sally Jackson call the boy Percy and assumed it was a nickname for Perseus.

Looking at the boy, Artemis agreed that Percy suited him. She found it amusing that a son of Poseidon was named after a son of Zeus. Zeus would not be pleased. Zoe was looking at the boy warily. Artemis had the urge to chuckle. The boy was a little over one year old, what could he do?

This boy had an important role to come. Artemis could sense it. She knew it had something to do with the Great Prophecy. With her brother being Apollo, Artemis knew enough about prophecy to know that prophecies cannot be avoided forever.

Perhaps this boy will be different. It would have been better had he been born a girl, but alas he was not. Artemis stared at the boy, a little lost in her thoughts. Zoe kept looking between Artemis and the boy, almost as if she was asking, Can you incinerate this boy, and be done with it?

Perseus stared back, standing up and holding onto the railing of his crib. Artemis walked towards him curiously. Zoe followed. Percy reached out and managed to grab Zoe's finger.

Zoe scowled. "What is it doing?"

Artemis hid a smile. "I believe his name is Perseus."

Zoe frowned, then looked at Perseus and asked, "What are you doing, Perseus?"

"Gah!" Percy cried happily.

The baby clapped his hands, still holding onto Zoe's finger. To the surprise of Artemis, Zoe let him. She did look a little disgruntled, much to the amusement of Artemis.

Percy seemed to be bursting full of energy, as he kept clapping, so Artemis picked him up to put him on the floor after getting him to give Zoe her finger back. Percy, however, decided to hug Artemis and started to play with her auburn hair.

"Goo?" He asked, still smiling happily.

He was so innocent, and young. Normally Artemis would not let a male get tis close to her, but the boy wasn't even old enough to remember this. He certainly wasn't old enough to break the hearts of young maidens, and there was something different about him.

Artemis had a vague feeling that she would run across the boy in the future, and that he was different. She could see the trust he had for her in his eyes, and he didn't even know her. Artemis felt slightly touched at that, as she didn't get that look form mortals very often, save her hunters.

She had a reputation among the gods, and demigods. Percy started squirming, so Artemis put him down. He immediately crawled over to Zoe, who backed up to the door, but she tripped and fell backwards onto her hands and knees.

"Oof!" Zoe said. She flinched slightly, and leaned back from Percy. Like the boy was suddenly going to go into ninja attack mode, and kill them all.

"Agh gee!" Percy clapped joyfully, stopping his crawling to sit and watch Zoe.

"Having problems, lieutenant?" Artemis asked, amusement in her eyes. "I sincerely hope you are not afraid of a baby."

"My lady, I am not afraid of thy baby. Though knows my feelings towards heroes, and I am merely apprehensive of this boy," Zoe said.

Artemis softened a little, knowing about Heracles. "Zoe, this boy is merely a baby. He does not even know of his parentage."

Zoe was still looking at the baby warily, then she looked around the room. Unnoticed to her, Percy started crawling again. Zoe looked the white walls, the window, the tan carpet, and the white crib with the blue blanket. Nothing in here even relating to Greek 'mythology'.

Zoe felt a sudden weight on her legs. She jumped, and Percy let a joyful squeal. Artemis let out a little laugh. That just made Zoe frown unhappily.

"Oh, cheer up, Zoe. Babies, boys or not, are rather delightful, and not to be treated like ticking bombs." Artemis said, smiling.

"I suppose thy would know, my lady, protector of young children." Zoe grumbled, obviously referring to Artemis being the protector of young children as to why she would know.

Artemis just shook her head, smiling fondly. "They are delightful, Zoe. You will see that someday."

"Delightful." Zoe repeated as Percy attempted to climb up her arm and pull at her hair, reaching for her circlet.

Artemis let out a grin. She nodded, "Delightful."

"Attie!" Percy exclaimed loudly. The way he said it made it seem like he wanted it to be a question.

Zoe just gave him a look, raising her eyebrows, "Attie? No, child, my name is Zoe."

"Ze-ze!" Percy giggled happily, falling back into Zoe's lap.

Zoe's jaw dropped. Artemis raised her eyebrows, snickering, "He's just like his father."

"Forgive me for asking, my lady, but is that good, or bad?" Zoe says questioningly, unconsciously adjusting Percy in her lap and pulling him close, holding him steady as he played with her hands.

That was not an easy task.

Artemis hummed in response, "Depends on what traits he gets from his father."

Artemis sat down next to Zoe.

Zoe looked at Percy, "Though shall be a good hero, young Perseus. Am I correct?"

Percy just smiled and gurgled happily. Zoe nodded like the matter was settled. Artemis hid a smile. Zoe was a natural at dealing with children. Maybe because she had to deal with the younger hunters so often.

"Now, Perseus, this is Lady Artemis." Zoe said, turning Percy to Artemis and pointing.

She had a devious look in her eye. Artemis somehow knew this would be payback for the 'Ze-Ze' thing.

"Arty!" Percy exclaims happily reaching for her.

Artemis chuckles. Arty is what her own brother called her when he was younger, and couldn't say Artemis. Now Apollo calls her Arty to annoy her. She pulls little Percy onto her lap and looks at him as he yawns widely, then grabs Zoe's finger and starts to hold on tightly.

