Who missed me? :) Oh my gosh... I've gotten so busy that I literally have to write every chance I get in order to get you your chapters on time. I feel like this story will be coming to a close sometime soon. We're getting to that point. But on a happier note, I'm acing my English class thanks to PJO. We're reading the Odyssey and every time we talk about the different myths, I know exactly what we're talking about and can analyze the text even more since I already have a basic understanding of the myths. Thank you Uncle Rick!
Heyitsthecats: You want me to let Annabeth and Percy get together? Sure, I guess... Actually no. I'm gonna let this run on for a while longer. ;)
kecaswell2001: Torture? I'm not the one who threw them into hell! LOL!
Anonymous (Guest): Hey! It looks like you made the two week wait! congratulations!
A Faulty Spell Casting Demigod: I don't know if I'd go to say that I like tormenting you... I think the word is 'love'? I don't know, maybe. And no blue food?! You monster!
Shadowslayer5: This story might be coming to an end soon. I know where I want to end and we're coming really close to it.
kissmyquiver: Sorry to disappoint. There's probably like 8 (or so) chapters left. :-/
Yeah... It's like 2am where I'm at and I'm feeling kinda sassy. :3
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Percy Jackson and the Olympians... Obviously since I am in no way, shape, or form Rick Riordan.
"And now for the latest update on the 747 crash over the Atlantic," Robin Roberts of ABC's Good Morning America said. "Major developments have been made in the search for the missing heiress and recently graduated marine biologist Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson. The search and rescue teams confirm that they have found the two on an uncharted island out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The teams have searched the island and have confirmed that it is small enough to not get picked up by the satellites, which is why it has never been discovered or charted before. Both Annabeth and Percy are fine and are currently staying at the Metropolitan Hospital Center for overnight observation."
"That is so great that they found them and that they're both okay," George Stephanopoulos commented from beside Robin.
"It is, George, I'm so glad that their families have been reunited and that everyone is safe."
"Now," George continued, moving on. "Let's get the weather, Ginger?"
•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•
Annabeth woke up to the sound of her hospital room door opening and looked over to see her parents walking in with a backpack that no doubtedly had a change of clothes for her. "Good Morning, Sweetheart," her dad said as he walked up to her and placed a kiss on her forehead.
"Morning," she replied groggily.
"How are you feeling?"
"Fine. Rested."
"That's good," her mom smiled. "We brought a change of clothes for you. We talked to the doctor and he said that you're all free to go. He's pushing your discharge papers through right now."
"That's great." Then, a thought came to Annabeth. "What about Percy?"
"What about him?"
"Is he okay?"
"I mean, I guess," her dad answered. "We didn't really ask. I'm sure he's with his family."
"Yes, Sweetie, I'm sure he's in good hands. There's no need to worry about him," her mom continued. Her phone buzzed and she checked the message that was sent to her. "Now get dressed, we've got a lot of things to do."
"What?" Annabeth asked, confused.
"Well, while you were gone, the world didn't exactly stop spinning. You and I have a meeting to get to in an hour." Annabeth's jaw nearly dropped.
"Seriously? But I just got back!"
"I know, Sweetie, but this is regarding your taking over the company."
"I thought that wouldn't happen for another few years."
Athena laughed. "Surely you didn't think that the company would just be handed to you. Transfers like these take time, training, and lots of legal work. By the time all of this is taken care of, you'll be ready to handle the company all by yourself." Annabeth felt like she couldn't breathe. She had just gotten back from surviving on an island and hit the ground running as though she had never left. In some ways, Annabeth guessed it was a good thing, to act like the whole thing was part of her planned vacation and to move on, but she definitely didn't want to forget about Percy and the moments they had shared there. She wanted to remember the island because it had shown her so many things about herself that she didn't know and now that she did, she wanted to stay that way.
"Okay," she said. "But, can I see Percy first?"
"Oh, no," Athena said, looking back down at her phone. "We don't have time. We can't be late to these meetings." Annabeth's face fell. "So go get dressed." Annabeth, knowing that arguing with her mother was futile, got up from her hospital bed and took the bag from her father and made her way into the bathroom to change.
When she reemerged from the bathroom, fully clothed, the three of them gathered her things and left the hospital room to the discharge desk. A nurse sifted through her documents and with the signature of the doctor, Annabeth and her parents left the hospital to head to the main office building for Olive Branch Architects.
As they drove, Athena handed Annabeth another bag. "Oh, here, this is for you," her mother said. "The rescue team that wasn't part of the immediate transport went through the crash sight and found you bag with all of your things in it." Annabeth shifted through the bag and found that all of her stuff from her purse was still there and that they were just as she left them in the plane. When they arrived, Frederick told them to go on ahead because he had some things to take care of at his own company and that he'll be by to pick them up later.
