Gabe Ugliano-Jackson

Before Percy went to the mental hospital, we had witnessed him have a couple bad nights here and there. Panic attacks or more minor breakdowns, usually related to school.

When he froze in the hallway, I barely recognized him as my son.

His eyes glossed over and he looked... Like he was lost or like he was empty and he was trying to find something to fill himself with.

Knowing that unexpected contact with me might push him over the edge from unstable to actively suicidal after what happened this morning, Sally walked over to our son, and even her voice made him flinch.

What did my dad do to him?

I mean, Percy told us the summary of what he said... Accusing him of some insane crimes, but what...

How could he use that tone with Percy, how could he intimidate him and terrify him into spiraling so rapidly that I didn't feel safe sending him to the safest place in the world?

Within a minute of Sally approaching him, Percy was on the ground, against the wall and hysterical because he couldn't breathe.

Unlike most of his meltdowns or attacks, he wouldn't even let me, Sally or Grover get close to him. He'd pull away and try to make himself even smaller, like he was trying to become one with the floorboards.

And I'll give it to Grover; he was handling it a lot better than somebody should when I know he can feel everything Percy's going through.

Knowing that a normal EMT wouldn't be able to do shit for Percy, I ended up calling an old friend from camp who Eddy and I still talk to, Andrea, a daughter of Apollo, praying she wasn't working this weekend.

"Gabe, hey!" Andrea's voice said, reminding me that I had to breathe in order to talk to her. "What's up? More insurance questions?"

"More... Uh, no, I think we're covered there, thank you." I insisted. After Percy was hospitalized, I'd asked her a few questions about our insurance so that way Percy could be there for as long as he needed to be and our insurance would cover as much as possible. "Are you um... Are you busy right now? I know it's like, a Saturday afternoon, so if you're busy it's totally fine, but... Yeah. Are you busy?"

"Am I... No, I'm just at Eddy's right now with Winston and Leah, why? We were going to get lunch soon, did you and Sally want to join us? We haven't decided where we're going yet— are you and Sally okay?"

I exhaled.

"Sally and I are okay," I repeated back to the demigod, looking over to Percy, who had ripped his bandages open, looking like he was wondering when Thanatos was going to arrive for him. "Percy um..."

My voice faltered. Closing my eyes, I tried to blink the tears away.

"The hospitalization didn't... Really help him. All that much." I forced the words out as panic started to wrap around my heart, threatening to stop it at any minute. "And he... And I can't lose him, Andrea, and I'm worried that... I don't think normal EMTs are going to help because it's..."

"Oh, okay, okay, Gabe, breathe for me." Andrea said as I heard her moving. "I'll be there in a couple minutes, okay? We're coming up from Eddy's apartment. Do I need to grab ambrosia and nectar?"

I shook my head, telling her that we had some here.

A minute or two later, Andrea came into the apartment with her little med bag she's always carried with her. Eddy, Leah, and Winston were with her, I think for moral support.

"Where is he?" Andrea asked me, slipping her shoes off.

I pointed to where Percy was— Sally and Grover sitting as close as Percy would allow them to.

"Oh, okay," she said, immediately clocking Grover's horns. "Is that his protector?"

"His boyfriend, Grover," I clarified, seeing her connect a few dots. "He was originally Percy's protector, though. They do have a mental link so... I don't really know what he's feeling or thinking, but he's calm."

"They have... Got it, good to know. I'll do what I can to get him calmed down. Is there anything in the kitchen we should make sure doesn't start a fire?"

"Um... There's cookies in the oven I think. Sally was making them earlier."

"I'll go check." Winston offered, walking to the kitchen.

"I'm going to go see if Sally needs anything." Leah said, which made sense because her and Sally have become a lot closer over the years. They're friends.

"Gabe," Eddy said, forcing me to focus on him. "Sit down and take a breath. Andrea's going to calm him down, but if you're freaking out over here, you're only going to freak him out again because he sees that his dad is freaking out."

