Authors Notes: He's also being daddy by himself again and no Margo to help. Poor Percy. Well he did just stumble into fatherhood. He'll figure it out.


Anything for You

Chapter 19

Avoiding

Percy woke up with cold arms. Once again Eve wasn't asleep with him. He looked around to see her gathering food. She already gathered dates, banana's, mangos, and he wasn't really sure what that was but if Eve put it next to him then it must have been alright. She was smart about things like this. She turned to bring over something. She had it in her hands and sat down next to him.

"What have you found?" Percy gasped when it made a hissing noise. "Eve it's a snake put it down!"

"It isn't a snake…doesn't even look like one Percy." She opened her hands just a little the show a small squirrel like creature. "Its just a sugar glider. I guess they have them here. I was grabbing the mangos out of the trees when I guess I disturbed it. I went to put a mango into my pocket but I felt it move. I freaked out for a minute till I saw its head." She said and sat it down in the middle of the fruit.

"Eve…its not a pet." Percy said and grumbled watching the rat crawl back into the large pocket on Eves shirt. She giggled and looked up at Percy. He was pinching the bridge of his nose. She swallowed and put the poor thing in the bushes.

"I'm sorry…" She whispered and walked into the forest to find more food.

"Its alright Eve you can stop now." Percy said and saw Eve come back with coconuts. "And just how are we going to get these open?" Percy asked. Eve blushed and threw one at a rock. It shattered. She grabbed it and pulled on either side. It opened perfectly too she handed it to Percy.

"Where are you going now?" Percy asked after they ate breakfast. Eve was once again eating very little of what she had.

"Need to find water don't we?" Eve asked and walked into the brush. She looked around at the man she called dad. She wasn't sure what she should do at the moment. She was wondering if she was doing the right thing helping him. Lately helping him only seemed to get her into trouble. So she had been staying as far away from him as she could. The last thing she wanted to do was make him cry again. She wanted her father to love her again. Right now…even yesterday when those men showed up he hasn't stopped being mean to her. She wanted to go home.

Eve sniffled as she kept listening for the sound of water.

Percy watched her as she forcefully wiped away the tears. He stood up and began to walk around the island and pick up sticks and rocks. He began to lay they out over the upper part of the beach that way the tide didn't wash it away.

Eve returned about an hour later with the coconuts filled with water. She handed it to Percy who looked at her slight. "You sure?" He asked she looked at the water and then at Percy.

"It doesn't taste like salt…and its cold." Eve said and then pointed over her shoulder. "There is also a hot water stream a little back that way…but its salt water…but good enough for a bath." She informed him and looked at herself. She didn't like how dirty she looked.

"To bad we don't have any towels." He chuckled and sighed.

"At least its warm enough out that we could just sun dry though." Eve said and looked over the assorted of fruits. "We need to find make a better shelter…one that won't get stolen by a lone boar." Eve saw the SOS that Percy made and smiled.

"And this is a high traffic area too…someone is bound to notice that." She said and crossed her arms.

"Eve if they don't…and we get stuck here. Will you blame me?" The question in Eves opinion.

"Oh well permanent vacation. The only thing I'm sorry…and glad at the same time…is that Margo isn't here with us." Eve said and looked over the surf.

"Eve can I ask you a question without you getting all sobbing on me?" Percy asked softly. Eve sat down beside Percy and put her head on his arm.

"Why don't you want to call me dad anymore." Percy was playing with a small shell in the sand as if he were scooping a hole with it.

Eve flicked the sand and swallowed back the tears that were threatening to roll down her cheeks.

"Because…you broke your promise." She said running her fingers over the sand.

"Promise…what promise?" Percy took Eves hand. She pulled it gently from his.

"You forgot me." She said and heard him growl and he threw the shell into the waves.

"What because I broke that promise you don't want to be my baby anymore?" He stood up and started to pull branches after branches down from a tree.

"No…I want to be your daughter for always…but I'm starting to question weather or not you still want me as a daughter." Eve started to use a small stick to dig the roots out from around a small tree which fell really easy because of how loose the sand was. She began on another.

"How can you say that…I mean come on I took you on your vacation and we're supposed to be bonding again…we're supposed to be laughing instead of crying. Eve…" Percy looked at the young girl who had stopped working on the small trees.

"Percy…I love you okay?" She said and threw down her stick. "I don't want to argue over things. Stop trying to make me feel bad…I was forgotten about…can't you just say sorry instead of wanting to be right all the time? I'm not the League I'm a little girl. A very scared little girl who feels her foundation is being uprooted." She was trying to make sense of what was going on so Percy knealed down in front of her and allowed for her to continue. "I was wondering if…if you and Marguerite were going to get married and leave me for my Uncles to raise…I've seen it happen. You heard Hastings his parents sent him to military school and forgot about him. Tonys parents sent him to boarding school and he hasn't seen them since. I think the only Uncle I know that still knows his parents is Andrew and…I think he wishes he didn't."

"His father is a Surgeon who practices on dead bodies…I don't think you'd want to meet him."
"No I don't think I'd want to…that sounds kinda Jack the Ripperish." She said and picked up a mango and started to eat it. "I guess I'm just really insecure still. I've been your daughter for three years now. I figured I'd have gotten over it by now but…they're gone and all I have is you and suddenly you disappeared and I didn't see you for a while." She swallowed the fruit a little forcefully. "I felt really alone…I've never been alone before. My parents were always there and even after that you automatically jumped into my life. I found that I didn't like the feeling." Eve said looked up at Percy.

"But you had your Uncles. I made sure you weren't always alone."

"I know…they were there yeah but they were always arguing over who would take care of me next like staying with me was a chore. Either you want to stay with me or you don't. Its not that hard." She said and she hugged herself. "I could have taken care of myself."

"Its against the law to leave a child unattended until she/he is over the age of 12." Percy informed her. Eve looked up at him as he yawned. Was it that late already. They had been there now for a full day and a half now.

"Well the good thing is if we're not back at base by a certain date the boys will come looking for us." Percy said and looked up at the sky. "Come on lets go adventure around a little." Percy said and held out his hand for Eve. She took his hand and let him lead her into the woods.