Zoe softly hums a lullaby she sings to the younger hunters when they have nightmares. Artemis starts to rock him gently. Soon, Percy is asleep. Artemis and Zoe start to leave. As they do, Zoe pauses slightly and looks back in the doorway.

"My lady, I feel slightly protective of this . . . Perseus, as if he were a young hunter." Zoe states, slightly confused.

She lets it out slightly rushed, and with a pleading expression. She has no romantic feelings to the boy, she doesn't want Artemis to think she does. After all, she could get kicked out of the Hunt, the best thing that's ever happened to her. And Zoe is not fond of 'heroes'.

Artemis smiles. "That is the way many older siblings feel about their younger siblings."

Zoe looks even more confused, "But my lady, this boy is not my brother."

"Blood does not mean family, Zoe. After all, the hunters are family. Who is to say that in the short time you spent with the boy he has grown on you, the way an annoying little sibling grows on you?" Artemis explains.

Artemis would never admit it out loud, but she felt protective of the young boy, too. He was her little half-cousin (technically), and she was the protector of young children. Since Percy was young and was a child, that included Percy.

Zoe nodded. "I believe I am beginning to see why babies are . . . delightful, my lady."

Indeed, Zoe thought, babies are delightful. She much preferred them over teenage boys and grown boys and just any boys in general. If only it were possible to deage all the boys in the world into one-year-olds when they annoyed her.

Babies looked at you with trusting eyes, full of unconditional love. They didn't care what you looked like, where you came from, or what you could do. They were untouched by the troubles of life, still so young and innocent.

That was the way little Percy was now. She had the urge to protect him, but she knew little Percy must find his own way. Zoe silently wished little Percy would get a happy ending. Zoe recalled some of the other members of the hunt who had little brothers.

They all claimed having a little brother was the best thing in the world. Thinking of Percy and how he chirped in a high pitch baby voice, 'Ze-Ze', Zoe could see why. Maybe she wasn't related to Percy by blood, maybe little Percy would grow to be an annoying male, and maybe he would never know of her visit to him when he was younger.

Zoe just knew she would never be able to stop thinking of him as her little brother. On the duo's way out, they saw two certain objects.

Zoe and Artemis shared a look.

Sally smiled as she entered Percy's room and watched him asleep in his crib. She suspected about the visits, ever since she entered felt the presence of Poseidon watching Percy where she could not see him. Sally left, and when she came back to check on Percy, she smelled the lingering scent of the ocean.

Sally also felt a presence another time, and she knew it was another god. She could tell this god wanted to see Percy, so again, Sally left, although a bit worried. She didn't want to come back to find her son ashes, but if this god wanted to see Percy, who was a mortal women to stop them?

When she came back, the room smelled like . . . well, books and pencils, almost like a school classroom or library. Sally did a little research and found out it was Athena. She counted herself lucky Percy was not a pile of ash on the carpet.

When she felt a presence a third time, this one also feeling curious about her son, didn't eve hesitate before placing Percy in his crib and running out to 'get groceries'. When she came back, she caught the scent of forests, the smell of campfires and pine trees. And just like the other times, something was left on the table.

The first time it was a dolphin made of blue glass, about the size of her hand. The second time it was an owl (another helpful hint that the second visitor was Athena) made of delicate bronze (Sally suspected it was celestial bronze).

Now it was a small dear that looked like it was carefully crafted out of clay and then painted. On one of the antlers hung a silver charm shaped like a crescent moon. That, combined with the outdoorsy smell, made Sally conclude her third visitor was the goddess Artemis. It looked like Poseidon had started a trend with his first visit.

She wondered if Athena, Artemis, and whoever was with Artemis (perhaps a hunter? Sally had read about the Hunters of Artemis. She tried to picture a band of immortal teenage girls in her apartment, but couldn't, so she decided it must have been one hunter since there was one charm).

She decided she better brush up even more on her mythology. Once Sally had learned she was clear-sighted, she read as much as she could on Greek mythology, especially once she learned she was going to have a demigod for a son.

Sally knew a demigod's life was hard. As Percy's mother, there was only so much she could do for her son. She vowed to protect him in any way she could . . . then she wondered how to explain the little mementos given to her by her visitors.

She decide to say they were given to her by some special people. Sally knew about the ancient laws forbidding gods from seeing their children. Poseidon had told her. Sally also understood the unspoken words Poseidon was saying since he visited Percy with her away.

Percy was not old enough to remember his visit. Sally was not there to say he legitimately visited. Therefore, as far as Poseidon's concerned, no laws broken. This worked for her other visitors as well, even though Sally wondered why gods and goddesses would want to see Percy.

Still, Sally smiled as she put the dear with its silver charm on a shelf in the living room. She would put it in Percy's room, but he had no shelves. Then Sally frowned as she thought about how she might get more visitors. Hopefully Percy wouldn't be incinerated.

Review if you wanna share your thoughts, just please if you have any criticism make it constructive. Don't tell me how bad it is, and then not tell me how to improve. That's just pointless, and any flames will be used to make marshmallows.

But seriously, let me know what you guys think. I could always end up doing other gods visiting . . .