So I was thinking about doing this already, but then a bunch of you asked for it, so I've decided to do a Percy POV chapter at some point. It will probably be within the next couple chapters I imagine, and thought it will not be completely from Percy's pov, it will be mostly from his.

R&R

I do not own most of the characters, nor most of the plot. I merely adapted it.

CHAPTER 24

Mr. Chase arrived back home late that night, and brought no news regarding Dr. Castellan's whereabouts. Malcolm then decided to take Claire back home to New Jersey, saying he would be back again tomorrow to help his uncle with the search. Annabeth and Piper were getting ready to head back to their apartment, but Mr. Chase pulled Annabeth aside into his office, just before she walked out the door.

"I believe I owe you an apology, my dear," He said as he closed the door behind her. "I should have heeded your advice about letting Drew go on that cruise, then maybe none of this would have happened."

"Perhaps," Annabeth replied softly, "But there's also the fact that Dr. Castellan and Drew were messing around long before they ever went on the cruise, so it may have happened either way."

Frederic Chase ran his hands through his greying hair as he sat down behind his desk, and the wrinkles next to his eyes became more prominent by the minute.

"Perhaps, but it doesn't change the fact that you were right, and so… I'm sorry."

"I-I forgive you, Dad," She then walked around the desk, and knelt next to his chair, "But don't beat yourself up about this, please."

"I should have known," He spoke out frustratingly, "How could I not have known about Drew and him?"

"As much as I hate to give him credit, Dr. Castellan is not a stupid man. He knows how to not get caught… He learned the hard way."

Mr. Chase turned to look at his daughter, his gaze curious and puzzled.

"You and him never…. Right?"

Annabeth's face turned red, not with embarrassment, but with slightly overzealous anger at the accusation.

"Dad! No, I would never have-… how can you think that?!"

Her father placed his elbows on the desk, and rested his face in the palms of his hands.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's just… I don't know what to think now. My youngest daughter is pregnant, by a man whom I once thought to be honorable. Someone who I thought was going to whisk my favorite daughter away, and I actually would have been okay with it. But as it turns out, the man may be nothing short of a scoundrel."

The blonde girl leaned in closer to hug her father, trying to comfort the man whom she had always looked up to as being a rock in her life. Someone who had always been a calming presence for her, and now, she hoped to return the favor.

"So," Annabeth said a little playfully, "Are we going to ignore the fact that I'm your favorite daughter?"

She could feel the vibrations of the elder man through her arms, as he chuckled softly.

"Is this really a surprise to you, Annabeth?"

"No, I just thought parents weren't supposed to have favorites."

"They're not, at least, that's what we say anyways. But we always do, even though we may change our minds depending on who's the good kid at the moment."

"I knew it," Annabeth said, subtly congratulating herself.

Mr. Chase turned his head, and leant over to press his lips to his daughter's forehead.

"But you have always been my favorite, because you remind me so much of your mother."

Annabeth smiled softly, and she hugged her dad tightly for a few moments, before rising to her feet, and making her way towards the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow, dad," she said, grabbing the door handle, before stopping suddenly. She turned around, her right hand still clasped firmly around the handle, and said to her dad in a flat, serious tone, "So, I suppose now would be a bad time to tell you that I think I want to marry Mr. Collins after all?"

Mr. Chase stared at her with a horrified expression, and Annabeth couldn't hold back her giggles. His look of horror turned into a scowl, and he then glared at his daughter.

"Forget everything I said, Piper is my favorite now."

…..

Annabeth watched the raindrops run down the car window in little trails, as her sister drove on, the only sounds to be heard being the hum of the engine, and the squeak of the wiper blades. Her gaze was only drawn to her sister, when she heard a sniffle coming from the brown-haired beauty.

Under different circumstances, Annabeth may have been using this opportunity to tell her sister not to give up hope in regards to a certain object of her affections. That all may not have been as it seemed, and that Jason Grace may not be as much of a lost cause as they originally thought. But now, it seemed that this latest act of folly by Drew had been the nail in the coffin for their family.

"What's wrong?" Annabeth asked.

