The last chapter. The suspense is building…

Warning – Sally and Paul do not get together in my version.

Time – A month before Sea of Monsters.

Disclaimer: I don't own the PJO series. There is slight mention of HP which I don't own either. Just this plot.

Words – 1337

"Congratulations, Ms. Jackson. I'm sure there will be another book to follow as sequel." Mr. Blofis said as he shook Sally's hand. The woman smiled with dazzling teeth and said, "What makes you think that there will be a sequel, Mr. Blofis?"

"Oh, I can tell. Anyway, I should leave or I'll be late for a dinner with my girlfriend." He bid her goodbye and Sally shook her head. Yes, she had been thinking of a sequel to her successfully published book, 'Life's Greatest Gift.' The book very vaguely referred to her own memories of having Percy.

May be the next one would be about having uncontrollable twins in their terrible twoes. Fiction, of course.

Sally made her way to the Café in the huge multi-purpose building, FameLit. She had just finished her first ever book reading and she couldn't believe how many women and even men had turned up. The entire Hall had been booked.

"A small cappuccino to go, please." She told the lady behind the counter. Paying her, Sally sipped her cup, imagining the first thing she would do with her new earned money. Book two ship tickets to London.

But when? Not during Percy's school year. Summer and Winter were too important as he had to train at Camp. He couldn't afford to miss that.

Which meant she had to book only one ticket. Sally stood in the middle of the Café as she thought this over. If she was booking only for one, then it was best to do by plane. But she could easily imagine freezing up at every jerk of the flight. It was safest to go by sea, though it would take much longer.

The longer it took the more variable the choices were of finding her little Pumpkin there. A few more months and he'd be fourteen. Sally vowed to herself that she was going to see him before he turned fourteen.

She hoped Percy and Tyson were doing alright at school. She had to go file a report about how the students were treating Tyson. Just because he was a Cyclops didn't mean that he was supposed to be picked on. She was glad that Percy stuck with him. She finished her cup and was about to go and dump it in a bin when someone bumped into her from the back so hard that she was caught off guard and fell down with a thud.

Sally groaned and pushed herself up. The man had fallen down too and his camera had hit the ground rather hard. She winced as she clutched her elbow where her funny bone had hit the linoleum.

"Oh, fiddlesticks! I am so sorry, Ma'am. I wasn't seeing where I was going. I hope you didn't greet the ground too hard."

He helped her stand and picked up her handbag and empty cup along with his camera. She stared at him.

He had black hair which was graying at a few places around his ears. He had a fresh smell around him. No, he hadn't put any cologne, but that just made her more curious. Nearly every testosterone fueled being had cologne on to hide body odour, but he was different. He just gave out a feeling of when rain hit the dirt. Not that exact smell. This was more of remembering it.

She looked into his eyes as he looked back into hers. His eyes were blue. Blue ringed around the pupil. It looked unnaturally dark. She had a feeling as if this man had been through hell and back. She was glad that he was back.

Sally wasn't sure why she had that thought, but she knew that he was different. Different how? She wasn't sure. But something about him reminded her of Harry, whose eyes were dulled because of what had happened so many years ago.

But the person standing in front of her looked entranced. She realized that neither of them had moved from each other's gazes. Sally looked at his pale skin. He needed more sun. As much as her! Gods themselves know that she was probably paler than an albino.

Then, she wasn't sure why, she smiled. It came easily when she was staring at him. Staring at this complete stranger who had her thinking so fast, she felt young again. Like a sixteen year old who'd gossip about scandals and the hottest topics. A teenage girl who'd look and comment on cute boys and then giggle with her sister and friends.

It was like this guy was bringing that young girl back. That young girl who didn't have as many responsibilities, as she did now.

Sally relaxed into her smile and she felt that she probably looked a little stupid for smiling and staring at a stranger for so long. But this stranger smiled at her and she felt her heart fluttering. He was good-looking when he smiled. Not that he wasn't when he didn't let his lips turn upwards, but to feel something for a person without taking notice of his good looks or lack thereof had seemed to be very far-fetched to her.

All her previous boyfriends where rated according to their looks, charms, dressing styles and then personalities.

This man had charmed her socks off with even a word.

Sally dimly remembered her throbbing elbow and she turned it a bit. It shook the guy of their silent encounter and he stammered, "I…uh…here's your stuff. Um…really sorry…"

She took her bag and cup. He hadn't let go of it and she was holding on to it.

The tips of his fingers were touching hers. There was no spark, no heat, no feeling at all. Nothing like how romance tales would depict the hero and heroine meeting for the first time.

She stared into his eyes. For a moment she wondered if something flashed past in front of her, but she ignored it and just looked at him with what was probably an idiotic expression on her face.

Her fingers felt numb along with his. Or maybe there was a feeling. Something which she had never experienced before and therefore couldn't explain.

His fingers weren't exactly soft. He must have done some manual labour. Touching his skin made her heart go light and she nearly forgot about worrying for Harry. Not worrying was something she hadn't done in a long time.

She liked this feeling. She never wanted let go.

It seemed that he had the same idea. His smile turned into a grin and she thought he looked stupid. It was quite endearing. And sweet. And cute. And adorable.

She hadn't realized how long they had been standing there until there was somebody clearing their throat.

Sally and the man turned to look at a guy probably the man's age. He had light brown hair and… oh, what the hell? He had blue eyes too!

But compared to the one in front of her, these new pair of irises went without her inspection.

Apparently her subconscious had picked out her significant half.

"Do you both have any idea how long you were standing and staring at each other?"

Sally had the strangest feeling that he wanted to add, "like idiots" at the end of the query.

"No. We don't. Care to enlighten us, brother?" Her other half said and she realized that they had British accents.

"Close to seven minutes. I don't think you even blinked."

Sally and her mystery man shared a glance and she blushed.

"Sorry, I… uh…I have to get going…nice to meet you!" She garbled and snatched the cup away from him. She didn't look back at the duo as she went out of the building and into her car.

Deep breaths, woman. You are a grown up. You have to focus on getting back your son. Dating can be done later…

Sally put the key into the slot and turned the engine on. She was about to reverse out of the parking lot when she saw the cup sitting on the dashboard. She stared at it for a few minutes before realizing that she couldn't throw it away.

She floored it and drove away from the building having the strangest feeling that if she went back the next day, he'd be there, waiting for her.

Short and sweet. How was the suspense? Did it kill you? Nearly flat-lined me, but I'm okay.

Stay tuned for the next update on 'The Cursed.'

Cabba.