Sally's POV:

It was around 1:00 a.m. when the doorbell rang. Bleary eyed I grab my bathrobe and slide my feet into my slippers. Paul follows me out of the room as we walk to the door. I suspect Percy is still asleep. Poor boy. Ever since he got back from Tartarus, he hasn't slept soundly. Today he went to bed earlier than normal because he was so tired. The doorbell rang again. I opened it to find Annabeth. She smiled at me wanly.

"Hey Sally," she says, tiredly. I envelop her in a huge hug. When I let her go, Paul comes in.

"Hey, Percy!" I call up the stairs.

"Yeah, Mom?" He says while stumbling down the stairs.

"We have a surprise for you!" Paul smiles mischievously. Percy sniffs the air.

"Hold on!" He says, do you smell that?" I sniff, Paul sniffs.

"No," I say truthfully. "I don't."

"Lemon," Percy sniffs like a dog on a hunt. "There's only one girl that smells like that!" Annabeth steps out from behind me and runs to Percy. He embraces her with the perfect combination of strength and delicacy. They share a long passionate kiss. Percy is running his hands through her tangled hair, while Annabeth has her eyes closed and a smile that I've never seen before on her face. A single tear slips out of the corner of her eye. Paul clears his throat and I give him the look. Percy and Annabeth break apart but keep holding onto each other.

"Paul!" I reprimand him.

"I'm sorry, but it's 1:00 a.m.! ANd I would like to know how Annabeth got here!" I was wondering that too.

"Good point. Let's go to the living room." Annabeth leaves first, as she's closest, limping slightly. I notice Percy has picked that up because he's wearing a little frown on his face.

"Annabeth, what happened to your ankle?" He asks, concerned. She looks down.

"Oh, it's nothing. When-" Percy cuts her off.

"Annabeth don't insult my intelligence," He does a bad imitation of her. "It's not because you're stressed. You injured your other ankle in the caves. What happened?" Annabeth sighed.

"Fine. I twisted my ankle on the way here. It's not that bad!" Annabeth added after seeing the look on my face, Paul's face and especially Percy's face. Now it was Percy's turn to sigh.

"Annabeth! Why don't you tell us these things!" He scooped her up, bridal style, and carried her to the living room, all the while Annabeth was yelling.

"PERCY! PUT ME DOWN!" Paul and I just laughed and followed them into the living room. By the time we got there already had the ambrosia out and was feeding tiny pieces to her. Paul and I sat down on the opposite couch.

"So Annabeth, how did you get here?" Percy asked. Annabeth gave a half smile.

"The Grey Ladies have expanded their services, Percy. They now pick up from San Fransico." She gave a tired laugh and rested her head on Percy's chest. His arm went automatically around her, while his other hand pulled a couch blanket up onto her shoulders. "Anyway, I-" Annabeth took a deep breath. "I ran away again." My heart sinks. I was afraid of this.

"Annabeth-" I start.

"Sally, please don't contact them! I can't stand staying with them! They don't understand! And I need Percy." She finishes quietly. My heart breaks for this girl. She has suffered too much. Percy pulls her tighter.

"On one condition," I say. Annabeth nods her head vigorously, a lone tear slipping out. "Tomorrow morning, you have to send them an Iris Message telling your dad where you are. Is that fair?" I look at Paul. Paul gives his okay.

"Thank you so much, Sally!" Annabeth says gratefully.

"Mom," I say making up my mind. "Call me Mom."

"Okay... Mom." Annabeth makes the move to stand up, but Percy is too quick. He scoops her up and carries her off. Annabeth just sighs and relaxes against him.

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