Author's Note:

Here's chapter 7! Luke Castellan's first appearance! A special thanks to:

WiseboyLibra

Santos56

ally109

Hermes Salazar Snape

PiperDiAngelo-I'mNotInnocent

candy0304

Anonymous

J.C Kali (My fellow Filipino)

Charmes4ever

Ilovestories

OliverWoodFan

KayCee

Sanubisfan

I Love Guinea Pig

Riley Coyote

Moonglacier

the unnecessary

C-Nuggets N.L

booklover484

iStoleYourBlueMoonIceCream

ASenseOfImagination

buzzlesbee

PercabethRulez817

Chapter 7-The Shocking Truth

Percy looked so painfully pale as his mother sat there watching him. Sally Jackson sat in a corner of the room with a bleak expression on her face. Nothing was going to happen to Percy. She wouldn't let anything happen to him. She was holding on now with every ounce of strength she could give.

For a moment she turned her gaze to the nurse's face. The woman was watching Percy intently, but with no sign of alarm. He had been in a coma since the accident. Sally had gotten there instantly the moment the hospital called her. She had called a twenty-four-hour limousine service and had her driven up fast. But she would have walked if she had to. Nothing would have kept her from Percy's side; she had to be there to keep him alive. He was all she had now. The only one left from Poseidon, their son Percy… and the business was for him. She had done it all for him … She married Paul Blofis when Percy was fourteen years old. She didn't have to but her father was worried. She had taken the toll of taking care of Percy all alone but the pressure of being the chairman of the Jackson Group, it would be too much. She would do everything for Percy and for the business. She could still remember that fateful day when her father learned about her pregnancy.

Jim Jackson was totally devastated. He believed Sally after she swore that never again will she see that football guy. And they got married without his knowledge. Sally was sent to another town, a cottage in a country side, away from the press and the glare of media. Uncle Dave came almost every day to check her out, to cheer her up while her father nursed the wound. Jim did not talk to her daughter for months. It was only Uncle Dave who was her connection to the outside world. But after the ultra sound reported that a baby boy will soon be born, the whole world changed. There is now a son in the family. The most awaited heir that will bring the family name Jackson to heights. It was the fulfilment of Jim Jackson long time dream. As soon as the news reached him, he sent for a private plane to pick up Sally. She stayed in the hospital, in a suite, until she gave birth, until Percy was born.

Jim Jackson was very ecstatic, the pain of the past having swept away by the little baby. But nothing can be compared to the joy Sally felt. He was everything Poseidon left her.

If her husband was alive, he would be very proud of him. He got the features and the handsomeness of his father.

A nurse entered the room and Sally went tense and forgot what she had been thinking. She stood up silently and quickly walked to the nurse's side. Whatever there was to see, she wanted to see it. But there was nothing. No change. The expressionless woman in white held his wrist for a moment and then mouthed the same words again. "No change." She motioned toward the corridor and Sally followed her outside. This time the woman's concern was not for Percy, but for his mother.

"Dr. Winfield told me to ask you to leave by five o'clock, Mrs. Blofis. And I'm afraid …" She looked menacingly at her watch, and then smiled apologetically. It was five fifteen. Sally had been at Percy's side for exactly twelve hours. She had sat there uninterrupted all day, with only two cups of coffee to keep her going. But she wasn't tired, she wasn't hungry, she wasn't anything. And she wasn't leaving.

As long as she sat there, Percy wouldn't die. The damage was mostly internal, but even Winfield felt he'd come out of the coma soon. Still, she wasn't taking any chances. There were tears in her eyes now as she stood staring blankly at the pale blue wall behind the nurse.

"Mrs. Blofis?" The woman gently touched her arm, and Sally was startled. "You ought to get some rest. Dr. Winfield set aside a room for you on the third floor."

"There's no need." She smiled blankly at the nurse and walked away toward the far end of the hall. The sun was still bright in the window there, and she sat carefully on the ledge. The hospital had already sent the best doctor to them. Medically, Percy had taken the worst of it. Nico was pretty badly broken up, but he was awake and alive, and his father had taken him home by ambulance this afternoon. He had a broken arm, a thigh, a foot, and a collar-bone, but he'd be alright. After a while, she stood up and went back to Percy's room.

"I thought I left orders for you to get some rest." Sally turned toward the voice with a start, and then smiled tiredly when she saw Dr. Winfield. "Don't you ever listen to anyone, Sally?"

"Not if I can help it. How's Percy?" Her brow furrowed as she waited for the doctor to speak.

"I just looked in on him. He's stable. I told you, he'll come out of it. Give him time. His entire system received one hell of a shock."

"So did mine when I got the news." He nodded sympathetically. "You're sure there won't be permanent damage from this?" She paused for a moment and then said the dread words. "Brain damage?"