And he was right, so I did as he told me to. Sitting on our couch, I took a few breaths and looked over at my son, lost in the labyrinth of his mind with no string to lead him out.

Leah was able to convince Sally to give Percy a little bit more room to breathe— her, Sally, and Grover all ended up coming over to the living room to give Andrea room to work and Percy room to breathe.

Grover seemed to be exhausted, which wasn't a normal thing to be at 1 in the afternoon.

"This is worse than what happened this morning," Grover told us, which I hated hearing, but was glad to know. "This morning, it was more of a panic attack than a breakdown. He scratched, obviously, but he insisted afterwards that he didn't feel himself doing it."

"Did he say anything else?" Sally asked, leaning against me on the couch.

Grover looked down, clenching his jaw for a moment before continuing. Percy's pain started to affect him, I assume.

"He said... He said that it's like he's doing okay when things are happening but then he'll randomly just get like, pulled away by his brain and even if there's no thoughts, it's just... Not good. He froze up in his room getting his clothes, and I asked him if he still wanted to go out or go to camp and he insisted that he did, even if we didn't go to campfire. He also said that he didn't know why the hospital let him leave and that it didn't really help him. Last night he seemed to be feeling okay, though. Like, a little down because he was talking about it and talking about who he was and wasn't okay with knowing different things about all of this, but like... Outside of that, okay."

"Was he okay waking up this morning?"

Grover nodded his head.

"He was in a good mood this morning until he had to talk to Mr. D."

Walking over with a platter of cookies, Winston walked around and offered each of us one before walking over to Percy and Andrea and setting it down by them.

Eating the cookie did help to calm my nerves, but the more I thought about what Percy and Grover have told me today, the angrier it made me.

How could my dad do that to him?

Maybe I'd have to visit camp myself.

"I like your dress, Sally," Leah chimed in, changing the subject. "Is that what you're wearing to the party next week?"

Sally smiled.

"It is, thank you. As long as I don't gain any weight, that is. The zipper barely goes right now— I should've ordered a size up. I was trying it on tonight to make sure it still fit. With the money I spent on it, I'm wearing it more than once."

"You look wonderful, Sally," Winston agreed with his wife. "I'm sure you'll get to wear it to Percy's wedding, whenever that is."

"His wedding?" Eddy asked. "The kid's 14, who's he getting married to?"

"Who...? Grover." I said, surprised that his name didn't get the satyrs attention. He was currently chewing on an empty can that I think Leah had been drinking from earlier. "If both of them live long enough, they're getting married. They're like me and Sally, but if I wasn't a coward for all of high school."

Sally smiled.

"I still can't believe you were going to tell me you loved me the night my uncle died."

"Hey, I thought I was going to be next," I reminded my wife. "your uncle probably would've come back to life just to slap me if I went through with it. He did not like me."

"He probably knew you liked me— but he also didn't like most of the guys I was friends with. He was very traditional. He also probably hated the fact that your dad is gay."

"Oh definitely."

Resting my head on top of Sally's, I wrapped an arm around her but resisted the urge to put my hand on her belly because around this time of day, the baby has started to be more active.

Our friends don't know Sally's pregnant, though, and while she's showing a little, the dress completely masks it. If anything, she only looks a little bloated. Even when she was pregnant with Percy, her bump was never big.

After all, the pregnancy is a surprise for next week. For the party.

I'm so excited to meet our little baby.

I'm excited for Percy to meet them, too.

After a few minutes, I got up and walked over to Andrea and Percy— Percy still unable to breathe, but slightly less hysterical.

Slightly.

"Do you know if anything else happened recently that would've triggered this?" The daughter of Apollo asked me. "Also, he's going to have to eat after this, if you guys have any comfort food for him."

"My... Dad basically Interrogated him this morning." I explained, which bad her attention. "Yeah, uh, Percy said that his demeaner reminded him of.. of me. When I was still drinking. He also had a panic attack then, which is where the bandages were from."

"He... Your dad? I thought he loved Percy."

I clenched my jaw.