"Hmm," Piper mumbled, wiping any traces of tears from her cheeks, "I'm sorry, nothing."

"Lies. Now tell me, what are you thinking about?"

Her sister was silent for a moment, as she stared at the road, with both of her hands on the steering wheel.

"Oh, you know, just about what this will do to our family's reputation. Typical, selfish thoughts- "

"It's not selfish, Piper. What Drew did was selfish." Annabeth's voice was sharp, and not passive whatsoever.

"But is our reputation as a family really the thing we should be worried about right now, Annabeth?"

The steely-eyed blonde look forward again, her mouth set in a firm line.

"Drew needs to realize that there are consequences for her actions, and sometimes, those consequences don't just affect her."

Piper's eyebrows furrowed, but she kept her eyes on the road, yet they darted back and forth randomly, and when she next spoke, she sounded quizzical.

"Just how much do you think this will affect us?"

Annabeth sighed to herself, "Let's just say, it's a good thing you want to marry for love, because what little chance we had at marrying for any 'practical' reason is pretty much gone."

"Because of what Drew did?"

"I'm afraid that's how it works, sis. Once the truth gets out, it'll all be downhill for us."

"I like to think I'm not a naïve girl, Annabeth, but how can you be sure?"

Annabeth didn't even hesitate to reply, "Mr. Jackson made it pretty clear I'd say."

Piper's eyebrows now rose high up on her face, and she gave a quick glance over to her sister.

"Mr. Jackson? He said that?"

"Well… not out loud, but the way he behaved was a clear indication of his thoughts on the matter."

"So," Piper held her mouth in an o shape for moment, "He knows about our predicament?"

Annabeth nodded, "I ran into him right after I finished talking with you on the phone, as I was heading out to find Malcolm and Claire. He was… kind, courteous, helpful even. But it was soon very apparent to me that he had no desire to be associated with my personage."

She now turned to look at her sister, who, only because they sat at a red light, was staring back at her solemnly.

"If he still liked me at all, Piper, he no longer does," Annabeth said, before sighing to herself, and then continuing with, "And he will make sure that Jason no longer cares for you either."

"I never expected Jason to rekindle any feelings he had for me," Piper replied without hesitation, "But tell me, does it… upset you, that Mr. Jackson should no longer feel that same way he once did?"

Annabeth was silent for only a few seconds, her face betraying little emotion as she said, "No… it does not."

…..

It only took but a few days for the rumors to start spreading, and subsequently after that, no more than another day for the Chase family to start receiving phone calls and visits from acquaintances, each of them expressing their sincerest pities, and claiming that they knew Dr. Castellan was a heathen all along. The same people, who, not even a week ago, would have held up the same man as a saint.

Travis and Connor Stoll both paid a personal visit to Annabeth and Piper, and they both sincerely expressed that they were deeply shocked at their cousin's actions, and they assured both of the girls, that if they discovered anything regarding him, they would inform the family immediately. Neither of the sisters could find it in themselves to lay blame upon the brothers, as the Stolls had only known Luke since he moved back to New York. And the way both Travis and Connor were so somber in their behavior, as oppose to their usual gung-ho-ness, led the girls to believe that they were sincere in their declarations. At least, they mostly believed them, but the truth was that the Chases may not be the only family whose reputation was tainted after the incident.

It was almost the weekend, and every night so far, Mr. Chase and Malcolm had come back with nothing. They frequently sought out the help of the police, but the cops refused to do anything, since Dr. Castellan had technically not done anything illegal, and he couldn't be declared a missing person, since the police had evidence that he was still in the city. That evidence namely being bank transactions, and footage from traffic cameras of him crossing the street.

This was the only good news the family had to hold onto, the fact that he had not yet left the city. They kept checking with the hospital, to see if he ever came into work, but he never showed up. It wasn't long before the hospital declared that he had been let go. They checked his penthouse as well, but the door was always locked, and even after they took shifts waiting outside his door for him to come back, he never came.

