A/N: Another chapter! Apollo's now two, by the way!

…

Chapter Twelve – 23 Years Ago: Things Change

Thalassa

The Sunshine Coliseum. Two years have gone by since we performed here, and back then it was with Troupe Gramarye. Now, it was Zeus's solo act. We'd been invited by the venue owner, and with a stadium as big as this one, how could we refuse?

Apollo's eyes were huge as he clung to my hand, toddling along beside me while we walked into the building, past all of the people in front of the Coliseum, enjoying the mild, LA spring.

"This is it!" Zeus said excitedly, a bundle of energy. He suddenly spun and grabbed Apollo, scooping him up in the air.

"Hey!" Apollo squealed, giggling. "Daddy!"

Zeus laughed, putting Apollo on his shoulders and playfully running forward. Apollo gripped the man's hair, laughing up a storm as he bounced along. I laughed at them, following at my own pace.

Getting ready for the show was a whirlwind of activity, regularly interspersed with playing or feeding Apollo and once putting him down for a nap. There were times that he even tried to help, and I couldn't help myself. I took lots of pictures.

Soon the time for the show came. Zeus was, as usual, playing with Apollo, when a stage hand knocked on the door.

"Your on in ten, Mr. Justice," he said, before disappearing.

"Yay!" Apollo squealed excitedly. Zeus laughed, scooping him up in his arms.

"Tell you what, Apollo. There's this awesome ice cream shop around the corner. How about we go get some after the show, okay?"

"Okay!" Apollo agreed, hugging Zeus tightly before letting himself be passed to me. Zeus smiled, kissing his forehead, then me. "Ew…" Apollo squirmed. I smiled against Zeus's lips, before we pulled apart.

"Good luck," I smiled. "I love you."

"I love you two too."

…

I settled in my reserved seat, front row, in the middle of the stage. Apollo settled in my lap, watching with bright eyes as the show started. Zeus and his assistant, Robert, started with their normal stunts, ones that other escape artists did variants of, before moving on to the corner stone of Zeus's show, the stunt him and I devised and copyrighted.

The Upside Down Chain Swaddle. Apollo immediately recognized the trick for what it was when Robert began to swaddle Zeus, and I couldn't help but laugh at how he bounced up and down in my lap happily, clapping his hands.

Once he was all tied up and blindfolded, the stage hands pulled Zeus into the air, using a pulley system in the ceiling with the chain. I frowned slightly, noticing him swinging more then normal.

"Whee!" Apollo giggled in his two year old way, throwing his hands up.

"Daddy swings you upside down like that, huh?" I said with a grin, even if Zeus gave me a heart attack when he did that. Apollo looked up at me and grinned brightly, before turning back to the stage, not wanting to miss a minute of it.

Once in position, Zeus began his escape, contorting his body in ways that only someone with multiple double joints could do. He was making good time too, having one arm free already.

Crunch…

Zeus dropped down a few inches, plaster dust sprinkling over him. He froze, unsure of what happened, being blindfolded. I, however, caught my breath.

"Get him down from there!" Robert suddenly yelled, running to the wings. Muttering started all around us. Apollo looked up at me in confusion.

"Guys, what's going on?" Zeus asked, shifting to turn his body towards the wings.

"No, Zeus, don't mo—!"

CRUNCH!

The pulley ripped out of the ceiling. Zeus swung down from the ceiling, and slammed into the stage.

CRACK!

"NO!" I screamed, springing to my feet. Apollo's eyes were huge as he stared at the limp figure on the stage. Holding him tight against my chest, I sprinted towards the wings, where the steps were. Paramedics, there in case show goers got hurt, rushed onto the stage, while the assistant quickly unlocked each chain.

Security stopped me on the steps.

"Sorry, Ma'am, but I'm going to have to ask you to return to your seat," he said in a gruff, shocked voice.

"But that's my husband!" I said desperately. My face was wet, and it took me a moment to realize I was crying.

"D-Daddy?" Apollo whimpered, craning to look around the large man in my way.

