Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Anna awoke to the sound of a baby crying. This was unusual for multiple reasons, the least of which being that there was no baby in her apartment complex. And of course, the fact she didn’t remember falling asleep. 

She rolled to her side, wincing at the pounding in her head. What had she been doing last night? And why was she on this hardwood floor?

Her eardrums were assaulted by a heart-wrenching wail. She groaned in frustration and pulled herself to her feet. Whose baby was this, anyway?

She uneasily made her way to the nice looking crib in the next room over. A wooden arm was attached to it, where a mobile of the solar system hung above the crying infant. The bright, cheerful colors stood out against the pastel blue-painted walls, to which glow-in-the-dark stars were pasted to. 

Her heart sank. This was not her apartment. 

But there was no time to worry about that. This baby was crying his little heart out. Where were his parents?

Anna peered over the edge of the crib and felt her heart melt at the baby within. He was a small little guy with tufts of blonde hair, his face red with anger and distress. Fat little tears rolled uncontrollably down his cheeks. 

“Oh, shhh, baby, please don’t cry. Your mommy and daddy will be here soon,” she said, surprising herself. The house was deserted except for her, if the amount of time he’d been crying was anything to go by. But what could she do to soothe him?

It was almost second nature to pick him up and hold him close. The little guy’s wails turned into sniffles at her touch, his chubby cheeks burrowing into her chest.

Babies cried when they were hungry, right? He probably just needed some milk. Anna was pretty sure there was a fridge she passed by on her way here. 

Humming softly to herself, she took careful steps into the kitchen, not wanting to jostle the precious bundle in her arms. Whoever his parents were, they were lucky to have him.

Luckily, there were bottles in the fridge helpfully labelled “Luke’s Milk.” After five minutes of fumbling she’d prefer not to think about, she managed to get the bottle ready.

As Luke drank in big, greedy gulps, her thoughts drifted. 

Whose house was this, anyway? Anna lived alone in a high COL city. Even with her Big Tech salary, there was no way she would ever be able to afford a nice house in the suburbs like this. 

There was also the baby. Anna was no one’s mother, last she checked. The idea that this might have changed in the last 24 hours was highly distressing. 

When Luke finished his bottle, he made small, needy noises. She watched with bemusement as his little blue eyes followed the bottle as she placed it on the kitchen sink. It could sit there until his parents got there to wash it. 

Didn’t she have to burp the baby now or something? She turned Luke around and started patting his back. He let out a little “urgh” sound that was just the cutest thing ever, then started blinking slowly. The poor thing was probably worn out and wanted to go to sleep. 

“Okay, Luke. It’s sleepy time~” she whispered, making her way back to the nursery. 

Once she put him down for his nap, she decided to investigate the house. If nothing else, she needed to know who decided to kidnap her and make her their babysitter! 

Careful not to make too much noise, she managed to locate an office. Thankfully, it was unlocked. Papers were scattered around the desk, which was empty except for a few cups of pens. Anna frowned. Who didn’t have at least a laptop in 2025? 

Gingerly, she picked up a paper that was noticeably thicker than the others. OFFICE OF VITAL STATISTICS CERTIFICATE OF BIRTH, it read at the top. She read down a few lines. 

Name: Luke Castellan. 

Mother’s Maiden Name: May Castellan. 

Father’s name: -

Luke Castellan. Something about that name niggled at her brain. 

Still, May Castellan? Who was she? She dug around on the desk and managed to find a wallet. Perfect. 

Anna moved to brush back the strand of blonde hair that had fallen on her face. Except. She didn’t have blonde hair. 

Something was seriously wrong here. She hurried to the bathroom, wallet in hand. 

A stranger stared back at her in the mirror. She had fair skin, and long, golden-blonde hair that fell down to her shoulders. Her hazel eyes were shadowed by dark bags, and when Anna reached up to touch her face she could feel the dried blood at her temple. 

Nonono. There’s no way. 

She flipped through the wallet with shaking hands and fished out May Castellan’s driver’s license. A smiling blonde woman stared back at her.

Her knees met the cold tile of the bathroom floor. She’d been transmigrated into some random woman like some trashy isekai novel! Wasn’t this only supposed to happen in books?

Wait a minute. She’d probably transmigrated into a book of some kind. A fantasy one, if Luke’s missing father was anything to go by. 

It hit her like the truck that had probably brought her here. Luke Castellan was a character in the Percy Jackson series, wasn’t he? The one about the son of Poseidon, and all of his wacky adventures? It’d been years since she picked up one of the novels, but she was sure she remembered at least this much. 

Oh shit, she thought, she’s May Castellan. May Castellan is the mother of Luke Castellan. No wonder holding him had felt so natural! He was hers. 

Okay, Anna, think. What happened in Percy Jackson? There was a Camp, right? Full of the children of the gods? And they were fighting–

A war. A war with Kronos. She felt cold sweat trickle down the back of her neck. Kronos possesses Luke Castellan, and he is forced to sacrifice himself to save everyone. 

A god is after Luke to take his body. A god is after her son. 

Fuck, where was she in the timeline? Was she anywhere near Camp Half-Blood? She needed more information. 

She couldn’t let her son die. She couldn’t. 

Suddenly, she heard a voice speaking softly from around the corner. From the bathroom she could see a tall shadow creeping from the nursery. 

“Oh, my sweet Luke. Everything will be fine, don’t you see? My little hero,” he murmured. His voice sent shudders down her spine. 

That was no man. His form blurred, like the stars in Luke’s room had melded into humanoid form. Though his face was shadowed by the brim of his hat, she could still see their inhumanly blue glow from across the hallway. 

