Hi, Innoverse here! Here's a little Sally/Percy one-shot about Percy learning about death as a little kid. I honestly don't know how this popped into my head... because first it started out as an innocent story about Percy's first pet, and then I decided to kill the fish and make it into how he learns about death... Besides, isn't this how most little kids learn about it? I remember when my first fish, Pete, died. Fish are such wonderful creatures...

And also, sorry about slacking off on Determination. Like, a lot. I haven't even STARTED chapter five. I feel so guilty... but I'll definitely try to get a chapter out this long weekend. I've got some plot holes to fill in, so it's making it a little hard.

But anyways, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own PJATO.

- Mr. Fishy: Sally's POV -

"Mommy, guess what?!"

Percy clambered into the back of my beat-up car, grinning from ear to ear. He was only five—in preschool—and nearly everything got him excited. I guessed that it was probably the ADHD, but still, a five year-old shouldn't have this much energy. He made me feel old, and I was in my early thirties for heaven's sakes.

But today, he was extra excited. His preschool class had taken a field trip to the aquarium so that they could look at the fish, and of course, Percy absolutely loved the fish. They were, after all, part of his father's realm. He hadn't stopped talking about it all week, and I figured he wouldn't stop for another afterwords. But I didn't mind, since it was so adorable the way his eyes would light up when he talked about fish or the ocean.

"What?" I asked as I reached back and strapped the seat belt over him. We pulled out of the school parking lot, and towards our tiny apartment in Manhattan. Percy was bouncing a little in his seat.

"We finally went to see the fishies!" he announced, grinning so wide that I could see the spot where his tooth had fallen out the other day.

"That's great, sweetie," I said, smiling to myself. "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah!" he said. "A shark tried to eat Billy." He giggled a little, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and say 'Boys...'

"Well, is Billy okay?" I asked. I didn't want this Billy kid to be in the hospital while my son was laughing over his pain.

"Uh-huh," he said, sucking on the tip of his thumb. I reached back and swatted his hand away. "There was a glass wall."

"That's good," I said. "What else did you do?"

His eyes lit up again. "We got to walk in a tunnel with all the fishies swimming over us. It was like being at the bottom of the ocean!"

I laughed. He was just so cute... "It was, huh?"

"Yes, mommy," he said. "And before the shark tried to eat him, Billy told me that he had a fishy for himself in his house. They kept it in a little bowl."

"People keep them as pets sometimes, honey," I said, pulling into our driveway.

"Could I get a fishy, mommy?" he asked as I walked around the car and unbuckled him. "Then I wouldn't have to go to the aquarium."

"I don't know, Percy," I said. I led him up the stairs of the apartment complex and into our little unit.

"Please?" he begged. "I'll take care of him! I could feed him and clean his bowl and change the water and..." He followed me around the apartment as I started making dinner, begging and rambling about how he would take care of the fish. I thought about it, and wondered if it would really be too bad. I figured that he probably would take care of it really well, being Poseidon's son and all, and that he'd like to have a little piece of his father's domain in the house. And fish were relatively inexpensive—at least, small fish anyways. The more he talked, the more I warmed to it.

Finally, as I finished making dinner, I looked down at him and said, "Okay, honey. You can have a fish."

His face cracked into a grin. "Yay! Thank you mommy!"

On Saturday the next day, I found myself in the pet store, perusing the isles of fish with Percy. He was ecstatic that he could have any fish he wanted, and was bouncing on his heels like he'd drank a lot of caffeine. He was carefully inspecting the tanks of fish, looking for the perfect one. A lot of the time, when he put his hand up to the glass, the fish would flock to his hand, trying to touch him. He absolutely loved it, and I couldn't help but smile since I knew that the fish knew exactly who he was, even if he didn't.

The fish actually looked a lot more lively around him, like they really did want him to take them home. I supposed that for a fish, it wasn't every day that your master's son came in and was volunteering to take you with him. They were some really beautiful fish though, but I noticed Percy kept watching a fat goldfish fluttering around the tank. I didn't understand why he liked that one, but then again, I wasn't a child of the sea god, either.

Finally he pointed to the fat fish. "I want that one."

I called an employee over, and she helped us bag the fish and we brought it up to the register, along with some fish food and a bowl. After I payed for it, the woman showed Percy how to hold the bag the fish was in so that it wouldn't pop and leak water, and so that he wouldn't end up squashing the fish before we got home. He carried the fish out of the store, holding one hand under the bag like she'd shown him. He looked so proud, I almost wanted to take a picture.

We got into the car, and I started back for our apartment. He was playing with the fish—running his finger along the bag so that the fish would follow it. I smiled softly, watching him the rear-view mirror. "What are you going to name him, Perce?"

He grinned at me. "Mr. Fishy."

The only thing he'd done after school for the past week was stare at the fish. He absolutely loved it—even taking care of it. He would dutifully feed him every few hours, and cleaned his tank every other day without being asked. He loved playing with it and looked at it, apparently watching something swim was very interesting to him. I'd never seen something that could handle his ADHD so well. All the fish had to do was nudge at his finger on the bowl, and he'd be smiling even if he'd had a bad day.

He was so proud of the fish, he even brought in pictures of Mr. Fishy to show-and-tell at school. Apparently, Billy was very jealous of his beautiful fish. And best of all, I didn't even have to do anything with the fish. I was glad Percy was learning responsibility for something living so early, even if I doubted he'd have many more pets in the future.

The fish was... well, a god-send. Nothing had ever really seemed to bring him this much joy.

