Home

There is a house built out of stone
Wooden floors, walls and window sills...
Tables and chairs worn by all of the dust...
This is a place where I don't feel alone
This is a place where I feel at home...

-To Build A Home, by The Cinematic Orchestra

Sally Jackson yawned, running her hand through her hair. She'd woken up before her husband, Paul, like always. The lights were off, except for a dim glow from her desktop computer, which she'd forgotten to turn off the previous night.

As carefully as she could, she slid out of the bed. Paul deserved to sleep in. He was teaching summer school so they could get some income this summer, and he had also taken on a few night classes. Sally hated him having to work too much, but he always insisted it wasn't too much trouble.

Quietly, she crossed the room and shook the computer mouse. Instantly the computer illuminated the room. On the screen was an open word document of her latest novel. Ever since Percy had disappeared eight months prior, she'd taken to writing out his adventures as best as she could from the few times he told her about them. A lot of the facts were probably wrong, but she doubted it mattered. (It wasn't like she was going to get them published or anything). They helped a little, knowing that her son could handle himself against almost anything.

She saved the document, before shutting down the computer and walking out of the room to start making some coffee.

Sally felt a stab of pain as she walked past Percy's bedroom door in the hallway. For the first month after his disappearance she wasn't able to even walk by it without crying. Her son had been kidnapped from her. Her son, who had given almost four years of his life saving the immortals time and time again, was forced to give up so much more than he should have.

Now she was able to walk past with only clenched fists and a lump in her throat.

Walking into the kitchen, she set to work on brewing a pot of coffee. Sally made a mental note that she needed to do the dishes again. She'd forgotten to finish them last night, and they seemed to pile up overnight. Opening the fridge, she sighed. They were almost out of milk, too. Great.

Looking around the kitchen for a pad of paper to start writing a grocery list, she spotted something blinking out of the corner of her eye. The answering machine said they had a new message.

She frowned. Last night nobody called them, and she went to be at eleven. Who would have called them so late?

The search for paper abandoned, she hurried over to the machine and pressed the play button. Instantly an automated voice told her the number of the caller, and the time. She didn't recognized the number, heck she didn't recognize the area code, nor did she know why anybody would have called them half past midnight.

After the automated voice finished talking, the message began. For a few seconds all she heard was a person breathing like they were trying not to break down into tears. With a sigh, she was about to press "delete" when a familiar voice filled the room.

"Mom, hey, I'm alive…"

It was Percy's voice. Her Percy. Her little boy that she raised and the boy she was so so proud of. The boy whose laugh and smile warmed her to the bone, and who defied all the odds of his peers. The boy who fought tooth and nail to get to California so he could save her from the Underworld when he was only twelve and then continued to fight for his friends and family no matter how high the odds were stacked against him. Her son, her beautiful and precious son was alive.

She covered her mouth with her shaking hand, and she felt tears begin to fall from her eyes as she began to smile. Her little boy was okay. He wasn't dead like so many people believed. He was alive and well.

"Hera put me to sleep for a while," Percy continued. "And then she took my memory, and…" His voice trailed off. Sally leaned forward, worried that the message was over, that her small sliver of hope has already disappeared.

Fortunately, his voice began again. This time, there was a noticeable shake in his voice. "Anyway, I'm okay. I'm sorry. I'm on a quest-" She could almost hear the wince through the voicemail and laughed. Of course, her amnesiac son was on a quest to fight who-knows-what. "I'll make it home. I promise. Love you." There was a click, and the automated voice asked if she wanted to play the message again.

And she did. She replayed it again and again, hanging onto every word. Just hearing his voice filled her with hope that one day soon he might come back home. That she could hug him once more, and that she could tell him how much she loved him.

There was shuffling in the hall, and Paul stumbled into the room in his T-shirt, robe, and boxers. He looked at her blearily until he realized that she was crying. "Sally, what's wrong," He asked, hurrying over towards her. "What happened?"

She shook her head, smiling. "Nothing, nothing is wrong, honey. Just…just listen." She gestured to the machine and played it. At first, Paul was skeptical, but when he heard Percy's voice, his eyes widened in surprise and tears started to form at the corners of his eyes. He hugged her when the message finished.

Someday soon, Percy Jackson would be coming home.

And his family was waiting for him.

WOW. IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME.

I'm working hard on the next chapters of both CHBoB and TOHNBVD, so look out for those in the possibly near future? Yeah, we'll say that.

School started the twentieth, and I've actually been trying. For some odd reason I've written more for these past few days then I have all summer.

Hope you have a marvelous next few days!

-Jules