"We need to get him to the hospital, stat! His vitals are dropping!" one of the paramedics said urgantly. I tried to step around the security guard, but he continued to block me.

"Robert!" I called to the man. He looked up, his eyes huge, and saw me.

"Let her through!" he snapped at the guard. Surprised, the man stepped aside, and I rushed onto stage, just as they were placing Zeus on a stretcher. The hair on the top of his head was already matted with blood. I gasped.

"Daddy!?" Apollo said louder. I turned so he couldn't see Zeus, and hugged him. "Whas wron Daddy?" he called, trying to look over my shoulder. I hugged him tightly, gently, but firmly, pressing his head into my shoulder so he wouldn't see Zeus.

"Are you coming with us?" the paramedic demanded of me.

"Y-yes…" I stammered. Robert came over.

"I'll meet you at the hospital. Let me take Apollo," he said. I glanced at him, and nodded, trusting him. After all, he's watched Apollo on his own before in the two years we'd known him.

Apollo cried as I passed him over. I kissed his forehead, before hurrying after the EMTs.

…

I sat in the hospital room, my hands clasped in front of me, watching the man in front of me, blurred by tears.

Zeus was lucky that fall didn't kill him. Instead, it split open his skull at the top, the point of impact.

The man I knew and loved, so energetic and full of life and confidence, was now a lifeless shell, his heart and lungs working only by the power of the machines he was hooked to.

Apollo was curled up at Zeus's feet in the bed, his eyes huge and shell-shocked, as he watched his father.

He was smart. The doctors tried to tell him that Zeus was just asleep, but Apollo knew better. He knew something was wrong.

He didn't even ask about the ice cream.

Robert walked in, holding a bag of food and drinks, and looked around.

"How is he?" he asked softly, handing me a bottle of water.

"He's in a coma, Robert. The doctors said that when his skull opened, his brain started to swell." I gripped the bottle tightly in shaking hands. "They're trying everything to wake him up."

"Ah." Robert walked over to Apollo. He didn't even respond. That tore at my heart even more, and I leaned forward, closing my eyes tightly. A sob wrenched itself from me, followed by more, until I was crying hard. Robert gave up on his attempts at getting Apollo's attention, and came over to me, wrapping his arms around me. I buried my face into his chest, sobbing hard.

What was going to happen now?

…

Two weeks went by. There was still no change in Zeus, and Apollo started having horrible nightmares. The only way I could calm him at night was by laying in bed with him, holding him close to my chest, and singing.

I started having Robert take him during the day when I went to visit Zeus. Seeing his father like that couldn't be helping with the nightmares.

A doctor called me into his office.

I knew it was bad news, as soon as I sat down.

"I'm sorry to inform you, Mrs. Justice, but…" he hesitated, shuffling his notes. "Mr. Justice… is never going to wake up."

Do it fast, like ripping off a Band-Aid, I thought, looking at the man. That's how his demeanor felt.

"What are my options?" I asked softly, mechanically. The doctor adjusted his glasses, studying the file in front of him.

"Well… either you can keep him on life support for the rest of his life… or pull the plug. As his only family over the age of eighteen, only you have the power to sign off on that," he informed me. I nodded, thinking.

I knew Zeus wouldn't want to spend his life on life support, brain dead and oblivious to the world around him.

But how would Apollo handle it?

Then I realized, it might be better for him too. If I kept Zeus on life support, Apollo would grow up in the hospital. His memories of the lively, energetic man would be replaced with a shell.

He'd never have a life.

I closed my eyes, a small sob escaping me yet again. The doctor pushed a box of tissues towards me, and it took me a few minutes to gather my composure once more before I looked up at the doctor.

"I… I'll sign… on…" I stammered, unable to finish the sentence. The doctor nodded, pushing a paper towards me.

"Please… sign on the dotted line, Mrs. Justice."

I nodded, picking up the pen, and signing without even looking at the paper. I then stood and rushed out.

Apollo and I didn't go back to the hospital room.

I was called later that night and told that Zeus Justice had passed away at 8:02 at night, May 13th, 2006.

…

A/N: Poor Polly and Thalassa….