"Yeah, well he's getting a visit after this. Once we know Percy's stable for longer than 10 minutes at a time." I insisted, and I could see Andrea debate if she wanted to challenge my motives with going to visit my dad. "What? I don't care if he's my dad, this is my kid. I fucked up with Percy once, I'll admit it. It wasn't okay and we're working through it. But I'm not letting other people do it to him, and I'm not going to excuse their behavior just because we're related."

"Just... Be careful when you talk to him, okay?" Andrea reminded me. "He's your dad, but he's still a god. And because he's your dad, your powers won't do much against him."

"Could get him in a lot of trouble." I figured. "Is there anything you need to help him? Water? Ambrosia? Nectar? Essential oils?"

She thought for a moment.

"Do you have any lavender?"

•••
Percy Jackson

I woke up on my parents couch underneath a blanket to the sound of the door closing.

When did I fall asleep?

Grover wasn't even...

Well, okay, upon further examination, Grover was here. He'd fallen asleep on the ground, one hand resting on the couch that I was sleeping on.

But seriously, when did I go to bed? I had just gotten here and was getting some clothes and my meds from my room before...

What did I do after that?

"Hey, you're up!" Mom said quietly, holding a paper bag in her hand as she walked over and put it down on the coffee table. "how you feeling? Hungry?"

Did Grover and I go out on our date and decide to stay here for the night?

"Wh... I started as I moved to sit up, suddenly realizing that I had new bandages on. Both of my arms like they had been earlier, but there was also one on my torso. "What time is it? When did I fall asleep?"

"It's around 2:30," Mom answered, take a few containers out of the paper bag that I recognized from my favorite Mexican restaurant down the block. "You only slept for around an hour, but you had a really really bad episode and exhausted yourself to sleep after Andrea gave you some lavender. She redid your bandaging as well."

"Andrea?" I asked, knowing she was a friend of my parents. "I thought she was a psychiatrist."

Mom shrugged.

"She's the daughter of Apollo, so she knows general first aid as well." She explained. "Grover fell asleep a little after you got bandaged up— he insisted he was going to lay there and watch you too make sure you didn't wake up in a panic or anything and he fell asleep like five minutes later."

I smiled down at my sleeping boyfriend.

"That sounds about right— I feel bad putting him through that," I told my mom. "It's nice having the mental link, but I wish there was a way for it to be less intense for him. He doesn't complain or say a lot about it, but I know he feels it. I know it hurts, even if it's not as much, and on days like today... The fact that he's still here is crazy. I don't really get it, but he's really stubborn about it, so."

"About what?" Mom asked, offering me a fork with a to-go box.

I shrugged.

"Just like, being really nice and making sure that even if I'm feeling shitty, I'm not alone. He's very adamant about the fact that I'm the like, best boyfriend ever, which I don't believe most of the time, but it's still sweet that he says it."

Mom smiled.

"You two are wonderful together," she reminded me. "And you are a great boyfriend to Grover— you always make sure we have cans and silverware in case he stops by unannounced, and you're honest when talking to him, which is so important. You also bring him a lot of sweets and make sure we have ingredients for enchiladas here, so I think I can see where he's coming from. I might have to agree with him."

"Wh— he likes food and I like to make food. I'd be an awful boyfriend if I didn't know how to make his favorite dish. Enchiladas are easy."

"Well—"

Grover's hand moved, rubbing his eyes as he sat up.

"Did somebody say enchiladas?"

Mom put a to-go box in front of him.

"Both of you feel asleep around an hour ago," Mom filled Grover in. "We were all pretty hungry, so I ran to the Mexican place down the street. There's rice if you want them with your enchiladas."

But as Mom got Grover up to speed, who moved to sit next to me on the couch, I realized there were 4 boxes.

But only 3 of us.

"Where did Dad go?"

"I'm still here, kiddo," Dad's voice said from the place where I'd had my meltdown earlier. He smiled at me as he walked over and sat down on the opposite side of the coffee table from us, Mom handing him the last box. "Thanks, sweetie. How you feeling, munchkin?"

I shrugged.