The blonde heiress followed her mother through the familiar hallways of the family business all the way up to the top floor where Athena held her most important conferences. Stepping inside, Annabeth could feel her mother's demeanor change from free and laid back (as free and laid back as Athena Chase could get) to cold and professional. Annabeth had always admired her mother's ability to control her emotions in such a professional way. But now, it made Annabeth angry. Angry that her mother could brush off such a life changing experience as though it were just another vacation. However, she knew she couldn't be totally angry with her mom. All throughout her life, Annabeth had known her mom to be the no-nonsense businesswoman that played the double role of no-nonsense supermom so she learned at a very early age that no one crossed Athena Chase. Not even her.
The two women sat near and at the head of the table as a man on the opposite side stood, saying, "let's begin."
•-•-•-•-•-•-•-•
Percy was watching television and eating the breakfast the nurse provided when someone knocked on the door to his hospital room. "Come in," he called out, thinking it was his mother and Paul. Instead, he was surprised to see none other than Frederick Chase walking through the door. The black haired marine biologist sat up as quick as he could and struggled to turn off the television, nearly knocking over his tray. "Uh, Mr. Chase," he greeted somewhat awkwardly.
"Hi," the older man replied kindly. "You must be Percy Jackson." Percy nodded.
"Yes, Sir." He needed to be on this man's good side if he was planning on starting a relationship with his daughter.
"Please, call me Frederick." Percy blinked.
"Uh, sorry, I hope you don't mind, but for now, I think I'd prefer to stick with 'Sir' or even 'Mr. Chase'." Mr. Chase chuckled and took a seat in the chair by his bed. Percy cleared his throat. "Is, uh… Is Annabeth alright?" he asked. He didn't think there was any other reason for Annabeth's father to visit him unless it pertained to Annabeth herself.
"Annabeth is fine. She was discharged an hour ago." Percy felt his spirits drop. Annabeth had left and didn't even bother to say goodbye to him. His disappointment must've shown on his face because Mr. Chase gave him a smile.
"Don't worry. She wanted to come by and see you but she and her mother had to get to a meeting. And, no, she didn't send me here to tell you. I came here on my own." The green-eyed man raised an eyebrow in question.
"I don't mean to be disrespectful, but why would you come all the way back down here to see me?" he asked.
"To thank you," was the answer. When Frederick saw the unwavering look of confusion on the young man's face, he continued. "I wanted to thank you for taking care of my little girl while the two of you were on that island." Percy chuckled.
"Trust me, Mr. Chase, I assure you that your daughter was the one taking care of me. You've raised quite a woman." Percy guessed that the older man wasn't offended by his comment since he just gave a smile.
"Well, whatever the case is, I just wanted to you to know that I'm glad that the two of you had each other." Frederick stood up and pulled a card from his wallet. "If you ever need anything, please, don't hesitate to give me a call." Percy took the card and stared at the small print. It took him a while to read through it completely but when he did, he looked up at the older man and smiled.
"Will you just tell Annabeth that I'm glad that she's doing great and that if she ever gets a chance, to go and visit the Aquarium near Coney Island."
"Why there?"
"I work there as a marine biologist and when I finally had a chance to check my e-mail this morning, I saw that I was made the head of the research aspect in regards to the new shark exhibit that we'll be having, rather than just another member of the team. I'm already behind and much like Annabeth and her meeting, I've got to hit the ground running as well and because I'm already behind in my work, I'll be spending most of my time in the labs or on the computer." Mr. Chase nodded in understanding.
"I will." Mr. Chase headed for the door and stopped as he was steeping out. "It was nice to meet you, Percy. Good luck." With that, Mr. Chase left the room, leaving Percy alone with his breakfast.
Not much longer after his visit with Annabeth's father, Percy's mother came in with Paul, carrying a bag that most probably held a change of clothes. "Hi, Sweetie," she greeted. Percy smiled. He really missed seeing his mom's face and warm smile.
"Hey mom, Paul," he greeted. "I'm guessing that's a bag with clothes in it. Does that mean I'm free to go?"
Sally nodded excitedly and Paul smiled. "Yes," she answered. "The doctor is pushing through your discharge papers now so all you have to do is get dressed and we can sign you out."
"Great." Percy got up from the bed and grabbed the bag of clothes from his mom, giving her a kiss on the cheek, and went to the bathroom to change. When he finished, his mom and Paul had already gathered his things and together, they made their way down to the nurse's station where he was finally discharged. "Mom," Percy said from the backseat, noticing that they were headed toward the direction of his parents Upper East Side apartment. "Do you think that you could just drop me off at my apartment?"