Winfield patted her arm and walked with her towards the room. Behind them the little town made a scene pretty enough for a postcard. "I told you, Sally. As best we can tell, he'll be fine. A lot depends of course on how long he stays under. But I'm not frightened yet."

"I am." They were two tiny words in the mouth of a very strong woman, and they surprised her doctor, as he looked at her closely.

Paul Blofis was very concerned with Sally. She needed some rest. He's afraid if she will stay awake all the time like this, there would be two patients in this hospital. He visited Percy everyday and updated Sally with the latest news on what was happening with the business.

It was one of these visits when Percy suddenly woke up. His hand began to move and Sally went hurriedly to his side.

"Percy." Sally whispered at her son's ear as he begun to stir. He had been in coma for two weeks now and she thought he will never wake up. As she looked at him, she saw his face cloud over as though he were suddenly remembering why he was there. Before that, he had acted as if he had just awakened from having his tonsils out. All he wanted was ice cream and his mom. But now there was a great deal more in his face, and he tried to sit up. He didn't know how to say the words, but he had to ask. He searched her face, and she kept her eyes on his and his hand tightly held hers. "Take it easy, darling."

"Mom … the others … the other night … I remember …"

"Nico stayed here for a week but has already gone home with his father. He's pretty badly banged up but he's all right. A lot more all right than you are." She said it with a sigh and tightened her grip on his hand. She knew what was coming next. But she was prepared for it.

"And…Annabeth?" His face was ivory white as he said her name. "Annabeth, Mom?" The tears already stood out in his eyes. He could see the answer in his mother's face as she sat down carefully in the chair next to him and ran a gentle hand along the outline of his face.

"The doctor said she didn't make it, darling. They did all they could. But the damage was just too great." She paused for only the slightest of seconds and then went on. "She died even before she arrived at the hospital."

"Oh, my god … and I wasn't there. Oh, Annabeth… " He turned his head into the pillow and cried like a child as Sally held his shoulders. He said her name over and over and over again, until at last he could cry no more. And when he turned to look at his mother again, she saw something in his face that she had never seen there before. It was as though he had lost something of himself in those moments when he said Annabeth's name. As though part of him had bled away and died.

Annabeth heard the landing gear of the plane's belly and for the hundredth time since the flight began she felt the touch of the hand that had touched her before. It was strangely comforting to feel the nurse's hand, and it pleased her that she could already tell the difference between them. One woman had thin, delicate hands with long narrow fingers; her hands were always cold but there was great strength in the way she held on to her. It made Annabeth feel brave again just to touch her. The other nurse had warm, chubby soft hands that made one feel safe and loved. She patted Annabeth's arm a lot, and it was she who had given Annabeth the two shots for the pain. She had a soft soothing voice. The first woman had a slight accent. Annabeth had already come to like them both.

"It won't be much longer now, dear. We can see the bay now. We'll be there in no time at all."

Actually, it would be another twenty minutes. And Dr. Luke Castellan was counting on that as he raced along the freeway in the black Porsche. The ambulance was meeting him there. He could have one of the girls from his office pick his car up later that morning. He wanted to ride into the city with the girl. He was intrigued by her. She had to be someonefor Paul Blofis and Dr. Winfield to be so concerned about. Five million dollars was quite a sum, and only three of that was going to him. The other two million was to keep the girl comfortable in the next two years. And she would be. He had promised Dr. Winfield that... But he would have seen to that anyway. It was part of what he did. He would get to know the girl's very soul. They would become more than friends; he would mean everything to her and she to him. It had to be that way, because by the time that new face was born, she would be the person she looked like. Dr. Luke Castellan was going to give birth to a new Annabeth Chase, after a pregnancy of twenty four long months. She was going to be a very brave girl. He would see to that. They would face it together. The very idea excited him. He loved what he did, and in an odd way he already loved Annabeth. What he would make of her. What she would be. He would give her all that he had to give.

He looked at his watch and stepped on the gas. The car was one of his favorite releases. He also flew his own plane, went scuba diving whenever he had time, skied, and had climbed several mountains in Europe. He was a man who liked to scale heights, in every possible way. To defy the impossible and win. It was why he loved his work. People accused him of playing god. But it wasn't really that. It was the thrill of insuperable odds that stimulated him. And he had never yet been defeated. Not by women or mountains or sky, not even by a patient. At thirty-five he had won at everything he touched, and he was going to win now. He and Annabeth were going to win together. His dark hair blew softly in the breeze and his eyes almost crackled with life. He still had a tan from his recent week in Tahiti, and he was wearing gray slacks and a soft blue cashmere sweater that was just the color of his eyes. He was always impeccably dressed, perfectly put together. He was an exceptionally good-looking man, but there was more to him than that. It was his vitality, his electricity that caught one's attention even more than his looks did.