"A little groggy still, but okay." I figured, taking a bite of my food. "Like a 4.5/10?"

"Hey, that's better than normal!" he pointed out, which was true. "Usually you're at like a 3, so that's really good, Percy. I think we might have to have some cookies to celebrate that when we're done eating."

"Now that is a great idea," Grover agreed with my dad, which made me smile. He's so food motivated at times, it's absolutely adorable.

"We'd have to make more, the ones from earlier are all gone." Mom told us with a knowing look. "Is that something the two of you can handle?"

"I think Grover might blow the kitchen up,"I told Mom, knowing that Grover almost never cooks since he doesn't have a kitchen in his cabin. "but I'll be there to make sure the cookies are at least the right shade of blue."

My parents laughed, Grover scoffed.

"Do you want us to call camp want let them know you're here for the night?" Dad suggested, noticing my initial hesitation. "Just for the night— I know you're worried about the new recruit, Percy, but let his counselor handle him for today? Then you can head back tomorrow with a new prescription just in case you're there for longer than 3 days. If you really really really feel the need to go back tonight, though, I am going to camp after lunch, but your mom and I talked and agreed that having the day to relax and be away from my dad would be good."

What does my dad have to do at camp on a Saturday afternoon?

"I mean, it would be nice to relax here tonight." I figured, looking to my boyfriend. "If that's okay with you— I know you also haven't been home recently besides yesterday, so I don't want to like, make you stay. You could go to camp if you want to— I'm okay with either."

Grover rolled his eyes.

"And miss two meals at the Jackson's? Pfft, I'd have to be crazy." My boyfriend responded. "plus, even if it's a little noisier since you live in the city, your room is cozier than mine."

"I do have a lot more blankets than you," I conceded, looking back at my dad. "What are you doing at camp?"

He smiled.

"I'm going to talk to talk to the camp director who thought it was okay to cause you to have a panic attack this morning." Dad informed me, and I... Almost felt bad for Mr. D with how calm Dad was right now about it, because that meant he was pissed enough to compartmentalize his anger. "We spoke the other day over an Iris Message about the fact that you'd be at camp so soon after coming home, but I guess his ears weren't clean, so I will have to tell it to his face."

The idea made Grover nervous. I didn't even need the mental link to know that.

I myself, didn't know how to feel.

"But that's... He's your dad." I responded, the only thing I could manage to say to that.

"And you're my son," Dad told me. "And he hurt you. I don't care if it was Zeus himself or your biological father or my biological father— the fact that he hurt you isn't okay and he needs to know that. Being a god should not excuse him from consequences."

"But what if... What if he turns you into a dolphin?"

Dad chuckled.

"Then he'd probably lose one of the only mortals he's ever married and also have to face your mom's wrath." He informed me. "Don't worry, I'm not going to make a huge scene in front of the camp. I'm going to talk to him in the Big House, preferably without other demigods there, okay? I won't be gone for long— Grover's right, I'd have to be crazy to miss a meal here. I'll be back in time for dinner. Okay?"

Slowly, I nodded my head.

"Are you okay?" Dad followed up, which was nice.

Again, I nodded.

"Yeah, just... I don't know, it's weird. I never thought you'd actually do something like that to Grandpa D because you two seem to be close."

Setting his fork down, Dad wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood up.

"My relationship with my dad is better than most demigods, but it's still far from perfect, kiddo." He insisted, taking our empty boxes and stacking them together. "you and your well-being will always be more important to me than my relationship with him. Our relationship was basically non existent for most of your childhood for a reason."

"It was?" Mom asked.."I thought it was just because he was stuck at camp? You said he traveled for work."

Dad squeezed Mom's shoulder.

"That just made it easier not to have to see his face," the oldest demigod here told his wife, kissing the top of her head. "but at the end of the day he's still a member of an outdated, harmful system that needs to change. I'll be back in a few hours, don't have too much fun without me."

The door closing behind him, there was a beat of silence.

"Well," Grover said. "I think your dad might be overjoyed when he hears what Mr. D think you did. Should we make some cookies?"