One Saturday a few months later, I woke up to find Percy standing in front of the fish bowl in his pajamas like most other Saturdays. I walked past him and into the kitchen, pouring a cup of coffee for myself. When I walked back out, he was still standing there, staring at the bowl with a perplexed expression.

I came up behind him and set my hand on his shoulder. "Morning, sweety. What's up?"

He looked up at me. "Mr. Fishy must be tired. He's still not awake."

He tapped the glass next to the fish, and the fish didn't move. Percy frowned even deeper, folding his arms. I leaned down, looking at the fat fish, and I felt my heart crack a little. Mr. Fishy was floating at the top of the water, upside down. The fish's eyes were still open, and he wasn't moving at all. He was just floating there, quivering a little when my son tapped the bowl. Oh, gosh. How was I supposed to tell a five year-old that his first pet was dead?

I set down my cup of coffee and picked Percy up, hoisting him onto my hip, even if he was a little bit too old for that. I ruffled his hair. "Oh, baby, Mr. Fishy isn't sleeping..."

He looked at me, scrunching his eyebrows in confusion. "Then what's wrong with him?"

"Well, Percy, Mr. Fishy was old when we got him," I started. "And fish don't have very long lives, like you and I." I looked at him, and he still looked confused for a moment. Then, his face fell and his eyes watered.

"Y-you mean Mr. Fishy is dead?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, honey," I said. He started to cry, and I patted his back as he buried his face into my night shirt. "Don't cry, Percy. Everything has to die eventually."

"But I don't want Mr. Fishy to die!" he sobbed. "Bring him back, mommy!"

He looked up at me, almost hopeful. I brushed a tear off his cheek, hating to have to squash that dream. "I can't. You can't bring things back from the dead. I don't think Mr. Fishy would like that, anyway."

He put his head on my shoulder, and started sucking his thumb again, staring at the bowl. I didn't even try to stop him. "Why does everything have to die?"

I sighed, and kissed his cheek. "Because if nothing died, then we wouldn't have enough space for new people. It's the circle of life, honey. You live, and then eventually, it all has to come an end."

"When will I die, mommy?" he asked. My heart wrenched a little. I looked at him, so small and innocent, and I almost had a little break-down. I hated to think about the godly side of him—all of the dangerous things. It pained me that he would have to put himself in harm's way so much when he got older, but I wouldn't give him up for the world.

"I don't know, Percy," I said. "Let's hope later rather than sooner."

He didn't say anything for a little while. "What do we do with Mr. Fishy?"

"We honor his life with a funeral," I said.

Soon, we were both gathered over our toilet, Percy holding Mr. Fishy's bowl in his hands over the toilet. He was staring down into the bowl at the goldfish, still looking depressed and saddened by his pet's death. I didn't blame him, he'd become really attached to the fish over the past few months. He sniffled a little, tipping over the bowl so that the fish was gently poured into the toilet.

He looked at me. "What do I say?"

"Well, what did you like about Mr. Fishy?"

"He swam a lot," Percy pointed out. "And he ate a lot. And he was kind of fat..."

"He sure did like his fish food," I sighed.

"He talked to me sometimes," he said. That caught me a little by surprise. A fish... talking to my son? Was that another Poseidon thing? Did he ever mention talking to fish? I wouldn't be surprised if he did, even if it was a little strange. Then again, Percy was a strange kid.

"Mr. Fishy talked to you?" I asked.

He nodded. "He didn't talk to you?"

"Um... no, honey," I said, patting his shoulder. "He only talked to you. And he'll probably get mad in heaven if you tell anyone else that he only talked to you... they'll get jealous." I really, really didn't want him telling the other kids that his fish talked to him. They'd tell him that fish don't talk, and then he'd start asking questions... that would be a mess.

"Will he be mad that I told you?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Just don't tell anyone else, okay?"

"Okay," he echoed. He looked down at the goldfish. "Do you think he'll like the toilet?"

I tried not to feel like a guilty liar when I said, "Yeah. He'll like it a lot."

Percy nodded, and then waved at the toilet. "Goodbye, Mr. Fishy."

I flushed the toilet, and watched the fish swirl down the drain. Part of me was sad for the fish and my son, but the other half was a little glad that Percy was learning this lesson about death early. I knew that was a half-blood, he'd definitely face death a lot more then normal mortals. It was kind of important for him to know that everything did eventually have to return to the earth. I silently thanked the fish for the life lesson.

I hugged my son as he started crying again, and ran my fingers through his hair.

"Goodbye, Mr. Fishy."

Why is Percy crying in half my fics? The world may never know. Haha, just kidding. I think it's because I like the idea of him being able to break down, since he never really does it in the series.

But either way, I still love Sally. She's just such a great character... sigh. The whole Jackson-Blofis household is great. I love Paul, Sally, and Percy. I'm trying to figure out how to write a non-cliche Paul/Percy bonding fic... hmm...

Also, one last thing. I made a tumblr for my fanfiction account! Since I can't post every day anymore, I figured I could post on a blog so you guys would know that I'm still alive and thinking about stories. Besides, then I don't have to have such long AN's. I'm also going to have other things on there... like, Story of the Week or something similar that highlights fics that I think are good and would recommend. There's a lot of great authors out there who don't get enough attention, and I'd like to change that. I'll also have things about the newest books, info from R.R.'s blog, stuff about what's going on with me, Q & A about writing tips, etc.

But anyways, my url is sallyjacksoning and the blog is titled "finding my way home." The link to the blog is also on my profile if you can't find it. So, if you like tumblr, feel free to follow me.

I hope you enjoyed reading! Reviews are appreciated. :)