A god was standing over her son. 

Luke started to fuss in his cradle, and the god chuckled. He leaned over the crib and crooned, “Shhh, my little Loukas. We wouldn’t want to worry your mother now, would we?”

Did he know she was here?

She forced herself not to breathe. She couldn’t afford to show weakness. Not while Kronos was here. 

The god pressed a kiss into Luke’s forehead before vanishing into the breeze, sending the mobile into a gentle spin. The baby began to cry, clearly unnerved by what had just happened.

Anna rushed into the room and held her son close. 

They needed to get out of here, now.  

Chapter Text

Anna hummed as she skimmed through the pages of the thick tome on the table. Thankfully, May Castellan did not need reading glasses, because otherwise her eyes would have been shot staring at the absolutely tiny text.

Every spare second she hadn’t spent taking care of Luke, she’d been holed up here, in the corner of the Connecticut State Library she’d staked out as her own. At first, it had been to speed-read as many of May’s parenting books as possible. She had no experience being a mother, okay? And Luke deserved better than to get sick because she was a terrible parent.

Unfortunately, despite the usefulness of said books, they were worthless for her true objective: getting her and her son the hell out of the plot. 

So now, she was deep in the weeds of the mythology section, hoping to find some way to avoid the gods’ gaze entirely. The lack of digitized search really got on her nerves. The 80’s were not all they were cracked up to be, that was for sure. Her eyes were swimming looking at all these books.

Alright, Anna, that’s enough for now, she thought to herself. Luke was starting to squirm in his carrier, his bright blue eyes wide and alert. That was his “I’m hungry” face, and by God was it adorable!

She was the luckiest woman in the world to have a son so cute. She made her way to the bathroom, daring the wide-eyed college student to steal her seat. 

“Studying for your thesis?” said the bitch of a librarian, her stare flat behind her half-moon glasses. She’d been staring at her judgementally this entire time, leering at the obviously struggling single mother.

Anna gave her most charming smile. She wasn’t 100% sure it succeeded, given the dark circles she could feel carving themselves into her face, but the librarian’s expression softened just the slightest bit.

“Something like that,” she said softly, “My degree’s in Ancient Hellenistic Religion, you see. And my husband’s overseas right now. I just couldn’t leave my son at home…”

The librarian nodded patronizingly, “It’s okay, honey. Why don’t you go feed your baby in the staff room? I know a couple of sources that might be useful to you. They’ll be here when you come out.”

Now this was an unexpected boon. Anna tamped down on the vicious satisfaction that threatened to paint a smirk on her lips. And here she thought this librarian was just going to get in her way.

Wincing slightly as Luke latched onto her, she let her mind trace her next steps. She couldn’t stay in the library for too much longer. She’d ditched May’s car some 10 blocks down, at a crowded diner where she’d guzzled as much coffee as possible. Thankfully, there was some cash in her wallet she could use to pay. She’d charged May’s credit card to pay for the hotel room, and she didn’t want to add any more to it if she could avoid it. 

Now, though, she was regretting her mad rush to get out of the house. May’s SSN and other, vital information, such as her lease and phone number, were still sitting somewhere in that office, gathering dust. Without those, she couldn’t sign up for a library card. And without that library card, she doubted that spiteful old hag would let her check out her books. 

Luke gurgled, his little fists grabbing at her chest. She paused, savoring the warmth of his small body against hers.

Why was she worrying about legality at a time like this? Her son’s life was on the line. There was no price too high to pay. 

There was nothing for it, then. That librarian was sympathetic to her once she found out about her academic inclinations. She could use that. 

She placed Luke back down in his carrier, her heart breaking slightly at his dismayed coo. Mommy will cuddle with you later, she promised, before exiting the break room with exaggerated meekness.

The librarian looked up and said, “Hello, miss. You’re in luck today! Hellenistic Rituals for Witches was still on our shelves.”

Her tone was laced with biting mockery. Anna supposed she thought she was one of those kooky neopagans, the opposite of the sort of good Christian girl who should frequent the library. She resisted the urge to seethe. She couldn’t afford to piss off this woman. What she needed was within this book’s pages. She could feel it. 

“Thank you so much, miss. I’ll be sure to fill out the library card later,” she replied, putting on an apologetic air. 

The librarian humphed and walked away, likely to turn her attention to more important matters. Probably felt she had done her act of charity for the day. Whatever. She had what she wanted. 

As soon as she was gone, Anna hurried out of the library at a brisk pace. Hopefully, it would be mistaken for anxiety about being out in public and not a flight from the scene of a crime. 

Even as she made her way to their hotel room, May’s heart refused to slow down. She set Luke down on her stomach for a while and just let his sleeping face calm her. 

Her son. Her darling baby boy. Before this whole transmigration nonsense, she’d never even entertained the thought of being a mother. It just wasn’t in the cards with the world the way it was. But now that she had Luke in her arms, she couldn’t imagine ever doing anything else. Was this what her own mother had felt when she’d held her for the first time? 

She’d never get the chance to ask. 

Why did she have to find out like this? Why couldn’t it have been at home, with a loving husband and family beside her?

The grief felt like a stabbing pain in her chest, one that wouldn’t go away. Her shoulders shook. Her face felt hot. The tell-tale prickle of tears began to well in her eyes.

Luke, as though sensing her distress, started to stir. She forced herself to take a deep breath in. 

One, two, three. She exhaled. Three, two, one. She inhaled. One, two, three. She repeated the process over and over again until she was no longer shaking. 

She was all Luke had. She couldn’t afford to get caught up in her own feelings. 

Anna put her son back in his cradle and began to read.