"Oh? Why? I was going to make dinner for the three of us."
"I just need to grab some of my stuff from there."
"Oh! Speaking of your stuff," Sally said from the passenger seat. "The rescue team managed to recover your backpack with all of your thing that were inside. Everything that was in there before should be there still." Percy grabbed the backpack from his mom and opened it.
"Great!" He shifted through the bag. "Although, it looks like I'm going to have to get a new tablet." He pulled out the iPad mini and ran a finger over the cracked screen. He could see his mom frown through the rear view mirror. He shrugged and stuffed the broken tablet back into his bag. "Oh well, at least everything in here is still good." He pulled out his cellphone and was surprised (and happy) to see that it was untouched by the crash. He turned on the phone to see that it was still at 50%, the way it was when he turned it off before the flight.
"So," Paul said from the driver's seat. "Are we still going to your apartment, Percy?"
"Yeah," he said, stuffing his phone into his pocket. "I'd like to get my car so that I won't bother you guys with a ride home."
"Nonsense," his mother cried. "You can just spend the night."
"As great as that would be, I have to get back to work tomorrow. I'm already behind with this new research project that I'm heading up and starting a new job like this is not the way to go." Sally sighed.
"I don't understand why you have to go back to work already. I thought you had vacation time still running."
"I do," Percy said. "But, I found out that I was moved up to head of the project and I would have done some research while in Greece. I even set aside some time for in case I found something that I could study. But since I was stranded on the island, I didn't get anything done. I have to have something to go on when I show up to work."
"Well, I always did say that you needed to be more responsible so I can't really argue with you," Sally acquiesced. Paul pulled up to the entrance to Percy's building and put the car in park. "And I'm so proud of you and all that you've accomplished, Percy. Just don't overwork yourself. I want you to rest."
"I'm just going to get some research done and I'll be at your apartment for dinner. I promise."
"Alright." Percy gave his mom a kiss on the cheek and clapped Paul's shoulder.
"I'll see you both later."
"Bye." Percy watched as his parents drove away then turned to the gate where he punched in the code to buzz himself in. When he came up to his floor, he stepped out of the elevator and walked toward his front door where he pulled his keys out and unlocked it. Stepping through the threshold, the cool air conditioning and absence of life for a week greeted him. He looked around his barely furnished loft and took a seat on his couch. He remembered the moment he signed the leasing contract. He used part of his signing bonus for the down payment and was so proud of himself for finally upgrading out of the crap apartment he had while he went to NYU.
Sitting in the cool air, Percy wondered when he'd see Annabeth again. Surely her parents packed her schedule to get her back on track with her career while he'd have to pack his own to get his own career started. He already missed her smile and the way she would crinkle her nose whenever he did something stupid. He wished that he had the chance to tell her how he felt and find out if she felt the same. But, until he saw her next, he would never know. He didn't even have her phone number or anything to contact her with. He was never big with social media and things like that so he probably wouldn't be making a Twitter anytime soon, he was also sure that so many people send friend requests to her Facebook that she put on private so that the only friends she had were ones she added. He did have an Instagram but he wasn't sure if she did or what her username was. Plus there were so many posers on there that he wouldn't know who was the real one.
I thought social media was supposed to make things easier on society, he thought to himself. Shaking his head, he stood up from the couch and made his way into his room where he stripped down and got in the shower.
If felt so nice to finally have proper shower and for the first time in a week, he felt clean. Changing once more into a more comfortable outfit, Percy went into his office and started up his laptop. From there, he did some basic overview research on the sharks they were to be getting at the Aquarium. After reading multiple articles about the Sand Tiger Shark, Percy felt as though he knew everything he needed to know in order to design their habitat. Pulling out a sheet of paper, he jotted down his ideas and sketched out a vague design for the habitat. He obviously needed to do more research for more specifics and would have to talk to the financial department for the budgeting, but Percy was starting to really get excited for his new project.
By the time he finished up the first draft of his design proposal, he noticed that it was nearing dinnertime and remembered that he promised his mom he'd be at her apartment. So, grabbing his keys and his phone, he headed out to his car and began the drive toward the Upper East Side of Manhattan for the first step at continuing his life.
So there you have it. It's now like 9am. I started editing this at 2am but then fell asleep somewhere in the middle. LOL!
But now I'm posting it so we're all good!
I had something to tell you when I started this at 2am... now I forget. -.-"
#TheStruggleIsReal
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