Drew never seemed to be bothered by this though. She was convinced that Luke was in love with her, and so she waited, hardly ever coming out of her room, knowing that she should only be held in contempt by the rest of her family. Try as hard as they might, neither Annabeth nor Piper could convince her of how truly indifferent Luke was to her, nor could they make Drew understand just how disruptive her actions had been to the status of the family. Either that, or she could not care less about potentially ruining her sisters' futures. Annabeth suspected it was the latter.

Her worst fears were only confirmed more, by the sudden arrival of her favorite dentist, Mr. Bill Collins. He showed up unannounced, and with no shortage of self-given pageantry. With her father and cousin both being out in the city, and her stepmother in no condition to deal with such a man, Annabeth found only herself and Piper on the receiving end of Mr. Collins' exasperating address. Lacy and Mary had managed to avoid the man, leaving the elder sister to deal with him.

"My dear friends," he began, with his oily hair slicked down in all directions, "I feel that it is my duty, as a close friend of your family's, to come and give my condolences to you all. Such an offense by your sister is nothing to trifle over."

Annabeth and Piper looked at each other, before the latter turned back to say a succinct "Thank you, sir."

He continued vociferously, "I think I can speak for myself and my dear companion for life, Rachel Dare, though she has not explicitly said so, when I say that it would be better if your sister had died than to bring this disgrace upon the family."

Piper had to restrain Annabeth from strangling the man right then and there, and so he continued to speak unabated. The blonde woman still couldn't understand how Rachel hadn't left this guy months ago.

"Rachel tells me that this turn of events could only have been generated from a lack of supervision, and a remarkable degree of tolerance, though I myself am tending to believe that Drew acted in such a way that has always been her inclination. Either way, it is apparent that your family is most deserving of our pity."

Annabeth gave him a feigned gratuitous smile, and gestured her hands toward the door.

"We appreciate your kindness Mr. Collins, and we thank you for- "

"Not only is the opinion I declared to be that of my own," the dentist rudely interrupted, "But it is also the opinion of my sponsor, Lady Hera Olympia, and her daughter, Augusta, whom I have both informed of your extreme misfortunes completely."

Annabeth thought her eyes were going to roll into the back of her head.

"They are both in agreement with me that such an act of ineptitude by one sister, can only reflect poorly on the rest. Lady Hera herself remarked that 'who in their right mind would associate themselves with such a family?'"

Both of the sisters reeled at his words, and Annabeth found herself to be so appalled by the obtuseness of Mr. Collins, and the disrespect of Lady Hera, that she decided she had had enough, and that not even Piper was going to stop her from kicking this man out of the house at this very moment.

She snapped her fingers towards the door.

"Get out," Annabeth demanded.

"Excuse me?" Mr. Collins asked in astonishment.

"I said get out… now!" She hissed. Her grey eyes were ablaze, and the storm within them could have only matched the wrath she felt within herself.

The dentist quickly scampered to the door, and only stopped to look back once, but one look from Annabeth, and he rapidly retreated out of the house.

"The nerve of that man," the eldest sister groaned, "Who does he think he is? Running around telling Lady Hera about our troubles, and then coming here to gloat over us?"

"I suppose he means well," Piper said softly, watching as Annabeth huffed and paced about the room.

"Well, either way, he's not wrong about us."

"You mean about what Lady Hera said?"

Annabeth nodded, "As much as the woman is a complete cow, she speaks the truth in this case." The enraged girl then turned to her sister who sat on the couch, and moved to join her, almost whispering as she sat down. "Our family has lost whatever chance we had at a successful future, for who in their right mind would want to be associated with such a family?"

Annabeth felt Piper lean against her, and rest her head on her shoulder.

"You once said something very astounding," Piper noted, "And I believe your exact words were that 'If I was to love a man, I could care less if he only made enough to live in a rundown apartment in cheapside, so long as he loved me for me, in which case I could be a very happy woman.'"

The blonde girl felt a tug on her lips at the memory, and she looked over to meet her sister's kaleidoscope eyes.

"That phrase made me smile once," Piper said, "I figured it could do the same for you… We'll get through this, Annabeth, and it will all turn out just fine."

She didn't really believe her sister, but Annabeth was grateful to her for trying at least.

"Thanks, sis."

…..

Not one of my better chapters, but it is a necessary one.